Eye on Extremism

June 22, 2023 

Reuters: Seven Killed In North-East Kenya As Vehicles Run Over Explosives

“Seven people were killed in two separate incidents when vehicles ran over improvised explosives in north-east Kenya, with police saying in one of the cases that they suspected members of al Qaeda-linked Al Shabaab were responsible. Four died in the first incident late on Tuesday when a vehicle was escorting a convoy of buses between the towns of Banisa and Mandera. Another security team from Banisa was attacked when it responded. ‘Upon reaching the scene, they were attacked by suspected Al Shabaab’ fighters, Mandera police station said in a report late on Tuesday. ‘The officers managed to repulse and flush them out, and rescued the two (wounded) and retrieved the bodies.’ In the second incident, three people were killed when a public service vehicle hit another improvised device on the road at Elele Settlement in the same region, the area's Elwak Wargadud Division police station said in a report on Wednesday.”

The National: Taliban Demands For Recognition At Odds With Their Actions, Says UN Envoy

“It will be ‘nearly impossible’ for the Taliban to gain recognition from the international community unless they revoke decrees curtailing women's freedoms, the top UN envoy to Afghanistan said on Wednesday. Speaking to the Security Council, Roza Otunbayeva, the special representative of the Secretary General in Afghanistan, said the Taliban are trying to win acceptance while simultaneously enacting ‘punishing restrictions’ on girls and women. ‘In my regular discussions with the de facto authorities, I am blunt about the obstacles they have created for themselves by the decrees and restrictions they have enacted, in particular against women and girls,’ she said. ‘We have conveyed to them that as long as these decrees are in place, it is nearly impossible that their government will be recognised by members of the international community.’”

Listen to the Fighting Terror Podcast

Fighting Terror is a podcast that brings together counterterrorism experts and practitioners from Europe, the United States, and beyond to address different approaches to combating terrorism in our society. Our frank discussions cover the lifecycle of terrorism from propaganda and recruitment, to financing, action, and failure. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Middle East

Reuters: Israeli Drone Hits Palestinian Militants As West Bank Violence Surges

“An Israeli drone killed three militant gunmen in the West Bank on Wednesday, in a rare strike that came hours after settlers attacked Palestinian towns, torching cars and buildings in retaliation for an attack by Hamas gunmen a day earlier. The strike near the flashpoint city of Jenin came amid a surge in violence over recent days in the occupied West Bank, where for over a year the military has been conducting regular sweeps leading to repeated clashes with Palestinian fighters. The Israeli military (IDF) said a squad of militants was identified in a vehicle after they carried out a shooting attack near the town of Jalamah. A statement by the Islamic Jihad militant group said two of the men were Islamic Jihad fighters while the third was from the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades armed wing of the Fatah movement.”

Somalia

AFP News: Jihadists Strike Military Base In Somalia As AU Force Starts Drawdown

“A military base in Somalia came under attack by Al-Shabaab jihadists on Wednesday,police and witnesses said, just as the African Union announced it was beginning a drawdown of troops in the violence-wracked nation. Almost simultaneous suicide bomb blasts targeted the base in the southern city of Baardhere, which hosts both Ethiopian and Somali troops, triggering heavy gunfire, the sources said. There was no immediate information about any casualties from the attack, which was claimed by Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda affiliate that has been waging a bloody insurgency against the fragile central government for more than 15 years. ‘The first explosion which is presumed to have been carried by a suicide bomber targeted the entrance of the ADC military base in Baardhere where Ethiopian forces are stationed and train Somali troops,’ local police officer Abdi Bare said.”

Anadolu Agency: Casualties Feared As Twin Blasts Rock Somalia’s Town

“Multiple casualties are feared after two huge bomb blasts rocked Somalia’s southwestern town of Bardhere in the Gedo region on Wednesday. The explosions targeted a base housing the Somali national army and Ethiopia’s forces serving under the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), according to State Minister for Environment and Climate Change Adan Aw Hirsi. ‘Our soldiers thwarted the first VBIED (Vehicle Born Improvised Explosive Device) but unfortunately the second one hit,’ he said in a short statement on Twitter. ‘Al Shabaab and (those) who financed them to undertake these specific attacks will not be able to intimidate us,’ he added. Residents in Bardhere told Anadolu over the phone that heavy gunfire took place after the explosions. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but the al-Shabaab terror group claimed responsibility for recent attacks in the Horn of Africa nation.”

Garowe Online: Somalia Army Kills Al-Shabaab Terrorists

“Elite forces within the Somali National Army [SNA] dubbed Danab have killed 13 suspected Al-Shabaab militants, even as the country prepares for the second and perhaps final assault on the Al-Qaida linked group, which has wreaked havoc on innocent civilians and members of security forces. At Lower Jubba region on Tuesday, state media reported, the Al-Shabaab militants were dealt a huge blow with the militants losing a total of 13 fighters. The crackdown left several others injured, Ahmed Abdullahi Nur, the 16th Battalion commander confirmed, while acknowledging support from locals. According to Nur, seven AK47 rifle guns and one RPG were recovered from the militants during the special operation. However, as a tradition, he did not reveal the number of casualties on the SNA soldiers, who have been fighting against the militants awaiting full takeover of security responsibilities. The security forces have vowed to intensify both air and ground operations to flush out Al-Shabab militants who have been attacking the locals and collecting illegal levies from the residents. Somalia has trained over 20,000 soldiers who will take over from the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] troops.”

Germany

WION: German ISIS Terrorist, Who Enslaved Yazidi Girl, Jailed For Nine Years

“A court in Germany's Koblenz, over 600 km southwest of Berlin, has jailed a woman for more than nine years for keeping a Yazidi woman as slave as well as aiding and abetting war crimes and genocide as a member of the ISIS. The 37-year-old German defendant, identified as Nadine K, was also found guilty of crimes against humanity. Nadine K was reportedly a member of the ISIS between December 2014 and March 2019. Nadine travelled to Syria to join the ISIS with her husband. In 2015, the couple moved to Mosul in Iraq, then back to Syria. From April 2016, the pair kept as a slave a Yazidi woman who had been imprisoned by ISIS since 2014, according to an Al Jazeera report.”

India

Free Press Kashmir: Two Militant Associates Arrested In Anantnag, Say Officials

“Armed forces have arrested two militant associates in Bijbehera area of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district and recovered cash and ammunition from the duo, officials said on Thursday. Official sources said that a joint team of Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and CRPF have arrested two militant associates identified as Abrar Ul Haq Katoo son of Mushtaq Ahmed Katoo, a resident of Arwani Bijbehara and Tauseef Ahmad Bhat, son of Mushtaq Ahmed Bhat, a resident of Shetipora Bijbehara. They said Rs 1 lakh, 12 AK 47 rounds and one grenade has been recovered from their possession. (KNO)”

The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If you value what we do, please consider making a donation.

Click here to unsubscribe.