(EST PUB DATE) TERRORISM REVIEW FOR SEPTEMBER 1998

• Document Type: FOIA
• Keywords: LADEN USAMA BIN
• Keywords: LADIN OSAMA BIN
• Keywords: LADIN USAMA BIN
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0000257646
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 37
• Document Creation Date: June 24, 2015
• Document Release Date: August 1, 2011
• Case Number: F-2008-00992
• Publication Date: September 1, 1998

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APPROVED FOR RELEASE^ DATE:
07-25-2011
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 National Security Unauthorized Disclosure
Information Subject to Criminal Sanctions
Dissemination Control NOFORN (rrF) Not releasable to foreign nationals
Abbreviations PROPIN (ex) Caution-proprietary information involved
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controlled by originator
 Terrorism Review
Articles US Faces Hei tened Threat Environment Worldwide
ClC
There have been neazly 300 documented threats against US interests
worldwide since the 7 August East Africa bombings and through
10 September, with about two-thirds coming in the three weeks after
the 20 August US strikes against terrorist targets in Sudan and
Afghanistan. Official US diplomatic fac" ' 'es and personnel were
the subject of 183 of the threats~~
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Summary of Threat Informatioi>~
By Region
Africa
Western Europe
Latin America
Unspecified
Eastern Europe
Middle East
South Asia
Balkans
Southeast Asia
Asia
Former Soviet Union
North America
By Type
Number of threats
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Number of threats
By Region
Africa
Western Europe
Middle East
Southeast Asia
Unspecified
Eastern Europe
Former Soviet Union
South Asia
Latin America
North America
Balkans
Asia
BY Type
Number of threats
0 10 20 30 40 50
Number of threats
Note: The number of threats per region and the number of threats by type exceed
the total number of threat reports (290) because several reports specify more than
one region and more than one type of threat.
 US Faces Heightened Threat
Environment Worldwid
'We have documented nearly 300 threats against US
interests worldwide since the 7 August East Africa
bombings and through 10 September 1998.
Threats peaked one week after the US strikes in
Afghanistan and Sudan and, as of 10 September,
were approaching prestrike levels. Of&cial US dip-
lomaticfacilities and personnel were identified as
the targets in 183 cases, and 32 threats were aimed
at US commercial tou ' cultural, and nongov-
ernment enfities
US interests in Africa received 83 threats between
7 August and 10 September, the highest of any region,
with several warnings indicating possible bomb
attacks against US Embassies there, particularly in
Kampala, Uganda.
? Facilities and personnel in Western Europe received
the second-highest number of threats, followed by
The majority of threats before 20 August came from
call-ins warning of imminent bomb attacks against US
Embassies. After 20 August, however, we noted an
increase in threats reported by press
Many of those threats did not identify
specific targets.
? Other types of threats also increased inmost regions
after 20 August, including warnings of hijacking,
kidnapping, rocket and chemical attacks, and assas-
Several US Embassies aze concerned that persons vol-
unteering information about terrorist plans or request-
ing travel information may actually be casing the
facilities to help plan future terrorist attacks.
In addition to credible threats posed by Usama
Bin Ladin and affiliated extremist groups such as the
Egyptian Islamic Jihad and the Egyptian al-Gama'at
al-Islmaiyya, other groups of serious concern include
People Against Gangsterism and Drugs-implicated
in the 25 August Cape Town bombing-and Qibla.
.Both are South African Islamic groups that have
called for retaliatory strikes against the United States
for the US military operations in Sudan and
Afghanistan
US Embassies worldwide aze taking heightened secu-
rity precautions and have scaled back operations in
azeas where s ecific credible threat inf nm ti
exists
SUS personnel in these localities have
detected increased surveillance of personnel and
facilities.
? Host governments have closed streets neaz several
embassies, augmented local guazd forces, and in
some cases, leased land adjacent to US compounds
to create buffer zones azound US facilities.
? US Embassy officials are working with liaison and
local police to pursue all leads to gain information
about future terrorist operations from walk-ins,
write-ins, and call-ins.
? Most of the threats, upon close examination, have
lacked credibility, and many involve persons seeking
~
reward money, visas, or resettlement
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 ~~gh~
HAMAS Vows Revenge for Militants' Deaths
HAMAS officials have vowed publicly to retaliate against Israel for the killing on
10 September of two of its military leaders, Imad and Adil Awadallah. Adil
Awadallah headed HAMAS military operations in the West Bank, and his brother,
Imad, was a key recruiter.
? HAMAS founder Shaykh Yasin warned the group will "painfully avenge" the
deaths of the Awadallah brothers and called on the military wing to decide "when
and how" to respond.
mean security sernces have declazed "a near 100 percent" state of
HAMAS remains capable of staging operations despite the loss of the Awadallahs,
the death of bombmaker Muhi al-Din al-Sharif in Mazch, and several major arrests
and weapons seizures over the past yeaz by both Palestinian and Israeli security
forces. HAMAS has demonstrated resilience in the past by launching attacks dur-
ing the height of crackdowns and responding quickly to the assassination of bomb-
maker Yahya Ayyash in 1996 with a series of suicide bombings.
? At least two other leaders of HAMAS' mili win Mahmud A
Muhammad Da -rem
HAMAS' unfulfilled threats to avenge the death of al-Sharif in Mazch add to the
pressure on the group to react quickly to the latest killings.
HAMAS founder Shaykh Yasin had taken a personal
interest in Imad Awadallah-who escaped last month from a Palestinian
Authority jail-threatening revenge if he were harmed or turned over to the
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 Guerrillas in Colombia Release Two US Hostage
Colombia's two principal guerrilla groups-the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN)-teach released a US
hostage in September. Three New Tribes Missionaries, kidnapped by the FARC in
January 1993, remain the only US citizens held captive in Colombia, if they aze
still alive.
? The FARC's 53rd Front released Donald Lee Cary on 6 September. Guerrillas
kidnapped Cary in March and refused to free him after the family paid a ransom
in June. The family may have paid an additional ransom.
? The ELN's Jose Solano Sepulveda Front released US geologist Donald Riedel on
18 September after holding him for 20 months. His family paid at least $885,000
in ransom
? The FARC kidnapped US missionaries Mazk Rich, David Mankins, and Rick
Tenenoff in January 1993. The terrorists have not provided proof of life since
1994, but information from a captured guerrilla indicates that the hostages were
alive in FARO captivity in eazly 1996. However, FARC leaders have repeatedly
denied that they kidnapped the US missionaries.
? The Colombian Government's anti-kidnapping.czaz, Ruben Dario Ramirez, has
declazed the New Tribes Missionaries "legally disappeazed and probably dead."
The insurgents' motive for releasing US hostages is unclear. The FARC probably
released Cary because he was in poor health, and his family already had paid a ran-
som. The ELN may have freed Riedel when it realized his family had exhausted its
financial resources. The releases probably were not intended as gestures of good
will toward US citizens.
however, on 22 September the ELN made
an overture oug a represen ve of Spain's Socialist Party to establish contact
with the US Government. The ELN probably did not free Riedel because it
wanted to open a dialogue with Washington, but once the last US hostage was
released, the ELN may have perceived an opportunity to develop contacts with
US officials and enhance its legitimacy while it embarks on a peace process with
Bogota
The release of the hostages does not signal a reduced threat to US interests in
Colombia. An exact hostage count is not available, but multiple sources indicate
that the FARC and ELN continue to hold collectively well over 300 hostages and
have not renounced terrorist activity or pledged to refrain from kidnapping US
citizens
Sec t 20
 8 October 1967
23 October 1983
28 October
29 October 1923
29 October 1973
3I October 1984
The Terrorism Diary for October and Novembe~
Below is a compendium of October and November dates of known or conceivable
significance to terrorists around the world. Inclusion of a date or event d es not
indicate that we anticipate a commemorative terrorist event
Tlunisia, Israel, Palestinians. Israeli bombing of PLO headquarters in Tanis.
Germany. German Unity Day, official date of unification of West Germany and
East Germany.
Israel, Arab World. Arab-Israeli war begins.
Egypt. Armed Forces Day (commemorates October War with Israel).
Peru. Founding of the Communist Pazty of Peru, from which Sendero Luminoso
evolved.
Cuba. Heroic Guerrilla Day (death of Che Guevara in Bolivia).
Lebanon. Bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut.
Cyprus. Greek National Day (observed by Greek Cypriot community).
Turkey. Independence Day (proclamation of republic).
Cyprus. Turkish Republic Day (observed by Turkish Cypriot community).
India. Assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by Sikh bodyguazds, trigger-
ing anti-Sikh riots throughout northern India.
Peru. Founding of'llipac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) and People's
Revolutionary Command (CRP).
Syria. Hafiz al-Asad assumes power.
Saudi Arabia. Bombing in Riyadh of the Office of Personnel Management/Saudi
Arabian National Guard (OPM/SANG).
Jordan. King Hussein's birthday.
Greece. Student uprising at Athens Polytechnic University from which terrorist
group Revolutionary Organization 17 November takes its name.
Lebanon. Independence Day.
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 26 November 1954 Sri Lai:ka. LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) leader Velupillai Prabhaka-
ran's birthday. Marks commencement of Heroes' Week celebrations in the LTTE.
29 November 1945 Yugoslavia. Republic Day.
29 November 1947 Palestine. Anniversary of the adoption of the resolution for Palestine partition by
LTN General Assembly.
 Chronology of International Terrorism-July-August 1998
The following incidents have met the criteria for the Intelligence Community's
Incident Review Panel since publication of the previous issue of the Terrorism
Review These incidents are the basis for the State Department's Patterns of Global
Terrorism, published ?annu~all ads the US Government's o, fJicial record of
international terroris"~~
International Terrorism Incidents by Region
Since 1 January 199
Legend
fii Incidents in this issue
fii? Incidents in previous issues
Es~uasia F.mope Latin Middle North
America Fast America
This issue
2
9
I
S
7
2 0
Previous issues
13
18
7
25
39
17 0
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 17 July
24 July
26 July
28 July
4 August
Pakistani-backed sepazatis
India: An unidentified militant threw a grenade into the crowded Jehangir
Chowk area in Srinagar, Kashmir, injuring l3 persons. A police official stated
that the grenade was thrown at a Border Security Force post but exploded in the
road instead. No one claimed res onsibility, but police believe the assailant is a
~
India: A bomb exploded near the railroad tracks motnents after the Shalimar
Express passed by in Jammu and Kashmir, killing one soldier and injuring t