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Eye on Extremism
June 23, 2021
The Jerusalem Post: 48% Of Gaza War Casualties Associated With Terror Groups – Intel Report
“At least 48% of the Palestinians killed during the May 10-21 Gaza conflict were associated with terrorist groups, the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center reported Tuesday. In a copy of the report first obtained by The Jerusalem Post, the intelligence center broke down the more than 200 Palestinians killed according to their affiliation with terrorist groups, identified those killed by Palestinian misfires and listed civilian deaths. The center is viewed as one of the most serious think tanks in Israel since it is staffed with former high-ranking officers and officials from Israel’s three intelligence services. Though it also sometimes receives classified information from the intelligence services, it is not formally connected to the government or the IDF and reaches its conclusions independently without coordination with official bodies. In the report, the center recognized that there are different estimates about the number of dead Palestinians, ranging between 240 and 260, and it used the number 234. According to the report, some 112 of the 234 were associated with Hamas, Islamic Jihad or another terrorist group. Breaking down the 112, there were 63 associated with Hamas, 20 with Islamic Jihad, 25 with a terrorist wing of Fatah and a few others with smaller splinter groups.”
“Australia is one step closer to listing Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation after a bipartisan inquiry urged the federal government to move on the Lebanese militant group and political party. The powerful intelligence and security committee has recommended all of Hezbollah be declared a terrorist entity, rather than just a wing of its security arm. Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews last month re-listed Hezbollah’s External Security Organisation, but maintained Australia’s longstanding position not to do the same for the other wings of the Iranian-backed group. Tabling its report into the listing on Tuesday afternoon, the committee’s chair, Liberal Senator James Paterson, said it was “concerned by the decision to at this stage only re-list Hezbollah’s ESO”. “In its last review of the re-listing of Hezbollah in 2018, the Committee recommended that the government consider extending the listing to include the military wing of Hezbollah,” he said. “In this report, the committee goes a step further. We recommend the government consider listing Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organisation. Senator James Paterson says there is no reason why the whole of the organisation shouldn’t be listed.”
United States
NBC News: Pelosi Mulling Whether To Form House Committee To Investigate Jan. 6 Attack
“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is considering whether to form a House select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 riot after Republicans blocked legislation to create a bipartisan panel. Pelosi informed the House Democratic Steering and Policy committee of her thinking Tuesday evening, stressing the importance study the attack, which left several dead and dozens injured. The exact timing of when this will begin remains unclear, a source told NBC News. There was initial confusion as to whether Pelosi was moving to form the committee or mulling the possibility. Drew Hammill, the speaker's deputy chief of staff, clarified her position in a tweet Tuesday evening, saying Pelosi plans to announce her decision this week. “Her preference continues to be a bipartisan commission which Senate Republicans are blocking,” Hammill said. Senate Republicans blocked House-passed legislation in May that would have established a bipartisan commission to investigate the attack. Fifty-four senators voted in favor and 35 opposed, short of the 60 votes needed to proceed. The bill passed the House in late May by a vote of 252-175, with 35 Republicans in favor. It was negotiated by Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., the top Democrat and Republican members of the House Homeland Security Committee.”
Patch: UMass-Lowell Can't Suspend Waltham Man With Neo-Nazi Ties
“…The nonprofit Counter Extremism Project says NSC-131 is a “leaderless, decentralized organization” and lists Hood, previously of Malden, as its “alleged founder.” During the Jan. 6 riot, screenshots taken from Telegram, the encrypted messaging app NSC-131 uses to communicate, showed members holding up the group's logo outside the Capitol. “Known NSC tactics include antagonizing social-justice protesters, vandalism, and posting stickers and other propaganda,” the Counter Extremism Project says in its entry on NSC-131. “NSC members have joined right-wing and pro-police rallies where they have displayed Nazi flags and symbols, as well as engaged in physical altercations.”
Syria
Voice Of America: Australia Urged To Repatriate Islamic State Widow From Syrian Camp
“Family members of alleged Islamic State militants held in Syrian camps are urging the Australian government to repatriate dozens of its citizens. Kamalle Dabboussy’s Sydney-born daughter Mariam and her three young children are being held at the al-Roj refugee camp in north-east Syria. They are among about 60 Australians stranded there. The Australian government has said it was too dangerous for diplomatic staff to visit the region to try to bring them home. Dabboussy believes the security situation is stable enough for his daughter and grandchildren to be brought home, but he has warned that volatility in the region could return at any time. It is estimated that 10,000 suspected widows and children of former Islamic State fighters are among 70,000 people held in the al-Roj and al-Hawl detention camps, according to Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy, a U.S.-based foreign policy think tank, most are Iraqi and Syrian nationals. They were taken to the facilities after the jihadist group was defeated in 2019. Charities have said the camps are beset by violence, food shortages and a lack of medical care. There are concerns that women and children are at risk of exploitation. The United States and the European Union have warned that the camps could breed a new generation of militants.”
Turkey
Daily Sabah: Senior Daesh Terrorist Nabbed, Remanded In Custody In Turkey
“Turkish court remanded a senior Daesh terrorist after he was nabbed in an operation led by Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) in Syria, said a security source on Tuesday. Kasım Güler, code-named Abu Usame al Turki, was remanded by a court in the capital Ankara for managing an armed terrorist organization. MIT initiated efforts to nab Güler on June 15 after learning that he was planning to cross into Turkey from Syria and plotting a large-scale terrorist attack, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media. The terrorist, who is responsible for the terrorist group's activities in Turkey, was in the red category of the Interior Ministry's wanted terrorist list. The wanted list is divided into five color-coded categories, with red representing the most wanted, followed by blue, green, orange and gray. After a period of surveillance, MIT nabbed the terrorist in Syria and brought him to Turkey for interrogation, said the source. It was ascertained that the terrorist was preparing to enter Turkey illegally with arms and explosives. The terrorist moved to the Afghanistan-Pakistan region between 2008- 2010, operated in conflict areas and joined Daesh in 2014.”
Afghanistan
The New York Times: Attacked And Vulnerable, Some Afghans Are Forming Their Own Armies
“The slaughter of students, mostly teenagers, at a tutoring center. The deaths of young athletes in a suicide bombing at a wrestling club. Mothers shot dead with newborns in their arms. These relentless killings of Hazaras, a persecuted minority in Afghanistan, finally proved too much to bear for Zulfiqar Omid, a Hazara leader in the central part of the country. In April, Mr. Omid began mobilizing armed men into militias to defend Hazara areas against the Taliban and the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan. He said he now commands 800 armed men at seven staging areas mustered into what he calls “self-protection groups.” “Hazaras get killed in cities and on highways, but the government doesn’t protect them,” Mr. Omid said. “Enough is enough. We have to protect ourselves.” As U.S. and NATO forces withdraw from Afghanistan, and talks falter between the Taliban and the American-backed government, ethnic groups across the country have formed militias or say they plan to arm themselves. The rush to raise fighters and weapons evokes the mujahedeen wars of the early 1990s, when rival militias killed thousands of civilians and left sections of Kabul in ruins.”
CNN: 50 Of Afghanistan's 370 Districts Have Fallen To Taliban Since May: UN Envoy
“Fifty of Afghanistan's 370 districts have fallen to Taliban militants since May, according to the UN's special envoy on Afghanistan Deborah Lyons, as the United States continues its military withdrawal from the country. “The Taliban recent advances are even more significant and are as a result of an intensified military campaign; more than 50 of Afghanistan's 370 districts have fallen since the beginning of May,” Lyons told the UN Security Council on Tuesday. “Most districts have been that have been taken surround provincial capitals, suggesting that the Taliban are positioning themselves to try and take these capitals once foreign forces are fully withdrawn,” Lyons continued. The news came as a local power company told media Tuesday that violent clashes had damaged key electrical infrastructure, causing power outages in 11 provinces including Kabul. Over the past 24 hours, Taliban fighters have taken control of several districts in Kunduz province and the important border crossing with Tajikistan, according to a Rabani Rabani, a member of the Kunduz provincial council. The districts include Chahar Dara, Khan Abad, Imam Sahib, and as well as Shirkhan Bandar, a crossing point with Tajikistan, Rabani said.”
Africa
Reuters: At Least 11 Police Killed In Burkina Faso Ambush
“Eleven police officers were killed and four are missing after their unit was ambushed in northern Burkina Faso late on Monday, the country's security minister said on Tuesday. The ambush occurred while the unit was on a relief mission to the town of Yirgou, which has been hit by recent violence, Security Minister Ousseini Compaore said in a statement. “Joint search operations with the army have been under way since yesterday,” Compaore said. Attacks by militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State are surging across the Sahel region, killing thousands and displacing millions across Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. About 1.2 million people have been displaced by the violence in Burkina Faso. At least 132 people were killed by insurgents last month in the worst single attack yet.”
The North Africa Post: Morocco: ISIS-Linked Terror Cell Dismantled, Four Arrested
“The Central Bureau for Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) dismantled, this Tuesday morning, an ISIS-linked terror cell in the rural commune of Sidi Zouine (Marrakech-Safi region) made up of four extremists aged between 22 and 28. This security operation is part of the ongoing efforts in the fight against terrorism and extremist groups that seek to undermine the Kingdom’s security and stability, BCIJ points out in a statement. The leader of this cell intended to attack targets and sites in Morocco and was planning to join the camps of the Islamic State in the Sahel region following contacts with a leader within this organization who asked him to join the ISIS combat camps in order to take part in training on the manufacture of explosive devices. the BCIJ statement says. Investigations carried out revealed that the “emir” of this terrorist cell used his welding skills to manufacture bladed weapons and explosive devices. He also carried out tests for the preparation and use of these explosive materials, before acquiring chemicals to complete the manufacture of these devices as part of the preparation of his terrorist scheme inside the Kingdom.”
United Kingdom
The Independent: British Aircraft Carrier Deployed In First Direct Action Against Isis
“The aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, leading the largest naval and air taskforce under British command since the Falklands, has carried out its first direct military operation against Isis. British and American F-35B Stealth jets took part in attacks on insurgent positions in Syria and Iraq in an operation which, it is claimed, also “denied airspace” to Russian aircraft flying in an area in support of Bashar al-Assad’s Damascus regime. A number of positions were targeted in the attack although the details of the damage inflicted by fighters from the 617 Squadron RAF (The Dambusters) and the US Marine Corps remain unclear. Defence officials held that the overall aims were achieved. The deployment, which will take the fleet to the Far East, and into waters disputed by China and a number of neighbouring states, is part of a post-Brexit tilt outside Europe in defence and foreign policies announced by Boris Johnson’s government. The raids took place under Operation Shader, the British contribution to the international counter-Isis mission. They came amid warnings that the Islamist group is once again regrouping and growing in strength since the fall of its caliphate.”
Daily Maverick: UK Military Deepens Ties With Regime Accused Of Funding Terror Groups
“… When a ceremony was held in London to mark the first joint squadron in July 2018, the MOD stated that Qatar and the UK “share mutual interests in countering violent extremism” and “ensuring stability” in the Middle East. However, Qatar’s government “has paid ransom demands, shipped supplies, and funnelled billions of dollars of funding” to militant groups across the Middle East, according to the Counter-Extremism Project (CEP), a think tank close to the US establishment. The BBC noted in 2017 that Qatar has close relationships with the Taliban, the main force that has fought the British military in Afghanistan, and “certain al-Qaeda affiliates”, such as in Syria. The CEP notes that Qatar harbours at least 13 individuals accused of having links to terrorism and seven al-Qaeda financiers. In August 2019, eight Syrian refugees filed a lawsuit in the UK alleging that accounts at the Doha Bank in Qatar had been used to channel funds to the Nusra Front in Syria.”
France
The Wall Street Journal: France’s Macron Pushes Controls On Religion To Pressure Mosques
“President Emmanuel Macron is redrawing the line that separates religion and state, in a battle to force Islamic organizations into the mold of French secularism. In recent months, his administration has ousted the leadership of a mosque after temporarily closing it and poring over its finances. Another mosque gave up millions in subsidies after the government pressured local officials over the funding. A dozen other mosques have faced orders to close temporarily for safety or fire-code violations. The government has taken these actions as a precursor to a much broader push to rein in the independence of mosques and other religious organizations across France. Mr. Macron has submitted a bill to Parliament, called the Law Reinforcing Respect of the Principles of the Republic, that would empower the government to permanently close houses of worship and dissolve religious organizations, without court order, if it finds that any of their members are provoking violence or inciting hatred. In addition, the bill would allow temporary closure of any religious group that spreads ideas that incite hatred or violence.”
Germany
Daily Sabah: 70% Of Germans See Right-Extremism As Major Threat: Study
“According to a study commissioned by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and published Tuesday, about 70% of Germans see right-wing extremism as a major threat. The annual study asked 1,750 people about their political attitudes and perceptions. It shows that right-wing extremism and climate change are perceived as the greatest threats by Germans at the moment, with climate change garnering slightly less concern than extremism. The topic of migration, which still played a role after Germany accepted a large number of migrants after 2015, is only seen as a threat by 25% of people. According to Beate Kuepper from the Niederrhein University, who contributed to the study, the center of society has been “scared and awakened” by a recent increase in right-wing terrorist attacks. The study found that extreme-right views were only held by a very small percentage, and especially among less-educated people. While 3.2% of people with lower education adhered to extreme-right thinking, only 0.8% of people with a higher educational degree did. The extreme-right sentiment was especially present in regions “where the AfD (Alternative for Germany) was successful in the 2017 parliamentary election” and where few foreigners live, the study found.”
Europe
“Terrorist organizations used the pandemic to “spread hate propaganda and exacerbate mistrust in public institutions,” according to the European Union police’s annual terrorism situation and trend report. Europol, in the report released Tuesday, wrote that COVID-19 and the resulting economic and social crises “contributed to polarisation in society, causing attitudes to harden and increasing acceptance of intimidation, including calls to commit violent acts.” Europol added that “Expressions of social dissatisfaction increased, both online and offline, with social media playing a facilitating and mobilising role, as well as the proliferation of disinformation and conspiracy theories.” The group, in a press release announcing the report's findings, noted that while terrorists have, in recent years, exploited polarization in society to “pollute the social climate with violent ideologies,” the pandemic “has further accelerated this development.” “There has been a notable increase in intolerance of political opponents, while the number of individuals conducting verbal or physical violence is also increasing,” the police group added. Europol recorded 57 “completed, failed and foiled” terrorist attacks in 2020 in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, according to the report.”
Technology
Bloomberg Law: Twitter, Google, Facebook Mostly Immune To ISIS Attack Lawsuits
“Google, Twitter, and Facebook must continue fighting claims that they aided and abetted an act of international terrorism after the Ninth Circuit revived a lawsuit brought by family members of an individual killed at the Reina nightclub massacre in Istanbul, Turkey. But it’s likely based on the court’s rulings on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in a related appeal over terrorist attacks in Paris that the plaintiffs will face long odds on remand. The issue of immunity wasn’t reached in the Reina nightclub case, because the lower court dismissed the lawsuit under the Anti-Terrorism Act. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed lower court rulings that most of the plaintiffs’ claims were barred by Section 230 immunity for claims based on publisher status, but it suggested Congress ought to revisit the provision. The law, according to the court, “is likely premised on an antiquated understanding of the extent to which it is possible to screen content posted by third parties.” “Whether social media companies should continue to enjoy broad immunity for the third-party content they publish, and whether their use of algorithms ought to be regulated, are pressing questions that Congress should address,” the court said.”
The Guardian: Myanmar: Facebook Promotes Content Urging Violence Against Coup Protesters – Study
“Facebook is promoting content that incites violence against Myanmar’s anti-coup protesters and amplifies junta misinformation, despite promising to clamp down on the misuse of its platform, according to a study. An investigation by the rights group Global Witness found that Facebook’s recommendation algorithm continues to invite users to view content that breaches its own policies. After liking a Myanmar military fan page, which did not contain recent posts violating Facebook’s policies, the rights group found that Facebook suggested several pro-military pages that contained abusive content. Among the posts featured on one of the pages was an image of a “wanted” poster offering a $10m bounty for the capture “dead or alive” of a young woman. The post claimed she was among protesters who had burned down a factory following a military crackdown. Images of the woman’s face and a screenshot of what appeared to be her Facebook profile were posted alongside a caption reading: “This girl is the one who committed arson in Hlaing Tharyar. Her account has been deactivated. But she cannot run.” Global Witness said that its report demonstrated that self-regulation by Facebook was not working, and called for Facebook’s recommendation algorithm to be subject to independent audit.”
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