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Eye on Extremism
August 26, 2020
Voice Of America: US Criticizes Turkey For Hosting Hamas Leaders
“The Trump administration says it strongly objects to Turkey’s recent hosting of two leaders of Hamas, which the United States regards as a terrorist group. “President Erdogan’s continued outreach to this terrorist organization only serves to isolate Turkey from the international community, harms the interests of the Palestinian people, and undercuts global efforts to prevent terrorist attacks launched from Gaza,” a State Department statement said Tuesday. It pointed out that one of the Hamas members who was in Istanbul is alleged to have been involved in multiple terrorist attacks, hijackings, and kidnappings. “We continue to raise our concerns about the Turkish government’s relationship with Hamas at the highest levels,” it adds. Turkey is dismissing the U.S. criticism. “Declaring the legitimate representative of Hamas, who came to power after winning democratic elections in Gaza and is an important reality of the region, as a terrorist will not be of any contribution to efforts for peace and stability in the region,” its foreign ministry said. This is the second time since February Turkey has played host to Hamas leaders, the United States says.”
Associated Press: Israel Attacks Hezbollah Posts After Shots Fired At Soldiers
“Israeli attack helicopters struck observation posts of the militant Hezbollah group along the Lebanon border overnight after shots were fired at Israeli troops operating in the area, the military said Wednesday. It said no Israeli forces were wounded, and there were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage in Lebanon. Earlier, Israeli troops fired flares and smoke shells along the heavily guarded border. The military also ordered civilians in nearby communities to shelter in place and blocked roads near the border. Those restrictions were lifted early Wednesday. The incident took place near the northern town of Manara. Israel has been bracing for a possible attack by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah since an Israeli airstrike killed a Hezbollah fighter in neighboring Syria last month. On July 27, the Israeli military said it had thwarted an infiltration attempt by Hezbollah militants in a battle that raged for more than an hour. Neither side reported any casualties and the Iran-backed Hezbollah denied involvement. Israel considers Hezbollah to be its toughest and most immediate threat. After battling Israel to a stalemate during a monthlong war in 2006, Hezbollah is believed to be far stronger today.”
Foreign Policy: U.S. And Sudan Near Pact To Compensate American Terrorism Victims
“The Trump administration has reached an agreement in principle with Sudan’s new transitional government to settle a series of long-standing claims by American terrorism victims, laying the groundwork for the country’s removal from the U.S. list of states that sponsor terrorism, officials and congressional aides familiar with the matter told Foreign Policy. The deal—which has yet to be finalized—requires Sudan’s fledgling civilian-led government to deposit $335 million in an escrow account for the families of victims of terrorist attacks that the former Sudanese regime played a role in supporting two decades ago. The attacks covered in the agreement are the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania and the 2000 terrorist attack against the USS Cole. It would not address claims of families of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in Washington and New York. If finalized, the arrangement would help restore Sudan’s standing in the international community and allow for outside investment and aid for the country’s ailing economy. It would also pave the way for further normalization of U.S. relations with Sudan and amount to a political victory for Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, whose fragile transitional government faces mounting pressure since the 2019 revolution that ousted the longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir.”
United States
Associated Press: Wisconsin Woman Sentenced For Trying To Help Islamic State
“A Wisconsin woman accused of trying to plan terrorist attacks using hacked social media accounts has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison. Waheba Issa Dais, 48, of Cudahy, pleaded guilty last year to one count of providing material support to terrorists. She was sentenced Monday to 90 months in prison. Prosecutors say the mother of seven tried to recruit people to carry out attacks for the Islamic State, and provided them with information on how to make explosives and poisons, including a detailed recipe for the toxin Ricin. The FBI said its investigation found that Dais used hacked social media accounts to discuss possible attacks with self-proclaimed members of the Islamic State group, Authorities never connected her to any attack plots, but U.S. Attorney Matthew Krueger noted the seriousness of her crimes in a statement released Tuesday. “Dais not only personally pledged her allegiance to a terrorist organization but took steps designed to help others cause death and destruction around the world,” Krueger said.”
The Hill: House Democrats Request Briefing On Seizure Of Terrorist Cryptocurrency Assets
“Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) asked the Trump administration on Monday to provide more details on the recent seizure of cryptocurrency assets of several major terrorist groups. The request came two weeks after the Justice Department announced that the federal government had seized and dismantled cryptocurrency efforts of al Qaeda, ISIS and the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing. The cyber-enabled cryptocurrency schemes used social media to raise money for the groups that included using the COVID-19 pandemic to raise funds. Cleaver, the chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy, and Gottheimer, a member of the subcommittee, requested that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Attorney General William Barr brief the subcommittee on the operation. “It is vital that Members of the Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy receive a briefing, at the appropriate classification level, on this action, the largest ever seizure of online terrorist financing, from the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury on this investigation,” Cleaver and Gottheimer wrote.”
Afghanistan
Reuters: Three Killed, 41 Wounded In Taliban Truck Bomb In Afghanistan
“Taliban insurgents set off a truck bomb on Tuesday in an attack on Afghan army commandos, killing three people and wounding 41, the defence ministry said, despite steps towards peace talks with the U.S.-backed government. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast in the northern province of Balkh, saying on Twitter they had attacked the commandos. The defence ministry said two members of the commando force were killed and six wounded, while the rest of the casualties were civilians. The blast came as a Taliban delegation visited the Pakistani capital to discuss a peace process underpinned by an agreement between the Taliban and the United States on the withdrawal of U.S. forces in exchange for Taliban security guarantees and a promise to open power-sharing talks with the government. But despite what many Afghans see as the best hope for peace since the latest phase of Afghanistan’s war began in 2001, the level of violence has remained high. Diplomats and officials say the violence is sapping the trust needed for talks. The government has asked repeatedly for a ceasefire before negotiations start in Qatar’s capital of Doha, a request the Taliban have refused.”
Pakistan
Reuters: Pakistan Eager To See Taliban Start Dialogue With Kabul: Foreign Minister
“Pakistan urged the Taliban on Tuesday to start talks soon with the Afghan government to end decades of conflict, telling visiting officials of the group that an intra-Afghan dialogue could help ensure regional stability. The meeting between Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and a Taliban team comes as Afghanistan’s peace process has stalled over disagreements on a prisoner exchange. “Pakistan is eager to see an intra-Afghan dialogue start soon to ensure regional peace and stability,” Qureshi said in a statement after meeting a delegation led by the head of the Taliban’s political office Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. Talks between the Taliban and an Afghan-government mandated committee were to be held in the Qatari capital Doha following the completion of the prisoner exchange between the two sides. But the completion of the swap has been delayed by disagreements between the Taliban and the Afghan government. There are also concerns over rising violence, which diplomats say is sapping trust needed for the talks. The insurgent group has so far rejected implementing a ceasefire before the talks start. “We deliberated on the complications, and what could be their solution,” Qureshi said in a short media briefing, where no question was taken.”
India
Reuters: India Charges 19, Including 7 Pakistanis, Over Kashmir Bombing
“India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) charged 19 people, including 7 Pakistani nationals, on Tuesday over a deadly bomb attack on a security convoy in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir last year. The bombing on Feb. 14, 2019 killed 40 paramilitary policemen, leading to aerial clashes between India and Pakistan, two long-time, nuclear-armed rivals. Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the attack. On Monday, the NIA said four of the seven Pakistani nationals charged in the attack were at large, while the other three had been killed in separate clashes with security forces. “The charge sheet has brought on record the all-out involvement of Pakistan-based entities (in) carry(ing) out terrorist strikes in India and to incite and provoke Kashmiri youth,” an NIA statement said. The other 12 accused are local residents of Indian Kashmir, some of whom have been killed in clashes, some arrested with the rest missing. One of the accused, a 20-year-old man from Kashmir’s capital city Srinagar, ordered 4 kilograms (8.8 pounds) of aluminium powder on Amazon to help his accomplices make explosives used in the attack, according to the NIA.”
Yemen
The Defense Post: Al-Qaeda Blows Up Yemen Clinic After Executing Dentist
“Al-Qaeda blew up a medical center in war-torn Yemen on Tuesday, 10 days after executing a dentist it accused of guiding US drone strikes against its militants. The clinic in the Somaa district of Al-Baida province was where the dentist worked before his execution, a local official told AFP. The jihadists shot Motthar al-Youssoufi, then crucified his body and left it outside the health center on August 15. On Tuesday, they blew up the clinic. 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. Washington has carried out a drone campaign against its leaders for the past two decades. But the Sunni extremist group has thrived in the chaos of civil war between Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and Shiite rebels who control the capital Sanaa.”
Lebanon
The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Won’t Send Aid To Lebanese Government Over Terror-Finance Concerns
“The Trump administration is worried humanitarian aid for Lebanon will end up in the hands of U.S.-designated terror group Hezbollah if routed through the government in Beirut, according to senior U.S. officials. The U.S. and other countries have shipped emergency food and medical supplies to Beirut in the wake of the blast earlier this month that razed much of Beirut’s downtown, but officials in Washington are adamant about using alternative channels for further aid to ensure its contributions aren’t used by the group…The U.S. will “be there with the immediate humanitarian emergency help that any human being would want to offer at a moment of stress like this,” Mr. Hale told journalists in a briefing. “But for the kind of substantial assistance that the Lebanese are asking for in order to restructure their finances and their economy, it’s going to take leadership that’s committed to these deep reforms that we’ve been talking to the Lebanese about for years now.” U.S. officials are particularly concerned that Hezbollah’s expansive role in a government that is plagued by corruption would mean the Iran-backed group would benefit from humanitarian supplies and financing funded by American taxpayers.”
“A Lebanese man convicted in the 2005 killing of former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri was part of a dedicated hit squad that carried out at least four other assassinations under orders from the militant group Hezbollah, current and former security officials said, citing previously undisclosed intelligence about the case. The assassinations team, known as Unit 121, is controlled by Hezbollah’s top leadership and had already been active for years under different identities when on Feb. 14, 2005, operatives detonated the bomb that killed Hariri and 21 others on a seaside avenue in Beirut, the officials said. Details about the still-active hit squad were provided by current and former security officials from the United States and three European and Middle Eastern countries who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence about the assassination and its aftermath. The revelations come a week after a U.N.-backed international tribunal ended its 11-year investigation of the murder with a guilty verdict for Salim Jamil Ayyash, a 56-year-old Hezbollah operative and accused co-conspirator in the assassination. But the panel found no conclusive evidence linking Hezbollah’s leadership to Hariri’s killing.”
Somalia
Dalsan Radio: Somalia: Somali Forces Kill Three Al-Shabaab Militans In Middle Shabelle
“The U.S trained Somali forces unit Danab have killed three Alshabab militants in El-Gellow in a special operation conducted in middle Shabelle on Sunday. Osman Abdimalik Malim, a special forces (Danab) commander, told the military radio that Somali forces killed the militants while planting landmine in the road. “During the operation we killed three militants and destroyed landmines they were planting on the road,” he said. He said that the operation will continue until the group is wiped out of the region. The latest operation comes came barely three days after the Somali security forces killed 10 Alshabab militants in another operation in the outskirts of Bosaso town in the northern region of Bari region. 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.”
Mali
Associated Press: French Troops Stay In Mali After Coup, No End In Sight
“It was a picture postcard meant to portray unity in the vast and fragile lands that once were French colonies: President Emmanuel Macron standing with the leaders of five West African countries where France has spearheaded a counter-terrorism war since 2013. “We are all convinced that victory is possible,” Macron said at the summit in Mauritania. That was less than two months ago. Today, one of the five leaders has fallen. Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, the president of Mali — the country at the center of the battle against Islamist extremists — was ousted last week in a coup d’etat. But an unflinching Macron is pressing on, refusing to withdraw France’s 5,100 troops from West Africa, even though extremist attacks have multiplied and victory looks like a mirage in the crescent-shaped sand dunes for which France’s Operation Barkhane is named. “Operation Barkhane ... continues,” French Defense Minister Florence Parly tweeted last week, after the bloodless coup in Mali by a clutch of military officers who detained Keita and his prime minister.”
Africa
“The government of Mozambique is expected to launch an attack to regain control of the strategic Mocímboa da Praia port after it was captured by Islamic extremists earlier this month. Analysts say the Islamic State Central African Province showed previously unseen levels of organization and weaponry during the skirmish that saw the group seize the port earlier this month, according to the Associated Press. The conflict in the northeast province of Cabo Delgado is quickly unfolding into “yet another insurgency hotspot,” the Associated Press reported. “The fall of Mocímboa da Praia is a major strategic victory for the insurgents,” said Eric Morier-Genoud, a historian at Queen’s University Belfast. “They took five days to capture the town and its port.” The extremists consider themselves an affiliate group of the Islamic State and first began their assault in 2017, The Washington Post reported. Mozambique has seen the largest increase in Islamic extremist violence globally with more than 1,500 people reportedly dead and an additional 250,000 reportedly displaced, according to the Washington Post. The insurgency also threatens a potentially lucrative natural gas industry in Mozambique.”
United Kingdom
BBC News: Man From Surrey Charged With Right-Wing Terror Offences
“A man accused of right-wing terror offences posted videos celebrating the Christchurch mosques terror attack, a court heard. Michael Nugent, 37, from Surrey, is accused of sharing “extreme ideology”, including a manifesto published by the Christchurch mosque attacker. He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court charged with 12 offences. Mr Nugent spoke via videolink only to confirm his name and date of birth during a five-minute hearing. He was said in court to have shared the manifesto of Brenton Tarrant, who is being sentenced in New Zealand for killing 51 worshippers at two mosques last year. He is also accused of posting a video of the Christchurch terror attack on its one-year anniversary in March. Mr Nugent, of Parkland Grove, Ashford, Surrey, is charged with two counts of encouraging terrorism, one of disseminating a terrorist publication about how to carry out a silent assassination, and nine counts of collecting information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism. He was remanded in custody by deputy chief magistrate Tan Ikram until 2 October, when he will appear before the Old Bailey.”
Europe
Middle East Monitor: Switzerland Considers Banning Hezbollah
“Switzerland is considering banning the Iranian-backed Shia group, Hezbollah, after the country’s federal council agreed last week to review a report investigating the group’s activities within its borders. The application was submitted by Marianne Binder, a politician in the Christian Democratic People’s Party of Switzerland and is titled, “Report on the activities of the Shi’ite Islamist Hezbollah in Switzerland”. The application, according to a report by the Jerusalem Post, could lead to a complete ban on Hezbollah in Switzerland with the organisation’s access to bank accounts and assets seized and frozen. Calling for the ban, Binder’s application argues that, “in view of the neutrality of Switzerland, however, the activities of Hezbollah cannot be legitimised, and a report is also advisable for reasons of security policy.” The initiative, which was first submitted in June, was quoted by the Jerusalem Post as citing Germany’s decision to ban Hezbollah’s military and political arms in late April as a catalyst for Switzerland to consider a similar move.”
Southeast Asia
Jakarta Globe: Indonesia Leads UN Security Council Meeting On Islamic State Threat
“UN Security Council President Dian Triansyah Djani of Indonesia presided over a meeting on the threat posed by terror network Islamic State to international security and peace on Monday. Indonesia holds the rotating presidency of the Council for the month. The video-teleconference discussed a recent report by Secretary-General António Guterres regarding the issue and UN efforts in support of member states in countering the threat. Vladimir Voronkov, the head of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, told Council members that the Islamic State and other terrorist groups continued to pose a serious threat to the global security during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Since the start of the year, we have seen contrasting regional disparities in the threat trajectory. In conflict zones, the threat has increased, as evidenced by ISIL’s regrouping and increasing activity in Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic, and among some of its regional affiliates,” Voronkov told the conference, using another acronym of the terror network. “However, in non-conflict zones, the threat appears to have decreased in the short term. 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,” he added.”
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