Eye on Extremism

May 23, 2023 

Garrowe Online: US Airstrike Targets Al-Shabaab Headquarters In Southern Somalia

“The US Africa Command has confirmed an airstrike against Al-Shabaab militants, targeting the group's headquarters in the Middle Juba region, just a few hours after the extremists released an undated video of the commander addressing the media over current affairs. In a statement, the US Africa Command said the airstrike was conducted in Jilib town which. The federal government of Somalia troops also participated in the raid, the command confirmed. "The command's initial assessment is that no civilians were injured or killed," the statement said while confirming the Saturday airstrike which comes just before the Somali National Army [SNA] start operations against the group in Jubaland and Southwest.”

The National: Turkish Air Strike Kills At Least Three PKK-Linked Militants In Northern Iraq

“A Turkish air strike hit the headquarters of an armed group in northern Iraq on Tuesday, killing at least three militants, said the regional government. The Counter-Terrorism Unit of Iraq’s Kurdistan region said the strike at 5am hit the Asayish Ezidkhan and the Shingal Resistance Units, known as Yabsha, in Jamo, near Sinjar. Yabsha is the local branch of the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, known as the PKK. The PKK has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, initially seeking an independent Kurdish state before changing its demands and seeking an autonomous Kurdish region within Turkey. The conflict has killed about 40,000 people, many of them civilians.”

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United States

Daily Sabah: Erdoğan Urges US To Find Terrorist Who Attacked NYC Turkish House

“Türkiye wants U.S. authorities to find the terrorist who attacked the (Türkevi) Turkish House in New York City, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Monday. Speaking at a gathering with Rumelian Turks – Ottoman migrants who relocated to Anatolia after the Empire lost territory in the Balkans – in Istanbul, the president said the U.S. needs to immediately find the terrorist and hold him/her accountable for the crime. Noting that the U.S. is responsible for the safety of the Turkish House, Erdoğan said the perpetrator must be found as soon as possible. ‘In Europe, the (terrorist group) PKK has seen that things are getting worse, (and) they have started to attack the voters. They probably say that these voters are in favor of the People's Alliance. That's why they attack them.‘”

Afghanistan

The National: Taliban's Cabinet Reshuffle An Attempt To Consolidate Power, Analysts Say

“The Taliban has carried out the first major cabinet reshuffle since retaking Afghanistan to consolidate power in a fractured movement and weaken the once-feared Haqqani Network, intelligence sources have told The National. The group downplayed this week’s appointment of Maulvi Abdul Kabir as acting prime minister “in order to ensure there are no obstacles and delays in the affairs of the administration”, after they said leader Hasan Akhund, 78, would be taking time off to “rest due to an illness”. While the announcement was portrayed as a simple bureaucratic move, Mr Kabir is a powerful force in the administration. Believed to be in his early 60s, he was the last prime minister of Afghanistan before the fall of the Taliban regime as the US invaded in 200 and he played a key role in the Doha talks with the US about their withdrawal.”

Pakistan

AFP News: Six Killed In Attack On Hungarian Energy Firm In Pakistan: Police

“Six Pakistan security personnel were killed in an overnight siege by dozens of militants on a Hungarian-owned oil and gas exploration site, police said Tuesday. Pakistan has seen an increase in militancy since the Taliban returned to power in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021, with attacks mostly targeting security forces and foreign interests accused of exploitation. About 50 fighters attacked a site owned by the Budapest-headquartered MOL Group around midnight in the Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, district police chief Asif Bahadur told AFP. "They were armed with light and heavy weapons and fired mortar shells, killing six security personnel at the main entrance" to the remote site near the Afghan border, said Bahadur.”

Middle East

Reuters: Three Palestinian Militants Killed In Israeli Raid In West Bank

“Israeli security forces killed three Palestinian militants during a large-scale raid in the occupied West Bank on Monday, Palestinian and Israeli sources said. The Israeli military said its forces came under fire from Palestinian gunmen and had "neutralised" at least two of them. It said soldiers confiscated rifles, ammunition and explosive devices and destroyed the site where the bombs were made. The Palestinian health ministry confirmed three deaths.”

Jewish News Syndicate: Terrorists Open Fire On Israeli Car In Samaria; Mother, Four Daughters Unhurt

“Palestinian gunmen opened fire on an Israeli woman and her four daughters driving near Tapuach Junction in Samaria on Monday night. Two bullets hit the vehicle, but none of the occupants were injured. In video footage taken inside the car during the incident, multiple shots can be heard, with the mother shouting in Hebrew “get down, get down! Girls, are you okay?” The Israel Defense Forces was reportedly preparing on Monday morning to launch an operation in response to the shooting in the nearby Arab village of Jamma’in.”

Somalia

Garowe Online: Al-Shabaab's Explosion Kills Four Soldiers In Somalia

“Four members of the Somali National Army [SNA] were killed on Monday following a roadside explosion in Mogadishu, the Somalia capital, authorities confirmed, in an attack which comes at the time the country has heightened the fight against Al-Shabaab militants. The explosion went off in Daynile District of Mogadishu, the Ministry of Defence confirmed. This is the first major explosion in the capital in as many months which has been relatively safe following the deployment of Uganda-trained soldiers who were dispatched to the capital recently. Brigadier General Abdullahi Ali Anod, the ministry's spokesperson, said that the attack occurred at about 9 a.m. and that three soldiers and an officer with the construction unit had been killed. He affirmed that security is tight in Mogadishu despite the unfortunate explosion.”

Africa

Big News Network: Two Militants Killed As Army Repels Boko Haram Attack In Cameroon

“At least two militants of the terror group Boko Haram were killed when they launched offensives against a civilian community and the military in Cameroon's Far North region, locals and security sources confirmed Monday. The attack took place late Sunday in the Mozogo locality of the region. Heavily armed militants attacked the locality on several fronts during the night-long battle but were later repelled by soldiers who killed two of them and dumped the bodies in a public place, a military official in the region said. "Many of them were injured. Unfortunately, a member of the local vigilante was also killed during the battle. We are pursuing those that escaped with bullet wounds," said the official who asked not to be named.”

Germany

Republic World: Germany Detains Three More Suspected Far-Right Extremists

“Germany's federal prosecutor's office said Tuesday that criminal police have detained three more suspected far-right extremists who are linked to an alleged plot by the Reichsbuerger, or Reich Citizens, movement to topple the country's government. The three suspects, who were only identified as Johanna F.-J., Hans-Joachim H. and Steffen W. in line with German privacy rules, were detained Monday evening in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. The defendants are suspected of membership in a terrorist organization, the prosecutor's office said in a statement. In December, German police detained 25 people including a self-styled prince, a retired paratrooper and a former judge who are accused of plotting the violent overthrow of the government.”

India

The Hindustan: Gujarat ATS Arrests 4 Bangladesh Nationals, Says Al-Qaeda Module Busted

“Four Bangladesh nationals have been arrested in Gujarat on charges that they illegally entered the country and were trying to radicalise local youth in Ahmedabad and collecting money, according to a statement by Gujarat’s anti-terrorist squad (ATS) on Monday. The four were part of a local al-Qaeda module trained by their handlers in Bangladesh, the statement issued by deputy inspector general (DIG) Gujarat ATS, Deepan Bhadran said. The four persons were identified by the police as Mohammad Sojib, Munna Khalid Ansari, Azharul Islam Ansari, and Mominul Ansari. “Based on the received intelligence, four illegal Bangladeshi immigrants involved in recruiting for ‘al-Qaeda’ were arrested,” said Bhadran.”

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