20 December 2012

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY THE PTSS DAILY began as a means of keeping PTSS FLASH POINTS Marshall Center Alumni abreast of news related to TOP HEADLINES terrorism. THE PTSS DAILY is neither an academic journal nor the effort of a research directorate or a large SPECIAL: A COMPOUNDING PROBLEM BETWEEN BAGHDAD AND THE KURDS staff. Early each morning, articles that are cited in THE COUNTERTERRORISM NEWS BY NATION & REGION PTSS DAILY are culled from hundreds of sources with AFGHANISTAN the intent of providing you with the most current news, CANADA discussions and commentary on terrorism and related CHAD & CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC issues such as piracy or narco-terrorism. These articles, EGYPT FRANCE curated from news media, academic and international GERMANY sources or submitted by many of you, give our growing INDIA network a snapshot of this pernicious threat. INDONESIA Every effort is made to ensure that credible articles are IRAQ HE AILY ISRAEL chosen, but the intent of T PTSS D is to deliver IVORY COAST wide coverage. You – the professional – must be the KENYA final discriminator on the merit of a particular article and LIBYA its value to your profession. To ensure that THE PTSS MALI DAILY is both relevant and valuable to the reader, we NEPAL welcome and highly encourage comments from you. NIGERIA

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Thought for the Day | back to top |

The PTSS DAILY Journal team is either on travel, on leave or in America, but we all wish each and every reader a joyous and holy Christmas season and happy holidays. We are going to be back tracking terrorist events on 7 January 2013. Until then, be safe.

Flash Points | back to top | JTIC Flashpoints JTIC 20 December 2012 SYRIA: Anti-government militants operating under the unified national military command established in early December claimed on 19 December to have seized control of the towns of Halfaya, Latamneh, Kafr Nabouda, Hasraya, Kafr Zeita, and Tibat al-Imn in the west of Hama governorate in a series of assaults earlier that day. The attacks were part of an offensive on the governorate announced by senior military command member Qassam Saadeddine on 16 December. (Reuters) INDONESIA: Four police officers were killed and two others were wounded when unidentified militants on motorcycles opened fire on them during a patrol in the village of Kalora in the Poso district of Central Sulawesi province on 20 December. Provincial police chief Brigadier General Dewa Parsana subsequently announced the arrest of one suspect in the attack, whom he described as a “terrorist”. (Jakarta Globe) CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: The so-called Seleka CPSK-CPJP-UFDR militant coalition - reportedly composed of renegade factions of three militant groups, the Union des Forces Democratiques pour la Rassemblement (UFDR), the Convention des Patriotes pour la Justice et la Paix (CPJP), and the Wa Kodro Salute Patriotic Convention (CPSK) – claimed on 19 December to have seized control of the town of Kabo in Ouham Prefecture earlier that day. Militant commander Colonel Joseph Zoundeko alleged that his fighters had killed 12 soldiers and taken six others prisoner during the attack, although this could not be verified. (Reuters) AFGHANISTAN: At least four police officers were killed and three others were wounded when one of their fellow officers opened fire on them at a check post in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province on 19 December. A spokesman for the provincial governor, Javid Faisal, claimed the assailant had poisoned the officers’ food prior to the attack. (Khaama Press) UNITED KINGDOM: Five envelopes containing bullets were sent to the Northern Ireland Assembly in the Stormont area of Belfast in Northern Ireland on 19 December. The packages were separately addressed to David Ford, the Northern Ireland Minister of Justice and leader of the Alliance Party; Naomi Long and Gerardine Mulvenna, both members of the Alliance Party; and two members of Sinn Fein, Alex Maskey and Gerry Kelly. Reports speculated that the threats were linked to the decision taken by Belfast City Council on 3 December to limit the number of days the Union Flag would be flown at Belfast City Hall. (Belfast Telegraph/Reuters) INDIA: Two soldiers were wounded when suspected Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) militants opened fire on them during a search operation in the village of Sadapora in the Sopore area of Baramulla district in Jammu and Kashmir state on 19 December. One suspected militant was killed in retaliatory fire during the incident, which came one day after five suspected LeT militants were killed in the same village. (PTI) KENYA: Two civilians were wounded in a suspected double grenade attack by unidentified militants outside the Al-min mosque in the predominantly Somali-populated Eastleigh district of the capital Nairobi on 19 December. No claim of responsibility was made for the attack, which was the fourth explosive attack in Eastleigh in December. (Reuters/Al-Jazeera) ISRAEL: An Arab Israeli national, identified as Mohammed Mafarja, aged 18, was charged by state prosecutors on 19 December with planting an improvised explosive device (IED) that wounded 27 people on a passenger bus in Tel Aviv on 21 November. The indictment, which was read out in Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court, claimed Mafarja had carried out the attack on behalf of Hamas in order to avenge the killing of the commander of Hamas’ armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Ahmad al-Jabari, in an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip on 14 November. (Reuters/Times of Israel) IRAQ: Two soldiers were killed in a small-arms attack by unidentified militants on a security checkpoint in the Al- Ziraii area north of the city of Mosul in Ninawa province on 19 December. (NINA)

SUDAN: A resident of the Kassab refugee camp in the Kutum area of North Darfur State was shot and wounded by alleged pro-government militiamen on motorcycles in the camp on 19 December. In a subsequent statement, the leader of the camp, Taher Ismail, claimed the gunmen had attempted to steal sheep during the attack. (Radio Dabanga)

FURTHER READING: JTIC Brief: Old Dogs, New Tricks - Northern Ireland’s “New IRA” OSINT Summary: South African Police Foil Suspected White Supremacist Plot Flashpoints courtesy of JTIC. Top Headlines | back to top | U.S. Plans For Possibility That Assad Could Lose Control Of Chemical Arms Cache Washington Post by Craig Whitlock and Carol Morello 16 December 2012 As Bashar al-Assad’s hold on power steadily weakens, U.S. officials are increasingly worried that Syria’s weapons of mass destruction could fall into the hands of Islamist extremists, rogue generals or other uncontrollable factions. Last week, fighters from a group that the Obama administration has branded a terrorist organization were among rebels who seized the Sheik Suleiman military base near Aleppo, where research on chemical weapons had been conducted. Rebels are also closing in on another base near Aleppo, known as Safirah, which has served as a major production center for such munitions, according to U.S. officials and analysts. Read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-plans-for-possibility-that-assad-could- lose-control-of-chemical-arms-cache/2012/12/16/f4912be2-4628-11e2-a685-c1fad0d6cd1f_story.html Al-Qaida Hit By Cyber Attack WTop 18 December 2012 Key al-Qaida websites were knocked offline more than two weeks ago and are still dark, according to U.S. intelligence sources. Read more at: http://www.wtop.com/807/3163232/Al-Qaida-hit-by-cyber-attack Bomb Alert Prompts Plane’s Evacuation In Paris Airport: Report Xinhua 18 December 2012 A Turkish Pegasus passenger plane was evacuated on Tuesday at Paris’ Orly airport due to a bomb alert, the daily Le Parisien reported. The 146 persons were evacuated at 2:15 p.m. local time (1315 GMT) following an anonymous threatening phone call to the Embassy of France in Turkey. “The aircraft was towed to a specific zone in the airport where it will be inspected by a team of dog handlers,” Le Parisien quoted a close source to the affair as saying. Read more at: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-12/19/c_124114445.htm Freed Reporter Links Captors To Assad Wall Street Journal by Nour Malas 18 December 2012 Richard Engel, the NBC News foreign correspondent freed with colleagues Monday after five days of captivity in Syria, on Tuesday said he believed his kidnappers were Shiite militiamen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad who planned to exchange the U.S. news team for prisoners held by the rebels. Read more at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324407504578186911390459672.html?mod= googlenews_wsj

Russia Sends Warships Toward Syria For Possible Evacuation New York Times 19 December 2012 Russia sent warships to the eastern Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday, the Defense Ministry announced, in what appeared to be preparation for a possible evacuation of Russian citizens from Syria. Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/world/middleeast/russia-sends-warships-toward-syria-for- possible-evacuation.html?ref=world&_r=0 Special: A Compounding Problem Between Baghdad and the Kurds | back to top | A Compounding Problem Between Baghdad and the Kurds The Soufan Group 19 December 2012 Geopolitical Equations The geopolitical equations that explain events, crises, and transformations on the global stage reflect a range of mathematical branches. Often, it is calculus, where the various organizational functions and derivative personalities can become decidedly complex. In other instances it can involve algebra, where an understanding of the geographic, political, economic, diplomatic, and military variables is key to solving the most complicated policy challenges. From time to time, however, it can involve pure mathematics and the exploration of quantity and structure. Such is the case in Iraq today as it seeks to manage ethnic quantities and political structures in the hopes of avoiding the factors that could lead to both national and regional crises. 1 and 1 As of mid-December 2012, the medical condition of Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, who suffered a stroke on December 17th and remains in serious condition in a Baghdad hospital, is of geopolitical importance far beyond his fundamentally ceremonial position. Relatively unnoticed given the media coverage that has understandably focused on the ongoing civil war in neighboring Syria has been the increasing tension between the Kurds, who control most of northern Iraq and its significant oil deposits, and the Shi’a majority central government in Baghdad, that has strongly objected to Kurdish moves they view as illegal attempts to control territory and oil revenue. As it has been since 2005, it was Talabani — a former member of the Kurdish guerrilla movement — who last week mediated talks between the Kurds (1) and the Malik government (1), both of which have ratcheted up tensions with a combination of bellicose rhetoric and troop movements. Were these tensions to boil over into sustained conflict, the results would not only reignite violent Iraqi internecine fighting but also vastly complicate efforts to peacefully resolve the Syrian conflict and stabilize Jordan. Read more at: http://soufangroup.us4.list- manage1.com/track/click?u=3fe77a4916f69c37ee2ac1cbe&id=4f11f69dfc&e=5398ef691c Counterterrorism News by Nation & Region AFGHANISTAN | back to top | NATO Troops Pullout From Afghanistan To Create More Problems - Putin Voice of Russia 20 December 2012 “NATO troops are scheduled to pull out of Afghanistan in 2014. This will create additional problems. We all should think about this today,” he said after top-level meetings with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Moscow on Wednesday, December 19. Read more at: http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_12_20/NATO-troops-pullout-from-Afghanistan-to-create-more- problems-Putin/

CANADA | back to top | Security Expert Says Canada Should Keep Eye Out For ‘Islamist’ Immigrants Toronto Sun by Jessica Hume 18 December 2012 A security expert says Canada needs to go beyond screening for terrorists landing on our shores and consider the religious beliefs of some prospective immigrants. Scott Newark says Canada should be concerned about “Islamist” immigrants. Newark served as executive officer of the Canadian Police Association and also worked as a security and policy advisor to both the Ontario and federal Ministers of Public Safety. “We need to think hard about what I would call ‘Islamism’, the political Islam that has absolutely no interest whatsoever in integration, that is intolerant and unyielding and absolutely committed to eradicating Western values,” he said in an interview. Read more at: http://www.torontosun.com/2012/12/18/security-expert-says-canada-should-keep-eye-out-for- islamist-immigrants CHAD & CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC | back to top | US Claims Progress In LRA Hunt, Others Want More AP by Rodney Muhumuza 19 December 2012 The foot soldiers searching the deep jungles on the hunt for African warlord Joseph Kony were convinced they had cornered his deputy as they exchanged fire with a band of Lord’s Resistance Army rebels. Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/us-claims-progress-lra-hunt-others-want-more-135226219.html Chad Sends Troops To Back Car Army Against Rebels Reuters by Paul-Marin Ngoupana and Madjiasra Naka 18 December 2012 Chad sent troops into neighboring Central African Republic on Tuesday to help the government there stop a rapid advance by rebels that risks sparking a new spiral of violence in the mineral-rich nation. Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/18/us-car-rebels-idUSBRE8BH15Y20121218 EGYPT | back to top | EU Could Classify Hezbollah As Terrorist Group, US State Department Says International Business Times by Maya Shwayder 19 December 2012 If the hints are to be believed, the European Union may soon be adding Hezbollah to their list of terrorist groups. During an address at the Brookings Institution, Daniel Benjamin, the State Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism, said the United States is “urging countries to take a wide range of range of steps to crack down on Hezbollah and the Qods Force.” Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shiite Muslim movement and militia. The Qods Force is part of the Iranian military. “We’ve been engaging with our partners in Europe, and we are cautiously optimistic about the prospects for an E.U. designation of the group.” Read more at: http://www.ibtimes.com/eu-could-classify-hezbollah-terrorist-group-us-state-department-says- 951838

FRANCE | back to top | No Apologies For French Colonial Crimes In Algeria: Hollande AFP 20 December 2012 French President Francois Hollande says has not come to Algeria to offer ‘apologies’ on colonial crimes and hopes for a new chapter in mutual relations French President Francois Hollande said on a landmark visit to Algeria on Wednesday he had not come to say sorry for crimes committed during colonial rule, but he sought to begin a new era in relations. “I have not come here... to offer repentance or apologies. I have come to say what is true,” Hollande told a news conference on the first day of his trip to the former French colony. Responding to a question about Algerian demands for French contrition, Hollande said it was important to recognise the truth about France’s colonial past and the tragedies that occurred during the 1954-62 war of independence. … On the crisis in Mali, Hollande appeared to soften the hawkish French stance, saying there was a convergence of positions between him and Bouteflika, both agreeing on the need for dialogue to restore the country’s unity. But this process must take place “only with the movements or forces that distance themselves from terrorism, that fight against terrorism,” he said. France has been a key Western backer of the planned deployment of a 3,300-strong African intervention force to drive out Islamists who have seized the northern half of Mali, fearing the Sahel region may become a “terrorist” haven. Read more at: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/60931/World/Region/No-apologies-for-French- colonial-crimes-in-Algeria.aspx GERMANY | back to top | Calling Big Brother Germans Consider Brit-Style CCTV after Foiled Bombing Spiegel 17 December 2012 Germany’s former capital narrowly escaped a deadly bombing last week when a device placed on a train station platform failed to detonate. The authorities suspect radical Islamists, but they are having trouble finding the perpetrators due to a lack of recorded surveillance images. The case has reignited calls for greater use of CCTV in Germany. …The failed attack in Bonn is fueling a dispute that has been smoldering for years between security officials and the management of the German national railway company, Deutsche Bahn. Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich, a member of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), has now waded into the controversy, saying the bomb discovery in Bonn, together with the recent brutal killing of a young man on Alexanderplatz square in Berlin, “show Read more at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/bonn-bomb-triggers-calls-for-greater-use-of-cctv- surveillance-in-germany-a-873185.html INDIA | back to top | Afghan Terror Elements Drawing Support From Outside: India PTI 20 December 2012 As coalition forces prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014, India has warned that the country continues to face an “existential threat” from terrorism, with the terror infrastructure drawing ideological and financial support from “beyond its borders”.

“The syndicate of terrorism which includes elements of the al-Qaeda, Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba and other terrorist and extremist groups, is active in the region and is far from being isolated,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri said at a UN Security Council debate on the ‘Situation in Afghanistan’ here yesterday. Puri said Afghanistan continues to face an existential threat from terrorism as the “infrastructure of terror is still intact in the region drawing upon ideological, financial and logistical support from beyond its borders”. Read more at: http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_afghan-terror-elements-drawing-support-from-outside- india_1779753 INDONESIA | back to top | Singapore Think Tank Warns Terrorist Cells Still Existent in Indonesia RSIS by Adhi Priamarizki 11 December 2012 “Counter-Radicalisation in Indonesia: Fighting a Mutating Organism” Terrorist cells still exist in Indonesia despite the Indonesian security authorities having achieved success in their counter-terrorism operations. Counter-terrorism and counter-radicalisation efforts need to be adapted to changing challenges. Read more at: http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/Perspective/RSIS2232012.pdf?utm_source=getresponse&utm_medium=email&u tm_campaign=rsis_publications&utm_content=RSIS%20Commentary%20223%2F2012%20Counter- Radicalisation%20in%20Indonesia%3A%20Fighting%20a%20Mutating%20Organism%20by%20Adhi%20Priamari zki%20 IRAQ | back to top | Iraq Increases Efforts To Capture Al-Qaeda Leaders Operating In Syria Al-Shorfa by Mohammad al-Qaisi 19 December 2012 The Iraqi government is more than doubling the cash reward for information on top al-Qaeda figures, including some believed to be trying to create a new operations hub in neighbouring Syria, security officials said Friday (December 14th). Leaders and elements of al-Qaeda in Iraq are increasing their movements in Syria in efforts to create a new base of operations by exploiting the current instability in the country, according to Brig. Gen. Hussein al-Musawi, commander of the interior ministry’s rapid intervention forces. Read more at: http://al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/meii/features/2012/12/19/feature-01 ISRAEL | back to top | Israel Charges Tel Aviv Bus Bomb Suspect Reuters 19 December 2012 Israel charged an Israeli Arab citizen on Wednesday over a bomb explosion on a Tel Aviv bus during Israel’s November military offensive in the Palestinian Gaza Strip, the Justice Ministry said. The bus was driving close to Israel’s defense ministry complex when the bomb went off on November 21, wounding 15 people. Mohammed Mafarja, 18, is accused of planting the bomb on behalf of Hamas, the Islamist group which rules Gaza, to boost their cause during the conflict with Israel. Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/19/us-palestinians-israel-bus-idUSBRE8BI0FE20121219

IVORY COAST | back to top | Attack On Ivory Coast Army Checkpoint Kills 2 AP 16 December 2012 Ivory Coast’s military says gunmen have attacked an army checkpoint not far from the country’s largest city, killing two soldiers. Cherif Moussa, chief of communications for the army, said the assault took place Sunday morning in Agboville, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Abidjan. Moussa says the attackers were heavily armed with rocket-propelled grenades and Kalashnikovs. Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/12/16/world/africa/ap-af-ivory-coast- violence.html?ref=world&_r=0 KENYA | back to top | Kenyan Police Arrested Eight Suspect Yemeni Al-Qa’ida Members in Nairobi (Transcript) BBC World Service 17 December 2012 [Mosuro] To Kenya, first, where the country’s police have announced the arrest of a number of people in connection with yesterday’s [on 16 December’s] grenade attack. Though, the blast occurred in the mostly Somali inhabited District of Eastleigh in Nairobi last night no deaths were reported, but a number of people have been left injured. And now it has been announced that at least nine people including some Yemeni nationals have been apprehended. The BBC Ali Mugenzi, spoke to me from the Kenyan capital. [Begin recording] [Mugenzi] The police have said that the eight Yemenis who were arrested were actually staying in a flat next to the scene where the explosion occurred. This was along Muratina Road, a few meters from a mosque that was targeted a week ago on another terror attack. The other suspect is a Somali national who was the caretaker of the flat. [Mosuro] Have the police given any further details about the explosion itself, the grenade attack? [Mugenzi] Yes, they have. Though, multiple blasts were reported by the Kenya Red Cross last night [on 16 December night], the Nairobi Area Police Boss, Moses Ombati insists that there was one grenade that was thrown at the scene. He is saying that the grenade was thrown in to a compound that hosts a bar and exploded some few meters away injuring the two. He also says that the suspects were arrested for interrogation only; adding that the police patrols also will be enhanced in the area. Although there were earlier claims that two people had died, but the police said that only two people were injured in the incident. [Mosuro] And Ali, what have they said about the suspects? And why they believe they could be connected with the blast and even why they would want have launched such an explosion? [Mugenzi] You know these attacks are linked to the Al-Shabaab from neighboring Somalia and mostly Somali citizens, but this time round it looks like there is a new twist to the issue that they have arrested Yemenis. They are saying it is because those Yemenis were situated just across, you know the next building; the scene of the explosion, eight Yemenis staying in that hotel there. So, they were the first suspects together with the one Somali who was the care taker there. So, they are not ruling out any new twist into these attacks by the Al-Shabaab, and considering that earlier incidents had involved even Kenyans and Africans. [Mosuro] So, they believe these could be foreign members of Kenya based group or perhaps extremists now recruiting from elsewhere? [Mugenzi] According to the police the Al-Shabaab are linked to this Al-Qa’ida network so they expect all forms or all kinds of people to be members of this Al-Shabaab, not necessarily Somalis only. So, actually that is why they have arrested these guys for interrogation. [Mosuro] You’ve reminded us that this isn’t the first such attack over recent weeks, has security been significantly

beefed up in Eastleigh as result? [Mugenzi] Eastleigh was hit by several attacks last month and that left over 10 people dead, and there was another worst explosion, which occurred in a mini bus full of passengers killing at least 10 people. So, police actually have blamed all these attacks to the Al-Qa’ida linked Al-Shabaab’s militant group. The Eastleigh area is really taken seriously by the, you know, the security forces and the government as well. [end recording] Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio MRC Threat And Land Question Offers Mixed Bag For Kwale Leaders Daily Nation by Mwakera Mwajefa 19 December 2012 Kwale is a county in the grip of social discontent ahead of the General Election. A combination of mineral wealth and vast agricultural potential makes it one of Kenya’s richest regions. Add to that miles of pristine beachfront suitable for fishing and entertainment for tourists and you have a county that should be much higher in the country’s development rankings. Yet a majority of Kwale people have suffered for years, with runaway poverty confining many to perpetual dependency on handouts. It is this poverty that is the main cause of social discontent spreading through the county today, leading to the emergence of groups like the Mombasa Republican Council. Read more at: http://www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/MRC-threat-offers-mixed-bag/-/1064/1647146/- /vgmqasz/-/index.html LIBYA | back to top | Libyan Arms Fuel N Africa Terrorism – Diplomat The Voice of Russia 19 December 2012 The uncontrolled spread of arms from post-Gaddafi Libya fuels terrorism and drug trade across North and Northwest Africa. Algerian Ambassador to Russia Smail Chergui spoke about this at a session of The Voice of Russia’s Ambassadors Club held in Moscow on Wednesday. Read more at: http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_12_19/Libyan-arms-fuel-N-Africa-terrorism-diplomat/ MALI | back to top | North Mali Islamist Group Adds New Brigade AP by Baba Ahmed 20 December 2012 An Islamist group behind public executions and amputations in northern Mali is further expanding its reach, taking in a new brigade of members under its banner as the United Nations considers a plan by West African neighbors to oust the Islamists with military force. The new wing of Ansar Dine, known as Ansar Shariah, has raised a new flag in Timbuktu that reads: “There is no god but God” emblazoned on white cloth. Read more at: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/north-mali-islamist-group-adds-brigade-18024622 Mali President Acknowledges That Extremist Group Ansar Dine In North Made Up Mostly Of Malians AP 19 December 2012 Mali’s president acknowledged Wednesday that the Islamist group carrying out public executions and amputations in the country’s north is made up mostly of Malians and not foreign fighters, a declaration that appears aimed at

fostering dialogue with the group. The move comes as Ansar Dine negotiates with the Malian government and West African regional powers push for a military intervention to oust the Islamists who seized power earlier this year. The comments mark the first time Mali’s leader has acknowledged that the Ansar Dine group includes mostly Malians. Previously the government had maintained the group included militants from al-Qaida’s North Africa branch and other foreigners who invaded Mali in the wake of a coup in March. On Wednesday, though, President Dioncounda Traore said Ansar Dine fighters “are mainly made up of our fellow countrymen.” Read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/mali-president-acknowledges-that-extremist-group- ansar-dine-in-north-made-up-mostly-of-malians/2012/12/19/2d08e69a-49ee-11e2-8af9- 9b50cb4605a7_story.html NEPAL | back to top | Ethnic Parties Warn Of Revolt If Demands Not Addressed Nepal News 19 December 2012 Various ethnic parties have warned of waging an underground armed revolt if their demands were not addressed. Organising a press conference on Tuesday, leaders of 11 ethnic parties - Samyukta Jatiya Mukti Morcha Nepal, Kirati Janabadi Workers Party, Tamsaling Nepal Rastriya Dal, Mongol Democratic Party, Mongol Mulbasi Party, Nepal Rastriya Mulbasi Mahasang, Samyukta Rastriyabadi Jatiya Mukti Morcha, Wallo Kirat Koichwan, Nepal Mukti Morcha, Limbuwan State Force and Tamsaling Swayatta Rajya Parisad – put forth a six-point charter of demands which includes stopping the “naked intervention” in the freedom of press, civilian and democracy and doing away with artificial shortage that has only caused price hike to the detriment of poor people of the country. Read more at: http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2012/dec/dec19/news03.php NIGERIA | back to top | Senate Divided Over Bill Seeking Capital Punishment For Terrorist Nigerian Tribune by Dapo Falade-Abuja 20 December 2012 THE Senate was, on Wednesday, divided over a recommendation by its conference committee seeking to make the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) the coordinating office in the fight against terrorism. The committee, comprising both chambers of the National Assembly, had harmonised a Bill for an Act to amend the Terrorism (prevention) Act, 2011 and for other related matters and it had adopted the version of the House of Representatives, which recommend the NSA’s office as the coordinating office. The committee had also recommended death penalty for terrorists and act of terrorism. Read more at: http://www.tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/component/k2/item/1464-senate-divided- over-bill-seeking-capital-punishment-for-terrorist PAKISTAN/AFPAK | back to top | MJC Chief Says ‘Armed Jihad’ Only Solution To Kashmir Issue Khabrain Online 16 December 2012 Synopsis [from Open Source Center]: Syed Salahuddin, chief of the Muttahida Jihad Council (MJC, united jihad council), commands respect not only in Pakistan but among Jihadist struggles in entire subcontinent rather in the entire world. He has waged practical jihad against India in Occupied Kashmir [Indian-administered Kashmir] over

the past several decades. In Occupied Kashmir, millions of people take to roads on one call from Salahuddin because the Kashmir issue was highlighted in entire world as a result of the armed struggle he started against the Indian Forces. Salahuddin even today commands respect among relatives of martyrs and, indeed, people of the entire State of Jammu and Kashmir. [Original Language: Urdu] Pakistan Killings Near Peshawar Disrupt Polio Campaign BBC News 19 December 2012 Two polio vaccination workers have been killed in north-western Pakistan in the latest of a spate of deadly attacks. The shootings in the Peshawar region left a vaccination supervisor and her driver dead, and injured a volunteer. The deaths brought to eight the number of health workers killed in this week’s anti-polio drive. The three-day drive is now over. No group has claimed responsibility, but the Taliban have issued threats against the UN’s anti-polio efforts. The militants have accused health workers of working as US spies and say the vaccine makes children sterile. Pakistan is one of just three countries where the disease is still endemic Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20779388

PTSS Daily Contributor Comment: Polio is endemic in Pakistan. The Taliban, it seems, do not care. There is clearly a campaign in Pakistan to target polio workers, and to prohibit the population from seeking polio treatment. The government of Pakistan should seize this issue and deliver a counter-narrative on terrorism highly critical of the Taliban’s ideology. Based on recent past history, however, the chances of this actually happening are slim.

Pakistan Moves To Build Its Own Drones, Push Aside U.S. Wall Street Journal by Dion Nissenbaum 18 December 2012 Pakistan’s defense industry is building what companies hope will be a domestic fleet of aerial drones that can take over the U.S.’s role in attacking militant strongholds. The U.S.’s persistent use of armed drones to kill militants in remote parts of Pakistan has created a public backlash that has damaged the relationship between the two nations. American attempts to reduce the number of civilian casualties by tightening oversight of such strikes have done little to reduce popular opposition in Pakistan to the attacks nor mute Pakistani leaders’ routine protests. But Pakistan isn’t altogether against drones. Read more at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324712504578133483559620340.html [Subscription Required] Terrorism Threat To Regional Peace, Economic Stability: Khar APP 19 December 2012 Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Wednesday said terrorism, militancy and incidents of violence in Pakistan and Afghanistan are a threat for regional peace and is badly affecting economic conditions in both the countries. Talking to private television channel, she said Pakistan wanted the United States to have a responsible exit plan from Afghanistan in order to keep regional peace and stability. The foreign Minister said Pakistan’s role is to assist the Afghan government in achieving its objectives and responsible transition and exit of US is possible through process of reconciliation. Read more at: http://dawn.com/2012/12/20/terrorism-threat-to-regional-peace-economic-stability-khar/

PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY | back to top | West Bank Palestinians Strike As Israeli Sanctions Bite Reuters 19 December 2012 Palestinian government employees in the West Bank began a two-day general strike on Wednesday to protest against a delay in the payment of their wages because of Israeli economic sanctions. Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/19/us-palestinians-israel-strike-idUSBRE8BI0F120121219 PHILIPPINES | back to top | Gov’t, Reds Agree To New Talks, Ceasefire AFP 20 December 2012 Maoist guerrillas waging a decades-long insurgency in the Philippines have resumed high-level peace talks with the government after a 13-month impasse, it was announced Wednesday. Meeting in the Netherlands capital The Hague on Monday and Tuesday the two sides also agreed to a 26-day nationwide ceasefire from December 20, according to a statement issued by Norway, which has been mediating the talks. “As earlier agreed upon, they confirmed the nationwide ceasefire from December 20, 2012 to January 15, 2013. They agreed to meet again early next year,” said the statement issued by Ture Lundh, a special envoy of the Norwegian government. Read more at: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/12/19/12/govt-reds-agree-new-talks-ceasefire RUSSIA | back to top | Police Ambushed, Five Wounded In Daghestan Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 18 December 2012 Officials in Russia’s North Caucasus region of Daghestan are blaming militants for an ambush that left five policemen wounded. Daghestan’s Investigative Committee said attackers used rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons in their assault on two police vehicles early on December 18 near the village of Chontaul. The committee said the injuries to the policemen were not severe and all were expected to recover. Read more at: http://www.rferl.org/content/police-attacked-in-daghestan/24801864.html RWANDA | back to top | Obama Tells Rwanda To End Drc Rebel Support AFP 19 December 2012 US President Barack Obama on Tuesday called on Rwandan President Paul Kagame to end all support for rebels in the conflict-wracked Democratic Republic of Congo, the White House said. It issued the strongly worded statement after Washington imposed sanctions on two top leaders of the M23 rebel group, saying they had used child soldiers and singled out children as targets. Read more at: http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Obama-tells-Rwanda-to-end-DRC-rebel-support-20121219

SRI LANKA | back to top | Rights Group Asks Sri Lanka To Charge Or Free Tamil Students Arrested For Honoring Dead Rebels AP 20 December 2012 A human rights group has urged Sri Lanka to formally charge or release four university students detained on allegations of terrorism for honoring Tamil Tiger rebels who died during the country’s bloody civil war. The students in the northern city of Jaffna were arrested by anti-terrorism police for lighting lamps in honor of Tamil rebels to mark their annual heroes’ day on Nov. 27. This month they were transferred to a rehabilitation center housing former Tamil Tigers. Read more at: http://www.wchstv.com/newsroom/worldnews/201212200819_074b316.shtml SUDAN/REPUBLIC OF SOUTH SUDAN | back to top | Sudan’s Opposition Urges Citizens To Prepare For ‘Decisive Battle’ With Regime Sudan Tribune 18 December 2012 The coalition of mainstream opposition parties in Sudan, the National Consensus Forces (NCF), has reiterated its commitment to topple the regime of president Omer Al-Bashir by all legitimate means, urging citizens across the country to prepare for the “decisive battle” Read more at: http://allafrica.com/stories/201212190729.html?aa_source=mf-hdlns SYRIA | back to top | Syria Rebels Make Further Gains BBC News 18 December 2012 Rebels in Syria are reported to have made fresh gains as the battle for control of the country intensifies. The rebels said they had seized the central town of Halfaya and stormed an army base near the southern city of Deraa, capturing a number of tanks. There has also been fighting between rebels and a pro-government Palestinian group for control of two refugee camps in the south of the capital, Damascus. Meanwhile, the prime minister has made a rare visit to Aleppo, in the north. Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20766628 Syria War Fuels Christian Flight From Middle East BBC News by Kevin Connolly 16 December 2012 The Lebanese city of Zahle sits high in the Bekaa valley, on the ancient highway that connects Damascus to Beirut and the world beyond. To reach it from the coast by road in December you climb sharply through a series of hairpin bends - every few minutes you catch a glimpse of the steep highland scenery as a gap appears in the raw, foggy air. Zahle - a Christian city - has known dark times. It became a dangerous frontline as the armed forces of Syria intervened in Lebanon’s long, complex and bitter civil war in the 1980s. Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20742256

Syrian Conflict’s Sectarian, Ethnic Dimensions Growing, U.N. Warns Washington Post by Joby Warrick 20 December 2012 The 21-month-old civil war in Syria is rapidly devolving into an “overtly sectarian” and ethnic conflict, a U.N. investigatory panel has concluded, raising the specter of reprisal killings and prolonged violence that could last for years after the government falls. The report by the U.N. Human Rights Council also documented widespread human rights abuses by Syrian government forces, including systematic torture in prisons and the deliberate bombing and shelling of hospitals and other civilian targets. Read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/syrian-conflicts-sectarian-ethnic-dimensions- growing-un-warns/2012/12/19/727183a2-4a2c-11e2-820e-17eefac2f939_story.html TUNISIA | back to top | Tunisia Adrift Two Years After Dawn Of Arab Spring Bloomberg by Marc Chapman 18 December 2012 Here’s what happened in Tunisia on Monday, the second anniversary of the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, the suicide that lit the fire of the Arab uprisings. Several thousand people gathered to mark the day in Sidi Bouzid, where Bouazizi killed himself on Dec. 17, 2010 after his cart was confiscated by a local official. The anniversary gathering was, according to local reports, a subdued event. People expressed impatience at rising unemployment and the lack of improvement in living standards since Bouazizi’s death. Read more at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-18/tunisia-adrift-two-years-after-dawn-of-arab-spring.html UNITED ARAB EMIRATES | back to top | Eight Online Activists ‘Arrested In UAE’ BBC News by Bill Law 19 December 2012 Eight online activists are reported to have been arrested in a continuing crackdown in the United Arab Emirates. The Emirates Centre for Human Rights said five people had been detained on Monday. at least one was held in Saudi Arabia and then handed over to the UAE. It came days after three others were arrested in connection with a Twitter account that is critical of the government, the UK-based group added. Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20768205 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA | back to top | Military Turns To ESPN To Help Analyze Drone Footage USA Today by Jim Michaels 19 December 2012 Can SportsCenter teach the military something about combating terrorists? After rapidly expanding the number of drones around the world, the Air Force is now reaching out to ESPN and other experts in video analysis to keep up with the flood of footage the unmanned aircraft are transmitting. “They’re looking at anything and everything they can right now,” said Air Force Col. Mike Shortsleeve, commander of a unit here that monitors drone videos. Read more at: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/12/19/drone-video/1770337/

Florida Terrorism Suspect Planned New York Attack, Feds Say ABC News by Jason Ryan and Pierre Thomas 18 December 2012 A Florida terrorism suspect arrested along with his brother last month was planning a lone wolf attack in New York City, according to Justice Department officials. At a detention hearing in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., today, federal prosecutors said Raees Alam Qazi traveled to New York in late November to obtain explosives to carry out an attack, possibly in Times Square. Qazi and his older brother, Sheheryar Alam Qazi, were arrested on Nov. 29 and charged with conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists. Read more at: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/florida-terrorism-suspect-planned-york-attack- feds/story?id=18008823 Four State Department Officials Disciplined Following Benghazi Probe Findings Washington Post by Anne Gearan & Greg Miller 19 December 2012 Four State Department managers were disciplined Wednesday, following sharp criticism from independent investigators that the department did not do enough to protect a group of Americans killed in an eight-hour siege in September of U.S. government compounds in Benghazi, Libya. The highest-ranking official, Eric Boswell, the head of the Diplomatic Security Bureau, resigned effective immediately, the State Department announced late Wednesday. The three others were responsible for various aspects of embassy security and planning for Libya and the Middle East. They were relieved of their responsibilities and were expected to be reassigned, said a senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/ap-three-state-dept-officials-to-resign- after-scathing-benghazi-report/2012/12/19/ad4ca7e8-49fc-11e2-820e-17eefac2f939_print.html

PTSS Daily Contributor Comment: Note references to intelligence gathering toward end of the story.

YEMEN | back to top | Yemeni Sheikhs, Dignitaries Condemn Terrorist Acts Al-Shorfa 19 December 2012 Sheikhs and dignitaries from Yemen’s Marib province have signed a document condemning acts of terrorism and sabotage against the government, Yemen’s official news agency Saba reported Tuesday (December 18th). Document signatories, which included members of the Obaida and Ashraf tribes, said they will not back anyone who seeks to undermine the country’s security and stability by undertaking actions such as sealing off roads, blowing up oil and gas pipelines, and sabotaging electricity towers. Read more at: http://al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/meii/newsbriefs/2012/12/19/newsbrief-02 Yemeni President Curbs Rival’s Power In Army Overhaul Reuters by Mohammed Ghobari 19 December 2012 Yemen’s president ordered a broad overhaul of the military on Wednesday in a move that appeared to undermine a political rival and could deepen instability in the impoverished Arab state. Restoring security in Yemen is a priority for the United States and its Gulf allies because the country is the theatre of multiple conflicts, posing a potential threat to oil export giant Saudi Arabia next door and nearby shipping lanes. Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/yemeni-president-curbs-rivals-power-army-overhaul-212826637.html

General CounterTerrorism News | back to top | Russia - Government Claims Progress In Fighting Terrorism Stirling Assynt Reports, FSU Vol V No24 19 December 2012 Counterterrorism operations risk triggering resumption of attacks on Russian civilians On 14 December the National Antiterrorist Committee (NAC), a federal inter-departmental agency which operates under the auspices of the Federal Security Service (FSB), reported progress made in combating terrorism in 2012. It claimed the number of victims of militant attacks had decreased from 128 in 2011 to 58 in 2012, while 360 alleged militants had been killed this year. The figures almost exclusively concern the North Caucasus, and are broadly consistent with independent reports, though some civilians are likely to be among the militant death toll. The NAC attributed the 2012 figures to the success of preventative measures and security operations. However, the reduced number of civilian casualties is also attributable to a change in the jihadists’ tactic. In early 2012 the leader of the al- Qaeda-affiliated Caucasus Emirate, Doku Umarov, ordered an end to indiscriminate attacks against civilians because the popular protests against the Prime Minister Putin demonstrated that a significant number of Russians no longer supported his policies, including those relating to the North Caucasus. However, jihadists retain the capacity to attack both military and civilian targets and could reverse this policy given that popular protests against the regime have declined. As Islamist support grows in Russia, militancy may increasingly affect Tatarstan and other predominantly Muslim areas. On 17 December the independent Levada Centre published findings indicating that the Muslim population in Russia has almost doubled since 2009, from 4% to 7%, while the Orthodox Christian population has declined from 89% to 74%. This may be a consequence of both a high birth rate in Muslim communities and migration and conversions to Islam. The counterterrorism operations that form the basis of the NAC’s strategy radicalise sentiment among the Muslim population and risk provoking renewed jihadist attacks against civilian targets in Moscow and elsewhere in Russia... Read more at: http://reports.stirlingassynt.com/?load=article&rid=2076&aid=21757 [Subscription Required] Al Qa’ida & Affiliates | back to top | Al Qaeda’s Al Nusrah Front Denies Reports Of Death Of Its Emir Long war Journal by Thomas Joscelyn & Bill Roggio 19 December 2012 Banner for the Al Nusrah Front, a jihadist group in Syria. Image from the SITE Intelligence Group. The Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, has denied media reports that its emir and two commanders have been killed. The “Media Department” of the Al Nusrah Front said yesterday that reports of the death of “Sheikh al Fatih Abu Muhammad al Julani” are wrong, and that “he is fine and immersed in the countless bounties of Allah,” according to a statement obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. Additionally, Al Nusrah said that “the mujahideen brothers,” Abu Anas al Sahhaba and Abu Julaybib, “are also doing well.” Al Nusrah said that al Sahhaba and Julaybib are “field commanders, but neither of them is the supervisor general of the Al Nusrah Front.” Last week, Al Jazeera reported that al Sahhaba, whose real name is Mustafa Abd al Latif Salih, replaced Iyad al Tubasi, who is also known as Abu Julaybib, after the latter was killed during fighting in Dara’a. Some media reports also indicated that al Julani was killed. Read more at: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/12/al_qaedas_al_nusrah.php

Core Of Al Qaeda Degraded In South Asia: US Counter-Terrorism Official Press Trust of India 20 December 2012 The core of al Qaeda has seriously degraded in South Asia, a top American counter-terrorism official has said, noting that the US has removed 20 of its top 30 leaders. “In South Asia, al Qaeda’s core has been seriously degraded. Without a doubt, Osama bin Laden’s departure from the scene was the most important milestone in the fight against al Qaeda,” Daniel Benjamin, the State Department’s top counter-terrorism official said in his appearance before the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think-tank. “The removal of al Qaeda’s founder and sole commander for 22 years was a testament to the work of countless intelligence and counter-terrorism professionals across the government. That operation further demonstrated as never before the extraordinary proficiency our military and intelligence communities have achieved in the realm of counter-terrorism,” he said. Read more at: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/core-of-al-qaeda-degraded-in-south-asia-us-counterterrorism- official/311434-2.html Commentary & Opinion | back to top | Commentary: Geopolitical Malignancy UPI by Arnaud De Borchgrave 19 December 2012 Since World War II, the Middle East in particular and the Arab world in general is a kaleidoscope of wars, revolutions, coups, counter-coups and assassinations. The only democracy Egypt has known in 5,000 years of recorded history lasted six years -- from 1946, when the World War II British protectorate came to an end, until 1952 when Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser and his Free Officers movement dethroned and exiled King Farouk. Nasser’s coup was inspired by Egypt’s defeat in the first Arab-Israeli war of 1948. No more than 100 colonels, majors and captains were involved, including Anwar Sadat, who succeeded Nasser upon his death in 1970. Officially, Nasser and his Free Officers said they had taken over to wipe out corruption among their generals who, they charged, had led Egypt to its first defeat by Israel in 1948. Read more at: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Analysis/de-Borchgrave/2012/12/19/Commentary-Geopolitical- malignancy/UPI-84251355894400/ Homeland Security Ranked Worst Large Federal Agency to Work At The Weekly Standard by Daniel Halper 17 December 2012 According to bestplacestowork.org, the worst large federal agency to work at is the Department of Homeland Security. The second worst large federal agency to work at is the Department of Veteran Affairs, while the Department of Labor is the third worst. The best, according to the ranking, is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), followed by the Intelligence Community, and the Department of State. The ranking service highlights “effective leadership” as being crucial to workplace satisfaction. “Many issues influence how employees view their workplace and rate their satisfaction, but the Partnership for Public Service and Deloitte, with support from Hay Group, run an analysis to determine which factors are the most important,” reports bestplacestowork.org. “Effective leadership has emerged as the key driver every year since the rankings launched in 2003, followed by a match between agency mission and employee skills. The third most important factor, satisfaction with pay, emerged for the first time in 2010, replacing work/life balance as a key element for overall satisfaction and commitment.” Read more at: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/homeland-security-ranked-worst-large-federal-agency- work_689923.html

Libya-Style Terrorism In Store For Syria Voice of Russia by Andrei Ontikov 19 December 2012 Unveiling the latest State Department report on terrorism in Washington this week, the Department’s counter- terror coordinator Daniel Benjamin said the killing of the US Ambassador to Libya in an attack on the US Benghazi consulate in September became possible after the fall of the Gaddafi regime created conditions for a proliferation of terror groups. He also said he feared a similar pattern in Syria might emerge. Dr Konstantin Sivkov is Vice President of Russia’s Geopolitics Academy: “Indeed, blaming people other than terrorists for the Benghazi attack would be awkward and illogical. But this said, why on earth did the US and their NATO allies throw their weight behind the rebels who toppled the legitimate government of Muammar Gaddafi and created conditions for a rise of terrorism? Read more at: http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_12_19/Libya-style-terrorism-in-store-for-Syria/ A Martyr’s Funeral The Majalla Blog by Nasser Arrabyee 20 December 2012 Fourteen-year old Ezzuddin has never met his father. But on Sunday morning 16 December, his uncles and other family members pushed him to go to the neighboring mosque to have a first and last look at his father’s remains. A day earlier, a special American military plane delivered the remains in a box to the Yemeni Air Base, Al-Dailami, in the capital Sana’a. This was more than three months after the 36-year old Yemeni national, Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif, died in his Guantanamo detention cell, where he was held for nearly eleven years since the prison camp first opened. Before his detention, Abdul Latif had been seriously injured in a car accident in Yemen. He claimed that he had been in search of free medical treatment in Afghanistan when he was handed over to the Americans after being captured by the Pakistani authorities on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in 2001. Read more at: http://www.majalla.com/eng/2012/12/article55236743 Cyber Warfare | back to top | Al-Qaida Hit By Cyber Attack WTop by J. J. Green 19 December 2012 Key al-Qaida websites were knocked offline more than two weeks ago and are still dark, according to U.S. intelligence sources. This is one of the longest disruptions the organization has experienced since it set up its online distribution system in 2006. Al-Qaida also was hit by a massive cyber attack in late 2008, from which the online network never recovered. Intelligence sources say the most recent attack has significantly inhibited the organization’s ability to recruit online and post propaganda and is the second blow to the organization’s recruiting just this month. The return of al-Qaida in Iraq was supposed to be hailed by a flood of propaganda from the al-Qaida online network, but the sites went dark in early December after the cyber attack. Read more at: http://www.wtop.com/807/3163232/Al-Qaida-hit-by-cyber-attack Five Trends To Watch For In Chinese Cybersecurity In 2013 CFR Blog by Adam Segal 18 December 2012 With 2012 coming to an end, here are some of the larger trends to watch in Chinese cybersecurity in the upcoming year. New institutions/bureaucratic reform. There are rumors that there will be another round of bureaucratic reforms

in the spring. Chinese analysts have pointed out that one of the great weaknesses in their defenses is that institutional oversight of cybersecurity is fragmented and ineffective, and there is a low degree of information sharing between the government and industry. There have also been complaints that China lacks adequate strategic planning for information security. In the past, efforts at ministerial reform have been underwhelming, resulting in little more than shuffling around of titles. This CCID report, however, does make the interesting suggestion that China should set up an “information security agency” to better coordinate cyber strategy. Read more at: http://blogs.cfr.org/asia/2012/12/18/5-trends-to-watch-for-in-chinese-cybersecurity-in-2013/ EU Plans Rules To Bolster Cyber-Attack Defenses In Bloc Bloomberg by Aoife White 18 December 2012 European Union regulators plan guidelines for how governments should bolster defenses from Internet-based attacks, the European Commission said today. Read more at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-18/eu-plans-rules-to-bolster-cyber-attack-defenses-in- bloc.html Costly Cyberespionage On ‘Relentless Upward Trend’ CSO by Taylor Armerding 18 December 2012 Defense Security Service report says attacks were up 75% in one year, with new focus on space and military technology Cyberespionage is nothing new. So a report from the Defense Security Service (DSS) about efforts in foreign countries to steal U.S. technology, intellectual property, trade secrets and proprietary information might sound like just more of the same. DSS Director Stanley L. Sims said it is more of the same - problem is, much, much more. And in some cases, old cyberespionage technology is now more sophisticated. The agency’s annual report, “Targeting U.S. Technologies: A Trend Analysis of Reporting from Defense Industry,” said industry reports of attempts to steal sensitive or classified information and technology increased by 75% from fiscal years 2010-11. While the percentage of attacks from different regions of the world remained relatively stable, “the only stability in the data is the relentless upward trend,” the report said... Read more at: http://www.csoonline.com/article/724228/costly-cyberespionage-on-relentless-upward-trend- Legal Aspects & Lawfare | back to top | Man Sentenced For Role In Plot To Blow Up Subways New York Times by Mosi Secret 14 December 2012 The cousin of a man who plotted to blow up the New York subways was sentenced to 40 months in prison on Friday for introducing his cousin to an imam connected with Al Qaeda and destroying evidence of his cousin’s involvement in the plot. Amanullah Zazi, 25, whose cousin was the mastermind of what prosecutors called the most serious terrorism threat since the Sept. 11 attacks, faced up to 30 years in prison. But a federal judge said Mr. Zazi had not known about the plot; he only helped his cousin out of filial duty. Mr. Zazi’s cousin, Najibullah Zazi, and two of his friends from his high school in Queens, Adis Medunjanin and Zarein Ahmedzay, flew to Pakistan in 2008 planning to wage jihad by joining the Taliban in their fight against American troops. But they were unable to reach the front lines. Amanullah Zazi, an Afghan citizen who was living in Pakistan at the time, volunteered to introduce his older cousin to a local imam. The imam later introduced the men to members of Al Qaeda. The three Americans followed the Qaeda members to a terrorist training camp, where the Qaeda membership persuaded them to return to the United

States to carry out an attack rather than join the fight against American troops. At the training camp, they learned to make bombs out of household chemicals and hatched the plot to bomb the subways. The three Americans followed the Qaeda members to a terrorist training camp, where the Qaeda membership persuaded them to return to the United States to carry out an attack rather than join the fight against American troops. At the training camp, they learned to make bombs out of household chemicals and hatched the plot to bomb the subways. Read more at: vhttp://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/14/man-sentenced-for-role-in-plot-to-blow-up-subways/

NOTE: Court documents posted at: http://www.investigativeproject.org/case/

Narco-Terrorism | back to top | Mexico Says Some 80 Cartels At Work In Country AP by Edwardo castillo 18 December 2012 Mexico’s new attorney general said Tuesday that as many as 80 small and medium-size drug cartels are operating in the country, a number far higher than the last formal government assessment. Mexico’s new attorney general said Tuesday that as many as 80 small and medium-size drug cartels are operating in the country, a number far higher than the last formal government assessment. Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam’s critique extended an attack by the new Mexican government on the security policy of former President Felipe Calderon, who focused on killing and capturing the heads of cartels. Read more at: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/18/3148091/mexico-says-some-80-cartels-at.html Authorities: At Least 17 Killed In Prison Break Attempt In Northern Mexico AP 19 December 2012 A shootout during a prison break at a penitentiary in northern Mexico late Tuesday has left at least 11 inmates and six guards dead, authorities said. Durango state Public Safety Department said guards foiled “a massive prison escape” at the Cereso No. 2 facility in the city of Gomez Palacio. The inmates tried to climb the prison’s back walls and when guards fired into the air to stop them the firefight ensued, a statement from the department said. “The inmates started firing guns into the watchtowers and into custodian areas,” it said. At least 17 people were killed. Soldiers surrounded the prison and helped stop the prison break, it said, adding that the prison was back under the control of authorities. Mass prison breaks are not uncommon in Mexico. In September, more than 120 inmates escaped from a prison in the border city of Piedras Negras, across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas. Authorities attribute the jailbreaks to drug gangs trying to swell their ranks as they fight bloody turf battles throughout Mexico, including Durango, where the Sinaloa and Zetas drug cartel are fighting for control. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/12/19/authorities-at-least-17-killed-in-prison-break-attempt-in-northern- mexico

PTSS Daily Contributor Comment: “This is not what right looks like.” The Army will need to clean out and disarm the prisons as did the Colombians and the Turks.

Network Notes | back to top | Dear GMC Cyber Security Colleagues, Starting to bother me (or maybe it should not?) over the attention SCADA vulnerabilities and SHODAN searches are getting in the press. There have been a couple already this week. Here is the last one I found on „the hacker news”. Note the addresses in the screen shots ….. I suspect that very few middle or upper level management people monitor the information on this and other websites of this type. If they do follow these sites then great (for raising awareness and promoting management “buy in”) but if they do not? This article feels like news of the “actionable intelligence” category. Your thoughts? Hunting Vulnerabilities In SCADA Systems We Are Still Too Vulnerable To Cyber Attacks: http://thehackernews.com/2012/12/hunting-vulnerabilities-in- scada.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheHackersNews+%28The+Ha ckers+News+-+Daily+Cyber+News+Updates%29&_m=3n.009a.68.dt0aof46da.1to Next is an amazing story on the Cybercrime market economy. Apparently one can purchase a banking trojan for guess how much? 40,000 USD? Can you expect a „quality product” and „return on investment” after paying that much? Carberp Trojan For Sale For 40k: http://www.scmagazine.com.au/News/326696,carberp-trojan-for-sale-for- 40k.aspx?eid=7&edate=20121219&utm_source=20121219&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=daily_news letter To end will also pass along an article that shows that all nations can be victims of cyber attacks: Korean Cyber Espionage Attack Targets Russia: http://thehackernews.com/2012/12/korean-cyber-espionage- attack-targets.html ~Vytautas

A Massive Cyberattack Could Soon Be Aimed At Your Online Bank Account Technology Review by Don Reisinger 18 December 2012 Banks around the world are getting ready to face a massive cyber assault. But now that it’s been discovered, it might not happen as expected. Cyber security is something that many consumers view more as a theoretical concept than an issue worth worrying about. After all, the majority of consumers have never been hacked or watched their bank accounts siphoned of cash. For many folks, security issues are read about, never experienced. Read more at: http://www.technologyreview.com/view/508986/a-massive-cyberattack-could-soon-be-aimed-at- your-online-bank-account/ Europe Weighs New Data Breach Rules For Critical Companies Information Week by Mathew J. Schwartz 18 December 2012 Mobile networks, banks, energy companies and other critical infrastructure providers could be required to report all breaches to EU authorities. European businesses that provide critical infrastructure services, including banks, stock exchanges, telecommunications firms and utilities, may soon be required to disclose to authorities any data breach they suffer. That proposal is contained in draft regulations currently being circulated by the European Union’s executive committee. The committee plans to formally introduce the recommendation in February 2013, after receiving feedback from the European Parliament and the 27 different countries in Europe that comprise the EU. Read more at: http://www.informationweek.com/security/cybercrime/europe-weighs-new-data-breach-rules-for/240144604

Android Botnet Sends Sms Spam Through Android Phones Computer World by Jeremy Kirk 17 December 2012 Cloudmark says it is the first time its researchers have detected a botnet that abuses sends spam through infected Android phones. In a new twist, spammers have built a botnet that sends SMS spam through infected Android phones, shifting the potentially pricey cost of sending spam to victims. The trend, spotted by security vendor Cloudmark, poses a new challenge for operators. Victims whose phones are sending the SMS spam often do not know their phone is infected, and they could have their account suddenly shut down by their operator if abuse is detected. “I think they [operators] are still working out how to deal with this,” said Andrew Conway, lead software engineer with Cloudmark, which makes antispam products for operators. “This is fairly new.” Read more at: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9234838/Android_botnet_sends_SMS_spam_through_Android_phones?ta xonomyId=17 Science & Technology | back to top | A New Tool for Secret Agents - And the Rest of Us CalTech News by Kimm Fesenmaier 7 December 2012 A secret agent is racing against time. He knows a bomb is nearby. He rounds a corner, spots a pile of suspicious boxes in the alleyway, and pulls out his cell phone. As he scans it over the packages, their contents appear onscreen. In the nick of time, his handy Smartphone application reveals an explosive device, and the agent saves the day. Sound far-fetched? In fact it is a real possibility, thanks to tiny inexpensive silicon microchips developed by a pair of electrical engineers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The chips generate and radiate high- frequency electromagnetic waves, called terahertz (THz) waves, that fall into a largely untapped region of the electromagnetic spectrum - between microwaves and far-infrared radiation - and that can penetrate a host of materials without the ionizing damage of X-rays. Read more at: http://www.caltech.edu/content/new-tool-secret-agents-and-rest-us Intelligence Agencies Move Towards Single Super-Cloud AOL Defense News by Henry Kenyon 17 December 2012 The intelligence community is developing a single cloud computing network to allow all its analysts to access and rapidly sift through massive volumes of data. When fully complete, this effort will create a pan-agency cloud, with organizations sharing many of the same computing resources and information. More importantly, the hope is the system will break down existing boundaries between agencies and change their insular cultures. As in the rest of the federal government, lower costs and higher efficiency are the primary reasons for the intelligence world’s shift to cloud computing, said Charles Allen, formerly Under Secretary of Homeland Security for intelligence and analysis, currently a principal with the Chertoff Group, in an interview with AOL Defense. Now in its eighth month, the goal of the effort is to connect the CIA’s existing cloud to a new cloud run by the National Security Agency. This NSA-run network consists of five other intelligence agencies and the FBI. Both of these clouds can interoperate, but the CIA has its own unique needs because it must work with human intelligence, which necessitates keeping its cloud slightly separate, he said. Read more at: http://defense.aol.com/2012/12/17/intelligence-agencies-move-towards-single-super-cloud/

Transportation Security | back to top | Pirates Attack Tanker Off Nigeria, Kidnap Five - Ship Manager Reuters 19 December 2012 Pirates have attacked and looted a tanker off the coast of Nigeria, taking five crew members hostage, the ship’s operating company said on Wednesday. Piracy and kidnapping in the oil-producing Delta and offshore are common, and West Africa’s oil-rich Gulf of Guinea is second only to the waters off Somalia for the risk of pirate attacks, which drives up shipping insurance costs. Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/19/nigeria-pirates-idUSL5E8NJ65G20121219 Indian Ocean Piracy: Eu Navfor Belgian Frigate Louise-Marie Apprehends Five Suspected Pirates - Maritime Executive, 17 Dec 2012 Northern Fleet Vessels Leave For Anti-Piracy Mission” - Barents Observer, 18 Dec 2012 “Eu Appoints New Head Of Anti-Piracy Naval Force Off Somalia - Kuwait News Agency, 18 Dec 2012 Synopsis: The EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Belgian frigate Louise-Marie captured five suspected pirates during a joint operation off the Somali coast on Saturday. The five suspects were reportedly located in a pirate skiff by a Swedish EU NAVFOR maritime patrol aircraft, which relayed the skiff’s location to Louise-Marie. Upon arrival three hours later, Louise-Marie’s boarding team issued verbal warnings to the skiff, whose crew quickly surrendered. The five men, found with a ladder and a boarding hook, are currently being held on board Louise-Marie for further investigation. In other news, Russia’s Northern Fleet task force, led by destroyer Severomorsk, departed Severomorsk on Tuesday to take part in the anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden. The Northern Fleet has maintained a presence off the coast of Somalia for several years, and has escorted more than 40 international convoys and prevented the cargo vessels Ocean Diamond and United Emblem from being captured by pirates in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Meanwhile, the EU’s Political and Security Committee has announced that Rear-Admiral Robert Tarrant of the Royal Navy (RN) will be the new Operation Commander for the EU NAVFOR Operation Atalanta, which was launched in December 2008 to prevent piracy and armed robbery in the Indian Ocean. Tarrant will replace RN RAdm. Duncan Potts, who has commanded the EU’s counter-piracy mission since June 2011. Follow these stories at: http://maritime-executive.com/#&panel1-1 http://www.barentsobserver.com/en/security/2012/12/northern-fleet-vessels-leave-anti-piracy-mission-18-12 http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2282380&language=en Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Grab 8 Pirates Looting Ship Maritime Executive 12 December 2012 The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) captured eight pirates attempting to loot a ship off the coast of Pengerang in southeast Johor last Wednesday. Several MMEA officials, who were dispatched to the ship after receiving an attempted robbery alert, reportedly discovered the suspected pirates hiding in one of the ship’s cabins. Though all of the 12 crewmen were said to be in good condition, media reports suggest that at least three of the men have been sent to the Royal Malaysian Navy Hospital after sustaining head injuries believed to have been caused by the pirates. All eight suspects are currently being held at the Southern MMEA Headquarters and could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of gang robbery. Read more at: http://maritime-executive.com/article/malaysia-maritime-enforcement-grab-8-pirates-looting-ship/

WMD Terrorism | back to top | Washington Raises Specter Of Al Qaeda Seizing Syrian Chemical Weapons Global Times by Bill Van Auken 19 December 2012 Having first issued threats against the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad over unspecified intelligence regarding its chemical weapons, the Obama administration is now warning that these arms may fall into the hands of the “rebels” which Washington itself has backed. This is the significance of a front-page article published this week by theWashington Post, which reported that, “US officials are increasingly worried that Syria’s weapons of mass destruction could fall into the hands of Islamist extremists, rogue generals or other uncontrollable factions.” According to the Post, citing unnamed US officials, members of the Islamist militia, al-Nusra, which Washington has formally designated as a “foreign terrorist organization” and charged is an offshoot of Al Qaeda, overran “the Sheik Suleiman military base near Aleppo, where research on chemical weapons had been conducted” and were “closing in on another base near Aleppo, known as Safirah, which has served as a major production center for such munitions.” Read more at: http://www.globalresearch.ca/washington-raises-specter-of-al-qaeda-seizing-syrian-chemical- weapons/5316282 Events & Education | back to top | Dear GMC Cyber Security Colleagues,

Perhaps you are thinking about attending a cyber security conference in the New Year? Here is a short list that some cyber security opinion leaders have put on their conference „wish list” for 2013. My personal preferences are for Black Hat, the next 13th Industrial Control System Cybersecurity Conference and last but not least – any George C. Marshall Center Conference! Maybe you have a conference wish to share on your „wish list”? Best wishes to you and your families for a happy and cyber safe Holiday Season.

~Vytautas

The “wish list” is at: http://www.scmagazine.com.au/News/326383,securitys-2013-con- wishlist.aspx?eid=7&edate=20121219&utm_source=20121219&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=daily_n ewsletter

CounterTerrorism Humor | back to top |

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