 | Profile: Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi |
| (June 2022) - An Iraqi national held prisoner at the Guantanamo Bay detention center for more than 15 years has pled guilty to war crimes charges for his role in Al-Qaida attacks against U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan. Born in Mosul in 1961, Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi is reputed to be a former Major in the Iraqi army who later became Al-Qaida's top field commander in Afghanistan and arguably the central conduit for relations between Al-Qaida and the Taliban. In his public statements, among other things, al-Iraqi praised the "blessed mujahideen attacks" on September 11, 2001 and encouraged the killing of Western journalists. |
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| State-Sanctioned Hacktivism: The Syrian Electronic Army |
| (October 2020) - From the Middle East Institute (MEI) anthology, Cyber War & Cyber Peace in the Middle East: Digital Conflict in the Cradle of Civilization, this chapter details the colorful history of Syria’s pro-government hackers – their major operations, their idiosyncratic strategy, and their flair for spectacle. |
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| Charlie Hebdo and the Jihadi Online Network: Assessing the Role of
American Commercial Social Media Platforms |
| (January 2015) - Testimony of Evan F. Kohlmann with Laith Alkhouri and Alexandra Kassirer Before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade: "The Evolution of Terrorist Propaganda: The Paris Attack and Social Media" |
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| Profiles of Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq |
| (September 2014) - CTC Sentinel. Vol 7.; No. 9. September 2014. Combating Terrorism Center,
United States Military Academy (West Point). |
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| Convoy of Martyrs in the Levant |
| (June 2013) - A joint study charting the evolving role of Sunni foreign fighters in the armed uprising against the Assad regime in Syria. |
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| The Antisocial Network: Countering the Use of Online Social Networking Technologies by Foreign Terrorist Organizations |
| (December 2011) - Testimony of Evan F. Kohlmann with Josh Lefkowitz and Laith Alkhouri Before the House Committee on Homeland Security, "Jihadist Use of Social Media – How to Prevent Terrorism and Preserve Innovation” |
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| Beyond Bin Laden: The Future of Al-Qaida and U.S. Homeland Security |
| (May 2011) - Testimony of Evan F. Kohlmann with Laith Alkhouri Before the House Committee on Homeland Security: "Threats to the American Homeland after Killing Bin Laden: An Assessment” |
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| Al-Qaida’s Yemeni Expatriate Faction in Pakistan |
| (January 2011) - CTC Sentinel. Vol 4.; No. 1. January 2011. Combating Terrorism Center, United States
Military Academy (West Point). |
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| Bringing Global Jihad to the Horn of Africa: al Shabaab, Western Fighters, and the Sacralization of the Somali Conflict |
| (November 2010) - Sacralization of conflict is the process through which religion, or, in most cases, a militant interpretation of it, evolves from being an irrelevant or secondary factor at the onset of a conflict to shaping the views, actions, and aims of one or more of the conflict's key actors. The article outlines how this phenomenon has taken place in Somalia over the past twenty years by looking at two related phenomena: (1) the rise to prominence of al Shabaab, a group that, unlike its predecessors, follows a global jihadist ideology, and (2) the arrival of foreign fighters, particularly from Western countries, attracted more by global jihadist ideology than ethnic ties or nationalist sentiments. |
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| The Role of Saudi Arabian State Sponsored Charitable Fronts in Providing
Material Support to Foreign Paramilitary and Terrorist Organizations |
| (July 2010) - Testimony of Evan F. Kohlmann Before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs: "Evaluating The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, S. 2930" |
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| A Beacon for Extremists: The Ansar al-Mujahideen Web Forum |
| (February 2010) - CTC Sentinel. Vol 3.; No. 2. February 2010. Combating Terrorism Center,
United States Military Academy (West Point). |
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| Sunni spokesman open to better ties with U.S.: An Interview with the
Islamic Army of Iraq (IAI) |
| (August 2009) - In an exclusive interview with NBC, the official spokesman for a Sunni insurgent group, the Islamic Army in Iraq, denounces al-Qaida and expresses interest in better relations with the U.S. |
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| “The Eleven”: Saudi Guantanamo Veterans Returning to the Fight |
| (February 2009) - On February 2, 2009, the Ministry of the Interior of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia issued a new public roster of most wanted Al-Qaida terrorist suspects sought in connection with credible threats of violence inside the Arabian Peninsula. Since 2003, the Saudi government has issued at least three other similar wanted lists, known respectively as the 19 wanted (May 2003), the 26 wanted (December 2003), and the 36 wanted (June 2005). Of the 85 names listed by the Interior Ministry, at least eleven men now wanted by Saudi authorities are known to be former detainees at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba who were later transferred into the custody of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. |
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| Pakistani militants deny role in Mumbai terror attacks |
| (December 2008) - Lashkar’s political wing offered reporters in Pakistan a rare tour of their sprawling, 200-acre headquarters today, and allowed me to interview one of their top officials yesterday. In a phone interview, the LET’s Abdullah Muntazir repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks. |
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| Inside As-Sahaab: The Story of Ali al-Bahlul and the Evolution of Al-Qaida's Propaganda |
| (December 2008) - In November 2008, a military jury convened under the authority of the Guantanamo Bay Military Commissions convicted Yemeni national Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al-Bahlul of conspiracy, solicitation, and providing material support to terrorism in violation of the Military Commissions Act of 2006. Al-Bahlul was subsequently sentenced to a life term in a U.S. military prison.1 Yet, Mr. al-Bahlul was no ordinary footsoldier or conventional military commander in the service of Al- Qaida. Rather, he had been personally chosen by Usama Bin Laden in order to help develop another key battlefront in Al-Qaida’s war on the United States: the “media jihad.” The story behind Mr. al-Bahlul and his personal recollections of serving as the chief of Al-Qaida’s As-Sahaab Media Foundation offer unprecedented insights into the history of As- Sahaab, its mission, and how it has evolved over time into the global phenomenon that exists today. |
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| Anatomy of a Modern Homegrown Terror Cell:
Aabid Khan et al. (Operation Praline) |
| (September 2008) - In June 2006, a team of British law enforcement units (led by the West Yorkshire Police) carried out a series of linked arrests in the cities of London, Manchester, Bradford, and Dewsbury in the United Kingdom. The detained suspects in the investigation known as “Operation Praline” included 22-year old British national Aabid Hussain Khan; 21-year old British national Sultan Mohammed; and 16-year old British national Hammaad Munshi. All of the men would later be indicted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for violations of Section 57 of the U.K. Anti- Terrorism, Crime, and Security Act of 2001. In August 2008, following a jury trial at Blackfriars Crown Court in London, Khan, Mohammed, and Munshi were found guilty of charges that included possessing an article for a purpose connected with the commission, preparation, or instigation of an act of terrorism, and making a record of information likely to be useful in terrorism. |
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| Al-Qaida's MySpace: Terrorist Recruitment on the Internet |
| (January 2008) - CTC Sentinel. Vol 1.; No. 2. January 2008. Combating Terrorism Center,
United States Military Academy (West Point). |
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| State of the Sunni Insurgency in Iraq (2007) |
| (August 2007) - This report, “State of the Sunni Insurgency in Iraq”, is intended to offer readers a clearer understanding of the changing dynamics behind the Sunni insurgency in Iraq, based primarily upon a critical analysis of open source intelligence and propaganda material published by insurgents themselves, and also by the U.S. and Iraqi governments. It follows up on a previous inaugural version released through Globalterroralert.com in December 2006. |
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| Two Decades of Jihad in Algeria: the GIA, the GSPC, and Al-Qaida |
| (May 2007) - An analytical paper published by the Nine Eleven Finding Answers (NEFA) Foundation examining the roots of the modern jihad in Algeria, and its evolution through the emergence of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), the Salafist Group for Prayer and Combat (GSPC), and finally Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). |
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| State of the Sunni Insurgency in Iraq (2006) |
| (December 2006) - A report examining the role of Al-Qaida and other Sunni militant organizations in the insurgency in Iraq, based primarily upon a critical analysis of open source intelligence and propaganda material published by insurgents themselves, and also by the U.S. and Iraqi governments. |
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| The Role of Islamic Charities in International Terrorist Recruitment and
Financing |
| (May 2006) - By clothing their militant activity with charitable ideals, radical militants discovered that they were able to maintain their level of efficiency while working with very few restrictions on an international level. The practice of radical and militant involvement with NGOs and charitable organisations continues today, and an understanding of the linkages between radicalisation and the NGO community is necessary when considering development interventions. |
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| Arabian Gulf Financial Sponsorship of Al-Qaida via U.S.-Based Banks, Corporations, and Charities |
| (March 2003) - Testimony of Matthew Epstein with Evan Kohlmann Before the House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations "Progress Since 9/11: The Effectiveness of U.S. Anti-Terrorist Financing Efforts." |
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