From CEP's Eye on Extremism <[email protected]>
Subject Suspected Islamists Kill 10 People With Knives, Machetes In Congo
Date February 17, 2021 2:30 PM
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Men armed with knives, machetes and pick-axes killed 10 people in an overnight
attack on a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a witness

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


February 17, 2021

 

Reuters: Suspected Islamists Kill 10 People With Knives, Machetes In Congo
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“Men armed with knives, machetes and pick-axes killed 10 people in an
overnight attack on a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a
witness and a local rights group said on Tuesday, blaming a Islamist militia.
Killings by armed groups more than doubled last year, according to the United
Nations. In late 2019 the Congo army began a campaign to eliminate the Allied
Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan militia that has been operating in the vast
country since the 1990s. The ADF has responded with a rash of retaliatory
massacres of civilians. “We are now preparing for the burial of our fallen
compatriots. They were executed,” said Jean Manzekele, the head of Kalembo
village in North Kivu, 45 km southeast of Beni. “We realized that it was the
ADF because of the way they attacked. They were shouting loudly in a foreign
language which was difficult to understand.” The army said it had secured the
village and was pursuing the attackers, who also injured two people. Violence
in the three eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu has “become
part of a systematic pattern to disrupt civilians' lives, instil fear and
create havoc,” UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch said in Geneva on Tuesday.”

 

Reuters: Bangladesh Sentences Five Militants To Death For Killing U.S. Blogger
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“Five members of an Islamist militant group were sentenced to death on Tuesday
by a court in Bangladesh for killing a U.S. blogger critical of religious
extremism six years ago. Avijit Roy, an engineer of Bangladeshi origin, was
hacked to death by machete-wielding assailants in February 2015 while returning
home with his wife from a Dhaka book fair. His wife, blogger Rafida Bonya
Ahmed, suffered head injuries and lost a thumb in the attack. In all, six men
were convicted of belong to the al Qaeda-inspired domestic militant group Ansar
Ullah Bangla Team. Police say the group was behind the murders of more than a
dozen secular activists and bloggers. Syed Ziaul Haq, a sacked army major
believed to be the group leader and accused of masterminding Roy’s killing, was
one of two men tried in absentia, with both receiving death sentences, public
prosecutor Golam Sarwar Khan said. The Special Anti-Terrorism Tribunal jailed
one for life. Nazrul Islam, defence lawyer for the six men, said they would
appeal against their sentences. Roy’s widow said the verdict would not bring
peace to her family, especially as Haq remained at large. “Simply prosecuting a
few foot-soldiers -- and ignoring the rise and roots of extremism -- does not
mean justice for Avi’s death,” she said in a statement.”

 

Syria

 

The Jerusalem Post: Countries Continue To Abdicate Responsibility On Foreign
ISIS Members
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“When ISIS was largely defeated by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in
March 2019, thousands of its fighters surrendered or were detained. Among them
were tens of thousands of women and children, including many thousands who were
foreigners who had come to support ISIS. This was only the tip of an ISIS
iceberg that once numbered some 50,000 foreign volunteers and tens of thousands
of local fighters. The remnants of ISIS were taken to detention facilities.
Some of these murderers were well known, while others were sympathizers or just
children of ISIS members. However, the SDF and its civilian counterparts in
eastern Syria, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria don’t have
the finances or the facilities to do war crimes trials for ISIS or sort all the
worst from the average ISIS members. In addition, countries don’t recognize the
AANES as a government, so they don’t want to do business with it regarding
detainees. This has created a collective lack of responsibility by the
international community. Many countries do not want ISIS members back because
they know that justice systems in places like Europe have no real laws to keep
them in prison. This creates an uninviting possibility for wealthy countries,
from Australia to France, of having to take back their ISIS citizens and then
letting them go.”

 

Arab News: Anti-Daesh Coalition To Set Up Military Base Along Turkish-Syrian
Border <[link removed]>

 

“The US-led anti-Daesh coalition is to establish a new military base along the
Turkish-Syrian border to weed out any remnants of the terror organization — a
key Middle East policy priority of American President Joe Biden’s
administration. The base will be located in the Ain Dewar area of Syria’s
northeastern province of Hasakah. Last month, Russian military police were
deployed near a highway used by the US in Ain Dewar village, north of the city
of Derik, to send logistic and military enhancements to its bases in Iraq. The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the arrival of the new convoy of
the coalition, with more than 50 vehicles and trucks, to the Syrian territory
last week. The military convoy, carrying armored vehicles, logistical
equipment, and weapons was reportedly seen crossing into northeastern Syria
from the Kurdistan Regional Government-ruled area of northern Iraq. The
potential local cooperation with the Syrian People’s Protection Units (YPG) in
the fight against Daesh is expected to draw anger from Ankara as it considers
the group a terror organization due to its links to the Kurdistan Workers’
Party (PKK). The US announced the formation of a broad international coalition
to defeat Daesh in September 2014, and Turkey began taking part in the
coalition the following year by opening its southern Incirlik airbase to
coalition forces.”

 

Iran

 

The Wall Street Journal: Shadow Network Of Militias Backs Iran
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“For decades, Iran has built and operated a network of loyal armed groups
around the Middle East that seek to expand Tehran’s military footprint and gain
political influence in the region. These groups often operate under the
direction of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Founded after the 1979
Islamic Revolution, the Revolutionary Guard seeks to defend the Iranian state
and advance the model of Shiite Islam that underpinned the revolution. This
network of militias was long overseen by Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the
Iranian commander of the Guards’ foreign wing, the Quds Force, who was killed
in a U.S. drone strike in January 2020. In recent years, Washington has accused
several Iran-backed militias of killing American service members and has
designated some as terrorist organizations. In the wake of Gen. Soleimani’s
death, new groups have emerged in Iraq, claiming responsibility for attacks
targeting American interests. Not much is known about these groups, but many
are believed to be splinters of bigger, long-established factions using new
names in an attempt to shield their identity.”

 

Iraq

 

Reuters: NATO To Agree Larger Iraq Training Force As Violence Rises
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“NATO defence ministers are set to expand the military alliance’s training
mission in Iraq once the coronavirus pandemic eases, senior officials and
diplomats said, potentially cementing a broader role for the Atlantic alliance
in the Middle East. Ministers are set to agree plans on Thursday during a video
conference, potentially taking the mission from its current maximum of some 500
troops to around 4,000 or 5,000, four diplomats said. NATO Secretary-General
Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday he expected defence ministers to agree to an
expanded mission, with more allied personnel working in more security
institutions across Iraq. “The mission will expand gradually, in response to
the situation,” he said. NATO has had a non-combat, “train-and-advise” mission
in Baghdad since October 2018 but plans to expand it were delayed, in part, by
COVID-19 and also due to concerns about regional stability after a U.S. drone
killed a top Iranian commander in Baghdad on Jan. 3. 2020. Earlier expansion
plans were mainly in response to a demand by then-U.S. President Donald Trump
for NATO to do more in the Middle East. This time, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa
al-Kadhimi, a former intelligence chief and U.S. ally who took office in May,
is eager to have a greater NATO presence in the country at a time of rising
insecurity, diplomats said.”

 

Voice Of America: Biden Administration Seeks Stable Iraq, Free Of Islamic State

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“The Biden administration laid out its priorities in Iraq on Tuesday, saying
it wants a strategic partnership with a stable and democratic country, while
preventing a resurgence of the Islamic State terror group there. “The United
States will remain a steady, reliable partner for Iraq, and for the Iraqi
people – today and in the future,” Deputy U.S. Ambassador Richard Mills told a
virtual meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Iraq. “The United States will
seek to help Iraq assert its sovereignty in the face of enemies, at home and
abroad, by preventing an ISIS resurgence and working toward Iraq’s stability,”
he added, using an acronym for the terror group. Mills said the new
administration will support Iraq’s anti-corruption and economic reform efforts
and continue providing humanitarian assistance. Washington will also back
efforts to control militias and Iran’s destabilizing activities, while advising
and assisting the Iraqi government’s counterterrorism forces. The envoy said
stability requires credible national elections, which are planned for October.
“These scheduled elections will be critical in establishing a responsive and
representative government,” Mills said. Iraq’s parliament has adopted
legislation to finance the elections and registration of candidates and voters
has begun.”

 

Voice Of America: What Is Known About Group Claiming Attack On US Base In Irbil

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“A Shi'ite militant group calling itself Saraya Awlia al-Dam claimed
responsibility on Tuesday for a rocket attack against a U.S. base in Iraqi
Kurdistan’s capital city of Irbil that killed a U.S.-led coalition contractor
and injured at least nine other people. “We approached the base of the
occupation, al-Harir, in Erbil at a distance of 7 km, and we were able to
direct a devastating strike of 24 rockets, which hit their targets accurately,
after the CRAM system and the occupiers' shells failed to intercept them,” the
group said in a social media statement obtained by SITE Intelligence Group.
Little is known about the Shi'ite militant group calling itself Saraya Awlia
al-Dam, or Guardians of Blood Brigade. The group first appeared in Iraqi local
news in late August 2020 after it allegedly carried out two separate attacks
against U.S. forces pulling out of Camp Taji north of Baghdad. The group, via
the Telegram messaging app, in late January also claimed responsibility for an
operation against U.S. forces in Dhiqar province, followed by another attack on
U.S. logistics in western Basra. According to Phillip Smyth, an analyst on
Shi'ite militants at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the
little-known group has demonstrated it has access to the weaponry that Iran has
access to and gives to its Shi'ite proxies in the region.”

 

Al Jazeera: Iraqi Armed Group Vows More Attacks On ‘American Occupation’
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“A volley of rockets targeting an US airbase in Iraq’s Kurdistan region killed
a foreign civilian contractor and wounded nine others including Americans in
the worst attack in a year on the US-led military coalition. The rockets were
launched late on Monday from an area south of the main city Erbil near the
border with Kirkuk province and also fell on some residential areas close to
the airport, officials said on condition of anonymity. The barrage was the
first time in nearly two months that Western military or diplomatic
installations were targeted in Iraq after a string of similar incidents last
year. The rare attack on Erbil was claimed by a little known Shia group calling
itself Awliyaa al-Dam, or Guardians of Blood. About a dozen such groups have
cropped up in the past year claiming rocket attacks, but US and Iraqi security
officials say they are front groups for prominent pro-Iran factions including
Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq. “The American occupation will not be
safe from our strikes in any inch of the homeland, even in Kurdistan, where we
promise we will carry out other qualitative operations,” the Awliyaa al-Dam
said, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, an NGO that tracks online
activity of armed organisations.”

 

Turkey

 

Reuters: Erdogan Says Turkey Will Expand Operations Against Kurdish Militants
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“President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday Turkey will expand its cross-border
operations against Kurdish militants after 13 captured Turks were killed in
northern Iraq. Turkey said on Sunday militants from the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) killed the captives, including police and military
personnel, as it was carrying out a military operation against the group.
Erdogan also repeated Ankara’s complaint that it had not received enough
international solidarity. “Whether you speak up or not, we know our duty. We
will not give the terrorists a chance,” Erdogan told supporters from his AK
Party in the Black Sea province of Trabzon. “We will expand our operations into
areas where threats are still dense,” he added. “We will stay in the areas we
secure as long as necessary to prevent similar attacks again.” The PKK,
designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union,
has waged a decades-old insurgency in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast. More
than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict. In the past two years,
Turkey has launched several cross-border operations to fight the PKK in
northern Iraq, where the group has its stronghold in the Qandil mountains.”

 

Afghanistan

 

NBC News: Taliban Keep Close Ties With Al Qaeda Despite Promise To U.S.
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“The Afghan Taliban have kept up a close relationship with Al Qaeda despite
having pledged to stop cooperating with terrorist groups, permitting the
militants to conduct training in Afghanistan and deploy fighters alongside its
forces, according to the head of a U.N. panel monitoring the insurgency. The
Taliban's association with Al Qaeda has continued even though the insurgency
signed an agreement with the U.S. a year ago that bans cooperation with or
hosting of terrorist groups — and despite a public statement by Trump
administration Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the Taliban had “made the
break” with terrorist groups. “There is still clearly a close relationship
between Al Qaeda and the Taliban,” said Edmund Fitton-Brown, the coordinator of
the U.N. panel responsible for tracking the Taliban and terrorist groups in
Afghanistan. The reports of the U.N. Analytical Support and Sanctions
Monitoring Team are based in part on information shared by foreign governments'
intelligence services. “We believe that the top leadership of Al Qaeda is still
under Taliban protection,” he said.”

 

Pakistan

 

Reuters: Pakistan's Multinational Naval Exercise To Combat Terrorism, Piracy
Concludes
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“The Pakistan navy’s seventh biennial multinational “Aman” (peace) exercise in
Pakistani waters aimed at fostering international cooperation to fight piracy,
terrorism and other crimes threatening maritime security concluded on Tuesday.
Around 45 navies, including those of the United States, Britain and China, took
part in the Arabian Sea exercise with ships and observers. “The purpose of this
exercise to bring regional and extra-regional navies on one platform and
conduct exercises to enhance intra-operability in addition to counter terrorist
threat and the crime which are happening in maritime domain,” Commodore Khan
Mehmood Asif told media. In the sea phase of the six-day exercise, navies
conducted exercises together against terrorist and piracy threat in the
maritime domain, he added.”

 

Yemen

 

Associated Press: US Urges Yemen’s Rebels To Halt Attack On Central Province
<[link removed]>

 

“The U.S. on Tuesday urged Yemen’s Houthi rebels to halt their attack on the
central province of Marib, warning against exacerbating the humanitarian crisis
in the Arab world’s poorest country. State Department spokesperson Ned Price
said in a statement the Houthis’ attack on Marib, which is held by the rival
internationally recognized government, was “the action of a group not committed
to peace or to ending the war afflicting the people of Yemen.” The State
Department’s comments came the same day that the revocation of the Houthis’
status as a terrorist group took effect. The move by President Joe Biden’s
administration was welcomed by the U.N. and aid groups who feared former
president Donald Trump’s actions would impede aid deliveries to the country.
Yemen’s war started in 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthis seized the capital,
Sanaa, and much of the country’s north. A Saudi-led, U.S.-backed coalition
intervened months later to dislodge the rebels and restore the internationally
recognized government. The conflict has killed some 130,000 people and spawned
the world’s worst humanitarian disaster. The rebels earlier this month renewed
their attacks on the oil-rich province, an anti-Houthi stronghold.”

 

Lebanon

 

Reuters: Lebanon Hezbollah Chief Denies Accusations Linking Group To Activist
Killing
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“Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday dismissed
accusations of any links between the group and the killing of researcher and
activist Lokman Slim. “Any incident that happens in your area then you are
accused until the opposite is proven? Is this something that is practiced in
the whole wide world? Where else is this logic present?” Nasrallah said in a
televised speech. Activist Lokman Slim was shot and found dead in his car in
south Lebanon earlier in February, marking the first killing of a high-profile
activist in years. He was a critic of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group. His
sister has suggested he was murdered because of those views. Hezbollah has
previously condemned the killing. A filmmaker and publisher, Slim had spoken
out against what he called Hezbollah’s intimidation tactics and attempts to
monopolise Lebanese politics. Nasrallah was also critical on Tuesday about
blame pointed at the group for involvement in the Aug. 4 Beirut blast that
killed 200 people. “Hezbollah is guilty until proven otherwise - what kind of a
rule is that? ...Beirut port - you, Hezbollah, blew up Beirut port until the
truth about the explosion is revealed,” he said.”

 

Foreign Policy: Hezbollah Is Vulnerable. Lokman Slim’s Assassination Proves It.

<[link removed]>

 

“The assassination of the Lebanese activist and writer Lokman Slim—who was
openly critical of Hezbollah—was in the making for years. His killer pulled the
trigger earlier this month because the timing at home and abroad was convenient
for his assassins, who wanted to send a message. It has always been a matter of
time. Hezbollah’s critics—including myself—always felt the shadows following.
You have to go about your daily life constantly looking over your shoulder,
checking under your car for a bomb every time you leave your house, and feeling
your heart sink deeper each time your children’s school bus is late. We always
knew we were being followed and monitored. Slim refused to live his life in
these shadows, but he was not careless. When I decided to leave Lebanon for
good in 2016, after receiving similar threats, Slim encouraged me to do so. He
refused to leave but did not expect me to do the same because he also knew that
not everyone could afford to make the same sacrifices. His motto—"Zero
Fear”—which has taken over Lebanon’s social media scene recently, is not a
requirement; it’s a choice and a very calculated one.”

 

Nigeria

 

Leadership: Nigeria: Troops Kill 81 Terrorists In Borno
<[link removed]>

 

“No fewer than 81 Boko Haram terrorist fighters have been killed while a
soldier paid the supreme price in a fresh onslaught against the insurgents by
the Nigerian military in Sambisa general area. Leadership yesterday gathered
that the soldier died from a landmine attack while four others sustained
various degrees of injuries, even as fleeing terrorists have continued to wreak
havoc and razing villages in their escape routes. According to report from
military intelligence source, the troops of Sector 1 comprising troops of 21
and 26 Brigades supported by the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF)
cleared many villages of terrorists in the axis including Garin Bello, Kwoche,
Lawanti, Alfa Bula Hassan, and Alfa Cross among others. “Nigerian troops inside
Sambisa Forest encountered stiff resistance from the terrorists who laid
improvised explosive devices along the troops' axis of advance. “The relentless
troops destroyed the terrorists' camps and recovered gun trucks and weapons as
NAF aircraft continue to provide close air and interdiction support to the
ground forces. “Regrettably a soldier paid the supreme sacrifice with 4 other
soldiers wounded in an improvised explosive devices incident,” the intelligence
officer added in a message to the troops on behalf of the chief of army staff,
Major General Ibrahim Attahiru.”

 

United Kingdom

 

BBC News: Manchester Arena Inquiry: Terror Offender 'Unfit To Give Evidence'
<[link removed]>

 

“A convicted terror offender who was the Manchester Arena bomber's friend “is
unfit to give evidence” to the inquiry into the attack, his lawyer has said.
Abdalraouf Abdallah was visited by the bomber Salman Abedi in prison in the
months before the 2017 attack. He has refused to appear at the inquiry but
families of the attack's victims want to know why he cannot be forced. A
hearing was told a decision on whether the families could access his medical
reports would be made later.Abdallah, who is in prison, is refusing to give
evidence to the Manchester Arena Inquiry even though he has been described as
having had a significant relationship with Abedi. Abedi detonated a homemade
device in the foyer of Manchester Arena as people left a concert on 22 May
2017, killing 22 people and injuring hundreds more. The families of those who
died have been told there are medical reasons why Abdallah cannot be forced to
give evidence, but they want to see the reasons for themselves. After giving a
“no comment” interview to lawyers before the inquiry began, forensic
psychiatrist Dr John Kent was instructed to interview Abdallah in prison but he
refused and instead was interviewed by a psychiatrist suggested by his legal
team, Dr Richard Latham, whose report was then reviewed by Dr Kent.”

 

Sky News: Plan To Poison Prince George's Ice Cream Revealed By Accused
Terrorist
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“A man accused of terrorism offences spoke of a plan to target Prince George
and the Royal Family by poisoning ice cream, a court has heard. Sahayb Abu, 27,
is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of buying an 18in (46cm) sword and
balaclavas as he planned a terror attack during the COVID-19 pandemic. The
court heard how, when talking to an undercover police officer, Abu spoke of the
plan to target Prince George and other members of the Royal Family, which ended
in a person getting sentenced to 28 years in prison. In a recording of the
conversation from last year played to the jury, Abu can be heard saying:
“They're trynna make it out as if he [the person jailed] was targeting the
baby, he was targeting the family, the Royal Family. “You know what his plan
was? Say like the Royal Family house is there, go to the nearest Sainsbury's
and… put poison in the ice creams so the Royal Family will go and buy the ice
creams from there. Abu was arrested on 9 July last year. The court also heard
how unemployed Abu tried to persuade the undercover officer to smuggle a
firearm into the country from north Africa. This came after the accused spoke
of targeting an imam in Buckinghamshire. He told the officer that his target
was an imam from the shia sect, who are considered apostates by extremists such
as Islamic State.”

 

The Defense Post: UK Ran Cyber Op To Cripple ISIS Communications: Services
Chiefs
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“UK intelligence and military chiefs recently revealed details of a classified
cyber operation they ran to weaken ISIS in 2016-17. While the British
government’s signals intelligence agency GCHQ acknowledged the cyber mission
three years ago, details have remained under wraps until now. The multi-pronged
operation involved weakening the terror organization by targeting it
ideologically and operationally, the two services chiefs revealed in a Sky News
podcast. The operation included disabling the organization’s drone
capabilities, disrupting their communication by jamming their operatives’
phones, and targeting servers to block online propaganda, the report added,
citing Jeremy Fleming, director of GCHQ, and General Sir Patrick Sanders, head
of UK Strategic Command. The operation was launched after it became clear that
the group was chiefly relying on cyber technology to release propaganda, for
recruitment, command and control, and planning, the report said. “It was a very
cheap and effective way of waging terrorist warfare,” Sanders explained. “What
we wanted to do was to turn that strength, that dependence that they had on the
cyber into a vulnerability, and also to undermine the credibility of their
information campaign and of their ideology.”

 

France

 

The New York Times: French National Assembly Backs Law To Combat Islamist
Extremism
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“The French National Assembly, after 135 hours of sometimes heated debate,
adopted legislation with the anodyne official purpose of reinforcing
“Republican principles” but the tough real objective of shutting down the
sources of Islamist terrorism across the country. Attacked by the left as an
infringement of liberties and by the right as a weak compromise, the draft law
reflects a decision by President Emmanuel Macron to defeat what he calls
“Islamist separatism” and reinforce the unifying principles of French
secularism, which affords no place in politics for religion. It will go to the
Senate next month for final approval. More than 300 amendments to the draft law
were adopted, but it retained its core elements and was approved with 347 votes
in favor, 151 against, and 65 abstentions. Mr. Macron’s dominant centrist
party, La République en Marche, backed the bill. With 15 months remaining
before the presidential election, the left is in disarray, unable to identify a
viable candidate. This has prompted Mr. Macron to embrace center-right
territory for now. He hopes to lure voters who might otherwise vote for the
right-wing Republicans or even for Marine Le Pen, the perennial rightist
candidate whose weaknesses were again revealed in a televised debate last week.”

 

Germany

 

New Zealand Herald: Christchurch Terror Attacks: Police Release Evidence
Report, New Details On March 15 Massacres Emerge
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“A new report into the Christchurch terror attack has outlined for the first
time what police and paramedics were faced with when they reached the scenes of
the March 15 massacre. And chilling new images of the man responsible have
emerged - with police tracking his trip from Dunedin to Christchurch, and the
pursuit that ended his horrifying killing spree. Brenton Tarrant was sentenced
to life in prison without the possibility of parole after a four-day hearing in
the High Court at Christchurch in August. He had earlier pleaded guilty to
murdering 51 people, attempting to murder 40 others and one count of terrorism.
In December a report from a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist
attacks was released, making 44 recommendations on a number of topics and
focused on whether there was an ability to prevent the massacre. Then in
January Chief Coroner Deborah Marshall said she was yet to decide whether an
inquest would be held. She said that each victim's family would be supplied
with a package of information relating to the event and the cause and
circumstances of death. The families could then write to the Coroner to request
any further details they wanted or to set out issues that come within the
coronial jurisdiction and which they consider were not resolved by either the
criminal prosecution process or the Royal Commission of Inquiry report.”

 

Technology

 

SPLC: How An Encrypted Messaging Platform Is Changing Extremist Movements
<[link removed]>

 

“Far-right extremists and white supremacist terrorists have embraced Telegram
as their platform of choice, signaling a shift away from these groups’
traditional methods of organizing and toward a dangerous future defined by
leaderless resistance and “lone actor” terrorism. Telegram, a messaging app, is
a haven for neo-Nazis, white nationalists and antigovernment extremists locked
out of traditional social media sites, as Hatewatch first reported in mid-2019.
But 2020 presented a year full of new hurdles for in-person organizing for the
movement, ranging from legal quagmires to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result,
extremists have come to rely less on in-person groups, such as those recorded
in the Southern Poverty Law Center’s annual hate count, and more on diffuse,
leaderless digital networks, such as those facilitated by Telegram. While this
shift does indicate that extremists are using new strategies for organizing, it
does not signal a decrease in the threat those extremists pose in the United
States and around the world. “If [a group has] got a logo, a name, and an
online presence, that’s three strikes, run for your life,” wrote one moderator
of a prominent white supremacist accelerationist channel in a guide,
distributed on Telegram, for organizing white supremacist terror cells.”



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