Eye on Extremism

October 29, 2021 

 

Voice Of America: Taliban Install Diplomats In Pakistan Embassy, Missions

 

“Taliban diplomats have started work in the Afghan embassy in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, and at Afghan consulates in other Pakistani cities, two Taliban officials and two Afghan diplomats told VOA Thursday. VOA has obtained copies of official Taliban notifications sent to the Afghan embassy in Islamabad. Pakistani officials say they have allowed the deployments even though Pakistan has not yet recognized the Taliban government. Also, Pakistan’s ambassador in Kabul, Mansoor Khan, confirmed the issuance of visas to the Taliban officials when queried by VOA via WhatsApp. “These visas have been issued for facilitating consular work and visa facilities for Pakistanis visiting Afghanistan for humanitarian work and providing assistance to Afghan citizens in Pakistan,” Khan said. He added that issuance of the visas “does not mean recognition but facilitation.” Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been urging the international community to engage with the Taliban to avoid a humanitarian crisis and instability in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the capital, Kabul, in mid-August. One Taliban official who talked to VOA on condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to talk to media said that Sardar Muhammad Shokaib, also known as Mosa Farhad, has taken charge as first secretary in the Afghan embassy in Islamabad.”

 

Reuters: Nigerian Army Says Islamic State West Africa's New Leader Killed In Military Operation

 

“Nigeria's army said on Thursday it had killed the new leader of insurgent group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in a military operation this month, two weeks after announcing the death of the group's former head Abu Musab al-Barnawi. ISWAP is an offshoot of the Boko Haram insurgent group that has been fighting against the Nigerian armed forces for over a decade. The two militant groups later turned on each other. The conflict, which has spilled into neighbouring Chad and Cameroon, has left about 300,000 dead and millions dependent on aid, the United Nations says. Army spokesman Brigadier Benard Onyuko said in a statement that Nigerian troops had conducted several land and air raids on suspected insurgent locations, during which ISWAP's new leader, Malam Bako, was killed. “In the course of the operations within the period, a total of 38 terrorist elements were neutralized, including the ISWAP's new leader, Bako,” Onyuko said without elaborating. Bako's death could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate confirmation from ISWAP. If confirmed, Bako would be the fourth leader of an Islamist insurgent group in West Africa to die this year, after Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau in May, Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) in August and al-Barnawi this month.”

 

United States

 

The Washington Post: Sentencing Of Terror Suspect Pushes A Guantánamo Case Toward Rare Conclusion

 

“A military court convened on Thursday to sentence an admitted al-Qaeda operative who has been imprisoned for 15 years at the Guantánamo Bay prison, in a case that highlights how the treatment of terrorism suspects has obstructed judicial reckonings following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The sentencing proceeding for Majid Khan, a 41-year-old Pakistani national who went to high school in suburban Baltimore and was later subject to brutal interrogation tactics while being held at CIA “black site” prisons overseas, is a rare instance of progress in the slow-moving military commissions established to adjudicate suspects implicated in the 9/11 attacks and other terrorist actions. In 2012, Khan pleaded guilty to war crimes, committing to providing testimony in other cases in exchange for a reduced sentence. The deal was the first plea arrangement involving a “high-value” detainee who was held at secret CIA facilities. Khan was held at multiple CIA sites from his capture in Pakistan in 2003 until his transfer to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in 2006. The outcome of this week’s proceedings is not expected to alter the timeline for Khan’s release, which defense attorneys say could occur as early as February 2022 under his cooperation agreement.”

 

Associated Press: 2 Neo-Nazi Group Members Sentenced To 9 Years In Prison

 

“Two neo-Nazi group members were sentenced on Thursday to nine years in prison each in a case that highlighted a broader federal crackdown on far-right extremists. FBI agents arrested former Canadian Armed Forces reservist Patrik Jordan Mathews, U.S. Army veteran Brian Mark Lemley Jr. and a third member of a group called The Base four days before a pro-gun rally in Virginia in January 2020. Surveillance equipment installed in their Delaware apartment captured Mathews and Lemley discussing an attack at the rally at Virginia's Capitol in Richmond. The judge who sentenced Mathews and Lemley to prison concluded that they intended to engage in terrorist activity. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang's decision to apply a “terrorism enhancement” to their sentences significantly increased their recommended prison terms under federal guidelines. Chuang said recorded conversations between Mathews and Lemley captured the “virulence” and “passion” in their willingness to kill people and bring down the U.S. government. “The court rejects the notion that this was merely talk among friends,” the judge said. Prosecutors recommended 25-year prison sentences for both men. Lawyers for each defendant sought prison sentences of 33 months.”

 

Afghanistan

 

BBC News: The Taliban’s Secretive War Against IS

 

“Every few days, bodies are dumped on the outskirts of the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad. Some have been shot or hanged, some beheaded. Many have handwritten notes stuffed into their pockets, accusing them of being members of Afghanistan's branch of the Islamic State. No-one claims responsibility for the gruesome, extra-judicial killings, but the Taliban are widely assumed to be responsible. IS was responsible for a suicide bombing in August outside Kabul airport that killed more than 150 people, and is a fierce rival of the Taliban. The two groups are now engaged in a murky and bloody battle. Jalalabad is the frontline. Afghanistan is now more peaceful, following the end of the Taliban's insurgency. In Jalalabad, however, their forces are facing an near-daily stream of targeted attacks. IS, known locally as “Daesh,” is using some of the same hit-and-run tactics that the Taliban so successfully employed against the previous government, including roadside bombs and stealthy assassinations. IS accuses the Taliban of being “apostates” for not being sufficiently hardline; the Taliban dismiss IS as heretical extremists. In Nangarhar province, home to Jalalabad, the head of the Taliban's intelligence services is Dr Bashir. He has a ferocious reputation.”

 

Lebanon

 

Reuters: Hezbollah Condemns Saudi Designation Of Lebanese Association As Terrorist Entity

 

“Lebanon's Shi'ite group Hezbollah condemned on Thursday Saudi Arabia's decision to designate the financial charity body Al-Qard Al-Hasan Association as a terrorist entity, calling it a form of aggression against Lebanon and interference in its internal affairs. “This rejected decision will not affect the work of this humanitarian institution, which has dedicated itself to serving the poor and the needy,” the Iran-backed group said in a statement.”

 

United Kingdom

 

Fox News: 3 Convicted Islamist Terrorists In Britain Could Go Free In The Next Few Months

 

“Three men imprisoned in the United Kingdom for a range of terrorist plots may soon walk free as their cases go before a parole board. Parviz Khan, Jawad Akbar and Zakariya Ashiq will go before a parole board over the next few months, with Akbar’s case expected to go ahead before Christmas this year. Khan, 50, was convicted in a plot to kidnap and behead a British soldier in 2008 after a six-month sting operation by British police. A judge sentenced the Birmingham resident to 13 years in prison, including time awaiting trial. Akbar, 36, planned to bomb a shopping mall with 600 kilograms of fertilizer, hidden in a storage facility. A judge sentenced him to prison in life, but he will go before a board as part of the standard process for parole hearings.  Ashiq, 26, attempted to join the Islamic State by flying to Syria in 2015, but failed to enter the country and had to return home. Police arrested him at Heathrow Airport upon his return and went to prison for six years. The three men have also been identified as the disciples of a “hate” preacher, Anjem Choudary, who has inspired dozens of convicted terrorists and over a dozen plots over the past two decades, according to a report by The Daily Mail.”

 

The National: UK Neo-Nazi Found Guilty Of Glorifying Terror Acts Against Muslims

 

“A British neo-Nazi who idolised far-right mass murderers has been found guilty of terrorism offences after glorifying acts against Muslims. Police apprehended Sam Imrie, 24, after he posted messages on social media claiming he was planning to set fire to the Fife Islamic Centre in Scotland. In reality, he set fire to a different venue but pretended it was a mosque. A search of his social media posts on Telegram and Facebook resulted in the discovery of a number of statements he had made which glorified terrorist acts by mass murderers Brenton Tarrant and Anders Breivik. Tarrant killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019 and Breivik killed 69 people on the Norwegian island of Utoya in 2011. Imrie, of Fife, was convicted following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh of eight of the nine charges he faced, including two under the Terrorism Act. He was also convicted of possessing extreme pornography, including indecent images of children and an image involving a human corpse, wilful fire raising, and driving while unfit through drink or drugs. The court heard he set fire to a derelict lodge on July 4, 2019, and on the same day set some headstones ablaze at St Drostans Cemetery in Markinch. Giving evidence, his mother Joyce Imrie said he told her: “Mum, I’ve done something really stupid, I pretended to set a mosque on fire.”

 

The National: Anjem Choudary Turns To Alternative Social Media Channels To Preach

 

“British radical preacher Anjem Choudary, who was jailed for encouraging support for ISIS, has turned to alternative social media channels, such as Telegram, to continue preaching after Twitter and Facebook banned him. Choudary, 54, was released early from a five-and-a-half-year sentence from HMP Belmarsh in 2018, imposed after he used online lectures and messages to encourage support of ISIS. He was subjected to more than 20 conditions, which included a ban on public speaking, restricted internet and mobile phone use and a ban on contacting suspected extremists. When the UK lifted those restrictions in July, many mainstream platforms opted to ban him. However, researchers at think tank the Counter Extremism Project have discovered that he has turned to alternative sites. “He is once again using social media to spread his extremist messages,” CEP said. “Despite being banned from Twitter and Facebook, Choudary has signed up for a plethora of other social media platforms on which to post ... diatribes calling for the creation of an Islamic caliphate ruled under Sharia law, all while boasting of how easily he rejoined social media. “Notably, Choudary has taken to the encrypted messaging app Telegram to disseminate essays and press releases to his hundreds of followers.” Choudary led the Al Muhajiroun (ALM) network, which inspired terrorists including Usman Khan, who killed two people on London Bridge in 2019.”

 

Germany

 

Reuters: Five Youths Suspected Of Planning Islamic State-Inspired Attack In Germany

 

“German anti-terrorism forces on Thursday raided the homes of five young people west of the city of Bonn who were suspected of planning an attack inspired by the Islamic State militant group, prosecutors said. None of the five suspects - aged 16 to 22 - was arrested as judges only granted investigators search warrants given most of the suspects are minors. Two of the suspects are German citizens, another two are dual Russian-German nationals and one is Turkish. “The suspects are accused of preparing for a terrorist attack inspired by propaganda material of the Islamic State group,” the Public Prosecutor's Office in the city of Duesseldorf said, adding that some 350 police officers carried out the raids. Investigators will analyse material confiscated during the search to use as evidence against the suspects in any possible trial.”

 

Vice: German Neo-Nazi Charged With Sending 116 Death Threats Using Name Of Terror Group

 

“An alleged right-wing extremist has been charged over a nearly three-year campaign in which more than 100 death threats were sent to German politicians, lawyers and journalists, under a pseudonym referencing the country’s most notorious neo-Nazi terror group. The unemployed 53-year-old suspect, named only as Alexander Horst M. in line with German privacy laws, has been charged with incitement, issuing threats and insults, and distributing symbols of unconstitutional organisations, the public prosecutor's office in Frankfurt am Main said on Thursday. The suspect, who has been in custody since his arrest in Berlin in May, also faces charges for attacking police, possessing child porn and weapons offences. The suspect, who denies the charges, is alleged to have been behind a long-running hate campaign in which 116 threats were sent to 32 people and 60 institutions between August 2018 and March this year. The threats, sent by email, text and fax, were signed off “NSU 2.0,” a reference to the National Socialist Underground (NSU) – the neo-Nazi terrorist group that carried out 10 murders between 2000 and 2007. The threats regularly used the phrase “Heil Hitler,” while the sender referred to himself as an “SS-Obersturmbannführer,” a military rank in the Nazi SS.”

 

Technology

 

Politico: Senators Examine How Social Media Amplifies Extremism

 

“That’s the issue the Senate Homeland Security Committee will dive into this morning as lawmakers consider the ways social media platforms can amplify domestic extremist content and other potential threats to homeland security. It’s the latest in a string of hearings looking at the ills of social media, spurred by recent revelations from Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, who leaked tens of thousands of pages of company documents to regulators, lawmakers and journalists. The committee has also held a number of sessions on domestic extremism, especially in response to the Jan. 6 insurrection. “It’s not enough for companies to simply pledge that they will get tougher on harmful content,” Chair Gary Peters (D-Mich.) will say, per his prepared remarks. “Those pledges have gone largely unfulfilled for several years now. Americans deserve answers on how the platforms themselves are designed to funnel specific content to certain users, and how that might distort users’ views and shape their behavior, online and offline.” Most of the witnesses plan to address the recent reporting on the Facebook Papers, according to a review of their prepared remarks, especially ways that the company’s algorithms and recommendation system can lead users interested in seemingly innocuous topics toward increasingly fringe ideas.”

 

The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If you value what we do, please consider making a donation.

Click here to unsubscribe.