Skip to main content

Terrorist Cell System

The modern media often use the term ‘Terrorist cell’ but rarely explain what exactly a terrorist cell is.  The ‘Cell system’ is an effective and long established method of organisation for terrorist or resistance groups.  It has been and still is being used by terrorist organisations like Al Qaeda to great effect.

A terrorist cell is a small group of terrorists who have a specific task and operate together normally all knowing each other but having very little contact if any with anyone else in the terrorist organisation. This allows an efficient specialisation of role but also reduces the damage to the organisation if a cell is infiltrated or members captured. Think of the cell system as a damage control mechanism, once a cell is captured it is easy to prevent the damage spreading into the rest of the organisation and some cells may actually be physically close to each other and not know of each others existence. Cells are tightly knit and all members know each other well making infiltration very difficult and time consuming as strangers are rarely trusted. The leader of the cell may have infrequent contact with the next person in the chain, a regional commander who will have contacts with several cells as and when they are needed.


Al Qaeda has a highly developed cell system in some areas with specialised cells. In the aftermath of September 11th a cell was discovered in Italy whose function was purely to produce fake passports and other ID. Some cells will be recon cells where the members have no criminal record and do not get involved in illegal activities. These cell members can move about without attracting suspicion and are used to find out details about potential targets. For example a recon cell can travel to an airport and discreetly make sketches and take photos on mobile phones and then never visit the area again and since they have a clean record they rarely attract any attention on CCTV. The information they gather can then be used to plan and attack and passed onto a planning cell that may also acquire and make explosives; this can then be passed onto an attack cell often via an equipment dump so the bomb makers and attack cell may never meet. This allows skilled bomb makers to remain fairly safe and allows groups to use enthusiastic amateurs who are expendable to actually carry out the attack; it would be a waste to use a skilled bomb maker to carry out a suicide attack. Cells that specialise in recruitment and recon pose particular problems for the security services, often they require careful surveillance but don’t actually do anything that’s illegal or if their actions are illegal this can be difficult to prove in a court of law. The cell system is far from a new idea and was used by various resistance groups during World War 2, it has become highly developed in modern times and means that the current war on terrorism is a long war of attrition rather than likely to end quickly.

Source: http://www.historyofwar.org/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Terrorism in Africa

According to state.gov, ISIS was defeated a few years ago. However, the organization's presence and existence remain conspicuous in Africa. Ongoing conflicts in Somalia, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso demonstrate that ISIS has shifted its focus away from Iraq and Syria. Although ISIS lacks a clear hierarchy like Al-Qaeda, its followers and supporters wholeheartedly believe in its strong ideology. In 2014, the United States led the formation of a broad international coalition known as 'The Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS' to combat the organization during the height of the Syrian and Iraqi conflict. The primary objectives of this 83-member coalition are to degrade and defeat ISIS, which poses a threat to international peace and security. ISIS has brought thousands of foreign fighters from around the world to combat zones like Syria and Iraq, and it has used technology to promote its violent extremist ideology and instigate terrorist attacks. For example, t
Post a Comment
Read more

Sedition Act 1948 should have been repealed a long time ago. But why?

THE Sedition Act 1948 is a legislative measure that was enacted in Malaysia during the colonial era, designed to curb any form of speech or expression that was deemed to be seditious in nature with the aim of maintaining public order and security. The Sedition Act has been subject to much debate and criticism, with some arguing that it is a violation of freedom of speech and expression. Despite this, the Act remains in force in Malaysia to this day, albeit with some amendments made over the years. Although I concur with the abolition of this Act, it is imperative that a comparable new legislation be enacted to address the escalating prevalence of racially and religiously bigoted remarks that have been unsettling our distinctive multicultural and multi-religious society as of late. An instance that exemplifies the prudent decision-making of the governing body is the substitution of the Internal Security Act of 1960 with the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA). This rep
Post a Comment
Read more

THE HISTORY OF TERRORISM: MORE THAN 200 YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT

The history of terrorism dates back at least 1500 years when Jewish resistance groups (66 - 72 A.D.) known as Zealots killed Roman soldiers and destroyed Roman property. The term assassin comes from a Shi'ite Muslim sect (Nizari Isma'ilis - also known as hashashins "hashish-eaters") fighting Sunni Muslims (1090 - 1275) and during Medieval Christendom resisting occupation during the Crusades (1095-1291). The hashashins were known to spread terror in the form of murder, including women and children. The brotherhood of Assassins committed terror so as to gain paradise and seventy-two virgins if killed and to receive unlimited hashish while on earth. The modern development of terrorism began during the French Revolution's Reign of Terror (1793 - 1794). During this period the term terrorism was first coined. Through the past two hundred years, terrorism has been used to achieve political ends and has developed as a tool for liberation, oppression, and i
Post a Comment
Read more