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Counter-terrorism



 
 
Counter-terrorism (also spelled counterterrorism) refers to the practices, tactics
Military tactics

Military tactics are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an Enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics....
, techniques, and strategies that government
Government

Government is the body within any organization that has the authority to make and the power to enforce laws, regulations, or rules. Typically, the government refers to a civil government -- local, provincial, or national -- but commercial, academic, religious, or other formal organizations are also administered by governing bodies....
s, militaries
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
, police departments and corporations adopt in response to terrorist threats and/or acts
Terrorism

Terrorism, according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, is the systematic use of terror, "violent or destructive acts committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands." At present, there is no internationally agreed upon definition of terrorism....
, both real and imputed.

The tactic of terrorism
Terrorism

Terrorism, according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, is the systematic use of terror, "violent or destructive acts committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands." At present, there is no internationally agreed upon definition of terrorism....
 is available to insurgents
Insurgency

An insurgency is a rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognised as belligerents. Not all rebellions are insurgencies, because a state of belligerency may exist between one or more sovereign states and rebel forces....
 and governments. Not all insurgents use terror as a tactic, and some choose not to use it because other tactics work better for them in a particular context.






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Encyclopedia


Counter-terrorism (also spelled counterterrorism) refers to the practices, tactics
Military tactics

Military tactics are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an Enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics....
, techniques, and strategies that government
Government

Government is the body within any organization that has the authority to make and the power to enforce laws, regulations, or rules. Typically, the government refers to a civil government -- local, provincial, or national -- but commercial, academic, religious, or other formal organizations are also administered by governing bodies....
s, militaries
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
, police departments and corporations adopt in response to terrorist threats and/or acts
Terrorism

Terrorism, according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, is the systematic use of terror, "violent or destructive acts committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands." At present, there is no internationally agreed upon definition of terrorism....
, both real and imputed.

The tactic of terrorism
Terrorism

Terrorism, according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, is the systematic use of terror, "violent or destructive acts committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands." At present, there is no internationally agreed upon definition of terrorism....
 is available to insurgents
Insurgency

An insurgency is a rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognised as belligerents. Not all rebellions are insurgencies, because a state of belligerency may exist between one or more sovereign states and rebel forces....
 and governments. Not all insurgents use terror as a tactic, and some choose not to use it because other tactics work better for them in a particular context. Individuals, such as Timothy McVeigh
Timothy McVeigh

Timothy James McVeigh was a United States Army veteran and security guard who Oklahoma City bombing the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on the second anniversary of the Waco Siege, April 19, 1995, as revenge against what he considered to be a tyrannical federal government....
, may also engage in terrorist acts such as the Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing

The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic List of terrorist incidents on April 19, 1995 aimed at the Federal government of the United States in which the Alfred P....
.

If the terrorism is part of a broader insurgency, counter-terrorism may also form a part of a counter-insurgency doctrine, but political, economic, and other measures may focus more on the insurgency than the specific acts of terror. Foreign internal defense
Foreign internal defense

Foreign internal defense is used by a number of Western militaries, explicitly by the United States but sharing ideas with countries including France and the United Kingdom, to describe an approach to combating actual or threatened insurgency in a foreign state called the Host Nation ....
 (FID) is a term used by several countries for programs either to suppress insurgency, or reduce the conditions under which insurgency could develop.

Counter-terrorism includes both the detection of potential acts and the response to related events.

Anti-terrorism versus counter-terrorism

The concept of anti-terrorism emerges from a thorough examining of the concept of terrorism
Terrorism

Terrorism, according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, is the systematic use of terror, "violent or destructive acts committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands." At present, there is no internationally agreed upon definition of terrorism....
 as well as an attempt to understand and articulate what constitutes terrorism
Definition of terrorism

The word "terrorism" is politically and emotionally charged, and this greatly compounds the difficulty of providing a precise definition. A 2003 study by the United States Army quoted a source that counted 109 definitions of terrorism that covered a total of 22 different definitional elements....
 in Western
Western world

The term Western world, the West or the Occident can have multiple meanings dependent on its context . Accordingly, the basic definition of what constitutes "the West" varies, expanding and contracting over time, in relation to various historical circumstances....
 terms. It must be remembered that in military contexts, terrorism is a tactic, not an ideology. Terrorism may be a tactic in a war between nation-states, in a civil war
Civil war

A civil war is a war between organized groups to take control of a nation or region, or to change government policies. It is high-intensity conflict, often involving Regular Army, that is sustained, organized and large-scale....
, or in an insurgency
Insurgency

An insurgency is a rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognised as belligerents. Not all rebellions are insurgencies, because a state of belligerency may exist between one or more sovereign states and rebel forces....
.

Counter-terrorism refers to offensive strategies intended to prevent a belligerent, in a broader conflict, from successfully using the tactic of terrorism. The U.S. military definition, compatible with the definitions used by NATO
NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization , also called the Atlantic Alliance, is a military alliance established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949....
 and many other militaries, is "Operations that include the offensive measures taken to prevent, deter, preempt, and respond to terrorism." In other words, counter-terrorism is a set of techniques for denying an opponent the use terrorism-based tactics, just as counter-air is a set of techniques for denying the opponent the use of attack aircraft.
Us Customs and Border Protection Officers
Anti-terrorism is defensive, intended to reduce the chance of an attack using terrorist tactics at specific points, or to reduce the vulnerability of possible targets to such tactics. "Defensive measures used to reduce the vulnerability of individuals and property to terrorist acts, to include limited response and containment by local military and civilian forces."

To continue the analogy between air and terrorist capability, offensive counter-air missions attack the airfields of the opponent, while defensive counter-air uses antiaircraft missiles to protect a point on one's own territory. The ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict

The Israeli?Palestinian conflict is an ongoing dispute between Israelis and the Palestinian people. It forms part of the wider Arab?Israeli conflict....
, Sri Lankan Civil War
Sri Lankan civil war

The Sri Lankan Civil War is the name given to the ongoing conflict on the island-nation of Sri Lanka. Since 23 July 1983, there has been on-and-off civil war, predominantly between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a Separatism armed organization which fights for the creation of an Independence state named...
, and Colombian Civil War are examples of conflicts where terrorism is present, along with other tactics, so that a participant uses counter- and anti-terrorism to limit the opponent's use of terror tactics.

Planning for detecting and neutralizing potential terrorist acts

Building a counter-terrorism plan involves all segments of a society or many government agencies. In dealing with foreign terrorists, the lead responsibility is usually at the national level. Because propaganda
Propaganda

Propaganda is the dissemination of information aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people. As opposed to Objectivity providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense presents information in order to influence its audience....
 and indoctrination
Indoctrination

Indoctrination is the process of wikt:inculcate ideas, attitude , cognition or a professional methodology. It is often distinguished from education by the fact that the indoctrinated person is expected not to question or critical thinking the doctrine they have learned....
 lie at the core of terrorism, understanding their profile and functions increases the ability to counter terrorism more effectively.

See the series of articles beginning with intelligence cycle management
Intelligence cycle management

Within the context of government, military and business affairs, Intelligence is intended to help decision-makers at every level to make informed decisions....
, and, in particular, intelligence analysis
Intelligence analysis

Intelligence Analysis is the process of taking known information about situations and entities of strategic, operational, or tactical importance, characterizing the known, and, with appropriate statements of probability, the future actions in those situations and by those entities....
. HUMINT
HUMINT

HUMINT, a Syllabic abbreviation#Types of abbreviations of the words HUMan INTelligence, refers to Intelligence by means of interpersonal contact, as opposed to the List of intelligence gathering disciplines such as SIGINT, IMINT and MASINT....
 presents techniques of describing the social networks that make up terrorist groups. Also relevant are the motivations of the individual terrorist and the structure of cell systems
Clandestine HUMINT operational techniques

The Clandestine HUMINT page, dealt with the functions which that discipline can serve, including espionage and active counterintelligence, were presented....
 used by recent non-national terrorist groups.

Most counter-terrorism strategies involve an increase in standard police and domestic intelligence. The central activities are traditional: interception of communications
Telephone tapping

Telephone tapping is the monitoring of telephone and Internet conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The telephone tap or wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connection was applied to the wires of the telephone line being monitored and drew off or tapped a small amount of the electrica...
, and the tracing of persons. New technology has, however, expanded the range of military
Manhunt (military)

Manhunting is the deliberate identification, capture or killing of senior or otherwise important enemy combatants, dubbed High Value Target, usually by special operations forces and Intelligence organizations....
 and law enforcement
Manhunt (law enforcement)

In law enforcement, a manhunt is a search for a dangerous fugitive involving the use of all available police units and technology and sometimes help from the public....
 operations.

Domestic intelligence is often directed at specific groups, defined on the basis of origin or religion, which is a source of political controversy. Mass surveillance
Mass surveillance

Mass surveillance is the pervasive surveillance of an entire population, or a substantial fraction thereof. Mass surveillance is used in varying contexts, and in some cases may occur regardless of whether or not consent of those under surveillance is given, and may or may not serve the interests of those whom are monitored....
 of an entire population raises objections on civil liberties
Civil liberties

Civil liberties are Freedom that protect the individual from the government. Civil liberties set limits for government so that it cannot abuse its Political power and interfere with the lives of its citizens....
 grounds.

To select the effective action when terrorism appears to be more of an isolated event, the appropriate government organizations need to understand the source, motivation, methods of preparation, and tactics of terrorist groups. Good intelligence is at the heart of such preparation, as well as political and social understanding of any grievances that might be solved. Ideally, one gets information from inside the group, a very difficult challenge for HUMINT
HUMINT

HUMINT, a Syllabic abbreviation#Types of abbreviations of the words HUMan INTelligence, refers to Intelligence by means of interpersonal contact, as opposed to the List of intelligence gathering disciplines such as SIGINT, IMINT and MASINT....
 because operational terrorist cells
Clandestine cell system

A clandestine cell structure is a method for organizing a group in such a way that it can more effectively resist penetration by an opposing organization....
 are often small, with all members known to one another, perhaps even related.

Counterintelligence is a great challenge with the security of cell-based systems, since the ideal, but nearly impossible, goal is to obtain a clandestine source
Clandestine HUMINT

A wide range of roles can be played by clandestine HUMINT sources. This definition includes the classic spy who collects intelligence, but also couriers and other personnel, that handle their secure communications....
 within the cell. Financial tracking can play a role, as can communications intercept
SIGINT

Signals intelligence is list of intelligence gathering disciplines by interception of signals, whether between people or between machines , or mixtures of the two....
, but both of these approaches need to be balanced against legitimate expectations of privacy.

Legal contexts

In response to the growing threat of international terrorism many countries have introduced anti-terrorism legislation.
  • United Kingdom
    United Kingdom

    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
    • The United Kingdom
      United Kingdom

      The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
       has had anti-terrorism legislation in place for more than thirty years. The Prevention of Violence Act 1939 was brought in response to an Irish Republican Army (IRA) campaign of violence under the S-Plan
      S-Plan

      The S-Plan or Sabotage Campaign or England Campaign was a campaign of bombing and sabotage against the civil, economic, and military infrastructure of Britain from 1939 to 1940....
      . This act had been allowed to expire in 1953 and was repealed in 1973 to be replaced by the Prevention of Terrorism Act
      Prevention of Terrorism Act

      Prevention of Terrorism Act could refer to four different sets of Act of Parliament, in three different countries:* Prevention of Terrorism Act , passed between 1974 and 1989 to deal with terrorism in Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom...
       a response to the Troubles
      The Troubles

      The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland and Continental Europe....
       in Northern Ireland
      Northern Ireland

      conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
      . From 1974 to 1989 the temporary provisions of the act annually.
    • In 2000 the Acts were replaced with the more permanent Terrorism Act 2000
      Terrorism Act 2000

      The Terrorism Act 2000 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.It supersedes and repeals the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland Act 1996....
      , which contained many of their powers, and then the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005
      Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005

      The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, intended to deal with the Law Lords' ruling of 16 December 2004 that the detention without trial of nine foreigners at Her Majesty's Prison Service Belmarsh under Part 4 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 was unlawful,...
      .
    • During The Troubles
      The Troubles

      The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland and Continental Europe....
      , authorities in Northern Ireland
      Northern Ireland

      conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
       were accused of employing a shoot-to-kill policy
      Shoot-to-kill policy in Northern Ireland

      During the period known as "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland, the British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary were accused of operating a Deadly force policy, under which suspects were deliberately killed without any attempt to arrest them....
    • The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001
      Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001

      The Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 was formally introduced into the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 19 November 2001, two months after the terrorist attacks on New York on 11 September....
       was formally introduced into the Parliament November 19 2001 two months after the September 11, 2001 attacks in America. It received royal assent and went into force on December 13, 2001. On December 16, 2004 the Law Lords ruled that Part 4 was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, but under the terms of the Human Rights Act 1998
      Human Rights Act 1998

      The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998, and mostly came into force on 2 October 2000....
       it remained in force. The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005
      Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005

      The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, intended to deal with the Law Lords' ruling of 16 December 2004 that the detention without trial of nine foreigners at Her Majesty's Prison Service Belmarsh under Part 4 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 was unlawful,...
       was drafted to answer the Law Lords ruling and the Terrorism Act 2006
      Terrorism Act 2006

      The Terrorism Act is a Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom made law on 30 March 2006, after being introduced on 12 October 2005....
       creates new offences related to terrorism, and amends existing ones. The Act was drafted in the aftermath of the 7 July 2005 London bombings, and like its predecessors some of its terms have proven to be highly controversial.
    • Great Britain
      Great Britain

      Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
       dealt with internal threats from terrorism through a secret law enforcement
      Manhunt (law enforcement)

      In law enforcement, a manhunt is a search for a dangerous fugitive involving the use of all available police units and technology and sometimes help from the public....
       training program known as Operation Kratos
      Operation Kratos

      Operation Kratos is the code word used by the Metropolitan Police Anti-Terrorist Branch of Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service to refer to policies surrounding and including "deadly force" tactics to be used in dealing with suspected terrorism and suicide bombers....
      .
  • United States
    United States

    The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
    • U.S. legal issues surrounding this issue include rulings on the domestic employment of Deadly force
      Deadly force

      Deadly force, as defined by the United States Armed Forces, is the force in which a person uses for the purpose of causing, or that a person knows or should know would create a substantial risk of causing, death or serious bodily harm....
       by law enforcement organizations.
    • Search and seizure is governed by the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
      Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution

      The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which guards against unreasonable search and seizure....
      .
    • The US passed the USA PATRIOT Act
      USA PATRIOT Act

      The USA PATRIOT Act, commonly known as the "Patriot Act", is a Act of Congress that President George W. Bush signed into law on October 26, 2001....
       after the 9/11 attacks, as well as a range of other legislation and executive orders.
    • The Department of Homeland Security was established to consolidate domestic security agencies to coordinate anti-terrorism, as well as national response to major natural disasters and accidents.
    • The Posse Comitatus Act
      Posse Comitatus Act

      The Posse Comitatus Act is a United States federal law passed on June 16, 1878 after the end of Reconstruction era of the United States, with the intention of substantially limiting the powers of the federal government to use the military for law enforcement....
       limits domestic employment of the United States Army
      United States Army

      The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
      , requiring Presidential approval prior to deploying the Army. Pentagon
      The Pentagon

      The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia, Virginia. As a symbol of the Military of the United States, "the Pentagon" is often used Metonymy to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself....
       policy also applies this limitation to the United States Marine Corps
      United States Marine Corps

      The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing Military power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to rapidly deliver Marine Air-Ground Task Force....
      , United States Navy
      United States Navy

      The United States Navy is the navy of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy currently has approximately 331,682 personnel on active duty as of 31 December 2008 and 124,000 in the United States Navy Reserve....
      , and United States Air Force
      United States Air Force

      The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Military of the United States and one of the uniformed services of the United States....
      . The Department of Defense
      United States Department of Defense

      The United States Department of Defense is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the Military of the United States....
       can be employed domestically on Presidential order, as was done during the Los Angeles riots of 1992, Hurricane Katrina
      Hurricane Katrina

      Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest Atlantic hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest, in the history of the United States....
       and the Beltway Sniper incidents.
    • External or international use of lethal force would require a Presidential finding
      Presidential Finding

      A presidential finding is an executive directive issued by the head of the executive branch of a government, similar to the more well-known Executive order ....
      .


  • Australia
    Australia

    Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
    • Australia has passed several anti-terrorism acts in 2004 three acts Anti-terrorism Act, 2004, (No 2) and (No 3)
      Australian anti-terrorism legislation, 2004

      Three Anti-terrorism legislation bills were enacted in the Australian Parliament in 2004 by a Coalition with the Australian Labor Party support....
       were passed. The Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock
      Philip Ruddock

      Philip Maxwell Ruddock is an Australian politician who is currently a member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the Division of Berowra, New South Wales, for the Liberal Party of Australia....
      , introduced the Anti-terrorism bill, 2004 on March 31. He described it as "a bill to strengthen Australia's counter-terrorism
      Terrorism

      Terrorism, according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, is the systematic use of terror, "violent or destructive acts committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands." At present, there is no internationally agreed upon definition of terrorism....
       laws in a number of respects - a task made more urgent following the recent tragic terrorist bombings in Spain."
      He said that Australia's counter-terrorism laws "require review and, where necessary, updating if we are to have a legal framework capable of safeguarding all Australians from the scourge of terrorism." The Australian Anti-Terrorism Act 2005
      Australian Anti-Terrorism Act 2005

      The Australian Anti-Terrorism Act 2005 is legislation intended to hamper the activities of any potential terrorists in Australia. It was passed by the Parliament of Australia on 6 December 2005....
       supplemented the powers of the earlier acts. The legislation in Australia allows police to detain suspects for up to two weeks without charge, and to electronically track suspects for up to a year. The Australian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2005
      Australian Anti-Terrorism Act 2005

      The Australian Anti-Terrorism Act 2005 is legislation intended to hamper the activities of any potential terrorists in Australia. It was passed by the Parliament of Australia on 6 December 2005....
       included a "shoot-to-kill" clause. In a country, with entrenched liberal democratic
      Liberal democracy

      Liberal democracy is the dominant form of democracy in the 21st century. During the Cold War, liberal democracies were contrasted with the Communist People's Republics or "Popular Democracies", which claimed an alternative conception of democracy....
       traditions, the measures have been controversial and have been criticized by civil libertarians and Islam
      Islam

      Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
      ic groups.
  • Israel
    Israel

    Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
    • On December 14, 2006 the Israeli Supreme Court allowed assassination
      Assassination

      Assassination is the targeted killing of a public figure. Assassinations may be prompted by ideology, politics, or military reasons. Additionally, assassins may be motivated by contract killing, revenge, or celebrity or may be mental disorder....
       of alleged terrorists, and outlined several conditions for its use.


Terrorism and human rights

One of the primary difficulties of implementing effective counter-terrorist measures is the waning of civil liberties and individual privacy that such measures often entail, both for citizens of, and for those detained by states attempting to combat terror. At times, measures designed to tighten security have been seen as abuses of power or even violations of human rights
Human rights

Human rights refer to the "basic rights and freedom to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of speech, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, i...
.

Examples of these problems can include prolonged, incommunicado detention without judicial review; risk of subjecting to torture during the transfer, return and extradition of people between or within countries; and the adoption of security measures that restrain the rights or freedoms of citizens and breach principles of non-discrimination. Examples include:
  • In November 2003 Malaysia
    Malaysia

    Malaysia is a federation that consists of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government....
     passed new counter-terrorism laws that were widely criticized by local human rights
    Human rights

    Human rights refer to the "basic rights and freedom to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of speech, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, i...
     groups for being vague and overbroad. Critics claim that the laws put the basic rights of free expression, association, and assembly at risk. Malaysia persisted in holding around 100 alleged militants without trial, including five Malaysian students detained for alleged terrorist activity while studying in Karachi, Pakistan.
  • In November 2003 a Canadian-Syrian national, Maher Arar, alleged publicly that he had been tortured in a Syrian prison after being handed over to the Syrian authorities by U.S.
  • In December 2003 Colombia's congress approved legislation that would give the military the power to arrest, tap telephones and carry out searches without warrants or any previous judicial order.
  • Images of unpopular treatment of detainees in US custody in Iraq and other locations have encouraged international scrutiny of US operations in the war on terror.
  • Hundreds of foreign nationals remain in prolonged indefinite detention without charge or trial in Guantánamo Bay, despite international and US constitutional standards some groups believe outlaw such practices.
  • Hundreds of people suspected of connections with the Taliban or al Qa'eda remain in long-term detention in Pakistan or in US-controlled centers in Afghanistan.
  • China has used the "war on terror" to justify its policies in the predominantly Muslim Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region to stifle Uighur identity.
  • In Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Yemen and other countries, scores of people have been arrested and arbitrarily detained in connection with suspected terrorist acts or links to opposition armed groups.
  • Until 2005 eleven men remained in high security detention in the UK under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.


Many would argue that such violations exacerbate rather than counter the terrorist threat. Human rights advocates argue for the crucial role of human rights
Human rights

Human rights refer to the "basic rights and freedom to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of speech, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, i...
 protection as an intrinsic part to fight against terrorism. This suggests, as proponents of human security
Human security

Human security is an emerging paradigm for understanding global vulnerabilities whose proponents challenge the traditional notion of national security by arguing that the proper referent for security should be the individual rather than the state....
 have long argued, that respecting human rights
Human rights

Human rights refer to the "basic rights and freedom to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of speech, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, i...
 may indeed help us to incur security. Amnesty International
Amnesty International

Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organization which defines its mission as "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated." Founded in London, England in 1961, AI draws its attention to human rights abuses and...
 included a section on confronting terrorism in the recommendations in the Madrid Agenda arising from the Madrid Summit on Democracy and Terrorism (Madrid 8-11 March 2005):

"Democratic principles and values are essential tools in the fight against terrorism. Any successful strategy for dealing with terrorism requires terrorists to be isolated. Consequently, the preference must be to treat terrorism as criminal acts to be handled through existing systems of law enforcement and with full respect for human rights
Human rights

Human rights refer to the "basic rights and freedom to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of speech, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, i...
 and the rule of law. We recommend: (1) taking effective measures to make impunity impossible either for acts of terrorism or for the abuse of human rights
Human rights

Human rights refer to the "basic rights and freedom to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of speech, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, i...
 in counter-terrorism measures. (2) the incorporation of human rights
Human rights

Human rights refer to the "basic rights and freedom to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of speech, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, i...
 laws in all anti-terrorism programmes and policies of national governments as well as international bodies."


While international efforts to combat terrorism have focused on the need to enhance cooperation between states, proponents of human rights (as well as human security
Human security

Human security is an emerging paradigm for understanding global vulnerabilities whose proponents challenge the traditional notion of national security by arguing that the proper referent for security should be the individual rather than the state....
) have suggested that more effort needs to be given to the effective inclusion of human rights
Human rights

Human rights refer to the "basic rights and freedom to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of speech, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, i...
 protection as a crucial element in that cooperation. They argue that international human rights
Human rights

Human rights refer to the "basic rights and freedom to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of speech, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, i...
 obligations do not stop at borders and a failure to respect human rights
Human rights

Human rights refer to the "basic rights and freedom to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of speech, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, i...
 in one state may undermine its effectiveness in the international effort to cooperate to combat terrorism.

Preemptive neutralization

Some countries see pre-emptive attacks as a legitimate strategy. This includes capturing, killing, or disabling suspected terrorists before they can mount an attack. Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
, the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, and Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
 have taken this approach, while Western European states generally do not.

Another major method of pre-emptive neutralization is interrogation
Interrogation

Interrogation or questioning is interviewing as commonly employed by officers of the police and military.The interviewee is also referred to as a "source"....
 of known or suspected terrorists to obtain information about specific plots, targets, the identity of other terrorists, and whether the interrogation subjects himself as guilty of terrorist involvement. Sometimes more extreme methods are used to increase suggestibility
Suggestibility

People are deemed to be suggestible if they accept and act on suggestions by others.A person experiencing intense emotions tends to be more receptive to ideas and therefore more suggestible....
, such as sleep deprivation
Sleep deprivation

Sleep deprivation is a general lack of the necessary amount of sleep. This may occur as a result of sleep disorders, active choice or deliberate inducement such as in interrogation or for torture....
 or drugs. Such methods may lead captives to offer false information in an attempt to stop the treatment, or due to the confusion brought on by it. These methods are not available to European powers because in 1978 the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg was established under the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950 to monitor compliance by Contracting Parties....
 ruled in the Ireland v. United Kingdom case that such methods
Five techniques

The term five techniques refers to certain interrogation practices adopted by the Northern Ireland and United Kingdom governments during Operation Demetrius in the early 1970s....
 amounted to a practice of inhuman and degrading treatment, and that such practices were in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights
European Convention on Human Rights

The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms , was adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe in 1950 to protect human rights and fundamental Freedom in Europe....
 Article 3 (art. 3).

Non-military preventive actions
The human security
Human security

Human security is an emerging paradigm for understanding global vulnerabilities whose proponents challenge the traditional notion of national security by arguing that the proper referent for security should be the individual rather than the state....
 paradigm outlines a non-military approach which aims to address the enduring underlying inequalities which fuel terrorist activity. Causal factors need to be delineated and measures implemented which allow equal access to resources and sustainability
Sustainability

Sustainability, in a broad sense, is the ability to maintain a certain process or state. It is now most frequently used in connection with biological and human systems....
 for all people. Such activities empower citizens providing 'freedom from fear' and 'freedom from want'.

This can take many forms including the provision of clean drinking water, education, vaccination programs, provision of food and shelter and protection from violence, military or otherwise. Successful human security campaigns have been characterised by the participation of a diverse group of actors including governments, NGOs, and citizens.

Foreign internal defense
Foreign internal defense

Foreign internal defense is used by a number of Western militaries, explicitly by the United States but sharing ideas with countries including France and the United Kingdom, to describe an approach to combating actual or threatened insurgency in a foreign state called the Host Nation ....
 programs provide outside expert assistance to a threatened government. FID can involve both non-military and military aspects of counter-terrorism.

Military intervention
Terrorism has often been used to justify military intervention in countries where terrorists are said to be based. That was the main stated justification for the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

The War in Afghanistan, which began on October 7, 2001 as the U.S. military operation Operation Enduring Freedom, was launched by the United States with the United Kingdom in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks....
. It was also a stated justification for the second Russian invasion of Chechnya.

History has shown that military intervention has rarely been successful in stopping or preventing terrorism. Although military action can disrupt a terrorist group's operations temporarily, it rarely ends the threat.

Thus repression by the military in itself (particularly if it is not accompanied by other measures) usually leads to short term victories, but tend to be unsuccessful in the long run (e.g. the French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
's doctrine described in Roger Trinquier
Roger Trinquier

Roger Trinquier was a French Army officer during World War II, the First Indochina War and the Algerian War, serving mainly in Airborne forces and Special forces units....
's book Modern War used in Indochina
Indochina

Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a subregion in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly east of India, south of China.The word has French origins, Indochine, and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory to bordering countries....
 and Algeria
Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country of the Mediterranean sea, second largest in the Arab World, and the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area....
). However, new methods (see the new Counterinsurgency Field Manual) such as those taken in Iraq
Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
 have yet to be seen as beneficial or ineffectual.

Planning for response to terrorism

Police, fire, and emergency medical response organizations have obvious roles. Local firefighter
Firefighter

Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car accidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations....
s and emergency medical personnel (often called "first responders") have plans for mitigating the effects of terrorist attacks, although police may deal with threats of such attacks.

Target-hardening

Whatever the target of terrorists, there are multiple ways of hardening the targets to prevent the terrorists from hitting their mark, or reducing the damage of attacks. One method is to place Jersey barrier
Jersey barrier

A Jersey barrier or Jersey wall separates lanes of traffic with a goal of minimizing vehicle crossover in the case of accidents. They have also come into use as a means to keep car bombs away from perceived targets....
 or other sturdy obstacles outside tall or politically sensitive buildings to prevent car and truck bombing.

Aircraft cockpits are kept locked during flights, and have reinforced doors, which only the pilots in the cabin are capable of opening. English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 train stations removed their waste bins in response to the Provisional IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army

The Provisional Irish Republican Army , is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that considers itself a direct continuation of the Irish Republican Army that fought in the Irish War of Independence....
 threat, as convenient locations for depositing bombs.

Scottish
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 stations removed theirs after the 7th of July bombing of London as a precautionary measure. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is "a body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts formed in 1964 to finance and operate most bus, Rapid transit, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, area....
 purchased bomb-resistant barriers after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

A more sophisticated target-hardening approach must consider industrial and other critical industrial infrastructure that could be attacked. Terrorists need not import chemical weapons if they can cause a major industrial accident such as the Bhopal disaster
Bhopal disaster

The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal gas tragedy was an industrial disaster that took place at a Union Carbide subsidiary pesticide plant in the city of Bhopal, India....
 or the Halifax explosion
Halifax Explosion

The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of City of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a France cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with a Norwegian ship, the SS Imo in "The Narrows" section of the Halifax Ha...
. Industrial chemicals in manufacturing, shipping, and storage need greater protection, and some efforts are in progress. To put this risk into perspective, the first major lethal chemical attack in WWI
Poison gas in World War I

The use of poison gas in World War I was a major military innovation. The gases ranged from disabling chemicals, such as tear gas and the severe mustard gas, to lethal agents like phosgene and chlorine....
 used 160 tons of chlorine. Industrial shipments of chlorine, widely used in water purification and the chemical industry, travel in 90 or 55 ton tank cars.

To give one more example, the North American electrical grid has already demonstrated, in the Northeast Blackout of 2003
Northeast Blackout of 2003

The Northeast Blackout of 2003 was a massive widespread power outage that occurred throughout parts of the northeastern United States and Midwestern United States, and Ontario, Canada on Thursday, August 14, 2003, at approximately 4:15 pm EDT , with virtually full restoration by the following day....
, its vulnerability to natural disasters coupled with inadequate, possibly insecure, SCADA
SCADA

SCADA stands for Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition. It generally refers to an industrial control system: a computer system monitoring and controlling a process....
 (supervisory control and data acquisition) networks. Part of the vulnerability is due to deregulation leading to much more interconnection in a grid designed for only occasional power-selling between utilities. A very few terrorists, attacking key power facilities when one or more engineers have infiltrated the power control centers, could wreak havoc.

Equipping likely targets with containers (i.e., bags) of pig lard has been utilized to discourage attacks by Islamist suicide bombers. The technique was apparently used on a limited scale by British authorities in the 1940s. The approach stems from the idea that Muslims perpetrating the attack would not want to be "soiled" by the lard in the moment prior to dying. The idea has been suggested more recently as a deterrent to suicide bombings in Israel. However, the actual effectiveness of this tactic is probably limited as it is possible that a sympathetic Islamic scholar could issue a fatwa
Fatwa

A fatwa , in the Islamic faith is a religious opinion on Sharia issued by an Ulema. In Sunni Islam any fatwa is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be, depending on the status of the scholar....
 proclaiming that a suicide bomber would not be polluted by the swine products.

Command and control

In North America and other continents, for a threatened or completed terrorist attack, the Incident Command System
Incident Command System

The Incident Command System is a standardized, on-scene, all-hazard incident management concept in the United States. It is a management protocol originally designed for emergency management agencies and later federal government of the United States....
 (ICS) is apt to be invoked to control the various services that may need to be involved in the response. ICS has varied levels of escalation, such as might be needed for multiple incidents in a given area (e.g., the 2005 bombings in London
Attacks on the London Underground

This is a list of deliberate attacks on the infrastructure, staff or passengers of the London Underground that have caused considerable damage, injury or death....
 or the 2004 Madrid train bombings, or all the way to a National Response Plan
National Response Plan

The National Response Plan was a United States national plan to respond to emergencies such as terrorist attacks or natural disasters. It was superseded by the National Response Framework on March 22, 2008....
 invocation if national-level resources are needed. National response, for example, might be needed for a nuclear, biological, radiological, or large chemical attack.

Damage mitigation

Fire department
Fire department

A fire department is a public sector or private sector organization that provides fire protection for a certain jurisdiction, which typically is a municipality, county, or fire protection district....
s, perhaps supplemented by public works agencies, utility providers (e.g., gas, water, electricity), and heavy construction contractors, are most apt to deal with the physical consequences of an attack.

Local security

Again under an incident command model, local police
Police

Police are agents or agencies, usually of the executive , empowered to enforce the law and to ensure public and social order through the legitimized use of force....
 can isolate the incident area, reducing confusion, and specialized police units can conduct tactical operations against terrorists, often using specialized counter-terrorist tactical units. Bringing in such units will normally involve civil or military authority beyond the local level.

Medical services

Emergency medical services will bring the more seriously affected victims to hospitals, which will need to have mass casualty and triage
Triage

Block quoteTriage is a process of prioritizing patients based on the severity of their condition. This rations patient treatment efficiently when resources are insufficient for all to be treated immediately....
 plans in place.

Public health agencies, from local to national level, may be designated to deal with identification, and sometimes mitigation, of possible biological attacks, and sometimes chemical or radiologic contamination.

Counter-terrorism tactical units

Today, many countries have special units designated to handle terrorist threats. Besides various security agencies, there are elite tactical units, also known as special mission units, whose role is to directly engage terrorists and prevent terrorist attacks.

Such units perform both in preventive actions, hostage rescue and responding to on-going attacks. Countries of all sizes can have highly trained counter-terrorist teams. Tactics, techniques and procedures for manhunting
Manhunt (military)

Manhunting is the deliberate identification, capture or killing of senior or otherwise important enemy combatants, dubbed High Value Target, usually by special operations forces and Intelligence organizations....
 are under constant development.

Most of these measures deal with terrorist attacks that affect an area, or threaten to do so. It is far harder to deal with assassination, or even reprisals on individuals, due to the short (if any) warning time and the quick exfiltration of the assassins. Of course, if the assassination is done by a suicide bomber, exfiltration becomes moot.

These units are specially trained in tactics and are very well equipped for CQB
Close quarters battle

Close Quarters Battallion or close quarters combat is a type of fighting in which small units engage the enemy with personal weapons at very short range, potentially to the point of hand-to-hand combat....
 with emphasis on stealth and performing the mission with minimal casualties. The units include take-over force (assault teams), sniper
Sniper

A sniper is usually a highly trained marksman that shoots targets from Concealment positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel....
s, EOD experts, dog handlers and intelligence officers. See Counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism organizations
Counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism organizations

Counter-intelligence, and closely related counter-terrorism, may well be a source of positive intelligence on the opposition's priorities and thinking, not just a defensive measure....
 for national command, intelligence, and incident mitigation.

The majority of counter-terrorism operations at the tactical level, are conducted by state, federal and national law enforcement agencies
Police

Police are agents or agencies, usually of the executive , empowered to enforce the law and to ensure public and social order through the legitimized use of force....
 or intelligence agencies
Intelligence agency

An intelligence agency is a Government Government agency that is devoted to the information gathering for purposes of national security and Defense ....
. In some countries, the military may be called in as a last resort. Obviously, for countries whose military are legally permitted to conduct police
Police

Police are agents or agencies, usually of the executive , empowered to enforce the law and to ensure public and social order through the legitimized use of force....
 operations, this is a non-issue, and such counter-terrorism operations are conducted by their military.

See Counter-intelligence
Counter-intelligence

Intelligence cycle management, and, by extension, the overall defenses of nations, are vulnerable to attack. It is the role of intelligence cycle security to protect the process embodied in the intelligence cycle, and that which it defends....
 for command, intelligence and warning, and incident mitigation aspects of counter-terror.

Examples of actions

Some counterterrorist actions of the 20th century are listed below. See List of hostage crises
List of hostage crises

This is a list of hostage crises by date....
 for a more extended list, including hostage-taking that did not end violently.

Representative Hostage Rescue Operations>
Incident Main locale Hostage nationality Terrorists Counter-terrorist force Results
1972 Munich Massacre
Munich massacre

The Munich massacre occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually murdered by Black September , a militant group with ties to Yasser Arafat?s Fatah organization....
Munich Olympics, Germany Israeli Black September German police 11 hostages, 1 rescuer, 5 terrorists killed. 3 terrorists captured.
1975 AIA Hostage Incident AIA building, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia US, Swedish Embassies. Mixed Japanese Red Army
Japanese Red Army

The was a militant far-left group founded by Fusako Shigenobu in February 1971 after she broke away from the Japanese Communist League-Red Army Faction....
Malaysian police All hostages rescued, all terrorists flew up to Libya.
1976 Entebbe raid
Operation Entebbe

Operation Entebbe, also known as the Entebbe Raid or Operation Thunderbolt, was a Counterterrorism hostage-rescue mission carried out by the Israel Defense Forces at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on the night of 3 July and early morning of 4 July 1976....
Entebbe, Uganda Mixed. Israelis and Jews separated. PFLP Israeli mixed force all 6 hijackers, 45 Ugandan troops, 3 hostages and 1 Israeli soldier dead. 100 hostages rescued
1977 Hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 181
Lufthansa Flight 181

Lufthansa Flight 181, commonly known as The Landshut was a Lufthansa Boeing Boeing 737 that was aircraft hijacking by four members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine as part of the events in the German Autumn of 1977....
Spanish airspace and Mogadishu, Somalia Mixed PFLP GSG 9
GSG 9

The GSG 9 der Bundespolizei is the elite counter-terrorism and special operations unit of the German Federal Police and is considered to be among the best of its kind in the world....
, Special Air Service
Special Air Service

The Special Air Service is a special forces regiment within the British Army which has served as a model for the special forces of other countries....
 consultants
1 hostage, 3 hijackers dead, 1 captured. 90 hostages rescued.
1980 Iranian Embassy Siege
Iranian Embassy Siege

The Iranian Embassy Siege of 1980 was a siege of the Iranian Diplomatic mission in London after it had been taken over by Arab separatists. The siege was ended when United Kingdom special forces, the Special Air Service , stormed the building in Operation Nimrod....
London, UK Iranian Democratic Revolutionary Movement for the Liberation of Arabistan Special Air Service
Special Air Service

The Special Air Service is a special forces regiment within the British Army which has served as a model for the special forces of other countries....
1 hostage, 5 terrorists dead, 1 captured, 1 SAS operative received minor burns.
1981 Hijacking of "Woyla" Garuda Indonesia
Garuda Indonesia

PT Garuda Indonesia is the national airline of Indonesia. It is named after the mythical bird Garuda. In Indian Historical Vedic religion tradition, Garuda is the carrier of the Hinduism god Vishnu; a representation of Garuda appears in the coat of arms of Indonesia....
Don Muang International Airport, Thailand
Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....
Indonesian Jihad Commandos Kopassus
Kopassus

Kopassus, abbreviation for Komando Pasukan Khusus is an Indonesian Army special forces group that conducts special operations missions for the Indonesian government, such as direct action, unconventional warfare, sabotage, counter-terrorism, and intelligence ....
, Thailand military mixed forces
1 hijacker kill himself, 4 hijackers and 1 Kopassus operative dead, 1 pilot wounded, all hostages rescued.
1985 Capture of Achille Lauro
Achille Lauro

The Achille Lauro, originally the Willem Ruys, was a passenger liner. It is most remembered for its 1985 hijacking....
 hijackers
International airspace and Italy Mixed PLO US military, turned over to Italy 1 dead in hijacking, 4 terrorists convicted in Italy
1996 Japanese embassy hostage crisis
Japanese embassy hostage crisis

The Japanese embassy hostage crisis began on December 17, 1996 in Lima, Peru, when 14 members of the T?pac Amaru Revolutionary Movement took hostage hundreds of high-level diplomats, government and military officials and business executives who were attending a party at the official residence of Japan ambassador to Peru, Morihisha Aoki, in c...
Lima, Peru Japanese and guests (800+) Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement
Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement

The T?pac Amaru Revolutionary Movement was a communist guerrilla warfare movement active in Peru from 1984 to 1997 and one of the main actors in the internal conflict in Peru....
Peruvian military & police mixed forces 1 hostage, 2 rescuers, all 14 terrorists dead.
2000 Sauk Arms Heist
Sauk Arms Heist

The Sauk arms heist is a crime event in Malaysia on 2 July 2000. Led by Al-Mau'nah group.On 2 July 2000 on an outpost and a camp manned by members of Bn 304 of Rejimen Askar Wataniah was involved in an arms heist by the Al-Mau'nah militant group....
Perak, Malaysia 2 policemen, 1 army and 1 civilian Al-Ma'unah Malaysian Army, Grup Gerak Khas
Grup Gerak Khas

The Grup Gerak Khas is a brigade sized formation that acts as the command element which coordinates and deploys the 3 special forces battalions of the Malaysian Army, conducts special operations missions for the Malaysian government, such as direct action, unconventional warfare, sabotage, counter-terrorism, and intelligence ....
 and Pasukan Gerakan Khas
Pasukan Gerakan Khas

The Pasukan Gerakan Khas PDRM is an elite counter-terrorism and special operations tactical unit of the Royal Malaysian Police . The PGK has two distinct subdivisions; VAT 69 and the Special Actions Unit ....
 mixed forces
2 hostages dead, 2 rescuers, 1 terrorist dead and all 28 terrorists captured.
2002 Moscow theater hostage crisis
Moscow theater hostage crisis

The Moscow theatre hostage crisis, also known as the 2002 Nord-Ost siege, was the seizure of a crowded Moscow theatre on October 23, 2002 by about 40-50 armed Chechen people rebel fighters who claimed allegiance to the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria....
Moscow Mixed, mostly Russian (900+) Chechen Russian OZNAZ 129-204 hostages dead, all 39 terrorists dead. 600-700 rescued
2004 Beslan school hostage crisis
Beslan school hostage crisis

The Beslan school hostage crisis began when a group of armed terrorists, demanding an end to the Second Chechen War, took more than 1,100 people hostage on September 1, 2004, at School Number One in the town of Beslan, North Ossetia-Alania, an autonomous republic in the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation....
Beslan, North Ossetia-Alania, (an autonomous republic in the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation). Russian Chechen Mixed Russian 334 hostages dead and hundreds wounded. 10-21 rescuers dead. 31 hostage takers killed, 1 captured
2007 Lal Masjid siege Islamabad, Pakistan Pakistani students Lal Masjid students and militants Pakistani Army and Rangers SSG commandos 61 militants killed, 50 militants captured 23 students killed, 11 SSG killed,1 Ranger killed,33 SSG wounded,8 soldiers wounded,3 Rangers wounded, 14 civilians killed
2007 Kirkuk Hostage Rescue Kirkuk, Iraqi-Kurdistan Turkman Child Rescued by PUK CTG Counter Terrorism Group in Kirkuk from Arab kidnappers Islamic State of Iraq Al Qaeda Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's Counter Terrorism Group 5 Al Qaeda Terrorists Arrested, 1 11 years old Turkman child rescued
2008 Operation Jaque
Operation Jaque

Operation Jaque was a Colombian military operation that resulted in the freedom of 15 hostages, including former Colombian presidential candidate ?ngrid Betancourt....
Colombia MixedRevolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia  15 hostages released. 2 hostage takers captured
2008 Operations Dawn Gulf of Aden, Somalia
Somalia

Somalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa....
Mixed Somalian piracy and militants Royal Malaysian Navy PASKAL
Royal Malaysian Navy PASKAL

PASKAL, an abbreviation for Pasukan Khas Laut is the elite special operations force of the Royal Malaysian Navy, which conducts unconventional warfare, guerrilla warfare, jungle warfare, direct action, counter-terrorism, close protection for VIPs, specific enemy assassination, hostage rescue, and special reconnaissance as well as for...
 and international mixed forces
Negotiation finished. 80 hostages released. RMN including PASKAL navy commandos with international mixed forces patrolling the Gulf of Aden during this festive period.
2008 November 2008 Mumbai attacks Multiple locations in Mumbai
Mumbai

Mumbai— formerly Bombay, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The city proper has approximately 14 million people and, along with the neighbouring suburbs of Navi Mumbai and Thane, Mumbai forms the World's largest urban agglomerations according to the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects report with around 19...
 city
Mixed, US and British citizens targeted Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba and Pakistani ISI
Inter-Services Intelligence

The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence is the largest intelligence service in Pakistan. It is one of the three main branches of Pakistan's intelligence agencies....
300 NSG commandos
National Security Guards

The National Security Guard is a Special Forces of India in India that has primarily been utilized for counter-terrorism activities and was created by the Cabinet Secretariat under the National Security Guard Act of the Indian Parliament in 1986....
, 36-100 Marine commandos
MARCOS (India)

MARCOS is an elite Special Forces of India of the Indian Navy. "MARCOS" is short for "Marine Commandos", and MCF is an acronym for "Marine Commando Force"....
 and 400 army Para Commandos
141 Indian civilians, 30 foreigners, 17 law enforcement officers killed. 9 terrorists killed,1 terrorist captured and 293 injured


Law enforcement counter-terrorist organizations by country

+ indicates military organization allowed to operate domestically.

Examples include:
  • Australia: State and Australian Federal Police
    Australian Federal Police

    The Australian Federal Police is the federal police agency of the Commonwealth of Australia. Although the AFP was created by the amalgamation in 1979 of three Commonwealth law enforcement agencies, it traces its history from Commonwealth law enforcement agencies dating back to federation in 1901....
     Police Tactical Group
    Police Tactical Group

    Police Tactical Groups , formerly known as "Police Assault Groups", are part of the Australian government's National Anti-Terrorism Plan which, since 1978, has required each state and territory police force to maintain a specialised counter-terrorist and Hostage crisis unit jointly funded by the federal government and respective state/terri...
    s Australian Protective Service (APS), Tactical Assault Group (TAG East & TAG West)+, Australian Security and Intelligence Agency (ASIO), SASR+
  • Austria: EKO Cobra
    EKO Cobra

    EKO Cobra is the premier Counter-Terrorism unit of the Austrian Federal Police. It is widely regarded as one of the best in the world....
  • Brazil: State/local Police SWAT teams: BOPE
    BOPE

    BOPE is the most elite unit in the Military Police of the Rio de Janeiro .Due to the nature of crime in favelas, BOPE units have extensive experience in urban warfare as well as progression in confined and restricted environments....
    , CORE
    CORE (Brazil)

    CORE , formed in 1969, is a national SWAT unit within the Civil Police , which originated from the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Duties...
    , GOE
    GOE (Brazil)

    The Grupo de Opera??es Especiais or GOE , is the elite arm of the Brazilian Civil Police of the state of S?o Paulo, Brasil. It is comparable to Rio de Janeiro's CORE ....
    , GATE, COT
    COT

    Cot, COT or CoT may refer to:...
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina: SIPA
    Sipa

    Sipa is the Philippines' national and traditional native sport which predates Spanish rule. The game is related to Sepak Takraw. Similar games include Footbag net, Footvolley, Bossaball and Jianzi....
  • Bulgaria:S.O.B.T.
  • Canada: ERT
  • Czech: URNA
    Urna

    An Urna is a concave circular dot- an auspicious mark manifested by a hair whorl of white hair on the forehead between the eyebrows. It is often found on the 2nd and 3rd Century sculptures of the Gautama Buddha and Bodhisattvas....
     National Police Rapid Response Unit or Útvar Rychlého Nasazení
  • Finland Karhu-ryhmä, Utti Jaeger Regiment
    Utti Jaeger Regiment

    The Utti Jaeger Regiment is the Finnish Army training and development centre for special forces and helicopter operations. It consists of about 500 personnel of which about 200 are conscripts....
    , Guard Jaeger Regiment
    Guard Jaeger Regiment

    The Guard Jaeger Regiment is a Finnish Army special forces unit located in Santahamina, an island district of Helsinki. The regiment trains Guard J?ger s for fighting in an urban environment....
  • France: Police units GIPN
    GIPN

    GIPN is an initialism for Groupes d'Intervention de la Police Nationale or French National Police Intervention Groups. Its motto is " La coh?sion fait la force " or "cohesion makes the force."...
    , RAID
    Recherche Assistance Intervention Dissuasion

    Recherche Assistance Intervention Dissuasion or RAID, is the counter-terrorist unit of the French National Police. It is roughly the police equivalent of the GIGN and the Groupes d'Intervention de la Police Nationale , intervention units similar to the RAID team ...
     and Gendarmerie GIGN+
  • Germany: Police SEK
    Spezialeinsatzkommando

    Spezialeinsatzkommandos are the List_of_Special_Response_Units units of the Germany state police forces. German SEKs are full-time units whose members do not perform any other duties....
     / MEK and Bundespolizei
    Bundespolizei

    Bundespolizei may refer to:*Federal Police *Federal Police ...
     GSG 9
    GSG 9

    The GSG 9 der Bundespolizei is the elite counter-terrorism and special operations unit of the German Federal Police and is considered to be among the best of its kind in the world....
  • Hong Kong: Police Special Duties Unit
    Special Duties Unit

    The Special Duties Unit is a secretive and elite paramilitary police unit of the Hong Kong Police. Established in July 1974, it is a sub-division of the Police Tactical Unit ....
  • Iceland: Víkingasveitin
    Víkingasveitin

    V?kingasveitin , or S?rsveit r?kisl?greglustj?rans is Iceland's elite counter-terrorism unit, specializing in various types of armed and unarmed infantry combat....
  • India: NSG
    National Security Guards

    The National Security Guard is a Special Forces of India in India that has primarily been utilized for counter-terrorism activities and was created by the Cabinet Secretariat under the National Security Guard Act of the Indian Parliament in 1986....
    , MARCOS
    MARCOS (India)

    MARCOS is an elite Special Forces of India of the Indian Navy. "MARCOS" is short for "Marine Commandos", and MCF is an acronym for "Marine Commando Force"....
    , Para Commandos
  • Indonesia: Detachment 88
  • Ireland: Emergency Response Unit (Garda)
    Emergency Response Unit (Garda)

    The Emergency Response Unit of An Garda S?och?na is a specialist armed intervention unit, formed to deal with situations that cannot be handled by regular Garda officers....
  • Israel: YAMAM
    Yamam

    The Yamam , is the acronym for Special Police Unit , Israel's elite civilian counter-terrorism unit. The Yamam is capable of both hostage-rescue operations and offensive take-over raids against targets in civilian areas....
    ,yamas
    Yamas

    A yama ??, literally "death", is a rule or code of conduct for living which will help bring a compassionate death to the ego or "the lower self"....
    - elite Israeli army anti terror unit
  • Italy: NOCS
    Nucleo Operativo Centrale di Sicurezza

    The Nucleo Operativo Centrale di Sicurezza is a Special forces of the Italy Polizia di Stato....
  • Japan: Special Assault Team
    Special Assault Team

    The is the official civilian counter-terrorist unit under the National Police Agency . Like the GSG 9, the KSK and the Special Air Service, most information on the unit has been confidential, its existence officially revealed only in 1996....
    , Special Security Team
    Special Security Team

    The is the official counter-terrorist unit of the Japanese Coast Guard. Formerly known as the Kansai International Airport Marine Guard, it was renamed after a period of reorganization....
  • Korea, South: 707th Special Mission Unit
    707th Special Mission Unit

    The 707th Special Missions Battalion is the elite special forces unit in the Republic of Korea Army Special Warfare Command. The battalion's nickname is 'White Tiger.' ...
    +
  • Kurdistan: CTG: Counter Terrorism Group Kurdish Special Forces Specializing in CQB
  • Latvia: OMEGA
    Omega

    Omega is the 24th and last letter of the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numerals it has a value of 800. The word literally means "great O" , as opposed to Omicron, which means "little O" ....
     police unit
  • Lithuania: ARAS (Force)
    ARAS (Force)

    ARAS or Lithuanian Police Anti-terrorist Operations Force is a Lithuanian equivalent to SWAT. The organization was established in 1991. At first, ARAS's purpose was to handle riot suppression, peace keeping, and grands seigniors escort....
     Lithuanian Police force of antiterrorism operations
  • Malaysia: Pasukan Gerakan Khas
    Pasukan Gerakan Khas

    The Pasukan Gerakan Khas PDRM is an elite counter-terrorism and special operations tactical unit of the Royal Malaysian Police . The PGK has two distinct subdivisions; VAT 69 and the Special Actions Unit ....
    , Police Combat Diving Unit
  • Netherlands: DSI
    DSI

    DSI is an initialism for the following companies:*Delphine Software International, a now bankrupt software company*Destination Software, Inc., a video game company...
     (Dutch: Dienst Speciale Interventies, Special Interventions Service)
  • New Zealand: Special Tactics Group
    Special Tactics Group

    Previously known as the Anti-Terrorist Squad, the Special Tactics Group is the full-time tactical and Counter-terrorism group of the New Zealand Police....
    , NZSAS Tactical Assault Group (TAG)
  • Norway: Beredskapstroppen
    Beredskapstroppen

    Beredskapstroppen, nicknamed Delta, is a specialized police unit situated in Oslo, Norway. It is the main Counter-terrorism force in Norway, trained to perform dangerous operations such as high-risk arrests and hostage crisis....
    , FSK+
  • Poland: GROM
    Grom

    Grom, meaning 'thunder' in several Slavic languages, may refer to:...
  • Portugal: GOE and COE
  • Philippines: Special Action Force
    Special Action Force

    The Special Action Force is the primary special forces unit of the Philippine National Police.It is formed along the lines of the British Special Air Service, but with different recruitment and selection procedures....
     and police SWAT
    SWAT

    SWAT are elite tactical units in American police departments. Similar organizations in other areas are South Australian Special Tasks and Rescue, London's Specialist Firearms Command and Thunder Squad....
     teams
  • Romania: Brigada Antiterorista
    Brigada Antiterorista

    Brigada Antiterorista is a tactical special operations unit of the Serviciul Rom?n de Informatii ....
    , (counter-terrorist brigade)
  • Russia: Spetsgruppa A,Vympel
    Vympel

    Vympel is a Russian special forces unit.The exact lineage is not known but the unit was formed in 1981 by the KGB Gen. Drozdov within the First Chief Directorate of the KGB as a dedicated OSNAZ unit specialised in deep penetration, sabotage, universal direct and Covert operation, embassy protection and espionage cell activation in case of...
  • Serbia: SAJ
    SAJ (Special Anti-terrorist Unit)

    The The Special Anti-terrorist Unit is Serbia's prime counter-terrorist unit....
    , PTJ
    PTJ (Counter-terrorist Unit)

    The PTJ is a special police unit.As its name states, the PTJ is oriented towards anti-terror operations as well as securing and maintaining the internal security of Serbia....
  • Sri Lanka: Special Task Force
    Special Task Force

    The Special Task Force is an elite special forces unit of the Sri Lanka Police specializing in Counter-terrorist and Insurgency operations. It was formed in 1983 not as a Armed force force but rather as a highly-specialised police unit....
  • Spain: GEO
    Grupo Especial de Operaciones

    The Grupo Especial de Operaciones is part of the Spain Cuerpo Nacional de Polic?a and is stationed in Guadalajara, Spain near the capital, Madrid....
     and UEI
    Unidad Especial de Intervención

    The Unidad Especial de Intervenci?n is the emergency response unit of the Spain Guardia Civil . Its motto is Celeritas et Subtilitas Patrio....
  • Taiwan: Thunder Squad
    Thunder Squad

    Thunder Squad is the nickname of Wei-An Special Services Unit of Republic of China's National Police Agency , a highly trained SWAT counter-terrorism Special Forces tactical unit established in 1985 to conduct high-risk arrests and other dangerous law enforcement duties....
  • Turkey: Özel tim-Özel Harekat Timi (Special Team)
  • UK: Counter Terrorism Command
    Counter Terrorism Command

    Counter Terrorism Command or SO15 is a Specialist Operations branch within London's Metropolitan Police Service. Counter Terrorism Command was established as a result of the merging of the Metropolitan Police Anti-Terrorist Branch, and the Special Branch#United Kingdom in 2006, to form a single counter-terrorism investigative unit....
  • US: FBI HRT
    Hostage Rescue Team

    The Hostage Rescue Team is the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation's elite Special Operations tactical and counterterrorism S.W.A.T....
     and state/local Police SWAT
    SWAT

    SWAT are elite tactical units in American police departments. Similar organizations in other areas are South Australian Special Tasks and Rescue, London's Specialist Firearms Command and Thunder Squad....
     teams


Military counter-terrorist organizations by country


Given the nature of operational counter-terrorism tasks national military organisations do not generally have dedicated units whose sole responsibility is the prosecution of these tasks. Instead the counter-terrorism function is an element of the role, allowing flexibility in their employment, with operations being undertaken in the domestic or international context.

In some cases the legal framework within which they operate prohibits military units conducting operations in the domestic arena; United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the Military of the United States....
 policy, based on the Posse Comitatus Act
Posse Comitatus Act

The Posse Comitatus Act is a United States federal law passed on June 16, 1878 after the end of Reconstruction era of the United States, with the intention of substantially limiting the powers of the federal government to use the military for law enforcement....
, forbids domestic counter-terrorism operations by the US military. Units allocated some operational counter-terrorism task are frequently Special Forces
Special forces

Special Forces , also known as, Special Operation Forces is a generic term for highly-trained military teams/units that conduct specialized Military operation such as reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, and counter-terrorism actions....
 or similar assets.

In cases where military organisations do operate in the domestic context some form of formal handover from the law enforcement community is regularly required, to ensure adherence to the legislative framework and limitations. such as the Iranian Embassy Siege
Iranian Embassy Siege

The Iranian Embassy Siege of 1980 was a siege of the Iranian Diplomatic mission in London after it had been taken over by Arab separatists. The siege was ended when United Kingdom special forces, the Special Air Service , stormed the building in Operation Nimrod....
, the British police formally turned responsibility over to the Special Air Service
Special Air Service

The Special Air Service is a special forces regiment within the British Army which has served as a model for the special forces of other countries....
 when the situation went beyond police capabilities.

See also

  • Preventive State
    Preventive State

    A Preventive State is a governmental policy in which potentially dangerous people are apprehended before being able to commit a crime. As opposed to a punitive method, under which criminals are punished for their actions, the preventive policy seeks to stop people from being able to carry out crime....
  • Counterinsurgency
  • Explosive detection
    Explosive detection

    Explosive detection is a non-destructive inspection process to determine whether a container contains explosive material. Explosive detection is commonly used at airports, ports and for border control....
  • Extrajudicial execution
  • Extraordinary rendition
    Extraordinary rendition

    Extraordinary rendition and irregular rendition are terms used to describe the apprehension and extrajudicial transfer of a person from one state to another....
  • Manhunt (law enforcement)
    Manhunt (law enforcement)

    In law enforcement, a manhunt is a search for a dangerous fugitive involving the use of all available police units and technology and sometimes help from the public....
  • Manhunt (Military)
    Manhunt (military)

    Manhunting is the deliberate identification, capture or killing of senior or otherwise important enemy combatants, dubbed High Value Target, usually by special operations forces and Intelligence organizations....
  • Manhunting
  • Security increase
    Security increase

    A security increase often occurs when a nation, state, or institution has recently suffered from a serious incident or is under the perception that there is an increased risk for an incident to occur that endangers or potentially endangers its well-being....
  • Targeted killing
  • Terrorism Research Center
  • Special Activities Division
    Special Activities Division

    The Special Activities Division is a division of the Central Intelligence Agency's National Clandestine Service, responsible for Covert Action and "Special Activities"....
    , Central Intelligence Agency


Further reading

  • Darko Trifunovic, "Islamic Fundamentalist's Global Network-Modus Operandi-Model Bosnia" ref , The Center for Documentation of the Government of Republic of Srpska and The Secretariat of the Government of RS for relation with ICTY, Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska, 2002. (136 pages + maps in addition)
  • Darko Trifunovic, "TERRORISM – Global Network of Islamic Fundamentalist's – Part II – Modus operandi-Model Bosnia" ref , The Government of Republic of Srpska and The Secretariat of the Government of RS for relation with ICTY, Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska, 2004 (275 pages)
  • Ivan Arreguín-Toft, "Tunnel at the End of the Light: A Critique of U.S. Counter-terrorist Grand Strategy," Cambridge Review of International Affairs, Vol. 15, No. 3 (2002), pp. 549–563.
  • Ivan Arreguín-Toft, "How to Lose a War on Terror: A Comparative Analysis of a Counterinsurgency Success and Failure," in Jan Ĺngström and Isabelle Duyvesteyn, Eds., Understanding Victory and Defeat in Contemporary War (London: Frank Cass, 2007).
  • Ariel Merari, "Terrorism as a Strategy in Insurgency," Terrorism and Political Violence, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Winter 1993), pp. 213–251.
  • James Mitchell, "Identifying Potential Terrorist Targets" a study in the use of convergence. G2 Whitepaper on terrorism, copyright 2006, G2. Counterterrorism Conference, June 2006, Washington D.C.
  • Marc Sageman, Understanding Terror Networks (Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004), ISBN 0-8122-3808-7.
  • Kuriansky, Judy, Editor, "Terror in the Holy Land: Inside the Anguish of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict" (2006, ISBN 0-275-99041-9, Praeger Publishers).
  • The Manual of Life - CounterTerrorism.

External links

  • - Multi-expert blog dedicated to the study of insurgency and the development of counter-insurgency policy.
  • : An academic research project aimed at investigating the effectiveness of past counter-terrorism campaigns to derive some constant features from their analysis in order to empirically inform policy makers.
  • : Homeland Security Watch policy and current events resource
  • : Counter Terrorism Magazine
  • Agentura. Ru Studies and Research Centre Retrieved September 3, 2005.
  • . Retrieved November 21, 2006.
  • Advanced Research Network on Insurgency and Terrorism