ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: Ria Novosti
12March2011 11:23amEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Earthquake-stricken Japan asked Russia on Saturday to increase 
energy supplies and Moscow is ready to deliver up to 150,000 tons of liquefied natural gas and increase gas supplies, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said earlier in the day liquefied natural gas supplies to Japan should be stepped up if requested. (read full report)
ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: Ria Novosti
28February2011 6:50pmEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Russia's Interior Ministry has to step up efforts to prevent and counter terrorism and extremism, as well as bolster security in public places to implement the tasks set by President Dmitry Medvedev, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev told the Izvestia daily.
Medvedev said in early February that the fight against terrorism, as well as efforts to combat extremism, organized crime and corruption were priorities for the country's law enforcement agencies.
Medvedev ordered a nationwide tightening of transport security measures after January's terrorist attack on Moscow's Domodedovo airport, which killed 36 and injured dozens. He said one of the most important tasks was for law enforcers to prevent crimes.
Transport Minister Igor Levitin said in mid-February at a meeting with Medvedev that Russia will spend 46.7 billion rubles ($1.6 billion) by 2014 on a program to ensure transport security. (read full report)
ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: The Washington Times
28February2011 8:00amEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: TEHRAN, Iran — In a major setback to Iran‘s nuclear program, technicians will have to unload fuel from the country’s first atomic power plant because of an unspecified safety concern, a senior government official said.
The vague explanation raised questions about whether the mysterious computer worm known as Stuxnet might have caused more damage at the Bushehr plant than previously acknowledged. Other explanations are possible for unloading the fuel rods from the reactor core of the newly completed plant, including routine technical difficulties.
While the exact reason behind the fuel’s removal is unclear, the admission is seen as a major embarrassment for Tehran because it has touted Bushehr — Iran‘s first atomic power plant — as its showcase nuclear facility and sees it as a source of national pride. When the Islamic Republic began loading the fuel just four months ago, Iranian officials celebrated the achievement.
Iran‘s envoy to the U.N. nuclear monitoring agency in Vienna said that Russia, which provided the fuel and helped construct the Bushehr plant, had demanded the fuel be taken out. (read full report)
ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: Defense News
26February2011 6:00pmEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: MOSCOW - Russia announced Feb. 26 that it intended to fulfill its contract to supply Syria with cruise missiles despite the turmoil shaking the Arab world and Israel's 
furious condemnation of the deal.
"The contract is in the implementation stage," news agencies quoted Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov as saying.
Russia initially agreed to send a large shipment of anti-ship Yakhont cruise missiles to Syria in 2007 under the terms of a controversial deal that was only disclosed by Serdyukov in September 2010.
The revelation infuriated Israel and the United States and there had been speculation that Russia would decide to tear up the contract amid the current turmoil plaguing North Africa and the Middle East.
Israel - which is still technically in a state of war with Syria and fears its close ties with Iran - suspects that the shipment is ultimately aimed at supplying Hezbollah militants in neighboring Lebanon. (read full report)
ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: GlobalSecurity.org
02February2011 4:29pmEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: MOSCOW, (RIA Novosti) - Russia has most likely lost a new 
dual-purpose geodesic satellite after it failed to reach a designated circular orbit 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) above Earth.
The GEO-IK-2 satellite, designed to create a detailed three-dimensional map of the Earth and help the Russian military to locate the precise positions of various targets, was launched Tuesday on board a Rockot carrier rocket from the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia.
The spacecraft failed to communicate with Russia's Ground Control at a designated time but was reportedly "discovered" by U.S. space monitoring services, moving along an elliptical orbit whose lowest point brought it to within 330 kilometers (205 miles) of Earth. (read full report)
ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: Switched
28January2011 1:59pmEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Russia avoided a potentially devastating suicide bomb attack last 
month, thanks to one particularly well-timed text message.
According to Russian security sources, the attack was supposed to be carried out by an unnamed woman, believed to be part of a radical Islamist terror group. The woman reportedly planned to strap a bomb to herself, and blow herself up in the middle of a crowded Moscow square on New Year's Eve. Like many other devices used in suicide bomb attacks, the explosives attached to this particular bomber were designed to detonate in response to a text message. The woman was to walk into the square, place herself in a crowded area, and wait for one of her accomplices to send the text that would blow her up. The only problem, though, was that she forgot to turn off her phone. (read full report)
Video shows woman, accompanied by man, opening suitcase right prior to explosion; Officials say attack done in North Caucasus scheme
ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: JPOST
25January2011 12:05pmEST
GCIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: The terror attack that was carried out at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport Monday may have been caused by two suicide bombers, one female, a law enforcement source said to official Russian news outlet Ria Novostri. According to the source "The blast occurred when a suspected female terrorist opened a bag. She was accompanied by a man whose head was ripped off by the explosion."
Both bombers died in the explosion that ripped through the international baggage-claim at 4:32 p.m., killing 35 and wounding up to 170 people. The blast, which was equivalent to 5 kilograms of TNT, was packed with shrapnel to cause the most possible damage.
"The terror attack was done according to a scheme that is used by terrorists from the North Caucasus region," the law enforcement source added. "The [2004] blasts at the Rizhskaya subway station and other explosions in the Moscow metro [2010] were carried out similarly, when the terrorists were accompanied by militants." (read full report)
ISSUED BY: GCIS Communications Command Center
SOURCE: FOX NEWS
25January2011 8:22amEST
CIS INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: (NewsCore) - The severed head of a suspected suicide bomber was located Monday after a massive bomb ripped through a bustling Russian airport, killing at least 35 people and injuring dozens more.
The explosion brought devastation to the arrivals hall of Domodedovo Airport, the busiest of Moscow's three airports, at 4:32pm local time.
Law enforcement officials told the RIA Novosti news agency that the bomb, which was detonated close to a cafe, had the equivalent power of five kilos (11 lbs) of TNT. It was packed with metal objects to maximize the potential damage.
Sky News reported that a British citizen, and possibly a second, were killed, citing the Russian Prosecutor's Office. An Italian and a Frenchman were among the estimated 130 people injured, 20 of whom were gravely ill, Russian media said.
"Burned people are running about ... they are carrying pieces of flesh on stretchers," a shaken eyewitness named Andrei was quoted as saying by AFP.
"Me and my colleague were thrown against the wall, we were hit hard. We were only saved by the fact that there were a lot of people around us," said rental company worker Alexei Spiridonov.
"We jumped up and tried to help [the] wounded. Body parts lay around, there was blood everywhere. It was an awful picture," he told Russia's LifeNews
News reports in Russia suggested the atrocity was the work of one, or possibly two, suicide bombers who may have had assistance from several accomplices.
The Interfax news agency said that a severed head found at the bomb site, a "meet and greet" area accessible to the public, was believed to be that of the bomber.
"We found the head of a man of Arab appearance, aged 30 to 35. It seems he detonated the explosive device," a law enforcement source told the agency.
Further Russian reports said that three men were being hunted by authorities, who described the bombing as an "act of terror." (read full report)
