“Concerns are growing at the increased constraints the Taliban government has
placed on the news media in Afghanistan, after officials issued a new fr

 

 


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


September 24, 2021 

 

The New York Times: New Taliban Guidelines Stir Fear About The Future Of Press
Freedom
<[link removed]>

 

“Concerns are growing at the increased constraints the Taliban government has
placed on the news media in Afghanistan, after officials issued a new framework
of rules for journalists that critics say open the door for censorship and
repression. Qari Muhammad Yousuf Ahmadi, the interim director of the Government
Media and Information Center and a longtime Taliban spokesman, unveiled 11
rules for journalists this week. They include directives against publishing
topics that are in conflict with Islam or insulting to national personalities,
and also instruct journalists to produce news reports in coordination with the
government media office. The once-vibrant media industry in Afghanistan has
been in free fall since the Taliban seized control last month. Many Afghan
journalists fled the country, fearing repression and violence from the new
rulers, while dozens more have gone into hiding and are still seeking a way out
of Afghanistan. More than 100 local media companies and radio stations around
the country have stopped operating, having either been closed down, taken over
by the Taliban or forced out of business for lack of funding, according to
local media. Some of the most prominent newspapers have had to cease print
operations and now publish only online, amid the country’s sharp economic
downturn.”

 

Voice Of America: Somalia Court Convicts Foreigners For Membership In Al-Shabab

<[link removed]>

 

“A military court in Somalia has convicted two foreign extremists for fighting
alongside terrorist group al-Shabab. The court in Mogadishu sentenced Darren
Anthony Byrnes from Britain and Ahmad Mustakim bin Abdul Hamid from Malaysia to
15 years in jail for being members of al-Shabab and entering the country
illegally. They are the first foreign extremists in Somalia to be convicted for
al-Shabab membership, court officials said. Prosecutors said Abdul Hamid and
Byrnes came to Somalia to support al-Shabab and “destroy” and “shed blood.” A
lawyer for the two, Mohamed Warsame Mohamed, said the men denied being members
of al-Shabab and claimed to have come to Somalia to visit relatives and
friends. He said he would file an appeal if Abdul Hamid and Byrnes chose to do
so. No witnesses supporting the Somali government's case testified in court,
Mohamed said. Instead, he said, the government relied on accounts by people who
gave testimonies in absentia and an alleged confession of al-Shabab membership
by the defendants. Abdul Hamid and Byrnes admit they have been to areas
controlled by al-Shabab, he said, but they deny becoming members of the
militant group.”

 

United States

 

M Live: Michigan Man Sent To Federal Prison For Trying To Help Cousin Join ISIS

<[link removed]>

 

“A Lansing man was sentenced to nearly 11 years in prison for conspiring to
provide material support to Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS. Mohamad
Salat Haji, 28, was sentenced this week by U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker to
10 years, 10 months in federal prison. Once his prison term ends, Haji will be
on supervised release for 12 years. Haji and his cousins – brothers Mohamud
Muse, 25, and Muse Muse, 22 – worked to send the younger Muse to join ISIS
fighters in Somalia. The three pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material
support to a terror organization. They were arrested Jan. 21, 2019, at Gerald
R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids. The government said Mohamud
Muse, 25, drove his brother, Muse Muse, 22, from Lansing to Gerald R. Ford
International where the younger man intended to take a flight to Somalia to
join ISIS fighters. Mohamud Muse was earlier sentenced to eight years, two
months in federal prison. His brother was sentenced to six years, six months in
federal prison. The three men had communicated via Facebook Messenger with
undercover FBI special agents who posed as ISIS operatives. They intended to
provide support, resources and personnel to the terror group, the government
said.”

 

Iraq

 

Al Monitor: Iraq Conducts Airstrikes Against ‘Terrorists’ Near Kirkuk
<[link removed]>

 

“Iraq announced new airstrikes against “terrorists” near the disputed northern
city of Kirkuk on Wednesday.  The Iraqi air force conducted “destructive
strikes” targeting hideouts belonging to unspecified groups in Wadi Shay,
southwest of Kirkuk. They used Russian-made Sukhoi Su-25 aircraft, military
spokesman Yehia Rasool said in a tweet. Some US-made F-16 fighter jets carried
out additional strikes targeting hideouts, which led to smoke and the sound of
explosions in the area, according to Rasool. The Islamic State (IS) lost its
final territory to Iraqi forces, backed by the US-led coalition, in 2017. The
group has remained active since then, and carries out hit-and-run attacks in
Sunni Muslim majority areas of the country. Non-IS insurgent groups may also be
active in Iraq. In 2018, Iraqi forces battled with a group purportedly called
the White Flags outside of Kirkuk. Their exact relationship to IS was not
known.”

 

Afghanistan

 

The Wall Street Journal: Don’t Recognize The Same Old Taliban
<[link removed]>

 

“Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday, President Biden took
credit for having “ended 20 years of conflict in Afghanistan” and “opening a
new era of relentless diplomacy.” But he didn’t address whether the U.N. should
recognize the Taliban formally as the government of Afghanistan. Such
recognition would give the Taliban potential access to unchecked flows of funds
and investments from countries or international organizations. Due to the
symbiotic relationship between the Taliban and al Qaeda and its affiliates,
those funds could be diverted to terrorists. Recognition of the Taliban as the
official government of Afghanistan by the U.N. also wouldn’t be prudent because
it would hamper the effectiveness of the Security Council, which imposed
sanctions on many of the current Taliban leaders years ago. These sanctions
prohibit U.N. member nations from provisioning funds to these Taliban leaders.
In 1999 the U.N. convention against the financing of terrorism stated “that the
number and seriousness of acts of international terrorism depend on the
financing that terrorists may obtain.” This is as true today as it was two
decades ago. Mr. Biden emphasized this point in his speech saying that “by
targeting their financing and support systems, countering their propaganda,
preventing their travel, as well as disrupting imminent attacks,” terrorist
networks can be dismantled.”

 

Al Jazeera: How Deep Are Divisions Among The Taliban?
<[link removed]>

 

“There have been reports of divisions among the Taliban leadership, raising
questions about the unity within the group which took over Afghanistan last
month. The public’s doubts about the group’s unity only increased earlier this
month, when Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the deputy prime minister, seemed to
have disappeared from public view. Then came reports that he had been killed.
When he did reappear, it was in a pre-recorded video. Baradar, clearly reading
from some sort of a statement, said his fading from the public eye was the
result of travel, and that the Taliban, “have compassion among ourselves, more
than a family”. In a final bid to ease suspicions about his death or injury,
Baradar was photographed attending a meeting with United Nations officials on
Monday. However, diplomatic and political sources have told Al Jazeera that the
discord among the Taliban leadership is real, adding that if the disharmony
grows, it will spell further trouble for the Afghan people. A writer and
reporter who has spent several years covering the Taliban said the divisions
are the result of a political-military divide. The hardliners, he said, “feel
that they are owed things for 20 years of fighting.” A political source who has
had a decades-long relationship with the Taliban’s top brass agrees.”

 

Yemen

 

Arab News: Houthis Must Be Re-Designated A Terrorist Organization: Senior
Yemeni Official <[link removed]>

 

“The Houthi militia must be re-designated as a terrorist organization to curb
its violence-driven ambitions in Yemen and force it to talk peace in the
war-torn country, a senior Yemeni official said. The brief designation of the
Houthis as a terrorist organization during former US President Donald Trump’s
tenure was a positive step, Muammar Al-Eryani, the minister of information, was
quoted by state news agency SABA as saying. And he added that during the
designation period, the Houthi’s efforts declined and its various military
operations stopped. In a virtual meeting with Peter Derrek Hof, the Dutch
ambassador to Yemen, Al-Eryani called on the international community and the
European Union to take serious steps to re-designate the Iran-backed group as a
terrorist organization. The US State Department earlier this year lifted the
terrorist designation against the Houthis that the Trump administration issued
during its final days on the grounds that it would cause more suffering to
millions of Yemenis than the militia force. Al-Eryani emphasized that the
Yemeni government made concessions to various peace efforts to ‘reach peace and
in order to end the war imposed by the Iran-backed Houthi militia.’”

 

Lebanon

 

CNN: Hezbollah Threatened Top Judge Probing Beirut Port Blast, Source Says
<[link removed]>

 

“Hezbollah has threatened to “usurp” the Lebanese judge investigating the
Beirut port blast in a verbal message to him in recent days, a source familiar
with the conversation has told CNN. High-ranking Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa
issued the threat to Judge Tarek Bitar through an unnamed intermediary, who
relayed the contents of the message, according to the source. The intermediary
was someone the judge knew and trusted, the source said, and mentioned Safa by
name. Safa is head of the Iran-backed militant group's Liaison and Coordination
Unit. In 2019, he was placed on a US Treasury sanctions list, accused of having
“exploited Lebanon's ports and border crossings to smuggle contraband and
facilitate travel” on behalf of Hezbollah. “We've had it up to our noses with
you. We will stay with you until the end of this legal path, but if it doesn't
work out, we will usurp you,” the message to Bitar said, according to the
source. Neither Safa nor other members of Hezbollah have been named by state
media as official subjects of the investigation into the port blast. The
conversation was first reported by Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation
correspondent Edmond Sassine in a tweet on Tuesday.”

 

Egypt

 

The Jerusalem Post: Is The Surrender Of A Senior ISIS Sinai Official A Game
Changer?
<[link removed]>

 

“The recent surrender of a key ISIS Sinai operations official to Egypt may
signal a paradigm shift in the years-long battle between the sides, according
to a Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center report. The report
states that on September 10, Muhammad Sa’ad Kamel al-Sa’idi, aka Abu Hamza
al-Qadi (“the judge”) surrendered to a tribal militia cooperating with the
Egyptian army after promises that he and his family would not be harmed. Next,
the report says that, “Information that reached the Intelligence and Terrorism
Information Center revealed details about al-Qadi and the conditions in the
Sinai Province.” The intelligence center is made up of former senior Israeli
intelligence officials and maintains close ties to the current intelligence
community, occasionally receiving exclusive material to declassify. From the
report, it emerges that Al-Qadi is “the second or third most important
operative in the Province after the Emir (“commander”) and possibly one other
person, making him the most senior figure in the Sinai Province to surrender to
the Egyptian authorities” to date. What is even more important is the Meir Amit
Center’s contention that “the surrender of al-Qadi…will severely damage the
organization, because he will give valuable information and intelligence to the
Egyptian authorities and because his surrender will be a blow to the
operatives’ morale.

 

Nigeria

 

The New York Times: Thousands Of Boko Haram Members Surrendered. They Moved In
Next Door.
<[link removed]>

 

“For over a decade, the extremist group Boko Haram has terrorized northeastern
Nigeria — killing tens of thousands of people, kidnapping schoolgirls and
sending suicide bombers into busy marketplaces. Now, thousands of Boko Haram
fighters have surrendered, along with their family members, and are being
housed by the government in a compound in the city of Maiduguri, the group’s
birthplace and its frequent target. The compound is next to a middle-class
housing development and a primary school, terrifying residents, teachers and
parents. “We are very afraid,” said Maimouna Mohammed, a teacher at the primary
school, glancing at the camp’s wall 50 yards from her classroom. “We don’t know
their minds.” Nigerian military and justice officials say that in the past
month, as many as 7,000 fighters and family members, along with their captives,
have left Boko Haram, the largest wave of defections by far since the jihadist
group emerged in 2002. The turning point for its fortunes appears to have been
the death of Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram’s longtime leader, who blew himself up
in May after being cornered by a rival faction. However weakened Boko Haram may
be, though, it does not necessarily mean an end to terror for the people of
northeastern Nigeria, hundreds of thousands of whom have died, and millions of
whom have fled.”

 

Somalia

 

Voice Of America: Somalia, AU Coordinate To Fight Against Al-Shabab
<[link removed]>

 

“The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and Somalia's National Army
(SNA) launched a center this week to better coordinate their fight against
al-Shabab militants, who have threatened to disrupt Somalia's elections. The
Joint Operations Coordination Center at AMISOM Sector One headquarters in
Mogadishu was officially launched Wednesday at a ceremony presided over by the
army chief of defense forces, General Odowaa Yusuf Rageh, and the AMISOM deputy
force commander in charge of operations and planning, Major General William
Kitsao Shume. There are currently more than 20,000 peacekeepers in the country,
trying to keep Somalis secure from attacks by al-Shabab and Islamic State.
Rageh stressed the need for continuous collaboration between the army and
AMISOM. He said he success of the center would depend on the relationship of
the two headquarters “and how they coordinate in delegating work to the
sectors, which then execute any such directives for a successful execution and
implementation. I believe our long cooperation and experiences gained over the
years will help us get the best out of this center so we can confront the
challenges that are ahead.”



Click here to unsubscribe.
<[link removed]>