“Palestinian militants in Gaza launched more flaming balloons into Israel on
Wednesday, as a new round of violence between Israel and Hamas entered a

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


June 17, 2021

 

The Wall Street Journal: Israel-Hamas Tensions High As Gaza Militants Launch
More Flaming Balloons
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“Palestinian militants in Gaza launched more flaming balloons into Israel on
Wednesday, as a new round of violence between Israel and Hamas entered a second
day and threatened to trigger another conflict. Little-known militant groups in
Gaza claimed responsibility for the arson attacks, which ignited four fires in
agricultural zones in southern Israel, according to Israel’s Fire and Rescue
Authority. The arson attacks came after Israeli jets struck what Israel said
were Hamas military compounds early Wednesday, in response to flaming balloons
Hamas sent into the country’s south a day earlier. The balloons started at
least 20 wildfires. Hamas said it launched those balloons as a pre-emptive
warning to Israel for allowing a nationalist flag march through the contested
city of Jerusalem on Tuesday. An Israeli military spokesman said Israel holds
Hamas, which rules Gaza, responsible for all events happening in the
Palestinian territory. “The Israeli military is prepared for any scenario,
including a resumption of hostilities,” the spokesman said. The violence
illustrates a dangerous new dynamic in the decadeslong conflict between Israel
and Hamas, one that threatens to engulf the new Israeli government sworn in
just days ago.”



The Sydney Morning Herald: ‘Hate Speech’: More Right-Wing Groups Could Be
Listed As Terrorist Organisations
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“More right-wing extremist groups could be declared terrorist organisations
after Labor and Liberal MPs unanimously backed the listing of neo-Nazi group
Sonnenkrieg Division. Liberal senator James Paterson, chair of the
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, called on the
government to investigate more “like-minded organisations with a mind to
listing them as terrorist organisations under the Criminal Code, if they meet
the criteria”. Committee chair, James Paterson, says more right-wing extremist
groups could be declared terrorist organisations after the listing of neo-Nazi
group, Sonnenkrieg Division. In March the then home affairs Minister Peter
Dutton announced the UK-based group Sonnenkrieg Division would become the first
right-wing extremist organisation listed as a terrorist organisation in
Australia. Federal Parliament’s security and intelligence committee examined
the listing and backed the move in a report tabled on Wednesday night. The
report found Sonnenkrieg Division “seeks to encourage lone-actor terrorist
attacks against its political, racial, and ethnic enemies”. “SKD members acting
on behalf of the organisation, have encouraged, promoted, and glorified
terrorist acts through online propaganda,” the report said.”

 

United States

 

New York Post: ISIS Fangirl Sentenced To 16 Years In Prison For NYC Bomb Plot
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“An ISIS-obsessed woman from Queens who considered Osama bin Laden a personal
hero was sentenced to more than 16 years in federal prison Wednesday after
pleading guilty to a bomb-making charge nearly two years ago. Before handing
down the 198-month sentence, Brooklyn federal Judge Sterling Johnson called
defendant Noelle Velentzas the “prime mover” and “brain” behind the plot she
hatched with a friend to set off bombs in New York and kill police officers.
“She was the moving force behind this conspiracy,” Sterling added at the remote
sentencing hearing. Velentzas said in brief remarks that she took
responsibility for her actions, then ranted about how she was driven to attempt
to kill fellow Americans because of Islamophobia and “the sentiment that my
religion needs to be defended.” She added that she’s since learned to build a
“higher self” and to not respond to discrimination by building bombs. “I’m
ready to go home and rebuild my life and rebuild my life with my daughter,” she
said. Velentzas was busted in 2015 for conspiring with her roommate, Asia
Siddiqui, and a third woman they knew as “Mel” — who was actually an undercover
law enforcement agent.”

 

Syria

 

Asharq Al-Awsat: Turkish Forces Arrest ISIS Terrorist During Intelligence
Operation In Syria
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“Turkey has announced arresting a wanted ISIS terrorist during an intelligence
operation in Syria. Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) launched
an operation to arrest Kasim Guler, also known as Abu Usame al Turki, who was
allegedly planning for a large-scale terrorist attack in Turkey by illegally
crossing the border from Syrian territory with arms and explosives. Guler, who
is responsible for activities in Turkey, is in the red category of the Interior
Ministry’s wanted terrorists' list. According to Turkish security sources, many
documents and confidential information were obtained in his possession. The
ISIS element moved to border areas between Afghanistan and Pakistan during the
period from 2008 until 2012 and later joined ISIS in 2014. In other news, the
anti-terrorism police arrested 17 people on Tuesday over their suspected links
to ISIS. The operations were conducted in four states, namely Diyarbakir,
Bursa, Mugla, and Malatya. Diyarbakir prosecutor had previously issued arrest
warrants for 19 people, the sources noted, adding that security forces are
still looking for the other two. Forces seized in their possession pistols,
digital documents, and banned books, the sources said.”

 

The National: What Syria's Bombing Of Hospitals Is Doing To The Rest Of Us
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“Over the weekend, the Syrian government of Bashar Al Assad returned to one of
its preferred methods of conducting warfare – bombing hospitals. On Saturday
evening, regime warplanes carried out airstrikes on a hospital in the town of
Afrin, which is under rebel control, killing 13 people and wounding 11, per
initial reports by an NGO involved in running the facility. Two nurses were
killed, as were two ambulance workers, and a midwife was in critical condition
– essential workers of the sort venerated around the world these days, who have
become targets for the Syrian government. The two missiles hit the emergency
and the labour and delivery wards of the hospital, which has been put out of
service and evacuated. Ironically, this latest crime followed a flabbergasting
election last month that saw Syria elevated to the executive board of the World
Health Organisation for a three-year term, despite a decade of impunity,
bombing hospitals, targeting medical workers, destroying ambulances and killing
first responders with so-called “double-tap” strikes. This latest bombing
highlights what the Syrian government thinks of the concepts of a rules-based
international order and impunity in violating the tenets of international law
and the norms of warfare.”

 

Iraq

 

Asharq Al-Awsat: Iraq’s ‘Hezbollah Brigades’ Militia Digs Tunnels East Of
Raqqa, Sets Up New Camp
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“Bracing for greater recruitment, the Iraq-based “Hezbollah Brigades” militia
set up a new boot camp in Syria’s eastern governorate of Raqqa, local sources
reported, revealing that its location is somewhere near Al-Sabkha valley. Heavy
machinery and over a hundred tunnel diggers have been moved to the camp’s site,
sources confirmed. A local opposition media outlet, “Eye of Euphrates,” said
that the Iran-backed militia had started preparing the camp over “Al-Zaeem”
farmlands during the last 48 hours and had employed around 120 onsite
construction workers. The Hezbollah Brigade militia scaled up its digging of
trenches and expansion operations for its camps and headquarters in the area
“without any interference from the Syrian regime,” sources reported. It is
noteworthy that the Iran-aligned militia was founded in 2007 by the late Abu
Mahdi al-Mohandis, who served as an advisor to the late Qassem Soleimani, the
commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards at the time. Both al-Mohandis and
Soleimani were killed in early 2020. The Hezbollah Brigades militia is believed
to be 140,000 combatants strong and is considered one of the most prominent
factions of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an Iraqi state-sponsored
umbrella organization composed of approximately 40 forces.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Al Jazeera: Afghan Deminers To ‘Continue To Save Lives’ Despite Deadly Attack
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“Aqa Mohammad has not spoken much since he found out that his father, Ghulam
Mohammad, a mine clearance professional in the Baghlan province of Afghanistan,
was murdered by armed gunmen last week. “My father was a brave man and
accomplished many missions even in the most dangerous areas all over the
country, but unfortunately we lost him,” the 20-year-old told Al Jazeera.
Ghulam Mohammad, along with nine other employees of the HALO Trust, a British
demining NGO, was killed in the June 8 attack on their compound that also left
16 other employees injured. The attack was claimed by the ISIL (ISIS) group.
“It was around 10pm and I heard some noises outside, so I went to check on the
vehicles. That is when I saw the gunmen … around a dozen of them stormed into
the compound,” Jawid, one of the survivors of the attack, told Al Jazeera. In
Afghanistan, it is not uncommon for a demining crew staying back at their
office’s compound, to set up closer to the fields they are clearing. More than
100 staff were present at the time of the attack, said Jawid, who, like many
Afghans goes only by one name. “First they gathered us in a room and collected
everything we had, our phones, wallets and other valuables. They even took our
office computers.”

 

Nigeria

 

Sahara Reporters: Breaking: Ahead Buhari’s Visit, Boko Haram Terrorists Set
Military Base On Fire In Borno
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“Militants belonging to the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram, the
Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) on Tuesday razed a military
formation in Kwamdi village, Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State. The
attack comes two days to the planned visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to the
State, which is the epicentre of insurgency war in Nigeria. Ahead of his
election in 2015, Buhari had promised to defeat Boko Haram but six years into
his government, that promise has not been fulfilled. In February 2020,
residents of the state booed the President as his convoy drove in and when it
was leaving Maiduguri, state capital, during a condolence visit. The residents
were heard shouting in Hausa “Bama so, ka samu a kunya.” Meaning “We don’t want
you, because you have disappointed us.” Thursday will be the first time the
President will visit Borno since the February 2020 incident. According to Daily
Trust, Boko Haram terrorists overran a military formation in the Southern part
of the state on Tuesday evening and carted away weapons belonging to the
military during a gun duel. The fighters were said to have stormed the area in
10 utility vehicles, and burnt down one Ammour Personal Carrier (APC) and a gun
truck.”

 

Mali

 

Voice Of America: France Arrests 'High-Ranking' Islamic State Fighter In Mali
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“French forces in Mali have captured a man they describe as a “high-ranking
fighter of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara” (EIGS), the French military
said Wednesday. Dadi Ould Chouaib, also known as Abou Dardar, was arrested June
11 in the flashpoint “tri-border” region between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso,
the site of frequent attacks by extremist groups, the military said in a
statement. He was carrying “an automatic weapon, a night vision telescope, a
combat vest, a telephone and a radio,” but surrendered without resistance. He
was located during a helicopter sweep as part of a joint mission between troops
from France's Barkhane operation and Nigerien forces. Niger's army said in a
statement late Wednesday that the joint operation, launched June 8, had led to
a clash Tuesday with “armed terrorists” that left a Nigerien dead and “12
terrorists neutralized.” The term “neutralized” means “killed” in West African
military contexts. Dardar was formerly a member of the al-Qaida-linked Movement
for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), many of whose fighters had joined
EIGS. First arrested in 2014, he was handed over to Malian authorities. But he
was one of around 200 prisoners released in October 2020 in exchange for four
hostages, including French aid worker Sophie Petronin.”

 

Africa

 

Reuters: U.N. Finds No Evidence Of Islamic State Control Over Congo Militia
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“United Nations experts said on Wednesday they had been unable to find
evidence of direct support by Islamic State for an Islamist militia in eastern
Congo, which was blacklisted in March by Washington as a terrorist group.
Experts on Central Africa have been debating whether the Allied Democratic
Forces (ADF), blamed for increasing violence over the past two years in eastern
Congo, has genuine links with the Islamic State group based in the Middle East,
sometimes known as ISIS or ISIL. The ADF has publicly aligned itself with
Islamic State, which in turn has claimed responsibility for some of its
attacks. The United States referred to the ADF as “ISIS-DRC” when it added it
to its terrorism blacklist. In its latest report, the U.N. Group of Experts on
the Congo said the ADF and Islamic State both benefited from making public
statements that link them with each other. Such statements were “complementing
and amplifying ADF local propaganda, and suggesting increased global reach for
ISIL,” the report said. But it added: “The Group did not however find
conclusive evidence of ISIL command and control over ADF operations, nor of
ISIL direct support to ADF, either financial, human or material.”

 

Foreign Policy: The Islamic State Resurges In Mozambique
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“You might think the Islamic State is dead. In fact, its newest branch is
carving out a foothold in southern Africa—and extracting a huge price in lives
and livelihoods along the way. In April, French oil giant TotalEnergies pulled
out of Mozambique, declaring force majeure on a $20 billion liquified natural
gas project, the largest private investment in Africa. The company withdrew its
staff from a project site in the country’s far northern Cabo Delgado province
after Islamic State-affiliated insurgents overran a nearby town in March. The
human toll dwarfs even this steep financial cost. The violence in Mozambique
since 2017 has killed more than 2,500 civilians. The number of internally
displaced people jumped tenfold from 70,000 people in 2020 to 700,000 people in
2021 and continues to rise. The conflict has turned increasingly brutal, with
frequent reports of beheadings and rape. You might think the Islamic State is
dead. In fact, its newest branch is carving out a foothold in southern
Africa—and extracting a huge price in lives and livelihoods along the way. In
April, French oil giant TotalEnergies pulled out of Mozambique, declaring force
majeure on a $20 billion liquified natural gas project, the largest private
investment in Africa.”

 

Germany

 

Financial Times: Germany To Repatriate Army Platoon Accused Of Rightwing
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“Germany is repatriating a Bundeswehr platoon from Lithuania after its
soldiers were accused of rightwing extremism and sexual assault, in a case that
has again exposed the prevalence of hard-right views in Germany’s armed forces.
The incident comes just months after the defence ministry was forced to
undertake a wide-ranging reform of its elite military division, the Kommando
Spezialkräfte (KSK), and disband one of its companies after some of its members
were found to have rightwing sympathies. It was also announced on Wednesday
that investigators are probing a number of police officers in the western state
of Hesse who belonged to an elite unit known as the Special Operations Command,
or SEK, and had allegedly shared banned Nazi content in a chat group. A
spokesperson for the German defence ministry said the armoured infantry platoon
stationed in Lithuania was being investigated for suspected sexual coercion,
using racist and anti-Semitic insults, and “extremist behaviour”. The platoon
is part of a Nato battle group in Lithuania known as “enhanced forward
presence” which is designed to improve the alliance’s deterrence capability
against Russia. The 600 soldiers stationed there for the Bundeswehr, or federal
armed forces, carry out joint exercises with the Lithuanian army and are
supposed to act as a “tripwire” should tensions with Moscow escalate.”

 

Stars And Stripes: German Woman Convicted Of Joining Islamic State, Holding
Yazidi Slaves
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“A German-Algerian woman was convicted Wednesday of membership in the Islamic
State group and of holding Yazidi women as slaves in Syria after she traveled
there as a teenager. She was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison. The state
court in Duesseldorf announced its verdict against the 23-year-old defendant,
identified only as Sarah O. in line with German privacy rules, after a trial
held behind closed doors because some of the offenses were committed when she
was a minor. The court said she went to Syria in November 2013 and joined IS,
and shortly afterward married a member of the group. It said she temporarily
housed new members and tried to persuade others to come to Syria to join the
group. She and her husband held five Yazidi women and two girls as slaves, the
court said. Three of the women joined the trial as co-plaintiffs, as permitted
under German law. Judges found that the defendant's husband raped two of the
women, with his wife's approval. Sarah O. was convicted under juvenile law of
offenses including membership in a foreign terrorist organization, committing
crimes against humanity and being an accessory to rape, and unlawful detention.
Her parents-in-law, identified as Perihan S. and Ahmet S., were convicted of
offenses including supporting a terrorist organization.”

 

Canada

 

The Epoch Times: Violent Extremists Turning To Virtual Currency To Raise
Funds: Financial Intelligence Unit
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“Violent extremists are increasingly turning to virtual currency for
fundraising, according to Canada’s financial intelligence unit. The Financial
Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) issued a special
bulletin Tuesday, warning that ideologically-motivated violent extremist (IMVE)
groups are switching to virtual currency to raise funds after facing
obstruction from online platforms. As online crowdfunding platforms and social
media sites have cracked down on these groups in recent years, they’ve turned
to alternative, smaller outlets and have encouraged their followers to send
them money via mail, cheques, or money orders, which aren’t as easily detected,
the centre said. “IMVE threat actors have also increasingly turned to virtual
currencies for fundraising,” the bulletin said, adding that they mainly use the
virtual currency donations to fund their propaganda and recruitment efforts. To
date, virtual currency is not considered a legal tender in Canada. In February,
the Canadian government added four groups it deems as IMVE to its list of
terror groups: Atomwaffen Division, the Base, the Proud Boys, and Russian
Imperial Movement.”

 

New Zealand

 

The Jerusalem Post: Muslims In New Zealand Walk Out Of Conference On Fighting
Terrorism
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“More than a dozen Muslim audience members walked out in protest at New
Zealand's first hui (New Zealand term for social gathering) on Countering
Terrorism and Violent Extremism on Tuesday. The event was the country's first
anti-terrorism conference, held in Christchurch, a city in the South Island of
New Zealand. It featured a variety of experts discussing online extremism, the
role of the media, and how to combat terrorism in the country. During an panel
on the causes of terrorism, comments from New Zealand Jewish Council
spokesperson Juliet Moses sparked outcry. Moses denounced a “pro-Hezbollah”
rally that was held in Auckland in 2018, saying that leaders should be
consistent in condemning terrorism. In response to her comments, audience
members could be heard shouting “free Palestine” before walking out of the
conference. Later, during a period of questions for the panel, an audience
member responded to the speech by saying, “Hamas and Hezbollah are not
terrorists. They are defending their land.” To The Jerusalem Post, Moses said,
“I’m very dismayed that a factual statement should be considered to be so
controversial and offensive to the Muslim community, and that my statement has
been willfully distorted, including by an MP Golriz Ghahraman (who was not even
there), and my message of unity and shared values has been overshadowed.”



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