“At least 10 people were killed on Saturday when a suicide bomber struck
makeshift kiosks in the Somali capital, hitting hours after al Shabaab Islami
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Eye on Extremism
April 6, 2021
Reuters: Ten Killed In Suicide Bomb Attack In Somali Capital
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“At least 10 people were killed on Saturday when a suicide bomber struck
makeshift kiosks in the Somali capital, hitting hours after al Shabaab Islamist
militants attacked two National Army bases outside the city, the government
said. “A suicide bomber blew up himself under trees where poor mothers sold
tea, milk and (narcotic leaf) khat,” Information Ministry spokesman Ismail
Mukhtar Omar told Reuters, adding that more people were wounded in the attack.
There was no immediate comment from the al Shabaab, which had earlier claimed
responsibility for the attacks on the Bariire and Awdhigle army bases. The army
said earlier that there had been casualties on both sides in those attacks, but
it was now in control. The bases, located about 100 km (60 miles) southwest of
Mogadishu, were struck by two explosions, witnesses said. A third explosion
targeted a convoy of troops rushing to the bases from the capital after the
attack, they added. Militants from al Shabaab, which is linked to al-Qaeda,
have waged years of attacks and levied tolls on trade in a campaign to
introduce strict religious law. Saturday’s attacks come amid heightened fears
that the group could seek to exploit vulnerabilities created by failure to hold
a parliamentary and presidential election, which was due in February.”
Voice Of America: More Than 1,800 Prisoners Escape After Nigeria Prison Attack
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“More than 1,800 inmates have escaped after a heavily armed gang attacked a
prison in southern Nigeria using explosives, correctional authorities said
Monday. It is one of the West African country's largest prison breaks. The
attackers blasted their way into the Owerri prison in Imo state, engaging
guards in a gun battle and freeing inmates, the national corrections authority
said in a statement. “I can confirm that the Imo State command of the Nigerian
Correctional Service was attacked by unknown gunmen in Owerri,” Imo state
corrections service spokesman James Madugba told AFP, adding that the number of
escaped inmates was yet to be confirmed. “The situation is under control,” he
said. The assailants arrived in pickup trucks and buses before storming the
facility, the correction authority said. No group claimed responsibility for
the assault, though President Muhammadu Buhari called the attack an “act of
terrorism” carried out by anarchists and urged security forces to capture the
assailants and the escaped detainees. Prisons in Africa's most populous country
are often overcrowded, and as many as 70% of inmates can be held awaiting trial
for years. The governor of neighboring Abia state imposed a night curfew on two
towns there, a statement said, to protect local residents without direct
reference to the prison attack.”
United States
The New York Times: Biden Steps Up Federal Efforts To Combat Domestic Extremism
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“The Biden administration is stepping up efforts to combat domestic extremism,
increasing funding to prevent attacks, weighing strategies historically used
against foreign terrorist groups and more openly warning the public about the
threat. The attempts to more assertively grapple with the potential for
violence from white supremacists and militias are a shift from President Donald
J. Trump’s pressure on federal agencies to divert resources to target the
antifa movement and leftist groups despite the conclusion by law enforcement
authorities that far-right and militia violence was a more serious threat.
President Biden’s approach also continues a slow acknowledgment that especially
after the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, the federal government needs to put more
attention and money into tracking and heading off threats from inside the
United States, after two decades in which it made foreign terrorism the
security priority. In an intelligence report delivered to Congress last month,
the administration labeled white supremacists and militia groups as top
national security threats. The White House is also discussing with members of
Congress the possibility of new domestic terrorism legislation and executive
orders to update the criteria of terrorism watch lists to potentially include
more homegrown extremists.”
The New York Times: Capitol Suspect Struggled Before Attack, But Motive
Remains Unclear
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“On the football field at Christopher Newport University in Virginia, Noah R.
Green was No. 21, a dependable and good-natured, if soft-spoken, presence in
the defensive backfield. Off the field, he was laser-focused on Black economic
empowerment, counseling teammates on financial management and plotting a career
helping close the racial wealth gap. But by late March, after a bruising
pandemic year that friends and family said left him isolated and mentally
unmoored, Mr. Green’s life appeared increasingly to revolve around the Nation
of Islam and its leader Louis Farrakhan, who has repeatedly promoted
anti-Semitism. “Follower of Farrakhan,” Mr. Green labeled himself on Facebook,
where he described leaving his job and grappling with “some of the biggest,
unimaginable tests in my life.” None of it appeared to hint at what he would do
next. On Friday afternoon, law enforcement officials said, Mr. Green, 25, drove
a dark blue Nissan sedan from nearby Virginia to the United States Capitol and
plowed into two police officers protecting the grounds, killing one and
injuring another. He then got out of the car brandishing a knife and lunged at
officers. Police shot and mortally wounded him.”
ABC News: Tennessee Man Accused Of Helping Islamic State Group
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“A Tennessee man held a key role in spreading English-language propaganda for
the Islamic State group, federal prosecutors announced Monday. Benjamin Alan
Carpenter, 31, of Knoxville, has been in custody since his March 24 arrest,
according to a news release from acting U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III’s
office. A detention hearing was held Monday, but a judge did not immediately
decide whether he should be free pending trial. Carpenter was charged in a
federal indictment with attempting to provide material support and resources to
IS. Carpenter, also known as Abu Hamza, provided English translations of IS
media content to a person he believed to be associated with IS, prosecutors
said. The person was actually a covert FBI employee, officials said.
Authorities said Carpenter was the leader of Ahlut-Tawhid Publications, an
international organization that disseminates pro-IS material in English. A
trial is set for June 1. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. It
was not known whether Carpenter was represented by an attorney who could
comment on his behalf.”
Associated Press: Feds: Couple Tried To Travel By Ship To Join Islamic State
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“A newlywed husband and wife who expressed interest in fighting for the
Islamic State group were arrested Thursday at a port near New York City as they
attempted to board a cargo ship that an undercover law enforcement officer said
would take them to Yemen, prosecutors said. James Bradley, 20, and Arwa
Muthana, 29, were taken into custody on the gangplank at Port Newark–Elizabeth
Marine Terminal in New Jersey, prosecutors said. They were charged in federal
court in Manhattan with attempting and conspiring to provide material support
to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Bradley and Muthana made an
initial court appearance Thursday and were ordered jailed without bail.
Messages seeking comment were left with their lawyers. Manhattan U.S. Attorney
Audrey Strauss said in a statement that the couple’s “plans to wage attacks
against the United States have been thwarted.” Bradley, of the Bronx, expressed
support for IS and spoke of his desire to join the group overseas in recorded
conversations over the course of nearly a year with an undercover enforcement
officer, prosecutors said. Bradley also spoke to the undercover officer who led
him to the ship about potentially attacking the United States Military Academy
at West Point, New York, prosecutors said.”
Voice Of America: Two Yemenis On Terror Watchlist Arrested Trying To Cross
US-Mexico Border
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“U.S. border agents in recent months arrested two Yemeni men on a terror
watchlist in separate incidents as they crossed the border with Mexico
illegally, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced Monday. The men,
arrested in January and March near a port of entry in California, were on a
U.S. government watchlist for terrorism suspects and a no-fly list, CBP said in
a press release. A group of Republican lawmakers that visited the border in El
Paso, Texas, in March said border agents told them during the trip that some
people caught crossing the border were on a U.S. terrorism watchlist.
Republicans have criticized President Joe Biden for easing some restrictions
put in place by former President Donald Trump as the number of border crossings
has risen in recent months. One of the men, age 33, was arrested January 29
after allegedly attempting to cross the border illegally near a port of entry
in Calexico, California, CBP said. Border agents found a mobile phone SIM card
beneath the insole of the man's shoe, the agency said. The second man, age 26,
was arrested March 30 in the same vicinity. A CBP spokesman said in a written
statement that it is very uncommon for border agents to encounter people
suspected of terrorism at U.S. borders and that the arrests underscore the
agency's critical vetting efforts.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer: After A Career Shaped By Extremist Violence,
Philly’s Acting U.S. Attorney Launches Network To Defuse Risk
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“The threat of extremist violence has shaped Jennifer Arbittier Williams’ life
more than most. When she was 15, a great-uncle, Leon Klinghoffer, was killed by
Palestinian hijackers aboard the Mediterranean cruise ship the Achille Lauro in
1985. At 30, she watched in horror from the patio of the Manhattan law firm
where she was working as a young associate as al-Qaeda plotters flew planes
into the World Trade Center. She moved back to Philadelphia shortly after for a
job at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where she became the go-to prosecutor for
terrorism cases and eventually chief of its national security unit. And so,
when she was tapped earlier this year to lead the office as acting U.S.
attorney for Philadelphia and the surrounding counties — two weeks after the
deadly insurrectionist attack on the U.S. Capitol — it was only natural that
she would choose a program aimed at defusing extremist threats as the signature
focus of her tenure. Last month, Williams — who succeeds U.S. Attorney William
M. McSwain — launched the Threat Intervention and Prevention (TIP) Network, a
collaboration among more than a dozen regional law enforcement offices and
local businesses, nonprofits, schools, and community groups.”
Syria
The National: International Task Force Needed To Bring ISIS Detainees To
Justice
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“A well-resourced international task force is needed to bring to justice
hundreds of ISIS terrorists languishing in detention camps in Syria, a former
British terrorism chief said on Thursday. Mark Rowley, the former head of UK
counter-terrorism policing, said the repatriation of an estimated 2,000 foreign
fighters held in Kurdish-run centres is hampered by problems gathering evidence
to convict them on their return. Victims and witnesses are scattered around the
world while forensic evidence is still being assessed for crimes committed by
multinational groups of terrorists. “What is needed is a well-resourced global
investigative effort to hold ISIS terrorists to account for atrocity crimes,
such as the genocide of Yazidis, not just terrorism,” Mr Rowley said in a
letter to The Times. “Only an international task force, with access to the best
intelligence, that proactively integrates witness and other evidence can tip
the scales. Only then can we legally imprison the majority of these terrorist
fighters for the long term.” The US administration called for the repatriation
of foreign fighters and their families from Syria because of concerns that
violent, squalid camps are creating a new generation of extremists.”
Kurdistan 24: Asayish Arrest 125 ISIS Suspects In First Phase Of Al-Hol
Campaign
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“The General Command of the Internal Security Forces (Asayish in Kurdish) in
northeast Syria announced the arrest of 125 suspected Islamic State members
during a five-day campaign in the notorious al-Hol camp in Hasakah province in
Syria. Although the SDF and the US-led international Coalition announced the
territorial defeat of the Islamic State in March 2019, sleeper cell attacks by
the terrorist group persist in the liberated territories in an apparent
campaign to destabilize the area. On Sunday, the Syrian Democratic Forces and
the Asayish launched an operation in al-Hol displacement camp to weed out
Islamic State cells that have stepped up assassinations over the last few
months. During a press conference, the security forces announced the end of the
first phase of the campaign. Roughly 5,000 SDF and Asayish forces took part in
the operation. “125 ISIS sleeper cells’ members were arrested, 20 of them are
responsible for the cells and the assassinations that occurred in the camp,”
the Asayish said. “Military supplies were also found during the search
campaign, in addition to electronic circuits used in explosive devices.” In a
statement provided to Kurdistan 24, Col. Wayne Marotto, spokesperson for the
Coalition, congratulated the SDF “on a successful operation … to enhance safety
and security for residents and NGOs while degrading and disrupting Daesh
(Islamic State) activities.”
Turkey
Daily Sabah: 12 Suspects With Daesh Terrorist Group Links Arrested In Istanbul
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“Turkish security forces arrested 12 suspects with links to the terrorist
group Daesh Friday. Anti-terrorist units simultaneously raided 12 locations in
eight districts of the metropolis Istanbul, arresting 12 after finding out that
the suspects transferred revenues to terrorists in conflict zones, security
sources said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to
media. Additionally, digital and organizational documents were confiscated by
security units, with the suspects' judiciary process ongoing. In 2013, Turkey
became one of the first countries to declare Daesh a terrorist group. The
country has since been attacked by the terrorist group multiple times, with
over 300 people killed and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide
bombings, seven bomb attacks and four armed assaults. In response, Turkey
launched anti-terrorist operations at home and abroad to prevent further
attacks. A Turkish court also on Friday decided for the imprisonment of two
suspects arrested Monday for their alleged links to the far-left DHKP-C
terrorist group. Yasemin Karadağ, a so-called senior member of the group
responsible for operations in Turkey and Yeter Gönül Aydın, a member
responsible for the group's officers, were nabbed in Istanbul.”
Afghanistan
The New York Times: U.S. Looks To Build On Secret Portions Of Taliban Deal To
Reduce Violence
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“U.S. diplomats are trying to build on parts of the peace deal made with the
Taliban last year, specifically the classified portions that outlined what
military actions — on both sides — were supposed to be prohibited under the
signed agreement, according to American, Afghan and Taliban officials. The
negotiations, which have been quietly underway for months, have morphed into
the Biden administration’s last-ditch diplomatic effort to achieve a reduction
in violence, which could enable the United States to still exit the country
should broader peace talks fail to yield progress in the coming weeks. If these
discussions, and the separate talks between the Afghan government and Taliban
falter, the United States will likely find itself with thousands of troops in
Afghanistan beyond May 1. That’s the deadline by which all American military
forces are meant to withdraw from the country under the 2020 agreement with the
Taliban and would come at a time when the insurgent group likely will have
begun its spring offensive against the beleaguered Afghan security forces. Both
of these conditions would almost certainly set back any progress made in the
past months toward a political settlement, despite both the Trump and the Biden
administrations’ fervent attempts to end the United States’ longest-running
war.”
Reuters: Three Security Personnel Killed In Taliban Car-Bombing Near Kabul
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“A car bombing near Kabul on Sunday killed at least three Afghan security
personnel and injured 12 others, officials said, in an attack claimed by the
Taliban. While attacks have continued unabated in Afghanistan, the insurgent
Taliban has rarely taken responsibility since the formal start of peace talks
and an agreement with the United States last year. Kabul police spokesman
Ferdaws Faramarz confirmed the casualties in Sunday’s bombing in the Paghman
district of Kabul and said the numbers could rise. The Taliban, in a statement,
claimed that 45 Afghan security force members had been killed or injured in the
blast. The insurgent group also issued a warning against what it called
continued air strikes in a number of areas of Afghanistan, saying that they
violate an agreement between the Taliban and the United States. That agreement
envisages the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan by May 1 in
exchange for peace guarantees from the Taliban and peace talks with the
U.S.-backed Afghan government. Sunday’s attack comes as Washington looks to
inject life into the slow-moving peace talks. It has proposed the holding of a
conference in Turkey later this month and the forming of an interim government
to include Taliban representatives.”
Pakistan
ABC News: Gunmen Kill Pakistani Anti-Terrorism Court Judge And Family
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“Gunmen killed an anti-terrorism court judge and his family on Sunday as they
travelled from the Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan to the capital Islamabad,
police official Shoaib Khan said. No one claimed responsibility for the
shooting, which also seriously injured two of Judge Aftab Ahmed Afridi’s
bodyguards.Pakistan’s anti-terrorism courts were established to hear cases
ranging from terrorist financing to the prosecution of perpetrators of
insurgent attacks. Critics say Pakistan’s sweeping anti-terrorism laws have
also been used to silence critics of the country’s powerful military. Afridi,
his wife and two children — including a two-year old son — were killed in the
attack, Khan said. Afridi had been assigned to the anti-terrorism courts in
Swat two months earlier. Swat was once a Taliban controlled area and is where
education activist Malala Yousafzai was shot by the Taliban for advocating for
girls' education. Pakistan's military drove the Taliban from the area in 2009.”
India
Reuters: 22 Indian Security Members Killed In Maoist Attack - Govt Official
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“At least 22 members of Indian security forces were killed in a central Indian
state by Maoist fighters, in one of the bloodiest attacks by the extreme
left-wing insurgent group this year, officials said on Sunday. Security
personnel belonging to the Central Reserve Police Force’s elite CoBRA unit, the
District Reserve Guard, and the Special Task Force were attacked on Saturday in
the tribal-dominated Chhattisgarh state during an anti-insurgency operation.
“We can confirm that 22 of Indian force members have been killed by Maoist
fighters,” said a senior government official in Raipur, the capital of
mineral-rich Chhattisgarh. They were killed in firing that lasted for four
hours in the border district of Sukma, 540 kms (340 miles) south of Raipur. Om
Prakash Pal, a senior police official in Raipur, said combing operations to
trace one missing security force member were being conducted. The death toll
was the heaviest for Indian security forces battling the far-left guerrillas
since 2017. Home Minister Amit Shah said the government will not tolerate such
bloodshed and “a befitting response will be given to prevent such attacks.”
Saudi Arabia
Arab News: UN, Saudi Arabia Sign Collaboration Agreement To Fight Terrorism
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“The UN and the Riyadh-based Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology
(Etidal) have signed a collaboration agreement to fight terrorism. The
memorandum of understanding (MoU) inked between the UN Counterterrorism Center
(UNCCT) of the UN Office of Counterterrorism (UNOCT) and Etidal is aimed at
strengthening cooperation in preventing and countering terrorism and violent
extremism. UN under-secretary for counterterrorism and UNCCT executive
director, Vladimir Voronkov, penned the MoU with Etidal secretary-general, Dr.
Mansour Al-Shammari, in the presence of the Saudi permanent representative to
the UN and chairman of the UNCCT advisory board, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi. The
deal is part of the UNCCT’s ongoing efforts to unite the international
community in tackling the scourge of terrorism and combating the spread of
extremist ideologies. Under the terms of the MoU, a number of joint projects
will be developed to support the implementation of the UN’s global
counterterrorism strategy. Activities will include capacity building workshops
on strategic communications to prevent violent extremism and the use of the
Internet for terrorist purposes, as well as awareness campaigns on youth
engagement, tolerance, and support for victims of terrorism.”
Nigeria
Sahara Reporters: Eight Killed, Many Injured As Boko Haram Terrorists Ambush
Borno Government Officials
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“At least, eight Boko Haram insurgents were killed on Friday when the group
ambushed a convoy of Borno State Resettlement and Relief Committee officials.
SaharaReporters gathered that some policemen and soldiers in the convoy however
sustained injuries during the attack along Monguno- Nganzai Road. Some top
government officials in the convoy include Kakashehu Lawal, State Attorney
General; Mustapha Gubio, Commissioner for Rehabilitation Reconstruction and
Resettlement; and that of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji
Mai-Mele. They were said to be returning from Monguno, where they went to
distribute relief materials to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), when their
convoy came under heavy attack by the terrorists. A source said about eight of
the terrorists were killed by soldiers with support from men of the
Anti-Robbery Squad and Civilian Joint Task Force. Governor Babagana Zulum’s
convoy was attacked twice along the Baga Highway in September in 2020.”
Africa
The Times: Ivory Trade And Diamonds Funding ISIS Rise In Africa
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“Islamic State is using ivory smuggling and illegal trade in wildlife, sugar
and diamonds to finance its expansion in Africa, according to a new report.
Last week Islamist fighters killed scores of people and displaced hundreds more
as they stormed the town of Palma in Mozambique, raising fears that the region
will be unable to contain the rapidly expanding insurgency. “Illicit trade is
the lifeblood which sustains extremist groups operating in East Africa,” wrote
Sir Ivor Roberts, a former British ambassador to Yugoslavia, Ireland and Italy,
in a report for the Counter Extremism Project.”
Bloomberg: Spate Of Islamist Attacks Puts Sahel On Track For Deadliest Year
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“West Africa’s Sahel region is headed for its deadliest year of
Islamist-militant violence. Insurgents have killed at least 450 civilians in
the region this year, Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project data shows,
compared with 401 last year. The first three months of 2021 have seen more
non-combatant deaths blamed on jihadist groups than the same period last year,
according to statistics analyzed by Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development data analyst Jose Luengo-Cabrera. At least 1,000 people overall
have died in attacks this year, including soldiers and militants. The
highest-casualty attack occurred on March 21, when militants killed 137 people
in coordinated strikes on communities in and around the western Nigerien town
of Tillia. Violence has persisted despite a multinational effort to quell the
insurgency, which surged in Mali in 2012 and later spread to regional
neighbors. The inability to curb the violence “is the failure of all of us and
the failure of the whole coalition,” Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum told a
France 24 interviewer days before his April 2 inauguration.”
New York Post: Disturbing New Images Emerge From ISIS Massacre In Mozambique
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“Disturbing new images show the aftermath of a bloody attack by ISIS
terrorists in the African country of Mozambique last month. One picture,
published by Sky News Monday, shows fires burning in the strategic northern
city of Palma. Others show bedsheets and other items arranged on the ground to
spell out “HELP” and “SOS” so that they can be seen by rescue helicopters.
Still, others show overturned and damaged cars that appear to have been
ambushed while their occupants were making desperate escape attempts. The BBC
reported Monday, citing the Mozambican army, that Palma had been recaptured and
a “significant” number of terrorists had been killed. ISIS claimed
responsibility for the March 24 attack, according to the SITE extremist
monitoring group. Their claim alleged that the Islamic State Central Africa
Province controlled Palmas banks, government offices, factories and army
barracks, and that more than 55 people, including Mozambican army troops,
Christians and foreigners were killed. Meanwhile, the director of the Dyck
Advisory Group, a private military company contracted by the Mozambican police
to help fight the rebels, described “fighting in the streets, in pockets across
the town.”
France
CBS News: French Police Arrest Mom, 4 Daughters Over Alleged Terror Plot
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“Police in southern France have arrested four women and a girl as part of an
anti-terrorist investigation into a suspected attack plot targeting the city of
Montpellier. A police official in the Herault region confirmed the overnight
arrests in the city of Beziers and said Sunday that the DGSI domestic
intelligence service and national anti-terrorist prosecutor's office were
handling the investigation. Investigators centered on an 18-year-old woman
living in a housing project in Beziers who is suspected of plotting an attack
targeting nearby Montpellier, according to Mayor Robert Menard. The
18-year-old's mother and three sisters were also arrested, including one who is
a minor, he said. The 18-year-old had “boasted” to neighbors about watching
Islamic State videos, Menard told The Associated Press, though he said he
didn't know whether she or her family had been on authorities' radar for
radicalism. Menard, who was alerted by police to the operation, said he spoke
with rattled neighbors at the scene. “They're horrified. They fear it gives a
bad image of this neighborhood, and the Muslim community here,” he said. France
has faced a series of terror attacks carried out by Islamic extremists since
the deadly 2015 assault on the office of the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a
Jewish supermarket.”
Europe
The Brussels Times: 10 Suspects Face Trial For Involvement In Brussels Terror
Attacks In 2016
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“The Federal Prosecutor’s Office is sticking to its initial submissions
regarding the suspects charged with involvement in the 2016 Brussels attacks
that left 32 people dead, Spokesman Eric Van der Sypt said on Sunday.
Confirming information carried by La Dernière Heure, Van der Sypt said the
prosecution would thus move to have eight of the defendants tried in the
criminal court and the two others in the correctional court, as it had
originally asked the Chamber of the Council of Brussels. In January, the
Chamber had turned down the prosecution’s request, ruling that all the suspects
should be tried in the criminal court because the crimes of which they are
accused are interconnected and only the criminal court is authorised to hear
murder cases. The defendants will be tried in the second half of 2022. The
Prosecutor’s Office wants Salah Abdeslam, Oussama Atar, Mohamed Abrini, Sofien
Ayari, Osama Krayem, Ali El Haddad Asufi, Bilal El Makhoukhi and Hervé
Bayingana Muhirwa to stand trial in the criminal court for murder and attempted
murder in a terrorist context, and for belonging to a terrorist group. On the
other hand, it feels the Farisi brothers, Smail and Ibrahim, should be tried in
the correctional court on the sole charge of participating in the activities of
a terrorist group.”
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