“A Houthi ballistic missile attack on a mosque and a religious school killed
and injured 29 civilians, including women and children, in the Yemeni pro

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


November 1, 2021 

 

Reuters: Houthi Missile Attack On Mosque, Religious School Kills And Injures
29 Civilians In Yemen - Minister
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“A Houthi ballistic missile attack on a mosque and a religious school killed
and injured 29 civilians, including women and children, in the Yemeni province
of Marib, the country's information minister said in a statement on Twitter on
Monday. Two ballistic missiles were used in the attack late on Sunday, Marib
governor's office said in a statement. There was no immediate claim of
responsibility by the Iranian-backed Houthis. Fighting between government
forces and Houthis has escalated in recent months. The United Nations says some
10,000 people were displaced in September by fighting in Marib, the
internationally recognised government's last northern stronghold. It is calling
for a humanitarian corridor for aid. The war in Yemen and ensuring economic
collapse as well as restrictions on imports to Houthi-held areas have caused
what the United Nations says is the world's biggest humanitarian crisis, with
16 million people facing starvation. A coalition of forces led by Riyadh
intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Iran-aligned Houthis ousted the
Saudi-backed government from the capital Sanaa in late 2014. The Houthis say
they are fighting a corrupt system and foreign aggression. The Houthi movement
said in October they had seized new territory in the energy-rich provinces of
Shabwa and Marib, gains confirmed by sources, as it presses an offensive likely
to further complicate international peace efforts.”

 

The Wall Street Journal: Left Behind After U.S. Withdrawal, Some Former Afghan
Spies And Soldiers Turn To Islamic State
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“Some former members of Afghanistan’s U.S.-trained intelligence service and
elite military units—now abandoned by their American patrons and hunted by the
Taliban—have enlisted in the only force currently challenging the country’s new
rulers: Islamic State. The number of defectors joining the terrorist group is
relatively small, but growing, according to Taliban leaders, former Afghan
republic security officials and people who know the defectors. Importantly,
these new recruits bring to Islamic State critical expertise in
intelligence-gathering and warfare techniques, potentially strengthening the
extremist organization’s ability to contest Taliban supremacy. An Afghan
national army officer who commanded the military’s weapons and ammunition depot
in Gardez, the capital of southeastern Paktia province, joined the extremist
group’s regional affiliate, Islamic State-Khorasan Province, and was killed a
week ago in a clash with Taliban fighters, according to a former Afghan
official who knew him. The former official said several other men he knew, all
members of the former Afghan republic’s intelligence and military, also joined
Islamic State after the Taliban searched their homes and demanded that they
present themselves to the country’s new authorities. A resident of Qarabagh
district just north of Kabul said his cousin, a former senior member of
Afghanistan’s special forces, disappeared in September and was now part of an
Islamic State cell.”

 

United States

 

The Washington Post: Dutch Woman Accused Of Financing Terror Group Appears In
Va. Court
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“Seven years after she was accused of raising money for a Somali terrorist
group, a Dutch woman appeared for the first time in Virginia federal court.
Farhia Hassan, 38, is one of a group of more than a dozen women whom
authorities say gathered online from at least 2011 through 2014 to raise money
for al-Shabaab, an affiliate of al-Qaeda that has battled U.S.-backed
governments in Somalia and Kenya. Two U.S.-based women were convicted of
related charges in 2016; both were sentenced to more than a decade in prison.
Two other suspects remain at large overseas. Hassan fought extradition from the
Netherlands and was only brought to the United States this week. She will have
a detention hearing Thursday. Some women were told the money would go to feed
orphans or build mosques, according to court records, rather than fueling
terrorist attacks. The amounts of money Hassan and others are accused of
gathering are small, sent in chunks of $50 or $100. But at trial and in
sentencing in the earlier case, prosecutors James P. Gillis and Danya E. Atiyeh
argued that even a few thousand dollars could have a devastating impact in
Somalia. “They financed the suicide vests and the machine guns; they fed,
equipped, and gave shelter to the al-Shabaab fighters as they prepared to carry
out their attacks; they provided the machinery that permitted the al-Shabaab
fighters to return to kill again,” they wrote in a sentencing memorandum.”

 

Business Insider: A Canadian Neo-Nazi Was Sentenced To 9 Years In Prison For
Trying To Start A Civil War In The US
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“A Canadian neo-Nazi was one of two people sentenced to nine years each in
prison for plotting civil war in the US, the Associated Press reported.
Canadian Armed Forces reservist Patrik Mathews and US Army veteran Brian Lemley
Jr. were sentenced on Thursday. NBC News reported that FBI agents arrested
Mathews, Lemley, and William Bilbrough, members of a fringe neo-Nazi group
called The Base, a few days before a January 2020 pro-gun rally in Virginia.
The FBI at the time said they were under surveillance for months, NBC reported.
Surveillance equipment that was installed in their apartment in Delaware
recorded Mathews and Lemley discussing an attack on the Virginia State Capitol,
the AP reported. Mathews crossed into the US without proper documents and was a
main recruiter for The Base, The New York Times reported. He was discharged
from the Canadian Army after they learned he had ties to white supremacists.
According to the Counter Extremism Project, an organization that tracks
far-right extremists, The Base works to train members to fight in a race war
and also encourages the "onset of anarchy so it can then impose order from
chaos."

 

Kenosha News: Former Extremists To Speak About Leaving Groups Behind In "Out
Of Hatred" Talk At Carthage
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“A former Al-Qaeda recruiter and a former white supremacist are the keynote
speakers at a presentation Thursday at Carthage College. Jesse Morton and Tony
McAleer will share their experiences of engaging in and eventually leaving
behind violent extremism during the “Out of Hatred” presentation that begins at
7 p.m. in the A.F. Siebert Chapel. Morton, a former Al-Qaeda recruiter,
co-founded Parallel Networks, an organization dedicated to combating extremism.
He currently is working on the development of Naseeha, an experimental
intervention hotline for potential cases of radicalization of American Muslims.
In addition, Morton also serves as an adviser to the Counter Extremism Project,
which provides research, funding and outreach to help fight and prevent
extremism around the world. A former recruiter for the White Aryan Resistance,
McAleer is the co-founder of Life After Hate, an organization that helps others
leave radical organizations. He also is the author of “The Cure for Hate: A
Former White Supremacist’s Journey from Violent Extremism to Radical
Compassion.” McAleer also serves as an instructor for the Safe Communities
Institute at USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. The presentation is
sponsored by the Carthage Religion Department, Peace Catalyst International,
Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition, Center for Faith and Spirtuality, Carthage
Sociology Department/Division of Arts and Humanities and the Office of College
Culture for Inclusion.”

 

CBC: 'There Will Be A Next Time': Anti-Hate Groups Warn More Radicals Like
Patrik Mathews Are Out There
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“Joshua Fisher-Birch, with the Counter-Extremism Project in New York City,
said while the sentence is shorter than what the prosecution was asking for,
it's important to remember that Mathews did receive the additional sentencing
with the terrorism enhancement. "This is incredibly important because of the
intention behind the crimes that Mathews [pleaded] guilty to and his
association in a violent neo-Nazi organization that being The Base," said
Fisher-Birch. "I think that this is a good precedent going forward for members
of violent white supremacist groups." Fisher-Birch called this case a win for
the FBI and federal law enforcement. "They were able to disrupt this plot, they
were able to arrest these members of this violent group," he
said.  Fisher-Birch noted that The Base is still recruiting and there are still
multiple similar organizations to The Base that exist. "The threat certainly is
not over," he said.”

 

Turkey

 

Associated Press: Turkey Deported 8,500 Terror Suspects Since Syrian War Began
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“More than 8,500 foreign fighters have been deported from Turkey since the
start of the Syrian civil war 10 years ago, the Turkish Interior Ministry said
Saturday. Terror suspects from 102 countries were expelled, including 44 from
the U.S. and 1,075 from EU states, according to a ministry statement. In the
first 10 months of this year, 61 suspects from eight EU countries were
deported. The ministry said a total of 8,585 fighters were “deported as a
result of Turkey’s efforts to secure its security within and beyond the border”
since 2011. The deportees had left their home countries to join groups such as
the Islamic State group and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, as well as
its affiliate in Syria. Turkey has carried out three military campaigns in
north Syria since 2016 and maintains a military presence in the northwest
province of Idlib as well as other areas inside the Syrian border. It is
currently conducting operations against the PKK in northern Iraq. The Islamic
State group carried out a number of major terror attacks on Turkish soil in
2015 and 2016 after Ankara joined the international coalition to fight the
militants. The bomb and gun attacks left hundreds dead. The conflict with the
PKK has caused tens of thousands of deaths since the group launched its armed
campaign in southeast Turkey in 1984. The PKK is considered a terrorist
organization by the U.S. and most Western states.”



Afghanistan

 

The Washington Post: LGTBQ Afghans Land In Britain As Taliban Official Says No
Space For Gay Rights
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“A group of LGBTQ Afghans who fled their home country have arrived in Britain,
the first in a wave that London says it will evacuate, as advocates warn they
have received calls from hundreds more people who fear Taliban persecution. The
29 people, including students and activists who spoke out about their rights in
Afghanistan, are the first of many more vulnerable LGBTQ Afghans who will
arrive “in the coming months,” the Foreign Office said Saturday. It did not
detail how they managed to leave. The refugees landed Friday, just as a Taliban
ministry official, appealing for the release of billions of dollars of central
bank reserves, emphasized that the militants did not recognize gay rights. A
spokesman for the Finance Ministry told Reuters that the Taliban would respect
human rights and allow women to get an education within its version of Islamic
law, but added: “LGBT … That’s against our sharia law.” Afghanistan’s new
leaders, who seized control in August, want foreign governments to “just give
us our own money,” he said as the country grapples with a battered economy and
rising hunger. While some aid has trickled in, the United Nations warns the
country is on the verge of a starvation crisis, and experts say untangling
terrorism sanctions on the militants that limit aid would be tricky. The United
States and European nations have frozen key sources of funding, wary of Taliban
promises that it has changed its harsh ways.”

 

Reuters: 'Just Give Us Our Money': Taliban Push To Unlock Afghan Billions
Abroad
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“Afghanistan's Taliban government is pressing for the release of billions of
dollars of central bank reserves as the drought-stricken nation faces a cash
crunch, mass starvation and a new migration crisis. Afghanistan parked billions
of dollars in assets overseas with the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central
banks in Europe, but that money has been frozen since the Islamist Taliban
ousted the Western-backed government in August. A spokesman for the finance
ministry said the government would respect human rights, including the
education of women, as he sought fresh funds on top of humanitarian aid that he
said offered only "small relief". Under Taliban rule from 1996-2001, women were
largely shut out of paid employment and education and normally had to cover
their faces and be accompanied by a male relative when they left home. "The
money belongs to the Afghan nation. Just give us our own money," ministry
spokesman Ahmad Wali Haqmal told Reuters. "Freezing this money is unethical and
is against all international laws and values." One top central bank official
called on European countries including Germany to release their share of the
reserves to avoid an economic collapse that could trigger mass migration
towards Europe.”

 

The Financial Express: Post-Taliban Dynamics, Fundamentalism, Militancy --
Need For A Participatory Policy
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“...Varied political organisations have been accused of using terrorism to
achieve their objectives. These organisations include right-wing and left-wing
political organisations, nationalist groups and religious groups. It has also
been revealed recently by the Counter Extremism Project that many pro-Islamic
State comments that promote violent extremism have remained on social media
websites, mainly Facebook, as late as the first week of October. New IS video
has also been found on multiple websites. Similarly white supremacist,
anti-Semitic and anti Muslim contents have been found on the steam platform.
Although legislation declaring terrorism as a crime has been adopted in many
states, as yet, there does not appear to be consensus as to whether or not
terrorism should be regarded as a war crime. It may be noted here that in
November 2004, a report prepared by the UN Secretary General described
terrorism as any act "intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to
civilians or non-combatants with the purpose of intimidating a population or
compelling a government or an international organisation to do or abstain from
doing any act". Nevertheless, the international community has been slow to
formulate a comprehensive universally agreed, legally binding definition of
this crime. The failure to agree appears to originate from difficulties arising
from the fact that the term "terrorism" is politically and emotionally charged.
The same appears to be true in the context of fundamentalism.”

 

Yemen

 

BBC News: ‘Terrorist Bombing’: Nine Killed, 12 Injured In Yemen Car Bomb
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“At least nine people have been killed in a car bombing near an airport in
Yemen's temporary capital, Aden. Another 12 people are believed to have been
injured in Saturday's explosion - described as a "terrorist bombing" by Prime
Minister Mueen Abdulmalek Saeed. Eyewitnesses say women and children are among
the casualties. So far, no one has claimed responsibility. Local media note the
attack coincided with the arrival of Aden's former governor at the airport. He
is unhurt. The current governor was himself a target of a car bombing three
weeks ago which left another six people dead, news agency AFP reports.
Saturday's bombing is the deadliest attack in the city since at least 22 people
were killed at the same airport last December. The country's internationally
recognised government have been based in Aden since 2014, when Houthi rebels
forced them from the capital, Sanaa. The conflict escalated in 2015, when a
Saudi-led coalition of Arab states launched a military operation to defeat the
Houthis and restore President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi's rule. The fighting has
reportedly left more than 110,000 people dead; triggered the world's worst
humanitarian disaster, with millions on the brink of famine; and left the
country even more vulnerable to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

 

Lebanon

 

Reuters: Crisis With Lebanon Rooted In Hezbollah Dominance - Saudi Minister
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“Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Saturday the latest crisis with
Lebanon has its origins in a Lebanese political setup that reinforces the
dominance of the Iran-backed Hezbollah armed group and continues to allow
endemic instability. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries expelled Lebanese
envoys in a diplomatic spat that risks adding to Lebanon's economic crisis,
following critical comments about the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen
by Lebanon's Information Minister George Kordahi. "I think the issue is far
broader than the current situation," Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told
Reuters in a phone interview. "I think it's important that the government in
Lebanon or the Lebanese establishment forges a path forward that frees Lebanon
from the current political construct, which reinforces the dominance of
Hezbollah." He said this setup "is weakening state institutions within Lebanon,
in a way that makes Lebanon continue to process in a direction against the
interests of the people of Lebanon." The row has triggered calls by some
Lebanese politicians for the resignation of Kordahi, while others opposed such
a move, which could undermine the government as a whole. "We have no opinion
about the government in Lebanon.”

 

Mali

 

Reuters: Seven Mali Soldiers Killed In Separate Convoy Attacks: Army
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“Seven Malian soldiers were killed on Saturday in two separate attacks on
patrols in the centre-west of the country, the army said, the latest bloodshed
to indicate violence is shifting southward into previously peaceful areas. At
around 11:20 GMT an army escort was ambushed near the town of Mourdiah, around
200 km (120 miles) north of the capital Bamako, killing two and injuring three,
the army said in a statement published on Facebook. Two hours later an army
truck hit a roadside bomb near Segou, around 200 km (120 miles) north-east of
Bamako, killing all five passengers, the army said. "A sweep of the area where
the incident took place led to the arrest of two suspects who were immediately
handed over to the gendarmerie," the army said, without accusing a group of
responsibility for either attack. Armed attacks by Islamist militants and other
groups are common across vast swathes of Mali and its neighbours Burkina Faso
and Niger, despite a heavy presence of international troops. Thousands of
civilians have been killed and millions displaced.”

 

Africa

 

Reuters: Armed Group Kills Five Policemen In Northern Burkina Faso
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“Unidentified armed men killed five police officers in an attack on security
forces in northern Burkina Faso in the early hours of Sunday, in which around
15 of the attackers died, the security ministry said in a statement. The
incident occurred in Sourou province in the borderlands near Mali, where
Islamist groups with links to al Qaeda and Islamic State have increased attacks
in recent years despite international efforts to stamp them out. The attackers
struck at 5 a.m. and around 15 of them were killed in the ensuing fight, the
ministry said. Islamist attacks have surged across Africa's Sahel region,
killing thousands and driving millions from their homes in Burkina Faso, Mali
and Niger. About 1.2 million people have been displaced by the violence in
Burkina Faso alone.”

 

Reuters: Convoy Carrying Borno State Governor Attacked -Sources
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“A convoy carrying Borno state governor Babagana Zulum came under fire from
militants this week, forcing him to cut short a trip to the northern town of
Malam Fatori, three military sources and a security source told Reuters on
Saturday. The attack, which raises questions about the governor's pledge to
close displaced persons camps and send those in them back to their villages,
took place on Thursday, the sources said. "Troops battled for nearly an hour,"
one military source said, adding that all those in the convoy laid on the
ground during the fighting. Malam Fatori sits near the border with neighbouring
Niger. Spokespeople for Zulum and for the military did not respond to requests
for comment. Zulum said earlier this month that he would shut the camps that
hold thousands of internally displaced persons in the state capital, Maiduguri,
by the end of the year, citing improved security.  Borno state is the centre of
Nigeria's 12-year battle against Islamist insurgents, including Boko Haram and
Islamic State West Africa Province. The fighting has killed nearly 350,000
people and displaced millions more, according to United Nations Development
Programme estimates.”

 

United Kingdom

 

The Independent: Police Warn Of Threat Of Pre-Christmas Terror Attacks In
London
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“Londoners have been warned to be on alert to the potential threat of a
pre-Christmas extremist attack, as Cressida Dick described the murder of Sir
David Amess “a chilling reminder” of the continuing terrorist danger. Writing
in the Evening Standard, the Metropolitan Police commissioner said it was
important the public showed the “courage and confidence” to report suspicious
behaviour and said contacting police “won’t ruin lives, but it might just save
them”. The warning came with the number of counter-terrorism investigations
across the UK at a record level, with 800 probes currently live, on top of 31
foiled plots since 2017. A significant proportion of the alleged plots are
connected to London. “We recently saw in Essex yet another terrorist attack
with the terrible murder of Sir David Amess MP, and with it, a chilling
reminder that the threat of terrorism is very real,” wrote Ms Dick. “So it’s
vitally important that Londoners continue to be alert and vigilant. This is
particularly true as we continue to enjoy regaining our freedom in the run-up
to Christmas,” she added. “This is particularly true as we continue to enjoy
regaining our freedom in the run-up to Christmas. If you see or hear anything
suspicious then I urge you to report it to us.” On Friday, Ms Dick and City of
London Police commissioner Ian Dyson attended a ceremony in the capital to
honour emergency workers and members of the public for their courage in
responding to the Fishmonger’s Hall attack on 29 November 2019.”

 

Europe

 

Radio Free Europe: Belarus Blocks Three News Sites In Latest Crackdown On
'Extremist' Media
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“Belarusian authorities have blocked access to Germany's state-backed
international broadcaster Deutsche Welle and Current Time, the Russian-language
network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA, amid an intensifying crackdown
on the media and civil society following last year’s disputed presidential
election. The Information Ministry said on October 28 that the two news
websites as well as that of Belarusian newspaper Novy Chas had been blocked for
spreading material containing links considered “extremist” by Belarusian
courts. Internet users reported that the news sites did not open and later a
message appeared indicating access was limited. However, the sites can still be
accessed through virtual private networks (VPNs), which people can use to
circumvent government restrictions on the web. “The Information Ministry,
within its powers, will continue to monitor compliance with national
regulations and intends to continue to make decisions aimed at protecting the
country's information space,” First Deputy Information Minister Andrey Kuncevic
told state news agency BelTa. RFE/RL President Jamie Fly condemned the move to
block Current Time and vowed to continue providing information to the
Belarusian people. The Lukashenka regime’s attempts to criminalize journalism
know no bounds and are now depriving the Belarusian people of yet another
independent source of news and information.”



Southeast Asia

 

Reuters: Philippine Islamist Militant Leader, Wife Killed In Clash, Says
Military
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“Philippine troops killed a militant leader and his wife on Friday, in what
military officials described as a major blow to an Islamist group suspected of
carrying out a series of bombings and attacks in the country's south.
Salahuddin Hassan, the "overall emir" of the group, Daulah Islamiyah -
Philippines, and his wife Jehana Minbida, were killed in a special operation in
Talayan town, in Maguindanao province, the military said. More than two dozen
militants, who were with the couple, managed to escape during the 30-minute
gunbattle with troops, according to the military. "With the death of their
leader, we are certain that the group will crumble," said Major General Alfredo
Rosario Jr., chief of the military's Western Mindanao Command. "This is a
significant breakthrough in our campaign against terrorism in central
Mindanao." The bodies of Hassan and his wife were recovered along with a R4
rifle, bandolier, and ammunition magazines, military chief General Jose
Faustino Jr said in a statement. Hassan's group was also involved in a night
market bombing in President Rodrigo Duterte's hometown Davao City in September
2016 that left 15 people dead and dozens injured, the military said. The
military said Hassan's wife ran the group's finances. Several Islamist militant
groups have been active in the southern island of Mindanao, including Abu
Sayyaf, a group that has proclaimed allegiance to Islamic State and is known
for kidnapping for ransom.”

 

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