20committee posted: "Bosnia-Hercegovina's troubles with terrorism and
extremism were back in the news this week, with police raids leading to the
arrest of eleven radicals associated with the Islamic State, several of whom
recently waged jihad in Syria. This was the second pa" Respond to
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New post on The XX Committee
(http://20committee.com/author/20committee/)
_Operation DAMASCUS: The Italian Job_
(http://20committee.com/2014/11/15/operation-damascus-the-italian-job/)
by _20committee_ (http://20committee.com/author/20committee/)
Bosnia-Hercegovina's troubles with terrorism and extremism were back in
the news this week, with police raids leading to the arrest of eleven
radicals associated with the Islamic State, several of whom recently waged
jihad
in Syria. This was the second part of _Operation DAMASCUS_
(http://20committee.com/2014/11/13/operation-damascus-part-ii/) , which began
two months
ago, a long-delayed effort to dismantle Bosnia's radical Islamist
infrastructure.
Among the five extremists still in custody since their arrest in early
September is Bilal Bosnić, a Salafi man-about-town with connections all over
Central Europe._ As I noted at the time of his arrest:_
(http://20committee.com/2014/09/10/operation-damascus/)
The biggest catch was Bilal Bosnić, a radical imam who is the de facto
leader of Salafi jihadism in the country, particularly its very radical
variant that is affiliated with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (his
competitor, Nusret Imamović, has been in Syria for several months, where he
backs the rival, Al-Qaida-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra faction). Notorious for
his fiery and YouTube-friendly sermons exhorting his followers to join the
caravan with the Islamic State, Bosnić has spent considerable time in
Central Europe causing trouble and recruiting for the jihad, principally in
_Italy_
(http://20committee.com/2014/08/25/new-intelligence-on-italian-jihadists/) and
_Austria_
(http://20committee.com/2014/08/22/vienna-calling-how-austria-became-a-hub-of-global-jihad/)
. His arrest therefore is important.
The bearded imam was taken into custody at his farm near Buzim, in Bosnia’
s far west where he lives with his four wives and sixteen children; there
were also a dozen “guests” in the residence who had come to Bosnić to
receive religious instruction, he said, in his very crowded house. The imam
ostensibly supports himself by tending goats — his previous career as an
accordion player in a folk band ended abruptly when Bosnić found religion —
but Bosnian intelligence believes that he receives funds from abroad,
_likely with the help of Iranian intelligence_
(http://20committee.com/2012/08/09/tehrans-men-in-sarajevo/) , which possesses
a robust covert
infrastructure in Bosnia dating back more than two decades. Bosnić is the
“big fish”
in this operation, since he can be linked to dozens of Bosnians and other
Europeans who have joined the Middle Eastern jihad on behalf of the Islamic
State.
Unsurprisingly, counterterrorism officials from several countries are
interested in talking with Bosnić, and the Sarajevo daily Dnevni avaz this
week _reported_
(http://www.avaz.ba/clanak/146024/istrazitelji-iz-italije-stigli-zbog-bosnica)
that Lamberto Giannini, the counterterrorism boss for
the Italian State Police, has been in Sarajevo for the last few days,
tracking down leads relating to Bosnić, who has spent considerable time
rabble-rousing among Salafis in Italy. It's not clear if Giannini has talked
with
Bosnić -- Sarajevo officials admitted only that there has been "an exchange
of information" with Italian partners, though it clear that the
counterterrorism relationship between Rome and Sarajevo is better than it has
been
in years. Interest in Bosnić and his activities is not new in Rome, though
it was spiked by_ an interview the imam gave to La Repubblica_
(http://www.repubblica.it/esteri/2014/08/28/news/bilal_bosnic_ci_sono_italiani_nell_is_c
onquisteremo_il_vaticano-94559220/) in late August, shortly before his
arrest, in which he boasted that fifty Italians were fighting with the
Islamic State, with his encouragement, as well as the customary Salafi
bluster
about conquering Italy, including the Vatican.
Closer cooperation between European security services is vitally
necessary if there is serious intent, at last, of dismantling Salafi jihadist
networks across the continent. The Islamic State's war in Iraq and Syria is
generating an unprecedented security crisis in Europe, with thousands of
Europeans having gone to wage jihad under Da'ish's black flag. Bosnia is a
hotspot for this sort of radicalism and terrorism, and extremists like Bosnić
have deep connections to Austria, Germany, and Italy in particular. This
is an encouraging, if belated, sign that European governments are taking
this threat seriously, before it becomes a major threat to peace at home.
More will be forthcoming soon ...
_20committee_ (http://20committee.com/author/20committee/) | November 15,
2014 at 12:30 | Categories: _Counterintelligence_
(http://20committee.com/?cat=1354826) , _Espionage_
(http://20committee.com/?cat=88698) ,
_Radicalism_ (http://20committee.com/?cat=54267) , _Terrorism_
(http://20committee.com/?cat=2300) | URL: http://wp.me/p2zHUk-pa
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