“The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on five al Qaeda supporters
working out of Turkey to provide financial services and travel help to th

 

 


<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
Eye on Extremism


September 17, 2021 

 

Reuters: U.S. Imposes Sanctions On Five Al Qaeda Operatives - Treasury Website
<[link removed]>

 

“The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on five al Qaeda supporters
working out of Turkey to provide financial services and travel help to the
militant group, the Treasury Department said on Thursday. “These targeted
sanctions highlight the United States’ unwavering commitment to sever financial
support to al-Qa’ida,” Andrea Gacki, director of the Office of Foreign Assets
Control, said in a statement. “We will continue working with our foreign
partners, including Turkey, to expose and disrupt al-Qa’ida’s financial support
networks.” The list included Majdi Salim, an Egyptian-born lawyer based in
Turkey, who Treasury identified as a primary facilitator of a range of
al-Qa’ida activities in Turkey. Others were Muhammad Nasr al-Din al-Ghazlani,
an Egyptian financial courier who used cash transfers to support al Qaeda and
Turkish citizens Nurettin Muslihan, Cebrail Guzel and Soner Gurleyen.”

 

The New York Times: With Fuel From Iran, Hezbollah Steps In Where Lebanon Has
Failed
<[link removed]>

 

“The Hezbollah militant group said it trucked more than a million gallons of
Iranian diesel fuel into Lebanon from Syria on Thursday, celebrating the move
as a way of spiting the United States while bringing much-needed aid to a
country nearly paralyzed by fuel shortages. With Lebanon suffering one of the
worst economic collapses in modern history, Hezbollah portrayed itself as a
national savior, stepping in where the Lebanese government and its Western
backers had failed. Hezbollah supporters lined roads in northeastern Lebanon as
dozens of tanker trucks arrived. They waved Hezbollah flags, distributed
sweets, blasted heroic anthems and fired rocket-propelled grenades into the air
in celebration. The fuel delivery — which a Hezbollah official said was the
first installment of more than 13 million gallons — underscored the severity of
Lebanon’s crisis, as well as the government’s failure to address it. Unable to
secure help from elsewhere, it has turned to war-torn Syria and economically
damaged Iran. The move appeared to violate American sanctions involving the
purchase of Iranian oil, but it was unclear Thursday whether the United States
would press the issue. Hezbollah, considered a terrorist organization by the
United States, is already subject to American sanctions.”

 

United States

 

Department Of Justice: Pennsylvania Man Pleads Guilty To Attempting To Provide
Material Support To ISIS
<[link removed]>

 

“A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty today to one count of attempting to provide
material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated
foreign terrorist organization. Mustafa Mousab Alowemer, 23, of Pittsburgh
pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support to ISIS
in relation to his plan to attack a church in Pittsburgh. “The defendant,
motivated by ISIS’s call to violence and hate, plotted a terrorist attack
targeting a church in Pittsburgh,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Mark
J. Lesko of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “With today’s
guilty plea, he will be held accountable for his crimes. The Department of
Justice is committed to identifying, disrupting and holding accountable
individuals who seek to engage in such attacks. I commend the agents, analysts
and prosecutors who identified the threat posed by this defendant and took
action to protect the public from his plans.” “Inspired by ISIS, Mustafa
Alowemer devised and intended to carry out a deadly attack on a house of
worship and its congregation,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman for
the Western District of Pennsylvania.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Fox News: Taliban Could Look To Acquire Additional Weapons After Withdrawal,
Experts Warn
<[link removed]>

 

“The fall of Afghanistan has emboldened the Haqqani network, the
U.S.-designated terrorist group that works hand-in-hand with the Taliban and al
Qaeda. Experts say the withdrawal of U.S. troops has opened the possibility of
the terrorist groups obtaining more armaments and sophisticated equipment,
beyond the material and weaponry left behind by U.S. forces. “The acquisition
of significant new military capabilities by the Taliban and their subsidiaries
such as the Haqqani family is a serious threat to the region and the world,
including the U.S.,” warns David Sedney, who served as deputy assistant
secretary for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia and the National Security
staff in the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. “The military capability
that the Taliban and their Haqqani subsidiary now possess, combined with their
demonstrated willingness to use terrorism against the U.S. and its allies make
the Taliban an immediate threat to the security of the region and the world,”
he says. Sources are not only worried about what the Taliban already possess,
but the prospect that more material could be delivered to the regime to bolster
its military capabilities.”

 

The Washington Times: How Sex Trafficking Funds The Taliban And Terrorism
<[link removed]>

 

“With the last U.S. troops now gone from Afghanistan, those left to the
Taliban’s oppressive rule will soon fade from the news cycle and be largely
forgotten about. Those now most vulnerable to the Taliban’s violence are
Afghanistan’s women, especially to the violence of sex trafficking and forced
marriages. It is imperative to proactively counter these crimes during the
earliest stages of this new transition of power. In the last few weeks,
numerous reports have come out about the Taliban’s rounding up young women in
Afghan households to serve as sex slaves and forced brides for their fighters.
The Daily Mail UK reports Taliban fighters have been going door-to-door and
forcibly marrying girls as young as 12 and forcing them into sex slavery,
viewing them as ‘spoils of war’ to be divided up among the victors. Last month,
reports had emerged that Taliban fighters were asking for lists of all women
aged 15 to 45 who were unmarried or widowed. However, reports are that this has
now extended down to girls as young as 12. Offering “wives” or sex slaves is
part of the Taliban’s recruitment strategy to lure militants to join the
Taliban. Which only serves to solidify their rule further. Furthermore, the
selling and trafficking of these women help to fund and fuel their operations.”

 

Dhaka Tribune: Most Taliban Govt Members On UNSC Sanction List
<[link removed]>

 

“More than half of the Taliban’s 33-member cabinet in Afghanistan are on the
UN Security Council's (UNSC) terrorism blacklist, according to the Counter
Extremism Project (CEP). Among the 19 designated members of the interim
government are acting prime minister Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund and Haqqani
Network leader Sirajuddin Haqqani, who will serve as acting minister of the
interior, a role in which he will have extensive authority over policing and
legal matters. Dr Hans-Jakob Schindler, a senior director of the CEP – an
international non-profit policy organization, revealed the matter in a
statement. His findings counter the Taliban’s claims of a new moderate
government that will guarantee the rights and safety of its citizens and
productively cooperate within the international community. If recognized by the
UN, the Taliban government could potentially receive hundreds of millions of
dollars in aid that could instead be allocated towards terrorist activities,
the CEP said. “The Taliban interim government is dominated by individuals that
the UN Security Council has designated and placed on its terrorism blacklist—a
clear indication that the Taliban’s government will not advocate for a more
moderate platform.”

 

Saudi Arabia

 

Reuters: Saudi-Led Coalition Thwarts Houthi Missile And Drones Attack -Media
<[link removed]>

 

“The Saudi-led coalition said late on Thursday that it thwarted and destroyed
four Houthi explosives-laden drones and a ballistic rocket fired in the
direction of the southern Saudi city of Jazan, Saudi state media reported. The
Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, backing forces of the
ousted government of President Hadi and fighting the Iran-aligned Houthi group.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility by the Houthis, but the group
regularly launches drone and missile attacks targeting the gulf kingdom.”

 

Libya

 

Associated Press: Libyan Commander, Chadian Rebels Clash In Southern Libya
<[link removed]>

 

“Forces loyal to a powerful Libyan commander said Thursday they are now
battling their former allies, Chadian rebels who have sought refuge in southern
Libya as they fight the government in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena. The
self-styled Libyan army led by commander Khalifa Hifter said it launched an
operation against the Chadian fighters in the Libyan towns of Tamsah and Tarbo,
on the border with Chad. The clashes, which flared up earlier this week, could
further destabilize the wider Sahel region, months after Chadian President
Idriss Deby Itno — who ruled Chad for more than 30 years and became an
important ally to Western nations in the fight against Islamic extremism in
Africa — was killed under murky circumstances. The Chadian government blames
the rebels for his killing. Hifter’s forces, which control eastern and most of
southern Libya, said they launched airstrikes on the rebels’ positions and sent
reinforcement to the border area. The Chadian rebels — the Front for Change and
Concord in Chad, also known by the French acronym FACT — reportedly have 1,000
to 1,500 fighters in their ranks. In April they clashed with Chadian forces
north of N’Djamena, leading to the killing of Deby.”

 

Nigeria

 

Reuters: Nigerian Jet Thought To Have Killed 9 Civilians In Pursuit Of
Militants
<[link removed]>

 

“The Nigerian air force said on Thursday it may have killed and injured
civilians while pursuing suspected Islamist insurgents in the northeast, in an
incident that local authorities said left nine people dead. Another 23 people
from the village of Buwari, including five children, were injured on Wednesday,
the State Emergency Management Agency in Yobe State said, after what it
described as reports of a strike. The Nigerian armed forces are fighting two
Islamist insurgent groups in the northeast, Boko Haram and Islamic State's West
African Province (ISWAP), in a conflict that has killed 350,000 people and made
millions dependent on aid. The air force, after initially denying involvement
in the incident, said it may have killed and injured civilians by mistake. Air
Commodore Edward Gabkwet said a fighter jet had responded to intelligence on
suspicious movements of suspected insurgents from Boko Haram or ISWAP on
Wednesday and fired “some probing shots”. “Unfortunately reports reaching
Nigerian Air Force headquarters alleged that some civilians were erroneously
killed while others were injured,” he said in a statement. “Therefore a board
of inquiry has been set up to thoroughly investigate the circumstances of the
incident.”

 

All Africa: What Nigerians Displaced By Boko Haram Say About Ex-Militants
<[link removed]>

 

“A surge of surrenders by Boko Haram militants in northeastern Nigeria has
turned the spotlight onto how the government deals with fighters who claim to
have repented and are now - controversially - looking to be reintegrated into a
society scarred by 12 years of war, writes Obi Anyadike for The New
Humanitarian. Anyadike visited Muna Garage, a camp for some 40,000 people
displaced by the conflict on the eastern edge of Maiduguri, the capital of
Borno State, to ask residents how they felt about the return of the former
mujahideen, and whether they could ever forgive them for the violence they had
unleashed. The surrender of the ex-militants has forced people in Muna to both
confront the past and consider the future. The people spoken to, weighed a
demand for justice and accountability, with the hope that the defections could
signal a new, more optimistic phase in the long-running war. The Boko Haram
insurgency has killed approximately 36,000 people and displaced about two
million people in Nigeria since 2009. The government and military has hailed
the Boko Haram surrender as a victory - proof that the tide of the war is
finally turning after a string of military reversals.”

 

France

 

Reuters: After Killing Sahel Islamic State Leader, France To Hunt Other Chiefs
<[link removed]>

 

“French military forces have killed the leader of a West African affiliate of
Islamic State by drone strike in a “decisive blow” against the group, and vowed
to continue hunting down jihadist leaders to restore stability in the Sahel.
Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi was the head of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara
(ISGS), a jihadist group that broke away from other militants in Mali in 2015
when it pledged allegiance to Islamic State. Since then, ISGS militants have
spread into neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, carried out hundreds of deadly
attacks on civilians and armed forces, and rendered large areas of West
Africa's arid Sahel region ungovernable. “The death of Sahrawi is a decisive
blow to ISGS and its cohesion,” French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly
told reporters. Sahrawi had been tracked by French counter-terrorism forces in
northern Mali, and then killed by a drone strike while riding a motorbike in
mid-August, she said. France estimates the group is responsible for the deaths
of 2,000-3,000 people, mostly Muslims, and that it still has hundreds of
fighters, although Parly said its leadership was now less international and
more from the local Fulani tribe. Sahrawi targeted U.S. soldiers in a deadly
attack in 2017, Macron's office said. In August 2020, he personally ordered the
killing of six French charity workers and their Nigerian driver, France said.”

 

Germany

 

France 24: German Police Arrest Four On Yom Kippur Over Synagogue Attack Plot
<[link removed]>

 

“A 16-year-old boy and three other people were detained Thursday in connection
with a suspected plan for an Islamic extremist attack on a synagogue in the
German city of Hagen, authorities said. The detentions took place on Yom
Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, and two years after a deadly attack in
another German city on the Yom Kippur holiday. Police cordoned off the
synagogue on Wednesday and a worship service planned for the evening was called
off. Officials had received “very serious and concrete information” that there
could be an attack on the synagogue during Yom Kippur, said Herbert Reul, the
interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state, where Hagen is located. The
tip pointed to “an Islamist-motivated threat situation”, and named the possible
timing and suspect, he added. Police using sniffer dogs found no dangerous
objects in or around the synagogue, Reul said. On Thursday morning, the
16-year-old, a Syrian national who lives in Hagen, was detained. Three other
people were detained in a raid on an apartment, and authorities are
investigating whether they were involved in the suspected plan, the minister
said. He said the synagogue had called off its celebration of Yom Kippur, when
observant Jews hold overnight vigils.”

 

Latin America

 

The Washington Post: How To Bury A Terrorist? Peru Debates What To Do With The
Remains Of Shining Path Founder Abimael Guzmán.
<[link removed]>

 

“Days after the death of Abimael Guzmán, the mastermind of the guerrilla
movement Shining Path, Peru’s young government now faces a critical question:
What to do with the remains of a man who terrorized the country for much of the
1980s and ’90s, whose organization was responsible for the deaths of tens of
thousands of people? Under Peruvian law, authorities are supposed to turn
Guzmán’s body over to designated direct relatives, the attorney general’s
office said this week. In this case, that’s Elena Iparraguirre, Guzmán’s widow
and second-in-command in the Maoist movement, who is herself serving a life
sentence in prison. On Wednesday, a prosecutor denied her request for her
husband’s remains, leaving them in the custody of the attorney general’s
office. Politicians and public officials feared that giving the remains to
Iparraguirre would lead to a burial site that would become a shrine for the
Shining Path, whose factions continue to inflict violence on the country. The
debate is forcing this South American country once again to confront the most
brutal period in its past, one of the bloodiest internal conflicts of its time
in Latin America. “Once and for all, what is Guzmán’s place in the history of
Peru?” asked Carlos Meléndez, a Peruvian political analyst and researcher at
Diego Portales University in Chile.”



Click here to unsubscribe.
<[link removed]->