Eye on Extremism
April 16, 2020
NBC
News: Massachusetts Man Charged With Trying To Blow Up Jewish Nursing
Home
“Federal agents arrested a western Massachusetts man and accused of
him trying to blow up a Jewish assisted living facility — but he
instead left his DNA on the failed explosive, authorities alleged
Wednesday. John Michael Rathbun, 36, of East Longmeadow was charged
with two counts of attempted arson after local police found a 5-gallon
plastic gas container with burned paper placed in the nozzle of the
canister outside the assisted living home on April 2, according to a
criminal complaint. The burned paper was a Christian religious
pamphlet, and blood was on the side of the gas canister and the paper,
the FBI said. The blood is alleged to have matched Rathbun's DNA,
which had been stored in a federal database because of his 2011
arrests on charges of breaking and entering and receiving stolen
property. Investigators discovered a white supremacist organization on
a social media platform in March targeting “the jew nursing home in
longmeadow massachsusetts,” according to the complaint written by
Special Agent Ryan McGonigle, assigned to the FBI's Joint Terrorism
Task Force. The FBI didn't name Rathbun specifically as the person who
made the posts. Court papers did note that the online user who
discussed the nursing home, identified in court papers as Ruth's House
on Converse Street, also said April 3 would be “jew killing day.”
Eurasia
Review: Suspected Bangladeshi Islamic State Member Caught In
Afghanistan
“Afghan authorities have arrested a suspected pro-Islamic State
Bangladeshi militant who is wanted in Dhaka for his alleged
involvement in a foiled plot to bomb an event attended by Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2017, police here confirmed on Wednesday.
Mohammad Tanvir, whom Afghan authorities have identified as a senior
leader of the Islamic State terror group, was arrested recently with
another suspected IS leader in northwestern Afghanistan, according to
Khaama Press, which cited a statement from the Afghan National
Directorate of Security (NDS). The outlet describes itself as
Afghanistan’s largest English news service. “Yes, we have received
confirmation that Tanvir has been arrested in Afghanistan,” Saiful
Islam, a deputy commissioner of the Bangladeshi police’s
counter-terrorism and transnational crimes unit, told BenarNews. Islam
told BenarNews that a “foreign” intelligence agency called Bangladeshi
police seven days ago seeking information about Tanvir, whose name is
spelled as Tanweer (alias Omran, Ahmad or Nasir) in Afghanistan. “We
provided them the information,” Islam said, without elaborating.
“Later, the agency confirmed to us that Tanvir was genuinely arrested
in Afghanistan.”
Iraq
The
Jerusalem Post: Turkey Bombs Refugees In Iraq Amid Coronavirus
Pandemic
“Turkish drones and warplanes flew into Iraq airspace and bombed
near a refugee camp near Makhmour on Wednesday, killing and wounding
several people. Iraq’s top security cell for media reporting that its
air defense monitored a Turkish violation of Iraqi airspace and that
at least two women “residents of the camp were victims of the
bombardment.” Iraqi media reported in the evening of April 15 that the
death toll at the refugee camp had risen to three. It is not the first
time Turkey has carried out airstrikes against refugees and in areas
where minorities, such as Yazidis, live in northern Iraq. Ankara
claims it is striking “terrorists” but has never presented any
evidence that its airstrikes have eliminated anyone involved in recent
terror attacks against Turkey. The day was a somber one in Iraq where
people are in lockdowns due to the coronavirus. Iraq’s strained health
care system has made it difficult for the country to confront the
virus threat. In areas in northern Iraq people are recovering from the
ISIS war. In Makhmour refugee camp which is near the border line
between the Kurdistan autonomous regional government and Iraqi
Security forces the refugees and internally displaced people face
daily hardships and difficulty transiting checkpoints to find
work.”
Turkey
Daily
Sabah: Turkey Persists In Fight Against Terrorism Despite Coronavirus
Challenge
“As the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc across the globe,
including Turkey, the country persists in its fight against terrorist
organizations. It has killed 230 terrorists in nearly 22,000
counterterrorism operations so far this year. Different terrorist
organizations, the PKK, in particular, do not refrain from targeting
innocent civilians and children to disturb peace and security in
Turkey. The PKK carried out its latest attack on civilians in
Diyarbakır's Kulp district last week. Five people were killed died
when a roadside bomb hit a minibus carrying villagers. “We have
carried out 22,000 operations in the fight against terrorism since New
Year’s,” Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on April 9. The
minister explained that teams are trying to destroy shelters and
hiding places while intelligence units, counterterrorism teams and the
gendarmerie in rural areas are working in coordination. Within this
scope, Turkey has eliminated at least 230 terrorists, including
high-ranking leaders, in the first three months of the year. Turkish
security forces continue their fight against terrorism with
determination both in cities and rural areas and in cross-border
operations. Ramping up its fight against terrorists, Turkey launched
Operation Kapan in the country’s southeast in January after it had
completed the stages of Operation Kıran that was launched last
August.”
Yemen
Al
Monitor: Yemen’s Houthis Seek Regional Role As Part Of Axis Of
Resistance
“As the war in Yemen enters its fifth year, faint hope for an end
to the continuing carnage can be felt in large part because of the
threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic. On April 12, United Nations
envoys to Syria, Iraq and Yemen, among others, called on warring
parties in the region to end hostilities and allow access to medical
facilities where needed. “We call on all parties to engage, in good
faith and without preconditions, in negotiating immediate halts to
ongoing hostilities, sustaining existing cease-fires, putting in place
more durable and comprehensive cease-fires, and achieving longer-term
resolutions to the persistent conflicts across the region,” the envoys
said in a joint statement. Yemen recorded its first COVID-19 case
April 10. The prospect of the coronavirus spreading is horrifying in a
country where the health care system is already in horrific shape.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which have been
battling the Houthi rebels in Yemen, reacted positively to the call.
They announced a cease-fire to help prevent an outbreak, Col. Turki
al-Malki, spokesman for the Saudi-UAE coalition, told the Saudi
national news agency. The agency noted that the cease-fire gives the
Houthis an opportunity to join UN-sponsored talks to end the
conflict.”
Lebanon
The
New York Times: Hezbollah Says Members Escape Israeli Drone Attack In
Syria
“Two missiles from an Israeli drone targeted a four-wheel-drive
vehicle carrying two members of Lebanon's Hezbollah on Wednesday near
the Syria-Lebanon border, but neither person was hurt, a member of the
militant group said. The Hezbollah official said one missile blew up
near the vehicle as it traveled in rural Damascus near a border
crossing with Lebanon. The second missile hit after the driver managed
to get out of the vehicle. The Hezbollah official spoke on condition
of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. He
didn't identify the passengers but said no one was hurt. The border
crossing is officially closed, except for commercial transit, as part
of the measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Syria state
media also reported the attack, saying it targeted a civilian car and
left material damage only. It did not elaborate. There was no
immediate comment from Israel, which rarely confirms individual
attacks targeting Iranian and allied forces inside Syria. The drone
attack near the Jdeidet Yabous border crossing came a week after
Israel’s military released a video it said shows Syrian officers and
Hezbollah members working together on the edge of the Israeli-occupied
Golan Heights.”
Egypt
Egypt
Today: Jordan Voices Support For Egypt Against Terrorism As Officer
Killed In Cairo
“The Jordanian Foreign Ministry affirmed full support of Egypt in
the face of terrorism, after a police officer was killed while raiding
a terrorist hideout in the capital Cairo. Seven targeted elements were
also killed. The only victim in the raid was Lieutenant Colonel
Mohamed Al-Houfi, a father of three children, the oldest of whom is
seven years old. He was part of a raid on the terrorist hideout in
Cairo’s crowd district of Amiriya. Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman
Safadi condemned the “coward” terrorist act in Cairo, according to the
Egyptian state’s news agency MENA, affirming that Egypt is “stronger”
than terrorism and is able to defend its security. “May God have mercy
on the officer who rose (died) while confronting terrorists and may
[God] bless the injured [officers] with recovery,” Safadi said,
according to the Jordan News Agency (Petra). After the incident, the
Egyptian Ministry of Interior said on a statement Tuesday that its
forces eliminated a terrorist cell that practiced extremism and was
located in the east of Cairo before plotting attacks against the
Egyptian Copts. The statement revealed that the terrorist elements
timed their attacks to coincide with Christian religious holidays,
adding that 7 terrorists were killed during a fire exchange with
counter-terrorism forces.”
Nigeria
Punch
Nigeria: 58 Boko Haram Members To Appear In Court
Thursday
“Fifty-eight suspected Islamists, who were rounded up in a Chadian
operation against Boko Haram, will be heard by a criminal court from
Thursday, Justice Minister Djimet Arabi told AFP. President Idriss
Deby Itno asserted that Boko Haram militants were chased out of the
country in the operation carried out between March 31 and April 8. A
Chadian army spokesman said at least 52 soldiers and 1,000 jihadists
were killed during the operation, which was launched after a massive
attack on an army base near Lake Chad that claimed the lives of around
100 soldiers. Idriss warned his allies in the region that Chad’s army
would no longer take part in operations outside the country. The
force, considered one of the best in the region, has fought Boko Haram
in the Lake Chad region as part of the Joint Multinational Force with
Nigeria, Cameroon and Niger.”
Somalia
Military.com:
Reports Of Civilian Killed In US Airstrike Are Al-Shabaab Propaganda,
DoD Says
“Officials with U.S. Africa Command are disputing news reports that
a civilian was killed during a “precision airstrike” near Jamaame,
Somalia, this month, saying the reports are based on propaganda from a
terrorist group. The strike took place April 10 and killed one
terrorist, according to a release from AFRICOM: “an al-Shabaab member
complicit in the murder of at least six innocent Somalis.” Al-Shabaab
is an al-Qaida-linked militant group based in East Africa. Its aims
include the overthrow of the Somali government. Two news outlets
falsely reported civilian casualties in the recent strike, officials
said in the release. One, they said, was the al-Shabaab-linked network
SomaliMemo. The April 10 airstrike was conducted in coordination with
the Somali government and took place after the al-Shabaab target had
terrorized a nearby village, laying out the murdered corpses of
soldiers from the Somali National Army, AFRICOM officials said. The
militant was killed, they said, after departing the village with other
fighters and entering “a remote and secluded area.” “This was no
innocent civilian. This was a purposeful and heinous act. It was a war
crime by an al-Shabaab terrorist who desecrated bodies to scare and
intimidate innocent Somalis into submission,” Army Maj. Gen. William
Gayler, U.S. Africa Command director of operations, said in a
statement.”
Africa
Al
Jazeera: More Than Two Dozen Killed In DR Congo Armed
Attack
“More than two dozen people were killed in two separate attacks in
eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, a region in the grip of
militia violence, officials said on Wednesday. “CODECO assailants
attacked the people of the village of Koli while they were asleep,
killing 22 civilians,” said Adel Alingi, head of the Djugu
administrative region in Ituri province, referring to an armed group
targeting the Hema ethnic community. The raid took place overnight
from Saturday to Sunday. “All [of the dead] were from the Hema
community,” Alingi told AFP news agency, adding the motive for the
attack remained unclear. “The people of the village have fled for
their lives,” he said. In the second attack on Tuesday, two soldiers,
a civilian and five members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF)
militia were killed in Beni, in neighbouring North Kivu province, said
the army's regional spokesman Anthony Mualushayi. CODECO - whose
official name is Cooperative for the Development of Congo - is an
armed political-religious sect in Ituri drawn from the Lendu ethnic
group. Conflict between the Lendu, mainly farmers, and the Hema,
herders and traders, has a long history in the gold and oil-rich
province.”
Europe
The
National: European Terror Investigations Rise By 14 Per
Cent
“The number of EU terror investigations has risen by 14 per cent.
It comes as the bloc's crime agency has exposed thousands of cases of
Isis propaganda. Crime agency Eurojust has revealed it dealt with 222
terror cases last year compared with 191 in 2018. In its annual
report, the agency says its number of new cases has risen to almost
100 and it is continuing work on a further 128 from previous years. In
one case its work with security services in Belgium and Hungary
resulted in the apprehension of an Isis extremist who was charged with
multiple murders. It has also worked with 12 member states to disrupt
the spread of online terror propaganda. It led to the arrest in Spain
of an extremist suspected of being one of the “core disseminators” of
Isis terrorist propaganda online in November. “The growing complexity
for judicial authorities dealing with terrorism is reflected in a
steady number of new terrorist cases coordinated through Eurojust’s
National Members and Liaison Prosecutors in recent years, rising from
84 to 94 new cases in 2019.” the report said. “In 2019, ongoing
investigations coordinated through Eurojust focused on achieving
justice for the victims of terrorist acts, cracking down on extremist
propaganda or following up on individuals suspected of preparing or
attempting to commit a terrorist crime, being members of a terrorist
group or financing terrorism.”
Southeast Asia
The
New York Times: Indonesian Police Kill 2 Suspected In Attack On
Policeman
“Indonesian security forces on Wednesday shot and killed two
alleged members of an Islamic militant group suspected of involvement
in attack on a policeman on Sulawesi island earlier in the day. The
two men, believed to be members of the East Indonesia Mujahideen
militant group, were killed in a gunfight in Kayamanya village in
Poso, a mountainous district considered an extremist hotbed in Central
Sulawesi province, local police spokesman Didik Supranoto said.
Supranoto said a security video led police and military to a house in
the village while they were searching for two gunmen who critically
wounded a police officer in an attack in front of a bank on Wednesday
afternoon. The video showed two attackers wearing helmets shooting the
policeman and then fleeing on a motorbike when the injured officer
tried to resist with a gun. Supranoto said the suspects refused to
surrender and shot at police during the raid on the house. “They were
the planners and were directly involved in the attack,” Supranoto
said. Police seized weapons and the motorbike used in the attack, and
defused at least two bombs found in the house, he said. Security
operations have been intensified in the past months in Poso to try to
capture the group’s members.”
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