Eye on Extremism
August 21, 2019
The
New York Times: As Taliban Talk Peace, ISIS Is Ready To Play The
Spoiler In Afghanistan
“Even as the United States and the Taliban seem close to a deal on
an American troop withdrawal, the Islamic State in Afghanistan is
making clear that it stands to inherit the role of violent spoiler if
any peace agreement is reached. That message was punctuated on
Saturday by a suicide bomber who killed 63 wedding celebrants in
Kabul, mostly from the country’s Shiite minority, in an attack that
the Islamic State attributed to one of its loyalists from Pakistan. It
was among the most devastating attacks in Afghanistan claimed by the
Islamic State in the five years since it first established a beachhead
in the eastern part of the country. The bombing was a painful reminder
of the immediate threat posed by the militants: that they can slip
through tight security in the capital and cause the kind of carnage
that devastates a vulnerable community, while cranking up pressure on
a government already on the edge. But the Islamic State also poses a
longer-term danger that the United States military and Afghan
officials worry about: It has positioned itself to gain in the event
of a peace deal with the Taliban.”
Vice:
New Paramilitary Training Video Emerges Of Neo-Nazi Terror
Group
“Disturbing images showing eight masked men shooting what appears
to be a combination of shotguns and assault rifles is the latest
propaganda posted by neo-Nazi extremist network The Base, as the group
garners the attention of law enforcement in both the US and Canada.
Tipped by the Counter-Extremism Project, the footage was posted on a
known extremist Telegram channel and shows at least seven masked men
holding weapons, then firing them in the same direction. A
counterterrorism source told VICE the GIF, which is dated August 18,
2019, has never been seen online until this weekend, around the time
it was believed The Base was training near Spokane, Washington
State and undertaking a ”hate camp” —a paramilitary-style training
camp for militant neo-Nazis. News of the footage comes just one day
after an alleged member of the group was outed as a soldier with the
Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and was under investigation by federal
authorities. Master Corporal Patrik Mathews, a member of the CAF
Reserves, is accused of participating in the armed neo-Nazi collective
and is now being investigated by two police forces, the RCMP and
military police. The RCMP's investigation into Mathews led police to
search the man’s home, where they seized several firearms.”
Foreign
Policy: Kashmir’s Dangerous And Difficult Path Ahead
“On Friday, the U.N. Security Council formally discussed the
disputed region of Kashmir for the first time in nearly four decades.
Although council members didn’t reach any conclusion—failing to issue
even the lowest level of action, a statement to the press—holding the
meeting was notable in and of itself. “The voice of the Kashmiri
people … has been heard today in the highest diplomatic forum of the
world,” Pakistani Ambassador to the United Nations Maleeha
Lodhi said after the session. Indian U.N. Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin
disagreed, calling his country’s Aug. 5 move to revoke certain
autonomies in India-administered Kashmir an internal matter: “We don’t
need international busybodies,” he said. Permanent Security Council
members France, the United States, and Russia favored keeping Kashmir
a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan—a stance that New Delhi
has long advocated. But China had called for the meeting, and its U.N.
ambassador said India had “changed the status quo in Kashmir, causing
tensions in the region.” China’s support for Pakistan’s position is no
surprise given the close relations between the two countries.”
Egypt
Today: Exiled Muslim Brotherhood Member Exposes Discord Within
Terrorist Group
“Magdy Shalash, a senior Muslim Brotherhood member living in
Turkey, has exposed discord within the internal ring of the
international terrorist organization of the Muslim Brotherhood have
committed. Shalash posted on his social media account that the
internal communication system within the brotherhood is broken and
does not reflect the will or demands of the organization’s rows. He
also added that the Muslim Brotherhood completely rejects the Egyptian
revolution, therefore, all the steps that the brotherhood has taken so
far was to fight and reroll this revolution. Shalash further rejected
how senior leaders of the brotherhood must be obeyed and that no one
has the right to say otherwise. According to Shalash, the Muslim
Brotherhood ousts and defames whoever disagrees with its ideology or
devious schemes, because all that matters are the personal interests
of these leaders. Observers of the political scene see that such
remarks reflects how badly the Muslim Brotherhood is cracked as its
own members began losing faith in the organization and its
leaders. Some recent reports have affirmed the involvement of senior
Muslim Brotherhood leaders of embezzling the brotherhood’s money for
their personal luxury and interests.”
Bloomberg:
Brazil’s Bolsonaro Says He Plans To Label Hezbollah
Terrorists
“Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said he intends to designate
Hezbollah a terrorist group, a move that would follow on the footsteps
of other South American nations.In comments to reporters in Brasilia,
Bolsonaro compared Hezbollah to Brazil’s landless workers movement
that he has repeatedly called a terrorist group. Despite his rhetoric,
the move would require changes to Brazil’s narrow anti-terror
legislation, and possibly congressional support. Brazil’s new
classification of Hezbollah would be part of Bolsonaro’s efforts to
align his government with that of U.S. President Donald Trump. The
risk is that doing so could strain relations with Iran, a Hezbollah
ally which imports $2.5 billion of Brazilian products per year. A weak
domestic economy increases pressure to refrain from any decision that
undermines exports. Brazilian officials are already reviewing options
to move forward with the designation, which is being discussed at the
highest levels of government but doesn’t have across-the-board
support, according to three people with direct knowledge of the
matter. Hezbollah, or the party of God in Arabic, is at the same time
an armed group, a political party and a social organization. It sits
in the Lebanese cabinet and has considerable geopolitical power.”
United States
New
York Post: Al Qaeda Member Fails To Get Conviction Overturned For
Subway Bomb Plot
“An Al Qaeda member attempted to get a conviction for plotting to
bomb city subways overturned on the grounds that he didn’t like his
attorney — himself. Abid Naseer — who is serving a 40-year sentence
for taking part in a multi-city bombing plot — cannot use the fact
that he unsuccessfully represented himself at trial as an excuse to
get his conviction thrown out, a federal appeals court ruled. The
wannabe terrorist made a “knowing and intelligent decision” to
represent himself in his 2015 trial, a three-judge panel from the US
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said in a brief ruling issued
on Tuesday. “Naseer was repeatedly informed before trial that he could
reconsider his decision to waive his right to counsel,” the judges
wrote. The failed bomber also claimed that prosecutors should not have
submitted documents that detailed the plot that were found in Osama
bin Laden’s compound because they did not mention his name
specifically. But the court said the documents helped to establish
that Naseer was part of a terrorist conspiracy. As part of the foiled
plan, Nasser was supposed to arrange an attack on a shopping mall in
the UK. Meanwhile, other operatives were to bomb the New York subway
system and a newspaper in Denmark, court papers state.”
Syria
CNN:
Pompeo Says ISIS Is 'More Powerful' In Some Places But Downplays
Overall Threat
“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday acknowledged that there
are “places where ISIS is more powerful today than they were three or
four years ago,” but sought to downplay the risk posed by the
terrorist organization in the wake of a report warning of its
resurgence in Syria. ”What we've always said is the caliphate's been
gone and there's always risks that there'll be a resurgence, not just
from ISIS,” Pompeo said on “CBS This Morning.” “It's complicated,”
Pompeo said when asked if ISIS is gaining strength. ”There's certainly
places where ISIS is more powerful today than they were three or four
years ago. But the caliphate is gone and their capacity to conduct
external attacks has been made much more difficult,” he added. “We've
taken down significant risk -- not all of it, but a significant
amount.” Pompeo's continued de-emphasis of the threat capacity posed
by ISIS comes despite the findings of a recent Pentagon inspector
general report -- that “despite losing its territorial 'caliphate,'
the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) solidified its insurgent
capabilities in Iraq and was re-surging in Syria.” The Pentagon made
its assessment mere months after President Donald Trump declared the
total defeat of the ISIS caliphate.”
Reuters:
Islamic State Could Re-Emerge In Syria, Chinese Envoy
Warns
“A senior Chinese official said on Tuesday that there was a danger
of Islamic State militants re-emerging in Syria and called for
progress in the political process between the Damascus government and
the opposition to end the war. “There is now a danger of terrorist
organizations like ISIS being revived, we see some signs in some of
the places,” Chinese Special Envoy Xie Xiaoyan told reporters after
talks with U.N. Special Envoy Geir Pedersen in Geneva. “So the fight
against terrorism needs to be continued. They need to be finished,” he
added. “The international community should pay attention to the early
warning.” China has long worried about ethnic Uighurs from China’s far
western region of Xinjiang who have traveled clandestinely to Syria
and Iraq to fight with Islamist groups there. Islamic State has killed
at least one Chinese hostage and militant groups have issued
statements threatening to attack China. China has also long urged a
diplomatic resolution to Syria’s civil war. Its top diplomat and State
Councillor Wang Yi said in June that China will continue to support
Syria to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity and fight
against terrorism, and will help with Syria’s economic reconstruction
efforts.”
Voice
Of America: As Fighting Intensifies, Islamist Militants Leave Key Town
In Syria's Idlib
“The largest militant group in Syria's northwestern province of
Idlib has withdrawn from a key town as Syrian regime troops advanced
in the southern part of Idlib, local sources said. The pullout came
after days of intense bombardment by Syrian and Russian warplanes
targeting rebel positions inside the town of Khan Sheikhoun and nearby
villages, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor,
reported. “The Syrian regime and its allies now are poised to take
complete control of the town,” Rami Abdulrahman, director of the
Syrian Observatory, told VOA. He added that Syrian warplanes targeted
about a dozen villages in the vicinity to push back opposition
fighters from the town in southern Idlib. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS),
al-Qaida's Syria affiliate, said in a statement on Tuesday that its
fighters have “redeployed” in parts of Khan Sheikhoun “after extreme
bombardment” by Syrian regime forces. The militant group, labelled as
a terrorist organization by the United States, added that despite its
withdrawal, it would continue fighting Syrian troops in the area. Khan
Sheikhoun, which has been under militant control since 2014, is
located on a major highway that links the Syrian capital, Damascus, to
the country's largest city, Aleppo.”
Iran
The
Daily Wire: UK Releases Oil Tanker Accused Of Assisting Iranian
Terrorist Group
“Two months ago, Britain detained an oil tanker in Gibraltar that
was suspected of violating European Union sanctions. The U.S. says the
Panamanian-flagged ship, a super oil tanker with around $100 million
worth of crude on board, was in fact owned by Iran and aiding the
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp, which was officially designated
a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. in April. The ship has
now been released and is bound for Greece, or at least that's what
Iran claims. The ship was detained after America notified British
authorities that the ship was flying under a proxy flag and was in
reality owned by Iran and, according to the U.S., involved in “illicit
shipments to Syria from Iran by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
(IRGC),” as reported by CNN. The US government says that the oil,
which was designated for delivery at the Syrian port of Baniyas, would
be used to aid dictator Bashar al-Assad in his civil war. Such an
action would be a direct violation of E.U. sanction. At the behest of
the American government, the local Royal Gibraltar Police detained the
ship on July 4. Iran claimed this action was an act of modern-day
piracy. In retaliation, they attempted a reprisal attack on a British
ship in the Gulf, but the Royal Navy was able to intervene and force
the Iranians to disengage.”
Afghanistan
The
Washington Post: The U.S. Is Nearing A Deal With The Taliban. But
Another Major Threat Looms In Afghanistan: The Islamic
State.
“The official government line here is that the Islamic State has
been defeated. The local branch of the extremist Sunni militia,
Afghan officials say, has been corralled into a mountainous area near
the Pakistani border by Afghan and U.S. forces and can no longer
control populated areas. They say it has been reduced to staging
suicide attacks against “soft” targets, like the wedding party bombing
here on Saturday that killed 63 people and wounded 190. ”We have
eliminated their bases in the east, and they are concentrated in very
small areas. They cannot fight our forces face-to-face,” Fawad Aman, a
spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, said Tuesday. But local
leaders in the border provinces of Nangahar and Konar
tell a different story. They say Islamic State forces continue to
terrorize villagers in areas under their control, forcibly recruiting
boys and banning girls from school. They and U.S. officials say that
Taliban and Islamic State forces have continued to fight each other,
but that they also fear that some Taliban fighters will join the more
ruthless Islamic State forces if Taliban leaders make a deal with U.S.
officials. The United States and the Taliban have been holding talks
on an initial agreement for months.”
Voice
Of America: US Envoy For Afghanistan Heads To Doha For More Talks With
Taliban
“The State Department says the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan
is traveling to Doha Tuesday to resume talks with the Taliban on a
peace agreement aimed at ending the 18-year conflict in the country. A
statement says Zalmay Khalizad will also travel to Kabul to ”consult
with the leadership of the Afghan government on the peace process and
encourage full preparation for intra-Afghan negotiations.” The Taliban
has been in talks with the U.S. on a timetable for the withdrawal of
American and NATO forces from Afghanistan. Unless that happens, the
insurgent group maintains it will not engage in much-sought
intra-Afghan negotiations to discuss a permanent cease-fire and issues
related to future political governance. In exchange for a foreign
troop withdrawal, the Taliban will be tasked with preventing
transnational terrorists from using insurgent-controlled Afghan
territory for international terrorism. Taliban and U.S. negotiators in
recent days have repeatedly asserted they are ready to sign a deal.
The two sides are said to working out the details. Last week, Trump
suggested the plan for a U.S. withdrawal is still in the works. “We're
having very good discussions (with the Taliban). We will see what
happens.”
The
National Interest: The Afghan Taliban's War Against ISIS Is Just
Beginning
“This week was supposed to have been one of celebration in
Afghanistan, as this nation of 32 million people marks the centennial
of its independence from British rule. But tragedy struck just two
days before anniversary observances. A suicide bomber, allegedly a
member of the Islamic State group, detonated a vest loaded with
explosives in the middle of a wedding attended by more than 800 people
on Saturday. Even in this city plagued by years of violence, the
attack in western Kabul was a horrific event, claiming the lives of at
least 63 people and injuring hundreds more. As often is the case with
terror attacks, the bombing struck fear in citizens across
Afghanistan’s capital city. “Ever since suicide bombings started here,
I always feared that a wedding would be targeted,” said Parwin Popal,
a Kabul resident. “Whenever I would go to weddings, I would think ‘now
they’re coming’.” Grief and disbelief were redoubled on Monday, when
several bombs went off at restaurants and in public squares throughout
the city of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan. That series of
Independence Day attacks injured dozens of people, including young
children. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the
bombings.”
Pakistan
Pakistan
Today: Terrorism And Extremism
“There has been a significant uptick in the frequency and intensity
of terrorist attacks recently, most notably in Balochistan that has
had four attacks in the past four weeks. Last month an attack in North
Waziristan claimed the lives of ten soldiers while on the same day an
attack in Turbat, Balochistan resulted in the killing of four
paramilitary soldiers. The attacks are primarily targeted towards law
enforcement agencies that are easy targets as they are the first line
of defence against terrorists. It has been a long, weary and bloody
war fought over the past ten years to get the menace of terrorism
under our control– according to NACTA there were 2,081 fatalities in
2010 due to terror-related attacks; this figure has been reduced to
584 in 2018. The achievements are undeniable but there still remains a
lot to be done to eradicate terrorism completely in order to get
control of the situation prevalent in the two provinces that have been
the most affected– Balochistan and KPK. For that, attention has to be
paid to the multifaceted problem of extremism. An inability to
effectively and honestly do enough against it has made this an almost
systemic issue.”
Lebanon
The
National: Hezbollah's Vile Influence Spans The Globe
“There are many positive things that tie together South American
countries and Lebanon but one damaging link is Hezbollah. The two
might be continents apart and separated by oceans, culture, religion
and language but, as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reminded the
world during his South American tour last month, the Iranian proxy’s
influence extends far beyond Lebanese borders – 12,000 kilometres
further, in fact. Mr Pompeo urged Latin American countries to take
action against the group and they have rightly heeded his
call. Argentina became the first Latin American country to label
Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation and now Paraguay has followed
suit, with Brazil considering doing so as well. It might surprise some
but Hezbollah’s roots run deep in South America, where it finances its
illegal activity through drug-smuggling and money laundering networks.
Waves of Lebanese migrants, displaced by conflict or seeking economic
opportunity, have been settling on the continent since the 1800s,
primarily in Brazil, Paraguay and Colombia. In Brazil alone, the
Lebanese diaspora outnumbers the total population of Lebanon. That
meant ripe pickings for Hezbollah when it began recruiting in the
1980s, followed by Iranian operatives after the 1979 revolution.”
Middle East
Bloomberg:
Islamic State, Al-Qaeda Hunker Down To Rebuild In Weaker
Nations
“Islamic State has been battered in Iraq and Syria and declared
defeated by President Donald Trump. But the terrorist group and its
predecessor, al-Qaeda, are finding ample room to rebuild in other
places with weak central governments, officials and analysts warn. As
an attack Saturday that killed 63 people in Afghanistan underscored,
Islamic State affiliates have proven they can carry out deadly
strikes, gain support and establish footholds from Sri Lanka to
Nigeria. As its leadership goes deeper underground and spends millions
of dollars to expand, Western security officials are looking for new
ways to disrupt its operations. “The so-called ISIS caliphate has been
destroyed, but the ISIS brand lives on around the world,” Nathan
Sales, the State Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism, said
in a briefing this month. The fight against Islamic State is entering
a new phase, and the effort to defeat it globally must be approached
with the “same level of urgency and commitment that brought us victory
in Syria and Iraq.” Sales’s concern reflects an uncomfortable reality:
Islamic State is adapting, undermining security and economic
prosperity in more countries as it establishes new bases.”
Egypt
The
Washington Post: Egypt Says Its Forces Kill 11 Militants In Sinai
Peninsula
“Egypt says its security forces have killed 11 suspected militants
in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula, where it has been fighting an
insurgency for years. The Interior Ministry issued a statement Tuesday
saying it had received information about insurgents hiding at a farm
in the city of el-Arish. The statement says that while police forces
were hunting the militants, a shootout ensued and the militants were
killed. It said they had in their possession seven rifles, two
explosive devices and an explosive belt. The statement didn’t say when
the raid took place or whether police had casualties. It was not
impossible to independently confirm the claims as access to northern
Sinai is heavily restricted. Egypt has battled Islamic militants for
years in the Sinai Peninsula in an insurgency, where the IS affiliate
is based. The insurgency escalated after the military overthrow of an
elected but divisive Islamist president in 2013.”
Libya
Al
Monitor: How Will Egypt Protect Its Expats In Libya From
IS?
“On Aug. 5, Egyptian public prosecutor Nabil Sadek ordered the
urgent referral of 11 defendants, including four Libyans, to
the National Security Court (NSC). They were accused of spying for
members of the Islamic State (IS) in Libya with the aim of committing
terrorist crimes against Egyptians in Libya. Sadek said in a statement
on Aug. 5 that the investigations conducted by the public prosecutor's
office confirmed the defendants abducted and tortured Egyptian expats
to obtain a ransom from their relatives for their release. They also
committed the crimes of spying and supplying IS with money and
information, and human trafficking and migrant smuggling. The same
statement pointed out that the prosecution office with the NSC has
launched its investigation into the findings of the National Security
Agency. According to these findings released Aug. 5, defendant Mohamed
Ragab Abdel Wahed Hassan, of Egyptian nationality, was found to have
worked with Bedouin groups to smuggle Egyptians through the country’s
western border into Libya.”
Nigeria
All
Africa: Nigeria: Boko Haram - 37 Aid Workers Killed In 10
Years
“The United Nations has called for protection of aid workers
engaged in humanitarian services in the North-east, just as 37 aid
personnel were killed in the 10-year Boko Haram insurgency. The Head
of UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in
Nigeria, Mr. Peter Ekayu, made the call in a statement issued in
Maiduguri, Borno State capital, yesterday, to mark the 2019 World
Humanitarian Day. Ekayu disclosed that the UN celebrated the day to
honour aid workers around the world who risked their lives to help,
save and improve that of others. He described the aid workers as
heroes who were working tirelessly to provide needed assistance to the
vulnerable people affected by the crisis in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.
Ekayu noted that women were active in every aspect of humanitarian
action including negotiating access to people in need, addressing
deadly diseases such as measles and cholera as well as provision of
shelter, access to potable water, food, health and education. “Saifura
Hussaini Ahmed Khorsa and Hauwa Mohammed Liman; they were midwives
with International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), and executed after
being held in captivity by non-state armed groups for more than six
months.”
Africa
The
New York Times: Benin Awakens To The Threat Of Terrorism After Safari
Ends In A Nightmare
“As a safari guide in a sprawling wilderness preserve in West
Africa, Fiacre Gbédji often seemed no different from the tourists in
his care: He gushed at each lion sighting and thrilled at each
bushbuck he spotted through the trees. But when Mr. Gbédji and two
French tourists he was guiding deep within Pendjari National Park were
kidnapped by terrorists, the international response to the men
involved was far different. The tourists were rescued 10 days later by
the French military. Two French commandos killed during the mission
were given solemn services in the heart of Paris. Amid the
international attention on the kidnapping, Mr. Gbédji disappeared; if
he was mentioned at all, it was mostly just “their guide.” He was shot
and killed by the kidnappers, officials said, his remains eaten by
animals. But Mr. Gbédji’s name has become a fearful omen in Benin, a
small West African country wedged between Togo and Nigeria. It was
emerging as a safari destination, and Pendjari, under new leadership,
as a jewel of the country. The kidnapping has upended that progress
and drawn attention to how the terrorism wracking Burkina Faso and
other neighbors could also threaten Benin.”
The
Washington Post: Islamist Militants Are Targeting Christians In
Burkina Faso: ‘They Are Planting Seeds Of A Religious
Conflict’
“One evening in late June, gunmen stormed a village in northern
Burkina Faso and ordered people who had been chatting outside to lie
down. Then the armed strangers checked everyone’s necks, searching for
jewelry. They found four men wearing crucifixes — Christians. They
executed them. The murders in Beni, reported by Catholic leadership in
the region, followed attacks on churches in the West African nation
that have left at least two dozen people dead since February,
according to local news reports. It was the second time in as many
months that militants singled out worshipers wearing Christian
imagery. A spreading Islamist insurgency has transformed Burkina Faso
from a peaceful country known for farming, a celebrated film
festival and religious tolerance into a hotbed of extremism. The
trouble began three years ago with a grim domino effect: Militants
trickled in from neighboring Mali, which was wrestling with its own
insurgency — and many carried weapons from the 2011 collapse of Libya.
Attacks by fighters linked to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda have
quadrupled since 2017 in Burkina Faso, according to the Africa Center
for Strategic Studies in Washington. The violence has pushed at least
70,000 people to flee their homes since January, estimates the United
Nations.”
France
France
24: Five Held In France For Urging Attacks On G7
Police
“French authorities arrested five people for encouraging attacks on
a hotel slated to accommodate police during this weekend's G7 summit,
sources said Tuesday, as more than 13,000 members of the security
forces prepared to deploy for the event. The arrests occurred early
Monday, just days ahead of the summit chaired by French President
Emmanuel Macron who will from Saturday host the likes of US President
Donald Trump, German leader Angela Merkel and Britain's Boris Johnson
in the glitzy southwestern resort town of Biarritz. Speaking to
reporters in Biarritz where he inspected security preparations,
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said 13,200 police and gendarmes
would secure the event. They would be backed by members of the armed
forces as well as police deployed on the Spanish side of the border,
he added. “The aim is to have maximum security with a minimum of
disruption. We will not tolerate any unrest. If it happens, we will
respond,” he said. Several of the suspects are young members of
radical anti-capitalist groups known as “black blocs” which played a
major role in the violent street protests that rocked Paris and other
French cities over the last months. The investigation was triggered
after a woman living in the area posted a message online pinpointing a
hotel where gendarmes policing the summit will stay.”
Germany
Reuters:
Germany Takes Back Four Islamic State Children From
Syria
“Germany has for the first time allowed children whose parents were
suspected members of Islamic State to return to Germany from northern
Syria and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said it will push for more
such children to come to the country. Like other western countries,
Germany faces a tricky decision on how to deal with citizens who went
to the Middle East to join groups like Islamic State, which was driven
out of its last territorial enclave in March by U.S.-backed forces.
Three of the four repatriated German children are orphans, according
to German media, but no further details were available. ”We will push
for more children to leave Syria,” Maas said on Monday. “These are
mostly young children ... they cannot be made responsible for the
actions of their parents and we want to do something to help,” he
added. Thousands of Islamic State members, including foreigners,
women and children, are being held by Kurdish-led authorities in
northern Syria. German intelligence officials say more than 1,000
Germans went to fight in Syria and Iraq where Islamic State once
controlled swathes of territory in a self-declared caliphate.”
Europe
Radio
Free Europe: Court In Siberia Jails Young Man For 'Justifying
Terrorism Online'
“A 23-year-old man from the Siberian city of Tomsk has been
sentenced to five years in prison for “justifying terrorism” on the
Internet. The Investigative Committee said on August 19 that the
resident of Tomsk, whose name it did not give, was a supporter of
radical Islam and posted under a nickname on the VKontakte Russian
social network, voicing support for terrorist acts across Russia.
According to the statement, the court also banned the man from using
the Internet for two years. Russian news agencies identified the man
as Kazakh citizen Ilya Kalinichenko, a hockey player at the local club
in Tomsk that is a member of the Siberian Students Ice Hockey League.
Kalinichenko's mother told reporters that she will appeal the ruling,
saying that her son's posts on the Internet neither supported nor
called for terrorism.”
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