|
Trending Topics
|
The Resurgent Threat of Al-Qaeda
(Wall Street Journal) Ali Soufan - Al-Qaeda has been eclipsed by the Islamic State - a group that began as al-Qaeda's Iraqi franchise but broke away in 2014. In the nearly six years since its founder, Osama bin Laden, was killed in Pakistan, al-Qaeda has transformed itself into a vast network of insurgent groups spread from southeast Asia to northwest Africa. Together, this network now commands an army of tens of thousands of Islamist militants, united in their commitment to bin Laden's ideology. In Syria, more than 20,000 militants follow the banner of the Liberation of the Levant Organization (formerly known as the Nusra Front). In Yemen, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula numbers at least 4,000 fighters and holds major sections of coastline and highways. In Somalia, al-Shabaab has at least 7,000 members and continues to attract recruits, including from Somali communities in the U.S.