Spies Form Virtual Units on The Fly to Track Terror

By James Gordon Meek

When a cell of 10 Islamic militants stole into the Indian port city of Mumbai in November and began to unleash a fusillade of hell on two hotels, a train depot in rush hour and a Jewish center, US spooks scrambled to make sense of it all. About 20 analysts from across the globe immediately convened - not in the same room, but on two classified Web sites called Intellipedia and A-space.

It's like Wikipedia and Facebook for spies.

The first Mumbai entry was posted by a watch officer at the National Counterterrorism Center at the onset of the attacks, US officials told me recently. Soon, analysts from across America’s 16 spy agencies familiar with extremists in India and Pakistan logged on to A-space - a discussion site accessible to only a few thousand US intelligence analysts with the highest security clearances - to weigh who the attackers might be.

Analysts posted realtime satellite imagery and video depicting the carnage outside the Taj Mahal Hotel, which showed a sluggish response by Indian security forces. They also uploaded the first news photos of one young terrorist in Mumbai’s rail station who was later nabbed alive - noting how professionally he carried his weapons, and how he was dressed as blandly Western as the 9/11 hijackers 7 1/2 years ago.

The ad hoc group of analysts, who did not all know each other - including at least one in a Far East military outpost - quickly agreed that a claim of responsibility by the unheard of “Deccan Mujahadeen” was malarkey. It was really the handiwork of Pakistan’s Al Qaeda-affiliated Lashkar-e-Taiba.

“The analysts concluded it was LeT hours before that was made public,” one senior US intelligence official told me.

The Mumbai strikes were the first big test of the new system of collaboration using social networking tools put in place last fall by Directorate of National Intelligence chief technology czar Michael Wertheimer and his crew of savvy young spooks from the Myspace Generation. There are also Top Secret elements modeled on YouTube and Flicker.

Read more about how US spies are using A-space and Intellipedia in my full post on the New York Daily News' Mouth of the Potomac Blog.

Continuing Strategic Ripples of Mumbai Attacks

By Aaron Mannes

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s address to the chief minister’s Conference on Internal Security earlier this week was primarily focused on the nuts and bolts of internal security. But it also harshly criticized Pakistan, stating “there is enough evidence to show that, given the sophistication and military precision of the attack it must have had the support of some official agencies in Pakistan.” Although this assertion remains publicly unproven (the dossier about the attacks submitted by India to Pakistan does not support it, and it is debatable whether the attack’s sophistication required state sponsorship) Singh’s statement showed that, beyond the carnage, Lashkar-e-Taiba’s assault on Mumbai had another victim – the Indian-Pakistan peace process. Singh is a pragmatic and capable politician who had been open to improving relations with Pakistan. But Singh faces domestic hardliners (and, given the ISI’s long history of links to LeT and other Islamist groups in Pakistan, their suspicion is not unwarranted.) Now, in the wake of the Mumbai massacre, Singh will be unable to make even the smallest concessions. This is not merely a local problem. Pakistan is a geopolitical timebomb, and key to defusing it is improving relations with Pakistan and India.

Read the complete post here.

NEFA TerrorWatch Episode #9 Now Available

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has released TerrorWatch Episode #9. This week, TerrorWatch examines the larger picture behind the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, which have been blamed on Pakistani militant groups active in the conflict over Kashmir. Since 1989, a host of Afghan-linked armed factions have taken up arms in a challenge to Indian control over Jammu Kashmir. Though these organizations have primarily focused their efforts targeting the Indian government and its security forces, there have also been notable exceptions—such as the December 1999 hijacking of an Indian civilian airliner. Moreover, these groups have never shied away from espousing a commitment to global jihad and supporting fellow mujahideen in Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq, and beyond...

Click to watch on the NEFA Foundation website

INDIA: Mumbai Terror Probe Leads to Pakistan's "Epicenter of Terrorism"

By Animesh Roul

Originaly Published as "Mumbai Terror Investigation Leads to Pakistan’s “Epicenter of Terrorism” in Terrorism Focus (Jamestown Foundation), Vol. 5 (42), December 12, 2008.

………The probe so far has pointed to four LeT operatives. The “masterminds” are identified as Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, who was seized by Pakistani police after a raid on a LeT camp in Kashmir, and Yusuf Muzammil, whose current whereabouts are unknown. Based on the results of police interrogations, two individuals identified as Abu Hamza and Khafa have been named as trainers who provided maritime lessons and training in the handling of explosives and weapons (Times of India, December 6; Daily Times [Lahore], December 12). According to Rakesh Maria, the Joint Commissioner of Police and a lead investigator in the Mumbai attacks, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD, a charity and front organization for LeT) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed was also involved with Lakhvi, Hamza and Kahfa in the Mumbai plot, from planning to execution (Press Trust of India, December 10). Earlier, government sources claimed that the investigators had “incontrovertible proof” of the names of the ISI handlers and trainers and the locations in Pakistan where the terrorist training was carried out. Police also claimed to have recovered some of terrorists’ communications through Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) (The Hindu, December 5). With the help of foreign investigating agencies, especially the FBI, Mumbai police tracked the VoIP number brought from Orlando, Florida, which was used by the terrorists to talk to Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, who is currently under detention in Pakistan along with 20 other LeT and Jaysh-e-Mohammed operatives (Indian Express, December 10).

The fishing trawler in which the terrorists reached the Mumbai coast, the MV Kuber, had an inventory of items that established a Pakistani hand in the attacks, including wheat flour, dental gel and shaving cream all bearing “Made in Pakistan” tags. The Thuraya satellite phone recovered from the abandoned trawler contained records of a conversation between LeT chief Yusuf Muzammil, based in the Kashmiri city of Muzafarabad, and an individual known as Yahya, believed to be a point man for the LeT and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) in Bangladesh. Yahya reportedly arranged SIM (subscriber identity module) cards and fake ID cards, primarily from countries like Mauritius, the UK, the United States and Australia. The satellite phone also has records of calls traced to Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi in Jalalabad in Afghanistan (Times of India, November 30).

Interrogation of the lone surviving terrorist has revealed details of LeT training camps in Danna, Abdul-Bin-Masud, Mangla Dam, Akas, Um-Al-Qura, Badli and Muzafarabad in Pakistan-Administered Kashmir. Mumbai’s Crime Branch denied the involvement of more than ten terrorists in these multiple attacks, adding that the terrorists behind the Mumbai attacks were trained at four places inside Pakistan: Manshera, Muridke, Muzafarabad and Karachi (Daily News and Analysis [Mumbai], December 7).

For complete article, read here

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A Bit More on Dawood Ibrahim and Why He Matters

By Douglas Farah

Because of the high interest in my recent post on Dawood Ibrahim and requests for more information, I am adding to that the little more that I know and have learned in recent days.

Ibrahim is known to have at least 8 passports, all issued by India and all from Mumbai, where the recent attacks occurred. He uses well over a dozen aliases, which he uses, along with the names of henchmen and family members, to owe properties around the world, including in United Arab Emirate, Australia, Canada and Pakistan. He is also deeply involved in the informal hawala money transfer trade that moves billions of dollars a year, primarily among Pakistan, the Arab Peninsula and India.

This ability to cross relatively unimpeded between the worlds of legal business, organized criminal activities (kidnapping, extortion, drug running, smuggling of all kinds) and terrorism makes Ibrahim one of the primary "shadow facilitators" in the criminal-terrorist nexus.

Like Viktor Bout, Monzar al Kassar, A.Q Khan and others, these individuals are part of multiple networks, so targeting them brings the added value of making life more difficult for several organizations at the same time.

What makes Ibrahim so interesting is that he is Indian by birth, but now works with Pakistani radicals (and possibly, from time to time, with the ISI), making him, in the eyes of the Indian government, a traitor. This is particularly true given his role in funding Pakistani groups claiming the Kashmir, which is a flashpoint in India.

Yet, like A.Q Khan, he is able to find refuge in the Arab world, primarily, like Khan, Bout and others, in the United Arab Emirates, specifically in Dubai. My full blog is here.

UN Acts to Designate Lashkar e Tayyiba’ Offshoots and Its Leaders As Terrorists Associated With Al Qaeda

By Victor Comras

Last month’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai focused anew a spotlight on the activities of Lashkar e Tayyiba, its offshoots, and its possible links with Al Qaeda. The investigation conducted by India, Pakistan and other cooperating countries has produced new evidence that Lashkar e Tayyiba operatives were directly engaged in planning and providing material support and assistance for the series of Mumbai urban attacks that shook the international community as well as India. Based upon this investigation, and the formal request of the Government of India, the United Nations Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions committee agreed December 10th to expanded its designation of Lashkar e Tayyiba to specifically include 4 of its leaders, including Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Haji Muhammad Ashraf, and Mohmoud Mohammad Ahmed Bahaziq. The United States had been pushing for this action since last May. The UN Committee has now also agreed to clarify that the Lashkar e Tayyiba designation also applies to Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JUD), which has long operated as an LET front organization (see below).

I expressed my concerns here two years ago with the UN Committee’s failure to designate Jammat-ud-Dawa along with Laskkar e Tayyiba, or to designate Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, who was the founder and leader of both organization. Leaving Jammat and Muhammad Saeed undesignated left them free to recruit , arm and solicit funds for Lashkar's terrorist activities. I wrote:

“Jamaat was established by the same group that led Lashkar-e-Taiba in order to circumvent the sanctions measures that flowed from this designation. Yet, it took the Administration another six months to get around to confirming this linkage and to designating Jamaat as a successor/partner organization to Lashkar-e-taiba. … But what is still surprising is that no action has yet been taken to designate Lashkar's founder, Hafiz Muhammad Sayeed, who is also the head of Jamaat ud-Dawa….(H)olding the leaders responsible, and penalizing them, is even more important and would be a much more effective step then seeking only to close down the charities they run. Experience has shown that you can’t truly shut down these operations unless you also put their leaders and organizers out of business.’’

In fact, US soldiers worked in association with Jammat-ud-Dawa to provide relief during the late fall 2005 Kashmir Earthquake. Subsequently, the U. S. State Department did designate Jammat, on April 27, 2006, but failed to convince the UN group to follow suit. No action was taken at that time by the State Department or the Treasury Department to also designate Muhammad Saeed. He was only added to the Treasury OFAC designation list on May 27, 2008.

The basis for any listing by the UN Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee must be founded on links between the designated entity and Al Qaeda or the Taliban. This prerequisite was established in the Security Council’s Chapter VII resolution 1390 (2002) that empowered the Al Qaeda and Taliban Committee to make such designations. The Security Council resolutions also require that all countries act immediately to freeze the assets and deny all economic resources to those so designated. All countries are also required to ban them, with few exceptions, from entering their territory, and to assure they do not have access to weapons and explosives.

Lashkar-e-Taiba was founded in 1989 in the Kunar province of Afghanistan as the military wing of Markaz-ud-Dawa-wal-Irshad (MDI), an Islamic fundamentalist organisation of the Ahle-Hadith sect in Pakistan. The MDI was based in Muridke near Lahore, Pakistan and was headed by Hafiz Muhammad Sayeed, who also became the Amir of the LeT. Its first presence in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) was recorded in 1993 when 12 Pakistani and Afghan mercenaries infiltrated across the Line of Control (LoC) in tandem with the Islami Inquilabi Mahaz, a terrorist outfit then active in the Poonch district of J&K. Lashkar has established cooperative ties with religious militant groups throughout the middle east, southeast asia and in areas of the former soviet union. It is believed to have also been active in supporting the insurgency in Chechnya. The organization was designated as a terrorist group by the US Treasury Department in December 2001.. However, Pakistan, then a member of the UN Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee was able to forestall a UN decision to also designate the group. Lashkar was finally added to the UN’s consolidated al Qaeda designation list on May 2, 2005, after Pakistan’s tenure on the Al Qaeda Committee had ended.

The Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee has also now acted to insure that offshoots of other designated Pakistani terrorist organizations, such as Al Rashid Trust and Al-Akhtar trust have also been designated.

Ugly Face of Terror: Pictures of Mumbai Attackers Released!

By Animesh Roul

Almost two weeks after, the Mumbai Police (Crime Branch) have released the pictures of the terrorists involved in the multiple Mumbai attacks (Nov. 26-29). The Mumbai police on Tuesday released 8 out of the 10 pictures of the terrorists involved in the terror attacks. Except Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab's picture, (Now we all know the babyface terrorist) one terrorist picture is not available (perhaps mutilated and beyond recognition). Most of the pictures are derived from the Identity cards they possessed and after ascertaining their names and places from the lone survivor, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, Police released those pictures on Dec 09. They were all from Pakistan and all between 20-28 years of age.

Click here to view pictures.

1.Chhatrapati Shivjai Terminus/ Cama Hospital: Ismail Khan (Dera Ismail Khan) and Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab (Okara).

2.Taj Mahal Hotel: Hafeez Arshad (Multan), Abu Ali (Okara), Shoaib (Narowal Sialkot) and Abu Umer (Faisalabad).

3.Nariman House: Abu Umar (Faisalabad) and Babar Imran ( Multan)

4.Trident Oberoi Hotel: Abdul Rehman (Multan) and Fahadullah(Okara)

Transcript of December 4 Panel on Mumbai Attacks

By Andrew Cochran

The transcript of our panel on the Mumbai attacks, held December 4 in Washington, is available here as an Acrobat document. The panel consisted of Contributing Experts Dr. Walid Phares and Farhana Ali, and Dr. David Kilcullen, and I served as the moderator. Some highlights from each panelist are below. I also want to invite your attention to the archive of posts here on the activities of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in the U.S., some of which were discussed by the panel. Contact me if you have questions for the panelists or comments. I especially want to thank Assistant Newslink Editor Brett Wallace for his usual stellar job in compiling the transcript.

Walid Phares: "(W)hat we are dealing with here is a decision made at the level of regional jihadists. It has the flavor, has the mark of the whole operation chronologically speaking, it comes at the heal of previous incidents on one hand but if you project the operation it may lead you on the other hand to the logic that a decision had been made on a much higher level. It is probably all the way up to a war room between Al Qaeda and the Taliban, with the LeT being “subcontracted” for the operation and information supply by infiltration within the Pakistani security apparatus. If you look at the scheme, the structure, you will see the interests of the Taliban, Al Qaeda, the execution by LeT and security provided by an intelligence apparatus in Pakistan."

Farhana Ali: "A few days after the attacks, I received an email from a source in Pakistan who meets with... the leader of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the political wing for LeT, and who has family that are hard-core loyalists to Laskhar. He sent me an email on November 30th in which he wrote, 'According to two senior sources within jihadi outfits and as many in the intelligence agencies, the recent terror attacks in different parts of Mumbai…were masterminded by Pakistani intelligence agency ISI... The Lashkar leaders are not accepting the responsibility at official level but they are taking pride is claiming it among their trusted people.'... I think it is very clear that if you look at the LeT’s strategy it is to weaken India and to help establish the caliphate which is part of their ideological program... My sources say at least 23 (attackers)."

David Kilcullen: "This was not some Islamic charity or some group working alone from the Deccan Mujahedeen: this has all the hallmarks of a Special Forces raid, closer to a commando or SBS raiding activity than a traditional Al Qaeda style terrorist attack. Al Qaeda has never attacked a land target from the sea, though they have attacked maritime targets from the sea, such as the Cole, the Limburg and attacks on Saudi oil installations. There has never been anything close to this level of sophistication of a seaborne attack: this was a high professional bar. We can deduce they had some professional help though I think it is much too early to state who that support came from. It has been set up to look like a Pakistani government operation. We should be careful until we know more. As a side bar, European CT forces captured an Al Qaeda CD that highlighted Al Qaeda urban warfare tactics, and these matched those used in Mumbai to the letter. The sea part was new but the land parts followed Al Qaeda tactics pretty closely."

Andrew Cochran: "One story that caught my eye was a story about SIM cards and cell phones, because there have been increasing concern about terrorists using stored value cards and SIM cards in cell phones... SOCOM (NOTE: The Pentagon’s Special Operations Command) has met with a number of representatives of financial institutions, telecom companies and builders of those systems to learn more about mobile banking techniques... So the Mumbai attack presents the possibility - we won’t know until the investigation is completed - that this was the first large-scale terrorist attack involving stored value card and mobile banking technologies...

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After Mumbai: Deciphering the Horizons

By Walid Phares

As the crisis between India and Pakistan is drawing the attention of the international community and the diplomatic efforts of the United States, public opinion has shown an increased interest in the Jihadi agenda in India. In this regard the Counter Terrorism community is focusing on analyzing the long term strategic agenda of the Terror forces involved in the attack. Today's panel discussion in Congress at the invitation of the Counter Terrorism Foundation opened several perspectives in projecting the next stage of the conflict. The minutes of this briefing will be useful to the growing debate about Post Mumbai. Following is a short piece published initially by Fox News.com today, raising some of the issues I discussed at the panel in Congress this morning.

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NBC News: "Pakistani militants deny role in Mumbai terror attacks"

By Evan Kohlmann

NBC News: Pakistani militants deny role in Mumbai terror attacks

The sole surviving terrorist of the Mumbai attacks allegedly spent 18 months training at camps run by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET), a banned Pakistani militant organization with a long history of high-profile attacks in India and Indian-controlled Kashmir. And, as NBC News has reported, Indian authorities also have found the names of several high-ranking LET members in the satellite phone used by one of the Mumbai perpetrators.

So what is Lashkar-e-Taiba, and was the group truly behind the horrific attacks in Mumbai’s hotels, train station and restaurants? Lashkar’s political wing offered reporters in Pakistan a rare tour of their sprawling, 200-acre headquarters today, and allowed me to interview one of their top officials yesterday. In a phone interview, the LET’s Abdullah Muntazir repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks. “No, not at all,” said Muntazir, a chief spokesman of LET’s accused political wing, Jamat-ud-Dawa.

“The violence against the general public carried out by any individual, group, or any government--whether it is committed in Mumbai, or in Kashmir, Afghanistan, or in Iraq--that cannot be justified at any cost. And Islam does not allow its followers to kill innocent people, to target public places,” Muntazir said. “Blowing up [bombs] in public places… from my point of view, that we cannot endorse and we have no relation to such kind of things.”

During the press tour today at the group’s headquarters outside Lahore, Muntazir continued with his denials. “We are a charity organization and these premises are just an educational and medical complex,” he said. “We condemn India for putting [our leader’s] name on the list of terrorists… India is blaming us because its their habit and the moment the attacks happened in Mumbai, they started blaming us without any proof or evidence,” Muntazir told reporters today.

Controversial history
The denials aside, the LET has a long history of supporting violence and terrorist acts. At their annual “Mujahideen Conference,” held in Pakistan in November 1999, for example, former LET chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed issued a threat to the Prime Minister of India. He said that if “he didn’t withdraw from Kashmir the Mujahideen would invade his office in New Delhi,” Saeed said. “The Jihad is not about Kashmir only. It encompasses all of India… We will not rest until the whole India is dissolved into Pakistan.”

And in October 2000, when asked about the hijacking of a Saudi commercial airliner and the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen, Saeed responded, “Mujahideen Lashkar-e-Taiba does not favor to undertake these operations, as [such] activities are mostly advantageous to America. The real jihad, in fact, is to target the Jews… and to kill them in their own homes.”

[Click for more on the MSNBC.com website]

Mumbai Style Attack in the US: A Skeptical Analysis

By Aaron Mannes

The Mumbai massacre may not be a “new” terror tactic. The mass firearms attack riveted the world in 1972 when the Japanese Red Army gunned down 27 people at Ben Gurion Airport. Since then the annals of terrorism have included innumerable other examples, most notably al-Gamaa Islamiya’s 1997 Luxor Massacre in which 59 tourists were murdered.

Still, the Mumbai attack stands out in its scale and has led many analysts to wonder if the mass firearms and bomb attack will be tactics of choice for the next 9/11. A useful way to examine this proposition is to invert the question, and ask, “Why hasn’t this already happened in the United States?”

Read the full post here.

Dr. David Kilcullen Added to Tomorrow's Mumbai Panel

By Andrew Cochran

We are very pleased that Dr. David Kilcullen will join Dr. Walid Phares and Farhana Ali as panelists at tomorrow's event to discuss the Mumbai attacks. To quote from the biography released last week by CNAS:

"Dr. David Kilcullen has joined CNAS as a senior fellow. Kilcullen was a non-resident senior fellow with CNAS for more than a year and collaborated with CNAS on Iraq and Afghanistan reports, as well as violent extremism and grand strategy Solarium projects in 2007 and 2008.

Kilcullen's position as the Special Advisor for Counterinsurgency to the Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, will conclude in December 2008, at which time he will also become a partner at the Crumpton Group, a Washington, D.C.-based strategic advisory firm.

Prior to joining CNAS, Kilcullen was senior counterinsurgency advisor to General David Petraeus, then Commanding General of United States and international forces in Iraq. He was part of the small team that designed the “surge,” and subsequently spent several months in the field directing counterinsurgency programs and providing hands-on advice to Iraqi and coalition military, diplomatic, aid and intelligence agencies. In 2005-2006 he was chief counterterrorism strategist at the U.S. State Department, working in the Middle East, South Asia, Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia, including operational activities in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Agencies. He designed and implemented the Regional Strategic Initiative, the policy that drives U.S. counterterrorism diplomacy worldwide.

He previously served in Australia’s Office of National Assessments, worked in the Pentagon where he wrote the counterterrorism strategy for the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review, and served on the writing team for Australia’s 2004 Terrorism White Paper. He is a former Australian infantry officer with 22 years of service, including operational deployments in East Timor, Bougainville, and the Middle East. His doctoral dissertation, on insurgency in traditional societies, drew on residential fieldwork with guerrillas and terrorists in Indonesia during the 1990s. He is fluent in Indonesian and conversant in Arabic and French. He is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (elected in 1996) and holds several honors and decorations, including the United States Army Superior Civilian Service Medal, “for exceptionally meritorious service to the United States as Senior Counterinsurgency Advisor, Multi-National Force-Iraq, during Operation Iraqi Freedom,” the first such award to a foreign national serving in combat alongside U.S. Forces.

His forthcoming book, The Accidental Guerrilla, to be published by Oxford University Press in spring 2009, analyzes the complex interplay between local guerrillas and global terrorists in contemporary war zones from Africa to Southeast Asia."

The event will begin at 11 am ET tomorrow, in room 2220 of the Rayburn House Building in Washington. You can RSVP through this e-mail address (acceptances only, please). I will post a transcript of the event soon afterwards.

UPDATE: See remarks by Secretary Rice during a meeting today with the Indian Minister of External Affairs.

Material Support: From Mumbai to Hamas

By Michael Kraft

Well-planned deadly terrorist attacks such as the one in Mumbai last week against targets scouted out in advance are not conducted on the spur of the moment at a cost of mere pennies. The large amounts of ammunition and the advance planning by the terrorists who attacked 10 targets within a short time period is a reminder that terrorist attacks often need funding and other material support for their deadly activities.

Too often, though, as seen in the recent trial of the Holy Land Foundation for providing support to Hamas, lawyers try to downplay or even attack laws designed to curb the backing provided by those supporters who may not actually pull the trigger but provide the funds, weapons or other essentials for conducting a major attack.

It may seem a long way from Mumbai where terrorists killed at least 173 persons including six Americans and 13 other foreigners, to the Dallas, Texas trial where on Nov. 24, the Holy Land Foundation and five former leaders were found guilty of channeling $12.4 million to Hamas-affiliated committees and groups since 1995. That January, an executive order made it illegal to provide material support to a dozen foreign terrorist organizations including Hamas. But although there is no known link between Mumbia and Hamas, there is a common thread—material support they receive from supporters.

President Clinton’s January, 1995 executive order designed to curb money flows to 12 groups (10 Arab and two Jewish) that threatened the use of violence against the Middle East process was followed up by more detailed legislation that Congress eventually enacted as part of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. (Public Law No. 104-132, 110 Stat.)

A material support provision, 18 U.S.C. 2339B, makes it a criminal offense for American citizens or residents to knowingly provide funds or other forms of material support that the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General and Secretary of Treasury, designated as a foreign terrorist organization. The legislation covers such forms of support as funding, weapons, and training as well as the provision of financial services and has been used in dozens of cases.

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The Importance of The Dawood Ibrahim Connection

By Douglas Farah

As my colleague on the CT Blog, Vic Comras noted, the name of Dawood Ibrahim is now associated with the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Ibrahim reportedly provided the initial boat for the attackers, and has strong ties to al Qaeda.

What is interesting about Ibrahim, who has been designated a terrorist by OFAC and many other governments, is that he is a pioneer in the criminal-terrorist nexus. For many years he has provided the criminal links al Qaeda, the Taliban and Pakistani terrorist groups have needed to move money, personnel and equipment. Despite how well known his activities are, he has never been apprehended.

Here is something I wrote about him more than two years ago, which helps shed some light on a person identified as a terrorist and criminal mastermind.

Ibrahim, with his immense wealth, underworld connections, and ties to Bollywood, was one of the first big fish to cross over to work with radical Islamists, starting more than a decade ago:

A criminal kingpin, ally of al Qaeda, large-scale drug runner and financer of some of Bollywood's biggest movies, Ibrahim loves to hang out with movie stars and live the good life. Not exactly a natural ally of radical Islamist groups, but he appears to provide the muscle and know-how to attacks, rather than being the intellectual author of the violence he has pariticpated in. His ideology seems more firmly wedded to his financial well-being than to his religious beliefs. My full blog is here.

Mumbai, a new modus operandi for jihadists?

By Olivier Guitta

I just wrote an article for the Middle East Times exploring the new modus operandi used by the jihadists in the Mumbai attacks.
You can read my full article here.

Here is an excerpt:

Mumbai, India's financial capital is now only barely waking up from its worst nightmare. Last week in simultaneous attacks, Islamist terrorists killed at least 195 people and injured another 300 during a 60-hour killing spree. The tactics used by the terrorists were different from the classical jihadist playbook. Does it mean that Mumbai-style attacks are the new jihadist modus operandi?

First, regarding the perpetrators, all the signs point to the involvement of the Pakistani terror group and al-Qaida affiliate Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). LeT is in fact a group propped up by Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and mostly focusing until now on the "liberation" of the Kashmir province.

As early as Thursday, Russian intelligence stated that LeT, a group that underwent special training in al-Qaida camps at the India-Pakistan border, were behind the attacks.

On Friday U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism officials confirmed that assessment. And just on Sunday, the only terrorist captured by Indian police said that indeed LeT was behind the bloody attacks.

Even if the operation had been prepared for a long time, the timing might not be coincidental. A week ago Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari went on a limb to advance peace with India. He declared that Pakistan would never be the first to use the atomic bomb against India and more importantly talking about Kashmir, he called the rebels "terrorists:" a first for a Pakistani president.

Reportedly some inside the ISI were very upset by this statement and by the possible rapprochement with India. What better way to kill these efforts than by pulling off a large terror operation in Mumbai?

International support to India and Pakistan against Jihadi terror

By Walid Phares

As Governments and private sector analysts are now decrypting the secrets of the Mumbai Jihadi operation and as diplomats are hurrying to head off a crisis between the two Asian nuclear powers, the counter terrorism community within Democracies is focusing on studying the effects of the latest "Urban Jihad" not only on India, but also inside Pakistan, across the region and throughout the free world. In this regard, I am sharing here at the CTB an interview I had with Venkatesan Vembu of the Daily News and Analysis of India. Also I am including in this post a number of TV interviews I had on Fox News over the past few days. The following were short segments on Fox News over the past few days

On Fox News: "Mumbai strike a preemptive move by the Jihadists to trigger an India-Pakistan crisis to ease the pressure on the Taliban - Nov 29, 2008, 18:10

On Fox News with Gregg Jarrett: "Laskar e Taiba was also training in Virginia!" - Nov 27, 2008, 11:23

On Fox News: "Mumbai's operation is a military terrorist operation building for an Urban Jihad" - Nov 26, 2008, 22:58

On Hannity and Colmes on Fox News: "Laskar e Taiba Jihadi terror group has operated in the United States as well" - Nov 26, 2008, 21:15

I was also inteviewed by Sarah Bell of CVC Radio on November 27.

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Mumbai Terror Attacks: "Agencies Yet to Learn Hard Lessons'

By Animesh Roul

Originaly Published as 'Agencies yet to learn hard lessons' in Sunday MiD Day, Mumbai, 30-11-2008

FOR almost over sixty hours, Mumbai, the financial capital of India, witnessed a series of terrorist attacks, multiple hostage crisis, mindless killings, fierce gun battles and at the end, a disrupted life. The terrorists have struck major targets including luxury hotels and a Jewish Center frequented by Westerners and elite Indian only to be holed up later inside these buildings with innocent civilians as hostage. Their demand was the safe release of Mujahideen held in Indian prisons. Prior to this, they also have targeted at least seven more places and went on a killing spree on that fateful Wednesday evening.

An unknown outfit, Deccan Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, for quite some time now, this name-game has been a part of Pakistan based terror groups' desperate attempt to give a homegrown Indian flavor to this ongoing Jihadi-terrorism in the region. Of course a collusive local hand is quite possible in this sort of terror operations, primarily for logistical support. Looking at the whole incident, it is beyond doubt that these highly trained terrorists have undergone specialised terror training at various camps located somewhere in Pakistan administered Kashmir or Karachi.

As evidences are forthcoming following the arrests of some Pakistani nationals including one Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab who was apprehended from the besieged Taj Mahal hotel, the needle of suspicion pointed strongly at the Pakistan-based and Kashmir-centric Islamist group, Lashkar-e-Toiba (Army of the Pure). Even though this LeT denied any hand in this carnage, its footprints are quite evident.

It doesn't take any great wisdom to believe that Pakistan based and Kashmir centric terror tanzeems are behind most of the terrorist acts perpetrated on Indian soil. Among them, Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Muhammad and Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami have been leading from the front in the so called Islamic Jihad against India. With strong Saudi Wahabi link and proximity to the notorious ISI, LeT's activities are not always clandestine in Pakistan. It operates openly with its so called political wing Jamat- ud- Dawa, nurturing dreams for a 'God's government' on the lines of Sharia laws in Pakistan and elsewhere. It preaches Armed Jihad as shortest route to reach god and heaven. LeT is the one which has introduced such type of Fidayeen missions in Jammu and Kashmir and intermittently striking India's heartlands with its tactics of indiscriminate shooting and grenade attacks.

Mumbai is always vulnerable to terrorism and gang violence for its business potential and porous sea coasts. We have experienced number of terrorist attacks in the past including 1993 serial blasts and 2006 serial train blasts. The latest events stand out as the most severe terrorist act. Meanwhile, the death toll in latest Mumbai mayhem has reached 195 including 22 foreign nationals and 15 security forces at the end of the prolonged and biggest terror fight the country has ever seen. While nearly 300 of them sustained physical injuries, millions of them get scarred for life.

There is obviously a growing concern that terrorists have uniquely used all possible types of terror tactics in Mumbai, ranging from hostage taking, driving explosive laden cars, using sea routes, indiscriminately shooting at civilians and using grenades to maximise the damage.

The Mumbai attacks didn't involve suicide bombers, but motivated Fidayeens (death squads), as propagated by Lashkar-e-Toiba which supports the later terror tactics as Islamic. According to JuD/Lashkar-e-Toiba's spokesperson, Abdullah Muntazir, who denied any involvement in Mumbai attacks, said on earlier occasions that a Fidayeen must complete their mission even in the worst circumstances. Quite plausibly Muntazir's definition, who is desperately trying to salvage JuD's public image, matches the recent operations in Mumbai.

Arguably, there has been a massive intelligence failure as Indian security agencies were caught napping again when metropolises like Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi, country's political and financial centres have always been an obvious target for terrorists who want to cripple the country from all possible fronts. Just after the 9/11 event in the US, Indian intelligence agencies received reports about an ongoing marine training of LeT operatives to infiltrate India's porous sea borders. Again couple of years ago, Indian Coast Guards apprehended Lashkar's seaborne terrorists, off the Mumbai coast. But Indian agencies have never learned the hard lessons. The irony is both Intelligence and security agencies only claim to have uncovered plots and neutralised terror sleeper cells, but never reached to the roots perhaps due to lack of political willingness or technological backwardness.

Always under severe criticism for a weak-kneed response to situations like Mumbai and inept handling of investigations, for the first time, India did not negotiate with terrorists and went on hot pursuit.

At this hour of national crisis, many fear that it could escalate into an Indo-Pakistani crisis as blame game has already begun at the highest level. However, the Islamabad administration has quickly stepped up damage control exercise by promising support in the investigations.

And now the battle is over, the investigating agencies would piece things together to get a clear picture of what had happened and how to fight this menace again in future. One thing is for sure that to outsmart terror groups, like LeT, it has to resort to proper investigations backed by human and technical intelligence rather than only rhetoric, false claims and complacency.

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Mumbai Whodunnit: Names vs. Networks

By Aaron Mannes

Following the tenets of Journalism 101, the first question about the Mumbai attacks was “who?” Most of the speculation has focused on Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), although their spokesperson and the spokesperson of their political wing (reported by CTBlog’s Evan Kohlmann) have both denied their organization’s involvement. The reality is that the structures supporting this attack go beyond specific organizations.

In a prescient article, “The Supporting Structures of Pakistan’s Proxy War in Jammu & Kashmir,” in the June 2001 issue of Strategic Analysis (a journal of India’s Institute for Defence Studies & Analysis - the article is not a available online) the author, Ajay Darshan Behra argues:

The supporting structures for the proxy war in J&K are much more complex and go beyond Pakistan's unstated policies or strategic objectives. Some of these structures have developed their own dynamics… Since the end of the Cold War, these structures have embedded themselves deeply in the political economy of the region. The Pakistani state does not control them but merely exercises influence over them and is able to exploit them to serve its own strategic designs. It is due to the advantages accruing from these structures that Pakistan has been able to engage India militarily for more than a decade through a proxy war, with little cost to itself. Thus, there may be a grain of truth in Gen Musharraf's statement that the Pakistan Army is unable to stop militants from crossing the LOC. The Pakistani ruling elites are not in complete control of the supporting structures for terrorism, which they have been using for their proxy war in J&K. Because of the above factors, jehad and terrorism in J&K are likely to continue even if the Pakistani ruling elites give assurances about the withdrawal of their support.

The primary factors identified are: the extensive illicit arms trade within Pakistan which ensures that there is an endless supply of weapons, the uncontrollable sources of funding - particularly narcotics trafficking and donations both from within Pakistan and from around the world, and the tens of thousands of radical madrassas that indoctrinate Pakistani youth into radical Islam from Pakistan’s bottomless well of unemployed. The author does not discuss some other related factors, such as the complex geography (particularly the mountainous terrain), which makes controlling substantial parts of the country and particularly the Line of Control (LOC) in Kashmir a daunting problem.

Read the complete post.

Dawood Ibrahim's Name Again Surfaces With Latest Mumbai Terrorist Attack

By Victor Comras

It’s much too early to identify the group or groups involved in the Mumbai terrorist attack or to place blame for what has occurred. Identification will come with the expert police investigation and intelligence gathering now underway. But, at this stage we are all just involved in a process of speculation - drawing on past experience with terrorist modis operandi to explain what occurred and exploring the various various possibilities and theories. Among the possible culprits being considered are several Pakistan based Islamic extremist organizations such as Lashkar-e-Tayyiba; Al Qaeda-linked or wannabe groups, and India home grown terrorist groups. One thing appears clear - the attack was well planned and organized, and that requires reliance on a sophisticated network for recruitment, logistics, training and financing. Some Indian terrorist experts suggest that Dawood Ibrahim may well be linked to organizing and financing this attack just as he did for the 1993 Mumbai stock exchange terrorist bombings.

Dawood Ibrahim (birthname Sheikh Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar), for years headed the D-Company which ran a substantial hawala operation out of Mumbai, Karachi and Dubai. He reportedly moved easily between various Islamic extremist groups and Indian crime syndicates, and is believed to have acted as an Al Qaeda surrogate for several financial transactions and arms and drug smuggling deals. He was designated by the US Treasury Department as a global terrorist in October 2003, and listed as an Al Qaeda associate by the UN Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee on November 3, 2003. According to the Treasury Department “Dawood Ibrahim, an Indian crime lord, has found common cause with Al Qaida, sharing his smuggling routes with the terror syndicate and funding attacks by Islamic extremists aimed at destabilizing the Indian government. He is wanted in India for the 1993 Bombay Exchange bombings and is known to have financed the activities of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (Army of the Righteous), a group designated by the United States in October 2001 and banned by the Pakistani Government…” See also Treasury Fact Sheet on Dawood Ibrahim here

Ibrahim's current whereabouts is unknown. He is believed by some to have been given safehaven in Pakistan, perhaps in the Frontier Territories, although there have been some reports of his having been arrested by Pakistan authorities several years ago. Pakistan denies these reports and maintains that he has not been given any safehaven anywhere in Pakistan.

You can find more information about Dawood Ibrahim in articles posted last year by my colleagues Aaron Mannes and Doug Farah.

Jamat-ud-Dawa (LET Political Wing) on Mumbai Attacks: "Not a Legitimate Tactic"

By Evan Kohlmann

In the aftermath of this week's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Indian government officials and media outlets have already begun pointing a finger at Islamic militants in neighboring Pakistan -- particularly an organization known as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET). The LET has been designated by the U.S. government as a proscribed foreign terrorist organization -- along with its accused political wing, Jamat-ud-Dawa (JUD).

Earlier this evening, I spoke via telephone with the official representative of JUD, Abdullah Muntazir, to discuss the situation in Mumbai and mounting allegations of involvement by LET and/or Pakistani Islamists. Muntazir strongly denied these charges, referring to the attacks as an "internal problem" for India. He repeatedly insisted to me, "we have nothing to do with it", and blamed Indian "propaganda" for "divert[ing] the attention of the public media" --- which he described as "their usual practice." Interestingly, during our conversation, Muntazir went even further and actually condemned the events that have taken place in Mumbai as needless "carnage": "Islam does not permit killing civilian people." He added, "I don't think that this is a legitimate tactic."

Mayhem in Mumbai: India Reels Under Another Terror Attack

By Frank Hyland & Animesh Roul

This column is another in the ongoing series on the terrorist threat to India and the surrounding region by Frank Hyland and Animesh Roul.

Almost a day after Mumbai was struck by multiple terrorist attacks, a warlike situation still prevails on the ground, as security forces continue evacuating hostages. The Ministry of Home Affairs has confirmed 125 deaths and 327 injuries in the country's biggest and now the longest-ever terror seige. At least 14 police personnel are known have been killed in the attacks, including, reportedly, two of the nation’s highest ranking anti-terror policemen. The dead also included six foreigners. Five suspected terrorists have been captured thus far; five others were killed, while three reportedly have escaped. The terrorists, who came probably from Pakistan via the sea route, dodging the coast guard, and struck targets such as the Leopold Cafe, Hotel Oberoi and Taj International, Colaba Wadi, the BMC office, Cama Hospital, GT Hospital, Nariman House, Vidhan Bhavan. Hundreds of people were held hostage in the Taj hotel, the Trident hotel and Nariman house. Hundreds of those hostages were evacuated from the Hotels and from the Nariman house, a Jewish Center run by Chabad Lubavitch group. At the Trident Oberoi, security forces had evacuated 60 hostages and some 400 stranded guests as of Thursday evening. Terrorists holed up inside the Taj hotel with hostages demanded earlier in the day the release of all terrorists (Mujahedeen) held in Indian prisons. One of those was identified as a member of Deccan Mujahedeen group, which was born out of a desperate attempt to give more of a homegrown Indian flavor to this ongoing Jihadi-type terrorism.

Deadly Cargo:

Sometime ago, proposals from Pakistan were put forth to make Mumbai and Karachi sister cities for their shared common features and geographical proximity. There was also a plan for regular ferry service between the two cities. The idea, perhaps born out of good intentions, turned out to be the route used by Pakistan-based terrorists who used the sea routes to reach the Mumbai coast on November 26th, then wreaking havoc.

As pointed out earlier, the latest Mumbai terror events have been perpetrated by the Lashkar e Toiba-affiliated (LeT) Kashmir-centric Islamist group. Some accounts point the finger at Al-Qa’ida as instigators and supporter. Even though the Pakistan-based militant group denied any hand in the Mumbai Mayhem, its footprints are quite evident. One Abdullah Gaznavai, LeT chief spokesman denied any involvement or association with these attacks. At least 10 of the terrorists affiliated with the Lashkar-e-Toiba and reached south Mumbai had arrived in inflatable speed boats, landing near Sasson Dock, very near to the Taj Continental Hotel. Two Pakistani ships -- MV Al Kabir and MV Alpaha -- are suspected to have transported terrorists, playing the role of 'Mother Ship', and have been detained after a joint operation by the Border Security Force and Navy Coast guards.

Intelligence Failure, Again!

The Mumbai attacks were a well-planned and coordinated series of terrorist attacks, as AK47-wielding terrorists with grenades in their backpacks targeted a number of high-profile locations frequented by Westerners and wealthy Indians. It appears to have been a massive intelligence failure as Indian security agencies were caught napping, this despite reports that Indian Authorities had been aware for some time of rumors of an impending attack, including even mention of the Taj Mahal Hotel. Interrogation of at least one perpetrator reportedly confirmed to Indian Authorities suspicions of the Pakistan-related origin of the plot. Despite the repeated failure of the Intelligence the administration’s public response thus far appears to be curiously complacent. The Country's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Intelligence officials pointed fingers very cautiously at an 'outside force', an obvious reference to Pakistan-centric terrorist groups. Manmohan Singh promised tough measures to take on the terrorists, including that of setting up a federal investigating agency.

Click on image below for map of attacks

Twitter comes of age reporting on Mumbai attacks

By Roderick Jones

The micro-blogging service Twitter has been providing updates to the attacks in Mumbai.

Link to Twitter feed.

Some of the commentary and links are off-base but it is a fascinating view into how the 'crowd' can monitor and report on real-time events. For example, there is a link posted to a 'google doc' spreadsheet listing known casualties. Link here.

Terrorist attacks may remain disturbingly similar but the way they are reported and examined changes in step with the rapid pace of virtualization.

Mumbai Terror attacks: Urban Jihad comes to India

By Walid Phares

As we write this short early assessment of the Terror attacks in Mumbai, events are still unforlding in the financial capital of the sub Indian region. Counter Terrorism units are battling armed elements inside several buildings including the Taj Hotel where hostages have been seized, including foreigners. My first round of monitoring included a discussion with our colleague Animesh Roul who has also posted a report on CTB. I must credit a number of facts and assumptions to him including the projection that the perpetrators -although calling themselves Deccan Mujahideen- are in fact members or trained by Lashkar e Toiba/SIMI (who according to Animesh Roul now call themselves Indian Mujahideen). Here is the condensed report I discussed on Fox News, the BBC, Russia Today TV and other international outlets.

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India's Financial Hub Mumbai under Multiple Terror Attacks!

By Animesh Roul

Co-Editor's Note: See the "Newslinks" box for links to updated news on the attacks.
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Suspected Islamic terrorists have attacked at least eight places in Mumbai, the financial hub of India on November 26 evening. They fired indiscriminately, and lobbed grenades around while making their way to Hotels and Railway Stations and Airport. At least 60 people, many foreigners have reportedly died and nearly 150 injured in these terror attacks. Times of India report quoting hospital sources, indicated that at least 80 people were dead and 250 injured in the terror attacks. There are unconfirmed reports of a Hostage situation also in Taj Mahal and Oberoi Hotels (with most foreign guests). The first incident of firing was reported at Leopold Cafe, a well-known watering hole for tourists and foreigners in Colaba. The second incident was near Taj Mahal hotel, the third was near Oberoi hotel in Nariman Point and the fourth one was at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station. Also a major blast was also reported in Vile Parle in suburban Mumbai. As per the latest reports around 15 people, half of them foreigners are taken hostage on the roof of the Taj Mahal Hotel.

The needle of the suspicion is on the Lashkar- e- Toiba and Student Islamic Movement of India combine (Now they credibly calling and proving them as Indian Mujahedeen terror group).

The incidents took place one day after the reported arrest of Lashkar -e-Toiba linked Raheel Sheikh by the Interpol in London. Raheel is one of the alleged masterminds of the conspiracy and was involved in the funding of the July 11, 2006, Mumbai serial train blasts that killed nearly 200 commuters and wounded over 500 people on that fateful day.

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