Eye on Extremism
October 31, 2019
U.S.
News & World Report: Isis Remains Potent, Deadly Despite
Baghdadi’s Death, Top Spy Says
“Killing the Islamic State group's founder and leader Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi will have little effect on preventing the terrorist
network from conducting future attacks, the top U.S. official for
counterterror operations said Wednesday. “There's no question that the
losses over the weekend were significant to ISIS,” Russell Travers,
acting director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told a
congressional panel, using an alternative name for the Islamic State
group. “At the same time, it's a deep bench.” Despite a consistent
U.S.-led campaign to defeat the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria
that effectively dismantled its so-called caliphate, the number of
fighters in those countries aligned with the group has grown in the
last five years from a low point of roughly 1,000 fighters, Travers
told the House Homeland Security Committee. As many as 14,000
extremists remain there now, with roughly 2,000 in Syria from foreign
countries. The Islamic State group maintains a network of roughly 20
affiliates around the globe, ranging in strength with some as few as
hundreds of fighters. The affiliate in Afghanistan and Pakistan, known
as ISIS-Khorasan, has thousands, Travers said. “The insurgency has a
lot of options,” he added.”
The
New York Times: ISIS Leader Paid Rival For Protection But Was Betrayed
By His Own
“The Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was able to hide out
in an unlikely part of Syria, the base of a rival group, because he
was paying protection money to its members, according to receipts for
the payments recovered by researchers. The receipts, typical of the
Islamic State’s meticulous bookkeeping, showed that the group paid at
least $67,000 to members of Hurras al Din, an unofficial affiliate of
Al Qaeda and an enemy of the Islamic State. While the rival group kept
Mr. al-Baghdadi’s secret, he was ultimately betrayed by a close
confidant, two American officials said Wednesday, leading to his death
in an American Special Forces raid last weekend. Other new details
about the raid emerged on Wednesday, including that American forces
recovered a number of laptops and cellphones from Mr. al-Baghdadi’s
compound, and that, according to the Pentagon, six other people were
killed in the compound, aside from Mr. al-Baghdadi and the two
children he took with him when he detonated a suicide vest. Mr.
al-Baghdadi spent his last months in an isolated villa in Barisha, a
village in a part of Idlib Province dominated by rival jihadist groups
and hundreds of miles from the Islamic State’s former territory along
the border between Syria and Iraq.”
Voice
Of America: IS Promises Big Announcement As US Braces For
Revenge
“One of the Islamic State terror group's media divisions is
promising supporters that a major announcement is on the way — the
first of its kind since the death of its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,
in a U.S. raid on Sunday. IS's Al-Furqan Foundation started promoting
the announcement at midday Wednesday. “Coming Soon ... By the
Willingness of Allah the Almighty,” the announcement said, without
sharing details. The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist
communications, said supporters quickly began distributing the poster
on social media platforms, with some expressing hope that Baghdadi was
still alive while others were preparing to celebrate his martyrdom. IS
official media operatives have been issuing their usual news updates
on operations in Syria, Iraq and around the world, but they have been
silent so far about the fate of Baghdadi, who was killed by U.S.
special forces in a raid on a compound in Barisha in Syria's Idlib
province. U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed Baghdadi's death in a
White House speech the same day. U.S. officials also confirmed the
death of IS spokesman Abu Hassan al-Muhajir in a follow-on operation a
day later in Jarablus, near Syria's border with Turkey.”
The
Wall Street Journal: U.S., Gulf Nations Sanction Iranian Financial
Network In Joint Action
“Saudi Arabia, Qatar and four other Gulf nations joined the U.S. in
imposing sanctions on a financing network controlled by Iran’s
military and several men linked to the Tehran-backed Lebanese group
Hezbollah. Top U.S. Treasury Department officials said the action is
the largest ever by the Riyadh-based Terrorist Financing Targeting
Center, whose membership also includes the United Arab Emirates, Oman,
Bahrain and Kuwait. The action is viewed by U.S. officials as a
strategically important regional collaboration in the Trump
administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign effort against Iran, as
well as a milestone in regional governments cracking down on local
terror networks. The move is likely to also reassure Israel after
President Trump’s decision to pull U.S. troops out of northern Syria
rattled the close U.S. ally over concerns that the pullback was a gain
for Iran.”
VOA:
White Supremacy Thriving Online, Despite Prevention
Efforts
“As major tech companies step up efforts to curb extremist content
on their platforms, far-right white extremists continue to find ways
to spread violent messages and attract sympathizers on the internet.
Josh Lipowsky, a senior researcher with the New York-based Counter
Extremism Project, told VOA that more pressure is also needed on
fringe sites to make sure they meet their responsibility of thwarting
supremacist propaganda on their platforms. Lipowsky said “restricting
this type of rhetoric is not limiting freedom of speech under the
First Amendment. We are talking about private businesses that provide
services. They are well within their rights to set limits on how their
services are used to avoid abuse of their platforms.” He added that
governments should step in to address these issues to “ensure
across-the-board compliance in the interest of public safety and
security.”
WTOP:
The Hunt: Spy Who Exposed Baghdadi Had A Difficult
Challenge
“The successful raid that killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
was greatly assisted by a well-placed informant who facilitated the
terrorist leader’s movements around Syria and even helped oversee
construction work on his Syrian safe house. Hans-Jakob Schindler,
senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, discusses the
difficult and dangerous role played by the spy within ISIS.”
United States
The
Wall Street Journal: Twitter To Ban Political Ads
“Twitter Inc. is banning political advertising, taking the opposite
position of rival Facebook Inc. on an issue that is riling campaigns
and prompting social-media companies to rethink how to deal with the
spread of potentially false and misleading information on their
platforms. The decision, announced in a series of tweets Wednesday
from Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey, reverberated to political
campaign staffers, digital media buyers and even President Trump. The
timing of Mr. Dorsey’s announcement—minutes before Facebook posted its
quarterly results—highlighted the two companies’ diverging positions
on what has become a thorny topic for the industry. Facebook has been
roiled in recent weeks by lawmakers and its employees calling for
changes in how the world’s largest social network company handles
political advertising.”
The
Wall Street Journal: U.S. Says It Destroyed Baghdadi Compound To
Prevent Shrine To Terror Leader
“U.S. military special operations forces destroyed the compound
where a raid last weekend led to the death of Islamic State founder
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to assure that the site didn’t become a shrine to
the extremist leader, a top commander said Wednesday. Speaking to
reporters at the Pentagon for the first time since the weekend raid in
northwestern Syria, Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. forces in
the Middle East, released a series of videos showing the launch of the
raid and the subsequent destruction of the compound in a giant cloud
of smoke and debris. Adding new details about the raid, Gen. McKenzie
said Baghdadi apparently tried to shoot at the U.S. forces closing in
on the tunnel where he hid with two children believed under the age of
12 years, before detonating a suicide vest. Earlier, President Trump
and other U.S. officials said there were three children in the tunnel
with Baghdadi. It wasn’t known whether the two children were related
to him, defense officials said.”
Fox
News: US Rebukes Germany For Refusal To Say Iran's Threat To Destroy
Israel Is Anti-Semitic
“Threats by Iran to obliterate Israel have been played down by
Germany, prompting the Trump administration’s highest-profile
ambassador to criticize Chancellor Angela Merkel government’s attitude
towards Tehran. “Threatening the destruction of Israel is something
that should not be dismissed, especially when the threats come from
Iranian regime officials who regularly use terrorism as a weapon of
intimidation. When someone shows you who they are, believe them,”
Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, told Fox News
Tuesday. Mojtaba Zonnour, chairman of National Security and Foreign
Policy Committee in Iran’s Majlis legislature, said in October: “If
Israel or America make a mistake, Israel won’t live for longer than 20
or 30 minutes.”
Reuters:
EXCLUSIVE-U.S. To Renew Waivers Allowing Non-Proliferation Work With
Iran -Sources
“The United States plans to allow Russian, Chinese and European
companies to continue work at Iranian nuclear facilities to make it
harder for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, two sources familiar with
the matter said on Wednesday. The Trump administration, which last
year pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and re-imposed sanctions
on Iran, will let the work go forward by issuing waivers to sanctions
that bar non-U.S. firms from dealing with the Atomic Energy
Organization of Iran (AEOI), said the sources on condition of
anonymity. While the waivers’ renewal would allow non-proliferation
work to continue at the Arak heavy water research reactor and the
Fordow fuel enrichment plant, which AEOI oversees, it may also signal
that Washington is leaving the door open to diplomacy.”
The
Washington Post: FBI Director: Some Domestic Terrorism Suspects Travel
Overseas For Training
“FBI Director Christopher A. Wray told Congress on Wednesday that
American neo-Nazis seem increasingly to be communicating with
like-minded violent racists overseas, but he cautioned that those
links so far appear more about inspiration than organization. At a
House Homeland Security Committee hearing, the FBI director was
pressed repeatedly to explain trends among domestic terrorism
suspects, and what the FBI is doing to combat such threats. Wray said
the number of such cases has not changed dramatically in recent months
but noted that senior U.S. officials have discussed how some suspects
are in touch with, or in some cases traveling overseas to join,
like-minded groups. Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) said he was concerned
about domestic terrorists traveling to Ukraine for training “and
coming back to do God knows what.” Ukraine has a number of
paramilitary groups that have drawn the attention of American
extremists, according to U.S. counterterrorism experts. Wray
responded: “I think you’re onto a trend that we’re watching very
carefully. . . . We are starting to see racially motivated violent
extremists connecting with like-minded individuals online certainly,
and in some instances, we have seen people travel overseas to
train.”
NBC
News: ISIS Victim Kayla Mueller's Parents On Al-Baghdadi: We're Glad
That The 'Evil Person Is Gone'
“The parents of Kayla Mueller, an aid worker kidnapped by the
Islamic State militant group in Syria who died in captivity at age 26
in 2015, said of the U.S. raid that killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi that
they are glad the “evil person is gone.” Carl and Marsha Mueller spoke
to “Today” in an exclusive interview Wednesday with Savannah Guthrie.
The United States named the military operation that killed al-Baghdadi
after Mueller, who was abducted after leaving a Doctors Without
Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria, in 2013. The native of Prescott,
Arizona, was held in captivity for 18 months, including a period in
which she was reportedly raped and forcibly married to ISIS leader
al-Baghdadi. She was killed in 2015. U.S. officials attempted to
rescue Mueller and other ISIS hostages in 2014 to no avail. Mueller’s
family learned their daughter was killed in February 2015, but the
circumstances surrounding her death have remained unclear. Mueller’s
parents spoke directly with President Donald Trump after al-Baghdadi's
death was announced, pressing the president to help them get more
information about their daughter, including where she is buried, they
said.”
The
Washington Times: Why U.S. World Leadership Is Needed To Stop
Terrorism
“The nation and the world welcomed President Donald Trump’s Oct. 27
announcement that ISIS leader Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed by the U.S.
military at his hideout in Northwest Syria. Our gratitude goes out to
the military, the intelligence community, State Department and law
enforcement for its coordinated effort to kill al-Baghdadi and destroy
ISIS. This operation was reminiscent of the successful operation in
2011 that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of an al Qaeda
organization that conducted terrorist attacks around the world. These
successful operations speak to unrelenting U.S. international
leadership in countering all forms of international terrorism, whether
it’s ISIS, al Qaeda or another extremist group in the Middle East,
Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia or Southeast Asia. The U.S. initiative
in 2014 to establish the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, with 81
members, permits the U.S. and these member states and organizations to
share information and strategize on efforts to counter all forms of
violent extremism. There’s more work to be done by the United States
and the Global Coalition, mindful of the hate and brutality of these
extremist groups.”
Syria
The
New York Times: Hundreds Of U.S. Troops Leaving, And Also Arriving In,
Syria
“Every day in northeastern Syria, waves of American troops are
pulling out under President Trump’s order this month that paved the
way for a Turkish offensive that included assaults on the Pentagon’s
allies, the Syrian Kurds. And at the same time, a separate wave of
American troops from the opposite direction is pouring back in. In
fact, once the comings and goings are done, the total number of United
States forces in Syria is expected to be about 900 — close to the
1,000 troops on the ground when Mr. Trump ordered the withdrawal of
American forces from the country. “It’s damage control,” said
Alexander Bick, a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center
for Scholars, who oversaw Syria issues at the National Security
Council in the Obama administration. “But the damage is already done
in terms of partners’ alarm at the capriciousness of U.S.
policymaking, a strategic reshuffle along the Turkish border and the
overwhelming sense that the United States is on its way out.”
CNN:
Pentagon Releases First Images From Raid That Killed ISIS
Leader
“The Pentagon released newly declassified video and images
Wednesday of the daring, two hour raid targeting ISIS leader Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi that shows US forces taking small arms fire from multiple
locations as their helicopters approached the compound. Video from an
overhead drone also shows the commandos approaching Baghdadi's
compound and aerial strikes carried out by US F-15 fighter jets and
MQ-9 Reaper Drones to blow up the site once it was cleared. The
commander of US Central Command, Gen. Frank McKenzie, said the DNA
used to confirm Baghdadi's identity was from samples collected during
his previous detention at Camp Bucca in Iraq. McKenzie told reporters
that he could not confirm that Baghdadi was “whimpering and crying” in
his final moments as President Donald Trump claimed in his televised
address on Sunday. However, McKenzie added the terror leader “crawled
into a hole with two small children and blew himself up while his
people stayed on the ground. So you can deduce what type of person
that is based on that activity.” McKenzie also revealed that Baghdadi
may have shot at US forces from the hole.”
Reuters:
After Baghdadi Death, Nobel Laureate Nadia Murad Asks: What About The
Rest?
“The fight for justice for victims of Islamic State militants does
not end with the death of leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Nobel laureate
Nadia Murad said on Wednesday, asking: “How about those that raped
us?” Murad, who won the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to end
the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, is an Iraqi Yazidi
woman who was enslaved and raped by Islamic State (ISIS)fighters in
Mosul, Iraq, in 2014. Several of her brothers were killed by Islamic
State and their wives also held captive. Since 2010, Baghdadi led the
jihadist group. U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that
Baghdadi killed himself by detonating a suicide vest after fleeing
into a dead-end tunnel during a raid by U.S. special forces in
northwest Syria. “At first I talked to my sisters-in-law,” Murad told
reporters at the United Nations. “Everyone was saying: ‘OK, but this
is just Baghdadi, how about all these ISIS?’” “How about those that
raped us? They sold us, they still have our girls, they still have our
children - about 300,000 Yazidis still missing, we don’t know anything
about them,” she said.”
The
Wall Street Journal: After Baghdadi, Terrorism Without
Ideology
“Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead, a few weeks after Europe was racked
by four separate incidents classified as terrorism: a truck-ramming in
Limburg, Germany; a series of stabbings at a police station in Paris;
a shooting at a synagogue in Halle, Germany; and another set of
stabbings at a shopping mall in Manchester, England. While the
investigations are still under way, at this stage it doesn’t appear
that any of these attacks had any structured link to a terrorist group
like Baghdadi’s Islamic State. Most of the perpetrators displayed some
awareness of an extremist ideology, but we don’t know that any of them
were directed to do what they did. What relevance does the death of
Baghdadi have to any of these attackers, or to the terror threat at
large? There is little historical evidence that decapitating terrorist
groups destroys them. Leaders have networks around them built on
personal contacts, and their deaths change those dynamics. Some
particularly charismatic leaders drive groups forward by force of
personality or personal narrative. Their removal can weaken the aura
around their organizations, but it can’t promise eradication.”
France
24: New IS Leader Could Replace Baghdadi In Weeks: US
Official
“The Islamic State group's leadership has a “deep bench” and a
replacement for deceased chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi could surface
within weeks, the US government's top counter-terrorism expert said
Wednesday. Acting Director of the National Counterterrorism Center
Russ Travers did not predict which IS figure would take over after
Baghdadi, cornered in a weekend US military raid, killed himself in a
Syria. But he said the group has a number of people who could take the
helm, with the ability to command some 14,000 fighters who have
dispersed across Syria and Iraq. “There's no question that the losses
over the weekend were significant to ISIS,” Travers told the House
Homeland Security Committee, referring to Baghdadi's death as well to
the killing of IS spokesman Abu Hassan al-Muhajir. “At the same time,
it's a deep bench,” he said. “The United States and the coalition
overall has had tremendous success in eliminating leadership over the
years in both Al-Qaeda and ISIS. And yet the bench tends to rise to
the top.” “My guess it that... somewhere between a couple of days and
a couple of weeks, we will see a new leader of the (caliphate)
announced.”
NBC
News: The Islamic State Spy Who Betrayed Al-Baghdadi Was An Insider
Motivated By Revenge
“ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was betrayed by a member of his
inner circle who helped lead American troops to his compound in
Northern Syria. The commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic
Forces, Gen. Mazloum Abdi, gave NBC News a detailed account of how he
spent months running a spy inside ISIS who followed al-Baghdadi as he
moved from one safehouse to another, until he was finally trapped in a
tunnel beneath one of them. Abdi did not identify the source, but
Kurdish intelligence officials described him as an Arab who had many
relatives in ISIS. Abdi said the informant’s main motivation was
revenge. “I think he was under a lot of pressure from his family,” the
general said. “His relatives were subjected to harsh treatment by ISIS
and he no longer believed in the future of ISIS. He wanted to take
revenge on ISIS and al-Baghdadi himself.”
NBC
News: Another Al-Baghdadi-Style Raid On ISIS Militants Could Soon
Become Mission Impossible
“The U.S. special operations raid that killed the Islamic State
militant group’s top terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Saturday was
almost perfect. The military, the intelligence agencies, the American
allies and Trump administration officials all deserve credit for this
success, as well as the drone strike Monday that killed ISIS spokesman
Abu Hassan al-Muhajir. But the Trump administration’s recent actions
could make the al-Baghdadi raid one of the last of its kind for many
years. ISIS and other terrorist groups adapt quickly, and will start
looking for safe havens that are impossible for U.S. special
operations teams and drones to access. For more than a decade, until
June 2019, I represented the Department of Homeland Security in
interagency discussions that led to numerous successes — and some
failures — against ISIS, al Qaeda and other terrorists at home and
overseas. Over those years, we learned what it takes to defeat groups
such as ISIS, and our success is based on two crucial factors that
President Donald Trump’s recent decisions put at risk. First, we are
running out of territory on which our military can carry out lethal
ground operations. ISIS still has an underground presence in the area
of northeast Syria from which Trump abruptly withdrew U.S. forces Oct.
6.”
Iran
The
Washington Post: Frozen In Time, US Embassy A Monument To Iran Hostage
Crisis
“The U.S. Embassy in Tehran remains frozen in 1979 as the 40th
anniversary of the Iran hostage crisis approaches, a time capsule of
revolutionary graffiti, Underwood typewriters and rotary telephones.
The diplomatic compound was overrun by students angered when
Washington allowed ousted Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi into the U.S. for
medical treatment. What initially began as a sit-in devolved into 444
days of captivity for 52 Americans seized in the embassy. Today, the
embassy remains held by the Basij, a volunteer wing of Iran’s
paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, partly as a museum and a space for
student groups.”
Reuters:
Pointing To Iraq, Lebanon, Khamenei Recalls How Iran Put Down
Unrest
“Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday accused the United States and
Saudi Arabia of stoking unrest in Lebanon and Iraq, saying Tehran
understood the situation in those countries because it had had to
suppress similar foreign interference at home. “The U.S. and Western
intelligence services, with the financial backing of reactionary
countries in the region, are spreading turmoil,” Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei was quoted by his official website as telling graduating army
cadets. Khamenei urged protesters to seek changes in a lawful way in
Iraq and Lebanon, where Iran has powerful allies among Shi’ite Muslim
government factions. In an apparent warning, Khamenei praised Iran’s
crackdown against street protests at home in 2018.”
Radio
Farda: Iran's Role In Violence Against Protesters In Iraq And
Lebanon
“Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Wednesday said the protests
in Iraq and Lebanon were financed by Gulf Arab countries, with
petrodollars and organized by “intelligence services”. In a speech,
Khamenei conceded that the demands of the protesters “are just”, but
these should be addressed “within legal frameworks”. The popular
protest movements in Iran and Lebanon have worried Iran’s leaders for
the past month, as Iran regards governments in both countries to be
under its influence and does not want to see any major change. Iranian
officials and government-controlled media have been baling the
protests on foreign machinations, mainly the United States and Saudi
Arabia. This is a typical response by the Islamic Republic, which made
the same allegation during rounds of protests in Iran in 2009 and then
in 2017-2018. The Associated Press reports that immediately after the
anti-government protests erupted in Iraq, the notorious commander of
Iran’s Qods (Quds) force, Qassem Soleimani flew to Baghdad and chaired
a meeting of Iraqi security officials. He told them that Iran knows
how to put down protests, according to two senior officials who spoke
with AP.”
Iraq
Al
Jazeera: Iraq: Rockets Hit Baghdad's Green Zone, Killing One
Soldier
“Rockets slammed into the Iraqi capital's heavily fortified Green
Zone and killed a member of the security forces, the military said.
Witnesses reported seeing projectiles flying towards the Green Zone,
which houses Iraq's government buildings and foreign embassies, and
blasts were heard coming from the area on Wednesday. Security
officials said one of the Katyusha rockets landed about 100 metres
(110 yards) away from the perimeter of the United States embassy,
triggering alert sirens. Earlier this week, three rockets struck a
large military base north of Baghdad that houses US and Iraqi forces.
No casualties were reported from that attack.”
The
New York Times: Iraq Prime Minister Pressed To Quit As Protests Clog
Street
“Under pressure from a growing number of protesters, Iraq’s prime
minister appeared likely Wednesday to step down in the coming days,
although exactly when is the subject of negotiations between two
powerful Shiite Muslim leaders. In a letter to one of the men, the
cleric Moktada al-Sadr, Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said he would
be willing to resign and call early elections. But Mr. Mahdi insisted
that it be done according to the procedures in the Constitution. “It
is not enough for the prime minister to go to Parliament to announce
early elections,” Mr. Mahdi wrote on Tuesday, saying that there were
constitutional requirements “that the prime minister must abide
by.”
Turkey
Washington
Examiner: Turkey Claims Arrests Of Over 100 People Tied To
ISIS
“Turkish authorities claim that over 100 people linked to the
Islamic State have been apprehended in sweeping raids across the
country. Police Chief Mehmet Aktas said Wednesday that 26 raids took
place across 21 different Turkish provinces, netting dozens of people
with ties to the terrorist organization, according to the Associated
Press. ISIS was allegedly planning a possible attack to coincide with
Tuesday’s 96th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic. On
Monday, police also arrested 20 foreign nationals suspected of ISIS
ties during a sweep in the Turkish capital of Ankara. The country has
stepped up security precautions after the U.S. raid that resulted in
the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi over the weekend. U.S.
special operations forces targeted the radical cleric Saturday night
in an undisclosed location in Idlib province of Syria, where he had
been under surveillance for weeks. The U.S. also killed ISIS spokesman
Abu Hassan al Muhajir in an airstrike just hours later.”
The
New Republic: What Did Turkey Know About Baghdadi’s
Hideout?
“The death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi last weekend set spy services to
public bragging: CIA officials told The New York Times that the
discovery of the ISIS leader’s location came after the arrest and
interrogation of one of his wives and a courier this summer. Kurdish
leaders, who said back in April that Baghdadi was in Idlib, told The
Washington Post they had provided intelligence for the operation.
Iraq’s national intelligence service also boasted of giving Baghdadi’s
location to the Americans after “constant monitoring and the formation
of a specialised task force over an entire year.” But the Turkish
National Intelligence Office (MIT)—the country’s closest equivalent to
the CIA—isn’t among those taking credit for tracking down Baghdadi,
who was killed Saturday in a U.S. Special Forces raid in northern
Syria. This, despite the fact that Baghdadi was living just three and
a half miles from the Turkish border, in an area controlled by the
Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army. Baghdadi’s death thus exposes an
enduring and under-appreciated reality of geopolitics in the Middle
East: The Islamic State has always had a peculiar—which is to say, not
exclusively hostile—relationship with Turkey.”
Afghanistan
CNN:
US Ramped Up Strikes In Afghanistan Following Collapse Of Taliban
Peace Talks
“The US military ramped up the number of air and artillery strikes
it conducted in Afghanistan during the month of September following
the collapse of the peace talks with the Taliban after President
Donald Trump canceled a Camp David summit with the insurgent group on
September 7. US troops carried out 1,113 air and artillery strikes
during the month of September, according to statistics released by the
US military compared to 810 such strikes in August and just 465
strikes in September of 2018. “We had peace talks scheduled a few days
ago. I called them off when I learned that they had killed a great
American soldier from Puerto Rico and 11 other innocent people. They
thought they would use this attack to show strength. But actually,
what they showed is unrelenting weakness. The last four days, we have
hit our enemy harder than they have ever been hit before, and that
will continue,” Trump vowed at a Pentagon ceremony marking the
anniversary of the September 11th attacks. In that four-day period
referenced by Trump the US conducted some 153 strikes between
September 8 and September 11, according to the data. “U.S. forces do
not purport that strikes are decisive; however, we may occasionally
talk about this information to provide context.”
Voice
Of America: Taliban Attacks Getting More Effective, SIGAR
Says
“Attacks carried out by Taliban and other insurgent groups in
Afghanistan were twice as effective in the third quarter of 2019 than
they were earlier in the year, according to a leading oversight
authority on Afghanistan that reports to the United States Congress.”
Roughly half of the 3,495 EIA (enemy initiated attacks) this quarter
(49% from June 1 to August 31) were considered “effective”
enemy-initiated attacks (EEIA) that resulted in ANDSF, Coalition, or
civilian casualties. Enemy attacks have been more effective this
quarter than they were during the preceding months of this year (42%
effective from January-May 2019),” according to the latest quarterly
report presented to the Congress Thursday by the U.S. Special
Inspector General on Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). In addition,
the report said, the number of attacks on Afghan government or
coalition forces also increased compared to last summer. “RS (Resolute
Support, the NATO mission) reported 7,183 EIA (enemy initiated
attacks) this quarter (June 1-August 31, 2019), with most attacks
occurring in the south, west and northwest of the country,” the SIGAR
report said.”
Xinhua:
Afghan Air Raids Kill 6 Insurgents In N. Afghanistan
“At least six militants were killed as fighting aircrafts pounded a
Taliban hideout in Darqad district of Afghanistan's northern Takhar
province on Wednesday, provincial governor's Spokesman Mohammad Jawad
Hajari said Thursday. Five more militants sustained injuries due to
the airstrikes, the official said. No security personnel or civilians
had been hurt during the raids, the official added. Taliban militants
who have lost grounds in parts of the relatively Takhar province with
Taluqan as its capital 245 km north of Kabul have not made comments on
the reports yet.”
Pakistan
CNN:
70 Dead After Gas Cylinder Explosion Sparks Fire On Pakistan
Train
“At least 70 people have died after a gas canister exploded in a
train in Pakistan, authorities said. The train was passing through the
Punjab city of Rahim Yar Khan on Thursday morning when the cylinder
exploded, causing a fire which spread through the train, according to
local police officer Amir Taimoor. Seventy people are dead and another
30 are injured, said Nadeem Zia, the medical supervisor of District
Headquarters Hospital in Liaquatpur, a city in Rahim Yar Khan
district. Earlier, Taimoor said that around a dozen people are
critically injured. Army troops, paramedics, and an army aviation
helicopter are currently on site. Although gas cylinders are banned on
trains, passengers were using gas-powered cookers to prepare breakfast
inside the train carriage when the explosion occurred, Taimoor added.
He added that many of the people on board the train were heading to a
protest in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, about 800 kilometers
(500 miles) from Rahim Yar Khan.”
Xinhua:
Blasts Claim 14 Lives, Wound 22 In Afghanistan Within 24
Hours
“At least 14 people including four civilians have been killed and
22 civilians wounded in bomb blasts in the insurgency-battered
Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, officials said on Wednesday. In
the latest explosion, a motorbike went off in Spin Boldak district of
the southern Kandahar province on Wednesday afternoon, wounding seven
civilians, provincial police spokesman Jamal Barikzai said. According
to the spokesman, anti-government militants placed an explosive device
in a motorbike and detonated it in front of a hotel in the bazaar of
Spin Boldak district at 1:11 p.m. local time, wounding seven
civilians, some in critical condition. Similarly, an explosive-laden
car drove by a militant in Mardyan district of the northern Jawzjan
province on Tuesday evening exploded prematurely, killing 11 people
including 10 militants and a civilian and wounding 12 civilians,
provincial police chief Abdul Wahid Wajdan said Wednesday. A mine
planted by militants on a road in Mizan district of the southern Zabul
province struck a car, killing three civilians and wounding three
others on Tuesday evening, a statement of provincial police said
Wednesday.”
Yemen
Xinhua:
Spotlight: UAE Continues Anti-Terror Fight In Yemen After Military
Pullout
“Forces of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) completed their military
pullout from Yemen's southern port city of Aden following five years
of participation in the fighting against the Iran-allied Houthi
rebels. The General Command of the UAE Armed Forces said in a
statement that the UAE troops have achieved their goal of “liberating
the region” and the responsibility for maintaining security has been
transferred to Yemeni and Saudi Arabian troops. “The forces armed and
trained the Yemeni forces in a way that would enable them to discharge
their military responsibilities independently,” the military said. But
the UAE, an active member of the Saudi-led Arab coalition, said it
would continue to fight terror groups in the impoverished Arab country
during the upcoming period. UAE's military withdrawal from Aden came
in the wake of a deal to end the power struggle between the Yemeni
government and the Southern Transitional Council (STC). Saudi Arabia
that leads the anti-Houthi military campaign increased its military
presence and deployed heavy forces backed by armored vehicles across
Aden after the withdrawal of the UAE forces.”
Lebanon
Los
Angeles Times: Hezbollah’s Road To Power In Lebanon Just Got A Lot
Harder
“The resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri was a
victory for anti-government protesters flooding the country’s streets
by the millions. It also was a wake-up call for Hezbollah, the Shiite
Muslim organization that wields substantial power in the region and is
regarded as a terrorist organization by the United States. The group,
which is aligned with Iran and is considered a dangerous foe by
Israel, cemented its political clout in elections last year. It has
wielded that power in a coalition government to maintain the arsenal
of weapons it says it needs to fight Israel and protect its people.
Yet the protests that drove out Hariri on Tuesday present a challenge
to Hezbollah. On the one hand, it would seem to have common cause with
the demonstrators, who are demanding an end to government corruption.
Decaying infrastructure, intermittent electricity and water, little
work and high prices all contributed to some of the largest
demonstrations Lebanon has ever seen. Hezbollah also has railed
against corruption, and has a reputation in Lebanon for being
relatively untainted by it. At the same time, the organization has
become a pillar and protector of the political establishment, the
target of the protesters’ ire.”
France
24: US, Gulf Allies Sanction Hezbollah-Iran Network
“The United States and six Gulf allies announced sanctions
Wednesday on 25 entities associated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps and Lebanon's Hezbollah, in a move to tighten controls on
both group's finances. The sanctions were set by Riyadh-based
Terrorist Financing Targeting Center, a two-year-old group that
includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United
Arab Emirates in addition to the United States. They targeted
companies supporting the Basij Resistance Force, a subordinate group
of the Revolutionary Guard, that the Treasury said are used “to
oppress domestic opposition with brutal displays of violence” and
supply fighters to regional conflicts. Among the 25 was Iranian Bank
Mellat and mining, manufacturing and investment firms that allegedly
support the Basij. Four of those listed were individuals running
Hezbollah's operations in Iraq, the Treasury said. All 25 have
previously been named in US Treasury sanctions announced in 2018. “The
TFTC's coordinated disruption of the financial networks used by the
Iranian regime to fund terrorism is a powerful demonstration of Gulf
unity,” said US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a statement.”
Middle East
The
Wall Street Journal: Popular Protests Rattle Arab
Leaders
“Waves of sustained protests have shaken entrenched Arab rulers
from Algeria to Iraq, injecting a new sense of euphoria among
activists across the region as more leaders succumb to demands for
change. United in their calls to end corruption and kleptocracy,
demonstrators are fueling a new era of unrest that has defied violent
crackdowns and politicians’ appeals to stay home. They are using
lessons from the Arab Spring, maintaining a focus on reforms and
trying to avoid the pitfalls that turned hopeful uprisings in Syria,
Libya and Yemen into civil wars. “What we are witnessing in the Arab
world right now is a continuation of the Arab Spring of 2011,” said
Lina Khatib, head of the Middle East and North Africa Program at
Chatham House, an independent think tank in London. “What unites the
popular protests all over the region is that people have broken the
wall of fear.”
The
Arab Weekly: Qatar Invests Millions In US Lobbying, But PR Problems
Remain
“More than two years after Qatar was boycotted by its Arab
neighbours for its alleged support for extremism, the tiny Gulf state
is spending millions to repair its image in Washington, only to see
new perception issues crop up. According to the Center for Responsive
Politics, Qatar has allocated at least $24 million in US PR and
lobbying since 2017. Qatar’s PR and lobbying budgets went to fighting
legislation that would single it out for its ties to designated terror
groups like Hamas and Hezbollah and also to evade measures assailing
the credibility of Doha’s state-financed broadcaster, Al Jazeera. The
beleaguered emirate has had mixed success at best in reshaping its
image, sometimes convincing lawmakers to water down critical laws and
resolutions, but ironically drawing increased scrutiny in the US at
its close relationship with America’s arch-foe Iran and for what
Jewish advocacy groups say is blatant state-sponsored
anti-semitism.”
FP:
U.S. Deterrence In The Middle East Is Collapsing
“As welcome as was the U.S. raid that lead to the death of Islamic
State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi over the weekend, it can’t erase the
damage done to U.S. interests in the Middle East over the past few
months. Whatever explanations U.S. President Donald Trump and his
supporters put forward to justify his impulsive decision to withdraw
U.S. forces from northeastern Syria earlier this month, the searing
images that followed told a far different tale. U.S. soldiers in
chaotic retreat. Wartime allies abandoned. Hard-won battlefield gains
surrendered to some of America’s most dangerous adversaries. And all
to avoid confronting the threats of a viscerally anti-American Turkish
authoritarian whose economy and military could be devastated by
decisions made in Washington. Rightly or wrongly, both friends and
foes of the United States have rapidly been reaching the conclusion
that Trump, despite all his bluster and chest thumping, has no stomach
for a sustained fight. Baghdadi’s death may mitigate, but does not
reverse, the spreading perception that U.S. deterrence in the Middle
East is collapsing.”
Xinhua:
Kuwait Lists 21 Entities, 4 Individuals As Terrorist
Elements
“The Kuwaiti authorities listed 21 entities and four individuals as
terrorist elements, the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported Wednesday.
The decision was made by an anti-terrorism committee of the Kuwaiti
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, KUNA said. The listing came as part of
Kuwait's efforts to combat terrorism and dry up its resources,
according to a ministry statement. The move also aims to “implement
relevant security council resolutions under the UN Chapter VII
concerning the combat of terrorism and barring proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction,” the statement said.”
Africa
Reuters:
Twelve Niger Soldiers Killed In Probable Boko Haram Attack:
Ministry
“Twelve soldiers in southeastern Niger were killed and eight
wounded in an overnight attack by gunmen likely belonging to Islamist
insurgent group Boko Haram, the defense ministry said on Wednesday.
Boko Haram has been fighting for a decade to carve an Islamist
caliphate out of northeast Nigeria, and has carried out regular raids
over loosely guarded borders into neighboring Chad, Niger and
Cameroon. On the night of Oct. 29-30, an army position in Diffa region
was “attacked by unidentified armed persons very probably belonging to
the terrorist group Boko Haram,” the ministry said in a radio
statement.”
Xinhua:
Two Terror Suspects Killed As Al-Shabab Raid Kenyan Police
Camp
“Al-Shabab militants killed two of their accomplices who had been
detained by Kenyan security officers when they raided a police camp in
Wajir County near the border with Somalia on Tuesday evening.
Northeastern regional police commander Paul Soi confirmed the incident
on Wednesday, saying three police officers were injured during the
gunfight with the extremist group suspected to have crossed from
Somalia. Soi said there were plans to transfer the suspects to another
station before the militants stormed the Dadajabula police station.
The police and witnesses said it was raining heavily at the time of
the raid, forcing the police officers on duty to take cover, giving
way for the attackers to raid the station at around 8 pm. “It seems
they were high-value suspects. They were pulled from the cells and
killed,” said a local official who did not want to be named. He said
the raid was about rescuing two al-Shabab suspects the police detained
at the station. The station is about 13 kilometers from the
Kenya-Somalia border. The border is porous that could allow in
terrorists freely.”
United Kingdom
BBC
News: Manchester Terror Arrests After Suspicious Items Found In
Car
“Two men have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences
after police stopped a Range Rover in a city centre. The pair were
detained on Deansgate in Manchester following reports of two men
acting suspiciously on Chapel Street in Salford at 14:30 GMT.
Suspicious items were discovered inside the car and a precautionary
cordon was placed around it, police said. The men are being held on
suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of
terrorism. Police said the items had been examined by bomb disposal
officers at the scene, who confirmed they “represent no danger to the
public”. There is no evidence to suggest any threat to the public and
detectives are keeping an open mind as to the nature of the incident,
Greater Manchester Police said. Deansgate was closed from Chester Road
roundabout but it has since reopened.”
Germany
Deutsche
Welle: Germany Announces Plans To Combat Far-Right Extremism And
Online Hate Speech
“Tightening of gun laws, more protection for political figures at
all levels and an obligation to report online criminal content for
social media networks such as Facebook, Youtube and Twitter: those
were just some of the measures announced by the German government on
Wednesday as part of a new strategy which aims to combat far-right
extremism and hate speech on the internet. For more than a year,
Germany's Interior and Justice Ministries have wrangled over the new
bill, but recent far-right extremist violence in Germany resulted in
the German Cabinet upping the tempo and hashing out a new packet
months earlier than planned. In June, pro-refugee regional official
Walter Lübcke was gunned down at his home in central Germany by a
right-wing extremist. Just three weeks ago, a heavily armed man killed
two people after trying and failing to carry out a mass shooting in
the local synagogue in the eastern city of Halle. Investigations into
the suspect of the Halle attack have found that 27-year-old Stephan B.
had often visited websites which circulated anti-Semitic conspiracy
theories.”
Europe
CNN:
Europe Never Really Dealt With Its ISIS Fighters. A Reckoning Is
Coming
“They are good at dismay, the Europeans. Their cheek-clutching
horror at US President Donald Trump's abandonment of the Kurdish-led
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was worthy of Munch's “The Scream.” But
to have reacted with surprise at this much-telegraphed decision
reveals a staggering level of naivety. Worse still, their failure to
anticipate the behavior of America's mercurial President reveals both
cowardice and stupidity -- not among the tiny number of special forces
from the United Kingdom, France, Denmark and elsewhere, who were sent
to help with the defeat of ISIS, of course. But certainly among the
leaders of wealthy western nations that have the greatest strategic
interest in what happens in the Middle East. Trump may lack historical
insight, or even much respect for the advice that top level American
advisers and scholars can offer when it comes to Syria. It's hardly
surprising that the President repeatedly singles out France, Germany
and the UK for failing to address the issue of returning ISIS
fighters, or their families, who languish in northern Syrian camps,
fomenting jihadist rage in the pressure cookers of social discontent.
Last year, Trump announced he wanted out of Syria. His defense
secretary resigned over the decision.”
Middle
East Online: Qatar’s Exemption From Schengen Visa Carries ‘Security
Risk’
“The decision to exempt Qataris from Schengen visa
raised serious suspicions over Qatar's relationship with leading
Muslim Brotherhood activists and the support it provides to radical
Islamist organisations. It alleged that the tiny Gulf emirate
harboured terrorists and was a funder of extremist groups. “Qatar has
a long history of providing support for extremism and terrorism,
including but not limited to vast financial and material support to
internationally designated terrorist groups and willing accommodation
of internationally designated or wanted terrorist leaders and
financiers,” Counter Extremism Project CEO Mark Wallace wrote in a
letter sent to several companies worldwide. Wallace accused Doha of
offering financial support, either directly or indirectly, to Hamas,
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Taliban.”
Daily
Mail: Thousands Of Inmates Set To Be Freed From European Prisons At
The End Of Their Terms May Have Been Radicalised As Islamist Militants
While In Jail, EU Security Chief Warns
“Thousands of inmates who are soon to be freed from European
prisons may have been radicalised while in jail, the EU's security
chief warned today. Julian King said there were 'thousands of such
individuals' who were coming to the end of their prison terms. Around
1,100 people are being held on terrorism charges, King said, while
others who were jailed for unrelated crimes may also have been
radicalised. Returning fighters from Syria are also a concern, the
commissioner told a news conference today. Security forces in Europe
have arrested hundreds of militants amid a wave of deadly attacks
since 2015. 'The jihadi threat has not gone away. There is no way we
can lower our guard,' King said on Wednesday. 'We face a challenge
from those who have been prosecuted and locked up in prison for
terrorist offences over recent years coming to the end of their term
and being released. 'There are some thousands of such individuals in
our prisons across Europe.' In addition, around 500 European fighters
were detained in Syria after ISIS lost its last patch of territory
earlier this year, he said. He added that up to 1,400 children with at
least one EU parent were also in Syria, of whom half are in
prison.”
Southeast Asia
Asia
Times: ISIS Fading In Mid East, Thriving In The
Philippines
“While Islamic State’s (ISIS) fate hangs in the balance after the
recent assassination of its leader in Syria, the terrorist group is
still alive and well in the Philippines. Two years after Philippine
President Rodrigo Duterte declared the liberation of Marawi City from
ISIS-aligned militants, the group is now recruiting a new generation
of fighters from the ruined city’s dislocated and disenfranchised
victims. Regional security experts are concerned that recent
convulsions in Syria are driving a new wave of ISIS fighters into
Southeast Asia, particularly into the southern Philippines, where
dozens of local extremist outfits have declared fealty to the group.
As during a previous exodus of ISIS fighters from the Middle East to
Southeast Asia, where militants crossed into the Philippines lightly
patrolled southern reaches on the island of Mindanao, analysts believe
Marawi is reemerging as an extremist epicenter. “Marawi City has
become a fertile ground for extremist recruitment,” said Rommel
Banlaoi, chairman of the Manila-based Philippine Institute for Peace,
Violence and Terrorism Research, a think tank.”
Technology
Daily
Mail: Terror Experts Warn Of 'Surge' In Pro-ISIS Social Media Posts
After Death Of Leader Al-Baghdadi As Extremists Vow That 'Jihad Will
Never Stop Even If Our Caliph Dies'
“Experts have noticed a 'surge' in pro-ISIS social media posts in
the wake of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's death. The Counter Extremism
Project said the jihadists had been posting 'regular propaganda' after
the terrorist leader died in a U.S. special forces raid in Syria.
While some have apparently been denying Baghdadi's death, others have
pledged to fight on regardless, warning: 'Jihad will never stop, even
if our own caliph dies.' The project's director David Ibsen said ISIS
would 'undoubtedly use the death of their caliph to expand their
online presence'. On Telegram, a messaging service, the Amaq news
agency linked to ISIS has continued to post claims of attacks in the
Middle East. However, there has been no comment from official ISIS
channels on Baghdadi's death. Speaking to The National, Mr Ibsen
said: 'Official ISIS news channels have been posting regular
propaganda including stories of attacks by ISIS fighters around the
world and photos of captured weapons. 'Individuals in pro-ISIS chats
on Telegram have been urging patience and warning users not to believe
non-ISIS media or spread rumours. 'Some chatroom participants have
discussed the concepts of martyrdom and perseverance, and have
repledged their support to ISIS.'“
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