I provided analysis of terrorist activity in the MENA region between 6/15 and 6/30 for upwards of twenty guests. Special attention was paid to Islamic State and affiliated groups in Libya and Egypt, as well as American involvement in Iraq and Syria. I was joined by four colleagues, who had researched similar events elsewhere in the world.

1. June 15, 2015-June 29, 2015

2.  North and South America
 Europe
 Middle East/North Africa
 Sub-SaharanAfrica
 Central and South Asia
 East Asia
 Australia

3. Charleston Shooting
 Jun. 17: Charleston shootings – Dylan Roof kills 9 people at the
Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church
 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/19/us/charleston-church-shooting.html?_r=0
 Jun. 21: Charleston shooter manifesto found on website
 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/21/us/dylann-storm-roof-photos-website-charleston-church-shooting.html
 Jun. 25: fires reported at several churches in black communities
following Charleston shootings
 http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2015/06/arson-churches-north-carolina-georgia/396881

4.  Jun. 17: NY bomb plot uncovered – 3 arrested in total
 http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-fbi-terror-arrests-20150617-story.html
 Jun. 17: FARC attacks oil pipeline in Catatumbo leaving 16,000
people without water
 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-33177830
 Jun. 19: North Carolina man charged with plot to buy
semiautomatic rifle and conduct attack on behalf of ISIS
 http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/22/us-usa-security-
idUSKBN0P21P020150622?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

5.  Jun. 22: FARC attacks oil pipeline in Narino province spilling more
than 400 000 gallons of crude oil into water stream and cutting
off water supply to more than 160 000 people
 http://colombiareports.com/farc-attack-caused-colombias-biggest-environmental-disaster-in-10-years
 Jun. 24: Report shows Columbian army conducted “false positive”
killing campaigns to boost combat kill rate against rebels
 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-33253853

6.  Jun. 16: Austrian court sentences 10 people upwards to three years in prison for attempting to join
ISIS in Syria. The Austrian Interior Ministry states that over 200 people have traveled from Austria
to ISIS-controlled territory and 70 have returned
 http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2015/06/16/Austrian-court-sentences-10-for-trying-to-join-Islamists-in-Syria.html
 Jun. 18: EU Counter-Terror Chief Gilles de Kerchove states that over 4,000 Europeans have joined
ISIS so far. De Kerchove suggests that the EU strengthen its security background checks at the
border regions
 http://news.yahoo.com/eu-anti-terror-chief-very-young-europeans-joining-034432122.html
 Jun. 20: UK’s high court orders police to remove an electronic tracking device placed on a radical
Somali imam “DD,” on the grounds that its threatens his mental stability. DD is suspected of
maintaining contact with al-Shabaab. However, he will still be under surveillance
 http://www.theguardian.com/law/2015/jun/20/electronic-tag-to-be-removed-from-terror-suspect-who-feared-it-was-bomb
 Jun. 22: Europol announces plans to form a “Europe-wide police team” to track and block several
ISIS-run social media accounts.The team will be formed on July 1st
 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/New-European-police-team-to-block-ISIS-web-
accounts/articleshow/47768702.cms
 Jun. 22: Nearly 15,000 fighters and the leader of the Caucasus Emirate pledge their loyalty to ISIS.
There are currently between 200 and 1,000 Chechen fighters in ISIS-controlled territory
 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3134206/ISIS-opens-new-Europe-s-doorstep-Chechan-jihadi-group-15-000-fighters-
pledge-allegiance-terror-horde.html

7.  Jun. 26: One man is decapitated and two others are injured in a terrorist attack at an American gas
plant in the French town of Saint-Quentin-Fallavier. The severed head of the victim is found
posted on the entrance gate of the factory, while two flags with Arabic inscriptions are found
nearby. 30 year oldYassin Salhi is arrested as a suspect in the attack
 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/26/one-dead-in-attack-on-french-factory
 Jun. 27: French prosecutor Francois Molins states that four people possibly linked to the attack on
the US gas plant have been arrested. In addition, France raises it’s “terrorism alert” to the highest
level since the Charlie Hebdo Attacks on January 7th
 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/New-European-police-team-to-block-ISIS-web-
accounts/articleshow/47768702.cms
 Jun. 28:Top suspect in the gas plant attack,Yassin Salhi, took a selfie with the severed head of the
victim and sent the image to a Canadian cell phone number via WhatsApp.
 http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150627/eu--france-attack-24fc921b96.html

8.  Tunisia:
 6/26 Sousse,Tunisia: 38 killed, 39 wounded in attack on beach resort
 Kuwait:
 6/26 Kuwait City, Kuwait: 27 killed, 227 wounded in al Sadiq mosque
bombing
 Libya:
 6/15 Islamists militants from the Shura Council of Derna Mujahideen
successfully drive IS out of their stronghold in Derna
 6/22 Mohammad Ezzawi, “Jihadi John,” reportedly
 IS moves on X in effort to control road to Misrata
 Syria:
 6/23 Kurdish fighters take Ain Issa, 30 miles north of Raqqa
 6/25 IS reenters Kobane, kills at least 148; successfully forced out by Kurdish
fighters

9.  United States involvement
 6/15 SeniorAQIM operative Mokhtar Belmokhtar allegedly killed in Libya;
AQ denies this on 6/19
 6/22 Militant linked to Benghazi attack alledgedly killed in Iraq
 Pentagon to pay Syrians fighting IS up to $400/month
 Israel/Palestine
 6/22 1 killed, 1 wounded in shooting outsideWest Bank settlement
 6/29 Hamas reveals new tunnel into Israel
 Arabian Peninsula
 6/28 Saudi government linked to Haqqani network in alleged government
leaks
 6/28Ansurallah militants launch attack on Saudi base inYemen
 6/28 21 killed in Houthi attack on oil refinery inAden

10.  Jun. 15: Four Boko Haram suicide bombers carried out
simultaneous attacks on police headquarters and the police
academy in the capital of Chad
 http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/15/us-chad-blast-idUSKBN0OV14S20150615
 Jun. 18: In response to the attacks on their capital, Chad
conducted airstrikes on 6 Boko Haram bases in Nigeria
 http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/18/us-nigeria-violence-chad-
idUSKBN0OY12A20150618
 Jun. 18: Boko Haram militants crossed the border into Niger and
attacked two villages, killing 40
 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33186154

11.  Jun. 24: Al-Shabab attacked a convoy carrying the UAE
ambassador and several UAE military personnel, killing three
Somali soldiers
 http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/24/us-somalia-blast-idUSKBN0P414V20150624
 Jun. 26: Al-Shabab captured an AU military base in southern
Somalia, killing 30 soldiers in the process
 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/27/world/africa/somalia-shabab-militants-attack-african-union-
base.html?ref=africa&_r=0D

12.  Jun. 16:The AfghaniTaliban requested Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to
stop interfering in Afghanistan after clashes betweenTaliban and
ex-Taliban forces now aligned with ISIS
 http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/16/us-afghanistan-islamicstate-idUSKBN0OW19220150616
 Jun. 21- Afghan Government launches counter-offensive in
northern province of Kunduz captured last month by theTaliban
 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33215948
 Jun. 22: Haqqani Network militants attack Afghan Parliament in
Kabul; accusations made of ISI supporting attack
 http://www.dawn.com/news/1189742

13.  Jun. 9:The Indian Government announced that Indian Special Forces crossed
over into Myanmar from northeastern state of Manipur, home to dozens of
rebel groups, and attacked two anti-Indian rebel camps and allegedly killed 18
militants
 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-33193275
 Jun. 15:The Indian Government sent its national security advisor to Myanmar
to calm tensions after announcing publicly the “victory” of the cross-border
raid
 http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/15/india-myanmar-idUSKBN0OV1NQ20150615
 Jun. 17: Indian government deploys 600 troops amid tension in Srinangar
Province, 30 miles from line of control in Kashmir, when 4 men with militant
group ties gunned down the previous week.
 http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/17/india-kashmir-idUSKBN0OX10120150617
 Jun. 28:Air strikes kill 20 militants in northwestern Pakistan in part of larger
offensive by PakistaniArmy to root outTTP from area.
 http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/28/pakistan-militants-idUSKCN0P80AE20150628

14. MalaysianOilTanker Hijack
 Jun. 12: Malaysian Maritime authorities lost contact with the ship, Orkim
Harmony
 The ship was carrying unleaded petroleum worth up to $5.6 million USD
 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/missing-oil-tanker/1917486.html
 Jun. 19: Maritime authorities along with the Royal Malaysian Navy seized the
tanker
 All 22 crew members were alive, only one had a gun-shot wound to the thigh
 The 8 suspected amateur pirates fled on a lifeboat
 http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/south-east-asia/story/malaysia-says-hijackers-oil-tanker-22-crew-
members-are-amateurs-2015
 Jun. 20:The 8 suspects were arrested on theTho Chu Island nearVietnam
 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/8-arrested-over-malaysian/1927030.html
 Jun. 21: All of the men admitted to the hijacking and are facing 10-15 years in
prison
 This case of piracy is the fifth reported incident this year in Malaysian waters

15.  Jun. 15-Jun. 27: China and Belarus
conducted military exercises to prepare
for counter-terrorism operations
 This is following a series of training missions China has engaged
in to prepare their military personnel for terrorist/crisis
situations in regions all over the world
 http://thediplomat.com/2015/06/tajik-and-chinese-forces-to-
engage-in-joint-exercises/
 June 23rd: Australia vows to revamp
counterterrorism efforts as Indonesia’s
role in ISIS increases
 Australia opened their counterterrorism summit on June 11th;
Indonesia opted to send lower level government officials rather
than a minister
 http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/countering-
islamic-state-is-a-way-to-strengthen-australiaindonesia-
relations-20150623-ghvcpk.html

16. ISIS’s New RecruitmentTarget: Malaysia & Indonesia
 Jun 19:The MalaysianCommunications and Multimedia Commission is aware of
6-7 Malayan ISIS blogs and websites and have not shut any of them down.
However, they have removed severalYouTube videos
 A new wave of ISIS sympathizers are coming from Southeast Asia and calling themselves the
Katibah Nusantara (Malay Archipelago Combat Unit)
 Malaysian authorities believe that ISIS is on the ‘aggressive’ in extending it’s recruitment reach
to Muslim sympathizers in the Malaysian/Indonesian regions
 One of the newest websites is, Isdarat Daulah Islamiyah, a portal of articles directly from ISIS’
magazine Dabiq and translated to local languages
 http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/south-east-asia/story/more-isis-websites-malay-
recruit-fighters-20150617
 http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/isis-on-aggressive-recruitment-drive-
with-malay-reading-materials

17.  June 18: Australian doctor who fled to Middle East to help ISIS faced charges in court
 http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/6/18/australian-police-issue-arrest-warrant-for-doctor-tareq-kamleh.html
 June 22: Australian individual acquitted of terrorism charges appears on talk show and
confronts member of parliament
 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/11702867/Australian-national-broadcaster-tightens-security-after-TV-confrontation.html
 June 24: Changes to Australian citizenship act introduced to parliament today – Dual
nationals will loseAustralian citizenship if convicted of terrorism offence
 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-33234825
 June 27: Members of far-right nationalist group protest outside ABC office against Islam
and the ABCs recent program Prime minister also angered over incident – orders inquiry
into incident
 http://www.smh.com.au/victoria/protesters-gather-outside-abc-building-20150627-ghz9q5.html

19. ThankYou