Violence and Security

Al Shabaab Attack Highlights Jihadi Footprint in East Africa

March 05, 2018

Al Shabaab, the Islamist militant group fighting to make Somalia a sharia state, staged a lethal attack on five police officers across the border in African Union member-state Kenya, underscoring the activity of jihadis expanding their footprint in East Africa.
US, Arab Governments Find Basis for Cooperation in Countering Islamism

March 05, 2018

US and Arab governments can look to facts on the ground to build effective cooperation to counter the spread of Islamist radicalism and violence, especially by supporting civil society debates and activism by liberal voice in Muslim-majority societies and by investing in development programs that provide youth with economic alternatives to Islamist militias.
Full Spectrum of Islamists Plans to Disrupt Egyptian Elections

March 05, 2018

The full spectrum of Islamist groups active in Egypt, from the Muslim Brotherhood to local al-Qaeda and Islamic-State affiliates, are using social media and other platforms to "wage jihad by all means" to disrupt the approaching presidential elections scheduled for later this month in Egypt, inciting an escalation in assaults targeting "the apostates, Christians."
IS Propaganda Activities Illustrate Adaptability

March 05, 2018

The military defeat of the Islamic State (IS) in its core caliphate territories of Iraq and Syria has produced a significant shift in the group's propaganda strategy, away from exclusive use of online platforms toward incorporation of offline activities such as family-clan social networking and pamphleteering.
Afghan President Offers Party Recognition to Taliban

March 01, 2018

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani has offered recognition to the Taliban as an official political party in exchange for the group's participation in a national ceasefire, moving to legitimize the Islamist terror group that has waged a long war against the Afghan government and that has been committed to implementing sharia law throughout the country.
IS Sleeper Cells Activate in Disputed Areas of Iraq

March 01, 2018

Islamic State (IS) sleeper cells have begun to stage military ambushes and targeted assassinations and kidnappings in the strategically significant areas of Iraqi territory that remain disputed between the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan regional government in Erbil, raising serious concerns about the possibility of a broader revival of IS.
Facebook Hires Counter-Terrorism "Intervention Providers"

March 01, 2018

Facebook is testing a program for "intervention providers" as an approach to countering the radicalization and recruitment of violent Islamists through social media platforms, hiring and training former victims of Islamist extremism, as well as former Islamist extremists, to search web profiles and to talk down radicals trolling in Facebook messenger.
Bahraini Jihadist Group Releases Iran-Style Logo

March 01, 2018

The Bahraini jihadist group Saraya al Ashtar released a new logo incorporating the branding of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, a calculated identity recalibration designed to convey the Bahraini group’s participation in the Shiite “Axis of Resistance” committed to “deterrence and martyrdom” against Sunni Islamist states and American allies in the Mideast.
Pakistan Avoids FATF "Grey List" at Paris Meeting

March 01, 2018

Despite a push from the US and other members of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to add Pakistan to the global money-laundering watchdog's "grey list" because of evidence of its government's financial and other support for extremist, violent Islamist groups, the FATF decided not to add Pakistan to this list at a recent meeting.
Iraq Court Sentences Women IS Fighters, Wives to Death

March 01, 2018

Some international rights groups have criticized Iraq's Central Criminal Court for sentencing 16 Turkish women to death, pending appeal, for the crime of "belonging to the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group," warning of the potential for coercion of women who went to Iraq either to join the caliphate or to marry IS fighters.