Three men that prosecutors say have ties to an anti-government movement and
tried to spark violence during recent Las Vegas protests were indicted on

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


June 18, 2020

 

Associated Press: Grand Jury Indicts 3 Men On Terror Charges Over Protest Plot
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“Three men that prosecutors say have ties to an anti-government movement and
tried to spark violence during recent Las Vegas protests were indicted on
terrorism charges by a county grand jury Wednesday. The Las Vegas
Review-Journal reported the charges in the indictment are similar to a
complaint filed by prosecutors earlier this month, charging 23-year-old Andrew
T. Lynam Jr., 35-year-old Stephen T. Parshall and 40-year-old William L. Loomis
each with two felony terrorism and two explosives charges. The grand jury
indictment allows the case to go directly to trial and skip a preliminary
hearing where evidence is presented. A federal grand jury on Tuesday also
indicted the three each on a federal conspiracy charge and a firearm and
destructive device charge on accusations of possession of a Molotov cocktail.
Prosecutors say the men have ties to the right-wing extremist “boogaloo”
movement, an internet-based network expressing support for overthrowing the
U.S. government. Prosecutors say the men hoped to create civic unrest by
capitalizing on protests over businesses closed due to the coronavirus and
later, the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis after a
white officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes.”

 

The Guardian: Number Of Far-Right Terrorist Prisoners In Britain Hits Record
High
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“The number of far-right prisoners convicted for terror offences in Great
Britain climbed by a third last year to their highest recorded level, and
accounts for more than one in six of all terrorists held in prison, according
to official figures. Labour said the disclosure underlined the “dangerous
threat” posed by the far right, which comes after last weekend’s
counter-demonstration in Westminster where more than 100 were arrested
following violent clashes. The Home Office data shows that 44 “extreme
rightwing” prisoners were in custody for terror offences across Great Britain,
up from 33 a year ago. Three years ago, the figure was nine and no higher than
five before that. Those who have been jailed in recent years include Thomas
Mair, who murdered Jo Cox four years ago this week, and a neo-Nazi who plotted
to kill another Labour MP, Rosie Cooper, with a machete a year later. Islamist
extremists still form the largest category of terror prisoners, but at 183 last
year the overall number has remained roughly flat since 2018 – meaning the
proportion of far-right terror prisoners has increased to a record 18%. Conor
McGinn MP, the shadow security minister, said: “This significant rise shows the
very serious and dangerous nature of far-right extremism.”

 

United States

 

Bloomberg: The U.S. Remains Key In The Fight Against The Islamic State
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“Despite a resurgence by the Islamic State, the U.S. is coming under
increasing Iraqi pressure to withdraw forces from the country. President Trump,
who believes the terrorist group has been vanquished, seems disinclined to lead
the effort to make sure it stays that way. This presents a challenge for the
82-member coalition Washington put together to defeat IS after 2014: Can
Operation Inherent Resolve, which was created to take on the terrorist group in
Iraq and Syria, remain resolute if the convening power of the U.S. is
diminished? The short answer is yes. The key to curbing the IS revival is not
the size of the forces on the ground, because local partners have proved
increasingly competent, but rather a coordinated regional strategy that
leverages American assets. Overall coalition troop numbers in Iraq are around
9,000. Some European countries have temporarily withdrawn forces because of the
coronavirus pandemic, and the U.S. has pulled out from smaller posts to
consolidate and protect its units from Iranian proxy attacks. Washington and
Baghdad are holding a strategic dialogue in the backdrop of continued of
U.S.-Iran tensions, which spiked in January when an American drone attack
killed Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’
elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in January in
Iraq.”

 

NBC News: Alleged 'Boogaloo' Extremist Charged In Killing Of Federal Officer
During George Floyd Protest
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“An Air Force sergeant who was arrested in the fatal ambush of a Santa Cruz
County deputy was charged Tuesday in connection with the killing of a federal
security officer during George Floyd protests in Oakland last month,
authorities said. Staff Sgt. Steven Carrillo, 32, was charged with murder and
attempted murder in the killing of federal officer Dave Patrick Underwood, 53.
Underwood was one of two officers who were shot May 29 while guarding the
Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building. The other officer was critically wounded in
the drive-by attack. Both were members of Homeland Security's Federal
Protective Service. Authorities said Carrillo and a second man traveled to
Oakland with the intent to kill police and believed the large demonstrations
spurred by the death of Floyd in Minneapolis — which they were not a part of —
would help them get away it. “They came to Oakland to kill cops,” said John
Bennett, special agent in charge of the San Francisco division of the FBI.”

 

Syria

 

Al Jazeera: Calls Grow For EU To Repatriate ISIL Children From Syria Camps
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“The Center for Global Policy has called on European governments to urgently
intervene on behalf of as many as 750 children of EU member states citizenship
who are held in ISIL (ISIS) detention camps in Syria. In a new report, the
organisation said urgent intervention and support in the form of investment in
diplomatic and financial resources, the development of rehabilitation services
and provision of non-extremist religious education, as well as the creation of
a pan-European leglislative body to determine the fate of these children, were
urgently needed. The report titled The Children of ISIS Detainees: Europe's
Dilemma was based on research that focused on two camps in northeast Syria,
al-Hawl and al-Roj, where some 70,000 women and children are being detained.
According to the report at least 12,000 of the detainees are European
nationals. “Immediate action by European governments will limit future
extremism and terrorism and promote the health and wellbeing of these
children,” Azeem Ibrahim, director of the Center for Global Policy and
co-author of the report, said in a press release. Ibrahim, who visited the
camps in April, added: “The coronavirus pandemic has not diminished the urgent
need to deal with these children.”

 

Iraq

 

Al Monitor: Iraq Keeps Heat On Islamic State By Targeting Leaders
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“Spokesman for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, Brig. Yahya
Rasoul, said June 6, “The Islamic State is trying to hide in the desert,
mountainous and valley regions, but the security and military redeployment will
leave them no space to exploit for transportation and supplies.” The Iraqi
intelligence services have been intensifying operations against the Islamic
State over the past months, pursuing its new caliph Abdullah Qardash in
cooperation with the US-led international coalition that killed former caliph
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October 2019. Every other day the Iraqi authorities
announce the arrest of IS operatives in the northern and western areas of the
country and often the killing or the arrest of an IS leader. Most recently on
May 27, the Iraqi authorities announced the killing of Mutaz al-Jabouri, known
as Haji Tayseer, and nicknamed “the architect of death.” A week before the
operation targeting Jabouri, the National Intelligence Service, which is still
run by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, announced the arrest of Abd
al-Nasser Qardash, IS’ second-in-command and brother of the new caliph.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Radio Free Europe: Afghans Say Taliban Attacks Kill At Least 17 Military
Personnel In Northern Provinces
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“Afghan officials say Taliban fighters have attacked a checkpoint in the
northern province of Jawzjan, killing 12 security force members. Abdul Marouf
Azar, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said on June 17 that five others
were wounded in the attack that occurred at dawn in the Aqcha district. The
militants have taken four soldiers hostage following the attack, Azar said,
adding that the militants also suffered casualties. “Five Taliban were also
killed and 10 others were wounded in the clashes,” he said. The Defense
Ministry confirmed the attack and said six of its soldiers were among the dead.
A Taliban spokesman said the group was responsible for the attack, but he said
the death toll was higher, though he did not elaborate. In another northern
province, Kunduz, militants attacked an Afghan National Army checkpoint on the
outskirts of the provincial capital, Kunduz city, killing five soldiers,
according to the provincial police chief, Faqir Muhammad Jawzjani. At least
seven others were wounded in the incident, he added. Meanwhile, the explosion
of a mortar shell in the southeastern province of Ghazni left four children
dead, while wounding three others, the provincial governor's spokesman, Arif
Noori, said.”

 

Middle East

 

Gulf News: Bahrain Top Court Upholds Up To 15 Years Jail For 6 Terror Suspects
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“Bahrain’s Court of Cassation upheld the lower court’s ruling that handed down
prison sentences ranging between three to 15 years to six convicts, found
guilty of setting up a terrorist group affiliated to “Saraya Al Ashtar” (Al
Ashtar Brigades) terrorist organisation and carrying out a number of attacks in
the kingdom. The court, however, turned down revoking citizenship of the
convicts. Bahrain’s High Criminal Court sentenced 13 defendants to life
sentence and revoked the citizenship of 11 of them, The court also sentenced
other defendants to 10 years in prison for transporting equipment to a member
of the terrorist group, who fled the Kingdom to Iran. Seven defendants were
also fined BD100,000 ($265,188) each. The Court of Appeals commuted the life
sentence handed down to nine defendants to 15 years in jail, and the life
sentence to seven years to two others. It also commuted a 10 years’ jail handed
down to a defendant to three years in prison. In 2017, Bahraini High Criminal
Court issued a verdict to revoke the citizenship of 15 defendants for sharing
intelligence with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist
group. In the same ruling, known under the name of “Al Basta,” the Bahraini
High Criminal Court sentenced eight defendants to life in jail, nine to 15
years, and two to 10 years and a 100,000-dinar fine.”

 

Africa

 

Voice Of America: Experts Debate Government Response To Insurgency In Northern
Mozambique
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“Security forces in Mozambique continue to curb a growing Islamist insurgency
in the northern part of the country, where violence has killed hundreds of
civilians and forced thousands to flee their homes. Since 2017, Islamist
militants, some of which are affiliated with the Islamic State terror group,
have carried out attacks against civilians and government security forces in
the northern province of Cabo Delgado. According to the United Nations, 11 of
the 16 districts in the Muslim-majority province have experienced attacks
claimed by the insurgents. Locally known as al-Shabab, Ahlu Sunna wa Jama is
the main militant group responsible for the attacks in Cabo Delgado. It is
considered the Mozambique affiliate of IS. Experts say Islamist insurgents have
exploited social and economic grievances of the local population in the
resource-rich region. “The insurgents seem to grow in areas where the
population has been marginalized by the government, particularly young people,
who in some cases sold what little they had and went to join the [armed]
groups,” said José Mateus M. Katupha, associate professor at Eduardo Mondlane
University in Pemba, the provincial capital of Cabo Delgado.”

 

United Kingdom

 

BBC News: Man, 31, Charged With Terrorism Offences In Hull
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“A man has been charged with two counts of encouraging terrorism after a
street disturbance in Hull. Humberside Police were called to Cheadle Close on
Saturday to reports of man armed with a knife shouting in the street. A
31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of affray and later re-arrested on
suspicion of offences under section 41 of the Terrorism Act. He has been
remanded and will appear at Leeds Magistrates' Court on Thursday. The
investigation is being led by Counter Terrorism Policing North East.”

 

BBC News: Boy, 14, Charged With Terror Attack Plot
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“A 14-year-old boy has been charged with plotting an “Islamist” terror attack,
police have said. The teenager, from Eastleigh, who cannot be named, faces one
count of preparation of terrorist acts. Hampshire Police, which arrested the
boy on 12 June, said it believed the investigation was “isolated”. The boy was
later re-arrested by counter-terror police. He is due to appear at Westminster
Magistrates' Court on Thursday.”

 

Germany

 

The Jerusalem Post: Rise Of German Terrorist Hezbollah Supporters, Members In
Lower Saxony
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“The number of Hezbollah members and supporters in the German state of Lower
Saxony increased from 150 in 2018 to 160 in 2019, according to a damning new
intelligence report released in late May. The report said that in “Lower Saxony
supporters and sympathizers of Hezbollah are organized in several associations
that have specified the care and dissemination of Lebanese culture and the
practice of their religion as their purpose and goal in statutes.” The report
said that Hezbollah associations are located in Hanover, the capital of Lower
Saxony, the city of Osnabrück and the town Uelzen. Hezbollah members and
supporters are also located in South Lower Saxony. The report added that
Hezbollah “activities can also be observed in the area around Bremen in Lower
Saxony.” The German Interior Ministry declared Hezbollah a terrorist movement
in late April and banned all Hezbollah activity in Germany. The intelligence
document said that “the Lebanese Shi’ite organization Hezbollah (Party of God)
uses terrorist means to fight the State of Israel, but also directs its
propaganda against Western institutions.” It is unclear if the German
authorities plan to take legal action against the Lebanese Shi’ite Hezbollah
members and supporters in Lower Saxony and their mosques and associations.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

The National: Shamima Begum: ISIS Recruit Barred From Bangladesh
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“Bangladesh has reinforced its stance that it will not allow British citizen
Shamima Begum – the schoolgirl who fled London to join the ISIS in Syria – into
the country because she “was never a Bangladeshi national”. Ms Begum is a
British citizen of Bangladeshi descent but her citizenship to the latter
country is disputed. Bangladesh’s foreign minister Ar AK Abdul Momen said in
February that his country would not accept Ms Begum. “Bangladesh’s firm
position is – British citizen Shamima Begum has never been a Bangladeshi
national, she has also no right to claim in this regard and there is no
question to allow her to enter into Bangladesh,’ the South Asian country’s
foreign affairs ministry said a statement on Tuesday. In February 2015 when she
was aged 15, Ms Begum and two schoolmates fled from east London through Turkey
to Syria, where they were married off to ISIS fighters. She was found in a
Syrian refugee camp, nine months pregnant, in February last year. Ms Begum, now
20, is in legal limbo after Britain refused to let her back in and stripped her
of her passport in February last year. She is still based in Syria. The British
government reportedly made the decision after receiving advice that Ms Begum
could qualify for Bangledeshi citizenship.”



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