Zachary Abuza
Zachary Abuza is a professor at the National War College, where he specializes in Southeast Asian Security issues.
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Articles by Zachary Abuza
Death of Islamic State East Asia Leader Abu Dar Puts Philippine Militant Leadership in Flux
On June 28, a pair of suicide bombers (Rappler, June 29) struck a Philippine outpost, killing five and wounding nine. It was the third suicide bombing in a year, in...
Myanmar’s Tatmadaw and the Making of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army
Since August 25, Myanmar’s security forces have conducted what the United Nations (UN) has described as “a textbook case of ethnic cleansing” against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. It...
The Uighurs and China’s Regional Counter-Terrorism Efforts
Members of China’s Uighur population have played a small but important role in the spread of global jihad, and Beijing is playing an increasingly assertive role in pursuing them as...
A Biographical Sketch of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s Murad Ebrahim
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is the Philippines’ largest Islamic secessionist and insurgent movement and is led by a man named al-Haj Murad Ebrahim. For the last eight years Ebrahim...
New Directions for Indonesian Militants after Successful Counterterrorist Operations
Since a terrorist training camp was discovered in the northwestern Indonesian province of Aceh last February, Indonesia’s Densus-88 counterterrorism police have arrested over 100 people and killed 13, significantly damaging...
Umar Patek: Indonesia’s Most Wanted
Indonesian authorities killed one of the most wanted members of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), Joko Pitoyo (a.k.a. Dulmatin) in a shootout at a Jakarta Internet café on March 10, 2010, (see...
Abu Sayyaf Group’s Notorious Chieftain: A Profile of Khadaffy Janjalani
In the first week of August, intense fighting broke out against a faction of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) militants on the southern Philippine Island of Jolo (Sun Star [Cebu], August...
Indonesian Counter-Terrorism: The Great Leap Forward
Too often the news surrounding terrorism is dominated by the headline-catching acts of terrorism, such as last summer’s twin suicide bombings in Jakarta, or the take-down of terrorist operatives such...
Manila Bombing Highlights Possible Shift in ASG Strategy
On the evening of November 13, a remote control bomb attached to a motorcycle was detonated at one of the entrances of the Philippine Congress in Manila, killing Congressman Wahab...
MILF Seeks Leverage as Fighting Against Abu Sayyaf and MNLF Escalates
On August 3, U.S. federal agents arrested Rahmat Abdhir, a 43-year old dual Malaysian national working as a computer engineer in California. In the 16-count indictment, he was charged with...
Indonesia Neutralizes JI as Immediate Threat
Last week's capture of top Islamist militants Yusron Mahmudi (known as Abu Dujana) and Zarkasih (known as Nu'aim and Abu Irsyad) by Indonesian authorities has important implications for Jemaah Islamiya...
The Role of Foreign Trainers in Southern Thailand’s Insurgency
The first five months of 2007 have seen a dramatic increase in both the lethality and brutality of the Thai insurgency, prompting numerous Thai military officials to suspect the growing...
JI Adopts New Strategy: Targeted Assassinations
In March, Indonesian police raided Jemaah Islamiya (JI) safehouses in the Javanese cities of Yogyakarta, Semerang and Surabaya, leading to the arrests of seven suspects, the death of one and...
Zulkifli bin Hir: JI’s U.S.-Trained Engineer
On March 27, the U.S. government added Malaysian national Zulkifli bin Hir to its list of most wanted terrorists. At the same time, it upped the bounty on his head...
Jemaah Islamiya Still a Potent Force for Violence in Southeast Asia
While many have written off Jemaah Islamiya (JI), the Southeast Asian terrorist group responsible for two in bombings in Bali in 2002 and 2005 and two in Jakarta in 2003...
MNLF May Quit the Peace Process in the Philippines
When looking at the multitude of insurgent problems in the Philippines, one tends to overlook the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which signed a peace agreement with the Philippine government...
Jemaah Islamiya Enters Regrouping Phase
In response to President George W. Bush's November visit to Indonesia, there have been demonstrations by Islamist parties and organizations, as well as increased terrorism threat warnings (Jakarta Post, November...
Japan Vulnerable to Attacks from Jemaah Islamiya
Japan's immediate security concern is the threat posed by North Korea, which conducted a nuclear test on October 9. Yet, the country has been singled out by al-Qaeda leader Osama...
The Effects of Thailand’s Coup on the Southern Insurgency
One of the justifications for the recent coup in Thailand was Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's mishandling of the southern insurgency, which has claimed some 1,700 lives in the past two-and-a-half...
Hat Yai Bombings Mark Shift in Tactics by Thai Insurgents
On September 16, approximately six bombs went off in the southern Thai city of Hat Yai. The bombs killed at least four people, including a Canadian citizen, and wounded around...
A Breakdown of Southern Thailand’s Insurgent Groups
Thailand has faced an Islamist secessionist movement since 2001-2002 that has led to the deaths of more than 1,500 people. There have been nearly 400 successful bombings, many more attempted...
Peace Talks Resume as Cease-Fire Comes Under Strain in the Philippines
Monday, September 4 saw the resumption of formal peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The government had announced...
Abu Sayyaf Group’s Notorious Chieftain: A Profile of Khadaffy Janjalani
In the first week of August, intense fighting broke out against a faction of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) militants on the southern Philippine Island of Jolo (Sun Star, August 15)....
Indonesian Jihadis Dispatched to Lebanon
Indonesian press reports suggest that the events in the Middle East are reverberating in Southeast Asia beyond the pro forma anti-Israeli and anti-U.S. demonstrations as two organizations announced that they...
JI’s Moneyman and Top Recruiter: A Profile of Noordin Mohammad Top
Of all the known leaders of Jemaah Islamiya (JI) at large, no one strikes more fear than Noordin Mohammad Top. A Malaysian national, he along with his compatriot, the late...
MILF’s Stalled Peace Process and its Impact on Terrorism in Southeast Asia
Early July saw a spate of fighting that has seriously challenged the peace process in the southern Philippines. The fighting began with attacks by pro-government paramilitaries on Moro Islamic Liberation...
Indonesians Infiltrate Southern Thailand’s Insurgency
While the Thai government goes to great lengths to state that the insurgency in Southern Thailand is solely a domestic affair, there is evidence that a growing number of Indonesians...
Dulmatin, JI’s Top Technician, Trains a New Generation of Fighters
Of the known leadership of Jemaah Islamiya (JI) at large, there is no one with a higher price on his head than Joko Pitoyo (known as Dulmatin), who commands a...
Surge of Bombings Rock Thailand’s Troubled South
On June 15, an unprecedented number of bombings rocked the three troubled provinces of Southern Thailand, where an Islamist insurgency has been underway for more than two years and has...
Malaysia Announces the Arrest of 12 Darul Islam Members
The Malaysian government recently announced that between March 16 and April 3 they had arrested 12 individuals who were part of the Darul Islam (DI) organization; authorities allege that they...
Southern Thailand Still Suffering from Insurgent Violence
By April, the commander of Thailand's 4th Army, Lieut. Gen. Ongkorn, asserted that, "The situation in the three southern border provinces should improve since the militant network has been weakened...
Philippine Forces Apprehend Three Abu Sayyaf Militants
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) recently announced the capture of three members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG); all three were wanted in conjunction with their roles in...
JI’s Two-Pronged Strategy in Indonesia
Two recent reports based on Indonesian police and intelligence sources regarding Jemaah Islamiya's (JI) changing strategies suggest that the organization continues to have a two-pronged strategy of both targeting Western...
Abu Dujana: Jemaah Islamiyah’s New al-Qaeda Linked Leader
With the death of Jemaah Islamiyah's (JI) master bomb-maker, Azahari bin Husin, there has been intense speculation over JI's current leadership, in particular the position of Amir ("spiritual leader"), which...
How the Cartoon Controversy May Spur Terrorism in Southeast Asia
While the protests over the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed have spread to Southeast Asia, they have been smaller and less lethal than in other parts of the world. Yet,...
Alternate Futures for Thailand’s Insurgency
The Thai insurgency has formally entered its third straight year. Between January 2004 and January 2006, more than 1,200 people were killed. In January 2004, violent incidents averaged 30 per...
Beyond Bali: A New Trend for Terrorism in Southeast Asia?
On September 27, Gareth Evans—president of the respected International Crisis Group (ICG) and former Australian foreign minister—gave a keynote address in Australia in which he proclaimed, “JI no longer poses...
Terrorism in Southeast Asia: Keeping Al-Qaeda at Bay
Southeast Asia has emerged as an important front on the war on terror. The regional al-Qaeda affiliate Jemaah Islamiya has launched two major terrorist attacks since October 2002, and, despite...
The Trial of Abu Bakar Ba’asyir: A Test for Indonesia
On October 27, the re-trial of the alleged spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), Abu Bakar Ba'asyir began. While significant in its own right, the trial is in many ways...
A Conspiracy of Silence: Who is Behind the Escalating Insurgency in Southern Thailand?
On January 4 2004, militants conducted simultaneous raids on police and military posts across three provinces in Thailand's Muslim majority south. The raids were well coordinated and displayed considerable planning...
Out of the Woodwork: Islamist Militants in Aceh
The humanitarian catastrophe caused by the December 26 tsunami has led to an outpouring of humanitarian aid and support from some unlikely quarters. While media attention has focused on how...
The State of Jemaah Islamiya and the Future of Terrorism in Southeast Asia
The war on terror has continued apace in Southeast Asia, and the governments in the region and their Western counterparts deserve credit for the arrests of some 250 Jemaah Islamiya...
OUT OF THE WOODWORK: ISLAMIST MILITANTS IN ACEH
The humanitarian catastrophe caused by the December 26 tsunami has led to an outpouring of humanitarian aid and support from some unlikely quarters. While media attention has focused on how...
The Trial of Abu Bakar Ba’asyir: A Test for Indonesia
On October 27, the re-trial of the alleged spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), Abu Bakar Ba'asyir began. While significant in its own right, the trial is in many ways...
Terrorism In Southeast Asia: Keeping Al-qaeda At Bay
Southeast Asia has emerged as an important front on the war on terror. The regional al-Qaeda affiliate Jemaah Islamiya has launched two major terrorist attacks since October 2002, and, despite...
The State Of Jemaah Islamiya And The Future Of Terrorism In Southeast Asia
The war on terror has continued apace in Southeast Asia, and the governments in the region and their Western counterparts deserve credit for the arrests of some 250 Jemaah Islamiya...