Eye on Extremism
October 11, 2019
CBS
News: Civilians Rush To Escape Turkish Airstrikes In Northern
Syria
“Thunderous explosions echoed across northern Syria on Thursday as
Turkish artillery paved the way for an all-out ground assault. The
Turkish military said they've struck more than 180 "terrorist targets"
along a 150-mile path. They said ground troops have already crossed
into the stretch of land between Tel Abyad and Ras al Ayn, the two
border towns where U.S. special forces vacated bases earlier this
week. CBS News found some of the tens of thousands of people who have
fled the intense shelling, bottle-necked on the main road leading out
of the border city of Gamishli.”
Time:
Al-Qaeda Bomb Maker Once Dubbed 'World's Most Dangerous Terrorist' Was
Killed 2 Years Ago, White House Says
“Ibrahim al-Asiri, a senior al-Qaeda bomb maker and terrorist
coordinator, was killed two years ago in a United States operation in
Yemen, the White House announced on Thursday. Al-Asiri had been in
hiding in Yemen for years and was the repeated target of U.S. drone
strikes. The U.S. mistakenly believed they had killed him in a 2011
strike. They later targeted a man they believed was al-Asiri in a May
2012 strike, but he turned out to be another al-Qaeda leader. As TIME
wrote in 2013, the Obama administration believed al-Asiri was “the
most dangerous terrorist in the world.” He was connected to the failed
“underwear bomb” aboard a U.S.-bound flight on Christmas Day 2009, and
allegedly built bombs that nearly detonated within two Chicago-bound
international cargo planes in 2010. Al-Asiri also allegedly planned to
blow up a U.S. airliner in 2012 around the anniversary of al-Qaeda
leader Osama bin Laden’s death, but was stopped when the member chosen
for the suicide mission turned out to be a double agent for the U.S.
Per the White House statement, Al-Asiri also built a device used in an
assassination attempt of the former Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
“Al-Asiri’s death significantly handicapped al-Qa’ida in the Arabian
Peninsula,” the statement reads.”
Fox
News: US To Move About 50 ISIS Fighters From Syria To Iraq Amid
Turkish Assault, Officials Say
“Around 50 Islamic State fighters that the U.S. removed from Syria
in recent days amidst a Turkish military assault are headed to Iraq,
officials there say. Two Iraqi intelligence officials who spoke to the
Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday say the transfer
of the prisoners is expected to be completed by Friday. The move comes
after Turkey began a military offensive into northern Syria against
U.S.-backed Kurdish-led fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces
(SDF), who are holding more than 10,000 ISIS members as prisoners.
There are concerns that with the assault unfolding, the Kurdish-led
forces in charge of guarding the detainees won't be able to secure
them or would divert forces to fend off against advancing Turkish
troops. U.S. officials said Wednesday that two British militants
believed to be part of an ISIS group that beheaded hostages and were
known as “The Beatles” already have been moved out of a detention
center in Syria and are in American custody. Their exact location
Thursday was not immediately clear. The two British men, El Shafee
Elsheikh and Alexanda Amon Kotey, along with other British jihadis,
allegedly made up the ISIS cell that was nicknamed “The Beatles”
because of their English accents.”
The
Washington Post: Thousands Of Nigerian Hunters Prepare To Chase Boko
Haram
“Thousands of Nigerian hunters, armed with charmed amulets and
intimate knowledge of harsh terrain, are preparing an offensive
against the Boko Haram extremists who have ravaged the northeast for a
decade, calling it “high time” they help soldiers end the deadly
insurgency. Nigeria’s government discouraged a similar offensive five
years ago, calling it a suicide mission. This time it has the backing
of the governor of Borno state, which has suffered the worst of the
Boko Haram attacks. It is a sign that Nigerian authorities, who have
repeatedly claimed the defeat of Boko Haram, might be running out of
options against the Islamic extremists and a recent offshoot that has
pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. Borno state’s new Gov.
Babagana Zulum, who inherited the conflict after winning election
earlier this year, said he is tired of applying conventional
strategies against an extremist group that has killed and abducted
tens of thousands of people and displaced millions. The unrest has
created a vast humanitarian crisis. The governor recently approved the
sourcing of at least 10,000 hunters to help end the
fighting.”
The
New York Times: Only A Locked Door Stopped A Massacre At A German
Synagogue
“Were it not for a dark wooden door, the authorities say, Stephan
Balliet may have succeeded in carrying out a massacre of Jews he had
planned to broadcast live around the world. He chose Yom Kippur,
knowing the synagogue in Halle, Germany, would be full. But during
every service, the thick, narrow door, its outside handle removed, was
locked from the inside. It served as the only protection for Halle’s
Jewish community from the outside world. On Wednesday, it spared the
lives of 51 Jews from the area and a group of young, international
visitors, including 10 Americans, who had come to be with them on the
holiest day on the Jewish calendar.”
Newsweek:
From 8Chan To Telegram: Experts Point To Far-Right Extremists' New
Favorite Messaging Platform
“Telegram, an encrypted messaging app, has outpaced WhatsApp,
Twitter and other messaging services to replace 8chan as the go-to
online gathering place for religious and right-wing extremists,
according to one expert from the Counter Extremism Project. Researcher
Joshua Fischer-Birch told The Hill on Wednesday that Telegram's 65
publicly visible white extremist channels have experienced a surge in
users over the past month, with each channel welcoming hundreds of new
members. On average, each channel grew by 256 members, or 43 percent.
According to a 2017 report by the Counter Extremism Project, Telegram
knowingly allowed ISIS and other terrorist and religious extremist
groups to use its messaging platform despite growing evidence of its
role in numerous terrorist attacks.”
United States
NBC
News: Suspected Gunman In El Paso Walmart Shooting Pleads Not Guilty
To Attack That Killed 22
“The Texas man accused of killing 22 people at a Walmart in El
Paso, in an attack that authorities said targeted people of Mexican
descent, pleaded not guilty in court Thursday. Patrick Crusius, 21,
entered the plea during a brief court appearance. Court documents
previously released say that he confessed to opening fire at the store
on Aug. 3, that he told police “I'm the shooter” when he surrendered
and that in an interview with detectives he “stated his target were
'Mexicans.’” Crusius is charged with capital murder and is being held
without bail.”
The
Daily Beast: Al Qaeda Underwear Bomb Maker Died In U.S. Operation Two
Years Ago: White House
“The maker of an underwear bomb that was worn by a terrorist on a
Detroit-bound Christmas Day flight in 2009 has been killed, the White
House confirmed Thursday. In a statement, the White House said senior
al Qaeda bomb maker and terror coordinator Ibrahim al-Asiri was killed
two years ago during a U.S. operation in Yemen. The Trump
administration also said Al-Asiri was behind three other failed or
foiled bombing attempts: a printer cartridge bomb plot in 2010, a 2012
bomb that was meant to be used against a passenger aircraft, and a
device in the attempted assassination of the former crown prince of
Saudi Arabia.”
CNN:
US Detention Of ISIS 'Beatles' Shows The Collapse In Relations With
Turkey
“It has seemed an intractable problem. What to do with hundreds of
foreign ISIS fighters, accused of atrocities, but caught in such a
legal quagmire that nobody even wanted to punish them? Yet, in a sign
of the seriousness of the crisis unfolding in northeastern Syria, the
two British members of an ISIS cell known as the Beatles, Alexanda
Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, were swiftly transferred to US military
custody on Wednesday, ending months of legal and moral wrangling about
what to do with them. The two surviving members of the cell were
accused of being behind the torture that preceded the execution of
several Western ISIS hostages. In an interview with CNN earlier this
year, they denied violence, but confessed to assisting in ransom
negotiations, for which Elshafee said he was sorry. The legal
wrangling was partly of the UK's own doing, and partly a product of
the sheer chaos of Syria's breakdown. The UK quietly stripped the pair
of their citizenship, a move designed to prevent their return and also
reduce the UK's responsibility for them. Yet it created a legal
hurdle, and it made it even more complex, UK officials said, to
repatriate them to face charges. Another hurdle was the fact they were
being held by Syrian Kurds, in a part of Syria where there was no
officially recognized government.”
CNN:
How The Extreme-Right Gamified Terror
“It was an eerily familiar scene. A gunman livestreaming an attack
on a head-mounted camera, in the style of a first-person shooter video
game, and uploading it along with an extremist tirade. The parallels
between the attack on a synagogue in the German town of Halle and
other recent far-right shootings points to a wider trend: the
gamification of terror. Looked at together, some analysts say the
atrocities in Christchurch, New Zealand; Poway, California; El Paso,
Texas; and Baerum, Norway, paint a picture of a growing terror network
with roots in alt-right culture and online safe havens, not just
isolated events carried out by people holding similar beliefs.
“Notably, all attackers seem to be influenced by the violence enticing
extreme-right/incel [involuntary celibates] nexus found on certain
threads in forums such 8Chan, 4Chan. In addition, gaining recognition
and appraisal from likeminded forum users/anons seems to be an
important motive,” Jacob Aasland Ravndal, a postdoctoral fellow at the
Center for Research on Extremism (C-REX) at the University of Oslo,
told CNN by email. “All of this suggests that not only ideology but
also emotions and (failed) social relations, as well as the
gamification of real-life mass-shootings, need to be taken into
account when trying to understand these attacks.”
The
Guardian: US Moves Two British Isis Fighters From Syria To
Iraq
“The two British Isis members accused of involvement in the
beheading of western hostages are being taken to Iraq by the US
military as the Turkish offensive in north-east Syria enters its
second day. Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh were members of a
British group of Isis militants known as “the Beatles”. They were
seized overnight, with lawyers predicting that their transfer to Iraq
would be a precursor to them being taken to the United States. Details
remain sketchy, but western officials confirmed that the two Britons
have been taken across the border, after previously being held in
detention by Syrian Kurdish forces, the Syrian Democratic Forces
(SDF). Overnight, Donald Trump announced that the two had been moved,
tweeting: In case the Kurds or Turkey lose control, the United States
has already taken the 2 ISIS militants tied to beheadings in Syria,
known as the Beetles, out of that country and into a secure location
controlled by the U.S. They are the worst of the worst! The two are
understood to be part of a larger group moved by the US, with some
reports saying it numbered around 40 Isis fighters. Earlier, Trump had
said the US had “taken a certain number of Isis fighters that are
particularly bad, and we’ve wanted to make sure that nothing happened
with them with respect to getting out”.
Syria
Fox
News: Syria Pullout May Trigger 'Complete Reversal' Of U.S. Gains:
Former Intel Officer Who Interrogated ISIS Leader
“The former U.S. Navy intelligence officer who interrogated the
leader of ISIS during the Iraq war warned that President Donald
Trump’s withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria may result in a similar
set of circumstances that unfolded after President Barack Obama’s
pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011. The extraction of U.S.
troops from northern Syria has raised concerns that ISIS members, who
are detained in Syria under the control of Kurdish forces, may be
freed. There about 2,500 Islamic State foreign fighters
and another 10,000 fighters from Syria and Iraq, currently being held
in Syria.”
USA
Today: U.S. And Kurdish Soldiers: Side By Side Just Days Ago, Battling
ISIS, Now The Kurds Are Under Attack
“Two days before President Trump announced that he would pull U.S.
military back from the border zone in Syria, Americans and their
Kurdish allies had removed senior ISIS fighters from the battlefield,
according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly.
The capture of the two fighters occurred as part of daily regular
commando raids U.S. forces had been running with Kurdish soldiers, the
official said. Trump's abandonment of Kurdish allies fighting ISIS has
shocked members of the U.S. military and left it scrambling to protect
American forces in Syria – and to look on as those they worked with
side by side only a few days ago are now under attack as Turkey's
military continues to step up assaults on the region. Thursday marked
the second day of Turkey's assault on Kurdish forces in the region.
Turkey launched the assault because it views a Kurdish militia that
dominates the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, as a
terrorist group. Earlier this week, Trump said he was delivering on a
campaign promise to remove U.S. troops from “ridiculous endless wars.”
Trump also defended his decision on Wednesday to end U.S. support for
the Kurds, saying they had failed to fight with Americans in World War
II.”
CBS
News: As Turkey Attacks Kurds In Syria, Trump Says Any ISIS Escapees
Are Europe's Problem
“President Trump has dismissed concerns that Turkey's incursion
into northern Syria could enable hundreds of hardened ISIS fighters to
go free as a problem for other countries. There are more than 10,000
ISIS detainees held in jails across northern Syria run by America's
long-time Kurdish allies, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The
Kurds had warned that a Turkish offensive against them, which began on
Wednesday, would force them to turn their attention from ISIS, to self
defense. About 2,500 of the ISIS detainees held in Syria are believed
to be highly dangerous foreign fighters from Europe and elsewhere. On
Wednesday, the U.S. military confirmed to CBS News that it had taken
custody of two of those prisoners, a pair of British nationals
suspected of involvement in the brutal murder of American hostages.
“Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan said Thursday that the two
Brits who had been held jointly by the U.S. and the Kurds were being
moved to Iraq, where the U.S. has bases and can be more confident in
their security. Speaking on Wednesday, Mr. Trump seemed unconcerned
by warnings that thousands of other ISIS fighters — and thousands of
their family members who are held in separate facilities in the
region, including many who still sympathize with the extremist group —
could escape amid mounting chaos.”
The
Washington Post: Our Sons Were Killed By The Islamic State. Don’t Let
ISIS Prisoners In Syria Go Free.
“Between 2012 and 2014, our children — James Foley and Steven
Sotloff — were taken hostage, tortured and killed in Syria by members
of the Islamic State. We were promised by two administrations that
their murderers would be brought to justice. We watched as the Syrian
Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led coalition of local troops in
northeastern Syria backed by U.S. forces, captured more than 10,000
ISIS prisoners. Northeastern Syria, which borders Turkey, is a
critical zone in which our U.S. troops, with our international
coalition, have supported the Kurds in the fight against ISIS. The SDF
have been guarding the 10,000 ISIS fighters and their 70,000 family
members in camps. They have been awaiting extradition and trial. Among
them are Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, two suspected members
of the “Beatles,” the British ISIS fighters responsible for killing
the hostages. We have waited, month after month, for the U.S.
government to find ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and other culpable
ISIS fighters, and to finally prosecute Kotey and Elsheikh for the
horrors inflicted on our children. Earlier this week, we learned, with
the rest of the world, that President Trump was abruptly pulling back
U.S. forces in northeastern Syria and abandoning our local
allies.”
Business
Insider: ISIS Has A Plan To Bust Out 70,000 Supporters From Kurdish
Jails Now That The US Has Abandoned The Area To The Turkish
Military
“ISIS fighters will be closely watching the fighting between
Turkish and Kurdish troops in northeastern Syria, waiting for a chance
to break thousands of fighters, and tens of thousands of family
members, out of Kurdish prisons, according to a former member of the
group, Western intelligence officials, and Kurdish commanders.
Concerns of a mass-scale ISIS prison break have grown as Turkish
troops enter northeastern Syria to confront the Syrian Defence Forces.
The SDF is a predominately Kurdish group regarded as terrorists by
Turkey but a key American ally in the ground war against ISIS. SDF
officials, who have warned that their resources were already
overstretched guarding tens of thousands of ISIS prisoners before the
invasion, now say the situation is critical. Thousands of ISIS
fighters are being held in a dozen SDF facilities. Nearly 70,000 women
and children are being held at the al Hol camp in Syria. US special
operations troops overnight Wednesday moved several dozen high profile
prisoners, including those accused of murdering Western hostages, to
an undisclosed location outside of Syria. But that won't be enough to
prevent ISIS from attempting to break out thousands of lesser known
but vital fighters, according to a former member of the group.”
National
Review: Intel Officials Warn Of Possible ISIS Resurgence After U.S.
Withdrawal
“Current and former U.S. intelligence officials warned that ISIS
could regroup following the American withdrawal from northeast Syria,
according to a report from NBC. Kurdish organizations are currently
holding 12,000 ISIS fighters in prison, said the officials, and it is
unclear what will happen to them after Turkey’s invasion of Syria. If
the fighters are set free, the officials fear that ISIS terrorists
will regroup similar to how ISIS was formed during the years 2010 to
2013, when the group’s founders were released or escaped from jail as
American forces left Iraq. President Trump told reporters on Wednesday
that if ISIS fighters manage to break free, they “are going to be
escaping to Europe, that’s where they want to go. They want to go back
to their homes.” The officials interviewed by NBC agreed with an
assessment that ISIS is still a dangerous threat. The bipartisan Syria
Study Group, a panel appointed by Congress to assess the situation in
the country, released a report days before the Turkish invasion
indicating that ISIS would seize an opportunity to regroup. “There’s
ample evidence ISIS is still very much active, it has access to
tremendous resources, its brand still has international appeal,” said
report co-author and senior fellow at the Washington Institute for
Near East Policy Dana Stroul.”
Reuters:
Islamic State Will Not Have Presence In Northeast Syria -
Erdogan
“Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday he guaranteed
that Islamic State jihadists will not have a presence in northeast
Syria after Turkey completes its offensive against a Kurdish militia
in the region. In a speech to officials from his AK Party, Erdogan
said Islamic States prisoners who need to be kept captive will be held
in prison and those accepted by their own countries will be returned
home.”
Iran
The
Independent: Iran Oil Tanker On Fire After ‘Being Hit By Rockets In
Terrorist Attack’ Off Saudi Coast
“Two rockets have struck an Iranian oil tanker in the Red Sea off
the coast of Saudi Arabia, causing a major explosion, according to
officials in Tehran. “Two missiles hit the Iran-owned ship near the
Jeddah port city of Saudi Arabia,” state television reported. “The oil
tanker ... sustained damages to the body when it was hit by missiles
96km from the Saudi port city of Jeddah.” The foreign ministry said
the tanker had sustained damage from the explosion. “Experts believe
it was a terrorist attack,” the agency reported, adding that oil
spilled out into the sea after the blast. The leak was later stopped.
“Those behind the attack are responsible for the consequences of this
dangerous adventure, including the dangerous environmental pollution
caused,” a spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry said. The vessel
was on fire in the Red Sea following the blast, which occurred early
on Friday morning. The Nour news agency reported that all crew members
were safe. “None of the crew members were injured at the explosion...
the situation is under control,” the news agency, which is close to
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported. A spokesperson for the US
Navy’s 5th Fleet, which oversees the region, said authorities there
were “aware of reports of this [latest] incident,” but declined to
comment further.”
Iraq
Xinhua:
10 IS Militants Killed In Security Operation In Iraq
“A total of 10 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Thursday
in an operation by the Iraqi security forces in the central province
of Salahudin. Acting upon intelligence reports, a joint force from the
Iraqi army, police and paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units conducted an
anti-IS operation in the village of Smeilat near the town of
al-Shirqat, some 280 km north of Iraq's capital Baghdad, said a
statement by the media office of the Joint Operations Command. During
the operation, the Iraqi troops killed 10 IS militants, four wearing
explosive belts, and confiscated their weapons, the statement said.
The security situation in Iraq was dramatically improved after the
Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across
the country late in 2017. IS remnants, however, have since melted in
urban areas or resorted to deserts and rugged areas as safe havens,
carrying out frequent hit-and-run attacks against security forces and
civilians.”
Turkey
BBC
News: Turkey Syria Offensive: Will Islamic State
Re-Emerge?
“Yes, quite possibly, in some form, is the short answer. Jihadist
groups like Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda thrive on chaos and
disruption. This incursion threatens to bring both to a region that
was already a tinderbox of tension. But the outcome will partly depend
on the depth, duration and intensity of the Turkish incursion into
Syria. The jihadists of IS lost the last remaining square miles of
their self-declared caliphate following the battle for Baghuz in Syria
in March this year. But thousands of their fighters are still alive
and not all are in prisons. The group has vowed to fight on through
what it calls a “war of attrition”, hoping to grind down its
adversaries by a succession of covertly planned attacks, such as the
bombings it claimed in Raqqa this week. In north-eastern Syria,
previously an IS stronghold, their resurgence has been kept in check
by the large number of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) soldiers, mostly
Kurds, backed by US special forces and the firepower at their
disposal. The Kurds have not only been a military presence on the
ground and on the border with Turkey but they have also performed the
task that almost nobody else wanted to do: guarding the thousands of
IS fighters and their dependants in overcrowded prisons and camps
under their control.”
Afghanistan
Xinhua:
Airstrikes Kill 8 Militants In Afghanistan's Eastern Ghazni
Province
“Afghan air force launched airstrikes against a position of
militants loyal to the Taliban outfit in Giro district of the eastern
Ghazni province late Thursday night killing eight, Aref Nuri, the
provincial governor's spokesman said Friday. In the sorties, several
militants were injured, the official said, adding the security forces
also captured a number of arms and ammunition. No security personnel
and civilians had been harmed during the air raids, Nuri asserted.
Taliban outfit has yet to make comment.”
Pakistan
Reuters:
Pakistan Arrests Four Aides Of Alleged Mastermind Of Mumbai Terror
Attacks
“Pakistani authorities on Thursday arrested four aides of Islamist
leader Hafiz Saeed, the suspected mastermind of a four-day militant
attack on the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008, on terrorism financing
charges, counter-terrorism police said. Saeed, arrested on the same
charges, has been on judicial remand since July, a move welcomed by
U.S. President Donald Trump who wants Pakistan to do more to crack
down on militancy. But Saeed’s arrest came just ahead of a visit to
Washington by Prime Minister Imran Khan and was seen by rival India as
a ploy to smooth the way before a meeting with Trump. Thursday’s
arrests come ahead of a meeting next week of the Financial Action Task
Force, a global watchdog, which will review progress made by Pakistan
on controlling terror financing and money laundering. Pakistan,
included on a so-called gray list compiled by the FATF, has been under
increasing pressure to stop the financing of militant groups. The four
aides will appear before a trial court on Friday, police said in a
statement.”
Egypt
Egypt
Today: Egypt’s Security Forces Foil Terrorist Attack In
Arish
“Egypt’s security forces thwarted a terrorist attack, Thursday,
against a security checkpoint in Arish city, North Sinai. According to
an official statement by Egypt’s Ministry of Interior, the forces
killed the attacker before blowing himself up. Egypt has been
countering terrorism and extremism ideologies during the past years
since the ousting of the late pro-Muslim Brotherhood president,
Mohamed Morsi. In February 2018, the Army launched a military
operation titled “Comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018,” targeting the
hotbeds of terrorists nationwide especially in Northern and Central
Sinai. Sinai, in particular, has been a staging ground for militants
operating in Egypt for decades. It is also believed to be home to the
Islamic State’s Egyptian branch, which has been primarily targeting
civilians and security forces.”
Libya
Stars
And Stripes: Airstrikes Devastated ISIS Camps In Libya, Defense
Official Says
“A series of recent airstrikes in Libya against Islamic State
targets were delivered to “devastating effect,” eliminating roughly
one-third of the group’s already weakened fighting force in the
country, a defense official said Thursday. U.S. Africa Command
launched four airstrikes in Libya in September, resuming attacks after
a one-year pause. The strikes killed 43 ISIS fighters who were
operating out of desert camps. “We assess that was a pretty
significant degradation of their capability,” said the defense
official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. There are now only
about 100 ISIS fighters believed to be operating in Libya, the
official said. Leading up to the airstrikes, AFRICOM had seen an
uptick in attacks in Libya by the militant group, which had taken
advantage of an ongoing civil war in the country that has pitted a
U.S.-backed government against the so-called Libyan National Army,
commanded by rebel leader Khalifa Hifter. While the two forces fought
against each other, ISIS launched attacks of its own against the
warring sides. Still, ISIS in Libya has struggled to regenerate in the
years since it had some 5,000 fighters in the country and dominated a
200-mile coastal section in the north where it had a burgeoning
government of its own.”
Nigeria
Xinhua:
At Least 20 Boko Haram Militants Surrender To Nigerian
Troops
“At least 20 Boko Haram militants surrendered to Nigerian troops
following various clearance operations in the country's northeast
region, according to local security officials on Thursday. Among them,
15 high-profile militants laid down their arms during an operation by
the army and the government-backed militia, the Civilian Joint Task
Force (CJTF), at Pulka village in the Gwoza area of the northeastern
state of Borno, said Bashir Kaka, a CJTF leader. Kaka said some of the
Boko Haram leaders who surrendered during the operation on Wednesday
were among those earlier declared wanted by the army. A chief driver
of the Boko Haram terror group was also arrested during the operation,
he said. Aminu Iliyasu, a spokesman of the army in Borno, told Xinhua
that five additional militants had surrendered to troops in Gamboru
Ngala and Dikwa local government areas of the state in similar
operations. The militants, Iliyasu said, had stated that they had to
surrender to troops due to the severe hunger resulting from the
blockade of their supply routes and arrest of their logistics
suppliers and collaborators, as well as constant bombardments of their
artilleries and criminal hideouts, in previous operations.”
Africa
The
Washington Post: Destroying A Fragile Peace, Terrorists Wreak Havoc In
West Africa
“The girls don’t know each other, but they live in identical
plastic tents about a mile apart. They’re both 12, struggling to
adjust here, pining for what they can see only in their dreams. “The
cows, goats and sheep,” said Hamsa, a daughter of Fulani herders. “Our
house made of stone,” said Mariam, a daughter of Dogon farmers. Their
families escaped to neighboring camps this spring after gunmen stormed
their rural villages in central Mali, spraying bullets into bedrooms
and torching grain huts. Their people had shared that land in a
fragile peace for decades before the terrorists invaded, setting off a
surge of violence between the two communities. Islamist militants who
once tried to conquer Mali by force are striking again with an
insidious new strategy, security analysts say: Fighters linked to
al-Qaeda and the Islamic State are provoking feuds between old
neighbors — the Fulani and the Dogon — and gaining ground by offering
to protect victims of the conflict they’re stoking. Now a record
number of people are fleeing their homes in this West African nation
twice the size of Texas.”
Xinhua:
Conflicts And Terrorism Disturbing Africa's Progress:
Legislator
“Africa's quest to achieve economic development is being stifled by
terrorism and conflicts, said a Pan-African Parliament member on
Thursday. Kone Aboubacar Sidiki, Chairperson of the Committee on
Cooperation, International Relations and Conflict Resolutions, said
some terrorist groups like Boko Haram, al-Shabaab use cyber for their
recruitment and capitalize on religion, poverty, ethnic diversity and
political ideology to develop. “With technological advancements,
social media platforms are used to to spread negative propaganda, hate
speech and false messages undermining the national security and
leading to social unrest,” he said while briefing the Pan African
Parliament (PAP). “The Sahel, Lake Chad Basin and the Horn of Africa
are the most impacted with severe humanitarian and economic
consequences,” said Sidiki. He called for political engagement that
takes into account evolving global dynamics in support of the security
effort.”
North Korea
Associated
Press: N. Korea Threatens To Resume Nuke, Long-Range Missile
Tests
“North Korea threatened again Thursday to resume nuclear and
long-range missile tests, accusing the U.S. of having instigated some
members of the U.N. Security Council to condemn its recent weapons
tests. The warning by Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry followed the
weekend breakdown of North Korea-U.S. nuclear negotiations in Sweden,
the first such talks between the countries in more than seven months.
North Korea said the talks collapsed because the U.S. didn’t have any
new proposals, and whether it maintains a self-imposed moratorium on
major weapons tests was up to Washington.”
United Kingdom
BBC
News: 'Neo-Nazi' Teen 'Listed Terror Attack Targets'
“A teenage neo-Nazi who described himself as a “natural sadist”
listed targets for a terror attack in his own “guerrilla warfare”
manual, a court heard. The 16-year-old boy, from Durham, denies six
terrorism offences. He listed “means of attack” and “areas to attack”
in the self-written manual, Manchester Crown Court heard. Prosecutors
said the boy also marked Adolf Hitler's birthday by calling him “a
brave man to say the least”. Michelle Nelson QC, prosecuting, said
that since about 2016 the boy had been “an adherent of a right-wing
ideology” but “by late 2017 his view had hardened and he became an
adherent of neo-Nazism”. In the course of internet searches, he looked
for locations of synagogues and wrote of planning to conduct an arson
spree targeting synagogues in the Durham area using Molotov cocktails,
she told the jury. The boy, who cannot be identified for legal
reasons, also visited websites on firearms, searched for knives and
explosives, and was in communication with a gun auctioneer, Ms Nelson
said. She told the court a handwritten note by the youth showed him
taking on the ideology of “occult Nazism”. Among diary entries he
wrote: “In journal format I hope to record events from now all the way
to the inevitable race war.”
Reuters:
UK Police Charge Pakistan MQM Founder Hussain With Terrorism
Offense
“British police said on Thursday they had charged the London-based
founder of Pakistan’s MQM movement, Altaf Hussain, with a terrorism
offense in connection with a speech delivered in Karachi three years
ago. Violence erupted in Karachi after the speech by Hussain was
relayed over loudspeakers in the southern Pakistani city in August
2016. Hussain, 66, who lives in Mill Hill, north London, was charged
under the Terrorism Act 2006. “On 22 August 2016 (he) published a
speech to crowds gathered in Karachi which was likely to be understood
by some or all of the members of the public ... as a direct or
indirect encouragement to them to the commission, preparation or
instigation of acts of terrorism,” London police said in a statement.
Hussain was due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court
later on Thursday. Fearing assassination, Hussain requested asylum in
Britain in the 1990s and later gained British citizenship but retains
widespread influence in Karachi. The Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM),
one of Pakistan’s biggest political parties, mostly comprises
descendants of Muslim Urdu-speaking people who migrated to Pakistan
from India around the time of the partition of India in 1947.”
France
Reuters:
In Wake Of Turkish Offensive, France Calls For Urgent Meeting Of
Anti-Islamic State Coalition
“French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called for an emergency
meeting of the coalition created to fight Islamic State to discuss
Turkey’s offensive against Kurdish militias in northern Syria. Le
Drian said on France 2 television that the coalition, which includes
more than 30 countries, needs to discuss a range of issues because
Islamic State could take advantage of the changes on the ground to
re-emerge. “It (the coalition) needs to say today what are we going
do, how do you, Turkey, want to proceed and how do we ensure the
security of places where fighters are held? Everything needs to be on
the table so that we are clear,” Le Drian said. Turkey pounded
U.S.-allied Kurdish militia in Syria for a second day on Thursday,
forcing tens of thousands of people to flee and killing dozens. Turkey
says the Kurdish YPG, the main component of the U.S.-backed Syrian
Democratic Forces, is a terrorist group linked to Kurdish insurgents
that have fought in Turkey for years. France is one of the United
States’ main allies in the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State
in Syria and Iraq, with its warplanes used to strike militant targets
and its special forces on the ground coordinating with Kurdish and
Arab fighters.”
Germany
The
Wall Street Journal: Shooter In German Synagogue Attack
Confesses
“The German man charged with murder in Wednesday’s botched attack
on a synagogue has confessed to the crime and admitted to anti-Semitic
and far-right-wing extremist motives, the federal prosecutor’s office
said. Under the German justice system, Stephan Balliet, 27, will still
stand trial for the Yom Kippur attack in the eastern city of Halle
that left two dead and two injured. It is unclear how confession could
affect possible sentencing in what authorities are treating as a
terrorist attack.”
The
Wall Street Journal: On Edge From Attacks, Germany Finds Far-Right
Radicals Within Security Services
“Germany’s security agencies are investigating their own ranks for
suspected plots to attack immigrants and politicians, as authorities
have become increasingly concerned about allegations of extreme-right
radicalism among some soldiers and police officers. The probes examine
a range of activities, from racist discussions in online chat forums
and illegal weapons possession, to suspected hit lists of left-wing
politicians and liberal activists, according to confidential documents
and people familiar with the investigations. The inquiries are also
examining alleged plots to carry out terrorist attacks.”
The
Washington Post: Synagogue Attacker Hoped To Inspire Further
Anti-Semitic Attacks, German Authorities Say
“The suspect in a live-streamed attack on a synagogue in eastern
Germany that killed two people is a right-wing extremist with a clear
anti-Semitic motive, authorities said Thursday. Government officials,
including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said the death toll in what
authorities have characterized as a terrorist attack would have been
higher had the assailant’s apparently improvised weapons and
explosives not malfunctioned. A locked door in the synagogue had
prevented a “massacre of an extent that is hard to imagine,” said
Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.
Up to 80 worshipers were inside the synagogue in the city of Halle
when the attack began Wednesday, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in
Judaism. The assault prompted questions about the safety of the Jewish
community in Germany, and officials said the republic had failed its
Jewish citizens. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called Wednesday a
“day of shame and disgrace.” Since the end of World War II, German
leaders have tried to ensure that the stain of the Holocaust — in
which Nazi Germany and its collaborators killed roughly 6 million Jews
— never fades from public memory and the national conscience.”
The
Wall Street Journal: Live Stream Of Germany Shooting Turns Spotlight
To Amazon’s Twitch
“Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -0.10% ’s Twitch has become a go-to place to
watch people play videogames, but this week that same platform
broadcast a horrific crime that highlights the challenge of preventing
extremists from showing their violent acts in real time. A German man
was accused of killing two people Wednesday near a synagogue and
streaming the assault online. The suspect, identified by a German
security official as 27-year-old Stephan Balliet, was charged with
murder Thursday.”
DW:
Attacks On Synagogues In Germany
“The attempted attack on a synagogue in Halle is not the first in
recent years. Even after the horrors of the Nazi era, anti-Semitic
incidents occur in Germany — on individuals, memorials and Jewish
places of worship.”
The
Washington Post: The Germany Yom Kippur Attack Shows It Is Past Time
To Focus On The Enemy Within
“Yet again, the peace of an innocent religious community has been
murderously disrupted by an ultra-right-wing terrorist. This time, the
attack came in Halle, Germany, against a synagogue on the holiest day
of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur. The alleged perpetrator, a
27-year-old German man, was arrested, but not before he shot two
innocent people to death. All that stood between the world and the
specter of a much larger crime — up to 80 people, including 10 U.S.
citizens, were at prayer — was the synagogue’s locked door, which the
terrorist failed to breach, despite using explosives. Whether this was
because of the barrier’s strength or the perpetrator’s incompetence
has not yet been determined. Those who speak of a miracle have good
reason. As a policy matter for Germany, the United States and all
other civilized countries, what’s important is not the actual death
toll but the intended one, and the particular aim that the deaths were
supposed to serve. Abundant evidence speaks of a connection, at least
ideological and, perhaps, more tangible than that, between the young
right-wing radical in Halle and others like him who previously carried
out mass murders at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, mosques in New Zealand
and a Walmart in El Paso.”
BBC
News: German Synagogue Shooting Was Far-Right Terror, Justice Minister
Says
“A shooting at a synagogue in the German city of Halle on Wednesday
was a far-right terror attack, said Justice Minister Christine
Lambrecht. Alleged perpetrator Stephan Balliet had four kilos (9lb) of
explosives in his car, Ms Lambrecht said in a statement with
attorney-general Peter Frank. Mr Frank said the gunman had been
planning a massacre. The suspect, 27, faces two counts of murder and
nine counts of attempted murder, German media report. The German
national is due to appear in court on Thursday afternoon. Prosecutors
allege he intended to create a “worldwide effect” by deliberately
mimicking tactics used during a mass shooting at two New Zealand
mosques earlier this year. About 2,200 people watched a live stream he
allegedly posted on the online streaming platform Twitch. About 60
worshippers were at a Yom Kippur service at the time of the attack.
German police have faced criticism from the nation's most prominent
Jewish community group, which accused the force of “negligence” in its
handling of the attack. The head of the Central Council of Jews said
it was “scandalous” that police were not protecting the synagogue on
the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday.”
Technology
Vice:
Neo-Nazi Terrorism Is Evolving Online
“Neo-Nazi terrorists are taking a page from ISIS' playbook and
carrying out calculated, horrific, mass casualty attacks all over the
world to shock and scare of the public. And they’re taking another tip
from the infamous terrorist group: using internet savvy and encrypted
networks to spread propaganda, recruit new members, and ultimately
orchestrate terrorism. They have even used famous jihadist images of
Osama bin Laden in their propaganda and glorify ISIS videos. After a
spate of high-profile deplatforming campaigns on more mainstream
social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, the far-right retreated
to the more covert corners of the internet, taking up on platforms
like Minds. Recently, and similarly to ISIS, neo-Nazis have begun
using Telegram for everything from shitposting to coordinating
terrorist activities.”
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