Eye on Extremism
September 6, 2019
VOA:
Report: Top US Official In Talks With Houthi Rebels In Bid To End
Yemen War
“A senior U.S. diplomatic official reportedly said Thursday the
U.S. is negotiating with the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels an in effort
to end the Yemeni Civil War. "We are narrowly focused on trying to end
the war in Yemen," David Schenker, assistant secretary of Near Eastern
Affairs, told reporters during a visit to Saudi Arabia, according to
Agence France-Presse. "We are also having talks to the extent possible
with the Houthis to try and find a mutually accepted negotiated
solution to the conflict." A U.S. State Department official told VOA
Thursday the U.S. is engaged in talks with "all Yemenis to further
U.S. objectives in the country." The official said the United States
is continuing "to work with our international partners to bring peace,
prosperity and security to a unified Yemen" and is "focused on
supporting a comprehensive political agreement that will end the
conflict and the dire humanitarian situation."
Reuters:
EU Sets Up Tool For Easier Conviction Of Jihadist Fighters As Hundreds
May Return
“The European Union has set up a common counter-terrorism register,
hoping to facilitate prosecutions and convictions of suspected
militants and people returning home from fighting with Islamic State
in Iraq and Syria, EU officials said on Thursday. The move is partly
aimed at addressing concerns about the fate of hundreds of EU citizens
who fought for Islamic State and are now detained in Iraq and Syria.
Many of them could return to Europe and not face trial because of a
lack of evidence against them, a factor that has contributed to unease
in several EU countries over returning fighters. The new database will
put together information from all the 28 EU countries on ongoing
investigations, prosecutions and convictions of militants,
facilitating cooperation among national prosecutors. This is expected
to help convict war criminals and other militants, who might otherwise
face trials for a lesser crime or no trial at all because national
investigations have failed to gather enough evidence against
them. Because of parallel investigations in different EU states,
militants could face lighter punishments if probes are not coordinated
as “nobody can be prosecuted for the same crime twice,” noted Ladislav
Hamran, who chairs Eurojust, the EU agency that will manage the
database and is in charge of coordinating judicial investigations
among EU states.”
The
Telegraph: Half Of Terror Arrests Are White For First Time Amid Rise
In Far-Right Extremist Threat
“Almost half of the suspected terrorists arrested last year were
white amid an increasing threat from right-wing extremism. Home Office
figures showed the number of white ethnics arrested for terrorist
activity was 118, compared with 92 of those with an Asian ethnic
appearance. The proportion of whites rose to 45 per cent of all
terrorist-related arrests for the year ending June 2019, up from 38
per cent in the previous year. The proportion of Asians fell below 35
per cent. Experts said some of the white suspects would be Muslim
converts though the majority would be far right extremists with the
increased number also reflecting counter-terror commanders’ growing
focus on the threat.”
NBC
News: Trump's Envoy Clashes With Afghan Government Over Proposed
Taliban Deal
“The Afghan government has clashed with President Donald Trump's
envoy over a proposed troop withdrawal deal with the Taliban, just as
Washington is preparing to unveil the agreement, foreign diplomats,
Afghan officials and former U.S. officials said. Afghan officials and
U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad had tense exchanges in Kabul over
the past few days after the American diplomat briefed President Ashraf
Ghani and his advisers on the proposed deal with the Taliban, a
foreign diplomat and two former U.S. officials said. Ghani's
government responded to the briefing "badly" and the discussions were
marked by "raging arguments," said one foreign diplomat familiar with
the talks. The State Department declined to comment on the discussions
in Kabul or on details of the proposed U.S.-Taliban deal. The proposed
agreement "in principle" with the Taliban would see the phased
withdrawal of U.S. troops in return for the Taliban agreeing to enter
into peace talks with the Afghan government and pledging not to allow
areas under their control to be used as a launching pad for al Qaeda,
Islamic State or other terrorist groups. Khalilzad said this week that
if the agreement is approved by President Trump, the United States
would initially pull out about 5,000 troops in 135 days.”
Deutsche
Welle: Germany Needs To Ban Hezbollah, US Ambassador Grenell
Says
“US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell on Friday demanded the
German government ban Hezbollah in its entirety, saying that
the Lebanese paramilitary organization sponsors terrorism and
anti-Semitism. In an op-ed published in the German daily Die Welt,
Grenell called Hezbollah Iran's “most-violent terrorist
representatives,” who have “murdered innocent people” for 37 years. It
is not the first time Grenell has asked Germany to ban the
organization. The op-ed comes in response to a visit by the mayor of
Tehran, Pirouz Hanachi, to the German capital on Friday hosted by
Berlin's mayor, Michael Müller. In 2013, the EU banned the military
arm of Hezbollah. But in many EU countries, including Germany, the
political section is recognized. Great Britain and the Netherlands
have banned Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization, in
line with the United States and Canada. Grenell emphasized that
Hezbollah does not consider itself as being two separate entities.
“The EU maintains an artificial differentiation between the military
and political arm of Hezbollah,” he said.”
CNN:
Facebook Is Making Its Own Deepfake Videos To Help Fight
Them
“Hany Farid, a professor at UC Berkeley and image-forensics expert
whose lab received a grant from Facebook related to its deepfake
detection research, said the competition is a big step toward solving
an important problem. He said Facebook will also need to keep in mind
that any technological solution must change over time, similar to the
ways technology advances for stopping spam and computer viruses. "It's
always evolving because our adversaries are always evolving," he said.
Beyond that, Farid thinks Facebook needs to make some decisions about
its policies regarding false videos.”
United States
The
Washington Post: No, San Francisco. The NRA Is Not A ‘Domestic
Terrorist Organization.’
“Liberals often wonder where conservatives get the notion that they
are hated and despised. Wonder no more: Just look at the San Francisco
Board of Supervisors’ resolution labeling the National Rifle
Association a “domestic terrorist organization.” Words matter, and
there are few words that stigmatize a person faster than calling him
or her a terrorist. A terrorist by definition is someone who engages
in terrorism, and terrorism is defined as “the systematic use of
violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and
thereby to bring about a particular political objective.” To be a
terrorist organization, therefore, the NRA would have to intentionally
encourage and support the use of violent attacks on U.S. citizens with
the intent of creating general fear so as to force submission to its
political agenda. The NRA clearly does not do that. It does not
advocate, fund or support violence, nor does it try to create “a
climate of fear” to advance its policies. It does support an expansive
view of gun rights, but that is not a terrorist act — unless political
disagreement is now a criminal offense. But that is exactly what the
resolution says. It contends that any use of a firearm with the
“intent to endanger, directly or indirectly, the safety of one or more
individuals” is “terrorist activity.”
The
New York Times: White Supremacists Targeted Her. Now She’s Fighting
Hate Crime
“The words “Heil Hitler" and “gas chamber” were scrawled on walls
at the Silver Gull in Queens, one of the city’s last beach clubs. A
rabbi walking through a park in Brooklyn was punched in the face and
bashed with a rock. A gay pride flag outside a Harlem bar was set on
fire. The New York Police Department says incidents like these this
past summer are fueling a steep rise in hate crimes, which have
increased 41 percent compared with the same time last year. Now New
York City is adopting an unusual strategy to combat the wave of
bias-driven incidents: It has hired an anti-hate crime czar. Deborah
Lauter, the executive director of the newly created Office for the
Prevention of Hate Crimes, will not investigate bias incidents; that
will still be the purview of the Police Department, which has its own
hate crimes task force.”
Syria
Kurdistan
24: Iraqi Youth Killed By Suspected ISIS Members In Syrian
Displacement Camp
“A young Iraqi male living in Syria's al-Hol Camp has died from
injuries sustained while being beaten in his sleep by two alleged
Islamic State members also residing at the massive displacement
facility. “Two people disguised as women struck him on the head with a
sharp object while he was sleeping in his tent last night,” said a
media source close to local officials in charge of the camp. The
youth, Mohammad Shehadeh Hamada, was critically injured in the initial
attack and then taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Hasakah,
where he died Thursday morning of his wounds. According to comments
made by officials in the camp administration, Hamada was killed for
not accepting the extremist ideology adopted by the Islamic State,
thought to be shared by a large portion of the camp's inhabitants. On
Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that a 14-year-old girl at
al-Hol Camp was killed after her neck was broken while being beaten
and strangled. Shortly before the attack, the girl, who had previously
lived under Islamic State rule, had apparently angered other camp
residents because “she suggested dispensing with her black niqab, the
face covering worn by ultraconservative Muslim women.”
The
New York Times: ‘I’m Going To Be Honest, This Baby Is Going To
Die’
“No one thought baby Ibrahim was going to make it. The 18-month-old
boy, Belgian by birth, was malnourished, dehydrated, and vomiting
every half an hour from a stomach bug. In Al Hol, the refugee camp in
northeast Syria where he was staying, the heat regularly reached a
relentless 100 degrees by midmorning, there was scant medical care,
and fresh water, when it arrived, usually teemed with bacteria. Video
of Ibrahim, listless and throwing up, had made its way from this
desolate desert patch of Syria to his aunts in Belgium, who had shared
it with doctors there. “I’m going to be honest, this baby is going to
die,” one said. Another thought it would only be a matter of hours. A
Belgian mission to rescue and repatriate orphan children arrived in
the camp in June and made Ibrahim their top priority. But Ibrahim did
not appear on the camp officials’ prisoner list. No one had heard of
him. What had happened to the baby on verge of death?”
Iran
The
Wall Street Journal: Iran To Breach Nuclear Deal Again In Setback To
Europe’s Bid To Salvage It
“Iran said Thursday it would abandon constraints on nuclear
research set out in the 2015 nuclear deal, in another violation of the
accord that raises the risk of its collapse as Europe pursues efforts
to salvage it with sanctions relief for Tehran. Iran’s move comes
after the Trump administration appeared to dismiss efforts led by
France to throw Tehran a possible $15 billion economic lifeline in
return for its full compliance with the nuclear accord. The flouting
of the limits on research work continues Tehran’s pattern of gradually
moving away from the nuclear deal while seeking to leave the door open
for diplomacy. The steps it has taken so far are quickly reversible
and don’t substantially change its ability to produce a nuclear weapon
in the near term.”
The
New York Times: U.S. Treasury Warns Anyone Fueling Iran Tanker Risks
Being Blacklisted
“The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday warned that anyone around
the world who helps fuel Iranian vessels blacklisted by Washington
runs the risk of being designated as well. The Treasury Department
blacklisted the Adrian Darya, a tanker at the center of a
confrontation between Washington and Tehran, on Aug. 30. Washington
has warned that it would regard any assistance given to the ship as
support for a terrorist group, namely, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps. The U.S. State Department has also said that any oil
delivery to Syria from the tanker "enables the terrorism" of President
Bashar al-Assad. The ship, formerly called Grace 1, was detained by
Britain off Gibraltar in July due to British suspicion it was carrying
Iranian oil to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions.”
Tablet:
Fighting ISIS, Finding Iran
“They are the exporter of instability across the region,” US
Secretary of Defense Mattis, his voice gruff and no-nonsense as usual,
said in late July 2018. He was talking about Iran. On Syria, he quoted
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Keep your eye on the ball.” There were
some nations, such as Russia and Iran, keeping Assad in power. “Our
job is to try to find a way in the midst of this chaos to help the
innocent people.” To do that the US wanted to “get stability in
northeast Syria. This starts with destroying ISIS. They are not
destroyed yet. It’s not over yet. It’s going to be a lot longer,
tougher fight.” In the midst of the last days of the war on ISIS,
global and regional powers were jockeying to see who would win the
peace. Trump, Putin, Rouhani, Erdogan, MBS and Netanyahu were all
watching closely. Since February 2018, the US had begun to concentrate
on “stabilization” in Syria. But it was doing that at the same time
that it hunted down the remnants of ISIS. “We are almost complete with
liberation of the physical caliphate,” Maj. Gen. James Jarrard,
commander of special operations in Syria, said. He praised the Syrian
Democratic Forces as “great partners who have done a phenomenal job
liberating terrain.”
The
Financial Times: Iran Stops More Commitments Under 2015 Nuclear
Deal
“Iran has ceased to honour more of its commitments under the 2015
nuclear deal, raising the pressure on European powers to deliver on
its promised economic benefits. Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad
Zarif informed Federica Mogherini, the top EU foreign policy official,
of Iran’s latest step in a letter on Thursday, the foreign ministry
spokesman said. The spokesman said the move did not amount to a breach
of the nuclear deal. Instead Iran was using a dispute mechanism
resolution contained in the nuclear deal following the US’s withdrawal
from the accord, he said. He added that Iran could reverse its
decision and go back to fully implementing the nuclear deal if other
signatories also met their commitments. The UK said Iran’s move was
“deeply concerning.” “This third step away from its commitments under
the nuclear deal is particularly disappointing at a time when we and
our European and international partners are working hard to
de-escalate tensions with Iran,” a British Foreign Office spokesperson
said.”
Reuters:
Iran 'Inching' Toward Place Where Talks Could Be Held: Pentagon
Chief
“U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Friday that it appeared
Iran was inching toward a place where talks could be held, days after
U.S. President Donald Trump left the door open to a possible meeting
with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the upcoming U.N. General
Assembly in New York. “It seems in some ways that Iran is inching
toward that place where we could have talks and hopefully it’ll play
out that way,” Esper said at the Royal United Services Institute
think-tank in London. Friction between the two countries has grown
since Trump last year withdrew from a 2015 international accord under
which Iran had agreed to rein in its atomic program in exchange for
relief from economic sanctions. Washington has since renewed and
intensified its sanctions, slashing Iran’s crude oil sales by more
than 80% At the same time the United States has rebuffed, but not
ruled out, a French plan to give Tehran a $15 billion credit line.
Rouhani, for his part, on Wednesday gave European powers two more
months to try to save the multilateral pact.”
Radio
Farda: Iran Executes 38 People In August – Report
“A Norway-based Iranian human rights organization reports that 38
people were executed in Iran in August, double the rate in the same
period last year. Iran Human Rights (IHR) says based on information it
has collected 32 of those executed were convicted of first-degree
murder, six were hanged for major narcotics and drug trafficking
convictions. Two prisoners were executed on charges of “Moharebeh”,
which in Islamic law means “waging war against God”. The Islamic
Republic uses this serious accusation against those who question the
basis of the Islamic political system or the legitimacy of clerical
rule in Iran. Two executions took place in public while the rest were
carried out in various prisons around the country. Official figures
released by the Islamic Republic acknowledge only 13 execution, while
human rights monitors reported an additional 25 cases. Meanwhile, IHR
reports that a juvenile offender may be executed soon, according to
his family. Mehdi Khazaeian has been convicted of an alleged murder he
committed when he was 16 years old. He is now 20.”
Iraq
Iraqi
News: Security Media Cell Announce Seizing 3 Car Bombs In
Nineveh
“The security media cell announced on Thursday, seizing three car
bombs in different areas of Nineveh, while pointed out that the car
bombs were detonated on site. In a press statement, the Cell reported
that based on accurate intelligence information, joint forces from the
60th Brigade of the 20th Division and al-Hashd al-Ashaeri, managed to
seize three booby-trapped vehicles, southwest of Lake Sinisla and
southeast of Munayef Mount. “It was treated and detonated without
inflicting any losses,” the cell further added. Violence in the
country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State
extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and
Syria in 2014. 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.”
Xinhua:
Iraqi Forces Kill 5 IS Militants In Salahudin
Province
“Iraqi forces on Thursday killed five Islamic State (IS) militants
in an operation and an airstrike in the central province of Salahudin,
a military statement and a police source said. Acting on intelligence
reports, the ninth brigade of the paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces,
backed by the Iraq army's helicopter gunships, carried out an
operation near the town of al-Dour in southeast of the provincial
capital Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad, the Hashd Shaabi said in
a statement. The Hashd Shaabi force clashed with IS extremist
militants and killed three of them, while a helicopter gunship pounded
an IS hideout and killed two more inside, the statement added.
Mohammed al-Bazi from Salahudin's provincial police said that
Thursday's operation came hours after the Hashd Shaabi's ninth brigade
came under heavy gunfire on Wednesday evening, while they were
conducting a search operation near the town of al-Dour. The heavy
gunfire forced the Hashd Shaabi force to call off their evening
operation and withdrew from the scene after two of the brigade's
members were wounded and another went missing, al-Bazi told Xinhua.
Early on Thursday, a joint force from Hashd Shaabi's ninth brigade and
the Iraqi army cordoned off the area and launched a search campaign
looking for the missing Hashd Shaabi member, al-Bazi added.”
Radio
Farda: Pro-Iran Militia In Iraq Announces Formation Of 'Air
Force'
“The Iraqi militia group Hashd al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization
Forces (PMF), announced the formation of their own air force on
Thursday, September 5. A statement by the PMF, a close ally of Iran,
circulated through Iraqi news outlets said PMF's deputy chief Abu
Mahdi al-Mohandes ordered the formation of the air force directorate,
appointing Salah Mahdi Hantoush as its caretaker. The decision comes a
few weeks after a series of suspicious air raids targeted PMF
locations in Baghdad and other provinces of Iraq. PMF leadership
blames Israeli drones and U.S. forces operating in Iraq. Israel has
not officially claimed responsibility for the raids, but Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted on Thursday, August 22, that his
country's forces had attacked Iran-backed militias in Iraq.”
Afghanistan
The
Wall Street Journal: Afghan Government Criticizes Proposed
U.S.-Taliban Accord
“The Afghan government is criticizing parts of a proposed
U.S.-Taliban deal to withdraw U.S. and other foreign forces from
Afghanistan, saying the accord contains no clear penalties if the
insurgency fails to comply. Zalmay Khalilzad, the chief U.S.
negotiator to the Afghan peace process, said this week that he had
completed an agreement in principle with the insurgents, more than a
year after Washington resumed direct talks with Taliban officials in
the Gulf state of Qatar. Mr. Khalilzad told a local television station
on Monday that the deal awaited only President Trump’s approval. But
Mr. Khalilzad’s hopes for an announcement have stalled after four days
of talks with President Ashraf Ghani, senior government officials and
Afghan politicians. He headed back to Qatar’s capital Doha on
Thursday, apparently for further talks with Taliban officials. Army
Gen. Scott Miller, commander of U.S. and coalition forces in
Afghanistan, accompanied him, a person briefed by the Taliban said.
Under the proposed deal, which doesn’t require the Afghan government’s
consent, the U.S. would pull 5,000 U.S. forces from Afghanistan within
135 days of the signing of the agreement, Mr. Khalilzad said. Most of
the remaining 9,500 American forces, along with 17,000 additional
foreign forces, mostly from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization,
would be withdrawn in phases, provided the Taliban follows through on
its assurances not to allow Islamic State, al Qaeda and other radical
jihadist groups to operate in Afghanistan.”
ABC
News: Taliban Kills US Service Member, Others In Kabul Bombing As
US-Taliban Talks Resume
“The Taliban killed 10 civilians and two NATO service members
-- including one American -- in a deadly blast in Kabul, Afghanistan,
on Thursday, even as the chief U.S. negotiator was returning to Qatar
to resume talks with the militant group. While the U.S. is closing in
on an agreement with the Taliban, the attack marks the group's second
major bombing this week and the 16th American service member killed in
combat in the country this year. These signs of increased violence
have had the country on edge about what a deal with the militant group
will mean for its future and have raised questions about whether the
Taliban can be trusted to make peace. The Taliban and U.S. officials
said the increased violence is a negotiating tactic, with the
militants seeking to project strength and use violence as a point of
leverage in the talks. But it has outraged the Afghan public, many of
whom are already skeptical that an agreement with the U.S. will bring
an end to the violence and concerned that it will instead further
empower the Taliban. But it's because of that death toll, U.S.
officials said, that the Trump administration is doubling down on
diplomatic efforts to end the conflict there, nearly 18 years after
U.S. troops arrived to expel al-Qaeda operatives and toppled the
Taliban government.”
Associated
Press: Taliban Attack Third Afghan Provincial Capital In A
Week
“The Taliban attacked a third provincial capital in Afghanistan in
less than a week, killing at least two civilians, an official said
Friday as a U.S. envoy was back in Qatar for unexpected talks on a
U.S.-Taliban deal he had described as complete just days earlier.
Farah provincial governor Mohammad Shoaib Sabet told The Associated
Press that another 15 people were wounded in the latest attack, citing
local hospitals, and that airstrikes had been carried out against the
militant group. Small clashes continued in the city, he said. This
week’s spike in violence, including two shattering Taliban car
bombings in the capital, Kabul, comes after U.S. envoy Zalmay
Khalilzad said he and the insurgents had reached a deal “in principle”
that would begin a U.S. troop pullout in exchange for Taliban
counterterror guarantees. Khalilzad abruptly returned to Qatar, where
the Taliban have a political office, from Kabul for more talks
Thursday evening, even though earlier in the week he said the deal
only needed President Donald Trump’s approval to be final.”
The
Washington Post: As Potential Deal With The Taliban Looms, Pompeo Says
U.S. ‘Delivered’ On Mission In Afghanistan
“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States has
“delivered” on its mission to oust al-Qaeda from Afghanistan and deter
terrorist attacks plotted in the country and neighboring Pakistan. The
top diplomat’s upbeat message came ahead of a potential announcement
of a peace deal between the United States and Taliban that has been
tested by repeated Taliban bombings and is opposed by President
Trump’s national security adviser. In an interview published Wednesday
with the Daily Signal, a news outlet affiliated with the conservative
Heritage Foundation, Pompeo said American forces engaged in the United
States’ longest war have been “successful” in achieving their original
mission. “If you go back and look at the days following 9/11, the
objectives set out were pretty clear: to go defeat al-Qaeda, the group
that had launched the attack on the United States of America from
Afghanistan. And today, al-Qaeda . . . doesn’t even amount to a shadow
of its former self in Afghanistan,” Pompeo told the Daily Signal.”
Pakistan
Radio
Free Europe: Pakistan: New Attacks Raise Fears Of A Taliban
Return
“Recent bomb attacks in a northwestern Pakistani district have
raised fears about the possible return of the Taliban. Residents of
Bajaur are worried that two recent fatal bomb attacks might herald the
reappearance of the Taliban, whose violence wreaked havoc in the
region bordering Afghanistan more than a decade ago. Since the
beginning of the month, two prominent locals have been killed in
attacks using improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which was a
signature tactic of the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) that
controlled large swathes of Bajaur between 2006 and 2009. Fazal Aleem
Jan and Malik Gul Dad Khan were killed in IED attacks in different
parts of Bajaur on September 3 and September 1, respectively. Both
were members of the peace committees or anti-Taliban volunteer groups
that played a prominent role in pushing the Taliban out of Bajaur.
Nisar Baaz, a local activist, says a string of attacks in recent
months has worried residents. “People are deeply concerned,” he told
Radio Mashaal. “They are looking toward the security forces who have
established pickets and check posts everywhere but appear unable to
stop these attacks.”
Lebanon
The
National: Hezbollah And Israel Have Stepped Back From The Brink This
Time But The Trajectory Is Deeply Troubling
“After a week of violence between Israel and the Lebanese militia
Hezbollah, tensions have simmered down. The situation was quite
different last Sunday, when hundreds of cars packed with terrified
civilians fleeing southern Lebanon created traffic jams as they fled
north after a volley of tit-for-tat strikes. After being hit by a
series of drone and airstrikes, which killed two fighters and damaged
its media centre, Hezbollah launched a retaliatory strike from
southern Lebanon against Israeli army targets in the village of
Avivim. Israel responded with artillery strikes on southern Lebanon.
Yet despite the prospect of an all-out war between these two
well-armed adversaries increasing in recent months, the balance of
mutual fear and aggression inflicted by both sides has reduced the
immediate likelihood of real conflict. The latest escalation followed
a wave of attacks attributed to Israel against Iran’s non-state allies
in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Israeli’s increasingly aggressive posture
against the network of Iran-aligned militias is trying to reverse, or
at least stymie, some of the gains made by Tehran and its proxies in
recent years.”
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Pompeo Asks Lebanon To Dismantle Hezbollah’s Missile
Factory
“Despite exchanges of reassurances by Hezbollah and the Israeli
government that they were not seeking war, the Israeli army announced
the transfer of Patriot missile batteries to bolster its air defenses
and maintained a partial state of alert. Its former chief of staff,
Dan Halutz, said the situation was tense on the border and could
explode at every moment. The biggest problem is the intransigence on
both sides, according to Halutz, who led the Israeli army during the
Second Lebanon War in 2006. He noted that Israel would not allow
Hezbollah to develop and modernize old Iranian missiles in its
possession, while Hezbollah – backed by Iran - insisted on possessing
deterrent weapons against Israel. ”This insistence could certainly
lead to war, unless one of the parties concedes, sooner or later,” he
warned. Israeli sources revealed on Thursday that US Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo sent a warning letter to Lebanese President Michel
Aoun, urging him to dismantle a second factory set up by Hezbollah in
the Bekaa to develop and modernize the missiles before Israel attacks
it. The US message was not conveyed by regular diplomatic means
through the US Embassy in Beirut, but was transferred directly to
Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, who is known for his close
ties to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.”
Egypt
Arab
News: Six Suspected Militants Killed In Egypt
“Six suspected extremists were killed on Thursday in a shootout
with police near the Bahariya oasis southwest of the Egyptian capital,
the interior ministry said. Police carried out a dawn raid against
“terrorist elements” in a desert area near Bahariya, roughly 300
kilometers (190 miles) southwest of Cairo, the ministry said in a
statement. A shootout led to the death of six suspects, the ministry
said, adding that a number of hunting rifles and four assault rifles
were found at the site. Militants have launched several attacks in the
vast desert area west of the Nile. In November 2018, a Daesh attack
killed six Copts and an Anglican after they left the Saint Samuel
monastery west of the Nile in Minya province. Daesh carried out
another attack nearby in May 2017, killing 29 Coptic pilgrims, many of
them children. Tourists have also been killed in attacks, but the
violence has mostly targeted police and soldiers. Hundreds of security
personnel have died in an escalation of attacks since the military
overthrow of president Muhammad Mursi in 2013. The ouster was led by
then-army-chief Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who became president following
2014 polls before securing an official 97 percent of the vote in
elections last year.”
Libya
The
Libya Observer: Counter-Terrorism Force Arrests Four ISIS Suspects In
Sirte
“The Counter-Terrorism Force has arrested four people, including a
woman, suspected of belonging to ISIS. “The Counter-Terrorism Force
surrounded the neighbourhood where the suspects were residing in Sirte
city, and arrested four people, who were accused of belonging to ISIS
group,” a security source confirmed Wednesday. The source pointed out
that those arrested were transferred to the competent authorities for
interrogation.”
Nigeria
The
Defense Post: ISIS Claims Nigeria Soldiers Killed In Gajiram
Attack
“Islamic State claimed fighters from its West Africa Province
affiliate killed 10 Nigerian soldiers and injured others in an attack
on a military base in Gajiram in the Lake Chad area of Borno state, in
the third attack in the area in the last week. In a statement released
on Thursday, ISIS claimed ISWAP fighters captured six four-wheel drive
vehicles, weapons and ammunition, and burned an armored vehicle in the
attack on a Nigerian Army base in Gajiram on Wednesday, September 4.
The Nigerian military has not yet commented on the alleged incident,
but Sahara Reporters late on Wednesday reported a local vigilante
source as saying that insurgents had entered Gajiram, the headquarters
of Nganzai local council area, at around 5 p.m. local time (GMT). The
militants killed two civilians, burned part of the Divisional Police
Headquarters and a telecommunications mast, and captured one police
and three military vehicles, according to the report. Citing security
sources and residents, AFP reported that ISWAP fighters attacked
Gajiram on both Wednesday and Thursday, killing three soldiers and a
police officer. The insurgents first attacked the town on Wednesday,
forcing troops and police officers to withdraw, according to the
residents.”
The
Washington Examiner: To Beat Terrorism In Nigeria, Change The
Narrative
“By all accounts, the wealthy and teeming nation of Nigeria is one
of the most dangerous places on Earth. Murders and kidnappings are a
scourge even on the modern highways leading out of the capital of
Abuja, where bandits kidnapped six hapless citizens on Aug. 26. The
Islamic State’s affiliated Islamic State of West Africa overran a
Nigerian military base in the northeast state of Borno Aug. 10,
pushing the Nigerian army to relocate to safer areas. President Trump
met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the White House on April 30
last year, congratulating him for making progress in the war on terror
but urging him to do much more, especially for the nation’s
Christians. Yet remedies to Nigeria’s crises are all about the
narrative. As one version would put it, murder-kidnappings in north
central Nigeria are one front in Nigeria’s war with criminality. As
another version runs, this is part of a war with Islamic
State-affiliated terrorist armies. The ISIS terrorists have snuffed
out more 37,000 Nigerian lives in the last 10 years. On the other
hand, thousands of citizens, chiefly farmers, reportedly have been
murdered by Fulani terrorists raiding villages under the shout of
“Allahu Akbar!” Are the two threats closely related? The policy wonks
at Foggy Bottom say “no.”
The
Punch Nigeria: Boko Haram Attacks Borno Gov’s Convoy
“Boko Haram insurgents on Thursday opened fire on the convoy of the
Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum. The incident was said to have
happened around 9pm. According to TheCable, security sources said the
insurgents attacked the convoy in Konduga while Zulum was returning
from a trip to the Bama Local Government Area. Zulum had visited Bayo,
Kwaya Kusar, Askira Uba and Gwoza as part of his “familiarity and need
assessment tour” of the 27 LGAs in the state. The source said,
“Luckily the governor, his commissioners and other vehicle in the
convoy escaped unhurt but the last vehicle which is an army gun truck
was pelted with bullets. “Immediately after they fired at us, our men
in collaboration with the armed personnel from the Federal Special
Anti Robbery Squad, retaliated and thwarted the ambush.” Konduga, an
area near Sambisa forest, has come under many attacks from the faction
of Boko Haram under the control of Abubakar Shekau. The attack comes
seven months after Kashim Shettima, Zulum’s successor was attacked by
the sect on his way to Gamboru Ngala, still in Borno.”
Voice
Of America: US-Backed Syrian Forces Hand Over 3 Children Of IS
Fighters To Nigeria
“Three children born to Nigerian Islamic State (IS) fighters in
Syria were handed over to the Nigerian government, Syrian Kurdish
officials said Thursday. The orphaned children, aged 4, 6 and 8, were
handed over to a Nigerian government representative in the city of
Qamishli in northeast Syria. “We have been in talks with Nigerian
officials about these cases,” said Abdulkarim Omar, co-chair of
foreign relations in the SDF-led administration in northeast Syria,
who met with a Nigerian official on Thursday. “They finally decided to
come here and take these parentless children,” he told VOA. This is
the first time that an African country has taken back children of
Africans who have traveled to Syria to join the terror group, the
Kurdish official said. Omar declined to give information about the
number of Nigerians held in northeast Syria, but there are many
Nigerians in custody who joined the IS terror group in recent years.
Musa Habib Marika, a representative of Nigeria’s government, said his
country is also considering other cases. “We have asked for a list of
Nigerians who are held in camps and prisons to look into their cases,”
Marika said during a press conference with Kurdish officials in
Qamishli.”
Council
On Foreign Relations: The Humanitarian Dilemma Around The Military’s
“Super Camp” Strategy In Nigeria
“In August, the Islamic State-affiliated faction of Boko Haram
known as Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) entered Gubio and
Magumeri, which are two strategic towns near Borno State’s capital,
Maiduguri, in northeastern Nigeria. ISWA looted fuel and supplies,
destroyed houses and government buildings, and prayed before
retreating into Borno’s hinterlands. The short occupation of these two
towns followed Borno’s governor, Babagana Zulum, encouraging civilians
in those towns to remain in their homes and assuring civilians the
military would protect them. However, the military had left those
towns in accord with its new “super camp” strategy. Absent an
immediate military presence, thousands of civilians had fled. The
“super camp” strategy is apparently driven chiefly by the military’s
inability to defend itself against constant ISWA raids on poorly
constructed military barracks in rural areas. Under the new strategy,
military personnel will be based in a few, well-constructed “super
camps,” which ISWA presumably cannot overrun. While the military may
have reduced the potential for casualties and theft of military
materiel, it has also reduced its ability to combat ISWA in rural
areas. This strategy appears to also be the most recent formulation of
the military’s “fortress strategy,” which seemingly was never
implemented after its initial 2017 announcement.”
Africa
The
North Africa Post: Morocco Arrests Five People Who Wanted To Join ISIS
In Africa
“Morocco’s counterterrorism agency, BCIJ, dismantled a 5-member
terrorist cell loyal to ISIS in Nador and Berkane, in Morocco’s
northeast. The group, aged between 27 and 41 years, were planning to
join the terrorist group in Sub-Saharan Africa before they decided to
target sensitive sites in Morocco. Morocco has on multiple occasions
called for joint efforts in the Maghreb to counter security threats as
the Sahel becomes a magnet for terrorist groups. Porous borders, weak
states as well as organized crime have drawn many terrorist groups to
the Sahel where they have conducted attacks on Sahel states. To
counter the surge of terrorist groups in the region, a force has been
created with the backing of the UN in the Sahel called G5 by the
governments of Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad. “I am
in favor of funding by the United Nations, with obligatory
contributions for the G5 Sahel force,” Guterres said in an interview
recently. In July, the UN warned of a potential expansion of terrorism
to Ghana, Benin, Togo and Côte d’Ivoire.”
Voice
Of America: Cameroon Sends Military To Troubled CAR
“Cameroon is dispatching more than a thousand troops to help bring
peace to its troubled neighbor, the Central African Republic. The
troops are leaving as analysts say they are already stretched handling
such internal crises as piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, the Boko Haram
insurgency and the separatist crisis that has left at least 3,000
killed in three years. The Cameroon military band plays as the first
contingent of over 300 peacekeeping troops leaves for the neighboring
Central African Republic on September 4. Cameroon's defense minister,
Joseph Beti Assomo, said they have been well trained to join the U.N.
peacekeeping mission of more than 13,000 troops, police and civilians
to restore peace to the Central African Republic while respecting the
rights and dignity of the people they are protecting. “Always
determined to fulfill his regional and international commitment as
concerns collective security, the head of state, commander in chief of
the armed forces has provided the Central African Republic with
multifaceted support in order to enable the country to get its
institutions which have already been damaged back on the feet,” he
said. Beti Assomo said Cameroon was deploying 1,300 troops and
civilians who, by protecting the Central African Republic, will also
be protecting Cameroon.”
All
Africa: Ghana: Let's Fight Growing Terrorism Threat Together...
President Urges African Countries
“President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stressed the need for
countries in Africa to coordinate their approaches and strategies in
the fight against the growing threat of terrorism and extremism in the
region. He said the growth of breakaway global terror groups, coupled
with the porous nature of African borders, called for regional and
continental approaches to contain the growing threats of terrorist and
extremist activities. The President made the call in Accra yesterday
when he addressed the opening of a forum aimed at immortalising the
contribution of Kofi Annan, Ghana's iconic diplomat, to global peace
and security. The forum, an initiative of the Kofi Annan International
Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPC), one of the legacies of the
former United Nations Secretary General who passed away last year,
attracted top-level political leaders, diplomats and security experts
The participants dialogued on the most critical and evolving peace and
security trends on the African continent. The Kofi Annan Peace and
Security Forum will be an annual platform to hatch ideas that will
continually champion and ensure Mr Annan's cause for policies and
programmes on peace, security and development.”
The
New York Times: South African Riots Over ‘Xenophobia’ Prompt Backlash
Across Africa
“Pop stars have announced a boycott. Air Tanzania has suspended
flights to Johannesburg. Madagascar and Zambia are refusing to send
their soccer teams. Nigeria has recalled its ambassador and pulled out
of a major economic forum. South Africa is facing a backlash after
rioters in and around Johannesburg targeted immigrants from other
African countries this week, torching their shops and leading to at
least 10 deaths. Now, angry citizens and governments across the
continent are lashing out at South Africa and its businesses,
denouncing what they call “xenophobia.” Africans across the continent
once rallied behind South Africans in their struggle to defeat the
apartheid government, which was finally replaced in elections held 25
years ago. Now, some Africans find themselves in the unfamiliar
position of protesting the actions of the same communities in South
Africa that they once stood with in solidarity.”
United Kingdom
The
Guardian: Britain Must Repatriate ISIS Fighters, Warns US Defence
Secretary
“Britain and other European nations that are refusing to
repatriate Islamic State fighters and put them on trial in their
country of origin are creating a risk to regional security, the US
defence secretary warned at the start of his visit to London. Mark
Esper said there were around 2,000 foreign fighters, many from Europe,
held in north-east Syria, but asking the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic
Forces to keep them in makeshift jails was an increasing risk to the
fragile security of the region. “It’s an untenable situation,” Esper
said in a briefing on the first day of a two-day visit to London. “How
long can this last? Our view has been they should repatriated and
dealt with appropriately … otherwise that’s a risk to the region.”
Around 250 to 300 foreign fighters who are still in Syria are
estimated to have come from the UK, but Britain is increasingly
unwilling to allow any to return and stand trial following Isis’s
defeat in Syria and Iraq. Several have been stripped of their British
citizenship, such as Jack Letts, who was raised in Oxfordshire by
British and Canadian parents. He left home to join Isis five years
ago, but has been held a prisoner in Syria for the past two years.
Esper, who is due to meet defence secretary Ben Wallace on Friday,
said he was relaying a message from the US administration.”
Europe
El
País: Spain Issues Arrest Warrants For ISIS Women Trapped In Syrian
Camps
“Spain’s High Court, the Audiencia Nacional, has recently issued
arrest warrants for four women who traveled to Syria in 2014 to join
the Islamic State (ISIS). All four are currently being held in two
detention camps run by Kurdish militias in Syria, two sources close to
the investigation have told EL PAÍS. Three of the women are Spanish
nationals and the fourth is a Moroccan woman who was married to a
jihadist with Spanish citizenship. He was killed in ISIS’
self-proclaimed caliphate. The latter woman has three children who
hold Spanish nationality. The four – who have a total of 17 children
under their care, including a newborn – are wanted by several Spanish
courts for “terrorism-related crimes,” according to police sources.
The alleged jihadists – Luna Fernández, Yolanda Martínez, Lubna
Mohamed Miludi and Loubna Fares – are being held in camps for
relatives of ISIS fighters. Fernández and Martínez are at Al Roj camp,
in northern Syria, near the border with Turkey. Miludi and Fares
remain in Al Hol, the camp in northeast Syria that all four were taken
to after the fall of Baghouz, the last ISIS redoubt, in February. The
Spanish government has been analyzing the case since April, when EL
PAÍS revealed their presence at the Syrian camps, where living
conditions have been described as extremely unsanitary and
dangerous.”
Australia
The
Guardian: Man Arrested Over Violent Rightwing Extremist Threats On
Social Media
“A man in Newcastle, New South Wales, has been arrested and charged
over threats of violence posted on social media connected to rightwing
extremist views. Cormac Rothsey, a 43-year-old man from Hamilton, near
Newcastle in New South Wales, was arrested on Thursday as part of a
NSW joint counter-terrorism investigation with the Australian federal
police into rightwing extremist ideology online. “Investigators
located a number of concerning posts with rightwing extremist views on
social media earlier this week and commenced inquiries,” an AFP
spokesperson said. Police allege that Rothsey, who lived an itinerant
lifestyle, was planning a mass casualty attack at a mosque packed for
Friday prayer. In comments made on Facebook he had allegedly expressed
admiration for the alleged perpetrator of the Christchurch mosque
massacre and made threats to kill the New Zealand prime minister
Jacinda Ardern. “My aim is to go to Friday prayer in a packed mosque,”
Rothsey allegedly wrote on Facebook on Wednesday, according to a
statement of police facts reported by the Newcastle Herald. “No
turning back when called to prayer.” The Herald reported police had
arrested Rothsey after his alleged threats became more explicit on
Thursday.”
VOA:
Persecuted Yazidis Find Sanctuary In Australia
“After the horrors of fleeing to Sinjar Mountain in northern Iraq
to escape Islamic State fighters in 2014, several hundred Yazidi
refugees are starting new lives in the Australian outback. Members of
the minority religious group have been resettled in a handful of
regional centers, like Wagga Wagga, to relieve pressure on refugee
services in Australia’s main cities. Wagga Wagga is proud of its
country roots. It is a farming and transport hub halfway between
Sydney and Melbourne. Yazidis settling in: Several hundred Yazidis are
joining others here who fled persecution in Africa, Myanmar and
Afghanistan. Layla explains how she fled to Sinjar Mountain. “In Iraq,
ISIS kill lots of men and kill the children. Very, very hard story for
Yazidi in Iraq. The ISIS came. We go to the mountain. With my whole
family we lived in [the] mountain. Not eat, not have any water, not
eating. After five days by walk[ing] we go to Kurdistan,” she
said.”
Technology
The
Wall Street Journal: States To Launch Google, Facebook Antitrust
Probes
“State attorneys general are formally launching separate antitrust
probes into Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc. ’s Google unit starting
next week, according to people familiar with the matter, putting added
pressure on tech giants already under federal scrutiny. The Google
probe is expected to be announced at a news conference outside the
U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, with a bipartisan group of about three
dozen state attorneys general joining the effort, the people said. The
investigation will be led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a
Republican, the people said. The attorneys general will examine the
impact of Google on digital advertising markets, this person said, as
well as potential harms to consumers from their information and ad
choices being concentrated in one company.”
The
Hill: 8chan Owner Defends Platform In Testimony Before
Congress
“The owner of the anonymous messaging board tied to a string of
mass shootings this year testified on Capitol Hill on Thursday,
offering an adamant defense of his website to House staffers behind
closed doors. Jim Watkins, the owner of 8chan, participated in a
congressional deposition after the House Homeland Security Committee
subpoenaed him last month. The deposition, which apparently lasted
between 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., was attended by committee staffers,
Watkins and his lawyer. "We want to thank Mr. Watkins for his
cooperation today," House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie
Thompson (D-Miss.) and ranking member Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said in a
statement later in the afternoon. "He provided vast and helpful
information to the Committee about the structure, operation, and
policies of 8Chan and his other companies." "We look forward to his
continued cooperation with the Committee as he indicated his desire to
do so during today’s deposition," the committee leaders added.”
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