Wassim Nasr

Wassim Nasr is a Lebanese journalist and analyst specializing in jihadist movements and terrorism, and European, Middle Eastern, and African responses to them. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Soufan Center.

Education As a child, Nasr lived through the Lebanese Civil War. He received a bachelor's degree in International Relations and a master's degree in Defense from the Institute for International and Strategic Relations in Paris, and a PhD from the same university. Between 2020 and 2023, Nasr visited Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham-controlled areas of Idlib Governorate in Syria and spoke with top HTS leaders like Ahmed al-Sharaa and Abu Maria al-Qahtani. In 2024, Nasr conducted an interview with Amadou Koufa, the head of Katiba Macina and second-in-command of Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin. To date, it is Koufa's first interview with any Western news outlet. This investigation also came as a result of Nasr's statements claiming heavy losses for the Alliance of Sahel States (which the three countries compose) during the Bamako attacks and attacks on Djibo.