“The United States has sanctioned seven Lebanese nationals it says are linked
to the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, and its financial arm, Al-Qard al-Ha

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


May 12, 2021

 

Voice Of America: US Sanctions Seven Lebanese Linked To Hezbollah
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“The United States has sanctioned seven Lebanese nationals it says are linked
to the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, and its financial arm, Al-Qard al-Hassan
(AQAH).   In a Treasury Department press release Tuesday, the seven were listed
as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT). “From the highest levels of
Hezbollah’s financial apparatus to working level individuals,” Hezbollah
“continues to abuse the Lebanese financial sector and drain Lebanon’s financial
resources at an already dire time,” said Andrea Gacki, the director of the
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. She said such actions demonstrate
Hezbollah’s “disregard for financial stability, transparency, or accountability
in Lebanon.” One of those sanctioned is Ibrahim Ali Daher, who “serves as the
Chief of Hezbollah’s Central Finance Unit, which oversees Hezbollah’s overall
budget and spending, including the group’s funding of its terrorist operations
and killing of the group’s opponents,” Treasury said. Ahmad Mohamad Yazbeck,
Abbas Hassan Gharib, Wahid Mahmud Subayti, Mostafa Habib Harb, Ezzat Youssef
Akar and Hasan Chehadeh Othman were also blacklisted.”

 

Associated Press: Israel, Hamas Escalate Heavy Fighting With No End In Sight
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“Israel stepped up its attacks on the Gaza Strip, flattening a high-rise
building used by the Hamas militant group and killing at least three militants
in their hideouts on Tuesday as Palestinian rockets rained down almost nonstop
on parts of Israel. It was the heaviest fighting between the bitter enemies
since 2014, and it showed no signs of slowing. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu vowed to expand the offensive, while Gaza militants unleashed a
fierce late-night barrage of rockets that set off air-raid sirens and
explosions throughout the densely populated Tel Aviv metropolitan area. Just
after daybreak Wednesday, Israel unleashed dozens of airstrikes in the course
of a few minutes, targeting police and security installations, witnesses said.
A wall of dark gray smoke rose over Gaza City. Iyad al-Bozum, a spokesman for
the Hamas-run Interior Ministry, said airstrikes destroyed the central police
headquarters in Gaza City, a compound with several buildings. Five Israelis,
including three women and a child, were killed by rocket fire Tuesday and early
Wednesday, and dozens of people wounded. The death toll in Gaza rose to 35
Palestinians, including 10 children, according to the Health Ministry. Over 200
people were wounded.”

 

United States

 

Yahoo News: Exclusive: Attorney General To Detail New Guidelines For Domestic
Terrorism Investigations And Cases
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“U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland is expected in his testimony before
Congress on Wednesday morning to highlight new Department of Justice guidelines
for investigations and cases related to domestic terrorism. The new guidelines,
as outlined in a Justice Department memo obtained by Yahoo News, represent
significant changes to how cases and investigations into domestic violent
extremism are handled by federal prosecutors around the country, and put in
place procedures for tracking those cases. The guidelines were sent to federal
prosecutors nationwide in a March 8 memorandum from acting Deputy Attorney
General John Carlin. The three-page memo is titled “Guidance Regarding
Investigations and Cases Related to Domestic Violent Extremism.” Among other
changes outlined in the memo, “prosecutors must submit for review and approval”
to the Justice Department Counterterrorism Section in the National Security
Division any charges and associated court filings that link a case to domestic
violent extremism. The Counterterrorism Section “in its review shall seek to
ensure accuracy and consistency in such descriptions in filings nationwide,”
the memo says. The memo also sets out policies for standardizing data
collection on domestic terrorism cases.”

 

CNN: Four Key Takeaways On The US Government Response To The Pipeline
Ransomware Attack
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“Senior cybersecurity officials testified before a key Senate committee on
Tuesday after one of the nation's largest pipeline operators was hit by an
ongoing major ransomware attack that forced the company to shut down
operations. CNN has learned that federal agencies and private cybersecurity
firms are investigating the attack on Colonial Pipeline but lawmakers made
clear that the incident only adds to their broader concerns about hackers who
are increasingly exploiting vulnerabilities in US infrastructure. Here are some
key takeaways from the hearing and CNN's reporting on the government's response
to the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack. A top Biden administration
cybersecurity official warned the Senate hearing that cyberattacks on the
nation's infrastructure are “growing more sophisticated, frequent and
aggressive.” “Malicious cyber actors today are dedicating time and resources
towards researching, stealing, and exploiting vulnerabilities, using more
complex attacks to avoid detection and developing new techniques to target
information and communication technology supply chains,” acting Cybersecurity
and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Brandon Wales told the Senate
Homeland Committee, whose hearing was focused on a spate of recent incidents
impacting the US.”

 

Politico: DHS Stands Up Domestic Terror Intelligence Team
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“When President Joe Biden addressed Congress last month, he said white
supremacist terrorism is the greatest threat to the U.S. Now, as the White
House prepares to release its report on domestic terrorism, the Department of
Homeland Security is also continuing to shift its focus to domestic threats.
The Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence arm is setting up a
dedicated team to focus on domestic terrorism, two DHS officials told POLITICO.
The team will have several full-time personnel. DHS is also renaming and
refocusing a separate office that has drawn criticism for its prior work
fighting extremism. The moves come as the department is increasing its focus on
domestic terrorism and violent threats. DHS is grappling with the growing
threat of domestic terrorism, particularly attacks perpetrated by white
supremacists. The Biden administration and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
have made countering the threat a top priority and launched an internal review
scrutinizing domestic extremism in the department’s ranks. Earlier this year,
DHS sent out its first-ever National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin about
domestic terrorism. But addressing the threat presents complex challenges, and
groups representing American Muslims and others focused on civil rights aren’t
yet convinced the department will get it right.”

 

USA Today: Suspect In Atlanta-Area Spa Killings Indicted On Murder, Domestic
Terror Charges, Could Face Hate Crimes
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“The suspect in a string of fatal shootings at Atlanta-area massage parlors
was indicted Tuesday on domestic terror and murder charges, and prosecutors
signaled they will also seek hate crime charges – something advocates have been
pushing since the March slayings rattled the Asian-American community.  Robert
Aaron Long was officially indicted by a Fulton County grand jury in the fatal
shootings of four people killed at two spas in Atlanta: Suncha Kim, 69; Soon
Chung Park, 74; Hyun Jung Grant, 51; and Yong Ae Yue, 63. The indictment does
not cover the four others who were killed at another massage parlor in Cherokee
County.  The indictment charges Long with one count of domestic terrorism, four
counts of murder, four counts of felony murder, five counts of assault with a
deadly weapon, and four counts of possession of a firearm during the commission
of a felony. The domestic terrorism charge – which isn't frequently used
against in mass shooting cases due to legal red tape  – says Long committed a
series of illegal acts “which were interrelated by distinguishing
characteristics, with the intent to cause serious bodily harm and to kill
individuals and groups of individuals, and with the intent to intimidate the
civilian population of this state and of its political subdivisions.”

 

Syria

 

Asharq Al-Awsat: Syrian Regime Forces, ISIS Clash In Hama
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“The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported violent clashes in the
eastern countryside of Hama between regime forces and their proxy militants and
ISIS. The clashes were mainly in the countryside of al-Rahjan, during which
four pro-regime militants were killed, in addition to one ISIS member, and a
civilian who was shot. The Observatory said ISIS’ activity has increased
throughout the Syrian desert, and the regime forces and affiliated militias are
trying to counter their attacks. The Observatory documented the death of seven
members of regime forces and militants, when two land mines exploded in the
Jabal al-Amour area, to the west of the al-Sukhnah area in the eastern desert
of Homs. The death toll is expected to increase with more than 18 fighters
injured, some critically. The war monitor has documented 1,419 deaths in the
ranks of regime forces and loyalist militants, both Syrian and non-Syrian, from
March 24 until this day. They include at least two Russians and 149 non-Syrian
militants loyal to Iran, all of whom were killed during ISIS attacks, bombings
and ambushes in the region west of the Euphrates, Deir Ezzor desert, Raqqa,
Homs, Sweida, Hama and Aleppo.”

 

Iraq

 

Voice Of America: Islamic State Increases Attacks On Iraqi And Kurdish Forces
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“The Islamic State terror group has increased its attacks on Iraqi and Kurdish
security forces, killing nearly two dozen people in the last month, according
to Iraqi officials. Local government sources and public statements show that a
wave of IS bombings and hit-and-run attacks, affecting largely the territories
disputed between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Region, have killed at
least 21 people and wounded dozens more. Jabar Yawar, spokesperson for the
Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Peshmerga forces, warned of a new and
deadlier IS strategy. “Daesh has changed its tactics,” Yawar told VOA, using
the Arabic acronym for IS. He said the group has shifted away “from large-scale
attacks to smaller and targeted ones that have left casualties among the
Peshmerga and the Iraqi army.” The rise in deadly attacks by the radical Sunni
group is concerning for Iraqi and Kurdish security officials amid persistent
domestic pressure to dismiss the U.S.-led foreign troops in the country. They
say IS has remained active, despite regular airstrikes from the U.S.-led
coalition, because foiling smaller-scale insurgency attacks is challenging.”

 

Turkey

 

Associated Press: Iran: Clash Near Turkey Kills 2 Guard Troops, 7 Militants
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“Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard forces on Tuesday killed seven militants
and dismantled their cell in the country’s northwest near the border with
Turkey, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported. Two Guard members were also
killed in the shootout. IRNA said the “group of terrorists” had snuck into Iran
illegally from Turkey. The clash took place around noon in the city of Salmas
in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province, according to the repot. The city is located
about 650 kilometers (400 miles) northwest of the capital, Tehran. The area has
seen occasional fighting between Iranian forces and Kurdish separatists as well
as militants linked to the extremist Islamic State group. In November, unknown
gunmen killed three and wounded two Iranian border guards in the province.”

 

Al Monitor: Talk Of Kurdish Weddings Code For Terror Plots, Turkish
Prosecutors Say
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“Justice remains elusive for Metin Kilicaslan, a wedding singer from the
mainly Kurdish province of Siirt in southeast Turkey who’s been languishing in
a Turkish prison since 2015 on charges of membership of the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK). He tracks his days spent in jail by his daughter’s
birthdays. She was newly born when Kilicaslan was hauled away into the sort of
legal inferno that has beset Turkey’s increasingly politicized, massively
overburdened and cruelly arbitrary judicial system. The evidence used to
convict Kilicaslan, 31, includes mobile text messages in which a friend tells
him, “There’s a wedding in our neighborhood.” He responds, “I know bro.” The
exchange was declared a secret code used to organize a terrorist plot.
Kilicaslan’s lawyer, Cihan Toprak, called the case against him a “mockery of
justice.” Kilicaslan’s troubles date back to 2013, when Kurdish youth hurled
rocks at security forces across the predominantly Kurdish southeast region to
protest their heavy-handed tactics and to signal support for the PKK. He was
arrested along with 25 others, many of them juveniles, on charges of violently
resisting police, organizing illegal demonstrations and throwing Molotov
cocktails and similar devices to attack police.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Reuters: Taliban Capture Key District Near Afghan Capital
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“Taliban insurgents captured a key district just outside the Afghan capital
Kabul in central Wardak province, forcing government forces to retreat,
security officials said on Tuesday. The seizure of Nerkh district comes amid
intensifying violence following an announcement by the Islamist group of a
three-day ceasefire in Afghanistan for the Muslim religious holiday of Eid,
starting this week. Tariq Arian, an interior ministry spokesman, said
government troops made a “tactical retreat” from the district centre, which is
a gateway to Kabul, after a heavy firefight with the Taliban. Zabihullah
Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, wrote on Twitter that they had killed and
captured some members of the Afghan security forces after seizing the district.
He added that they had also seized a large cache of ammunition. The Afghan
government did not comment on casualties among the security forces. The Taliban
have dug in in Wardak, which lies less than an hour’s drive west of Kabul, and
in nearby Logar province to the south. Afghan officials say the Taliban have
used the provinces - gateways to the capital - as launchpads for hit-and-run
attacks and suicide bombings on Kabul. Kabul has been on high alert since
Washington announced plans last month to pull out all U.S. troops by Sept. 11,
with Afghan officials saying the Taliban stepped up attacks across the country
following the announcement.”

 

Middle East

 

The New York Times: More Than 30 Dead In Gaza And Israel As Fighting Quickly
Escalates
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“The worst fighting between Israelis and Palestinians in seven years
intensified on Tuesday night, as Israeli airstrikes began targeting Hamas
offices in Gaza City and militants in Gaza fired rockets at the metropolis of
Tel Aviv, the southern city of Ashkelon and Israel’s main airport. In Gaza, at
least 35 Palestinians, including 10 children, had been killed by Tuesday night,
and 203 others were wounded, according to health officials. In Israel, five
people were killed in strikes on Tel Aviv, Ashkelon and Lod, and at least 100
were wounded, according to medical officials. Away from the military conflict,
a wave of civil unrest spread across Arab neighborhoods as Palestinian citizens
of Israel expressed fury at the killings in Gaza and longstanding complaints of
discrimination inside Israel itself. While the surge in strikes, the worst
since 2014, brought fear to millions in Gaza and Israel, they nevertheless
bolstered an unlikely pair: Hamas, the Islamist militant group that runs the
Gaza Strip, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. For Hamas, the
conflict has allowed it to revitalize its claims to the leadership of
Palestinian resistance.”

 

Egypt

 

Asharq Al-Awsat: Egypt Postpones Trial Of ISIS Terrorists Till June
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“Egypt postponed the trial of 21 ISIS members to June 12 in the case known as
the “ISIS Imbaba Cell II” in the Giza governorate. One of the accused faces the
charge of assuming the leadership of a terrorist group that aims to disrupt
public order, endanger the safety of society, attack the general freedom of
citizens, assault members of the armed forces and the police, harm national
unity and social cohesion, and target churches. The Public Prosecution charged
the defendants with joining a terrorist group and committing terrorist
financing crimes by possessing, supplying, and providing the group with money
and information. Meanwhile, the Cairo East Criminal Court delayed once again
announcing the verdict in the case known in the media as “Filming the Belbeis
airbase” for May 17th. In 2017, an Egyptian court sentenced nine defendants to
life imprisonment, and four to temporary imprisonment. It also sentenced four
defendants to 10 years in prison, and four others were sentenced to five years.
They were also accused of receiving, by illegal means, one of the country’s
defense secrets by taking photos of Belbeis airbase in preparation for
targeting it.”

 

Nigeria

 

All Africa: G7 Nations Pledge Millions To Assist In Boko Haram Fight
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“The G7 group of countries, comprising Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,
UK and the U.S. has pledged U.S.$389 million to assist millions of people
affected by Boko Haram insurgency in north-eastern Nigeria. The British High
Commissioner in Nigeria, Catriona Laing said: “the G7 agreed to support the UN
to more than double its plans to tackle drought, epidemics, and other
catastrophes before they strike.” In March 2021, the UN launched an appeal fund
for U.S.$1 billion to help more than eight million vulnerable people in
Nigeria. The Boko Haram insurgency has killed approximately 36,000 people and
displaced about two million people in Nigeria since 2009.”

 

United Kingdom

 

Yahoo News: Student Denies Posting From Extremist Twitter Account
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“A neo-Nazi student was responsible for a string of tweets, including an
anti-Jewish post on Remembrance Day which featured a picture of a German SS
soldier, a court has heard. Andrew Dymock, 23, allegedly promoted the extremist
right-wing group System Resistance Network (SRN) through a Twitter account and
a website before it was banned. The defendant, from Bath in Somerset, has
denied being behind the accounts and claimed he was “set up”, the Old Bailey
has previously heard. On Tuesday, jurors were shown a stream of SRN tweets
which included images that were later recovered from devices seized from
Dymock’s bedroom. On November 11 2017, a tweet featuring an image of a German
SS soldier hailed those who fought for “Europe’s freedom against Jewish
Bolshevism and Capitalism”. It stated: “Their sacrifice shall not be in vain.
Hail victory. #11November #RemembranceDay.” Jurors viewed other tweets which
contained homophobic, racist, anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic language. On
November 23 2017, the SRN account tweeted about the former military commander
Ratko Mladic the day after he was convicted of war crimes, claiming he “did
nothing wrong.”

 

France

 

Voice Of America: France, Britain Fearful Of Resurgent Jihadist Threat After
Lockdown
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“Nearly 200 jihadists imprisoned in France are due to be released over the
next two years and French security officials are pressing French lawmakers to
approve fresh antiterrorist measures to impose enhanced restrictions on those
freed and to give police new legal powers to fight terrorism. British
officials, likewise, are fearful of a resurgent jihadist threat and are
considering overhauling Britain’s 650-year-old treason law to make it easier to
prosecute militants returning from Syria and Iraq. And it is not only returnees
from the Levant who are preoccupying European security officials. During the
pandemic jihadist assaults have subsided — the consequence, officials think, of
society-wide lockdowns and other travel restrictions that have stymied would-be
attackers. The lack of crowds and public events have also deprived militants of
high-profile targets. But in the meantime there has been increased activity
online by radical Islamists, according to security officials.  Neil Basu,
assistant commissioner for specialist operations at London’s Metropolitan
Police told The Times newspaper this week that he fears large numbers of
vulnerable and marginalized youngsters have been trapped online during
lockdowns and surfing increased amounts of propaganda that have been posted
online during the pandemic.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

Associated Press: Suspected Militants Kill 4 People In Indonesian Village
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“Five suspected militants killed four people in an Indonesian village on
Tuesday, beheading one of them, officials said. The attackers also burned a
motorcycle that belonged to one of the victims in Kalemago village in Central
Sulawesi province's Poso district, they said. A witness said the attackers were
believed to be members of the East Indonesia Mujahideen group, Central Sulawesi
spokesperson Didik Supranoto said. He said police and military officers are
searching for the perpetrators. It was unclear why the villagers were targeted.
In November, members of East Indonesia Mujahideen killed four people and burned
seven houses in a village in Sigi district. Security operations in Central
Sulawesi have been intensified in recent months to try to capture East
Indonesia Mujahideen members. The group’s former leader, Abu Wardah Santoso,
was killed in a shootout with security forces in 2016. Indonesia, the world’s
most populous Muslim-majority nation, has conducted a sustained crackdown on
Islamic militants since bombings on the tourist island of Bali in 2002 killed
202 people, mostly foreigners. Attacks on foreigners have been largely replaced
by smaller, less deadly strikes targeting the government, police and
anti-terrorism forces.”



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