Eye on Extremism
September 4, 2019
Haaretz:
Israel Uncovers Hezbollah Precision Missile Site In
Lebanon
“The Israeli army announced Tuesday that it identified a Hezbollah
precision missile development and enhancement site, which is operated
in partnership with Iran. The Shi'ite group has begun evacuating the
site over the past several days out of fear of strikes in the area,
the Israeli army stated. According to the Israel Defense Forces, the
Hezbollah project was intended to improve the organization's crude
missiles, so that they could reach a range of over 100 kilometers (62
miles), and their strike radius will be up to ten meters from the
intended target. The compound, the IDF says, is located near Nabi Chit
in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. It is an area that has recently been
serving as an assembly line for precision weapons, and transfers of
equipment needed for the project have been observed there. The
equipment, the army claims, was cleared out in past days to civilian
areas throughout Lebanon, including in Beirut.”
The
New York Daily News: Terrorist Turncoat Became An ISIS Sniper:
Indictment
“An alleged terrorist turncoat was indicted Tuesday on charges that
he betrayed his American citizenship to provide material support to
the ruthless ISIS network. A five-count indictment was filed in
Brooklyn Federal Court said Ruslan Maratovich Asainov, a naturalized
American citizen who was living in Brooklyn, was giving weapons
training to terrorists overseas, and had become an ISIS sniper bent on
dying on the battlefield. Officials said Asainov, 43, was born in
Kazakhstan, and lived in Brooklyn between 1998 and 2013. Prosecutors
said Asainov joined ISIS in 2013 after using a one-way ticket to
travel to Turkey, a common way station for entry into Syria. In March
2015, Asainov asked a confidential informant to send him approximately
$2,800 so he could purchase a scope for his rifle, according to the
indictment. Asainov subsequently sent the informant two pictures of
himself holding an assault rifle fitted with a scope. Asainov messaged
one individual, exclaiming in reference to ISIS, “we are the worst
terrorist organization in the world that has ever existed,” and added
that he wished to die on the battlefield. Asainov was detained in
Syria and later brought him back to Brooklyn. If convicted, he faces a
maximum sentence of life in prison.”
TIME:
The Taliban Has Defended A Kabul Suicide Bombing That Killed At Least
16 People
“The Taliban on Tuesday defended their suicide bombing against an
international compound in the Afghan capital that killed at least 16
people and wounded 119, almost all local civilians, just hours after a
U.S. envoy said he and the militant group had reached a deal “in
principle” to end America’s longest war. Angry Kabul residents whose
homes were shredded in the explosion climbed over the buckled blast
wall and set part of the compound, a frequent Taliban target, on fire.
Thick smoke rose from the Green Village, home to several foreign
organizations and guesthouses, whose location has become a peril to
nearby local residents as well. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis
condemned the attack, “which, unfortunately, ended the life of a
Romanian citizen and seriously wounded another one. I reiterate our
profound commitment to combating terrorism at the international
level.” “People were screaming and saying, ‘My children are trapped in
the rubble,'“ one witness, Faiz Ahmad, said. A large crater was left
in the street from a tractor packed with explosives. Five attackers
were killed in the Monday night attack and some 400 foreigners
rescued, Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said.”
ABC
News: UN Rights Chief: 1,000 Civilians Dead In Syria Over 4
Months
“The U.N. human rights chief says her office has tallied more than
1,000 civilian deaths in Syria over the last four months, the majority
of them due to airstrikes and ground attacks by President Bashar
Assad's forces and their allies. Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. High
Commissioner for Human Rights, says 1,089 civilians were killed in the
war-battered country between April 29 and August 29, including 304
children. She said nearly all — 1,031 — were reportedly attributable
to government forces and their allies in Idlib and Hama provinces.
Another 58 were caused by "non-state actors." Bachelet was speaking to
reporters in Geneva on Wednesday to go over her first year in office.
Idlib province, near Syria's border with Turkey, is the final
stronghold of the rebels in Syria.”
The
Wall Street Journal: U.S. Sanctions Iran’s Space Agency After Failed
Launch
“The State Department imposed sanctions against Iran’s space
program on Tuesday following a failed attempt to launch a rocket last
week, which the U.S. suspects was an effort to advance its ballistic
missile program. The failed launch drew tweets from President Trump,
who posted a photo of the failure and said the U.S. didn’t have any
role in the incident. In a statement, the State Department said the
new sanctions are the first to target Iran’s civilian space agency. It
said the technologies used to launch rockets are virtually identical
to those used to test intercontinental ballistic missiles. Iran said
its space efforts are peaceful. “This is simply another in a long line
of illegal U.S. economic terrorism imposed on Iran in defiance of UNSC
Resolution 2231, and which will have no effect on our development of
peaceful space and satellite technologies,” said Alireza Miryousefi,
spokesman for Iran’s mission to the United Nations.”
CNBC:
Senator Says Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg Should Face ‘Possibility Of A
Prison Term’
“U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), in an interview with Willamette
Week, suggested that Mark Zuckerberg should face a prison term for
lying to American citizens about Facebook’s privacy lapses. “Mark
Zuckerberg has repeatedly lied to the American people about privacy,”
Senator Wyden said in the interview. “I think he ought to be held
personally accountable, which is everything from financial fines to —
and let me underline this — the possibility of a prison term. Because
he hurt a lot of people. And, by the way, there is a precedent for
this: In financial services, if the CEO and the executives lie about
the financials, they can be held personally accountable.” An editor’s
note from Willamette Week cited a professor from the University of
Oregon, Tim Gleason, who said “the likelihood of criminal action is
rather slim.” Zuckerberg has dodged shareholder questions about
whether he would be willing to step down as Facebook CEO or chairman.
Senator Wyden introduced a bill in 2018, the Consumer Data Protection
Act, that would give the FTC power to crack down harder on companies
who violate consumer privacy. The bill says executives could face up
to 20 years in prison and up to a $5 million personal fine.”
United States
The
New York Times: Retracing A Young Man’s Path To
Extremism
“What drives a young man to leave the safety of his country and
move to the Middle East? I never thought I’d have to consider this
question in a personal way. But then in 2013 my young friend abruptly
disappeared from his home in Germany. Six weeks later, he emailed his
mother from Syria. He had joined a group of Salafist extremists there.
He tried to reassure her: “I didn’t leave to get away from you,
remember that,” he said. We later learned that he had died. The boy
was like a little brother to me. Our families lived in the same small
town, and I met him when he was just 8. My family and I spent a lot of
time with him until I went away to college. He disappeared right after
he turned 21. His mother still lives in my old town today. I see her
angry, sad and full of self-doubt. She futilely searched for answers.
Then one day, she got a letter from a lawyer. The lawyer’s client had
fought with my friend in the same group in Syria, and then was
arrested on terrorism charges on a trip home to Germany. Now he was in
prison and wanted to meet my friend’s mother. He wrote to her: “One
thing you have to believe: We went with good intentions.” We went to
visit him in prison.”
CBS
Los Angeles: ‘Terrorist’ Bomb Threat Forces Evacuations, Cancels
Classes At Cerritos College
“A suspect has been detained in connection with a bomb threat which
forced evacuations at Cerritos College in Norwalk Tuesday, and later
prompted the school to cancel classes for the day. Just before 2 p.m.,
the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported that a suspect
had been detained and all remaining classes for the day had been
canceled. The all-clear was given around 2:10 p.m. and the campus was
declared safe. The incident began nearly two hours earlier, when
Cerritos College first reported that it had received a possible threat
focused in the “drop-off area near the Administrative Building” at the
campus in the 11000 block of Alondra Boulevard. It all started when a
suspect “walked into one of our classrooms and said that he was a
terrorist and had a bomb with him,” college President Jose Fierro
said. The threat prompted some evacuations and a campus-wide
shelter-in-place order. “This is not a drill,” the college tweeted.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene and students, faculty and
staff of some buildings were evacuated, while others were told to
shelter in place. The suspect’s name was not immediately released. It
was unknown whether the person is a student at the college.”
SF
Gate: SF Board Of Supervisors Declare National Rifle Association A
Domestic Terrorist Organization
“The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution on
Tuesday declaring that the National Rifle Association is a domestic
terrorist organization. The officials also urged other cities, states
and the federal government to follow suit. District 2
Supervisor Catherine Stefani wrote the resolution and shared her
thoughts on the NRA with KTVU. “The NRA has it coming to them,” she
said. “And I will do everything I possibly can to call them out on
what they are, which is a domestic terrorist organization.” After
citing some statistics about gun violence in the United States – like
that there's been more than one mass shooting per day in the country
in 2019 – Stefani got local with how gun violence has impact the Bay
Area. She cited the shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival on July 28,
referencing Stephen Romero, Keyla Salazar and Trevor Irby, who were
killed by gunman Santino William Legan in what she called a “senseless
act of gun violence that day.” Later in the resolution, which the
board passed unanimously, the NRA is blamed for causing gun violence.
“The National Rifle Association musters its considerable wealth and
organizational strength to promote gun ownership and incite gun owners
to acts of violence,” the resolution reads.”
Syria
The
Washington Post: At A Sprawling Tent Camp In Syria, ISIS Women Impose
A Brutal Rule
“The woman told aid workers it was an accident. Her 14-year-old
daughter had slipped and fallen, she said. There was nothing they
could have done. But the body told a different story. The girl’s neck
had been broken in three places, doctors said, and she died with eyes
open, biting her lips and struggling to breathe. Photos and medical
records suggested she had been beaten about the torso, then strangled.
It was murder, not a misstep. The teen, an Azerbaijani girl who had
lived until earlier this year with her mother under the Islamic
State’s rule, had run afoul of the die-hard ISIS adherents who have
come in the past few months to dominate parts of the al-Hol
displacement camp here in northeastern Syria, according to camp
residents. They said she had suggested dispensing with her black
niqab, the face covering worn by ultraconservative Muslim women. Half
a year after the territorial defeat of the Islamic State, the vast
sprawl of tents at the al-Hol camp is becoming a cauldron of
radicalization. About 20,000 women and 50,000 children who had lived
under the caliphate are held in dire conditions at the camp, which is
operated and guarded by 400 U.S.-supported Kurdish troops.”
Voice
Of America: Despair, Extremism Fester Among Islamic State
Wives
“Five years ago, Sara left her home in Iraq with her husband to
join what was then, for many, a hopeful idea: a new country of the
faithful, the Islamic State. “There was no question that I should
join,” says Sara, after placing a black veil over her face. “I am
Muslim.” In the years that followed, Sara enjoyed life under IS's
rigid religious strictures, seemingly oblivious to the terror group's
horrific actions elsewhere and comfortable among her like-minded
neighbors in Iraq and later Syria. But when Syrian and coalition
forces started closing in on the group, she and her two sons were
forced to flee airstrikes over and over again, finally surrendering
six months ago in Baghuz, IS’s last stronghold. Now she lives in a
squalid camp in Syria, packed with women and children that some locals
derisively call an “Islamic State camp.” Security officials warn that
many of the women here were married to the most indoctrinated IS
fighters, and that the residents are still living—and sometimes
dying—by IS rules. Sara says her husband was arrested after they fled
the airstrikes that killed her two older sons in Baghuz, the town
where IS lost their last sliver of land in March. She is not accused
of a specific crime herself, but she is not free to leave the
camp.”
Associated
Press: Kurdish Official: Syria’s ‘Safe Zone’ Off To A Good
Start
“The creation of a so-called “safe zone” in northeastern Syria has
gotten off to good start, with U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces pulling
back from a small, initial area along the Turkish border, a Syrian
Kurdish official said — but calm can only prevail if Turkey also
removes its troops. Ilham Ahmed, co-chair of the executive committee
of the U.S-backed Syrian Democratic Council, said the understanding
reached between Washington and Ankara last month, and in coordination
with the Syrian Kurdish-led forces, constitutes a step toward starting
a dialogue over mutual security concerns. “We seek to find a way to
dialogue, and starting to implement this plan expresses our readiness
and seriousness,” Ahmed said in an interview Tuesday with The
Associated Press.”
The
Jerusalem Post: Iran Building Large-Scale Military Base In
Syria
“Iran is building a major military base near the Syrian-Iraqi
border town of Al-Bukamal to hold thousands of troops and precision
missiles, Fox News reported on Tuesday. According to the report, the
secret project, called the Imam Ali compound, was approved by top
leadership in Tehran and is being completed by Iran’s Revolutionary
Guard Corps’ Quds Forces. The large military base, being constructed
near the Al-Bukamal border crossing with Iraq is said to be less than
300 km. from an American military position. “The construction of the
new military compound began in recent months and is in advanced stages
of construction,” read a report by ImageSat International (ISI) which
reviewed the images. “It is probable that the base construction will
be completed over the next few months and will be operational shortly
afterwards.” At least five different newly constructed buildings
surrounded by large dirt mounds could house precision missiles, Fox
said. The other 10 less fortified storehouses in the base will likely
store ammunition.”
Iran
Associated
Press: US Hits Iran Space Agency With Sanctions Over Missile
Work
“The Trump administration imposed sanctions Tuesday on Iran’s space
agency for the first time, accusing it of developing ballistic
missiles under the cover of a civilian program to launch satellites
into orbit. The sanctions announced by the State and Treasury
departments targeting the agency and two of its affiliates follow the
explosion Thursday of a rocket at Iran’s Imam Khomeini Space Center in
what an Iranian official said was a technical malfunction during a
test. Following the explosion, President Donald Trump tweeted a
surveillance image depicting the apparent aftermath of the incident
and declared that the U.S. had nothing to do with what transpired at
the launch site. With the latest sanctions, the Trump administration
can subject foreign companies and governments, including international
space cooperation organizations, to penalties if they have any
involvement with the Iranian space agency. They would also freeze any
of the agency’s assets in U.S. jurisdictions, though there aren’t
likely to be any given the state of relations between the two
nations.”
Fox
News: Iranian Oil Tanker Nears Coast Of Syria As Captain Refuses To
Cooperate With Delivery, Sources Say
“The Adrian Darya 1, the Iranian oil tanker that the U.S. has
pursued for several days, is now fewer than 10 nautical miles from the
shores of Syria, intelligence sources tell Fox News. The captain of
the vessel, Akhilesh Kumar, has been refusing to cooperate with a
planned oil delivery and has asked to be dismissed or replaced, the
sources added. The ship, formerly known as the Grace 1, turned off its
tracking systems as it sailed toward Syria on Monday afternoon. By
entering Syrian waters, the vessel was defying a commitment to the
United Kingdom that allowed its release after it was detained in the
Strait of Gibraltar. The ship has been carrying 2.1 million barrels of
Iranian crude oil worth around $130 million. On Friday, the Treasury
Department hit the tanker and its captain with sanctions, among the
latest punishments targeting Iran's energy industry.”
The
Independent: Anxiety As Iran Nuclear Deadline Approaches And Tehran
Hints At Increased Uranium Enrichment
“Iran has suggested it could boost its enrichment of uranium to 20
per cent purity, a level that alarms nuclear arms specialists because
it is considered a relatively easy jump to weapons-grade material. “If
Iran decides, it can have 20 per cent enriched fuel within one to two
days,” the Fars news agency quoted Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of
Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, as saying. The comment came two
days before a much-anticipated deadline set by Tehran for the latest
escalation of its nuclear programme in response to crippling sanctions
imposed by the US following its withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal,
the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Diplomats were on edge
as Iran prepares to announce a possible escalation of its nuclear
programme on Thursday, with the French president, Emmanuel Macron,
scrambling to come up with a deal to salvage the JCPOA.”
Iraq
New
York Post: ISIS Is Now Weaponizing Cows With
Explosives
“Add animal rights activists to the ever-growing list of ISIS
haters — following reports that the fiends had weaponized a pair of
cows by turning them into explosives-laden booby traps that killed a
civilian. The bovines were strapped with explosive belts and were
headed toward a military checkpoint in Diyala province when Iraqi
soldiers opened fire and “blew them up,” killing a bystander,
according to a report on the Kurdish language Rudaw news website, the
Independent reported. A local official, Sadiq Husseini, told the
Kurdish outlet that the incident “shows that the group has lost the
ability to recruit young people and would-be suicide bombers, instead
they are using cattle.” Diyala province is home to Kurds, Sunnis and
Shias and is at the heart of a dispute between the Kurdistan Regional
Government and Iraq, with both claiming ownership, Fox News reported.
ISIS has taken advantage of the dispute and worked to re-establish
itself after losing most of the territory it had held under its
so-called caliphate. ISIS holds a “durable support zone” and has
“increased its attack tempo against security forces, local tribal
figures and commercial sites,” according to the Institute for the
Study of War. Terrorists have used animals to carry out their cowardly
attacks in the past.”
Iraqi
News: Iraqi Intelligence Kill 9 Islamic State Militants In
Mosul
“Nine Islamic State militants were killed Tuesday during a
counter-terrorism operation in Mosul city, a senior security official
said. “Intelligence forces, in coordination with the Nineveh
Operations Command, killed nine IS terrorists hiding inside a tunnel
in al-Sahaji village, southwest of Mosul,” Brig. Gen. Yahia Rasool,
spokesman for the Joint Operations Command, said in a press statement.
The troops were backed by warplanes of the U.S.-led international
coalition, the spokesman added. Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic
State’s territorial influence in November 2017 with the recapture of
Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the
group’s last bastion in Iraq. IS declared a self-styled “caliphate” in
a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014. A government campaign,
backed by a U.S.-led international coalition and paramilitary forces,
was launched in 2016 to retake IS-held regions, managing to retake all
havens, most notably the city of Mosul, the group’s previously
proclaimed capital.”
Turkey
Voice
Of America: Turkey Bracing For New Jihadi Threat
“Thousands of jihadis are set to seek sanctuary in Turkey with
Damascus' forces laying siege to Idlib, the last Syrian rebel enclave.
With Damascus determined to take control of all of Syria, analysts
warn it's only a matter of time before Turkey faces an exodus of not
only refugees, but also the arrival of extremist fighters, posing a
significant security threat to the country. Syrian government forces
are steadily tightening their grip on Idlib province, the last pocket
of the rebel resistance. It's estimated about 3 million Syrians are
holed up in the enclave, of which half have fled fighting in other
parts of Syria. “It poses a huge threat, roughly half-a-million
refugees are piled at the border in ramshackle refugee camps,” said
analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners. “If [Syrian
President Bashar Hafez al-] Assad moves north and captures Idlib city,
these people will flock to Turkey, and there is no way we cannot
accept them. In addition to that, maybe 40,000, maybe 60,000 extremely
vicious fundamentalists will mix in with them and enter Turkey, adding
to the instability in the border region.” Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, meeting in Moscow last week with his Russian
counterpart, Vladimir Putin, did buy some time.”
Afghanistan
The
New York Times: As Afghanistan Seeks Peace, Social Media Raises Fear
Of Reprisals
“In recent months, an increasing number of graphic images of
atrocities in the Afghan war have circulated on social media — raising
alarm that hatred sown deep into local communities would be difficult
to resolve even if a peace agreement can be reached with the Taliban.
In one video, disheveled Taliban fighters line up a local judge in
front of their guns as they repeat a question: who is rightful, the
insurgents or the government? As the judge pleads “I serve the
people,” the fighters open fire. The man collapses, and they fire
more. In a second video, Afghan Army soldiers have tied a couple
Taliban fighters to the hood of a military vehicle, driving them back
and forth in a desert as they take turns beating them bloody. The
Taliban wail as the soldiers curse at them and their families. One
soldier repeatedly slashes a fighter with a knife.”
Reuters:
Full U.S. Pullout From Afghanistan Could Ignite 'Total Civil War':
Ex-U.S. Envoys
“Nine former U.S. ambassadors on Tuesday warned that Afghanistan
could collapse in a “total civil war” if President Donald Trump
withdraws all U.S. forces before the Kabul government and the Taliban
conclude a peace settlement. “A major troop withdrawal must be
contingent on a final peace,” the nine wrote on the website of the
Atlantic Council, a think tank. “The initial U.S. drawdown should not
go so far or so fast that the Taliban believe they can achieve
military victory.” The nine, including five former ambassadors to
Kabul, a former special envoy to Afghanistan and a former deputy
secretary of State, issued their warning a day after U.S. chief
negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad announced a draft accord with the Taliban
for an initial drawdown of nearly 5,000 U.S. troops. Khalilzad,
speaking on Monday to Tolo News television in Kabul, declined to say
how long the rest of the roughly 14,000 U.S. troops would stay. But
U.S. officials repeatedly have said the pullout would be “conditions
based.”
Yemen
The
Defense Post: ISIS Revival In Aden Further Complicates War In Yemen’s
South
“Islamic State said last week that fighters from its Yemen Province
affiliate carried out a suicide bombing in the southern port city of
Aden that killed three people and wounded others, the fifth attack the
group claimed in Aden during August after more than a year of radio
silence. The recent series of attacks began with a suicide car
bombing at a police station in Aden’s Sheikh Othman district that
killed 13 people and wounded several more on August 1, according to
Yemen’s interior ministry. In a statement claiming responsibility for
the attack, its first in the de facto capital Aden since March 2018,
ISIS said the bombing had killed and wounded dozens of police officers
and members of the Security Belt forces, which is backed by the United
Arab Emirates. ISIS also released a picture of a man they claimed was
the suicide bomber. On the same day, Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted
Aden in a drone and missile attack that killed over 30
people, including Munir “Abu al-Yamama” al-Mashali, a senior southern
security official aligned with the secessionist Southern Transitional
Council, which dominates the Security Belt forces. Two days later,
ISIS claimed its fighters had assassinated a Security Belt forces
member in Aden, releasing four images purportedly showing the
killing.”
Saudi
Gazette: Documents Expose Houthis' Link To Daesh,
Al-Qaeda
“A Yemeni NGO has exposed the reality of the strong links between
the Iran-backed Houthi militia and various terrorist organizations.
Mohammed Al-Omda, chief of the Yemen Organization for Defending Rights
and Democratic Freedoms unveiled on Tuesday documents showing the link
between the Houthi militia and Al-Qaeda and Daesh (so called IS)
terrorists. Al-Omda handed over a documented report to Rawanthika
Gunaratne, an international law expert of the Sanctions Committee
Team, containing criminal files of all those involved with the Houthi
militias and all those who have collaborated with them and committed
crimes against civilians. There were also documents proving the Houthi
militia’s association with terrorist organizations and their role in
undermining the state authorities and seizing the country’s
capabilities and turning it into a Houthi war effort. Al-Omda also
exposed the abuses and corruption of international organizations
working in Yemen. In his report presented to Gunaratne, who is in
charge of submitting periodic reports to the UN Security Council, he
confirmed that on Nov. 2, 2017, an international organization handed
over $14 million to the leaders of Houthis who usurped the Yemeni
Ministry of Education.”
Lebanon
The
Jerusalem Post: Network Widens Between German Hezbollah Center And
Lebanon’s Hezbollah
“The Hezbollah center and mosque in Germany that boasted about its
pride in terrorism has a broad network of Hezbollah friends and
supporters in Lebanon and in the federal republic, raising questions
about German Angela Merkel’s tolerance of an antisemitic terrorist
organization. After The Jerusalem Post received a tip about
pro-terrorism activities on the website of the Islamic Center
(Imam-Mahdi-Zentrum) in Münster, the Washington-based Middle East
Media Research Institute (MEMRI), an independent, nonpartisan
press-monitoring organization, revealed last week a video from the
Hezbollah center stating:” We Are Accused of Terrorism and Are Proud
of It.” A MEMRI spokesperson told the Post on Monday that “Some of
those who frequent the mosque express open support for Hezbollah on
their Facebook pages – they post photographs of martyrs, of [Hassan]
Nasrallah, of Hezbollah flags, etc. These people, who remain in
contact with their families in Lebanon, some of whom even visit there
frequently, are ‘Facebook friends’ with Hezbollah supporters.”
Middle East
Al
Monitor: Gaza Explosions Leave Hamas Exposed
“The Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip launched an arrest campaign
against individuals suspected of the suicide bombings that rocked the
coastal enclave Aug. 27, killing three police officers and injuring
three others in Gaza City. The first explosion happened at the Dahdouh
checkpoint, west of Gaza City; the second targeted the traffic police
checkpoint in the Sheikh Ajlin area. No party has claimed
responsibility for the incident, but the Hamas-affiliated Palestinian
security services in Gaza arrested individuals said to be affiliated
with the Islamic State (IS) and who espouse the group’s extremist
ideology and antagonism toward Hamas. Iyad al-Bazm, spokesman for the
Interior Ministry in Gaza, was interviewed on Hamas' Al-Aqsa satellite
TV Aug. 28 and revealed preliminary information from the
investigation. He said the first suicide bomber, without mentioning
his name, blew himself up on a motorcycle at the police checkpoint
near the Dahdouh junction. The other individual blew himself up at the
Sahel checkpoint, west of Gaza City. Bazm said that there has been
significant progress in the investigation, portraying the bombers as
collaborators with Israel who undermine the Palestinian situation in
Gaza.”
Times
Of Israel: Qatar: Small, But Dangerous
“Qatar has supported terrorism in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya,
Tunisia and Egypt, and has spent huge amounts of money in support and
funding of jihad groups and terrorist activities in Europe and
elsewhere in the West. Qatar has supported jihad terrorism in order to
gain a foothold in some Arab and regional countries, so as to
counterbalance its small size and relative weakness, as well as its
lack of any political or military weight in the Middle East. Indeed,
Qatar has succeeded in penetrating some countries by means of
terrorism and aiding in the formation of armed terrorist groups such
as al Qaeda in Syria and Iraq, destabilizing security. Qataris also
purchase political power and influence, furthering the Qatari dream of
being a regional power, or at least giving the illusion of being one.
The main supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt was Qatar. The
resounding fall of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the insistence
of the Egyptian people on getting rid of the Muslim Brotherhood regime
has had a great impact on the psyche of the Qatari regime. This, in
turn, has had a very negative effect on Qatar’s policies towards Egypt
and other Arab countries that have rejected the Muslim Brotherhood’s
terrorism, and who have also worked to eradicate it from that region
and the world.”
Egypt
Asharq
Al-Awsat: EU-Egypt Talks To Enhance Counter-Terrorism
Cooperation
“Egypt and the European Union (EU) intensified their official talks
to strengthen cooperation in the field of counter-terrorism. EU’s
Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove continued his
meetings for the second day during his visit to Cairo, which included
consultations with the Egyptian Foreign and Interior Ministers. De
Kerchove met with FM Sameh Shoukry to discuss methods to enhance
coordination and cooperation between Egypt and the EU to eradicate and
combat terrorism. Minister of Interior Mohamed Tawfik also received
the Coordinator and stressed the need to consolidate international
counter-terrorism efforts to curb its dangers. He warned that
terrorism poses a threat to most countries in the world, reiterating
the dangers of providing a safe haven to terrorists who hide behind
religious misconceptions and promote a culture of violence and
destruction. Tawfik briefed the Coordinator on Egypt’s proactive
strategy to combat terrorism, disband terror groups, dry up their
potential funding resources and destroy their infrastructure.”
Nigeria
Daily
Post Nigeria: Army Arrests 4 Boko Haram Logistics Suppliers In
Borno
“The Nigerian Army on Tuesday said it has arrested four Boko Haram
insurgents’ suppliers in Borno State. The Theater Commander,
Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj.-Gen. Olusegun Adeniyi, disclosed this
during the destruction of four vehicles and essential commodities
seized from the insurgents in Maiduguri. NAN reports that Adeniyi
decried the nonchalant attitude of some traders and commercial vehicle
operators who supplied and transported logistics to the insurgents.
“There are no petrol stations in the Sambisa Forest, Algarno, Baga and
Gwoza; the logistics sustaining the insurgents is coming from
Maiduguri, Damaturu and other settlements. “Some commercial vehicle
operators fabricated their tanks to a 200-liter capacity, to enable
them to supply and sell petrol to the insurgents at the rate of N245
per liter. “Troops at checkpoints arrested four vehicles on their way
to deliver a large consignment of logistics to the insurgents in the
hinterland. “The insurgency will have stopped if not for the people
who patronise them; our effort is to arrest illegal business aiding
the insurgency. “Boko Haram logicians will neither be tolerated nor
ignored, anybody who engage or allow his vehicle to transport
insurgents’ logistics would be prosecuted because you are part of them
and an enemy of the state,” he said.”
Daily
Post Nigeria: Niger Delta Militants Issue Fresh
Threats
“Niger Delta militant group, The Reformed Niger Delta Avengers,
RNDA, has threatened to blow up oil installations and facilities in
the region and bring the country to its “knees.” RNDA vowed to carry
out its threats should the Federal Government go ahead with the
purported plan to take away supervision of the Niger Delta Development
Commission, NDDC, from Ministry of Niger Delta to the Office of
Secretary to Government of the Federation, OSGF. The militant’s threat
was contained in a statement issued by its leader, self-styled “Gen”
Johnmark Ezonbi, on Monday. According to the statement: “We will bring
the nation to its knees and return Nigeria to the era of another
recession if the Secretary to Federal Government and the so-called
selfish self- centered, greedy power- drunken politicians refuse to
stop their evil arrangement. “It has come to our notice that there was
an ongoing meeting initiated by some power-drunk and self- centered
leaders from the region, who have lost control of the affairs of the
NDDC. They are collaborating with some top officials in the Presidency
to transfer the supervision of the NDDC to the OSGF all in a bid to
divert the fund for their personal gains towards 2023.”
Somalia
Africanews:
U.S., Federal Government Of Somalia Target Al-Shabaab Terrorist With
Airstrike
“In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S.
Africa Command conducted an airstrike targeting an al-Shabaab
terrorist in the vicinity of Jilib, Somalia, on Sept. 3. “We continue
to place pressure on terrorist networks at the same time our Somali
partners are making progress on the ground,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen.
William Gayler, director of operations, U.S. Africa Command. “These
strikes certainly disrupt the network and remove terrorists from
causing further harm.” At this time, it is assessed the airstrike
killed one (1) terrorist. Strikes near Jilib disrupt al-Shabaab’s
freedom of maneuver. Currently, we assess no civilians were injured or
killed as a result of this airstrike. U.S. Africa Command will
continue to work with its partners to transfer the responsibility for
long-termsecurity in Somalia from AMISOM to the Federal Government of
Somalia and its Member States. In support of the Federal Government of
Somalia, U.S. forces will use all effective and appropriate methods to
assist in the protection of the Somali people, including partnered
military counterterrorism operations with the Federal Government of
Somalia, AMISOM, and Somali National Army forces.”
Africa
Reuters:
Bomb Explodes Under Bus In Mali, At Least 14 Killed
“A makeshift bomb exploded under a passenger bus travelling in the
violence-plagued central Mali region of Mopti on Tuesday, killing at
least 14 people and wounding 24, the security minister said. The
vehicle hit the landmine while carrying 60 passengers through an area
where ethnic militias regularly kill civilians from rival groups and
Islamist militants are also active. “We have the number of 14 deceased
and 24 injured, including seven in a critical state,” said Salif
Traore, giving no further comment on the attack or on who might be
behind it. The remote border region where Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger
meet has become a haven for jihadist militants, who often launch
deadly attacks on U.N., Malian and international troops. Improvised
explosive devices (IEDs) have been commonly used. A person at the
scene told Reuters his sister and nephew had been on board the vehicle
and were killed in the explosion. “The army is trying to recover
bodies from under the bus,” he said, speaking by telephone on
condition of anonymity.”
Yahoo
News: Sudan's PM Calls For US To Drop 'Terror'
Blacklisting
“Sudan's new premier Tuesday called for the United States to drop
his country from its state sponsors of terrorism list, insisting it
was crucial to economic revival. The United States in late 2017 lifted
economic sanctions that it had imposed on Sudan in 1997, but kept the
country on its “terror” blacklist along with Iran, North Korea and
Syria. Sudanese officials, including those from the now ousted
president Omar al-Bashir's administration, consistently complained
that this has hampered economic growth by discouraging foreign
investment. “We believe that the situation is suitable for removing
Sudan from the terrorism list,” Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said at
a joint press conference with visiting German Foreign Minister Heiko
Maas. Sudan has been “in negotiations with the Americans and (we)
expect there would be progress on removing Sudan from the terrorism
list,” Hamdok said. Months of protests triggered Bashir's removal from
power by the army in April, before further protests -- this time
against the military council that replaced him -- resulted in power
sharing with civilians.”
News24:
Tunisia Says Killed Jihadists Were Al-Qaeda Leaders
“Three suspected jihadists killed in a gun battle with Tunisian
forces were wanted Algerian leaders of al-Qaeda, Tunisia's interior
ministry said on Tuesday, a day after the shootout. The Tunisian
national guard said one its officers was also killed when fighting
broke out Monday during a joint search operation with the army in the
mountainous Kasserine region near the Algerian border. The interior
ministry said one of the three alleged jihadists, identified as El
Behi Akrouf and nicknamed Abu Salma, could be a top leader of Okba ibn
Nafaa - the Tunisian branch of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqim).
It named the other two men as Tahar Jijli and El Mahi.”
Germany
DW:
Germany's Syria Conundrum
“Germany’s "anti-IS mandate," which if not prolonged is set to
expire on October 31, is causing tension among the coalition partners
in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government. The mandate, which started
in 2015, aims to help eliminate the so-called Islamic State (IS) in
Iraq and Syria, as a part of the Coalition of the Willing. The United
States recently said that IS has been significantly weakened but is
not fully eliminated — and wants Germany to keep up its anti-IS
efforts. Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) clearly want the mission
to continue. Juergen Hardt, foreign policy spokesman for the CDU
parliamentary party, is convinced that "all components of the current
mandate are useful and necessary." Disagreement at the top: However,
Merkel’s junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD) is not
yet convinced. SPD parliamentarian Siemtje Möller was among the
delegation accompanying German Defense Minister Annegret
Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) on a recent visit to Iraq and Jordan, where
the minister championed the extension of the mission.”
CNN:
Germany's Far-Right Makes Big Gains In State
Elections
“A far-right party scored its strongest-ever results in two key
state elections in eastern Germany on Sunday, finishing second behind
the country's major parties on the same day that Europe marked the
80th anniversary of the Nazi invasion of Poland. The anti-immigrant
Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) party finished second in Saxony to
Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), and second in
Brandenburg to the center-left Social Democrats (SPD). The results
represent a blow to Merkel's ruling coalition with the SPD, and will
be viewed as a victory for the AfD, which took 27.5% of votes in
Saxony and 23.5% in Brandenburg -- a significant increase on state
elections five years ago, with the party almost tripling its share in
Saxony and doubling it in Brandenburg. The AfD became the first
far-right party to enter Germany's national parliament in almost 60
years when it came in third place overall in federal elections in
2017.”
Europe
Voice
Of America: Russian Blogger Sentenced To Five Years Over 'Extremist'
Tweet
“A Russian court on Tuesday sentenced a blogger to five years in a
penal colony for a tweet calling for attacks on the children of
police, a ruling his lawyer said was unprecedented. Vladislav Sinitsa,
30, posted the tweet in the wake of a police crackdown against
protesters who have called for free elections. “It's an act of
intimidation,” said lawyer Denis Tikhonov after a Moscow district
court found Sinitsa guilty of inciting hatred. The charges fall under
Russia's harsh anti-extremism legislation. Tikhonov told AFP the
sentence was “without precedent in its severity”. The ruling also
comes in the context of an ongoing squeeze on internet freedoms in
Russia, where social media remain among few outlets offering relative
freedom of communication for the opposition. Sinitsa, who regularly
posted on Twitter under the pseudonym Max_Steklov, was detained last
month over a tweet he wrote on July 31. Sinitsa, who is from a town
outside Moscow, posted about attending several opposition protests and
urged others to go to them. In one tweet, a reply to a pro-Kremlin
blogger, he imagined a situation in which people found the homes of
law enforcement officers to kidnap and kill their children. The post
was picked up and reported on by pro-Kremlin media.”
Technology
Inquisitr:
YouTube’s Hateful Content Crackdown Sees 500 Million Comments Deleted,
17,000 Channels Canceled
“In 2016 and 2017, YouTube was routinely criticized for having
terrorist videos on its website. Though it has made progress in
finding and banning such videos, it did not completely solve the
problem. In 2018, the Counter Extremism Project found that ISIS
members and supporters uploaded 1,348 YouTube videos garnering 163,391
views between March and June alone.”
The
Verge: YouTube Says It’s Being Responsible — But What It Needs To Be
Is Accountable
“Last week, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki wrote a blog post in which
she talked about the platform’s commitment to leaving up controversial
videos even when they are offensive. This week, the company posted a
new message about the videos they have decided to take down — and,
YouTube says, it’s taking down many more videos than it ever has
before. Julia Alexander sums it up at The Verge: YouTube’s teams have
removed more than 100,000 videos and 17,000 channels since the company
implemented changes to its hateful content policies in June. Those
numbers are approximately five times as many than the company’s last
quarter, according to a new blog post from YouTube about the company’s
attempts to tackle a growing number of hateful and dangerous videos on
the platform. This also includes doubling the removal of comments
(more than 500 million) that were found to be hateful. Some of these
channels, videos, and comments are old and were terminated following
the policy change, according to the blog post. This could account for
the spike in removal numbers.”
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