The Long War Journal

Al Nusrah Front claims suicide attack in Syria

2012-02-27T01:50:17Z

A screen shot of the video released on Feb. 26 by the Al Nusrah Front. Image from the SITE Intelligence Group.

A recently formed jihadist group known as the Al Nusrah Front claimed credit for a suicide attack in the Syrian city of Homs. The Al Nusrah Front is one of two Islamist terror groups in Homs to have announced their existence in the past month to battle President Bashir al Assad's regime.

The Al Nusrah Front to Protect the Levant released a 45-minute-long videotape today on the al Qaeda-linked Shumukh al Islam web forum. The video was translated by the SITE Intelligence group.

In the video, Al Nusrah said the "martyrdom-seeking operation" was executed "in revenge for our mother Umm Abdullah - from the city of Homs- against whom the criminals of the regime violated her dignity and threatened to slaughter her son," SITE reported. The suicide bomber was identified as Abu al Bara'a al Shami, who is seen on the tape giving a martyrdom statement.

The video also shows "an excerpt of allegiances, operations, and training of the al-Nusra Front" as well as a fighter "amongst the masses in a public demonstration, advising them to do their prayers and adhere to the rituals of Islam."

The Al Nusrah Front announced the formation of the "Free Ones of the Levant Brigades" in a YouTube video statement that was released on Jan. 23. In the statement, the group claimed an attack on security headquarters in Idlib.

"To all the free people of Syria, we announce the formation of the Free Ones of the Levant Brigades," the statement said, according to a translation obtained by The Long War Journal. "We promise Allah, and then we promise you, that we will be a firm shield and a striking hand to repel the attacks of this criminal Al Asad army with all the might we can muster. We promise to protect the lives of civilians and their possessions from security and the shabihah [pro-government] militia. We are a people who will either gain victory or die."

In addition to the Al Nusrah Front, a second jihadist group has been activated in Homs in the past month. Last week, a group calling itself the Al Baraa Ibn Malik Martyrdom Brigade said it had formed a martyrdom battalion and was prepared to carry out suicide attacks against Syrian forces. The group, which posed in front of a flag belonging to al Qaeda in Iraq, said it was part of the Free Syrian Army, which claims to be secular. The Free Syrian Army has blamed suicide attacks in Syria on Assad's intelligence services. A group known as the Al Baraa Ibn Malik Martyrdom Brigade was created to wage jihad in Iraq in 2005, and merged with al Qaeda in Iraq under the command of Ayman al Zawahiri.

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri has recently urged Muslims inside and outside of Syria to take up arms against the Syrian government. In a statement issued on Feb. 11 and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, Zawahiri said: "I appeal to every Muslim and every free, honorable one in Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon, to rise to help his brothers in Syria with all what he can, with his life, money, wonders, opinion, and information." Telling Syrians not to trust Turkey, the Arab League, or the West, he exhorted the "lions of the Levant" to "[d]evelop the intention of jihad in the Cause of Allah to establish a state that defends the Muslim countries and seeks to liberate the Golan and continue its jihad until it raises the banners of victory above the usurped hills of Jerusalem."

Since the end of December, there have already been five suicide bombings in Syria; none have been reported in Homs. The Syrian government said that a pair of suicide bombers targeted security headquarters in Damascus on Dec. 23; over 40 people were reported killed and scores more were wounded in the blasts. On Jan. 6, the Syrian government said that a suicide bomber killed 25 people in an attack on security forces in Damascus. And on Feb. 10, a pair of suicide bombers killed 25 people while targeting security headquarters in Aleppo.

Al Qaeda in Iraq already has a strong presence in Syria [see LWJ report, Eastern Syria becoming a new al Qaeda haven]. The Abdullah Azzam Brigades, a regional al Qaeda affiliate, also is known to operate in Syria. Two of its senior leaders, Saudi citizens Saleh al Qarawi and Suleiman Hamad Al Hablain, have been added to the US's list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists since November 2011. The terror group has denied any involvement in the Dec. 23 suicide attack.

Somali Islamist group formally declares allegiance to Shabaab, al Qaeda

2012-02-25T23:30:06Z

A senior Islamist commander and weapons smuggler in northern Somalia who has long been tied to Shabaab has officially declared allegiance to the terror group and al Qaeda.

The merger was confirmed by Shabaab at its official Twitter account, HSM Press Office [Harakat Al Shabaab Al Mujahideen Press Office], as well as with a radio statement by a senior Islamist leader from the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in northern Somalia.

"Following the London Conference, the Mujahideen in Galgala area of Puntland have officially become part of Harakat Al-Shabaab Al Mujahideen," the first tweet from HSM Press Office declared.

"The Mujahideen in Northern #Somalia have now formally pledged allegiance to Sh. Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr, Emir of Harakat Al-Shabaab Al Mujahideen," it continued.

"Apart from reigning over the Golis Mountain range, Mujahideen control several towns/villages surrounding Bosaaso, commercial hub of Puntland," HSM Press Office said.

"The Mujahideen of Somalia now dominate the vast stretch of mountainous terrains of the North as well as the fertile plains of the South," HSM Press Office boasted, while ignoring the fact that Shabaab fighters abandoned the strategic western city of Baidoa to advancing Ethiopian and Somali troops just this week.

HSM Press Office's announcement was paired with a statement from a spokesman for Sheikh Mohammed Said Atom, who leads a large group of Islamist fighters in Puntland. Yasin Khalid Osman 'Yasin Kilwe,' who leads a group of fighters under Atom and serves as his spokesman, said the group "joined" with Shabaab and welcomed the merger with al Qaeda, according to Somalia Report. Osman's statement was broadcast on Al-Andalus, Shabaab's official radio station.

"I swear allegiance and adherence to the Amir of Harakat Shabab al Mujahidin Sheikh Muktar Abu Zubayr," said Osman, who described himself as the "Emir of the mujahidin in Golis mountains." Osman

"I want to praise God for the unity of our Shabaab brothers with al Qaeda fighters," Osman continued, according to Somalia Report. "This is a great victory for the all mujahideen in the world, marking the unity of Muslim jihadists in the world for the first time in recent years. I want to declare today that we are joined with our al Shabaab brothers who are devoted to the Jihad in Somalia. On behalf of the mujahideen fighters in Galgala mountains, I want to confirm to you that we shall obey the orders of the leader of the Shabaab mujahideen, Sheikh Muktar Abu Zubayr who will also be our leader."

Osman also said that for the northern Somali jihadists, "this is the first step toward the start of proper solidarity with all Muslim jihadists in the world."

Atom's pledge of fealty takes place just two weeks after Shabaab announced its official merger with a Qaeda. The two terror groups have been intricately linked for years, and the announcement of the merger was merely the formal acknowledgment of the ties between the two groups. Several days later, the Muslim Youth Center in Kenya announced its merger with Shabaab and al Qaeda East Africa.

UN links Atom to Shabaab

Both Shabaab and Atom have previously denied the two were linked, even though Atom is known to have cooperated with the Somali terror group and has espoused its ideology.

But the United Nations has said that Atom and Shabaab have been linked for years. In early 2010, the United Nations identified Atom as "one of the principal suppliers of arms and ammunition for Al Shabaab operations in the Puntland region."

"Atom is aligned with Al Shabaab and may receive instructions from Al Shabaab leader Fu'aad Mohamed Khalaf," the UN report continued. The UN linked Atom to the Feb. 5, 2008, bombing in Bosaso that killed 20 Ethiopian migrant workers and wounded more than 100. Shabaab has declared war on Ethiopia and has attacked Ethiopian troops and interests throughout the country.

Shabaab has successfully carried out terror attacks in the relatively peaceful Somali north in the past. On Oct. 29, 2008, five Shabaab suicide bombers struck four compounds in Somaliland and Puntland, killing 28 and wounding scores. Three suicide car bombers struck the presidential palace, the UN Development Program compound, and the Ethiopian Consulate in the city of Hargeisa in Somaliland. And in Bosaso, two bombers targeted an intelligence facility.

Atom's forces have openly clashed with Puntland security forces in the past. In July and August 2010, Puntland troops claimed to have killed dozens of Atom's forces during heavy fighting in the Galgala Mountains region. Local Puntland officials said Atom's bases in the mountainous region in the province of Sanaag are "like Tora Bora in Afghanistan," the cave complexes and training camps in eastern Afghanistan used by Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda during fighting with US forces in 2002.

More recently, on Feb. 15, one of Atom's spokesmen claimed his forces killed 15 Puntland troops in Sugare north of Bosaso. Atom's brother, Ahmed Saeed Mohamed, was captured by Puntland security forces two days prior in the Golis Mountains.

Egyptian Islamic Group plans to sue Interior Ministry over torture

2012-02-25T17:34:03Z

The Egyptian Gama'a al-Islamiyya plans to sue the Egyptian Interior Ministry because members of the organization were "tortured by the State Security Bureau in the last three decades," according to a statement this week by Alaa Abul Nasr, secretary general of the Gamaa's new Building and Development Party.

Gama'a al-Islamiyya, or the Islamic Group, one of the original affiliate groups of the al Qaeda network, was responsible for a wave of terrorism both inside Egypt and abroad in the 1980s and 1990s that elicited a sustained and brutal response from the Egyptian security services.

In his statement, Nasr added that some of the Gamaa members rounded up in the government crackdowns have gone "missing until this moment." He further noted that many of the interior ministry officials involved in the sweep "are still in power."

The Gamaa emerged as a loose grouping of independent Islamist organizations in Upper (southern) Egypt in the early 1970s. By the end of the decade, Gamaa's groups united under a single banner, and were led by Asyut-based cleric Omar abd ar-Rahman. Rahman was first known for his involvement in a 24-man cell responsible for the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981. Ayman al-Zawahiri, now the
commander of al Qaeda, was also a member of that cell.

After Sadat's assassination, the Gamaa launched a violent uprising in the Egyptian town of Asyut. New Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak responded by arresting thousands. He cracked down on unlicensed mosques and implemented a state of emergency that remained until his ouster last year.

In 1984, the Gamaa published a radical manifesto titled The Program for Islamic Action. The group launched a sporadic campaign of violence that targeted Christian Copts, liquor stores, theaters, and government mosques throughout Upper Egypt.

By 1992, the terror campaign had expanded to include attacks on prominent Muslim moderates and tourists, in addition to bank and train robberies. There were also several higher-profile attacks over the span of a few years, including a 1992 attack on a tour bus full of Germans in Qena, the first of several attacks designed to debilitate Egypt's tourism industry.

But the Gamaa's activities were not restricted to Egypt. On Feb. 26, 1993, three men affiliated with the group attempted to destroy the World Trade Center in New York. The men belonged to a New Jersey mosque where Omar abd al-Rahman had been preaching. Abd ar-Rahman, who was jailed in Egypt from 1981 to 1984 for his role in the Sadat assassination, was eventually convicted in the US for conspiracy to bomb the United Nations and FBI buildings, as well as the George Washington Bridge and the Holland Tunnel.

While the Gamaa was never definitively linked to the 1993 attacks, its growing ties to al Qaeda were clear. Members gravitated to al Qaeda's new base in neighboring Sudan from 1992 to 1996. Indeed, terror analyst Rohan Gunaratna believes that al Qaeda's "Manual of Jihad," compiled in Sudan between 1993 and 1994, was likely written by Gamaa members.

On Nov. 17, 1997, Gamaa carried out a grisly attack in the southern Egyptian town of Luxor, killing 62 tourists in cold blood. On Feb. 23, 1998, the Gamaa officially announced its affiliation with al Qaeda. Along with Ayman al-Zawahiri (representing the Egyptian group al-Jihad), Gamaa leader Refa'i Ahmad Taha joined Osama bin Laden's World Islamic Front, an umbrella group for al Qaeda affiliates, which publicly declared its goal of waging a holy war "against Jews and Crusaders," imploring all Muslims to "kill the Americans."

With increased support from the West to address its terror problem, the Mubarak regime arrested more than 20,000 terror suspects. Some were detained for long periods of time without due process. Other detainee allegations included torture, beatings, and threats to suspects' families. In the end, the group was defeated to the point that it was forced to concede. The Gamaa's incarcerated leaders called for a ceasefire.

In 2002, the defeated group issued a four-volume set of books entitled Correction of Concepts, criticizing al Qaeda's strategy and tactics. And in June of that year, the group condemned the Sept.11 attacks, in the government-run al-Mussawar magazine. In the wake of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) attacks on Saudi targets in 2003, the Gamaa called the violence "a series of errors," and implored the faction to "apologize to the parents of the victims." Gamaa member Issam Derbella also published a book in 2003 entitled Al-Qaeda Strategy: Flaws and Dangers.

Former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, who is now standing trial for killing protesters during the 2011 protests that brought down the Mubarak regime, recently boasted that he had played a positive role in Egypt because he had forced the Gamaa to renounce terrorism. The Gamaa denied that this was the case, however, as Asem Abdel Maged, a Gamaa leader, shot back: "Not even once did the group coordinate with the Interior Ministry or security services."

For Egyptians who recall the war between Mubarak's security services and the Gamaa, Abdel Maged's claims are difficult to reconcile. For that matter, Abdel Maged's claim that the Gamaa "did not kill innocent people" is a tough one, too.

Nevertheless, the former Egyptian arm of al Qaeda now operates under the umbrella of a legal political party that currently has16 parliamentarians and even includes Copts among its members. The Gamaa's historic opposition to Mubarak and its populist Salafi ideology appeal to the public. And in an attempt to harness anti-Mubarak sentiment, the group appears poised to sue for damages stemming from the crackdown against the terror campaign it launched three decades ago.

The Gamaa remains on the US list of terrorist organizations. But like much of the rest of Egypt in the post-Mubarak era, the group is rewriting its history.

Jonathan Schanzer is vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the author of Al-Qaeda's Armies: Middle East Affiliate Groups & The Next Generation of Terror (SPI Books, 2004).

Moroccan jihadist killed in Somalia airstrike

2012-02-24T22:16:38Z

Moroccan jihadist Abu Ibrahim. Image from the SITE Intelligence Group.

A Moroccan jihadist was among several Shabaab fighters, including other foreigners, who were killed in an airstrike in southern Somalia today.

In a web posting today, a jihadist forum member who also serves as an operative in Somalia said that Abu Ibrahim, who was also known as Hassan al Toor and Abu Qatada, was killed in an airstrike south of Mogadishu. The jihadist announced Abu Ibrahim's death in a statement that was released on the al Qaeda-linked Shumukh al-Islam forum and translated by the SITE Intelligence group.

While the jihadist forum member did not give an exact date for Abu Ibrahim's death, his statement indicates that Abu Ibrahim was killed in an airstrike that took place in the K60 area of the Lower Shabelle region in southern Somalia (K60 is an area 60 kilometers south of Mogadishu near the coastal city of Merca).

"The knowledge [sic] knight dismounted his horse as a result of an airstrike in area of 60 in Lower Shabelle province..," the statement said.

Reports from Somalia said that several aircraft, thought to be helicopters, struck two vehicles traveling at night in the K60 area, killing four to six Shabaab operatives, including "foreigners." Mareeg Online claimed that a Kenyan known as Sheik Abukar Hajji Ahmed was among several Kenyans killed in the attack. The Internet jihadist said that Abu Ibrahim was killed along with two others, who were known as Abu Ahad al Muhajir and Abu Bakr a Ansari al Muhajir. The two men were likely foreigners, as Muhajir means "immigrant."

The jihadist also stated that Abu Ibrahim was killed after his "dream" of Shabaab merging with al Qaeda was realized.

"The Sheikh was keen to have al Qaeda take the helm of jihad in this land... The Sheikh departed after some of his dream came true, and there are still some things to be done
by those after him...," the Internet jihadist stated.

Shabaab officially merged with al Qaeda on Feb. 9 [see LWJ report, Shabaab formally joins al Qaeda]. Today's airstrike in K60 is the first reported in that area since the merger.

The jihadist claimed to personally know Abu Ibrahim, presumably from the jihadist web forums, and said that he had, along with al Qaeda leader Bilal al Berjawi, encouraged and helped Abu Ibrahim enter Somalia. The jihadist said he first met Abu Ibrahim in the Somali city of Baidoa. The city was controlled by Shabaab for the past three years before the terror group abandoned it just this week to advancing Somali and Ethiopian forces.

Abu Ibrahim attempted to join al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi prior to his death in June 2006. The jihadist claimed Abu Ibrahim "arrived in Turkey and then returned," but did not give the reasons for why he could not enter Iraq.

Likely a US airstrike

The BBC said that the Kenyan military, which has conducted airstrikes several hundreds of miles south in the Kismayo region, denied hitting targets in the K60 area today. The strike was likely carried out by the US, as the Kenyan Air Force would be hard-pressed to hit moving vehicles in an airstrike in an area more than 500 miles north of its borders. The Kenyan military also would not be likely to have the intelligence capabilities to identify the targets and execute the strike.

US military and Intelligence officials who were contacted by The Long War Journal would neither confirm nor deny that the US carried out today's airstrike in Somalia. If helicopters were used in today's strike, the mission was likely executed by the Joint Special Operations Command, which also used helicopter gunships to kill top al Qaeda operative Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan in a similar raid along the coast south of Mogadishu in September 2009.

The US has been actively hunting al Qaeda and Shabaab operatives operating in southern Somalia. Last month, the US killed Bilal al Berjawi, a British citizen who served as a senior al Qaeda and Shabaab leader, in a Predator airstrike near Mogadishu.

The US military's Joint Special Operations Command and the CIA are known to operate the armed Predators and Reapers from bases in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, Arba Minch in Ethiopia, the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, and a base in an unnamed country on the Arabian Peninsula. The bases are to be used to attack al Qaeda affiliates Shabaab, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.a

Suicide assault team attacks police in Peshawar

2012-02-24T15:42:03Z

A suicide assault team from the Abdullah Azzam Brigade killed four policemen during an attack on a police station in the Pakistani city of Peshawar today. The attack was carried out by the Abdullah Azzam Brigade to avenge the death of an al Qaeda and Taliban leader who was killed in a recent US drone strike.

The three-man assault team armed with suicide vests, hand grenades, and assault rifles broke through the gate of the police station and attempted to take it over, according to reports in Dawn and Al Jazeera. The terrorists hurled hand grenades and opened fire on the policemen, then detonated their vests, killing themselves and four policemen.

Abu Zar, who identified himself as a spokesman for the Abdullah Azzam Brigade, told The Associated Press that the terror group carried out the attack to avenge Badr Mansoor, who was killed in a US Predator airstrike on Feb. 9 in Miramshah in North Waziristan.

Mansoor was a senior Taliban and al Qaeda leader who trained recruits to fight in Afghanistan. More importantly, he served as a nexus between the Taliban, al Qaeda, and the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), a Pakistani terror group supported by the Pakistani military and intelligence services. He operated in an area under the control of the Haqqani Network, an al Qaeda-linked group that also is supported by the Pakistani military and intelligence services.

"Mansoor funneled Pakistani jihadists from HuM and TTP [Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan] into the ranks of al Qaeda," a US intelligence official told The Long War Journal on Feb. 9. "He didn't just recruit low level-jihadists, but also convinced more experienced commanders to fill positions in al Qaeda."

Another US intelligence official said that Mansoor is part of the "deep bench" of commanders who are culled from the plethora of Pakistani and Central Asian jihadist groups operating in Pakistan to fill vacant leadership positions in al Qaeda.

Badr Mansoor's terror group is named after Abdullah Azzam, who co-founded al Qaeda along with Osama bin Laden. Azzam was killed in a bombing in 1989. Osama is widely believed to have killed his mentor after Azzam disagreed with making al Qaeda an international terror group.

The Abdullah Azzam Brigade claimed credit for the June 9, 2009 suicide assault on the Pearl Continental Hotel in a high-security zone in Peshawar. Seventeen people were killed in the attack, and the hotel was badly damaged. A spokesman named Amir Muawiya took credit for that attack and said the Taliban and al Qaeda shura directed that all future strikes would be claimed by this group. Amir Muawiya is a leader in the Commander Tariq Group, a Taliban faction that is based out of Darra Adam Khel in Pakistan's Arakzai tribal agency.

US adds Indonesian group, 3 leaders to terrorism list

2012-02-24T03:26:52Z

The US government has added an Indonesian group and three of its leaders who are responsible for attacks in the country to the list of terrorist organizations and individuals.

Today the State Department added the Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT), or the Partisans of the Oneness of God, to the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorist entities. The Treasury Department added Mochammad Achwan, the terror group's emir; Son Hadi bin Muhadjir, its spokesman; and Abdul Rosyid Ridho Ba'asyir, a JAT leader involved in recruiting members and financing operations, to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists.

"JAT is responsible for multiple coordinated attacks against innocent civilians, police, and military personnel in Indonesia," the State Department said in its designation of the terror group. "JAT seeks to establish an Islamic caliphate in Indonesia, and has carried out numerous attacks on Indonesian Government personnel and civilians in order to achieve this goal," the State designation continued.

Among the attacks carried out by JAT are the Sept. 25, 2011 suicide bombing at a church in Central Java that wounded dozens of worshipers, and a suicide attack at a mosque in West Java on April 15, 2011 that wounded 28 policemen.

The US government said that JAT was founded in 2008 by Abu Bakar Bashir, the spiritual leader and cofounder of Jemaah Islamiyah, an al Qaeda affiliate in Southeast Asia that has been behind numerous terror attacks in Indonesia. Bashir was arrested by Indonesian police in August 2010 on terrorism charges. In June 2011, a court found Bashir guilty of "committing a criminal act of terrorism" by founding and supporting a terrorist group known as al Qaeda in Aceh. One year later, he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Mochammad Achwan

The Treasury Department said that Achwan was appointed by Bashir in August 2010 to serve as JAT's acting emir.

Prior to being promoted to emir, Achwan "performed a number of leadership duties in JAT, overseeing the allocation of JAT funds and promoting JAT terrorist training, recruitment and operations," as well as serving on the terror group's executive council since its founding in 2008. Before joining JAT, Achwan served as Jemaah Islamiyah's commander in East Java and was tasked by Bashir "with establishing a logistical hub for JI to plan and prepare attacks."

In his role as a senior financier, Achwan directed the group to provide funds to Jemaah Islamiyah operative and "al Qaeda associate" Abdul Rahim Ba'asyir, who was one of three JI operatives added to the list of Specially Designated Global terrorists last year. Abdul Rahim served as a senior leader of Jemaah Islamiyah's al Ghuraba cell in Karachi, Pakistan.

The Ghuraba cell was a joint effort by al Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah to train a new generation of terrorists. The cell was tasked by 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed with conducting a hijacking operation against the US, and its members received training from Lashkar-e-Taiba at LET facilities in Karachi as early as 2001, according to declassified and leaked US intelligence documents [for more information on the al Ghuraba cell, see LWJ report, Al Qaeda cell targeted by Treasury Department tied to multiple terror groups].

Additionally, Achwan "inducted new JAT recruits and instructed JAT members to obey the Emir and participate in physical training to prepare for possible warfare" and "directed paramilitary training in Poso, Indonesia, with a JI and JAT member who was arrested in Indonesia in December 2010." While the operative was not named, it was likely Abu Tholut who was detained during a raid at his home in Central Java. Tholut had been involved in multiple bombings in Indonesia as well as raising funds for and recruiting and training terror cells. Tholut also established a training camp in Aceh.

Treasury also said that Achwan "instructed JAT's military unit, also known as 'Laskar 99,' to unconditionally support violent activities throughout the world and informed them about weapons available to members with the requisite training."

Achwan financed the establishment of al Qaeda in Aceh and the group's terrorist training camps. Dulmatin, the notorious Jemaah Islamiyah leader, was given operational control of al Qaeda in Aceh. Other Jemaah Islamiyah leaders and operatives were also involved with al Qaeda in Aceh. The terror group, which was dismantled by Detachment 88, Indonesia's counterterrorism force, "plotted to kill US aid workers and Western tourists." Dulmatin was killed by Detachment 88 in March 2010.

Son Hadi bin Muhadjir

Son Hadi serves as the spokesman for JAT. He has previously served as "director of the JAT Media Center" and "held a leadership position in a regional JAT office as secretary for JAT proselytizing efforts in East Java."

Before joining JAT, Son Hadi "provided support to the JI network's operations," Treasury said. In 2004, before joining JAT, Son Hadi was named "the leader of JI's administrative region in East Java." And "between 1997 and 2004, Son Hadi worked alongside a JI official in a foundation that at that time was a center of JI activities in Surabaya."

Son Hadi is linked to some of Jemaah Islamiyah's top leaders. In 2005, he was convicted of sheltering Noordin Mohammad Top, a Malaysian national who served as a senior leader in Jemaah Islamiyah; Son Hadi was sentenced to four years in prison. Before being killed in September 2009 by Detachment 88, Top was known as a highly effective recruiter, strategist, and fundraiser, and was behind the most deadly terror attacks in Indonesia. He masterminded the October 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people and injured 209; the August 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta; the September 2004 bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta; and the October 2005 Bali bombings. Top also planned and supervised the near-simultaneous suicide attacks at the JW Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta in July 2009.

Son Hadi was directly involved with one of Jemaah Islamiyah's terror attacks. He "took possession of the explosives used in JI's 2004 bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, which killed nine people and injured 182 others," according to Treasury.

Abdul Rosyid Ridho Ba'asyir

Abdul Rosyid is "a JAT leadership figure" who is "involved in recruiting JAT members and raising funds for JAT." Like Achwan, Abdul Rosyid is a member of JAT's executive council.

Abdul Rosyid plays an important military role in JAT. Over the past year, he "was taking an increasingly visible role in JAT's Laskar 99 military unit, overseeing its routine management functions."

"As of April 2010, Abdul Rosyid had started to recruit snipers and explosives specialists to be trained to become martyrs, probably on behalf of JAT," Treasury stated. He used his position as the director of an Indonesian boarding school "to proselytize and recruit his students for membership in JAT and another JAT-associated group."

Bashir sent Abdul Rosyid on JAT fundraising missions to a boarding school in Malaysia in 2010 and to Pakistan in 2011.

Taliban incite Afghans to kill 'Crusaders' over Koran burning

2012-02-23T15:40:34Z

The Taliban have urged all Afghans to move beyond "mere protests" and attack US military personnel throughout the country for burning copies of the Koran. The Taliban's call has been echoed by some members of parliament.

"We should not be satisfied with mere protests and empty slogans but the military bases of the invaders, their military convoys and their troops should become a target of our courageous attacks," said a statement that was released today on Voice of Jihad, the Taliban's official website, and signed by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

"Kill them, beat them, take them as prisoners and teach them such a lesson that they never summon the courage to abuse the Holy Quran again," the statement continued.

"The target of revenge of the protestors should only be the American occupiers, their facilities and properties and not those of the ordinary people," the Taliban said.

The Taliban statement also urged Afghans to target members of the Afghan government and security forces who protect NATO forces during protests. The Taliban described these Afghans as "the despicable backers of the invaders who have turned a blind eye towards the unforgiving crime of the infidels due to their cowardice and as defense of them...."

Finally, the Taliban urged "all the Muslims of the world, their governments and people, religious officials of the two sacred mosques [Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia] and the religious centers of Darul Uloom Deoband [in India] and Al Azhar [in Egypt], as part of their religious obligation and fervor to take a united stand against the desecration of our common book by the American aggressors. Condemn their unforgivable crime both practically and verbally and back the legitimate struggle of the Muslim Afghans against them."

The Taliban's incitement to attack US forces takes place as the terror group is negotiating with the US to reach a political settlement to the Afghan war. But Zahibullah Mujahid, the Taliban's official spokesman, told AFP that the call to attack US forces will not impede negotiations.

"We condemn the desecration of the Holy Koran in the strongest terms, but this issue will not affect this process in Qatar," Mujahid said.

Some members of the Afghan parliament have echoed the Taliban's rhetoric and urged Afghans to wage "jihad" against the "invaders."

"Americans are invaders, and jihad against Americans is an obligation," said Abdul Sattar Khawasi, a member of parliament from Parwan province, The New York Times reported. The Koran-burning incident took place at Bagram airbase in Parwan.

"Standing with about 20 other members of Parliament, Mr. Khawasi called on mullahs and religious leaders 'to urge the people from the pulpit to wage jihad against Americans,'" The New York Times article stated.

During the three days since the incident, protests have spread throughout Afghanistan, and a number of them have been violent, according to Reuters. In Nangarhar province, an Afghan soldier shot and killed two US soldiers and wounded two others, Tolo News reported.

Shabaab abandons western city as Ethiopian troops advance

2012-02-22T16:17:10Z

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As Ethiopian forces continue to press their offensive in Somalia, Shabaab forces have relinquished control of a key southern city that has been under the terror group's control for three years.

Fighters from Shabaab, al Qaeda's affiliate in eastern Africa, today abandoned Baidoa, the provincial capital of Bay, as large numbers of Ethiopian troops backed by Somali forces advanced on the city from the west. Shabaab is also reported to have withdrawn from Bardere, which is southwest of Baidoa. A Shabaab spokesman confirmed that Shabaab withdrew from Baidoa but claimed the terror group would fight to retake it.

"Our fighters left town this morning without fighting. Now we are surrounding the town," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab told Reuters. "Baidoa will be a cemetery for the Ethiopians."

Shabaab seized Baidoa in January 2009 after Ethiopian troops withdrew from the country. One month later, Ayman al Zawahiri, al Qaeda's emir, praised Shabaab for taking control of Baidoa. Prior to their withdrawal, Ethiopian forces had occupied much of southern and central Somalia after ousting the Islamic Courts Union from power in early 2007. And Baidoa had served as the capital of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government, from 2006 until the Shabaab takeover in January 2009.

The recent loss of Baidoa has put Shabaab on the defensive. The terror group is being pressed by African Union and Ethiopian forces on three fronts. In addition to Ethiopia's advance from the west, Burundian and Ugandan forces have taken control of Mogadishu after Shabaab abandoned much of the city last summer, and are slowly pressing westward to Afgoye, a Shabaab stronghold just 15 miles outside of the capital.

In the south, Kenyan forces are slowly moving northward toward the Shabaab strongholds of Afmadow and the port city of Kismayo. Kenyan troops have been fighting in Somalia since mid-October, and have only advanced to about 40 miles inside the country.

Shabaab still controls other major towns and cities along the coast between Kismayo and Mogadishu, including Jilib, Baraawe, and Merca. Shabaab recently held parades and celebrations in many of these towns after announcing its official merger with al Qaeda on Feb. 9. One day later, Shabaab's affiliate in Kenya, the Muslim Youth Center, also said it has become "part of al Qaeda East Africa."

Despite Shabaab's recent setbacks in Somalia, US intelligence officials who follow the terror group closely said that even if it loses many of the cities and towns it currently controls, the group still will remain a threat and will be capable of retaking lost ground after the African Union forces leave.

"Shabaab has been in this situation before when it was part of the Islamic Courts back in 2007 up until when the group fractured in 2009," one official told The Long War Journal. "As soon as Ethiopian troops left, the TFG [Somalia's Transitional Federal Government] couldn't hold its ground."

The officials cited a lack of unity among Somali factions, corruption, poorly trained security forces, and sympathetic elements within the government as reasons to be pessimistic about the government's chances to hold the ground seized by the foreign forces. One official also said that Shabaab has staying power and is committed to the cause of jihad at all costs.

"Ultimately Shabaab is committed to its cause, and it won't give up easily," the official said. "To them, these setbacks are temporary. They'll switch from an active insurgency to a guerrilla campaign of terror attacks and assassinations when they need to, and they'll ride out the 'Christian occupiers' to take on the weak government," the official said, referring to Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, and Djibouti, whose troops have been battling Shabaab.

Turkish jihadists eulogize commander killed in Waziristan

2012-02-20T17:32:17Z

Sinan Tekin, a Turkish national who was known as Emir Yunis and Abu Yunis Turki. Image from the SITE Intelligence Group.

A Turkish jihadist Internet forum announced the death of a military commander who was killed in the Waziristan tribal areas by Pakistani forces more than two years ago.

The Cihad forum eulogized Sinan Tekin, a Turkish national who was known as Emir Yunis and Abu Yunis Turki, in a statement that was released on Feb. 4 and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. Yunis "set out to participate in jihad" in June 2005 "with help from a mujahid friend of his," the statement said.

"His jihadi life in Afghanistan began with military training," the statement continued. "He participated in operations with the group to which he was affiliated, and he increased his operations with his work. He improved himself and took part in many raids, and he became an expert in many heavy weapons and rocket launchers."

Yunis served under the command of Sheikh Abu Omar, and after time was named as the group's "military commander and as Abu Omar's deputy."

Yunis was killed on July 28, 2009 along with four other fighters, who were identified as Samil Aga, Yusuf, Cendel, and Salahuddin, as they were "passing through the ceasefire area," which is a reference to either North or South Waziristan. The Pakistani military has signed peace agreements with powerful Taliban groups led by Siraj Haqqani and Hafiz Gul Bahadar in North Waziristan and by Mullah Nazir in South Waziristan.

Turkish jihadists affiliated with both al Qaeda and the Haqqani Network are known to fight in southeastern Afghanistan. On Nov. 30, 2011, Gazavat Media, a jihadist propaganda website that caters to Turkish jihadists belonging to the Taifatul Mansura, or the Victorious Sect, released a statement that announced the deaths of 21 "Turkish mujahideen affiliated with the Haqqani group," according to the SITE Intelligence Group.

In a separate statement released on Nov. 28, Gazavat Media said that another Turkish fighter was killed in a US Predator airstrike in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan.

"The mujahid of Turkish citizenship, who fought with the Haqqani group known as the Pakistani Taliban, was reported to have been affiliated with the group for the last three years," according to the Nov. 28 statement, which was translated by SITE. "The sources have reported that the Turkish citizen, M.E., who was martyred in a house hit by NATO drones, resided in Istanbul and was a registered resident of Gaziantep."

A number of al Qaeda-linked groups from outside Afghanistan and Pakistan flock to the region, and are known to fight alongside the Haqqani Network. Among those groups are the Islamic movement of Uzbekistan and its offshoot, the Islamic Jihad Union; the Caucasus Mujahideen in Khorasan; Jund al Khilafah; and the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement.

US announces a 'surge' of military trainers to Afghanistan

2012-02-19T19:13:37Z

The US Army recently announced the next round of unit deployments to Afghanistan. Five brigades and one army headquarters will deploy to Afghanistan between April and August 2012. While deployments are a regular part of normal troop rotations overseas, this deployment differs significantly from previous ones.

These units will not be assigned to regular combat operations. Their mission is specifically to train and support the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).

In the past, full brigades were deployed, each brigade consisting of about 3,500 troops. This time, less than 300 troops per brigade will be deployed; and the troops deploying will be only the brigade leaders, officers, and senior non-commissioned officers.

The brigades will be configured to better assist the training and support mission. They will reorganize into small independent teams, each consisting of 18 personnel.

Overall, five brigades plus an army HQ of officers and NCOs constitutes quite a large training contingent.

This announcement pertains to US Army units. It is likely that the US Marines, which also has combat troops in Afghanistan, will make a similar announcement.

The new Afghan strategy

This deployment plays an essential part in the new Afghan strategy. The strategy was described in detail in a previous Long War Journal article. In summary, the US plans to draw down its forces by 33,000 (from 100,000 to 67,000 troops) by the end of September 2012, thus ending the surge of US troops that started in late 2009. The goal is to have most US troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014. The US plans to end combat operations, however, by late 2013. By then, US forces will transition from the leading fighting force to a training and support force primarily supporting the ANSF. At the same time, the ANSF will take over the lead in combat operations, assuming the main role fighting the country's insurgency. The ANSF goal is to take responsibility for 50 percent of the Afghan population by the end of 2012 and all of Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

Standing up the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF)

This strategy places a heavy load on the ANSF. Afghan forces will have to take over combat operations very quickly. The ANSF is still an immature force, however, and will need a great deal of training and support during the transition in order to be successful. A problem that has continued to plague efforts to develop the ANSF is the shortage of military trainers in Afghanistan. The deployment of a large number of US trainers this spring is intended to address this issue.

The organization of the US training teams is another important feature of the upcoming deployment. Until recently, the ANSF's primary developmental emphasis has been on growing its size. Training resources have been concentrated in centralized training camps where new ANSF units are recruited and trained. However, the growth of the ANSF will end in September when it reaches its end state goal of 352,000 troops. The training emphasis will then shift from the training camps to supporting the existing units deployed across the country. The large number of US training teams will be dispersed across the country, attaching to individual ANSF units in the field. There they can advise and support the ANSF units in ongoing combat operations.

Specialized US training units

Another interesting feature of this deployment is that two of the units are not regular combat brigades. They are specialized training units deploying overseas for the first time.

162nd Infantry Brigade. This training brigade specializes in training foreign security forces combat advisers. Based in Fort Polk, La., it trained the advisers within the combat brigades before they deployed overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan. Now for the first time, the brigade itself is deploying.

1st Army Headquarters. This is not a regular combat HQ. It is the headquarters for the army's readiness and training units within the US. Now also for the first time, it will be deploying overseas.

Note that this surge of US trainers to Afghanistan was facilitated by the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq in late 2011. Before being reassigned to Afghanistan, several of the US brigades were either already deployed to Iraq or were planning to deploy there.

The US has already announced a drawdown of forces from Afghanistan. The surge of trainers is essential for "Part Two" of the Afghan strategy, standing up the ANSF. By the end of 2012, the US will have reduced its combat strength in the country by withdrawing a number of combat troops. At the same time, the intent is to enhance the capability of the ANSF by increasing the number of training and support troops.

Al Qaeda 'operates in Afghanistan under the flag of the Islamic Emirate': Taliban spokesman

2012-02-18T05:29:07Z

A Taliban spokesman who identified himself as an "Authorized Correspondent by the Media Committee of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" said that the Taliban will not renounce al Qaeda and that the terror group operates under the command of the "Military Command of the Islamic Emirate."

The Taliban official, Abdullah al Wazir, made the statement yesterday in response to a posting at Shumukh al Islam, a jihadist Internet forum linked to al Qaeda. Wazir was replying to a question from a forum member who thought "that by agreeing to negotiations with the United States, the Afghan Taliban has taken the 'first step' to abandon al Qaeda," said the SITE Intelligence Group, which translated the statement.

"They [al Qaeda] are among the first groups and banners that pledged allegiance to the Emir of the Believers [Mullah Omar, the leader of the Afghan Taliban], and they operate in Afghanistan under the flag of the Islamic Emirate," Wazir said.

"They are an example of discipline and accuracy in the execution of missions and operations entrusted to them by the Military Command of the Islamic Emirate," Wazir continued, calling al Qaeda "lions in war."

Wazir said he was an "Authorized Correspondent by the Media Committee of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan." SITE described Wazir as "the "Afghan Taliban's correspondent on jihadist forums."

A US intelligence official who follows the Taliban said that Wazir is a member of the Haqqani Network, the powerful Taliban sub-group that operates in eastern Afghanistan and in Pakistan's tribal areas. The Haqqanis are closely tied to al Qaeda; Siraj Haqqani, the network's operational commander, has a seat on al Qaeda's council, and he and five other members of the network have been added to the US's list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists for their close ties to al Qaeda.

The Haqqanis routinely conduct join operations with al Qaeda in eastern Afghanistan, and provide shelter, support, and training facilities to leaders and operatives in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan.

Last fall, Siraj released a training manual which included portions that praised al Qaeda and urged Haqqani Network members to support al Qaeda both locally and in its international operations.

Wazir's statement was made just two days after the Taliban released an interview with Zahibullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, by CNN. During the interview, Mujahid refused to renounce "international terrorism" or al Qaeda. Mujahid also insisted that as an initial "confidence building measure" the US must take steps including the "exchange of Guantanamo prisoners." The five Taliban detainees currently under discussion all have been instrumental in forging ties between the Taliban and al Qaeda.

Attempted suicide attack on US Capitol thwarted by FBI

2012-02-17T22:16:30Z

The FBI has yet again employed a counterterrorism tactic that has proven extremely useful over the past few years in disrupting terror plots aimed at the United States. Amine el Khalifi, an illegal alien of Moroccan decent, was arrested today while wearing a suicide vest which he intended to detonate inside the US Capitol building in Washington DC. The attack would have been devastating were it not for the interception of his plot by undercover FBI agents, who posed as al Qaeda operatives and provided him with a non-functioning explosive vest.

"The complaint filed today alleges that Amine El Khalifi sought to blow himself up in the U.S. Capitol Building," US Attorney Neil MacBride said in a press release issued Department of Justice. "El Khalifi allegedly believed he was working with al Qaeda and devised the plot, the targets, and the methods on his own."

El Khalifi "became known to the JTTF [Joint Terrorism Task Force] because of his stated desire to carry out attacks in the US, specifically, the US Capitol building," James McJunkin, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office said. "This arrest is the result of dedicated special agents, task force officers and intelligence analysts from the FBI and our partner law enforcement agencies that make up the JTTF."

Officials have been tight-lipped as to how el Khalifi raised suspicions, but the DOJ press release said that a confidential human source reported el Khalifi's intention to carry out an attack on US soil. It was during a meeting at an Alexandria, Va. home earlier this year that el Khalifi, along with other unidentified individuals, handled weapons and discussed his displeasure with the 'war on terror', which alarmed the confidential source who contacted law enforcement. It was after this report that the FBI began their investigation on el Khalifi.

He was then introduced by a man he knew as "Hussein" to another man named "Yusuf," both of whom el Khalifi believed to be al Qaeda members, but who in fact were undercover law enforcement officers. During meetings with the undercover agents, el Khalifi discussed various targets, eventually settling on a suicide mission against the Capitol building. On Jan. 15, el Khalifi expressed his willingness and competency in carrying out an attack by remotely detonating an explosive in a West Virginia quarry, then selected Feb. 17 as the day his operation would take place. Over the next few weeks, el Khalifi staked out his target and decided on a point of entry into the Capitol, where he would conduct his attack. Throughout this time, el Khalifi was closely monitored by law enforcement.

Today after first after praying at the Dar al-Hirjah mosque in Northern Virginia, el Khalifi set out to execute his plan. Holding an inoperable MAC-10 automatic weapon and wearing what he believed to be a suicide vest, he walked alone from a parking garage toward the US Capitol. Before he could exit the garage, he was taken into custody. El Khalifi had his first court appearance today at 4:15, where he is charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against a property that is owned and used by the United States. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

Treasury: Iranian intelligence supporting al Qaeda

2012-02-17T02:58:54Z

The US Treasury Department today designated the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) "for its support to terrorist groups as well as its central role in perpetrating human rights abuses against the citizens of Iran and its role in supporting the Syrian regime as it continues to commit human rights abuses against the people of Syria."

Al Qaeda and its affiliate, al Qaeda in Iraq, are among the terrorist groups supported by the MOIS, which is Iran's chief intelligence agency.

"Today we have designated the MOIS for abusing the basic human rights of Iranian citizens and exporting its vicious practices to support the Syrian regime's abhorrent crackdown on its own population," Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen explained in a press release. "In addition, we are designating the MOIS for its support to terrorist groups, including al Qaeda, al Qaeda in Iraq, Hizballah and HAMAS, again exposing the extent of Iran's sponsorship of terrorism as a matter of Iranian state policy."

The MOIS is assisting al Qaeda in a variety of ways. According to Treasury, the "MOIS has facilitated the movement of al Qaeda operatives in Iran and provided them with documents, identification cards, and passports."

In addition, the MOIS has "provided money and weapons to al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI)...and negotiated prisoner releases of AQI operatives."

Previous designations tying Iran and al Qaeda

This is not the first time the Treasury Department has targeted the nexus between Iran and al Qaeda.

In July 2011, Treasury designated an al Qaeda leader known as Yasin al Suri along with five other terrorist operatives who use Iranian soil to move funds and recruits from Iran's neighboring Gulf countries to South Asia and elsewhere. Al Suri's network assists not only senior al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan, but also al Qaeda in Iraq.

The Treasury Department said that al Suri's network operates as part of a "secret deal" between al Qaeda and the Iranian government. In December 2011, US authorities announced a $10 million reward for information leading to al Suri's capture.

Recent press reports indicate that the scrutiny placed on al Suri has led to his replacement as the head of al Qaeda's Iran franchise. The terrorist who has reportedly replaced him is a notorious al Qaeda financier named Mohsen al Fadhli. In addition to working with al Qaeda in Iraq and its deceased leader, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, al Fadhli is wanted for his involvement in al Qaeda's international terrorist plotting. Namely, al Fadhli helped finance the Oct. 6, 2002 attack on the French ship MV Limburg and has been tied to the Oct. 8, 2002 attack against US Marines stationed on Kuwait's Faylaka Island. One Marine was killed during the Faylaka Island shootout.

Also included in the July 2011 designation was Atiyah Abd al Rahman, who commanded al Qaeda in northern Pakistan. Rahman was killed in a US drone strike in August 2011, the month after the Treasury Department's designation. According to press reports, he had been planning terrorist attacks in the West at the behest of Osama bin Laden, the al Qaeda master who was killed in May 2011. With respect to Rahman, the Treasury Department noted that he "was previously appointed by Osama bin Laden to serve as al Qaeda's emissary in Iran, a position which allowed him to travel in and out of Iran with the permission of Iranian officials." Rahman received safe haven inside Iran after the Sept. 11 attacks.

In September 2011, the US State Department designated a Hamas operative who is tied to both Iran and al Qaeda. The terrorist, Muhammad Hisham Muhammad Isma'il Abu Ghazala, fought for Ansar al Islam. Abu Ghazala "plays an integral role in Hamas," the State Department said in a press release at the time. "He has links to Iran, the world's leading State Sponsor of Terrorism, and al Qaeda." Abu Ghazala is an improvised explosive device (IED) facilitator who has provided weapons to al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations inside Iraq.

In January 2009, the Treasury Department designated four other al Qaeda members operating in Iran.

The January 2009 designation included Mustafa Hamid, the father-in-law of top al Qaeda operative Saif al Adel, and Saad bin Laden, one of Osama's sons.

Hamid was described as "a senior al Qaeda associate who served as a primary interlocutor between al Qaeda and the Government of Iran." During the 1990s, Hamid "reportedly negotiated a secret relationship between Osama Bin Laden and Iran, allowing many al Qaeda members safe transit through Iran to Afghanistan." Hamid also "passed communications between Osama bin Laden and the Government of Iran." In late 2001, Hamid negotiated with the Iranians to relocate al Qaeda families to Iranian soil. Saif al Adel, Hamid's son-in-law, was among them. Al Adel has been wanted since late 1998 for his involvement in al Qaeda's embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.

Saad bin Laden "facilitated the travel of Osama bin Laden's family members from Afghanistan to Iran" beginning in late 2001. He also "made key decisions for al Qaeda and was part of a small group of al Qaeda members that was involved in managing the terrorist organization from Iran."

Saad bin Laden relocated to northern Pakistan several years later and was reportedly killed in an airstrike. However, al Qaeda has never confirmed Saad's putative death.

The other two al Qaeda members included in the January 2009 designation were Muhammad Rab'a al Sayid Al Bahtiyti and Ali Saleh Husain.

Al Bahtiyti is a longtime member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad and al Qaeda, and was reportedly involved in al Qaeda's 1995 bombing of the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. Ayman al Zawahiri, who is now al Qaeda's emir, tasked al Bahtiyti with moving members of Zawahiri's family to Iran after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Husain had long worked with top al Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah and was involved in shuttling al Qaeda fighters from Afghanistan to Iran following the fall of the Taliban's
regime.

All four of the al Qaeda members designated in January 2009 were placed under a loose form of "house arrest" by the Iranians in 2003, after al Qaeda's Iran network was tied to multiple terrorist attacks abroad, including the May 12, 2003 bombings in Riyadh.

However, Iran has continued to allow al Qaeda to operate on Iranian soil.

US Predators kill 19 'militants' in 2 North Waziristan strikes

2012-02-16T06:04:00Z

Unmanned US Predator or Reaper strike aircraft killed 19 "militants," including foreign fighters, in a pair of strikes in the Miramshah and Mir Ali areas of Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan today. The strikes broke a one-week-long lull in US attacks in the tribal areas.

In the first strike, the CIA-operated drones fired a pair of missiles at a compound used by "militants" in the village of Spalga near Miramshah, according to AFP. SAMAA reported that seven people were killed and seven more were wounded in the strike. The exact target of that strike has not been disclosed, and the identity of those killed is not known.

In the second strike, the drones fired missiles at a pickup truck that was traveling near the town of Mir Ali. A Pakistani intelligence official told AFP that 12 Uzbek fighters, likely from the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, were killed.

Senior terrorists are known to have sheltered in the village of Spalga in the past. The US has struck at targets in the village four other times since the end of 2009, according to data on the strikes that has been compiled by The Long War Journal.

Saleh al Somali, al Qaeda's operations chief, was killed in a US drone strike in Spalga on Dec. 9, 2009. Al Somali was a longtime al Qaeda operative who was present in Mogadishu during the infamous Black Hawk Down incident that resulted in the deaths of 19 US troops and hundreds of Somalis during an operation to detain a warlord in the capital in the fall of 1993.

Al Qaeda's external operations network has been a prime target of the covert US air campaign in Pakistan's tribal areas. The US has targeted al Qaeda and Taliban camps designated to train operatives holding foreign passports, while the leadership of the external operations branch has also been hit hard.

The Haqqani Network, a Taliban group that operates in North Waziristan as well as in eastern Afghanistan, administers the Miramshah area where today's first attack took place. Al Qaeda leaders and operatives, who are closely allied with the Haqqani Network, shelter in the area, as do other terror groups. Similarly, the Mir Ali area, about 25 kilometers east of Miramshah, is also used by a variety of terror groups for shelter and training. A local al Qaeda leader named Abu Kasha al Iraqi holds sway in the Mir Ali area.

US strikes in Pakistan in 2012

Today's strikes are the first in Pakistan's tribal areas in one week, and just the sixth and seventh this year. Six of the seven strikes this year have taken place in or around Miramshah in North Waziristan, a stronghold of the Haqqani Network.

The first strike this year took place on Jan. 11; it was the first by the US in Pakistan in 55 days. The previous strike took place on Nov. 16, 2011. The pause was the longest since the program was ramped up at the end of July 2008 [see LWJ report, US drone strikes in Pakistan on longest pause since 2008, from Dec. 19, 2011].

The program was put on hold from the end of November to the second week in January, following a clash between US forces and Pakistani Frontier Corps troops on the border of the Afghan province of Kunar and the Pakistani tribal area of Mohmand on Nov. 25-26. The US troops struck in Pakistan after taking mortar and machine gun fire on the Afghan side of the border from Pakistani troops. Twenty-four Pakistani Frontier Corps troops were killed.

The clash led to Pakistan's closure of the border crossings in Chaman and Khyber to NATO supply columns destined for Afghanistan; the supply lines remain closed to this day. In the aftermath of the Mohmand incident, Pakistan also threatened to shoot down US drones flying in Pakistani airspace, and ejected US drones and personnel from the Shamsi Airbase in Baluchistan.

US officials told The Long War Journal on Dec. 12, 2011 that the program had been put "on hold" due to tensions over the Mohmand incident, but that the drones would strike again if a high value terrorist target that could not be ignored was spotted.

The Jan. 11 strike killed Aslam Awan, a deputy to the leader of al Qaeda's external operations network. Awan was a Pakistani citizen from Abbottabad, the same town where Osama bin Laden was killed by US forces in a cross-border raid in May 2011. Awan is the most senior al Qaeda leader killed in a drone strike since mid-October, when Abu Miqdad al Masri, a member of al Qaeda's Shura Majlis who also was involved in al Qaeda's external operations, was killed. [For a list of senior terrorist leaders and operatives killed in drone strikes, see LWJ report, Senior al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2012.]

Hakeemullah Mehsud, the leader of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, was also rumored to have been killed in the Jan. 11 strike. His death has not been confirmed, however, and the Pakistani Taliban have denied he was killed.

The last strike took place on Feb. 8 in Miramshah's bazaar. Badr Mansoor, a senior Taliban and al Qaeda leader, was reported to have been killed in the strike. Mansoor ran training camps in the area and sent fighters to battle NATO and Afghan forces across the border, and linked up members of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen with al Qaeda to fight in Afghanistan.

Despite the US airstrikes, al Qaeda operatives claim they are still capable of conducting training and operations in the area. Abu Zubaydah al Lubnani, a Lebanese member of al Qaeda who operates along the Afghan-Pakistani border, has said that while the drones have "delayed some operations or even stopped them," the terror group is still functioning in the region.

"I want here to confirm that Qaedat al-Jihad is still standing in Khorasan, solid and strong, despite what hit it, and it is still producing operations and it doesn't know the path of despair...," Lubnani said in statement that was recently released on jihadist forums. The statement was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

Report: New leader of al Qaeda network in Iran named

2012-02-15T21:41:34Z

Muhsin al Fadhli, who is said to be al Qaeda's new leader inside Iran.

A notorious Kuwaiti terrorist named Muhsin al Fadhli has reportedly taken over leadership of al Qaeda's network inside Iran. Sky News reports that al Fadhli assumed the top post in al Qaeda's Iran franchise after Yasin al Suri, who has headed the network for years, was placed under "protective custody" following his exposure by US authorities.

In July 2011, the US Treasury Department designated al Suri and several other al Qaeda operatives who use Iranian soil to move funds and recruits from Gulf countries to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. The Treasury Department said that this network operates as part of a "secret deal" between al Qaeda and the Iranian government. In December 2011, US authorities announced that they were offering a $10 million reward for information leading to al Suri's capture. [See LWJ reports, Treasury targets Iran's 'secret deal' with al Qaeda and US offers $10 million reward for Iran-based al Qaeda financier.]

It was this increased scrutiny, according to intelligence sources cited by Sky News, that led to al Suri's replacement.

Al Fadhli is an especially effective al Qaeda operative who was designated by the US Treasury Department in 2005. Al Fadhli "is considered an al Qaeda leader in the Gulf countries" and "fought alongside the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan where he served as a bodyguard and second-in-command for an al Qaeda leader," the Treasury Department explained at the time. Al Fadhli "also fought against Russian forces in Chechnya, where he trained in the use of firearms, antiaircraft guns and explosives."

Al Fadhli has long been an elite member of al Qaeda. In early September 2001, Treasury explained, he "possibly received forewarning that US interests would be struck." The Sept. 11 operation was compartmentalized and only select members of the network received advance notice.

Among other nefarious activities, al Fadhli has been a key money man for al Qaeda. According to the Treasury Department's press release in 2005, al Fadhli's "support for terrorism extends to Iraq where he is believed to be providing support to fighters against US and multinational forces and is considered a major facilitator connected to the brutal terrorist, Abu Musab al Zarqawi."

Yasin al Suri, al Qaeda's leader in Iran who was reportedly placed under "protective custody."

Al Fadhli even "requested that tapes be made showing evidence of successful attacks in Iraq" so that he could "solidify the support of key financial backers sponsoring attacks."

Al Fadhli's dossier does not end there. Even before he assisted al Qaeda in Iraq's efforts, al Fadhli was involved in both the Oct. 6, 2002 attack on the French ship MV Limburg and the Oct. 8, 2002 attack against US Marines stationed on Kuwait's Faylaka Island. One Marine was killed during the Faylaka Island shootout.

An al Qaeda operative named Muhammad al Hamati called al Fadhli "in the wake of the attack on the MV LIMBURG, informing him that the first operation on the French oil tanker had been completed," according to the Treasury Department.

An al Qaeda cell responsible for the 2009 plot against Camp Arifjan, a US military installation in Kuwait, also had ties to al Fadhli. That cell was broken up by Kuwaiti authorities before it could launch an attack.

Al Fadhli was a leader of the so-called "Peninsula Lions Brigade," a group of more than three dozen terrorists responsible for the Faylaka Island attack and other plots. He was tried in 2005, in absentia, along with other members of the brigade. In fact, al Fadhli has been tried, acquitted, and retried by Kuwaiti courts on various terrorism charges multiple times.

At one point, al Fadhli was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor in prison. In a separate case, according to a leaked State Department cable written in June 2005, al Fadhli was charged with involvement in al Qaeda's October 2000 USS Cole bombing. That attack was carried out by the same network that bombed the MV Limburg, with help from al Fadhli, two years later.

Although al Fadhli has long been wanted for his al Qaeda role, it is unclear how many charges he was ultimately convicted of in Kuwait. One leaked State Department cable notes "the difficulties in prosecuting Kuwaiti terror financier Muhsin al Fadhli as an example of the dangers inherent in a lack of proper terror finance legislation" inside Kuwait.

Al Fadhli's presence in Iran has long been known. The Arab Times reported in 2009 that Kuwaiti officials were interrogating an al Qaeda recruiter known as "MS" for his involvement in "luring ... youths to fight Jihad against the foreign forces in Afghanistan." The man known as MS reportedly told officials he had met with al Fadhli "several times" and that al Fadhli "lives along the Iran-Afghanistan border."

In Kuwait, al Fadhli was closely tied to Sulaiman Abu Gaith, who served for a time as Osama bin Laden's spokesman. Abu Gaith received safe haven inside Iran after the Sept. 11 attacks, but was placed under a loose form of house arrest in 2003. In 2010, the Iranians reportedly freed Abu Gaith from his lax confinement and he may have made his way to Pakistan. [See LWJ report, Osama bin Laden's spokesman freed by Iran.]

Adel Radi Saker al Wahabi al Harbi, Muhsin al Fadhli's deputy.

Kuwaiti and US authorities are not the only ones interested in detaining al Fadhli. Saudi authorities have long targeted him as well. The man Sky News named as al Fadhli's deputy inside Iran, Adel Radi Saker al Wahabi al Harbi, is among Saudi Arabia's most wanted suspected terrorists.

No "specific" details of terrorist plotting

Sky News cited anonymous intelligence officials who believe a terrorist plot involving al Fadhli and al Qaeda's network in Iran may be afoot. Al Qaeda's emir, Ayman al Zawahiri, is reportedly interested in launching a mass casualty attack as retaliation for the killing of Osama bin Laden. However, the details of this putative plot are sketchy.

"We do know that an operation is under way. We assess that the most likely target is to be European. And the most obvious target in Europe for an attack that would attract a lot of attention would be the Olympic Games," a source told Sky News. Iran is reportedly providing training in explosives, safe haven, and funding for the operatives involved.

A secret intelligence memo shown to Sky News reads: "Against the background of intensive co-operation over recent months between Iran and al Qaeda - with a view to conducting a joint attack against Western targets overseas... Iran has significantly stepped up its investment, maintenance and improvement of operational and intelligence ties with the al Qaeda leadership in Pakistan in recent months."

The memo adds that al Fadhli's deputy, al Harbi, "is considered an extremely dangerous field operative; he has fought in the Afghanistan and Pakistan theatres."

The intelligence sources cited by Sky News explained, however, that they lacked "specific" intelligence on al Qaeda's planning. It appears that the report is speculative when it comes to the details of the putative al Qaeda plot.

That said, Iran has provided safe haven to al Qaeda operatives known to be targeting the West. Members of an al Qaeda cell that was plotting Mumbai-style attacks on European cities are known to be currently living in Iran. [See LWJ report, Leaders of German al Qaeda cell living in Iran.]

Iran has provided assistance to al Qaeda in its operations before -- not just in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also elsewhere. As the 9/11 Commission and US courts have previously found, al Qaeda's 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania were modeled after Iran's and Hezbollah's operations in Lebanon in 1983 and 1984. While living in Sudan in the early 1990s, Osama bin Laden approached Iran and Hezbollah, asking for their assistance in executing attacks similar to the 1983 bombing of the US Marine Barracks which had led to the withdrawal of American forces from Lebanon.

Iran and Hezbollah agreed to help, providing training to al Qaeda operatives in camps in Lebanon and Iran. Among the trainees were al Qaeda members who would later plot the embassy bombings. [See LWJ report, DC court: Iran showed al Qaeda how to bomb embassies.]