The Growing Threat from Female Suicide Bombers

By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)

Two women believed to be Chechen rebels blew themselves up in Moscow’s metro during morning rush hour Monday, killing at least 35 people and injuring 100 more.
Law enforcement officials in Washington and New York beefed up security in their respective subway systems in response.
The attacks at Lubyanka and Park Kultyty stations come on the heels of a recent threat assessment issued by the Office of Intelligence and Operations Coordination at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency.
The Investigative Project has reviewed the sensitive, but unclassified, assessment, Female Suicide Bombers, which puts the attacks in Russia in the context of a broader threat. Referencing open source reporting, the primary finding of the threat assessment is that:
“al Qa’ida terror cells have trained a group of female suicide bombers to attack Western targets including airlines. These women may have a non Arab appearance and may be traveling on Western passports.”
These “bombshells” are part of an evolving terrorist threat challenging U.S. law enforcement to reassess not only the physical and psychological characteristics of terrorists but also the methods available for concealing explosives.
As the report details, while the Moscow bombing is the most recent, it falls into a long line of attacks by female suicide bombers. “Since 1985, there have been in excess of 262 women suicide bombers,” it says.
Read our full report here.

Taliban: We Rocketed Obama at Bagram

By James Gordon Meek

Hours after President Obama’s surprise visit to Afghanistan on Sunday, the Taliban claimed they had greeted him with a fusillade of rockets at Bagram Airfield north of the capital Kabul — aka “Kaboom.”

“Yesterday evening, the mujahedeen of the Islamic Emirate fired rockets at Bagram,” said a Taliban statement today, according to a SITE Intelligence Group translation. “The rocket attack took place around 3 a.m. before dawn today, when three rockets fell on American buildings in the military airbase. This resulted in significant losses to the enemy.”

“It should be mentioned that the rocket attack took place when the American President was returning from the airbase to America, after a sudden short trip to Afghanistan,” the Taliban added.

According to the 12th White House pool report filed yesterday, “POTUS reboarded (Air Force One) at 1:11 a.m. Monday” (Afghanistan is 8 1/2 hours ahead of Washington), and was “wheels up shortly after that.”

“There was an indirect fire attack on Bagram Airfield yesterday,” a U.S. military spokeswoman at the Afghanistan base confirmed to the New York Daily News' Mouth of the Potomac Blog. “There were no casualties. The President was no longer in the area when the attack occurred.”

At least this shows, for once, that the evildoers don’t know everything in realtime.

But it’s worth remembering that in February 2007 during a visit to Bagram by then-Vice President Dick Cheney, a suicide bomber struck the main gate and killed a score of people, including Army Pfc. Daniel Zizumbo, 27, of Chicago.

Whether the Taliban knew Cheney was well inside — at a safe distance from the main gate — or it was just coincidence that they struck while he was there could never be determined.

Terrorist Financing and the Internet

By Michael Jacobson

I had an article in the latest issue of the journal Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. The article assessed how al Qaeda and other terrorist groups are using the Internet for terrorist financing-related purposes. Not surprisingly, this is a growing phenomenon, as terrorists take advantage of the Internet's speed, anonymity, reliability and security. While terrorists used the Internet to raise and move funds even prior to 9/11, this is a trend on the rise in recent years, as the US and its international partners have cracked down on al Qaeda's use of the formal financial system.

Here is the abstract of the article.

While al-Qaeda has used the Internet primarily to spread its propaganda and to rally new recruits, the terrorist group has also relied on the Internet for financing-related purposes. Other Islamist terrorist groups, including Hamas, Lashkar e-Taiba, and Hizballah have also made extensive use of the Internet to raise and transfer needed funds to support their activities. The Internet's appeal in this regard for terrorist groups is readily apparent-offering a broad reach, timely efficiency, as well as a certain degree of anonymity and security for both donors and recipients. Unfortunately, while many governments now recognize that the Internet is an increasingly valuable tool for terrorist organizations, the response to this point has been inconsistent. For the U.S. and its allies to effectively counter this dangerous trend, they will have to prioritize their efforts in this area in the years to come.

Access the full text of this article at the Studies in Conflict and Terrorism website.

To read another article I wrote on the subject, for the CTC journal, "The Sentinel," click here.

Disrupting Iran's Illicit Activities

By Michael Jacobson

On March 23, the Washington Institute hosted Steven Pelak, the Justice Department's first National Coordinator for Export Control Enforcement, who spoke about the US government's efforts to disrupt Iran's illicit procurement networks operating around the world. The speech was part of the Institute's lecture series with senior national security officials, which we've been running since December 2007.

Over the past several months, the media and public have been very focused on the new round of sanctions against Iran currently under discussion. While adding new Iranian entities and individuals to the respective blacklists would be an important step, equally important is ensuring that the sanctions in place are effectively enforced. The US government's improved efforts on that front, driven in part by the establishment of a National Export Control Coordinator in 2007, have made a significant difference. However, much more could still be done to further improve the enforcement, and to make the sanctions more effective.

To read a summary of Mr. Pelak's talk, click here.

The audio of Mr. Pelak's prepared remarks are also available on the Institute's website.

Lessons from Israel's Unlikely Hamas Spy

By Michael Jacobson

I had an oped in the Jerusalem Post yesterday, on Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of one of the Hamas founders, who has revealed that he was a long-time spy for the Israelis. There are a number of lessons we can learn from this case, and from the many other cases of those who have voluntarily left terrorist organizations.

Here is an excerpt:

In the new book Son of Hamas now grabbing headlines, Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of one of Hamas's founders, reveals that he was a long-time informant for the Israeli government, providing intelligence that helped prevent numerous terrorist attacks.

Yousef, who has since converted to Christianity and lives in California, says he turned against Hamas while in an Israeli prison, witnessing firsthand how Hamas tortured other imprisoned members whom it suspected of collaborating.

While Yousef's story is compelling, it is hardly unique. Even al-Qaida has had many seemingly committed members abandon the organization over the years. In fact, a few of the key defectors from al-Qaida's early years in Sudan ended up cooperating with the US government, and testifying against their former comrades in the 2001 "embassy bombing" trial in New York. Al-Qaida's affiliates in Southeast Asia, North Africa and the Persian Gulf have suffered similar blows.

Yousef's change of mind while in prison is also hardly unprecedented. While most of the focus on prisons is as a potential site for radicalization, being imprisoned can also have the opposite effect, and a number of people have turned away from terrorism and extremism while incarcerated.

To read the whole piece click here

BIOTERRORISM THREATS HIGHLIGHTED IN HEARING

By Michael B. Kraft

State Department and non-government experts have told Congress that a biological weapons attack is a clear and present danger and that countering the threats overseas is essential to protect the United State.

The issues were discussed at a hearing Thursday by the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade on "the National Strategy for Countering Biological Threats," chaired by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-California).

Mr. Vann H. Van Diepen, the acting Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, testified that “The biological threat has several important components, including intent from groups that have expressed interest in obtaining biological weapons and expertise, emerging infectious diseases that create new opportunities for havoc, and growing biotechnology capacity in areas of the world with a terrorist presence.”

The State Department official said “a biological weapons attack is a real and present danger, particularly in light of the 2001 anthrax attacks.” He added that “We have tangible evidence that Al Qa’ida leadership directed a focused effort to develop the capability to conduct a biological threat with anthrax.” He did not elaborate.

At the hearing, Prof. Barry Kellman, President of the International Security and Biopolicy Institute (ISBI), said “Homeland security is international security and vice versa. We cannot wall ourselves from worldwide bio-attacks.”

He added that “global biopreparedness must be a high foreign policy priority of the United States, working with our allies and the international system. This means having a global network of stockpiled medicines linked to delivery systems to get them to where they are needed quickly with effective plans to ensure smooth distribution.”

Steven Rademaker, a former assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, who also served on the Congressionally mandated WMD Commission added that: “ It is possible …with proper preparation and with effective detection and monitoring, to mitigate the damage caused by a biological attack. Indeed, highly effective response capabilities are probably our most effective means of preventing a biological weapons attack. “If terrorists or other potential attackers are satisfied that any biological attack on us will likely fail, in the sense that it can be expected to cause few or no casualties due to our ability to rapidly detect and mitigate the effects of the attack, they will be much less interested in attacking us with such weapons.”

During the March 18 hearing, subcommittee chairman Rep.Sherman placed into the record the extensive survey
that the ISBI prepared at the panel’s request on U.S. government agencies, policies and programs to help other countries strengthen their biosecurity. (The study, which co-authored, included interviews with many government officials. I am a board member of the ISBI, a non-profit organization that was established last year.)

For additional details on the testimony at the House hearing see my report on the blog section of the ISBI web site.

Feiz Muhammad: Pro-Jihad Ideologue with Influence in the U.S.

By Madeleine Gruen

Al Qaeda has been calling for Muslims to attack the U.S. and U.S. interests for years. The message has never been heard as clearly or as threateningly as it has in the past few weeks after two American al Qaeda affiliates, Anwar al Awlaki and Adam Gadahn, released audio messages. These messages have been covered intensively in the mainstream American media for two main reasons:

1. Particularly after the deadly attack Fort Hood last November, Americans realize painful result of unfiltered violent rhetoric circulated via the internet by spiritual figures who are regarded as credible in some circles: People listen, then believe that they have been provided justification to kill others.

2. The messages were delivered in plain English. American English. These were not messages made distant because they had been delivered through the gauze of translation. These are words that were spoken directly to Americans by fellow Americans.

Adam Gadahn and Anwar al Awlaki are not the only radicalizing agents who speak English as a first language. Australian, Feiz Muhammad may have equally grim potential to incite terrorism.

The NEFA Foundation has released the third in a series of backgrounders on extremist ideologues; taking a close look at the personalities, doctrine, scope of influence, and methods of communication of some of the most influential purveyors of radical Islamist ideology to English-speaking audiences. As U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies become increasingly concerned about homegrown terrorism at a time when Al-Qaeda is actively encouraging American Muslims to commit terrorist acts, understanding the sources of radicalization becomes an essential component of combating the threat.

Feiz Muhammad is an Australian citizen now residing in Malaysia. He has been labeled Australia's "most dangerous sheikh" due to the number of connections he has to known and suspected terrorists.

Muhammad’s target audience is young Muslims who feel disaffected and disassociated from local Muslim communities, where mosque clerics show "a lack of interest toward the youth." His lectures frame the United States as the enemy of all Muslims, including those living in the United States and Americans living in other Western countries. He emphasizes that Muslims should regard Western culture as corrupt and immoral, and Muslims should not associate with non-Muslims.

The full report on Feiz Muhammad can be read here.

LeT’s David Headley Pleads Guilty, Escapes Death and Extradition

By Animesh Roul

The other Mumbai terror conspirator, also the mastermind of infamous Chicago Conspiracy, David Coleman Headley (a.k.a. Daood Geelani) has pleaded guilty on all twelve charges, including plotting the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. He admitted to have conducted surveillance for Pakistan based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba in the Mumbai Attacks. It seems the plea agreement might not allow Headley to be tried in India. Widely believed in India as a double agent, Headley has now dodged the capital punishment and perhaps he will remain in US prison rest of his life.

Headley pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bomb public places in India; conspiracy to murder and maim persons in India; six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of U.S. citizens in India; conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in India; conspiracy to murder and maim persons in Denmark; conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in Denmark; and conspiracy to provide material support to Lashkar.

Attorney General Eric Holder said, "Today’s guilty plea is a crucial step forward in our efforts to achieve justice for the more than 160 people who lost their lives in the Mumbai terrorist attacks. Working with our domestic and international partners, we will not rest until all those responsible for the Mumbai attacks and the terror plot in Denmark are held accountable.”

Headley also plotted to bomb the office of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper which had published a cartoon about the Prophet Mohammed. It would be setback for India as well as the Danish government who would like Headley to be extradited. However, both governments can have access to Headley and question him in connection with the bombing plots. Another co conspirator Tahawwur Rana was indicted in January 2010 on three counts: conspiracy to provide material support to the Mumbai attacks; conspiracy to provide material support to the Denmark plot; and providing material support to Lashkar. He has pleaded not guilty and remains in federal custody in Chicago while awaiting trial.

Abdur Rehman and Ilyas Kashmiri, who were charged in the same indictment with conspiracy to murder and maim persons in Denmark and providing material support to the Denmark plot, are still at large.

Highlights of the Press Release (March 18, 2010) given below:

According to the plea agreement, Headley attended the following training camps operated by Lashkar: a three-week course starting in February 2002 that provided indoctrination on the merits of waging jihad; a three-week course starting in August 2002 that provided training in the use of weapons and grenades; a three-month course starting in April 2003 that taught close combat tactics, the use of weapons and grenades and survival skills; a three-week course starting in August 2003 that taught counter-surveillance skills; and a three-month course starting in December 2003 that provided combat and tactical training.

Mumbai Terror Attacks

After receiving instructions from three Lashkar members in late 2005 to travel to India to conduct surveillance, in February 2006, in Philadelphia, Headley changed his name from Daood Gilani to facilitate his activities on behalf of Lashkar by portraying himself in India as an American who was neither Muslim nor Pakistani. In the early summer of 2006, Headley and two Lashkar members discussed opening an immigration office in Mumbai as a cover for his surveillance activities.

Headley eventually made five extended trips to Mumbai — in September 2006, February and September 2007, and April and July 2008 — each time making videotapes of various potential targets, including those attacked in November 2008. Before each trip, Lashkar members and associates allegedly instructed Headley regarding specific locations where he was to conduct surveillance, and Headley traveled to Pakistan after each trip to meet with Lashkar members and associates, report on the results of his surveillance, and provide the surveillance videos.

Before the April 2008 surveillance trip, Headley met with co-conspirators in Pakistan and discussed potential landing sites in Mumbai for a team of attackers who would arrive by sea. Headley returned to Mumbai with a global positioning system device and took boat trips around the Mumbai harbor and entered various locations into the device, according to the plea agreement.

Starting Nov. 26, 2008, and continuing through Nov. 28, 2008, 10 attackers trained by Lashkar carried out multiple assaults with firearms, grenades and improvised explosive devices against multiple targets in Mumbai, including the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, the Leopold Café, the Chabad House and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station, each of which Headley had scouted in advance, killing approximately 164 victims and wounding hundreds more.

The six Americans killed during the three-day siege are identified in the charges as Ben Zion Chroman, Gavriel Holtzberg, Sandeep Jeswani, Alan Scherr, his daughter Naomi Scherr and Aryeh Leibish Teitelbaum.

In March 2009, Headley made a sixth trip to India to conduct additional surveillance, including of the National Defense College in Delhi, and of Chabad Houses in several cities.

Denmark Terror Plot

Regarding the Denmark terror plot, Headley admitted that in early November 2008, he met with a Lashkar member in Karachi, Pakistan, and was instructed to conduct surveillance of the Copenhagen and Aarhus offices of the Danish newspaper Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten in preparation for an attack in retaliation for the newspaper’s publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. After this meeting, Headley informed co-defendant Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed (Abdur Rehman), also known as “Pasha,” of his assignment. Abdur Rehman stated to Headley words to the effect that if Lashkar did not go through with the attack, Abdur Rehman knew someone who would. Although not identified by name at the time, Headley later learned this individual to be co-defendant Ilyas Kashmiri. Abdur Rehman previously had told Headley that he had been working with Kashmiri and that Kashmiri was in direct contact with a senior leader for al Qaeda, the plea agreement states.

In late December 2008 and early January 2009, while in Chicago, Headley exchanged emails with Abdur Rehman to continue planning for the attack and to coordinate his travel to Denmark to conduct surveillance. In January 2009, Headley traveled from Chicago to Copenhagen to conduct surveillance of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus and scouted and videotaped the surrounding areas.

In late January 2009, Headley met separately with Abdur Rehman and a Lashkar member in Pakistan to discuss the planned attack on the newspaper and provided them with videos of his surveillance. About the same time, Abdur Rehman provided Headley a video produced by the media wing of al Qaeda in approximately August 2008, which claimed credit for the June 2008 attack on the Danish embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, and called for further attacks against Danish interests to avenge the publication of the offending cartoons.

In February 2009, Headley and Abdur Rehman meet with Kashmiri in the Waziristan region of Pakistan, where they discussed the video surveillance and ways to carry out the attack. Kashmiri told Headley that he could provide manpower for the operation and that Lashkar’s participation was not necessary. In March 2009, a Lashkar member advised Headley that Lashkar put the newspaper attack on hold because of pressure resulting from the Mumbai attacks. In May 2009, Headley and Abdur Rehman again met with Kashmiri in Waziristan. Kashmiri told Headley to meet with a European contact who could provide Headley with money, weapons and manpower for the newspaper attack, and relate Kashmiri’s instructions that this should be a suicide attack and the attackers should prepare martyrdom videos beforehand. Kashmiri also stated that the attackers should behead captives and throw their heads out of the newspaper building to heighten the response from Danish authorities, and added that the “elders,” whom Headley understood to be al Qaeda leadership, wanted the attack to happen as soon as possible.

In late July and early August 2009, Headley traveled from Chicago to various places in Europe, and met with and attempted to obtain assistance from Kashmiri’s contacts and, while in Copenhagen, he made approximately 13 additional surveillance videos. When he returned to the United States on Aug. 5, 2009, Headley falsely told a U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspector in Atlanta that he had visited Europe for business reasons.

After returning to Chicago, Headley spoke with Abdur Rehman by phone and, using code, described his surveillance activities and his meeting with Kashmiri’s European contact. On multiple occasions throughout August and September 2009, Headley communicated with Abdur Rehman about planning the attack and media reports that Kashmiri had been killed. On Oct. 3, 2009, Headley was arrested at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, intending ultimately to travel to Pakistan to deliver the approximately 13 surveillance videos to Abdur Rehman and Kashmiri, the plea agreement states.

For Full Text of the Plea agreement, Read Here: Headley plea agreement final.pdf

The De-Listing of Yousef Nada

By Douglas Farah

I wrote a couple of days ago, before the other (or what appears to be another in many drops concerning the Muslim Brotherhood) shoe dropped: Yousef Nada, the godfather of the international Muslim Brotherhood was taken off the United Nations Security Council sanctions list

Mark Hosenball at Newsweek, being one of the few reporters left in the business who has any idea who Nada is and why he is important,wrote a good summary of the issue, including the fact that the U.S. had to sign off on the action at some level.

Despite the sign-off at the UN, Nada remains a designated individual on the U.S. sanctions list. Who knows for how long?

Nada was a seminal figure in the international MB movement, and his Bank al Taqwa, in the Bahamas, was one of the financial centers for Hamas (and, according to U.S. public statements at the time, al Qaeda), before being shut down.

He has funneled millions of dollars to Islamist causes around the world in the course of his long career. In addition, he has appeared in numerous important roles trying to bridge the Sunni-Shiite divide in the Muslim world, befriending Khomeini in Iran, Saddam in Iraq (and unsuccessfully working to broker a peace deal in the Iran-Iraq war), and has identified himself as the Muslim Brotherhood's foreign minister.

There is much more, but one will have to read Hosenball, Isikoff and my older stuff about that. One measure of how important he is in the MB world, even though few in the U.S. had ever heard of him: shortly after 9/11 al-Jazeera TV did a 10-hour interview session with him (two hours a night for five nights).

Chalk up another victory in the MB fight to return as the voice of reason in the Islamist world.

Defensiveness Dominates Homeland Security Session

By The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT)

Rebutting criticisms that were not made, and often ignoring those that were, witnesses and representatives in a House subcommittee hearing on disrupting terror plots through community engagement often lost focus on their task Wednesday.

The digressions began when Jane Harman, chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment, read an excerpt from an article published Tuesday by the Investigative Project on Terrorism. It raised concerns about the hearing's absence of Muslim voices who are detached from national political organizations which have a record of extremist rhetoric and hostility toward law enforcement.

Reading from the IPT story, Harman, (D-CA), said the committee tried to include witnesses with varying ideas:

"One of the criticisms today says that 'the committee is seeking input from a narrow viewpoint – one that is sympathetic to Islamist extremist organizations here in America.' Well I'll state my own view, that is not my own view. I am not sympathetic to extremist organizations in America."

The objective, she said, was to build public trust and encourage people to work with authorities to identify possibly dangerous elements in their communities. It is not about silencing extreme rhetoric:

"Extreme views are protected by our Constitution. We're not talking about extreme views. We're not talking about so-called radicals, either on the left or the right of the spectrum. We're talking about people who intend to engage in violent behavior. Behavior is not protected – violent behavior is not protected in our Constitution ... only the expression of extreme views is protected under our First Amendment."

To be clear, the IPT story never advocated silencing anyone's speech. It recommended that other voices be included and included some suggestions. The testimony seemed to validate the concern that the hearing offered a limited perspective on how to court Muslim-American communities.

Harman's response, meanwhile, ignores the link between extremist rhetoric and the radicalization process that may lead to violence. Radical clerics like Anwar Al-Awlaki are creating waves of terrorists through charismatic sermons and a message that America is at war with Islam and Muslims.

One of the most important factors in radicalizing young Muslims is "the perception that Islam is under attack from the West." Many of the groups at the center of government outreach efforts perpetuate that message.

In a way, witness Mohamed Elibiary did too during his testimony. Elibiary, President and CEO of The Freedom and Justice Foundation, criticized federal law enforcement for targeting "low-hanging fruit" and using "agent provocateurs" to infiltrate mosques. That line has been pushed by Islamist organizations for more than a year, despite a growing record of informants disrupting significant terror plots throughout the country.

Read more about the hearing and the witness testimony here.

The Return of IIRO?

By Douglas Farah

The Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report has found that the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO), the Saudi charity whose Philippine and Indonesian offices have been designated as terrorist entities by the U.S. Treasury Department, has reopened a U.S. office, this time in Florida.

IIRO was not a run of the mill Saudi charity, but one backed strongly by the Saudi government. As described by Matthew Epstein and Evan Kohlmann in March 2003 Congressional testimony:

U.S. counterterrorism investigators have discovered a letter under the MWL/IIRO
letterhead among numerous Al-Qaida documents recovered in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The letter, dating from the late 1980s, summarized a meeting held between Al-Qaida leaders and representatives of Muslim charitable organizations in which the attendees ultimately agreed to launch “attacks” from MWL offices in Pakistan.

The two presented evidence from Canadian trials of an al Qaeda supporter where an IIRO leader confirmed the direct links between IIRO and the Saudi government, saying, "Let me tell you one thing. The Muslim World League, which is the mother of IIRO,
is a fully government funded organization. In other words, I work for the Government of
Saudi Arabia. I am an employee of that government."

As a result of the overwhelming evidence assembled against IIRO, the Canadian
government (among others) has classified it as “secretly fund[ing] terrorism,” officially branding it a terrorist charity, the two testified.

The 2006 Treasury designation stated that the reason for the action:

the Philippine and Indonesian branch offices of the Saudi-based International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) for facilitating fundraising for al Qaida and affiliated terrorist groups. Treasury additionally designated Abd Al Hamid Sulaiman Al-Mujil, the Executive Director of the Eastern Province Branch of IIRO in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

"It is particularly shameful when groups that hold themselves out as charitable or religious organizations defraud their donors and divert funds in support of violent terrorist groups," said (Stuart) Levey. "We have long been concerned about these IIRO offices; we are now taking public action to sever this link in the al Qaida network's funding chain."

According to the GMBDR, the new IIRO was registered in Hialeah, Florida, on April 28, 2009. The previous, now defunct U.S. branch was the IRO (Islamic Relief Organization). The GMBDR notes that

After appearing dormant since the 2002 raids, and its DC corporate registration revoked, the new IIRO presence in the US seems designed to preserve the organization’s ties to the Muslim World League (MWL), the IIRO’s parent organization. The registered agent for IIRO USA, is Malik Sardar Khan who listed a residential address in Miami and who also serves as IIIRO USA Secretary-Treasurer.

It is hard to imagine why an organization with recognized ties to terrorist organizations, and one whose U.S. branch was under serious investigation since the late 1990s (see Glenn R. Simpson, "US Had Data on Virginia Group in Terror Probe as Early as 1997, Wall Street Journal, Dec. 16, 2002, p. A4 for details), would be allowed to reopen, or that such a reopening would escape official notice.

Yet, as with all things associated with the Muslim Brotherhood and its legacy organizations in this country, the official attitude has been to retreat and reach out, in the face of overwhelming evidence such tactics do no good. We knew who these groups were before, and only grudgingly took action against them. We now have forgotten who they are and seem to be unwilling to take any action whatsoever.

"Jihobbyists" No More: English-Speaking Western Jihadists Coming of Age

By Evan Kohlmann

Perhaps the most ironic aspect of all the media attention in the latest criminal allegations against "Jihad Jane" is that Colleen LaRose of Pennsylvania is only the latest example of this odd emerging trend in homegrown terrorism. Indeed, LaRose is hardly alone in this category, whether we speak of London resident Samina Malik, an active user on jihadi social networking forums who busied herself with transcribing Al-Qaida training manuals into English during spare time at her job working in secure areas of Heathrow Airport--or Canadian citizen Beverly Giesbrecht (a.k.a. Khadija Abdul Qahhar), who was taken hostage by the Taliban during rather suspicious travels through North Waziristan. Both men and women who were once written off as hapless wannabes and mere "jihobbyists" are unexpectedly rising to the occasion, in often quite desperate bids to prove their total commitment to the cause.

These individuals are, more frequently than not, English-speaking with only a cursory knowledge of Arabic or the Middle East. Their pedigree is less than elite, and they lack the traditional connections back to Al-Qaida's central leadership. Yet, even Al-Qaida's senior echelon now openly recognizes the critical value of these potential "lone wolf" operatives. In several prominent publications--including both the latest video from American Al-Qaida spokesman Adam Gadahn and the most recent official magazine from Al-Qaida in Yemen--the terror group has openly broadcast its pleasure and interest in the actions of such independent actors as Ft. Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan and Jordanian webmaster and CIA bomber Humam al-Balawi (a.k.a. Abu Dujanah al-Khorasani). Gadahn specifically pointed to the example of Ft. Hood and urged American Muslims, "it is rapidly becoming clear that this already hot global battle is about to get even hotter. This is a war which knows no international borders and no single battleground, and that’s why I am calling on every honest and vigilant Muslim in the countries of the Zionist-Crusader alliance in general and America, Britain and Israel in particular to prepare to play his due role in responding to and repelling the aggression of the enemies of Islam. This is the golden, once in a lifetime opportunity to reap the rewards of Jihad and martyrdom we have been waiting for, so unsheathe your sharpened sword and rush to take your rightful place among defiant champions of Islam like Mir Aimal Kansi, Muhammad Bouyeri, Nidal Malik Hasan and many others like them... it is for you – like your heroic Mujahid brother Nidal Hasan – to decide how, when and where you discharge this duty."

In this regard, I draw particular emphasis to the words of the "media emir" of the now-infamous Ansar al-Mujahideen web forum, Abu Omar al-Maqdisi:

"We were ordinary members at the al-Ekhlaas forum and we learned a lot from the brothers who took charge of jihadi media work before us—and it is only normal for us to start our own active campaign at the first chance we got. And that’s what we did, so we established this site, and told everyone we knew from the al-Ekhlaas network about this forum…We went outside the usual jihadi media route, but we terrorize in the real world as much as we terrorize online, so whoever wishes to join is welcome, and those who don’t should hold their tongues about us and go away. And although low in number, we are strong in determination, and anyone who joins us will realize that immediately.. say, if any of the brothers at al-Fajr Media wishes to receive assurances about us and if you are in communication with them, then inform them that we would like to meet with them. We ask them to come here and distribute a bulletin outlining the action plan for the al-Ansar network—and we are willing to blow ourselves up near the infidels at any moment, and if they have enough resources to provide us with the necessary financing, then a terrorist is ready."

Indonesia Counter-Terrorism Raids Continue

By Kenneth Conboy

For more than a week, there has been a flurry of counter-terrorism raids across the country. This comes just ten days before President Barack Obama is set to make his first visit to Indonesia since spending part of his elementary school years in Jakarta.
Initially the police focused their attention on a 50-strong group of militants that was allegedly conducting paramilitary training at the foot of a mountain on the border of Pidie and Aceh Besar districts in Aceh province. As of this week, the police had killed or arrested nearly 20 persons tied to this group. They have also confiscated a small number of assault rifles, military uniforms purchased in Malaysia, and videotapes of various deceased Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) members.
Although the police investigation in Aceh is ongoing, it would appear like several of the members were not ethnic Acehnese and could instead be traced to the island of Java. This is an interesting development, as the Acehnese have traditionally exhibited fierce animosity toward those from Java, and many have found it hard to believe that the two sides have now put aside their long-standing differences to conduct risky paramilitary training in a relatively populated area of Aceh. Others have noted that the Acehnese, while pious and prone toward separatism, have rarely shown any radical tendencies along the Wahhabist lines pushed by JI.
But the questions raised by all this pale in comparison to developments yesterday. After the Indonesian authorities earlier announced that some of the Aceh gang could be traced back to Banten province on Java, and specifically the area of Pamulang (which is just outside the Jakarta city limits), the police conducted a pair of raids in Pamulang. The Indonesian media has since been speculating that at least one of the dead is Dul Matin, a JI electronics expert linked to the 2002 Bali bombings. It had been thought that Dul Matin had been in the southern Philippines since at least 2003, where he had been given sanctuary by both the MILF and Abu Sayyaf Group. But the media is now speculating that he made his way into Indonesia and was hiding out in a Pamulang house owned by a medical doctor that he had befriended during the communal violence in Ambon during 1999. That Dul Matin would risk taking up shelter on the outskirts of Jakarta on face appears to be out of character for a terrorist known for his caution as much as his extremism. The police expect the result of a DNA test to confirm the identity of the corpse later today.

Hezbollah's Penance--Hizballah works to rebuild its Tarnished Image

By David Schenker

In 2006, Hizballah's popularity peaked in the Arab world as a result of its military performance against Israel. That summer, the Lebanese Shiite terrorist organization fought Israel to a standstill in south Lebanon. Since then, however, the organization's popularity has plummeted in the region, largely due to a series of miscues in Lebanon and abroad.

I wrote a lenghty article in the Weekly Standard online describing the drop in Hizballah's regional popularity since 2006, and the steps the organization has taken to get its mojo back. Bottom line: when the "Islamic Resistance in Lebanon" (as it calls itself) is not actively "resisting" Israel, the Shiite militia appears to hold little appeal in the Arab world. The article can be found here, and below.

India’s strategic role in countering Jihadism

By Walid Phares

The confrontation in the sub Indian continent between al Qaeda, the Taliban and their allies on the one hand and the three democracies they target, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, on the other hand must be reevaluated in terms of international cooperation against the Jihadi threat. A regional system should be established to integrate the struggle against all Jihadi forces in the subcontinent. There needs to be a separation between the ethnic and territorial questions from the fight against Terrorism. Once that distinction is made the possibilities of internationalization of counter terrorism will be high. Jihadists based in any country of the subcontinent must not be given legitimacy by any Government on the ground of a local ethnic issue. Jihadi forces must be confronted collectively, while diplomacy and international mediations assist in solving the local problems.

Closing Loopholes: Another Vital Aspect of Sanctions on Iran

By Michael Jacobson

In the coming weeks, the United States and its allies will attempt to push additional Iran sanctions through the UN Security Council. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has indicated that "the United States and like-minded countries" could also impose at least some additional sanctions on their own. Although stronger sanctions are certainly needed to deter Iran on the nuclear issue, they alone are unlikely to pressure Tehran into changing its behavior. Just as important are efforts to plug the gaps and loopholes in the current sanctions regime.

Iranian Evasion

A number of overlapping sanctions are already in place against Iran, imposed by the UN, European Union, Britain, and the United States. One of the primary means of evading these regimes is through re-exports. Generally, export-control laws distinguish between different countries in determining the legality of a specific transaction. For example, dual-use goods, which can have commercial or military applications (including in the nuclear sector), may be sent to some countries but not to others. Iran often takes advantage of this framework, evading U.S. laws and international sanctions by setting up front companies and middlemen in countries to which these types of items can be legally exported. In most cases, the sellers are not told that the goods will be re-exported to Iran -- though many other sellers are willing to turn a blind eye.

The best known of these re-export hubs is Dubai, where thousands of Iranian businesses engage in illicit trade. Extensive re-export networks can also be found in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, and Europe. These networks allow Iranians to procure much-needed American and European technology that they would otherwise be unable to obtain. A recent Associated Press report described a case in which a Chinese company used a Taiwan-based agent to divert more than a hundred pressure gauges (a device with both commercial and nuclear applications) to Iran, misleading the Swiss seller about the ultimate destination.

Iran's procurement networks extend to U.S. shores as well. In December 2009, for example, California-based suspect Jirair Avanessian was indicted for illegally exporting a specialized vacuum pump -- a device with potential nuclear applications -- to Iran via the United Arab Emirates. According to the Justice Department, he was directed by an individual in Iran.

To read the rest of the piece, click here.

The Unraveling of Hugo Chávez and His Terrorist Ties

By Douglas Farah

While Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez has long viewed criticism of his autocratic rule and growing abuses as part of the impending Yanqui invasion, he has suffered two significant blows in the past week and the United States was not part of either. The developments are further signs that Chávez is finally being understood as an anti-democratic strongman who consistently supports terrorist groups that the rest of the world shuns.

The most recent blow came from a Spanish judge who linked the Chávez government to support for the Basque terrorist organization ETA, as well as the Colombian FARC, in attempts to assassinate senior Colombian officials.

The allegations, made in a court document by investigating magistrate Eloy Velasco, said that the Chávez government had acted as an intermediary between Eta and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) guerrilla group.

"There is evidence in this case which shows the Venezuelan government's co-operation in the illegal association between Farc and Eta," the magistrate said as he issued international arrest warrants for six alleged Eta members and seven Colombians believed to be members of Farc.

At the center of the controversy is Arturo Cubillas, an alleged Eta member who works in Venezuela's ministry of agriculture, who was named as the main link among the three groups: the Venezuelan government, FARC and ETA. Cubillas, who has lived in Venezuela since 1989, is married to a senior member of Chávez's government.

The allegations appeared to confirm Colombian intelligence reports that the FARC and ETA have worked together often and exchanged technological know-how and training.

The judge said that two Farc members, Victor Vargas and Gustavo Navarro, had travelled to Spain twice to identify possible targets among the Colombian community for assassination.

He said the Farc members had relied on Eta for support during their visit, and attempts had also been made to find a way of killing President Alvaro Uribe during a visit to Spain.
My full blog is here.

Dinner in Damascus: What Did Iran Ask of Hizballah?

By Matthew Levitt

My colleague David Schenker and I argue in an article on the state of Hizballah that a successful Hizballah attack against an Israeli target -- whether on the Israeli-Lebanese border or abroad - to avenge the assassination of Imad Mughniyah two years ago last month could set off another round of fighting similar to that of 2006. Several Hizballah plots abroad have been thwarted, but the group seems intent on trying again and is rearming in Lebanon as well. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall at a recent dinner in Damascus ....

On February 26, Syrian president Bashar al-Asad hosted Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad and Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah for a dinner in Damascus. Nasrallah is a routine guest in the capital, but the timing of this high-profile trip -- just a week after the United States dispatched Undersecretary of State William Burns to Damascus and nominated its first new ambassador in five years -- seemed calculated not only to irritate Washington, but also to highlight the central role Hizballah plays in Iran and Syria's strategic planning. Apart from serving as a pivot between Tehran and Damascus, however, the group also holds the power to engulf Lebanon and perhaps the entire region into another war through actions of its own.

The complete article is available here.

The Internationalization of the fight against the Jihadists

By Walid Phares

Asian Security Conference 2010

In an address to the Asian Security Conference 2010 under the theme “Asian Strategic Futures 2030: Trends, Scenarios and Alternatives.” I made a presentation under the title: “The Future of Terrorism: Jihadi threat in the Indian Subcontinent.” The Conference, organized by the Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, was addressed by India's Prime Minister, Defense Minister and officials as well as international experts live and via satellite. In this adapted piece I argue that the fight against the Jihadists must become internationalized.

"Threat from Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh": ICG Report

By Animesh Roul

I wish to flag the latest Crisis Group report on the threat emanating from the Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) which remains active and dangerous despite continuous government crackdowns. Undoubtedly a well researched report titled "The Threat from Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh" (Crisis Group Asia Report No. 187, 1 March 2010), assesses the ongoing danger JMB poses to the state and possibly to the region.

Here is a brief excerpt for CTBlog readers:

The danger from JMB is exacerbated by its links to other Bangladeshi and international jihadi groups and to members of the Bangladeshi diaspora in Britain. New information has revealed operational ties to LeT and to al-Muhajiroun, the groups whose members took part in the London underground bombings of July 2005. There has also been collaboration between JMB and a splinter of the once formidable but now diminished Harkat-ul-Jihadal- Islami, Bangladesh (HUJI-B).

Bangladesh’s political mainstream has long understood the danger posed by JMB but has either deliberately used it for narrow political ends, as during the coalition government led by the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) from 2006 to 2007, or been distracted by other concerns. The current Awami League government is especially aware of the problem as its members have been victims of attacks. But internal wrangling, lack of coordination between security agencies and the absence of a single
counter-terrorism force have undermined any sustained effort to dismantle the organisation.

For the Executive Summary, Read Here.

For Full Text, Read Here.

Al Qaeda's Safe Havens

By Michael Jacobson

On February 25, the Washington Institute held an event on Al Qaeda's safehavens -- a topic of growing concern in Washington since the failed Christmas day attack revealed how the group has been exploiting the undergoverned territory in Yemen to plot attacks against the US. Tom Krajeski, the former US Ambassador to Yemen, covered the factors that have enabled AQAP to operate in that country, but was optimistic that with increased US-Yemeni cooperation, we would succeed in dramatically weakening the group.

Seth Jones, a political scientist at RAND, spoke about the al Qaeda/Taliban presence in Afghanistan and Pakistan and how these governments are responding, and Andre Le Sage, a professor at the National Defense University, discussed the state of al Qaeda and al-Shabab in Somalia.

Here is a rapporteur's summary of the event:

Al Qaeda's affiliates and safehavens is an area of increased focus for the Washington Institute. We have recently published a series of articles on this subject, including: a piece by Gregory Johnsen of Princeton University on AQAP; a piece by Stephen Tankel of Carnegie on Laskhar e -Taiba, and a two part piece by Andre Le Sage on al Qaeda/al Shabab in Somalia (click here and here).