Briefs
Bringing Militant Salafism to the Tuareg: A Profile of Veteran Rebel Iyad ag Ghali
Operating alongside the long-time Tuareg rebels and heavily armed veterans of the Libyan military that fill the ranks of Mali’s Mouvement National de Libération de l'Azawad (MNLA) is a smaller Salafist group led by Iyad ag Ghali, once the most prominent of Mali’s Tuareg rebels.... MORE
Comrade Jose (Victor Quispe Palomino): Leader of Peru’s Shining Path
Comrade Jose (a.k.a. Victor Quispe Palomino) is the leader of 350 to 500 guerillas in the faction of the Shining Path located in the River Apurimac and River Ene Valley (VRAE) of Peru (El Comercio, December 21, 2011). The leader of the Shining Path’s soon-to-be-defunct other... MORE
The Free Syrian Army: An In-Depth Profile of Colonel Riad Al-Asaad
Colonel Riad al-Asaad served in the Syrian Air Force since the late 1970s. As of July 2011, he is the commander of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), which currently represents the main dissident military organization opposing Bashar al-Assad’s regime. During his meetings with the media,... MORE
A Post-Mortem Analysis of AQAP Tribal Implementer Tariq al-Dhahab
Unlike most of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s (AQAP) releases, the death of Tariq al-Dhahab was confirmed by al-Fajr Media Centre, al-Qaeda’s official media arm, instead of Al-Malhim, AQAP’s media arm. This could represent a new effort designed to centralize the “condolence” statements and messages of... MORE
February 2012 Briefs
ABU SAYYAF AND JEMAAH ISLAMIYA MEMBERS KILLED IN AIRSTRIKE An airstrike on an Abu Sayyaf camp on the island of Jolo in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Philippines on February 3, 2012 killed 15 terrorists, including Zulkifli bin Hir (alias Marwan), Gumbahali Jumdail (alias... MORE
The Mastermind of Mayhem in Mumbai: A Profile of Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Zaki-ur Rahman Lakhvi
Outside the Indian subcontinent not much was known about the most prolific militant commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Zaki-ur Rahman Lakhvi, until the United States Treasury announced on May 27, 2008 that they had froze the assets of four of the top LeT leaders including Lakhvi.... MORE
Abu Baker al-Husseini Brings Al-Qaeda’s Iraqi Affiliate Back to Center Stage
The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI—Dawlat al-Iraq al-Islamiyyah), an umbrella organization for terrorist groups in Iraq including al-Qaeda in Iraq, suffered a blow when it lost its two top leaders in U.S. raids. These leaders were Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and his most senior aide Abu... MORE
A Snapshot of Brigadier Ijaz Shah: Bin Laden’s ISI Handler
Brigadier Ijaz Shah (Retd.), one of Pakistan’s most notorious spies, may not be a militant or terrorist in a practical sense of the word, but he is alleged to have been linked with some of the most high profile terrorists and the terrorist acts in... MORE
Post-Mortem Analysis: A Brief Profile of North Caucasian Militant Commander Biaslan Gochiyaev
An ethnic Karachay, Biaslan Gochiyaev was born in the city of Cherkessk, Karachay-Cherkessia in 1984. Some sources allege that he was a relative of Achemez Gochiyaev. [1] The latter was put on the international wanted list for bombing apartment blocks in Moscow in 1999. [2]... MORE
Special Report on Boko Haram: Nigeria’s Islamist Movement
The Jamestown Foundation is proud to announce the newest feature for our Militant Leadership Monitor annual subscribers – a Quarterly Special Report (QSR). In addition to receiving full access to the mlm.jamestown.org website, past archives of MLM, and new issues automatically delivered monthly to your... MORE