Jihad in Modern Conflict

The Islamic State, al-Qaeda-linked groups, Boko Haram and other jihadist movements are protagonists in many of the world’s deadliest crises, complicating efforts to end them. We examine the evolving threat posed by these groups – both in warzones and in other places where they recruit fighters or perpetrate terrorist attacks. Our work – including our 2021 series The Legacy of 9/11 and the "War on Terror" – draws on years of field research across the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe. Through in-depth and comparative analysis of these groups’ tactics, strategy and ideology, and of the local conditions and wider geopolitical currents that have enabled their growth, Crisis Group aims to inform policies on how best to tackle or contain the threat.

In The News

2 Aug 2022
Al-Qaeda does not currently have the ability to perpetrate large-scale attacks in western countries, nor the intention. Middle East Eye

Jerome Drevon

Senior Analyst in Jihad and Modern Conflict
21 Jan 2022
Jailbreaks and prison riots were a central component of IS resurgence in Iraq and are a serious threat in Syria today. France24

Dareen Khalifa

Senior Analyst, Syria
12 Jan 2022
As long as the election cycle and current tensions [in Somalia] drag on, the attention of the political elite will be more inwardly focused, while other priorities lag be... The New York Times

Omar Mahmood

Senior Analyst, Eastern Africa
27 Dec 2021
When the political elite [in Somalia] are focused on each other, attention turns away from the battle against al-Shabab. The Washington Post

Omar Mahmood

Senior Analyst, Eastern Africa
13 Sep 2021
Unfortunately, while in much of the world 9/11 is viewed as in the past, in Africa, the legacy of those attacks lives on. The World

Murithi Mutiga

Program Director, Africa
27 Aug 2021
If France is to withdraw [from the Sahel] in a drastic manner as the U.S. did [from Afghanistan], the balance of power is likely to shift in favor of the jihadists. Washington Post

Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim

Consulting Analyst, Sahel

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