Interview with children of Russian deep-cover spies caught in the US

The two sons of a Russian couple, who were among 10 deep-cover spies arrested in the United States, have given an interview about their experience for the first time. Tim and Alex Foley (now Vavilov) are the sons of Donald Heathfield and Tracey Foley, a married couple arrested in 2010 under Operation GHOST STORIES, a counterintelligence program run by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. Following their arrest, their sons, who had grown up thinking their parents were Canadian, were told that they were in fact Russian citizens and that their real names were Andrei Bezrukov and Elena Vavilova. Their English-sounding names and Canadian passports had been forged in the late 1980s by the KGB, the Soviet Union’s primary external intelligence agency.

The two boys were at the family’s home in suburban Cambridge, MA, on Sunday, June 27, 2010, when FBI agents conducted coordinated raids across New England, arresting their parents and eight more Russian ‘illegals’. That term is used to signify Russian non-official-cover operatives, namely intelligence officers who operate abroad without diplomatic cover and typically without connection to the country they spy for. It is now believed that Bezrukov and Vavilova were recruited as a couple in the 1980s by the KGB’s Department S, which operated the agency’s ‘illegals’ program. They were trained for several years before being sent to Canada, where their mission was to blend into the society and establish a ‘legend’, a background story of their lives that could be supported by forged documentation supplied by the KGB. In 1995, the family moved to Paris, France, where Bezrukov, using the name Donald Heathfield, earned Master in Business Administration from the École des Ponts. Both their children had been born by 1999, when the family moved to Massachusetts so that Bezrukov could study at Harvard University. He then joined a consultancy firm, which he apparently planned to use as a vehicle in order to get close to influential American lawmakers.

Their two sons, who are now living in unspecified countries in Europe and Singapore, told British newspaper The Guardian that their childhood was “absolutely normal” and that they never suspected their parents of being spies. They told The Guardian’s Shaun Walker that their parents never discussed Russia or the Soviet Union, never ate Russian food, and never met Russian people while in Massachusetts. The sons, whose Russian names are Alexander and Timofei Vavilov, said they remember meeting their grandparents “somewhere in Europe” when they were very young, but that they later disappeared from their lives. Their parents told them that they lived in rural Alberta, Canada, and that they found it difficult to travel.

The two brothers said that, shortly after their parents were arrested by the FBI, they were put on a plane to Moscow. When they arrived there, a group of people appeared on the plane door and introduced themselves to them as “colleagues of their parents”. They were then placed in a van and taken to a Moscow apartment, where they were given information about their parents’ true backgrounds, including photographs of them from their teenage lives and military service in the USSR. It was then, they told The Guardian, that they finally believed that their parents were indeed Russian spies.

The family reunited a few days later in Moscow, after Bezrukov, Vavilova, and the other Russian ‘illegals’ were exchanged with four men held in Russian jails for spying for the West. The two brothers now want to regain their Canadian citizenship, which was taken from them by the government of Canada after their parents were found to have been using forged Canadian citizenship papers. They argue that they feel Canadian, not Russian, and that they are not responsible for their parents’ actions, which were hidden from them until their arrest in 2010.

https://intelnews.org/2016/05/09/01-1897/ 

British SAS capture 3 Isis chiefs in daring lightning raids as net closes around Mosul

British SAS troopers have successfully kidnapped three Islamic State (Isis) chiefs in daring lightning raids in Mosul, according to reports. The city is the largest in Iraq still under Isis (Daesh) control, but is facing increased pressure from the north, south and east by the Iraqi army, Kurdish Peshmerga forces and US-led Western airstrikes.

British special forces, including the Special Air Service (SAS), have been operating in Iraq in conjunction with other western forces to help plot attacks on the militants, with snipers taking out high-level members of the terror group on several occasions. More from IBTimes UK

Now it has emerged that more than 20 members of British special forces, most of them in the SAS and under US command, have been co-ordinating top-secret snatch missions on IS compounds in Mosul. The operations use a three-pronged attack of diversionary air strikes to the north of the city with Typhoon fighter jets, whilst RAF Sentinel spy planes intercept communications.

Blackhawk helicopters then drop the highly-trained troops into hostile territory for lightening raids attempting to kidnap IS warlords. The operation has been dubbed a success as three mid-ranking IS chiefs have been snatched in just three weeks.

The captives are then handed to either Kurdish or Iraqi security officials for interrogation. According to some military sources, these attacks are a precursor to British special forces spearheading an army of 70,000 Iraqi and Kurdish troops for an assault on the city, in the Nineveh Province in northern Iraq.

A senior source said to the Mirror: "There are a wide range of activities taking place around Mosul which allows our commanders to shape the dispositions of enemy forces prior to any engagement. Seizing enemy commanders has always been a key driver in changing the way your opponent thinks, it will unsettle them and may force them to make mistakes.

"From our point of view killing the enemy is not always the answer. If we can get a commander to change sides, as we did in Afghanistan, this can have major influence on people inside Mosul and save lives."

This week US Defence Secretary Ash Carter asked the UK to send extra "military trainers" to Iraq as they deployed 16 Apache helicopters to Mosul. On 3 May, US Navy Seal Charlie Keating, 31, from Arizona was killed by IS fighters near the city of Irbil, roughly 55 miles from Mosul, after the militants broke through Kurdish Peshmerga lines.

Another report from the city says that British-trained Iraqi special forces in civilian clothes killed IS guards in order to assist the SAS snatch a commander. A source said: "The SAS are at the heart of this operation but it is very important that much of the credit goes to the Iraqis to bolster their standing."

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/british-sas-capture-3-isis-chiefs-daring-lightning-raids-net-closes-around-mosul-1558793

The orange-bearded British jihadist leading an ISIS death squadron: Bizarre-looking Islamist went from preaching hate at London mosque to setting up terror group's first Somali base

A former British-based hate preacher has re-emerged in an ISIS video, leading a band of jihadis in Somalia.

Abdul Qadir Mumin used to be a key recruiter and facilitator for the al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabaab in Somalia after fleeing his home in South London.

He became one of the few high profile al-Shabaab figures to switch his allegiance to ISIS and has since fled with a small band of jihadis to the remote mountains in Puntland.

 

Abdul Qadir Mumin used to be a key recruiter and facilitator for the al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabaab in Somalia after fleeing his home in South London

Mumin used to preach at Greenwich mosque, which is believed to have been where Mohammed Emwazi and Michael Adebolajo occasionally attended prayers.

Upon fleeing to Somalia in 2010, Mumin burnt his passport and declared he would spend the rest of his life fighting jihad. 

Mumin, who also used to reside in Sweden, was reportedly spotted by Somali forces after the government re-gained control of the village of Galgala, according to Sky News. 

Residents described how Mumin and his small group of ISIS fighters had raided the village, torching houses and attacking civilians for not covering up.

Although ISIS have gained considerable territory in Syria, Iraq and Libya, the militant group has struggled to gain a real footing in the Horn of Africa.

Only a small number of al-Shabaab fighters, around 20 fighters in Puntland, have followed Mumin in giving bayah (allegiance) to ISIS.

Despite a deluge of Somali-speaking propaganda videos urging al-Shabaab fighters to join ISIS, the al-Qaeda group retains much of its army in Somalia.  

Mumin, also known as Ikrima al-Muhajir, previously served as a senior figure in al-Shabaab before becoming one of the few high profile figures to join ISIS.

His switch was announced through an audio statement early last year, prompting an al-Shabaab crackdown on ISIS dissenters. 

Al-Shabaab insurgents attacked a Somali military base on Tuesday and killed five soldiers in two hours of fierce fighting near the northwestern town of Baidoa, a military officer said.

Mumin, also known as Ikrima al-Muhajir, previously served as a senior figure in al-Shabaab before becoming one of the few high profile figures to join ISIS

Somali and English speaking ISIS fighters in Libya appeal to Somalis to defect from al-Shabaab to ISIS

Al-Shabaab insurgents attacked a Somali military base on Tuesday and killed five soldiers in two hours of fierce fighting near the northwestern town of Baidoa, a military officer said

'Al-Shabaab militants attacked early in the morning. Five soldiers died and 12 others were wounded,' captain Aden Nur told Reuters from Baidoa. Six al-Shabaab fighters were killed, he added.

Abdiasis Abu Musab, the group's military operations spokesman, said it had ambushed a truck carrying troops to reinforce the base, killed 11 soldiers and seized seven guns.

'We exploded the truck using a planted bomb and then ambushed,' he told Reuters.

It was not possible to verify the death toll independently. Al-Shabaab has inflated casualty figures in the past. 

Abdul Qadir Mumin is thought to be hiding in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland in north-eastern Somalia. Puntland takes its name from the Land of Punt and wishes to remain part of a federal Somalia

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3565241/The-orange-bearded-British-jihadist-leading-ISIS-death-squadron-Bizarre-looking-Islamist-went-preaching-hate-London-mosque-setting-terror-group-s-Somali-base.html 

ISIS fighters 'ambush British special forces in gun and bomb attack during operation in Libya'

British special forces have been ambushed by ISIS suicide bombers and gunmen in Libya - amid fears some of the team may have been taken prisoner, it is reported.

Members of the Special Boat Service (SBS) were travelling in a convoy with Italian and Libyan troops when they were targeted by militants, according to an Israeli military intelligence website.

The attackers drove up to the convoy in vehicles packed with explosives, before 'surprising' the foreign servicemen by blowing themselves up, Debka.com reports.

Other fighters then allegedly fired bullets at the British, Italian and Libyan troops, while more suicide bombers ran forward to detonate their own explosives.

 

Members of the Special Boat Service (SBS) were reportedly targeted by militants on Wednesday (file picture)

They were only stopped when Italian and French warplanes targeted the area, it is reported.
Some Italian marines were apparently killed or wounded in the attack on Wednesday.


Although there is no information on whether any British servicemen were hurt in the incident, some reports claim Western troop members were captured by the Islamic State.

However, Debka.com states: "It is possible that any hostages are from the Libyan National Army, a militia commanded by Gen. Khalifa Haftar, a Libyan who has American citizenship."

The ambush reportedly occurred as the convoy was traveling toward the ISIS stronghold of Sirte, which is starting to rival the likes of Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq.

The troops had set off from the coastal city of Misrata, and were 'surprised' by the 'high combat skills of the ISIS fighters', according to the website's sources.

The British and Italian marines were being accompanied by the Libyan military.

The UK special forces are thought to have been active for months in Libya, where the number of ISIS militants is reported to have doubled in just a year to more than 6,000.

In a statement to the Daily Mail, the Ministry of Defence said it would not confirm nor deny any claims about the country's special forces activity.

http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/world-news/isis-fighters-ambush-british-special-7871884

ISIS leader's ex-wife: Baghdadi used to be 'a normal family man'

Iraqi-born Saga al-Dulaimi, who escaped from marriage to the infamous leader of ISIS, recounts to Swedish media of her life with one of the world's most wanted terrorists.

Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. (photo credit:REUTERS) 

The second wife of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has recently claimed that her former husband was "a normal family man" before he became the infamous leader of the extremist Islamic State group.

In an interview Saturday with the Swedish newspaper Expressen, Iraqi-born Saga al-Dulaimi recounted her life with one of the most wanted terrorists in the world.

"I married a normal person who was a university lecturer. At the time his name was Hisham Mohammad," al-Dulaimi told Expressen.

She added that when she married her husband in 2008 she was not aware that he was involved in any extremist activities.

"I didn't notice that he was actively involved in the resistance movement at all. He was a normal family man," al-Dulaimi said. "How he could become Emir of the most dangerous terrorist organization in the world is a mystery."

Since 2011, the US State Department has offered a $10 million reward for information that could lead to al-Baghdadi's location or arrest.

Al-Dulaimi said her father had approved of the marriage with the man who would become to be known as al-Baghdadi after her first husband, an Iraqi in Saddam Hussein's security convoy, died while fighting the US army. She had twin infant boys from that marriage.

Four months ago, 28-year-old al-Dulaimi and her four children, including daughter Hagar whom she had with al-Badhdadi, were released from a Lebanese jail as part of a prisoner exchange between the Syrian government and the al-Qaida offshoot al-Nusra Front.

While the al-Dulaimi has remained quite until now about her relationship with the enigmatic, self-declared "caliph" of the terrorist group known as ISIS, she told Expressen that she left al-Baghdadi because she was not happy in the marriage nor in the household as a second wife.

"I had been pregnant for a month without either of us knowing. I left him. Yes, you could say that I fled from him," Expressen quoted her as explaining. "It had nothing to do with him as a person. I wasn't happy. It was unfair on his first wife. She was very upset. That's why I left."

After leaving the ISIS leader, al-Dulaimi moved back in with her first husband's family in Baghdad. Years later after being arrested and released in Syria for her family's alleged ties to al-Nusra Front, al-Dulaimi fled to Lebanon during a Syrian army campaign against the group's positions.

Lebanese authorities arrested her for illegally crossing the border, and it was there she learned what had become of her ex-husband. In June 2014 al-Baghdadi was named as the "caliph" of the group now known as ISIS.

"It was when I got to Lebanon that I received the shocking news. They showed me pictures of my ex-husband and asked me if I recognized him," she recounted. "It turns out I was married to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. It was a shock to find out - seven years later - that I'd been married to the most dangerous man in the world. I smashed a window in anger."

Since then, al-Dulmaimi has remarried to a Palestinian man and now seeks to leave the Middle East. 

http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/ISIS-Threat/ISIS-leaders-ex-wife-Baghdadi-used-to-be-a-normal-family-man-452785 

Brussels Attacks Indicative of Jihadist Threats Facing the United States

The March multiple terror attacks in Brussels that resulted in more than 30 people killed and more than 250 injured raises again the specter of terrorism globally. While since 9/11 fewer than 50 people have been in killed in the United States due to jihadist-inspired terrorism, that paltry number fails to illustrate that the jihadi threat here is significant as hundreds – if not thousands – of persons would have succumbed to otherwise stymied plots. More specifically, there have been dozens of jihadi terror plots here during the past 14 years, especially since 2014 with those inspired by the Islamic State.

Jihadist activity on U.S. soil since September 11 includes successful attacks resulting in deaths, attacks causing injuries to victims, and attempted plots involving planned mayhem big and small. The participants of these incidents include individuals linked formally and/or ideologically across a variety of jihadist “homes,” including a multitude of U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations, among them al Qaeda, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Pakistani Taliban, and increasingly, of late, the Islamic State.

The perpetrators have acted as part of small cabals, linked by a variance of social networks – some family-affiliated or otherwise – and as lone wolves. The weaponry used most frequently that resulted in these killings was gunfire, followed by explosive devices. The targets of successful attacks included military and civilian settings.

From September 2001 through 2015, the number of victims killed during jihadist attacks in the United States was 44, arising from nine incidents (and their aftermaths):

• Hesham Mohamed Hadayet shot and killed two people and wounded four others at the El Al Israeli airline counter at Los Angeles International Airport in July 2002. An airline security officer shot and killed Hadayet. Hadayet was deemed to be a lone wolf inspired by anti-Israeli sentiments. He legally purchased the gun used in the attack.
• Naveed Haq killed one person and injured five during an attack with two semi-automatic pistols at the Seattle Jewish Federation office in July 2006. He was sentenced to life in prison. Haq, too, has been characterized as a lone wolf, triggered by anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic perspectives. He legally purchased the guns used in the incident.
• In June 2009, Carlos Bledsoe carried out a drive-by shooting (with a rifle) at a military recruiting station in Little Rock, Arkansas. The incident resulted in the death of one U.S. soldier and injury of another. He was sentenced to life in prison. Bledsoe claimed affiliation with AQAP. He is alleged to have met Anwar al-Awlaki, the group’s former senior operative.
• Dr. Nidal Hasan killed 13 and injured another 39 during a shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, in November 2009. Hasan was shot and injured by police during their response to the incident. He was sentenced to death for the murders. Hasan legally purchased the handgun used in the attack. Prior to the incident, Hasan communicated online with al-Awlaki.
• In April 2013, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev detonated two improvised explosive devices at the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring more than 260. In the days following the attack, Tamerlan shot and killed one MIT police officer (the gun used was loaned to Dzhokhar), while one Boston police officer was killed after the brothers released pressure cooker bombs from their car during a police chase. Tamerlan was killed when his brother ran him over while they were evading police. Dzhokhar was found guilty of perpetrating the attacks and sentenced to death. This cabal was inspired by various jihadist ideals.
• Between April and June 2014, Ali Muhammad Brown shot and killed three people in Seattle, Washington, during different incidents, and another person later in New Jersey. Brown claimed to have undertaken the attacks in retaliation for U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Brown’s wife legally purchased the handgun that was used in the murders.
• In September 2014, Alton Nolen beheaded a female co-worker and attempted to behead another woman in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, before he was shot and taken into custody. Nolen’s Facebook page had photos and commentary on jihadi beheadings as well as photos of jihadi fighters. In 2016, Nolen is on trial for these crimes.
• In July 2015, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez attacked two military locations in Chattanooga, Tennessee, killing five persons, and injuring two others. Abdulazeez initially attacked a military recruiting center, and later drove to a U.S. Navy Reserve center, where the fatalities took place. Police killed Abduelazeez while responding to the incident.  He used several weapons in the attack, including a semi-automatic rifle, shotgun and handgun, a number of which were acquired legally. The FBI reported that Abdulazeez was inspired by a foreign terrorist organization.
• In December 2015, Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik attacked a holiday party in San Bernardino, California, organized by Farook’s employer, killing 14 and wounding 21 others, using semiautomatic weapons (purchased legally by Farook’s friend, Enrique Marquez, several years earlier). The couple had been radicalized for several years, including prior to meeting. Malik pledged allegiance to Islamic State leader al-Baghdadi during their attack.

Besides attacks resulting in deaths and injuries, failed plots encompassed some plans to kill scores. Core al Qaeda-directed ineffectual plots included infamous shoe bomber Richard Reid in 2001, and three planned simultaneous suicide bombers in NYC in 2009, led by Najibullah Zazi.

Also, in 2009, AQAP-linked Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab unsuccessfully detonated an explosive device on a flight from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to Detroit, Michigan, with nearly 300 people on board. The following year, Faisal Shazad, a Pakistani Taliban-connected perpetrator, detonated a poorly devised vehicle-borne explosive device in New York’s Times Square.

Unaffiliated jihadist-inspired terrorists likewise sought to kill during many planned or actual attacks. In March 2006, Mohamed Taheri Azar, an Iranian-born U.S. citizen, tried to run over University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill students with a rented SUV at an outdoor, on-campus hangout. In August 2008, he pleaded guilty to nine counts of attempted murder and sentenced to over two decades in prison.

Although many subsequent failed plots included operatives who interacted with informants and/or undercover agents during sting operations, the lethal intentions of the operatives should not be characterized as otherwise. For example, in 2009 two lone wolf plotters separately attempted to detonate what they believed were vehicle-borne explosives. Hosam Smadi and Michael Finton targeted a Dallas, Texas, skyscraper, and a federal building in Springfield, Illinois, respectively.

More recently, other jihadists sought to kill numerous persons in, ultimately, failed terror plans. In September 2012 Ahmed Daoud attempted to remotely detonate a vehicle-borne explosives device outside a Chicago, Illinois, bar. According to taped conversations during a sting operation. Daoud intended to kill many, “If it’s only like five, 10 people, I’m not gonna feel that good. I wanted something that’s ... massive.”  In 2016, Daoud is on trial for that crime.

In March 2015, Jonas Edmonds, one of two Illinois-based cousins inspired by the Islamic State, was arrested in relation to a plot to kill some 150 people in an intended attack at the National Guard base in Joliet. His cousin, Hasan, was arrested prior to boarding an overseas flight with an intention to travel and join the self-declared caliphate. The pair ultimately pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to the group (Hasan also for attempting to provide such support) as the sting operation served its objective.

Other significant, failed Islamic State-inspired plots during 2015 were comprised of a: planned attack at the U.S. Capitol using semiautomatic weapons and pipe bombs (Christopher Lee Cornell), suicide bombing to be conducted at the Ft. Riley, Kansas (John T. Booker, Jr.), and improvised explosive device to be left on a crowded beach in Florida (Harlem Saurez).

Jihadist-linked planned carnage continues here as illustrated by a 2016 case. Khalil Abu-Rayya told an undercover agent that he intended to undertake an Islamic State-inspired attack at a 6,000-member church in Detroit. Later, Abu-Rayyan was arrested for another crime.

To reiterate, the attacks in Brussels merely illustrate that the intentions and capabilities of jihadist terror groups – and those inspired by them in cabals or as lone wolves – are real and worthy of taking seriously in the homeland and abroad.

http://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/87082-brussels-attacks-indicative-of-jihadist-threats-facing-the-united-states#.Vydf1bZ-5do.linkedin 

Chinese policemen are patrolling the streets in Italy to make tourists feel safer

Chinese policemen are in Italy to start patrols with Italian officers in Rome and Milan in a two-week experiment.

Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said Monday that the aim is to make Chinese tourists feel safe and noted that it's the first time China sent police to Europe for such a project.

Starting Tuesday, two Chinese uniformed policemen will patrol with Italian counterparts in Rome, while two others will patrol with Italian police in Milan. For the second week, the Chinese will switch cities.

The Chinese, who speak Italian, received training from Italian officials in Beijing. Three million Chinese tourists visit Italy annually.

Italy has scarcely drawn on its relatively-new immigrant communities for police officers.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/ap-chinese-police-patrol-in-italy-to-make-tourists-feel-safer-2016-5?r=US&IR=T