Download or read book The Islamic State Foreign Fighter Phenomenon and the Jihadi Threat to India written by Anurag Sharma and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Research to-date on so-called 'Islamic State' (IS) or 'Islamic State of Iraq and Syria's' (ISIS) foreign fighters has mainly covered the movement of these from Western countries to Iraq and Syria. A significant, but under-researched, number of foreign fighters from South-Asian countries have also travelled to IS-controlled regions. It is estimated that around 1,000 foreign fighters from five countries in South-Asia, including China, had departed by 2015. Somewhat surprisingly, India, with the second-largest Muslim population in the world (c.172 million) after Indonesia, has an official count of just 23 foreign fighters travelling to IS-controlled regions in Iraq and Syria, to 2017. The Indian foreign fighter contingent appears tiny in comparison with the European foreign fighter numbers or those of foreign fighters from other nations in the Indian Subcontinent (e.g. Pakistan, Maldives). This thesis thus sought to determine if the Indian foreign fighter count is greater than the official count, how Indian foreign fighters compared with other foreign fighters in terms of individual characteristics, and the threat posed by these to India going forward. It is the first substantive analysis of the Indian foreign fighters in IS. It was found that the number of Indian foreign fighters, including departures for Afghanistan, is 38. Data about these 38 individuals, gleaned from media accounts, court and other official documents, were then subject to analysis. The collected data was categorised according to determinants such as age, gender, home location, education, employment, etc. Comparison between Indian and European foreign fighters was also conducted to find the similarities and differences between them based on these factors. The biggest difference was in relation to foreign fighters' prior criminal convictions. Many European fighters had criminal backgrounds, whereas only two of the Indian foreign fighters fit this description. Fourteen of the Indians are reportedly dead and just two are returnees, so unlikely to bring about the 'Islamic State-Khorasan' in the Indian Subcontinent by 2020 as called for by IS. This thesis nonetheless also explores the threat posed by returned or returning fighters to India.

Download or read book Radicalized written by Peter R. Neumann and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2016-09-30 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The attacks in Paris in January and November 2015 heralded the beginning of a new wave of terrorism - one rooted in the ongoing conflict in Syria and Iraq. As ISIS seeks to expand its reach in the Middle East, its territory serves as a base for training and operations for a new generation of jihadis. Thousands of young people from the West, primarily from Europe, have travelled to join ISIS, re-emerging as hardened fighters with military training and a network of international contacts. Many of these have now returned to their homelands, where it is feared they are planning a new series of brutal attacks. Peter R. Neumann here explains the phenomenon of the 'new jihadis', and shows why the threat of terrorism in the West is greater than ever before. Based on interviews and previously-unseen material, Neumann provides an essential introduction to one of the greatest crises of our time

Download or read book Road Warriors written by Daniel Byman and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2019-05-02 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ever since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, fighters from abroad have journeyed in ever-greater numbers to conflict zones in the Muslim world to defend Islam from-in their view-infidels and apostates. The phenomenon recently reached its apogee in Syria, where the foreign fighter population quickly became larger and more diverse than in any previous conflict. In Road Warriors, Daniel Byman provides a sweeping history of the jihadist foreign fighter movement. He begins by chronicling the movement's birth in Afghanistan, its growing pains in Bosnia and Chechnya, and its emergence as a major source of terrorism in the West in the 1990s, culminating in the 9/11 attacks. Since that bloody day, the foreign fighter movement has seen major ups and downs. It rode high after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, when the ultra-violent Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) attracted thousands of foreign fighters. AQI overreached, however, and suffered a crushing defeat. Demonstrating the resilience of the movement, however, AQI reemerged anew during the Syrian civil war as the Islamic State, attracting tens of thousands of fighters from around the world and spawning the bloody 2015 attacks in Paris among hundreds of other strikes. Although casualty rates are usually high, the survivors of Afghanistan, Syria, and other fields of jihad often became skilled professional warriors, going from one war to the next. Still others returned to their home countries, some to peaceful retirement but a deadly few to conduct terrorist attacks. Over time, both the United States and Europe have learned to adapt. Before 9/11, volunteers went to and fro to Afghanistan and other hotspots with little interference. Today, the United States and its allies have developed a global program to identify, arrest, and kill foreign fighters. Much remains to be done, however-jihadist ideas and networks are by now deeply embedded, even as groups such as Al Qaeda and the Islamic State rise and fall. And as Byman makes abundantly clear, the problem is not likely to go away any time soon.

Download or read book Returning Islamist Foreign Fighters written by Elena Pokalova and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-10-24 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the challenges foreign fighter returnees from Syria and Iraq pose to Western countries. A number of returnees have demonstrated that they are willing to use violence against their home countries, and some have already staged terrorist attacks on Western soil on apparent orders from ISIS. Through the historical context of previous waves of mobilizations of Islamist foreign fighters, the author tracks the experiences of returnees from previous conflicts and discusses the major security challenges associated with them. The book analyzes the major approaches implemented by Western countries in response to foreign fighter returnees, discusses the prosecution of returnees, and evaluates the corresponding challenges of prison radicalization.

Download or read book The ISIS Phenomenon written by Kabir Taneja and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These papers are seminal—they are the first serious, data-driven examination of the impact of ISIS in India and the wider South Asian region. While the first section of this monograph looks at the ideological moorings of the ISIS as well as its organisational and operational dynamics, the other sections are focused on the impact of ISIS on South Asia and India. A pioneering, data-driven examination of the Islamic State, its rise and fall, and its post-geography threat to India, South Asia, and beyond. This monograph aims to fill the void in the current understanding of not only ISIS' conception and operational structure, but the evolving nature of terrorism and the factors that strengthen jihadist ideologies. It offers decision-makers fresh insights for formulating appropriate counter- terrorism strategies towards creating a safe, secure and peaceful regional environment.

Download or read book The Homegrown Jihadi Terrorist written by U. S. Military and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2018-11-05 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As this study establishes, the influence of Islamist extremists has expanded into the United States. The terrorist organization known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has attracted many U.S. citizens to support its radical perspective of Islam. The ultimate goal of ISIS is to rule the Muslim world. Although establishing a caliphate or unleashing holy war on U.S. soil is clearly not in ISIS's immediate plans, its current goal is to recruit as many American supporters as possible. Since ISIS's declaration of its caliphate, American citizens have supported ISIS by attempting to become foreign fighters, soliciting jihadist material online, or plotting attacks in the United States. Homegrown jihadi terrorist ideology thus poses a threat, due to its inherently violent Islamic extremism. This threat needs to be defeated by a comprehensive approach that ensures the safety and security of the United States.The threat of terrorism born of radicalization is a critical issue that challenges the world today, and homegrown Islamic terrorists who become foreign fighters pose a substantial threat to our national security. The conflict in Syria and Iraq has attracted Western extremists eager to wage battle and violence against the United States. Although their number is minimal compared to the number of European Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) recruits, they remain a security concern that the government must resolve.Some theorists argue that the domestic terrorist threat is not a significant issue and that it arises due only the public's fear of a perceived, albeit exaggerated, risk that underscores the problem. However, others see the threat as real and agree with terrorism experts, such as Will McCants, Peter Bergen, and Bruce Hoffman, that radicalization, and recruitment of ISIS supporters in the United States are on the rise and that attacks are becoming concurrently more complicated to prevent due to the diversification and evolution of the threat.This thesis looks at the increase in the number of U.S. homegrown ISIS-inspired terrorists from 2014 to 2017. Estimates indicate that more than 250 Americans became foreign fighters in that period. Furthermore, over 161 have been arrested and convicted of being ISIS supporters, and currently, there are approximately 900 active investigations of individuals that may be ISIS supporters in the United States. This thesis reviews research using court records and open-source information to analyze ISIS radicalization and recruitment in the United States. It endeavors to explain the possible patterns of who supports ISIS, pledges an oath to it, and why.

Download or read book Extremist Migration written by Shima D Keene and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2019-06-06 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This monograph provides an assessment of the emerging threat posed by foreign jihadist fighters following the reduction in territory controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and recommends ways that the U.S. Army should address the issues highlighted.

Download or read book Digital Jihad written by Francesco Marone and published by Ledizioni. This book was released on 2019-12-02 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The internet offers tremendous opportunities for violent extremists across the ideological spectrum and at a global level. In addition to propaganda, digital technologies have transformed the dynamics of radical mobilisation, recruitment and participation. Even though the jihadist threat has seemingly declined in the West, the danger exists of the internet being an environment where radical messages can survive and even prosper. Against this background, this ISPI report investigates the current landscape of jihadist online communication, including original empirical analysis. Specific attention is also placed on potential measures and initiatives to address the threat of online violent extremism. The volume aims to present important points for reflection on the phenomenon in the West (including Italy) and beyond.

Download or read book Fear Thy Neighbor written by Lorenzo Vidino and published by Ledizioni. This book was released on 2017-09-11 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last three years Europe and North America have been hit by an unprecedented wave of terrorist attacks perpetrated by individuals motivated by jihadist ideology. Who are the individuals who have carried out these attacks? Were they born and raised in the West? Or were they an “imported threat”, refugees and migrants? How did they radicalize? Were they well educated and integrated, or social outcasts? Did they act alone? What were their connections to the Islamic State? The answers to these and other questions have large implications for our understanding of the threat facing us and, consequently, help us design sounder policy solutions built on empirical evidence. This study, the first of its kind, seeks to analyze the demographic profile, radicalization trajectories and connections to the Islamic State of all the individuals who have carried out attacks inspired by jihadist ideology in North America and Europe in the three years since the proclamation of the caliphate in June 2014.

Download or read book Homegrown written by Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-11-12 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How big is the threat posed by American ISIS supporters? How many Americans have joined ISIS and how many want to return to the United States? Compared to participation by Americans in other jihadist groups, the scale of American involvement in jihadist activity today is unprecedented. This book, from one of the leading counter-terror centres, draws on first-hand interviews with former American Islamic State members and law enforcement officials who tracked them, and includes detailed analysis of the court cases against them and their social media presence. Homegrown reveals how and why ISIS was able to radicalize and recruit a new generation of jihadist sympathizers in America.

Download or read book Transnational Terrorism written by Edward F. Mickolus and published by Greenwood. This book was released on 1980-11-20 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Social Science for Counterterrorism written by Paul K. Davis and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2009 with total page 541 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Employs an interdisciplinary, social science approach to various counterterrorism questions, problems, and policies.

Download or read book The Islamic State in Khorasan written by Antonio Giustozzi and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-08-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: So-called Islamic State began to appear in what it calls Khorasan (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Central Asia, Iran and India) in 2014. Reports of its presence were at first dismissed as propaganda, but during 2015 it became clear that IS had a serious presence in Afghanistan and Pakistan at least. This book, by one of the leading experts on Islamist insurgency in the region, explores the nature of IS in Khorasan, its aim and strategies, and its evolution in an environment already populated by many jihadist organisations. Based on first-hand research and numerous interviews with members of IS in Khorasan, as well as with other participants and observers, the book addresses highly contentious issues such as funding, IS's relationship with the region's authorities, and its interactions with other insurgent groups. Giustozzi argues that the central leadership of IS invested significant financial resources in establishing its own branch in Khorasan, and as such it is more than a local movement which adopted the IS brand for its own aims. Though the central leadership has been struggling in implementing its project, it is now turning towards a more realistic approach. This is the first book on a new frontier in Islamic State's international jihad.

Download or read book The Islamic State and Drones written by U S Military and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2019-05-22 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Islamic State is a group known for doing things a bit differently, for its capacity for innovation, and for its many 'firsts.' Two of those 'firsts' happened within months of each other. The first occurred in October 2016 when the group used a bomb-laden drone to kill, after the explosive hidden within the drone killed two Kurdish peshmerga soldiers who were investigating the device. Another 'first' happened in January 2017 when the Islamic State released a propaganda video that showed nearly a dozen examples of the group releasing munitions on its enemies from the air with a fair degree of accuracy via quadcopter drones it had modified. And it wasn't long before the group's bomb-drop capable drones would go on to kill, too. After reaching a high point in the spring of 2017, the scale of the Islamic State drone threat-like many other dimensions of the group and its power-has already been significantly degraded. A surprisingly little amount of analytical attention, however, has been given to how the Islamic State was able to pull off its drone feats and bring its program to scale in a relatively short amount of time. This report seeks to address this gap by evaluating the main factors that helped the Islamic State to effectively use modified commercial drones as weapons. It also highlights some of the broader threat and policy implications associated with the Islamic State's pioneering use of drones.This compilation includes a reproduction of the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.1. Executive Summary * 2. Introduction * 3. Keep It Simple, Stupid! The Islamic State's Tactical and Operational Drone Innovations * 4. Scale, Sources, and Manufacturing * 5. From Point Of Purchase to the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq: The IBACS Conspiracy * 6. From Recovered Drones to Suppliers: Retracing Islamic State Drone Purchases * 7. Drone Games, Terror Drone Diffusion, and Near-Term Threats * 8. Future Terror Drone Use * 9. Conclusion

Download or read book Foreign Fighters written by David Malet and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-05-23 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Foreign Fighters is the comprehensive study of foreign fighters examines patterns of recruitment using original data sets and detailed diverse case studies, and how recruiters use frames of existential threat to strengthen rebel groups.

Download or read book The Future of ISIS written by Feisal al-Istrabadi and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2018-06-26 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Looking to the future in confronting the Islamic State The Islamic State (best known in the West as ISIS or ISIL) has been active for less than a decade, but it has already been the subject of numerous histories and academic studies—all focus primarily on the past. The Future of ISIS is the first major study to look ahead: what are the prospects for the Islamic State in the near term, and what can the global community, including the United States, do to counter it? Edited by two distinguished scholars at Indiana University, the book examines how ISIS will affect not only the Middle East but the global order. Specific chapters deal with such questions as whether and how ISIS benefitted from intelligence failures, and what can be done to correct any such failures; how to confront the alarmingly broad appeal of Islamic State ideology; the role of local and regional actors in confronting ISIS; and determining U.S. interests in preventing ISIS from gaining influence and controlling territory. Given the urgency of the topic, The Future of ISIS is of interest to policymakers, analysts, and students of international affairs and public policy.

Download or read book Youth and violent extremism on social media written by Alava, Séraphin and published by UNESCO Publishing. This book was released on 2017-12-04 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: