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Eye on Extremism
December 20, 2021
The Wall Street Journal: Yemen’s Houthis Seek Departure Of Top Iranian Diplomat
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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.”
“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
“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
“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
“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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