Shan A. Zain
Shan A. Zain is an expert on Middle-East and Asia-Pacific region based in New Delhi, India.
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Articles by Shan A. Zain
Saif al-Adl: The Last Candidate Left to Lead al-Qaeda after Zawahiri
Saif al-Adl is among a handful of remaining top al-Qaeda leaders and has been widely reported to be the one to take control of the international terrorist group if/when current...
Abu Muhammad al-Masri and Husam Abd al-Rauf—Deaths of Top Leaders Raise Questions About the Future of al-Qaeda
The global jihadist group al-Qaeda is experiencing an unprecedented crisis, having lost several key members of its central leadership this year. The latest prominent al-Qaeda figure to be killed is...
Will Egyptian-Born al-Qaeda Media Chief Husam Abd al-Rauf Succeed Zawahiri?
Husam Abd al-Rauf is among the few remaining al-Qaeda figures with a public profile. A prolific contributor to al-Qaeda’s jihadist productions and publications, al-Rauf has repeatedly threatened to target Western...
A Brief Overview of Abu Muhammad al-Masri: The Next in Line to Lead al-Qaeda
On June 14, a U.S. drone strike in Syria’s Idlib province killed Abu al-Qassam al-Urduni, a top al-Qaeda figure who was a commander of al-Qaeda affiliate Hurras al-Din. The death...
Sultan Aziz Azam: Can the Propagandist Revive IS-K’s Fortunes in Afghanistan?
While Islamic State’s (IS) so-called caliphate was crumbling in Syria, the group was gaining ground in Afghanistan. IS’ self-styled “Khorasan Province,” a.k.a. Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K), seized swathes of land...
Muhammad al-Madhuni: Islamic State’s Leader in Western Libya
Zainul Abid Muhammal al-Madhuni is an Islamic State commander operating from the Libyan city of Sabratah, which is presently controlled by militias. He was born in 1953 and grew up...
Abu Wardah Santoso: Indonesia’s Most Wanted
Zainul Abid Before the dust settled in the wake of a series of deadly bombings in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on January 14, fingers were pointing at Santoso Abu...
Haji Najibullah: A Brief Glimpse of the Leader of Afghan Taliban Splinter Group Feda’i Mahaz
A clandestine Taliban splinter group claimed the killing of British-Swedish journalist Nils Horner in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul in March. With this act, Islami Tehrik Fedai Mahaz, led by Haji Najibullah,...
Umar Qasmi: The Amir of a new Pakistani Taliban Splinter Group, Ahrar ul-Hind
In a rare strike at the heart of the heavily guarded Pakistani capital of Islamabad, three armed men stormed a district court on March 3, killing 11 people and injuring...
A Look at Influential al-Qaeda Member Abu Anas al-Libi and His Ties to Ansar al-Shari’a
In a clandestine operation that angered many Libyans, especially Islamists, U.S. Special Forces captured Nazih Abd al-Hamid al-Ruqai from outside his Tripoli home last October. Known as Abu Anas al-Libi,...
From Hardcore Militant to Peace Envoy: A Profile of Afghan Taliban No. 2 Mullah Baradar
Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the CIA conducted a joint operation on February 12, 2010 in which they captured senior Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in the Pakistani city...