Transnational Terror: Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Chicago Plot

By Animesh Roul

Three names have been doing the rounds in India these days: Maulana Ilyas Kashmiri, David Coleman Headley (a.k.a Dauod Geelani) and Tahawur Hussein Rana; one hard core veteran Jehadi and two motivated ‘would be’ terrorists. They are in the news for plotting major assaults in India. Among them, Ilyas Kashmiri who was rumored to be dead early this year, in fact survived three drone attacks in Pakistan’s Waziristan region, belongs to the Al Qaeda- Harkat-Ul- Jihad- Al-Islami (HuJI) lineage and heads the Qaeda’s deadly 311 brigade. He still carries a head money of US $ 600,000 dollars. His name resurfaced when a report was published in the Asia Times last month. The semi-biographical report titled, “Al-Qaeda's guerrilla chief lays out strategy” was written by Syed Saleem Shahzad of Pakistan who interviewed Ilyas Kashmiri about his future terror plans at his den and on his invitation.

In early September 2009, Pakistani officials and Western intelligence agencies believed that Ilyas Kashmir, Al Qaeda/HuJI operations chief in Pakistan and another close aide of Bin Laden, a Uzbek terrorist commander identified as Nazimuddin Zalalov (a.ka. Yahyo) have been killed in missile attacks in Turrikhel area of North Waziristan.

The other two names, Headly and Rana came as a bit of surprise to many in India and in the US. But their plan made one thing clear about the intention and capability of terrorist outfits (like LeT, Al Qaeda and JeM) that have transnational reach and global Jihadi agenda. These two men are part of a Lashkar-e-Taiba plot to attack major landmarks in India and Denmark. The US investigating agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have so far neutralized what is now dubbed as LeT’s ‘Chicago Terror Plot’. Headley was arrested early in October 2009 by the Joint Terrorism Task Force at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. He was reportedly planning to travel to Pakistan in near future to meet Ilyas Kashmiri and other terrorist leaders. His accomplice and co plotter Rana was arrested from Chicago later in that month.

According to FBI affidavit filed in a Chicago court, Headley had visited Pakistan a number of times before and constantly in touch with his LeT handlers (two Pakistan based LeT terrorists are still to be identified) in Pakistan through emails. As per the FBI the email communications revealed that a LeT mastermind in Pakistan was placing a higher priority on using Headley to assist in planning a new attack in India than on completing the planned attack in Denmark (facilities of Jayland Posten, the Danish newspaper which carried a cartoon strip of Prophet Muhammad in 2005 and perhaps (I suspect) a commando type assault during the upcoming Climate Summit). Any audacious attacks on these spots (and in India) would have given Lashkar-e-Taiba a position parallel to Al Qaeda in the international terrorism arena.

In June 2003, FBI made a similar breakthrough arresting at least seven Lashkar sympathizers or world be terrorists from in and around Washington region (3 from Maryland, 3 from Virginia and one in Pennsylvania), for providing material support to LeT.

The latest foiled LeT plot targeted vital landmarks, installations and elite boarding schools, as per the FBI investigations. The LeT is obviously planning Nov 2008 Mumbai type assaults in India and the possible targets were National Defense College, New Delhi, Doon School in Dehradun and Woodstock School in Mussoorie. It has been reported also that these terrorists have major plans to target the American and the Israeli nationals in India.

We find nothing new about the latest and earlier Lashkar planning to target India, Israelis and Americans. The threat emanates from LeT is still vivid in public memory: during October 2000 annual convention of the LeT in Lahore's Gulshan-i-Iqbal park where LeT chief Hafiz Saeed uttered anti India and Anti Israel rhetoric following a blast that took place near the venue. He held India and Israel responsible for the blast and threatened revenge; and of course his infamous utterances that LeT would plant the 'flag of Islam' in Washington, Tel Aviv and New Delhi.

Barely twenty more days to go when India will observe the first anniversary of Mumbai terror mayhem (26/11, 2008). The memory of that sixty odd hours of ordeal will again haunt us for some time and then ‘business as usual’. The question to ponder here is how far we have progressed so far since 26/11, especially to fight the menace like Mumbai or Chicago type assults and plots.

NEFA Foundation: Response from Gaza to Solidarity Calls from Shabaab al-Mujahideen

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a letter from an unnamed Palestinian Islamist in the Gaza Strip, posted on several prominent jihadi forums, thanking the top commander of the Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement in Somalia for announcing a new campaign to launch military attacks on Israel. The letter explained, "You brought us pleasure a few days ago when you went out to a precious solemn march (in solidarity with Palestine and its Muslim oppressed people). How glad were we with regard to this precious march, which we saw as a preliminary beginning (for the recruitment) of the world to jihad in order to conquer Jerusalem and free it from the clutches of the brutal Zionists... We also thank you for your good act in establishing a jihadist forefront, which you have called Al-Quds Brigade in order to conquer Jerusalem...[in order to] lay siege to the descendants of [Banu] Quraysh, [Banu] Nazir and [Banu] Qinqa' and their followers and supporters and stick a knife in their necks. And then there will be no way that they can escape from our jihad swords. You will find that our homes are your homes, our weapon is your weapon, our farms are your farms, our money is your money, our blood is yours."

A complete English translation of the letter to Shabaab from Gaza can be accessed via the NEFA Foundation website.

Interview with Taliban Spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid re: the UN Guesthouse Attack in Kabul

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained an English transcript of an interview with Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid regarding the October 28th attack on the UN Guesthouse in Kabul that left 11 dead, including 5 UN workers. According to the interview, “A great number of foreigners, who are to monitor the coming runoff elections, are staying in the guesthouse. Being equipped with weapons, the Mujahideen succeeded to enter the guesthouse and opened fire on security guards pointblank inside the compound of the guesthouse. When security forces from other parts of the city arrived at the scene, Mujahideen engaged them in fighting. After putting up strong resistance, the Mujahideen detonated their explosives, killing or injuring about 50 foreigners.” Moreover, “According to a previously worked out plan, Mujahideen fired 5 missiles at the Presidential Palace and the Serena Hotel at nine o’clock which resulted in casualties among foreign nationals, staying in the hotel. Eyewitnesses say, vehicles were seen racing out with dead bodies and injured persons. Our information emphasizes some members of the monitoring team for the next runoff elections including staff workers and advisers were residing in the hotel."

A complete English version of the Zabiullah Mujahid interview can be accessed via the NEFA Foundation website.

Fort Hood: The largest "Terror act" since 9/11

By Walid Phares

Fort Hood attack

The Fort Hood killings, perpetrated by Major Malik Nadal Hasan, a psychiatric by training, no matter what the judiciary reports will conclude is for now the largest single Terror act in America since 9/11. This quantitative finding will take into consideration dramatic change in the data released by authorities.

The shooting inside a US military installation that led to the killing of many personnel compels us to ponder. Over the past few years and months authorities have stopped attempts on similar attacks. The Fort Dix Jihadi plot, dismantled in 2006, aimed at performing a killing of military personnel inside the base. Other cells, dismantled in Georgia, New York and North Carolina also had plans for attacking military installations on US soil. But more importantly a number of lone wolves have also expressed intentions to attack military personnel.

Climate Change and Terrorism

By Roderick Jones

Just before the world's attention swings over to the climate change conference in Copenhagen [COP15] I thought it might be worthwhile to pause and consider the security implications of this subject. The CIA announced it was opening a Climate Change Center to do just that, back in September. How will this shift in the global climate shift national security priorities? The only group I am currently aware of that has touched this in some way is the Global Business Network - they have a white paper available here.

I have put down some thoughts over on the company blog - as well as some data on the Earth Liberation Front. However, the subject of how global terrorism and localized insurgencies will adapt, disappear or be created by Climate Change has yet to be fully explored.

Memo to Obama: Listen to Jim Gant or Risk Losing Afghan War

By James Gordon Meek

Green Beret hero Maj. Jim Gant is the author of a brilliant new strategy for how to succeed in the Afghan War now entering its ninth year, “One Tribe At A Time.”

Before making major decisions on whether to escalate the war by adding 20-40,000 more G.I.s to the fight, President Obama and his war council ought to read every word of the common sense arguments made by Gant (at left in eastern Afghanistan disguised as a Pashtun warrior).

Laid out in 50 pages of plain English that won’t give you a headache, Gant’s proposal hinges on the idea that it’s not important how many troops are deployed - it’s how you use them.

The Silver Star recipient's strategy shows the kind of street smarts desperately needed in the White House brainstorming sessions.

Gant's advice? Field American “tribal engagement teams” to live with - and fight alongside - Pashtun tribesmen, who dominate southern and eastern Afghanistan and have little faith in, or loyalty to, the government in Kabul. Their centuries-old tribal code of honor, justice and revenge, called Pashtunwali, is the only system of governance they need - and it can help us defeat the Taliban.

“Nothing else will work,” is Gant’s blunt bottom line.

The White House has yet to give the Special Forces officer a call. But we learned at the New York Daily News that top Pentagon brass are intrigued enough by this once obscure quiet warrior to give his big ideas a shot.

They have nothing to lose but a war.

U.S. and NATO commanders have never bought into tribal integration, much less the hardly-crazy concept that Gant envisions: handpicked Special Forces operators willing to live for years in one spot on the map and who become part of a local tribe as much as any outsider could hope for. Pashtun elders are often frustrated by the American faces that change every year.

“I will get on a helicopter tonight, armed with an AK-47 and 300 rounds of ammunition and put my life on the line and my strategy to the test - will you do the same?” Gant boldly challenges.

Please read my full post on the Daily News' Mouth of the Potomac Blog.

CTR Vantage: Al Shabaab's Recruiting Efforts in the West

By Madeleine Gruen

The Center for Terrorism Research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies has released the first issue of CTR Vantage. Each issue of CTR Vantage will focus on a specific terrorism-related theme. This first issue examines al-Shabaab's recruitment tactics in the West, and efforts that have been made to minimize Shabaab's potential allure in Somali diaspora communities.

The lead article discusses the October 13th indictment of Somali-American, Abbow Munye Abdow, and the application of "false statement" charges in terrorism cases.

The second article is a comprehensive backgrounder on al-Shabaab and the history of the Islamist groups in Somalia.

The third article, titled "Al-Shabaab Recruiting in the West," takes a comprehensive look at what we know about the group's efforts to recruit fighters in the United States, and in other Western countries.

The final article concerns the efficacy of the Somali president's recent diplomatic efforts in Minneapolis, Columbus, OH, and Chicago.

Future issues of CTR Vantage will cover aspects of the Black Nationalist/Islamist movement in the U.S., lessons learned from the terror plots of 2009. CTR Vantage will be published every two to three weeks.

CTR Vantage is co-written and co-edited by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross (also a CT Blog contributor) and Madeleine Gruen, with contributions from the staff of the Center for Terrorism Research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

You may view the current issue of CTR Vantage by clicking here.

NEFA Foundation: Al-Qaida Roundup on Failed Nayif Assassination Bid

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained an English transcript for a recent terrorist propaganda video titled, “The Descendants of Mohammed bin Maslamah”, which was produced by Al-Qaida’s network in the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen). The video purports to document the failed August 2009 assassination attempt on Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayif by an Al-Qaida suicide bomber dispatched from neighboring Yemen. It includes footage of the final testament of the bomber himself, Saudi national Abdullah Aseri (a.k.a. “Abul Khair”)—along with sermon from, among others, former Guantanamo Bay detainee Said al-Shehri (a.k.a. “Shaykh Abu Sufyan”), also a native of Saudi Arabia.

Additionally, the NEFA Foundation has also obtained an English transcript of a recent audio recording by Shaykh Ibrahim al-Rubeish titled, “Why Mohammed Bin Nayif?”. During the audio, produced by Al-Qaida’s network in the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen), al-Rubeish lays out the justification for Al-Qaida’s attempted August 2009 assassination of Saudi Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayif via a suicide bomber dispatched from neighboring Yemen. According to al-Rubeish, the bomber responsible for the attack—Saudi national Abdullah Aseri (a.k.a. “Abul Khair”) “sought by his actions to say to Mohammed bin Nayif: the time has come for you to drink from the same cup which you gave to our brothers. Here we are, we will spill your blood as you spilled ours, terrorize you as you terrorized the believers and demolish your home as you demolished those of others. You will be dealt with as you deal with others, and you will be given something similar to your own actions.”

Both English transcripts are now available on the NEFA Foundation website.

Failed States vs. Criminal States

By Douglas Farah

Today's Washington Post has an interesting article on how the North Korean military is now the primary extractive body of the North Korean establishment, and is, in fact, relatively efficient at extracting natural resources to sell to China and elsewhere.

It is an important piece because it highlights a much broader reality that we have been slow to come to grips with. In almost any index of failed states, North Korea ranks fairly high. But in reality it is not a failed state at all. It retains the capacity to efficiently extract what it (the state) needs for survival. It may not provide basic necessities such as fuel, food, clothing, education, medical service or sewage, but it is efficient at what it sets out to do. And this economic extractive capacity is the key to perpetrating the regimes in power.

The primary danger of these criminal-extractive states (such as Liberia under Charles Taylor, Zimbabwe under Mugabe, Equatorial Guinea under the Obiang clan) is that they offer criminal and terrorist organizations ideal circumstances in which to operate. In fact, these overlapping networks are essential to the survival of the state as criminal syndicate.

Because these states rely on criminal networks for their economic survival (North Korea on counterfeit currency, illicit nuclear technology sales etc.; Charles Taylor on blood diamonds), and terrorist organizations increasingly rely on criminal organizations and activities for funding and facilitation, these states become host organisms to criminal and terrorist parasites.

In fact, these criminal states rely on criminal/terrorist networks to provide the illicit funds that make them viable. My full blog is here.

NEFA Foundation: Shabaab al-Mujahideen Declares Formation of the "Al-Quds Brigade"

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a communiqué from Shabaab al-Mujahideen declaring the formation of the "Al-Quds Brigade." According to the statement, on October 30, 2009, “Hundreds of thousands of citizens in the Islamic districts in [the] south and middle of Somalia…came out [to the streets]…in solidarity with their brothers in occupied Palestine and as a condemnation of the crimes of the hated Jews." The communiqué continued, “Several of the leaders of The Mujahideen Youth Movement took part in it, among them Sheikh Mukhtar Rubu Ali Abu Mansour, Sheikh Fuad Muhammad Khalaf, Sheikh Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Muhammad, Sheikh Ali Muhammad Hussein and Sheikh Mahed Omar/Amar Abed Al-Karim. In addition, there were several dignitaries and tribal leaders. The leadership of the movement declared the establishment of a special unit whose name is Al-Quds Brigade, and whose goal is to free the Islamic holy places. The unit has shown a very strong military parade and was supplied with different types of weapons as a welcome to the participants." Shabaab noted, “it is time for conducting an open battle with the oppressing Zionist entity as well as targeting its interests, especially in the Black Continent."

An English translation of the Shabaab communique can be accessed via the NEFA Foundation website.

NEFA Foundation: Interview with Taliban Official in Herat Province

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained an interview with Sheikh Abdul Manan Niyazi, Governor and Military Official for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (The Taliban) in Herat Province, published in Al-Somood, a monthly Islamic magazine published by the Taliban’s media center. According to Al-Somood, Niyazi has belonged to the Taliban “since the beginning of its establishment and he is…considered to have played a prominent role in the foundation of the movement." Niyazi asserted that “Percentage-wise…the enemy does not control more than 10% of Herat…In Herat there are no areas in which the Mujahidin do not have powerful military strongholds which they control." He added, “we can say with all reassurance that the Mujahideen are concentrated in plentiful numbers in every corner of Herat province, praise be to Allah. We do not feel any scarcity of Mujahedeen and have not suffered from any scarcity up to this time. They resist the enemy with different military procedures and use effective tactics such as exploding mines and improvised explosive devices, fight and flight and surprise raids." Among the operations he highlighted was an attack on Italian forces that “was considered the worst losses suffered by the Italian forces since they came to Afghanistan. This has caused the issue of withdrawing Italian troops to swell during these days and their have been violent debates on this topic."

A copy of the interview with Shaykh Niyazi can be accessed via the NEFA Foundation website.

NEFA "Target: America" Series - "The North Carolina Jihad Cell and the Quantico Marine Base Plot"

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has released the 22nd report in the “Target: America” series, a PowerPoint presentation on the accused jihadist network operating in Raleigh, North Carolina and an alleged plot, involving members of that cell, to attack the U.S. Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia.

In July 2009, a North Carolina grand jury indicted seven U.S. citizens and one legal permanent resident, charging the men with providing material support to terrorists and conspiracy to murder persons abroad. A September 2009 superseding indictment charged two of the men with the Quantico plot, alleging they shifted their focus to a domestic target after the group’s plans to wage jihad overseas were unsuccessful. In furtherance of the plot, the alleged leader of the conspiracy, Daniel Boyd, conducted reconnaissance on the Marine base and possessed weapons intended for the attack. During their search of Boyd’s house, authorities seized 26 weapons and more than 27,000 rounds of ammunition. Boyd, whose two sons were charged in the material support indictment, claims to have trained and fought in Afghanistan in the early 90’s and also led a small group practicing military tactics and the use of weapons on private property in N.C. in July 2009. In addition to radicalizing his two sons, Boyd also allegedly played a key role in the recruitment of others in the network. As David S. Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, remarked: "This case underscores the potential threat that U.S. citizens with foreign fighter experience pose upon returning to the United States, specifically in terms of inciting other U.S.-based individuals to follow their example. They return from conflict zones with combat experience, a network of contacts overseas and strong credibility with…recruits seeking an authority figure.” Notably, Daniel Boyd’s father was a U.S. Marine Corps Captain decorated with 4 Purple Hearts, his brother reportedly “works for the Pentagon,” and his truck was adorned with a “Support our Troops” bumper sticker.

This PowerPoint report includes numerous government photographs of weapons, ammunition, and other items seized by the FBI during the search of Boyd’s house and excerpts from the Facebook pages of certain conspirators. Accompanying the report, the NEFA Foundation is releasing a revealing FBI summary of an interview with Daniel Boyd’s son Dylan, which provides further insight into the network.

The NEFA powerpoint and FBI interview summary can be accessed via the NEFA Foundation website.

NEFA Foundation: Biography of “Martyred” East African Al-Qaida Operative Saleh Ali Nabhan

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a biography, posted on a jihadist website, of a key suspect allegedly behind the 1998 East Africa Embassy bombings, Saleh Ali Nabhan, who was killed in a U.S. helicopter strike south of Mogadishu in September 2009. According to the document, Nabhan traveled to Afghanistan, where he attended the Khalden and Al Farouq training camps. There “he mastered various military skills. He then was chosen to be a trainer, and he survived the American raid on the al-Farouq camp…he was the guard of the camp gate at the time of the raid." Most notably, he purportedly “participated in training the 19 [martyrs] chosen to change the course of history; heroes of Manhattan Battle: Muhammad Atta and his companions. He mastered the art of forgery very well, and he told me that he assisted in forging documents for the 19 brothers." Upon returning to Kenya, “they planned the Paradise Hotel operation.” (NEFA previously published a statement from Shabaab al-Mujahideen celebrating Nabhan’s “martyrdom.”)

An English translation of Nabhan's biography can be accessed via the NEFA Foundation website.

Israel as an Al-Qa`ida Target: Sorting Rhetoric From Reality

By Matthew Levitt

A variety of groups in the Palestinian Territories claim to be affiliated with or inspired by al-Qa`ida. None of these groups, however, have been welcomed into the al-Qa`ida franchise. Moreover, this bottom up phenomenon where local Palestinian groups reach out to al-Qa`ida is not matched by a top down effort by al-Qa`ida’s core leadership or even its established affiliates to create an official al-Qa`ida faction in the Palestinian Territories. Nevertheless, in nearly all of al-Qa`ida’s public statements, the liberation of Palestine is a goal and Israel is denounced as an enemy. Al-Qa`ida’s extensive anti-Israel rhetoric, however, is not matched with the parallel operational focus on targeting Israel.

Instead, it appears that Palestine is employed as a useful lightening rod through which al-Qa`ida can tap into the emotional attachment of Muslims and Arabs worldwide. The place of Palestine and Israel in al-Qa`ida’s speeches and operations is shaped by its need to construct narratives, often focused on specific populations and conflicts, that support its radical and violent agenda. To do this, it must place conflicts throughout the world that involve Muslims into a singular, radical narrative in which Islam in general and Muslims in particular must defend themselves from Western aggression. For al-Qa`ida, the Palestinian cause is a paradigmatic example of this phenomenon. Since the Israel-Palestine conflict is perhaps the single most animating regional conflict for many Arabs and Muslims, its resonanceprovides al-Qa`ida with a powerful rhetorical tool for radicalization, recruitment, and fundraising.

In an article that appears in the latest volume of CTC Sentinel, the online journal of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point (where I am an associate fellow), I demonstrate that while al-Qa`ida has always been interested in the Palestinian issue there is a remarkable gap between al-Qa`ida’s rhetoric and its operations targeting Israel. Those few attacks that al-Qa`ida has conducted against Israeli and Jewish targets have been small-scale and half-hearted.

The full article is available here.

Bin Laden Vid Cameo? Bugs Key to Squashing His Minions?

By James Gordon Meek

A new tape produced by Al Qaeda’s propaganda blowhards, As Sahab (“The Clouds”), is raising questions about the whereabouts of top leaders in the terror network, including Osama Bin Laden.

The video posted on jihadi websites stars Al Qaeda cleric Abu Yahya al-Libi delivering a sermon for the Muslim holiday Eid, which recently ended. It is a typical al-Libi (“The Libyan”) Armageddon-laced sermon, in which he blasts President Obama as a “black crow” unworthy of the accolades heaped upon him.

“Can a human please Obama and please Allah the Great and Almighty?” al-Libi asks.

The video is sure to receive careful analysis at CIA headquarters given the visuals and al-Libi's woodsy environment, which includes singing cicadas.

He is videotaped outdoors speaking before an audience including an intentionally blurred-out figure who bears a striking resemblance to Osama Bin Laden, though “his identity cannot be confirmed,” the SITE Intelligence Group concluded.

“If this is Osama Bin Laden, it would be the first time video of him has been released since 2007 and then before that 2004,” a statement by another private terrorism research group, IntelCenter, said.

U.S. intelligence officials are highly skeptical Bin Laden attended al-Libi’s sermon.

Please see my full post on the New York Daily News' Mouth of the Potomac Blog.

Joint Congressional Hearing on Iran in Latin America

By Douglas Farah

On Tuesday I testified before three Subcommittees of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on the issue of Iran's involvement in Latin America. My oral testimony is a bit more detailed on Iranian banks in Ecuador, which I am including here.

The general consensus of those testifying (links to the the testimonies of all the witnesses can be found here under the hearing notice) was that Iran's penetration presents a strategic and under appreciated threat to both the democratic institutions of the region and the United States.

Iran's sponsorship of Hezbollah and Chávez's sponsorship of the FARC, and the history of both terrorist groups in reaching out to other non-state organizations for learning and cross-training is of particularly troublesome.

One of the factors that I think is important to point out in all this discussion is that the leaders of Bolivarian Revolution, and Chávez in particular, are not efficient in what they do or particularly coherent and consistent in how they behave. That is to say, Chávez does not necessarily have the broad control over all aspects of Venezuelan political life, nor does his government execute very well.

Venezuela has one of the highest murder rates in the world, and an oil-rich nation is suffering from both crippling electrical blackouts and water shortages in its main cities.

One of the factors that the Iranians and Cubans bring to the Boliviarian nations is a different sense of discipline and structure, making certain elements of the government far more accomplished at what they do. This is particularly true in the area of internal security and the suppression of dissent and control of the media. My full blog is here.

NEFA Foundation: Al-Qaida's "Islamic State of Iraq" (ISI) Claims Baghdad Bombings

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a new communiqué from the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) claiming responsibility for the suicide car bombings that left more than 160 dead and injured nearly 500. According to the statement, “One of the selected targets that was chosen this time was the ministry of evil and exploitation, the ‘ministry of justice’, and the other one was Baghdad's provincial council, the ‘legislative council of the local government of Baghdad’…[the mujahideen] pulled away the curtain on the criminals of this beautiful area, and ended the numerous lies…”

The complete English translation of the message from the ISI can be accessed via the NEFA Foundation website.

The Taliban Response to Afghanistan's Runoff Elections

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained a communication from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban) titled “Regarding the Runoff Elections,” which noted that runoff elections are being held again to “keep the attention of our countrymen and the public of the world diverted in order to hide their defeat at the military field." The Taliban instructed their countrymen to “avoid participating in the deceitful and foreign-made electoral process. On the command of your belief and the Afghani conscience, you should completely boycott the elections on the basis of the rule of Sharia." Further, “All Mujahideen should make efforts to foil this wicked process; should carry out operations against their centers; prevent people from participating in the elections and block all roads and paths for all public and government vehicles one day before the day of the polling and inform people about this. Similarly, with the help of religious scholars, clerics and elders, educate people about the clandestine motives behind the elections. Create awareness among people regarding the conspiracies of the enemy." According to the statement, “The Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan have worked out programs to foil and prevent this process. They closely monitor all workers, officials and voters…”

The complete English-language text of the Taliban response can be accessed via the NEFA Foundation website.

Peacebuilding amid Terrorism: Fragile Gains in Somalia

By Matthew Levitt

The Washington Institute published Part 2 of Professor Andre Le Sage's analyis of jihadism in Somalia today. The first part focused on the country's growing insurgency, while this one addresses peacebuilding efforts in the context of terrorism in Somalia.

Here is an excerpt:

On September 14, 2009, U.S. special forces killed Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, a senior leader of al-Qaeda's East Africa cell, near the town of Barawe on the coast of southern Somalia. Although the death of Nabhan will seriously disrupt and degrade the capabilities of al-Qaeda and its support groups, without political progress and peacebuilding in Somalia, targeting the terrorist group's leadership will have a short-lived strategic impact.

Training Camps and Foreign Fighters

With leadership support from Harakat al-Shabab and Hizb al-Islamiyah -- two Somali Islamist movements -- al-Qaeda's East Africa cell has long used Somalia as a safehaven. Al-Qaeda perpetrated the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the simultaneous attacks in 2002 on Kenya's coast against the Paradise Hotel and a failed effort to shoot down an Israeli charter airliner full of tourists, and the failed attempt in 2003 to attack the new U.S. embassy in Nairobi.

The relationship between al-Shabab, Hizb al-Islamiyah, and al-Qaeda's East Africa cell is close but complicated. On many occasions, the groups appear united and fight side by side against the transitional federal government (TFG). Despite rumors, however, a merger between al-Shabab and al-Qaeda has not yet occurred. Nonetheless, al-Qaeda is able to benefit from al-Shabab's gains, which increase al-Qaeda's space to maneuver and prepare for new attacks. Prevalent rumors suggest that Hizb al-Islamiyah leader Hassan Dahir Aweis is attempting to reinvent himself as a political leader, and may be willing to break his alliance with al-Shabab by negotiating a power-sharing deal with the TFG. While such talks would further isolate the insurgency, it is unknown how realistic Aweis's demands would be. Moreover, granting him any senior TFG position would not be welcomed by either Ethiopia or the United States -- two countries that consider Aweis a terrorist.

The full article is available here.

Militias and Insurgency in Somalia

By Michael Jacobson

This afternoon, the Washington Institute published part 1 of a 2 part series by Professor Andre Lesage at the National Defense University discussing trends in Somalia. The first part focuses on the country's growing insurgency, while the second part will address peacebuilding efforts and Somalia's ties to terrorism.

Here is an excerpt:

During her recent tour of Africa, U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton held a press conference with Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, president of Somalia's transitional federal government (TFG). Her statements mark a major public commitment by the Obama administration to support Sharif's flagging government against the country's armed opposition groups, some of which are tied to al-Qaeda and threaten security across the greater Horn of Africa.

Transitional Federal Government

The TFG was created by an internationally supported peace process in Kenya in 2004. Before the TFG could negotiate its arrival in Mogadishu, a civil society-supported amalgam of various Islamic and tribal interests united to form the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). After fifteen years of rule by unpopular, clan-based warlords, the ICU temporarily brought security and hope to the war-ravaged capital city. The ICU, however, was an unwieldy creation. Under the influence of hardline Islamists, ICU militia extended control over most of southern Somalia, surrounded the TFG's rear base in Baidoa, and threatened to extend its holy war to Ethiopia. In response, Ethiopian forces invaded southern Somalia in December 2006, defeated the ICU, and installed the TFG in Mogadishu. This dispersed, but did not destroy, ICU forces across southern Somalia. They reemerged in many forms, notably the Hizb al-Islamiyah and Harakat al-Shabab groups, which slowly reinfiltrated Mogadishu in piecemeal fashion. The militias engaged in classic guerilla tactics to intimidate, harass, and wear down their opponents. Over time, they imported sophisticated attack methods into Somalia, including the use of improvised explosive devices and suicide bombings.

Even with Ethiopia's military support, the TFG was unable to defeat the insurgents and became hampered by leadership conflicts and clan-based schisms over power-sharing. In January 2009, the first TFG president, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, was replaced by Sheikh Sharif -- a more moderate Islamist leader of the ICU -- in a move to split opposition forces and dilute the armed opposition. Nonetheless, the TFG remains a paper tiger. The parliament rarely meets, and many of its members have fled Mogadishu out of fear for personal security. TFG is unable to deliver desperately needed social services and has no civil service to speak of -- cabinet ministers are often the only TFG ministry staff. Force protection for the TFG is provided primarily by 5,000 Ugandan and Burundian troops that are in Mogadishu as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

The TFG was almost pushed out of Mogadishu in June 2009 by a concerted insurgent offensive. The TFG controls only a fraction of the capital and has influence in other parts of southern Somalia through loose alliances with clan-based political leaders and militias. Even in Mogadishu, the TFG has extremely weak command and control over the militia forces that support it, including strongmen in the security services and Ahlu Sunna wa Jamaah, a Sufist movement that recently spawned several armed militias. These groups function with almost complete independence, are constituted by different and competing sub-clans, and control their own patches of Somali territory -- much as the country's warlord-based factions did in the 1990s.

To read the rest of the piece, click here

NEFA Foundation: “Target: America” The September 2009 Arrest of Najibullah Zazi and the Ongoing Investigation into his Terror Plot

By Madeleine Gruen

Najibullah Zazi emigrated with his family from Afghanistan as a child and grew up in Flushing, Queens. He shared the same interests as other typical American teens, including a love of video games and the latest fashions. He dropped out of high school, then started operating a coffee cart in Lower Manhattan. In 2006, he married a cousin in Pakistan. He visited her and their children in Pakistan regularly--Then his behavior and his outward appearance began to change. Once he was friendly to customers, but then he grew cold and combative. He had always been religiously observant, but became even more doctrinal. After his most recent trip to Pakistan, Zazi abruptly moved to Aurora, Colorado. He was arrested there in September 2009 on charges of plotting to attack targets in the U.S. using TATP-based explosives, the ingredients for which he and his co-conspirators purchased in beauty supply shops.

This NEFA Target: America report provides details leading up to Zazi's arrest and sheds light on why this case is considered by many experts to be the most significant terrorist plot to take place on U.S. soil since 9/11. Zazi, and the yet-to-be-named co-conspirators in this case, received training at an al-Qaida camp in Pakistan, and returned back to the United States driven in their effort to acquire the materials needed to fabricated TATP-based explosive devices, which, the evidence suggests, they planned to use on a target, or multiple targets, in New York City.

The full report can be read here.

The Ban on Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh May Provide Western Countries with an Opportunity to Evaluate Their Own Strategies to Combat Extremist Groups

By Madeleine Gruen

Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh was banned by the government of Bangladesh on Thursday, October 22 for 'anti-state', 'anti-government', 'anti-people' and 'anti-democratic' activities in the country. However, as Animesh Roul pointed out in his CT Blog entry on the topic, the ban, thus far, appears to have done nothing to stop the branch from its anti-government, anti-democratic activities. In fact, Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh is now absolute in defining its enemies, and has issued press releases faster in the past three days than it has in its entire previous public lifetime.

In an October 24th press release, Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh declared, "America bans Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh; her aim is to remove the obstacle in the way of her evil plans to subjugate the Muslims of Bangladesh."

While Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh has just assigned itself more thought than any American has ever given it, its amplified ferocity in the wake of the ban does raise an ideal opportunity for Western governments to factor any lessons learned into their own debates over banning Hizb ut-Tahrir branches, particularly what the ideal timing for instituting such a ban might be.

When considering a ban of Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) in a Western country, the essence of the debate should center on how effective HT could be as a radicalizing influence on domestic communities, not if HT actually has the potential to establish a unified Islamic State. HT establishes branches in Western countries in order to contribute to the group's overall objectives. It is not their objective to overthrow a western government in order to replace it with an Islamic government; at least, not at this point. For example, Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain (HTB) originates leaflets for distribution in Muslim countries, and its members recruit foreign students studying in the UK to prepare them for active membership when they return to their home countries. HTB operates freely and openly. While a ban has been debated seriously by the UK government, it has yet to be enacted. Some involved in the UK debate argue that to ban the group at this point is useless because it has gotten too large, too well established, and too powerful for a proscription to be enforced on consistent enough a basis to make that course of action effective.

In the case of Pakistan, and now Bangladesh, the governments decided to ban their HT branches after they had already reached a sustainable level of operations: they were comfortably in Phase II of HT’s three-tiered development scheme. (See here for background on HT’s method of operation). This means that by the time they were banned, the branches in Pakistan and Bangladesh already had a loyal and committed membership base, with members well positioned in the government and in educational institutions. They had methods for disseminating propaganda and for attracting supporters to their public demonstrations. Their operating systems are established, and the believers in HT’s system are driven, and are therefore unlikely to cease operations when faced with opposing pressure.

Perhaps the opportunity for Western countries (particularly the United States) to enact effective legislation is while the HT branches operating in their countries are still small and relatively quiet; before the branch has had an opportunity to establish a stronghold and cause adverse effects.

Bangladesh Proscribes Hizb ut-Tahrir

By Animesh Roul

The Bangladesh government has finally imposed proscription on the transnational Islamic religious-political organization Hizbut-Tahrir’s country chapter on Oct 22, for its 'anti-state', 'anti-government', 'anti-people' and 'anti-democratic' activities in the country. The government however, ruled out the possibility of charging Hizb ut-Tahrir- Bangladesh (HT-B) activists for their past offences in the country, but warned them of grim action if they continue their anti-state activities further.

Despite the ban, the HT-B’ website which is still active and operational criticized the present government in these following words:

"The oppressive Awami League government, agents of US-India-Britain banned Hizb ut-Tahrir due to the party’s stance on the side of the defence forces of the country and leading the work for re-establishing the Khilafah (Caliphate)."

HT-B has been under scanner for quite some time for its involvement with proscribed Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and Hizb-ut Towhid and other Islamic terror organizations.

Hizb ut-Tahrir, a transnational Islamic movement was founded in Jerusalem in 1953 by Tokiuddin Al Nakhani. HT believes in Ummatic concept (global Muslim brotherhood, not the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood (MB) movement). The website openly declares that :

"It aims to revive the Islamic Ummah from the severe decline that it had reached, and to liberate it from the thoughts, systems and laws of Kufr, as well as the domination and influence of the Kufr states. It also aims to restore the Islamic Khilafah State so that the ruling by what Allah revealed returns."

The Dhaka Unversity professor Mohiuddin Ahmed who is the chief of HT-B denied the allegations brought against the organisation in a statement realsed by the outft. It claimed that the outft will continue with its movement for a Muslim Ummah. According to Mohiuddin Ahmed's revelation, HT-B has units at all divisional headquarters and have around 10,000 members across the country.

On the line of fire:

HT-B became the fifth militant outfit to be outlawed in Bangladesh following Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh and Shahadat-e Al Hikma.

There are other overground Islamic organizations in Bangladesh which have been carrying out subversive activities or suspected for supporting terrorism in the country. The government plans to impose ban on them as well in due course.

They are: Islamic Democratic Party, Hizb-ut Towhid, Allahr Dal, Islami Samaj, Al-Harat al-Islamia, Jama'atul Faliya, Towhidi Janata, Bishwa Islami Front, Juma'atul al Sadat, Shahadat-e-Nobuwat, Jama'at-e Yahia al Turat, Joyshe Mostafa Bangladesh, al Jihad Bangladesh, Woarat Islamic Front, Jamaat-as-Sadat, al Khidmat, Harkat-e-Islam al Jihad, Hizbullah Islami Samaj, Muslim Millat Shariah Council, World Islamic Front for Jihad, Joysh-e Mohammad, Hizbul Mahadi, Kalemar Dawat, Islami Dawati Kafela, al Islam Martyrs Brigade, Dawat-e Islam, Tanjim, Hizb e Abu Omar, and Jadid al-Qaeda Bangladesh.

Iran's Expanding Latin American Reach

By Douglas Farah

I have touched on the topic before, but from spending time on the ground in the region in recent months it is clear that Iran is making significant inroads into the Latin America financial services sector and other areas.

In Ecuador, as I have noted before, Iran has set up a way for its central bank to deposit money directly into the Ecuadoran central bank. The stated purpose is to allow $120 million in credit to flow to importers and exporters in both countries to facilitate trade.

The only catch is that there is virtually no trade between the countries. In recent years (2006 and 2007, the latest available) Ecuador reported zero exports to Iran and imports of less than $500,000 each year. Like the Iranian financial institutions in Venezuela, the economics of the case simply make no sense.

According to the "Protocol of Cooperation" between the Central Bank of Ecuador and the Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI), which is under Treasury Department sanctions for supporting Hezbollah and the Quds Force, Iran was also willing to take an unusual step.

Point 6 of the agreement, which I have, states that:

EDBI manifests its readiness to establish a branch of Banco Internacional de Desarrollo (BID) in the Republic of Ecuador.

This is interesting because the BID is reportedly a Venezuelan bank, which the EDBI would have no over, including where it opened branches. But as I wrote earlier, the BID is wholly owned (all 40,000 shares) by Bank Saderat, an Iranian bank under U.S. and UN sanction. My full blog is here.

NEFA Foundation: "Migrating from the Arabian Peninsula to Somalia"

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a new message posted on an Al-Qaida web forum, wherein a jihadist recounts his journey from Saudi Arabia to join the Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement in Somalia--in the process providing valuable insight into the radicalization process and the logistics involved in waging jihad in a foreign land. Identifying the impetus that pushed him to leave Saudi Arabia, he explained, “I was watching a European educational program about the American occupation of Iraq, and the program had gained a recorded video by the Americans about ugly sexual harassment against Iraqi girls under the age of 12…And, the program continued, until the broadcaster said that they acquired another video that shows an Iraqi lady being raped…American soldiers invading one of the houses…an Iraqi lady awakes frightened from her sleep because the invasion was at night time…one of the dogs pulled the lady to her room and raped her as she screamed calling the Muslims…and, another soldier pointed a weapon in her face asking her to be silent…I wasn’t able to finish watching the video…I felt at the moment the sweat pouring from the back of my head down to my back…and I began shivering…and anger filled my joints…until I stood up from my desk and went to one of the brothers…"

The full English translation is now available on the NEFA Foundation website.

Counterterrorism and Crime Fighting in Los Angeles

By Michael Jacobson

This morning, Michael Downing, the Deputy Commissioner of the Los Angeles Police Department and the Commander of its Counterterrorism Bureau addressed a special Washington Institute event in Los Angeles. This event was a part of the speaker series the Institute has been running since December 2007, with senior counterterrorism officials. Commissioner Downing was the second speaker from the local law enforcement ranks, following Richard Falkenrath, the Deputy Commissioner for the NYPD, who spoke at the Institute earlier this year.

In his speech, Commissioner Downing gave a comprehensive overview of the threat, and outlined the LAPD's expanding capabilities in the counterterrorism arena. He also commented on a number of the LAPD's new initiatives in this area, and explained how the LAPD coordinates its efforts with those of the federal government. Commissioner Downing also provided a number of examples from their counterterrorism investigations to highlight both the threat and the LAPD's response.

To read Commissioner Downing's prepared remarks, click here

WMD: Commission” More Needs To Be Done to Counter Bio Threat

By Michael B. Kraft

To help counter the threat of bioterrorism attacks, a special Congressional Commission is advocating stronger NSC leadership, better funding and reform of the fragmented Congressional oversight.

These were among the recommendations in an interim “The Clock is Ticking” report issued at a briefing yesterday, Oct. 21, by the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, chaired by former Senators Bob Graham, a Florida Democrat, and Jim Talent, a Missouri Republican.

The report is a follow-up to the one released in December which warned that it is more likely than not that a weapon of mass destruction will be used in a terrorist attack somewhere in the world by the end of 2013.” The Commission 2008 report also said that it “believes that terrorists are more likely to obtain and use a biological weapon than a nuclear weapon. (see my December 3, 2008 posting.)

In releasing its new report, the WMD commission said that although progress had been made since its December report, “the nation’s level of preparedness for dealing with the threat of bioterrorism remains far lower than that of the nuclear threat.”
“The clock is ticking…the United States is better off than it was previously but the problem is that our adversaries have made even more progress,” Senator Graham said. The former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee apparently was referring to published reports that that Al Qaeda and its some of its supporters were continuing to show interest in using biological weapons for mass attacks.

Senator Talent said “it is only getting easier and cheaper and faster to develop and use biological weapons—and our best response is to mitigate the effects through faster. safer vaccines and therapeutics. It’s essential that the US government move more aggressively on this issue.”

The October report stated that “Central to U.S biosecurity strategy should be the recognition that biological weapons are distinct from nuclear weapons and require a unique approach. Unlike nuclear weapons, which require highly advanced technology, massive infrastructure, and rare materials that can be closely monitored and secured, biological weapons materials occur naturally, require no significant infrastructure to produce,and can be found in nearly every part of the world.”

The report was released yesterday at a conference hosted by the George Washington University Institute for Homeland Security Policy, which has a long history of interest in biological and other WMD threats.

Key recommendations were structural and resource-related. The Commission said it “strongly recommends that the National Security Council needs a senior official whose sole responsibility is to improve America’s capability for bio defense.” If that person is not there you don't get the balance in the approach between nuclear and bio," Senator Talent said.

NEFA Foundation: Sunni “Jondollah” Claims Suicide Attack on Iranian Revolutionary Guardsmen

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a claim of responsibility from a Sunni militant group known as “Jondollah” (“The Army of God”) for the October 18 suicide bombing attack on a delegation of senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard officers in the southeast corner of the country near the border with Pakistan. According to the communiqué, “one of the heroic men of Baluchistan—the land of martyrdom and resistance—named Abdulwahad Mahmadi Sarawani, was able to kill dozens of commanders and units from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Basij Militia, and officials from the Ministry of Intelligence… by carrying a martyrdom operation in Sarbaz, one of the cities in Baluchistan Province.” The statement indicated that the bombing attack was a response to the “crimes of the Iranian regime against the Baluchi people; the unarmed and oppressed, who loses everyday a number of its children sacrifices to the crimes of this regime that murdered throughout the last year alone hundreds of young men from this province… amongst them were the pious Ulama Hafidh Salahadin and Mawlawi Khalilallah Zare’i—who were executed for defending the rights of our oppressed people. Additionally, they executed the brothers Tariq and Asad Wafa’i, and three others from the city, and those are: Thabihalla Naro’i, Hajji Noti Zahi, and Ghulam Rasul Shaho Zahi, and all of those were guilty of Baluchi and Sunni. These crimes left to the Baluchi people no other choice except resistance and responding in the same manner to the Iranian regime.”

A translation of the Jondollah communique claiming credit for the attack can be accessed via the NEFA Foundation website.

AQIM Mourns Pakistani Taliban Commander Baitullah Mehsud

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained a new communiqué from Al-Qaida's network in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) mourning the death of Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in a U.S. air strike. According to the statement, Mehsud was “graced…with martyrdom at the hands of the ruthless power and the most tyrannical country in the world; not in a battle where men meet face-to-face, but in a cowardly raid operation using a jet, and how shameful that this jet was without a pilot.” AQIM added, “our enemies should know that every time they [kill] a commander from our commanders or a master from our masters, they only provide us with fuel that will…[push] our movement forward on the path of Jihad seeking victory or martyrdom until the banner of unification is above all banners...and our Sheikh Usama rises above their fool Obama.”

A translation of the latest AQIM statement can be downloaded from the NEFA Foundation website.

Taliban’s War on Pakistan: Lessons to draw, options to pursue

By Walid Phares

Taliban Terror in Pakistan

The war between the Taliban and Pakistan continues to accelerate. Just last weekend, Pakistan’s army responded to a long string of Taliban attacks by launching a massive ground operation in Waziristan.

But through this already-long fight, the press and other observers have only focused on the continuing bloodshed rather than the fact that the Taliban continue to launch suicide bombers and other types of attacks inside Pakistan’s cities against its police and military forces. We warned that the Taliban’s war on Pakistan’s government and civil society, would widen since the assassination of Prime Minister elect Benazir Bhutto in December 2007. And so it is today.

It is unfortunate, but nevertheless true, that he most important events – the worst events -- in this war have yet to happen. And analysts must focus on the lessons learned so far so that the worrying projections can be accompanied with parallel policy suggestions.

The jihadi campaign in Pakistan was planned years ago, but the electoral victory in 2007 of the secular Party of the People, headed traditionally by the Bhutto clan, triggered an acceleration of the Taliban general offensive. Initially the Mullahs of the most radical Salafists on the face of Earth – in partnership with al Qaeda -- wanted to seize Pakistan gradually, with further infiltration. They were building their “Emirate” sanctuary in Waziristan and beyond, while penetrating the intelligence agencies and other segments of the bureaucracy.

But since September 2008 when Benazir’s widower Asif Ali Zardari was elected as new President and as he clearly pledged to fight “terrorism,” the Taliban leaped to preempt his designs. In one short year, they escalated their attacks reaching a point 60 miles from Islamabad last April. That week, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that Zardari's government was "abdicating to the Taliban and the extremists."

In fact when the Jihadist forces entered the Swat valley and began heading towards the capital’s suburbs, the country’s Government was tested strategically. I told Fox News then that this was a “red line.” Crossing it towards Islamabad meant a Taliban advance all over the country. But if the Army would cross it in reverse, it would mean a full fledge war against the Taliban. And in fact it did happen, as we can see today. So what are the lessons so far?

Regional Cooperation in Countering terrorism: Iran has the Nerve

By Michael B. Kraft

Regional cooperation has played an increasingly important role in international efforts to counter terrorism in recent years. Now Iran, the most active state sponsor of terrorism, claims it wants to get into the act.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the need for regional cooperation against terrorism during a phone conversation Monday, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. The Iranian President said the “Campaign against terrorism would yield fruit only through the presence and joint cooperation of countries in the region," according to Xinhua, the Chinese news agency.

Ahmadinejad’s ostensible embracement of regional cooperation comes after his country’s most powerful ox was gored. When five officials of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, including the deputy leader, and about 40 other people were killed and dozens wounded in a deadly bomb attack Sunday in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan near Iran's border with Pakistan. Iranian officials accused the United States, British and Pakistan intelligence agencies of being involved in the attack and called for retaliation. These countries strongly denied by the accusations and condemned the bombings.

Iran’s accusations sound like another case of Iranian leaders blaming outsiders for their problems. The Baluchi insurgent group Jundallah — or Soldiers of God — took responsibility for the bombings, which included a roadside attack on a car full of Guards, near the city of Pishin. The Baluchi minority, who are Sunnis, have long chaffed at Tehran’s Shiite-lead rule and hardly need the help of outsiders to pick and track targets on their own territory.

Ahmadinjad now calls for regional cooperation against terrorism. This is the height chutzpah from a leader not known for understatement. Iran has been behind major terrorist attacks against the United States, Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. It is a major backer of Hamas and helped create Hezbollah, terrorist groups whose trademarks are suicide bombings and firing of rockets against Israeli civilian targets. Ahmadinejad, furthermore has called for the destruction of Israel, a member of the United Nations, not exactly the stance of a leader who is against terrorism.

Iran’s main regional partner in terrorism, in addition to Hamas and Hezbollah is Syria, which also is on the State Department’s list of countries that are formally designated as repeated supporters of international terrorism and subject to resulting sanctions.

Iran’s newly found show of support for regional cooperation against terrorism comes coincidentally after a useful conference on the subject held earlier this month by The Center on Global Counterterrorism, a non-government agency that promotes stronger international cooperation against terrorism.

At the Center’s day-long conference held in Washington on Oct 8, speakers from the United Nations, Africa, South Asia, the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism, and emphasized the usefulness in working through regional organizations to enhance working relationships among neighboring countries.
One speaker, Raphael Perl of the Organization for Security and Cooperation In Europe, proposed that the regional organizations develop a cooperative alliance.

Lashkar-e-Taiba - Pakistan's Hezbollah

By Aaron Mannes

One group absent from the concoction of Punjabi groups joining the Pashtun Taliban rebellion is Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). Although it recruits from the same general area, the other groups are Deobandi (Pakistan’s homegrown Islamic extremists) whereas LeT is Dar Ahl Hadith, which is basically the Pakistani-offshoot of the Saudi Wahabis. The theological divisions are not enormous and there are links. But LeT appears to be more careful and disciplined in its strategic thinking. It has not been involved in significant violence within Pakistan and has not taken on the Pakistani government. It also appears to have independent funding sources (initial stake money was apparently from Saudi Arabia, but it has since developed its own fund-raising networks.) While there are far fewer Ahl Hadith adherents in Pakistan then Deobandis (or Barelvis or Shia), LeT itself is one of the larger groups – the ISI reports they have 150,000 members. LeT runs schools, hospitals, and other social services along with an extensive print media empire. In short, it is a Hezbollah-like organization with multiple facets, the ability to innovate tactically, and choose its operations strategically (like the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai.)

Saeed Stands Alone
This is important background to the recent Pakistani court decision to dismiss incitement charges against LeT leader Hafiz Mohammed Saeed. B. Raman has a fine analysis here. A few additional points are in order. Westerners love the independent Pakistani judiciary when it is “democratic” but not when it is actually doing its job under the law. The real issue is the way in which Saeed was prosecuted. The charges were incitement – these are loser charges that only make Saeed more popular. Incitement against India is in theory illegal – but is also admired by many in Pakistan.

Read the full post here.

Pakistan's Jihadi Stew

By Aaron Mannes

The aftermath of the attack on the Pakistani military’s GHQ earlier this week has brought attention to the complex stew of jihadi groups running around the Punjab. Imtiaz Gul provides an overview at Foreign Policy while the venerable B. Raman provides another at Outlook India. The story starts with the Saudis supporting anti-Shia groups in Pakistan to counter Iranian-backed Shia militancy. This was exacerbated by local animosities in regions were Pakistan’s Shia minority were wealthy landowners. The main anti-Shia group was Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP). Reportedly it received substantial state support under General Zia who wanted to counter his political rivals. SSP became involved in politics and spun-off violent groups, most notably Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) in 1996. Supposedly there is no connection between the political SSP and the terrorist LeJ. This is an organizational maneuver that has been repeated endlessly in the Pakistani jihadi milieu. Supposedly, both of these groups have been banned – but banned groups in Pakistan never seem to disappear, they just change their names.

Read the full post here.

Transcript: Message from the "Emir" of the "German Taliban Mujahideen" Abu Ishaq al-Muhajir

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained a new document from the designated terrorist organization known as the “Islamic Jihad Union” (IJU), offering a message from the “German Taliban Mujahideen.” The statement encourages German ISAF soldiers serving in Afghanistan to abandon their posts, or else face grave punishment: “Just as the terrorist crusaders were surprised and shocked, so will also be the unjust German crusaders surprised and shocked.” The statement goes on: ”We observe that your soldiers are being carved up by our Martyrs Brigades, and that your troops in Afghanistan are being wiped out. We promise you that the German troops, who are the protectors of the Zionist Christian Union, will return individually in coffins from the occupied territories.”

An English translation of Abu Ishaq's statement on behalf of the "German Taliban Mujahideen" can be accessed via the NEFA Foundation website.

NEFA Foundation: Bio of Alleged Mumbai Terror Mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained a copy of an April 2001 bulletin from the Pakistani terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba unraveling the early history of the organization -- and featuring the founding role of "Abu Waleed" (a.k.a. Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi), who has been named by the Indian and Pakistani governments as the alleged mastermind behind the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. According to the document, at the height of the Soviet-Afghan war of the 1980s, "a young man fired with the zeal of Jihad, who quenched his thirst for knowledge at Jamia Salfia Mamoon Kanjan and Jamia Muhammadia Gujranwala, met a commander of Jihadic forces. This meeting resulted into his entry into the field of Jihad. The name of this young man was Abu Waleed Zaki-ur-Rahman. Soon he was entrusted with the responsibility of Jihad. Mujahideen engaged in Jihad under his leadership at different Jihadic centers, for instance Markaz Makkah, Markaz Madina. There he had full co-operation of Arab Mujahideen who taught him the intricacies of Jihad and Qital [combat]. From August,1987 to January 1990, he continued his Jihadic activities at the battlefront of Kabul. He also stayed in touch with Noori and Arab Mujahideen fighting in Noorastan... Young Abu Waleed and some other Pakistani Ulema (Hafiz Seed etc) laid the foundation of Ma’skar-e-Taiba in Kunhar, at Tango on February 22, 1990. Soon the Mujahideen who received training from this centre were fighting at different fronts."

The document can be downloaded from the NEFA Foundation website.

NEFA Foundation: Resources on Al-Qaida's Mustafa Abu al-Yazid (a.k.a. "Shaykh Saeed")

By Evan Kohlmann

Following reports of an alleged connection to NYC terror suspect Najibullah Zazi, attention has focused on Al-Qaida's "number 3" Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid (a.k.a. "Shaykh Saeed al-Masri.")

Click to see video screenshot montage in full resolution

"...The virtuous Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, nicknamed Shaykh Saeed, the overall head of al-Qaida Organization in Afghanistan, who Allah favored to come to Jihad in Afghanistan in 1988. He took part in founding al-Qaida in 1989, and is a member of the Shura council of Qaida al-Jihad."

- Dossier: Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid (June 2008)

- Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid: "Light and Fire: An Announcement to the Ummah" (February 2008)
- Letter from Mustafa Abu al-Yazid confirming the death of Al-Qaida lieutenant Abu Sulaiman al-Otaibi (May 2008)
- Communiqué issued by senior Al-Qaida commander Mustafa Abu al-Yazid claiming responsibility for the June 2, 2008 suicide bombing attack on the Danish embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan
- Transcript of Geo TV (Pakistan) Interview of Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid (June 2008)
- Statement from Al-Qaida leader Mustafa Abu al-Yazid acknowledging the “martyrdom” of most wanted Egyptian Al-Qaida commander “Abu Khabab al-Masri” (July 2008)
- Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid: "A Message to the People of Pakistan" (April 2009)
- Transcript of audio message from Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid pleading for financial support on behalf of Al-Qaida (June 2009)
- Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid's Al-Jazeera Interview, in which he threatens to use "nuclear weapons" against the United States (June 2009).

NEFA Foundation: Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb Spawns New Media Wing, "The Andalus Foundation"

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained a new communiqué from Al-Qaida's network in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) announcing the foundation of a specialized media wing known as the "Andalus Foundation." According to the statement, "due to our belief that the battle of pen is no less important than the battle of the sword, and in continuation of our development of jihadi media, despite the many tribulations and hardships of imposed by war, we bring the good news to our beloved Muslim nation, and we announce to the public the establishment of a new media foundation, which we have named, 'The Andalus Foundation for Media Production.' And, this establishment will become, with the help of Allah, the only official party to publish all the media productions that are created by your brothers in the media committee of Al-Qaida's network in the Islamic Maghreb."

A translation of the AQIM declaration can be accessed via the NEFA Foundation website.

Transcript: Al-Qaida's Mustafa Abu al-Yazid Mourns Pak Taliban Commander Baitullah Mehsud

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained a transcript of a communiqué from Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid (a.k.a. “Shaykh Saeed”) mourning the death of Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in a U.S. air strike. In the statement, al-Yazid said, “Emir Baitullah Mehsud was a model of boldness and unyielding as a leader, who not only prepared the fighters of his caravan against the enemies of the Deen in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and made arrangements to train them, but also possessed the desire and determination to attack the kuffar inside their own houses and territories. I myself witnessed him saying, ‘My desire is to advance at America's heart and strike it, and to destroy Americans' pride and self conceit.’” According to As-Sahab, al-Yazid “took part in founding al-Qaida in 1989, and is a member of the Shura council of Qaida al-Jihad.” Open source media reports indicate alleged NYC bomb plotter Najibullah Zazi was in contact with al-Yazid via an intermediary prior to Zazi’s arrest.

A transcript of Mustafa Abu al-Yazid's remarks concerning Baitullah Mehsud can be downloaded from the NEFA Foundation website.

See also: NEFA Foundation Dossier on Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid (a.k.a. "Shaykh Saeed")

Afghan Taliban Deny Terror Agenda in Western Countries

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has obtained a communication from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban) titled “On the Occasion of the Eighth Anniversary of the American Attack on Afghanistan”, in which the Taliban noted, “they were promising they would withdraw within three months, in their words, after eliminating the so-called terrorism. Contrarily, today eight years from that time have passed, but they have built up hundreds of military bases in Afghanistan and Iraq. They say that they will raise the level of their troops to almost 110,000 troops. It is clear from this, that they have occupied Afghanistan for the execution of their expansionist plans in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Southeast Asia.” In their anniversary message, the Taliban likewise insisted, "We did not have any agenda to harm other countries including Europe, nor do we have such agenda today."

The statement continued, “We believed from day one, that this is not a war between democracy and the so-called terrorism but rather a war between the western colonialism and the freedom-loving nationalist and Islamist forces.” The Taliban warned, “if you want to turn the country of the proud and pious Afghans into a colony, then know that we have an unwavering determination and have braced for a prolonged war. Have a glance at the history, the Afghans are the people characterized by historical distinction of always sacrificing in the way of their religion and country. Today, we will not fall short of this.”

A copy of the Taliban anniversary message can be downloaded from the NEFA Foundation website.

Pakistan: Multiple Terror Strikes in Lahore Ahead of Waziristan Offensive

By Animesh Roul

While the Pakistani armed forces are readying their guns for another round of military offensive in restive Waziristan, especially in response to a series violent terror strikes over the past weeks across the country, Terrorists have again targeted Lahore city with series of brazen attacks ranging from shooting indiscriminately, lobbing grenades and taking officials hostage.

At least four simultaneous attacks have been reported in Lahore and Kohat in the morning of Oct 15 when armed terrorist stormed into the Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) building, Manawan Police Training Centre and Elite Force Training Centre, Lahore. As per media reports at least 16 people lost their lives in Thursday’s attacks and scores of them were injured in the ensued cross fire between terrorists and security personnel.

Elsewhere, in Pakistan another suicide strike took place in Kohat district today (Oct 15) when suicide attacker rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the city police station building. At least 11 people were killed in the attack and destroyed the whole structure.
According to Geo News, Tehreek-e-Taliban, Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility of Lahore attacks. These recent attacks certainly signal Taliban's resilience and fire power. More disturbing trend has been the involvement of ethnic Punjabi terror groups in these attacks. Azam Tariq, a Taliban spokesman indicated about the growing alliance between Punjabi militants and Taliban in a recent statement.

Terror Timeline: A bloody week

Oct. 12: Over 40 people got killed in a suicide attack which targeted a military convoy in the Alpuri area, Shangla district in the North West Frontier Province.

Oct. 11: Taliban Terrorists have laid siege of General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi for almost 18 hours taking around 39 people hostage. Nine terrorists were killed in that prolonged encounter and the mastermind one Dr Osman was apprehended. Ajmad Farooqi of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the attack on the GHQ.

Oct. 09: Nearly 50 people were killed including children when a suicide attacker detonated a vehicle borne explosive (VBIED) at the crowded Soekarno Chowk in Khyber Bazaar in Peshawar. The blast reportedly destroyed some ‘30 vehicles and partially damaged over 60 shops in the nearby markets.

Oct. 05 - Suicide bomber dressed as paramilitary (Frontier Constabulary ) soldier attacked the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) office in Islamabad, killing five persons, including a UN diplomat and two women employees.