WEEKLY DIGEST – THREAT INTELLIGENCE FEED – MAY 31st  – June 8th  2016

Global Intelligence Insight, working with SecurityAffairs and SecurityMediaPublishing deliver a weekly report on issues in Syria and Iraq as well as extremist related global terrorism.

GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE INSIGHT

Global Intelligence Insight, working with SecurityAffairs and SecurityMediaPublishing will deliver a weekly report on issues in Syria and Iraq as well as extremist related global terrorism.

Data comes not just from open sources but also from material not readily available and is gathered by intelligence professionals using specialist tactics techniques and procedures in order to bring a summary of the ground truth to you and an assessment of what the professionals think is likely to happen next.

Global Intelligence Insight is a Cyber Intelligence company gathering information from protected channels/Deep & Dark Web and social media sites delivering detailed analysis and live feed insights in order to provide support to our clients decision making processes. We have a bespoke collection toolset which is a combination of automated and eyes on monitoring.

SYRIA

Aleppo

There were battles between ISIS and the rebel organizations in the region north of Aleppo, near the Turkish border. ISIS is apparently trying to establish its control near the Turkish border and to cut off the rebel organizations from the border. At the same time, the Turkish Army continued its attacks against ISIS targets south of the Turkish- Syrian border.

One of the sites of the fighting was the city of Marea, southeast of A’zaz, which is controlled by the rebel organizations. ISIS operatives reportedly took over the rural area surrounding Marea. According to reports, ISIS operatives have reached the outskirts of the city of A’zaz. ISIS’s Aleppo Province reported that its operatives had detonated four car bombs in the suburbs of Marea, killing about 20 people.

The Turkish Army continued to attack ISIS targets south of the Syrian border, mainly with artillery fire. Turkish military sources claim to have killed more than 100 ISIS operatives on Syrian territory. On the other hand, a car bomb detonated on the Syrian-Turkish border caused deaths and injuries among the Turkish soldiers.

IRAQ

Al Anbar Province

Fallujah

The Iraqi forces are meeting with fierce ISIS resistance as we predicted last report. According to our assessment, their train with guerrilla and urban warfare is considered a must within their main capabilities. The difference between the Iraqi army soldiers and ISIS operatives is huge.

In order to defend Fallujah, ISIS built a network of underground tunnels throughout the city, used for the purposes of hiding, command and control, and moving operatives and weapons from place to place. Some of these tunnels lead out of the city and may facilitate ISIS’s guerrilla warfare against the Iraqi forces. An assessment to take care as we noticed in previous editions that ISIS is cooperating with Hamas in the Sinai Peninsula, and we can consider same methodology used.

EGYPT and the SINAI PENINSULA

Last week, the Egyptian security forces continued their intensive activity against ISIS’s Sinai Province, mainly in the areas of Sheikh Zuweid, Al-Arish, and Rafah.

LIBYA

Sirte

This week, forces loyal to the Government of National Accord advanced from the west and the east towards the city of Sirte, ISIS’s stronghold in Libya. The forces advancing from the west, led by the Libyan Dawn militias, announced that they had reached the outskirts of the city. In the east, a military force managed to take over the towns of Bin Jawad (152 km east of Sirte) and Nawfaliyah (southwest of Bin Jawad). The forces advancing toward Sirte will apparently try to encircle it as a preliminary stage to taking it over.

An Algerian named Khalid al-Shayeb, aka Luqman Abu Sakhr was killed. Al-Shayeb reportedly served unofficially as the coordinator of ISIS’s military operations in North Africa, having been ordered to do so by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi himself. He was one of the first founders of ISIS’s branch in Libya and commanded the attack carried out by ISIS at the Bardo National Museum in Tunis.

ISIS PROTECTED CHANNELS

Last Thursday, June 2^nd, Nashir Portuguese channel was launched through protected channel “Telegram”. Was created May 29^th and messages were spread inside the Jihadist social media community to gain more audience over the Portuguese language. Days after, through the same methodology Spanish and Portuguese translators were asked to join their ranks. According to our internal assessment this means that Jihadists are eager to concentrate their main focus again at a massive social media campaign. Minutes after the channel was launched, the last speech from Al Adnani (ISIS Spokesperson) was fully translated to Portuguese. Was not written by a National citizen but the grammar was totally correct, tending more to Brazilian/Portuguese, instead of native Portuguese.

Pro ISIS Cyber Caliphate Army and United Cyber Caliphate published a new kill list with more than 8.000 individual names from worldwide countries. With the same leak, showed up aerial photos from NATO air bases and Russian strategic airbases.

FINAL ASSESSMENT

In addition to the military pressure exerted on ISIS’s strongholds in Iraq and Syria, ISIS is under heavy pressure in Libya.

As we wrote at our last report, the high risk level of a possible terror attack must be considered, mostly in UK, France (during Euro 2016) and Belgium.

The heavy losses that ISIS are facing right now should increase their level of producing warfare and guerrilla acts worldwide, actually as Al Adnani (ISIS spokesperson) added to his last speech.

Libya represents a major threat in the way that migrants are trying to flee from there and ISIS Jihadists tried to infiltrate within them with legal documentation. This should be considered as a TIER 1 topic within the Intelligence Community.

Author Bio:

Philip Ingram MBE – A journalist and entrepreneur who has built on a long and senior military career as an intelligence officer and planner. He´s a business planner, mentor and author of business planning articles for the IoD and security related articles for SecurityNewsDesk.com and SecurityMiddleEast.com and for the Middle East Security Expo INTERSEC. 

Vasco Da Cruz Amador – Well experienced in counter surveillance and counter-intelligence with a vast experience at the field. Managed risk management Projects worldwide with a special emphasis in Africa and Middle East mostly in hostile environments. Former Team Leader of a Covert Unit. Played an active role as Intel Analyst for 2008 Angolan elections, as well as TL for 2010 World Soccer Cup in South Africa, mostly developed in Cape Town.

• OSINT/MENA, HUMINT & SIGINT Research Analyst.
• Expertise: Surveillance, Counter Surveillance, Terrorism.

If you appreciate my effort in spreading cyber security awareness, please vote for Security Affairs as best European Security Blog. Vote SecurityAffairs in every section it is reported. I’m one of the finalists and I want to demonstrate that the Security Affairs community a great reality.

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Thank you

Pierluigi

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Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs –Terrorism, intelligence)