ECOWAS Step Up Cooperation To Tackle Terrorist Threat

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) called on its members to step up their security co-operation in order to tackle terrorism.
In a statement released Thursday (July 3rd) in Abuja, Nigeria, ECOWAS members expressed deep concern at
the recent deterioration of the security situation in the Malian region of Kidal, as well as the bloody and recurring attacks carried out by Boko Haram in northern Nigeria.

They vowed to strengthen the co-ordination between their security forces to fight against terrorism.
This statement echoed an appeal made a few days earlier by the ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, Salamatou Suleiman, who spoke of "the need for synergy of action to eliminate crime across our shared area".
"Governance and security are central to the regional strategy, which aims to make security a regional public
good and an essential service for citizens, as well as a vital component of sustainable development," she said
on June 25th.
ECOWAS forces have been on alert since the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls by Boko Haram nearly two
months ago.
The incident sparked an unprecedented level of international mobilisation against the terrorist organisation.

"Boko Haram fighters are taking advantage of the porous borders of the north-east to escape the army
and take refuge in neighbouring countries," Malian counterterrorism expert Modibo Diarra noted.
"The problem is being taken very seriously by ECOWAS, which has declared open war against terrorism," he told Magharebia.
"The fifteen member nations said they were willing to establish a high-level partnership with central African
states to combat terrorism effectively," he explained.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan confirmed that the problem was not Nigerian but regional.
ECOWAS has asked the UN Security Council to consider "targeted sanctions against the armed groups or individuals who impede the peace process". The council responded by officially declaring Boko Haram a terrorist organisation.

A recent international summit in Paris aimed to adopt a "battle plan" against Boko Haram, which it described as
a "terrorist sect" and a "major threat" to the region. The president of Cameroon, Paul Biya, summed it up by saying: "We are here to declare war on Boko Haram."
The leaders agreed on a number of measures, including "co-ordination of intelligence, information-sharing,
centralised management of resources, border surveillance, military presence around Lake Chad and a capacity to intervene in the event of danger", French President Francois Hollande said.
Boko Haram "is equipped with heavy weapons, a capacity to use them thanks to training provided when Mali was under terrorist occupation, and also financing", Hollande explained.
Jidou Ould Sidi, a journalist who specialises in security matters, said: "The threat is real and the region's
governments appear to have measured its scale."

Heads of state in the region are determined to strengthen their defence and security systems, and "diligently implement the United Nations and ECOWAS strategies for the Sahel", he noted.
It will take time, he cautioned.
"The security, intelligence and legal capacities of these countries are still weak," Ould Sidi said.

Courtesy:
Magharebia

Nigerian Government Would Soon End Terrorism- Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Minimah

The chief of army staff gave the assurance during an Inter-Denominational Church Service which was used to mark the 2014 Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL) at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic Church, Mogadishu Cantonment in Abuja.

Minimah, while fielding questions from journalist on security issues at the service titled: "Combating Current National Security Challenges through Collective Effort" said: "We are going through troubled times but they will soon come to an end and we shall be glad at the end. I promise you it will come to an end and we will be victorious. The war against terrorism is a collective effort of all Nigerians and I appeal to all Nigerians to join hands in fighting this new war of terrorism. I want to thank Nigerians for standing by us, for their perseverance. I also appeal to them that terrorism is a new warfare. It requires time and patience for us to defeat it. I am very much optimistic that we will deliver. We will win the war. What we have in the North-East will certainly come to an end soon. Our job is to continue to protect and preserve the unity of this country and making it stable for prosperity. Our job is also to uphold our constitutional role, which is to defend the country’s territorial integrity from insurgency and external aggression, and provide aid to civil authority. That, we will continue to do".

The army chief while expressing optimism that terrorism would definitely end cited the Niger-Delta, Abia and Benue States, which had similar crisis before but have now become peaceful. He said the army would overcome terror as it has always done in the past.

Minimah revealed that in order to achieve victory over insurgents, it has started purchasing new equipment, training its personnel as well as the provision of a good welfare packages for its troops. He explained that the army decided to have a low-key celebration for NADCEL 2014 following the immerse security challenges currently bedeviling the nation. 

"A man does not celebrate his birthday if he is bereaved. He has to just mark his birthday. I want to salute the gallantry of our troops, who have paid the supreme price in the course of defending their fatherland. These officers and soldiers had died in their duty posts and we will not forget them" he said.

Similarly, Rev. Dawuk Danfulani, the Director, Army Chaplain (Protestant), in his sermon, expressed the need for Nigerians to faithfully unite and seek God’s support in order to end terrorism. 
The army chaplain urged citizens to collectively condemn and expose evil deeds in the society, noting that even if the person executing such did was a close relation.

"If a person is pulling down the system that is supposed to stand, you have the right to expose him or her. If we condemn collectively and expose evil-doers, they will be afraid to do evil" he said. 

Danfulani, who took his reading from the second book of Corinthians, chapter 2, verse 11, urged Nigerians not to be ignorant as children of God.

"So, we should unite and fight these perpetrators of evil. As Nigerians, as Christians and as members of the Armed Forces, since we have known the source of our problem, we should unite spiritually to fight the enemy. We must patriotically defend what God has given us,and God will ask us and punish us if we fail to defend it" Danfulani said. 

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army which was established in 1863, celebrated its 151 years of existence. Prayers were offered for the country, President Goodluck Jonathan, the Armed Forces as well as deceased military personnel. The name "Nigerian Army" was first used 100 years later when Nigeria became a republic in 1963.

It would be recalled that the Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt.- General Kenneth Minimah, on Friday March 20, 2014, gave an assurance that the Nigerian Army will not rest until terrorism was brought to an end.

Courtesy:
naij.com

United States 'To work With Germany' To Resolve Spy Row

A White House spokesman said he could not comment directly but efforts were being made to solve the problem.

Earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced her concerns about the alleged US spy in German intelligence, while on a visit to China.

"It would be a clear contradiction of what I consider to be trusting co-operation" with the US, she said.

She said that if the allegations about a double agent were true, it would constitute a serious breach of trust.

"If the reports are correct, it would be a serious case," Ms Merkel said on Monday while at a news conference with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

It is the second day of her three-day visit, which is dominated by trade issues.

The latest twist in the ongoing spying row between the two countries happened last week when a German employee of the country's foreign intelligence service (BND) was arrested.

The man is suspected of having handed over more than 200 documents over a two-year period in exchange for 25,000 euros (£20,000; $34,000).

Questioned by reporters on Monday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest praised the "valuable" relationship the US had with Germany and said: "We are going to work with the Germans to resolve this situation appropriately,"

Analysis - Stephen Evans, BBC News, Berlin

Spying is particularly sensitive in Germany, whether it's listening in to Chancellor Merkel's phone or reading secret documents meant for a parliamentary committee. Mrs Merkel grew up in East Germany where the intrusions of the secret police - the Stasi - were pervasive and poisonous. And democracy has something of a sacred quality in Germany today because of the Nazi and then the Communist years.

"Outrage" runs across the political spectrum - it's not just a "chattering class" issue. Wolfgang Bosbach, for example, who is the Christian Democrat [centre-right] head of the Bundestag committee which oversees interior affairs, questioned whether the US and Germany could be considered as "partners" any more.

The first allegation of spying came just after President Obama's visit to Berlin where he was greeted as a long-lost friend. And this latest one concerns material for the very parliamentary committee set up to investigate the previous allegation. Spies spy, and no doubt spies spy on friends, but there are political consequences when they are caught at it, even if it's just in terms of a loss of goodwill.

German-US relations have been strained since it emerged that the US National Security Agency (NSA) had been monitoring Ms Merkel's mobile phone calls.

The scale of NSA surveillance was revealed by US whistleblower Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor who remains a fugitive in Russia.

Courtesy

BBC

Islamist Terror Threat to West Blown Out of Proportion - Former MI6 Chief

The government and media have blown the Islamist terrorism threat out of proportion, giving extremists publicity which is counter-productive, a former head of Britain's intelligence service has said.

Sir Richard Dearlove, chief of MI6 at the time of the Iraq invasion, said there had been a fundamental change in the nature of Islamist extremism since the Arab Spring. It had created a major political problem in the Middle East but the west, including Britain, was only marginally affected, he told an audience in London on Monday.

Richard Dearlove said Britons spreading 'blood-curdling' terrorism messages should be ignored.

Unlike the threat posed by al-Qaida before and after the 9/11 attacks on the US in 2001, the west was not the main target of the radical fundamentalism that created the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis), he said.

Speaking at the Royal United Services Institute, a security and defence thinktank, Dearlove made it clear that the way the government and the media were giving the extremists the "oxygen of publicity" was counter-productive.

More details soon …

Courtesy:
The Guardian

Boko Haram: Nigeria, Cameroon Hold Trans-Border Security Meeting

In an effort to stem security challenges, the second session of the Nigeria/Cameroon Trans-Border Security Committee meets in Abuja from July 8-11.

This information is contained in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by Karounwi Adekunle, the Special Assistant, Media, to the National Security Adviser, NSA.
Mr. Adekunle said that the session was being organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Office of the NSA.
He said the session will be declared open by the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.
The spokesperson quoted the head of Nigerian delegation, Babatunde Samuel, as saying that “the purpose of the second session is to move the cooperation of both countries to the next level”.

He said this would be done by identifying ways and means of implementing security agreement.
“As brothers and neighbours, we agreed to overcome our differences and focus on shared beliefs and values -peace and security of lives and property.
“And to make positive difference to our kith and kin residing in the border areas of our countries and in the long run extend that peace and security to all citizens of Nigeria and Cameroon,” it said.

He explained that prior to the first session held in November 2013, in Yaounde, Cameroon, the presidents of the two countries resolved that there was need to deepen the bilateral relations existing between them.
Mr. Adekunle added that relations would be particularly in the area of security in order to further sustain the bond of friendship.

The border communities between Nigeria and Cameroon are some of the major bases and areas of operations of the Boko Haram insurgent group.
The sect members are known to attack Nigerian communities and flee to Cameroon, and neighbouring Niger and Chad, after the attack.

(NAN)

Premium Times

United States Bans UNCHARGED Mobiles or Laptops From US-bound flights over Bomb Fears - iPhones and Galaxies Top of the Hit List

The US has declared that it will not allow mobile phones - especially iPhones and Samsung's Galaxy - onto US bound planes from some airports in Europe, the Middle East and Africa if the devices are not charged.

The new measure, which is bound to cause chaotic scenes at airports around the globe, is part of the US Transportation Security Administration's effort to boost surveillance amid concerns that terrorists are plotting to blow up an airliner.

As part of the increased scrutiny at certain airports, security agents may ask travelers to turn on their electronic devices at checkpoints and if they do not have power, the devices will not be allowed on planes, the TSA said.

Increased vigilance:
US intelligence officials are concerned that al-Qaida is trying to develop a new and improved bomb that could go undetected through airport security. No doubt the new measures have the potential to create frantic searches for chargers at airports and one US source familiar with the matter said laptop computers are also among the devices security screeners may also require passengers to turn on.

US officials are concerned that a cellphone, tablet, laptop or other electronic device could be used as a bomb by Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamist Nusra Front, al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria.

In 2009 a Yemen-linked bomb-maker, Ibrahim al-Asiri, built an underwear bomb used in the failed effort to bring down a Detroit-bound airliner, and his devices were implicated in other plots.

The Islamist Nusra Front, Al Qaeda’s affiliate involved in fighting with Syrian rebels to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, is also thought to be plotting an airliner attack, according to intelligence reports.

The TSA did not disclose which airports would be conducting the additional screening, however it was reported last week that passengers at British airports traveling to the US are facing extra checks on phones.

An official told the BBC that London's Heathrow was among the airports.

US officials singled out smartphones including iPhones made by Apple Inc and Galaxy phones made by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd for extra security checks on U.S.-bound direct flights from Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Special attention:
The TSA in the US has announced that iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones will come under strict scrutiny. US security officials said they fear bombmakers from the Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have figured out how to turn the phones into explosive devices that can avoid detection.

They also are concerned that hard-to-detect bombs could be built into shoes, said the officials, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.

A US official said that other electronic devices carried by passengers also are likely to receive more intense scrutiny and travellers may be asked to power up laptops, iPads, tablets and Kindles.

A TSA statement said: ‘As the travelling public knows, all electronic devices are screened by security officers.

‘During the security examination, officers may also ask that owners power up some devices, including cell phones.

‘Powerless devices will not be permitted onboard the aircraft. The traveller may also undergo additional screening.’

Airlines or airport operators that fail to strengthen security could face bans on flights entering the United States, the officials said.

The US Homeland Security Department announced on Wednesday plans to step up security checks, but they offered few details on how airlines and airports will implement them.

US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said at the time: ‘We will work to ensure these necessary steps pose as few disruptions to travellers  as possible.’

An official familiar with the matter said the United States believes that while it is possible there may be some additional delays at security checkpoints, at most major airports passengers will not be seriously inconvenienced.

The official said most passengers taking long-distance flights arrive well in advance of scheduled departures, leaving time for extra screening.

But he said the United States could not rule out disruptions in countries where airport infrastructure and security procedures are less sophisticated.

In his weekly radio phone-in programme, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg warned last week that travellers may have to get used to the extra checks.

‘I don’t think we should expect this to be a one-off temporary thing,’ he said. ‘We have to make sure the checks are there to meet the nature of the new kinds of threats.’

‘Whether it is for ever – I can’t make any predictions. But I don’t want people to think that this is just a sort of a blip for a week. This is part of an evolving and constant review about whether the checks keep up with the nature of the threats.’

US-based airlines had little to say about the enhanced security. American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said the Department of Homeland Security had been in contact with American on the issue, but declined to comment further.

Luke Punzenberger, a spokesman for United Airlines said: 'We work closely with federal officials on security matters, but we are not able to discuss the details of those efforts.'

US security agencies fear bombmakers from AQAP and the Islamist Nusra Front, al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, are collaborating on plots to attack U.S.- or Europe-bound planes with bombs concealed on foreign fighters carrying Western passports, the officials said.

AQAP has a track record of plotting such attacks. Its innovative bombmaker, Ibrahim al-Asiri, built an underwear bomb used in a failed 2009 effort to bring down a Detroit-bound airliner, and his devices were implicated in other plots.

There was no immediate indication U.S. intelligence had detected a specific plot or timeframe for any attack.

US officials say the United States has acquired evidence that Nusra and AQAP operatives have tested new bomb designs in Syria, where Nusra is one of the main Islamist groups fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.

Courtesy:

MailOnline

Boko Haram: 63 Abducted Women Escape, Slain Colonel Abubakar Shonba Identified

About 63 out of the 68 women that were abducted two weeks ago from three villages of Borno State by Boko Haram gunmen have escaped from captivity and made their way back to their homes, witnesses and security officials have said.

Villagers within the hinterlands of Damboa local government area of Borno where the abduction was carried out revealed this to LEADERSHIP yesterday.

“I have just received an alert from my colleagues in Damboa area that about 63 of the abducted women and girls had made it back home. They took the bold step when their abductors moved out to carry out an operation,” said Abbas Gava, an official of the vigilante group.

“We don’t have the details of their escape yet, but we believe God gave them the opportunity at the time the insurgents came in their large numbers to attack Damboa where about 12 soldiers, five policemen, over 50 Boko Haram members and unspecified number of civilians were killed yesterday (Saturday).

“If the information I have is something to go by, we still have five women and girls, among them a nursing mother, that are missing for now,” he said.

A top security officer who preferred not to be mentioned in this report told LEADERSHIP in an interview that half of the women who escaped made it to their homes while others who were found wandering in the bushes near Adamawa State were now in the custody of soldiers in Gulak town.

“It is authentic that the women were able to break out of captivity and escaped back to their homes,” said the officer. “As a matter of fact, the women escaped when the Boko Haram gunmen were out to attack the military base in Damboa. We understand further that the few men left to guard them took time off to rest due to the fatigue of fasting and the women sneaked from behind the fenced building and ran to freedom.”

LEADERSHIP had also gathered that the Borno State police command as well as the military authority who had denied any abduction of the 90 women were trying to conceal information about the escape in order not to be embarrassed.

But feelers from the highest police and military command in Abuja indicated that the security chiefs in Maiduguri had been directed to go to Gulak in Adamawa today (Monday) in order to bring back the women being camped by soldiers there.

On June 22, it was reported that at least 60 women and girls were abducted in a Borno village by gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram.

The abduction took place in a village called Kummabza, a farming community not more than 25km away from Lassa town in Askira-Uba local government area of Borno State.

Security officials initially denied the reports that the abduction took place.

But later on, LEADERSHIP learnt, the police mandated a team, at the instance of the Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima, to verify the said abduction. They did, and eventually came up with a figure of 71 women and girls.

The police and the military had described as a hoax an earlier report that some 20 Fulani women were abducted by Boko Haram at a nomads’ settlement called Garkin-Fulani, even as some junior police officers had reliably informed reporters that the abductors were asking for some number of cows in place of every kidnapped Fulani woman in their custody.

Slain Colonel in Borno Attack, Abubakar Shonba Identified

The identity of the army Colonel who died during the encounter between the soldiers, policemen, vigilante group and Boko Haram insurgents in Damboa local government area of Borno State on Saturday has been exclusively revealed to LEADERSHIP.

A top military source confided in LEADERSHIP last night that the name of the gallant soldier who lost his life during the bloody encounter is Col Abubakar Shonba.

According to the source, the late Shonba was the commanding officer 101 battalion, Damboa, in Borno State.

Leadership Newspaper

'Caliph Ibrahim', ISIS Chief Appears in First Video

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (Caliph Ibrahim), the leader of Islamist militant group Isis, has called on Muslims to obey him, in his first video sermon.

Baghdadi has been appointed caliph by the jihadist group, which has seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria.

The video appears to have been filmed on Friday during a sermon at the al-Nouri Mosque in Mosul, northern Iraq.

It surfaced on Saturday amid reports that he had been killed or wounded in an Iraqi air raid.

It was not clear when the attack was supposed to have taken place.

In the sermon, at Mosul's most famous landmark, Baghdadi praised the establishment of the "Islamic state", which was declared by Isis last Sunday.

Experts say the reclusive militant leader has never appeared on video before, although there are photographs of him.

"Appointing a leader is an obligation on Muslims, and one that has been neglected for decades," he said.

He also said that he did not seek out the position of being the caliph, or leader, calling it a "burden".

"I am your leader, though I am not the best of you, so if you see that I am right, support me, and if you see that I am wrong, advise me," he told worshippers.

Shia volunteers have stepped in for the Iraqi army in many parts of northern Iraq following the Isis advance.
Captions in the video referred to Baghdadi as "Caliph Ibrahim", a name he has used since the group unilaterally declared him leader of an "Islamic state" last Sunday.

What is a caliphate?

An Islamic state ruled by a single political and religious leader, or Caliph
Caliphs are regarded by their followers as successors to the Prophet Muhammad and the leader of all Muslims.

First caliphate came into being after Muhammad's death in 632
In the centuries which followed, caliphates had dominion in the Middle East and North Africa.
The last widely accepted caliphate was abolished in 1924 by Turkish leader Kemal Ataturk after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire

BBC

ISIS Allegedly Issues ‘Caliphate’ Passport

Militant members and sympathizers of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have circulated pictures of what they said was the passport of the so-called “caliphate” declared last week by the militant group.

The "State of the Islamic Caliphate” appears to be inscribed at the top of the purported passport. At the bottom, it says: “The holder of the passport if harmed we will deploy armies for his service.”

ISIS reportedly said the new document will be distributed to 11,000 citizens living in cities bordering Iraq and Syria.

The militant group, which operates in both Iraq and Syria, said their caliphate would spread from Aleppo in northern Syria to Diyala in eastern Iraq.

The passport is reportedly being printed in a government facility in Mosul that was built in 2011.

The facility known as the “Identification and Passport Center” was scheduled by the Maliki’s government to start issuing new ID card next week, according to Iraqi media reports.

Last week, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called on Muslims with military, medical and managerial skills to flock to its newly-declared pan-Islamic state, in an audio recording.

“Those who can immigrate to the Islamic State should immigrate, as immigration to the house of Islam is a duty,” said Baghdadi.

The newly named “caliph” said the appeal especially applied to “judges and those who have military and managerial and service skills, and doctors and engineers in all fields.”

Baghdadi also addressed the group’s fighters, saying that “your brothers in all the world are waiting” to be rescued by them.

“Terrify the enemies of Allah and seek death in the places where you expect to find it,” he said. “Your brothers, on every piece of this earth, are waiting for you to rescue them.”

Courtesy:
Al Arabiya News

Boko Haram Attack 33 Armoured Brigade, Police Formation in Damboa, Bornu State, Kill 10 Soldiers, 5 Policemen

Scores of military and police troops are feared dead in Damboa town, Borno State, where Islamists militants yesterday stormed military and police locations, a security source said today.

Radical Boko Haram militants stormed the 33 Armoured Brigade, Damboa and the Divisional Police Station on Friday afternoon firing high calibre weapons and IEDs, the military source said on condition of anonymity.

"At least 10 soldiers and police officers were killed and several injured."

The source said the militants also targeted the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), adding that four other policemen and the DPO died. "Over dozen of the militants were also killed," the source also said.

Hundreds of the Dambua residents were said to have fleed to Biu and Maiduguri because of the way the militants successfully destroyed military hardware in Damboa.

Communication with Damboa residents are currently very difficult as GSM services have been cut off from the area for months following the incessant attacks of the militants on telecommunication facilities.

The Borno State Police Command confirmed yesterday’s attack but said it lacked speficics.

The public relations officer of the command, Gideon Jubrin, told newsmen, "There was an attack in Damboa but we haven't got details from the area [yet]. I can't tell you anything for now."

As reported earlier by SaharaReporters, five people were also on Friday killed in a bomb blast in Konduga village, about 30 kilometres away from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Courtesy:
Sahara Reporters

Tech-Savvy Al-Shabbab Order Members to Change Mobile Phone Numbers, Ban Members From Using Smartphones

An Al-Shabab directive that all its members change their mobile phone numbers shows how tech-savvy the al-Qaeda-linked Somali Islamist group remains and how their communications strategy is key to their survival.

Concerned that their messages may be intercepted, the leadership has also banned members from using smart phones.

The group has long run what is regarded as a slick media machine.

Even without smart phones, it has been known for its sophisticated handling of social media, a reputation at odds with its regular bans on communication technology for Somali citizens.

In particular, it has made extensive use of Twitter in order to get its message across. It has also devoted considerable resources to producing a series of promotional videos.

Diaspora appeal

Al-Shabab's material aims to spread the group's ideology of establishing an Islamic state in Somalia, in line with al-Qaeda's stated ambition of setting up a global Islamic caliphate.

It wants to achieve this both by military conquest and also the conversion of souls - for which communication technology is a key tool.

Al-Shabab's well-produced video documentaries deliver the jihadi narrative in an appealing form to Somali audiences in the diaspora.

They are aimed at young people of Somali origin such as Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow, a suspect in last year's Westgate mall attack in Kenya. His family is said to have moved to Norway as refugees in 1999.

The group's documentaries are produced by its media arm, the al-Kataib foundation.

Many of them show al-Shabab engaging in charity work and other activities that depict the group as a legitimate authority.

However, they can also be quite gruesome - showing the corpses of those they have killed, including alleged spies who are often beheaded.

And they contain threats to their perceived enemies - in Somalia, neighbouring countries such as Kenya which are helping Somalia's government and the West.

The videos portray al-Shabab's fight as part of a wider global conflict in which Islam is under threat.

English and US accents

Al-Shabab also has its own radio station, Radio Andalus.

The group has acquired half a dozen relay stations, mainly by seizing private radio stations such as HornAfrik, Holy Koran Radio and the Global Broadcasting Corporation radio and their equipment - including some from the BBC.

The website Kismaayo News reported that by 2013, the group had 50 journalists working for Andalus radio.

When it comes to recruiting presenters, al-Shabab is known for its attention to detail.

It generally takes care to use presenters with British or American accents to deliver its English language audio statements.

With statements in Arabic, standard Arabic is used, and the presenters clearly have a high level of education in the language and in Islamic texts.

Swahili-language presenters use classical Kiswahili as spoken in Tanzania and coastal Kenya.

The majority of al-Shabab's audio output, though, is in Somali and is presented articulately and fluently.

Twitter frustrations

A number of pro-al-Shabab websites have emerged, which host material produced by the group and act as vehicles for furthering its military aims.

The content is intended to frustrate efforts by the Somali government and its allies - mainly the African Union forces fighting in Somalia - to eliminate the group.

Al-Shabab has often used Twitter to challenge the veracity of claims made by the African Union forces.

Its Twitter accounts are now closed, but Kenya's military spokesman Maj-Gen Chirchir has continued to attack the group's media policy.

On 20 May he tweeted: "Al Shabaab Courtesy calls! The more videos you release to scare Kenyans the more WE make visitations. Consider peace, the better option."

When the group's official spokesman, Sheikh Ali Dheere, appears on video, he is surrounded by fighters.

He reportedly answers to the group's overall leader and oversees a bevy of apparently enthusiastic journalists.

Al-Shabab has honed its media strategy as aggressively as it has enforced its bans on the Somali population.

As the group loses control of parts of the country, it has issued a series of bans on technology:

• Internet: In January 2014, the group declared a ban on using the internet through mobile handsets and fibre optic cables. It said the Muslim population "could be spied on and monitored and information on them transmitted through the internet on their phones". The group also declared that mobile internet devices had "adverse effects on the moral behaviour of the Muslim population in Somalia".

• Smart phones: In 2013 smart phones were banned by the group. Media reports said al-Shabab operatives went round intimidating anyone possessing a smart phone. Their campaign began shortly after a raid on a house in Barawe by US commandos last October. They were targeting al-Shabab commander Abdulkadir Mohamed Abdulkadir, alias Ikrima. He had lived in Norway but returned after failing to get political asylum there.

• TV: In November 2013 the group's members in Barawe announced via loudspeakers that watching television was banned. They declared that it was against Islamic principles and ordered residents to hand their television sets and satellite dishes to al-Shabab officials.

BBC

Five Killed in Another Explosion in Konduga, Bornu State

Another Borno town, Konduga suffered casualties yesterday when a bomb  believed to have been planted in a pickup van loaded with firewood exploded and killed five persons, injuring several others at a checkpoint manned by members of the Civilian JTF and police officials.

Disclosing the sad incident to journalists in Maiduguri, eyewitnesses and security operatives said the pickup van had approached the checkpoint at about noon and as the local security operatives tried to flag down the car, the driver who was on a suicide mission detonated the explosive device that led to the death of five persons among who was a plain clothe police officer from the Criminal Investigation Bureau. 

It would be recalled that this new explosion came hours after Boko Haram terrorists suffered heavy casualty in two different military offensives that took place on Thursday night and Friday morning. A top security source who spoke anonymously told journalists in a phone chat that: “There was a blast targeted at the members of the Civilian-JTF manning a checkpoint in Konduga, about five persons were reportedly killed and several others injured."  It was gathered that the attack on Konduga took place few hours after Boko Haram gunmen had attempted to attack a military base in Damboa town, 85km south of Maiduguri the Borno State capital, but ended up with heavy casualty.

According to the anonymous account of the security officer, the Boko Haram gunmen were on a reprisal mission hours after an air force jet bombarded a hideout of the insurgents in Yajiwa and Alagarno areas of Damboa local government area killing scores of the terrorists. “It was a successful air raid carried out by the air force in conjunction with the ground troops of the Nigeria army from Division 7. During the air raid that took place on Thursday evening, the Boko Haram suffered heavy casualty as dozens of them were killed.

Angered by the devastation they suffered, the insurgents decided to mobilise in full force with an attempt to attack the base in Damboa, but unknown to them, the soldiers there were fully aware and alert about possible reprisal attack. And when they eventually surfaced on Friday morning in over ten vehicles, the soldiers took them by surprise and engaged them in a fierce shoot out that claimed over 50 of them”, said the source.

Courtesy:
ThisDay Newspaper

Chibok Community Seeks United Nations’ Support, Implores FG To Negotiate With Sect

Members of the Chibok community have appealed for the support of the United Nations in tackling the spate of insecurity in their community.

Speaking at a news conference in Abuja, the National Chairman of Kibaku Area Development Association, Dr Pogu Bitrus, said that the appeal to the international organisation became necessary going by total neglect by the Federal Government in providing adequate security to the community after over 200 girls were abducted.

“The inability or unwillingness of the Federal Government to provide adequate security to the Chibok community following the abduction of the girls leaves us with no option than to call on the United Nations to use its apparatus to come to our aid and protect us from the imminent annihilation as a people”, he said

Dr Pogu said that 81 days after the abduction, seven parents of the abducted girls had died, while over 229 persons have been killed after the attack on Government Girls Secondary School Chibok.

To prevent further attacks on their community and the north eastern part of the country, the group has also called for a negotiation between the Federal Government and members of the Islamic sect.

Courtesy:
Channels TV

Boko Haram: 10 Safety Measures During and After Bomb Attacks - TIEMS

The Chairman of the International Emergency Management Society TIEMS) Nigeria/West Africa Chapter, retired Air Vice Marshall Muhammed Audu-Bida has advocated proactive approaches and basic knowledge on security and safety consciousness against bomb explosion.

His recommendations include:

While attack is on:

1. Be calm. You are the only one who can help yourself.
2. Lay flat. Most explosives used by suicide bombers are designed to burst in a flower bouquet pattern to throw the shrapnel horizontally between two and six feet above the ground. This pattern increases the chances of hitting the human torso and head by a shrapnel. Therefore, the best place to be in an event of an explosion is to lay flat on the ground.
3. Keep your mouth open and breathe in small intervals. The most lethal aspect in an explosion is not shrapnel or heat, it is the blast overpressure. The blast wave travels at supersonic velocity and severely affects the air-filled organs like lungs, kidneys, and bowels. We naturally tend to take a deep breath and hold it in emergencies. However, this proves lethal in a bombing situation, since our lungs become like a pressurised balloon to be ruptured by the blast wave. The majority of victims in a typical suicide bombing die from internal bleeding in the lungs. Only 6% on average die from shrapnel wounds. Your chances of injury with empty lungs are far smaller compared to holding your breath.
4. If things are falling around you, crawl under a sturdy table or a solid object, and remain there for at least one minute.
5. Be as far as possible from glass or fixtures, like windows, mirrors, cabinets, and electrical equipments.
6. Adhere to instructions from security and responders personnel. If an evacuation is ordered, leave the building as soon as you can.
7. Remember to assist the disabled around.
8. Do not move seriously injured persons unless they are in obvious, immediate danger, such as a building collapse or fire.
9. Once out, keep as far away from the building as possible.
10. Reduce your lateral profile – while laying on the ground, try to lay on one side and use your arms to protect the exposed eye.

Under the debris:

1. Cover your mouth with a handkerchief or clothing.
2. Tap over and over on a pipe or wall so that rescuers can hear where you are.
3. Preserve your energy. Shout only if there is no other choice. You inhale enormous amount of dust when yelling.
4. Stay calm and think of things that relax you and make you happy.
5. Avoid unnecessary movement so you don’t kick up dust.
6. If possible, use a whistle to signal rescuers.

After the attack:

1. One event can be followed by another, so do not rush towards the blast scene.
2. Duck and cover.
3. Leave the building as quickly as possible. Do not stop to retrieve personal possessions or make phone calls.
4. Open doors carefully; watch for falling objects.
5. Avoid using telephones, mobile phones and hand radios. Electrical sparks or signals could trigger other bombs.
6. Move away from side-walks or streets to be used by emergency officials or others still exiting the building.
7. If you or others have life-threatening injuries, such as severe bleeding, difficulty breathing, chest pain or burns, provide or seek first aid and get help from officials or others at the scene.
8. If you or someone else has minor injuries, seek first aid as a first step until those more severely injured can be cared for first. If possible, go to a hospital that is not in the immediate area of the blast. Hospitals closest to the blast(s) will quickly become crowded.
9. Listen to emergency officials at the scene. If no one is near you to give instructions and you are in the immediate area of the blast(s), leave as soon as you can.
10. To keep safe, move away from the area. Avoid crowds, unattended cars and trucks, public transportation, and damaged buildings.

Courtesy:
Daily Post

Toddler Killed in Hot Car: Police Tender Evidence of "Web Activity" of Suspect (Dad) in Court to Portray His State of Mind

"Among the details police have released is that Harris and his wife, Leanna, told them they conducted Internet searches on how hot a car needed to be to kill a child. Stoddard testified Thursday that Ross Harris had visited a Reddit page called "child-free" and read four articles. He also did an Internet search on how to survive in prison, Stoddard said.

"Also, five days before Cooper died, Ross Harris twice viewed a sort of homemade public service announcement in which a veterinarian demonstrates on video the dangers of leaving someone or something inside a hot car."

Stoddard is a police detective. It seems that they know about his web browsing because they seized and searched his computer:

...investigators confiscated Harris' work computer at Home Depot following his arrest and discovered an Internet search about how long it would take for an animal to die in a hot car.

Stoddard also testified that Harris was "sexting" -- is this a word we use in court now? -- with several women on the day of his son's death, and sent explicit pictures to one of them. I assume he knows that by looking at Harris's message history.

A bunch of this would not be admissible in trial, but this was a probable-cause hearing, and the rules are different for those. CNN writes: "a prosecutor insisted that the testimony helped portray the defendant's state of mind and spoke to the negligence angle and helped establish motive."

This case aside, is there anyone reading this whose e-mails, text messages, and web searches couldn't be cherry-picked to portray any state of mind a prosecutor might want to portray? (Qu'on me donne six lignes écrites de la main du plus honnête homme, j'y trouverai de quoi le faire pendre. -- Cardinal Richelieu.)

Courtesy:
Schneier on Security