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Eye on Extremism
March 11, 2021
The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Sanctions Islamic State’s Central African Franchise For First Time
“The U.S. on Wednesday imposed sanctions on two of Islamic State’s fast-growing affiliates in Central Africa for the first time, underscoring the rising threat posed by the group outside the Middle East. The State Department said it was sanctioning the assets of the Congolese franchise of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and its leader, Musa Baluku, along with an affiliate in nearby Mozambique and its commander, Abu Yasir Hassan. The designation requires banks to freeze the assets of these individuals and groups and bans any dealings with them. “Today’s designations notify the U.S. public and the international community that these groups have committed or pose a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism,” the State Department said in a press release. The move underscores how the radical Islamic State has been able to grow again after its defeat in Syria and Iraq and regroup outside the Middle East, including in sub-Saharan Africa. The two groups, which operate as ISIS’s Central African franchise, have become some of the most lethal among the group’s global affiliates and are threatening billions of dollars of U.S.-funded oil and gas projects in East Africa.”
The Guardian: US Far-Right Extremists Making Millions Via Social Media And Cryptocurrency
“Dozens of extremist groups and individuals, including some involved in the Capitol attack, have used social media platforms, cryptocurrencies, tax-exempt status and other fundraising tools to rake in about $1.5m in the last year, according to experts. Two recent studies by groups that track extremist financing, the Global Disinformation Index (GDI) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), underscore the growing threat posed by far-right extremists, including those who attacked Congress to stop the certification of the 2020 election results. The recent studies and testimony delivered to a House committee by representatives from the SPLC and GDI in late February showed that the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and others with white supremacist and anti-immigrant bias, reaped windfalls via the streaming platform DLive, cryptocurrencies and other fundraising methods. Megan Squire, a computer science professor at Elon University and a senior fellow at the SPLC, found that from 15 April to early February, 55 extremist individuals and groups used the video streaming platform DLive, which allows cryptocurrency-based donations for content, to pull in just under $866,700.”
United States
Associated Press: Man Tied To Extremist Movement Pleads Guilty To Gun Charge
“A Maryland man who prosecutors say admitted to being a member of the anti-government “boogaloo” movement has pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon after getting his girlfriend to purchase a portion of a rifle. Frank William Robertson Perry, 39, entered his plea Tuesday, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Baltimore. Boogaloo followers are part of a loose, anti-government, pro-gun extremist movement. The name is a reference to a slang term for a sequel — in this case, a second U.S. civil war. According to the plea agreement, Perry’s girlfriend bought the lower receiver of an AM-15 rifle from a firearms dealer in eastern Baltimore County in April 2020 for his own use. The lower receiver of a firearm, while not a completed and functioning weapon, is legally defined as a firearm. Perry was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition due to a prior burglary conviction, the FBI said. The girlfriend said on a government form that she bought the lower receiver for herself, but the FBI said investigators reviewed the girlfriend’s social media accounts and did not find any evidence that she is interested in firearms or capable of assembling her own rifle.”
Iraq
Newsweek: Iraq Praises West's Fight Against Isis, Syria Says It Only Made Things Worse
“Iraqi officials have offered praise for the West's continued support in the country's war on the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), but their Syrian counterparts see efforts by Europe and the United States as most damaging to the country as it prepares to mark 10 years of civil war. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein spoke via telephone Wednesday with U.S.-led NATO Western military alliance Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, discussing “ways to continue cooperation between Iraq and NATO within the framework of the full sovereignty of Iraq and the decisions of the Iraqi government” in their joint security mission that emerged after the rapid rise of ISIS in 2014. Stoltenberg emphasized that NATO's presence is “limited to aspects of training and providing logistical support to the Iraqi forces and security services,” and the pair “also agreed to continue coordination in a way that enhances the joint confrontation against ISIS terrorist gangs.” The conversation came after NATO's top commander in Iraq, Lieutenant General Per Olsen, discussed a recent decision to support “an expansion of NATO Mission Iraq.” The move was described as “incremental” and “based on the requirements and consent from the Iraqi authorities and conditions on the ground, including with respect to logistical and other security aspects necessary for NMI to continue operating in a safe and effective way.”
Yemen
The Jerusalem Post: Yemen’s Houthis Seek World Stage For Their Threats
“Several years ago, if someone had not heard of the Houthi rebels in Yemen, it would not have been a major surprise. The idea that the US might one day be sending a team to negotiate with them would have appeared ludicrous. At the time, beginning in 2015, a Saudi-led intervention in Yemen was supposed to push back the rag-tag fighters by using the best Western military equipment. Today, that has all changed. With Iranian technology and support, the Houthis are raining down ballistic missiles and kamikaze drones on Saudi Arabia almost every day. The new US Biden administration sought to take the group off a terrorist list which the Trump administration had tacked them onto during its last days in office. But the Houthis took the signal as evidence that they had Washington’s ear. Push a little bit more on Saudi Arabia, they reasoned, and they might launch themselves to be one of the important forces in the region. Iran has a habit of turning groups like the Houthis, Hezbollah and the Popular Mobilization Units in Iraq into terrorist armies that seem to sponge up most of the country around them. Hezbollah now has a state attached to it which is called Lebanon. The Houthis seem to have a smaller state attached to them which is called Yemen.”
Nigeria
Sahara Reporters: Boko Haram Allegedly Kills 30 Nigerian Soldiers In Borno
“Militants from the Islamic State backed faction of Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), formerly known as Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād, have allegedly killed 30 Nigerian soldiers in Borno state. According to ISWAP in a statement released on Tuesday, the soldiers were killed when two explosive-laden vehicles rammed into a military convoy in Wulgo. The suicide bombers were identified as Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and Bana Jundullah. The group also claimed four military vehicles were destroyed. The claim by ISWAP comes few hours after troops of the Special Forces Brigade engaged the insurgents in a gun battle at Chikingudu, a community in Marte Local Government Area. According to a military signal seen by SaharaReporters, seven soldiers also sustained injuries during the clash. About 25 AK-47 rifles, three anti-aircraft guns, three general purpose machine guns, two automatic grenade launchers (AGL), and two gun trucks, among other ammunition, were also recovered by troops. ISWAP, which split from the mainstream Boko Haram in 2016, has become a dominant group, focusing on military targets and high-profile attacks, including against aid workers.”
Somalia
Deutsche Welle: Somalia's Security Situation In Crisis Amid Political Uncertainty
“In Somalia's capital Mogadishu, no one seems to know where the next terror attack will come from. On Friday, 25 people were killed and many others injured when al-Shabaab militants targeted a popular restaurant. Before that, suspected al-Shabaab insurgents stormed the central prison in Bosaso city in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region. At least eight soldiers were killed, and more than 400 inmates were released from captivity. Puntland's military officials later said they had recaptured 87 of the hundreds of inmates that the armed Islamist extremists had freed. “When you look at the atrocities perpetrated by terrorist groups in Mogadishu, it is very obvious al-Shabaab is taking advantage of the political unrest and the election impasse, Abdullahi Hashi, a Somali security expert, told DW. “If this is not addressed urgently, jihadists will continue to launch deadly attacks” Tensions are still running high among the central federal government, two federal member states, and various opposition groups. Somalian President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed's mandate ended on February 8."
United Kingdom
“Shamima Begum was 15 when she and two friends left their home in east London to join the Islamic State in Syria. She was 19 when she emerged from the terrorist group’s collapsing “caliphate” — prompting the British government to strip her of citizenship and declare she would never be allowed to return to the country. And she was 21 when the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that she could not come back to London to appeal the loss of her citizenship. Her future is in legal limbo and her home is now a refugee camp in northern Syria. The story has consumed the British press, which has lingered on details of how the schoolgirl became a “jihadi bride” and how all three of the children she had with a Dutch ISIS fighter died as infants in Syria. But less discussed is the chill that the case has sent through many other British children of immigrants. Many have watched in alarm at how easily their government took citizenship away from a woman of color who was born and raised in the United Kingdom. “It makes all of our citizenship precarious, and based on our skin color, our religion, and our heritage. That's a very dangerous precedent and I do not believe that Britain should go down this route,” said Halima Begum, chair of the Runnymede Trust, a racial equality think tank.”
The Independent: Terrorism Is Evolving: Isolation Is A Route To Radicalisation We Cannot Ignore
“Mixed, unstable and unclear” ideologies accounted for 51 per cent of all referrals to the UK’s counterterrorism programme, Prevent, in 2019-20. This represents a significant rise for the third consecutive year. Despite this fact, our understanding of less “conventional” extremist ideologies, and combinations thereof, remains in its infancy. So what is meant by “mixed, unstable and unclear” exactly? “Mixed” refers to individuals who exhibit a combination of elements from multiple ideologies; “unstable” describes those who shift between different beliefs; and finally, “unclear” refers to an individual who does not present any fixed or coherent set of ideas or philosophies. What they all have in common, though, is a fascination with various types of extremist or violent content. The perpetrators of school shootings are consistently cited as poster boys by mass-murderers and terrorists today, who refer to events such as the Dunblane massacre in 1996, Columbine in 1999, or Sandy Hook in 2012. While many such attacks have taken place in the US, the UK is certainly not immune to the threat of school shootings. There have been at least two cases in the last three years in the UK where individuals convicted of terrorism offences have subscribed to this particular ideology.”
Germany
The Straits Times: Raids Renew Fears Of Extremist Networks In German Army
“German investigators are to press insurrection charges against a 21-year-old soldier after a raid uncovered an arsenal of guns, knives, a machete, plastic explosives and a 10-page manifesto called “How one can seize power in Germany”. The man from Glashütten, 30km west of Frankfurt and identified only as Tim F, joined the Bundeswehr armed forces in November 2019. Now he faces dismissal from the army and the charge of “preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state”. As well as the weapons, the raid turned up two phones filled with extremist posts to far-right chat groups. Investigators said his chat messages, and his manifesto, are the work of a man whose rejection of the German state stands in contrast to his admiration for the SS, the Nazi elite paramilitary division. But until the raid, following a tip from the man’s ex-girlfriend, investigators say he had never crossed their radar as an extremist. What in the past could have been written off as an angry, extremist loner has triggered warning bells in Germany’s defence ministry, after yet another unflattering report into the army’s KSK special forces unit. The report suggests the KSK is a black hole for arms and ammunition and lists 48,000 articles that have vanished without trace.”
Canada
Reuters: Canadian Man Sentenced To Six Years For Attack On Prime Minister's Home
“A Canadian man who drove with five loaded firearms through the gates of the wooded estate where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lives, planning to confront the leader, was sentenced to six years in prison on Wednesday. Corey Hurren, 46, pleaded guilty last month to eight charges related to the July incident at the Ottawa estate that includes the prime minister’s residence, Rideau Cottage. The most serious charges were for possession of illegal firearms. Ontario Court Justice Robert Wadden gave Hurren a six-year prison sentence with a credit for one year of time served, and banned him from owning firearms for life, according to the hearing, which was broadcast online. “He has not expressed remorse for his actions,” Wadden said. Hurren, who had two handguns, two shotguns and a semi-automatic rifle, rammed a gate to the 88-acre (0.35 square km) estate where the prime minister lives with his family, and then proceeded on foot toward the residence. Trudeau and his family were not at home. After a 90-minute standoff, police convinced Hurren to surrender. Hurren, a master corporal in an army reserve unit that serves in remote areas of the country, had driven more than 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) from his home in the province of Manitoba to confront Trudeau because he was angry over COVID-19 restrictions and a federal ban on assault-style firearms.”
Southeast Asia
The Jerusalem Post: Singapore Arrests Would-Be Terrorist Planning To Kill Jews For Hamas
“A 20-year-old Singaporean man was detained on Wednesday under the Internal Security Act for his plan to stab local Jewish community members after their prayer service at Maghain Aboth Synagogue in the city-state, The Straits Time reported. The man, Amirull Ali, was serving as a national serviceman in the Singapore Armed Forces at the time of his arrest and is believed to have been self-radicalized since at least the age of 14, when he became interested in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He seemed to have operated under the assumption that any Jewish worshipers he would be able to kill would have been involved in Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said that many Jewish people in Singapore are local citizens and would have served in that country’s defense forces and not the IDF. “It’s perfectly okay to support the Palestinian cause,” the minister said, “but it’s not okay to go around killing people.” He added that no matter how many people would have been killed or hurt, the planned attack would have had serious implications for social relations in Singapore itself. Ali seemed to have acted on his own, without links to Hamas or other Islamic groups, and had been angered by news reports of how Israeli security forces allegedly mistreat Palestinians.”
Technology
The Washington Post: YouTube Still Hosts Extremist Videos. Here’s Who Watches Them.
“YouTube is overshadowed by Facebook and Twitter in the debate over the harms of social media, but the site has massive reach — 3 in 4 Americans report using it. This growth has been driven by YouTube’s use of algorithms to recommend more videos to watch, a feature that critics warn can lead people down rabbit holes of conspiracy theories and racism. In 2018, for example, the sociologist Zeynep Tufekci described how YouTube started suggesting she check out “white supremacist rants, Holocaust denials and other disturbing content” after she started watching videos of Donald Trump rallies in 2016, prompting her to warn about the site “potentially helping to radicalize billions of people.” Google — YouTube’s parent company — has sought to address these concerns. In 2019, for instance, it announced new efforts to remove objectionable content and reduce recommendations to “borderline” content that raises concerns without violating site policies. Has YouTube done enough to curb harmful material on the platform? In a new report published by the Anti-Defamation League, my co-authors and I find that alarming levels of exposure to potentially harmful content continue.”
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