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Eye on Extremism
December 17, 2021
Bloomberg: Mozambique Sees Gains Against Militants Who Disrupted Gas Plan
“Mozambique has made gains against Islamic State-linked insurgents who disrupted the southeast African nation’s multibillion gas project, according to President Filipe Nyusi. All insurgents’ bases have been deactivated this year, which should allow people in affected regions to return to their homes, Nyusi said in a state-of-the-nation address on Thursday. The insurgency, which started in the northeastern Cabo Delgado province in 2017 and has since spread westward into the neighboring Niassa province, has caused more than 3,500 deaths and prompted at least 800,000 people to flee their homes. TotalEnergies SE evacuated its $20 billion project to exploit natural gas off the coast for export after a March attack on a nearby town. Rwandan soldiers and forces from the 16-member Southern African Development Community bloc are helping to fight the militants, driving them from large towns. They continue to mount smaller-scale attacks, though. “We are currently witnessing increasing stability despite outbreaks of attacks in Niassa,” Nyusi said. This year, the number of attacks in Cabo Delgado were reduced by three times, 245 militants were captured and leaders, including third-ranked Rajab Fakir, were killed, he said.”
The National: US Government Accuses Iran Of Harbouring Senior Al Qaeda Leaders
“In its annual terrorism report, the US State Department accused Iran of providing a safe haven for senior Al Qaeda members despite the regime’s public condemnation of the group. The report, released on Thursday, claimed senior Al Qaeda leaders are currently residing in Iran and “[facilitating] terrorist operations from there”. It added that Iran remained unwilling to bring those leaders to justice and has refused to publicly identify them. “Iran has allowed [Al Qaeda] facilitators to operate a core facilitation pipeline through Iran since at least 2009, enabling [Al Qaeda] to move funds and fighters to South Asia and Syria, among other locales,” the State Department said. John Godfrey, the US acting co-ordinator for counterterrorism, said Iran’s relationship with Al Qaeda is “a reflection” of their foreign policy behaviour. “The fact that they have enabled that leadership cadre to safely reside in Iran is a reflection of their use of terrorism as an adjunct of their foreign policy goals,” Mr Godfrey said in a call with reporters. “Iran … continues to support a range of designated terrorist groups in training weapons and equipment. And the fact that this Al Qaeda leadership has to reside there is reflective of that approach.”
Syria
The National: Anti-ISIS Coalition Shoots Down Terrorist Drone In Southern Syria
“An anti-ISIS coalition shot down a terrorist drone near a base in southern Syria this week, military officials said. Two RAF Typhoon FGR4s were patrolling over Syria and Iraq on Tuesday, as part of the global coalition against ISIS, and were ordered to investigate hostile drone activity near the Al Tanf military base. The pilots identified a small hostile drone and shot it down using an advanced short range air-to-air missile. Tanf is the only position with a significant American military presence in Syria outside the Kurdish-controlled north. US Navy Capt Bill Urban, a spokesman for US Central Command, said two drones entered the Al Tanf garrison “deconfliction” zone on Tuesday and one of them was shot down as it moved closer to the base. There were no casualties or damage to facilities, he said. It was the first operational air-to-air engagement conducted by an RAF Typhoon, and the first air-to-air missile firing during Operation Shader, which is targeting the remnants of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The UK's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “This strike is an impressive demonstration of the RAF’s ability to take out hostile targets in the air that pose a threat to our forces. “We continue to do everything we can alongside our coalition partners to stamp out the terrorist threat and protect our personnel and our partners.” It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the drone, but Iran-backed forces have frequently attacked allied troops with drones and rockets in eastern Syria and Iraq.”
“Elite forces from the Kurdistan Region’s Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD) arrested two ISIS arms smugglers in Erbil, according to a statement released on Thursday by the Special Operations Joint Task Force-Levant (SOJTF LEVANT), part of the US-led Coalition to Defeat ISIS. “Today the CTD conducted operations in the Al Zaytun area of Erbil, Iraq which resulted in the capture of two Daesh (Arabic acronym for ISIS) arms smugglers,” read a post on the official Twitter account of the SOJTF LEVANT. It concluded, “These operations deny Daesh the ability to smuggle, store and transport weapons.” The operation has not yet been confirmed publicly by the CTD, which falls under the command of the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC). The SOJTF LEVANT oversees Special Operations activities in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt, and earlier replaced the Special Operations Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, which was focused only on Iraq and Syria, the Military Times reported. Earlier this week, the Kurdistan Region’s Asayish security forces arrested an ISIS suspect in Halabja province. During the previous week, also in Halabja, the Asayish said it had captured 25 suspected ISIS facilitators.”
Iraq
Al Monitor: Islamic State's Spread Beyond Syria, Iraq Remains Concern For US
“The number of terrorist attacks increased worldwide in 2020 in part due to the spread of Islamic State (IS) branches and al-Qaeda affiliates, the US State Department said in a report released Thursday. The Country Reports on Terrorism provided annually to Congress said the number of terrorist attacks and resulting fatalities increased by more than 10% last year compared to 2019. “The terrorism threat we face has become more geographically diffuse,” John Godfrey, acting coordinator for counterterrorism and special envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, told reporters on a call Thursday. Godfrey described IS, which the report said maintains a low-level insurgency in Iraq and Syria, as a “determined and dangerous enemy” despite its territorial defeat. “We’re working to build on our gains by sustaining pressure on [IS] remnants in Iraq and Syria, and to deny its global network and branches the ability to effectively operate,” he said. Of particular concern, Godfrey said, is the terrorist group’s focus on branches outside of Iraq and Syria, which caused more fatalities in 2020 than in any previous year. IS-affiliated attacks in West Africa killed nearly 5,000 people in 2020 compared to 2,700 people in 2017, according to the report. In Mozambique alone, an estimated 1,500 people died in attacks conducted by the group’s local branch.”
Lebanon
Asharq Al-Awsat: Lebanon To Deport Members Of Group That Bahrain Considers It Harbors Terrorism
“Lebanon's interior minister on Wednesday ordered the deportation of non-Lebanese members of a Bahraini group after some of them held a news conference in Beirut, harming Lebanon’s ties with the Kingdom. Bahrain accuses the group of harboring terrorism. Bahrain's government has denounced “the promotion of malicious allegations and causing harm to the Kingdom of Bahrain.” Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi on Wednesday directed security officials “to take the measures necessary to expel from Lebanon the non-Lebanese members” of the group. Bahrain's interior minister, Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, had earlier on Wednesday called Mawlawi and spoke to him about events that “harm Lebanon and its people”, a statement from Bahrain's interior ministry said. During the call with his Bahraini counterpart, Mawlawi said that Lebanon would not be used “as a platform to spread hate... towards Arab countries.”
Middle East
The Times Of Israel: Israeli Man Killed, Two Injured In Northern West Bank Terror Shooting
“An Israeli man was killed and two were injured in a shooting attack outside a settlement outpost in the northern West Bank on Thursday night, officials said. The victim was named as Yehudah Dimentman, 25, a father of one from the West Bank settlement of Shavei Shomron. The terror attack was reported along the road just outside the Homesh outpost, west of Nablus and north of Shavei Shomron, the Israel Defense Forces said. Dimentman and the two others who were injured were shot in their car as they left Homesh, a settlement that was meant to have been abandoned as part of a 2005 eviction, but is now the site of an illegally operated yeshiva. “The car was hit by an ambush from the side of the road,” said Brig. Gen. Avi Bluth, commander of the IDF’s Judea and Samaria Division, named for the biblical term for the West Bank. According to Bluth, at least 10 bullets were fired into the car. Israeli troops were quickly deployed to the scene, setting up checkpoints and blocking roadways throughout the area in an effort to catch the perpetrators. “We are grabbing any threads there are to pull,” Bluth said.”
The Times Of Israel: Islamic Jihad Praises Terror Attack, Does Not Take Responsibility
“The Islamic Jihad terror group praises — but not does take responsibility for — the deadly terror attack that left an Israeli man dead and wounded two others in the northern West Bank tonight. “We bless the heroic operation carried out by heroic resistance fighters from among our people, which came as a natural response to the crimes of the occupying soldiers and settlers,” says Tariq Izz al-Din, a spokesperson for Islamic Jihad’s West Bank branch.”
Nigeria
“Militants from the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), formerly known as Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād have mounted roadblocks in some parts of Borno State. Areas, where the checkpoints were mounted by the terror group, include “Mararaban Kimba, Ammo Bulin, Wajiroko, Gada, and Sabon Gari, all located along Damboa/Biu Road,” one of the sources said. Sources said the insurgents have been checking on travellers IDs to fish out security operatives travelling in mufti, which is daring considering how much effort the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari said it had put into ensuring security in the North-East. ISWAP, which split from the mainstream Boko Haram in 2016, has become a dominant group, focusing on military targets and high-profile attacks, including against aid workers. Since the death of JAS leader, Abubakar Shekau, the group has been consolidating its grip in locations around Lake Chad. Just recently, it appointed Wali Sani Shuwaram, a 45-year-old as the new Leader (Wali) of ISWAP in Lake Chad. The sect’s membership has swollen with the defection of hundreds of Boko Haram fighters under Shekau.”
The Punch Nigeria: Nigeria Witnessed 11 Conflicts, 1,000 Deaths From Terrorism War In 2020 -Report
“No fewer than 1,000 people died as a result of the “terrorism war” in Nigeria in 2020, a report by Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research has revealed. The report, tagged ‘Conflict Barometer 2020’, also noted that Nigeria witnessed 11 conflicts, leading to 740 fatalities. According to the report, the war between factions of terrorist organisations worsened insecurity in Nigeria and neighboring countries. Part of the report read, “Although Islamic State West Africa Province established strongholds particularly in Nigeria’s Borno State, where it collected taxes and provided healthcare, attacks were also frequently conducted in Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. “Besides ISWAP, governments in the Lake Chad Basin continued to fight Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad (JAS), also known as Boko Haram. In 2020, the war accounted for over 1,000 fatalities. Moreover, as a result of the continued violence involving both JAS and ISWAP, approximately 2.8 million people were displaced. “Despite sustained international efforts, the wars continued to challenge public securities in the region. “In its efforts to suppress both insurgencies, the Nigerian government and allied forces continued to rely heavily on airstrikes, mostly withdrawing ground troops from heavily contested areas.”
United Kingdom
The National: Global Task Force Needed To Deal With Repatriation Of ISIS Fighters
“…In a separate report by the Counter Extremism Project think tank, titled Female Foreign Terrorist Fighters: Challenges In Repatriation, Prosecution, And Rehabilitation, nations are warned that a lack of action in dealing with female fighters will result in difficulties in their rehabilitation. “Governments which delay the repatriation of foreign fighters, their rehabilitation and re-entry programmes may struggle to reverse the extremist beliefs and disillusionment that prompted many of these foreign fighters to travel to conflict zones in the first place,” the report's author Riza Kumar says. “Another challenge governments will have to contend with would be reconciling the risks of repatriating foreign fighters, and the concrete steps needed in assuring safe rehabilitation and reintegration of these individuals. “Understandably, female returnees present a unique challenge in the nexus of policy and security. The potential dangers of a returnee who re-engages in terrorist activities can be catastrophic, but those concerns do not exist in a vacuum. “There are concrete steps that international governments can take to address the individual risks associated with returnees. International security is based on confronting new and unusual challenges to achieve a favourable outcome, and the approach to repatriating and rehabilitating female returnees can only reach such an outcome once the challenge is adequately taken on.”
Germany
Deutsche Welle: Germany: Police Seize Bomb-Making Supplies In Far-Right Raid
“Police arrested four people and seized bomb-making supplies during raids targeting suspected far-right extremists in the western German city of Cologne on Thursday. Officers searched the homes of four men allegedly belonging to the far-right extremist scene. Police said the men were seeking to construct an explosive device. The suspects were 36 to 53 years old. Special forces and explosives sniffer dogs took part in the raids. Police said they found the basic supplies for building an explosive device, as well as firecrackers. State criminal police are investigating. The raids took place in the Cologne districts of Nippes, Holweide and Mülheim. Police also seized drugs, in sufficient quantity to form the basis of initial charges against the suspects. A police spokesperson told local paper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger: “There was a suspicion that someone was obtaining basic materials for the manufacture of IEDs, unconventional explosives and incendiary devices.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday that far-right extremism posed the greatest threat to German democracy.”
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