Eye on Extremism
October 2, 2019
Voice
Of America: IS Foreign Women Smuggled Out In Northeastern Syria
Camp
“A group of intruders who disguised themselves as security forces
protecting al-Hol refugee camp in northeastern Syria have helped
smuggle out several women affiliated with the Islamic State (IS)
fighters, local authorities told VOA. “Some smugglers put on SDF
uniforms or security police outfits, and they helped some IS women
escape the camp for money,” said Judy Serbilind, who monitors IS
female affiliates detained at the overcrowded camp. Serbilind refused
to disclose the number of the escaped women but said there were
dozens. She said most of them came from outside of Syria, particularly
from Europe. “We believe that they fled to Idlib then to Turkey. We
think some of them might reach out to the embassies of their countries
and some (will) stay in Turkey.” Al-Hol is a makeshift encampment set
up for those who were displaced during the war against IS in eastern
Syrian province of Dir el-Zour. The camp’s population skyrocketed from
about 10,000 refugees in December 2018 to over 70,000 by April 2019
following a U.S.-led operation that defeated IS from its last
stronghold of Baghouz.”
ABC
News: American Service Member Injured In Al-Shabab Attack In Somalia:
US Military
“A U.S. service member suffered a concussion injury from Monday's
attack by the terrorist group al-Shabab at a U.S. military airfield in
Somalia, according to U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). In the aftermath
of the attack, defense officials reported that there were no injuries
or casualties at the Baledogle Military Airfield. However, on Tuesday
AFRICOM officials clarified that one U.S. service member suffered a
concussion injury. The attack on Baledogle Military Airfield was one
of two attacks conducted by al-Shabab in Somalia on Monday. In the
attack on the U.S military airfield, a suicide car bomber detonated a
vehicle packed with explosives at the airstrip gate, according to
Yusuf Abdourahman, a regional administrative security official. The
U.S. military conducted a self-defense airstrike in response to the
attack, killing 10 militants, according to an AFRICOM news release on
Monday. The second attack -- also a suicide car bomber -- targeted
Italian peacekeepers in the state capital of Mogadishu. The explosion
missed the European Union peacekeepers, but there were reports that
some Somali civilians were injured in the attack. AFRICOM disclosed
that there was another airstrike in the country on Tuesday targeting
one al-Shabab militant in a separate part of Somalia.”
Middle
East Monitor: Daesh Makes Resurgence In Syria, Captures Town, Attacks
Kurdish And Russia Forces
“Daesh has conducted manoeuvres to make a resurgence in Syria today
by besieging Russian and regime forces, attacking a prominent Kurdish
militia and capturing a town in the east of the country, fulfilling
recent predictions of the extremist group’s recuperation in the
conflict. Daesh militants attacked a gathering of regime militias and
Russian special forces in the ancient town of Palmyra through the use
of a booby-trapped car filled with explosives, as well as surrounding
a Russian convoy and besieging it. The militant group’s own media
outlet named Amaq News Agency then allegedly reported that planes
launched heavy shelling on its positions in an attempt to break the
siege.”
ABC
News: 25 Dead After Extremists Attack Army Camps In Central
Mali
“Al-Qaida-linked groups attacked two army bases in central Mali,
killing at least 25 people and leaving 60 missing, Mali's government
said Tuesday. Assailants rode into the community of Boulikessi with
heavy weaponry overnight Sunday to Monday to attack a Malian battalion
of the regional G5 Sahel Force, said a force commander, Niger Gen.
Oumarou Namatou Gazama. He blamed “the terrorist group” Ansarul
Islam.Mali's government said that after exchanges of gunfire, the army
had retaken Boulikessi, killing at least 15 extremists and destroying
five of their vehicles. It said a joint force with Burkina Faso
soldiers was pursuing the extremists behind the attacks. The attack on
the camp caused “heavy equipment losses and major damage,” Malian
government spokesman Yaya Sangaré said earlier in a statement. Around
the same time early Monday, armed men attacked another army camp in
Mondoro. A resident there said two civilians were among the
casualties. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of fears for
his safety. Meanwhile, nearly 30 people have been killed in Burkina
Faso's Bam province the past two weeks, including 17 over the weekend,
according to the provincial high commissioner, Ambrose Ouedraogo.”
The
Times Of Israel: Iran’s Soleimani Claims He And Nasrallah Barely
Escaped Israeli Air Raid In 2006
“The head of the Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps on
Tuesday claimed that Israeli aircraft targeted him and Hezbollah
leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut during the Second Lebanon War in
2006. Qassem Soleimani made the comments during his first major
interview, a lengthy one-on-one that was screened on Iranian
television.”
Irish
Examiner: Five Jihadists In Irish Prisons, Says Study
“There are five jihadists held in Irish prisons serving convictions
relating to Islamist extremism offences, according to new research.
The report Guns and Glory: Criminality, Imprisonment and Jihadist
Extremism in Europe, was published by the Counter Extremism Project
and the European Policy Centre and examined 10 European countries,
including Ireland. The chapter on Ireland, written by Ian Acheson of
the project, claimed there was evidence that the threat of
radicalisation existed in the Muslim community, especially among its
youth.”
United States
The
New York Times: Homeland Security Dept. Affirms Threat Of White
Supremacy After Years Of Prodding
“The Department of Homeland Security is beginning to address white
supremacist terrorism as a primary security threat, breaking with a
decade of flagging attention after bigoted mass shooters from New
Zealand to Texas took the lives of nearly 100 people in the last six
months. In a little-noticed strategy document published last month to
guide law enforcement on emerging threats and in recent public
appearances by Kevin K. McAleenan, the acting secretary of homeland
security, the department is trying to project a new vigilance about
violent white nationalism, beating back criticism that the agency has
spent a decade playing down the issue. “I would like to take this
opportunity to be direct and unambiguous in addressing a major issue
of our time. In our modern age, the continuation of racially based
violent extremism, particularly violent white supremacy, is an
abhorrent affront to the nation,” Mr. McAleenan said during an address
last month, describing white nationalism as one of the most dangerous
threats to the United States. The department’s new stance contrasts
that of President Trump, who has repeatedly dismissed white supremacy
as an insignificant fringe movement.”
The
New York Times: Congress And Trump Agreed They Want A National Privacy
Law. It Is Nowhere In Sight.
“A rare thing emerged in Washington early this year: agreement.
Republicans and Democrats in Congress, as well as the Trump White
House, all said they wanted a new federal law to protect people’s
online privacy. Numerous tech companies urged them on. And they had a
deadline. With a broad California privacy law set to go into effect
early next year, many federal lawmakers and the tech companies wanted
to get ahead of it and avoid having state-by-state rules. But after
months of talks, a national privacy law is nowhere in sight.”
Chicago
Tribune: ‘It Was An Accident. It’s Not Terrorism,’ Says Lawyer Of
Palatine Man Charged With Driving SUV Into Woodfield
Mall
“Attorneys for the man charged with terrorism after authorities
said he drove his SUV into Woodfield Mall, creating panic among
shoppers last month, insisted Tuesday that their client is mentally
ill and the crash was an accident. “A mental issue caused him to
crash,” attorney Amil Alkass said moments before his client was to
appear in a hearing in Cook County Circuit Court. “It was an
accident,” he said. “It’s not terrorism.” Javier Garcia, 22, of
Palatine, is being held without bail on a state terrorism charge and a
felony count of criminal damage to property. The charges stem from a
Sept. 20 incident in which Garcia crashed through a mall entrance, and
drove into kiosks and store fronts, creating panic among employees and
shoppers, prosecutors said. No injuries were reported. Garcia was
detained at the scene and spent the next seven days at a mental health
hospital, authorities said. He was arrested and charged following his
release Friday. Authorities said they found 124 internet searches for
the mall on Garcia’s cellphone in a 10-hour period before the crash,
indicating it was a planned attack.”
WJCT: How
A Jacksonville Man Was Seduced By Online Extremism – And Overcame
Hate
“Mak Kapetanovic is a 22-year-old, well-spoken, mild-mannered
University of North Florida student. He's also a former white
supremacist who's now devoted to deprogramming other young men like
himself. Kapetanovic says his story is a case study into how easily
people can be sucked into a toxic digital sphere that radicalizes
followers into white nationalist, extremist beliefs. And he's
concerned that governments around the world aren't doing enough to
combat online extremism. “The sort of casual racism and misogyny that
was prevalent in a lot of online video games and chats and stuff, that
was sort of the first thing that kind of made me think, ‘Oh, these
kinds of jokes and these kinds of things are OK.’ That opened the
door,” he said Tuesday on WJCT’s First Coast Connect with Melissa
Ross. “It was like I knew some sort of secret about the world that
other people didn't know,” he remembers when he found hate-filled
message boards as a teenager. Kapetanovic, whose parents were
immigrants from war-torn Bosnia, grew up in the U.S. and attended
magnet schools in Jacksonville. His mother died when he was 16. He
felt lonely and disaffected.”
Forbes:
U.S. Government Confirms New Aircraft Cybersecurity Move Amid
Terrorism Fears
“Aircraft security is under the spotlight after the U.S. government
confirmed a move to protect citizens from cyberattacks targeting
aviation. It comes amid growing concern that aviation is a major
target for terrorists, who could use cyberattacks to threaten planes
and passengers. The Department of Home Security is leading the revived
program alongside the Pentagon and Transportation Department that aims
to test airliners’ vulnerability to hacking, according to the Wall
Street Journal. Few details are available, but DHS confirmed that the
program would include testing actual aircraft for
vulnerabilities.”
Syria
Reuters:
Syria 'Safe Zone' Deadline Expires With Turkish Threat
Looming
“Turkey’s deadline to jointly establish a “safe zone” with the
United States in northern Syria by the end of September has passed,
leaving the threat of unilateral military intervention by Ankara
hanging over the region. President Tayyip Erdogan told the United
Nations last week he wanted to set up the zone along 480 km (300
miles) of border and reaching 30 km inside Syria. Under the Turkish
plan, up to 2 million Syrian refugees would be settled in the safe
zone, with international support. If implemented, the project could
halve the number of Syrian refugees sheltering in Turkey from Syria’s
eight-year conflict, and drive the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia - which
Ankara says is a terrorist group threatening its security - from the
border.”
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Uncertain Future For ISIS Orphans In Syria
Camp
“Sitting in a wheelchair beside a metal fence in a camp in northern
Syria, nine-year-old Ruqaya Mohammad raises a scarf over her face to
hide from journalists. The girl lost her left eye, her legs and both
her parents during battles against ISIS in their last Syria redoubt in
March. She now lives in a large tent along with 23 other orphaned
children of foreign ISIS militants in a camp for the displaced in Ain
Issa, under the care of older camp residents. “Among the children,
Ruqaya moves me the most,” said Sara al-Abdullah, a 37-year-old who
helps look after the orphans. “She always looks withdrawn, shy, and
sad,” said the widowed mother of three, one of nine women residents of
the Ain Issa camp paid a small fee to help look after the children.
Outside the tent, tiny children's tops and trousers have been slung
across the metal fence to dry. Inside, young boys dip flatbread into
bowls of soft aubergine stewed in tomatoes. A volunteer tries to coax
a young child into opening his mouth, while another woman feeds an
infant with a milk bottle. A small boy dashes across the tent and
throws himself excitedly into a pile of bedding. The volunteers say
some of the children are still visibly scarred after living with their
late parents under ISIS.”
The
Guardian: Foreign ISIS Fighters In Syria 'Should Face
War Crimes Tribunal'
“Foreign Islamic State fighters held in overcrowded prisons and
lawless refugee camps in north-east Syria – including about 60 Britons
– should be put on trial there as part of an international effort to
de-radicalise the region, according to senior local officials.
Politicians and soldiers from the Kurdish-led region said they needed
western help to deal with the prisoners locally, including setting up
a recognised war crimes tribunal, amid warnings that Isis could
otherwise rebuild. Images emerged this week of the insanitary
conditions in makeshift prisons where people of more than 50
nationalities were held in packed cells, sometimes 20 to a room.
Meanwhile, local politicians admitted they had lost control of the
refugee camps to Isis radicals. Dr Abdulkarim Omar, the de facto
foreign secretary of the self-styled Autonomous Administration of
North and East Syria, and the co-chair of its foreign affairs
committee, said: “We call for the establishment of an international
tribunal to prosecute those fighters here in our region. “Those
people, the Isis criminals, committed their crimes in our region and
against our communities. Evidence, proof and witnesses against them
are in this region, and we can prosecute them.”
Iran
Reuters:
Iran To Cut Nuclear Deal Commitments Until It Reaches 'Desired
Result': Supreme Leader
“Iran will continue reducing its commitments under its 2015 nuclear
deal until it reaches the “desired result,” Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday, according to his official website. “We
will continue the reduction of commitments,” Khamenei said in a
meeting with commanders of the elite Revolutionary Guards. “The
responsibility is with the Atomic Energy Organization and they must be
carry out the reduction ...in a precise, complete and comprehensive
way and continue until the time we reach a desired result.”
Arab
News: Iranian Tanker Delivers Oil To Syria Despite Zarif’s Assurances:
Mike Pompeo
“The Iranian tanker Adrian Darya 1 is still delivering oil to
Syria, despite Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif’s promises to
Britain, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday. In a
tweet, Pompeo shared a satellite image of the tanker near the Syrian
coast, accusing Iran of breaking its assurances not to sell crude oil
to the country, after it was previously detained on July 4 by British
forces for breaching European Sanctions.”
The
Hill: What Happens In The Next Clash Between Iran And Saudi
Arabia?
“Is “maximum pressure” campaign used by President Trump against
Iran leading the United States and Saudi Arabia toward war or
negotiations? He temporarily diffused the crisis over the Iranian
drone and missile attack on Saudi oil facilities by limiting the
United States reaction to bolstering Saudi air defenses and sending a
few hundred more American troops. In his speech to the United Nations
General Assembly, Trump did not once mention the attack, content to
excoriate Iran’s aggressive behavior in general but pledging U.S.
economic and financial sanctions “will not be lifted. They will be
tightened.”
Iraq
The
Washington Post: Hundreds Wounded In Iraq As Police Fire Tear Gas,
Bullets, At Protesters
“Hundreds of Iraqi protesters were wounded Tuesday when security
forces fired bullets and tear gas at crowds of anti-government
protesters, officials said. The protests were the largest to date
against Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi’s fragile year-old government.
Demonstrators had gathered to decry a host of problems that plague the
daily life of many Iraqis, among them corruption, a lack of services
and unemployment. In Baghdad, the capital, police fired tear gas and,
later, live ammunition on about a thousand protesters who had marched
into a central square, their numbers swelling hour by hour amid a
heavy police presence. The tear gas started when the crowd moved on
toward the heavily fortified Green Zone. Next came live ammunition,
and a frantic dash to carry bleeding protesters away to safety. In a
statement, the country’s Interior Ministry said that it “regretted”
the day’s violence, and blamed “a group of rioters” for inciting it.
Iraq’s Health Ministry said that one person had died and 286 were
wounded nationwide, among them 40 members of the security forces, with
protests also taking place in the cities of Nasiriyah, Diwaniyah and
Basra.”
Iraqi
News: Iraqi Intelligence Arrest Islamic State Jihadist In
Anbar
“Iraqi military intelligence forces announced on Tuesday the
capture of an Islamic State terrorist during a military operation in
Anbar province. In a press release carried by Iraqi website Ayn Al
Iraq, the Iraqi Military Intelligence Directorate said that its troops
arrested an Islamic State terrorist in Ramadi district in Anbar. The
arrest of the IS militant was based on intelligence information, added
the directorate. The militant took part in the fight against security
forces during the group’s three-year capture of vast swathes of Iraqi
territories, the statement. Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic
State’s territorial influence in November 2017 with the recapture of
Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the
group’s last bastion in Iraq. IS declared a self-styled “caliphate” in
a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014. A government campaign,
backed by a U.S.-led international coalition and paramilitary forces,
was launched in 2016 to retake IS-held regions, managing to retake all
havens, most notably the city of Mosul, the group’s previously
proclaimed capital.”
Kurdistan
24: Iraqi Forces Foil Suspected ISIS Attack On Shia Pilgrims South Of
Baghdad
“Iraq’s Counter-Terrorism units said on Tuesday that it had foiled
a suspected Islamic State attack on Shia pilgrims south of Baghdad.
The incident comes as millions of Shia Muslims prepare to go to the
city of Karbala to perform the Arbaeen rituals, which mark the
anniversary of the death of Imam Hussein. In a statement on its
official Facebook page, the Counter-Terrorism units said its forces
had carried out “an inspection in one of the agricultural areas south
of Baghdad.” During the operation, 20 bags of explosive material
(TNT), weighing 750 kilograms, were found, the statement added. “A
terrorist cell belonging to the ISIS terrorist organization was
planning to target the visitors of the upcoming Arbaeen rituals.” At
least three million people are expected to make their way to Karbala
during the Arbaeen ceremony, which begins on Oct. 19. The so-called
Islamic State has often carried out attacks against Shias, most
recently claiming a deadly minibus bombing in Iraq’s Karbala. The
assault was one of the largest the Islamic State has claimed since its
military defeat in Iraq in 2017. Despite the former Iraqi government
declaring a “final victory” against the terror group over two years
ago, the Islamic State continues to pose a threat through its sleeper
cells which still launch sporadic attacks in previously liberated
areas and region’s it never controlled.”
Afghanistan
ABC
News: Official: Taliban Attack A Northern City In
Afghanistan
“An Afghan official says Taliban fighters have launched attacks in
districts in and around Taluqan, the capital of northern Takhar
province. Jawad Hajri, the provincial governor's spokesman, says
Wednesday that over the last three days there have been sporadic gun
battles between Afghan forces and Taliban around Taluqan. More than
4,000 families are displaced as a result of gun battles in three
districts, said Hajri. He said Afghan forces have started a clearing
operation against the insurgents. In a separate report form northern
Kapisa province six civilians, including women and children, were
killed when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb, said Nasrat Rahimi,
spokesman for the Interior Ministry. Rahimi blamed the Taliban and
added that two other civilians were wounded in Tuesday evening's blast
in Nejrab district. The Taliban have not commented.”
Reuters:
Taliban To Visit Pakistan, Discuss Failed Afghan Peace
Talks
“An Afghan Taliban delegation will visit Pakistan on Wednesday, the
insurgent group said, the latest stop on a tour of regional powers
after an Afghanistan peace process broke down. A delegation of Taliban
members, led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of the group’s
founders, will discuss “important issues” with Pakistani officials in
the capital, Islamabad, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said on
Twitter. Pakistan supported the Taliban from the group’s founding in
the midst of Afghanistan’s civil war in the early 1990s. The United
States and the U.S.-backed Afghan government have for years suspected
Pakistan has maintained its support for the militants, as a tool to
block the spread of Indian influence in Afghanistan, despite Pakistani
denials. The Taliban delegation would inform Pakistan’s leadership of
the factors that derailed the talks with the United States aimed at
striking a deal allowing U.S. and other foreign troops to withdraw in
exchange for Taliban security guarantees, said a Taliban official, who
declined to be identified. U.S. and Taliban said last month they were
close to reaching a deal, despite concern among some U.S. security
officials and within the Afghan government that a U.S. withdrawal
could plunge the country into even more conflict and open the way for
a resurgence of Islamist militant factions.”
The
Atlantic: ‘We Shouldn’t Be Buying The Taliban’s
Excuse’
“Peace is our common objective, and terrorists are our common
enemy,” Afghan National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib told the
United Nations yesterday. “We must not rush the former at the risk of
empowering the latter.” Mohib, who has in the past made headlines with
his blunt critique of American policies in his country, came to New
York with an explicit message for the Taliban and a subtler one for
the United States government. To the Taliban, he said: “Join us in
peace, or we will continue to fight.” To the United States, which
until talks collapsed in September seemed on the verge of concluding
its own deal with the Taliban that did not include the Afghan
government: “The next step belongs to us Afghans.” Mohib spoke with me
shortly after the speech, and a few weeks after President Donald Trump
announced on Twitter that he was calling off a roughly yearlong
negotiation with the Taliban following the death of a U.S. soldier and
11 others in Kabul. (The soldier was the 16th U.S. service member to
die in Afghanistan in 2019, while negotiations went on; a 17th died a
little over a week later.)”
Yemen
The
National: Yemen's Houthi Rebels Deny Entry To Top UN Rights
Official
“The Houthi rebels in Yemen have denied entry to the top UN human
rights official and ordered his plane to take off from the capital,
Sanaa, just after landing, officials said on Tuesday. The development
followed a damning report by experts commissioned by the Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights detailing abuses by the rebels in
Yemen's civil war, including sexual violence against women in
rebel-run prisons. Just after the UN representative, Elobaid Ahmed
Elobaid, landed in Sanaa on Monday, rebel security officers boarded
the plane, withdrew his travel permit and ordered the plane to leave,
officials told AP. The UN agency's Rupert Colville confirmed Mr
Elobaid's expulsion from Sanaa but would not elaborate.”
Saudi Arabia
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Saudi Arabia Reiterates Solidarity With Egypt In War On
Terrorism
“The Saudi cabinet reiterated on Tuesday the Kingdom’s solidarity
with Egypt in its fight against terrorism. Custodian of the Two Holy
Mosques chaired the cabinet meeting that was held at the al-Salam
Palace in Jeddah. The cabinet hailed the latest measures taken by the
armed forces and police in northern Sinai. The ministers then reviewed
the latest Arab, regional and international developments, highlighting
Saudi Arabia’s address before the 74th United Nations General Assembly
in New York last week. The address urged the international community
to stand united and firmly to exercise the greatest pressure to put an
end to Iran’s terrorist and hostile behavior, which for 40 years has
known nothing but bombings, destruction and assassinations throughout
the world. The cabinet lauded the participating countries at the
General Assembly for their stances of support with Saudi Arabia and
condemnation of Iran over last month’s attack against Aramco oil
facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais. The cabinet highlighted Saudi
Arabia’s fulfilment of its commitment to donate $500 million to the
relief effort in Yemen, $50 million to the United Nations Relief and
Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and $10 million in relief
to Rohingya Muslims.”
Lebanon
Bloomberg:
Don’t Abandon Lebanon to Hezbollah and Iran
“Lebanon is transfixed by reports that Prime Minister Saad Hariri
gave $16 million to a South African model with whom he was
romantically linked. The money transfers began in 2013, when Hariri
was not in office, and no laws appear to have been broken. For some,
it is a welcome diversion from a deepening economic crisis, for
others, a reminder of the yawning gap between Lebanese, who are
struggling with a serious currency crunch, and their leaders.”
Egypt
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Egypt: Regional Forum On Terrorism Recommends Enhancing
Security Institutions
“The capabilities of security institutions combating terrorism must
be enhanced and mechanisms must be established to put an end to some
countries’ regional interventions, a regional Arab-African forum held
in Cairo recommended. The third edition of the forum, “Terrorism and
Regional Interventions and their Effects on Arab and African Security
and Culture,” was held on Tuesday with the participation of officials
and specialists from 16 Arab and African countries. At the closing
ceremony, the Forum announced several recommendations, namely
establishing an international center for studies to address crises,
especially in the Arab world and Africa. In addition, it called for
resolving “regional interventions of some countries in Arab and
African affairs,” and establishing a committee, led by the Arab League
and African Union, to address the meddling. The Forum also called for
forming a partnership with civil society, especially the youth and
women, saying they are an important ally in the fight against terror,
and urging young people to beware of the dangers of terrorism.”
Nigeria
The
Christian Post: Boko Haram Militants Execute Two Christian Aid
Workers, Release Video Footage
“Islamic extremist group Boko Haram has released a video in which
its militants executed two Christian aid workers in Nigeria and vow to
kill every believer they capture in the future. According to Morning
Star News, the terrorist group released the video last week on its
official news agency site Amaq. In the video, Lawrence Duna Dacighir
and Godfrey Ali Shikagham, both members of the Church of Christ in
Nigeria (COCIN) in Plateau state, are shown kneeling while three
masked, armed men stand behind them. The two young men, who had gone
to Maiduguri to help build shelters for people displaced by Islamic
extremist violence, are then shot from behind. Speaking in the Hausa
language, one terrorist states the group has vowed to kill every
Christian they capture in revenge for Muslims killed in past religious
conflicts in Nigeria. Pastor Pofi, a cousin of the two executed
Christians, told Morning Star News that the two men were captured by
Boko Haram, now called the Islamic State in West Africa Province
(ISWAP), as they carried out their work in a displaced persons camps.
“Lawrence and Godfrey left Abuja for Maiduguri in search of
opportunities to utilize their skills for the betterment of humanity
and paid with their lives,” Pofi said.”
Africa
Sahara
Reporters: 2000 Days Of Chibok Schoolgirls In Boko Haram Captivity:
President Buhari Keeps Mum
“Today is exactly 2,000 days since the abduction of 276 schoolgirls
from Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, on
April 14, 2014, but President Muhammadu Buhari and his regime have
said no word on concrete plans to bring back the remaining
schoolgirls. Daily Trust reports that the town of Chibok has never
been the same since the infamous abduction of schoolgirls that
attracted global attention to it over five years ago.”
Reuters:
Kenya Says It Kills Three Militants Planning Attacks In
Mombasa
“Kenyan police shot dead three men suspected of planning militant
attacks in the coastal city of Mombasa on Tuesday, ahead of national
day celebrations to be hosted in the city this month, according to a
senior official. The suspects were killed in a raid on a house in
Majengo Mapya, a suburb in the city’s south, said Paul Leting,
director of criminal investigations in the coast region. Seven other
suspects were detained. “That house was a hideout for planning attacks
and other criminal activities,” Leting told journalists at a press
conference in Mombasa. Weapons including a grenade, 1,700 rounds of
ammunition, a rifle and 15 pistol holders were seized in the raid,
Leting said. Police also recovered two bullet-proof jackets, Quran
journals, police and military uniforms, military face masks, eight
machetes and gun oil from the suspects’ hideout. Two security sources
who asked not to be identified said the slain suspects were on Kenya’s
terrorism watch-list and had been trailed for a while. A terrorism
alert from police last month warned that fighters from the al Shabaab
Islamist group in neighboring Somalia were planning attacks at targets
including churches, universities, hospitals and schools in Kenya’s
coast region.”
United Kingdom
Breitbart:
British Ice Cream Seller Who Joined Islamic State In Syria Begging To
Come Home
“A British ice cream seller who fled to join the Islamic State
(ISIS) in Syria five years ago is begging to come home because he
misses his mother and his former life in Cardiff, Wales. Aseel Muthana
left Wales in February 2014 to join the jihadist group along with his
brother Nasser and another friend, Reeyad Khan. His family feared he
had been killed, but Muthana has resurfaced at a northern Syria prison
camp and is now pleading to come home. All three were featured in one
of the first propaganda videos ISIS used to attract western recruits.
Muthana, who is now 22 years old, claimed in an ITV interview that he
joined ISIS and traveled to Syria to “help the poor.” “Back then when
I first came to ISIS, you have to understand I came way before the
caliphate was pronounced,” he said. “Before all of these beheading
videos, before all of the burnings happened, before any of that
stuff.” “We came when ISIS propaganda and ISIS media was all about
helping the poor, helping the Syrian people,” Muthana added. The
widely publicized ISIS beheadings came later in 2014 when ISIS
militants beheaded journalist James Foley and others, broadcasting
their murders in widely disseminated propaganda videos.”
Europe
NBC
News: 1 Dead, 10 Injured After 'Violent Attack' At Vocational College
In Finland
“One person was killed and 10 were injured Tuesday in an attack by
a man with a sword and a firearm at a vocational school in central
Finland, police said. The attacker was wounded after police opened
fire, and he was taken into custody. The suspect was a Finnish student
at Savo Vocational College, near a shopping mall in the city of
Kuopio, police said. They did not give an age but said he was born in
1994 and did not have a criminal record. Kuopio University Hospital
tweeted that they were treating the 10 injured, among whom authorities
said are students and staff members. Injuries to two were described as
severe. Police did not reveal a possible motive for the attack. “The
violence at Savo Vocational College in Kuopio is shocking and
completely unacceptable,” Finish Prime Minister Antti Rinne
tweeted.”
Deutsche
Welle: 'Islamic State' Returnees In Kosovo Guided Back Into
Society
“Mensur Hoti chain smokes. In a cafe in the Kosovar capital,
Pristina, the country's director of public security reveals the secret
operation that took place in the early morning hours of April 20. Hoti
was responsible then when a chartered plane landed in Pristina under
cover of darkness. On board: 110 Kosovar citizens — returnees from the
so-called Islamic State (IS), who had last lived as prisoners in
Kurdish camps in northern Syria. Not even the relatives of the
returnees knew anything. Coordinating the complex logistics of the
repatriation left him sleepless for days, Hoti recalls, taking a sip
from his coffee cup. His country has no official relations with the
Kurdish contingent of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which
controls a large area in northern Syria. US forces, which are allied
with the Kurdish-led military coalition and have stationed troops in
the area, made Kosovo's repatriation of the former IS adherents
possible. The Pristina airport was shut down to the public when the 32
women, 74 children and four men were brought back to Kosovo in April
and transported on dimmed buses shortly thereafter. Men were sent to
the high-security prison Podujeve; women and children for medical and
psychological examination in the Vranidol arrival center.”
The
North Africa Post: Spain: Three Moroccan Siblings Stand Trial Over
Alleged Financing Of ISIS In Syria
“Three Moroccan brothers are to appear in court this Tuesday
October 1st for having allegedly sent money to a fourth brother who
has joined the ranks of the Islamic State group (ISIS) in Syria. El
Jefaly siblings, according to the prosecution sent an unspecified
amount of money to their brother in Syria via a middle-man in Turkey.
The money, the prosecution indicated, was raised from the sale of his
house in Catalonia, compensation he got from his former work and also
from unemployment allowances given by the Spanish government. The ISIS
fighter joined the terror group in 2015 via Turkey, one year after he
adhered to the ideologies of the group. The three brothers face seven
years in prison and €7,000 fine each. After serving their sentence,
they will be put on probation for five years and will attended
government-sponsored social reintegration program for prisoners
charged for terrorism.”
Southeast Asia
Reuters:
Thai PM Says No Islamic State Ties To Thailand As Egypt Arrests
Student
“Thailand’s prime minister said on Tuesday Islamic State (IS) had
no links to his country, after Egypt arrested a Thai student over
suspected ties to the Middle East-based militant group. The Thai
student, who has not been identified, was taken into custody by
Egyptian authorities on Sept 24 in Cairo after a video clip circulated
online that showed him voicing support for an “Islamic revolution” in
an interview. Photos allegedly linked to IS were also discovered on
his mobile phone, the Thai embassy in Cairo said on its official
Facebook page. However, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha played
down any IS links and said he had instructed relevant agencies to
follow the case and provide assistance to the student. “There has been
constant monitoring and there are no links here with any foreign
group,” Prayuth told reporters. “The Thai ambassador in Cairo has met
with the Egyptian deputy foreign minister asking for help and the
Egyptian promised to follow up the case and cooperate with Thailand,
we will not leave anyone behind,” he said. The arrested student has
previously been detained in Sudan and had moved to Egypt because he
could not continue his studies in Sudan, said deputy prime minister
Prawit Wongsuwan, who oversees security and intelligence
agencies.”
Malay
Mail: Police Say Stopped 25 Terrorist Strikes Planned Across Malaysia
Since 2013
“The police have thwarted 25 planned terrorist attacks in the
country since 2013, including several large-scale strikes on
Christian, Hindu and Buddhist houses of worship and entertainment
outlets in the Klang Valley. Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, principal
assistant director of the Counter Terrorism Division (E8) of the
Special Branch in Bukit Aman, said they arrested 74 people for various
offences linked to terrorism, including planning terrorist attacks and
raising funds for the strikes. One of the planned large-scale attacks
was to have been carried out by the Daesh Wolf Pack at the Sri Maha
Mariamman Temple in USJ, Subang Jaya, he told Bernama. He said the
police foiled the planned terrorist attacks based on police
intelligence and information shared by various quarters. “We were able
to thwart these Daesh strike attempts since 2013 because we have sound
laws,” he said. Ayob Khan said preventive laws play an important role
in curbing terrorist activities and every country, with Malaysia being
no exception, have specific laws to prevent or deal with terrorism.
“The authorities face differing threats now compared to previously,
and it is vital for the preventive laws to be in place.”
Technology
CNBC:
Leaked Facebook Audio Is A Sign Of Decreased Morale, Former Employees
Say
“Facebook finds itself embroiled in controversy yet again after
more than two hours of audio from internal company meetings were
leaked to The Verge, which published highlights of the recordings on
Tuesday. In the audio, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg blasts Democratic
presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s plan to break up the
company. He also explains why he refused to testify in front of
various governments around the world and lays out his plan to squash
TikTok, an upstart social media app. The recordings offer a taste of
Zuckerberg’s real thoughts on a myriad topics, but more notable than
Zuckerberg’s candid commentary is the fact that so much was recorded
and leaked to the press. The leak shows the growing dissent inside of
Facebook.”
The
Wall Street Journal: Visa, Mastercard, Others Reconsider Involvement
In Facebook's Libra Network
“Cracks are forming in the coalition Facebook Inc. FB -1.27%
assembled to build a global cryptocurrency-based payments network.
Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc. MA -0.23% and other financial partners that
signed on to help build and maintain the Libra payments network are
reconsidering their involvement following a backlash from U.S. and
European government officials, according to people familiar with the
matter. Wary of attracting regulatory scrutiny, executives of some of
Libra’s backers have declined Facebook’s requests to publicly support
the project, the people said.”
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