Eye on Extremism

December 7, 2020

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Will Move Nearly All Troops Out Of Somalia, Officials Say

 

“President Trump ordered the Pentagon to pull nearly all U.S. troops out of Somalia, where for 13 years they have been fighting a low-intensity battle against the local al Qaeda affiliate, al-Shabaab, U.S. officials said. The roughly 700 troops stationed in Somalia would move to bases in Kenya and Djibouti and enter Somalia to conduct shorter counterterrorism missions against al-Shabaab, as well as a smaller force of Islamic State militants. The U.S. troops are expected to leave the country by early next year, the officials said. The move, supported by the new acting defense secretary, Chris Miller, effectively reverses the course set by his predecessor, Mark Esper. Mr. Esper favored drawing down U.S. forces operating in the volatile Sahel region of West Africa while maintaining the American presence in Somalia, according to a senior U.S. official. The Pentagon, in a statement sent to lawmakers Friday, said that despite the withdrawal, U.S. aims in Somalia hadn’t changed. “We will continue to degrade violent extremist organizations that could threaten our homeland while ensuring we maintain our strategic advantage in great power competition,” the statement said.”

 

The Australian: French Ban On Homeschooling Targets Islamist Extremism

 

“Homeschooling will be banned for all children in France from the age of three as President Emmanuel Macron presses ahead with plans to clamp down on radical Islam. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, a hardline conservative who Mr Macron appointed in July to head his security push, said the aim was to save “these children who are outside the scope of the republic”. He was referring to the several thousand children, and ­especially girls, who are educated at home by fundamentalist families and disappear off the radar of the education system. About 50,000 children receive home education in France out of 12 million pupils. A draft law to curb the spread of a radical “separatist” culture in France’s big Muslim population will receive cabinet endorsement this week. However, the homeschooling ban may be struck out of the law as unconstitutional when it is examined by the state Constitutional Council, the government has been warned. All children in France will have to attend recognised schools once they turn three and will be recorded with individual identification numbers in the education system.”

 

Syria

 

Voice Of America: Turkish-Backed Rebels Intensify Attacks On Syrian Town  

 

“A town in northern Syria has increasingly been under attack from rebel groups backed by Turkey amid fears of a new Turkish offensive into the region.  On Sunday, Syrian rebel fighters supported by the Turkish military carried out artillery attacks on the town of Ain Issa and several nearby villages, local news media reported.  Ain Issa is currently controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a major U.S. partner in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) terror group. The town is located on the strategic M4 Highway that connects northeast Syria to the western part of the war-torn country. ”In the past two weeks, these attacks on Ain Issa have increased significantly,” said Hosheng Hesen, a reporter with the Syria-based North Press Agency. “In addition to the town, a camp for internally displaced people has also been targeted several times by the armed groups,” he told VOA. According to North Press Agency, the ongoing shelling has left at least nine civilians wounded, including two children. Turkey views the SDF as an extension of the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an outlawed group designated as a terrorist organization by Ankara and Washington.”

 

Iraq

 

Reuters: Islamic State Shadow Follows Families As Iraq Closes Camps

 

“Tuqqa Abdullah and her Iraqi family have wandered from one displaced people’s camp to the next in the past three years, buying time and hoping they will one day be able to go home. Just 14 when her father took the family to the then Islamic State (IS) stronghold of Mosul, she has inherited a legacy that might take generations to overcome. In the meantime, her options are running out. When Iraqi forces captured Mosul in the dying days of the three-year-old IS caliphate in 2017, Abdullah’s father and older sons were killed. The surviving family members were among many thousands of relatives of suspected IS members moved into temporary camps. Last month, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi launched the closure of the remaining camps, arguing that the families belong at home. But many of their occupants remain barred from returning by their local communities, who associate them with the group that imposed its brutal rule over large swathes of northern Iraq. When the al-Jadaa 1 camp where Abdullah and her family were living shut down, they did not head back to their village near the northern town of Al-Qayyarah but went instead to al-Jadaa 5. “We have nowhere to go if this camp closes,” said Abdullah, who shares a tent with her mother, grandmother and younger siblings.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Agence France-Presse: Taliban Peace Will Help In Fighting IS: Afghan Official

 

“A successful peace process with the Taliban will allow the government to focus its resources on countering the Islamic State group and its attacks on soft targets, Afghanistan's national security adviser said Saturday. Afghanistan is grappling with a surge in violence that has worsened despite landmark peace talks with the Taliban which began in September in Qatar. The Islamic State jihadist group has claimed a series of assaults on vulnerable targets, including a November attack on Kabul university which saw gunmen detonate grenades and spray automatic fire across the campus. Hamdullah Mohib, Afghanistan's national security adviser, said that although IS had been dislodged from the territory it controlled and its funding sources disrupted, the group maintained a “network of terror”. “Of course those attacks by themselves are quite damaging, they bring a lot of fear to our people, and we are working very hard to prevent them from attacking our cities,” he told AFP. “We do face a lot of threats... so our resources are stretched,” he said on the sidelines of a security conference in Bahrain's capital. “One of the reasons we're focused on this peace process with the Taliban is that if we were to achieve peace with the Taliban, our security forces will be able to divert their capabilities onto terrorist groups like Daesh (IS) and then we can contain them much easier.”

 

Reuters: Pompeo Says Violence Levels In Afghanistan 'Unacceptably High'

 

“Violence in Afghanistan is “unacceptably high” as delayed peace negotiations get underway, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday, adding that Washington has asked the warring parties to “stand back and indeed stand down.” Pompeo’s comments, made in a virtual address to the IISS Manama Dialogue, an annual security conference, came two days after Kabul-backed and Taliban negotiators reached a deal in Doha to proceed with talks on a political settlement to decades of strife. The negotiations were to have begun on March 10 under an U.S.-Taliban accord for a U.S. troop withdrawal. But they were delayed by disputes mainly over prisoner releases and the rules and procedure for the talks amid surging violence. Pompeo noted that he met with the negotiating teams during a Nov. 21 visit to Doha and he said he told both sides that the strife must be reduced. “I made clear to them that the violence levels can’t continue while these negotiations go on and it won’t work,” Pompeo said. “We’ve asked all of them to stand back and indeed stand down in that respect,” he said, adding that he hoped that the sides can begin to address some of the “front end” issues, including a nationwide ceasefire.”

 

Yemen

 

Associated Press: Officials Say Gunmen Kill Secular Thinker In Southern Yemen

 

“A Yemeni university professor and secular thinker was killed on Saturday in a drive-by shooting in southern Yemen, local officials said. Khalid al-Hameidi was a known critic of Islamic extremists, at a time when dissent has become dangerous amid Yemen’s yearslong civil war. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the shooting. The officials said that the gunmen are believed to have been either members of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which the U.S. considers the world’s most dangerous offshoot of the terror network, or an affiliate of the Islamic State group. The two militant groups regularly strike security and military targets in drive-by shootings, suicide bombings and other attacks. They also target those who speak out against the militants or their ideology. The officials said two gunmen on a motorcycle shot al-Hameidi in the city of Dhale, where he was dean of the university’s education faculty. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. Known for his secular thinking, al-Hameidi was a harsh critic of religious extremism, and encouraged his students to organize and take part in mixed-gender cultural and artistic activities in Dhale University.”

 

Agence France-Presse: Eight People Killed In Shelling In Yemen’s Hodeidah

 

“At least eight people were killed in the shelling of an industrial compound in Yemen’s strategic port of Hodeidah, the government said Friday, pointing the finger at the Iran-backed Houthis. There has been an uptick in fighting in and around the lifeline port of the western city, where a fragile UN-brokered truce has largely averted major battles between the government-backed by a Saudi-led military coalition - and the Houthi insurgents. Yemeni Information Minister Moammar Al-Eryani condemned the Houthis’ “ugly terrorist attack” on the Thabit Brothers industrial compound on Thursday, according to the official Saba news agency. He said that eight workers were killed and 13 others were injured, while medical sources told AFP there were at least 10 deaths. The United Nations Mission to support the Hodeida Agreement (UNMHA) also condemned the incident. “The killing of civilians must stop,” it said Thursday, urging all parties to maintain the ceasefire. “In addition to being a working factory servicing the population and providing employment, the site of the industrial complex is being considered as one of the possible locations of an UNMHA office,” it said. The United Nations said that a total of 74 civilians were killed or wounded in Hodeida province in October as hostilities escalated.”

 

Saudi Arabia

 

Asharq Al-Awsat: Saudi Arabia Sentences To Death, Prison Members Of Terrorist Cell

 

“A Saudi court issued on Thursday death and prison sentences against 12 persons accused of forming an armed cell to illegally enter Yemen. One of the members was accused of killing two security officers at a border checkpoint. The terrorist crime dates back to Nov. 5, 2012, when a border guard patrol in the Sharurah sector in Najran (southern Saudi Arabia) was ambushed by a number of persons armed with automatic rifles. The attack left two security officers dead, but the rest of the patrol was able to chase and arrest the aggressors as they were trying to cross the Saudi border into Yemeni territory. A statement said that a preliminary verification of the identities of the attackers and their criminal records revealed that the arrested Saudis were previously detained for their involvement in crimes but later released. The statement added that they were attempting to join terrorist organizations in Yemen. The court sentenced the first defendant to death, while the remaining members of the cell were handed prison sentences for periods ranging between 8 and 25 years. Charges against those included forming a terrorist cell to illegally enter Yemen, joining terrorist organizations to participate in fighting outside the Kingdom, possessing and using arms and ammunition to disrupt internal security, and committing terrorism financing as well as other crimes.”

 

Libya

 

Libya Herald: Libya And UK Discuss Training, Combatting Terrorism And Organized Crime

 

“In a meeting between Fathi Bashagha, Interior Minister of Libya’s internationally recognized government in Tripoli, and Britain’s ambassador to Libya, Nicolas Hopton, joint security cooperation was discussed. During the meeting held on Thursday 3 December, prospects for joint cooperation between Libya and Britain were discussed, especially in the security field, and British support for the Ministry of the Interior was discussed through training the ministry’s security cadres in several security areas, the most important of which was combating terrorism and organized crime, and benefiting from British expertise in the field of security work, in addition to a number of topics of common interest. The security situation in Libya was reviewed and the efforts made by the Ministry of the Interior to extend security despite the difficult conditions the country is going through were also discussed.”

 

Africa

 

Agence France-Presse: Morocco Arrests Three From IS-Linked Cell: Police

 

“Moroccan police said Friday they have arrested three men in the northern city of Tetouan suspected of “terrorist plots” and links to the Islamic State group. The three had recorded a “video in which they pledge allegiance to the supposed emir of (IS)… and specify the main objectives of their terrorist plans,” the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations said. The suspects had already conducted “several exploratory visits to identify the targets” they intended to attack with explosives or through methods similar to “Daesh,” the statement said, using the Arabic acronym for IS. Among the items seized during the operation were chemicals used to make explosive devices, an IS banner, and several firearms, it added. The suspects were aged 21 to 38, and one had “family ties with a fighter in the ranks of IS” in the Iraq-Syria arena, the statement said. Morocco regularly announces that it has dismantled radicalized cells, and according to an official report, it made 79 arrests in 2019 related to “terrorism.”

 

United Kingdom

 

BBC News: Lincoln Man Ben John In Court Over Terrorism Offences

 

“An alleged far-right extremist has appeared in court accused of possessing documents on combat, homemade weapons and explosives. Ben John, 20, appeared at the Old Bailey charged with seven counts of having a record likely to be useful to a terrorist on or before 7 January. Mr John, of Addison Drive, Lincoln, spoke only to confirm his name and was granted conditional bail. He is next due to appear at Nottingham Crown Court on 12 March. A preliminary trial date has been set for 2 August.”

 

France

 

New Delhi Times: Islamic Terror Groups Praise Recent Terror Attacks On France

 

“On October 29, 2020, three people were killed in a stabbing attack at Notre-Dame de Nice, a Roman Catholic basilica in Nice, France. The suspect, identified as Brahim Aouissaoui, a 21-year-old Tunisian, was shot by the police. Aouissaoui who had a copy of the Quran and three knives with him, shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greatest) when approached by police who shot and seriously wounded him, France’s anti-terror prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard told a press conference. Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi characterized the attack in his city as a terrorist incident. He said it was again the victim of what he called “Islamo-fascism.” He said the suspect, taken to a hospital after being wounded during a police arrest, did not stop saying “Allahu Akbar” during his detention … Islamic terror groups have praised the spate of terror attacks in France. The ISIS praised the Nice attacks on RocketChat. According to the terrorism monitoring website, Counter Extremism Project (CEP), the ISIS supporters on RocketChat praised the attack and shared photos of Aouissaoui and a video allegedly from the aftermath of the assault showing emergency personnel recovering a body. The ISIS published a full-page article in Al Naba featuring an image of Nice attack and giving threatening calls to France.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

Asia Times: IS-Linked Militants Attack Town In Philippines

 

“Islamic State-inspired militants in the Philippines attacked a town in Maguindanao province on Thursday night, terrorizing residents and bringing back memories of the Marawi siege three years ago on the southern island of Mindanao. Under the cover of darkness, reports said about 50 heavily armed members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Forces (BIFF) occupied the center of Datu Piang town, formerly called Dulawan, once the seat of power and commerce for Muslims in that part of the country in the early 1900s. “Dulawan, Datu Piang is now like Marawi. ISIS-inspired BIFF attacked the town center,” Datu Zamzamin Ampatuan, a senior executive at the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture, posted on social media at 10:34pm on Thursday. An army company stationed in the municipality and the town’s small police force repelled the attack until back-up forces arrived, prompting the militants to withdraw an hour later. In 2008, tens of thousands of people sought shelter at the town center of Datu Piang after fighting broke out between government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) after the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain between the two parties, which the Supreme Court ruled as unconstitutional.”

 

The Tribune: Sri Lankan Government To Expedite Easter Sunday Bombings Probe: Minister

 

“Sri Lankan government will expedite the ongoing probe of Easter Sunday suicide bombings that killed 258 people, including 11 Indians, last year, a senior Cabinet minister said on Saturday. Nine suicide bombers, belonging to local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaat (NTJ) linked to ISIS, carried out a series of blasts that tore through three churches and as many luxury hotels in Sri Lanka, killing 258 people and injuring over 500 on April 21, 2019. “Sri Lankan government will expedite the ongoing probe of Easter Sunday suicide bombing. I will meet the Attorney General on Monday to see how we could proceed,” Sarath Weerasekera, the minister of public security, told Parliament. He was reacting to an Opposition lawmaker charging that the current government appeared not interested now to carry on with the probe. Niroshan Perera, the Opposition member told parliament, that the head of the local Catholic Church Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith had just a few days ago had expressed doubt if the investigations were leading nowhere. Ranjith said if the current government showed no genuine interest in the investigations to see its conclusion the Catholic minority would lose confidence in the government.”

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