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Eye on Extremism
July 2, 2020
**NOTE: CEP’s Eye on Extremism will be suspended on Friday, July 3 and Monday, July 6 in observance of Independence Day. It will resume Tuesday, July 7.**
“Taliban commanders have confirmed that Russia has offered financial and material support to its members in exchange for attacking US forces in Afghanistan. The practice was first reported on Friday by The New York Times, which cited US intelligence officials. President Donald Trump has since strongly denied that he was told of this intelligence and attacked its credibility, characterizing the existence of Russian bounty payments as fake. But three separate Taliban sources told Insider they were aware of Russian bounty payments being made — though they said only the less-disciplined elements on the fringes of the group would take up such an offer. When reached through formal channels, officials with the Taliban — formally called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan — declined to comment. But the three sources all confirmed the practice takes place and that Russian intelligence officials are known to pay. Iran and Pakistan also fund these activities, the sources said. Two of the sources are actively involved with the Taliban, and one is now a refugee in Greece who entered the country in 2016. All said they personally had not undertaken Russian bounty operations and disparaged the practice in general.”
Daily Nation: Kenya: Nyanza, Western, New Breeding Ground For Terrorists, Survey Shows
“Kisumu, Siaya and Vihiga counties are the new breeding grounds for terrorist groups, a baseline survey conducted in 10 counties of Western Kenya has revealed. The new study shows how terrorist groups such as the Al-Shabaab are changing tactics and recruiting from new regions as opposed to the usual Coast, North Eastern and Nairobi areas. The survey revealed that apart from the three counties, Bungoma and Kakamega have for a while remained active recruitment grounds in Western Region having had some members in the past who were recruited to the terrorist group Al Shabaab prior to the Dusit attack. The survey was carried out by Dr Tom Mboya, a lecturer of Political Science at Maseno University, and Mr Jeremiah Owiti between November 2019 and February 2020 for Champions of Peace, National Counter Terrorism Centre with the support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Netherlands. The baseline survey titled “Western Kenya Prevention and Countering Violent Extremism Assessment Report” released on Wednesday morning was to establish evidence-based sign posts geared towards improving the design of the interventions by the government.”
Iraq
Voice Of America: Release Of Pro-Iran Militants Signals Governance Challenge In Iraq, Experts Say
“Defying state power, a group of 14 pro-Iran militiamen clothed in khaki military fatigues trampled over doctored portraits of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. The images, which have been widely circulated on Iraqi media since Monday, showed over a dozen young men holding small Iraqi flags in one hand and burning Kadhimi’s crossed-out posters, along with Israeli and U.S. flags, in the other. The men were members of Kataib Hezbollah (KH), who were released Monday shortly after their arrest in a rare anti-terrorism raid ordered by Kadhimi last week. A judge with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) released all 14 men, citing a “lack of evidence” for any wrongdoing. KH is an Iran proxy militia designated as a terrorist group by the United States for its involvement in deadly attacks on U.S. military bases and diplomatic facilities in Iraq. The swift release of the militants, experts say, highlights major challenges facing Iraq’s elected leaders as they attempt to restore one of the key functions of a modern nation-state: the right to enjoy, what scholars call, “the monopoly over the use of violence,” in a country where irregular militia groups continue to carry out violent attacks.”
Afghanistan
“Russia has been actively working with the Taliban and other groups inside Afghanistan in order to expedite the withdrawal of US troops from that country, according to a congressionally mandated Pentagon report released Wednesday. While the US military has long accused Moscow of maintaining links to the Taliban, the latest Pentagon assessment comes amid ongoing scrutiny about the Trump administration's response to intelligence indicating that Russian operatives had offered bounties to Taliban linked militants for killing US and UK service members in Afghanistan. “As of February, the Russian government was working with the central government, regional countries, and the Taliban to gain increased influence in Afghanistan, expedite a U.S. military withdrawal, and address security challenges that might arise from a withdrawal,” the report said, which covers the period of December 2019 to May 2020. “Russia has politically supported the Taliban to cultivate influence with the group, limit the Western military presence, and encourage counter ISIS operations, although Russia publicly denies their involvement,” the report said, adding that Moscow supports the February US-Taliban agreement “in the hope that reconciliation will prevent a long-term U.S. military presence.”
The National: Taliban Requests US Release Of Former Drug Lord
“The Taliban have asked America to release a former drug kingpin from jail in a formal request for the freedom of a man once ranked among the world's biggest heroin traffickers. Haji Bashir Noorzai was given a life sentence in 2009 after being convicted of running a heroin trafficking operation whose tentacles reached from Afghanistan to the United States. The Mujahideen commander and drug lord was said to have close ties with the Taliban’s founder, Mullah Mohammad Omar, before he was caught in a US counter-narcotics sting. At the time of his arrest, Mr Noorzai was on a US government target list of the most powerful and dangerous narcotics traffickers in the world and was nicknamed the Pablo Escobar of the Middle East. His fate was discussed this week during a conference call between US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and the Taliban's lead negotiator, Mullah Baradar, a spokesman said. “Mullah Baradar Akhund asked the US Secretary of State to release Haji Bashir, who is held in America, and the Afghan detainees remaining in Guantanamo,” said Suhail Shaheen. Mr Pompeo also said the pair had spoken but made no mention of any conversation over Mr Noorzai. He said he had spoken “with the Taliban chief negotiator to press the Taliban to live up to their commitments under the US-Taliban agreement, including not to attack Americans.”
Yemen
Reuters: Saudi-Led Coalition Starts Military Operation Against Yemen's Houthis
“A Saudi-led coalition has started a military operation against Yemen's Houthi movement after Houthis stepped up cross-border missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, Saudi state television reported Wednesday. In Yemen, Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported airstrikes on Sanaa, Marib, al-Jouf, al-Bayda, Hajjah and Saada provinces throughout the day and into the night. Residents in Sanaa described the air raids as violent. Al Masirah said late Wednesday that a number of people had been injured there. The Western-backed coalition with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as the main partners has been battling the Iran-aligned Houthi movement for five years. The coalition said earlier that there would be a news conference on the operation, Al-Ekhbariya channel and Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV said. Last week, Houthis fired missiles that reached the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in the first such assault since a six-week cease-fire prompted by the novel coronavirus epidemic expired in late May. The coalition said it intercepted the attack. The coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the Saudi-backed government from Sanaa in late 2014. The Houthis say they are fighting a corrupt system.”
Nigeria
Daily Post Nigeria: Boko Haram: Terrorists Kill 1 In Kautikari
“Residents of Kautikari village in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State on Wednesday, said Boko Haram militants attacked and killed one person on his farm. The man, identified as Malam Zarami was slaughtered according to reports reaching DAILY POST in Maiduguri. Indigenes of the local government and Kautikari village, who are residents of Maiduguri said, the attack on their village is becoming too much and therefore, called on the government of Professor Babagana Zulum and the military high command to do something urgently. According to Malam Chiroma Madu, the sad news got to them this evening. “We just received the news again that they (Boko Haram) attacked one of our relatives in the farm and killed him. It is very unfortunate. They have been attacking our village and killing our people like goat. This incident is more than 16 times this year along and nothing is being done about it. I sometimes ask myself why Chibok and why Kautikari?” he said. According to him, the recent attack was on Tuesday, 23/06/2020 where the attackers attacked some people on their farms killing two men and abducting three girls from the village.”
Africa
Foreign Policy: Mozambique’s Insurgency Is A Regional Problem
“Armed attacks by extremist militant groups in Mozambique’s oil-rich Cabo Delgado province have increased this year, sending a wave of panic through neighboring countries. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for some of the attacks, but extremists from Kenya and Tanzania and a homegrown group called Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama are also behind the rise in violence. It is unclear if the extremist groups are connected and therefore difficult to determine who is behind which attacks. Since 2017, militants have killed 700 civilians and also targeted security forces, destroying government infrastructure and seizing weapons from Mozambican troops. In April, an extremist group killed 52 people in the village of Xitaxi—the deadliest attack yet. No group has claimed responsibility. The violence in Cabo Delgado began in October 2017, several years after massive oil and gas deposits were discovered in the region. Multinational corporations such as ExxonMobil and Total invested in the area, but the rising insurgency presents a major risk: Their projects could stall if the violence continues to escalate. Mozambique shares borders with Malawi, South Africa, Eswatini, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania—all members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), a 16-country economic bloc collectively worth $721 billion.”
United Kingdom
BBC News: Reading Stabbings: Terror Suspect Khairi Saadallah Appears At Old Bailey
“The man accused of stabbing three men to death in a park in a suspected terror attack has appeared at the Old Bailey. Khairi Saadallah, 25, appeared by video link from Belmarsh Prison in south-east London, flanked by two guards. He faces three counts of murder and three of attempted murder after the attack in Forbury Gardens, Reading, shortly before 19:00 BST on 20 June. Mr Saadallah was remanded in custody until the next hearing on 10 July. Wearing a grey jumper and beige trousers for his court appearance, the defendant confirmed his name, date of birth and his nationality as Libyan. No date for a trial was set. The two-minute attack at a park left three people dead: friends James Furlong, 36, David Wails, 49, and Joseph Ritchie-Bennett, 39. History teacher Mr Furlong and Mr Ritchie-Bennett, a US citizen, were both stabbed once in the neck, while Mr Wails, a scientist, was stabbed in the back. All three were pronounced dead at the scene. Three others - their friend Stephen Young, as well as Patrick Edwards and Nishit Nisudan, who were sitting in a nearby group - were also injured. Mr Young received 28 stitches in the head to treat a single stab wound, Mr Edwards was stabbed in the back and Mr Nisudan suffered injuries to his face and hand. They have all been discharged from hospital.”
BBC News: Ex-Cambridge Student Oliver Bel Denies Terror Offence
“A former Cambridge University student has denied possessing a bomb-making instruction manual. Oliver Bel pleaded not guilty to possessing a document or record useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism. The 23-year-old is alleged to have had a copy of the so-called Anarchist Cookbook on 15 November, Manchester Crown Court heard. Mr Bel, from Ferneyfield Road, Chadderton, was released on bail. A trial date was set for 2 November.”
Southeast Asia
The New York Times: Two Wealth Sri Lankan Brothers Became Suicide Bombers. But Why?
“There’s a video of the exact moment Inshaf Ibrahim decided to abandon his life as a rich young man and turn into a mass murderer. In one sense, he had made up his mind weeks earlier, which was why he was loitering in the Cinnamon Grand hotel’s breakfast buffet on Easter Sunday last year in Colombo, strapped into a knapsack of explosives. Once he arrived, though, he appeared to dither. Later, investigators picked him out of CCTV footage, standing near a vacant table, wearing a baseball cap and a T-shirt, his back to the camera. In the footage, he moves like a perplexed penguin. Two steps forward, half a step back, a turn, another turn: a choreography of hesitation. Perhaps he is reconsidering? But no, the investigators concluded; he is waiting for more people to come in. Finally, a microsecond of stillness, arms heavy by his side; then his hands reach toward the front of his waist, and the film goes dark. The restaurant, Taprobane, was one level below the lobby, so when a hotel employee on the same floor heard the muffled boom, he thought something must have fallen into the dining room, possibly a chandelier. When he got closer to the scene, he saw smoke and people carrying out bodies. He asked what happened, but no one had time to talk. A fire, he figured.”
Hindustan Times: Myanmar Calls Out China For Arming Terror Groups, Asks World To Help
“Myanmar, China’s closest ally in southeast Asia, has pointed fingers at Beijing for arming insurgent groups with sophisticated weapons and sought international cooperation to suppress rebel groups. In a recent interview to Russian state-run TV channel Zvezda, Myanmar’s Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said terrorist organisations active in Myanmar are backed by ‘strong forces’ and sought international cooperation to suppress rebel groups. The reference to ‘strong forces’ was widely seen to be a reference to Myanmar’s neighbour in the north, China. Myanmar military spokesperson Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun later elaborated on the comment made by the Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar’s armed forces. The spokesperson said the army chief was referring to Arakan Army (AA) and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), terrorist organisations active in the Rakhine State in western Myanmar that borders China. A ‘foreign country’ is behind the Arakan Army (AA), he said, citing China-made weapons that terror group used in mine attacks on the military in 2019. It is unusual for the Myanmar leadership to point fingers at China. But this isn’t the first time that Naypyitaw had alluded to the Chinese connection.”
Technology
The Guardian: How Facebook And The White House Let The 'Boogaloo' Movement Grow
“For months, in private and public Facebook groups, young American men have discussed killing federal agents and how to prepare for a coming civil war. They have shared carefully posed photographs of their guns and body armor and posted tributes to people they see as martyrs to government oppression. This anti-government “boogaloo” rhetoric has already been publicly linked to at least least 15 arrests and five deaths, including the murder of a federal security guard and a sheriff’s deputy in California, according to media reports and analysts who track extremists. Facebook, the primary social media platform for boogaloo discussions, announced on Tuesday that it was banning a network of violent “boogaloo” groups, and designating them as a dangerous organization similar to the Islamic State group and white supremacists. Researchers who have followed the growth of Boogaloo on the platform say the move was “too little, too late”. The Trump administration has done even less to address the growth of this new violent rightwing movement, one with strong overlaps with neo-Nazi and white supremacist organizing. When Donald Trump tweeted angrily about “Treason, Sedition, Insurrection!” in late June, he was not denouncing the young men who are openly calling for civil war, but the nonviolent Black Lives Matter movement.”
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