Eye on Extremism
April 21 2023
Voice Of America News: US Pushing Countries To Repatriate IS Foreign Fighters Held In NE Syria
“The United States has renewed calls for countries to take back their nationals who have been held in detention camps and prisons in northeastern Syria. Since the military defeat of the Islamic State terror group in 2019, thousands of foreign fighters and their families have been detained in several camps and prisons in areas under the control of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF. While many countries have been taking back women and children affiliated with IS who are held in two detention centers in northeastern Syria, U.S. officials have urged them to repatriate more than 10,000 IS fighters, who are also held there. ‘This is the largest concentration of detained terrorists anywhere in the world,’ said Ian Moss, deputy counterterrorism coordinator at the U.S. State Department. He said IS continues to look for new opportunities to replenish its ranks by trying to free those detained fighters.”
Associated Press: Extremists Kill 20, Abduct Others In Attack On Congo Village
“At least 20 people have been killed and others abducted by extremists in eastern Congo’s North Kivu province, a civil society group said Thursday. The Allied Democratic Forces — believed to be linked with the Islamic State group — attacked civilians in Samboko village in Beni territory on Wednesday, Mamove civil society organization president Kinos Katuho told The Associated Press. Congo’s army deployed to the area and freed two of the hostages after a battle with the rebels, he said. Conflict has been simmering for decades in eastern Congo where more than 120 armed groups are fighting, most for land and control of mines with valuable minerals, while others are trying to protect their communities.”
United States
CNN: US Transfers Alleged Al-Qaeda Associate From Guantanamo Bay To Algeria
“The US transferred an alleged al-Qaeda associate from Guantanamo Bay to Algeria, the Defense Department announced Thursday, part of the Biden administration’s ongoing efforts to close the prison facility. Said bin Brahim bin Umran Bakush, a 72-year-old Algerian native who has been held in detention in Guantanamo Bay for 20 years, was sent to Algeria after a review board determined he no longer needed to be held to protect against ‘a continuing significant threat to the national security of the United States,’ the Defense Department said. The transfer included a set of security measures, including monitoring, travel restrictions and continued information sharing. The Biden administration has made it a priority to reduce the number of detainees at Guantanamo Bay as part of the ongoing effort to close the prison facility. Last month, the US transferred an alleged al-Qaeda bombmaker to his native Saudi Arabia after more than 20 years of detention. Two weeks earlier, the US transferred two brothers accused of running al-Qaeda safehouses to Pakistan.”
Iran
The Times Of Israel: Gallant: Iran Gives Hezbollah $700m A Year, Is ‘Driving Force’ Of Current Escalation
“Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday said Iran was the ‘driving force’ of a recent multi-front escalation, while detailing the funding the Islamic Republic provides to its proxies across the region. Gallant told reporters in a briefing that Iran funds the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon with $700 million a year, as well as ‘knowledge and strategic weaponry’ such as precision-guided munitions. The Hamas terror group that rules the Gaza Strip is funded by Iran with $100 million annually, with additional funding worth tens of millions of dollars going to the second largest terror group in the Palestinian enclave, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Gallant said. In Syria, hundreds of millions of dollars are sent to Iranian-backed militias each year, and the Syrian regime led by dictator Bashar Assad receives billions of dollars from Iran, he added.”
Nigeria
The Guardian: At Least 193 Suspected Of Being Involved In Terrorism Have Crossed The Southern Border
“The Defence Headquarters (DHQ), Abuja, has disclosed that troops in the frontline have killed 24 terrorists in the North East, while 501 surrendered with their families in the last two weeks. Troops also reportedly arrested no fewer than 40 in the week under review. Director of Defence Media Operations (DMO), Maj-Gen. Musa Danmadami, disclosed this, yesterday, during the bi-weekly media briefing in Abuja. Danmadami noted that troops of Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) in the North East sustained their aggressive posture against Boko Haram/Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists through intense aerial and ground patrolling of logistics routes and mobility corridors.”
Prensa Latina: Nigerian Army Eliminates More Than 60 Extremists In Operations
“Major General Musa Danmadani, Director of Defense Media Operations, explained that during the raids against elements of Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West Africa, the armed forces also freed 150 abductees, held by those groups. The senior officer also pointed out that the clashes with the two radical entities took place in the northern, central, and other territories. In this period, the troops seized several means from the terrorists. Among the items captured were 36 Ak-47 rifles and other sophisticated weapons, magazines, food, motorcycles, explosives, and large quantities of oil stolen from gas pipelines, the source stated.”
Mali
AFP News: Mali Junta Head's Chief Of Staff Among Dead In Tuesday Attack
“A key figure in Mali's ruling junta died when an official convoy came under attack in the jihadist-hit north of the country, a document from the presidency said Thursday. Oumar Traore -- chief of staff of Colonel Assimi Goita, the Sahel country's transitional president -- was among four people who died in the attack on Tuesday near the Mauritanian border. The ambush took place near the town of Nara and Wagadou forest, some 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of the capital Bamako in an area known for jihadist insurgents. Traore was part of a team that was accompanying engineers to scout for sites to drill for water, under an initiative to help local people.”
AFP News: With Victories In Mali, IS Group Expands Its Hold In Sahel
“Amid widespread bloodshed, jihadists associated with the Islamic State group have taken a powerful position in strategic northeastern Mali, allowing fighters to expand further into neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso. The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) has significantly extended its control in the vast, remote and arid zone known as the tri-border area, which straddles the three Sahel countries. The jihadists have stepped into a vacuum left when French soldiers departed last year, experts say, and its fighters have since massacred hundreds of civilians and committed numerous abuses. The capture this month of Tidermene -- a village some 75 kilometres (47 miles) north of the city of Menaka -- was the latest victory in a successful offensive in the Menaka region against the IS group's rivals. Those include the Al-Qaeda-linked Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM), the Malian armed forces and local Tuareg-dominated armed groups.”
France
RFI: French Court Jails Four For Plotting Champs Elysées Terror Attack
“A French court has sentenced four men to between five and 15 years in jail for plotting an attack on Paris's emblematic Champs Elysées avenue. A fifth defendant walked free, having already served his sentence in pre-trial custody. The five defendants were aged 17 to 39 when they were arrested in 2019 on suspicion of planning to attack policemen and civilians on the central Paris shopping street, not far from the presidential palace. All except one were found guilty of ‘terrorist conspiracy’ on Thursday after a trial which was held behind closed doors. The oldest member of the group was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while a second was jailed for 12 years.”
Germany
Anadolu Agency: Germany To Reform Laws To Sack Extremist Soldiers, Says Defense Chief
“Germany is set to introduce legal reforms to ease the sacking of right-wing extremist soldiers, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced on Thursday. Addressing lawmakers in parliament, Pistorius said the vast majority of military personnel were committed to the country's democratic constitutional order, but acknowledged that it also had a problem of right-wing extremism. ‘I can announce that we'll soon propose amendments to Military Act, hopefully before the summer recess, or right after that, in order to improve the legal framework, so that those who reject our constitution and work against it can be expelled from military service more quickly,’ he said. Defense Minister Pistorius' Social Democrat Party (SPD) posted the remarks on Twitter in widely shared message: ‘Throw Nazis out of the troops!’ According to a parliamentary report last month, authorities identified at least 319 suspected cases of right-wing extremism in the German armed forces.”
India
The Times Of India: 5 Soldiers Killed As Terrorists Ambush Army Truck In Poonch
“Five soldiers of the Army’s Rashtriya Rifles were killed and a colleague was gravely wounded after terrorists ambushed their truck around 3pm Thursday with gunshots and grenades that ignited the vehicle when it was winding through blinding rain in Bhata Dhurian on a thickly-forested mountain ridge in Poonch district of J&K’s Jammu division. The truck was not part of a larger convoy transporting troops and it was returning from ‘road opening duty’—a recce team that scans for hidden explosives or suspicious movements. The Army’s White Knight Corps identified the slain soldiers as Lance Naiks Debashish Baswal and Kulwant Singh, Sepoys Harkrishan Singh and Sewak Singh, and Havildar Mandeep Singh. The wounded soldier has been shifted to the military hospital in Rajouri town, 42km south of Bhata Dhurian. Security forces are combing the area, which is close to the LoC, while a National Investigation Agency team is on the way to the crime scene. According to sources, the Pakistan-backed banned outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba is suspected to be behind the attack.”
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