Weekly Global Terror Watch Restricted
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WEEKLY GLOBAL TERROR WATCH RESTRICTED HIGHLIGHTS WEEKLY GLOBAL TERROR WATCH 24 – 30 Mar 2011 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK Indonesia. On 29 Mar 2011, unnamed intelligence sources claimed that JI terror suspect Umar Patek was arrested in Pakistan in early 2011. Unnamed security officials from Pakistan also confirmed that a tip-off from the CIA had led to the arrest. Meanwhile, POLRI said that it would be sending a joint team with other Indonesian agencies to Pakistan to verify Umar's arrest. Nevertheless, security analysts said that Umar's arrest was significant, because he was one of the few Indonesian militants who could explain to authorities the connections and extent of cooperation between Islamist militant groups in Asia. Afghanistan. In an article an by Afghan independent secular daily newspaper Hasht-e Sobh on 26 Mar 2011, the author warned of the possible Taliban's reactions to the security transition. He said that the recent cessation of telecommunications operations in Helmand province was part of the Taliban's attempts to show the government and the international community that the Taliban wielded more power than the government in provinces where security responsibilities were to be transferred to Afghans. The author believed that the Taliban would increase their attacks on the seven provinces where responsibilities would be transferred, to prove that the security of Afghanistan could not be ensured without the Taliban. Separately, an National Directorate of Security (NDS) spokesman stated on 27 Mar 2011 that 91% of organised insurgent attacks in Afghanistan were prevented due to the efforts of the ANA and ANP, with the NDS providing intelligence to arrest the “masterminds” of the organised attacks. Pakistan. Taliban forces base in North Waziristan reportedly had established a “vigilance cell” to hunt down people suspected of providing information to guide US' drone strike campaign. The cell was named “Lashkar-e-Khorasan (LeKh), reportedly made up of more than 300 members, and its purpose was to identify, capture and execute locals who were working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The bulk of LeKh came from the Haqqani network and the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group that control the regions along the Afghan border. The Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP) was reported to have “occasional cooperation” with LeKh which operated in the Datta Khel, Miranshah and Mir Ali regions of North Waziristan. Iraq. On 29 Mar 2011, an unknown number of militants, some wearing military uniforms and suicide vests, launched a series of coordinated attacks comprising suicide bombing and VBIED, on the provincial council building in Tikrit, about 160km north of Baghdad. 53 people were killed and 98 others were wounded in the attack. Middle East. Israeli media on 25 Mar 2011 reported that the IDF was bracing for a possible further expansion of rocket attacks from Gaza, to as far as Tel Aviv. It was believed that Gaza militant groups possessed Iranian-made rockets, such as the Fajr-5, which were capable of reaching Tel Aviv. Subsequently, the IDF on 27 Mar 2011 stationed the first batteries of its Iron Dome short-range missile defence system in southern Israel. The system was stationed outside the southern city of Beersheva. Meanwhile, the second of the two batteries IDF possessed would soon be deployed at Ashkelon. Gulf of Aden. According to international piracy monitoring organisation, Ecoterra International, as of 28 Mar 2011, at least 45 vessels remain under the control of pirates while at least 714 people remain hostages. Meanwhile, EU NAVFOR reported that on 28 Mar 2011 at around 0900hr GMT (1700H), pirates armed with RPGs hijacked a Kuwaiti-owned oil tanker, the MV Zirku, 463km SE of the Omani port of Salalah in the Gulf of Aden. The hijacked vessel was carrying 29 sailors. However, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation later denied EU NAVFOR's report, saying that no such hijack took place. 2 RESTRICTED RESTRICTED TABLE OF CONTENTS WEEKLY GLOBAL TERROR WATCH 24 – 30 Mar 2011 INDONESIA JI Terror Suspect Umar Patek Arrested in Pakistan 4 Parcel Bombs Come from Outside Jakarta: KAPOLDA Metro Jaya Bashir Denies Plot to Undermine Yudhoyono Witness Admit Weapons Sold to Aceh Camp Indonesian Counter-Terror Efforts Hampered by Several Issues: Former KADENSUS 88 Decoding Indonesia’s Radical Islamists: What to De-Radicalise? 5 THAILAND Violence in Thai South 7 PHILIPPINES Violence in the Southern Philippines 8 AFP Files Charges Against NPA Peace Between Philippine Government, MILF Still a Long Shot: ICG AFGHANISTAN & Violence in Afghanistan 9 PAKISTAN Afghan, ISAF Forces Readying for Spring Offensive 12 Twenty-three Insurgents Join Peace Process ISAF Abandoned Base in Pech Dara: Taliban 91% Of Attacks Thwarted: NDS Taliban Changing Tactics in Kunduz Taliban Orders Shut Down of Cell Phone Services in Helmand (update) 13 Taliban Seize Control of Waygal District Taliban Employs Modern Weapons in “War of Words” Taliban Attacks Will Increase Under Security Transition Security Transition “Mere Propaganda”: Hezb-e Islami Leader Rebranding the Taliban 14 Violence in Pakistan 15 Taliban Forms Cell to Hunt Down Spies 16 Bin Laden Sets Alarm Bells Ringing IRAQ Violence in Iraq 17 MIDDLE EAST Violence in Middle East (Israel, Palestine and Lebanon) 19 Hamas Urges Islamic Jihad to Stop Attacks on Israel Gaza Militants Offer Truce if Israel Reciprocates 20 Hamas Seeks Diversion from Gaza Unrest: Israeli Intelligence Hamas Calls on UN to Halt IAF's Air Strikes on Gaza IDF Braces for Rocket Fire Close to Tel Aviv Islamic Jihad Orders Commanders to Go into Hiding IDF Identifies Radar Sent to Hamas by Iran Fatah, Hamas Set to Hold Unity Talks in Cairo 21 Israeli-Palestinian Tensions Escalating: A Special Report Radical Islam in Gaza MARITIME SECURITY Cumulative Figures of Kidnapped Vessels in Somalia 23 (GULF OF ADEN & Incidents and Events WATERS OFF SOMALIA) Other Developments 24 SPECIAL REPORT Libya's Terrorism Option 25 3 RESTRICTED RESTRICTED INDONESIA WEEKLY GLOBAL TERROR WATCH 24 – 30 Mar 2011 Terror Incident Charts 3 5 Minor Attacks Minor Attacks Major Attacks Major Attacks 4 s k Extreme Attacks c ks Extreme Attacks tta ac t A 2 f At o of 3 o. o. N N 2 1 1 0 0 Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb 17/3 18/3 19/3 20/3 21/3 22/3 23/3 24/3 25/3 26/3 27/3 28/3 29/3 30/3 Data from Janes Terrorism and Insurgency Centre JI Terror Suspect Umar Patek Arrested in Pakistan On 29 Mar 2011, unnamed intelligence sources claimed that JI terror suspect Umar Patek was arrested in Pakistan in early 2011. He was believed to have served as JI's deputy field commander in the Bali nightclub bombings in 2002 that left 202 people dead. Unnamed security officials from Pakistan also confirmed that a tipoff from the CIA led to the arrest. However, it was unclear if the US would gain access to Umar. Meanwhile, POLRI said that it would be sending a joint team with other Indonesian agencies to Pakistan to verify Umar's arrest. Nevertheless, security analysts said that Umar's arrest was significant, because he was one of the few Indonesian militants who could explain to authorities the connections and extent of cooperation between Islamist militant groups in Asia. Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group said that Umar would be able to explain the nature of linkages between Pakistan and South Asian groups, and more generally, with their Southeast Asian counterparts. Parcel Bombs Come from Outside Jakarta: KAPOLDA Metro Jaya KAPOLDA Metro Jaya IRJEN Sutarman on 29 Mar 2011 suggested that the recent spate of parcel bombs (refer to WGTW 10 – 16 Jan 2011 for details) could have originated from outside Jakarta. Meanwhile, KABARESKRIM POLRI KOMJEN Ito Sumardi admitted on 29 Mar 2011 that investigations of the parcel bomb attacks had been slow due to the lacked of suitable equipment to keep pace with technological advancements used by terror groups to make IEDs. Nevertheless, he assured that POLRI was relying on foreign assistance to catch up in technology. Bashir Denies Plot to Undermine Yudhoyono Abu Bakar Bashir on 24 Mar 2011 denied that he had any knowledge of plans to topple the incumbent Indonesian government, insisting that he was not against President Yudhoyono but simply against the country's political system. He added that Yudhoyono might rule the country as long as he wanted, if the country was based on Islamic law. Witness Admit Weapons Sold to Aceh Camp A witness at Abu Bakar Bashir's trial on 24 Mar 2011 admitted that weapons had been sold to a militant training camp in Aceh, which Bashir was believed to be affiliated to. According to witness Sofyan Tsauri, a former policeman currently in jail for terrorism, at least 24 firearms and almost 20,000 rounds of ammunition had been sold to the Aceh camp for Rp350 million (US$40,250). He further admitted that militant training at the camp was intended to prepare militants for waging jihad in Palestine. Meanwhile, another suspected militant Joko Sulistyo during the trial said that the al-Qaeda flag was raised within the camp grounds to motivate the camp's trainees. Definition of the scale of attacks according to Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre Extreme Attacks: An attack that causes (or is intended to or demonstrably capable of causing) more than 1,000 fatalities or more than 2,000 injuries, or that causes the entire destruction of many buildings or the complete loss of a major facility.) Major Attacks: An attack that causes (or is intended to or demonstrably capable of causing more than 20 fatalities or more than 50 injuries; or significant structural damage to one or more buildings or physical facilities; or mass disruption of activities for a large number of people.) Minor Attacks: Damaging attacks that cause death, injury, damage to property or significant disruption to activities, below the threshold of ‘major’ attacks.