TAP Spotlight - Worldwide Terror-related Events - August 2021

In the Middle East region, Terror attacks took place in Iraq and Syria only.
In Syria, YPG carried out a substantial level of attacks in comparison to DAESH. YPG has profoundly relied on Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) and mortar attacks as the foremost mode of engagement whereas it also affianced in an assassination attempt along with VBIED and rocket attacks. Almost in all of its attempts, YPG has targeted the civilian and social sphere. This type of civilian targeting approach plays a huge role in generating pressure in domestic politics before the parliamentary elections in October 2021.
In comparison to this, DAESH has relied on armed reaction as a mode of engagement and its main target remains the tactical/military operational units in Syria.

In its targeting regime, DAESH has kept its focus in the eastern region of Syria whereas YPG kept its engagement in the northern and northeastern region of Syria as well as along the Syrian- Turkey border. Overall the target remains the rural areas of Syria.

In Iraq, DAESH held the top slot of spoiler in the country whereas PKK remained at the number two with the nominal three attacks against military units. In contrast, DAESH has preferred armed reaction as the main mode of engagement against military units. Whereas it furthered its targeting strategy by conducting raids, assassination attempts, kidnapping, and execution at the minimalist level. Here political figures, civilians/social sphere, and private enterprises remained under DAESH’s target.
PKK has mainly targeted northern Iraq alongside the Iraq-Turkey border whereas DAESH utilized a mix of urban and rural areas targeting (Mosul, Qayyarah, Kirkuk) along the Tigris and Khasa rivers.

Afghanistan, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Philippines remained on the target list of terror attacks in Asia.
The world has witnessed the fall of Kabul at the hands of the Taliban during their military offensive on the 15th of August 2021. This marked the end of the political government of President Ashraf Ghani and the executive takeover by the Taliban officials. Following the withdrawal of American forces out of Afghanistan and this quick drift in its political and security architecture resulted in fear among common people about their survival along with shattered businesses, currency debacle, and invigorated refugee concerns. In all this immensely chaotic situation Islamic States Khorasan IS-K has succeeded in carrying out four attacks in densely populated cities such as Kabul, Herat, and Jalalabad which includes two assassination attempts. IS-K diversifying its embattled competence beyond tactical operational military units targetted the civilian/social sphere and government facility.

In this fastly changing In the unveiling seclabad.d ciyif couls. nt of Astal an South Asian security dynamics, Tahrik-i- Taliban Pakistan-the Pashtun Islamist armed group has once again found its ground in Pakistan immediately after the Taliban takeover in Kabul. TTP has conducted eleven massive-scale armed attacks in the South and North Waziristan areas of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Except for one attack in Panjgur Balochistan Province, all the attacks were thoroughly planned and executed along the northwestern region of the country which has its volatile border with Afghanistan. TTP has mainly targeted tactical/military-police operational units along with the civilian/social sphere.
Continuing the past trail of nationalist separatism West Papua National Liberation Army deteriorated Indonesia’s security situation. It mainly engaged in four armed reactions against the police and military units.
Philippines’ New People’s Army without any change in its condescension carried out eleven armed reactions against the police and military units.

In South America only in Colombia, four attacks took place.
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia(FARC) a Marxist- Leninist guerrilla group has carried out three attacks in the northern and northeastern side of the country along its border with Venezuela.
FARC majorly targeted military units whereas civilians were affected second-most. Armed reactions remained the most important mode of engagement whereas also one time utilized the kidnapping tactic.

National Liberation Army(ELN) the second guerrilla group with the leftwing political ideology that normally relies on kidnapping, drug trafficking, extortion, and attacks on the economic underpinning utilized armed reaction as a mode of engagement. It targeted military units in San Calixto near Venezuela border along with Norte de Santander.
In these four attacks, the northern and northeastern sides of Colombia which are bordering Venezuela remained under attack by both these guerilla groups. Relatively, these attacks remained flaccid and have taken one life as a result.

Africa suffered the highest number of attacks which is 96 in a month. Seven countries remained on the hit list of these attacks including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, Egypt.
In Egypt, DAESH has carried out a total of six attacks in the areas linked to the Sinai Peninsula. It has used armed reactions for the most part and IED attacks at the second number as the mode of engagement but one time relied on kidnapping and execution also. DAESH mainly targeted military units whereas civilians and police units were equally embattled at the second number.
Somalia has continued to suffer from the vicious cycle of terror attacks carried out by Al-Shabab. It has conducted sixty-five attacks in diverse areas of Somalia using the multiferous attack method where armed reactions remained at the top of the list whereas IED and ambush came at the second and third spot with minimal resort to the assassination, kidnapping, and raids also. Out of these sixty-five attacks only twice civilians/social sphere were the targets whereas military units remained the main target of Al-Shabab’s brutality.

Nusrat al-Islam (JNIM) was mainly active in Burkina Faso where it equally targeted the civilian population and military units. It has applied varied modes of engagements including armed reactions, kidnapping, raids, and IED attacks.
Mali in comparison to other African countries suffered minimal loss at the hands of Nusrat al-Islam (JNIM) which targeted civilians by adopting kidnapping as a mode of engagement whereas Dan Na Ambassagou targeted military units be engaging in armed reactions.
Nigeria has the prevailing presence of Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) which mostly relied on kidnapping civilians whereas military units remained at the second target via armed reactions and mortar attacks.
On the other hand, Niger has a blend of terrorist organizations operating one after another simultaneously Boko Haram, Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP), Nusrat al-Islam (JNIM), mainly targeting civilians/social spheres where the former two relied on kidnapping, assassination and the later one on IED attacks. Not only this, but Boko Haram also exerted its influence in Cameroon by targeting military units via armed reactions.

Map: Attacks between May-July 2021, red circular areas display rural areas, blue circular areas display urban areas.