Eye on Extremism
January 29, 2020
Tech
Crunch: Study Of Youtube Comments Finds Evidence Of Radicalization
Effect
“Research presented at the ACM FAT 2020 conference in Barcelona
today supports the notion that YouTube’s platform is playing a role in
radicalizing users via exposure to far-right ideologies. The study,
carried out by researchers at Switzerland’s Ecole polytechnique
fédérale de Lausanne and the Federal University of Minas Gerais in
Brazil, found evidence that users who engaged with a middle ground of
extreme right-wing content migrated to commenting on the most fringe
far-right content. A March 2018 New York Times article by sociologist
Zeynep Tufekci set out the now widely reported thesis that YouTube is
a radicalization engine. Followup reporting by journalist Kevin Roose
told a compelling tale of the personal experience of an individual,
Caleb Cain, who described falling down an “alt right rabbit hole” on
YouTube. But researcher Manoel Horta Ribeiro, who was presenting the
paper today, said the team wanted to see if they could find auditable
evidence to support such anecdotes. Their paper, called “Auditing
radicalization pathways on YouTube,” details a large-scale study of
YouTube looking for traces of evidence — in likes, comments and views
— that certain right-leaning YouTube communities are acting as
gateways to fringe far-right ideologies.”
BBC
Radio: The Crisis Inside
“Three years after calling the justice system a shambles, former
prison governor Ian Acheson questions whether the London Bridge attack
could have been prevented.”
Reuters:
Thirty-Nine Killed In Militant Attack On Burkina Faso
Village
“Thirty-nine people were killed in northern Burkina Faso on
Saturday, in what the government called a terrorist attack on a
village in Soum province. The weekend attack followed less than a week
after militants killed 36 civilians in a neighboring province, part of
a surge in violence in the West African country that has killed
hundreds, forced more than half a million from their homes and made
much of the north ungovernable over the past two years. The government
did not provide further details on the latest attack in the village of
Silgadji, describing it in a statement on Tuesday as “cowardly and
barbaric”. It was not immediately clear who was responsible. Islamist
groups with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State have carried out
increasingly brazen raids against civilian and military targets in
Burkina Faso in recent months, including an attack on a mining convoy
in November that killed nearly 40 people. The rising insecurity has
forced people from their homes. The number of displaced increased
tenfold in 2019 to more than 560,000 people, making it the world’s
fastest-growing displacement crisis, according to the Norwegian
Refugee Council. The flight of refugees into other parts of the
country is straining local resources and leaving authorities
struggling to cope.”
Los
Angeles Times: Afghan Troops Clash With Taliban As They Try To Reach
U.S. Plane Crash Site
“Afghan troops have clashed with Taliban fighters as they tried to
reach the crash site of a U.S. military aircraft that went down in
eastern Afghanistan on Monday. The militant group claimed it had
downed a “special American aircraft” on an intelligence mission, while
the U.S. military said Monday there was no indication the plane was
hit by hostile fire. The police chief of Ghazni province said a heavy
Taliban presence had blocked access for some 300 elite commandos who’d
been sent to the crash site. “As a result, one commando soldier was
killed and all of the commando forces retreated and returned back to
the city yesterday,” Mohammad Khalid Wardak said on Tuesday. Afghan
commandos will try to get access to the area again on Tuesday, he
added. The crash happened in the Taliban-controlled Sado Khel area of
the Deh Yak district in Ghazni province, the Taliban spokesman
Zabihullah Mujahed said in a message via WhatsApp. “A special American
aircraft which was flying over Afghanistan for an intelligence mission
was tactically shot down by the Taliban,” Mujahed said. “All on board
including high-ranking CIA officers were killed.” A spokesman for U.S.
forces in Afghanistan confirmed that a U.S. Bombardier E-11A plane had
crashed.”
United States
ABC
News: Man Gets 20 Years For Selling Guns To Terrorist
Group
“A Colombian man who had been living in South Florida was sentenced
Tuesday to 20 years in prison for selling firearms to a South American
terrorist organization. U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez sentenced
Francisco Joseph Arcila Ramirez in Miami federal court, according to
court records. Arcila pleaded guilty in October to providing material
support to a foreign terrorist organization. Arcila instructed two
co-conspirators to illegally purchase six AK-style pistols in
Miami-Dade County in August 2018, according to investigators. The
firearms were then concealed in air-compressors purchased by Arcila at
a Miami-area hardware store and shipped to Barranquilla, Colombia. The
shipment also contained about 100 AK-47 magazines. In September 2018,
Arcila met in Colombia with a National Liberation Army weapons broker,
according to prosecutors. Besides selling the six firearms for
approximately 60 million Colombian pesos ($17,665), Arcila also
discussed future sales with the violent paramilitary group. The
National Liberation Army was designated a Foreign Terrorist
Organization by the U.S. State Department in 1997.”
Syria
The
Washington Post: Despite Defeats, The Islamic State Remains Unbroken
And Defiant Around The World
“In a series of bloody campaigns from 2014 to 2019, a multinational
military coalition drove the Islamic State group, often known as ISIS,
out of much of the Iraqi and Syrian territory that the strict militant
theocracy had brutally governed. But the Pentagon and the United
Nations both estimate that the group still has as many as 30,000
active insurgents in the region. Thousands more IS-aligned fighters
are spread across Africa and Asia, from the scrublands of Mali and
Niger to the deserts of Iraq and mountains of Afghanistan, to the
island jungles of the Philippines. I keep track of the loose alliance
of various global affiliates and insurgent groups collectively known
as the Islamic State. It’s part of my researchchronicling America’s
wars in remote lands where I have worked for the CIA and the U.S.
Army. I also monitor Islamic State activities around the world for a
University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth project I lead called
MappingISIS.com In recent months, the Islamic State group has
reconstituted itself in the Syria-Iraq region and continues to inspire
mayhem across the globe. Iraq, the homeland of jihadocracy The “Dawla
Islamia,” or Islamic State, began as a Sunni Muslim insurgent group in
Iraq amid the maelstrom of sectarian violence that followed the
U.S.-led 2003 invasion.”
France
24: Syria Army Says Retakes Key Northwest Town
“Syria government forces recaptured a strategic highway town in the
northwest from jihadist and allied rebels Wednesday, in the latest
blow to the country's last major opposition bastion. Maaret al-Numan,
a former anti-government protest hotspot turned ghost town after
months of bombardment, lies on a key highway connecting the capital to
second city Aleppo. The M5 highway has long been in the sights of the
government, as it seeks to revive a moribund economy ravaged by almost
nine years of war. “Our forces managed in the past few days to stamp
out terrorism in many villages and towns,” including Maaret al-Numan,
an army spokesman said. In 2011, Maaret al-Numan was one of the first
towns in the northwestern province of Idlib to rise up against the
Damascus government. The following year, it was captured by rebels
fighting against President Bashar al-Assad's rule. It is the latest
town to fall in a Russian-backed offensive on the Idlib region this
year. The area of some three million people is dominated by jihadists
from Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate, but allied opposition fighters
are also present.”
Iraq
The
New York Times: U.N. Criticizes Iraq Trials Of ISIS 'Members',
Including Human Shields
“The United Nations on Tuesday raised “serious concerns” about the
trials of hundreds of alleged Islamic State members in Iraq, some of
whom merely prepared meals, offered medical services or even acted as
human shields for the jihadist group. Iraq has processed thousands of
cases under its anti-terrorism law - including of detainees from
outside the Middle East transferred from neighboring Syria - in the
aftermath of a 2014-17 war against Islamic State militants. The joint
report by the UN's Human Rights Office in Iraq (UNAMI) and the Office
of the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) covers 794
trials carried out between May 1, 2018 and Oct. 31, 2019, OHCHR
spokesman Jeremy Laurence told a Geneva news briefing. “(The report)
raises serious concerns about unfair trials placing defendants at a
serious disadvantage,” he said, adding that the cases in the UN report
also included 28 foreign defendants from 11 different countries. In
some cases, the individuals had provided basic support services, such
as selling vegetables or preparing meals for members of the
ultra-hardline jihadist group, the report said.”
Kurdistan
24: ISIS Opens Fire On Fishermen Outside Tikrit, Killing 1 And
Injuring Another
“The Iraqi military announced that members of an Islamic State
sleeper cell fired on several fishermen working on the Tigris River on
the southeast outskirts of Tikrit on Tuesday, killing one of them and
injuring another. According to local sources, the attack took place in
the Zalaya area of the city of al-Dor, located in Salahuddin province.
A statement from Iraq’s Security Media Cell confirmed the attack,
explaining that “the ISIS fighters directly opened fire on the
fishermen.” It further claimed that the action was one of several
attacks of late that came in response to a voice recording of Islamic
State spokesperson Abu Hamza al-Quraishi recently circulated on the
web that called for the group's followers to step up terrorist
activities by any means at their disposal. The statement also added
that the Iraqi security forces conducted a search and capture
operation in the area to apprehend those who had “conducted this act
of terrorism,” however no further details were given regarding the
results of the mission. The Islamic State remains active in multiple
areas across Iraq, often attacking military or police bases under
cover of night.”
Turkey
Xinhua:
Turkey Repatriates 4 French
Fighters
“Turkey on Tuesday deported four French fighters back to France,
the state-run TRT broadcaster reported. The number of foreign fighters
who were sent back to their countries since November 11, 2019, has
reached 200, the report said citing a statement released by the
Interior Ministry. Turkey earlier declared that it would send
thousands of captured Islamic State militants, mostly from Europe,
back to their countries, even if their citizenships were
canceled.”
Afghanistan
Al
Jazeera: Afghan Police Officers Killed In Taliban 'Insider'
Attack
“At least 11 Afghan police officers have been killed after Taliban
fighters stormed a police base in Pul-e Khumri, the capital of Baghlan
province, local government officials told the Associated Press on
Tuesday. The fighters first overran a checkpoint near the base late on
Monday and were apparently able to breach the compound with ease
because a sympathetic policeman opened a door for them. Details were
provided by Mahbobullah Ghafari, a Baghlan provincial councilman. A
local police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he
was not allowed to brief reporters about the attack, also gave the
same account. Six others were wounded in the overnight attack in Pul-e
Khumri, provincial council member Samiuddin Nazir told DPA news
agency. A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, however, put
the death toll at 17, adding that one officer was taken hostage. The
group has, at times, exaggerated its claims. The attack comes one day
after the Taliban claimed it shot down an American military plane in
Ghazni province - a claim the US military denies. Insider attacks have
been steady throughout Afghanistan's 18-year conflict, with US and
NATO troops the most frequent targets.”
Middle East
Brookings
Institute: Minding The Gap: How To Provide More Comprehensive Support
To The Children Of ISIS
“Senior officials from governments fighting ISIS are meeting this
week, and they would do well to consider how better to repatriate
children of ISIS fighters. Disagreements over whether or not countries
should be doing more to try to repatriate their citizens, particularly
the children, remain. Yet rather than focusing on those seemingly
intractable differences, members of the global coalition to defeat
ISIS could usefully draw attention to the need to ensure that
countries that do repatriate have the expertise and other capacities
to do so effectively. Many currently do not. The numbers speak for
themselves. According to the most recent U.N. figures, 66,101 people
are being held in the deteriorating conditions in the al-Hol camp in
northeast Syria, 96% of whom are women and children, with 66% of the
children under 18 years old. Only some 350 children were repatriated
between January and October of 2019, with almost three-quarters of
them returning to Kazakhstan or Kosovo. Meanwhile, too few governments
have demonstrated a willingness to repatriate. Politicians often point
to possible short-term security risks associated with the individuals
or “dangers of sending emissaries to the region” to confirm
citizenship, while minimizing the long-term risks of allowing their
citizens, particularly children, to languish in detention
camps.”
The
Jerusalem Post: ISIS’s Al-Qurashi’s Declaration Of War On
Israel
“On January 27, 2020, ISIS released a new audio speech by its
spokesman Abu Hamzah Al-Qurashi, produced by its media arm Al-Furqan
and distributed on social media. Al-Qurashi delivers a defiant
message: ISIS is not only surviving – despite declarations by
consecutive US presidents that it was finished – but it is also
expanding its war against its enemies and that war now spans the
globe. Notable in the speech was Al-Qurashi’s declaration of war on
Israel, calling on ISIS factions in the Sinai and Syria to attack it
and urging Muslims to thwart the US peace plan referred to as the
“Deal of the Century.” Urging ISIS fighters to step up their attacks,
he called on Muslims everywhere to “emigrate” and join the ISIS branch
nearest them. ISIS was practically not interested in attacking Israeli
targets from Syria, when it could have done so easily during the years
2014-2017. Their main priority was the Damascus regime and the Syrian
army and the many competitors in the jihadist arena, like Jabhat
al-Nusra. ISIS was afraid to suffer the brunt of the Israeli air
force, which could have weakened it in the fight for supremacy in the
Syrian opposition camp.”
Egypt
Egypt
Independent: Egypt’s Parliament Introduces New Amendments To Terrorism
Law
“The Egyptian House of Representatives’ Legislative and
Constitutional Affairs Committee on Monday approved an amendment to
Law 8/2015 regulating designated terrorist and terrorism lists. The
committee has now chosen to include satellite channels, radio
stations, and social media accounts encouraging terrorism as under the
jurisdiction of terrorist entities. The committee also amended the
definition of funds in the law to include all financial assets and
economic assets, including oil and others, whatever the means of
obtaining them and the legal documents and tools, including the
digital or electronic form. Members of the committee also agreed to
amend article seven of the law, regarding the implications of
publishing decisions to include terrorist elements and entities. The
amendment stipulates that any elements included in the lists lose the
reputation necessary to hold public, parliamentary or local jobs and
terminate any service in government jobs or contracts with public
business sector companies, no longer being able to be appointed or
contracted with any of them.”
Nigeria
Daily
Post Nigeria: Boko Haram: Terrorists Suffer Heavy Casualty In Failed
Attempt To Infiltrate Borno
“Reports reaching DAILY POST from Maiduguri, the Borno State
capital, reveals that the military has successfully repelled an
attempt by ISWAP to infiltrate Damasak, the headquarters of Mobbar
local government area of Borno State, northeast Nigeria. Sources said
that a rocket launcher fired by the terrorists landed close to the UN
hub, but there was no effect. “Boko Haram tried to infiltrate Damasak
Town around 5pm but they suffered deadly blow from troops of Nigerian
Army. “There was heavy casualty on the side of the Boko Haram. Damasak
is now agog with celebration,” a source told DAILY POST in Maiduguri.
The source also said many vehicles were burnt, adding that fire from
the attack was still on. “More detail will come tomorrow, but the
soldiers did their best,” the source said.”
Somalia
Xinhua:
Somali, U.S. Forces Kill Al-Shabab Terrorist In Southern
Somalia
“Somali and the United States forces killed an al-Shabab terrorist
in a new airstrike conducted in the militants' stronghold in southern
Somalia on Monday. The U.S. Africa Command(AFRICOM) which has in the
past conducted counterterrorism strikes against the terror group in
Somalia said the latest airstrike was carried out in collaboration
with the Somali forces in the vicinity of Jilib. “We currently assess
no civilians were injured or killed as a result of this airstrike,”
said AFRICOM. The latest airstrike comes after the Somali government
vowed to intensify military operations against the al-Shabab militant
group which it said has weakened. Government spokesman Ismael Mukhtar
Omar said on Saturday the operations which are being carried out in
collaboration with troops from the African peacekeeping mission and
the U.S., highlights the increasing capability of the government
security forces to secure the nation. Ismael said the loss of cities
as towns in Lower Shabelle in the southern region has significantly
reduced al-Shabab's influence and forced them to rely on terrorist
attacks such as the Dec. 28, 2019 bombing of innocent civilians in
Mogadishu to remain relevant and generate fear amongst the local
populace.”
Africa
The
New York Times: Burkina Faso Farming Town Struggles To Cope With
Fallout Of Violence
“Two years ago, Pissila was a quiet farming town in Burkina Faso,
unfamiliar with the violence that was stirring further north. Now an
influx of displaced people has changed life dramatically for its
15,000 inhabitants. As deadly attacks on civilians by jihadist groups
with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State have surged, 30,000 people
have poured into the town seeking refuge, trebling the population,
straining resources and leaving authorities struggling to cope. Much
of the work of housing the newcomers has been shouldered by ordinary
people, such has been the speed of the rise in violence in a once calm
country. The chaos caused by home-grown insurgents has coincided with
a spillover of jihadist groups from Mali. Hundreds have died in
attacks in Burkina over the past year, many of which have had a ethnic
or religious bent, and large areas of the country are out of
government control. Aid organizations and charities have rushed to
help, and tents have been set up for the displaced in Pissila by an
aid organization called HELP, but many say it is not enough in a
country where nearly one million have fled violence over the past
year.”
All
Africa: Kenya: State Fights Contrabands In War Against Funding Of
Terrorism
“The government has intensified the war against contrabands and
smuggling of goods as part of a comprehensive strategy in countering
the financing of terrorist activities. Speaking during a high-level
security meeting at the Government Guest House in Garissa, Interior
Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i said that the vice is hurting
businesses in the country. “This is not a trade. It is fuelling the
deaths of Kenyans. Those who engage in it are Al-Shabaab's foremost
supporters and funders and will be handled like the terrorists,” he
said. Dr Matiang'i stated that the government will launch a security
operation and enhance surveillance along Kenya's borders to stop and
deter the flow of illicit goods, services, and immigrants into the
country. The CS said that the multi-agency team will provide weekly
updates to him for necessary action and responses. Dr Matiang'i warned
that any government official found engaging in illicit trade will face
severe disciplinary action. “Any officer, either in the national or
county governments, found tolerating or abetting cross-border
smuggling of counterfeits will be held personally accountable,” he
said.”
United Kingdom
The
Independent: Man Who Encouraged Far-Right Terror Attacks Escapes Jail
Sentence
“A man who admitted encouraging far-right terror attacks has walked
free after a court heard that he was “functioning effectively as a
10-year-old”. Luke Crompton, 30, posted material calling for the
murder of black people, Muslims and Jews online, as well as the
burning of mosques. Manchester Crown Court heard that he used two
accounts on the Russian VK social network that prominently displayed
symbols of white supremacy. Crompton pleaded guilty to encouraging
terrorism, an offence punishable by up to 15 years in prison, but
escaped a jail sentence on Tuesday. Judge Patrick Field QC handed him
a two-year community order and 30-week rehabilitation course after
hearing that he had a low IQ, possible autism, and had been
“influenced and exploited” online. Amid calls for action over
extremism and terrorist networking inside British prisons, the judge
said Crompton would be “liable to radicalisation” inside jail that
could increase the risk he poses. He told Crompton: “What you did was
to post vile and hateful material on a Russian social media site over
a period of about nine months in 2018. “The individual posts were
deeply offensive, dripping with hate and contempt for Jews, Muslims
and black people.”
Daily
Mail: Official Document Naming Extinction Rebellion As Extremist Group
Was Sent To Government Departments, Police Forces And
Councils
“A document produced by a counter-terror policing team listing
Extinction Rebellion alongside extremist groups was sent to government
departments, five police forces and 20 local councils. The guidance,
which has since been recalled by the south-east division of Counter
Terrorism Policing, was sent to bodies including the Home Office, the
Department for Education,the Ministry of Defence, the Prison Service
and NHS England. The official document, which placed the environmental
movement alongside Islamic extremism and neo-Nazi terrorism, was also
sent to the probation service, Ofsted, several local authorities, five
police forces and Counter Terrorism Policing headquarters (CTPHQ) in
London, The Guardian has revealed. Following the release of the
document, members of the campaign group have demanded an explanation.
A statement on the group's website said: 'We need to find out who knew
what and when. But more importantly, we need to know why. Extinction
Rebellion member Rob Cooper, a former police chief superintendent,
said: 'The worrying aspect about these revelations is that nobody
inside the police or at the Home Office thought to question the
guidance that included Extinction Rebellion alongside extremist
groups, when it was first produced, or when it was subsequently
circulated.”
Asia
The
New York Times: Tajikistan Arrests 113 Alleged Muslim Brotherhood
Members
“Tajikistan has arrested 113 people charged with being members of
Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist organization outlawed in the Central
Asian nation, Prosecutor General Yusuf Rakhmon said on Tuesday. Among
those arrested over the course of this month were two foreigners, one
municipal official, and more than 20 university professors, he told a
briefing. The government of the predominantly Muslim ex-Soviet
republic has been cracking down on Islamist opposition in recent
years, banning the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan and
accusing its leadership of plotting a coup. Tajikistan has also blamed
Islamists, and the ultra hardline Islamic State militant group in
particular, for a series of deadly attack on foreign tourists and
local prison staff and border guards. The Brotherhood, founded more
than 90 years ago in Egypt, has survived repeated crackdowns at home
and has a network of groups across the Middle East and beyond, some
directly linked to the Egyptian organization and others more loosely
affiliated. Its founder Hassan al-Banna called for a religious revival
and the establishment of a caliphate under sharia law.”
Technology
Forbes:
Technology Companies Face Hurdles In Moderating Extremist Content
Online: Here’s Why
“Last week, I released a new report titled “Free To Be Extreme”,
which explored the balance between freedom of expression and the
increasing demands placed on technology companies to monitor harmful
extremist content online. By examining 107 cases of
‘extremism-related’ cases in the UK from 2015-2019, the report put
forward a framework to monitor extremist content and behavior in a way
that did not involve directly banning organisations or individuals off
the platforms. There were several challenges to come from doing the
research. The first that was social media companies and governments
seemed to operate in tandem, employing different frameworks to assess
harms of extremism. For example, there is no offence that exists for
violent extremism. While the Commission for Countering Extremism put
forward a new definition for hateful extremism last year, this is not
operational in law. Violent extremism is a precursor offence that may
or may not be linked to terrorism, and often, terrorism cases refer to
‘extremism’ in case notes. However, extremism in the UK is prosecuted
under either hate crime or terrorism legislation.”
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