Country Reports on Terrorism 2012

Yemen’s economy and development. Many political leaders and groups (including the former
opposition Joint Meeting Party alliance) publicly condemned terrorism and violent attacks, while
stressing that a unified army and security service would help to eradicate terrorism. Many
Yemeni officials and media professionals have expressed support for expanding messaging
efforts aimed at countering violent extremism, but point to a lack of resources and expertise that
impede their efforts.
SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA
South Asia remained a front line in the battle against terrorism. Although we have seriously
degraded the al-Qa’ida (AQ) core in Afghanistan and Pakistan, AQ still has the ability to plan
and conduct attacks from its safe havens. AQ looked to consolidate power by forging closer ties
with other terrorist organizations in the region such as Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the
Haqqani Network (HQN). These alliances continued to provide the group with additional
resources and capabilities. In 2012, terrorists in South Asia carried out operations in heavily
populated areas and attempted to expand networks across the region and beyond.
Afghanistan in particular continued to experience aggressive and coordinated attacks by the
Afghan Taliban, HQN, and other AQ-affiliated groups. A number of these attacks were planned
and launched from these groups’ safe haven in Pakistan. Afghan Security Forces are now
providing security throughout most of Afghanistan as the transition to full Afghan leadership on
security continues in anticipation of the 2014 withdrawal of U.S. and Coalition Forces (CF).
Afghan and CF, in partnership, took aggressive action against terrorist elements in Afghanistan,
especially in Kabul, and many of the eastern and northern provinces.
Pakistan continued to experience significant terrorist violence, including sectarian attacks. The
Pakistani military undertook operations against groups that conducted attacks within Pakistan
such as TTP, but other groups such as Lashkar-e-Tayyiba were able to continue to operate in
Pakistan. Pakistan did not directly target the Afghan Taliban or HQN, although it supported
efforts to bring both groups into an Afghan peace process.
Although terrorist violence was lower than in previous years, India remained severely impacted
by and vulnerable to terrorism, including from groups based in Pakistan. The Government of
India, in response, increased its own counterterrorism capabilities and expanded its cooperation
and coordination with the international community and regional partners.
Bangladesh, an influential counterterrorism partner in the region, continued to make strides
against domestic and international terrorism. The government’s ongoing counterterrorism efforts
have made it more difficult for transnational terrorists to operate in or use Bangladeshi territory.
In addition, Bangladesh and India improved and expanded counterterrorism cooperation.
Despite the absence of major terrorist incidents on their territory, governments in the five Central
Asian states were concerned about the possibility of a growing threat connected to changes in the
international force presence in Afghanistan in 2014. While some sought to reduce their
countries’ vulnerability to the perceived terrorist threat, the effectiveness of their efforts was in
some cases undercut by failure to distinguish clearly between terrorism on one hand and political
opposition, or non-traditional religious practices, on the other.
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