“Two suspected jihadists including a local commander have been detained after a
massacre in the village of Solhan in northeast Burkina Faso earlier th

 

 


<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
Eye on Extremism


June 30, 2021

 

France 24: ‘Children Killing Children’: Two Detained Over Burkina Faso Village
Massacre
<[link removed]>

 

“Two suspected jihadists including a local commander have been detained after
a massacre in the village of Solhan in northeast Burkina Faso earlier this
month, the public prosecutor said Tuesday. The attack, which claimed at least
132 lives, was mostly conducted by children, said the US ambassador to the UN.
The two suspects, Mano Tidjani and Woba Dikouré, both 28, were arrested last
Friday, public prosecutor Emile Zerbo said in a statement released Tuesday.
They are being investigated for “criminal association, murder, attempted
murder, theft, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and criminal
damage, all acts of which were connected to terrorism”, the statement said. The
attack on the village of Solhan on the night of June 4 was the bloodiest in
Burkina Faso's six-year struggle with jihadist insurgents who in 2015 began to
sweep into the impoverished Sahel state from neighbouring Mali. Most of the
attackers were children, US ambassador to the United Nations Linda
Thomas-Greenfield told a UN meeting on children and armed conflict on Monday.
“Earlier this month, in the village of Solhan in the Sahel region, a non-state
armed group killed more than 130 civilians – many of whom were children. That
armed group? Mostly 12- to 14-year-olds.”

 

Voice Of America: Terrorism Spreading ‘Unabated’ Across Africa, Warns US
Commander
<[link removed]>

 

“The United States and its Western allies are being forced to confront a grim
reality in Africa where years of work to blunt the spread of terrorism, whether
inspired by al-Qaida, the Islamic State or local groups, has fallen short, and
could soon be eclipsed by the need to focus on adversaries like China and
Russia. “Despite all of our best efforts this terrorism continues to spread,”
the commander of U.S. forces in Africa, General Stephen Townsend, told a
virtual defense forum Tuesday. “The spread of terrorism has continued
relatively unabated,” Townsend added, noting the fate of future efforts could
depend on the U.S. Defense Department’s ongoing force posture review, which
will determine whether his command will get more troops or resources or be
asked to find ways to do more with less. This is not the first time Townsend
has called attention to Washington’s struggles to prevent the expansion of
terrorist groups and ideologies across Africa.  The U.S. general sounded the
alarm last year, telling lawmakers, “Western and international and African
efforts there are not getting the job done … ISIS and al-Qaida are on the
march.”

 

United States

 

Politico: DHS Intel Bulletin Warns Of Risks As Attack Anniversaries Near
<[link removed]>

 

“The Department of Homeland Security has warned its law enforcement partners
about concerns about violent attacks in the lead-up to the anniversaries of two
domestic terror attacks, according to a recent intelligence bulletin reviewed
by POLITICO. The department sent out the bulletin Monday. “While violent
extremists typically have not conducted attacks on dates they perceive as
significant, DHS continues to review publicly available social media for
explicit threats of violence in the lead-up to anniversaries of DVE [domestic
violent extremist] attacks, including the 2019 El Paso shooting on 3 August and
the 2017 Charlottesville car attack on 12 August,” the bulletin says. On August
3, 2019, a gunman opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, leaving 22 people
dead. The shooter told law enforcement that he conducted the attack hoping to
kill Mexicans. Before the attack, he allegedly posted a racist manifesto online
that cited the Christchurch massacre — a terror attack on two mosques in New
Zealand — as inspiration. In Charlottesville, Va., meanwhile, a white
supremacist drove his car into a group of people protesting against racism. He
killed one woman in that attack. “Additionally, Qanon conspiracy theory
adherents continue to promote the idea that the former president will return to
power in August,” the bulletin continues.”

 

The Daily Beast: ‘Right-Wing Death Squad’: Active-Duty Marine Plotted To Bomb
DNC, Murder Black People, Feds Say
<[link removed]>

 

“An active-duty U.S. Marine came under federal investigation for allegedly
plotting with at least two others to assassinate minorities, drug users, and
employees of the Democratic National Committee with explosives, rocket
launchers, and automatic rifles. That’s according to a newly unsealed FBI
search warrant affidavit obtained by The Daily Beast, which indicates USMC
Private First Class Travis Owens and his partners in the unrealized murder plot
were influenced by Timothy McVeigh, the former U.S. Army soldier behind the
1995 Oklahoma City bombing that left 168 people dead and injured nearly 700.
The document also states that one of the suspects had links to the Atomwaffen
Division, a violent neo-Nazi group linked to at least five murders. A handful
of active service members and veterans have been identified as being members of
Atomwaffen, which calls for the armed overthrow of the U.S. government. The
investigation began in late August 2019, when a tipster contacted the FBI about
disturbingly violent conversations they had observed in a private Facebook
Messenger chat group named “Right Wing Death Squad.”

 

Afghanistan

 

The New York Times: As The U.S. Pulls Out Of Afghanistan, Kabul’s Airport Is A
Final Stand
<[link removed]>

 

“For years, Hamid Karzai International Airport has been a main gateway to
Afghanistan, an aspirational symbol of civilian life and normalcy amid military
bases, warplanes and the scars of decades of fighting in the surrounding
countryside. But now the airport, known to all as Kabul International, has
become the last stand in America’s 20-year campaign in Afghanistan. If the
United States and its allies can complete a deal for Turkey to keep forces in
place to secure the airport, President Biden can go ahead with his plan to
maintain the American Embassy — and diplomatic missions from allied countries —
even after combat troops for the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization depart. If not, senior American and NATO officials said, the
consequences could be substantial: Mr. Biden’s plans to try to retain a
diplomatic presence in the country, as part of an international effort seeking
to prevent a return to the grim Taliban-controlled era of the past, will most
likely be cast aside, and access to the country by aid groups could be cut off.
“Security at the airport in whatever form or fashion it takes will be
important, not only for the United States, but for any other nation that
likewise plans to maintain a diplomatic presence in Kabul,” the Pentagon
spokesman, John F. Kirby, said in an interview.”

 

Voice Of America: Taliban Gains Worry Top US General In Afghanistan 
<[link removed]>

 

“The commander of American troops in Afghanistan said Tuesday he was deeply
concerned about the deteriorating security situation in the country, as U.S.
and NATO militaries plan to fully withdraw by September 11. Gen. Austin Scott
Miller, who is overseeing the troop exit, made the remarks as battlefield
hostilities between Taliban insurgents and U.S.-supported Afghan government
forces have escalated across the conflict-torn nation. Speaking to reporters in
the Afghan capital, Kabul, the general described the security situation as “not
good right now.” He said recent insurgent territorial gains were concerning and
cautioned the Taliban against attempting to take control of the country by
force. “A military takeover is not in the interest of anyone, certainly not for
the people of Afghanistan,” said Miller. The Taliban claim to have captured
more than 100 of the country’s 419 districts since May 1, when the last
remaining U.S. and allied soldiers formally began leaving Afghanistan after
almost two decades. Afghan officials said security forces have retaken some of
the districts in recent days and vowed to evict insurgents from others. Miller
acknowledged that any loss of territory impacts overall security in the
country.”

 

Middle East

 

The Daily Beast: How Militants In Airtight Sealed Gaza Keep Making Rockets
<[link removed]>

 

“The bloody 11-day Israel-Hamas war last month brought one stunning
revelation: Despite a formidable army and an airtight blockade on Gaza, Israeli
security forces had failed to completely quash Hamas’ weapon development
capabilities. While the blockade—which includes restrictions that start with
the Red Sea and run through Sudan and Egypt—has succeeded in hindering Gaza’s
civilian economy, militant groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad claim to
have successfully relied on local experts to develop rockets using homegrown
resources. One such expert was Dr. Jamal al-Zabada, an American engineer who
was assassinated on May 12, when Israeli forces targeted a tunnel where
al-Zabada and other first-rank militant leaders had been holed up. Al-Zabada, a
former university professor, had reportedly recruited his son Osama and a
number of engineers to develop Hamas’s arsenal using primitive resources
readily available in the besieged enclave. This proved to be a significant
development in the last bout of violence, especially in comparison to the 2014
war. That’s not to say that the capabilities of Gazan militants in any way
measure up to Israel’s arsenal: Israeli airstrikes devastated Gaza in May,
destroying countless buildings and killing over 200 Palestinians living in the
strip.”

 

Nigeria

 

The Defense Post: Four Nigerian Soldiers Killed In Botched ISWAP Jihadist
Attack
<[link removed]>

 

“Jihadists have killed four Nigerian soldiers in a botched attack on an army
base in the volatile northeast near the Cameroon border, two military sources
said Monday. Fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group
attacked the base in the town of Banki in Borno state late Sunday, leading to
an intense gun battle with troops, the sources said. The attackers arrived in
trucks fitted with machine guns. “We lost four troops in the fierce battle
which lasted for more than an hour,” a military officer told AFP. Air support
had to be called in before the jihadists were “subdued and 20 of them were
neutralized,” said the military officer. “The terrorists were determined to
infiltrate the base but met their Waterloo,” said the second military source,
who gave the same toll. Three trucks were hit by fighter jets and another one
was seized along with a dozen rifles, said the second source. Both sources
asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak about the
incident. ISWAP has been trying to consolidate its control in the northeast
since the death last month of Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the rival Boko
Haram faction. Shekau blew himself in his Sambisa forest hideout to avoid
capture by ISWAP during the confrontation.”

 

Africa

 

Associated Press: Islamic State Group Says It's Behind Congo Suicide Bombing
<[link removed]>

 

“An Islamic State group in Africa claimed responsibility Tuesday for two
explosions in eastern Congo, including its first suicide bombing, deepening
fears that extremists have now laid roots in this corner of the continent long
plagued by rebels. The claims came just days after a Ugandan man detonated his
explosives at a busy intersection in the eastern town of Beni, where both U.N.
peacekeepers and the Congolese army have maintained a large presence in recent
years. Authorities at the time said he was a member of a rebel group known as
the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF. While ADF has pledged its allegiance to
the Islamic State group, there has not been independent corroboration that the
two organizations were working in coordination with one another beyond sharing
ideology. While no civilians were killed in Sunday's suicide bombing, it came
on the same day that another explosion rocked a Catholic church in the area,
authorities said. The Islamic State's Central Africa Province claimed
responsibility for both explosions. It said that the suicide bomber was
targeting Christians at a bar in Beni, according to the SITE Intelligence Group
that monitors communications from extremist groups.”

 

All Africa: Africa: UK To Donate £12.6 Million To Fight Terrorism In Africa
<[link removed]>

 

“Britain's foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, made the announcement on Monday at
a meeting of the Global Coalition against Daesh in Rome. The UK government has
promised £12.6 million to support efforts to combat terror in the Lake Chad
Basin region covering Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad. Britain's foreign
Secretary, Dominic Raab, made the announcement on Monday at a meeting of the
Global Coalition against Daesh in Rome. “The funds will be used to support both
the regionally-led military fight against Daesh, and projects encouraging its
fighters to leave the terrorist group,” Mr Raab said. The coalition meeting
comes a day before the seventh anniversary of the terror group's proclamation
of its self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria, and two years since the
caliphate's territorial defeat in Syria. Foreign ministers from more than 45
countries reconvened in person to discuss “deepening cooperation” to combat
Daesh and its affiliate terrorist groups, including emerging threats across the
African continent. Mr Raab urged the coalition partners to come together to
tackle this “pressing threat and target the longer-term drivers of terrorism.”

 

United Kingdom

 

Bloomberg: Priti Patel Says U.K. Faces Heightened Terrorist Threat After
Lockdown
<[link removed]>

 

“Home Secretary Priti Patel warned that Britain faces a heightened threat of
terrorism, with Covid restrictions contributing to a range of “triggers,”
including more time online and poorer mental health. “We’ve had a year of
people being locked down, we see all sorts of issues in terms of mental health,
for example,” Patel told Times Radio Tuesday. “We have to look at a wide range
of environmental factors that could act as triggers when it comes to
terrorism-type behavior, and the threats to individuals, and also to society so
there is a lot of work taking place.” Restrictions on movement led to a decline
in terrorist activity -- and in 2020 the Islamic State terrorist network even
warned its followers to stay away from Europe to avoid Covid-19. Yet Britain’s
security agencies are concerned the increased amount of time spent online
during the pandemic could lead to radicalization and in turn, future attacks,
according to a person familiar with the matter. The agencies have seen a spike
in cases in which extreme right-wing groups were recruiting teenagers over the
internet, the person said. Most casework still comes from the risk of Islamist
terrorism, though, with a smaller amount of time taken up dealing with the
threat of new-wave Irish republican-related terrorism.”

 

Germany

 

Associated Press: German Probe Weighs Possible Extremist Motive In Stabbing
<[link removed]>

 

“German investigators said Tuesday that an Islamic extremist motivation for
last week's fatal knife attack in Wuerzburg appears likely, but they haven't so
far found any propaganda or other extremist material. They also plan more
checks on the suspect's mental health. Friday’s assault in and outside a store
in the center of the Bavarian city left three women dead and another six people
seriously injured. The suspect, a 24-year-old Somali man, was shot in the leg
by police and arrested after people surrounded him and tried to hold him at bay
with chairs and sticks. Officials have said they believe the suspect was a lone
assailant. He was sent to jail on Saturday pending a possible indictment.
Bavarian extremism and terrorism investigators took over the case on Saturday
because an “Islamist background” appears likely, Munich prosecutors and
Bavaria's state criminal police office said in a statement. They said that is
supported by witnesses' account that he twice shouted “Allahu akbar,” the
Arabic phrase for “God is great,” and also referred to “jihad” after his
arrest. Investigators are still evaluating objects that were seized at his
accommodation, including two cellphones, but haven't yet found signs of
propaganda or extremist material, they added.”

 

PBS: ‘Ready To Fight A War’: A German Far-Right Group Stockpiled Weapons &
Prepped For Violence. Its Alleged Leader Wasn’t Tried On Terror Charges.
<[link removed]>

 

“The photos are striking: In image after image, men in uniform carry out
military-style maneuvers — including scaling bridges and seemingly casing out
how to blow them up. The images, which appear in the above clip from the new
FRONTLINE documentary Germany’s Neo-Nazis & the Far Right, show members of a
secret group of soldiers, police and civilians in Germany called Nordkreuz, or
Northern Cross: part of a far-right ecosystem that is now resurgent in Germany,
decades after the Holocaust, and that has helped drive a wave of violence
against Jews, Muslims, immigrants and left-wing politicians over the past five
years. Found along with maps and plans on a hard drive obtained by the German
investigative journalist Dirk Laabs, these images are being published by a U.S.
media outlet for the first time. They are believed to depict Nordkreuz members
preparing for something they called Day X: a future moment when the German
state would collapse in chaos, and the far right could step in and take
control. “They’re organizing big training drills, with soldiers who would train
civilians,” Laabs tells FRONTLINE producer and correspondent Evan Williams of
the group’s plans. “So, it was really thought-through. It was a military
operation.”

 

Deutsche Welle: Islamists In Germany: Quiet, But Dangerous
<[link removed]>

 

“Last week's knife attack in the Bavarian city of Würzburg left three people
dead and seven injured — five of them seriously. The suspect is a man from
Somalia whose asylum application had been rejected. Police are investigating
his motives, including potential links to violent Islamism. So far, all they
can confirm is he was being treated for psychological issues. Just the whiff of
Islamist extremism brings the debate over religious- and politically-motivated
violence back into focus in Germany. It recalls memories of the
Islamist-inspired Christmas market attack in Berlin, which left 12 people dead
and more than 60 injured, as well as far-right attacks in Halle and Hanau in
2019 and 2020, respectively, targeting Jews and those with Turkish roots.
Walter Lübcke, a regional conservative politician, was gunned down in front of
his home in 2019 for his pro-refugee stance. In some of these incidents, police
have been criticized for failing to act to prevent the crime or help the
victims. Germany's latest domestic intelligence report, presented in June,
views far-right extremism as the biggest threat to society. It also included
information about the potential for left-wing and Islamist violence.
Authorities tied 409 crimes to “religious ideology” in 2020.”

 

Europe

 

Associated Press: Dutch Court Convicts Woman For Spreading IS Propaganda
<[link removed]>

 

“A Dutch court convicted a 32-year-old woman and sentenced her to six years’
imprisonment Tuesday for involvement in war crimes committed by the so-called
Islamic State extremist group in Syria and Iraq. In the ground-breaking
conviction, The Hague District Court ruled that Islamic State is a criminal
organization with the aim of committing war crimes and convicted the woman of
involvement in the war crimes for spreading IS propaganda from her home near
Amsterdam. The woman’s sentence was double the three years originally demanded
by prosecutors, with judges saying the sentence request was “far too low” even
though the defendant suffers from a what the court called a “psychological
impulse disorder.” The woman, whose name was not released in line with Dutch
privacy rules, distributed large amounts of IS propaganda via the Telegram
messaging app in 2019. She shared two videos of prisoners of war being killed
and provided her own “humiliating” commentary for one of the executions. By
doing so, “she abused the personal dignity of the deceased people and that is a
war crime,” the court said. It added that she incited others to commit
terrorist crimes and war crimes, trained herself and others to make bomb vests
and sent money to people involved in terrorist activities.”

 

Vice: Far-Right Idolising Anti-Lockdown Soldier Whose Body Was Found In Park
After Manhunt
<[link removed]>

 

“Belgian authorities have failed to stop hundreds of far-right supporters of
Jurgen Conings from marching through the park where the weapons instructor’s
body was found ten days ago. Conings, 46, has been idolised by far-right
supporters and lockdown sceptics since he threatened Belgium’s top
epidemiologist and was seen on CCTV staking out the official’s home for at
least two hours in mid-May. By the next day, Conings had boobytrapped his car
and disappeared into a park outside the town of Dilserbos in the municipality
of Lanklaar, near the Dutch border. A manhunt that drew elite counter-terrorism
teams from five countries ensued and only ended a week ago Sunday, when the
mayor of Dilserbos discovered Conings’ body while mountain-biking. Preliminary
reports indicate Conings died from a self-inflicted gunshot from a weapon he
stole from an armoury. During the manhunt, several Facebook groups and Telegram
channels that often depicted Conings as something resembling a noble warrior
protecting Western civilisation – based on his past deployments to
Muslim-majority countries – drew thousands of supporters. The groups were in
most cases disrupted or shut down, something that left investigators
ambivalent, said one Belgian military intelligence official who was involved in
the hunt.”



Click here to unsubscribe.
<[link removed]>