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21. Remotely Piloted Innovation: Terrorism, Drones and Supportive Technology

Author:
Don Rassler
Publication Date:
10-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
In early October 2016, the group that calls itself the Islamic State killed two Kurdish soldiers with an explosive device hidden inside a drone. While terrorist groups have long had a fascination with drones and experimented with their use, the incident was a first for a terror group, and it potentially represents the leading edge of a wave of similar incidents that could follow in the months, years and decades ahead. Much has been made of the threat of terror use of drones, but little empirical and historical work has been done to support our understanding of this phenomenon and its evolution. This report seeks to address this gap by providing a review of, and framework to situate, cases in which terrorist entities have either shown a substantive interest in drones or have used them. It evaluates both individual use cases and the activity of groups that have used drones frequently enough to constitute their having a “program.” These cases are then complemented by a review of the creative ways that private citizens have used drones, in order to provide decisionmakers with a firmer baseline of both demonstrated terror capability and what lies within the immediate realm of possibility, given what has already been achieved by others. This report also includes an overview of new technologies that are likely to further complicate the scope of this developing threat.
Topic:
Terrorism, Al Qaeda, Drones, and Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)
Political Geography:
Europe, South Asia, Middle East, Asia, and Colombia

22. Mokhtar Belmokhtar: One-Eyed Firebrand of North Africa and the Sahel (Jihadi Bios Project)

Author:
Andrew Wojtanik
Publication Date:
03-2015
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
The CTC is pleased to launch the publication of papers as part of a series devoted to the study of jihadist biographies. The purpose of this project is to contribute to the knowledge of the evolution of the jihadist landscape by exploring it through the lens of the worldviews and experiences of actors who have shaped it. While some states and organizations, wittingly or unwittingly, contributed to the growth of the jihadist enterprise, it may be argued that modern jihadism, as it continues to unfold, is also the product of individuals, who made it into the global phenomenon that it is. As we study the biographies of jihadis, we are faced with a world crowded with different and differing worldviews. Beneath the banner of jihad that seemingly unites jihadis worldwide is a world marked not just by cooperation between groups and individuals, but also by competition and divisions. Some of the jihadis who occupy that world are characterized by a commitment to idealistic goals, by acumen, skills, and agility; others are driven by sectarianism, criminal disposition, and opportunism; while others manifest an odd combination of all. That is why the actions emanating from the jihadist landscape are the results of an amalgam of strategy, sophisticated planning and targeting, randomness, and juvenile enthusiasm. It is for these reasons and more that the complexity of the jihadist landscape requires different layers of analyses and a rigorous and patient approach to the subject. In short, the study of jihadism is about both the “forest” and the “trees;” and this series of biographies is a study of the “trees” as they are situated in the broader “forest.”
Topic:
Terrorism, Non State Actors, Al Qaeda, and Jihad
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Africa, South Asia, Central Asia, Algeria, Mali, and Niger

23. Held Hostage: Analyses of Kidnapping Across Time and Among Jihadist Organizations

Author:
Daniel Milton and Seth Loertscher
Publication Date:
12-2015
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
In March 2013, David Haines and Frederico Motka were kidnapped while traveling together near the Turkish border in Syria. The men were both foreigners and aid workers. They were held in the same prison by the same militant group. Yet they suffered sharply different fates. In May 2014, Motka was released, while four months later, Haines became the fourth Westerner to be beheaded by the Islamic State. Press accounts noted that the major difference between the men was their nationality: Motka was Italian; Haines was British. In the summer of 2014, the Islamic State began its campaign of public executions of kidnapped Westerners. Though these barbaric acts captured the world’s attention, hostage taking is not new. Nevertheless, research designed to increase understanding of this threat is limited. Most discussions regarding kidnappings rely on anecdotal evidence, and a more detailed analysis of key questions regarding the role of group type, nationality of the victim, and outcome as they relate to kidnapping incidents has been lacking for want of publicly available data. In an effort to address this, the CTC presents “Held Hostage: Analyses of Kidnapping Across Time and Among Jihadist Organizations,” which examines trends related to the kidnapping of Westerners by jihadist groups based on data from a newly gathered open-source dataset of the kidnapping of Westerners from 2001–2015. The CTC has also publicly released the data along with this report (click here to access the database). We believe that the report and accompanying data will be an important resource for policymakers, practitioners, and academics interested in this area.
Topic:
Al Qaeda, Islamic State, Boko Haram, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Haqqani Network, and Kidnapping
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and Somalia

24. Abu al-Layth al-Libi

Author:
Kevin Jackson
Publication Date:
03-2015
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
This report on Abu al-Layth al-Libi, authored by Kévin Jackson, was released as part of the CTC’s Jihadi Bios Project, a series edited by Dr. Nelly Lahoud. The Jihadi Bios Project The CTC is pleased to launch the publication of papers as part of a series devoted to the study of jihadist biographies. The purpose of this project is to contribute to the knowledge of the evolution of the jihadist landscape by exploring it through the lens of the worldviews and experiences of actors who have shaped it. While some states and organizations, wittingly or unwittingly, contributed to the growth of the jihadist enterprise, it may be argued that modern jihadism, as it continues to unfold, is also the product of individuals, who made it into the global phenomenon that it is. As we study the biographies of jihadis, we are faced with a world crowded with different and differing worldviews. Beneath the banner of jihad that seemingly unites jihadis worldwide is a world marked not just by cooperation between groups and individuals, but also by competition and divisions. Some of the jihadis who occupy that world are characterized by a commitment to idealistic goals, by acumen, skills, and agility; others are driven by sectarianism, criminal disposition, and opportunism; while others manifest an odd combination of all. That is why the actions emanating from the jihadist landscape are the results of an amalgam of strategy, sophisticated planning and targeting, randomness, and juvenile enthusiasm. It is for these reasons and more that the complexity of the jihadist landscape requires different layers of analyses and a rigorous and patient approach to the subject. In short, the study of jihadism is about both the “forest” and the “trees;” and this series of biographies is a study of the “trees” as they are situated in the broader “forest.”
Topic:
Terrorism, Al Qaeda, and Leadership
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Africa, South Asia, and Libya

25. Usama bin Ladin’s “Father Sheikh”: Yunus Khalis and the Return of al-Qa`ida’s Leadership to Afghanistan

Author:
Kevin Bell
Publication Date:
05-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
The purpose of this report is to shed light on the poorly understood role that Yunus Khalis played in modern Afghan political history. This research is based on an analysis of several under‐studied primary sources in Pashto and Persian that offer unique insight into Khalis’s life and work. Although he was an author, teacher, and the leader of the Hizb‐e Islami (Khalis) mujahidin political party during the Soviet Afghan War, today Yunus Khalis is most often discussed in the context of his personal relationships with Jalaluddin Haqqani and Usama bin Ladin. There is little doubt that Khalis was on friendly terms with these two men. However, Haqqani had a far more visible effect on the growth of al‐Qa`ida than Khalis, and the latter apparently had major political disagreements with Bin Ladin. This report argues that Yunus Khalis’s historical impact is better found in his work as an activist intellectual and his refusal to take sides in the Afghan Civil War than in his relatively peripheral contact with Usama bin Ladin.
Topic:
Politics, Al Qaeda, History, and Osama bin Laden
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and South Asia

26. Jihadi Discourse in the Wake of the Arab Spring

Author:
Nelly Lahoud
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
This report analyzes jihadi discourse in the wake of the “Arab Spring” to address two related questions: (1) why have global jihadi leaders been struggling to advance a coherent and effective response to the events of the Arab Spring, and (2) why, despite strong rhetoric of militancy, have we witnessed little action on the part of new jihadi groups that have emerged in countries that underwent regime change (i.e., Tunisia, Egypt and Libya) as a result of the Arab Spring? To answer these questions, this study focuses on original Arabic sources in the form of public statements released by global jihadi leaders in response to the Arab Spring and by new groups projecting a jihadi worldview that have emerged in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. It reveals that the factors that are causing the current ideological incoherence of jihadism are the same factors that had once served as the cornerstone of its plausibility in the eyes of its adherents. As to new jihadi groups, this study highlights the inconsistency between their rhetoric and their actions. While they uphold the principle of the obligation of jihad, advance anti-democratic rhetoric using religious arguments and lionize global jihadi leaders and their causes, for now these new jihadi groups are characterized more by the propaganda of jihad than by its delivery. While Syria has not undergone a regime change, but in view of the proliferation of militant groups there, some of which are operating under a jihadi banner, the concluding section of the report nevertheless discusses the implications of the situation in Syria on jihadism. This study argues that the events in Syria could have restored the credibility of jihadism, but competition between the Islamic State of Iraq (and the Levant) and the Syria-based jihadi group Jabhat al-Nusra (JN) has confused and divided their supporters and earned the derision of their opponents. The divide between the two groups even risks undermining the symbolic position that Ayman al-Zawahiri occupies as the global leader of jihad.
Topic:
Communications, Al Qaeda, Media, Islamic State, Ideology, and Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)
Political Geography:
Middle East, Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia

27. Letters from Abbottabad: Bin Ladin Sidelined?

Author:
Nelly Lahoud, Stuart Caudill, Liam Collins, Gabriel Koehler-Derrick, Don Rassler, and Muhammad Al-'Ubaydi
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
This report is a study of 17 de-classified documents captured during the Abbottabad raid and released to the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC). They consist of electronic letters or draft letters, totaling 175 pages in the original Arabic and 197 pages in the English translation. The earliest is dated September 2006 and the latest April 2011. These internal al-Qa`ida communications were authored by several leaders, most prominently Usama bin Ladin. In contrast to his public statements that focused on the injustice of those he believed to be the “enemies” of Muslims, namely corrupt “apostate” Muslim rulers and their Western “overseers,” the focus of Bin Ladin’s private letters is Muslims’ suffering at the hands of his jihadi “brothers”. He is at pain advising them to abort domestic attacks that cause Muslim civilian casualties and focus on the United States, “our desired goal.” Bin Ladin’s frustration with regional jihadi groups and his seeming inability to exercise control over their actions and public statements is the most compelling story to be told on the basis of the 17 de-classified documents. “Letters from Abbottabad” is an initial exploration and contextualization of 17 documents that will be the grist for future academic debate and discussion.
Topic:
Communications, Al Qaeda, Media, and Osama bin Laden
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia

28. Beware of Imitators: al-Qa`ida through the lens of its Confi dential Secretary

Author:
Nelly Lahoud
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
“I should write a history of the jihadis in my time as I witnessed it and not as it is perceived by the West or those who disagree with us,” explains Fadil Harun regarding his motivation to publish his two-volume manuscript al-Harb `ala al-Islam: Qissat Fadil Harun (The War against Islam: the Story of Fadil Harun). The spirit driving Harun’s manuscript is to produce a corrective history of al-Qa`ida distinguishing it from jihadi groups acting in its name. He believed that unlike al-Qa`ida, many jihadi groups have deviated from the true path of jihad: they lack a sound ideological worldview and many of their operations, particularly those which involved resorting to “tatarrus” (i.e., the use of non-combatants as human shields), are in breach of what he deems to be “lawful jihad.” This report is a study of al-Qa`ida’s ideology, organizational structure, strengths and weaknesses through Harun’s lens and in light of captured battlefield documents.
Topic:
Terrorism, Al Qaeda, and Ideology
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Kenya, Africa, Tanzania, and Somalia

29. The Haqqani Nexus and the Evolution of al-Qaida

Author:
Don Rassler and Vahid Brown
Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
This report explores how the Haqqani network has historically functioned as a nexus organization and as a strategic enabler of local, regional and global forms of Islamist militancy. Specific attention is placed on examining the Haqqani network’s support for al-Qa`ida and its global jihad, and more recently the Pakistani Taliban. The report is based on a review of three jihadist magazines released in Pashto, Urdu and Arabic by the Haqqani network from 1989-1993; a series of digital videos produced by the group since 2001; and various memoirs written by al-Qa’ida linked fighters present in Afghanistan during the period under study (1973-2010). The authors also reviewed several thousand pages of letters written to and from Haqqani commanders during the 1980s and 1990s, which were captured in Afghanistan after the U.S. invasion and have since been stored in the Department of Defense’s Harmony database. The report’s key findings provide insight into the Haqqani network’s identity and role; the nature of its relationships and the history and development of al-Qa’ida.
Topic:
Al Qaeda, History, Jihad, and Haqqani Network
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, and South Asia

30. A False Foundation? AQAP, Tribes and Ungoverned Spaces in Yemen

Author:
Gabriel Koehler-Derrick
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
The report attempts to disaggregate the threat posed by al-Qa`ida in the Arabian Peninsula from the sources of instability surrounding it, by examining the group’s strategy, tactics and objectives from a local perspective. The report specifically concentrates on events and actors in Yemen’s Eastern governorates, often described as the most “tribal” parts of Yemen and an epicenter of AQAP activity. This discussion of the tribes of Marib and al-Jawf is informed by 12 months of research conducted in Yemen including fieldwork in the governorate of Marib. The author’s network of contacts and dozens of interviews with tribal leaders and tribesmen suggest that although tribes have long been cited as a primary resiliency mechanism for AQAP, the group enjoys no formal alliance with tribes in either Marib or al-Jawf and there is ample evidence to suggest that, contrary to popular analysis, the group’s strength and durability does not stem from Yemen’s tribes. By refocusing the emphasis on the group’s operations in Yemen, this report provides a new assessment of AQAP’s sources of resiliency, the constraints and opportunities inherent in the local political context and implications for the group’s regional and global ambitions.
Topic:
Terrorism, Non State Actors, and Al Qaeda
Political Geography:
Middle East, Yemen, and Arabian Peninsula