March 9, 2020

The New York Times: Report: Iran Revolutionary Guard Commander Killed In Syria <[link removed]>

“An official with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard who took part in battles around war-torn Syria was killed near the Syrian capital, an Iranian semiofficial news agency and an opposition war monitor reported Saturday. Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency identified the commander as Farhad Dabirian and said he was killed in the south Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab. The area is home to a holy shrine for Shiite Muslims. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the killing and Fars reported no additional details on how Dabirian was killed. Iran is an ally of Syria and has offered military advisers and sent militiamen and material support to help President Bashar Assad's government forces in the nine-year civil war. Fars said Dabirian was a commander of the battle to retake the historic town of Palmyra from the Islamic State group. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, also reported that Dabirian was killed Friday night without saying how. It added that the late commander was close to Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group.”

Reuters: U.S. Creates New Envoy Position To Counter Rising Terrorism In Sahel <[link removed]>

“The United States has created a special envoy for Africa’s Sahel region, a State Department spokesman said on Friday, to counter rising violence from groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State which are expanding their foothold. Envoy Peter Pham, started his new role earlier this week, the spokesman said. He has been serving as U.S. Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa since November 2018. “Sahel is one of the places where the situation is getting worse in the continent,” the spokesman said. Security has progressively worsened in the Sahel, an arid region of West Africa, just below the Sahara desert, with militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State strengthening their foothold across the region, making large swathes of territory ungovernable and stoking ethnic violence. Former colonial power France intervened in 2013 to drive back militants who had seized northern Mali the previous year. Fighters have since regrouped and spread. Over the past year, militants have stepped up attacks in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Particularly worrying for Europeans has been possible U.S. troop cuts. The Pentagon is considering withdrawing the personnel as part of a global troop review meant to free up more resources to address challenges from China’s military, after nearly two decades of prioritizing counter-terrorism operations around the world.”

International Business Times: Germany Protests: Thousands Demonstrate In Munich Against Rise Of Far-Right Terrorism <[link removed]>

“At least 7,500 people demonstrated Friday in Munich against far-right terrorism and anti-semitism, as Germany grapples with the aftermath of far-right attacks in the town of Hanau in February. The demonstrators held signs such as “grandmas against right-wingers” and “Munich is colorful,” a reference to Germany’s multiracial society. Bavarian Minister President Markus Soder also gave a speech at the rally. “All democratic forces must stand together during this time,” Soder said. He added that it is important to send a “clear signal against right-wing terror.” “Hate, agitation, and anti-Semitism have no place here,” Soder later tweeted. On Feb. 19, nine people were killed and five were wounded after a far-right extremist attacked two Shisha bars in Hanau, near Frankfurt. The bars are frequent hangout spots for Turkish residents of the town, with two Turks among the victims killed in the attack. The attack was carried out by 43-year-old Tobias Rathjen, who expressed a hatred for migrants in Germany. After the attack, he shot his mother before shooting himself.”

United States

The Washington Post: Stopping Domestic Terrorism Is Not Easy. But The FBI Must Do Better <[link removed]>

“The Justice Department’s inspector general released a report Wednesday exposing problems in how the FBI has handled homegrown violent extremists — people such as Nidal Malik Hasan, who went on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Tex., in 2009, and the Tsarnaev brothers, who bombed the Boston Marathon in 2013. Many of the inspector general’s findings concern problems from years ago, and the FBI said in a response that it is on its way to fixing them. It had better be. It’s important to note that the FBI is stopping many attacks. Between 2015 and 2018, the agency arrested 65 people “who expressed intent to conduct an ideologically motivated attack in the United States and who identified a generalized attack method or target,” the inspector general reported. The number of special agents the FBI has assigned to battle homegrown violent extremism rose 63 percent between 2013 and 2017. But the inspector general warns that the FBI’s recent past is hardly spotless. After several attacks committed by people who had been on the FBI’s radar screen, the agency recommended changes to how it assessed potential homegrown terrorist threats. Yet it failed to ensure that all of those changes happened.”

National Review: Republicans Are Blocking Renewal Of Commonsense Anti-Terrorism Tools <[link removed]>

“I wonder if Congressman Andy Biggs (R., Ariz.) has ever heard of Sayyid Nosair. There was a time not that long ago when Nosair was something of a household name, the kind that the Arizona Republican, a strong conservative who cares a great deal about our national security, would know. Time flies, though, and memories fade. It’s been 30 years since Nosair, a naturalized American citizen and a hardened jihadist, murdered Jewish Defense League founder Meir Kahane in one of New York City’s most notorious late-20th-century homicides. It has been 25 years since I led a team of prosecutors who convicted Nosair of conducting a terrorist war against the United States — a war waged by a foreign terrorist organization that included the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, which was plotted in his upstate New York prison cell. The question of Representative Biggs’s familiarity with Nosair — to say nothing of many other historical instances of Americans collaborating with foreign powers against American interests — suggested itself when I watched him get interviewed on Fox News Thursday morning (see here, about three minutes in).”

Iraq

Foreign Policy: Big Ideas For NATO’s New Mission In Iraq <[link removed]>

“Following U.S. President Donald Trump’s calls for America’s allies to “get more involved in the Middle East,” NATO defense ministers last month agreed to “enhance” the Atlantic alliance’s training mission in Iraq. Although the parameters of NATO’s new role are still to be defined, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has indicated it may include taking on some of the tasks currently being performed by U.S. forces in support of Iraqi military units focused on preventing a resurgence of the Islamic State. In principle, having America’s NATO allies—as well as other coalition partners from around the world—assume greater responsibility for preventing the resurgence of Islamist extremist groups in Iraq makes sense. Why, after all, should the United States shoulder the lion’s share of the burden for keeping terrorism at bay when the rest of the trans-Atlantic community is equally, if not more, threatened by it?”

Afghanistan

The Washington Post: ISIS Attack In Kabul Leaves 32 Dead, More Than 80 Wounded <[link removed]>

“The first shots were heard before noon Friday and were quickly followed by explosions at the site of a gathering of hundreds in western Kabul. Within hours, 32 people were dead and dozens wounded, according to a government spokesman. The Islamic State in Afghanistan asserted responsibility for the attack, posting a statement Friday on social media accounts that are linked to the group. It was the first attack in the Afghan capital claimed by the extremists in months. Afghan opposition leader Abdullah Abdullah was at the rally when the attack began but escaped unhurt, according to his spokesman. The attack comes just days after the signing of a peace deal between the United States and the Taliban and highlights the likelihood of continued violence in Afghanistan despite peace talks. The Islamic State is just one of many armed groups in the country that oppose the current peace efforts. The Islamic State is neither allied with the Afghan government nor the Taliban, and it endorses attacks on civilians who do not adhere to the group's fundamentalist interpretation of Islam. The Taliban quickly issued a statement Friday saying it was not behind the attack.”

The New York Times: A Secret Accord With The Taliban: When And How The U.S. Would Leave Afghanistan <[link removed]>

“In a secure facility underneath the Capitol, members of Congress stopped by all last week to review two classified annexes to the Afghan peace accord with the Taliban that set the criteria for a critical element of the agreement: What constitutes enough “peace” for the United States to withdraw its forces? The Taliban have read the annexes. Nonetheless, the Trump administration insists that the secret documents must remain secret, though officials have struggled to explain why to skeptical lawmakers. Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, in congressional testimony, appeared unaware of — or seemed unwilling to discuss — the secret annexes just days before the agreement was signed. And lawmakers who have paid the most attention to the peace plan also openly express frustration with the lack of a mechanism for verifying compliance that they believe Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had promised. At the core of the two documents, according to people familiar with their contents, is a timeline for what should happen over the next 18 months, what kinds of attacks are prohibited by both sides and, most important, how the United States will share information about its troop locations with the Taliban.”

Reuters: Kabul Says It Will Attack Taliban If Violence Does Not Stop This Week <[link removed]>

“Afghanistan’s minister of defense said on Sunday that if the Islamist Taliban did not stop attacks by the end of the week, it would switch from ‘defense mode’ to attacking the militant group. “Afghan forces will remain in defense mode until the end of this week under the guidance of President Ashraf Ghani because of the peace agreement, but if the Taliban do not stop their attacks by the end of the week, our troops will target the enemy everywhere,” Asadullah Khalid said in a statement. The Taliban this month announced they were resuming operations against Afghan forces - though continuing to hold back on attacks on international troops - after an agreement on reduction in violence, which had followed the signing of a peace deal with the United States in Doha, formally came to an end.”

NBC News: Unknown Gunmen Kill Three In Broad Daylight In Afghan Capital, Kabul <[link removed]>

“Unknown gunmen shot and killed three people Sunday in Kabul, including a member of eastern Logar province's provincial council, underscoring the ongoing risk of violence despite U.S.-led efforts to negotiate peace with the insurgent Taliban. “Logar provincial council member Naser Ghairat and two of his bodyguards were killed and another wounded,” Kabul police spokesman Ferdaus Faramarz said. No group has claimed responsibility for the killing in the capital, which has already had a violent few days. On Friday, at least 32 civilians were killed and about 180 others were wounded when two gunmen opened fire on a ceremony marking the anniversary of the death of Abdul Ali Mazari, a slain Shiite leader. The Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility. President Ashraf Ghani appointed a delegation on to investigate what he described as a “terrorist attack” on the ceremony in Kabul, Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the presidential palace said in a tweet. Targeted killings, assassinations and violent crime have become a growing problem in Afghanistan in recent years, compounded by the country's economic struggles. Noor Ahmad, 37, a taxi driver in Kabul, told Reuters: “Kabul has become a city with no law and order, whoever can do whatever they want to do, and this is very scary.”

Long War Journal: Islamic State Claims Two Recent Attacks In Kabul <[link removed]>

“The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for yesterday’s assault on a memorial ceremony held in honor of Abdul Ali Mazari, an ethnic Hazara political leader who was killed by the Taliban in 1995. Dozens were killed or wounded when terrorists struck the proceedings with rockets and other small arms. In statements and a photo, the Islamic State identified the two jihadists who were purportedly responsible as Ahmad al-Tajiki and Abdul Rahman al-Muhajir. Obviously, the first nom de guerre indicates that he is an ethnic Tajik, while the second means that the terrorist is a foreign fighter. In addition to the photo seen above, which was disseminated by the Islamic State’s media team, the group also produced a statement and a report by its Amaq News Agency. Abdullah Abdullah, a political opposition leader, was in attendance when the raid started. He escaped, but at least 32 others perished, while more than 80 people were wounded. The Islamic State attacked the same ceremony last year, killing at least three people and wounding approximately 19 more. The jihadists relied on mortars and rockets in that operation, claiming afterwards that their targets were “Rafidi mushirkin,” meaning Shiite polytheists. Abdullah Abdullah was speaking to the crowd when mortars fell during that barrage as well.”

Yemen

Asharq Al-Awsat: Arab Coalition Carries Out Operation Against Terrorist Houthi Targets In Salif <[link removed]>

“The Saudi-led Arab coalition carried out a sophisticated operation against military targets of the Iran-backed Houthi militias in the al-Salif region in Yemen, reported the Saudi Press Agency. Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said the operation targeted six locations for the assembly, booby-trapping and launch of explosives-laden vessels. These locations were used to prepare for hostile attacks and terrorist operations that threaten global trade and marine routes in the Mandeb Strait and southern Red Sea, he continued. He stressed that the terrorist Houthis have taken up Hodeidah as a platform for the launch of ballistic missiles, drones, booby-trapped vessels and the planting of naval mines in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and the Stockholm Agreement on Hodeidah. Malki vowed that the joint coalition command will continue to take necessary measures against such legitimate military targets in line with international law. It also supports of all political efforts aimed at the implementation of the Stockholm deal and ending the Houthi coup.”

Asharq Al-Awsat: Yemeni Tribal Sheikhs Systematically Targeted By Houthis <[link removed]>

“Since the Houthi militias launched their coup against Yemen’s legitimate government five years ago, they have been using tribal chiefs whether by recruiting them or by humiliating and repressing them and eliminating their social role. Tribal sources in the capital, Sanaa, have reported that the group has returned to targeting tribal chiefs in the capital and other Houthi-run areas, after accusing them of not recruiting militants from their tribes to fight in insurgent ranks and falling short in collecting financial donations. The sources confirmed that the group conducted several arrests against tribal men, especially in the vicinity of Sanaa, by raiding their homes. People from the area told Asharq Al-Awsat that the raids and arrests aim to humiliate tribes and their chiefs and subject them to the rule of Houthis, in addition to forcing them to attend workshops intended to incite sectarian tension. Since their coup, the militias have been practicing all sorts of humiliation against Yemenis. Houthi abuse of civilians are not limited to civilians in Yemen. The Iran-backed militias have conducted all sorts of violations such as assaults, arrests, murders and abductions against dozens of elders in Sanaa and other areas under their control.”

Middle East

The Washington Post: Gaza Militants Target Israel With Party Balloons Bearing Bombs <[link removed]>

“The moment Merav Hania's daughter stopped loving kindergarten came when a cluster of colorful orbs floated toward her playground during recess. “Balloons!” said a pleased young Emma, her mother recalled. But another child, one who had heard the warnings from local police, knew better: “That’s a bomb!” In recent months, hundreds of booby-trapped balloons — sometimes bearing the messages “I Love You” and “Happy Birthday” along with small improvised explosives dangling by a string — have descended on this and other communities downwind of the nearby Gaza Strip, according to Israeli police. Most land in open countryside, and none has yet caused injury or death, something a local police commander described as a miracle bound to give way to a tragedy. Residents know the balloons are not as dangerous as the rockets long fired by militant groups in Gaza that send whole neighborhoods scrambling for bomb shelters. Israel’s military regularly unleashes powerful bombardments on Gaza in reprisal for those rockets. Still, the escalation of this drifting menace — one of the ways in which militants in Gaza keep up a low-intensity armed resistance to Israel’s 14-year blockade of the Palestinian enclave — has taxed police departments, disrupted daily life and taken a psychological toll on those who live within reach of the Gaza breeze.”

Somalia

Reuters: Senior Figure In Somalia's Al Shabaab Killed In Air Strike: State Media <[link removed]>

“A senior commander in Somalia’s al Shabaab group with a $5 million bounty on his head was killed in an American air strike last month, according to Somalia state media, a blow to the militants’ Islamist insurgency. According to a Somalia state radio report late on Saturday, Bashir Mohamed Mahamoud was the head of al Shabaab’s operations and was killed in an American air strike on Feb. 22 in the Sakow district of the Jubba region in Somalia’s south. Mahamoud sometimes used the alias Bashir Qoorgaab. “AFRICOM forces killed in an air strike Bashir Mohamed (qoorgaab), the operation head as well executive member of al Shabaab,” the state radio reported, using an acronym for the U.S. military’s Africa Command. The radio report said Mahamoud had been responsible for a series of attacks on Somalia national army military bases among other attacks. Somalia’s information minister Mohamed Abdi Hayir Mareye did not respond to a Reuters’ call for comment. Al Shabaab could not be reached for comment. Since 2008, al Shabaab has been fighting to topple Somalia’s central government and establish its own rule based on a strict interpretation of Islam’s sharia law.”

Africa

The New York Times: In Uganda, A Peace Festival Seeks End To Violence In Africa <[link removed]>

“Young people played tug of war and others shook their bodies to crowd-pleasing music as a scorching African sun set near the Ugandan capital. A tipsy poet drew loud cheers by repeatedly reciting “One day. Someday. Could be this day.” Others painted their faces, ate barbecued goat, played chess and practiced yoga. The good-natured gathering attracted scores of people in support of the day when all of Africa would be free of armed violence. The Mara Mara peace festival drew inspiration from the African Union's declaration of 2020 as the year for “silencing the guns” on a continent that has long faced violence ranging from civil war to ethnic rivalries and rebel insurgencies. In an effort to reduce the number of illegal weapons in circulation across the continent, the AU has said there will be an amnesty during the month of September when illegally-owned guns can be turned over to local authorities. Leaders of the African Union, a continent-wide bloc that is often accused of not doing enough to end armed violence, have said it will reach out to youths to discourage them from taking up arms.”

The Telegraph: Echoes Of Isil As Armed Groups Loot Priceless Artefacts Across Sahel <[link removed]>

“Armed groups operating across Africa’s Sahel region are looting hundreds of cultural and archaeological sites in the same way as Isil did in Syria, experts have warned. Over the last few years, government forces have retreated from vast areas of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in the face of an onslaught of jihadist attacks. As lawlessness has spread, armed groups — many of them allied to Al Qaeda and Islamic State — have gained influence in an area the UN describes as “potentially one of the richest [cultural] regions in the world.” The Sahel boasts archaeological remains dating back to the Neolithic period. In mediaeval times, West African civilisation blossomed along the banks of the Niger River into a myriad of kingdoms and empires. During the 13th century, the cities of Gao and Timbuktu rose as great centres of trade and learning. Kings grew fabulously wealthy from the gold and salt trade routes which crisscrossed the Sahara. At a time when Europe was burning heretics at the stake, books become status symbols in the Malian Empire. Islamic scholars collected hundreds of thousands of manuscripts in libraries spread across the region, most famously in Timbuktu. But experts say the region’s extraordinary heritage is under attack.”

Military Times: Airstrike Takes Out A Top Terrorist Suspected Of Involvement In Attack On US Personnel In Kenya <[link removed]>

“Bashir Mohamed Mahamoud, a senior al-Shabab leader suspected of involvement in the attack on U.S. and Kenyan forces in Manda Bay, Kenya, was killed in a late February airstrike in Somalia, U.S. Africa Command officials said Sunday. Mahamoud, also known as Bashir Qoorgaab, was a member of al-Shabab for more than a decade and had coordinated al-Qaida activity within Somalia, according to the U.S. State Department, which had offered up to a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture. AFRICOM officials believe he was involved in terrorist plots within Somalia and neighboring Kenya. “This terrorist was responsible for the pain and suffering of many innocent people,” Air Force Col. Christopher Karns, AFRICOM’s director of public affairs, told Military Times. “He can no longer inflict physical pain on others, nor export his hate and violence more broadly. What we are doing in Somalia is meaningful basic security insurance for Africa and the long term security of America, the continent and our international partners.”

Asharq Al-Awsat: US Treasury: Removing Sudan From Terror List A Matter Of Time <[link removed]>

“The US Treasury Department has said that removing Sudan from a list of state sponsors of terrorism is only a matter of time, a statement from Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s office said Sunday. Hamdok held talks with a delegation from the US Treasury in Khartoum. The statement said the PM stressed that the US is a strategic partner, and reiterated the keenness of Sudan’s transitional authorities to achieve comprehensive peace and improve the country’s economic situation. Marshall Billingslea, the US Treasury’s Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing, told Hamdok that removing Sudan from the terrorism list is a matter of time, said the statement. Sudanese Foreign Minister Asma Abdalla also urged the US delegation to remove Sudan from the list to enable it to deal with funding institutions and help it make financial transfers. The Treasury delegation's visit came as foreign affairs committee leaders at the US Congress introduced legislation to support Sudan’s democratic transition.”

United Kingdom

Daily Mail: Counter-Terror Police Probe Threat Of Violent 'Incels' <[link removed]>

“Britain's counter-terror police are conducting their first investigation into the activities of a violent 'incel' after the suspect posted 'threatening' messages online.  A 'disruption' operation was carried out last year after an unidentified man, from outside of London, was accused of posting a series of 'worrying' statements. Officers were drafted in amid fears that the suspect, who was arrested but not charged, would turn to - or inspire - violence if left unchecked. He is now being investigated on suspicion of non-terrorism-related offences. The Daily Telegraph reported that counter-terror police believe the man is a member of Britain's incel, or 'involuntary celibate', movement. Incels belong to an online subculture of misogyny, self-hatred, racism, and self-pity which defines its adherents as unable to find a romantic or sexual partner. They are often young, straight, and friendless - primarily white - men, some of whom suffer from psychological disorders including depression and autism. On the Reddit forum /r/incels subreddit, the incel community became known as a place where men blamed women for their celibacy.”

The National: Terrorist Cash Tracking Operations Fail To Keep Pace <[link removed]>

“The campaign to cut off funds to extremist groups has failed to keep pace with changing tactics employed by terrorists, a new report says Monday. Counter-terror tactics remain embedded in the era of struggle against Al Qaeda after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and has failed to adequately address the rise in lone-wolf attacks, according to the report by the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), a London-based think tank. Since 2001, terrorist groups have tapped into the technological advances of crowd-funding, social media and encrypted messaging systems to industrialise their fund-raising efforts to launch attacks. “The global response to terrorist financing remains one-dimensional, despite the multi-faceted risk picture,” according to the Rusi report, A Sharper Image: Advancing a risk-based response to terrorist financing. “It is time to develop a more nuanced and risk-specific response to terrorist financing that is not merely rooted in the post-9/11 response to Al Qaeda.” US President George W. Bush announced a programme to tackle the financial framework of extremist groups in the immediate aftermath of the 2001 attacks that was designed to “starve the terrorists of funding.”

Germany

Deutsche Welle: Germany: Alleged IS Terrorist Goes On Trial <[link removed]>

“A court in the western city of Düsseldorf court was scheduled Friday to hear a set of charges filed by federal prosecutors against a 32-year-old mother, accused of joining the Islamic State ('IS') terrorist group. The woman, originally from Oberhausen in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) of which Düsseldorf is the regional capital, is said to have traveled to Syria in 2015 with her three small children. The six-item charge sheet includes alleged revocation of parential duties. It describes the accused handing over her son, Hamza, then aged 7, at a Islamic State (IS) military training camp as a war crime. Prosecutors also allege she forced the three children to witness a public execution and to be indoctrinated by so-called religious police. Her joining a women's unit “Katiba Nusaiba” in Syria amounted to becoming an IS terrorist, prosecutors assert. 15 years if convicted If convicted, the accused, named as only Carla-Josephine S. under German law restraints on reporting, faces up to 15 years in jail. The trial in the Düsseldorf Regional Court is scheduled to proceed over 11 hearing days, spread through to April 24. The mother is thought to be the first suspected IS affiliate returned from the Middle East under consular rules applied cautiously by Germany's Foreign Office.”

Southeast Asia

Yahoo News: Philippine Clashes Leave 14 Militants, 4 Soldiers Dead <[link removed]>

“Philippine troops have killed at least 14 Muslim militants aligned with the Islamic State group in a weeklong offensive in a southern province that also left four soldiers dead, a regional military commander said Saturday. Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said an unspecified number of militants, including gunmen belonging to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, were wounded in clashes in the towns of Ampatuan and Datu Hoffer Ampatuan in Maguindanao province. The bodies of five of the slain militants were recovered by government forces, he said, adding that 10 soldiers were wounded in the fighting. The Islamic State group claimed that militants killed 43 soldiers using explosives while repulsing the recent military assaults in two Maguindanao villages, but Sobejana said the claim was “untrue.” Government forces launched air strikes and artillery fire on an encampment of the militants in Salman village in Ampatuan on Monday after receiving intelligence that the gunmen were plotting attacks, the military said. Troops later assaulted the encampment and another group of armed militants in Datu Hoffer Ampatuan, seizing firearms, ammunition and homemade bombs, the military said.”



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