Briefs
Another look at General Khalifa Haftar: His Enemies and Allies in the Struggle for Libya
Over the past few months, General Khalifa Haftar has been one of the most important figures in the Libyan political landscape. He has recently launched a “bid” of sorts to assume a role as a strongman for Libya, showing the ability to boost consensus and... MORE
Dead or Alive – Sinai’s Most Wanted: Shadi al-Manei
Egyptian security officials claimed that Shadi al-Manei, a leader of the Sinai-based militant group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, was killed in an ambush set by tribesmen in Sinai on May 22 (al-Ahram, May 24). According to the police investigation, 15 men in vehicles and armed with... MORE
Legendary Kashmiri Militant Mast Gul Reemerges After Long Hibernation
Pakistani militant commander Haroon Khan, better known as Mast Gul in the Indian subcontinent, has reemerged after a hibernation, perpetrating a string of terrorist attacks inside Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province this February. He is known for his long association with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and... MORE
June 2014 Briefs
ISIS’ NEMESIS IN ALEPPO: KHALID HAYANI AND ITIHAD LIWA SHUHADA BADR Nicholas A. Heras In spite of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) success in Iraq, it is worth remembering that it is battling against a number of armed groups in Syria, not... MORE
Rais Mingaleev: A Post-Mortem Sketch on the Mysterious Leader of Tatar Jihadists
Rais Rinatovich Mingaleev was the first official leader of the Tatar jihadists. Based on a personal admission of carrying out attacks against Russian authorities and their policies in Tatarstan. He was accused of masterminding terrorist attacks and murder, which would have carried a life sentence... MORE
Keeping It in the Family: A Profile of Jibril Ibrahim, Leader of Darfur’s Justice and Equality Movement
Recent reports of military operations carried out in South Sudan’s northern borderlands by Darfur’s ?arakat al-Adl wa’l-Musawah (Justice and Equality Movement – JEM) have reinforced the movement’s reputation for mobility and political prowess. Despite the loss of movement founder Khalil Ibrahim to an air attack... MORE
Boko Haram Leader Abubakar Shekau: Dead, Deposed or Duplicated?
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau made international headlines on May 5, when he appeared in a video threatening to “sell as slaves in the market” more than 250 schoolgirls that Boko Haram kidnapped (Vanguard [Lagos], May 6). Although this video gave Shekau notoriety around the... MORE
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, achieved the international notoriety that the group with its media propaganda has been working toward.... MORE
Jasim Uddin Rahmani: A Portrait of the Spiritual Leader of Bangladesh’s Ansarulla Bangla Team
Of late, Bangladesh has witnessed a renewed surge of Islamic radicalism, which has led to intermittent confrontations between liberal-progressive forces and Islamic hardliners. The Shahabag protests of early 2013 remain sketched in public memory as a bloody example of this ideological conflict which not only... MORE
May 2014 Briefs
SKETCHES OF SHAYKH SHA'BAN MAD'OUD KHALIFA HADIA AND UTHMAN MLIQTA, RIVAL LIBYAN MILITIA COMMANDERS Nicholas A. Heras Militias operating under the name of the Libyan National Army, and loyal to the Libyan General Khalifa Haftar, moved into Tripoli on May 18. These militias are trying... MORE