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Terrorism

Policy Analysis on Terrorism

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A Houthi helicopter approaches a civilian cargo ship in the Red Sea in 2023 - source: Reuters
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Lethal Attacks Show Strengthened Houthi Control over Red Sea Transit
The latest attacks make clear that the international community must guarantee the freedom and safety of all ships transiting the Red Sea, combining a permanent military mission with assistance from regional countries and private security firms.
Jul 16, 2025
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  • Noam Raydan
  • Farzin Nadimi
◆ Maritime Spotlight
Photo showing Gaza residents spinning sparklers at the start of Ramadan, March 2025.
Brief Analysis
Israel’s “Tribal” Approach in Gaza: A Short-Term Response to a Long-Term Challenge
Tribal militias in Gaza can offer limited tactical help if they are carefully monitored and managed, but relying on them would just be another way of delaying the more important work of formulating postwar political arrangements.
Jul 15, 2025
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  • Neomi Neumann
Brief Analysis
Leveraging Iran’s Defeat to Strengthen U.S.-Iraq Security Relations
Tehran’s Iraqi proxies mostly sat out the twelve-day war, but this pragmatic restraint will not forestall growing U.S.-Iran competition over Iraq’s airspace, economic partnerships, and other sectors.
Jul 10, 2025
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  • Michael Knights
Photo of Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani next to the national flag.
Brief Analysis
Delisting Hayat Tahrir al-Sham: Implications for U.S. Counterterrorism and Syria Policy
Although skepticism is understandable given the background of those now leading Syria’s government and security forces, removing the FTO designation is an unprecedented counterterrorism decision with numerous potential benefits and ripple effects.
Jul 10, 2025
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  • Aaron Y. Zelin
Hezbollah March
Brief Analysis
Now Is Not the Time to Ease Up on Hezbollah—or Beirut
After giving Lebanese officials a much-needed ultimatum for disarming Hezbollah and implementing financial reforms, Washington is now in danger of letting them once again punt these all-important tasks.
Jul 9, 2025
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  • David Schenker
MS-Cover-HMusawi-Grave
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Israeli Strike Kills Head of Security for Iraqi Militia KSS
Haider al-Musawi may have been (unsuccessfully) securing the move of a senior Lebanese Hezbollah operative through Iraq into Iran.
Jul 9, 2025
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  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
Photo of an oil facility in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Brief Analysis
Redefining and Strengthening the U.S.-Iraq Relationship Through Energy and Security
Iraq is more stable than it has been in decades but still faces enormous security and energy challenges, including the risk of spillover from Iran-Israel hostilities, dependence on unreliable Iranian gas amid untapped domestic opportunities, an untested Syrian government, and the unrelenting Islamic State threat.
Jun 27, 2025
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  • Noam Raydan
  • Devorah Margolin
MS-Khazali-Walking-Cover
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Qais al-Khazali Tries, Fails to Tone Down Militant Bluster
Khazali finally reacted to the Iran-Israel conflict to avoid further embarrassing his militant base, underlining the difficulties of being a surface politician and a closet terrorist.
Jun 26, 2025
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  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Syrian Christians demonstrate in Damascus following the suicide bombing of the Mar Elias church - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
The Damascus Church Attack: Who Is Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah?
Although definitively identifying the group responsible for the bombing may take more time, authorities in Damascus and Washington already have more than enough information to beef up their security cooperation and reassure Syrian minorities that they won’t be targeted.
Jun 25, 2025
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  • Aaron Y. Zelin
MS-Sabereen-WarGraphic-Cover
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Iraqi Militias Show Cohesion and Restraint During Iran-Israel War
The self-styled "resistance" is probably being held in reserve in case the United States joins the war, with militias noticeably restraining themselves so far.
Jun 19, 2025
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  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
MS-UAB-cover
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
New Evidence of Real-World Attacks by Uli al-Baas
The group's name has been making the rounds for months, but videos and other actual evidence of its claimed attacks against Israel are only now beginning to emerge.
Jun 10, 2025
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  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
Badr Organization military wing logo
Articles & Testimony
Badr Organization: Iran’s Oldest Proxy in Iraq
An in-depth look at why Congress should follow through on calls to sanction the group, which has been closely tied to Iran-backed terrorism for decades.
June 2025
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  • Michael Knights
  • Crispin Smith
Washington Institute logo, white on blue - source: The Washington Institute
Articles & Testimony
U.S. Funding Cuts Risk Jeopardizing Counter-Islamic State Operations
The Trump administration claims it is prioritizing efforts to combat the organization, but funding cuts threaten to undermine vital operations.
Jun 4, 2025
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  • Devorah Margolin
Qais al-Khazali's declassified interrogation file
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Qais al-Khazali Praises His “Honorable” Role in Murder of Americans
The senior political and "resistance" figure is still trying to legitimize the cold-blooded murder of unarmed Americans in the 2007 Karbala raid.
Jun 5, 2025
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  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Brief Analysis
Reducing the U.S. Presence in Syria Too Quickly Could Help the Islamic State
Besides testing Syria’s new authorities on a mission they are not yet ready to handle by themselves, Washington also has an unprecedented chance to curtail the group in areas that were difficult to reach under the old regime.
Jun 4, 2025
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  • Ido Levy
Harakat al-Abdal armored vehicles and flags
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Harakat al-Abdal
An inveterate opponent of the United States and Israel, the enigmatic Harakat al-Abdal may have become an entirely Qods Force-operated, Syria-based entity years ago, posing questions about where its fighters now reside and what became of its PMF status in Iraq.
Jun 2, 2025
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  • Sary Mumayiz
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
A United Nations peacepeeker scans the terrain in southern Lebanon - source: Untied Nations
Brief Analysis
UNIFIL’s Fork in the Road
The time for inertia is over—this summer, Security Council members will have a rare and urgent chance to break the spell of illusory “peacekeeping” and advance a model that actually helps keep the peace between Israel and Lebanon.
May 29, 2025
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  • Assaf Orion
An Islamic State fighter waves an ISIS flag while brandishing an automatic rifle in Raqaa, Syria - source: Reuters
Articles & Testimony
Everyday Life in the Islamic State’s Wilayat al-Raqqah
An in-depth study of how the Islamic State’s administrative apparatus and activities in its Syrian “capital” affected local residents, and how it sought to instrumentalize the populace in a quest to sustain its wider international state-building project for the long term.
May 2025
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  • Aaron Y. Zelin
Syria's acting president Sharaa greets U.S. President Trump in Riyadh in May 2025 - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Setting Expectations with Syria on Countering the Islamic State
After an encouraging Trump-Sharaa meeting, Washington and its partners must now facilitate the complex work of creating timelines and implementing new security arrangements to constrain the jihadist group.
May 27, 2025
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  • Devorah Margolin
An IDF display of weapons seized from a Hezbollah cache in southern Lebanon - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Disarming Palestinian Factions in Lebanon Means Disarming Hezbollah
Given their deep historical and present-day coordination, Beirut needs to change its mindset of treating these groups separately and formulate a unified strategy for disarming them all—and the sooner the better.
May 21, 2025
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  • Hanin Ghaddar
  • Ehud Yaari

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Supported by the

Jeanette and Eli Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence

The Washington Institute's Jeanette and Eli Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence serves as Washington's premier center for the study of international terrorism.

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Featured experts

Matthew Levitt
Matthew Levitt
Matthew Levitt is the Fromer-Wexler Senior Fellow and director of the Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute.
Devorah Margolin
Devorah Margolin
Devorah Margolin is the Blumenstein-Rosenbloom Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute.
Aaron Zelin
Aaron Y. Zelin
Aaron Y. Zelin is the Gloria and Ken Levy Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy where his research focuses on Sunni Arab jihadi groups in North Africa and Syria as well as the trend of foreign fighting and online jihadism.
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