“Afghan forces essentially collapsed in three more provincial capitals on
Tuesday, adding to an already alarming drumbeat of Taliban victories around

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


August 11, 2021 

 

The New York Times: Taliban Overrun 3 More Provincial Capitals, Increasing
Pressure On Kabul
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“Afghan forces essentially collapsed in three more provincial capitals on
Tuesday, adding to an already alarming drumbeat of Taliban victories around the
country and effectively cutting off the main highway connecting the country’s
capital with northern Afghan provinces. The three cities — Pul-i-Khumri,
roughly 150 miles north of Kabul in Baghlan Province; Farah, the capital of the
western province of the same name; and Faizabad, in remote and rugged
Badakhshan Province — were the seventh, eighth and ninth to be overrun by the
Taliban in less than a week. There, as in other fallen cities, witnesses and
defenders described twinned crises of low morale and exhaustion in the face of
unrelenting pressure by the insurgents. The rapid Taliban victories have been a
devastating blow to President Ashraf Ghani’s government, and to the military
and police forces that the United States and its Western allies spent years and
billions of dollars training to stand against the Taliban. And the losses are
coming just three weeks before American troops are to complete their final
withdrawal from the country, leaving a modest force behind to defend the U.S.
Embassy. The question of whether the Afghan forces can even successfully defend
Kabul, the national capital, has become an urgent one, with heavy fighting now
going on in or around every one of the country’s other most populous cities.”

 

Euronews: Is Europe Doing Enough To Prosecute ISIS Fighters For Yazidi
Genocide?
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“Seven years on from a genocide that killed an estimated 10,000 Yazidi people
in northern Iraq, European countries are grappling with how to prosecute those
responsible for some of the worst atrocities of the 21st century. In early
August 2014 in Sinjar province, members of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS)
terrorist group began murdering men who refused to convert to Islam and leaving
their bodies in unmarked mass graves, according to the United Nations.
“Thousands were killed pursuant to this ultimatum, either executed en masse,
shot as they fled, or dying from exposure on Mount Sinjar as they tried to
escape,” said Karim Asad Ahmad Khan, head of a UN team probing ISIS crimes.
“Thousands more were enslaved, with women and children abducted from their
families and subjected to the most brutal abuses, including serial rape and
other forms of unendurable sexual violence. For many, this abuse lasted years,
often leading to death.” An estimated 7,000 Yazidi women and girls, some as
young as nine, were enslaved and forcibly transferred to locations in Iraq and
eastern Syria. Held in sexual slavery, survivors reported being repeatedly
sold, gifted, or passed around among ISIS fighters. Young Yazidi boys,
meanwhile, were forced to join ISIS as child soldiers.”

 

United States

 

Fox News: House Republicans Urge DHS To Reveal How Many Migrants Are On Terror
Watchlist
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“Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee are calling on the
Department of Homeland Security to reveal how many migrants apprehended at the
border have been identified within a terror watch list -- arguing that
Americans should be informed of the number. “Although most of the information
on this topic is rightfully classified, the number of known or suspected
terrorists attempting to illegally cross into the United States is not kept
secret in the interest of national security and the American people deserve to
be informed of this number,” the letter from Reps. John Katko, R-NY, August
Pfluger, R-Texas and Clay Higgins, R-La., to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
said. The concern about who is trying to enter the U.S. has grown as an
increasing number of migrants, including from countries across the globe, try
to enter the U.S. There were more than 188,000 migrant encounters in June, and
that number is expected to rise to more than 210,000 for July. In March, Fox
News reported that at least four migrants whose names match those on the terror
watch list had been picked up by U.S. Border Patrol since the beginning of the
fiscal year. The congressmen said that in a recent trip to El Paso, “it was
brought to our attention that recently apprehended individuals had been
registered on the terrorist watchlist.”

 

PBS: Are Federal Sting Operations In U.S. Counterterrorism Cases Legal?
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“Sting operations — in which law enforcement either creates or exploits a
targeted likely offender’s opportunity to commit a crime — have been used by
U.S. agencies for decades. And they’ve been the subject of debate for nearly as
long. Experts say federal stings increased after 9/11, in cases such as the one
examined by the new FRONTLINE documentary In the Shadow of 9/11, directed by
Dan Reed (Leaving Neverland). The film explores how an FBI sting led to the
prosecution of the so-called Liberty City Seven, a group of Miami men charged
in a 2006 Al Qaeda plot, despite having no connection to the terror group. Some
critics say that, as the FBI’s role evolved in the wake of the September 11
attacks, so too did the nature of counterterrorism stings, with the line
between investigator and instigator sometimes becoming blurred. Are stings
legal? And who’s most affected by them, post-9/11? Here’s a look at the
legality of sting operations and how they’ve been used in the 20 years since
2001. Stings are not governed by laws passed by Congress but by guidelines
first mapped out by the U.S. Attorney General in 1976. Since then, those
guidelines have been revised multiple times, with additional guidance added
that can be updated further without notice.”

 

WLNS: Lansing Man Sentenced For Conspiring To Provide Materials To ISIS
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“Muse Muse, 22, of Lansing has been convicted of conspiring to provide
material support to ISIS. He faces 78 months in prison and then 10 years of
supervised release. Muse Muse was arrested alongside several other men on
January 21, 2019 at the Gerald R Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids.
Muse was on his way to Mogadishu, Somalia, with the goal of joining ISIS. His
brother, Mohamud Muse and cousin Mohamed Haji were also arrested. Muse
immediately confessed after his arrest, saying “ [I] wanted to join ISIS in
Somalia so I wouldn’t have to do an attack in the United States.” In December
2018 and January 2019, Muse had been in contact with an individual he believed
to be an ISIS fighter. The fighter wired money to Muse to buy the plane
tickets, where he would meet the representative in Mogadishu. In recorded
videos, all three defendants pledge allegiance to ISIS. Muse and the other
defendants celebrated a 2017 terrorist attack in New York, as well as saying in
a separate text “I am a terrorist” and “I’m going to Somalia, God willing.”

 

Afghanistan

 

The Wall Street Journal: Afghanistan Calls For Taliban Sanctions As Militants
Capture More Territory
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“Afghanistan’s foreign minister called for international sanctions to be
reimposed on Taliban leaders as the insurgent movement seized three more
provinces, tightening their grip on the country and preparing for a push on
Kabul. With Tuesday’s fall of the capitals of Farah, Baghlan and Badakshan
provinces, the Taliban have conquered nine of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial
capitals, including important cities such as Kunduz, since Friday. They have
also strengthened their circle around the country’s biggest regional hubs of
Herat, Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif. The offensive violates the commitments that
the Taliban gave to the U.S. under the February 2020 Doha agreements that
precipitated the U.S. military withdrawal, and warrants a stern international
response, Afghan Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar said in an interview. He urged
the U.S. and other countries to respond by reinstating United Nations sanctions
that had banned Taliban leaders from travel, and by using military force
against the group. “The world community should come together to stop Taliban
attacks on cities. This is a threat to international peace and security, not
just a threat to Afghanistan,” said Mr. Atmar.”

 

Mali

 

Arab News: OIC Condemns Terrorist Attack In Mali
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“The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has condemned the terrorist
attack launched by armed men on a number of villages in the Republic of Mali,
which killed dozens of civilians. The OIC reiterated its stance against all
forms of terrorism, stressing its full solidarity with the Malian authorities
in their fight against terrorism and extremism. For his part, OIC
Secretary-General Dr. Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen offered his condolences to
the families of the victims, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured. Mali, a
landlocked and impoverished state in the heart of the West Africa’s Sahel
region, has been battling an insurgency since 2012. The crisis began with
unrest in the north of the country that spread to Mali’s ethnically volatile
center and then to neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso. Armed groups linked to
Al-Qaeda and Daesh are steering the terrorist campaign. Thousands of civilians
and troops have died and hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes.
Mali has suffered two coups since August last year, and on July 20 military
leader Colonel Assimi Goita survived an attempted assassination at a mosque in
Bamako. Alioune Tine, an independent experts on human rights in the Sahel who
reports to the UN, last week warned that a “critical threshold” had been
breached in the country’s security situation.”

 

Africa

 

Reuters: Seven Sudanese Killed In An Attack On A Village In Darfur -Group
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“Seven Sudanese people were killed and 16 others were wounded last week when
armed men attacked a village in South Darfur, a group representing hundreds of
thousands of people displaced by the Darfur conflict said on Tuesday. General
Coordinating Committee for Refugee and Internally Displaced Camps, a
non-government group, accused members of mainly Arab militias known as
Janjaweed of attacking the Habouba village on Thursday. No official word on who
is responsible for the attack that targeted one of the villages that voluntary
started to receive returning citizens who fled their homes during the conflict
which broke out in Darfur in 2003. Local officials in the South Darfur state
said that about 200 armed men attacked the village, adding that a joint
security force repelled the deadly attack, the state news agency SUNA reported.
They gave different estimates of the number of victims. Conflict broke out in
Darfur after mostly non-Arab rebels rose up against Khartoum. Up to 300,000
people have been killed and 2.7 million displaced, according to U.N. estimates.
Government forces and the Janjaweed militias were accused of committing
atrocities during the conflict, accusations that authorities at the time
denied.”

 

Voice Of America: Cameroon Says Hundreds Of Boko Haram Militants From Nigeria
And Chad Surrender
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“Cameroonian officials say at least 82 former Boko Haram fighters from Nigeria
and Chad, along with their families, have surrendered to authorities in the
past week. Authorities say they’re the latest among hundreds of the militant
Islamists who have been defecting since May, when the group's leader was
killed. Cameroon plans to deport the former fighters as the influx has
overwhelmed rehabilitation centers along the border. Cameroon’s government on
August 10 said its National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilization and
Reintegration center in Meri, a northern town on the border with Nigeria, has
967 former jihadist militants. A week ago, there were about 700 former Boko
Haram fighters and their families in the center. Among the over 260 who arrived
within the past one week are 82 former Boko Haram male fighters. The others are
women and children. Francis Fai Yengo is the director of DDR centers created by
the government of Cameroon for former fighters. He says over 200 of
ex-militants are Nigerians. He spoke on Monday after President Paul Biya sent
him to meet the former militants and to evaluate their needs. “We came to see
the fighters, those young women and men predominantly made of Nigerians
flooding out from the Boko Haram camps into our country,” he said.”

 

Human Rights Watch: Mozambique Government Retakes Key Town From Militants
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“Mozambican and Rwandan government forces have taken control of Mocimboa da
Praia in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province. The town had been
controlled by an armed group linked to the Islamic State (ISIS) since August
2020. Mozambican authorities should now quickly move to ensure humanitarian aid
reaches local residents who have been trapped in the town for more than a year.
Humanitarian agencies including the United Nations World Food Programme and
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) were forced to abandon
Mocímboa da Praia last year for security reasons, leaving residents without
food and medical supplies. The government should immediately facilitate rapid
and unimpeded humanitarian access to Mocimboa da Praia, meeting obligations as
a member state of the Kampala Convention, an African Union treaty on internal
displacement, and under international humanitarian law. Most residents had
abandoned the villages surrounding Mocimboa de Praia following previous attacks
by the armed group, locally known as Al-Shabab or mashababos. Many others fled
the coastal town last August, walking several days in the bush or spending days
at sea without food or water until reaching the shores of the provincial
capital, Pemba.”

 

Canada

 

CBC: Former ISIS Recruit Allowed To Finish 7-Year Sentence Living With Wife
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“An Ottawa man convicted of attempting to leave Canada to join ISIS will now
be able to live with his wife for the remainder of his seven-year sentence
after having the residency requirement of his parole removed by the Parole
Board of Canada. Carlos Larmond, 30, was released from prison in December 2019
while serving his sentence for attempting to leave Canada to participate in
terrorist activity abroad and threatening to kill a corrections officer while
in pretrial custody. He was most recently living in a Calgary halfway house. 
Larmond and his twin brother, Ashton, attended an Ottawa high school and
conspired over a five-month period from August 2014 to January 2015, in both
Ottawa and Gatineau, Que.  Larmond was arrested later that month at a Montreal
airport en route to Syria with a plan to join an ISIS terrorist training camp.
Last fall, he was granted extra freedoms, such as being able to leave the
halfway house to travel to the mountains for overnight trips with his
then-fiancée. Those restrictions were further loosened last month, as first
reported in the Ottawa Citizen. The parole board is now allowing him to live
with his wife.  “You benefit from the support of your wife and the relationship
appears stable.”

 

Australia

 

The Sydney Morning Herald: Terrorism Concerns Keep Alameddine Crime Family
Member In Prison
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“A young member of Sydney’s notorious Alameddine family will remain in prison
for gun and drug supply offences after terrorism concerns stymied his bid for
parole. The State Parole Authority (SPA) rejected the application by Bilal
Alameddine, 22, based on findings about his attitudes to violence, extremist
ties and a suspected attempt to travel to Syria six years ago to fight for
Islamic State when the group was at the height of its powers in Iraq and Syria.
In the early hours of July 7, 2015, Bilal Alameddine, then aged 16, packed two
bags and set off for Sydney Airport with a seat booked on Emirates flight EK415
to Dubai. About 5.30am, as the flight’s scheduled departure time approached,
Alameddine’s mother and father appeared at Wentworthville police station in
western Sydney to report “serious concerns” about their son’s intentions to
join the caliphate. For months, according to a record of the exchange entered
in the NSW Police internal database, the parents had observed Alameddine
watching Islamic State videos online every day “to the point that he has become
obsessed with them”. The evening before the attempted flight, Alameddine’s
mother had a short conversation with him about his plans to travel, but his
parents did not know how he could have the money.”

 

Technology

 

Reuters: Fact Check-Headline Saying Apple Plans To Scan U.S. iPhones For
Extremist Content And Firearms Is Digitally Altered
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“Users are sharing a fabricated screenshot claiming that Apple will scan U.S.
iPhones for extremist content, far-right propaganda, and firearm ownership. The
screenshot has been digitally altered and Apple denied the assertions. Examples
can be seen here and here. The description in one post reads: “Oh-oh. That’s
great! Guess they will have fun with my pictures! Anyone know how to bypass
this? Asking for myself and other iPhone users.” The text in the screenshot
reads: “Apple plans to scan US iPhones for extremist content and firearms.
Security researchers fear neuralMatch system could be misused to spy on
citizens. Apple will scan photo libraries stored on IPhones in the US for known
far-right propaganda as well as firearm ownership, the company says, drawing
praise from the ADL and mothers demand action. The company will also extend
examination of end-to-end encrypted messages.” The article contains editing
mistakes and odd font variation. It lists “Alex Hern and agencies” as the
author of the article. The original article, published by The Guardian on Aug.
6, 2021, can be seen here and actually features the headline, “Apple plans to
scan US iPhones for child sexual abuse images.” The headline and first
paragraph have been altered.”



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