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Eye on Extremism
December 9, 2021
Associated Press: Indonesian Militant Given Life Sentence In 2005 Attack
“An Indonesian court sentenced an Islamic militant who eluded capture for 16 years to life in prison on Wednesday after finding him guilty of making bombs used in a 2005 market attack that killed 22 people. Upik Lawanga, known as “professor,” is a key member of the Jemaah Islamiyah militant network, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist group. It is widely blamed for attacks including the 2002 bombings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, as well as attacks in the Philippines. The East Jakarta District Court found Lawanga, 43, guilty of involvement in the May 28, 2005, attack at Tentena market in Poso district which killed 22 people and injured 91 others, mostly Christians. Muslim-Christian conflicts in Poso in Central Sulawesi province killed at least 1,000 people from 1998 to 2002. Lawanga was also accused of building bombs used in a 2004 passenger minibus attack that killed six people and a 2006 attack using a flashlight bomb that killed a Christian woman. “What the defendant has done was a crime against humanity that left deep wounds, trauma and sorrow for the families of the victims,” said Presiding Judge Sutikna, who goes by a single name.”
Reuters: Seven U.N. Peacekeepers Killed In Central Mali Explosion
“An explosion on Wednesday in central Mali killed seven United Nations peacekeepers and seriously wounded three others, the U.N. mission said on Twitter. A logistics convoy hit an improvised explosive device between the towns of Douentza and Sevare, an area where groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State operate. No group claimed responsibility on Wednesday. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemns the attack against the convoy, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. "He calls on the Malian authorities to spare no effort in identifying the perpetrators of these attacks so that they can be swiftly brought to justice," Dujarric said. Mali, one of Africa's largest and poorest countries, is battling an Islamist insurgency that has flourished despite a nine-year effort by international forces led by former colonial power France to defeat it. The U.N.'s peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSMA, has deployed over 13,000 troops to contain the violence in the north and centre of the country.”
United States
“A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld the terrorism conviction of a refugee from Uzbekistan in a controversial case that has shed light on the widespread, ongoing efforts of the U.S. government to spy on international phone, email and chat communications. Jamshid Muhtorov — a legal permanent resident of the U.S. whose email communications were searched by the U.S. government under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) — has spent almost all of the past nine years in federal custody. On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union decried the ruling by the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. The ACLU described Muhtorov, 45, as a prominent human rights defender who committed no terrorist acts, but still became a target of overzealous U.S. authorities with broad search powers. He was living in Aurora, Colorado and was employed as a truck driver at the time of his arrest in 2012. The ACLU said Wednesday that the case continues to present troubling questions for the American public. “We don’t give up bedrock Fourth Amendment protections when we communicate with family, friends, and colleagues abroad, contrary to the court’s ruling today. Under Section 702, the government for years has amassed our online messages, chats, and emails without a warrant, violating the constitutional rights of countless Americans, including Mr. Muhtorov,” said Patrick Toomey, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s National Security Project.”
Iraq
Al Jazeera: Iraq Repatriates 100 ISIL Fighters From Syria’s Kurdish Forces
“Iraqi authorities have repatriated 100 Iraqi fighters from the ISIL (ISIS) group who were being held in northeast Syria by Kurdish forces. “This morning we collected 100 terrorists” held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters in Syria, General Abdul Amir al-Shammari said on Wednesday. The fighters “have been handed over to the intelligence services for questioning”, said al-Shammari, deputy commander of Joint Operations that coordinates between Iraqi security forces and the international anti-ISIL coalition. The Syrian Kurdish administration, which controls large swaths of northeast Syria, has at times been reluctant to communicate on issues related to ISIL fighters or their families held by Kurdish forces in prisons or camps in Syria. In 2019, the SDF handed over about 900 Iraqis to Baghdad, most of them captured while trying to flee the last ISIL strongholds in Syria. ISIL took a swath of land in Iraq and Syria in 2014, but in late 2017 Iraq announced “victory” after driving the group from all urban areas. By March 2019, ISIL had lost all its strongholds in Syria. Some 1,600 Iraqis suspected of having fought for ISIL are still being held by the SDF, according to a United Nations report.”
Arab News: UN Security Council Condemns Deadly Daesh Terror Attacks In Iraq
“The UN Security Council on Wednesday strongly condemned recent terrorist attacks in Iraq that killed or injured dozens of people. Daesh has claimed responsibility. At least four people were killed and 20 injured in an explosion in Basra on Dec. 7, and at least 13 died in an attack in the north of the country on Dec. 3. The members of the Security Council offered their condolences to the families of the dead and wished the injured a speedy recovery. They also reiterated their support for the “independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, democratic process and prosperity of Iraq.” They urged all states to “actively” cooperate with Iraqi authorities to bring to justice the “perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism.” Such cooperation, they stressed, is in line with obligations under international law and Security Council resolutions. Council members “reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.”
“The Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) announced on Wednesday evening that it had arrested members of a 13-member ISIS cell responsible for the assassination of security officers in six provinces including the capital Baghdad. In a statement, the agency said that its forces launched a series of operations in which it arrested “three leaders of ISIS terrorist groups, one of whom had participated in cowardly and treacherous operations targeting officers in the security forces.” It added that the arrests were made as part of “a night raid on their homes in Tarmiyah, Radwaniyah, and al-Taji north of Baghdad.” In a separate front on the fight with ISIS, joint military forces of the Iraqi federal government and the autonomous Kurdistan Region also announced on Wednesday that they had destroyed 14 hideouts used by the extremist organization. The hideouts were located in the embattled nation’s disputed territories, which have recently seen an uptick in deadly attacks from members of the extremist organization. The Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service's statement continued, adding that its forces had “managed in a second operation to arrest a military leader with a long history of terrorism, who belongs to ISIS group, accompanied by one of his companions on the outskirts of Kirkuk province.”
Afghanistan
Associated Press: Afghan Taliban Fighters Now Man Urban Checkpoints
“Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan more than three and a half months ago amid a chaotic withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops, their fighters have changed roles, from insurgents fighting in the mountains and fields to an armed force running the country. Many Taliban foot soldiers now have new jobs: manning checkpoints on the streets and carrying out security patrols in and around Afghan cities and towns. Last month, several Taliban fighters posed for portrait photographs for The Associated Press on nighttime patrols and at checkpoints in the western city of Herat. One of them, 21-year-old Ahmad Wali, was on patrol in the village of Kamar Kalagh, north of Herat. A student in an Islamic religious school known as a madrassa, he said he joined the Taliban because he believed in the teachings of the Quran and was against the American presence in his country and against the previous Afghan government, which was widely criticized for corruption. Now, he said, he is very busy with his new responsibilities providing security in the area he was assigned to. He hopes both he and his country will have a bright future, and said he was “99% sure” better days will come for all people in Afghanistan.”
WTOP News: The Hunt: New Details About Afghanistan’s Rapid Collapse
“Months after the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, we are learning how they did it so quickly. On this week’s episode of “The Hunt with WTOP National Security Correspondent J.J. Green,” Dr. Hans Jakob Schindler, Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project, said they used sleeper cells.”
Pakistan
Al Jazeera: In Pakistan’s Borderlands, Taliban Quietly Expanding Influence
“Every night, Muhammad Nadeem gathers his weary body and begins the first watch. His rifle across his lap, he sits at the entrance of his home in the northwestern Pakistani town of Tank and waits. Periodically, he will walk around the house’s perimeter, checking for activity in the streets of this dusty backwater of a town, located adjacent to his native South Waziristan district, about 300km (186 miles) southwest of the capital Islamabad. The authorities’ hold over law and order in this part of Pakistan has historically been tenuous, but Nadeem is not spending sleepless nights because of local thieves or criminals. His concerns are slightly more serious: Nadeem is standing guard against the Pakistani Taliban. This year has seen a marked uptick in violence in the South Waziristan and adjoining North Waziristan districts – once the birthplace and headquarters of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, also known as the Pakistani Taliban) – and with the Afghan Taliban now controlling neighbouring Afghanistan, which borders both districts, residents of these areas say they fear a return to life under the TTP. The situation is complex, analysts and residents say, and involves a resurgence of the TTP and its allied local militias, as well as Pakistani government-backed “surrendered” Taliban fighters, all engaged in targeted killings of civilians, extortion, tribal councils and attacks against security forces.”
Middle East
“Thirty-four years after the First Intifada broke out with Palestinian youth at the forefront of the fight against Israeli troops, Palestinian youths have not stopped trying to attack Israeli soldiers and civilians. On Wednesday morning, a 14-year-old Palestinian girl stabbed a 26-year-old Israeli woman who was walking with her children in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. The victim was rushed to a hospital with stab wounds in her back. About an hour after the attack, the minor was arrested at the al-Ruda girl’s school. The attack carried out by a teenage girl, whose family is one of several Palestinian families facing eviction from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, was the sixth attack in or around Jerusalem in the past month. Though she is not affiliated with any terrorist group, Hamas praised the attack and pointed to it as the continuation of the First Intifada that broke out on the same day 34 years ago. On December 8, 1987, an Israeli military truck plowed into a line of Palestinian cars returning from a day’s work in Israel, four people were killed. As thousands of Palestinians poured into the streets for the funeral of the victims, IDF troops in the Jabalya refugee camp were confronted with a hail of stones, bricks and bottles thrown by teenage boys.”
Nigeria
Associated Press: Nigerian Leader ‘Distressed’ After 23 Travelers Slain On Bus
“At least 23 travelers have been killed in northwest Nigeria in an attack by the same armed groups blamed for killing thousands this year in Africa’s most populous country. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said he is “very distressed” over the attack that occurred Monday though details of the incident emerged only on Wednesday. It is the latest in a cycle of violence targeting rural communities and travelers along highways in the northwest and central parts of the West African nation. Sokoto state governor Aminu Tambuwal said that the gunmen opened fire at a bus conveying the travelers along a route notorious for such attacks in the Isa area of the state. Twenty-three of the travelers died of fire burns while six others were injured, he said. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but blame quickly fell on assailants who have killed at least 2,500 people in the northwest and central states in the first half of 20201, according to data from the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations. Buhari — who was elected in 2015 after promising to crush Islamist extremists in the northeast — has seen the armed violence in other parts of northern Nigeria grow rapidly under his watch. He faces mounting pressure to act.”
Africa
Voice Of America: Kenyan Man Detonates Explosives, Killing 2
“Kenyan authorities say a suspected suicide bomber killed himself and two others Tuesday in Kisumu County, on the border with Uganda. Police say the suspect was a member of the Somalia-based al-Shabab terrorist group. The suspect detonated explosives Tuesday night, killing two people and injuring one in Kamloma village in western Kenya. “While he was talking to the neighbor, the IED went off killing him instantly and the wife of the neighbor and also injured the neighbor and the daughter. The neighbor died on his way to the hospital. The daughter is admitted to hospital but in stable condition,” Kisumu County Police Commander Richard Ngeno said. So far, police have not established a motive for the attack. The area assistant police chief, James Okoth, told VOA that suspect John Ondiek was spotted in the area Tuesday after being away for several months. He said Ondiek came home around August last year, built a home, and moved to the Katito area. The suspect had previously lived in the coastal city of Mombasa. Kenyan media report the attacker was radicalized there and later joined Somali militant group al-Shabab. Late last year, the suspect allegedly tried to kill his girlfriend in the Katito area. Police say a bomb he assembled inside the house injured the woman.”
Frontline: Mozambique Jihadis Abduct 600 Women, Girls Since 2018: HRW Report
“A group allegedly tied to the “Islamic State” has “enslaved and sexually abused” its female victims in Mozambique. Islamist militants in Mozambique have abducted hundreds of women and children over the past three years, rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report published on December 7. HRW said at least 600 women and girls were kidnapped in northern Mozambique since 2018 by an armed group linked to the “Islamic State” (IS) as the East African country battles a brutal insurgency. What did the report say? An allegedly IS-affiliated militant group, locally known in Mozambique as al-Shabab, kidnapped the women and girls during raids on towns and villages, the report said. The group has no known connection to the group with a similar name in Somalia. The group coerces young women and girls to “marry” its fighters, “who enslave and sexually abuse them,” according to HRW. The report said some have also been sold off to foreign militants for between $600 and $1,800 (€533-€1,599). Some of those abducted were freed by Mozambican and foreign forces deployed this year to help stop the violence spread across the region since October 2017. However, some remain missing, according to HRW. “An unknown number of women and girls remain in captivity in Mozambique, facing horrific abuses daily, including enslavement and rape by Al-Shabab fighters,” said Mausi Segun, HRW's Africa director.”
United Kingdom
BBC News: Man Charged With Terrorism Offences After Derby Homes Evacuated
“A man has been charged with terrorism offences after 50 homes on a city street were evacuated at the weekend. Residents in King Alfred Street, Derby, were told to leave after suspicious items were found at 11:30 GMT on Sunday. Simon Pilgrim, of King Alfred Street, was charged with making an explosive substance for unlawful purposes. He is also charged with three counts of possessing a document containing information useful to terrorism. Derbyshire Police said the 40-year-old “was acting in isolation with no known ideology”. Ch Supt David Cox said: “We believe this to be an isolated incident and there is no suggestion of an ongoing risk to the public.” Mr Pilgrim is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court later.”
France
AFP: France Foils Jihadist-Inspired Christmas Knife Attack Plot
“France has charged two men aged 23 with terror offenses after arresting them over a jihadism-inspired plot to attack crowded public spaces with knives during the Christmas period, sources said Wednesday. France’s domestic intelligence service, the DGSI, detained the pair in late November in separate locations outside Paris after information was received over an imminent attack, a judicial source and a source close to the case who asked not to be named told AFP. They were then charged with terror-related offenses on December 3 and remanded in custody, added the sources, confirming a report first published in the Le Parisien newspaper. They had planned to attack people during the Christmas period in shopping centers, universities or in the street. The source close to the case said that the pair had been in discussion over where they would “die as ‘martyrs’ by being killed by the police,” adding that the plot was “jihadist in inspiration.” The two men became acquainted on social media and then met physically, added the source. France saw a wave of jihadist attacks from 2015 that left hundreds dead and pushed the country to its highest level of security alert. There has been no repeat of a mass atrocity in the last years, but there have been several deadly attacks carried out by lone individuals.”
Europe
AFP: Trial Over 2016 Brussels Bombings To Open In October 2022
“The trial of 10 men accused of involvement in bombing attacks in Brussels that killed 32 people in 2016 will begin in October next year, a Belgian court said Wednesday. Six of the suspects, including French-Moroccan Salah Abdeslam, are already on trial in France over the November 2015 Paris attacks. The Brussels appeals court judge Laurence Massart announced the trial would start at 9 am on October 10, 2022, but did not specify its duration. The federal prosecutors office has previously indicated it could run until the summer of 2023. Around 1,000 civil parties, relatives of victims, or people affected by the attacks are expected to claim compensation. The defendants will face charges of “murders committed in a terrorist context”. On March 22, 2016, two suicide bombers blew themselves up at Brussels international airport and a third in a crowded Metro station in Brussels. Investigators linked the cell that carried out the attacks in Belgium to the earlier attacks in Paris in November 2015, which killed 130 people. Abdeslam is the best known of the suspects, allegedly the only surviving member of the group directly involved in the Paris attacks, arrested after a shootout in Brussels. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for both the Brussels and Paris attacks.”
Technology
USA Today: Instagram (Still) Has A Big Problem With Nazis And White Supremacists
“Despite taking significant steps to remove hateful content, hundreds of posts promoting dangerous white supremacist ideologies are still readily available on Instagram where they could radicalize unsuspecting users, new research shows. The Anti Defamation League's Center on Extremism searched for terms on Instagram related to white supremacist and neo-Nazi movements, quickly uncovering hundreds of accounts sharing extremist propaganda. The posts included references to “accelerationism,” an extremist ideology cited in the manifestos of mass shooters whose goal is to quicken the destruction of Western governments by fomenting chaos and tension. Starting with the keyword “Atomwaffen,” ADL researchers were able to find and view five Instagram posts containing content linked to Atomwaffen Division, an accelerationist group created in 2016. Members of the group were arrested in 2020 and sentenced for threatening activists and journalists. It disbanded that same year but may be active again and spreading propaganda on social media, according to the ADL research. Only one of the five posts had been removed by Wednesday afternoon, according to the ADL. Meta Platforms, which owns Instagram and Facebook, said it was reviewing the content to see if it violates its policies.”
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