Convicted Hezbollah Financier Released From U.S. Custody In late June, it was
announced that convicted Hezbollah financier and U.S.-designated........


<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
CEP Roundup

Resources And Updates From The Counter Extremism Project

 

Islamist Extremism

 

Convicted Hezbollah Financier Released From U.S. Custody
<[link removed]>
In late June, it was announced that convicted Hezbollah financier and
U.S.-designated “global terrorist”Kassim Tajideen
<[link removed]> would be released
from prison early by the U.S. on compassionate grounds. Despite objections from
the U.S. Department of Justice,Tajideen
<[link removed]> was repatriated
to Lebanon in early July. Before his March 2017 arrest, Tajideen and his two
brothers—Hussain <[link removed]>
andAli Tajideen <[link removed]>
—operated multiple Hezbollah front companies across Africa and the Middle East.
The Tajideens’ African business network includes real estate, food processing,
and the diamond industry. On March 7, 2017, Tajideen was charged with fraud,
conspiracy, money laundering, and violating global terrorism sanctions
regulations. On August 8, 2019, he was sentenced to five years in prison plus a
$50 million forfeiture obligation. Media coverage:The Jerusalem Post
<[link removed]>
,NBC News
<[link removed]>
,Jewish News Syndicate
<[link removed]>
.

 

Kata’ib Hezbollah Escalates Pressure On Iraqi Government
<[link removed]>
On June 25, Iraqi forces <[link removed]>
arrested 14 militants belonging to the Iran-backedKata’ib Hezbollah
<[link removed]> (KH)
militia. They were arrested while allegedly planning an attack on Baghdad’s
Green Zone, which houses the U.S. Embassy and other diplomatic compounds.
Shortly after the arrests, a “show of force” from KH resulted in the detainees’
release. The following week, prominent Iraqi security analyst Hisham al-Hashimi
wasassassinated
<[link removed]>
. KH had reportedly threatened Hashimi in November and again two weeks ago. The
events demonstrate how the Iraqi government continues to struggle to establish
authority over KH and other powerful Iran-backed Shiite militias in Iraq, like
theBadr Organization <[link removed]>
,Asaib Ahl al-Haq <[link removed]>, Kata’ib
Sayyid al Shuhada
<[link removed]>
(KSS) andHarakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba
<[link removed]>
(HHN). KH is a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. In January 2020,
its leaderAbu Mahdi al-Mohandes
<[link removed]>
was killed in a U.S. airstrike alongside Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
(IRGC) Quds Force leaderMajor General Qasem Soleimani
<[link removed]>.

 

Resource: Kata’ib Sayyid al Shuhada
<[link removed]>

Kata’ib Sayyid al Shuhada
<[link removed]>
(KSS) is a U.S. designated Iraqi militia that has fought in both Iraq and Syria
and is closely connected to Iran’sIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
<[link removed]>
(IRGC) and theHouthis <[link removed]>. Its
leader is Abu Mustafa al Sheibani, a U.S.-designated terrorist. The group was
founded in 2013. Its first public announcements were three martyrdom notices
for members killed fighting in southern Damascus alongside Syrian regime forces.

 

Resource: Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba
<[link removed]>

Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba
<[link removed]> (HHN)
is an Iranian-backed, U.S.-designated militia founded byAkram al-Kaabi
<[link removed]>, co-founder of
AAH. HHN is closely tied to Iran and Hezbollah. Kaabi, has long been affiliated
with Iranian-backed terrorist groups operating in Iraq. He began as a commander
in the Sadrist militia Jaysh al-Mahdi, where he planned and led attacks against
both the Iraqi army and coalition forces. Kaabi formed HHN in 2013 in response
to the rise of ISIS in Syria, calling for Iraqi Shiite militias to travel to
Syria and fight on the behalf of the Assad regime.

 

Ian Acheson: “Link between mental illness and extremism is problematic but it
can’t stop us acting”
<[link removed]>
In the aftermath of the Reading Park stabbing attack in the U.K., CEP Senior
Advisor Ian Acheson notes the vital importance of studying the relationship
between mental illness and violent extremism: “The research is contested but a
study found lone-actor terrorists were more than 13 times more likely to be
suffering mental illness. Mental illness can play a significant role in
extremist offending. It seems obvious we need more studies and more
opportunities for our mental health services to play a role in safeguarding our
national security.”

 

Members Of U.S. Congress Demand Extradition Of Hamas Terrorist Ahlam Ahmad
al-Tamimi
<[link removed]>
In May, seven members of the U.S. Congress wrote
<[link removed]>
to the Jordanian ambassador to the United States, asking the Hashemite Kingdom
to extradite wanted Hamas terrorist Ahlam Ahmad al-Tamimi to the United States.
Tamimi is wanted by the FBI for coordinating and aiding the August 2001 Hamas
suicide bombing of a Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem that wounded 130 people and
killed 15, including two Americans. Tamimi has lived freely inJordan
<[link removed]> since 2011 while fighting
against the U.S. extradition request. Under federal law, the U.S. maintains the
right and responsibility to try suspected terrorists accused of having maimed
or killed U.S. citizens abroad and to impose punishment within the United
States. Tamimi was the first female member of the Hamas Izz ad-Din al-Qassam
Brigades and is one of the FBI’s most wanted female terrorists.

 

Central and Eastern European Activities of the Muslim Brotherhood: Mapping The
Ikhwan’s Presence In The Region
<[link removed]>
The Muslim Brotherhood <[link removed]>
can be many things to different observers. Some see the Muslim Brotherhood a
terrorist organization, while others accept it as a modernist movement. The
group has constantly evolved and expanded across multiple countries, where it
has taken on various forms. While its Western European activities have been
thoroughly explored in academic literature, uncovering the group’s
on-the-ground presence in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has been lacking. In
their report,CEE Activities Of The Muslim Brotherhood: Mapping The Ikhwan’s
Presence In The Region
<[link removed]>
, CEP and Bratislava-based think tank GLOBSEC highlight the activities of the
group in several CEE countries. On May 25, CEP and GLOBSEC previewed the report
during awebinar and discussion
<[link removed]> that featured Annelies
Pauwels, Research Fellow, Flemish Peace Institute; Viktor Szucs, Research
Fellow, GLOBSEC; Egdunas Racius, Lecturer, Vytautas Magnus University
Lithuania; and Dr. Martyn Frampton, Lecturer, Queen Mary University of London.

 

U.N. Report: Taliban Maintains Ties To Al-Qaeda
<[link removed]>
A new report <[link removed]> released by the United
Nations (U.N.) in early June revealed that theTaliban
<[link removed]> maintained routine
consultations withal-Qaeda <[link removed]>,
despite the Taliban’s peace deal with the United States. According to the
report, about 400 to 600 armed al-Qaeda operatives are stationed in
Afghanistan. The February 29 peace agreement saw the Taliban agree to prevent
al-Qaeda from operating in Afghanistan in order for U.S. troops to gradually
withdraw from the country. Despite the conditions of the negotiations, the two
extremist groups reportedly exchanged guarantees to honor their historic ties.
Such an agreement would run counter toU.N. Security Council Resolution 1988
<[link removed]>, which demands the Taliban break
ties with al-Qaeda, accept the Afghan constitution and renounce violence.

 

Security Deteriorating In West Africa As Terror Groups End Alliance
<[link removed]>
Recent attacks by Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen
<[link removed]> (JNIM)
and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara—local affiliates of al-Qaeda and
ISIS—against one another is punctuating a security breakdown in West Africa, a
region already challenged by ongoing violence. More than one million people in
the region have fled their homes due to the worsening violence. The majority
are inBurkina Faso <[link removed]>,
which the U.N. says is home to one of the “fastest-growing humanitarian crises
in Africa.” InMali <[link removed]>, which has
been operating under a state of emergency since November 2015, rising ethnic
and jihadist-backed violence has the country poised to surpass the total number
of civilians killed in all of 2019.

 

Virginia Man Indicted For Conspiring With Somali Terror Group
<[link removed]>
In late May, former Northern Virginia resident and FBI most-wanted terrorist,
Liban Haji Mohamed, wasindicted
<[link removed]>
in federal court on charges of conspiring to provide material support to the
Somalia-based terrorist group,al-Shabab
<[link removed]>. The complaint alleges that
after fleeing the United States in 2012, Mohamedreportedly
<[link removed]>
planned to join al-Shabab and use his media skills to promote online
propaganda for the terrorist organization. While al-Shabab’s recruitment
efforts are primarily focused on Somalia and Kenya, the group’s use of social
media for propaganda has attracted recruits from around the world, including
the United States.

 

ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency
<[link removed]>
In May, CEP introduced “ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency,” a monthly
update that details the ongoing resurgence of the terrorist group ISIS in
central Syria. Each update is accompanied by an interactive map indicating the
exact location and nature of major attacks carried out by ISIS or Syrian
forces. The update covering the month of June can be readhere
<[link removed]>
. The May update can be readhere
<[link removed]>
, and the April update,here
<[link removed]>. A
full background and analysis of ISIS’s resurgence can be exploredhere
<[link removed]>
.

 

Tech and Terrorism

 

Industry Faces Criticism On Capitol Hill For Promoting Divisive Content
<[link removed]>
On June 24, CEP Senior Advisor Dr. Hany Farid, a professor at University of
California, Berkeley, testified before ajoint subcommittee
<[link removed]>
of the U.S. House Committee on Energy & Commerce on the effects of online
disinformation. In histestimony
<[link removed]>
, Dr. Farid criticized tech firms, including Facebook and Google/YouTube, for
their unwillingness to effectively moderate harmful content on their respective
platforms. Tech firms have an incentive to amplify divisive content, which
increases user engagement and drives revenue. Dr. Farid told members of the
subcommittee: “The point is that social media has learned that outrageous,
divisive, and conspiratorial content increases engagement … The vast majority
of delivered content is actively promoted by content providers based on their
algorithms that are designed in large part to maximize engagement and revenue …
Many want to frame the issue of content moderation as an issue of freedom of
speech. It is not.” In late May, theWall Street Journal reported
<[link removed]>
that Facebook executives deliberately “weakened or blocked” efforts to address
and correct systematic software flaws after discovering its algorithms were
facilitating the growth of extremist groups on the platform. Media coverage:
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
<[link removed]>
,The Sociable
<[link removed]>
,Stamford Advocate
<[link removed]>
,Quartz
<[link removed]>.

 

CEP Applauds Justice Department’s Move To Limit Section 230 Legal Protections
For Tech Industry
<[link removed]>
On June 17, CEP Executive Director David Ibsen and CEP Senior Advisor Dr. Hany
Farid applaudedproposed changes
<[link removed]>
announced by the U.S. Department of Justice to narrow tech companies’ broad
legal protections under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA).
The Justice Department’s proposal would, among other things, remove companies’
immunity in cases involving terrorist content: “CEP has long called for the
removal of tech companies’ blanket protections from liability for harmful
content posted by third parties … The ongoing presence of extremist content
online continues to prove that tech companies are unwilling or unable to
effectively control the horrific and dangerous content that continues to the
legal framework that ensures both a functioning Internet environment and the
safety and proliferate on their sites … This action by the Justice Department
is a necessary step to update the legal framework that ensures both a
functioning Internet environment and the safety and well-being of society.”

 

David Ibsen: “Tech Companies Continue Evading Accountability for Violent
Content”
<[link removed]>
CEP Executive Director David Ibsen argues that the Internet has become a
repository for violent content of all kinds and government needs to act: “At
the political level, governments should stop relying on self-regulation and
force the tech industry to face their responsibilities. New legislation
approved in Australia last year is a welcome step forward: the law holds social
media companies, websites and internet service providers liable for fines of up
to 10% of their annual global turnover if they fail to promptly remove
offending material.”

 

Dr. Hany Farid: “Congress Needs to Make Silicon Valley EARN IT”
<[link removed]>
CEP Senior Advisor Dr. Hany Farid discusses the need for pending legislation
that would force tech giants to stop prioritizing profits over safety:
“Frustratingly, for the past decade, the technology sector has been largely
obstructionist and full of naysayers when it comes to deploying new
technologies to protect us. As a result of this deliberate neglect, theinternet
is overrun
<[link removed]> with
child sexual abuse material, illegal sex trade, nonconsensual pornography, hate
and terrorism, illegal drugs, illegal weapons, and rampant misinformation
designed to sow civil unrest and interfere with democratic elections.”

 

David Ibsen and Lara Pham: “An Undeserving Legal Shield”
<[link removed]>
CEP Executive Director David Ibsen and Deputy Director Lara Pham argue that
big tech companies have misused the liability protection afforded to them by
Congress: “Rather than properly enforcing their terms of service under the
protection afforded by Section 230, tech companies have done little to rein in
dangerous content. They have, instead, used Section 230 to fend off lawsuits
from victims of terrorism and other real-world harms that have links to content
on these sites. Given tech’s ongoing inability to comply with the spirit of
Section 230, the Department of Justice has rightfully proposed alegislative plan
<[link removed]> to revise these broad
legal protections — including removing immunity when it comes to terrorist
content.”
 

Regulating Against Extremist Content Online – Discussion on The Upcoming EU
Digital Services Act
<[link removed]>
On July 14, CEP conducted a webinar devoted to the upcoming European
regulation of extremist content online in the context of the Digital Services
Act (DSA). In early June, the European Commission launched a public
consultation on the DSA to update the e-Commerce Directive for the digital age.
The webinar discussion featured concrete suggestions on how to increase the
effectiveness of content moderation systems to tackle illegal extremist content
more effectively.Recently
<[link removed]>
, European Union (EU) digital-policy and antitrust czar Margrethe Vestager took
sharp aim at U.S. tech companies,detailing
<[link removed]>
a comprehensive plan to regulate tech companies, including proposals to curb
their anticompetitive behavior. The new measures aim to compel tech firms to
pay more taxes and take more responsibility for illegal content on their
platforms and would allow EU member states to impose fines on tech firms of up
to four percent of annual revenue for failure to consistently remove extremist
content within one hour ofreceiving notice
<[link removed]>
from public authorities.

 

Far-Right Extremism

 

U.S. Demonstrators Contend With Uptick In Vehicular Attacks
<[link removed]>
Demonstrations across the U.S.
<[link removed]>
have been marred by at least 19 cases of individuals associated with far-right
groups allegedly using vehicles as weapons to drive into crowds, according to
witnesses and police. In at least eight of these cases, drivers face charges
over what prosecutors have claimed to be deliberate acts. In a Virginia court
filing, the Commonwealth alleges a driver who hit a demonstrator’s bicycle and
threatened the protesting crowd nearby with his truck told police he was a
high-ranking official of theKu Klux Klan
<[link removed]> (KKK). Messages on
social media platforms also seem toencourage
<[link removed]>
these attacks, frequently using phrases such as “all lives splatter” or “run
them over.” In its report,Vehicles as Weapons of Terror
<[link removed]>, CEP
documented at least50 vehicular attacks
<[link removed]> by terrorists
since 2006, collectively resulting in the deaths of at least 197 people and the
injury of at least 1,101 others. Extremists have carried out car-ramming
attacks for more than a decade, in locations ranging from North Carolina to
Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Quebec, Dijon, Nantes, the West Bank, Graz, and Xinjiang.
Media coverage:The New York Times
<[link removed]>,
Washington Post
<[link removed]>
,Los Angeles Times
<[link removed]>
,Huffington Post
<[link removed]>
.

 

White Supremacist Accelerationists And Neo-Nazis Celebrate Violence in
Minneapolis
<[link removed]>
CEP reports regularly on the ways extremists exploit the Internet and social
media platforms to recruit followers and incite violence. OnJune 1
<[link removed]>
, CEP researchers reported that white supremacist accelerationists and
neo-Nazis were celebrating violence between Minneapolis police and protesters
on several Telegram channels. CEP also located a new website dedicated to
glorifying and spreading the work of neo-NaziJames Mason
<[link removed]>. On June 8
<[link removed]>
, CEP reported that white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups were using their
Telegram channels to capitalize on the ongoing U.S. protests and civil
disorder, encouraging users to incite violence against protesters and
advocating for attacks on infrastructure, including power grids. OnJune 17
<[link removed]>
, numerous white supremacist Telegram channels and chan users celebrated the
five year anniversary of the murder of nine people by white supremacistDylann
Roof <[link removed]> at Emanuel AME
church in Charleston, South Carolina. Propaganda was spread on Telegram,
including Roof’s manifesto, and drawings and songs glorifying Roof were viewed
thousands of times by users. Media Coverage:VOA
<[link removed]>,
News.com.au
<[link removed]>
,New Zealand Herald
<[link removed]>,
Archer News Network
<[link removed]>
.

 

Russian Imperial Movement Provides Weapons & Combat Training To German
Neo-Nazis
<[link removed]>
German neo-Nazis are training with the far-right Russian Imperial Movement
<[link removed]> (RIM)
to gain proficiency in more advanced military-style tactics, according to a
report
<[link removed]>
by German news magazineFocus
<[link removed]>
. The RIM,recently
<[link removed]>
designated by the U.S. as Specially Designated Global Terrorists, is said to
have hosted extremists who belonged to the youth wings of two German political
parties considered to be neo-Nazi movements, theNational Democratic Party
<[link removed]> and
The Third Path. The training reportedly took place at a camp known as Partizan
near Saint Petersburg, where former Russian military members instructed on
bombmaking, marksmanship, combat medicine, and small-group tactics.
Additionally, theRIM
<[link removed]> has
supported the efforts of neo-Nazi groups in Scandinavia. Media Coverage:Vice
News
<[link removed]>
.

 

Policy & Analysis

 

Regulating Cryptocurrencies To Mitigate Risks Of Misuse For Terrorism Financing
<[link removed]>
CEP, in conjunction with Berlin Risk, conducted a webinar on June 10 on the
risk of cryptocurrencies being misused for the financing of terrorism and other
nefarious purposes, which has intensified during the past few years. Both the
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the European Union have been developing
the regulatory framework for this new asset class. The webinar was accompanied
by the release of a new CEP/Berlin Risk report on the challenges posed by the
proliferation of cryptocurrencies,Cryptocurrencies as Threats to Public
Security and Counter-Terrorism: Risk Analysis and Regulatory Challenges
<[link removed]>
. Media Coverage:The National
<[link removed]>
,The Sun
<[link removed]>
,CoinList
<[link removed]>
,News Chastin
<[link removed]>
,Decrypt
<[link removed]>
.

 

Can Convicted Terrorists Be Rehabilitated?
<[link removed]>
Many terrorist offenders imprisoned in the European Union and the United
States will be released in the coming years. On June 3, CEP, in cooperation
with the Radicalization Awareness Network (RAN) of the European Commission,
conducted a webinar to probe the complex challenges facing governments, prison
authorities, and rehabilitation professionals. Webinar speakers included
Mitchell D. Silber, former Director of Intelligence Analysis at the New York
City Police Department (NYPD) and Jesse Morton, former recruiter for al-Qaeda,
and founder of the counter-radicalization organization Parallel Networks.
Silber and Morton co-authored the CEP reportWhen Terrorists Come Home
<[link removed]>
. Other expert speakers included Maarten van de Donk, Senior Advisor of the
RAN, and Dr. Robert Pelzer, Senior Researcher at the Technical University
Berlin and co-author of the study commissioned by CEP on Islamist terrorist
rehabilitation programs in Germany. Media Coverage:WTOP-The Hunt
<[link removed]>
.

 

On The Threat of Deep Fakes To Democracy And Society
<[link removed]>
For years, the influence of fake news and the manipulation of public and
political perception have been a threat to political systems. During the time
of the COVID-19 pandemic, the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories
have risen to new heights. On June 29, CEP, in cooperation with the
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, conducted a webinar to probe the phenomenon of
seemingly real synthesized videos, or deep fakes. The event featured CEP Senior
Advisor Dr. Hany Farid, a global leader in forensic technology and the leading
authority on the detection of deep fakes, and CEP Senior Director Dr.
Hans-Jakob Schindler. The study by Drs. Farid and Schindler,On the Threat of
Deep Fakes to Democracy and Society
<[link removed]>
, explains the technology of creating deep fakes, the technical opportunities
for their detection, and ways to counter the threat. Media Coverage:The National

<[link removed]>
.

 

Marco Macori: “The Cyber Terrorism Risk: Overblown?”
<[link removed]>
CEP Research Fellow Marco Macori explores the likelihood of a terrorist group
launching a cyberattack against targets in America: “Paradoxically, success in
the ‘fight against terrorism’ is likely to make terrorist groups turn
increasingly to unconventional weapons, such as cyberattacks. For terrorist
groups, cyber-based attacks have some distinct advantages over physical attacks
as they can be conducted remotely, anonymously, and relatively cheaply. The
effects can be widespread and profound. Thus, incidents of cyber terrorism are
likely to increase in the future.”

 

Lara Maassen: “Bioterrorism: A Clear and Imminent Threat”
<[link removed]>
CEP Research Intern Lara Maassen explores the threat from bioterrorism and
ways to prevent it: “The expansion of large corporate biotech companies
<[link removed]> have made genome editing
tools available,even to those without any scientific knowledge or laboratory
training
<[link removed]>
. Moving forward, regulations on their products will need to be implemented.
Companies as well as research institutions must be expected to carry part of
the burden of ensuring that these technologies do not fall into the hands of
future bioterrorists.”

 ###



Unsubscribe
<[link removed]>