Eye on Extremism
February 26, 2020
CNN:
US Military Says It Killed Terrorist Leader Who Planned Attack That
Killed Americans In Kenya
“A US airstrike in Somalia killed an al-Shabaab leader who had a
role in "planning and directing terrorist operations," including a
January attack on Manda Bay, Kenya, that killed three Americans, the
US military said Tuesday. "Post-strike assessments confirm the two
terrorists killed in the Feb. 22 precision airstrikes were an
individual associated with the attack on Manda Bay and his wife, who
was also a known al-Shabaab member," US Africa Command said in a
statement Tuesday. "The two terrorists were identified as a senior
al-Shabaab leader, who was in charge of planning and directing
terrorist operations on the Kenya border region, including the recent
attack on Manda Bay, and his wife, who also was a witting and active
member of al-Shabaab responsible for facilitating a wide range of
terrorist activities," the statement added. The airstrike occurred in
the vicinity of Saakow, Somalia, which is located approximately 320
kilometers west of Mogadishu. An earlier statement from Africa Command
said the strike had targeted an al Shabaab compound, killing "two
terrorists" and wounding another.”
Military
Times: Taliban Attacks Significantly Down As Reduction In Violence
Deal Appears To Hold
“The week-long reduction in violence deal hashed out between the
Taliban and the U.S. appears to be holding up. Attacks have so far
been significantly reduced, potentially leading to the signing of a
long-term peace deal on Feb. 29 and the withdrawal of American troops.
Reports emanating from the battlefield indicate only a handful of
attacks over the last four days across Afghanistan since the reduction
in violence deal went into effect on Feb. 22. Afghanistan-based Tolo
News has reported a total of 17 attacks carried out by the Taliban
between Feb. 22 and Feb. 25. New York Times journalist Mujib Mashal
reported roughly nine major attacks and 15 dead over the first three
days of the implementation of the violence reduction trial period. The
Taliban claimed a couple of IED strikes against Afghan military and
logistics convoys in Farah and Zabul provinces on Tuesday. The Taliban
also claimed an attack near Sangin in Helmand Province on Monday. The
Taliban have clarified that the reduction in violence is not a
cease-fire. The Taliban agreed to not attack major military
installations, provincial capitals and major cities but the militants
say passing logistics convoys and rural areas are still open
battlegrounds.”
United States
The
New York Times: As Domestic Terrorists Outpace Jihadists, New U.S. Law
Is Debated
“When the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness
issued its terrorism threat assessment for 2020 last week, it noted a
marked shift. The threat level from violent, homegrown extremists, and
specifically white supremacists, was marked in red as the top
category: “High.” The threat from the Islamic State, Al Qaeda and
their ilk was demoted to third, in green: “Low.” Terrorism experts
believe that holds true for the entire United States. “In the U.S.,
more people are killed by far-right extremists than by those who are
adherents to Islamist extremism,” said Mary McCord, a Georgetown
University law professor and a former senior Justice Department
official for national security. Her comments came at a discussion last
week at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, which commemorates victims of
the most notorious attack by international terrorists on American
soil. Even as the menace from homegrown extremists grows more
explicit, however, law enforcement is wrestling with how to combat it.
That challenge has spawned a fervent debate over whether the United
States needs a new law to specifically criminalize domestic terrorism,
or whether such a statute would threaten basic First Amendment
rights.”
The
Philadelphia Inquirer: New Jersey Declared White Supremacists A Major
Threat. Here’s Why That’s Groundbreaking.
“New Jersey says white supremacist extremism is one of the state’s
greatest terrorism threats — higher than al-Qaeda and the Islamic
State — and in doing so has positioned itself as a national leader in
countering domestic terrorism inspired by racism, experts say. Last
week, the state Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness issued a
2020 threat assessment report, for the first time rating the threat of
homegrown violent extremism, and specifically white supremacist
extremism, as “high," noting the increased number of plots, attacks,
and recruitment efforts in 2019. Meanwhile, al-Qaeda, an Islamic
extremist group founded by Osama bin Laden, and ISIS, which split from
al-Qaeda in 2014, were both rated in the “low” threat category.
Experts say this assessment is true across the country, but New
Jersey, in publicly releasing its research and analysis, may be in a
better position than other states to dedicate new resources and
personnel to addressing violent white supremacist organizations and
countering the ideology. “They nailed it,” said Colin P. Clarke, a
senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, a nonprofit threat and
security research organization. “I don’t think it’s
fearmongering.”
Syria
The
New York Times: Syrian Troops Press Ahead With Campaign As Strikes
Kill 16
“Airstrikes on rebel-controlled northwest Syria
killed at least 16 people Tuesday, including two students and two
teachers, opposition activists said, as government forces captured a
town considered a symbol of the uprising against President Bashar
Assad. The capture of Kafranbel was another blow to insurgents after
government gains over the past three months. Kafranbel was a major
opposition-held town that gained attention in the early years of the
Syrian conflict because of weekly anti-government protests that
included humorous English-language banners carried by protesters. The
banners were initiated by anti-government journalist Raed Fares who
was shot dead in the town along with his friend Hammoud al-Juneid in
November 2018. Fares was a harsh critic of Islamic militants who
control much of Idlib. The government controlled Syrian Central
Military Media said Kafranbel was captured late Tuesday after fierce
fighting with al-Qaida-linked militants. The Britain-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the town
was taken by the government after punishing bombardment from the air
and ground.”
Bloomberg:
What’s At Stake In Idlib, Last Battle In Syria’s War:
Quicktake
“After nine years of civil war, the fighting over who controls
Syria has come down to one province: opposition-held Idlib, in the
northwest. Backed by Russian air power, forces loyal to President
Bashar al-Assad are advancing on the area. Because the drive leaves
rebels and civilians caught in the crossfire with little room to flee
inside Syria, it raises the specter of enormous bloodshed and a
massive refugee exodus toward neighboring Turkey. The looming showdown
has put Russia in conflict with Turkey, after the two countries worked
for years to contain the havoc of the war. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a
breakaway faction of al-Qaeda, has emerged as the dominant force in
Idlib after other rebel groups were crushed in relentless bombings by
Russia and regime forces. Its fighters are well-trained and
battle-hardened and are estimated to number 20,000 in combination with
those of several other al-Qaeda-affiliated groups. Turkey is backing
an estimated 40,000 other opposition forces who are loosely organized
and deeply divided. They are struggling to stand their ground in the
hope of securing a meaningful role in future peace talks. The
likelihood of that happening diminishes as government forces
advance.”
Afghanistan
CNN:
Pompeo Says US Will Sign An Agreement With Taliban 'If And Only If'
Reduction In Violence Is Successful
“The US will sign an agreement with the Taliban "if and only if"
the week-long reduction in violence is successful, Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo said Tuesday. The US is edging toward a peace agreement
that could trigger the long-anticipated reduction of US troops serving
in America's longest war. Under the plan, the American military
presence would be reduced to 8,600 troops from the current 12,000 to
13,000 over the course of 135 days, according to two sources familiar
with the agreement. Speaking from the State Department Tuesday, Pompeo
said that "so far, the reduction in violence is working." "It isn't
perfect, but it's working," he said. "It's got to work for a long time
while this political resolution is driven forward." The top US
diplomat said that the US-Taliban agreement, which would be signed "on
or about February 29," has a timeline "for a conditions-based and
phased troop withdrawal and for the commencement of intra-Afghan
negotiations." Pompeo said that the "conditions-based withdrawal," if
it comes to bear, "sets a high bar for the things that will take place
in order for America to ensure that we can accomplish both of those
missions: a peace and reconciliation solution in Afghanistan and
ensuring that the homeland continues to be as risk free as we can
possibly make it."
Voice
Of America: US Airstrikes Kill 4 Islamic State Terrorists In
Afghanistan
“U.S. military officials in Afghanistan say airstrikes have killed
at least four Islamic State terrorists in eastern Afghanistan as a
weeklong reduced fighting truce between U.S.-backed Afghan security
forces and the Taliban insurgency entered its fourth day without any
significant breaches. The two counterterrorism airstrikes Tuesday
focused on areas in the Afghan province of Kunar, which houses Islamic
State bases and borders Pakistan, the U.S. military spokesman tweeted.
“We continue to eliminate ISIS terrorists wherever they hide to
protect Afghanistan while honoring U.S.-Afghan-Taliban agreement to
reduce the violence,” stressed Col. Sonny Leggett in reference to the
Middle Eastern terrorist group. The 7-day nationwide “reduction in
violence” is to culminate on Saturday with the signing of a
U.S.-Taliban agreement to end to the 18-year-old Afghan war, America’s
longest.“ If it works out over the next less-than-a-week, I would put
my name on it, yes. Time to come home,” Trump said Sunday before his
departure to India when asked whether he intended to sign the
agreement with the Taliban.”
Foreign
Policy: With Taliban Talks Soon To Start, Afghan Government Splits
Apart
“The Afghan government may be proving to be its own worst enemy on
the eve of U.S.-orchestrated peace talks with the Taliban, with Chief
Executive Abdullah Abdullah rejecting the results of the recent
election that gave a thin victory to President Ashraf Ghani and
declaring that he would form his own “inclusive government.” Many
Afghans worry that the election dispute plays right into the hands of
the Taliban insurgents, who this month agreed with U.S. envoy Zalmay
Khalilzad to initiate peace negotiations in March, following a
seven-day truce that began Saturday. The Taliban have rejected the
legitimacy of the current Kabul government, describing it as a “puppet
regime” they will not negotiate with; instead the Islamist militant
group agreed to hold talks with “intra-Afghan” factions, as a
statement from U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo put it. Ironically,
until recently it was the government that regularly portrayed the
Taliban as a nonunified movement it was unable to negotiate with. But
now it is Kabul that seems more split than ever before. “Instead of
fighting each other, they need to find a solution. Inner problems
between these politicians affect all of us. They cast a poor light on
all Afghans, and this needs to stop,” Muneer Ahmad Niazi, a university
lecturer from Kabul, told my colleague Abdul Rahman Lakanwal, a
journalist based in the capital. “We need a government that represents
all people.”
Lebanon
Reuters:
Hezbollah Says It Opposes IMF Management Of Lebanon
Crisis
“Hezbollah is against allowing the International Monetary Fund to
manage Lebanon’s financial crisis, the powerful group said on Tuesday,
indicating opposition to any IMF bailout that would impose tough
conditions on the heavily indebted state. Hezbollah, backed by Iran
and designated as a terrorist group by the United States, is one of
the main parties that backs the new Beirut government as it struggles
with the unprecedented crisis. Facing a huge public debt burden and a
liquidity crunch, the government on Tuesday appointed international
investment firm Lazard and law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen &
Hamilton LLP as its financial and legal advisers on a widely expected
sovereign debt restructuring. Beirut has sought IMF technical but not
financial aid. “We will not accept submitting to (imperialist) tools
... meaning we do not accept submitting to the International Monetary
Fund to manage the crisis,” said Hezbollah’s Sheikh Naim Qassem,
deputy leader of the heavily armed Shi’ite group. “Yes, there is
nothing to prevent consultations ... and this is what the Lebanese
government is doing.” An IMF technical team visited Beirut from Feb.
20-24. “The discussions on the challenges and the authorities’ plans
to address them were very informative and productive,” IMF spokesman
Gerry Rice said.”
Middle East
Al
Jazeera: Shaky Ceasefire Holds Between Islamic Jihad, Israel In
Gaza
“A ceasefire between the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group and Israel
is holding in the Gaza Strip after two days of heavy fighting.
Following Egyptian and international mediation, the truce came into
effect at 11:30pm (20:30 GMT) on Monday, Ihsan Ataya, a senior Islamic
Jihad leader based in Lebanon, said in a press statement. No
projectiles were fired from the Gaza Strip overnight, a spokeswoman
for the Israeli army confirmed. During two days of fighting, Israeli
aircraft pounded dozens of targets in the Gaza Strip while Islamic
Jihad bombarded southern Israel with heavy rocket fire. The latest
escalation began after Israeli soldiers on Sunday shot dead Mohammed
al-Naim, a member of the Islamic Jihad's armed wing, who was allegedly
planting an explosive device at the heavily secured Israeli fence east
of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. In a graphic video that
went viral, an Israeli bulldozer violently retrieved al-Naim's body
and it remains in the custody of Israeli forces. Islamic Jihad
responded by firing a barrage of rockets and mortar rounds at Israel,
which prompted the military to strike Islamic Jihad targets in Syria,
where some of the Iran-backed group's leaders are based. Two more
Islamic Jihad members were killed in an overnight air attack.”
Egypt
France
24: Egypt Executes Eight Men Over Church Bombings:
Sources
“Egypt has executed eight men sentenced to death over deadly
attacks claimed by the Islamic State group on churches and a police
checkpoint, judicial and medical sources said Tuesday. The convicts,
whose final appeal against the death penalty was denied in May last
year, were put to death at dawn on Monday, the sources said. They were
among 17 defendants who were sentenced to death by a military court in
October 2018 for their roles in the attacks on churches in Alexandria,
Cairo and Tanta and a police checkpoint in southwestern Egypt, a
judicial source told AFP. The other nine were tried in absentia and
remain at large. The four attacks in 2016 and 2017, mostly targeting
Christians, killed a total of 88 people. The Coptic Christian minority
makes up between 10 and 15 percent of Egypt's 100 million population
and has been particularly targeted by IS. Executions have risen
sharply since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took power in 2014 after
leading the army's overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
Human rights group Amnesty International, which opposes the death
penalty, said the severity of the convicts' alleged offences was no
justification for their group execution. "A mass execution is no way
to deliver justice. These men were executed following an unfair
military trial," it said.”
Libya
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Sahel Summit In Nouakchott Tackles Terrorism, Libyan
Crisis
“The G5 Sahel heads of state discussed on Tuesday during a summit
in Nouakchott, Mauritania, the growing threat of terrorism and the
Libyan crisis. The summit was held in line with the first General
Assembly of the Sahel Alliance, chaired by French Minister Jean-Yves
Le Drian to ensure high-level international mobilization in support of
development in the region. The Sahel General Assembly’s first meeting
was attended by representatives from Germany, the EU, the UN, the
African Union, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Japan, China and Russia. "I am here
with you to say that a surge in mobilization, coordination or
prioritization is necessary," Le Drian told the summit. During their
meeting, the presidents of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and
Niger heard appeals to step up the fight against militants whose
offensive across three countries has claimed thousands of lives and
inflicted crippling economic damage. "More than ever, the Sahel
requires heightened and coordinated attention from states in the
region and the international community to brake the spiral of
violence," said Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El
Ghazouani, chairing the one-day summit. In their final statement, the
Sahel countries said the region faced an "unprecedented humanitarian
crisis.”
Nigeria
Express:
Christianity Crackdown: Five Churches Burned As Terrorist Group Open
Fire In Nigeria
“More than 100 members of the terrorist group Boko Haram stormed
the predominately Christian town of Garkida in Gombi area, opening
fire on townspeople and setting fire to churches and houses. At least
five church buildings were destroyed in the attack, including two
houses of worship belonging to the Church of the Brethren domination,
an Anglican Communion church, and a church and separate office of the
Living Faith Church. The number of casualties from the attack is not
yet known. The Boko Haram terrorists, who seek to impose sharia
(Islamic) law in Nigeria, arrived riding on about 60 motorcycles, with
two men on each bike carrying AK47 rifles and RPGs - that fire
rockets. 20 mounted gun trucks followed, according to the campaign
group Save the Persecuted Christians. The attack took place from 7pm
and extended well into the night, with locals reporting the Islamic
extremists finally left the town at midnight. News of an impending
attack by Boko Haram first reached the Christian town at at about 1pm
on Friday, prompting many residents to flee. Those who remained were
said to have fled into hiding in the surrounding bushes upon sighting
the Boko Haram invaders.”
United Kingdom
Sky
News: Automatic Release Of About 50 Terrorists To Be Stopped By New
Law
“About 50 terrorists will no longer be automatically released
halfway through their sentences as emergency legislation becomes law
later this week. The government has rushed The Terrorist Offenders
(Restriction of Early Release) Bill through parliament - days before
the previously scheduled release of the next offender is due to take
place. The bill cleared the Commons earlier this month and was backed
unamended in one sitting by peers in the Lords. It is understood that
Mohammed Zahir Khan, a former shopkeeper in Sunderland, was due to be
released on 28 February. He was imprisoned for four-and-a-half years
in 2018 for sharing messages and material on social media that was
supportive of Islamic State. Another who was due for release in the
coming weeks, according to the Henry Jackson Society think tank, was
Mohammed Ghani. Ghani, from Barnet in north London, was sentenced to
two years and four months in prison in May after threatening to kill
police officers. Another was Mohammed Khilji, from northwest London,
who was jailed for five years in 2018 after being found guilty of
sharing beheading videos on WhatsApp, as well as footage giving advice
on how to make a car bomb.”
France
The
National: France Jails ISIS Fighter Trained By Leader Of Paris
Attacks
“A French court on Tuesday handed a 12-year jail term to a computer
technician who travelled to Syria to join ISIS and trained to fight
under the ringleader of the 2015 Paris attacks. Reda Hame, 34, who was
convicted of taking part in a criminal conspiracy aimed at harming
people, received weapons training and a mission from Abdelhamid
Abaaoud during his eight-day stay in Syria in the summer of 2015.
Abaaoud, who co-ordinated the November 2015 attacks that killed 130
people in Paris, taught him how to fire an assault rifle and handle a
grenade. He then dropped him off at the Turkish border with orders to
return home and carry out an attack on behalf of ISIS. Hame told
investigators that Abaaoud, who was killed in a shootout with French
police after the Paris attacks, asked him if he would be prepared to
shoot into a crowd, such as at a rock concert. But the Paris native,
who was arrested on his return to France, insisted that he never had
any intention of following the orders. Hame, who described himself as
an ISIS deserter, told the court he only pretended to accept his
mission to escape the horrors of the Syrian war and regretted
enlisting with the extremist group.”
Germany
Time:
How Many Mass Shootings Will It Take For Germany To Confront Its
Far-Right Problem?
“What happened last week at the Midnight hookah bar – a modest
lounge in the German town of Hanau, where a largely Turkish clientele
often goes to relax in the evenings – should really be enough to
change the debate in Germany. The debate about racism and intolerance,
about violence, hate and terrorism, and about the ways that all these
things have been fuelled by the nation’s political climate. It should
have been enough for Germany’s leading politicians to consider the
life and death of Gökhan Gültekin, the 37-year-old who worked at that
bar in the Heumarkt, a neighborhood dotted with Turkish businesses. He
had been busy this winter with preparations for his engagement party.
Twice a week, he had taken his father for chemotherapy in the nearby
city of Frankfurt. The media reported these facts about him because,
on Wednesday night, a German man named Tobias Rathjen, 43, entered the
Midnight bar and fired his SIG Sauer at the Turkish diners at a table,
killing six. Gökhan was among the first victims. Three more died
minutes later at the nearby Arena Bar, where Rathjen continued his
rampage before going home to kill his elderly mother and, finally,
himself. His massacre, and the raving and paranoid “manifesto” he left
behind, has emblazoned in bullets one of Germany’s deepest problems,
and one that has long been debated: What is behind the rise in racist
terrorism here in the heart of Europe?”
Deutsche
Welle: Germany: Injury Toll Rises In Carnival Attack
“The number of injured in the German town of Volkmarsen has been
put at over 50 on Tuesday, a day after a man drove a vehicle into a
crowd in what police are calling a "deliberate act." Eighteen of the
injured were children. 35 people are still being treated with
injuries. Investigators are hoping to question a 29-year-old man, who
is suspected of driving a silver Mercedes car into the Rose Monday
Carnival parade. The suspect reportedly was a local from the town of
6,800 inhabitants. He was known to police in connection with other
offenses including breach of the peace and assault. He was not known
to authorities as an extremist, reported German news agency dpa. A
spokesman for prosecutors said so far there is no indication the
incident was politically motivated and that there are currently no
plans to hand the investigation over to federal prosecutors. Police
and the Frankfurt General Prosecutor's Office are investigating the
incident as an "attempted homicide" but have not yet called it an
attack, although the Hesse interior ministry is not ruling this out.
Prosecutors in the state of Hesse, where Volkmarsen is situated, said
on Tuesday that contrary to initial reports the driver had not been
under the influence of alcohol. Whether he was tested positive for
other drugs remains unclear.”
Europe
The
Washington Post: Interpol Official Warns Of Dramatic Rise In Extremist
Right-Wing Violence
“The secretary general of Interpol, Jürgen Stock, spoke to The
Washington Post about the dramatic rise in extremist right-wing
violence and the use of social media as a “sort of incubator” for
far-right ideas. The incidents, he said, should be treated in the same
way as Islamist extremism. Stock, who is German, has served in his
position since 2014. We interviewed him during the Munich Security
Conference earlier this month and again last week after a gunman —
apparently fueled by extremist right-wing views and conspiracy
theories — killed nine people in the German city of Hanau. Interpol,
an international organization facilitating police cooperation across
borders, is headquartered in Lyon, France. Q: In the past months,
we’ve seen attacks by individuals who were followers of right-wing
ideologies. The most recent attack was in Hanau. Has right-wing
extremism increased? A: The indication is that things are getting
worse, definitely. We will see more of these attacks in the future. It
is too early to say [on Hanau], but it seems to be. There clearly
seems to be a right-wing xenophobic background to the whole thing. It
will be interesting to see whether there was a national or
international network involved. Interpol has offered its support to
the German authorities.”
The
Brussels Times: Female IS Terrorist From Antwerp Sentenced To 5 Years
In Prison
“Belgian IS terrorist Saïda El Mimouni was sentenced on Tuesday to
five years in prison and a €8,000 fine. El Mimouni, who is from the
municipality of Borgerhout in Antwerp, Flanders, was not present at
her trial. The federal court ordered her to be stripped of her Belgian
nationality and arrested on sight. However, it is suspected that she
is still in Syria at the moment. Saïda El Mimouni is the wife of
Rachid Iba, a member of Sharia4Belgium, which was a Belgian radical
Salafist organisation which called for Belgium to convert itself into
an Islamic state. El Mimouni had left Belgium on 8 March 2013 and
arrived in Syria in April of that year to join Iba. The couple pledged
allegiance to Majlis Shura Al-Mujahideen, then to the Islamic State
terrorist group. While in Syria, El Mimouni also met her brother,
Brahim El Mimouni, and his companion, Ilhame Hajji. In late 2014,
Saïda El Mimouni returned to Belgium, where she gave birth to her
second son in January 2015. Two months later, she returned to Syria
via Poland and Ukraine. International coalition troops recently found
a marriage contract, validated by an IS judge, certifying that Saïda
El Mimouni was married in May 2017 to a Tunisian IS terrorist, which
could mean that Rachid Iba died.”
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