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Eye on Extremism
August 25, 2020
Associated Press: UN: Over 10,000 Islamic State Fighters Active In Iraq, Syria
“More than 10,000 Islamic State fighters are estimated to remain active in Iraq and Syria two years after the militant group’s defeat, and their attacks have significantly increased this year, the U.N. counter-terrorism chief said Monday. Vladimir Voronkov told the U.N. Security Council that Islamic State fighters move freely “in small cells between the two countries.” He said the Islamic State extremist group — also known as IS, ISIL and ISIS — has regrouped and its activity has increased not only in conflict zones like Iraq and Syria but also in some regional affiliates. “However, in non-conflict zones, the threat appears to have decreased in the short term,” he said. “Measures to minimize the spread of COVID-19, such as lockdowns and restrictions on movement, seem to have reduced the risk of terrorist attacks in many countries.” Nonetheless, Voronkov said, “there is a continued trend of attacks by individuals inspired online and acting alone or in small groups, which could be fueled by ISIL’s opportunistic propaganda efforts during the COVID-19 crisis.” He said the COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the challenges of eliminating the threat of terrorism, pointing to actions by IS and other terrorist groups seeking “to exploit the far-reaching disruption and negative socioeconomic and political impacts of the pandemic.”
Financial Times: Mali Is The Epicentre Of A Growing Extremist Threat
“Set alongside a global pandemic or an oncoming US presidential election, a coup in the poor west African state of Mali may not appear to matter very much. It matters a great deal. If Mali descends further into chaos, as is eminently possible, then what is already the epicentre of a jihadist threat in the vast semi-desert Sahel could become a launch pad for terrorism across west Africa and conceivably beyond. Mali has form. After the last coup in 2012, groups linked to al-Qaeda exploited the vacuum in power to take over much of the country’s north, including Timbuktu. Their ascendancy was aided by the earlier collapse of the Libyan regime of Muammer Gaddafi, which triggered an exodus to Mali both of fighters and caches of arms. Jihadis might have imposed sharia law on the whole country had it not been for a 2013 French military intervention and the restoration of civilian power in the same year through the election of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. Since then, a fragile (to put it politely) democracy has held — until last week when IBK, as he is known, was arrested by mid-ranking officers fancifully named the National Committee for the Salvation of the People. The ousted president was indeed a poor choice.”
Syria
Reuters: Syria Gas Pipeline Explosion “Almost Certainly” ISIS Strike -U.S. Envoy
“The United States is still looking into an explosion at a gas pipeline in Syria but the incident appears to bear the hallmarks of Islamic State, U.S. Syria envoy James Jeffrey said on Monday. The explosion on the Arab Gas Pipeline, which caused a power blackout in Syria on Monday, was the result of a “terrorist” attack, state media cited the nation’s energy minister as saying. “We are still looking into that. But it was almost certainly a strike by ISIS,” Jeffrey told reporters in Geneva at the start of U.N.-sponsored talks of the Syrian Constitutional Committee.”
“A day after Tehran admitted for the first time that last month’s explosion at its Natanz nuclear site was a deliberate act of sabotage, a giant explosion on Monday destroyed a major gas pipeline in Syria and cut off electricity for most of the country. Many in the region are quick to blame — or credit — Israel or the U.S. for the explosions, but few doubt recent events mark a significant escalation in the brazenness of such attacks and counterattacks…Last month, the group carried out at least 23 attacks in Syria alone, according to data compiled by the Counter Extremism Project. Those attacks were aimed mostly at forces loyal to Mr. Assad. Despite the group’s resurgence, no one has claimed responsibility for several attacks on Syria’s oil and gas infrastructure over the last several years. Syria is far from alone at a target for attempts to disrupt power infrastructure in the Middle East. Last month, a mysterious, roaring fire broke out at Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment site, about 150 miles south of the capital Tehran. Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) at the time acknowledged “significant” damage to the site, and over the weekend finally admitted the explosion was the result of “sabotage.” “Security investigations confirm this was sabotage and what is certain is that an explosion took place in Natanz,” spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi said on Sunday. “But how this explosion took place and with what materials security authorities will reveal in due time the reason behind the [Natanz] blast,” he was quoted by state news outlet IRNA.”
Iraq
Al Monitor: Iraqi Protesters Brace For More Violence In Wake Of Assassinations
“Violence against protesters in Iraq has been rising sharply in recent days, especially after Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi traveled to Washington for the second round of the country's strategic dialogue with the United States. Immediately after returning from the United States, Kadhimi traveled to Basra with a number of his ministers to follow up on the rising violence against protesters in the oil-rich southern province. He visited the family of Riham Yacoub, a female doctor and activist who was assassinated in Basra on Aug. 19. Speaking to Yacoub's family during his visit, Kadhimi said, “I swear by the blood of the martyr (Yacoub) that the criminals will not escape punishment no matter how long it takes, and that the blood of the martyr Hisham al-Hashimi and the martyr Tahseen Osama (a female activist killed in Basra by unidentified gunmen on Aug. 19) will not be wasted.” Kadhimi had made the same promise when he visited the family of murdered Iraqi analyst Hisham al-Hashimi on July. 6. No one has been charged with his killing, nor have the results of any investigation been released. This rise in the number of assassinations comes in conjunction with dissatisfaction expressed by some Iraqi militias with Kadhimi's trip to the United States and the lack of a timetable for the departure of US troops.”
Turkey
Associated Press: Turkey Detains IS Suspect Planning ‘Sensational’ Attack
“Police in Istanbul have detained a suspected Islamic State group militant who was allegedly planning a “sensational” attack in the city, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported Tuesday. Anadolu Agency said the suspect, identified by the initials H.S., was detained in an operation at a hotel in the low-income Kucukcekmece district. Police seized an automatic rifle, spare magazines and bullets during the raid, the report said. The suspect had scouted Istanbul’s main Taksim Square and surrounding areas with the aim of carrying out a “sensational” attack, Anadolu reported. He had illegally crossed into Turkey from Syria and made his way to Istanbul, the report said. It wasn’t immediately clear when the man was detained. Anadolu said the suspect has appeared before a court which ordered his formal arrest. It was the second time this month that police reportedly foiled possible attacks by the IS militants. Two weeks ago, police in northwestern Bursa province detained a suspected IS militant who was allegedly planning an attack on a police station. Turkey has suffered a string of attacks by Islamic State militants over the last five years, including an attack at an Istanbul nightclub during New Year’s celebrations in the early hours of 2017. The attack killed 39 people, most of them foreigners.”
Pakistan
Bloomberg: Pakistan Invites Taliban, China To Discuss Afghanistan Peace
“Pakistan has invited Taliban and Chinese leaders for talks in Islamabad to smooth the way for intra-Afghan negotiations aimed at bringing an end the 19-year war that’s ravaged Afghanistan. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said talks with a delegation of Taliban leaders would be held on Tuesday, to be followed by a visit by Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan, Liu Jian, to ensure a “coordinated and considered approach” toward peace. The dates for Liu’s visit have yet to be announced. “We can’t impose our decisions,” Qureshi told a news conference in Islamabad on Monday. “We acknowledge and respect Afghanistan’s sovereignty and we are trying to make progress in these engagements.” Qureshi didn’t give further details of the Taliban’s stay in Pakistan. The visit follows the U.S.-Taliban peace deal signed on Feb. 29, which included a prisoner swap between Kabul and the Taliban in the lead up to intra-Afghan talks. Since then only partial progress has been made on a key demand by the insurgent group for a prisoner swap -- up to 5,000 Taliban fighters for about 1,000 government troops. On Aug. 9, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he would free 400 hardened Taliban prisoners “in order to remove the obstacles to the start of peace talks, stop the bloodshed and serve the common good.” Their release has not yet occurred.”
Nigeria
Al Jazeera: More Than 1,100 Villagers Killed In Nigeria This Year: Amnesty
“More than 1,100 people have been killed in rural areas across several states of northern Nigeria amid an alarming escalation in attacks and abductions during the first half of the year, according to Amnesty International. “The Nigerian authorities have left rural communities at the mercy of rampaging gunmen who have killed at least 1,126 people in the north of the country since January,” the London-rights group said in a new report on Monday, giving a figure until the end of June. The killings, during attacks by “bandits” or armed cattle rustlers, and in clashes between herders and farming communities for access to land, have been recurrent for several years. Amnesty said it had interviewed civilians in Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba and Zamfara states, who reported living in fear of attacks and kidnappings. The rights watchdog said villages in the south of Kaduna state were affected the most, with at least 366 people killed in multiple attacks by armed men since January. “Terrifying attacks on rural communities in the north of Nigeria have been going on for years,” said Osai Ojigho, director of Amnesty International Nigeria. “The ongoing failure of security forces to take sufficient steps to protect villagers from these predictable attacks is utterly shameful,” he added.”
Somalia
Dalsan Radio: Somalia: Al-Shabaab Executes Four Men For Spying
“Alshabab militants have publicly executed four men on Sunday for spying for Somali intelligence agencies, Ethiopia, the U.S. and one working for the federal government according to the militants, which supports the Islamist group that's linked to al-Qaeda on the group in El-Adde of Gedo region. The extremist group said it had publicly executed Dini Abdiqadir Mohamed, Isse Osman Gelle, Adan Hassan Mohamed and Abdiaziz Hassan Abdi after they were reportedly found guilty by the local militant leader of spying in a what was described as a hurriedly constituted hearing held in front of residents and children. The executions follow recent precision attack that was carried out by US drones and killed Alshabab bomb maker in the vicinity of KunturWarey Lower Shabelle region on Thursday. The militants who are affiliated to Alqaeda control much territory in rural areas in Somalia and are fighting the internationally recognised central government since 2008 to establish Islamic Sharia-based in their own interpretation. The militants are known for killing suspected informers including those accused of spying for the U.S and the foreign countries.”
Africa
The Daily Beast: The Next Dangerous Front In ISIS’ Holy War
“In recent months, Islamist militant groups in Africa allied to the so-called Islamic State have been on the rampage—attacking communities, slaughtering aid workers and seizing important government assests. Since ISIS was squeezed out of its self-proclaimed caliphate in the Middle East last year, its offshoots—particularly those in West and Central Africa—seem to be waxing even stronger. In the last five months, about 100 Nigerian and Chadian soldiers have been killed in deadly attacks by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) around the Lake Chad region (an area in the Sahelian zone of west-central Africa with a freshwater lake at the conjunction of Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger). Since late July, the group has murdered several humanitarian workers in Nigeria and are suspected of slaughtering French aid workers in Niger. And after a series of attacks early this year in northwestern Nigeria, the Nigerian government was forced to admit last month that the terror group, which usually operates in the northeastern part of the country, does have a foothold in the northwest region.”
The Washington Times: Coup In Mali Coup Complicates U.S. Military Mission Fighting Terrorism
“A coup in the small West African nation of Mali is having an outsized impact on the Pentagon’s campaign to confront violent jihadi groups now flourishing in Africa. For the second time in less than a decade, soldiers from the Malian armed forces ousted their president in a military coup. The overthrow of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita last week seems certain to add to the political instability of a region where U.S., French and other forces are battling Islamic movements. Mr. Keita, now being held in detention by the soldiers who engineered the coup, won popular elections in 2013 and 2018, but his popularity took a nosedive after his government failed to rein in Islamic extremists in Mali’s north and the military faced punishing losses from the jihadis. Mali is strategically located at the heart of Africa’s troubled Sahel region, where jihadi groups have been expanding their influence. The coup was carried out as a time of questions about U.S. Africa Command and whether the Trump administration wanted to keep troops in the region as it tries to focus defense strategy on the challenge posed by China. After the coup, Pentagon officials cited their “long-standing partnership” with the Malian military in the campaign against terrorism, but that relationship is now in jeopardy.”
United Kingdom
BBC News: New IRA Investigation: Six Terror Suspects Appear In Court
“Six people have appeared in court charged under the Terrorism Act. They were arrested as part of a major PSNI and MI5 investigation into dissident republican group the New IRA. All six have been accused of belonging to a proscribed organisation and of directing terrorism. They are also charged with being at two meetings, both held in County Tyrone, with the intent of committing acts of terrorism. One of the meetings took place close to the townland of Creggan, the other about a mile from the village of Gortin. A senior police officer told the court that the two meetings were filmed and recorded by MI5, operating under the direction of the PSNI. The six were charged as part of Operation Arbacia, which is targeting the New IRA, an organisation considered to be the largest dissident republican group. So far, 10 people have been charged as part of the investigation. On Saturday, two men, one from Lurgan and the other from Derry, appeared in court. On Monday, a 49-year-old man from the Dungannon area and a 62-year-old man from Scotland became the ninth and 10th people to be charged. Both are due in court on Tuesday.”
BBC News: UK Drone Terror Attack Plotter Accused Acquitted
“A former chicken shop worker has been cleared of planning a drone terrorism attack after a trial at the Old Bailey. Hisham Muhammad, 26, was accused of having a stash of weapons and devising a contraption with lollipop sticks to drop a projectile from a small drone. He was arrested in June 2018 after his landlord became suspicious after seeing knives, a tub of wires and a soldering iron at his home in Bury. He had denied engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism. His cousin Faisal Abu Ahmad, 25, who lived with him in Victoria Avenue, Whitefield, was cleared of failing to disclose a plot to authorities. A jury last October failed to reach a verdict and following a retrial Mr Muhammad was found not guilty of preparing for an act of terrorism. He admitted making £8,000 from a fake escort agency, but said most of it was sent to his wife and family living in Senegal. The Old Bailey heard he had an interest in weapons and his collection included axes, bear-claws, a tomahawk, a machete, and Japanese “ninja eggs” packed with glass shards and chilli seeds. Mr Muhammad explained he liked to invent household gadgets, such as a “coconut hammer” and a “fly zapper”. The jury deliberated over four days before acquitting him of the terror charge.”
Southeast Asia
Associated Press: 14 Killed, 75 Wounded In Bomb Attacks In South Philippines
“Muslim militants allied with the Islamic State group set off a powerful motorcycle explosive followed by a suicide bombing that together killed 14 people on Monday, many of them soldiers, in the worst extremist attack in the Philippines this year, military officials said. At least 75 soldiers, police and civilians were wounded in the midday bombings in Jolo town in southern Sulu province, regional military commander Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan said. The bombings were staged as the government grapples with the highest number of coronavirus infections in Southeast Asia. Vinluan said most of the victims, including children, were killed and wounded in the first attack, when a bomb attached to a motorcycle exploded near two parked army trucks in front of a grocery store and computer shop in Jolo. “It was a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device which exploded while our soldiers were on a marketing run,” Vinluan told reporters. A second blast, apparently from a female suicide attacker, occurred about an hour later and killed the bomber, a soldier, a police commando and wounded several others, a military report said. It said the suspected bomber walked out of a snack shop, approached soldiers who were securing a Roman Catholic cathedral and “suddenly blew herself up.”
Technology
“Right-wing American extremists and white supremacist groups are adopting the same ISIS-favored ways to attract and radicalize their members online, according to a new study. Under Trump, extreme right-wing and white nationalist groups have grown and felt emboldened to emerge from their historic shadows into public fora. But online, in the past year their methods appear to have been borrowed, or at least mimic, how violent jihadists around the world recruit and reach their own members. “While ISIS is a well-established and centralized group with a hierarchical organizational structure, the [tactics, techniques, and procedures] they leverage to organize, recruit, incite action, and disseminate information online appear to have been adopted by several emergent radical domestic groups in the United States,” says the new report from data analytics company Babel Street, obtained exclusively by Defense One. Researchers looked at several groups with various beliefs, structures, and intensities, including the Atomwaffen Division, a fairly closed neo-Nazi group, and the Not Fucking Around Coalition, or NFAC, is a heavily-armed, anti-government group with a strong central, charismatic leader who produces podcasts and daily messages for members.”
The Herald: Zimbabwe: Interpol Warns Of Online Terrorist Threat
“The International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) has urged member states to be wary of terrorists and rogue elements using social media to spread propaganda and advertise weapons, among other criminal activities. To assist police across Africa in understanding the ways in which criminals leverage social media and how to incorporate social media into their criminal investigations, Interpol held a virtual workshop on “Social Media and Law Enforcement” for 37 officers from 13 African countries. Organised by Interpol's Regional Counter-Terrorism Nodes in Africa, the recent two-day meeting reviewed how countries can engage Interpol for investigative and operational support in cases with a social media element. While the focus was on counter-terrorism investigations and the role of Interpol's Terrorism Online Presence unit, other types of crime known to have online elements were also discussed. The workshop explored the role of social media in police investigations, how to request assistance, restrictions on data sharing and other legal considerations. Interpol enables police in 194-member countries to work together to fight international crime and Zimbabwe has been a member since November 1980."
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