New Profiles and Articles on TRAC
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June 2014: Attacks on trouble hit Kenya coast At least 29 people have been killed in two deadly shooting attacks in Kenya's coastal districts, the interior ministry has said. Witnesses said heavily armed men raided a trading centre MRC is suspected.
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Five new Islamic extremist organisations are active in the Malaysian states of Perak and Selangor and are only referred to by their acronyms. The groups share a similar objective, namely the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate in an area that covers Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, southern Thailand as well as southern Philippines. The Caliphate will be called Daulah Islamiah Nusantara.
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Turkey’s ISIS Problem and Possible Effects on the Region: The Turkish Consulate in Mosul was aware of the incoming threat from ISIS but Turkish intelligence and the Foreign Ministry couldn't predict that ISIS would dare to capture diplomats so they did not attempt to evacuate the consulate, which resulted in capture of 49 personnel. Germany, The Netherlands and the US are not happy with Turkey's counterterrorism performance so far, and they're upset with Erdogan government's lack of commitment for full scale intelligence sharing and operational support. To top it all off, Kurdish authorities now say a contingent of Kurdish youths — around 150 in all, mainly from Halabja — has in recent months started to join the ranks of ISIS in Iraq.
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Australian-born, Musa Cerantonio is considered one of the most influential jihadist preachers in support of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS). Cerantonio relies on his effective use of social media networks to propagate support for a world-wide jihad against the West and encourage Muslims to join the ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
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June 2014: TRAC announces an initiative to report breaking news regionally. "TRAC Focus On" Regions provide original text and primary resource materials, including videos and Twitter feeds from major players like al-Qaeda, ISIS, or Boko Haram, as well profiles of new factions as they emerge. Check each region daily for the latest videos and statements released by groups operating in that area.
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On June 8, 2014, the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi was attacked by 10 armed insurgents associated with Tehreek-e-Taliban Islami Pakistan (TTIP / TTP), which claimed credit for the incident. The terrorist’s actions show a careful and calculated plan evidenced by the way in which the group of assailants carried out their operation.
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LAFA-Iraq’ strength is not known, though reports indicated that LAFA fighters from Syria have returned to Iraq following the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham’s (ISIS) advances in Iraq.
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The al-Abbas Brigade (Abu al-Fadhel al-Abbas Brigade) has served as the primary front group for Iranian-backed combatants and organizations based in Iraq. It was the first prominent Shi`a militia in Syria and announced its presence to the world via a music video and Facebook posts. The group is suspected to have connections to Lebanese Hizb Allah and other Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi`a groups, such as Kataib Hizb Allah
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The In Amenas crisis strengthened the role of Belmukhtar in the jihadist movement, but it also polarized the conflict between the new leader and Droukdel. Reorganization within AQIM has strengthend its position within Maghreb and Sahel.
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Recrutiment Cells Abundant: Since the 2004 Madrid train bombings, which killed 191 people and injured more than 1,800 others, Spanish law enforcement forces have arrested 472 suspected al Qaeda militants or collaborators. During 2014, Spain’s continued vulnerability to terrorism is seen in the arrest and break-up of jihadist cells/networks accused of abetting the Islamic State of Iraq and ash Sham (Islamic State of Iraq, ISIS or ISIL) and Jabhat al-Nusra (JN). Current estimates on Spanish fighters in Syria vary between 35 and 95.
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The radicalisation of Iraq's secular environment is set to give prominence to Shi'a militant groups such as the AAH. The group is regarded as one of the most effective Shi'a militant groups fighting against Coalition forces in Iraq as well as an important ally for the Assad government in Syria.
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The leader of Uamsho, Sheikh Farid Hadi Ahmed, called for a dress code for foreigners, restrictions on the consumption of alcohol and the establishment of an independent Zanzibari state, with a constitution based on Sharia law.
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Tunisian ISIS foreign fighters interrogating Iraqi soldiers before execution in unknown location
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Tunisian jihadist execute Iraqi soldiers in unknown location.
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There is more to the ISIS swift gains in Iraq than just a Blitzkrieg. TRAC sources in the region confirm that the retreat by the Iraqi soldiers from Mosul was well planned, perhaps at the highest level of government.
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Fulani herdsmen and farmers conflict in Nigeria is a land resource based conflict in north-eastern Nigeria. According to a Human Rights Watch report of December 2013 violence between Fulani herdsmen, farmers and local communities killed 3,000 people since 2010. An aggravating factor is that most Fulani herders are Muslim and farmers are largely Christian which contains a possibility of sectarian violence that could be exploited by Boko Haram.
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Abu Muhammad al-Amriki’s claims to have lived in America for approximately ten or eleven years before leaving for the "jihad in Syria". In January 2014, al-Amriki joined the ISIS, citing disagreements with JN over events relating to weapon supplies in Atmeh.
