TRACWatch
Weekly Analyst Review
Photo top: King George V Memorial Park restroom. Photo bottom: On 27 January 2020, at 02:30am local time, a device detonated in a latrine stall at the Caritas Medical Centre causing the general hospital to evacuate.
Bottom Line Up Front: As the Coronavirus continues its march out of China, TRAC Analyst Kelsey Tamplin has added to her work documenting IED events worldwide with three IED events in Hong Kong that appear to be connected to fears of the virus. TRAC documented the first IED explosion that happened on 27 January at the Caritas Medical Centre. Following that blast, a Telegram post claimed credit, stating that the bomb was explicitly planted because of the coronavirus outbreak and that China's borders should be closed. A second blast followed. And a third IED -- more powerful --was discovered before detonation. A subsequent message on Telegram set a deadline that the borders be closed within two-days and that the IEDs were "only a start." Kelsey's analysis states that It's worth noting that the first cases of coronavirus (named “2019-nCoV”) on January 2020 coincided with a 10 person bomb making cell that was dismantled in in Mong Kok and in Ho Par village in Sheung Shui, the week before. The cell apparently plotted ta large public event targeting "police or their facilities." Although no injuries were reported in the three incidents, TRAC assesses that public safety and health officials should note the tactics as fears of Coronavirus spread worldwide.
Top Incidents & Analysis
Next World Hijrah From Syria to Libya and Possible Threat To Europe - 22 January 2020
Reporting from London, TRAC Analyst Sophia Badawy maps an interesting movement of at least 12 different groups of Syrian militants from northern Syria to the Libyan capital of Tripoli. Sophia documents the groups that began their migration in early January. On 22 January 2020 LNA reported that IS cells Spotted in Murzuq, Ghadduwah, and Sabha. Additionally the LNA reported that Islamic State in Greater Sahara (ISGS) cell in Mali that moved to Syria in April 2019 had been recalled back to Libya with the help of Tarek al-Herzi, Abdel Azim Ben Ali and Talal Ben Herez in Turkey, with support from Tarek al-Astori in Syria. In addition, sources at Mitiga Airport confirms that Syrian mercenaries arrived Libya through four unregistered flights on Afriqiyah Airways and Ajniha airline. Both Owned by Abdalhakim Belhaj, a leading Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) Islamist based in Ankara,Turkey.
Image (above): TRAC included a video by LNA warning of Islmaic State in southwest Libya.
Graphic: By the beginning of 2020, at least Twelve different groups of Syrian militants have been moving from northern Syria to Libyan capital of Tripoli. These groups are listed above.
Image (above):
(Audio) Islamic State: al-Furqan Media: Shaykh Abu Hamza al-Qurashi: 'God Destroyed [Everything] Over Them, And For The Disbelievers Is Something Comparable' -27 January 2020
TRAC Senior Analyst Daniel Lebowitz provides an extensive analysis of a 37 minute audio by al-Furqan Media. Daniel reviews the post as the first message to the Islamic State faithful, from the new Caliph. Recent reporting suggests that the group's new leader was selected prior to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's death, and the decision elevated one Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi (aka Shaykh Abu Hamza al Qurasyhi) to the position. The first half of the audio message is historical, an explanation of how the Islamic State became the Caliphate from Al Qaeda Organization in the Land of the Two Rivers (AQI). The historical message is to establish legitimacy as well as reinforce that the IS is pedigreed.
TRAC INCIDENT REPORT: Shekau's Boko Haram Raids Islamic State West Africa (ISWA) Base Camp To Reclaim "Their Women" at Sunnawa village in Abadam district, Borno State, Nigeria - 22 January 2020
TRAC Analyst Michael Quinones continues to follow activities in Nigeria. On 15 January, after tracking their 'missing females' to an ISWA base camp, Boko Haram stormed the ISWA camp on pickup trucks in Sunnawa village in Abadam district of Borno State. Purportedly ISWA had kidnapped 13 women, it is unclear if these were wives, hostages or female Boko Haram fighters, from their camp in Diffa, Niger. Eyewitness accounts report that the intense fire fight between the two rival jihadist left dead on both sides. According to the same witnesses Boko Haram was unsuccessful, the women in question remained in the camp.
Additional Items of Interest:
Other states could follow Colorado's lead. A bill introduced in the state would require school bus drivers to undergo anti-terrorism training.
The last two surviving men convicted in the 1970s Zebra murders in California have been denied parole. 15 people were killed in the racially motivated killing spree.
Fast food restaurants in Birmingham, UK including KFC and McDonalds have taken extraordinary security precautions following a string of incidents.
TRAC Weekly Analyst Briefing
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2020 Past Newsletters