A prominent cleric and his driver were killed in an explosion from a bomb stuck
to their car, one of a series of bombings around Kabul on Tuesday that

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


February 3, 2021

 

Associated Press: Afghan Officials: Bombings In Kabul Kill 2, Including Cleric
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“A prominent cleric and his driver were killed in an explosion from a bomb
stuck to their car, one of a series of bombings around Kabul on Tuesday that
also wounded seven people. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani denounced the cleric’s
death as a “terrorist attack on the dignity and bright future of Afghanistan.”
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the Kabul attacks, which also
wounded five people. The first bomb was attached to a military vehicle in
central Kabul and wounded two military personnel, said Ferdaws Faramarz,
spokesman for the Kabul police chief. An hour later, the second bomb, in the
northern part of the city, killed two people, including cleric Mohammad Atef,
and wounded two others. A third sticky bomb wounded one person in western Kabul
and a fourth in the late afternoon in eastern Kabul wounded two. Faramarz said
police were investigating. Ghani, in a statement released by the Presidential
Palace, also said that Atef’s killing was the latest in a series of targeted
crimes and assassinations. Atef headed the central council of Jamiat-e-Eslah of
Afghanistan, an Islamist nonprofit organization based. Abdullah Abdullah, the
chairman of the country’s High Council for National Reconciliation, also
condemned Atef’s killing.”

 

Reuters: In Algerian Mountains, Army Operation Shows Persistent Militant Threat

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“Algerian soldiers fired high-calibre rounds into a scrubby hillside of the
Ain Defla mountains last week, part of an operation against the persistent
threat of Islamist militants after they launched a fresh attack last month.
They stalked in the rain between pine trees along muddy tracks, rifles raised,
before dropping into a crouch, many of them too young to remember the 1990s
jihadist insurgency that killed 200,000 Algerians. Two decades after that
bloodshed ended, the militant threat in Algeria has mostly been contained.
However, al Qaeda and other groups including an Islamic State branch still hold
out in some remote areas, mostly in the vast desert border region with Sahel
neighbours Mali and Niger. The operation in Ain Defla was aimed at a small
group that the army believed to be hiding in the mountains, about 180 kms (112
miles) west of the capital Algiers. It had splintered from the Salafist Group
for Preaching and Combat, one of Algeria’s oldest militant organisations and
the forerunner of its al Qaeda franchise, the army said. Reuters and a local
news agency were escorted during the operation by the military.”

 

Syria

 

Kurdistan 24: SDF Captures Another ISIS Suspect In Deir Al-Zor Countryside
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“The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Monday arrested another
suspected member of the so-called Islamic State in the rural Deir al-Zor
province amid increased attacks in the area. The SDF’s media center said in a
statement that its special units, along with forces from the Global Coalition,
launched “a joint operation against an ISIS cell in the Albusayrah area in Deir
al-Zor.” According to the statement, the special forces arrested a suspect
“involved in terrorist activities and confiscated his technical equipment,
documents, and weapons.” “Ongoing security operations ensure [the] safety of
[the] local population and prevent ISIS networks from organizing in the
region,” the SDF’s Coordination and Military Operations Center added in a
tweet. Although the SDF and the US-led Coalition announced the territorial
defeat of the Islamic State in Syria in March 2019, sleeper cell attacks
persist, especially in liberated territories, in what appears to be a
deliberate campaign to destabilize the area. Deir al-Zor has consistently been
one of the most unstable regions in areas under SDF control, facing regular
attacks and assassinations.”

 

Iran

 

The Jerusalem Post: Iran Diplomat On Trial For Terror Had Europe-Wide Network
- Report
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“Ahead of Thursday’s verdict in the trial for the Iranian regime diplomat
Assadollah Assadi's alleged plot to blow up a dissident conference in France,
the British Daily Express reported he crisscrossed European countries as part
of a widespread Islamic Republic network. “A green notebook, found in
Assadollah Assadi’s car when he was arrested in Germany, meticulously detailed
289 places across 11 European countries where he is believed to have made
contact with agents of the regime,” reported the Express’s Defense and
Diplomatic editor Marco Giannangeli on Sunday. “Though ostensibly a diplomat
based at the Iran's Viennese embassy, only 38 were in Austria, barely 13
percent of the total. Germany featured most heavily, with 114 locations,
followed by 42 locations in France, “ wrote  Giannangeli. He added that “Other
countries he visited include Italy, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Belgium, the
Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and Luxembourg.” According to the British
paper, “In reality, he was Europe bureau chief for the Iranian Ministry of
Intelligence and Security.” The conference in France was attended by
high-profile politicians and diplomats, including former president Donald
Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, former US speaker of the House Newt
Gingrich, as well as 38 British MPs, and the former Canadian prime minister
Stephen Harper.”

 

Yemen

 

Al Monitor: US Terror Designation Of Houthis: A Fresh Ordeal In Yemen
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“Yemen's Houthi group, officially known as Ansar Allah, is presently among the
organizations the United States designates as terrorists. One day prior to new
US President Joe Biden's inauguration, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
declared the Houthis a terrorist organization, unleashing conflicting
sentiments in Yemen and abroad. On the local level, Yemenis are divided. Some
welcomed the news, deeming it a step in the right direction. Others reacted
with fury, calling it an extension of America's war on Yemen. On Jan. 25,
thousands of protesters took to the streets in the Houthi-held capital, Sanaa,
denouncing the former US administration's resolution listing the Houthi group
as terrorists. Over the last six years, the United Nations has led peace talks
between the Houthis and the internationally recognized government in a bid to
resolve the Yemen conflict. Now, with the Houthis' new designation as
terrorists, peace talks may face additional stumbling blocks. Plus, military
victory against the Houthis has been unattainable over the last six years, and
it seems a long road before Houthis lose the war. Houthis have showcased
defiance in reaction to the US labeling, saying it will have no political or
military influence.”

 

Nigeria

 

Africanews: Nigerians In Maiduguri Without Power For A Week After Jihadist
Attack
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“Locals in Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri have been without power
for a week after jihadists blew up supply lines from the national electricity
grid. It has caused water shortages disruptions to daily life and businesses.
“The lack of light is seriously affecting our business. Our business is not
going smoothly like before. People are coming to buy some things but now the
business is not going, the business is so bad,” said Jefari Mamuda, an
appliances saleswoman. The city of about two million inhabitants have been
plagued by the Boko Haram insurgency for over a decade. A new faction of the
group is also wreaking havoc. The attack was the third time in a month that the
IS-linked Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group have plunged the
entire city of three million into darkness for days by blowing up transmission
lines. “There has been power failure for quite some time, there is total
blackout in the city and you know for quite some time we have no light and I
have to come and fix my generator,” said Joshua Blues, Maiduguri resident.
Reports also say that over the last month the insurgents have carried out a
series of attacks on villages leading up to Maiduguri.”

 

Africa

 

The Christian Post: Over 100 People, Largely Christians, Killed In Mass
Attacks In DRC: Open Doors
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“A militant Islamic group with an expansionist agenda has killed at least 100
people, mostly Christian, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo in
recent weeks, according to a report by the persecution watchdog Open Doors.
More than 100 people were killed in three large attacks by the Islamic
extremist group called Allied Democratic Forces in the Christian-majority
country, Open Doors reported. On Jan. 14, about 46 people belonging to the
Pygmy ethnic group were killed in Ituri province by suspected militants of the
extremist group, which is known for attacking, kidnapping, and killing
Christians, as well as training and sending jihadists to other countries in
Africa. The roughly half a million Pygmy people face extensive persecution and
discrimination in the country, Open Doors noted. On Jan. 4, about 22 civilians
were estimated to be killed with guns and machetes in an overnight attack on
Mwenda village in the Beni region of neighboring North Kivu province. Militants
from the Allied Democratic Forces, which is based in neighboring Uganda, killed
25 more people in Tingwe village in the same region the same day. At least 17
nearby villagers had been murdered with machetes a week earlier in Mwenda
village.”

 

United Kingdom

 

The Guardian: Terror Response Report 'Humbling', Police Chief Tells Manchester
Arena Inquiry
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“A report on four terror attacks in 2017 made 103 recommendations about how
officials could have better performed, the public inquiry into the Manchester
Arena bombing has heard. Its publication was a “humbling moment”, the
Metropolitan police assistant commissioner, Neil Basu, said in evidence on
Tuesday. The inquiry heard that nearly 90% of the review’s recommendations had
since been delivered. On day 58, the inquiry heard from just one witness, Basu,
who is the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for UK counter-terror policing.
He was senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism policing on the night
of the Arena bombing and it was his job to assume national strategic command of
the events and the investigative response. He declared the incident a terrorist
attack at 12.56am on 23 May 2017 and effectively took responsibility for
national strategic command from this point. Basu told the inquiry that, after
the attack, the then prime minister, Theresa May, told him “you need to break
the momentum” of terror attacks in the UK. Although an operational improvement
review made 103 recommendations for how UK counter-terror operations could be
improved, Basu said he still felt “we have the best counter-terrorism machine
in the world in this country.”

 

The Independent: Theresa May Told Police And MI5 To ‘Break Momentum’ Of Terror
Attacks After Manchester Arena Bombing
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“Theresa May told police and MI5 to “break the momentum” of terror attacks in
Britain following the Manchester Arena bombing, a senior officer has said.
Speaking at a public inquiry into the attack, Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu,
who is now the head of UK counter-terrorism policing, recalled the then prime
minister’s direction. The suicide bombing, which killed 22 victims, was the
second terror attack to strike Britain in 2017 and was followed by two other
fatal attacks within a month. Assistant Commissioner Basu, who was the senior
national coordinator for counter-terrorism at the time, said: “Very shortly
after [the Manchester attack], Prime Minister Theresa May had effectively
turned to policing, my boss Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police
commissioner, others and the director-general of MI5, and used the phrase ‘You
need to break the momentum.’” Giving evidence to the Manchester Arena inquiry
on Tuesday, Assistant Commissioner Basu said a “surge of activity” was
triggered as police attempted to crack down on terrorist activity. He said
assets were focused on pursuing known threats, which included 3,000 MI5
subjects of interest and 600 live operations.”

 

Germany

 

Deutsche Welle: Germany: 1,200 Right-Wing Extremists Licensed To Own Weapons
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“While monitoring known and presumed far-right extremists, Germany's BfV
domestic intelligence agency has discovered that 1,203 of them were licensed to
possess firearms. According to December 2019 data released by the Interior
Ministry, 528 license-holders were the so-called Reichsbürger — members of a
right-wing organization which rejects Germany's democratic order. Furthermore,
17 cases of single or multiple-series shooting practices attended by far-right
extremists between early 2019 and late 2020 had “become known” to the BfV,
three-quarters of them taking place in other parts of Europe. Shooting range
usage was in itself is “not a criminal offense,” the ministry added, citing
Germany's federal police. Replying to a set of questions in parliament
submitted by the opposition Left party, the ministry said a conclusive BfV
count of rightist extremists with gun licenses in 2019 was not yet available.
During gun law debate in the Bundestag parliament in December 2019, the Left's
interiors affairs specialist Martina Renner gave an estimate that over 700
“neo-Nazis” still had weapons.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

Al Jazeera: Indonesia Detains British Woman On ‘Terror’ Suspect List
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“Indonesia has detained a British woman named on a list of global terror
suspects and plans to deport her for visa violations, authorities told the AFP
news agency. Tazneen Miriam Sailar – a Manchester-born convert to Islam once
married to a now-deceased Indonesian fighter – is not charged with terror
offences. But she and her late husband are also on an Indonesian police list of
suspected domestic and foreign fighters, which includes a Frenchman who
appeared in the ISIL (ISIS) group’s beheading videos and another close to the
brothers who massacred staff at French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Sailar, 47, and her 10-year-old Indonesia-born son were being held in Jakarta
after they were picked up last year on allegations she did not have the
required documents to remain in the Southeast Asian nation, according to her
lawyer Farid Ghozali. “She was put (in detention) while awaiting her return
which will be facilitated by the British Embassy,” Indonesian immigration
directorate spokesman Ahmad Nursaleh told AFP, without elaborating. The British
Embassy in Jakarta declined to comment and it was unclear when the deportation
would happen.”

 

Technology

 

Forbes: U.S. Experiences Decline In Active Hate Groups As Far Right Extremism
Moves Online
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“The Southern Poverty Law Center, a prominent civil rights group, has released
its annual report documenting the number of active hate groups across the
United States. Despite 2020 proving one of the most politically divisive years
in U.S. history with white nationalist ideology and conspiracy theories moving
closer to the mainstream, there was actually a decline in the number of hate
groups documented. 838 were identified by the SPLC last year, a decrease on the
940 groups seen in 2019 as well as the record-high of 1,020 operating in 2018.
The report warns that the decline in active hate groups does not necessarily
signal diminished extremist activity or a lower threat from domestic terrorism.
The SPLC has conducted its annual census since 1990 and while it does serve as
a barometer for extremism, it is not the only one. In recent years, the
internet and social media in particular, have dramatically altered racism and
bigotry in America. The SPLC states that “the proliferation of internet
platforms that cater to extremists allows individuals to engage with
potentially violent movements like QAnon and Boogaloo without being
card-carrying members of a particular group.”



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