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Showing posts from February, 2026

THE WISDOM DROUGHT THE HIDDEN IRONY OF MODERN CORPORATE INTELLIGENCE

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  About the Author Jasmine Opperman is a world-renowned intelligence professional specialising in extremism and intelligence within the mining sector. She served for over 20 years in the South African intelligence services, rising to the position of Provincial Head of the Eastern Cape for the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). She is currently an advisor and senior intelligence analyst for both Fulcrum Analytics and the Fulcrum Intel Digest service.  We tend to think of intelligence failures as the domain of spies and secret agencies. But when a Fortune 500 company spends millions on market research and still fails to see a disruptive competitor coming, it is suffering from the exact same pathology: a wisdom drought. Executive Summary In an era defined by exponential data generation and complex transnational threats, such as Southern Africa's cross-border illicit mining syndicates, corporate survival demands a continuous, technology-augmented intelligence ecosystem. This pape...

ISWAP Releases Sermon From Its Wali During Ramadan

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Bottom Line Up Front Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has released a sermon by the Wali (Governor) of its West Africa Province, Abu Abed al-Rahman Al-Ansari during the Islamic month of Ramadan. The sermon is in the form of a video lasting nine minutes and 53 seconds.  This video shows how important Africa remains for Islamic State, despite attention being drawn to IS in Syria with the mass-escape of IS-linked families from al-Hol refugee camp. IS continues to operate across theatres in Africa and at the moment, Africa is where IS is achieving their goal of remaining and expanding, not Syria. While the mass escape and other factors could lead to IS rebuilding in Syria, as it currently stands, Africa is where the Caliphate 2.0 is thriving.  In Detail The sermon is entitled "Guidance and Admonition for the Righteous (Brothers of God) " and features only Al-Ansari sitting against a plain backdrop next to the IS flag. The sermon is delivered in Arabic.  The sermon st...

Rapid Sitrep: Former JNIM Commander Who Defected to ISSP Details Reasons Behind Decision

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Saaʿd Bottom Line Up Front On 16 February 2026, it was posted in an Islamic State chatroom that a former commander of al-Qaeda's West African branch, Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), known by the name Saaʿd, has released several audio recordings detailing his reasoning for his defection to Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP).  What you need to know At the time of this report, Saaʿd's date of defection is unclear. While Fulcrum Intel Digest will update this piece when we have the recordings, for now we know the following reasons from the chatroom: The commander feels that Al-Qaeda leadership do not implement Sharia "in it's entirety", despite his own efforts to implement it how he saw fit during several meetings with senior leaders from both JNIM and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).   Further, Saaʿd's view is that the accusation from Al-Qaeda that ISSP are "Kharijites" is baseless and has “no foundation in the Quran  or the Sun...