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Eye on Extremism
January 22, 2021
The Wall Street Journal: Islamic State Claims Responsibility For Deadly Baghdad Bombings
“Twin suicide bombings ripped through a crowded marketplace in Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 32 people and wounding at least 75 others in the first such attack in Iraq’s capital in more than two years. The explosions shattered a period of relative calm after Islamic State lost the territory it controlled in Iraq and Syria in 2019. The blasts highlight the security challenges facing Iraq after the U.S. withdrew much of its military presence from the country in the last days of the Trump administration. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in a communiqué issued on Thursday, according to SITE Intelligence Group, an organization that tracks extremist propaganda. The group has carried out lethal bombings targeting civilians throughout Iraq and the wider Middle East. Iraqi President Barham Salih condemned the attack, saying in a tweet, “The two terrorist explosions targeting innocent people in Baghdad and at this specific time confirms the attempt by the groups of darkness to target all national entitlements and our people’s aspirations for a safe future.” Yehia Rasool, a military spokesman for Iraq’s prime minister, said Iraqi security forces had received information about the two bombers before the attack and were pursuing them when they blew themselves up.”
Agence France-Presse: French Troops Kill Over 20 Extremists In Burkina Faso
“More than 20 militants have been killed by French troops this month in Burkina Faso near the border with troubled Mali, the French military said Thursday. One of the poorest countries in the world, Burkina Faso is struggling with a ruthless insurgency by armed Islamists who swept in from neighbouring Mali in 2015. Almost 1,100 people have died and more than a million people have fled their homes. French Tigre helicopters on Saturday “neutralised” a “suspicious convoy of 30 motorcycles” on Burkinabe territory near the Mali town of Boulikessi in which some 10 extremists were killed, said Colonel Frederic Barbry, spokesman for the French defence staff. The same day, a French drone struck a four-wheel drive vehicle heading for Mali, he said. On Sunday, French helicopters fired on a convoy of 40 motorbikes “allowing us to stop the convoy and neutralise more than 10 armed terrorists and destroy about 10 motorbikes,” Barbry added. France has deployed troops in the region to fight extremists.”
United States
The Sun: Joe Biden Must Tell Hate Preacher Abu Hamza To Abandon Hope Of Return To Britain
"Life for the notorious Islamist firebrand inside the US high security prison will have been a shock after the soft-soap treatment he received in the UK, where his dangerous preaching was indulged for years. Conditions at the bleak ADX Florence fortress in Fremont, Colorado, where Hamza was locked up after being sentenced to life without parole are a far cry from what he is used to here. It is a measure of the danger he poses that the US sent him to the jail reserved for its most dangerous prisoners, many moved there after murdering their guards. Nobody has ever escaped the 35-acre site where inmates spend 23 hours a day in 12ft by 7ft cells guarded by 12ft high razor wire fences, laser-beams, pressure pads and attack dogs. I have no doubt he hankers after a return to the days when he was allowed to preach freely in London, turning vulnerable youngsters into acolytes hellbent on murder and destruction. It was clear that the UK failed to recognise the horrific damage he caused to the country for almost a decade, giving him far too much freedom to spread his dangerous ideology. Despite being listed as a terrorist associate by the UN in the early 2000s, Hamza – who says he lost an eye and both hands while experimenting with explosives, and must now use hooks instead - carried on preaching openly for several years, hailing al-Qaeda’s attack on the Twin Towers and grooming followers."
Syria
Agence France-Presse: UN Says 12 Murdered In Syria Camp In Two Weeks
“Twelve murders have taken place at a displaced camp in northeast Syria in just over two weeks, the UN said Thursday, sounding the alarm over an “increasingly untenable” security situation. Held by Kurdish forces, Al-Hol camp -- Syria's biggest -- holds almost 62,000 people, of whom more than 80 percent are women and children, including Syrians, Iraqis and thousands from as far afield as Europe and Asia. The foreigners are families of jihadists from the Islamic State group, which seized swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014. The Iraqi and Syrian residents of the camp largely fled subsequent fighting between IS and Kurdish forces. “Between 1 and 16 January, the UN received reports of the murders of 12 Syrian and Iraqi camp residents,” said the UN statement, adding that an Iraqi woman was among those killed. “The disturbing events indicate an increasingly untenable security environment at Al-Hol,” it added. The camp had already witnessed several security incidents in recent months, sometimes involving IS supporters. These have included escape attempts and attacks against guards or staff employed by NGOs, sometimes with knives, other times with firearms.”
Afghanistan
Voice Of America: Targeted Killings Of Afghan Journalists Threaten Free Media In Afghanistan
“A recent string of targeted killings in Afghanistan has created an atmosphere of fear among Afghan journalists who say they cannot carry out their duties under growing threats. The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee, a local media advocacy group, has warned that the country might lose one of its main achievements in the past two decades, freedom of expression and press, if the attacks on journalists continue. At least five journalists have been killed in Afghanistan in the past two months as part of a wave of targeted attacks against women working outside their homes, rights activists, tribal and community leaders, religious figures and journalists. “If this trend continues, we will lose one of the most noteworthy achievements of this country, which is press freedom and freedom of expression,” Najib Sharifi, president of the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee, told VOA. Journalists in many parts of Afghanistan say they no longer feel safe amid the increased killings of fellow journalists. “We are in constant fear of being targeted,” said Sami Serat, a journalist working with a local radio station in Helmand province. “We do not feel safe in the city, in our offices or even at home.”
The Economist: Assassinations Rise In Afghanistan Amid Negotiations
“The traffic jams in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, have recently yielded a sombre new spectacle. Almost every day, drivers crawling along at rush hour have had to pass the blasted or bullet-riddled cars of those whose commute has ended in an assassin’s attack. Two female judges were shot dead on their way to work on January 17th. A car from the telecoms ministry was blown up the next day. The day after, in a province to the south, a journalist was hurt in a bomb attack. Some targets are bigwigs’ 4x4s, others are humble saloons. The assassins’ favourite tactics are to sneak a “sticky bomb”—a magnetic one—onto or under a car when it is stationary, or simply to ride up on the back of a motorbike and open fire. Kabul’s traffic makes the targets sitting ducks.”
Yemen
Arab News: How Yemen’s Houthis’ Well-Deserved Terrorist Label Gives Biden Important Leverage
“Joe Biden, the newly inaugurated US president, is using his first days in office to review many of his predecessor’s policies and executive orders. How his administration handles its strategic inheritance, particularly with regard to Iran and its proxies, notably the Yemeni Houthi militia, could well shape the Arab region’s opinion of his nascent presidency. On Jan. 10, Mike Pompeo, the outgoing secretary of state, announced the State Department would designate the Houthis (also known as Ansar Allah) as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization.” Three Houthi leaders — Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, Abdul Khaliq Badr Al-Din Al-Houthi and Abdullah Yahya Al-Hakim — were declared Specially Designated Global Terrorists with effect from Jan. 19. “The designations are intended to hold Ansar Allah accountable for its terrorist acts, including cross-border attacks threatening civilian populations, infrastructure, and commercial shipping,” Pompeo said. “The designations are also intended to advance efforts to achieve a peaceful, sovereign and united Yemen that is both free from Iranian interference and at peace with its neighbors.”
Nigeria
Voice Of America: Christian Group Names Nigeria Hot Spot For Persecution
“A report by the U.S-based Christian persecution monitoring group Open Doors shows the number of Christians killed in 2020 increased by 60%, mostly because of Islamic violence against Nigerian Christians. The study says more than 2,200 of 4,761 Christians killed around the world in 2020 died in Nigeria because of radical Islamists. Open Doors CEO David Curry says the global focus on battling the coronavirus pandemic last year also contributed to an increase in Christian persecution. But Nigerian Muslim groups say the report is promoting a false impression. “Nigerian Christians are not persecuted,” said Ishaq Akintola, director at Muslim Rights Concern. “What is happening in Nigeria is the persecutor crying out and claiming that he is being persecuted, claiming that he is the victim. And it's because a Muslim is in power that the crying of persecution is so loud.” Another U.S.-based organization, International Christian Concern, estimates 50,000 to 70,000 Christians have died in violent attacks in Nigeria over 18 years, mostly carried out by Boko Haram terrorists or arms-wielding gangs.”
Somalia
The Africa Report: Somalia: Why Clan Elders Are Vital In Launching Talks With Al-Shabaab
“The Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab insurgent group and the Somali government have remained locked in a violent stalemate for years. Other than lives lost, neither party has inflicted grave damage or made significant territorial gains. In a protracted conflict that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people, there is no end in sight. Al-Shabaab continues to pursue the goal of installing itself in power. To achieve this, it aims to overthrow the Western-backed Somali government and eject foreign forces from the country. For its part, the Somali government relies largely on international support to deliver stability and reconstruction. To resolve the conflict, some observers have urged the Somali government to initiate dialogue with Al-Shabaab. One proposal is that the Somali government should engage with moderate members of the group. Another recommends third-party Muslim state actors stepping in to initiate talks. The government in Mogadishu has signalled its willingness to enter into direct talks. But Al-Shabaab has rebuffed all attempts. Instead, it has dismissed the government as a “criminal regime” that has “left the fold of Islam.”
United Kingdom
BBC News: Man Arrested In Birmingham On Suspicion Of Terrorism Offences
“A man has been arrested on suspicion of collecting and disseminating terrorist publications. The 21-year-old was arrested at a property in Birmingham on Wednesday, West Midlands Police said. He was taken to a local police station where he remains in custody, the spokesman added. The arrest is part of an on-going investigation and there is not believed to be any imminent threat to the public.”
France
France 24: French Muslim Groups At Odds Over Macron's Anti-Extremism Charter
“The head of France's main Muslim organisation on Thursday slammed a “unilateral” move by three Islamic groups not to sign up to an anti-extremism charter championed by President Emmanuel Macron. Macron wants French Muslim groups to sign up to the charter as he seeks to secure France's secular system in the wake of a spate of attacks blamed on Islamist radicals in 2020. But the Committee for Coordination of Turkish Muslims in France (CCMTF) and the Milli Gorus Islamic Confederation (CMIG) -- both catering to citizens of Turkish origin -- as well as the Faith and Practice movement, announced late Wednesday that they would not be signing up to the charter. “Through these repetitive actions, the groups... all risk being held responsible for this situation of division,” said Mohamed Moussaoui, the president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), the umbrella grouping for France's Muslim groups. This refusal “is not likely to provide reassurance... on the state of the representative bodies of the Muslim religion”, he added. A source close to the issue, who asked not to be named, said the three groups refusing to sign the charter were particularly concerned about the definition of foreign interference in religion and the definition of political Islam.”
Germany
Deutsche Welle: Far-Right Terrorism In Germany: Walter Lübcke's Murder And The NSU
“The lawyer defending Stephan E.*, the neo-Nazi on trial for the assassination of regional governor Walter Lübcke, has made his final statement to the court ahead of next week's verdict. In the hope of shortening his client's prison term, attorney Mustafa Kaplan argued that the defendant should be found guilty of manslaughter rather than murder. Lübcke, a conservative politician in the state of Hesse who defended Chancellor Angela Merkel's refugee policies in the 2015 crisis, was shot dead on the porch of his home in June 2019. Stephan E. confessed to the killing, though he told the court that he had been helped by his erstwhile friend and co-defendant, Markus H., another known neo-Nazi, who has denied involvement. For many observers, among them state prosecutor Dieter Killmer, Lübcke's killing could only be understood as the latest of a series of far-right terrorist attacks in Germany dating back to the Oktoberfest bombing in the 1980s. But those attacks are not random. For the past 20 years, Germans have learned more and more about an underground network of neo-Nazis who are prepared to assassinate politicians, stockpile weapons, compile lists of the addresses of perceived enemies, and plant nail bombs in minority communities.”
Southeast Asia
Eurasia Review: Indonesia: Support For Islamic State Declining
“Support for Islamic State is declining among Indonesian extremists, and Jemaah Ansharul Daulah (JAD), once the largest of the country’s many pro-ISIS groups, has become largely inactive, according to a report by the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC). The IPAC report notes, that at the same time, a process of regrouping and splintering is producing new cells, and some Indonesians believe their oath of loyalty to ISIS leaders obliges them to continue fighting in any way they can. The overall picture is of a manageable threat, even as there is no end in sight to the emergence of small, poorly trained groups with the intention to do harm. “There are no extremist groups operating in Indonesia today that present a serious threat to Indonesian stability or that are beyond the capacity of the police to manage,” said Sidney Jones, director of the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC). “The Decline of ISIS in Indonesia and the Emergence of New Cells”, the latest report from the examines the status of the major pro-ISIS organisations in Indonesia and a selection of smaller ones to understand the dynamics that have weakened them and caused discontent and departures.”
Technology
“Only hours after gaining full control of Congress, House Democrats are going after Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for the platforms’ perceived roles in inciting violence at the Capitol earlier this month. In letters addressed to the chief executives of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), along with dozens of other members, called for the companies to make sweeping changes to their platforms to curb violent and extremist activity on their networks. The lawmakers accused the companies of using certain product features and algorithms that boost content that evokes extreme emotions as a means of increasing engagement, pointing out specific features they want to see changed on each platform. For YouTube, lawmakers said they would like to see the company disable auto-play and stop recommending any conspiratorial content alongside videos or on users’ homepages. Facebook was asked to start a “fundamental reexamination” of its use of user engagement “as the basis of algorithmic sorting and recommendation.” Lawmakers also asked Twitter to begin prompting users to quote-tweet tweets instead of automatically retweeting them when the retweet button is selected.”
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