“The man who stormed into the newsroom of a community newspaper chain in
Maryland’s capital in 2018, killing five staff members, was sentenced on Tues

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


September 29, 2021 

 

The New York Times: Gunman In Capital Gazette Shooting Is Sentenced To
Multiple Life Terms
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“The man who stormed into the newsroom of a community newspaper chain in
Maryland’s capital in 2018, killing five staff members, was sentenced on
Tuesday to five consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole,
according to prosecutors. The man, Jarrod W. Ramos, 41, had pleaded guilty in
October 2019 to 23 charges, including five counts of first-degree murder, for
the shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper offices in Annapolis on June 28,
2018, one of the deadliest attacks on American journalists. The Anne Arundel
County State’s Attorney’s Office announced the sentence after a two-hour
hearing. The state’s attorney, Anne Colt Leitess, had asked for at least five
life sentences without the possibility of parole. The state’s attorney’s office
said in a statement that Mr. Ramos also was sentenced to a sixth life term for
the attempted first-degree murder of one person who survived the shooting. He
was also sentenced to an additional 345 years on other charges, including
assault and firearms counts. “The impact of this case is just simply immense,”
Judge Michael Wachs said, according to The Associated Press. “To say that the
defendant exhibited a callous and complete disregard for the sanctity of human
life is simply a huge understatement.”

 

The New York Times: McKenzie Suggests The U.S. May Not Be Able To Prevent Al
Qaeda And ISIS From Rebuilding In Afghanistan.
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“The top U.S. military commander in the Middle East expressed reservations
about whether the United States could deny Al Qaeda and the Islamic State the
ability to use Afghanistan as a launchpad for terrorist attacks now that
American troops have left the country. “That’s yet to be seen,” Gen. Kenneth F.
McKenzie Jr., the head of the military’s Central Command, said in response to a
question at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. “We could get to that
point, but I do not yet have that level of confidence.” President Biden has
vowed to prevent Al Qaeda and the Islamic State from rebuilding to the point
where they could attack Americans or the United States. But General McKenzie’s
response underscored how difficult that task will be and was somewhat more
pessimistic than the assessments of other top Pentagon officials at the
hearing. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said the military could monitor
and strike Al Qaeda and Islamic State cells from bases far away, if necessary.
“Over-the-horizon operations are difficult but absolutely possible,” he said.
Testifying alongside Mr. Austin and General McKenzie, Gen. Mark A. Milley, the
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that a “reconstituted Al Qaeda or
ISIS with aspirations to attack the United States is a very real possibility.”

 

United States

 

Reuters: US Banks Still Vulnerable To Terror Finance 20 Years After 9/11,
Experts Say
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“As we commemorated the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, U.S.
banks continue to be under greater scrutiny for anti-money laundering
compliance than they were two decades ago; however, re-emerging rivalries
between government agencies and an erosion of public-private sector
intelligence-sharing could be increasing the country’s vulnerability to terror
finance activity, experts said during a recent webinar. Further, it appears
that little has been done to address the financial element of domestic
extremism as demonstrated by the January 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection. The FBI’s
Terrorist Financing Operations Section (TFOS), created after the 9/11 attacks
to bolster the gathering and effective use of financial intelligence and which
previously had assisted public-private sector cooperation, was dismantled in
2019 amid a bureaucratic reorganization. As a result, “the expertise and the
guidance that is uniformly needed is not there anymore,” said panelist Dennis
Lormel, first head of TFOS, during a webinar hosted by consultancy AML
RightSource. “From a [counter-]terrorist financing perspective, I think we’ve
taken kind of a step backwards,” Lormel said. “Where’s the capacity to share
that information going forward?”

 

Iraq

 

The National: Iraq Seizes Explosives Smuggled In Car From Syria By ISIS
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“Iraqi forces foiled a terror operation to smuggle powerful explosives into
the country on Tuesday in the latest attempt to combat ISIS sleeper cells. The
army prevented 18 bags of TNT, weighing 500 kilograms, from entering the
country from Syria, the Security Media Cell said. "The process of seizing the
explosive materials took place after the formation of a specialised team and
the follow-up by thermal cameras at the borders," it said. The army
collaborated with intelligence and counter-terrorism services. “A group of
people were monitored in a car attempting to bring these materials from Syria
into Iraq through the village of Naim, which is adjacent to the border,” said
the Security Media Cell. Although Iraq claimed victory over the terror group in
late 2017, ISIS has continued to carry out sporadic attacks across the country.
Iraqi forces killed a senior ISIS leader in the south on Tuesday. "The Iraqi
army's Samarra Operations, managed to kill the terrorist, [nicknamed Abu
Rahma], during clashes with the terrorist group while they were trying to rob
one of the shops in Qadiriyah area, north of Samarra," army spokesman Maj Gen
Yahya Rasool said. Gen Rasool said the terrorist was an ISIS militant leader
for West Samarra and security forces were still searching for the other
terrorists who escaped.”

 

Afghanistan

 

The National: Afghanistan Must Not Become Terrorist Safe Haven, Say Pakistan
And UK Ministers
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“The foreign ministers of Pakistan and the UK have reiterated that Afghanistan
must not become a safe haven for terrorists again. Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Liz
Truss stressed the importance of Afghans receiving humanitarian aid. During a
meeting in London, they also “discussed the need for action to cut carbon
emissions and protect biodiversity,” a UK foreign office spokesman said. Mr
Qureshi urged the international community not to “repeat past mistakes” and to
engage with Afghanistan’s new rulers. After sweeping through much of
Afghanistan last month and capturing the capital Kabul, the Taliban announced
their interim government earlier this month. Billions of dollars worth of
humanitarian aid has been frozen by much of the international community since
the takeover by the militant group, whom Nato member states spent nearly two
decades fighting before withdrawing from Afghanistan last month. The foreign
office spokesman said the two foreign ministers “discussed the continuing
situation in Afghanistan, and the need for the international community to work
together to ensure a co-ordinated approach.”

 

Pakistan

 

Associated Press: Pakistan: Troops Kill 10 Militants In Shootout In Northwest
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“Pakistani security forces killed 10 militants, including four insurgent
commanders, in a shootout in a former Taliban stronghold in the country’s
northwest Tuesday, the military said. According to a military statement, troops
also seized a cache of weapons during the operation in the district of South
Waziristan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on the border with Afghanistan. The
military did not identify the militant group to which the fighters belonged. It
said the slain fighters were linked to past attacks on civilians and security
forces and that the insurgents were planning to carry out more attacks. The
military provided no further details. South Waziristan served as a base for the
Pakistani Taliban and other militants until a few years ago, when the army said
it cleared the region of insurgents. But occasional attacks have continued. The
Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, are a separate
insurgent group from the Afghan Taliban, although Pakistan’s militant groups
are often interlinked with those across the border in Afghanistan.”

 

Lebanon

 

Al Jazeera: Lebanon: Hezbollah Seeks To Deflect Anger Through Fuel Patronage
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“When the first convoy of Hezbollah-brokered Iranian diesel fuel arrived in
Lebanon earlier this month, it was met with a mixed reaction. While some feared
that the Iran-backed party would use it to further assert its dominance, others
welcomed the fuel as a temporary relief in the middle of a crippling energy
crisis. And for Hezbollah’s supporters, it was hailed as a victory. On
September 16, convoys of trucks crossed the Syrian border into the
cash-strapped country and across its eastern province towards Baalbek. Along
the way, municipalities affiliated with Hezbollah displayed banners with photos
of the Iran-backed group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, alongside his trusted
allies Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei. Hezbollah’s zealous supporters defied Nasrallah’s orders to not
congregate near the trucks. Women ululated as they would at a wedding, waved
party flags, and threw rice and flowers at the trucks. They raised their fists
chanting: “We heed your call, Nasrallah!” Meanwhile, several men brought out
assault rifles and fired celebratory gunshots into the air. Some even fired
rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) rounds. The supporters perceived this as
victorious defiance of US sanctions against Hezbollah and the Syrian
government, which they say has resulted in an economic blockade on Lebanon.”

 

Nigeria

 

Reuters: Nigerian Air Force Kills Dozens Of Civilians In Northeast - Sources
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“The Nigerian Air Force fired upon and killed dozens of civilians at a village
in the northeast, a victim and a resident said on Tuesday, as the country wages
a 12-year war against Islamist insurgencies. The air force did not respond to
repeated requests for comment by phone and message. The deaths come two months
after the U.S. government transferred six A-29 Super Tucano fighter planes to
Nigeria to assist in its war against Islamist militants. The sale of the
aircraft was condemned by critics, citing the Nigerian military's record of
killing civilians. Two planes bombed a fish market in the village of Daban
Masara on Sunday, said Husaini, who spoke to Reuters by phone on condition he
be identified only by his first name. He said his leg was wounded in the
attack. "At least 50 people were killed instantly... including my friend who
got married just three weeks ago," Husaini said. The other resident, who asked
not to be named, said locals had been fishing despite a military ban on the
trade because of allegations the sales of fish are funding the Islamic State
West Africa Province insurgent group. The resident said they saw the corpses of
at least 60 people after the air force's strike. "They are innocent people like
us that depend on fishing to sustain their living.”

 

AFP: Nigeria Jihadist Infighting Kills Scores In Lake Chad
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“Infighting between Nigeria's two major jihadist factions has left scores
dead, raising the possibility of a prolonged internecine conflict between the
two forces, civilian and security sources told AFP Tuesday. Islamic State West
Africa Province or ISWAP has emerged as the dominant faction in Nigeria's
conflict, especially after the death of rival Boko Haram commander Abubakar
Shekau in May during infighting between the groups. His death marked a major
shift in the grinding 12-year insurgency that has left 40,000 people dead, but
security sources say Shekau loyalists have held out against ISWAP's bid to
consolidate. Boko Haram jihadists on Monday launched an attack on rival ISWAP
militants on the Nigerian side of Lake Chad, ISWAP's bastion, seizing a
strategic island, fishermen and a security source said. Large numbers of
heavily armed Boko Haram insurgents in speed boats invaded Kirta Wulgo island
after dislodging ISWAP security checkpoints in an hours-long fight, those
sources said. The seizure of Kirta Wulgo would be a huge setback to ISWAP as
the island served as a port for importing weapons and supplies into its
territory, according to security sources and local fishermen.”

 

Mali

 

Voice Of America: Mali Seeking 'Better Ways' To Contain Terrorism
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“Mali's interim government appears ready to cast aside long-standing
counterterrorism partnerships with the United States and France, saying that
both countries have failed to make Mali any safer. But at the same time, Mali's
prime minister says reports of a deal to bring in mercenaries from Russia's
Wagner Group are just "rumors and allegations.” "The security situation keeps
deteriorating by the day," Choguel Maiga told VOA in an interview on the
sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly late Sunday. "Despite the fact
that Mali has a lot of partners on the ground, we have to find new partners who
can help improve the security situation," Maiga added. "We can seek partnership
either with Russia or with any other country." Reports of a deal between Mali's
interim government and Russia's Wagner Group first emerged earlier this month,
with Reuters reporting that Mali would pay $10.8 million a month to bring in
about 1,000 mercenaries to train Mali's military and provide security for
senior officials. U.S. and French officials have expressed their growing
concern that the introduction of Russian mercenaries will do more damage than
good.”

 

Africa

 

Reuters: Five Sudanese Security Members Killed In Raid On IS-Linked Group
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“Five members of the Sudanese General Intelligence Service were killed and a
sixth was injured on Tuesday in a raid that targeted a cell linked to the
militant Islamic State group in Khartoum, the service said in a statement.
Eleven suspects of different nationalities were arrested in the raid, which
targeted several locations in the south of the capital, it said, describing
them as "foreign terrorists.” A group of the cell opened fire on the
intelligence service force in one location and killed five of its members,
including two officers, and injured one officer, the statement added. "The
group of four foreign terrorists have escaped, and they are being hunted down
to be arrested," the statement said. The Cabinet confirmed the incident and
pledged to provide support to the security services to help them carry out
their duties. No further details were revealed on the militant group or the
nationalities of its members.”

 

Germany

 

Associated Press: 'The Big Delete:' Inside Facebook's Crackdown In Germany
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“…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. Facebook
initially declined to provide examples of the Querdenken content it removed,
but ultimately released four posts to the Associated Press that weren't
dissimilar to content still available on Facebook. They included a post falsely
stating that vaccines create new viral variants and another that wished death
on police that broke up violent protests against COVID restrictions. Reset's
analysis of comments removed by Facebook found that many were actually written
by people trying to rebut Querdenken arguments, and did not include
misinformation. Facebook defended its action, saying the account removals were
never meant to be a blanket ban of Querdenken, but instead a carefully measured
response to users who were working together to violate its rules and spread
harmful content. Facebook plans to refine and expand its use of the new policy
going forward, according to David Agranovich, Facebook's director of global
threat disruption.”

 

The Irish Times: Far-Right AfD Struggles To Capitalise On Extremist Vote In
German Election
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“Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) promised to “hunt” its
political rivals when it entered the Bundestag in 2017. Four years on, though,
the hunter has become the hunted. The xenophobic party dropped 2.3 points to
finish on 10.3 per cent in Sunday’s federal election, enough for 83 seats –
down four. That dampened the mood somewhat at its election party on Sunday – in
the car park of an east Berlin animal food producer. AfD parliamentary party
leader Alice Weidel, who finished in fifth place in her constituency with less
than 9 per cent support, insisted she would “not let anyone talk down” the
party’s result. With that she glared across at AfD co-leader Jörg Meuthen, an
AfD conservative-liberal fighting more extremist forces in his party.  Sunday’s
election result – pushing it from third to fifth place in the Bundestag – has
heated up a long-running cold war in the AfD that could end with its break-up.
While the party lost up to one fifth of its vote across western Germany, the
AfD’s eastern wing – with more radical political messaging – took up to a
quarter of the vote. In Saxony and Thuringia, it finished in first place.
Meuthen fears the party will mutate into an extremist “Lega Ost” – or vanish
entirely; co-leader Tino Chrupalla insisted success in eastern Germany means
“we’ve come to stay.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

The Statesman: Taliban Resurgence Will Impact Southeast Asia
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“In the aftermath of the Taliban triumph in Afghanistan nearly 45 days ago,
one thing is perhaps glaringly missed – the subterranean simmering in some
Southeast Asian countries. It appears imperative to take stock of these
underground happenings specially in the Muslim-majority provinces of southern
Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines etc., as they merit a close
watch to get a holistic idea about the larger and long-term effects of a
regressive political dispensation like the Taliban in Afghanistan. The southern
tracts of Thailand, particularly in places like Patani, Narathiwat, Yala and
other adjoining places bordering Malaysia have always been in adverse light due
to sporadic cases of hate and violence targeting Thai security forces. In the
not so distant past, violence was seen on a larger scale with considerable
number of casualties.  In the past, Al Qaeda and ISIS had exploited protracted
complexity across the Muslim world to pursue their agendas, including in areas
that are under the sovereignty of competent states but where the federal
authority was weak and less assertive. During the peak of ISIS dominance,
transnational jihadism in Southeast Asia was described by some analysts as a
“bottom-up” phenomena with pre-existing militant groups (for instance in
Indonesia and The Philippines) proclaiming allegiance to the ISIS.”



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