313 Key Numbers In the German Bakery Blast in India

In Febraury of 2010, in Pune, India (near Mumbai) al Qaeda bombmed a German bakery, killing 8 and wounding 57. Some usefull inteligence is emerging about 313 Brigade from that attack. See below.

Shimron Issachar



INVESTIGATION into the German Bakery blast has led security agencies to conclude that terror outfits are increasingly relying on al-Qaeda's tried-and-tested 313 brigade's method of indoctrination to get their cadres to believe they are fighting a holy fight.

The brigade's indoctrination techniques are built around Prophet Mohammed' s Battle of Badr in 624 AD in which he was assisted by 313 companions. These 313 companions later came to be known as Allah ke Bande and, by having this sacred number in everything they use, the terrorists are led to believe that they, too, are the Lord's fellows.

Senior ATS officials, who have spotted this pattern in the German Bakery blast in Pune, said that the Indian Mujahideen has also taken to instilling this doctrine into its cadres.

The number 313, or a combination of these digits, was present in almost everything that the blast accused used right from the number plates on the bikes and their cellphone numbers to the T-shirts they were sporting.

"The accused were using a combination of 313 numbers throughout. The team had 13 members, all the motorbikes which were used by the group had 13 in the registration numbers and even their t-shirts had 13 emblazoned on them.

One of the arrested accused, Shahnawaz Sayyed Abid Sayyed, bought a plot at Ambedkar Nagar which had the survey number 13, and most importantly, the blast occurred on February 13, 2010," said an ATS officer on condition of anonymity.

Cellphones

ATS sources said all the text messages and call details which are being scrutinised by them because of links to the blast have their origins in phone numbers which have 313 in them.

The ATS has been keeping a close watch on one Wasim, a very active member of the now banned Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

Wasim is also very close to Mohsin Chowdhary, suspected mastermind of the German Bakery blast. Wasim's mobile phone number, said investigators, was 9730333313 while Shahnawaz's number was 9096113333.

Investigation into Wasim's movements on February 13 points to his involvement in the blast. The ATS has retrieved his call and SMS records from February 10 to February 13.

Brigade 313

In June, al-Qaeda generated a website, www.aqbrigade313.com, and Ilyas Kashmiri, leader of the Lashkar-Al-Zil, was announced the chief of an eponymous brigade.

The Brigade 313 website's landing page has the words 'al-Qaeda Brigade 313' in the centre, while text describing Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Jundallah and Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan occupies the four corners of the page.

After the Pune blast, Kashmiri sent text messages to media organisations in the Gulf claiming the blast was the handiwork of members of the 313 brigade.

'Wanted to strike Varanasi on Dec 13'

Senior ATS officials said the 313 pattern can be detected in Tuesday's Varanasi blast as well.

"Initial investigations have revealed that the terrorists' original plan was to strike on December 13, in keeping with the 313 pattern.

The blast was prepositioned to ensure that it happens during French President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to India," said a senior intelligence official.

"Fortunately, they did not get enough time to plan the blast properly on Tuesday, which resulted in less casualties. The blast would have been a major one had they stuck to their original plan," he added.

The Rest @ Mid-day News, Mumbai, India

Indian Mujahadeen Among Shabaab Foreign Fighters

NEW DELHI: A freak blast in Mogadishu has sent tremors all the way to New Delhi, with indications that Indian terrorists might be fighting for al-Qaida's group Al Shabaab in Somalia.

Over the weekend, the Somali ministry of information announced that two Indians, three Pakistanis and an Afghan were among 10 Al Shabaab terrorists killed while trying to put together a suicide car bomb in Mogadishu.

The dead even included one leader ''who was in charge of praying for suicide bombers before they are dispatched''.

If the Indians' identity is borne out, this would be a first. Th us far, Indian terrorists have stopped short of venturing out that far for transnational jihadi terrorism.

Al Shabaab is no ordinary Islamist terror group. In February, the group publicly declared its allegiance to al-Qaida, though that linkage had long been suspected by western terrorism analysts.

Harkat-al-Shabaab started work in 2005 in Somalia;

• the Islamist group succeeded in bringing a few months of quiet in an unending spate of civil war in the country.
• By the time the US declared Al Shabaab a terrorist organization in 2008, the group was well on its way to establishing an Islamist terror movement in the region.
• It was also when the group got its new leader Ahmed Abdi Godane, aka Abu Zubeyr.
• Other top leaders in the organization like Abu Mansoor and Ibrahim Jaama earned their spurs apparently fighting in Afghanistan and Kashmir.
  

Whether they actually fought in Kashmir is not confirmed but certainly, Al Shabaab has in the past declared its intention of seeing Kashmir "liberated".

Terrorism analyst B Raman says Pakistan's Tablighi Jamaat has been very active in Somalia, including sending terror fighters to Al Shabaab. "If Indians have gone there, it's possible they have gone with the Tablighis," he said.

Al Shabaab has seen a significant increase in "foreign fighters" in recent years. As with the Taliban in Afghanistan, it preaches a severely radical ideology of jihad.

Interestingly, Al Shabaab has more than its share of US and European jihadis, most prominent among them being Al-Amriki. According to terrorism analyst Daveed Gartenstein Ross, around 20 US citizens from Minnesota, US, are believed to have joined Al Shabaab. Analysts say more than 100 Britons have travelled to Somalia to fight for Al Shabaab.

Thus far, Indian terrorism watchers have paid scant attention to Al Shabaab, but Saturday's incident should be an eye-opener. Al Shabaab has openly declared its global ambitions and though a lot of that is focused on the US and Europe, India and other such countries may not escape their jihadi heat either.

If Taliban is considered to be the heir apparent of al-Qaida, Al Shabaab is gaining prominence in the Islamist jihad hierarchy.

According to Critical Threats by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), "Al Shabaab currently controls much of southern and central Somalia, including large portions of the capital, Mogadishu. It has evolved into a group resembling a hybrid of the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida.

It provides government services to its constituents, enforces a strict interpretation of Sharia law, and maintains its grip on power by using violence and intimidation.

The group also conducts terror operations, including suicide bombings, against its perceived enemies and views itself as part of the global jihad movement. It has established an effective recruiting strategy to attract militants from throughout Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, as well as the US and Europe."

The Rest @ The Times of India

India Getting an Al Qaeda Franchise

The Jamestown Foundation, a U.S.-based think tank, has warned of a renewed threat to India from the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.

It quotes intelligence sources as saying the LeT’s marine wing may be planning a Mumbai-type incursion to target vital installations in the coastal states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa.

The group is also reported to have funneled huge amounts of money from its Gulf-based networks to fund activities in India.

It is not the first time such a warning has been issued, since the attacks in November. The U.S. embassy still has a warden message on its website dated June 2, 2009, warning U.S. citizens there is a “high threat of terrorism throughout India.

India’s Home Minister P. Chidambaram wasn’t too happy with the advisory when it was issued, arguing the country was safe to travel. But if his own intelligence agencies are talking of a second 26/11, you have to ask yourself if you should not be taking these warnings seriously.

The Jamestown Foundation said the LeT was using the Gulf networks and hawala channels to route money for operations not just in India, but in Pakistan itself.

Is it a tactical shift to ride out international pressure that New Delhi has been trying to bring on Pakistan to act against a group long regarded as a ”strategic asset” ?

This week Pakistan has appealed against a court decision to free LeT founder Hafiz Mohammad Sayeed, accused by India of plotting the Mumbai attack. And simultaneously, the United States moved against the group, launching sanctions against three senior operatives along with one from al Qaeda.

Some people are already speculating if the Lashkar is the new al Qaeda.

The Rest @ The Associated Press

Hawala Fraud in India

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate has found that some Delhi-based exporters have been bringing in more than just valuable foreign exchange into the country -- unaccounted wealth through the 'hawala' money laundering route.

Sources in the Directorate, which busted the Rs 200-crore hawala racket recently and is making further investigations, said it has been found out that nearly 30 export and import houses were using the illegal remittance route to transfer money.

• The role of these firms has come to light with the seizure of documents and log books maintained by two hawala operators about payments, the sources said.
• The ED has registered a case under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) against the two hawala operators in Chandni Chowk and Ashok Vihar area of the national capital, after it recovered Rs four crore in cash from the duo, sources said.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has already been informed about the role of export-import houses.

• Prima facie, it seemed that exporters and importers have evaded duty or taken advantage of government rebate either by under or over invoicing.
• According to sources, the list also included star trading houses, who enjoy a lot of benefits and rebates from the government on account of doing business of high value in terms of foreign exchange.
• Interestingly, the ED also recovered fake currency to the tune of few thousands in Rs 100 denominations, while counting the total amount seized.
  

The Rest @ Times of India