Washington Middle East

POTOMAC INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES I NTERNATIONAL C ENTER FOR T ERRORISM S TUDIES 901 North Stuart Street Suite 200 Arlington, VA 22203 Tel. 703-562-4513, 703-525-0770 ext. 237 Fax 703-562-1000 [email protected] www.potomacinstitute.org

Daily Terrorism Weather 10/3/2012

Washington

Stephanie Douglas Named Executive Assistant Director of National Security FBI “Director Robert S. Mueller, III has named Stephanie Douglas executive assistant director of the FBI’s National Security Branch. Ms. Douglas most recently served as special agent in charge of the San Francisco Division. She will succeed Mark Giuliano, who has been named special agent in charge of the Atlanta Division.”

Middle East

FBI Seeks Assistance in Locating Wanted Fugitive Ahmad Abousamra FBI “BOSTON—FBI Boston Special Agent in Charge Richard DesLauriers announced today that the FBI is seeking the public’s assistance to locate wanted terrorist Ahmad Abousamra, a U.S. citizen from Mansfield, Massachusetts who left the United States in 2006. He may be living in Aleppo, Syria, with his wife, at least one child (a daughter), and extended family.”

Washington Faces Acute Dilemma as AQIM Threat Grows Middle East Confidential “Washington is facing an acute dilemma as the threat posed by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) to the entire region and to the whole world is growing: should it help the countries of the region confront the group or should it intervene directly and launch strikes on this Al Qaeda’s offshoot in North Africa?”

Al Qaeda Claims Responsibility for Attacks in Aleppo Fars News Agency “Three explosions of mine-studded cars took place in Aleppo in the early hours of Wednesday. 40 people were killed and more than 100 injured. Many houses were ruined or caught fire.”

Al-Qaeda Responsible for 4 Attacks on US Embassies in September The Weekly Standard “On and around September 11, 2012, al Qaeda attacked multiple American assets around the world.”

Hamas ‘Regrets’ Syria Criticism of Leader Meshaal The Daily Star “The Hamas movement in Gaza expressed "deep regret" on Wednesday over a commentary

aired by Syrian state television that criticised the group's leader Khaled Meshaal.”

Israeli Military: Armed Syrians Approach Border The Daily Star “Dozens of armed men gathered on the Syrian side of the cease-fire line in the Israel- controlled Golan Heights Wednesday, prompting authorities to close a tourist site as a precaution, the Israeli military said.”

Violence and Protests in Iran as Currency Drops in Value NYT/Thomas Erdbrink and Rick Gladstone “The first outbreak of public anger over Iran’s collapsing currency and other economic maladies jolted the heart of the capital on Wednesday, with the riot police violently clamping down on black-market money changers, hundreds of citizens marching to demand relief and merchants in the sprawling bazaar closing their shops in protest.”

Yemen President Asserts US Alliance During Visit The Jerusalem Post “If there were any doubts about the budding alliance between US President Barack Obama and his newly-inaugurated counterpart in Yemen, Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi, the Yemeni president dispelled them in his first official visit to the United States over the weekend.”

Gulf of Aden Security Review AEI “Yemen: Suspected AQAP gunmen attack a military checkpoint in southwestern Lahij governorate; armed tribesmen block engineer team attempting to fix electricity lines in Ma’rib governorate; the Southern Movement condemns the killing of a Yemeni CSF soldier in Lahij governorate;”

Hamas Disputes HRW Charges of Torture, Detentions in Gaza Reuters “Officials of Gaza's Islamist Hamas government turned up at a news conference by Human Rights Watch in Gaza on Wednesday to dispute an HRW report accusing Hamas of torture and other abuses of justice in the Palestinian enclave.”

Iran’s Master of Iraq Chaos Still Vexes US NYT “WASHINGTON — When a senior Iraqi intelligence official traveled to Tehran in the summer of 2007 to meet with the Iranian leadership, he quickly figured out who was in charge of Iran’s policy toward its neighbor to the west.”

Government, Opposition at Odds Over Barzani Hurriyet Daily “Leaders of opposition parties have criticized the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) over alleged applause for the president of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government

(KRG), Massoud Barzani, at the AKP’s convention on Sept. 30.”

A New Iranian Kurdish Front: A Means of Isolating the PJAK Adnan Hussein/ Rudaw “SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region—After years of division and political dispute, Iranian Kurdish parties have taken a new initiative to resolve their disagreements and establish a united front against the Iranian regime.”

Iraq Balks at Turkish Plans To Extend Raids UPI “Iraq has asked Turkey to stop attacking PKK terrorists in autonomous Kurdish regions of northern Iraq as Turkey considers renewing its mandate for the raids.”

Rights Groups: Hamas Abusing Palestinians in Gaza Ian Deitch/AP “An international rights group said Wednesday that Hamas security forces in the Gaza Strip commit rampant abuses against Palestinian prisoners, including beatings with metal clubs and rubber hoses, mock executions and arbitrary arrests, and urged the Islamic militant group to swiftly reform its criminal justice system.”

‘Tehran Could Destroy Israel in 24 Hours’ – Khamenei’s Revolutionary Guards Spokesman Russia Times “Iran is ready both for a blitzkrieg and a war of attrition with Israel, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s representative in the elite unit of the Revolutionary Guards says, adding Tehran would need just 24 hours to annihilate Israel in a retaliation assault.”

South Asia

Taliban in Control at Kabul’s Doorstep Fazelminallah Qazizai and Chris Sands/Minn Post “ The first explosion came early in the morning while Yousef, a local army medic, was still in bed. Before he had time to understand what had happened, the second blast ripped through the US-Afghan base, sending him crashing to the ground.”

US Abandoning Hopes for Taliban Peace Deal Pak Tribune “ The American generals and civilian officials acknowledge that they have all but written off what was once one of the cornerstones of their strategy to end the war in Afghanistan: battering the Taliban into a peace deal, reports The New York Times (NYT).”

ISAF Denies Taliban Downed Helicopter

UPI “The Taliban have claimed credit for the downing of a NATO helicopter but international forces denied the allegation.”

5 Mujahideen Martyred in IOK South Asian News Agency (SANA) “Police and Army said that they have martyred five mujahideen in Wangat forests of Ganderbal district of Indian Occupied Kashmir.”

Africa

25 Killed in Attack at Nigerian college Dormitory LA Times “ Unknown assailants killed at least 25 people at a polytechnic school in northeastern Nigeria, invading the campus dormitory and shooting their victims or cutting their throats, authorities said Tuesday.”

US Renews Focus on AQIM, Following Libya Attack The Daily Star “U.S. officials said Tuesday the deadly attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya has prompted a renewed focus on the threat posed by Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in North Africa, suspected of possible links to last month’s assault.”

Darfur Ambush Kills Four in Sudan BBC “Four peacekeepers have been killed and eight wounded in an ambush in Sudan's western Darfur region, according to the joint UN-African Union mission Unamid. The troops, who were from Nigeria, were attacked about 2km (1.5 miles) from mission headquarters in the town of Geneina, Unamid said.”

South and Central America and the Caribbean

ICE Deports Salvadorian Wanted for Murder, Organized Crime, and Extortion Latin American Herald Tribune “A Salvadoran wanted in his country for murder, organized crime and extortion, was deported and turned over to officials of El Salvador by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).”

EU Diplomat Kidnapped in Brazil Latin American Herald Tribune “ An Italian member of the European Union’s diplomatic corps was the victim of an “express kidnapping” in Brasilia, a crime that has become commonplace in the Brazilian capital, police said Wednesday.”

Hundreds Uprooted By Fighting in Southern Colombia Latin American Herald Tribune “BOGOTA – Nearly 600 people have fled their lands in the southern Colombian province of Nariño amid intense fighting between the security forces and leftist FARC rebels, indigenous leaders said Wednesday.”

Colombia Arrests Drug Trafficker Wanted by the US Latin American Herald Tribune “A suspected drug trafficker who is the subject of a U.S. extradition request was arrested by Colombian authorities, National Police director Gen. Roberto Leon Riaño said.”