Recommended readingISIS’ shock-and-bore strategy; women jihadists; sharks help U.S. military, and more

Published 28 July 2017

The Islamic State’s shock-and-bore terrorism; Talking point: Defining terrorism a slippery task; Fall of Mosul raises question: What should be done with female foreign fighters? The inevitability of North Korea’s nuclear weapons; How sharks can help the U.S. Military in the future.

The Islamic State’s shock-and-bore terrorism (Simon Cottee, Foreign Policy)
The “caliphate” has figured out how to make committing acts of terror easy. It’s also made them boring.

Talking point: Defining terrorism a slippery task (Kyron Johnson, Mercury)
Before the Australian government’s new Home Office introduces more counter terrorism legislation, it should be striving for an international definition of “a terrorist act.”

Fall of Mosul raises question: What should be done with female foreign fighters? (Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Just Security)
Many women from Chechnya, Russia, Iran, Syria, France, Belgium and Germany, who fought in ISIS ranks, have been arrested is Mosul. Their status and treatment brings new attention to women’s roles as combatants and enablers of violent conflict and extremism. Western women who joined ISIS, and are now being identified among the ranks of those detained, pose particular legal challenges for both host country and their countries of origin.

The inevitability of North Korea’s nuclear weapons (Adam Tayloer, Washington Post)
Over the past few days, a number of North Korea watchers developed a new skill: meteorology. This newfound interest in the weather boiled down to a simple fact: Pyongyang was widely expected to test another intercontinental ballistic missile this week. For practical reasons, North Korea generally likes to conduct these tests when the sky is clear.

How sharks can help the U.S. Military in the future (Allison Barrie, Fox News)
Could something in shark blood help American soldiers detect invisible, dangerous weapons and defeat them? The U.S. military is investigating whether a protein in shark blood can help hunt for chemical and biological weapons and reveal them before they harm military personnel.