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A Persistent Threat: Number of Jihadist Fighters and Attacks Has Increased Since 2010

(RAND Corporation) Seth G. Jones - Based on an analysis of thousands of primary source documents, this report - examining the status and evolution of al-Qaeda and other Salafi-jihadist groups - concludes that there has been an increase in the number of these groups, fighters, and attacks over the past several years. Examples include groups operating in Tunisia, Algeria, Mali, Libya, Egypt (including the Sinai Peninsula), Lebanon, and Syria. These trends suggest that the U.S. needs to remain focused on countering the proliferation of Salafi-jihadist groups, which have started to resurge in North Africa and the Middle East. The U.S. should consider a more aggressive strategy to target Salafi-jihadist groups in Syria, which in 2013 had more than half of Salafi-jihadists worldwide, either clandestinely or with regional and local allies. The writer is associate director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the RAND Corporation.
2014-06-06 00:00:00
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