Islamist Extremist Groups in Burkina Faso Murder, Rape, Pillage in Campaign Aimed at State Takeover

May 18, 2022

Internationally renowned Human Rights Watch reports that Islamist extremist groups affiliated with with AQ (Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, AQIM) and IS (Islamic State on the Greater Sahara, ISGS) continue to wage a years-long armed campaign aimed at state takeover of the African Sahel country, with AQIM and ISGS violence having displaced over 1.8 million people and Islamist militants engaging widespread murder and systemic rape, pillaging and destruction of local economies and infrastructure.

Social Violence in Indonesia Highlights Islamists’ Rejection of Pluralism

May 18, 2022

Recent episodes of social violence in Indonesia, the worlds most populous Muslim-majority country, involving Islamist attacks against individuals, religious minority sites, and Islamic organizations advocating religious tolerance all share the common theme of rejection of pluralism as expressed in rule of law and equality before the state, pointing to the urgency of developing best practices for law enforcement, judicial neutrality, and inter-religious dialogue, in order to combat hardline Islamist ideas and groups that reject the principles and practices I’d pluralism. 

Islamist Attack at Suez Canal Signals Shift Towards Disruption of Domestic & International Economies

May 18, 2022

The attack by IS militants on a water pumping station in the vicinity of the Suez Canal suggest a shift in strategy towards economic disruption and damage, since attacks on civilian economic infrastructure will bring inevitable damage to the domestic Egyptian economy, which is reliant on Suez Canal activity, and will also undermine the international economy, as confidence in and unfettered access through the Suez Canal is critical to international trade and commerce. 

Joint Communiqué by Ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS

May 16, 2022

Global Anti-ISIS Coalition Warns of Ongoing International Threat & Africa as Key Operations Theatre

May 16, 2022

The leaders of the Global Coalition to defeat Deash/ISIS meeting in Morocco presented a sobering assessment of the internationalization of the Islamist extremist group, which is a rapidly growing presence in the Mideast, South Asia, and Africa, with the African Continent emerging as a key theatre of activity by a proliferation of ISIS franchises and competing Islamist militant groups that take advantage of the vulnerabilities of Africa’s weak states and authoritarian regimes. 

Life Sentence for IS Beatle for Kidnapping & Murder of Americans in Syria

May 02, 2022

A US federal court in Virginia sentenced Alexanda Kotey, a British national part of of the IS terror cell known as the Beatles, to life in prison for crimes of kidnapping, rape, torture, and beheading of American citizens abducted in Syria by the caliphate foreign fighters, the outcome of a trial that underscores the international security threat posed by extremist Islamism. 

Islamist Violence in West Africa Generates Population Displacement & Food Insecurity

May 02, 2022

Expanding jihadist violence in the West African and African Sahel regions is contributing to massive population displacement and intense food insecurity, with Burkina Faso representative of the broader regional trend whereby anti-government violence by al-Qaeda and IS jihadists has disrupted farming, generated millions of internally displace persons (IDPs), and contributed to food insecurity for what the UN agencies estimate is 3.5 million people.

Jihadists Taking Aim at China's Belt and Road Initiative, Destablize Security Environment

May 02, 2022

As the expansion of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) expands the country's economic footprint in South Asia and the Middle East, diverse jihadist groups, most specifically, those affiliated with Islamic State - Khorasan Province (IS-K) and jihadis critical of Afghan Taliban and Pakistani cooperation with Beijing, have begun to ratchet up anti-colonialist-anti-BRI discourse and to escalate violent attacks on high-value, BRI infrastructure, a trend that is likely to continue and to destabalize the Eurasian security environment. 

Turkey's Islamist President Perpetuates Genocide Denial

April 27, 2022

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called out US President Joseph Biden for America's recognition of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Turks, with the president of Turkey's Islamist regime condemning the US for relying on "false information and the absence of historical knowledge."

IS & Al-Qaeda Leaderships View Ukraine as Strategic Opportunity for Islamist Ops But Disagree on Tactics

April 27, 2022

 Leaderships of both IS and Al-Qaeda (AQ) are using their propaganda sites to celebrate the Russian war in Ukraine as a strategic opportunity for jihadist operations worldwide, but has disagreed about Chechen jihadists’ participation in support of Russia’s engagement, with IS urging a tactical focus on maximizing operations in Europe and rejecting any collaboration with “infidels” and AQ urging use of tactical opportunities in all contexts.