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Eye on Extremism
June 30, 2021
France 24: ‘Children Killing Children’: Two Detained Over Burkina Faso Village Massacre
“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
“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
“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.”
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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.”
“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
“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
“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
“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.”
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