The threat from ISIS will be greater after the release of 1,000 of its returned
fighters from European prisons over the course of 2020, chief analyst

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


May 7, 2020

 

The National: European Prisons Releasing 1,000 Returned ISIS Fighters In 2020
Poses New Security Challenge
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“The threat from ISIS will be greater after the release of 1,000 of its
returned fighters from European prisons over the course of 2020, chief analyst
at the UN told The National. Efforts to reform Europeans from the ISIS
battlefields through official deradicalisation programmes are largely regarded
by officials as having failed to change the beliefs of members. Edmund
Fitton-Brown, a former British ambassador to Yemen who now serves as
co-ordinator of the UN's sanctions monitoring team, told The National that the
coronavirus crisis was a hiatus for ISIS but the group could emerge as a more
dynamic force. Before the Covid-19 health crisis ISIS had the “smell of death”
from a succession of defeats, but Mr Fitton-Brown warned that in its Iraq and
Syria heartlands it could already seen to be “growing new confidence and
becoming bolder”. The most recent UN report from his panel in January concluded
that ISIS had not regenerated its ability to operate abroad, the threat it
poses in Europe and fragile states such as Afghanistan would be strengthened by
prisoner releases, he said. Recalling the attacks in France and Britain in
recent months, Mr Fitton-Brown said returned fighters were coming out of
“short-term incarceration” with the same frame of mind.”

 

The Jerusalem Post: Palestinian Terrorists Can Legally Take Part In EU-Funded
Activities
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“Palestinians affiliated with terrorist groups may participate in EU
activities, EU Representative to West Bank and Gaza Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff
wrote in an official letter obtained by The Jerusalem Post on Thursday. The
letter, dated March 30, to the Palestinian NGO Network clarified that all
EU-funded projects, including by Palestinian organizations, must follow EU law,
such as a ban on funding terrorist groups. However, the letter points out that
there are no Palestinian individuals on the EU's “restrictive measures list”
barring funds to terrorists, such that the NGOs would not be penalized if
members of terrorist groups benefit from EU funding. “While the entities and
groups included in the EU restrictive lists cannot benefit from EU-funded
activities, it is understood that a natural person affiliated to, sympathizing
with or supporting any of the groups or entities mentioned in the EU
restrictive lists is not excluded from benefiting from EU-funded activities,
unless his/her exact name and surname...corresponds to any of the natural
persons on the EU restrictive list,” the letter reads. The letter also states
that “the EU does not ask any civil society organization to change its
political position towards any Palestinian faction or to discriminate against
any natural person based on his/her political affiliation.”

 

The National: Facebook Supervisory Board Pledges Independence On Extremist
Content
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“Facebook launched a supervisory board to monitor its response to the
exploitation of its platform by extremist groups and influence campaigns that
have undermined the role of its products as "public squares". The company,
which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said the board would make final
decisions about posts that lead to controversy about censorship, misinformation
or free speech…Through the founding bylaws of the oversight board, Facebook has
committed to carrying out our decisions even though it may at times disagree,
unless doing so would violate the law. "Facebook’s chief executive, Mark
Zuckerberg, has also personally committed to this arrangement." Groups such as
the Counter Extremism Project have led exposes of terrorist recruitment
material on Facebook and its rivals. While some material can be removed, the
response is far from comprehensive or complete. Speaking at an online seminar
on Wednesday, Alexander Ritzmann, the project's senior adviser, said social
media giants had to regain lost credibility to address the concerns of those
reporting abuses. The scrutiny and accountability handed to the regulatory
board is only one part of the equation. "Transparency is the new
sustainability. Everybody kind of likes it but nobody knows what it means," Mr
Ritzmann said.”

 

United States

 

Salt Lake Tribune: Man Arrested In Utah For Allegedly Supporting ISIS
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“A 23-year-old man was arrested in Utah last year on allegations he helped
ISIS, but that’s about all officials are saying about the case. The scant
allegations made public so far are in court documents unsealed Monday after
Murat Suljovic’s latest court appearance. Seamus Hughes, with George Washington
University’s Program on Extremism, first reported the case. The records show
Suljovic was arrested in August 2019 in Salt Lake City. Document allege that in
January 2019 he attempted to “provide material support and resources, including
services, personnel, and training, to ISIS...knowing that ISIS is a designated
terrorist organization and has engaged in and does engage in terrorism.” He
pleaded not guilty to the charge Monday. Soljovic remains in custody. U.S.
Attorney John Huber declined, through a spokesperson, to comment on the case.
Suljovic’s attorney, Jessica Stengel, also declined to comment. But an order
from Magistrate Judge Dustin B. Pead suggests the case “involves potential
national security implications.” It also notes that officials seized 122, 700
files from Suljovic’s computer, the majority of which were “in HTML document
format with screen captures and video thumbnails.”

 

Iraq

 

Kurdistan 24: Kurdish-Backed Security Forces Arrest Alleged ISIS Financial
Chief In Raqqa
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“The Kurdish-backed Anti-Terror Forces (HAT) in northeastern Syria arrested a
senior Islamic State financial chief in Raqqa on Wednesday who was allegedly
responsible for organizing sleeper cells in the city. The Kurdish-backed forces
said in a statement that the suspect, Ahmed Muhammad Al-Ali, was “a financial
official of the ISIS terrorist organization in the Raqqa region.” Al-Ali was
arrested following information the forces gathered about the activities of
Islamic State sleeper cell whereabouts in the region, the statement added. It
also noted that “sums of money in various currencies,” and three mobile phones
the terrorist used “to coordinate with sleeper cells” were seized. According to
the internal security forces, they have recently “tightened security measures
to pursue ISIS sleeper cells after the city of Raqqa was subjected to a number
of terrorist acts.” In a separate incident on Tuesday, the Raqqa Military
Council published a video of a raid against suspected Islamic State sleeper
cells in the Tal Al-Bay’ah village in the eastern countryside of Raqqa
province. Four suspects, accused of using “military force” in the city, were
arrested in the raid, the UK-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights (SOHR) reported.”

 

Turkey

 

Asharq Al-Awsat: Turkey Arrests Dozens Of ISIS Elements In 4 Months
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“Turkish security forces have carried out a total of 8,163 operations
targeting terrorist organizations during April, said Interior Ministry
spokesman Ismail Catakli. In a statement on Tuesday, he said 37 terrorists were
neutralized (killed, injured or arrested) in three major operations, including
27 medium operations in rural areas and 253 operations in the cities. Turkish
security operations against ISIS in the first four months of 2020 have so far
led to the arrest of 354 ISIS suspects, including two senior operatives.
Security officials seized many documents, weapons and ammunition of the terror
group, thwarting possible terror incidents in large cities including the
capital, Ankara, and Istanbul. ISIS has claimed responsibility for a number of
terrorist operations in Turkey over the past five years, in which more than 300
people were killed and hundreds others were injured. The latest of these
attacks was in the New Year’s Eve of 2017, when the Uzbek national ISIS
militant, Abdulgadir Masharipov, attacked Reina nightclub in Istanbul, killing
39 and injuring 69 others. Security sources said the shooter had received
orders directly from ISIS leaders in Syria’s Raqqa. Since then, Turkish
security services have been carrying out ongoing campaigns against the
organizations’ cells, arresting more than 5,000 of its members.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Al Jazeera: US Afghan Envoy To Meet Taliban In Qatar In New Efforts For Peace
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“The US special envoy to Afghanistan is on a mission to press Taliban
negotiators in Doha and officials in India and Pakistan to support a reduction
in violence, acceleration of intra-Afghan peace talks and cooperation on
handling the coronavirus pandemic, the US Department of State said on
Wednesday. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad's trip comes amid concerns
that surging Taliban attacks and the coronavirus pandemic could deal
potentially fatal blows to his stalled efforts to end decades of strife in
Afghanistan. At each stop, Khalilzad “will urge support for an immediate
reduction in violence, accelerated timeline for the start of intra-Afghan
negotiations, and cooperation among all sides in addressing the COVID-19
pandemic in Afghanistan,” the State Department said. The statement did not
disclose the exact schedule of Khalilzad's trip, which began on Tuesday. It is
the second trip he has made since April 12 in the midst of the coronavirus
pandemic to salvage a February 29 accord that he and the Taliban's second in
command, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, signed for a phased withdrawal of US
troops from the US's longest war. A successful initiative could help US
President Donald Trump as he seeks re-election in November.”

 

Stars And Stripes: ISIS Fighters Who Attacked Bagram Killed In Raids, Afghan
Forces Say
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“Five members of an Islamic State terror cell that attacked the largest
American base in Afghanistan earlier this year were killed in a series of
operations by Afghan commandos in and around Kabul, Afghan officials said
Wednesday. The terror cell, which was blamed for two rocket attacks on Bagram
Airfield in recent months and for firing rockets at President Ashraf Ghani’s
inauguration in March, was eliminated and its leader captured in three raids in
northern Kabul and a district just outside the capital, said the country’s main
intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security. A video released by
the NDS shows the bodies of men said to be members of the cell. The operations
were conducted Tuesday evening, an official said in the video. Eight fighters
were arrested during the raids, which were carried out by special operations
forces assigned to the NDS, the agency said in a statement. An image from a
video released by Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security on Wednesday,
May 6, 2020, shows weapons said to have been confiscated during a series of
raids in which five Islamic State fighters were killed and their terror cell
eliminated. No one was seriously injured in the attacks on Bagram or the
presidential inauguration attacks, but 25 people, including women and children,
were killed in another attack blamed on the group, in which a gunman opened
fire at a Sikh temple in Kabul in March.”

 

Hindustan Times: Members Of Islamic State-Haqqani Network Arrested Over Kabul
Attacks
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“Afghan security forces arrested eight members of a network grouping Islamic
State and Haqqani militants responsible for bloody attacks in the capital
including on Sikh worshippers, the country’s security agency said on Wednesday.
The arrests were made as special forces carried out a raid on a property in
Kabul on Tuesday evening, seizing weapons and explosives and killing five
members of the joint network. The group was responsible for shootings of
worshippers at a Sikh complex and at a large ceremony attended by many in the
Hazara community, as well as rocket attacks on President Ashraf Ghani’s
swearing-in ceremony and on Bagram airbase, the National Directorate of
Security said in a statement. Gunmen and suicide bombers raided a Sikh
religious complex in Kabul in March, killing 25 people. That was the second
attack on a minority group claimed by Islamic State in a month after more than
30 people were shot dead in a gathering attended by many members of the ethnic
Hazara community marking the anniversary of the death of a Hazara leader. Also
in March, attackers fired rockets at Ghani’s inauguration ceremony and in April
sent rockets into the Bagram airbase, though no one was killed in either
attack.”

 

Pakistan

 

The New York Times: Top Kashmiri Militant Is Killed, Sparking Protests And Rage

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“Before disappearing into the woods almost a decade ago, Riyaz Ahmad Naikoo
was a schoolteacher living a relatively quiet life in Kashmir. But then he
resurfaced in videos on social media sitting next to automatic weapons and
grenades, rebranding himself as a fighter, and demanding that India pull out of
the disputed Himalayan territory. Mr. Naikoo’s quest came to a violent end on
Wednesday. Indian security forces surrounded the small village where he was
hiding in the district of Pulwama, dug trenches to prevent civilians from
coming to his rescue, and shot him dead. The gunning down of Mr. Naikoo, a
senior leader in Hizbul Mujahideen, a banned militant group, was one of the
most significant recent victories for Indian troops fighting the secession
movement in Kashmir, a rugged, contested territory between India and Pakistan.
His death has roiled the region, casting the insurgency into a leaderless
future and immediately heightening tensions between Indian security forces and
a local population that has often supported a brutal fight for independence. By
late Wednesday, violent protests had broken out in Pulwama over his death, and
at least 14 people were injured.”

 

Reuters: Indian Troops Kill Militants, Triggering Clashes Across Kashmir
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“Indian troops killed four militants in gun battles in Kashmir on Wednesday,
including the commander of the biggest separatist group fighting New Delhi, a
police official said, triggering clashes across the disputed region that left
dozens injured. Hundreds of Indian soldiers launched an operation late on
Tuesday after receiving intelligence that Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz
Naikoo was hiding in a village in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. “He was
trapped in a house and early today a gun battle took place during which he and
his associate were killed,” Kashmir’s Inspector General of Police, Vijay Kumar,
told Reuters. Two militants were killed in another gun battle nearby on
Wednesday, Kumar added. Authorities disabled mobile internet across the Kashmir
region early on Wednesday to forestall large crowds from gathering in the
streets to mourn his killing. Still, locals came out and pelted soldiers with
stones in an attempt to disrupt the operation in which Naikoo was killed, Kumar
said, adding that demonstrators had to be beaten back by troops. “Several
protesters have received pellet injures and three of them have bullet wounds.
They have been hospitalized,” he said.”

 

Yemen

 

Asharq Al-Awsat: 'White Coat' Houthi Terrorism Frightens Sanaa
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“In Sanaa’s Dabwa slums, teams of Houthi health workers sporting outfits
designed for those dealing with coronavirus patients fired rounds of bullets to
intimidate residents into staying home. The teams claimed they were pursuing a
coronavirus patient who escaped quarantine after being diagnosed. Residents in
the Houthi-controlled areas said that the militia's raids a few days ago
appeared to be “white terrorism” because armed men used clothes intended for
medical personnel, and were terrorizing people instead of reassuring them.
Houthis have exploited the gravity of the coronavirus crisis to double levies
and terrorize the public by displaying their military strength and manipulating
virus data. This has left Sanaa residents in dismay. Sources suggest that
raising funds in Ramadan is the most prominent reason for the Houthis refusing
to acknowledge the number of confirmed coronavirus cases. For Houthis, Islam’s
holy month of fasting, Ramadan, is a month focused on collecting levies on
which militias and their supervisors depend to cover their expenses, movements,
and salaries. Houthi gunmen are using money from collected zakat and annual
taxes to fund their war effort. In other news, the last few days witnessed rage
spurring among tribesmen in Al Bayda' Governorate after Houthis gunned down a
female in al-Tafa district.”

 

Africa

 

All Africa: Kenya: War On Terror Finds Way To Policeman's Doorstep
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“A police officer attached to Kabete Police Station has been detained at the
Anti-Terrorist Police Unit (ATPU) headquarters for a period of 10 days as
authorities seek to establish his connection with terror group Al Shabaab.
Police Constable Martin Munyi Ireri was arrested at Aurum House in Githurai
alongside Paul Mwangangi Mutinda and Jeremiah Ngige Mburu with assorted items
that authorities say are linked to terrorism. While seeking their detention,
Inspector Richard Ngatia told Principal Magistrate Catolun Muthoni Nzibe that
the suspects were arrested on May 1 and that the police need time to finalise
their investigations. Mr Ngatia said several government agencies will be
involved in the probe. He displayed assorted items recovered from the suspects
including several telephones, tear gas canisters and data. Defence lawyer Paul
Mugwe opposed the 10 days sought by police on grounds that Mr Ireri was an
officer, thus the source of tear gas canisters recovered from him can be
established. Mr Mugwe said the canisters were not hand grenades as claimed by
police. He said a T-Shirt recovered from the suspects had writings which
implied the three are not aligned with terror activities.”

 

United Kingdom

 

BBC News: Luton Far-Right Extremist Admits Having Explosives
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“A far-right extremist has pleaded guilty to terror offences and having
explosives. Filip Golon Bednarczyk, 25, of Luton, Bedfordshire, was arrested by
counter-terrorism detectives on 11 December. They found a 2kg (4.4lb) bag of
sulphur powder, electric components and instructions on how to make bombs, the
Old Bailey heard. Bednarczyk attended court via a video-link on Wednesday. He
will be sentenced at a later date. An analysis of his electronic devices
revealed an interest in firearms, knives and killings as well as extreme
right-wing views, the court heard. Bednarczyk's computer was found to have the
“manifesto” belonging to the man responsible for the 2019 attack in
Christchurch, New Zealand, and he had searched the internet for Nazis, the
Polish Defence League and Britain First. He pleaded guilty to possessing an
explosive substance and seven charges of possessing a document likely to be
useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism. Bednarczyk was
remanded in custody while a psychiatric report is prepared.”

 

Germany

 

Voice Of America: Experts Split On Impact Of Germany’s Hezbollah Ban
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“Germany’s recent decision to ban the political activities of the Lebanese
militant group Hezbollah has sparked a debate among experts, with some
believing the move was necessary while others arguing it would have little
impact on Hezbollah’s terrorist activities. German authorities last week
declared the Iranian-backed group a “Shiite terrorist organization,” outlawing
its activity on German soil. Police also carried out raids on mosques and
community centers with suspected links to the extremist group in different
parts of Germany. “Germany’s designation is a recognition of Hezbollah’s
unitary nature – that it has no separate military or political wings as the EU
declared in its 2013 designation,” said Josh Lipowsky, a senior researcher at
the Washington-based Counter Extremism Project (CEP). The European Union
considers Hezbollah’s military wing a terrorist organization, while allowing
its political wing to operate in the bloc’s countries. The Netherlands and
Germany are the only EU members that recognize Hezbollah in its entirety as a
terrorist organization. The U.K. dropped the distinction last year, but it is
no longer part of the EU. In 1997, Hezbollah was designated a foreign terrorist
organization by the U.S. State Department.”

 

Asharq Al-Awsat: Lebanon Seeks Explanation From Germany Over Hezbollah Ban
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“Lebanese Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti summoned on Tuesday the Germany
Ambassador to Lebanon, George Berglin, to seek further clarification on
Berlin’s decision to ban activity by Hezbollah on its soil. The German diplomat
made clear that Germany’s decision had been taken a while ago, but it has only
recently come into force. “Germany did not classify Hezbollah as a terrorist
organization, but rather prohibited its activities on German territories,”
Berglin said. Hitti affirmed that “Hezbollah is a main political component in
Lebanon which represents a wide section of the people and part of parliament,”
his office said. German police carried out raids in Germany last Thursday to
detain suspected Hezbollah members. Security officials believe up to 1,050
people in Germany are part of Hezbollah. Meanwhile, a US State Department
spokesperson commented Tuesday on the Lebanese government’s economic reform
plan. In a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, the
spokesperson said that the measure of success of the new plan hinges on the
ability of Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government to implement serious reforms
able to lead to “transparency” and to answer the demands of the Lebanese
people.”

 

Europe

 

Associated Press: Kosovo Albanian Woman Charged With Joining Is Terror Group
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“Kosovo prosecutors on Wednesday filed terrorism charges against an ethnic
Albanian woman who allegedly joined a terror group in Syria. The special
prosecutors’ office said the suspect, identified only as D.D., left Kosovo in
October 2014 to go to a Syrian city after crossing through North Macedonia and
Turkey. There it said she joined her husband, a fighter with the Islamic State
group, who trained her how to use a weapon and made her part of their logistics
group. After her husband was killed in the fighting she married another IS
fighter, living and operating in Syria’s conflict zones until December 2018
when she was arrested near the border with Turkey. The defendant is part of a
group of 110 Kosovo citizens repatriated from Syria last year. She faces up to
15 years in prison if convicted of the charges. About 30 ethnic Albanians from
Kosovo are still believed to be with terror groups in Syria and Iraq.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

Asia Times: ISIS Eyes Covid-19 Weakness In Indonesia
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“With battered Islamic State (ISIS) urging its followers to take advantage of
the Covid-19 pandemic’s disruption and launch renewed attacks around the world,
Indonesian counter-terrorism police have seized a startling amount of
ammunition in raids at opposite ends of Java. Terrorism experts say the 2,300
rounds of ammunition, all of it for assault rifles and other service weapons
used by the police and military, is the most Indonesian militants are known to
have had in their possession in almost two decades. Three suspects allegedly
belonging to the ISIS-linked Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) were arrested on
April 26 by the Detachment 88 counterterrorism unit in the Surabaya suburb of
Sidoarjo, along with 288 rounds of 5.56 mm and 9 mm ammunition. Also seized in
the raid was a camouflaged Pindad-made SSI-V4 sniper rifle, normally carried by
specialized elements of Army Strategic Reserve (Kostrad) raider battalions, and
two 9 mm Browning automatic pistols. A day later, following a trail left by
employees of a Surabaya-based courier company, police captured three more
militants and reportedly found an additional 2,000 rounds of ammunition near
the Banten province capital of Serang, west of Jakarta.”

 

New Zealand

 

The Independent: Far-Right Extremist Who Had Christchurch Terror Attack
Manifesto Was Collecting Bomb Components
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“A far-right extremist who called police support for LGBT Pride events the
“death of European culture” has admitted terror and explosives offences. Filip
Golon Bednarczyk, 26, had collected bomb manuals, components and a 2kg bag of
sulphur powder while researching guns and weapons. The Old Bailey heard that he
had a copy of the Christchurch attacker’s manifesto, which claimed white people
are being “replaced”, and called for further attacks. He also shared memes
supporting the terror attack, which left 51 people dead and inspired massacres
around the world. During a virtual hearing at the Old Bailey on Wednesday,
Bednarczyk admitted possessing an explosive substance under suspicious
circumstances between May and December last year. He also pleaded guilty to
seven charges of possessing a document likely to be useful to a person
committing or preparing an act of terrorism. The offences related to various
titles about homemade explosives, including Semtex and black powder. Prosecutor
Dan Pawson-Pounds asked for sentencing to be put off to a later date. He said
the Crown had received a basis of plea from the defendant and a psychiatric
report was being prepared.”



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