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Author

Omar Ashour photo

Omar Ashour

Omar Ashour is a professor of security and military studies and the founder of the security studies programs at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. Ashour is the author of "How ISIS Fights: Military Tactics in Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Egypt."

Articles

Opinion: Why ISIS attacked Russia and why Russia blames Ukraine

by Omar Ashour
DOHA – The terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue in a Moscow suburb was no bolt from the blue. The Kremlin dismissed U.S. intelligence warnings of an imminent attack by “extremists,” possibly to shift the blame to a convenient scapegoat when the attack came. The murder of 137 concert-goers is but the latest atrocity in a decade-long struggle between the Islamic State (ISIS) and Russia. The die was cast on Sept. 30, 2015, when Russia intervened in Syria to support the collapsing