Weekly Security Brief - Sept 16th

Dilitas Weekly Security Brief

This email has been compiled from current, open source data supplied through contacts within Diplomatic Posts, law enforcement agencies and UK intelligence services.
 The information herein is to keep you informed of the current security situations within the UK and the rest of the world. 
If you require more specific information on any other prevailing matters, please contact us at info@dilitas.com detailing what you require and we will respond to you.
Regards,
Christopher Cully
Managing Director


The threat to the UK from International Terrorism is SEVERE
The threat to Great Britain from Irish Republican Terrorism is MODERATE


Domestic:

The murder of British hostage David Haines was an "act of pure evil", David Cameron has said after the release of a video of his beheading. The 44-year-old aid worker was seized in Syria in 2013. He was being held by Islamic State militants who have already killed two US captives. The latest video also includes a threat to kill a second British hostage.
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond is due to meet foreign ministers from around the world to discuss plans to tackle Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq and Syria.
 The summit in Paris is taking place two days after a video showing British aid worker David Haines's death emerged. David Cameron has said the UK will "hunt down" the killers and that the "menace" of IS has to be destroyed. The militants have also threatened to kill a second Briton, Alan Henning, 47. Mr Henning, a married father-of-two from Salford, previously worked as a taxi driver but had been a volunteer on an aid convoy in Syria before he was captured.

The potential return of radicalised jihadis was "directly responsible" for the decision to raise the UK's terror threat level, Philip Hammond has said. The foreign secretary said the prospect of hundreds of British nationals coming back to carry out attacks was one of the most serious threats to security. Left unchallenged, Islamist militants could turn much of the Middle East into a "terrorist haven" he told MPs. The threat level was raised from substantial to severe last month.
Britain should do a deal with jihadists fighting in Iraq and Syria to encourage them to ‘come home’, the former MI6 chief has said. Richard Barrett, who was a counter-terrorism director at the Secret Intelligence Service, said returning British extremists could be an ‘invaluable asset’. His call came as it emerged that five British men who signed up to fight with Islamic State have found life too tough and want to come home. The volunteers became disillusioned by the brutality of their leaders and the discomforts of living in a war zone. Mr Barrett said British Muslims disillusioned with taking up arms for terror groups could dissuade potential fanatics from becoming radicalised. It has been reported that as many as 30 British jihadists are looking at ways of returning, but fear being jailed in the UK.

Jihadists linked to the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria have attempted six terrorist attacks in Europe, David Cameron told MPs last week. He said that the Islamist extremists needed to be "squeezed out of existence" because they were already targeting Britain and other Western countries and he urged MPs to be "in no doubt" that the insurgents wanted to bring widespread carnage to the streets of the UK. Mr Cameron also told MPs that leaders at the NATO summit in Newport last week had begun to discuss a broad-based strategy for tackling the jihadists. He said, "The point I would make even today to the British people is: be in no doubt about the threat that so-called Islamic State poses to us. We have already seen something like six planned attacks in the countries of the European Union from the so-called Islamic State, including that appalling attack in the Brussels Jewish museum, where innocent people were killed. That flows directly from this organisation. The alliance was clear about the scale of the threat from Islamist extremism and we agreed we must use all the instruments at our disposal - humanitarian, diplomatic, and military - to squeeze this barbaric terrorist organisation out of existence...” The Prime Minister gave no further details of other attempted atrocities, which are thought to have been foiled by security services.
An inquest into the deaths of six Britons and a UK-based Colombian killed during a militant attack on a gas plant in Algeria is set to begin in London. In January 2013, a group linked to al-Qaeda stormed the In Amenas facility. Algerian forces laid siege, and by the time they regained control, 40 workers and at least 29 militants were dead. The inquest's coroner stood down last week to be replaced by a judge after the government said it might present "sensitive material" as evidence.
The Britons killed at In Amenas were Garry Barlow, Carson Bilsland, Stephen Green, Sebastian John, Paul Morgan and Kenneth Whiteside.

The first British person to contract Ebola in the current outbreak in Africa is to return to the country where he was infected in order to help others fight the disease. William Pooley was treated in London after being flown out of Sierra Leone. He has made a full recovery and, having been discharged from hospital, said he is to travel back within "a few weeks".

Passengers flying to America from Britain could face strict searches and interrogations by Homeland Security staff at UK airports, after the British government showed an interest in entering into a "preclearance" agreement with the US. Documents obtained by the Guardian show US authorities approached Britain and four other EU member states about setting up preclearance checks at European airports at two meetings of the European council's transatlantic relations working party in July.

Northern Ireland and Eire:

The furore around the IRA comfort letter scheme could put the Northern Ireland peace settlement at risk, one of the key negotiators behind it has warned as he insisted it was not a “murky deal”. Jonathan Powell, the former No 10 chief-of-staff under Tony Blair, said the controversy had been "whipped-up" and inflicted unnecessary distress on victims. Mr Powell was at the heart of talks with Sinn Féin that led to letters being sent to around 200 IRA suspects telling them they were no longer wanted by the police. The scale of the scheme only emerged earlier this year when the prosecution of 1982 Hyde Park bomb suspect John Downey collapsed after it emerged he had been sent a letter, albeit in error. Last week the Northern Ireland Secretary effectively annulled the letters by warning recipients they could no longer rely on them.
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has said Northern Ireland's political process is in serious difficulty. He claimed a negative political axis was trying to undermine the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement that largely ended violence. Members of the power sharing government at Stormont have been at loggerheads over issues like dealing with the legacy of the conflict, controversial flags and marches as well as welfare reform.

International:

Nato countries have started delivering arms to Ukraine to help its soldiers fight pro-Russian separatists in the east, the defence minister says. Valery Heletey did not give details of the weapons being delivered or name the countries involved. A similar statement earlier was denied by five Nato members, including the US. Ukraine's prime minister says Nato is the "only vehicle" to protect the country from Russia, which he and the West accuse of intervening in the east. Moscow has denied sending troops to help pro-Russian rebels who have been engaged in heavy fighting with government forces in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions since April.

US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet foreign ministers from around the world in Paris on Monday to discuss how to defeat Islamic State (IS) militants. French President Francois Hollande said the beheading of a British aid worker showed the world must act against IS. About 40 countries, including 10 Arab states, have signed up to a coalition to help fight IS in Iraq and Syria. Several Arab countries have offered to take part in air strikes on IS fighters in Iraq, US officials say. Mr Kerry says he is "extremely encouraged" by promises of military assistance to tackle the militant group.
President Obama announced an open-ended bombing campaign against Islamic State militants on 10 September that will extend into Syria for the first time, despite acknowledging that the extremist group did not currently pose a direct threat to the US homeland. In a markedly interventionist speech on the eve of the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Mr Obama announced an aggressive offensive to combat ISIS, which has been responsible for the beheading of two American citizens in the past month and captured a swathe of territory in northern parts of Iraq and Syria. He said that the air strikes were a necessary counter-terrorism measure to prevent the group, also known as ISIL, from becoming a future threat to the US and therefore did not require fresh congressional approval.
Hours before President Obama announced an expanded military campaign against Islamic State (ISIS) militants, his senior homeland security official assessed that the organisation poses no imminent danger to America at home. “At present, we have no credible information that [ISIS] is planning to attack the homeland of the United States,” Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson told a Manhattan audience on 10 September. Johnson is the latest in a string of top US officials to concede that the jihadist army currently in control of much of eastern Syria and northern and central Iraq is not targeting the US at present, despite beheading two captured American journalists.
The US State Department is attempting to fight back against terror group ISIS with a graphic video that aims to dissuade would-be jihadists from joining the terror group. The Obama administration’s counter propaganda video starts with the phrase: Run. Do not walk to ISIS land, according to CNN. Then a body is thrown off a cliff. In an attempt to use social media to target and prevent would-be jihadists from joining the group, the video was posted on a YouTube channel and is entitled ‘Welcome to the 'Islamic State' land. In a web campaign called 'Think again, turn away' the video offers a glimpse into what the terror group really stands for and shows gruesome images which were first put out by them. The anti-ISIS video was produced by the State Department's Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, which seeks to combat ISIS extremist narrative on social media.
The CIA says the Islamic State (IS) militant group may have up to 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria - three times as many as previously feared. A spokesman said the new estimate was based on a review of intelligence reports from May to August. IS has seized vast swathes of Iraq and beheaded several hostages in recent months, leading to US airstrikes.
President Obama wants the US Congress to inject money into a counter-terrorism, the White House said last week. The fund would go towards training and equipping partners in other countries to fight extremists, an initiative that would be a core component of Obama's plan to address Islamic State (ISIS) fighters.
A woman from Denver, Colorado has pleaded guilty to trying to help militant group Islamic State. Shannon Conley, 19, was arrested in April while trying to board a flight to Turkey en route to Syria. Before her arrest, the FBI had repeatedly tried to discourage Conley from involvement with IS militants. Under a plea deal, prosecutors will ask for a reduced sentence if she gives information
about other Americans looking to help IS in Iraq and Syria.

Police in Uganda say they have seized large amounts of explosives during raids on suspected al-Shabab militants. Authorities said the terrorist cell was planning to carry out imminent attacks in the capital Kampala. Nineteen people have been arrested and are being interrogated about their intentions, a police spokesman said.
Uganda has been on high alert since al-Shabab's leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, was killed in a US air strike in Somalia earlier this month.
The Nigerian army says it has killed some 100 Boko Haram militants, after repelling an attack on a key town in north-eastern Borno state.Government forces reportedly seized vehicles and ammunition from insurgents while securing Konduga, 35km (22 miles) from the state capital Maiduguri, on Friday.

A North Korean court has sentenced an American man to six years of hard labour for "hostile acts", the state-run KCNA news agency has said. Matthew Miller was arrested in April, shortly after arriving as a tourist. The US accuses North Korea of using Mr Miller and two other detained Americans as pawns in a diplomatic game. The North Korean authorities have not specified the charges against Mr Miller, but they claim he tore up his visa and demanded asylum.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has sacked 10 government officials who have been "out of the country without an excuse," amid a national Ebola crisis. She said the officials had shown "insensitivity to our national tragedy and disregard for authority". The 10 were given a one-week ultimatum more than a month ago to return home.

A US air marshal was attacked with a syringe at the airport in Lagos, Nigeria and had been hospitalised, the FBI said earlier last week. It was not known what was in the syringe when it was injected into the on-duty marshal, whose name has not been given and is now in a hospital in Houston. The incident raised fears the syringe could have carried some form of the Ebola virus because Nigeria is one of the West African countries where the deadly epidemic has spread.

The world's chemical weapons watchdog has confirmed the findings of an independent investigation by the Telegraph showing the continued "systematic" use of chemical weapons against civilian populations in Syria. Earlier this year, an investigation by this newspaper exclusively revealed that the Syrian regime had continued to use chlorine gas in its fight against the opposition, despite having previously made an international commitment to give up its chemical arsenal.

Authorities in Kazakhstan are on high alert after a container holding the highly radioactive and dangerous substance caesium-137 disappeared in the west of the country, police have said. A police spokesperson said that the material appeared to have fallen off a vehicle transporting it. "The container with the radioactive isotope caesium-137 has not been found so far," reporters were told after it went missing on 27 August. Exposure to caesium-137, which has a half-life of 30 years, can result in severe burns or even death, and locals have been warned not to open the 50kg container if they find it.

Australia has raised its terror threat level to 'high' from 'medium,’ saying there was an increased likelihood of a terrorist attack at home, marking the first time Australia has issued a high alert.
Dutch experts say Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 broke up in mid-air after being hit by "objects" that "pierced the plane at high velocity" in July. The new report also said there was "no evidence of technical or human error". Correspondents say this matches claims that MH17 was hit by missile shrapnel when flying at an altitude of 33,000 feet. All 298 people on board the plane died. [Many news reports claim that the aircraft] was shot down by pro-Russian rebels.

Four alleged terrorists from the Islamist Salafi movement went on trial under high security in the western German city of Düsseldorf last week accused of attempted violent crimes. The accused have been charged with the attempted murder of the chairman of the right-wing extremist party in March, 2013. According to federal prosecutor Horst Salzmann, the four men wanted to take "violent revenge" for caricatures criticizing Islam issued by the party during its regional election campaign in 2012. The caricatures included some depicting the Prophet Mohammed - something Islam forbids. One of the four men is additionally accused of having tried to carry out a bomb attack at Bonn's main railway station in December 2012.

Cyber Issues

The US Army activated a Cyber Protection Brigade on 5 September and is discussing a new cyber branch that could be established as early as next month. Command Sgt. Maj. Rodney D. Harris, Army Cyber Command, said the branch announcement could come as early as the second week of October, during the Association of the US Army's annual meeting. The Cyber Protection Brigade is being activated by the US Army Network Enterprise Technology Command at Fort Gordon, Georgia. It is the first brigade of its kind in the Army and the nucleus of the new unit will be its cyber-protection teams, according to the command.

And Finally ...
A US man who shared a wanted picture of himself on Facebook was captured by police just 45 minutes later. Anthony James Lescowitch Jr had been evading arrest in Pennsylvania for some three months. But it didn't take police long to find him after he posted the police's message to his own Facebook page. Freeland Police Department wanted Lescowitch in connection with an assault on a man in July in 2013, and they posted the wanted bulletin on their Facebook page. Just three minutes later, the 35-year-old suspect reposted the picture of himself and wrote underneath: "lol i f* love it, AHOLE." Police believe Lescowitch posted the picture publicly by accident, according to Timesleader.com. His post received two 'likes' and was commented on by a number of his friends, some of whom wished him good luck. Posing as an attractive woman, a police investigating officer began chatting online with Lescowitch about the post. Over the course of half an hour, the officer was able to gather key information about Lescowitch and eventually arranged to meet up with him for a cigarette. When the suspect arrived at the
 specified location, he was met by police officers and arrested.

Significant Forthcoming Anniversaries:
Sept 18, 1997 Bomb attack on Cairo tourist bus by two Muslim militants kills nine Germans
 Sept 19, 1989 UTA Flight 772 to Paris explodes over Niger, killing 170; Libya held responsible
 Sept 20, 2001 The U.S. and EU pledge partnership against terrorism
Sept 20, 1984 Lebanon: Islamic Jihad blamed for a VBIED attack on U.S. Embassy annex in Beirut killing 23 people
 Sept 20, 2008 In Pakistan, a large VBIED outside the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad kills more than 60 people and wounds over 200
 Sept 21, 2000 Dissident Irish Republicans fire an RPG-22 round at the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) building in Vauxhall, London
 Sept 21, 2000 Call by al-Qaeda leader, bin Laden, to wage a holy war against Jews
 Sept 21, 2013 Gunmen kill more than 70, wound 200 in attack on Westgate mall in Nairobi; al-Shabaab claims responsibility
 Sept 23, 1983 United Arab Emirates: Gulf Air aircraft bombed; 111 killed including one American
 25/26 Sept 2014 Jewish Festival - Rosh Hashanah
1 Oct 2001 Prime Minister Blair declared war on Afghanistan.
1 Oct 2005 Bali: Resort bombings kill 26 and injure more than 100.
1 Oct 1995 Sheikh Umar Abd al-Rahman convicted in plot to blow up UN Headquarters and other landmarks in New York
 3 Oct 1990 Unification of East and West Germany
3 Oct 2014 Islamic: Al-Hajj, the Pilgramage, begins (ends 7 October 2014)
5 Oct 2010 Faisal Shahzad convicted, sentenced to life imprisonment, for role in failed vehicle bombing in Times Square, New York City
 6 Oct 2002 The French oil tanker Limberg is attacked and damaged in the Gulf of Aden. One dead. Al-Qaeda blamed.
 6 Oct 1981 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated during a military parade by Egyptian Islamic Jihad
 6 Oct 1973 Yom Kippur War begins.
7 Oct 2004 Terrorists car-bomb Hilton resort in Taba, Egypt, and two other tourist areas. 34 people killed, more than 100 wounded.
 7 Oct 2001 The US-led coalition begins its military campaign in Afghanistan in response to 9/11 attacks
 7 Oct 1985 Hijacking of Achille Lauro cruise ship in which one US citizen is murdered.
 12 Oct 2000 Seaborne suicide bombing of the USS Cole of Yemen kills 17 US Naval personnel.
 12 Oct 2002 Multiple car bombs explode outside nightclubs in Bali, Indonesia, killing 202.
 12 Oct 1984 The attempted murder of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher by the Provisional IRA detonating a bomb at the Grand Hotel in Brighton during Conservative Party conference. Five people were killed in the attack.
 13 Oct Columbus Day. Public holiday in US
15 Oct 2003 Palestinian militants bomb a U.S. Embassy motorcade in the Gaza Strip killing three diplomatic security contractors.
 17 Oct 1995 Suspected Algerian Islamists (GIA) bomb the Paris Metro wounding 30
 19 Oct 1983 U.S. troops invade Grenada.
23 Oct 1983 In Lebanon, Islamic Jihad mount a VBIED attack on a U.S. Marines (and French paratroopers) barracks in Beirut killing 241 U.S. Marines and 58 paratroopers.
 23 Oct 2002 Moscow theater siege begins. 50 Chechen extremist take over theater with 800 hostages. In a military resolution by Russian SF, 124 hostages (including one American), and all the Chechen hostage takers, are killed.
 23 Oct 1998 Israel and the Palestinian Authority sign a peace deal at Wye River, Maryland, USA
 24 Oct 1945 United Nations formerly established
25 Oct 2014 First of Muharram - Islamic New Year
26 Oct 1988 Publication by Penguin books of Salman Rushdie’s ‘The Satanic Verses’.
 26 Oct 1994 Jordan and Israel sign peace accord.
26 Oct 2001 The USA PATRIOT Act is signed into law by President Bush – Background
 26 Oct 2014 British Summer Time ends. Clocks in the UK go back one hour. (In U.S., Daylight Saving Time ends 3 November 2011)
 27 Oct 1947 Indian occupation of Kashmir.
28 Oct 2002 USAID official Laurence Foley is murdered in Amman, Jordan
29 Oct 2005 Bombings in New Delhi, India, kill 55, wound close to 200. A radical Islamist group claimed responsibility
 29 Oct 1975 West Germany: Three Black September terrorists hijack Lufthansa plane and demand release of jailed terrorists involved in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games massacre.
 31 Oct 1984 India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards.
 31Oct 2014 Halloween
2 Nov 1922 Balfour declaration leading to the creation of an Israeli State
3 Nov 2001 A 60lb vehicle bomb left outside Birmingham rail station is made safe. Blamed on Irish republican dissidents, this is the last recorded terrorist incident linked to Northern Ireland to have occurred on mainland UK.
 4 Nov 1979 U.S. Embassy in Tehran seized, 66 taken hostage
4 Nov 1995 Assassination of Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzak Rabin.
6 Nov 2012 Election Day (U.S.)
9 Nov 2005 Three near simultaneous bombs function at Western hotels in Amman, Jordan killing 50 and injuring 110. Al-Qaeda in Iraq claims credit.
 9 Nov 2003 18 people are killed in an attack on a Riyadh residential compound mounted by Saudi al-Qaeda members.
 9 Nov 1938 ‘Kristalnach’ – Night of the broken glass when Nazi’s in Germany took action against the Jews.
 12 Nov 1997 Pakistan: Four U.S. nationals and their Pakistani driver are murdered in a Karachi ambush
 13 Nov 1995 Saudi Arabia: A VBIED at a U.S. military advisors facility in Riyadh kills 7 people and injures 60 others.
 13 Nov 1988 Palestinian National Council recognizes Israel
14 Nov 1948 Birthday of HRH The Prince of Wales – Gun salutes in Hyde Park
15 Nov 1988 Palestinian symbolic day of Independence
17 Nov 1997 Egypt: Al Gama al’Islamiya attacks tourists in Luxor killing 71 people.
 17 Nov 1973 Student uprising in Greece results in police killing 34 students. The November 17 terrorist group in Greece takes its name from this event.
 20 Nov 2003 Turkey: Near simultaneous vehicle borne IED’s function at the gates of the British Consulate in Istanbul and at the British HSBC Bank killing 30 people. Al Qaeda blamed for the attack.
 22 Nov 1963 Assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas.
23 Nov 1996 Hijacked Ethiopian airliner crashes into sea in Comoros Islands killing 127 people, one of whom was an American national.
 25 Nov 1984 The U.S. Embassy in Portugal is hit by four mortar rounds – blamed on the domestic terrorist group, FP25
 26 Nov 2008 Terrorists attack several sites in Mumbai; sieges end three days later with more than 170 dead and 300 wounded; surviving attacker says LT responsible
 27 Nov 1978 Founding day of the Kurdish extremist group, the PKK.
28 Nov 2002 Kenya: Three suicide bombers mount an attack on the Paradise Hotel in Mombasa killing 15 people. Al-Qaeda blamed.
 29 Nov 1987 Korean Airlines flight 858 is sabotaged by two North Korean agents over the Adaman Sea killing all 115 passengers and crew.
 29 Nov 1947 UN Resolution that partitions Palestine. Now designated as the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

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