Al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri The Coordinator 2015 Part 23-6-Africa-28

By Capt (Ret) C de Waart, feel free to share: in Confidence

Al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri The Coordinator 2015 Part 23-6-Africa-28

Africa's next terror frontline: Al-Shabaab is not known to be affiliated to ISIS, but has more than once been said to be mulling over the possibility. But Nigeria’s Boko Haram earlier this year pledged allegiance to ISIS, which could also serve to put judicial officials there on notice. In its statement of responsibility, Ansar Dine said that it would “multiply the attacks in Ivory Coast, Mali and Mauritania, countries that work with the enemies of Islam.” Ansar Dine is considered to be part of al Qaeda’s network in Mali

The Islamic State’s Wilayat Gharb Ifriqiyah (West Africa Province), formerly known as Boko Haram, has officially claimed last month’s suicide attacks in Chad’s capital of N’Djamena.

The militants have also roped in neighbouring countries, with Niger, Chad and Cameroon in the frontline, and consequently exposing their internal institutions to counter-attack.

Kenya and Uganda have in recent years also tightened up their spaces, with the latter seen to have accidentally morphed into a soft military state as a spate of horror attacks by Al-Shabaab last year shook its national foundations.

HAVING already disrupted the social order and strained the scarce resources of some African states, terrorists are now opening another flank by targeting judicial officials as they attempt to further erode the legitimacy of states

Conflict between S Sudan government and rebel forces reaches new levels of brutality upon 4th independence anniversary.

While Jihad Central is located in the Syria-Iraq area with the Islamic State (IS) gaining ground daily, other potential hotspots have been forgotten. One of them that has rarely been in the news and would surprise most people is Africa’s behemoth: not Nigeria, but rather quiet South Africa

In February 2015, the United Nations Security Council specifically warned South Africa that terror groups might use the country as an operational base.

This should not come as a surprise: since as early as the 1990s the Shia terrorist group Hezbollah had training camps in the country and proof of al-Qaeda’s presence dates back to 1997.

To name just a few groups, al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, Hezbollah, Hamas and al-Qaeda have a reported presence in South Africa. Interestingly enough, one will be hard pressed to find any other democracy in the world that can claim this record.

If there is knowledge, or even just a perception, that South Africa is a haven and logistical base for terrorists, then it will draw even more jihadists to the country. That could be really a vicious circle that one day or another, if past experience is verified, the country will soon regret.

10 Jul, Car bombings have struck two hotels in a central district of the Somali capital Mogadishu before gunmen entered one the hotels and started shooting, sources told Al Jazeera. At least five people were killed at Hotel Weheliye in central Mogadishu on Friday, the sources said. Three gunmen wearing military uniforms entered the building as guest inside were breaking their fast. The men were believed to be holed up inside the hotel, the sources said. A spokesman of armed group al-Shabab told Al Jazeera that the group's fighters were behind the attacks.

Africa's next terror frontline: Militants aim their guns and bombs at judges, prosecutors

Cees: Intel to Rent of 14 15/04/2023


04 Jul 2015 Murder of top ranking Ugandan and Nigerian state prosecutor could further complicate the lives of a growing number of countries.

HAVING already disrupted the social order and strained the scarce resources of some African states, terrorists are now opening another flank by targeting judicial officials as they attempt to further erode the legitimacy of states. A few days ago, Egypt’s state prosecutor Hisham Barakat was assassinated in a Cairo car bombing, the most senior government official killed in the North African country’s jihadist insurgency yet. In May, three Egyptian judges were shot dead in the northern Sinai city of al-Arish, targeted while travelling by car, hours after deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was sentenced to death. Their deaths came as Egypt’s affiliate of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group urged its followers to attack judges, in a scenario that could play out elsewhere in the region where the caliphate has links, with Nigeria most at risk but eastern Africa not exempt.

Sinai has been the setting of a jihadist insurgency launched in 2013 after the army, under now-president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s command, overthrew Morsi. Another judge had days earlier survived an assassination attempt. Jihadists have since then killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers in Sinai, which was this week the setting for a brazen surprise attack by Islamic State fighters where scores were killed, many of them soldiers. Militants took over rooftops and fired rocket-propelled grenades at a police station in the town of Sheikh Zuweid after mining its exits to block reinforcements, exposing the army’s lack of expertise in fighting the increasingly-sophisticated insurgents.While judicial officials in North Africa are frequently targeted by militants, until now the targeting of judicial officials by terrorists in sub-Saharan Africa has been rare, confined to Somalia where at least two Somalia judges are known to have been killed over the last two years, the most recent in June 2014.The killing of Mozambican judge Dinis Silica a month earlier was not linked to terrorism.

Uganda prosecutor killed But in March, the top Ugandan state prosecutor in the trial of 13 men accused of a deadly Al-Shabaab bomb attack, was shot dead in the capital city of Kampala. Joan Kagezi, like Barakat, was gunned down as she drove her home by gunmen who had been trailing her on a motorcycle. Uganda is a key contributor to the African Union mission fighting Al-Shabaab inside Somalia. The militants, who have in the past week scored a succession of victories against AU and government troops, regularly target countries which contribute soldiers to the peacekeeping force. The trial of the men, in connection with the 2010 Kampala suicide bombing which killed 76 people who were watching football, has been suspended. Her killing sparked concern in neighbouring Kenya, which is also trying several terrorists in its courts.The country’s director of public prosecutions, Keriako Tobiko, termed Kagezi’s murder as a big blow to efforts made in fighting terrorism in the region. “The demise of Ms Kagezi, the lead prosecutor in the Al-Shabaab terrorist case in Uganda underscores the need for governments to urgently look into the security of prosecutors, investigators and judicial officers handling emerging and transnational organised crimes,” he said in a condolence message, urging Kenyan authorities to better secure its judicial officials.Al-Shabaab is not known to be affiliated to ISIS, but has more than once been said to be mulling over the possibility. But Nigeria’s Boko Haram earlier this year pledged allegiance to ISIS, which could also serve to put judicial officials there on notice.The targeting of judicial officers is meant to prevent authorities from pursuing trials or forcing them to hold them in, and to overreact, which would project that as also being lawless, thus undermining their constitutional legitimacy and further drawing public sympathy to the terrorist cause. In Egypt, it is already having the required effect. Authorities this week responded to the growing insurgency by passing a controversial anti-terror law and requesting



the appeals process be shortened, in measures they said would “achieve swift justice and revenge for our martyrs”. An infuriated Sisi, facing his first real challenge to power, has pledged to enforce death sentences more swiftly, complaining that the speed of justice had been held back by the law. “The hand of justice is shackled by the law. We’re not going to wait for this,” he said. “We’re going to amend the law to allow us to implement justice as soon as possible.” “A death sentence will be issued, a death sentence will be implemented. A life sentence will be issued, a life sentence will be implemented,” he said. Egyptians have until now wearily supported a crushing crackdown of challenges to Sisi’s authority, which has seen hundreds killed and even more sentences to death, while tens of thousands have been detained. The situation will be closely watched to see if the spectre of even more repression will stir unease with brutal regime methods which even the UN has faulted, and which threaten to further sink the country into more turmoil.

Nigeria troubles Nigeria’s government was elected largely on a security platform, with new president Muhammadu Buhari, an ex-military man, expected to snuff out the six-year threat out for good. But as he sets up his regime, Boko Haram has killed 200 people just in the last two days, suggesting an uphill road even for the military man known to have during his first stint in power in the 1980s instilled order in a chaotic Nigerian society. The militants have also roped in neighbouring countries, with Niger, Chad and Cameroon in the frontline, and consequently exposing their internal institutions to counter-attack.Kenya and Uganda have in recent years also tightened up their spaces, with the latter seen to have accidentally morphed into a soft military state as a spate of horror attacks by Al-Shabaab last year shook its national foundations. More attacks on judiciaries are a fresh headache that already-strained African states would rather do without, as they scramble to fight back an enemy that has increasingly evolved and is seemingly now a moving target, while simultaneously courting public support for strong-arm tactics.

10 Jul, ABUJA, (CAJ News) – FORMER Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has commended the Nigerian armed forces and intelligence services for apprehending the masterminds of the deadly bombings in Jos and Kaduna. He lauded the uniformed forces for thwarting attempts to carry out similar attacks in Adamawa on Thursday. “I am pleased with the prompt response of our armed forces and intelligence services, apprehending the masterminds of Jos and Kaduna bombings. I believe all Nigerians are also pleased that calamity was averted in my state earlier today, and the would-be bombers arrested,” Abubakar said.

Islamic State in West Africa claims Chad suicide attacksBy Caleb Weiss | July 8, 2015 | The Islamic State’s Wilayat Gharb Ifriqiyah (West Africa Province), formerly known as Boko Haram, has officially claimed last month’s suicide attacks in Chad’s capital of N’Djamena. The attacks killed at least 23 people and left more than 100 wounded.“The brother Abu Hamza al Ansari and the brother Abu Saadiq al Ansari set out to implement two suicide operations with suicide vests on the police academy and police center in the Chadian capital, N’Djamena,” the Islamic State said in a statement. The claim of responsibility goes on to say that the operation “led to the destruction of dozens of the murtadeen [apostates] and wounded more than 100.” In addition to the short statement, the jihadist group also released photos of the suicide bombers taken before carrying out the attacks.



In a separate message, the Islamic State claimed that a suicide bomber, identified as Abu Omar al Ansari, detonated in a safe house for suicide bombers in Chad after security forces raided the building.In response to the attacks, Chad has launched airstrikes against the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) in Chad and has banned face veils worn by Muslim women in the country.The ISWA has struck in Chad before. Back in February, the jihadist group attacked a village, killing the local police chief and wounding four people. Many residents also reported that the jihadists burned down two-thirds of the village. That attack was seen as a response to Chad’s involvement with Nigeria, Cameroon, and Niger in combating the ISWA in northeastern Nigeria. Chadian troops play an integral role in the coalition.The claim of responsibility for the N’Djamena bombings comes as the jihadist organization continues to launch attacks in Nigeria and other neighboring countries. Just yesterday, 25 people were killed in the central Nigerian city of Zaria after suicide bombers targeted a governmental building. Additionally, a girl thought to be just 12 years old was used as a suicide bomber in Wagir in Yobe state, killing 10 people and wounded dozens more in a city market.It is thought that more than 200 people, mainly civilians, were killed in other attacks by the ISWA last week. A double suicide attack in the city of Jos killed at least 48 people, while an attack on mosques in northeastern Nigeria killed at least 97 people, many of them children, as they were praying. The latter incident fits with the Islamic State’s modus operandi of targeting those Muslims they deem as “unbelievers.” While the mosques that were attacked in Nigeria were Sunni, the Islamic State has also targeted Shiite mosques in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and in Yemen.Today, at least 13 people have been killed in an attack in Cameroon. Voice of America reported that the attack on the village of Bordo lasted for around five hours and that three jihadists were also killed in the assault. Additionally, 26 civilians were killed in a suspected ISWA attack in Chad in the Lake Chad region.While a regional force has been deployed to help Nigeria combat the ISWA, the jihadist group retains the ability to both operate and coordinate attacks in northeastern Nigeria. The Nigerian military, alongside regional forces from Chad, Niger, and Cameroon, has been able to recapture several towns and villages that were held by the ISWA; however, the group still maintains control over a large portion of its territory in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states. [See LWJ report, Boko Haram rolls with the punches, remains a threat.] Boko Haram officially pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and its leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, back in March. The jihadist group started referring to itself as an official “province” of the Islamic State in April.

Over100 killed in Boko Haram attack in Nigeria, witnesses sayJul 2, “The attackers have killed at least 97 people,” a local from the Kukawa village, located in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno, told AFP on Thursday. The attack by suspected Boko Haram militants took place on Wednesday evening. “The terrorists first descended on Muslim worshippers in various mosques who were observing the Maghrib prayer shortly after breaking their fast,” another witness told AFP. “They spared nobody. In fact, while some of the terrorists waited and set most of the corpses on fire, others proceeded to houses and shot indiscriminately at women who were preparing food.”

Twin blasts hit central Nigerian city of JosRestaurant and Muslim cleric critical of Boko Haram targeted in two separate attacks hours after deadly blast at church.


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06 Jul 2015 Two blasts have hit the central Nigerian city of Jos hours after a suicide bomber attacked a church in the restive northeastern Nigerian state of Yobe, witnesses and police have said. A restaurant and a Muslim religious leader - who has disowned armed group Boko Haram - were targeted in two separate attacks, witnesses said on Sunday.Plateau State police spokesman Emmanuel Abuh confirmed there had been two attacks in Jos but had no further details immediately. "I saw people running out crying, some with bloodstains," said resident Bashir Abdullahi, describing the scene after he said a suicide bomber ran into the crowded restaurant. "I believe many lives were lost."The second attack targeted cleric Sani Yahaya Jingir as he was preaching, witnesses said. Gunmen started shooting sporadically and then there was a loud blast, they said."We saw two or three vehicles coming from different directions and we started hearing gunshots from all angles and then a very loud bang, like a bomb being thrown into the mosque," said witness Abubakar Shehu.

US to back Nigeria There was no official word on casualties from the two attacks.Earlier, at least five people were killed after a church in city of Potiskum was targeted by suicide bomber. Sunday’s attacks come as more than 200 people have been killed in a series of attacks by the Boko Haram armed which wants to implement a strict form of Islamic sharia in Nigeria. The United States vowed on Sunday to support Nigeria in the wake of a series of deadly attacks. "The United States strongly condemns the recent attacks in northeastern Nigeria inflicted by Boko Haram," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. "We will continue to support Nigeria's efforts to bring those responsible for these attacks, as well as previous attacks, to justice," he added in offering condolences to the families of the victims. The recent attacks include: Friday: several suicide bombers kill large numbers in Zabarmari village Thursday: two female suicide bombers attack another village in Borno state Wednesday: more than 50 gunmen kill 97 people in the village of Kukawa, near Lake Chad Tuesday: 48 men shot dead after prayers in two villages near the town of Monguno

S Sudan in crisis as independence celebrations commenceConflict between S Sudan government and rebel forces reaches new levels of brutality upon 4th independence anniversary. Ashley Hamer | 09 Jul 2015 Jonglei, South Sudan - South Sudan is four years old today. In the capital city of Juba, the government will celebrate this anniversary for the world's youngest nation with a parade. Billboards around town proclaim peace and unity ahead of Independence Day. President Salva Kiir is due to speak before a large crowd. The city is already teeming with his heavily armed soldiers (SPLA). But civil war has consumed South Sudan since December 2013. In April this year, the army launched major military assaults on opposition-held areas across oil-rich Unity and Upper Nile states in a bid to reclaim territory and push back rebel forces before the onset of the rainy season in June. Civilians have borne the brunt of this offensive. The UN last week described these events as a "new brutality and intensity" to the army's current onslaught.

UN: South Sudan army raped girls and burned them alive

Report by UN mission in South Sudan says recent military campaign was notable for its "brutality and intensity". 30 Jun 2015 The UN has accused South Sudan's army of raping and then burning girls alive inside their homes during its recent campaign, a report by its mission in the country said. The statement, published on Tuesday, warned the recent upsurge in fighting had been marked by a "new brutality and intensity". "The scope and level of cruelty that has characterised the reports suggests a depth of antipathy that exceeds political



differences," the UN said. Members of the UN mission in Sudan (UNMISS) said they interviewed 115 victims and eyewitnesses in Unity state where South Sudanese forces were involved in fighting against opposition fighters in April. The survivors allege that the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) killed civilians, destroyed villages and displaced 100,000 people, the statement added. The UN said attempts to corroborate the reports were prevented by the SPLA, which denied its teams access to the areas concerned. "UNMISS human rights officers visited two additional sites of alleged atrocities and conducted more interviews of eyewitnesses and victims. The information gathered from those visits and interviews provided further corroboration of the earlier accounts," the statement read. "We call on the SPLA to fulfil this commitment and allow our human rights officers unfettered access to the sites of these reported violations," said Ellen Margrethe Loej, the head of UNMISS.

Why is Israel turning a blind eye to South Sudan arms sales? Author: Akiva EldarPosted July 7, 2015 As expected, the resolution adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on July 3, condemning Israel based on the report of the UN panel probing Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip, provoked scanting criticism on Jerusalem's part. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to condemn the condemners, stating that Israel not only assiduously upholds the equal rights of all its citizens, but also “acts in accordance with international law.” Once again claims were heard that the UNHRC picks on Israel, which adheres strictly to its “purity of arms” military ethical doctrine, while ignoring far worse crimes against humanity committed by other states. Netanyahu ignored the fact that three days before the UNHRC’s decision, the Associated Press reported on a harsh UN report about war crimes being committed in South Sudan. Survivors of the attacks by the military there recounted that South Sudanese soldiers and their allies killed civilians, burned down and destroyed villages and forced some 100,000 people to flee their homes. Some reported kidnappings and sexual abuse of women and girls, a few of whom were burned alive in their homes. In April 2014, the United States froze military aid to South Sudan, and President Barack Obama signed an executive order imposing sanctions and freezing assets of those involved in fighting and war crimes there. At the end of the year, the European Union decided to impose an arms embargo on the African state, which was founded in 2011. Meanwhile, in June, an official delegation from South Sudan attended ISDEF, the Israeli weapons expo, unencumbered.

In a letter to Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, Knesset member Tamar Zandberg of the Meretz Party described close ties between Israeli arms dealers and the regime in Juba. She said that Israelis involved in defense dealings were a common site in South Sudan. Referring to a detailed report prepared by attorney Itai Mack, who has for years been following Israeli weapons exports, Zandberg added that Israel trained Sudanese soldiers in South Sudan and in Israel, and that arms dealers, officials of the defense industries and Israeli trainers were spotted on flights to Juba. “It is not only your duty to implement the authority provided by law, but also our obligation as a society,” Zandberg wrote. “A democratic state, which regards the protection of human rights as paramount, a UN member state that sends humanitarian aid to Third World countries, must set aside economic considerations and act to stop the bloody civil war.” Zandberg told Al-Monitor this week that selling weapons to any of the sides involved in the internal South Sudan fighting makes Israel complicit in the war crimes being committed there. She said that people in Juba had told her that as long as weapons keep coming in, the government has no interest in reaching a compromise with the opposition. She was also told that in regard to the conflict between South Sudan and Sudan, Israel supports South Sudan because Sudan supports Iran. One can only hope that the weapons will not


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eventually end up in hostile hands, as happened with the many weapons that Israel supplied to the shah in Iran. Former Mossad head Danny Yatom, as quoted in Israeli daily Maariv, said, "When the Persian shah was in power, Israel sold him weapons. Later, we were reunited with these bombs when they reached Hezbollah hands and landed on our heads." The report compiled by Mack notes that in February the Armament Research Services website published a photo of an Israeli Galil rifle, reportedly in the possession of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army. The report further claimed that Israeli defense experts contacted officials regarding a tender for the training of police and military officers. The Sudanese newspaper Al-Intiba reported that Israeli firms had started transferring logistical and military equipment to South Sudanese forces. According to the report, transport aircraft landed at the airport in South Sudan every day at 3 a.m., unloading rockets, military equipment and African mercenaries.

The office of Israel's defense minister did not deny the facts mentioned in the report. A laconic response sent to Zandberg said that weapons export policy “is periodically reviewed by the Defense Ministry, in conjunction with the Foreign Ministry and additional parties.” One can learn about the quality of this periodic review and the participation of the Foreign Ministry from the 2012 State Comptroller’s report. The State Comptroller was “severely critical” of the violation of the law and regulations governing export controls and the coordination and consultation with the Foreign Ministry. Given the diplomatic sensitivity of defense exports, he added, Israel’s diplomatic interests may well have been compromised. Al-Monitor has learned from a highly reliable source (speaking on condition of anonymity) that the unclassified sections of the report pale in comparison to the classified ones, to which members of the Knesset’s oversight committee were privy.

The Defense Ministry said further in its response to Zandberg that “the ministry acts in accordance with the defense and diplomatic interests of the State of Israel, including considerations of human and civil rights in the export target country.” According to Defense Ministry data issued last May, a significant number of those “target countries” are to be found on the African continent. Israeli defense exports to Africa grew by 40% in 2014 compared to the previous year. Mack told Al-Monitor that the Defense Ministry issues export and marketing permits for 130 countries and additional bodies. “Sadly, there aren’t 130 democratic states in the world,” he added. According to Mack, Israel operates contrary to the spirit of the sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council or the views of the international community. “The world has changed, defense export policy has been restricted and Israel continues to act as though this never happened,” Mack said. “Today, in many countries, we and perhaps the Chinese are the last ones still selling. Other states have long since retreated from selling arms to those committing crimes,” he added. Recently, Mack handed Knesset members proposed legislation designed to curb defense exports to countries where the Foreign Ministry knows that human rights are being severely violated by local security forces. “Adoption and implementation of this bill could save Israel in the future from supporting criminal regimes shunned by the entire world, such as South Sudan,” he said. Although the proposal is based on similar US legislation, the Knesset is highly unlikely to kill the goose that lays explosive golden eggs. Akiva Eldar is a columnist for Al-Monitor’s Israel Pulse.

UN peacekeepers killed in northern Mali Five UN peacekeepers are killed in an attack on their convoy close to northern city of Timbuktu, UN official says. 02 Jul 2015 Five UN peacekeepers have been killed in an attack on their convoy in northern Mali, a spokesperson


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for the country's UN peacekeeping mission has said. Spokesperson Radhia Achouri said other details were not immediately available.Two UN security officials told the Reuters news agency that the attack occurred close to Goundam, a town in the southwest of the northern city of Timbuktu. "It was five blue helmets between Goundam and Timbuktu," one official with the mission, known as MINUSMA, told Reuters, asking not to be identified. A UN soldier said the convoy contained peacekeepers from the mission's contingent from Burkina Faso. Another source within the mission told AFP news agency that nine peacekeepers were wounded in the attack, which appeared to have been carried out by fighters who were well-informed about the movements of the peacekeepers.There was no immediate information on the nature of the attack, although roadside bombs and ambushes by fighters armed with assault rifles are a commonplace hazard for domestic and international security forces in the region. A French-led military campaign in early 2013 liberated northern Mali from al Qaeda-linked fighters, who seized control of the area after the Tuareg uprising led to a military coup that plunged Mali into chaos.Despite peaceful elections after the French operation, the country remains deeply divided and the north has seen an upsurge in attacks recently by pro-government fighters and the Tuareg-led rebels. The UN says 35 peacekeepers have been killed in combat since MINUSMA's inception in 2013, not including Thursday's attack, making northern Mali the deadliest theatre on earth for its personnel.

AQIM attack on UN convoy near Timbuktu kills 6 peacekeepersBy Caleb Weiss | July 2, 2015 The UN’s mission in Mali (MINUSMA) announced that six of its peacekeepers were killed after their convoy was attacked near the city of Goundam, which is just west of Timbuktu. At least five others are said to have been injured. A statement released by MINUSMA said that its forces were the “target of an armed attack by unidentified men on [the] Goundam-Timbuktu axis 45 kilometers southwest of Timbuktu.” Two UN vehicles were destroyed in the attack. While the UN did not identify the nationalities of the peacekeepers, AFP has reported that the troops were from Burkina Faso. MINUSMA stated that reinforcements are en route to Goundam to help secure the area and assist with the evacuation of wounded.Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), al Qaeda’s official branch in North Africa, has claimed responsibility for the assault, according to the Mauritanian news site Al Akhbar. AQIM has been behind several similar attacks in the region in the past.On May 28, AQIM killed three Burkinabe peacekeepers traveling in a UN convoy, also near Timbuktu. In Sept. 2014, AQIM took responsibility for several attacks on UN forces near Timbuktu. In Ber, east of Timbuktu, a suicide bomber killed two Burkinabe peacekeepers in August. Additionally, AQIM claimed an attack on MINUSMA convoys near Goundam and Timbuktu in June 2014.The latest attack near Timbuktu comes just days after Ansar Dine, another jihadist group operating in Mali, took responsibility for two attacks in central and southern Mali. On June 28, several Ansar Dine gunmen entered the town of Nara, just 19 miles from the Mauritanian border, storming several government buildings and assaulting the local Malian Army camp. The incident left 12 people dead, including two Malian soldiers, one civilian, and nine jihadists. [For more information, see LWJ report, Jihadists attack Malian base near Mauritanian border.]Additionally, Ansar Dine stormed, and briefly held, the small Malian village of Fakola, just miles away from the border with Ivory Coast. The attack, which had no reported causalities, was the second in less than a month near the border with Ivory Coast.


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In the previous incident, suspected jihadist gunmen attacked a Malian police base near the border, leaving one Malian policeman dead and the base razed. While no group has yet to take responsibility, al Qaeda-linked groups are thought to have executed the assault. Ansar Dine did not claim this operation, but did claim the Fakola assault.[See LWJ report, Suspected jihadists attack Malian base near Ivory Coast.]In its statement of responsibility, Ansar Dine said that it would “multiply the attacks in Ivory Coast, Mali and Mauritania, countries that work with the enemies of Islam.”Ansar Dine is considered to be part of al Qaeda’s network in Mali . The jihadist group was formed in 2011 and throughout 2012 it worked with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), and Tuareg separatist groups to take over Mali’s north. A confidential letter written by AQIM emir Abdelmalek Droukdel that was found after the liberation of northern Mali stated that AQIM fighters should hide their activities under the banner of Ansar Dine. A leader of Ansar Dine was also recently killed alongside the emir (leader) of AQIM’s Katibat al Ansar in a French special forces raid in northern Mali. Al Qaeda continues to operate in Mali despite a French-led counterterrorism mission in the region. The jihadist group and its many affiliates in the country retain the ability to mount rocket, mortar, and IED attacks on UN and French forces. Over 50 UN peacekeepers have been killed in Mali since 2013, making it the most dangerous UN mission in the world.

**Regards Cees

South Africa: The Next Potential Terror Hotspot? A growing operational base for jihadists. June 25, 2015 Olivier Guitta

While Jihad Central is located in the Syria-Iraq area with the Islamic State (IS) gaining ground daily, other potential hotspots have been forgotten.One of them that has rarely been in the news and would surprise most people is Africa’s behemoth: not Nigeria, but rather quiet South Africa.Because of the clout of the country not only on the African continent but worldwide, links to terrorism could endanger all of us.In February 2015, the United Nations Security Council specifically warned South Africa that terror groups might use the country as an operational base.This should not come as a surprise: since as early as the 1990s the Shia terrorist group Hezbollah had training camps in the country and proof of al-Qaeda’s presence dates back to 1997.To name just a few groups, al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, Hezbollah, Hamas and al-Qaeda have a reported presence in South Africa. Interestingly enough, one will be hard pressed to find any other democracy in the world that can claim this record.These groups used the country mostly as a fall-back base with fundraising, recruiting, access to official documents and possibly training as their main activities.Numerous cases of South African passport holders linked to terrorism are highlighting the possible ease by which these documents can be obtained by corruption or forgery.In one famous case, a South African, Haroon Aswat, had spoken several times with each of the four 7/7 London bombers just before the attacks. Aswat had been a fixture at the radical


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http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/06/suspected-jihadists-attack-malian-base-near-ivory-coast.php

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/06/suspected-jihadists-attack-malian-base-near-ivory-coast.php


Finsbury Park mosque and a close associate of the one-eyed extremist sheikh Abu Hamza.Recently it was revealed that Islamic State butcher, Mohamed Emwazi -- aka “Jihadi John” -- had tried to hide and settle in South Africa in 2009 but was stopped in Tanzania.Samantha Lethwaite, the widow of one of the 7/7 attackers in London, known as the “white widow” and a possible actor in the Westgate attack in Kenya in 2013, had links to South Africa. Indeed, she used a South African passport, lived in Johannesburg for two years and transferred monies from the United Kingdom to al-Shabaab Somali operatives based in the country.Proof of South Africa’s authorities' apathy when it comes to terrorism comes from Hussein Solomon, a local respected researcher, who claims that none of the networks have been investigated since.To say the least, counterterrorism is far from being a priority of the Pretoria government. By not having a strong counterterrorism policy in place, South Africa is de facto endangering the security of its neighbors.South Africa cannot be viewed as a team player when it comes to fighting off international terrorism and that constitutes an issue on a continent that is increasingly a target of jihadists. The main explanation for this lenient policy is that the ruling African National Congress (ANC), because of its history, considers that terrorists are more often than not just freedom fighters. Another reason could be that there is a pact with terrorist groups. While there have been reports of foiled plots between 2007 and 2010, South Africa has miraculously been spared by jihadi terrorism, especially in light of its place in the world.It looks like terrorists are offered a haven, easy access to official papers and a “leave alone” policy against a promise not to attack the country.This follows the model of the sanctuary policy dear to Europe that really started in France in the 1970s, when the French authorities made a deal with Palestinian terror master Abu Nidal, who was free to establish a base in France and was left alone as long as he promised not to attack France or French interests abroad.This set the example for several countries, including most prominently the UK, Belgium and Germany.If there is knowledge, or even just a perception, that South Africa is a haven and logistical base for terrorists, then it will draw even more jihadists to the country. That could be really a vicious circle that one day or another, if past experience is verified, the country will soon regret.In fact, all countries that followed the sanctuary policy were later hit by terrorism. Most probably it will take an attack on the homeland for South Africa’s stance on terrorism to change for good.While South Africa has been recently surpassed by Nigeria as the largest economy on the continent, it still receives about 24 per cent of all the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Africa, more than the three next countries put together (Nigeria, Angola and Kenya). In terms of global rankings, South Africa jumped to the thirteenth most attractive FDI spot, and global asset managers invest heavily in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.Most foreign investors view South Africa as a very stable country and very few of them are aware of the terrorism factor. Maybe they should take notice now.

SA was high on Bin Laden's hit list 11 May 2012 08:18 Phillip De Wet Even though the al-Qaeda boss is dead, South Africa could still be targeted for attacks, new documents show.



US analysts believe that Osama Bin Laden wrote: 'You may find it suitable to target Americans in South Africa, because it is located outside the Islamic Maghreb.' (Naseer Ahmed, Reuters)Newly released documents seized during the operation in which Osama bin Laden was killed in May last year show the al-Qaeda leader might have been keen to see terrorist attacks on targets associated with the United States on South African soil.The so-called Abbottabad documents, parts of which were released last week, paint a fascinating picture of internal al-Qaeda discourse and politics – and also show that South Africa could still be under threat from terrorist attacks.One of the 17 newly declassified documents advises against the duplication of effort and geographic overlap, saying “each Mujahidin group must be certain that it is the only al-Qaeda group operating in a country where it intends to target Americans”. Apparently, South Africa was high on the list of open territories. “You may find it suitable to target Americans in South Africa, because it is located outside the Islamic Maghreb. Also, South Africa is not covered by the brothers who are located outside that region. The same can be said about other African countries,” states the document, as translated from Arabic in the version released by the Combating Terrorism Centre of the US Military Academy. No specific targets or methods of attack are mentioned and it is unclear when it was written.

Unrelated paragraphsWho the advice was aimed at is also not clear; the document consists of sometimes unrelated paragraphs. And if it contained any detail about the recipient of the correspondence, it was withheld in the released form. The author is also not identified, although US analysts believe it was probably Bin Laden himself. From the documents it cannot be determined whether they were ever delivered to their intended recipients. If intelligence agencies know, they are not sharing.Another set of documents seized almost exactly a year ago gives some sense of what South Africa could have expected had an attack been carried out. When Austrian citizen Maqsood Lodin was detained in Berlin, police found memory units hidden in his underwear. They contained, among other things, a pornographic video inside of which were encrypted documents outlining ideas for future attacks in Europe.

Enhancing security in SAAlthough the documents have not been released, media organisations such as CNN that have viewed copies said they showed a preference for cheap but high-profile attacks using guns, in imitation of the attacks in Mumbai in late 2008, or seizing the passengers of cruise ships.Asked whether the US believed South Africa was capable of protecting its local interests, Brian Denver, the acting spokesperson for the US diplomatic mission, said: “We are proud to have collaborated on many training and exchange programmes with the South African law enforcement community. We also share information and best-practice models with other countries and continually look for ways to further improve such sharing and to enhance security for all citizens.” There have been no terrorist attacks on US citizens or assets in South Africa since the bombing of the locally owned but US-themed Planet Hollywood in Cape Town in August 1998. It occurred during a period in which attacks by People against Gangsterism and Drugs included a wide range of targets, such as synagogues and moderate Muslims. But in September 2009, the US embassy in Pretoria and various government offices


http://mg.co.za/article/2012-05-11-sa-was-high-on-bin-ladens-hit-list



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countrywide were closed for nearly a week after the receipt of what the US state department described only as a “credible threat” that warranted precautionary measures.

Bin Laden is dead but SA offers much as al-Qaeda lair

By De Wet Potgieter on September 6, 2014 in Opinion THE United States tasted sweet revenge when Navy Seals swooped on Osama bin Laden’s secret compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in May 2011, killing the world’s most wanted terrorist and the supreme commander of al-Qaeda.

As the special operations force swept through the compound, combing every room, they gathered documents and other vital evidence regarding al-Qaeda’s grand plan for its future global war of terror. According to a document compiled by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR), these documents indicated al-Qaeda’s long-term plans for future targets. From some of the documents seized, a picture emerged that illustrated South Africa as a safe haven where international terrorism could be fomented. Among the treasure trove of intelligence documents seized during the raid were documents indicating that Bin Laden thought of South Africa as an “open territory” from where al-Qaeda operatives could target Americans, the ICSR report stated. Although it was never confirmed if al-Qaeda or groups allied to Bin Laden were behind it, the total security lockdown of the US Embassy in Pretoria and all its consulates as well as the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in South Africa in September 2009 was widely reported in the media as a “credible threat”. This was during the run-up to the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

In the months after Bin Laden’s demise, the Combating Terrorism Crime Centre of the US Military Academy released details of Bin Laden’s operational plans. John Solomon, the global head of terrorism research for World-Check, released a report based on the CTCC details that said the fact that Bin Laden thought of South Africa as an “open territory” and one from which his operatives could work relatively freely to strike at US targets should come as no surprise to those who have been following developments in the country. He pointed out the problem areas in South Africa that make the country a safe haven for international terrorists. This sounds all too familiar for millions of South Africans. Porous borders, corruption in Home Affairs that allows the fraudulent issuing of South African identity documents and passports to terror suspects, “as well as a highly politicised intelligence services focused more on sectarian political battles within the ruling party, all contribute to South Africa being seen as this ‘open territory’”, Solomon pointed out. He added that as early as 1997, al-Qaeda had established a presence in South Africa.

In October 1999, Khalfan Khamis Mohammed, part of the al-Qaeda cell that attacked the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam in 1998, was arrested in Cape Town. Not only was al-Qaeda using South Africa as a safe house, but South Africa was also central in the organisation’s fundraising effort The case of Yassin al-Qadi, a US-designated terrorist financier who invested US$3-million (R30-million) for a 12% interest in Global Diamond Resources that mined diamonds in South Africa, is but one example, according to Solomon. The issue of South Africa as an operational base and conduit for international terrorists to their target country also emerged in the case of a Tunisian al-Qaeda suspect, Ihsan Garnaoui, in 2004.


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Garnaoui was an explosives expert who trained in Afghanistan and was “promoted” to being an al-Qaeda trainer.

He held several South African passports in different names (including Abram Shoman and Mallick Shoman) and travelled via South Africa to Europe, where he was accused of planning to bomb American and Jewish targets. According to Dutch counter-terrorism expert Ronald Sandee, most of Garnaoui’s preparation for these planned attacks took place in South Africa, where he purchased sophisticated military-grade binoculars with an integrated digital camera, diagrams and instructions for the assembly of detonators. Garnaoui was setting up networks in Berlin while still in South Africa.

A well-known expert on Islam and senior professor in political studies at the University of the Free State, Hussein Solomon, said the South African government’s preoccupation with a Boeremag-like coup from “white racists” has left the country wide open for real terrorist attacks from groups such as Islamic radicals. “When I interact with our counter-intelligence people, they are more concerned about the Boeremag than al-Qaeda … But they are acting from an ideological perspective which is fundamentally out of sync with reality,” Hussein Solomon said. “More worrisome is the existence of terrorist training camps on isolated farms – with the knowledge of certain people in the government,” he stated in a research paper, Terrorism in South Africa: More Questions than Answers, published in February 2013. “Clearly these government officials believe that South Africa will not be targeted by these elements. Unfortunately, the available evidence does not support such wishful thinking. There is nothing preventing South Africa’s own citizens from becoming ‘collateral’ in the pursuit of other targets,” he said. He warned that this belief that South Africa will not be targeted could also account for the fact that, despite monitoring these camps for a number of years, no action has been taken. “Like any cancer left alone, these camps started to spread, and by May 2010 there were reports that operational training camps were established in several provinces and that these had links with other camps outside the country.”

He added that South African journalists had knowledge of these camps as early as June 2010. “If journalists knew about it, why would the South African government have been clueless about it, and if policy-makers do have such information, why do they not shut it down? Is it once again the belief that South Africa is immune from such attacks?” He warned that the political correctness had to stop, and greater clarity in policy and greater effort in implementation were needed. “The terrorists we are confronting share none of our ambivalence on their destructive goals. We cannot hope to defeat them and protect our citizens if we continue to play ostrich.”

Bin Laden is dead, but South Africa is still at risk. In May 2012 the Mail & Guardian’s Phillip de Wet published an article on the seized documents from Abbottabad and came to the conclusion that “even though the al-Qaeda boss is dead, South Africa could still be targeted for attacks”. “The so-called Abbottabad documents paint a fascinating picture of internal al-Qaeda discourse and politics – and also show that South Africa could still be under threat from terrorist attacks,” he wrote. “Newly released documents seized … show the al-Qaeda leader might have been keen to see terrorist attacks on targets associated with the United States on South African soil.” Bin Laden told his followers in one of the documents confiscated in his compound to be wary that only one group of mujahidin operates in a country. “Each mujahidin group must ascertain that it is the only al-Qaeda group operating in a country where it intends to target Americans,” he instructed his followers.



De Wet also wrote that South Africa was also apparently high on the list of open territories, and quoted from documents translated from Arabic by the Combating Terrorism Centre of the United States Military Academy. “You may find it suitable to target Americans in South Africa, because it is located outside the Islamic Maghreb. Also, South Africa is not covered by the brothers who are located outside that region. The same can be said about other African countries,” the documents read.

The slain al-Qaeda leader was no stranger to South Africa. Soon after the 9/11 attacks in the United States, the South African media carried several stories revealing Osama bin Laden’s history of connections with people and some Muslim organisations in the country. As far back as September 13 2001 the Independent newspaper group carried a story from one of their Kwazulu-Natal-based publications under the heading “Bin Laden has Durban connection”. “Considered the top suspect in Tuesday’s horrifying attacks in New York and Washington, wealthy Saudi-born dissident Osama bin Laden is no stranger to Durban, where his name is held in high esteem among some sectors of the Islamic community.” In its report, IOL added “the al-Qaeda leader’s riches, some of which had been channelled to his Durban supporters, have also been used to propagate Islam and for the printing of the Koran in Zulu”. The Mercury in Durban revealed in 2011 how the Bin Laden family spent millions of dollars buying up property in the city. What has happened to those millions since Bin Laden was killed? De Wet Potgieterhas been an investigative journalist for 38 years. He is the author of ‘Contraband – South Africa and the Illegal Trade in Ivory and Rhino Horn’, and ’The Eleventh Hour’.


Al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri The Coordinator 2015 Part 23-6-Africa-28

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