27 November 2013

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY THE PTSS DAILY began as a means of keeping PTSS Marshall PTSS DAILY NEWS Center Alumni abreast of news related to terrorism. THE PTSS AILY FLASH POINTS D is neither an academic journal nor the effort of a research directorate or a large staff. Early each morning, articles that are GLOBAL STRATEGIC OVERVIEW cited in THE PTSS DAILY are culled from hundreds of sources SPECIAL: SECURITY SCHOLAR: TERRORISTS OPT FOR THEATRE OF with the intent of providing you with the most current news, BOMBS AND BULLETS OVER BIOWAR ASPIRATIONS discussions and commentary on terrorism and related issues such COUNTERTERRORISM NEWS BY NATION & REGION as piracy or narco-terrorism. These articles, curated from news media, academic and international sources or submitted by many EGYPT of you, give our growing network a snapshot of this pernicious FRANCE threat. INDIA Every effort is made to ensure that credible articles are chosen, but IRAQ the intent of THE PTSS DAILY is to deliver wide coverage. You – ISRAEL the professional – must be the final discriminator on the merit of a KENYA particular article and its value to your profession. To ensure that LEBANON THE PTSS DAILY is both relevant and valuable to the reader, we NIGERIA welcome and highly encourage comments from you. PAKISTAN

PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA GEORGE C. MARSHALL RUSSIA EUROPEAN CENTER FOR SECURITY STUDIES SAUDI ARABIA UNITED KINGDOM LTG (Ret.) Keith W. Dayton, Director UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Dr. Robert Brannon, Dean, College of International Security Studies GENERAL COUNTERTERRORISM NEWS PTSS DAILY EDITORIAL STAFF AL QA’IDA & AFFILIATES Col (Ret.) Professor Nick Pratt, Executive Editor COMMENTARY & OPINION Mrs. Brenadine C. Humphrey, Managing Editor CYBER WARFARE Mr. Cristian E. Guerrero-Castro, Global Strategic Overview LEGAL ASPECTS & LAWFARE Raluca Zamfirescu, Editorial Intern NARCO-TERRORISM SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Constantin Freiherr von Wangenheim, PTSS Course Leadership Intern TERRORIST FINANCING SUBSCRIPTIONS EVENTS & EDUCATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, submit comments or news items, BOOKS, PAPERS AND REVIEWS please e-mail: [email protected].

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Thought for the Day | back to top |

“The actions that we take on the counterterrorism front, again, are to take actions against individuals where we believe that the intelligence base is so strong and the nature of the threat is so grave and serious, as well as imminent, that we have no recourse except to take this action that may involve a lethal strike.” ~ John O. Brennan

Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/counterterrorism.html#dhCBXtQpeZs0WmvP.9 PTSS Daily News | back to top |

Due to the U.S. Holiday, the PTSS Daily will not be out the rest of the week. Happy Thanksgiving to those readers who celebrate, and see you all next Monday. Flash Points | back to top | JTIC Flashpoints JTIC 27 November 2013 NIGERIA: Thirty-seven people were killed and at least five other people were wounded when ethnic Fulani Muslim herdsmen attacked the villages of Dawuru, Tashu, Doron, and Beron – inhabited predominately by ethnic Berom Christians – in the Bakin Ladi and Mangu local government areas in Plateau State early on 26 November. It was the latest in a series of retaliatory attacks between the two communities. (BBC/Reuters/Daily Trust) SYRIA: Fifteen people, including six soldiers, were killed and 30 other people were wounded in a suicide vehicle- borne improvised explosive device (SVBIED) attack at a bus station in the neighbourhood of Soumariya in the west of the capital Damascus on 26 November. No claim of responsibility was immediately made. (Reuters) IRAQ: Eight soldiers were killed and 26 others were wounded when two unidentified suicide bombers detonated their explosive vests in quick succession targeting military personnel at an intersection between the towns of Taji and Tarmiya in Salah ad Din province on 26 November. Later that day, another double suicide attack outside an army base near Taji killed six police officers and wounded 11 other people. (Reuters)

INDIA: Six people were killed and three others were wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED), constructed by suspected anti-nuclear power activists, accidentally detonated in a residential area near the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu state early on 27 November. The power plant was not damaged in the explosion. The head of the anti-nuclear People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy was detained by authorities after the incident along with an unspecified number of anti-nuclear activists. (Al-Jazeera/DNA/The Times of India) PAKISTAN: Four police officers were killed and one civilian bystander was wounded when unidentified militants – travelling on two motorcycles – opened fire on them outside a restaurant in the Latifabad area of the city of Hyderabad in Sindh province on 26 November. A similar attack in the Sakhi Pir area of the city that same evening wounded two police officers. Authorities described the attacks as “targeting killings”. (Dawn) YEMEN: A colonel working at a police training college was shot dead by unidentified militants – travelling on a motorcycle – as he left the facility in the capital Sanaa on 26 November. (Saba News) LIBYA: Three soldiers were wounded during a clash between suspected Ansar al-Sharia militiamen and security forces near the Al-Jalaa hospital in the city of Benghazi in Cyrenaica region late on 26 November. The militiamen also attacked three separate army checkpoints across the city that same evening, but failed to cause any further casualties. (Libya Herald) ISRAEL/GAZA AND THE WEST BANK: Three suspected Palestinian militants were killed in an operation by Israeli police and intelligence forces targeting a residential area in the city of Hebron in the West Bank on 26 November. According to the Israel Defense Force (IDF), the “members of the network were planning different [terrorist] attacks against Israeli targets and against the Palestinian Authority" and allegedly had links to an Al- Qaeda-linked network. Further details were not immediately available. (Reuters/Haaretz/Maan News Agency) EGYPT: A senior Jamaat Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis commander, identified as Muhammad Hussein Muharib (alias Abu Muneer), was killed along with his son in a clash with army forces during an operation targeting a militant hideout in the village of Al-Hura, located south of the city of Sheikh Zuweyid, in North Sinai Governorate on 26 November. Muharib was suspected of orchestrating the 19 August ambush on an army convoy in the governorate that killed 25 soldiers. (Maan News Agency/Aswat Masriya) COLOMBIA: Four IEDs, emplaced by suspected Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) militants, detonated outside a navy base – used to guard oil facilities – in the port town of Tumaco in Nariño department on 26 November, causing no damage or casualties. Three additional devices were discovered in the area and safely defused. (El Espectador)

FURTHER READING: OSINT Summary: Syria's most powerful Islamist militant groups unite https://janes.ihs.com/CustomPages/Janes/DisplayPage.aspx?DocType=News&ItemId=++ +1594010&Pubabbrev=JTIC JTIC Brief: Changing times - Pakistani Taliban selects new leader https://janes.ihs.com/CustomPages/Janes/DisplayPage.aspx?DocType=News&ItemId=++ +1593167&Pubabbrev=JTIC Feature: War against the people - Boko Haram turns on the population https://janes.ihs.com/CustomPages/Janes/DisplayPage.aspx?DocType=News&ItemId=++ +1590487&Pubabbrev=JTSM Country Briefing: Pakistan https://janes.ihs.com/ExternalItems/Janes/images/hybrid/jtir/jtir2012/data/jtir0318_e.pdf Flashpoints courtesy of JTIC.

Global Strategic Overview | back to top | 14 Killed, 30 Wounded In Attacks Against Security Forces In Iraq FNA 27 November 2013 At least 14 people were killed and 30 others wounded in attacks against Iraqi security forces in central Iraq, police said. At least eight people were killed and 20 others wounded on Tuesday evening when two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the base of the 22 brigade of the Iraqi army in Tarmiyah, some 40 km North of Baghdad, a police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Also on Tuesday evening, a suicide bomber blew himself up near a police station in Taji, 30 km North of Baghdad, killing five policemen and injuring 10 others, the police source said. Read more at: http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13920906000334 Embassy Car Bomb Spotted Near Beirut Airport: Report The Daily Star 27 November 2013 The car bomb that exploded outside the Iranian embassy in Beirut last week was spotted near Rafik Hariri International airport, according to a report published Wednesday. The local newspaper As-Safir quoted a security official saying that the bomb-laden Chevrolet Trailblazer was spotted in the vicinity of Beirut airport before it headed toward the Iranian embassy in Bir Hasan ( ) The security official said the bombers were “just tools, “adding that “the group behind the embassy attack that killed 29 people had carefully planned its plot so that [the identity of the perpetrators] would stay anonymous.” Read more at: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2013/Nov-27/239066-embassy-car-bomb- spotted-near-beirut-airport-report.ashx 37 Killed In Clashes In Central Nigeria Anadolu Agency 27 November 2013 At least 37 people were killed and many wounded in attacks across four villages in Nigeria's central Plateau State on Monday. "The attackers killed about 37 people across the affected communities," army spokesman Captain Salisu Mustapha said in a statement issued on Tuesday and obtained by Anadolu Agency. "On receiving the report, Special Task Force (STF) personnel swiftly moved to the scene to bring the situation under control but the gunmen fled on sighting the troops," he added Read more at: http://www.aa.com.tr/en/news/256397--37-killed-in-clashes-in-central-nigeria 15 Killed In Syria Suicide Bomb Attack Xinhua 27 November 2013 Syrian state television reports that a car bombing outside a bus station in the town of Sumariyah, southwest of Damascus, killed at least 15 people and wounded more than 30 on Tuesday. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also put the death toll at 15, saying nine of the dead were civilians and six were government troops. In the capital, mortars slammed into two neighbourhoods, killing at least four people and wounding more than 20 Read more at: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/video/2013-11/27/c_132922248.htm Afghanistan Roadside Bomb Kills 18 Civilians Associated Press 26 November 2013 Police say a roadside bomb has killed 18 civilians and wounded five as they rode a small bus home after attending a

wedding in a lawless district of eastern Afghanistan's Ghazni province. Deputy provincial police chief Col. Asadullah Ensafi said the blast occurred Sunday in the Andar district as the bus travelled from one village to another. He says the dead include 14 women, three men and a child. Ensfai says the wounded are all women and two are in critical condition. Roadside bombs are the Taliban's weapon of choice and are responsible for the overwhelming majority of civilian casualties Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/27/afghanistan-roadside-bomb_n_4167728.html Maoist Attack In Chhattisgarh: Four CRPF Jawans Killed The Indian Express 27 November 2013 As security cover was eased in Bastar after the elections, the Maoists killed four CRPF personnel and injured three others on Wednesday morning in Bijapur district. In their first major attack since elections, the Maoists assaulted forces that were part of a road opening party for CRPF's proposed civic action programme in Cheramangi village Read more at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/maoist-attack-in-chhattisgarh-four-crpf-jawans- killed/1200130/ Special: Security Scholar: Terrorists Opt For Theatre Of Bombs And Bullets Over Biowar Aspirations | back to top | Security Scholar: Terrorists Opt For Theatre Of Bombs And Bullets Over Biowar Aspirations Wired by Liat Clark 25 November 2013 While chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction remain on terrorists' agenda, the difficulties that come with these means bombs and bullets will remain the method of choice. It's the "theatre of attack that strikes fear and wins", said Professor Bruce Hoffman. Delivering a lecture entitled "The sophistication is in the simplicity: modern terrorism's technological trajectory" at Imperial College London, the Georgetown University expert in terrorism and insurgency hypothesised that the relative costs and dangers of chemical and biological weaponry means they are unlikely to replace traditional means. Though that's not for want of trying. "The fundamental paradox involving chemical and biological, as attractive as they remain to al-Qaeda and others, is that they've proven mostly frustratingly disappointing to whoever tried to use them," said Hoffman. This, he argues, has been the case for generations, with less than five percent of casualties in the First World War attributable to the use of gas. Even then it was totally unpredictable. At the Battle of Loos in 1915 chlorine gas released by the British remained in no man's land or blew back in into their own trenches, while cylinders containing it would explode during shellings -- again, killing their own troops. Read more at: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-11/26/terrorism-technology Counterterrorism News by Nation & Region AFGHANISTAN | back to top | Karzai Tells Susan Rice Of More Demands For Accord Extending U.S. Troop Presence The Washington Post by Tim Craig and Karen DeYoung 25 November 2013 Efforts by the United States and Afghanistan to finalize a long-term security arrangement appeared on the brink of collapse Monday as Afghan President Hamid Karzai made a new set of demands, and the Obama administration said it would be forced to begin planning for a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces at the end of 2014. In a two-hour meeting here, Susan E. Rice, President Obama’s top national security adviser, told Karzai that if he

failed to sign the bilateral security agreement by the end of this year, the United States would have “no choice” but to prepare for withdrawal, according to a statement by the National Security Council in Washington. Karzai told Rice that he would sign only after the United States helps his government begin peace talks with the Taliban and agrees to release all 17 Afghan citizens being held in the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba, according to Afghan and U.S. officials. Read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security-adviser-susan-rice-visits-afghanistan-amid- tension-over-troop-accord/2013/11/25/fd0f8460-55dd-11e3-835d-e7173847c7cc_print.html EGYPT | back to top | Terrorism, Violence Won’t Prevent Egyptians From Democratic Path State Information Service – Egypt 27 November 2013 Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmi said the Egyptian people have launched two revolutions against the economic policies that did not satisfy their needs adding what is taking place in Egypt at the present time is a community transformation. He said in spite of terrorist and violence acts in Egypt, this will not prevent the Egyptian people from building a democratic system. Read more at: http://www.sis.gov.eg/En/Templates/Articles/tmpArticleNews.aspx?ArtID=71388 4 Foreign Journalists Get Press Freedom Awards Loin.com 26 November 2013 Four foreign journalists were honored with Press Freedom Awards Tuesday evening recognizing their work in the face of severe reprisals, including physical threats and imprisonment. The Committee to Protect Journalists' 2013 International Press Freedom Awards were presented to Ecuador's Janet Hinostroza, Egypt's Bassem Youssef, 's Nedim Sener and Vietnam's Nguyen Van Hai in a ceremony at New York's Waldorf Astoria hotel. Egypt's Youssef, meanwhile, expressed incredulity at even receiving his prize. A former cardiac surgeon who gained notoriety posting satirical newscasts on YouTube before becoming the host of a show on Egyptian TV, Youssef was charged with insulting the president and Islam in 2012. He was detained briefly in 2013 and fined. "It is really amazing to get this award, considering the fact that I am not even a journalist," said Youssef, who received his award from American comedian Jon Stewart, host of the satirical "The Daily Show," to whom he is often compared. Read more at: http://www.koin.com/news/national/4-foreign-journalists-get-press-freedom-awards_36068052 FRANCE | back to top | French Ex-Spy Casts Doubt On Abu Hamza 'Murder Plot' France 24 25 November 2013 A claim that France planned to assassinate Islamist preacher Abu Hamza in London in the late 1990s was dismissed by a former French intelligence analyst on Monday as a “madcap” idea that “no-one would have taken seriously”. According to a report released by British anti-racism group Hope not Hate on Monday, the French DGSE spy agency had “serious concerns” about security in the run-up to the 1998 World Cup and was looking at ways to eliminate Hamza, who was then openly preaching violent jihad in London Read more at: http://www.france24.com/en/20131125-ex-spy-casts-doubt-french-abu-hamza-death-plot

France Digs In On CAR Blouin News 26 November 2013 It’s easy — with the constant stream of news about Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, North Korea, and other troubled or troubling regions — to forget that issues of global security unfold on less-watched soil as well. The latest is the Central African Republic, where France has just announced it’s dispatching another thousand crack troops. The word from Paris follows close on the heels of a chilling warning from the United Nations deputy secretary general. This country, he warned the U.N. Security Council, is descending into “complete chaos.” Urgent action is vital. “The CAR is becoming a breeding ground for extremists and armed groups in a region that is already suffering from conflict and instability,” says the U.N.’s Jan Eliasson. “If this situation is left to fester, it may develop into a religious and ethnic conflict with long-standing consequences, even a civil war that could spread into neighboring countries.” Read more at: http://blogs.blouinnews.com/blouinbeatworld/2013/11/26/france-digs-in-on-car/ INDIA | back to top | Sims Planted By IB Helped Nail Pakistan's Role In 26/11 Mumbai Attacks Times of India 27 November 2013 Months before the Lashkar marauders struck Mumbai, the counter-terrorism wing of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) had been tipped off about a plan by the jihadi group to procure Indian mobiles. The counterterrorism wing decided to play along, and working with an IG of Jammu & Kashmir, decided to plant some of their own SIMs in the bunch that Lashkar contacts had obtained, by providing fake addresses, for their masters across the border. The idea was to gather leads on Lashkar's plots, and the trick worked fabulously and was crucial in identifying Pakistani fingerprints on the Mumbai attack. In the initial hours, when there was utter confusion about the identity of the attackers, the number that IB had managed to plant gave Indian agencies the first idea that the gunmen rampaging across Mumbai were part of a Lashkar-ISI plot to bleed the city. Read more at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SIMs-planted-by-IB-helped-nail-Pakistans-role-in-26/11- Mumbai-attacks/articleshow/26436020.cms Indian Media: Mumbai Attack Lessons "Unlearnt" BBC News 27 November 2013 Media are blaming politicians for not having a "coherent plan" to counter terrorism, five years after the deadly attacks in India's financial capital Mumbai. Nearly 200 people were killed and hundreds injured in a series of co-ordinated attacks in the city in November 2008, which India blames on the Pakistan-based banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba. "Post 26/11, India has adopted a piecemeal approach, with several components being out of sync," comments the Hindustan Times. It laments that a major plan to overhaul India's security apparatus after the attacks was not adopted due to "partisan politics and a singular lack of vision". "India has failed to move forward from 26/11," the paper concludes. "Can India be surprised again? The answer, regrettably, is yes," says The Asian Age in an editorial headlined "Lessons unlearnt". Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-25116800 India Marks Mumbai Terror Attack Anniversary Voice of America By Anjana Pasricha 26 November 2013 ndia Tuesday marked the fifth anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that killed 166 people. The

anniversary comes amid concerns that the country is still vulnerable to similar attacks mounted from the sea. Indian authorities also are still waiting for the alleged Pakistan-based planners of the attack to be brought to justice. At a memorial in South Mumbai, Maharashtra Chief Minister, Prithviraj Chavan, and other leaders paid homage and laid floral tributes to the men and women who fell victim to the ten terrorists who sneaked into Mumbai in a fishing trawler five years ago. The city had reeled under the sound of gun shots for 60 hours as they assaulted multiple targets - two five star hotels, a popular café, a rail station and a Jewish Center. Read more at: http://www.voanews.com/content/india-marks-anniversary-of-2008-mumbai-terror- attacks/1797853.html IRAN | back to top | Iranian Envoy: Hegemonic Powers Behind Terrorism Worldwide FNA/FARS News 27 November 2013 ran’s Ambassador to Baku Mohsen Pakayeen condemned the recent terrorist attacks on the Iranian embassy in Beirut, and said such planned moves could not be carried out without cooperation and coordination with bulling powers. Speaking to reporters on the sideline of a ceremony commemorating victims of the recent terrorist bombings in front of the Iranian embassy in Beirut on Wednesday, the Iranian envoy underscored that terrorists can do nothing without support of the bullying powers. The terrorist operations in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Pakistan are examples of such attacks sponsored by certain world powers. Read more at: http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13920906001061 IRAQ | back to top | 11 Iraqis Executed For Terrorism Convictions UPI 26 November 2013 Iraqi prison officials Tuesday executed 11 people convicted of terrorism charges, the Justice Ministry announced. Justice Minister Hassan al-Shimmari said the executions were carried out after they received presidential approval, IraqiNews.com reported. The death sentences were issued Sunday. "All of the 11 convicts sentenced to death penalty, are Iraqis," Shimmari said. "The 11 convicts sentenced to death penalty, had carried out heinous terrorist operations against the Iraqi people, and they found guilty on terror charges ... ." Read more at: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/11/26/11-Iraqis-executed-for-terrorism- convictions/UPI-10881385476270/ ISRAEL | back to top | Israeli Special Forces Kill 3 Salafi Jihadi Terrorists In West Bank Jerusalem Post By Yaakov Lappin 26 November 2013 Suspects plotted a series of attacks against Israel and the PA, including attempt to kidnap an IDF soldier, bombings. Two Salafi-jihadi terrorists who were in the middle of planning a terror attack for the coming days were killed in a counterterrorism mission in the village of Yatta, near Hebron, the Shin Bet announced Tuesday evening.

The Palestinian terror suspects were in a car that had explosives and firearms in it, when they were met by the counterterrorism unit and additional special forces, who were sent to intercept the vehicle, a senior IDF source said. INSERT TEXT HERE Read more at: http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Israeli-special-forces-kill-two-Salafi-jihadi-terrorists-in-West-Bank- 333100 KENYA | back to top | Two Britons Reported Arrested In Kenya Debka File 27 November 2013 he two Britons were said arrested by anti-terror police in the beach resort of Diano on the southern coast of Kenya, two months after Islamist gunmen stormed a Nairobi shopping mall and killed 67 people. Read more at: http://www.debka.com/newsupdate/6498/ LEBANON | back to top | In Lebanon, Marijuana Trade Thrives From Chaos Of Syrian Civil War AFP By Rana Moussaoui 26 November 2013 Lebanese marijuana grower Abu Sami is practically rubbing his hands together with glee: the Syrian conflict has paralysed authorities at home and left the nearby border virtually uncontrolled. "This year, the harvest was abundant, and the authorities have left us alone because they are otherwise occupied," he tells AFP in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa region. In the past, the Lebanese army would descend annually to destroy some of the illicit crop, but this year the harvest has gone untouched. Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/26/lebanon-marijuana_n_4341626.html Recent Beirut Bombings 'Wakeup Call' For Increased Dialogue Al-Shorfa By Nohad Topalian 26 November 2013 The recent wave of violence in Lebanon should serve as a wakeup call for all parties to back away from their escalating rhetoric in favour of dialogue, co-existence and the renouncement of all forms of violence and terrorism, politicians and religious leaders told Al-Shorfa. These calls came in the wake of the bombings in Beirut's southern suburbs and Tripoli, most recently a November 19th suicide bombing outside the Iranian embassy in the capital's Bir Hassan neighbourhood, which killed 25 people and injured 147. "From the start of the conflict in Syria, there was a realisation and fear that Lebanon would reach the state we now find ourselves in," said Lebanese Environment Minister Nadhem Khoury. Read more at: http://al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/meii/features/2013/11/26/feature-01 NIGERIA | back to top | How Terrorism Tag On Boko Haram Affects Nigerians- USA's Agency Vanguard 27 November 2013 Nigerians travelling to the United States of America, USA, will be affected by the country's recent tagging of the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, as a terrorist group.

On November 13, the U.S. designated the sect and Ansaru militant groups as foreign terrorist organisations with the State Department describing the move as "an important" step to help Nigeria "root out violent extremism." A statement by the State Department said: "These designations are an important and appropriate step, but only one tool in what must be a comprehensive approach by the Nigerian government to counter these groups." Read more at: http://allafrica.com/stories/201311270217.html PAKISTAN | back to top | Swat Hardened Carnegie by Christophe Jaffrelot 14 November 2013 Mullah Fazlullah, the recently appointed chief of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is not new to the scene. But his background differs from that of his predecessors, who were Mehsuds from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). Fazlullah comes from the Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM — Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law), which has its roots in the Malakand Agency. The movement's initial programme is evident from its name, but its methods have changed over time Read more at: http://carnegieendowment.org/2013/11/14/swat-hardened/gtt1

PTSS Daily Contributor Comment: At one time the religious right was one of the lowliest classes in Pakistani society. Over time they have become powerful with the government conceding to their every wish, and at the same time the government of Pakistan has successively become non-functional and ineffective. It is this ineffectiveness that has bred all the lawlessness. The Taliban are nothing but a mafia group that can only function, because of the Government's preoccupation with corruption and lack of interest in governing. Making any deal with the Taliban is like making a deal with the devil, as they will never be truthful, and will do anything to gain power. I feel that the only reason why Fazlullah was chosen as the new leader of TTP, was because he had Malala shot, and the west wanting to sock it to the Taliban, gave Malala every award they could, bringing disproportionate publicity to this issue. This gave Fazlullah hero status among all the Taliban, as he had attempted to kill Malala, "the darling of the west". Now that Fazallah has control of all the resources of the TTP, I am afraid, he will use it to recreate unrest in Swat and the people of Swat are going to suffer because of it.

Post-Hakimullah Era: Need For Tackling Terrorism The News 27 November 2013 The apologists and pessimists lament that the death of Hakimullah Mehsud derailed the much trumpeted negotiations process. Nevertheless, the realists terming it a blessing in disguise believe that had talks taken place prior to Hakimullah’s death the government was positioned and poised to concede extra concessions to the TTP. It did not seem to have a proper strategy in place for tough talks as it does not have a counter terrorism strategy to tackle them. No doubt the credit goes to the government for standing firmly on its stand to pursue talks despite persistent pre-talk violations by the militants. But it sounded too desperate for talks for peace therefore the chances were that it could have negotiated in a lenient and meek manner. In a hurry to win peace it might have sown sorrowful seeds to reap bloodier crops later. Read more at: http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-26905-Post-Hakimullah-era-need-for-tackling- terrorism

PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY | back to top | Hamas mixed on Iran nuclear deal Al-Monitor By Asmaa al-Ghoul/Translated by Rani Geha 26 November 2013 The Iranian nuclear agreement announced in Geneva on Nov. 24 has unsettled not only Israel but also Hamas. Mousa Abu Marzouk, the deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau, wrote on his Facebook page on the evening of Nov. 23, “Talks between Iran and the P5+1 group will end with an agreement whereby Iran would promise to reduce uranium enrichment in return for the West ending its Iran sanctions, restoring ties with Iran and releasing its frozen funds.” He added that the agreement would make “the Zionist entity safer, because now it is comfortable knowing that no Iranian nuclear threat is coming, nor are there any chemical weapons anymore. Only Israel has those now.” Read more at: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/11/hamas-islamic-jihad-palestinian-resistance- iran-us-deal.html PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA | back to top | China Terrorism Related Arrests Surpass 1,000 The Standard 27 November 2013 China arrested more than 1,000 people for “endangering state security'' in 2012, up nearly 20 percent from the previous year, an advocacy group said. The number of arrests on the charge – commonly brought against ethnic minorities – was up by 19 percent to reach 1,105, the US-based Dui Hua Foundation said in a statement, citing official figures, AFP reports. The offense of “endangering state security'' replaced that of “counter-revolution'' in the 1990s, and is primarily aimed at suppressing political dissent. It applies to “splittism,’’ or attempts to advocate independence for regions of China, as well as actions including espionage. Read more at: http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking_news_detail.asp?id=43621&icid=a&d_str= China 'Monitored' US Bombers In New Air Zone BBC 27 November 2013 China monitored the flight of two US bombers that flew across its newly-declared "air defence identification zone", its defence ministry said. The B-52 planes flew over disputed islands in the East China Sea on Tuesday without announcing themselves, defying new Chinese air defence rules Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-25099123 Xinhua Insight: Fighting Terrorism A Long-Term Challenge For China Xinhua 26 November 2013 The East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) claimed responsibility for last month's Tian'anmen attack in which five people were killed and 40 others injured, according to an eight-minute audio clip obtained by a U.S.-based Internet monitoring organization at the weekend. The radical Islamist group, identified by the United Nations as a terrorist group, also warned of future attacks, including one at the Great Hall of the People, where the Communist Party of China (CPC) holds many of its high- level meetings, according to the Search for International Terrorist Entities Institute, a website which monitors jihadist forums. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on Monday at a regular press briefing that "this fully exposes

the terrorist essence of this organization and it also allows those people who recently doubted the nature of the incident to clearly see the truth." Read more at: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/indepth/2013-11/26/c_132919945.htm Xinjiang Campuses To Oppose Terrorism Global Times By Zhang Zhilong 27 November 2013 University authorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region have vowed to oppose the threat of terrorism on campuses and emphasized the importance of political and ideological education, local media reported Tuesday. "Students who are not politically qualified won't be allowed to graduate," Xu Yuanzhi, Party secretary with Kashi Normal University in Kashi, told Xinjiang Daily, adding that teachers could also be affected, for example by being demoted. Read more at: http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/827943.shtml#.UpXx2Sd3eQc RUSSIA | back to top | Group Of 15 ‘Religious Extremists’ Arrested In Moscow, Explosives, Weapons Seized RT 27 November 2013 Moscow police have arrested 15 members of Takfir Wal-Hijra, an extremist organization. The cell had a stash of weapons and explosives, which was seized in the police raid. The cell was exposed and busted thanks to ongoing investigations into crimes not related to terrorism, the Interior Ministry reported. Members of the group were involved in various acts of crime to fund their activity. Fourteen radicals were arrested overnight in the east of the city, while another was apprehended hours later at a different location. Read more at: http://rt.com/news/moscow-radical-islamists-detained-376/ SAUDI ARABIA | back to top | U.S. And Saudis In Growing Rift As Power Shifts The New York Times by Robert F. Worth 25 November 2013 There was a time when Saudi and American interests in the Middle East seemed so aligned that the cigar-smoking former Saudi ambassador, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, was viewed as one of the most influential diplomats in Washington. Those days are over. The Saudi king and his envoys — like the Israelis — have spent weeks lobbying fruitlessly against the interim nuclear accord with Iran that was reached in Geneva on Sunday. In the end, there was little they could do: The Obama administration saw the nuclear talks in a fundamentally different light from the Saudis, who fear that any letup in the sanctions will come at the cost of a wider and more dangerous Iranian role in the Middle East. Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/world/middleeast/us-and-saudis-in-growing-rift-as-power- shifts.html?gwh=442FD23BF8F4E657D37B628F098D0B07 UNITED KINGDOM | back to top | Return To Painful Past As Terrorism Hits The Streets Of Belfast Again (Opinion) Belfast Telegraph by Ivan LIttle 26 November 2013 Blame for Sunday night's car bomb in Belfast was pinned firmly on dissident republicans. But in execution it was pure Provisional IRA, writes Ivan Little

Just like The Hollies, who were singing their old 60s' hits in a concert across the road, the bombers who targeted the heart of Belfast on Sunday night really were a blast from the past. It wasn't without irony, of course, that one of The Hollies' songs was Here I Go Again, with its lyrics about making the same old mistakes and never winning. Read more at: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/news-analysis/return-to-painful-past-as-terrorism-hits- the-streets-of-belfast-again-29783967.html UNITED STATES OF AMERICA | back to top | Fairfield Police Charge Local Man With Threatening Terrorism Fairfield Daily Voice By Alissa Smith 26 November 2013 After a month long investigation, Fairfield police charged local man Joseph Russo, 45, Tuesday morning with threatening an act of terrorism against one of the town's elementary schools. On Oct. 27, police responded to a call for assistance and located Russo at 80 Post Road. Police report that he was cooperative but was distraught and provided "disturbing details" about his intent to harm students at an unspecified elementary school. He told police this was something he had thought of for years and that it was his intent to act on these thoughts one day. Russo said that he wanted immediate help to stop him from acting on these thoughts. Read more at: http://fairfield.dailyvoice.com/police-fire/fairfield-police-charge-local-man-threatening-terrorism CIA Slow To Cede Control Of Drones Washington Post By Greg Miller 26 November 2013 Obama's goal of shifting operations to military proves elusive. When missiles fired by CIA drones slammed into Yemen and Pakistan last week, the attacks ended a period of relative quiet for the Obama administration's lethal counterterrorism program. They also served as a reminder that the CIA is not ready to relinquish its role in the drone war. Six months after President Obama signaled his desire to shift the campaign to the Defense Department, the CIA's drone-operations center in Langley, Va., is still behind the vast majority of strikes. Read more at: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20131126_Head_here__36_points__4_lines.html US charm offensive in Europe has its limits Deutche Welle 26 November 2013 day month year A US delegation has been sent across the pond to appease NSA-plagued Europeans. But the rather tepid discussion in the US shows that confidence-building measures can easily hit trans-Atlantic walls. James Lewis is a cyber guru. He is an old hand in the intelligence and information security business, having worked for several different US ministries and UN working groups. He was also Barack Obama's cyber security advisor. But right now, he is at a loss. "We have to find a solution, we have to find a vehicle," says Lewis, who is now director of the Technology and Public Policy Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank in Washington. At a panel discussion Lewis pondered ways to restore trust across the Atlantic, which he said are essential. But it can't be at the expense of national security, he stressed. "I don't want to say that we should not take European sentiment, German sentiment very seriously. This is a political issue." Read more at: http://www.dw.de/us-charm-offensive-in-europe-has-its-limits/a-17254899

General CounterTerrorism News | back to top | 'We Are Not At The Table, But On It': Arabs React To The Iran Deal The Washington Institute by David Pollock 26 November 2013 Arab responses to the nuclear agreement with Iran suggest that the United States must work harder to allay the fears of allies and friends -- and be especially mindful of the deal's nonnuclear implications. Official Arab reactions to the Iran nuclear deal have so far been relatively cautious and low-key, in a generally positive yet in some cases explicitly tentative vein. Of particular interest, right across the Gulf, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) monarchies issued brief, vague, and qualified statements welcoming the accord, labeling it a "step" toward or a "hope" for further denuclearization and regional stability. The Saudi statement added the pointed proviso "as long as there are good intentions." These reactions signal a skeptical, wait-and-see attitude, reserving judgment both about implementation of the deal and about its wider policy implications -- with Saudi Arabia standing out as having the most reserved official position Read more at: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/we-are-not-at-the-table-but-on-it-arabs- react-to-the-iran-deal FBI, Homeland Security And Counterterrorism Center Declare Cyber-Attacks Bigger Threat Than Terrorism ALLGov 26 November 2013 Cyber-attacks, not terrorist ones, will be the greater threat in the coming years to the United States, according to federal officials at three agencies charged with protecting the nation. At a recent hearing of the Senate homeland security and government affairs committee, the heads of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) told lawmakers that cyber-attacks were likely to surpass terrorism as a domestic danger over the next decade. “That’s where the bad guys will go,” FBI Director James Comey said. “There are no safe neighborhoods. All of us are neighbors [online].” Read more at: http://www.allgov.com/news/us-and-the-world/fbi-homeland-security-and-counterterrorism-center- declare-cyber-attacks-bigger-threat-than-terrorism-131126?news=851762 Al Qa’ida & Affiliates | back to top | Islamist Rebels Capture Syria's Largest Oilfield: Activists Reuters by Erika Solomon 23 November 2013 Islamist rebels led by al Qaeda-linked fighters seized Syria's largest oilfield on Saturday, cutting off President Bashar al-Assad's access to almost all local crude reserves, activists said. There was no immediate comment from the government and it was not possible to verify the reports of the capture independently. But the loss of the al-Omar oil field in the eastern Deir al-Zor province, if confirmed, could leave Assad's forces almost completely reliant on imported oil in their highly mechanized military campaign to put down a 2-1/2-year uprising Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/23/us-syria-crisis-oil-idUSBRE9AM03K20131123

Commentary & Opinion | Back To Top | Why The Iranian Nuclear Agreement Is A Good Deal Carnegie by James M. Acton 26 November 2013 Critics were decrying the nascent interim agreement on Iran’s nuclear program as a sellout even before negotiations in Geneva ended. An “unbelievable Christmas present” for Iran was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s choice sound bite. The critics argue that, instead of reaching an agreement that freezes Tehran’s nuclear progress, the United States and its negotiating partners, collectively known as the P5+1, should have held out for the complete dismantlement of Iran’s uranium enrichment activities. This criticism is wrong. The relevant comparison is not between the Geneva deal and a perfect deal, but between this deal and no deal. Compared to no deal, the Geneva agreement advances the security of the United States and its allies and friends, including Israel Read more at: http://carnegieendowment.org/2013/11/26/why-iranian-nuclear-agreement-is-good-deal/guoz A Ruling On Terrorism That Throttles Civil Liberties Boston Globe by Harvey Silverglate and Juliana DeVries 27 November 2013 On Nov. 13 the US Court of Appeals in Boston affirmed the criminal conviction of Sudbury pharmacology student Tarek Mehanna for behavior that many observers thought was constitutionally protected. The US District Court that tried Mehanna, and the appellate court that affirmed his 17 ½-year sentence to a Supermax prison, were able to squelch Mehanna’s First Amendment rights. The courts did so by broadly interpreting a recent Supreme Court decision that allows federal prosecutors to bring charges for a wide range of expressive activities that supposedly constitute “material support” to terrorists. None of what Mehanna engaged in came close to posing danger or helping terrorists. But the Supreme Court earlier had made the Mehanna verdict possible with its 2010 opinion in Humanitarian Law Project v. Holder. The Humanitarian Law Project (HLP), a human rights and peace group, wanted to teach techniques of peaceful dispute resolution to the Kurdistan Workers Party in Turkey and northern Iraq, and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a guerrilla group in Sri Lanka. The State Department has identified both as terrorist organizations. The high court ruled that it would constitute criminal material support for any person to use any skill in coordination with any group designated “terrorist” by the government. Read more at: http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2013/11/27/ruling-terrorism-that-throttles-civil- liberties/LXmml8hiFCkugBmvmYEt5J/story.html Why the Iran Deal Is America’s Diplomatic Disaster Fisacal Times By Andrew Peek 27 November 2013 Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran is a strategic disaster. In a single stroke, the US has shattered the European coalition it took a decade to assemble and made a multilateral US-Iran conflict bilateral again, greatly weakening America’s strategic position in the Middle East. First, the details: the United States will ease certain trade sanctions and unfreeze foreign currency accounts held by Iran in exchange for Tehran’s halting or reversing its nuclear activities. The biggest issue: Iran is still allowed (it believes) to enrich uranium. This lets Tehran increase its technical nuclear expertise, the major impediment to creating a nuclear weapon. Nuclear programs are not complicated because the science is complex. They’re complicated because the delicate and highly technical skills needed to build and operate centrifuges are – well, delicate and highly technical. Read more at: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2013/11/27/Why-Iran-Deal-America-s-Diplomatic-Disaster

Cyber Warfare | back to top | NATO Launches Largest-Ever Cyber Security Exercises The Economic times 26 November 2013 NATO on Tuesday launched its largest-ever cyber exercises to practise warding off massive, simultaneous attacks on member states and their partners. Based at the alliance's cyber defence centre in EU member Estonia, the exercises will last three days and include participants in over 30 European states. "Cyber attacks are a daily reality and they are growing in sophistication and complexity," Jamie Shea, a NATO official specialising in emerging security challenges, said in a statement . Read more at: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/nato-launches-largest-ever- cyber-security-exercises/articleshow/26421696.cms Legal Aspects & Lawfare | back to top | United States Of America: Hactivist Sentenced To 10 Years For Cyber Attacks START 20 November 2013 Jeremy Hammond, a computer hacker tied to the Anonymous group, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for cyberattacks on both government agencies and businesses. The sentencing is the maximum allowed and comes from Hammond’s targeting of Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor), a global intelligence company. The attack resulted in the theft of tens of thousands of credit card numbers and the records of 860,000 clients. Though Hammond did not use the credit cards himself, he encouraged others to use them in order to make donations to various charities. Emails published by Wikileaks indicated that Statfor was hired by private companies and government agencies to monitor political protestors and activists. Hammond pled guilty, stating, “I did this because I believe people have the right to know what government and corporations are doing behind closed doors. I did what I believe is right.” Read more at: http://start.umd.edu/start/announcements/announcement.asp?id=617&utm_source=START+Announce&utm_campaig n=1ea2456ee1-START_Newsletter_September9_26_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a60ca8c769- 1ea2456ee1-49985961 Judge Says Statements by Bin Laden’s Son-in-Law Can Be Used in Terrorism Case New York Times 26 November 2013 A federal judge in Manhattan declined on Tuesday to suppress statements made to the authorities by a son-in-law of who is charged with conspiring to kill Americans. Lawyers for the defendant, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, had argued that he was not adequately advised of his rights and did not voluntarily waive them during an F.B.I. interrogation as he was being flown to New York from . They said his statements had been the product of “implied threats, humiliation, sleep deprivation” and other forms of coercion. Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/27/nyregion/judge-says-statements-by-bin-ladens-son-in-law- can-be-used-in-terrorism-case.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&_r=0

Narco-Terrorism | back to top | In Lebanon, Marijuana Trade Thrives From Chaos Of Syrian Civil War AFP By Rana Moussaoui 26 November 2013 Lebanese marijuana grower Abu Sami is practically rubbing his hands together with glee: the Syrian conflict has paralysed authorities at home and left the nearby border virtually uncontrolled. "This year, the harvest was abundant, and the authorities have left us alone because they are otherwise occupied," he tells AFP in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa region. In the past, the Lebanese army would descend annually to destroy some of the illicit crop, but this year the harvest has gone untouched. The area shares a long, porous border with Syria and is a stronghold of the Shiite Lebanese movement Hezbollah, which is fighting alongside the Syrian regime against a 32-month-old uprising. Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/26/lebanon-marijuana_n_4341626.html Science & Technology | back to top | 'FlyRights' App Lets Sikh Travelers Report Complaints Of TSA Profiling AFP 26 November 2013 Sikh activists, fed up with being singled out at US airports, on Tuesday launched an updated smartphone application to make it easier for passengers to file complaints. The free, downloadable app called FlyRights lets travelers instantly send their concerns to the US Transportation Security Administration, which would then respond through its own channels. Read more at: http://www.businessinsider.com/flyrights-app-lets-sikh-travelers-report-complaints-of-tsa-profiling- 2013-11 Pakistan Unveils Its Own Military Drones, As Protests Continue Against U.S. Attacks The Washington Post by Tim Craig 25 November 2013 Pakistan’s military unveiled two domestically produced drones Monday, even as the country is facing growing protests over U.S. drone strikes on Pakistani soil. After years of preparation, the Strategically Unmanned Aerial Vehicles were formally announced by Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, chief of Pakistan’s military. The drones, called Burraq and Shahpar, will not be armed and are to be used only for surveillance, military officials said. The development of the drones, thought to have a range of about 75 miles, represents a milestone for the country’s military and scientists, Pakistani and Western analysts said. Read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/pakistan-unveils-its-own-military-drones-as- protests-continue-against-us-attacks/2013/11/25/fae691cc-5607-11e3-bdbf-097ab2a3dc2b_print.html Terrorist Financing | back to top | Natives Of Azerbaijan Were Engaged In Financing International Terrorist Organization In Russia Panorama.am 26 November 2013 Employees of MIA of Russian Federation together with the FSS suppressed the activities of ethnic criminal community, the press service of the Russian Interior Ministry reports. It is noted that the group was specialized in

illegal banking operations and financing of international terrorist organization. According to the report, the monthly money turnover was more than half a billion rubles. As a result of a large-scale operation seven community leaders were detained. "In the course of complex operational search of events it turned out that the members of the criminal community had organized an illegal route for flow of funds from the Russian Federation which was within the interests of natives of Central Asia who were on the territory of Russia illegally. These people are engaged in shadowed commercial activities in the largest markets of Moscow region as well as other regions of the Russian Federation – Pokrovskaia vegetable base, markets in Perm region and a number of other major trading platforms," the press-service reports. Read more at: http://www.panorama.am/en/law/2013/11/26/fss-russia-az/ UAE banking assets total $560bn, says Al Suwaidi Arabian Business By Andy Sambidge 27 November 2013 The UAE banking industry is safe and secure and overall confidence in banks is "justifiably strong", Sultan Nasser Al Suwaidi, the Governor of the UAE Central Bank, said on Wednesday. Total assets of UAE banks were currently around $560 billion, he said, equivalent to one-third of bank assets in India, an indication of the global significance of the UAE economy. Addressing a press conference, Al Suwaidi said it "would mean a lot" in terms of a boost to the UAE's economy if Dubai is chosen to host the Expo 2020 exhibition. …Turning to the issue of money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities, he said the Central Bank has a series of very effective controls in place to mitigate against such possibilities. "The UAE has very effective laws and regulations in place, and will always apply them rigidly," he said. Read more at: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/uae-banking-assets-total-560bn-says-al-suwaidi-528336.html Events & Education | back to top | Security Message For U.S. Citizens: Asuncion (Paraguay), Demonstration In Downtown Asuncion OSAC 25 November 2013 The U.S. Embassy in Asuncion notifies U.S. citizens living in or traveling to Paraguay that there is a protest scheduled for November 25, 2013 at 5:00 PM in the downtown Asuncion area. Protesters plan to gather at the Panteón de los Héroes on Calle Palma. Although the protest is expected to be peaceful, the U.S. Embassy recommends that you avoid this area. Remember that even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence. You should avoid areas of demonstrations and exercise caution if in the vicinity of any large gatherings, protests, or demonstrations Read more at: https://www.osac.gov/Pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=14766&__Referrer=afternoon_digest_25_11_2013 Books, Papers and Reviews | back to top | No Good Outcome: How Israel Could Be Drawn Into The Syrian Conflict The Washington Institute by Clawson, Eisenstadt, Levitt, Schenker, Tabler, White, and Zelin November 2013 Given the complexities and dynamics of the Syrian conflict, it is distinctly possible that Israel could be drawn into the fighting. Perhaps more important, the risk of spillover will likely extend years into the future, since the war's aftermath will not include near-term peace between Syria and Israel. How can Washington help minimize this risk

and the attendant strategic threat of increased regional instability and escalation? Read more at: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/no-good-outcome-how-israel-could-be- drawn-into-the-syrian-conflict Syria Proving More Fertile Than Iraq To Al-Qa`Ida’s Operations Combating Terrorism Center by Brian Fishman November 2013 Al-Qa`ida’s operation in Syria is both its most dangerous and dysfunctional. Al-Qa`ida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri’s rebuke of the and the Levant (ISIL), in which he ordered it to focus solely on Iraq and defer authority in Syria to Jabhat al-Nusra, is evidence that terrorist groups can still pose a significant threat even when plagued by internal divisions. Moreover, despite al-Qa`ida’s internal strife in Syria, the context in which it operates is deeply advantageous compared to other environments, including Iraq. This article compares the AQI of 2006- 2007 to JN and the ISIL today with the objective of estimating the relative danger of the latter two groups. The article finds that the growth of JN and the ISIL in Syria poses a significantly larger global threat than their precursor, AQI, during the height of its strength in 2006-2007. Compared to AQI’s earlier incarnation, JN and the ISIL are more likely to sustainably control territory, project power around the region, possibly sponsor global terrorist attacks, and catalyze a new generation of jihadist insurrection Read more at: http://combatingterrorismcenter.createsend1.com/t/ViewEmail/r/C19CB6F3DA67196B2540EF23F30FEDED/087A C2FA181E7AEFD9767B6002735221

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