“A U.S. delegation held talks with senior Taliban representatives in Doha,
Qatar, over the weekend to discuss wide-ranging issues including security,

 

 


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


October 11, 2021 

 

Bloomberg: U.S. Delegation Meets Taliban For First Time Since Withdrawal
<[link removed]>

 

“A U.S. delegation held talks with senior Taliban representatives in Doha,
Qatar, over the weekend to discuss wide-ranging issues including security,
terrorism and human rights in the first official meeting since the chaotic
American withdrawal from Afghanistan in August. The talks were the first formal
engagement between the State Department and the Taliban since the U.S.
evacuated its diplomats and troops from Kabul. It also comes after the U.K.
diplomats met with Taliban officials in Afghanistan last week. The Biden
administration has wrestled with how to deal with the Taliban, which control
Afghanistan’s government but are officially labeled a terrorist organization
and haven’t been given access to the country’s central bank reserves. This lack
of access to reserves has led to a cash crunch in Afghan economy, which
threatens to develop into a humanitarian crisis. The “candid and professional”
discussions covered the need for safe passage of U.S. citizens, other foreign
nationals and Afghan partners, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a
statement Sunday. The U.S. also called for “the meaningful participation of
women and girls in all aspects of Afghan society.” “The two sides also
discussed the United States’ provision of robust humanitarian assistance,
directly to the Afghan people,” Price said, adding that “the Taliban will be
judged on its actions, not only its words.”

 

Reuters: Gunmen Kill At Least 20 In Attack In Northwest Nigeria
<[link removed]>

 

“At least 20 people were killed in Nigeria's Sokoto state when gunmen attacked
a market and torched cars, as armed gangs continue to wreak havoc in the
northwest part of the country, a state official and local member of parliament
said on Saturday. Northwestern Nigeria has since last December witnessed a wave
of kidnappings of school children and villagers for ransoms by bandits,
disrupting everyday life for millions of citizens. Idriss Gobir, special
advisor to the Sokoto police affairs minister, said the armed bandits rode on
motorcycles and shot sporadically, killing several people. “The bandits in
large numbers killed at least 20 people that we have seen and counted and set
nine vehicles on fire,” he told Reuters by telephone. Hussain Boza, a local
member of parliament in Sokoto, blamed the attack on a lack of adequate
security in the state. A Sokoto police spokesperson confirmed the attack but
could not immediately say how many people had been killed. Parts of Sokoto,
like other neighbouring states in the northwestern part of the country, are
under a telecommunications blockade as part of a security operation to disrupt
the operations of the armed gangs. On Thursday, security agents rescued 187
people who had been abducted by armed gangs in Zamfara state.”

 

United States

 

Associated Press: NYC Man Convicted Of Trying To Join Taliban To Fight The US
<[link removed]>

 

“A New York City man has been convicted on charges alleging that he tried to
help the Taliban fight American forces. Delowar Mohammed Hossain, 36, was
convicted late Friday in Manhattan federal court on charges that he tried to
provide material support for terrorism and tried to contribute funds, goods and
services to the Taliban. Authorities apprehended Hossain in 2019 at Kennedy
Airport, interrupting his plan to travel to Afghanistan. Hossain was freed to
home detention in July 2020. After the jury verdict in the one-week trial,
sentencing was scheduled for Jan. 12 by U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein.
Prior to the trial, the judge granted a request by the government to take steps
to protect the identities of witnesses, including a New York City police
officer who corresponded with Hossain in an undercover capacity prior to his
arrest. According to court papers, Hossain in 2018 started expressing interest
in joining the Taliban and sought to recruit someone to do the same, but the
person turned out to be a government informant. The court papers said he told
the informant: “I want to kill some kufars (non-believers) before I die.”
Prosecutors said his preparations included buying equipment like walkie-talkies
and trekking gear.”

 

The Jerusalem Post: White Supremacists Await Sentencing For Planning Domestic
Terrorism
<[link removed]>

 

“Federal prosecutors in Maryland have recommended that white supremacists
Brian Mark Lemley Jr. and Patrik Jordan Mathews be sentenced to 25 years in
prison each for their plans to carry out domestic terrorism at a gun rights
rally in Virginia and pleading guilty to firearms and immigration-related
charges. Both members of the “Base”, Lemley and Mathews discussed plans to kill
people including police officers and Blacks and break a murderer out of prison
as well as plans of domestic terrorism. The Base is a white supremacist group
that recruits members through an online presence. Among their various postings
on social media are calls for terror attacks and violent revolution against the
state as well as encouraging people to seek out those who have committed
“anti-White hate crimes” and “balance the scales.” For Lemley, however, the
Base is not the first white supremacist group that he has been affiliated
with.  One of the pieces of evidence presented against him was an email he sent
to the Northwest Front, a neo-Nazi “republic”, in 2017. In it, Lemley was
notifying the Front that his great grandmother was Jewish and requesting to
dispute the “jewyness” in his bloodline. The Northwest Front eventually
responded to him, after which he became a member, tweeting in support of the
Front and its values.”

 

Syria

 

Associated Press: Syria Says 6 Troops Wounded In Airstrike In Homs Province
<[link removed]>

 

“Syrian air defenses responded on Friday night to an Israeli strike targeting
a military airbase in the country’s central province of Homs, Syrian state
media said. The airstrike wounded six soldiers, the report said. The report
quoted an unnamed military official as saying the airstrike took place shortly
after 9 p.m., and that it reached as far as the military’s T4 airbase in the
desert. The official said the Syrian air defenses hit most of the incoming
missiles. But he reported that six soldiers were wounded in the attack and that
there was unspecified damage. There were no further details. Over the past
years, Israel is believed to have been behind many strikes inside
government-controlled parts of Syria. Israel has acknowledged it is going after
bases of Iran-allied militias, such as the powerful Lebanese militant Hezbollah
group fighting on the side of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces in the
civil war, and suspected arms shipments believed to be bound for the
Iran-backed Hezbollah. Syria’s pro-government media said the strikes landed in
rural parts of Homs province. However, Israel rarely comments on individual
attacks. Hezbollah has sent its members to fight alongside the Syrian
government forces for much of the decade-old conflict.”

 

Iraq

 

Kurdistan 24: Iraqi Fighter Jets Hit ISIS Hideouts South Of Khanaqin
<[link removed]>

 

“The Iraqi military announced on Saturday that its F-16 fighter jets conducted
an airstrike in remote areas south of Khanaqin, Diyala province, a day before
the country holds its fifth parliamentary elections. The strike targeted an
ISIS hideout in al-Thulab Valley, according to the Security Media Cell, Iraq's
military communications center, which added that a number of ISIS suspects were
killed, without going into further details. Despite the terrorist
organization's territorial defeat in late 2017, ISIS cells continue to carry
out insurgency-style attacks in Iraq, especially in rural parts of territories
disputed by Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdistan Region. Iraqi security forces
and Kurdish Peshmerga have recently formed a number of cooperation centers to
try to bring stability to the areas. There are also plans to set up additional
joint brigades across the disputed territories. In an exclusive interview with
Kurdistan24, UK Consul-General to Erbil David Hunt said that “the quicker we
can get the joint brigades between KRI and Iraq to tackle the threat [of ISIS],
the better.”

 

Afghanistan

 

CBS News: ISIS-K Is Trying To Undermine Afghanistan's Taliban Regime, From
Inside And Out. That's America's Problem, Too.
<[link removed]>

 

“In late September, Afghanistan's new Taliban leaders ordered their commanders
to conduct a full background check on all fighters. The sudden move was
prompted by concerns that other extremist groups have infiltrated the Taliban's
ranks. Senior members of the former Afghan government and one top Taliban
official currently in a security role say the leader of ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K),
a notorious terror operative whose identity has remained shrouded in mystery
for years, is believed to be among the infiltrators. The officials spoke to CBS
News on the condition of anonymity. Some Taliban foot soldiers are believed to
have abandoned the group to join ISIS-K or al Qaeda, preferring an even more
extreme — and brutal — interpretation of Islam, but these sources say the ISIS
faction is working deliberately to undermine the Taliban's authority from both
inside and outside the group. That carries risks not only for Afghanistan, but
for the United States and its allies. Since forming in 2015, ISIS-K has carried
out some of the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan. The group didn't immediately
claim the devastating bombing on Friday that hit a mosque in Kunduz, leaving
scores of people dead.”

 

Associated Press: The Taliban Say They Won't Work With The U.S. To Contain The
Islamic State
<[link removed]>

 

“The Taliban on Saturday ruled out cooperation with the United States to
contain extremist groups in Afghanistan, staking out an uncompromising position
on a key issue ahead of the first direct talks between the former foes since
America withdrew from the country in August. Senior Taliban officials and U.S.
representatives are meeting this weekend in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
Officials from both sides have said issues include reining in extremist groups
and the evacuation of foreign citizens and Afghans from the country. The
Taliban have signaled flexibility on evacuations. However, Taliban political
spokesman Suhail Shaheen told The Associated Press there would be no
cooperation with Washington on containing the increasingly active Islamic State
group in Afghanistan. IS has taken responsibility for a number of recent
attacks, including a suicide bombing Friday that killed 46 minority Shiite
Muslims and wounded dozens as they prayed in a mosque in the northern city of
Kunduz. “We are able to tackle Daesh independently,” Shaheen said, when asked
whether the Taliban would work with the U.S. to contain the Islamic State
affiliate. He used an Arabic acronym for IS.”

 

Yemen

 

Reuters: Six Killed In Aden Car Bombing Targeting Officials, Minister Says
<[link removed]>

 

“A car bomb targeting the governor's convoy shook Yemen's southern port city
of Aden on Sunday killing at least six people and wounding seven, the
information minister said on Twitter. Governor Ahmed Lamlas and agriculture
minister Salem al-Suqatri, both members of a southern separatist group,
survived a “terrorist assassination attempt”, the state news agency said.
Killed in the attack were the governor's press secretary and his photographer,
the head of his security detail and a fourth companion as well as a civilian
bystander, a local government source said. A body covered with a blanket lay on
the street next to a charred vehicle in al-Tawahi district, which houses the
headquarters of the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC).
Firefighters and police were deployed to the area. There was no immediate claim
of responsibility. STC spokesman Ali Al-Kathiri blamed Islamist militant
groups. Information Minister Moammar Al-Eryani said the attack sought to
destabilise government-held areas and stressed the need to fully implement a
Saudi-brokered pact aimed at ending a power struggle in the south. The
government and the STC are nominal allies under a coalition led by Saudi Arabia
which has been battling the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.”

 

Saudi Arabia

 

Reuters: Ten Injured In 2 Drone Attacks At Saudi's King Abdullah Airport -
State Media
<[link removed]>

 

“Ten people were injured in two explosives-laden drone attacks at King
Abdullah airport in the southern Saudi city of Jizan late on Friday and early
on Saturday, the Saudi-led coalition said. The military coalition intervened in
Yemen in 2015, backing forces of the ousted government of President Abdrabbuh
Mansur Hadi and fighting the Iran-aligned Houthi group. Six Saudis, three
Bangladeshi nationals and one Sudanese were injured in the first attack, Saudi
state media said, citing a coalition spokesman. Some of the airport's facade
windows were shattered in the attack, the spokesman said. A second
explosives-laden drone was intercepted early on Saturday, the coalition said,
without giving details on any injuries or damages. There was no immediate claim
of responsibility by the Houthis. The group regularly launches drone and
missile attacks targeting the gulf kingdom.”

 

Lebanon

 

Associated Press: Hezbollah Member Wanted For Role In 1985 Hijacking Dies
<[link removed]>

 

“Ali Atwa, a senior Hezbollah operative who was on the FBI’s most wanted list
for his role in one of the most notorious plane hijackings in aviation history,
has died, the Lebanese militant group said Saturday. Atwa, who was believed to
be in his early 60s, died of complications related to cancer, Hezbollah said.
Atwa was placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in 2001 with two
other alleged participants in the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847. The ordeal,
which began in Athens, Greece on June 14, lasted 16 days and left a U.S. Navy
diver on the plane dead. The hijackers demanded the release of Lebanese and
Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. The FBI had offered a $5 million
reward for information leading to Atwa’s arrest. He was accused of conspiring
to take hostages, committing air piracy that led to the slaying of an American,
and placing explosives aboard an aircraft. The flight, with 153 passengers and
crew members, including 85 Americans, was commandeered by the hijackers after
taking off from Athens bound for Rome. The plane was allowed to land in Beirut,
where the hijackers freed 19 American women and children.”

 

Mali

 

Al Jazeera: Mali Accuses France Of Training ‘Terrorists’ In The Country
<[link removed]>

 

“Mali’s Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga has told the Russian media he has
evidence that France has been training “terrorist” groups operating in the West
African country. Maiga said French troops had created an enclave in Kidal, a
town in the desert region of northern Mali, and handed it over to a “terrorist
group” known as Ansar al-Din, allegedly linked to al-Qaeda. He said the Malian
military was banned from entering the territory. “Mali has no access to Kidal,
this is an enclave controlled by France,” Russia Today reported citing Maiga’s
interview to state-owned RIA Novosti on Friday. “They have armed groups trained
by French officers. We have evidence … We do not understand this situation and
do not want to tolerate it.” The statement comes days after Mali summoned
France’s ambassador to the country to register its “indignation” at French
President Emmanuel Macron’s recent criticism of the country’s government, which
is dominated by army figures. In June, France decided to scale back its Sahel
deployment considerably following a military takeover in Mali in August 2020,
which forced out the elected president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. Colonel Assimi
Goita, who led the August coup, installed a civilian-led interim government.”

 

Sky News: Colombian Nun Held Hostage By Al Qaeda-Linked Extremists In Mali
Since 2017 Is Freed
<[link removed]>

 

“A Colombian nun who was kidnapped more than four years ago by extremists in
Mali has been released. Gloria Narvaez was abducted in February 2017 near the
country's border with Burkina Faso. “The presidency of Mali salutes the courage
and bravery of this nun,” Mali's President said in a statement. Narvaez had
been held by the al Qaeda-linked extremists in the Islamic Maghreb, which
released several videos in which she asks for help from the Vatican. The
conditions of her release have not been revealed and it is not known if a
ransom was paid. Photos on the Malian presidency's Twitter page show Narvaez
smiling as she met the country's interim president Assimi Goita. “I first thank
God, who is the light and the peace, I thank the Malian authorities, the
president for all the efforts made so that I am free,” Narvaez said in a brief
statement delivered on state TV. “May God bless you, may God bless Mali. I
thank you very much.” She added that while she was in captivity for nearly five
years, she stayed in good health. “I thank the people of Karangasso very much
for their prayers and all the efforts they made to obtain my release,” she
said. “And I ask forgiveness from all the Malians, all the people who were not
well perhaps (because of me).”

 

United Kingdom

 

BBC News: Man Accused Of Plotting Terror Attack On Fife Mosque
<[link removed]>

 

“A man has gone on trial accused of preparing acts of terror, including
planning an attack on an Islamic Centre in Fife. Prosecutors allege Sam Imrie
intended to target the Fife Islamic Centre in Glenrothes and live-stream
footage of the attack on social media. He is also accused of possessing an
arsenal of weapons as well as Neo-Nazi, anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim material.
The 24-year-old denies all of the nine charges he is facing. A total of three
of the charges come under the Terrorism Act. The High Court in Edinburgh heard
how Mr Imrie allegedly posted messages online saying he planned to attack an
Islamic place of worship. He is said to have made the claim in messages which
he posted on an internet platform called Telegram, as well as claiming he
intended to “stream live footage” of an “incident”. Jurors heard that he also
acquired knives, nunchucks, a hammer, a baseball bat, a rifle scope and a
“quantity of petrol”, which prosecutors believe he intended to use to commit
acts of terrorism. Mr Imrie is also said to have possessed copies of works
called “The Great Replacement” by Brenton Tarrant and “2083 A European
Declaration of Independence” by Anders Breivik. The court later heard that
Tarrant was responsible for carrying out shootings at mosques in Christchurch,
New Zealand, in March 2019 which resulted in the deaths of 51 people.”

 

Germany

 

Deutsche Welle: Germany Suspends Soldiers In Military Guard Over Far-Right
Allegations
<[link removed]>

 

“Germany is investigating a far-right extremist organization within the
military's honor guard battalion, the Defense Ministry said on Friday. The
group reportedly refers to itself as the “wolf pack” (Wolfsrudel) and is also
being scrutinized for its initiation rituals and sexual abuse. Adolf Hitler's
secret bunker near Berlin, where he spent the latter days of the war and killed
himself, was known as the wolf's lair (Wolfschanze). The 2nd Company within the
prestigious battalion, best known for welcoming foreign heads of state and for
high-profile military processions or honors, has been “withdrawn” from active
service while the reports are investigated, Defense Ministry spokesman Arne
Collatz told reporters in Berlin. The officers implicated have been relieved of
their duties. The incidents came to light as a result of accounts by fellow
battalion members, it was first reported online by Der Spiegel, shortly before
the ministry commented and briefed the parliament on Friday. Collatz also
acknowledged that these allegations were by no means the first of their kind
within the German military ranks in recent years.  “It concerns — once again,
you have to say — rather perverse drinking and hazing rituals. It concerns
sexual violence and molestation. It concerns far-right incidents,” Collatz
said.”

 

Australia

 

ABC News Australia: Sydney Man Nowroz Amin Jailed For Trying To Fly To
Bangladesh To Engage In Violent Extremism
<[link removed]>

 

“A Sydney man who tried to travel to Bangladesh to engage in violent extremism
has been sentenced to five years and four months in prison. Nowroz Amin was
stopped at Sydney International Airport in February 2016, when authorities
found Islamic State-produced magazines and other terrorism-related material on
USB drives in his suitcase. The 30-year-old pleaded guilty to preparing for
planning a terrorist act, along with an offence under the Customs Act, and
faced a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The NSW Supreme Court heard Amin
spoke about “cooking classes” and “opening a restaurant” during coded online
conversations with people in Bangladesh, referring to his attempts to learn how
to make explosives. But while the Crown accused him of planning an attack in
both Australia and Bangladesh, Amin insisted he was merely boasting or trying
to make a name for himself. He agreed he was seeking to identify someone in
Bangladesh with explosives knowledge, but said he never intended to carry out a
local attack. Justice Peter Garling today found the Crown had failed to
establish the local attack plans as a disputed issue and said Amin’s intention
was to target the government of Bangladesh.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

AFP: Bangladesh Arrests 16 Rohingya In Anti-Militant Crackdown
<[link removed]>

 

“Bangladesh police arrested at least 16 Rohingya refugees in a series of raids
on camps in Dhaka after the murder of a top Rohingya community leader last
week, officials said Sunday. Rights advocate Mohib Ullah was gunned down 10
days ago by unidentified assailants outside his office at Kutupalong, the
world's largest refugee settlement in Bangladesh's southeast. His family and
fellow community leaders have blamed the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA)
-- a militant outfit behind a series of attacks on Myanmar security posts --
saying Mohib Ullah's growing popularity had enraged the group. ARSA has denied
any involvement in the murder. The 48-year-old had become one the most
respected moderate voices advocating for Rohingya refugees after nearly 800,000
people fled Myanmar for Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district following military
crackdowns on their villages in 2017. “We have arrested 16 people in the past
three days as part of a special drive we have launched after the murder of
Mohib Ullah,” said Naimul Huq, the police official in charge of the raids. But
Huq added that those arrested were not “involved in the murder of Mohib Ullah”
and ARSA does not operate in the camps.”



Click here to unsubscribe.
<[link removed]>