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Eye on Extremism
August 17, 2020
“Abdullah al-Faisal, a radical Islamic cleric known as Shaikh Faisal, was arraigned in New York City Friday on charges that he supported terrorism by plotting to recruit for the Islamic State. He pleaded not guilty. The cleric has been linked to other high-profile terrorists, including the attempted Times Square bomber in 2010, the “Underwear Bomber” in 2008 and several other convicted or suspected terrorists in New York, London and elsewhere. Federal authorities normally lead investigations of international terrorism cases, but Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. and the NYPD led this investigation.…According to the Counter Extremism Project, a nonprofit international policy organization, al-Faisal was born Trevor William Forrest in Jamaica but converted to Islam and changed his name while living in Saudi Arabia as a teenager. He eventually moved to London in the 1990s and became an Islamic cleric, catching the attention of British authorities with lectures that called for the murder of so-called nonbelievers. He was arrested and convicted of soliciting murder and inciting racial hatred in the UK in 2003, but was released and deported in 2007. He then traveled the world recruiting for the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations before his arrest in Jamaica in 2017.”
Reuters: Hezbollah Will Respond If Beirut Blast Was Sabotage, Says Nasrallah
“Hezbollah’s leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday that his group would wait for results of a probe into the Beirut port blast, but that if it turns out to be an act of sabotage by Israel then it would “pay an equal price”. Speaking in a televised speech, he said the two theories under investigation were that an accident or sabotage caused the explosion of ammonium nitrate stored at a warehouse. Israel has denied any involvement in the Aug. 4 blast that killed 172 people and injured 6,000.”
United States
Boston Herald: Blogger Targeted By Terror Convict Blasts Judge For Setting ISIS Sympathizer Free
“The conservative blogger who had her life threatened by a Rhode Island man over her anti-ISIS views is blasting the Boston federal judge who set the man free this week amid the coronavirus pandemic. Pamela Geller, following the judge’s decision to release Nicholas Rovinski after he served five years of his 15-year sentence, ripped the judge for granting compassionate release during the pandemic. “How does Judge William Young know that Nicholas Rovinski won’t try to murder me again? He doesn’t. But he clearly doesn’t care,” Geller wrote on Facebook. Rovinski’s lawyers argued that the 29-year-old’s cerebral palsy and hypertension made him vulnerable to COVID-19. He was jailed at FCI Danbury, a “low-security” prison in Connecticut. Young last week ruled that Rovinski would “spend the next ten years of supervised release in home confinement, the first six months of which shall be in strict home confinement.” Rovinski and two others were arrested over a plan to kill Geller at the behest of ISIS after she organized a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in Texas in 2015. “The ‘compassion’ in Rovinski’s ‘compassionate release’ is all for the perpetrator, not for his intended victim or others he might have killed in his jihad as well,” Geller wrote.”
Syria
Voice Of America: Strain Of Islamic State Prisoners, Families Gnaws At Key Alliances
“The struggle to make a future for thousands of captured Islamic State fighters and their families currently in makeshift prisons and overcrowded displaced persons camps across northeastern Syria may be starting to erode key partnerships in the fight against the terror group. Most of the burden for guarding and caring for these volatile populations has fallen to the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces. But SDF officials say they are increasingly frustrated over what they perceive as Washington’s unwillingness to intervene and stop Turkey, also a member of the anti-IS coalition, from actively breaching security at the camps.Officials with the SDF and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), the political body that governs the region, tell VOA they have repeatedly shared evidence of the Turkish operations to aid IS, also known as ISIS or Daesh, with the United States, but to no avail. “A special committee should be formed to investigate the issue of human trafficking and the involvement of the official Turkish Intelligence Agency,” the AANES wrote in a recent letter to the U.S. and other coalition partners, obtained by VOA.”
Iran
“US intelligence agencies assessed that Iran offered bounties to Taliban fighters for targeting American and coalition troops in Afghanistan, identifying payments linked to at least six attacks carried out by the militant group just last year alone, including a suicide bombing at a US air base in December, CNN has learned. "Bounties" were paid by a foreign government, identified to CNN as Iran, to the Haqqani network -- a terrorist group that is led by the second highest ranking leader of the Taliban -- for their attack on Bagram Air Base on December 11, which killed two civilians and injured more than 70 others, including four US personnel, according to a Pentagon briefing document reviewed by CNN. The name of the foreign government that made these payments remains classified but two sources familiar with the intelligence confirmed to CNN that it refers to Iran. The US killed a key Iranian general in Iraq less than a month after the Bagram attack but after a lengthy process involving several agencies to develop options aimed at countering Iran's support for militant groups in Afghanistan. The decision was made in March not to take specific action as officials did not want to jeopardize the peace process with the Taliban, according to multiple sources familiar. The revelation that Iran might have paid the Taliban follows the controversy over Russian bounties for attacks on American troops, an issue that has been consistently downplayed by the Trump administration in recent weeks.”
Afghanistan
Foreign Policy: Afghans Worried About Pressure From Trump As Talks With The Taliban Get Underway
“The Afghan government is due to begin peace talks with representatives of the Taliban today but some officials are worried that the United States is pushing too hard for an agreement ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November. Last week the government convened a loya jirga, a mass gathering of representatives from across the country that decides on issues of national importance. The group agreed to the release of 400 Taliban prisoners from Afghan jails, paving the way for the talks with the Taliban. The government has described the prisoners as among the most dangerous and high-value Taliban captives currently held. “In order to remove the hurdles for the start of peace talks, stopping bloodshed, and for the good of the public, the loya jirga approves the release of 400 prisoners as demanded by the Taliban,” the jirga’s decision read. The attendees said they were not given the names or details of the prisoners, prompting speculation that some might be foreign fighters. Many Afghans have long accused the Taliban of employing foreigners, namely Pakistani nationals, as part of their insurgency.”
Fox News: Afghan Woman In Taliban Peace Talks Injured In 'Assassination Attempt'
“An Afghan woman involved in negotiations between the government and the Taliban to end a 19-year war in the country was injured in an “assassination attempt,” officials said. Fawzia Koofi, who is also a women's rights activist and a strong critic of the Taliban, was attacked late Friday afternoon near the capital of Kabul while she was at a market with her sister in the Qarabagh district, Tariq Arian, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry said. The head of the Afghan peace delegation, Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, tweeted that Koofi had survived the attack and was “in good health.” The delegation is gearing up for peace talks that could take place as early as Aug. 20 in Qatar, where the Taliban has a headquarters. Negotiations on a mutual peace agreement that were supposed to begin in March have long been at a standstill. The Afghan government released 80 of the remaining 400 Taliban prisoners Thursday, paving the way for renewing talks. Prisoner releases on both sides are part of a pact signed in February between the U.S. and the Taliban that called for freeing 5,000 Taliban held by the government and 1,000 government and military personnel held by the insurgent group as a goodwill gesture. The U.S. peace deal aims to recruit the Taliban to fight Islamic State militants in Afghanistan, a mutual enemy. The Taliban and the Islamic State are staunch rivals.”
BBC News: The Couple Blamed For An Islamic State Attack On Their Wedding
“It should've been the happiest day of their lives. Instead, it was the worst. Mirwais and Rehana's wedding in Afghanistan's capital Kabul last year was targeted by an IS suicide bomber, killing more than 90 of their guests. The couple lost close family members and friends, and the attack took a heavy toll on their mental health. This week marks the anniversary of the attack. For the first time, Rehana, 18, has decided to speak publicly about what happened that day. “Every night I have nightmares,” she told the BBC. “I cry and I can't sleep.” Crowds of people make her anxious, as does travelling by car. “Whenever I hear gunshots or explosions it takes me back to that day, and I think something will happen to me again,” she said. The relatives of some of those who died that day have raised the idea of holding a protest outside the wedding hall where the attack took place, to commemorate the anniversary and call for the attackers to be held to justice. But Mirwais won't attend, he said. His hands begin to shake at just the thought of the blast. “Before the wedding we were so happy,” he said. “All of a sudden it was as if we had fallen from the sky to the ground. We lost all our happiness.”
Yemen
Agence France-Presse: Yemeni Al-Qaeda Execute Dentist For ‘Spying’
“Al-Qaeda militants in war-torn Yemen executed a dentist accused of spying for the government and guiding US drone strikes targeting the Islamist extremists, a local official said on Sunday. The militants shot Motthar al-Youssoufi, then crucified his corpse and left it outside his health center, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The execution took place on Saturday in Somaa, a district of Yemen's central Al-Baida province, the official added. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which is active in Yemen, is considered by the United States as the radical group's most dangerous branch. The US has carried out a long-running drone campaign in Yemen. The extremist group has thrived in the chaos of years of civil war between Yemen's Saudi-backed government and the Houthi militia who control the capital. An AQAP video contained - according to the organization - a “confession’ by the dentist to having worked with government security services, and to having placed microchips to guide US missile strikes. AQAP operates in the Al-Baida province - which is under nominal government control - after retreating from positions in the south and east of the country, the local official added.”
Lebanon
The New York Times: Beirut’s Shiites Like The Idea Of Change, But Like Hezbollah More
“Near sunset, squads of young men gather along the narrow roads that lead in and out of their working-class Shiite neighborhood. They block off the streets with metal barricades. Some arrive on scooters, wielding walkie-talkies, a sign of privilege in an area where many people struggle to buy food or pay a phone bill. They have come for the anti-government protests that have been taking place nearby almost nightly since an explosion at Beirut’s port last week ravaged the city. The protesters want to tear down Lebanon’s sectarian political system, which they blame for incompetence, corruption and now for negligence that led to the blast, which killed at least 171 people and wounded thousands. But these young men see the protests as a threat that could take power and privilege away from their Shiite sect and in particular from Hezbollah, the militant Shiite party, militia and Lebanon’s most powerful faction. They set up barricades not to support the protest but to make sure the angry crowds don’t come too close to their neighborhood. “We have to protect ourselves,” said Ibrahim Abu Muhammad, the one member of the group who agreed to speak to a journalist. “Disparaging the leaders of the Shiite sect is a red line.”
Reuters: Hezbollah 'Not Concerned' With Verdict Of U.N.-Backed Tribunal
“Hezbollah’s leader said on Friday the group was not concerned with the verdict of a U.N.-backed tribunal over the 2005 assassination of ex-PM Rafik al-Hariri due on August 18. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said if any members of the Iran-backed movement are indicted, Hezbollah would stand by their innocence. The court located outside The Hague, Netherlands, was due to give a verdict in the trial of four men on August 7 but it was postponed after the massive blast that rocked Beirut last week.”
Nigeria
“The deteriorating security situation in northeast Nigeria since the beginning of the year 2020 calls for urgent support for victims of the conflict who are majorly rural dwellers, UN Humanitarian Coordinator, Edward Kallon has said. According to him, the number of people needing humanitarian assistance is the highest ever recorded in five years of a joint humanitarian response. The humanitarian coordinator said, “The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting us all. Its devastating effects will distress Nigeria’s most fragile region. Unless we take immediate action, we should prepare for a spike in conflict, hunger and destitution in north-east Nigeria.” Speaking at an online High-Level Briefing, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr Edward Kallon, joined by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq and Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Zulum, as well as other UN and NGO representatives, stressed that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates the dire humanitarian situation in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States, and risks wreaking havoc on the most vulnerable population. The UN said over 10.6 million people – out of a total of 13 million, or four in five people – will need some form of humanitarian assistance in 2020.”
Somalia
Voice Of America: Militants Attack Beachfront Hotel In Somali Capital
“Militants have carried out an attack on a beachfront hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Sunday, killing at least five people and injuring nearly 30 others, officials said. Officials and witnesses told VOA Somali that a car bomb exploded outside Elite hotel at Mogadishu’s Lido Beach. Moments later armed gunmen stormed the hotel. Security forces have arrived the scene and are battling the militates holed up inside. Al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack. The head of the Somali journalist’s union Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu was among the witnesses sitting outside the Elite hotel when the explosion occurred. He told VOA Somali that he arrived the hotel 15 minutes before the explosion along with his friend Abdirazak Abdi Abdullahi, who works for the state-controlled radio station. Abdullahi was killed by the militants after the first gunshots were fired, Moalimuu told VOA Somali. Abdirazak Aden Osman, a security guard at a nearby hotel, said he heard a huge explosion which rocked the area.” It was a massive explosion,” he said. “Glass from broken windows fell on us.” Osman said there was a heavy gunfire after the militants entered the hotel.”
Voice Of America: Somali, AU Forces Capture Shabab Stronghold
“Somali government troops, backed by African Union (AU) forces, have taken control from the al-Shabab militant group of a strategic town in the Lower Shabelle region, freeing dozens of children in the process, residents and official said. The town of Kuntuwaarey, in the southwest of Somalia, located 208 kilometers from the capital, Mogadishu, has for many years been a strategic stronghold for al-Shabab. The “Somali National Army, backed by units from the African Union peacekeepers, have taken control of this strategic town from the militants,” said Isaq Ali Subag, the minister of internal security for the region. Subag said al-Shabab had been using the town as a base to launch attacks on cities and towns in the region that are controlled by the Somali government. “The militants have used the city as a military base from which to organize attacks they carry out in other parts of the region, and to run courts in which they impose taxes and other unfair sentences to innocent people,” he said. Following the capture of the town, the joint troops carrying out house-to-house searches freed 33 children from the militants, according to Somali military commanders.”
Africa
The Guardian: Mozambique Army Surrounds Port Held By Isis-Linked Insurgents
“Government troops are taking up positions outside a port in the far north of Mozambique which was captured by Islamist extremists last week in the latest escalation of the insurgency in the southern African country. Hundreds of reinforcements have been rushed into position around the port in the town of Mocímboa da Praia. The facility, which is close to the site of natural gas projects worth about $60bn (£45bn), fell on Tuesday when marines who had resisted several hundred militants ran out of ammunition and were forced to withdraw. The Mozambican defence minister, Jaime Neto, said last week that the extremists had infiltrated parts of Mocímboa da Praia and then “attacked the town from the inside out, causing destruction, looting and the murder of defenceless citizens”, according to a report from the local Zitamar news agency. The attack was the latest in a series launched on the town by a group known as Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jamaa, which pledged allegiance to Islamic State last year. The extremist operation took place over several days, with early attacks closing off roads leading to the town by eliminating government defensive posts, before a final assault.”
Deutsche Welle: Mozambique: Jihadi Militants Making Inroads
“The security situation in Mozambique's northernmost province has reached a new low, with jihadi militants repeatedly attacking and partly occupying a strategic port city in the gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado. Mocimboa da Praia, a city of some 30,000 people, isn't the most important port in the north of the country, but observers believe its conquest nevertheless represents an embarrassment to government troops. Cities such as Mocimboa da Praia, Macomia and others now resemble civil war zones, says investigative journalist Estacio Valoi, who has been reporting from the region for the independent Moz 24 Horas portal since the first attacks in October 2017. Many villages have been razed to the ground, and those who were unable to flee have been threatened or immediately beheaded. In the past few days, many families have fled south along the coast by boat, or overland in minibuses, to Pemba, the provincial capital. The situation is completely out of control. UN figures show that around 1,000 people have died in the conflict in past three years, while some 250,000 have left for other parts of the country. According to Valoi, government troops that had been transferred to the region in large numbers arrived much too late, and were completely overwhelmed.”
France
Reuters: French PM Likens Killing Of French Aid Workers In Niger To 2015 Paris Attacks
“French Prime Minister Jean Castex paid tribute on Friday to the six French aid workers who where killed by a group of gunmen on motorcycles in Niger, likening the attack to the 2015 militant attacks in Paris that shook the country. The six worked for international aid group ACTED and were accompanied by a Nigerien guide and a driver, who were also killed during the ambush on Sunday. “It’s very likely the same hatred, the same cowardice, the same inhumanity that was at work in Niger and at the Bataclan,” Castex said in front of the repatriated coffins of the six at Paris’s Orly airport. The Bataclan was the concert venue where 90 people were killed in one of the coordinated attacks by Islamist militants in the French capital in 2015. “We haven’t yet been able to put a name to the organization behind this heinous crime” in Niger, he said, adding that it had “all the appearances of a terrorist attack.” The aid workers were driving through a giraffe reserve, a popular destination for expatriates 65 km (40 miles) from Niger’s capital Niamey in an area considered safe by the government. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the assault.”
Al Jazeera: France Asks Afghans Not To Free Taliban Who Killed Its Citizens
“France has objected to the release of three men jailed for the murders of French nationals in Afghanistan as part of Kabul's decision to release 400 Taliban prisoners as the last phase of fulfilling a condition set out in a deal between the Taliban and the US government. The group of prisoners, whose release has begun, include two men who murdered Bettina Goislard, an employee of the UN refugee agency, in November 2003, and a former Afghan soldier who killed five French soldiers and injured 13 others in Kapisa province eight years ago. “France is particularly concerned by the presence, among the individuals liable to be released, of several terrorists convicted of killing French citizens in Afghanistan,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday. The Afghan government and the Taliban are set to meet to launch an intra-Afghan peace process within days of the prisoner release being completed, a move that has drawn widespread condemnation after it emerged that many of the inmates were involved in attacks that killed tens of Afghans and foreigners. “It firmly opposes the liberation of individuals convicted of crimes against French nationals, in particular soldiers and humanitarian workers,” it said.”
Germany
Deutsche Welle: German Government 'In The Dark' About Guns And Neo-Nazis
“In answer to an official parliamentary information request submitted by the socialist Left party, Germany's Interior Ministry has said it did not have any “statistical data on confiscated firearms for the years 2017, 2018, and 2019,” or whether they were taken from neo-Nazis or any other kind of extremist. The ministry was not able to answer 14 of 20 questions about the confiscated weapons submitted by Left party parliamentarian Martina Renner, including: In how many investigations into illegal weapons had a political motive been ascertained? How many cases of impounded weapons involved illegal arms deals? How many of the impounded weapons had been legally bought and owned? How many cases involved “weapons of war,” such as fully automatic rifles or rocket-propelled grenade launchers? How many of the weapons had previously been used in foreign conflicts, such as conflicts in the former Yugoslavia? In how many cases were the weapons taken from a private bunker? The Interior Ministry also did not know how many of the confiscated weapons had been stolen from the stock of the German military.”
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