Eye on Extremism

May 25, 2021

 

The National: Arab Coalition Destroys Booby-Trapped Houthi Terror Boat In Red Sea

 

“The Arab Coalition thwarted an imminent attack by a Houthi booby-trapped boat in the southern Red Sea on Monday, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The interception of the explosive-rigged vessel came after remarks by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday, in which he urged Iran to pressure the rebels to join peace negotiations. “The Houthi militia continues to threaten shipping lines and global trade,” the coalition said in a statement. “The terrorist Houthi militia uses the Stockholm Agreement as an umbrella to launch hostile attacks from Al Hodeidah Governorate.” The Stockholm Agreement was a UN-led deal in 2019 to de-escalate the conflict. But violence in Yemen has since worsened and the Houthis have launched a major offensive towards the governorate of Marib, in addition to firing explosive drones and missiles at populous parts of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabian naval and air forces frequently intercept Houthi explosive boats in the Red Sea, to preserve the free movement of ships in the area that carry up to 8 per cent of global oil supplies. Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia have escalated in recent months, despite renewed US diplomatic efforts to persuade Iran to rein in rebel activities.”

 

The New York Times: Military In Mali Detains Country’s Top Officials

 

“Military officers in Mali detained the president, prime minister and defense minister of the interim government on Monday, according to diplomatic and government sources, just nine months after a military coup ousted the previous president. President Bah Ndaw, Prime Minister Moctar Ouane and Defense Minister Souleymane Doucoure were all taken to a military base in Kati outside the capital, Bamako, hours after two members of the military lost their positions in a government reshuffle, the  sources said. Their detentions followed the military ouster in August of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, and could worsen instability in the impoverished West African country, where violent Islamist groups linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State control large areas of the desert north. Political instability and military infighting have complicated efforts by Western powers and neighboring countries to stabilize the situation in Mali, contributing to regional insecurity. Mr. Ndaw and Mr. Ouane had been assigned to oversee an 18-month transition back to civilian rule after the August takeover, but they appear to have moved against the military’s control over a number of key positions. “The sacking of the pillars of the coup was an enormous misjudgement,” a senior former Malian government official told Reuters.”

 

United States

 

The Hill: US Sees Startling Rise In Antisemitic Attacks

 

“The U.S. is experiencing a rise in violent and disturbing attacks targeting the U.S. Jewish community amid the latest conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Reported attacks across the United States have led to a growing alarm and a series of condemnations from President Biden, Vice President Harris, members of Congress and local officials. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) says reporting of antisemitic incidents has jumped 63 percent since the start of an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip that received heavy media coverage in the United States and around the world. A number of factors appear to have contributed to the attacks, most notably the new conflict in the Middle East. Hamas, the U.S.-designated terrorist group that controls the Gaza Strip, fired more than 4,400 rockets indiscriminately into Israel between May 10 and 21, killing at least 13 people and sending millions into bomb shelters. More than 200 Palestinians were killed in Gaza by Israel’s bombing campaign to erode Hamas’s military capabilities. Some of the attacks, recorded on cellphone video and documented by Jewish advocacy organizations, include reports of assaults on Jewish diners in Los Angeles last week by a group of men reportedly waving Palestinian flags and cursing Jews.”

 

Iran

 

CNS News: Blinken: Iran Funds ‘Extremist Groups,’ But Biden Wants To Return To Nuclear Deal Anyway

 

“Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday acknowledged that Iran funds terrorist proxies across the Middle East, but confirmed that the Biden administration is looking to lift sanctions against the regime in Tehran anyway. In doing so, he echoed the arguments put forward by the Obama administration to the effect that Iran would be even more dangerous without a nuclear deal – thereby justifying an agreement that freed up billions of dollars for the terror-sponsoring regime. On ABC’s “This Week,” host George Stephanopoulos noted that 42 Republican senators have urged President Biden to halt diplomatic talks in Vienna aimed at reviving the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), to “make it clear that sanctions will remain in place because of Iranian funding of Hamas.” “Do you believe that Iran is funding Hamas?” Stephanopoulos asked. “And if they are, should the sanctions stay in place?” Blinken’s reply did not include the word “Hamas,” but he agreed that the regime was “engaged in a number of activities, including funding extremist groups, supporting terrorism more broadly, supporting very dangerous proxies that are taking destabilizing actions throughout the Middle East, [and] proliferating weapons.”

 

Turkey

 

Al Monitor: Turkish Police Detain Top Islamic State Leader In Istanbul

 

“Acting on a tip from the US government, Turkish authorities have arrested a senior Islamic State operative in Istanbul, the latest in a string of arrests of jihadis in Turkey, state-run Turkish radio and television reported today. Mustafa Abdulwahab Mahmud, a 32-year-old Egyptian who was a top explosives expert for IS, was detained with three other suspects in Istanbul after fleeing Syria, TRT said, following a tip from US intelligence services. In early May, Turkey arrested an Afghan national code-named Basim described as the “right-hand man” of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who killed himself to avoid capture by US forces in October 2019 after he was tracked down in a hideout close to the Turkish border. The United States has been turning the screws on IS operatives who continue to move money through Turkey. On May 17, the Treasury Department announced sanctions against three people and one company said to have played key roles in IS’ financial network. One of the sanctioned individuals, Alaa Khanfurah, is accused of using a Turkish-based money services company to funnel funds to his colleagues inside Syria, where IS resurgence is a mounting worry. The sanctions also target another money services company, also based in Turkey, that is run by brothers Idris and Ibrahim al-Fay.”

 

Afghanistan

 

The Defense Post: Afghan Forces, Taliban Clash Near Capital

 

“Afghan forces clashed with Taliban fighters in a provincial capital about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from Kabul, officials and witnesses said, prompting the defense minister to take charge of a counteroffensive. Violence has soared in Afghanistan since US forces began their final pull-out on May 1, as the insurgents press on with a campaign to seize new territory. Fierce fighting erupted late Sunday on the edge of Mihtarlam, a city of around 140,000 people and the capital of Laghman province. At one point Defense Minister Yasin Zia took personal charge in the field, officials said. “With the arrival of reinforcements, the enemy has sustained heavy blows,” Zia, a former army chief of staff, said in a video message. The ministry said at least 50 Taliban fighters were killed in overnight fighting. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP the insurgents captured 37 security checkpoints on the outskirts of the city. Casualty figures and battlefield gains can rarely be independently verified in Afghanistan and both sides frequently exaggerate their successes and minimize losses. An AFP correspondent reported fighting continuing in some parts of Mihtarlam on Monday, adding that hundreds of people had been displaced.”

 

Eurasia Review: Afghanistan: Resurgent Threat Of Islamic State – Analysis

 

“On May 14, 2021, at least 12 civilians, including Mufti Numan, the imam of the mosque, were killed and more than 15 others injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion at the Sharif Haji Bakhshi Mosque in the Qala-e-Muradbek area of Shakar Dara District of Kabul Province. On May 16, claiming responsibility for the attack, the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP) alleged that the targeted mosque was “a worship place for disbeliever Sufis.” On May 13, 2021, two civilians, including a child, were killed in a remote-controlled explosion in Sardawra town in Kunduz Province. Another 14 persons were injured. IS-KP claimed responsibility for the incident, asserting that the victims were from Shia Hazara community. On May 10, 2021, two civilians were killed and nine were wounded in a bomb explosion in a bus in the Pul-e-Matak area of Jabul Saraj District, Parwan Province. IS-KP claimed responsibility for the incident, declaring that most of the occupants of the bus were Shia’s. On May 8, 2021, terrorists carried out a Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) attack and two near simultaneous rocket attacks in front of the Sayed Al-Shuhada School, located in the Shia Hazara dominated area, in the Afghan capital city, Kabul, killing at least 100 civilians, mostly children, and injured 160 others.”

 

Middle East

 

Associated Press: Israeli Soldier, Civilian Wounded In Jerusalem Stabbing

 

“An Israeli soldier and a civilian were stabbed near a light rail station in east Jerusalem on Monday before the assailant was shot and killed by police, who described it as a terrorist attack. The attack came in the the tense aftermath of an 11-day war between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers that was triggered by protests and clashes in Jerusalem. The Magen David Adom emergency service said it treated two men in their early 20s with stab wounds to their upper bodies. The military identified one of those wounded as a soldier. Both were being treated at nearby hospitals. Police did not provide any details about the attacker but referred to him as a “terrorist,” a term usually reserved for Palestinian assailants. The stabbing took place near the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in east Jerusalem, where dozens of Palestinian families face the threat of eviction by Jewish settlers, one of the underlying triggers of the recent violence. Israel captured east Jerusalem, along with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for their future state and view east Jerusalem as their capital. Israel annexed east Jerusalem in a move not recognized internationally and considers the entire city its unified capital.”

 

The Guardian: Explosive Weapons Used In Cities Kill Civilians 91% Of Time, Finds Study

 

“Civilians accounted for 91% of those killed or injured by explosive weapons in populated areas worldwide over the last 10 years – a total of 238,892 people – according to a study of thousands of incidents. The stark statistic – encompassing both state and terrorist violence – has prompted the report’s authors to call on governments to agree to an international ban on the use of explosive weapons in built-up areas, which is now in draft form. Iain Overton, the executive director of Action on Armed Violence, which compiled the study, said the evidence obtained was unequivocal in showing the harm to civilians from missiles and bombs designed to be used against military targets. “When explosive weapons are used in towns and cities, civilians will be harmed,” the researcher said, a conclusion that he said was “as true as it is today in Gaza as it was a decade ago in Iraq and beyond.” The study was based on the monitoring of 29,000 incidents from 123 countries as recorded by English-language media. The worst single atrocity recorded was the detonation of a truck bomb in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, carried out by the al-Shabaab terror group, which killed or injured 828 people in October 2017. More than 500 of the victims died.”

 

The Jerusalem Post: Gantz Declares Two Gaza Money Exchange Companies As Terror Organizations

 

“Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz declared two companies that help to transfer tens of millions of dollars from Iran to Hamas as terrorist organizations on Tuesday. The two money exchange companies, Arab al-Zin and Al-Merkazia Lazarapa owned by Zohir Younes Shmalach, have been helping transfer tens of millions of dollars from the Islamic Republic to Hamas, in particular its military wing. According to Israel’s Defense Ministry, intelligence collected by the IDF’s Intelligence Division found that the funds that originate in Iran, are provided as part of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force’s support for terror organizations operating against Israel. The funds were transferred “with the direct assistance” of the two companies with the “full awareness of those in charge” using the Hawala mechanism to move money for the benefit of Hamas, the defense ministry said. In November Gantz signed an updated administrative order for the seizure of $4,000,000 that were transferred from abroad to Hamas using Shmalach’s Al-Merkazia Lazarapa company. The original order was signed in February 2020. “We will continue to harm the Iranian-Hamas axis and interrupt the chain of transfer of funds to the military arm of terrorist organizations,” Gantz said on Tuesday.”

 

Nigeria

 

All Africa: Nigeria: Govt Set For Trial Of 800 Boko Haram Suspects - Official

 

“The 800 suspects are part of about 1,000 whose case files have been reviewed by the federal government's prosecutors since 2019. About 800 suspects linked to the Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram, have been prepared for prosecution which will start as soon as the ongoing judiciary workers' strike is over, an official has said. The 800 are among about 1,000 terrorism suspects whose case files have been analysed by the prosecutors handling the Federal Ministry of Justice's “complex cases”. The suspects are currently being held in the military detention facilities in Maiduguri, Borno State. A Deputy Director at the Federal Ministry of Justice in Abuja, Chioma Onuegbu, who heads the Complex Casework Group (CCG) in the ministry's Department of Public Prosecutions, said this in Abuja on Friday at a training organised for journalists. The training with the theme, 'Media Management on Networking for Justice Accountability' was organised by Wayamo Foundation. According to Ms Onuegbu, of the about 1,000 case files that were reviewed, 800 of them have prima facie evidence to proceed to trial, while 170 have been recommended for release due to lack of evidence. She added that of the 800 case files with prima facie evidence, 280 of them had been filed in court.”

 

The Guardian: Nigerian President’s Vow To End Violence Lies In Tatters As Insurgencies Grow

 

“Can our president keep us safe when we travel to any part of this country?” said Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, months before the former military dictator won the Nigerian presidency on a wave of mass anger at jihadist violence and corruption. “Is your life better today than it was six years ago?” Halfway through his second term, the same questions are being levelled at him. As an insurgency in the north-east has persisted – and grown in recent years – security crises have proliferated around the country. Criticism has mounted against his administration, including from within his own party. When the former military general came to power, many bought into his promise to end the violence in north-east Nigeria. Yet despite many claims to have defeated Boko Haram, jihadist insurgency led by other groups remains a daily reality there, with no end in sight after 12 years of conflict. The likely death or exile of Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, and many of his fighters at the hands of the rival terror group Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap) has further complicated and deepened the crisis in the region. Iswap, which is aligned with Isis, appears to be on the ascendancy in north-east Nigeria and the Lake Chad region.”

 

Council On Foreign Relations: Nigerian Terrorist Abubakar Shekau: Dead Or Alive—And Does It Matter?

 

“Multiple Nigerian media outlets reported last week that Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has died or been mortally wounded in a confrontation with fighters from the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA), a group that separated from Shekau’s Boko Haram in 2016. The Nigerian government has not confirmed the reports and is investigating. The caution is well-placed: Shekau has been reported dead at least four times since he became the leader of Boko Haram in 2009 following the police killing of founder Mohammed Yusuf. This time, however, the reports have more credibility. The story is that ISWA fighters tracked down Shekau, killed his fighters, and then demanded that he swear allegiance to Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the head of ISWA. After a fruitless parley, so the story goes, Shekau tried to kill himself—and some within ISWA leadership—using a suicide vest. Another version has it that he shot himself in the chest, and a few of his followers escaped with the badly wounded Shekau, living to fight another day. The split [PDF] between ISWA and Shekau's faction in 2016 was over Shekau's brutality against other Muslims and his use of child suicide bombers.”

 

Mali

 

Reuters: EU Forces Train Malian Soldiers To Strike Jihadists From Afar

 

“The long barrel of a howitzer cannon aims into scrubland around a military base in conflict-hit central Mali. After a countdown, a soldier pulls the firing lanyard, but no round shoots to the horizon. Instead an officer shouts: “BOOM!” From the shade of a nearby tree, four European Union military trainers watch as members of Mali’s 614th Artillery Battalion practise newly honed skills they hope will help the army gain an upper hand in its years-long fight with Islamist rebels. The growing reach of militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State has fuelled a security crisis in Mali and the broader Sahel region, with an eight-fold increase in deadly attacks from 2015 to 2020 and over 5 million people displaced. With a range of up to 21 kilometres (13 miles), the howitzers allow the battalion to support infantry troops from afar as they face off against the rebels in Mali’s vast arid borderlands with Niger and Burkina Faso. “At the same time they don’t have to be exposed to the enemy,” said Spanish Captain de la Pena, who led the nine weeks of training by the EU military mission in Mali (EUTM). Drawn up in late 2012 to help Mali’s army regain control of the country after France drove out Islamists in the north, EUTM has provided training in intelligence, driving, explosives detection and artillery to close to 14,000 Malian soldiers.”

 

United Kingdom

 

The Guardian: Alleged Neo-Nazi Feared Police Would Draw ‘Incorrect Conclusion’, Court Told

 

“A former army employee on trial for terror and explosives offences told police after his arrest that it was clear they were worried he was “the next Christchurch shooter”, a court has heard. As well as making the reference to the man who killed 51 people during attacks at mosques in the New Zealand city in 2019, Dean Morrice claimed in police interviews that ingredients he was storing that could be used make an improvised explosive device (IED) were partly for home brewing. He also told police he had wanted to rent farmland where he could set off rockets made with a 3D printer, but it was just in order to have fun with his children. A previous hearing at Kingston crown court was told the 34-year-old had a stockpile of chemicals used in homemade explosives as well as a cache of terrorism manuals and instructions for a 3D-printed gun when his home was raided in August last year. On Monday, the trial heard details of police interviews in which he expounded on his beliefs, saying he had undergone “an awakening” when the then Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, was involved in an air crash in 2010. At other points he claimed that he was apolitical, but also admitted that he sympathised with some elements of an ethnicity-based “ethno-nationalism.”

 

Australia

 

Yahoo News: Islamic State Fighter Extradited To NSW

 

“An alleged Islamic State fighter arrested upon his return to Australia from Turkey has been extradited to NSW to face terrorism charges. Mohamed Zuhbi arrived in Melbourne on a flight from Turkey on May 8 and was taken into custody by counterterrorism authorities at the airport. The 30-year-old travelled from Sydney to Turkey in 2013, and then allegedly on to Syria, where he recruited and helped foreign fighters travel to the area. Zhubi has been extradited to NSW after completing quarantine in Victoria, and was due to appear before Sydney Central Local Court on Tuesday. He has been charged with supporting a terrorist organisation, engaging in hostile activity overseas, supporting another person to engage in hostile activity overseas and entering a banned jurisdiction. Zhubi is also wanted by US law authorities for multiple offences including conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country.”

 

Europe

 

NBC News: Police In Belgium Hunt For Suspected Far-Right Soldier

 

“A police manhunt for a Belgian solder with suspected far-right sympathies who went missing after allegedly stealing weapons and ammunition has raised new questions about the role of extremist politics in Europe's militaries. Jurgen Conings, 46, a member of the Belgian Army, left his home in northeast Belgium near the Dutch border on May 17. His car was found a day later containing four antitank rocket launchers and ammunition, prosecutors said in a statement, adding that he most likely “still has weapons in his possession.” He has “possibly aggressive intentions” toward Belgian people or institutions, the statement said. A warrant for his arrest has been issued, and both police and the military have searched 30,000 acres of forest in a national park, without luck. Some 100 army reservists and six armored vehicles were sent to join the search, prosecutors said. Gunshots were heard in the area on Wednesday, “but they could not be further identified.” Reuters reported that Conings had threatened Marc Van Ranst, one of Belgium's leading virologists and a government adviser. Van Ranst, who was not immediately available for comment, has said on Twitter that he has received numerous threats on social media since the start of the pandemic.”

 

Voice Of America: US, EU Accuse Belarus Of Terrorism After Plane Diverted To Arrest Journalist

 

“The United States and European governments accused Belarus of engaging in an act of state terrorism after it forced a commercial jetliner on Sunday to make an emergency landing in Minsk and arrested an opposition blogger critical of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. The U.S. and the European Union called on Lukashenko’s government to immediately release Raman Pratasevich, a 26-year-old blogger who has been living in exile in Poland. Ryanair Flight FR4978, originating in Athens, was diverted in Belarusian airspace about 10 kilometers from Vilnius, Lithuania — its planned destination — because of an alleged bomb threat. On Monday, the airline called the incident “an act of aviation piracy” and said it is cooperating with investigations being conducted by European Union safety and security agencies and NATO. In Washington, White House press secretary Jen Psaki described the Belarus   government’s role as “shocking” and said the United States is demanding an international probe of the incident. Belarus is a former Soviet republic with close ties to the Russian government. “It constitutes a brazen affront to international peace and security by the regime,” Psaki said.”

 

Latin America

 

The New York Times: Peru Massacre Revives Trauma Of Maoist Violence Ahead Of Polarized Vote

 

“Fourteen men, women and children died in a massacre in a remote coca-growing region of Peru, the Defense Ministry said, reviving memories of the country’s brutal left-wing insurgency just weeks ahead of presidential elections that are playing out along the conflict’s ideological fault lines. The murders, one of Peru’s worst atrocities in decades, occurred in the town of San Miguel del Ene, the ministry said in a statement on Monday. The country’s police chief said earlier on Monday that 18 people died, adding that his officers were still on the way to the isolated town to investigate. Authorities have blamed the attack on a dissident faction of the Shining Path, a Maoist rebel group that terrorized Peru before being brutally put down by the authoritarian leader Alberto Fujimori in the 1990s. Local media reported that pamphlets attributed to the terrorist group were found with the bodies. “We are returning to something that we thought we had overcome,” said Pedro Yaranga, a Peruvian security consultant, who said he had obtained copies and verified the Shining Path pamphlets left at the crime scene. “Most in Peru have thought the Shining Path no longer existed. This tragedy shows that this is not the case.”

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