Development is complex, but in complexity there is an opportunity for innovation if the right partnerships are formed.
In Somalia, where the needs are extreme, multiple and urgent, there is no shortage of development projects, but more often than not, this dominates the global view of Somalia. However, this is not the full story.
Last week, Somalia held its first International Investment Conference. The day before I opened this historic gathering, there was a cowardly terrorist attack on a hotel near the presidential offices, which sadly claimed innocent lives and injured many more. I could hear the fighting from my offices and residencethroughout the night and the attack continued as the conference opened, coming to an end towards the early afternoon, thanks to the efforts of Somalia’s brave security forces.… Seguir leyendo »
In France, the victim participates as a "civil party" in a criminal trial for the sole purpose of compensation or to support the prosecution. In matters of terrorism, the special Assize Court does not have jurisdiction to rule on the civil parties’ claims for compensation, as this prerogative is reserved for a Victims' Guarantee Fund. Thus, at the trial of the November 13, 2015 attacks, which was held between September 2021 and July 2022, the victims could not claim compensation.
However, they were offered a unique and unprecedented opportunity. Invited to testify extensively, they were able to express their suffering and their quest for the truth about the roots and the course of the attacks.… Seguir leyendo »
In August 2021, all US soldiers left Afghanistan, enabling the Taliban to take over the country. Since then, the Taliban have installed a theocracy that bans women from most jobs and bars girls over the age of 12 from attending school, while maintaining close relationships with terrorist groups, such as al Qaeda.
The Taliban today control more of Afghanistan than they did the last time they were in power before the 9/11 attacks. And they are better armed since they now possess American armored vehicles and M16 rifles left behind as the US military headed for the exits.
For the past year, a group known as the National Resistance Front has waged a guerrilla war against the Taliban.… Seguir leyendo »
The withdrawal of the last remaining French troops from Mali this month has inflicted a serious blow to Western military efforts to curtail a growing Islamist threat spreading across the Sahel region of Africa.
The failure of the French military mission, which included up to 5,000 soldiers in what became known as Operation Barkane, demonstrates the perplexing difficulties of waging a counterinsurgency campaign against regional remnants of al-Qaeda and Islamic State. It also raises concerns that Russia and China might step into the geopolitical void left by frustrated and impatient Western governments.
As the United States ponders the lessons of its 20-year struggle against the Taliban in Afghanistan, which ended in a chaotic exit one year ago, France is reconsidering its own strategy in coping with the proliferation of Islamist militants in many of its former African colonies.… Seguir leyendo »
A inicios de este mes de agosto, en el que se cumplen cinco años desde los atentados de 2017 en Barcelona y Cambrils, quedó por enésima vez de manifiesto que el yihadismo persiste en España. Un combatiente terrorista extranjero fue detenido en Mataró (Barcelona) a su retorno de Siria a través de la ruta de los Balcanes. Aquellos atentados en Cataluña tuvieron lugar en el contexto de un insólito ciclo de movilización yihadista en Europa Occidental que duró desde 2012 hasta 2019 y fue promovido desde Siria e Irak, sobre todo por Estado Islámico, pero también por entidades relacionadas con Al Qaeda.… Seguir leyendo »
Entre los numerosos focos de violencia del continente africano destaca el del Sahel Occidental. Pese a que ya hace una década que el Sahel se ve azotado por este tipo de criminalidad, la región atraviesa un momento especialmente crítico. Prueba de ello es la reciente calificación de la zona como uno de los principales riesgos para la OTAN.
Pero ¿qué sucede en el Sahel? ¿Qué países son los más afectados por el terrorismo?
La franja al sur de nuestros vecinos magrebíes alberga el epicentro mundial del terrorismo yihadista. Burkina Faso y Malí sufren, mes tras mes, cifras históricas de violencia. Los países adyacentes (Níger, Costa de Marfil, Togo o Benín) padecen también atentados en sus territorios.… Seguir leyendo »
Entre la enorme lista de cosas estigmatizadas por nuestra sociedad está el uso de la violencia. Lo que voy a decir puede resultar inaceptable, políticamente incorrecto, casi delictivo, en una sociedad que hace del pacifismo idiota uno de sus mantras más poderosos. La violencia es a la historia de la Humanidad lo mismo que el sol y la lluvia, constante y permanente. La violencia es buena o mala en relación al fin que la motive, no en sí misma. Que los cuerpos de seguridad o nuestro Ejército hagan uso legítimo y equilibrado de ella para defender la libertad, el territorio nacional o terminar con una amenaza terrorista no solo es bueno, sino deseable.… Seguir leyendo »
La célula de Ripoll, a la que pertenecían los yihadistas que perpetraron los atentados de agosto de 2017 en Barcelona y Cambrils, era una célula enlazada con las estructuras centrales de Estado Islámico (EI). Hay datos esenciales y circunstancias adicionales cuyo adecuado análisis conmina a catalogarla de tal modo y no como una célula independiente o meramente inspirada por la organización yihadista. El enlace se produjo a través de combatientes terroristas extranjeros con origen en Europa Occidental, desplazados en Siria e Irak o retornados. En primer lugar, es posible deducir buena parte de ello de un estudio contextual y minucioso de las notificaciones y los pronunciamientos de EI tras los atentados, que permite desvelar el papel desempeñado por el denominado aparato de seguridad exterior de la organización yihadista encargado de guiar a los miembros de la célula de Ripoll en sus planes y preparaciones.… Seguir leyendo »
En una primera lectura, la eliminación de Ayman al Zawahiri, máximo líder de Al Qaeda desde 2011, puede presentarse como un rotundo éxito de Washington en su afán por hacer justicia o vengarse —como cada cual prefiera— de quien solía identificarse como el verdadero padre intelectual del 11-S. Visto así, solo cabría alabar la pericia demostrada por los servicios de inteligencia estadounidenses —los mismos que erraron patentemente en su cálculo sobre el desafío talibán hace tan solo un año—.
Así, en lo que se nos ha presentado como un golpe quirúrgico con un misil Hellfire R9X lanzado desde un dron MQ-9 Reaper, cabría valorar positivamente que no fuera armado con una cabeza explosiva para evitar daños colaterales que pudieran afectar a los civiles que habitan las casas circundantes.… Seguir leyendo »
The first time I met Ayman al- Zawahiri, back in 1998, he was acting as Osama bin Laden’s interpreter — but it was clear he was much more than that.
It was my second interview with bin Laden, and Zawahiri impressed me right away. He translated bin Laden’s responses from Arabic into perfect English. Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor by training, was able to pose my critical questions with a mild smile on his face, and then conveyed bin Laden’s responses to me in a very aggressive tone.
When I learned that Zawahiri had been killed by a U.S. drone strike in downtown Kabul, I thought about his deep ties to jihadism in the country.… Seguir leyendo »
When President Biden announced the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan last year, one of his main justifications was that Al Qaeda had been so “degraded” that the United States no longer needed to maintain a military presence in a country once used as a Qaeda sanctuary. Mr. Biden also vowed to hold the Taliban to its pledge not to allow terrorists to threaten the United States from Afghan soil.
Yet less than a year after the Taliban completed their recapture of Afghanistan, the head of Al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahri, was hiding out in a house in downtown Kabul, where he was killed in an American drone strike on Sunday.… Seguir leyendo »
Los miembros de la llamada célula de Ripoll, denominada así por la localidad gerundense donde se constituyó, prepararon la ejecución de una matanza terrorista en Barcelona el 20 de agosto de 2017. En vez de eso, algunos de ellos improvisaron atentados empleando furgonetas y cuchillos, que se materializaron pocos días antes en la propia capital de Cataluña y en la localidad tarraconense de Cambrils. ¿Quiénes eran esos terroristas y cómo llegaron a conformar una célula operativa? ¿Qué es lo que explica su radicalización en el salafismo yihadista? ¿Cómo se prepararon para atentar ocasionando el mayor número posible de víctimas? En los tres epígrafes en los que se divide este documento respondemos a esas tres preguntas con base en evidencia extraída de fuentes primarias.… Seguir leyendo »
Ayman al-Zawahiri was the ultimate survivor—until he wasn’t. For 20 years, a parade of other jihadist leaders—including Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Osama bin Laden, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and Anwar al-Awlaki—came to violent ends at the hands of U.S. forces. But Zawahiri stayed alive, seemingly invulnerable to American intelligence and drones.
Then, this past Sunday, the man who succeeded bin Laden as the emir of al Qaeda in 2011 finally met his fate, struck by two Hellfire missiles while standing on the balcony of a safe house in the Afghan capital, Kabul. According to U.S. President Joe Biden, who announced the successful strike in a televised address on Monday night, there were no civilian casualties.… Seguir leyendo »
In early May, the Islamic State-Sinai Province killed 11 Egyptian soldiers and damaged a natural gas pipeline. Far from demonstrating the Islamic State’s power in the strategic peninsula, the attack was the first major incident in almost a year, a far cry from the full-blown jihadi insurgency that had gripped Sinai only a few years ago. The Egyptian military finally appears to be making progress in rolling back the group. Not only have there been fewer attacks, but Cairo’s funneling of economic development funds to the peninsula has also generated some goodwill among the long-restive population. In March 2021, a coalition of Bedouin tribesmen, armed civilians, and Egyptian military killed the region’s Islamic State leader.… Seguir leyendo »
The Islamic State, which seemed to be extinguished three years ago when its caliphate was crushed, is still smoldering red hot at a refugee camp here and a prison nearby. And the Syrian Kurdish militia that’s guarding the facilities says it badly needs help before there’s a new eruption.
The battle against ISIS, as the Islamic State is also known, is yesterday’s war, and it gets little public attention. But the danger of a resurgence was evident Wednesday when Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, the new commander of the U.S. Central Command, toured the two facilities in northeast Syria. He’s the first senior military official to inspect either place.… Seguir leyendo »
Este es mi recuerdo de los acontecimientos que tuvieron lugar entre el 11 y el 15 de marzo de 2004, hace ya 18 años. Madrid quedó asolada por el mayor atentado terrorista de nuestra historia. El ataque dejó 192 muertos y más de mil heridos en las calles de la capital de España.
Todavía hoy, muchas personas no creen la versión oficial. Es decir, que Al Qaeda y una de sus franquicias marroquíes fueron los responsables de la masacre.
El efecto inmediato del atentado, aparte de la devastación humana, fue la caída del Gobierno del Partido Popular, que todavía presidía un José María Aznar al que iba a suceder probablemente, según todos los sondeos, Mariano Rajoy.… Seguir leyendo »
This month, a U.S. Special Forces mission targeted Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, the leader of the Islamic State. Al-Qurayshi reportedly detonated explosives during the raid, killing himself and members of his family.
His death follows previous U.S. raids that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. But what type of leader was al-Qurayshi — and what type of leader might succeed him?
The Islamic State leader was a relative unknown
Our research explains why these questions are critical when trying to gauge the impact on a terrorist group after its leader has died.… Seguir leyendo »
“I am scared I’ll die anytime,” the teenager said in his 11-second voice message. “Please help me.” He was a human shield for ISIS, one of about 150 foreign minors taken hostage in a prison in northeastern Syria last month. Even if he survived the siege, his prospects were bleak.
While the West has largely moved on three years after the fall of the so-called Caliphate, more than 7,000 foreign children remain trapped in de facto prison camps in Northeast Syria run reluctantly by the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. (These children are from nearly 60 countries, including France, Tunisia and Britain — but the figure does not include the thousands of Iraqi and Syrian children also in the camps and prisons for ISIS fighters and their families.)… Seguir leyendo »
Who was the ISIS leader killed yesterday in north-western Syria?
Abdullah Qardash, an Iraqi national also known as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi, became ISIS leader on 31 October 2019, one week after his predecessor, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed in a U.S. raid in Idlib province in north-western Syria. Qardash was a long-time jihadist veteran. He joined what was known as al-Qaeda in Iraq shortly after the 2003 U.S. invasion to fight the U.S.-led coalition forces and the new Iraqi government. Like several other future ISIS leaders, he was arrested for his role in the insurgency and spent time in the U.S.… Seguir leyendo »
On 16 November, a trio of suicide bombers targeted Kampala, Uganda’s capital city, one detonating his vest outside police headquarters and two more blowing themselves up near parliament. The attacks killed at least four other people, according to official reports, and wounded 37 more, 27 of whom were police officers. As the city reeled from the blasts, security forces hunted down a fourth bomber in north-western Kampala, shooting him before recovering his suicide vest. The police said they had recovered more explosive materials from a safe house the fourth attacker was using in a nearby suburb and were continuing to track other possible members of the “terror groups”.… Seguir leyendo »
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