Fateh Sharif; Hamas Leader, ex-UNRWA employee killed by IDF strike in Lebanon

"The UN agency says Hamas leader in Lebanon Fateh Sharif, recently assassinated in an IDF airstrike, was a UNRWA employee — but Sharif was suspended for investigation when allegations of his Hamas ...

Explainer: Burkina Faso

“The primary reason for courting Russia is not food insecurity though, but actual insecurity. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have all deemed France as an ineffective security partner who has failed t...

Breeding Grounds of Hate

"The problem that these prisons and camps present to global security is grave, yet the international community offers no immediate solutions to aid Rojava in dealing with the issue." - Gabriel Fanelli

The Great Toyota War

“For decades, Toyota has been the vehicle of choice for warlords, insurgents, counterinsurgents. This battle would solidify its reputation as the go to vehicle for desert warfare. And for good reas...

Intel Update: DRC

“The Congolese Army is now fighting on two fronts against both the jihadi ADF, and Tutsi ethnic rebels of M23, who are both fighting each other.”    - Gabriel Fanelli

Explainer: Rojava

“With no trade agreements including Rojava, no import or export mechanisms in place, and no use of airports or ports at all, Rojava stands alone as an island of self reliance in an angry sea.”    -...

Jihad PhD, Pt. II

“Since the days of the Green Man, Al Qaeda has seen the rise of Islamic State as an existential threat. In 2014, al-Zawahiri officially expelled al-Baghdadi and IS from AQ — and placed its trust in...

Explainer: Boko Haram

“The remnants of the organization still operate in the north of the country and are lumped into an overall category of banditry which the Nigerian government struggles with to this day.”    - Gabri...

Explainer: The Houthis

“The radicalization of the movement, which still was not called ‘The Houthi Movement’, began in 2003 with the U.S. invasion of Iraq.”    - Gabriel Fanelli

Life in Borno State - Nigeria’s Fight Against Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province

“I visited Maiduguri, Borno State in March of 2023. The week before my visit, Boko Haram slaughtered 30 villagers in nearby Mukdolo. Over the past year, dozens of civilians have been beheaded or ot...

Jihad PhD, Pt. I

"Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was born in Samarra, Iraq in 1971. In complete contrast to Zarqawi, he was not only a very behaved young man, but extremely religious from the start.”   - Gabriel Fanelli

The Drug Runners of the Sahel

"They are not as flashy as they are in Mexico, and operate in the dark using fixers, mules, middlemen and a variety of means to hide their direct involvement in this leg of the multibillion-dollar ...

Intel Update: The Islamic State

"A United Nations report from January of this year estimated anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 IS fighters still remain in Iraq and Syria, and roughly 600 of them fled to the large swath of desert in ce...

Syrian Mercenaries in Africa

“Cause and coin, the raisons d’être for those in the warrior profession. In the absence of a cause, fighting men (and women) will find avenues to utilize their hard-learned skills in order to pay t...

Intel Update: Somalia

“Despite the wrath of insurgencies, separatist movements, and echoes of its recent history as a failed state still fresh in the mind of the international community, Somalia is proving to the world ...