Terrorism Archive

Six people have been named as suspects in an alleged Iranian bomb plot targeting Israeli diplomats in Bangkok, Thailand, last week. Though the suspects mistakenly set off the explosives while inside their house, the homemade, improvised bombs matched those used in twin attacks the day before in New Delhi, India, and Tbilisi, Georgia. The device in New Delhi, planted on a car door, left four people wounded; the device in Georgia was defused. Israel has accused Iran of being behind the attacks, which Tehran denies. But the method used in Thailand, India and Georgia looked a lot like that used […]

The vice president of tactical intelligence at the geopolitical analysis firm Stratfor examines attacks by Islamic militant group Boko Haram in Nigeria and explains why the group remains a regional, rather than a transnational, threat. World News Videos by NewsLook

Since returning to civilian rule in April 2011, Niger has achieved a measure of political stability. In July, President Mahamadou Issoufou weathered his first major domestic crisis, a coup attempt, whose plotters were arrested by authorities soon thereafter. The president recently increased the salaries of civil servants and reduced the costs of electricity and water, moves calculated to address economic grievances. Critically for this impoverished country, external donors regard Issoufou’s administration favorably; aid suspended after the February 2010 coup that removed former President Mamadou Tandja from power has been restored or increased. Finally, a small amount of oil — around […]

Stratfor’s Vice President of Tactical Intelligence Scott Stewart examines the attack on an Israeli diplomat in New Delhi, India, on Feb. 13. World News Videos by NewsLook

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez last month appointed as defense minister a general allegedly linked to a Colombian rebel group, raising concerns that the move might jeopardize the two countries’ recent thaw in relations. In an email interview, Adam Isacson, senior associate for regional security at the Washington Office on Latin America, discussed the Colombia-Venezuela security relationship. WPR: What have security relations between Colombia and Venezuela been like historically? Adam Isacson: The two northern Andean countries have never gone to war. But relations, while cordial, have never been fully trustful. Things took a turn for the worse in the past decade, […]