Briefs
Boko Haram’s Man in Cameroon: Alhaji Abdalla
Since Boko Haram kidnapped seven members of the French Moulin-Fournier family in February 2013, its first major operation in Cameroon, the militant group’s operations in Cameroon have steadily increased. Throughout 2014, Boko Haram attempted to seize control of the four most important border points connecting... MORE
A Look at the Life of Iran’s Legendary IRGC Commander – Qasem Soleimani
In the eyes of his supports and foes alike, Qasem Soleimani is a man larger than life. In the West, Soleimani, the commander of the elite Quds forces of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, is viewed as the fearsome evil genius behind most Iranian intelligence and... MORE
The Rise of Azerbaijani Fighters in Syria – A Profile of Muhammad al-Azeri
As fighting for the northern Syrian town of Kobane raged in early October, videos of Islamic State militants speaking the Azerbaijani language began appearing on YouTube (RFE/RL, October 14). These video clips were followed by reports about Azerbaijani nationals found among dead Islamic State fighters... MORE
A Post-Mortem Analysis of Muhsen al-Fadhli – Former Head of Syrian AQ Affiliate Khorasan
In September, the United States conducted successful attacks against terrorist groups fighting in Syria. While the bulk of the strikes focused on the Islamic State organization, other missiles targeted the Khorasan Group, a splinter of Jabhat al-Nusra. The missiles not only leveled the group’s training... MORE
Europe’s Most Wanted Woman: Panagiota Roupa and the Rebirth of Greek Anarchist Group Revolutionary Struggle
The economic chaos of the last six years has dramatically affected Greek politics, allowing extremism to flourish, from the right-wing Golden Dawn party to the revitalization of the anarchist guerrilla group Revolutionary Struggle. On October 17, Panagiota (Pola) Roupa, the 45-year-old de facto head of... MORE
Apocalyptic Jihadist: Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent Chief Aasim Umar
Following years of futile attempts and intermittent incitements to South Asia’s teeming Muslim communities, the transnational terrorist group al-Qaeda finally formalized its operational presence in the region on September 3, 2014, by announcing the formation of a dedicated jihadist wing called Qaedat al-jihad fi Shabhi... MORE
Pakistan’s Prison Break Expert: A Profile of Adnan Rashid and His Group Ansar al-Aseer
Few people in the Pakistani jihadist scene have managed to ascend in the jihadist ranks as quickly as Adnan Rashid. A former professional airman who served in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Rashid gained fame among jihadists for his planning and execution of prison-breaks. These... MORE
Rising through the Ranks: A Portrait of Jabhat al-Nusra’s Abu Malik al-Shami
Abu Malik al-Shami (a.k.a. Abu Malik al-Tala) is the commander of al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra (JN – Victory Front) in Syria’s mountainous Qalamoun region on the Syrian-Lebanese border west of Damascus. Al-Shami’s faction of JN has become one of the most powerful armed opposition factions... MORE
Tunisia’s Most Wanted: A Profile of Lokman Abu Sakhr
After the successful revolution of 2011 that overthrew long-standing dictator Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia has gone through a complex transition period, whose end is still far from over. In this changing context, jihadist terrorism has increasingly become an issue for the Tunisian authorities. Although... MORE
Abu Muhammad al-Adnani: The Syrian Face of ‘Islamic State’
One of the major pieces of advice that jihadist ideologues have been giving their followers in the new areas where they are operating is to make local members leaders in order to reassure their local hosts and convince them to adopt their jihadist ideology. Abu... MORE