April 8, 2020

Daily Sabah: US Says Airstrike In Somalia Kills Al-Shabab Senior Leader <[link removed]>

“An April 2 airstrike by U.S. forces in Somalia killed a “senior leader” of the al-Shabab militant group, the U.S. Defense Department said Tuesday. The strike left three Shabab militants dead, including Yusuf Jiis, one of the “founding” leaders of the terrorist organization, which has carried out deadly attacks against the Somali government and public targets for years, the U.S. Africa Command said in a statement. Africa Command Commander Gen. Stephen Townsend said Jiis was a “key leader” in al-Shabab. “He was violent, ruthless, and responsible for the loss of many innocent lives,” Townsend said in a statement. Africa Command said the strike took place near Bush Madina, 217 kilometers (135 miles) west of Mogadishu, and was carried out in coordination with the Somali government. It was one of several recent strikes on the group, often carried out using precision missiles launched by drones. Another strike against al-Shabab was carried out Monday in the Jilib area of Somalia, which U.S. forces said killed five militants. Africa Command said it was investigating reports of civilian deaths and injuries although it expressed confidence that there weren't any.”

CNN: National Security Officials Warn Of Extremists Exploiting Coronavirus Pandemic <[link removed]>

“National security officials warned in an intelligence bulletin issued Tuesday that extremist groups are exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to incite violence and bolster racist and anti-government narratives. The bulletin -- from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and National Counterterrorism Center -- cites threats from an array of hate groups aimed at minorities, and captures how conspiracy theories about the virus' origins and the government's response are likely fueling potential violence. It also predicts that spaces vital to the moment, like hospitals and grocery stores, could be potential targets -- as well as police officers enforcing stay-at-home orders. The four-page document, which was obtained by CNN, is the latest in a string of warnings from the national security community about the threat from extremist groups as the coronavirus has exploded across the country and upended daily life. Law enforcement have already responded to two extremist plots in recent days, including a train engineer in California who allegedly derailed his train near a naval hospital ship that he thought was being used in a government takeover and a Missouri man who was accused of attempting to detonate a car bomb at a hospital treating coronavirus patients.”

United States

The Atlantic: White Supremacy’s Gateway To The American Mind <[link removed]>

“Give me, a white man, a reason to live,” a user posted to the anonymous message board 4chan in the summer of 2017. “Should I get a hobby. What interests can I pursue to save myself from total despair. How do you go on living.” A fellow user had a suggestion: “Please write a concise book of only factual indisputable information exposing the Jews,” focusing on “their selling of our high tech secrets to China/Russia” and “their long track record of pedophilia and perversion etc.” The man seeking advice was intrigued. “And who would publish it and who would put it in their bookstores that would make it worth the trouble,” he asked. The answer came a few minutes later. “Self-publish to Amazon,” his interlocutor replied. “Kindle will publish anything,” a third user chimed in. They were basically right. It takes just a couple of minutes to upload one’s work to Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Amazon’s self-publishing arm; the ebook then shows up in the world’s largest bookstore within half a day, typically with minimal oversight. Since its founding more than a decade ago, KDP has democratized the publishing industry and earned praise for giving authors shut out of traditional channels the chance to reach an audience that would have been previously unimaginable.”

Syria

Voice Of America: Coronavirus Fear Grips Islamic State Families Detained In Syria <[link removed]>

“Every new death at detention camps in northeastern Syria sparks a new wave of panic that the coronavirus pandemic is about to wreak havoc, leaving some residents to wonder aloud how soon they are going to die. The sense of desperation and hopelessness comes from those in the camps, many of them family members of dead or captured Islamic State fighters, through accounts shared with various humanitarian groups and compiled by the International Crisis Group. “It’s hard to breathe,” one woman in the al-Roj camp said in a text, sent to the director of Families Against Violent Extremism, a Canadian organization. “We have heavy coughs.” Another woman at the nearby al-Hol camp said there was not enough water for anyone to wash their hands on a regular basis, and that confusion among the camp’s residents is a constant. “We don’t understand what is going on, so people are scared,” she said. In other exchanges described by the International Crisis Group, women in the various camps describe long bouts of coughing or express thoughts of suicide. Given the growing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, few people can visit the camps. The accounts about life on the inside were shared by social media apps, texts and phone calls.”

Iraq

Kurdistan 24: ISIS Targets Kakai Minority, Police In Iraq's Disputed Kirkuk <[link removed]>

“Islamic State fighters injured three Iraqi policemen in an attack late Monday night on a village inhabited by members of the Kakai religious minority outside the disputed city of Kirkuk. A security source confirmed to local media outlets that the incident began when the village of Ali Saray, located in Daquq district, was first hit by mortars. Soon after, multiple Islamic State gunmen arrived and opened fire. For more than 30 minutes, they clashed with Iraqi federal police for more than a half hour. The source added that, after the assault was over and the militant fighters had withdrawn, police conducted a search of the surrounding area. As they did so, an improvised explosive device (IED) that had presumably been hidden during the gunfire detonated, seriously wounding three of the policemen. According to the source, three separate Islamic State attacks in the vicinity of Daquq during the previous 24 hours resulted in five additional casualties and three kidnappings of federal police officers. In mid-February, a father and son were killed and ten more injured in another such attack in the town of Khanaqin, in Diyala province. All victims were from the Kakai minority which the Islamic State sees as heretics.”

Turkey

The New York Times: Explosion On Road In Southeast Turkey Kills 5 <[link removed]>

“An improvised explosive device went off on a road in southeast Turkey on Wednesday, killing five forestry workers traveling to work, officials said. The regional governor’s office blamed the early morning explosion near the town of Kulp, in the mainly-Kurdish populated Diyarbakir province, on Kurdish rebels, who have carried out similar attacks in the past. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has waged a more than three-decade old insurgency in Turkey’s mostly Kurdish southeast region. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people since it started in 1984. The group is considered a terror organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. The Diyarbakir governor’s office said Turkey’s military has launched an operation to catch the perpetrators of the attack. Four villagers were killed last year in a similar attack on a road in Kulp, which was also blamed on the PKK. Last week, an explosion in eastern Turkey, believed to be the work of the PKK, damaged a natural gas pipeline and halted gas flows from Iran.”

Afghanistan

ABC News: Afghan Official: Taliban Kill 7 Civilians In Country's North <[link removed]>

“At least seven Afghan civilians were killed when the Taliban attacked security forces in northern Balkh province, local officials said Wednesday. The insurgents abducted the civilians on Tuesday afternoon in the district of Sholgara and later killed them, according to Sayed Arif Iqbali, the local police chief. There was no immediate confirmation from the Taliban that hey were behind the attack in Balkh. The violence comes as the Taliban have said their peace deal with the United States, signed at the end of February in Qatar, was nearing a breaking point, blaming Washington for alleged violations of the deal that the U.S. denies. In the southern Kandahar province, three children were killed and five were seriously wounded when a mortar shell hit in the district of Daman, according to Bahir Ahmadi, the spokesman for the provincial governor. The Taliban blamed U.S. forces for the attack, and a Taliban spokesman, Qari Yusouf Ahmadi, claimed the children were killed in a drone attack. However, U.S. military spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett denied any use of weapons in the area. Ahmadi, the governor's spokesman, said an investigation was launched into the mortar attack on Tuesday evening.”

NBC News: Pompeo To Afghan Leaders: Make A Deal With The Taliban Or Risk Full U.S. Troop Pullout <[link removed]>

“While President Donald Trump remains fixated on the widening coronavirus pandemic, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to Kabul two weeks ago with a harsh message from his boss to try to save one of the only major foreign policy achievements he has after more than three years in the White House: a peace deal in Afghanistan. Pompeo delivered a message from Trump to the feuding leadership of the Afghan government, telling them they should resolve their differences and broker a deal with the Taliban or the president could not only cut $1 billion in financial aid to Afghanistan but also could pull all U.S. troops out of the country, according to two current senior officials, one former senior official and a foreign diplomat. The previously unreported troop withdrawal threat underscores Trump’s growing concern that the inability of Afghan leaders to form a unified government threatens to unravel his already-tenuous peace deal with the Taliban, which is the first step toward ending America’s longest war. Negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban were supposed to follow on March 10, but divisions in Kabul have delayed the effort.”

Voice Of America: HRW Urges War Crimes Charges For Jailed Head Of IS-Linked Group <[link removed]>

“Human Rights Watch (HRW) is urging the Afghan government to bring war crimes charges against the captured leader of the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP), an affiliate of the extremist group Islamic State (IS). In a statement late on April 6, HRW said Afghanistan must afford a fair trial in accordance with international human rights standards for Aslam Farooqi, who was arrested two days earlier in Kandahar Province.  Farooqi, whose real name is Abdullah Orakzai, became the ISKP leader in July 2019. The group has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks across Afghanistan that have killed scores of civilians. HRW said Farooqi's capture is an opportunity for the authorities in Afghanistan to show that they are capable of securing fair justice for victims of war crimes and other atrocities. Afghanistan has “a poor record in bringing individuals implicated in human rights abuses and war crimes to justice,” HRW said. Farooqi's arrest is “an opportunity for the Afghan authorities to show that they are capable of securing fair justice for victims of war crimes and other atrocities,” added Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director at the New York-based human rights watchdog.”

Pakistan

The New York Times: Pakistani Security Forces Kill 7 Militants Near Afghanistan <[link removed]>

“Pakistani security forces acting on intelligence raided two militant hideouts in former Taliban strongholds in the country's northwest near Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing seven militants, the military said. In a statement, the military said four militants were killed in the first raid in North Waziristan, which in recent years was the location for the headquarters of several local and foreign militant groups. Another three militants were killed in the former tribal region of Mohmand, the statement said. The military said troops seized a cache of weapons from both militant hideouts. It wasn't immediately clear what militant group was raided and the military provided no further details. The Pakistan Taliban had its headquarters in North Waziristan up until 2017 when the military in a series of operations dismantled the insurgent group's network and killed, arrested or evicted scores of them. The military has claimed it has cleared the region of militants but violence has continued. That has spread fear among residents in North Waziristan and nearby regions that the military might carry out more operations.”

Lebanon

The National: US Hits Out At Hezbollah But Still Sending Coronavirus Aid To Lebanon <[link removed]>

“US officials have slammed Hezbollah’s “false” claims it is trying to influence the appointment of top Lebanese banking officials, telling The National that the Iran-backed group was attempting to “distract the Lebanese people.” The rare direct public rebuttal of the US-sanctioned group comes days after Hezbollah officials and a pro-Hezbollah media have alleged that America’s Ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea, is directly interfering in the appointment of senior officials at Banque du Liban (BDL). Hezbollah MP Hasan Fadlallah last week accused Ms Shea of directly “requesting” a candidate for one of the four vice-governors at the central bank, which is headed by Riad Salameh. The terms of the four deputies expired over a year ago, and replacements were set to be appointed by ministers last week before Prime Minister Hassan Diab abruptly withdrew the item from the agenda. Mr Diab said he was disappointed with the mechanism for which the candidates were brought forward, using political motives and not experience or skill. It is unclear when the appointments will be made or discussed next. Hezbollah has been a vocal critic of the central bank’s fiscal and monetary policies, as well as the work of Mr Salameh.”

Atlantic Council: Lebanon’s Collapse Is Hezbollah’s Slow Unraveling <[link removed]>

“Hezbollah has been working for years on integrating itself into the Lebanese state. Now that the country is falling apart, Hezbollah’s assimilation into the state apparatus, which was initially meant to protect the organization against international pressure, could pose a direct threat to the group’s future. Lebanon is facing a host of fresh challenges, from an economic collapse marred by a financial crisis to the coronavirus pandemic. While the mismanagement of these various emergencies cannot be blamed solely on one Lebanese faction alone, Hezbollah has undoubtedly contributed to the country’s downfall. The militant group’s use of the state to fend-off international sanctions and shape foreign policy has acted as a double-edged sword, making the pushback on Hezbollah a deadly one for Lebanon. Hezbollah’s reliance on corrupt political figures—to achieve dominance and parasitize the state—has also severely hurt the group’s credibility, particularly in the wake of the massive economic crisis. Traditionally, Hezbollah members have shied away from sensitive government positions, with its ministers handling agriculture, youth, industry, and more recently, health. Despite its political caution, the group has direct influence on essential institutions from security to foreign policy.”

Nigeria

All Africa: Nigeria: Armies Slay 19 Boko Haram Insurgents <[link removed]>

“The Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) has reported the killing of 19 Boko Haram terrorists in the Lake Chad Basin. The combined force believes the breakthrough has further degraded and depleted the Islamist militants destabilising the region. MNJTF consisted of ground and air force formations from Niger Republic and Nigeria. Two gun trucks belonging to the alleged terrorists were destroyed and two others captured. Four motor cycles as well as arms and ammunition were also recovered following operations by personnel from Niger and Nigeria. Meanwhile, the Cameroon military has been conducting clearance operations in the southern parts of Lake Chad Basin in order to eliminate fleeing Boko Haram terrorists. Last week, the Chadian military carried out similar operations against the militants. Headquartered in Chad, MNJTF comprises of units, from Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. The mandate of the MNJTF allows troops of the task force to conduct operations within 25 kilometers of delineated area of operation in troop contributing countries. “Consequently, MNJTF, with the support of national forces will continue to pursue Boko Haram Terrorists until they flee from the Lake Chad Basin or face justice,” Colonel Timothy Antigha, MNJTF spokesperson, stated.”

Sahara Reporters: Boko Haram Currently Attacking Borno Community <[link removed]>

“Boko Haram terrorists are currently attacking Ngala in Borno State, SaharaReporters can confirm. The attack comes less than 24 hours after the insurgents pounced on Kirchinga under Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State on Monday night, razing no fewer than five houses. The insurgents launched the attack after they emerged from Rann near the border with Cameroon in Northern Borno State."

Germany

Deutsche Welle: German Far-Right Crimes Rise <[link removed]>

“Germany last year recorded 41,175 politically-motivated crimes, with more than half of them (22,337) attributed to right-wing extremists. This is according to the federal interior ministry in preliminary data requested by Irene Mihalic, a police officer and criminologist who is now the Green party's interior affairs expert. Mihalic found that the figures also show that the count of officially notified weapons permits held by far-right extremists had doubled since 2018, reaching 892. “This development marks a dangerous weapons buildup within the [far-right] scene,” said Mihalic, while calling for a “resolute disarming” of such individuals. Crimes committed by neo-Nazis amounted to an “enormous threat,” she told the Funke Media Group, a newspaper and online chain based in Essen incorporating several local publications. Mihalic's remarks follow themurder last June of regional politician Walter Lübcke in Kassel, a gunman's attack on the synagogue in Halle last September and February's far-right shootings at hookah cafes in Hanau. A documentary broadcast on Monday by German public broadcaster ZDF estimated that only 8% of 2,558 attacks on asylum-seekers' hostels between 2015 and 2018 resulted in perpetrators actually being convicted, fined or jailed.”



-=-=-
The Counter Extremism Project - United States
This email was sent to [email protected]. To stop receiving emails: [link removed]
-=-=-

Created with NationBuilder - [link removed]