Violence and Security

Australia Debates Laws to Protect Against Islamist Extremism

August 13, 2019

Australia’s Parliament is considering new laws on prison sentencing and parole, along with the renewal of emergency-intelligence measures, designed to protect the country against the complex and evolving threat of Islamist extremism while respecting civil liberties.
American Muslim Leader Generates Controversy

August 13, 2019

Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, an American Muslim scholar and religious leader widely viewed by academic and policy experts as the leading voice and catalyst for the rapid growth of Islam in the US public sphere, is attracting intensified scrutiny for his shifting affiliations and mixed record on condemning Islamist violence.
Kazakhstan Experiments with Female IS Rehab Program

August 12, 2019

Kazakhstan is experimenting with a rehabilitation and deradicalization program for female returnees who either fought with the Islamic State (IS) or were part of IS families in Iraq and Syria, in a program whose success rate is being closely followed by Western countries.
CIA Funds Special Military-Intelligence Unit in Afghanistan

August 12, 2019

The concern of Western Alliance states that extremist Islamist groups may capture control of Afghanistan after the anticipated US troop withdrawal under negotiation between the US and the Taliban underlies the CIA's funding of a special military-intelligence force operating to root out extremists in the country.
Taliban Leadership Urges Continued Jihad During Holiday

August 09, 2019

The Afghan Taliban’s leadership urged their forces to fight without interruption throughout the current Islamic high holiday of Eid al-Adha to expel the US-led international stabilization force of “invaders” to realize the goal of establishing the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”
Saudi Decision to Host US Troops Could Lead to Blowback

August 09, 2019

Historical evidence indicates that Saudi Arabia’s decision to welcome US combat troops back to the kingdom as a move against Iranian Shiite activism may produce serious blowback in the form of renewed Sunni and Shiite Islamist jihadism worldwide.
US Official Warns of IS Resilience

August 07, 2019

The most recent quarterly report of the Lead Inspector General of the US Defense and State Departments on drawing down the anti-Islamic State (IS) coalition in Iraq and Syria warns of Islamist resilience and recommends improved training of local forces and a focus on humanitarian needs in refugee camps.
UK Counter-Terrorism Chief Seeks Social-Inclusion Measures

August 07, 2019

The head of Britain's counter-terrorism operations is calling for the incorporation of diverse social-inclusion measures that can address the core structural and educational factors that sustain Islamist extremism and that are contributing to the growth of right-wing nationalist extremism in the UK.
Taliban Continue Afghan Jihad During Peace Negotiations

August 07, 2019

Taliban forces continue their jihadist campaign inside Afghanistan, most recently with a high-casualty attack against a police station in Kabul, while the Islamist group engages in negotiations with the US over the anticipated draw-down of American troops in the war-torn country.
UNSC Warns of Forthcoming Spike in Islamist Terror Attacks

August 05, 2019

A new UN Security Council (UNSC) report by expert monitors of Islamist-extremist groups warns of the imminent threat of renewed terror attacks against Western targets before the end of the year 2019.