Boko Haram Reported in Lagdo, Cameroon

 The Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram, which has been wrecking havoc in West African country, is reported to have infiltrated northern Cameroon.

The militants are said to have taken refuge in northern Cameroon as the Nigerian government has intensified its clampdown on them especially following their bombing of churches on Christmas Day that led to the death of over 50 persons.

• Reports say members of the extremist group are more and more present in Lagdo, a cosmopolitan town in the North Region. 
• Sources say they are easily identifiable by their bizarre dressing, long beads and red or black headscarves.
• According to reports, for several months, Lagdo residents have testified that the strangers are combing surrounding villages and actively preaching anti-Western sermons, establishing units and proposing huge amounts of money to those willing to follow them.

In a bid to prevent cross-border activities by militants of the Islamic sect, the Nigerian government recently temporarily shut down its land borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger.Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, in a televised national address recently, said the closure of the border was to control supposed cross-border activities by members of the sect. He also decreed a state of emergency in 15 local government areas in the Borno, Plateau, Niger and Yobe states.

“The temporary closure of our borders in the affected areas is only an interim measure designed to address the current security challenges and will be reviewed as soon as normalcy is restored”, he said.

It would be recalled that recently during a security coordination meeting, the Governor of the North region of Cameroon, Gambo Haman, enjoined security forces to be on alert, highlighting the incursion of Boko Haram militants into parts of the region.

“The Boko Haram being chased from Nigeria’s northeast, as well as thousands of runaway Chadian soldiers in irregular situation here must be closely monitored to avoid unwanted trouble throughout the national territory,” he cautioned.

Nonetheless, administrative official in the region are quoted as saying there is no need yet for panic

• “We cannot begin to arrest suspects because the law does not allow for that. At the moment, they are not breaking the law,” one of them is quoted as saying.
• Meanwhile, authorities in the region have reinforced surveillance and many Quran learning centres have been reportedly shut down, while Islam teachers are being closely watched by intelligence operatives.
• It would be noted that last year some authorities within the Islamic community in Cameroon had warned that the increasing crackdown on the Boko Haram in Nigeria may cause them to run to Cameroon. 
• Cameroon, some of them alleged, was no longer just a hideout for the militants but a field for enlisting converts.

Sources within the Moslem community say there are many indicators that militants of the sect are in Cameroon and are preaching their doctrines in some mosques.

•  It would be recalled that not long ago the Divisional Officer for Limbe I sub-division,Tsanga Foe, closed a mosque in Limbe when there were allegations that members of Boko Haram had infiltrated it.
• Other pointers that the militants are in Cameroon, sources say, are the distribution of CDs and fliers with the Boko Haram doctrine.

However, government seems to have heeding to the warning of Moslems in Cameroon as recently the Senior Divisional Officer for Wouri division, Bernard Okalia Bilai, convened Imams and Muslim community leaders in Douala and instructed them to come out with ways of repelling any establishment of the sect in Douala and other parts of Cameroon.

• “We have been informed of attempts of Boko Haram infiltration. Their doctrine is anti-social as it condemns western education. It’s a doctrine that persuades young graduates to rip their degrees because it’s satanic. It’s a doctrine that condemns what today constitutes the values of our society and top authorities of the country don’t accept that such hateful dogma is established in our communities, and thus the necessity of this meeting. We must be vigilant,” he counselled.

It is also worth noting that when Chadian President, Idriss Deby, came visiting recently, terrorist fears was part of his discussion with President Paul Biya.

“We must remain very vigilant to the consequences of the upheavals that have occurred in the north of our continent. It is of no interest to anyone that a zone of instability emerges close to our northern borders. In that light, our solidarity is of utmost importance,” Biya told Deby.

On his part, Deby called for a cross-border Security Mixed Commission session to chart ways of dealing with increasing Boko Haram and AQMI (the Maghreb branch of al-Qaeda) threats.

The Rest @ Cameroon Online

AQAP The Most Successful al Qaedea Franchise

Yemen has become one of al Qaeda's most secure bases and a hub for its activities on the Arabian Peninsula and on the Horn of Africa. AQAP maintains safe havens in various parts of the country and is also known to operate terror camps in Aden, Marib, and Abyan, and in the Alehimp and Sanhan regions in Sana'a. The terror group has conducted attacks on oil facilities, tourists, the US embassy in Sana'a, and Yemeni security forces.

AQAP's base in Yemen serves as a command and control center, a logistics hub, a transit point from Asia and the Peninsula, and a source of weapons and munitions for the al Qaeda-backed Shabaab in Somalia.

AQAP has also used its Yemeni base as a hub for attacks against the West. The 2009 Fort Hood shootings and the Christmas Day airline plot, as well as an airline parcel bomb plot in 2010, have all been traced back to Yemen.

"Yemen is Pakistan in the heart of the Arab world," a US intelligence official told The Long War Journal in 2009. "You have military and government collusion with al Qaeda, peace agreements, budding terror camps, and the export of jihad to neighboring countries."

The Rest @ The Long War Journal

Somali Pirates and al Shabaab Raid Kenya, Kidnapp disabled Woman at Manda

Somali
(Reuters) - Kenya said on Monday the weekend kidnapping of a French woman was a serious provocation by Somalia's Islamist al Shabaab group which threatens the east African country's multi-million dollar tourism industry.

Internal Security Minister George Saitoti also warned that those behind the kidnapping "and all others who are trying to provoke Kenya have made a big mistake and will live to regret it."

In the second such kidnapping in recent weeks, gunmen stormed the private home of 66-year-old, wheelchair-bound Marie Dedieu on the northern coast island of Manda on Saturday.

They then grabbed and carried her to a waiting boat that crossed into Somalia, where the al Qaeda-allied rebels are in control of large swathes of the south and center.

Analysts and diplomats in the region had warned that Somali pirates were likely to turn to softer targets, such as tourists in Kenya, in response to more robust defense of merchant vessels by private security guards.

• Early last month, gunmen attacked British tourists at a camp resort a short speedboat ride away from northern Kenya's Lamu archipelago, killing a man and kidnapping his wife.
• Last week, fighting also erupted on the Somali-Kenyan border, raising pressure on Kenya's authorities to beef up their defenses against cross-border and sea-based attacks which threaten to hit a tourism industry that earned 74 billion shillings ($737 million) in 2010.

"This is a serious provocation on Kenya's territorial integrity by the al-Shabaab with negative effects on the tourism industry and generally also on our own investment," Saitoti told reporters.

"SPEEDBOATS DISABLED"

Saitoti announced increased security measures near Lamu, an island resort town which is about 100 kilometers from the Somali border, including 24-hour aerial surveillance and the deployment of additional navy vessels.

"All entry and departures by boats will be regulated through a common security point," he said, adding that any speedboats defying orders to stop would be "disabled," without elaborating on the measures.

Hotel operators fear tourists may cancel their bookings due to governments' travel warnings, threatening a sector which is a leading foreign exchange earner and employs many Kenyans.

About a 100 people took to the streets of Lamu to protest against the government's lax security measures and called for greater cooperation with British and French security forces to prevent a repeat of the kidnappings.

"Kenyan police should employ us locals to patrol the water because we can swim and we know the area," said Pius Ndung'a, a construction worker who joined the protest in Lamu.

Dedieu's kidnappers escaped with their hostage after a maritime gun battle with Kenyan security forces, in which Saitoti said two kidnappers had been shot dead.

"The disabled French woman is here and she is very fine, we are keeping her between lower Juba and middle, we are not al Shabaab and we are looking for ransom money," a former al Shabaab fighter who operates with a pirate group in the southern port town of Kismayu told Reuters.


"We have not agreed how much yet. Some of us are waiting to take her in to a different zone," he said. 

Reuters could not independently verify his account.

HOSTAGE "VERY SICK"

Film director Elie Chouraqui, who owns a house near Dedieu, appealed for her friend's release.

"The kidnappers must understand that she is very sick and needs urgent help," Chouraqui was quoted in Le Parisien newspaper as saying.

The protesters slammed the government for failing to provide adequate resources to the local navy base.

"It is unbelievable that we have the Kenyan navy base here and yet we don't even have a boat. We want the Kenyan government and international governments to protect us more," hotel-owner Muhidin Athman said as he marched by the port.

The demonstrators also urged French and British tourists not to shun the palm-fringed archipelago, despite travel warnings by both governments who have asked their citizens to avoid all but essential travel within 150 km (90 miles) of the Somali border.

"We love France. We love Britain. We want them to stay," one placard held aloft by a protester said.

France already has eight hostages held overseas, including one in Somalia who is a member of France's secret service.

On Monday, beaches in the area were empty with one boatman saying he had not ferried any tourists for the last five days.

During a typical high season which runs through October, the white-sand beaches are dotted with tourists who water-ski, snorkel and fish in the turquoise waters and others who stroll along the shore enjoying the Indian Ocean sun. ($1 = 100.400 Kenyan Shillings)

(Additional reporting by Flora Bagenal in Lamu and John Irish in Paris; Writing by Yara Bayoumy)

The Rest @ Reuters

Khalid Siyf Allahu Almaslul Arrested in Mallorca, Spain

The Spanish Civil Guard arrested a suspected Al-Qaeda operative. a few weeks ago. According to media reports, the 26-year-old man, originally from Cuba, was then released after a 45-minute closed-door arraignment and has to report daily to the police station nearest his home in Cala Rajada, on the northeast side of the Spanish island of Mallorca.

According to the Spanish Interior Ministry’s statement, the young man, identified as Jose Ernesto Feliu Mora, was wanted for allegedly being an Al-Qaeda’s member and for having 1,120 radical videos on the Internet, mostly produced by him. Reports mention that he used these YouTube videos with jihadi, or holy war, content to indoctrinate other individuals. The Interior Ministry’s statement added that the police also seized from him portable computers, external hard drives and USB memory sticks.

Feliu Mora converted years ago to Islam, probably in Spain. He took the name of Khalid Siyf Allahu Almaslul and grew his Muslim beard. During his free time he learned Arabic, apparently on his own, and tried several times to move to Pakistan to join terrorist training camps. Media outlets reported that he was obsessed with attacking Spanish troops in Afghanistan, while promoting online hate against the U.S.. The police started to track his e-mails in 2010, when Feliu Mora allegedly tried to contact leading Islamic fundamentalists.

Al-Qaeda on the island of Mallorca

Although Almaslul used to live with his mother and his half-brother in Mallorca, one of the Balearic islands located in the Mediterranean Sea. However, he was not the only Al-Qaeda operative to do so.

Several Al-Qaeda members have spent time on Mallorca. The most known is Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, co-founder of Al-Qaeda, now imprisoned in the ADX Florence facility in Colorado. Salim, born in Sudan from Iraqi parents, was involved in the terrorist attack against U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. Just before being arrested in Germany, Salim lived for a while in a luxurious apartment in Mallorca.

The apartment belonged to Ahmed Brahim, an Algerian Al-Qaeda member who was one of the masterminds of the 1998-attack against the U.S. embassies. Brahim, who allegedly had “routine” contacts with Tariq Ramadan, was detained by the Spanish authorities for financing Al-Qaeda in Spain. He lived for 14 years on Mallorca, where his apartment on the island was used as a logistical center for terrorist activities.

Two more Al-Qaeda terrorists, involved in the 2004 Madrid train bombings, spent time in Mallorca. One, Jamal Ahmidan, known as “The Chinese,” had been born in Morocco and lived surrounded by call girls and expensive cars. Just one week before the train attacks, he went to Mallorca to organize a sale of hashish and Ecstasy to finance the terrorist attack. Just after the attacks, however, police came close to his hiding place, and Ahmidan blew up himself in the Madrid’ suburb of Leganes. The other mna involved in the 2004 attacks was the ringleader: Serhane Ben Abdelmajid Fakhet, known as “El Tunecino” (The Tunisian); he was involved a love relationship with Nora, the daughter of Ahmed Brahim, and often visited the island of Mallorca. He also blew himself up in Leganes, along with Ahmidan.

Among Islamist terrorists who stayed on Mallorca there was also Mohamed Achraf, sentenced by a Spanish court to 14 years in prison for plotting a car bomb attack on government buildings in Madrid. While in jail on Maillorca in 2002, Achraf managed to organize and lead a terrorist cell before eventually being transferred to the prison of Salamanca.

Cuba and Al-Qaeda

The Cuban origin of the suspected Al-Qaeda operative again provoked questions about links between the Cuban regime and the terrorist movement. The book For Whom the Bell Tolls by Gautam Maitra states that according to a Country Reports on Terrorism released by the Office of the Coordinator for Terrorism in 2006, Cuba “virtually” refused to agree with U.S. request to support the U.S. in its War on Terrorism. “Cuba, according to the report, has not, so far, made any attempt towards tracking, blocking, or seizing terrorist assets despite legal provisions to do so. Cuba has never spoken against either the Al-Qaeda or any other group designated in the FTO list, the report claims. Nor did Cuba embark on any counter terrorist drives or join any international or regional forum on counter terrorism issues,” the book states.

In 2007, the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami [UM] reported that that the Cuban regime could have links with Al-Qaeda through the Polisario, a terrorist group fighting for the independence from Morocco of the Western Sahara. Cuba has been sponsoring and supporting the Polisario since its birth in 1973. In recent years, the Moroccan government has accused the Polisario of “coordination and cooperation with al-Qaeda.”

According to the UM, “the ‘Cuban brigade’ of advisors and intelligence operatives stationed within the Polisario zone may be directly or indirectly supporting al-Qaeda operations and training camps. At the very least, it would be unwise to assume that Cuba’s sophisticated intelligence apparatus is not providing valuable information and guidance to Polisario with a tacit consent to pass it on to an enemy (al-Qaeda) of a mutual enemy (the U.S.).”

Around the beginning of September, the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera sparked the rumor that another terrorist group, Hezbollah, was opening a base in Cuba. The news item stated that the organization chose Cuba as a safe haven from where to plan attacks against Israeli targets in Latin America to avenge the death of the Hezbollah commander, Imad Mughniyah.

The Internet

The possible links with Feliu Mora and Al-Qaeda reminded Spain that the threat of terrorism is still there, and that the country could be again attacked. Even though Feliu Mora was released, his videos are still circulating on the internet and luring new members, especially adolescents. His account on Twitter is still active, and it is still possible to read messages against Christians and Jews.

Although his account on Facebook was blocked, a website saved what had used to be front page of his account. According to the media, the Spanish police are now trying to erase his profiles on the Internet. It seems that next battle against terrorism will not be done only on the ground but also online — especially on social networks — which are rapidly proliferating as a way to recruit young people to join the jihad against the West.

The Rest @ Hudson NY

Khalid Siyf Allahu Almaslul Arrested in Mallorca, Spain

The Spanish Civil Guard arrested a suspected Al-Qaeda operative. a few weeks ago. According to media reports, the 26-year-old man, originally from Cuba, was then released after a 45-minute closed-door arraignment and has to report daily to the police station nearest his home in Cala Rajada, on the northeast side of the Spanish island of Mallorca.

According to the Spanish Interior Ministry’s statement, the young man, identified as Jose Ernesto Feliu Mora, was wanted for allegedly being an Al-Qaeda’s member and for having 1,120 radical videos on the Internet, mostly produced by him. Reports mention that he used these YouTube videos with jihadi, or holy war, content to indoctrinate other individuals. The Interior Ministry’s statement added that the police also seized from him portable computers, external hard drives and USB memory sticks.

Feliu Mora converted years ago to Islam, probably in Spain. He took the name of Khalid Siyf Allahu Almaslul and grew his Muslim beard. During his free time he learned Arabic, apparently on his own, and tried several times to move to Pakistan to join terrorist training camps. Media outlets reported that he was obsessed with attacking Spanish troops in Afghanistan, while promoting online hate against the U.S.. The police started to track his e-mails in 2010, when Feliu Mora allegedly tried to contact leading Islamic fundamentalists.

Al-Qaeda on the island of Mallorca

Although Almaslul used to live with his mother and his half-brother in Mallorca, one of the Balearic islands located in the Mediterranean Sea. However, he was not the only Al-Qaeda operative to do so.

Several Al-Qaeda members have spent time on Mallorca. The most known is Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, co-founder of Al-Qaeda, now imprisoned in the ADX Florence facility in Colorado. Salim, born in Sudan from Iraqi parents, was involved in the terrorist attack against U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. Just before being arrested in Germany, Salim lived for a while in a luxurious apartment in Mallorca.

The apartment belonged to Ahmed Brahim, an Algerian Al-Qaeda member who was one of the masterminds of the 1998-attack against the U.S. embassies. Brahim, who allegedly had “routine” contacts with Tariq Ramadan, was detained by the Spanish authorities for financing Al-Qaeda in Spain. He lived for 14 years on Mallorca, where his apartment on the island was used as a logistical center for terrorist activities.

Two more Al-Qaeda terrorists, involved in the 2004 Madrid train bombings, spent time in Mallorca. One, Jamal Ahmidan, known as “The Chinese,” had been born in Morocco and lived surrounded by call girls and expensive cars. Just one week before the train attacks, he went to Mallorca to organize a sale of hashish and Ecstasy to finance the terrorist attack. Just after the attacks, however, police came close to his hiding place, and Ahmidan blew up himself in the Madrid’ suburb of Leganes. The other mna involved in the 2004 attacks was the ringleader: Serhane Ben Abdelmajid Fakhet, known as “El Tunecino” (The Tunisian); he was involved a love relationship with Nora, the daughter of Ahmed Brahim, and often visited the island of Mallorca. He also blew himself up in Leganes, along with Ahmidan.

Among Islamist terrorists who stayed on Mallorca there was also Mohamed Achraf, sentenced by a Spanish court to 14 years in prison for plotting a car bomb attack on government buildings in Madrid. While in jail on Maillorca in 2002, Achraf managed to organize and lead a terrorist cell before eventually being transferred to the prison of Salamanca.

Cuba and Al-Qaeda

The Cuban origin of the suspected Al-Qaeda operative again provoked questions about links between the Cuban regime and the terrorist movement. The book For Whom the Bell Tolls by Gautam Maitra states that according to a Country Reports on Terrorism released by the Office of the Coordinator for Terrorism in 2006, Cuba “virtually” refused to agree with U.S. request to support the U.S. in its War on Terrorism. “Cuba, according to the report, has not, so far, made any attempt towards tracking, blocking, or seizing terrorist assets despite legal provisions to do so. Cuba has never spoken against either the Al-Qaeda or any other group designated in the FTO list, the report claims. Nor did Cuba embark on any counter terrorist drives or join any international or regional forum on counter terrorism issues,” the book states.

In 2007, the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami [UM] reported that that the Cuban regime could have links with Al-Qaeda through the Polisario, a terrorist group fighting for the independence from Morocco of the Western Sahara. Cuba has been sponsoring and supporting the Polisario since its birth in 1973. In recent years, the Moroccan government has accused the Polisario of “coordination and cooperation with al-Qaeda.”

According to the UM, “the ‘Cuban brigade’ of advisors and intelligence operatives stationed within the Polisario zone may be directly or indirectly supporting al-Qaeda operations and training camps. At the very least, it would be unwise to assume that Cuba’s sophisticated intelligence apparatus is not providing valuable information and guidance to Polisario with a tacit consent to pass it on to an enemy (al-Qaeda) of a mutual enemy (the U.S.).”

Around the beginning of September, the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera sparked the rumor that another terrorist group, Hezbollah, was opening a base in Cuba. The news item stated that the organization chose Cuba as a safe haven from where to plan attacks against Israeli targets in Latin America to avenge the death of the Hezbollah commander, Imad Mughniyah.

The Internet

The possible links with Feliu Mora and Al-Qaeda reminded Spain that the threat of terrorism is still there, and that the country could be again attacked. Even though Feliu Mora was released, his videos are still circulating on the internet and luring new members, especially adolescents. His account on Twitter is still active, and it is still possible to read messages against Christians and Jews.

Although his account on Facebook was blocked, a website saved what had used to be front page of his account. According to the media, the Spanish police are now trying to erase his profiles on the Internet. It seems that next battle against terrorism will not be done only on the ground but also online — especially on social networks — which are rapidly proliferating as a way to recruit young people to join the jihad against the West.

The Rest @ Hudson NY

AQIM's New SA-7s Are Not "Point and Shoot" Weapons

The following article suggests that recently pilfered Libya surface to air anti-aircraft missiles must be maintained carefully, and require unique battery systems that Al Qaeda groups in Africa do not have. There are reports that they may be looking for weapons manuals in Arabic.

REUTERS
Anti-Gaddafi fighters stand on Soviet-made SCUD missile outside a village near Sirte, one of Muammar Gaddafi's last remaining strongholds.
Thousands of surface-to-air missiles pillaged in Libya pose less of a risk than feared as most militant groups in sub-Saharan Africa lack the knowhow and the equipment to fire them, experts say.

The Soviet-made SA-7 is a man-portable low-altitude missile with a high explosive and passive infrared homing device that could pose a nightmare in the Sahel where an Al-Qaeda affiliate, among other groups, is active.

While some fear they could be used to target commercial flights if they fell into the wrong hands, others say that using them is not so simple and that they could turn out to be just scrap metal, if not properly stored.

The arsenal of toppled Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi comprised about 20 000 such missiles, initially manufactured in the former Soviet Union since 1972 and then in other east European countries, according to experts.

Several informed sources said many of them had found their way to clandestine markets in sub-Saharan Africa, where they could be offered to groups such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

“We have got wind of the fact that they are looking for instruction manuals in Arabic,” a French anti-terrorism expert told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“But there is nothing to indicate that these missiles are in a functional state. And using them is more difficult than it would seem.”

Another expert, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “We know that Tuareg arms traffickers have got their hands on Libyan SA-7 missiles. But they are going to have serious maintainence problems.”

“For a start, these missiles can only be used with thermal batteries, which need to be recharged. We do not think AQIM has the necessary networks to get these.”

The cylindrical 9B17 thermal battery allows the seeker to track the target by detecting infrared radiation and then hit targets up to an altitude of 4500 metres (14 850 feet).

The missiles and batteries are usually stored separately.

Following Gaddafi's ouster, journalists who were able to access some of his armouries saw empty missile crates with their contents looted, but the batteries had been left behind.

A top US general recently said the United States and the international community believe Libya's new rulers are responsible for preventing weapons proliferation in a region battling terrorism.

General Carter Ham, the head of the Africa command, Africom, said there was “a threat of the proliferation of the weapons from Libya and we are greatly concerned... about small arms, rifles and weapons similar to that, but also explosives and shoulder-fired air defence systems.”

Nearby Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger - all large but mainly poor countries - are prey to attacks by AQIM, which is battling the military in the Sahel nations, has taken Western hostages and is held to be engaged in arms trafficking.

Matthew Schroeder, the manager of the Arms Sales Monitoring Project at the Washington-based Federation of American Scientists, downplayed the fears of the missiles wrecking havoc.

“These missiles have in theory a shelf life of 10 to 20 years. But lots of these missiles are old, some may not function properly. And if they are not handled properly, they can be damaged,” he said.

“It's not good for these weapons to be taken out of their crates and thrown in the back of a truck. It's not like an AK series rifle, you know.”

And using them was not child's play, he said.

“They do require some training. It's not as simple as it's often portrayed. If you're a trained operator, it's not complicated, but specially with the older ones, in order to be reasonably confident you're going to hit the target you've got to know what you are doing.”

In July last year, he wrote an article for the specialised magazine Foreign Policy entitled “Stop Panicking About the Stingers” in which he tried to calm fears that insurgents in Afghanistan, who had got hold of the heat-seeking missiles, could use them against US planes.

“In the recent conflict in Afghanistan, I don't know of any report of a Stinger missile used since 2001,” he said. “I don't know of any downed plane as a result of Stingers. It also depends on the storage conditions.” - AFP

The Rest @ AFP

Boko Haram

It is largely believed that the current form of the group has evolved from the so called, 'Nigerian Taliban' founded in 2003, with foreign operatives from neighbouring countries such as Benin, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. The group went underground following a massive security crackdown by the then government of President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Boko Haram, which means Western education is profane or sinful is formally known as 'Jama'atu Ahlis-Sunnah Lidda'awati Wal Jihad'. It emerged in 2006 with the aims of establishing sharia all over Nigeria. It opposes secular governments and a Western system of education, which it believes is not founded on moral religious teachings.

The current mayhem in Nigeria owes its origin to the killing of Boko Haram's founding leader, Mohammed Yusuf, and hundreds of his followers by security forces in 2009, which Boko Haram vowed to revenge. The worst of the group's atrocities have occurred this year, reaching their peak in the post April-May elections, that brought President Goodluck Jonathan to the helms of the Nigerian Aso Rock Villa.

Since their New Year's Eve bombings at a busy fish market in Abuja, Boko Haram has perpetrated almost daily deadly attacks, which threaten the stability and fledging democracy in Africa's most populous nation.

Most attacks have taken place in northern Nigeria, particularly at Boko Haram's headquarters in Maiduguri, which for the past several months has been a ghost town, with many businesses including schools shut down.

Although Boko Haram activities have been confined to the northern part of the country, the group has used Abuja to stage its most high profile attacks aimed at attracting international attention. These attacks have demonstrated sophistication, resilience and ability of Boko Haram to strike when and wherever it deems fit.

For example, on 29 May, on the occasion of the inauguration of President Goodluck Jonathan, Boko Haram attacked a crowded beer garden in Abuja, and on 16 June, it carried out a suicide attack at the Federal Police headquarters in the city. Nearly 30 people died in both attacks and several others were injured.


Since the New Year's Eve bombings, Boko Haram has carried out no fewer than 70 major attacks (4 of them in Abuja) or an average of one attack every three days. In total, more than 600 people have been killed.

The timing of the 26 August suicide attacks on the UN and the selection of the target were never coincidental nor was it an opportunistic moment. Rather, the attacks show careful planning, a thorough understanding of the target, and a deliberate strategic choice aimed at demonstrating that the group means business. It wants Nigeria, the United States and the rest of the world to take notice and to signal that the group is now under the supreme command of Ayman Zawahiri, the new al Qaeda leader who replaced Osama bin Laden.

Boko Haram's public declaration of its allegiance and loyalty to al Qaeda is part of its 'public awareness strategy'. It also claimed that some of its operatives have been trained with al Shabaab in Somalia. Furthermore, on 18 August 2011 the online version of the Nigerian Standard carried a message purportedly from Imam Abubakar Shekau, the mystic Boko Haram leader, who replaced the charismatic founder, Mohammed Yusuf. In the message, Shekau offered solidarity with al Qaeda and sent a chilling threat to the United States.

Apart from its rhetoric and pronouncements, intelligence gathered on Boko Haram is yet to reveal compelling evidence of its link to al Qaeda, despite the group's increasing use of al Qaeda style sophistication and tactics. The kidnapping of two foreigners in May (a British and an Italian) is perhaps the most illustrious of this growing axis.

To date, the group had never attacked or kidnapped foreigners and it is believed that the two foreigners were handed to Al Qaeda in the land of Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Algeria based group, which has been touting lawlessness in the Sahel region. Understanding this link, and Boko Haram's ultimate goal of morphing into a global terrorist organisation, is important and such foreknowledge might have prevented the attacks on the UN building.



Abuja is host to many international institutions, including an African Union Office and the headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), both of which have not been attacked. The attack on the UN was therefore a strategic choice for Boko Haram and represents a trend that we have seen in recent times, particularly in the transformation of local terrorist organisations.

This is not the first time that the UN has been targeted by a terrorist group. In 2003, 15 UN staff died in a bomb blast in Iraq following an attack by the militant group, Jama'at al-Tawid wal-Jihad (now called by its new name, Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn) shortly after announcing its allegiance to al Qaeda, by its late leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Similarly, 41 people (17 of them UN staff) were killed in December 2007, when a car bomb slammed into the UN building in Algiers, Algeria after the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) declared its loyalty to al Qaeda and adopted its new name-AQIM. More than 20 UN employees have also died in Afghanistan in militant attacks in 2009 and in April this year.

The current trend shows that the UN has become a regular target in the transformation of a local or domestic terrorist group into a global network. This seems to be a key al Qaeda requirement for initiation of local groups-the demand to internationalise their targets and agenda. The internationalisation of a domestic terrorist group or its initiation into al Qaeda may follow different models such as the one taken by al Shabaab in Somalia, which failing to attack a UN building, decided to attack a popular Ethiopian restaurant frequented by foreigners in Kampala, on 11 July 2010, during the finals of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

The attacks on the UN headquarters completes Boko Haram's metamorphosis into an international terrorist group and represents a turning point for the future of terrorism in Nigeria. In reality, this means that moving forward the goal of islamisation or for spreading sharia shall not be confined to Nigeria and that other countries in the region are potential targets. Although this has always been imbedded in the name 'Boko Haram,' the recent fatwa issued by Shekau, however promised to attack and kill any Muslim that goes against the establishment of sharia.

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Given its new international profile, Boko Haram will become even more complex, sophisticated and difficult for law enforcement to intercept and neutralise. Although it will lose substantial support in Nigeria as many Nigerians are now growing weary of the groups heinous acts, however, it now has a wider milieu for recruitment, training and access to weapons, as well as other resources for sustaining the group. It could be expected that future attacks would include foreign targets.

A far more dangerous consequence of Boko Haram's activities would be if the group expands its activities further south and destroys the imaginary line that divides Muslims and Christians in Nigeria. It should also be expected that suicide terrorism will increasingly become a dominant feature of Boko Haram tactics. Both scenarios do not bode well for a region already plagued by a multiplicity of security and development challenges.

Martin A. Ewi

The Rest @ AllAfrica

Al Qaeda's Online Marketing Plan

Some tips about how al Qaeda recruits their Human Bombs on line....

Shmukh user al-Sakit argues that you need a wide distribution of jihadi propaganda on mainstream forums in order to attract a small amount of people.

• He observes that the three top mainstream Arabic forums have one million users each.
• If you post jihadi propaganda to all of them, only 10% (300,000) are likely to look at it.
• Of those, 10% (30,000) will like what they see.
• Of those, 10% (3000) will embrace the idea of jihad.
• Of those, 10% (300) will propagandize.
• Of those, 10% (30) will go out to fight in a jihad.
• Of those, 10% (3) will seek martyrdom.

That’s much the way I think about it, which is why countering the effects of jihadi propaganda is so difficult. It just needs to mobilize a few.


Jihadica

AQAP Takes more Ground in Yemen

SANAA, Yemen — Islamic militants emboldened by months of turmoil in Yemen launched a surprise dawn attack Wednesday on a southern city, seizing entire neighborhoods after gunfights with government forces, security officials said.

The militants, believed to include al-Qaida members, were in control of several neighborhoods of Houta, the provincial capital of Lahj province, the officials said.

The attack came a day after a senior U.S. official said Washington was worried that the ongoing unrest in Yemen could fuel connections between al-Qaida-linked militants in the Arab nation and al-Shabab insurgents in Somalia.

Daniel Benjamin, the State Department's counterterror coordinator, also said insurgents in Yemen were now operating more in the open and have been able to acquire and hold more territory.

The Yemeni security officials also said that bands of militants drove through some neighborhoods in the southern port city of Aden early Wednesday, opening fire on security forces. They had no further details. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Islamic militants, taking advantage of more than four months of political upheaval in Yemen, had attacked and seized two other southern cities in Abyan province in late May.

Massive anti-regime protests have swept much of the country since February, and rival forces are squaring up to each other in the capital Sanaa after days of fierce street fighting earlier this month.

Ali Abdullah Saleh, the country's president of nearly 33 years, is in neighboring Saudi Arabia for treatment from wounds he suffered in a rocket attack on his compound in Sanaa.

The capture of Zinjibar and Jaar in Abyan province and Wednesday's attacks in Houta and Aden suggest a further weakening of the central government's authority that, if left unchecked, could cause the impoverished nation in the southern corner of the Arabian Peninsula to unravel or fall deeper into chaos.

Residents in Shabwa, one of the al-Qaida strongholds in southern Yemen, have been reporting intensifying overflights by U.S. drones, suggesting the Americans were keeping close watch on the situation.

The CIA is trying to speed up construction of a Persian Gulf base for its drones, but the process is being held up by logistic delays, U.S. officials said in Washington. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security matters, said the base is at least eight months away from completion.

The Associated Press has withheld the exact location at the request of U.S. officials.

Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g7bEbQXu-CxsWJcRiI73vJuO5-0A?docId=576e573fd60142bdab784e8df3675229

14 AQIM Prisoners Isolated in Mauritania

[Jemal Oumar] Families of imprisoned terror suspects petition the Mauritanian government for information on their relatives' confinement.

Families of detained terror suspects gathered in Nouakchott on Wednesday (June 8th) to press the Mauritanian government for answers on the whereabouts of their relatives.

Salafist prisoners were previously held at the Central Prison in Nouakchott but were recently transferred to an undisclosed location. The League of Prisoners' Relatives issued a call to human rights groups and civil society organisations seeking help in uncovering the fate of their sons.

Analysts believe the move was designed to isolate suspected terrorists and prevent them from influencing other inmates or making contact with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

Journalist and security expert Yacoub Behdah explained that Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz's recent statements indicated "that the transferred prisoners were placed in an isolated security zone after they had been in continuous contact, throughout their remand, with the terrorist networks and were receiving money and writing to operatives on a daily basis".

"The first reason for the transfer of prisoner is purely security-related, which is to get the Salafists to purely military zones specialised in combating terrorism, which are similar to the Algerian forces that are based in Tamanrasset to fight terrorism," said Sid Ahmed Ould Tfeil, an expert on Salafist ideology.

Ould Tfeil said that the move was part of recommendations stemming from a recent Sahel summit on counter-terrorism. "Certain information indicates that the isolated zone that Ould Abdel Aziz mentioned is located in a mountainous area separating the two provinces of Adrar and Tagant that had been previously used in conducting Mauritanian-US joint military drills near the area of Ayn as-Safra," he added.

"In addition, there is the danger of their presence with criminal prisoners who are often influenced by their thinking and are recruited into the ranks of al-Qaeda," Ould Tfeil said.

Analyst Said Ould Habib believes that the move was designed to "avoid possible attacks from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb on the Central Prison to release them, especially as they include leading figures who were sentenced to death".

The transferred Salafist prisoners include eight condemned to death and eight others sentenced to terms of no less than 10 years. The location of 14 AQIM members held in connection with attacks on French tourists and the Mauritanian state remains unknown.

"The whereabouts of the Salafist prisoners, who were transferred from their prison in Nouakchott, will be revealed only to their relatives and not the lawmakers," Justice Minister Abidine Ould Elkheir said on May 30th in response to lawmakers' questions.Meimouna Mint Elheiba, sister of prisoner Maarouf Ould Elheiba, said that the Parliament must play its "moral role and pressure the authorities to bring our relatives back to us".

However, according to opposition legislators and relatives of Salafist prisoners, the justice minister has yet to inform the families.

"The two worrying issues about this matter are the disappearance of prisoners in unknown circumstances, although the law allows the relatives of prisoners to know their whereabouts," parliamentarian Moustapha Ould Bedr Eddine said. "As lawmakers, we will continue with our demands to bring the prisoners back to areas near their relatives to serve their terms."

By Jemal Oumar for Magharebia in Nouakchott –June 6th, 2011

The Rest @ Magharebia

Al Shabaab Cash Crisis is an Opportunity to find Funders

There is possible short term cash flow crisis for al shabaab, since Mukhtaar Abu Mansur Robow Acknowledge that Osama and Al Qaeda was a major funding source.

Osama may have gotten them funds, but the source of the funds is still out there. They key is to keep an eye on the Treasurer/Supply Chain Leaders of each of the Four al Shabaab organizations. It is likely those four will be reaching out to their low level funding administrators to try create a more direct link to the funders.

On a side note:

It is not new new that Al Qaeda helped overthrow General Mohammed Si’ad Barre's government in Somalis, but The statements by Mukhtaar Abu Mansur Robow, (al Shabaab's public spokeswoman) at Osama Ben Laden's Somalia memorial reminds us that al Qaeda has been active in Somalia with al Shabaab long before their affiliation became public.

-Shimron Issachar

**** See Below

An Al Shabaab leader this week claimed it was Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda that was instrumental in ousting Maj. General Mohammed Si’ad Barre, who headed Somalia's military regime.

Sheikh Mukhtar Rabow, a/k/a Abu Mansur, an Al Shabaab terrorist group official, made the claim while speaking at memorial in honor of the now deceased bin Laden on Wednesday in a town near the Somali capital of Mogadishu where Al Shabaab continues to rule.

“In [the early] 1990s, the martyred al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had sent a number of his fighters to Somalia to train some of Somali guerrillas in order to help depose Somali military regime,” Abu Mansur said, according to an unclassified intelligence report.

Abu Mansur claims that Osama also played a key role in financing the Somali Islamic forces and gave them material support such as providing them with firearms and rocket-propelled grenades and launchers.

He stated that Al Shabaab depends on the military and financial support of al Qaeda that both terrorist organizations are united.

Abu Mansur boasted that the killing of the al Qaeda leader in Pakistan will not undermine Al Shabaab's efforts and battles to topple the United Nations-backed government of Somalia, which is internationally recognized. Besides Somali government forces, African Union peacekeepers are posted in the war-torn country.

In 1998, when U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam were bombed with hundreds of people dead, bin Laden was blamed as the mastermind of those almost simultaneous terrorist attacks.

The Al Shabaab leader noted during Osama bin Laden's memorial service that bin Laden's al Qaeda played a major role in the 1993 U.S. special forces (Rangers, Delta Force) battle with Somali militia leader Mohamed Farah Aidid as portrayed in the motion picture Black Hawk Down.

When the smoke cleared 18 U.S. soldiers were dead and another 84 were wounded in that battle, with hundreds of Somali fighters killed or wounded. Following the "Black Hawk Down" battle, then-President Bill Clinton pulled U.S. troops out of Somalia.
he Al Shabaab leader noted during Osama bin Laden's memorial service that bin Laden's al Qaeda played a major role in the 1993 U.S. special forces (Rangers, Delta Force) battle with Somali militia leader Mohamed Farah Aidid as portrayed in the motion picture Black Hawk Down.

An Al Shabaab leader this week claimed it was Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda that was instrumental in ousting Maj. General Mohammed Si’ad Barre, who headed Somalia's military regime.

Sheikh Mukhtar Rabow, a/k/a Abu Mansur, an Al Shabaab terrorist group official, made the claim while speaking at memorial in honor of the now deceased bin Laden on Wednesday in a town near the Somali capital of Mogadishu where Al Shabaab continues to rule.

“In [the early] 1990s, the martyred al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had sent a number of his fighters to Somalia to train some of Somali guerrillas in order to help depose Somali military regime,” Abu Mansur said, according to an unclassified intelligence report.

Abu Mansur claims that Osama also played a key role in financing the Somali Islamic forces and gave them material support such as providing them with firearms and rocket-propelled grenades and launchers.



Some intelligence experts believe it was the U.S. retreat from Somalia that encouraged Osama bin Laden to continue his attacks against Americans and American interests.

"While the U.S. government all but ignores Somalia, it was in that north African country in 1993 that bin Laden came to the decision that the United States would back down if it suffered devastating attacks," said former military intelligence officer and police detective Mike Snopes.

He stated that Al Shabaab depends on the military and financial support of al Qaeda that both terrorist organizations are united.

Abu Mansur boasted that the killing of the al Qaeda leader in Pakistan will not undermine Al Shabaab's efforts and battles to topple the United Nations-backed government of Somalia, which is internationally recognized. Besides Somali government forces, African Union peacekeepers are posted in the war-torn country.

In 1998, when U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam were bombed with hundreds of people dead, bin Laden was blamed as the mastermind of those almost simultaneous terrorist attacks.

The Al Shabaab leader noted during Osama bin Laden's memorial service that bin Laden's al Qaeda played a major role in the 1993 U.S. special forces (Rangers, Delta Force) battle with Somali militia leader Mohamed Farah Aidid as portrayed in the motion picture Black Hawk Down.

hen the smoke cleared 18 U.S. soldiers were dead and another 84 were wounded in that battle, with hundreds of Somali fighters killed or wounded. Following the "Black Hawk Down" battle, then-President Bill Clinton pulled U.S. troops out of Somalia.

Some intelligence experts believe it was the U.S. retreat from Somalia that encouraged Osama bin Laden to continue his attacks against Americans and American interests.

"While the U.S. government all but ignores Somalia, it was in that north African country in 1993 that bin Laden came to the decision that the United States would back down if it suffered devastating attacks," said former military intelligence officer and police detective Mike Snope

by Jim Kouri
The Rest @ Law Enforcement Examiner

Osama Bin Laden Killed, Body Taken

Al Jazira
La Times
CNN

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys Prouodly Recruits Child Soldiers

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, top Al-Shabaab militia's commander confirmed that his group is using underage children in their fight against Somali Transitional Government.

• "We recruit underage children to fight for us, the children are ready to die for their country and religion" said Sheikh Aweys while addressing people in a mosque at Elasha Biyaha camps in outskirt of Mogadishu, the restive capital of Somalia.
• He adds they will continue recruiting underage children to fight against Somali government forces and African Union troops.

"There was an incident where 13 year fighter shocked when he heard the loud sounds of the artillery while he was fighting and he said the fighting is terrible but the Jihad is sweet and later he was dead in the clashes," said Aweys.

Human Right Agencies alleged Somali Islamic militants force hundreds of children to serve as soldiers in Somalia, and the international community called on the Somali Islamist not to use children in the fighting.

Somali radical Islamist insurgents are well-known turning children of soccer to fighters, but Aweys is the first commander, who assured that his group use underage children as fighters.

Aweys was former leader of Hizbul Islam militias before they joined Al-Shabaab radical militants late last year.

Al-Shabaab, is fighting to overthrow the Somali government backed by African Union troops to control the country and set up a strict Islamic state.

The militias control much of central and southern regions including large parts of the capital Mogadishu.

The Rest @ AllAfrica

Al Muhajiroun

Al Qaeda Tries to Leverage North Africa Unrest

DUBAI, Jan 28, 2011 (AFP) - Al-Qaeda has hailed Tunisia's uprising but also warned about an attempt to replace ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali with another "agent" of the West, the US-monitoring group SITE said on Friday.

"Your revolution was no ordinary uprising, rather it was a devastating earthquake that struck the throne of the tyrant Ben Ali... The criminal ran away in a very humiliating scene," Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) said.

The United States "and France, with the infidel West, will not accept any real change that does not serve their interests in Tunisia. They are now busy planning to find an alternative agent who is acceptable to them," added the statement issued on jihadist forums on Thursday.

"France was the one that supported the tyrant Ben Ali until the last moment and supported him to the furthest extent, such that it even offered him its expertise in the field of oppression," AQIM charged.

The United States and France will "play the same dirty role in Tunisia in the future, unless the strikes of the mujahedeen... stop them," said the statement.

French officials frequently justified their support for Ben Ali because of what they deemed his effectiveness in fighting political Islam.

Paris had warm ties with Ben Ali's regime during his 23 years in power but made a U-turn after the authoritarian ruler bowed to popular protests and fled the country this month.

It was not until after Ben Ali was ousted that French President Nicolas Sarkozy backed the protest movement and the fugitive was denied refuge in France.

AQIM also criticised Saudi Arabia for hosting Ben Ali, SITE reported.
"He was given sanctuary... by the one who claims to be the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques," AQIM said of Saudi King Abdullah.

"If he had in his heart an ounce of passion for (Islam)... he would not have accepted to host on this pure land a criminal who was refused from all the nations."
Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it wanted to contribute to ending "bloodshed" in Tunisia by granting asylum to Ben Ali.

Riyadh has kept a blackout on Ben Ali's activities since his arrival on January 15 with six family members, after his ouster in a wave of protest in which dozens of people were killed.

by AFP

The Rest @ Zawya

Five Moroccan soldiers On Trial for Arms Trafficking to AQIM

Five Moroccan soldiers will face trial for allegedly taking bribes from arms traffickers and allowing them to smuggle weapons into the country, Interior Minister Moulay Taieb Cherkaoui said on Wednesday (January 12th) at a Rabat press briefing.

"These soldiers helped smugglers introduce contraband goods in exchange for sums of money, without ever checking the nature of these... smuggled products, that were often carried on camels' backs," the ministry said.

The arms were reportedly supposed to be used by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The soldiers were serving in Amghala, where last week security forces dismantled a 27-member terrorist cell and uncovered three weapons caches.

According to the ministry, the cell's Moroccan ringleader aimed to set up an al-Qaeda base in Morocco and send recruits to AQIM training camps in Algeria and Mali. Members of the terrorist group were reportedly planning attacks on security services and bank robberies to fund their activities.

The minister also commented that Morocco is increasing its vigilance in the fight against terrorism and the security services are on a constant lookout to ensure that planned manoeuvres by terrorists with links to AQIM come to nothing.

An arsenal that included

• 33 Kalashnikovs,
• two rocket-propelled grenades (RPG),
• a mortar and 1998 Kalashnikov ammunition was shown to journalists at the press meeting.

With the announcement of the break-up of the Amghala cell, observers stressed that Moroccan security services need to monitor the porosity of the borders.

For his part, political analyst Mohamed Darif thinks the involvement of soldiers in facilitating the smugglers' activities is nothing new. Morocco has previously arrested security officers caught up in cases of smuggling and drugs trafficking, particularly in the north of the country.

"What is new is the smuggling of weapons. But I do not think that these soldiers, as the minister has pointed out, were quite aware of the content of the cargo. They thought these were goods which did not represent any danger for the security of the country," the expert said.

According to security analyst Mohamed Benhemmou, the information provided by the interior ministry confirms the link between AQIM and transnational crime cells.

"Al-Qaeda uses the full logistical capabilities of organised crime. We must also resist any tendency to discount criminal activities because, when faced with terrorism, we must stamp out transnational organised crime. We find ourselves in a situation where there is intense co-operation between terrorism and smuggling of all kinds, even though the objectives are not the same. Al-Qaeda has ideological and political intentions, while the smuggling networks have economic and financial objectives," he said.

The news stirred mixed reactions among ordinary citizens, with some expressing concern over the terrorist threat and others showing scepticism about the information coming from the state.

"The number of cells which have been broken up proves that Morocco is being targeted. Up to now, the police have been able to thwart a number of terrorist threats. But trouble could come at any time, despite our vigilance, because terrorists are unpredictable," teacher Salah Eddine Machidi told Magharebia.

"Sometimes there is doubt about the real involvement of people who are arrested over acts of terrorism. Our fear is that innocent people are being incriminated without any evidence," said Hassan Bouchama, adding that the government doesn't release enough information about the cells.

This content was commissioned for Magharebia.com.

The Rest @ Magharebia

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

AQIM Warns France: Deal With Usamma Ben Ladden

France told to deal with bin Laden over hostages
(AFP) – 1 day ago

PARIS — France said Friday it was working to authenticate a videotape warning Paris to deal directly with Osama bin Laden concerning five French hostages held by an Al-Qaeda offshoot in Africa.

Abdelmalek Droukdel, the head of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), said in the videotape message that bin Laden alone could negotiate the release of the hostages held by AQIM since September.

Droukdel, alias Abou Moussaab Abdelouadoud added in his message broadcast on Al-Jazeera Arabic Television on Thursday that "any form of negotiations on this issue in the future will be done with no one other than our Sheikh Osama bin Laden... and according to his terms".

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said that the videotape "is being authenticated now."

He told AFP that France was "fully mobilised" in an effort to secure the release of the five French hostages who were seized in Niger in September along with a Togolese and a Madagascan and are believed to be in captivity in neighbouring Mali.

According to a translation of the videotape by US monitoring group SITE Intelligence, AQIM chief Droukdel also said: "(If you) want safety for your citizens who are held captive by us, then you have to hasten and take your soldiers out of Afghanistan according to a specific timetable that you announce officially."

Bin Laden, in a recording aired by Al-Jazeera in late October, also said that France's security would be compromised if it does not pull its 3,750 soldiers out of Afghanistan.

France said for the first time Wednesday that it was in touch with the AQIM kidnappers.

"Of course there are all kinds of contact" with the hostage-takers, new Defence Minister Alain Juppe told Europe 1 radio, without giving more details.

"All the (French) authorities, the defence ministry, the foreign ministry, everyone is being extremely vigilant to make the necessary contact," he said.

Asked if the hostages were believed to be safe, Juppe added: "Currently there is every reason to believe they are."

The Rest @ AFP

Al Qaeda's Operating Instructions to Al Shabaab

"Al Qaeda has accepted Shabaab into the fold and, and any additional statements would only serve to draw international scrutiny," the intelligence official said.

"Al Qaeda is applying lessons learned from Iraq, that an overexposure of the links between al Qaeda central leadership and its affiliates can cause some unwanted attention."

Shabaab's double suicide attack in Uganda on July 11 was well received by al Qaeda's top leadership, who want Shabaab to continue to hitting US interests in Africa.

"Al Qaeda is pleased with the double suicide attack in Uganda, but suggested Shabaab reserve future strikes at US interests in the region," the official said.

The July 11 double suicide attack in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, killed 74 civilians as they watched the World Cup's final soccer match. The mastermind of the Kampala attacks, Isah Ahmed Luyima, said he executed the bombings with the intent of maximizing US deaths.

"I targeted places where many Americans go," Luyima said in a press conference hosted by Ugandan police on Aug. 12. "I was made to believe that Americans were responsible for the suffering of Muslims all over the world."

The Shabaab cell that carried out the Uganda attack called itself the Saleh Ali Nabhan Brigade. Saleh Ali Slaeh Nabhan was a top al Qaeda and Shabaab leader who has been indicted by the US for his involvement in the 1998 bombings at the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Nabhan was indicted with several top al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri. Nabhan served as Shabaab's top military commander before US special operations forces killed him in a raid in southern Somalia in September 2009.

The Rest from The Long War Journal

The French Attack attempt - Watch the Watchers to Find the Spie Masters

It is not surprise that an attack by Al Qaeda is being planned for France, or even that it is imminent in the next few months. Knowing that is coming can possibly prevent it from being successful, and further, can serve as an opportunity to round-up the intermediate threat.

Algeria and France have a long history together; and there were many years when a citizen of Algeria was considered a citizen of France. Many Algerian Families had members who migrated to France during that time, and they have maintained ties over the generations.

Also during this time, anti-France organizations formed in Algeria, many with an Islamic foundations. Some of those begin to form rebel groups. They have been in Algeria and the larger Sahel region for generations growing and shrinking because of Algerian government attacks. They are supported mainly by smuggling activities, and in the last 10 years or so, by kidnapping of Westerners for ransom.

It is not a surprise that al Qaeda cultivated relationships with these groups, who have clan and family relationships in France.

It is not a surprise that Al Qaeda rewarded these groups with an affiliate endorsement and prestige and recruit support (AQIM).

Al Qaeda has leveraged the relationships these Algerians hold with family and friends in France to create unrest, recruit, fund raise, and to create and train Intel teams in France. There have been attacks, but the last successful attack was 15 years ago.

It seems about correct in timing that newly trained Intel teams (since AQIM's endorsement by Al Qaeda) have reported on a number of French targets, and decisions are likely being made about where and how the attacks will be conducted. This is how they attacked Spain, the UK, and how they have tried to attack the US.

None of this is a surprise. What is a surprise is that old dormant islamist networks in France are being reactivated with fighters trained and experienced Iraq, Afghanistan, North Africa and and Pakistan, as they come home.

It is not new news that AQIM fighters are planning an attack in and on France. Trained fighters returning home (after their failures abroad) suggest the possibility that an al Qaeda type attack (assaults on protected targets in waves, with suicide bombers spearheading each wave, with a trailing attack on emergency service workers) is being planned, to be carried out when sufficient numbers of fighters get back to France.

These will likely be stopped before they can be carried out, as they have in the past, because foreign fighters are being tracked carefully. When a critical mass of fighters get back to France, it is likely this type of an attack will be undertaken. After the attack fails in the short term or the long term, (and it will fail- the longer the attack goes before it fails, the more successful al Qaeda will judge it.)

Ikhwan leaders will gauge the response of Muslims in their organization to identify people who may be open to being recruited into other organizations for a longer term Jihad in France. They will talk of any French reaction or round up of suspects as an assault on the Ummah. Watch for who says these things, and who they are choosing to say them to.

The key is to watch the Ikhwan leaders, and the people they are watching among the Muslim immigrant population, as they search for potential recruits. They will be active in and around the next attack attempted on France.

Watch the Intel teams who watch the French repose to the attack attempt, who are gathering data while the attacks occur. Watch what they write and who they communicate to after the attack attempt.

The attack attempt will come, perhaps in the next few weeks or months, but the key is to watch both types of watchers, both watchers of the attack itself, and also those who watch and measure the response of the Muslim population in the weeks after the attack. These are the leaders of the intermediate threat of al Qaeda attack.

Spie masters, by any other name, still train recruit and train people to watch and report.

-Shimron Issachar

**********************


AFP - France is at immediate risk of a major terror attack by Islamist radicals and has further reinforced already urgent security measures since last week, officials said Monday.

Asked about reports that an attack might be imminent, Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said: "The threat is real, we have stepped up our vigilance."


TALKING POINTS

France faces 'real' terrorist threat

Separately, a source close to the ministry confirmed that police are probing reports that a female suicide bomber may be preparing a strike in Paris, but added: "That's not necessarily the most worrying thing."

Instead, he explained, Paris is concerned with intelligence received from an allied foreign spy agency that Al-Qaeda's North African branch, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), was planning an "imminent" attack in France.

"It's a threat which we think might target transportation," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity and without giving further details except that the warning was received at 5:00 am (0300 GMT) on Thursday last week.


NORTH AFRICA

Exclusive footage gives rare insight into life in al Qaeda insurgency

The interior ministry played down the specific risk to transport, insisting that the threat was "against totally undefined targets."

Meanwhile, according to a police source, authorities have learned that two dormant Islamist networks in France have been revived to receive and host groups of Jihadi radicals returning from Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Separately, officials from Paris's Grand Mosque confirmed that their rector, Dalil Boubakeur, had been placed under police protection and provided with an escort as he moves about the city.

Boubakeur is a moderate figure who has worked with France's government on issues of Muslim integration and has been threatened by radicals in the past.

On Tuesday, hundreds of tourists were moved away from the Eiffel Tower as it was briefly evacuated following a hoax bomb threat.

France's national terror warning plan, known as "Vigipirate", was already at alert level "reinforced red" -- one step down from the highest level, scarlet, which would represent a precise and imminent threat.

The warnings were the latest in a series given over the past 10 days since the head of France's DCRI domestic intelligence agency, Bernard Squarcini, said France had never faced a greater "terrorist threat."

They come at a time when France has been the target of violent threats on Jihadi websites, including from known armed militant leaders, over its ban on the full-face Muslim veil and its overseas military operations.

Senators voted last week to pass the ban on the burqa and the niqab and it will go into effect in around six months if approved by constitutional judges.

Before the law was voted, Al-Qaeda's Egyptian number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, released an audio tape urging Muslim women to resist the ban.

French troops, meanwhile, are fighting Islamic militants in both Afghanistan -- where they are part of the NATO mission -- and northwest Africa, where in July they took part in a commando raid against a AQIM base.

The July 22 strike, carried out alongside Mauritanian troops operating in northern Mali, left seven militants dead, but failed to find a French hostage, 78-year-old aid worker Michel Germaneau, who is thought to be dead.

AQIM claimed responsibility for killing Germaneau and vowed to avenge the raid. The group is now the prime suspect in last week's kidnap in Niger of seven foreign nationals, five of them French.

The group is thought to have taken its captives, including a French married couple, to Mali. France has sent an 80-strong military intelligence detachment to Bamako to hunt down the gang, officials said Monday.

France has Europe's largest Islamic population, with around five million Muslims of mainly north African descent, but since September 11, 2001 has been spared the kind of large scale attacks that hit London and Madrid.

The last major Islamist bomb attack in Paris dates back to the summer of 1995, when eight were killed and 200 wounded in attacks on Metro trains.

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