Salafi-jihad Militants On Rapid Increase In Number Despite War On Terror – Study

Unic Press UK: A study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) illustrates that, in spite of the fact that the war on terror commenced since the terror event on September 11, 2001 when the World Trade Centre was destroyed during an attack by terrorists, a rapid rise in the number of Salafi-jihad militants is being recorded.

The study The Evolution of the Salafi-Jihadist Threat Current and Future Challenges from the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda, and Other Groups ‘constructs a data set of groups and fighters from 1980 to 2018’, finding among other things, that the Jihad-driven Salafi (Sunni) militants are on a rapid rise in terms of the current numeric strength of the militants.

Some of the key findings by the CSIS are:

• The estimated number of fighters in 2018 is 270% greater than the estimates in 2001 when the World Trade Centre was destroyed in the 9/11 attacks on U.S. soil.
• The countries with the highest number of fighters are Syria (between 43,650 and 70,550 fighters), Afghanistan (between 27,000 and 64,060), Pakistan (between 17,900 and 39,540), Iraq (between 10,000 and 15,000), Nigeria (between 3,450 and 6,900), and Somalia (between 3,095 and 7,240).
• As of now, there are 67 Salafi-jihadist groups across the globe.
• The regions with the largest number of fighters are the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.
• There were 67 Salafi-jihadist groups across the globe in 2018, tied with 2016 for the highest level since 1980. This reflected a 180 percent increase in the number of groups from 2001 to 2018.