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Eye on Extremism
November 30, 2020
Bloomberg: Boko Haram Killed 110 Farmers In Nigeria Attack, UN Says
“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
“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
“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.”
United States
Boston Globe: Alleged Extremist Arrested At T Station On Illegal Gun Charge
“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’
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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’
“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
“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
“…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?
“…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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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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