12 March 2014

FLASH POINTS THE PTSS DAILY began as a GLOBAL STRATEGIC OVERVIEW means of keeping PTSS Marshall Center Alumni abreast of news SPECIAL: TWITTERISM: HOW TWITTER HAS BECOME THE TERRORIST’S TOOL related to . THE PTSS DAILY is neither an academic COUNTERTERRORISM NEWS BY journal nor the effort of a research NATION & REGION directorate or a large staff. Early each morning, articles AFGHANISTAN that are cited in THE PTSS DAILY are culled from CANADA EGYPT hundreds of sources with the intent of providing you EUROPEAN UNION with the most current news, discussions and commentary INDIA on terrorism and related issues such as or narco- IRAQ terrorism. These articles, curated from news media, LEBANON academic and international sources or submitted by LIBYA many of you, give our growing network a snapshot of MALAYSIA

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Flash Points | back to top | JTIC Flashpoints JTIC 13 March 2014 INDIA: At least 15 police officers and one civilian where killed and 10 police officers were wounded during a suspected Communist Party of India – Maoist (CPI-M) ambush in the Tongpal area of Sukama district in Chhattisgarh state on 11 March. Police were conducting a road clearing operation in the area when the dozens of militants detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) targeting the lead element of the patrol before surrounding the officers and opening fire on them with small-arms. (Al-Jazeera/Reuters) SYRIA: At least seven people were killed and 15 others were wounded when three bombers – suspected of belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) – detonated their devices in a hotel serving as a local administration building in the predominately Kurdish town of Qamishli in Al Hasakah governorate on 11 March. Unconfirmed reports state that two guards were shot dead before the attacks threw grenades into the building and detonated their devices. ISIL is a front organisation for Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) operating in Syria and Iraq. (Al- Shorfa/Associated Press) PAKISTAN: Four people were killed and nine others were wounded in three separate grenade attacks by unidentified militants in the Lyari Town area in the city of Karachi in Sindh province early on 12 March. No other details were immediately available. (Geo News TV) IRAQ: Three police officers were killed and seven others were wounded when a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (SVBIED) driven by an unidentified militant targeted a police station in the village of Asriah, west of Baiji district, in Salah ad Din governorate on 12 March. The vehicle used in the attack was reportedly a stolen police vehicle. (NINA) AFGHANISTAN: At least three polio vaccinators where killed when their vehicle struck an IED, emplaced by unidentified militants, near the Sangin district of Helmand province on 11 March. Additional information was not immediately available and no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. (Khaama Press) BAHRAIN: Two police officers were wounded when an IED, emplaced by unidentified militants, detonated in the Shia Muslim village of Al-Eker, 20 km south of the capital Manama, on 11 March. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. (Reuters) ISRAEL/GAZA AND THE WEST BANK: Three Palestinian man – affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) – were killed by an Israeli air strike near the Sufa area of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on 11 March. The militants were targeted after reportedly attacking Israeli forces with mortars as they attempted to enter the area. The PIJ confirmed the deaths. (Maan News Agency/Reuters) EGYPT: An IED emplaced by unidentified militants detonated targeting a police vehicle outside the Israeli embassy in the capital Cairo on 11 March. The attack failed to cause any casualties or damaged. (Reuters) SUDAN: A student was shot dead and another was wounded when security forces used tear gas and live ammunition to disperse a protest at the University of Khartoum in the capital Khartoum on 11 March. Security forces also detained 110 people, who were demonstration against violence by suspected pro-government forces in the country’s Darfur region in recent weeks. (Amnesty International) VENEZUELA: At least three people were wounded when unidentified gunmen attacked a group of anti- government student protestors blocking a street in the city of Barquisimeto in Lara state on 11 March. The gunmen then reportedly entered the Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado grounds and set fire to five vehicles before fleeing. (Associated Press)

FURTHER READING: OSINT Summary: Suspected CPI-M militants kill at least 15 police officers in India's Chhattisgarh https://janes.ihs.com/CustomPages/Janes/DisplayPage.aspx?DocType=News&ItemId=++ +1704462&Pubabbrev=JTSM JTIC Brief: Spate of attacks highlight persistence of Uighur militancy in ’s https://janes.ihs.com/CustomPages/Janes/DisplayPage.aspx?DocType=News&ItemId=++ +1702587&Pubabbrev=JTSM Unbowed and unbroken- Somalia’s Al-Shabaab emerges seemingly unscathed following internal purge https://janes.ihs.com/CustomPages/Janes/DisplayPage.aspx?DocType=News&ItemId=++ +1702897 Global Attack Index 2013 https://janes.ihs.com/CustomPages/Janes/DisplayPage.aspx?DocType=Hybrid+Publicatio ns&ItemId=+++1703805&Pubabbrev=JTIR Flashpoints courtesy of JTIC. Global Strategic Overview | back to top | Intensity based on number of fatalities, wounded and damage Today’s Conflict Areas and Intensity Low / Medium / High Syria

Afghanistan

Pakistan

5 Killed In Triple Suicide Bombings In Syria IANS/Xinhua 12 March 2014 Three suicide bombers detonated themselves at a hotel in Syria’s Qamishli city Tuesday, leaving five people killed and eight wounded, state media said. The incident occurred as terrorists wearing explosive belts carried out the suicide bombing at the Hadaya Hotel in the Kurdish-dominated city of Qamishli in Hasaka province, Xinhua reported citing local media, adding five people were killed and eight wounded in the attack. Read more at: http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/5-killed-in-triple-suicide-bombings-in- syria/article5776345.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication 2 Suicide Bombers Attack Security Base In S. Afghanistan, 1 Bomber Killed Xinhua 12 March 2014 Two suicide bombers attacked a base of national intelligence agency in Taliban former stronghold of Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province on Wednesday. One attacker has been killed and gun shoots continues with others, provincial police spokesman Zia Durani said. "Two suicide bombers attacked a base of National Directorate of Security (NDS) or the country's intelligence agency at around 10: 00 a.m. local time today. Read more at: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-03/12/c_133180487.htm

Karachi Gang Warfare Kills At Least A Dozen AFP/Al Jazeera 12 March 2014 Gang warfare in the Pakistani city of Karachi has claimed the lives of at least twelve people, including women and children, with the death toll expected to rise, officials have said "The clash erupted this morning when two gangs exchanged heavy gunfire, later they fired RPGs and lobbed hand grenades at each other," senior police official Faisal Bashir told the AFP news agency on Wednesday. He added that 39 people, including 15 schoolchildren, were injured. Read more at: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2014/03/karachi-gang-warfare-kills-at-least-dozen- 2014312751359479.html Special: Twitterism: How Twitter Has Become The Terrorist’s Tool | back to top | Twitterism: How Twitter Has Become The Terrorist’s Tool Perdeby By BEN JOOSTE 3 March 2014 The world today is more connected than ever before. We are aware of a natural disaster moments after it strikes, even if it occurs half a world away. We can send a message almost instantaneously, whether it is to the person in the room next to you or to someone across two oceans. Social networks and media make this instant interconnectivity possible. Many people use it to further noble causes or movements, but the scale can be tipped the other way too. On 21 September 2013, a terrorist attack shook Kenya as the Westgate Mall was attacked by al-Shabaab militants. More than 67 people were killed in the attack, which the terrorists live-tweeted until Twitter shut down their account (@HSM_Press) the day after al-Shabaab took shoppers . Al-Shabaab created another account (@HSM_PressOffice) and ridiculed Kenya’s government as it tried to negotiate the release of the . Prior to this, Kenya’s military spokesperson Major Emmanuel Chirchir had used his personal Twitter account to brag about Kenya’s military success against al-Shabaab. Telegraph journalist Harriet Alexander believes that this provoked al-Shabaab to join Twitter in September 2011 and to tweet about the Westgate attack. Social networks are usually run on open, freedom of speech principles. In 2004, Gabriel Weimann, a professor of communication at Haifa University in Israel, published in his Institute of Peace special report that, “The great virtues of the internet – ease of access, lack of regulation, vast potential audiences, and fast flow of information, among others – have been turned to the advantage of groups committed to terrorising societies to achieve their goals.” These networks are not limited to specific regions or countries, allowing communication between terrorists to be fast, accurate, and effortless. This aids them in things like psychological warfare, planning attacks, fundraising, data mining, recruitment and spreading propaganda. Read more at: http://www.perdeby.co.za/sections/features/3487-twitterism-how-twitter-has-become-the-terrorist-s-tool Counterterrorism News by Nation & Region AFGHANISTAN | back to top | Top General To Testify About Afghanistan Amid Impasse Over U.S. Troop Presence Army Times by Jeff Schogol 11 March 2014 Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, the top commander in Afghanistan, will testify on Capitol Hill Wednesday about the situation on the ground amid a continuing standoff with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who is refusing to sign a security agreement that would allow U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan after this year. Karzai, whose term in office is coming to an end, has said his successor should be the one to sign the agreement

with the U.S. government. Presidential elections are slated for April, but if no clear winner emerges, a runoff election will be held later in the year. Read more at: http://www.armytimes.com/article/20140311/NEWS05/303110035/Top-general-testify-about- Afghanistan-amid-impasse-over-U-S-troop-presence Afghan Forces Kill 3 Attackers In Battle In South Associated Press 12 March 2014 Three heavily armed insurgents tried to storm a former intelligence headquarters in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, prompting a fierce gunbattle that left the attackers dead. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in the city of Kandahar, which provided a test for Afghan security forces as U.S. and allied combat troops have handed over the lead in preparation for their withdrawal by the end of the year. Read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afghan-police-3-insurgents-killed-in- shootout/2014/03/12/a8ad36e2-a9c0-11e3-8a7b-c1c684e2671f_story.html CANADA | back to top | Timeline: Involved Since 2001, Canada Wraps Up Its Mission In Afghanistan CTVNews.ca by Christina Commisso 11 March 2014 Canada's military efforts in Afghanistan will end this month, with the withdrawal of the last 100 soldiers from Kabul, where they had been wrapping up training of Afghan National Security Forces. Canada’s involvement included efforts in diplomacy, education, women’s rights and even dam building. The five years of heavy combat cost the lives of 158 Canadian soldiers, two consultants, one diplomat and one journalist. Read more at: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/timeline-involved-since-2001-canada-wraps-up-its-mission-in- afghanistan-1.1724890#ixzz2vjsIaAd5 EGYPT | back to top | Army Spokesman - 18 Terrorists And Criminals Arrested Aswat Masriya 11 March 2014 Egypt's army spokesman Ahmed Aly said on Tuesday that the authorities have arrested 18 "terrorists and criminals" in security operations this week. The arrests were made in the governorates of Sinai, Ismailia, Port Said, Sharqiya, Damietta, Daqahliya, Minya and Fayoum, Aly said, adding that they included two very "dangerous extremists". Read more at: http://allafrica.com/stories/201403120430.html Al-Qaeda Terror Cell Was Targeting Embassies And Churches Asharq Al-Awsat 12 March 2014 Investigations into an alleged four-man Al-Qaeda terror cell arrested by Egyptian authorities earlier this week claimed that the group was in the process of planning attacks on Arab embassies and churches, and that the group’s members had received military training in Pakistan and that they fought in Afghanistan. The four men—three Egyptian nationals and one foreign national—were referred to Cairo’s Criminal Court on Monday. They face charges of attacking military personnel and institutions, jeopardizing the safety of society, and attempting to overthrow the government. Read more at: http://www.aawsat.net/2014/03/article55329951

EUROPEAN UNION | back to top | De Kerchove: 'Terror threat still present in ' Deutsche Welle 11 March 2014 Ten years after the Al-Qaeda-organized terrorist attacks in Madrid, EU counter-terrorism coordinator Gilles De Kerchove tells Deutsche Welle that the terrorist threat for Europe is still there - but has changed. Deutsche Welle: Ten years ago, on March 11, 2004, terrorist attacks on trains in Madrid killed 191 people and left 2,000 people injured. How would you evaluate the threat that exists today? Gilles De Kerchove: I would say that the threat has changed a lot not only since the Madrid bombings but since 9/11. At the time we were confronted with an organization - Al Qaeda, which was very well-structured, like a multi- national company. It has morphed into something completely different. We now have franchises of al Qaeda everywhere in the world. We have seen some 'lone wolves' - people acting by themselves with no link to the al Qaeda core. And we have recently seen a rise of Europeans going to Syria - going there to fight. And that raises a specific security challenge. Are al-Qaeda-related or inspired groups the main threat or has the threat also shifted to other groups? The threat raised by al-Qaeda-directed or al-Qaeda-inspired groups remains the most important terrorist problem for Europe. Of course we've had cases in Germany where migrants were killed by right-wing extremists, we've had [Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring] Breivik. We probably have to work a bit more on that. But the threat related to al Qaeda remains the main threat. How is Europe connected to conflicts taking place in countries like Afghanistan or Syria? What we see - and that's one factor that amplifies the threat - is that we have more failing or failed states. And we know that these types of groups want to avail themselves of failing states to regroup, to train, to reinforce themselves. And therefore, for the time being, one of the challenges with the so-called Arab Spring countries is that many of these countries had to dismantle their security services - because they were the arm of repression. And they are weaker than they were before because these are under construction. Read more at: http://www.dw.de/de-kerchove-terror-threat-still-present-in-europe/a-17486669 INDIA | back to top | NIA To Probe Soldiers Killing In C. India Kuwait News Agency 12 March 2014 India's Interior Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde Wedensday said that the elite National Investigation Agency (NIA) would probe the killing of 16 soldiers by Maoist rebels in the Central Indian state of Chhattisgarh the previous day. While paying homage to slain soldiers at Jagdalpur area in Chattisgarh state, the interior minister told media that the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Raman Singh has agreed to hand over the probe to NIA. "The martyrdom of these security personnel will not go waste and security forces will fight back," Shinde said, adding, "Maoists are trying to unleash a reign of terror to disrupt the upcoming Lok Sabha (parliamentary) polls. Read more at: http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2366016&language=en IRAQ | back to top | Iraq Hosts Anti-Terror Meeting Eyeing Spillover Of Violence Cihan Beta 12 March 2014 International diplomats and security delegations gathered in Iraq Wednesday for the country's first international

counter-terrorism conference in the capital Baghdad. The two-day meeting will tackle various topics set by Iraqi and international researchers, including international cooperation to fight terrorism and media censorship. Read more at: http://en.cihan.com.tr/news/Iraq-hosts-anti-terror-meeting-eyeing-spillover-of-violence_8210- CHMTM3ODIxMC80 LEBANON | back to top | Hezbollah Support For Syrian Regime Risks Eroding Support Base In Lebanon The Wall Street Journal by MARIA ABI-HABIB 11 March 2014 The streets of this Hezbollah bastion on the southern edge of Beirut once bustled with squealing schoolchildren, well-to-do merchants and bargain-hunting shoppers, a testament to the group's success in lifting its fellow Lebanese Shiite out of poverty and illiteracy. But Dahiyeh's avenues are now largely deserted and many of its shops are shut or protected by sandbags, after a series of bombings in... Read more at: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303795904579430822054946210 LIBYA | back to top | UN Says Libya Is Fueling : Gulf And Western Powers Should Be Held Accountable Modern Times by Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker 12 March 2014 European Union powers and America are currently lambasting the Russian Federation over actions taken in Crimea while people are dying daily in Afghanistan, Libya, Pakistan, Syria – and other nations – based on the destabilization policies of major Gulf and Western powers (Pakistan destabilized itself). Serbians and Africans of course are sent to criminal courts while the nations that have killed in the millions based on destabilization policies literally get away with . Even the United Nations can’t cover-up the mess of America, France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Therefore, Libya is free of Colonel Gaddafi but to hell with the collapse of the nation state just like in Afghanistan and Iraq. Reuters reports: “U.N. experts say Libya has become a primary source of illicit , including shoulder-fired missiles, which have been trafficked to at least 14 countries and are fueling conflicts on several continents, Rwanda’s U.N. envoy said on Monday.” Read more at: http://www.moderntokyotimes.com/2014/03/12/un-says-libya-is-fueling-wars-gulf-and-western- powers-should-be-held-accountable/ MALAYSIA | back to top | Passengers Using Stolen Passports On Missing Flight Identified AP by CHRIS BRUMMITT and TRAN VAN MINH 12 March 2014 A man traveling with a stolen passport on a missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner was an Iranian teenager trying to migrate to Germany, and is not believed to have any terrorist links, police said Tuesday. The announcement is likely to dampen, at least for now, speculation that the disappearance of the Boeing 777 was linked to terrorism. Police said a second passenger also traveling with a stolen passport has not been identified. Both bought their tickets in Thailand and entered Malaysia together. Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/11/malaysia-flight_n_4941007.html

Terrorism Ruled Out By Interpol And Malaysian Police In MH370 Investigations Channel NewsAsia 11 March 2014 Terrorism has been ruled out by both Interpol and Malaysian police investigating the missing Malaysian Airlines plane, MH370 which disappeared on Saturday. "The more information we get, the more we are inclined to conclude it is not a terrorist incident," said Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble at a news conference in Lyon, France. Read more at: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/terrorism-ruled-out-by/1028744.html Terrorism Can’t Be Ruled Out In Missing Malaysia Airlines Jet: CIA AFP 11 March 2014 The head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on Tuesday said terrorism could not be ruled out in the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines MH370 airliner. CIA director John Brennan said there had been “some claims of responsibility” over the missing jet that had “not been confirmed or corroborated,” and that he could not exclude the possibility of a terror link. Read more at: http://www.livemint.com/Politics/d3LpsUkXckQh24VSRHjt7J/Terrorism-cant-be-ruled-out-in-missing- Malaysia-Airlines-je.html MALI | back to top | Jihadists Return To Northern Mali A Year After French Intervention The Guardian by Jacques Follorou 11 March 2014 A year after France mounted Operation Serval to rid northern Mali of jihadists, they seem to be back. According to local sources but also the security forces, jihadists have regained a foothold in several areas. Islamists have pressured families hostile to their presence to leave their homes. Over the past six months al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has murdered several people who helped the French military in Mali, in particular Touareg members of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA). At least 10 people have been killed. Read more at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/11/mali-jihadists-return-after-france-mission NIGERIA | back to top | Resolving Boko Haram This Day Live by Chidi Amuta 12 March 2014 Disputations about the status of the Boko Haram are now useless. A war is raging in our midst. Casualties are mounting by the day. Communities are being wiped out. Boko Haram is creating orphans, widows and homeless Nigerians at a pace faster than the Nigerian Civil War. Symbols of state authority are being routinely destroyed. The very things that make us a society – schools, markets, mosques, churches, police stations, banks etc. – are being taken down by a mindless . More distressingly, a tragic conflict that should unite us as a community of shared feelings is being down played and dissipated in distractive official celebrations and other ploys by Abuja. Read more at: http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/resolving-boko-haram/173503/ PAKISTAN | back to top | Pakistan Eyes Possible Defense Budget Increase Defense News by USMAN ANSARI 11 March 2014 Pakistan is examining a possible defense budget increase in light of a changing security and financial situation, but

though new equipment is needed rising operational costs could soak up any increase, say analysts. The Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported Finance Minister Ishaq Dar discussed the possibility of assisting the military’s development program with Chief of Army Staff Gen. Raheel Sharif during a meeting over the weekend. Read more at: http://www.defensenews.com/article/20140311/DEFREG03/303110034/Pakistan-Eyes-Possible- Defense-Budget-Increase RUSSIA | back to top | Russian Court Issues Arrest Warrant For Ukraine Far-Right Head For Terrorism 2 News 12 March 2014 Moscow: A Russian court issued an arrest warrant for Ukrainian far-right leader Dmytro Yarosh in absentia on Wednesday on charges of inciting terrorism, a symbolic move in support of Moscow's argument that "extremists" stole power in neighbouring Ukraine. Russian news agencies said Moscow's Basmanny District Court ruled that Yarosh, one of the most influential leaders of the protest movement which ousted leader Viktor Yanukovich, should be arrested for making "public calls for terrorist and extremist activities via the media". Read more at: http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/russian-court-issues-arrest-warrant-for-ukraine-far-right-head- for-terrorism_917463.html SAUDI ARABIA | back to top | Saudi Arabia Rejects Maliki's Charges On Funding Iraqi Militants Reuters 10 March 2014 Saudi Arabia on Monday rejected accusations by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that Riyadh and Qatar are funding Sunni Muslim insurgents his troops are battling in Iraq's western Anbar province. Maliki's remarks to France 24 television late on Saturday appeared to play to Iraqi fears of meddling by Sunni Arab states as he tries to burnish his image as a defender of Shi'ite-majority Iraq before elections next month. Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/10/us-saudi-iraq-maliki-idUSBREA2917H20140310 SOMALIA | back to top | Offensive In Somalia Sees Militants Flee 5 Towns Associated Press 11 March 2014 Columns of African Union and Somali troops are moving deeper into land controlled by al-Qaida-linked militants, forcing fighters to flee from five towns in quick succession in a further squeezing of al-Shabab’s strongholds. Al-Shabab has put up little resistance as the AU and Somali troops surged toward their strongholds over the last several days. Towns in the interior of Somalia with little relevance to the outside world — Rabdhure, Ted, Hudur, Wajid and Buudhubow — are now in the nominal control of Somalia’s Mogadishu-based government, a further step of success following al-Shabab’s ouster from Mogadishu in 2011. Read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/offensive-in-somalia-sees-militants-flee-5- towns/2014/03/11/f166e130-a916-11e3-8a7b-c1c684e2671f_story.html

SYRIA | back to top | The Frontman Vs. Al Qaeda FP by SUSANNAH GEORGE 11 March 2014 In this Turkish town, just miles from the Syrian border, Jamal Maarouf has traded his military fatigues for simple civilian dress. He sits in a narrow apartment in the town's old city; a tangle of charging smartphones rests in the middle of the room. The leader of the Syrian Revolutionary Front (SRF), a moderate rebel alliance, is surrounded by his commanders and advisors, who are perched on overstuffed couches and thin foam mattresses. Maarouf is only here for the day, and plans to return to the battlefield later that night. "I am a fighter," he says. "I eat and sleep with my men, and during the battles I'm always with them on the front line. I feel their pain." Read more at: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/03/11/the_frontman_vs_al_qaeda_jamal_maarouf_syria_rebels Syrian Army Arrests Several Female Terrorists In Damascus Countryside FARS 12 March 2014 The army units detained 4 terrorists in the town of Qatna in Damascus countryside as they were planting bombs in trash cans around the town. The captured terrorists have confessed during the early stages of interrogation that they planned to bomb crowded areas and streets in a bid to take the largest number of victims and target more Syrian soldiers in those areas. Read more at: http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13921221000940 Syria war organized by Friends of Syria Group: Activist Press TV 12 March 2014 Press TV has conducted an interview with Ken Stone, with the Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War from Ontario, about the atrocities taking place by al-Qaeda-linked groups in Syria. What follows is an approximate transcription of the interview. Press TV: Mr. Stone, the fact that there are a few regional countries supporting and funding , what would be the consequences for these countries? Stone: Well we have to note that this Saturday March 15th is the third anniversary of the illegal aggression against the sovereign state of Syria. After three long years, these mercenaries have been carrying out, they are laying waste to the civilian infrastructure of Syria, they have been committing all kinds of atrocities and war crimes, they have killed tens of thousands of people and they have made millions into refugees. From the very start it has been clear now that these people are terrorists and there has never been an Arab Spring in Syria. From the very start this has been something that has been organized by the Friends of Syria Group including those countries such as Canada, the US, France and Britain plus some of the Arab monarchies and the frontline states such as Jordan and Turkey. Read more at: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/03/12/354397/syria-war-organized-by-friends-of-syria/ TURKEY | back to top | Assyrian, Armenian, Greek Coalition Rallies Outside Turkish Consulate Assyrian International News Agency by Author 11 March 2014 As news broke of the 13 Maaloula Nun's release from terrorist captivity, a dedicated group of Americans descended upon the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles, to protest Turkey's support of Terrorism and in Syria. A Coalition of Christians and Muslims, made up of Assyrians, Armenians, Greeks, and Syrians gathered to voice their

frustrations. Their message was clear, stop supporting Islamic Extremists and their ongoing Genocide of Syria's minorities. Read more at: http://www.aina.org/news/20140311175908.htm Turkish Police Fire Tear Gas At Protesters In Ankara Bloomberg by Taylan Bilgic, Onur Ant and Selcan Hacaoglu 12 March 2014 Tens of thousands of Turks turned out in Istanbul for the funeral of a 15-year-old boy whose death, from injuries sustained during last summer’s Gezi Park protests, has sparked the biggest street unrest since then. Thousands of protesters also gathered in downtown Ankara after a night of clashes there with police, who used tear gas and arrested many demonstrators Read more at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-11/turkish-police-fire-tear-gas-at-protesters-in- ankara.html?cmpid=yhoo UKRAINE | back to top | General: Armed Groups In Crimea Are Russian Military The Hill by Kristina Wong 11 March 2014 Groups of armed forces who have taken over military installations in Crimea are Russian forces, the top commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Europe said in a statement Tuesday, seeking to clear up confusion over where the forces were from. “After extensive review of multiple information sources we believe these are Russian military forces acting on clear orders to undermine Ukraine forces in Crimea,” said Air Force Gen. Phil Breedlove. Read more at: http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-strategy/200489-general-armed-groups-in-crimea-are- russian-military#ixzz2vhLbSokP UNITED KINGDOM | back to top | Sensitive Approach To Terrorism Paying Off, Says UK Think Tank Radio Voice of Russia UK 12 March 2014 It’s thought 400 Britons have recently gone to Syria to join the Islamic extremist group, the jihad. It’s also emerged that some Muslim parents are acting as informers and telling the police about loved ones who may have fled the country. A recent article in The Times suggests that the women who head the counter-terrorism unit are responsible for a more sensitive approach to dealing with minority communities. VoR's Juliet Spare reports. There are reports some Muslim families in Britain are informing the police about their own family members in an attempt to prevent them from joining the jihad in Syria. The claim in The Times suggests ’s Metropolitan Police force has better relations with minority communities in Britain because it’s led by an all-female team. Read more at: http://voiceofrussia.com/uk/news/2014_03_12/Sensitive-approach-to-terrorism-paying-off-says- UK-think-tank-5915/ Syria Bomber From Crawley Was A 'Hero' Says Family BBC by Dominic Casciani 11 March 2014 The brother of a British man who blew himself up in Syria has told Newsnight he should be regarded as a hero who combated the regime, not a terrorist. Abdul Waheed Majeed, of Crawley, died last month when he drove a truck bomb at the gates of Aleppo Prison. Read more at: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-26518647

Counter-Terrorism Officers Arrest Three People Over Syria Links Manchester Evening News by Pete Bainbridge 11 March 2014 Detectives held two men from Levenshulme, aged 29 and 18, and a 21-year-old woman from Trafford, during early morning raids. They were detained on suspicion of of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. A team from the South East Counter Terrorism Unit (SECTU), supporting the North West Counter Terrorism Unit (NWCTU), also arrested a 29-year-old man from Oxford on suspicion of the same offence. Read more at: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/counter-terrorism-officers- arrest-three-people-6796316 General CounterTerrorism News | back to top | Terrorism And Utilities: No Longer A Black Swan Investing Daily by RICHARD STAVROS 12 March 2014 It used to be considered highly unlikely that a terrorist attack, either electronic or physical, could come close to disrupting the nation’s energy utilities infrastructure on the scale of Mother Nature, with her floods, freezing temperatures, and high-speed winds. One need only recall the devastation in 2012 that was wrought on the Mid- Atlantic states by Hurricane Sandy, where 8 million lost power, some for weeks. The fact that US utilities have shown great resilience in restoring power under the most dire circumstances has contributed to the belief that this is one of the most reliable power systems on the planet. Read more at: http://www.investingdaily.com/19722/terrorism-and-utilities-no-longer-a-black-swan-2/ Analysis: Drones Herald The End Of The Age Of The Gun Nextgov by Noah Smith Quartz 11 March 2014 The human race is on the brink of momentous and dire change. It is a change that potentially smashes our institutions and warps our society beyond recognition. It is also a change to which almost no one is paying attention. I’m talking about the coming obsolescence of the gun-wielding human infantryman as a of war. Or to put it another way: the end of the Age of the Gun. You may not even realize you have been, indeed, living in the Age of the Gun because it’s been centuries since that age began. But imagine yourself back in 1400. In that century (and the 10 centuries before it), the battlefield was ruled not by the infantryman, but by the horse archer—a warrior-nobleman who had spent his whole life training in the ways of war. Imagine that guy’s surprise when he was shot off his horse by a poor no-count farmer armed with a long metal tube and just two weeks’ worth of training. Just a regular guy with a gun. Read more at: http://www.nextgov.com/defense/2014/03/analysis-drones-herald-end-age- gun/80263/?oref=nextgov_today_nl Threat Of Terrorist Attack In Europe Still ‘Serious’, Warns EU Security Chief Euronews 11 March 2014 New York’s 9/11/2001, Madrid’s 11/3/2004, London’s 7/7/2005: they are dates that live in infamy…terrorism attacks that defined a decade. New York, Madrid, London radically transformed security policy across Europe. And international terrorism demanded an international response. Read more at: http://www.euronews.com/2014/03/11/threat-of-terrorist-attack-in-europe-still-serious-warns-eu- security-chief/

Al Qa’ida & Affiliates | back to top | 9/11 Recruiter Reportedly Freed In Syria The Long War Journal by THOMAS JOSCELYN 11 March 2014 Mohammed Zammar, the al Qaeda operative responsible for recruiting the suicide-hijack pilots for the 9/11 attacks, has reportedly been freed inside Syria. Zammar's freedom was reported by Zaid Benjamin, the Washington correspondent for Radio Sawa, on his Twitter feed on Mar. 2. Writing for Al-Monitor, John Rosenthal cited multiple sources confirming Zammar's freedom in an account published on Mar. 10. Read more at: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/03/911_recruiter_report.php Al Qaeda Hijacks Spirit Of Syria Revolt Three Years On Reuters by SAMIA NAKHOUL 11 March 2014 Syrian refugees in this border outpost were delighted to hear their home town of Azaz had been liberated - not from Bashar al-Assad's troops but from al Qaeda fighters who subjected them to a regime that included torture and public beheadings. For Syrians who three years ago rose up against 43 years of Assad family rule, living under the hard-line Sunni jihadists who said they had come to save them from the president's atrocities was even worse than Assad himself. Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/11/us-syria-crisis-refugees-insight- idUSBREA2A0QG20140311 Is China In Al Qaeda’s Crosshairs? Vocativ by Rachael Levy 11 March 2014 What does a knife attack in western China have to do with the Malaysian Airlines disappearance? Two weeks ago, 34 people were killed and 130 injured in a mass attack at the railway station in , China. Reports said as many as 10 black-clad assailants wielding knives and attacked people at random. The event caused shock in China and around the world, with many referring to it as the “Chinese 9/11.” Just days before, an Al Qaeda-affiliated group released a video threatening China. And this week, that video gained much greater significance, when Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared without a trace. Read more at: P http://www.vocativ.com/world/china/china-al-qaedas-cross-hairs/ Commentary & Opinion | back to top | China Must Address The Grievances That Fuel Terrorism South China Morning Post by HU SHULI 12 March 2014 Twenty-nine people were killed and 143 wounded in the terrorist attack in Kunming on March 1. Forty hours after the assault, China's security authorities named Abdurehim Kurban as the mastermind. Police said "East Turkestan" flags used by Uygur separatists from Xinjiang were found at the scene. Only six months earlier, a group of these separatists staged an attack at Tiananmen Square by driving a car through a crowd then crashing it, killing five people and injuring 40 others. Read more at: http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1446972/china-must-address-grievances- fuel-terrorism

Seeing A Threat At Home In A Fight Abroad The New York Times by KATRIN BENNHOLD 11 March 2014 His interrogators had a nickname for Moazzam Begg, a British former detainee of Guantánamo Bay who was re- arrested last month on suspicion of terrorism offenses related to the war in Syria. They called him Hemingway. “We compared him to somebody who went off to Spain during the civil war — more of a romantic than some sort of ideologically steeled fighter,” Christopher Hogan, a former military interrogator who oversaw some of Mr. Begg’s early interrogations in the American high-security prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, told The New York Times in 2006. Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/12/world/europe/seeing-a-threat-at-home-in-a-fight- abroad.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&_r=0 West Dual Policies Fuel Terrorism: Iran Speaker Press TV 12 March 2014 Iranian Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani has described terrorism as a significant challenge, saying the double standards by hegemonic countries have encouraged the scourge. “The global powers’ double standards have encouraged and boosted terrorism and extremism,” Larijani said in a meeting with Milorad Pupovac, the chairperson of Croatian parliament’s foreign policy committee and president of the Serb National Council, in Tehran on Tuesday. Read more at: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/03/12/354347/west-double-standards-fuel-terrorism/ Cyber Warfare | back to top | Senate Panel ‘Very Close’ To Cyber Bill The Hill by Julian Hattem 11 March 2014 Lawmakers on the Senate Intelligence Committee are getting “very close” to a new cybersecurity bill, according to the panel's top Republican. “As you know we have been working on a cyber bill for years now,” Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) told President Obama’s nominee to lead the U.S. Cyber Command and National Security Agency, Vice Adm. Michael Rogers, in a hearing on Tuesday. Read more at: http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/200460-senate-panel-very-close-to-cyber- bill#ixzz2vhM27nak Legal Aspects & Lawfare | back to top | At Trial Of Bin Laden Relative, Witness Describes Meeting 9/11 Mastermind The New York Times by BENJAMIN WEISER 11 March 2014 A British operative for Al Qaeda testified on Tuesday that, before abandoning a plot to blow up an airplane, he flew from Pakistan to the and then on to Britain while concealing a bomb in his shoe. The operative, Saajid Badat, said in federal court in Manhattan that “Plan A” had been to blow up a domestic flight in the United States, so he did not detonate his shoe bomb. Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/12/nyregion/at-trial-of-bin-laden-relative-witness-describes- meeting-9-11-mastermind.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

Narco-Terrorism | back to top | Media As Both Weapon And Defense In The Mexican War Pacific Standard by LAUREN KIRCHNER 11 March 2014 The recent capture of drug kingpin Joaquín Guzmán Loera in Mexico was a rare victory in the war on in that country. The Sinaloa Cartel and others like it have been blamed for a majority of the tens of thousands of and 100,000 recorded in Mexico since 2006. The Mexican press has suffered great losses during the years of drug-related violence. When cartels commit crimes, the reporters who cover them often face threats. Cartels also often want to use the press to broadcast their own messages of intimidation to the public—if news outlets comply, they may suffer retaliation from rival groups. According to the press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders, 88 journalists were killed in Mexico between 2000 and the end of 2013, and 18 others have disappeared. The group blames those deaths and kidnappings on not only the criminal organizations in the country but on the “complicity of corrupt local, and sometimes federal, officials.” Read more at: http://www.psmag.com/navigation/health-and-behavior/media-weapon-defense-mexican-drug- war-76243/ US Double-Speak On Drugs Trinidad Express Newspapers by Rickey Singh 11 March 2014 I GUESS that the United States, as the world’s sole “superpower” —even though currently agonising over the limits of its economic and military might in dealing with Russia over Ukraine—can indulge in making sweeping negative claims against small states in our Caribbean region. Hence, last Saturday, as Caribbean Community leaders were advancing arrangements for this week’s Intersessional Meeting in St Vincent and the Grenadines, scheduled to conclude yesterday, there came a report out of Washington with a scorching verbal swipe at poor governance and “leadership” in this region. Read more at: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/commentaries/US-double-speak-on-drugs--249653321.html Science & Technology | back to top | Un Drone Investigator: U.S. Must Explain Civilian Deaths The Atlantic by Conor Friedersdorf 11 March 2014 After a year long study of the use of drones to kill people, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Ben Emmerson has released his final report. It's a manageable read at 22 pages. The summary by NYU's Sarah Knuckey is the next best thing. The report documents 30 instances where there were credible reports of civilians being harmed by drone strikes, some of them already controversial, others lesser known. Read more at: http://www.govexec.com/technology/2014/03/un-drone-investigator-us-must-explain-civilian- deaths/80275/?oref=nextgov_today_nl Dystopian Doom Or Global Village? What The Internet Will Look Like In 2025 Salon by Sarah Gray 12 March 2014 Sorry, wearable tech is a given. But will expanded connectivity lead to learning or more inequality and violence? To mark the 25th anniversary of the invention of the World Wide Web, by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project in conjunction with Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center released a report on what the Internet could look like in the next decade. Some things were widely agreed on. According to the report,

“They predict mobile, wearable, and embedded computing will be tied together in the Internet of Things, allowing people and their surroundings to tap into artificial intelligence-enhanced cloud-based information storage and sharing.” To conduct such a report they ”canvassed” thousands of Internet experts, and enthusiasts to give their thoughts on how “privacy, cybersecurity, the ‘Internet of things,’ and net neutrality” will look like in the year 2025. The survey was conducted between Nov. 25, 2013, and Jan. 13, 2014. Part of the survey asked over 2,000 experts where they saw the future of the Internet. Their theses were later analyzed and arranged into categories. Excerpts from their responses are shown below: Global connectivity: According to Paul Jones, a professor at the University of North Carolina and founder of ibiblio.org: “Television let us see the Global Village, but the Internet let us be actual Villagers.’” Augmented reality: In terms of what humans perceive as reality, professor Daren C. Brabham, at the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, University of Southern California, believes: “We will grow accustomed to seeing the world through multiple data layers. This will change a lot of social practices, such as dating, job interviewing and professional networking, and gaming, as well as policing and espionage.’” Read more at: http://www.salon.com/2014/03/12/dystopian_doom_or_global_village_what_the_internet_will_look_like_in_2025/ Terrorist Financing | back to top | Singapore Self-Assesses Money Laundering And Terrorist Financing Risk In Run-Up To FATF Review Compliance Alert 11 March 2014 Singapore’s first ever national risk assessment of the money laundering and terrorist financing risks in the country is a forward-looking report in the run-up to the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) impending review of the country. The report, however, did not generate requirements for new forms of controls but rather provided a snapshot of where Singapore is in terms of its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing efforts and pointed out areas that need improvement, lawyers told Compliance Complete.The report, released on January 10, found that many sectors have effective regimes in place to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, but it also identified areas where controls need to be strengthened. “The regime is grounded in tough regulations, rigorous supervision, and effective enforcement. Nonetheless, there are a number of areas where controls need to be strengthened, and efforts are underway to address them,” the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in a joint statement released on the same day. Read more at: http://compliancealert.org/singapore-self-assesses-money-laundering-and-terrorist-financing-risk-in- run-up-to-fatf-review/ Recognizing The Risks Of Somali Remittances ACD Last week, Bell State Bank in North Dakota announced that it would stop doing business with companies that remit money to Somalia. The move follows decisions by Minnesota banks in 2011 to stop providing Somali remittance services, and an attempt by Barclays last year to cut off its partnership with Dahabshiil, a money transfer company with primary operations in Somalia. The banks have been challenged in courts on both sides of the Atlantic, and advocacy groups have heavily criticized the banks’ decisions on humanitarian grounds. Indeed, humanitarian considerations are of the utmost importance. Unfortunately, money transferred to Somalia, particularly through Dahabshiil, all too often falls into the wrong hands and perpetuates the cycle of violence in Somalia. Banks should stand fast in their original decisions, and here are five reasons why: Read more at: http://www.terrorfinance.org/the_terror_finance_blog/2014/03/recognizing-the-risks-of-somali- remittances.html

ED Files Money-Laundering Case Against Hizb's Syed Salahuddin TNN by Deeptiman Tiwary 12 March 2014 NEW DELHI: After being chargesheeted by National Investigation Agency (NIA) last December, Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin is now in the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) crosshairs. The agency has registered a case of money laundering against Salahuddin for funding terror in the Kashmir valley through overground NGOs and cross-LoC trade. NIA had traced transactions of Rs 80 crore that were pumped into the Valley by Hizb from Pakistan over the years. The ED case is based on the chargesheet filed by NIA. Read more at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/ED-files-money-laundering-case-against-Hizbs-Syed- Salahuddin/articleshow/31862942.cms

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