RESEARCH

January 27, 2016

Libya, Extremism and the Consequences of Collapse

In a new, in-depth report, The Soufan Group (TSG) examines the security implications of continued instability in Libya. Four years after the revolution that toppled Muammar Qadhafi, the security situation in Libya remains volatile. The lack of centralized control has allowed criminal and violent extremist groups to flourish, including al-Qaeda and the Islamic State....

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December 07, 2015

Foreign Fighters

In June 2014, The Soufan Group (TSG) released its initial Foreign Fighters in Syria report, which identified approximately 12,000 foreign fighters from 81 countries. Nearly eighteen months later, despite sustained international effort to contain the Islamic State and stem the flow of militants traveling to Syria, the number of foreign fighters has more than doubled…...

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October 08, 2014

The Islamic State

The self-styled Islamic State is an accident of history, emerging from multiple social, political, and economic tensions in the Middle East and beyond. It has challenged the territorial divisions imposed on the region following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire by carving out for itself a large area of territory....

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June 02, 2014

Foreign Fighters in Syria

Over 12,000 fighters from at least 81 countries have joined the civil war in Syria, and the numbers continue to grow. Around 2,500 are from Western countries, including most members of the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. There are also several hundred from Russia. But the great majority are from the Arab World. Most are fighting with rebel groups, and increasingly with the most extreme among them…...

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