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1. The Manchester Attack: Assessing Threats to Major Events and Soft Targets

Author:
The Soufan Group
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Soufan Group
Abstract:
From Paris to Istanbul, sports and entertainment venues, to include stadiums, convention centers and arenas – often easily accessed and filled with large groups of people – have become increasingly attractive targets. While there is a history of targeting stadiums around the world, the increased prevalence of these attacks, along with new tactics, may forecast future activity that requires both public and private sector stakeholders to examine existing efforts and implement new measures to enhance safety and security
Topic:
Intelligence and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Britain

2. Beyond the Caliphate: Foreign fighters and the threat of returnees

Author:
Richard Barrett
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Soufan Group
Abstract:
As the so-called Islamic State (IS) loses territorial control of its caliphate, there is little doubt that the group or something similar will survive the worldwide campaign against it so long as the conditions that promoted its growth remain. Its appeal will outlast its demise, and while it will be hard to assess the specific threat posed by foreign fighters and returnees, they will present a challenge to many countries for years to come.
Topic:
International Affairs and Counter-terrorism
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. Libya Extremism and the Consequences of Collapse

Author:
The Soufan Group
Publication Date:
01-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Soufan Group
Abstract:
Following the failure to form a unity government in Libya, the country will continue to face monumental hurdles to stabilization. • Existing divides between the East and West of Libya have been exacerbated by the security situation in the country. • The absence of rule of law and the high levels of violence in Libya—when combined with the proliferation of weapons—have allowed violent extremist groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda to thrive.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Libya

4. Libya, Extremism and the Consequences of Collapse

Author:
The Soufan Group
Publication Date:
01-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Soufan Group
Abstract:
COMMENTARY NEWS ARTICLES INTELBRIEFS TV & RADIO OPINION PIECES PUBLICATIONS Libya, Extremism and the Consequences of Collapse January 27, 2016 RESEARCH TSG_Libya Report_cover Libya Extremism and the Consequences of CollapseJanuary 27, 2016.In a new, in-depth report, The Soufan Group (TSG) examines the security implications of continued instability in Libya. Four years after the revolution that toppled Muammar Qadhafi, the security situation in Libya remains volatile. The lack of centralized control has allowed criminal and violent extremist groups to flourish, including al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. Continued instability in Libya will only see these criminal and violent extremist elements entrench themselves further. The expansion of these networks poses a serious security threat to the region, as well as to the broader international community. .
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5. Foreign Fighters

Author:
The Soufan Group
Publication Date:
01-2015
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Soufan Group
Abstract:
In June 2014, The Soufan Group (TSG) released its initial Foreign Fighters in Syria report, which identified approximately 12,000 foreign fighters from 81 countries. Nearly eighteen months later, despite sustained international effort to contain the Islamic State and stem the flow of militants traveling to Syria, the number of foreign fighters has more than doubled. Based on its own investigation, TSG has calculated that between 27,000 and 31,000 people have traveled to Syria and Iraq to join the Islamic State and other violent Salafist groups from at least 86 countries. This increase is evidence that efforts to contain the flow of foreign recruits to the Islamic State and other extremist groups in Syria have had limited impact
Topic:
Intelligence and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6. Foreign Fighters in Syria

Author:
Richard Barrett
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Soufan Group
Abstract:
Over 12,000 fighters from at least 81 countries have joined the civil war in Syria, and the numbers continue to grow. Around 2,500 are from Western countries, including most members of the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. There are also several hundred from Russia. But the great majority are from the Arab World. Most are fighting with rebel groups, and increasingly with the most extreme among them; but many are also fighting with the Government, or with ethnic or faith communities that are trying to protect themselves from both sides. A lot are young, often teenagers, and a fair percentage of those arriving from non-Muslim majority countries are converts to Islam. These and others who share their faith commonly express their motivation as a religious obligation to protect fellow Muslims from attack. This sense of duty is captured by their loose use of the word ‘jihad’.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Syria

7. TSG IntelBrief: Coalition Under Stress: Iran Won't be Excluded

Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Soufan Group
Abstract:
As if sustaining an effective coalition against the anti-Islamic State coalition weren't complicated enough, increasingly open Iranian support for Syrian and Iraqi Kurds has the potential to further destabilize the situation Geopolitical machinations have excluded Iran from the international coalition but geographical realities will ensure the country has a significant role to play in the future of both Iraq and Syria Iran is seeking to leverage its support for the Kurds as a way to bolster its beleaguered ally in Damascus, Bashar al-Assad, and increase Iranian influence in Kurdish regions at the expense of Turkey and the West Overt Iranian support for the Kurds-while reaffirming support for Assad-will further stress the coalition, inevitably increasing sectarian tensions among members already grumbling that Assad and not IS is the true enemy; all while the West remains focused on IS and how to avoid entanglement in Syria As a sign of Iran's surprising Kurdish influence, Turkish and Iranian officials met on October 9 to discuss the unfolding events in Kobani, remarkable in that neither country is a member of the coalition but both hold most of the cards to resolve the immediate crisis.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, International Affairs, and Counterinsurgency
Political Geography:
Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria