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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
“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.”
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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 Extremism
“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
“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
“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
“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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