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Source: Getty

In The Media
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

How Is ISIL Expanding?

A year after declaring a “caliphate,” self-proclaimed Islamic State fighters are claiming attacks in Kuwait and Tunisia.

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By Lina Khatib, Ahmed Gaaloul, Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi
Published on Jun 27, 2015
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Middle East

The Middle East Program in Washington combines in-depth regional knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to provide deeply informed recommendations. With expertise in the Gulf, North Africa, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, we examine crosscutting themes of political, economic, and social change in both English and Arabic.

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Source: Al Jazeera Inside Story

More than 60 people were killed on Friday in two attacks.

The first was a suicide bomb explosion at a mosque for Shia Muslims in Kuwait City—the first such attack in relatively stable Kuwait.

Then in Tunisia, European tourists were targeted in their resort. A gunman randomly opening fire among the beach umbrellas and continuing in a hotel.

The message, for many, is clear: ISIL is expanding its activities beyond areas already seized in Iraq and Syria.

But what are the limits of the group’s expansion?

This interview was originally broadcast on Al Jazeera’s Inside Story.

About the Authors

Lina Khatib

Former Director, Middle East Center

Khatib was director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. Previously, she was the co-founding head of the Program on Arab Reform and Democracy at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law.

Ahmed Gaaloul

Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi

Authors

Lina Khatib
Former Director, Middle East Center
Ahmed Gaaloul
Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi
SecurityGulfLevantMaghrebSyriaIraqTunisiaMiddle EastNorth Africa

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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