The Trump administration said on Wednesday that it had deported a stateless
Palestinian man who had completed a terrorism-related prison sentence, ave

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


July 23, 2020

 

The New York Times: U.S. Deports Terrorism Convict It Had Sought To Hold
Indefinitely
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“The Trump administration said on Wednesday that it had deported a stateless
Palestinian man who had completed a terrorism-related prison sentence, averting
a legal showdown over whether the federal government has the authority in some
cases to indefinitely detain a noncitizen. The man, Adham A. Hassoun, 58, was
sent to an unidentified country on Tuesday, according to an affidavit filed in
federal court in Buffalo, N.Y., and his lawyer, Jonathan Hafetz, a senior
counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union. “Mr. Hassoun is thrilled to be
finally free after 17 months of illegal detention and is looking forward to
resuming his life,” said Mr. Hafetz. Mr. Hafetz said his client’s location was
being kept secret under a court protective order but called his deportation “a
victory for the rule of law.” He said that Mr. Hassoun’s lawyers learned of his
release in an “ecstatic” phone call from him. The case was a test of the
Department of Homeland Security’s administrative authority to invoke a
government regulation established under the USA Patriot Act and declare a
convict who completed a terrorism sentence a threat to national security
without providing proof of that threat to a federal court reviewing his
detention.”

 

BBC News: Islamic State Remains 'Most Significant' Threat To UK
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“The Islamic State group (IS) remains the “most significant” threat to the UK,
the defence secretary has warned. Ben Wallace said the militant group's
“poisonous ideology” endures despite it having lost territory it once held in
Syria and Iraq - and a possible resurgence “should concern us all”. British
aircraft have struck 40 targets as part of the fight against IS in the past
year, Mr Wallace told MPs. The “hard fight” to beat IS, or Daesh, was “by no
means done”, he said. Making a statement to the House of Commons, Mr Wallace
said RAF strikes had hit 40 targets since July 2019. Targets ranged from caves
in remote parts of northern Iraq, to weapons bunkers and training camps, he
said. “RAF aircraft have continued to patrol the skies on an almost daily
basis,” he said. Members of the group have “nowhere to hide”, he said, but
added that the group's “poisonous ideology” still endures. “Daesh retains its
intent to carry out and inspire attacks against us, and remains the most
significant terrorist threat to the United Kingdom and our interests,” he said.
“Conflict, economic collapse and inequality is creating new opportunities that
they will continue to exploit, to grow and recruit.”

 

The Guardian: AFP Chief Warns Of Rising Risks Of Rightwing Extremism And
'Despicable' Child Exploitation
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“The head of the Australian federal police has backed warnings about the
rising threat of rightwing extremism and vowed to clamp down on terrorism
regardless of the ideology behind it. The commissioner, Reece Kershaw, used his
address to the National Press Club on Wednesday to also raise the alarm about
the growing number of child exploitation cases – and signalled he may seek new
powers if tech giants like Facebook push ahead with greater use of end-to-end
encryption. Kershaw said the Covid-19 pandemic had not decreased Australia’s
overall terror threat, which remained at the “probable” level. He said there
had been seven terrorist attacks in Australia since September 2014, but in that
time there had also been “18 major counter-terrorism disruption operations in
response to potential or imminent attacks” including two since December. Mike
Burgess, the head of domestic spy agency Asio, who was in the audience for
Kershaw’s press club address, warned in February that intolerance based on
race, gender and identity was on the rise across the western world. Burgess
also warned that “the extreme rightwing threat is real and it is growing” in
Australia. Asked if what the AFP was seeing out in the field was consistent
with the Asio warning, Kershaw replied: “We’re never going to argue against the
director general of Asio. He or she is always right.”

 

Iran

 

Radio Farda: Tehran Continues Its Terror Campaign In Europe - Will Europeans
Respond?
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“The Islamic Republic of Iran is waging an assassination campaign in Europe to
silence its critics and pressure European governments to adopt conciliatory
measures. The uptick should serve as a wakeup call. Amid popular unrest in Iran
and the possibility of a “snapback” of UN sanctions, violence has become an
even more attractive tool for a desperate regime. European governments are
afraid to get tough on the Islamic Republic, lest they jeopardize the 2015
nuclear deal, yet passivity only encourages more violence. Europe has long been
an unsafe place for Iranian dissidents and opposition figures. The clerical
regime has executed more than 60 assassination operations since the founding of
the Islamic Republic in 1979. Former Iranian Prime Minister Shapour Bakhtiar
was murdered in Paris in 1991. Last year, opposition journalist Ruhollah Zam
was lured from his hideaway in Paris to Iraq and arrested by regime
intelligence agents. Zam currently faces execution in Iran. And just last
month, Sadegh Zarza, a 64-year-old former member of the leadership of the
Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, barely survived an assassination attempt
in the Netherlands. Zarza’s brother Taher told the Dutch paper Leeuwarden
Courant that Sadegh suffered numerous stab wounds to his chest, stomach, neck,
and head.”

 

Iraq

 

The Defense Post: US General Sees Iraq Troop Drawdown As IS Threat Dims
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“A feared resurgence of the Islamic State has not so far materialized in Iraq,
paving the way for a further coalition troop drawdown, a US commander said
Wednesday. Though IS may never be completely eradicated, the group has been
significantly diminished from when it controlled swathes of Iraq and Syria just
a few years ago, Major General Kenneth Ekman, deputy commander of coalition
forces, told reporters. “What that has allowed us to do is to reduce our
footprint here in Iraq,” Ekman said, speaking from Baghdad. “I think over time,
what you will see is a slow reduction of US forces,” he added. The presence of
US troops in Iraq has been a flashpoint issue, with Iraqi lawmakers voting to
formally demand the withdrawal of American forces in recent months. There are
currently about 5,200 US troops in Iraq, which the United States invaded in
2003 to topple Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Relations between the two
countries have been strained since a series of attacks on US interests in Iraq
in late 2019 that Washington has attributed to Iran or its paramilitary allies
in Iraq. Ekman said a key sign of IS’s reduced threat was its inability to hold
territory, with its activities reduced to a “low level insurgency hiding in
rural areas and… in caves.”

 

Al Monitor: Iraqi PM Visits Islamic State Hotbed After Sniper Kills General
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“Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi visited the town of Tarmiyah, near the
Iraqi capital, on July 20 after a sniper killed the commanding general in the
area three days before. Sunni-majority Tarmiyah has long been seen as an
insurgent-prone area and lies roughly 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of
Baghdad, between two main arteries: The road to Kirkuk lies just east of it and
the road to Tikrit to the west. Kadhimi’s visit seems to have been intended to
dispel rumors of sectarian plans by Shiite armed groups to “take over” or
retaliate against the Sunni town, as well as to foster a greater sense of
security in a country struggling under the weight of security, public health
and economic issues. Tarmiyah is surrounded by groves of trees, dense
vegetation and farmland. It has in previous years been used by insurgent groups
as a recruitment center and a foothold close to the capital in which to hide
both men and weapons. Kadhimi, who has been commander-in-chief of the armed
forces since he was sworn in as prime minister on May 7 and head of national
intelligence since 2016, walked through the crowded streets and called the
people of Tarmiyah “our people.” He noted while meeting with security chiefs in
the town that efforts were underway to revive the sectarianism that had plagued
the country in previous years and that his government would address the issue.”

 

Turkey

 

Reuters: Turkey Shifts Fight Against Kurdish Militants Deeper Into Iraq
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“Turkey is taking its decades-old conflict with Kurdish militants deep into
northern Iraq, establishing military bases and deploying armed military drones
against the fighters in their mountain strongholds. The cross-border campaign
has attracted less attention than Turkey’s incursions into neighbouring Syria -
partly because Turkish troops have long been in Iraq - but it is part of a
strategy to push the fight beyond its borders after years of bloodshed at home.
Turkey has been battling an insurgency in its mainly Kurdish southeast by
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants that has killed 40,000 people since the
1980s and which has largely been directed from within Iraq. After the breakdown
of peace efforts in 2015, heavy fighting erupted again in Turkey. Since then
President Tayyip Erdogan’s government has sought to address what it says is the
root of the crisis. “The new approach aims to destroy the threat from where it
begins,” a Turkish official told Reuters. A ground assault launched on June 17
and dubbed Operation Claw Tiger has seen Turkish troops advance up to 40 km (25
miles) inside Iraq and establish over 30 “temporary bases”, the official said,
speaking on condition of anonymity.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Al Jazeera: Air Strikes In Afghanistan Kill 45 Civilians And Taliban Fighters
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“Air strikes in eastern Afghanistan killed 45 people, including civilians and
Taliban fighters, local officials said on Wednesday. Ali Ahmad Faqir Yar,
governor of Adraskan district in the eastern Afghan province of Herat, said at
least eight civilians were among the dead. “Forty-five people had been killed
so far in air strikes by security forces in the Kham Ziarat area. Taliban were
among those killed,” he said. It was unclear how many of the remaining 37 were
civilians and how many were members of the Taliban. Qari Mohammad Yousuf
Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, said in a statement two air strikes in Herat
killed eight civilians and wounded 12. Two local officials confirmed there had
been two rounds of air raids. “Such attacks would compel recently freed
prisoners who wish to live normal lives to take up arms once again against the
enemy,” said Ahmadi. Afghanistan's defence ministry said it was investigating
allegations of civilian casualties in attacks by Afghan forces in the area.
“The results of the investigation will be shared with the public and the media.
The National Defense and Security Forces have the responsibility to protect the
lives and property of the people, in this regard, they use all the
opportunities and facilities and will not spare any effort,” a statement said.”

 

Middle East

 

Associated Press: Israel Reinforces Lebanon Border After Hezbollah Threats
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“The Israeli military said Thursday it was reinforcing the country’s northern
border with infantry troops “in accordance with the situational assessment.”
The announcement comes after a strike earlier this week killed a fighter from
the militant Hezbollah group near Damascus International Airport. The
airstrike, which also killed four other foreign fighters, was widely attributed
to Israel. Iran-backed Hezbollah has vowed in the past to retaliate for any
fighter that Israel kills in Syria. The group fired a barrage of anti-tank
missiles into Israel on Sept. 1 last year after two of its fighters were killed
in an Israeli airstrike near Damascus days earlier. That prompted a reprisal of
heavy Israeli artillery fire in a rare burst of fighting between the bitter
enemies. Hezbollah and Israel fought a 34-day war in 2006 that ended in a draw.
Israel did not comment on this week’s strike and generally refrains from
discussing its activities in neighboring Syria. But it is believed to have
carried out hundreds of strikes against pro-Iranian forces during the nearly
decade-long civil war. Tehran has sent thousands of Iran-backed fighters in the
past years to fight alongside Syrian government forces. Israel views Iran as a
regional menace and has vowed to prevent any permanent Iranian military buildup
in Syria, particularly near its frontier.”

 

Voice Of America: UN Warns Of Failure To Address Islamic State Women
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“Efforts to deliver an enduring defeat to the Islamic State may be in danger
because of difficulties with bringing the terror group’s members and associates
who are women to justice. New analysis from the United Nations’
Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate [CTED] issued Wednesday
described the situation as dire, warning too few of these IS women are being
held to account, as many countries have been reluctant to repatriate them.
“Women are the demographic group with the lowest overall rate of return from
the conflict zone in Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic,” according to the CTED
report, based on a study of 80 U.N. member states. “Within judicial systems,
there is an urgent need for training and capacity-building on gender-sensitive
approaches to investigations and prosecutions,” the report added. Exactly how
many women members of IS have been prosecuted or could be charged with crimes
is difficult to say. The CTED analysis said for many U.N. member states,
“accurate information on the fate of women returnees was either unavailable or
only partially available.” Many Western countries have consistently refused
to take back anyone who traveled to join the Islamic State’s self-declared
caliphate.”

 

Nigeria

 

Premium Times Nigeria: Boko Haram Executes Five Aid Workers
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“Suspected members of the extremist Boko Haram sect have shot dead five
persons believed to be humanitarian workers. The terrorist group publicized the
development via a viral video it published on social media Wednesday. The
gunmen who carried out the killing said their victims were aid workers working
for nongovernmental organisations. The 35 seconds video featured five hooded
armed men standing behind five abductees who were kneeling before them. An
unidentified voice speaking in Hausa said, “this is a message to the infidels
who are using you to cheat and turn our people into unbelievers. You should
know that your employers are just using you to achieve their aims, but they
don’t care about you. That’s why whenever we abduct you, they don’t care about
you. “Our advice for you is that you should repent and turn to God, or else we
shall continue to waylay and abduct you all in all the routes that you
traverse. “And if you don’t heed to our warning, what is about to happen to
these five aid workers would also be fate that will befall you too.” At the end
of the speech, one of the gunmen ordered them to fire the abducted aid workers.
The gunmen summarily shot at the five men whose faces were all blinded.”

 

Somalia

 

Voice Of America: US Airstrike Hits Pro-Islamic State Militants In Somalia
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“The U.S. military says it conducted an airstrike in Somalia’s Puntland region
that killed seven pro-Islamic state militants. VOA’s Somali service initially
reported the airstrike on Tuesday. Local officials and witnesses told VOA that
Puntland regional forces carried out a ground operation against the militants
in Turmasale and Amayra, mountainous hideouts near the village of Timirshe, 140
kilometers southeast of Bosaso. A statement Wednesday from the U.S. Africa
Command said the airstrike was in response to an attack on partner forces by
the militants. “We continue to apply pressure on terrorist groups and assist
our Somali partners in disrupting their operations,” said U.S. Army Brig. Gen.
Miguel Castellanos, deputy director of operations, AFRICOM. “We continue our
support to rid Somalia of the likes of ISIS and al-Shabaab.” AFRICOM said it
assesses no civilians were injured or killed as a result of this latest
airstrike. This was the United States’ 42nd airstrike of the year in Somalia,
and the first targeting pro-ISIS forces. Officials in Puntland issued their own
statement, saying they killed 20 ISIS militants during 48-hour operation in the
eastern parts of Bari region. Puntland says senior local militants and one
senior foreign fighter were among those killed in the operation.”

 

United Kingdom

 

The Independent: Neo-Nazi Terror Offender Jailed Over Indecent Images Of
Children And Extreme Pornography
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“A neo-Nazi has been jailed for possessing indecent images of children and
extreme pornography. Jacek Tchorzewski, who had links to the Sonnenkrieg
Division terrorist group, was imprisoned for terror offences last year. But the
19-year-old has now been sentenced at Harrow Crown Court for downloading
videos, photos and animations depicting child rape, incest and “sexual
interference with a corpse”. The court heard the material was discovered after
police stopped Tchorzewski at Luton Airport on 20 February last year. He had
been about to board a flight back to Poland after visiting his mother, who
lives in High Wycombe. Prosecutor Margia Mostafa said officers who seized his
phone and two laptops discovered “evidence of child pornography” as well as
far-right terrorist material. “The contents of the images are fairly
distressing,” she added, saying there were four videos in the most serious
category showing the rape of boys and girls as young as five. Ms Mostafa said
the victims shown included boys and girls, adding: “They have been clearly
groomed and there is suggestion that these children are forced to smile at the
camera.”

 

Technology

 

The Independent: Inside The UK-Based Site That Has Become The Far Right’s
Youtube
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“As mainstream social media platforms respond to pressure to ban extremists,
the far right has found a new home for “hate and terror”.BitChute describes
itself as a “free speech” website, but researchers say it is has become a major
platform for neo-Nazi videos, racism, violence, conspiracy theories and even
terrorist propaganda. It is one of several “alternative” social media companies
capitalising on mainstream takedowns, including Russian Facebook-equivalent VK,
Twitter alternative Parler and the Gab network. A report by counter-extremism
research group Hope Not Hate said BitChute was “platforming hate and terror in
the UK”. Author Gregory Davis described it as a version of “YouTube where you
can get away with posting violent, Nazi and dangerous content”. “It is taking
an increasingly large share of Nazi propaganda and really out-there Covid-19
conspiracy theories, including documentaries that question the existence of the
virus,” he told The Independent. “The videos are predominantly far right,
racist and homophobic … if you look on its trending list on any given day, you
will see what people go there to watch.”

 

Lawfare: The Lawfare Podcast: Hany Farid On Deep Fakes, Doctored Photos And
Disinformation
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“This week on Lawfare's Arbiters of Truth series on disinformation, Evelyn
Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Hany Farid, a professor at the University
of California, Berkeley, whose work focuses on analyzing and identifying
altered photo and video—what’s known as digital image forensics. Recently, he
has done work on deep fakes—realistic synthetic media in which a person’s
likeness is altered to show them doing or saying something they never did or
said. He’s also helped develop technology used by platforms to identify and
remove material related to child sexual abuse. They talked about how dangerous
deep fakes really are, how much of that danger is the technology itself and how
much of it has to do with how big platforms amplify incendiary content, and
whether platforms should moderate disinformation and misinformation in the same
aggressive way they take down sexually abusive material.”



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