The suspect in the stabbing of two people outside the former Paris office of
the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo has confessed and said his attack

 

 


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


September 29, 2020

 

The New York Times: Paris Suspect Said Attack Was Aimed At Paper That Mocked
Islam’s Prophet
<[link removed]>

 

“The suspect in the stabbing of two people outside the former Paris office of
the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo has confessed and said his attack was
directed at the publication because it printed cartoons mocking the Prophet
Muhammad, a French judicial official said on Saturday. Charlie Hebdo’s former
office was the target of a January 2015 terrorist attack that killed 12 people
after the weekly first published the cartoons. It republished them in early
September on the opening day of the trial of 14 people suspected of having
links to the 2015 attack. The stabbing took place during the long-awaited trial
of alleged accomplices in the 2015 attack, which has forced France to relive
the trauma of a series of terrorist strikes in the past few years. French
authorities have said that the suspect, who was arrested shortly after the
attack on Friday, is an 18-year-old Pakistani man who arrived in France three
years ago as an unaccompanied minor. Although he was briefly arrested a month
ago for carrying a screwdriver, he had not been previously identified as an
Islamist radical, France’s interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, told France 2
television on Friday.”

 

NBC News: 2 Alleged ISIS Supporters In U.S. Accused Of Plotting Attacks On
White House, Trump Tower
<[link removed]>

 

“Two men faces charges in connection with an alleged plot to bomb or shoot at
high-profile sites in the U.S., including the White House and Trump Tower in
New York City, a federal complaint shows. Jaylyn Christopher Molina, of Texas,
and Kristopher Sean Matthews, of South Carolina, face charges of conspiracy to
provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. An
email and phone call to Molina's attorney seeking comment did not receive an
immediate response. Court records do not list an attorney for Matthews.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the federal court for the Western
District of Texas, Molina and Matthews used an online chat group in 2019 to
discuss attacking U.S. targets on behalf of ISIS. The pair also allegedly
discussed traveling to Syria to fight with the Islamic State group. They were
allegedly studying how to build car bombs, suicide belts and other explosives
and discussed plans for attacks with others on an encrypted messaging
application. Matthews told Molina that they needed four recruits to carry out
multisite attacks “that could be Netflix worthy,” the complaint said.”

 

Reuters: Saudi Arabia Says It Busted Terrorist Cell Trained By Iran's
Revolutionary Guards
<[link removed]>

 

“Saudi Arabia said on Monday it had taken down a terrorist cell this month
that had received training from Iran's Revolutionary Guards, arresting 10
people and seizing weapons and explosives. The spokesman for the presidency of
state security said in a statement on state media that three of those arrested
had been trained in Iran while the rest were “linked to the cell in various
roles”. Cell members “received military and field training, including on how to
make explosives, inside Revolutionary Guards sites in Iran” for several weeks
in late 2017, he said. The statement said weapons and explosives were
confiscated at two locations, a house and a farm, in the Gulf Arab state, the
world's largest oil exporter and a key U.S. ally. Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and
Shi'ite Iran are locked in several proxy wars in the region, including in
Yemen. Riyadh has blamed Iran for an unprecedented missile and drone attack on
the kingdom's oil facilities last year, a charge Tehran denies.”

 

United States

 

New York Post: Trump To Designate KKK, Antifa As Terrorist Groups In Black
Empowerment Plan
<[link removed]>

 

“President Trump unveiled an economic empowerment plan for black Americans in
Atlanta on Friday that will designate both Antifa and the Ku Klux Klan as
terrorist organizations. The “Platinum Plan” details Trump’s vision for a
potential second term, including increasing access to capital to black
businesses by almost $500 billion, which will create 3 million new jobs for the
black community, and creating 50,000 new black-owned businesses, the document
said. It comes as the Trump campaign tries to boost support among black voters,
touting their criminal justice reforms and record low African American
unemployment before the pandemic. “In 39 days, we’re going to win four more
years in the White House, and we will do it with a record number of votes from
the black community,” Trump told a crowd of supporters in Georgia. “Our
movement is welcoming millions of black Americans back to the Republican Party,
the party of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln,” he continued. “Today I
want to share what you have to gain from voting Republican on Nov. 3.”

 

Boston Herald: Convicted ISIS Terrorist Out To ‘Kill Boys In Blue’ Resentenced
To 30 Years In Prison
<[link removed]>

 

“Convicted ISIS terrorist David Daoud Wright of Everett — part of a terror
cell out to “kill boys in blue” — was resentenced Monday to 30 years in prison
and a lifetime of supervision. Wright, brought back to Boston, fought back
tears as he told the judge he was flawed, but he did not apologize. “I have
learned more about myself in nearly three years incarcerated than I had in
almost 30 years of life,” he told federal Judge Douglas Woodlock. “What exactly
have I learned? I’m still learning things. … I’m an imperfect creature like
everybody else in need of perfection from the creator.” He added police had
been among his “mentors” and he once considered going to college to one day be
a “federal probation officer.” He said “snippets from phone calls” of his
terror cell conspiring to kill “boys in blue” was not his “reality.” He added,
tearfully, that he’s “missed 16 funerals … weddings, graduations” while in an
Indiana prison. Protesters outside the U.S. District Court in South Boston
called for Wright’s freedom as his defense attorney, Jessica Hedges, said
inside the courtroom he was just a “misfit” who “retreated into (an) online
world” where he had “fantastical” thoughts.”

 

Syria

 

Al Monitor: 'Guardians Of Religion' Extremist Group Under Siege In Syria's
Idlib
<[link removed]>

 

“Jabhat al-Nusra — currently known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — split from
al-Qaeda in 2016. Jabhat al-Nusra's hard-line current Fateh al-Sham saw the
split as a betrayal to al-Qaeda and two years later, in February 2018, pledged
allegiance to al-Qaeda and formed a new jihadist group called the Guardians of
Religion Organization (GRO). Some of this current’s most prominent leaders are
Jordanian jihadists such as Jabhat al-Nusra's Khaled al-Arouri (nicknamed Abu
al-Qasim al-Urduni) and members of the Shura Council Samir Hijazi (Abu Hammam
al-Shami or Faruq al-Suri), Sami al-Aridi (Abu Mahmoud al-Sham) Bilal Khreesat
(Abu Khadija al-Urduni), Faraj Ahmad al-Naanaa and Abu Abdel-Karim al-Masry. In
June 2019, the US Department of Defense announced that one of its drones had
targeted a building in southern Aleppo where some top figures in the GRO and
other factions were meeting, killing two prominent leaders of the GRO. On June
14, 2020, US strikes killed Arouri, one of the organization's co-founders and
its military commander. He was close to al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Masaan
al-Zarqawi, who was killed in 2006. Arouri came to Syria in 2015 and became a
leader of Jabhat al-Nusra after it split from al-Qaeda.”

 

Iraq

 

Al Jazeera: Iraq: Five Civilians Killed In Baghdad Rocket Attack
<[link removed]>

 

“Iraqi armed groups fired two Katyusha rockets at a house in Baghdad, killing
two women and three children while severely wounding two other children, the
Iraqi military said on Monday. It was the first time in months an attack led to
civilian casualties. The three Iraqi children and two women were from the same
family and were killed when a rocket targeting Baghdad airport, where US troops
are stationed, fell on their home instead, the army said in a statement. The
rockets were launched from the al-Jihad neighbourhood of Baghdad. The home was
completely destroyed. The military accused “cowardly criminal gangs and groups
of outlaws” of seeking to “create chaos and terrorise people”. It said Prime
Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi had ordered the arrest of the perpetrators and said
“these gangs will not be allowed to go around and tamper with security” with
impunity. The deaths were the first among Iraqi civilians in the latest
outbreak of violence, during which Iran-backed Iraqi Shia fighters have been
blamed for targeting US interests in the country.”

 

Asharq Al-Awsat: Iraqi Army Searches For ISIS Cells Between Kirkuk, Saladin
<[link removed]>

 

“The dispute over the US military presence in Iraq has raged and the attacks
on the US embassy in the Green Zone in central Baghdad have not abated as the
Iraqi army continues to pursue ISIS cells in western and northern provinces.
The leader of the Sadrist Movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, warned about what he
called “losing Iraq” amid rocket attacks and assassinations carried out by some
factions of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). “You should know that the
things some armed groups affiliated with this broad force (the PMF) are doing
is weakening Iraq, its people and state, which means strengthening the external
forces, on top of which is the great evil America.” The Fatah Alliance led by
Hadi Al-Amiri condemned attacks that targeted diplomatic missions and official
institutions. In a statement released on Thursday, the Alliance said: “These
actions undermine the state and its authority.” “The PMF has always been the
primary defender of Iraq, its unity and its sovereignty, alongside our brothers
in the security forces.” He urged its fighters to abide by the law and distance
themselves from everything that harms Iraq.”

 

Al Monitor: Following US Warning, Iraq Steps Up Pressure On Outlawed Militias
<[link removed]>

 

“The US warning to the Iraqi government to take action against the militias in
the country has shaken up the political scene. There have been a series of
statements and a flurry of diplomatic exchanges in response to the message from
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Iraqi President Barham Salih that all
attacks on foreign missions and troops must stop, or else the United States
would consider closing its embassy and targeting all militias involved in
attacks against the United States. In an urgent meeting called by Salih Sept.
27, and attended by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, parliament Speaker
Mohammed al-Halbusi and President of the Supreme Judicial Council Judge Faiq
Zaidan, the attacks on foreign missions and the urgent need to protect them
from further assaults were discussed. Following the US warning, head of the
Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) Falih al-Fayadh and head of the PMU-affiliated
Fatah bloc Hadi al-Amiri, among many other Iraqi politicians, have condemned
the attacks against foreign missions and troops. Leader of the Sadrist movement
Muqtada al-Sadr asked Kadhimi to form a security committee to draw up a plan
for stopping the attacks and overseeing this process.”

 

Stars And Stripes: Carrier-Launched Airstrikes Hit ISIS Targets In Iraq As USS
Nimitz Patrols Persian Gulf
<[link removed]>

 

“For the first time in over two years, carrier-launched U.S. aircraft
conducted an airstrike against Islamic State targets in support of Operation
Inherent Resolve, the global coalition battling the terrorist group in Iraq and
Syria. A pair of Navy F/A-18F Super Hornets from Carrier Air Wing 17, embarked
on the USS Nimitz, conducted the strikes on Sept. 23, Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich, a
spokeswoman for the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, confirmed via email on Monday.
“The last such strike was by USS Theodore Roosevelt in [March] 2018,” said
Rebarich, who said the Super Hornets’ strike last Wednesday was carried out in
Iraq. A coalition strike that day, coordinated with the Iraqi military, took
out a cave and three shelters used as ISIS hideouts in Iraq’s Wadi al-Shai, a
rural area in Kirkuk province, Inherent Resolve spokesman Army Col. Wayne
Marotto said on Twitter Thursday. “Daesh operatives will continue to try and
take advantage of safe havens; but there is no safe place for terrorists to
hide,” he said. It was not clear whether that strike was carried out by the
carrier-launched sortie. Rebarich referred questions about the Navy strike to
Inherent Resolve, which did not immediately respond to an inquiry on Monday.”

 

Turkey

 

The Daily Beast: Turkey Sends ISIS Warlord To Azerbaijan To Face-Off Against
Putin’s Armenian Allies
<[link removed]>

 

“On Sunday afternoon, a video depicting a large convoy of Islamist Syrian
rebel fighters yelling enthusiastically as they drove off to war circulated
widely on Arabic social media. Fighters in the packed trucks, driving quickly
past the group of children filming with their phones, could be heard yelling
“Allahu Akbar!” and, “Our leader, 'til the end of time, is our master,
Muhammad!” However, what shocked those watching the video weren’t the shouts of
the Syrian fighters but rather those of the children filming, who yelled back
at the soldiers in a language unfamiliar to most Syrians following their
country’s nine-year war. “That’s not Kurdish, right?” said one user in an
online group where the video emerged. “If they were Kurds, you think they’d be
cheering them on?” responded another with a laugh out loud emoji. Over the next
several hours, rumors swirled that the video was shot in Azerbaijan, a small
Turkic-speaking nation lodged between Iran and Russia, and that the Syrian
rebel fighters had been sent there to prop up the Azeri government in its war
against neighboring Armenia that had begun that day. According to high-ranking
Syrian rebel sources that spoke to The Daily Beast, these rumors are true.”

 

Daily Sabah: Al-Qaida-Linked Terrorist Apprehended At Turkey’s Southern Border
<[link removed]>

 

“A wanted terrorist linked to al-Qaida was apprehended by border forces in the
Altınözü district of southern Turkey’s Hatay province, the Turkish Defense
Ministry said Monday evening. Islom Saydalimov was being sought with a red
notice. The ministry statement said Saydalimov was detained with his wife and
three children and sent to the Babatorun Gendarmerie Station for processing.
Turkish security forces frequently carry out domestic counterterrorism
operations to apprehend terrorists from groups such as Daesh and the PKK.
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said Wednesday that Turkey has foiled 152
terrorist attacks by Daesh terrorists in the past year, as well as plots by the
PKK and DHKP-C.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Associated Press: Facing IS, Last Embattled Sikhs, Hindus Leave Afghanistan
<[link removed]>

 

“Afghanistan’s dwindling community of Sikhs and Hindus is shrinking to its
lowest levels. With growing threats from the local Islamic State affiliate,
many are choosing to leave the country of their birth to escape the insecurity
and a once-thriving community of as many as 250,000 members now counts fewer
than 700. The community’s numbers have been declining for years because of
deep-rooted discrimination in the majority Muslim country. But, without what
they say is adequate protection from the government, the attacks by the Islamic
State group may complete the exodus. “We are no longer able to stay here,” said
a member of the tiny community, who asked to be identified only by his last
name, Hamdard, out of fear he may be targeted for speaking out. Hamdard said
seven relatives of his, including his sister, nephews, and son-in-law were
killed by Islamic State gunmen in an attack on the community’s temple in March,
which killed 25 Sikhs. Hamdard said that fleeing his homeland is as difficult
as leaving a mother behind. Still, he joined a group of Sikhs and Hindus who
left Afghanistan last month for India, from where they will eventually move on
to a third country.”

 

India

 

The Tribune: Al-Qaeda In Indian Subcontinent Only Capable Of ‘Small-Scale
Regional Attacks’: US Official
<[link removed]>

 

“Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), a globally-banned terror group,
is now probably capable of only “small-scale regional attacks”, a top American
counter-terrorism official has told lawmakers. AQIS was set up by al-Qaeda
chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in 2014 to expand the terror group’s influence in the
region. “In South Asia, al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) has
struggled to rebound from the death of its leader, Asim Umar, in a US military
raid in Afghanistan in September 2019, and is probably only capable of
small-scale regional attacks,” Christopher Miller, Director, National
Counter-Terrorism Center, told a Senate committee on Thursday. Testifying
before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on the
“Threats to the Homeland”, the top American counter-terrorism official said
that in mid-March, the AQIS published a special issue of Nawai Afghan Jihad
praising the US-Taliban agreement, which mirrored al-Qaeda’s leaders’
statements on the deal. “Finally, Al-Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan has been
reduced to a few dozen fighters who are primarily focused on their survival and
are probably incapable of conducting attacks outside the country under
sustained CT pressure,” Miller said.”

 

Yemen

 

The Washington Post: U.S. Launches New Terrorism Review Of Iran-Backed Rebels
In Yemen
<[link removed]>

 

“The Trump administration is considering new steps to intensify pressure on
Yemen’s Houthi rebels, including a potential foreign terrorist organization
designation, according to several officials, in a bid to further isolate the
group’s patron, Iran. The officials cautioned that no decision has been made
but said the administration was discussing several possible moves, which could
also include naming individual Houthi leaders as “global terrorists.” Like
others, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal
deliberations. The terrorist organization designation would make it illegal to
provide support to the Houthis, ban members from traveling to the United States
and freeze the group’s financial assets. Those actions would have a largely
symbolic effect because of the rebels’ already isolated status but could make
it more difficult for aid organizations to provide relief in the country. The
discussions come as prospects for a swift negotiated settlement appear to be
receding in the increasingly fractured conflict, which has spawned the world’s
worst humanitarian crisis and allowed Iran to increase its influence on the
Arabian peninsula.”

 

Lebanon

 

Asharq Al-Awsat: Lebanon Army Tracks Down Isis-Linked Terrorists After Deadly
Attack
<[link removed]>

 

“Lebanese police have killed nine suspected members of the ISIS group in the
hunt for “terrorists” linked to several deadly attacks, including on soldiers,
a security source said Sunday. Saturday's operation came more than a month
after the army and security forces launched a manhunt for suspects in the
August 21 killing of two municipal policemen and the son of the mayor of the
northern village of Kaftoun. Police intelligence units raided a house in the
northern region of Wadi Khaled where “suspects linked to the ISIS” militant
group had been holed up, “killing all the terrorists inside”, the Internal
Security Forces (ISF) said in a statement. A security source said “at least
nine members of the group were killed”. But the source said the death toll
could rise as more bodies could be buried under the rubble of the house, part
of which was blown up during the police operation. The ISF statement said the
“terrorist cell” was made up of more than 15 suspects. It added that three had
been arrested in previous raids. Following the August murders in Kaftoun, the
army and police launched operations to track down the assailants.”

 

Libya

 

The National: UK Foreign Secretary Calls For ‘Just Outcome’ For Victims Of
Libyan-Backed Terrorism
<[link removed]>

 

“UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has called for a “just outcome” for British
victims of Libyan-backed terrorism but hinted that £11bn assets frozen in the
UK would not be used for compensation claims. The regime of Muammar Qaddafi
supplied guns and explosives to the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during their
three-decade violent campaign for an independent Ireland that left more than
3,500 people dead before a peace deal in 1998. MPs have backed the demands of
families and injured survivors who want to tap the assets because of the
difficulty of bringing legal action against the Libyan government during the
country’s civil war. Simon Hoare, the chairman of the UK parliament’s Northern
Ireland committee, earlier this month called on Mr Raab to consider payments to
families from the fund. His request came after the head of Libya’s sovereign
wealth fund said he wanted the UN to allow him to invest billions of dollars
sitting idle in its accounts. Mr Hoare said. “I observe that there may be an
opportunity to resolve the matter by allocating a proportion of the profits….
to UK victims of Qaddafi-sponsored IRA terrorism.”

 

Nigeria

 

Reuters: Suspected Islamists Kill At Least 11 In Attack On Convoy In
Northeastern Nigeria
<[link removed]>

 

“Suspected Islamist militants killed at least 11 people in northeastern
Nigeria in an attack on a security convoy that was taking people displaced by
an insurgency back to their homes, police and security sources said on
Saturday. Islamic State, to whom a breakaway faction of Nigerian militant group
Boko Haram pledged allegiance in 2016, said on its Amaq news agency that 30
police officers and soldiers were killed in the attack on Friday on a road
leading to the strategic fishing town of Baga in Borno state. In a statement on
Saturday, Borno state police said eight police officers and three members of a
government-approved militia were killed, and 13 people were wounded in the
attack around noon (1100 GMT) on Friday. Two soldiers, a police officer and a
member of the government-approved militia - all speaking anonymously because
they were not authorised to speak to journalists - told Reuters at least four
soldiers were also killed. Two Nigerian military spokesmen did not immediately
respond to requests for comment. President Muhammadu Buhari “urges security and
intelligence agencies to intensify efforts to check sabotage, sanitize the
roads, venues and locations well in advance of returning IDPs (internally
displaced people)”, a statement issued by his spokesman said.”

 

BBC News: Nigeria's Boko Haram Crisis: 'Bomb On Donkey' Used To Ambush Borno
Governor <[link removed]>

 

“Militants linked to the Islamic State group (IS) have used a donkey strapped
with explosives to ambush the convoy of the governor of Nigeria's north-eastern
Borno state. Governor Babagana Zulum was returning to the state capital,
Maiduguri, from Baga town when they were ambushed. Sunday's attack came two
days after he had survived another attack while travelling to an area near Lake
Chad. At least 18 people were killed in that ambush. Among them were 14 police
officers and soldiers and four civilians. Islamic State West Africa Province
(Iswap) militants, who were behind the attack, split from Boko Haram, an
Islamist group that launched its insurgency in north-eastern Nigeria a decade
ago. The group's campaign of violence has spread to neighbouring countries,
killing more than 30,000 people and forcing two million from their homes,
according to the UN. What happened in Sunday's attack? Governor Zulum was
returning from Baga where he had accompanied hundreds of residents who returned
to the town they fled in 2014 following deadly jihadist attacks. When soldiers
saw the donkey on the road, they shot at it.”

 

Sahara Reporters: Nigerian Troops Kill Boko Haram Terrorists In Borno —Defence
Headquarters
<[link removed]>

 

“Several Boko Haram terrorists have been killed at Tongule, Bone and Isari
Musa communities in Borno State during airstrikes carried out by the Air Task
Force of Operation Lafiya Dole under the subsidiary Operation Hail Storm 2.
Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, disclosed this
in a statement in Abuja. He said, “Airstrikes being executed in Borno State by
the Air Task Force of Operation LAFIYA DOLE under subsidiary Operation HAIL
STORM 2 have continued to yield tangible results. The latest of these include
the massive destruction of Boko Haram terrorists’ camps and neutralisation of
scores of their fighters in a night attack at Tongule on 24 September and
daytime raids at Bone and Isari B Musa on 25 September 2020. “The strike on
Tongule was undertaken after surveillance missions revealed a continued
assembly of the terrorists within the settlement at nighttime. Accordingly, the
Air Task Force dispatched Nigerian Air Force helicopter gunships for a night
attack on the location, with their barrage of rockets neutralizing several of
the terrorists. “Bone, a settlement along the Yale-Kumshe axis, on the other
hand, was attacked by a force package of NAF fighter jets and helicopter
gunships after credible intelligence reports established that the location
served as a staging area from where the terrorists launched attacks.”

 

Africa

 

Reuters: Israel Becomes New Obstacle For Sudan In Quest To Leave U.S.
Terrorism List
<[link removed]>

 

“Despite over a year of negotiations, Sudan is facing a fresh obstacle to its
removal from a U.S. terrorism list that has hindered its economy: a demand that
it normalize relations with Israel, three sources familiar with the matter
said. However, three Sudanese government officials told Reuters on Thursday
that Sudan is resisting the linkage of the two issues, which comes as U.S.
President Donald Trump has been touting himself as a historic peacemaker on the
campaign trail. Sudan’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism dates back
to its toppled ruler Omar al-Bashir, and makes it difficult for its new
transitional government to access desperately needed debt relief and foreign
financing. Sudan’s skyrocketing inflation and plummeting currency have been the
biggest challenge to the stability of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s
transitional administration. Many Sudanese say the designation, imposed in 1993
because the U.S. believed Bashir’s regime was supporting militant groups, is
now undeserved as he was removed last year and Sudan has long cooperated with
the U.S. on counter-terrorism.”

 

Daily Sabah: Chadian Forces Kill 20 Boko Haram Fighters, Free Hostages
<[link removed]>

 

“Chadian soldiers have killed 20 Boko Haram fighters and freed 12 civilians,
including nine children, kidnapped in the Lake Chad area in which several
countries' borders meet, the government said Friday. The extremist group, which
originated in Nigeria in 2009, has established bases on islets dotting Lake
Chad – a vast, swampy expanse on the border between Nigeria, Chad, Niger and
Cameroon. It has stepped up attacks in the area in recent months. On September
17, Boko Haram fighters raided a village in the restive zone and kidnapped the
civilians, Communications Minister and government spokesman Cherif Mahamat Zene
told Agence France-Presse (AFP). The army pursued the raiders and attacked them
Thursday in Barkalam, near the Nigerian border, he said, “killing 15” and
“freeing 12 civilians.” A little later, there was another encounter at Bilabrim
in which five Boko Haram fighters were killed and two Chadian soldiers were
wounded. The Chadian army launched an offensive against Boko Haram in April
after the deaths of some 100 soldiers in an attack by the group on one of its
bases. President Idriss Deby then claimed to have pushed the Boko Haram
fighters out. But attacks have continued despite the military operation.”

 

United Kingdom

 

The Telegraph: DIY Bomb Video Watched By Manchester Arena Terrorists Still
Online
<[link removed]>

 

“The bomb-making video used by the brothers who killed 22 people in the
Manchester Arena attack is still online, The Telegraph can reveal. The 13
minute clip, which teaches viewers how to build an explosive device at home
using “simple tools”, was available on one site for two years where it was
viewed more than 17,700 times. Hashem and Salman Abedi used the step-by step
guide to learn how to build a shrapnel-packed bomb which was detonated at an
Ariana Grande concert in May 2017. Counter terror researchers last night
criticised the “unacceptable” accessibility of the video and called for
stronger cybersecurity filters to prevent extremist content being shared
online. A Telegraph investigation found the video on three websites last week,
including the encrypted site Telegram, where it was removed within 48 hours
after being viewed 18 times … Joshua Fisher Birch, a researcher at the Counter
Extremism Project, said: “It is unacceptable that dangerous ISIS propaganda
that contains instructions for making explosives remains online”. Mr Birch said
tech companies can prevent the spread of dangerous ISIS content by creating
stronger filters to stop it from being uploaded in the first place.”

 

Daily Mail: Manchester Arena Bomber Salman Abedi's Brother Was Found With ISIS
Propaganda And Extremist Images Almost Two Years Before Attack, Inquiry Hears
<[link removed]>

 

“The Manchester Arena bomber’s brother posted extremist images and Islamic
State propaganda on social media before the attack, the inquiry into the
bombing has heard. Families of the 2017 atrocity's victims have criticised
MI5's 'obsessive secrecy' over the public investigation, as families were told
no members of the security service would be scrutinised in public. Manchester
magistrates' court heard yesterday terrorist Salman Abedi’s older brother
Ismail published extremist images on social media while his father was friends
with a key lieutenant of bin Laden. MI5 checked the Facebook account of Ismail
Abedi, now 27, in July 2015, when agents found a series of photographs of him
posing with weapons, the public inquiry into the terror attack heard. John
Cooper, Q.C., representing families of 12 of the 22 victims, said the account
contained ‘images of Ismail Abedi holding a rocket propelled grenade launcher
and sitting on an anti-aircraft gun’. He was also depicted holding a machine
gun. Photographs were imprinted with the logo of the Islamic State terror
group, Mr Cooper said. Two months later in September 2015, Ismail was detained
by border officials when entering the UK, his phone was seized and its contents
downloaded.”

 

France

 

Reuters: Knifeman In Paris Wounds Two At Scene Of Charlie Hebdo Attacks
<[link removed]>

 

“A man armed with a meat cleaver attacked and wounded two people on Friday who
had stepped out for a cigarette in front of the Paris office building where
Islamist militants gunned down employees of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo
five years ago. Police soon after detained the man suspected of carrying out
the attack, with bloodstains on his clothes, next to the steps of an opera
house about 500 metres (yards) away. The suspected attacker was from Pakistan,
and had arrived in France three years ago as an unaccompanied minor, Interior
Minister Gerald Darmanin said. “We are still in a war against Islamist
terrorism,” Darmanin said in a Twitter post. He said he had ordered law
enforcement agents to beef up protection at all sites where Islamist attacks
had taken place in the past, and at synagogues, where the city’s Jewish
community this weekend mark the Yom Kippur holiday. Nathan Messas, a doctor who
lives near the scene of Friday’s attack, said it brought back memories of the
Charlie Hebdo shooting. “Once again, hatred, gratuitous hatred. I was here five
years ago. Five years later, we’re here again. I don’t know when this is going
to end,” Messas said.”

 

Germany

 

Associated Press: Yom Kippur Synagogue Attack Leaves German Jews Still Uneasy
<[link removed]>

 

“As Jews around the world gather Sunday night to mark the beginning of Yom
Kippur, many in Germany remain uneasy about going together to their houses of
worship to pray, a year after a white-supremacist targeted a synagogue in the
eastern city of Halle on the holiest day in Judaism. If the assailant — armed
with multiple firearms and explosives —had managed to break into the building,
there’s no telling how many of the 52 worshippers inside might have been
killed. As it was, he turned his attentions on people outside, killing a
passer-by and a man at a kebab stand before he was apprehended. Since then,
security has been increased at Jewish institutions across the country, but many
wonder whether it is enough amid reports of increasing anti-Semitism and the
Halle attack still fresh in their minds. Naomi Henkel-Guembel was inside the
building that day a year ago, and didn’t immediately understand what was
happening when she heard a loud bang outside. Together with other young Jews
from Berlin, the 29-year-old had traveled to the eastern German city to
celebrate Yom Kippur, which fell on Oct. 9 in 2019, with the small, aging
community there. She still remembers the scene vividly as the 28-year-old
German right-wing extremist tried to barge into the synagogue, shooting at the
heavy door in an unsuccessful attempt to force it open, then throwing
explosives over a wall into a cemetery inside the compound while livestreaming
the attack.”

 

Euronews: Germany Marks 40 Years Since Neo-Nazi Attack On Oktoberfest
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“Germany's president warned that far-right terrorism remains a problem in the
country as he marked 40 years since a neo-Nazi attack on Munich's Oktoberfest. 
“Right-wing extremism has deep roots in our society,” said German President
Frank-Walter Steinmeier at a memorial event in Munich on Saturday.  Thirteen
lives were claimed in the bombing on September 26, 1980, and more than 200
people were injured.  “Let's keep the memory of Munich alive - including the
mistakes that have been made. Only those who know their mistakes will be able
to correct them,” Steinmeier added, according to German media reports. 
Investigators first said that the student who perpetrated the bombing, Gundolf
Köhler, had personal motives for the attack even though he had trained with a
neo-Nazi militia. The investigation was later reopened and in July 2020
prosecutors came to the conclusion that the perpetrator was motivated by
far-right extremism. Germany has seen a number of attacks driven by
anti-Semitism and far-right ideology in recent years. In February, a far-right
extremist committed a mass shooting, killing nine people at two shisha bars in
Hanau. And in October of last year, a far-right extremist attempted to enter a
synagogue in Halle, killing two people and broadcasting the attack online.”

 

Canada

 

The New York Times: Canadian Police Charge Man With Faking Terrorist Activity
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“The police in Canada have arrested a Toronto-area man who asserted he was an
ISIS executioner, accusing him of perpetrating a hoax that he was involved in
terrorist activities. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the man, Shehroze
Chaudhry, 25, “claimed he traveled to Syria in 2016 to join the terrorist group
ISIS and committed acts of terrorism.” The interviews he gave to media outlets,
the national police force said, raised “public safety concerns amongst
Canadians.” Sgt. Lucie Lapointe, a spokeswoman for the Mounted Police, said
that Mr. Chaudry was the person feature extensively in “Caliphate,” a podcast
by The New York Times, under the name Abu Huzayfah. In the podcast, he
described in harrowing detail his role in executions. The Times declined to
discuss its sourcing. “The uncertainty about Abu Huzayfah’s story is central to
every episode of Caliphate that featured him,” Danielle Rhoades Ha, a Times
spokeswoman, said in a statement. She noted that one episode confirmed that Abu
Huzayfah had misled The Times about the dates of his travel to Syria and the
timeline of his radicalization.”

 



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