Eye on Extremism
March 23, 2020
The
Hill: FBI Warns White Supremacists Encouraging Members To Spread
Coronavirus To Law Enforcement, Jews:
Report
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York office recently
sent out an alert to local authorities warning of extremist groups it
said are encouraging their members to spread the novel coronavirus to
police and Jewish people, ABC News reported. According to the news
agency, the alert, which was reportedly issued on Thursday, said that
“members of extremist groups are encouraging one another to spread the
virus, if contracted, through bodily fluids and personal
interactions.” The alert reportedly warned that the racist groups were
urging their members to go to places where Jewish people “may be
congregated, to include markets, political offices, businesses and
places of worship.” The alert also reportedly said some white
supremacists and neo-Nazis were also urging members who contract the
virus to spread the disease to cops by using spray bottles. The Hill
has reached out to the FBI for comment. The report comes as the
Anti-Defamation League reports some extremists have been pushing
anti-Semitic conspiracy theories online that blame Jewish people for
the spread of the virus.”
NBC
News: Neo-Nazis From U.S. And Europe Build Far-Right Links At Concerts
In Germany
“As the deafeningly loud, rapid-fire music known as “hate rock”
blasted out, hundreds of white nationalists, skinheads and neo-Nazis
nodded their heads and swigged their drinks. Among them was Keith, 46,
a welder from Las Vegas, who for the second year in a row had traveled
from Nevada to Germany to attend several far-right events. “We must
secure the existence of our people and a future for white children,''
Keith told NBC News in June. However, he was not there just to enjoy
the music. He said he was also hoping to share ideas and strategies
with like-minded people — a small part of what Jonathan Greenblatt,
CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said was becoming an increasingly
interconnected international movement with “clear links” between
Europe and the U.S. “You can't just sit at home and eat cheeseburgers
anymore. It's time to mobilize,” said Keith, who did not wish to have
his last name published, for fear of reprisals back in the U.S. Events
like the one in Themar, a small town in central Germany, are
reluctantly tolerated and strictly controlled by the authorities. Both
federal and local police could be seen monitoring the gathering, and
riot squads with water cannons were braced for trouble
nearby.”
Radio
Free Europe: Afghan Officials Hold First Prisoner-Swap Talks With
Taliban, U.S. Envoy Says
“The Afghan government has held its first talks with the Taliban
about a prisoner swap, the U.S. envoy to the war-torn country has
said. “Prisoner releases by both sides is an important step in the
peace process,” Zalmay Khalilzad said in a March 22 statement on
Twitter. The talks -- held via Skype amid the coronavirus pandemic --
lasted more than two hours and were facilitated by the United States
and Qatar, Khalilzad said. The spread of the novel coronavirus has
made the release of prisoners “that much more urgent,” he said.
Afghanistan announced the same day the first death in the country due
to COVID-19, the new strain of the coronavirus. Afghanistan had 34
confirmed cases of the virus as of March 22. The United States last
month signed a historic agreement with the Taliban that could lead to
the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan and an end to
the country's 18-year conflict. According to a joint declaration
published by the U.S. and Afghan governments on February 29, the
United States and NATO would withdraw all troops in Afghanistan within
14 months if the Taliban upheld the commitments made in the
agreement.”
United States
The
New York Times: Top U.S. Intelligence Official Taps New
Counterterrorism Chief
“Lora Shiao, a career American intelligence officer, will be the
next acting director of the National Counterterrorism Center, the
government’s central clearinghouse for intelligence on terrorist
threats, Trump administration officials said on Saturday. Ms. Shiao,
who is currently the center’s third-ranking official, replaces Russell
Travers, who was abruptly replaced last week amid planned cutbacks by
the acting director of national intelligence, Richard Grenell, that
have prompted fears among career officials of potential political
retribution and a widespread loss of expertise. Ms. Shiao will begin
serving as acting director on April 3, a spokeswoman for Mr. Grenell,
Maura Beard, said in an email. President Trump has nominated
Christopher C. Miller, a former National Security Council aide now
working at the Pentagon, as his permanent choice for the top
counterterrorism job, but it could take months for the Senate to
confirm him. Mr. Grenell was installed in recent weeks to temporarily
serve as the nation’s top intelligence official and he has made clear
he plans to overhaul his office.”
The
New York Times: What Fighting Al Qaeda Taught Us About Fighting
Coronavirus
“On Sept. 11, 2001, the job of every leader in the U.S. Special
Operations community changed. In the ensuing years of fighting a
highly complex, networked enemy, we redesigned how our organization
communicated, shared information, made decisions and, most critically,
maintained a cohesive culture while operating in almost every corner
of the globe. We’re seeing a similar challenge today — except this
time, it’s facing the leadership of practically every organization in
the world, from governments to Fortune 500 companies to the smallest
nonprofit. They are now managing their teams through a crisis with no
clear end in sight. Today’s leaders didn’t ask for this new role. But
if history shows us one thing, it is that our greatest leaders emerge
from the darkest moments. Leaders must be visible with their plans,
honest with their words and adaptable with their actions — all while
maintaining compassion for the situation and the impact it is having
on their team. As part of our work at the McChrystal Group, we are in
constant contact with scores of leaders around the country. For the
past week, they have been fielding a constant stream of queries from
customers and employees, and going through a series of increasingly
drastic changes to how they will run their
business.”
Syria
Asharq
Al-Awsat: 5,000 Terrorists Detained In One Of The Toughest Prisons
Worldwide
“In al-Hasakah, the United States and the international alliance
against ISIS have established the largest prison in the world for
extremists, holding around 5 thousand inmates. These are men who
fought alongside ISIS until its final days in Baghuz last spring
before turning themselves in and ending up in this place. Before
entering, the guards verify the visitor’s identity and put them
through complicated security checks, out of fear that pro-ISIS sleeper
cells may slip in. At the main gate, tens of Syrian Democratic Forces
(SDF) personnel stand in full uniform and fully armed. Visitors are
asked not to discuss field news, including the death of ISIS’s leader,
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the Turkish attack on East Euphrates. These
are the ISIS members who struck fear with their extremist rules,
barbaric sentences and their crimes committed between 2014 and 2019.
During its peak, ISIS issued its own religious system and currency and
taxed around 7 million people. It also removed borders between areas
under its control in Syria and Iraq before its geographic and military
control were eradicated last March at the hands of several parties
that operated under the umbrella of the Arab-Kurdish SDF supported by
the international alliance led by the US.”
Modern
Diplomacy: ISIS In Their Own Words
“From 2015 to 2019, Dr. Anne Speckhard interviewed 220 Islamic
State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS] defectors, returnees and imprisoned
cadres in Turkey, Iraq, Syria, the Balkans, Europe and Central Asia.
During these in-depth interviews, Dr. Speckhard examined the
demographics, psycho-social vulnerabilities and motivations for
joining ISIS, in addition to the influences and recruitment patterns
that drew them to the group. Moreover, Dr. Speckhard inquired as to
the interviewees’ roles, experiences and relationships within ISIS,
variance in their will to fight and support violence, disillusionment
and attempts to leave. This study’s sample of the first 220 (out of
239 to date) consisted of 182 men of 41 ethnicities, representing 35
different countries, and 38 females of 22 ethnicities, representing 18
countries. 51.1% of the men and 76.3% of the women were foreign
members of ISIS, some who traveled to live under ISIS, and a few who
engaged in ISIS recruitment or other activities, including planning
attacks, in their home countries. The participants were primarily
young and middle class. Most were raised Sunni Muslim, whereas others
reverted or converted before joining ISIS.”
Iraq
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Exclusive: ISIS In Iraq… A Growing Threat
“In late 2017, Iraq announced the military defeat of ISIS after
fighting battles that lasted about three years. The terrorist group
had occupied Mosul in 2014, and expanded its presence to the provinces
of Salah al-Din, Anbar, Kirkuk and Diyala. Iraqi forces were able to
put a military end to the ambitious ISIS “caliphate,” but failed to
deal with the social environment the group had nestled for three years
before its defeat. With little to no funding being allocated to
rebuilding areas liberated from ISIS and a reluctance among refugees
to return to those areas the threat of a resurgence of the extremist
group resurfaced. Western reports, especially those based in the US,
indicate that the terrorist organization has gone back to representing
a grave danger to Iraq. Experts in Iraq agree this organization
remains a threat that needs to be faced. Matching those concerns, last
year, the Joint Iraqi Operations Command launched eight major military
operations called the “Will to Victory” to counter the expansion of
ISIS. “ISIS has a well-rounded structure that survived, it is
reminiscent of the group’s early days in the 2013-2014 period,” Iraqi
militia expert Hisham al-Hashemi told Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that the
terrorist group enjoys large funding and a broad network of
operatives.”
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Exclusive – ISIS Children Slowly Regain Normal Life At
Kurdish Rehabilitation Center
“I dreamed of being a great boxer like Denis Lebedev, Russia’s most
famous boxer,” said Nicolai as he recounts how he quit his homeland
for Syria six years ago. When Nicolai’s father chose to join ISIS in
2014, he traveled with his family from the cold of Russia’s Saratov to
the hotbed that is the Syrian conflict. The family first flew to
Istanbul and made the journey by land to the border city of Antakya.
Afterwards, they were smuggled to the Syrian city of Idlib. The father
dreamed of achieving an illusion. The family soon lost contact with
him as he surrendered to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) during
ISIS’ last stand in Syria in the battle of Baghouz in March 2019.
Nicolai, his mother and siblings soon found themselves seeking refuge
at the sprawling al-Hol displacement camp in Syria. “My father heard
about the ‘caliphate’ on the internet and decided to join it,” Nicolai
told Asharq Al-Awsat. “My mother agreed to travel with him. I was only
10 at the time and didn’t understand what was happening.” According to
Nicolai, his father worked at a reception department for ISIS where
foreigners and displaced were received and their documents
processed.”
Afghanistan
Reuters:
Taliban-Afghan Government Skype Call Breathes Life Into Peace
Process
“The Taliban and the Afghan government held a “virtual” meeting on
prisoner releases on Sunday, officials said, offering some hope of a
breakthrough on a matter that has deadlocked the two sides and
threatened a nascent peace process. The two sides have differed on the
release of prisoners - the Afghan government wanting a phased and
conditional release and the Taliban wanting all prisoners released in
one go as envisaged in an agreement signed with the United States in
Doha last month. The impasse threatened to derail a carefully
negotiated peace process outlined in the agreement, including a
pullout of foreign forces from Afghanistan after over 18 years of
fighting. The two sides spoke for over two hours in a Skype meeting
facilitated by the United States and Qatar, officials said. “Prisoner
releases by both sides is an important step in the peace process, as
stated in the U.S.-Taliban agreement,” U.S. special representative
Zalmay Khalilzad tweeted. “Everyone clearly understands the
coronavirus threat makes prisoner releases that much more urgent,” he
said, adding that “all sides conveyed their strong commitment to a
reduction of violence, intra-Afghan negotiations, and a comprehensive
and permanent ceasefire.”
The
Nation: Afghan Forces Eliminate More Than 50
Militants
“In response to the militants mounting assaults, Afghan forces on
Sunday killed more than 50 insurgents in past 24 hours. The Afghan
national defense and security forces killed 27 insurgents, including
their leader Qari Hafiz and wounded 19 others in the northern Kunduz
province in “active defense”, the Defense Ministry said in a
statement. It added 12 more insurgents were killed and 14 wounded in
Kandahar, eight others were killed and seven wounded in Helmand and
five killed and six captured in Zabul. All are southern provinces. In
past two days, the insurgents staged coordinated assaults in Zabul,
Baghlan and Kapisa provinces, killing at least 40 Afghan forces. The
attacks came after a relative reduction in violence in line with the
rejuvenated yet fragile peace process. Condemning the attacks,
President Mohammed Ashraf Ghani said it shows the militants reluctance
to commit to peace.”
India
Financial
Times: Islamist Extremists Eye India As Fertile Recruiting
Ground
“As Delhi reeled last month from deadly communal riots, a new
digital magazine began circulating, its main article headlined: “So
where are you going? A call to Muslims of India.” Called the Voice of
Hind — Arabic for India — it made no direct mention of the sectarian
violence that claimed at least 53 lives as Hindu nationalist mobs
rampaged through working-class neighbourhoods in the Indian capital.
But it mocked the country’s Muslims for their faith in democracy,
warning readers they were “on the verge of being stripped from your
last shred of dignity”. The magazine — and its timing — highlights a
renewed focus among transnational Islamist extremist groups on trying
to recruit in India, at a time when Muslims feel increasingly
marginalised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist
agenda. Even before the riots, Isis newsletter Al-Naba had dedicated
an article to recent changes to India’s citizenship laws, which
introduced religious criteria into citizenship rules for the first
time, giving followers of other south Asian states priority over
Muslims. The Islamist extremist group then used a Reuters photograph
taken during the rampage — showing a bloodied Muslim being beaten by a
Hindu mob — on an online poster justifying retaliatory violence.”
Yemen
Al
Jazeera: Two Emirates Red Crescent Aid Workers Killed In Yemen's
Aden
“Two aid workers have been killed in war-torn Yemen's south after
they were kidnapped by unknown armed men, the United Arab Emirates
(UAE) branch of the Red Crescent said. In a statement on Twitter,
Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) said it “expresses its deep regret and
condemnation of the loss of Ahmed Fouad al-Yousefi, Coordinator of ERC
Operations in Aden, and his fellow Mohamed Tareq ... in one of the
world's most vulnerable and complex humanitarian zones.” The two were
kidnapped in the southern port city of Aden and later found dead,
according to the statement. The conflict in Yemen began with the 2014
takeover of the capital, Sanaa, by Houthi rebels. A Saudi-UAE led
military coalition allied with the government intervened in March
2015. The war has since killed more than 100,000 people, including
thousands of civilians, according to a database project that tracks
violence. But a separate conflict has been raging in the south between
government forces and southern separatists, backed by the UAE. The
two parties signed a power-sharing agreement in Riyadh last November,
with little sign of implementation on the ground.”
Lebanon
The
Jerusalem Post: Hezbollah Unhappy After US Rescues American Fakhoury
From Lebanon
“Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was recently in his bunker in
Lebanon when he claims he switched on the TV to see a shocking scene.
A US V-22 Osprey helicopter was lifting off from the US embassy and
flying away low over the city. Soon the helicopter was out at sea,
carrying away American citizen Amer Fakhoury who had been held for six
months in Lebanon. On March 19 Fakhoury was safely at sea and
Nasrallah was non-plussed. Fakhoury is from Lebanon but was
naturalized in the US. He was accused by a military court in Lebanon
of being involved in crimes during the 1980s Lebanese Civil War.
Pro-Hezbollah activists accuse him of having worked with Israel as
part of the South Lebanon Army. However, many Lebanese have received
amnesty for the civil war era, as the country tried to put the battles
behind it. When he returned to the country he was detained. US
Senators put pressure on Lebanon to release him, with Jeanne Shaheen
calling for sanctions and saying all options were on the table to
assist him. Although he was released last week it appears Hezbollah
and others put pressure on courts to deny him the ability to
leave.”
Egypt
Asharq
Al-Awsat: ISIS, Muslim Brotherhood Fatwas Call For Discrimination
Against Christians, Women
“Egypt’s Dar El-Ifta’s Global Fatwa Index (GFI) has registered a
number of fatwas by the Muslim Brotherhood and ISIS organizations,
calling for “discrimination” against Christians and women. Some fatwas
were related to “building churches, looting non-Muslim money and
classifying women as inferior to men.” The GFI released its findings
on the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination, which falls on March 21. According to the GFI, racist
opinions are divided into two trends. The first are the fatwas issued
by extremist groups that seek to spread their agendas and loot the
wealth of peoples and nations. The second trend focuses on
Islamophobia against Muslim communities in western countries. The
index said racist fatwas make up seven percent of religious edicts
issued around the world. Eighty percent of the racist fatwas are
issued by terrorist groups. Racist fatwas made up 35 percent of the
Muslim Brotherhood’s edicts. Egypt has banned the Brotherhood as a
terrorist group. The report also shed light on an answer published in
1980 in the Brotherhood’s “Daawa Magazine” to a question related to
religious rulings on building churches.”
Nigeria
The
Punch Nigeria: Army Destroys Boko Haram Food Supply
Vans
“The Nigerian Army on Saturday said it had smashed Boko Haram food
supply line and destroyed six vehicles used in conveying food and
logistics to the hideouts of the terrorist group in Lake Chad and
Sambisa Forest. The Acting General Officer Commanding, 7 Division,
Nigerian Army, Brig-Gen. Abdul Ibrahim; who supervised the symbolic
destruction of the intercepted vehicles and materials, said four
persons were arrested when the vehicles were intercepted. He told
journalists in Maiduguri, Borno State, on Saturday that the
intercepted vehicles comprised four pickup trucks and two Peugeot
station wagons. He said the arrested suspects include Abubakar Sadik,
Fannami Modu and Modu Chellu of various addresses within Maiduguri. He
said intelligence reports showed that the arrested suspects indulged
in supplying Boko Haram with logistics from Maiduguri. “They have
always transported food and logistics to the terrorist group in their
enclaves in Sambisa Forest and Lake Chad region. “Despite warnings,
some of them still continue with the illicit and illegal business of
supplying logistics and other materials to Boko Haram,” he added.”
Somalia
The
New York Times: Al Qaeda Branch In Somalia Threatens Americans In East
Africa — And Even The U.S.
“Al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia, the terrorist group’s largest and
most active global affiliate, has issued specific new threats against
Americans in East Africa and even the United States, U.S. commandos,
counterterrorism officials and intelligence analysts say. Several
ominous signs indicate that the Qaeda affiliate, the Shabab, is
seeking to expand its lethal mayhem well beyond its home base, and
attack Americans wherever it can — threats that have prompted a recent
flurry of American drone strikes in Somalia to snuff out the plotters.
In recent months, two Shabab operatives have been arrested while
taking flying lessons — one last summer in the Philippines and another
more recently in an African country, intelligence officials say. Those
arrests carried eerie echoes of the original Sept. 11 plotters, who
trained to fly jetliners. Shabab fighters are seeking to acquire
Chinese-made, shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles, which could pose a
deadly new risk to U.S. helicopters and other aircraft in Somalia.
American commanders are hardening defenses at bases in the region
after a Shabab attack in January at Manda Bay, Kenya, killed three
Americans and revealed serious security vulnerabilities.”
All
Africa: Somalia: US Kills 15 Al-Shabab Terrorists In
Latest Somalia Airstrikes
“U.S. airstrikes in Somalia this week killed more than 15 al-Shabab
terrorists who were battling African Union and Somali forces, U.S.
Africa Command (AFRICOM) spokesman Major Karl Wiest told VOA on
Friday. The militants posed an “imminent threat” to international
forces who, according to a U.S. defense official, have now secured the
town of Janaale in the country’s Lower Shabelle region and are
building a forward operating base there. “Not to spike the football,
but that's exactly the type of incremental progress we're seeing” from
partner forces, said the defense official. AFRICOM said in a press
release that it had conducted five strikes Monday and Tuesday against
al-Shabab near Janaale, in coordination with the Somali government.
The U.S. military’s casualty assessment, which is normally included in
the press release, has been slowed because of “dense vegetation in the
area,” a defense official told VOA. U.S. forces were nearby advising
Somali partners at the time of the strikes. None were wounded in
counter-al-Shabab operations there, officials said. Al-Shabab’s
Shadada News Agency claimed dozens of AMISOM and Somali forces were
killed battling the terror group earlier this week in the Lower
Shabelle, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.”
United Kingdom
BBC
News: How Neo-Nazi Group National Action Targeted Young
People
“The conviction of four people at Birmingham Crown Court this week
for membership of the banned neo-Nazi organisation National Action
concluded a series of trials linked to the group. Since it became the
first extreme right-wing organisation to be proscribed under terrorism
legislation in December 2016, at least 15 court cases - including two
retrials - have taken place involving members and former members. Nine
involved terror offences, two involved sexual offences concerning
children, with the rest relating to public order offences such as
stirring up racial hatred. Fifteen people have been convicted of
remaining members of the group after it was outlawed. So what do we
now know about National Action? While it was never a political party
and lacked the formal traits associated with being one, National
Action nevertheless had a structure and an external identity. It also
had a clear recruitment strategy: focus on the young. Places of
educations were plastered with group propaganda, including Warwick
University and Aston University in Birmingham. Some of those who
founded and ran it had previously been involved with other
organisations, including the British National Party.”
Daily
Mail: Manchester Arena Suicide Bomber Salman Abedi's Father Who Was
Arrested And Then Disappeared After The Attack 'Is Tracked Down Living
In Istanbul'
“The father of the Manchester Arena terrorists, who was arrested in
Libya following the bombing which killed 22 people, is receiving
medical aid in Istanbul. Ramadan Abedi, who was captured by police in
2017 just hours after insisting his son Salman Abedi was not behind
the suicide bombing in the UK, has been regularly visiting the Turkish
capital for treatment, The Daily Telegraph has revealed. While it is
yet unknown what the father is being treated for, sources told the
paper that it is being paid for by the Libyan government who he
previously worked for as a civil servant. Following the Manchester
Arena blast in 2017, which saw Abedi's son Salman detonate a
shrapnel-loaded bomb at a Ariana Grande concert, the father, who fled
Tripoli in 1993 before claiming asylum in the UK, and his youngest son
Hashem, 22, were arrested in Libya. Hashem, who was born a dual
British and Libyan nationalist like his brother, was arrested by
Libyan militia within 24 hours of the blast and eventually extradited
back to the UK following a lengthy battle with the British authorities
and convicted of plotting with his brother in carrying out the
terrorist attack. Following the unprecedented move and after a
seven-week trial at the Old Bailey this month, Hashem was found guilty
of 22 counts of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to cause
explosions.”
The
Guardian: The Brighton Jihadists: Bullied Brothers Who Went Into
Battle
“Much has been written about Britons who fought in Syria, but
little truly explains who these characters were, what made them tick.
Or what actually happened when they disappeared into the byzantine
politics of its brutal war. No Return tracks five teenage friends from
Brighton who stepped into its chaos. All were killed except one. The
survivor, Amer Deghayes, is the longest-serving Briton in Syria since
the fighting began and offers a unique account of a ceaseless,
shifting conflict. Equally crucial are those he left behind. I learned
that more than 30 Brightonians – the largest identified group of
potential jihadists in western Europe – had discussed plans to join
him. All were between 13 and 18 years of age, some were girls, most
were white, working-class Islamic converts from the forgotten estates
of east Brighton. Investigating what had happened to these youngsters
I discovered the Hillstreet Gang (HSG), whose members had converted to
Islam in a makeshift gym. For several years the police considered them
the most notorious street gang in Brighton. A hidden, violent side of
the city revealed itself.”
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