Islamic State | Al Majalla

IS jihadists are currently active in at least 28 countries across the African continent.

Ten years after its inception, IS finds new sanctuary in Africa

Ten years ago, al-Baghdadi declared an Islamic Caliphate in Iraq and Syria. But after being largely defeated in the Middle East, the terrorist group has found new places to regroup around the world.

Charles Lister 29, Jun 2024

Syrian Kurdish Asayish security forces guard a house during a raid against suspected IS fighters in Raqqa, the jihadist group's former de facto capital in Syria, on January 29, 2023.

Back with a bang: Islamic State rears its head in Syria again

Five years after its decimation in the Middle East, the terrorist group that once proclaimed a 'state' has used Africa and Central Asia to regroup, and is now resurgent in its former heartlands.

Charles Lister 04, Apr 2024

Saidakrami Murodalii Rachabalizoda, suspected of taking part in the attack on a concert hall that killed 137 people in Moscow, which IS-KP claimed, sits inside the defendant's cage on 24 March 2024.

AFP

ISKP: Who are the murky terrorists behind the Moscow concert hall attack?

The Islamic State Khorasan Province has a history of carrying out attacks in central Asia, but its leadership and structure are largely opaque. Al Majalla explains.

Abdullah F. Alrebh 30, Mar 2024

Jihadists were able to portray the presence of US troops as an 'occupation', which some extremists fell prey to, birthing the first wave of jihadist terrorism, which lasted through the 1990s.

Eleanor Shakespeare

How jihadists exploited the aftermath of the First Gulf War to build a global terrorist network

Jihadists were able to portray the presence of US troops in the region as an 'occupation', which some extremists fell prey to, birthing the first wave of jihadist terrorism in the 1990s.

Charles Lister 12, Aug 2023

A general view of al-Hol displacement camp in Hasaka governorate, Syria April 2, 2019. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho

Spain to Bring Back Spanish Families from IS Camps in Syria

Spain has decided to bring back several Spanish wives, widows and children of Islamic State fighters from detention camps in northeastern Syria, a government source said on Monday, confirming a…

21, Nov 2022

Taliban fighters pictured in Laghman Province. They began a lightning offensive earlier this year. (Photo: Getty Images)

Central Asia’s Security and the Transition in Afghanistan

The Taliban are losing control in northern Afghanistan to the Islamic State. In the past few months, the terrorist group has carried out a Transition in Afghanistan Series of bombings at Shia…

Bruce Pannier 13, May 2022

1- An ISIS official announcing the capture of Tabqa air base to residents of Raqqa province, Syria, August 24, 2014. (Stringer/Reuters)

ISIS’s Leadership Crisis

It is only February, and already, the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) has had a rough year. ISIS’s supporters quickly went from cheering on a large prison break in northeast Syria to learning,…

Haroro Ingram, Craig Whiteside 25, Feb 2022

A fully veiled woman collects items near the house in which the leader of Islamic State leader Abdullah Qardash died during a raid by US special forces in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, on Feb, 4, 2022. - AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images

US Diplomat Says Killing of ISIS Leader Reduces Effectiveness of Extremist Group

ISIS has not yet announced a new successor to its leader Abdullah Qardash, who was killed this week in a complex airdrop in a town located in an area overlapping the Syrian provinces of Aleppo and…

Jiwan Soz 12, Feb 2022

Popular
Editor's Pick

Opinion

Without inclusive governance, Syria could fall back into chaos

15 December 2024

Without prompt and united action, Syria's transition risks veering off course, with devastating consequences for the country and the region. Time is of the essence.

Haid Haid

Members of Russian and Syrian forces at the Abu Al-Duhur crossing on the eastern edge of Idlib province on August 20, 2018.

AFP

Politics

How the fall of Assad has been a strategic loss for Russia

14 December 2024

Russia's claim of being a steadfast guarantor of security for allies has been dented, which could affect its expansion into Africa and Latin America and strain its ties with Central Asian countries

Samer Elias

Al Majalla

Business & Economy

Resuscitating Syria’s economy is crucial but will not be easy

15 December 2024

Regime change brings an opportunity to raise living standards, which have collapsed along with the national currency and years of war. The transition of power will be key.

Joseph Daher

Opinion

Assad's fall throws the future of Syria's Kurds into question

13 December 2024

There are now mounting concerns that Erdoğan will intensify his efforts to dismantle the autonomous Kurdish enclave

Con Coughlin

The Lebanese painters who captured this year's war

Axel Rangel Garcia

Culture & Social Affairs

Lebanese artists on how their art helps them process war

15 December 2024

Speaking to Al Majalla, they explain how art functions as a lens through which to examine events and their aftermath and helps them explore connections between the personal and the collective

Mimoza Al-Arrawi

Sections

Regions

More

LATEST ISSUE

Ten years after its inception, IS finds new sanctuary in Africa

Back with a bang: Islamic State rears its head in Syria again

ISKP: Who are the murky terrorists behind the Moscow concert hall attack?

How jihadists exploited the aftermath of the First Gulf War to build a global terrorist network

Spain to Bring Back Spanish Families from IS Camps in Syria

Central Asia’s Security and the Transition in Afghanistan

ISIS’s Leadership Crisis

US Diplomat Says Killing of ISIS Leader Reduces Effectiveness of Extremist Group

Without inclusive governance, Syria could fall back into chaos

How the fall of Assad has been a strategic loss for Russia

Resuscitating Syria’s economy is crucial but will not be easy

Assad's fall throws the future of Syria's Kurds into question

Lebanese artists on how their art helps them process war

OPINIONS

Rather than extend a hand, Netanyahu rains of Syria’s parade

Gaza’s young filmmakers capture the suffering of war

The Iranian project in the Middle East

Cautious optimism: Syria tiptoes into the future with Turkey’s help

Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter