April 24, 2020

The Wall Street Journal: In A Global First, Syrians Face Trial For State Torture <[link removed]>

“The first trial on Syrian state torture began Thursday in Germany, in what lawyers and human-rights groups see as a test case for the role European courts can play in accountability for war crimes committed in the Syrian conflict. The case involves two former members of the Syrian government’s intelligence service who allegedly participated in the suppression of opposition activity stemming from the 2011 antigovernment uprising, according to German federal prosecutors. The main defendant, Anwar Raslan, 57, led an investigations unit of the Syrian intelligence service and is charged with committing crimes against humanity, 58 counts of murder, rape and grave sexual assault, according to the indictment. The other defendant is a lower-ranking officer who, according to the German charges, helped catch antigovernment demonstrators and brought them to the intelligence service’s al-Khatib prison in Damascus, which was supervised by Mr. Raslan. There, prosecutors allege, detainees were tortured as part of the Syrian secret intelligence’s bid to suppress opposition antigovernment activities with “systemic, brutal, physical and psychological abuse.” Mr. Raslan defected and left Syria in late 2012 and arrived in Germany in July 2014.”

National Review: Revolutionary Guard Chief Orders Navy To ‘Destroy Any American Terrorist Forces’ That Threaten Iranian Vessels <[link removed]>

“The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Thursday that Iran will destroy U.S. warships that threaten Iranian security in the Persian Gulf, a day after President Trump issued a similar threat regarding Iranian ships that “harass” U.S. vessels. “I have ordered our naval forces to destroy any American terrorist force in the Persian Gulf that threatens security of Iran’s military or non-military ships,” Major General Hossein Salami told state TV. “Security of the Persian Gulf is part of Iran’s strategic priorities.” “I am telling the Americans that we are absolutely determined and serious in defending our national security, our water borders, our shipping safety, and our security forces, and we will respond decisively to any sabotage,” the commander-in-chief added. “Americans have experienced our power in the past and must learn from it.” A day earlier, on Wednesday, Trump wrote in a tweet that he has “instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.” Pentagon officials later said that they would apply the president’s order although it did not indicate a change in the rules of engagement.”

Voice Of America: Taliban Rejects Afghan Truce Calls During Ramadan <[link removed]>

“The Taliban has turned down calls for a cease-fire in Afghanistan during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins Friday. The Afghan government and others had hoped to enable health officials to better respond to the “common threat” of the coronavirus pandemic. A spokesman for the Islamist insurgency argued Thursday that its agreement with the United States outlines an internationally endorsed “comprehensive framework” on how to promote Afghan peace. “If it is implemented [fully], it will take us to a lasting cease-fire and peace,” tweeted Suhail Shaheen, referring to the February 29 landmark U.S.-Taliban pact. The agreement for a phased withdrawal of U.S. and coalition troops from Afghanistan calls for the release of up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners from Afghan jails in exchange for 1,000 government security forces being held by the insurgents. The U.S.-Taliban deal, endorsed by the U.N. Security Council, required the prisoner swap to be concluded by March 10, when Taliban and Afghan teams were supposed to open direct peace talks to negotiate a sustainable cease-fire and power-sharing arrangement.”

Egypt Today: Libyan Army Arrests Most Dangerous Egyptian Terrorist In Libya <[link removed]>

“Spokesperson for the Libyan National Army (LNA)Ahmed al-Mismari announced on Wednesday the arrest of the most dangerous terrorist in Libya, called Mohammad Mohammad al-Sayyid, known as Mohamed al-Sanbakhti or “Abu Khaled Munir”. Sayyid was the assistant of executed Egyptian terrorist Hisham Ashmawy and was involved in committing terrorist crimes in Egypt, ashe participated in the bombing of several Coptic churches. According to the official spokesman of the armed forces, Al-Qaeda terrorist belongs to an Egyptian family convicted of terrorism, as he has two brothers in Egyptian prisons.He noted that Abu Khaledis Ashmawy's successor in Libya. On March 2, Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Egyptian terrorist Hesham Ashmawy and 36 members of Ansar Bait al-Maqdes terror group to death over multiple crimes including assassinating policemen. The case was referred to the Grand Mufti for religious advisory on February 1 as a standard procedure that seeks the religious authority’s approval on sentencing a defendant to death, although the Grand Mufti's decision is not binding. In this case, 208 defendants were charged with 54 crimes that include assassinating policemen, attempted murder of former Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim, and bombing security institutions’ buildings.”

United States

NBC News: Coronavirus And Its Social Effects Fueling Extremist Violence, Says Government Report <[link removed]>

“The coronavirus pandemic and its social repercussions are fueling violence by both frustrated individuals and domestic terrorists, according to a new intelligence report by the Department of Homeland Security obtained by NBC News. The unclassified report by a Florida field office cites two incidents involving suspected domestic extremists, and two incidents in Florida that DHS labeled non-ideological. On March 24, the DHS report says, a “racially motivated violent extremist espousing white supremacist extremist beliefs died after a confrontation with FBI agents in Missouri as they tried to arrest him for plotting to blow up a local hospital.” The man had been the subject of a domestic terrorism investigation for plotting to commit an act of terrorism — specifically a bombing — and considered several targets, including a school with a large population of black students, a synagogue, and a mosque, according to the FBI. As the COVID-19 pandemic expanded, the man allegedly chose to target a local hospital with a vehicle bomb to cause severe harm and mass casualties, according to the FBI.”

Syria

Asharq Al-Awsat: Israel Warns Hezbollah To Stay Clear Of Its Strike Targets In Syria <[link removed]>

“Israel had deliberately avoided killing Hezbollah members during a strike on Syria last week, reported the New York Times on Thursday. According to several current and former Israeli and Middle Eastern officials, Israel has adopted a policy of warning Hezbollah operatives in Syria before bombing their convoys to avoid killing them and risking a devastating war in Lebanon. Hezbollah operatives in Syria have received surprise phone calls from Israeli officials warning them to evacuate their bases before they are bombed, according to an official from the pro-Iran regional alliance, reported NYT. And the first missile fired at the Hezbollah Jeep last week was a deliberate miss, a warning shot aimed at forcing the men to flee so their gear could be destroyed, an intelligence official said. The plan failed in this case because the men retrieved their bags before the car was hit. Last August, Israel sent an exploding drone into the heart of the Hezbollah-dominated southern suburbs of Beirut to destroy what Israeli officials described as machinery vital to the precision-missile production effort. But in order to avoid killing Hezbollah members, the attack took place before dawn when no one was around, the senior Middle Eastern official said.”

Iraq

Kurdistan 24: Iraqi Raids Kill 10 ISIS Militiants As Terrorist Attacks Continue <[link removed]>

“The Iraqi military announced on Thursday that it had killed 10 “terrorist” in two separate operations targetting hidden Islamic State positions in rural areas of Diyala and Nineveh provinces in the latest anti-terror campaign to root out suspected members of the group still lurking in various parts of the country. In the first incident, a Diyala Operations Command unit “trapped terrorist elements inside a hideout and clashed with them in the area bordering Lake Hamrin,” an area where Islamic State sleeper cells have long taken refuge, said the Iraqi military communications center known as the Security Media Cell. Located to the east of Lake Hamrin are the sprawling Hamrin Mountains, a rugged ridge located in Diyala province near the Iranian border and westward to the eastern banks of the Tigris River, straddling the borders of Salahuddin and Kirkuk provinces. The area has long been a safe haven for extremist groups that maintain caves and tunnels there from which they have often planned attack on nearby villages and towns. The military statement said that alleged terrorists then “tried to escape towards Lake Hamrin, where the army’s airstrikes hit them, killing seven.” The statement also noted that security forces destroyed “a hideout that contained foodstuffs, a motorcycle, 8 gasoline barrels, two gas canisters… and a boat was also destroyed in the lake itself.”

Afghanistan

Radio Free Europe: Afghan Government Releases More Taliban Prisoners Before Ramadan <[link removed]>

“Ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Afghan government has released another 55 Taliban prisoners, the National Security Council has said. Council spokesman Javed Faisal said in a tweet the detainees were released on April 22 from nine provinces -- Paktia, Logar, Badakhshan, Jawzjan, Ghazni, Baghlan, Khost, Paktika, and Maidan Wardak -- as part of ''our efforts to advance peace and fight'' the coronavirus epidemic. The Western-backed government in Kabul has released more than 480 Taliban inmates since April 8, while the militants have freed 60 Afghan security and defense personnel they were holding. A pact signed by the United States and the Taliban on February 29 calls for the Afghan government to release 5,000 Taliban fighters as a confidence-building measure ahead of formal peace talks aimed at ending the 18-year conflict in Afghanistan. The militant group has vowed to release some 1,000 Afghan government troops and civilian workers it is holding. The prisoner swap was scheduled to be completed by March 10, before the start of intra-Afghan peace talks, but it has been delayed by disputes between the sides.”

Al Jazeera: Trump, Qatar's Emir Talk Amid Taliban Attacks Across Afghanistan <[link removed]>

“US President Donald Trump and Qatari leader Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani have agreed in a phone call on the importance of reduction in violence in Afghanistan, the White House said, as clashes between government forces and Taliban fighters kill dozens nationwide this week. The attacks are threatening to derail a fragile peace process, with the Taliban rejecting the Afghan government's repeated calls for a ceasefire as the country also attempts to deal with a growing coronavirus outbreak and prisoner exchanges to take place with an eye to formal peace talks. After a week-long reduction in the violence leading up to the signing of a troop withdrawal agreement with the United States in February, the Taliban launched a number of attacks on Afghan forces, though it has held back on attacking foreign forces. Eight Afghan security personnel were killed in a Taliban attack on a checkpoint at the Mes Aynak Copper Mine in eastern Logar province on Tuesday evening, Abdul Qadeer Mufti, a spokesman for Afghanistan's Mine and Petroleum Ministry, said in a tweet.”

Pakistan

Eurasia Times: Arrested ISIS Commander Reveals Direct Links With Pakistan’s Spy Agency: Afghan NDS <[link removed]>

“According to reports, the Indian Security forces launched a cordon and search operation (CASO) in the Melhora area of Shopian on Tuesday night after receiving intelligence about the presence of militants there, a police official said. The four militants killed in the encounter, which broke out between militants and security forces on Tuesday night, were part of the terror outfit Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind. One of the slain militants was a top commander of the terror outfit. A joint team of Army’s 55 RR, police in Shopian, and CRPF laid a siege at Melhora village late Tuesday evening. A police officer said that the operation was launched following inputs about the presence of some militants in the area. He said that the exchange of fire took place in the area soon after the joint team fired some warning shots towards the suspected spot. The militants tried to break the cordon amid the exchange of fire and an encounter pursued. The police have taken DNA samples of all four militants and are conducting burial in presence of the magistrate. So far, one family member of the militant has turned up for the burial. Those who claim to be family of the killed militants, their DNA samples will be taken for further course of action.”

Yemen

Yemen Online: Al-Qaida Militants Kill Security Member, Kidnap Another In Southern Yemen <[link removed]>

“A Yemeni security member was killed and another was kidnapped after an attack launched by al-Qaida militants in Yemen's southern province of Abyan on Wednesday, a government official said. The local government source said on condition of anonymity that “nearly eight terror elements of the al-Qaida group attacked a security checkpoint located in Lawdar district, northeast of Abyan province.” He confirmed that the attack resulted in the killing of a member of the newly-recruited security belt forces stationed in the country's southern part. The source indicated that the attack also resulted in the kidnapping of another security member from the same checkpoint who was taken to an unknown destination by the terrorists. The source did not disclose more details about the nature of the armed attack or the causalities among the assailants. The Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) network, which mostly operates in the eastern and southern provinces, has been responsible for many high-profile attacks against security forces in the country.”

Libya

Al Jazeera: Can Libya's Khalifa Haftar Pull Back Following Tripoli Defeat? <[link removed]>

“The campaign will be swift. This was eastern-based renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar's pledge to his supporters at home and abroad when he launched his offensive against the internationally recognised government in Tripoli in April 2019. But more than a year into the operation, his Libyan National Army (LNA) could not be further away from its goal of overtaking the city of 2.3 million people. On April 14, it was dealt its biggest setback yet when a counteroffensive by the United Nations-brokered Government of National Accord (GNA) resulted in the loss of seven western cities stretching from the capital all the way to the Tunisian border. “Haftar's loss of an area estimated at 500-square kilometres is an event of seismic magnitude both for him and his foreign supporters,” said Walid Ratima, a Turkey-based Libyan columnist. Amid a global economic downturn caused by the new coronavirus, questions over the feasibility of Haftar's project are unlikely to fade away from the minds of his international supporters, said Ratima. “The cost of supporting Haftar, both financial and material, is becoming too heavy to bear for the United Arab Emirates,” he said, referring to one of the Ajdabiya native's key backers.”

Africa

The Times: Jihadist Massacre Is Latest Threat To £44bn Mozambique Gas Project <[link removed]>

“Islamist militants massacred 52 villagers who refused to join their ranks in an escalation of terrorism that is threatening Africa’s largest gas project. The victims were beheaded or shot in northern Mozambique, home to a £44 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) programme that emboldened jihadists are targeting for an Islamist caliphate. In recent weeks the insurgents have scored their biggest triumphs in a 30-month onslaught in the southern African state. A helicopter belonging to a South African private military company, which replaced defeated fighters from Russia, was shot down by the militants. Islamic State, which put out a video claiming responsibility, is feared to have ambitions to establish “franchise” operations in Africa’s conflict zones.”

Germany

Yahoo News: German Court Tries IS Jihadist Over Yazidi Genocide <[link removed]>

“A man believed to have belonged to the Islamic State (IS) group goes on trial in Germany on Friday accused of genocide and murdering a child belonging to the Yazidi minority who he held as a slave. Identified only as Taha al-J., the 37-year-old Iraqi man is also accused of crimes against humanity, war crimes and human trafficking in the case, heard before Frankfurt judges. His wife, a German woman named Jennifer Wenisch, has been on trial for a year at a Munich court. She too is charged with murdering the young Yazidi girl who the pair are believed to have allowed to die of thirst in the Iraqi city of Fallujah in 2015. The start of Wenisch's trial in April last year appeared to be the first formal proceeding anywhere in the world related to the Islamic State group's persecution of the Yazidi community. A Kurdish-speaking group hailing from northern Iraq, the Yazidis were specifically targeted and oppressed by the jihadists beginning in 2015. The mother of the young girl, identified only by her first name Nora, has repeatedly testified in Munich about the torment visited on her child, named as Rania. Court documents allege that Taha al-J. joined IS in March 2013, holding different positions within its hierarchy in the jihadists' “capital” in the Syrian city of Raqa, as well as in Iraq and Turkey.”

Europe

The New Yrok Times: Spain Probes How Ex-Rapper Is Fighter Slipped Into Europe <[link removed]>

“Spanish police who this week arrested a former London rapper allegedly turned Islamic State fighter in Syria say they have no evidence he was planning an attack in Europe, but his illegal, undocumented entry into Spain raises suspicions about his motivation. Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, whose father was convicted in the U.S. of involvement in al-Qaida bombings, was one of Europe’s most wanted foreign IS fighters and “extremely dangerous” according to Spanish police. The 29-year-old was arrested on Monday along with two more suspects in the southern coastal city of Almería. A National Police anti-terrorism expert involved in the arrests told The Associated Press that if Abdel Bary had repented he would have sought a legitimate way of returning to Europe. “The fact that he used clandestine means and a middleman in the illegal migration network doesn't fit the profile of somebody who wants to normalize his return,” said the investigator. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to discuss the case with the media. “At this point, we have no evidence on whether he was planning to stay in Spain or continue his trip,” he added. “We also don't know what his ultimate goal was.”

Southeast Asia

The Manila Times: 6 Abu Sayyaf Rebels Killed, 8 Soldiers Hurt In Sulu Clash <[link removed]>

“Security forces killed at least six Abu Sayyaf terrorists in a clash that left eight soldiers wounded in the southern Philippine province of Sulu where the military mounted fresh assault against the pro-ISIS group, officials said Thursday. Government troops engaged the gunmen in a battle late Wednesday in Latih village in Patikul town, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu, one of 5 provinces under the Muslim autonomous region. Maj. Gen. Corleto Vinluan, commander of the anti-terror Joint Task Force-Sulu, said they recovered 3 bodies and he identified them as Guro Khalid, Udal Muhamadar Said and Budah. “Based on reports, three more enemies were killed and many others were wounded in the fighting that lasted over half an hour,” he said, adding, an all-out offensive was launched to subdue the Abu Sayyaf in the province. “The armed confrontation further resulted in the wounding of eight soldiers who were immediately extricated from the encounter site and evacuated to Kuta Heneral Teodulfo Bautista Station Hospital and onward to Camp Navarro General Hospital (in Zamboanga City) for medical attention,” Vinluan said. Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, chief of the military’s Western Mindanao Command, asked Filipinos to pray for the safety of soldiers fighting the terrorist group, whose leaders have pledged allegiance to the extremist group, ISIS.”



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The Counter Extremism Project - United States
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