Eye on Extremism

June 29, 2023 

The National: Pakistani Army Kill ISIS Militant Amid Clashes With Taliban

“Pakistani soldiers have killed a member of ISIS in the rugged, semi-mountainous borderland between Afghanistan and Pakistan. It comes as five security forces were killed in clashes with Tehreek-ei-Taliban-e-Pakistan the local branch of the movement that has waged an insurgency against the government since around 2007. Afghan news agency Tolo reported the border clash in Paktika province in Afghanistan on Wednesday, saying several Afghan Taliban also died, including a commander in the local branch of the group. Wednesday’s raid on ISIS occurred against a backdrop of stepped-up Pakistani army operations in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the army killed Shafi Ulla, a member of the group, and two other militants.”

Anadolu Agency: Daesh/ISIS-Affiliated Terrorists Kill At Least 17 Civilians In Northern Mali

“At least 17 people were killed and several others were wounded in two simultaneous attacks in the Gao region of northern Mali, a local mayor said Wednesday. The villages of Gaena and Boya were the targets of the attacks late Tuesday perpetrated by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), a terrorist group affiliated with Daesh/ISIS. The information was provided by Hamido Mohamed Bello, the first deputy mayor of Gabero, the commune where the victims' villages are located. Armed men belonging to the ISGS attacked Boya with random gunfire, killing 14 people ‘around sunset,’ said Bello. The second attack, in Gaena, left three people dead and several wounded and up to six people were also abducted, he added. Bello said the local population began to flee the villages towards larger, more secure towns as they were threatened with reprisals by the assailants.”

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Iraq

The Mirror: EXCLUSIVE: Islamic State Leader 'Killed In Airstrike' As Special Forces Bomb Iraq Hideout

“Iraqi special forces believe they have killed the head of Islamic State in an airstrike on a terror hideout. Specialists are carrying out tests on DNA samples from the remains of a terror suspect collected after a cave was bombed in the Hamrin Mountains in north east Iraq. It is believed Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurayshi, who became leader in November last year may have been among five ISIS leaders blasted in the operation. Elite commandos from the Iraqi ‘Golden Division’ retrieved the dead bodies after warplanes hit the complex in an operation conducted recently. Gen Abdul Wahab el-Saadi told the Daily Mirror: ‘Among these five men we know we killed a man who was heading the Islamic State’s media campaign. ‘This man is never far away from the ISIS leadership so we believe and we hope that the Islamic State leadership has been killed.’”

Pakistan

Dawn: Terrorist Commander Among 3 Killed In Bajaur IBO: ISPR

“According to a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces conducted the IBO on the reported presence of terrorists. It added that an intense exchange of fire took place between security forces and terrorists, resulting in the killing of the militants, including their commander Shafi. ‘Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed terrorists, who remained actively involved in terrorist activities against security forces as well as killing of innocent citizens,’ the ISPR said. It added that the sanitisation of the area was being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area. ‘Locals of the area appreciated the operation and expressed their full support to eliminate the menace of terrorism,’ the statement concluded.”

Saudi Arabia

Al Arabiya: Saudi Arabia Condemns Extremist Who Burnt Quran Outside Stockholm Mosque During Eid

“Saudi Arabia on Thursday condemned an extremist in Sweden who burnt copies of the Quran outside the Stockholm Central Mosque following Eid al-Adha prayers. According to media reports, the man wiped his shoes with the pages of the torn Quran before putting bacon in it and setting it on fire. ‘The Ministry of Foreign Affairs voiced the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's strong condemnation and denunciation of the burning of a copy of the Holy Qur'an by an extremist at Stockholm Central Mosque in Sweden following Eid al-Adha prayer,’ the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Thursday. ‘These hateful and repeated acts cannot be accepted with any justification, as they clearly incite hatred, exclusion, and racism, and directly contradict international efforts seeking to spread the values of tolerance, moderation, and rejection of extremism, and undermine the necessary mutual respect for relations between peoples and states,’ the statement added. About 200 people who were present during the scene shouted ‘God is Great’ in Arabic to protest against the burning, the media reports said.”

Middle East

The National: Israel Detains Four Jewish Extremists Accused Of Palestinian Attacks

“Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant approved the administrative detention of four Israeli extremists accused of violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank last week. The signing of the controversial measure on Wednesday, which is rarely used against Jews, can technically last indefinitely and prevent suspects from seeing the evidence against them. Almost 1,000 Palestinians are currently held under the same circumstances. Mr Gallant's rare move came shortly after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ‘conveyed concern’ over the escalation of violence in the occupied West Bank during a phone call with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, the State Department has said.”

Jewish News Syndicate: A Rejuvenated Iran-Al-Qaeda Link Poses New Security Threats

“Former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot revealed earlier this month that Israel was asked by Egypt in 2015 to conduct airstrikes against Islamic State targets. ‘There aren’t many countries in the world that know how to locate targets the size of a podium and to put a missile on a target in a 1,000 kilometer radius around Israel. Our enemies saw it, the Russians saw it, the Americans saw it. The ones who know best how much the IDF works in the Middle East are the ISIS men, since they paid the price of hundreds dead and wounded, and they knew,’ he stated. Yet despite the many military blows that Salafi jihadist entities have absorbed over the years—both ISIS and Al Qaeda—both have been able to survive and create new threats due to their ideology, which cannot be bombed out of existence.”

i24 News: Israeli Police Arrest 15 Palestinians For Glorifying Terrorism

“Israeli police on Wednesday arrested 15 Palestinians suspected of glorifying terrorism, by hanging up pictures of terrorists and waving flags of a terrorist organization, taking advantage of morning prayers carried out during the Eid al-Adha holiday on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. From the early hours of the morning, Israeli security services were hard at work to ensure the safe arrival of tens of thousands of worshippers on the Temple Mount. The prayers went ahead without incident, before a group of masked men broke the calm. The police seized flags, leaflets and a bullet from a firearm that were in possession of the suspects arrested. The men were taken into custody for questioning.”

Nigeria

AFP News: UN Sounds Alarm On Northeast Nigeria

“The United Nations said Wednesday it was ‘ringing the alarm’ on the humanitarian situation in conflict-wracked northeast Nigeria, with surging numbers of people needing help. A bloody conflict has been raging for 14 years between the army and jihadist groups, including Boko Haram. More than 40,000 people have been killed and two million more displaced, creating one of the gravest humanitarian crises of the 21st century. ‘We must act fast to prevent the situation in the northeast of Nigeria from becoming even more catastrophic,’ Matthias Schmale, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, told a press conference in Geneva.”

Punch: Police Kill Two Terrorists In Katsina

“The operatives of the Katsina State Police Command killed two terrorists during a gun duel in the Dutsinma Local Government Area of the state. The police team also recovered one AK-47 rifle during the duel. The spokesperson for the Katsina Police Command, Abubakar Aliyu, said on Wednesday that the incident happened at about 2pm on Tuesday when the Area Commander, Dutsinma and his team were on a routine  patrol in the council. ‘Immediately, the terrorists-bandits opened fire on the police operatives, but the officers valiantly returned fire, forcing the terrorists to abandon their evil plan and flee into the nearby bush.’”

Somalia

Garowe Online: Al-Shabaab's New Suicide Recruits Pictured At Training Base In Somalia

“Photos of newly trained Al-Shabaab militants have been released online, with the group's spokesperson Ali Deere addressing graduands in a ceremony which was held at an undisclosed location within Somalia. The group said the new fighters will join its suicide brigade trained for carrying out the suicide attacks in Somalia. According to Christopher Anzalone, a security expert and scholar, the graduation ceremony purportedly took place this month and Ali Rage does mention recent base captures including in Masagawa and Buulo Mareer from last month in his fiery speeches. The attacks left several members of security forces dead.”

United Kingdom

The Sun: British ISIS Terrorists Are Planning Major Attack On A ‘Public Gathering’ In The UK, Reveals Army General

“General Abdul Wahab el-Saadi, the most senior counter-terrorism leader in Iraq, warned that the Islamist extremists are plotting to make the UK their next target. General el-Saadi, 60, told The Mirror that his Golden Division special forces unit discovered the shocking plans during a raid of a desert hideout. He said: ‘We discovered that the UK is the next target outside Iraq. ‘I can tell you that from the information we found at the site of one of our recent raids the next intended terror attack will be in the United Kingdom.’ He also confirmed that the terror cell operating in the UK is composed of British nationals. Our own intelligence agencies are reportedly working to scupper the attack.”

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