Eye on Extremism
April 24, 2023
Associated Press: At Least 21 Killed As Somalia Battles Jihadis In Remote Area
“Somalia’s military repulsed an attack by jihadi fighters in a remote region of the country early Saturday, killing at least 18 of the al-Shabab militants, according to a top army official. At least three civilians described as ‘traditional elders’ were killed in the fighting near Masagaway town, Gen. Mohamed Ahmed Taredisho said by phone. Masagaway is located in the central region of Galgadud and home to a military base. Resident Yusuf Sheikh told The Associated Press that militants overran the base, confiscated weapons and burned battle wagons during the attack. ‘It was early in the morning, and (al-Shabab) completely took over the whole town, including the military base, forcing the government forces out of the town,’ he said. Sheikh said several people were killed in the attack and others were missing.”
Reuters: Around 60 Civilians Killed In Northern Burkina Faso Attack, Prosecutor Says
“Around 60 civilians were killed on Friday in northern Burkina Faso by people wearing the uniforms of the Burkinabe armed forces, local prosecutor Lamine Kabore said on Sunday, citing information from police in the town of Ouahigouya. He said an investigation had been launched after the attack on the village of Karma in Yatenga province in the borderlands near Mali, an area overrun by Islamist groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State that have carried out repeated attacks for years. The statement gave no further details on the attack. Since 2022, attacks by armed groups on civilians have surged while state security forces and volunteer defence troops have conducted a number of abusive counter-terrorism operations, Human Rights Watch said in March.”
United States
Vice News: Rightwing Edgelords Are The Real Threat To National Security
“…’Right-wing extremists in the military pose security risks beyond their potential for violence,’ said Joshua Fisher-Birch, an expert on the far right at the Counter Extremism Project, a New York City-based nonprofit terrorism watchdog. ‘The recent leak case highlights the possibility that individuals could share sensitive information with a broader online audience or with potential extremists or other hostile actors. Ideological views that sympathize with a U.S. opponent might also heighten the risk of sharing sensitive information.’ Other military sources have told VICE News in the past that seeing active duty servicemen posting in support of Kyle Rittenhouse or Boogaloos Bois employed at the NSA, is not unheard of.”
Raw Story: Department Of Defense Riddled With 'Three Percenters And Boogaloo Guys': Report
…According to Joshua Fisher-Birch of the Counter Extremism Project, "Right-wing extremists in the military pose security risks beyond their potential for violence." "The recent leak case highlights the possibility that individuals could share sensitive information with a broader online audience or with potential extremists or other hostile actors," Fisher-Birch elaborated. "Ideological views that sympathize with a U.S. opponent might also heighten the risk of sharing sensitive information.”
Syria
Associated Press: Syrian State Media Say Israeli Artillery Shells Border Town
“Syria’s state media said Israel shelled targets in southern Syria early on Monday, near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, causing unspecified material damage. There was no immediate comment from Israel. The report on the state SANA news agency said Israeli forces targeted the town of Talat Qars al-Nafl in Quneitra province but did not mention any casualties. The pro-government Al-Watan newspaper posted a video of the attack, showing an explosion from what it said was one of the targets being hit in the distance. A Britain-based war monitor, the pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the shelling targeted militias linked to the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group in Quneitra. It said that Israel had struck targets in the same area last Tuesday.”
Iraq
Mehr News Agency: 3 PKK Elements Killed In Turkish Drone Attack On N Iraq
“Issuing a statement, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that the Turkish army has renewed airstrike on the positions of PKK elements in northern Iraq. According to the statement, three PKK elements were killed in the attack. Earlier on April 17, two people were killed and two others were injured in a Turkish drone attack in northern Iraq. Turkey brands the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and its Syrian arm (Self-Defense Forces) as major threats to national security. The conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party has continued since 1987, with the Turkish army regularly conducting operations against Kurdish militants in regions bordering Iraq and Syria.”
Afghanistan
i24 News: ISIS Uses Afghanistan As Coordination Site To Attack Western Targets - U.S. Leaks
“Afghanistan became an important coordination site for the Islamic State to plan attacks across Europe and Asia, the leaked classified Pentagon documents revealed. According to the materials obtained by the Washington Post from the Discord messaging platform where the recently arrested Air National Guard Jack Teixeira leaked hundreds of pages of classified military intelligence, ISIS also conducts ‘aspirational plotting’ against the U.S. The report said that the planned attacks included embassies, churches, business centers and even the World Cup in Qatar last summer. The Post learned about nine such plots that were known to the U.S. military in December with the number rising to 15 in February. ISIS militants also considered retaliatory plots in response to Quran burnings by far-right activists in Sweden and the Netherlands, according to the leaked documents. These plans, which apparently have not been realized, included attacks on Swedish or Dutch diplomatic targets in Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Russia, Turkey and other countries.”
Pakistan
Voice of America News: Pakistan Pashtuns Have Doubts About New Military Offensive Against Islamist Radicals
“Pakistan is bracing for a new military offensive that is expected to target militants in the northwest as ethnic Pashtuns in the area say they are still looking for accountability for the army's last offensives in the region, in 2014 and 2017. The country's national security committee, comprising top civilian and military leaders, has not said when the operation will start. When announcing it earlier this month, the committee described it as a nationwide anti-militant operation to halt a rise in attacks on security forces by the Pakistani Taliban and other extremist groups. Pakistan's government has said that previous operations led to a drop in terrorist attacks; however, Pashtun civil society members and peace activists say it came at a steep cost to many innocent people.”
Middle East
Daily Sabah: Security Forces Eliminate 21 Terrorists Over Past 4 Days In Syria, Iraq
“Security forces have eliminated 21 terrorists over the past four days in northern Syria and Iraq, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Saturday as the country continues to battle terrorism. Speaking at an event in central Kayseri province, Akar called attention to the success of Turkish troops in combating terrorism in those regions. ‘We just received another (piece of) news. Three terrorists were neutralized by Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq's Zap. Thus, the number of terrorists neutralized in the last four days has reached 21.’ ‘This struggle will continue until we ensure the security of our borders and our nation,’ Akar vowed.”
The Jerusalem Post: Hamas Cannot Interfere In Arab-Israeli Affairs, Mansour Abbas Says - Report
“Ra'am party leader MK Mansour Abbas accused the Hamas terrorist organization of "dragging Palestinian-Arab citizens into acts of violence" in an interview with i24NEWS' Arabic channel on Thursday. Abbas described during the interview that the terror organization's influence on Israel's Arab community is a "great catastrophe" and that it "brings a new calamity." The Ra'am leader also told i24NEWS that the Israeli-Arab society must be fortified from going in such a direction, as it would "serve extremism and extremists, and it strikes our position as Arab citizens here, holders of rights, and as children of the Palestinian people. Abbas then asked Palestinian leaders to not interfere in the affairs of Palestinian Arabs who also happen to be Israeli citizens. He also reaffirmed his party's position of establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel, and that to do so ‘requires all of us to neutralize violence in all forms and engage in the peace process.’”
Nigeria
Vanguard: Army Kills 35 Terrorists, Destroys 12 Camps In Sambisa Forest
“The Nigeria Army Troops of the 21-Armored Brigade, Bama, Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) and 199 Special Forces Battalion in collaboration with Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), have killed 35 Boko Haram terrorists in the ongoing clearance operation in Sambisa Forest. The troops headed by one Brig. Gen. Victor Unachukwu a.k.a Emperor, made the unprecedented incursions into the Boko Haram hideouts in its determined efforts to completely eliminate the Boko Haram Terrorists insurgents hibernating along the fringes of the Sambisa forest. This was disclosed by a reliable source on Sunday, which was also confirmed by Zagazola Makama, a Counter Insurgency Expert and Security analyst in the Lake Chad region. Sources revealed that the clearance Operation which began from Awulari on April 17, progressed further into other identified insurgents’ camps around Garno and Alafa neighbouring communities of Sambisa forest axis in Bama Local Government Area of Borno state.”
Arab News: Suspected Separatist Militants Kill Four Nigerian Police Officers, Two Civilians
“Suspected separatist militants killed four Nigerian police officers and two civilians during a gunbattle while they were on patrol in the country’s southeast, police said. The Friday morning attack took place in the Ngor-Okpala area of Imo State, where the Indigenous People of Biafra or IPOB separatist group and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network, are active. Attacks blamed on IPOB have killed dozens of police officers in the last two years in Nigeria’s southeastern states, where the group agitates for a separate state for the ethnic Igbo people.”
Somalia
Garowe Online: Al-Shabaab Spending Millions To Remove A Governor Who Fought Against It
“The Al-Shabaab seeks the governor of the Hiraan region to be sacked for his commitment to eliminating the terrorists has ‘provoked’ the group, a top official disclosed. Mohamed Abdi Waare, the former president of HirShabelle state, says Ali Jeyte Osman, who has been fighting the militants on the battlefield, is now the key target, with Al-Shabaab allegedly contributing millions of dollars with the sole purpose of dethroning him from his current position. Ware, who is the current Special Presidential Envoy for Civilian Protection and Stabilization, said the militants are spending millions to replace the governor, who has been instrumental in kicking out the militants. Jeyte has led several battles that saw th liberation of key ground since 2022.”
Mali
France24: Suspected Jihadists Carry Out Deadly Attack On 'Russian' Military Camp In Mali
“Early Saturday morning, suspected jihadists attacked the Sevare airport area in the central Mopti region, detonating car bombs, which killed 10 civilians and injured 61 others, the government said in a statement. The blasts destroyed some houses in the airport's surrounding area, which is home to a Malian military camp. ‘Thanks to the legendary determination of our valiant Armed Forces, operating exclusively with their own resources, the attackers were routed and 28 terrorists were neutralised’, it said. A local elected official earlier told AFP that Senegalese soldiers from the UN's peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, were involved in the fighting.”
TRT World: Militants Linked To Al Qaeda Claim Mali Attack That Killed Key Junta Figure
“Militants linked with Al Qaeda have claimed responsibility for an attack this week that killed the chief of staff of Mali's junta leader, and another ambush, the SITE Intelligence monitoring group said. Oumar Traore, chief of staff for Colonel Assimi Goita, the transitional president, was among several people who died in an ambush Tuesday near the Mauritanian border, according to a document from the Malian presidency. Traore was part of a team that was accompanying engineers to scout for sites to drill for water, who came under attack some 400 kilometres north of the capital Bamako. The presidency said three others also died.”
United Kingdom
The National: London Marathon Protest Threats From Activists 'Trivialise Climate Concerns'
“…The group's cousin Just Stop Oil was in last-ditch talks with marathon organisers after failing to give the same assurances as Extinction Rebellion. A protester wearing a Just Stop Oil shirt jumped on a table at the snooker last weekend and threw orange powder over the cloth. Professor Ian Acheson, a senior director at the Counter Extremism Project, said stunts such as these could terrify spectators even if they seem relatively harmless in hindsight. ‘It’s highly unlikely that stunts like this will do anything other than alienate ordinary people and trivialise real concerns about climate,’ he told The National. ‘On the other hand it is likely to reinforce and nourish a base of supporters for whom such actions are already priced in.’”
Daily Mail: Mother Jailed For Being Part Of Britain's First All-Female Terror Cell Which Plotted ISIS Knife Attack In London Tells Judge Her Risk Of Danger To The Public Is NOT Relevant In Bid To Be Freed Early
“A convicted terrorist serving a six-year prison sentence for being a member of Britain's first all-female terror cell has argued that her long-term danger to the public is not relevant to her bid for parole. Moroccan-born Mina Dich, 49, was caged in 2018 after she helped her daughters with their preparations for Islamic State terror attacks. Dich's children Safaa Boular and Rizlaine Boular had planned a gun and grenade attack on the British Museum and a knife attack on the Palace of Westminster. They were each jailed for life for their failed plots, with Safaa becoming the youngest woman to be convicted of plotting a terror attack on British soil.”
The Independent: Indian Man Arrested In London Faces Extradition To US Over Terrorism Charges
“An Indian man was arrested in London on suspicion of funding terrorism and faced extradition to the US, where he is wanted by authorities over fraud and money laundering offences. The arrest was part of wider joint action by the UK and US that targeted terror financing, the Metropolitan Police said. Sundar Nagarajan, born in India’s Madurai city in the southern Tamil Nadu state, is also known as Kasiviswanathan Naga and Nagarajan Sundar Poongulam, said media reports. He faced charges of helping launder money to evade US sanctions and fund the Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group backed by Iran, which the UK government classified as a terrorist organisation in 2019.”
France
The Hill: Canadian Professor Convicted In 1980 Paris Synagogue Bombing
“A Paris court convicted a Lebanese-Canadian professor in absentia on terrorism charges Friday and sentenced him to life in prison over a deadly Paris synagogue bombing in 1980 that was for decades one of France’s biggest unsolved crimes. The court issued an arrest warrant for suspect Hassan Diab, who lives and teaches in Ottawa, Canada, and denies wrongdoing. He was convicted of terrorist murder for an attack that killed four and wounded 46. For victims, the ruling means justice at last, more than four decades after a bombing described as the first antisemitic terrorist attack in France since World War II.”
Europe
AFP News: Some Rebel Russian Far-Right Groups Join Ukraine's Side
“…Limited in membership, groups on both sides bring together radical pan-Slavic, neo-pagan, imperialist and anti-Semitic individuals, some of whom are also football hooligans or mixed martial arts enthusiasts. Moscow has not only tolerated these extreme nationalist groups since the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, but also instrumentalised them. ‘If you want to break up a demonstration, to toughen up your security forces at a rally, you can hire them,’ said Kacper Rekawek, a researcher for the Counter-Extremism Project (CEP), a US-based charity. ‘They've been used to target Russian liberals, the Russian opposition, Russian democrats, to simply beat them up. They are used to do the dirty job for others. They're not independent actors in that sense,’ he added.”
India
Mint: Al-Qaeda Threatens Attack On India Over Atiq Ahmad Murder
“Terror outfit Al-Qaeda and it's Indian counterpart Al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) have threatened to attack India over the murder of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad on live television last Saturday in Uttar Pradesh. Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf was murdered on 15 April, footage of which was captured on live television on news cameras outside a hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj. On the eve of Eid ul-Fitr, the terror group posted a message, threatening revenge and calling Atiq and his brother Arshad 'martyrs'. The message was released in a seven-page magazine, released by As-Sahab, the outfit's propaganda media wing. It also promised to 'liberate' the Indian Muslims.”
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