Eye on Extremism
February 20, 2020
The
Wall Street Journal: Eight People Killed In Shootings Near
Frankfurt
“Gunmen killed eight people Wednesday night in shootings in central
Germany that have left police guessing about the motive and the number
of shooters, who remain at large, police said early Thursday. The
attacks took place around 10 p.m. local time when the gunmen opened
fire on patrons of a hookah lounge in downtown Hanau, near Frankfurt,
and then fled in a dark vehicle, police said. They later resumed
shooting in another part of town. “Eight people were fatally wounded,”
a police spokesman said, adding that five people were in serious
condition following the attacks. Police said they had no information
about the motive and didn’t know how many shooters were involved.
Armed police were scouring the city in pursuit of the shooters, going
door-to-door in some neighborhoods as police helicopters hovered over
the city searching the streets below. Police were scouring the city in
pursuit of the shooters, but had no further information about the
attack. While violent crime is relatively rare in Germany, the country
has experienced a rise in far-right and Islamist terrorism as well as
an organized-crime wave.”
WTOP:
The Hunt: ISIS Still Has Significant Presence On The
Internet
“Organizations that monitor terrorist activity on the internet say
they are still finding a lot of dangerous propaganda, more than two
years after ISIS was defeated. On this week’s edition of The Hunt with
WTOP national security correspondent J.J. Green, Joshua Fisher-Birch,
a researcher with the Counter-Extremism Project, says the
responsibility lies with both ISIS and internet companies. He also
spoke about internet material connected with domestic right-wing
extremists.”
Sky
News: Under Attack: Dozens Of Hospitals Targeted During Latest Phase
Of Syria's Bloody War
“There have been at least 67 attacks on hospitals, health
facilities and health workers in northwest Syria since April last
year, Sky News analysis has shown. Using information from non-profit
organisations, activists and the United Nations, we have identified
dozens of locations that have been hit where patients were treated or
healthcare staff were working. The UN says there have been 83 attacks
on healthcare in Syria as a whole in the same period, but does not
make the locations public. Many of the sites we have identified are in
villages in Idlib province that have been on the frontline as Syria's
President Bashar al Assad has fought to reclaim territory he lost
during the nine-year civil war. Idlib is the last bastion of jihadist
rebels, many of whom are allied to al Qaeda. But it has also become a
haven for people fleeing the fighting in other parts of Syria, who
have seen the destruction the Assad regime has waged and are terrified
of being killed or persecuted. Last spring, a number of countries
sought to re-establish relations with Syria during a lull in the war,
prompting some to ponder whether the war was over. Syria and its
allies Russia and Iran had taken back territory from rebels in the
south and west and had reached an impasse with the Kurds in the
north.”
United States
New
York Post: ‘Bike Path Terrorist’ Sayfullo Saipov Threatened To
Decapitate Corrections Officer: Court
Papers
“Accused bike path terrorist Sayfullo Saipov threatened to
decapitate a federal corrections officer for repeatedly waking him
while he’s locked up at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, a new
court filing detailing a trove of the government’s evidence against
him alleges. Saipov, who’s accused of killing eight people during his
2017 Halloween terror attack on the West Side Highway, allegedly
threatened the officer on Dec. 17 last year for repeatedly slamming a
door at night, making it hard for the ISIS follower to sleep, the
filing states. “During the course of this confrontation, the defendant
threatened to kill the Officer. Indeed, as the defendant later
admitted to the MCC’s disciplinary committee (the ‘Committee’), he
told the Officer that if the Officer dared to open the defendant’s
cell, in two minutes ‘other guys will be picking up your dead body,’”
the filing states. The next day, still angry from the prior incident,
Saipov obstructed a security camera in his cell and said he wouldn’t
remove it until “the Officer’s head was cut off” and then referred to
the officer “as an animal,” according to the filing. “Again, the
defendant unapologetically admitted this threat to the Committee,
telling the Committee that he wanted to ‘cut this animal head off,’”
prosecutors allege.”
Syria
Vice:
Thousands Of Foreign ISIS Fighters In Syria Will Go On Trial Starting
In March
“Thousands of foreign Islamic State fighters currently held in
northeastern Syria will be put on trial by a new court system as early
as March, a senior Kurdish official told VICE News. The foreign
fighters, who flocked to northern Syria from more than 50 countries to
fight for the Islamic State group, have largely been blocked from
returning to their countries of origin since the defeat of ISIS in
March 2019, and have been held in prisons by Kurdish forces ever
since. Former ISIS fighters are being held in prisons and camps across
Rojava, a Kurdish-held autonomous region in northern Syria. Majority
Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces or SDF were instrumental in defeating
ISIS in Syria, fighting and training alongside the U.S.-led coalition.
But after President Trump announced the withdrawal of 1,500 U.S.
troops from the area in October, anti-ISIS operations by the U.S. has
slowed down leaving the SDF to largely shoulder the burden of both
foreign prisoners and security. Abdul Karim Omar, co-chair of the
Foreign Relations Commission in North Syria, told VICE that trials of
the men and women held in the camps will be conducted in conjunction
with their countries of origin.”
Newsweek:
U.S. Military Left 'Thousands' Of Weapons 'Vulnerable To Loss Or
Theft' During Fight Against Isis In Syria
“A new Pentagon report revealed that U.S. forces failed to properly
track or store hundreds of millions of dollars worth of weapons sent
to American allies to support the fight against Islamic State
militants in Syria. The Defense Department Inspector General report
released Tuesday said officials with Special Operations Joint Task
Force–Operation Inherent Resolve (SOJTF-OIR) and the 1st Theater
Sustainment Command (TSC) did not properly account for $715 million in
arms earmarked for Syrian forces fighting ISIS. This may have resulted
in gear damage and duplicate weapons purchases, inflating the
operation's spending figures. The Pentagon noted that thousands of
weapons were also left “vulnerable to loss or theft.” Inadequate
accounting meant officials could not say if any arms had been lost or
stolen. SOJTF-OIR oversees the the “day-to-day operations” of the
Counter-Islamic State of Iraq and Syria Train and Equip Fund (CTEF),
deciding which weapons and equipment local allies require, The
Military Times explained. These include the Kurdish-led Syrian Defense
Forces (SDF) that bore the brunt of anti-ISIS operations. The 1st TSC
oversees storage of these weapons at a warehouse in Kuwait and their
movement to other warehouses closer to the Syrian border.”
The
Canberra Times: Sydney Man Jailed For Joining IS In
Syria
“A Sydney man who says he travelled to war-torn Syria to join
Islamic State for humanitarian reasons has been jailed for at least
two years and nine months. Belal Betka pleaded guilty to engaging in
hostile activity in a foreign country but claimed the trip he took
with his then-wife was honourable. During a sentencing hearing in
December, he said he left after being told he had to fight for IS and
because its members were mistreating civilians. NSW Supreme Court
Justice Ian Harrison on Thursday said he believed Betka's account and
there was no evidence to suggest he ever held violent extremist views.
Justice Harrison told the court, sitting in Parramatta, there was no
evidence the Algerian Australian was militarily trained or actively
fought with Islamic State. The Crown had argued recorded phone
conversations between Betka and an un-named woman showed otherwise.
Betka allegedly spoke about the strengths of an AK-47 machine gun,
said he'd “smelled death” and claimed Muslim fighters who died were 10
times better than the living. Justice Harrison said it was
“exaggerated self-promotion” and that Betka had been talking up what
was a “frustratingly uneventful” time in Syria.”
Turkey
BBC
News: Verdict Delayed For Turkish Activists Held On Terror
Charges
“A Turkish court has delayed its verdict in the case of 11 rights
activists arrested in 2017 on terror charges. In an unexpected move,
the court announced another hearing for 3 April. The activists include
Taner Kilic and Idil Eser, the former head and former director of
human rights group Amnesty International in Turkey. All are accused of
having links to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, leader of a banned
group which Turkey blames for a failed coup attempt in 2016. They have
denied the charges. The activists have since been released on bail,
but are awaiting a ruling on the case. In a statement, Amnesty said
the charges have been “repeatedly and categorically disproven”, and
called for the immediate acquittal of the activists. Speaking outside
the court ahead of the ruling, Mr Kilic said he was “optimistic for
justice”. Wednesday's hearing comes the day after the prominent
businessman and rights activist Osman Kavala was re-arrested just
hours after his acquittal, on a new warrant issued over the attempt to
oust Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016. Amnesty said Mr
Kavala's renewed detention “smacks of deliberate and calculated
cruelty”, while Human Rights Watch Turkey director Emma Sinclair Webb
called the new warrant “lawless and vindictive.”
Afghanistan
Reuters:
U.S. Special Envoy Discusses Taliban Deal With Re-Elected Afghan
President
“U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Afghan President Ashraf
Ghani on Wednesday discussed a U.S. deal with Taliban militants on a
weeklong reduction in violence, meeting the day after Ghani was
declared a winner of a disputed presidential poll. Ghani’s main rival,
Abdullah Abdullah, who came in second, rejected the result and vowed
to form his own government, threatening new political turmoil as the
United States strives to seal a U.S. troop withdrawal deal with
Taliban militants. The Afghan presidential palace in a statement
quoted President Ghani as telling Khalilzad he had held “effective”
meetings with local leaders on how the Afghan government would handle
the peace process. The U.S.-Taliban deal was struck in protracted
negotiations in the Qatari capital Doha and was announced on Friday
after a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Ghani and
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper in Munich. Khalilzad, who has led
talks with the Taliban on a U.S. troop withdrawal agreement, briefed
Ghani on the steps that will be taken after the reduction in violence
agreement comes into force, the presidential palace statement
said.”
Fox
News: What To Know About US-Taliban Peace Talks
“The Trump administration is hoping to reach a peace deal with the
Taliban that would end America's longest war and begin the withdrawal
of troops from Afghanistan. The Taliban said Monday a deal could be
signed by the end of February, though U.S. officials remain cautiously
optimistic. Both sides recently agreed to a seven-day period of
reduced violence in Afghanistan. The U.S. will monitor the temporary
truce to determine if there are any violations. “We've said all along
that the best, if not the only, solution in Afghanistan is a political
agreement. Progress has been made on that front and we'll have more to
report on that soon, I hope,” Defense Secretary Mark Esper told
reporters in Brussels, Belgium, last week. The agreement comes amid
progress in negotiations between the Taliban and U.S. Envoy Zalmay
Khalilzad, Washington's chief negotiator with the group, since
December in the Qatari capital of Doha. “I believe that, maybe better
than any time in the last couple of decades, there is an opportunity
for peace,” Khalilzad said, according to The Washington Post, while
speaking in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Monday at a United Nations
conference on refugees marking four decades of conflict in
Afghanistan.”
Pakistan
Radio
Free Europe: Five Pakistani Soldiers Killed By Militant Attack Near
Iranian Border
“Five soldiers from Pakistan's Frontier Corps (FC) have been killed
in an overnight attack by militants near the Iran-Pakistan border,
Pakistani officials told RFE/RL on February 19. Speaking on condition
of anonymity, officials told RFE/RL that the attackers used “heavy
weapons” late on February 18 to target a security post in the Balangor
area west of the city of Turbat in Balochistan Province’s Kech
district. The checkpoint was located about 30 kilometers from the
Iranian border on a key highway that links southeastern Iran with
Balochistan’s provincial capital of Quetta. Three Pakistani soldiers
wounded in the attack have been rushed to a nearby hospital, the
officials said. Pakistani security forces launched a counteroperation
early on February 19 in an attempt to locate the assailants. There was
no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which took place
in an area where Baluch separatists frequently target Pakistani
security convoys and checkpoints. The attack follows a suicide bombing
on February 17 that killed eight radical Sunni Muslims and injured 16
others at a Islamist rally in Quetta. There also was no claim
responsibility the Quetta attack.”
Yemen
Al
Monitor: Report: Yemen’s Houthis Now Sporting Deadlier
Drones
“Drones used by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen are becoming
deadlier and more accurate over long ranges, according to a report
released Wednesday. While the Yemeni group had been using earlier
variants of Iran-linked drones in kamikaze-style attacks that sought
to smash directly into targets, newer models discharge explosives and
shrapnel, such as in an attack on a Yemeni military parade in al-Anad
last year that killed six people and wounded several more. “It’s not
just an evolution in their technology, but their ability to reach
targets beyond the conflict,” said Jonah Leff, the director of
operations at Conflict Armament Research, known by the acronym CAR,
which analyzed nine drones seized from the battlefield by the United
Arab Emirates. The CAR report states that the parts used in drones are
“identical or similar” to improvised explosive devices found in Yemen
and Bahrain. As the Donald Trump administration has backed off of
earlier claims of direct linkages between the Houthi movement, which
practices a blend of Zaydi Shiite Islam, and Iran, Leff, the CAR
expert, said it’s increasingly “likely” the rebel fighters have the
ability to develop their own parts.”
Libya
The
New York Times: Inside Hifter’s Libya: A Police State With An Islamist
Twist
“The field marshal stares from billboards into the wreckage of the
Libyan city of Benghazi. His uniform is festooned with epaulets and
honors, even as the civil war he is waging has stalled into a bloody
stalemate. His plainclothes security agents loiter and listen in cafes
and hotel lobbies. He has handed control of the mosques to extremist
preachers. And he has showered patronage on a tribal death squad
called the Avengers of Blood, blamed for a long string of
disappearances and killings of his political opponents. “We are living
in a prison,” said Ahmed Sharkasi, a liberal activist from Benghazi
who fled to Tunis because of threats on his life. Khalifa Hifter, the
76-year-old commander known in his dominion as “the marshal,” is the
military ruler of eastern Libya. He has been fighting for nearly six
years to take control of the country, and he has been waging an
assault on the capital, Tripoli, for the last 10 months. The United
Arab Emirates, Egypt and others have lined up behind him, and Russia
has sent mercenaries. The largely powerless United Nations-sponsored
government in Tripoli is defended mainly by regional militias and,
recently, Turkey, which has flown in hundreds of paid Syrian
fighters.”
The
New York Times: Ship Captain Arrested In Probe Of Arms Trafficking To
Libya
“Authorities in northern Italy arrested the captain of a
Lebanese-flagged cargo ship on suspicion of international arms
trafficking Wednesday while they investigate if the vessel transported
tanks, rockets and other weapons from Turkey to Libya. The captain is
under investigation for allegedly transferring military goods to Libya
with as-yet unidentified Turkish military officials in violation of a
United Nations arms embargo, Italian prosecutor Franceso Pinto told
The Associated Press. Italian authorities launched their probe based
on allegations a crew member made after the cargo ship arrived in the
port city of Genoa earlier this month. The cargo ship, the Bana,
turned up on the radar of French authorities not long before it
reached Genoa on Feb. 2. The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle
shadowed the vessel in late January. The Lebanese crew member who blew
the whistle in Italy alleged that tanks and other vehicles that could
be used for military purposes were loaded onto the Bana at a Turkish
port and then transported to Tripoli, the Libyan capital. The sailor,
who told Italian border police he was seeking political asylum, said
the Bana allegedly sailed without cargo from Libya to Genoa. The
40-year--old ship's hold is designed to carry vehicles.”
Nigeria
Sahara
Reporters: Boko Haram Terrorists Kill Many, Capture Military Truck
During Attack On Borno Community,
Chibok
“Tens of people were killed following an attack by Boko Haram
insurgents in Korongilum, a community under Chibok Local Government
Area of Borno State. Sources revealed that the terrorists also killed
operatives of special forces stationed to counter insurgency in the
local government. The insurgents had stormed the community, shooting
sporadically and also setting houses on fire. “People were just
returning to their houses from the farm when the insurgents came in.
“They came in through Forfor,” a resident said. It was gathered that
members of the Special Forces comprising military, vigilante and
hunters mobilised to the community to repel the attack. However, they
were met with superior firepower as the insurgents were well equipped.
“When the special forces mobilised to the scene, the attackers
ambushed them, killing scores of special forces. “Two gun trucks
belonging to the military and two Hilux vans owned by vigilante were
taken away by the attackers. “The insurgents gained entry into the
camp after forcing the military to withdraw and looted food items,”
military sources said. It was also gathered that the insurgents
withdrew from Korongilum after the encounter.”
Somalia
Voice
Of America: 10 Somali Soldiers, 16 Militants Killed In Al-Shabab
Attacks
“At least 10 Somali government soldiers and 16 militants were
killed Wednesday when Islamist group al-Shabab attacked two military
bases in Somalia's Lower Shabelle region. The first attack at
Qoryooley town, about 95 km south of Mogadishu, started when the
militants used an explosives-laden vehicle driven by a suicide bomber
to target a military base run by local militia allied with the Somali
federal government.” Their aim was to destroy the town’s bridges. They
have damaged one and we foiled their attempt on the other one. Then,
dozens of heavily armed fighters attacked us,” said Abdi Ahmed Ali,
Qoryooley deputy district commissioner. According to multiple reliable
sources in the town, at least 10 militants and six fighters belonging
to the pro-government militia were killed during the battle. Al-Shabab
also launched a dawn attack on a military base at El Salini, 60
kilometers, southwest of Mogadishu. Security officials said a suicide
bomber detonated a vehicle containing explosives at the main gate of
the base before gunmen stormed the premises. Speaking to
government-run radio, Colonel Hassan Mohamed Abuker, one of the
commanders at the base, said four government soldiers and at least six
militants were killed.”
Africa
The
Washington Post: 3 Killed By Al-Shabab Extremists In Bus Attack In
Kenya
“The owner of a bus company says three people have been killed by
suspected extremists from Somalia after they were pulled out of a bus
in northeastern Kenya. Haji Abass said Wednesday that the bus
belonging to his company, Moyale Raha, was heading to the Kenyan
capital of Nairobi from Moyale, a market town on the Ethiopian border
in Mandera county, when it was attacked. Abass said suspected
al-Shabab fighters in full police uniform flagged the bus down, but
the conductor and passengers who knew the route said there was no
police roadblock in the area, so the driver kept going. The fighters
then fired at the bus, injuring the driver. The front and back tires
deflated and the bus lost control and went into a ditch. The fighters
then pulled out the passengers and killed two non-Muslims, as in
previous attacks, as well as one Muslim, Abass said. It was not clear
why they shot a man believed to be Muslim, he said. The
al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab has vowed retribution for Kenya’s troop
presence in neighboring Somalia. Its fighters have carried out
numerous attacks on Kenyan soil since Kenya deployed troops in 2011 to
fight the extremists. Such attacks have brought education to a
near-standstill in Kenya’s Mandera, Garissa and Wajir
counties.”
United Kingdom
Sky
News: Government's Terror Laws Adviser Raises Fears Over
Reforms
“Keeping prisoners behind bars for longer could “expose them to
worse influences” than if they were released, the government's terror
laws adviser has said. Jonathan Hall QC raised doubts about the
“effectiveness” of legislation being rushed through parliament after
the Streatham and London Bridge attacks. He questioned whether keeping
“non-risky prisoners” in jail for longer would really “protect the
public” in an analysis of the Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of
Early Release) Bill, which has completed its journey through the
Commons and will be debated by the House of Lords next week. Members
of the House of Lords and guests in the chamber ahead of the State
Opening of Parliament by Queen Elizabeth II, in the House of Lords at
the Palace of Westminster in London. The plans, which will affect
around 50 people currently behind bars, aim to make sure terrorist
offenders serve two-thirds of their sentence before they are
considered eligible for release, rather than the current halfway mark,
and require sign-off by the parole board. Ministers are trying to
speed its passage through parliament before the next jailed terrorist
is due for release on Friday 28 February.”
Germany
The
New York Times: Germany To Require Social Media Sites To Report Hate
Speech
“The German Cabinet has approved a bill that will require social
media sites such as Facebook and YouTube to report certain hate speech
to the police. According to the bill passed by ministers Wednesday,
internet companies will have to flag far-right propaganda, graphic
portrayals of violence, murder or rape threats, posts indicating that
someone is preparing a terrorist attack or distributing child sexual
abuse images. Social media sites are already required to delete such
posts. The measures, which still need to be approved by parliament,
will also see the definition of criminal hate speech extended to
include threats of rape or property damage and expressions of approval
for serious crimes. Crimes motivated by anti-Semitism will also result
in increased sentences. In a further measure, authorities will make it
easier for politicians, volunteers and journalists to prevent others
from obtaining their home addresses from public registers. Jurists
estimate the number of online hate speech cases in Germany each year
to be in the six figures.”
Europe
The
New York Times: Kosovo Woman Faces Terror Charges For Joining IS
Group
“Kosovar prosecutors on Wednesday filed terrorism charges against
an ethnic Albanian woman who allegedly joined a terror group in Syria.
A statement from the special prosecutors' office said the suspect,
identified only as H.K., left Kosovo early 2014 to join her husband,
who was a fighter with the Islamic State group. She went to Istanbul
and then crossed into Syria to join the group. After her husband was
killed in the fighting, she married another IS fighter and continued
her life with the group. She received a regular monthly payment from
the group and, according to recordings of her phone calls, she
voluntarily promulgated IS terror attacks. Charged with organizing and
being part of a terror group, she faces up to 15 years in prison, if
convicted. The statement does not say whether the defendant is part of
a group of 110 Kosovo citizens repatriated from Syria last year. About
30 ethnic Albanians from Kosovo are still believed to be with terror
groups in Syria and Iraq.”
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