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Eye on Extremism
August 18, 2021
The Wall Street Journal: Taliban Takeover Of Afghanistan Celebrated By Extremists On Social Media
“Islamist extremist social media lit up with celebratory messages as the Taliban cemented its control over Afghanistan this weekend, raising concerns that a weakened al Qaeda and other terrorist groups could stage a comeback in the wake of the chaotic U.S. military withdrawal. U.S. officials, meanwhile, said they are likely to reassess their timeline for how rapidly al Qaeda’s core group, ravaged by years of U.S. counterterrorism operations, could reconstitute itself. The longstanding intelligence assessment had been 18 months to two years after an American military withdrawal, current and former U.S. officials said. The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks conducted by al Qaeda, a counterterrorism mission that President Biden said was completed long ago. But jihadist groups saw the stunningly rapid sweep to power of the Taliban—which harbored al Qaeda before 2001 and hasn’t publicly broken with it—as validating their strategy of patience, analysts who follow their online postings said. “This is without a doubt the most significant day for al Qaeda since 9/11,” Charles Lister, of the nonpartisan Middle East Institute, wrote in a post on Medium.com, saying the extremist group was in dire straits just weeks ago.”
Reuters: Gunmen Kill 37, Including Children, In Niger Village
“Unidentified armed men have killed 37 civilians, including 14 children, in an attack on a village in southwest Niger, according to internal security service memos and a local official. The attack occurred on Monday in the commune of Banibangou, in the Tillabery region near the Malian border, where Islamist militants have massacred hundreds of civilians this year. The government did not respond to requests for comment on the information shared by two security sources and confirmed by a local official who attended a mass funeral in the village. Armed groups in the Tillabery and Tahoua regions have killed over 420 civilians and driven tens of thousands of others from their homes in 2021, New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch said in an Aug. 11 report. The attacks are part of a wider conflict spanning the borderlands of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in Africa's Sahel region where jihadists linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State are seeking to take control. Niger alone has seen a sharp rise in attacks on civilians this year, including some of the worst routs in living memory. In March, attackers killed 137 in coordinated raids in the Tahoua region and in January over 100 people were killed in the same region as Monday's attack.”
United States
The Guardian: Biden’s ‘Over The Horizon’ Counter-Terrorism Strategy Comes With New Risks
“Joe Biden has said the US will maintain an “over the horizon” counter-terrorism capability to neutralise the threat posed by Islamist extremist groups in Afghanistan. With no troops on the ground, no intelligence-gathering operation in the country and no ally with shared borders, this kind of long-range effort to stop plots targeting the west will not be easy – and is made significantly harder by the range of the organisations based in territory now nominally under Taliban control. What any violent extremist group needs more than anything else is a secure location where it can plan, organise, recruit, strategise and gather resources. Without this, few insurgents and terrorists survive, let alone succeed. Pakistan provided this to the Taliban, greatly aiding their 20-year campaign that ended in victory this week. Al-Qaida had one from 1996-2001 – and it was the prospect of losing the haven that Afghanistan offered that led many of its most senior leaders to oppose Osama bin Laden’s plan to launch the 9/11 attack on the US. Al-Qaida was forced to flee Afghanistan after the war of 2001 but has slowly returned. It does not have anywhere near the extensive infrastructure of 20 years ago when it ran a dozen training camps.”
“Glendale police arrested a Midwestern University student Monday morning after he allegedly made threats to shoot the school. Police arrested 30-year-old Tony Tran, a Tempe resident, Monday morning before he arrived at the medical university’s Glendale campus, located near 59th Avenue and Union Hills Drive. Tran faces three felony counts, including engaging in acts of terrorism. At approximately 1:30 a.m., a family member notified police that Tran told them of his intent to commit violence at 10 a.m. during a meeting with a university dean. Tran sent the family member a video message, in which he stated that he hoped to be arrested before the incident to get assistance for an unspecified mental illness, according to court documents. In response, university officials closed most access points to the university, increased law enforcement presence and canceled exams, said a police statement. Police did not indicate if a specific person was targeted in the planned shooting or additional motives. However, court documents mentioned that Tran was a student of the university but that he had recently been suspended for unknown reasons. Tran left his home in Tempe at approximately 9 a.m. for the university but was stopped and detained by police shortly afterward.”
Turkey
Al Monitor: Islamic State Suspects Use Turkey’s Remorse Law To Get Off The Hook
“Back in February, Turkish police posing as buyers rescued a 7-year-old Yazidi girl — one of the many Yazidi victims the Islamic State (IS) abducted and enslaved — after her captives advertised her for sale on what is known as the “deep web” of criminal activities. Less than half a year on, the three Iraqi suspects nabbed in the operation in Ankara have all walked free. That IS militants could easily find safe harbor in Turkey is not a secret, but the fact that suspects supposed to stand trial for grave crimes such as abduction, enslavement and maltreatment could walk free under judicial control is not merely a legal scandal but a sign that the suspects are shown leniency and favor. Moreover, the trials of IS suspects in Turkey show the penal code’s Article 221 on “effective remorse” — designed to encourage confessions about terrorist groups in return for sentence reductions — is becoming a means for suspects to evade due punishment. The police raid in which the Yazidi girl was rescued led to the detention of Sabah Ali Hussein Oruc, who, according to the initial official account of the raid, was a ranking IS member in Mosul and had brought the girl along from Iraq, as well as two other Iraqis identified as Anas V. and Nasser H.R. Turkish journalist Hale Gonultas…”
Afghanistan
The Hill: Afghanistan's Fall Renews Terrorism Fears For US
“The fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban has raised fears that terrorist groups capable of threatening the U.S. homeland will thrive anew amid the chaos. U.S. military officials are reassessing their previous estimate that al Qaeda could reconstitute as a threat in two years after the Taliban completed its stunningly rapid rise back to power this weekend. Since first announcing the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in April, the Biden administration has said it will keep terrorism threats in check using forces based elsewhere in the region. But the debacle of the withdrawal has raised questions about whether the United States has adequately prepared to face threats emanating from Afghanistan. “There's no question that the return of the Taliban opens up space in this new Islamic emirate for al Qaeda to return, rebuild a base, and for other groups associated or previously associated with al Qaeda, like ISIS, to return to the region,” said Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of the National Security Institute at George Mason University. “Jihadi fighters of all stripes will now once again make Afghanistan their home, as they did in the lead-up to 9/11,” added Jaffer, who previously served as senior counsel to Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee.”
“…Sir Ivor Roberts, a former UK counter-terrorism chief and senior adviser to the Counter Extremism Project, a Washington-based think tank, told Metro: “This is a moment of extreme danger for the West. “Quite apart from disaster being visited on Afghan people, the West faces a renewal of the same terrorist threat which led to 9/11 and the rise of ISIS. “Some reports have spoken of up to 20 terrorist groups providing foreign fighters to support the Taliban sweep through Afghanistan. “Alongside the power the Taliban has demonstrated over the last few days and the potential extremism potentially brewing beneath the surface, the UK and the West will bear the consequences. “This international catastrophe is coming straight to our door, in the form of an international terrorist threat.”
Deutsche Welle: Afghanistan: Taliban To Reap $1 Trillion Mineral Wealth
“…Some analysts, however, question whether the Taliban have the competence and willingness to exploit the country's natural resources given the income they generate from the drug trade. "These resources were in the ground in the 90s too and they [The Taliban] weren't able to extract them," Hans-Jakob Schindler, Senior Director at the Counter Extremism Project, told DW. "One has to remain very skeptical of their ability to grow the Afghan economy or even their interest in doing so." Even so, senior Taliban officials last month met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Tianjin, where Taliban Political Commission Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar said he hoped China would "play a bigger role in [Afghanistan's] future reconstruction and economic development." On Monday, as the Taliban prepared to revert to the country's old name — the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan — China said it was ready for "friendly and cooperative relations" with the new rulers.”
Lebanon
Newsweek: UN Peacekeepers Let Hezbollah Call The Shots
“Each year, at the end of August, the UN Security Council holds a vote on whether to extend the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for another 12 months. Now in its 43rd year, this “interim” peacekeeping force numbers more than 10,000 soldiers and has an annual budget of more than $500 million—roughly $145 million of which comes from the United States. In theory, UNIFIL's mission is to prevent Hezbollah from launching attacks against Israel from southern Lebanon, and to ensure the area is free of weapons. In practice, UNIFIL is an expensive charade. Hezbollah holds absolute sway in southern Lebanon. And now, just in time for the Security Council's annual vote, the Lebanese terrorist organization has shown once again that it determines what is permissible for UNIFIL, including whether and how the peacekeepers can monitor the Lebanese-Israeli border, known as the Blue Line. Each year, as part of the ritual of renewing UNIFIL's mandate, Hezbollah puts out barely veiled threats, mainly targeting France and other European countries that contribute troops to UNIFIL, warning against any attempt to alter the status quo. Last month, through its usual channels in the Lebanese press, Hezbollah once again leveled its customary threats.”
Middle East
The National: UAE Reinforces Commitment To Combat Money Laundering And Terrorist Financing
“The UAE’s Ministry of Economy on Tuesday reaffirmed its commitment to fighting money laundering and the financing of terrorism and illegal organisations, in line with its aim of fully complying with the International Financial Action Task Force obligations. The private sector is a strategic partner in achieving the country's goals including compliance with regulation and supervision of the Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. DNFBPs include professions outside the financial services sector that have higher anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) exposure. “We count on the partnership and cooperation of the DNFBPs to achieve the highest levels of oversight and compliance and contribute towards protecting these sectors’ investments from money laundering risks,” Mohamed Al Janahi, head of AML Supervision at the Ministry of Economy, said. The UAE has introduced strict measures to combat money laundering, setting up a dedicated agency earlier this year to identify money launderers and those suspected of financing terrorists and organised crime. The Central Bank of the UAE also regularly issues guidelines on how companies can assess money-laundering risks.”
Egypt
France 24: Families Of Egypt Death Row Islamists Face Agonising Wait
“After surviving the bloodshed when Egyptian security forces killed some 800 people in a sprawling Islamist protest camp in 2013, 12 Muslim Brotherhood members are on death row waiting to be hanged. For their families, it is an agonising wait, knowing their loved ones could be executed at any moment, without warning, having exhausted all avenues of appeal. Brothers Mahmud and Adam, who spoke to AFP on condition their real names not be used for fear of repercussions, said their inability to do any more to exonerate their father was a constant source of anxiety. “The pain of his absence has grown worse now he's been condemned to death in a final verdict and he's going to die no matter what. It really is a disastrous situation,” Adam told AFP. The 12 prisoners facing imminent execution were among 739 defendants prosecuted in a mass trial that the United Nations condemned as a travesty of justice. London-based human rights group Amnesty International accused Egypt of seeking to divert attention from the culpability of the security forces for the August 2013 mass shooting in Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya Square. “It has become increasingly clear that the Egyptian authorities are intent on shielding security forces from any accountability for their role in the Rabaa massacre,” the group's Middle East and North Africa deputy director, Lynn Maalouf, said.”
Nigeria
Voice Of America: Nigeria Says Taliban Victory Puts Africa In Terror Spotlight
“With the Taliban's swift takeover in Afghanistan, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari this week warned that the “war on terror” is not over but is shifting to Africa. Writing in the Financial Times newspaper, Buhari said Africa needs more than U.S. military assistance to defeat terrorism – it needs investment. The Nigerian president warned in his opinion piece that the U.S. departure from Afghanistan did not mean the so-called war on terror was winding down. He said said the threat is merely shifting to a new frontline - in Africa. He cited the rising threat of terrorist groups in Africa, from Boko Haram in Nigeria and the Sahel region to al-Shabab in Somalia and a rising insurgency in Mozambique. But Buhari lamented that Western allies, “bruised by their Middle East and Afghan experiences,” were not prioritizing Africa. The president's spokespeople could not be immediately reached for comment. But expert Kabiru Adamu of Beacon Security agrees with the president's opinion. “It is very likely that the developments in Afghanistan could definitely spur terrorist groups within Africa. It will embolden them, it will make them look at the bigger picture, which is the fact that resilience and a continuation of their efforts could lead to victory,” Adamu said.”
Europe
France 24: Spain Marks 4th Anniversary Of Deadly Catalonia Attacks
“Barcelona staged a low-key ceremony on Tuesday in memory of the 16 people who died during attacks in the Spanish city and a nearby resort four years ago. Wearing face masks and maintaining social distance because of the pandemic, dozens of people observed a minute's silence on the tree-lined Las Ramblas boulevard where on August 17, 2017 a van mowed down pedestrians leaving behind a trail of bodies. Relatives of the victims laid white carnations in front of a memorial plaque which marks the spot where the van came to a stop. Among those in attendance was the president of the regional government of Catalonia, Pere Aragones, and Barcelona mayor Ada Colau. “Four years after the death of my son, it's still hard. I think every year it gets harder,” Javier Martinez, father of three year old who died in the attack, told reporters. The attacks, which also injured 140 people, were carried out by a cell made up mostly of young people of Moroccan descent who grew up in Catalonia. They were claimed by the Islamic State group. A 22-year-old drove the van down Las Ramblas at high speed before fleeing in a car he stole after killing the driver. He was shot dead by police four days later. Several hours after the attack, five of his accomplices drove into more pedestrians and stabbed a woman who later died of her injuries in Cambrils, a seaside resort 100 kilometres (60 miles) to the south.”
Southeast Asia
Reuters: Hong Kong Police Arrest Four Students For 'Advocating Terrorism'
“Hong Kong police said on Wednesday four students were arrested for “advocating terrorism” after their student union passed a motion last month mourning the death of a 50-year-old who stabbed a policeman before killing himself. Police have said an officer was stabbed from behind on July 1, while on duty with other policemen preventing protest gatherings on the anniversary of the former British colony's return to Chinese rule in 1997. The man then stabbed himself in the chest with the knife and died later in the hospital. The policeman, 28, suffered a punctured lung, but survived what Secretary for Security Chris Tang described as a terrorist act by a “lone wolf.” Shortly after the attack, a few dozen members of the Hong Kong University student union passed a motion, since withdrawn, to commemorate the 50-year-old's death and “appreciate” his “sacrifice.” The union leaders have resigned and apologised for the “inappropriate” motion. The union's campus office has since been raided by national security police and the university has severed ties with the union and banned about 30 students who signed the motion from entering its premises. “The motion is very shocking,” Senior Superintendent Steve Li told reporters.”
Technology
CNN: How Social Media Is Dealing With The Taliban Takeover
“It's been two days since Kabul fell to the Taliban and social media giants are scrambling to figure out how to deal with the takeover of Afghanistan by the militants. On Tuesday, Facebook (FB) reiterated its ban on accounts praising, supporting, or representing the Taliban from its platforms, including WhatsApp and Instagram, and said that it would remove “accounts maintained by or on behalf of the Taliban.” “The Taliban is sanctioned as a terrorist organization under US law and we have banned them from our services under our Dangerous Organization policies,” a company spokesperson said. Facebook designates “dangerous organizations” into three tiers, with the first one being subjected to “the most extensive enforcement.” Entities in tier 1 include terrorist, hate, and criminal organizations. While the Taliban have been banned from Facebook's platforms for “years,” the company did not reveal when exactly the restrictions were placed. The company said it employs a “dedicated team of Afghanistan experts, who are native Dari and Pashto speakers and have knowledge of local context” tasked with identifying “emerging issues.” “Regardless of who holds power, we will take the appropriate action against accounts and content that breaks our rules,” Facebook stated.”
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