Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri The Coordinator 2014 Part 17-27-The Deep Battle against the West

By Capt (Ret) C de Waart, share: in Confidence

Though Western militaries are engaged in a campaign against Islamic State, Al-Qaida, and

especially its Yemen branch, is far more determined to bring the war to European turf. One of the last orders given by Al-Qaida’s founder, Osama bin Laden, before American soldiers killed him in May 2011 was that terror attacks against the West should take priority over fighting Muslim states. The head of EU police agency Europol, Rob Wainwright, "The scale of the problem, the diffuse nature of the network, the scale of the people involved make this extremely difficult for even very well-functioning counterterrorist agencies such as we have in France to stop every attack." "We have to make sure therefore that we can work together in a better way across Europe," he said. DEBKAfile 1: notes that operational cooperation among Europe’s intelligence and security services is far too rare and a central continental anti-terror mechanism for shared strategy and intelligence sorely missing.

Islamic State’s priorities differ greatly from those of Al-Qaida. “Islamic State wants an Islamic caliphate first, at the expense of corrupt Arab regimes. It sees dealing with the West as less urgent.”

And amid all the trees — the thousands of their citizens who have joined Islamic State and the hundreds who have since returned to Europe — they lost sight of an important development in the forest: Al-Qaida’s preparations for more attacks on the West.

Though Islamic State has more foot soldiers in Europe as a result of fighters returning from Iraq and Syria, so far there is no evidence that the group is planning attacks on European targets.

About 3,000 people have been linked to Islamic State militants in Turkey, says a police report,

the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) offshoot Jamat-ul-Ahrar issued a formal statement praising the incident and criticizing the Paris rally held in its wake.

The brutal murders at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris could mean the worst nightmare imaginable for those fighting Islamic terrorism has come horribly true — a cooperative joining of the Islamic State (ISIS) and al-Qaida, the extremists who destroyed the World Trade Center (Cees if proven to be true ask who leads and who follows?)

-- A British teenager who went to Syria has said that IS has "many" extremists who are "just waiting for the order to do attacks on the West." Shabazz Suleman, 19, was included in a prisoner exchange that saw Turkish diplomats released from IS custody in September 2014.

(RFE) January 17, 2015 Thousands of people have marched in the Russian North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia to protest Western publications that insult the Prophet Muhammad.

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Chief Sirajul Haq warned that the anti -Islam policies of the west could plunge the world into the third world war.

Cees so far in renewed posting of the Prophet in satiric papers we have seen warnings coming from two Grand Muftis: both Sunni and Shia, and now the JI leader in Pakistan is 1 http://www.debka.com/article/24345/Europe-rounds-up-25-jihadi-suspects-Crackdown-hamstrung-by-lack-of-counterterrorism-center

going a step further he is warning that – “the anti Islam policies of the west could plunge the world into the third world war”-- Sirajul Haq said that “the respect of the Holy Prophet was an essential part of a Muslim’s faith”. From the warning to issuing of the needed Fatwa is a short step, and if issued it will have for the West very severe consequences. And although the warnings are not yet followed by a fatwa, a fatwa would fit in the AQSL strategic planning for the next phase – according to their seven Phased plan. Moreover – if given, the religious authorisation of attacks against the west could see the Deep Battle against the West intensifying and as mentioned supports the prelude of the next phase: Total confrontation.

"Je suis...?" Hardly-2. Muslims call front cover image of Prophet a renewed insult to their religion. Muslims have staged angry protests across the world from Turkey to the Philippines over Charlie Hebdo's decision to depict the Prophet Mohammed on its latest front cover; ‘Death to blasphemers.’ 16 Jan After its spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, commented on the Charlie Hebdo attack in France, Paris, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) offshoot Jamat-ul-Ahrar issued a formal statement praising the incident and criticizing the Paris rally held in its

wake. Additionally, A Taliban-supporting account on Twitter called for another attack on military schools in wake of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan's (TTP) December 2014 attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar, Pakistan.16 Jan Niger, At least three civilians and one police officer have been killed during a protest against cartoons published in the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, Reuters reports, citing a police source. "There was one police officer killed and three civilians," said a police source. "Some of the protesters were armed with bows and arrows as well as clubs. The clashes were very violent in some places," he said. Also, Afriqiyah Media, a jihadi media group, released a visual speech from a fighter attributing himself to the Tunisia-based Uqba bin Nafi Battalion, congratulating Muslims for the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris, France, and rallying fighters in Tunisia.

16 Jan, Anti -Islam policies of west could plunge world into 3rd world war, warns Siraj. LAHORE 2: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Chief Sirajul Haq warned that the anti -Islam policies of the west could plunge the world into the third world war. Addressing the Friday congregation at Mansoora, Sirajul Haq said that the respect of the Holy Prophet (SAW) was an essential part of a Muslim’s faith. Thousand of the faithful across the country came on roads Friday to express their anguish over the fresh publication of blasphemous caricatures by a French Weekly and vowed to render every sacrifice to safeguard the sanctity of the Holy Prophet (SAW). The call for the protest had been given by the Ameer JI Sirajul Haq. The JI chief while addressing the rally at Multan Road announced million marches in Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi next Friday in continuation of the protest. He also stressed upon Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to call for an emergency meeting of the Muslim rulers to lodge protest with the French government on this score and to stress upon the United Nations to frame laws ensuring respect for all the Prophets of Allah and all the revealed books. Earlier addressing the Friday congregation at Mansoora, Haq deplored that Europe and the west had always patronized those carrying out acts of blasphemy of the Holy Prophet (SAW. Sirajul Haq appreciated the adoption of a unanimous resolution by the National Assembly against blasphemy and the joint protest by the NA members on the issue. He expressed the hope that the peoples elected representatives at federal and provincial levels would rise above party considerations and join the Million March being held next Friday. (PPI) (Cees for AQSL this will be a welcome warning/statement, as AQSL are so far successful in executing Five out of their Seven Phases of their strategic plan, the next phase is foretold to be the total confrontation. Muslim sentiment is heating up and could and likely will be explored and used..) 2 http://www.geo.tv/article-172037-Anti--Islam-policies-of-west-could-plunge-world-into-3rd-world-war-warns-Siraj-

TEHRAN (FNA)- . Muslim leaders around the world condemned the publication of the magazine, describing the cover as a “blatant provocation” and an “act of war”. Insulting sacred symbols of all religions should be a crime in France, the director of the Union of Islamic Organizations of France said. Abdelkebir Kotbi’s comments came after French infamous magazine Charlie Hebdo published a sacrilegious cartoon of Islam's Holy Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) in its latest issue, World Bulletin reported.   Kotbi criticized the magazine's latest issue and said that Muslims should use all legitimate and democratic means to respond to provocations against them, but must avoid violence. “Islam is a religion of tolerance and carries a message of peace,” he said.  “The French government decisively needs to fight against Islamophobia, which is on a dramatic rise,” Kotbi added.  “Insulting any prophet is very likely to stimulate some kind of legal response. It should not be allowed under French law," he added. Muslim leaders around the world condemned the publication of the magazine, describing the cover as a “blatant provocation” and an “act of war”. Though Western militaries are engaged in a campaign against Islamic State, Al-Qaida, and especially its Yemen branch, is far more determined to bring the war to European turf 3. But though Western militaries are fighting Islamic State, Al-Qaida has proved itself more capable of inflicting damage on the West. And its Yemen branch has for years been the most dangerous and effective of all. One of the last orders given by Al-Qaida’s founder, Osama bin Laden, before American soldiers killed him in May 2011 was that terror attacks against the West should take priority over fighting Muslim states. AQAP has continued that policy even while embroiled in a civil war in Yemen, where the Iranian-backed Houthi tribes have made significant gains. Yemen is a convenient operational base for Al-Qaida, thanks to a weak government combined with growing support from Sunni tribes who hope AQAP will help them block the Houthis. AQAP hasn’t hid its intentions; they are evident in the pages of its English-language magazine Inspire. The suspects in the 2013 Boston Marathon attack famously made use, allegedly, of a 2010 article titled, “Making a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom.” Charlie Hebdo editor and cartoonist Stéphane Charbonnier, who was killed in last week’s attack, was on a “Wanted Dead or Alive for Crimes Against Islam” list that appeared in Inspire two years ago. The December 2014 issue contained further instructions for attacking the West, including how to make bombs that will pass airport security. A French passport can be seen in the corner of an image used to illustrate the article. Different priorities Aviv Oreg, a former Military Intelligence officer who now runs CeifiT, a company that studies global jihadist groups, says Islamic State’s priorities differ greatly from those of Al-Qaida. “Islamic State wants an Islamic caliphate first, at the expense of corrupt Arab regimes. It sees dealing with the West as less urgent.” But the many Westerners joining the civil wars in Syria and Iraq, most of whom seek to join Islamic State, changed the focus of European intelligence agencies. And amid all the trees — the thousands of their citizens who have joined Islamic State and the hundreds who have since returned to Europe — they lost sight of an important development in the forest: Al-Qaida’s preparations for more attacks on the West. The agencies were flooded with so many warning that they had trouble picking out the most relevant ones. Though Islamic State has more foot soldiers in Europe as a result of fighters returning from Iraq and Syria, so far there is no evidence that the group is planning attacks on European targets. Coulibaly seems to have been motivated by a combination of anger at Charlie Hebdo’s ongoing provocations against Islam and a general desire to inflict damage on the West, intensified by the murderous civil wars in Syria and Iraq and Western air strikes on Islamic State. Sunday’s march of world leaders through Paris was presented as an impressive show of international solidarity. Yet the list of leaders who did not attend suggests

3 http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/.premium-1.637416

that anger over Charlie Hebdo’s lampooning of the prophet Mohammed is not limited to Islamic extremists. Though Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas came, not a single North African leader did. Even Morocco’s foreign minister, who was in Paris at the time, did not participate. Europe has suffered serious attacks by Muslim extremists before, including in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005. Thus while last week’s attacks signify further deterioration, they won’t necessarily constitute a turning point. Of all the Western European countries, Britain has taken the harshest measures against Islamic incitement and terror. French oversight of jihadists has been more lax, though this can be expected to change. France’s defense establishment will get new powers and more money. But experience shows that the terrorists will also gain, as harsher countermeasures can be expected to accelerate the radicalization of young Western Muslims, thereby increasing the terrorists’ pool of potential recruits. For now, the French are doing what America and Israel have done after similar attacks — flooding the streets with soldiers to improve the public’s sense of security. But that can’t continue forever. Israel should assist French Jews by providing intelligence and security advice. That would be far more helpful than telling them to leave France and move to Israel, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did. By so doing, he both increased their vulnerability to charges of dual loyalty and overlooked the fact that terrorists have killed far more Jews in Israel than in France in recent years. Yet Netanyahu’s conduct in France seems to reflect a broader problem: Israel’s inability to grasp the ongoing deterioration of its strategic situation in the West. Israelis have become increasingly convinced both that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not central to events in the Middle East and that it cannot be solved for now in any case. The Western view, however, is the opposite. With every round of fighting in Gaza and every Palestinian civilian killed, the West’s impatience with Israel’s explanations for continuing the occupation grows. European understanding for Israel’s positions has already eroded, and in time, America’s will too. As the liberal wing of the Democratic Party is becoming increasingly deaf to the Netanyahu government’s explanations, American support for Israel — one of the cornerstones of Israel’s power — is becoming ever shakier.

Charlie Hebdo Murders Could Mean Link Between ISIS, al-Qaida4

Friday, 16 Jan 2015 The brutal murders at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris could mean the worst nightmare imaginable for those fighting Islamic terrorism has come horribly true — a cooperative joining of the Islamic State (ISIS) and al-Qaida, the extremists who destroyed the World Trade Center. The three gunmen in the Paris slaughter, brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi, who attacked the magazine, and Amedy Coulibaly, who was killed by police in a kosher grocery store, apparently knew each other and may have planned their attacks jointly, intelligence sources tell CBS News. But while Coulibaly was connected with ISIS, the two brothers were connected to al-Qaida — and Said, and possibly Cherif, had trained with al-Qaida forces in Yemen. "The Paris attacks carry hints that the world’s two most fearsome terrorist organizations are cooperating," the Daily Beast reports. Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) claimed responsibility for the attacks, but ISIS-connected Coulibaly claimed in a video that he had "synchronized" his attacks with the two brothers, before he killed a policewoman and four shoppers — and he, too, was slain, the Daily Beast notes. While an AQAP leader terms the grocery store killings a "coincidence" and claims credit only for the Charlie Hebdo shootings, he calls Coulibaly his "brother." ISIS and al-Qaida have been engaged in a bitter power struggle and have been deadly enemies, with thousands of Muslim terrorists killed in their internecine warfare, James Philips, senior research fellow with the Heritage Foundation, wrote in an opinion piece for Fox News. "Both groups share the same ultimate goal: the establishment of a global caliphate, to be

4 http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/charlie-hebdo-isis-al-qaida-murder/2015/01/16/id/619147/

ruled under a harsh brand of sharia (Islamic law). But they clash over what strategy and tactics are best, as well as who should lead the global jihad (holy war) to build the caliphate," Phillips wrote. While ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi has declared himself a caliph, and demanded that all Muslims accept him as their leader, al-Qaida leader Ayma al Zawahiri resents that, and al-Qaida has referred to ISIS members as khawarij, meaning deviant, anti-Islam Muslims, the Daily Beast reports. However, there have been reports of cooperation between al-Qaida’s affiliate in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra, and ISIS, at least to the extent that some terrorists are known to work for both groups. A French intelligence officer told the Daily Beast, "The Kouachis and Coulibaly were recruited by the same 19th arrondissement cell and are part of the same terror network. Coulibaly's wife and Chérif's wife called each other 500 times and those conversations are likely to have included their husbands — and at no time do they jointly plan or even mention to each other what they are going to do? That is unbelievable." A top AQAP cleric Harith bin Ghazi al-Nadhari, said in a video that while he believes ISIS is wrong for declaring a caliphate, "their blood is our blood, and their wounds are in our hearts, and supporting them is a duty upon us."

Charlie Hebdo – Making sense of the madness Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Created on Friday, 16 January 2015 18:45 Written by Dr. Hameedullah Zabuli .  (Cees previous report from IEA: Statement of Islamic Emirate concerning the blasphemous action against the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) in France 5)The deadly attack on Charlie Hebdo’s office in Paris by armed gunmen appeared to be a brutal attack on freedom of expression. On the face of it the cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo’s offices had done nothing except exercise their right to free speech guaranteed to them by

French law and the UN Charter. Therefore to attack them in such cold blood seemed incomprehensible to the ordinary person. This attack appeared almost to be an attack on the identity of France, an affront to the values of the French Republic. It drew international condemnation and caused widespread dismay. The perpetuators of these attacks were tracked down in a matter of days and shot dead. Their motivations for the attack will never be known. Perhaps it was best to view these attacks as pure savagery rather than the work of some

reasonable or calculating mind. To the French in particular, and the Europeans and other westerners in general, this attack illustrated once again the barbaric and unyielding nature of the Muslims and strengthened the hands of the emerging neo-facists of today’s Europe.  However if we dig deeper into this incident we are confronted by some confounding truths. It is reported that when the two brothers, suspected in this attack, were cornered by the police they initially took a hostage but then later released her saying that they did not want to take innocent lives. Furthermore according to media reports the two brothers had also attempted to negotiate with the police whom however rejected any talks of negotiations. Why would these suspects, assuming they carried out this attack, walk into an office kill its staff indiscriminately but then later release a hostage because she was ‘innocent’? How could the same persons who perpetuated this savagery then turn around and seek a negotiated settlement with the police? Surely these brothers, if we accept that they carried out this attack, had a motive for targeting Charlie Hebdo’s staff but not risking the life a hostage. Surely they must have believed that they had a valid grievance to try and negotiate their surrender and be given

5 http://shahamat-english.com/index.php/paighamoona/52267-statement-of-islamic-emirate-regarding-the-blasphemous-action-against-the-prophet-of-islam-pbuh-in-france

a chance to defend themselves in the court of law. Every so often we hear of deranged individuals targeting innocents in schools, parks, cinemas and the like and then killing themselves when confronted by the police. Yet these two brothers did not seek the same destiny. Better yet, why are the perpetuators of those attacks not classified as belonging to a group or religion that threatens the very existence of a nation yet these two brothers are portrayed as Muslims threatening the European way of life? Before returning to these issues we should first look at the central issue that fuelled this attack. Although the two brothers were never given a chance to explain their targeting of Charlie Hebdo’s office yet it was widely accepted that their motivation for attacking this particular establishment was due to its cartoonists ridiculing Prophet Muhammad Peace be upon Him. Europeans in general and Frenchmen in particular deplored this attack on their freedom and there have been widespread calls for Europeans to exercise their right to freedom of expression by making drawings of Prophet Muhammad PBUH. It has been stated that Muslims hate us, they deplore our freedoms and that they want to compel us into submission through the use of terror. We should stand shoulder to shoulder in defiance of this threat and bravely defend our right to freedom of expression. It is interesting to note that when a Muslim speaks out against the abuses of western countries in Muslim lands and asks Muslims to defend their lands then such a person is accused of inciting violence and put behind bars. Yet when a western draws pictures of Prophet Muhammad PBUH ridiculing him and inciting the beliefs of 1.6 billion people around the globe then he is hailed as a hero and a model to be followed. Why is the right to speak out against injustice challenged as incitement of violence as an abuse of the right of freedom of expression, but the right to abuse the religion of billions of people around the globe upheld as a proper use of this very same right?  In truth the demonizing of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH is not new to European history. European history is full of visual or written accounts demonizing the figure of Prophet Muhammad PBUH, portraying him in all forms of dehumanizing figures. With the rise of European imperialism however, such blunt attacks were put aside by European scholars who instead embraced the more subtle arts of persuasion embodied in the works of Orientalists. The recent resurgence of such grotesque attacks on Islam is both regrettable yet at the same time explainable. Europeans frustrated with the lack of progress by Orientalist writers (as witnessed in the revival of Islamism) simply reverted back to their basic instincts and possibly a more gratifying method of insulting Muslims. To them these blunt attacks on Muslims and especially the Prophet Muhammad PBUH serve a double purpose. Firstly it gratifies their need to insult Islam more openly and passionately. Also if their abuses inspire a backlash from Muslim individuals then they can simply use it to justify their continued abuse of the Islamic faith. In that sense Charlie Hebdo was not the only source in inspiring hatred towards Muslims all over the world. It was merely one in a long line of sources dedicated to feeding the new-found genocidal tendencies of Europe and America.  The loss of even one life is both regrettable and deplorable. Never should we encourage the taking of innocent lives. It is also worth pointing out that Muslims have no natural hatred or enmity towards Frenchman, Europeans, or Americans. We do not envy them their take on life,

or their beliefs in the values of the European Enlightenment and the entailing freedoms and individual rights. Our feelings can be described more as indifference rather than anything else. We may even congratulate them in pursuing a political philosophy which holds meaning to them. If Voltaire, Rosseau and Montesqiue inspire them in their political life then we say: bon chance. Yet where we do draw a red-line is when they use these freedoms to hurl insults at the beliefs of billions of people around the globe. When they use these rights to incite hatred and violence towards Muslims all over the globe. They believe it their God-given right to force Muslims, not only those residing in Europe and America but also these living in their very own lands to submit to the ideas of the French forefathers. To relinquish their own history, values and beliefs in exchange for the writings of the Enlightenment.  The deaths of Charlie Hebdo’s staff drew million-man marches in the capitals of Europe. I ask both the laymen and the leaders present in these marches, where were you when France invaded Mali simply because they did not agree with the political beliefs of the Tuareg? Where are your marches when French bullets and planes kill thousands of civilians, including women and children, in Afghanistan, Mali, Syria, Iraq and dozens of other countries? Francois Hollande kills thousands of innocent civilians in Mali, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria simply because their political inspirations are different to his. He stands shoulder to shoulder, like a brother in arms, with Benjamin Netenyahu because four jews were killed in these attacks. Yet he forgets that Netanyahu only two months ago killed more than two thousand innocent civilians in the Gaza strip including several journalists covering the indiscriminate genocidal war. France provides intelligence and logistical support to American-led operations in dozens of countries around the Muslim world. All of this is being done why? Because the Muslim fail to be inspired by Voltaire? Because they see Rosseau as nothing more than a romantic Frenchman? Because we dare think that our political destiny is different to yours? That we should be inspired by our own history and thinkers rather than yours? Everyday Muslims are being slaughtered on an industrial scale. You brush it under the carpet as if they were fleas. Yet when your own actions propel a backlash by some individuals whose sanity might be a matter of law, you feel offended in true Gallic spirit. You shout out that your continent is under attack, that Muslims are overrunning your countries, that they want to eliminate you and your way of life. You call for arms amid calls of Viva le Republique.  No doubt the attack on Charlie Hebdo’s office will not be brushed off as another of the dozens of incidents we saw in European and American cities by frustrated individuals (think of the dozens of attacks in American schools last year). Rather it will be painted as an attack on Fortress Europe. It will inspire more bouts of abuses against Muslims and Islam. More pictures insulting Islam will be published (as Charlie has already done). More neo-nazi

marches will be held across Europe, more restrictions on practicing Muslims will be legalized throughout European capitals, more bombings and murders of Muslims around the globe will be justified. Europe will be aflame with cries of war. But the Europe of today is not the same as the Europe of a 100 years ago. It can no longer simply ignore the beliefs and aspirations of other nations around the world. If it wants to extinguish the flames of hope inspired in billions of humans

around the world then it should contemplate the possibility that her flames of war might very well end up engulfing Fortress Europe along with it.

Stockpiles of firearms found in anti-terror raids. As questions linger over the origins of the military-style weapons in the hands of extremists in France and Belgium, a murky picture of

arms trafficking has emerged, writes Erin Conroy from Paris. Stockpiles of Kalashnikov assault rifles have been discovered this week, and now Europe is scrambling to determine where the killers in the Paris terrorist attacks obtained their military-grade arms, amid mounting fears that the open-border Schengen could be flooded with AK-47s. Four Kalashnikovs were reportedly found in a terror raid on an east Belgium apartment Thursday in which two suspects were killed after opening fire on police. Just before the shootout at the Verviers apartment, Belgian newspapers were reporting that Amedy Coulibaly, the extremist who killed four people at a kosher supermarket in Paris, bought his automatic weapons for less than €5,000 at Gare du Midi in Brussels, the Belgian terminus for the Eurostar train. A known trafficker had reportedly turned himself into the police, saying he had been in contact with Coulibaly in recent months and sold him a car - shortly after, authorities found documents and evidence of a weapons sale. In France 6, meanwhile, police discovered a small suburban house recently rented by Coulibaly and used as a storage space for a weapons arsenal, which included three late-model Kalashnikov assault rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. As investigators connect the dots to determine the original source of the weapons, experts say that it comes as no surprise that extremists, bent on launching attacks, were able to get their hands on military-style armaments. "We know that they aren't on every street corner, but if someone wants to get a hold of one and has fairly good contacts in criminal circles, then it would not be an insurmountable problem at all," says Nic Marsh, a research fellow at the Peace Research Institute Oslo who is about to publish research on such arms trafficking in western Europe.Underground networks The guns were likely bought through drug traffickers or organized crime. The seller probably did not know the intended purpose and was not someone who specialized in supplying arms to political extremists. Most typically, former Yugoslavia is usually mentioned as the source, as weapons left over from the wars there fell into private hands. Someone might spend a few hundred euros on one in Bosnia, and then sell it for a few thousand somewhere, like France, Belgium or the Netherlands," Marsh said. "It's a business." Arms experts say grenade launchers are easy to obtainStill, though easy to obtain, they are not necessarily popular. Automatic weapons are usually used for crimes such as bank robberies, but make up a very small percentage of the arms that are moving around Europe illegally - likely just because criminals prefer smaller guns which are easier to conceal, transport and use. "We are talking about movement of probably tens, looking at how many appear to be available," Marsh says. Even among those who have them, the rifles - which typically cost between €1,000 and €3,000 a piece - are very rarely used to kill, he said. The weapons can easily be transported to other European countries by truck. Claude Moniquet, co-director of the European Strategic and Security Center in Brussels, agreed that the arms likely came from the Balkans. "They are easily imported from this region," he said. Some weapons may also be coming from Libya, Gilles de Kerchove, the European Union's terrorism coordinator, told the AFP this week. “It's a real challenge but one can try to prevent them as much as possible without becoming a totalitarian society,” he said.The UK is also wary of arms from those regions trickling in. "The member states of the European Union need to work together to put beyond use the vast numbers of weapons in the countries of the former Yugoslavia and disrupt the supply of weapons from other parts of the world, especially North Africa," Home secretary Theresa May told the House of Commons this week.Czech origins Police have not released details about the weapons used in the Paris attacks, or where they may have come from, other than to say that they arrived in France from abroad.Before he took hostages at the supermarket, Coulibaly recorded a video in which an assault rifle is propped up beside him. The weapon has been identified by experts as a Czech-made

6 http://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/01/16/pkg-mclaughlin-france-guns-in-paris.cnn

Scorpion submachinegun, around for about 30 years on the underground market. The cost is about the same as a Kalashnikov. "Often, this is the kind of gun which is bought and sold more than once, and it is not likely that someone recently drove it all of the way from Prague," said Marsh. "It will be very difficult to track exactly what the path has been." Glenn McDonald, a senior researcher at the Geneva-based research group Small Arms Survey, says firearms trafficking has become a priority for the European Union, as well as France, amid high-profile cases of military weapons used in gang violence in the south. But, in general, there is little known about how many are in circulation, he says. "Sometimes it is possible to look at seizure data, but it is an imperfect measure, so very little is known," says McDonald, who has researched gun use among the Italian mafia and in North America.There are also questions about the financing for terrorist weaponry. While Coulibaly and the Kouachi brothers claimed to have received support from foreign terrorist organizations, reports have emerged that Coulibaly financed the weapons with a loan he took from French bank Cofidis in early December for €6,000 - tweaking his income on the application form so that he could qualify.Calls for action EU interior ministers and their western Balkan counterparts had agreed in December to a draft action plan on illicit trafficking of firearms between the EU and southeast Europe. A similar scheme between the EU and North Africa is also being considered.But figures released recently, which imply France is awash with black market weapons - estimates of between 10 and 20 million have been circulating - are misleading, Marsh says.Under current regulations some types of firearms, such as manually loaded shotguns, have to be registered upon purchase - usually done by the retailer. Owners do not have to declare all weapons in their possession, and in earlier years purchases were not required to be registered - meaning that many unregistered firearms in the country were purchased lawfully. Meanwhile, a French Interior Ministry estimate of 4,000 military-style automatic firearms - a figure which dates back to 2010 - could be a false read. "It is based completely on seizures, which fluctuate greatly year-to-year," Marsh says. Illegal guns held in France are not widely used to kill people, he stressed. The number of gun-related homicides in France is not extreme - between 100 to 150 per year - one of the lowest firearm homicide rates in the world.

Police in Athens have told euronews four suspects have been detained for questioning in the Greek capital in connection with a foiled terrorist plot in Belgium. They say one of the suspects is a man bearing a strong resemblance to Abdelhamid Abaaoud. No connection between four people arrested in Athens and cell broken up this week in Belgium, Belgian prosecutors says.

The head of EU police agency Europol 7, Rob Wainwright, says it is becoming extremely difficult to foil terror attacks due to the large number of radicalized Muslim extremists in Europe, their lack of command structure, and their growing sophistication. "The scale of the problem, the diffuse nature of the network, the scale of the people involved make this extremely difficult for even very well-functioning counterterrorist agencies such as we have in France to stop every attack," Wainwright said in an interview to AP. "Official" terror groups headed by a leader are often replaced by numerous independent or semi-independent terrorists who act on their own. It is very difficult to track them, he explained, adding that at least 2,500 and perhaps up to 5,000 Europeans are suspected to have joined militants in Syria and Iraq. "The sheer numbers of people involved, the way in which they've been radicalized on the Internet, radicalized by their engagement in the conflict in Syria and Iraq, makes this extremely difficult for the police to contain it in a complete way," he said. "That's the real problem I think that the intelligence community faces right now." According to Wainwright,

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European police agencies need to have closer cooperation with each other and Europol in order to prevent possible attacks. He said that Belgian police had cooperated with Europol before the Thursday anti-terrorist operation in Verviers, Belgium, where an imminent attack was prevented. Thirteen people were arrested in the country; five of them were charged with “participating in the activities of a terrorist group” on Friday. "We have to make sure therefore that we can work together in a better way across Europe," he said.

DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis Jan 16, 2015, In the last two days, 25 jihadi suspects were rounded up and secret cells broken down in Belgium, France and Germany. But these counter-terror operations lifted only corners of the Islamist terrorist network of active cells spread across Europe by dedicated killers, armed to the teeth and expertly trained in Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan in the skills of mass murder. DEBKAfile 8: notes that operational cooperation among Europe’s intelligence and security services is far too rare and a central continental anti-terror mechanism for shared strategy and intelligence sorely missing.Regards Cees:

Salman Rushdie on Charlie Hebdo: ‘Vilifying … These Fallen Artists’ Is ‘Disgraceful’ The target of an infamous fatwa weighs in on satire, free speech and religion 9.

About 3,000 people have been linked to Islamic State militants in Turkey 10, says a police report 11. The data has prompted a red alert over possible attacks, including in NATO and the West, by the so-called “sleeper cells” of the jihadist group. A Turkish police intelligence report has urged surveillance of about 3,000 people to observe their connections with the jihadists, sources told the Turkish Hurriyet Daily News. "There are around 500-700 Turkish citizens who have joined the ranks of [Islamic State]," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said earlier this week. Those 3,000 “possible links” to jihadists are additional to the group of about 700 Turkish fighters who are already fighting alongside Islamic State.

Cees, And let me recall: Al-Zawahiri's Article on 'Principles of War Highlighted by Raids' Ansar al-Mujahidin Network in Arabic 11 Sep 12 "'Principles of War Highlighted by Raids' by Shaykh Ayman al-Zawahiri" 1. Taking Battle Into Enemy Land, 2. Having Initiative, 3. Mujahidin's Capability To Manage Huge Jihadist Security Action,…4. Heroism, Courage, Bravery, Gallantry of Mujahidin, 5. Exploiting Enemy's Points of Weaknesses, 6. Innovating New Means To Confront Zionist-Crusader Campaign, 7. New War on Two Fronts .. and more..

8 http://www.debka.com/article/24345/Europe-rounds-up-25-jihadi-suspects-Crackdown-hamstrung-by-lack-of-counterterrorism-center9 http://inthesetimes.com/article/17534/salman_rushdie_on_charlie_hedbo10 http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/01/turkey-syria-intelligence-service-shipping-weapons.html11 http://rt.com/news/223651-turkey-people-isis-linked/