The Islamic State, previously the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has been a key focus of global attention for the past several months, becoming the number one terrorist target for the United States and its Western allies. [1] However, one of the remarkable... MORE

On September 29, jihadist media outlet al-Furqan published a message by Abu Muhammad al-Adnani al-Shami, the so-called spokesman of the Islamic State (formerly the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria – ISIS) and the amir of ISIS in Syria. This 41-minute audio message was posted... MORE

India’s intelligence agencies have been investigating an espionage network reportedly run by Pakistan’s external intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), from Sri Lankan soil. The ISI uses legitimate government structures like the Pakistani High Commission and Consulate located in Colombo and Kandy, respectively, as staging... MORE

On September 15, the Islamic State, previously known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), launched a fourth siege on the Syrian city of Kobani (Ayn al-Arab in Arabic), capturing dozens of villages (International Business Times, September 22, 2014). The strategic location of... MORE

On August 29, several hundred Boko Haram militants stormed the town of Gwoza in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno State. Government buildings were taken over and churches destroyed, while local inhabitants were told that the town will be governed according to Shari’a (Sahara Reporters, August 12). A... MORE

A pair of recent airstrikes against Islamist-held targets in the Libyan capital of Tripoli have raised questions about Arab military intervention in Libya after reports emerged claiming the strikes were conducted by United Arab Emirates (UAE) aircraft using Egyptian airbases. The first strike, on August... MORE

Despite its growing reputation as one of the world’s best organized militant groups, the actions of the self-described “Islamic State” have been largely concentrated in Iraq and Syria. However, agents and affiliates of the Islamic State have begun to widen their rhetorical outreach and social... MORE

Before the June 30, 2013 coup that overthrew Muhammad Mursi, Egypt’s first civilian elected president, terrorist operations in Egypt were far fewer in number and scale, focusing mainly on blowing up gas pipelines supplying Egyptian gas to neighboring Israel. However, after the violent crackdown on... MORE

Only weeks after Sunni jihadists in Iraq declared the establishment of an Islamic caliphate covering parts of Syria and Iraq, Libya’s Ansar al-Shari’a movement has declared an Islamic emirate in eastern Libya after driving government forces and their allies from the city of Benghazi. The... MORE

Since the announcement of the Islamic State, Iraq’s Sunni jihadist movement has been obsessed with controlling geographical space in order to declare an Islamic caliphate, a move that, in addition to its symbolic importance, would help raise recruits and secure the movement’s logistics. The group... MORE