Al-Qaida deputy soliciting donations in Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Interior Ministry warned its citizens and residents about donating money to al-Qaida (UID 7246) last month after security services reportedly found a message from al-Zawahiri (UID 1144) on the memory card of a terror suspect's mobile phone.The message said "the bearer of this message is one of our trusted brothers: therefore, please give him your donations to help hundreds of families of captives and martyrs in Pakistan and Afghanistan." The men disseminating this message allegedly were in the process of rebuilding al-Qaida's network in the Kingdom.

Three suspects on trial in Norway

At the end of March 2008 Arfan Bhatti (UID 514646), Ibrahim Oezbabacan (UID 514639) and Andreas Bog Kristiansen (UID 514637) became the first indivuals to go on trial in Norway under the anti-terror legislation introduced after 9/11. Bhatti and Oezbabacan are accused of firing shots at a synagogue in 2006. Bhatti and Kristiansen are additionally charged with planning attacks on two embassies in Oslo. Indicted in September 2007 all three have pleaded not guilty.

Transatlantic bomb plotters come before the courts

This month eight members of a UK terrorist cell which planned to blow up commercial airliners over North America are on trial. The flights from London's Heathrow chosen by Abdula Ahmed Ali (UID 482071), Assad Sarwar (UID 482085), Mohammed Gulzar (UID 492050), Waheed Zaman (UID 482089), Tanvir Hussain (UID 482075), Ibrahim Savant (UID 482086), Waheed Arafat Khan (UID 482080) and Umar Islam (UID 482077) aka Brian Young, were destined for New York, Washington DC, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto and Montreal. It was reported that the eight had been plotting to carry out the suicide bombings sometime between August and October 2006. They were arrested in August 2006. The 2006 Transatlantic Aircraft Plot (UID 605237) investigation prompted an international security alert at airports and introduced stringent security measures on passenger flights, banning hand luggage and caused major disruptions to airplane travel globally.

Pakistan arrests Hizbul Mujahadeen commander

In early April Pakistan authorities arrested Abdul Khaliq Dar (UID 837738) the chief spokesman for Hizbul Mujahideen (UID 160899). The Hizbul Mujahideen is believed to be one of the largest groups operating in the Kashmir region with a substantial cadre of foreign and indigenous fighters and it is also thought to be one of the most prominent members of the Muttahida Jehad Council (MJC), a coalition of Kashmiri militant groups allegedly linked to al-Qaida. Dar who is also known as Junaid-ul-Islam was captured in Srinagar. He is reported to have been involved in the group's terror activities and conspiracies in the area.

Warrant of arrest issued for alleged Bhutto killers

The Anti-Terrorism Court in Rawalpindi has issued warrants of arrest for who they claim are the main instigators in the assassination of former Pakistan PM Benazir Bhutto last year. Pakistan Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud (UID 556874), and four others including Ikram Mehsud (UID 788017), Abadur Rehman (UID 837749), Abdullah Saddam (UID 837751) and Faiz Muhammad (UID 837745) were named in the warrant which calls for their immediate arrest.

Three on trial in Ohio

The trial of Mohammad Zaki Amawi (UID 419006), Marwan Othman El- Hindi (UID 419007) and Wassim I. Mazloum (UID 419003) has commenced in Toledo. The three are accused of plotting to injure and kill US soldiers overseas. All have pleaded not guilty. Amawi is reported to have traveled to Jordan in 2003 with the purpose of entering Iraq to engage in combat action against coalition forces. He was unsuccessful and returned to the US where he was arrested in 2006. Mazloum is reported to have links to the US OFAC-designated charity Kindhearts (UID 450518). Not only does the World-Check database list individuals and entities involved in terrorism but it links them to their associates and businesses, thereby giving a more network-centric picture of risk. Check out the Kindhearts profile to see one such network.

Nigeria to go ahead with trial of rebels

Henry Okah (UID 691190) and Edward Atatah (UID 818426) are accused and charged with treason, terrorism, illegal possession of firearms and arms trafficking. The duo are currently facing trial by Nigerian courts. Okah is reported to be the spokesman for the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (UID 534184). This armed group has claimed responsibility for a whole series of attacks against oil company and government targets in the past two years. Okah and Atatah were arrested in Angola last September and charged with arms trafficking and money laundering. In February this year they were extradited to Nigeria to face charges in their home country.

IRA man gets second life sentence

Robert Duffy (UID 835684) was a member of an IRA gang that murdered an individual in 1993. Duffy was released from jail under the Good Friday Ageement after having served only four years of his life sentence. This month Duffy was before the courts again. He was sentenced by a Dublin Court to life in jail for the attempted murder of a man at a bar in Dundalk in March 2007, Duffy had pleaded guilty to the charge in January.

"The terrorist operative who is willing to strap on a suicide belt may not be susceptible to deterrence, but the individual donor who wants to support violent jihad may well be. Terrorist financiers typically live public lives with all that entails: property, occupation, family, and social position. Being publicly identified as a financier of terror threatens an end to that "normal" life. To the extent we can force terrorists and their supporters out of the formal financial system, we force them into more cumbersome and riskier methods of raising and moving money, subjecting them to a greater likelihood of detection and disruption.”

The Hydra Headed Monster: Jemaa Islamiyah's likely resurgence in Indonesia
by John Solomon and Mohamed Sadiq

The first Bali Bombing in October 2002 was a watershed event in the fight against terrorism in Southeast Asia. The lethality of the attack and its location in the popular tourist island of Bali resulted in a massive crackdown on the organization responsible, Jemaa Islamiyah (JI). Last year’s arrest of JI leaders Abu Dujana and Zarkasih attest to the Indonesian police’s commitment to containing the terrorist threat.
Indeed, many analysts including Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group have observed that the operations network of JI has been severely disrupted as several top leaders have been arrested (Dujana, Zarkasih, Nurjaman Ridzuan Isamuddin aka Hambali), killed (Azahari bin Husin) or have fled and are unable to carry out leadership duties (Umar Patek and Joko Pitono aka Dulmatin).

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In March 2008 the United Nations updated its watch lists with the following. On 2008-03-05 they amended one individual and made technical corrections to 161 individuals and 4 entities on the consolidated list. On 2008-03-17 amendments were made to the identifying information of two individuals Mostafa Kamel Mostafa and Uthman Omar Mahmoud.

In February 2008, the UK Treasury issued two terrorism-related press releases. They made amendments to six individuals and two entities, namely the Benevolence International Foundation and the Global Relief Foundation on 2008-03-06 The UK Treasury also made amendments to two further individuals on their al-Qaida watch list on the 2008-03-19 stating that their status had changed from under investigation to being in custody in the United Kingdom.

The European Union made two sets of amendments during March 2008. On 2008-03-04 one entity and three individuals' entries were amended. The EU made a further eight amendments in its second press release on the 2008-03-12.

The US Treasury OFAC added one individual and one entity on 2008-03-11. A further entity Al-Shabaab was added to OFAC's SDN list on the 2008-03-19

EVENTS:

21-23 May, 2008

20-25 July, 2008

WORLD-CHECK NEWS

World-Check has announced the beta-launch of Country-Check, a premier risk ranking index for overall country risk. Read the full press release or visit the Country-Check site here.
If you are a recent subscriber to the World-Check Terrorism Brief, you may wish to read the past Expert Talk articles. Expert Talk has covered such topics as Pakistan's Al-Qaida-Taliban Nexus, ETA's Financial Networks, and a series of three articles about the Trends in Terror Finance.