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Eye on Extremism
September 27, 2021
“Mullah Ibrahim, a stocky white-bearded cleric, was leading two men in prayer at dusk early this month when three assailants approached his mosque in a pomegranate grove in rural Zabul province. One of them climbed over a low clay wall behind the two worshipers, who were absorbed in prayer, approached the cleric and shot him in the face, witnesses said. Once the mullah fell to the ground, another person shot him four times in the chest. The killers haven’t been identified. Villagers here in the Mizan district of Afghanistan’s southern Zabul province said the cleric had been linked to a group that is an archenemy of the Taliban: Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISKP. It was the latest in a series of killings of religious figures associated with ISKP, Islamic State’s regional affiliate, since the Taliban overthrew the Afghan republic and seized Kabul on Aug. 15. Western officials and Afghan residents in the affected areas say they believe the Taliban have carried out the killings. The Taliban have publicly denied responsibility, but have admitted privately to a number of killings of ISKP militants. The Taliban and ISKP both want to impose strict Islamic rule on Afghanistan, but they have deep religious and political differences and have repeatedly clashed.”
Bloomberg: Mali Tells UN France Is Abandoning It In Fight Against Terrorism
“Mali Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga accused France at the United Nations of abandoning the West African country to the unfinished job of fighting a deadly Islamist insurgency. “The armed terrorist groups that invaded almost two-thirds of our territory in 2012 have dispersed and spread without ever being wiped out,” Maiga said in a UN General Assembly speech on Saturday. “It was against this backdrop that France deployed in Mali and it’s also against this backdrop that France has suddenly decided to withdraw.” France has said it will eventually reduce its military presence in West Africa’s Sahel region from slightly more than 5,000 troops to 2,500 to 3,000 troops. While three military bases in northern Mali will be closed by early 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron plans to back up Sahel countries’ security forces with a French-led European force. “The new situation resulting from the end of Operation Barkhane puts Mali before a fait accompli, abandoning us mid-flight,” Maiga said. The French withdrawal has led Mali to explore other options, according to Maiga, who spoke hours after Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters in New York that Mali had approached Russian private military contractors.”
United States
“Four teenagers in Pennsylvania have been charged for conspiring to attack their high school on the 25th anniversary of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado that left 13 dead. Two 15-year-olds are being charged as adults while the other two teens are facing juvenile charges in their plan to attack Dunmore High School, outside Scranton, on April 20, 2024, according to Lackawanna County District Attorney Mark Powell. The teenagers charged as adults have been identified as Alyssa Kucharski and Zavier Lewis. Investigators said that Kucharski's mother told police that her daughter was “obsessed with Columbine,” according to The Times-Tribune, which first reported the news on Friday. Powell said Kucharski and Lewis were charged as adults due to the seriousness of their actions and their “level of culpability” in the plot, the newspaper reported. The two teens charged as juveniles have not been identified. “While the investigation is ongoing, I want to assure the parents, students and staff at Dunmore High School that we do not believe there is any active threat at this time,” Powell said in a statement Friday. “We are relieved that this plot was uncovered before anyone was hurt and urge anyone who has information about potential threats of school violence to contact police immediately.”
Iraq
Kurdistan 24: Iraqi Forces Kill 4 During Anti-ISIS Operation In Diyala’s Hamrin Mountains
“Iraqi forces carried out an operation against ISIS militants in the Hamrin Mountains, said the military press office known as the Security Media Cell on Thursday. According to a statement, Iraq’s Joint Operations Command, which coordinates the activity of the military, police, and other security forces, carried out the operation which resulted in the killing of four ISIS fighters, noting that “an airstrike was directed at the most important main hideouts in the Hamrin mountain range.” It added, “This den is considered a center for launching terrorist operations in the Kirkuk area.” Hamrin is a rugged mountain ridge located mostly in Diyala province that stretches from areas near the Iranian border and westward to the eastern banks of the Tigris River, straddling the borders of Salahuddin and Kirkuk provinces. The area has long been a safe haven for extremist groups that maintain caves and tunnels there from which they have often staged deadly attacks. The cell confirmed that the operation “was carried out based on accurate intelligence information and on the infiltration of terrorist gangs by intelligence agencies.” She added that “the rest of the terrorist elements clashed in the den, and one of them was killed and the other blew himself up after being surrounded by the force.”
Afghanistan
The Wall Street Journal: The Haqqanis Are The New Global Terror Threat
“The Haqqani network has evolved over the past half-century from a relatively small, tribal-based jihadist group into one of South Asia’s most significant U.S.- and U.N.-designated terrorist syndicates. As Afghanistan’s new Taliban government pushes for credibility abroad, the Haqqani network is the most powerful faction with which it must reckon. The Haqqani network could theoretically reform itself to gain international acceptance, but let’s not ignore reality: Paying lip service to Western conditions or red lines won’t change an entity this resourceful and ruthless. The only way for the U.S. and its allies to deal with the newly empowered Haqqani network is through shrewd statecraft and multilateral engagement. Sirajuddin Haqqani, son of the network’s founder, has led the terrorist group since 2015, while also serving as the Afghan Taliban’s second-in-command. In recent weeks, he was installed atop the powerful Interior Ministry, with de facto control of the nation’s domestic security and intelligence operations, while filling key military and civilian positions including control of passports and identity cards. Mr. Haqqani’s appointment all but ensures that his group’s influence and terror network will grow, both within and beyond the region.”
Reuters: Afghan Taliban Defence Minister Orders Crackdown On Abuses
“The Taliban's new defence minister has issued a rebuke over misconduct by some commanders and fighters following the movement's victory over the Western-backed government in Afghanistan last month, saying abuses would not be tolerated. Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob said in an audio message that some “miscreants and notorious former soldiers” had been allowed to join Taliban units where they had committed a range of sometimes violent abuses. “We direct you keep them out of your ranks, otherwise strict action will be taken against you,” he stated. “We don't want such people in our ranks.” The message from one of the Taliban's most senior ministers underlines the problems Afghanistan's new rulers have sometimes had in controlling fighting forces as they transition from an insurgency to a peacetime administration. Some Kabul residents have complained of abusive treatment at the hands of Taliban fighters who have appeared on the streets of the capital, often from other regions and unused to big cities. There have also been reports of reprisals against members of the former government and military or civil society activists, despite promises of an amnesty by the Taliban.”
Pakistan
Associated Press: Security Troops Kill 6 Separatists In Raid In SW Pakistan
“Pakistani security forces overnight killed six militants of a separatist group in a raid at their hideout in the mountains of southwestern Baluchistan province, the military said Saturday. Counterterrorism police arrested three others from the same group, the Baluchistan Liberation Army, in a separate operation, the military said in a statement. The statement said the Saturday raid was conducted in the district of Kharan based on credible intelligence that terrorists were hiding out in the area. It said a shootout erupted after the militants opened fire on Frontier Corps troops. Six militants, including two commanders, were killed and a large cache of arms and ammunition was recovered, the statement said. The Baluchistan Liberation Army, one of the main separatist groups in the province, has waged an insurgency in the mineral and gas rich province for nearly two decades. It confirmed in a statement that the group’s six men were killed in the ongoing security forces operation in a mountainous area of Kharan district. The BLA and other groups want to separate from Islamabad. Counterterrorism police in Baluchistan’s Turbat area Friday night arrested three members of the BLA who they said were involved in facilitating attacks on security forces and civilians.”
Middle East
AFP: Israeli Raids On W.Bank Islamists Leave 5 Militants Dead
“Israeli forces clashed with Hamas Islamist militants in the West Bank on Sunday in several fierce gun battles that left five Palestinians dead and two Israelis seriously wounded, officials said. The violence started after Israeli army troops and special police units launched an overnight operation to dismantle a Hamas cell and arrest suspected militants, Israel's army said. The raids, which Israel's army said led to the arrests of several “terrorists”, marked some of the heaviest fighting in recent weeks in the Palestinian territory that has been occupied by the Jewish state since 1967. The Palestinian health ministry confirmed five deaths from Israeli gunfire, including two near Jenin and three more in the Biddu area, made up of several villages between Ramallah and Jerusalem. “The sound of gunfire” rang out around 4:00 am (0100 GMT), followed by “strong explosions”, said Ayed Shamasneh, 44, a resident in the Biddu area, where an AFP photographer saw blood soaking the ground in the village of Beit Annan. Israel's army said that “in five simultaneous operations to apprehend the terrorists, troops responded to live fire, killing five of the terrorists in a shootout, and apprehending several others.”
Nigeria
AFP: 8 Nigerian Troops Killed In Jihadist Attack, Military Sources Say
“At least eight Nigerian soldiers were killed and several others were missing Friday after being ambushed by IS-affiliated jihadists in violence-wracked northeast Borno state, two military sources told AFP. A military convoy came under rocket fire by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) militants as it made its way between the towns of Dikwa and Marte in the Lake Chad region, the sources said. Eight other soldiers and an anti-jihadist militiaman were injured in the attack, a military officer said. According to a second military source, who lacked authorization to speak about the incident and asked not to be identified, the jihadists took away two military vehicles and burned three others. It was the second high-profile attack in less than two weeks by ISWAP jihadists, who are waging a 12-year Islamist insurgency in Nigeria's northeast. ISWAP has been consolidating territory in the Lake Chad area since rival Boko Haram commander Abubakar Shekau was killed in fighting between the two jihadist forces earlier this year. Earlier this month, 16 Nigerian soldiers and two anti-jihadist militia were killed in another ambush by IS-allied fighters on their patrol on a highway in northeast Borno state.”
Somalia
BBC News: Somalia: Seven Killed In Suicide Attack Near Presidential Palace
“A suicide car bomb which exploded near the presidential palace in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Saturday has killed at least seven people. District police chief Mucawiye Ahmed Mudey told reporters that at least eight others had been injured. In a short statement, the Islamist militant group Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack targeted a convoy heading towards the presidential palace as it waited at a busy checkpoint. A witness told AFP that the bomb was detonated when police stopped the driver to carry out a security check. “They normally stop to check and clear vehicles before they can pass by the checkpoint. This car was stopped by the security guards and it went off while there were several other cars and people passing by the nearby road. I saw wounded and dead people being carried,” Mohamed Hassan told the news agency. Eyewitnesses told the BBC that seven cars and three rickshaws were destroyed. The blast comes just hours after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive near Somali military headquarters in the capital, leaving no casualties. Many in the country have criticised Somali politicians for the country's deteriorating security situation, claiming that they are distracted by a much-delayed election process and a mounting dispute between the president and the prime minister.”
Mali
France 24: French Soldier Killed In Mali In Clash With Armed Terrorist Group
“A French serviceman was killed early on Friday in a clash with an armed militant group in Mali, French officials said. More than 50 French soldiers have died in the region since Paris deployed a counterterrorism force in 2013 to drive back Islamist militant groups that had seized cities and towns in northern Mali. According to a statement from the French defence ministry, the soldier who was killed, Maxime Blasco, was part of a French unit deployed to a forested area near Mali’s border with Burkina Faso. Their mission was to track down a suspected militant group that had earlier been spotted by a drone. The unit was supported by two attack helicopters and a surveillance drone, according to the statement. Armed militants engaged the unit at close range and Blasco was shot by a sniper. The soldier quickly died from his wounds. The gunman who shot Blasco was killed, the ministry said. French forces earlier this month said they had killed the leader of the West African affiliate of Islamic State in a drone strike in northern Mali.”
Africa
Reuters: Mozambicans Return To Uncertain Future After Islamists Pushed Back
“Rwandan forces will help secure and rebuild areas of northern Mozambique destroyed by an Islamist insurgency, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame said on Friday, as Mozambican officials began encouraging civilians to return to the gas-rich region. The United Nations has warned of a continuing militant threat in Cabo Delgado, where Rwandan forces are patrolling burnt-out streets once besieged by the militants. Kagame told a joint news conference in Maputo with his Mozambican counterpart Filipe Nyusi that Rwandan troops would help secure and rebuild the areas destroyed by the insurgency. “The mission of Rwandan troops in Mozambique continues,” he said. “The new action should be to guarantee security in the liberated areas until the reconstruction is finished.” Kagame said the troops would stay as long as Mozambique requests. Nyusi thanked Rwanda for helping fix what had been destroyed by “terrorists”. Allied Rwandan-Mozambican troops moved in to recapture parts of northern Cabo Delgado - an area hosting $60 billion worth of gas projects that the militants have been attacking since 2017 - in July.”
Reuters: Chad Plans To Double Army Size To Deal With Security Challenges
“Chad's transitional government said on Friday that it plans to drastically increase the size of its army to deal with security challenges, including threats from Islamist militants and armed rebels. Defence Minister General Daoud Yaya Brahim told parliament that the army has begun the process of increasing the total number of troops to 60,000 by the end of 2022, from 35,000 currently. “We have already started the process with the recruitment and training of soldiers and non-commissioned officers. The objective is to build elite unites capable of adapting to the asymmetric warfare our Sahel countries are facing,” Brahim said. Chad, alongside neighbours Nigeria, Cameroon and Niger, as well as Sahel nations Mali and Burkina Faso, are battling Islamic militants linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State. The Chadian army is also fighting rebels in the north of the country. Former President Idriss Deby was killed in April while visiting troops on the frontline fighting the Libya-based rebels. Brahim told parliament that the army would be seeking more funding in the next budget for defence spending.”
Arab News: Burundian Journalist Briefly Detained While Investigating Blast
“…All told, there are at least 54 Facebook profiles belonging to 39 entities that the German government and civil society groups have flagged as extremist, according to research shared with The Associated Press by the Counter Extremism Project, a non-profit policy and advocacy group formed to combat extremism. The groups have nearly 268,000 subscribers and friends on Facebook alone. CEP also found 39 related Instagram profiles, 16 Twitter profiles and 34 YouTube channels, which have gotten over 9.5 million views. Nearly 60 percent of the profiles were explicitly aimed at making money, displaying prominent links to online shops or photos promoting merchandise. Click on the big blue “view shop” button on the Erik & Sons Facebook page and you can buy a T-shirt that says, “My favorite color is white,” for 20 euros ($23). Deutsches Warenhaus offers “Refugees not welcome” stickers for just 2.50 euros ($3) and Aryan Brotherhood tube scarves with skull faces for 5.88 euros ($7). The Facebook feed of OPOS Records promotes new music and merchandise, including “True Aggression,” “Pride & Dignity,” and “One Family” T-shirts. The brand, which stands for “One People One Struggle,” also links to its online shop from Twitter and Instagram.”
United Kingdom
BBC News: Suspects Released After Counter Terrorism Raid At Dewsbury Takeaway
“Six people held on suspicion of making or possessing explosives after counter terrorism police raided a takeaway have been released without charge. Five men and a woman were arrested after officers targeted the Chicken Diner shop, in Huddersfield Road, Ravensthorpe, and the property above at about 22:00 BST on Wednesday. Police said searches had taken place and no threat had been identified. The men, aged 18, 37, 49, 53 and 56, and woman, 47, have been released. As well as the raid on the takeaway, searches also took place at a house in Dewsbury. Counter Terrorism Policing North East (CTPNE) said: “The search has now concluded and no threat has been identified as a result of the police activity last night or ongoing enquiries.”
France
RFI: Bombs, Bodies And Islamic State Propaganda Shock Paris Terror Trial
“The third week of the trial of those accused of involvement in the November 2015 massacre of 130 people in Paris came to an end with three very different reports from expert witnesses. The themes were DNA, explosions and Islamic State propaganda. A police officer showed the court how to make a bomb. It's not difficult, all the ingredients and equipment are easily available. “Anyone can do it,” the tribunal was told. That information was greeted with nervous laughter. It is extremely risky. So risky, in fact, that the experts at the French police explosives lab have done very little research into TATP or triacetone triperoxide, the explosive used by the November 2015 killers. It is simply too dangerous. The police bomb squad systematically refuse to transport any object suspected of containing TATP, preferring to neutralise the notoriously unstable mixture on the spot. The best thing to do is soak it in water, since the explosive quality of triacetone triperoxide declines rapidly if the crystals become damp. TATP was found in the unexploded suicide vest recovered from the Bataclan, in an abandoned vest recovered from a waste bin in Montrouge, and in the front half of Brahim Abdeslam's vest, which failed to detonate when he killed himself in a crowded Paris bar.”
Europe
The Brussels Times: Dutch Police Arrest Gang ‘Preparing Terrorist Attack’
“Police in Eindhoven in the Netherlands have broken up a gang suspected of organising a terrorist attack. In the raid, nine men aged between 18 and 31 were arrested. The men are suspected of being IS sympathisers with extremist views on jihad. Similar groups took part in the Paris attacks of 2015 and the Brussels attacks in 2016. All but one of the suspects are Dutch-born; the ninth was born in Afghanistan but now has a Dutch passport. They were brought before an examining magistrate in Rotterdam yesterday, to ensure that the arrests were carried out lawfully. In the meantime, the men may only have contact with their lawyers. By the same token, the lawyers may not answer questions on the case. The raid took place in the early morning of Thursday. Residents in the north of the city were awakened at around 05.00 by helicopters circling overhead. Police then forced entry at eight different addresses. The arrests are the result of an investigation begun in the summer on information provided by the Dutch intelligence service AVID and the Landelijke Recherche – the central police service responsible for investigating serious crimes. Details are not known of exactly what their plans were, but the alleged plot will be investigated further, the public prosecutor’s office said.”
Latin America
Bloomberg: Venezuela Refinery Workers Detained Amid Terrorism Probe
“Venezuela’s military intelligence officials detained seven workers at facility owned by a state-owned oil producer Petroleos de Venezuela amid a terrorism-related investigation. The workers at the Paraguana refining complex in Falcon state were held on Thursday by the intelligence police, known as DGCIM. They have been sent to Caracas, where they face a probe on a plan to attack the site, said Harold Guerrero, a lawyer for one of the detainees. PDVSA, as the state-oil company is known, as well as the oil ministry, didn’t respond to a request for comment. PDVSA’s Paraguana Refining Complex, which include the Amuay and Cardon refineries, is the main hub for gasoline supply in Venezuela. A lack of maintenance and investment over the years have decreased its production capacity to less than 10%, leading to huge fuel shortages in the once South American oil giant. The workers, most of them mechanics at the complex, had been working on repairs at the Amuay refinery earlier in the day, according to people familiar with the situation, who declined to be identified because the information isn’t public. The repairs are often temporary due to the lack of proper equipment and parts, they added.”
The National: Colombia Car Bomb In June Targeted US Troops, Militants Say
“A car bomb at a Colombian military base in June, which injured 44 soldiers including two US military advisers, was claimed by dissident members of a militant group on Wednesday. Most of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, better known as Farc, laid down their arms after a historic 2016 peace agreement. But a small number of militants, infamous for their role in the country’s illegal cocaine trade, have vowed to continue fighting. Admitting to the bombing, as well as an attempt to shoot down a helicopter carrying Colombian President Ivan Duque, also in June, was announced by militant commander Javier Alonso Velosa. Mr Velosa commands some of the estimated 2,500 Farc militants still fighting the government. He was interviewed by local media in Catatumbo on Wednesday, where he said that the attack targeted “the North American advisers and the leaders of the brigade”, the latter a reference to Colombian military commanders. Farc was formed in 1964 as an anti-government Marxist-Leninist movement in Colombia’s jungle-covered and impoverished hinterlands, after a surge in inequality and poverty in rural areas, which led to a rise in support for Communism, and a series of harsh government crackdowns.”
Technology
Associated Press: Neo-Nazis Are Still On Facebook. And They’re Making Money
“All told, there are at least 54 Facebook profiles belonging to 39 entities that the German government and civil society groups have flagged as extremist, according to research shared with The Associated Press by the Counter Extremism Project, a non-profit policy and advocacy group formed to combat extremism. The groups have nearly 268,000 subscribers and friends on Facebook alone. CEP also found 39 related Instagram profiles, 16 Twitter profiles and 34 YouTube channels, which have gotten over 9.5 million views. Nearly 60% of the profiles were explicitly aimed at making money, displaying prominent links to online shops or photos promoting merchandise. Click on the big blue “view shop” button on the Erik & Sons Facebook page and you can buy a T-shirt that says, “My favorite color is white,” for 20 euros ($23). Deutsches Warenhaus offers “Refugees not welcome” stickers for just 2.50 euros ($3) and Aryan Brotherhood tube scarves with skull faces for 5.88 euros ($7). The Facebook feed of OPOS Records promotes new music and merchandise, including “True Aggression,” “Pride & Dignity,” and “One Family” T-shirts. The brand, which stands for “One People One Struggle,” also links to its online shop from Twitter and Instagram.”
Axios: Neo-Nazi Groups Thrive On Social Media Through Merchandise And Ticket Sales
“Multiple groups of neo-Nazi members are thriving on social media platforms despite those companies' commitment to fighting extremism, the Associated Press reports. Why it matters: Dozens of far-right groups use their Facebook, YouTube and Instagram platforms to spread their ideology, draw in recruits and generate millions in sales through events and merchandise. The big picture: The Counter Extremism Project found 39 related Instagram profiles, 16 Twitter profiles and 34 YouTube channels, which have gotten over 9.5 million views, that have been flagged as extremist by the German government, per AP. The groups on Facebook avoid blatant violations of rules such as using hate speech or posting swastikas. But clicking on the “view shop” button on one group's Facebook page shows shirts for sale that read “My favorite color is white.” Facebook told AP it employs 350 people whose primary job is to counter terrorism and organized hate, and that it is investigating the pages and accounts flagged. A Facebook spokesperson said the company had removed over 6 million pieces of content tied to organized hate globally between April and June and is working to move even faster, per AP.”
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