All Policy Analysis by Aaron Y. Zelin

The offensive occurred amid a deteriorating security situation across the Sahel that will require creative U.S. responses.

Given the group’s multileveled efforts to exert local authority, it could resurge quickly into full territorial control if the coalition pulls back too soon.

Join us for an expert conversation exploring the growing threat of Islamic State terrorism in, and originating from, Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Watch a live webcast starting at 11:00 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) on Thursday, September 28, 2023.

Two decades after the 9/11 attacks, Taliban-ruled Afghanistan is once again becoming a haven for terrorist activities abroad—but this time by a local Islamic State branch.

An entrenched military junta could jeopardize America’s primary CT partner in West Africa, create ripple effects for security beyond the Sahel, and give Russia’s Wagner Group a new opening on the continent.

Dwindling terrorist activity in the region stands in sharp contrast to sub-Saharan Africa, but changing local dynamics and other factors could revive the threat quickly.

Their willingness to sanction the top HTS money man after years without a designation suggests that the group’s charm offensive has not assuaged concerns in either capital.

Three experts unveil a powerful new interactive tool designed to help policymakers, scholars, journalists, and the general public better understand and analyze the Islamic State’s global reach.

This multimedia tool -- easily the most comprehensive of its kind -- provides a novel, accessible way to understand the Islamic State’s global reach and activities. Beyond a traditional focus on attacks, find content from Islamic State media, designations, and legal cases.

His government is using CT tools to go after the political opposition, but the ongoing lull in jihadist activity may give Washington some breathing room to press him on these issues.

The two governments have been engaging for months on standard diplomatic issues, but the new embassy handover may prove more worrisome given that they are both rogue regimes capable of coordinating against U.S. interests in the region.

The jihadist group has been releasing upbeat online briefs about various locales under its control, seemingly aiming to unite residents in northwest Syria and soften its image abroad.

An in-depth look at how the Syrian group has sought to differentiate itself from other jihadist terrorist organizations, but with only partial success despite a decade’s worth of political evolution.

The jihadist group has been actively plotting against Iran for years, though the recent upsurge in threats from its Afghan branch may presage a new wave of cells and attacks inside the embattled Islamic Republic.

The Syrian jihadist leader’s growing efforts to garner legitimacy and build up local institutions can only go so far amid the group’s continued terrorist sympathies and minority repression.

The group’s international profile has risen substantially with help from China, Turkey, and other states, but Western leaders should curtail their engagement so long as Kabul keeps gaslighting them about its al-Qaeda ties.

Despite the potent symbolic benefits of taking out the infamous terrorist ideologue, his death is unlikely to affect the organization’s daily operations, which are increasingly being driven by dangerous affiliates in Africa.

Strategic priorities, political factors, and institutional inertia make it hard to remove a group from government lists even if it no longer meets the designation criteria, potentially hog-tying U.S. policymakers.

A panel of leading counterterrorism scholars and practitioners discuss the evolving face of the global jihadist movement amid changes in Washington’s CT posture.

As a key UN vote approaches, Washington should push Turkey to help promote a diverse, balanced economy in HTS-controlled northwest Syria.