Established In: 1981
Established By: Fathi Shaqaqi, Abd Al Aziz Awda, Ramadan Shalah, Bashir Moussa
Also Known As: Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine
Country Of Origin: Palestine
Leaders: Ramadan Shalah
Key Members: Ramadan Shalah, Abd Al Aziz Awda
Operational Area: Palestine
Number Of Members: 8000
Involved In: Suicide attacks, Suicide car-bomb attacks, Terrorist attacks, Kidnapping, Rocket attacks
Also Known As: BATTALION OF THE SAYYID’S MARTYRS; a.k.a. KATA’IB ABU FADL AL-ABBAS; a.k.a. KATA’IB KARBALA; a.k.a. THE MASTER OF THE MARTYRS BRIGADE; a.k.a. “KSS; Kataib Sayyid al Shuhada
Country Of Origin: Syria
Leaders: Abu Mustafa al Sheibani;
Key Leaders: Abu Mustafa al Sheibani; Hashim Finyan Rahim al-Saraji; Falih Khazali – Spokesman;
Operational Area: Syria, Iraq
Involved In: Iranian proxy, and is one of the original militias that formed the Popular Mobilization Forces in 2014
Established In: October 2003
Established By: Unknown
Also Known As: Hezbollah Brigades
Country Of Origin: Iraq
Leaders: Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (Jamal al-Ibrahimi)
Key Members: Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (Jamal al-Ibrahimi), Jafar al-Hussaini
Operational Area: Iraq, Syria
Number Of Members: Over 30,000
Involved In: Armed Attacks, Bomb Attacks, Suicide bomb attacks
In its resolution 2178 (2014), adopted unanimously on 24 September 2014, the Security Council expressed
particular concern over the acute and growing threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs),1 in particular those recruited by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or Da’esh), the Nusrah Front and other cells, affiliates, splinter groups or derivatives of Al-Qaida. It also expressed concern over the increased use of communication technology for the purpose of, inter alia, financing and facilitating the travel and subsequent activities of FTFs and underlined the need to disrupt financial flows supporting FTFs, while respecting international human rights law, international refugee law, and international humanitarian law. In that resolution, the Council also directed CTED to identify issues, trends and developments related to FTFs.
Two Israeli airstrikes struck Damascus and its suburb Qudsaya on Thursday, killing at least 15 people and injuring 16, as reported by AP via SANA, coinciding with Iranian official Ali Larijani’s visit to the capital. Israel stated the strikes targeted Islamic Jihad’s infrastructure, allegedly involved in recent conflicts with Israel. These airstrikes reflect escalating tensions, especially given the Syrian regime’s claims of civilian casualties and property damage in Mazzeh and Qudsaya. Meanwhile, Syria TV and SANA reported further Israeli operations on Hezbollah’s smuggling routes in Al-Qusayr, impacting supply chains into Lebanon and emphasizing Israel’s broader campaign against Iranian influence in Syria. Iran, denying reports of force reductions in Syria, reaffirmed its presence through senior advisor Ali Asghar Haji. This came after Russia’s envoy Alexander Lavrentiev clarified that Moscow opposes Israeli actions in Syria and denied the use of Russia’s Khmeimim base for weapons transit to Hezbollah. The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington published a report highlighting U.S.-led sanctions’ unintended effects, reinforcing Iran’s foothold in Syria and increasing Gulf-U.S. policy divergences. The report outlines regional frustration over sanctions that have deepened Syria’s economic crisis without shifting political conditions. In a separate development, CNN reported UN concerns over Israel’s activities along the Golan Heights buffer zone, where IDF excavation has breached a demilitarized area. The UN’s warning underscores the risks these operations pose to the longstanding ceasefire arrangement between Israel and Syria, maintained since 1974.
Incredibly few Palestinian civilian casualties in Israel’s war of survival – yet only Israel is condemned
On October 7, 2023, Hamas butchered 1,200 innocent people, maimed 5,400, kidnapped 250, and drove tens of thousands out of southern Israeli towns. The next day, to show solidarity with Hamas, Hezbollah began launching rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel, driving 80,000 from their homes.
The UK secretly developed a defence plan with Israel, Declassified can reveal.
According to leaked documents, the British project was codenamed HEZUK and designed to counter the “destabilising regional activity of Iran and Hizballah”.
One of Britain’s most prestigious military academies went on an excursion to land illegally occupied by Israel, it can be revealed.
According to leaked Israeli army documents, the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) brought a delegation of senior officers to the Golan Heights in May 2019.
The dismissal of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant came at a delicate time, coinciding with polling day in the US elections, between the supposed end of the war in the Gaza Strip and the beginning of another war in Lebanon, and after the security leaks crisis that toppled officials from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
As with Lebanon’s other sects, has Hezbollah’s hubris brought devastating sectarian nemesis?
One of the questions emerging from the war in Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel is what lessons this can provide for sectarian relations in the country. The reason is that what we are witnessing today, we have seen before during the 1970s and 1980s.