Eye on Extremism
May 5, 2023
The National: Pakistan Militants Launch Attacks With Advanced US Weapons Left Behind In Afghanistan
“Advanced weapons and technology left behind by US and Nato troops during their withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 have been used by militants in Pakistan to attack police and soldiers, security officials have said. The Tahrik-e-Taliban in Pakistan and Baloch militants are among the groups that have obtained modern weapons in Afghanistan. Experts have said the influx of arms has led to a sharp rise in attacks. ‘The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan has emboldened and strengthened militant groups in the region,’ Rafiullah Kakar, a security expert in Pakistan's Balochistan province, told The National.”
Vanguard: Troops Kill 79 Terrorists In North West, Rescue 136 Abducted Victims
“The Nigerian Army, yesterday, said troops have neutralized 79 terrorists, arrested so many terrorist informants, logistics suppliers, and gunrunners and rescued many kidnapped victims in the North West, North Central, and North East. It also said Troops of Operation, ‘Udoka’ fighting to rid the South East of Indigenous People of Biafra/Eastern Security Network, IPOB/ESN militants, have raided a hideout of the proscribed group in Ihiala, Anambra State and captured a cache of arms and ammunition. The army added that it discovered and destroyed 41 illegal refining sites, 156 cooking ovens, 189 storage tanks, 12 dugout pits and 15 wooden boats. Director of Defence, Media Operations, Major Gen Musa Danmadami said in Abuja, yesterday, ‘In the North West, troops neutralized 25 terrorists, arrested 30 terorists informants, six terrorists logistics suppliers, two gunrunners and rescued four kidnapped victims.’”
Turkey
Anadolu Agency: Türkiye 'Neutralizes' Nearly 50 Terrorists Over Past 10 Days In Northern Syria, Iraq
“Pledging to continue Türkiye's efforts against all means of cross-border threat and danger, the Turkish defense chief on Thursday said the country's security forces have ‘neutralized’ nearly 50 terrorists over the past 10 days in northern Syria and Iraq. ‘According to the news we just received, eight terrorists were neutralized in northern Syria last night. Thus, the number of terrorists neutralized in the last 10 days became nearly 50,’ said Minister for National Defense Hulusi Akar at an event in central Kayseri province. Turkish authorities use the term ‘neutralized’ to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.”
Daily Sabah: Türkiye Cracks Down On Daesh Network In Nationwide Operations
“Simultaneous raids in 23 Turkish provinces nabbed 74 suspects affiliated with the Daesh terrorist group Friday. The Chief Prosecutor’s Office in the southeastern Turkish province of Diyarbakır issued arrest warrants for 92 suspects as part of an operation. Security forces raided 123 locations to capture the suspects. A manhunt is underway for the arrest of suspects at large. The operations were conducted in cooperation with the National Intelligence Organization (MIT). Security forces confiscated a large cache of pistols and rifles, as well as documents and other materials containing Daesh propaganda during the raids.”
Pakistan
Reuters: Islamist Militants In Pakistan Kill Six Soldiers Near Afghan Border
“Islamist militants killed six Pakistani soldiers in an exchange of fire with the military in a northwestern tribal district bordering Afghanistan, the army said on Thursday. The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of several Sunni Muslim militant groups, claimed responsibility. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed condolences to the grieved families. ‘No matter how long the battle, our valiant armed forces, with the support of the nation, will root out terrorism in its entirety,’ he said in a statement.”
Associated Press: Attacks Across Pakistan, Including School Shooting, Kill 14
“Gunmen stormed a school in Pakistan’s volatile northwest on Thursday, killing seven teachers and gunning down another teacher from the school in a separate attack. Earlier in the day, a shootout with militants elsewhere in the region killed six Pakistani soldiers.
The violence underscores the challenges the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif is facing amid a surge in militant attacks across the country in recent months.
In Kurram, a district in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan, a group of gunmen stormed a government school where students were taking exams. The seven killed teachers were members of Pakistan’s minority Shiite community, which is frequently targeted by militants. Another teacher from the same school, a Sunni Muslim, was gunned down on the road in a separate attack earlier in the day in Kurram, according to local police official Abbas Ali.”
Middle East
The Times Of Israel: Iran’s Raisi Meets With Top Hamas And Islamic Jihad Officials, Urges Israel’s Defeat
“Iran’s president met senior Palestinian officials in Damascus and expressed his country’s support Thursday as Tehran and Syria signed a series of agreements.
Damascus-based Palestinian official Khaled Abdul-Majid told The Associated Press that the delegation — which included top leaders from the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups — briefed Iran’s Ebrahim Raisi on the situation in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza Strip. Iran has been a main backer of some Palestinian factions, supplying them with weapons and money. ‘The Palestinian leaders thanked Iran for its support to the resistance and the Palestinian cause,’ Abdul-Majid, who attended the talks, said after the meeting. Abdul-Majid, who is a leader of the Syrian government-allied Palestinian Resistance Factions Coalition, added that Raisi confirmed to the Palestinian officials that Iran will continue supporting the Palestinians.”
Somalia
Garowe Online: Al-Shabaab Attacks Reduce By 70% In Somalia, Says Govt
“The number of Al-Shabaab attacks waged in Somalia has drastically reduced over the last six months due to robust security arrangements, Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre told the cabinet on Thursday, while lauding the army for their ‘invaluable sacrifices’. While addressing the cabinet, Barre, who is in charge of the government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, said the attacks have reduced by 70 percent, an indication that the country is slowly heading back to safety should the operations against your group get sustained.According to him, the government managed to secure the capital Mogadishu during the Holy month of Ramadan. Previously, Al-Shabaab launched dangerous attacks in the city and other urban centers, killing hundreds of people.”
United Kingdom
BBC: Barnsley Man Had 'Terrorist Manual' And 'Idolised Hitler', Trial Hears
“A man accused of possessing extreme right-wing material had a ‘terrorist manual’ and ‘idolises Hitler’, a jury has been told. Ashley Podsiad-Sharp, of Cudworth, Barnsley, had set up a club to train like-minded right-wing extremists, Sheffield Crown Court heard. At his trial on Thursday, prosecutors said the 42-year-old ‘lived and breathed’ racist views. Mr Podsiad-Sharp has denied disseminating a terrorist document. He has also pleaded not guilty to possession of a document containing information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.”
Europe
AFP News: Belgium Arrests Iraqi Suspected Of Al-Qaeda 'War Crimes' In Baghdad
“Belgium police have arrested an Iraqi immigrant suspected of belonging to an Al-Qaeda cell that carried out deadly car bombings in Baghdad in 2009-2010, prosecutors said Friday. The man, identified by the initials O.Y.T., born in 1979, was detained on Wednesday when police raided an address in the town of Hasselt, in eastern Belgium, on orders of an anti-terrorist judge, they said in a statement. He was appearing in court on Friday on charges of ‘several murders with terrorist intent, participation in the activities of a terrorist group, war crimes and crimes against humanity’ to determine whether he would remain in custody. He is believed to have been part of an Al-Qaeda cell ‘partly responsible for several bombings in the Green Zone of Baghdad (Iraq) in 2009 and 2010, which killed at least 376 people and injured more than 2,300,’ the statement said.”
Reuters: Belgium Arrests Seven Suspected Of Planning Terrorist Attack
“Belgian police have arrested seven people on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack, the prosecutor's office said on Thursday. The suspects had discussed several scenarios for an attack in Belgium but had not yet decided on the target, the statement said as well. ‘There was talk of the NATO buildings, but at the moment those plans didn't seem very concrete,’ a spokesperson told Belgian newspaper De Standaard. The prosecutor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.”
India
Reuters: Two Indian Soldiers Killed, Four Injured In Operation Against Militants In Kashmir
“Two Indian Army soldiers were killed and four injured during an operation against militants in Kashmir on Friday, the army said. Indian defence forces have launched various operations in the Rajouri sector of the Himalayan region after unidentified shooters last month opened fire at an Indian Army vehicle, killing at least five soldiers. In a statement, the army said that a search team on Friday encountered a group of militants trapped in an area which is ‘thickly vegetated with rocky and steep cliffs’. ‘The terrorists triggered an explosive device in retaliation,’ the army said, adding that the operation was in progress. ‘The army team has suffered two fatal casualties with injuries to four more soldiers including an officer.’”
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