Eye on Extremism
**NOTE: CEP's Eye on Extremism will be suspended
on Monday, February 17 in observance of Presidents’ Day. It will
resume Tuesday, February 18.**
February 14, 2020
Reuters:
Syrian To Be Tried For Plotting Attack On U.S. Embassy In Lebanon:
Agency
“A Syrian man held on suspicion of plotting an attack on the U.S.
Embassy in Lebanon was referred to trial on Thursday along with 20
other people, the Lebanese state news agency NNA said. NNA said a
Lebanese military judge had issued an indictment against the man on
charges of belonging to the Islamic State militant group and planning
the operation on its behalf. It said the man was suspected of having
prepared explosives and of seeking to buy a drone for the attack. The
agency gave no further details and did not spell out the allegations
against the 20 others. A Lebanese security source said the man was
arrested last month in Lebanon and is expected to face a military
trial along with the other 20 suspects, who were accused of helping to
plot the operation.”
The
Independent: Jihadis Jailed For Spreading Speeches By Hate Preacher
Who Inspired Terrorists Including London Bridge
Attacker
“Two men have been jailed for spreading extremist propaganda that
called on Muslims to wage violent jihad around the world. Muhammad
Abdur Raheem Kamali and Mohammed Abdul Ahad edited and uploaded
speeches by hate preacher Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal to a website and
social media pages. Police said the material promoted terrorism and
encouraged people to join Isis in Syria, but The Independent has
confirmed that the website remains online. The site claims that
Muslims must “hate disbelievers” and “fight them,”, and urges
followers to spread their beliefs and contact others of the same faith
in British prisons. Sheikh Faisal’s followers included two of the
bombers in the 7 July 2005 attack in London, a terrorist jailed for
conspiring with the 9/11 hijackers, and shoe bomber Richard Reid.”
Financial
Times: Germany’s CDU In Turmoil Over Working With
Extremists
“Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats have prided themselves on the
strict cordon sanitaire they built around the far-right Alternative
for Germany — ruling out any co-operation or contact. Many now wonder
whether it is time for the barrier to come down. Events of the past
week, where a local row over dealings with the AfD culminated in
national leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer deciding to quit, have
shown just how consequential the CDU’s attitude to the far-right has
become. Against the backdrop of an impending leadership campaign, and
with Ms Merkel’s authority ebbing away during her last term in office,
the CDU faces a battle for its soul. Some members insist the ban on
working with the far right must stay. Others say the AfD’s rising
support requires a different approach. “I cannot just disregard 25 per
cent of voters and say ‘I’m not going to talk to your
representatives’,” said Lars-Jörn Zimmer, a senior CDU MP in the
eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. He said the CDU should consider the
option of a minority government supported by the AfD — a suggestion
that triggered uproar in his party. This month’s upheaval was sparked
in Thuringia, where the CDU sided with the AfD in the eastern state’s
parliament to elect a little-known politician as prime minister.”
United States
The
Philadelphia Inquirer: Former Philadelphia Navy Yard Worker Disavows
White Supremacy At Sentencing For Hiding Extremist
Ties
“A former Navy Yard employee disavowed the torch-bearing white
supremacists he once marched alongside as he was sentenced Thursday to
six months in prison for lying to federal agents about his ties to
extremist groups. Fred C. Arena, 42, of Salem, N.J., told a federal
judge he was no longer a member of Vanguard America, the neo-Nazi
organization he accompanied tor the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in
Charlottesville, Va. The demonstration spawned violent brawls that
left one counter-protester dead. South Jersey man accused in synagogue
vandalisms, revealing dark network of neo-Nazi organizing online. “I’m
not such a monster,” Arena said at a hearing in Philadelphia. “I’m
really not. …. I got a little too involved in politics — this whole
left-right thing, and I did some stupid things.” The case against
Arena, who admitted last year that he lied on an application for
national security clearance to get his Navy Yard job, comes as
authorities have stepped up efforts to prosecute potentially violent
domestic extremists. This photo taken from one of Fred C. Arena's
social media accounts depicts him at the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally
in Charlottesville, Va., where clashes between white supremacists and
counterprotesters left one woman dead.”
Iraq
Kurdistan
24: ISIS Attack On Religious Minority In Disputed Khanaqin Leaves 2
Dead, 10 Injured
“On late Wednesday night, the so-called Islamic State attacked a
village of the Kurdish religious minority known as the Kakais in the
disputed Khanaqin district, killing a father and a son, and injuring
10 others. The attack targeted the “Bahary Taza” village, which falls
on the outskirts of Khanaqin district in the Diyala governorate. The
area is considered one of the disputed areas between the Kurdistan
Regional Government and Iraq’s central government. A source in the
area confirmed to Kurdistan 24 that “the attack led to the death of a
father and son from the Kakai minority, while 10 individuals among
civilians and Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) were injured.” “The
terrorist group also detonated a placed IED while the security forces
were attempting to evacuate the injured individuals,” the source
added. Killings and other insurgent-style operations have continued
with regularity, notably in disputed areas, over two years after the
Islamic State lost all its territorial claims in Iraq, and Baghdad
declared a final victory over the extremist organization. In late
January, a group of gunmen suspected to be an Islamic State sleeper
cell set up a mock security checkpoint and abducted seven civilians to
the west of Khanaqin and just south of the Kurdish run Garmiyan
Administration.”
Turkey
Reuters:
Turkey To Oppose Pakistan Blacklisting At Anti-Terrorism Finance
Meet
“Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said he would help
Pakistan stay off a terrorism financing blacklist at a meeting of a
global finance watchdog, a move he suggested would counter “political
pressure” from Islamabad’s critics. The Financial Action Task Force
(FATF), which tackles money laundering, told Islamabad late last year
that it could face blacklisting if it continued to apply inadequate
controls over terrorism financing. The FATF is meeting next week in
France, and support from Turkey and longtime allies like China,
Malaysia and Saudi Arabia could help Pakistan remain off the
blacklist. A minimum of three votes are required for any country to
escape the blacklisting. If it joined the blacklist alongside Iran and
North Korea, Islamabad would face sanctions and economic setbacks at a
time when its economy is struggling with a balance of payment crisis.
“We will be supporting Pakistan at the Financial Action Task Force
meetings, where Pakistan is subject to political pressure,” Erdogan
told Pakistan’s parliament a day after he arrived in Islamabad. The
FATF already has Pakistan on its “gray-list” of countries with
inadequate controls over curbing money laundering and terrorism
financing.”
Deutsche
Welle: Leftist Folk Musicians Go On Trial In Turkey On 'Trumped Up'
Terror Charges
“Since the 1980s, the left-wing band Grup Yorum have accumulated a
large fan base with their folk-rock music and political lyrics. At the
same time, they've attracted the ire of the authorities and police.
Several albums have been banned or censored and there have been
frequent raids on Istanbul's Idil Cultural Center, where the band like
to perform. Many of the 30-odd members have been jailed at one time or
other. Last March, eight members were detained during a raid on the
cultural center and accused of belonging to the DHKP-C, a militant
Marxist group, which the Turkish government considers a terrorist
organization, as does Germany. Some of them embarked on an indefinite
hunger strike to protest against their detention. After 200 days,
Ibrahim Gokcek, who is perilously close to dying, transformed his
strike into a “death fast”, as did Helin Bolek, who was released from
jail in November but is still refusing to eat. Their intention is to
fast until all charges against the band are dropped and all members
released from jail. They also want the ban on Grup Yorum concerts to
be lifted and an end to raids on the Idil Cultural Center.”
Afghanistan
The
Wall Street Journal: Trump Says ‘Good Chance’ Of Deal With
Taliban
“President Trump said Thursday the U.S. is close to signing a deal
with the Taliban to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, and that
the outcome of negotiations would be clear in the next two weeks. It
was the first time Mr. Trump has acknowledged the U.S. was close to an
accord with the Taliban since talks fell apart last September, when
both sides were on the cusp of a deal. “We shouldn’t be there. It’s
time to come home,” Mr. Trump said in a podcast interview with Geraldo
Rivera. Officials familiar with the negotiations have said that the
U.S. and Taliban are expected to announce a period of reduced violence
in the country as soon as this week. The reduction of violence is
intended to serve as a show of good faith. If successful, the deal
could be signed in Doha later this month. “I think we’re very close. I
think there’s a good chance that we’ll have a deal, and we’ll see.
We’re going to know over the next two weeks,” Mr. Trump said. After a
year of painstaking negotiations, the U.S. seemed close to a deal with
the Taliban. Then, in September, President Trump said the talks were
dead, and prospects for ending America's longest war were dimming
again.”
Reuters:
Taliban, Afghan Forces Clash Despite Talk Of Breakthrough In Peace
Deal
“Afghan government forces and Taliban insurgents waged war against
each other in the past 24 hours despite U.S. officials saying there
had been a breakthrough in recent days in peace talks to end the
18-year-old conflict. While negotiators from the warring sides pressed
on with meetings in Doha, Qatar, the Taliban and the Afghan government
both reported fighting on the ground. The Afghan defense ministry said
an air strike had killed a senior Taliban commander in northern Balkh
province on Thursday evening. “As result of a targeted air strike by
Afghan air forces, Mawlavi Sardar Mohammad, a key member of the
Taliban military commission was killed along with eight others,” the
ministry said in a statement. The Taliban did not confirm the air
strike. A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the insurgents
had killed six Afghan soldiers, including two officers, in an attack
on a checkpoint in northern Kunduz province. Afghan, Taliban and U.S.
sources said a peace deal could be signed this month, allowing a
withdrawal of some of 13,000 U.S. troops and thousands of other NATO
personnel that remain in Afghanistan following the U.S. intervention
to oust the Taliban in 2001. U.S. President Donald Trump said on
Thursday there was a “good chance” of reaching an agreement with the
Taliban on a reduction of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.”
Long
War Journal: Taliban Fighters Train At Mullah Mansoor ‘Military
Camp’
“The Taliban has released yet another set of photographs from one
of its military training camps. In the images, Taliban fighters are
training in the open in a mountainous area that should be easily
identified by the U.S. and Afghan militaries. The latest images were
published on Feb. 10 at Voice of Jihad, the Taliban’s official
website. The Taliban identified the camp as the “Shaheed Amirul
Mumineen Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansoor Military Camp.” It is named
after Mullah Mansoor, the second emir of the Taliban who was killed in
a U.S. drone strike inside Pakistan in May 2016. Before his death,
Mansoor accepted Al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri’s pledge of
allegiance. The images are largely unremarkable as the Taliban has
released dozens of images and videos showing its fighters in training
(see Taliban promotes ‘mujahideen’ graduates from one of its military
training camps from Feb. 5). What makes these images interesting is
that the location of this training site should be easily deduced by
the U.S. and Afghan militaries. The Taliban fighters are training in a
mountainous area with easily identifiable features. The Taliban
provides multiple angles of the surrounding
mountains.”
Pakistan
BBC
News: Hafiz Saeed: Will Pakistan's 'Terror Cleric' Stay In
Jail?
“An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has sentenced hardline
Islamist cleric Hafiz Mohammad Saeed to 11 years in jail for financing
terrorist operations. The man accused of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai
terror attacks that killed 161 people is to serve two five-and-a-half
prison terms concurrently. Saeed has been wanted by India for years,
and is designated as a global terrorist by both the UN and the US,
which has a $10m bounty on his head. He's the founder of one of
Pakistan's largest militant groups, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). So why has
it taken so long to put him behind bars - and will he stay there? The
answer is complicated, not least by the fact that Saeed is widely
known to have close links with the Pakistani military. Why punish him
now? The answer may lie in Pakistan's growing international isolation
since the mid-2000s, its worsening economic woes and more recently a
threat of being blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF),
the international terror financing and money laundering watchdog.
Significantly, Saeed's conviction comes a week before the Paris-based
FATF discusses Pakistan's progress in curbing terror financing.”
Libya
The
Washington Post: Officials: Eastern Forces Bomb Tripoli Neighborhoods,
1 Dead
“Libya’s eastern-based forces indiscriminately shelled residential
neighborhoods around the capital on Thursday, health authorities
reported, killing one woman and wounding at least four civilians. The
renewed clashes came just hours after the United Nations Security
Council endorsed a 55-point road map for ending the war that demanded
foreign backers of Libya’s warring sides uphold a widely flouted arms
embargo. Explosive shells rained down on Tripoli’s southern suburbs,
killing a 40-year-old woman in her home in the al-Hadba district. On
Wednesday, errant artillery shells had killed a 38-year-old man in a
coffee shop in eastern Tripoli and wounded 14 others, said Amin
al-Hashmi, a spokesman for the Tripoli-based health ministry. The
latest round of fighting in Libya erupted last spring, when
eastern-based forces under the command of Khalifa Hifter launched an
assault on Tripoli to wrest it from control of the U.N.-backed
government. The violence has worsened since, as international players
with interests in the oil-rich country intervened, sending arms and
foreign mercenaries. In the latest twist, Turkey has deployed Syrian
fighters affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group to fight
on behalf of the Tripoli government, which controls a shrinking corner
of the country’s west.”
Nigeria
Reuters:
Nigeria's Military Razed Villages In War On Islamist Insurgents:
Amnesty International
“Nigeria’s military burned down villages and forcibly displaced
hundreds of people in its fight against Islamist insurgents in the
country’s northeast, rights group Amnesty International alleged on
Friday. Nigeria’s military, which has frequently been accused of human
rights abuses in its decade-long fight against Boko Haram and more
recently Islamic State’s West African branch, did not immediately
respond to requests for comment. Previous allegations have sparked
investigations by the International Criminal Court in the Hague and
hampered Nigeria’s ability to purchase arms, a source of frustration
for its military’s leaders. However, convictions of soldiers have been
rare and the military has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. In the latest
allegations, Amnesty said Nigerian soldiers razed three villages after
forcing hundreds of men and women to leave their homes in the
northeastern state of Borno in January. The human rights group said it
interviewed 12 victims and reviewed satellite images that showed
several large fires in the area and almost every structure razed.
Residents described soldiers going house to house and rounding people
up, then making them walk to a main road and board trucks, it
said.”
Council
On Foreign Relations: Military Failures Mount In Borno Against Boko
Haram
“The security situation around Borno’s capital, Maiduguri, appears
to be going from bad to worse. On February 9, The Boko Haram faction
Islamic State in West African (ISWA) shot or burned alive some thirty
people sleeping in their cars and trucks that night outside the town
of Auno, some ten miles from Maiduguri. They also kidnapped others.
The victims had arrived in Auno after curfew, the gates to the town
were closed, and the military had departed, presumably for their
supercamp in Maiduguri, according to media. The Nigerian army is
following its own version of the “fortified hamlets” strategy,
employed by the United States and its allies in the wars in Vietnam
and Afghanistan and generally regarded as a failure by
counterterrorism experts. By consolidating their forces in highly
fortified “super camps,” the Nigerian army reduces their own
casualties, but in the evening, when soldiers withdraw back to these
camps, ISWA appears to have close to free rein in the countryside and
smaller towns. On February 12, ISWA killed five security personnel in
three separate attacks near Maiduguri. That city, the capital of Borno
state, has essentially been cut off from the rest of the country by
ISWA and Boko Haram.”
Africa
The
Washington Post: Sudan Seeks To End Terror Designation In USS Cole
Settlement
“Sudan's transitional government said Thursday it has reached a
settlement with families of the victims of the 2000 attack on the USS
Cole in Yemen, a key step in having the United States remove Sudan
from its list of state sponsors of terrorism so it can rejoin the
international community after years of exclusion. Copies of the
agreements obtained by the Associated Press show that $70 million will
be split among families of 17 people killed, as well as 15 sailors who
were injured and two of their spouses. In the agreement, Sudan makes
no admission of wrongdoing. On Oct. 12, 2000, two suicide bombers in a
boat detonated their explosives alongside the USS Cole as the Navy
destroyer was refueling in the Yemeni port of Aden. In addition to the
17 killed, the blast wounded more than three dozen other crew members.
Sudan was accused of providing support to al-Qaeda, which claimed
responsibility for the attack. The country was designated by
Washington as a “state sponsor of terror” for hosting the group’s
leader, Osama bin Laden. The United States has been looking at whether
to remove Sudan’s terrorism designation “for quite some time,”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters Thursday. He did not
offer any indication about when such a change to its status could take
place.”
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Sudan ‘Islamists’ Distance Themselves From Bashir’s
Regime
“About a year after the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood’s rule,
which lasted for nearly 30 years, many Sudanese believe that the
Islamist regime is still in place. They are accused of maintaining
control through cadres who have positions in important and strategic
institutions and of hindering these institutions’ ability to function.
Despite the recent decisions to dismantle the regime and to prosecute
corrupt Islamist leaders and those who committed crimes against the
Sudanese people, most of their leaders are still at large. Some go as
holding them responsible for the crises that the country is going
through, such as the fuel and bread crises, traffic congestion and
rampant smuggling of strategic goods. “The Islamists still exist and
control the facets of power and money and even hope to a return to
power,” Salah Manna, a leader in Freedom and Change and spokesman for
the Committee for Dismantling Ingaz (Salvation) Regime told Asharq
Al-Awsat. He explains “their attempts to thwart the transitional
authority are constant. Not a single day has gone by without a
conspiracy.” He referred to an incident where security authorities
seized explosives in Khartoum. But Manna affirmed the government's
ability to “eliminate them, undo their influence and restore the
Sudanese state from them.”
Xinhua:
Al-Shabab Militants Torch Shops, Homes In Kenyan Border
Region
“Somali al-Shabab militants on Wednesday night burnt eight homes
and some shops belonging to National Police Reservists (NPR) in
Garissa county near the border with Somalia, officials said on
Thursday. Bernard Ole Kipury, Garissa deputy commissioner said that
militants abducted a father and son whom they later released after
providing them with some information. Ole Kipury said that a combined
team of security officers and police reservists are combing the area
for the militants who escaped on foot. “The militants are being
pursued by security forces,” he said, adding that investigation has
been launched to establish the motive of the militants. Nicodemus
Ndalana, North Eastern regional commissioner who termed the attacks as
cowardly and an act of desperation said the government resolve to rid
the region of the militants is on course. Ndalana said that his
security team is determined to win the fight against the militants in
the region which neighbors Somalia, vowing to work towards sealing the
loopholes being exploited by the militants as witnessed by the new
wave of attacks.”
United Kingdom
BBC
News: Manchester Stabbing: Two Held Over Piccadilly Gardens
Attack
“Two men, aged 21 and 18, have been arrested in connection with a
stabbing in Manchester city centre. Greater Manchester Police (GMP)
said they were held on suspicion of assault over the attack near a
Morrisons store in Piccadilly Gardens on Monday. Two men, aged 42 and
17, suffered knife wounds in the incident. The 17-year-old is due to
be discharged from hospital while the 42-year-old remains in a serious
but stable condition. Supt Chris Hill said: “This incident was an
awful attack in broad daylight and our priority thereafter has been to
work extensively in trying to identify the offenders. “While we have
made two arrests, our enquires continue for this incident and we are
keen to reassure the public that we are working thoroughly to ensure
that this investigation results in bringing the culprits to justice.”
A GMP spokesman said the arrested 21-year-old had been remanded in
custody for questioning but the 18-year-old was being treated in
hospital for a serious stab wound following a separate incident in
Collyhurst on Wednesday. No arrests have been made in connection with
the incident in Collyhurst and enquiries continue.”
Germany
Fox
News: German President Calls For Country To Stand Up To Extremism,
Nationalism On 75th Anniversary Of Dresden Bombing
“Speaking at a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the bombing
of Dresden by Allied forces at the end of World War II, Germany’s
president on Thursday said it’s time to stand up to rising extremism
and nationalism. Warning that hatred and a desire for strongman and
patriarchal authoritarianism are on the rise again in Europe,
including in his country, Frank-Walter Steinmeier said it was
important to recall who had started the devastating global conflict.
The manmade firestorm, vividly captured by American author Kurt
Vonnegut in his book “Slaughterhouse Five,” and the destruction of
large parts of the baroque eastern German city have become a rallying
point for those seeking to portray Germans as victims in the war. “It
was Germans who began this gruesome war,” Steinmeier said. “We won’t
forget the German guilt,” he added. “And we stand by the
responsibility that remains.” After his speech, Steinmeier joined the
Duke of Kent, a cousin of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, and thousands
of Dresdeners to form a human peace chain in a gesture of
reconciliation and to commemorate the victims of Nazi atrocities and
mass bombings by all sides during World War II.”
Technology
Financial
Times: Dark Ops: Isis, The Far-Right And The Gamification Of
Terror
“Have you ever imagined that it’s all just a game? Preparing to
give a speech, going into an important meeting, scheduling a romantic
date, even simple things like doing the groceries or paying the bills?
As a kid, I used to turn tedious homework exercises and nerve-wracking
exams into games in my head. I still do this sometimes in my
day-to-day life when I want to escape boredom or fear. Working through
hundreds of emails after coming back from annual leave becomes so much
more bearable when I reward myself with a little treat for every 20th
one I finish. Walking on to a big stage appears so much less
intimidating when I imagine that my audience consists of a crowd of
human-like robots. For me, adding game-playing elements to situations
that are not games — a concept called gamification — is a wonderful
thing. Getting lost in an imagined world where reality isn’t more than
a simulation, a thought experiment, can be oddly comforting. But like
so many brilliant innovations, this can also be used as a weapon. When
a far-right gunman livestreamed his attack on two Christchurch mosques
in New Zealand in March 2019, the first comment to appear beneath the
video said: “Get the high score.”
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