Eye on Extremism
September 12, 2019
Fox
News: Elusive Al Qaeda Leader Zawahri Marks 9/11 Anniversary By
Calling For Jihadists To Attack US, Israel
“He has managed to evade authorities for more than 18 years, but Al
Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri is still using his platform to call for
bloodshed from the shadows. To mark the 18th anniversary of the
September 11 attacks, the terror leader called on Muslims to attack
U.S., European, Israeli and Russian targets in a speech. Multiple
intelligence and terrorism monitoring services intercepted the video,
in which Zawahri is said to condemn the "backtrackers" from jihad. He
decries jihadists who “reformed” in jail or who have said that the
9/11 attacks were not to be lauded because innocent civilians were
harmed. The coordinated Al Qaeda hijackings on Sept. 11, 2001, claimed
the lives of almost 3,000 people. Two civilian airliners struck both
towers of the World Trade Center, another hit the Pentagon, and a
fourth plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania after passengers overran
the Al Qaeda hijackers. Alongside ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi,
Zawahri is one of the two most wanted men in the world – both have a
$25 million U.S. bounty on their heads.”
Reuters:
At Afghan Base, Al Qaeda Memories Fresh 18 Years After September 11
Attacks
“It’s shortly before sunrise, and Maryanna Swanson, a Navy nurse
from Long Island, thinks she may run out of T-shirts for all of the
runners showing up for a Sept. 11 memorial race that she’s helping
organise at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. News of the race spread
by word of mouth and soon maybe more than 200 people - from bearded
commandos to medics and base firefighters - were running hard around
this dusty base, just miles from what was once a major al Qaeda
training camp. Swanson’s family saw al Qaeda’s devastation first-hand
18 years ago, the day when al Qaeda hijackers slammed airplanes into
the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon, killing
almost 3,000 people. ”My uncle was a fireman in New York City on 9/11
... He was at Ground Zero,” said Swanson, a Navy Lieutenant junior
grade, who was only 8 when the attacks took place. Even after 18
years, memories of the attacks that triggered the war in Afghanistan
are still fresh for U.S. troops here, many of whom were only in
elementary school at the time. Those service members who spoke to
Reuters in the past several days at bases throughout the country say
Sept. 11 inspired them to enlist in the U.S. military.”
CBS
News: Taliban Warns U.S. “Will Soon Regret” Abandoning Peace
Talks
“It was just after midnight on the morning of September 11 in Kabul
when the sound of an explosion echoed across the capital. A couple of
phone calls confirmed that a rocket had blown up inside the compound
of the U.S. Embassy. Mercifully no one was hurt. It was the first
incident since President Trump abruptly announced that the U.S. peace
talks with the Taliban were off. “They're dead. They're dead,” Mr.
Trump wrote. “As far as I'm concerned they're dead.” In response, the
Taliban has doubled down. “We had two ways to end occupation in
Afghanistan, one was jihad and fighting, the other was talks and
negotiations,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. “If Trump wants to
stop talks, we will take the first way and they will soon regret it.”
The Taliban's fight against Afghan and coalition forces had already
ratcheted up significantly in the past two weeks, and that
was during the peace talks in Doha. Deputy Interior Minister General
Khoshal Sadat told CBS News the Taliban has suffered “hundreds” of
casualties in the last 10 days, after the militants launched major
offensives across three provinces. That claim was backed up by sources
CBS News contacted at Resolute Support, the U.S.-led NATO mission in
Afghanistan.”
CNN:
A Forgotten Camp In Syria Could Be The Birthplace Of ISIS' Revenge
Generation
“The market at al-Hol camp is a sea of unidentifiable figures clad
in black, clutching their children's grubby hands as they drag them
past those haggling their wares. A CNN team approaches a group of
Iraqi women. Our request to talk to them sparks debate. "Sisters,
don't say anything," one woman warns the rest of the group. "No,
sister, we have a right to speak," another retorts. They talk over one
another, pouring out a litany of grievances. The children are starting
to steal. They don't have money. The conditions are wretched. They
want to go home. Al-Hol is a sprawling encampment for those displaced
from the former ISIS territory in northeastern Syria. Wind and sand
blow mercilessly against tents in the scorching heat of the Syrian
summer. About 15% of the inhabitants here are foreigners, but the
international community has for months neglected the camp. And as
living conditions worsen, nostalgia for ISIS' rule is beginning to
brew. The camp's population rocketed from 9,000 to 70,000 after ISIS
made its last stand in the Syrian town of Baghouz in March. Weeks of
battle led to a large outflux of displaced people, mostly the families
of ISIS fighters.”
The
Wall Street Journal: Cloud-Services Company Cloudflare Discloses
Potential Sanctions Violations
“Cloudflare Inc., a provider of cloud-based networking and
cybersecurity services, may have violated U.S. economic and trade
sanctions regulations, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing.
The San Francisco-based technology company, which is expected to go
public as early as this week, has voluntarily disclosed potential
economic and trade sanctions violations to the Treasury Department,
the company said in documents that declared the company’s intention to
go public. The prospectus, filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission last month, was amended last week. The company said in the
filing that it made the self-disclosure in May to the Treasury’s
Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces U.S. sanctions, and
the self-disclosure is under review by the agency. Cloudflare didn’t
immediately respond to a request for comment. Cloudflare said in the
filing that it determined that its products were used by, or for the
benefit of, certain individuals and entities that have been
blacklisted by the U.S. A number of the parties made payments to the
company in connection with their use of the platform, the company said
in the filing.”
ACAMS
TODAY: 18 Years After 9/11: Another Watershed In Global
Counterterrorism Finance
“This week marks the 18th anniversary of the horrible attacks of
September 11, 2001. These attacks marked both the high point of the
international terror operations planned and directed by al-Qaida and
the beginning of the degradation and complete destruction of the
physical infrastructure that al-Qaida maintained in Afghanistan.”
United States
The
Wall Street Journal: Islamic State Targets New York City And Police
With Online Propaganda
“Islamic State has ramped up threats against New York City and New
York Police Department officers in recent weeks, counterterrorism
officials said in interviews. The overseas terrorist organization has
been targeting New York City with a new flood of online propaganda
that shows bloody images of police and digitally-faked threatening
messages in subways, the officials said in interviews. The rise in
violent messages, which officials say are circulated online and
intended to inspire and instruct potential terrorists, has persisted
since it was first detected in July. Officials said the increase
doesn’t represent an immediate threat to public safety and isn’t
linked to Wednesday’s 18th anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11,
2001. “What we’ve seen lately, is an unusual amount of propaganda
directed at attacks on U.S. soil and an unusual amount of that
pointing to New York as a target,” said John Miller, NYPD Deputy
Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism. Islamic State rose
to power more than a decade ago amid instability in Iraq. The group
controlled a self-proclaimed caliphate in Iraq and Syria that was the
size of Portugal at its peak, but collapsed this year after
U.S.-backed Syrian forces defeated the last of its territories.”
The
Wall Street Journal: Foreign Banks Risk Losing Dollar Access Under
Expanded U.S. Counter-Terror Powers
“The U.S. plans to use expanded counterterrorism powers to target
foreign financial institutions that facilitate terrorist financing,
leaders of terrorist groups and those participating in terrorist
training over the internet, a U.S. Treasury Department senior official
said. “Foreign financial institutions should be on notice that the
U.S. government will fully utilize this new authority if they are
found to be, in any way, facilitating the malign activities of U.S.
designated terrorist groups, their members and their supporters,”
Sigal Mandelker, the Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and
financial intelligence, said in prepared remarks for a speech
Wednesday at the International Institute for Counterterrorism’s annual
summit in Israel. The Trump administration this week unveiled details
of an updated counterterrorism executive order that significantly
expanded U.S. counterterrorism powers. The Trump administration
also imposed sanctions on dozens of individuals and entities allegedly
involved with terror groups. Treasury and the U.S. State Department
have blacklisted about 400 people and entities under antiterror
authorities over the past two years, representing nearly one-third of
all such designations since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.”
The
New York Times: We Work For The N.Y.P.D. This Is What We’ve Learned
About Terrorism.
“When detectives from the New York Police Department’s intelligence
bureau arrested Jose Pimentel on Nov. 20, 2011, he was in a Washington
Heights apartment putting the finishing touches on a pipe bomb he was
building in an Al Qaeda-inspired plot to attack military and police
targets in the city. On March 22, 2017, James Harris Jackson was
arrested for the racially motivated sword killing of Timothy Caughman.
Mr. Jackson, a white supremacist, said he had planned to kill more
people of color in New York, hoping to start a race war. Mr. Pimentel
and Mr. Jackson were charged under the New York State antiterrorism
law. Enacted shortly after Sept. 11, it allows New York to bring
terrorism charges regardless of whether the ideological motive is
“foreign” or “domestic” or whether the weapon is a bomb or a sword.
This approach is a model for tackling today’s terrorist threat.
Consider this: Dylann Roof, an admitted white supremacist, was not
charged with terrorism for killing nine black parishioners in South
Carolina in 2015; nor was Robert Bowers, an avowed racist and
anti-Semite, for killing 11 worshipers at a Pittsburgh synagogue in
2018. However, Sayfullo Saipov, who in 2017 ran over more than a dozen
people with his rented truck on a West Side bike path, killing eight,
was charged with federal terrorism counts because he did it for ISIS,
a designated foreign terrorist organization.”
CBS
News: On 9/11, Al Qaeda Leader Calls For Attacks On U.S. And Slams
Jihad “Backtrackers”
“Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri called Wednesday on Muslims to
attack U.S., European, Israeli and Russian targets in a speech on the
18th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. SITE Intelligence Group,
which tracks online activity of jihadist groups, reported that in a
video released by the militant group, the 68-year-old al-Zawahiri also
criticizes “backtrackers” from jihad, referring to former jihadis who
changed their views in prison and called the 9/11 attacks unacceptable
because innocent civilians were harmed. “If you want Jihad to be
focused solely on military targets, the American military has presence
all over the world, from the East to the West,” he said. “Your
countries are littered with American bases, with all the infidels
therein and the corruption they spread.” The coordinated al Qaeda
hijackings on Sept. 11, 2001 killed nearly 3,000 people, when
airliners slammed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and
another crashed in rural Pennsylvania. Al-Zawahiri's speech was
recorded in a 33-minute, 28-second video produced by the group's
as-Sahab Media Foundation. As an indicator of when the speech may have
been recorded, al-Zawahiri references President Donald Trump's
recognition of the Golan Heights as Israeli territory, which was
announced on March 25.”
Fox
News: Jihadis Celebrate 9/11 Anniversary, Vow To Strike America
Again
“Pro-ISIS and pro-Al-Qaeda channels on the Telegram messaging app
have been inundated with posts relating to 9/11, including threats and
calls for Muslims in the U.S. to carry out new terrorist attacks,
according to a report by the Middle East Media Research Institute
(MEMRI). “Allah will give us victory against them and what America
awaits in the coming days is greater and worse than what has passed by
the will of Allah [...] America indeed we along with you are waiting,”
reads one such post in an English-language channel, GreenB1rds. “You
are a disease which will be wiped out by the permission of the Allah.
Monotheists Brothers in the United Snakes of America... Prepare and
strike....and kill them wherever you find them...” One poster featured
a sepia-toned photo of the World Trade Center's twin towers on fire
with ISIS flags in the background. The poster read: “9/11, We call on
every Muslim who believes in Allah and wishes to be rewarded to comply
with Allah's order to kill the Americans and plunder their money
wherever and whenever they find it.” Another poster shared in the
channel featured an image of the Statue of Liberty and the gun of an
ISIS fighter with the caption “Islamic State - the Caliphate - Soon in
America.”
The
New York Post: Accused ISIS Sniper From Brooklyn Would ‘Take Up Arms’
If Released: Feds
“A former Brooklyn man accused of being a top ISIS sniper admitted
he would “take up arms” in support of the terror group again if he was
released, prosecutors claimed Wednesday. Ruslan Maratovich Asainov,
42, who was busted in July on charges of providing material assistance
to a terror group, was ordered to stay behind bars at his arraignment
in Brooklyn federal court, with Judge Nicholas Garaufis agreeing he
posed “a danger to the community.” “He confesses that if he were
released, he would take up arms in support of ISIS again,” prosecutor
Saritha Komatireddy told the judge, who agreed to keep Asainov
detained at Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he is under
heightened security. The Kazakhstan-born alleged jihadi appeared in
the courtroom looking solemn, but refused to speak. His lawyer pleaded
not guilty on his behalf — saying Asainov wouldn’t do it himself
“because he doesn’t recognize the American system of laws.” “He’s
converted to Islam. He lives by Sharia law,” lawyer Susan Kellman told
reporters after the proceeding. “He doesn’t believe he has any
obligation to abide by the American legal system.” Komatireddy told
the judge Asainov was a “clear danger” and a flight risk, citing his
contacts in both Syria and Kazakhstan.”
CNN:
The US Needs To Act Now Against The Next Terrorist
Incubator
“As we mark the 18th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the
United States continues to face threats from a variety of terrorist
adversaries. The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) presents one
such problem, and despite the loss of its physical caliphate early
this year and the significant losses it suffered on the battlefield,
the next manifestation of this threat now lies in a remote corner of
northeast Syria. An estimated 70,000 women and children remain
detained by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in a small
1.5 square mile complex called the al-Hol camp. Within this
population, there are thousands who appear to remain deeply
committed to the group's ideology, to include a large number from the
West. Without further attention from the United States and the
international community, it is likely that a significant portion of
these individuals will be further radicalized and committed to the
ISIS cause, and could be an important driver to the group's recovery
in face of several setbacks. As national security professionals with
careers in the military and counterterrorism communities respectively,
we feel now is a crucial moment for the United States to demonstrate
global leadership and develop a clear strategy to deal with this
complex issue.”
VOA:
Americans Pause To Remember 9/11 Terrorist Attacks
“Americans paused Wednesday to mark the 18th anniversary of the
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people
in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania. President Donald Trump and
first lady Melania Trump walked outside the White House to observe a
moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., the time when hijackers flew the first
of two commercial jetliners into the World Trade Center in New York.
Later, Trump addressed a ceremony at the Pentagon for families of
those killed when al-Qaida terrorists flew a hijacked plane into the
building that is the headquarters of the U.S. military. Early
Wednesday, ahead of the ceremony, an American flag was unfurled down
the side of the Pentagon. In New York, in an annual ceremony at ground
zero of the attack, people began reading the names of all the victims
killed on the day that now is etched in the memories of Americans
across the country. Hundreds of survivors and family members of those
killed gathered at the 9/11 Memorial, where the Twin Towers of the
World Trade Center stood before two al-Qaida-hijacked commercial
flights brought them down.”
Syria
The
New York Times: Horrid Conditions In Syria Camp Where ISIS Families
Fled Risk Fostering Extremism
“Hundreds of young children have died from disease and malnutrition
in the desert camp holding families of Islamic State fighters in
northeast Syria, United Nations investigators said on Tuesday, warning
that international inaction on the situation risked incubating a new
wave of extremism. The Commission of Inquiry, created by the United
Nations Human Rights Council that is monitoring the conflict in Syria,
said at least 390 children had died of preventable causes in the first
half of the year while in, or on their way to, Al Hol, the camp set up
to take in families fleeing the last strongholds of the Islamic State
in Syria. Their deaths exposed the “intolerable” conditions for the
70,000 people, more than 90 percent of them women and children, who
are crammed into the Kurdish-run camp, with little access to medicine
and food. Their plight highlighted international paralysis over what
to do with the residents, including 11,000 foreigners from dozens of
countries, many of them still fervent supporters of Islamic State
ideology, who have been shunned by their governments and in some cases
stripped of their nationality. The children who died, most of them
weakened by long-term malnutrition and dehydration, had succumbed to
diseases like pneumonia and dysentery, the commission said.”
Voice
Of America: UN Experts Call For Repatriation Of IS-Linked Children And
Mothers In Syria
“U.N. investigators are calling on countries to repatriate
thousands of children and mothers associated with Islamic State
fighters interned in Syria’s Al-Hol displacement camp. The U.N.
Commission of Inquiry on Syria has released its latest report. About
70,000 people, the vast majority women and children under the age of
12, are languishing at the Al-Hol camp. They fled there after the
Islamic State stronghold of Deir al-Zor was captured by the U.S.-led
international coalition and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces
(SDF). The three-member U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria says
thousands of children above the age of 12, who are considered to be of
fighting age, are being held in incommunicado detention by the SDF.
Commission Chairman Paulo Pinheiro says the children are being kept in
a secret location with adults suspected of being fighters for IS, and
in conditions that may give rise to torture or ill-treatment. “We find
very bizarre this limit of 12. One-hundred-ninety-one member states
have ratified the Convention of the Rights of the Child and the
children from 12 to 18, they are children and adolescents ...
considered terrorists if they are more than 12 years old. The
Commission finds this completely appalling,” said Pinheiro.”
Al
Jazeera: Syria, US-Led Coalition May Have Committed War Crimes: UN
Report
Syrian government forces backed by Russian warplanes may have
committed war crimes while targeting medical facilities, schools,
markets and farmland in an ongoing deadly campaign in northwestern
Syria, UN investigators say. The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria
also said on Wednesday that Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former
al-Qaeda affiliate fighting government forces in the northwestern
province of Idlib, fired rockets indiscriminately and killed
civilians. Syrian forces carried out repeated air raids in Saraqib in
Idlib on March 9, damaging Al-Hayat women's and children's hospital
despite being aware of its coordinates, the report said. In Idlib on
May 14, "pro-government forces air-dropped between two and four
missiles on a fish market and primary school for girls in Jisr
al-Shughour", killing at least eight civilians, it said. "Such attacks
may amount to the war crime of deliberately attacking protected
objects and intentionally attacking medical personnel," the UN report
said.”
Reuters:
Syrian Rebels Say Russian-Backed Forces Prepare To Resume
Offensive
“Syrian rebel fighters on Wednesday said Russian-backed forces were
amassing troops in preparation for resuming a five-month offensive in
northwest Syria after a second day of raids by jets believed to be
Russian threatened to end a fragile ceasefire. The jets that flew
overnight at high altitudes struck a village near Kafr Takhareem and
an area near the town of Darkoush, both in rural areas in western
Idlib province, two opposition sources and a resident in the area
said. The overnight bombing raid came hours after air strikes hit a
part of the northwest for the first time since the truce was declared
11 days ago, according to activists and a monitor. Moscow denied
conducting the first strikes. Russia said the Syrian government
unilaterally agreed to a truce on Aug. 31 in opposition-controlled
Idlib, where a “de-escalation zone” was brokered two years ago between
Russia and Turkey.”
Iran
The
Jerusalem Post: Europe Is Propping Up Iranian Terror While Demonizing
Israel
“It’s not everyday that a world leader manages to wrestle the
attention and agenda from Donald Trump. But at the recent G7 summit in
Biarritz, France, French President Emmanuel Macron took center stage
(at least for a few moments) with his surprise invitation to Iran’s
foreign minister, Jarad Zarif. Trump has been putting the squeeze on
Iran, walking away last year from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action and ratcheting up sanctions on the Islamic Republic. In turn,
Macron and other European leaders have been waging a two-front
campaign — keep Iran tethered to the nuclear deal long enough to get
Trump and the United States back on board. In addition to the Zarif
invitation, French officials this month reportedly proposed a $15
billion letter of credit to compensate Iran for U.S. sanctions and
incentivize that country to keep the terms of the 2015 deal. In order
to understand how grievous a mistake this is, Macron just has to
follow the money released to Iran since the JCPOA was signed. The
sanctions rollback was designed to aid everyday Iranians, but the
main winner has turned out to be Iran’s terrorist infrastructure.”
The
New York Times: Trump Leaves Open Possibility Of Easing Iranian
Sanctions To Spur Nuclear Talks
“President Trump appeared to take a step back from his
administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran on
Wednesday, leaving open the possibility of easing economic sanctions
before starting new nuclear negotiations with Tehran. Although he also
warned Iran against restarting production of the material necessary to
make a nuclear bomb — as the clerical government in Tehran has
threatened — Mr. Trump made clear he was ready for diplomatic talks.
“I do believe they’d like to make a deal,” Mr. Trump told reporters at
the White House. “If they do, that’s great; and if they don’t, that’s
great too. But they have tremendous financial difficulty, and the
sanctions are getting tougher and tougher.” He shrugged when asked if
he would consider easing the sanctions to secure a meeting with Iran.
“We’ll see what happens,” Mr. Trump said.”
BBC:
Australian And British Bloggers Held In Iran Named
“Two Australian citizens detained in Iran have been identified as
Jolie King and Mark Firkin. Ms King, who also holds a UK passport, and
Mr Firkin were blogging their travels in Asia and the Middle East.
They were reportedly arrested 10 weeks ago near Tehran but news of the
arrest, and that of another British-Australian woman, came to light on
Wednesday. Australia said it had repeatedly raised their cases with
Tehran, including in a meeting between officials last week. Foreign
Minister Marise Payne said she had lobbied on their behalf in a
meeting with her Iranian counterpart. She described the detentions as
"a matter of deep concern" on Thursday, and confirmed that assistance
had been offered to the families of the three detainees. "[We] hope to
see Mark and Jolie safely home as soon as possible," their families
said on Thursday. The situation comes amid growing tensions between
the West and Iran.”
Turkey
The
Washington Post: Austrian Writer Acquitted Of Terror Charges In
Turkey
“An Austrian student and journalist says a Turkish court has
acquitted him and two others of terror-related charges. Max Zirngast
was taken into custody in September 2018 after Turkey accused him and
two other people of “membership in an armed terrorist organization.”
They were accused of links to the Turkish Communist Party/Kivilcim. If
convicted, Zirngast could have faced a prison sentence of up to 10
years. The 29-year-old confirmed his acquittal to The Associated Press
on Wednesday. Zirngast, who has contributed to left-wing publications
and was studying political science, was released from pre-trial
detention in December. Ties between Turkey and the European Union have
been strained over the arrests of foreign journalists and others in
Turkey. Austria’s government had demanded Zirngast’s release.”
Afghanistan
Yahoo
News: Taliban Want US Deal, But Some In Bigger Hurry Than
Others
“Afghanistan's Taliban leaders agreed they wanted a deal with the
United States, but some were in more of a hurry than others.Taliban
negotiators were at odds with their Council of Leaders, or shura,
about whether to travel to Camp David even before President Donald
Trump abruptly canceled the high-stakes meeting planned for last
weekend. According to Taliban officials familiar with the discussions,
the shura opposed the trip to Camp David and chastised the negotiators
who were eager to attend. The Taliban have been holding talks with the
U.S. for over a year in the Qatari capital, Doha, where the militant
Islamic movement maintains a political office under the banner of The
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the
Doha office, told the Taliban Al-Emarah website on Tuesday that U.S.
envoy Zalmay Khalilzad had invited Taliban negotiators to Camp David
in late August. The Taliban accepted, only to delay, demanding the
deal be announced first by Qatar. They also wanted a signing ceremony
witnessed by the foreign ministers of several countries, including
Pakistan, Russia and China. The delay followed the shura's rejection
and admonishment of its negotiators.”
The
Atlantic: A Terrific Deal—For The Taliban
“The relentless spectacle of the Trump administration makes it
difficult to hang on to even important blunders, but the recently
revealed—only to be canceled—Camp David peace conference with the
Taliban, as well as the underlying deal, is one President Donald Trump
ought to be forced to defend throughout the 2020 election. It
represents the worst elements of the president’s “America first”
strategy: a repudiation of what we’re fighting for and an abandonment
of America’s allies, served up with a narcissistic flourish. The
proposed conference was evidently modeled on President Jimmy Carter’s
landmark Israeli-Egyptian peace summit, during which leaders of the
crucial factions personally committed to the terms. That’s clearly
what Trump wanted, to personally seal the deal and triumphantly take
credit for bringing America’s longest war to an end in time for the
accomplishment to color his reelection prospects. There were, of
course, lots of problems with the scheme—entirely predictable kinds of
problems that an administration with a functional interagency
policy-making process would have unearthed. The Trump administration
has no such process.”
CBS
News: CBS News Gets Rare Access To Afghanistan Forces Hunting ISIS
Suspects
“Less than a month after 9/11, U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan to
dismantle al Qaeda and remove the Taliban that hosted them. But to
this day, terrorist organizations are still using Afghanistan as a
base. CBS News was given a rare opportunity to accompany an elite
U.S.-trained Afghan commando unit as it tracked down ISIS fighters in
Kabul. Eighteen years after 9/11, Afghan special forces are a part of
America's strategy to stop it from happening again. This time, a hunt
for suspected ISIS targets in the capital. CBS News joined an armored
convoy into one of Kabul's most dangerous neighborhoods. After waiting
for the signal to move, CBS News went down a group of alleyways
overlooked by empty buildings. A soldier with night vision scanned the
horizon while others climbed walls, looking for threats.”
Pakistan
The
National: US Designates Head Of Pakistan's Taliban A Global
Terrorist
“The United States has designated the head of the Taliban in
Pakistan as a specially designated global terrorist as part of what it
said was the most significant overhaul of counter-terrorism sanctions
since the attacks of September 11, 2001. Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud was
named by the US State Department alongside 11 other terrorist group
leaders, giving US officials greater powers to target their finances
and assets. He became head of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan in June 2018
after his predecessor, Mullah Fazlullah, was killed in a US drone
strike. Others named in the executive order included senior leaders of
Hezbollah, Hamas, ISIS and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. A statement said
the order by US President Donald Trump would “deny these terrorists
the resources to plan and carry out attacks”. “All of their property
and interests in property subject to US jurisdiction are blocked, and
US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions
with them,” it said. Under Mehsud's leadership, the TTP had “claimed
responsibility for numerous deadly terrorist attacks across Pakistan,”
the US government said. The militant commander and scholar, known for
his pronounced squint, last year inherited a fragmented and
increasingly marginalised movement that had been driven out of many of
its haunts in northern Pakistan.”
The
Guardian: Sri Lankan Cricket Board Warned Over Terrorist Threat To
Pakistan Tour
“The Sri Lankan cricket board says it has been warned about a
possible terrorist threat during its planned tour of Pakistan and
called for a reassessment of the security situation before play starts
in two weeks. The SLC said in a statement on Wednesday that the Sri
Lankan Prime Minister’s Office “has received reliable information of a
possible terrorist threat on the Sri Lankan team, while touring
Pakistan. Hence SLC has been advised to take extreme care and
‘reassess’ the situation before embarking on the said tour.” The tour
is set to start on 27 September with a one-day international in
Karachi. Ten of Sri Lanka’s top players, including the Twenty20
captain, Lasith Malinga, and one-day international captain, Dimuth
Karunaratne, have already pulled out of the limited-overs tour because
of security concerns. Pakistan has not hosted a Test match since Sri
Lanka’s team bus was attacked by terrorists in 2009. Eight people were
killed during the ambush and several Sri Lankan players were injured.
The tour was originally set to begin with Test matches but the
schedule was flipped after discussions between the heads of the two
cricket boards. The two-Test series is now scheduled for December.
Karachi is set to host three one-day internationals while three
Twenty20s will be played at Lahore on 5, 7 and 9 October.”
Yemen
Long
War Journal: AQAP And Islamic State Resume Fighting In
Yemen
“Following sporadic raids against each other over the summer, al
Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Islamic State in Yemen
(IS-Y) have engaged in open warfare in Yemen’s Al Bayda since late
August. Since Aug. 27, the two groups have claimed a combined 29
attacks against each other in Al Bayda’s Qayfa region. This region has
seen fierce fighting between the two in the past and has historically
been a critical area for AQAP. Both sides have said its men have taken
and retaken territory, launched improvised explosive device (IED)
attacks against one another, sniped opposing militants and attacked
various positions via mortars and rockets. AQAP has been responsible
for the majority of claims (23), while IS-Y has mainly reported its
men repelling AQAP assaults. The heaviest days of fighting have so far
been Sept. 1 and Sept. 9, in which the majority of the claims were
published. Islamic State photo reports of the fighting appear to back
up the claims that its men have repelled AQAP assaults. Many of the
photos detail dead bodies and captured weapons. The renewed fighting
has mainly taken place in Qayfa area and its surrounding villages,
including Al Hamida, Al Zoub, Sarar, Awaja, Liqah, Al Najd, and Abu
Ghayth.”
The
National: Yemen's Southern Forces Hold Back Houthi
Assault
“Nine Houthi fighters were killed and dozens injured when fierce
clashes renewed between the Houthi militia and the Southern Joint
Forces north of the coastal city of Aden on Tuesday night. The
fighting in Al Dhalea province raged around the villages of Al
Zubairiyat, Al Reibi and eastern Al Fakher. The fighting broadened to
the villages of Habeel Al Dhuba and Al Shaghader in the centre of the
Hajer front as Houthi rebels shelled the areas, Col Haiytham Qasim, a
field commander in the Southern Joint Forces told The National. “Our
forces responded to the intensified Houthi attacks, using artillery
and tanks to shell the sites of the Houthi rebels who found themselves
under pressure of our heavy weapons, Col Qasim said. “This forced them
to draw their fighters back after many fall dead.” He said it was the
most intense push the Iran-backed rebels have made in the last two
months, “but it was totally foiled.” The fighting continued for more
than three hours and the Southern forces destroyed more than three
Houthi military vehicles and a Soviet-era ZSU-23-4 ‘Shilka’
anti-aircraft gun in Al Reibi area eastern Al Fakher.”
Saudi Arabia
Xinhuanet:
Saudi-Led Coalition Intercepts Drone Targeting Border
City
“Saudi-led coalition involved in a war in Yemen intercepted on
Wednesday a drone launched by Houthi militia towards Saudi border city
of Najran. The Houthis target daily Saudi lands, mainly cities in the
western borders with drones and missiles. Most of the attacks fail to
reach their targets. The coalition's spokesperson Turki Al Maliki said
in a statement on Saudi Press Agency that the drone was intercepted on
Wednesday morning and was targeting civilian sites in Najran. He said
that the coalition has taken measures to intercept and destroy drones
and missiles, and neutralized the powers of the Iranian-backed Houthi
militias. The coalition completed its fourth-year war in Yemen in the
first quarter of 2019 in support of the Yemeni exiled government and
against the Houthis.”
Lebanon
The
Wall Street Journal: Israel Tiptoes Toward Conflict With Lebanon’s
Hezbollah
“A widening campaign by Israel to blunt the threat posed by Iran’s
ally Hezbollah, and the pushback from beyond Israel’s borders, are
raising the risk that the two sides will stumble into another war. In
what is known in Israel as the war between the wars, Israel has been
hitting targets in Syria for years to try to prevent Tehran from
moving military supplies to its Lebanese ally. More recently, raising
the risk of conflict, it expanded that effort to Lebanon and Iraq.
Hezbollah responded last week, firing antitank missiles into this
small farming community on the Lebanese border. Israeli military
officials said Hezbollah had crossed a line by firing into a civilian
area rather than a closed military site. “These are places Hezbollah
shouldn’t take the war between wars because it will end in a war,” an
Israeli military official said. Israel has widened the campaign as
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fights to hold on to his post,
facing a re-election bid on Tuesday.”
Nigeria
The
Jerusalem Post: Islamists Kill Nine Soldiers In Northeast
Nigeria
“Islamist militants killed nine Nigerian soldiers in an attack on a
military base in the northeast of the country, three soldiers and an
official from a security agency said on Wednesday. A decade-long
insurgency in the northeast, started by Islamist group Boko Haram in
2009, has claimed more than 30,000 lives. A breakaway faction that
pledges allegiance to Islamic State has become the dominant group in
the insurgency, carrying out attacks on military bases over the past
year. The soldiers and security officer, all of whom spoke on
condition of anonymity, said Islamist militants attacked troops on
Tuesday at a military base in Gudumbali - a town in Borno, the state
worst hit by the insurgency. They said nine soldiers were killed in
the attack and 27 were missing. “We repelled the attack,” said
Nigerian Army spokesman Sagir Musa. He said he was not aware of any
soldiers being killed or having gone missing.”
Africa
Euronews:
Mali Jihadists Say Attack On Passenger Bus Was Targeting French
Troops
“A Mali-based al Qaeda affiliate said a landmine it planted that
killed 14 civilians when it exploded under a passenger bus was
intended to target French troops. Around 60 people were in the vehicle
when it hit the landmine on Sept. 3 as it drove through a region in
central Mali that has become a haven for Islamist militants despite a
five-year-old French military operation to counter them. Jama’a Nusrat
ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) – an umbrella group for al Qaeda-linked
militants in West Africa and the Maghreb – said it had not intended to
attack the bus and offered its condolences and sympathy to the
relatives of those killed. “With deep sadness and grief, we received
news about the killing of a group of our brothers and children,” it
said via its media arm, according to U.S.-based SITE, which monitors
jihadist websites. “This came as the result of the detonation of a
landmine the mujahideen had planted for patrols of the French
occupation,” it said in the statement. At least 24 civilians were
wounded in the attack in addition to the 14 dead, according to the
Malian authorities.”
Germany
Fox
News: Yazidi Sex Slave Survivor To Face One Of Her ISIS Rapists In
German Court
“On a bitter day in the dead of winter, as 2017 was drawing to a
close, Shatha Salim Bashar was rescued from hell. The Yazidi made it
home after almost three-and-a-half years as an ISIS sex slave in Iraq
and Syria. ”I can’t forget the first time I was raped,” Shatha, 28,
told Fox News. “I was traded 14 times among the jihadists.” She was
kidnapped alongside her mother, her sister, and two younger brothers.
In the beginning, she pretended to be the mother of her youngest
brother, aged just 3 – in the hopes she would be spared violation if
ISIS militants believed she was not a virgin. But Shatha was violated
by every one of her 14 enslavers. Moreover, the tiny young woman was
used as a human shield by ISIS, thrust onto the frontlines in Syria
and forced to watch her best Yazidi friend die on the battlefield. Her
reunification months later should have been one of jubilation – but
her friend’s family also arrived with smiles, thinking the women were
rescued together. Shatha was the one to break the shattering news. In
spite of all she has endured since ISIS suddenly stormed her village
of Kocho, in the foothills of Iraq’s Sinjar Mountain on August 15,
2014, Shatha’s scars – inside and out – have become her stories.”
Europe
The
Jerusalem Post: Swiss Revoke Citizenship From Dual-National Islamic
State Recruiter
“Switzerland has revoked the citizenship of a man convicted of
helping recruit jihadist fighters, invoking a law allowing dual
nationals to be stripped of their Swiss passports for conduct
detrimental to national interests or reputation. Though the Swiss
federal immigration office said this was the first time it had made
such a move under the 66-year-old law, other Western nations have also
stripped citizenship of people linked to extremist violence in the
Middle East. Last year, Australia revoked the nationality of an
Islamic State (IS) recruiter, despite some concerns the move would
leave him stateless, while Britain in February stripped a 19-year-old
teenager of citizenship on security grounds. The Swiss office did not
release the other nationality of the man, who is in prison after
receiving a multiple-year sentence for crimes including membership in
a terrorist organization, spreading IS propaganda and seeking to
convince fighters to participate in jihadist violence in the Middle
East. The man, likely to be expelled from Switzerland after his
eventual release from prison, still has the opportunity to appeal, the
immigration office said, without identifying him. After someone's
citizenship has been withdrawn, Switzerland can deny entry to them if
deemed a security threat.”
Technology
Reuters:
U.S. Social Media Firms To Testify On Violent, Extremist Online
Content
“Alphabet Inc’s Google, Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc will testify
next week before a U.S. Senate panel on efforts by social media firms
to remove violent content from online platforms, the panel said in a
statement on Wednesday. The Sept. 18 hearing of the Senate Commerce
Committee follows growing concern in Congress about the use of social
media by people committing mass shootings and other violent acts. Last
week, the owner of 8chan, an online message board linked to several
recent mass shootings, gave a deposition on Capitol Hill. The hearing
“will examine the proliferation of extremism online and explore the
effectiveness of industry efforts to remove violent content from
online platforms. Witnesses will discuss how technology companies are
working with law enforcement when violent or threatening content is
identified and the processes for removal of such content,” the
committee said. Facebook’s head of global policy management Monika
Bickert, Twitter public policy director Nick Pickles and Google’s
global director of information policy Derek Slater are due to
testify. Facebook and Google both confirmed they will participate but
declined to comment further. Twitter did not immediately comment.”
The
Hill: Cloudflare Must Stop Being The 'Service Of Choice' For Bad
Internet Actors
“I read with great interest that Cloudflare recently filed
paperwork in pursuit of an IPO. No, I’m not hoping to invest my 401(k)
in their stock. Rather, I am hopeful that the IPO may lead Cloudflare
to step up to the responsibilities of a public company and refuse to
provide their services to entities involved in illegal activities. If
they will not, potential investors in Cloudflare may be in for a rude
awakening when they learn of the kinds of activities Cloudflare
facilitates. Cloudflare is not a household name, but anyone steeped in
the internet knows them well. They provide, among other products, a
“reverse proxy” service that masks the true IP address of websites,
making websites more like ghosts; no one, including law enforcement,
will be able to reach them directly unless they want to be reached.
The problem with Cloudflare is not what they do, but the fact that
they proudly offer their services to all willing to pay – regardless
of whether they are legitimate organizations or notorious criminals
involved in trafficking, drug dealing, radicalization, or other
nefarious activities. This willful blindness to their customers’
activities has made Cloudflare the “service of choice” for bad actors
looking to cloak their identity.”
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