An attack by Boko Haram Islamist insurgents on rice farmers in Nigeria’s
northeast left at least 110 of them dead, a United Nations official said.

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


November 30, 2020

 

Bloomberg: Boko Haram Killed 110 Farmers In Nigeria Attack, UN Says
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“An attack by Boko Haram Islamist insurgents on rice farmers in Nigeria’s
northeast left at least 110 of them dead, a United Nations official said. “I am
outraged and horrified by the gruesome attack against civilians,” Edward
Kallon, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria said in an
emailed statement. “At least 110 civilians were ruthlessly killed and many
others were wounded in this attack.” Governor of the Borno state, Babagana
Zulum, where the attack occurred, said 43 victims were buried Sunday at the
Koshobe village in the Jere district. Insurgents ambushed farmers who were
bringing in their rice harvest Saturday. “I condemn the killing of our
hardworking farmers by terrorists,” President Muhammadu Buhari said in a
statement released by his official spokesman. “The entire country is hurt by
these senseless killings.” Boko Haram militants have waged a campaign of
violence since 2009 to impose their version of Islamic law on Africa’s most
populous country of more than 200 million people. The government estimates that
more than 30,000 people have died in the conflict. At the burial of the 43
victims on Sunday, residents of the affected community told Governor Zulum they
expected the death toll to rise, as many people were still missing. “Our people
are in a very difficult situation,” Zulum told reporters.”

 

The New York Times: Afghan Leader Digs In On Peace Talks Despite Progress,
Officials Say
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“President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan has refused to let peace talks move
forward even though the Taliban and government negotiators have reached a
tentative agreement on the talks’ guiding principles, Afghan officials say,
further stalling the process despite nearing an apparent breakthrough after
months of effort. The Taliban exposed those fault lines on Saturday when the
insurgent group announced on social media that both sides had agreed to the
nearly two dozen points under discussion earlier this month — a framework for
how talks would go forward, including points of protocol and how issues would
be presented. But some government officials immediately pushed back on that
claim, insisting that details still needed to be worked out and that no
agreement had been reached. They say the Taliban were pressured by Western
officials to signal a breakthrough. Three Afghan officials with knowledge of
the talks said that Mr. Ghani took exception to at least one detail, insisting
that the government side be referred to by its formal name, the Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan, rather than by a more generic reference. Aides to Mr.
Ghani did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the issue on Sunday.”

 

New York Post: Man Admits To ‘Netflix Worthy’ Terror Plots At Trump Tower,
White House
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“A South Carolina man has pleaded guilty to plotting “Netflix worthy” terror
attacks inspired by ISIS targeting Trump Tower in New York and the White House,
federal prosecutors said. Kristopher Sean Matthews, aka Ali Jibreel, admitted
Tuesday in a San Antonio courtroom to conspiring to provide material support to
the foreign terrorist organization after discussing possible sites for US
terror attacks, the Department of Justice said. Matthews, 34, of Elgin, said he
colluded with a Texas man, Jaylyn Christopher Molina, aka Abdur Rahim, over a
period of months on a plot to share info on how to make bombs for domestic and
foreign attacks on behalf of ISIS, as well as to radicalize and recruit others.
The duo, who were arrested in September, eyed Trump Tower, the White House and
the New York Stock Exchange as potential targets. Matthews also suggested to
“hit government centers” rather than locations like malls “where innocent
children are,” court documents show. If the pair “accomplished the mission,”
Matthews said, the attacks would grant them “rock star status,” according to a
14-page criminal complaint filed in US District Court for the Western District
of Texas in San Antonio. “This could be Netflix worthy,” Matthews wrote in a
secretive chat group where FBI investigators said they pledged their loyalty to
ISIS, court documents show.”

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United States

 

Boston Globe: Alleged Extremist Arrested At T Station On Illegal Gun Charge
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“A Dorchester man who allegedly embraces an extremist anti-government ideology
and who purchased close to 200 online items related to guns, ammunition and
bomb-making materials since 2019 was arrested Thanksgiving night on a gun
charge at the Ruggles MBTA station by federal agents. Pepo Herd El, 47, was
charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and
ammunition and was held pending a Dec. 2 detention hearing, the US Attorney’s
office said in a statement Friday. It is illegal for El to have a gun or
ammunition because he was convicted in 2004 on two felony charges of possessing
guns without permits, prosecutors said. On Thursday, FBI agents also executed a
search warrant at an apartment on McLellan Street in Dorchester where El lives
alone, according to a legal filing. At the time of his arrest, El was wearing a
bulletproof vest, a jacket that read “security,” and a fanny pack, which
contained the gun and the magazines, according to the filing. El has been under
law enforcement surveillance and is suspected of gathering chemicals that can
be used to make explosives and buying body armor, according to the statement.
Social media accounts show that El “adheres to the
anti-government/anti-authority sovereign citizen extremist ideology,” according
to the criminal complaint filed in the case.”

 

Associated Press: A Long Road To US Charges Against Islamic State ‘Beatles’
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“As two Islamic State militants faced a judge in Virginia last month, Diane
Foley listened from home through a muffled phone connection and strained to
make out the voices of the men prosecutors say kidnapped her son before he was
murdered. Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh stand accused of belonging to
an IS cell dubbed “the Beatles,” an incongruously lighthearted nickname for
British citizens blamed for the jailing, torture and murder of Western hostages
in Syria. After geopolitical breakthroughs and stalemates, military actions in
Syria and court fights in London, the Justice Department’s most significant
terrorism prosecution in years was finally underway. For Foley, who months
earlier had pleaded with Attorney General William Barr to pursue justice by
forswearing the death penalty, the fact the case was proceeding at all felt
miraculous. “We’d met so many blocks over the years, I couldn’t believe it was
happening,” Foley said. “I was in awe of it, really, and almost didn’t trust it
— a bit incredulous. Is this really happening?” The prosecution is a
counterterrorism success in the waning weeks of the Trump administration. But
it almost didn’t happen. Interviews with 11 people connected to the case make
clear the hurdles along the way, including a death penalty dispute that
required two normally close allies, the U.S. and U.K., to navigate fundamental
differences in criminal justice systems.”

 

Reuters: American Woman Charged With Hiding Money Transfers To Syria-Based
Militants
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“U.S. federal prosecutors have charged a New Jersey woman with concealing
multiple efforts to transfer money to Islamist militants in Syria connected to
the Nusra Front, a onetime al Qaeda affiliate based in Syria’s Idlib province.
Maria Bell, 53, of Hopatcong, New Jersey, was accused in a criminal complaint
of knowingly concealing her involvement in providing material support to a
designated foreign terrorist organization, namely al-Nusra. Bell appeared by
video conference on Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy Waldor in
Newark, who declined to grant bail. During the hearing, federal prosecutor Dean
Sovolos told the judge that when they searched Bell’s residence, investigators
found 136 pistols and rifles, 15 canisters of ammunition and an anti-tank
rocket. An affidavit signed by FBI agent Matthew Hohmann said that when
offering the militant group assistance, Bell cited her own professional
experience, including specialized firearms training she underwent while serving
on active duty in the U.S. Army and the Army National Guard. Public defender
Rahul Sharma, representing Bell, said the guns were “antique weapons” that
belonged to Bell’s late husband, and argued she should be released on bail
because she was at risk for COVID-19 and posed little threat to the community.”

 

ABC News: Victims Of US Embassy Terror Attacks Find Justice, But No Closure In
Sight
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“Edith Bartley had just arrived in Tennessee to visit family members in August
1998 when she got the call from her grandmother: Had she seen the news? The
25-year-old law student was on break between her summer internship at the
Brooklyn District Attorney's Office and returning to University of Missouri Law
School for the fall. She had planned on visiting Nairobi, Kenya, to see her
father, mother and brother, but her father, the consul general at the U.S.
Embassy there, said he'd be traveling to the U.S. in a couple weeks and would
see her then. “It probably saved my life,” Bartley told ABC News this week. Her
father, Julian Bartley, and brother, Julian Bartley Jr., who was interning at
the embassy, were killed in the bombing -- two of 12 Americans among the dead
in twin attacks on the U.S. missions in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The blasts by al-Qaida operatives killed 224 in total and wounded more than
4,500 -- among the deadliest terror attacks to target Americans before the
Sept. 11 attacks. But for Bartley, losing her dad and brother also launched a
lifelong mission -- lobbying for protection and support for American diplomats
and their families and pursuing justice for the killing of half her family.”

 

Vice: How A Terror Group Recruited Budding Neo-Nazis
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“A neo-Nazi terror group under a nationwide FBI crackdown attempted to
integrate members of a quickly growing but less militant far-right group,
revealing the strengthening ties within the country's broader white nationalist
movement … The two groups “support different tactics and ideologies,” Joshua
Fisher-Birch, a researcher at the Counter Extremism Project, told VICE.
Fisher-Birch said that groups like Patriot Front helps more militant groups
like the Base as it becomes a fertile recruitment ground. “The Base sought to
train and link members of different white supremacist groups as long as they
shared their accelerationist goals, mainly, that they acknowledge that the fall
of government and society is necessary,” said Fisher-Birch.“It is important to
note that because this ideology is so extreme, that it is a relatively small
number of people who are interested in joining but allowing members to continue
their membership with other groups would increase the potential quantity of
recruits. “This type of organization would also allow the Base to attempt to
recruit from a small pool of individuals from white supremacist groups who
might otherwise be siloed.” Fisher-Birch said it was a recruitment tactic
reminiscent of another infamous neo-Nazi terror group.”

 

Syria

 

Foreign Policy: What To Do About The Children Of The Islamic State
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“In October, a 16-year-old boy in Russia was fatally shot after he wounded a
policeman while trying to set several police cars on fire. It wasn’t his
family’s first brush with the law. In 2001, his stepfather had was convicted to
14 years in prison for terrorism after he attempted to explode a gas pipeline,
likely as part of an Islamist organization. The incident added new urgency to
the question of what to do with the tens of thousands of children of Islamic
State affiliates still in camps and prisons in Iraq and Syria. Almost everyone
involved in repatriation issues, though, is busy using the children—already
victims of violence and instability—to advance their own agendas. In October,
several Western governments, including Sweden and Germany, sent delegations to
camps in Syria to speak to incarcerated nationals about whether they wanted to
repatriate their children. None the women they spoke to agreed. On their social
media accounts and in Telegram channels, many of them said that they made their
decisions for their children’s own well-being—the kids needed to be close to
their mothers. But in private, they added their concern that allowing the
children to be repatriated meant their government would forget about the
mothers themselves and leave them in the camps.”

 

The Times: ‘Europe’s Guantanamo’ Breeds New Generation Of Isis Militants In
Syria
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“The children who sicken and die are buried in hasty graves beyond the
perimeter wire. Felled by chest infections, severe malnutrition and chronic
diarrhoea, some have their place beneath the desert grit recorded by unmarked
chunks of broken breeze block: Europeans, Asians, Africans and Arab infants
lying anonymous together on the windswept Hassakah plain. Others are put in the
ground without even a rock for a headstone: hundreds, swallowed from memory far
from their homelands. Inside the wire at al-Hawl camp they group together in
gangs, running wild through the ragged tents and piled rubbish; thin,
Dickensian figures with unkempt hair, gaunt frames and luminous eyes, their
skin parchment-dry due to malnourishment caused by a lack of fresh vegetables
and fruit.”

 

Iraq

 

Reuters: Islamic State Claims Responsibility For Attacking Oil Refinery In
Northern Iraq - Statement
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“Islamic State claimed responsibility on Sunday for attacking the Siniya oil
refinery in northern Iraq, according to a statement posted on the group’s
official channel. The statement said two Katyusha rockets were used in the
attack. It gave no further details on any casualties.”

 

Al Jazeera: US Army Data On Civilian Harm In War Against ISIL Questioned
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“Rights groups and charities have raised questions over the United States
military coordinates of civilian harm in Iraq and Syria released last week by
the United Kingdom-based watchdog, Airwars. In a data-sharing agreement hailed
by the non-profit as a “groundbreaking decision by the US-led Coalition”,
Airwars made public the geographic coordinates of 341 confirmed incidents of
civilian harm and roughly 1,400 civilian deaths since the war against ISIL
(ISIS) started six years ago. During the campaign to retake the ISIL-occupied
territories in Iraq and Syria, the battles for Mosul and Raqqa marked the
height of destruction and civilian casualties. Airwars estimated that more than
13,000 non-combatants were confirmed killed in the campaign due to the
coalition’s actions since 2014. The coalition puts that number at just 1,410.
Once prominent commercial and cultural centres in the region, the two cities
were razed to the ground by coalition air raids in the name of liberation.
According to the United Nations, much of the old city of Mosul and 70 percent
of Raqqa were destroyed. The data provided by Airwars states that 70 of the 341
credible incidents have been pinpointed to an accuracy of one square metre
(10.8 square feet), leaving little margin for error. The remaining 271,
however, are accurate to within 100sq m (1,076sq ft).”

 

Afghanistan

 

Bloomberg: Afghan, Taliban Teams Agree On Terms For Conducting Peace Talks
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“The government of Afghanistan and the rebel Taliban movement have agreed on
procedural rules for peace talks to end the country’s 19 years of conflict. The
terms, which consist of 21 articles, have been “approved” by both parties to
break weeks of stalemate, Mohammad Naeem, a spokesman for the Taliban in Doha,
Qatar, where they have a political office, said on Twitter. The Afghan
government hasn’t commented. A key disagreement has been whether the
U.S.-Taliban deal should serve as the basis for the Afghan-Taliban talks, a
position rejected by the government. The peace deal the U.S. signed with the
militants on Feb. 29 requires the Taliban to cut ties with all terrorist
groups, including Al-Qaeda, in exchange for troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The U.S. has started withdrawing forces from the country and will reduce its
troops to 2,500 from 4,500 by Jan. 15, with more scheduled leave by May. The
Afghan government expressed concern over what it considers a premature
withdrawal that could leave the country in civil war. The United Nations has
noted a dramatic surge in violence by the Taliban since the talks began on
Sept. 12, ranging from attacks on Afghan army bases to attempts to capture key
cities including Kandahar.”

 

Al Jazeera: Afghanistan: 34 People Killed In Two Suicide Bombings
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“At least 34 people have been killed in two separate suicide bombings that
targeted a military base and a provincial chief. In eastern Ghazni province, 31
soldiers were killed and 24 others wounded on Sunday when an attacker drove a
military vehicle full of explosives onto an army commando base before
detonating it, according to an official in Afghanistan’s national security
council, who spoke anonymously because he was not permitted to speak directly
to the media. The attack was also confirmed by interior ministry spokesman
Tariq Arian, though he did not provide details on casualties. Taliban spokesman
Zabihullah Mujahid, when contacted by Reuters news agency, did not confirm or
deny responsibility. Afghanistan has seen a spate of car bombings over the last
few months, despite peace talks currently under way between the Kabul
government and the Taliban in Qatar. This is the first time the two sides hold
face-to-face talks to try to end the country’s decades-long war. In southern
Afghanistan, a suicide bomber targeted the convoy of provincial council chief
Attajan Haqbayat in Zubal, killing at least three people and wounding 12
others, including children. Haqbayat survived the Sunday attack with minor
injuries, though one of his bodyguards was among those killed, said provincial
police spokesman Hikmatullah Kochai.”

 

Deutsche Welle: Afghan Aid: Why The Peace Talks Condition Suits The Taliban
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“Some 70 countries on Tuesday pledged $12 billion (€10.1 billion) in
assistance to Afghanistan at a donor conference in Geneva, Switzerland. It is a
substantial sum for the war-torn country, which depends on foreign aid to
survive. But there are some strings attached to this international aid – the
most crucial being the Afghan government's commitment to ongoing peace
negotiations with the Taliban militant group. To secure the financial aid,
Afghan authorities need to ensure that the talks taking place in Qatar's
capital Doha with the Taliban yield results. However, it does not depend
entirely on them; the Taliban have so far proven to be a difficult stakeholder
and have not agreed to a nationwide truce to make the talks successful. The
insurgent group, which ruled the country from 1996 up to the US invasion of
Afghanistan in 2001, controls vast swaths of territory in Afghanistan. They
also feel emboldened by US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw more
troops from the war-ravaged country by mid-January 2021. Therefore, the peace
talks condition imposed by donor countries in Geneva could increase pressure on
President Ashraf Ghani's government to give more concessions to Islamists.”

 

Pakistan

 

The Jerusalem Post: Pakistan's Deep State Support For Terror On Full Display
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“Twelve years ago, on November 26, 2008, 12 well-coordinated attacks and
shootings were carried out for four days by 10 Pakistani terrorists against
innocent civilians in Mumbai. One hundred and seventy-four people, including
several foreigners, were killed and more than 300 were injured. Wounds on the
national psyche are still alive. It was the 9/11 moment for India. Ajmal Kasab
was caught and eventually hanged in 2012 after due legal process, but he left a
trail of evidence and information pointing to the complicity of Pakistan-based
terrorist groups and his handlers there. Although the Pakistani political
leadership did condemn the attacks and offered full cooperation, no real
progress has been made, suggesting their complicity or ill intent. It was
neither the first time nor the last time our northwestern neighbors vowed to
inflict 1,000 cuts on India. New Delhi provided all the evidence and documents
against the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists led by Hafiz Saeed, who roams freely and
rather majestically in Pakistan, lives at the courtesy of state institutions,
and enjoys the blessings of successive governments in the so-called “failed
state of Pakistan.” It is a known fact that Pakistan has been a state sponsor
of terrorism, especially against India and Afghanistan.”

 

Yemen

 

Voice Of America: US Plan To Blacklist Yemen’s Houthis Could Spark
Humanitarian Crisis, Observers Say
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“A looming U.S. government plan to list Yemen’s pro-Iran Houthi militia as a
terrorist organization has sparked concern among observers and aid agencies
about its impact on peace talks and the process of delivering aid to desperate
civilians living under the group’s control in the country’s northern highlands.
Saudi Arabia and the and United Arab Emirates blacklisted the insurgent group
in 2014, and the U.S. has considered taking similar action since 2018. Foreign
Policy magazine reported last week that it had learned from unnamed U.S.
officials that the U.S. State Department was preparing to make the designation
as a part of the Trump administration’s policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran.
The announcement is expected to take place in December, according to The
Washington Post. Gerald Feierstein, a former U.S. ambassador to Yemen and
senior vice president at the Middle East Institute (MEI), told VOA that the
terror labeling would make it more difficult for the U.N. to push for a
peaceful resolution of war between the rebels and the Saudi-backed government.
“Houthis are already sanctioned by the United Nations, there is an arms embargo
and there is no legitimate arms trade for the Houthis.”

 

Saudi Arabia

 

Middle East Monitor: Concerns In US After Two Saudi Activists Referred To
Terrorism Court
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“The US Department of State expressed concerns about the transfer of Saudi
activists Loujain Al-Hathloul and Samar Badawi to a Saudi terrorism court, amid
a wave of criticism among US lawmakers of the kingdom's human rights record.
The Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) announced on Twitter: "We are
concerned by reports that the cases of Loujain Al-Hathloul and Samar Badawi
have been transferred to a terrorism court," adding that "activism on behalf of
women's rights is not a crime." The NEA stated that it was alarmed by the
allegations of abuse against Al-Hathloul and Badawi and the lack of
transparency in their trials. Al-Hathloul's family announced on Wednesday that
the case of Al-Hathloul, who was arrested three years ago, is being transferred
for lack of jurisdiction by the criminal court to a terrorism tribunal. Alia
Al-Hathloul, Loujain's sister, tweeted: "Today, the criminal court in Riyadh
transferred for lack of jurisdiction Loujain's case to a terrorism tribunal."
She explained that the decision came after "about three years of detention, and
a year from the start of Loujain's trial," without providing further details.”

 

Nigeria

 

Sahara Reporters: COVID-19 Worsens Boko Haram Crisis In North-East
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“No fewer than 10.6 million victims of the Boko Haram insurgency now need
urgent assistance and relief materials in the terrorism-ravaged North-East of
Nigeria due to the grinding effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. A report from the
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which
coordinates emergency relief in the North-East region, stated this. In the
report obtained by SaharaReporters, the UN agency said, “The number of people
in need of urgent assistance in north-east Nigeria rose from 7.9 million at the
beginning of 2020 to 10.6 million since the onset of COVID-19. “As many as 4.3
million people may become food insecure; up from pre-COVID-19 figures of 3.7
million Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states recorded COVID-19 cases, some in IDP
camps. Aid actors have adapted the response, including setting up hand washing
stations and quarantine shelters.” While x-raying the challenges of the people,
the UN report said that natural disasters contributed adversely in wreaking
havoc on the people. “Heavy rainfalls and floods have affected over 100,000
people in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, hindering access. Humanitarians
pre-positioned assistance and are mobilising increased resources.”

 

Somalia

 

Dalsan Radio: Somalia: Al-Shabaab Militants Kill Seven Family Members In Night
Raid <[link removed]>

 

“Al-Shabaab militants stormed the house where a Somali government official was
staying last and killed seven people, including a mother, father and their
child. The child killed was a year and a half old. The dead included the father
of the family, a government army officer who eventually died after being
gunshot wounds. Justice Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur Jama told the media
that al-Shabaab fighters struck a remote village in Wajid district in the
Bakool region, killing a father, a mother and their five children. “I extend my
deepest condolences to the Somali family for the loss of their lives to Al
Shabaab in Wajid District late Tuesday night,” Jama said. “Killing a pregnant
mother and children is only possible from the unscrupulous Al Shabaab. I wish
the family, relatives and all the people of Wajid patience and faith.” The
district of Wajid is located in the Bakool region of Somalia, about 302km
northwest of the capital Mogadishu, and close to the Ethiopian border about
70km.”

 

Africa

 

Associated Press: Students In Burkina Faso Fear Extremists More Than COVID-19
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“Balkissa Barro’s been waiting for months to go back to school, but now that
she has, the 10-year-old fears classes might once again stop. Children
returning to school in Burkina Faso’s volatile Sahel region have to practice
safety drills to prepare for potential jihadist attacks that have ravaged the
West African nation, killing more than 2,000 people this year. For Barro, the
simulation of dropping to the ground and hiding under desks brings up memories
of when gunmen stormed her village last year and killed seven relatives,
forcing her family to flee. “I’m afraid of being chased away from school,” said
Barro as she slung a bag on her back and walked hesitantly to class in Dori
town, where she now lives. In Burkina Faso, worries over the COVID-19 pandemic
come second to threats of attacks by extremists linked to al-Qaida and the
Islamic State group. More than 5 million children have been affected by school
closures in the country due to coronavirus and violence, according to the U.N.
Even as schools began to reopen in October, many remained shut due to
insecurity, especially in hard-hit regions like the Sahel, the epicenter of the
crisis. Some 65% of the region’s more than 1,000 schools are closed, according
to the U.N, and those that are functioning lack the resources to open safely.”

 

Reuters: Suspected Boko Haram Attack Kills Four Chadian Soldiers
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“Four soldiers in southwest Chad were killed and dozens injured in an
explosion on a boat thought to have been caused by an improvised bomb, a local
official said on Wednesday, suggesting it was the work of Islamist group Boko
Haram. Chad has suffered attacks on its soil from Nigeria-based Boko Haram
since 2015. The jihadist insurgency first erupted in northeast Nigeria in 2009
before spreading into Chad, Niger and northern Cameroon, and killed more than
30,000 people. The blast occurred on Tuesday night on a boat travelling near
Ngouboua, around 25 km (15 miles) from the Nigerian border, said Dimoya
Souapebe, a district administrator in the town of Baga Sola. “The explosive
device was placed at the bottom of the boat,” he said. “We are trying to find
out if this is a new technique of Boko Haram.” An army spokesman declined
immediate comment. Chad’s armed forces are among the most respected in the
region, a reputation forged during decades of war and rebellions and honed in a
2013 campaign against Islamist militants in the deserts of northern Mali.”

 

Voice Of America: Terror Threats Across Africa ‘Not Degraded’
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“U.S. efforts to stem the threat from terror groups across Africa are
struggling as military commanders grapple with the prospect of troop reductions
and shifting priorities, according to a new government report on
counterterrorism operations. U.S. Africa Command has about 5,100 troops
stationed on the continent, most of them in Djibouti. About 650 to 800 troops
are operating in Somalia, with an additional 760 deployed to parts of West
Africa. But Pentagon officials appear to be concerned that without a continued
presence, their ability to push back against groups affiliated with al-Qaida
and Islamic State could suffer. “The DoD [Department of Defense] said that it
needs to remain postured to proactively identify these threats, determine their
scope and scale, and respond appropriately,” Pentagon acting Inspector General
Sean O’Donnell wrote in the report by the Defense Department inspector general,
released Wednesday. Pentagon officials have been contemplating cutting back on
the number of troops stationed in Africa for most of the past year, with talk
about an inevitable drawdown starting last December. In February, former
Defense Secretary Mike Esper announced plans to replace conventional combat
troops with specialized military trainers, a move he said would leave “roughly
the same number of troops on the continent.”

 

Voice Of America:  Tanzania Teams Up With Mozambique To Contain Terrorists
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“Tanzania’s government says is teaming up with Mozambique to launch a joint
operation against violent attacks by Islamist militants along their shared
border. But some opposition parties and rights groups are raising concerns
about how the Tanzanian government plans to tackle the threat.  Several recent
attacks blamed on Islamist extremists have targeted the border village of Ktaya
in Tanzania’s Mtwara region. Police say more than 175 houses were set on fire
and some people were killed by assailants, who, authorities say, fled into
neighboring Mozambique. Tanzania has already increased security along the
border and it is now joining forces with Mozambique to contain what it calls
terrorists. Simon Sirro, Tanzania’s police commander, says there will be a
joint operation because the attackers come from Mozambique and they have much
information to make sure that we catch those terrorists. Sirro adds that the
big thing that we ask Tanzanians especially for is those who live in the
neighboring villages to make sure they give us information. He also says there
are many things that they have agreed that he can’t say, but all is to help to
catch those criminals. But Tanzanian opposition politicians worry about how the
government will go about handling the threat.”

 

SOFREP: Al-Qaeda North African Names New Leader After French Assassination
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“…According to terrorism analysts from the Counter Extremism Project quoted by
Al Jazeera, al-Annabi will face strained relations with Iyad Ag Ghaly the head
of the Group to Support Islam and Muslims, a terrorist organization and an AQIM
ally. Ghaly and his group have been enjoying significant autonomy in Mali. Elie
Tenenbaum, a researcher at the French Institute of International Relations,
said that things have not been smooth between AQIM in Algeria and the fighters
in Mali. “There have always been tensions between fighters on the ground in
northern Mali, and an extremely isolated AQIM emir in Algeria,” she said.
Another area to monitor will be how al-Annabi handles negotiations with the
Malian government. The Malian government is convinced that it can engage Ghaly
and the Group to Support Islam and Muslims, but not the Islamic State. This
means the infighting between the two groups is unlikely to stop.  France is
adamant that there should be no negotiations between the Malian government and
the al-Qaeda affiliate. In the video that announced the promotion of al-Annabi,
AQIM showed the body of Droukdel and also announced the death of Beatrice
Stoeckli.”

 

United Kingdom

 

The Spectator: Are We Any Closer To Stopping The Next Usman Khan?
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“…My organisation, the Counter Extremism Project, in association with the
University of Staffordshire has just launched a year-long study into the
phenomenon of ‘Disguised compliance’ in terrorist offenders. Disguised
compliance is what we criminology types call ‘deception.’ It is highly likely
that Usman Khan deceived a whole range of professional people on his journey to
martyrdom. It is also clear that he is not alone in this lethal deceit. Only a
few weeks ago, Austria’s Interior Minister revealed with the sort of candour
that would be unheard of here, that the Vienna Islamist extremist Kujtim
Fejzulai who murdered four people in a nine-minute rampage earlier this month
had ‘fooled’ the professionals charged with his rehabilitation. In France a
terrorist who attacked and almost killed two prison officers in the first crime
of its kind there was considered a model prisoner. Closer to home in HMP
Whitemoor, the extremist who led an attack that almost killed a prison officer
in January was eight months into a year-long deradicalisation programme and had
been given awards for his good behaviour. The list goes on. The inquest into
Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt scheduled for next April could provide a rare
opportunity to understand the nature and extent of Khan’s murderous deception
and to hold others to account for it.”

 

The Guardian: Largest Number Of Prevent Referrals Related To Far-Right
Extremism
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“Just 11% of referrals to the government’s controversial Prevent programme
were ultimately deemed to be at risk of radicalisation, with the largest number
of referrals relating to far-right extremism. The annual figures emerged as
James Brokenshire, the security minister, warned that far-right terror posed “a
growing threat”, which had been accelerated by the amplification of conspiracy
theories online during the pandemic. Home Office data showed there were 6,287
referrals to Prevent in the year to 31 March, up 10% compared with the record
low in the previous year. Ultimately, 697 were deemed at risk of radicalisation
and taken on by the government’s Channel programme for specialist support. Of
the cases ultimately referred to Channel, 302 (43%) were referred for rightwing
radicalisation and 210 (30%) were referred for Islamist radicalisation. The
figures demonstrate what Brokenshire later described as a “more diverse, much
more complicated” threat picture. “Not only the threats from Daesh [Isis] or
al-Qaida-inspired groups and individuals but the growing threat from rightwing
terrorism, as well as risks from the far left and single-issue extremists,” he
said.”

 

Europe

 

Sky News: Woman Arrested After Suspected Terror Attack In Switzerland
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“A woman has been arrested in Switzerland after a suspected terror attack at a
store left two people injured. Two women were attacked at the Manor department
store in the southern city of Lugano with one being grabbed by the throat and
another being stabbed in the neck. One of the victims is said to have sustained
serious but not life-threatening injuries in Tuesday afternoon's incident,
while the other was lightly wounded. Police said the 28-year-old suspect was
known to them following an investigation into jihadist terrorism in 2017.
Switzerland has so far been spared the kind of large-scale jihadist attacks
that prompted France and Germany to push for tighter controls at European Union
borders. It followed incidents in which suspected Islamist militants killed
eight people in Paris, Nice and Vienna within a month. Switzerland has
identified hundreds of residents deemed a threat as well as militants who have
travelled to war zones. In September, a man described as a leading Islamist
militant in Switzerland was sentenced to 50 months in prison over his ties to
Islamic State. Federal prosecutors have said that a fatal stabbing of a
Portuguese man in September in the western town of Morges was still being
investigated for a possible terrorist motive.”

 

Euronews: Far-Right Political Terrorism 'Is Surging' In Western Countries,
Report Warns
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“Far-right terrorism is surging in Western countries as political violence is
becoming increasingly accepted, a new report has found. “One of the more
worrying trends in the last five years is the surge in far-right political
terrorism,” the Institute for Economics and Peace wrote in its latest Global
Terrorism Index released on Wednesday. According to the report, there have been
over 35 far-right terrorist attacks in the West every year since 2014 with 49
recorded in 2019. In 2010, only one such incident was reported. The US is the
most heavily impacted country, accounting for just about half of the 332
far-right terrorism incidents recorded in Western countries between 2002-2019.
European nations, including Germany, the UK, France and Sweden collectively
recorded 132 such incidents. With 113 deaths resulting from these incidents,
the US was also the most bereaved country. It was followed by Norway with 78
fatalities, New Zealand (51), Germany (19), and Canada (16). The Christchurch
mosque attacks were last year's deadliest far-right terror attack, accounting
for more than half of the 89 deaths observed in the West. Here are the most
compelling maps of the United States available on r/mapporn, and you can vote
up the ones that blow your red, white, and blue mind.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

Reuters: Indonesia Police Hunt Suspected Militants After Four Killed On Island
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“Police in Indonesia were on Saturday hunting suspected militants accused of
killing four people said by rights groups to be Christians, beheading one and
burning down their homes. Ten militants linked to a “terrorist” group beheaded
one victim and slit the throats of the others on the island of Sulawesi on
Friday, national police spokesman Awi Setiyono quoted a witness as saying.
Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, has grappled with
intermittent militant attacks recently. “This attack is another serious
escalation against the Christian minority in Indonesia,” Human Rights Watch
researcher Andreas Harsono told Reuters. Gomar Gultom, the head of the
Communion of Churches in Indonesia, said the victims were Christian and urged
the authorities to resolve the case. International Christian Concern, a
Washington-based advocacy group, said “an alleged terrorist” killed four
Christians in the Sulawesi village, burning down a Salvation Army post and
Christian homes. According to witness reports, the perpetrators had asked for
food from the victims who were killed when they refused, Awi told Reuters. He
denied the attacks were religiously motivated. “We’re on the ground now,
there’s about 100 people who will start chasing,” he told the news channel
Metro TV.”

 

Australia

 

The Guardian: Growing Far-Right Threat Should Spark New Approach To Extremism,
Australian Expert Says
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“An increased threat of far-right violence and lingering Islamic State
influence amid the Covid-19 pandemic should be the catalyst for a new approach
to countering violent extremism, experts have said. The push comes as the UK
launches a program – largely based on Australian research – to encourage
reporting of possible extremism, regardless of ideology. Prof Michele Grossman
researched the barriers for people sharing information with authorities about
concerns that a friend, spouse or family member may be radicalising, and found
that often it was fear that a loved one would be prosecuted that prevented
reporting. The UK program, ACT Early, came after a study she had done with
Australian families was replicated in the UK. Grossman was an academic adviser
for the development of the ACT Early model. “It’s just as relevant to someone
who might be radicalising to rightwing extremism, or incel thinking, or any
other variety,” Grossman said. “But the really big change is around the
empathy, the support, the understanding. You have, rather than a policing
approach, an approach that is about how we can work with you to help the ones
you love.” Prevent, the UK’s controversial main program for dealing with
potential extremists before they cross a criminal threshold, is currently
subject to an independent review, which is expected to consider several issues
including its collection of data and the training of its officers.”

 

BBC News: Abdul Nacer Benbrika: Australia Revokes Citizenship Of Terror Plotter
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“Australia has cancelled the citizenship of an Algerian-born Muslim cleric
convicted of planning a series of terror attacks in 2005. Abdul Nacer Benbrika
was jailed for 15 years in 2009 and is eligible for release from next month.
But Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said it was “appropriate” to revoke his
citizenship to protect Australians. The move makes Benbrika the first person to
be stripped of Australian citizenship while still in the country. His lawyer
has declined to comment on the government's decision, ABC News reports. “If
it's a person who's posing a significant terrorist threat to our country, then
we'll do whatever is possible within Australian law to protect Australians,” Mr
Dutton told reporters in Brisbane. Under Australian law, the government can
only strip people of citizenship if they are dual citizens, ensuring they will
not be left stateless. Last year Australia's national security agency Asio
raised concerns about this government power, saying it “may have unintended or
unforeseen adverse security outcomes”. Benbrika, who has lived in Australia
since 1989, was arrested in 2005 and convicted of being a member of a terrorist
organisation and leading its activities. Six others were also convicted of
joining the group, which had planned multiple attacks, including one on an
Australian rules football final which attracts nearly 100,000 people every year
in Melbourne.”



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