Country Reports on Terrorism 2012
Country Reports on Terrorism 2012 Country Reports on Terrorism 2012
Though the AQ core is on a path to defeat, and its two most dangerous affiliates have suffered serious setbacks, tumultuous events in the Middle East and North Africa have complicated the counterterrorism picture. The dispersal of weapons stocks in the wake of the revolution in Libya, the Tuareg rebellion, and the coup d’état in Mali presented terrorists with new opportunities. The actions of France and African countries, however, in conjunction with both short-term U.S. support to the African-led International Support Mission to Mali and the long-term efforts of the United States via the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership, have done much to roll back and contain the threat. In Libya, the security vacuum in the aftermath of the 2011 revolution provided greater opportunity for terrorists to operate. This vacuum, combined with the weakness of Libya’s nascent security institutions, allowed violent extremists to act, as we saw too clearly on September 11 in Benghazi, when J. Christopher Stevens, the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, and three staff members, died during attacks on U.S. facilities. In Syria, AQI seeks to establish a long-term presence under the pseudonym of al-Nusrah Front. The Nusrah Front has denounced the Syrian Opposition Coalition’s founding, rejected the vision statement that the opposition issued in Cairo, and says it is fighting to establish an Islamic caliphate encompassing the entire Levant. In Gaza, a sharp increase in the number of rocket attacks launched by Hamas and other Gazabased violent extremist groups led Israel to launch Operation Pillar of Defense in November 2012. During the course of the eight day operation, Israeli forces targeted more than 1,500 terrorist sites. Since the Egypt-brokered November 21 ceasefire, the United States has engaged with our Egyptian and Israeli counterparts to strengthen and sustain the peace. In West Africa we are seeing a loosely-organized collection of factions known as Boko Haram (BH) – some of them with ties to AQIM – exploiting the grievances of northern Nigerians to gain recruits and public sympathy. The number and sophistication of BH’s attacks are increasing, and while the group focuses principally on local Nigerian issues and actors, there are reports that it is developing financial and training links with transnational violent extremists. The year 2012 was also notable in demonstrating a marked resurgence of Iran’s state sponsorship of terrorism, through its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), its Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), and Tehran’s ally Hizballah. Iran and Hizballah’s terrorist activity has reached a tempo unseen since the 1990s, with attacks plotted in Southeast Asia, Europe, and Africa. On February 5, 2013, the Bulgarian government publically implicated Hizballah in the July 2012 Burgas bombing that killed five Israelis and one Bulgarian citizen, and injured 32 others. On March 21, 2013, a Cyprus court found a Hizballah operative guilty of charges stemming from his surveillance activities, carried out in 2012, of Israeli tourist targets, while Thailand was prosecuting a Hizballah member for his role in helping plan a possible terrorist attack in that country. The IRGC-QF is suspected of directing planned terrorist attacks in Georgia, India, Thailand, and Kenya in 2012, and is also implicated in a 2011 plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States in Washington, DC. And both Iran and Hizballah are providing a broad range of critical support to the Asad regime, as it continues its brutal crackdown against the Syrian people. 6
While terrorism from non-state actors related to AQ and state-sponsored terrorism originating in Iran remained the predominant concern of the United States, other forms of terrorism undermined peace and security around the world. In Turkey, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party remained active in 2012. Anarchists in Greece and Italy launched periodic attacks, targeting private businesses, foreign missions, and symbols of the state. In Colombia, terrorist attacks occurred almost every day until the declaration of a unilateral cease-fire by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in November. In Northern Ireland, dissident Republican groups continued their campaigns of violence. “Lone Wolf” violent extremists also remain a concern, as we saw in March 2012, when violent extremist gunman Mohammed Merah went on a multiday killing spree in Toulouse and Montauban, France. Seven people, including three children, lost their lives before he was killed by police. 7
- Page 1 and 2: Country Re
- Page 3 and 4: Chapter 5. Terrorist Safe Havens (U
- Page 5: Chapter 1. Strategic Assessment The
- Page 9 and 10: training courses in Algeria and Mor
- Page 11 and 12: Countering Radicalization and Viole
- Page 13 and 14: Legislation, Law Enforcement, and B
- Page 15 and 16: emained an active security threat t
- Page 17 and 18: youth in positive activities. In ad
- Page 19 and 20: Legislation, Law Enforcement, and B
- Page 21 and 22: Countering Terrorist Finance: Kenya
- Page 23 and 24: (CEMOC), based in Tamanrasset, Alge
- Page 25 and 26: On September 24, Arab Maghreb Union
- Page 27 and 28: widespread destruction of property
- Page 29 and 30: While Nigeria regularly froze the a
- Page 31 and 32: DRC to encourage the FDLR and other
- Page 33 and 34: On April 4, a bombing of the nation
- Page 35 and 36: etween some South Africa government
- Page 37 and 38: Emrah Erdogan, in Dar es Salaam sug
- Page 39 and 40: (DRC); and one defunct Ugandan rebe
- Page 41 and 42: Legislation, Law Enforcement, and B
- Page 43 and 44: enforcement officers attended U.S.-
- Page 45 and 46: February, the Supreme Court rejecte
- Page 47 and 48: 1980s. Despite two rounds of DPRK-J
- Page 49 and 50: cooperated closely with the interna
- Page 51 and 52: curfews and limits on their travel
- Page 53 and 54: Republic Act No. 10167, which amend
- Page 55 and 56: and was awaiting extradition to Tha
While terrorism from n<strong>on</strong>-state actors related to AQ and state-sp<strong>on</strong>sored terrorism originating in<br />
Iran remained the predominant c<strong>on</strong>cern of the United States, other forms of terrorism<br />
undermined peace and security around the world. In Turkey, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party<br />
remained active in <strong>2012</strong>. Anarchists in Greece and Italy launched periodic attacks, targeting<br />
private businesses, foreign missi<strong>on</strong>s, and symbols of the state. In Colombia, terrorist attacks<br />
occurred almost every day until the declarati<strong>on</strong> of a unilateral cease-fire by the Revoluti<strong>on</strong>ary<br />
Armed Forces of Colombia in November. In Northern Ireland, dissident Republican groups<br />
c<strong>on</strong>tinued their campaigns of violence. “L<strong>on</strong>e Wolf” violent extremists also remain a c<strong>on</strong>cern, as<br />
we saw in March <strong>2012</strong>, when violent extremist gunman Mohammed Merah went <strong>on</strong> a multiday<br />
killing spree in Toulouse and M<strong>on</strong>tauban, France. Seven people, including three children, lost<br />
their lives before he was killed by police.<br />
7
Change language