While representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban talk peace in
Doha, the sides continue to launch deadly attacks in Afghanistan, leaving

 

 


<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
Eye on Extremism


September 21, 2020

 

The Washington Post: Deadly Airstrike In Afghanistan Kills At Least 10
Civilians, 30 Taliban Fighters Despite Ongoing Peace Talks
<[link removed]>

 

“While representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban talk peace in
Doha, the sides continue to launch deadly attacks in Afghanistan, leaving
dozens dead. On Saturday, at least 10 civilians and more than 30 Taliban
fighters were killed in two airstrikes by Afghan government planes in the
northern province of Kunduz, according to local officials. The Defense Ministry
said no civilians were harmed in the attack but announced an investigation into
the incident Sunday. Two local officials, including a deputy police chief, were
assassinated Saturday in Paktika province. No one claimed responsibility, but
Afghan officials believe armed groups linked to the Taliban are behind a string
of similar attacks. The peace talks, launched last week between the Taliban and
the Afghan government in Doha, were hailed as a historic opportunity to end
decades of war. But while the sides have met a handful of times, they haven’t
agreed on the basic format of the negotiations, including which issues will be
discussed and in what order. The continuing violence is “a big concern for us,”
said Faraidoon Khwazoon, a spokesman for the Afghan government delegation.
Khwazoon said the delegation will include a cease-fire in its agenda because
all Afghans want to see violence reduced.”

 

Reuters: Bahrain Says Foiled 'Terrorist Attack' Backed By Iran In Early 2020
<[link removed]>

 

“Bahrain’s interior ministry said on Sunday it had foiled a “terrorist attack”
early this year that was backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The statement confirmed earlier media reports about an alleged planned attack
and added a timeframe. Earlier on Sunday Saudi state television Al-Ekhbariya
and Bahraini newspaper Akhbar al-Khaleej reported that interior ministry
investigations found that a new group called the “Qassem Soleimani Brigade” had
planned to attack several public and security structures in Bahrain. The
reports had not given a timeframe. “We want to make clear that this case goes
back to early 2020 and it is currently being looked into by the relevant
court,” the ministry statement said. Iranian authorities were not immediately
available for comment. In the past, Tehran has denied any involvement in
Bahrain’s domestic affairs. Bahrain, host to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet and
other international naval operations, has often accused Shi’ite Muslim Iran of
seeking to subvert the kingdom, which has a Shi’ite majority and is ruled by
Sunnis. It was the only Gulf Arab state to witness a sizeable pro-democracy
uprising in the 2011 “Arab Spring”, from a largely Shi’ite opposition movement,
which it quashed with Saudi and Emirati help.”

 

Syria

 

The Wall Street Journal: Islamic State, Defeated U.S. Foe, Still Brims With
Cash, Ambition
<[link removed]>

 

“Islamic State remains flush with cash despite setbacks in the past year,
holding financial reserves and a range of revenue streams that U.S. and Western
security officials warn could pay for a dangerous resurgence. The extremist
organization and its affiliates have assets ranging into the hundreds of
millions of dollars across the Middle East and Central Asia, according to the
officials and government records reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Islamic
State’s grip across a large swath of Syria and Iraq was broken last year when a
military coalition dismantled its caliphate, cutting off much of its income
from oil sales, tax-collection and extortion, and the local banks it had
seized. But the group still extorts local populations in areas it controls or
has supporters; receives income from businesses it seized during its rule; and
collects payments from human trafficking, U.S. and Western officials say. Its
affiliates command a growing share of illicit tobacco markets in Pakistan and
Afghanistan, and donors in several Middle Eastern countries work on raising
funds, the officials say. “The underlying conditions that allowed for the rise
of ISIS remain,” Marine Gen. Frank  McKenzie, in charge of U.S. Central
Command, said last month.”

 

CNN: Dutch Pursuit Of Torture Case Against Syria Prompts Terror Accusation
From Damascus
<[link removed]>

 

“The Syrian government accused the Dutch government of supporting terrorism on
Saturday in response to the Netherlands' invocation of an anti-torture
convention against Damascus. The rebuke comes a day after the Dutch government
said it is seeking to hold the Syrian government accountable for widespread
human rights violations under international law, including the UN Convention
against Torture. “The Assad regime has committed horrific crimes time after
time. The evidence is overwhelming. There must be consequences,” Dutch Minister
of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok said in a statement published on the ministry's
website. Blok said the Syrian government had been informed of the decision by a
diplomatic note, which called on Damascus to cease human rights violations and
offer reparations to victims. “International organizations have repeatedly
reported serious human rights violations for years. Large numbers of Syrians
have been tortured, murdered, forcibly disappeared, and subjected to poison-gas
attacks, or have lost everything fleeing for their lives,” the Dutch government
statement said. The Dutch government asked Syria to enter into negotiations,
saying that doing so is “a necessary first step in dispute settlement.”

 

Iraq

 

France 24: Iraqi Minister Of Foreign Affairs Warns: 'In Some Areas, IS
Activities Are Increasing”
<[link removed]>

 

“Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs Fuad Hussein spoke to FRANCE 24 about the
challenges facing his country and the whole region. He said the Islamic state
group (IS) was still a threat and that the number of ISIS fighters and their
networks was higher than a recent UN estimate of 10,000 in Iraq and Syria. “We
are sure we can defeat IS,” he says, “but we need cooperation with many other
countries.” Fuad Hussein stressed that in visits to Tehran and to Washington,
the Iraqi Prime minister had urged both countries to refrain from fighting a
proxy war on Iraqi soil. He also said Iraq's relations with Turkey, which had
soured after Turkey killed three Iraqi military last month, were improving. 'We
hope we will begin soon with a new stage of dialogue', he said, revealing that
the Iraqi prime minister had been invited to Turkey to meet president Erdogan
and that the Turkish foreign minister would soon visit Baghdad to prepare that
visit. He stressed however that Turkish troops currently in Iraq needed to
leave and that the issue would be addressed during that meeting.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Voice Of America: Taliban Want 'Islamic System' Of Government As Focal Point
Of Afghan Talks
<[link removed]>

 

“Delegates of Afghanistan’s government and the Taliban continue finalizing
“rules of negotiations” for a power-sharing deal a week after the two foes
launched their historic U.S.-brokered direct peace dialogue. Meanwhile,
battlefield hostilities between Afghan forces and Taliban insurgents continued
to inflict heavy casualties on both sides and deepen a mutual trust deficit at
the negotiating table. Airstrikes carried out by Afghan forces against Taliban
positions in northeastern Kunduz province Saturday reportedly killed at least
12 civilians and injured 10 others. Defense ministry officials said the attack
killed more than 40 insurgents and that investigations into reports of civilian
casualties were underway. A Taliban statement said the airstrikes killed 23
civilians, including women and children, and injured 17 others. It was not
immediately possible to verify claims made by either side. The insurgents have
rejected calls for a cease-fire until they negotiate a broader political deal
over the future of Afghanistan in the dialogue being hosted by Qatar. The two
negotiating teams have held daily meetings but have shared few details about
the intra-Afghan dialogue that began September 12 in Doha, the Qatari capital.”

 

Pakistan

 

Reuters: Attacks Surge In Northwest Pakistan As Afghan Peace Effort Brings
Shifting Sands
<[link removed]>

 

“Militants have stepped up attacks on security forces in northwest Pakistan
raising fears of a revival of their insurgency and a return of lawlessness as
brighter prospects for peace in Afghanistan herald shifting Islamist alliances.
The ethnic Pashtun border region was for years a haven for militants who fled
the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. But the Pakistani military cleared
out the strongholds in a 2014 offensive, driving most of the fighters into
Afghanistan. But since March, al Qaeda-linked Pakistani Taliban, facing the
risk of losing havens on the Afghan side of the border if their Afghan Taliban
allies make peace there, have unleashed a wave of attacks on the Pakistani
security forces. Bolstering their bid to re-establish themselves in the border
lands, the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), struck an
alliance in July with half a dozen small militant factions. “The group’s
capability and military strength has increased, as has their reach,” said
Mansur Khan Mahsud, executive director of the Islamabad-based FATA Research
Centre. September has seen near daily incidents, from roadside bombs to sniper
attacks, to ambushes and the killing of residents accused of collaborating with
government forces.”

 

India

 

Reuters: India Arrests Nine Al Qaeda Militants Planning 'Terrorist Attacks'
<[link removed]>

 

“India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Saturday it has arrested
nine al Qaeda militants who were planning attacks in several locations
including the capital New Delhi. “The group was planning to undertake terrorist
attacks at vital installations in India with an aim to kill innocent people and
strike terror in their minds,” the country’s main counter-terrorism arm said in
a statement. Those arrested “were motivated to undertake attacks at multiple
places” including the capital region. Six of the militants were arrested in the
eastern state of West Bengal and while three in the southern state of Kerala,
the NIA said, adding the individuals were “associated with Pakistan sponsored
module of al Qaeda”. A spokesman for Pakistan’s foreign office did not
immediately respond to a request for comment. Pakistan has often denied giving
material support to militants. India has stepped up an offensive against
militants in the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir and elsewhere. Last year,
Indian forces killed the leader of an al Qaeda-affiliated militant group in
Kashmir, triggering protests in parts of the disputed region. In the latest
raids, the NIA seized sharp weapons, domestically made firearms and locally
fabricated body armour.”

 

Middle East

 

Associated Press: Israel Charges East Jerusalem Woman With Aiding Hezbollah
<[link removed]>

 

“An Israeli court on Friday charged a Palestinian woman from east Jerusalem
with membership in a terrorist organization after Israel's internal security
service said the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah had recruited her five years
ago. Yasmine Jaber was arrested in early August. The Shin Bet internal security
service said she was recruited by Hezbollah operatives at a conference in 2015
and asked to recruit others in east Jerusalem. It said she traveled to Istanbul
on a number of occasions to meet Hezbollah operatives and communicated with
them via social media. Her family issued a statement denying the allegations.
They said the length of her interrogation and the fact that Israel has not
named any other members of the alleged cell show that the allegations are
false. Israel views Hezbollah as its most immediate military threat. The two
sides fought to a devastating stalemate in 2006. Since then, Hezbollah has
vastly expanded its arsenal of rockets and is now believed to be able to strike
virtually anywhere in Israel. Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 war
and annexed it shortly thereafter. Israel considers the entire city to be its
unified capital, while the Palestinians want east Jerusalem to be the capital
of their future state.”

 

Nigeria

 

Voice Of America: Gunmen Overrun Police Base In Northern Nigeria
<[link removed]>

 

“Two police officers were killed when some 100 gunmen attacked and overran a
police base in Nigeria's northwestern Sokoto state on Thursday. The gunmen,
disguised in military uniforms, struck a police base in the Tangaza local
government area around 1 a.m. local time. Authorities say a divisional police
officer and an inspector there were overpowered and killed, and their firearms
confiscated.  The suspects also abducted two women believed to be wives of
prominent businessmen in the area.  In May, at least 60 people were killed in
an attack in the same region. A leader of the International Association of
Educators for World Peace, Darlington Abdullahi, says Thursday's attack bears
the mark of terrorist groups found in northeastern Nigeria.  “A lot of the
insurgents or terrorists disappeared from there and started shifting to other
ungoverned spaces within our nation,” Abdullahi said. “And that's when many of
them began to shift to the northwest where issues now began to come up.” Boko
Haram has been active in northwest Nigeria for over a decade and is known for
attacking police outposts but has not been blamed for this particular
incident.  Abdullahi says the attackers aim to lower public confidence in
security officials and the government.”

 

Sahara Reporters: Boko Haram Terrorists Kill Three Persons In Borno Communities

<[link removed]>

 

“Gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists have attacked two villages in
Borno, killing no fewer than three persons while others were injured.
SaharaReporters gathered that the insurgents attacked Gareri and Kuwami
communities both in Magumeri Local Government Area. Magumeri is North and about
40km drive from Maiduguri, the state capital, which had witnessed series of
Boko Haram attacks. Residents said many of them escaped to the bush to avoid
being abducted during the attacks. “Two people were killed at Gareri while one
person was killed by the gunmen in Kuwani,” a security source told
SaharaReporters.”

 

Somalia

 

Deutsche Welle: Somalia: Al-Shabab Attacks Intensify As Election Looms
<[link removed]>

 

“More than a dozen attacks by the Islamist militant group al-Shabab were
recorded in Somalia this week, with civilians and military officers among the
casualties. The upsurge in violence comes despite ongoing airstrikes by the US
military on the group. The attacks come as Somalis prepare to go to the polls
for a staggered general election. The process is due to start with legislative
elections on November 1 and culminate in a presidential election by the
beginning of 2021.   The dates were announced on Thursday following the
resolution of a drawn-out dispute over the electoral model between the federal
government in Mogadishu and the leaders of regional states. After a series of
talks, the two sides reached a consensus on an indirect election similar to
that held in 2016. Some of the leaders had pushed for universal suffrage, last
in force in the country half a century ago. Somalis who have sought refuge
abroad in the face of drought, famine and al-Shabab attacks and counterattacks
had also hoped to return home to cast their ballots in a one-person, one-vote
election. The legislative election will see 101 electoral delegates vote in the
members of parliament, who will then elect the president. President Mohamed
Abdullahi Farmajo's mandate expires in February.”

 

Africa

 

The North Africa Post: Explosive Materials Seized During Recent Dismantling Of
Terrorist Cell
<[link removed]>

 

“The results of an expertise carried out by the forensic science laboratory
reveal that all the materials seized during the dismantling of the terrorist
cell on September 10, are used in the manufacturing of explosive charges. The
Attorney General at the Rabat Court of Appeal announced on Saturday that the
materials seized by Morocco’s anti-terror bureau (BCIJ) on September 10 are
used in the manufacture of explosive devices. In a statement, the Attorney
General said scientific and technical expertise, carried out by the forensic
science laboratory, found out that the materials are sensitive and could
explode with simple exposure to heat. The pressure cookers, cylindrical tubes
and explosive vests seized in the raid are used to prepare explosive devices
that project nails and metal screws when triggered remotely by electrical
circuits or by pressure on vests. The expertise also confirmed a complete match
between the chemicals, liquids, gas bottles and light bulbs seized in the
different places inspected. The BCIJ (Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation)
arrested five suspects for their affiliation with ISIS on September 10 in the
Northern city of Tangier, and in Tiflet, Skhirat, and Temara near Rabat.”

 

Shabelle Media Network: Kenya: Al-Shabaab Militant Jailed For Attack On U.S.
Base In Kenya <[link removed]>

 

“A military court in Somalia has sentenced a militant Islamist to life in
prison for his role in a deadly attack on a US base in Kenya. Farhan Mohamud
Hassan was also convicted of being a member of al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda affiliate
headquartered in Somalia. Its fighters cross the border into Kenya to carry out
attacks. A US soldier and two contractors were killed in January's attack on
the base in the coastal region of Lamu. It was the first attack by al-Shabab on
US forces in Kenya, which has troops in the 20,000-strong Africa Union force
battling the militants in Somalia. The US often carries out airstrikes in
Somalia to target al-Shabab. Hassan added that he joined al-Shabab in 2010 and
took part in many attacks in southern Somalia.”

 

Europe

 

The National: Calls For Expired Swedish School Permits To Be Axed After ISIS
School Exploits Loophole
<[link removed]>

 

“Politicians in Sweden are calling for tougher measures on school permits
after a controversial school with links to the Muslim Brotherhood exploited a
loophole. The Romosseskolan school, which runs Muslim independent schools,
sparked controversy when it announced it was expanding into an education
building that was shut down after allegedly employing former ISIS fighters as
teachers. Earlier this year it was accused of gender segregation in lessons and
faced criticism over its policy of not allowing pupils a choice over whether
they attended prayer sessions. It had been awarded a permit in 2015 prior to
these incidents to create a new school which expired in 2017. However, it has
been allowed to use the permit as school officials believed they would fail in
a court bid to reject the continued use of it as they claim they had not made
the timetable for its use clear. Sweden's Liberal party school policy spokesman
Roger Haddad is now calling for an overhaul of the system which bans the use of
old permits and takes the school governance into account. The principal of the
Romosseskolan school, Abdirizak Waberi, is also the former president of the
Federation of Islamic Organisations, which is believed to be the European arm
of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

 

The National: Irish Terrorists In Hezbollah Weapons Sting Met With Iranian
Embassy Officials
<[link removed]>

 

“Members of an Irish group arrested on terrorist charges after seeking arms
from Hezbollah met with officials at Iran’s Dublin Embassy, security sources
told The National. Former members of the Provisional IRA reactivated Hezbollah
contacts to obtain finance and weapons for the New IRA (NIRA). The Irish
terrorists have been seeking advanced bomb-making technology developed in Iran
and Lebanon that would allow them to penetrate police armoured vehicles in
Northern Ireland, intelligence sources said. Nine members of the NIRA,
including two women, were arrested last moth after a long-running undercover
operation run by MI5, the British security service. Among those who appeared in
court after the arrests was Dr Issam Hijjawi Bassalat, a Palestinian, who was
held on remand by a court and charged with a count of preparatory acts of
terrorism. He reportedly travelled to a NIRA meeting, where he was alleged to
have briefed the accused about the situation in Palestine.ber sources said that
at least two people now in custody were at a commemoration ceremony in the
embassy following the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Suleimani who was
killed by a US drone strike in January.”

 

Asia

 

Voice Of America: Observers Remain Skeptical As Uzbek Government Says
Religious Extremism Rising
<[link removed]>

 

“Uzbekistan’s State Security Service says there is a revival of religious
extremist activities in the Central Asian country, but the government’s history
of alleging extremism accusations to target political opposition has led some
observers to view the warning with suspicion. The country’s security body in
recent months has announced several operations against extremist activities,
including an operation on September 8 in the capital, Tashkent. Six Uzbek
citizens were detained for allegedly distributing material on Telegram, the
encrypted messaging app, to “call for and encourage going to Syria to join the
ranks of an international terrorist organization.” Uzbekistan has a population
of nearly 33 million, with about 94% identifying as Muslims, according to the
country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Of the remaining population, 3.5% of the
population identifies as Russian Orthodox. The remaining roughly 3% includes
small communities of Catholics, ethnic Korean Christians, other denominations
of Christian faith, Buddhists, Baha’is, members of the International Society of
Krishna Consciousness, and atheists.”

 



Click here to unsubscribe.
<[link removed]>