“Kurdish forces said Tuesday they had arrested 53 suspected ISIS group members
in a northeast Syria camp for relatives of extremists, in an anti-ISIS

 

 


<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
Eye on Extremism


March 31, 2021

 

Asharq Al-Awsat: Kurds Say 53 ISIS Members Arrested In Syria's Al-Hol Camp
<[link removed]>

 

“Kurdish forces said Tuesday they had arrested 53 suspected ISIS group members
in a northeast Syria camp for relatives of extremists, in an anti-ISIS security
operation. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced the launch
Sunday of the sweep in Al-Hol camp, which has been rocked by assassinations and
breakout attempts. Kurdish authorities have warned that the settlement, home to
almost 62,000 people, is turning into an extremist powder keg because of ISIS
members hiding out among camp residents. The Kurds' Asayish security forces
said they had “detained 53 ISIS members, including five leaders of ISIS sleeper
cells that carried out violent terrorist attacks in the camp”. They had also
“confiscated mobile phones as well as several laptops”, the SDF-allied police
unit added. Heavily-armed Kurdish forces stood guard outside the camp as others
stormed suspected hideouts inside the vast settlement, an AFP reporter said. In
some sections, residents stood outside their tents watching the anti-terrorist
squad scour the area. Al-Hol is the larger of two Kurdish-run displacement
camps for relatives of ISIS extremists in Syria's northeast. It holds mostly
Syrians and Iraqis but also thousands from Europe and Asia suspected of family
ties with ISIS fighters.

 

BBC News: Teen Who Called Himself Hitler Sentenced For Terror Offences
<[link removed]>

 

“A schoolboy who created his own online neo-Nazi group has been sentenced
after admitting terrorism offences. The 16-year-old, from Newcastle, called
himself Hitler and set up accounts on multiple social media platforms which
glorified extreme right-wing violence. He had pleaded guilty to four counts of
inviting support for National Action, a banned neo-Nazi organisation. At North
Tyneside Magistrates' Court, sitting as a youth court, he was given a 12-month
intensive referral order. The youth had also admitted three counts of
encouraging terrorism and four of stirring up racial and religious hatred. He
was further made the subject of terrorism notification requirements for 10
years, meaning he will have to keep the authorities informed of his whereabouts
and certain activities. After first being arrested in October 2019 he continued
to post racist material. The boy committed his first terrorism offence aged 15,
making him the third youngest person in the UK to commit a terror offence.
National Action was banned in 2016 under counter terror laws, making it illegal
to be a member of the organisation or invite support for it. The BBC is not
naming the small group created by the youth.”

 

United States

 

The Wall Street Journal: Supreme Court Looks At Consequences Of Falsely
Calling Someone A Terrorist
<[link removed]>

 

“A class-action lawsuit by some 8,000 consumers falsely labeled as potential
terrorists on their credit reports appeared likely to survive following Supreme
Court arguments Tuesday but several justices suggested not all of the
individuals merited compensation. Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks, TransUnion LLC launched a product, OFAC Advisor, which it marketed to
creditors faced with USA Patriot Act provisions prohibiting transactions with
individuals listed by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets
Control. “TransUnion OFAC Advisor provides the most comprehensive international
list of known terrorists and criminals using the OFAC list as well as expanded
information from multiple sources. TransUnion OFAC Advisor is designed to
minimize the number of ‘false positives’ using unique matching logic,” a 2002
press release announcing the product said. In February 2011, Sergio Ramirez
discovered he had been identified as a potential terrorist by TransUnion when
he tried to buy a Nissan Maxima from a dealer in Dublin, Calif. After settling
on the price, the salesman canceled the deal after running Mr. Ramirez’s
credit; he showed Mr. Ramirez the TransUnion report stating that “input name
matches name on the OFAC database.”

 

The Washington Post: Appeals Court Upholds Constitutionality Of FBI Terror
Watch List
<[link removed]>

 

“A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit has
upheld the constitutionality of an FBI watch list of more than 1 million “known
or suspected terrorists,” saying it falls under the government’s power to guard
its borders. “The government has had authority to regulate travel and control
the border since the beginning of the nation,” Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III
wrote in an opinion issued Tuesday. Muslim American civil rights organizations
have long challenged the Terrorist Screening Database, created in the wake of
the 9/11 terrorist attacks, saying it violates the rights of U.S. citizens. A
federal judge in Alexandria, Va., ruled in their favor in 2019, writing that
there had to be a meaningful process for someone to challenge placement on a
list that leads to screening by border agents, law enforcement and employers
that work in national security. “It is a black box,” he wrote, and one where
“erroneous deprivation of . . . travel-related and reputational liberty
interests is high.” But Wilkinson found that most of the plaintiffs’ delays
were “not dissimilar from what many travelers routinely face, whether in
standard or enhanced screenings, particularly at busy airports.” While a few
examples might be more egregious, he said, “a few nonrepresentative encounters,
plucked in isolation from millions of encounters occurring each year, are
hardly a sound basis for redesigning the entire TSDB system.”

 

Fox News: Michigan Judge Drops Terrorism Charges For 3 Men Accused In Alleged
Gov. Whitmer Kidnapping Plot
<[link removed]>

 

“A judge in Michigan on Monday threw out terrorism charges against three men
allegedly involved in a plot to kidnap Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Jackson County District Court Judge Michael J. Klaeren dropped the terrorism
charges for Joseph Morrison, 26, and Pete Musico, 43, both of Munith, Michigan,
The Detroit News reported. He also denied a request from prosecutors to add the
terrorism count to charges against Paul Bellar, 22, of Milford, Michigan. The
three men were ordered to stand trial on the remaining charges against them:
providing material support for terrorist acts, gang membership and using a
firearm during a felony. “The defendants are joined at the hip here,” Klaeren
said before announcing his ruling. “The prosecution did a good job in
establishing who knew what and when.” The threat of terrorism, providing
material support for terrorist acts and gang membership charges each are
20-year felonies. Felony firearm charges carry two-year maximum prison
sentences. According to a court affidavit, Musico and Morrison are founding
members of the Wolverine Watchmen, which authorities described as “an
anti-government, anti-law enforcement militia group.”

 

Syria

 

The Times: Joe Biden Urges Western Allies To Bring Back ISIS Families Held In
Syria
<[link removed]>

 

“The Biden administration has urged America’s western allies to repatriate
foreign fighters and their families from Syria, warning that the violent,
squalid camps are spawning a new generation of extremists. John Godfrey,
special envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat Isis, said that victory over
the jihadists on the battlefield would be squandered if western nations did not
take responsibility for repatriating and, if need be, prosecuting, their
citizens who remain in the camps. “This is an international problem that
requires an international solution,” he said on the eve of talks on Syria
hosted by Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state.”

 

Afghanistan

 

The New York Times: The Taliban Think They Have Already Won, Peace Deal Or Not
<[link removed]>

 

“The Taliban’s swagger is unmistakable. From the recent bellicose speech of
their deputy leader, boasting of “conquests,” to sneering references to the
“foreign masters” of the “illegitimate” Kabul government, to the Taliban’s own
website tally of “puppets” killed — Afghan soldiers — they are promoting a bold
message: We have already won the war. And that belief, grounded in military and
political reality, is shaping Afghanistan’s volatile present. On the eve of
talks in Turkey next month over the country’s future, it is the elephant in the
room: the half-acknowledged truth that the Taliban have the upper hand and are
thus showing little outward interest in compromise, or of going along with the
dominant American idea, power-sharing. While the Taliban’s current rhetoric is
also propaganda, the grim sense of Taliban supremacy is dictating the response
of a desperate Afghan government and influencing Afghanistan’s anxious foreign
interlocutors. It contributes to the abandonment of dozens of checkpoints and
falling morale among the Afghan security forces, already hammered by a “not
sustainable” casualty rate of perhaps 3,000 a month, a senior Western diplomat
in Kabul said.”

 

The New York Times: Three Women Working To Vaccinate Children Shot Dead In
Afghanistan
<[link removed]>

 

“Three health workers, all women, working for the government’s polio vaccine
campaign were shot dead in Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, local
officials said, only weeks after three women working in television were killed
in the same city. The women, all in their 20s, were going about their jobs in
the bustling town near the border with Pakistan when they were gunned down in
two separate attacks. Semin, 24, and Basira, 20, who like many Afghans both
went by only one name, were shot and killed by two gunmen as they entered a
house in Jalalabad to vaccinate the children who lived there, the governor’s
office said. The two were going door to door in the city, a practice the
Taliban have banned in the past in areas under their control. It was Semin’s
first vaccination campaign; said Ahmad Faisal Nizami, the victim’s cousin. She
had recently been married and had graduated from a teacher training college.
Negina, 24, a supervisor for the polio vaccine campaign, which started in
Afghanistan on Monday, was shot and killed about an hour later elsewhere in the
city. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the killings. The Taliban
spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, rejected any involvement in the incident in a
WhatsApp message.”

 

Nigeria

 

All Africa: Nigeria: Kidnapping Proceeds Used To Fuel Boko Haram Insurgency -
Governors <[link removed]>

 

“The Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, said yesterday that proceeds from
kidnappings in the Northeast were used to fuel Boko Haram insurgency in the
zone. Chairmen of NGF and governor of Ekiti state, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, stated
this after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa,
Abuja. Fielding questions from State House correspondents at the end of the
meeting, the NGF Chairman said: “There is a direct correlation, I've said this
to you before, between insurgency in the northeast, and what we're seeing
manifesting itself as banditry in the northwest, or kidnapping in the
southwest. Some of the people involved in these are also the ones responsible
for insurgency. “They are using the resources they make from kidnapping for the
activities that they're conducting in the northeast. “So, we need to take a
comprehensive look at all these things and not treat them in compartments. We
must treat them as a comprehensive issue and then tackle them collectively.” He
commended the efforts of the nation's security forces, saying though he was one
of those who advocated the change of service chiefs, he did not expect a
dramatic turnaround so soon.”

 

Africa

 

ABC News: At Least 1 American Evacuated From Mozambique As ISIS-Linked Rebels
Seize Coastal Town
<[link removed]>

 

“At least one American has been safely evacuated from Mozambique following
deadly attacks by ISIS-linked rebels who left beheaded bodies strewn on beaches
and streets, according to a senior official with the U.S. Department of State.
John Godfrey, the State Department's acting special envoy for the global
coalition to defeat ISIS, condemned the “sheer brutality” of the attacks in the
coastal northeastern town of Palma and said the local jihadist group
responsible has become increasingly brazen. “The situation there is still
unfolding but the U.S. government is closely monitoring events on the ground,
and the attacks there are horrific, frankly, and show a complete disregard for
the life, welfare and security of the local population,” Godfrey said during a
press briefing Monday afternoon. “We were aware of one American citizen who was
on the ground in Palma and that individual, as we understand it, has
successfully been evacuated.”  ISIS, officially known as the Islamic State,
claimed responsibility Monday for the attacks in Palma in Mozambique's natural
gas-rich Cabo Delgado province, saying the offensive was carried out by
fighters from its Central African Province division, which also has a presence
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to SITE Intelligence Group,
a company that tracks extremist groups.”

 

The Independent: ISIS Attacks In Africa Rise By Third In A Year As UK And US
Warn Of Islamist Insurgency On Continent
<[link removed]>

 

“Attacks by Isis in Africa have gone up by a third over the past year in a
relentless rise of Islamist insurgency in the continent, Antony Blinken and
Dominic Raab have warned, as they called for a united international strategy to
counter the threat. The US secretary of state and the British foreign secretary
issued a statement along with ministers from the Global Coalition against Daesh
[Isis], highlighting how the group has become lethally active in Africa, as
well as showing signs of a resurgence in the Middle East. The ministers pointed
to a recent coordinated double suicide attack in Baghdad as evidence that the
group has been able to “rebuild its networks and capabilities to target
security forces and civilians” in regime-held areas of Syria, and that this
could enable it to carry out operations in other areas. The coalition
emphasised that there was a “serious and growing threat” in Africa, with jihadi
violence in a swathe of states, including those in the Sahel region. There have
recently been attacks on aid workers in the Chad Basin region, continuing
conflict in Mali, and Isis and al-Shabaab-affiliated fighters have launched an
offensive in Mozambique, with civilians being beheaded. The British military,
under UN auspices, are part of the international force in Mali and also have
training missions in a number of African countries, including Kenya and
Somalia.”

 

Voice Of America: Cameroon Says Boko Haram Has Intensified Attacks For Supplies

<[link removed]>

 

“Cameroon’s military on Tuesday said it deployed troops to its northern border
with Nigeria after a series of attacks authorities say were carried out the
terrorist group Boko Haram. The group did not claim responsibility, but
Cameroonian authorities said they also deployed village militias in response to
the attacks. Cattle rancher Donald Kulbe says economic activity has been halted
since Saturday’s Boko Haram attack on Cameroon’s northern village of Dabanga on
the border with Nigeria. The 52-year-old director of the Dabanga village cattle
market says the fighters killed at least 50 animals and chased hundreds of
civilians and cattle buyers from their village. He spoke to VOA from Dabanga
via WhatsApp. Kulbe said the economy has taken a hit in his village due to
attacks claimed by the terrorist group, Boko Haram. This, he says, is on top of
the economic downturn the Dabanga village is facing because of the coronavirus
pandemic. Due to insecurity in the village and fear of customers, cattle
ranchers are seeing their income fall drastically.  Several dozen villagers
fled for their lives and are still hiding in the bushes in the areas near the
border of the village, Kulbe said. Villagers identified at least 20 corpses
after the fight between the attackers and Cameroon military.”

 

France

 

The National: Counter-Terrorism Programme In France Bears Fruit With No
Militants Reoffending
<[link removed]>

 

“…Dr Marc Hecker, of the French Institute of International Relations, said the
project was “bearing fruit” and called for its expansion. “There is no single
case of terrorism recidivism out of 64 convicted terrorists,” he told a webinar
hosted by the Counter Extremism Project. “This is really encouraging. There is
actually only one terrorist back in jail but not for a terror offence – it was
related to drugs. “I think we should continue this programme and broaden it to
other zones in France. It has been operating in four cities which had concerns
with radicalisation and were hotspots, but it should be opened up in cities
like Nice and Strasbourg.” The project was developed after a sharp increase in
convictions of extremists for terrorism offences, rising from 70 to 320 in the
past four years. In October 2020 alone, teacher Samuel Paty was killed in Paris
after pupils were shown cartoons from the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, and
three people were killed by a Tunisian extremist in Nice’s Notre-Dame church.
The French government created the project as many terrorists were being
released after completing their sentences. An initial two-year trial resulted
in no recidivism and led to the programme being introduced in the extremism
hotspots Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Lille.”

 

Europe

 

Eurasia Review: Bosnian Police Hunt For Wanted US Far-Right Activist
<[link removed]>

 

“…According to the Counter Extremism Project, the Rise Above Movement was
founded by Rundo in 2017 as a “white supremacist gang” involving mixed martial
arts fighters. The Counter Extremism Project said that Rise Above Movement
members participated in a violent rally by white supremacists in
Charlottesville in August 2017, during which a counter-protester was killed.
“RAM [Rise Above Movement] claims it wants to revive the ‘warrior spirit’ of
the white male,” the Counter Extremism Project said. After Rundo entered
Bosnia, his ‘Active Club Podcast’ was broadcast at least once via the Rise
Above Movement’s website, and he also made a guest appearance on the Australian
far-right podcast ‘Voice of Zealandia’. BIRN was not able to confirm when he
made the recordings.”

 

Reuters: Russia Jails Jehovah's Witness In Crimea For Over Six Years For
Extremism
<[link removed]>

 

“A court in Russian-controlled Crimea sentenced a member of the Jehovah’s
Witnesses to six and a half years in prison after finding him guilty of
organising extremist activities, it said. The verdict, issued by the Gagarinsky
District Court in Sevastopol on Monday, comes amid an ongoing crackdown on the
group, which Russia branded extremist and banned from operating in the country
in 2017. The court did not disclose the defendant’s name. Nor did it say what
he had done to be charged. It said the verdict could be appealed within 10
days. A Jehovah’s Witness office in Brussels identified the man as Viktor
Stashevskiy. It said in a statement the case “as many similar cases against
Jehovah’s Witnesses, contains a testimony of a secret witness.” Jehovah’s
Witnesses have been under pressure for years in Russia, where the Russian
Orthodox Church is championed by President Vladimir Putin. Orthodox scholars
have cast it as a dangerous foreign sect that erodes state institutions and
traditional values, allegations its members reject. Russia annexed the Crimean
peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, drawing Western condemnation and tit-for-tat
sanctions. Ukraine wants the region back.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

Voice Of America: Newlyweds Used Pressure Cooker Bombs In Church Attack,
Indonesian Police Say
<[link removed]>

 

“Indonesian authorities have identified a recently married couple with ties to
the Islamic State-linked Jamaah Ansarud Daulah (JAD) as the main suspects
behind a suicide bombing Sunday that targeted a Catholic church in Makassar,
the provincial capital of South Sulawesi. Referring to the couple by their
initials only, Listyo Sigit Prabowo, chief of the Indonesian National Police,
said suspects “L and YSF” — identified by Indonesian media as a man named
Lukman and his wife, Dewi — had been married some six months prior by a JAD
figure known as Rifaldi. Indonesians commonly have only one name by which they
are addressed. According to Prabowo, Rifaldi was arrested in January and
charged with involvement in the 2019 bombing of the Cathedral of Our Lady of
Mount Carmel in Jolo, Philippines, which left 20 people dead and dozens more
injured. The police chief also said Lukman had left a written farewell message
to his parents telling them he was “ready to be martyred.” According to
Indonesian officials, the suicide bombers approached the Cathedral of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus on a motorbike but were intercepted at the gate by
security guards. They used a pressure cooker with explosive materials to blow
themselves up outside the packed church during its Palm Sunday Mass.”

 

The Defense Post: ‘Myanmar Military A Terrorist Group,’ Says Advisory Council
<[link removed]>

 

“The Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M), an independent group of
international experts on Myanmar, accused the country’s armed forces of
engaging in acts of terrorism following Saturday’s crackdown that killed more
than 100 people. In a press release, the council said they received reports
about soldiers and police seizing bodies of people they killed, dragging them
away from their families and burning them. It was also stated that for nearly
two months the military has committed murder and torture, engaged in
detentions, destruction of property, and orchestrated media blackouts against
residents they are supposed to protect. “These are barbaric criminal acts,
calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public with the purpose
of terrorizing the entire population,” SAC-M founding member Marzuki Darusman
stated. “The actions of the Myanmar military are the actions of a terrorist
group, under any United Nations definition of the term,” he added. SAC-M is
calling on the international community to help Myanmar and its people by
cutting military funds and the supply of weapons to the country. Furthermore,
the group wants the situation to be reported to the International Criminal
Court so that those responsible for the chaos are sanctioned.”



Click here to unsubscribe.
<[link removed]>