Violence and Security

Turkeys Maps Underscore Geopolitics of Islamist Expansionism

February 22, 2021

A well-known media and construction conglomerate connected to Turkey's Islamist government has circulated maps outlining Turkey’s geopolitical sphere of influence extending from the Caucasus into Europe and North Africa.
BBC: Pandemic Helps IS Resurgence in NE Syria

February 15, 2021

IS militants, who reconstituted their forces underground, are making gains towards the goal of recapturing control in northeast Syria, expanding practices of beheadings, kidnaps for ransom, and suicide bombings, following the ejection of Syrian government and Kurdish resistance forces as well as local police’s focus on pandemic security priorities.
Experts Brief UN Security Council on Potential Islamist Attacks in COVID Context

February 15, 2021

ABC News reports that a a panel of security experts briefed the UN Security Council on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the threat of violent Islamism, with empirical evidence showing how redirection of law enforcement resources towards pandemic management actually created permissive conditions for Islamist extremism in already existing conflict zones.
Italy’s Counter-Terrorism Prevention Against Islamist Extremism

February 15, 2021

Globalriskinsights.com reports that in order to combat Jihadism in Italy, security forces are retooling approaches that were once used to combat mafia corruption and leftist ideological terrorism.
Turkey Rounds Up Islamist Terrorists Under US & UN Pressure

February 10, 2021

Following a recent US Treasury and UN report that identified Turkey as a global hub for Jihadist funding, transit, and operations including IS, al-Qaeda and the Taliban, Turkey's police forces have have rounded up over 150 suspects connected to Islamist terror groups.
Executions on the Rise in Iran

February 10, 2021

The Iran Human Right Monitor reports that Iran’s courts have increased death sentences that disproportionately target ethnic minorities, political dissidents, and non-violent criminals in an attempt to use executions as a tool for intimidation and silencing of any opposition or “corruption” of the regime’s Islamist power structure.
Iran-Hezbollah Collaborate on Cyber Programs for Islamist Asymmetrical Warfare

February 10, 2021

According to a new report by Israeli experts at the ClearSky Cyber Security firm, Iran and Hezbollah have developed a multi-faced collaboration on cyber financing, technology, and capabilities, using disruption and other malign operations to wage asymmetrical warfare that support Islamist ideological and geopolitical priorities
US Treasury-Defense Update Reveals Key Facilitators of Global Islamist Terrorism

February 08, 2021

The US Treasury Department's recent update to the US Department of Defense on international terrorist financing and operations identifies Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkey as key facilitators of global Islamist financing, extremism, and violence.
HRW: UAE's Human Rights Violations Continue Despite Regime Rebrand

February 08, 2021

In a detailed report issued by Human Rights Watch (HRW), the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) diplomatic rebrand as a liberalizing, tolerant Islamic theocracy stands in sharp contrast to the widespread repression of human rights that targets free speech and labor rights activists across the Wahhabi Islamic kingdom.
Al Shabaab Expands Islamist Extremist Control in Kenya

February 03, 2021

Kenyan state officials are warning about the expanding territorial control of al Shabaab, the al Qaeda affiliate, over large portions of the country's northeast, highlighting the deteriorating security environment in East Africa.