Nigeria crisis: Boko Haram attack Maiduguri airbase

A burned-out lorry stood outside the air force base in Maiduguri

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Boko Haram insurgents have attacked a military airbase in north-eastern Nigeria, destroying two helicopters, the authorities say.

Eyewitnesses say hundreds of militants attacked several areas of the city of Maiduguri, starting early on Monday.

A 24-hour curfew has been imposed in Maiduguri. Its civilian airport was also briefly closed.

A BBC correspondent says the large-scale, co-ordinated attack is a big setback for the Nigerian military.

Thousands of people have been killed since 2009, when Boko Haram launched its campaign to install Islamic law.

In May, a state of emergency was declared in Borno state, of which Maiduguri is the capital, as well as two neighbouring states, while there has been a massive military deployment to the worst-affected areas.

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'Crying and wailing'

Ministry of Defence spokesman Brig Gen Chris Olukolade said in a statement that two helicopters and three decommissioned military aircraft had been "incapacitated" during the attack which had been repelled.

He said some army bases had also been targeted, while 24 insurgents had been killed and two soldiers wounded.

Local residents told the AFP news agency that hundreds of heavily armed Islamist gunmen besieged the air force and army bases, razing buildings and setting shops and petrol stations ablaze.

"I saw two air force helicopters burnt," a local official told AFP.

Bomb and gun attacks were carried out in Maiduguri, an AFP reporter in the city said.

A resident said: "We heard women and children in the barracks crying and wailing. At the gate, I saw some vehicles destroyed and the checkpoint there in shreds."

There are reports of military checkpoints being attacked in different parts of the city.

Some eyewitnesses told the AP news agency they had seen bodies with their throats slit.

Others said several vehicles had been driven out of the air base carrying the bodies of victims.

Government and military officials said scores of people may be dead, AP reported.

A spokesman for the Nigerian civil aviation authority told the BBC that the airport had not been attacked, while Brig Gen Olukolade said flights had now resumed.

Recent Boko Haram attacks have been in more rural areas, and it had appeared as though the military operation had made Maiduguri city far safer, says the BBC Nigeria correspondent Will Ross.

Mobile phone links to the city have been cut since May, when the state of emergency was declared.

Boko Haram was founded in Maiduguri in 2002 and was also the scene of its first uprising, in 2009.

Analysis

Will RossBBC News, Lagos

Once again there is a startling discrepancy between the official version and eyewitness accounts of these pre-dawn attacks on Maiduguri. The lack of clarity is not helped by the fact that the mobile phone networks have been switched off for months.

We are told only two military personnel were injured - an extremely surprising statement given that these co-ordinated attacks on the city's air base and other military barracks lasted for hours and left buildings as well as aircraft destroyed.

In recent months most of the violence has been in rural areas and Maiduguri had seemed far safer than it used to be.

But this attack right at the heart of the military is an embarrassing setback and ought to lead to tough questions over security lapses.

How is it that significant numbers of well-armed Boko Haram militants are still driving around Borno State causing havoc?

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25187142]

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GP blows whistle on terror suspect

A Midlands GP has reported a patient to police over suspected links to terrorism, prompting warnings that practices are legally obliged to disclose fears that people may be involved in serious crime.

Police: building links with primary care (photo: iStock)

A Worcestershire GP contacted counter-terrorism police to discuss concerns about a patient, in a case which the local LMC says could be one of many.

Worcestershire LMC said several GPs in the area have had ‘suspicions about the possible conduct of their patients’.

Concerned GPs should contact the primary care manager at their local NHS England area team for advice, or seek advice from their defence union, the LMC has advised.

Under the government's 'Prevent' strategy, anti-terror experts are attempting to improve 'channels of communication between the health sector and the police'.

A document outlining the Prevent strategy says: 'The key challenge for the healthcare sector is to ensure that, where there are signs that someone has been or is being drawn into terrorism, the healthcare worker can interpret those signs correctly, is aware of the support which is available and is confident in referring the person for further support.

'Preventing someone from becoming a terrorist or from supporting terrorism is substantially comparable to safeguarding in other areas, including child abuse or domestic violence.'

Medical Defence Union medico-legal adviser Dr Udvitha Nandasoma warned that GPs could be breaking the law if they fail to disclose information about patients they suspect of terrorism.

‘On rare occasions, doctors may be justified in disclosing information about patients to the police in the public interest, such as to assist in the detection of prosecution of a serious crime.

'Where terrorism is suspected, GPs should also bear in mind that section 38B of the Terrorism Act 2000 makes it a criminal offence for any person to fail to disclose certain information to the police "as soon as is reasonably practicable".

‘This includes information which they know or believe will be of material assistance in preventing the commission by another person of an act of terrorism, or in securing the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of another person, in the UK, for an offence involving the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism.

‘If doctors suspect a patient is involved in terrorism and that the Terrorism Act might apply, we would encourage them to seek urgent advice from their medical defence organisation before acting.’

GPC deputy chairman Dr Richard Vautrey said on rare occasions GPs have to break patient confidentiality.

‘There are rare times when a GP is expected to breach patient confidentiality and serious concerns that a patient is involved in terrorism should certainly mean a GP raising these concerns with others such as their area team or their medical defence organisation,’ he said.

[http://www.gponline.com/News/article/1223196/gp-blows-whistle-terror-suspect/]

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Intelligence committee heads: Terror threat rising

WASHINGTON -- The terrorism threat against the United States is increasing and Americans aren't as safe as they were a year or two ago, the leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees said.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein said there are more terrorist groups than ever, with more sophisticated and hard-to-detect bombs. The California Democrat said "there is huge malevolence out there."

Rep. Mike Rogers said there's enormous pressure on U.S. intelligence services "to get it right, to prevent an attack."

The Michigan Republican said that job is getting more difficult because al-Qaida is changing, with more affiliates around the world. He said those are groups that once operated independently of but have now joined with al-Qaida.

Rogers also said terrorists are adopting the idea that "maybe smaller events are OK" and still might achieve their goals.

"That makes it exponentially harder for our intelligence services to stop an event like that from happening," he said in a joint interview on CNN's "State of the Union" that aired Sunday.

Although neither lawmaker offered specifics about what led them to their conclusions, Feinstein spoke generally of "a real displaced aggression in this very fundamentalist jihadist Islamic community, and that is that the West is responsible for everything that goes wrong and that the only thing that's going to solve this is Islamic Sharia law and the concept of the caliphate." The caliphate is an Islamic state led by a religious and political leader, or caliph, considered a successor of the prophet Mohammed and who governs by Sharia law.

Rogers said al-Qaida groups have changed their means of communication as a result of leaks about U.S. surveillance programs, making it harder to detect potential plots in the early planning stages.

"We're fighting amongst ourselves here in this country about the role of our intelligence community that it is having an impact on our ability to stop what is a growing number of threats. And so we've got to shake ourselves out of this pretty soon and understand that our intelligence services are not the bad guys," Rogers said.

[http://www.stripes.com/news/us/intelligence-committee-heads-terror-threat-rising-1.255400#.Upu6Haqz38Q.twitter]

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UK terror law watchdog calls for end to detention at borders without suspicion

Advice issued after series of incidents – including detention of David Miranda – put spotlight on schedule 7

David Miranda, partner of the former Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, was held for nine hours at Heathrow under schedule 7. Photograph: Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters

Britain's anti-terror law watchdog has said police should no longer be able to detain people at the UK's borders without any suspicion of wrongdoing, following the detention of David Miranda in August.

Theresa May, the home secretary, will come under pressure to change the law after David Anderson QC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, gave new advice on the controversial schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act relating to detention at ports and airports.

In a note to the House of Commons home affairs committee, Anderson said that he was setting out new advice after the legislation was put under the spotlight in a number of incidents this summer.

One was the nine-hour detention of Miranda, whose journalist partner, Glenn Greenwald, was involved in exposing the extent of US and UK spying based on leaks by the whistleblower Edward Snowden. At the time Greenwald worked for the Guardian.

Anderson said there must be grounds for suspicion that someone is involved in terrorism before they are held at the border.

He said this test should also apply before any data is downloaded and copied by the authorities. At present, a person can be detained for up to nine hours, without any grounds for suspicion, to determine whether they may be "concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism".

Anderson's new guidance comes as the Guardian's editor-in-chief, Alan Rusbridger, is due to appear before the home affairs committee on Tuesday to answer questions about the paper's reporting of surveillance by GCHQ and the US National Security Agency.

Miranda has sought a judicial review of his detention, arguing it was a misuse of the act and breached his human rights.

The legislation was also opened up to challenge under the European convention on human rights in May, was called into question by the supreme court in October and criticised by parliament's joint committee on human rights in the same month. The row over schedule 7's powers broke out after Miranda was detained in London while returning to his home in Rio de Janeiro from Berlin. It was alleged that officials confiscated electronic equipment, including his mobile phone, laptop, camera, memory sticks, DVDs and games consoles.

During his trip to Berlin, Miranda visited Laura Poitras, the US film-maker who has been working with Greenwald and the Guardian. The Guardian had paid for Miranda's flights as he often assists Greenwald in his work, although he was not a Guardian employee.

Anderson has previously said parliament should consider the "necessity and proportionality" of schedule 7 powers, but he set out more detailed views at the request of Damian Green, the policing minister, and senior Liberal Democrats.

Under his proposals, officials would still be able to search and question passengers without grounds for suspicion but any delay of more than an hour would need to pass the extra threshold test for a detention. About 60,000 people were questioned last year under schedule 7 powers, while 670 were formally detained, which Anderson said had given rise to resentment among some Muslim groups who feel they are being singled out.

"My recommendations for further reform include the introduction of a suspicion threshold for the exercise of some schedule 7 powers, and the improvement of safeguards in relation to private electronic data and other sensitive material of various kinds," Anderson said. "I do not believe that anything in my recommendations should reduce the efficacy of what is a very useful set of powers, or expose the public to additional risk from terrorism."

The watchdog also said there should be a ban on using any admissions by someone being questioned during a schedule 7 interview in a subsequent criminal trial and recommended tougher safeguards on how data is retained and stored. However, he stopped short of advising "reasonable grounds for suspicion" before detention, as some campaigners have sought.

The government is now facing calls to amend the antisocial behaviour, crime and policy bill to include Anderson's recommendations. The bill already contains a clause reducing the maximum detention time from nine to six hours, after the watchdog said it should be scaled back.

Julian Huppert, a member of the home affairs committee, said the law should be changed and there was a case for the powers to be revised even further.

"I'm very pleased to see David Anderson's proposals for further constraints on schedule 7. His suggestion to require grounds for suspicion for detention and constraints on the use of private electronic data are very welcome. They should be implemented as a bare minimum."

A row broke out over schedule 7 powers after Miranda was detained in London while returning to his home in Rio de Janeiro from Berlin, amid claims . Officials confiscated electronics equipment, including his mobile phone, laptop, camera, memory sticks, DVDs and games consoles.

During his trip to Berlin, Miranda visited Laura Poitras, the US film-maker who has been working with Greenwald and the Guardian. The Guardian had paid for Miranda's flights as he often assists Greenwald in his work, although he was not a Guardian employee.

Following the Miranda detention, Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, called for an urgent investigation into the use of schedule 7, saying Miranda's detention caused "considerable consternation".

"Any suggestion that terror powers are being misused must be investigated and clarified urgently," she said. "The public support for these powers must not be endangered by a perception of misuse.

Previously, Anderson has warned that schedule 7 must be used proportionately and recommended that the maximum detention period be reduced. He is also reviewing the use of the powers in the Miranda case.

In his new recommendations, he said: "I announced in August my intention of publishing a report into the detention of Mr Miranda. It soon became clear that much of the relevant ground would be authoritatively covered in his judicial review proceedings, which have been expeditiously handled on all sides and in which argument was heard on 6 and 7 November. Once judgment is handed down, I propose to decide what more I can usefully add, including by way of any additional recommendations relating to schedule 7."

Schedule 7, which applies only at airports, ports and border areas, controversially allows officers to stop, search, question and detain individuals. Miranda was held for nine hours, the maximum the law allows before officers must release or formally arrest the individual.

Asked whether Anderson's recommendations would be accepted, a Home Office spokesman said: "Schedule 7 forms an essential part of the UK's security arrangements at the border. We are already making changes to these powers to further strengthen the safeguards around their use – these are currently before parliament."

[http://www.theguardian.com/law/2013/dec/01/uk-terror-law-watchdog-detention-borders-schedule-7?CMP=twt_fd]

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Terrorist groups spreading in U.S., threatening public safety: lawmakers

There are more groups than ever, says Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and they are making small and more sophisticated bombs, added Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.


Sen. Dianne Feinstein says terror groups have tried four times to get bombs through metal detectors in the U.S.

Terrorist groups are expanding and changing their tactics, increasing the risk of an attack in the United States, the leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees said Sunday.

Americans aren’t as safe as they were a year or two ago, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said.

“There are more groups than ever,” she said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

They are constructing smaller but more sophisticated and hard-to-detect bombs, added Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

CHRIS USHER/ASSOCIATED PRESS

The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) says terrorists are making smaller and deadlier bombs that are hard to detect.

“The threat level has never been more diverse than it is today,” Rogers said. “The pressure on our intelligence services to get it right are enormous.”

But that has become more difficult because Al Qaeda-linked groups have adjusted their way of communicating as a result of leaks about U.S. spy programs, Rogers said.

Terrorists have tried four times to get the bombs through metal detectors into the U.S., said Feinstein, declining to elaborate.

[http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/terror-groups-spreading-u-s-lawmakers-article-1.1534389]

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Police officer killed in a terror attack in Chadoora, Budgam

Chadoora: The Chadoora Station House Officer (SHO) on Monday succumbed to injuries following an attack by a terrorist in Budgam in Jammu and Kashmir. Two other police officials were also injured in the attack outside police station in Chadoora.

No terror outfit has claimed responsibility for the attack so far but J&K IG Abdul Gani Mir said preliminary leads suggest Lashkar-e-Toiba to be behind the attack.

On Monday, a single terrorist opened indiscriminate fire on the police party, injuring three policemen, including Station House Officer Sub Inspector Shabir Ahmad, police said.

Two other police officials were also injured in the attack outside police station in Chadoora.

The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital where the SHO succumbed to his wounds, police said. The other two injured policemen have been identified as Constable Mohammad Shafi and SPO Firdous Ahmad.

The state's security has come under sharp criticism after there have been several terrorist attacks lately.

[http://ibnlive.in.com/news/jk-sho-killed-in-a-terror-attack-in-chadoora-budgam/437268-3-245.html]

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Europe could feel the backlash from jihadist conflicts

It's estimated that there are currently up to 2,000 militia groups in Syria

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This week Britain's House of Commons was told that a terrorist attack in Europe by jihadist fighters returning from Syria is "almost inevitable but may not happen for some time".

The warning came from a leading terrorism expert and author on al-Qaeda, Dr Thomas Hegghammer from the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment.

He told a House of Commons seminar that at least 1,200 volunteers had now departed from various European countries to join extremist groups fighting in Syria.

For some time now counter-terrorism officials here have been on the lookout for what they call "blowback" - returning fighters getting involved in militancy back home, if they survive the battlefield.

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“

A senior Whitehall official told the BBC: "We operate on the basis that terrorist groups in Syria have the intent to attack us. Their strategic direction is an important factor but individuals can also have their own reasons for wanting to plan an attack."

To many, this will sound needlessly alarmist. When US and other Western forces were in Iraq between 2003-2010, European government officials frequently warned of the dangers of blowback from that conflict.

Yet despite incidents of related terrorism inspired by the Iraq war, like the 2007 Glasgow airport attack when an Iraqi doctor working in the UK drove a burning jeep with canisters into the airport, the threatened blowback phenomenon of dangerous returning militants never really materialised.

But with the Syrian conflict now approaching its fourth year and the death toll passing 100,000, attention is focusing on what the long-term risks are to the rest of the world.

Start Quote

Syria will prolong the problem of jihadi terrorism in Europe by 20 years”

Dr Thomas HegghammerTerrorism expert

Unrealised fears

Extensive studies have been carried out by Dr Hegghammer and the London-based International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR) as well as by others.

There is no prospect of an end in sight to the fighting in Syria

Between 200-400 fighters - each from Britain, France and Germany - are thought to have gone to Syria, with the highest proportion per capita leaving from Bosnia.

Dr Hegghammer said that, historically, one in nine volunteers who went overseas to fight then returned and became involved with militant groups.

But he added there was usually a time lag of some years between the start of a conflict and a blowback attack back home becoming a reality - four years in the case of Afghanistan, three years in the case of Yemen.

Most jihadists leave home with no intention of returning, hoping to die a martyr's death for what they see as a holy cause.

One British fighter who was contacted in Syria recently by Skype from his family home in Portsmouth said Britain's security service "did not need to worry about him" as he was not planning on returning.

While the fighting in Syria rages, that will probably remain the norm.

Countries	# of FFs	FFs per million inhabitants
Germany	200	2,5
UK	200 (300)	3,1
France	200 (400)	3,1
Belgium	100 (300)	8,9
Spain	95	2
Denmark	65	11,6
Bosnia	60	15,8
Austria	57	6,7
Netherlands	50(100)	3
Italy	45 (50)	0,8
Sweden	30 (40)	3,1
Norway	30 (40)	5,9

Available government estimates of FFs (Foreign Fighters) in Syria

Source: Norwegian Defence Research Establishment

Secret pact

To date, no one has yet been convicted in Britain of a Syria-related terrorism offence.

But with no side emerging there as the clear winner, and with no prospect of an end in sight, Syria has become home to an estimated 1,600-2,000 fighting groups, of which the largest and most powerful anti-government bodies are the jihadist Jabhat al-Nusra (JAN) and Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS).

Both have links to al-Qaeda.

Many jihadists in Syria believe that the West's reluctance to get drawn into the fight against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad is part of some secret pact with the regime to keep him in power.

A Western counter-terrorism official warned this week: "Our worry is that they (the extremist groups in Syria) will switch their attention to Europe.

"Our concern is anyone who comes back with training and experience and then starts up a militant network, perhaps with links back to al-Qaeda in Syria. Or they could simply be very psychologically damaged from what they have seen".

One of the largest anti-government groups, Jabhat al-Nusra, has asserted its dominance in Syria

Blowback to Europe from conflict arenas is not inevitable everywhere.

Dr Hegghammer points out that while there have been many instances of it from Afghanistan and Pakistan there have been very few from Somalia, a battlefield from which most European volunteer fighters never return.

But he offers this grim prognosis: "Syria will prolong the problem of jihadi terrorism in Europe by 20 years. Probably more jihadists have gone there than to all the other previous destinations combined.

"Even if the blowback rate is very low, so many people are going there to fight that the absolute number of (eventual) attacks will be substantial."

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-25155188]

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