Afghanistan/Da’esh – Hooded terrorists pose with handguns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. They wear camouflage print and the black flag of jihad flies in the background. The latest pictures of terrorists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are familiar except for one twist. They were taken not in the deserts of Syria or Iraq, but in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, where ISIL’s latest “province” spans the border with Pakistan it was reported on the 5 Dec 15. ISIL has declared the birth of “Wilayat Khorasan” – or Khorasan province – in the area of Afghanistan that was once al-Qaeda’s heartland. Existing radical groups, including the Haqqani network and factions of the Taliban, have declared allegiance to ISIL. One training camp is named after “Sheikh Jalaluddin” – or Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the extremist network that carries his surname, who died last year. The photographs, distributed on Twitter, show about 40 terrorists “graduating” after receiving weapons and fitness training. ISIL now claims to have three such training camps in Afghanistan, one of which is named after the movement’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. But ISIL’s presence in Afghanistan is bitterly opposed by the Taliban, which views its fighters as usurpers and traitors. While ISIL has achieved a strong presence in the eastern province of Nangarhar, its attempts to infiltrate elsewhere in the country have been beaten back by the Taliban. This conflict within the ranks of the extremists could eventually rebound to the advantage of Afghanistan’s national government. For the moment, however, the Afghan National Security Forces have been unable to contain ISIL or prevent its entry into the country. The US and its allies have ceased all combat operations in Afghanistan, handing over responsibility for security to the national security forces. This created the opening which ISIL has been quick to exploit. Extremists of all kind have gained ground since the departure of US and Western combat troops.
Afghanistan/Taliban – The Afghan ministry of defence said 37 people died and 35 were wounded in an assault on Kandahar airport compound that began on night of the 8 Dec 15 just hours before a major conference on security got under way in neighbouring Pakistan. The Taliban, which claimed responsibility for the attacks, targeted residential compound and military bases at the airport, which is used by Afghan, US and NATO military forces. Officials said the attackers used AK-47 assault rifles and wore military uniforms. They said all the fighters were killed and Afghan forces had retaken control of the area by the afternoon of the 9 Dec 15. Afghan Special Forces deployed to the scene had to move slowly to retake the airport as any fast movement could have caused civilian casualties due to a hostage situation, military officials said. A man who was trapped in a building near the airport said that residents were told to remain inside and take cover in case Afghan or US-NATO forces mistook them for fighters. The incident was the second major Taliban attack in Kandahar within the past 24 hours. On the night of the 7 Dec 15 Taliban forces stormed a Kandahar police station and engaged in a lengthy fire-fight in which three police officers and two of the attackers were killed, he said.
Afghanistan/Spain/Taliban – Afghan security forces killed all the insurgents involved in the attack on a guest house near the Spanish embassy in Kabul, Interior Minister Spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said. Two Spanish security officers (Jorge Garcia Tudela and Martin Hermandez) were killed in the attack, in a heavily protected part of Kabul close to several embassies and government buildings. At least seven people were treated in a nearby hospital run by Italian aid group Emergency, mainly for minor injuries. Attackers blew up a car bomb late on the afternoon of the 11Dec 15 before at least three gunmen entered a compound and battled security forces for hours, with gunfire and explosions heard intermittently until late into the night and early morning. In a message posted to his Twitter account, Sediqqi said all of the attackers had been killed. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack; just days after President Ashraf Ghani returned from a regional peace conference in Pakistan, where he sought support to revive peace talks that stalled this year.
India – Delhi Police is searching for two suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives who have allegedly hatched a conspiracy to carry out "suicide attacks" in the national capital targeting "high profile personalities" it was reported on the 4 Dec 15. The conspiracy was unearthed when the Special Cell of Delhi Police received an intelligence input about two suspected LeT operatives, identified as Dujana and Ukasha, who allegedly infiltrated in Jammu and Kashmir through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, following which an FIR was registered, said a police source. The FIR was registered on the 1 Dec 15 at the Special Cell office in Lodhi Colony here under Section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC and relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and doesn't name any suspects. It was submitted at the concerned anti-terror court, said the source. According to the complaint, LeT is conspiring to carry out terrorist attacks in Delhi and other places in the country, for which alleged handlers have infiltrated operatives in India through Jammu and Kashmir and other international borders, said the police source. "Two of them, identified as Dujana and Ukasha, have been reported to be based in the Kashmir Valley for quite long and are allegedly conspiring to target high profile personalities in Delhi by carrying out 'fidayeen' (suicide attacks) or grenade attacks either themselves or through their cadres," said the police source. The cadres are believed to be using code names like Noman, Zaid and Khursheed. They are also suspected to be targeting particularly crowded areas in the city, said the source. Following the registration of the FIR, senior officials directed the Special Cell to deploy sources to collect information about LeT sympathisers, mount technical surveillance and take all possible measures to track down the threat as the earliest, the source added. In Jul 15 the Special Cell had registered an FIR against unknown persons suspected to be associated with the ISIS and allegedly conspiring terror attacks in the national capital and other cities.
Malaysia – on the 12 Dec 15 it was reported that at least 50,000 Malaysians support the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, the country's transport minister said raising alarm about possible attacks in the Southeast Asian nation. The figure of 50,000 ISIL supporters was based on police intelligence estimates, Transport Minister Liow Tiong said. "If only one percent of these sympathisers turn radical and if they attack any part of Malaysia, we will be in trouble," Liow told a conference in Kuala Lumpur on national security and the ISIL threat. About 100 Malaysians have gone to Syria and Iraq to fight with ISIL and other armed groups, according to police. Anti-terrorism police have charged more than two dozen ISIL sympathisers in court. In Nov 15 Malaysia deployed 2,000 soldiers on the streets of Kuala Lumpur after unconfirmed reports of an "imminent terrorist threat" raised alert level. A police memo, leaked to local media, detailed the presence of at least 10 potential suicide bombers in Kuala Lumpur and eight elsewhere in the country. The document revealed details of a meeting between members of the armed Philippine groups - the Moro National Liberation Front and Abu Sayyaf - along with those from ISIL. An agreement at the meeting was made to deploy Abu Sayyaf and ISIL fighters to Kuala Lumpur and to Sabah, Malaysia's eastern-most state, the memo said.
Pakistan – Ten people were killed and at least 50 injured in a blast in the north-western Pakistani city of Parachinar on the 13 Dec 15, officials said, but it was unclear which militant group was responsible. Parachinar has a large Shi’ite population, unusual in Sunni-majority Pakistan, and locals have expressed fears that militias who splintered from the Taliban and sworn allegiance to Islamic State might target them. Pakistan also has its own sectarian militant groups, most notably Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ). Most of LeJ’s leadership were shot dead in police custody this year; police say they were trying to escape. Parachinar local government official Riaz Hussain said the blast targeted crowds at a market. “A blast in Eid Gah market in Parachinar killed 10 people including a child and wounded at least 50 others,” said Amjad Ali Khan, the political head of Kurram Agency. Parachinar is the capital of Kurram.
Thailand/Russia/Da’esh – Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has dispatched a ten-person squad to kill Russian tourists in Thailand, Russian security services have warned. Thai police confirmed on the 4 Dec 15 that they had received intelligence from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the main successor agency to the KGB, about 10 terrorists from Syria who reportedly entered Thailand in October. The warning came to light in a leaked letter, marked “secret” and “urgent”, that began circulating on Thai social media on the 3 Dec 15. Thailand is a popular holiday destination for Russians, especially in the peak Christmas and New Year periods. Phuket, Pattaya and Bangkok are all also popular with British visitors, meaning there is a high chance any terrorist attack there could also target Britons. In the document, Special Branch police urged an intensification of security around "target areas that Russian authorities are concerned about" including venues associated with countries that have taken part in attacks on ISIL in Syria. The letter said 10 militants entered Thailand between October 15 and 31. "They (the Syrians) travelled separately. Four went to Pattaya, two to Phuket, two to Bangkok and the other two to (an) unknown location," the letter said, citing FSB intelligence. "Their purpose is to create bad incidents to effect Russians and Russia's alliance with Thailand," the letter said. Russian officials have not commented on the reports, but Thai police said on the 4 Dec 15 that the letter "is real". "So far it's only intelligence news that still needs to be proved ... we have no proof if they are here for real or not," Songpol Wattanachai, a police spokesman said. Russia launched air strikes in support of Syrian government forces in late September, prompting threats of revenge attacks from ISIL. The terrorist group has previously claimed responsibility for the October 31bombing of a Russian airliner leaving Sharm el-Sheikh. On the 2 Dec 15 the group released a video of what it said was the execution of an alleged “Russian spy.” Security consultants have long feared that international Islamic terror groups could take advantage of the ease of travel to Thailand to dispatch attackers to strike at “soft targets” there. “Thailand is what is called in military jargon a target-rich environment for terrorists, with foreign tourists, businesses and non-governmental organisations all here in large numbers,” said Anthony Davis, a veteran Bangkok-based security analyst with IHS-Jane’s. Thailand has so far avoided becoming a staging post for Islamic terror attacks against Western or now Russian targets. But experts have warned that terrorists operating under orders from ISIL or inspired by the faction could conduct an atrocity similar to the beach rampage conducted by a lone gunman in Tunisia this year. In neighbouring Malaysia, a leaked police intelligence documents last month detailed reports that 10 suicide bombers linked to ISIL and the southern Philippine terrorist group, Abu Sayyaf, had been deployed across the country.
Turkey/United States – The U.S. Embassy in Turkey says it has shifted to "limited operations" due to an unspecified security threat it was reported on the 14 Dec 15. An embassy spokeswoman in Ankara on Monday could not provide information on the security threat but said the limited operations would continue through Tuesday (15 Dec 15). Last week, the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul warned U.S. citizens to avoid the building due to information about an imminent security threat and suspended consular services for a day. Unconfirmed Turkish news reports said the Consulate was placed on alert following intelligence about possible plans by Islamic State militants for a suicide attack. Two massive suicide bombings blamed on a local IS cell killed a total of 130 people in attacks near a town on the Syrian border in July and in Ankara in October. (http://turkey.usembassy.gov/warden_information.html)
Afghanistan/Taliban – The Afghan ministry of defence said 37 people died and 35 were wounded in an assault on Kandahar airport compound that began on night of the 8 Dec 15 just hours before a major conference on security got under way in neighbouring Pakistan. The Taliban, which claimed responsibility for the attacks, targeted residential compound and military bases at the airport, which is used by Afghan, US and NATO military forces. Officials said the attackers used AK-47 assault rifles and wore military uniforms. They said all the fighters were killed and Afghan forces had retaken control of the area by the afternoon of the 9 Dec 15. Afghan Special Forces deployed to the scene had to move slowly to retake the airport as any fast movement could have caused civilian casualties due to a hostage situation, military officials said. A man who was trapped in a building near the airport said that residents were told to remain inside and take cover in case Afghan or US-NATO forces mistook them for fighters. The incident was the second major Taliban attack in Kandahar within the past 24 hours. On the night of the 7 Dec 15 Taliban forces stormed a Kandahar police station and engaged in a lengthy fire-fight in which three police officers and two of the attackers were killed, he said.
Afghanistan/Spain/Taliban – Afghan security forces killed all the insurgents involved in the attack on a guest house near the Spanish embassy in Kabul, Interior Minister Spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said. Two Spanish security officers (Jorge Garcia Tudela and Martin Hermandez) were killed in the attack, in a heavily protected part of Kabul close to several embassies and government buildings. At least seven people were treated in a nearby hospital run by Italian aid group Emergency, mainly for minor injuries. Attackers blew up a car bomb late on the afternoon of the 11Dec 15 before at least three gunmen entered a compound and battled security forces for hours, with gunfire and explosions heard intermittently until late into the night and early morning. In a message posted to his Twitter account, Sediqqi said all of the attackers had been killed. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack; just days after President Ashraf Ghani returned from a regional peace conference in Pakistan, where he sought support to revive peace talks that stalled this year.
India – Delhi Police is searching for two suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operatives who have allegedly hatched a conspiracy to carry out "suicide attacks" in the national capital targeting "high profile personalities" it was reported on the 4 Dec 15. The conspiracy was unearthed when the Special Cell of Delhi Police received an intelligence input about two suspected LeT operatives, identified as Dujana and Ukasha, who allegedly infiltrated in Jammu and Kashmir through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, following which an FIR was registered, said a police source. The FIR was registered on the 1 Dec 15 at the Special Cell office in Lodhi Colony here under Section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC and relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and doesn't name any suspects. It was submitted at the concerned anti-terror court, said the source. According to the complaint, LeT is conspiring to carry out terrorist attacks in Delhi and other places in the country, for which alleged handlers have infiltrated operatives in India through Jammu and Kashmir and other international borders, said the police source. "Two of them, identified as Dujana and Ukasha, have been reported to be based in the Kashmir Valley for quite long and are allegedly conspiring to target high profile personalities in Delhi by carrying out 'fidayeen' (suicide attacks) or grenade attacks either themselves or through their cadres," said the police source. The cadres are believed to be using code names like Noman, Zaid and Khursheed. They are also suspected to be targeting particularly crowded areas in the city, said the source. Following the registration of the FIR, senior officials directed the Special Cell to deploy sources to collect information about LeT sympathisers, mount technical surveillance and take all possible measures to track down the threat as the earliest, the source added. In Jul 15 the Special Cell had registered an FIR against unknown persons suspected to be associated with the ISIS and allegedly conspiring terror attacks in the national capital and other cities.
Malaysia – on the 12 Dec 15 it was reported that at least 50,000 Malaysians support the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group, the country's transport minister said raising alarm about possible attacks in the Southeast Asian nation. The figure of 50,000 ISIL supporters was based on police intelligence estimates, Transport Minister Liow Tiong said. "If only one percent of these sympathisers turn radical and if they attack any part of Malaysia, we will be in trouble," Liow told a conference in Kuala Lumpur on national security and the ISIL threat. About 100 Malaysians have gone to Syria and Iraq to fight with ISIL and other armed groups, according to police. Anti-terrorism police have charged more than two dozen ISIL sympathisers in court. In Nov 15 Malaysia deployed 2,000 soldiers on the streets of Kuala Lumpur after unconfirmed reports of an "imminent terrorist threat" raised alert level. A police memo, leaked to local media, detailed the presence of at least 10 potential suicide bombers in Kuala Lumpur and eight elsewhere in the country. The document revealed details of a meeting between members of the armed Philippine groups - the Moro National Liberation Front and Abu Sayyaf - along with those from ISIL. An agreement at the meeting was made to deploy Abu Sayyaf and ISIL fighters to Kuala Lumpur and to Sabah, Malaysia's eastern-most state, the memo said.
Pakistan – Ten people were killed and at least 50 injured in a blast in the north-western Pakistani city of Parachinar on the 13 Dec 15, officials said, but it was unclear which militant group was responsible. Parachinar has a large Shi’ite population, unusual in Sunni-majority Pakistan, and locals have expressed fears that militias who splintered from the Taliban and sworn allegiance to Islamic State might target them. Pakistan also has its own sectarian militant groups, most notably Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ). Most of LeJ’s leadership were shot dead in police custody this year; police say they were trying to escape. Parachinar local government official Riaz Hussain said the blast targeted crowds at a market. “A blast in Eid Gah market in Parachinar killed 10 people including a child and wounded at least 50 others,” said Amjad Ali Khan, the political head of Kurram Agency. Parachinar is the capital of Kurram.
Thailand/Russia/Da’esh – Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has dispatched a ten-person squad to kill Russian tourists in Thailand, Russian security services have warned. Thai police confirmed on the 4 Dec 15 that they had received intelligence from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the main successor agency to the KGB, about 10 terrorists from Syria who reportedly entered Thailand in October. The warning came to light in a leaked letter, marked “secret” and “urgent”, that began circulating on Thai social media on the 3 Dec 15. Thailand is a popular holiday destination for Russians, especially in the peak Christmas and New Year periods. Phuket, Pattaya and Bangkok are all also popular with British visitors, meaning there is a high chance any terrorist attack there could also target Britons. In the document, Special Branch police urged an intensification of security around "target areas that Russian authorities are concerned about" including venues associated with countries that have taken part in attacks on ISIL in Syria. The letter said 10 militants entered Thailand between October 15 and 31. "They (the Syrians) travelled separately. Four went to Pattaya, two to Phuket, two to Bangkok and the other two to (an) unknown location," the letter said, citing FSB intelligence. "Their purpose is to create bad incidents to effect Russians and Russia's alliance with Thailand," the letter said. Russian officials have not commented on the reports, but Thai police said on the 4 Dec 15 that the letter "is real". "So far it's only intelligence news that still needs to be proved ... we have no proof if they are here for real or not," Songpol Wattanachai, a police spokesman said. Russia launched air strikes in support of Syrian government forces in late September, prompting threats of revenge attacks from ISIL. The terrorist group has previously claimed responsibility for the October 31bombing of a Russian airliner leaving Sharm el-Sheikh. On the 2 Dec 15 the group released a video of what it said was the execution of an alleged “Russian spy.” Security consultants have long feared that international Islamic terror groups could take advantage of the ease of travel to Thailand to dispatch attackers to strike at “soft targets” there. “Thailand is what is called in military jargon a target-rich environment for terrorists, with foreign tourists, businesses and non-governmental organisations all here in large numbers,” said Anthony Davis, a veteran Bangkok-based security analyst with IHS-Jane’s. Thailand has so far avoided becoming a staging post for Islamic terror attacks against Western or now Russian targets. But experts have warned that terrorists operating under orders from ISIL or inspired by the faction could conduct an atrocity similar to the beach rampage conducted by a lone gunman in Tunisia this year. In neighbouring Malaysia, a leaked police intelligence documents last month detailed reports that 10 suicide bombers linked to ISIL and the southern Philippine terrorist group, Abu Sayyaf, had been deployed across the country.
Turkey/United States – The U.S. Embassy in Turkey says it has shifted to "limited operations" due to an unspecified security threat it was reported on the 14 Dec 15. An embassy spokeswoman in Ankara on Monday could not provide information on the security threat but said the limited operations would continue through Tuesday (15 Dec 15). Last week, the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul warned U.S. citizens to avoid the building due to information about an imminent security threat and suspended consular services for a day. Unconfirmed Turkish news reports said the Consulate was placed on alert following intelligence about possible plans by Islamic State militants for a suicide attack. Two massive suicide bombings blamed on a local IS cell killed a total of 130 people in attacks near a town on the Syrian border in July and in Ankara in October. (http://turkey.usembassy.gov/warden_information.html)
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