Boko Haram insurgents have attacked a United Nations aid helicopter in
Nigeria's North-East region. The terrorists, according to the UN, launched the

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


July 7, 2020

 

Sahara Reporters: Boko Haram Terrorists Attack UN Helicopter, Kill
Five-Year-Old Child, Others
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“Boko Haram insurgents have attacked a United Nations aid helicopter in
Nigeria's North-East region. The terrorists, according to the UN, launched the
attack on Thursday in Damasak, Borno State, killing two civilians including a
five-year-old child in the process. Edward Kallon, UN Humanitarian Coordinator
in Nigeria, on Saturday said both fatalities and several others injured in the
attack were on the ground. “A UN Humanitarian Air Service helicopter was hit by
bullets during the attack. No aid workers were on board at the time and crew
members are all safe,” Kallon said in a statement. A UN communication said the
aircraft was shot as it approached Damasak and the pilots managed to fly back
to Maiduguri, AFP reports.”

 

Asharq Al-Awsat: Iraq Finds Underground ISIS Training Camp
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“The Iraqi authorities announced Friday finding an underground ISIS training
camp during the second day of the Tarmiyah operations north of Baghdad against
the remnants of the terrorist organization. “The Tarmiyah operation has
achieved enormous results that would reflect positively on the security of the
region in the coming days,” said Ali Jabouri, a commanding officer. “The
underground ISIS hideout included eight rooms and was used to hide terrorists
and to train them on targeting Iraqi forces,” Jabouri explained. Tarmiyah
operation was launched on Thursday with the participation of brigades 42, 43
and 12, a joint force from the Baghdad Operations Command, the rapid reaction
forces and federal police with Iraqi air force support. It aims to target the
remnants of ISIS, arrest wanted individuals, enhance security and stability,
end security breaches, and protect the interests of citizens. Since the
operation started, Iraqi forces have found five ISIS hideouts, and arrested a
number of wanted individuals and handed them over to the Baghdad Operations
Command. The Iraqi forces thwarted an ISIS attack south of Samarra. The Popular
Mobilization Forces said in a statement that a force from the 41st Brigade
responded on Thursday evening to the attack of ISIS elements in the Tal
al-Dhahab area.”

 

United States

 

Al Jazeera: US Army Soldier Pleads Not Guilty In Neo-Nazi Attack Plot
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“A United States Army private - who, according to federal prosecutors,
confessed to his role in plotting a deadly attack on his own military unit -
pleaded not guilty to charges he shared secret information about the unit with
a neo-Nazi group. Ethan Melzer, 22, entered his plea on Monday before US
Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in New York City, at a hearing conducted
electronically. The US Department of Justice accused Melzer of using an
encrypted app to send his unit's planned movements to members of the Order of
Nine Angles (O9A), which it described as “an occult-based neo-Nazi and white
supremacist group”, and a related group called the “RapeWaffen Division”.
Calling Melzer “the enemy within,” prosecutors said the Louisville, Kentucky
resident hoped to cause mass casualties through what he and coconspirators
labelled a “jihadi attack”. Melzer enlisted in the Army in 2018, joined O9A in
2019, and began planning the attack in April after learning of a new foreign
deployment for his unit, prosecutors said. The plot was foiled in late May, and
Melzer was arrested on June 10, they added.”

 

Associated Press: Judge Extends Hospitalization Of Truck Attack Plot Suspect
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“A federal judge has extended the court-ordered hospitalization of a Maryland
man deemed mentally unfit for trial on charges he allegedly planned an Islamic
State-inspired attack at a shopping and entertainment complex near Washington,
D.C. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said in a court filing Tuesday that the
COVID-19 pandemic has hindered the ability of federal Bureau of Prisons medical
staff to evaluate the defendant, Rondell Henry. Henry, 29, of Germantown,
Maryland, is charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign
terrorist organization, the Islamic State group. Police arrested Henry in March
2019 after seeing him exit a stolen U-Haul van and jump over a security fence
at the National Harbor, a popular waterfront destination just outside the
nation’s capital. Henry told investigators he planned to carry out an attack
like one in which a driver ran over and killed dozens of people in Nice,
France, in 2016, authorities said. In February, Xinis ruled there was ample
evidence that Henry isn’t mentally competent to stand trial. She ordered him to
be held in a “suitable” federal Bureau of Prisons facility for up to four
months so experts can determine whether he could be competent to be tried in
the future.”

 

Financial Times: Trump Takes Aim At ‘Radical Left’ In July 4
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“Donald Trump vowed to defeat “the radical left”, “Marxists” and “anarchists”
in an electioneering Independence Day speech at the White House, a day after
striking a similarly combative tone at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. “We are
now in the process of defeating the radical left, the Marxists, the anarchists,
the agitators, the looters, and people who in many instances, have absolutely
no clue what they are doing,” the US president said at the “Salute to America”
event on the White House south lawn on Saturday evening. The Washington
gathering was ostensibly to mark the July 4 holiday, which commemorates the
1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence. But the president used his
speech to emphasise his campaign theme ahead of November’s election: that an
intolerant form of “leftwing fascism” was attempting to silence free speech,
indoctrinate Americans and rewrite history. The event was held despite the
objections of public health officials and Muriel Bowser, the Democratic mayor
of Washington, DC, who raised concerns about the possible spread of
coronavirus. Most attendees at the White House celebration did not appear to be
wearing face masks.”

 

Syria

 

Agence France-Presse: Dozens Killed In ISIS And Regime Clashes In Syria,
Monitor Says
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“Clashes between Russia-backed Syrian regime forces and the Islamic State
group have killed more than 50 fighters on both sides in two days, a
Britain-based war monitor said on Saturday. Fighting and Russian air strikes in
the central desert province of Homs since late Thursday have claimed the lives
of 20 pro-government fighters and 31 militants, the Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights said. “The fighting started in the night of Thursday to Friday
with a jihadist assault on regime positions” near the town of Al-Sukhna,
Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. ISIS militants have retained a roving
presence in Syria's vast Badia desert, despite losing their last shred of
territory last year. They regularly carry out attacks there.ISIS declared a
cross-border “caliphate” in large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014,
but several military campaigns against it chipped away at that proto-state and
eventually led to its territorial demise. Syria's war has killed more than
380,000 people since it started in 2011 with the repression of anti-government
protests, before evolving into a complex conflict involving world powers and
militants. Diplomatically, Iran, Russia and Turkey, which support opposing
sides in Syria's war, held talks on Wednesday to harmonise efforts to bring
peace to the country, whose conflict has entered its 10th year.”

 

Iraq

 

Voice Of America: Rocket Attack Targets Baghdad's Green Zone
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“A rocket attack Sunday targeted Baghdad’s Green Zone, home to a number of
embassies, including that of the United States. The rocket fell short of its
target and instead damaged a nearby house, injuring a child, according to the
Iraqi military. The military said it was also able “to thwart another attack
and seize a Katyusha rocket and launcher that were targeting the Taji base
north of Baghdad.”  U.S.-led coalition troops are stationed at Taji. No further
details were given. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the
attack. Sunday’s attack came just hours after the U.S. embassy tested an
anti-rocket defense system. In recent months, U.S. diplomats and troops have
been the target of dozens of missile attacks in Iraq which the U.S. blames on
Iran-backed militia. In late June Iraqi forces arrested more than a dozen
members of an Iranian-backed militia on charges of being involved in the
attacks.”

 

Al Monitor: Counter-Terrorism Forces Take Greater Role In Iraq
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“Since Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi was sworn in on May 7, the Iraqi
Counter-Terrorism Services (CTS) have taken part in several high-profile
operations and seem ever more in the foreground of the country’s security
efforts. Their June 26 arrests of over a dozen Kataib Hezbollah (KH) fighters
in a Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) headquarters in southern Baghdad sparked
concern that the CTS might, however, end up targeted by Iran-linked factions.
This has not yet happened. The CTS have been widely praised as “heroes” since
their key role in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) starting in 2014 and
— though some Iran-linked factions say they are too close to the United States
— for now the blame was placed squarely on the prime minister as well as the
United States for its rumored involvement. In a recent operation by the CTS in
the Qarachogh mountains near the Makhmour district, over 50 supporting
airstrikes were reportedly carried out, attesting to the confidence in the
forces by both the international coalition and the Iraqi military. The June 24
operation reportedly resulted in the killing of 12 IS operatives in Iraq’s
notoriously difficult areas disputed between the Kurdistan Regional Government
and the central government.”

 

The Guardian: Iraqi Expert On Islamic State Shot Dead In Baghdad
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“A leading Iraqi expert on Islamic State and other militant groups has been
shot dead in Baghdad after receiving threats from Iran-backed militias,
security officials have said. Gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on Hisham
al-Hashimi, 47, on Monday outside his home in the Zeyouneh area of Baghdad, a
family member said, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
The family member heard five shots fired. Al-Hashimi was later pronounced dead
at a hospital. Al-Hashimi was a respected security analyst who appeared
regularly on Iraqi television and whose expertise was sought out by government
officials, journalists and researchers. Weeks before his death, Al-Hashimi had
told confidantes he feared Iran-backed militia groups were targeting him.
Friends had advised him to flee to the northern city of Irbil, in the
semi-autonomous Kurdish region. He rose to prominence as an expert on the inner
workings of Isis and even advised the US-led coalition during its years-long
battle with the extremist group. After Iraq declared victory over Isis in
December 2017, he increasingly turned his attention to the Iran-backed militias
that helped to defeat Isis and now wield considerable power in the country.”

 

Asharq Al-Awsat: Iraq's Army Chases ISIS In North Baghdad
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“The Iraqi Ministry of Interior said it has arrested five ISIS members,
including a high ranking official, while the Iraqi army announced that it
carried out a military operation to search vast areas in north Baghdad and
clear out ISIS cells there. The ministry revealed in a statement it released on
Thursday that it had arrested four terrorists who were providing logistical
support to ISIS groups and had confessed their terrorist crimes during
preliminary interrogations. The military press said that “under the direction
of the Prime Minister and the supervision of the joint operations command”, a
large-scale security operation was carried out in North Baghdad. The Ministry
of Interior said that the First Division and its intelligence service took over
a missile launching platform in the al-Anbar governorate. A statement released
by the Ministry announced that “Based on accurate information . . . [they] were
able to reach a missile platform” and confiscated various types of missiles.
This operation came days after the al-Dora operation that had been carried out
by the anti-terror agency and in which 14 members of the Iraqi “Hezbollah
Brigades” were arrested for firing missiles on the green area and Baghdad
international airport.”

 

Turkey

 

CNN: Turkey Convicts Human Rights Activists On Terror Charges
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“A Turkish court sentenced four Amnesty International activists to between two
and six years in prison on terrorism charges in a high-profile trial Friday,
which the human rights group described as a “travesty of justice of spectacular
proportions.” The honorary chair of Amnesty International Turkey, Taner Kilic,
was sentenced to six years and three months in jail for being a member of
terror organization, while the group's former director İdil Eser was sentenced
to two years and one month for aiding a terror organization. Amnesty members
Günal Kursun and Özlem Dalgiran were also given two years and one month
sentences for aiding a terror group. The human rights group denies all the
charges and said that every allegation against its members has been
“comprehensively exposed as a baseless slur.” If you're desperately missing
your local coffee shop, or just want to treat yourself, these coffee
subscription services deliver gourmet brews right to your door. Another seven
defendants were acquitted. The 11 human rights activists were arrested and
charged in the summer of 2017 on terrorism charges. The defendants have the
right to appeal to the Court of Appeal, which Amnesty Turkey tweeted that they
will use.”

 

Afghanistan

 

The Wall Street Journal: How Kremlin’s View Of U.S.’S War In Afghanistan Has
Shifted
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“For years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the U.S. and Russia shared a goal of
deposing the Taliban government and hunting down its remnants in the
countryside. But that common purpose crumbled in recent years amid mutual
suspicion and U.S. plans to leave Afghanistan with the Taliban undefeated.
Today, amid a furor in Washington over intelligence assessments that Russia
allegedly paid bounties to the Taliban to attack U.S. soldiers, it may have
seen an epitaph. In Moscow, officials have vehemently denied that any bounty
program existed. Russia has also denied involvement in a spate of political
assassinations in Europe in recent years that U.S. officials have said were the
work of Russian security services. The Trump administration has likewise cast
doubts on the existence of a bounty program, saying that intelligence about it
was unverified and leaked for political purposes. Mr. Trump has called reports
of the intelligence a “hoax.” Democrats on Capitol Hill have signaled that the
alleged bounty program will be an issue going into presidential elections, when
Mr. Trump is expected to be attacked for his friendly relationship with Russian
President Vladimir Putin.”

 

Associated Press: US Envoy Forges Ahead With Troubled Taliban Peace Deal
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“Washington's envoy to Afghanistan on Saturday emphasized the economic
benefits of the peace deal with the Taliban, forging ahead with an agreement
that has run into new political obstacles in the U.S. and the region. Zalmay
Khalilzad was wrapping up a weeklong trip that included stops in Uzbekistan,
Pakistan and the Gulf state of Qatar, where Taliban negotiators are
headquartered. Accompanying Khalilzad for the first time was an economic
development team led by U.S. International Development Finance Corporation
Chief Executive Officer Adam Boehler. Khalilzad offered no details about the
kinds of economic projects being envisioned to jump-start an economy battered
by widespread corruption and currently 75% funded by international donations.
However, he did suggest joint economic projects involving Qatar and Pakistan,
possibly on infrastructure and trade. The U.S. signed a peace deal with the
Taliban in February to end 19 years of war in Afghanistan. Khalilzad has sought
to stress the economic benefits of the peace deal throughout his tour. In a
series of tweets early Saturday, the U.S. envoy said he met with the Qatar
Investment Authority and the Taliban's chief negotiator, Mullah Abdul Ghani, in
the tiny Gulf state's capital of Doha.”

 

Middle East

 

Associated Press: UN Chief Warns COVID-19 Provides Opportunity For Terrorists
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“U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Monday that the COVID-19
pandemic provides new opportunities for the Islamic State extremist group,
al-Qaida and their affiliates as well as neo-Nazis, white supremacists and hate
groups. The U.N. chief said it’s too early to fully assess the implications of
the coronavirus pandemic on terrorism, but all these groups seek to exploit
divisions, local conflicts, failures in governing, and other grievances to
advance their aims. Guterres told the launch of United Nations
Counter-Terrorism Week that the Islamic State group, which once controlled a
vast swath of Syria and Iraq, is trying to reassert itself in both countries,
“while thousands of foreign terrorist fighters battle in the region.” “The
pandemic has also highlighted vulnerabilities to new and emerging forms of
terrorism, such as misuse of digital technology, cyber attacks and
bio-terrorism,” he said. Josep Borrell, the European Union’s top diplomat, told
the virtual meeting that a global understanding of the pandemic’s implications
on counter-terrorism efforts across the world is needed. “It is true that, in
some places, the crisis has led to a reduction of terrorist activity, mainly
due to the mobilization of state security services,” he said.”

 

Somalia

 

BBC News: Somalia Restaurant Attack: Six Killed By Al-Shabab
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“A bomb explosion at a restaurant in the southern Somali town of Baidoa has
killed six people, officials have told the BBC. There has also been a suicide
bomb attack close to the port of the capital, Mogadishu, which injured at least
seven. Militant group al-Shabab said it was behind both incidents. The
UN-backed government has been battling against al-Shabab for control of the
country for more than a decade. The militants, who are allied to al-Qaeda, said
that in Baidoa they were targeting tax collectors, who were holding a meeting
at the restaurant, and soldiers. They added that two soldiers died in the
attack but officials said the victims were all civilians. Al-Shabab said it was
behind both the attack in Mogadishu (pictured) and in Baidoa. Police told the
BBC that in Mogadishu officers opened fire on a vehicle after it failed to stop
at a checkpoint. The suicide bomber driving the car is said to have tried to
hit a police post in front of the port but the security forces shot him and the
vehicle exploded. Two police officers and five passers-by were wounded. “Metal
debris fell all over us inside the port and we heard gunfire,” a port worker
told Reuters.”

 

Reuters: Suicide Car Bomber Blasts Checkpoint At Port In Somalia's Capital
Mogadishu
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“An explosion shook parts of Somalia's capital of Mogadishu early on Saturday
as a suicide car bomber drove into a checkpoint just outside the port,
witnesses said. Police made no immediate comment on casualties. “Metal debris
fell all over us inside the port and we heard gunfire,” said a port worker who
sought anonymity for security reasons. “Security forces have surrounded the
area.” The blast shoook the ground, said Mohammed Ali, a shopkeeper in the
area. At the city's Madina hospital, a nurse, Halima Nur, said it had received
five people injured in the blast for treatment. Somalia has been mired in
conflict since 1991, when clan warlords overthrew dictator Siad Barre and then
turned on each other. Since 2008, the Islamist militant group al Shabaab has
been fighting to overthrow the central government and establish its rule based
on its own harsh interpretation of Islam's sharia law.”

 

Voice Of America: Al-Shabab Militants Abduct, Kill Somali Lawmaker
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“A regional Somali lawmaker has been abducted and killed by al-Shabab
militants near the town of Bal’ad, 30 kilometers north of Mogadishu. Mohamed
Mohamud Siyad was travelling in a vehicle from Jowhar town to the capital
Mogadishu when he was abducted on Sunday, a security source told VOA Somali.
The vehicle Siyad was travelling in was stopped near the village of Gololey,
north of Bal’ad. The militants drove the vehicle off the road. Officials say
they believe the lawmaker was killed soon after he was removed from the
vehicle. The militant group claimed responsibility for the abduction and
killing of the lawmaker. Al-Shabab has been attacking the road between Jowhar
and Mogadishu frequently over the last three years. In September last year,
five regional officials including a former trade minister, a finance official
and a humanitarian worker were killed in an explosion from an improvised
explosive device. In June of 2018, two regional lawmakers were among 11 people
killed in an al-Shabab ambush while traveling on the same road.”

 

Africa

 

Associated Press: 33 Villagers Killed In Attacks In Central Mali This Week
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“Armed men who identified themselves as jihadists attacked farming villages in
Mali’s central Mopti region this week, killing at least 33 people and wounding
at least five, local officials said Friday. The attackers arrived on
motorcycles Wednesday, killing men who were returning from their fields in the
villages of Gouari, Djimdo, Pangadougou and Dialaikanda, according to Moulaye
Guindo, the mayor of Bankass, the capital of the area. He said 15 were killed
in Djimdo, 16 in Gouari and two in Pangadougou. No group has claimed
responsibility for the attacks, but they bear the mark of the Fulani armed
groups who have been targeting Dogon farmers they accuse of being allied with
militias close to the government. The Dogon farmers have been responsible for
attacks on Fulani villages in the same area. “This attack will cause a
psychosis and I am afraid that the villagers of this whole area will not go
farming this year,” Guindo warned. Intercommunal violence in central Mali has
been complicated by the presence of jihadist groups linked to al-Qaida and the
Islamic State group. Many accuse the Fulani of being close to the
al-Qaida-linked militants, which Fulani leaders have denied, while Dogon
community members are considered to be supportive of the Malian army.”

 

Reuters: U.N. Says Attacks By Islamist Militia In Congo May Be War Crimes
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“Systematic and brutal attacks by Islamist militants in the Democratic
Republic of Congo over the last 18 months may amount to war crimes, the United
Nations said on Monday. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan armed
group operating in eastern Congo, have killed more than 1,000 civilians since
the start of 2019, according to a report by the U.N. Joint Human Rights Office
(UNJHRO). “In the majority of cases, the means and the modus operandi of the
attacks indicate a clear intention to leave no survivors. Entire families have
been hacked to death,” it said. The attacks “may amount to crimes against
humanity and war crimes”, it said. The ADF has operated in Beni territory,
North Kivu province, for more than three decades, but the level of violence
increased sharply last year following military campaigns against them, the
report said. Even by the standards of eastern Congo, where militias routinely
attack civilians as they vie for territory and natural resources, the repeated
massacres by the ADF of defenseless villagers have been particularly
vicious.Several have been claimed by Islamic State, although researchers and
analysts say there is a lack of hard evidence linking the two groups.”

 

Defense One: Mozambique Is Emerging As The Next Islamic Extremist Hotspot
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“An Islamist terror group in Mozambique is staging increasingly sophisticated
and destructive attacks on oil facilities and government targets this year. Its
connections with Islamic State may be growing tighter, according to a report
published Monday by data analytics company Babel Street. The attacks are part
of a three-year uprising in the country that has turned markedly more violent
this year. Already, 447 people have died in attacks in 2020, a faster pace than
last year, which saw 660 deaths in 309 attacks, the Babel Street report said,
citing the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project. Tactics recently
used by the terror group, called Al Sunnah wa Jama’ah, suggest a growing
relationship with the Islamic State and other terror groups. These include
launching small drones for position scouting, displaying Islamic State flags
during attacks, beheading victims, and kidnapping girls in the model of
Nigeria’s Boko Haram, the Babel Street report said. As well, Islamic State
representatives have taken credit for some attacks in the country, as on April
10, when the private security company Dyck Advisor Group lost a helicopter. In
May, Al Sunnah wa Jama’ah captured a Yanjing armored vehicle from Mozambican
security forces.”

 

United Kingdom

 

Al Jazeera: UK Jails ISIL Supporter For Life For Plotting Attack In London
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“A London court has sentenced a 37-year-old supporter of the ISIL (ISIS) armed
group to life in prison for plotting a bomb attack at London's St Paul's
Cathedral, a nearby hotel and an underground train station. Muslim convert
Safiyya Shaikh pleaded guilty in February at London's Central Criminal Court to
charges of “preparation of terrorist acts” and dissemination of “terrorist
publications”. She was sentenced on Friday. Shaikh, who was born Michelle
Ramsden, was arrested in October last year after discussing the preparation and
planting of explosives with two undercover police officers. “She engaged with
others, who she believed to be of a similar mindset, to instigate and plan a
terrorist attack involving the use of improvised explosives to attack St Paul's
Cathedral and a hotel nearby,” prosecutor Alison Morgan said. “She visited the
cathedral to assess its security arrangements and the best place to detonate a
bomb. She stated that her intention was to kill herself and as many other
people as possible.” Police said Shaikh was also heavily involved in violence
propaganda posts online and inspiring others to fight. Shaikh handed an
undercover officer two bags that she wanted to be fitted with explosives, and
she “prepared the words of a pledge of allegiance to Daesh [Arabic for ISIL]”,
the police said.”

 

BBC News: Father And Son 'Left In Limbo' By Failed Terror Case
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“One morning, in December last year, Paul Newey awoke to find armed
counter-terrorism police in the bedroom of his Solihull home. He describes the
moment as “horrendous”. The 49-year-old was arrested, taken for questioning,
and eventually charged with funding terrorism. The offence related to £150 he
had lent to his son Daniel, who had joined the Kurdish YPG militia to fight the
Islamic State group. Paul spent months on bail awaiting trial but the case has
now been dropped without detailed explanation. “What's changed between when
they arrested and charged me, and now?” he asks. “My evidence hasn't changed,
so how have they let it go on for seven months and let it ruin my life?” The
father-of-four, who works in the automotive industry, says the experience has
been “surreal, like being in a movie”. “My life's been on hold. In limbo.” Two
co-defendants, including his 19-year-old son Sam, have also had terror charges
against them dropped, bringing to five the total number of Britons charged and
then acquitted of terrorism offences relating to the YPG in the past two years.
An older son, Daniel Newey, had come back to the UK after fighting with the YPG
against IS in 2017-18. Describing his original decision to travel, Daniel says:
“If it's within your power to help people and to help people fight back, then
it's our duty to do so.”

 

The Telegraph: 'Alt-Tech' Attracts Growing Number Of Extremists In Britain
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“Websites and apps designed to facilitate discussions among right-wing groups
are drawing in a growing number of extremists in Britain, it has been warned.
The popularity of so-called “alt-tech” has surged as mainstream social media
sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube increasingly force extremist groups
off their platforms. In some cases sites have been “co-opted” by alt-right
groups, according to campaign group Hope Not Hate. There has also been a marked
rise in the development of “bespoke” sites, specifically set up to facilitate
extremist and terrorist organisation and discussion. Senior researcher at Hope
Not Hate Joe Mulhall said that there had been a “huge increase” in such sites
in recent years...”

 

France

 

Agence France-Presse: French Jihadist Sentenced To 30 Years For IS Group
Executions In Syria
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“A French court on Friday handed a 30-year prison sentence to a jihadist for
crimes committed in Syria between 2013-15 including overseeing the execution of
two prisoners while a senior figure in the Islamic State extremist group. Tyler
Vilus, 30, who was found guilty on all charges, was also accused of belonging
to a terrorist group, heading a group of Islamic State fighters and “aggravated
murder”. Public prosecutor Guillaume Michelin earlier asked the court for a
life sentence, with no possibility of parole for 22 years. Michelin said Vilus
“hasn't changed one bit” since his time with the Islamic State. “All the steps
in the accused's journey are interlocked with the construction of the
caliphate,” said the prosecutor, referring to the Islamist-ruled area that IS
had at the time carved out in Syria and Iraq. “It is your responsibility to put
a definite end to the bloodshed,” he told the court. But the presiding judge
said he wanted to give him “a glimmer of hope” so that he could “evolve,” even
though he could have been sentenced to life on being convicted of all charges.
Investigators believed Vilus was part of the “Al-Muhajireen” (the immigrants)
brigade, a squad that tortured and carried out summary executions, which he had
denied.”

 

Germany

 

Al Jazeera: Germany Puts Syrian Woman On Trial Over ISIL Marriages
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“Germany has put a 30-year-old German-Syrian woman on trial for allegedly
arranging marriages for the ISIL (ISIS) group. The defendant, identified as
Lorin I due to Germany's privacy law, on Friday admitted to the court in Celle,
northern Germany, that she had travelled to Syria with her husband in 2014. She
said she regretted the trip and sought to distance herself from the armed
group. Her lawyer argued that there was no evidence to support the charge that
her client had recruited women from Germany to marry ISIL fighters, adding that
a rumoured “sister network” had not existed. The woman faces charges of
membership of a “terrorist organisation” and violating Germany's war weapons
control act, because she allegedly owned two assault rifles and a hand grenade
while in Syria. Prosecutors allege that her goal in travelling to Syria was to
support ISIL and that she belonged to a network of women that sought to bring
other women from Germany to the group's self-proclaimed caliphate. The
prosecution read out WhatsApp messages on the first day of the trial, which
allegedly show the woman encouraging others to join her and praising life under
ISIL. She is also said to have praised those who died for the group as martyrs.
The woman faces up to 10 years in prison.”

 

Deutsche Welle: German Politician Receives Death Threats From Neo-Nazi Group
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“Parties in the German state parliament of Hesse issued a joint statement
Saturday to denounce “heinous and disgusting” threatening hate mail sent to the
parliamentary leader of the socialist Left Party. Janine Wissler said she
received two threatening letters containing personal information that is not
publicly known which were signed “NSU 2.0.” The NSU (National Socialist
Underground) was a neo-Nazi terrorist group in Germany uncovered in 2011 that
has been associated with a number of murders and terrorist actions against
non-Germans and prominent left-wing figures. The signature “NSU 2.0” indicates
a resurgence of the group and echoes anonymous death threats received by
Frankfurt lawyer Seda Basay-Yildiz two years ago. Basay-Yildiz represented the
family of the first murder victim of the NSU. The police never discovered the
author of those letters. Wissler thanked her fellow party chiefs for their
message of solidarity on Twitter. “The democratic parties in the state
parliament of Hesse are appalled by the apparent right-wing extremist threats,”
the statement said, signed by local leaders of the center-right CDU, the
center-left SPD, the environmentalist Greens and the pro-business FDP. The
state parliament is led by a coalition of the CDU and the Greens.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

Bloomberg: Duterte Approves Anti-Terror Law Giving Authorities More Powers
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“Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has approved a law giving authorities
broader powers to wiretap and detain suspected terrorists that human rights
officials say may result in abuses. Under the new law, police and military can
arrest suspected terrorists without warrant and detain them for up to 24 days,
so long as a court is notified. The nation’s Anti-Money Laundering Council can
also freeze assets of persons and groups designated as terrorists by a
government council and said the law is needed to boost its ability to fight
dirty money and terrorism financing. “This piece of legislation is against
terrorists and terrorism and not against a particular regional or ethnic
group,” spokesman Harry Roque said Friday, responding to concerns of lawmakers
from the autonomous Muslim region in southern Philippines. The Commission on
Human Rights earlier warned the broad definition of terrorism in the law --
which expressly excludes protest and dissent as terrorist acts -- may result in
abuses.”

 

Technology

 

Nikkei Asian Review: Tech Companies Continue Evading Accountability For
Violent Content
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“On March 15, 2019, a white supremacist went on a shooting rampage at two
mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, and killed 51 people. He live streamed 17
minutes of terror on Facebook and 4,000 people watched. Following that attack,
governments around the world gathered to discuss how to prevent such viral
displays of violence from happening again. Tech companies sat at the table and
promised to do more. The 12 months following the Christchurch shooting saw two
terror attacks in Asia, yet little has changed. In early February, another
shooting in Thailand claimed 29 lives. The attacker posted on Facebook
throughout the attack and even uploaded a video complaining he felt tired from
all the shooting. It is unclear how long it took Facebook to shut down the
attacker's account and whether they did so only after a request from the Thai
government. The problem is not limited to livestreaming: the internet has
become a repository for violent content of all kinds, which remains accessible
despite tech platforms' claims that they are removing nearly all of it. Now
governments need to act.”

 

Gulf News: Why The Facebook Boycott Campaign Is Important To Arabs
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“Another study, this time by the US-based Counter Extremism Project, released
in 2018, noted that Facebook has helped Daesh grow fast by connecting its
members with others with similar extremist views. The study, which analysed the
online behaviour of a thousand users in 96 countries, found out that “users
with radical Islamist sympathies were routinely introduced to one another”
through the popular ‘suggested friends’ feature. Millions of Arabs may enjoy
Facebook. But we also suffered the most because of the facility Facebook
extended to Daesh and other extremist groups. Most of the violence in this
region in the past 15 years was partially ignited by unchecked hateful posts
created by anonymous Facebook users. Some posted fake videos that went viral
and provoked violence. In some cases, they led to massacres. Amid America’s
anti-racism protests, the western world all of a sudden have begun to see and
acknowledge the great damage Facebook and other social media platforms have
been doing by not only tolerating the propagation of hate on their platforms
but also making billions of dollars from it.”

 

Wired: Congress Needs To Make Silicon Valley Earn It
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“Expressing excitement for his soon-to-arrive “new material,” a man shared
with his online network of child sexual abusers an in-utero picture of his
unborn child. This is just one of far too many horror stories I have heard from
investigators at the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity
Section. Children as young as 8, 4, and 2, and, increasingly more often,
pre-verbal infants, are subject to horrific, unspeakable, and gut-wrenching
sexual abuse that is then broadcast to a global audience. Last year alone, the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received nearly 17 million
reports to their CyberTipline. This haul exceeded 27 million images and 41
million videos. The average victim is 8 years old. Sadly, these reports
constitute only a fraction of the global child sexual abuse trade. For the past
decade, a dynamic group of researchers, child-safety advocates, legislators,
and technology sector experts have been working ardently to develop and deploy
technology to protect children online. Among our many efforts includes the
widely implemented and effective photoDNA program that was launched in 2008 and
is today used globally to find and remove child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
This program extracts a distinct signature from uploaded images and compares it
against the signatures of known harmful or illegal content. Flagged content can
then be instantaneously removed and reported.”



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