“Abubakar Shekau, the fundamentalist warlord who turned Boko Haram from an
obscure radical sect into a jihadist army whose war with the Nigerian state

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


May 24, 2021

 

The Wall Street Journal: Boko Haram Leader, Responsible For Chibok Schoolgirl
Kidnappings, Dies
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“Abubakar Shekau <[link removed]>
, the fundamentalist warlord who turned Boko Haram from an obscure radical sect
into a jihadist army whose war with the Nigerian state has left tens of
thousands dead across four nations, has died, according to officials,
mediators, phone calls intercepted by a West African spy agency and internal
intelligence memos seen by The Wall Street Journal. His death, which Nigeria’s
military has erroneously reported at least three times before, was confirmed by
five Nigerian officials who detailed how he detonated a suicide vest during a
confrontation with rival insurgents to avoid being taken alive. It removes one
the world’s most brutal and effective terrorists, who plunged four nations,
including Africa’s most populous, into a religious war. Globally, he was best
known for kidnapping nearly 300 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok on the
night before their final exams, an abduction that sparked the world-wide
social-media movement #BringBackOurGirls. There was no official confirmation
from Nigeria’s government, Boko Haram or the media arm of Islamic State. The
Journal was able to review transcripts of geolocated, intercepted calls between
insurgents discussing his suicide, alongside an audio message from a longtime
mediator between Shekau and the government reporting him dead.”

 

Reuters: Pakistan Blast Kills Six, Wounds 13 At Pro-Palestinian Rally
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“A bomb blast killed six people on Friday at a pro-Palestinian rally in
southwest Pakistan and wounded 13, including the leader of a hardline religious
party that organised the event, police said, but there was no immediate claim
of responsibility. The motorcycle bomb exploded as people dispersed at the end
of the rally held in the city of Chaman near the Afghan border in the province
of Balochistan, the region's police chief, Jafar Khan, told Reuters by
telephone. He added that the bombing also wounded Maulana Abdul Qadir Luni, a
cleric and leader of the religious party, which has a history of supporting
Afghan Taliban militants. The mineral-rich province bordering Iran and
Afghanistan has long been convulsed by a nationalists' insurgency seeking a
greater share in the profits from exploitation of regional resources. Other
operators included Islamist militants linked to the Afghan and local Taliban as
well as the Islamic State group. The province is home to the newly expanded
Gwadar deepwater port, the centrepiece of a planned $65-billion investment in
China's Belt and Road Initiative economic corridor. In April, a car bomb
exploded in the parking area of a luxury hotel in the provincial headquarters
of Quetta, killing four and wounding 11.”

 

United States

 

NBC News: Antisemitic Incidents Heightened Across U.S. Amid Israel-Gaza
Fighting; Mosques Were Damaged, Too
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“Rabbi Shaoul Hamaoui's synagogue, the Persian Hebrew Congregation in suburban
Chicago, had never been defaced while he's served as spiritual leader for more
than a decade. But that changed Sunday afternoon when a window was shattered
and surveillance video captured two people, one carrying a stick and another
holding a “Freedom for Palestine” sign. No one was at the synagogue at the
time, and police in Skokie, Illinois, said they are investigating the vandalism
as a hate crime as the search for its perpetrators goes on. The incident has
jolted Skokie's Jewish community, which makes up nearly 30 percent of the
town's population, and members of the Illinois Jewish Legislative Caucus
condemned it as an “attack” targeting a congregation that is a “visible symbol
of Jewish life.” The incident, however, isn't an outlier. From New York to Los
Angeles, an apparent uptick of antisemitic vandalism and incidents have been
reported to police and shared on social media as deadly fighting escalated over
the past two weeks in the Gaza Strip between Israelis and Palestinians. Mosques
in the United States have reported damage in recent days, as well.”

 

The Independent: US To Increase Tracking Of Domestic Extremism On Social Media
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“The Department of Homeland Security plans to ramp up social media tracking as
part of an enhanced focus on domestic violent extremism. While the move is a
response to weaknesses exposed by the deadly U.S. Capitol insurrection, it's
raising concerns about undermining Americans’ civil liberties. President Joe
Biden s top appointees have called white supremacists the greatest security
threat to the country and are pushing for bolstered intelligence gathering.
Closely watching are advocates for communities of color and groups that have
previously been the focus of intensified surveillance, sometimes unlawfully.
DHS in recent weeks has announced a new office in its intelligence branch
focusing on domestic extremism and a new center to facilitate “local prevention
frameworks” that, according to a statement, can better identify people “who may
be radicalizing, or have radicalized, to violence.” The overall effort is in
its early stages. The department is exploring partnerships with tech companies,
universities, and nonprofit groups to access publicly available data. DHS will
also train analysts on tracking social media and how to distinguish a threat
from the exercise of free speech.”

 

Iran

 

The Independent: Iran Deliberately Shot Down Plane Full Of Passengers In Act
Of Terrorism, Canadian Judge Rules
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“A judge in Ontario has ruled that Iran intentionally shot down a passenger
airliner in January 2020 causing the deaths of 176 people including dozens of
Canadians. The decision adds judicial weight to allegations that the crash of
the Ukrainian International Airlines plane, shortly after it departed Tehran
for Kiev, was not an accident. A total of 55 Canadians and 30 permanent
residents of Canada died in the tragedy. Now a civil jury of six of their
fellow nationals — ordinary members of the public — will decide how much
compensation the Iranian government must pay for their deaths. The plaintiffs
are asking for $1.5bn and the jury hearing on damages is likely to occur in the
next three months, The National Post reports. In reviewing the suit, Justice
Edward Belobaba of Ontario’s Supreme Court said that it did not allege
negligence on the part of the Iranians, but that the incident had been a
deliberate attack. As such it falls under the remit of the Justice for Victims
of Terrorism Act. Perhaps the biggest challenge will be the collection of the
damages decided by the jury, as Iran does not recognise Canada’s legal
jurisdiction over the crash. Iran did not defend the suit and the court
declared the Middle Eastern nation to be “in default.”

 

Iraq

 

The National: Militias Threaten To Increase Attacks On US Assets In Iraq
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“A group of influential Iran-backed Shiite militias has threatened to escalate
attacks against American troops in Iraq. It said the outcome of the ongoing
strategic dialogue with the US lacked explicit commitments for the forces’
withdrawal. For more than a year, Baghdad and Washington have been holding
talks to clarify the nature of their relationship, including the US military
presence in Iraq. The talks also cover security, counterterrorism, economics
and energy, political matters and educational and cultural co-operation. The
Iraqi Resistance Co-ordination Committee said it gave the current Iraqi
government the opportunity to decide the fate of the foreign troops in three
rounds of negotiations with the US. “But the outcome of the last two rounds –
especially the farce during the second round – was very bad and regrettable,”
the committee, which includes the Kataib Hezbollah, Asaib Ahl Al Haq, Sayyid Al
Shuhada and Al Nujaba militias, said in a statement issued on Saturday. The
latest round of talks, on April 7, was the first with the administration of US
President Joe Biden. After that meeting, led by US Secretary of State Antony
Blinken and Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, both countries agreed on the
“redeployment” of combat troops, transitioning the mission of the US and
coalition forces to one focusing on training and advisory tasks.”

 

The National: Iran Forming Secretive New Militias In Iraq
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“Iran has hand-picked hundreds of trusted fighters from among the cadres of
its most powerful militia allies in Iraq, forming smaller, elite and fiercely
loyal factions in a shift away from relying on large groups with which it once
exerted influence. The new covert groups were trained last year in drone
warfare, surveillance and online propaganda and answer directly to officers in
Iran's Quds Force, the arm of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that
controls its allied militias abroad. They have been responsible for a series of
increasingly sophisticated attacks against the US and its allies, according to
accounts by Iraqi security officials, militia commanders and western diplomatic
and military sources. The tactic reflects Iran's response to setbacks – above
all the death of Quds Force chief Qassem Suleimani, who closely controlled
Iraq's Shiite militias until he was killed last year by a US drone strike. His
successor, Esmail Ghaani, was not as familiar with Iraq's internal politics and
did not exert the same influence over the militia as Suleimani. Iraq's large
pro-Iran militias were also forced to adopt a lower profile after a public
backlash led to mass demonstrations against Iranian influence in late 2019.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Reuters: Taliban Attacks End Short-Lived Local Ceasefire In Eastern Afghanistan

<[link removed]>

 

“Taliban insurgents launched attacks in a district of eastern Afghanistan
where local elders had brokered a one-month ceasefire, dashing hopes of a
temporary truce, residents and officials said on Friday. The ceasefire - a rare
event as fighting ramps up around the country - had begun on Tuesday to allow
local people to harvest wheat and students to sit exams. read more
“Unfortunately the Taliban could not keep their promise, they started attacks
against Afghan security forces checkpoints,” said Malik Wares, a tribal elder
in Laghman province's Alingar district. “They will always be guilty before the
tribes in Laghman.”The Taliban did not immediately respond to a request for
comment. The head of Laghman's provincial council said the fighting had started
late on Thursday and the Taliban had also captured another district in the
province. “It is very sad seeing that our efforts are wasted,” said Jaber
Alkozai, a resident of Alingar. “Initially people, especially farmers, were
very happy when the Taliban and local government accepted people's demand for a
ceasefire, but now it looks like we have to expect very bad days ahead.”
Clashes have escalated in Afghanistan as the United States and NATO forces
withdraw troops.”

 

Middle East

 

BBC News: Israel-Gaza Ceasefire Holds Despite Jerusalem Clash
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“A ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the
Gaza Strip appeared to be holding hours after coming into effect. It began
early on Friday, bringing to an end 11 days of fighting in which more than 250
people were killed, most of them in Gaza. Both Israel and Hamas claimed victory
in the conflict. Fresh clashes broke out at the al-Aqsa mosque compound in
occupied East Jerusalem on Friday, testing the truce. Israeli police spokesman
Micky Rosenfeld told AFP news agency that Palestinians had thrown stones at
officers, and that “riot” suppressing measures had been taken in response. But
the ceasefire seemed to be holding on Friday night. Israel has temporarily
opened a crossing into Gaza, allowing food, fuel and medicine into the
territory. The country has also lifted emergency restrictions inside its own
borders. The fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza began on
10 May after weeks of rising Israeli-Palestinian tension in East Jerusalem that
culminated in clashes at al-Aqsa, a holy site revered by both Muslims and Jews.
Hamas began firing rockets after warning Israel to withdraw from the site,
triggering retaliatory air strikes. At least 243 people, including more than
100 women and children, were killed in Gaza, according to its health ministry.”

 

Africa

 

Associated Press: Burkina Faso’s Unofficial Truce With Jihadis May Be Fraying
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“When the jihadis started coming to the town in northern Burkina Faso just to
buy food — and not kill people — nervous residents didn’t know what to think.
“We don’t know if it is a pause in fighting or if it will resume. We are just
waiting,” said one resident of Djibo, the arid, remote town regarded as the
current epicenter of the country’s extremist violence. While Burkina Faso’s
government never confirmed negotiating with Islamic extremists, others said the
lull in fighting earlier this year was a sign that a cease-fire of sorts had
been reached with the militants blamed for thousands of deaths in recent years.
Now, though, there are growing signs that that truce might be short-lived.
While Djibo remains relatively calm, fighting has surged across the country.
More than 50 people died in multiple attacks in a single week in April,
including two Spanish journalists and an Irish conservationist. The attacks
have continued in May. Suspected jihadis killed 15 people attending a baptism
near the town of Tin-Akoff, marking the fourth time this month that the area
has been targeted by militants. “While some factions might be negotiating and
sticking to the agreements, others are not and could torpedo these
negotiations,” said Assane Diallo, mediation advisor for The Center for
Humanitarian Dialogue, a Swiss-based organization.”

 

New Europe: Terrorist Threat Moves To North And Central Africa
<[link removed]>

 

“The current situation in North and Central Africa is highly explosive and
poses certain risks not only to regional security but to Western Europe as
well. There is a concentration of armed groups of terrorists, and militants,
mainly of non-Arab origin in Fezzan (the south of Libya), with mercenaries
being transferred from Niger, Nigeria and Sudan. The Chadian opposition groups
FACT and CCMSR are also concentrated there. Worryingly, the presence of members
of ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram and other terrorist organizations is also evident
in the ranks of the militants. A new zone of instability is being created in
Libya, shifting the focus of terrorist activity from the centre of Africa (Lake
Chad) and bringing it closer to Europe. Another region that currently faces the
threat of destabilization is the Republic of Chad. The death of the recently
re-elected President Idriss Déby has pushed Chad into a period of high
vulnerability to foreign interference as the current transitional government
does not have either well-established ties and partnerships in place or the
unanimous support of its population.”

 

United Kingdom

 

The National: MI5 Chief: Stronger Encryption Will Weaken Intelligence Capacity
To Counter Extremists
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“Security services will struggle to investigate hundreds of British extremists
who fought for ISIS after social media companies introduce stronger encryption
services, the new head of MI5 has said. Companies such as Facebook are
providing end-to-end encryption potentially used by child abusers and criminals
as well as terrorists, Ken McCallum said in his first interview as MI5’s
director general. He said 80 per cent of terrorist plots are attributed to
Islamist extremists with more people being indoctrinated online during the
pandemic. But it is the surveillance of radicals who returned from fighting for
ISIS that present a major concern for Britain’s domestic intelligence service.
“Over the past decade, in Syria there were more than 950 UK-based individuals
who headed out there to join the Islamic State and other groups, with a huge
set of consequences for the risk that we've been seeking to manage ever since,”
Mr McCallum told Times Radio. He said events in the Middle East over the past
few decades had “massively influenced” people living in Britain, potentially
radicalising some, although MI5 had foiled at least 19 major terrorist attacks
over the past four years.”

 

BBC News: Internet Troll John Nimmo Jailed For String Of Terrorism Offences
<[link removed]>

 

“An internet troll who encouraged the murder of Muslims has been jailed for a
string of terrorism offences. John Nimmo also distributed the Anarchist
Cookbook - a terrorist manual on how to make explosives. At Newcastle Crown
Court, he admitted seven offences including encouraging terrorism and
distributing material likely to stir up religious hatred. Nimmo, 32, of Osborne
Avenue, South Shields, was jailed for 10 years and two months. He also admitted
possessing and disseminating terrorist material, possessing a prohibited
firearm and breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order linked to a previous offence.
Nimmo served prison sentences in 2014 and 2017 for sending abuse online aimed
at Liverpool Wavertree Labour MP Luciana Berger, among other victims. The court
heard how he encouraged the murder of Muslims on his Gab social media account.
Judge Robert Adams said: “Nimmo has a racist and Islamophobic mindset -
clearly, he's dangerous”. Prosecutor Matthew Brook told the court officers from
Northumbria Police were tasked to regularly inspect Nimmo's computer and
devices as a result of the Criminal Behaviour Order. He said Nimmo had posted
illegal material in 2019 on social media, including calling Muslims “scum” and
saying “a spring clean is in order.”

 

France

 

Euronews: Albanian Man Accused Of Aiding Nice Terror Attack Extradited To
France
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“An Albanian man accused of supplying weapons to a Tunisian terrorist who
killed 86 people in Nice is back in France after extradition from Italy. Endri
Elezi is suspected of aiding Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, who rammed a truck into
a crowd in the French coastal city on July 14, 2016. The incident became known
as the Bastille Day attack. Elezi, 28, was arrested on April 21 on a warrant
from France in the southern Italian town of Sparanize, north of Naples. Also
known as “Gino,” Elezi is accused of providing Bouhlel with an assault rifle,
according to French judicial sources. Bouhlel was shot dead by police at the
wheel of the truck he drove through crowds on Nice’s waterfront, killing 86 and
wounding more than 400 people. The so-called Islamic State claimed
responsibility for the Nice attack, although prosecutors said there was no
evidence that Bouhlel had sworn allegiance to the extremist group. The attack
came less than a year after the deadly assaults in November 2015 that saw 130
people killed in bombings and shootings across Paris, including the victims at
the Bataclan concert hall. A court in Naples approved Elezi’s extradition to
France late Thursday, the news agency AGI reported.”

 

Germany

 

Reuters: Syrian Man Gets Life For 'Infidels' Knife Attack In Germany
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“A Syrian man was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for murdering a
tourist and seriously injuring another in an Islamist-motivated knife attack in
the eastern German city of Dresden last year, the court said. The man,
identified as Abdullah A. H. H. under privacy laws, was found guilty of murder,
attempted murder and grievous bodily harm, a spokeswoman for the Higher
Regional Court in the state of Saxony said. He would have to spend at least 15
years behind bars, the spokeswoman added. At the start of the case, prosecutors
said the 21-year-old man had intended to kill both men in the attack on Oct. 4
because he saw them as “infidels”. The Syrian man had come to Germany in 2015
along with thousands of his countrymen who had fled the civil war. Authorities
stripped him of his refugee status after he was sentenced to more than two
years in prison for terrorism activities in 2018 in a separate case. Security
officials said he had been classified as a radical Islamist and was under
observation on the day of the knife attack.”

 

Europe

 

The Wall Street Journal: Manhunt For Rogue Soldier In Belgium Focuses
Attention On Extremists In Western Militaries
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“A weeklong manhunt for a Belgian soldier whom authorities suspect of planning
a terrorist attack is highlighting concerns over right-wing extremism in
Western militaries. Jurgen Conings, who was on a security watch list for his
extremist views, disappeared Monday after taking weapons including rocket
launchers from his army base and making threats against public figures and
institutions, Belgian authorities said. Belgian media said he had threatened to
kill a prominent virologist, who was placed under police protection after Mr.
Conings was spotted near his house. The discovery of Mr. Conings’s SUV near a
national park Tuesday sparked a search involving hundreds of police and
soldiers. Authorities called off the search Friday, saying they had been unable
to locate the 46-year-old in the more than 30,000 acres of pine forests,
heathlands and lakes in Hoge Kempen, a national park near Belgium’s borders
with the Netherlands and Germany. Western militaries are grappling with
far-right extremism in their ranks.”

 

Reuters: Lithuania Launches Terrorism Investigation Into The Plane Diversion
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“Lithuanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation into the forced
landing of a Ryanair flight to Vilnius in Minsk, the General Prosecutors office
said in a statement on Sunday. The charges under investigation include
hijacking of a plane for terrorism purposes and treatment of humans in
violation of international treaties, it said in the statement. Lithuanian Prime
Minister Ingrida Simonyte told reporters several people arriving on the plane
were asked to give evidence immediately after arriving on Sunday. “The
unprecedented situation will have to be investigated very thoroughly,” she
said, speaking at the airport after meeting with the passengers on the diverted
airplane. Belarusian authorities scrambled a fighter jet and flagged what
turned out to be a false bomb alert to force a Ryanair plane to land on Sunday
and then detained an opposition-minded journalist 5who was on board, drawing
criticism from across Europe.”

 

New Europe: To Protect Free Speech, Europe Must Answer The Christchurch Call
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“The 2019 Christchurch massacre was a ‘performance crime’ perpetrated by
Brenton Tarrant. The Australian was first radicalised in a series of far-right
online echo chambers and infamously chose to livestream his shootings, with the
clip he posted attaining more than 4,000 views before it was eventually taken
down. Various reuploads can still be found on the internet to this day, where
they continue to inspire extremists worldwide. Christchurch was not the first
mass terrorist incident with links to online platforms. In the years leading up
to it, Europe alone had endured five deadly terror attacks in Brussels, London,
Paris, Nice, and Berlin, which were all either coordinated via social media or
perpetrated by attackers who had been radicalised online. Clearly an
international problem, it required an international solution. Exactly two
months following the Christchurch attacks on May 15, 2019, New Zealand Prime
Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron brought together
leaders from around the world to adopt the Christchurch Call to Action. The
Christchurch Call was a commitment by governments and tech companies to
eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online while ensuring that
the internet remained otherwise free and secure for all.”



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