ICT Report: Monthly Terrorist Activities – August 2013

ICT Report: Monthly Terrorist Activities – August 2013

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10286974 featureThe following is a summary and analysis of the terrorist attacks and counter-terrorism operations that occurred during August 2013, as researched and recorded by the ICT Database Team. Among the most important events occurring this August:

  • On 4 August, the US closed 21 of its embassies in the Middle East and North Africa due to intelligence predicting an Al-Qaeda attack. Following the shutdown, Canada closed its embassy in Bangladesh and Britain, France and Germany closed their embassies in Yemen. Several days later, on 6 August, it was reported that the impetus for the closures came from an intercepted secret message between Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahri and Nasser al-Wahishi, the emir of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), concerning plans for a major terrorist attack. Also in this context, the U.S. State Department issued a worldwide travel warning to American citizens during August. Similarly, Interpol issued a global security alert following a series of Al-Qaeda-linked prison breakouts in July 2013.
  • On 5 August, eight people were killed and 40 others were injured in a car bombing in Cotabato City, Philippines. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but authorities blamed the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).
  • On 13 August, suspected Boko Haram militants killed 44 worshipers in a mosque and injured 26 others in Konduga town, Nigeria. A second attack killed an additional 12 people.
  • On 19 August, suspected Al-Qaeda militants killed 25 off-duty policemen and wounded two others in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt.
  • On 20 August, security forced in Quetta, Pakistan arrested 10 people and seized 100 tons of bomb-making materials in a raid on a warehouse that was being used to store and assemble explosives. Police were led to the warehouse by two men whom they arrested for driving a truck carrying 15 tons of potassium chlorate.
  • On 22 August, four rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel. They landed in the vicinity of Nahariya, where they caused some damage but no casualties. Also, a rocket fell near Acre, damaging several houses. The Abdullah Azzam Brigades, an Al-Qaeda-inspired group based in Lebanon, claimed responsibility for the attack.
  • On 24 August, 47 people were killed and 500 others were injured when bombs at two mosques in Tripoli, Lebanon exploded within minutes of each other after Friday prayers. This was the first time that mosques were targeted in Lebanon in recent months.
  • On 29 August, Indian Mujahedin (IM) founder Yasin Bhatkal was arrested at Raxaul, near the border with Nepal, after previously evading arrest. He has been linked to several high-profile terrorism cases, including German Bakery blasts in Pune, where he was allegedly captured on CCTV footage.

IHLS – Israel Homeland Security

For the full ICT August 2013 Database Report – click here.

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