Osama bin Laden

THE ENIGMATIC CALIPH: How long will Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi be able to survive on the run? What powerbase will he be able to establish in the Middle East? The ISIL commander came out of hiding Friday 4 July, leading the prayer in a mosque in Mosul in Iraq. A recording of the appearance was published by ISIL the day after.

The quest for the caliph(ate)

ANALYSIS: With several national intelligence services using all their resources to hunt him down, the self-declared “caliph” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi needs to maintain the fighting spirit of his mujahedeen force while establishing his […]

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Syrian jihad, from Antwerp

IN DEPTH: At least 100 people have left the Netherlands to fight in Syria. In neighbouring Belgium, the number is even higher. Family members and researchers point to the Belgian group Shariah4Belgium as […]

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“Jihad will continue”

INTERVIEW: Jordanian militant Islamist Abu Sayaf calls Egypt’s armed forces chief, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, an “apostate” and says jihad in Syria will continue even if the Assad regime is ousted. Hisham Allam “Realities differ,” says […]

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Zarqawi’s legacy

“The impact of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is stronger than that of Osama bin Laden,” says the Jordanian researcher Hassan Abu Hanieh. Hisham Allam and Øyvind Strømmen A militant Salafi Muslim leader known as […]

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