Violence and Security

Trove of Documents Provides Insights on IS Operations

April 09, 2018

15,000 pages of Islamic State (IS) documents captured with the military defeat of IS in its core territories in Syria and Iraq reveal that the caliphate functioned through a combination of efficient bureaucracy, terrorizing brutality, and a diversified revenue stream, providing insights into the ways in which IS was able to both build appeal and impose compliance.
US Adds More Pakistani Islamist Groups to Terrorism List

April 09, 2018

The US State and Treasury Departments designated as foreign terrorists another round of Islamist organizations and leaders affiliated with Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Taiba, a radical Islamist powerhouse that has penetrated the Pakistani state’s intelligence and security services and that uses the country as a base for coordinating extensive jihadi networks throughout South Asia.
Experts Push for Reform of Nigerian Counter-Insurgency Strategy

April 09, 2018

Experts suggest the longterm defeat of Boko Haram jihadism depends on a paradigm shift in the counter-insurgency and security strategy of the Nigerian military, whose civilian massacres and extrajudicial actions have contributed to the radicalization and recruitment of the country's Muslim population.
Russia Convenes with Turkey, Iran on Ending Syria Conflict

April 09, 2018

The Presidents of Turkey, Iran, and Russia met in Ankara to discuss continuing collaboration to end the seven-year war in Syria, putting two openly Islamist governments and Russia at the center of developments to stabilize a post-Islamic State Syria as US President Donald Trump plans a quick US exit from the country.
Italy Detains Imam for Preaching Violence to Children

April 09, 2018

Italian police announced the detention of an Egyptian imam accused of preaching violence as part of Islam's call to proselytize and expand to children at a local cultural center, noting the arrest was part of a larger security operation to identify supporters of Islamist terrorism in Italy.
IS Shows Resilience in Iraq and Beyond

April 03, 2018

Security officials warn that the territorial defeat of the Islamic State (IS) has not terminated the group as an Islamist terror movement committed to the goal of a caliphate, evidenced in the continued attacks by IS cells in Iraqi territory, using insurgency tactics that target individuals for their symbolic and practical value in the "IS 2.0" effort.
Australian Police Train Officers in Islam Sensitivity

March 28, 2018

Australia’s Federal Police (AFP) is augmenting training in cybersecurity and law enforcement related to threats from radical Islamism, including from foreign fighters returning from Iraq and Syria, with a three-day training initiative educating AFP members on cultural and historical issues of sensitivity to Muslim communities.
Cameroon Faces Boko Haram Threat from Women, Children

March 28, 2018

Officials from Cameroon’s military report the growing cross-border threat from Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram in the form of women and children targeted for recruitment, based on recent arrests revealing that women and children were involved as suicide bombers and transporters of weapons and food.
Experts Suspect Islamist Rebels of Congo Civilian Massacre

March 28, 2018

Experts suspect the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a coalition of Islamist groups committed to overthrowing the government of Uganda, of perpetrating a massacre of civilians in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, part of a cross-border military campaign whose civilian casualties have drawn attention from the UN and several states in Central Africa.
Nigeria Pitches Proposal to Negotiate Boko Haram Amnesty

March 28, 2018

The proposal by Nigeria's president for negotiating an amnesty with the Islamist group Boko Haram, which has been waging a long war to impose sharia in West Africa, has provoked controversy in Nigerian politics centered around the ideological intentions of the jihadist group's competing factions and the integration of former jihadists into their home communities.