Violence and Security

UN Officials Blame Prison Conditions for "Extremism"

January 18, 2017

As the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched a manual on managing "violent extremist" prisoners and preventing radicalization in prison, UNODC officials pointed to poor prison conditions as a cause for radicalization and called for prison officials to follow global standards on the treatment of prisoners in dealing with "violent extremists."
IS Drone Use Rises in Iraq, Syria

January 17, 2017

Forces fighting in the anti-Islamic State (IS) coalition report a significant uptick in the use of drones by IS fighters, fueling anticipation among Western military experts that IS will continue to improve its capacity to weaponize drones for lethal jihadi activities.
IS Attack Signals New Islamist Phase in Indonesia

January 17, 2017

Security experts are suggesting that the recent suicide bombing attack perpetrated in Jakarta, Indonesia, by Islamic State (IS) supporters may signal a new phase of aggressive expansion of radical Islamist ideology and violence in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, with IS targeting Indonesia as an important base for jihadi expansion throughout Southeast Asia.
Morocco Bans Burqa on Grounds of Preventing Religious Extremism

January 17, 2017

Morocco's Ministry of the Interior is justifying the government's gradual ban of the burqa as a preventive security measure against penetration of Islamist extremist beliefs and practices viewed as alien to the country's indigenous Islamic culture and associated with Arabian Gulf Islamist regimes.
ICRC Event in Pakistan Promotes Islamic Law of War

January 04, 2017

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) recently partnered with the Islamic Research Institute, a think tank of the International Islamic University in Islamabad, Pakistan, to host a course in which participants sought to meld international humanitarian law and Islamic law into a single "Islamic code of conduct" for actions during wartime.
IS Attack in Turkey Reveals NATO Ally's Vulnerabilities

January 03, 2017

The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the recent terror attack in an Istanbul nightclub, underscoring the threat posed by Islamist jihadist groups to NATO-member Turkey, whose Islamist government is now facing blowback as "protectors of the cross" despite pursuing a policy of supporting IS fighters in the war against the Syrian regime.
UN Agents Praise End to US Visitor Registry

January 03, 2017

Two UN human rights mandate holders have praised the Obama Administration for dismantling the US National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), which required visitors from countries considered at risk for terrorism to complete special registration procedures, arguing that the program discriminated on the basis of race and religion under international human rights law.
EU Chief: "Openness" Is Best Tool to Fight Terror

January 03, 2017

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker highlighted the tension between proponents of tough security and vetting measures to confront European terror threats and proponents of policies emphasizing liberal idealism by asserting that "living together in freedom, coexistence, and openness" is the best way to combat terrorism in the EU.
Signs Point to Threat of IS Chemical Attacks in Europe

January 02, 2017

Britain's Security Minister has warned of evidence, including the recent recovery of chemical weapons raw materials from an Islamic State (IS) cell in Morocco, that European jihadists returning from IS front lines in the Mideast could perpetrate mass-casualty chemical weapons attacks in Europe.
IS Financial Degradation Has Yet to End Terror Activities

January 02, 2017

Counter-terrorism experts are reporting that, despite a significant degradation in the financial resources of the Islamic State (IS) as 2017 begins, there has yet to be a measurable decline in the corollary impacts of IS's capacity to conduct covert Islamist activities and terror attacks outside the caliphate heartland.