Broadcasting Board of Governors Initiatives: Outreach to Foreign Muslim Audiences. Visas for Participants Dar Al-Iftaa also held an international conference in October on regulating laboratory conducted basic manual analyses and examinations of firearm evidence, document The notorious cell, dubbed “The. Beatles
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1 Country Reports on Terrorism 2017 September 2018 ________________________________ United States Department of State Publication Bureau of Counterterrorism Released September 2018 Country Reports on Terrorism 2017 is submitted in compliance with Title 22 of the United Congress a full and complete annual report on terrorism for those countries and groups meeting the criteria of the Act.
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3 COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM 2017 Table of Contents Foreword Chapter 1 Country Reports on Terrorism AFRICA Overview Trans – Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership Partnership for Regional East Africa Counterterrorism Burkina Faso Cameroon Chad Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Mali Mauritania Niger Nigeria Senegal Somalia South Africa Tanzania Uganda EAST ASIA and PACIFIC Overview Australia China Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Singapore Thailand EUROPE Overview Albania Austria Azerbaijan Belgium
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4 Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Cyprus Denmark France Georgia Germany Greece Italy Kosovo Macedonia The Netherlands Norway Russia Serbia Spain Sweden Turkey United Kingdom THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Overview Algeria Bahrain Egypt Iraq Israel, Golan Heights, West Bank, and Gaza Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Morocco Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia Tunisia United Arab Emirates Yemen SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Overview Afghanistan Bangladesh India Kazakhstan Kyrgyz Republic
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5 Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan WESTERN HEMISPHERE Overview Argentina Brazil Canada Colombia Mexico Panama Paraguay Peru Trinidad and Tobago Venezuela Chapter 2 State Sponsors of Terrorism Iran Sudan Syria Chapter 3 The Global Challenge of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, or Nuclear (CBRN) Terrorism Chapter 4. Terrorist Sa fe Havens (Update to 7120 Report) Terrorist Safe Havens Africa Southeast Asia Middle East and North Africa South Asia Western Hemisphere Countering Terrorism on the Economic Front Multilateral Efforts to Counter Terrorism Long – Term Programs and Initiatives Designed to Counter Terrorist Safe Havens Countering Violent Extremism Civilian Counterterrorism Capacity Building Programs Support for Pakistan Counterterrorism Coordination with Saudi Arabia Broadcasting Board of Governors Initiatives: Outreach to Foreign Muslim Audiences Visas for Participants in United States Programs
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6 Basic Education in Muslim Countries Economic Reform in Muslim Majority Countries Chapter 5 Foreign Terrorist Organizations Abdallah Azzam Brigades (AAB) Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) Al – Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AAMB) Ansar al – Dine (AAD) Ansar al – Islam (AAI) Ansar al – – B) Ansar al – – D) Ansar al – a (AAS – T) Army of Islam (AOI) Asbat al – Ansar (AAA) Aum Shinrikyo (AUM) Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) Boko Haram (BH) Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA) – Islamiyya (IG) Hamas Haq qani Network (HQN) Harakat ul – Jihad – i – Islami (HUJI) Harakat ul – Jihad – i – Islami/Bangladesh (HUJI – B) Harakat ul – Mujahideen (HUM) Hizballah Hizbul Mujahedeen (HM) Indian Mujahedeen (IM) Islamic Jihad Union (IJU) Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) Islamic Sta te of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) – K) ISIL – Libya ISIS Sinai Province (ISIS – SP) – Sudan (Ansaru) Jaish – e – Mohammed (JeM) Jaysh Rijal Al – Tariq Al – Naqshabandi (JRTN) Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid (J AT) Jemaah Islamiya (JI) Jundallah Kahane Chai Lashkar e – Tayyiba (LeT) Lashkar i Jhangvi (LJ)
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8 Foreword The United States and our international partners made major strides to defeat and degrade international terrorist organizations in 2017. We succeeded in liberating nearly all of the territory ISIS once held in Iraq and Syria. We increased pressure on al – revent its Lebanon, in the Middle East, and across the globe. We worked with allies and partners around the world to expand information sharing, improve aviation security, enhance law enforcement and rule of law capacities, and prevent terrorist recruitment and recidivism. Despite our successes, the terrorist landscape grew more complex in 2017. ISIS, al – their affiliates have proven to be resilient, determined, and adaptable, and they have adjusted to heightened counterterrorism pressure in Iraq, Syria, Afghanis tan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, and elsewhere. They have become more dispersed and clandestine, turning to the internet to inspire attacks by distant followers, and, as a result, have made themselves less susceptible to conventional military action. Further, the return or relocation of foreign terrori st fighters from the battlefield has contributed to a growing cadre of experienced, sophisticated, and connected terrorist networks, which can plan and execute terrorist attacks. As ISIS lost territory, it continued to shift away from a centralized comm and and control structure toward a more diffuse model. It has experimented with and employed small unmanned aerial systems and has used rudimentary chemical weapons. The group encouraged sympathizers to use whatever weapons were at hand such as large v ehicles against soft targets and public spaces. Increasingly, the responsibility for deciding where, when, and how to attack has devolved to homegrown terrorists inspired or enabled by ISIS to conduct operations far from the war zone. In 2017, we saw s uch attacks in Manchester, UK ; Barcelona, Spain; Sinai, Egypt; Marawi, Philippines; New York City; and elsewhere. Al – the remnants of its core in Afghanistan and Pakistan, al – Nusrah Front (in Syria), al – Arabian Peninsula, al – – Shabaab (in Somalia), and al – the Indian Subcontinent. – Sham, drawing in other hardline Syrian opp osition groups, exemplified its effort to rebrand itself to appeal to a wider segment of the Syrian population. Al – 2017, when al – Shabaab detonated a truck bomb in the heart of Mogadishu, k illing over 300 people, the deadliest terrorist attack in Somali history. Al – – Zawahiri continued to publicly call for supporters to attack the U.S. government and citizens globally. Iran terrorism and continued to support attacks against Israel. It maintained its terrorist – related and destabilizing activities through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force and the Lebanon – based terrorist group Hizballah. Iran is responsi ble for intensifying multiple conflicts and undermining the legitimate governments of, and U.S. interests in, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen. In particular, Iran and Hizballah are emerging from the Syria conflict emboldened and with valuab le battlefield experience that they seek to leverage across the globe. IRGC leader Qasem Soleimani recruited and deployed Shia militias from diverse ethnic groups across the Middle
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9 East and South Asia to fight in defense of the Assad dictatorship in Syria . Beyond the Middle East, Iran and its terrorist affiliates and proxies posed a significant threat and demonstrated a near – global terrorist reach. Notably, in June 2017, the FBI arrested two suspected Hizballah operatives in Michigan and New York who all egedly were conducting surveillance and intelligence gathering on behalf of the organization, including in the United States. Regionally focused terrorists groups remained a threat in 2017. For example, Hamas continued to rebuild its military infrastru cture and capabilities to support terrorist attacks against Israel. Additionally, Pakistan – based Jaish – e – Mohammed and Lashkar e – Tayyiba continued to pose a regional threat in the subcontinent. Some regional and local terrorist groups have avoided greater international attention by remaining independent from ISIS and al – may have concluded that the benefits of greater expertise, resources, and prominence outweighed the risks of a formal connection with a notorious transnational terrorist network. In short, the nature of the terrorist threat confronting the United States and our allies around the world evolved in 2017. While the immediate dynamics that led terrorists to flock to Iraq and Syria since 2014 have diminished, other factors th at terrorists exploit to recruit new followers remained a challenge, such as sectarianism, failing states, and conflict zones. More than ever, it remains a critical priority for the United States and our allies to defeat our terrorist adversaries. *** ** and other civilian capabilities that are increasingly essential in the next phase of global counterterrorism. In December, with U.S. leadership, the UN Sec urity Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2396, with 66 co – sponsors. UN Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 2396 requires member states to collect airline reservation data to block terrorist travel, to develop watchlists of known and suspected terroris ts, and to use biometrics to spot terrorists who might be trying to cross their borders. The r esolution also calls on UN members to enact serious criminal offenses that will enable them to prosecute and penalize terrorists who have returned from the battl efield. In addition, throughout 2017, the State Department led bilateral diplomatic efforts with key countries to improve border and aviation security and information sharing. We increased the number of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 6 (HSPD – 6) arrangements to share information about known and suspected terrorists by almost 15 percent in 2017. Our total number of HSPD – 6 partners now stands at 69, including all 38 members of the Visa Waiver Program. The United States also deployed the latest border security systems to key counterterrorism partners, provided screening technology and training, and worked to expand global engagement on transportation – related threats. Border security support through the Personal Identification Secure Comparison a nd Evaluation Systems (PISCES) expanded to 260 ports of entry in 23 countries. We also used foreign assistance resources to enable our partners to better identify, deter, disrupt, apprehend, prosecute, and convict terrorists and their supporters. Our go al is for partners to be able to confront the terrorist threats they face themselves without turning to the United States for
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10 assistance. We placed special emphasis on helping partner countries enact appropriate legal frameworks to bring criminal charges against terrorist offenders. At the end of 2017, 70 countries had laws in place to prosecute and penalize foreign terrorist fighters, and 69 had prosecuted or arrested foreign terrorist fighters or their facilitators. The United States also worked to sta nch the flow of money to terrorist networks by designating 30 organizations and individuals as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and/or Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs). This included top ISIS and al – operatives. The State Department also continued to expose and sanction states that back terrorism. We designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 2017, and also designated key Hizballah figures as SDGTs as we pushed back on Ira nian support for terrorism across the globe. These efforts are only a snapshot of our ongoing work to protect the United States, our allies, and interests from terrorism. Country Reports on Terrorism 2017 provides a more detailed review of ccesses and challenges so we can consider how to strengthen our counterterrorism efforts going forward. As we look to the rest of 2018 and beyond, the United States remains committed to working with our allies and partners to confront the shared threat of global terrorism. I hope this report will serve as a useful resource for those seeking to better understand this threat and our efforts to defeat it. Ambassador Nathan A. Sales Coordinator for Counterterrorism
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11 Chapter 1 Country Reports AFRICA Overview African countries expanded their efforts to develop regional counterterrorism solutions while they struggled to contain the expansion of terrorist groups, affiliates, and aspirants involved in attacks or othe r activities in 2017. In East Africa, the Somalia – based terrorist group al – Shabaab continued to threaten regional security. It retained safe haven, access to recruits and resources, and de facto control over large parts of Somalia through which it moves freely. Similar to 2015 and 2016, however, al – Shabaab did not claim any attacks outside of Somalia and northeastern Kenya in 2017. In October, the group was blamed but did not claim responsibility for the despite having lost a number of operatives to counterterrorism operations in the months prior. Northeastern Kenya experienced a significant increase in activity attributed to al – Shabaab, primarily in the form of improvised explosive device attacks targeti ng Kenyan security forces and vehicles transporting civilians. Al – Shabaab maintained its allegiance to al – northern Somalia – based group of ISIS – linked fighters responsible for local suicid e bombings and other attacks against Somali security forces. The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and Somali security forces increased cooperation with the United States to exert pressure on al – Shabaab, primarily through coordinated counterte rrorism operations in southern Somalia. The United States continued to support East African partners in their efforts to build counterterrorism capacity, including in the areas of aviation and border security, advisory assistance for regional security for ces, training and mentoring of law enforcement to conduct investigations and manage crisis response, and advancing criminal justice sector reforms. East African partners undertook efforts to develop and expand regional cooperation mechanisms to interdict terrorist travel and other illicit activities. In the Lake Chad region, Boko Haram and its offshoot ISIS – West Africa (ISIS – WA) increased asymmetric attacks against civilians, government, and security forces, which resulted in deaths, injuries, abdu ctions, and destruction of property. Nigeria, along with its neighbors Cameroon, Chad, and Niger often through the Multinational Joint Task Force worked to counter these threats. These countries also responded to the ongoing and devastating humanitar ian crisis, protected civilians, and restored governance and rule of law in the affected areas. The United States continued to provide advisors, intelligence, training, logistical support, and equipment to Lake Chad region countries and supported a wide r ange of stabilization efforts. Continued attacks by Boko Haram and ISIS – WA have caused nearly 2.5 million displaced people in Nigeria. Approximately 8.5 million people in Nigeria alone require humanitarian assistance. In the Sahel, terrorist groups including affiliates and adherents of al – have expanded their operations in central Mali and the Tri – Border Region of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger . In response, the African Union Peace and Security Council authorized a new G – 5 Sahel Join t Force in April 2017, comprising military and police forces from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali,
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