“A member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was smuggled into Yemen
last year and named the ambassador to the country’s Houthi-rebel-control

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


December 20, 2021  

 

The Wall Street Journal: Yemen’s Houthis Seek Departure Of Top Iranian Diplomat

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“A member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was smuggled into Yemen
last year and named the ambassador to the country’s Houthi-rebel-controlled
areas. Now, the Houthis want to send him back to Tehran, Middle Eastern and
Western officials said. The Houthi forces have asked Saudi Arabia, which
maintains a sweeping air blockade of Yemen’s capital, to let the top Iranian
diplomat in the country immediately fly back to Iran, a request seen by Saudi
officials as a sign of strains between Tehran and the militant group. The
diplomat, Hassan Irloo, has been deeply involved in helping the Houthis with
battlefield planning, but his influence in Yemen has bolstered a negative
perception in the country that the militant force answers to Tehran, according
to regional officials. After seven years of civil war, the Houthis remain in
control of Sana’a, the capital, and govern much of the country’s north. “Irloo
has become a burden for them,” said one regional official. “He’s a political
problem.” The Saudis told Houthi leaders that they wouldn’t let Iran fly a
plane to Yemen to get Mr. Irloo, according to regional officials. Instead, the
officials said, Mr. Irloo could only fly out on a plane from Oman or Iraq and
would only be allowed to leave if the Houthis freed some high-profile Saudi
hostages.”

 

Associated Press: Germany Acknowledges Mistakes 5 Years After Berlin Attack
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“Five years after a terror attack killed 12 people at a Berlin Christmas
market, Germany's president acknowledged Sunday that the government had not
lived up to its duty to protect its citizens that day. “We have to admit that
the state has not been able to keep its promises of protection, security and
freedom,” German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said, adding that the years
since the attack have shown that mistakes were made by German officials.
Steinmeier’s comments came at a Sunday evening commemoration of the fifth
anniversary of the terror attack on Berlin’s Breitscheidplatz. On Dec. 19,
2016, an Islamist terrorist plowed through a crowd of Christmas market-goers in
a large truck, killing 12 people and injuring dozens more in the German
capital. The attacker was killed days later in a shootout in Italy. The attack
“left a deep rift… in all our hearts,” Steinmeier said, adding that it “was
aimed at our way of life: In peace, in freedom and democracy.” In the years
since the attack, the German government has faced criticism for its handling of
Anis Amri, a rejected asylum-seeker from Tunisia who carried out the attack. An
inquiry found in 2017 that Amri could have been detained and possibly deported
months before the attack. Going forward, Steinmeier said the Germany “has a
duty to correct the mistakes, failures and problems that kept this attack from
being prevented.”

 

United States

 

Associated Press: Far-Right Using COVID-19 Theories To Grow Reach, Study Shows
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“The mugshot-style photos are posted on online message boards in black and
white and look a little like old-fashioned “wanted” posters. “The Jews own
COVID just like all of Hollywood,” the accompanying text says. “Wake up
people.” The post is one of many that white supremacists and far-right
extremists are using to expand their reach and recruit followers on the social
media platform Telegram, according to the findings of researchers who sifted
through nearly half a million comments on pages — called channels on Telegram —
that they categorized as far-right from January 2020 to June 2021. The tactic
has been successful: Nine of the 10 most viewed posts in the sample examined by
the researchers contained misleading claims about the safety of vaccines or the
pharmaceutical companies manufacturing them. One Telegram channel saw its total
subscribers jump tenfold after it leaned into COVID-19 conspiracy theories.
“COVID-19 has served as a catalyst for radicalization,” said the study's
author, Ciaran O’Connor, an analyst at the London-based Institute for Strategic
Dialogue. “It allows conspiracy theorists or extremists to create simple
narratives, framing it as us versus them, good versus evil.” Other posts
downplayed the severity of the coronavirus or pushed conspiracy theories about
its origins. Many of the posts contain hate speech directed at Jews, Asians,
women or other groups or violent rhetoric that would be automatically removed
from Facebook or Twitter for violating the standards of those sites.”

 

The San Diego Union-Tribune: Former San Diegan Pleads Guilty In Islamic State
Terror Case
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“A former San Diego man pleaded guilty Friday to helping fund the Islamic
State’s campaign of terror, including paying for the overseas travel of another
San Diegan, who is believed to be the first U.S. citizen killed while fighting
for the group in Syria in 2014. Abdullahi Ahmed Abdullahi pleaded guilty to two
charges relating to providing material support to terrorists. In the plea
agreement, he admitted to a scheme to provide $4,650 to a group of comrades
knowing it would be used to in preparation for or in carrying out terrorist
activities in Syria, “including killing, kidnapping and maiming” people. The
case has provided a window into ISIS’ heavy recruitment efforts targeting
Westerners, radicalizing them into not only supporting the group’s cause but
into taking more direct action by traveling abroad to take up arms in the
violent play for a caliphate. Abdullahi, who had at one time resided in San
Diego, was living in Edmonton, Canada, in November 2013 when three of his
cousins traveled from there to Turkey, then onto Syria, to join the Islamic
State, according to a detailed accounting of the crime in the plea agreement.
He assisted almost immediately by withdrawing about $2,800 in Canadian dollars
from one of the cousins’ bank account in Canada and sending it on to Syria.”

 

Syria

 

AFP: Six Killed By ISIS In Syria's Notorious Al Hol Camp This Month
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“Six people, including four women, have been killed in Syria's Al Hol camp for
displaced persons by ISIS in December, a British-based war monitor group said
on Sunday. The camp, which is controlled by the Kurdish-led autonomous
administration in north-eastern Syria, houses about 62,000 displaced persons,
including relatives of ISIS fighters. About 93 per cent are women and children,
and about half come from Iraq. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights, which has a wide network of sources in Syria, “six assassinations were
committed” in the camp by terrorist cells since the start of December. The last
victim to date was shot dead on Saturday. The victims include three Iraqis —
two men and one woman — as well as two Syrian women and one woman whose
identity is unknown, the observatory said. Since the start of the year, the
number of killings in the camp has been rising. About 86 people have been
killed, including 63 Iraqi refugees who resided in Al-Hol, according to the
monitor's toll. Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman warned that “chaos and
insecurity persist within the camp”, calling it a “ticking time bomb” in
comments to AFP. In March, Kurdish-led authorities launched a major operation
in the camp, during which they arrested 125 alleged ISIS members.”

 

Iraq

 

Associated Press: A Fragile Partnership In Iraq Tries To Prevent IS Revival
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“As a backhoe dug up the ground to build trenches, Iraqi soldiers scanned the
vast farming tracts for militants; not far away, their Kurdish counterparts did
the same. The scene earlier this month in the small northern Iraqi farming
village of Lheiban was a rare instance of coordination between the federal
government and the semi-autonomous Kurdish region. The two sides were
fortifying a joint position aimed at defending the village against attacks by
the Islamic State group. Despite a long-standing territorial dispute, Baghdad
and Iraq's Kurds are taking steps to work together to prevent a resurgence of
the Islamic State group. Whether the fragile security partnership can hold is
the big test in the next chapter of Iraq's war with IS. Both sides say they
need the Americans to help keep it together — and they say that is one reason
why the U.S. military presence in Iraq is not going away even as its combat
mission officially ends on Dec. 31. Iraq declared IS defeated four years ago
this month. But the rivalry between Baghdad and the Kurds opened up cracks
through which IS crept back: a long, disputed zone snaking through four
provinces -- Nineveh, Kirkuk, Salaheddin and Diyala -- where the forces of
either side did not enter. In some places, the zone was up to 40 kilometers (24
miles) wide.”

 

Afghanistan

 

The Washington Post: Taliban Recruits Flood Into Afghanistan From Neighboring
Pakistan As The Group Works To Consolidate Control
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“Thousands of Taliban fighters and supporters have poured into Afghanistan
from Pakistan over the past four months, answering the calls of influential
clerics and commanders eager to consolidate control of the country, according
to interviews with half a dozen current and former Taliban members in Pakistan
and Afghanistan. Senior Taliban leadership urged fighters, Afghan refugees and
madrassa students in Pakistan to come to Afghanistan to help the group maintain
security as it made a string of sudden territorial advances this summer that
created an urgent need for reinforcements, the current and former Taliban
members said. “Many of our mujahideen were offered permanent residences in
Afghanistan if they wish to move here,” said one Pakistani Taliban fighter who
aided in the recruitment effort from a madrassa in northwest Pakistan. He, like
others in this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to speak to the press. The surge in Taliban fighters and supporters
from Pakistan is bolstering ranks as the movement grapples with security
threats, economic collapse and a deepening humanitarian crisis. But the source
of the additional forces is also stirring long-held tensions with Pakistan at a
critical time for Taliban leadership as it focuses on maintaining unity in the
face of multiple crises that have the potential to undermine the group.”

 

Bloomberg: Taliban Urges OIC Members To Push U.S. To Release Afghan Assets
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“The Taliban government urged major Islamic nations to push the U.S. to call
off sanctions imposed on Afghanistan, saying the actions are exacerbating the
refugee crisis and hurting its people. The freezing of Afghan assets by the
U.S. is in violation of human rights, while the suspension of development
assistance by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank has affected
health, education and social services, according to acting Foreign Minister
Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi. He was speaking at a special session of the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Council of Foreign Ministers in Pakistan.
“We urge participants of this great gathering to remind U.S. officials that
persecution of Afghans and weakening of the Afghan government is not in the
interest of anyone,” Muttaqi said. The U.S. in August froze nearly $9.5 billion
in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank and stopped shipments of cash to
the nation. On Sunday, the White House said the status of these reserves are
the subject of ongoing litigation brought by the victims of Sept. 11 and other
terrorist attacks. “These legal proceedings cannot be disregarded and have led
to the temporary suspension of any movement of the funds through at least the
end of the year and quite possibly longer,” White House Press Secretary Jen
Psaki said.”

 

Yemen

 

The National: Yemen Security Belt Forces Played 'Important Role In Countering
Terrorism', US Says
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“The Yemen Security Belt Forces played a significant role in countering
terrorism in southern Yemen in recent years, the US State Department has said.
The Yemen Security Belt Forces are units that were formed by a decree issued by
President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi in May 2016. They fought against Al Qaeda in Lahj
province, near Aden, pushing the militants out of the governorate in 2016.
“Security Belt Forces loyal to the Southern Transitional Council continued to
play an important role in counter-terrorism efforts, as they exercised control
over significant parts of Aden, Abyan, and Shabwah,” the department's 2020
country report for Yemen said. ISIS in Yemen remained considerably smaller in
size and influence compared with Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP) but
remained operationally active and continued to claim attacks, the report,
released on Thursday, said. The Al Qaeda affiliate remained active in central
Yemen, most notably in Al Bayda, demonstrating its ability to move within the
country. The State Department said the number of attacks attributed to AQAP and
ISIS decreased last year, compared with 2019. According to the US, the
extremist groups' tactics included suicide bombings, vehicle-borne improvised
explosive devices (IEDs) ambushes, armed attacks, kidnappings and
assassinations.”

 

Middle East

 

The Jerusalem Post: Terrorist Groups Attempting Wave Of Violence, Bennett Warns

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“Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned of attempts to spark a wave of
terrorism in the West Bank, following the capture Sunday morning of four
Palestinian terrorists responsible for killing Yehuda Dimentman, 25, and
wounding two other yeshiva students on Thursday. “We have witnessed in recent
weeks attempts by terrorist organizations to rear their head in Judea and
Samaria,” Bennett said at the opening of Sunday’s cabinet meeting. “At the same
time, there are terrorist attacks by lone actors, inspired by the regular
incitement that may change its platform – in the past it was Facebook and now
it’s TikTok – but the incitement is the same incitement.” The IDF, Shin Bet
(Israel Security Agency), and all other security forces are prepared, he said.
“There is not one terrorist that we will not chase down and reach, whatever it
takes,” Bennett said. His remarks come after several Palestinian terrorist
attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank in recent weeks, including the shooting
near the Western Wall that took the life of Eli Kay, 26, in November, a
Palestinian teenage girl who stabbed an Israeli mother walking with her
children in Jerusalem and a 15-year-old Palestinian boy who stabbed an Israeli
man outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City this month.”

 

Africa

 

AFP: Officials: Islamic State Group Plot In Morocco Foiled With US Help
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“Moroccan security forces with U.S. support have foiled a suspected bomb plot
by the so-called Islamic State group and arrested an alleged supporter of the
outlawed organization, counterterror police said Friday. “This arrest is the
culmination of close collaboration between (Moroccan security forces) and U.S.
law-enforcement,” Morocco's Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ)
said in a statement without giving further details about the joint operation.
The arrested suspect was “an extremist belonging to the so-called Islamic
State” and from the Sala Al-Jadida region north of Rabat, the statement added.
According to preliminary inquiries, the man had allegedly pledged allegiance to
the group. He had planned to join foreign jihadist training camps “before
deciding to join a terror plot in Morocco using explosive devices,” the
statement added. The police subsequently seized electronic devices and
materials used for the preparation of explosives. “This security operation
highlights the importance and effectiveness of bilateral cooperation between
(Moroccan security services) and US intelligence and security agencies in the
fight against extremist violence and the threat of international terrorism,”
the BCIJ said.”

 

Daily Mail: ISIS-Linked Extremists Decapitate Christian Pastor Before Handing
His Severed Head To His Wife To Show Authorities In Mozambique
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“Suspected ISIS-linked extremists have decapitated a Christian pastor before
handing his severed head to his wife to show authorities in Mozambique. The
killing, reported by local news, took place in the country's gas-rich northern
province of Cabo Delgado. Last Wednesday, the man's widow carried a sack
containing the head of her husband to the district police headquarters,
according to the BBC who cited military sources. She was ordered to inform the
authorities of her husband's killing by the suspected Islamic State-linked
insurgents, who found the pastor in a field, she told police. Moment long line
truckers 'boycott' Colorado over the state's 110-year sentence for driver who
caused fatal accident: Petition to grant clemency attracts 4MILLION signatures,
and other top stories from December 20, 2021. The woman, a resident of Nova
Zambezia, told officials that the attackers kidnapped her husband from the farm
before beheading him. Speaking on Thursday, Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi
Thursday stressed that his country had witnessed fewer jihadist attacks this
year than last, after Rwanda and neighbouring countries helped tackle the
four-year insurgency. The Cabo Delgado province has been rocked by attacks by
Islamic State-linked militants since 2017, killing at least 3,340 people and
displacing more than 800,000.”

 

United Kingdom

 

The Washington Post: Prosecutors Use Words Of British ISIS Militant Against Him

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“A British former member of the Islamic State has sought to minimize his role
in the captivity of journalists and aid workers, several of whom were killed.
But in 2018, court records show he told Department of Defense investigators he
was intimately involved in ransom negotiations and privy to details of some
hostages’ deaths. El Shafee Elsheikh, who is facing a January trial in
Alexandria federal court, is accused of being part of a notorious quartet of
ISIS hostage-takers, known as “The Beatles” because of their British accents.
The man who beheaded some of those hostages in horrific propaganda videos,
Mohammed Emwazi, died in a drone strike in 2015. Conspirator Alexanda Kotey has
pleaded guilty in Alexandria federal court. A third is imprisoned in Turkey.
Elsheikh’s trial will be the first and possibly last time much of the evidence
against the group is aired in public. He is accused of kidnapping and
conspiring to murder American journalists and aid workers James Foley, Peter
Kassig, Kayla Mueller and Steven Sotloff. The three men were killed in 2014 and
their bodies used in propaganda videos by a masked Emwazi, who became known as
“Jihadi John.” Mueller died in captivity under unclear circumstances in 2015.
Kotey and Elsheikh were captured by the Kurdish-led Syrian Defense Forces (SDF)
in early 2018.”

 

France

 

RFI: A Grim Warning, As Paris Court Hears Testimony On The Making Of A
Terrorist
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“In the final week of hearings before the winter break, the special criminal
court in Paris heard from the relatives of some of the dead terrorists involved
in the November 2015 attacks. A senior police investigator, meanwhile, warned
that similar attacks could happen again at any time. The father of the man who
made the suicide vests used in the Paris attacks had no answers. Driss
Laachraoui told the court that he had watched, powerless, as his son lost
interest in school and embarked on the tragic road that would lead from a local
mosque to the Syrian war zone. Najim Laachraoui blew himself up in the suicide
attack at Brussels airport in 2016. The case of the Clain family was even more
mysterious. They were converts from Catholicism, the entire group including
mother, two brothers, two sisters and their children, embracing a rigorous
vision of Islam and then becoming active missionaries for the Salafist project
that demands a return to the lifestyle lived in the early days of the Muslim
tradition. The Clains moved from the Norman city of Alençon to Toulouse in the
search for new converts and a place to live their austere version of the faith.
When even their Muslim neighbours found them excessive, some family members
moved to Egypt.”

 

Technology

 

Politico: Islamic Extremists Sidestep Facebook’s Content Police
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“Photos of beheadings, extremist propaganda and violent hate speech related to
Islamic State and the Taliban were shared for months within Facebook groups
over the past year despite the social networking giant's claims it had
increased efforts to remove such content. The posts — some tagged as
“insightful” and “engaging” via new Facebook tools to promote community
interactions — championed the Islamic extremists’ violence in Iraq and
Afghanistan, including videos of suicide bombings and calls to attack rivals
across the region and in the West, according to a review of social media
activity between April and December. At least one of the groups contained more
than 100,000 members. In several Facebook groups, competing Sunni and Shia
militia trolled each other by posting pornographic images and other obscene
photos into rival groups in the hope Facebook would remove those communities.
In others, Islamic State supporters openly shared links to websites with reams
of online terrorist propaganda, while pro-Taliban Facebook users posted regular
updates about how the group took over Afghanistan during much of 2021,
according to POLITICO’s analysis. During that time period, Facebook said it had
invested heavily in artificial intelligence tools to automatically remove
extremist content and hate speech in more than 50 languages.”

 

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