Violence and Security

Al-Shabaab Attacks Somali Military Base

June 14, 2017

The Islamic State (IS)-affiliated faction of the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab carried out a deadly attack on a Somali military base in the northeast corner of Somalia, a geostrategically important location in East Africa besieged by warfare between competing IS and al-Qaeda factions of al-Shabaab.
Boko Haram Shows Resilience with Nigeria Attack

June 14, 2017

The Islamist extremist group Boko Haram demonstrated its resilience in the war to establish a caliphate in West Africa by staging a massive attack on the key northeast Nigerian town of Maiduguri designed to disrupt the visit of Nigeria's Acting President to deliver food aid to Chad Basin refugees created by the jihadi group's terror attacks.
UK Reportedly Links Michigan Imam to Bridge Attacks

June 14, 2017

British authorities investigating last week's Islamic State-affiliated terror attack on London Bridge are exploring reports that one of the perpetrators had been radicalized by watching YouTube videos of a Michigan-base imam known for his online preaching sympathetic to jihadists fighting in Syria.
Pakistani Islamic Clerics Condemn Suicide Attacks

June 14, 2017

A group of 31 religious scholars from Pakistan's well-known Islamic Research Institute at the International Islamic University in Islamabad issued a fatwa clarifying the limits of violence in jihad and enforcement of blasphemy laws, including rejection of suicide bombings, terrorist activities, and vigilante mob justice.
Iranian-Backed Forces Capture IS Leader's HQ

June 06, 2017

The capture by Iranian-backed Iraqi Shiite forces of Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdad's headquarters in the Iraqi town of Baaj is a victory that will allow a shift in anti-IS military efforts to the Syrian front but also raises questions about the likely expansion of Iranian Shiite influence in any post-caliphate Iraq and Syria.
Australian Criminal Stages IS Hostage Incident

June 06, 2017

Melbourne police killed an Australian citizen with a long criminal record in a shootout after he staged an abduction and murder in support of Islamic State (IS) calls to its worldwide supporters to attack all countries fighting in the anti-IS coalition in Iraq and Syria.
Mosque Refuses to Funeralize Manchester Terrorist

June 06, 2017

The Manchester Central Mosque's refusal to funeralize the Islamic-State (IS) perpetrator of the attack on a Manchester concert site has renewed debate among Islamic scholars about the Koranic permissibility of high-casualty, jihadist violence against civilian targets.
Qatar Imbroglio Lays Bare Gulf Support for Extremism

June 06, 2017

The rupture in diplomatic relations by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and Egypt with Qatar due to Qatar's financing of Islamist radical and jihadi groups came on the heels of intensified British calls to address the comprehensive security threat posed by Saudi funding for the globalization of Islamist extremism and terror.
IS Hits London with Soft-Target Strategy

June 06, 2017

The Islamic State's (IS) claim that a British IS detachment perpetrated the recent, lethal van-and-knife attack in London is consistent with the jihadi group's intensified strategy of using vehicles and common weapons to execute sensational attacks against civilian soft targets in Western countries, raising new security challenges in combating violent Islamist extremism.
Authorities Link Manchester Bomber to IS Libya Franchise

June 06, 2017

Intelligence reports show that the Islamic State (IS) sympathizer who perpetrated the recent Manchester concert suicide attack was linked actively to the IS franchise in Libya, which has shown strong success in recruiting and radicalizing militants in a transnational network across the Mideast, Africa, and Europe.