UK Counter-Terrorism (merged thread)

[davidbfpo]

Written an almost travelogue writing style an article on how Portsmouth, the historical home of the Royal Navy, has earnt this headline: 'How Portsmouth became a hotbed of radicalised Muslims and far-right thug' and sub-title: Why has extremism been so able to take hold in Portsmouth - and what is being done to stop it?
Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...ht-thugs.html?

Some context:

Portsmouth is a gritty naval city, still predominantly white British (84 per cent of its 205,000 population) and working class. Its 4,000-strong Bangladeshi community, the second largest ethnic group...Since the Pompey Lads left for Syria in 2013, close to double figures of men and women in their teens and 20s from the city have been stopped from making the journey. ...Hampshire Constabulary has had ‘hundreds’ of referrals of young people deemed at risk of radicalisation from extreme Islam or the far right.

(Whoops) Mashudur Choudhury, who before going to Syria was recruited by the council under Prevent funding to help stop violent extremism.

[davidbfpo]

After the news that a West Yorkshire teenager, believed to have become Britain’s youngest suicide bomber, Talha Asmal, 17, following an ISIS release of photos and a statement saying that he detonated a VBIED in the northern Iraqi town of Baiji, a numbere of reactions.


His family issued this statement:

Talha was a loving, kind, caring and affable teenager.....He never harboured any ill-will against anybody nor did he ever exhibit any violent, extreme or radical views of any kind. Talha’s tender years and naivety were, it seems however, exploited by persons unknown, who, hiding behind the anonymity of the worldwide web, targeted and befriended Talha and engaged in a process of deliberate and calculated grooming of him. Whilst there it appears that Talha fell under the spell of individuals who continued to prey on his innocence and vulnerability to the point where if the press reports are accurate he was ordered to his death by so-called Isis handlers and leaders too cowardly to do their own dirty work.
We are all naturally utterly devastated and heartbroken by the unspeakable tragedy that now appears to have befallen us.

Links:http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...suicide-bomber

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-33126132
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-33129806

A BBC report from Baghdad has the photos and a succinct quote stated to be from the family:

ISIS, not and never in our name.

(Later the reporter asks) how many more will follow him?

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33128063

[AdamG]

There seems to be an overlap here worthy of a Venn diagram with the typical "urban yout" criminal, wherein the parents always cry to the cameras that "he was a good boy, sang in the church, was just turning his life around and didn't do nothing".

Exploitation by predators of poorly-parented youths is to be expected, whether they be pimps, drug dealers or jihadis (again, possibly time for another Venn diagram there).

[davidbfpo]

7/7 was not an attack on the scale of 9/11, but for Londoners first and the rest of the UK it was terrible.

Amidst all the coverage I have found a few excellent, reflective articles:

1) In The Guardian: 7/7 seemed to herald a new era of terror on UK soil – one that did not materialise:http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2...e-mi5-mi6-gchq

2) In The Independent:Iraq war not to blame for 7/7 bombings, insists Tony Blair:http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...-10370649.html

3) The then Labour Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, made a remarkable two minute speech (from Malaysia where he was). I rarely agree with him, he did us all proud that day:http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/london/h...00/8777643.stm

4) Two BBC pieces: 7 July London bombings: 15 changes to anti-terror planning:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33388286 and a commentary 7/7 anniversary: Is the UK any safer now?:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33415475

[davidbfpo]

A Kings of War commentary after yesterday statement by PM David Cameron that two weeks ago, in Syria, two British citizens plotting with ISIS were killed in a drone strike:http://kingsofwar.org.uk/2015/09/bri...oment-sortof/?

From the PM's statement:

First, I am clear that the action we took was entirely lawful. The Attorney General was consulted and was clear there would be a clear legal basis for action in international law. We were exercising the UK’s inherent right to self-defence. There was clear evidence of the individuals in question planning and directing armed attacks against the UK. These were part of a series of actual and foiled attempts to attack the UK and our allies.

As the author says the Uk is not like the USA:

The British political system has markedly fewer constraints on the exercise of power by the Prime Minister.

The BBC magazine has a good review on the legal status of the attack?
Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34184856

Today's BBC News report:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34181475

Another Kings comment, on Strife opposing the action:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...precedent.html

Legality aside and the clamour for a review, more information being released etc it is interesting to learn that the UK and presumably allies could 'Find, Fix & Finish' the apparent plotters amidst all the noise of ISIS activity. Presumably the UK drone had been on standby for days before releasing a missile / bomb.

Was there an alternative? Oddly it appears the government has returned to Mrs Thatcher's insistence on TINA: there is no alternative.

Drones and much of UK CT strategy is effectively containment of those who are violent, pending optimistically a political change. Ulster is a good example of this. Just how long we can wait, let alone after a successful ISIS-inspired attack is a moot point.

[davidbfpo]

The setting for the two quotes on this theme is:

Commissioners and chief constables are kicking off up and down the country, from London’s Met to Liverpool, with unprecedented protest at the 25% of cuts they have suffered and worse to come in next week’s spending review. As France’s president, François Hollande, announces he is boosting its police force by 5,000, Britain is scaling back. Nationally, 17,000 police officers have gone, with another 22,000 to go this time: neighbourhood police no longer pound the streets in many areas.

Link:http://www.theguardian.com/commentis...ts-theresa-may

From the same article is an example from Bedfordshire, a small county north of London, although not a terrorist plot, maybe the prelude:

What worries them most is no longer patrolling neighbourhoods as they did, listening and earning local trust. In the past, a neighbourhood tip-off from a local Muslim led them to a machete-wielding convert from Jehovah’s Witnesses to Islamicism – building up these kind of contacts takes time they’re unlikely to have in the future.

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, has carefully added the standard "form of words" post-Paris as doubts are being heard amongst Conservative MPs:

When people trust the polcie...they tell us stuff. They might tell us who is burgling...they might tell us when someone is becoming a terrorist, when someone is becoming more radical in their behaviour. We've got to have those links.

Link:http://www.standard.co.uk/news/polit...-a3116811.html

From the Soufan Group's briefing:

Given the virtual avalanche of threats, this is likely true; even more disruptions may remain undisclosed in order to protect sources and means. However, as international terrorism strikes out through local cells, the need for human sources is as vital as ever. Only human sources can assign proper context and priority to targeted extremists,

Link:http://soufangroup.com/tsg-intelbrie...-of-hindsight/

[davidbfpo]

An all too familiar face on UK TV screens, in newspapers and quite possibly a few times in the USA, a British Islamic radical Anjem Choudary was finally convicted two weeks ago:

For 20 years Anjem Choudary stood on street corners, in shopping precincts, outside mosques, embassies and police stations and used his megaphone to drive a wedge between Muslims and the rest of Britain. Now he has been convicted of inviting others to support the Islamic State militant group.

Link to a full account:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36979892



He was always ready to speak to the media, although wary of documentary makers and to many became the voice of radical, violen Islam.

He remains in custody awaiting sentencing next month and could get up to ten years in jail.

An academic, Andrew Silke has written on what to expect when he is in jail. For reasons that defy an easy explanation handling convicted terrorists in UK jails is - to say the least - incomplete.
Link:https://theconversation.com/how-can-...risoners-64144

Just how Anjem Choudary evaded prosecution has been controversial for a long time; yes, he was a trained lawyer who knew where the legal limits on his words were. IIRC twice UK newspaper submitted evidence after his vitriolic speeches were caught on video. Several Muslims I know speculated he was really working for MI5.

So this headline is not a shock:

MI5 stopped Scotland Yard taking Choudary down, sources claim

Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016...sources-claim/

[davidbfpo]

Radical preacher Anjem Choudary has been jailed for five-and-a-half years for inviting support for the so-called Islamic State group....Both men were also sentenced to a notification order lasting 15 years, which requires them to tell police if details such as their address change.

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37284199

Given the law on time served on remand and expected good behaviour The Guardian thinks:

Choudary will serve two years behind bars...

Link:https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...upport-of-isis

[davidbfpo]

The about to retire lawyer, David Anderson, who is the Independent Reviewer of Counter-Terrorism Legislation, has commented on recent government legislation, the Investigative Powers Act (IPA), primarily on covert investigation (including "Big Brother" allegations) and a long awaited, draft bill on counter-extremism (undefined to date). In a BBC radio interview (28 mins):http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b080t882

His views are summarised in this report:http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...-a7502431.html

At one point inthe BBC radio programme 'Prevent' is discussed by it's originator, Sir David Omand, who now expresses doubts; that it has gone too far (9.40-14.40).

Sir David Omand, an ex-GCHQ Director and other security roles, discussed on BBC radio the IPA with David Anderson and they gave the clearest explanation for bulk data collection I have heard ever (IPA covers not just phone and email links). Bulk data has been much criticised - in part aided by the Snowden allegations - and recently deemed illegal for many years by a specialist court in late 2016:http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b083r1jn

[AdamG]

David,

The BBC over here had a bit on one of your civilian programs last week, pushing the 'run/hide/report' immediate action drills.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/c...-run-hide-tell

Excellent site, in general.
https://www.gov.uk/government/organi...ecurity-office

[davidbfpo]

AdamG,

Some of the 'Plan' & 'Prepare' aspects of the UK's CT strategy are very good, but for obvious reasons are very London-centric or the big cities.

'Run/Hide/Report' advice is somewhat marred by the public practice of taking out their cell / mobile hones and filming the scene in front of them. At one recent incident the first emergency call was twelve minutes after the incident and the first film footage was uploaded in two minutes. Leaving aside the capacity to accept calls from the public (a common issue internationally).

[davidbfpo]

Yesterday's attack by one man, yet to be id'd, using a SUV and an edged weapon to kill four people - including one unarmed police officer - dominates the news here. Seven arrests have followed, including one of more in Birmingham (nearby to me) and UK CT will be very busy.

One commentary starts with a sub-title:

After a run of 12 foiled terrorist plots, luck ran out at Westminster for the UK’s intelligence agencies. Now they must ask if they could have stopped it

Then it ends citing the previous Security Service (MI5) Director's interview in November 2016:

The reality is that because of the investment in services like mine, the UK has got good defences. My expectation is that we will find and stop most attempts at terrorism in this country.

Link:https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...urity-services

Just whether "life will remain normal" in Westminster depends on the public's reaction, whatever the politicians say. The TV is reporting here yet more concrete blocks are arriving; once in place such defences rarely removed.

Yesterday was the anniversary of the Brussels attack, a point lost here in the media reporting - although one image of the memorial service was shown.

[davidbfpo]

This message from one of B'ham largest mosques came via Twitter. I expect others have issued similar statements.

[davidbfpo]

Posted a year ago via CTC:https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/the-i...-terror-trials

Via Twitter.

[davidbfpo]

There is ample coverage and reflection in today's media on what happened in an eighty-two second attack.

As well as Britons, the pedestrians skittled by his car included four South Koreans, three French children, two Romanians, two Greeks and one each from Germany, Poland, Ireland, Italy, China and America.

Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017...tsapp-message/

The Met Police have stated:

..we will never understand why he did this....We still believe that Masood acted alone on the day and there is no information or intelligence to suggest there are further attacks planned.Even if he acted alone in the preparation, we need to establish with absolute clarity why he did these unspeakable acts to bring reassurance to Londoners, and to provide answers and closure for the families of those killed and the victims and survivors of this atrocity. We must all accept that there is a possibility we will never understand why he did this. That understanding may have died with him.
Nevertheless, we are determined to understand if Masood was a lone actor inspired by terrorist propaganda or if others have encouraged, supported or directed him.

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39396101

Who was the attacker? This is one of the profiles read. Yes there is a Birmingham connection, even though he lived there for a very short time, a few months, with his wife and children. Was he radicalised in jail or when teaching in Saudi Arabia?
Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017...polices-radar/

The hero who stopped the 2011 riots in Birmingham, Tariq Jahan added:

It’s funny how when a Muslim commits an atrocity, we’re all tarred with the same brush....the whole of Birmingham has been tarnished. Which is not true.
I don’t think Birmingham necessarily has a problem, we just have a big population, and a big Muslim population. If there are going to be Islamic extremists they are just going to crop up in places like this.

Link:https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...nds-birmingham

Nearly all those arrested in the follow-on police action have been released; the local senior CT officer for Birmingham stated the six arrested:

As a result of their co-operation and our enquiries we are completely satisfied that they are not connected in any way to the terrorist attack in Westminster on Wednesday.

Link:http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news...raids-12796021

The last known photo of PC Palmer, with a US tourist:

[davidbfpo]

An academic commentary that points out:

We still don’t know why Masood drove a rental car along the pavement on Westminster Bridge in London, killing four people and injuring many more, before stabbing police officer Keith Palmer to death. Senior counter-terrorism police officer Neil Basu, has said: “We must all accept that there is a possibility we will never understand why he did this.”

Link:https://theconversation.com/what-if-...errorism-75232

Today's BBC News pointer to assorted themes:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39446816

[davidbfpo]

Created for updates on this suicide bomber's attack @ Manchester Arena, at the end of a pop concert by an American Singer and as yet no claims of responsibility. Link to BBC News "rolling" update:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...ester-40010124

Two earlier relevant posts will be moved here, so this will slip to being the third post.

[AdamG]

Children were among 22 people killed in a suicide attack after an Ariana Grande concert at Britain's Manchester Arena, police said early Tuesday.
The bomber also died when he detonated an improvised explosive device at about 10:33 p.m. local time (5:33 p.m. ET) on Monday, Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins told reporters.
Authorities said 59 other people were injured.
The incident sparked a nightlong search for loved ones as frantic parents tried to locate their children, and groups of friends scattered by the explosion sought each another.
Video shot inside the 21,000-capacity venue showed teenagers screaming as they made their way out amid a sea of pink balloons. Some fans were still wearing the star's trademark kitten ears as they fled.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/am...turing-n763286

[OUTLAW 09]

There's a lot of fake news and disinformation online about the Manchester explosion. We're keeping track of it here.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/jimwaterson...ena-fake-news#

[OUTLAW 09]

From UK today....

UK decision to stop intelligence sharing with US on #manchesterattack is limited to "law enforcement to law enforcement"- police with FBI.

BUT WAIT the same exact information is sent as well to US Homeland Security on info concerning terrorist attacks aboard....leak could have come from Homeland as well.....

Intel sharing with NSA and CIA continues though....

REMEMBER Trump WH has been incessantly bashing the FBI for constant "leaking" and this would give them ample opportunity to clamp down on FBI and distract from Russian investigations

Sun Tzu explained the vital importance of attacking your enemy's alliances with his partners 2,500 years ago.

NOTE..there are a few inside UK that now are questioning....did the leak come for UK sources concerned that the public was not being told the seriousness of the bomb attack....and potential ties to France and Brussels and the fact that the bomber had been reported to police a total of 10 times....leak is distracting from this...