“Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers are committed in principle to education and
jobs for girls and women, a marked departure from their previous time in

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


December 14, 2021  

 

Associated Press: The AP Interview: Taliban Seek Ties With US, Other Ex-Foes
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“Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers are committed in principle to education and
jobs for girls and women, a marked departure from their previous time in power,
and seek the world's “mercy and compassion” to help millions of Afghans in
desperate need, a top Taliban leader said in a rare interview. Afghan Foreign
Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi also told The Associated Press that the Taliban
government wants good relations with all countries and has no issue with the
United States. He urged Washington and other nations to release upward of $10
billion in funds that were frozen when the Taliban took power Aug. 15,
following a rapid military sweep across Afghanistan and the sudden, secret
flight of U.S.-backed President Ashraf Ghani. “Sanctions against Afghanistan
would ... not have any benefit,” Muttaqi said Sunday, speaking in his native
Pashto during the interview in the sprawling pale brick Foreign Ministry
building in the heart of the Afghan capital of Kabul. The fate of women's
rights in Afghanistan: Their lives 'ended overnight' when Taliban took over
“Making Afghanistan unstable or having a weak Afghan government is not in the
interest of anyone,” said Muttaqi, whose aides include employees of the
previous government as well as those recruited from the ranks of the Taliban.”

 

The Guardian: France Seeks To Ban Ultra-Right Group Suspected Of Attacking
Anti-Racists
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“France’s interior minister is seeking to dissolve an “ultra right” group
suspected of attacking anti-racism protesters who entered a campaign rally held
by the far-right presidential candidate Éric Zemmour. The Zouaves, who support
Zemmour’s anti-immigration and anti-Islam ideology, are thought to be behind
the brawl, which happened eight days ago. Members from the anti-racial
discrimination group SOS Racisme were set upon after they entered the rear of
the venue to protest against Zemmour. The group said it had aimed to protest
peacefully but five of its members were injured. In one clip taken that night,
a man was caught violently punching the head of a young woman who was wearing a
“No to racism” T-shirt. Other assailants kicked and threw chairs at protesters.
After the meeting, police said they had identified about 50 people linked to
the Zouaves who posed for a picture and chanted: “On est chez nous” (this is
our home), according to AFP. On Sunday, the interior minister, Gérald Darmanin,
said he had begun legal action to have the Zouaves movement outlawed and hoped
the State Council would agree to the ban.”

 

United States

 

The Detroit News: Accused Islamic State Soldier From Dearborn Loses Evidence
Fight Against Feds
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“A federal judge Monday refused to suppress texts and statements made to
federal agents by an accused Islamic State fighter from Dearborn captured on a
Syrian battlefield three years ago, dealing a setback to the defense of a rare
foreign fighter brought back to America to face charges. Texts Ibraheem
Musaibli, 31, exchanged with an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force officer and
comments the Dearborn man said while being flown back to the United States
aboard a customized C-17 military cargo plane were made voluntarily, U.S.
District Judge David Lawson wrote in a federal court filing. Musaibli talked to
the officer after being advised of his rights, the judge added. The FBI
received a tip in 2016 that included this grainy photo of Dearborn native
Ibraheem Musaibli posing next to an assault rifle. “There is no valid reason to
suppress the statements or the text messages,” Lawson wrote. Musaibli is
scheduled to stand trial in January on terrorism charges punishable by up to 50
years in prison. Musaibli drew international attention three years ago when he
was captured in Syria. The case has shed light on Musaibli's journey from his
parents' perfume shop in Detroit to a Middle East war zone and presented the
U.S. court system with a unique chance to prosecute an American accused of
leaving the U.S. and fighting for the Islamic State group.”

 

Syria

 

Associated Press: US-Backed Syria Forces Say 5 IS Suspects Killed In Raid
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“Syrian Kurdish-led forces said Monday their ant-terrorism unit, with U.S.-led
coalition support, killed five suspected Islamic State group fighters in a raid
to break up a militant cell in Syria’s east. The Syrian Democratic Forces unit
carried out the joint operation with the international coalition near Busayrah,
a village in the eastern countryside of Deir el-Zour province. It targeted a
“dangerous IS cell” based on intelligence and reconnaissance of their presence
in the area. The militants opened fire at the raiding force, which had besieged
the area, the SDF said in a statement. The force responded, killing five
suspected IS members, it said. The operation came after attacks against the
local administration and security forces. There was no immediate response from
the U.S.-led coalition. Activists and a war monitor reported the raid,
suggesting civilians were among those killed. The Britain-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war, said the raid was
conducted with aerial support from U.S.-led forces. It targeted a wanted IS
member who fled as the SDF force arrived and was shot dead while fleeing on his
motorcycle. The Observatory, which relies on a network of local activists, said
the force then captured the father of the wanted suspect and his brother and
shot them dead outside their home.”

 

Al Monitor: Islamic State Attacks Government, Russian Forces In Syrian Desert
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“Islamic State (IS) militants have attacked Syrian regime and Russian forces
in Syria’s central and eastern desert regions. According to local news reports,
an attack occurred in the area of al-Masrib in the west of Deir ez-Zor
province. IS targeted Syrian government and allied militia forces, Step News
reported yesterday. The Sada AlSharqieh news outlet reported Dec. 11 that seven
Syrian regime soldiers were killed during an IS ambush and that clashes between
the two continued afterward. The Beirut-based outlet Al Modon also reported
about the Masrib attack yesterday, noting several casualties on the Syrian
government's side. The outlet added that a mortar also hit the
Russian-controlled Palmyra airport in central Syria, the first attack on the
airport since the Syrian government retook it in 2017. Russian planes conducted
eight air raids in al-Masrib, the pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights reported today. Russian forces are in Syria to help the Syrian
government in its war against rebel groups. Russia also conducts operations
against the Islamic State. The Palmyra region is of particular interest to
Russia, in part due its Roman ruins. Russia began restoring historical sites in
Palmyra in November.”

 

Pakistan

 

The New York Times: Militants Kill 2 Policemen In Kashmir As Violence Escalates

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“Militants fired on a police bus in the Indian region of Kashmir on Monday,
killing at least two officers and wounding more than a dozen, the police said,
just three days after a similar attack left two policemen dead. Kashmir,
disputed between India and Pakistan, has long endured clashes between
separatist insurgents and government forces, and the violence has escalated
recently as strict security protocols imposed in 2019 and pandemic restrictions
have been lifted. Pakistan, which contains a part of Kashmir, also claims the
Indian portion, and there have been repeated conflicts along the boundary
separating them. The attack on Monday, on the outskirts of the largest Kashmiri
city, Srinagar, took place in a highly guarded area home to major Indian
security establishments operating in the region. In the attack three days
earlier, gunmen fired on a squad of officers patrolling streets in northern
Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir was India’s only Muslim-majority state, with a
degree of autonomy, until August 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
government drastically changed the region’s political status. It stripped the
region of its autonomy and its status as a state, and placed it under the
direct control of New Delhi.”

 

Middle East

 

The Jerusalem Post: Worker At Pharmaceutical Company Indicted On Terrorism
Charges
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“A worker at a pharmaceutical company was indicted on Monday on charges of
aiding terrorist activity after he provided terrorists with five liters of
hydrogen peroxide for the production of explosives in the West Bank. In the
first half of 2020, Mohammed Sunuqrut, a resident of Israel, met with his
friend B.A. in a mosque in Ramallah, where his friend asked him to join a
terrorist operation against Israel. Sunuqrut declined but agreed to provide his
friend with five liters of hydrogen peroxide for the purpose of producing
explosives for terrorist activity. A few days later, he took five liters from
the company he worked at and brought them to his friend in Bidu. Sunuqrut
refused to accept payment for the hydrogen peroxide because it was being used
for terrorism. According to the request filed to detain Sunuqrut until the end
of the proceedings, he has confessed to the charges. During a widespread
operation in September to arrest a Hamas terrorist cell that was planning
attacks against Israelis, three Palestinian terrorists were killed in clashes
with Border Police YAMAM in Bidu. Part of the weapons found in the arrest
operation against the heavily armed terrorist cell included enough explosive
material to make three or four suicide belts.”

 

Nigeria

 

The Punch Nigeria: Violence, Terrorism Not Unique To Nigeria – Presidency
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“The presidency has stated that the violence and terrorism, which has become
prevalent in the country, was not unique to Nigeria. This was contained in a
statement, on Sunday, in response to an Editorial by Daily Trust signed by the
President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, which
noted that the government’s effort to suppress the challenges had yielded
results. The statement also referred to The Economist’s recent issue that
described Nigeria as “The Next Afghanistan”, adding that it also makes the
President, Major Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, worried. The statement read in part,
“The growing instability and violence in the North of Nigeria and elsewhere are
unacceptable. No one, not least the Presidency, underestimates the seriousness
of the situation. Every day, the President holds the victims and their families
in his thoughts and prayers. “Above all, he wishes to reassure them – and all
Nigerians – that tackling the scourge of banditry and terrorism remains this
government’s priority. “Sadly, in this respect, Nigeria is not unique. Violence
and terror have risen steadily across the entire African continent over the
last decade.”

 

Somalia

 

All Africa: Somalia: Roadside Bomb Targets African Union Peacekeepers In
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“A roadside blast has targeted the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)
soldiers in Southern Somalia. The Burundian troops were patrolling Buurane and
Mahadey areas on foot when they encountered an improvised explosive device
(IED) on Saturday evening. The al-Shabaab militant group claimed responsibility
for the roadside bombing in the two middle Shabelle towns saying they killed
four soldiers in the explosion. The explosion comes amid growing attacks in the
past days in Hirshabelle state. On Saturday one person was killed and four
others were wounded including two MPs after an explosion in a restaurant in
Jowhar. According to Jowhar police chief, Bashir Hassan, the person killed in
the attack was a well-known elder identified as Abdullahi Osman. Al-Shabaab
claimed responsibility for the attack. The militant group on Friday targeted
the Jowhar city airport with mortars attacks targeting Burundian peacekeepers
serving under the AMISOM. Al-Shabaab has lost many areas previously under its
control, but the militant group is still capable of staging attacks in Somalia.”

 

Mali

 

AFP: French Forces Pack Up In Mali For Sahel Pullout
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“After nine years deployed in Mali, France is organising a drawdown, with
troops preparing to leave the last of three bases in the far north of the
insurgency-hit and poverty-wracked country. French troops were sent to Mali in
2013 by then-president Francois Hollande to tackle the rebels affiliated to
Al-Qaeda or Islamic State in the arid north. Paris has since deployed around
5,100 troops across the Sahel region, which includes Mali, helping to support
local governments and their poorly-equipped forces fight an ever-growing
Islamist insurgency that has left thousands dead. But after leaving the Kidal
and Tessal bases in north Mali, French troops are now packing up in Timbuktu.
“We're training Malian forces in holding their ground and in guiding air
support before they take over from us,” a commander in charge of the withdrawal
in Timbuktu told AFP giving only his rank, captain, and first name, Florian.
Around him, several dozen soldiers could be seen packing boxes, taking down a
basketball hoop, or sorting through medical supplies and tents. All the
material is being sent south by road to the French base in Gao. “Everything is
being sorted, labelled, then either destroyed, re-used here or sent back to
France,” Major Christelle explained, surrounded by piles of camp beds as well
as spare parts for vehicles.”

 

United Kingdom

 

BBC News: Manchester Arena Inquiry: Bomber's Punch 'Could Have Been Red Flag'
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“Salman Abedi punching a female student after a row about her wearing a short
skirt could have been a red flag to his radicalisation, an inquiry has heard.
Abedi, who killed 22 people in the Manchester Arena bombing, hit the girl in
the face at Manchester College. The inquiry heard there was a pattern of those
convicted of Islamist extremist offences also having a history of violence
towards women. Dr Matthew Wilkinson said Abedi had a “very bad attitude towards
women”. The expert in extremism said the assault could be interpreted as being
driven by misogyny, adding one of the factors in the 22-year-old's motivation
to carry out the bombing was religious-inspired hatred of women. The so-called
Islamic State group - said to have inspired the bomber - was widely known for
its denigration of women, the inquiry into the atrocity heard. Twenty-two
people were killed when Abedi detonated the bomb on 22 May 2017 at the end of
an Ariana Grande concert. Abedi punched the student, also from the city's
Libyan community, during his studies at Manchester College in 2012 and 2013, He
struck her on the face and then delivered further punches as she lay on the
ground, the inquiry was told.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

The Straits Times: Indonesia's Anti-Terror Squad Arrests 4 Suspected
Terrorists Planning Attacks During Christmas And New Year
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“The Indonesian Police's anti-terror squad Densus 88 on Monday (Dec 13)
arrested four suspected terrorists in the cities of Palembang and Lubuklinggau,
in South Sumatra province, a police officer said. They are allegedly linked to
the outlawed Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) militant group and are suspected of planning
several attacks during Christmas and New Year holidays, the South Sumatra
Police's spokesman Senior Commissioner Supriadi told a press conference on
Monday. He said that the police had watched the four suspects for four months
before arresting them. They are now detained for further investigation.
Following the arrest, Supriadi said the police would strengthen security during
the holidays, particularly at places of worship, urging people to immediately
report to the police if they find something suspicious. JI, an affiliate of
Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda, was behind some of the deadliest attacks in
Indonesia, including the 2000 Christmas Eve bombings against churches and
priests and the 2002 nightclub blasts on Bali that killed 202 people, mostly
Westerners.”

 

The Straits Times: 2 Self-Radicalised Singaporeans Released From Detention
Under ISA, 6 More Have Restrictions Lifted
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“Two self-radicalised Singaporeans previously detained under the Internal
Security Act (ISA) were released in August, after showing “good progress” in
their rehabilitation, said the Internal Security Department (ISD) on Tuesday
(Dec 14). Muhammad Shamin Mohamed Sidek, 35, and Mohamed Omar Mahadi, 38, were
assessed to “no longer pose a security threat requiring preventive detention”,
the ISD said in a statement. Shamin was self-radicalised by online propaganda
and was arrested and jailed in May 2015 under the Penal Code after he incited
religious violence through pro-ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) postings
on social media, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said at the time. He
continued to express unstinting support for ISIS while in prison and was later
detained under the ISA in August 2015. ISD's investigations showed that he
planned to travel to Syria to join ISIS once he had raised enough money to fund
the trip. The MHA said Shamin had decided that if he was unable to do so, he
would consider fighting alongside a regional militant group that he considered
to be aligned with ISIS. He was reportedly undeterred by his arrest under the
ISA and had said he would pursue his plans to join ISIS after his release from
detention.”

 

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