Twenty United Nations peacekeepers were wounded, several seriously, in central
Mali on Wednesday when their base came under fire, the U.N. mission

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


February 11, 2021

 

Reuters: Twenty U.N. Peacekeepers Wounded In Central Mali Attack
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“Twenty United Nations peacekeepers were wounded, several seriously, in
central Mali on Wednesday when their base came under fire, the U.N. mission
said. The base near the town of Douentza was attacked around 0700 GMT, the U.N.
peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSMA, said in a statement. It did not say who
was responsible. Islamist groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State regularly
attack U.N. peacekeepers and Malian soldiers in the area, which the militants
use as a base for attacks across the Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert.
“We have been conducting numerous security operations in this part of Mali for
several months now,” said Mahamat Saleh Annadif, the head of MINUSMA. “These
operations disturb the enemies of peace, but we remain committed to stand by
the Malians, for the Malians.” Four U.N. peacekeepers were killed and five
wounded in central Mali on Jan. 14 after a convoy struck an explosive device
and came under fire. MINUSMA has over 13,000 troops to contain violence caused
by armed groups in the north and centre of the country. The mission has
recorded about 230 fatalities since 2013, making it the worst-hit of the U.N.’s
more than a dozen peacekeeping missions.”

 

Reuters: Four Blasts Hit Kabul, District Police Chief Among The Dead
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“Four blasts rocked Afghanistan's capital on Wednesday, killing two people,
including a police chief who had been attempting to crack down on the city's
growing insecurity, marked by almost daily assassinations. “In the wake of
three terrorist attacks in Kabul this morning, Mohammadzai Kochai, police chief
of district five of Kabul was martyred along with his bodyguard,” interior
ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said. Another three people were wounded, he
added. A separate blast later hit a car near the upmarket international Serena
Hotel, although a police spokesman said there were no casualties. District
five, where Kochai was based, is a transport hub between the capital Kabul and
Afghanistan's southern provinces, many of which are dominated by the Taliban.
Kochai had sought to crack down on the high levels of insecurity in the
district in recent months. The Taliban did not immediately respond to requests
for comment on the attacks. The group has denied involvement in a recent wave
of targeted assassinations which the government and many foreign powers have
blamed on it. Almost daily deadly attacks with small, magnetic bombs attached
to the undercarriages of vehicles, roadside explosive devices and shootings are
unnerving Afghan officials, activists and journalists.”

 

United States

 

Agence France-Presse: Biden Govt Supports Repatriating Jihadists: US Diplomat
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“President Joe Biden's administration believes countries should repatriate
jihadists and their families to counter the threat from the Islamic State
group, an American diplomat told the United Nations on Wednesday. “The global
threat from Isis will grow if the international community does not repatriate
their citizens,” said Jeffrey DeLaurentis, the acting US ambassador for special
political affairs. Former president Donald Trump's government also supported
the repatriation of fighters who went to fight abroad, mainly in Syria and
Iraq. Several European countries -- including France -- refuse to repatriate
adults, believing they should be tried in countries where they are accused of
committing crimes. They only accept the return of their children on a
case-by-case basis. “Beyond being the best option from a security standpoint,
repatriation is also simply the right thing to do,” said DeLaurentis during a
Security Council video conference dedicated to the threat of terrorism. “It is
estimated that 90 percent of children in the camps are under 12 and 50 percent
under five.” “We watch with concern as women and children languish in camps in
dire conditions, with little access to education, increasing the potential for
the radicalization,” he added. DeLaurentis warned that the IS group “remains a
serious threat.”

 

Syria

 

Associated Press: UN: Bring Home Kids From Syria With Possible Extremist Links
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“The U.N. counter-terrorism chief on Wednesday urged the repatriation of tens
of thousands of women and children suspected of links to the Islamic State
extremist group, warning that many are being radicalized in deteriorating
detention camps in Syria and Iraq. Vladimir Voronkov told the U.N. Security
Council that nearly two years after the defeat of the militant extremists on
the ground “some 27,500 foreign children are still in harms way” in camps in
northeastern Syria, including about 8,000 from some 60 countries other than
Iraq. He said 90% of them are under age 12. Tragically, Voronkov said, the
international community has made “hardly any progress” in addressing the issue
of these children and women even though the “challenges and risks are growing
more serious with neglect, and could have a long-term impact not just in the
region but globally.” His call for action was echoed by Jeffrey DeLaurentis, an
acting U.S. deputy ambassador who spoke on behalf of President Joe Biden’s new
administration. He said Biden is committed to working with the international
coalition that the U.S. established in 2014 to rout the Islamic State group
from Iraq and Syria, “to ensure this terrorist group is defeated on a lasting
and comprehensive basis.”

 

The Jerusalem Post: Deadly Islamic State Ambush In Syria Goes Largely Unnoticed

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“The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that Islamic State
(IS) fighters ambushed a military convoy of Syrian army soldiers and militiamen
loyal to the Assad regime, early Monday morning. At least 26 pro-regime troops
were killed in the attack, making it the deadliest since the beginning of the
year. Eleven IS fighters were also killed. Despite the high death toll, Western
media has largely ignored the incident. For more stories from The Media Line go
to themedialine.org “On 8 February, Islamic State militants conducted an ambush
attack on a military convoy killing at least seven Syrian army soldiers of the
17th Division and at least 19 militiamen from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps’ Quds Brigades,” Oliver Harper, an analyst at Jane’s Terrorism and
Insurgency Centre (JTIC) confirmed. The attack occurred in the Al-Mayadeen
desert in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zur governorate. The convoy was searching the
area for unidentified combatants when it was attacked, SOHR and Harper
reported. It has been almost two years since former President Donald Trump
claimed that “100%” of Syrian territory held by IS had been recaptured, yet in
some areas of the Arab country, IS continues to be a concrete reality.”

 

Arab News: UN Warned That Daesh Terror Threat Will Grow If Nations Do Not Act
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“The threat posed by Daesh to international peace and security is growing as
it attempts to regroup and renew its activities, the UN Security Council was
told on Wednesday. Vladimir Voronkov, head of the UN Office of
Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), said the terror group is using technology to connect
with and radicalize young people. Its activities gained momentum in the second
half of last year, during which many people were stuck at home during pandemic
lockdowns, he added. His warning came as he briefed the Security Council on the
latest UN efforts to counter the dangers from Daesh and other terrorist groups.
This is in accordance with Resolution 2368, which calls on the council to adapt
to evolving terrorist threats, and member states to strengthen measures to
block the funding of terrorism, limit the travel of terrorists, and prevent
them from obtaining weapons. Voronkov said that although Daesh has lost its
self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria, is still carrying out attacks in
both countries and maintains the ability to operate across unprotected borders.
It could regain the capacity to orchestrate attacks worldwide this year, he
added. Terrorists have adapted the opportunities provided by cyberspace and new
technologies and are exploiting them, he said.”

 

Iraq

 

Voice Of America: Local Officials Say Iraq's Kakais, Fearing IS, Are Fleeing
Their Villages
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“What stood out about a seminar recently held in this northern Iraqi village
was that it was largely attended by men wearing noticeably large mustaches. The
facial hair is a feature distinguishing pious followers of the Kakai, a small
religious group that has in recent years become a top target for the Islamic
State (IS) terror group in Iraq.  The seminar, titled “Kakais in the time of
Corona,” was meant to shed light on the culture and history of the group, as
well as the challenges they face in the predominantly Muslim nation. Followers
of the religion say their unique mustache style, which they keep for both
traditional and religious reasons, has in recent years meant certain death for
their fellow men as IS used it to identify them. The group, which believes in
reincarnation, is estimated to have as many as 75,000 followers in Iraq.
“Al-Qaida and Islamic State terror have taken the lives of 450 members of our
people since they came to the area,” Kwekha Aziz, a Kakai community leader,
told VOA. “You can see all our martyrs buried in the graveyard over there. …
They hate our religion. They hate it that we don’t fast or we don’t pray like
them,” he added.  Most Kakais live in more than a dozen villages dotting
oil-rich Kirkuk province, a part of the northern “disputed territories” where
experts say the Iraqi government is struggling to contain a rising IS threat.”

 

Yemen

 

Agence France-Presse: Al-Qaeda's Yemen Leader Appears In Video Despite UN
Report Of Arrest
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“The leader of Al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen appears to be still at large despite
a United Nations report which claimed he had been under arrest for months, the
SITE Intelligence Group and two local tribal leaders said Thursday after he was
seen in a video released by the jihadist group. Khalid Batarfi, who has been
the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) for about a year, talks
about the storming of the US Congress last month in the video, which came out
Wednesday. The video, which opens with footage of the January 6 assault by
Donald Trump supporters, belies reports that Batarfi was under arrest, said
SITE, which monitors extremist organisations. In the 20-minute video titled
“America and the Painful Seizure”, Batarfi says “storming the Congress is only
the tip of the iceberg of what will come to them, God willing”. A report filed
to the UN Security Council last week claimed Batarfi was arrested and his
deputy, Saad Atef al-Awlaqi, killed during an “operation in Ghayda City,
Al-Mahrah governorate, in October”. Two local tribal leaders in the Al-Bayda
governorate in central Yemen, where AQAP is active, told AFP there was a high
probability the person arrested was not Batarfi but another member of the
jihadist group.”

 

Nigeria

 

CNN: More Than 23 Killed As Bandits Attack Five Districts In Northern Nigeria
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“More than 23 people were killed in simultaneous raids on five districts in
Nigeria's Kaduna state by armed assailants Tuesday. Authorities in the state
confirmed the killings in a statement released by the Commissioner for Internal
Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan. The latest raids came barely 72 hours
after armed gangs invaded Birnin Gwari and Kajuru districts killing 19 people,
Aruwan said. Many shops were looted in the attacks and 10 residents were killed
in one district alone in Tuesday's attack, the commissioner said. “Following
the security situation across the state within the last 24 hours, the Kaduna
State Government has received reports from security agencies of the killing of
23 citizens in different attacks on soft targets in Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Chikun,
Igabi, and Kauru local government areas,” Aruwan said. “The attacks on soft
targets in these local government areas occurred around Kaduna State's
boundaries with neighboring states,” he added. Kaduna, located in Nigeria's
northwest, has remained insulated from the militant group Boko Haram who
operate in Nigeria's northeast, however, armed violence by kidnappers and
cattle rustlers has plagued the state. A recent study by the Africa Center for
Strategic Studies shows that around 1000 deaths were recorded in 220 violent
events in Kaduna.”

 

Premium Times: Boko Haram Reportedly Abducts Three Nigerian Customs Officers
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“Boko Haram terrorists on Tuesday reportedly abducted three officers of the
Nigeria Customs Services during an attack on Geidam, a town in Yobe State near
the Nigerian border with Niger Republic. The insurgents had attacked the town
late Tuesday evening. Security sources told PREMIUM TIMES that they took away
the officers after driving into the town through the Geidam -Maine–Sorowa road.
The officers were stationed at a checkpoint on the road when the insurgents
swooped on them, a source said. The source revealed that the officers were
posted from the zonal command of the Customs in Bauchi to Yobe at the border.
“What happened is very unfortunate because some of our personnel got the
information of the attack and left the area but those three officers we learnt
did not get the information early,” the source told PREMIUM TIMES. “By the time
they were trying to leave, the insurgents had closed in on them and took them
away,” the source, a Customs officer, told our correspondent but asked not to
be named because he was not authorised to speak to journalists. The police
spokesperson in the state, Dungus Abdulkarim, confirmed the Tuesday attack on
Geidam. Mr Abdulkarim said no casualty was recorded in the attack but the
terrorists burnt an ambulance of the General Hospital, Geidam, and looted a
shop.”

 

United Kingdom

 

The Independent: Man Who ‘Wanted To Throw Grenade At Police Station’ Convicted
Of Terror And Explosives Offences
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“A man who said he wanted to throw a grenade at a police station has been
convicted of terror and explosives offences. Mohammed Chowdhury, 24, was
arrested after meeting with an undercover police officer who was posing as an
arms dealer at a Costa Coffee branch in London. Chowdhury paid £300 for what he
believed to be a real grenade, but was immediately arrested in a sting by armed
police. He was convicted of attempting to possess an explosive with intent to
endanger life or property on Wednesday, following a trial at the Old Bailey.
Chowdhury had previously pleaded guilty to four counts of possessing documents
likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism,
but was not charged with planning a terror attack himself. Following his arrest
on 5 February, 2020, he made several phone calls to relatives from prison where
he told them what he wanted to do with the grenade. In one call to his mother
and sister, he said he wanted “to chuck it in the station area”, adding: “I
wanted to do something serious like on the TV.” Speaking to his mother in March
2020, he said: “I don’t care about the judge or the police and that. I wanted
to hurt one of them, innit. I was getting annoyed. That’s why I went, that’s
why I went to get the thingy.”

 

France

 

Financial Times: Debate On Islamist Extremism Law Exposes Deep Rifts In France
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“Another teacher threatened by Islamists four months after the beheading of
Samuel Paty on the street outside his school; five people arrested this week
for cyber-harassment and threats against a teenager for her social media posts
deemed insulting to Allah: President Emmanuel Macron’s defenders say his
government’s planned new law to curb Islamist extremism in France has never
been more urgently needed. “Islamism is a Trojan horse containing a
fragmentation bomb targeting our society,” wrote Gérald Darmanin, Macron’s
interior minister, in his book Islamist Separatism: Manifesto for Secularism,
published this year to accompany the law. ”Faced with an enemy so dangerous and
insidious, which we know is a long way from the true religion of the Prophet,
it’s normal for the authorities to take unprecedented measures.” Many French
republicans of left and right, including some of Muslim immigrant origin,
support the legislation as a xxxxxx against terrorism and Islamist attempts to
control Muslim-dominated districts in the Paris suburbs and elsewhere in France
— and it is likely to be approved by parliament and become law by the middle of
the year.”



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