“The United States “strongly condemns” a militant attack on a bus in central
Mali that killed at least 31 people and wounded 17, the State Department

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


December 6, 2021  

 

Reuters: U.S. Condemns Militant Attack In Mali That Killed 31
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“The United States “strongly condemns” a militant attack on a bus in central
Mali that killed at least 31 people and wounded 17, the State Department said
on Sunday. Unidentified gunmen on Friday opened fire on the bus as it traveled
from the village of Songho to a market in Bandiagara, 6 miles (10 km) away. The
villages sit in the heart of the Mopti region, an epicenter of violence in Mali
fueled by insurgents linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State. “The United States
strongly condemns the attack on civilians on Saturday near Bandiagara, Mali,
which left 31 dead and 17 injured,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said
in a written statement. “We extend our deepest condolences to the Malian people
and will continue to partner with them in their pursuit of a safe, prosperous,
and democratic future,” Price said. Jihadist attacks have surged across
Africa's Sahel region, killing thousands and displacing millions across Mali,
Burkina Faso and Niger.”

 

BBC News: One Of UK's 'Most Prolific Far-Right Anti-Semitic Video Streamers'
Jailed <[link removed]>

 

“One of the UK's most prolific far-right anti-Semitic video streamers, who
posted films of himself as an offensive caricature of a Jewish man to 10,000
subscribers online, has been jailed. Richard Hesketh was arrested after a
charity showed police his work, which had had about two million views. The
36-year-old, of Hollin Lane in Middleton, admitted seven counts of inciting
racial hatred. He was jailed for four years at Manchester Crown Court. Greater
Manchester Police said as part of his “campaign of abuse towards the Jewish
community”, Hesketh had created an alter-ego called George and dressed up for
videos “in an attempt to caricature an offensive stereotype of a Jewish male,
using a false voice”. A spokesman said Hesketh used a spare bedroom in his home
to “create his obscene videos which focused on celebrating far-right terrorism
and showing support for violence against Jewish people”. Counter terrorism
police were alerted to his activity by Jewish protection charity The Community
Security Trust (CST), which had expressed concerns about the nature of videos
being uploaded to Hesketh's profile between 2018 and 2020. The force spokesman
said the videos had “a combined viewing figure of two million views.”

 

United States

 

Stars And Stripes: Nearly 300 Allegations Of Extremism In The Military Ranks
Reported By Pentagon This Year Despite Failure To Standardize Complaint
Procedures
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“The military branches reported nearly 300 allegations of extremism among
troops between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, though the Pentagon has yet to establish
congressionally mandated reporting and tracking standards, according to a
Defense Department inspector general report released Thursday. “The military
departments reported a total of 294 allegations, 281 investigations and
inquiries, 92 instances where action was taken, zero instances where no action
was taken and 83 referrals to civilian law enforcement agencies,” according to
the report. There were 137 allegations in the Air Force, 81 in the Army, 44 in
the Navy and 32 in the Marine Corps, according to the report. All of them
triggered investigations, except 13 in the Navy that did not require further
inquiry. After completing investigations, the Air Force took action in 37
cases, the Army in 18 cases, Navy referred 27 for punishment — including one
for prosecution — and the Marine Corps took action in 10 cases, according to
the report. Extremism reporting is required by the 2021 National Defense
Authorization Act, which sets the Defense Department’s annual budget. It also
required the Pentagon to establish oversight policies, processes and ways to
report extremism in the ranks.”

 

Syria

 

Associated Press: Kosovo Man Charged With Joining Extremist Group In Syria
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“Prosecutors brought terror charges Friday against an ethnic Albanian man from
Kosovo who allegedly joined an extremist group in Syria and brought his family
there. A statement from the prosecutor’s office in Kosovo said the suspect,
identified only as N. L., joined the Jabhat al-Nusra group along his son.
Authorities allege he trained as a fighter and participated in attacks in
Syria. The statement said the man returned to Kosovo in April 2013 to bring to
his wife, two daughters and a daughter-in-law to Syria. He allegedly rejoined
his son and the al-Nusra group and was eventually handed over to Syrian forces
and repatriated to Kosovo, according to the statement, which did not give the
whereabouts of his relatives. If convicted, the man faces up to 10 years in
prison. Authorities say that fewer than 90 Kosovo citizens remain in Syria,
most of them the widows of former fighters. Kosovo repatriated 110 of its
citizens, mostly women and children, from Syria two years ago. Many of the
adults have been charged with terrorism-related offensives and are serving
prison sentences. More than 400 people from Kosovo are thought to have joined
extremist groups in Syria and Iraq.”

 

CNN: US Officials Say Humanitarian Effort In Syria Is Another Means To Counter
ISIS
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“United States special operations forces in northeastern Syria have been
quietly visiting local villages to help provide medical care to communities
which have seen little health care in the wake of years of war. The visits are
done in partnership with the Syrian Defense Forces, (SDF) which operate in the
region alongside the US in a years-long effort to root out any ISIS fighters.
The medical visits are seen by the US as part of the effort to work with SDF to
bring stability to the area, so ISIS cannot take hold, a defense official
directly familiar with the program told CNN. Overall, there are about 900 US
troops in Syria. US officials insist the humanitarian effort is not “mission
creep,” because the focus is to provide another means to counter ISIS. But it
is a step beyond the initial troop deployment by former US President Donald
Trump, aimed at his goal of seizing oil field revenue in the region. US
officials are emphasizing the medical work is led by SDF, and US forces work
under them. However, security remains a sensitive question given ISIS, Russian
and regime forces operate at times in the region. All US troops provide their
own security. The US special operations personnel participated in two medical
visits in Deir Ezzor in northeast Syria in November, according to Major Charles
An, a spokesperson for the Special Operations Joint Task Force-Levant which
provides the US troops.”

 

Fox News: CENTCOM Confirms Drone Strike Targeted Al-Qaeda Leader In Syria
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“The United States military conducted a drone strike in Syria targeting a
senior al-Qaeda leader and planner, a CENTCOM spokesperson says. “U.S. forces
conducted a kinetic strike near Idlib, Syria, December 3, targeting a senior
al-Qaeda leader and planner,” CENTCOM spokesperson Captain Bill Urban told Fox
News Digital in a statement. “The strike was conducted using a precision strike
method from MQ-9 aircraft.” Urban added that an “initial review of this strike
indicates the potential for possible civilian casualties.” “We abhor the loss
of innocent life and take all possible measures to prevent them. The
possibility of a civilian casualty was immediately self-reported to U.S.
Central Command. We are initiating a full investigation of the allegations and
will release the results when appropriate,” Urban added. CENTCOM says it will
reveal the results of the strike “when appropriate.” The White House did not
immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. News of the
strike comes days after Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered a renewed
investigation into a 2019 airstrike in Syria that resulted in the deaths of
civilians after the attack was first reported in detail by the New York Times
earlier this month.”

 

Iraq

 

Al Jazeera: Several Civilians And Peshmerga Killed By ISIL In Iraq’s Makhmour
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“An attack by ISIL (ISIS) fighters on a village in northern Iraq has caused
several fatalities, including of three civilians, according to officials. In a
statement late on Thursday, the security forces of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional
Government (KRG) said ISIL had attacked “several houses in the village of
Khidir Jija in Mount Qarachogh”, in Iraq’s Makhmour region. “Unfortunately,
there are martyrs and wounded among civilians,” it added. Local news outlet
Rudaw reported the death toll stood at 10, including seven members of the
Kurdish security forces known as the Peshmerga. In a statement on Friday, KRG
President Nechirvan Barzani condemned the “brutal attack”, which killed “three
brothers from one family” and wounded “several other civilians”. He also said
“a number” of Peshmerga had been killed, while others were wounded “during the
operation to hunt terrorists”. “The attacks by ISIL terrorists require strong
reactions and strong military and defence measures in Iraq and the Kurdistan
Region to set a permanent limit on their crimes and terrorist acts,” Barzani
added, calling for “more efficient cooperation” between the Iraqi army and the
Peshmerga, as well as increased support by the international coalition “to fill
the security and military gap, particularly in areas between Peshmerga and
Iraqi forces.”

 

Al Jazeera: ISIL Committed War Crimes At Mosul Prison, UN Investigation Finds
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“The head of a United Nations team investigating ISIL’s (ISIS) atrocities in
Iraq has said the armed group’s fighters committed crimes against humanity and
war crimes at a prison in the northern city of Mosul, where at least 1,000
mostly Shia Muslim prisoners were systematically killed seven years ago.
Christian Ritscher told the UN Security Council on Thursday that evidence
collected from mass graves containing the remains of victims of executions
carried out at Badush Central Prison and from survivors shows detailed
preparations of the attack by senior ISIL members followed by an assault on the
morning of June 10, 2014. “Prisoners captured were led to sites close to the
prison, separated based on their religion and humiliated,” he said. “At least
1,000 predominantly Shia prisoners were then systematically killed.” Ritscher
said the investigators’ analysis of digital, documentary, survivors and
forensic evidence, including ISIL documents, has identified a number of members
from the group who were responsible for the crimes. As a result of the
investigations, he said the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for
Crimes Committed by the Islamic State in Iraq (UNITAD) has concluded that ISIL
committed “crimes against humanity of murder, extermination, torture, enforced
disappearances, persecution and other inhumane acts” at Badush prison as well
as the “war crimes of willful killing, torture, inhumane treatment, and outrage
upon personal dignity.”

 

Afghanistan

 

The New York Times: In Afghanistan, ‘Who Has The Guns Gets The Land’
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“For decades, roughly a thousand families called the low-slung mud-walled
neighborhood of Firqa home. Some moved in during the 1990s civil war, while
others were provided housing under the previous government. Soon after the
Taliban takeover on Aug. 15, the new government told them all to get out.
Ghullam Farooq, 40, sat in the darkness of his shop in Firqa last month,
describing how armed Taliban fighters came at night, expelling him at gunpoint
from his home in the community, a neighborhood of Kandahar city in southern
Afghanistan. “All the Taliban said was: ‘Take your stuff and go,” he said.
Those who fled or were forcibly removed were quickly replaced with Taliban
commanders and fighters. Thousands of Afghans are facing such traumatic
dislocations as the new Taliban government uses property to compensate its
fighters for years of military service, amid a crumbling economy and a lack of
cash. Over decades, after every period of upheaval in Afghanistan, property
becomes a crucial form of wealth for those in power to reward followers. But
this arbitrary redistribution also leaves thousands displaced and fuels endless
disputes in a country where the land ownership system is so informal that few
people hold any documentation for the ground they call their own.”

 

Voice Of America: Taliban Pledge To Probe Alleged ‘Summary Killings’ Of
Ex-Afghan Forces
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“Afghanistan's ruling Taliban on Sunday rejected Western allegations they were
carrying out targeted killings of security officials linked to the ousted
U.S.-backed government in Kabul, saying the Islamist group was fully committed
to enforcing a general amnesty across the country. “Any (Taliban) member found
breaching amnesty decree will be prosecuted and penalized,” tweeted Abdul Qahar
Balkhi, the Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesman. “Incidents (of targeted
killings) will be thoroughly investigated, but unsubstantiated rumors should
not be taken at face value.” On Saturday, the United States led a host of
Western countries and allies in condemnation of reports that the Taliban have
killed or illegally detained more than 100 former Afghan police and
intelligence officers since returning to power in mid-August. “We are deeply
concerned by reports of summary killings and enforced disappearances of former
members of the Afghan security forces as documented by Human Rights Watch and
others,” read a statement by the United States, the European Union, Australia,
Britain, Japan and others, which was released by the U.S. State Department. The
alleged actions “constitute serious human rights abuses and contradict the
Taliban's announced amnesty,” the statement said.”

 

Lebanon

 

Gulf News: Kuwait Detains 5 More Suspects In Hezbollah Funding
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“Kuwaiti authorities had detained five more suspects in connection to alleged
financing of Lebanon’s Iran-allied Hezbollah group, raising the total number of
suspects in the high-profile case to 23, according to a Kuwaiti newspaper.
Investigations are under way with the new suspects after an investigative judge
has already ordered extending remand of 12 other suspects until December 13 in
the “state security” case, Al Qabas reported, citing what it termed as a close
source. Remand of other suspects is expected to be extended. The new suspects
have denied involvement, saying they pursued charity work and did not offer
financing Hezbollah. Last month, Kuwait dismantled a cell suspected of having
links with Hezbollah, according to local media. The arrests were made after
authorities received a security report from an unspecified “sisterly” country,
Al Seyassah newspaper said at the time. The suspects included a son of a
Kuwaiti ex-lawmaker and a brother of another, it said. The suspects were
questioned by the Kuwaiti State Security Service on charges including money
laundering for Hezbollah and encouraging young Kuwaitis to collaborate with the
Lebanese movement, carry out terror acts and smuggle drugs in Syria and Yemen.
The paper said the suspects had admitted in investigations that they had
collected donations in mosques in Kuwait without approval from authorities.”

 

Nigeria

 

Reuters: Islamist Militants Kill 7 Soldiers In Nigeria's Northeastern Borno
State - Sources
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“Islamist militants killed seven Nigerian soldiers, including a commanding
officer and a lieutenant, in northern Nigeria's Borno state, a military source
and two residents told Reuters on Friday. The militants, who the sources said
were with Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), attacked a military
outpost in Rann, in Kala Balge local government area of Borno state, in three
trucks at roughly 1:30 am, firing sporadically for an hour. When the shooting
stopped, the soldiers went into the town and were killed in an ambush, the
sources said. “Those that had hidden inside the town ambushed and killed the
captain, lieutenant and five others soldiers,” the military source said. A
military spokesperson did not reply to calls or text messages seeking comment.
The Nigerian military has fought an Islamist insurgency in northeastern Nigeria
for more than 12 years, launched by Boko Haram and joined later by its offshoot
ISWAP, a regional affiliate of Islamic State. The United Nations estimates that
the conflict had killed some 350,000 people by the end of 2020. read more Last
month, ISWAP killed a Nigerian army general and three soldiers in Borno state.”

 

Reuters: Islamic State Claims Responsibility For An Attack In Nigeria
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“Islamic state claimed responsibility for an attack in Nigeria, the militant
group said on Saturday in a statement posted on an affiliated Telegram account.
Seven Nigerian soldiers were killed, including a commanding officer and a
lieutenant, in northern Nigeria's Borno state, a military source and two
residents told Reuters on Friday.”

 

Africa

 

Voice Of America: Burkina Faso’s 1.3M Displaced People Increasingly Fall
Victim To Terrorists
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“Worsening security in Burkina Faso is hitting the country's 1.3 million
internally displaced people (IDPs), with many being forced to flee their places
of refuge for a second time. One refugee camp was closed after it was visited
by Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie. And rights groups say they are
investigating reports terrorists infiltrated another camp to commit acts of
sexual abuse. As security in Burkina Faso has deteriorated in recent months,
state control outside of major cities has diminished and terrorist attacks by
groups linked to Islamic State, al-Qaida and local bandits are going up.
Increasingly, people displaced by the conflict are falling victim to terrorists
in areas they had once fled to for safety. In June, Hollywood actress Angelina
Jolie visited the Goudoubo refugee camp in Burkina Faso’s war-torn Sahel
province to mark World Refugee Day. During her speech at the camp, the special
envoy for the U.N.'s refugee agency (UNHCR) said, “This is where the humanity
and decency of the world is measured. Where human strength and resilience are
most clearly and starkly seen. Not in the world’s gleaming capitals, but in
places like this.” Last month the Goudoubo refugee camp was closed. After
incursions by terrorist groups at the camp, security forces were unable to
guarantee safety.”

 

Reuters: Twelve Niger Soldiers Killed In Clashes With Militants <>

 

“Gunmen have killed 12 soldiers and wounded eight in a clash in southwest
Niger near the border with Burkina Faso, the government said on Sunday, the
latest in a flood of attacks that have killed hundreds this year. Soldiers
encountered hundreds of fighters near the village of Funio on Saturday and came
under heavy fire. Dozens of he militants were killed in the fight, the
government said. The attack is part of a wider wave of violence by groups
linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State that since 2017 has swept across West
Africa's Sahel region, a band of arid terrain south of the Sahara Desert. Some
of the worst attacks have been centred in the border region of Niger, Mali and
Burkina Faso. Thousands of civilians have been killed in the region, and
millions displaced.”

 

Long War Journal: Jihadist Attacks Flow Into Littoral West Africa
<[link removed]>

 

“Over the last few days, the West African state of Benin has suffered from two
attacks perpetrated by suspected jihadists that have left two Beninese soldiers
dead. The strikes are just the latest in a worrying series of jihadist, and/or
suspected jihadist, activity across several littoral West African states. In
addition to Benin, its neighbor Togo has also recently witnessed its first-ever
jihadist assault within its territory earlier last month. Ivory Coast, on the
other hand, has been subjected to the majority of the jihadist violence seeping
into littoral West Africa. These attacks, which are largely stemming from the
proliferation of violence in Burkina Faso, which borders all three countries,
are primarily thought to be perpetrated by al Qaeda’s Group for Support of
Islam and Muslims (JNIM). More specifically, it is believed that JNIM’s largely
ethnic Fulani brigade, Katibat Macina, is behind this spread. JNIM, however,
has not officially claimed any operation in any of the three countries. While
the Islamic State’s local branch, often called the Islamic State in the Greater
Sahara (ISGS), also operates in Burkina Faso, it has so far not shown the
capacity to project into littoral West Africa at the same degree or rate as
JNIM. It is possible this dynamic could change in the future, however.”

 

United Kingdom

 

BBC News: Terror Suspect Arrested At London Stansted Airport
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“A 26-year-old man has been arrested at London Stansted Airport on suspicion
of “extreme right-wing” terrorism. Counter Terrorism officers from the
Metropolitan Police detained the UK national prior to boarding a outbound
flight on Friday. A search of an address in the Hastings area of Sussex was
being carried out as part of the investigation, police said. The man was taken
to a south London police station and was later released on bail to return in
late December. Cdr Richard Smith, from the Met, said the arrest at the Essex
airport on suspicion of preparation of acts of terrorism was linked to a
“suspected extreme right-wing” threat. He added there was not believed to be
any imminent risk to the public.”

 

Germany

 

Associated Press: Germany Arrests Suspected Libyan Extremist
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“German authorities have arrested a 29-year-old man on suspicion of being part
of a Libyan extremist group and extorting money through kidnappings, officials
said Friday. Federal prosecutors said the man, a Libyan citizen identified only
as Ahmed B. for privacy reasons, was detained in the eastern city of Dresden on
Thursday. A judge ordered him held in custody Friday. Prosecutors said the man
is suspected of having joined the Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room, or
LROR, by 2016 at the latest. The group initially fought against the forces of
Gen. Khalifa Hifter but later joined with his Libyan National Army against the
U.N.-backed transition government, they said. Federal prosecutors allege that
the group, which is deemed a foreign terrorist organization by Germany,
continues to have an “Islamist-revolutionary” agenda. The suspect is accused of
having commanded a military unit and of illegally obtaining money for the
group. After moving to Germany the suspect is alleged to have passed
information on Libyans in the country to LROR. The information was allegedly
used to kidnap relatives of Libyans living in Germany and demand ransoms for
their release.”

 

Europe

 

Bloomberg: Finnish Police Detain Five People On Suspected Terrorism
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“Finnish police arrested five men identified as right-wing extremists on
suspicion of preparing a terror attack.  The men detained on Tuesday were
planning to use explosives for terrorism, Toni Sjoblom, detective
superintendent from Southwestern Finland Police Department told reporters on
Friday, without disclosing who the potential targets were. The case is
“exceptional and rare” in the Nordic country, he said. All suspects live in the
Kankaanpaa region of Satakunta, about 270 kilometers (168 miles) from the
capital. There is no acute danger to the public, the police said. The case does
not lead to changes in the level of the terrorist threat in Finland from two on
a four-point scale, according to Eero Pietila, Senior Analyst at the Finnish
Security and Intelligence Service. The level means the threat of terrorism is
expected to remain elevated in Finland over the next two years, the agency said
earlier this year. Individuals and small groups harboring far-right or radical
Islamist ideologies pose the main terror threat, with about 390 people
designated as counter-terrorism targets.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

Associated Press: Philippine Military Says Muslim Rebel Leader Killed In Clash
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“Philippine troops killed an Islamic rebel leader and four of his men in
fighting in the volatile south in the latest setback for insurgent forces
aligned with the Islamic State group, military officials said Friday. Army
troops gunned down Asim Karinda and four others in a gunbattle in a rural
village near Mamasapano town on Thursday, just over a month after he took over
Daulah Islamiya, an armed Islamic group whose previous leader was killed in an
army offensive, regional military commander Maj. Gen. Juvymax Uy said. The
military did not report any army casualties in the hourlong firefight in
Maguindanao province. Small bands of Muslim rebels, who have pledged allegiance
to the Islamic State group, remain in the country's south despite a 2014 peace
pact between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest
guerilla group, which dropped its secessionist bid and embraced Muslim autonomy
in the southern third of the largely Roman Catholic nation. The military said
troops retrieved the body of Karinda, an alleged bomb maker. Also known as Abu
Azim, he took over Daulah Islamiya after its leader, Salahudin Hasan, died in
an army offensive Oct. 29 in Maguindanao’s Talayan town.”

 

Technology

 

Voice Of America: Belarus Labels RFE/RL's Telegram, YouTube Channels
'Extremist'
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“A Belarusian court has designated the official Telegram channel of RFE/RL's
Belarus Service and some of the broadcaster's social media accounts as
extremist in a continued clampdown on independent media and civil society. The
decision to label RFE/RL's accounts “extremist” – including its YouTube channel
– was made by the Central District Court on December 3 based on information
provided by the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption,
known as GUBOPiK. In a statement, GUBOPiK said that anyone subscribing to
channels or other media designated as “extremist” may face jail time or other
penalties, such as fines. “RFE/RL adamantly rejects this ridiculous label,”
RFE/RL President Jamie Fly said in response to the news. “We are committed to
continuing to provide objective news and information to the Belarusian people,
who are in need of independent media more now than ever. The Lukashenko regime
continues to make clear that their disregard for the truth and their efforts to
restrict access to independent information know no bounds,” he added.”

 

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