“The State Department is working to repatriate a family of 10 American citizens
stranded in Syria, where they are among the tens of thousands of people
effectively imprisoned in desert camps and detention centers from the war
against the Islamic State, according to officials. The transfer would make them
the largest group brought back to the United States from northeastern Syria,
where they are being held by a Kurdish-led militia. The American government has
repatriated 40 such citizens since 2016 — 25 children and 15 adults, according
to the State Department. The group consists of Brandy Salman, 49, and nine of
her children, who range in age from about 6 to about 25, and all appear to have
been born in the United States. Ms. Salman’s husband, who was from Turkey,
seems to have taken her and their children into Islamic State territory around
2016 and was apparently later killed. The detention centers in northeastern
Syria typically hold the families of suspected Islamic State militants. Much
remains unclear about the family’s interactions with the group before the
collapse of the so-called caliphate.”











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Eye on Extremism



September 12, 2023



The New York Times: U.S. Seeks To Repatriate Family Of 10 Americans From Camps
In Syria
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“The State Department is working to repatriate a family of 10 American
citizens stranded in Syria, where they are among the tens of thousands of
people effectively imprisoned in desert camps and detention centers from the
war against the Islamic State, according to officials. The transfer would make
them the largest group brought back to the United States from northeastern
Syria, where they are being held by a Kurdish-led militia. The American
government has repatriated 40 such citizens since 2016 — 25 children and 15
adults, according to the State Department. The group consists of Brandy Salman,
49, and nine of her children, who range in age from about 6 to about 25, and
all appear to have been born in the United States. Ms. Salman’s husband, who
was from Turkey, seems to have taken her and their children into Islamic State
territory around 2016 and was apparently later killed. The detention centers in
northeastern Syria typically hold the families of suspected Islamic State
militants. Much remains unclear about the family’s interactions with the group
before the collapse of the so-called caliphate.”



Associated Press: Roadside Bombing In Northwestern Pakistan Kills A Security
Officer And Wounds 9 People
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“A roadside bombing targeted Pakistani security forces Monday in the
northwestern city of Peshawar, killing a security officer and wounding nine
people, including three civilians, police said. The Pakistani Taliban later
claimed responsibility for the attack. The improvised explosive device went off
near a van belonging to the Frontier Corps as it was driving along the key
Warsak Road in Peshawar. Police spokesman Bilal Ahmed Faizi said the bomb also
wounded three passersby. An investigation was underway, police officer Syed
Ashfaq Anwar said. The wounded were moved to the Peshawar military hospital.
The outlawed Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, have
intensified their attacks on Pakistani security forces since pulling out of a
unilateral cease-fire agreement with the government last November. They are a
separate group but are allied with the Afghan Taliban, who took over
Afghanistan in August 2021, following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces
from the country. The takeover emboldened the TTP, who often carry out attacks
near the Afghan border and elsewhere in the country.”



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approaches to combating terrorism in our society. Our frank discussions cover
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United States



Reuters: Terror Victims Get No Help From US Supreme Court’s Latest Ruling On
Jurisdiction
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“The United States government and the family of a U.S. citizen who was stabbed
to death in a 2018 attack outside a shopping mall in the West Bank were hoping
that the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 27 ruling in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern
Railway Co would be a lifeline for plaintiffs with Anti-Terrorism Act claims
against the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority.
Instead, the Supreme Court’s Mallory decision sank plaintiffs’ hopes of
reviving their lawsuit at the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 2nd
Circuit ruled on Friday that family members of Ari Yoel Fuld, the slain U.S.
citizen, may not proceed with their lawsuit against the PLO and the Palestinian
Authority because U.S. courts do not have jurisdiction to hear the case,
despite a 2019 federal law that was specifically intended to establish venue in
U.S. courts for Anti-Terrorism Act claims against those defendants. Congress
enacted the 2019 law, known as the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims
of Terrorism Act, in response to a series of appellate rulings in which the 2nd
and D.C. Circuits held that Anti-Terrorism Act plaintiffs could not show why
their lawsuits against the PLO and the Palestinian Authority should be heard in
U.S. courts.”



Canada



BBC: Canada Truck Attack: Trial Begins For Man Accused Of Killing Muslim Family
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“Nathaniel Veltman, 22, faces four counts of terrorism-motivated first degree
murder, and one attempted murder charge at a trial in Windsor, Ontario. He is
accused of deliberately running over the Afzaal family with his truck while
they were out on an evening walk in London, Ontario, in 2021. Mr Veltman has
pleaded not guilty. The case marks the first time a jury in Canada is hearing
legal arguments on terrorism related to white supremacy. Salman Afzaal, 46, and
his wife Madiha Salman, 44, were killed in the attack - along with their
daughter Yumna Afzaal, 15, and Mr Afzaal's mother Talat Afzaal, 74. The
couple's nine-year-old son was seriously hurt but survived. Prosecutors have
argued that Mr Veltman, who was 20 at the time of his arrest, was motivated by
hate and white nationalist ideologies when he allegedly jumped the curb with
his truck and struck the Afzaal family, who were Pakistani-Canadian Muslims. He
"left his home with a specific purpose in mind: to find Muslims to kill",
prosecutor Sarah Shaikh told the court's 14 jurors on Monday during opening
arguments.”



Pakistan



Voice Of America: Pakistan Warns Afghan Taliban Not To Build Illegal Border
Structures
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“Pakistan on Monday defended its decision to close the main border crossing
with landlocked Afghanistan, saying Taliban authorities were trying to build
"unlawful structures" on its territory and "resorted to indiscriminate firing"
when challenged. Traffic through the busy historic Torkham transit point for
trade and travelers was suspended last Wednesday after border security forces
exchanged fire, killing a Taliban guard and a civilian on the Afghan side.
"Pakistan cannot accept the construction of any structures by [the Afghan
government] inside its territory since these violate its sovereignty," Foreign
Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Monday. She responded to a
Taliban Foreign Ministry statement accusing Pakistani forces of opening fire on
Afghan forces while they were doing "repair work on an old security post
constructed several years ago." Sunday’s Taliban statement warned that the
border closure could "adversely affect" relations between the two countries.
"On 6th September, instead of a peaceful resolution, Afghan troops resorted to
indiscriminate firing, targeting Pakistan military posts, damaging the
infrastructure at the Torkham Border Terminal, and putting the lives of both
Pakistani and Afghan civilians at risk when they were stopped from erecting
such unlawful structures," said Baloch in a statement.”



Lebanon



Jerusalem Center For Public Affairs: Extremist Islam Challenges Fatah In
Lebanon <[link removed]>



“On July 30, 2023, fighting broke out in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp near
Sidon after the assassination of a senior officer from Fatah, Maj. Gen. Abu
Ashraf Al-Aramoushi. The attackers were believed to be members of Jund al-Sham,
an Islamist faction affiliated with al-Qaeda. Al-Aramoushi, a commander of the
Palestinian national security forces in Sidon, was assassinated in Ain
al-Hilweh with his three bodyguards on July 30, 2023. The Lebanese army called
for an immediate ceasefire. Under an agreement between the Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO) and the Lebanese government, Lebanese military forces are
prohibited from entering Palestinian refugee camps. Instead, the maintenance of
security in these camps falls under the purview of Palestinian factions through
a joint security force. In the wake of these recent battles, hundreds of
families from Ain Al-Hilweh fled their homes. Eight UNRWA-run schools, which
would typically provide shelter to the homeless, are in the control of the
Islamist forces. At the same time, nearby Sidon does not permit the refugees’
relocation. A tent encampment established there by the UN had to be dismantled.”



Middle East



Associated Press: Israel Accuses Iran Of Building Airport In Southern Lebanon
To Launch Attacks Against Israelis
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“Israel accused Iran on Monday of building an airport in southern Lebanon to
be used as a launchpad for attacks against Israelis across the border,
signaling a possible escalation in tensions between the regional foes. Speaking
at a high-profile security conference hosted by Reichman University near Tel
Aviv, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed Iran has been building a runway
that slices through forested mountains just 20 kilometers (12 miles) from
Israel’s northern border. Gallant displayed satellite photographs that he said
showed the site, where the Iranian national flag and the flag of Lebanon’s
militant Hezbollah group could be seen. Gallant alleged that Iran “is planning
to act against the citizens of Israel,” using the runway as a base. Iran’s
mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for
comment. A spokesperson for Hezbollah declined to comment on Israeli
accusations. The defense minister did not specify when the satellite photos
were taken. The location he gave was near the hilly Lebanese city of Jezzin,
across the border from the Israeli town of Metulla. Hezbollah earlier this year
invited journalists to watch a military exercise in a nearby town in southern
Lebanon.”



The Times Of Israel: Islamists In Palestinian Refugee Camp In Lebanon Say They
Will Honor Ceasefire
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“Islamist factions in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp said Sunday
they will abide by a ceasefire after three days of renewed clashes killed at
least five people and left hundreds of families displaced. Fighting between
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement and Islamist
groups has rocked southern Lebanon’s Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp since Friday.
Fatah and other factions in the camp had intended to crack down on suspects
accused of killing one of their military generals in late July. Besides the
five killed, 52 others were wounded, Dr. Riad Abu Al-Einen, who heads the
Al-Hamshari Hospital in Sidon that has received the casualties, told The
Associated Press. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, however,
stated that four people were killed and 60 others wounded. Islamist factions in
Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp said Sunday they will abide by a
ceasefire after three days of renewed clashes killed at least five people and
left hundreds of families displaced.:



Somalia



Garowe Online: Somalia: Regional Lawmaker Among Several Killed In Al-Shabaab
Explosion
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“One regional lawmaker and city council member were killed on Monday
following an Improvised Explosive Device [IED] explosion in central Somalia,
officials said, just as the military seized a strategic town, with the war
against Al-Shabaab taking shape. According to authorities, Mohamed Mohamud
Ahmed alias Mohamed Yare, who serves in the Galmadug state assembly, and
Abdullahi Ibrahim Shaaciye, a member of the Dhusamareb Local Council, were
killed in El-Garas town, where they had gone to visit troops in the frontline.
Two other individuals accompanying the two were killed in the explosion which
Al-Shabaab militants have already taken responsibility for. The militants had
been flushed from the town by the Somali National Army [SNA] who retook the
strategic town from the militants on Monday morning. Government troops retook
El-Garas which authorities said would help the military to approach some of the
towns still under the militants in the Galgaduud region. President Hassan
Sheikh visited troops on the frontline a few days ago, where he encouraged
soldiers to continue fighting.”



Mali



Cipher Brief: UN Peacekeepers On The Way Out As Terrorists Gain Ground In Mali
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“…”The threat for the United States and Europe emanating from West Africa,
including Mali, is currently growing. Although it is correct to argue that both
ISIS and al-Qaeda are basing their local influence and social support on
already existing local grievances, ISGS and JNIM continue to subscribe to the
extremist terrorist ideology of ISIS and al-Qaeda, respectively,” said Dr. Hans
Jakob-Schindler, Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project (CEP). “One
core aspect of either one of these terrorist ideologies is the obligation to
attack those that are seen as enemies, for which in the al-Qaeda variant, the
West is prioritized, and in the ISIS variant relates to everyone else outside
ISIS, including targets in the West. Therefore, with the growing influence of
these affiliates in West Africa and with the consolidation of their influence
in the region, we have to expect increasing efforts in this regard.”



Reuters: Commercial Flights Halted To Mali's Timbuktu Amid Islamist Blockade
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“Sky Mali, the only commercial airline flying to Timbuktu in Mali's interior,
has cancelled flights there due to insecurity, it said on Monday, deepening the
isolation of the northern city which has been under a month-long Islamist
blockade. Timbuktu, a UNESCO World Heritage site and ancient trading centre on
the edge of the Sahara desert, has been suffering from a shortage of food and
aid supplies since a local affiliate of al Qaeda cut off access by road and
river in mid-August. Two residents told Reuters that they heard shell fire near
the city's airport on Monday morning. Sky Mali later issued a statement saying
it had suspended all flights to and from Timbuktu until further notice, citing
a security alert. "We heard several shell shots at Timbuktu airport. Flights
are cancelled," said resident Mohamed Ag Hamaleck. "Now Timbuktu is completely
closed. The access roads are cut, the boats no longer come," he said by phone.
The city has been surrounded by violence ever since French forces liberated it
from militants in 2013 after an uprising. The Islamists later regrouped and
have spread from northern Mali to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.”



Europe



European Council On Foreign Affairs: A Necessary Trade-Off: Why The EU Needs
To Cooperate With Niger’s Post-Coup Government On Counter-Terrorism
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“Jihadist groups have rapidly gained territory across the Sahel over the past
year. They threaten to spread further to the Gulf of Guinea, destabilising not
only the Sahel but also Ghana and Benin, with knock-on effects for migration,
possible state collapse, and increased terrorist attacks abroad. But after
military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and now Niger, Europeans’ ability to
respond militarily is constrained by unconstitutional governments. The alarming
spate of coups across the Sahel pits two European priorities against one
another – values and security; democracy and counter-terrorism. European
governments refuse to provide security support to unconstitutional governments
and are therefore unable to tackle security threats through security
cooperation. This creates an additional problem for Europe: when it closes the
door to security support, the private security company Wagner waits in the
wings, willing to provide support to the Sahel’s post-coup governments. These
operations may indirectly aid Wagner or even put European and Wagner operations
on a collision course. “



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