Nigeria security on Sunday rescued 80 more students kidnapped by gunmen in
northwest Katsina state. The kidnapping and rescue came just days after

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


December 22, 2020

 

Voice Of America: Fresh Kidnapping Of 80 Students In Nigeria Shows Worsening
Insecurities
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“Nigeria security on Sunday rescued 80 more students kidnapped by gunmen in
northwest Katsina state. The kidnapping and rescue came just days after gunmen
released more than 300 schoolboys from a week in captivity and underscores
serious concerns about security in the region. The Islamiyya school students,
mostly girls were ambushed in the Dandume local government area of Northwestern
Katsina state Saturday during a school procession to celebrate the birthday of
the Prophet Mohammed. The military said it rescued all the students including
four others held by the bandits on Sunday and recovered 12 cows. But the attack
comes in the wake of the brazen recent kidnapping and release of more than 300
students in the state, which drew global condemnation. Eze Onyekpere, founder
of nonprofit Center for Social Justice says attacks are a sign of growing
insecurity in Nigeria. “It is clear from what is happening the security
architecture has actually collapsed and by the international ratings I think
Nigeria is the third most dangerous place to live on planet Earth. We have a
situation where kidnappings, banditry and terrorism activities are the order of
the day,” he said.”

 

The New York Times: German White Supremacist Is Sentenced To Life For
Synagogue Attack
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“A white supremacist who live-streamed his efforts to blast his way into a
synagogue in Germany last year on the holiest day on the Jewish calendar,
failing to cause widespread bloodshed only because he could not breach a heavy
wooden door, was sentenced on Monday to life in prison. Two people were killed
outside the synagogue in Halle, in eastern Germany, during the attack on Oct.
9, 2019. In convicting the assailant of murder and attempted murder, the
presiding judge, Ursula Mertens, said that the effort to kill the 51 people
inside as they observed Yom Kippur had been “despicable, cowardly and inhuman.”
The attacker, Stephan Balliet, a 28-year-old German nationalist, stood
motionless as the judge read the sentence. He had confessed to the attack, some
of which he had filmed with a camera and streamed live over the internet.
Although the streamed assault attracted little attention at the time, downloads
of it have since been widely shared among like-minded individuals on the far
right, an expert witness told the court. That was the ultimate goal of the
defendant, who had also hoped to use the trial as an opportunity to expound on
his hatred for Jews, Muslims, women and others whom he viewed as a threat to
himself and to white, German society, the judge said.”

 

United States

 

The New York Times: 1998 U.S. Embassy Bombing Victims Are Assured Equal
Compensation In Deal With Sudan
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“Victims of the 1998 bombings of two United States Embassies in East Africa
will soon receive up to $485 million in compensation as part of a wide-ranging
settlement to remove Sudan from a list of state sponsors of terrorism and, in
turn, foster peace with Israel. But the deal, which is part of the $2.3
trillion spending package that Congress is poised to approve on Monday, leaves
Sudan liable for potentially billions of dollars in additional payments to the
families of those who were killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The agreement
largely puts to rest months of furious negotiations between the Trump
administration and Congress over how to help Sudan’s fragile transitional
government and debt-ridden economy by settling many of the lawsuits that
accused the country of harboring Al Qaeda, mostly during the 1990s. It also
ensures that American victims of the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania —
whether they were United States citizens at the time of the attacks or
naturalized later — will receive equitable compensation by adding up to $150
million in payouts in addition to the $335 million that Sudan has committed.”

 

The Hill: How The US And Europe Quietly Share Data To Prevent Terrorist Attacks

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“Since the Second World War, our alliance with the democratic nations of
Europe has been the fulcrum of America’s global security posture. Intelligence
and counterterrorism cooperation form an important part of this partnership. My
agency, the U.S. government’s Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board,
recently concluded a three-year review of a program that fits squarely within
this tradition of intelligence cooperation: the Terrorist Finance Tracking
Program, known as TFTP. The program relies on data from SWIFT, which provides
secure financial messaging services to banks around the world. Much of TFTP’s
SWIFT data comes from U.S. sources. Some, however, comes from Europe.
Understanding why requires a bit of background on SWIFT’s geographic
arrangements. Normally, SWIFT messages for EU banks would stay in Europe, at
data centers in the Netherlands and Switzerland. TFTP is an exception. Under a
U.S.-EU agreement, SWIFT provides some European data to the U.S. Treasury. What
happens next illustrates the cooperative arrangement at the heart of TFTP.
Europol, the EU police agency, sends terrorism-related search requests to
Treasury. Treasury runs those searches against the SWIFT data and sends back
the results.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Associated Press: Afghan Police Say Bomb Tears Through Car, Killing 5
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“A roadside bomb tore through a vehicle in the Afghan capital of Kabul
Tuesday, killing at least five people, four of them doctors, police said. The
doctors worked at the Puli Charkhi prison, Kabul's main penitentiary, and were
killed as they were on the way to their office in the city's Doghabad
neighborhood. It was not immediately clear if the doctors were targeted in the
attack. The car, a white sedan, did not appear to have any markings on it that
indicated that its passengers were medical workers. The vehicle was almost
completely destroyed in the blast. Ferdaws Faramarz, a spokesman for the Kabul
police chief, said two others were wounded in the attack. The identity of the
fifth person killed was not immediately known. No one immediately claimed
responsibility for the attack, which damaged nearby buildings and shops. The
Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks in the
capital of Kabul in recent months, including on educational institutions that
killed 50 people, most of them students. IS also claimed responsibility for
Saturday’s rocket attacks at the major U.S. base in Afghanistan. There were no
casualties in that assault, according to NATO and provincial officials.”

 

Pakistan

 

Associated Press: Pakistan Warns India Against 'False Flag' Attacks In Kashmir
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“Pakistan's military was on high alert in Kashmir on Monday as its prime
minister warned India against carrying out any “false flag” operations in the
disputed region after a U.N. vehicle in the Pakistan-held part came under
attack. Pakistan blamed Friday's attack on India, implying it was aimed at
embarrassing Islamabad and harming relations with the international community.
The two U.N. observers in the vehicle escaped unharmed. “I am making absolutely
clear to the (international) community that if India was to be reckless enough
to conduct a false flag operation against Pakistan, it would confront a strong
national Pakistani resolve & be given a befitting response at all levels of the
threat. Make no mistake,” Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted Sunday. Pakistan
says the attack on the U.N. vehicle was deliberate, as such vehicles are
clearly marked and “recognizable even from long distances.” The U.N. confirmed
the attack and said it was being investigated. India has not commented on the
attack or responded to Khan's tweets.  The two nuclear-armed nations are bitter
rivals which have fought three wars since gaining independence from British
rule in 1947, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir.”

 

Yemen

 

The Hill: Pompeo Pressed Against Labeling Houthis A Terrorist Group
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“The Trump administration’s push to label Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi group
as a terrorist organization would be “deeply damaging” to U.S. national
security, say former U.S. diplomats and State Department officials. In a letter
to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sent Sunday, 20 former senior officials with
a focus on U.S. policy in the Middle East called for the administration to
“abandon plans” to label the Houthis a Foreign Terrorist Organization. They
raise alarm that such a move would be viewed as politically motivated and
“undermine the credibility of U.S. counterterrorism programs and policies.” “To
be clear, we hold no sympathy for the Houthi movement, nor are we condoning its
actions,” wrote the signatories, who include nearly every living former U.S.
ambassador to Yemen, former counterterrorism coordinators at the State
Department and former senior career officials from both Republican and
Democratic administrations. “That said, we do not believe that the Houthi
movement meets the definition of a Foreign Terrorist Organization nor do we
believe that the designation will advance U.S. national security interests.”
The Trump administration is reportedly weighing the designation for the
insurgent military group engaged in a six-year civil war against the Saudi-led
coalition supporting the internationally-recognized Yemeni government.”

 

Middle East

 

The Jerusalem Post: Terrorist Attack In Jerusalem's Old City, Perpetrator Shot
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“A terrorist attack took place in Jerusalem's Old City on Monday evening,
Israel Police reported. Police reported a shooting incident at the Lion's Gate
in the Old City between an armed terrorist and police officers who were on the
scene. The suspect, reportedly a 17-year-old Palestinian from Qabatiya in the
northern West Bank, was armed with a Carlo-type submachine gun according to
police, and shot at a police post before being neutralized by Border Police
officers. The Old City's gates were closed as the police searched the area for
another possible suspect who they believe may have assisted the perpetrator.
Shortly after, a second suspect was arrested  by police in the surrounding
area. He is believed to have assisted the shooter and was meant to help him
escape. One police officer was injured during the incident and was evacuated to
the hospital. A bystander who was jogging was lightly injured during the
incident and was treated by paramedics on the scene. United Hatzalah volunteer
EMT Yechiel Stern who was one of the first responders at the scene relayed: “I
treated one person who was lightly injured due and suffered contusions. The
attacker was subdued by security forces.”

 

The Times Of Israel: Mother-Of-Six Murdered In West Bank, In What Police
Believe Was Terror Attack
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“An Israeli woman in her 50s was found dead in a northern West Bank forest in
the early hours of Monday after she went for a run on her own a day earlier,
with authorities investigating the case as a suspected terror attack. Police
said in a statement that there were signs of violence to her body and that the
woman’s death was considered a suspected murder. The Shin Bet security service
was also taking part in the investigation. The woman was later identified as
Esther Horgen, 52, of the Tal Menashe settlement, a mother of six. The police
and Shin Bet were “increasingly convinced” that the killing was terror-related,
security officials said Monday afternoon, though the police officially said
that “all directions are being investigated.” The Shin Bet declined to
officially comment on the matter. The head of the Samaria Regional Council,
Yossi Dagan, said Horgen was killed with a large rock. There were no initial
reports of any arrests. Police requested and received a court-issued gag order
on Monday morning, barring media outlets from identifying the identities of any
suspects or any other details of the investigation.”

 

Nigeria

 

Agence France-Presse: Nigeria Jihadists Kill Five Soldiers, Kidnap Dozens Of
Civilians
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“Five Nigerian soldiers were killed by Islamic State-aligned jihadists and
dozens of civilians were kidnapped in a separate attack, military sources said
Sunday, in the latest violence to grip the north of the country. A military
convoy was hit in northeast Borno state on Saturday, and militants also
attacked a transport convoy in the same region a day before, abducting 35
people and killing one woman. Nigeria’s Boko Haram and a splinter group, the
Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have killed 36,000 people and
displaced around two million as part of a decade-long conflict. Deadly attacks
and kidnappings by jihadists in the northeast and criminal gangs in the
northwest have intensified in recent weeks. Saturday’s attack on the military
convoy took place outside of Mafa, 44 kilometers (27 miles) north of the
regional capital Maiduguri. “The terrorists fired an RPG (rocket-propelled
grenade) on the convoy which hit one of the vehicles with five soldiers in it,”
one security source said. “All five were killed.” The insurgents seized two
vehicles in the attack, said a second source who gave the same toll. ISWAP
split from the mainstream Boko Haram six years ago and rose to become a
dominant group.”

 

Somalia

 

Military.com: AFRICOM Sends Warning To Al-Shabab As US Troops Begin
Withdrawing From Somalia
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“The U.S. announced a plan over the weekend to begin withdrawing the estimated
800 American troops from Somalia by early January, but it came with a warning
to the al-Shabab insurgent group: “They should not test us.” “We remain
committed to helping our African partners build a more secure future,” Army
Gen. Stephen Townsend, head of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), said in a
statement Saturday. “We also remain capable of striking al-Shabab at the time
and place of our choosing -- they should not test us.” Townsend did not call
the exit of U.S. troops from Somalia a withdrawal, but rather the “directed
re-positioning” of forces to other bases in East Africa, most likely to
neighboring Kenya. The continuing threat from al-Shabab was evidenced a day
before Townsend's announcement in a suicide attack in the central Somali town
of Galkayo, which killed at least 10. Among those killed in the attack was Col.
Mukhtar Abdi Aden, regional commander of Danab, the main Somali military unit
trained by the U.S. The attack came shortly before the arrival in Galkayo of
Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble to attend a political rally in a football
stadium, according to Voice of America.”

 

Africa

 

Associated Press: Tunisia: IS-Affiliated Group Accused Of Beheading Farmer
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“Tunisian authorities say a group that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic
State group was behind the weekend beheading of a sheep farmer that has raised
national concern. The farmer, Okba Dhehibi, was found dead Sunday in a
mountainous area near the town of Mont Salloum. The military sent
reinforcements to search for the attackers, and the prime minister pledged
heightened government efforts against terrorism. Dhehibi and two friends were
taking his sheep to graze when multiple assailants attacked them, according to
official Tunisian news agency TAP. Regional court spokesman Riadh Nouioui said
Monday that the Jound Al Khilafa brigade was behind the attack. Tunisian
authorities say the group has pledged allegiance to IS and has fighters hiding
out in the Mount Salloum region, near the Algerian border. The brigade was
accused of killing two other young shepherds in the area in recent years.
Interior Minister Taoufik Charfeddine traveled to the region Monday to pay the
government’s condolences for Dhehibi's death and to offer material and
psychological support to his family. While he was en route, a car accident
killed three national guard officers accompanying the ministerial convoy and
injured two others, according to the minister’s office.”

 

Daily Nation: Kenya: Terrorists On The Run After Defecting To Isis
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“Wanted Al-Shabaab terrorist Abdifatah Abubakar Abdi alias Musa Muhajir has
defected to the Somalia faction of the so-called Islamic State, a Kenyan
security report says. Abdifatah has been the deputy of Jaysh Ayman -- the
terror group's wing that has been known to make incursions into Kenya --
answering to Maalim Ayman. Jaysh Ayman was for a long time made up of foreign
terrorist fighters (non-Somali nationals) who would be deployed in the Lakta
belt adjacent to Lamu's Boni forest in the Kenyan Coast region to carry out
attacks. “In the recent past, Abdifatah and Maalim Ayman have been at
loggerheads over discontent and defections by foreign fighters, including
Kenyans, from Al-Shabaab to Daesh (Islamic State). Al-Shabaab leadership openly
discriminates against foreign fighters, whom they perceive to be invading
opportunists who cannot be allowed to take over the leadership,” says the
report. Over the years, there have been reports that foreign terrorists within
Somalia have been sidelined and are tactfully sent to the frontlines as a way
of eliminating them. They are also segregated as belonging to a lower pedigree,
and receive lower pay compared to Somali fighters, who are also entitled to
longer off-time from the frontlines.”

 

Daily Nation: Kenya: Red Alert After Shabaab Attack In Lamu
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“Security agencies in Coast are on red alert following a brazen gun attack on
10 police officers in Lamu yesterday, barely 24 hours after at least 16
Al-Shabaab fighters slipped into the country from Somalia. The officers from
Border Patrol Unit narrowly escaped death after suspected Shabaabs opened fire
on their vehicle on the Lamu-Gamba road in Nyongoro. “It was reported that
while escorting motor vehicles from Lamu to Gamba, the lead vehicle, GKB 253T,
came under heavy attack at Lango La Simba area at about 1115 hrs,” reads a
police report seen by the Nation. The officers responded and a heavy exchange
of fire ensued for about 10 minutes before the attackers were overpowered,
according to the report. The vehicles in the convoy, which were behind the lead
escort car, were stopped as the officers battled the armed men, the report
said. “The escort vehicles, which were behind, reinforced the lead car and the
attackers disappeared into the nearby bushes,” added the report. Spent
cartridges were found at the scene. The Sunday attack happened on a day
intelligence reports indicated that at around 5am on Saturday, 16 suspected
Shabaabs crossed from Somalia into Garissa before entering Tana River County.”

 

United Kingdom

 

BBC News: Man Accused Of Planning Terrorist Acts In Aberdeen
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“A man who allegedly claimed “all Muslims must die” is accused of planning
terrorist acts in Aberdeen. Richard Smith, 28, faced the allegations during a
hearing at the High Court in Glasgow. He denied the charges which cover the
period from August 2018 to November 2019 at various addresses in Aberdeen.
Prosecutors claim Mr Smith “with the intention of carrying out acts of
terrorism” did “engage in conduct” in the preparation of them. It is alleged Mr
Smith, described as a prisoner in Perth, possessed and made explosive
substances. He also allegedly had material which did “advance anti-Muslim,
Neo-Nazi and other racist causes”. Mr Smith is also said to have possessed
details on the use of chemical agents as weapons as well as the manufacture of
explosives and firearms. He faces a separate charge of having information on a
number of electronic devices and discs linked to terrorism. This included the
“practice of guerrilla warfare and paramilitary survival”. Both these charges
are under the Terrorism Act 2000 or 2006. Mr Smith is further accused of
sending an offensive text to a relative allegedly claiming “all Muslims must
die.”

 

Germany

 

Deutsche Welle: Opinion: Anti-Semitic Extremists Don't Deserve A Platform
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“The purpose of a trial is to ascertain whether a suspect is guilty of a crime
and to hand down an appropriate punishment. Naturally, court cases examine a
suspect's character. This largely determines the sentencing. Trials centering
on politically motivated crimes often put significant emotional strain on the
victims and their loved ones. Perpetrators frequently downplay their actions in
court, or, worse yet, seek the limelight and boast of their gruesome crimes.
Many victims say that kind of behavior is difficult to endure. The trial of
Stephan B., who has now been found guilty of having perpetrated the deadly
anti-Semitic Halle terror attack, is no exception. He is a right-wing extremist
yearning for attention. After all, Stephan B. streamed his attack and the
murders on social media. In court, he capitalized on the attention afforded to
him to spread anti-Semitic propaganda and deny the Holocaust. The presiding
judge, however, endeavored to limit his chance to spout anti-Semitic, racist
and far-right bile. She granted ample to time to the victims of his actions,
and their loved ones, to publicly talk about their pain and deep-rooted fear of
further anti-Semitic crimes— and to express their outrage over how insensitive
and incompetent German police have acted.”



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