Eye on Extremism
September 26, 2019
TIME:
U.N. Head Warns World Faces 'Unprecedented Threat' From Violent
Extremism And Terrorism
“Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that the world
is facing “an unprecedented threat from intolerance, violent extremism
and terrorism” that affects every country, exacerbating conflicts and
destabilizing entire regions. The U.N. chief told a Security Council
ministerial meeting on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world
leaders that “the new frontier is cyber-terrorism — the use of social
media and the dark web to coordinate attacks, spread propaganda and
recruit new followers.” He stressed that the response to the
unprecedented terrorist threat “must complement security measures with
prevention efforts that identify and address root causes, while always
respecting human rights.” Russia, which holds the council presidency
this month, organized the meeting on cooperation between the U.N. and
three Eurasian organizations in countering terrorism — the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization, Collective Security Treaty Organization, and
Commonwealth of Independent States. The United States and its Western
allies echoed the secretary-general, stressing the importance of
respecting human rights in counter-terrorism operations.”Efforts to
counter terrorism that do not respect human rights ultimately breed
resentment and violent extremism,” U.S. deputy ambassador Jonathan
Cohen said.”
Voice
Of America: US Military Struggles To Weed Out Members With Far-Right
Ties
“The arrest of a U.S. soldier with far-right sympathies who is
suspected of plotting an attack on American soil to spark “chaos” has
highlighted a challenge for the Pentagon: purging its ranks of
extremists. Jarrett Smith, a private in the U.S. Army based at Fort
Riley in Kansas, was arrested and charged in federal court with one
count of distributing information related to explosives after offering
a detailed explanation to an undercover FBI agent. Smith also
expressed interest in targeting members of the leftist group Antifa
and heading to Ukraine to fight with a far-right paramilitary group,
the FBI says. But he is hardly the first U.S. soldier to reveal
far-right or ultra-nationalist leanings — and some fear the U.S.
military is being used as a training ground by extremist groups.”
Reuters:
World Losing Ground Against Violence In Sahel, U.N.
Says
“West African and international powers are failing to tackle the
spiralling threat of Islamist militancy in the Sahel region, which is
spreading towards the Gulf of Guinea, the United Nations
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday. Groups with
links to al Qaeda and Islamic State have strengthened their foothold
across the arid Sahel region this year, making large swathes of
territory ungovernable and stoking ethnic violence, especially in Mali
and Burkina Faso. France, the former colonial power in the region,
intervened in Mali in 2013 to drive out Islamist militants who had
occupied the north, but rather than stabilising the region, the
situation has progressively worsened. “Let’s be clear, we are losing
ground in the face of violence,” Guterres told a high-level panel on
the sidelines of the United National General Assembly. “I know we are
all very concerned about the continuing escalation of violence in the
Sahel and its expansion to the Gulf of Guinea countries.” In July, the
U.N. said Islamist attacks were spreading so fast in West Africa that
the region should consider bolstering its response beyond current
military efforts.”
The
Jerusalem Post: ‘Look, You Can See ISIS Down There’: How ISIS Operates
In Iraq Today
“Mount Qarachogh, Iraq - A long mountain that juts from the flat
plains like a knife today separates Kurdish Peshmerga forces and the
Iraqi security forces. This is a result of clashes that took place in
October 2017, almost two years ago, following the Kurdistan Regional
Government’s referendum. Since the clashes there have been
on-again-off-again relations between the Iraqi division commanders and
their Kurdish counterparts, working together through the US-led
Coalition Operation Inherent Resolve, which is supposed to be fighting
and defeating ISIS. We’d heard rumors that ISIS was still operating
below this mountain, called Mount Qarachogh, since last year. The
members of ISIS who were not killed during the 2014-2017 war in which
the group was slowly defeated in parts of Iraq have gone to ground.
These are hard core fighters or hangers-on, men for whom ISIS offers a
ready-made escape from the drudgery of life and a place to go to
resist what they see as an Iranian-backed Iraqi government. These ISIS
networks have existed for more than a decade in one form of another,
going back to the insurgency against US forces after 2003.”
The
New York Times: Our Family Members Are Being Held Hostage In Iran.
Help Us
“The Trump administration barred senior Iranian government
officials from entering the United States on Wednesday, just hours
after a failed attempt to renew diplomacy with President Hassan
Rouhani as he attended an annual gathering of world leaders in New
York. The order followed a new round of American economic penalties
against China, Iran’s largest oil customer, to further squeeze the
Iranian economy and force Tehran into new negotiations to limit its
nuclear and military programs. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the
United States was still open to talking to Iran, and hoped to tamp
down inflamed tensions after leaders in the United States, Europe and
Arab nations blamed Tehran for attacks on oil fields in Saudi Arabia
this month. “We want peace and we want a peaceful resolution,” Mr.
Pompeo said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon with
President Trump. “In the end, it will be up to the Iranians to make
that decision whether they choose violence and hate.”
The
National: European Parliament May Force Online Firms To Remove
Terrorism Content
“The European Parliament’s civil liberties committee has already
back the parliament’s position and MEPs could start negotiations
shortly with EU member states on the regulations. Under them, EU
countries would have to designate a competent authority and tell the
European Commission, which would then publish a list with all the
relevant bodies. When these authorities flag terrorist content, a
removal order would be sent to the internet platforms, which would
have one hour to delete it or disable access to it in all EU member
states. There are also proposals to help smaller platforms – companies
which have never received a removal order would be contacted 12 hours
before their first order, when they would be given information on
procedures and deadlines.”
United States
The
New York Times: After Attacks In U.S., Extremist Symbols Draw
Scrutiny
“The bowl-shaped haircut worn by the white supremacist who killed
nine black worshipers in Charleston, S.C., stands among the most
disturbing and distinctive images that extremists have shared online.
Others include letters drawn from the ancient runic alphabet — a
particular favorite among neo-Nazis — or slogans like “Diversity=White
genocide.” They are among the many symbols, slogans and memes that
white supremacists are deploying as propaganda and which are drawing
more scrutiny amid a broader effort to curtail extremist violence in
the United States. On Thursday, the Anti-Defamation League is adding
36 entries to its longstanding online catalog of extremist symbols,
many of which are built around racist stereotypes that have been
spread about African Americans and Jews. About 10 of them are the
logos of extremist organizations. Several others are numeric codes
that can carry hidden messages, like the numbers 109 or 110,
anti-Semitic shorthand that claims that Jews have been expelled from
109 countries and that the United States should become the 110th. Hate
symbols have long historical roots, including the white hoods and the
cross burnings of the Ku Klux Klan that were meant to convey both
menace and power.”
HuffPost:
Army Service Members Warned About Extremist Violence At ‘Joker’
Screenings
“Army personnel have been cautioned on the risk of mass shooters
when attending screenings of the movie “Joker.” The Army confirmed
Wednesday that a security notice was distributed internally after an
FBI investigation unearthed social media posts associated with
extremists classified as misogynistic “incels” that suggested
replicating the 2012 movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado,
during the Batman film “The Dark Knight Rises,” Gizmodo reported. The
notice, obtained by Gizmodo, said: Team, Posts on social media have
made reference to involuntary celibate (“incel”) extremists
replicating the 2012 theatre shooting in Aurora, Colorado, at
screenings of the Joker movie at nationwide theatres. This presents a
potential risk to DOD personnel and family members, though there are
no known specific credible threats to the opening of the Joker on 4
October. Incels are individuals who express frustration from perceived
disadvantages to starting intimate relationships. Incel extremists
idolize violent individuals like the Aurora movie theatre shooter.
They also idolize the Joker character, the violent clown from the
Batman series, admiring his depiction as a man who must pretend to be
happy, but eventually fights back against his bullies. When entering
theatres, identify two escape routes, remain aware of your
surroundings, and remember the phrase “run, hide, fight.”
NPR:
How The U.S. Hacked ISIS
“The crowded room was awaiting one word: "Fire." Everyone was in
uniform; there were scheduled briefings, last-minute discussions,
final rehearsals. "They wanted to look me in the eye and say, 'Are you
sure this is going to work?' " an operator named Neal said. "Every
time, I had to say yes, no matter what I thought." He was nervous, but
confident. U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency had
never worked together on something this big before. Four teams sat at
workstations set up like high school carrels. Sergeants sat before
keyboards; intelligence analysts on one side, linguists and support
staff on another. Each station was armed with four flat-screen
computer monitors on adjustable arms and a pile of target lists and IP
addresses and online aliases. They were cyberwarriors, and they all
sat in the kind of oversize office chairs Internet gamers settle into
before a long night. "I felt like there were over 80 people in the
room, between the teams and then everybody lining the back wall that
wanted to watch," Neal recalled. He asked us to use only his first
name to protect his identity. "I'm not sure how many people there were
on the phones listening in or in chat rooms."
Bloomberg:
Family Of Victim Killed By Hezbollah Awarded $20M
“The family of a U.S. national killed in Israel during a Hezbollah
rocket attack on his kibbutz was awarded over $20 million by a federal
court in D.C. in its suit against Syria under the Foreign Sovereign
Immunities Act. The award covers compensatory and economic damages,
but not punitive damages, the opinion by Judge Rudolph Contreras of
the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said. The Syrian
Arab Republic never responded to the family’s tort claims and they
were given a default judgment.”
Syria
The
Washington Post: Former Rebel Stronghold In Syria Begins To
Rebuild
“Portraits of Syrian President Bashar Assad adorn a few buildings
still intact after years of fighting and Russian soldiers hand out
food and other supplies to residents of this Syrian town that was
recently captured by the Syrian army. Khan Sheikoun, which holds a
strategic position in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, fell to
Assad’s forces last month following weeks of a massive offensive by
Syrian troops backed by Russian military support. On Wednesday, a
group of foreign reporters on a trip to Syria organized by the Russian
Defense Ministry saw municipal workers clearing the streets of debris,
and Russian troops distributing aid. The town, which had a population
of 65,000 when Syria’s civil war erupted in 2011, now has only about
4,000 residents.”
Reuters:
Canada Revokes Consul Position Of Supporter Of Syria's
Assad
“Canada has revoked its approval of a diplomat in Montreal who is a
supporter of Syrian President Bashir al-Assad, Foreign Minister
Chrystia Freeland said on Wednesday. Freeland previously came out
strongly against Waseem Ramli’s appointment to the position of Syrian
honorary consul and promised timely action, but she had first wanted
to hear Global Affairs Canada’s explanation for approving the
position. “Upon review of the department’s decision, I have instructed
officials to immediately revoke his status,” she said. Canada joined
several other countries in ejecting all Syrian diplomats after the
2012 Houla massacre, but Syria has maintained honorary consul
positions in Montreal and Vancouver to “provide basic consular
services to Syrians in Canada,” Freeland said.”
Iran
NBC
News: Trump Orders Visa Ban For Family Members Of Iranian
Officials
“President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered a visa ban on senior
Iranian government officials and their family members, barring them
from entering the United States to travel, study or work. The move
comes after families of Americans imprisoned in Iran lobbied the White
House for years to deny visas to the children or relatives of
top-ranking officials in the Iranian government, as NBC News has
previously reported. There are at least four Americans currently
imprisoned in Iran and human rights groups and U.N. monitors say the
detentions are arbitrary and baseless. Trump's proclamation accused
Iran of threatening peace and stability in the Middle East and
arbitrarily detaining Americans. "I have determined that it is in the
interest of the United States to take action to restrict and suspend
the entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of
senior government officials of Iran, and their immediate family
members," Trump stated in the order.”
The
Wall Street Journal: Trump Can Do Even More On Iran
“The effectiveness of the Trump administration’s sanctions strategy
against Iran has been astonishing—doubly so because the “maximum
pressure” policy has faced wide opposition, including from close U.S.
allies. Most foreign companies have decided to avoid doing business
with Iran rather than face potential U.S. secondary sanctions, and
this week Britain, France and Germany joined in blaming Tehran for the
recent missile attack on Saudi Arabia. Iran complains bitterly about
Mr. Trump’s policy, but by violating its nuclear commitments and
attacking its neighbors, it practically invites the U.S. to do more.
One option is to put the full weight of international law behind its
sanctions campaign—unilaterally. President Obama’s sanctions rested
largely on six binding resolutions adopted by the United Nations
Security Council between 2006 and 2010. They were terminated in 2015
by Resolution 2231 implementing the nuclear agreement, known as the
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.”
The
Wall Street Journal: U.S. Sanctions Chinese Firms For Allegedly
Shipping Iranian Oil
“The Trump administration blacklisted several Chinese companies
including units of a state giant for allegedly shipping Iranian oil in
violation of U.S. sanctions, attempting to cut off the last vestiges
of Iran’s crude exports. The action signaled the administration’s
commitment to its “maximum pressure” campaign as European allies and
other nations push Washington to ease sanctions and cool rising
tensions between the U.S. and Iran. The move Wednesday hit state-owned
companies that collectively represent some of the biggest movers of
oil and petroleum products in the world. The action is expected to
strain ties further between Washington and Beijing as the two
superpowers clash over trade, security and a host of other topics,
former U.S. officials warn.”
AMN:
Hezbollah Leader Photographed In Iran With Ayatollah Khamenei And Quds
Forces Commander
“The Secretary-General of Hezbollah Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah posed
next to Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khameni and the Quds Force commander
Major General Qassem Suleimani in an undated photo that was posted on
the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader’s official website. While the
photo’s date is unknown, it is believed that the Hezbollah leader
visited Iran in the past three months.”
BBC
News: Stena Impero: Iran 'Still Investigating' Seized British
Tanker
“Iran says it has lifted a detention order on a Swedish-owned,
British-flagged oil tanker, but that it may not leave because of an
ongoing inquiry. Foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi tweeted that
the Stena Impero was suspected of "violations and damages inflicted on
the environment". The ship's owner, Stena Bulk, said it was not aware
of any formal charges. Iran seized the Stena Impero in the Strait of
Hormuz in July, accusing it of violating maritime rules. The seizure
came two weeks after an Iranian tanker was held off Gibraltar with the
help of the Royal Marines. That ship, now called the Adrian Darya 1,
was suspected of violating EU sanctions on Syria but it was released
by Gibraltar on 15 August.”
The
New York Post: The UN’s Disgraceful, Dangerous Refusal To Face Facts
On Iran
“Days before the UN General Assembly gathered to discuss world
peace, an Iranian drone and missile attack devastated Saudi oil
facilities. For years, Israel has been the lone voice calling
attention to the danger the Tehran regime poses to the Middle East.
Yet an attack that threatens to destabilize global energy markets
demonstrates that the best prosecutor of the case against Iran is …
Iran. As the international community meets in Turtle Bay to discuss
the gravest threats to international peace and security, it must
review the evidence Tehran has put forth and get serious about the
regime. Since seizing power 40 years ago, the regime has exported an
extremist ideology that leaves nothing but chaos and bloodshed in its
wake. Through its elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and with the
use of its national airlines, Iran has spread its tentacles to four
countries — Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon — as well as the Gaza
Strip, dedicating years and more than $7 billion annually to building
this extensive terrorist network.”
Iraq
Iraqi
News: Security Forces Kill Eight IS Terrorists In Iraq’s
Anbar
“Eight Islamic State (IS) militants were killed Wednesday during a
security operation in the western province of Anbar, a military
commander said. “The Jazeera Operations Command, backed by tribal
mobilization fighters and army warplanes, carried out a preemptive
security operation in the northern parts of Rawa, leaving eight IS
terrorists dead,” Leader of al-Hashd al-Shaabi in Anbar Province,
Qatari al-Obeidi told Alsumaria News. The operation is still ongoing,
he added. The Islamic State group appeared on the international scene
in 2014 when it seized large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria,
declaring the establishment of an Islamic “caliphate” from Mosul city.
Later on, the group has become notorious for its brutality, including
mass killings, abductions and beheadings, prompting the U.S. to lead
an international coalition to destroy it. Despite the group’s crushing
defeat at its main havens across Iraq, Islamic State continues to
launch sporadic attacks against troops with security reports warning
that the militant group still poses a threat against stability in the
country.”
Iraqi
News: Iraqi Police Apprehend Five Islamic State Terrorists In
Mosul
“The Iraqi Interior Ministry announced on Wednesday that five
members of the Islamic State militant group were arrested in Mosul
city. “A force of the 12th police emergency regiment of the Nineveh
Police Command arrested five IS militants, who are involved in
terrorist acts in Mosul city,” the Interior Ministry spokesman, Maj.
Gen. Saad Maan, said. Three of the arrestees were members of Islamic
State’s so-called Jund (soldiers) Diwan, the spokesman said. They were
arrested in al-Shaimaa, al-Quds, al- Qadisiyyah and al-Maa’mon
districts in Mosul, he added.Former prime minister Haider al-Abadi
announced in July 2017 liberation of the second largest Iraqi city of
Mosul from IS militants, who had captured it in 2014. More than 25,000
militants were killed throughout the campaign, which started in
October 2016. The campaign was backed by paramilitary troops and a
U.S.-led international coalition. Iraq declared the collapse of
Islamic State’s territorial influence in Iraq in November 2017 with
the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria,
which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq.”
Turkey
The
Washington Post: Explosion Hits Riot Police Bus In Southern Turkey; 5
Wounded
“Turkey’s official news agency says a bomb exploded in southern
Adana province, wounding five people. The governor’s office in Adana
said Wednesday the explosion went off as a riot police bus passed. The
statement said a police officer was among the wounded. Images of the
explosion’s aftermath showed a badly damaged bus. Turkey has been hit
by a string of bombings by outlawed Kurdish militants and the Islamic
State group starting in 2015, killing hundreds. Attacks decreased
after 2017. Two anti-terrorism prosecutors were assigned to the case,
according to Anadolu news agency quoting Adana’s chief prosecutor.
Prosecutor Omer Faruk Yurdagul said they were investigating the type
of explosive and said initial findings pointed to an extremist
attack.”
Afghanistan
The
Washington Post: Afghanistan’s Election On Saturday Could Be Bloodier
Than Expected. This Explains Why.
“This weekend, Afghanistan will hold its fourth presidential
election since the Taliban government’s fall in 2001. Since the U.S.
and Taliban’s recent breakdown in negotiations, the Taliban has killed
more Afghan civilians than at almost any other point since the
beginning of 2018, as you can see in the figure below. The Taliban has
killed at least 58 civilians in the past eight days alone. And that
may be about to get worse. In earlier presidential elections, the
Taliban has tried not to kill civilians when they go to vote. That may
change this weekend. Here’s why. In a study published in American
Economic Review in 2018, one of us, Andrew Shaver, and his colleagues
examined detailed Department of Defense wartime records of the
Taliban’s violence shortly before and during elections between 2003
and 2014. Tracking insurgent activity by the hour, the study found the
Taliban carried out an extraordinary number of attacks on election
days — but that it avoided hurting civilians in those attacks. For
instance, the Taliban tended to concentrate violence during election
days’ early morning hours, before citizens traveled to the polls —
which wasn’t the case with attacks on non-election days. In other
words, the Taliban wasn’t significantly more likely to hurt civilians
during elections than on other days.”
Xinhua:
Afghan Air Raids Kill More Than 110 Insurgents In Northern
Region
“More than 110 militants have been killed and over four dozen
others sustained injuries as fighting planes struck Taliban hideouts
in Afghanistan's northern Sari Pul, Jawzjan and Faryab provinces
Tuesday night, army spokesman in the northern region Mohammad Hanif
Rezai said Wednesday. The sorties struck Taliban hideouts in Sari
Pul's Qashqari area, parts of Qaramqul district in Faryab and Gardan
village of Darzab district in Jawzjan province, the official said,
adding more than 50 armed militants have been wounded in the raids. No
security personnel or civilians were wounded in the air raids, the
official asserted. Aimed at stabilizing security ahead of the voting
day, Rezai said that crackdowns on militants would continue.
Afghanistan's presidential elections are slated for Saturday and more
than 9.4 million eligible voters are expected to cast their vote amid
tight security. Taliban outfit has termed the coming elections in
Afghanistan as a sham practice and vowed to disrupt the voting
process.”
Radio
Free Europe: Taliban Lifts Ban On Who Vaccine Operations In Occupied
Afghan Territories
“Taliban militants in Afghanistan have lifted a ban on World Health
Organization (WHO) activities in areas they control, another apparent
move by the extremist group to improve their image following the
collapse of peace talks with the United States. The move announced on
September 25 reversed a decision made in April when the extremist
group barred the WHO and the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) from operating in its occupied territories, accusing the groups
of carrying out “suspicious” activities associated with
polio-vaccination campaigns. “After realizing its shortcomings and
following constant contact and meetings with our representatives, the
WHO received permission for their activities,” Zabihullah Mujahid, a
spokesman for the Taliban, said in a statement. The ban had threatened
to intensify a major humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, one of three
countries in the world where the disease is endemic. The Taliban on
September 15 revoked its ban on the ICRC and restored its guarantee
for the security of Red Cross staff doing humanitarian work in
Afghanistan, but it did not mention the WHO.”
The
New York Times: A Desperate Battle, And A Victory For Now, At A Remote
Afghan Outpost
“In one of the most remote places in Afghanistan, government forces
this month managed to achieve something vanishingly rare these days:
They clawed back not one but three districts from the Taliban’s grip.
But the cost was high, and the victory was tenuous. Even as the Afghan
forces turned their attention toward defending their gains against
fierce Taliban counterattacks in Badakhshan Province, paramilitary
fighters were swamped by grief: One of their most revered commanders,
Najmullah, was among the dead. His men washed and wrapped his body
carefully in white cloth, then loaded it onto a police pickup. They
followed behind with heads bowed, weapons strapped across their backs
and the morning sun glinting off their ammunition bandoleers. A visit
by New York Times journalists to Badakhshan, a far-northern spit of
Afghanistan sandwiched by Tajikistan, China and Pakistan, showed the
desperate nature of a fight in a place cut off from the rest of the
country for months every year by winter storms and rugged
terrain.”
Pakistan
Pakistan
Today: Religion And Terrorism Are Not Linked: PM
“Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday stressed there was no
“link” between religion and terrorism as he linked the terror
incidents with “marginalisation” of communities that “radicalise”
them. The prime minister made these comments at a round table
discussion on hate speech on the sidelines of the United Nations
General Assembly in New York, co-hosted by Pakistan and Turkey, which
was also attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and High
Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations
(UNAOC) Miguel Ángel Moratinos. Noting the growing incidents of
discrimination and violence based on religion and belief, the prime
minister underscored the importance of addressing both the drivers and
consequences of these phenomena. He cautioned against attempts to
“belittle revered personalities and scriptures cloaked in the right to
freedom of expression and opinion”. “The world must understand Muslim
sensitivities for Islam and the reverence for Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH),” he said. He underscored the need for effective measures to be
put in place so that hate speech, especially that which stems from
Islamophobia, can be countered.”
Yemen
The
National: Yemen's Houthi Rebels Force Children Out Of School With
Fees
“Yemen’s Houthi rebels have started charging school fees in areas
under their control, depriving children of an education and putting
them at greater risk of exploitation and violence, according to
government officials. In Sanaa, the Houthis are demanding up to 1,150
Yemeni rials [Dh17] in registration fees and a monthly charge of 1,000
rials, said Hooria Mashhour, Yemen’s former minister of human rights.
Education in Yemen is free and open to all children from the ages of 6
to 15 in government-funded schools. “According to my sources in Sanaa,
the Houthis are justifying their demands for these fees by stating
that it will be paid towards the transport and allowance for volunteer
teachers,” Ms Mashhour told The National. The charges are the “main
reasons why children drop out of schools”, because their families
cannot afford to pay them, she said.”
Lebanon
The
Washington Examiner: New Indictment Piles On Evidence Of Hezbollah
Terrorist Activity In US
“An indictment filed in the Southern District of New York last week
against a New Jersey man on terror-related charges revealed strong
evidence of organized Hezbollah activity in the United States. Ali
Hassan Saab, known also as Alexei Saab, a resident of New Jersey and a
U.S. citizen, was charged with nine felony counts based on Hezbollah
activity spanning from “at least” 1996 until his capture in 2019. His
charges included conspiracy to provide and subsequent provision of
support to the Iranian terrorist organization, receiving military
training from Hezbollah, immigration fraud to perpetuate international
terrorism, and marriage fraud, among others. Hezbollah is a
Lebanon-based Shi'ite Islamic group supported by Iran that has been
active since the 1980s. The U.S. designated them as a Foreign
Terrorist Organization in 1997, and the State Department described
Hezbollah as the “most technically capable terrorist group in the
world” in 2010. Saab's alleged Hezbollah activities over the last two
decades reportedly began in Lebanon, doing reconnaissance in Lebanon
on Israeli and Lebanese soldiers. After receiving weapons training in
Hezbollah camps, he joined the Islamic Jihad Organization, the branch
of Hezbollah responsible for outside operations.”
Middle East
Gulf
News: Qatar Continues To Finance Extremists: Al
Jubeir
“Qatar has continued to support terrorist and militant groups
despite a pledge to stop doing this, a Saudi minister has said, amid a
bitter diplomatic row between the two neighbours. “Qatar continues to
finance extremists and terrorists, and interfere in others’ internal
affairs,” Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al Jubeir
added in New York on the sidelines of the annual General Assembly
meetings. In 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt broke off
diplomatic, transportation and trade ties with Qatar over its support
for terrorism and sheltering wanted militants. Saudi television Al
Arabiya also quoted Al Jubeir as saying that Qatar has not observed a
2014 pact it signed in the Saudi capital to mend its ways. “They have
not implemented it over five years. And we said this is enough,” the
official said. Al Jubeir also accused Qatar of providing millions of
dollars for Iran-allied militias in Lebanon and Iraq. The anti-Qatar
quartet presented a list of demands to Doha to end the dispute. They
included stopping support for radical groups, downgrading ties with
Iran and shutting down the Qatari Al Jazeera television network seen
as a mouthpiece of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.”
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Bahrain Sentences 4 Terror Suspects To
Prison
“Bahrain on Wednesday sentenced four terrorist suspects to prison,
reported the BNA news agency. The fourth High Criminal Court found
them guilty of forming a terrorist group and receiving training and
training others on making explosives. They were also accused of
acquiring and possessing materials related to making explosives and
funding terrorism activities. The court handed down seven-year jail
sentences to the first and second defendants, and three-year
jail-sentences to the third and fourth. The second and the third
suspects were also fined BD 100,000 each. Court documents revealed the
suspects had formed a terrorist cell in Bahrain to make explosive
devices and prepare the necessary materials for their manufacture and
to plant them in the places where security personnel are stationed.
They also recruited many members. One suspect was tasked with making
chemical materials used in manufacturing explosive devices. They also
requested him to recruit other members to assist him, and he managed
to recruit the fourth defendant.”
The
Times Of Israel: Islamic Jihad Seeking To Build Rockets In West
Bank
“The Islamic Jihad terror group is seeking to set up rocket
production capabilities in the heart of the West Bank, threatening to
fire the projectiles at cities in central Israel, according to an
Israeli television report. Channel 12 news on Wednesday showed
photographs of makeshift rockets assembled in Tulkarem and reported
that three Islamic Jihad operatives were arrested in the northern West
Bank city this week by Palestinian Authority security forces. The PA
forces also seized a rocket prototype built by the cell, the report
said. The instructions for building the rockets reportedly came from
Lebanon. The report said it was not clear if the orders were from
Islamic Jihad or the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, both of which
are backed by Iran. Though the rockets produced by the Islamic Jihad
cell were amateurish, the report noted they could be improved over
time, threatening the heavily populated Tel Aviv metropolitan area and
Israeli coastal plain. Israel has accused Islamic Jihad of being
behind recent violence emanating from the Gaza Strip and last month
charged that it was actively trying to ignite a fresh war in the
region.”
Egypt
Egypt
Today: Muslim Brotherhood, IS Bots, Spam Groups Exploit Egypt Protest
Hashtags
“After enduring continuous losses, extremist groups have turned to
“digital-jihad” to carry out their devious schemes to bring down the
stability of and security of countries through “dirty” online
campaigns that only aim to sow discord and chaos. In a report, BBC
Monitoring has noted that pro-Islamic-State groups have been using bot
accounts to urge Egyptians to abandon the “futile” protests and to
support the jihadist group instead. Other analysts say that huge
numbers of tweets have been sent from previously dormant accounts as
well as newly created ones in crude attempts to dominate the
conversation. It's not known who was behind these spam campaigns, or
why. According to the report, Writer Erin Gallagher noted a large
number of fake accounts posting near-identical content onto Egypt
protest hashtags. Her research found that up to 20% of Tweets using
the Arabic “Tahrir Square now” hashtag originated from bot accounts
posting via the IFTTT application. If This Then That, also known as
IFTTT, is a free web-based service to create chains of simple
conditional statements, allowing bots to repeat the same hashtag at
certain times.”
Libya
Bloomberg:
US Targets Islamic State In Libya With Second Airstrike In
Week
“A U.S. airstrike killed 11 suspected Islamic State militants in
southern Libya, U.S. Africa Command said, its second reported raid in
a week against the extremist group that once controlled a key coastal
city. Tuesday’s strike was carried out around the town of Murzuq, the
same location where a Sept. 19 attack was assessed to have left eight
militants dead, according to statements. Islamic State took root in
Libya after the ouster of Moammar Al Qaddafi, seizing the central city
of Sirte in 2015 and threatening to use it as a launchpad for attacks
in the OPEC member and neighboring countries. It was driven out after
a year by a coalition of Libyan armed groups.”
Nigeria
AllAfrica:
Nigeria: Boko Haram Kills Abducted Humanitarian
Worker
“One of the six workers of Action Against Hunger, an international
humanitarian organisation, who was abducted by Boko Haram two months
ago, has been killed. The insurgents uploaded a video online showing
how the humanitarian worker was beheaded. Nigerian journalist, Ahmed
Salkida, broke the sad news via his Twitter handle with a blurred
photograph of a masked man beheading one of the abductees. The
headquarters of the Action Against Hunger in France has confirmed the
development to PREMIUM TIMES. The Action Against Hunger was on
September 18 forced by the Nigeria military to close its operations on
allegations that the NGO was aiding and abetting operations of the
Boko Haram. “#ISWAP has executed one of the six aid workers, working
with the Action Against Hunger that was abducted two months ago in
Borno,” Mr Salkida's tweet reads. “One of the male aid workers was
executed at close range in a short video clip seen by this reporter.
“The group, in a horrific video of the execution, said it took the
action because “the government deceived them” following months of what
is now known as secret negotiations between a team of intermediaries
and unnamed officials.”
Reuters:
Islamic State Says It Killed 14 Nigerian Soldiers In Northeast Borno
State - Amaq
“Islamic State said via its Amaq news agency that it killed 14
Nigerian soldiers in the northeast state of Borno in attacks on
Wednesday. There were clashes in the state after the insurgents
ambushed soldiers, a military source told Reuters. A Nigerian army
spokesman did not immediately respond to phone calls requesting
comment.”
Somalia
The
Straits Times: Somali Military Kills 30 Al-Shabab Militants In
Southern Region
“The Somali military confirmed on Thursday (Sept 26) its forces
have killed 30 al-Shabab militants and injured 40 others in an
offensive in the country's Lower Shabelle region on Wednesday. Hassan
Aden Hashi, deputy commander of the April 12 Unit of the Somali army,
told journalists that the forces carried out a planned operation on a
base used by the militants in an area between El Salini and Dhanane
villages in Lower Shabelle. "Our forces inflicted heavy casualties on
the militants during the operation. We killed 30 of them and injured
40 others," Hashi said, adding that the forces also seized three
battle vehicles and detained some members of the terrorist group
during the offensive.”
Africa
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Tunisia Seizes Terrorist Cell Linked To Bizerte Stabbing
Incidents
“Security agencies fighting terrorism have arrested four terrorist
elements linked with the stabbing incident carried out on Monday in
Bizerte city, 60 km north of the capital, Tunis. Tunisia’s interior
ministry stressed that the terrorist elements arrested are between 25
and 35 years old and reside in one of Bizerte’s crowded neighborhoods.
It said they are active in the field of parallel trade in the region's
markets. Head of the security office in Bizerte’s Court of Appeal was
killed, and a soldier was slightly injured. More than one security
party suggested that the terrorist attacker belonged to ISIS since he
supported Ajnad al-Khilafa terrorist cell. Tunisian security
authorities are expected to announce the details of the schemes
prepared by this cell following the arrest of the attacker in the
city. The probe conducted with elements belonging to the terrorist
cell revealed the readiness of the cell’s members to carry out further
attacks against security and military figures. Three traditional-made
incendiary flasks were also seized along with other things found in
the attackers’ house. Two members of the terrorist cell admitted to
planning to attack a security patrol using Molotov cocktails. A
terrorist element whose image appeared in a surveillance camera is
being prosecuted.”
News
24: 12 Killed In Jihadist Attacks In Mozambique
“Twelve people were killed late on Monday in fresh attacks by
suspected jihadists in northern Mozambique ahead of elections next
month, officials said. Ten people were murdered in the village of
Mbau, in Mocimbao da Praia district, and half of the homes in the
locality were burned down, along with the offices of the ruling
Frelimo party, a local official said on Tuesday. “They entered the
village and came across a group of young people who were drinking
alcohol. Many were killed,” the official, Assane Issa, told AFP. “The
villagers then fled into the forest.” Police then intervened, forcing
the assailants out after a gun battle that finished at around 01:00,
Issa said. Earlier on Monday, suspected jihadists attacked the village
of Mindumbe, a few dozen kilometres to the south. “The rebels came
across two men in their fields - they killed them and then decapitated
them,” a villager told AFP. Northern Mozambique has borne the brunt of
a nearly two-year-old wave of attacks by a shadowy jihadist
organisation, defying attempts by the government to secure the region.
At least 300 civilians have been killed and tens of thousands of
people have fled their homes.”
Germany
The
Washington Post: Germany: Man Convicted Of Membership In Islamic State
Group
“A German court has convicted a German-Tunisian man of membership
in the Islamic State group and another extremist organization. The
Stuttgart state court sentenced the 30-year-old man to two years and
five months in prison on Wednesday. The court said he traveled to
Syria in late 2013 to join the Islamic State group and received
military training, but left IS in February 2014 and joined another
group, Junud al-Sham. The court says the man spent a couple of months
as a fighter and paramedic before returning to Germany, where he was
in custody for the past year. Judges ordered his release after taking
into account time he spent jailed in Tunisia from June 2015 until
January 2018 while accused of Islamic State membership.”
Europe
El
País: Two Catalan Separatists Confess To Making And Testing
Explosives
“Two members of a Catalan independence protest group, who were
arrested on Monday for allegedly planning acts of violence, have
confessed to making explosives and testing them, according to sources
from the investigation. The two detainees belong to the violent wing
of the Committees to Defend the Republic (CDR), a network of
grassroots activists who have made headlines in recent years through
public acts of protest in support of the independence movement. They
were among nine CDR members arrested by the Civil Guard in a raid
against radical separatists suspected of planning acts of violence
ahead of the second anniversary of the unauthorized independence
referendum of October 1, 2017. According to sources from the
investigation, officers have video recordings that show some of the
detainees testing the explosives, as well as testimony from witnesses
who recognized several group members who bought chemical substances to
make explosives. Tests conducted on the substances seized by the Civil
Guard during Monday’s raid have confirmed the presence of ammonium
nitrate, a common fertilizer that can be used to make explosive
mixtures like ammonal, sources close to the investigation told EL
PAÍS.”
The
Copenhagen Post: Denmark Stepping Up Fight Against
Terrorism
“The foreign minister, Jeppe Kofod, announced yesterday at the
ongoing UN summit in New York that Denmark would be dedicating more
funds to tackling terrorism. Kofod revealed that 37 million kroner has
been earmarked for prevention and fighting the problem. “We want to
create a secure and safe Denmark. That requires us to engage in the
fight against terrorism in Africa and the rest of the world,” said
Kofod. More specifically, the funding will go to initiatives that
support the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCF) – an alliance
consisting of 29 countries and the EU, which have linked up to tackle
terrorism. Some 14 million kroner will go to supporting Ethiopia’s
ability to fight terror financing, 9 million kroner to supporting the
IGAD regional centre for countries in the Horn of Africa, while 14
million kroner has been earmarked for GCF’s prevention fund that works
towards preventing radicalisation in fragile countries, such as Mali.
Kofod also invited the members of the GCF to attend a meeting in
Copenhagen sometime in 2020.”
Euronews:
Europe’s Problem With Jihad: The Foreign Fighters Who Tore Families
Apart
“As the so-called Islamic State group built its caliphate in Syria
and Iraq, it was boosted with the recruitment of armies of foreign
fighters. Thousands of these came from Europe, causing untold misery
on battlefields in the Middle East, and tearing apart families back
home. Dominique Bons’s son Nicolas was one of among the more than
5,000 European nationals who, according to the EU, joined a terrorist
organization between 2011 and 2016. She told Euronews that when he
left home to go travelling to Thailand, it was in fact only a pretense
- he was heading to join a terror group in Syria. Following his death
in that country in 2013, Dominique decided to fight back, setting up
an association, which worked to warn the authorities of what was
happening to young men and women across the country. “I know a mother
who says my daughter is 18 and is no longer my daughter…I don’t
recognize her anymore,” Dominique tells us. “We’re in 2019. So it does
continue. What do we do about it? Nothing.” And a new generation of
children of foreign fighters growing up in brutal conditions in
detention camps will only add to the problem facing European
governments. In squalid camps in Syria, thousands of children are at
risk of becoming radicalised, as governments struggle to decide what
should be done with them.”
Southeast Asia
Reuters:
Malaysian Police Arrest 15 Over Links To Islamic
State
“Malaysia has arrested 15 people, mostly foreigners from
neighboring Indonesia, on suspicion of having links with the Islamic
State militant group, police said on Thursday. Malaysia has been on
high alert since January 2016, when gunmen allied with Islamic State
carried out a series of attacks in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia.
The suspects were arrested in several raids across the country between
July and September, Malaysia’s police counter-terrorism chief Ayob
Khan Mydin Pitchay said in a statement. The first case involved a
25-year-old Indonesian palm plantation worker in the state of Sabah in
Borneo, who police believe had acted as a facilitator for a family of
five that carried out a suicide attack on a church in Jolo, in the
southern Philippines in December 2018. Ayob said the suspect had also
allegedly channeled funds to the Maute group, which seized control of
the lakeside town of Marawi in the Philippines for five months in
2017, a conflict that killed over 1,100 people. Police said they also
arrested 13 other Indonesians and a Malaysian in separate raids on
suspicion of carrying out activities in support of Islamic State,
which included promoting the group’s ideology and recruiting new
members on social media, with the aim of launching attacks in their
two countries.”
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