December, 2021

• 19 December

  The Islamic State Continues to Mutate, Defying Efforts to Stamp it Out

  

  The Islamic State core in Iraq and Syria continues to evolve and could be in the process of an operational evolution focused on fewer but more sophisticated attacks At present, it remains unclear just how closely involved central Islamic State leadership is with its global network on a regular basis. …

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• 19 December

  Why Hambali, ‘Southeast Asia’s Osama bin Laden’ detained at Guantanamo, is not just an artefact of history

  

  The alleged mastermind of the Bali bombings put Southeast Asia’s violent extremists on a collision course with the US and its allies Two decades on, his actions continue to reverberate – not least in the Jemaah Islamiah-linked schools that are the ‘Ivy League’ of Indonesia’s jihadi universe Two decades after …

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• 19 December

  La lucha antiterrorista en Afganistán, entre la espada y la pared

  

  Cooperar con los talibanes? La comunidad internacional enfrenta un dilema sin fácil solución en su lucha contra la amenaza yihadista en Afganistán, especialmente la filial local del Estado Islámico (EI), sin atreverse a cooperar por ahora con el nuevo poder en Kabul. Por un lado, el emirato islámico de Afganistán …

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• 19 December

  Will the International Community Accept Normalization of the Assad Regime?

  

  There are growing signs that countries in the Middle East are prepared to accept the normalization of Assad’s regime, even after the ten-year civil war in Syria. Many countries, including the U.S. and Qatar, have been outspoken in their opposition to normalizing relations with Assad, while the United Arab Emirates …

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• 19 December

  Saudi Crown Prince Travels to the Gulf Ahead of Annual GCC Summit

  

  Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s visit to the Gulf states ahead of the annual Gulf Cooperation Council summit is intended to help rebuild his international reputation, sullied by his numerous missteps. With his stop in Qatar, MBS is also trying to continue healing the intra-GCC rift that began in …

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• 19 December

  Kurdistan Region counter terrorism unit arrests ISIS arms smugglers in Erbil: Coalition

  

  Elite forces from the Kurdistan Region’s Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD) arrested two ISIS arms smugglers in Erbil, according to a statement released on Thursday by the Special Operations Joint Task Force-Levant (SOJTF LEVANT), part of the US-led Coalition to Defeat ISIS. “Today the CTD conducted operations in the …

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• 19 December

  Islamic State’s spread beyond Syria, Iraq remains concern for US

  

  The State Department’s annual report on terrorism said Islamic State branches outside of Iraq and Syria caused more fatalities in 2020 than any previous year. The number of terrorist attacks increased worldwide in 2020 in part due to the spread of Islamic State (IS) branches and al-Qaeda affiliates, the US …

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• 19 December

  Lebanon to Deport Members of Group that Bahrain Considers it Harbors Terrorism

  

  Lebanon’s interior minister on Wednesday ordered the deportation of non-Lebanese members of a Bahraini group after some of them held a news conference in Beirut, harming Lebanon’s ties with the Kingdom. Bahrain accuses the group of harboring terrorism. Bahrain’s government has denounced “the promotion of malicious allegations and causing harm …

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• 19 December

  Islamic Jihad praises terror attack, does not take responsibility

  

  The Islamic Jihad terror group praises — but not does take responsibility for — the deadly terror attack that left an Israeli man dead and wounded two others in the northern West Bank tonight. “We bless the heroic operation carried out by heroic resistance fighters from among our people, which …

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• 19 December

  Global task force needed to deal with repatriation of ISIS fighters

  

  Governments are being urged to create a global task force to deal with the security risks posed by foreign terrorist fighters, and to take urgent action on repatriating female ISIS fighters or risk facing decades of threats. Defence and security think tank the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) says an …

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