“Taliban insurgents Wednesday captured airports in the Afghan provinces of
Farah and Kunduz as they consolidate control and U.S. troops complete their

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


August 12, 2021 

 

Voice Of America: Taliban Seize Provincial Airports As They Consolidate Gains
In Afghanistan
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“Taliban insurgents Wednesday captured airports in the Afghan provinces of
Farah and Kunduz as they consolidate control and U.S. troops complete their
withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of the month. Reports also said the
insurgents took control of an army corps base in Kunduz after hundreds of
soldiers surrendered to them. Afghan lawmaker Shah Khan Sherzad told local TOLO
news channel the airport and army corps in Kunduz “fell to the Taliban with all
their equipment.” The Taliban also said they were in full control of nine
provincial capitals and closing in on others. The latest insurgent advances
came on a day when President Ashraf Ghani traveled to Mazar-i-Sharif to rally
pro-government forces to defend the city, the biggest in northern Afghanistan.
It is an important commercial hub and border trade route between the landlocked
county and its neighbors. The recent Taliban offensive has seen the insurgent
group seize control of Afghanistan’s border crossings with Iran, Turkmenistan,
Iran and one of five regular trade and travel routes with Pakistan. Afghan
security forces have been struggling to stem rapid Taliban gains, which have
shocked the U.S.-backed government and its international backers.”

 

The Defense Post: Jihadist Violence Claimed 420 Lives In Niger This Year:
Watchdog <[link removed]>

 

“More than 420 civilians have been killed in jihadist attacks in western Niger
this year and tens of thousands of people have fled their homes, Human Rights
Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday. The estimate comes after an 11-day trip in which
members of the watchdog traveled to Niger to meet witnesses, traditional
chiefs, local authorities, foreign diplomats, and Nigerien rights activists.
“Armed Islamist groups appear to be waging war on the civilian population in
western Niger,” said Corinne Dufka, HRW’s Sahel director. “They have killed,
pillaged, and burned, leaving death, broken lives, and destruction in their
wake,” she said in the HRW statement. The groups have also destroyed schools
and churches and imposed restrictions based on their harsh interpretation of
Islam, the rights group said. Nine attacks documented by HRW took place between
January and July in towns and villages in the western regions of Tillaberi and
Tahoua. “Since 2019, this area has experienced a dramatic spike in attacks
against military targets and, increasingly, civilians by armed Islamist groups
allied to the Islamic State and, to a lesser extent, Al-Qaeda,” HRW said in its
report. Among those killed were village chiefs, imams, people with
disabilities, and “numerous children,” some executed after being ripped from
their parents’ arms, it added.”

 

United States

 

NBC News: Feds Warn Of Potential Violence Fueled By False Election Claims
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“False claims of fraud in the 2020 election are fueling calls for violence on
social media, the Department of Homeland Security is warning local police
departments. “DHS has seen an increasing but modest level of individuals
calling for violence in response to the unsubstantiated claims of fraud related
to the 2020 election fraud and the alleged ‘reinstatement’ of former President
Trump,” a DHS spokesperson told NBC News. Officials were clear that they have
no intelligence of a specific domestic terrorism plot. But DHS leaders say they
believe security agencies were unprepared for the Jan. 6 riot in part because
they paid too little attention to violent and extremist rhetoric on social
media. In an effort to avoid repeating that mistake, the department is trying
to sound the alarm among local police agencies about the potential for
political violence. DHS issued a so-called awareness bulletin last week and
discussed the security climate at a meeting with intelligence officers from
major police agencies, including departments in New York, Washington and Las
Vegas, DHS officials told NBC News.”

 

Los Angeles Times: Veteran Convicted In Thwarted Long Beach Terror Plot To Use
Nail Bomb
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“A U.S. Army veteran who wanted revenge for attacks on Muslims around the
globe and was alleged to have planned to detonate a bomb at a Long Beach rally
was convicted Wednesday of the attempted mass casualty attack. Mark Steven
Domingo, 28, of Reseda was found guilty by a federal jury of providing material
support to terrorism and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. He
faces a potential life sentence in federal prison at his Nov. 1 sentencing. He
has been in federal custody since his arrest in April 2019. Domingo was
arrested after he took delivery of what he thought was an improvised explosive
device from an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a bomb maker,
officials said. According to the evidence presented in his case, Domingo
considered “various attacks — including targeting Jews, churches and police
officers” before he decided “to detonate an IED” at a rally scheduled to take
place in Long Beach in 2019. As part of the plot, Domingo asked his confederate
— who was cooperating with the FBI as part of the investigation — to find a
bomb maker, and Domingo then purchased several hundred nails to be used as
shrapnel inside the explosive device, according to officials.”

 

WBIR: Knoxville Man Accused Of Writing ISIS Materials Appears In Federal Court
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“A Knoxville man accused of helping ISIS, the Middle East terrorist group,
appeared in court Wednesday. Benjamin Carpenter, 31, is accused of translating
an ISIS execution video and officials said he was in contact with a known ISIS
recruiter. Prosecutors also said he used his mother's computer issued from the
University of Tennessee to write a blog post for a pro-ISIS website. Carpenter
said he would represent himself in court, and officials assigned him elbow
counsel to help guide him through court proceedings. However, that counsel will
not be involved in his defense. Transcripts of his April 5 hearing show
Carpenter lived with his mother in Knoxville for two and a half years before
his March arrest. She testified he does not have a bank account and worked only
10 hours a week at a pet sitting service.”

 

Syria

 

Voice Of America: Iraqi Refugees Alarmed At Increasing Violence At Syria's
Al-Hol Camp
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“Iraqi refugees at the al-Hol camp in northeast Syria are voicing concerns
about the growing violence inside the camp, which hosts thousands of people,
including families of Islamic State (IS) foreign fighters. Over the weekend, an
Iraqi refugee was killed, and three others were seriously injured in an attack
by a suspected IS cell, bringing the number of those killed inside the camp to
25 since mid-April. Al-Hol is home to nearly 62,000 people, including about
30,000 Iraqi refugees. “Our situation is getting worse because of these
assassinations,” said Um Abdulla, an Iraqi refugee who lives at the camp.
“Honestly, if we went back to Iraq and stayed at another refugee camp, it would
still be better than this place,” she told VOA. In March, U.S.-backed Syrian
Democratic Forces (SDF) carried out a major security operation to curb attacks
claimed by IS cells inside the camp. More than 125 suspected IS operatives were
arrested in the campaign. But camp residents say there has been a new surge in
violence in recent weeks at al-Hol. Despite its territorial defeat in March
2019, IS remains active throughout eastern Syria, carrying out attacks through
its sleeper cells. Rakan Mohammed, another Iraqi refugee at al-Hol, said he
thinks IS militants outside the camp coordinate with their followers inside the
camp to conduct these attacks.”

 

Iran

 

The Independent: General Wanted For Terrorism Among Iranian President’s
Cabinet Picks
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“Iran’s new president submitted a proposed cabinet of conservatives,
hardliners and military figures on Wednesday amid a report that Israel has
warned the United States that the recently elected cleric is an erratic
extremist who will scuttle any plan to resurrect a deal to limit his country’s
nuclear programme. Ebrahim Raisi, elected in June to succeed the pragmatist
Hassan Rouhani, has named well-known figures from his camp including the former
head of state television and a former Revolutionary Guard official who has been
implicated in terrorism, and who remains subject to American sanctions. Also on
his list of nominees is proposed foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, a
level-headed veteran diplomat long known to the west. He has strong ties to
Iran’s political elite and security establishments and has worked under both
moderate and hardline presidents. There is not a single woman on Mr Raisi’s
list of 19 proposed cabinet nominees, adding to worries that he would seek to
further strip women in Iran of their rights. Israel’s Channel 12 reported that
Mossad officials have warned CIA chief William Burns that Mr Raisi is an
emotionally disturbed radical extremist who enjoyed killing civilians,
according to a personality assessment drafted by the Israeli spy agency.”

 

Metro: Iran Has ‘Army Of Exploding Drones’ In Deadly Warfare Programme,
Analyst Warns
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“Iran’s drone warfare programme poses a growing threat in the wake of a fatal
attack on a ship off the coast of Oman, analysts have warned. The ‘kamikaze’
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are designed to explode upon impact, are
a ‘core element’ of Tehran’s attempts to exert its presence in the region, the
Counter Extremism Project (CEP) said. Iran has been widely blamed for the
strike on the motor tanker near the Omani island of Masirah which killed a
British sailor, although it has flatly denied any involvement. Security guard
Adrian Underwood, a British Army veteran and father, was killed alongside the
MT Mercer Street’s Romanian captain when the drone laden with powerful
explosive hit the vessel while it was peacefully traversing a key Gulf shipping
route on July 30. Another ship, the MV Asphalt Princess, was then hijacked in
the Gulf of Oman by armed men, with Iranian forces suspected, less than a week
later. Tehran again strongly denied responsibility, CEP analyst Daniel Roth
said: ‘The Iranian threat to shipping in the Gulf is substantial and borne out
by numerous examples of Iranian attacks, hijackings, detentions and
increasingly, drone strikes. ‘Iran considers the Gulf its private lake, which
it deigns to share with its littoral Arab neighbours but volubly resents
foreign powers exercising their right to freedom of navigation in international
waters.’”

 

Iraq

 

The Times Of Israel: Iraq Blast Kills 8 Members Of Security Forces
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“A blast killed eight members of Iraq’s security forces on Wednesday during an
operation in the northern part of the country to detonate explosives planted by
the Islamic State group, says a security source. A military sapper was
preparing a charge to detonate an unexploded ordnance laid by the jihadists in
Salaheddin province “when a mistake was made and the explosion happened,” the
source tells AFP. The blast killed six soldiers and two policemen charged with
oil field protection, the source says.”

 

Kurdistan 24: Iraqi Army Launches ISIS Manhunt Operation In Western Desert
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“Iraqi security forces on Wednesday launched a sweeping operation in Anbar
province to hunt down the remnants of ISIS, the country’s joint operations
command said. The operation was launched at dawn on Wednesday with the
participation of the Iraqi army, elite counter-terrorism forces, and rapid
response brigades, according to the command. The Iraqi Air Force and US-led
coalition against ISIS are assisting ground troops in chasing any remnants of
the group that have exploited the remote areas of the country. Despite the
declaration of ISIS’s “territorial defeat” in December 2017, militants still
pose a threat to both civilians and security forces with hit-and-run attacks
and suicide bombings.  The latest bloody explosion which was claimed by the
group took place in a crowded market in Baghdad on July 19, killing and
wounding more than 30.”

 

Somalia

 

Long War Journal: Analysis: Somaliland’s Lingering Jihadi Threat
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“On May 18, 2021, Somaliland celebrated its 30th independence anniversary
after unilaterally breaking away from Somalia in 1991. Compared to its
neighbors across the Horn of Africa, and indeed much of East Africa, Somaliland
represents a relatively stable territory with very little terrorism inside its
borders. Despite a wave of suicide bombers that hit Somaliland’s capital of
Hargeisa in Oct. 2008 – bombings widely blamed on Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in
East Africa – the unrecognized country has not witnessed another major
terrorist attack since then. Security forces have arrested various Shabaab
members and sympathizers during the past decade, while also reportedly
disrupting terror plots. This indicates that Somaliland probably faces an
ongoing, low-level jihadist threat. The threat mainly emanates from Shabaab,
though a small Islamic State arm based in the neighboring Puntland region of
Somalia provides another worry for the state. Jihadist activity has long been
reported inside Somaliland. For instance, in October 2003 Italian aid worker
Annalena Tonelli was murdered by gunmen belonging to the al Qaeda-linked Al
Itihad al Islamiyya (AIAI) in the Somaliland city of Borama. Just days later,
AIAI also murdered two British aid workers in the town of Sheikh.”

 

Africa

 

France 24: Niger: Officials Say Fifteen Killed In Attack In Banibangou Region
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“Fifteen people have been killed in an attack in western Niger less than two
weeks after 33 people were killed by suspected jihadists in the same area,
officials said on Wednesday. The Interior Ministry said in a statement the
latest attack was carried out on Monday by “unidentified armed individuals” who
targeted “people working in a field” in the Banibangou region, close to the
Mali border. Banibangou falls inside what is known as the three-borders region
between Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, which for years has been the scene of
bloody attacks by jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State
group. Two attacks blamed on jihadists at the end of July left 33 people dead,
and prompted the interior ministry to promise tougher security measures in the
region and to bring the killers to justice. The authorities have made similar
promises in the past but the deadly attacks have continued, often carried out
by gunmen on motorbikes who flee into Mali after their raids. Some 1,200
Chadian soldiers are deployed in the three-borders region as part of a
multinational force put together by the G5 Sahel group, which comprises Burkina
Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.”

 

Africanews: 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.”

 

United Kingdom

 

BBC News: Manchester Cousin Of 'Terror Twins' Denied Parole Over Behaviour
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“A convicted terrorist who created a UK “hub of communication” for like-minded
extremists has been denied parole because of “behavioural concerns”. Abdullahi
Jama Farah, 25, from Manchester, was found guilty of preparing for terrorist
acts and was detained for seven years in 2016. His cousins Zhara and Salma
Halane, dubbed the “terror twins”, both joined the so-called Islamic State aged
16. A panel refused Farah's parole after concerns about his behaviour emerged.
Farah was studying for his A-levels when he created the extremist hub from his
mother's home in South Grove, Longsight, in 2013. He was in contact with
Raphael Hostey, 22, who was reportedly an associate of Manchester Arena suicide
bomber Salman Abedi. Farah was arrested in 2014 and following a trial at the
Old Bailey, was found guilty after attempting to facilitate Nur Hassan, 19, to
travel to Syria to fight. He was sentenced to seven years at a young offenders
institution with an extended licence period of three years. Last week, the
Parole Board held its first review of his case and it was shown a dossier
prepared by officials for the Secretary of State for Justice regarding Farah's
progress in custody. It noted he had worked with the prison imam to help
develop his understanding of his faith.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

Associated Press: Sri Lanka Files Charges Against 25 Easter Bombing Suspects
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“Sri Lanka has filed 23,270 charges against 25 people in connection with the
2019 Easter Sunday suicide bomb attacks on churches and hotels that killed 269
people, the president’s office said Wednesday. The charges filed Tuesday under
the country’s anti-terror law include conspiring to murder, aiding and
abetting, collecting arms and ammunition, and attempted murder, it said. The
attorney general also asked the chief justice to appoint a special three-member
high court bench to hear the cases speedily, it said in a statement. Two local
Muslim groups that had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group were
blamed for the six near-simultaneous suicide bomb attacks on April 21, 2019.
The blasts targeted three churches and three hotels. Another suicide bomber who
had entered a fourth hotel left without setting off his bomb, but later
committed suicide by detonating his explosives at a different location.
Friction and a communication breakdown between then-President Maithripala
Sirisena and then-Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe were blamed for the
government's failure to act on near-specific foreign intelligence warnings
ahead of the attacks. That led to the election of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa
later in 2019 on a platform of national security.”



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