“The Pentagon said that two Islamic State militants were killed and one was
wounded in Friday night’s drone strike in Nangarhar Province as part of th

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


August 30, 2021 

 

 

The New York Times: U.S. Strike Kills Two ISIS-K Militants In Retaliation For
Airport Attack
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“The Pentagon said that two Islamic State militants were killed and one was
wounded in Friday night’s drone strike in Nangarhar Province as part of the
American retaliation for the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed
scores of people, including 13 American service members. Defense Department
officials said one of the Islamic State drone targets was a “planner,” and one
was a “facilitator.” Both, they said, were involved in planning attacks against
Americans, although officials at a news conference on Saturday declined to say
whether they were involved specifically in the Kabul airport attack. There
remains a threat to American troops and civilians at the Kabul airport,
officials said, making the ongoing evacuation effort perilous. For the first
time, Pentagon officials publicly acknowledged the possibility that some of the
people killed in the aftermath of the suicide bombing at Kabul airport may have
died in gunfire coming from American service members after the suicide bomber
detonated himself. Pentagon officials have previously said there was gunfire
after the bombing, but were unsure where it emanated. Investigators are looking
into whether the shots came from Americans at the gate, or from the Islamic
State, which claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing.”

 

Associated Press: Yemeni Official: Missile, Drone Attack On Airbase Kills 30
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“A missile and drone attack on a key military base in Yemen’s south on Sunday
killed at least 30 troops, a Yemeni military spokesman said. It was one of the
deadliest attacks in the country’s civil war in recent years. Mohammed
al-Naqib, spokesman for Yemen’s southern forces, told The Associated Press the
attack on Al-Anad Air Base in the province of Lahj wounded at least 65. He said
the casualty toll could rise since rescue teams were still clearing the site.
Graphic footage from the scene showed several charred bodies on the ground with
ambulance sirens blaring in the background. Yemeni officials said at least
three explosions took place at the air base, which is held by the
internationally recognized government. No one immediately claimed
responsibility for the attack. Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since
2014, when Houthi rebels swept across much of the north and seized the capital,
Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognized government into exile. The
Saudi-led coalition entered the war the following year on the side of the
government. A ballistic missile landed in the base’s training area, where
dozens of troops were doing morning exercises, the officials said.”

 

United States

 

Washington Examiner: Al Qaeda And ISIS Members From Afghanistan Could
Resurface On Southern Border, Experts Say
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“Al Qaeda and ISIS terrorists sprung by the Taliban from an Afghan prison
could enter the United States via the porous southern border, security experts
said, lending grim legitimacy to concerns raised by Republicans. Feds
patrolling the 2,000-mile-long U.S.-Mexico border are increasingly on alert for
foreigners on the terror watch list, given the situation in Afghanistan, a
senior official at U.S. Customs and Border Protection who spoke on the
condition of anonymity told the Washington Examiner. “I believe CBP and the
Border Patrol are both taking it very seriously, but I can’t say the same as
far as the administration,” the official wrote in an email. “If I was a bad
person that wanted to do harm to the U.S., I know now is the time to illegally
enter the border. You have sectors and stations that cannot fully man their
areas of operation and people are getting through.” More people were
encountered by law enforcement while illegally attempting to enter the U.S.
from Mexico in July than any month in the past 21 years, and those numbers show
no sign of declining. As a result, roughly half of the thousands of Border
Patrol agents who work on the southern border have been pulled inside to
process and take care of migrants in custody, resulting in fewer agents
patrolling the border.”

 

Syria

 

International Business Times: ISIS Is The Richest Terrorist Group In The
World, Holds Guinness Record
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“The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, more commonly known as ISIS, was at one
point the richest and most well-funded terrorism and insurgency group on the
planet, even holding a Guinness World Record due to its massive net worth. ISIS
was first dubbed by Forbes as the wealthiest terrorist organization in the
world in 2014, surpassing other groups such as Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabab and the
Taliban. It was said to have an annual turnover of about $2 billion, according
to the outlet's 2014 estimates. The group entered the Guinness World Records
that year as the richest insurgency group. Some analysts estimated that the net
worth of ISIS may have been closer to $3 billion around that time, according to
a Forbes report. The group’s main sources of funding are the illegal sale of
oil — believed to bring in millions of dollars per day — as well as kidnapping
and ransom, collection of protection taxes, bank robberies and looting, the
outlet said. Part of the group’s fortune in 2014 came from the funds it seized
from the bank of Mosul when it took control of the Iraqi city that year. The
amount was estimated to be more than $300 million.”

 

Iraq

 

RFI: Macron Says France Will Keep Troops In Iraq To Contain Terrorism
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“Speaking at a regional summit in Iraq, French President Emmanuel Macron said
his country would continue to deploy troops there to battle terrorism even if
the US were to withdraw. The comments come in the wake of a deadly attack
claimed by the Islamic State in Afghanistan, a country which has come under
Taliban control. “Given the geopolitical events, this conference has taken a
special turn,” Macron said at the summit convened by Iraq as it seeks to play
the role of regional mediator. “No matter what choices the Americans make, we
will maintain our presence in Iraq to fight against terrorism,” Macron told a
news conference in Baghdad. “We all know that we must not lower our guard,
because Daesh (the Islamic State group) remains a threat, and I know that the
fight against these terrorist groups is a priority of your government,” Macron
said earlier after a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi.
“Fighting against terrorism, supporting structured regional projects and
responding to challenges in the Middle East can only be done together,” Macron
wrote on Twitter. “The Baghdad conference is historique. It's already a success
in itself, a new form of cooperation is born.” The French president considers
Iraq “essential” to stability in the Middle East.”

 

Afghanistan

 

The Washington Post: Fear And Anticipation On The Streets Of Kabul As Afghans
Adapt To Taliban Rule
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“The woman had never seen a Taliban fighter before. An artist and former
social media influencer based here in the Afghan capital, she had spent most of
her adult life in the city’s liberal circles. Taliban rule felt foreign and
frightening. The city’s swift fall to the militants this month was
“terrifying,” she said, and she spent days locked inside her apartment. She
feared a knock on the door and a swift death sentence. When it didn’t come, she
ventured downstairs. In place of the guards who ordinarily sat outside her
building were Taliban fighters. She froze — but then said hello. “I was
shocked: They were respectful,” she said. They exchanged pleasantries. “It made
me think: Maybe these people are not who we thought they were.” Still, she has
yet to leave her apartment building. She has seen reports on television and
heard stories from friends and family of arbitrary beatings and extrajudicial
executions. She doesn’t know what could await her just a few blocks away.
Taliban leaders are promising peace, order and amnesty in Afghanistan. They
promised that last time, too. Two weeks after the Taliban overran Kabul,
seizing control of the capital and the country for the first time in 20 years,
Afghans across the capital are bracing for what comes next.”

 

Bloomberg: Trusting The Taliban To Fight Islamic State
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“Reports from Washington and Kabul show the extent to which the Biden
administration has been counting on the Taliban to facilitate the U.S.
withdrawal from Afghanistan — and, apparently, to keep up the fight against
IS-Khorasan, the local franchise of the Islamic State, after the Americans are
gone. The White House and Pentagon believe that the new rulers in Kabul share
their eagerness for a speedy evacuation: a “common purpose,” in the words of
Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, commander of the United States Central Command. There is
also an assumption that the Taliban have an implacable enmity toward
IS-Khorasan. These postulates are the basis for information-sharing between
U.S. officials and their Taliban counterparts to ensure smooth passage of
American citizens, green-card holders and Afghan allies through
militant-controlled checkpoints outside the Kabul airport. Also, according to
McKenzie, U.S. officials have for the past two weeks appraised Taliban
commanders of threats to the airport, “so that they can actually do some
searching out there for us.” The general has speculated that some attacks had
been “thwarted” before Thursday’s twin blasts, which killed at least 75 Afghans
and 13 American service personnel.”

 

Newsweek: Why The Taliban, Armed To The Teeth, May Struggle To Defeat ISIS-K
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“…These emissaries networked primarily in southern and eastern Afghanistan and
gathered disgruntled Taliban fighters as well as some local power brokers,
declaring their existence openly only in 2015, gathering also a range of
foreign fighters, primarily from Pakistani terrorist groups,” Hans-Jakob
Schindler, senior director at the Counter Extremism Project, tells Newsweek.
The United States had provided the Taliban with prior intelligence about
Thursday's attack. Terrorism experts have told Newsweek that the Taliban will
not want to been seen to be too compliant with the U.S., over fears that
Taliban members may defect to the Islamic State affiliate. “ISIS-K has more
decentralized structure after taking several blows to leadership so it may not
be so easy for Taliban to take them on,” Magnus Ranstorp, special advisor to EU
Radicalisation Awareness Network, tells Newsweek. “Also if U.S. decides to
strike, then [the] Taliban does not want to be seen to be too compliant to
[the] West. It places Taliban between a rock and a hard place.” Taliban
fighters wait for their meals to be served as they lunch at a restaurant in
Kabul on August 26, 2021 after Taliban's military takeover following the U.S.
troop withdrawal.”

 

Newsweek: Lindsey Graham Warns Biden's Afghanistan Exit Has 'Set The
Conditions For Another 9/11'
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“…On Sunday, the U.S. military confirmed that an airstrike hit an
explosives-packed vehicle headed for the Kabul airport. Security experts are
concerned that the Taliban—left with many of the highest technology American
weapons given to the Afghan army—may struggle to defeat ISIS. “What was
surprising is that ISIS-K regularly conducted attacks in Kabul, the center of
the operational area of the Haqqani network, the Salafi-oriented network within
the Taliban that has the closest links to Al-Qaeda of all the various Taliban
factions,” Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director at the Counter Extremism
Project, told Newsweek. “These attacks were not followed by visible retaliation
of the Haqqani network, which used to 'defend' its area of operations against
other Taliban factions. This noteworthy lack of reaction of the Haqqani network
is even more worrying now that the network is in charge of security in Kabul.”
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment, but had not heard back by
publication. This article will be updated with any response.”

 

International Business Times: Limits Of US Power: ‘Wanted’ Terrorist With $5M
Reward On His Head Runs Kabul Security
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“…Senior adviser at Counter Extremism Project, Ivor Roberts, said Al-Qaeda is
“deeply embedded” with the Taliban. “I don’t think they will ever cut ties with
Al-Qaeda,” Roberts, a retired British diplomat, noted. Taliban has yet to be
designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization. However, the
Haqqani Network has been linked to hostage-taking activities against
Westerners. U.S. officials said the network currently has at least one U.S.
citizen in captivity, the Wall Street Journal reported. Retired Lt. Gen.
Michael K. Nagata said the Haqqani Network is “the single most impressive
nonstate militant group” he has ever seen besides the ISIS during its first two
years in power. While Taliban has signed a peace deal with the Trump
administration, the recent bombing in Kabul as well as the group’s refusal to
extend foreign evacuations out of Afghanistan past the Aug. 31 deadline has
increase skepticism over the Taliban’s pledges. Recent developments have also
implied the United States’ limited power in a country that could be overtaken
by terrorism once U.S. military fully departs at the end of the month.”

 

The Washington Newsday: Why The Taliban, Although Being Heavily Armed, May
Struggle To Defeat ISIS-K
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“…Since 2018, the Taliban have been fighting ISIS-K. ISIS in Syria and Iraq,
on the other hand, despatched agents to Afghanistan in 2014 to establish an
affiliate. This was the second time ISIS’ core operations had purposefully
created a branch, following Libya. “These emissaries networked primarily in
southern and eastern Afghanistan, gathering disgruntled Taliban fighters as
well as some local power brokers, declaring their existence openly only in
2015, gathering also a range of foreign fighters, primarily from Pakistani
terrorist groups,” says Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director at the Counter
Extremism Project. The Taliban had received advance intelligence regarding
Thursday’s attack from the US. Terrorism specialists told This website that the
Taliban will not want to be regarded as too accommodating with the US because
they are afraid that Taliban militants could desert to the Islamic State
offshoot.”

 

Egypt

 

Arab News: Egypt Bans Books On Extremism And Muslim Brotherhood From Mosques
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“The Egyptian Ministry of Endowments has decided to prevent the entry of books
on extremism and the Muslim Brotherhood to all mosques in Egypt and to remove
those already there within the coming 15 days. Mohammed Mokhtar Gomaa, minister
of endowments, said that committees will be formed to re-examine mosque
libraries and the books, magazines and publications in them and remove any
publications that adopt extremist ideology or belong to any extremist group. In
an urgent statement, the minister directed the punishment of any official
neglecting these orders. There was also an urgent warning that all imams take a
pledge to not allow any books to be included in mosque libraries without
permission from the General Administration of Religious Guidance in the
Ministry’s general office. The minister also directed the removal of any
violating posters inside or outside the mosque. Hisham Abdel Aziz, who is in
charge of running the work of the head of the religious sector at the Ministry
of Endowments, issued a poster alerting all directorates to quickly form
committees to re-examine any libraries, books, magazines or publications in
mosques, and purify them of any publications that adopt an extremist ideology
or belong to any extremist group or the Brotherhood.”

 

Nigeria

 

International Business Times: Nigeria's Troubled Exit Path For Repentant
Jihadists
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“Gaunt men sit in the shade sewing hats while women in headscarves cook
leaves, watching children play as the dry wind blows through the thatched huts.
It's a typical scene in the sprawling camps set up for over two million people
who have fled jihadists waging war in northeast Nigeria -- and where Aliyu,
Abubakar, Muhammad and Mallam now also live. But the desolate site is a far cry
from where these four men had expected to end up after completing a government
programme to deradicalise and rehabilitate Boko Haram fighters. The years since
entering the custody of the authorities -- time mostly spent in overcrowded and
filthy cells -- have been traumatic, the men say. Now left to live in dusty
camps with no jobs in sight, they say the government has not delivered the
fresh start promised. The deradicalisation programme has also targeted the
wrong people, with participants saying that many civilians, rather than
fighters, end up in the hands of the military. Over more than a decade, Boko
Haram jihadists, along with combatants from dissident offshoot the Islamic
State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have killed at least 40,000 people.”

 

Africa

 

The Washington Post: France’s Drawdown In West Africa Fuels Local Extremists’
Hope For A Taliban-Style Victory
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“As Afghanistan fell to the Taliban this month, one of the most notorious
extremists in West Africa praised his “brothers” and what he cast as their
successful strategy. “Two decades of patience,” said Iyad Ag Ghaly, head of an
al-Qaeda affiliate that aims to conquer Mali. The rare public statement
illustrated how Afghanistan’s collapse has lifted morale and offered fresh
motivation to militant groups driving rapidly growing insurgencies across West
Africa. Fighters across the continent — many of whom have professed loyalty to
al-Qaeda and the Islamic State — have publicly celebrated the Taliban’s
takeover as the result of perseverance against the United States and other
Western armed forces. Now that France has announced plans to start slashing its
military presence in West Africa by about half over the next year, some who
have endured nearly a decade of extremist violence see a chilling parallel. “I
fear that we will meet the same fate as the Afghans,” said Azidane Ag Ichakane,
30, the president of a youth group in Bamako, the Malian capital. The Taliban’s
lightning-fast takeover after the U.S. departure from Afghanistan has cranked
up pressure on France, which has about 5,100 troops in West Africa, the most of
any overseas partner.”

 

Reuters: Suspected Militants Kill 19 In Eastern Congo Village
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“Suspected Islamist militants killed at least 19 people in a raid on a village
in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local authorities said. The attackers
looted houses and started fires in Kasanzi-Kithovo near Virunga National Park
in North Kivu province overnight between Friday and Saturday, they said. “I
don't know where to go with my two children,” villager Kahindo Lembula, who
lost four of her relatives in the attack, told Reuters by phone. “Only God will
help us.” The head of Buliki district, Kalunga Meso, and local rights group
CEPADHO blamed the assault on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) - an Islamist
militant group accused of killing thousands of people in recent years, mostly
in remote areas. There was no immediate claim of responsibility and the ADF
could not be reached. The government declared martial law in North Kivu and
neighbouring Ituri province at the beginning of May, in an attempt to quell a
surge in violence that the military largely attributes to the ADF. But the
number of civilians killed in such attacks has only increased since then,
according to the Kivu Security Tracker, which maps unrest in eastern Congo.”

 

Europe

 

Bloomberg: Switzerland Warns Of Terror Attacks On Vaccine Sites
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“Switzerland’s Federal Intelligence Service is warning of potential terrorist
attacks on coronavirus vaccine infrastructure including vaccination centers,
transport and manufacturing facilities, newspaper NZZ am Sonntag reported.
“Attacks on such targets would both hit large crowds and generate intensive
media coverage,” the NDB spokesperson, Isabelle Graber, said in a written
response to questions from NZZ. The NDB is concerned about attacks from
jihadist groups, the newspaper reported. So far, there are no tangible
indications of planned attacks, according to the NDB. Switzerland’s vaccine
deliveries are coordinated and conducted by the Swiss Army. Doses are stored in
secret locations. A spokesperson for Lonza Group AG, a manufacturer of Moderna
Inc’s vaccine, told the newspaper the company wouldn’t comment “on such
sensitive topics.” Switzerland has suffered a significant increase in Covid-19
cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks. The Alpine nation has distributed
9.51 million vaccine doses, enough to cover 55.6% of the population, according
to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker. That’s one of the lowest vaccine rates among
major economies in Europe. NZZ also reported that Health Minister Alain Berset
said in an interview that mobile vaccination efforts need to be increased.”

 

Technology

 

The Washington Post: Amazon Web Services Disables ISIS Propaganda Website It
Had Hosted Since April
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“Amazon late Friday disabled a website used by a propaganda arm of the Islamic
State that celebrated the suicide bombing that killed at least 170 people in
Kabul on Thursday after The Washington Post reported the extremists relied on
the company’s technology to promote extremism. Nida-e-Haqq, an Islamic State
media group that distributes Islamist content in the Urdu language, had been
using the company’s dominant cloud-computing division, Amazon Web Services, to
host its content, despite company policies against working with terror groups.
Some of that content included messages about the Islamic State-Khorasan
offshoot that claimed responsibility for the lethal attack, said Rita Katz,
executive director of SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors online extremism
and discovered the link with Amazon Web Services. Urdu is widely spoken in
neighboring Pakistan and occasionally in Afghanistan itself. The Nida-e-Haqq
app on Thursday carried what it claimed was an image of the bomber wrapped in a
suicide vest ahead of a blast whose victims included 13 U.S. service members,
further marring the American pullout from the nation after nearly 20 years of
war.”



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