April 20, 2020

France 24: Dozens Dead In Fresh Wave Of Taliban Violence In Afghanistan <[link removed]>

“The Taliban have killed at least 23 Afghan troops and nine civilians, officials said Monday, as a fresh wave of violence grips Afghanistan despite a deal with the US and a worsening coronavirus crisis. Under the terms of the US-Taliban deal, the Afghan government and the insurgents were by now supposed to have concluded a prisoner exchange and started talks aimed at bringing about a comprehensive ceasefire. But the stalled prisoner swap has been beset with problems -- with Kabul claiming the Taliban are demanding the release of some of the group's most notorious warriors -- and peace talks seem as elusive ever amid ongoing attacks. Late Sunday night in Takhar province in northeast Afghanistan, the Taliban struck an Afghan army base, killing 16 soldiers and two policemen, provincial police spokesman Khalil Asir told AFP. The governor's spokesman, Mohammad Jawad Hejri, confirmed the attack and also blamed the Taliban, putting the death toll at 19. In the south, the Taliban attacked a police checkpoint near Tarin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province. “Five Afghan policemen were killed and three others were wounded,” Zilgai Ebadi, the provincial governor's spokesman, told AFP. The toll was confirmed by the head of Uruzgan provincial council, Amir Mohammad.”

Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthi Leader’s Nephew Killed In Yemen Fighting <[link removed]>

“The nephew of the leader of the Houthi militias in Yemen was killed in fighting in the war-torn country, media affiliated with the Iran-backed group reported Saturday. Houthi leaderships on social media offered condolences over the death of Mohammed Ahmed Badreddine al-Houthi, the nephew of Houthi leader Abdulmalek al-Houthi. The time and location of his death was not disclosed. Houthi media said he was killed in fighting between the militias and legitimate military in the Sirwah region, west of the Marib province. The deceased is the son of Ahmed Badreddine al-Houthi, also the brother of Hussein al-Houthi, the founder of the militia movement. Both were killed during the first war they waged against the state in 2004. The Houthis have in recent weeks been suffering significant material and human losses in battles in al-Jawf and Marib. The majority of the casualties are senior figures.”

United States

The New York Times: Oklahoma City Marks 25 Years Since America’s Deadliest Homegrown Attack <[link removed]>

“Timothy J. McVeigh slaughtered 168 people, including 19 children, by gutting a federal office building with a massive truck bomb on April 19, 1995, yet he features only fleetingly in the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. “We felt it was important to show his face, not to give him any credit, but to show people how normal he was,” said Kari F. Watkins, the museum’s executive director, “It could be anybody. The terrorist among us.” Aside from his picture, there is his rusty, yellow 1977 Mercury Marquis getaway car. The curators also included a copy of “The Turner Diaries,” a bigoted novel popular on the far right — he had a copy on the front seat of the Marquis — whose white supremacist hero blows up the F.B.I. headquarters. The  bombing remains something of an anomaly. Between Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Oklahoma City was the deadliest deliberate attack on the United States, yet it has not been similarly woven into the tapestry of American history. Sunday marked the bombing’s 25th anniversary,  with both historians and those who experienced the attack directly worried that the memory is fading even as the violent ideology that inspired Mr. McVeigh grows ever more prevalent.”

Syria

Asharq Al-Awsat: 15 Regime, Hezbollah Fighters Killed In Syria’s Daraa In A Week <[link removed]>

“Fifteen fighters from the Syrian regime and the Lebanese Hezbollah party were killed last week in the Daraa countryside, reported the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The rights monitor said the regime and its collaborators were victim to ten attacks, ranging from assassinations to armed assaults, in the eastern and western Daraa countryside. On Saturday, unknown gunmen attacked a military vehicle of the 52nd Brigade as it was passing through the eastern Daraa countryside. Three regime fighters were killed. The unrest in Daraa, which is held by the regime and allied militias, has been ongoing since June. Not a day goes by without an assassination attempt that often targets regime fighters or collaborators. Damascus has so far failed to rein in the chaos in the southern province. The unrest has claimed the lives of 133 regime fighters and armed gunmen loyal to them, 17 members of Hezbollah and Iranian forces and six members of the Russian-established “Fifth Brigade.”

Iran

Arab News: Iranian Regime Will Not Stop Bankrolling Terror <[link removed]>

“Iraq already hosts about 60 paramilitary groups, which together consist of upwards of 160,000 fighters. Announcements concerning the formation of yet more Iran-aligned factions thus come as little surprise. In practice, these entities — like Usbat Al-Thaireen, Ashab Al-Kahf and Qabdat Al-Hoda — are new names for old militants. Such “resistance” factions have a specific mandate to attack American and Western interests. In terms of tactics, munitions and their rhetoric and attire, these radical elements are almost indistinguishable from long-standing entities like Kata’ib Hezbollah. There has been no serious attempt to dissociate these new factions from Iran. Tehran’s National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani earlier this year declared: “We will establish a new armed group of more than 2,000 people in the region. The main function of this group of mujahideen is to remove US forces from the region.” Online propaganda by these entities transparently seeks to provoke the Americans, while also boasting of their responsibility for recent attacks. Video footage shows drones surveilling US bases, with the message: “We are watching your movements.” A masked man holding an assault rifle warns foreign troops “to leave vertically before we force them to leave horizontally.”

Iraq

Kurdistan 24: Four ISIS Attacks In Central Iraqi Province Of Diyala Injure 11 <[link removed]>

“Nine members of the Iraqi security forces and two civilians were injured on Saturday in four separate attacks by the so-called Islamic State in the central province of Diyala. According to a statement released by the Iraqi army, an explosion at a residence led to the injury of six soldiers in the Khaylania neighborhood of Miqdadiya, located 110 kilometers (about 70 miles) northeast of Baghdad. According to a local security source who spoke to Kurdistan 24, the blast appeared to target troops engaged in a military operation to search out remnants of the extremist group. A second explosion in Diyala wounded a member of the federal police. Later in the day in the provincial capital of Baquba, Islamic State gunmen opened fire at a security checkpoint, wounding two more soldiers, and then an improvised explosive device (IED) placed on a parked motorcycle in the village of Kanaan village injured two civilians. Also on Saturday in Iraqi federal police sources confirmed that their forces had repelled an attack by Islamic State militants in the Baiji Desert, west of Diyala in neighboring Salahuddin province.”

Kurdistan 24: Iraqi Warplanes Kill ‘Group Of’ Suspected ISIS Members In Rural Salahuddin <[link removed]>

“The Iraqi army on Sunday said its air force carried out a series of strikes against positions held by the so-called Islamic State in rural Salahuddin province, killing a 'group of' fighters. This marks the latest air operation the Iraqi forces have carried out using F-16s, targeting hideouts of the terrorist organization in Salahuddin province, which contains sprawling near-uninhabitable areas that are used by sleeper cells to plan and carry out attacks on nearby territories witnessing security gaps. The Iraqi military communications center, the Security Media Cell, said that the warplanes directed “precise strikes against the hideouts of [ISIS] terrorist gangs on the island of Abdul Aziz, located in the middle of the Tigris River west of al-Dour district in Salahuddin province.” The army statement said the shelling “killed a group of terrorist elements and completely destroyed the hideouts,” from where the group launches attacks on the Iraqi security forces and citizens. Iraqi forces have carried out a series of sweeping operations in that area, as well as other hotbeds of Islamic State militancy. Still, the terrorist organization's insurgency continues, seeing a marked uptick in recent weeks as other crises grip the country, including the coronavirus outbreak.”

Afghanistan

The Wall Street Journal: The Last Sikhs And Hindus In Afghanistan Plead For U.S. Help <[link removed]>

“The last community of Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan is seeking asylum in the U.S. after suffering an attack by Islamic State extremists, posing a test of the Trump administration’s pledge to protect and support religious minorities world-wide. The Islamic State attack targeting a Sikh temple in Kabul last month killed 25 people, while dozens of others were taken hostage in a six-hour siege ending in a gun battle with Afghanistan’s commandos, the elite army unit that works closely with U.S. Special Forces. There are about 650 Sikhs and Hindus left in Afghanistan. The fear in the community is a reminder of the uncertainty facing the country after the U.S. reached a February deal with the Taliban to withdraw all of its troops next year. “When the U.S. leaves, life for us will become impossible. It’s only a matter of time that all of us will be eliminated. We want refugee status and protection in a U.S. Army base here. We want this soon,” a Sikh community leader who lost three immediate relatives in the attack told The Wall Street Journal. The Trump administration has made religious freedom a focus of its foreign-policy efforts, hosting an annual international conference to advance religious freedom and speaking out on the plights of minorities, such as the Christians in Iraq and the Uighurs in China.”

Pakistan

The New York Times: Pakistan Says Militant Attack In Northwest Kills Soldier <[link removed]>

“Militants armed with assault rifles attacked a Pakistani army security post in a former Taliban stronghold in the country's northwest early on Monday, triggering a shootout that killed a soldier, the military said. Five insurgents were also killed, it said. The military says the attack took place near the town of Miran Shah, the main urban center in the North Waziristan district that borders Afghanistan. Three troops were also wounded in the shootout. North Waziristan was a militant base until recent years when the Pakistani military said its successive operations there had cleared the area of the Taliban. However, violence has increased there in recent weeks, spreading fear among residents that the military might carry out more operations. “Troops effectively engaged the terrorists,” a military statement said, adding that troops subsequently launched a search operation in the area. The Pakistani army in recent weeks deployed thousand of troops across the country to help the government enforce a lockdown in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. But, it was unclear whether troops engaged in that mission were relocated from the northwestern region along the Afghan border. Pakistan on Monday said 17 more had died from the virus over the past 24 hours.”

The New York Times: 3 Indian Soldiers Killed, 2 Wounded In Kashmir Rebel Attack <[link removed]>

“Rebels fighting against Indian rule in disputed Kashmir attacked a paramilitary post on Saturday, killing three soldiers and wounding two others, an Indian official said. At least two militants on a motorbike opened gunfire at the post in the northwestern Sopore area on Saturday evening, said Pankaj Singh, an Indian paramilitary spokesman. He said three soldiers were killed on the spot and two others were wounded in the attack. The attackers fled after spraying bullets at the post, Singh said. Counterinsurgency police and soldiers launched search operations in the area to try to nab the attackers. No rebel group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Despite a stringent lockdown by authorities to combat the coronavirus, India has continued its counterinsurgency operations across Kashmir. Militants also have not ceased their attacks on government forces and alleged government informants. Saturday's attack also comes amid near daily fighting between Pakistani and Indian soldiers along the highly militarized frontier that divides Kashmir between the two rivals. India and Pakistan claim the divided territory of Kashmir in its entirety.”

The Nation: Four Al-Qaeda Terrorists Apprehended <[link removed]>

“The Sindh police claimed on Sunday to have apprehended four suspected Al-Qaeda militants during a raid in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar neighbourhood. The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) personnel made these arrests with the help of a Federal Intelligence Agency. The arrested militants were identified as Muhammad Umar, Muhammad Bilal alias Fida, Muhammad Wasim and Muhammad Amir. The SIU SSP Irfan Bahadur told the media that weapons and explosive material, including 10 detonators, three grenades, and two Kalashnikovs, were seized from their possession, which they had got to carry out terrorist attacks in the port city. He claimed the militants had also carried out reconnaissance for the purpose. The police officer said they were trained in Afghanistan as the group’s ameer Muhammad Hanif alias Zarar alias Ayoub is also residing in the neighbouring country. He said the arrested militants wanted to target the Pakistan Stock Exchange, the City Court, the Police Training Centre, and offices of the law enforcement agencies.”

Lebanon

The New York Times: Israel Accuses Hezbollah Of 'Provocative' Activity <[link removed]>

“Israel on Saturday accused the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah of “provocative” activity along the Lebanese-Israeli frontier and said it would complain to the U.N. Security Council. In a statement, Foreign Minister Israel Katz accused Hezbollah of multiple attempts to breach the border Friday night. He said Israel “thoroughly condemns” the incident and expects the Lebanese government to prevent such threats. On Friday night, the Israeli military fired flares along the volatile frontier after signs of a possible border breach. It said it later found damage to its security fence, just inside Israeli territory, in three locations. Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006 that ended in a stalemate. Under a U.N.-brokered truce, Hezbollah is barred from conducting military activity along the frontier. There was no immediate comment from the Iranian-backed militant group. But in recent days, both Hezbollah and the Lebanese government have accused Israel of violating Lebanese airspace. Earlier this week, Hezbollah said an Israeli drone destroyed one of its vehicles in neighboring Syria, and Lebanon has reported Israeli drones flying over the capital Beirut. Lebanese soldiers also faced off with Israeli troops along the frontier.”

Egypt

Al Jazeera: Egypt Puts 13 People Including Zyad Elelaimy On 'Terrorism' List <[link removed]>

“Egypt has added 13 people, including former legislator Zyad Elelaimy, on the country's “terrorism list” for collaborating with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Saturday's decision, published in the official gazette, stated that their “placement on the terrorism list will be for a period of five years”. Elelaimy, a key figure of Egypt's 2011 popular uprising that toppled longtime President Hosni Mubarak, was arrested in June 2019. Also put on the list was Ramy Shaath, a prominent activist who holds Egyptian citizenship and was arrested two months after Elelaimy. Since their arrest, the pair have been charged with joining a “terrorist group”, namely the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been outlawed following the 2013 overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. In its ruling Saturday, the court said Brotherhood members had tasked “other members of the group ... including Ramy Shaath and Zyad al-Elaimy” with carrying out activities against the state. Defence lawyer Khaled Ali told AFP news agency the decision was taken in the absence of the lawyers and would be appealed. Hundreds of people have been added to Egypt's terrorism list in recent years, including fugitives and people arrested by authorities.”

Nigeria

Al Jazeera: Dozens Of Suspected Boko Haram Fighters Found Dead In Chad Prison <[link removed]>

“At least 44 suspected members of Boko Haram who were arrested during a recent operation against the group have been found dead in their prison cell in Chad after apparently being poisoned, the country's chief prosecutor has announced. The prisoners were found dead on Thursday, Youssouf Tom said on television, and an autopsy carried out on four of the dead prisoners revealed traces of a lethal substance that had caused heart attacks in some of the victims and severe asphyxiation in the others, he said. The dead men were among a group of 58 suspects captured during a major army operation around Lake Chad launched by President Idriss Deby at the end of March. “Following the fighting around Lake Chad, 58 members of Boko Haram had been taken prisoner and sent to Ndjamena for the purposes of the investigation,” Tom said, referencing the central African country's capital. “On Thursday morning, their jailers told us that 44 prisoners had been found dead in their cell.” “We have buried 40 bodies and sent four bodies to the medical examiner for autopsy,” he added. An investigation was continuing to determine exactly how the prisoners had died, he said.”

Premium Times: Nigerian Soldiers Kill 105 Boko Haram Fighters In Battle – Official <[link removed]>

“The Nigerian Army on Sunday said its operatives killed 105 Boko Haram insurgents during its operations in Yobe State. The acting director of army public relations, Sagir Musa, in a statement circulated to journalists in Damaturu, said the operations took place at the outskirts of Buni Gari village in Yobe. He said the insurgents were planning “a heavy onslaught on the village”. Buni Gari is less that 7 km from the 27 Task Force Brigade in Buni Yadi which also accommodates the Nigerian Army Special Forces School. Mr Musa, a colonel, said the troops of Sector 2 of Operation Lafiya Dole, led by a brigadier general, Lawrence Araba, “followed a credible lead that led to the decimation of the Boko Haram/ISWAP Terrorists”. The statement said the Chief of Army Staff, Yusuf Buratai, felt happy after he was briefed by the commander during his visit to the Field Abulance Logistic Base 3 and Special Forces’ School on Sunday. “The Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Yusufu Buratai, applauded the troops for their gallantry and resilience that led to the killing of the 105 terrorists at Buni Gari in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe state on Saturday the 18th of April 2020.”

Africa

The New York Times: U.S. Military Cutting Medevac Flights For Troops In West Africa <[link removed]>

“The United States military is sharply reducing its emergency casualty evacuation services in West Africa, raising concerns that American troops on missions there could be left vulnerable if they run into trouble at a time when violence is surging in that corner of the continent. The action by the Pentagon’s Africa Command comes shortly after U.S. military advisers accompanied forces in Niger last month on a major counterterrorism operation near Diffa, a small town on the border with Nigeria that has been a hot spot for attacks by the militant group Boko Haram. It was the first time American forces in Niger had joined a combat mission alongside their local counterparts since 2017, when U.S. commanders imposed strict guidelines on ground forces. Those new restrictions were imposed after an ambush in October that year near the border with Mali that left four American soldiers dead. At issue now is the military’s decision to cancel a $23 million annual contract with Erickson, an aviation services company that flies logistics and casualty evacuation flights for Army Green Berets who have been training and advising Nigerien troops for two years in Arlit, a remote city in northern Niger.”

Al Jazeera: Polls Close In Mali Election Held Despite Threats Of Violence <[link removed]>

“Polls have closed in Mali as voters cast their ballots in the second round of legislative elections despite an armed conflict and the threat of the coronavirus pandemic. Sunday's runoff vote for 147 seats in the National Assembly on Sunday was aimed at reviving confidence in the embattled institutions of a country struggling with deteriorating violence that has killed thousands of people and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes. The long-delayed first round of voting on March 29 was disrupted by attacks and intimidation, including the kidnapping of opposition leader Soumaila Cisse. It was unclear which group was behind the kidnapping. Acts of intimidated were also reported in the runoff vote. “I am scared. I had to hide to visit my own constituents,” Hamadoune Dicko, a parliamentary candidate for the Democratic Alliance for Peace party, told Al Jazeera. “If they can abduct our opposition leader for 21 days, they could abduct a president, they can take anyone they want,” Dicko added. In central Mali, where Dicko is campaigning, al-Qaeda affiliates reportedly asked people not to vote, said Al Jazeera's Nicolas Haque, who has reported extensively on Mali.”

United Kingdom

BBC News: Man, 20, Arrested Under Terrorism Act In Cardiff <[link removed]>

“Police have arrested a 20-year-old man in Cardiff under the Terrorism Act. The arrest at a house in the Cyncoed area of the city took place just after 07:00 BST on Sunday following concerns reported by a resident. South Wales Police said the man was also being held on suspicion of assaulting a police officer. He has been taken to Cardiff Bay police station and the force said “a scene is being preserved” at the house while investigations continue. No further details have been released.”

Europe

Middle East Eye: How Coronavirus Could Escalate Europe's Far-Right Terror Threat <[link removed]>

“If the influx of Syrian refugees into Europe in 2015 sparked a right-wing-populist backlash, imagine what could be unleashed should tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of Covid-19 infected refugees turn up in European cities - a real possibility, given that tens of thousands of displaced men, women and children are packed into squalid camps in Greece, where social distancing, self-isolation and even hand-washing are “fantasy concepts”. There are no good outcomes here. If these refugees stay where they are, they will become one of the groups hardest hit by the spread of the pandemic, given the inadequate medical facilities in these camps. If they flee to northern European cities, they will face hostility in the streets, as a number of EU countries have experienced surging levels of hate crimes against Muslims in recent years. “Neo-Nazi accelerationist Telegram channels have increased their calls for destabilisation and violence related to Covid-19,” Joshua Fisher-Birch, a researcher with the US-based Counter Extremism Project, told Al Jazeera. “These channels are treating the current situation … as an opportunity to try to increase tension and advocate for violence.”

Southeast Asia

The New York Times: 11 Filipino Soldiers Are Killed Trying To Track An ISIS Leader <[link removed]>

“Troops on the trail of the leader of the Islamic State in the Philippines clashed Friday with his insurgents, setting off an hourlong firefight that left 11 soldiers dead, the military said. Philippine soldiers were on combat patrol in Patikul, a jungle-dense island in the extreme southern province of Sulu, when they came upon 40 heavily armed militants and touched off a fierce gun battle, said Marine Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, the armed forces spokesman. The militants belonged to Abu Sayyaf, an extremist group that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and that is notorious for kidnapping and beheading foreign hostages. The Islamic State’s faction within Abu Sayyaf is led by Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, who took over after the killing of the larger group’s regional head. The military did not state whether Mr. Sawadjaan was with his group of fighters in Friday’s battle. “The entire armed forces of the Philippines mourns today,” General Arevalo said Friday. “Our flags in all military camps around the country will be flown at half-mast as 11 army heroes offered their lives” to protect the people of Sulu. The former regional chief, the Filipino Isnilon Hapilon, was killed three years ago after he led fighters from Southeast Asia and the Middle East in taking over the city of Marawi.”



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The Counter Extremism Project - United States
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