Foreign Fighters
Another Plan for Foreign Fighters Falls Apart
Jacob Schulz Wed, Apr 29, 2020, 9:28 AM
A proposal to try foreign fighters in Syrian Democratic Forces courts has been abandoned indefinitely. What now?
Latest in Foreign Fighters
Foreign Fighters
What Is Happening With the Foreign Women and Children in SDF Custody in Syria?
Emma Broches Tue, Mar 24, 2020, 10:54 AM
More than 10,000 European women and children affiliated with Islamic State fighters remain in local custody in northeastern Syria. So far, European governments have been reluctant to take large-scale action.
Foreign Fighters
Will SDF-Affiliated Courts Try European Foreign Fighters?
Jacob Schulz Fri, Feb 21, 2020, 12:59 PM
The local administration in northeastern Syria wants to try foreign fighters. Will European countries support the plan?
Islamic State
France Makes a Play to Try Foreign Fighters in Iraq
Jacob Schulz Mon, Nov 4, 2019, 3:37 PM
The French foreign minister has made a trip to Iraq to attempt to make a deal to try foreign fighters in the country. The plan faces diplomatic obstacles abroad and opposition at home.
Foreign Policy Essay
Losing Control Over Returnees?
Thomas Renard, Rik Coolsaet Sun, Oct 13, 2019, 10:00 AM
Editor’s Note: Perhaps the biggest counterterrorism challenge facing European states is how to handle their citizens who went to fight in Iraq and Syria and now seek to return. Europe's response has been muddled, with many states reluctant to take responsibility for their nationals yet not advancing an alternative policy. Thomas Renard and Rik Coolsaet of the Egmont Institute assess the problems European states face and outline ways to make the return of foreign fighters less risky and more sustainable.
Daniel Byman
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Counterterrorism
Will Abandoning the Kurds Result in the Mass Release of Islamic State Fighters?
Robert Chesney Mon, Oct 7, 2019, 10:50 AM
The White House issued a stunning statement on Oct. 6:
Today, President Donald J. Trump spoke with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey by telephone. Turkey will soon be moving forward with its long-planned operation into Northern Syria. The United States Armed Forces will not support or be involved in the operation, and United States forces, having defeated the ISIS territorial “Caliphate,” will no longer be in the immediate area.
Counterterrorism
It’s Not Only Iraq and Syria
Seamus Hughes, Jon Lewis Fri, Aug 23, 2019, 8:45 AM
Nearly a decade ago, five young men from the Washington, D.C., suburbs disappeared. Confusion about their whereabouts caused a panic within the national security community, which was only made worse by their reappearance a few days later when they were arrested in Pakistan for allegedly attempting to join Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the charity wing of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani terrorist organization.
Terrorism
The Attacks in Sri Lanka and the Threat of Foreign Fighters
Daniel Byman Tue, Apr 23, 2019, 3:03 PM
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the horrific terrorist attacks on Easter Sunday on churches in Sri Lanka, which killed more than 300 people. It appears that the group may have worked with a local radical Islamist group, National Thowheeth Jama’ath, mixing the resources and capabilities of both.
Canada
Canada’s Foreign Fighter Problem is No Surprise
Leah West Wed, Oct 24, 2018, 10:11 AM
Over the past week, Global News Canada has released a series of reports from Syria detailing the detention of Muhammed Ali (aka Abu Turaab Al-Kanadi), a high-profile Canadian Islamic State (ISIS) member, by Kurdish forces inside the country. Journalist Stewart Bell and researcher Amarnath Amarasingam travelled to Syria where they interviewed Ali and several other Canadians held in a makeshift detention center in the northeastern part of the state.
Islamic State
Prosecuting the Islamic State Fighters Left Behind
Jenna Consigli Wed, Aug 1, 2018, 11:34 AM
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces captured an American-Saudi dual citizen last September suspected to be a member of the Islamic State. Because of his citizenship, he was quickly transferred to Defense Department custody and is being held in Iraq. After nine months of detention and litigation over this U.S.