Gunmen kidnapped dozens of students from a college in northwestern Nigeria late
Thursday, state officials said, the fourth mass abduction in as many

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


March 15, 2021

 

The Wall Street Journal: Nigeria Gunmen Abduct Students In Latest Mass
Kidnapping
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“Gunmen kidnapped dozens of students from a college in northwestern Nigeria
late Thursday, state officials said, the fourth mass abduction in as many
months in a region that is suffering from a worsening security breakdown. The
attackers breached the perimeter fence at the Federal College of Forestry in
Mando, located in the state of Kaduna, shortly before midnight and began to
round up students, security officials said. The attack occurred just a few
hundred meters from the National Defence College, where 3,500 trainee officers
are based. Shehu Sani, a former senator of Kaduna, said he had been briefed by
security officials that the kidnappers separated the girls from the boys and
only took the girls. “Young women are easier to handle—they don’t try to
escape,” he said. “And there’s a possibility for the kidnappers to get a higher
price…This is the world we are living in now.” Soldiers from the army’s first
division were deployed and 180 students were rescued after a fire fight in
which several were injured, but more than 30 remain missing, officials said.
Police said there were no further details on the number of students taken.”

 

The Guardian: London Isis Supporter Found Guilty Of Plotting Terror Attack
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“An Islamic State supporter who rapped about decapitations and wearing suicide
vests has been found guilty of plotting to run amok with a sword during the
coronavirus lockdown. Sahayb Abu, 27, had bought two blades, balaclavas, a
camouflage hat and body armour online in readiness for the planned terror
attack last summer, the Old Bailey heard. He was arrested on 9 July after
discussing guns with an undercover police officer, who he met on an Isis
supporters’ Telegram chat group. A jury deliberated for 21 hours and 32 minutes
to find him guilty of preparing for terrorist acts by a majority of 11 to one.
His brother, Muhamed Abu, 32, wept as he was cleared of failing to disclose
information about a plot to authorities. He appeared distressed at his
sibling’s conviction, sobbing: “He’s a clown, he’s a buffoon.” Following the
verdicts, Commander Richard Smith said Sahayb Abu was a “very dangerous
individual”, despite portraying himself as a clownish aspiring rapper called
Masked Menace. Smith, the head of the Met’s counter-terrorism command, said:
“There is no doubt in my mind that Sahayb had murderous intent, some of that
was evidenced from the kind of things that he was posting online and sharing
with others, including his brother.”

 

United States

 

San Antonio Express-News: Near A Hallowed Site In Texas' Fight For
Independence, A Loner Pledged Support For ISIS
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“Gonzales County was the site of the first skirmish of the Texas Revolution,
and its residents hold on to that pride nearly 200 years later. The county seat
still displays the “Come and Take It” flag similar to one flown by Texians who
fought for the state’s independence. So when the FBI arrested resident Jaylyn
Christopher Molina, 22, in September on a charge that he conspired to provide
material support to the terrorist organization ISIS, it seemed incredible to
some that a young man who backed then-President Donald Trump and his “America
First” credo had been online with other ISIS supporters, discussing plans to
attack the White House, Trump Tower and other U.S. landmarks. “How in the world
did he get tied into something like that?” said Randall Sutton, who owns the
mobile home in the town of Cost that the FBI raided when they arrested Molina.
“I think he just got in with the wrong people.” Molina pleaded guilty in
January to conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS and to receiving
child pornography, a count that was added after agents found images on his cell
phone. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count at his
sentencing, scheduled for next month. It is the first ISIS-related criminal
case in San Antonio’s federal judicial district.”

 

Syria

 

Voice Of America: Foreign Enablers Continue To Fuel Syria's Conflict, UN Says
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“U.N. investigators call for greater international action to end the impunity
prevailing in Syria, which is hindering efforts to find a durable peace for the
country’s decade-long conflict. The Independent International Commission of
Inquiry on Syria has submitted its latest report to the U.N. Human Rights
Council. A cease-fire brokered by Russia and Turkey last year in northwestern
Syria’s Idlib province, the last rebel-held territory in the country, has
resulted in a significant drop in hostilities.  However, commission chair Paulo
Pinheiro says Syria remains a tinderbox.  He says the cease-fire that has made
little difference in the lives of millions of civilians. “As we speak, over six
million Syrian civilians, including 2.5 million children, live in internal
displacement with limited access to basic human necessities, in cities reduced
to rubble, subject to predation by a constellation of armed actors, and in fear
of being arrested, tortured and killed,” Pinheiro said. The commission’s report
accuses the Syrian government of widespread arbitrary arrests, torture and the
summary execution of prisoners while in detention.  It says many of the
violations may constitute both war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

 

Kurdistan 24: ISIS Continues Attacks In Syria Despite Counterterrorism
Operations By US-Backed Forces
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“The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Sunday arrested nine suspects
affiliated with the so-called Islamic State, as the terrorist group continues
attacks in northeast Syria, especially in the Arab majority Deir al-Zor
province. The SDF's Coordination and Military Operations Center on Sunday said
on Twitter that SDF special forces units had in a raid arrested nine Islamic
State suspects, including senior leaders (emirs) in the Deir al-Zor
countryside. The cell was suspected of carrying out assassinations, planting
improvised explosive device (IEDs) and smuggling weapons. 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 an apparent campaign to destabilize the area. US-backed fighters
recently stepped up operations against the Islamic State in response to several
assassinations, which the terrorist organization is thought to have conducted.
Open-source researcher Caki Akyuz told Kurdistan 24 on Sunday that Islamic
State activity continues in northeast Syria despite repeated operations by the
US-backed, Kurdish-led SDF. “ISIS is able to move freely back and forth over
the Iraqi border,” he said.”

 

The Jerusalem Post: Syria's First Lady Facing Prosecution In UK For
Encouraging Terrorist Acts
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“The first lady of Syria, 45-year-old Asma Assad, might lose her British
citizenship and could face prosecution charges in the UK for being an
“influential actor” in inciting and encouraging acts of terrorism, Sky News
reported on Saturday. Allegations have been directed at the wife of Syrian
President Bashar Assad, prompting a Metropolitan Police investigation.  Sky
News noted that if the “desert rose” of the Middle East – as she has been
called – is charged, the UK could seek her extradition to stand trial.
According to the report, Guernica 37 International Justice Chambers accuses her
of being among a number of “influential actors” who encouraged and incited acts
of terrorism and international crimes. This month of March marks a full decade
since the Syrian civil war began. The death count today is estimated at around
500,000 people, with more than 6.5 million having been displaced.  “This is an
important step in holding senior political officials accountable for their
acts,” the legal team behind the charges told Sky News, emphasizing the
importance of not just extradition, but of prosecution. “This is an important
process and it is only right that justice is served before an English court.”

 

Iraq

 

CNN: ISIS Behind Brutal Attack In Salah Al-Din Province, Iraq Military Says
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“ISIS militants were behind Thursday's brutal killings north of Baghdad where
they shot dead eight people in three separate attacks, including six family
members, according to an Iraqi military statement released Friday. The attack
took place in Albu-Dour's predominantly Sunni village in Salah al-Din province,
about 84 miles north of the Iraqi capital. The area is under the control of
Iraq's Shia led paramilitary forces also known as the Popular Mobilization
Units (PMUs). ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement
released Friday. The group said several ISIS militants carried out three
separate attacks, including one where they “raided a house” in a village north
of Baghdad and shot and killed six family members. They called some of those
related to the people they killed “spies” who worked for the Popular
Mobilization Units. ISIS released photos of the raid, including images of some
of the victims. Iraqi security officials confirmed to CNN that they were indeed
the victims. The terrorist group also killed a local police officer and a
lawyer in two separate attacks in the same village, the Iraqi military
statement said.”

 

Kurdistan 24: ISIS Militants Wearing Iraqi Military Uniforms Kill 6 Members Of
Family, 2 Others Outside Tikrit
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“Iraqi authorities have announced that the Islamic State was behind a brutal
massacre in a village south of the central Iraqi city of Tikrit on Friday
morning, killing six members of one family. In addition to the family members,
which included a mother and daughter, a policeman and a lawyer were also
reportedly left dead. In the hours following the incident, the Islamic State
claimed responsibility for the attack, in which gunmen in military uniforms
stormed several houses in al-Boudur, located in Salahuddin province. Those who
carried out the attack “infiltrated the village on foot, wearing military
uniforms under the pretext of searching the houses of the murdered on the
outskirts of the village, where they carried out their treacherous crime,” read
a statement released later that day by Iraq's Joint Operations Command.
“Security forces have identified the person most responsible for the crime,” it
continued, adding, “He is a former resident of the village who had been
previously expelled from there by other residents. They had rejected his
terrorist actions, so he committed the crime as an act of vengeance against
innocent people.” In its claim of responsibility published online, the Islamic
State alleged that the family killed had instead been working as a “spy cell”
for Iran-backed militias of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) present in
the area.”

 

Afghanistan

 

The Wall Street Journal: Afghan Government Accepts U.S. Invitation To Peace
Conference With Taliban
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“The Afghan government agreed to attend an international peace conference with
the Taliban in Turkey next month, proposed by the Biden administration to
accelerate talks toward ending the 20-year war. The planned negotiations, the
Biden administration’s most significant effort yet to assert control over the
Afghan peace process, are aimed at paving the way for a new government formed
jointly between the Taliban and Kabul. Afghan national security adviser
Hamdullah Mohib told reporters Saturday that the government intended to
participate in the conference in Istanbul, as well as another peace conference
in Russia next week. The United Nations is expected to broker the Istanbul
conference but says it hasn’t yet received an invitation to do so. While the
format and purpose of the Russian event isn’t clear, the U.S.-proposed
conference in Istanbul is aimed at replicating the format of the 2001
conference in Bonn, Germany, that installed Hamid Karzai as president following
the ouster of the Taliban after the Sept. 11 attacks. The Taliban weren’t
invited to attend it. April’s conference will likely delay a full withdrawal of
the remaining 2,500 American troops from Afghanistan beyond a May 1 deadline
agreed between the Trump administration and the Taliban.”

 

Voice Of America: Bombings, Taliban Raids Kill 22 Afghans, Injure Dozens
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“A car bombing, a roadside blast and insurgent raids killed at least 22
people, including security forces and civilians, officials in Afghanistan said
Saturday. The violence injured nearly 70 people, most of them civilians. Afghan
Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said Saturday the car bomb blast
targeted a police base in the province of Herat, which borders Iran. Arian said
the explosion damaged at least 14 houses in a nearby residential area. Local
officials said about 60 people, including 20 women and 12 children, were among
the injured.  At least five of the wounded people were in critical condition,
hospital sources in Herat said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for
the attack. A spokesman for the Taliban insurgency said it had nothing to do
with the bombing. But Afghan President Ashraf Ghani blamed the Taliban, saying
the insurgents “continued their illegitimate war and violence against our
people” and “demonstrated once again they have no intention” for a peaceful
resolution to the conflict. Separately, a roadside bomb went off Saturday
morning in Tarinkot, capital of the southern Uruzgan province, killing three
civilians and injuring four others, local officials said. No group claimed
responsibility for that attack.”

 

Pakistan

 

Reuters: Pakistani Taliban Threaten Organisers Of Women's Day March
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“The Pakistani Taliban on Friday threatened women’s rights activists who
organised demonstrations to mark International Women’s Day in the country,
accusing them of blasphemy and obscenity. The Taliban statement followed a
flurry of falsified images and video clips on social media that suggested
participants in the March 8 protests had insulted Islam, which they strongly
denied. “We want to send a message to those organisations who are actively
spreading obscenity and vulgarity in our beloved Pakistan,” the statement said,
addressing the marchers. “Fix your ways, there are still many young Muslims
here who know how to protect Islam and and the boundaries set by Allah.”
Islamist groups held demonstrations on Friday in several Pakistani cities to
demand that the government prosecute the march organisers for blasphemy, and
they threatened vigilante action. Blasphemy carries the death penalty in
Pakistan. Although Pakistan has never carried out such a sentence, vigilantes
often kill suspects before they are brought before a court. Messages spread on
social media, in some cases shared by journalists and politicians with millions
of followers, included false allegations that the French flag was waved at the
Women’s Day march, while doctored video and audio showed participants chanting
slogans viewed as blasphemous against Islamic figures.”

 

Saudi Arabia

 

Gulf News: Saudi Arabia: Five Sentenced To Death Over Links With Daesh
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“Saudi Arabia’s authorities have issued preliminary death sentence against
five Daesh suspects, according to Al Arabiya. “Those sentenced to death were
linked to terrorist incidents in the Kingdom.” The five suspects are among 45
others who are members of a Daesh terrorist cell, Al Arabiya added. The
terrorist cell carried out criminal activities in Saudi Arabia, including the
assassination of security men, and a mosque bombing in Abha. The cell was also
involved in the bombings of Al Mashhad Mosque in Najran and Al Rida Mosque in
Al Ahsa in Saudi Arabia.”

 

Libya

 

The Libya Observer: Libya Deports Number Of Families Of ISIS Members To Tunisia

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“The head of the investigations department at the Attorney General's Office,
Al-Siddiq Al-Sour, said that the Tunisian authorities received Thursday three
women and five children from the families of ‘ISIS’ members who were in the
city of Sirte before its liberation. In a press statement, Al-Sour said that at
the request of the Tunisian authorities, seven women and nine other children
will be deported next week. He also pointed out that Tunisia was refusing from
the beginning to accept these women and children, adding that the Attorney
General does not object to handing over all wives and children of ‘ISIS’
members, except those accused in cases that are being considered by the Libyan
courts.”

 

Nigeria

 

Voice Of America: Boko Haram Threat Complicates Plans To Resettle Displaced
Nigerians
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“Boko Haram militants have terrorized northeastern Nigeria for more than a
decade, driving more than 2 million people from their homes, according to the
United Nations. At least 3,000 have fled from the countryside to the relative
safety of Kawar Maila, a camp in Borno State’s capital, Maiduguri. Having
escaped the Islamic extremists, these displaced people still face enormous
challenges, struggling to get food and basic health care, to educate their
children, to imagine a better future. “Life here is very difficult. We are
suffering,” said Mohammed Abba, who had a farm in the Konduga government area,
about 25 kilometers southeast of Maiduguri. Now, he, his wife and five children
live in a single, cramped room. “During the rainy season, you would be shocked
to see how we must cope. This room floods and we can’t sleep here,” he said.
Abba used to “raise animals and do trading. But this is our situation today.”
His neighbor Falmata Abukar also came from Konduga with her husband. She blames
what she considers inadequate health care in the camp for her son going blind
in one eye. “My child fell ill. He did not open his eyes for four days. He
cannot see with that eye now,” Abukar said. “The eye is beyond repair.”

 

Agence France-Presse: Nigeria Jihadists Ambush Military Convoy, 19 Troops
Dead: Security Sources
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“Islamic State-aligned jihadists ambushed a Nigerian military convoy, killing
15 soldiers and four militia fighters in the northeastern state of Borno,
security sources said Saturday. The convoy came under heavy attack from Islamic
State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters near Gudumbali in the Lake Chad
region on Thursday, the sources said. The attack was the latest in a jihadist
conflict which has killed 36,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands in
northeast Nigeria since it began more than a decade ago. “We lost 15 soldiers
and four civilian JTF (militia) in the terrorists' ambush in the forest near
Gudumbali,” a military officer, who asked not to be identified, told AFP. He
said 13 government fighters, including 10 troops, were wounded in the ambush.
The 10-vehicle convoy was on its way to Gudumbali from the town of Kukawa for a
military operation against the insurgents when it came under fire, said another
military source, who gave the same toll. “The casualties were brought to
Maiduguri this afternoon,” the source told AFP, referring to the regional
capital. Militia leader Umar Ari said a vigilante leader in the area was among
those killed.”

 

Africa

 

The East African: Africa: U.S. Proscribes Isis Affiliates In Mozambique And DR
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“The US Department of State on Wednesday designated two affiliates of ISIS
operating in Mozambique and the DR Congo as Foreign Terrorist Organisations in
a move meant to cut off supplies to the groups and restrict their leaders. In a
statement, the Department said the ISIS-Mozambique and ISIS-DRC are Specially
Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) and their leaders, Abu Yasir Hassan and
Seka Musa Baluku, are terror merchants. As a result of these designations, all
their property and interests that are subject to US jurisdiction have been
frozen, and Americans are prohibited from engaging in any transactions with
them. Foreign financial institutions that knowingly conduct or facilitate any
significant transaction on behalf of these groups or individuals could be
subject to US sanctions. Additionally, it is a crime to knowingly provide
material support or resources to ISIS-DRC or ISIS-Mozambique, or to attempt or
conspire to do so. ISIS-Mozambique, also known as Ansar al-Sunna and locally as
al-Shabaab (but with no known affiliation to the Somali militant group by the
same name), among other names, reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIS as early
as April 2018, and was acknowledged by ISIS-Core as an affiliate in August
2019.”

 

France

 

RFI: Two Youths Indicted By Paris Court For Planning Attacks On French Military

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“Two young men suspected of planning violent attacks, specifically against the
French military, have been arrested and indicted under anti-terrorism
legislation following two separate investigations. Judicial sources revealed
Saturday that the two youths, aged 17 and 18 respectively, were arrested and
charged by a Paris court for “criminal terrorist association” and remanded in
custody. In what are two separate cases, the 17-year-old suspect was reportedly
arrested on Wednesday by French Internal Security agents (DGSI) in
Mantes-la-Jolie, located in the outer suburbs north west of Paris and taken
into police custody. The minor, who had been using the encrypted Telegram
Messenger platform, had expressed his intention to attack the military.  This
he said was to “make France pay” for its involvement in the coalition fighting
against the Islamic State. The second suspect was also arrested by the DGSI on
Wednesday, but in the southern city of Marseille. His arrest followed a raid on
his home by the authorities, where terrorist propaganda was seized. According
to sources close to the case, the young man of Franco-Algerian origin had
initially planned to travel to fight in Iraq and Syria but had abandoned the
idea, focusing on committing terrorist acts on French territory.”

 

Technology

 

Foreign Policy: Are Telegram And Signal Havens For Right-Wing Extremists?
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“Since the violent storming of Capitol Hill and subsequent ban of former U.S.
President Donald Trump from Facebook and Twitter, the removal of Parler from
Amazon’s servers, and the de-platforming of incendiary right-wing content,
messaging services Telegram and Signal have seen a deluge of new users. In
January alone, Telegram reported 90 million new accounts. Its founder, Pavel
Durov, described this as “the largest digital migration in human history.”
Signal reportedly doubled its user base to 40 million people and became the
most downloaded app in 70 countries. The two services rely on encryption to
protect the privacy of user communication, which has made them popular with
protesters seeking to conceal their identities against repressive governments
in places like Belarus, Hong Kong, and Iran. But the same encryption technology
has also made them a favored communication tool for criminals and terrorist
groups, including al Qaeda and the Islamic State. The surge in new users was
not completely due to the major platforms’ crackdown on right-wing groups.
WhatsApp’s new privacy policy, which users incorrectly concluded would allow
the Facebook subsidiary to share their data even more widely, was at least as
relevant in shifting users to Telegram and Signal.”



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