Briefs
Losuba Wongo: The Newest Rebel Commander in South Sudan
An attack on South Sudan’s military in a relatively peaceful part of the country in January of this year propelled a hitherto unknown army officer, Major Losuba Wongo, into the limelight in Africa’s newest state. Six soldiers were allegedly killed in the attack and several... MORE
A Post-Mortem Profile of Egyptian Jihadist Leader Hamam Mohamed Attiya
In a televised speech, Egyptian Interior Ministry spokesperson Major Gen Hani Abdel Latif announced on April 5 that the jihadist leader of Ajnad Misr (Soldiers of Egypt), Hamam Mohamed Ahmad Ali Attiya (a.k.a. Majid al-Din al-Masri), was shot to death during an exchange of fire... MORE
One Country, Two Governments, Plenty of Chaos: Portraits of Libya’s Competing Prime Ministers Abdullah al-Thinni of Tobruk and Omar al-Hasi of Tripoli
Libya is experiencing a very critical phase of its post-revolutionary era. The country is engulfed by a civil war in which a number of local conflicts and fault lines overlap (Terrorism Monitor, March 20, 2015). The international community, namely the UN, has stepped up efforts... MORE
A Post-Mortem Profile of AQAP Shari’a Official Harith bin Ghazi al-Nadhari
On January 31, a U.S. drone strike in Shabwah, a province in south Yemen, killed Shaykh Harith bin Ghazi al-Nadhari, a high-ranking jihadist scholar and one of the most prominent members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) (Yemen Times, February 2; al-Sharq al-Awsat, February... MORE
Zekerija Qazimi—Kosovo’s Imprisoned Imam and Ideological Mentor to Albanian Jihadists Fighting With Islamic State
Since August 2014, more than 100 individuals have been arrested or questioned by the security services in Kosovo, including a number of leading religious and political figures. These arrests stem from charges and allegations of recruiting young Albanian men and women from Kosovo to join... MORE
Islamabad’s Umme Hassan: Female Mobilizer and Jihadist Inspirer at the Red Mosque
In a video statement on November 24, 2014, burka clad students of Islamabad’s Lal Masjid-affiliated (Red Mosque) female seminary, Jamia-e-Hafsa, pledged allegiance to Islamic State amir Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. It was shocking, as the all-girls madrassa had long been known for supporting al-Qaeda and the... MORE
Hafiz Saeed Khan: Leading the Islamic State’s Violent Agenda in Afghanistan and Pakistan
In January 2015, the Islamic State’s chief spokesperson, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, announced the establishment of Wilayat Khurasan, covering a geographical region that roughly includes Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of Central Asia and India. In an audio message titled “Die in Your Rage!,” al-Adnani stated that... MORE
A Portrait of Djamel Beghal: An Inspiration for Charlie Hebdo Jihadists
Investigations into the January 2015 Paris attacks have drawn fresh attention to Djamel Beghal, a shadowy 49-year-old French-Algerian veteran of Europe’s first generation of jihadists. Formerly based in the UK but now jailed in France, Beghal is believed to have inspired—and perhaps actively directed—the attacks... MORE
A Brief Glimpse of Tajik Militants Fighting in the Ranks of the Islamic State
Militants from Tajikistan have travelled to Syria and Iraq in a steady trickle to join the Islamic State. Estimates of the number of Tajiks fighting there vary widely. Even the government agencies in Tajikistan cannot agree on a figure; the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced... MORE
Shakir Wahib: The Face of the Islamic State in Anbar Province
In the hot summer of 2013, jihadists filmed themselves stopping trucks on the main road linking Iraq with Syria and Jordan. [1] Their leader, wearing a shalwar kameez and wrapped in a military vest, appeared to be interrogating the drivers. The jihadist tested the truck... MORE