“Gunmen kidnapped more than 100 students from an Islamic school in Nigeria on
Sunday, local officials said, the latest in a rising tide of high-school

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


June 1, 2021

 

The Wall Street Journal: Gunmen In Nigeria Kidnap More Than 100 Schoolchildren
Amid Abduction Epidemic
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“Gunmen kidnapped more than 100 students from an Islamic school in Nigeria on
Sunday, local officials said, the latest in a rising tide of high-school
abductions across Africa’s most populous nation, where kidnapping
schoolchildren for ransom has become a lucrative industry. Authorities in Niger
state confirmed that armed men traveling on around 70 motorcycles arrived at
the Salihu Tanko School in the town of Tegina Sunday afternoon and began
shooting, before forcing the students to walk toward the forest at gunpoint. At
least one person was killed, the officials said. One teacher estimated that 150
students were missing, while other reports put the figure at closer to 200.
Later on Sunday, 11 children between 4 and 6 years old were recovered by
authorities and said the gunmen released them because they were unable to keep
walking and were slowing the convoy down. “We were driving towards the school
at the time of the kidnap but had to turn back because there was too much
gunfire…We thought we’d get shot,” said Mohammed Idris, an eyewitness from
Tegina. Local officials said on Monday they were driving from house to house to
try to ascertain the number of missing. The kidnap-for-ransom business is
booming across northern Nigeria, and schoolchildren are its hottest commodity.”

 

The Washington Post: Iran-Backed Militias Turn To Drone Attacks, Alarming U.S.
Forces In Iraq
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“U.S. military officials in Iraq have grown increasingly alarmed over attacks
by Iran-backed militias using drones to evade detection systems around military
bases and diplomatic facilities. In place of rockets, militiamen have turned at
times to small, fixed-wing drones that fly too low to be picked up by defensive
systems, military officials and diplomats say. An official with the U.S.-led
coalition described the evolving drone threat as the military mission’s biggest
concern in Iraq. In April, a drone strike targeted a CIA hangar inside the
airport complex in the northern city of Irbil, according to officials familiar
with the matter. The drone’s flight was tracked to within 10 miles of the site,
but its path was then lost as it moved into a civilian flight path, the
coalition official said. The drone’s remains were partially recovered, and
preliminary analysis suggested it was made in Iran, a coalition official said.
The attack deeply concerned White House and Pentagon officials because of the
covert nature of the facility and the sophistication of the strike. Although no
one was harmed in the strike, it prompted a long night of deliberations over
how to respond, according to Western officials.”

 

United States

 

NBC News: Tulsa Race Massacre Events Could Be Targeted By White Supremacist
Groups, Department Of Homeland Security Warns
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“The Tulsa Race Massacre's centennial commemorations in Oklahoma could draw
racial violence and white supremacist groups, the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security has warned in a bulletin. “We assess that upcoming commemoration
events associated with the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre in
Oklahoma probably are attractive targets for some racially or ethnically
motivated violent extremist-white supremacists to commit violence,” the
department said, according to a memo obtained by NBC News. The memo, released
earlier this week, wasn’t specific to any of the several events taking place
over the holiday weekend, but it said that white supremacist groups could eye
any mass gathering or crowded public spaces without warning in Tulsa. The Tulsa
Police Department said it’s prepared and has asked for the public’s assistance
in reporting anything unusual. “If anyone sees anything suspicious, across our
city, report that,” Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin said in a press
conference this week. Historically, white extremist groups have used tactics
such as vehicle ramming, taking up small arms, using edged weapons or explosive
devices for racially motivated attacks, the Homeland Security memo said.”

 

USA Today: 'Acts Of Domestic Terrorism': Police Hunt For Suspects As New
Details Emerge In Miami-Area Shooting That Left Two Dead, 21 Injured
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“Police in South Florida hunted for suspects Monday after two people were
killed and 21 were injured in a shooting outside a banquet hall in what
authorities called an act of domestic terrorism. County Commissioner Keon
Hardemon said at a news conference that the shooting, which came 24 hours after
one person was killed and six wounded in a drive-by shooting in the Wynwood
area of Miami, has had a chilling effect on the community. “We have to be clear
about what's happening in Miami-Dade County.” Hardemon said. “These are acts of
domestic terrorism.” Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez III was
interrupted during the briefing by a tearful father of one of the victims
killed during Sunday's shooting. “That's the pain that you see,” Ramirez said
after officers led the father away. “Together, all of us, we must work harder
to bring justice to these families.” Gunfire erupted early Sunday near Hialeah
at El Mula Banquet Hall, which had been rented out for a concert, police said.
The suspects waited in the parking lot 20 to 40 minutes before three people
rolled out of a white Nissan Pathfinder and fired on the crowd outside in what
Ramirez called a “targeted and cowardly act of gun violence.”

 

Fox News: Texas Man Arrested For Alleged Terror Plot After Planning Mass
Shooting At Walmart
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“A Texas man believed to be a threat to national security after planning a
mass shooting at a local Walmart has been arrested by the Kerr County Sheriffs
Office. According to authorities, 28-year-old Coleman Thomas Blevins, of
Kerrville, was arrested by the KCSO Special Operations Division in the 1000
block of Junction Highway on Friday on a warrant for a Terroristic Threat to
Create Public Fear of Serious Bodily Injury. The arrest was made in
coordination with the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigation
Division, the Kerrville Police Department's Patrol Division, the FBI and the
U.S. Secret Service. On Thursday, investigators intercepted a message
indicating that Blevins was preparing to proceed with a mass shooting, in which
he made a specific threat that included Walmart. In partnership with the FBI,
investigators moved to arrest Blevins after confirming his “affiliation and
networking with extremist ideologies” and capability of following through with
the threat. Following the arrest, a search warrant was executed at Blevins'
residence in the 200 block of Spence Street for seizure of firearms,
ammunition, electronic evidence, concentrated THC, and radical ideology
paraphernalia, including books, flags, and handwritten documents.”

 

Iraq

 

France 24: Fear In Iraq's Mosul As IS Families Return From Syria
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“The return of dozens of Iraqi families suspected of links to the Islamic
State group from Syria to Mosul has sparked fears among residents who survived
the horrors of IS rule. Around 300 people from some 90 families left the
Kurdish-run Al-Hol camp in northeast Syria on Tuesday under Iraqi army escort,
a Kurdish administration official told AFP on condition of anonymity. It was
the first repatriation of Iraqi families from the camp, which is home to more
than 60,000 people including relatives of IS fighters, and came as part of an
agreement between Baghdad and the multinational coalition battling the
jihadists. But the move has stirred up nightmares for many Mosul residents. For
three years, Mosul was the heart of IS's self-proclaimed “caliphate”. IS
fighters imposed a strict interpretation of Muslim “sharia” law, banning music
and smoking and meting out brutal punishments, including public beheadings, for
those who violated their rules. “We are totally opposed to their return,” said
Omar, a 28-year-old soldier, whose father was killed by IS fighter. “Our future
is dark and dangerous because the jihadists will live near us,” said Omar, who
declined to give his surname for security reasons.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Associated Press: Government, Taliban Blame Each Other For Shell That Kills 7
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“A mortar shell hit a wedding ceremony in northern Afghanistan, killing at
least seven people, mostly children, and wounding at least four others, a
police spokesman said. Taliban insurgents attacked a government security
checkpoint in the district of Tagab and one of their mortar shells hit a
civilian house, Kapisa provincial police spokesman Shayeq Shoresh said Sunday.
He said the attack happened the night before. But Taliban spokesman Zabihullah
Mujahid in a tweet accused police of firing several mortar shells toward the
civilian house, causing the casualties. Both the Taliban and government forces
routinely blame each other for attacks. The assailants are rarely identified
and the public is seldom informed of the results of investigations into the
many attacks in the capital. The United Nations has repeatedly demanded both
sides take more precautions to protect civilians. In the first three months of
this year, the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said 1,783 civilians had been killed
or wounded in Afghanistan, up 29% over the same period last year.”

 

Pakistan

 

ABC News: Pakistan Army: Militants In Twin Attacks Kill 4 Troops In SW
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“Suspected militants attacked a Pakistani security post and hours later
targeted a vehicle carrying troops Monday, resulting in the deaths of at least
four soldiers and four insurgents, the military said. The military said the
first incident in southwestern Pakistan occurred when a group of militants
attacked a security post in the city of Quetta, killing four soldiers and
wounding six others. Troops returned fire, killing four insurgents and wounding
eight others, the statement said. In the second attack, militants set off a
roadside bomb aimed at a security vehicle, wounding two soldiers in the
district of Turbat in Baluchistan province. No one claimed responsibility for
the attacks, and no further details were immediately available. Secessionist
groups in Baluchistan have staged a long-running insurgency to push for
independence from the central government in Islamabad. The Pakistani Taliban
and the Islamic State extremist group also have presences there.”

 

Voice Of America: Afghanistan Asks Pakistan To Take ‘Practical Steps’ Against
Taliban Ahead Of US Pullout
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“The Afghan government’s media spokesperson has said his country wants
Pakistan to take “practical steps” to close the Taliban bases and end its
support for the insurgent group in the wake of the U.S. troop withdrawal from
Afghanistan. “Afghanistan’s demands are very clear,” Dawa Khan Menapal,
director of Afghanistan’s Government Media and Information Center, told VOA.
“We all believe that the terrorists have bases and support in Pakistan.”
Menapal reiterated Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s claim of May 14 when he told
Der Spiegel magazine that the Taliban had received logistics, finances and
recruitment from Pakistan, and that their consultative bodies were named after
Pakistani cities such as “Peshawar Shura, Quetta Shura and Miranshah Shura.”
The verbal battle between the two countries seemed to enter a new level in
mid-May when the Afghan national security adviser, Hamdullah Mohib, during a
rally in eastern Nangarhar province, warned the Taliban that Pakistan’s
intelligence agencies would “sacrifice” the Taliban for their own objectives.
“They neither want you nor will they help [you] to take power,” he said. “All
they have told you are a lie. The only thing they want from you is that they
are sacrificing you for themselves and for their own war.”

 

Middle East

 

Al Monitor: Israel Fears Hamas, Hezbollah Coordinating Attacks
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“Israeli media described the two-hour address delivered May 25 by Hezbollah
Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah as the “coughing speech.” Right after the
televised speech, Israel’s Military Intelligence issued an assessment that
Nasrallah, who had not been seen in public for weeks, appears to have
contracted the coronavirus but refuses to take a test. Nasrallah, who appeared
thin and pale, obviously had trouble breathing as he coughed his way through
the speech, and his medical condition overshadowed its more interesting
contents. In fact, two speeches delivered at almost the same time — one in
Beirut and one in the Gaza Strip, one by the head of a Sunni terrorist
organization (Hamas Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar) and the other by a Shiite one
(Hezbollah’s Nasrallah) — conveyed the same message to Israel. Both warned that
Israel risks war if it tries to change the status quo in Jerusalem, if it takes
any unilateral steps at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, one of Islam’s holiest sites.
Nasrallah even described this future conflagration as a “regional war.”
“Everyone is focusing on his cough,” a former senior Israeli intelligence
source told Al-Monitor this week on condition of anonymity. “They are missing
the point. Even if he has the coronavirus, he will most likely recover.”

 

Egypt

 

All Africa: Egypt - Over 290 Terrorist Suspects To Stand Trial
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“A group of 292 militants belonging to the Islamic State group have been
referred to an Egyptian military court for trial. The MENA news agency on
November 21, 2016, reported that the suspects belong to the so-called “Sinai
State,” a militant group loyal to the regional Islamic State, IS. The suspects
are accused of carrying out terrorist activities in the Sinai Peninsula in
recent years and planning to assassinate President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, MENA
said. Egypt has been facing a rising wave of terrorist operations and bomb
attacks mostly in North Sinai Province since the military removed former
Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July 2013 in response to mass protests
against his one-year rule and the Moslem Brotherhood group. On November 4,
2016, a military brigadier general was assassinated by three terrorists outside
his home in North Sinai, while a judge survived a blast in Cairo during the
day. Earlier in mid-October 2016 also in North Sinai, at least 20 soldiers were
killed in a series of blasts and armed attacks. Security forces retaliated by
killing about 100 militants and wounding 40 others. While anti-government
attacks over the past few years killed scores of police and military men,
security raids have killed about 1,200 militants, with a similar number of
suspects arrested in North Sinai.”

 

Africa

 

Reuters: Boko Haram Militants Kill 8 In Southeastern Niger, Says Defence
Ministry
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“Insurgents from the Islamist group Boko Haram killed four soldiers and four
civilians in an attack on Niger's southeastern desert town of Diffa, the
defence ministry said. At least six militants were killed in the raid on
Friday, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday. The insurgents attacked
Diffa in the late afternoon, riding in about 15 vehicles. After intense
fighting, they were pushed back by security forces, The Boko Haram insurgency
broke out in northeastern Nigeria in 2000, but violence frequently spills over
into neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon. In December, an attack blamed on
Boko Haram killed 28 people and burned 800 homes in Diffa region.”

 

Bloomberg: Crisis Group Warns Of Boost To Islamic State In African Redoubt
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“Islamic State could be reinforced in one of its last strongholds in Africa as
a result of vigilante groups fueling local grievances, a crisis-prevention
organization warned. The rise of anti-jihadist groups in Niger’s northern
Tillabery region risks providing the Islamist militant organization with
additional recruits, according to Washington-based International Crisis Group.
Niger should learn from neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali where the emergence
of local militias has pushed civilians to join either jihadists or self-defense
groups, the nonprofit said in a report Friday. Authorities should “discourage
vigilante group formation, which has spurred violence, and mediate communal
disputes that fuel armed group recruitment,” it said. An increasingly deadly
Islamist insurgency is rocking Niger, the fifth-biggest exporter of uranium
globally, raising fears of militants expanding their reach across a region
that’s already headed for its deadliest year of Islamist violence in a decade.
France has deployed a 5,100-strong force to fight the Islamist militants in
Niger and neighboring countries, while the U.S. has a $110 million drone base
in the nation’s desert town of Agadez.”

 

The Washington Post: How An Insurgency Threatens Mozambique’s Gas Bonanza
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“If all goes as planned, one of the world’s poorest countries will be
transformed by Africa’s biggest-ever private investment splurge, but there’s a
problem. Attacks by Islamist insurgents threaten hopes of exploiting huge
natural gas deposits off Mozambique’s northern coast. More than 2,800 people
have been killed and 700,000 displaced since violence began in 2017. The
country’s export ambitions are linked to projects by some of the world’s
biggest energy companies, but investments are being held up by the fighting. 1.
What’s at stake? As much as $120 billion in investment, according to Standard
Bank Group Ltd., Africa’s largest lender. It’s unlikely all that money will
materialize, especially if the violence continues. Still, even some projects
would be a game-changer not just for Mozambique, where almost two-thirds of its
32 million people live on less than $1.90 a day, but potentially for
neighboring countries as well. Besides providing a massive boost to state
finances, it would also create several thousand construction jobs. Gas
production could also bring changes that would address chronic electricity
shortages and boost fertilizer production to drive crop output.”

 

United Kingdom

 

BBC News: Fishmongers' Hall: Usman Khan Unlawfully Killed Cambridge Graduates
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“Failings by the police, probation service and MI5 contributed to the deaths
of two graduates killed by a convicted terrorist, a jury has found. University
of Cambridge alumni Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt were stabbed by Usman Khan at
a rehabilitation event at Fishmongers' Hall on 29 November 2019. Khan, 28, had
been released from prison 11 months previously, the inquests at London's
Guildhall heard. The jury concluded that both victims were unlawfully killed.
Khan, who had spent eight years in jail for planning to set up a terrorist
training camp in Pakistan, was chased on to London Bridge by people at the
event who were armed with a fire extinguisher and a narwhal tusk plucked from a
wall. The terrorist, who wounded three others in the attack, was shot dead on
the bridge by police. Jurors found there had been unacceptable management and a
lack of accountability in the oversight of Khan, who had been allowed to travel
on his own to London from his hometown of Stafford. They concluded there had
been failures in the sharing of information between state agencies responsible
for monitoring him. Deficiencies in the organisation of the event at
Fishmongers' Hall, including inadequate security measures, were also found to
have been a factor in the deaths.”

 

Canada

 

National Post: ISIL Forced Toronto 18 Terror Plot Leader To Rethink His
Ideology, But Change Deemed Not Enough To Warrant Parole
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“From the prison where Zakaria Amara endures his life sentence, the leader of
a terrorist plot to explode huge truck bombs in Ontario said the atrocities of
ISIL jihadists drove him to re-evaluate and reject his radical beliefs, making
him ready for release from prison. Amara’s appeals of a personal transformation
over 15 years behind bars, however, were not enough to warrant his release, the
Parole Board of Canada told him after a lengthy and sometimes emotional hearing
Friday. Amara, 35, began and ended his parole hearing with tears. At the start,
he said he was nervous of this “big moment,” his first parole opportunity, and
then started wiping away tears and sobbing. Near the end, in his final appeal
to the board before members began deliberations, he pressed his crossed hands
against his chest and spoke in gasps between tears, as he thanked those who
supported him in prison, including his sister, as well as his daughter who was
just nine months old when he was arrested. In between was a riveting account
over three hours of his transformation from young jihadist seeking revenge on
Canada for its involvement in the war in Afghanistan to a man trying to reclaim
a place in Canadian society.”

 

Europe

 

Voice Of America: Belarus News Site Editor Arrested Over Extremism Suspicions
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“The chief editor of a popular internet news site in one of Belarus’ largest
cities was detained Sunday on suspicion of extremism. The arrest Sunday of
Hrodna.life editor Aliaksei Shota comes amid a crackdown on independent
journalists and opponents of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. The
publication focuses on Belarus’ fifth-largest city, Grodno. City police said
the website “posted information products that were duly recognized as
extremist,” but didn't give details. It wasn't immediately clear if Shota had
been formally charged with extremism, which can carry a prison sentence of up
to 10 years. Shota had collaborated with the country’s most popular internet
portal Tut.by, which authorities closed this month after arresting 15
employees. Belarus’ crackdown escalated a week ago with the arrest of dissident
journalist Raman Pratasevich and his girlfriend who were aboard a commercial
flight that was diverted to the Minsk airport because of an alleged bomb
threat. The flight was flying over Belarus en route from Athens, Greece, to
Vilnius, Lithuania.  The move sparked wide denunciation in the West as an act
of hijacking and demands for Pratasevich's release. The European Union banned
flights from Belarus.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

The Washington Post: Police Arrest 11 Suspected Militants In Indonesia’s Papua
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“Indonesian police said Monday they have arrested 11 suspected Islamic
militants accused of plotting attacks at several Christian churches in
easternmost Papua province. On Friday, the elite counterterrorism squad
arrested 10 suspects in several raids in Papua’s Merauke district after
receiving information about planned attacks in the province, a predominantly
Christian region in Muslim-majority Indonesia, Merauke police chief Untung
Sangaji said. The arrests led police to another suspect who was detained
Sunday, and led them to seize items from various locations including chemicals
for explosives, modified air guns able to fire real bullets, jihadist books and
documents on planned attacks, he said. Sangaji said those arrested are
suspected of being members of Jemaah Anshorut Daulah, which has pledged
allegiance to the Islamic State group and carried out a series of suicide
bombings in Indonesia. “They allegedly planned to attack churches in several
places in Merauke,” Sangaji said. He declined to provide more details, saying
that the investigation is still underway. He said some of the suspects are
believed to have links to a suicide attack outside a Roman Catholic cathedral
during Palm Sunday Mass in March in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi,
that wounded 20 people.”

 

Eurasia Review: Philippines: Military, Police Capture 9 Suspected Islamic
State Militants
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“Nine suspected Filipino militants belonging to the local Islamic State
chapter were captured after a brief firefight in the southern Philippines on
Saturday but two sub-leaders of the group escaped, the military said. The
police, backed by army and navy commandoes, launched a dawn raid in Tuburan, a
town in Lanao del Sur province, to catch Daulah Islamiyah-Maute Group (DI-MG)
sub-leaders Farahufon Hadji Satar (alias Abu Omar) and Muna Kali (alias Abu
Dimam), said Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr., chief of the military’s Western
Mindanao Command. “While the security forces were approaching the target house
to serve the warrant of arrest they were fired upon by the target suspects and
their cohorts, sparking the brief firefight,” Vinluan told reporters. “The
targets escaped,” he said as he listed the names of the nine suspects who were
taken into custody. Vinluan identified them as Camaroden Tindug, 52; Sabdullah
Sarip, 36; Oter Macaungun, 35; Asnare Alisood, 20; Alisood Dima, 52;  Sowaib
Abdullah, 18; Saaduden Adapun, 30; Zaenal Abdulatip, 33; and Aleem Salih
Pitiilan, 45. There were no reports of casualties on either side.”

 

Technology

 

The Wall Street Journal: Hackers Linked To SolarWinds Return With Phishing
Attack, Microsoft Says
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“The Russia-linked hackers behind the cyberattack on SolarWinds SWI -0.78%
have returned, launching a phishing attack targeting approximately 3,000 email
accounts belonging to workers at more than 150 organizations, Microsoft said
late Thursday. The attack on SolarWinds is considered by investigators to be
one of most stealthy and sophisticated ever detected, but the phishing attack
was in some ways the opposite of that. The hackers took over an online account
used for mass emails by the U.S. Agency for International Development and sent
deceptive phishing emails that contained malicious links. Although the attack
appears to have been largely unsuccessful—most of the email messages were
marked as spam, Microsoft said—investigators say it shows that the hackers
behind SolarWinds aren’t going away. “These attacks appear to be a continuation
of multiple efforts…to target government agencies involved in foreign policy as
part of intelligence gathering efforts,” said Tom Burt, a Microsoft corporate
vice president in charge of security, in a blog post.”

 

Deutsche Welle: European Online Activists Target 'Cookie Banner Terror'
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“The Austria-based NOYB “None of Your Business” group on Monday said it was
lodging draft complaints against hundreds of websites for their use of pop-up
banners. NOYB, which campaigns for better privacy regulation, says many users'
on-screen choices do not comply with EU privacy laws, making the internet “a
frustrating experience for users all over Europe.” The group said it would
present more than 500 draft complaints over what it calls the “cookie ban
terror.” NOYB said the pop-ups fail to give the user a simple “yes or no”
option for permitting their data to be collected, instead providing only a very
complex way to refuse to allow the site to track the user's activity. The
activists say making it “extremely complicated to click anything but the
'accept' button” is a breach of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation
(GDPR). NOYB said it was lodging the complaints with companies in 33 countries,
including every European Economic Area member state except Malta and
Liechtenstein. The group says it had notified the companies, but would only
file the legal complaints in a month, if the sites haven't rectified their
“unfair” and “frustrating” design in the mean time.”



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