ecurity – Global Review #5 #6 #7 #11 #12 #10 #9
#9 Mogadishu – Somalia
#8
Al-Qaeda affiliate al- Shabaab claimed responsibility for two attacks: a car bomb in the capital that killed eleven, leaving another ten injured and the killing of Anthony Formosa, who was the construction project manager for DP World, a firm that has invested in Somalia. The attack highlights the current dangers of business operations, with al-Shabaab claiming in a statement that the attack was, “part of broader operations targeting the mercenary companies that loot the Somali resources".
#10 Borno State – Nigeria
The United Nations has said it is “extremely alarmed” by the forced return by Cameroon of thousands of refugees to north-east Nigeria, where Boko Haram Islamists pose a seemingly enduring threat to civilians. Cameroon has 370,000 refugees, 100,000 of whom are Nigerians, according to the UNHCR. Earlier this month, more than 9,000 people fled to Cameroon after an attack on a military base and aid buildings in the town of Rann in north-east Nigeria’s Borno state. The attack was blamed on the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) faction of Boko Haram, which has carried out similar raids against troops since July last year. Despite continued rhetoric from the President and numerous military operations, there seems little reduction in the ability of Boko Haram and we can expect them to maintain a considerable threat throughout 2019.
#11 Manbij – Syria On 16th January a suicide bomber killed four US citizens, two of whom serving soldiers, at a market in northern Syria, less than a month
after President Donald Trump declared victory over Islamic State in the region. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in the town of Manbij. The attack confounds the sudden plan for the US. withdrawal, a decision Trump's senior advisers disagreed with before offering an evolving timetable for the removal of the approximately 2,000 US troops. The bombing also underscores Pentagon assertions that the Islamic State is still a threat capable of deadly attacks. There has been little evidence amongst the counter terrorism community to support the president’s assumptions and there has been analysis suggesting the group is active in more countries today than at the height of the Caliphate. A recently published Pentagon report also warns that the US withdrawal from Syria could result in IS reclaiming lost territory.
#13 #12 Kandahar – Afghanistan
Five serving members of the Afghan security forces were killed when their checkpoint came under sustained attack by insurgents in the southern province of Kandahar on the 11th January. Aziz Ahmad Azizi, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said that two other policemen were wounded in the attack in the Spin Bolduk district. He said seven Taliban insurgents were killed and six were wounded in the fighting. Qari Yusouf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the attack in Kandahar. In a separate attack in western Herat province, gunmen attacked a city police station on Saturday evening, killing another five people, said Gelani Farhad, a spokesman for the provincial governor. Since the withdrawal of the substantive coalition force, ISAF, in 2014, the Taliban have continued to reassert their authority and the pattern of IEDs, suicide bombers and attacks has continued.
© CI TY S ECURI TY MAGAZ INE – S PRING 2019 www. c i t y s e c u r i t yma ga z ine . c om #13 Jakarta – Indonesia
Abu Bakar Bashir, the radical Muslim cleric and supposed mastermind of the 2002 Bali
bombings, may be granted early release from jail on humanitarian grounds. Bashir, 81, who is widely believed to be the spiritual leader of the Islamist group Jemaah Islamiah (JI), was convicted in 2010 under anti-terrorism laws for links to militant training camps in Aceh province and jailed for fifteen years. Indonesia continues to try to counter on-going
terrorism, and operations #14
remain active. The Tinombala police-military operation to track down members of the East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT) terrorist group in Poso, Central Sulawesi, has been extended once again. The latest extension to the joint operation was made in December 2018
and will last until April 2019, making it one of the longest terrorist manhunts in the Reform Era.
#14 Australia
Suspected Islamic State member Neil Prakash, who was born in Australia to a Fijian father and a Cambodian mother, will not be allowed into Fiji since he "does not qualify", the South Pacific country's prime minister has declared. The 27-year-old, currently held in a Turkish prison and facing terrorism charges, was stripped of his Australian citizenship, something that can only happen to dual citizens. In response to reports claiming that Prakash may be heading to Fiji after his release, Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said that he "cannot come here because he does not qualify”. This has raised questions over the stripping of citizenship as many thousands of fighters try to return home from the Levant or are being left to local jurisdiction, such as the British militants nicknamed ‘the Beatles’.
Edward Marsh National Security & Terrorism Analyst
References gathered from both open and primary sources from 1st January to 13th February 2019.
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