The Counterterrorism Division (CTD) is a division of the
National Security Branch
The National Security Branch (NSB) is a service within the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The NSB is responsible for protecting the United States from weapons of mass destruction, acts of terrorism, and foreign intelligence operations and e ...
of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
. CTD investigates
terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
threats inside the United States, provides information on terrorists outside the country, and tracks known terrorists worldwide. In the wake of the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
in 2001, CTD's funding and manpower have significantly increased.
The Division employs counterterrorism field operations organized into squads, the number of which varies according to the amount and diversity of activity in the
local field office's jurisdiction. Larger field offices, such as
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, maintain counterterrorism squads for each major terrorist group, as well as for domestic terrorism and terrorist financing, while smaller field offices combined such responsibilities across two to three squads.
Leadership
The Counterterrorism Division is headed by an assistant director, who reports to the executive assistant director of the
FBI National Security Branch
The National Security Branch (NSB) is a service within the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The NSB is responsible for protecting the United States from weapons of mass destruction, acts of terrorism, and foreign intelligence operations and e ...
.
Organization
The Counterterrorism Division has several branches:
* Intelligence Branch
* Operations Branch I
* Operations Branch II
* Operations Branch III
* Analytical Branch
* Operational Support Branch
Operations Branch I is composed of two sections: International Terrorism Operations Section I (ITOS-I) and International Terrorism Operations Section II (ITOS-II). The ITOS-I covers
al Qaeda
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...
terrorist activity on a regional basis in the United States and abroad. ITOS-II focuses on four non-al Qaeda groups:
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
rejectionist groups,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and
Hezbollah
Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...
,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
/
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
/
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
, and other global terrorist groups. ITOS II has a
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
officer serving as Deputy Section Chief, and an FBI agent is detailed to the CIA's
Counterterrorism Center
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's Mission Center for Counterterrorism (often referred to as the Counterterrorism Mission Center or CTMC, formerly the Counterterrorism Center, or simply CTC) was established in 1986, and is a division of the CI ...
as that unit's Deputy Director.
Operations Branch II includes three more disparate sections: the
Weapons of Mass Destruction
A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natura ...
and
Domestic Terrorism
Domestic terrorism or homegrown terrorism is a form of terrorism in which victims "within a country are targeted by a perpetrator with the same citizenship" as the victims.Gary M. Jackson, ''Predicting Malicious Behavior: Tools and Techniques ...
Section (WMD/DT),
Communications Exploitation Section The Communications Exploitation Section (CXS), established in December 2002, is an office of the Operations II branch of the FBI Counterterrorism Division, which is tasked with analyzing captured communications data (such as phone call records and i ...
(CXS), and Terrorist Financing Operations Section (TFOS).
** The WMD/DT Section, despite its presence within the domestically focused Operations Branch II, is international in scope and function.
** The TFOS is an operational and coordinating entity. It directs
terrorism financing
Terrorism financing is the provision of funds or providing financial support to individual terrorists or non-state actors.
Most countries have implemented measures to counter terrorism financing (CTF) often as part of their money laundering la ...
investigations and works jointly with partners to block and freeze assets. However, its primary role is to coordinate and support the financial components of terrorism investigations conducted by ITOS I and II. The TFOS mission is to identify, investigate, prosecute, disrupt, and incrementally dismantle all terrorist-related financial and fund-raising activities. The section is composed of four units:
*** Radical Fundamentalist Financial Investigative Unit
*** Domestic WMD and Global Financial Investigations Unit
*** Global Extremist Financial Investigations Unit
*** Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit.
The Analytical Branch includes two sections: the Counterterrorism Analysis Section (which supports Operations I and II) and the Terrorism Reports and Requirements Section (TRRS). The Branch also includes a Strategic Assessment and Analysis Unit, Production and Publications Unit.
The Operational Support Branch manages the CTD's administrative and resource functions, FBI detailees to other agencies, and the Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force. The various local
Joint Terrorism Task Force
In the United States, the Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF) are locally-based multi-agency partnerships between various federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies tasked with investigating terrorism and terrorism-related crimes, led by the ...
s falls under the domain of this branch.
See also
*
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
*
MI5
The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...
*
Counter Terrorism Command
Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) or SO15 is a Specialist Operations branch within London's Metropolitan Police Service. The Counter Terrorism Command was established as a result of the merging of the Anti-Terrorist Branch (SO13) and Special Bran ...
(SO15)
*
Direction de la surveillance du territoire
The Direction de la Surveillance du Territoire (DST; en, Directorate of Territorial Surveillance) was a directorate of the French National Police operating as a domestic intelligence agency. It was responsible for counterespionage, counterterr ...
(DST)
*
General Commissariat of Information
The General Commissariat of Information (, CGI) is an intelligence service within the National Police Corps of Spain responsible for the collection, analysis and distribution of information relevant to domestic security, as well as its exploitatio ...
(CGI)
*
Civil Guard Information Service
The Civil Guard Information Service (, SIGC) is an intelligence service within the Spanish Civil Guard responsible for the collection, analysis and distribution of information relevant to domestic security, as well as its exploitation or operatio ...
(SIGC)
*
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Public Security Bureau
The is a bureau of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (TMPD) in charge of public security with jurisdiction over the Tokyo metropolis. It has a force of more than 2,000 officers. The bureau reports to the Deputy Superintendent General.
In ...
*
Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
References
External links
Federal Bureau of Investigation WebsiteNational Security Branch Website*
FBI Terrorism Website
{{FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Counterterrorist organizations