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Eye on Extremism
August 20, 2021
Reuters: U.S. Focused On Potential For Terrorist Attack By Taliban Foes, Says Security Adviser
“The U.S. government is “laser focused” on the potential for a terrorist attack in Afghanistan by a group like ISIS-K, a sworn enemy of the Taliban, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told NBC Nightly News on Thursday. Sullivan told the NBC program that getting Americans out of Afghanistan was “a risky operation” given questions about whether the Taliban would continue to allow the safe passage of people to the airport and other contingencies such as possible attack by an Islamist group such as ISIS-K. “One of the contingencies we are very focused on, laser focused on, is the potential for a terrorist attack by a group like ISIS-K, which of course is a sworn enemy of the Taliban, so we will keep working to minimize the risks and maximize the number of people on planes,” Sullivan said. U.S. officials say they are working around the clock to evacuate Americans and those who aided U.S. forces out of Kabul, but that the security situation on the ground is challenging given the presence of groups like ISIS-K. Sullivan told NBC it was unclear exactly how many Americans were still in the country, but the Biden administration is committed to getting any American who wants to leave and gets in contact with U.S. officials onto a plane.”
“For the third time in eight months, Washington was brought to a standstill Thursday as the seat of the U.S. government came under the threat of violence, this time from a man who parked a truck near the Capitol, demanded to speak with President Biden about a range of grievances and threatened to destroy two blocks of the nation’s capital with an explosive device. Congressional office buildings and nearby homes were evacuated as authorities negotiated with the man, identified by law enforcement as Floyd Ray Roseberry, 49, of North Carolina. Roseberry surrendered to authorities after about five hours and will face criminal charges, U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said. No bomb was found in his car, although officials said they did discover materials that could be used to make explosives. Before he was taken into custody, Roseberry delivered a tirade over a Facebook live video in which he assailed Biden and other Democrats, called for a revolt against the federal government and claimed there were other “patriots” waiting in vehicles elsewhere in D.C. “The revolution is on, it’s here, it’s today,” he said in his live stream. “America needs a voice. I’ll give it to them.”
Iraq
Atlantic Council: ISIS Is Defeated. What Becomes Of The ‘Cubs Of The Caliphate’ In Iraq?
“In the space between the tawny brown desert and the crystal blue sky, a boy wears a secondhand military uniform two sizes too big—his small hands gripping a gun taller than his body. He’s only nine. What becomes of this boy and the thousands like him in Iraq as the terrorist organization that enlisted him turns to rubble? Over its lifespan, the recruitment of male child soldiers became an integral component of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) operations. Adult members separated children from their families, at times exposing them to the brutal murder of their parents. In the aftermath, ISIS militants whispered in the children’s ears the indisputable justification for their suffering: they were not believers. Abducted, coerced, or manipulated, these children were herded like cattle to education and training centers. ISIS members molded their trauma and vulnerability into obedience and rage. In place of candy, they doled out Captagon pills, an amphetamine used to dull fear and embolden those who consume it. Children donned suicide belts and marched to the front lines as human shields. ISIS called them the “Cubs of the Caliphate”—the army of the future. Due to their malleability, children are a frequently exploited strategic source of manpower.”
Kurdistan 24: Iraqi Military Targets ISIS Hideouts, Amid Attacks On Security Forces
“Four militiamen were wounded and one killed in a Tuesday attack in Iraq's disputed Khanaqin as government forces in coordination with the Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga conducted military operations targeting ISIS hideouts. A local security source said that an explosive device detonated early Tuesday under a Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) patrol in the disputed Khanaqin district, Diyala province, killing one militiaman and wounding four others. “The movements of ISIS militants have been increasing in the area for a while,” the source told Kurdistan 24, noting an uptick in attacks on security forces and power transmission towers. On Monday, two armed men on a motorbike attacked a group of Shia civilians in the center of the disputed Kirkuk city close to Iraqi anti-terrorism forces, injuring one person. The civilians were gathered to commemorate Ashura. A day later, the Iraqi military, in coordination with the Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga, launched an operation against ISIS remnants from three axes near disputed areas. The Iraqi army and the rapid response force, in coordination with the Golden Forces Peshmerga unit, swept areas near Tuz Khurmatu district, Salahuddin province, the source explained.”
Turkey
Daily Sabah: Turkey Detains 11 Daesh Terrorists In Counterterrorism Ops
“Security forces detained 11 Daesh-linked suspects in counterterrorism operations in Turkey’s capital Ankara on Thursday. Ankara police squads launched an operation against 15 foreign suspects and carried out raids at dawn, Demirören News Agency (DHA) reported. The suspects were taken to nearby hospitals to undergo health checks, the report added. Police are still looking for the remaining four suspects. In 2013, Turkey became one of the first countries to declare Daesh a terrorist group. The country has since been attacked by the terrorist group multiple times, with over 300 people killed and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks and four armed assaults. In response, Turkey launched anti-terror operations at home and abroad to prevent further attacks. In May, Ankara arrested a Daesh terrorist identified as the right-hand man of former terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Al-Baghdadi was killed in a U.S. military operation in Syria in 2019. Reports said that Turkish intelligence played a key role in the death of al-Baghdadi by detaining and extraditing one of his aides to Iraq, who then provided U.S. authorities with critical information to help locate the vicious man.”
Afghanistan
The Wall Street Journal: How To Contain The Taliban
“One of the most sweeping foreign-policy failures in American history has unfolded before our eyes. The Taliban has expanded its reign of terror, marching through provincial capitals and swallowing Afghanistan. The sad reality is that the Taliban is running the show and will surely provide a haven to a growing al Qaeda contingent. There is still time to help those who helped us and to limit the Taliban’s influence in Afghanistan, but we must act now. After ensuring all American citizens are evacuated, the U.S. government’s priority should be ensuring the safety of the Afghans who helped our men and women operate in Afghanistan for 20 years. We believe most of those eligible for the Special Immigrant Visa program live outside Kabul; this reality must be addressed. There are thousands more who don’t qualify for the SIV program but who helped develop Afghan civil society and are equally at risk. Many worked as journalists or for nongovernmental and other democracy-building organizations. These individuals are under the same threat from the Taliban and could be subject to assassination owing to their affiliation with the U.S. government. It must be made clear to the Taliban that we are committed to helping those who sacrificed for us and will ensure their safe evacuation.”
Voice Of America: Hardline Haqqani Network Put In Charge Of Kabul Security
“…Roberts, a senior adviser at the Counter Extremism Project, a non-profit network that researches extremist groups, said he was surprised at the move. “I thought from the PR point of view, the Taliban was being a bit smarter than that,” he said. “Instead, they're putting forward the worst elements of their loose coalition, which sends a terrible signal to women, girls and civil society. And I think it increases the possibility of Afghanistan becoming a breeding ground for international terrorism again.” He added, “I don't think they will ever cut ties with al-Qaida. They're deeply embedded with al-Qaida and always have been.” In an accord U.S. President Donald Trump struck with the Taliban in February 2020, the group’s leaders agreed to “not allow any of its members, other individuals or groups, including al-Qaida, to use the soil of Afghanistan to threaten the security of the United States and its allies.” Osama bin Laden, al-Qaida’s founder, directed from his base in Afghanistan the September 2001 terror attacks on New York and Washington, which prompted the U.S.-led invasion of the central Asian country 20 years ago.”
Euronews: Taliban Takeover Could Lead To Renewed Terror Attacks In Europe
“Tuesday’s press conference hosted by the Taliban promised to usher in a new dawn for the Islamist insurgency, respect the rights of women and forgive those who had fought against them. Still, we must remember these are the same extremists who imposed one of the world’s strictest interpretations of Islamic jurisprudence for over half a decade. These are the men who brutalised their own population, forbade women from even the most basic of freedoms and inflicted barbaric punishments on citizens and in the last twenty years, according to regular reports by the United Nations, were responsible for the killing of thousands of Afghan civilians, from the same population that they are now intending to rule. Perhaps most worryingly, this is the same group that provided sanctuary for al-Qaeda and allowed the terror group to build a network of terrorist training camps, in which thousands of recruits learned deathly skills straight from the terrorists’ handbook returning to wreak devastation on their home countries or foreign targets.”
Deutsche Welle: Afghanistan: Taliban Face Financial Squeeze From West
“The speed of the Taliban's capture of Afghanistan last weekend has left the West scrambling to curtail the Islamist militants' grip on the country. Military action has been all but ruled out and instead the United States and its NATO allies have turned to financial warfare. US President Joe Biden and the Federal Reserve have frozen billions of dollars in Afghan currency reserves held in the US. Nearly $9 billion (€7.7 billion) in assets are kept in the US and other countries, including $1.2 billion in gold and more than $300 million in international currencies. In anticipation of the fall of Kabul, Biden last week halted shipments of US dollars to Afghanistan — a move the country's former central bank chief Ajmal Ahmady said would lead to "dire" prospects for the people.”
Pakistan
Associated Press: Bombing Hits Pakistan Shiite Procession, Killing At Least 3
“A powerful roadside bomb exploded among a procession of Shiite Muslims in central Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least three and wounding over 50 people, local police said. Videos circulating on social media showed police and ambulances rushing toward the site of the explosion. Several wounded people were seen waiting for help along a road in the deeply conservative city of Bahawalnagar in the eastern Punjab province, where the attack took place. City police officer Mohammad Asad and Shiite leader Khawar Shafqat confirmed the bombing. Witnesses said tensions are now high in the city, with Shiites protesting the attack and demanding retribution. Shafqat said the explosion went off while the procession was passing through a congested neighborhood known as Muhajir Colony. He condemned the attack and urged the government to further step up security at such processions, which are ongoing in other parts of the country as well. Communications in the area were difficult, as authorities had suspended mobile phone service across the country a day ago ahead of the Shiite Ashoura festival. The annual commemoration mourns the 7th century death of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussein, one of Shiite Islam’s most beloved saints.”
Middle East
Bloomberg: Taliban Rattles Gulf States Desperate To Keep Extremists At Bay
“After the American withdrawal from Afghanistan led to a swift takeover by the Taliban this week, Oman’s top religious cleric congratulated the Afghan people on their “victory over the invaders.” But Grand Mufti Ahmed Al-Khalili stopped short of recognizing the Islamist militant group controlling Afghanistan. In fact, he avoided mentioning them at all. The mufti’s ideological contortions -- accepting the Taliban presence in Kabul without explicitly acknowledging its authority -- are likely to be repeated across the Arab Gulf. Countries including Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading oil exporter, and the United Arab Emirates must now balance the need to develop pragmatic relations with the fundamentalist movement even as they wage their own battles against Islamic extremism. “The Gulf states are rattled, no doubt about it,” said Fawaz Gerges, Middle Eastern politics professor at the London School of Economics. “This represents a major setback for governments that have turned Islamists into archenemy, such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, because it inspires and motivates religious activists worldwide and it shows that they can’t rely on the United States to come to their aid.”
Nigeria
“Militants belonging to the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have allegedly killed many Nigerians soldiers in Cross Kauwa, Borno State. Cross Kauwa, sometimes referred to simply as Kauwa, is located within the Kukawa Local Government Area of the state. The town is located along a road that runs from Baga to the east (formerly at the shore of Lake Chad) and to Kukawa to the west. Another road leads south to Monguno. Maina Maaji Lawan, a former governor of Borno state, and later a Senator, was born in the town - Kauwa. ISWAP in a statement sighted by SaharaReporters said the soldiers were killed recently during an ambush on Nigerian troops in the community. Also displayed were operational vehicles, military hardware, and ammunition the group allegedly captured from the Nigerian Army. The insurgents also released a picture showing some soldiers allegedly killed, claiming it killed ‘many soldiers’. Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province, have killed thousands of Nigerians and displaced millions in North-Eastern Nigeria. The Nigerian military has repeatedly claimed that the insurgency had been largely defeated and frequently underplays any losses.”
Mali
Reuters: Attack In Central Mali Kills 15 Soldiers, Military Says
“Fifteen soldiers were killed and a number of others wounded in an ambush on a military convoy in central Mali on Thursday, the armed forces said. A car bomb exploded when the convoy passed, followed by heavy gunfire, the military said on Twitter. Efforts were under way to evacuate the wounded, the statement said. It was not yet clear who carried out the attack. It occurred in a region where Malian, French and European forces and U.N. peacekeepers have been battling insurgents linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda. The borderlands between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have become ungovernable in some areas as Islamists spread. Attacks in recent years have killed thousands of civilians and forced millions to flee. Earlier in August, over 50 people were killed when Islamist militants raided three villages in central Mali.”
Germany
Deutsche Welle: Germany: Convictions Of Neo-Nazi Terror Cell Upheld On Appeal
“Germany's Federal Court of Justice dismissed the appeal Thursday of notorious National Socialist Underground (NSU) member Beate Zschäpe, and two others connected to the neo-Nazi terror cell. Zschäpe lived with her friends Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Bönhardt for nearly 14 years. Between 2000 and 2007, they killed seven men of Turkish and one man of Greek origin, and a policewoman. In 2011, Mundlos and Böhnhardt took their own lives to escape imminent arrest following a botched robbery. Zschäpe set fire to a flat they all shared, recording a confession video before turning herself in. Zschäpe had handled the terror cell's logistics and finances and set up safe houses for them. While the court did overturn one of Zschäpe's sentences, her conviction was upheld. The court announced that “the overall life sentence and the particular severity of guilt established have remained unaffected by this.” In a written order, the court determined the sentences against two supporters of the cell, Ralf Wohlleben and Holger G., were also legally binding. The trial over the neo-Nazi terror cell's murders and attacks came to an end in July 2018 after more than five years and 400 trial days. The April 2020 verdict is more than 4,000 pages long.”
Southeast Asia
Associated Press: Indonesian Police Arrest 53 Linked To New Militant Cell
“Indonesian police said Thursday they have arrested at least 53 suspected militants in recent weeks believed to have links to banned extremist groups, in a nationwide crackdown on a new cell of Jemaah Islamiyah, blamed for a string of past bombings. The arrests were made in 11 provinces in the past two weeks, including five men who were arrested on Thursday, National Police spokesperson Ahmad Ramadhan said. Those arrested are mostly suspected of being members of Jemaah Islamiyah, an al-Qaida-linked group responsible for 2002 bombings in Bali that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, and other attacks. It was banned by a court in 2008 and has been weakened by a sustained crackdown on militants by counterterrorism police with U.S. and Australian support. The arrests followed tips that convicted leaders and veteran fighters in Afghanistan were recruiting and training new members, Ramadhan said. “We are still searching for other members and continue to hunt them down,” Ramadhan said, “There will be no place for JI in Indonesia.” He did not elaborate on what the group was planning. Three suspects linked to a banned local affiliate of the Islamic State group known as Jemaah Anshorut Daulah were also among those arrested last week.”
Technology
ABC News: How The Taliban Uses Social Media To Seek Legitimacy In The West, Sow Chaos At Home
“It seems like history may be repeating itself -- the Taliban is once again in control of Afghanistan after 20 years of the War on Terror there. The development is alarming and dismaying, despite (widely dismissed) assurances from the group -- decried by the U.S. State Department as having “had one of the worst human rights records in the world” and giving safe harbor to al Qaeda -- that they have changed. One thing that is different since the last time the group was in power is its widespread adoption of social media and the power that having a largely unregulated propaganda platform brings. The Taliban now has the ability to communicate directly with the rest of the world, as well as to control the narrative around events as it has been trying to do for years at home and abroad through a barrage of messages on social media. Experts say it effectively did an end around the Afghan government through its unrelenting publicity campaign, capitalizing on disinformation and a lack of media literacy.”
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