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Eye on Extremism
March 23, 2021
Agence France-Presse: IS Claims Attack Against Mali Army That Killed 33 Soldiers Last Monday
“The Islamic State group on Sunday claimed responsibility for a deadly attack against the Malian army almost a week earlier that killed 33 soldiers. “IS fighters set up an ambush last Monday for a convoy of the Malian army… and attacked it with different kinds of weapons,” IS propaganda outlet Amaq said. Dozens of assailants on motorbikes and in pickup trucks on March 15 stormed a military post southwest of the town of Ansongo, the Malian army said at the time. The bodies of 20 jihadists were found after the attack, it added. The ambush, near Mali’s border with Burkina Faso and Niger, is the deadliest jihadist attack on the country’s army so far this year. It came the same day as a brutal massacre of 58 civilians in neighboring Niger, where militants attacked four buses carrying villagers returning from a market in the west of the Sahel state. Much of the central Sahel has been locked in a vicious conflict between state forces, jihadists, and ethnic militias for years, in a battle which shows no sign of abating. But attacks in this three-borders region between the countries had fallen in recent months due in part to increased activity from the French forces operating there alongside the national armies.”
Associated Press: Terrorism Conviction Of German Rapper's Wife Upheld By Court
“A top federal appeals court has upheld the terrorism conviction of the wife of a German-born rapper who joined the Islamic State extremist group in Syria and likely died in an airstrike, authorities said Monday. In a decision from March 9, the Federal Court of Justice upheld the conviction of the woman, Omaima A., for membership in a terrorist organization as well as charges of failing to properly care for her children, weapons offenses and aiding in the enslavement of a Yazidi girl. In its decision, the Karlsruhe-based court said it had found no legal errors were made by the Hamburg state court in its October conviction of the woman, who was 36 at the time. She was given a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence. The Hamburg-born woman of Tunisian heritage, whose last name wasn’t provided in line with German privacy laws, followed her first husband to Syria in 2015 and lived in the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa with their three children, according to the court. After her husband was killed during fighting in 2015, she married his friend, German rapper Denis Cuspert, who went by the stage name Deso Dogg before giving up performing and joining IS himself. The court found she used social media and email to promote life in the “caliphate'“ and encouraged other women from Germany to move to the territory that had been captured by the Islamic State.”
United States
Newsweek: Cyber Terrorism, North Korea And Iran Nuclear Weapons Top 'Critical Threats' To U.S.: Poll
“Americans of all political persuasions consider cyber attacks the greatest national security threat, according to a new Gallup poll, though there remain deep partisan divisions on a host of other existential threats to the U.S. Gallup polled 1,021 nationally-representative adults between February 3 and 18 via telephone interviews, with a 4 percent sampling error. It found that cyber attacks topped a list of 11 national security concerns, with 82 percent of respondents citing it as a “critical threat” to American interests. The poll results come as President Joe Biden's administration mulls its response to Russia's large-scale cyber attack last year, which compromised a host of federal agencies and U.S. companies. The majority of both Republicans (81 percent) and Democrats (82 percent) fear the potential impact of future cyber attacks. Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are all sources of concern for national defense officials, and all have shown ability and willingness to attack U.S. targets. Other top “critical threats” according to respondents are North Korean nuclear weapons (77 percent), potential Iranian nuclear weapons (75 percent), international terrorism (72 percent), and the global spread of infectious diseases (72 percent).”
Syria
Associated Press: Strikes On Northwest Syria Kill 1 Person, Cause Wide Damage
“Airstrikes on several locations in northwest Syria near the border with Turkey have killed at least one person and set afire several trucks used to distribute aid, opposition activists and a paramedic group said Monday. The late Sunday attacks angered Turkey, which had asked Russia to secure an immediate end to the strikes, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said, adding that Turkish troops had been placed on alert. Turkey and Russia support rival parties in Syria’s 10-year conflict. The countries reached a deal last March that stopped a Russian-backed government offensive on the northwestern Idlib province, the last major rebel stronghold in war-torn Syria. Opposition activists claimed that Russian warplanes carried out the attacks near the Bab Al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey late Sunday, hours after government artillery shelling hit a major hospital in a rebel-controlled town in northwestern Syria. Six patients, including a child, were killed. Medical staff were wounded, forcing the facility to shut its doors. The Bab Al-Hawa border crossing is a main point from which aid is brought to rebel-held parts of northwest Syria. Idlib-based journalist Salwa Abdul-Rahman said one of the strikes hit an area near the town of Sarmada, setting afire trucks used by aid workers to distribute assistance.”
Iraq
Air Force Magazine: Coalition Aircraft Batter ISIS With 133 Airstrikes In Iraq
“U.S.-led coalition aircraft recently conducted a major offensive against the Islamic State group in northern Iraq, conducting 133 airstrikes over 10 days targeting a cave complex that served as a safe haven for terrorists. That’s more than any monthly airstrike total in Iraq and Syria since 2019. The offensive, in support of Iraqi ground forces, destroyed 61 hideouts, 24 caves, and eliminated “a number of terrorists,” said Col. Wayne Marotto, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve. Iraqi Ministry of Defense spokesman Yehia Rasool said the mission was aimed at drying up the sources of terrorism. The Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service led the ground effort. The strikes focused on an area called Qarachogh Mountain, about 50 kilometers southwest of Erbil. Video of the strikes posted by Kurdistan 24 shows large plumes of smoke rising from a mountainous area. Coalition airstrikes have largely slowed in Iraq and Syria since ISIS lost its self-proclaimed caliphate and the group has largely moved underground. According to the most recent information posted by OIR, there were a total of 25 strikes in both Iraq and Syria in December 2020.”
Afghanistan
The New York Times: Foes In Afghan War See A Common Threat Of Islamic State’s Return
“A valley of wood workshops and green wheat fields, torn apart by violence during two decades of war in eastern Afghanistan, is now strangely quiet — the result of an uneasy truce between the Taliban and the local Afghan government, forged by a mutual enemy. The two sides worked practically side by side to oust the Islamic State from Kunar Province’s Pech Valley — a strip of mountains and earth that saw fierce fighting at the height of the American-led war. The Islamic State had taken root there before Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani, claimed it was “obliterated” in late 2019. Now the Islamic State attacks are rare and come only at night, residents say, by fighters from areas outside of Taliban and government control. Yet while smaller and more amorphous after its military defeat, the terror group still poses a threat to the region as it recruits both in cities and the countryside, waiting to take advantage of whatever might follow in the war’s next iteration. The coming months could signal a shift in the group’s prominence, should the Taliban agree to stop fighting the Afghan government on a national scale and disenfranchised fighters — who have spent much of their lives at war — seek a new group with whom to ally in return for a steady paycheck.”
Arab News: Kabul Eyes US Troops’ Presence Until Taliban Fully Observe Truce
“Afghanistan’s government on Monday demanded a complete withdrawal of US-led foreign troops from the country but only after the Taliban “cut ties with terrorists” and announced a ceasefire. “Responsible pullout has been our demand and that of all of our international allies,” Dawa Khan Menapal, a spokesman for President Ashraf Ghani, told Arab News on Monday. “It means that all the threats have finished, the Taliban has cut ties with all terrorists, the violence has been halted and a ceasefire has been announced. This is responsible withdrawal,” he added. Menapal’s remarks follow a surprise visit by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Afghanistan on Sunday, in which the Pentagon chief met with Ghani and pushed for a “responsible end” to Washington’s longest war in history. Austin said that the level of violence must decrease for “fruitful” diplomacy to succeed. Menapal agreed, adding that the world and Kabul “faced a joint threat” and needed “a joint assessment” because the Taliban — contrary to a controversial deal signed with Washington — “had not severed ties with terrorist groups, including Al Qaeda.” “Our campaign is aimed at addressing this joint threat,” he told Arab News.”
Middle East
The Jerusalem Post: Mother Of Teen Murdered By Terrorist Speaks Out On ICC War Crimes Probe
“Rina Ariel, mother of Hallel Ariel, a 14-year-old who was murdered in her bed by a Palestinian terrorist, spoke out against the decision by the International Criminal Court to open a war crimes probe against Israel in a letter to the ICC on Sunday. In January, 2020, the Shurat HaDin organization filed a lawsuit on behalf of Rina and her husband against the Palestinian Authority concerning the “pay for slay” payments received by the family of the terrorist and the incitement by the PA which supports those who kill Israeli civilians with up to NIS 12,000 per month. To date, the Hague has not issued any response to the lawsuit, according to Shurat HaDin. In a letter sent on behalf of the parents on Sunday, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, president of Shurat HaDin, stressed that while the ICC does not have jurisdiction over Israel, as it is not a member state of the court, nor the PA, since it is not a state, it does have jurisdiction over PA President Mahmoud Abbas and most PA officials since they hold Jordanian citizenship and Jordan is a member state. The letter questioned why repeated submissions of evidence concerning crimes committed by PA officials were not included in the planned investigation and there has been no indication that these crimes will be investigated.”
Africa
Al Jazeera: Algeria Issues ‘Terrorism’ Warrants For Exiled Activists
“A court in Algeria has issued arrest warrants for outspoken exiled activists – a former diplomat, a blogger and a journalist – accusing them of seeking to turn a countrywide peaceful protest movement, known as the Hirak, into a violent one. Sunday’s warrants come as Algeria’s anti-government protesters are boosting weekly rallies ahead of June parliamentary elections. Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune dissolved Parliament in February as part of his political reforms. The warrants target former diplomat Mohamed Larbi Zeitout, blogger Amir Boukhors, who writes under the name “Amir Dz”, and journalist Hichem Aboud. Zeitout, 57, who founded the outlawed political movement Rachad in 2007, lives in exile in Britain. The group included former activists from the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) as its members. Many democratic activists have accused Rachad of using FIS former fighters to infiltrate the pro-democracy Hirak protest movement and lead it to violence. Rachad denied the accusations, saying it seeks to establish a “civil state” that complies with democratic norms. Zeitout is wanted on charges of the “management and financing of a terrorist group”, as well as forgery and money laundering, according to the official APS news agency.”
Long War Journal: Islamic State Kills Hundreds In Massacres Across The Sahel
“Fighters from the Islamic State’s local wing, commonly referred to as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), have reportedly perpetrated a series of recent massacres across the Sahel. Almost 300 people are believed to have been killed in these attacks. Yesterday, militants purportedly belonging to ISGS attacked three separate villages in Niger’s Tahoua region. Estimates on the death toll have varied with the Nigerien government officially reporting at least 137 people were killed. Local sources, however, have reported as many as 176 people were left dead by the militants. It is possible this number will continue to rise as local officials continue to search the area. According to one local official, “armed men arrived on motorbikes and shot at everything [that] moved.” Photos purportedly from the villages additionally show burned livestock and buildings, indicating total destruction of the villages. While on March 15, suspected members of ISGS attacked a bus carrying civilians near the town of Banibangou in Niger’s Tillaberi region. The jihadists then raided a nearby village, killing more civilians and burning down granaries. The Nigerien government initially reported that at least 58 people were killed in those attacks. This number, however, has since risen to at least 66 people.”
The Africa Report: Is Islamic State Really Operating In Eastern DRC?
“While the US has listed the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) as a terrorist group that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS), the relationship between the two groups remains unclear, says Jason Stearns, director of the Congo Research Group (CRG). Is the Islamic State (IS) really operating in eastern DRC? Since April 2019, the terrorist organisation has claimed responsibility for an increasing number of attacks in the country. But the reality of its relationship and involvement alongside the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) has been the subject of fierce debate. Washington, for its part, has come to a conclusion. On 11 March, the US authorities announced that they were placing this Ugandan armed group, which has been active in the DRC since the mid-1990s, on the list of terrorist groups affiliated with IS. The US State Department says that “ ‘ISIS-DRC’ – or ADF, or Madina at Tauheed Wau Mujahedeen (MTM), among other names – is responsible for numerous attacks in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, in eastern DRC.” Operating mainly in the Beni region (North Kivu), the ADF is “responsible for more civilian deaths (37%) than any other armed group”, according to the Kivu Security Tracker’s latest findings.”
United Kingdom
Arab News: Neo-Nazi Group Using Pandemic Lockdown To Recruit Minors: Report
“An international neo-Nazi group is using the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to recruit UK teenagers aged as young as 14, a new report has warned. It comes as a record number of minors face arrests for terror offenses across Britain. The National Partisan Movement (NPM) uses social media to “regularly express antisemitism, Holocaust denial and support for mass murderers,” UK anti-racism charity Hope not Hate said. In one NPM group chat seen by the charity, extremist posts viciously attacked Muslims and other minority groups. The charity’s research has revealed that some NPM members are as young as 12 — part of an emerging strategy by “youth-oriented” extremist groups to target children. Hope not Hate warned that some members had discussed acquiring weapons, including firearms, while there was also extensive interest in producing 3D-printed weapons and modifying non-lethal weapons. Several posts across the group’s social media channels also glorified terrorists, including the Christchurch gunman who killed 51 people during a rampage shooting in a New Zealand mosque.”
Technology
NBC News: Teen Terrorism Inspired By Social Media Is On The Rise. Here's What We Need To Do
“The would-be terrorist's plans were chilling, written out in detail alongside neo-Nazi tropes in his manifesto. The list of targets included post offices, pubs, schools and banks (for “obvious reasons,” he wrote), and they were accompanied by a list of at least 19 firearms he dreamed of acquiring. Recent years have revealed a scary, dangerous new era in which children have been taught to hate, are recruiting others and are plotting terrorist attacks. The plot, while frightening, is not necessarily surprising for analysts of far-right terrorism. Many of the ideological themes, justifications and targets were familiar. But the case is still shocking: The plotter was just 13 when he began radicalizing and 16 when he was convicted, in November 2019, of planning six terrorist attacks. According to reports, at the time of his arrest he was the youngest person convicted of plotting a terrorist attack in the U.K. This is not a one-off. Recent years have revealed a scary, dangerous new era in which children have been taught to hate, are recruiting others and are plotting terrorist attacks. While several schemes conceived by young far-right extremists were thwarted, the future may be bleaker. We have missed emerging trends in the past; counterterrorism professionals must urgently renew their vigilance — and implement new countermeasures — over the radicalization of young people in the West and beyond.”
“Facebook posts shared hundreds of times in Kenya claim that suspected Islamic State (IS) group brides Lisa Smith and Shamima Begum received different legal treatments, with one able to resume a normal life at home while the other faced punishment, including losing her citizenship. But the claims are missing vital context as they fail to mention that the women don’t share the same nationality — the former is Irish, the latter British — and that their governments take different approaches to the issue of returning IS suspects. “Lisa Smith, traveled to the Middle East in 2016 to become an #ISIS bride, four times over. Freely allowed to return with no media coverage and Living comfortably back at her family home. Retains her citizenship. Now explain the treatment of Shamima Begum (sic),” the caption of the post reads. The post has been shared more than 160 times since it was published on Facebook on February 27, 2021. A screenshot of a tweet with the same message was published in another Facebook post on July 23, 2020. The post, which has been shared more than 700 times, also provided a link to the original tweet.”
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