Eye on Extremism
October 21, 2019
The
Washington Post: 62 Killed In Mosque Bombing In Eastern
Afghanistan
“A blast that ripped through a village mosque in eastern
Afghanistan killed at least 62 people gathered for Friday prayers,
according to Afghan officials. The attack wounded 36 and caused the
building’s roof to collapse, trapping survivors. Local tribal chief
Habib Urahman said many of those killed were teenagers. “One was
married only a week ago,” he said by phone shortly after he arrived at
the scene. He said crowds were gathered around the blast site
searching for loved ones. Attaullah Khogyani, the spokesman for
Nangahar’s provincial governor, said 62 people had been confirmed
dead. The attack comes as the conflict in Afghanistan is killing and
injuring record numbers of civilians. The Taliban and the U.S.-backed
Afghan government have stepped up operations, and the Islamic State
group in Afghanistan has carried out deadly high-profile attacks,
including the bombing of a Kabul wedding hall that killed 63 in
August.”
The
New York Times: Trump Said To Favor Leaving A Few Hundred Troops In
Eastern Syria
“President Trump is leaning in favor of a new Pentagon plan to keep
a small contingent of American troops in eastern Syria, perhaps
numbering about 200, to combat the Islamic State and block the advance
of Syrian government and Russian forces into the region’s coveted oil
fields, a senior administration official said on Sunday. If Mr. Trump
approves the proposal to leave a couple of hundred Special Operations
forces in eastern Syria, it would mark the second time in 10 months
that he has reversed his order to pull out nearly all American troops
from the country. Last December, Mr. Trump directed 2,000 American
troops to leave Syria immediately, only to relent later and approve a
more gradual withdrawal."
Associated
Press: Report: Synagogue Massacre Led To String Of Attack
Plots
“At least 12 white supremacists have been arrested on allegations
of plotting, threatening or carrying out anti-Semitic attacks in the
U.S. since the massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue nearly one year ago,
a Jewish civil rights group reported Sunday. The Anti-Defamation
League also counted at least 50 incidents in which white supremacists
are accused of targeting Jewish institutions’ property since a gunman
killed 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018.
Those incidents include 12 cases of vandalism involving white
supremacist symbols and 35 cases in which white supremacist propaganda
was distributed. The ADL said its nationwide count of anti-Semitic
incidents remains near record levels. It has counted 780 anti-Semitic
incidents in the first six months of 2019, compared to 785 incidents
during the same period in 2018. The ADL’s tally of 12 arrests for
white supremacist plots, threats and attacks against Jewish
institutions includes the April 2019 capture of John T. Earnest, who
is charged with killing one person and wounding three others in a
shooting at a synagogue in Poway, California. The group said many of
the cases it counted, including the Poway shooting, were inspired by
previous white supremist attacks.”
Daily
Mail: Hate Preacher Anjem Choudary's Banned Terror Group 'Has Revived
Since He Was Released From Jail Last Year And Is Holding Meetings
Again'
“Hate preacher Anjem Choudary is inspiring his network of
extremists and poses a renewed terror threat a year after he left
jail, an analysis by experts has warned.Experts from the Counter
Extremism Project (CEP) say the decision to give Choudary, 52, parole
should be reviewed in light of the findings, which they say show he is
a threat to national security. A study by the non-governmental
monitoring organisation says his extremist network is understood to
have restarted meetings. ‘Choudary remains a dangerous and influential
figure,’ it says. It also shines new light on Choudary’s influence on
outrages around the globe, profiling a network of 110 extremist
individuals and 33 organisations associated with him. Of the 110
individuals, 18 successfully carried out terror attacks, 50 others
attempted atrocities and 19 are – or attempted to become – Islamist
fighters. Thirty-six are Islamist propagandists or recruiters.”
The
Guardian: Britain Makes Move To Bring Home Isis Children Stranded In
Syria
“British officials have taken the first steps to
repatriate children stranded in Syria by liaising directly with
agencies on the ground to identify unaccompanied minors for “safe
passage” back to the UK. Whitehall sources have confirmed they are
working with “various agencies” in north-east Syria – believed to
include the International Committee of the Red Cross – to kickstart
the process of transferring children of British parents linked to
Islamic State back to the UK. Among the first cases identified are
three orphans, believed to have travelled to Syria with their parents
from London five years ago and who are currently in Raqqa, under the
control of the Kurdish-dominated militia, the Syrian Democratic
Forces. Transporting the children to Iraq, where they can be flown
from the city of Erbil to the UK, has been evaluated by Kurdish
officials and British charities as both quick and safe, especially
during the five-day ceasefire. The development comes before an appeal
this week by Shamima Begum against the removal of her UK citizenship
by the former home secretary Sajid Javid. Begum, then aged 15,
travelled to Syria in 2015 to join Isis from her east London home.
Lawyers for Begum, currently in al-Roj refugee camp in north-east
Syria, will argue the decision was “unlawful.”
The
New York Times: Erdogan’s Ambitions Go Beyond Syria. He Says He Wants
Nuclear Weapons.
“Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, wants
more than control over a wide swath of Syria along his country’s
border. He says he wants the Bomb. In the weeks leading up to his
order to launch the military across the border to clear Kurdish areas,
Mr. Erdogan made no secret of his larger ambition. “Some countries
have missiles with nuclear warheads,” he told a meeting of his
governing party in September. But the West insists “we can’t have
them,” he said. “This, I cannot accept.”
United States
Washington
Examiner: Former Neo-Nazi Leader Joins Al Qaeda Recruiter To Fight
Extremism
“Jeff Schoep was once America’s leading neo-Nazi, propagating
anti-Semitism and building an army to wage “racist violence” in his
role as leader of the National Socialist Movement. But now he claims
to be renouncing his racist past to help wean far-right extremists
away from white supremacy using the blueprint developed by his mentor,
a former al Qaeda recruiter. They launch next month with an
anti-fascist magazine that uses all the techniques that Jesse Morton
once used to convert young Americans into jihadists, first attracting
recruits with propaganda before sucking them into a network of online
activists who radicalized them to fight at home or abroad. Schoep, 45,
said a former neo-Nazi and a former jihadist may seem like odd
bedfellows, but they shared a common
experience.”
Syria
The
Atlantic: The Intelligence Fallout From Trump’s Withdrawal In
Syria
“This version of the forever war in Iraq and Syria was built around
the work done by local U.S. allies. The fight against ISIS was
America’s, but it was also being fought by Syrians, Kurds, and
Iraqis—a U.S. strategy known as “by, with, and through.” It meant that
local troops carried out ground fighting in battles drawn up by
American war planners. It meant that they received arms, training, and
logistical support from the U.S. military and were backed by U.S. air
strikes. Crucially, it also meant that they were getting help from
Special Operations forces, the U.S. military’s most elite units, who
work in the shadows around the world to carry out difficult and
sensitive missions.”
The
Wall Street Journal: As America Leaves Syria, Iran Isn’t As Happy As
You Think
“It is the conceit of the commentariat that Iran is a winner of the
latest mayhem in the Middle East—the departure of U.S. troops from
Syria and the subsequent Turkish incursion. Yet the clerical oligarchs
seem anxious about all that is happening around them. A continuing
Syrian civil war was working for Tehran. It had managed to navigate
skillfully the politics at play, developing good relations with both
Bashar Assad and the Kurdish militias opposing him. The latter’s U.S.
support created a sort of balance between the sides. Despite his
precarious situation, Mr. Assad dreams of unifying Syria. His Iranian
patrons have long advised him to limit his ambitions and consolidate
power in the territory he commands. With the U.S. backing the Kurds,
Mr. Assad had to follow Iran’s advice or risk a wider war he could ill
afford.”
The
Guardian: The Spectre Of Syria Silenced Arab Protest. But Now It’s
Finding Its Voice
“There is a bogeyman that haunts the Arab world. Its spectre looms
large and sinister over Arab politics. Its arrival is threatened, like
a curse, as a warning by parents to precocious children when they
misbehave. Its name is Syria. A suppurating wound that will not heal,
the Syrian civil war continues to bleed lives, and draw in neighbours
and allies involved in their own proxy battles. Just as it seems one
front is closed, a twist restarts hostilities – the latest involving a
capricious US president and an insecure Turkish one, with the Kurds in
northern Syria bearing the brunt. An abrupt American withdrawal paved
the way for yet another conflagration, yet another power calculus – as
Bashar al-Assad extends support to the Kurds – and yet another lease
of life for Islamic State. More than 100,000 people are on the move in
northern Syria. And at least 750 people with suspected links to Isis
have reportedly broken out of a camp in north-east Syria, raising the
possibility of a new shot in the arm for the terror group.”
The
Atlantic: America Can Still Fight ISIS In Syria
“We warned two weeks ago about the danger of abandoning America’s
Kurdish-led partner force in Syria, even as thousands of suspected
ISIS fighters remain in detention and ISIS attacks steadily increase.
This week, with a U.S. withdrawal from northern Syria well under way,
and after days of a Turkish assault on the region that’s now
supposedly paused despite reports of serious cease-fire violations,
we’re facing a new set of problems. Today, though, the U.S. has far
less control over what happens—and the continued fighting and
uncertainty will benefit ISIS and ISIS alone. So what now? The U.S.
still needs to keep ISIS from threatening U.S. interests, even as it
manages the departure of American troops and tries to help create a
path forward through the new dynamics on the ground. But what can the
U.S. do to mitigate any potential for ISIS resurgence or escape? And
what pressure can the U.S. bring to truly halt the Turkish offensive
and promote a peaceful dialogue?”
The
Wall Street Journal: U.S. Troops Cross Into Iraq as They Withdraw From
Syria
“Civilians in Kurdish areas hurled rotten fruit and insults at a
convoy of U.S. military vehicles that crossed from northern Syria into
Iraq early Monday, marking a dramatic drawdown to an American presence
there to combat Islamic State. A Wall Street Journal reporter saw
around a dozen armored vehicles on the road near Sheikhan in northern
Iraq flying American flags. Stony-faced U.S. soldiers flashed victory
signs for the camera. They appeared to be part of a larger convoy that
passed through the town of Duhok about 37 miles from the Syrian border
earlier Monday. A witness there heard onlookers in the predominantly
Kurdish city curse the soldiers. One man called them “sons of bitches”
and shouted at them to get out, he said.”
The
Wall Street Journal: Kurdish Forces Withdraw From Syrian Border
Area
“The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said its fighters
withdrew from a key border town in northeastern Syria, fulfilling a
part of the cease-fire agreement between Turkey and the U.S., as a
large convoy of American troops also prepared to pull out of the
country and its protracted conflict. Ankara agreed with Washington on
Thursday to a five-day truce, during which the Syrian Kurds are
expected to depart from an area Turkey has defined as a safe zone
along the two nations’ borders. Both sides have accused each other of
violating the cease-fire, with the town of Ras al-Ain at the center of
the fighting. Critics have said the agreement was a wholesale
concession to Ankara, giving it control of an area in Syria it has
coveted for years and freeing it from U.S. sanctions in return for
pausing an offensive it had no international backing for. While
President Trump hailed the pact as a diplomatic victory, U.S.-allied
Kurds have likened it to a surrender on their part.”
The
New York Times: Desperate Pleas To Free Women And Children From ISIS
Camps In Syria
“When Kamalle Dabboussy learned this month that President Trump was
removing troops from northeastern Syria, he pulled over in his car and
wept. For months, Mr. Dabboussy has been lobbying the Australian
government to remove his daughter and three grandchildren from a
detention camp for relatives of Islamic State fighters. Now, he
believes, the window to save them is closing. “It’s tough; it’s
scary,” he told his daughter, Mariam, during a recent phone call. Mr.
Dabboussy tried to comfort her. “We’re still pushing,” he said. The
fate of tens of thousands of women and children in Kurdish-run
detainee camps in Syria has posed a challenge for governments around
the world since the Islamic State lost its last territory there
earlier this year. But the chaos and violence that have followed the
American pullback have intensified questions about what duty nations
have to citizens detained abroad, even those affiliated with a brutal
terrorist group. Mr. Dabboussy has been leading a contingent of about
a dozen Australian families seeking the return of more than 65
relatives, most of them children. He has traveled to the Al-Hol camp,
where his daughter is being held in what he describes as unbearable
conditions.”
Politico:
Pentagon Sees Few Options For Preventing New ISIS Safe Haven In
Syria
“The United States’ abrupt withdrawal from northeastern Syria is
forcing the Pentagon to accept a dangerous reality — the rebirth of an
Islamic State sanctuary that could allow terrorists to launch attacks
on the West. The U.S. military won’t be able do much more than monitor
and try to contain ISIS activity in parts of Syria without special
operations forces on the ground, according to current and former
military officials. And although the Defense Department is considering
backup options including a drone campaign and occasional commando
raids, the pullout of the troops who had been living in the country
alongside Syrian Kurdish forces will make it difficult to track the
group or find targets to attack. For now, the U.S. may have to live
with the existence of an Islamic State safe haven in Syria, just as it
lives with an al-Qaida offshoot’s haven in a part of the country where
the presence of Russian troops and aircraft limits the Pentagon’s
reach. “Our goal was the defeat of the Islamic State, and they’re
undefeated,” said Michael Nagata, a retired lieutenant general who
helped oversee the early stages of the campaign against ISIS in Syria,
in an interview.”
Fox
News: Colin Clarke: ISIS Is Big Winner From US Withdrawal From
Syria
“President Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria
could provide the ISIS terrorist group with the time and space to
regrow its organization and extend its networks throughout the Middle
East. While the most immediate and visible consequence of the U.S.
withdrawal has been an increase of tensions between the U.S. and
Turkey, these and other second-order effects of this decision are less
visible and may take a longer time to manifest. The most obvious
concern is that with the Kurds now focused on survival, the United
States’ most capable partner on the ground in Syria – local militia
forces consisting of the Syrian Democratic Forces and the People’s
Protection Units – will devote fewer resources and manpower to
combating ISIS. Kurdish fighters have ceased counterterrorism
operations against ISIS. As the Kurds are pulled away from guarding
camps where ISIS prisoners and sympathizers are being detained and
called to the front lines to fight against Turkish troops and
Turkish-backed militias, detainment camps and prisons will grow
significantly more vulnerable, with potentially dire implications for
regional stability. There have already been widespread reports of
prison breaks from detainment camps where ISIS prisoners and
sympathizers were being held."
Iran
The
National: The IRGC Want To Be The Real Power-Brokers In
Iran
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who hold the real power in
Iran, are sending dangerous messages to the world and their regional
neighbours, the first of which is that dialogue with Tehran should go
through them, not the president or foreign minister. If the IRGC
continue to feel cornered, they could respond with military operations
in the region and a power-grab at home. Next month will be crunch
time, when there will be an assessment of the impact of crippling US
sanctions. The IRGC plan to contain domestic resentment through
foreign operations that could rally nationalist sentiment behind the
regime. But before delving into this issue, it is important to assess
the implications of Turkey’s invasion of north-east Syria and the
visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Saudi Arabia and the
UAE.”
Associated
Press: Iran Sends US List Of Names For Its Proposed Prisoner
Swap
“Iran’s foreign ministry said Monday it has sent the United States
a list of names it is demanding in a proposed prisoner swap, opening a
potential new channel with Washington amid recent growing tensions.
Iran did not detail the names it relayed, but Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif said he hoped to hear soon “good news” about the
release of Iranian scientist Masoud Soleimani. U.S. federal
authorities arrested Soleimani last year on charges that he had
violated trade sanctions by trying to have biological material brought
to Iran. Zarif said he raised the issue last month in his visit to New
York to attend the U.N. General Assembly, according to the
semi-official Fars news agency.”
Reuters:
Secondary Circuit Of Iran's Arak Nuclear Reactor To Be Operational
Within Two Weeks: Official
“The secondary circuit of the Arak heavy water nuclear reactor will
be operational within two weeks, Ali Asghar Zarean, a special
assistant to the chief of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, was
quoted as saying on Sunday by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
The starting of the secondary circuit will not violate restrictions
placed on Iran’s nuclear program under a landmark 2015 deal with world
powers. Last week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran will
continue to reduce its commitments to the deal, removing curbs on its
nuclear program, until European parties to the pact protect Iran’s
economy from U.S. penalties. Iran has the capacity to produce up to 25
tonnes of heavy water per year, Zarean said, noting that the Islamic
Republic currently produces 20 tonnes of heavy water annually, which
is exported to other countries.”
Afghanistan
The
New Yorker: The Shattered Afghan Dream Of Peace
“In 2008, when Zubair was seventeen years old, he left the refugee
camp in Pakistan where he’d grown up, crossed into Afghanistan, and
joined the war against the Americans. Although he and his family had
fled the country during the Taliban regime, everyone Zubair knew
seemed to agree that it was his religious duty to resist the foreign
occupation of his homeland. One of his teachers arranged his
enlistment in the Taliban. Zubair underwent a brief training program
in Kunar Province, in northeastern Afghanistan, where his father had
died during the war against the Soviet Union. He was deployed to his
native village, in the Korengal, a narrow, cedar-forested valley that
harbored one of the U.S. Army’s remotest outposts. For more than a
year, Zubair conducted ambushes, engaged in firefights, and hid from
jets and drones. He lost eight friends. Forty-two Americans were
killed and hundreds were wounded in the Korengal, which became known
as the Valley of Death. In 2010, the Americans surrendered it to the
Taliban. Some of Zubair’s comrades remained to launch attacks on
Afghan government forces; Zubair asked to be sent to neighboring
Nangarhar Province, where there were still foreigners to fight.”
The
New York Times: U.S. Is Quietly Reducing Its Troop Force In
Afghanistan
“The United States is already reducing the size of its troop force
in Afghanistan despite the lack of a peace deal with the Taliban, at a
time when President Trump has expressed reluctance to remain engaged
in costly wars abroad. In a news conference on Monday, the top
American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S. Miller, confirmed
that the size of the American force in the country had already quietly
dropped by 2,000 over the last year, down to roughly 12,000. Other
American and Afghan officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to
discuss details of the plan, said that the eventual force size could
drop to as low as 8,600 — roughly the size of an initial reduction
envisioned in a draft agreement with the Taliban before Mr. Trump
halted peace talks last month. Rather than a formal withdrawal order,
they are reducing the force through a gradual process of not replacing
troops as they cycle out.”
The
New York Times: Afghan Village Of 70 Families Faces Ruin With Mosque
Massacre
“Just a few hundred residents remain in Jawdara, a small village in
eastern Afghanistan struggling to survive after Islamic State
militants cut off their water supply early this year. With only 70
families hanging on, the cost to this tiny, trapped community was
grievous when 73 lives — basically the men of each family — were torn
away in an instant. “The village is ruined,” said Mawlawi Sadaqat, a
local religious leader who led prayers as the bodies were buried.
“Each house is left with orphans.” The massacre took place when a
suicide bomber walked into Jawdara’s mosque on Friday, where men had
gathered for the weekly congregational prayer. In addition to the
dead, at least 30 others were seriously wounded. Women desperately
worked to dig bodies from the rubble, eventually aided by people who
came in from neighboring areas in Nangarhar Province. This is the lot
of Afghanistan’s towns, far from the tenuous security that the main
cities provide. As the war has worsened, and with civilian casualties
hitting a new level this month, life in places like Jawdara has
increasingly come to feel like slow death punctuated by sudden
massacre. “I was standing in queue for prayer when I first felt a
flame in my face and then the roof collapsed and I screamed,” said
Riazullah, who was wounded.”
Reuters:
Pentagon Chief In Afghanistan As U.S. Looks To Kickstart Taliban
Talks
“U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper arrived in Afghanistan on Sunday
in a bid to bring talks with the Taliban back on track after President
Donald Trump abruptly broke off negotiations last month seeking to end
the United States’ longest war. Esper’s trip to Kabul comes amid
questions about the United States’ commitments to allies after a
sudden withdrawal of U.S. troops from northeastern Syria and Trump’s
long-time desire to get out of foreign engagements. “The aim is to
still get a peace agreement at some point, a political agreement. That
is the best way forward,” Esper told reporters traveling with him to
Afghanistan. He is due to meet President Ashraf Ghani and U.S. troops
while in Afghanistan. “I hope we can move forward and come up with a
political agreement that meets our ends and meets the goals we want to
achieve,” Esper said, adding that talks were in the State Department’s
domain. He added that the United States could go down to about 8,600
troops, from the current 14,000, without affecting counter-terrorism
operations, if needed. Trump halted talks with the Taliban, aimed at
striking a deal for U.S. and other foreign troops to withdraw in
exchange for Taliban security guarantees, after it carried out a bomb
attack in Kabul last month that killed 12 people, including a U.S.
soldier.”
The
Washington Post: Afghan Presidential Election Outcome Remains In Limbo
As Results Are Delayed
“Afghanistan’s election commission said it will miss the Saturday
deadline for announcing initial results from the country’s
presidential election last month. Hawa Alam Nuristani, head of the
Independent Election Commission, apologized for the commission’s
failure to announce the results on time. “Regrettably, the commission,
due to technical issues and for the sake of transparency, could not
announce the presidential election initial poll results,” she said.
She gave no timetable for when the results would be announced but said
she hopes it will be “as soon as possible.” The delay comes amid
deepening political uncertainty following the Sept. 28 vote. The
front-runners, President Ashraf Ghani and chief executive Abdullah
Abdullah, said they expect to win and indicated they will not accept
defeat because of suspected flaws in the voting process. Inconclusive
election results marred by fraud in the previous presidential election
in 2014 nearly tore the country apart. A political crisis was averted
only after the United States brokered a power-sharing deal between
Ghani and Abdullah. Both men have said securing a peace deal to end
the country’s 18-year war is a top priority, but a heavily contested
vote would undercut any Afghan government’s standing in peace talks
with the Taliban.”
Voice
Of America: Afghan Taliban Continue To Work Closely With Al-Qaida In
Afghanistan
“A Taliban delegation reportedly met earlier this month with Zalmay
Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan
reconciliation. The alleged gathering came during an official Taliban
visit to Islamabad to meet with Pakistan officials. It was the first
known contact between the U.S and Taliban insurgents since U.S.
President Donald Trump canceled peace talks with the insurgents in
September, citing increased violence in Afghanistan perpetrated by the
militants in an attempt to gain more leverage at the negotiation
table. A senior Pakistani official, who spoke on the condition of
anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the topic publicly,
told Reuters “Pakistan played a big role in it to convince them
[Taliban] how important it [the meeting] was for the peace process.”
The official said the meeting was a confidence-building measure
between the two sides and did not include formal negotiations.
Although the U.S. State Department has declined to comment on whether
Khalilzad met with the Taliban, a U.S. official told Reuters that
Ambassador Khalilzad has met with Pakistan officials for
consultations. The official said the peace talks have not
resumed.”
Xinhua:
12 Militants Killed, 16 Villages Liberated In Northern Afghan
Province
“More than 12 Taliban insurgents have been killed
and 16 villages liberated from the militants' clutch in the northern
Baghlan province, an army spokesman in the northern region, Abdul Hadi
Jamal, said Sunday. The operation was launched four days ago against
Taliban militants in parts of Baghlan province and so far 16 villages
have been liberated in Dand-e-Ghori, Dand-e-Shahabudin and Kilagai
areas of the restive province, the spokesman said. Over two dozen more
insurgents including Taliban senior commander Qari Bakhtyar who also
served as shadow deputy governor for Baghlan province were wounded
during the ongoing operation. Zabihullah Majahid, a purported
spokesman of the Taliban group, rejected the government's claim and
insisted the security forces' operation had been repulsed. The
northern Baghlan province, with Pul-e-Khumri as its capital 160 km
north of Kabul, has been the scene of increasing militancy over the
past couple of years.”
Pakistan
The
National: Pakistan Must Do More To Crack Down On Terrorism Financing,
Watchdog Says
“Pakistan must quickly do more to crack down on
terrorism financing and money laundering or face punishment, the head
of an international financial watchdog said. The Paris-based Financial
Action Task Force said Pakistan, which is already included on a “grey
list” of countries with inadequate controls, had largely failed to
keep its side of a remedial plan agreed in June 2018. “Despite a
high-level commitment from Pakistan to fix these weaknesses, Pakistan
has not made enough progress,”said Xiangmin Liu, the FATF president.
“Pakistan needs to do more and it needs to do it faster,” he added.
The country was given until February 2020 to show progress in cleaning
up its financial system, or the FATF would consider further action,
including blacklisting, he said. That would see Pakistan join Iran and
North Korea on a list of global money laundering and terrorism
financing hot spots. Pakistan is already facing a damaging economic
slump and economists fear blacklisting would further hit investment
and trade. Before Friday's meeting, the watchdog's Asia Pacific Group
on Money Laundering (APG) criticised Islamabad's lack of progress
since last year.”
Lebanon
France
24: Lebanon's Hariri Announces Reform Package After Days Of
Protests
“Officials told Reuters the agreement was reached as hundreds of
thousands of protesters flooded the streets in the biggest show of
dissent against the establishment in decades. A sea of people, some
waving Lebanese flags, crammed roads for the fourth day, calling for
revolution in protests that resembled the 2011 Arab revolts that
toppled four presidents. Hariri, who is leading a coalition government
mired by sectarian and political rivalries, gave his feuding
government partners a 72-hour deadline on Friday to agree reforms that
could ward off crisis, hinting he may otherwise resign. Hariri accused
his rivals of obstructing his reform measures that could unlock $11
billion in Western donor pledges and help avert economic collapse. The
reform decisions require a 50% reduction in salaries of current and
former presidents, ministers and MPs plus cuts in benefits to state
institutions and officials. It also obliges the central bank and
private banks to contribute $3.3 billion to achieve a "near zero
deficit" for the 2020 budget."
Reuters:
Lebanon's Hezbollah Says Does Not Want Government To
Resign
“Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on
Saturday that the group was not demanding the government’s resignation
amid widespread national protests. Nasrallah said in a televised
speech that he supported the government, but called for a new agenda
and “new spirit,” adding that ongoing protests showed the way forward
was not new taxes. Any tax imposed on the poor would push him to call
supporters to go take to the streets, Nasrallah added. Security forces
fired tear gas and chased down protesters in Beirut on Friday after
tens of thousands of people across Lebanon marched to demand the
demise of a political elite they accuse of looting the economy to the
point of collapse.”
Middle East
The
National: UAE Announces New Initiative To Combat Online
Extremism
“The UAE has announced a new initiative designed to help combat
divisive and extremist ideologies online. Launched by the Sawab
Centre, a joint US and Emirati programme, the campaign will focus on
the empty promises of Isis, also known as Daesh. Under the scheme -
called #FateOfTerrorists - organisers will seek to expose the lies
used by extremists to coerce vulberable new recruits into their ranks.
The initiative will run in Arabic, English and French and will appear
on a variety of social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram. “Years after Daesh first appeared on the global scene,
increasing numbers of Daesh terrorists and other violent extremists
are facing the full penalty of the law,” a statement from the centre
said.”
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Kuwait Takes Action Against Money Launderers Linked To
Terrorism
“The Kuwaiti Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on Saturday its
department of combating money laundering and funding of terrorism took
action against companies in September. The ministry said in a press
release that the 56 measures included warning notifications to 17
real-estate companies, four jewelry companies, two money exchange
agencies and one dealing in insurance, reported the Kuwait news agency
(KUNA). Nineteen real-estate companies, four jewelry firms, five money
exchange companies and four insurance firms were compelled to comply
with the relevant laws. The division completed certain measures before
other units at the ministry issued permits to 112 applicants for
launching enterprise, including 80 property companies, one exchange
agency, 26 jewelry companies and five insurance firms.”
Egypt
The
Washington Post: Egypt: 4 Killed When Shells Hit 2 Houses In North
Sinai
“Egyptian security officials and medics say shells hit two houses
in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula, killing at least four
civilians, including a child. The officials said the shelling took
place on Saturday in the town of Sheikh Zuweid. They said 12 people
were wounded and taken to a nearby hospital. The officials spoke on
condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the
media. Last week, nine people of the same family were killed and six
wounded when a shell hit a truck carrying civilians in the town of Bir
al-Abd. Egypt is battling an Islamic State-led insurgency in the Sinai
that intensified after the military overthrew an Islamist president in
2013. The militants have carried out scores of attacks, mainly
targeting security forces and minority Christians.”
Nigeria
Premium
Times: Boko Haram Ambush Nigerian Soldiers, Kill
Three
“Three Nigerian troops were killed by an improvised explosive
device in Borno State on October 16, military sources said. Three
other soldiers were wounded in the blast. PREMIUM TIMES learnt from
military sources this weekend that troops of 123 Special Forces
Battalion in Cross Kauwa were ambushed while on a patrol along Cross
Kauwa-Baga Road in Kukawa Local Government Area. The attack was
reported at about 8:30 a.m. on October 16. Three soldiers were
confirmed killed in action and three wounded in the aftermath of the
attack, which was a combination of explosives and rifles, sources
said. The wounded have been hospitalised at the military hospital in
Maiduguri, the state capital. A gun truck was stolen by the insurgents
and a military water tanker was destroyed, sources said. Military
spokespersons have not responded to requests for comments about the
attack, which now adds to mounting military casualties of the
decade-long campaign. The defence headquarters spokesperson, Onyema
Nwachukwu, and army spokesperson, Sagir Musa, did not reply to
telephone calls and text messages sent to them.”
The
Punch Nigeria: Terrorists Smuggling Fish Into Nigeria, Says
Army
“The Nigerian Army said on Sunday that the Boko Haram and Islamic
State West Africa Province fighters were smuggling smoked fish into
the country to sustain their criminal activities. The army noted that
its troops attached to the Operation Lafiya Dole arrested a syndicate
of terrorists which specialised in smuggling “smoked fish from the
Lake Chad region.” According to the military, seven Boko Haram
terrorists were also killed by an Improvised Explosive Device laid by
them for the troops along the Jakana-Mainok Road in Borno State. The
army Operations’ Media Coordinator, Col. Aminu Iliyasu, in a release
on Sunday, noted that four suspects in the terrorists’ fishing
business were arrested and 16 sacks of smoked fish concealed in a room
were recovered from them. Iliyasu said, “As the artillery bombardment
and ground assault by troops intensify, some marauding Boko Haram
criminals met their waterloo as one of their vehicles, a Toyota Sam
Sahara Model, stepped on an IED laid by them against troops at the
Lamba’a Forest. The destruction consumed seven Boko Haram criminals
while eight others suffered severe injuries.”
Xinhua:
Nigerian Troops Launches Massive Military Offensive Against Boko
Haram: Spokesperson
“Nigerian troops have launched a massive military offensive to end
insurgency in the northeast region of the West African country, an
army spokesperson said. Aminu Iliyasu, coordinating spokesperson for
the Nigerian army, who disclosed this in a statement sent to Xinhua on
Saturday, said troops had continued to hunt for fleeing Boko Haram
insurgents and increased onslaught against them in Borno and other
parts of the northeast. Iliyasu said the troops had recovered weapons
and vehicles belonging to the fleeing Boko Haram criminals. He added
that the troops deployed at Gubio in Borno successfully repelled a
Boko Haram attack on their location and neutralized one of the
terrorists. According to the spokesperson, army operations in other
parts of the country had resulted in a number of arrests and
recoveries of weapons in recent time. Nigeria grapples with security
challenges, part of which is the insurgency of Boko Haram, which has
killed thousands of people, including women and children, since
2009.”
Africa
Reuters:
Mali Army Says It Killed 50 Militants, Freed Soldiers In
Counter-Attack
“The Malian army said it had killed around 50 militants during an
operation in which it managed to rescue some of the soldiers who were
captured during deadly attacks last month on two bases in the center
of the country. Unidentified assailants killed 38 soldiers during the
Sept. 30 attacks, among the heaviest losses for Mali’s army this year
as it struggles to repel increasingly brazen raids by militant groups,
some with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State. “Around 50 enemy
neutralized, around 30 wounded, and equipment destroyed,” the army
said in statement detailing the results of its counter-operation. The
army said it had freed 36 of around 60 of its soldiers who were
missing following the September raids. Their relatives have protested
over the high death toll and a lack of information on the casualties
and those missing. The West African country has been in conflict since
2012 when Islamists hijacked an ethnic uprising by Tuaregs in the
north. The violence has since moved to central Mali, from where
jihadist fighters launch attacks across the Sahel region. In a further
example of the spiraling insecurity, pro-government Tuareg militia
GATIA on Saturday said six of its fighters had been killed in an
overnight raid on a GATIA outpost by unidentified assailants in Mali’s
northern region of Kidal.”
Reuters:
Militants Kill Five In Twin Attacks On Burkina Army Outposts:
Army
“Four soldiers and one police officer have been killed in two
attacks on military outposts in northern Burkina Faso, the Burkinabe
army said on Saturday. Raids by Islamist militants as well as clashes
between herding and farming communities have surged this year, killing
hundreds of civilians and soldiers. In the early hours of Saturday,
the unidentified assailants attacked a military position in the town
of Bahn and another in the village of Yense, the army said in a
statement. The attacks happened “almost at the same moment,” it said.
The troops were able to retain control of their posts and repel the
attackers, it said. Once a pocket of relative calm in the Sahel, a
semi-arid belt beneath the Sahara, Burkina has suffered a homegrown
insurgency for the past three years, which has been amplified by a
spillover of jihadist violence from its chaotic neighbor Mali.”
Long
War Journal: Al Qaeda Leader Reported Killed In
Tunisia
“A senior leader within al Qaeda’s Uqba bin Nafi Battalion (KUBN)
was reportedly killed in a military operation earlier today, according
to Tunisia’s Ministry of Interior. Murad al Shayeb was purportedly
killed by Tunisian troops today in Kasserine governorate near the
borders with Algeria. Tunisia states the military action today was
part of a larger ongoing operation in the region. The Tunisian
government states that Shayeb was responsible for a litany of attacks
since 2013, including an assault on a former interior minister in 2014
and various ambushes in the Chaambi, Ouargha, Mghila, and Sammama
mountains. A photo claiming to show Shayeb’s dead body was also
released by Tunisia’s national guard. However, his death has not yet
been confirmed by KUBN. He was also reported killed during an
operation in 2017, casting doubt on the veracity of Tunisia’s
statements. Shayeb, an Algerian national, is believed to be one of the
main leaders of KUBN and leads the group’s overall operations in the
Chaambi Mountain region. Murad is reportedly the brother of KUBN’s
first emir, Khaled al Shayeb (also known as Luqman Abu Sakhr). Khaled
was killed by Tunisian security forces in early 2015 in an operation
in Tunisia’s Gafsa governorate."
Xinhua:
5 Terrorist Shelters Destroyed In Algeria
“Algeria's Defence Ministry Saturday said in a statement that
Algerian army destroyed five terrorist shelters on Friday in the
provinces of Batna and Skikda. The official APS news agency quoted the
statement as saying that in the framework of the fight against
terrorism, the army discovered and destroyed on Oct. 18 five shelters
for terrorists in search operations carried out in the province of
Batna and Skikda, 410 km southeast and 500 km east of capital Algiers,
respectively. According to the source, these shelters contained “20
homemade mines, one shotgun, one carbine rifle and dozens of bullets
of different calibers in addition to some black powder and detonation
tools.” The security situation in Algeria has remarkably improved in
the last decade, but clashes between security forces and terrorist
groups are still occasionally reported. Algeria has also deployed tens
of thousands of troops on the southern and eastern borders in a bid to
thwart the inflow of terrorists and arms amid instability in
neighboring Mali and Libya.”
France
Yahoo
News: Let Jihadists Return Home, French Anti-Terror Magistrate
Urges
“The refusal of the French government to take back Islamic State
fighters from Syria could fuel a new jihadist recruitment drive in
France, threatening public safety, a leading anti-terrorism
investigator has told AFP. David De Pas, coordinator of France's 12
anti-terrorism examining magistrates, said that it would be “better to
know that these people are in the care of the judiciary” in France
“than let them roam free”. Turkey's offensive against Kurdish militia
in northeast Syria has sparked fears that some of the 12,000
jihadists, including thousands of foreigners, being held in Syrian
Kurdish prisons could escape. Officials in Paris say 60 to 70 French
fighters are among those held, with around 200 adults, including
jihadists' wives, being held in total, along with some 300 children.
France has refused to allow the adults return home, saying they must
face local justice. So far Paris has only taken back a handful of
children, mostly orphans. This week, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le
Drian travelled to Iraq to try convince Baghdad to take in and try
French jihadists being held in northern Syria. On Friday, in a rare
interview, De Pas argued that instability in the region and the
“porous nature” of the Syrian Kurdish prison camps risked triggering
“uncontrolled migration of jihadists to Europe, with the risk of
attacks by very ideological people.”
Germany
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Germany: Intelligence Chief Calls For Vigilance, Fearing
ISIS Return
“A state of alert has taken over in Germany’s capital, Berlin,
amidst fears of the return of German ISIS militants held by the Kurds
in Syria. Head of the German Federal Office for the Protection of the
Constitution (BfV) Thomas Haldenwang have joined parties launching
these calls. In remarks to Der Spiegel website, Haldenwang said German
security services shall be “vigilant” for the possible return of
fighters. “The conflict in northern Syria may lead to the release of
foreign ISIS militants from prisons and their return to Europe,” he
explained. He also expressed fears that ISIS could regain power
following the Turkish military operation in Syria. According to the
German government, Kurds in Syria have 84 German-national ISIS
militants. Almost one third of them are classified by the German
police as a threat, including 19 men and eight women. The police
believe they pose a high threat and could carry out terrorist attacks
in the country. Der Spiegel said 50 out of 84 fighters may remain free
after returning to Germany since there is no evidence to prosecute
them for their actions in Syria and Iraq. The website added that at
least four women with German citizenship have fled Kurdish prisons
since the Turkish operation began a week ago.”
Truthout:
A Growing Anti-Racist Network Takes On The Rise Of Far-Right Politics
In Germany
“Since its founding in 2013, Germany’s far-right parliamentary
party, Alternative for Deutschland, or AfD, has profoundly shaped
anti-refugee politics. International headlines hone in on the pending
controversies of AfD politicians’ connection to street-based Nazi
movements in Germany and throughout Europe. That the AfD recently
gained 37 seats in the Saxony state government is formidable. Yet,
what is too often missed in these accounts of racism in Germany is the
growing network of organizations working to assert the will of an
anti-racist majority. This network is making critical interventions in
the particular ways racism operates in Germany. For starters, they
consistently point out how racism is built into governance and
national security. At the same time, they also work to connect
anti-racist and anti-fascist movements with artists and students.
Laura Frey and Vincent Bababoutilabo are two activists in this
important network. I met them in 2018, during the final months of the
NSU trial, as they continued to work on the Tribunal — a people’s
court that was set-up to protest the systematic exclusion of families
whose loved ones were killed by the National Socialist Underground, an
organized terrorist network that targeted migrant communities with
serial murders and bombings from 2000-2007.”
Breitbart:
Female Islamic State Member On Trial In Germany Kept Three
Slaves
“A female Islamic State member on trial in Germany is accused of
keeping two women and a young girl as slaves while living with her
jihadi husband in Syria. Sarah O., who travelled to Syria to join the
radical Islamist movement when she was 15, is now on trial at the
Higher Regional Court in Dusseldorf, charged with being a member of a
terrorist group, German tabloid Bild reports. Now 21 years old, the
Islamic State member faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.
She is said to have lived in a house with her husband and three
children which they had obtained after Islamic State fighters had
killed its former occupants. The young girl kept as a slave was a
member of the Yazidi minority, who are often kept as sex slaves to be
raped and tortured by Islamic State fighters. While the trial was
closed to the media due to the charges having occurred when Sarah O.
was a minor, Gian Aldonani from the Central Council of the Yazidis was
present in the chamber. Speaking about the Yazidis, Aldonani said:
“They have been tormented, tortured, humiliated, raped. ISIS women
were often crueller than men. Jealousy plays a role here.”
Europe
The
Times: The Rise Of The Far Right — The UK’s Fastest‑Growing Terror
Threat
“On a cold winter evening in a cottage in Lancashire, the extremist
stared intensely into my eyes. “At the end of the day, it’s about
survival,” he said. “We are fighting for our very survival. We are
being ethnically cleansed by force of numbers.” I was interviewing
“Steve”, not his real name, one of Britain’s most committed far-right
activists. It was part of the research for my PhD, exploring who joins
the murky world of the far right and, crucially, why. Like most of my
interviewees, Steve was consumed by the idea of “white genocide” — his
fervent belief that whites will soon be wiped out as a result of mass
immigration and higher birth rates among non-whites.”
The
Guardian: Belgium To Evacuate Isis Suspects From Syria Detention
Camps
“Belgium and other European states are preparing to evacuate
citizens accused of having links to Islamic State from detention camps
in north-eastern Syria through a newly declared safe zone being carved
out by Turkish forces along the border. Belgian officials informed
family members of detainees held in two camps on Friday that they
would attempt to take advantage of a five-day ceasefire to retrieve
nationals allegedly tied to the terror group. The Guardian has learned
that other European states, including France and Germany, are also
looking at ways to take advantage of the window declared by US
vice-president Mike Pence on Thursday to repatriate women and
children.”
Southeast Asia
CNN:
Four Dead In Bangladesh Riot Over Offensive Facebook
Post
“Four people were killed Sunday when Bangladesh
police fired on a crowd after clashes erupted over a Facebook post
that angered Muslims. Thousands of people took to the streets in the
town of Borhanuddin, in Bangladesh's southern Bhola district, to
protest the post that allegedly criticized the Prophet Muhammad. "We
had to fire, we had no options," said AKM Ehsanullah, a senior police
official in the Barisal Range, Bangladesh. The offending post was
published Friday from the account of a 25-year-old Hindu man in the
area, said Shafin Mohammed, additional superintendent of police in
Bhola. The man had told police his Facebook account was hacked. As the
post started to draw more attention online, senior police and district
officials met with religious leaders of the region Saturday to try and
calm the situation and reassure them that action was being taken.”
South
China Morning Post: Southeast Asia On Alert For Isis ‘Grand Agenda’ As
Escaped Indonesian Jihadists In Syria Eye The Region
“Southeast Asian nations are on high alert for about 50 Indonesian
Islamic State fighters and their family members who could be tasked
with carrying out the terror network’s “grand agenda” of destroying
the region’s secular governments following their escape from Syrian
prisons. Terrorism experts say Isis has been turning its attention to
weaponising fake news, which it sees as an easy and cost-free way to
help undermine and delegitimise authorities in the region. “The threat
is real and it is coming now,” said Noor Huda Ismail, visiting fellow
at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. “Isis has no plan
but to destroy the secular system in the whole of Southeast Asia. “To
produce fake news is super cheap but the impact is powerful because
people will get confused. Governments will not work effectively if
they suffer from a lack of trust among the people,” Huda said. A
former member of Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda’s Southeast Asian
arm said the aim of Isis in the region was to bring the fall of its
secular governments, a strategy it called its “grand agenda.” “It
plans to bring together all the Southeast Asian countries under a
caliphate with the southern Philippines as the capital,” said Sofyan
Tsauri.”
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