In queries I have received over the years, I have often been asked if an Islamic State attack or set of attacks over a short-time span in Iraq and/or Syria constituted a 'resurgence' for the group. In general, I do not believe that this sort of framing is the right word, because then the following question arises: what exactly does 'resurgence' mean? Does it mean a revival on the path towards recreating the peak of the group's fortunes in the 2014-2015 period when it seized and controlled substantial amounts of territory spanning the Iraq and Syria borders? This is of course ultimately how the Islamic State frames its general insurgent strategy: namely, that through persistence in waging jihad, it can gradually wear down its enemies to the point of inducing a rapid collapse and swift conquest, similar to what happened with the takeover of Mosul and other areas in Iraq and Syria in the summer of 2014.

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Recently, the Daily Wire revealed that an internal newsletter from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence featured an article arguing for "changing terminology related to counterterrorism," because "certain phrases to identify international terrorism... are hurtful to Muslim-Americans." One of the supposedly "problematic phrases" is the term "jihadist." An alternative suggestion given in the newsletter to denote jihadists is the word khawarij.[1]

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This year, 5 April was the world "al-Quds Day" ("Jerusalem Day"): an event organised by Iran in the name of supporting the Palestinian cause. Armed factions across the region that are backed by Iran are known to put on displays and events for al-Quds Day. This includes groups within the Local Defence Forces network (LDF) in Syria. The Aleppo region is arguably the epicentre of the LDF and al-Quds Day activity was well in evidence there. Below are some observations on the event in the Aleppo area this year.

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https://www.aymennaltamimi.com/p/report-al-quds-day-in-the-aleppo

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The Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), an Uyghur Islamic group that has a Central Asia-based central leadership as well as a Syria branch, has issued a new statement addressed to the people of East Turkestan (the Xinjiang region in western China where the Uyghurs live). The statement denounces some Uyghur oppositionists who have recently accused the TIP of being linked to al-Qa'ida and serving the interest of the Chinese government. The TIP instead portrays itself as equivalent to the 'armed forces' of the Uyghur people, striving for the liberation of East Turkestan through the only viable means: namely, armed force.

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The insurgent faction Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which dominates the areas of northwest Syria outside of Syrian government control, has presently been rocked by the assassination of Abu Mariya al-Qahtani, an Iraq-born leader of the organisation who had been detained by the group's security apparatus on various charges, including 'collaboration' with the Americans, but was subsequently released last month on the basis that the allegations against him were not proven.

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