Violence and Security

ICC Orders Reparations for Site Destruction in Mali

August 18, 2017

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has ordered a member of an al-Qaeda offshoot in Mali to pay hefty reparations for the destruction of mausoleums and mosques in the Malian city of Timbuktu, an important, precedent-setting case with implications for Islamist militants' destruction of religious sites in other parts of the world.
Intelligence Links US IS Supporter to Manchester Attack

August 18, 2017

New intelligence information related to the deadly suicide attack by an Islamic State (IS) supporter at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester in May shows that a US-based IS recruiter used encrypted messaging to provide input on the attack.
IS Perpetrates Terror Attack with Van in Barcelona

August 18, 2017

The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for a high-casualty terror attack using a van to plow into a crowd of civilians in Barcelona, patterned after the growing use of vehicles by IS supporters to perpetrate jihad in European states.
UN Chief Calls for End to Islamophobia, "Hate Speech"

August 17, 2017

Responding to questions from journalists on violence at recent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that "racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism or Islamophobia" have been "poisoning our societies," and called for people around the world to oppose "hate speech."
Taliban Leadership Threatens US on Afghan Policy

August 16, 2017

Senior Taliban leadership has sent an open letter to US President Donald Trump threatening that an increase in America's military presence and activities in Afghanistan will not impede the Islamist extremist group's objective of establishing a sharia state and instead will result in "further destruction of American military and economic might."
IS Targets Bosnia for Islamist Radicalization

August 15, 2017

One month after a major Islamic State (IS) online propaganda magazine called on returning Bosniak caliphate fighters to "spill the dirty blood of apostate" Muslims, the country's Islamic religious and political leaders are calling for counter-radicalization measures to prevent the further penetration of militant Islamism in the center of Europe.
Returning Balkan Jihadis Present Security Challenges

August 15, 2017

Balkan jihadis returning to Bosnia and surrounding countries from their fight to support the Islamic State caliphate in Syria are a complex amalgam of Islamist extremists, criminals, and mercenaries who present a sociopolitical integration and security challenge for Europe.
China Blocks UN Efforts Against Militant Islamism in Pakistan

August 15, 2017

China extended its hold on a proposal at the UN to designate a widely known Pakistani Islamist militant as a terrorist, thereby intensifying US concerns that China and Pakistan are willing to pursue their shared geopolitical objectives in Southwest Asia by supporting radical Islamist groups.
Burkina Faso Attack Confirms Expanding Islamist Footprint

August 14, 2017

Authorities suspect a coalition of radical Islamist groups as the perpetrator of a suicide attack against a restaurant popular with foreigners in Burkina Faso's capital city, signaling the spreading footprint of jihadi operations across West Africa.
IS Continues Kidnapping to Fund Resistance in Iraq

August 14, 2017

Iraqi parliamentary officials are reporting an escalation in the practice of civilian kidnappings by Islamic State (IS) militants, who are using ransom funds, some laundered through criminal networks, to finance resistance cells aimed at preventing the reconsolidation of Iraqi state control over territories captured from the IS caliphate.