“A spate of attacks killed at least five people in eastern Afghanistan’s
Nangarhar province on Wednesday, the latest outbreak of violence in an area w

 

 


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


September 23, 2021 

 

The Wall Street Journal: Islamic State Attacks In Eastern Afghanistan
Challenge Taliban Rule
<[link removed]>

 

“A spate of attacks killed at least five people in eastern Afghanistan’s
Nangarhar province on Wednesday, the latest outbreak of violence in an area
where Islamic State’s regional affiliate is mounting a challenge to the
Taliban’s control of the country. Militants carried out at least two bombings
and a gun attack Wednesday in Jalalabad, Nangarhar’s provincial capital. In the
shooting attack, at least two Taliban fighters and a civilian were killed,
according to local residents. Islamic State-Khorasan Province, or ISKP, claimed
responsibility for the attacks. Wednesday’s bloodshed in Jalalabad followed
improvised-explosive-device attacks over the weekend on Taliban patrols that
killed several fighters in the city. ISKP also claimed those strikes on what it
described as “the apostate Taliban militia.” While both the Taliban and ISKP
want to impose strict Islamic rule over Afghanistan, the two groups have
profound political and religious differences, and have repeatedly fought each
other since Islamic State’s regional franchise was established in 2015. The
Taliban say they want to have friendly relations with all nations, including
the U.S., and have just designated an ambassador to the United Nations. Islamic
State doesn’t recognize the idea of a modern nation-state and seeks global
conquest.”

 

The New York Times: Germany’s Far Right Is Nowhere In The Election. But It’s
‘Here To Stay.’
<[link removed]>

 

“They promised they would “hunt” the elites. They questioned the need for a
Holocaust memorial in Berlin and described Muslim immigrants as “head scarf
girls” and “knife men.” Four years ago the Alternative for Germany, or AfD,
arrived in the German Parliament like a wrecking ball, the first far-right
party to win a place at the heart of Germany’s democracy since World War II. It
was a political earthquake in a country that had once seen Hitler’s Nazi party
rise from the fringes to win power in free elections. As another election looms
on Sunday, the worst fears of many Germans have not come true: Support for the
party has dipped. But neither have the hopes that the AfD would disappear from
the political scene as suddenly as it appeared. If Germany’s fate in this
election will not be settled by the far right, political analysts say,
Germany’s future will partly be shaped by it. “The AfD is here to stay,” said
Matthias Quent, professor of sociology at Magdeburg University of Applied
Sciences and an expert on the far right. “There was the widespread and naïve
hope that this was a short-lived protest phenomenon. The reality is that the
far right has become entrenched in the German political landscape.”

 

Iraq

 

Asharq Al-Awsat: Anti-ISIS Coalition Reviews Its Role In Iraq
<[link removed]>

 

“The US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS announced that it was reorganizing
“to an advisory and assist role” in Iraq by the end of the year. However,
Coalition Spokesman Wayne Marotto stressed on Twitter commitment to security
cooperation and partnership with the government of Iraq and the Kurdistan
Regional Government in the war against ISIS. He also emphasized that the
coalition supported “a secure and stable Iraq.” These statements come as the
Joint Operations Command in Iraq announced the withdrawal of three new US units
in accordance with the strategic agreement between Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa
Al-Kadhimi and US President Joe Biden during the fourth round of consultations
in Washington at the end of July. The spokesman for the Iraqi Joint Operations
Command, Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji, said in a press statement on Tuesday
that Iraq no longer needed foreign combat forces on its soil. “The strategic
dialogue with the United States contributed to the agreement on the withdrawal
of three American combat units from the Ain al-Assad base in Anbar, and the
Harir base in Erbil, by the end of this month, to head outside Iraq,” he
stated. He noted that the agreement at the same time provided for the
continuation of training, equipment and advice.”

 

Turkey

 

Al Monitor: How An Islamic State Suspect Lived As A Shopkeeper In Turkey
<[link removed]>

 

“The first time that Turkey faced the deadly threat of the Islamic State (IS)
on its soil was in March 2014, when three foreign IS militants opened fire at a
checkpoint in the province of Nigde, killing two members of the security forces
and a civilian. The culprits were sentenced to life but only after a
controversial trial. Scores of other cases against IS suspects have been marked
by judicial oddities and what many observers see as obtrusive leniency on the
part of the Turkish judiciary. In a country where peaceful political dissidents
could languish in jail for years without conviction, many IS defendants have
walked free or benefited from sentence reductions under “effective remorse”
provisions, as Al-Monitor reported last month. Yet, few cases have been as
striking as Jamal Abdul Rahman Alwi, who allegedly ordered the burning to death
of two Turkish soldiers that the radical group had captured in northern Syria.
A video released by IS in December 2016 showed the pair being hauled from a
cage before being bound and torched. Despite the huge outpouring of fury on
social media at the time, the Turkish government kept mum on the incident.”

 

Afghanistan

 

The Wall Street Journal: U.S., Russian Military Officials Meet Amid Concerns
About Terrorism Fight
<[link removed]>

 

“The Pentagon’s top officer met with his Russian counterpart in the Finnish
capital Wednesday amid American and allied efforts to find ways to fight
terrorism after the departure of U.S. and allied troops from Afghanistan last
month. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley met here
with Chief of Russian General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, officials said. U.S.
military officials declined to provide any details of the meeting, except to
issue a brief statement saying the two discussed “risk reduction and
operational deconfliction.” The U.S. and Russia have in the past discussed how
to avoid conflict in Syria, where both countries maintain troops, and in the
Black Sea, where both militaries conduct naval patrols. The two sides have also
discussed Moscow’s incursion into Crimea and its massing of forces along
Ukraine’s eastern and southern borders. But Gen. Milley, on a tour through
Europe this week, has been focused on terrorism and countering violent
extremism in the region. He met NATO chiefs of defense in Athens before meeting
with a smaller group of his counterparts in Berlin on Monday. On Tuesday, he
was in London meeting with the military chiefs of the other “Five Eyes”
nations, including Canada, Australia, the U.K. and New Zealand.”

 

Voice Of America: ISIS-K Could Be First Afghan Terror Group To Put US In Its
Sights
<[link removed]>

 

“The biggest danger to the United States and the West following the U.S.
withdrawal from Afghanistan could well come from the Islamic State terror
group’s Afghan affiliate, and not from al-Qaida, despite the latter’s
long-standing relationship with the Taliban. The top U.S. counterterrorism
official told lawmakers Wednesday that while both terror groups have been more
heavily focused on expanding their regional networks, there are indications
that when it comes to the IS affiliate, known as IS-Khorasan or ISIS-K, that
might be changing. “My own concern is very specifically around ISIS-K and the
degree to which ISIS-K [is] building off the notoriety it received after the
attack on August 26,” National Counterterrorism Center Director Christine
Abizaid said during a hearing on threats to the United States. “Will it become
more focused on the West? Will it become more focused on the homeland than it
was?” Abizaid asked. The August 26 suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai
International Airport in Kabul, during the waning days of the U.S. evacuation,
killed 13 American service members and more than 160 Afghans. The attack,
quickly claimed by IS-Khorasan, sparked a series of warnings about additional
attacks targeting the airport.”

 

Washington Examiner: House Debate Begins On Defense Bill That Would
Investigate Afghanistan Failures, Expand Draft To Women, And Reform Military
Sexual Assault Law
<[link removed]>

 

“…11 a.m. — Counter Extremism Project webinar: “Future Terrorism And Security
Challenges Emanating From Afghanistan,” with Edmund Fitton-Brown, coordinator
of the ISIL, al Qaeda and Taliban Monitoring Team, U.N. Security Council; Sofia
Koller, research fellow, German Council on Foreign Relations; and Guido
Steinberg, senior fellow, German Institute for International and Security
Affairs.”

 

Saudi Arabia

 

Saudi Gazettte: King: We Confront Extremist Thoughts, Exclude Terror Groups
And Sectarian Militias Practices
<[link removed]>

 

“The Custodian of Two Holy Mosques King Salman confirmed Saudi Arabia's
perpetual commitment with the international legitimacy principles and
resolutions, respect of national sovereignty of all countries and
non-interference in other countries internal affairs. The Monarch also
underscored the importance of making the Middle East a mass destruction weapons
free, and his country's continuation to confront extremist thought based on the
rhetoric of hate and exclusion as well as the practices of terrorist groups and
sectarian militias which manage to destruct people and nations. The Custodian
of Two Holy Mosques reiterated in the speech he delivered Wednesday via virtual
communication before the 76th UN General Assembly in New York, the Kingdom's
keenness on the recovery of the global economy. He cited the pioneering efforts
the Kingdom has exerted, in cooperation with its partners in OPEC+ and within
the framework of the G20 to address the severe consequences of the coronavirus
COVID-19 pandemic in order to enhance the world oil market stability, its
balance and supplies in a way that preserves the interests of producers and
consumers as well. At the outset, the King began by congratulating Abdulla
Shahid on his election as President of the 76th session of the UN General
Assembly.”

 

Africa

 

Reuters: Congo Arrests Middle Eastern National For Links To Islamist Militia
<[link removed]>

 

“Democratic Republic of Congo has said it has arrested a Middle Eastern
national for alleged ties to an Islamist militia in the east of DRC,
potentially the first time a non-African fighter has been found working with
the group. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamist armed group led by
Ugandans, has been blamed for dozens of massacres with hatchets and firearms in
the last three years, mostly in remote villages. In 2019 the ADF's leadership
pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS), which has in turn claimed dozens of
the ADF's attacks, although United Nations experts say they have not found
conclusive evidence that IS has control over ADF operations. Congo's government
spokesman Patrick Muyaya confirmed the man's arrest. “The person arrested is of
Jordanian nationality. He was taken back to Kinshasa for further
interrogation,” Muyaya told Reuters. According to documents seen by Reuters,
however, the man was carrying a Kosovo residence permit, identifying him as a
40-year-old Saudi Arabian national. Reuters was not immediately able to confirm
the document's authenticity. The man is believed to have been in charge of the
militia's drones, and was arrested on Sept. 18 in Makisabo, near the city of
Beni, North Kivu province, where the ADF are active, according to internal army
reports seen by Reuters.”

 

Associated Press: Canadian Recounts Her Abduction By Jihadis In Burkina Faso
<[link removed]>

 

“Nearly a year and a half after being abducted by Islamic extremists in
Burkina Faso, Edith Blais risked her life to escape, fearing she’d never be
free. “(What you’re thinking is either) you stay there your whole life and you
die there, or you try something,” Blais told The Associated Press by phone
ahead of this week’s publication of her book recounting the ordeal, “The Weight
of Sand: My 450 Days Held Hostage in the Sahara.” The 37-year-old Canadian and
her Italian companion Luca Tacchetto, were captured by jihadis in December 2018
in eastern Burkina Faso while touring the region and attempting to cross into
neighboring Benin. The pair were held in the desert in northern Mali for 15
months before fleeing one night on foot. To buy time, Blais stuffed her bed in
the shape of a body to make it look like she’d gone to sleep, she said. They
were also helped by intense wind, which erased their footprints in the sand
making it hard for the jihadis to track them. After an eight-hour walk, the two
reached a main road and flagged a truck that took them to a United Nations
base. “(Being free was) hard to believe, it’s like if you’re still in the
nightmare and you can’t wake up and you know it’s finishing,” said Blais.”

 

Technology

 

BBC News: Extremists Using Video-Game Chats To Spread Hate
<[link removed]>

 

“Extremists are using mainstream video games and gaming chat platforms to
spread hate, BBC Click has found. Over three months, researchers found
anti-Semitism, racism and homophobia on platforms, including DLive and Odysee,
where users stream and chat about games such as Call of Duty and Minecraft.
Campaigners say including extremist narratives among everyday conversations can
be a pathway to radicalisation. These conversations then move to spaces such as
private Telegram channels. “Once you're in that world, then the radicalisation
starts to happen,” Joe Mulhall, of anti-fascist organisation Hope Not Hate,
said. “That's when you start to go to other meetings, to smaller groups that
aren't necessarily playing games, talking about politics more explicitly.” In
response, Telegram told BBC News it used a “combination of proactive monitoring
of public spaces and user reports” to remove content breaching its terms of
service. DLive and Odysee have not responded to BBC News's requests for
comment. Their policies cite zero tolerance against hate and violent extremism
and both say they are proactive at removing any content violating guidelines.
Call of Duty said: “The actions we have taken to confront racist behaviour
include banning players for racist and hate-oriented names, implementing new
technology and making it easier for players to report offensive in-game
behaviour.”



Click here to unsubscribe.
<[link removed]>