Latest Articles about Middle East
Umm Adam: The Architect Behind the Islamic State’s Matchmaking Network
Fatiha Mohamed Taher Housni al-Mejjati (a.k.a. Umm Adam), is a member of the Islamic State’s media committee and therefore one of the most powerful women in the organization (The Africa Channel, January 15). Wearing black from head to toe with a strong, bulky physique and... MORE
A Portrait of the Islamic State’s British Propagandist Ifthekar Jaman
Since the start of the Syrian civil war, British police estimate that at least 700 British Muslims are believed to have traveled to that country to fight for various jihadist groups (BBC, September 18). Few have so far achieved significant leadership positions or any enduring... MORE
Asia Ahmed Mohamed: Spain’s Islamic State Recruiter in Ceuta
Born into a Muslim family in Spain’s Ceuta, Asia Ahmed Mohamed is just one of several Spanish women who have traveled to Iraq or Syria to join the Islamic State or another jihadist militia. She became connected to the militant group when she was searching... MORE
The Evolution of Sunni Jihadism in Lebanon Since 2011
Since the Syrian civil war began in early 2011, the conflict has reignited sectarian tensions in neighboring Lebanon, transforming parts of the country into flashpoints of violence and operational spaces for militant groups. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Sunni jihadists, as well as a variety... MORE
The Kurdish Predicament in Syria: Balancing Russia, Turkey and the United States
Russia, on September 30, launched airstrikes in support of the Syrian government in order to stop the advance of the Turkish and Saudi-backed Islamist Sunni rebel group Jaysh al-Fatah (“Army of Conquest”) into the country’s coastal Alawite Shi’a heartlands (NowLebanon, August 27). Meanwhile, the United... MORE
Islamic State Branch in North Caucasus Follows Same Organizational Pattern as Caucasus Emirate
The head of the Russian Investigative Committee’s branch in Dagestan, Eduard Kaburneyev, recently made public that a criminal investigation has been launched into the establishment of the “Velayat Dagestan of the Islamic State” criminal group (Gazeta.ru, October 22). The Investigative Committee has named Rustam Asilderov... MORE
Moscow Still Calling on West to Join ‘Broad’ Anti-IS Coalition, but Patience Is Running Thin
The Russian military has intensified the bombing campaign in Syria to its limit. Ministry of Defense (MoD) officials told journalists that, on October 27, Russian bombers flew 71 sorties and hit 118 targets in the northwestern Syrian provinces of Idilb, Hama, Homs and Aleppo as... MORE
Russia’s Naval Encirclement of Syria
Recent statements by Russia’s top brass concerning precision-strike capabilities against “terrorist” targets in Syria, future basing plans and the high-profile use of cruise missiles launched from the Caspian Sea, on October 7, indicate a level of confidence within the military concerning the overall operation. It... MORE
Russia’s Syria Intervention and the Implications for the South Caucasus
The wider South Caucasus region is conspicuously located between the battlefields of Syria and the Caspian Sea. Therefore, Russia’s use of cruise missiles, launched (on October 7) by ships belonging to its Caspian Flotilla, to hit targets in Syria had inadvertently put the region briefly... MORE
Al-Assad Leaves Moscow, Assured of the Kremlin’s Unequivocal Support
This week (October 20), Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited Moscow for talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in the Kremlin. Russia began an aerial bombing campaign in Syria on September 30, to suppress the Syrian opposition forces, which Moscow and Damascus indiscriminately designate as... MORE