Combined Force Detains Taliban Explosives Expert

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2012 – An Afghan and coalition security force detained a Taliban explosives expert in the Gardez district of Afghanistan’s Paktia province yesterday, military officials reported.

The detained explosives expert led bomb-attack network, trained insurgents throughout the region, and was responsible for several attacks against Afghan and coalition forces, officials said.

The security force seized a pistol, a grenade launcher, rocket-propelled grenades, explosives and bomb components.

Also yesterday, an Afghan-led security force supported by coalition troops detained several suspected insurgents and seized assault rifles, mortar equipment and ammunition during an operation to detain a Haqqani network leader in Khost province’s Sabari district. The Haqqani leader has been directly involved in attacks against coalition forces in the area.

In June 23 Afghanistan operations:

-- An Afghan-led security force in Kandahar province’s Maiwand district, supported by coalition troops, apprehended a Taliban leader responsible for bomb attacks against coalition forces in Kandahar and Helmand provinces. The security force detained an additional suspected insurgent in the operation.

-- In Zabul province’s Tarnak wa Jaldak district, an Afghan and coalition security force detained a Taliban leader who participated in direct-fire and roadside-bomb attacks and distributed weapons and other aid to insurgents. The security force detained another suspect in the operation and seized explosives and bomb components.

Combined Force Seizes Explosives Cache

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2012 – An Afghan and coalition security force seized more than 2 tons of a roadside-bomb ingredient and detained several suspected insurgents in the Zurmat district of Afghanistan’s Paktia province yesterday, military officials reported.

The security force found about 4,650 pounds of ammonium nitrate -- a fertilizer banned by the Afghan government because it can be used to make expolosives – as well as other bomb-making components, officials said.

In other Afghanistan operations yesterday:

-- A combined force seized about 2,200 pounds of opium and detained two suspects in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand province.

-- In Helmand’s Marjah district, a coalition force seized about 640 pounds of opium.

-- Combined forces captured 10 suspects and seized nearly 5,000 pounds of materials used to make bombs during separate operations in eastern Afghanistan.

-- A combined force captured a Haqqani network facilitator in the Pul-e Alam district of Logar province.

-- In the Pashtun Kot district of Faryab province, a combined force detained two insurgents and seized assault rifles, a grenade and bomb-making components while searching for a Taliban leader.

-- In Paktia’s Zurmat district, a combined force detained two suspects while searching for a Taliban leader.

In April 7 operations:

-- In the Warduj district of Badakhshan province, a combined force called in an airstrike that killed Shamsuddin, a senior Taliban leader. Shamsuddin was associated with multiple recent insurgent attacks in Warduj, including an April 2 attack on an Afghan National Police checkpoint in which three policemen were killed and 11 were captured. In December, Shamsuddin directed an attack against Aq Shirah village that left four Afghan policemen dead.

-- Combined forces killed nine insurgents and captured six others during separate operations in eastern Afghanistan.

-- A combined force captured an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan facilitator, killed several other insurgents, detained another suspect and destroyed assault rifles and bomb-making materials in the Almar district of Faryab province. The facilitator provided funds for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

-- A coalition force found 15 mortars, two rocket-propelled grenades and several rockets in the Shindand district of Herat province.

-- A combined force detained multiple suspects while searching for a Taliban leader in the Zharay district of Kandahar province. The leader directs roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in the Zharay and Panjwai districts.

-- An Afghan-led and coalition-supported force detained several suspects and destroyed weapons and grenades during a search for a Haqqani leader in the Khost district of Khost province. The leader conducts roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

In other news, combined forces killed three insurgents and captured five others during separate April 6 operations in eastern Afghanistan.

And, earlier in the week, a combined force killed Osmani Sahib, a senior Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leader, in the Almar district of Faryab province. Osmani was recently promoted to replace Makhdum Nusrat as the highest-ranking IMU insurgent in Afghanistan after Makhdum was killed. The security force also captured two suspects and destroyed assault rifles and bomb-making materials.

Coalition Airstrike Destroys Bomb-making Facility

From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, March 21, 2012 – A coalition airstrike destroyed an improvised explosive device-making facility in the Sangin district of Afghanistan’s Helmand province March 19, officials reported today.

Insurgents used the facility to build bombs and coordinate IED attacks in the area, officials said.

Following the precision airstrike, a coalition security force confirmed the building and IED-making materials were destroyed.

In other Afghanistan operations:

-- An Afghan provincial response company, supported by coalition forces, confiscated 44 pounds of hashish, some opium harvesting tools, two rifles and a grenade in Helmand province’s Lashkar Gar district yesterday.

-- In Helmand province’s Nahr-e Saraj district, a combined Afghan and coalition security force confiscated multiple homemade bombs March 18. The team first discovered a motorcycle packed with explosives and, on a later search, found four additional bombs.

-- An Afghan provincial response company, supported by coalition forces, confiscated a large explosives and IED-manufacturing cache in Ghazni province’s Deh Yak district, March 18. The Afghan force found hidden in a garden four IEDs consisting of 187 pounds of explosives, 10 anti-tank mines, 66 pounds of homemade explosives and 10 fuses for anti-person mines.

Two Sentenced in Federal Courthouse Bombing Case

United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced that Ella Louise Sanders and Eric Reginald Robinson were each sentenced today in federal court in San Diego before the Honorable Margaret M. McKeown based on their convictions on federal charges arising out of the May 4, 2008 bombing of the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Courthouse. Judge McKeown sentenced Sanders to serve 10 years in federal custody and Robinson to serve 11 years in federal custody. The court also ordered that each term of imprisonment be followed by a term of supervised release of five years.

In the fall of 2008, Sanders and Robinson each pled guilty to the use of, and carrying, a destructive device, that is, pipe bombs, during and in relation to a crime of violence, that is, conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, all in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A) and (B)(ii), and 2.

As part of their guilty pleas, they each admitted to conspiring with others to construct and detonate a series of pipe bombs, including the bomb used against the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Courthouse in San Diego, California on May 4, 2008. In their pleas, Sanders and Robinson each admitted that they assisted in the construction of pipe bombs. Sanders admitted that she purchased explosive material and stole pipes for the purpose of constructing pipe bombs. Robinson admitted that he drove Sanders to stores for the purpose of stealing pipes and end caps to be used in the manufacture of pipe bombs. Sanders and Robinson also each admitted that they assisted co-conspirator Rachelle Lynette Carlock in the May 4, 2008 bombing of the federal courthouse. Specifically, Sanders helped Carlock conceal her identity before she traveled to the federal courthouse, and Robinson drove the getaway car after Carlock detonated an improvised explosive device, which consisted of three pipe bombs containing two pounds of explosives and 100 nails. The resulting explosion caused substantial property damage to the courthouse and sent shrapnel flying for over a city block. Co-defendant Carlock was sentenced on October 31, 2011 to serve 10 years in federal prison for her role in the bombing.

On June 6, 2011, Donny Love, Sr., charged separately in Criminal Case 10cr2418-MMM, was found guilty by a federal jury of various charges, arising from the bombing of the courthouse. According to evidence presented at trial, Love was the mastermind of the scheme to bomb the federal courthouse, and used Carlock, Sanders, and Robinson to carry out that scheme. Love is scheduled to be sentenced on April 26, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. before Judge McKeown.

U.S. Attorney Duffy praised the coordinated effort of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and the numerous federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies that participated in the Joint Terrorism Task Force’s investigation of this case.

Defendants

Ella Louise Sanders, age 60
Eric Reginald Robinson, age 44

Criminal Case No. 08-CR-1895-MMM

Summary of charges
Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A) and (B)(ii) and 2—Use and Carrying of a Destructive Device During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence, and Aiding and Abetting

Investigating agencies

Federal Bureau of Investigation
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
Joint Terrorism Task Force

Connecticut Resident Who Manufactured and Distributed Explosives Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that NICHOLAS LAHINES pled guilty today to manufacturing and dealing in explosives and firearms, conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, and immigration fraud. LAHINES, 38, a resident of Bridgeport, Connecticut, was arrested in the Bronx on May 19, 2011, immediately after selling eight cylinders containing explosives to a confidential source of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. LAHINES pled guilty in Manhattan federal court before U.S. District Judge Leonard B. Sand.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “Nicholas Lahines’ stock in trade was homemade bombs that he built to cause the maximum amount of harm. And if they’d gotten into the wrong hands, they would have done just that. But thankfully, they did not, and he will now be punished for his crimes.”

According to the complaint, the indictment, the information to which LAHINES pled guilty, the plea agreement, and statements made in court:

During the spring of 2011, law enforcement officers came to suspect that an individual, later identified as LAHINES, was involved in the distribution of explosive devices, and they directed a confidential source (“CS”) to meet with him.

On May 19, 2011, law enforcement officers conducted surveillance of LAHINES’s residence in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and followed him to a parking lot in the Bronx. There, the CS entered LAHINES’s car, and LAHINES gave the CS two plastic containers that he had retrieved from the trunk. Each of the containers held four cylindrical explosive devices. During the sale of the devices, LAHINES discussed with the CS the components that he had used to make them, including ball bearings, and told the CS that he had added glass and metal to such explosive devices in the past. The CS paid LAHINES $3,200 for the devices, and got out of the car.

LAHINES was then placed under arrest, and bomb technicians immediately took custody of the devices, which were determined to be live explosives in a subsequent forensic examination.

LAHINES was advised of, and waived, his Miranda rights. LAHINES admitted that the eight cylinders were homemade explosive devices that he had made in the vicinity of his Connecticut residence and then transported from Connecticut to New York.

Pursuant to a search warrant, law enforcement officers searched LAHINES’s Connecticut residence. During the search, the agents recovered tubes, cord-like material, and caps similar in appearance to those used to construct the devices that LAHINES had sold to the CS. Agents also found a small jar containing powdery residue in the residence, which detonated in the course of being examined, injuring a law enforcement officer.

In addition to his criminal activity relating to the manufacture and distribution of explosives, LAHINES participated in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Law enforcement officers found various items that are used in the illegal manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine, including hundreds of ephedrine tablets in the trunk of his car.

Law enforcement officers also discovered that LAHINES had engaged in immigration fraud. Specifically, LAHINES filed false documents and other materials with the United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service concerning his marriage.

LAHINES pled guilty to four offenses which carry the following potential penalties:

Count Charge Minimum Prison Term Maximum Prison Term

1 Manufacturing and Dealing in Explosive Materials Without a License Not Applicable 10 Years

2 Manufacturing and Dealing in Firearms Without a License Not Applicable Five Years

3 Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine Five Years 40 Years

4 Immigration Fraud Not Applicable 10 Years

LAHINES is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Sand on June 18, 2012, at 11:00 a.m.

Mr. Bharara praised the investigative efforts of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (“JTTF”) in New York and Connecticut, especially those JTTF members from the FBI New York Field Office and the New York City Police Department, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, the Connecticut State Police Department, the FBI New Haven Field Office, the trial attorneys with the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security Division, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut. He also thanked Kimberly Mertz, the FBI Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Field Office.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys John P. Cronan and Sean S. Buckley are in charge of the prosecution.

Iraqi National Pleads Guilty to 23-Count Terrorism Indictment in Kentucky

Defendant Participated in Numerous Efforts to Kill U.S. Troops in Iraq with IEDs

BOWLING GREEN, KY—Iraqi citizen Waad Ramadan Alwan pleaded guilty to federal terrorism charges in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge Thomas B. Russell, announced Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; David J. Hale, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky; and Elizabeth A. Fries, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Louisville Division.

Alwan, 30, a former resident of Iraq, pleaded guilty to all counts of a 23-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals abroad; conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction (explosives) against U.S. nationals abroad; distributing information on the manufacture and use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs); attempting to provide material support to terrorists and to al Qaeda in Iraq; as well as conspiracy to transfer, possess and export Stinger missiles. Alwan was indicted by a federal grand jury in Bowling Green, Ky., on May 26, 2011.

Alwan faces a maximum sentence of life in prison under the sentencing guidelines and a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for April 3, 2012, at noon in federal court in Bowling Green before Judge Russell.

Alwan’s co-defendant, Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, 24, is charged in the same indictment with attempting to provide material support to terrorists and to al Qaeda in Iraq, as well as conspiracy to transfer, possess and export Stinger missiles. Hammadi has entered a plea of not guilty to all charges and is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. A trial date for him has not been scheduled. Hammadi and Alwan were first arrested on criminal complaints on May 25, 2011.

“The successful investigation, arrest, interrogation, and prosecution of Mr. Alwan demonstrates the effectiveness of our intelligence and law enforcement authorities in bringing terrorists to justice and preventing them from harming the American people,” said Assistant Attorney General Monaco. “I applaud all the dedicated professionals in the law enforcement and intelligence communities who are responsible for this successful outcome.”

According to the plea agreement and other court documents filed in this case, from about 2003 through 2006, Alwan knowingly conspired to kill U.S. nationals in Iraq. During this period, Alwan was in Iraq where he conspired with others to plant and detonate numerous IEDs against U.S. troops in Iraq. For instance, Alwan admitted that he and his co-conspirators planted an IED in a road near the Salah ad Din province in Iraq in an attempt to kill U.S. troops that traveled on this particular road. In addition, the FBI found two latent fingerprints belonging to Alwan on a component of a separate IED that was recovered by U.S. forces in Iraq in 2005.

Alwan also admitted today that from about October 2010 through May 2011, he knowingly taught and demonstrated to another individual in Kentucky how to manufacture and use an IED. Specifically, Alwan drew diagrams of different types of IEDs and also provided detailed oral instructions on how to manufacture and use those IEDs. He provided these diagrams with the intent that they be used to train others in the construction and use of such IEDs for the purpose of killing U.S. nationals overseas, including officers and employees of the United States.

In addition, Alwan admitted that from about September 2010 through May 2011, while in Kentucky, he knowingly attempted to provide material support and resources to terrorists and to al Qaeda in Iraq, including money, weapons, and expert advice and assistance. On multiple occasions, for example, Alwan transferred money believing it would be provided to al Qaeda in Iraq for the purpose of murdering U.S. employees or U.S. nationals overseas. In addition, he also transferred Stinger surface-to-air missile launcher systems, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, C4 plastic explosives, grenades, machine guns and sniper rifles, believing these items would be provided to al Qaeda in Iraq for the purpose of murdering of U.S. employees or U.S. nationals overseas.

Finally, Alwan admitted that on March 16, 2011, while in Kentucky, he conspired with another individual to transfer, receive, possess and export two Stinger surface-to-air missile launcher systems.

Neither the bomb-making instructions, nor the Stinger missiles nor the other weapons or money transferred by Alwan while in Kentucky were actually provided to al Qaeda in Iraq, but instead were carefully controlled by law enforcement as part of an undercover operation.

“Today in open court, Waad Alwan admitted to engaging in terrorist activities both here in the United States and in Iraq. He acknowledged he had built and placed numerous improvised explosive devices (IEDs) aimed at killing and injuring American soldiers in Iraq, and he admitted that he tried to send numerous weapons from Kentucky to Iraq to be used against American soldiers,” said U.S. Attorney Hale. “Bringing Alwan to justice is the result of a comprehensive effort by many in our law enforcement and intelligence communities. The FBI agents of the Louisville Division, along with the federal and local law enforcement members of the Joint Terrorism Task Forces here in Kentucky and our many other partners are to be commended. Their collaborative effort successfully thwarted the ongoing intentions of an experienced terrorist. The guilty plea today sends a strong message to anyone who would attempt similar crimes that they will face the same determined law enforcement and prosecution efforts.”

This case is being investigated by the Louisville Division of the FBI. Assisting in the investigation were members of the Louisville and Lexington Joint Terrorism Task Forces, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Bowling Green Police Department.

This prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mike Bennett and Bryan Calhoun from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky and Trial Attorney Larry Schneider from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

Combined Force Captures Taliban Leader

From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 28, 2011 – A combined Afghan and coalition security force captured a Taliban leader and some suspected insurgents in the Marjah district of Afghanistan’s Helmand province yesterday, military officials reported.

The insurgent leader was involved in narcotics trafficking and roadside-bomb attacks and other operations in the province, officials said.

In other Afghanistan operations yesterday:

-- A combined force detained two suspects during a search for a Taliban facilitator in the Kunduz district of Kunduz province. The facilitator distributes roadside bombs and directs attacks against Afghan forces.

-- A combined force captured a Taliban leader and some suspects in the Dand district of Kandahar province. The leader distributed roadside bombs for use in attacks throughout the area.

-- A combined force detained several suspects and seized 50 blasting caps, a bottle containing high-explosive material, a rocket-propelled-grenade container, a video camera, six videotapes, wiring and a hand-held radio in the Dilah district of Paktika province.

Program Global Shield keeps bomb-making chemicals out of terrorists' hands

Common chemicals like ammonium nitrate, also used as lawn fertilizer, can be transformed into improvised explosive devices (IEDs). We've seen instances of this in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people and the 2005 bombing of London's transportation system where more than 50 people died. IED attacks are on the rise, especially in Afghanistan, where IEDs continue to be the top killer of U.S. troops. In 2010, insurgents planted more than 14,000 IEDs — resulting in the deaths of 368 foreign soldiers and wounding more than 3,000 others.
 
Program Global Shield is an international effort to eliminate the smuggling of chemicals used in attacks like these. Conceptualized by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2010, the program is being led by the World Customs Organization (WCO) in partnership with Interpol (International Police Bureau) and the United Nations' Office on Drugs and Crime.
 
"It is an unprecedented multilateral law enforcement effort aimed at combating the illicit cross-border diversion and trafficking of precursor chemicals used by terrorist and other criminal organizations to manufacture improvised explosive devices by monitoring their cross-border movements," said Kumar Kibble, ICE deputy director.
 
More than 70 countries participated in the pilot program, which took place from Nov. 1, 2010 to April 30, 2011. The information-sharing that has ensued has been priceless. Global Shield marks the first time that police and customs officials from around the world have joined forces to keep these bomb-making precursor chemicals out of the hands of terrorist and criminal organizations. To date, Global Shield partners have seized more than 33 metric tons of material used to produce IEDS and made 19 arrests in various countries across the globe. Those chemicals could have manufactured thousands of IEDs.
 
In June 2011, the WCO and its 177 members approved a proposal for the pilot project to become a long-term program, allowing global activities to continue indefinitely.

Seeking Assistance in Locating Terrorist Daniel Andreas San Diego

The FBI in Boston and San Francisco are asking the public’s assistance in locating Daniel Andreas San Diego, a fugitive on the FBI’s “Most Wanted Terrorist” list who may be hiding in western Massachusetts.

The FBI received a tip that San Diego may be in the Northampton, Massachusetts area. The FBI is offering a reward for up to $250,000 for information leading directly to the arrest of San Diego. 

San Diego, who was the first domestic terrorism suspect added to the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist list on April 21, 2009, is wanted for his alleged involvement in two bombings in the San Francisco, California area.

On August 28, 2003, two bombs exploded approximately one hour apart on the campus of a biotechnology corporation in Emeryville, Calif. Then, on September 26, 2003, one bomb strapped with nails exploded at a nutritional products corporation in Pleasanton, Calif.

A federal arrest warrant was issued for San Diego in October 2003. However, he disappeared before he could be taken into custody. San Diego is six feet tall, weighs about 160 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes. He wears glasses and is known to carry a 9mm handgun.