“Britain’s Conservative government could be allowed to strip people of
citizenship without giving them notice to appeal if legislation being debated i

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


November 22, 2021  

 

The Washington Post: After Long Legal Battle With ‘ISIS Bride,’ U.K. Pushes
For Power To Cancel Citizenship Without Notice
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“Britain’s Conservative government could be allowed to strip people of
citizenship without giving them notice to appeal if legislation being debated
in Parliament becomes law. The Nationality and Border Bill would permit the
home secretary, Britain’s top domestic security official, to cancel citizenship
without warning on national security grounds if it is not “reasonably
practicable” to do. The move comes months after a top British court said that
Shamima Begum, the British-born “ISIS bride” who left the country as a teenager
to join the Islamic State, will not be allowed to return to the United Kingdom
to fight a legal case about the revocation of citizenship. “Deprivation of
citizenship on conducive grounds is rightly reserved for those who pose a
threat to the UK or whose conduct involves very high harm,” said the Home
Office in a statement, adding that British citizenship is a “privilege” and not
a right. London said that the bill does not give it extra powers to remove
citizenship, but legal experts have slammed the legislation for potentially
creating situations where people lose their right to return home without being
allowed to challenge the decision in court. “It’s not the kind of transparency
in due process that you want,” said Alexander Gillespie, an international law
expert at New Zealand’s University of Waikato.”

 

NPR: For Far-Right Groups, Rittenhouse's Acquittal Is A Cause For Celebration
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“In the minutes after a jury acquitted 18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse on all
counts, jubilation lit up on social media spaces where far-right extremists
gather. In one Telegram channel for the far-right Proud Boys, some noted they
had taken the day off work to await the verdict. “There's still a chance for
this country,” wrote one. In another channel, a member stated that political
violence must continue. “The left wont stop until their bodied get stacked up
like cord wood,” he wrote. Rittenhouse himself is not known to be a member of
an extremist group. But the trial, which from its beginning became a cause and
rallying cry among conservatives who champion gun rights, has been particularly
alarming to extremism researchers. As it played out against the backdrop of an
increasingly polarized nation, experts of far-right movements say opportunists
found a growing audience for their violence-fueled messaging that targets the
left. Now that a jury has found that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense, those
concerns are recentering on the question of whether it may embolden others to
engage in political violence.”

 

United States

 

US Department Of Justice: Man Sentenced To More Than 16 Years’ Imprisonment
For Attempting To Provide Material Support To Terrorists
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“A New York man was sentenced today to 200 months, more than 16 years, in
prison for attempting to provide material support and resources to the
designated foreign terrorist organizations the Islamic State of Iraq and
al-Sham (ISIS) and the al-Nusrah Front. Elvis Redzepagic, 30, of Commack,
pleaded guilty in April 2021. According to court documents, in early 2015,
Redzepagic began communicating with an individual he believed to be both the
commander of a battalion in Syria and a member of ISIS or the al-Nusrah Front,
and made attempts to join that individual’s battalion to engage in violent
jihad. In July 2015, Redzepagic traveled to Turkey and made multiple
unsuccessful attempts to cross the border into Syria. Unable to enter Syria
from Turkey, Redzepagic traveled to Jordan in August 2016, but was stopped and
deported by Jordanian authorities. In Facebook messages from October 2015,
Redzepagic explained that “jihad” is when “you fight for the sake of God” and
“die for the sake of Allah.” Redzepagic stated that he traveled to Turkey to
“perform Jihad and join Jabhat Al-Nusra.” He predicted, “there will come a time
where people will only know to say Allahu Akbar.” In subsequent interviews with
law enforcement, Redzepagic admitted that at the time he attempted to enter
Syria, he was prepared to strap a bomb to himself.”

 

National Post: Hans-Jakob Schindler: The Continued Threat Of Terrorism
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“It’s the problem that won’t go away. Like a virus, it mutates into new
variants just when we think we have it on the back foot. Again and again, it
raises old questions about what we are prepared to sacrifice in order to defeat
it. It challenges our seemingly irrepressible urge to locate the dangers in
distant lands when, in reality, it is a disease that can also strike us with
deadly effect from within our own homes, and from people we think we know. The
year 2021 saw two major events that exemplify the multifaceted nature of the
terrorism challenge. On Jan. 6, a violent mob, including members of right-wing
extremist groups such as the Proud Boys, as well as QAnon supporters of former
U.S. president Donald Trump, stormed the U.S. Capitol building. This showcased
the growing threat of violent right-wing extremism at home. Then, on Aug. 30,
international forces completed a hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan, enabling
the Taliban to take control, and raising the spectre of the country
transforming again into a safe haven for al-Qaida and similar groups. The twin
challenge from right-wing and Islamist terrorism will continue to dominate the
terrorism threat landscape. Enabled and fuelled by technologies such as social
media, internet communication and the increasing abuse of cryptocurrencies,
these groups are now able to co-operate and organize globally, and to
communicate and finance themselves effectively, mostly by using cost-free
services.”

 

Vice: Neo-Nazis Who Plotted To Kill Antifa Activist Sentenced To Prison
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“…Joshua Fisher-Birch, an intelligence analyst who specializes in right-wing
extremism at terrorism watchdog the Counter-Extremism Project, said the plot
was a harbinger of what would eventually follow. “Extreme right-wing violence
continues to be a problem in the U.S., with numbers increasing in 2020,” he
said. “In this case, the defendants were arrested before they could commit a
particularly horrendous politically motivated murder, but it’s important to
note that the threat remains.” “Similar white supremacist groups and networks
that aspire to commit acts of violence also continue to seek recruits and
organize clandestinely,” said Fisher-Birch, pointing out that The Base, even in
the face of heavy law enforcement probes, isn’t dead either. But over a dozen
of its members around the world have been arrested. Earlier this month
ex-Canadian soldier Patrik Matthews and another member of the group were
convicted in a Maryland court for plotting a mass shooting at a Virginia gun
rally. The two had hoped their attack would spark a “race war” and send the
U.S. into civil unrest between the right and the left, but their plot ended
with both of them in federal prison for nine years. Judging from the group’s
online activities, The Base, which claims it is a survivalist collective (but
is a designated terror group in two countries), continues to exist and posts
propaganda images of members engaging in paramilitary training.”

 

Syria

 

Kurdistan 24: Anti-Terror Units Arrest Four ISIS Suspects In Northern Syria
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“The Anti Terror Forces (HAT) linked to the Internal Security Forces, also
known as Asayish, arrested four ISIS suspects on Saturday in rural Hasakah
province of Syria. The operation took place in Tal Hamis, Hasakah, and the
forces seized a number of weapons and ammunition, in addition to Iraqi and
Syrian identity documents. Last week, ISIS reportedly claimed to have injured a
member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with which HAT is allied, in Tal
Hamis. While ISIS lost the entirety of its former self-styled caliphate back in
2019, the group still operates networks of sleeper cells across northeast
Syria. Most of the attacks are carried out in the Arab-majority province of
Deir al-Zor, while there are relatively few ISIS attacks in the Hasakah
province. On Nov. 14, an unidentified person detonated a bomb near the military
police headquarters in Sanifa town in al-Hasakah city before fleeing the site,
the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported. The bomb only
caused material damage. Also, on Nov. 12, the body of a man was found in the
vicinity of al-Tariqiyah village in south of Hasakah city, SOHR reported. The
murder was likely linked to ISIS sleeper cell activity in the area.”

 

Metro: Isis Is Stealing Thousands Of Sheep In Syria To Finance Terror Cells
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“…Hundreds of animals were reportedly stolen every week at the beginning of
2021, with farmers being murdered in raids or killed by mines laid on roads and
in grazing areas. Some of the cattle is being used to sustain the fighters.
Gregory Waters, a research analyst with the Counter Extremism Project, told
Metro.co.uk: ‘It’s nothing like the oil trade Isis had when it was controlling
territory, but they don’t have the expenses they had before. ‘All they need now
is supplies for their cells and to pay the smugglers. ‘It’s an easy and
lucrative operation. It also serves a second purpose in that by killing
shepherds and stealing sheep there are more internally displaced people, which
means more smuggling routes and informal crossings. ‘This makes it easier for
Isis fighters to infiltrate areas as they can hide among strangers moving from
place to place.’ Shepherds have been found executed with gunshots to their
heads on ‘multiple’ occasions this year, according to a report by Mr Waters for
the New York-based think tank. The livestock is then smuggled to markets,
including those across the border in Iraq where a better price can be fetched,
and south into the regime’s main bastions in Syria. Up to 23,000 sheep were
transported into SDF-held territory, which includes Raqqa, during the first few
months of 2021, according to a researcher in the city who spoke to Mr Waters.”

 

Afghanistan

 

The Wall Street Journal: Afghanistan’s Opium Business Cranks Up As The Taliban
Look The Other Way
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“Afghanistan’s opium industry—the main source of heroin sold in the West—is
revving back up. Here in Talukan, dozens of merchants openly trade different
grades of opium in a busy new market that has sprung up since the Taliban’s
Aug. 15 victory. Plastic bags filled with viscous brown liquid are on display
next to metal bowls filled with a jellylike substance as well as solid dark
bricks of the narcotic. White banners praising the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate
fly from every shop. In this and other districts of southern Afghanistan’s
Kandahar province, the Taliban movement’s cradle, farmers say they are starting
to plant poppies on land where they used to grow wheat or corn because a
combination of drought, international sanctions and border closures has made
legal crops unprofitable. “Everyone is poor here, and will become even poorer
if we don’t grow poppies. There is no alternative: Our other produce simply has
no market,” said Salih Mohammad, a 55-year-old father of seven. He said he
increased the land under poppy cultivation from 2.5 to 4 acres, or half of his
leasehold, this month: “There is no doubt that people here will grow more
poppies this year than in the past.” Afghanistan has been suffering from its
worst drought in decades.”

 

Reuters: Taliban To Start Paying Overdue Salaries Of Afghan Government Workers
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“Afghanistan's Taliban administration will begin paying the overdue salaries
of government workers from Saturday, officials said. Thousands of Afghan
government workers are owed at least three months of salary, one of the many
crises faced by the Taliban since the Islamist movement took over the country
in August. “The finance ministry says that, starting today, the past three
months salaries of all government workers and staff will be paid totally,”
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter. It was not immediately
clear where the funds to pay the salaries would come from. Even before the
Taliban seized control last in August, many public sector workers said they had
not been paid for weeks. After the movement took power, billions of dollars of
Afghan government funds parked abroad in the United States and Europe were
frozen. Foreign governments have been unwilling to fund the Taliban-led
administration directly to help with financial commitments such as payment of
workers. Global financial institutions have also halted funding. After a
meeting on Thursday between the special envoys of Germany and the Netherlands
and Taliban officials in Kabul, the envoys expressed willingness to explore
paying health and education sector workers directly through international
organisations.”

 

Lebanon

 

Reuters: Lebanon Needs To Show That Hezbollah Can Change Behaviour, Bahrain
Minister Says
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“Bahrain's foreign minister, Abdullatif Al Zayani, said on Saturday that
Lebanon needs to demonstrate that its powerful Iran-allied Hezbollah movement
can change its behaviour to mend a rift with Gulf Arab states. Lebanon is
facing a diplomatic crisis with Gulf states, triggered by a minister's critical
comments about the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen that prompted Saudi Arabia,
Bahrain and Kuwait to expel Lebanon's top diplomats and recall their own
envoys. Concerned about Hezbollah's growing influence, Gulf states -
traditional aid donors to Lebanon - have been withholding support to the
country which is suffering a deep economic crisis. “We (can) extend support and
try to find solutions in the future, but once it is demonstrated that Hezbollah
can be changing its behaviour,” Zayani told the IISS Manama Dialogue security
forum in Bahrain. Riyadh, locked in a regional rivalry with Iran, has said its
measures last month against Lebanon, including an import ban, were not only in
response to the minister's remarks, but were also to demonstrate unease over
Hezbollah's “domination” of Lebanese politics. Lebanon's newly appointed
information minister George Kordahi said his remarks were made in an interview
before he joined the cabinet and has refused to apologise or step down.”

 

Middle East

 

CNN: Hamas Gunman Kills One Israeli, Injures Four Others, In Jerusalem Attack;
Police Shoot Dead Assailant
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“A 26-year old Israeli man has died after a Hamas gunman carried out a
shooting attack in Jerusalem's Old City. The dead man has been named as Eliyahu
David Kay, a recent immigrant from South Africa who worked as a guide at the
Western Wall. Authorities corrected the victim's age that they had earlier
reported. Four other people -- among them a man whose condition was described
as serious -- were injured in the incident, which happened on Sunday morning
near the Chain Gate entrance to the al Aqsa mosque compound, also known as the
Temple Mount. The assailant, who used an improvised automatic weapon commonly
known as a Carlo, police say, was shot dead by police officers on the scene.
Israel's public security minister Omar Bar Lev said the gunman was from the
neighborhood of Shuafat in east Jerusalem and a member of the political wing of
Hamas. Hamas issued a statement identifying the attacker as Fadi Abu Shkaydam,
calling him a heroic martyr and describing him as a local leader of the
movement. It said the attack was “a response to the attempts to desecrate Al
Aqsa mosque.” Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told government ministers
he was praying for the recovery of the wounded and had instructed security
forces to prepare for possible “copycat attacks.”

 

Nigeria

 

Sahara Reporters: Suspected Boko Haram Terrorists Abduct 22 Girls For Marriage
In Niger State
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“Suspected members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect have invaded Kurebe
community in the Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, abducting 22
girls. According to LEADERSHIP, the abducted girls were between the ages 15 and
17 years old. The gunmen allegedly told the villagers that they were going to
marry the girls. A community leader who spoke on condition of anonymity said
they had earlier informed them that the girls should be withdrawn from the
school because they would come to marry them, adding that they were surprised
that the terrorists came yesterday (Thursday) to pick up the girls without any
security check. He said the group leader, identified as Malam Sadiku led
several operations in the area, preaching weird Islamic ideology unhindered for
several months. “They operate freely but when they identify a stranger in the
community, they usually feel threatened; they either plan for the abduction of
the stranger or chase the person away; we reported several times to the
authorities,” he said. The Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello,
had raised the alarm several times that an Islamic group akin to Boko Haram had
hoisted their flag in Kaure, a village close to Kurebe. The Chairman of Shiroro
Local Government Area, Suleiman Dauda Chukuba, had also raised the alarm over
the activities of the group, calling for urgent action.”

 

Daily Post Nigeria: Boko Haram, ISIS, ISWAP Threat In Nigeria Increasing –
Osinbajo Notifies US
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“Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the threat to Nigeria by Boko Haram, ISIS
and its affiliate, Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP), is increasing.
Osinbajo raised the alarm on Thursday at the State House, Abuja, during the
United States-Nigeria signing of a $2.1billion Development Assistance
Agreement. The VP thanked US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken for America’s
support on security, infrastructure and intelligence. Noting that the 12 Super
Tucano turboprops have been delivered, he said Nigeria looks forward to
receiving the fighter helicopters. Osinbajo informed Blinken that the security
issues and terror threats in the North-East, Lake Chad and the Sahel persist.
“They seem to increase. We are looking forward to greater cooperation because
the challenge of terrorism, especially of the sort we have seen with ISWAP,
Boko Haram and ISIS. “It will fester and it can really take on the kinds of
dimensions that may turn out to be much more grave than we ever thought. We
need to do a lot in that particular respect,” he said. He expressed gratitude
to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for their
work in Nigeria over the years. Osinbajo revealed his admiration about how
USAID mastered the way of ensuring that there is a bottom-up approach and
participation of beneficiaries.”

 

Somalia

 

Reuters: Somali Suicide Bomber Kills Well-Known Somali Journalist
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“An al Shabaab suicide bomber in the Somali capital killed himself and a
well-known Somali journalist on Saturday, al Shabaab and the journalist's
family told Reuters. Abdiaziz Mohamud Guled, commonly known as Abdiaziz Afrika,
worked with the government-owned Radio Mogadishu and covered al Shabaab
extensively. "My cousin Abdiaziz was killed by a suicide bomber immediately
after he went out to a restaurant... he died as he was rushed to hospital," his
cousin Abdullahi Nur told Reuters. "He always shonea big light on al Shabaab,
may God rest his soul," Nur said. Al Shabaab confirmed it was behind the
attack. The group, which wants to overthrow the government and impose its own
strict interpretation of Islamic law, frequently carries out bombings. "The
mujahideen had been hunting Abdiaziz for a long time. He committed crimes
against Islam, he was involved in the killing of mujahideens," Abdiasis Abu
Musab, al Shabaab military operation spokesperson, told Reuters by phone.”

 

Africa

 

Reuters: Five Chinese Nationals Kidnapped In DR Congo After Attack Near Mine
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“Gunmen killed a policeman and kidnapped five Chinese nationals near a mine in
southeast Democratic Republic of Congo overnight, a local official and an army
spokesman said on Sunday. It was not clear who carried out the attack near the
village of Mukera in South Kivu province. Relations are already strained
between Chinese mining companies and local authorities, who say some firms are
operating illegally without licenses. “An armed group exchanged fire with
police. Five Chinese nationals were kidnapped,” Major Dieudonne Kasereka, the
army spokesman in the region, said. A spokesperson at the Chinese embassy in
Congo did not respond to a request for comment. The name of the mine site was
not given. In August, the governor of South Kivu, Theo Kasi, suspended the
operations of six small Chinese companies, ordering all local and foreign staff
to leave the sites. Protests erupted in some areas after companies did not
close immediately, local media reported. Separately, President Felix Tshisekedi
is reviewing a $6 billion “infrastructure-for-minerals” deal with Chinese
investors signed under previous president Joseph Kabila. He said previously
that some mining contracts could be reviewed because of concerns they are not
sufficiently benefiting Congo, which is the world's largest producer of cobalt
and Africa's leading miner of copper.”

 

Voice Of America: Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad Say New Jihadist Terrorism Threats
Warrant Change Of Military Response
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“Cameroonian, Nigerian and Chadian troops fighting terrorism in the Lake Chad
basin say attacks on military positions have been increasing since Boko Haram
leader Aboubakar Shekau was declared dead in May. Military officials from the
three countries say the Islamic State in West Africa Province group, or ISWAP,
is completely changing terrorism tactics to gain the sympathy of Lake Chad
basin civilians. They say ISWAP is emerging as the terrorist group that is
taking over from Boko Haram, which is weakened by the death of its leader
Shekau. Major General Saly Mohamadou is commander of Cameroon’s troops fighting
terrorism in the Lake Chad Basin. He says, unlike Boko Haram, which attacked
civilians for supplies and killed both the military and people who opposed the
terrorist group when it was very active, ISWAP only attacks military positions
to gain support from civilians. He says ISWAP is fighting to control border
areas between Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria. Mohamadou said senior military
officials of the Multinational Joint Task Force or MNJTF met in Maroua,
Cameroon this week to formulate a strategy toward the new terrorism threat. The
task force, headquartered in the Chadian capital of N'djamena, is made up of
more than 10,000 troops from Niger, Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria.”

 

United Kingdom

 

Al Jazeera: Hamas Reacts With Fury As Britain Moves To Ban Group
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“Hamas has condemned a move by Britain towards banning the group as a
terrorist organisation which could see supporters of the Palestinian movement
face up to 14 years in prison. Home Secretary Priti Patel, who will push for
the ban in Parliament next week, argued on Friday that it was not possible to
distinguish between Hamas’s political and military wings. She called Hamas
“fundamentally and rabidly anti-Semitic”, adding the proscription was required
to protect the Jewish community. Hamas responded in a statement, saying:
“Instead of apologising and correcting its historical sin against the
Palestinian people … [Britain] supports the aggressors at the expense of the
victims.” That comment referred to the Balfour Declaration and British Mandate,
which it said handed “Palestinian lands to the Zionist movement”. “Resisting
occupation, by all available means, including armed resistance, is a right
guaranteed by international law to people under occupation,” added the
statement. The group called on its supporters to condemn the UK’s move, as it
described Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands, forcible displacement of
Palestinians, the demolition of their homes, and the siege of more than two
million people in Gaza Strip, as “terrorism.”

 

Australia

 

Brisbane Times: ‘Totally Unacceptable’: Police Investigate Terrorist-Related
Email Sent To Politicians
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“Police are investigating an email with alleged threats of terrorism that have
been sent to several state and federal ministers on Friday. Politicians and
police say the emails have been sent to numerous ministers in a bulk email.
Labor MP Brittany Lauga on Friday posted that she had received an email with
threats of terrorism. “This afternoon I received an email from a local Keppel
resident, which was sent to numerous other MPs with threats of terrorism,
extremism and violence,” Ms Lauga wrote on Twitter. “I understand local doctors
have been sent death threats and other threatening letters.” She said the
police had been contacted. “I unequivocally condemn these threats of violence,
terrorism and extremism. This is not peaceful protest,” she said. “All our
leaders – including the Prime Minister – should stand together in sending a
message that this behaviour has no place in our country.” Education Minister
Grace Grace told reporters on Saturday that the emails were “totally
unacceptable”. “I mean honestly, have your views. But we’re hearing that a lot
of members of parliament are getting these...either emails or on certain phone
calls into our electoral offices,” she said. “Look, they’re totally
unacceptable. Everyone deserves to be safe at work, including politicians and
other members of the community. And I would say to them, please stop. It’s not
helping anybody. It’s unwelcome and it’s reckless.”

 

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