“Pakistan and local Taliban militants have agreed a one-month ceasefire which
may be extended if both sides agree, spokesmen said on Monday, opening t

 

 


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


November 9, 2021  

 

Reuters: Pakistan Agrees One-Month 'Complete Ceasefire' With Local Taliban
Militants
<[link removed]>

 

“Pakistan and local Taliban militants have agreed a one-month ceasefire which
may be extended if both sides agree, spokesmen said on Monday, opening the
possibility of a fuller peace accord to help end years of bloodshed. The
Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), are a separate movement
from the Afghan Taliban and have fought for years to overthrow the government
in Islamabad and rule the South Asian nation of 220 million with their own
brand of Islamic Sharia law. There have been numerous failed attempts to reach
peace agreements in the past. The latest talks were opened following the
victory of the Afghan Taliban in August and the two sides have been meeting
across the border in Afghanistan, with the aid of Afghan Taliban leaders. "The
government of Pakistan and banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan have agreed on a
complete ceasefire," Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said in a
statement, adding that the ceasefire would be extended as the talks progressed.
Best known in the West for attempting to kill Malala Yousafzai, the schoolgirl
who went on to win the Nobel Prize for her work promoting girls' education, the
TTP has killed thousands of military personnel and civilians over the years in
bombings and suicide attacks.”

 

Bloomberg: Taliban Look To Purge Military Of Islamic State Infiltrators
<[link removed]>

 

“The Taliban are carrying out background checks within their ranks as they
look to identify and capture infiltrators from rival Islamic State, which has
carried out several deadly attacks across Afghanistan since the militant group
took power in August. “Anyone who’s seen as harmful to the government or people
of Afghanistan and misusing the authority of the government will be removed
from our ranks and eliminated,” Ahmadullah Wasiq, a spokesman of Taliban, said
over the phone. “We have also seen reports of unknown armed men entering
private homes or punishing people in the name of Taliban.” A local offshoot of
the Islamic State continues to be one of the biggest threats to the Taliban,
carrying out at least five major attacks since the chaotic U.S. evacuation. The
latest violence took place on Nov 2., when gunmen stormed a military hospital
in the capital, killing about 20 people including a senior Taliban commander.
No claimed responsibility for the attack but the Taliban has blamed the rival
group. Targeted killings of former government officials, including police and
prosecutors, have also been reported. Four civil society activists and four
members of the earlier Afghan police force were recently found dead in northern
Mazar-e-Sharif city. Locals blamed the Taliban for their deaths.”

 

United States

 

Associated Press: Woman Recalls Total ‘Terror’ Of Charlottesville Car Attack
<[link removed]>

 

“A woman who was pushed out of the way as a car slammed into counterprotesters
at a 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville described a scene of
“complete terror” as she testified Monday to seeing her fiance bleeding on the
sidewalk and later learning a friend was killed. Marissa Blair took the stand
in the third week of a civil trial in a lawsuit that seeks to hold the white
national organizers of the “Unite the Right” rally accountable for the violence
that erupted. Nine people who were physically injured or emotionally scarred,
including Blair, are suing the organizers of the rally, alleging they conspired
to commit violence during two days of demonstrations in Charlottesville. “I was
confused. I was scared. I was worried about all the people that were there. It
was a complete terror scene. It was blood everywhere. I was terrified,” said
Blair, breaking down in tears several times during her testimony. The driver of
the car, James Alex Fields Jr., a self-proclaimed admirer of Adolf Hitler from
Maumee, Ohio, is serving life in prison for murder and hate crimes. One woman
was killed and dozens were injured in the car attack.”

 

National Post: Terrorism Charges Laid Against 45 People Accused Of Trying To
Infect Others With COVID-19
<[link removed]>

 

“Nearly four dozen people in New Jersey have been hit with terrorism charges
as part of the state’s campaign to criminalize threats of COVID-19
transmission. If convicted, the 45 people could each face up to 10 years of
prison time and a $150,000 fine, in what defence attorneys of the accused have
called a “miscarriage of justice” targeting the poorest and most vulnerable
residents of the state. Denise Lewis, 28, told the Guardian she had been
arrested while walking on the streets in April 2020, with warrants related to
failure to pay traffic tickets and an incident in which she had “escaped” from
a police vehicle. She had been a witness to a fight but left the back of the
patrol car, her attorney Logan Terry told the Guardian. After being taken into
custody, police say Lewis coughed “in close proximity” to the arresting
officers and stated she had COVID-19, even though no dashboard, body or
in-station videos have shown the encounter. Lewis had no criminal history prior
to this exchange, but now she faces a terrorism charge after the officer’s
allegation. “This is a poor person,” Terry said. “If this was a rich white lady
this would not be happening. This is a poor black lady and they’re going to
stick it to her, and I think it’s wrong.”

 

Syria

 

Kurdistan 24: Kurdish-Led Forces Foil Jailbreak Attempt At ISIS Prison In
Syria's Hasakah
<[link removed]>

 

“The General Command of the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) in northeast
Syria announced on Monday the arrest of a suspected ISIS cell that was planning
to launch an attack on a terrorist detention facility in the Syrian city of
Hasakah. Special teams of the counter-terrorism forces (HAT) in the Hasakah
province located the cell in the Deir al-Zor countryside with support from the
US-led coalition, the Asayish said in a statement. The operation took place
close to the Abu Khashab area, about 90 kilometers from Hasakah city. Clashes
erupted between the HAT forces and ISIS militants, the Asayish added, noting
that one suspect was killed, one was wounded, and four others were captured.
The official account of the US Special Operations Joint Task Force–Levant
(SOJTF LEVANT), which oversees activities in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and
Egypt, tweeted that SDF members discovered vehicle-borne explosives and a
weapons cache during an operation in Deir al-Zor. “They destroyed the VBIED
(vehicle-borne improvised explosive device) to prevent possible harm to locals
in the area and recovered weapons cache and detained maligned actors to
eliminate the threat.” The SOJTF LEVANT said that ISIS is trying to harm the
region “by gathering resources and personnel.”

 

Afghanistan

 

The New York Times: Military Can’t Find Isis Safe House That Prompted Kabul
Drone Strike <[link removed]>

 

“The U.S. military has not located a suspected Islamic State safe house in
Kabul, Afghanistan, that officials initially said led to an American drone
strike on Aug. 29 that mistakenly killed 10 civilians, including seven
children, according to two senior military officials. Two days before the drone
strike, military officials said they had determined through electronic
intercepts, aerial surveillance and informants that ISIS planners were using a
compound about three miles northwest of the Kabul airport to facilitate future
attacks involving rockets, suicide explosive vests and car bombs. But an
inquiry into the drone strike by the Air Force’s inspector general, Lt. Gen.
Sami D. Said, said that was wrong. “We have not found any particular safe
house,” he said in a telephone interview after making his findings public last
week. General Said would not discuss the underlying information that led
military analysts to focus on the safe house — and even dispatch six Reaper
drones to monitor it — other than to say, “It was not faulty intelligence; it
was just not specific.” A second U.S. military official confirmed that the
available intelligence on the location was not precise enough. Nearly
everything senior defense officials asserted in the hours, then days and weeks,
after the drone strike has turned out to be false.”

 

Reuters: U.S. Says Worried About Increase In Attacks By ISIS-K In Afghanistan
<[link removed]>

 

“The United States is worried about an uptick in attacks by Islamic State's
affiliate in Afghanistan and remains deeply concerned about al Qaeda's ongoing
presence there, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Tom West said on
Monday. West spoke to reporters by telephone from Brussels, where he briefed
NATO allies on U.S. talks with the Taliban and held consultations on a "road
map" toward recognition of the government that the Islamists formed after their
takeover and the U.S. troop pullout in August. "The Taliban have voiced very
clearly and openly their desire to normalize relations with the international
community, to see a resumption in aid, to see a return of the international
diplomatic community to Kabul and to see sanctions relief," he said. "The
United States can deliver none of these things on our own." It was West's first
on-the-record briefing to reporters since he assumed his post last month. West,
who is due to travel on to Pakistan, India and Russia, said the United States
is preparing for the next round of talks with the Taliban in Doha, but he did
not give a date. With winter approaching, deeply impoverished Afghanistan has
emerged from all-out war into a humanitarian crisis.”

 

India

 

Al Jazeera: India: Terror Cases Over Social Media Posts On Tripura Violence
<[link removed]>

 

“For several times since Saturday, the dreadful thought of having to spend
time in jail has crossed the mind of a 20-year-old Indian journalist working
for a small and emerging news outlet. The social media account of the
journalist, who did not want to be named, is among 102 Twitter, Facebook and
YouTube accounts being investigated by the police in the northeastern state of
Tripura under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA. The
social media accounts are accused of sharing “fake news” following attacks on
several mosques in Tripura last month by alleged members of Hindu right-wing
groups. The rare incidents in the remote state bordering Bangladesh were an
apparent retaliation to the religious violence in that country after a photo of
the Quran placed on an idol of a Hindu deity during the Durga Puja festival
triggered riots in which at least two Hindus were killed. Days after the
Bangladesh violence, members of the far-right Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World
Hindu Council or VHP) and other Hindu groups took out protest rallies in
Tripura and allegedly attacked Muslims and their religious places, including
mosques. The VHP is affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the
ideological mentor of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP), which also runs the state government in Tripura.”

 

Lebanon

 

Al Monitor: Israel Drills For Possible War With Hezbollah
<[link removed]>

 

“Israel conducted a Home Front Command exercise Nov. 3 to test its readiness
for all-out war with Hezbollah. Based on intelligence evaluations of Hezbollah
capabilities, hundreds or thousands of rockets could be fired on Israel by
Hezbollah over days or weeks. Most would be short range but some could reach
anywhere in Israel. Simultaneously, rocket fire could begin from the Gaza Strip
and perhaps even Syria, Hezbollah’s elite fighters could try to infiltrate
Israeli communities and army outposts and riots could break out in the West
Bank. The likelihood of an all-out war of this type is low but not zero.
Lebanon is currently in one of the most severe crises in its history,
significantly lowering the odds that the Hezbollah will initiate fighting. On
the other hand, we know from experience that Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan
Nasrallah could change his mind at any minute and start a war just to unite his
ranks in Lebanon against an external enemy. There is also a chance that war
between Israel and Hezbollah could break out not due to a conscious decision by
one of the sides, but as a result of multiplying skirmishes that get out of
hand and force escalation.”

 

Nigeria

 

Sahara Reporters: Breaking: Nigerian Soldiers In Gun Battle With Boko Haram
Fighters Near Borno Military Base
<[link removed]>

 

“Troops of the Nigerian Army are currently in a gunfight with militants from
the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa
Province (ISWAP), formerly known as Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād
in Tamsukawu village, Kaga Local Government Area of Borno state. The town is
about 7 kilometres from Ngamdu, where the Super Camp of the Armed Forces is
located. The criminals, reportedly dressed in military uniforms, set up a
checkpoint along Maiduguri-Damaturu highway around 10:30 am and stopped
vehicles at a spot near Tamsukawu village. Special task force units were said
to have been deployed in the area. “ISWAP terrorists led by Abou Aseyia are
currently attacking Tamsukawu village, located about 7 kilometers from Ngamdu,
a military super camp. Heavy battle currently ongiong,” a source said. “Air
support and ground Troops from Super Camp, Ngamdu and Rapid Response Team have
been promptly deployed to the scene and are currently engaging the terrorists,”
the source said. ISWAP, which split from the mainstream Boko Haram in 2016, has
become a dominant group, focusing on military targets and high-profile attacks,
including against aid workers.”

 

Africa

 

Reuters: Ivory Coast Says It Will Invest In North To Counter Jihadism
<[link removed]>

 

“Ivory Coast is accelerating investment in schools, hospitals, and jobs in its
northern region to provide alternatives to violent extremism, the prime
minister said on Monday. Northern Ivory Coast is far from commercial centres
and borders Mali and Burkina Faso, where Islamist groups are active and have
increasingly crossed the border to wage attacks. Recruitment of local youth is
a growing concern, Prime Minister Patrick Achi told journalists, adding that
the state will beef up border security along with its Western partners. "There
are investments underway in the north to build more schools, hospitals, and
industry and to occupy our youth to keep them away from the call of
terrorists," he said. "Ivory Coast and its partners will be able to face the
terrorist threat by strengthening security in the north." Groups linked to al
Qaeda and Islamic State have expanded their reach in the Sahel region in recent
years, recruiting youths who see few other opportunities where state
institutions are weak. Achi said that more than $430 million has been invested
in the creation of a dry port in Ferkessedougou, the main town near the
northern border, as well as in an integrated agro-industrial centre. The
project is part of a series of large investments that will follow in 2022 to
boost local processing of cotton and cashews, he said.”

 

France

 

Politico: Man Tries To Stab Police In Cannes, Terrorist Motive ‘Being
Considered’
<[link removed]>

 

“A man armed with a knife assaulted a police officer on Monday morning in
Cannes, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said, with police sources
telling AFP that a terrorist motive is being considered. The victim was sitting
in a car with two colleagues in front of Cannes’ central police station, AFP
reported. The officer was protected by his bulletproof vest and was not
injured, Darmanin tweeted. The assailant was attempting to attack another
officer when the third policeman shot the attacker, inflicting life-threatening
injuries. According to AFP, police sources said the suspect claimed he was
acting “in the name of the prophet.” Darmanin announced he was going to Cannes
on Monday morning to meet with police forces there. “The circumstances of the
attack are being investigated,” Cannes Mayor David Lisnard said on Twitter.”

 

The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If
you value what we do, please consider making a donation.
DONATE NOW
<[link removed]>


Click here to unsubscribe.
<[link removed]>