Cases of Malaria have been noticed in provinces throughout South Africa where the disease has not occurred previously. With that said, all personnel on the ground in the country are strongly advised to take measures to prevent mosquito bites such as the use of repellents, the use of mosquito nets when possible, and the use of long shirt sleeves and trouser legs. Individuals within the nation's borders are also strongly advised to seek medical attention immediately if any signs of malaria symptoms are noticed.
The nation of Greece has seen a large number of strikes, protests, and demonstrations over the last few weeks and this past week is no different. Greece is no stranger to civil unrest and those foreign nationals on the ground within its borders are strongly advised to maintain elevated situational awareness at all times and be as vigilant as they are prepared to leave the country in short order. American Nationals in Russia should be prepared to leave the country on a moment's notice and exercise increased vigilance and situational awareness due to the rapid political deterioration between the two nations over their opposite interests in Syria. All American Nationals within Russia are strongly advised to depart the country, post haste, if at all possible. This is based on political intelligence and a demonstration expressing anti-American sentiment in St. Petersburg on the 6th that some source believe to have been sanctioned by the Russian Government. Yet again we see numerous protests and demonstrations throughout Madrid. While many of these are peaceful in nature, one bad actor in an otherwise peaceful protest can cause a lawful assembly to become a dynamic and highly dangerous incident. -Prepared by: CASG Intelligence Analyst, 1750EST 12APR2017
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US State Department officials have ordered official personnel to observe a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the Asuncion area of Paraguay due to unscheduled protest activity. These events seem to be occurring after dark. It is the strongest advice of Centurion ASG's Intelligence Division that all personnel within a 10 mile radius of Asuncion city limits observe the same curfew if at all possible. Due to the very nature of protests, "bad actors" ranging from petty criminals, to criminal anarchists, to terrorist organizations may be active during these events. Individuals in the affected area should monitor local conditions and be prepared to either self-extricate or shelter-in-place on very short notice.
Madrid, Spain has been a hotbed for numerous protests and demonstrations over the last several weeks and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. Even the most peaceful of protests can rapidly devolve into violence and civil unrest. Extreme caution is advised. Further, some of the protests this analyst has seen in his source intelligence are of such a nature that many people, analyst included, may agree with. Part of the reason more details on specific protests are not mentioned in this case is to keep foreign nationals from becoming involved with the protest. As a foreigner, you may or may not have the same rights as you would in your home country. Further, due to the large crowds and public attention protests gather, they are an ideal target for terrorist organizations. Avoid protests of any kind if at all possible. An uptick in robberies in the Bridgetown area of Barbados has been linked to what is believed to be 5 armed men operating a burgundy or red in color Kia. It is believed that the perpetrators are flashing their headlights behind a target vehicle to lure them to the roadside where the armed robbery then occurs. Readers are reminded to maintain positive situational and spatial awareness while operating a motor vehicle... that means pay attention to the GPS, pay attention to traffic signals and conditions, and put the phone down. Vehicle doors should remain locked at all times. Should you feel that another vehicle is following you, conduct a surveillance detection route immediately. There has also been an uptick in violence aboard public transportation in Pernambuco, Brazil. These typically involve robberies targeting jewelry, watches, mobile phones, wallets, and purses. Use of public transportation should be avoided if possible. As always, maintaining positive situational awareness is a good start to reducing the likelihood of you being the victim of crime. Widespread civil unrest is occurring in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Personnel should be prepared to shelter-in-place as many routes have been blocked by protesters. If at all possible, self-extrication should be considered. -Prepared by: CASG Intelligence Analyst, 0714EST 4APR2017 Personnel flying commercial aviation from the following countries into the United States and the United Kingdom are now required to secure all personal electronic devices larger than a smartphone in their checked baggage. Approved medical devices are not effected by this. The countries in question are:
-Saudi Arabia -Qatar -Jordan -Egypt -United Arab Emirates -Kuwait -Turkey -Lebanon -Tunisia -Morocco This restriction is believed to be based off of intelligence gained during a raid by US Special Operations assets on a suspected Al-Qa'ida base in Yemen and the attempts to down (or actual downing of) commercial airlines over Somalia and Egypt on 2FEB16 and 31OCT15 where both plots involved the smuggling of energetic materials onto aircraft concealed within personal electronic devices. An Islamic State affiliated group calling themselves the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorosan or ISIS-K. ISIS-K has been connected to a suicide bombing of a mosque on 12JAN17, a suicide bombing on the Afghan Supreme Court on 7FEB17, a split attack on two Afghan police stations on 1MAR17, and an attack on an ANA Hospital on 8MAR17. These attacks have resulted in more than 291 casualties, of which at least 107 were fatalities. These attacks indicate this is a very relevant organization and as such it will be given the same attention as other Islamic State affiliated organizations and, they are very much on the TEAM CENTURION radar just like other IS-affiliated organizations. The government of Mauritania has declared the following regions to be security zones: -The eastern half of the Tagant region (east of Tidjikja) -The eastern half of the Adrar region (east of Ouadane) -The Zemmour region (other than F’Derick and Zouerat) These security zones require special and explicit permissions from Mauritanian government authorities and all non permitted travel is explicitly prohibited. These measures were taken due to increased activities by Al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghred and the Islamic State in Iraq and ash-Sham. There is also a heightened risk of kidnapping and the targeting of Christian faith-based organizations along the border with Mali. Note that the areas in questions are very rugged and response by security forces is very lengthy. Further, embassy personnel are restricted from travel outside the capital city of Noukachott without explicit permission and approval from senior embassy leadership. Due to increased Boko Haram activity, travel to the North and Far North Regions and parts of the East and Adamawa Regions of Cameroon is not advised. This report is based off of unconfirmed local intelligence and the advice to depart the area or avoid travel to is the opinion of this analyst. Boko Haram is a very well known terrorist organization and when this analyst receives reports of increased activity, the thought "Better safe than sorry" comes immediately to mind. Foreign nationals should be on the alert in the coming days in Burma/Mayanmar due to the upcoming elections on 1APR17. This is particularly emphasized in the Rangoon area. Polling areas, political rallies, and large crowds should be avoided for the next 10 days. Political actions have a nasty tendency of provoking unrest and political unrest can be highly volatile and very dangerous, particularly for foreign nationals. Exercise extreme caution. Due to large, violent, and widespread protests in French Guiana, US citizens are advise to exercise extreme caution. These protests are typically seen along roads leading to and from the neighboring countries of Brazil and Suriname. -Prepared by: CASG Intelligence Analyst, 1447EST 30MAR2017 On 9 March, Indian Police Authorities shot and killed an individual believed to have ties to ISIL. The individual was suspected of being involved in a train bombing that injured 9 people. ISIL and other Islamic terrorist organization have a very deep foothold within India and all personnel within the country are advised to maintain a heightened state of situational awareness.
A new ISIL linked group, ISGS (Islamic State of Greater Sahara), within the Sahel Region of Africa. All persons in this area should be alert to a heightened risk of terrorist activity and a greater risk of "infighting" among ISGS and other organization in the area. The area includes, but is not limited to, the countries of Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, and Mali. A separate, follow-on report covering other events in Ghana will be published later today. While that information will be of great benefit, it is entirely too much information to be put into a global summary and is more deserving of a separate entry later today or early tomorrow morning (16-17 MARCH 2017) -Prepared by: CASG Intelligence Analyst, 1303EST 16MAR2017
Over the past several weeks there has been a stark rise in violence towards South Asian and African immigrants in the country of South Africa. This violence is typically characterized by assaults, looting, and the burning of property in lower-income communities. It is thought that these attacks are motivated by a combination of "immigrants equal crime" thinking and the significant nationwide unemployment rate (around 25% per my sources). All foreign owned businesses should immediately step up their security condition significantly. Those foreign personnel within South Africa are advised to remain always on the alert and be prepared to leave the area on very short notice. Stay tuned to local news sources and remain in contact with the nearest Embassy or Consulate. These incidents appear to be isolated to some degree but this situation is still to be considered highly fluid and should be monitored closely.
There have been reports of Lassa Fever outbreaks in Benin and Togo. There is no vaccine for this disease although the antiviral medication Ribavirin can be effective is used early. For more information on this disease, see the following links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lassa_fever https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/lassa/index.html Pursuant to previous IntSums, the multiple attacks in the Lahore region of Pakistan are now believed to be targeting English language schools or schools that teach the English language. It is strongly advised that all foreign national, particularly Westerners, leave the Punjab area IMMEDIATELY! -Prepared by: CASG Intelligence Analyst, 1337EST 03MAR2017
It is strongly advised to avoid travel to the Southern Red Sea area of Eritrea due to a large buildup of troops on the Eritrea-Djibouti border. This area has been highly contested at times and military action occurred in June of 2016 on this border, resulting in a large number of deaths. Due to the risk of outright combat during these border disputes, it is VERY STRONGLY advised that any personnel in this area depart immediately and restrict travel to the area even for official business.
All personnel in Guatemala City, Guatemala are strongly advised to avoid travel to the following government authorities and/or offices due to a heightened threat of targeted gang violence: -National Police (PNC) Headquarters -Torre de Tribunales -Court facilities in Villa Nueva and Mixco -The Public Ministry (MP) -The National Prison System Administration and any prison/jail -San Juan de Dios Hospital -Roosevelt Hospital -National Police Hospital Latin American gangs are notorious for their level of violence so the threats should be considered actionable intelligence and appropriate security measures and precautions should be immediately taken and strictly adhered to. Between 1130-1200 HRS (LOCAL TIME) on 23 February 2017 a bomb exploded in the vicinity of a restaurant and shopping complex in Block Z of the Defense Housing Authority in Lahore, Pakistan. Intelligence indicates that 5 were killed and 17 injured in the blast. This is the second major attack in as many weeks within the Punjab region of Pakistan, particularly in the Lahore area. -Prepared by: CASG Intelligence Analyst, 1546EST 27FEB2017
Security forces in the Lahore area of Pakistan have taken an increased threat condition posture due to Taliban activity including a bombing near the Punjab Assembly Building at approximately 1800HRS local time on 13 February that killed at least 16 and injured at least 74. A local Taliban offshoot, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, has taken credit for this attack. The incident involved a suicide bomber during a protest regarding amendments to laws regulating drug sales. The former provincial counter-terrorism chief, Syed Ahmad Mubeen, was killed in the attack and is suspected to have been the primary target along with local security forces. This is the same group who committed a bombing against an Easter event in 2015 resulting in 72 people being killed. Couple this with the other terrorist organizations known to be active in Pakistan, particularly in the Punjab region, and this analyst can only advise Centurion ASG's customers and assets to vacate the area as soon as would be practicable to do so.
Those CASG customers and assets who may be in the Conakry region of Guinea should seek a measles vaccine immediately if they are not up to date as an outbreak of the disease, declared an "epidemic" by local authorities, has been reported in the region. On 12 February, the North Koreans test-fired a new medium to long range missile system. The missile flew around 500km before splashing down in the Sea of Japan. Current intelligence estimates the actual range of the new missile system to be between 2500 and 3000km. The new missile system is known as the "Pukguksong-2" and is believed to be propelled by solid-fuel rockets as opposed to liquid fueled systems. The change to solid fuel allows for a much higher level of thrust (and resulting increased speed and range), a much faster response time (as there is no fueling process that must be completed), and a significantly reduced visible "footprint" for satellite and aerial reconnaissance operations. It is widely anticipated among intelligence circles, at least those intelligence circles that this analyst is privileged to be a part of, that an intercontinental ballistic missile system will be test-fired by the end of 2017. Korea has always been a hotbed of saber rattling and a potential for military involvement for the United States. Our eyes will most assuredly be quite close on the North Koreans for a while. Security concerns are magnified in Lebanon and a travel warning from the State Department has been issues. Groups like Hizballah, ISIL (Da’esh), Al-Nusrah Front (ANF), Hamas, and the Abdullah Azzam Brigades (AAB) are all known to operate in Lebanon, which has been a hotbed of Islamic Terrorism for quite some time. One has merely to look back to the 1983 Marine Barracks Bombing in Beirut to observe this. The sheer number of groups operating within the country would encourage this analyst to advise all CASG Customers and Assets to vacate Lebanese territory as soon as practicable. -Prepared by: CASG Intelligence Analyst, 1131EST 22FEB2017
Nighttime unrest in suburban Paris (France) has resulted in violence and vandalized buildings and property since 4 February. This is relative to an incident in 2 February where police officers used alleged brutality when pepper spray and a baton were deployed against a resisting narcotics violation suspect. This unrest is expected remain localized, however it is highly fluid and not likely to dissipate in short order. Those US Citizens in Paris have not been directly targeted but as with all other incidents of civil unrest, outside players may utilize the disturbance that unrest causes or may use the media attention the unrest gains to their own nefarious gain.
Multiple military mutinies have occurred in Cote d'Ivoire. Anytime incidents like this occur, pro-regime security assets can be anticipated to crack down hard on suspected dissenters while those loyal to the mutinous parties may very well attack pro-regime forces. Military mutinies are typically part of an attempted coup-de-tat or even a civil war. Aside from domestic factions being violent towards each other, incidents like this are ripe for the picking from foreign players and outside entities. East Africa has no shortage of warlords and terrorist organizations that would love to get their hands into this pie, particularly if they could back a party that would be sympathetic to their cause and accomodating to their own wishes. It is VEHEMENTLY RECOMMENDED AND ADVISED that all foreign nationals depart the area if at all possible. In the Gulf Of Guinea, travel is NOT advised due to piracy concerns. Ashore in Nigeria, travel is not recommended to the states of Bayelsa, Delta, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, and Zamfara due to Boko Haram related activities, particularly kidnappings, robberies and what is described by the raw intelligence in my possession merely as "other armed attacks" which could mean any manner of assaults up to and including murder. Again, travel in the above areas is NOT recommended. -Prepared by: CASG Intelligence Analyst, 0912EST 14FEB2017
Current intelligence indicate increasing activity involving the Islamic State in the Levant (ISIL), or terrorist activity inspired by ISIL, in India and the Pacific. It is well known that ISIL inspired attacks have occurred throughout Europe and in the United States (re: Orlando Pulse incident where shooter allegedly claimed his allegiance to the group during the event) and not without reason to suspect expansion of their activities.
In the Pacific, ISIL inspired attacks have occurred in Indonesia (JAN2016, attack on police post and Western coffee shop in Jakarta; JUL2016, Suicide bombing of police station in Solo; OCT2016, stabbing of 3 police officers in Tangerang; firebombing of church in Kalimantan, NOV2016; AUG2016, attempted stabbing of a priest in Medan; plus 15 other planned incident foiled by their discovery by security forces and subsequent arrest of over 150 militants.), Malyasia (JUN2016, grenade attack on nightclub in Puchong area of Greater Kuala Lumpur plus 13 plots disrupted by government security apparatus), the Phillipines (among numerous non attributed attacks, one incident involving the discovery of a live explosive device outside of the US Embassy inside Metro Manila stands out to this analyst as most likely inspired by foreign influence, which admittedly could come from a number of sources. This incident occurred in November 2016.), and Australia (three ISIL inspired stabbings since 2014, plus 11 plots spoiled by police intervention). In India, current intel indicates that Islamic Extremist factions within that country are sending their own militants to ISIL controlled areas. Upon their return, this would essentially allow ISIL to join forces with such groups as Lashkar-e-Taiba (the entity that perpetrated the 2008 attacks in Mumbai),Jaish-e-Mohammed, and the Indian Mujahideen. Given the other groups' notoriety (particularly that of Lashkar-e-Taiba), if members of these groups were to travel to ISIL held areas and be further indoctrinated by ISIL then return to India, the resulting attacks would be nothing short of disastrous. This would be particularly true of these newly returned ISIL-inspired personnel were to link with Pro-Pakistani militants as there is no love lost between India and Pakistan and it is no secret that many Pakistanis would LOVE to see India ablaze. The potential for such a heavy increase in both ISIL inspired terrorist activity AND ISIL inspired actors attempting to subvert Indian government activities should events transpire as described about is certainly not a potential that this analyst would bet money against. This analyst is firmly convinced that the above described events WILL occur because it is his opinion that they already are and have been for some time. ISIL and those inspired by them are unique in their direct targeting of private assets and civilians more often than government targets are selected. While this analyst personally despises such cowardice as the direct targeting of noncombatants, this analyst must also admit that such is at least a semi-intelligent strategy. By targeting the assets of groups of people you see as your enemy, you are hitting them and breaking the morale of their populace and private sector interests. By hitting civilian targets you are also building some form of loyalty... It makes one think long and hard about not at least paying lip service to being loyal to certain players or assisting them at least minimally just to keep from having your home or place of business being the next one on their list. This is not to say that ISIL or ISIL inspired personnel won't or doesn't threaten government targets, quite the contrary in fact. Make no mistake, despite the previous US President's comments about this group being a "JV team," nothing could be further from the truth. ISIL is a serious and credible threat to the United States, her allies, and their interests. This threat is being magnified by the increased geographic area they are "represented" (used strictly for lack of a better term) in. This free report on ISIL related activities was prepared as an IntSum by a CASG Analyst at 1318 6FEB2017. All persons with suspicion of terrorist activity should notify local security services and the nearest United States Embassy IMMEDIATELY.
Note: Due to the large influx of intelligence received by NDG's Intelligence Team throughout this week over various fields of intelligence interest, a specific title would've been far too complex.
Yellow Fever, Brazil: The Brazilian government has released that 72 confirmed cases, and 550 suspected cases, of YELLOW FEVER have been documented within Brazil. This endemic has resulted in 40 confirmed deaths. While the Brazilian and US Governments indicate specific areas where this has occurred (Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Distrito Federal (including the capital city of Brasília), Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, Tocantins, Bahia, Paraná, Piauí, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and São Paulo.), it is the recommendation of this analyst that ALL persons visiting or located in Brazil receive an up to date YELLOW FEVER VACCINE immediately or before departing to Brazil. In most cases of the virus, symptoms will include fever, chills, a general loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains (particularly muscle pain in the back), and headaches. Typically, the patient will see the symptoms improve within FIVE days. However, some cases have seen the viral symptoms return to the patient within a day of improving, the fever comes back and abdominal pain occurs. At this point, liver damage begins beign sustained causing jaundice. If this occurs, the risk of bleeding and complications involving the kidneys is also increased. Again, it is VERY STRONGLY advised that all personnel in, or preparing to depart for, Brazil receive a YELLOW FEVER VIRUS VACCINE as soon as possible. Personnel in the MADRID, SPAIN area should continue to be on the alert for rapid deterioration of protests scheduled through 10FEB2017 as discussed in last weeks NDG IntSum. -Prepared by: NDG Intelligence Analyst, 1247 EST 6FEB17 |
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