http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers36/paper3506.html
Paper no. 3506
16-Nov-2009
“The 313 Brigade - International Terrorism Monitor - Paper No. 579”
By B. Raman
SNIPPET: “There are two jihadi terrorist organisations by the name the 313 Brigade.”
SNIPPET: “19. The 313 Brigade of the IIF, which has been focussing on attacking Pakistani targets as distinguished from the 313 Brigade in J&K which attacks Indian targets, is a shadowy organisation. Media reports project Ilyas Kashmiri as the head of the 313 Brigade of the IIF. In a press interview, Ilyas himself has sought to give the impression that he heads it. He has been saying that unless the US and its collaborators in Pakistan are defeated, the so-called struggle against India in J&K will not progress. He thus now gives primacy to the jihadi campaign against the US and its alleged collaborators in Pakistan.
20. Ilyas sees himself as another Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and wants to carry out a spectacular terrorist strike in a Western country. The purpose of his trying to use David Coleman Headley, of Chicago arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation at Chicago on October 3, 2009, was for an attack on the Danish journal, which carried caricatures of the Prophet in 2005. A perusal of the FBI’s affidavit against Headley shows that while Ilyas wanted a Mumbai—26/11 style attack in Copenhagen, Headley felt that a more feasible option would be to assassinate the cartoonist and his Editor.
21. Where do the statements of the TTP claiming responsibility for attacks on Pakistani military personnel fit in? What is the relationship between the TTP, Ilyas and his 313 Brigade? What happened to the 313 Brigade of J&K? Does it continue its separate existence? Answers to these questions are not available.”
Thanks to a special freepailer for this update:
“Hotels told to keep eye on foreigners”
Dwaipayan Ghosh, TNN 16 November 2009, 12:43am IST
SNIPPET: “NEW DELHI: The David Headley case has spurred Delhi Police into stepping up its vigil on foreign tourists, even at the risk of harassing innocent
travellers and costing hotels business. Stung by the revelation that Headley stayed in Delhi earlier this year, and concerned about the security implications for events like the Commonwealth Games — which are expected to see thousands of foreign tourists pour into the capital — the cops have issued guidelines to hotel owners even as investigators have been visiting several cyber cafes and hotels in Paharganj.”
SNIPPET: “”The Karol Bagh blasts last year had forced us to introduce a slew of measures to enforce security in areas frequented by tourists. But, we did not introduce anything specific for foreign tourists. But, with the Headley case surfacing now, we have to be on our guard,” said a senior special cell officer.”
ADDING to post no. 51:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2394082/posts
“New suspect linked to cartoon plot: Man detained at behest of FBI may have Rana connection”
The Ottawa Citizen ^ | November 24, 2009 | By Ian MacLeod
Posted on November 25, 2009 1:25:54 AM PST by TheMole
SNIPPET: “The fast-moving international case against a Pakistani-Canadian businessman charged with plotting a terror attack in Denmark and suspected of others in India moved into Pakistan on Monday night with news of the capture of another suspect.
Illyas Kashmiri, a former Pakistani military officer and now a reputed commander of the Pakistan-based Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) militant group, is believed to have been detained by Pakistan at the behest of the FBI, according to an unconfirmed report in The Times of India.
It’s not clear when and where Kashmiri may have been taken into custody or if he is among as many as five people reportedly arrested by Pakistan in connection with the plot in recent weeks, including some former or current Pakistani military officials.
If confirmed, Kashmiri’s arrest will expand the global nature of the case, which already has connections to Chicago, Copenhagen, Mumbai and Kanata. It would also highlight the intercontinental reach of suspected terrorist operations.
Canadian Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 48, and Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley, 49, were arrested in Chicago by the FBI last month and accused of plotting the murder of an editor and cartoonist at the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which ran controversial cartoons of the prophet Mohammad in 2005. They face charges of conspiring to provide material support for terrorism and providing material support to terrorism.
The pair live in the Chicago area, though Pakistan native Rana has family in Kanata, including an ailing father and a brother, Abbas, a well-known Parliament Hill journalist with The Hill Times.
According to U.S court documents, Headley, who is co-operating with authorities, posed as an employee of Rana’s immigration consultancy in Chicago to travel to Denmark and carry out reconnaissance of the newspaper. The FBI alleges they reported on the plot to a member of Lashkar-e-Taiba and al-Qaeda linked Kashmiri.
Lashkar, once nurtured by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency to fight India in Kashmir, also talked to them about possible attacks in India and suggested these should be given priority over the alleged plot in Denmark, according the FBI evidence, based largely on intercepted telephone conversations and e-mail traffic.
Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram recently confirmed to the Washington Post that police in India are investigating whether the two men had links to last November’s Mumbai attack that killed 166, including two Canadians.
Officials have long worried that Lashkar, blamed for the attacks on Mumbai, could use its network of support in the Pakistani diaspora to hit Western targets. HuJI has also been accused of hit-and-run attacks against India.”