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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
“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 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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“…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
“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
“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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