Al Shabaab has been cleared away from strategic coastal areas. The group now occupies some interior remote positions in the central region opening up the transportation routes, especially to the Capital Mogadishu.
Al Shabaab continues to hold and control diminishing territories in Central and Southern Somalia.
The PKK/YPG's continued operation in Syria and Northern Iraq, coupled with the group's ongoing attacks in Turkey, highlight the persistent threat that the group poses to regional security.
Al Shabaab will likely face crushing force and total pressure in the coming days following the decision of the frontline states mainly Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti to send additional forces in Somalia.
In February 22, 2023, Pakistani Defense Minister and Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief paid a surprise visit to Kabul. During the visit, security issues were discussed, particularly the threats posed by Tahrik-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-K).
Operations targeting Al shabaab intensified in January from both Somali government and international partners.
The government continued the ‘total war’ with high intensity attacks on al Shabaab positions, capturing and neutralizing more militants including ranking commanders.
In the month of November, Al Shabaab remains a strong regional actor amid ongoing Somali government operations.
On Friday, December 2, two attacks occurred in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. One of the attacks targeted the leader of Hezb-e Islami Gulbidin Hekmatyar, and the other target was the Pakistani Embassy.
On November 13, 2022, at 4:20 pm, a terrorist attack was carried out on Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul, killing 6 people including 2 children, and injuring 81 people.
By focusing on three significant cases in Syria, this study develops a new analytical perspective to unpack the strategic logic behind NSAGs’ survival in a competitive, anarchical conflict environment.
The overall terrorist threat to the security of the European Union (EU) has significantly been reduced as of January 2021. It appears that Europe has notably diminished its vulnerabilities against jihadist terrorism in 2021.
Overall 2021 remained a transitional year by and large in terms of security dynamics and terrorist activities.Out of the total 274 attacks in Asia, 75 attacks were carried out exclusively in Afghanistan.
As of 2021, the Verfassungsschutz estimates that there are 28.650 members in foreign extremist/terrorist organizations, with the PKK alone having 14.500 members, more than any other single terrorist/extremist organization listed in the report.
On 18th of April 2022, Turkey launched an operation against the PKK terrorist organization, which concentrates on the regions and terrorist camps, located in Zap, Metina, and Avaşin-Basyan Regions of Northern Iraq.
The 2022 elections and the efforts of the new government to implement the peace process will be decisive both for the future of FARC dissidents and the general violence in Colombia.
Between January 1, 2021, and November 1, 2021, the actions of 8 terrorist organizations in Africa came to the fore, and these organizations carried out terrorist attacks in 12 different countries in total.
In 2021, Turkey has experienced a decreasing trend in the number of attacks within its territory, with increased terrorist attacks in its outskirts in Iraq and Syria.
A total of fifty-nine terrorist attacks took place in Colombia, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico. Fifty-seven of these attacks were carried out on Colombian soil, followed by Venezuela and Puerto Rico.
In its fight against PKK Turkey’s intelligence agency and security forces carried a joint strategy of directly targeting PKK’s leadership to stir fear and psychological pressure in its ranks and followers.
This report maps out Daesh’s perception of Turkey.
With the help of its nationally-produced drone technology, Turkey’s counterterrorism campaign has since 2015 brought about a significant decrease in PKK attacks, disrupted the PKK’s ability to recruit new members, and caused command and control problems within the terrorist organization.
On Wednesday Aug. 26, 2021, an attack in Kabul crowded area around an airport led to bloodshed of U.S marines, service people as well as innocent Afghani civilians. The attacked was claimed by the terrorist group IS-K.
Drawing on the data gathered in the Terrorism Analysis Platform (TAP), this report gives the general trends of worldwide terrorism in the last 6 months with a focus on attack numbers, geographical locations, security environments, attack types and target types.
The PKK poses a real regional threat, equal to that of DAESH, and has become a knot in Turkish-Iraqi relations.
This report includes information on Turkey's list of most-wanted terrorists.
Terrorism Analysis Platform analyzed the key terror-related events during 2020 and explained the main trends related to the PKK and DAESH.
Throughout 2019 Turkish security forces has rightly targeted the PKK’s leadership cadre reducing their decision-making abilities and capacities. By the end, it was certain that the PKK had received a severe blow to its leadership cadre. This has incapacitated the organization in immeasurable ways.
PKK has targeted Turkey through violent terrorist attacks as well as fake news and black propaganda since March 2020 when the first COVID-19 cases emerged in Turkey and neighboring countries
The PKK seems to have returned to the 1970-1984 period, in which its terrorists were trying to increase their aggressive behavior but were too weak to act in most cases
Turkey's recent military operation, Operation Claw, is a continuation of Turkey's counter-terrorism strategy of maintaining active military presence and fight on the field. The operation has three objectives.
If the U.S. isn’t going to address Turkey’s security concerns and since Turkey is being pushed from inside by the Turkish people and the Syrian opposition to launch a military operation towards Manbij and the east of the Euphrates, the best for Turkey would be not to withstand this and...
The YPG doesn’t have the experience of the rebels in Idlib who have fought for years against an enemy with air-power. The YPG has become too used to air-support and their experience in war without air support is mainly limited to its loss of 200 villages in a week south...
Since the launch of the Operation Claw by Turkey, the PKK has lost strategic hills in the Hakurk region, and the PKK has accused the KRG of collaboration with Ankara. YPG's recent move against Kurdistan 24 can also be seen as an attempt to retaliate in the name of the...
The joint Syrian-Turkish operation aims initially to liberate Arab areas from the YPG. This clearly contradicts with the critics who state that the main goal of the operation is demographic engineering.
Taking those foreign terrorist fighters back is the legal obligation of their home countries, but most know that their laws are incapable of declaring a proper sentence against them.
The propaganda machine for the PKK has also lost its functionality after Turkey’s Afrin operation. This will certainly affect the image of being an effective ground force in the fight against Daesh. As a result, it can be safely argued that the PKK faces a very complicated future in both...
While much as the world is concerned with European foreign fighters, it should also be looking at the issue of terrorists from Central Asian states who were some of the most infamous fighters of Daesh.
Turkey’s first goal is to minimize the PKK’s presence and capacity and force it to withdraw from the areas it controls in the western flank of the Euphrates.
The Marxist-Leninist Communist Party, an underground faction classified as a terrorist organisation in Turkey, is an ally of the US-backed YPG, report Sibel Düz and Ömer Özkizilcik.
This is the first comprehensive counter-terror operation against the PKK. This time, the military strategy is not only targeting to eliminate PKK terrorists but also aiming to clean and hold the territory where the PKK has any presence.
Turkey is revolutionizing its counter-terrorism strategy not only against the PKK in Turkey but also against other terrorist organizations in Syria and Iraq. The new face of terrorism and changing dynamics in the Middle East are likely to push Turkey to revolutionize its military affairs in the near future.
Turkey’s strategic objective is clear: to de-territorialize the YPG/PYD alongside its Syrian border, fix relations with the U.S. in Syria and recalibrate its military presence.
While some media outlets reported efforts in Syria as "internal fighting among Turkey-backed groups," in reality, there was a "clean up" operation with the backing of Turkish Armed Forces in order to wipe criminal gangs from Afrin and Aleppo.
This year, Turkey's counterterrorism strategy against the PKK has proven to be a remarkable success. The strategy was preventive and debilitating.
Western governments should take the issue of FTF returnees of the YPG seriously at least for the sake of their own public order.
Lessons ought to be taken from failures and intelligence needs to be developed with a proper management policy. Turkey has the relevant manpower, organizational capacity, tools and technology, and political will in order to realize a transformation in intelligence.
Conducting a military operation in a different geography, operating in an environment in which the dominant language is different and variations in socio-cultural dynamics in the region made Turkey more reliant on FSA forces during the operation.