Eye on Extremism
August 2, 2019
The
Washington Post: U.S. Preparing To Withdraw Thousands Of Troops From
Afghanistan In Initial Deal With Taliban
“The Trump administration is preparing to withdraw thousands of
troops from Afghanistan in exchange for concessions from the Taliban,
including a cease-fire and a renunciation of al-Qaeda, as part of an
initial deal to end the nearly 18-year-old war, U.S. officials say.
The agreement, which would require the Taliban to begin negotiating a
larger peace deal directly with the Afghan government, could cut the
number of American troops in the country from roughly 14,000 to
between 8,000 and 9,000, the officials said. That number would be
nearly the same as when President Trump took office. The plan has
taken shape after months of negotiations between the Taliban and
Zalmay Khalilzad, an Afghan-born American diplomat who was appointed
by the Trump administration last year to jump-start talks. Officials
said an agreement could be finalized ahead of the Afghan presidential
election in September, though they cautioned that Taliban leaders
could delay and that significant challenges remain. The proposal is
likely to be viewed skeptically by some U.S. and Afghan officials who
question the Taliban’s honesty and wonder how the United States can
verify whether Taliban leaders are following through.”
The
New York Times: Syria Says It Agrees To Cease-Fire In Rebel
Stronghold
“Syria’s government said it has agreed to a conditional cease-fire
starting late Thursday in northwestern Syria, according to state
media. Government troops and allied Russia warplanes have been
carrying out a three-month offensive against the rebel’s last
stronghold, which has displaced hundreds of thousands and has targeted
health facilities and other infrastructure. The decision came hours
after U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres authorized an
investigation into attacks on health facilities and schools in the
rebel-held enclave, following a petition from 10 members of the U.N.
Security Council. The offensive in Idlib and surrounding areas has
unfolded since April 30, displacing more than 400,000 people and
killing hundreds. Images of attacks on health facilities and
residential homes were reminiscent of the peak of the violence in the
eight-year conflict. International rights groups, western countries
and the U.N. had appealed for a cease-fire. Around 3 million people
are living inside the rebel-held area. A war monitoring group, the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said there was no sign of a
cease-fire. It said intense clashes continued on the southern edge of
the rebel stronghold.”
CNN:
US Transports Another Alleged American ISIS Fighter Back From Syria To
Face Trial
“A federal grand jury in Dallas on Thursday indicted an
American ISIS suspect who had been transported back to American soil
from Syria. Omer Kuzu, who is 23, was charged with traveling to Syria
and conspiring to provide material support to ISIS. Kuzu, who was
born in Dallas, traveled with his brother in 2014 from Houston to
Istanbul and then was smuggled by ISIS into Syria, prosecutors say he
told FBI investigators, according to court documents. He eventually
received weapons and other training in Mosul, Iraq, and then returned
to Syria, where ISIS maintained the headquarters for its self-declared
caliphate, according to the documents. Prosecutors allege Kuzu was
issued weapons and was paid the equivalent of $125 a month to maintain
and repair communications equipment for front-line ISIS fighters.
Kuzu pleaded not guilty at the arraignment in Texas, according to Erin
Dooley, a spokeswoman for the US Attorney's Office for the Northern
District of Texas. CNN has reached out for comment to the Federal
Public Defender's Office in Dallas, which is representing Kuzu. US
officials familiar with the situation had told CNN earlier Thursday
that the US government had transported Kuzu from Syria to face trial
for his alleged involvement with the terror group.”
CBS
News: CEP President Fran Townsend Discusses The Death Of Hamza Bin
Laden And Its Potential Impact On The Terrorist Group
Al-Qaeda
“Sources tell CBS News Osama bin Laden's favored son has been
killed in a military operation. Hamza Bin Laden was in line to take
over al Qaeda, the terror group founded by his father. David Martin
reports.”
JNS:
Federal Appeals Court Rules In Favor Of Facebook In Case On Hamas
Terror Victims
“A federal appeals court on Wednesday sided against victims of
attacks by Hamas who looked to hold Facebook accountable for allegedly
enabling a social-media platform for the U.S.-designated terrorist
group to promote its objectives. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
ruled that the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which monitors
Internet material, protected Facebook from liability. “Merely
arranging and displaying others’ content to users of Facebook through
such algorithms—even if the content is not actively sought by those
users—is not enough to hold Facebook responsible as the ‘developer’ or
‘creator’ of that content,” wrote Judge Christopher Droney of the
three-judge appeals court panel. However, Chief Judge Robert Katzmann
dissented and wrote, “Over the past two decades the Internet has
outgrown its swaddling clothes. It is fair to ask whether the rules
that governed its infancy should still oversee its adulthood.” The
plaintiffs, which included Stuart and Robbi Force, whose son
28-year-old Taylor Force was stabbed to death in Israel by a
Palestinian in 2016, asked for $3 billion in damages from Facebook for
allowing a platform for Hamas to promote, encourage and celebrate
terrorist attacks in Israel.”
United States
New
York Post: FBI: Conspiracy Theory ‘Extremists’ Are A Terror
Threat
“The FBI has for the first time identified “conspiracy
theory-driven domestic extremists” as a terror threat — including the
believers in the shadowy QAnon network, according to a report. An FBI
bulletin dated May 30, 2019, from the bureau’s Phoenix field office
and obtained by Yahoo News describes the growing threat and lists
multiple arrests tied to violent incidents sparked by fringe beliefs.
“The FBI assesses these conspiracy theories very likely will emerge,
spread, and evolve in the modern information marketplace, occasionally
driving both groups and individual extremists to carry out criminal or
violent acts,” the document states. The feds believe the conspiracy
theory extremists will likely increase their activities during the
2020 presidential election cycle, according to the document cited by
Yahoo. The bureau said another factor driving the mounting threat is
“the uncovering of real conspiracies or cover-ups involving illegal,
harmful, or unconstitutional activities by government officials or
leading political figures.” The FBI does not specify which people or
cover-ups it was referring to. The document specifically mentions
the infamous QAnon conspiracy, whose believers say a deep state of
Hollywood celebs and Democrats is working to undermine President Trump
and is running an international pedophile ring including Clinton
associates from a DC pizzeria.”
Fort
Worth Star-Telegram: DFW Man Fought Alongside ISIS Terrorists In
Syria, Department Of Justice Says
“A Dallas man was indicted on charges of conspiring to provide
support to ISIS, the Department of Justice said Thursday. Omer Kuzu,
23, was detained overseas by the Syrian Democratic Forces while
fighting with ISIS fighters in Syria early this year, he told the FBI.
He was transferred to FBI custody and returned to Texas, where a
federal grand jury indicted him. Kuzu was born in Dallas and visited
Istanbul in October 2014 to join ISIS, according to a press release
from the Department of Justice. He told FBI agents that he and his
brother were smuggled into Syria by ISIS and the terrorist group’s
leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The group gave him an AK-47 and paid him
$125 a month to to repair communications equipment for ISIS fighters,
the DOJ reported. “There are few things more concerning to me than
young Americans being radicalized by terrorists’ violent and hateful
agendas while in the U.S., and then traveling abroad in order to fight
for groups like ISIS,” said Erin Nealy Cox, U.S. Attorney for the
Northern District of Texas, in the press release. If he is convicted,
Kuzu faces up to 20 years in prison. “The FBI remains committed to
protecting the United States from all terrorist threats,” said Special
Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno of the FBI Dallas Field Office in the
release.”
Syria
Associated
Press: US Officials Say Islamic State Still Poses Global
Threat
“The Islamic State remains a global threat despite losing the once
vast territory it held in Syria and Iraq, U.S. officials said Thursday
in warning about persistent violence from underground cells and an
expansion of militants into new areas. Ambassador James Jeffrey, the
State Department envoy to the international coalition fighting the
Islamic State, told reporters that thousands of the extremist
organization’s fighters are scattered around Syria and Iraq, where
officials see a “persistent, resilient, rural terrorist level of
violence” in that country. The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic
Forces ousted Islamic State militants from the last piece of their
self-declared calilphate earlier this year. But “the ISIS brand lives
on around the world,” State Department counterterrorism coordinator
Nathan Sales said as he joined Jeffrey to provide an update on the
fight against the organization. “ISIS branches and networks now span
the African continent from east to west and north to south,” Sales
said. “They’ve increased the lethality of their attacks, they’ve
expanded into new areas, and they’ve repeatedly targeted U.S.
interests.” Sales also said the U.S. is also urging countries to take
back and prosecute foreign fighters who flocked by the thousands to
Iraq and Syria to join the Islamic State.”
The
Hill: ISIS Fighters Have Reverted To 'Shadow Warriors' Fighting An
Endless War
“For all of its territorial losses, and despite President Trump’s
boasts that we have “wiped out” ISIS, the terror group has
demonstrated a phoenix-like ability to reconstitute itself from a mere
700 surviving fighters at the time of President Obama’s withdrawal of
U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011. It is far from being completely
defeated or obliterated. The Pentagon has estimated the terrorist
group has as many as 30,000 followers and has reverted to its roots as
a deadly guerrilla insurgency. The United Nations agreed with the
Pentagon’s estimate of ISIS fighters remaining in Iraq and Syria, and
found that ISIS’s affiliates in Afghanistan, Libya and the Sinai also
had 4,000, 3,000 and 1,000 hardcore fighters, respectively. Most
worryingly, ISIS reportedly has set up fallback bases in the remote
highlands to the southeast of Mosul, Iraq, in the Qara Chokh, Hamrin,
and Makhmour Mountains. ISIS members are carrying out sleeper cell
terror attacks in Iraq and Syria, including the systematic killing of
pro-government Iraqi elders, setting off massive car bombs, ambushing
Shiite militias, dressing up as government troops at fake checkpoints
and executing government employees, wiping out Iranian convoys in
Syria, massacring pro-government villagers in Syria, killing Syrian
Army troops in ambushes, reconquering lands in central Syria, suicide
bombing allied Kurdish Syrian Democratic Force fighters and Kurdish
intelligence operatives.”
Haaretz:
Hezbollah Turning Syria Villages On Israel Border Into
Fortresses
“Compared to Gaza, the Iranian front – which to Israeli eyes
stretches from the Persian Gulf through Iraq and into Syria and
Lebanon – is bustling with action. Throughout July, reports attributed
two attacks in Iraq to Israel and at least three other attacks in
southern Syria, which were directed against the military apparatus
Hezbollah is building on the Syrian side of the border on the Golan
Heights – and in one case included the killing of a local activist.
The “campaign between the wars” is continuing with relative momentum,
even if most of it is being conducted under the radar and has not
received almost any detailed coverage in real time. What is going on
in Iraq reached the headlines in Israel with a delay of almost two
weeks, and only after Arab media outlets reported on two attacks by
the Israel Air Force in western Iraq. One of the reports even claimed
that the attack was carried out by Israel’s new F-35s. Even if the
information is correct in general, as usual it is recommended to take
the details with a grain of salt. Not every attack needs to be carried
out using the most advanced technological means. The IDF’s military
intelligence directorate highlighted Iraq as the next arena for the
military campaign back in 2018.”
The
Washington Post: U.N. To Investigate Accusations That Russia, Syria
Are Deliberately Targeting Hospitals
“The United Nations has ordered an investigation into a surge of
Russian and Syrian airstrikes against hospitals and clinics in
northwestern Syria amid growing concerns that Russia is using
U.N.-supplied data to deliberately target medical facilities. U.N.
Secretary General António Guterres authorized the inquiry Thursday
after pressure from U.N. Security Council members and human rights
groups to do more to establish why health facilities and other
civilian infrastructure such as schools and rescue services are being
hit so frequently in the recent fighting. The investigation comes
after a grim assessment of the civilian toll was delivered to the
Security Council on Tuesday by U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock.
Since the Syrian government launched an offensive in April to reclaim
control of the northwestern province of Idlib and a portion of the
province of Hama, more than 450 civilians have been killed, hundreds
more have been wounded and 440,000 have been forced to flee their
homes, Lowcock said.”
Iran
Voice
Of America: IS Stepping Up Attacks In Iraq’s North
“Islamic State (IS) militants killed four security officials late
Wednesday near the northern city of Kirkuk, local officials said. The
attack, which was carried out on a checkpoint manned by local Kurdish
security forces, also left at least eight people wounded, local
sources said. “At least 15 IS militants, including a couple snipers,
were involved in the overnight raid,” a senior Iraqi security official
told VOA. The Iraqi official, who refused to be identified because he
was not authorized to speak to reporters, added that the militants
used mortars in the Wednesday attack. In the nearby province of
Saladin, at least five Iraqi soldiers and government-backed militia
members were killed in an IS attack on their positions, Iraqi police
reported Thursday. IS has not yet claimed responsibility for either
attack. In response to Wednesday’s attacks, Iraqi warplanes carried
out an airstrike on an IS position, killing at least three militants,
an Iraqi security official said. IS has increased its attacks in
recent weeks against Iraqi and Kurdish forces in parts of northern
Iraq that were held by the terror group before they were freed with
the help of the U.S.-led coalition. A VOA reporter in Iraq said one of
the targeted areas has largely been safe until recently, with IS
increasingly carrying out surprise attacks against civilians and
security forces in places like Kirkuk, Diyala and Mosul.”
The
Jerusalem Post: How Can Israel Counter Iran’s Seaborne Shipments Of
Weapons To Hezbollah?
“According to recent reports, Israel estimates that Iran is working
to move weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon by sea in response to attacks
on similar weapons shipments overland via Syria. What can Israel do to
counter these shipments, and is international law – just by chance –
in its favor? This question immediately calls to mind the recent
capture of the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 by Gibraltar authorities and
the British Royal Navy on the suspicion that it was headed for Syria,
in defiance of European Union sanctions, which in turn resulted in the
capture of a British tanker by Iran. This incident demands a
discussion of very complex questions, including the applicability in
Gibraltar of the sanctions imposed on Syria by the European Union, the
right to freedom of navigation in international waterways, and the
question of the country to which the tanker was registered. In the
case of marine weapons shipments from Iran to Hezbollah, the legal
situation is simpler and clearer: United Nations Security Council
Resolution 1701, which was passed at the end of the Second Lebanon War
(2006) and is binding on all countries, requires that states take all
necessary measures to prevent the supply or sale of military equipment
to any individual or entity in Lebanon by their nationals or from
their territories or using their flag vessels or aircraft.”
Radio
Farda: Three Women Sentenced To 55 Years For Defying Compulsory Hijab
In Iran
“Three women held in custody for "disrespecting compulsory hijab,"
or the so-called Islamic dress code, have been sentenced to a total of
55 years and six months. A "Revolutionary Court" in the capital city
of Tehran delivered the verdict to Monireh Arabshahi, Yasamin Ariany,
and Mojgan Keshavarz who are behind bars in the notorious Qarchak
prison. Arabshahi and Ariany's legal counsel, Amir Raeesian, told
Ensaf News website August 1 that if the verdict is upheld, his clients
would be sentenced to ten years to serve, each. In Iran if a prison
term is unusually long, a shorter sentence is set to be served.
Usually, the shorter sentence to be served is a little more than half
of the original long prison term. In an interview with Radio Farda,
Mojgan Keshavarz's attorney, Mohammad Moqimi, also verified the news
but said that her client would appeal. The verdict was delivered to
the prisoners in the absence of their lawyers, Human Rights Activists
News Agency, HRANA, reported.”
DW:
Yemen: Dozens Killed In Attack On Military Parade Blamed On
Iran
“At least 51 people died in twin attacks in the Yemeni city of Aden
on Thursday, according to security and medical sources. The city is
the seat of power for Yemen's internationally recognized government,
which is in the midst of conflict with the Iran-backed rebel Houthis
who control the capital, Sanaa, and most of the country's north. How
the attacks unfolded: There were two attacks in the city: a strike on
a military parade and coordinated bombings near a police station. The
early morning suicide bombing targeted policemen in Aden's Sheikh
Othman area, killing at least 11 people and injuring 29 others. No one
has claimed responsibility for the police station attack. In the
parade attack, Houthi rebels claimed they hit the Al-Jala Camp with an
armed drone and a medium-range ballistic missile. The attack killed at
least 40 people, and injured many more.”
Iraq
Xinhua:
19 IS Militants Killed, 16 Arrested In Anti-IS Operation In Eastern
Iraq
“Up to 19 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed and 16 other
captured after continuing operation by Iraqi security forces to hunt
down IS militants in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a security
official said on Thursday. The Iraqi army, intelligence service and
paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units participated in the operation which
was launched about three weeks ago to hunt down remnants of IS
militants in seven areas in Diyala, Sadiq al-Husseini, head of the
security committee of the provincial council, told Xinhua. So far, the
troops killed 19 IS militants and captured 16 others, al-Husseini
said, adding that six of the extremist group leaders were among the
killed and five other leaders were among the captured. During the
operation, the joint forces have also destroyed 13 hideouts and
confiscated caches of weapons and ammunition, according to
al-Husseini. Also in Diyala, a security force captured three members
of an IS supply cell as they were moving in motorcycles in rugged area
carrying foodstuff, weapons and ammunition near Himreen Mountain, some
55 km northeast the provincial capital Baquba, al-Husseini said.”
Pakistan
Associated
Press: US Envoy In Pakistan Ahead Of Key Taliban
Talks
“The United States peace envoy to Afghanistan met with Pakistan’s
prime minister and other top officials ahead of his flight to Qatar
for a crucial round of peace talks with the Taliban. Before landing in
Islamabad, Zalmay Khalilzad had hinted that a peace agreement could be
reached in the next round of talks, potentially delivering an end to
the nearly 18-year war in Afghanistan, America’s longest. “In Doha, if
the Taliban do their part, we will do ours, and conclude the agreement
we have been working on,” he tweeted Wednesday, adding that he was,
“Wrapping up my most productive visit to #Afghanistan since I took
this job as Special Rep.” The Taliban have been holding peace talks
with the U.S. for nearly a year but have refused to recognize the
Kabul government, viewing it as an American puppet. The insurgents
effectively control around half the country and continue to carry out
daily attacks on Afghan security forces. The U.S. and the Taliban
appear to be closing in on an agreement whereby American forces would
withdraw from Afghanistan in return for guarantees that the country
won’t be used as a launch-pad for international terror attacks. Suhail
Shaheen, the Taliban spokesman in Doha, told The Associated Press on
Wednesday that the upcoming talks would be to “finalize the
agreement.”
Yemen
Radio
Free Europe: Rebels, Militants Kill Dozens In Yemen's Aden; Saudi
Arabia Blames Iran
“Iran-backed Huthi rebels say they launched missile and drone
attacks on a military parade in Yemen's southern port of Aden, the
headquarters of the Saudi-backed government, that killed more than 30
people. In separate tweets, Yemeni Prime Minister, Maeen Abdulmalik
Saeed and Saudi Arabia's envoy to Yemen accused Tehran of being behind
the August 1 attack claimed by the Huthis, and an explosion at a
police station in Aden, the headquarters of the Saudi-backed
government, that security sources said involved a car bomb. The attack
on the parade killed at least 32 people, including a commander,
according to medical and security sources. Al Masirah TV, the Huthis'
official channel, said the rebels launched a medium-range ballistic
missile and used an armed drone at the parade. No one has claimed
responsibility for the car-bomb attack, which Doctors Without Borders
said killed 10 people. Car-bombings in Yemen have been carried out in
the past by the militant Islamist group Al-Qaeda. Shi'ite Muslim Iran
denies having any involvement in Yemen, where the Saudi-led Sunni
Muslim coalition intervened in 2015 to try to restore the
internationally recognized government ousted from power in the capital
Sanaa by Shi'ite Huthis in late 2014.”
Lebanon
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Hezbollah Is The Real Government In Lebanon
“The Lebanese government has been disabled for a while due to a
concocted crisis, the intentions behind which go much further
exploiting the deaths of two young men in the village of Qabr Shmoun,
in Mount Lebanon’s Aley District. The true intentions are to
undermine, and bring down, a redundant ‘compromise cabinet’ through
making the position of Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri untenable;
leading to either impose presidential rule through pro-Hezbollah
President Michel Aoun, or to a political ‘vacuum’ that only Hezbollah
can fill. Either way, then, Hezbollah is the party most interested in
undermining the current fragile compromise, bringing down the cabinet,
and fomenting internal strife within Lebanon’s sectarian communities.
Contrary to Hezbollah media denial a few days ago, this party is
indeed the ‘orchestrator’, coordinator, and commander-in-chief behind
the crisis. As for its henchmen, whether Christians, Druze or others,
they are nothing but pawns in a dangerous game that is pushing Lebanon
to a political and sectarian ‘inferno’ created by Iran as part of its
raising the tempo of concluding the deal of its regional influence.
The incident in which the two men were killed, occurred around a month
ago as the Lebanese Foreign minister Gibran Bassil – who is also the
president of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), President Aoun’s
son-in-law, as well his ‘heir apparent’, was conducting his political
tours in the country.”
Middle East
The
New York Times: Death Of Hamza Bin Laden Seen As Blow To Al Qaeda’s
Future
“In the years before his death, Osama bin Laden spent his days
behind the walls of his compound in Pakistan, fretting about his son
living thousands of miles away. He penned letter after letter,
describing the curriculum that the son, Hamza bin Laden, then 23,
should study, the qualities he should cultivate and the safety
measures he should follow. In one, he advised his son, who was just 13
when he saw his father for the last time, not to leave his house. In
another, he discussed whether the young man could rejoin him in
Pakistan, advising him to travel on a cloudy day when it would be
harder for a drone to track him. He devised a complicated security
protocol, calling for the son to switch cars inside a tunnel in order
to fool overhead surveillance. The care he showed was not just that of
a father for a son. It appears to have also been an attempt by the
world’s most hunted terrorist to secure his legacy. Analysts believe
that since at least 2010, Al Qaeda was secretly grooming Hamza bin
Laden to take over the organization, a move that now appears to have
been foiled. According to three American officials, the younger bin
Laden was killed during the first two years of the Trump
administration.”
CNN:
Intel Indicates Al Qaeda Leader Has Potentially Serious 'Heart
Complaint', Official Says
“Recent intelligence indicates that al Qaeda leader Ayman
al-Zawahiri has a “heart complaint,” according to a senior official
involved in international counterterrorism efforts. The official said
the information suggests Zawahiri had a potentially serious condition
but cautioned it was difficult to ascertain the severity of his health
problems and what effect they might have on his longevity. The
possibility that Zawahiri, who just turned 68, is seriously ill
increases uncertainty over al Qaeda's long-term leadership succession
plans. Osama bin Laden's son Hamza bin Laden had been widely tipped to
one day take over command of al Qaeda but a US official told CNN on
Wednesday that the US now believes that he is dead. Zawahiri's health
was also referenced in a UN monitoring report that was circulated this
summer to the Security Council. Citing “member state information,” the
report noted Zawahiri was “reported to be in poor health.” It stated
that although “Al-Qaida remains resilient” the “health and longevity
of its leader ... and how the succession will work are in
doubt.” Zawahiri has continued to frequently appear in al Qaeda videos
and was last heard from last month. There were no obvious signs that
he has a serious health condition in these videos.”
The
Wall Street Journal: Israeli Jets Appear To Have Struck Iraq For The
First Time Since 1981
“Two airstrikes on Shiite militia targets took place in Iraq last
month. No country or organization has taken responsibility, but there
are strong reasons to think they were carried out by Israel. If so,
these would be the Jewish state’s first air raids on Iraq since the
destruction of Saddam Hussein’s Osirak nuclear reactor in 1981. The
first of the raids, on July 19, targeted a militia base near the town
of Amerli in Salah al-Din province, north of Baghdad. The second,
three days later, struck Camp Ashraf, a former U.S. military base in
Iraq’s Diyala Province. Both the Ashraf and Amerli bases are now
controlled by the Badr Organization, a Shiite militia cum political
party, in apparent cooperation with Iran. According to Arabic media
reports, the second raid was of considerably larger dimensions than
the first. Al-Ain, the Emirati news website that broke the news of the
Camp Ashraf action, reported about 40 dead Iranian Revolutionary Guard
personnel and Iraqi Shiite militiamen. The Saudi Sharq al Awsat
newspaper last week attributed the attacks to Israel. Officials in
Jerusalem have remained silent, but their country is the only serious
candidate. The only other main enemies of the Shiite militias in Iraq
are Islamic State and the U.S. and its coalition.”
Al
Jazeera: Al-Qaeda Launches Deadly Attack On Army Base In Southern
Yemen
“An al-Qaeda attack on a military camp in war-torn Yemen has killed
at least 19 soldiers, security officials said, a day after dozens of
people were killed in separate assaults by Houthi rebels and the
Islamic State in Aden. Gunmen stormed the al-Mahfad army base in
southern Abyan province on Friday and remained inside for several
hours before military reinforcements came, three security officials
told AFP news agency. "The Qaeda gunmen took advantage of what
happened [on Thursday] in Aden and launched an assault on al-Mahfad
base and clashed with soldiers," a government security official said.
"Military reinforcements were sent ... and the gunmen were killed
while others were driven out with air support from the [Saudi-led]
coalition, in an operation that lasted hours," the official said. "At
least 19 soldiers were killed and others wounded."
Times
Of Israel: Hamza Bin Laden’s Death No Big Blow To Al-Qaeda, Experts
Say
“The reported death of Osama bin Laden’s son and heir to the
al-Qaeda mantle is unlikely to do much damage to the jihadist group’s
resurgence, US terror experts said Thursday. While Hamza bin Laden was
being groomed as a leader of the group his father founded and led to
notoriety with the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States,
his death would leave the al-Qaeda’s leadership under Ayman
al-Zawahiri intact and able to continue plotting its comeback. The
circumstances of the younger Bin Laden’s death, reported by NBC News
and The New York Times Wednesday, citing anonymous US officials,
remain a mystery, although he is believed to have been killed in the
past two years. The Times said he died in an air strike but had no
information on when or where it happened, or if the US was involved.
He is believed to have been in Afghanistan in recent years, but his
demise has been wrongly reported more than once.”
Bloomberg:
Al-Qaeda Is As Strong As Ever After Rebuilding Itself, U.S.
Says
“Al-Qaeda and its affiliates remain as much of a threat to the U.S.
as “it has ever been” after the terrorist group rebuilt itself while
the U.S. and other nations focused on destroying Islamic State in Iraq
and Syria, a State Department official said. “Al-Qaeda has been
strategic and patient over the past several years,” Nathan Sales, the
State Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism, said on Thursday
at a briefing in Washington. “It’s let ISIS absorb the brunt of the
world’s counterterrorism efforts while patiently reconstituting
itself. What we see today is an al-Qaeda that is as strong as it has
ever been.” The U.S. focused in recent years on wiping out Islamic
State’s territorial holdings in Syria and Iraq after the militant
group seized a swath of territory across both countries from 2014.
President Donald Trump said in February that the U.S. and its
coalition partners liberated all of the Islamic State-controlled
territory in Syria and Iraq, though Director of National Intelligence
Dan Coats warned that thousands of fighters were going underground to
regroup.”
Nigeria
Daily
Post Nigeria: Nigerian Military Denies Secretly Burying 1,000 Soldiers
Killed By Boko Haram
“Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, DHQ, on Thursday, rubbished a
report by the Wall Street Journal which claimed that 1, 000 soldiers
in the North-East were secretly buried under the cover of darkness
after being killed by Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgents. The Director of
Defence Information, Onyema Nwachukwu, insisted that the Nigerian
Armed Forces does not engage in the secret burial of soldiers but
accords fallen soldiers a befitting military funeral of international
standard. The Wall Street Journal report had alleged that about 1,000
soldiers killed by Boko Haram were secretly buried in the North-East.
However, Nwachukwu maintained that the report was a figment of the
writer’s imagination. A statement signed by Nwachukwu and forwarded to
DAILY POST reads: “The Defence Headquarters has noted with dismay an
Online Article by “Wall Street Journal” purporting that the Nigerian
Military maintains secret graveyards in the North East theatre of
operation. This insinuation can only emanate from an uninformed
position of the author of the said publication. “It, therefore,
becomes necessary to inform the public that the Armed Forces of
Nigeria has a rich and solemn tradition for the interment of our
fallen heroes.”
Voice
Of America: Tensions Rise After Nigerian Court Labels
Muslim Sect 'Terrorists'
“Tension between a Nigerian Shi'ite Muslim group and authorities is
growing after a court last week granted permission to label the
Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) a terrorist organization. Security
forces clashed violently with the group as they took to the streets of
Abuja this month to call for the release of their leader, Ibrahim
el-Zakzaky, who authorities have held since deadly clashes in 2015,
despite a court order for his release. Maimuna Dauda's three
children, two daughters and a son, are among more than 350 Shi'ite
Muslims killed in the city of Zaria in December 2015. They were
members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, or IMN, and had just
returned from school when violence broke out between members of the
group and the military as they tried to block a military convoy. Dauda
remembers the military cracked down hard on the IMN, accusing it of
trying to kill the Nigerian army chief. “I got a call from my daughter
that the military had shot her in the stomach and her sister in the
head and set the leader's house, where they were hiding, on fire. When
I called back, I could no longer reach them. They had burned with the
building,” said Dauda. Days later, authorities arrested IMN leader
Ibraheem el-Zakzaky and his wife and have detained them ever since,
despite court rulings for their release.”
Xinhua:
Boko Haram Kills 27,000 In Nigeria In Decade-Long Militancy:
UN
“Over 27,000 people were killed in Boko Haram's militancy in
Nigeria since the group launched operation in the northeast region of
the country in 2009, according to data by the United Nations (UN). A
statement made available to Xinhua in Abuja on Thursday quoted Edward
Kallon, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, as saying 130,000
people have also been newly displaced from their homes. “Rising
insecurity in recent months has pushed over 130,000 newly displaced
people on a long trudge. Arriving en masse to displaced camps, they
are looking upon us for aid and protection,” the statement said. Boko
Haram, whose agenda is to maintain a virtual caliphate in the most
populous African country, had also spread its tentacles to neighboring
countries including Chad, Niger, and northern Cameroon. The UN office
in Abuja expressed the humanitarian community's willingness to assist
in abating the crisis while organizing on Wednesday a remembrance of
10 years of the security crisis in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe -- the
three most-affected northeastern states in Nigeria. Humanitarian aid
workers, school boys and girls, women, and security operatives, among
others, have either been killed or abducted by Boko Haram during the
decade of violence.”
Somalia
The
New York Times: Mogadishu Mayor Dies Of Injuries From Suicide
Bombing
“The mayor of Mogadishu has died after being badly wounded in a
suicide bombing by Al Shabab in his offices last week, Somalia’s
government said on Thursday. Six of his colleagues were also killed in
the attack, and nine members of his staff wounded. Mayor Abdirahman
Omar Osman had been airlifted to Qatar, along with nine other injured
people, for treatment after the attack, which struck on July 24, the
lawmaker Dahir Amin Jesow said. Al Shabaab, the Qaeda-linked Islamist
militant group that aims to topple Somalia’s United Nations-backed
government, claimed responsibility for the bombing. The militants have
lost territory but have kept up a relentless campaign of bombings and
assassinations. The extremist group and government officials said that
the suicide bomber, a woman, had been aiming for James Swan, the new
United Nations envoy to Somalia, but that he had left the office
minutes before the bombing. It was not clear how the bomber managed to
enter the mayor’s office, as visitors are required to pass through at
least four metal detectors. Mr. Osman had been a councilor in London
before returning to Somalia to enter local politics and help rebuild
his war-torn country.”
VOA:
Mogadishu Mayor Dies From Wounds Sustained In Al-Shabab
Attack
“Authorities in Somalia say the mayor of the capital has died of
wounds sustained in a militant suicide attack on his office last
month. "I confirm that the mayor, Abdurahman Omar Osman, has died from
the serious wounds he sustained in the vicious suicide attack on his
office on July 24," said his deputy, Ibrahim Omar Mahadale. He said
the mayor died Thursday afternoon while doctors were treating wounds
to his abdomen and head at a hospital in Doha, Qatar. Osman, who
became mayor of Mogadishu in 2018, left a wife and seven children.
Islamist militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for last
month's attack, saying it was targeting U.N. Special Envoy to Somalia
James Swan, an American national, who had met with the mayor prior to
the attack. Somalia's president: In a separate development, Somali
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, also known as Farmajo, has
renounced his U.S. citizenship. A statement from the president's
office Thursday said "this is to officially announce that the
President of The Federal Republic of Somalia, H.E. Mohamed Abdullahi
Mohamed, has relinquished his United States citizenship."
Africa
The
Defense Post: US Signals Shift To Africa In Counter-ISIS Coalition
Campaign
“The United States will seek additional international cooperation
to fight Islamic State on a global scale, with a particular focus on
Africa, following the defeat of the group in Iraq and Syria, a State
Department official said on Thursday, August 1. Speaking at a press
conference in Washington, State Department Counterterrorism
Coordinator Ambassador Nathan Sales said the next stage of the
counter-ISIS campaign will require international coordination to
combat the group’s expansion in Africa, Southeast Asia, and
Afghanistan. “The so-called ISIS Caliphate has been destroyed, but the
ISIS brand lives on around the world,” Sales said, speaking alongside
U.S. Envoy to the anti-ISIS Coalition James Jeffrey. “We are now
working closely with our partners to identify focus regions for the
Coalition, and expect to have more clarity soon on where we intend to
be active.” Sales said a Coalition meeting on the situation in West
Africa and the Sahel is set for autumn. “In Africa, ISIS-linked groups
are on the rise. ISIS-linked groups now span the African continent
from east to west, from north to south,” Sales said. “They’ve
increased the lethality of their attacks, they’ve expanded into new
areas, and they repeatedly target U.S. interests,” he said,
referencing the killing of four U.S. Special Forces members in Niger
in October 2017, which he said was carried out by “ISIS
affiliates.”
Xinhua:
“Terror” Attack On Airport Thwarted By Tunisian Security
Forces
“Tunisian Interior Minister Hichem Fourati said on Thursday that
the security forces thwarted a terrorist plot targeting the Carthage
International Airport in the capital Tunis. “Following the two
separate terrorist attacks that occurred on June 27 in the heart of
Tunis, several suspects have been arrested by the security units,”
said Fourati in a statement. “The security situation in the country is
stable now,” assured the minister, calling for “more vigilance.” Since
the beginning of July, the Tunisian authorities have imposed
exceptional security measures in and outside the airport immediately
after a Tunisian suicide bomber blew himself up a few weeks ago.”
United Kingdom
The
National: British Army To Mobilise Cyber Spies To Combat ISIS And
Russia Threats
“The British Army is launching a new division specialising in
hybrid warfare to combat cyber threats from hostile states and
extremist groups. Troops in the Sixth Division, as the new unit has
been titled, will be trained in intelligence gathering,
counter-propaganda and electronic warfare to be used against groups
such as ISIS, who have traditionally used the digital sphere - and in
particular social media - to share its propaganda and attract new
recruits. Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) said the new division
was part of plans to “rebalance the Field Army” and to “defeat
adversaries both above and below the threshold of conventional
conflict”. “This change will be integrated within broader defence,
national and alliance efforts and enable the Field Army to operate and
fight more effectively above and below the threshold of conflict,” the
MOD said in a statement. The troops moved into the Sixth Division,
the British Army’s first dedicated information warfare formation, will
come from existing units within the military as well as a small number
from the country’s Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. No additional
resources are involved in the move and the overall military personnel
numbers would remain the same after the restructure, the MOD
said.”
The
Telegraph: Our Woeful Anti-Terror Laws Leave Us Powerless To Prosecute
Returning Jihadists
“Al-Hawl in Northern Syria is a secure refugee camp for the wives
and children of Isil jihadists killed or captured by the
US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Like Dante's First Circle of
Hell, it acts as a kind of limbo - a place where people go to be
forgotten. The 74,000 women and children held in the camp are not
considered innocent enough to return home but nor are they deemed
sinful enough to warrant the prison cells that hold the Isil men.
After the fall of the so-called Islamic State in the dusty village of
Baghous, the West was confronted by a vast number of captured
foreign...”
France
The
National: French Police Arrest Men Who Pledged Allegiance To ISIS And
Were Planning Attacks
“French investigators have discovered weapons and a pledge of
allegiance to ISIS after charging three men with planning a terror
attack, sources close to the inquiry said on Thursday. The men had not
yet decided on a specific target, but had considered attacking a
prison guard, another source had said on Wednesday. Two of the men are
already serving prison sentences and the letter claiming ISIS
allegiance was found on the third man, one source said Thursday. All
have denied the claims after they were charged last Friday. One of the
men was Zakaria Chedili, 31, who was behind bars for spending six
months in Syria in 2014 with a group affiliated to Al Qaeda, a source
said. The sources added that the seized weapons were “old”, without
further details. “It was a project, we were not on a particularly high
level of risk,” Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said on
Thursday, after the arrests were reported by French daily Le Parisien.
The mastermind of the group was a 27-year-old convert to Islam who had
been jailed for being an “apologist for terrorism”, it said. He had
been transferred to at least three different prisons and it was during
those transfers that he met the other two suspects. The third man,
aged 42, had been released from prison earlier this year, the paper
said.”
Germany
The
Jerusalem Post: U.S. Congressmen Urge Germany To Designate Hezbollah A
Terrorist Group
“Twelve US Republican Congressmen have sent a letter to German
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas expressing disappointment over a
recent parliamentary vote that failed to outlaw the political branch
of Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah, and urging the German
government to outlaw Hezbollah completely. The vote in June was
brought to parliament by the right-wing Alternative for Germany [AfD]
Party. The Congressmen wrote to Maas: “We urge your government to
take a profound step in the war against terrorism... And eliminate the
artificial distinction between Hezbollah's military and political
branches.” Currently, only Hezbollah’s military wing is outlawed in
Germany. Hezbollah as a political entity is not. As well as
referencing the growing number of Hezbollah members and supporters
throughout Germany, the Congressmen wrote that, “Hezbollah legally
raises funds and support through German community and Islamic
centers and meets with German politicians.” According to an
intelligence report from the state of North
Rhine-Westphalia, Hezbollah has centers in Hamburg, Berlin and
Münster, according to the report.”
Europe
Radio
Free Europe: Two Suspected IS Supporters Arrested In Russia's
Tatarstan
“A court in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan has arrested two men
suspected of supporting the extremist group Islamic State and planning
a terrorist attack. The Vakhitov district court in the regional
capital, Kazan, on August 1 sent Ruslan Shamsutdinov and Ilshat
Zainabutdinov to pretrial detention for two months. They were detained
a day earlier and charged with propagating terrorism and recruiting
for a terrorist group. The Federal Security Service said its agents
had confiscated explosives and components of explosive devices from
the two men. Russian authorities have said that about 2,000 Russian
citizens traveled to Syria and Iraq to fight alongside Islamic State
militants.”
Technology
The
Wall Street Journal: FTC Antitrust Probe Of Facebook Scrutinizes Its
Acquisitions
“The Federal Trade Commission is examining Facebook Inc.
acquisitions as part of its antitrust investigation into the
social-media giant, seeking to determine if they were part of a
campaign to snap up potential rivals to head off competitive threats,
according to people familiar with the matter. The company’s
acquisition practices are a central component of the FTC probe, the
people said. Facebook disclosed the FTC’s investigation in its
earnings announcement last week but provided few details. FTC
investigators are examining whether the company and its CEO, Mark
Zuckerberg, purchased technology startups to keep them from
challenging Facebook’s empire, the people said, some of whom added
that the FTC has begun reaching out to the founders of such companies.
The tech giant has acquired about 90 companies over roughly the last
15 years, according to data compiled by S&P Global. Among those
companies are the photo-sharing app Instagram and the messaging
service WhatsApp, which bolstered Facebook as a dominant force in
social media and messaging.”
The
Times: Terrorists Boost Fundraising On Social Media, Warns
Think-Tank
“Terrorists are taking advantage of the chance to “industrialise”
their financing by using charity crowdfunding sites and social media.
Members of Islamist and white supremacist groups have raised funds via
Facebook, GoFundMe and YouTube, and encrypted messengers such as
WhatsApp and Telegram are also exposed, a report from the Royal United
Services Institute (Rusi) said. Poor regulation and monitoring have
led to extremists sharing bank details on social media, setting up
fake humanitarian crowdfunding accounts and using encrypted messaging
services to organise money transfers. The report, from Rusi’s global
research network on terrorism and technology, urged companies to
respond through better co-operation with law enforcement and clearer
terms of use.”
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