A great site to research overseas terrorism and the rising tide of violent domestic extremists here at home
A decade ago, I was conducting OSINT research to find details on the killing of terrorist leaders by Lebanese troops. I found an informative site that explained it all, how two al-Qaeda top leaders were recently killed by Lebanese soldiers. The terrorist pair was heading to Iraq to join insurgents, and the entire encounter was explained.
The site I found is SITE Intelligence Group , which has its HQ in Washington, DC. It tracks militant postings on the internet, and intercepted a statement from the Fatah Islam group, confirming the deaths of Abdul-Rahman Awad (above photo), a Palestinian leader of Fatah Islam and the most wanted men in Lebanon, and his aide. Interestingly, Fatah al Islam’s top leaders are known to have close links to al-Qaeda in Iraq, and Awad sent his son to Iraq to become a suicide bomber. Awad and his sidekick Abdullah were both killed in a firefight that occurred Saturday in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley.
Interestingly, the SITE Intelligence Group first intercepted this communique, then released it to the AP. It was the AP story that led me to its source, SITE Intelligence Group. I’ve used them ever since when researching terrorism and counterterrorism.
Robert Morton is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO), enjoys writing about the U.S. Intelligence Community, and relishes traveling to the Florida Keys and Key West, the Bahamas and Caribbean. He combines both passions in his Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster series. Check out his latest spy thriller: MISSION OF VENGEANCE