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Eye on Extremism
August 4, 2020
The National: Interactive Maps Reveal Full Extent Of Hezbollah's Global Reach
“A new interactive map of Hezbollah’s activities has shown all the attacks, financing and plots by the terror group revealing for the first time its vast global reach. Researchers, the police and the public will be able to view the group’s activities across the world in a resource that includes information taken from declassified CIA and FBI files. The document is the painstaking work of former FBI agent Dr Matthew Levitt who hopes will it will demonstrate the nature of Hezbollah to European countries that have yet to fully proscribe it as a terrorist organisation. If the map proves successful it could also be used as a template to help the fight against other terror groups such as Al Qaeda and ISIS as well as international criminal gangs. The ‘Lebanese Hezbollah Select Worldwide Activity’ is the first-ever publicly available, interactive map and timeline of Hezbollah-related activities and counter-terrorism action taken against it. Dr Levitt said he committed to the project because during forums and seminars on Hezbollah there was always a lack of information. “Discussion about Hezbollah’s covert enterprises was rendered virtually impossible by the dearth of publicly available material on the group’s covert activities,” he said.”
Voice Of America: Attacks, Abuses On The Rise In Africa’s Sahel Region
“While global attention remains centered on the coronavirus, a U.S. special envoy is sounding the alarm about crises in Africa’s Sahel region, especially the political unrest in Mali, and the growing number of alleged human rights violations and abuses in the troubled region. Amid the world focus on the coronavirus pandemic, another force is bringing death and destruction to the vast, arid region of Africa known as the Sahel. J. Peter Pham, the U.S. top envoy to the region, says recent developments there are of great concern. “In the last quarter, by our count — that's the quarter ended June 30th — there were 270 attacks by extremists in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. That number represents an almost 40 percent increase from a year earlier. So that's significant. That's worrisome as a trend,” he said. U.N. peacekeepers and U.S. forces have worked for several years on a multibillion-dollar peacekeeping mission in the region, though the Trump administration has publicly questioned the value of the costly mission and pushed to cut budgets and troops numbers in Africa. Pham says this is fundamentally a governance problem, not a military one.”
Modern Diplomacy: ISIS And The Militant Jihad On Instagram
“The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS] is notorious for its slick propaganda videos and effectiveness at online recruitment, particularly on social media, of men and women all over the world to fight for and live under their Caliphate. Now with the territorial defeat of ISIS, its recruiters continue to be prolific online, encouraging supporters to hope and work toward the Caliphate’s return and to seek revenge on those who destroyed it by mounting attacks at home. While ISIS’s activity on Facebook and Twitter, as well as encrypted apps like Telegram, has been studied extensively, there is a dearth of information about their activity on Instagram, a platform increasingly used by young people vulnerable to ISIS recruitment. This article provides a brief examination of ISIS supporters’ activity on Instagram, even in the face of takedown policies, and also briefly discusses the possibilities of using a counter narrative video ad campaign on the platform to intervene in and prevent ISIS recruitment. ISIS has long been noted for its superior use of social media, resulting in an unprecedented recruitment of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs). As of 2020, over 45,000 FTFs had traveled from all over the world to fight with ISIS or live under the ISIS Caliphate in Syria and Iraq.”
United States
Fox News: Cruz, Ahead Of Antifa Hearing, Describes Riots In US Cities As ‘Organized Terror Attacks’
“Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is aiming to highlight the role Antifa and like-minded groups are playing in riots across the country, convening a Senate hearing Tuesday on the issue while alleging that radical left-wing groups are engaging in “organized terror attacks” designed to tear down government institutions. “Across the country, we’re seeing horrific violence, we’re seeing our country torn apart. Violent anarchists and Marxists are exploiting protests to transform them into riots and direct assaults on the lives and safety of their fellow Americans,” Cruz told Fox News in an interview. On Tuesday, Cruz will chair a hearing of the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution to investigate groups such as Antifa, which, while active for years, have recently escalated their presence in the wake of George Floyd's death in police custody. The hearing is called “The Right of the People Peaceably to Assemble: Protecting Speech by Stopping Anarchist Violence.” Speakers will include Acting Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli, journalist Andy Ngo and law professor Jonathan Turley. It comes after two months of protests and violent riots hit downtown Portland, where rioters have attacked the Hatfield Courthouse and clashed with federal law enforcement protecting it.”
The Nation: Homeland Security Is Quietly Tying Antifa To Foreign Powers
“Department of Homeland Security (DHS) intelligence officials are targeting activists it considers “antifa” and attempting to tie them to a foreign power, according to a DHS intelligence report obtained exclusively by The Nation. The intelligence report, titled “The Syrian Conflict and its Nexus to the U.S.-based Antifascist Movement,” mentions several Americans, including a left-wing podcast host who traveled to Syria to fight ISIS. The report includes a readout of these individuals’ personal information, including their Social Security numbers, home addresses, and social media accounts, much of the data generated by DHS’s Tactical Terrorism Response Teams. As the intelligence report states, “ANTIFA is being analyzed under the 2019 DHS Strategic Framework for Countering Terrorism (CT) and Targeted Violence.” Dated July 14, the document, marked FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY and LAW ENFORCEMENT SENSITIVE draws on a blend of publicly available information and state and federal law enforcement intelligence. It was provided to The Nation by a source who previously worked on DHS intelligence.”
Syria
“The Israeli military said its aircraft struck a number of targets in southern Syria belonging to the Syrian military on Monday in relation to a failed attack on Israeli territory a day earlier that was carried out near their shared border. Israeli helicopters, jet fighters and drones struck Syrian observation posts, intelligence-collection systems, antiaircraft artillery facilities and command-and-control systems in Syrian army bases, the Israeli military said in a statement on Monday night. Syria’s official state news outlet Sana said that Israel had fired rockets at its installations near the town of Quneitra on Monday night and that the fallout for the Syrian Armed Forces was limited to material damage. Earlier, the Israeli military said that its troops late Sunday night fired at four people planting improvised explosive devices on the Syria-Israel border. An Israeli special-forces unit thwarted plans for the apparent attack near the security fence that separates the Israel-controlled and Syria-controlled Golan Heights, Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said early Monday. The Israeli unit opened fire on the men, backed up by artillery and air support, Mr. Conricus said. The Israeli military estimated that all four men had been killed.”
Associated Press: 18 Killed In Clashes In Northwestern Syria
“Clashes between opposition groups and pro-Assad fighters in northwestern Syria on Monday thwarted regime’s advance and left 12 pro-regime men dead, a Britain-based war monitoring group said. Another 17 pro-regime fighters were wounded while on the opposition-led side six fighters died, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The forces loyal to Bashar Assad had launched an attack with artillery and heavy gunfire in Syria’s last major opposition bastion, said the war monitor. But the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) alliance, headed by ex-leaders of Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate, and their allies reportedly thwarted the advance. Four HTS and two other opposition fighters were killed in the clashes in a rural area of Latakia province, the monitor said. The HTS-led alliance also controls large areas of Idlib province and slivers of territory in neighboring Aleppo and Hama. The region they hold is home to some 3 million people, nearly half of whom have been displaced from other parts of the country. Syria’s 9-year-old war has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population. The opposition-held area is a regular target of attacks by regime forces and their Russian and Iranian allies.”
Iran
U.S. News & World Report: Fighting Terror On The Battlefield Of Banking
“The United States government rightly labels Iran as the world's leading state-sponsor of terrorism. Its clerical regime – or the Velayet e-Faqih (Guardianship of Islamic Jurist) – exercises direct or indirect control over most of the country's largest financial and commercial institutions to allegedly train, finance and equip a global network of proxy forces in the Middle East, South Asia, Africa and Latin America. During the time of the last shah, Iran's historical claims over Bahraini sovereignty ended in 1971 at the United Nations, supported by a poll taken of the Bahraini population voicing overwhelming support toward independence. Nonetheless, Bahrain continues to be a target of Iran's efforts to expand its sphere of influence and hegemony since the revolution. More ominously, the Iranian regime has consistently used all the tools of its national power to destabilize our nation, which though territorially small, serves as a critical linchpin in the security architecture of the Middle East. Fortunately, Bahrain has two things working in its favor: Our leadership and people have rejected the Iranian regime's theo-fascist doctrine. And we have a resolute ally in the United States. In partnership with U.S. agencies, Bahrain recently took down a key node of Iran's global money laundering network.”
Asharq Al-Awsat: Kabul Calls On Tehran To Prevent Pro-Taliban Activities
“Afghan Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Sadiq Siddiqui called on Iran Monday to prevent Taliban activities in Tehran, in the first comment after some Afghans were seen in pictures waving the Taliban flag at a park in Iran's capital. Iranian authorities confirmed to local media outlets that the security forces arrested Monday a number of Afghans after they waved the Taliban flag at the Mellat Park during celebrations for the Eid al-Adha holy festival this past weekend. The Afghan government said that such pro-Taliban propaganda should be stopped by these countries as it will harm peace efforts in the country. He called on the neighboring countries to support the peace process that the Afghan government and the people of Afghanistan are leading. According to Iranian state-run news outlets, the head of Tehran’s police force, Ali Zolghadiri said all of the individuals who participated in this incident have been detained. Jila Bani Yaghoob, an Iranian journalist-blogger and women's rights activist, said the Iranian security forces also arrested Mohammed Arif Ahmadi, an Afghan social media activist living in Tehran who was responsible for posting the photos online.”
Iraq
UnHerd: When Will The Yazidis Get Justice?
"Nearly 250,000 Yazidis languish in IDP camps and many women and children are still unaccounted for. In perhaps the cruellest twist, long after the group’s territorial defeat some women and children are still stuck living among their tormentors in the camps of Northern Syria. Survivors live with the physical and mental scars of Islamic State’s atrocities. Some women mutilated themselves to deter their captors from rape, others involuntarily re-enact their sexual abuse in horrifying, writhing seizures. Despite the ongoing torment, it is the lack of justice that has left the bitterest taste for many Yazidis. 40,000 foreigners joined Islamic State. Some 6,000 from Western Europe and several hundred more from North America and Australasia answered Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s “Caliphate” call, yet so far not one successful conviction has taken place and only a handful of cases have made it to court for the atrocities committed against Yazidis – a genocide, according to the UN."
Turkey
The New York Times: Turkish Aggression Is NATO’s ‘Elephant In The Room’
“The warships were escorting a vessel suspected of smuggling weapons into Libya, violating a United Nations arms embargo. Challenged by a French naval frigate, the warships went to battle alert. Outnumbered and outgunned, the French frigate withdrew. But this mid-June naval showdown in the Mediterranean was not a confrontation of enemies. The antagonists were France and Turkey, fellow members of NATO, sworn to protect one another. A similarly hostile encounter between Turkey and a fellow NATO member happened just two weeks ago, when Turkish warplanes buzzed an area near the Greek island of Rhodes after Greek warships went on alert over Turkey’s intent to drill for undersea natural gas there. Turkey — increasingly assertive, ambitious and authoritarian — has become “the elephant in the room” for NATO, European diplomats say. But it is a matter, they say, that few want to discuss. A NATO member since 1952, Turkey is too big, powerful and strategically important — it is the crossroads of Europe and Asia — to allow an open confrontation, alliance officials suggest. Turkey has dismissed any criticism of its behavior as unjustified.”
Afghanistan
The New York Times: 29 Dead After ISIS Attack On Afghan Prison
“A militant assault on a prison complex in eastern Afghanistan ended on Monday after a 20-hour gun battle, leaving 29 people dead and officials scrambling to recapture hundreds of prisoners, including many from the Islamic State and the Taliban. The attack at the prison in Jalalabad City was claimed by the Islamic State. It began on Sunday night when a brief cease-fire between the Afghan government and the Taliban was still in place. Its timing underscored the complexity of a conflict that is growing deadlier by the day, even as peace talks continue. Gen. Yasin Zia, the chief of the Afghan army who arrived in the city to lead the last stretch of the operations, said ten assailants were involved in the attack and all were killed. The security perimeter was first breached with a car-bomb before attackers with assault rifles streamed in and started a gun battle with prison guards. At least 29 people had been killed and 48 others wounded, according to Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar Province. The casualties included civilians, inmates and security forces, he said.”
Reuters: Pompeo, Taliban Negotiator Discuss Afghan Peace Process: Taliban Spokesman
“U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a video meeting on Monday with the Taliban’s chief negotiator, Mullah Baradar Akhund, to discuss the state of the Afghanistan peace process, an insurgent spokesman said. The discussions included the issue of Taliban prisoners whose release by the Afghan government the insurgents are demanding, Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban spokesman in Doha said on Twitter. The Taliban want the prisoners freed before they join talks with government officials and other Afghans on a political settlement to decades of war, The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “Both sides talked about the inception of intra-Afghan negotiations” and they “emphasized that the release of the remaining prisoners are essential for commencement of intra-Afghan negotiations,” Shaheen wrote. The meeting between Pompeo and Baradar, the Taliban’s Doha-based deputy leader, came as Afghan security forces ended a siege of a major prison in eastern Afghanistan by Islamic State militants in which hundreds of prisoners escaped. It was not immediately known if the escapees included any of the prisoners whose release the Taliban is demanding. The release of the Taliban prisoners has become a major hurdle to the convening of intra-Afghan peace talks, which were to have started by March 10.”
Pakistan
The Nation: The Reincarnation Of Terrorism
“India’s futile and senseless efforts to weaken and subordinate Pakistan continue relentlessly. Its state-sponsored export of terrorism to Pakistan from Afghanistan and Iran persists. Its proteges, the various terrorist groups and their sleeper cells in Pakistan persevere as potent, latent threats. India’s foremost strategic objective was to establish its hegemony in the region. Pakistan was to be reduced to the status of a vassal state. It was to be isolated diplomatically, browbeaten into submission militarily, destroyed economically and forced into unrelenting internal turmoil. To that end, the disruption, delay and/or destruction of the CPEC-BRI too, acquired critical urgency for India. India has historically adopted an unremitting multidimensional approach to harm Pakistan. On the internal (and economy) front it succeeded in motivating some unscrupulous political elements into opposing the indispensable Kalabagh Dam. Had it been constructed at the planned time it would have massively boosted Pakistan’s economy and prosperity of the people. However, some of our so-called political stalwarts fell for the Indian guile and intrigue and opposed it on pseudo-nationalist grounds. It hurt Pakistan economically.”
Middle East
Agence France-Presse: Israeli Jets Strike Hamas Targets In Gaza: Military
“Israeli fighter jets carried out strikes on Hamas facilities in the Gaza Strip after a “rocket” was fired from the Hamas-controlled enclave toward the Jewish state, its military said Monday. Israel said Sunday night a “projectile” fired from Gaza had been intercepted by its Iron Dome anti-rocket system. It was the first to be fired from the Palestinian coastal enclave since the first week of July, and set off sirens, the Israeli army said. In response, “our fighter jets and & aircraft just struck subterranean Hamas terror facilities in Gaza,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. A spokesperson for the regional council of Shaar Hanegev, the area where the sirens sounded, said the projectile launched from Gaza had not caused any damage or casualties. Israel and Islamist movement Hamas have fought three wars since 2008. Despite a truce in recent months, they have periodically exchanged fire, with militants in the strip lobbing rockets into Israel and the Jewish state responding with strikes against targets inside Gaza.”
Somalia
Voice Of America: Suicide Bombing Attack On Mogadishu Restaurants Kills At Least Three
“Media reports say a suicide bombing attack killed at least four people, including the bomber at a Mogadishu restaurant, which is popular with security forces and government workers. Several others were injured in Monday's attack on the Lul Yamani restaurant, in the Somali capital. Police say the attacker detonated the explosives at the entrance to the restaurant after being stopped by a restaurant security guard. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Islamist al-Shabaab militant group is suspected of being involved because its history of targeting security forces.”
Africa
“Some 1,500 people, including terrified residents of the hosting village, have fled to the nearby town of Mozogo for safety. UNHCR is deploying an emergency mission to assess the situation and evaluate the protection and health needs of those affected. Local communities in this impoverished area are often the first responders to those fleeing growing insecurity and violence in the area which covers Lake Chad and north-east Nigeria. They are sometimes related and they share with them the few resources they have. Against the background of growing insecurity, UNHCR anticipates enhanced community protection, shelter, water and sanitation will be needed as the country responds to the COVID-19 pandemic. UNHCR calls on all actors to respect the civilian and humanitarian character of IDP camps, and to respond promptly to the urgent needs of people who have fled violence and suffered multiple displacements. This attack follows a significant rise in violent incidents in Cameroon’s Far-North Region in July, including looting and kidnapping by Boko Haram and other armed groups active in the region. The Far North region, tucked between Nigeria’s Borno and Adamawa states and Lake Chad, currently hosts 321,886 IDPs and 115,000 Nigerian refugees.”
Europe
Reuters: Russia Says Suspected Mercenaries Detained By Belarus Were Going To Latin America
“A Russian diplomat said on Monday a group of more than 30 suspected Russian mercenaries detained in Belarus last week were only passing through Minsk and were on their way to an unnamed Latin American state. Belarusian authorities have said they suspect the men entered their country to plot “acts of terrorism” and destabilise it before an Aug. 9 presidential election. Russian officials have dismissed the accusation and described the men as employees of a private security firm. The Russian state says it does not use mercenaries. The standoff could further strain relations between Minsk and its traditional ally Russia, which soured after the neighbours failed to agree on an oil supply contract for this year. “Their final destination was one of the states in the Latin American region,” the diplomat, Kirill Pletnyev, was quoted as saying on Monday by the Russian RIA news agency. Belarus granted Pletnyev consular access to the detained men, RIA added. His quotes did not name the Latin American country or give any more details on the identity of the men. Russia has close relations with a number of Latin American countries including Venezuela, and sent dozens of military personnel to Caracas last year, describing them as military specialists.”
Associated Press: Albania Transfers IS Terror Cell Suspect To Germany
“Albania has transferred to Germany a Tajik man accused of being part of a cell of the Islamic State group that allegedly planned to attack U.S. military facilities in Germany, prosecutors said Tuesday.The suspect, identified only as Komron B. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested on his arrival at Frankfurt airport on Monday, federal prosecutors said in a statement. Four other Tajiks were arrested in Germany in mid-April and their alleged leader was taken into custody in March 2019. Prosecutors said Komron B. and the other suspects joined IS in January 2019 and founded a cell in Germany on the group's instructions, initially intending to travel to Tajikistan and fight that country's government. They then allegedly changed plans and decided to carry out attacks in Germany, either on U.S. military facilities or on individuals — including an unidentified person living in Germany who they considered critical of Islam. As part of their efforts to raise money for their plans and for IS, one of the cell's members traveled to Albania to carry out a contract killing for $40,000 but the plan failed, prosecutors said. He and another suspect who had traveled with him then returned to Germany. Komron B. was arrested in Albania on April 29.”
New Zealand
Australian Associated Press: Mosques Terrorist Costing NZ Millions
“Jacinda Ardern isn't ruling out the possibility the convicted Christchurch mosques terrorist may serve his time in Australia, but says New Zealand must make sure “justice is done here first”. Freshly released Cabinet papers have revealed the high cost of housing the Australian man who shot and killed 51 New Zealanders in the country's worst mass shooting on March 15 last year. A total of $NZ3.59 million ($A3.33 million) has been approved for the first two years of Brenton Tarrant's stay at Auckland's Paremoremo Prison. Additionally, $NZ790,000 ($A733,000) has been set aside this year for screening incoming and outgoing mail for high-risk inmates. That measure has been directly attributed to an unfortunate incident last year when one of Tarrant's letters - reportedly sent to a contact in Russia - was posted on a notorious forum online. Ms Ardern said the bill to house the Grafton-raised terrorist was unfortunately necessary. “It is a high cost case,” she said. “Obviously we've already seen what happens if we don't monitor closely, for instance, the correspondence that that individual is is engaging in, and of course some of the other precautions we need to put around the terrorist.”
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