Seven people - including two minors - are due to appear before an
anti-terrorism judge as part of the investigation into the murder of French
teacher

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


October 22, 2020

 

Sky News: France Terror Attack: Seven People To Appear In Court Over Death Of
Samuel Paty
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“Seven people - including two minors - are due to appear before an
anti-terrorism judge as part of the investigation into the murder of French
teacher Samuel Paty. The 47-year-old was beheaded outside his school in a
suburb of Paris after he had discussed images of the Prophet Mohammad with his
pupils. Investigators say the 18-year-old attacker, Abdullah Anzorov - who was
shot dead by police - had been seeking to avenge his victim's use of the
images. A parent, who had reportedly posted a video about the history teacher's
class, is included in the group of seven people along with two minors.
Prosecutors said the attacker had approached the two pupils outside the school
and asked them to identify Mr Paty as he left school for the day. It comes as
French interior minister Gerald Darmanin said he asked local authorities to put
mosques in the cities of Bordeaux and Beziers under police protection following
threats. French regional newspaper La Nouvelle Republique has also received
threats on social media after it published a caricature of the Prophet Mohammad
on its front page.”

 

Fox News: Taliban Attacks Increase As US Troops Move Toward Total Withdrawl
From Afghanistan
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“A crowd gathered recently around an old villager as he wailed in inconsolable
anguish, holding him up as his body buckled. Word quickly spread that the man
had just lost his entire family to a Taliban attack in his home province of
Helmand. That assault was Oct. 13, but was just one of dozens inside the
beleaguered region in recent weeks – a microcosm of a country ravaged by war,
still dominated by an ever-emboldened Taliban, and unsure if it can stand on as
its own as the United States steps away. National Defense Secretary Robert
O'Brien affirmed this week that the Pentagon was working to carry out President
Trump's vow to further diminish U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan, slashing
numbers to just 2,500 by early next year. However, Trump has pushed the
envelope even further in recent days – advocating that all troops be brought
home by Christmas. U.S. troop numbers fell from 12,000 to 8,600 in July. But as
Trump makes good on a pledge to bring an end to the “forever war” some 7,000
miles away – months after Washington officials inked a deal with Taliban
representatives in Doha centered on the U.S. leaving in exchange for the
insurgency not to harbor terrorist outfits such as Al Qaeda – Afghans on the
ground are caught in the crossfire of increasing Taliban assaults, the rising
death toll and steep uncertainty over what comes next."

 

Syria

 

Al Monitor: Syrian Extremist Group In Idlib Breaks With Jihadist Ideologue
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“Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is blacklisted as a terrorist organization
by the United States, announced through its Sharia Council the disavowal of
prominent jihadist ideologue Issam al-Barqawi, aka Abu Mohammad al-Maqdisi. In
a statement released Oct. 10, the HTS-affiliated Sharia Council said, “He
[Maqdisi] is not one of us, and we do not follow his ways. We distinguish
between his heretical notion of 'tawheed' [the oneness of God] and the notion
we were taught by our predecessors and successors [scholars]. We disavow
Barqawi’s ideology and behavior.” Maqdasi said in a statement via his Telegram
channel a few days ago, which was later removed, “We have been shown the
injustices and grievances of the HTS members and their cooperation with Turkish
intelligence in their investigation with Muslims. Those who abet Turkish
intelligence against Muslims commit a contravention in Islam, showing their
apostasy and deviation from religion, if they cooperate with Turkey.” Relations
between Maqdisi and HTS have been tense since the latter, formerly known as
Jabhat al-Nusra, split from al-Qaeda in 2016 and announced the formation of
Jabhat Fatah al-Sham. The split back then angered the more radical current
within Jabhat al-Nusra, which in turn announced the formation of Hurras al-Din
(Guardians of Religion), which is affiliated with al-Qaeda.”

 

Iraq

 

Voice Of America: Iraq Discovers Remains Of More Than 50 IS Victims In Mass
Grave
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“Iraqi officials say they have found a new mass grave that contains the
remains of several dozen people who appear to have been executed on the spot by
Islamic State in the disputed northern province of Kirkuk. Yehia Rasool,
military spokesperson for Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, announced Tuesday
on Twitter that Iraqi forces found the corpses of more than 50 people by chance
as they were pursuing the IS remnants in the Dawud Aluka village in Riyadh
subdistrict. “They were executed by Daesh terror gangs during their rein over
the village,” he said, using an Arabic acronym for IS. Rasool didn’t provide
further details on the identities of the victims. Thousands of Iraqis have gone
missing since 2014 when IS took control of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city,
along with a large swath of territory in other parts of Iraq and neighboring
Syria. Among the missing in Kirkuk are several dozen Kurdish peshmerga fighters
who were last seen in an IS propaganda video in 2015. The footage showed the
soldiers in orange jumpsuits atop the beds of pickup trucks in a parade through
the streets of Kirkuk’s Hawijah district."

 

Afghanistan

 

Al Jazeera: Taliban Ambush Kills Dozens Of Afghan Forces In Northern Province
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“Dozens of the members of Afghanistan’s security forces have been killed and
many others wounded in an attack by the Taliban in the northern province of
Takhar, officials said. Takhar provincial health director Abdul Qayoum told AFP
news agency on Wednesday that 34 security personnel were killed in the ambush,
including the province’s deputy police chief. At least eight others were
wounded in the incident, which took place overnight in Baharak district, a
province that is contested between the Taliban and government forces. Local
politicians placed the death toll at up to 42, DPA news agency reported.
Baharak is one of the districts of Takhar province, where 11 of the 16
districts have been largely controlled by Taliban fighters for years. Hejri
said the security forces had been on their way to an operation in Baharak when
they were attacked by the Taliban. “The Taliban had taken positions in the
houses around the area. They ambushed our forces who were there for an
operation against the enemy,” he said. The Taliban have not commented on the
attack yet. Following the Taliban’s campaign in Helmand, the Takhar attack is
believed to be the second major offensive by the group in less than a month.”

 

Saudi Arabia

 

Arab News: New Daesh Threat Puts Saudi Fight Against Extremism In The Spotlight
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“In a cryptic audio message, the extremist group Daesh has called on its
followers to launch terrorist attacks against oil pipelines and economic
infrastructure inside Saudi Arabia as retaliation for the Kingdom’s support for
the UAE and Bahrain’s normalization of ties with Israel. The statement, posted
on the group’s Telegram channel, came as the UAE on Monday formally ratified
the US-brokered deal, known as the Abraham Accords, which allowed commercial
flights between Israel and the Gulf state for the first time. “The Kingdom
supported normalization by opening its airspace to Israeli aircraft on their
flights to the United Arab Emirates,” a voice purportedly of Daesh spokesperson
Abu Hamza Al-Quraishi said in the recording. “The normalization agreements are
considered a betrayal of Islam. Our targets are plenty, starting with striking
and destroying oil pipelines, factories and facilities that constitute sources
of income for the tyrannical government.” Daesh, which at its 2014 peak
controlled a portion of the Middle East that included large swathes of Iraq and
Syria, lost all its territories in March 2019 after suffering a string of
military defeats. Its leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, was killed in a US-led
operation in October that year.”

 

Nigeria

 

The New York Times: A Dozen Protesters In Nigeria Reported Killed By Security
Forces
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“With music playing and food being passed around, a festive atmosphere hung
over the protest encampment on Tuesday night, despite the anger over police
brutality that in recent weeks had driven youthful demonstrations that were the
biggest Nigeria had seen in a generation. As darkness fell, Nigerian flags were
handed out among the thousands of people gathered there. Philip Agu, a sound
engineer who had volunteered to run the huge speaker system, said a protest
leader took the microphone and told the crowd that the police would likely
arrive soon, but that if they sat down, sang the national anthem and waved
their flags, they would face no danger. The speaker told the crowd, Mr. Agu
recalled, that all around the world, “No soldier can shoot any citizen holding
their own national flag.” Three hours later, dozens of people were hit by
gunfire from security forces, some fatally, and images of bloodied protesters
and their bloodied flags strewn on the ground flooded the social media accounts
of millions of Nigerians. Survivors recalled a sudden shift from sitting
peacefully to fleeing in panic. Some said military and police units surrounded
the demonstrators in the affluent suburb of Lekki, preventing them from
leaving.”

 

Somalia

 

Dalsan Radio: Somalia: Nineteen Al-Shabab Fighters Killed In Bay Region
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“At least 19 al-Shabab militants were killed on Tuesday in an operation
conducted by the Somali National Army in Bay region. A statement from the army
radio quoting senior military officials noted that the soldiers killed 19
Alshabab fighters and captured two others alive in the operation conducted 11
kilometres from Dinsoor district. The statement also noted the military
destroyed Alshabab hideouts in the area. Meanwhile, the Somali National Army
(SNA) in a joint operation with southwest state army killed two al-Shabab
extremists in an operation in Dinsor district in Bay region of Southwest state.
President Farmaajo meets cabinet, lauds PM for inclusive cabinet President
Farmaajo asks Parliament to approve new cabinet PM Roble names new cabinet,
drops key ministers, retains others Confirming the offensive Dinsoor district
Commissioner Abdisalan Haji Sidow Mohamed said the forces seized weapons during
the offensive. The commissioner also thanked the joint forces for beefing up
the peace and stability in the area. Government forces have intensified
operations against al-Shabab extremists in some regions, but the militants
still hold swathes of rural areas in those regions conducting ambushes and
planting land mines in the capital and elsewhere.”

 

Africa

 

Agence France-Presse: Boko Haram Kills Six Chad Soldiers In Lake Chad Region:
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“Boko Haram fighters killed six Chadian soldiers in the Lake Chad region,
where deadly jihadist attacks against civilians and security forces are on the
rise, the army said Tuesday. Security experts say Boko Haram, which originated
in Nigeria in 2009, has established bases on islets dotting Lake Chad, a vast
swampy expanse in the border region straddled by Nigeria, Chad, Niger, and
Cameroon. The soldiers were killed while patrolling a group of islets on the
Chad-Nigeria border, army spokesman General Azem Bermendoa Agouna told AFP.
Twelve other soldiers were wounded and the military killed around 10
“terrorists,” he said. The Chadian army launched an offensive against Boko
Haram in April after some 100 soldiers died in an attack by the group on one of
its bases. President Idriss Deby then claimed to have pushed the jihadists out.
But attacks have continued despite the military operation. Fighters from a
dissident branch, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group, are
also extending their grip and influence around Lake Chad. At least 36,000
people have been killed and around three million displaced in the decade-long
Islamist conflict which spread from northeast Nigeria to Chad, Niger, and
Cameroon.”

 

France

 

CNN: A Teacher Is Beheaded, And France's War Over Secularism, Freedom Of
Speech And Religious Equality Reignites
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“France was irrevocably changed by the Paris terror attacks of January 2015.
Three days of violence began with a massacre at the offices of satirical
magazine Charlie Hebdo, which had previously published controversial cartoons
depicting the Prophet Mohammed. They ended with a siege at a kosher
supermarket. Seventeen people were killed and long-simmering tensions over
secularism, Islamism and religious equality erupted into public view.
Anti-immigration rhetoric targeting France's Muslim communities also became
increasingly common. Since then, these divides have only worsened with further
attacks and the subsequent fallout. Last Friday, teacher Samuel Paty was
beheaded in a terrorist attack in the northern Paris suburb of Éragny after
displaying the controversial Charlie Hebdo cartoons to his students during a
lesson, anti-terrorist prosecutor Jean-François Ricard said. The 47-year-old's
murder has now reignited the long-simmering conflict over secularism in France.
GlobeIn is a subscription service for ethically sourced artisan goods from
around the world, kind of like a club for the world traveler who can’t make
their annual trek this year.”

 

Reuters: France Bans Islamist Group After Killing Of Teacher - Government
Spokesman
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“France will ban an Islamist group named after the late Sheikh Yassin as part
of a crackdown on militants following the murder of a French schoolteacher last
week, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday. Samuel Paty was
beheaded on Oct. 16 by an 18-year-old of Chechen origin seeking to avenge his
victim’s use of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad in a class on freedom of
expression. Police shot the attacker dead. “This is a battle over security,
culture and education,” Attal said. The banned group is named after Sheikh
Yassin, a Palestinian Muslim leader and co-founder of the Hamas movement, who
was assassinated in 2004. Hamas has denied any links with the French group.”

 

Germany

 

The Wall Street Journal: German Authorities Probe Tourist’s Killing As
Possible Islamist Terrorist Attack
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“German authorities are treating the killing of a tourist earlier this month
as a possible act of terror after they detained an Islamic State supporter as
their prime suspect, prosecutors said on Wednesday. The man, a Syrian asylum
seeker known to authorities as an Islamist extremist, was arrested on Tuesday
and is suspected of stabbing two tourists on Oct. 4 in the eastern city of
Dresden, prosecutors in the state of Saxony said. The attack is one in a series
of suspected Islamist terror acts perpetrated in Europe in recent weeks that
have punctured a period of relative calm when authorities focused on addressing
the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, a Russian refugee
decapitated a high-school teacher in a town near Paris for showing caricatures
of the Prophet Muhammad as part of a civics class about freedom of expression.
That came weeks after a Pakistani man stabbed two people in Paris outside the
former offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine, the site of a 2015 terrorist
attack. On Aug. 19, prosecutors said a series of apparently deliberate crashes
on a Berlin highway was investigated as a possible Islamist terrorist attack.
The suspect in the Dresden attack is 20 years old and arrived in Germany in
2015 as an asylum seeker.”

 

New Zealand

 

New Zealand Herald: New Zealand Woman 'Intended To Facilitate A Terrorist Act'
For Islamic State Denied Judicial Review
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“A woman who had her passport cancelled because it was believed she planned to
facilitate a terrorist act for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has had
her application for a judicial review denied. The woman, who has permanent name
suppression, applied for a review after her passport was suspended and then
cancelled in 2016 and the High Court has today released the decision of Justice
Dobson. On April 19, 2016, the Acting Minister of Internal Affairs suspended
the woman's passport for 10 working days because a report was being prepared
about possible cancellation of her passport and it was believed she would leave
New Zealand before it was finished. On May 2, the Minister of Internal Affairs,
then Peter Dunne, decided to cancel the woman's passport using the section of
the Passports Act 1992 which allows cancellation if the minister believes on
reasonable grounds that the person is a danger to the security of a country
other than New Zealand because the person intends to facilitate a terrorist
act. Dunne informed the woman his decision was based on information provided by
the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service, most of which was classified.”

 

Technology

 

Nextgov: Bill Would Hold Tech Companies Responsible When Their Algorithms
Promote Extremist Content
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“House lawmakers Tuesday introduced legislation that would hold tech companies
liable if their algorithms amplify or promote extremist content that interferes
with civil rights or involving acts of international terrorism. The
legislation, introduced by Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Tom Malinowski,
D-N.J., would amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which
provides a liability shield for tech firms regarding third-party content shared
on their platforms. Called the Protecting Americans from Dangerous Algorithms
Act, the bill specifically targets algorithms that amplify content while
preserving the core elements of the law that protect users’ free speech,
according to lawmakers. The legislation would apply only to platform companies
with more than 50 million users, including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, which
have struggled recently in addressing various extremist content, including
QAnon conspiracy theories.… The legislation has early support from the Center
for Countering Digital Hate, the Counter Extremism Project and the
Anti-Defamation League. The bill does not yet have support in the Senate."

 

STL News: Atlanta: United States Seizes More Domain Names Used By Foreign
Terrorist Organization
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“The United States has seized “Aletejahtv.com” and “kataibhezbollah.com,” two
websites that were unlawfully utilized by Kata’ib Hizballah, a Specially
Designated National and a Foreign Terrorist Organization. “We will be steadfast
in protecting our electronic infrastructure and commerce system from use by
terrorist groups,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak of the Northern
District of Georgia.  “This seizure shows that we will continue to leverage our
national reach to stop these groups from using U.S.-based resources to further
their terrorist agenda.” “Seizures like these are critical to preventing
designated entities and terrorist organizations from using U.S. websites to
recruit new members and promote their twisted world views,” said Assistant
Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers.  “While this case is a
reminder that terrorists don’t need to step foot in our country to further
their aims, today’s actions show that the Department will do what it takes to
stop them. “The internet is continuously updating with new threats to our
nation’s safety, but we will continue to rise and meet this challenge,” said G.
Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.”

 

The Washington Post: The Cybersecurity 202: Trump’s Former Homeland Security
Adviser Says Russia Remains Major Election Hacking Threat
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“ … An A.I. chatbot hosted on the encrypted messaging app Telegram created
fake nudes from photos of more than 100,000 women without their consent. The
images included the targeted woman's face coupled with a realistic but fake
nude body,  Drew Harwell reports. The gallery of photos made by the bot
included images of women under 18. The service is triggering concerns that
increasingly easy access to artificial intelligence technology could lead to
new avenues for harassment or blackmail. “It’s just another way people have
found to weaponize technology against women. Once this stuff gets online,
that’s it. Every potential boyfriend or girlfriend, your employer, your family,
may end up seeing it,” said Hany Farid, a computer scientist at the University
of California at Berkeley who specializes in digital-image forensics. Farid
pinned the ubiquity of the technology on the lack of attention in the
male-dominated tech industry to how emerging technologies could be exploited
against women. Thousands of users subscribed to the channel hosting the images,
which was exposed by researchers at the cybersecurity start-up Sensity. The
bot’s administrators denied any wrongdoing.”

 



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