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On 18 July 2023, in the Hayatabad neighborhood of the city of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a suicide bomber traveling onboard a vehicle approached a moving military vehicle transporting Pakistani troops. Upon self-detonation, the bomber caused the death of two soldiers and the severe injury of at least eight others. This most recent attack marks the seventh attack that has been claimed by the newly formed group Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP) since the beginning of March of this year.
Since the group's formation, TJP has boasted about having 'hundreds of suicide bombers ready,' as they emerged on the scene claiming the substantial 06 March 2023 suicide bombing that killed nine Pakistani Security officers and injuring another sixteen. However, a few hours after TJP claimed that 06 March attack, Islamic State Khurasan Pakistan (ISKP) also claimed the attack.
Of note, despite the Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP) claims of credit for the suicide bomb attacks that followed, TRAC contended that it was actually Tehreek-e Pakistan Taliban (TTP) who was behind attacks, partly because ISKP also claimed the first attack, but mostly because TTP is much more entrenched and far more likely to be able to successfully operate some of the complex assaults for which TJP had taken responsibility.
|  | TTP Claim of the 12 July 2023 armed assault | |
An armed assault took place a week ago, on 12 July 2023, on a Pakistani military camp that killed nine and injured twenty others in Zhob, Balochistan, and both Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility. This armed assault is especially significant not only in the number of casualties, but also the competing claims dispelled the notion that TTP and TJP might be competing groups. On the 12 July claim, the TTP spokesman, Muhammad Khorasani acknowledged TJP's claim, indicating TJP to be a 'brother organization.'
As a new group, TJP poses a major threat to Pakistan as a whole, especially given the significant amount of successful attacks they have had in four short months. The acknowledgement by TTP could mean considerable changes in the relationship between the two organizations, making the occurrence of joint attacks very possible and even more deadly.
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TRAC Insight:
Islamic State West Africa (ISWA/Wilayat Gharb Afriqiyah)
Petrol Market in Kousseri, Far-North Region, Cameroon
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On 15 July 2023, locals reported that Islamic State West Africa (ISWA) is operating a petrol market in Kousseri, Far-North Region in Cameroon, where hundreds of gallons of petrol smuggled from neighboring Nigeria are moved on through Chad into the black markets in Libya and Algeria. The porous borders that plague Western and Northern Africa make it especially easy to traffic in illicit goods.
Sources claimed and video evidence proved that ISWA has hundreds of barrels of petrol in Kousseri and that the operation stretches for at least a hectare. A liter of illicit petrol goes for about N350 [US$0.45] per liter, compared to N220-N250 [US$0.28 – US$0.35] at filling stations. Further, a hectare can hold 100,000 liters, which means that Kousseri holds at least $45,000 worth of petrol at this time and there is no doubt it will expand if the authorities do not intervene. Considering how cheap it is for ISWA fighters to survive since they live off the land, this money can go a long way.
It is prudent to mention that a hectare of land bustling with people and armed guards is hard to miss, especially considering that Chad and Cameroon surely have border patrols in this area. This begs the question of just how many officials are in on the petrol trade in Kousseri and makes one acutely aware of the corruption that plagues Africa’s borders.
Chad has been a traditional route for ISWA moving up to North Africa for years and although it sees less activity in terms of attacks than its neighbors, it is a highly strategic staging ground for smuggling from Nigeria on to North Africa.
The ISWA petrol smuggling syndicate is no doubt being directed by Islamic State Central Command who have been giving ISWA direction and guidance, at least since the death of Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau.
ISWA has control of the border town of Gamboru-Ngala, Borno State on the border of Cameroon’s Far-North Region and it is a known crossover point for militants into Cameroon.
This new information about the ISWA smuggling point in Kousseri shows that the group has expanded their road network onto the N1, which runs for 104km from Gamboru-Ngala through Far-North Region into Kousseri. In Gamboru-Ngala the N1 connects up to the A3 East which has been under ISWA control for at least a year and runs all the way from the border to Maidguri, the capital of Borno State.
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TRAC Incident Report:
Polish Intelligence Services Announced the Arrest of an
Islamic State (IS) Supporter in Wroclaw,
Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland
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On 16 June 2023, the Polish Security Agency (ABW) arrested an 18- year old radicalized man in Wroclaw, Lower Silesian Voivodship. The man, an Islamic State supporter, was said to have been preparing a bombing with a suicide belt on a state building in southwestern Poland. Upon his arrest, IED components were confiscated from him and he faces up to ten years in prison.
Islamic State’s activity on Polish territory is very limited, with the last IS attack dates being in 2021 in Warsaw. Incidents of Islamic radicalization or jihadist attacks are very uncommon in Poland and Polish Intelligence’s non-communication of the IS supporter's arrest for a month is a clear indication of Polish authorities wanting to heavily control the impact and consequence of this arrest.
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TRAC Incident Report:
'Last Generation' Climate Activists Glue Themselves to the Ground, Disrupting Flight Operations at Two Airports,
Hamburg and Düsseldorf, Germany
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One of the 'Last Generation' climate activists who glued herself to the runway. | |
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On 13 July 2023, in the early morning, several climate activists belonging to the environmental group movement known as 'Letzte Generation' (Last Generation) illegally accessed the runways of the airports in Hamburg and Düsseldorf and glued themselves to the tarmac, causing major disruptions to the flight operations.
The protests were carried out in demand of action against increasing gas emissions provoked by the aviation sector. The said activists were detained after being detached by the use of solvent.
This incident is the last of many that have been going on across Europe since 2022. Airports, museums, banks, and monuments are among the targets of environmental activists demanding a stop to the use of fossil fuels as well a reduction in the use of aviation as a means of transport, with a special focus on private jets.
Illegally accessing restricted areas such as airport runways puts at serious risk the lives of the activists, as well as those of passengers and airport operators. Of note, these incidents have been shedding light on the vulnerability of the airports, whose runways are easily accessible by cutting through fences.
However, it should be noted that Letzte Generation is no longer using mere Super Glue to stage these events. In a significant shift in tactic, Letzte Generation is now using an industrial strength glue that has been so effective, that the protesters have been threatened with amputation in order to remove them from the areas where they have attached themselves.
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TRAC Incident Report: Elements of the National Liberation Army (ELN) Kidnaps Governor Willington Rodríguez Benavides and Three Members of His security Detail, Betoyes, Tame, Arauca, Colombia | |
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TRAC Video Report:
The Biafran Liberation Army Releases a Propaganda Video in an Unknown Location,
Likely "Biafraland," Southern Nigeria
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TRAC Incident Report: March 23 Movement (M23) Militants Kill 11 Civilians and Take Control of Rubona, Bukombo, Rutshuru Territory, North-Kivu Province, Congo (DR) | | | | |
