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Eye on Extremism
December 8, 2020
Al Monitor: Slovenia Designates Hezbollah As Terrorist Organization
“Slovenia has designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. The Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs now considers the Lebanese military and political organization in its entirety a “criminal and terrorist organization posing a global threat to peace and security,” the US State Department said in a Friday press release. The United States praised the Balkan state for making the designation. Hezbollah has both military and political wings. Its military fights Israel near the Lebanon-Israel border and in Syria with the government against rebel groups. Hezbollah is heavily backed by Iran and an ally of pro-Iran militias in Iraq. Domestically, Hezbollah participates in Lebanese politics and has been a part of coalition governments in the country. Many European states have traditionally designated only Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist organization. However, in the last two years, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and several others have decided to designate all of Hezbollah as a terrorist group. Most recently, Germany made the designation in April. Several Latin American states have done the same in recent years. The administration of US President Donald Trump made it a priority to pressure countries into labeling all of Hezbollah as a terror group.”
The New York Times: Christchurch Inquiry Says New Zealand Couldn’t Have Prevented Mosque Attacks
“He was a socially anxious loner who was radicalized partly by extremist content on YouTube. But even as he traveled abroad extensively to places linked to far-right violence; amassed weapons, ammunition, tactical gear and unprescribed steroids; and was treated in a hospital after a firearms accident in his living room, he never came to the attention of the New Zealand authorities. The result was catastrophic. With the inheritance left by his father — his only income — running out, Brenton Tarrant, an Australian white supremacist, carried out the terrorist attack he had planned for two years, murdering 51 Muslims at two mosques in Christchurch in March 2019. Ever since, the country has grappled with the question of whether the massacre, New Zealand’s worst peacetime attack, could have been prevented. On Tuesday came an official answer: There was “no plausible way” the terrorist’s plans could have been detected by New Zealand’s government agencies “except by chance,” according to a major independent inquiry into the attacks. An email that the gunman sent to Parliament and the news media eight minutes before the slaughter was the only direct information the authorities had about the attacks, the inquiry found.”
Voice Of America: 35 Hurt In Car Bomb Blast In Kandahar, Afghanistan
“A car bomb attack wounded at least 35 people, including women and children, in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province early Monday. Provincial officials said the attack near the headquarters of Daman district police was carried out using a Mazda mini truck. The bombing damaged parts of the building along with several nearby houses. Fifteen civilians became victims of the attack along with several police officers, operatives of Afghanistan’s intelligence agency the National Directorate of Security, and the district police chief, Abdul Wadoud. Shadi Khan, the chief of the district, said local officials were in a meeting inside when the bomb detonated. “The walls of the district police headquarters and district center were destroyed. There is not a single window or door that was not damaged,” Khan said, describing the extent of the destruction. The Kabul-Kandahar highway was closed for some time after Monday’s attack. Baheer Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Kandahar provincial governor, said “all except one victim were only slightly wounded.” He added that the one person in critical condition has been moved to the Mirwais regional hospital. Daman district is located east of the Kandahar city. No group has claimed responsibility so far.”
Iraq
“Airstrikes conducted by the US-led coalition forces in Iraq on Sunday resulted in the killing of five terrorists from the so-called Islamic State group and the destruction of their hideouts in Iraq’s Salahuddin province, Iraq’s military announced. The airstrikes assisted by “accurate” information provided by Iraq’s National Intelligence Service to the coalition forces, Iraq’s military media department said on Twitter, to conduct the air raid, targeted Tal Thahab area in Salahuddin’s Samara province, located north of capital Baghdad. The terror group’s hideouts were destroyed as well, the military wrote. The Iraqi military along with other state security apparatuses regularly conduct military operations in remote areas where they serve as the terror group’s hotbed. The Islamic State’s terrorist activity has been on the rise, particularly as the country grapples with a dire economic crisis caused by a global pandemic. The desert areas in Iraq are well-known havens for terrorist groups since the fall of Iraq’s former regime of Saddam Hussein in 2003. The so-called Islamic State’s rise also began in those areas, which were exploited as training and depot grounds. The Islamic State was territorially defeated in 2017 by the successful campaigns of the Peshmerga forces and Iraqi army, and airstrikes from the coalition forces.”
Afghanistan
Los Angeles Times: The U.S. Is Rushing To The Exit In Afghanistan. The Taliban Is Filling The Gaps
“When Taliban insurgents attacked Sangsar village in late October, they were fighting for lost ground again within their reach. Fighters besieged the mud-walled town, ringed by corn and cannabis fields. They gunned down six police officers who had run out of ammunition after three days of fighting. “It was the first time in many years they were that strong,” said Raqya Aslam, a 30-year-old villager. It was in Sangsar, 25 miles outside the southern city of Kandahar, that the Taliban movement was founded in 1994 by a one-eyed local cleric. A decade ago, Taliban fighters waged a hit-and-run insurgency against U.S. and Afghan troops on the town’s unpaved streets and winding paths. The Americans are gone. So is the cleric, Mullah Omar, who died of natural causes in hiding in 2013. But the Taliban is back in force — and not just in Sangsar. People gather around a grave. Friends and classmates visit a gravesite of a student who was killed in the Nov. 3 attack on Kabul University. Despite the Islamic State’s claiming responsibility for the assault, Afghan government officials have accused the Taliban.”
Long War Journal: U.S. And Afghan Forces Target Al Qaeda In The South
“The U.S. military and Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) have launched two raids against Al Qaeda’s network in Helmand and Nimroz province over the past several days, killing at least eight operatives and capturing three more. The Taliban continues to maintain that Al Qaeda does not have a presence in Afghanistan, despite multiple raids against the terror group. The U.S. military launched an airstrike on Dec. 3 that targeted a Taliban meeting in Nad Ali district in Helmand province. At least 40 jihadists are reported to have been killed or wounded during the strike, including Abdullah Baloch, the Taliban’s purported shadow governor of Farah province. Eight members of Al Qaeda are also said to have been killed in the Nad Ali airstrike, however their names were not disclosed. U.S. intelligence officials have told FDD’s Long War Journal that Baloch is what is known as a “dual hatted” commander: he leads members of both the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security captured three Al Qaeda leaders on Dec. 6 during a raid in the southwestern province of Nimroz. The NDS identified the Al Qaeda leaders as Mustafa, the leader of Al Qaeda’s “Amar Bil Marof Affairs,” or its prevention of virtue and vice committee, Hafiz Abdul Aziz, and Hayatullah. All three are Afghan citizens.”
Pakistan
The Nation: Pakistan Welcomes Muslim Countries Efforts For Elimination Of Extremism, Terrorism
“Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Inter-Religious Harmony and Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi on Monday lauded the efforts of Muslim Ummah for eradication of extremism, terrorism and sectarian violence. Talking to National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, he said “Pakistan welcomes role and efforts of Muslim countries for elimination of the menace of extremism, terrorism and sectarian violence. Pakistan expects support of Muslim Ummah to resolve the issues of Kashmir and Palestine.” Ashrafi thanked the speaker for assuring his support and cooperation to Ulema and Mashaykh. He said Saudi foreign minister in his recent meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) supported Pakistan's stance and a unanimous resolution on Kashmir is a great success of Prime Minister Imran khan's vision and foreign policy of Pakistan. He also announced to resolve the issues of minorities in Pakistan, saying he is in constant coordination with leadership of all religious organizations and it is priority of the government to address issues of all the communities. He maintained that minorities will not be left at the mercy of any cruelty.”
Yemen
Agence France-Presse: Suspected Al-Qaida Gunmen Kill 5 Yemeni Separatists In Abyan Province
“Suspected al-Qaida gunmen killed five south Yemen separatists in Abyan province Monday, in the terror group's biggest attack in the region for months, a secessionist security official said. The five members of the Security Belt Forces, which is dominated by the Southern Transitional Council (STC), were killed at dawn on the outskirts of Lawdar city, the official told Agence France-Press (AFP). “It was gunmen believed to be from al-Qaida who launched the attack and managed to escape,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. A medic in Lawdar confirmed the death toll, while al-Qaida has yet to issue any statements on the attack. Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has thrived in the chaos of Yemen's civil war between an internationally recognized government that is supported by a Saudi-led coalition and the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels. The U.S., which considers AQAP the terror group's most dangerous branch, has carried out a campaign of drone strikes against its leaders for the past two decades. Monday's attack was the biggest in southern Yemen since August, when al-Qaida killed a dentist in Al-Bayda accused of guiding U.S. drone strikes against its militants and later that month blew up the medical center where he worked.”
Lebanon
Arab News: Hezbollah Loyalists Blamed For Violent Assaults On Party Opponents
“Lebanese journalist Maryam Seif Eddine, known for being a strong critic of Hezbollah, on Monday claimed she and her family had been violently attacked and issued with death threats. The 29-year-old writer told Arab News that Hezbollah loyalists had targeted her family home in Burj El-Barajneh, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, two days ago. During their ordeal, Eddine alleged her brother’s nose was broken, her mother was physically assaulted, and she received death threats. The reporter said it was the second time her family had been the target of an attack within a month after one of her other brothers received blows to his head from sharp implements during an assault by three people, one of whom she claimed was a member of Hezbollah. Eddine added that despite promises made weeks ago by a Hezbollah official to investigate the matter nothing had been done and said that an unresolved local family dispute with Hezbollah could have compounded the situation. “The matter later turned into incitement against us in our area and among our relatives as I was writing more actively against Hezbollah in the newspaper I work for and on social media. I have been receiving threats and insults to oppress me and my family,” she added.”
Nigeria
Premium Times: Nigeria: Boko Haram - Group Wants State Of Emergency In Borno
“The group says the FG should declare a state of emergency in Borno. The Advocacy for Advancement of Peace and Harmony in Africa Initiative (ADAPHAI) has called on the federal government to declare a state of emergency in Borno State over the continuous killing of innocent souls in North East States by Boko Haram. The group also said it was worried with the approach of the National Assembly to the lingering act of insurgency and brutal criminality in the North-east. Speaking at a press conference at NUJ Press Centre, Iyaganku, Ibadan, Sulaimon Suberu, national coordinator of ADAPHAI, said the Senate should have proffered a more intelligence-induced solution to the insurgency. “The call for removal of service chiefs, on the heels of the massacre of over 40 famers in Zabarmari village, Borno state is not only reactionary, but a reflection of paucity of tactics and strategy”, part of his statement read. “The lawmakers should know that insurgency of that nature in the North East is strictly asymmetrical war, that is rooted in crude ideology, therefore, it requires experienced commanding height of the military, with satisfactory knowledge of the terrain and psychology of the insurgents acquired over time.”
Africa
Agence France-Presse: Algeria PM Slams Reported Ransoms To 'Terror Groups'
“Algeria's Prime Minister has sounded the alarm over reported ransoms paid to “terrorist groups” for the freeing of hostages, weeks after the liberation of a French aid worker in Mali. “Algeria notes, with great concern, continued transfers to terrorist groups of huge sums of money as ransoms to free hostages,” Mr Abdelaziz Djerad told African leaders at a summit of African Union heads of government late on Sunday. This approach “undermines our counter-terrorism efforts”, he said, quoted by Algerian media. His comments came after neighbouring Mali released some 200 prisoners in October ahead of the release of four hostages, including French aid worker Sophie Petronin. One of the released prisoners, an Islamist later arrested in Algeria, said in a video broadcast on Algerian TV that France had been involved in talks with Bamako and a key Malian militant leader linked with Al-Qaeda. Mustapha Derrar said he had heard that 207 prisoners would be released along with the payment of a ransom, adding that he had heard the figures 10 million euros (S$16.20 million) and 30 million euros. It was not possible to verify his claims or the conditions under which he made the statement.”
Mozambique News Agency: Defence Minister Calls For Plans To Fight Terrorism
“Mozambican Defence Minister Jaime Neto on Friday urged the staff of his Ministry to draw up plans to fight against terrorism in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, and against the self-styled Renamo Military Junta in Manica and Sofala, in the centre of the country, over the next 12 months. He was speaking at the closing session of a meeting of his Ministry's Coordinating Council. He expressed his concern at the armed violence in the three provinces - hence his instruction to Ministry officials to draw up plans to respond to the problem. The 12 month time frame seems to indicate that Neto does not believe that either of the conflicts can be solved in the immediate future. No other details were made public at the end of the meeting, where the armed forces (FADM) reiterated their commitment to defend the country's sovereignty and to fight against both the terrorists in Cabo Delgado, and the Renamo Military Junta. Meanwhile, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has donated about 100,000 euros (121,000 US dollars) to support the victims of terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado. The Bishop of Pemba, the provincial capital, Luis Fernando Lisboa, told reporters the money would be used to build health facilities in the centres where displaced people are being resettled.”
United Kingdom
“An Islamic State jihadi used a British company as a front to buy parts for Nazi-style 'doodlebug' flying bombs, it can be revealed. An 18-month investigation has uncovered an international Islamic State procurement network which exploited lax rules in the UK to set up fake companies and buy weapons from abroad. Cardiff-based businessman Siful Haque Sujan was among those who set up fake companies, a report by Conflict Armament Research (CAR) revealed. The UK resident registered Advance Technology Global Ltd in Britain and posed as a fictitious man named David Soren, the report said. He then bought weapon parts and shipped them to Turkey before getting them smuggled into IS territory in Syria and in some cases on to Iraq. One online purchase was a large 'pulse-jet' engine from a US company which was later found at a hospital complex in Mosul, northern Iraq. Sujan asked the company's owner whether the engine could be used to power a 40kg (88lb) model plane. Pulse-jet engines were originally developed for Hitler's V-1 flying bombs, known as 'doodlebugs'. Experts feared Sujan planned to use the engine to power an armed drone but the weapon was still in experimental stage when IS began to lose ground.”
“Hashem Abedi has admitted for the first time his involvement in planning the Manchester Arena bombing, an inquiry has been told. The terror attack at an Ariana Grande concert killed 22 people and injured hundreds more on 22 May 2017. Abedi, 23, made the admission in prison in October while he was visited by two members of the inquiry's legal team. The brother of the 22-year-old suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, had pleaded not guilty earlier this year to 22 counts of murder, attempted murder and plotting to cause an explosion likely to endanger life. He did not give evidence at the Old Bailey, but provided a pre-prepared defence statement in which he denied involvement. He claimed to have been “shocked” by what his brother had done and did not hold extremist views. He was convicted by a jury of all the offences and was handed 24 life sentences in August with a minimum term of 55 years before he can be considered for parole. The inquiry, which is being held in Manchester, was told Abedi was interviewed in prison on 22 October where he admitted he played “a full and knowing part”. His admission was confirmed by Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Barraclough, of Greater Manchester Police, who was the senior investigating officer in the attack probe.”
France
Agence France-Presse: Tunisian Suspect Charged Over Terrorist Attack At Nice Church
“Brahim Aouissaoui was shot and seriously injured by police after the October 29 attack. He was charged after his condition in hospital improved, allowing him to be questioned. France last month raised its attack alert to the highest level after the Nice killings, which came two weeks after the beheading of history teacher Samuel Paty by an 18-year-old Chechen refugee for having shown his pupils cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in a lesson on freedom of speech. Aouissaoui had arrived in Europe from Tunisia in September, first crossing the Mediterranean to Italy and then crossing into France overland. On the morning of October 29, Aouissaoui entered the Basilica of Notre-Dame in the heart of the southern French city of Nice, carrying a copy of the Koran, three knives and two mobile phones, according to France's anti-terror prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard. In a near half-hour frenzy, he used a 17-centimetre (six-and-a-half inch) knife to cut the throat of a 60-year-old woman, who died inside the church. The body of a man, a 54-year-old church employee, was found nearby inside the basilica -- his throat had also been slit. Another woman, a 44-year-old who fled the church to a nearby restaurant, died shortly afterwards from multiple knife wounds.”
Australia
The Sydney Morning Herald: Labor Pushes For Inquiry Into Right-Wing Extremism
“Federal Parliament’s peak security committee will be asked to open an immediate inquiry into right-wing extremism amid fears the coronavirus crisis is fuelling conditions that intensify the threat. Labor will seek the inquiry in Parliament on Wednesday in an appeal to government and crossbench MPs to act on warnings from security agencies following attacks that killed 51 and wounded 40 in Christchurch last year. Labor home affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally said the pandemic increased the risk of right-wing extremism due to factors such as rising unemployment, an increase in time spent on screens and an outbreak of racist rhetoric about the source of COVID-19. The move comes after Australian Federal Police commissioner Reece Kershaw told a Senate hearing last Friday he was “alive to the growing threat” and had teams acting to stop individuals who had been planning terrorist acts. Mr Kershaw said right-wing extremism made up “around the 15 per cent mark” of the AFP’s counter-terrorism matters and said these individuals could have easier access to firearms than Islamist extremists. Labor is citing the warning to seek government support for an inquiry by the intelligence and security committee that could lead to dangerous right-wing groups being proscribed in the same way as Islamist terrorist groups.”
Southeast Asia
Voice Of America: Indonesian Police Kill Supporters Of Hardline Cleric In Jakarta Highway Clash
“Authorities in Indonesia say six supporters of a hardline Muslim cleric were killed Monday during a clash with police officers on a Jakarta highway. According to police officials, the officers were following a motorcade carrying followers of Rizieq Shihab shortly after midnight when the followers stopped the police car and attacked it with guns, sickles and a sword, prompting the officers to open fire in self-defense. A spokesman for Rizieq denied the allegations, calling the six followers victims of an “extrajudicial killing” at the hands of police. Munarman said the convoy was carrying the cleric and his family to an early morning prayer event when the clash occurred. Rizieq heads the Islamic Defenders Front, which has gained attention for its extremism. He returned to Indonesia last month from Saudi Arabia, where he spent three years in self-exile after he was charged with pornography. Police officials say they have been investigating Rizieq for violating coronavirus restrictions since his return, including holding mass gatherings with his supporters and refusing to undergo mandated coronavirus testing. He has been summoned by police for questioning over his events.”
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