The recent failed terrorist attack against the US Embassy in Damascus is the latest in a string of security incidents that Syria ,has faced from terrorists Syria claims hail from a group called “Jund al-Sham” , which is described as a “armed Takfiri group.” Events this year demonstrate that mysterious “Takfiris” in Syria may be becoming more deadly and skilled in the attacks they plan and attempt to carry out. The attempt to attack the United States’ embassy also shows a potential shift in targeting for Takfiri networks, which have primarily selected Syrian government and public targets for the majority of their plots.
In incidents throughout the past year, Syrian security forces have clashed with “Takfiri” Islamists in a number of locations and confiscated weapons, bomb-making materials, and maps of potential targets. In December, a number of explosives and weapons caches were uncovered around Aleppo and in the suburbs of Damascus, and a bomb making laboratory in Aleppo was discovered, along with materials indicating that terrorists intended to attack government and security buildings and installations.
In March 2006, Syria killed Mohammed Ali Nasif, who it said was the leader of “Jund al-Sham”. This year was the first time Syria had given a name to the shadowy cells of Islamists it has been fighting within its borders. It is still unclear how many of the clashes and failed plots Syria has attributed to the generic term of “Takfiri” groups, which were Jund al-Sham.
The amounts and types of materials uncovered in hidden caches as well as those used in the attempted attack on the American embassy indicate that Takfiri networks have the ability to procure materials and skills necessary to carry out a devastating terrorist attack within Syria. The attack against the embassy required a level of technical skill unseen in prior terrorist attack attempts in Syria. In spite of the efforts of Syrian security forces to capture Mohammed Ali Nasif, seize weapons and explosives, and kill and arrest groups of plotting terrorists, “Jund al-Sham,” or the nebulous Syrian Takfiri community of which it is part, maintains the ability to attempt potentially devastating terrorist attacks within the country.
Besides evidence of the potential danger Syrian terrorists may present to both government and US targets in the country, little else can be surmised about them because the Syrian government is highly selective about the information it releases. The release of information into Arabic and western media vehicles portrays a mysterious Islamist presence, which has demonstrated intentions and capabilities to attack Syrian and western targets alike, yet which has been thwarted in its many plots due to the efforts of Syrian security to find weapons and explosives’ caches and track down or kill militants before they can be successful. The way these events have been portrayed is that Syrian security forces have been thwarting plots by an international Islamist network, which attempts to attack the Syrian government with the same ferocity as al-Qaeda groups plot against western targets. This demands speculation as to whether this is an entirely accurate portrayal of the terrorism situation in Syria or if information is released selectively according to Syria’s need to respond to accusations that it endorses, rather than fights, terrorism.
