Al Qaida commander reported killed in Pakistan

Abu Laith al-Libi (UID 610140) a senior Al-Qaida field commander in Afghanistan has reportedly been killed in North Waziristan, Pakistan. It is reported that he was believed to be on his way to meet Baitullah Mehsud (UID 556874) - accused of plotting attacks in the EU and Bhutto's assassination - when he was killed. Al-Libi, has appeared in videos alongside al-Qaida's top lieutenant Ayman al-Zawahiri (UID 11446) and is thought to have been instrumental in a number of recent suicide bombings in the east of Afghanistan. Al-Libi has also acted as spokesman for al-Qaida most notably in 2002 when he announced that Taliban leader Mullah Omar (UID 7258) and Osama bin Laden (UID 3969) had survived the US invasion of Afghanistan. Reports suggest that he was also behind the February 2007 attacks on the US base in Bagram, Afghanistan during US Vice President Dick Cheney's visit.

JI operative killed another escapes capture

Philippines authorities have killed Radi Upao (UID 543735) an Abu Sayaf sub commander in a raid earlier this month. The main target Joko Pitono aka Dulmatin (UID 89101) escaped during the raid. Dulmatin is a Jemaah Islamiyah (UID 57652) operative who is wanted by authorities for allegedly masterminding the 2002 Bali bombings. Dulmatin appears on numerous enforcement and sanctions lists including OFAC and Interpol. There is currently a reward of US$10 million for his capture.

Transatlantic fraud ring linked to Tamil Tigers

Canadian authorities have sparked an international investigation into gift card fraud after they arrested four individuals early this month. The four were named as Pratheepan Thambu (UID 794306), Lojanand Srianandan (UID 794305), both from Toronto, and Sethukavalar Saravanabavan (UID 794304) and Kirubakaran Selvanayagam Pillai (UID 794303) from the United Kingdom. Authorities seized more than 120 gift cards, all originating in the United Kingdom as well as computer equipment and the travel documents of the accused, they also found money transfer receipts and Tamil Tiger documentation. The four are accused of fraud, possession of material obtained by crime and of participating in a criminal organisation.

Former Maze fugitive arrested in Texas

Late in January Texas border patrol stopped an individual with an out of date immigration document and subsequently arrested him. The individual was Paul Brennan (UID 60167) a former inmate at the Northern Ireland Maze prison. Brennan is a former member of the IRA who was imprisoned in the Maze after being convicted of possession of explosives and firearms. In September 1983 he escaped with more than 30 other prisoners. He fled to the United States. He was arrested in the early 1990s and appealed against extradition. In 2000 the British government withdrew its application for his extradition under the Good Friday Agreement. However US authorities have now stated that deportation proceedings would be initiated. Read the verification hyperlinks on his profile to get the full story.

Arrests made in airport bomb plot

Officials in Bangalore have arrested two individuals for suspected terrorist activities. Mohammad Ghouse (UID 792203) and Assadullah Abbubukar (UID 792208) confessed to plotting to bomb Bangalore's Hubli airport. Police confiscated maps and other materials involving other installations. The pair were charged with having links to a terrorist organisation. Ghouse's father Naseeruddin Mohammad (UID 792207) is reported to have received training as a suicide bomber in Pakistan and is a member of Lashkar e Toiba (UID 40613). Naseeruddin is also believed to have been involved in the March 2003 killing of Haren Pandya the former Home Minister of Gujarat and also implicated in the August 2007 bombings in Hyderabad.

Morocco to try Madrid bomb suspect

Abdelilah Hriz (UID 577049) alleged to be a terrorist recruiter was wanted in connection with the March 2004 Madrid bombings, after his fingerprints were found at the house where the explosives were assembled. He was detained in Syria in 2006 and then handed over to Moroccan authorities. He has now been charged with the terror attacks and will stand trial. This is the first time that Morocco has tried one of its citizens for crimes committed abroad.

Man pleads guilty to soldier kidnap plan

This month the suspected leader of a Birmingham based terror cell Parviz Khan (UID 565029) pleaded guilty to the charges of plotting to kidnap and murder a BritIsh soldier. Parvez also sent shipments of equipment to terrorist contacts in Pakistan between 2005 and 2006. He insisted that they were items for earthquake relief but it has since been revealed that the shipments contained electronic equipment, walkie talkies and military type clothing and accessories. Check out his profile to reveal his accomplices and the larger network.

French arrest another ETA suspect

Eneko Galarraga Godoy (UID 647099) an ETA suspect has been arrested in France. Godoy was on the Spanish security forces most wanted list and is believed to have crossed over into France after the disbandment of the 'comando Zelatu' cell. Godoy is accused of recruiting for ETA and for gathering information on a number of assassination targets. Also in France another ETA member Ainhoa Adin (UID 204265) wanted by Spanish police was released from custody by the French authorities, after they did not have enough evidence to hold her. Our multilingual Terrorist and Insurgency Research Unit (TIRU) analysts constantly monitor the media, as well as government and enforcement sites throughout the world to ensure our users are provided with the most up-to-date intelligence available.

"Our [enemy] is proactive, innovative, well-networked, flexible, patient, young, technologically savvy, and learns and adapts continuously based upon both successful and failed operations around the globe."

Pakistan's Al-Qaida-Taliban Nexus: The Enemy Far and Near

As the 1980s Arab-Afghan Jihad against the Soviets helped to spawn the al-Qaida movement, so too has the post-9/11 fight against the al-Qaida-Taliban nexus in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s tribal regions accelerated the projection of Salafi Jihadist terrorism and political violence on a global scale. Jihadist violence emanating from this conflict zone has manifested itself not only in the Bhutto assassination and other attacks throughout the subcontinent, but also further afield in Western Europe where associated cells have intended to carry out widespread terrorist violence.

Just as bin Laden and Zawahiri advocated terrorism against the ‘far enemy’ as a means to undercut the ‘near enemy’ so now does it appear that al-Qaida and allied Jihadists – namely, Baitullah Mehsud’s Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan – may be following this same tack against the ‘crusader’ West – while, at the same time, orchestrating calculated bursts of political violence and terrorism to further destabilize the Pakistani state. An intended outcome of such a strategy could be to ensure the sanctuary for Jihadist leadership in the Pakistan tribal regions, which has become a veritable Petri dish of al-Qaida, Pakistani Taliban and affiliated Jihadist elements.

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In January 2008 the United Nations updated its watch lists with the following. On 2008-01-04 they amended 25 individuals and one entity on their al-Qaida list. On 2008-01-17 three names were added to the al-Qaida section.

In January 2008, the UK Treasury issued five notices concerning terrorists. On 2008-01-07 they followed the UN's lead and made amendments to 26 names. On 2008-01-11 they made an amendment to Nabeel Hussain's entry. On the 2008-01-18 they added a further three names. Five days later they made one more addition on the 2008-01-23 release and one amendment on the UK HM Treasury release of 2008-01-31.

The European Union followed the UN and the UK Treasury's lead by making amendments to 26 names on their terror watch list on 2008-01-19, following on with the three additions on the 2008-01-25.

The US Treasury OFAC made one addition on 2008-01-10.

EVENTS:

19-21 February 2008

11-13 March, 2008

28-29 February 2008

WORLD-CHECK NEWS

Previous Expert Talk articles including our initial three part series addressing the financing of terrorism vis-à-vis the unregulated sector and last month's focus on 'Exposing the ETA financial Network' all written by John Solomon, Head of the World-Check Terrorism and Insurgency Research Unit can be accessed here.

Look out for more informative and insightful Expert Talk articles on topics pertinent to terrorism and its funding and how you can manage the risk coming in the next few months.