Four countries including the U.S. called on the Afghan government and the
Taliban to reduce violence and begin discussions on sharing power, in a

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


March 19, 2021

 

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Joins Russia In Calling On Kabul, Taliban To
Speed Up Power-Sharing Talks
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“Four countries including the U.S. called on the Afghan government and the
Taliban to reduce violence and begin discussions on sharing power, in a fresh
effort to end the two-decade war as a deadline for the full withdrawal of
American troops draws closer. At a peace conference hosted by Moscow on
Thursday, the U.S., Russia, China and Pakistan added that they would not
support the restoration of an Islamic Emirate under the Taliban, and that any
peace settlement must protect the rights of all Afghans, including women and
minorities. Kabul’s chief peace envoy, Abdullah Abdullah, called for “an end to
targeted killings and a comprehensive cease-fire to begin the next rounds of
the talks in a peaceful environment.” The summit took place amid intensifying
international efforts to end fighting ahead of a May 1 deadline for the full
withdrawal of U.S. troops. U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad represented the Biden
administration at the conference, which underlined foreign countries’ desire to
have a hand in shaping Afghanistan’s future, from curbing the threat of
Islamist militants to securing nearby borders against drug smuggling and human
trafficking.”

 

Agence France-Presse: Suspected Jihadists Kill 12 In Yemen Attack: Official
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“Suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen in Yemen killed four civilians and eight
pro-government soldiers in a dawn attack Thursday, launching grenades and
firing machine guns on a southern checkpoint, an official said. The suspected
jihadists opened fire in the southern province of Abyan before escaping, the
official told AFP, asking not to be named. “It was gunmen, believed to be from
Al-Qaeda, who launched the attack with machine guns and RPGs (rocket-propelled
grenades), killing eight soldiers and four civilians,” the official said. The
checkpoint in the coastal district of Ahwar was manned by members of the
Security Belt, a powerful southern Yemen separatist force. The militia is
dominated by the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which last year joined a
power-sharing unity government, fighting the Iran-backed Huthi rebels in the
country's north. Security Belt forces have played a decisive role in the fight
against Al-Qaeda and Islamic State group forces, forcing them to retreat from
towns into rural areas. An STC official and medic in Abyan confirmed the death
toll, but Al-Qaeda has not yet issued any statements on the attack. Al-Qaeda in
the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) was born in 2009 between the network's offshoots
in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, as they faced the onslaught of US and regional
military campaigns.”

 

United States

 

The Sun: ISIS Bride Who Fled To Syria & Urged Jihadis To Attack US Says
Morality Police Punished Her For Wearing Nike Trainers
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“…According to the Counter Extremism Project, Muthana took part in vile ISIS
propaganda and even urged jihadists in the US to go on deadly shooting sprees.
After her first husband, an Australian jihadist, was killed in Kobani, she
urged ISIS supporters to “go on drivebys, and spill all of their blood, or rent
a big truck and drive all over them. “Veterans, Patriots, Memorial, etc day...
Kill them,” she added. However, she insists she has now seen the light and
described ISIS's murderous operations as “complete corruption(which) ruined
many people's lives.” The runaway said things reached an all-time low when her
son was forced to eat grass for dinner. She said: “I dropped everything and
left. I walked out, I just walked despite there being (explosive devices) and
not being the way out. “I walked out with the Syrians just to save my child and
me from the starvations and the bombings and this horrible way. “I really
regret it for the rest of my life and wish I could erase.” Muthana told the
documentary makers she joined ISIS because she wanted to feel useful. She said:
“I felt like I was useless my whole life. And every website I visited (said)
the Syrians need help and the Syrians are starving and the Syrians are going
through trouble.”

 

Syria

 

Al Monitor: Russia Launches Air Campaign Against Islamic State In Syrian Desert

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“During the second week of March, Russian warplanes intensified airstrikes
targeting the Islamic State (IS) in eastern Syria. There are several goals
behind the Russian airstrikes. Chief among them is securing the roads in the
Badia region (the Syrian desert), limiting IS operations and military
capabilities and curbing the spread of the organization in the Badia, which
extends over Raqqa, Hama, Homs, Deir Ez-Zor and Aleppo provinces. The Syrian
regime forces and their allied militias have failed to achieve their goals
during their ground operations against IS in recent months. In order to
intensify air operations against IS in the desert, the Russian forces have
beefed up their presence in two air bases belonging to the Syrian regime in the
Badia in the eastern countryside of Homs in order to use these bases as a
launching pad for the aircraft striking IS positions and sites in the area. A
journalist and activist in the eastern countryside of Hama told Al-Monitor on
condition of anonymity, “The ground military operations waged by the regime
forces against IS in the Syrian Badia have failed to weaken the organization,
as its militants are still roaming the region while attacking roads and
launching almost daily attacks against the regime’s sites and oil and phosphate
fields.”

 

Turkey

 

Daily Sabah: Turkey Stops 26 Terrorist Attacks So Far In 2021
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“Turkey has foiled 26 attempted terrorist attacks since January, with the
latest one thwarted today, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu stated on Thursday,
adding that Turkey will continue its fight against terrorism on all platforms.
Speaking at an event in the capital Ankara to mark Çanakkale Victory and
Martyrs' Day, Soylu said that though the PKK is at a time when foreign support
to the organization has peaked, the number of armed terrorists within Turkey
has decreased to under 300, while those giving up arms and surrendering to
security forces is five times higher than those joining the terrorist group.
Soylu underlined that as part of a new security concept, Turkey carries out
operations not after terrorist attacks take place, but beforehand. “In all of
our counterterrorism operations, we have eliminated 121 PKK terrorists since
January. Four joined the organization. Only two of these are from within
Turkey, while two are from Germany. Despite this, 35 surrendered thanks to
persuasion efforts,” he pointed out. Soylu further stated that Turkey not only
targets terrorists themselves but also their financial means to weaken the
organization.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Reuters: Four Killed In Bombing Of Government Bus In Kabul
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“The blast hit a bus which was rented by the Afghan Ministry of Information
and Technology to transport employees, said Abdul Samad Hamid Poya, a ministry
adviser. No one claimed immediate responsibility for the blast, but the Afghan
government has blamed Taliban insurgents for recent attacks targeting
government employees, civil society figures and journalists. The Taliban has
denied involvement in the campaign. INTERPRETER: I was sitting near these shops
when the blast happened. As I walked towards the explosion site, I heard people
shouting, save us. With the help of others, we pulled five people who were
seriously injured out of the vehicle. I think there were about 20 people in the
vehicle, five of whom were alive, and the rest were martyred.”

 

Lebanon

 

Arab News: Hezbollah Has Thousands Of Missiles, Rockets Located In Civilian
Areas To Target Israeli Citizens: IDF
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“Hezbollah possesses thousands of missiles and rockets located in the heart of
the civilian population that are deliberately intended to target Israeli
civilians, the Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said
on Thursday. “The IDF will take all necessary steps to prevent that from
happening,” Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi said during a meeting with French
President Emmanuel Macron. Kochavi is accompanying Israeli President Reuven
Rivlin on a visit to France.”

 

Nigeria

 

The Conversation: Nigeria's Poor Response To Boko Haram Has Left Border
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“For over a decade, the North-eastern region of Nigeria has been ravaged by
insecurity, as the militant group Boko Haram has destabilised border
communities. The damage ranges from loss of life to destruction of property and
farmlands. We analysed the efforts of various state and non-state actors (both
local and international) to address these security challenges, and found
evidence of uncoordinated actions between government agencies and other
stakeholders. This has forced international actors to withdraw their troops and
support from the fight against Boko Haram, leaving the border communities in
crisis. To win the confidence of communities under threat, the Nigerian
government needs to demonstrate its resolution and sincerity of purpose. It
must devise coordinated efforts with other stakeholders to end the insurgency.
We conducted group discussions and individual interviews in six border
communities in 2017 and 2018. A total of 276 participants were interviewed in
the states of Borno, Adamama and Yobe. We also looked at the legal framework
backing Nigeria's counterinsurgency and considered the state's military
responses as well as the quality of support received from external actors.”

 

Mali

 

Africanews: Malians Express Doubt Over Army's Capacity To Counter Jihadist
Fighters
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“At least 33 soldiers were killed in an attack in northern Mali this week
after one of two devastating attacks in the Sahel region since Monday. Concerns
have been raised over the capability of the Malian army to deal with the
frequent attacks that have claimed hundreds of the security forces. A number of
civilians and high-ranking officials have expressed their discontent and
concern after the deadliest attack. Some civilians expressed disappointment
over the way the national army was handling the issue of security with some
even calling for a more robust way to deal with incompetent soldiers. “If your
enemies are among you, it will be difficult to deal with the enemy you are
facing. So you have to investigate that, and if there are doubts about someone
you have to replace that person,” Nouhoum Togo, former advisor to the Ministry
of Defence and Veterans Affairs of Mali said. Much of the central Sahel has
been locked in a vicious conflict between state forces, jihadists and ethnic
militias for years, in a battle that shows no sign of abating. Dozens of
assailants on motorbikes and pickup trucks on Monday stormed a military post
southwest of the town of Ansongo, near the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger,
the army said on social media.”

 

Australia

 

The Guardian: Melbourne Terrorism Accused Allegedly Bought Knife For Attack
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“One of two brothers arrested in terror raids in Melbourne’s north allegedly
purchased a knife this week in preparation for a terrorist attack, police say.
Aran Sherani, 19, and his 20-year-old brother, Ari Sherani, faced Melbourne
magistrates court on Thursday after being arrested by counter-terror officers
on Wednesday. Both are facing charges of attempting to engage in a terrorist
act over an incident at Humevale, north of Melbourne, on 21 February. Aran
Sherani is facing three additional charges including intentionally causing
injury to an unnamed person in Preston on 9 March. Court documents state Aran
Sherani is also accused of knowingly being a member of the terrorist
organisation Islamic State and allege he purchased a knife at Epping on
Wednesday in preparation for a terrorist attack. The brothers were arrested in
Wednesday’s raids alongside a 16-year-old boy from Pascoe Vale who was
subsequently released without charge. The older men each faced court via video
link on Thursday and did not apply for bail. Aran Sherani’s lawyer, Sarah
Condon, said he had no prior convictions and this was his first time in
custody. She said for those reasons and the nature of the charges he would be
vulnerable behind bars.”

 

New Zealand

 

Australian Associated Press: New Charges From New Zealand Terror Threat
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“New Zealand Police have charged a 27-year-old man, already in custody for
allegedly threatening to bomb two Mosques, with distributing the Christchurch
Mosques terrorist's manifesto. The man, who has been granted name suppression
by the Christchurch District Court, has been on remand since early March. News
outlet Stuff reports he has pleaded not guilty to seven charges of distributing
the terror screed of Brenton Tarrant, the Australian terrorist who is serving
life imprisonment for carrying out the 2019 shooting. Possession or
distribution of the white supremacist's manifesto is a crime in New Zealand. He
has also pleaded not guilty to one charge of threatening to kill, has elected a
trial by jury and will next appear in court on April 22. The man's arrest came
just before the two-year anniversary of the country's worst modern-day mass
shooting. He is alleged to have threatened to car-bomb Al Noor Mosque and
Linwood Islamic Centre - the same two houses of worship targeted by Tarrant -
on the anniversary. The threat was made on a public and notorious right-wing
forum. It was reported to police by a member of the public through Crime
Stoppers - causing consternation that New Zealand's security agencies or police
haven't sharpened up their act in the wake of the 2019 attack.”

 

Europe

 

The Brussels Times: Defence: About 30 Suspected Neo-Nazi Soldiers Are Under
Surveillance
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“The military intelligence service SGRS is keeping a group of around 30
serving soldiers under close surveillance, on suspicion they have extreme
right-wing or neo-Nazi sympathies, the RTBF has revealed. The question of a
presence of right wing extremists in the Belgian forces arose after it was
revealed that the French army contains a sizeable number of extremists, who
display their affiliations openly and apparently without any sanction. The
problem of right-wing extremists is not new, although in recent years attention
has concentrated more on an increase in Islamist extremism within the armed
forces. As recently as last year, however, with the declining influence of IS,
the intelligence services have turned their attention to right-wing extremism,
which appears to be on the rise – at least partly as a reaction to Islamic
extremism and to successive waves of refugees and migrants escaping that very
problem. The RTBF contacted Tony Bargibant of the union that represents members
of the armed forces, to find out if Belgium has the same problem as that
revealed in France. “As far as I know, the SGRS carries out checks at this
level. So there could be problematic cases but it is a tiny minority, they
hardly represent anything. The problem is not the same as in France,” he said.”

 

Arab News: Italy Deports Tunisian Over Terror-Related Offences
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“A Tunisian man who was living illegally in Italy has been charged with
planning to incite terrorist acts and deported to his home country. Prosecutors
said Nairi Nasir, 28, was expelled from Italy following a detailed
investigation by Italian counter-terrorism police. Carlo Ambra, chief of the
anti-terrorism branch in the northern city of Turin, told Italian news agency
ANSA that Nasir had confided to other Tunisians in the country on several
occasions that he wanted to carry out attacks in Italy, attempting to persuade
some to carry out acts of terrorism as well. Prosecutors said Nairi Nasir, 28,
was expelled from Italy following a detailed investigation by Italian
counterterrorism police. The investigation was prompted last October when Nasir
approached an imam at a mosque in the northern city of Turin at the end of a
religious function. After praising the murder of French teacher Samuel Paty,
Nasir openly and publicly criticized the preacher for having condemned the
attack. He was later sent to a repatriation center, where he was reported to
police by fellow migrants over exhibiting violent behavior, and after he
reportedly threatened to “cut the throats” of health workers at a clinic after
he tested positive for the coronavirus disease.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

Associated Press: 22 Suspected Extremists Are Transferred To Jakarta
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“Indonesian authorities on Thursday transferred 22 suspected militants
arrested in recent weeks to the capital. The suspects were linked to a banned
militant organization, the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah network, police
said. The group is blamed for a string of bombings in Indonesia, including the
2002 bombings in Bali that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. The men
were flown under the guard of Indonesia's elite counterterrorism squad from
Surabaya, the capital of East Java province, to a police detention center in
Jakarta for further questioning. Television footage showed the suspects wearing
orange uniforms and full face masks and their feet and hands cuffed as they
were led off the plane. A dozen of them were arrested in raids in different
cities in East Java province late last month. The counterterrorism police
arrested another ten suspected militants in several raids in the province early
this month. Among them was Usman bin Sef, also known as Fahim, a convicted
leader of Jemaah Islamiyah in East Java province. Fahim, was a veteran fighter
in Afghanistan and was sentenced to three and half years in jail in 2005 for
harboring Malaysian terror fugitive Noordin Top and for a plot to attack
police, said Aswin Siregar, the operation chief of police counterterrorism
squad, known as Densus 88.”



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