Summary of Terrorist Incidents and CT Operations: June 2014
This month’s report covers terrorist incidents throughout the world, with special emphasis in Middle East. In Israel and the West Bank, On the night of June 12, three Israeli teenagers, Eyal Yifrach, 19, Naftali Fraenkel, 16, and Gilad Shaar, 16, were kidnapped at the Geva’ot Junction, in the West Bank by two Hamas militants and fatally shot (although the fate of the boys remained unknown for 18 days until their bodies were found by rescue workers.) The IDF in response conducted an 18 day operation named Operation Brother’s Keeper in search of the three teenagers. During the Operation, the IDF arrested 350 Palestinians, including nearly all of Hamas’ West Bank leaders. Five Palestinians were killed during the military operation. On June 30, civilian search teams discovered the bodies of the three teenagers in a field north-west of Hebron.
Between June 5-25, militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Al-Sham (ISIS) staged a major offensive in Northern Iraq, capturing significant territories from Mosul to Tikrit, looting Targeted police and civilians, military checkpoints, the airport, universities, freed prisoners from jails and stormed the Central Iraq bank looting US$429 million. Authorities said they absconded with, which authorities claimed the group is using the money to fund their terrorist activities and that ISIS is the richest terrorist organization to date. Authorities claimed that up to half a million people fled Mosul and other cities, raising concerns over a new humanitarian crisis. Government forces attempted to counter the attacks and recapture several towns north of Baghdad. It was reported that Kurdish forces took back control of Kirkuk, parts of northern Nineveh and north-eastern Diyala province. On June 29, ISIS released a statement, that was translated into several languages and an Arabic audio speech, declaring the group had established a caliphate in Iraq and Syria and that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the groups’ leader was proclaimed a “Caliph” – the head of the state.
June 2014 was also marked by terrorist incidents in Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Israel and the West Bank, Jordan, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen
This month’s report also covers counter-terrorist incidents throughout the world, with particular emphasis on events in Asia. Of particular significance were a series of legal actions taken against Uigher militants in Xinjiang region of China. Amongst the incidents, 81 militants were sentenced on June 4, on terrorism related charges. On June 16, 13 suspected militants, were executed in the western province of Xinjiang for involvement in terror attacks that happened in 2013. On June 20, four militants, three men and a woman, were charged with carrying out the March 1, 2014, Kunming train station attack. The militants were charged with involvement in organizing, leading or taking part in the terrorist attack. Finally, on June 30, 113 people were sentenced to jail terms ranging from 10 years to life for terrorist activities and other crimes by a court in Xinjiang. May 2014 was also marked by counter-terrorist incidents in France, Germany, Israel and the West Bank, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, North America, Pakistan, Philippines, Spain, the United Kingdom and Yemen.