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Eye on Extremism
September 20, 2021
Associated Press: Indonesia Retrieves Most-Wanted Militant’s Body From Jungle
“The bodies of Indonesia’s most wanted militant with ties to the Islamic State group and a follower, who were killed in a jungle shootout with security forces, were evacuated early Sunday to a police hospital for further investigation, police said. The military earlier said the militants killed late Saturday were Ali Kalora, leader of the East Indonesia Mujahideen network that has claimed several killings of police officers and minority Christians, and another suspected extremist, Jaka Ramadan, also known as Ikrima. The two men were fatally shot by a joint team of military and police officers in Central Sulawesi province’s mountainous Parigi Moutong district. It borders Poso district, considered an extremist hotbed in the province. Several pictures obtained by The Associated Press from authorities showed an M16 rifle and backpacks laid near their bloodied bodies. The Central Sulawesi Police Chief Rudy Sufahriadi told a news conference on Sunday that security forces also seized two ready-to-use bombs from their backpacks, which also contained food and camping tools.”
Fox Business: Discover Card Cuts Ties With Left-Wing Group Over Terrorist Connections
“Discover has stopped processing donations to a left-wing U.S. organization accused of supporting Palestinian terrorism. The credit card company last month froze donations to the Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ), which provides funding to the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, a group that Israel labeled a terrorist organization earlier this year, the Washington Free Beacon first reported. Israeli officials declared in February that Samidoun, a pro-Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions group that helps free Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons, acts abroad on the behalf of the U.S.-designated terrorist group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Discover has not said why it severed ties with AFGJ, but the decision came after the Zachor Legal Institute pressured the company to do so, according to email correspondence shared with Fox News. Zachor founder Marc Greendorfer praised the move by Discover but slammed other major credit card companies for not following suit. Mastercard, Visa, and American Express began blocking donations to Samidoun in January 2020, but they currently still allow donations to AFGJ, which lets people donate to Samidoun through its website, the Free Beacon noted.”
United States
“…Abbott’s signing of the bill comes after Lt. Gov Dan Patrick on Thursday on Fox News decried a “silent revolution by the Democrat Party and Joe Biden to take over this country.” In the interview, he cast migrants crossing the Texas-Mexico border as an “invasion.” He called on Republican states to “tell the president that we are being invaded.” Patrick asserted that once immigrants become citizens and have children, there will be millions of new voters who support Democrats. “This is not authorized by the state of Texas,” said Patrick during the interview. He was also at the Friday news conference. “It’s not welcomed by the state of Texas or any other Republican state that I know, and they’re not invited.” His remarks drew comparisons to “The Great Replacement Theory”, including in a Washington Post opinion article and by labor federation Texas AFL-CIO. The theory, that began in 20th century France and was popularized by French writer Renaud Camus in 2011, purports that the white population is being replaced by non-European immigrants, according to the Counter Extremism Project.”
Syria
“The killings have taken on a creeping sense of inevitability, guards say. No one admits to hearing them, let alone knowing who is responsible. On a recent morning, officials inside al-Hol detention camp said it was still too dangerous to try recovering the latest pair of corpses discovered overnight. “We’re still investigating,” said an exhausted camp guard, slumping in her office chair, her shirt rumpled and ponytail messy after a night without sleep. Since January, officials report, more than 70 people have been killed inside northeast Syria’s al-Hol camp, which houses 62,000 family members of Islamic State fighters and others detained during the collapse of its self-declared caliphate more than two years ago. Al-Hol has become an ever more dangerous and desperate place. Religious militancy is on the rise, imperiling those who are not as fanatical. Killings are often blamed on hard-line women who take advantage of the fragile security to enforce their strictures and settle scores. Security sweeps to confiscate handguns, knives and other weapons have made little difference, according to officials at the camp, which is run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. Tensions between captives and captors are boiling.”
Voice Of America: Islamic State Claims Syria Gas Pipeline Attack
“The Islamic State group on Saturday claimed responsibility for an attack on a major natural gas pipeline southeast of the Syrian capital that led to power outages in the city and surrounding areas. IS fighters “were able to plant and detonate explosives on the gas pipeline feeding the Tishreen and Deir Ali plants,” the group said in a statement. The Deir Ali station southeast of Damascus generates half of Syria's power needs, Electricity Minister Ghassan al-Zamel said Saturday in comments carried by the official SANA news agency. He said an attack on the gas pipeline on Friday evening with explosive devices caused the station to go out of service temporarily. The outage affected several other stations, causing blackouts in Damascus, its outskirts and other areas, Zamel said, before power was restored about 30 minutes later. He said maintenance work had started Saturday but warned of severe rationing until the pipeline was repaired and power plants resumed normal operations. The Deir Ali and Tishreen plants remain out of service. The IS group's so-called caliphate in Syria was declared defeated in the riverside hamlet of Baghouz in 2019 following a grueling U.S.-backed offensive. But the group continues to conduct attacks on Syrian government forces from its hideouts, including in the vast east Syrian desert.”
Afghanistan
“The Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan claimed responsibility Sunday for a series of blasts over the weekend in the country’s east that reportedly killed several people and injured tens more in another escalation of violence as the Taliban works to consolidate its control. The improvised explosive devices were set off Saturday and Sunday around the city of Jalalabad, capital of the eastern province of Nangahar and known as a stronghold for the Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K). Though they are both Islamist groups, ISIS-K opposes the Taliban, which it accuses of not being extreme enough. What is ISIS-K? Here’s what the Taliban takeover means for al-Qaeda and the Islamic State’s Afghanistan affiliate. The Islamic State group’s Amaq News Agency said on its Telegram channel that six attacks Saturday and Sunday killed or injured over 35 Taliban members, Reuters reported. Bilal Karimi, a Taliban spokesman, said a bombing Sunday in Jalalabad targeted a Taliban vehicle, killing one child and injuring two people, among them a Taliban member. “We have started investigations into the incident to reach the culprits,” Karimi said.”
The Wall Street Journal: Afghanistan’s Taliban Prohibit Girls From Attending Secondary School
“Teenage Afghan girls weren’t allowed to return to school on Saturday as classrooms across the country reopened for the first time since the Taliban took power last month, raising fears that their new fundamentalist government will permanently ban secondary education for girls. The absence of teenage girls in classrooms, while their male peers returned, followed a decree issued by the Taliban on Friday ordering male students and teachers to return to high schools and religious seminaries. The statement from the ministry of education didn’t mention girls, amounting to a de facto ban for now on them going to secondary school. The Taliban have allowed girls up to sixth grade to attend school, but they will be taught in separate classrooms from boys. Some private universities have also been allowed to open classrooms for girls, though most female students appear to be staying home out of fear. Afghanistan’s universities are regulated by a separate ministry from the ministry of education. The news raises fresh fears as to how the Taliban will treat Afghan women. They have pledged to respect the rights of women within the limits of Islam, but haven’t fully elaborated on what those limits are.”
“…According to Counter Extremism Project (CEP) research analyst Riza Kumar, ISIS-K is estimated to have a force of at least 2,000 affiliated fighters. The group, which was officially accepted by the core ISIS group as an affiliate in January 2015, was formed by the disgruntled commanders of the Pakistani Taliban and is a sworn enemy of the Taliban. It is thought ISIS-K has been carrying out violent attacks against the Taliban in an effort to distinguish itself from the rival group. Despite the latest attacks in Jalalabad and at Kabul airport, top intelligence officials last week said Afghanistan does not pose the biggest terrorist threat to the United States. Speaking at an intelligence and national security conference in Washington on Sept. 13, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said the United States is more concerned with a number of other countries that could be harboring terrorists and pose a threat to national security. “In terms of the homeland, the threat right now from terrorist groups, we don’t prioritize at the top of the list Afghanistan,” Haines said, adding: “what we look at is Yemen, Somalia, Syria, and Iraq for ISIS. That’s where we see the greatest threat.’”
Pakistan
The Washington Post: Pakistan Calls For Engagement With Taliban As West Highlights Concerns Of Abuse
“For years, Pakistan has been accused of secretly backing Taliban insurgents in next-door Afghanistan. Now leaders here, reluctant to criticize the new Afghan rulers, find themselves facing pressure from the West to help keep their neighbors in line. The question of how much influence the Pakistani government retains over a group that once depended heavily on its support has become especially relevant since the Taliban announced an interim cabinet Sept. 7. To the dismay of many Afghans and foreign governments, the cabinet includes leaders of the Haqqani network, a militant group that American and former Afghan officials have charged was covertly sponsored by Pakistan’s military-led intelligence agency. The Pakistani government denies those charges. The prominence of the Haqqanis, a group blamed for deadly terrorist attacks as well as scenes of Taliban fighters repressing protesters and journalists, has undermined the new Afghan government’s attempts to put a benign face on its intentions and has prompted Washington and other Western governments to press Pakistan to take a strong stance. The U.S. branded the Haqqanis terrorists and issued $5 million bounties. Now they’re in power in the Taliban government.”
Middle East
Reuters: Israel Captures Last Two Palestinian Militants Who Broke Out Of High-Security Jail
“Israeli forces on Sunday caught the last two of six Palestinian militants who tunneled out of a maximum security Israeli jail nearly two weeks ago, in an escape that embarrassed Israel's security establishment but delighted Palestinians. The two members of the Islamic Jihad militant group were apprehended before dawn from a house in the Palestinian city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, Israeli Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai said. Palestinians see members of armed groups jailed by Israel as heroes in the struggle for statehood in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, territory Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Israel considers them terrorists. An Israeli police spokeswoman identified the men as Ayham Nayef Kamamji and Munadel Yacoub Infeiat. Kamamji, 35, was arrested in 2006 and is serving a life sentence, and Infeiat, 26, was arrested in 2019, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club. The other four were captured in pairs a week ago near the Arab city of Nazareth in northern Israel. All six have either been convicted or are suspected of planning or carrying out deadly attacks on Israelis.”
Egypt
Al Monitor: Islamic State Leader In Sinai Surrenders To Egyptian Authorities
“A high-profile Islamic State commander in Sinai has given himself up to a tribal union loyal to the Egyptian military, exposing possible cracks within the organization and potentially putting valuable information at the disposal of Cairo. Mohamed Saad Kamel, also known as Abu Hamza al-Qadi, turned himself in to the Association of Sinai Tribes on Sept. 10 after contacting association leaders. He got pledges from the association for his safety and that of his wife and three children. Qadi is the highest-ranking IS Sinai commander to turn himself in to the authorities to date, suggesting the noose is tightening around the terrorist organization in the Egyptian territory, which shares borders with Israel and the Gaza Strip. “There is close coordination between the army and Sinai tribes,” Sinai tribal leader Sami Kamel told Al-Monitor. “This advances the crackdown on the terrorist organization noticeably.” The military has been running a massive operation in northern and central Sinai since February 2018. Codenamed Sinai 2018, the operation involves all divisions of the military, including the air force and the navy. Ground troops comb every inch of northern and central Sinai for IS militants, tracking down dozens of militants and arresting or killing them.”
Nigeria
The Defense Post: Nine Killed, 23 Injured In Nigerian Air Strike
“An emergency official in northeast Nigeria said Friday nine people were killed and 23 others injured in an air strike this week that reportedly hit civilians, in the first official tally of victims. The Nigerian air force confirmed that earlier in the week it sent an aircraft to the area where Boko Haram and Islamic-state affiliates operate, and that it was investigating claims “civilians were erroneously killed.” Since 2009, Nigeria has been fighting a jihadist insurgency in the northeast that has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced nearly two million from their homes. On Wednesday, a fighter jet opened fire on Buhari village in Yobe state near the border with Niger, which residents said killed 10 people and injured at least 19. On Friday, the head of Yobe state’s emergency management agency Mohammed Goje however said that “nine people died.” “At least 23 people were injured,” he added, after visiting the village on Thursday. “They included men, women and children.” Two of the injured with critical injuries were transferred to a bigger hospital in the state capital Damaturu, he said. He said the emergency services have begun repairs of the only solar-powered water borehole in the village destroyed in the air strike.”
Mali
Bloomberg: Mali Premier Says Seeking New Partners In Terrorism Fight
“Mali is seeking new partners to help the country fend off Islamist militants now that France plans to scale back its counterterrorism force in West Africa’s Sahel region. “We’re already seeing how some of our partners are moving their forces to other countries, leaving vast territories unprotected,” Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga said in comments at a press conference posted on news site Le Jalon. “If those partners decide to leave entirely, shouldn’t we have a Plan B?” “We’re looking at other possibilities for collaboration to face the security threat,” Maiga added. His comments are likely to fuel speculation that Mali might turn to Russia’s Wagner Group to deploy mercenaries in the country. The fourth-biggest gold producer in Africa is seen as a linchpin in the fight against Islamist insurgents who have threatened state authority and investors’ interests in the Sahel. Groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State stepped up attacks against civilians and security forces in the second quarter of 2021, according to the United Nations. French troops have started to leave bases in the country’s northern regions. Last week French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said his country’s forces would pull out of Mali entirely if Russian mercenaries were allowed in.”
Africa
Deutsche Welle: 'Hotel Rwanda' Hero Awaits Verdict On Terrorism Charges
“The verdict on Paul Rusesabagina, a long-time critic of Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, is scheduled for Monday, September 20. His trial attracted international attention due to his role in rescuing hundreds of people during the 1994 Rwandan genocide against the Tutsis. President Kagame, in early September, defended the trial of Rusesabagina saying the 67-year-old former hotelier was in court not because he is famous but because of his later actions. Rusesabagina is charged with nine offenses, including being a member of a terrorist organization, financing terrorism, murder and armed robbery. The charges relate to a series of attacks carried out by the armed National Liberation Front (FLN) in southwestern Rwanda between June and December 2018, during which nine civilians were killed. The FLN is the military wing of the Mouvement Rwandais pour le Changement Democratique, which Rusesabagina co-chairs. In a September 2020 hearing, he admitted to being involved in setting up the FLN. He and his family, however, deny giving support or taking part in any violence or killings. Rusesabagina could face life in prison if convicted. He gained celebrity status after the release of the Hollywood film “Hotel Rwanda” in 2004.”
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