ICT's Publications

During 2014, the Al-Malahem media institution, belonging to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), published a series of eight recorded lectures about military strategy and combat methods. The lectures – which were produced and presented by a senior official in the organization, Nasr bin Ali al-Ansi – were featured in the framework of publications by the "Jihadist Military Academy". In order to make the lectures more approachable, in November, 2014 a 26 page document was published, briefly summarizing the main points of each lecture.

The introduction to the lectures indicates that "military strategy" is only one of many (33) topics covered in over 60 lessons, about a wide variety of military issues – in the areas of history, tactics, training, naval warfare, military engineering, and more (see appendix) – which the AQAP transmits to its students in lectures at the "Jihadist Military Academy". In addition, the introduction clarifies that the target audience of the videos is the fighters with battlefield experience who "are qualified for taking responsibility for commanding, guiding, and planning". This sits well with the fact that most of the principles detailed in the lectures apply more to management of the combat system in the battlefield, and not to attacks carried out by lone terrorists or small cells.

On July 12, 2015, authorities in Kosovo cut off water supplies to the country’s capital, Pristina, due to fears that a terrorist cell with links to the Islamic State (ISIS) may have contaminated the city’s main source of water at Badovac Lake.  The artificial lake sits just ten kilometers southeast of Pristina and is an essential source of water for both the capital and its surrounding towns.

Malaysia has a consistent anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian foreign policy. Malaysia, Turkey and Qatar were the main supporters of Hamas during itswar against Israel in July – August 2014. Malaysia is a strategic ally of the United States in the war against terrorism (like Turkey and Qatar), but it publicly supports Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.

Kenya sent troops into Somalia in late 2011, after accusing al-Shabaab of killing and abducting tourists and aid workers. The military defeat of al-Shabaab in Somalia forced al-Shabaab to retreat back into society and to re-establish itself as a guerrilla and terror force able to strike back in the region.

Recent activity in Jordan's southern governance capitol, Ma'an, raises concern as to the emergence of radical Islam and its implication in-light of recent gains by the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS). Recent months have seen an increase in Jihadi rhetoric over the internet as well as on the ground.