Violence and Security

Islamist Violence Rocks Central Africa with Attack in Democratic Republic of Congo

January 31, 2023

Islamist militants continue their violent destabilization of the region of Central Africa, evidenced in the recent multi-casualty attack on a village in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that state security officials attribute to IS-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an insurgent group operating across the Uganda-DRC border which, only two weeks ago, carried out a deadly attack on a DRC church.
Iran Hangs British-Iranian National in Effort to Shut Down Domestic Unrest & to Signal Contempt for West

January 17, 2023

Iran’s Islamic theocracy executed a dual British-Iranian national accused of espionage, in a signal of contempt for Western warnings against the hanging and in an effort to send a message to nation-wide protestors that all forms of dissent will be met with maximalist measure to protect the Islamic Revolution.
Jihadists Kidnap Women in Burkina Faso in Further Destabilization of African Security Environment

January 17, 2023

Jihadists kidnapped an estimated 60 women in Burkina Faso, where chronic poverty and poor governance have aggravated the country’s ongoing vulnerability to al-Qaeda and Islamic State militants whose operations are producing a precipitous in destabilization of the African Continent’s security environment.
Times Square New Year's Eve Attacker Brought Up on Federal Charges of Terrorism for Jihadist Commitments

January 17, 2023

The attempted murder charges against the assailant who attacked New York police officers with a machete at the Times Square New Year's Even celebrations is now being brought up on federal charges of terrorism on account of his self-declared violent Islamist commitments, including his intention to wage jihad against the US government.
IS Suicide Bomber Hits Kabul as Competing Islamist Groups Destabilize Afghanistan

January 17, 2023

IS claimed responsibility for a multi-casualty suicide bombing outside the Foreign Ministry in Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul, with the attack underscoring the destabilizing security environment and human costs of the jihadist competition for hegemony between IS and Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban regime.
US Announces $10 Mn Bounty on Somalia’s Al-Shabaab Leader

January 11, 2023

In a move signaling the intensification of US counter-terrorism operations against Islamist extremism in Africa, the State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program announced a $10 million bounty on Maalim Ayman, the al-Shabaab military mastermind of the 2020 attack by the Somali-based jihadist group on a Kenya based used by US counter-terrorism forces active in East Africa.
New Year’s Eve Machete Attack in NY Times Square Reveals Islamist Connections

January 03, 2023

US federal and New York (NY) state inquiries underway into the machete attack against police officers in NY’s Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration has revealed the assailant’s sympathies for radical Islamist ideology, based on his handwritten diary detailing his desire to join the Taliban in order to die as a jihadist martyr, with the attack indicating the seriousness of NY law enforcement concerns about an Islamic State aligned video encouraging line wolf attacks.
Benin’s Uptick in Jihadi Violence Points to Spreading Islamist Extremist Threat in West Africa

January 03, 2023

The sharp uptick in intimidation and violence in the Africa country of Benin by jihadist groups affiliated with IS and Al-Qaeda points to the spreading threat of Islamist extremism across West Africa’s Sahel region, from inland countries to the coastal countries that affect both Africa’s economies and international trade and commerce, and state security responses focused on detentions and military activities are causing human rights violations that, according to some experts on conflict prevention, may worsen social grievances that are contritions to jihadist recruitment.
Resurgent IS Remains Security Threat for 2023

December 28, 2022

International security experts warn that the Islamic State’s (IS) loss of core caliphate territory in Iraq and Syria has not eliminated the global threat posed by the Islamist extremist group on 2023, given the operational strength and geographic scope of IS branches and affiliates worldwide and especially in light of the clear and present danger that Turkey’s invasion of northern and eastern Syria will enable a tens of thousands of IS militants and sympathizers to go free from prisons currently guarded by pro-West Kurdish forces.
Lethal Attack on Iraqi Police Reflects Durable IS

December 26, 2022

IS militants posted news on their Telegram social media channel of their lethal attack on Iraqi police officers in Kirkuk, an oil-rich, major city north of Baghdad, with the explosive attack and gunfire against Iraqi security forces signaling the durability and resilience of the Islamist extremist group's threat in their former caliphate territories.