Following the Peshawar School Attack, Pakistan Moves Against Domestic Terrorism

The attack by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16 was a watershed moment in the country’s fight against terrorism. The death of 132 children transcended preconceived boundaries...

Egypt Struggles with Jihadist Challenge in Sinai

A series of attacks by the Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM) jihadist group against military checkpoints and facilities in northeast Sinai on January 29 killed at least 32 Egyptian soldiers and policemen, making this among the deadliest...

BRIEFS

KURDISH, IRAQI OFFENSIVES PUT THE SQUEEZE ON THE ISLAMIC STATE’S STRATEGIC LINES OF COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN RAQQA AND MOSUL

James Brandon

Following the Islamic State’s defeat by mainly Kurdish ground forces, backed by U.S.-led...

Islamic State Loots Archaeological Sites for Cash

By late 2013, more than 90 percent of Syria’s cultural sites lay in regions affected by fighting and civil unrest, leaving them open to plunder. In addition, regions of Iraq now under the control of the Islamic State militant...

‘Fight Them Until There Is No Fitnah’: The Islamic State’s War With al-Qaeda

Recent events have raised fresh questions over the relationship between the Islamic State militant group and al-Qaeda. For instance, militants from the Islamic State and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the group’s...

Islamic State Spurs Increased Jihadist Activity in Australia

The ongoing conflicts in Syria and Iraq have had a dramatic effect on the level of jihadist activity in Australia, leading to a rapid increase in the operational tempo of Australia’s counter-terrorism agencies. Their work has...

BRIEFS

BELGIUM: TRIAL UNCOVERS EUROPE’S FORGOTTEN JIHADISTS

James Brandon

One of Europe’s largest ever Islamism-related anti-terrorism trials concluded on February 11 with the conviction of Fouad Belkacem, the leader of...

The Father of the Taliban: An Interview with Maulana Sami ul-Haq

Maulana Sami ul-Haq is the director and chancellor of Pakistan's famous madrassa, Darul uloom Haqqania, Akora Khattak. He has served in this post since the death of his father, Maulana Abdul ul-Haq, the founder of the madrassa,...

Afghanistan's Veteran Jihadi Leader: An Interview with Qazi Mohammad Amin Waqad

Qazi Mohammad Amin Waqad is a former member of the Hizb-e-Islami leadership council, a party led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Waqad was one of three key anti-Soviet leaders of the mujahideen and served as Hekmatyar's lieutenant. He is...

Violence and Iraq’s Constitutional Referendum: An Interview with Fareed Sabri

Fareed Sabri is the spokesman of the Iraqi Islamic Party in the United Kingdom. He also served on the party's leadership council in the late 1990s. This interview was conducted by Terrorism Monitor Editor Mahan Abedin on October...