Violence and Security

IS Perpetrates Deadly IS Attack in Dagestan

February 21, 2018

Islamic State (IS) propaganda sites claimed responsibility for a deadly attack against worshipers in a Russian Orthodox Church in the country’s region of Dagestan, indicating the ongoing activity of networks of Islamist extremists in the geopolitically important North Caucasus.
Yemeni Man Pleads Guilty of Support for IS in Brooklyn Trial

February 21, 2018

A Yemeni-born US permanent resident has pled guilty on charges of support for Islamic-State (IS) terrorism in a Brooklyn court, admitting to seeking to join and recruit for IS, as well as to expressing interest in perpetrating a terrorist attack in New York.
US Battles with Diverse Array of Forces in Syria

February 21, 2018

The Syrian Democratic Forces that are fighting with US Special Operations to liberate the remaining parts of Syria from Islamic State and other Islamist militias are comprised of a diverse array of local Kurdish and Arab populations.
Court Sentences Texas Parents over Foreign-Fighter Statements

February 16, 2018

A court has sentenced to prison parents of two Texas men who traveled from their hometown of Plano to fight with Islamic State (IS) forces in Syria for lying to police and FBI investigators about their sons' whereabouts and about international terrorism.
US Pushes for Economic Sanctions on Pakistan

February 16, 2018

The New York Times reports that the US and its allies will push the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global body established to monitor and combat terrorism financing, to include Pakistan on a watch list for its alleged support of Islamist radical groups, a designation that will likely lead to economic sanctions against the country's government.
Indonesian Courts Begin Trial of IS Cleric

February 16, 2018

An Indonesian court has indicted Aman Abrdurrahman, a cleric who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) and who is accused of masterminding from his prison cell a series of terrorist attacks targeting civilians and "white foreigners" in the world's most populous Muslim-majority county.
UK Creates Tool to Block Online Terrorist Content

February 14, 2018

The UK's Home Office has announced that it has developed technology that can identify with a high degree of accuracy online terrorist content, such as propaganda from the Islamic State, and that it plans to share this tool with small social-media companies for use in blocking user from uploading such content to their platforms.
Morocco Trains Women to Prevent Islamist Radicalization

February 14, 2018

The Moroccan government’s approach to countering Islamist extremism includes an intensive focus on prevention and the deliberate incorporation of women trained as Quran experts to leverage the role of women at the grassroots societal level to direct youth away from recruitment and radicalization by violent Islamists.
"Chelsea Bomber" Receives Multiple Life Sentences

February 14, 2018

A US federal judge has given multiple life sentences to the Afghan-born, naturalized American citizen who perpetrated the bombing attacks in New York's Chelsea neighborhood, identifying the perpetrator as a "clear and present" danger to American national security due to the attacks and his efforts, while awaiting a sentence, to convert inmates to radical Islamist ideology.
"Hate Speech" Moves to Alternative Platforms

February 14, 2018

Politico reports on warnings from security experts and activists that the European Commission's focus on securing action from the major, global social-media companies on the removal of "hate speech" and terrorist propaganda is contributing to the shift of such "extremist" content to alternative platforms that escape EU and government scrutiny.