22 October 2013
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY THE PTSS DAILY began as a means of keeping PTSS FLASH POINTS Marshall Center Alumni abreast of news related to terrorism. THE PTSS DAILY is neither an academic GLOBAL STRATEGIC OVERVIEW journal nor the effort of a research directorate or a large SPECIAL: REMEMBERING 23 OCTOBER 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, BURMA discussions and commentary on terrorism and related COLOMBIA issues such as piracy or narco-terrorism. These articles, EGYPT curated from news media, academic and international INDIA IRAN sources or submitted by many of you, give our growing IRAQ network a snapshot of this pernicious threat. ISRAEL Every effort is made to ensure that credible articles are NIGERIA chosen, but the intent of THE PTSS DAILY is to deliver PAKISTAN RUSSIA wide coverage. You – the professional – must be the SOMALIA final discriminator on the merit of a particular article and SYRIA its value to your profession. To ensure that THE PTSS UGANDA DAILY is both relevant and valuable to the reader, we UNITED NATIONS welcome and highly encourage comments from you. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
GENERAL COUNTERTERRORISM NEWS GEORGE C. MARSHALL AL QA’IDA & AFFILIATES EUROPEAN CENTER FOR SECURITY STUDIES COMMENTARY & OPINION LTG (Ret.) Keith W. Dayton, Director CYBER WARFARE Dr. Robert Brannon, Dean, College of International Security LEGAL ASPECTS & LAWFARE Studies NARCO-TERRORISM PTSS DAILY EDITORIAL STAFF NETWORK NOTES Col (Ret.) Professor Nick Pratt, Executive Editor SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Mrs. Brenadine C. Humphrey, Managing Editor TERRORIST FINANCING Mr. Cristian E. Guerrero-Castro, Global Strategic Overview TRANSPORTATION SECURITY
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Thought for the Day | back to top |
““It is now roughly five months since President Barack Obama announced a new direction for U.S. counterterrorism strategy. The president, as usual, gave a good speech. Where he’s weak is on the follow-through, however.””
~ Daphne Eviatar, Reuters.com
Flash Points | back to top | JTIC Flashpoints JTIC 22 October 2013 PHILIPPINES: Nine security force personnel were killed and four others were wounded in two separate landmine and small-arms attacks by suspected New People’s Army (NPA) militants in the Tulunan area of North Cotabato province on 21 October. (Philippine Daily Inquirer) RUSSIAN FEDERATION: Six people were killed and 37 others were wounded when a female suspected Islamist suicide bomber detonated her explosives on a passenger bus travelling in the city of Volgograd in Volgograd Oblast on 21 October. Unverified reports citing security officials claimed the attack was carried out by 30-year-old Naida Asiyalova – an alleged recent convert to Islam and the wife of “a militant leader” based in the North Caucasus republic of Dagestan. (RT/Associated Press) PAKISTAN: At least seven people were killed and 16 others were wounded when the Jaffar Express passenger train struck several improvised explosive devices (IEDs), emplaced by unidentified militants, as it travelled through the Notal area of Naseerabad district in Balochistan province on 21 October. (Dawn/BBC) MOZAMBIQUE: In a statement issued on 21 October, chief spokesman for opposition political party Resistência Nacional Moçambicana (RENAMO) Fernando Mazanga announced that his party had ceased to recognise the 1992 Rome Peace Accords signed with the now ruling party Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (FRELIMO), which had ended the country’s 17-year civil war. The statement came after RENAMO accused FRELIMO government security forces of attacking a jungle base in the Satunjira area of Gorongosa district in Sofala Province earlier that day. Mazanga stated: “Today, the Frelimo-government used troops and heavy artillery to attack the residence of the Renamo president, Afonso Dhlakama, to kill him in cold blood… this… signals the end of the Rome Peace accord.” (Al-Jazeera/BBC/Agência de Informação de Moçambique) SYRIA: The leader of Liwa Fallujah Houran, Yasser al-Aboud (alias Abu Ammar) was killed in heavy clashes with security forces in the town of Tafas in Deraa governorate on 21 October. Aboud had previously defected from the Syrian military on an earlier unspecified date and was the leader of the Syrian Military Council’s (SMC) principal operations room for Deraa governorate. (BBC/Al-Jazeera) LEBANON: Eight people were wounded in clashes – involving the use of small-arms and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) – between rival inhabitants of the predominantly Sunni Muslim Bab al-Tabbaneh district and members of the predominantly Alawite Shia Muslim Jabal Mohsen district of the city of Tripoli in North Governorate late on 21 October. Earlier that day, unidentified militants in neighbouring Syria launched four artillery rockets into the town of Hermel in Beqaa Governorate, one of which struck an Army barracks, but inflicted no casualties. (The Daily Star)
UNITED KINGDOM: In a court hearing in the capital London on 21 October, 25-year-old Ukrainian student, Pavlo Lapshyn, pleaded guilty to killing 82-year-old Mohammed Saleem in the Small Heath area of the city of Birmingham on 29 April and to plotting to cause explosions near mosques in the towns of Walsall, Tipton, and Woverhampton in June and July. While Lapshyn told police after his arrest in Tipton on 12 July that he “would like to increase racial conflict,” he also admitted in court that his actions had been motivated by racial hatred. (BBC/Reuters) AFGHANISTAN: The suspected Taliban chief in the Manogi district of Kunar province, identified as Gul Marjan, was killed along with three other suspected militants in a missile strike by an alleged United States unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that targeted him in the Manogi district on 21 October. (Khaama Press) IRAQ: An alleged would-be suicide bomber was shot dead by police as he attempted to storm a police station in a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) in the Mendily district east of the city of Baqubah in Diyala province on 21 October. The VBIED was subsequently defused. (NINA) DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Media reports claimed talks between representatives of the Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23) and the government in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa had stalled on 21 October after the government rejected a call for an amnesty to be offered to M23 leaders. (Reuters)
FURTHER READING: OSINT Summary: HIG and IMU claim responsibility for suicide attack on US air base in Afghanistan
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Country Briefing: Pakistan
suspected attacker was married to an Islamic militant. Volgograd lies 650 kilometres (400 miles) to the northeast of the North Caucasus, while Sochi sits to the west along the Black Sea… Read more at: http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/suicide-bomber-strikes-russian-bus-killing-6/ Bil'in: IDF Kills Terrorist Who Fired from Cave Arutz Sheva By Gil Ronen 22 October 2013 The terrorist had holed up inside a cave and fired at special IDF and Shin Bet forces who carried out an arrest operation at Bil'in. One terrorist is dead after terrorists exchanged fire with special IDF and Shin Bet forces who were carrying out an arrest operation at Bil'in, in the Binyamin region. One of the terrorists was holed up inside a cave and fired on the soldiers, who fired back and killed him. There have been no Israeli casualties. One terrorist has been arrested. A senior officer in the IDF’s Judea and Samaria Brigade expressed concern on Thursday over the series of recent terror attacks… Read more at: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/173079 Threat Of Sulu Terrorists Against Malaysia Remains, Warns Minister Channel New Asia 22 October 2013 Malaysian Home Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on Tuesday said the threat of Sulu terrorists against Malaysia remain even after the death of "Sulu sultanate" Jamalul Kiram. Dr Ahmad Zahid said based on police intelligence network, there are seven people tussling to head the terrorist group which was said to have inherited the "Sulu sultanate". He added that even though the names of the seven could not be revealed, the police and the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) had been instructed to be prepared against any eventuality. "Upon Jamalul's death, we cannot assume that the intrusion of Kiram terrorists has thereby ended as there are seven individuals who feel they are eligible to take over the 'Sulu sultanate'... Read more at: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/threat-of-sulu-terrorists/856944.html 10 Afghan Militants Killed, 20 Detained Within Day: Officials Xinhua 22 October 2013 Ten Taliban militants have been killed in Afghanistan within the last 24 hours, the authorities said Tuesday morning. "In past 24 hours, Afghan National Police (ANP) conducted several joint clearance operations with the cooperation of Army, National Directorate for Security (NDS) and Coalition Forces to clean some of the areas from terrorists and enemies of peace and stability of Afghanistan. As a result eight armed Taliban were killed, five wounded and 20 others were arrested," the Afghan Interior Ministry said in a statement. The ANP also discovered and seized some amount of light and heavy rounds ammunition and improvised explosive devices… Read more at: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-10/22/c_132820050.htm Update: Boko Haram Kills 29 In One Day PNN 22 October 2013 Boko Haram gunmen have stormed two villages in Borno state, northeast Nigeria, killing 10 people, after a botched attempt by local vigilantes to arrest some of the militants. The killings happened Sunday, the same day they slaughtered 19 people at a checkpoint near the border town of Gamboru Ngala, close to Cameroon. The Boko haram killers had disguised like soldiers. The latest attack by Boko Haram, occurred after vigilante youths tried to approach a militant hideout in Konduga, in remote Borno state... Read more at: http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2013/10/21/boko-haram-kills-29-in-one-day/
Suspected Terrorists Arrested In Benghazi Xinhua 22 October 2013 About 10 members of a suspected terrorist cell linked to former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime were arrested in the eastern city of Benghazi on Monday night, a senior security official said. The detainees, including three Chadians, have confessed their involvement in about 15 assassination cases staged in Benghazi in recent months, a security officer who spoke on condition of anonymity told Xinhua in a statement. The assassination cases were carried out against army officers and activists by means of setting explosive devices in their cars, according to the statement… Read more at: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/africa/2013-10/22/c_132819612.htm Court Ruling Opens Door To Mass Release Of Eta Prisoners The Irish Times 22 October 2013 A European court ruling against a Spanish legal mechanism that has delayed the release from prison of an Eta killer has raised the possibility of dozens of other members of the Basque terrorist group being freed. The European Court of Human Rights yesterday said the continued imprisonment of Eta member Inés del Río, who was jailed in 1987 for murdering 23 people, was not lawful and she should be released “at the earliest possible date”. Del Río was due to be freed early in 2008, due to good behaviour and work she had carried out in prison… Read more at: http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/court-ruling-opens-door-to-mass-release-of-eta- prisoners-1.1568628 Special: Remembering 23 October | back to top | Remembering 23 October The PTSS Daily by Christopher C. Harmon 22 October 2013 The 23rd of October, which falls on a Wednesday this year, signals the 30th anniversary of one of the most significant dual-bombings in the history of low-intensity conflict. Soldiers of France and the United States, dispatched to Lebanon to keep peace amidst its civil war, were destroyed in great numbers by vehicle bombs driven into their two residences. It was a Sunday morning, in 1983. Most of the Americans targeted were asleep. And in a sense all of Lebanon was shaken awake by the truck-borne combination of 12,000 pounds of TNT and canisters of gas intended to enhance the explosion. Astonished Federal Bureau of Investigation analysts called it the largest non-nuclear explosion they had studied. There were 353 casualties in and around the flattened residence building, two-thirds of them dead, most of them U.S. Marines. Not far away, and several minutes later, another trucker drove a massive bomb into a similar multi-storied building housing French Parachute Chasseurs. Some of them had come to the balconies to look out at the sudden damage and smoke of the first bomb. Now another 58 men died. It was the greatest loss to France since the Algerian War ended, notes American analyst Dennis Pluchinsky, a career State Department expert on terrorism and author of a valuable unpublished chronicle of anti-American terrorism. For the two countries most injured by the bombings, the first and most immediate legacy was of horror—the loss of so many lives with brutal suddenness. But other legacies have earned the interest and study of Program on Terrorism and Security Studies men and women in the years since, as each anniversary comes around. There was immediate reference to “terrorism” in 1983 and for good reason. Marine guards at the U.S. residence had been warned about incidents and escalation; they presented arms that were unloaded; the truck drove right past them. There at Beirut Airport there was nothing remotely like an open state of war, and France and the U.S. were not in the country to make war, or occupy anything. The two outside forces came to interpose between fighters and prevent escalation of a murky low-intensity conflict among Lebanese factions and Israeli invaders who’d arrived because of
attacks by the Palestine Liberation Front based there. U.S. government lawyers characterized the Americans as “off duty” that early morning and declared that their killings constituted terrorism: they were “noncombatants.” And yet the victims were military professionals. Some Marines grant that the environment had deteriorated, and that the recent past had included fighting by many units. The long and kinked U.S. chain of command blundered in refusing to let guards really protect the residence. Here was the gray area between war and peace in which much terrorism occurs. In programs like ours, PTSS, this definitional issue still gets instructive debate. The Shia militants themselves were part of a new era, “the age of sacred terror,” as several American analysts later called it. They had not just an innovative tactical approach but a deliberative and ugly new ideology, distinctive from the nationalism of the PLO, or the conceptual offerings of most other political terror groups. Mr. Pluchinsky has recovered for us the vivid text of the claim for credit, a call telephoned to Agence France Presse in Beirut: “We are the Soldiers of God…We are neither Iranians, Syrians nor Palestinians, but Muslims who follow the precepts of the Koran…Violence will remain our only way.” It has. That year of 1983 had already seen truck-bombings of the embassies of France and the U.S. in the same city; there would be kidnappings and torture to come for Westerners seized as symbols. All this is classic “terrorism” by Shia extremists. Iran’s involvement was deep—and important given how much the killers and their apologists were talking of “imperialism” of Paris and Washington. Presenting an overheated visage to the world since 1979, and newly opposed to Israel’s 1982 incursion into Lebanon, Iran was spending millions, dedicating skilled personnel, and using its Syrian liaisons to undermine Lebanese sovereignty and inflame the factions. Iran was behind the founding of Hezbollah in 1982/1983; it was Hizbollah that carried out the April and October bombings of the four buildings during mid-1983; the new group would openly speak of its allegiance to Tehran. “Islamic Jihad” and other cover names were used, but the strong new sub-state actor most responsible was that Lebanese Shia militant organization which is now thirty yeas of age, Hezbollah. There are excellent reasons why both Iran and Hezbollah are today on international lists of terrorist entities: 23 October 1983 accurately signaled their character and their intimate relationship. One operative of interest in all this was Imad Mughniyah. Formerly a Fatah “Force 17” agent of the Palestinians, Mughniyah faced a new scene as PLO fighters left Beirut, and 1983 found him under Iranian control, according to authors such as Kenneth Timmerman (whose 2005 book was Countdown to Crisis). This young terrorist man perfected the black art of “boosting” explosives with compressed gas and he had much to teach in many other departments; he rose to be considered the intelligence chief of Hezbollah. I devoted four pages to him, in a year- 2007 book. Professor Ken Duncan and many of us on PTSS faculty vividly recall the moment--during our course in Garmisch in February 2008--when Mughniyah was assassinated in Damascus. Few individual terrorists have done as much as Mughniyah to teach evil to their generation. Just there lies another legacy of the events of that October: its instructiveness to other terrorists. I think Osama bin Laden was fascinated by the operational use of multiple attacks at different places at the same moment—something he would do later. But author Warren Kozak, and that monograph by Dennis Pluchinsky, each separately recall the impact these October 1983 events had upon bin Laden’s strategic thinking. He saw strategic results. Bin Laden saw flight. He saw the U.S. Marines withdraw from Lebanon. It spurred ambition and his hope that U.S. power could collapse as that of the Soviets had in Afghanistan. Bin Laden told John Miller of ABC News that the American soldier is “unprepared to fight long wars. This was proven in Beirut when the Marines fled after two explosions. It also proves they can run in less than 24 hours and this was repeated in Somalia.” An Arab-language journal editor, Abu Walid al Misri, has written that many militants heard bin Laden say in private meetings that the 1983 Beirut case proved the U.S. was not only weak but prone to collapse. The founder of “the base” (Al Qaeda) and many of its leaders have since then displayed ridiculous optimism about breaking America economically with their terrorist campaign of economic attrition. They cannot—as the new skyscraper at “ground zero” in New York City indicates. Nor has terrorism prevented the U.S., France, and a global coalition from fighting a “long war” against terrorists—we’ve proven tougher than that. But terrorism may be effective strategic maneuvering. The threats and fighting hopes may well exercise limited power and enjoy limited validity. Terrorism often works, or works to degrees. Bin Laden was correct to say that it worked in Beirut in 1983, markedly reducing United States and French influence. Of course, the results only hurt more Lebanese, while aiding the geopolitical designs of two states: Syria and Iran.
Dr. Christopher C. Harmon was a teacher and executive in the Marshall Center, directing academics for the PTSS for the years 2007-2010. He departed to accept the Horner Chair of Military Theory at Marine Corps University in Virginia. Counterterrorism News by Nation & Region AFGHANISTAN | back to top | Taliban Commander Killed In Eastern Afghanistan Press TV 22 October 2013 A top Taliban commander has been killed during an operation by Afghan security forces in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Wardak. According to a statement released by Afghan officials on Monday, the commander, known as Mullah Habibullah, was killed during the operation carried out on Sunday night in the province’s Sayed Abad district. Four Taliban militants were also arrested during the operation, the statement added. Read more at: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/10/22/330646/taliban-commander-killed-in-afghanistan/ BURMA | back to top | More Companies In Myanmar Hire Private Security Guards Amid Blasts Channel News Asia by May Wong 21 October 2013 In light of the recent spate of bombing incidents around Myanmar, many companies, especially foreign firms, are hiring private security for protection. Security agencies have also been conducting re-training courses for their guards in the wake of the latest bombing at Traders Hotel in Yangon. … Read more at: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/more-companies-in-myanmar/855540.html COLOMBIA | back to top | Colombia's FARC Rebels Say They Support Women, But The Truth Is Much More Sinister PolicyMic by Cameron Combs 21 October 2013 Combat injuries cost her a breast and the sight in one eye, and have left her with scars and bullet wounds across her face and arms. As a commander in Latin America’s largest insurgency – the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC in its Spanish acronym) – Elda Neyis Mosquera, alias “Karina,” had an $800,000 bounty on her head by the time of her capture. While at large, she commanded 350 soldiers and was wanted on charges of extortion, kidnapping, and involvement in a string of massacres. Fearing betrayal by her own troops, she surrendered herself in 2008 after her immediate commander’s own bodyguard killed him for a bounty. … Read more at: http://www.policymic.com/articles/69017/colombia-s-farc-rebels-say-they-support-women-but-the- truth-is-much-more-sinister EGYPT | back to top | In Latest Killing Of Egypt’s Christians 2 Young Girls Slain The Daily Beast by Christopher Dickey 22 October 2013 On Sunday night, two men on a motorcycle—a driver and a shooter—sprayed bullets into a wedding celebration at a
Coptic Christian church in Cairo. They wounded seventeen people and killed four, among them an eight-year-old girl named Miriam Ashraf and a 12-year-old name Miriam Nabil. … Read more at: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/10/22/in-latest-killing-of-egypt-s-christians-2-young- girls-slain.html INDIA | back to top | Border Infiltrations By Militants In Kashmir Likely To Slow Peace Talks Between India And Pakistan Reuters 21 October 2013 BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) is walking away from almost all of its oil and gas interests in India, citing an inability to carry out exploration operations there and dealing the latest setback to the country in its efforts to draw foreign investments. The Anglo-Australian resources company would not confirm the reason for its decision to relinquish its interest in nine oil and gas exploration blocks in India, but local media reported it is withdrawing because of delays in clearances. … Read more at: http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/10/21/bhp-india-idINDEE99K05E20131021 IRAN | back to top | Iran Gives Russia Copy Of US Scaneagle Drone As Proof Of Mass Production The Guardian by Saeed Kamali Dehghan 21 October 2013 Iran has given Russia a copy of a US spy drone as proof that its elite forces have reverse-engineered and mass produced the American unmanned aerial vehicle they claim to have captured a year ago. Iranian media reported yesterday that the copy of the ScanEagle drone was provided to Russia on the sidelines of a meeting in Tehran between Farzad Esmayeeli, the air defence commander of Khatam al-Anbia, the Revolutionary Guards' military and industrial base, and Viktor Bondarev, head of the Russian air force. In December 2012, a guards' commander said his forces had got their hands on a ScanEagle, promising Tehran would mass produce it. The US authorities denied those claims at the time, saying all its drones were fully accounted for. … Read more at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/21/iran-russia-us-scaneagle-spy-drone-production- capture IRAQ | back to top | Russia Restarts Defence Supplies To Iraq Russia & India Report by Ekaterina Turyscheva 22 October 2013 Russia, a traditional ally of Iraq, once again began to deliver arms and ammunition to the Arab country, Ali al- Musawi, the Iraqi government’s media advisor told Russia Today The deliveries are part of a contract signed back in 2012 that “provides mainly for the supply of weapons to fight against terrorists,” al-Musawi said. “Helicopters that have worked well in counter-terrorism operations will be delivered. In addition, special anti-terrorist equipment will be supplied.” … Read more at: http://indrus.in/economics/2013/10/22/russia_restarts_defence_supplies_to_iraq_30291.html
ISRAEL | back to top | Israeli Forces In West Bank Kill Palestinian Suspect Behind 2012 Tel Aviv Bus Blast Haaretz by Gili Cohen 22 October 2013 A Palestinian terror suspect was killed on Tuesday morning in Bil'in after clashes with Israeli counter-terrorism forces who were attempting to arrest him. According to an initial report by forces on the ground, the man, identified as Mohammed A'atzi, was one of the people behind the bus bombing in Tel Aviv during Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012. A'atzi, a 28-year-old resident of Beit Lakia in the West Bank, was imprisoned several times in the past due to his involvement in Islamic Jihad. Shin Bet officials said that since the Tel Aviv bus bombing last November in which 29 civilians were wounded, A'atzi was in hiding. Recently, Shin Bet forces were able to locate him. … Read more at: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.553792 NIGERIA | back to top | Nigeria, Israel Sign Bilateral Air Service Agreement Leadership by Nkem Osuagwu 21 October 2013 Another milestone is about to be recorded in the aviation sector as President Goodluck Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda paves way for the signing of a Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the State of Israel. Previous attempts to sign the BASA between the two countries in 2005 and 2012 were unsuccessful. According to the special meassistant to the Minister of Aviation, Joe Obi, the agreement would be signed this week during President Jonathan’s pilgrimage to Israel. … Read more at: http://leadership.ng/news/211013/nigeria-israel-sign-bilateral-air-service-agreement Boko Haram Kills Civilians At Roadblock Al Jazeera 21 October 2013 Armed group shoots 19 people, including truck drivers, in northeast Nigeria near border with Cameroon, residents say. Boko Haram gunmen dressed in military uniform have killed 19 people near the Nigerian border with Cameroon in the restive northeast, residents and a survivor say. The gunmen, armed with Kalashnikovs, blocked a highway on Sunday near the town of Logumani, 30km from the border around 5am local time, shooting and hacking to death 19 motorists and burning three trucks, residents said. "We have recovered 19 dead bodies from the scene of the attack by Boko Haram gunmen," Musa Abur, leader of a civilian vigilante group in the area, told the AFP news agency. … Read more at: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/10/boko-haram-kills-civilians-at-roadblock- 20131020145552783168.html PAKISTAN | back to top | Pakistan Says India's Statement On Kashmir 'Unfortunate' NDTV 22 October 2013 Pakistan expressed disappointment over Indian leadership referring Jammu and Kashmir as an integral part of the country as "unfortunate" and said the Kashmir dispute remained a "core issue" with India.
Pakistan's Foreign Office, in a statement, criticised External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid's remarks on the status of Jammu and Kashmir. The statement said the "Kashmir dispute is the core issue that remains unresolved between the two countries". … Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/pakistan-says-india-s-statement-on-kashmir-unfortunate- 435393?curl=1382425897 RUSSIA | back to top | Terrorism Suspected In Deadly Russia Bus Blast France24 by Kethevane Gorjestani 22 October 2013 A bomb blast on a bus in the southern Russian city of Volgograd on Monday killed at least five people and left another 17 wounded. Investigators believe an Islamist female suicide bomber was responsible, reports Russia’s Interfax news agency. A bomb blast tore through a bus in the southern Russian city of Volgograd on Monday killing at least five people, authorities said, with a suicide bomber suspected as being responsible. … Read more at: http://www.france24.com/en/20131021-suicide-bomber-suspected-deadly-russia-bus-blast SOMALIA | back to top | Middle Georgia State Student Survives Somali War, Has Special Take On Piracy Macon Telegraph by Jenna Mink 21 October 2013 When it comes to piracy, Middle Georgia State College student Ali Samatar has a unique perspective. It’s a perspective he developed after enduring civil war in Somalia and four years in a Kenyan refugee camp. It’s a perspective he came to after immigrating to America, where he went from having nothing to working alongside top government officials. It’s a perspective that is rarely explored, not even in the new movie “Captain Phillips,” which is based on a true story and chronicles the hijacking of a ship by Somali pirates. … Read more at: http://www.macon.com/2013/10/21/2730802/middle-georgia-state-student-survives.html SYRIA | back to top | President Assad Does Not Rule Out Running For 2014 Presidential Elections Almanar News 21 October 2013 The Syrian President Bashar Assad considered that no obstacle prevents him from running for the next presidential elections in 2014, stressing, at the same time, it was too early to discuss the issue before the announcement of the election date. In an interview with Al-Mayadeen TV Network, President Assad accused Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey of supporting terrorism in Syria. … Read more at: http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=116983&cid=23&fromval=1&frid= 23&seccatid=20&s1=1
UGANDA | back to top | U.S. Warns Uganda Of Imminent Terrorist Attack By Al-Shabaab (Video) Examiner by Jim Kouri 21 October 2013 Police officials informed Uganda's citizens and visitors of tight security -- especially against Muslim terrorists -- ahead of November 3, when over 30,000 foreign tourists will visit to watch the hybrid eclipse, the rarest type of solar eclipse, in Uganda, according to a New Vision Uganda news story on Sunday. The United States had provided intelligence to Uganda's security forces detailing an imminent terrorist attack similar to al-Shabaab's attack in Kenya where terrorists invaded Nairobi's Westgate Shopping Mall last July, according to the China Daily on Friday evening. This latest warning comes amid increased security alertness in Uganda following similar police warnings that terrorists may attack. Read more at: http://www.examiner.com/article/u-s-warns-uganda-of-imminent-terrorist-attack-by-al-shabaab UNITED NATIONS | back to top | Saudi Arabia Under Fire At U.N. Over Women's, Migrant Worker Rights Reuters by Stephanie Nebehay 21 October 2013 Saudi Arabia's human rights record came under fire at the United Nations on Monday with critics accusing the kingdom of jailing activists without due process and abusing the basic rights of Saudi women and foreign workers. At the U.N. Human Rights Council, Britain called for abolition of the Saudi system of male guardianship for women, already recommended when the watchdog last subjected the kingdom to scrutiny in 2009. … Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/21/us-saudi-un-rights-idUSBRE99K0J420131021 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA | back to top | French and Mexican protests to constrain US NSA Oxford Analytica 21 October 2013 Both France and Mexico are protesting cyber espionage from the US National Security Agency (NSA), although Mexico's dispute is the most likely to last. French attention appears to be due to a journalist's new collaboration with Le Monde newspaper, whereas Mexican outrage is due to the much more serious revelations about spying on the president. International embarrassment and protest is likely to lead to the White House and Congress restraining NSA activities. … Read more at: https://www.oxan.com/display.aspx?ItemID=ES186616 Vietnamese Charged In The Us For Running Identity Theft Service Softpedia 21 October 2013 A 24-year-old Vietnamese national has been charged in the United States for running a criminal service that has been stealing and selling the personally identifiable information of hundreds of thousands of people. … Read more at: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Vietnamese-Charged-in-the-US-for-Running-Identity-Theft-Service- 392976.shtml
General CounterTerrorism News | back to top | Drone Strikes By US Could Be Classed As War Crimes, Says Amnesty International The Guardian by Jon Boone 21 October 2013 US officials responsible for the secret CIA drone campaign against suspected terrorists in Pakistan may have committed war crimes and should stand trial, a report by a leading human rights group warns. Amnesty International has highlighted the case of a grandmother who was killed while she was picking vegetables and other incidents which could have broken international laws designed to protect civilians. The report is issued in conjunction with an investigation by Human Rights Watch detailing missile attacks in Yemen which the group believes could contravene the laws of armed conflict, international human rights law and Barack Obama's own guidelines on drones. … Read more at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/22/amnesty-us-officials-war-crimes-drones Al Qa’ida & Affiliates | back to top | Rising Al-Qaeda Influence Bolstering Assad’s Grip On Syria The Globe and Mail by Lara Jakes 22 October 2013 Violent extremists seeking to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad may instead have hurt negotiations to replace him, frustrating Western diplomats who continue to push for his ouster as a necessary part of a peace agreement in the Mideast nation’s bloody civil war. Bolstered by infighting among Syrian opposition groups – including some linked to al-Qaeda that have jeopardized foreign aid – U.S. officials say Assad has a stronger grasp on power now than he did just months ago, when the U.S. and Russia called for a new round of talks to settle the 2 1/2-year war that has killed more than 100,000 people. … Read more at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/rising-al-qaeda-influence-bolstering-assads-grip-on- syria/article14980439/ Commentary & Opinion | Back To Top | Scrap The So-Called Jewish State Law Haaretz 22 October 2013 Israel must set borders within which it has a Jewish majority and move to integrate its Arab citizens. The only way Israel can exist as a democratic Jewish state is by being a democratic state whose citizens have equal rights, but where the majority of its population is Jewish. Ensuring such a majority is not self-evident, but in view of the current Jewish majority of four-fifths, it is possible - provided that Israel sees this as the fundamental issue, rather than annexing territories with hundreds of thousands of Palestinian residents - as it has done in Jerusalem. Maintaining the majority in a democracy cannot be done by means of discriminatory legislation. The Law of Return, although intended for Jews, does not discriminate among the state's citizens. It is intended for those who are not citizens. … Read more at: http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/1.543165
Cyber Warfare | back to top | Research Alliance Looks To Guide US Army's Cyberwarfare Future Defense News by Joe Gould 21 October 2013 The Army is concerned that near-peer adversaries will one day use cyber attacks to target soldiers’ laptops, radios or other small computers that surround them in vehicles and weapon systems on the battlefield. The enemy might insert malicious software to steal, destroy or fake information, or to misdirect a flying drone, send a soldier spoofed orders or detonate some ordnance prematurely. To fight back, the Army Research Laboratory is exploring how soldiers one day might calculate risk, detect intrusions and make networks agile to evade attacks as part of a newly formed consortium of academic institutions, the defense industry and the Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center. It’s also researching the psychosocial perspective on attackers, defenders and the soldiers who use the networks. … Read more at: http://www.defensenews.com/article/20131021/DEFREG02/310210019/Research-Alliance-Looks- Guide-US-Army-s-Cyberwarfare-Future Google Ideas Map Shows What Cyber Warfare Looks Like Today Tech President by Jessica McKenzie 21 October 2013 A swirling vortex hovers over Washington D.C. and brightly colored dots pour into the city from above. Elsewhere—in China, France and Brazil, for example—less impressive streams penetrate their capital cities as well. What looks at first glance like an image from the classic alien attack film Independence Day is actually a new visualization from Google Ideas and Arbor Networks. Called the Digital Attack Map, it depicts Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks around the world. The map was launched today as part of the Google Ideas' “Conflict in a Connected World” summit. Above: DDoS attacks on October 21, 2013 The tool can also be used to track trends and they have curated a gallery of maps of particularly significant attacks. Users can look up historical data for all geographies, if they are interested in a specific time and place. … Read more at: http://techpresident.com/news/wegov/24447/google-ideas-map-shows-what-cyber-warfare-looks-today Legal Aspects & Lawfare | back to top | Lebanese Men Accused Of 'Terrorism' In Nigeria Trial Concludes Voice of America by Heather Murdock 21 October 2013 Nigeria's trial of three Lebanese-born men who are accused of terrorist-related activities associated with Hezbollah concluded Monday. Defense lawyers argued that some of the charges against the men had not been proven, and others were not criminal acts in the first place. The mood in this hot courtroom was surprisingly relaxed given the seriousness of the charges and the judge told court officers to bring in chairs to make the accused men more comfortable. … Read more at: http://www.voanews.com/content/lebanese-men-accused-of-terrorism-in-nigeria-trial- concludes/1773922.html
Narco-Terrorism | back to top | Bolivia Registers 1st Murders of Coca Eradicators InSightCrime by Marguerite Cawley 21 October 2013 A police officer and a soldier have been killed and others taken hostage in an alleged "ambush" by coca growers in northwest Bolivia thought to have ties with Peruvian drug traffickers, suggesting Peruvian criminal presence in the country. According to Interior Minister Carlos Romero, members of the Joint Task Force (FTC) were ambushed by coca growers in Miraflores, Apolo, near the Peruvian border, during efforts to eradication coca crops, reported La Razon. Read more at: http://www.insightcrime.org/news-briefs/bolivia-registers-1st-murders-of-coca-eradicators Common Criminals Posing As Maras Driving Honduras Extortion InSightCrime by Daniel Castro 21 October 2013 Seven out of ten extortion cases in Honduras are carried out by common criminals pretending to be from gangs, according to the authorities, showing how the sense of insecurity created by the proliferation of corruption and organized crime itself fuels further criminality. … Read more at: http://www.insightcrime.org/news-briefs/common-criminals-the-most-prevalent-extortionists-in-honduras Network Notes | back to top | Facebook Allows Users To Upload Decapitation Videos So That People Can ‘Condemn Them’ The Independent by Adam Withnall 22 October 2013 Facebook has decided to allow users to upload videos of decapitations and gory terrorist acts because the website is a place where people can “share their experiences”, the company has said. The social media website, which has 1.15 billion users and can be accessed from the age of 13, has quietly lifted a temporary ban imposed this year on content depicting graphic violence. Read more at: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/facebook-allows-users-to-upload- decapitation-videos-so-that-people-can-condemn-them-8896077.html ‘Nightmare’ Bacteria Are Real, And The U.S. Needs To Act Fast The New York Times by David E. Hoffman 21 October 2013 Last spring, Arjun Srinivasan, an associate director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, delivered a presentation to state health officials with some alarming information. Before the year 2000, he said, it was rare to find cases of bacteria resistant to carbapenems, a class of powerful, last-resort antibiotics. But by February 2013 they had been seen in almost every state. Srinivasan also briefed Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC. On March 5, Frieden issued a public warning about “nightmare” bacteria, a family of germs known as CREs. They can kill up to half the patients who get bloodstream infections from them, resist most or all antibiotics and spread resistance to other strains. Last month, Frieden released a report estimating that at least 2 million Americans get infections each year that are resistant to antibiotics and that at least 23,000 people die as a result. Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization, warned last year: “A post-antibiotic era means, in effect, an end to modern medicine as we know it. Things as common as strep throat or a child’s scratched knee could once again kill.” … Read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/nightmare-bacteria-are-real-and-the-us-needs-to-act- fast/2013/10/20/e457beec-3828-11e3-8a0e-4e2cf80831fc_story.html
Science & Technology | back to top | South Korea Returns F-5s To Flight Status IHS Jane’s 360 by Gareth Jennings 20 October 2013 The Republic of Korea Air Force (Han-Guk Kong Goon [RoKAF]) has lifted the grounding order on its Northrop F- 5E/F Tiger II fighters, having determined the cause of a crash of one of the fighters earlier in the year, national media reported on 18 October. … Read more at: http://www.janes.com/article/28510/south-korea-returns-f-5s-to-flight-status UPDATE 2-U.S. Army Sees Budget Cuts Affecting Weapons Programs Reuters by Andrea Shalal-Esa 21 October 2013 U.S. defense budget cuts will affect the Army's plan to develop a new ground combat vehicle and most other acquisition programs, with some facing delays or cancellation, Army Secretary John McHugh said on Monday. "I find it difficult to envision any significant number of our developmental initiatives that won't be affected," McHugh told reporters at the annual Association of the U.S. Army conference. "And some we'll have to cancel." McHugh singled out developing a new ground combat vehicle and improving the Army's communications and computer network as priorities, but, he said, even those programs would have to be revamped if mandatory across- the-board budget cuts remained in place. … Read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/21/usa-army-budget-idUSL1N0IB17P20131021 New Radar From RADA To Guide Boeing’s Laser Weapons Defense Update by Tamir Eshel 21 October 2013 Israel’s defense electronics company RADA announced last week that its Tactical Multi-Mission Hemispheric Radar (MHR) was selected by Boeing for evaluation with Boeing’s Future Directed Energy Tactical Systems. Field testing of the MHR, which was recently delivered to Boeing, will begin in the near future. … Read more at: http://defense-update.com/20131021_new-radar-from-rada-to-guide-boeings-laser-weapons.html Terrorist Financing | back to top | Al Qaeda Group Is Operating On Ransom Money From The West LA Times by Ken Dilanian 21 October 2013 Dominik Neubauer stared into the camera, the steel barrel of an assault rifle pointed at his head. A Yemeni "tribe" had taken him hostage, the 26-year-old Austrian student said in English, a tear rolling down his left cheek. If they aren't paid a ransom, he continued, "they will kill me seven days after this video is published." In May, three months after the video appeared on YouTube, Neubauer was freed along with a Finnish couple who had also been kidnapped near an Arabic language school in Sana, Yemen's capital. Multimillion-dollar ransoms were paid for their release, Yemeni and Western officials said. … Read more at: http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-yemen-ransom-20131021,0,5305947.story#axzz2iROita2a
Transportation Security | back to top | Security Check Now Starts Long Before You Fly The New York Times by Susan Stellin 21 October 2013 The Transportation Security Administration is expanding its screening of passengers before they arrive at the airport by searching a wide array of government and private databases that can include records like car registrations and employment information. While the agency says that the goal is to streamline the security procedures for millions of passengers who pose no risk, the new measures give the government greater authority to use travelers’ data for domestic airport screenings. Previously that level of scrutiny applied only to individuals entering the United States. … Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/22/business/security-check-now-starts-long-before-you- fly.html?_r=0 Counterterrorism Humor | back to top | Hoax Bomb Threat Bridegroom Is Jailed In Liverpool BBC 22 October 2013 A would-be bridegroom who made a hoax bomb threat to a wedding venue after realising he had failed to confirm his booking has been jailed. Neil McArdle, 36, of Medbourne Crescent, Liverpool, realised his error the day before he was due to marry at St George's Hall in the city in April. Rather than tell fiancee Amy Williams, he made a bomb-threat call from a phone box, Liverpool Crown Court heard. He was given a 12-month jail sentence after admitting making the hoax call. … Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-24624639
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