“Canada will soon unveil measures to crack down on online extremism following
the killing of a Muslim family, a crime that police said was inspired b

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


June 10, 2021

 

Reuters: Canada Will Soon Crack Down On Online Hate In Wake Of Fatal Attack
-Senior Minister
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“Canada will soon unveil measures to crack down on online extremism following
the killing of a Muslim family, a crime that police said was inspired by hate,
a government minister said on Wednesday. Four members of the family were killed
on Sunday when a pickup truck jumped the curb and ran them over in London,
Ontario, 200 km (124 miles) southwest of Toronto. “Our government is continuing
to do what is necessary, obviously working with the social media platforms, to
combat online hate and we'll have more to say on specific measures in the
coming weeks,” Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc told
reporters. There is no evidence that the suspect, Nathaniel Veltman, had any
connection to hate groups. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, facing complaints
from religious and ethnic communities that Ottawa has not done enough to combat
bigotry and racism, promised on Tuesday to intensify efforts to fight far-right
groups. “We don't yet know all the causes or reasons, but there is probably an
element of online incitation to violence,” Trudeau told a conference on digital
governance on Wednesday. In January, he asked Heritage Minister Steven
Guilbeault to work with Public Safety Minister Bill Blair “to take action on
combating hate groups and online hate.”

 

Africanews: Blast Kills At Least 61 Al-Shabaab Fighters In A Warehouse
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“More than 61 Al-Shabaab militants and foreign nationals were killed in an
explosion at a village in southern Somalia, the national army said in a
statement on Tuesday. The blast went off inside a house at Ala-Futow village,
located some 285 kilometers from the capital Mogadishu. Reports indicate that
the materials stored at the 11-room house exploded late on Monday, killing at
least 61 militants including six foreign nationals. Among those killed include
Al-Shabaab’s bomb experts. The military later confirmed they conducted a swipe
operation in the area destroying Al’Shabaab equipment. Somalia had plunged into
chaos after the 1991 overthrow of president Siad Barre's military regime led to
famine and decades of anarchic clan warfare. Al-Shabaab emerged from the youth
wing of the Islamic Courts Union, a rival to the internationally-backed
government established in 2004, which briefly controlled large parts of
Somalia. But in the second half of 2011, the group's fortunes appeared to be
waning, as African Union peacekeeping force AMISOM pushed them out of their
last bastions in Mogadishu. Since then they have had to abandon most of their
strongholds -- but they still control vast rural areas and have maintained a
presence in urban centres through an extensive intelligence network.”

 

Syria

 

The Wall Street Journal: Refugee Camp For Families Of Islamic State Fighters
Nourishes Insurgency
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“…While many of the fugitive women regret joining Islamic State and want to go
home, Western counterterrorism officials say some of the children smuggled out
of al-Hol have been sent to join the insurgency in Syria and Iraq. Attacks in
Syria have surged. In February, there were 29 attacks compared with just 6 in
January 2020, according to the New-York based Counter Extremism Project, a
nonprofit organization that tracks radical groups. The willingness of camp
residents to bet fortunes on freedom has fueled the growth of smuggling
networks. Smugglers’ prices today start from around $16,000 per foreign woman
exfiltrated to Turkey, with two or three children for the price of one adult.
For Iraqis and Syrians it costs less, largely because the journey home is
shorter, according to women caught trying to escape. In his last speech before
U.S. special-operations forces descended on the compound where he was hiding in
northwest Syria, Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had exhorted his
followers to liberate detained fighters, their wives and children. “Do your
utmost to free them,” he said in the 30-minute audio recording in September
2019, about a month before he died in the U.S. raid.”

 

Fox News: Israeli Airstrikes In Syria Kill 11 Fighters, Target Hezbollah Arms
Depot, Reports Say
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“Israeli airstrikes launched into Syria late Tuesday have killed at least 11
government fighters and allies, reports say. The missiles targeted Syrian Air
Force positions on the outskirts of Homs and an arms depot belonging to the
Lebanese Hezbollah terrorist group, The Times of Israel reported, citing the
U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. “At least seven army soldiers
and four National Defence Forces militiamen were killed,” the group’s director,
Rami Abdul Rahman, was quoted as saying. A military source that spoke to the
Syrian state-run SANA news agency claimed Syrian air defense systems shot down
some of the Israeli missiles, which had been fired from the direction of
Lebanon after 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. “Our air defense array confronted the
aggression’s missiles and shot down some of them, and there were material
losses only,” the source said, according to The Times of Israel. The newspaper
said the Israeli military told the AFP it would not comment on “information
coming from abroad.” Israel’s Defense Forces have carried out hundreds of
airstrikes in Syria since the civil war began in 2011 in order to deter Iran
from establishing a permanent military presence there and funneling weapons to
terrorist groups, The Times of Israel also reported.”

 

Iraq

 

Reuters: Iraq Releases Iran-Aligned Commander Arrested On Terror Charges
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“Iraq has released an Iran-aligned militia commander arrested in May on
terrorism-related charges after authorities found insufficient evidence against
him, in the latest blow to government attempts to rein in armed groups.
Security forces arrested Qasim Muslih, who operates mostly in Iraq's western
Anbar province and is from the southern holy city of Kerbala, on May 26. His
arrest and subsequent release show how the Iraqi government is struggling to
deal with militias ideologically aligned with Iran which are accused of rocket
fire against U.S. forces and of involvement in killing peaceful pro-democracy
activists. Hours after Muslih's release, two separate rocket attacks hit near
U.S. forces and contractors at the Baghdad International Airport compound and
an air base north of the Iraqi capital. There was no claim for the attacks.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has placed himself publicly in opposition to
Iran-backed militias and parties but has fallen short on pledges to curb
anti-U.S. attacks and hold killers of protesters to account. Muslih's arrest
was seen as the latest major attempt to rein in their power. His release
without prosecution is a blow to those efforts and one of a number of
unsuccessful attempts to crack down on armed groups.”

 

Afghanistan

 

The New York Times: U.S. Weighs Possibility Of Airstrikes If Afghan Forces
Face Crisis
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“The Pentagon is considering seeking authorization to carry out airstrikes to
support Afghan security forces if Kabul or another major city is in danger of
falling to the Taliban, potentially introducing flexibility into President
Biden’s plan to end the United States military presence in the conflict, senior
officials said. Mr. Biden and his top national security aides had previously
suggested that once U.S. troops left Afghanistan, air support would end as
well, with the exception of strikes aimed at terrorist groups that could harm
American interests. But military officials are actively discussing how they
might respond if the rapid withdrawal produces consequences with substantial
national security implications. No decisions have been made yet, officials
said. But they added that one option under consideration would be to recommend
that U.S. warplanes or armed drones intervene in an extraordinary crisis, such
as the potential fall of Kabul, the Afghan capital, or a siege that puts
American and allied embassies and citizens at risk. Any additional airstrikes
would require the president’s approval. Even then, officials indicated that
such air support would be hard to sustain over a lengthy period because of the
enormous logistical effort that would be necessary given the American
withdrawal.”

 

Reuters: Afghan Gov't And Taliban Negotiators Meet In Doha To Discuss Peace
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“Afghan government and Taliban negotiators met in Qatar's capital Doha this
week to discuss the peace process, the first known meeting in weeks after
negotiations largely stalled earlier this year. Taliban spokesman Suhail
Shaheen said in a statement on Twitter on Wednesday that the heads of both
teams, along with some of their negotiators, had met the previous day in Doha.
“They discussed topics of the agenda, accelerating the Afghan negotiations
process and reaching mutual understanding in this regard,” he said. The meeting
was the first announced gathering of both sides since mid-May and after
already-slowing talks largely broke off in April, when the United States
announced it would withdraw its forces by September 11. The Taliban had
responded angrily to that announcement as it meant foreign forces would stay in
the country beyond a May deadline agreed with the previous Trump
administration. The Islamist group said it would boycott a major peace
conference due to take place in Turkey. Negotiators had started in Doha in
September to find a way to end decades of war. But the talks stalled after a
few rounds and violence has escalated since the United States started its final
pullout of troops.”

 

Deutsche Welle: Afghanistan: 'Islamic State' Claims Responsibility For Attack
On Mine-Clearing Workers
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“Islamic State” (IS) fighters attacked a group of mine-clearing workers in the
north of Afghanistan on Tuesday evening. Afghan authorities said early
Wednesday the assault killed 10 people and left at least 14 injured. The attack
happened in the Baghlan-e-Markazi district of Baghlan province, to the north of
the capital Kabul. The injured victims were taken to a hospital in the nearby
town of Pul-e-Khumri. IS claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement.
The Afghan interior ministry spokesman Tareq Arian previously told reporters
that the Taliban was to blame. “The Taliban entered a compound of a
mine-clearing agency […] and started shooting everyone,” Arian had said. The
province governor's spokesman, Jawed Basharat, told AFP news agency that the
attack happened in an area controlled by government forces. The victims had
been working for the international land mine-clearing organization Halo Trust,
Afghan news site TOLO News reported. The nongovernmental organization has
around 2,600 employees in the country, according to its website. As a result of
decades of ongoing conflict, Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined
countries in the world. Baghlan has been the scene of intense fighting between
Taliban and government forces in recent months, with the insurgents planting
roadside bombs that have often ended up killing or wounding civilians.”

 

Lebanon

 

Bloomberg Law: Lebanese Bank Must Face Claim It Aided Terrorist Rocket Attacks
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“A Lebanese bank must face a suit under the Justice Against Sponsors of
Terrorism Act for allegedly aiding and abetting Hezbollah rocket attacks in
Israel that injured U.S. citizens in 2006, the Second Circuit said Wednesday.
The victims’ complaint said that Lebanese Canadian Bank SAL was aware that five
of its customers were controlled by Hezbollah but nevertheless allowed them to
use its services and laundered money for them. The district court dismissed the
claim, saying the victims didn’t plead sufficient facts to show LCB was
generally aware that its customers were Hezbollah affiliates or that they
played a role…”

 

Middle East

 

The Jerusalem Post: At Least 1 Teenager Killed In Gaza Violence Was Member Of
A Terror Group - Report
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“Terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip, including Hamas, have been recruiting
teenagers into its military wing, and at least one was killed during the latest
round of fighting with Israel last month. The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza
said at least 243 Palestinians were killed during the 11 days of fighting,
including 66 children and teens, with 1,910 people wounded. The Israeli
military says over 100 operatives belonging to the terrorist groups were killed
and that some of the civilian casualties were caused by Hamas rockets falling
short or civilian homes collapsing after an airstrike on Hamas’s tunnel
network. In the his interview since the fighting ended, Hamas leader Yayha
Sinwar told the Associated Press that 80 operatives were killed during the
fighting, 57 from Hamas and 22 from Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In an article
published by The New York Times on May 28, 67 children under the age of 17 were
killed in Israel and in Gaza. But a report published by the Meir Amit
Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, and confirmed by Joe Truzman, a
research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracy’s Long War Journal
who focuses on terrorist groups in Gaza and the rest of the Middle East, found
that at least one on the list was a terrorist who died fighting for Hamas.”

 

Nigeria

 

The Washington Post: Opinion: Nigeria’s School Kidnapping Crisis Is Even Worse
Than You Think
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“There has never been a more trying time to be Nigerian. That sounds cliched,
but there are simply no words to convey Nigerians’ horror at the endless cycle
of national grief. Our country has so far been spared the worst of the covid-19
pandemic, but extremist violence, communal clashes and rising criminality are
producing an epidemic of insecurity. The latest alarming trend is a wave of
mass kidnappings of students, endangering millions of children’s futures. At
the end of May, dozens of kidnappers on motorcycles stormed a school in
north-central Nigeria and whisked away 136 children aged 5 to 14 and three
teachers, after killing one person. Two mothers collapsed and died upon
receiving the news. The kidnappers have demanded 200 million naira (almost
$500,000) for their young victims’ lives. This follows the seizure in December
of 344 schoolboys in the northwest of the country from their dormitories. Their
release after six agonizing nights evoked a collective sigh of relief from a
nation sunk in sadness and anger. The episodes conjured disgusting memories of
the April 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls from their school dormitory in the
northeast town of Chibok. At the time, the mass kidnapping shook Nigerians to
the core and triggered international outrage and activism.”

 

Somalia

 

The Nation: Senior Al-Shabaab Leader Arrested In Somalia
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“Somalia announced on Wednesday that its armed forces arrested a senior leader
of the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabaab terrorist group in an operation in the
country's Middle Shabelle region, according to an official statement. “Somali
National Army and Hirshabelle police arrested a senior Alshabaab local leader
after a joint operation in War Isse and Aqab Duco villages near Jowhar,” Somali
government spokesman Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu said on Twitter. Jowhar is the
administrative capital of Hirshabelle and a strategic agricultural town located
approximately 90 kilometers (55 miles) from the Somali capital Mogadishu. The
Somali Army is conducting a two-week operation against al-Shabaab in the
region, so far killing 130 terrorists and liberating six villages, according to
reports. “The SNA (Somali National Army) operations in Hirshaballe have left
130 terrorists dead,” Somali state television reported on Wednesday. Late on
Monday, at least 60 al-Shabaab terrorists, including foreign nationals, senior
commanders and bomb experts, were killed after a house used for bomb making
exploded in the Lower Shabelle region, according to the military.”

 

United Kingdom

 

BBC News: Leicestershire Man 'Used Bitcoin To Fund Islamic State Terrorism'
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“A man used Bitcoin to fund the Islamic State group's terrorism, a court has
heard. Hisham Chaudhary, 28, of Chestnut Drive, Oadby, Leicestershire, is also
accused of spreading propaganda online. He denies four counts of disseminating
a terrorist publication, one count of membership of a proscribed organisation
and two counts of funding terrorism. Birmingham Crown Court heard claims there
was a “humanitarian purpose” behind the money was a “smokescreen”. As the
prosecution opened its case, the court heard Mr Chaudhary had produced a
“jihad” video, described as “a sinister call-to-arms”, to fight non-believers -
which was then spread around the world through the internet. Jurors were told
he also raised money and converted it to Bitcoin, which he used to send funds
to the Islamic State group. Electronic records showed Mr Chaudhary had bought
more than £50,000 worth of Bitcoin, and then discussed how to transfer it
secretly around the world, the court heard. The prosecution said when Mr
Chaudhary was arrested in a dawn raid, anti-terrorist police found devices in
his bedroom containing what were described as IS propaganda videos. Mr
Chaudhary posted some videos online using the name “John Smith”, the court
heard.”

 

Canada

 

The New York Times: As A Family Is Mourned, Canada Grapples With Anti-Muslim
Bias <[link removed]>

 

“With coronavirus restrictions still in place in much of Canada, many families
have taken up going out together for evening strolls. On Sunday, however, a
pleasant walk became the scene of a deadly attack by a motorist who used his
truck to kill four members of a family in London, Ontario, and injure a boy who
is now an orphan. They were targeted, the police said, because of their Muslim
faith. Along with grieving, the deaths have prompted anger and demands for
government action against bigotry and violence toward Muslims. “Even after
this, there are still people saying that Islamophobia doesn’t exist,” said
Mohamed Salih, a member of London’s City Council. “The challenge and a reality
we must face is that far too often in our city, there is Islamophobia. It’s
something we’ve known for far too long.” On Tuesday night, the province of
Ontario temporarily lifted pandemic rules banning large gatherings to allow
thousands of people to gather for a memorial outside the London Muslim Mosque
to remember the Afzaal-Salman family. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended.
Salman Afzaal, 46, was a physiotherapist who worked in long-term care homes.
Madiha Salman, 44, was a doctoral student in civil engineering.”

 

Europe

 

The National: EU Warns Of Crime Surge And Terrorism Vulnerabilities During
Covid-19 Pandemic
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“Covid-19 led to a surge in illicit activity across Europe and the pandemic is
likely to provide a breeding ground for terrorism, the EU’s senior law and
order official said. Ylva Johansson noted in particular a rise in cyber crime,
the increased use of ransomware and a booming counterfeit market. She cited the
recent hacking of Ireland’s healthcare system, which led to delays in
outpatient services. Ms Johansson said there had also been an increase in child
sexual abuse online and paedophiles trying to contact children through the
internet. “We can see the organised criminal groups adapting extremely quickly
to the new situation,” she said, after two days of meetings between EU justice
and interior ministers. Ms Johansson said that the danger from Islamist
extremism remained and that right-wing terrorism “is a significant rising
threat”. A statement after the talks said that so far, “the impact of the
Covid-19 pandemic on the terrorist threat seems to have been limited”.
“However, the protracted pandemic may increase member states’ vulnerabilities
and the risks of radicalisation. The online presence of extremist groups is on
the rise since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic,” it said. The statement
said that counter-terrorism authorities’ work was made harder because they
often had to rely only on online capabilities.”

 

Technology

 

Time: Facebook Banned A Hindu Extremist Group—Then Left Most Of Its Pages
Online For Months <[link removed]>

 

“Facebook allowed a Hindu extremist group to operate openly on its platform
for months, even after the company banned the group’s main pages for violating
its policies. It was not until TIME pointed out a network of more than 30 pages
linked to the Sanatan Sanstha—with more than 2.7 million total followers—that
the social media giant followed through and purged them in April. The pages
regularly shared hate speech and misinformation, largely targeting India’s
Muslim minority, including Islamophobic depictions of Muslims as green monsters
with long fingernails. The Sanatan Sanstha’s extended presence on Facebook,
despite the ban, raises questions about how effectively the company is
delivering on its commitment to root out hate speech and incitement to
violence—including in India, its largest market. And as governments around the
world increasingly bring more stringent regulations to bear on social media
platforms, the case is also a window into how political pressure may be having
an impact on the ways those platforms police extremist groups. At its
headquarters in Goa, western India, the Sanatan Sanstha preaches a radical
variant of Hinduism to devotees.”



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