Maoist Trends in India: A Combination of Mass and Mine Warfare

May 25, 2021

Former Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh, while addressing a day-long meeting of Chief Ministers, including six of the Naxalite affected states, on April 13, 2006, observed: “It would not be an exaggeration to say that the problem of Naxalism is the single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country.”On January 21, 2021, Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane said that  'left-wing extremism' is one of the biggest challenges before the Indian state.  It seems, in the last 14 years, there has not been any phenomenal shift in the position of the LWE in India’s list of nat

ANIMESH ROUL

TM: "Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed Narrowly Avoids Assassination: A Political Conspiracy or Islamic State Plot?"

May 25, 2021

On May 6, Maldives’ Speaker of Parliament and former President Mohamed Nasheed was seriously injured in an assassination attempt outside his home in the capital, Male. The improvised explosive device (IED) blast also wounded members of his security team and bystanders, including a foreign national. Although jihadists elements remain the primary suspect for the attempt on Nasheed’s life, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

ANIMESH ROUL

Veiled Threat: Burqa, Madrasa and the Problem of Radicalisation in Sri Lanka

After over a month-long debate and discussion, the Sri Lankan cabinet, on April 27, 2021, imposed a ban on wearing Burqas (full-face veils in public used by Muslim women) and closing down madrasas (Islamic Seminaries) across the country. The government defended the decision by stating that these restrictions would improve national security and prevent radicalisation in society. As expected, few Islamic countries and groupings termed the decision as anti-Islamic.

ANIMESH ROUL & NIHAR NAYAK

Maoist Resurgence in Chhattisgarh: Overhauling Counterinsurgency Strategy

There is an upsurge in Maoist related incidents in Chhattisgarh, a central Indian province.  The violence on April 3, 2021, has raised a big question mark on the government's anti-Maoist strategy. Between 2018 and 2020, Chhattisgarh accounted for 45% of all Maoist related incidents in India and causing 70% of security personnel deaths (Ministry of Home Affairs, Annual Report 2019-2020)  

RAJAT KUMAR KUJUR

MLM: "France Expels Islamic State-Linked Bangladeshi Extremist: Saif al- Rahman"

May 08, 2021

In late 2020, French authorities detained Saif Rahman (a.k.a. Totan) a 24-year-old Bangladeshi national, who was attempting to travel to Islamic State (IS)-controlled territory in Syria. During his interrogation, the French authorities uncovered his extremist beliefs and intention to join IS in the Middle East.

ANIMESH ROUL

Anti-Shia Violence: Widening Sectarian Schism in Pakistan

Surprisingly the number of terrorist-related incidents in Pakistan has relatively gone down in recent months, but there is an increase in sectarian violence and atrocities on the minority population. The international community has expressed serious concern. Recently, the US State Department issued travel advisories to its citizens visiting Pakistan, citing terrorism, sectarian violence and COVID-19. It also asked its citizens not to travel specifically to Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces due to cases of terrorism-related incidents and kidnappings.

NIHAR R NAYAK

TM: "Islamic State’s Easter Sunday Attacks in Sri Lanka: Assessing the Government’s Response Two Years On"

April 10, 2021

Two years ago, on April 21, 2019, eight suicide bombers affiliated with the Islamic State (IS)-linked local jihadist groups National Towheed Jamaat (NTJ) and Jammiyat-ul Millathu Ibrahim (JMI) carried out deadly terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka, targeting luxury hotels and Catholic churches. The synchronized attacks on that fateful Easter Sunday killed or injured over 750 people.

ANIMESH ROUL

TM:Neo-Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh’s Female Members Further Islamic State’s Recruitment and Propaganda

February 13, 2021

The Neo-Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB), which was responsible for the deadly July 2016 Holey Artisan Bakery terrorist attack in Dhaka claimed by Islamic State (IS), has effectively nurtured and nourished a strong network of female jihadists in the country (refworld.org, November 15, 2016). These women members have proven to be a largely unseen, but potent force behind the group’s resilience.

ANIMESH ROUL

MLM: "Mentor, Provocateur or Mastermind? Understanding Naufar Moulavi’s Role in Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday Attack"

February 06, 2021

In early January 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that three foreign nationals – Muhammed Naufar (also, Naufar Moulavi), Muhammed Riskan and Ahamed Milhan – had been charged with conspiring to provide material support to Islamic State (IS), a designated foreign terrorist organization that claimed responsibility for the deadly April 2019 Easter Sunday violence in Sri Lanka (U.S. Department of Justice, January 8).

ANIMESH ROUL

Islamic State’s Khorasan Province: A Potent Force in Afghan Jihad

December 28, 2020

Although the so-called Islamic State (IS) Caliphate crumbled and disintegrated in the Middle East, the group’s most potent branch, the IS-Khorasan Province (IS-KP) remains resilient. It continues to display its violent presence in Afghanistan and Pakistan, fiercely withstanding the unremitting onslaughts from government and rival Taliban forces. The group demonstratively retains the ability to carry out gruesome attacks at will in the capital Kabul and its traditional strongholds in Eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province.

ANIMESH ROUL