A stabbing attack at a park in southern England that left three people dead on
Saturday is being investigated as a “terrorist incident,” police offici

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


June 22, 2020

 

The New York Times: Stabbing At U.K. Park Is Declared A ‘Terrorist Incident’
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“A stabbing attack at a park in southern England that left three people dead
on Saturday is being investigated as a “terrorist incident,” police officials
said Sunday. The attack happened around 7 p.m. at Forbury Gardens in the town
of Reading, the Thames Valley Police said. A Black Lives Matter protest had
been held there earlier in the day, though the police said earlier that the
stabbings were not connected to the demonstration. Three people were killed in
the attack and three more were seriously injured, the police said. A
25-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder on Saturday
and remained in custody on Sunday. “Incidents of this nature are very rare,
though I know that will be of little comfort to those involved and understand
the concern that this incident will have caused amongst our local community,”
Chief Constable John Campbell said in a statement on Sunday. The Thames Valley
Police said that counterterrorism units would be taking over the investigation.
Britain’s Counter Terrorism Policing said in a statement on Sunday that there
was nothing to suggest that other people were involved. Neil Basu, who heads
the group and is an assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said
that “the motivation for this heinous act is far from certain.”

 

NPR: Vehicle Attacks Rise As Extremists Target Protesters
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“Right-wing extremists are turning cars into weapons, with reports of at least
50 vehicle-ramming incidents since protests against police violence erupted
nationwide in late May. At least 18 are categorized as deliberate attacks;
another two dozen are unclear as to motivation or are still under
investigation, according to a count released Friday by Ari Weil, a terrorism
researcher at the University of Chicago's Chicago Project on Security and
Threats. Weil has tracked vehicle-ramming attacks, or VRAs, since protests
began. The 20 people facing prosecution in the rammings include a state leader
of the Virginia Ku Klux Klan, as well as a California man who was charged with
attempted murder after antagonizing protesters and then driving into them,
striking a teenage girl. Video footage of some attacks shows drivers yelling at
or threatening Black Lives Matter protesters before hitting the gas. By
subscribing, you agree to NPR's terms of use and privacy policy. NPR may share
your name and email address with your NPR station. See Details. This site is
protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service
apply. "The message they're trying to send is, 'You need to get out of the
street and stop these protests,' " Weil said.”

 

United States

 

The New York Times: The Lapses That Let A Saudi Extremist Shoot Up A U.S. Navy
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“President Trump stepped before the cameras at a White House news conference
less than a month after his inaugural and declared that he was already taking
bold steps to keep “radical Islamic terrorists” out of the United States. “Our
citizens will be very happy when they see the result,” Mr. Trump said,
foreshadowing orders he would issue requiring tougher screening of visa
applicants. “Extreme vetting will be put in place.” But that “extreme vetting”
did not stop precisely the sort of person Mr. Trump’s policy was supposed to
root out: Second Lt. Mohammed Alshamrani of Saudi Arabia, a 21-year-old Qaeda
loyalist who was part of a prestigious training program at the naval air
station in Pensacola, Fla. This past December, Lieutenant Alshamrani opened
fire in a classroom building at the base, killing three sailors and wounding
eight other people before being fatally shot by sheriff’s deputies. The
episode, one in an alarming series of insider attacks on U.S. military bases,
forced American officials to acknowledge serious problems in their vetting
systems and pledge reforms. But a New York Times review reveals lapses far more
extensive than previously known in how international military students are
selected, screened and monitored once in the United States.”

 

Politico: Intel Report Warns That Far-Right Extremists May Target Washington,
D.C.
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“The Trump administration is warning law enforcement and public safety
officials that a far-right extremist movement known as “boogaloo” may be
setting its sights on the nation’s capital. On Monday, the National Capital
Region Threat Intelligence Consortium, a fusion center for Washington, D.C.,
that provides support to federal national security and law enforcement
agencies, warned in an intelligence assessment that “the District is likely an
attractive target for violent adherents of the boogaloo ideology due to the
significant presence of US law enforcement entities, and the wide range of
First Amendment-Protected events hosted here.” The assessment, dated June 15
and obtained by POLITICO, reported that “recent events indicate violent
adherents of the boogaloo ideology likely reside in the National Capital
Region, and others may be willing to travel far distances to incite civil
unrest or conduct violence encouraged in online forums associated with the
movement.” A senior DHS official forwarded the assessment to security
stakeholders on Friday, noting that “while it identifies Washington D.C. as an
attractive target, the boogaloo ideology is not restricted to a specific region
and those who wish to cause division are routinely using peaceful protests as
means of cover.”

 

Foreign Policy: Trump Wants To Label Antifa A Terrorist Organization. What
About The KKK?
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“Some say Ku Klux was chosen as the name for the U.S. white supremacist
organization because it mimics the sound of a rifle being cocked, though other
evidence points to the appeal of the Greek word kyklos, which means circle.
That was essentially the goal of the defeated Confederate soldiers who formed
the Ku Klux Klan in 1865—to encircle or kill Black Americans. As the klan grew
in power, it made its intentions publicly clear: promoting Confederate
jingoism; pushing back on Reconstruction-era rights; performing terrorist raids
to intimidate; destructing property, especially churches; assaulting; taunting;
lynching; hanging; and dragging the bodies of Black men behind cars. These acts
were carried out to promote white supremacy and also for gaining political
power. In the months and years after the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the
U.S. Constitution were passed—abolishing slavery and guaranteeing basic rights
to the formerly enslaved—it became clear to the federal government that
forcible action against KKK-led terrorism would be necessary if the newly
enacted rights and protections were to have any impact. By 1871, Congress
passed a series of enforcement acts that broadened the federal government’s
powers to oversee elections and allowed the U.S. military to use force to stop
the KKK.”

 

Iraq

 

Voice Of America: Coalition Aircraft Destroys Islamic State Camps In Iraq
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“The U.S. military’s Central Command says three known Islamic State hiding
places have been destroyed in rural Iraq. In a statement the command says
aircraft from the anti-ISIS coalition known as Operation Inherent Resolve, in
coordination with the Iraqi government, hit the camps Friday in Wadi al-Shai in
a rural Kirkuk province, about 26 kilometers west of Iraq’s Tuz Khurmatu.
“Blowing up ISIS hideouts,” said Col. Myles B. Caggins III, a Coalition
spokesman, “ultimately results in security in cities and villages.” He added
that each Coalition airstrike is done at the request of the Iraqi government
“to help achieve a permanent defeat” of the militants. Fighters and followers
of the Islamic State, undaunted by the collapse of the terror group’s
self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria, are growing bolder and more
dangerous, according to recent assessments by U.S. counterterrorism officials.”

 

Turkey

 

Al Monitor: Turkish NBA Player's Father Acquitted Of Terrorism Charges In
Turkey
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“Turkish basketball player Enes Kanter said today that his father has been
exonerated of charges brought against him by the Turkish government. Kanter, a
28-year-old center for the Boston Celtics, is an outspoken critic of Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The NBA player also supports Islamic cleric
Fethullah Gulen, whom Erdogan blames for the 2016 coup attempt. Kanter’s
father, Mehmet Kanter, was briefly detained in 2017 on terrorism charges
related to Gulen, which he denied. Mehmet Kanter’s passport was also taken
away. The older Kanter was acquitted of the charges Thursday. Enes Kanter
celebrated the news on Twitter, saying it was due to pressure on the Turkish
government. “My dad has been released,” said Enes Kanter. “This is due to the
pressure we have put on the Turkish regime.” Enes Kanter has had a complicated
relationship with his home country. His passport was revoked in 2017 amid his
criticisms of the government and support for Gulen. Last year, he skipped a
trip to London with his former team, the New York Knicks, fearing Turkish
authorities could have him arrested there. Enes Kanter is now seeking US
citizenship. The ordeal has complicated Enes Kanter’s relationship with his
family as well.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Daily Sabah: Taliban Kidnap 60 Civilians In Afghanistan In A Week
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“Taliban militants kidnapped about 60 civilians in central Afghanistan over
the past week, officials said Sunday, with more than half still being held amid
efforts by the United States and other foreign powers to start peace talks. The
Taliban took the hostages in the central province of Daikundi after a women
escaped a Taliban-controlled village in a neighboring province, according to
the provincial deputy governor, Mohammad Ali Uruzgani. Some 26, including women
and children, had been released and tribal elders were mediating to free the
remaining civilians, Uruzgani added. A Taliban spokesman denied kidnapping the
civilians. The militants, fighting to retake control after their 2001 ouster
from power, signed a troop withdrawal agreement with the United States in
February, which was designed to pave the way for peace talks with the Afghan
government. But violence has ramped up since the agreement and discord over the
release of Taliban prisoners has hampered progress on formal talks.
Underscoring the tension, a spokesman for the national security council said
the Taliban had killed more than 40 civilians around the country in the past
week. “The Taliban have failed to deliver on promises of reducing violence
against the Afghan people and working for peace,” spokesman Javid Faisal said
on Twitter.”

 

Saudi Arabia

 

Arab News: Saudi Arabia Chairs UN Counter-Terrorism Meeting
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“Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, Saudi Arabia’s permanent representative to the UN, on
Sunday chaired the 20th meeting — held virtually — of the advisory board of the
UN Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT). The meeting discussed the 2019 annual
report and the report on UNCCT's most important projects during the first
quarter of 2020. It reviewed the programs of UNCCT, “supporting member states
in the prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration of individuals suspected
or convicted of committing terrorist acts, including foreign terrorist fighters
and their families.” The meeting also watched a presentation on UNCCT’s
response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting was attended by the
undersecretary-general of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), Vladimir
Voronkov, the director of UNCCT, Jehangir Khan, and a Saudi delegation. The
advisory board is formed by 21 member states. along with the EU as a guest
member, and is chaired by Saudi Arabia. The board provides advice to UNCCT,
which was established with the help and support of Saudi Arabia. The centre
updates the advisory board on the progress in the implementation of its
programs and projects on a quarterly basis.”

 

Lebanon

 

Jewish News Syndicate: US To Grant Hezbollah Financier Early Release From
Prison
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“The United States plans to release convicted Hezbollah financier Kassim
Tajideen three years into his five-year sentence, due to poor health and the
risk of COVID-19 infection in prison, according to court documents. Tajideen,
64, is a Lebanese-Belgian citizen and multi-millionaire, whom the U.S. 
Treasury’s placed on its list of “Specially Designated Global Terrorists” in
2009. He was sentenced to five years in an American jail in 2019. Washington
Federal District Court Judge Reggie Walton accepted Tajideen’s emergency
request for compassionate release on May 28, rejecting the Justice Department’s
argument that he was in decent health, AFP reported. According to the report,
U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement said in a court filing that Tajideen
is scheduled to be on a charter flight to Lebanon in July. The report also
states that his lawyer denies claims that his release could be part of a
prisoner-swap deal—in exchange for the release from Lebanon in March of
American-Lebanese Amer al-Fakhoury, formerly a member of a pro-Israel militia
who was accused of torturing prisoners. The Counter Extremism Project reports
that “Tajideen was arrested on an INTERPOL warrant five days after his
indictment at Casablanca’s airport in Morocco while traveling from Guinea to
Beirut.”

 

Egypt

 

Egypt Today: Egyptian Court Sentences 13 ‘Nusra’ Convicts To Life Over Joining
Terrorist Group
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“The Cairo Criminal Court on Sunday handed life imprisonment sentence to 13
people over joining a terrorist group and ordered placing 16 defendants in the
case on terror lists. The court also sentenced 3 others in the case known in
media as “Jabhat Al-Nusra Organization” to 15 years in prison. The 16
defendants in the case face accusations of joining an extremist group that
adopts takfiri thoughts between 2011 and 2014 in the Egyptian city of
El-Mahalla El-Kubra, north of the country. They also face accusations of
leading a terrorist group that aims at obstructing the Constitution and laws,
avoiding state institutions and general authorities from practicing their
duties and assaulting personal freedom and public rights provided by the
Constitution. Earlier in June, Cairo Criminal Court has sentenced three out of
11 defendants accused of attempting to assassinate Alexandria’s security
director to death in 2018, ahead of the latest presidential elections,
upholding a January ruling. The other eight defendants were handed life
imprisonment sentences (25 years in prison) and were placed on the state's
terrorism list. In March 2018, Security Director Mustafa El-Nemr survived a
massive explosion that targeted his convoy at Rushdy district in the center of
the Mediterranean Alexandria governorate.”

 

Libya

 

The Telegraph: Libya Associated With A Long Litany Of Terror Attacks On The
West
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“Libya has been implicated in some of the most infamous terrorist atrocities
of recent decades including the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and the suicide attack
on the Manchester Arena three years ago. Britain broke off diplomatic relations
with Tripoli in 1984 after the Metropolitan Police officer, Yvonne Fletcher,
was shot dead outside the Libyan embassy in London during anti-Gaddafi
protests. The 25-year-old was caught in a volley of gunfire as she policed a
demonstration in St James’s Square, but all attempts to bring her killer to
justice have failed. In April 1986 three people were killed and more than 200
injured when a bomb went off in a Berlin disco popular with US service
personnel.”

 

Nigeria

 

The Nigerian Voice: Boko Haram Kils 5 Herdsmen, Rustles 480 Cows In Magumeri
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“Not fewer than five villagers suspected to be herdsmen were Saturday killed
when members of Boko Haram sect armed with AK47 rifles invaded communities of
Moduri, Kelewa and Ngudori of Magumeri Local Government area of Borno State.The
terrorists carted away 480 cows after committing the atrocities, leaving one of
the herdsmen in the pool of his blood as a result of gunshots. It was however
gathered that the victims were killed while attempting to plead with the
terrorists not to go with their cows, which is the only means of their
livelihoods. The Secretary of Magumeri Local Government Area, Alhaji Ali Kyari
disclosed this to news men in Maiduguri Sunday. Moduri is about 15 km east of
Magumeri Local Government Headquarters, while Kelewa and Ngudori are east and
about 20 kms. The Secretary while giving an update on the attacks said, the
insurgents first stormed Moduri village at about 6:30pm on Saturday and rustled
300 cattle before killing three persons, after which, the same set of
terrorists invaded Kelewa and killed one person before they went away with 80
cows including looting of foodstuffs. Kyari said, the injured one has been
evacuated to the State Specialists Hospital in Maiduguri and is now receiving
treatment to be paid by the Council.”

 

United Kingdom

 

The Guardian: Reading Is Latest In Seven Years Of Terrorist Knife Attacks In UK

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“The first terrorist knife attack in Britain remains the highest-profile,
because of the target – a soldier – and the fact the bloody aftermath was
caught on mobile phone footage. The killing of Fusilier Lee Rigby outside
Woolwich barracks in May 2013 by Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale was by
no means the last of such low-tech attacks in Britain, however. Several were
foiled, including one planned by Brusthom Ziamani, a 19-year-old Muslim convert
caught wandering the streets of east London with a knife, hammer and Isis flag
hunting for a target the following year. Three months later, in November 2014,
Nadir Syed, 23, from Hounslow, west London, was arrested after buying an 11in
kitchen knife at a shop in Ealing with a plan to attack a Remembrance Day
poppy- seller. Junead Khan, 25, a delivery driver from Luton, was arrested in
July 2015 as he planned to stage a road accident and then kill a US airman
outside a base in East Anglia with a combat knife. In December that year,
Muhiddin Mire tried to behead a man at Leytonstone tube station in east London,
shouting: “This is for Syria, I’m going to spill your blood.”

 

France

 

Euronews: France Repatriates Ten Children Of French Jihadists From Syria
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“France repatriated ten children of French jihadists from Syria on Sunday
night. They were previously staying in refugee camps controlled by Kurdish
forces in the north-eastern part of the country. It is unknown where the
children landed or where they were transferred to once they reached France.
“These children have been handed over to the French judicial authorities”, the
French Foreign Ministry reported, adding that they would be taken care of by
the social services and undergo medical checks. Paris thanked the
semi-autonomous Kurdish administration in north-eastern Syria for its
“cooperation” in this new repatriation of “young and vulnerable children”,
stressing that it acted “within the legal framework of the authorisation given
by local officials”. After militant Islamic State group lost its Baghouz
stronghold in March 2019, France has brought back 28 children from Syria - five
in March 2019, 12 in June 2019 and a girl suffering from a heart condition in
April this year. Around 300 children of French jihadists are currently in the
Al-Hol and Roj camps, according to Familles Unies, a French organisation for
human rights that has been calling for the repatriation of those children as
well as of their mothers.”

 

Europe

 

Kurdistan 24: Dutch Kurd Sentenced To Community Service For Fighting ISIS In
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“A court in the Netherlands on Thursday sentenced a Dutch Kurd who in 2016
served as a volunteer for the People’s Protection Units’ (YPG) in Syria to 240
hours of community service and a six-month suspended sentence. Although the
former volunteer won't have to serve any time in jail, he said he is
disappointed in the decision of the court, which chose to criminalize his
actions. The Dutch Public Prosecution Service had previously sought a sentence
of three years in prison for the 30-year-old Dutch citizen known only as Devin,
who in 2016 served as a volunteer for a medical unit of the People’s Protection
Units (YPG) in Syria as part of operations against the Islamic State. “I am
shocked by this demand,” Devin earlier told Kurdistan 24 at the time. “The
prosecution also doesn’t have concrete evidence and nothing is concrete. They
only took a few pictures from my own Facebook [page] and a quote from John
Hardin about the TMU in which he says it’s plausible that the medical unit
participated in active combat.” Devin was part of the YPG’s Tactical Medical
Unit (TMU) during the battle for the control of Tabqa Dam. “I wanted to help
people, fighters and civilians. I didn’t want to kill people, everybody can do
that,” he said, according to a report of the Dutch newspaper AD.”

 

Technology

 

CBC News: Canadians Among Most Active In Online Right-Wing Extremism, Research
Finds
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“A report released Friday on Canadian involvement in right-wing extremism
online should serve as a “wake-up call” about the widespread nature of the
movement and highlights a growing shift toward the use of less regulated
platforms, says an expert on the phenomenon. The research, led by the
U.K.-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) think-tank, identified more
than 6,600 online channels — pages, accounts or groups — where Canadians were
involved in spreading white supremacist, mysogynistic or other radical views.
On some forums, Canadians were found to be “highly active,” even more, on
average, than users in the U.S. and Britain. On one particular message board
called “politically incorrect” on the fringe site 4Chan, researchers found
Canadian users created 1,636,558 posts, representing 5.71 per cent of posts
from all countries. The study suggests when the numbers were averaged out using
each country's “estimated internet-using population,” Canada was shown to be
producing more content than anywhere else. Barbara Perry, director of Ontario
Tech University's Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism, called the Canadian tally
“really disconcerting.” “For us to be up there with the heavy hitters ... it's
a wake-up call,” she said.”

 

The Guardian: The Iconoclast Unmasked: The Man Behind Far-Right YouTube Channel

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“He is the anonymous architect behind one of the most successful and toxic
British far-right YouTube channels, responsible for disseminating racist,
Islamophobic and antisemitic material. For years the individual known as The
Iconoclast has managed to protect his identity despite amassing nearly 21m
views and more than 218,000 subscribers. However the Observer can reveal that
the figure behind one of the biggest far-right content producers in the UK –
and the movement’s most prominent anonymous account – is a former media student
called Daniel Atkinson. Campaigners said the unmasking of Atkinson was
important because he is emblematic of the latest manifestation of the far
right. They said it is highly likely his widely disseminated racist views
influenced some far-right supporters who clashed with police in central London
last weekend. The far-right’s influence has traditionally been consolidated
within formal groups and political parties such as the British National Party
and English Defence League (EDL). Now, however, its most prominent figures more
closely resemble social media influencers such as Atkinson and those who have
opted to be identified, for example rightwing commentator Katie Hopkins and
far-right YouTuber Paul Joseph Watson, also a senior editor at the conspiracy
theory website Infowars.”



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