Eye on Extremism

August 12, 2021 

 

Voice Of America: Taliban Seize Provincial Airports As They Consolidate Gains In Afghanistan

 

“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

 

“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

 

“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

 

“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

 

“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

 

“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

 

“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

 

“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

 

“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

 

“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

 

“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

 

“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

 

“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

 

“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

 

“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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