Country Reports on Terrorism 2008
Middle East and North Africa Overview
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism
April 30, 2009
"Terrorism and criminality are the enemies of every religion and every civilization. They would not have appeared except for the absence of the principle of tolerance."
--King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia
The United Nations, New York City
November 13, 2008
Most governments in the region cooperated with the United States in counterterrorist activities and undertook efforts to strengthen their capabilities to counter terrorism effectively. These efforts included participation in USG-sponsored antiterrorism assistance (ATA) programs and taking steps to bolster banking and legal regimes to combat terrorist financing.
The Iraqi government, in coordination with the Coalition, made significant progress in combating AQI and affiliated terrorist organizations. There was a notable reduction in the number of security incidents throughout much of Iraq, including a decrease in civilian casualties, enemy attacks, and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks in the last quarter of the year. Terrorist organizations and insurgent groups continued their attacks on Coalition and Iraqi security forces using IEDs, vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs), and suicide bombers. The Iraqi government continued to emphasize national reconciliation and made progress in passing key pieces of reconciliation-related legislation. There were also practical steps taken that helped to advance reconciliation at the provincial and local level. The United States continued its focused efforts to mitigate the threat posed by foreign fighters in Iraq. State sponsors of terrorism, Iran and Syria, continued to play destabilizing roles in the region. [See Chapter 3, State Sponsors of Terrorism.]
The Expanded Neighbors Process continued to provide a forum for Iraq and its neighbors to address the political and security challenges facing Iraq and the region. In November, the Iraqi government sent representatives to Syria to participate in the second Neighbors Process working group on border security where the group sought new ways to limit the flow of foreign terrorists into Iraq.
Israel responded to the terrorist threat as it has in recent years, with operations targeted at terrorist leaders, terrorist infrastructure, and active terrorist activities such as rocket launching groups. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Security Services (ISA) continued incursions into the West Bank to conduct roundups and other military operations designed to increase pressure on Palestinian terrorist organizations and their supporters. The Israeli security services also imposed strict and widespread closures and curfews in Palestinian areas. The regular and indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza were met by retaliatory fire by the IDF. Israel also maintained its targeted assassinations policy in Gaza. While there continued to be an overall decrease in the number of successfully perpetrated terrorist attacks in comparison to previous years, Israeli security officials maintained that the decrease was not for lack of terrorists’ efforts, but because the security services were able to keep terrorist planners and operators off balance and foil acts before they were carried out. The Israeli Air Force increasingly launched airstrikes against launch teams in November and December following escalations in rocket and mortar attacks. Israel launched Operation Cast Lead in Gaza on December 27 in response to these rocket attacks.
In Lebanon, a campaign of domestic political intimidation continued, including several attacks against members of the Lebanese army and Internal Security Forces. In May, Lebanese Hizballah initiated armed confrontations against Lebanese government and other Sunni and Christian elements in the country following the government’s efforts to shut down Hizballah’s independent telecommunications network, in addition to the removal of the Hizballah-affiliated head of airport security. A Hizballah official suspected in several bombings against U.S. citizens, Imad Mughniyeh, was killed in Damascus, Syria in February. No one has taken responsibility for his death.
Attacks in Algeria in August killed nearly 80 people. These attacks were indicative of the shifts in strategy made by al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) towards attacks employing suicide tactics and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and the targeting of Western interests as well as Algerian government officials and civilians.
On March 10, AQIM claimed responsibility for kidnapping two Austrian tourists near the Tunisia-Algeria border. The hostages were released on October 31 after a ransom was paid. In February, the Tunisian courts handed down guilty verdicts on eight of 30 Tunisians convicted in a December 2007/January 2008 plot targeting U.S. and UK interests in Tunisia.
The security situation in Yemen deteriorated significantly over the past year as al-Qa’ida in Yemen increased its attacks against Western and Yemeni government institutions. On January 17, suspected al-Qa’ida operatives ambushed a tourist convoy in the eastern Hadramout Governorate, killing two Belgians. The U.S. Embassy was attacked on September 17; fatalities included several Yemeni security personnel and citizens, as well as an American citizen.
...
Tunisia
The Government of Tunisia continued to place a high priority on combating extremism and terrorism. In addition to using security and law enforcement measures, the Tunisian government pursued a variety of economic and social programs aimed at addressing the underlying challenges that can contribute to the spread of extremism. The Tunisian government actively prevented the formation of terrorist groups inside Tunisia, including prohibiting the formation of religious-based political parties and groups that it believed would pose a terrorist threat.
By carefully monitoring the activities of Tunisian extremists, both in Tunisia and abroad, Tunisian law enforcement organizations challenged the ability of terrorists to organize internally. Since the passage of Tunisia's 2003 Terrorism Law, approximately 1,000 Tunisians have been detained, charged, and/or convicted on terrorism-related charges. In 2008, the Tunisian judiciary prosecuted a steady stream of such cases:
On February 21, the Tunis Court of Appeals upheld guilty verdicts but reduced the sentences for eight of the 30 Tunisians convicted in December 2007 of involvement in the December 2006/January 2007 terrorist plot known as the "Soliman" case, in which a terrorist cell called Assad Ibn Fourat’s Army had allegedly targeted domestic and foreign (including U.S. and UK) interests in Tunisia.
On July 12, the Tunis Court of First Instance convicted five Tunisians, including two security officials, of various terrorism-related charges.
In two separate mid-August trials, 19 Tunisians were convicted on separate terrorist-related charges. On March 10, al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for kidnapping two Austrian tourists along the Tunisia-Algeria border. The hostages were released in Mali on October 31, reportedly in exchange for a ransom of USD 2.8 million.
Tunisian extremists were involved in terrorist activities abroad, including in France, Italy, Iraq, and Lebanon. Domestically, the government worked to improve security procedures at borders and airports. A number of Tunisians suspected of involvement in terrorist incidents abroad were also repatriated and subsequently charged with, or convicted, of terrorist activities.