By Anas al-Bar | 2026-01-15

Individual tips on suspicious activities support counter-terrorism efforts and help preserve long-term stability.

Information provided by locals and eyewitnesses enables law enforcement agencies to bring perpetrators to justice and save innocent lives.

Community vigilance and proactive intelligence-sharing are vital pillars in the collective effort to identify and avert security dangers before they escalate.

The systematic degradation of the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) is a direct result of this community-driven security model.

By leveraging real-time civilian intelligence, security forces have been able to effectively dismantle the group's power structures and neutralize potential attacks.

Tips further help collect accurate information on the movements of ISIS leaders and members and their financial resources, and target their sleeper cells and hideouts.

Community engagement

Security affairs expert Ahmed al-Sharifi highlighted the positive role of civilians in supporting intelligence activity and security goals.

"Cooperation and community engagement in identifying suspicious activities and reporting them are essential to the strategy of combating terrorism and extremism," he said.

"Information and testimonies provided by civilians constitute a fundamental pillar in the success of any security operation," he added.

With such cooperation, terrorists are prevented from realizing their goals, and security forces are enabled to act preemptively against them.

By fostering such close collaboration, he noted, communities effectively deny terrorists the opportunity to succeed.

This partnership provides security agencies with the critical intelligence needed to act decisively and preemptively against emerging threats, he added.

"Civilians’ support was one of the most important factors in victory in the war against ISIS," al-Sharifi confirmed.

Eliminating safe havens

"These terrorists, who used to terrorize people and practice the most heinous forms of violence, no longer have a safe haven," he said.

Al-Sharifi claimed that tips now pursue terrorists even deep in the desert and remote areas.

He emphasized the importance of continuing this community support and earning locals’ trust.

"Dismantling terrorist networks and their ideological influence requires coordinated community engagement to disrupt their activities and destroy their underlying capabilities," he said.

Intelligence and security agencies worldwide are focused on maximizing the utility of community-provided tips.

They encourage citizens to monitor their environments during all daily activities-- whether commuting, shopping, or traveling -- to ensure the immediate reporting of suspicious behaviors.