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Eye on Extremism
June 28, 2021
The National: Hezbollah-Linked Commander Assassinated In Southern Syria
“A Hezbollah-affiliated commander was assassinated in southern Syria on Saturday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the killing of Aref Al Jahmani, a prominent figure aligned with Hezbollah in the town of Saida, which is in Deraa governorate. It was the latest in a string of assassinations and murders going back years in territory recaptured by the Syrian regime. Al Jahmani previously fought with an opposition group known as the Yarmouk Army before reconciling with the regime after Deraa’s recapture in 2018. He then joined Hezbollah, rising to become an important figure in the local area. He survived a previous assassination attempt in April. A representative for Hezbollah did not respond to requests from comment. The Lebanese group has made major inroads in southern Syria since much of it was recaptured from rebel groups in 2018 and 2019, giving the movement access to the country's borders with Israel. Deraa and neighbouring southern regions have been restive despite being recaptured by regime forces. There was a general strike in several areas to protest against May's presidential election and there have been several hit-and-run attacks and explosions.”
Reuters: Boko Haram Fighters Pledge To Islamic State In Video, Worrying Observers
“A group of fighters from Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram pledged allegiance to rivals the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) weeks after the former group's leader died, according to a video seen by Reuters. The video fuels fears that ISWAP is consolidating control of the insurgency in northeastern Nigeria following the death of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau last month. But not all observers are convinced the video is proof that all Boko Haram fighters are ready to join ISWAP. The groups engaged in a violent rivalry for years, and if ISWAP absorbs Boko Haram fighters, it could focus attention on attacking the Nigerian military. Some 350,000 people have died as a result of the 12-year insurgency and subsequent humanitarian crisis, the United Nations said this week. The video, produced by Islamic State's official media arm, showed clips of several hundred men, many of whom were armed, gathering in the bush. Several made statements to camera. “We will unite together to fight the (unbelievers),” one Boko Haram fighter said in Hausa. “What will happen now will by far exceed what transpired in the past now that we're united.” Vincent Foucher, a researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research who is an expert on the conflict, said the video adds to evidence that ISWAP was gaining control.”
United States
The Washington Post: Canada Labels The Three Percenters A Terrorist Entity
“Canada on Friday declared the Three Percenters a terrorist entity, saying that it had “ample reason” to believe the U.S.-based right-wing, anti-government, self-styled militia group is active in Canada and that officials have been monitoring its movements with “growing concern.” Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said at a news conference that Three Percenters have been linked to bomb plots targeting U.S. government buildings and Muslim communities, as well as a 2020 scheme to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) that involved “the acquiring and detonating of explosives to divert police attention.” The announcement comes a few weeks after four self-described members of the Three Percenters from California were arrested and charged with conspiracy and aiding and abetting the obstruction of a joint session of Congress after allegedly participating in the riot at the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6. It also comes several months after Canada declared as a terrorist entity the Proud Boys, a far-right, male-only group of self-described “Western chauvinists” with a history of street violence. The United States has not labeled either a terrorist group. “We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to protect our country and our interests and to keep Canadians safe here at home and around the world,” Blair said.”
Reuters: U.S. Supreme Court Curbs Transunion 'Terrorist List' Lawsuit
“The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday narrowed the scope of a class action lawsuit against TransUnion (TRU.N) in which thousands of people sought damages after the credit reporting company flagged their names as matching some on a government list of suspected terrorists and drug traffickers. The justices ruled in TransUnion's appeal of a lower court decision that had upheld a jury verdict against the Chicago-based company in the lawsuit and had ordered it to pay $40 million in damages. The 5-4 decision, authored by conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh, stopped short of tossing out the jury verdict, but found there was insufficient evidence to show that all of the plaintiffs had been harmed by TransUnion's conduct, meaning the amount of damages will be reduced. There were 8,185 class members in the litigation whose names matched ones on the government list. At trial it was established only that TransUnion had revealed that information publicly on 1,853 of them. The other 6,332 did not experience a “concrete injury,” thus lacked the necessary legal standing to sue, Kavanaugh wrote. “No concrete harm, no standing,” Kavanaugh wrote. On two other claims in the lawsuit, the court found, none of the plaintiffs aside from the lead plaintiff, a California man named Sergio Ramirez, could show they had suffered any harm.”
Voice Of America: Blinken To Meet With Pope, Discuss Defeating IS With Allies
“U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Monday with Pope Francis and other officials at the Vatican, with climate change, human rights and human trafficking among the topics of discussion. The visit comes ahead of an expected October meeting between the pope and U.S. President Joe Biden, who is the second Catholic to lead the United States. Also Monday, Blinken and Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio co-chair a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS where State Department officials said ministers will discuss maintaining pressure on the militant group in Iraq and Syria while also working to counter affiliates elsewhere in the world. Patrick Worman, acting director of the U.S. Office of the Special Envoy to Defeat ISIS, told reporters a particular focus of the meeting will be “new challenges ISIS is posing in Africa,” particularly West Africa and the Sahel. The United States launched a coalition effort, now involving 83 members, aimed at defeating the Islamic State group in 2014 after the militants seized control of a large area across northern Syria and Iraq, and in 2019 declared the militants had been ousted from their last remaining territory. “ISIS remains a determined enemy,” Worman told reporters.”
Iraq
Bloomberg: U.S. Strikes Iran-Backed Groups In Test For Nuclear Talks
“The U.S. Air Force struck Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria on Sunday, in a test of Iran’s incoming president, whose election this month has already complicated efforts to revive a 2015 deal on Iran’s nuclear program. The raids on operational and weapons storage facilities were in response to attacks on U.S. interests and were a “necessary, appropriate and deliberate action designed to limit the risk of escalation,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. There was no immediate reaction from the region, where Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi’s next moves are being closely watched for clues on whether he’ll seek to negotiate with the West, or ratchet up tensions further. Iran and world powers have been locked in weeks of talks in Vienna that could see sanctions on the Islamic Republic ease in return for hemming in its contentious nuclear work. The oil market appeared to shrug off the latest military action, with oil prices holding steady near a two-year high and traders focused on a Thursday meeting of the OPEC+ bloc. Futures in New York traded near $74 a barrel. The talks in Vienna are expected to reconvene in the coming days, but the expiry of a nuclear monitoring pact between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency last week has added a further risk to efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.”
Reuters: Islamic State Claims Responsibility For Rocket Attack On Iraqi Power Station
“Islamic State claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on a power station in Iraq, the group's Nasheer News said on its Telegram channel. Iraq's Ministry of Electricity said on its Facebook page that Salah al-Din Power Station in the city of Samarra was targeted with Katyusha rockets, causing severe damage to parts of the generating unit.”
Afghanistan
New York Post: Biden Defends Afghanistan Pullout As Taliban Gobbles More Territory
“President Biden vowed Friday that the US and Afghanistan would have a “sustained” partnership after American combat forces leave the country — but warned Kabul’s top two leaders that “Afghans are going to have to decide their future.” Biden made the statements during a meeting at the White House with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, chair of the High Council for National Reconciliation. “The partnership between Afghanistan and the United States is not ending,” Biden insisted. He later added: “Our troops may be leaving, but support for Afghanistan is not ending, in terms of … helping maintain their military, as well as economic and political support.” The visit to Washington came at a crucial moment for Ghani and Abdullah. Peace talks with the Taliban have stalled, while battlefield gains by the Islamic fundamentalists have raised fears that the US-backed government could collapse within months without American military support. Ghani said he respected Biden’s decision to withdraw US forces and claimed that Afghan forces had retaken six districts from the Taliban earlier Friday. “It’s showing our determination,” said Ghani, who has a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Columbia.”
Vice: Their Names Showed Up On WhatsApp ‘Taliban Kill Lists.’ Now, Some Are In Hiding.
“Zainullah Stanekzai hasn’t seen his family since he was forced to leave his home in southern Afghanistan last year in November, after his name appeared on a “kill list” of alleged Taliban targets that was being widely circulated on WhatsApp and Telegram groups. Stanekzai, who has been a journalist for 14 years covering the fall and resurgence of the Taliban is one of hundreds of Afghan journalists, artists, activists and politicians whose names have been featured in widely circulated “kill lists.” The lists, commonly found on social media platforms and forwarded on WhatsApp groups, have been all too frequent in the last year in Afghanistan which has witnessed a spike in violence since the US signed a peace deal with the Taliban. The Afghan security official VICE World News reached out to confirmed the list, and said he was aware of them but did not comment on their origins or veracity. “Based on our intelligence, the Taliban, working with the Haqqani Network, has been conducting targeted killings on Afghan civil society, journalists and government officials. Even those killings claimed by Daesh are conducted by Taliban,” he shared on condition of anonymity, referring to ISIS by its Arabic name.”
Pakistan
Reuters: Pakistan's Military Says Five Soldiers Killed By Suspected Militants
“Pakistan's military said on Friday that suspected militants had ambushed and shot dead five soldiers in the province of Balochistan, where insurgent have stepped up attacks this year. The military said the attackers opened fire on soldiers in the area of Sangan on Thursday evening and had yet to be identified. Balochistan, the focal point of China's $60 billion Belt and Road development programme, has for years struggled with insurgents including Baloch separatists, the Taliban and Islamic State, who have targeted the military as well as projects involving foreign investors. In May, four Pakistani soldiers were killed along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in what the military said was an ambush by militants from Afghanistan. In April a car bomb at a luxury hotel in the city of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, killed four people, in an attack later claimed by the Pakistani Taliban. China's ambassador to Pakistan was staying at the hotel, but was not present during the attack.”
Nigeria
Bloomberg: Nigeria’s Buhari Concerned About New Threats To Bomb Oil Assets
“Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari expressed concern about new threats by militant group the Niger Delta Avengers to bomb critical oil and gas infrastructure in the West African nation. Buhari’s statement, made through a spokesman, came after local media on Sunday reported that the group plans to resume attacks over what the militants see as the unjust distribution of crude proceeds to the oil-producing region as well as rising insecurity in the country. It is “curious that the threat was coming less than 48 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari met with the leadership of the Niger Delta and Ijaw National Congress,” and discussed development issues in the region, Femi Adesina, a presidential spokesman said in a statement issued on behalf of the president on Facebook. The Niger Delta Avengers were responsible for most of the attacks on oil and gas facilities in 2016, resulting in the nation losing about half its oil production. The group suspended attacks in 2017 following intervention by regional leaders and pledges by the government to address development challenges facing the area.”
Somalia
Voice Of America: Somalia Executes Militants Amid Deadly Attack
“Security officials in Somalia say dozens of people were killed after militants attacked a small town in the central state of Galmudug early on Sunday. At least 30 people were killed, among them civilian residents caught in the crossfire between militants and security forces in the town of Wisil, local officials told VOA Somali. The attack started with the militants detonating a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device in an area close to a security camp in the town, said a regional official who asked not to be named because he is not allowed to speak to the media. Galmudug’s information minister, Ahmed Shire Falagle, told VOA Somali that regional forces repulsed the dawn attack and inflicted losses on the militants. Falagle said three soldiers were among the dead with at least seven others injured. He said about 100 militants attacked the town and that “many of them have not returned alive.” He did not elaborate. For its part, the al-Shabab militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it killed 34 members of the security forces. Wisil lies 200 kilometers southeast of Galkayo in an area where al-Shabab recently made advances. In April, the group captured the town of Ba’adweyne, not far from Wisil, after government and regional forces vacated it for undisclosed reasons.”
Mali
Reuters: Thirteen Peacekeepers Wounded, Six Soldiers Killed In Mali Militant Attacks
“Thirteen U.N. peacekeepers, 12 Germans and one Belgian, were wounded in northern Mali on Friday by a car bomb, the U.N. mission said, while Mali's army said six of its soldiers were killed in a separate attack in the centre of the country. The attack in the north targeted a temporary base set up by the peacekeepers near the village of Ichagara in the Gao region, where Islamist insurgents linked to Al Qaeda and Islamic State are active. A U.N. mission spokesperson said 12 of the wounded were German and one was Belgian. The mission had earlier said that 15 peacekeepers were wounded but revised that number downward. Three of the German soldiers were severely wounded, Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said in a statement. Two of them are in a stable condition and the third is still in surgery, she said. At least six Malian soldiers were killed and one wounded in a separate attack in Boni in the neighbouring region of Mopti, the army said in a statement. It provided no further details. Armed attacks by Islamist militants and other groups are rampant across vast swathes of Mali and its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger despite the presence of the peacekeepers and thousands of other international troops in the region.”
Africa
Reuters: Nineteen Civilians Killed In Western Niger, Mayor Says
“Armed assailants killed 19 villagers in western Niger near the border with Mali, where Islamist militants have increasingly targeted civilians this year, the mayor of a nearby town said on Friday. The attack occurred on Thursday in and around the village of Danga Zawne in western Niger's Tillabery region, Karidjo Hamadou, the mayor of the town of Tonkiwindi, told Reuters. He did not say who was responsible. “Three people were killed in the village and the others were killed in the fields,” he said. Like its neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso, Niger is a regular target for militant groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State, which have grown stronger despite the deployment of thousands of regional, Western and U.N. troops across West Africa's Sahel region. Suspected Islamic State fighters killed at least 100 civilians on Jan. 2 in raids on two villages in Tillabery and at least 137 people in coordinated raids in March in the neighbouring Tahoua region. The militants had previously focused their attacks on Nigerien security forces, but in recent months they have been drawn increasingly into local ethnic conflicts, leading to greater violence against civilians.”
Reuters: Second Blast Hits Congo's Beni City On Sunday
“A suspected bomber was blown up when his improvised explosive device went off in a busy intersection of the Democratic Republic of Congo eastern city of Beni on Sunday, authorities said, the second blast in Beni on the same day. No one was killed in the two incidents apart from the suspected bomber in the second blast. Earlier on Sunday, another explosive device was detonated in a Catholic church in Beni, injuring several people. No one has claimed responsibility. Beni's mayor Colonel Narcisse Kashale Muteba said a curfew has been declared in the city of more than 230,000 over concerns that there could be another bomb. “I'm asking the population to take shelter and remain indoors. I don't want to see anyone outside,” Muteba said on Congo's RTR private radio. “There was no damage, only the transporter of the bomb died on the spot,” he said. Photos shared online showed the blood-soaked torso of the suspected bomber. Reuters was not able to authenticate the photos. Beni resident Kalinda Kule Malemo said he was praying with a cousin when a loud explosion shook the neighbourhood. He said he tried to flee but because of the panic and traffic jam, he was stuck with other panic-stricken residents in a bar.”
“Senior officials from more than 60 countries are to gather in Rome on Monday where security analysts hope they will agree a “co-ordinated and coherent” plan to tackle the ISIS threat in Africa. Developed countries also should be prepared to spend at least a decade working to dismantle the terrorist group by adequately training security forces, counter-terrorism experts have said. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will co-host a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS at a time when the extremist threat is growing in Africa, with ISIS-affiliated groups making ground in Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in particular in the West Africa region of the Sahel. But it is also a moment in world politics when America is seeking to withdraw from its “endless wars” in the Middle East and Afghanistan, potentially leaving a power vacuum behind. However, the US and other western powers including Britain and France understand that they cannot let things slide and have therefore expanded the anti-ISIS coalition by inviting a further 25 countries, mainly from Africa, to attend. “They want a concerted effort to try to deal with these issues in a coherent and strategic way,” said Raffaello Pantucci of the Royal United Services Institute think tank.”
The Independent: Islamic State Posing ‘Growing Threat’ In Africa, Says Raab
“Dominic Raab will warn of the “growing threat” from Islamic State in Africa as the UK commits £12.6m to tackle terrorist groups in the region. He is to set out his desire to bring about the “lasting defeat” of IS, also known as Daesh, at a meeting of over 45 foreign ministers from around the world in Rome. The gathering of the Global Coalition Against Daesh on Monday is the first to take place in person since November 2019 and will be co-hosted by Italian foreign minister Luigi Di Maio and US secretary of state Anthony Blinken. Speaking at the event, Mr Raab will say: “The UK recognises the continuing threat and remains absolutely committed to the lasting defeat of Daesh. “The coalition must work together to tackle this pressing threat and target the longer-term challenges that are exploited by those who extol violence and terrorism. “We must ensure there are no safe havens for Daesh. “We must keep up the pressure on Daesh, wherever its poisonous influence spreads. It will exploit any opportunity to re-establish itself.” Attacks by Isis in Africa have gone up by a third over the past year while the group has also shown signs of a resurgence in the Middle East.”
Germany
The Wall Street Journal: Three Killed In Knife Attack In Germany
“Three people were killed and several seriously hurt Friday in a southern German town after they were attacked by a Somali man with a history of mental illness who one witness said shouted “Allahu Akbar,” authorities said. The attack took place around 5 p.m. in Würzburg after the 24-year-old suspect snatched a kitchen knife at a supermarket and started stabbing people around him. The man, who has been living in Wurzburg in the federal state of Bavaria since 2015, was confronted by a small crowd of passersby and then shot in the leg by police, who arrested him minutes after the attack. The suspect likely acted alone, according to police. The man had a record of violent offenses and had been committed to a psychiatric hospital shortly before the attack, Bavaria’s interior minister Joachim Herrmann, told reporters near the scene. Mr. Herrmann said one witness had told police the suspect had shouted “Allahu Akbar”—Arabic for “God is most great,” a religious phrase for Muslims but also a war cry used by Islamist terrorists during attacks. A police spokesman said that the man’s record didn’t include offenses related to Islamism and didn’t comment about the suspect’s possible motives.”
Al Jazeera: Germany Bans Hamas Flag, PKK Symbols Under New ‘Terror’ Rules
“Germany’s Bundestag lower house of parliament has passed a law outlawing symbols of groups designated as terrorist organisations by the European Union, including the Palestinian movement, Hamas. The new law passed on Friday, which must still be approved by the Bundesrat upper house, also outlaws symbols of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is listed as a “terrorist” group by Turkey and its Western allies. Previously, only symbols of organisations banned by Germany had been banned. The move comes after several pro-Palestinian rallies in Germany during the escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict in May, during which there were instances of violence and anti-Semitism. Thorsten Frei, a lawmaker for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, told Die Welt newspaper last week that the government wanted to ban the Hamas flag in response to the demonstrations. “We do not want the flags of terrorist organisations to be waved on German soil,” he said, adding that a ban would send “a clear signal to our Jewish citizens”. Germany saw several demonstrations during 11 days of fighting between Israel and Hamas in May, with some protesters shouting anti-Semitic slogans, burning Israeli flags and damaging the entrance to a synagogue with stones.”
Southeast Asia
The Wall Street Journal: Malta, Philippines Placed On Terror-Financing Watch List
“Four jurisdictions, including Malta and the Philippines, will undergo increased monitoring as they face pressure from a global watchdog to address deficiencies in their anti-money-laundering efforts. The Financial Action Task Force, a Paris-based organization that sets anti-money-laundering law standards, on Friday added Haiti, Malta, the Philippines and South Sudan to its list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring and removed Ghana from the list. The identified deficiencies vary for each jurisdiction, but they include maintaining comprehensive and accurate beneficial ownership information and increasing investigations and prosecutions of illicit finance cases, according to FATF. For instance, Malta, which has made progress on a number of recommended actions since its last evaluation, still needs to address some serious issues and weaknesses in the country’s anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing system, FATF President Marcus Pleyer said at a press conference Friday. These include using financial intelligence to support law enforcement in pursuing money-laundering cases. Another issue is ensuring beneficial ownership information is accurate and up-to-date and to apply a penalty if the information is found to be inaccurate.”
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