“Afghanistan’s new foreign minister said Tuesday that the Taliban governing the
country remain committed to not allowing militants to use their territ

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


September 15, 2021 

 

Associated Press: Minister Pledges Taliban Govt Won’t Allow Militant Attacks
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“Afghanistan’s new foreign minister said Tuesday that the Taliban governing
the country remain committed to not allowing militants to use their territory
to launch attacks. But he refused to say when or if the country’s new rulers
would create a more inclusive government. Without other political factions and
women serving in the government, the Taliban seem unlikely to win international
recognition as the legitimate leaders of Afghanistan. And without such
recognition, the Afghan state is unable to tap billions of its funds frozen
abroad, leaving it virtually bankrupt at a time of immense humanitarian need.
The Taliban received sharp criticism last week after they announced a Cabinet
made up entirely of men from their movement, including several on international
terror lists. Taliban leaders previously had promised broader representation.
Amir Khan Mutaqi, a longtime Taliban negotiator named as foreign minister,
appeared Tuesday at his first news conference since becoming a member of the
interim government. But he gave little indication of whether the Taliban would
bend to international pressure. Asked if the Taliban would include women or
ethnic and religious minorities in the government, Mutaqi answered, “We will
decide in time” but did not offer a commitment.”

 

Associated Press: With The Taliban's Rise, India Sees A Renewed Threat In
Kashmir
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“India's leaders are anxiously watching the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan,
fearing that it will benefit their bitter rival Pakistan and feed a
long-simmering insurgency in the disputed region of Kashmir, where militants
already have a foothold. Lt. Gen. Deependra Singh Hooda, former military
commander for northern India between 2014-2016, said militant groups based
across the border in Pakistan would “certainly try and push men” into Kashmir,
following the Taliban victory in Afghanistan. Hooda added it was too early to
predict if any influx of fighters into Kashmir would be “in numbers that
destabilize the security situation” and push the region into a military
confrontation. Neighbors India and Pakistan have fought two wars over Kashmir
and both countries rule parts of the Himalayan region, but claim it in full.
Indian officials worry that Afghanistan under the Taliban could be a base for
organizing Islamist militants in Kashmir, many of whom are allied with Pakistan
in their struggle against New Delhi. New Delhi has called the Taliban
Pakistan's “proxy terrorist” group and supported Afghanistan's U.S.-backed
government before it was overthrown in August.”

 

United States

 

Bloomberg: Al-Qaeda Could Strike U.S. From Afghan Base Next Year, Spies Say
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“Al-Qaeda may be able to reconstitute itself in Afghanistan and be capable of
orchestrating attacks inside the U.S. in one to two years, two senior U.S.
intelligence officials said. “The current assessment probably, conservatively,
is one to two years for al-Qaeda to build some capability to at least threaten
the homeland,” Lieutenant General Scott Berrier, director of the Defense
Intelligence Agency, said at an intelligence conference on Tuesday. “We’re
thinking about ways to gain access back into Afghanistan with all kinds of
sources and accesses,” Berrier said. “We are prioritizing that effort. We’ll
continue to prioritize it. But we have to be careful to balance these very
scarce resources.” U.S. intelligence agencies are already seeing activities by
the terrorist group once led by Osama bin Laden to re-establish itself in
Afghanistan, said CIA Deputy Director David Cohen, who agreed with the timeline
of one to two years. Both intelligence leaders spoke at a summit Tuesday in the
suburbs of Washington hosted by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance
and the nonprofit group AFCEA.”

 

Syria

 

The Washington Post: Down But Not Defeated, Thousands Of Islamic State
Insurgents Wage Syrian Fight Anew
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“The pair of young women had been missing for hours when troops searching for
them heard gunshots in the desert night. Two quick booms, then two again. They
found the bodies by the roadside. Staring down at them, soldiers from the
Syrian Democratic Forces had no doubts about who kidnapped the women, both
local government workers, and shot them dead. “These killings were a message to
everyone,” the SDF commander, Shvan Selmo, recalled thinking. The murders near
the remote, sun-scorched village of Dashisha bore the hallmarks of the Islamic
State. Two and a half years after its self-declared caliphate was extinguished
amid a blitz of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes in the palm groves of Baghouz,
further to the south, the militants in northeastern Syria are down but not
defeated. They have melted back to their insurgent roots, seeding sleeper cells
across the region, as well as in neighboring Iraq, and using improvised
explosives and small arms to target security forces and government employees.
Members of an SDF commandos unit stand guard in Dashisha, in the eastern part
of Syria's Hasakah province. The location where the bodies of Hind Latif
al-Khadir and Sa’da Faysal al-Hermas were found after they were executed by
members of an Islamic State sleeper cell near the village of Dashisha.”

 

Voice Of America: Christians Concerned About Turkish Attacks In Northeast Syria

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“Syrian Christian leaders are expressing concerns over escalating Turkish
attacks in northeast Syria, saying the recent military activity has driven many
Christians and members of other minority groups from their homes. Military
officials in the region said last week that Turkey carried out attacks against
the Christian-majority town of Tel Tamer and surrounding villages. “The Turkish
shelling recently destroyed two schools, a municipal building, a bakery and a
power line in the area,” said Matai Hanna, a spokesman for the Syriac Military
Council, a major Christian militia in northeast Syria. “This is against
international law, which prohibits the targeting of civilian infrastructure,”
he told VOA. The Syriac Military Council is part of the Syrian Democratic
Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led military alliance that has been a major U.S.
partner in the fight against the Islamic State terror group, also known as IS
or ISIS. Turkey views SDF as an extension of the Turkey-based Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK), a militant group designated as terrorist by Washington
and Ankara. Hanna said his group is ready to defend the region against any
major offensive carried out by Turkey and its Syrian partners. The Turkish
military and allied Syrian militias have been in control of parts of northeast
Syria since October 2019, following a major military campaign against SDF
fighters.”

 

Afghanistan

 

The Hill: GOP Lawmakers Urge State Department To Designate The Taliban A
Terrorist Organization
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“Two Republican lawmakers are calling on the State Department to designate the
Taliban a terrorist organization as the extremist group forms a government in
Afghanistan following last month's withdrawal of U.S. troops. Sen. Lindsey
Graham (R-S.C.) and Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) each introduced a resolution
Tuesday saying that in addition to the designation, the State Department should
freeze all Afghan government assets held in the U.S. and work to ensure that
other countries take similar steps. The resolutions also call on the department
to declare the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan a “coup d’etat,” and use its
“authority and influence” to urge international institutions and organizations
to refuse the Taliban access to funds. Graham said designating the Taliban as a
terrorist organization will “make it harder for countries to provide them aid
and recognition.” “We would be sending a strong signal that America does not do
business with terrorist groups and their sympathizers. The Taliban are radical
jihadists in every sense of the word and use terror as their tactic,” he added
in a statement.”

 

Foreign Affairs: Al Qaeda Versus ISIS
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“The Taliban’s rapid takeover of Afghanistan has raised fears that the country
will once again become a safe haven for Islamist militants intent on
perpetrating acts of international terrorism. In light of the Taliban’s history
of harboring such radical groups, these fears are justified. But the two
movements vying for influence in the country, al Qaeda and the Islamic State
(also known as ISIS), both face serious obstacles in their quest to use
Afghanistan as a platform to bolster their strength and launch a new wave of
terrorist attacks. These groups are themselves bitterly divided over what role
a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan will play in the global jihadi landscape. For
al Qaeda, the Taliban’s victory is an epic triumph—the fulfillment of God’s
promise to give victory to the believers over the unbelievers. For ISIS, it is
not a triumph at all but rather further evidence of the Taliban’s willingness
to collaborate with the Americans. Since the rise of ISIS in 2013 and its
declaration of a caliphate the following year in territory the group seized in
Iraq and Syria, al Qaeda has sought to position itself as the more moderate and
pragmatic of the two groups. It is more restrained in the practice of
takfir—the practice of declaring other Muslims to be unbelievers—and more
concerned with appealing to public opinion in the Muslim world. Al Qaeda has
also deepened its already close ties with the Taliban.”

 

The Global Herald: The Point: Perils Of Conditional Aid In Afghanistan
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“A #humanitarian crisis is emerging in #Afghanistan in the wake of the
dramatic political changes that have swept the country. UN Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres said at a high-level ministerial meeting on Monday in Geneva,
“the people of Afghanistan need a lifeline.” What needs to be done to translate
the pledges of aid into concrete differences on the ground? And what is China’s
position? Guests: Ye Hailin, director, Center of South Asia Studies, Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences. Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director, Counter
Extremism Project.”

 

India

 

Deutsche Welle: India: 6 Men Plotting Terror Attacks Arrested, Police Say
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“Indian police on Tuesday evening said they have arrested six men alleged to
be plotting terror attacks across major cities of the country. The attacks were
allegedly being planned from Pakistan and were “meant to target congregations
during the upcoming festive season,” said Neeraj Thakur of the Delhi Police
Special Cell, the arm responsible for investigating terrorism and organized
crime-related cases. The Hindu festival of Durga Puja takes place in roughly a
month's time, with the year's biggest festival Diwali celebrated on November 4.
The two of the suspects arrested were believed to have gone to Pakistan via
Oman where they received training in using explosives and firearms, he told
reporters at a press conference. “In Pakistan, they were kept at a farmhouse
for 15 days during which they were trained in firearms,” Thakur later told
Indian broadcaster NDTV. The arrests were made during a morning raid in a
multi-state operation, he said. Two men were arrested in the capital New Delhi,
three were held in neighboring Uttar Pradesh state, and one was caught in the
northern state of Rajasthan. Police also said they recovered a cache of weapons
and explosives, including IEDs, during the operation.”

 

Nigeria

 

Daily Post Nigeria: UAE Names Nigerians Among Sponsors Of Terrorism
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“The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has listed six Nigerians as financiers of Boko
Haram and terror activities. State-run WAM news agency reports that the
information was released at the country’s federal cabinet meeting in Abu Dhabi
on Monday. The Nigerians are Abdurrahaman Ado Musa, Salihu Yusuf Adamu, Bashir
Ali Yusuf, Muhammed Ibrahim Isa, Ibrahim Ali Alhassan and Surajo Abubakar
Muhammad. They were prosecuted in 2020 for wiring funds to Boko Haram…”

 

Africa

 

Voice Of America: Cameroon Police Say Civilian Attacks On Police Increasing
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“Officials in Cameroon say there has been a jump in cases of civilians
assaulting police officers. Videos shared on social media in Cameroon show
citizens mocking and battering police in response to alleged brutality and
corruption. Paul Atanga Nji, the territorial administration minister, also
tasked with civilian protection, says at least 15 videos of civilians of
refusing police orders and attacking officers have been shared on social media
platforms within the past two weeks. Nji said the police force confirmed its
officers were the victims in the videos.  In some cases, he said, police have
been victims of humiliation, battery and other forms of assault from civilians
the police are supposed to protect. This irresponsible behavior towards the
police is unacceptable,” Nji said. “It should be understood that the police are
at the service of each and every one under the esteem guidance of the head of
state [Cameroon’s President] Paul Biya. No person, regardless of their social
status, for whatsoever reason has a right to assault a police officer on duty.”
In one video, a driver refuses a police demand to search his car, hits the
police officer and then runs him over with his car while some bystanders
applaud.”

 

Asharq Al-Awsat: Morocco Dismantles ISIS-Linked Cell, Arrests Three
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“Moroccan authorities have dismantled a cell of ISIS group-affiliated
militants and arrested three suspects accused of plotting an assassination,
security services said Tuesday. The suspects, detained in the southern city of
Errachidia, had planned “crimes of a terrorist nature against individuals” and
selected a public servant for “imminent assassination”, according to the
Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ), which oversees
counter-terrorism operations. Security forces searched the suspects’ homes and
a shop, where they found military clothing, extremist literature and
information, it said. The head of the cell was “active in recruiting from the
among followers of traditional religious trends,” said the statement carried by
the MAP state news agency. “He used his shop as a place of worship after he was
banned from praying at the mosque, and as a safe place to instill extremist
thought among his followers,” it said. The suspects, aged 21, 27 and 37, “had
shared digital content of a terrorist nature such as those documenting suicide
attacks and killings carried out by ISIS.”

 

United Kingdom

 

Defense News: Head Of UK’s Space Directorate Warns Of Space Terrorism
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“The head of the United Kingdom’s new Space Directorate warned that increased
access to space increases the possibility of “space terrorism,” drawing
parallels to the way terrorists were able to use commercial aircraft during the
9/11 attacks. “We all have witnessed what happens, and what particularly
happens when the air domain became accessible to all — terrorists turned
airliners into weapons. If such a trend holds true for space, when will we have
to deal with our first example of space terrorism? And are we prepared for such
a dramatic strategic shock?” said Air Vice Marshal Harvey Smyth at the DSEI
2021 conference in London Sept. 14, just days after the 20th anniversary of
9/11. The decreasing cost of launch and the increasing capability of relatively
cheap, small satellites makes it easier than ever for governments, corporations
and academics to access space. This development has been hailed for the
possibilities it’s introduced in the commercial and defense spheres, but Smyth
argued that it also opens up new challenges. Under a new arrangement, the
United Kingdom will be able to access space situational awareness data from the
U.S. Space Force.”



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