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Eye on Extremism
December 21, 2021
Associated Press: Gunmen Kill 47 In Latest Attacks In Nigeria’s Troubled North
“Nigerian security forces are searching for armed gangs who killed 47 people in attacks in recent days in rural areas of the country’s northwest, the latest killings in the troubled region. The attacks took place in the northwest Kaduna state which neighbors Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, Kaduna commissioner for security Samuel Aruwan confirmed. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks but they are suspected to be by the gangs of bandits who have killed at least 2,500 people in the northwest and central states so far in 2021, according to statistics collated by the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations. The attacks have escalated in the past three months so the death toll for the entire year is expected to increase. The armed groups mostly consist of young men from the Fulani ethnic group who had traditionally worked as nomadic cattle herders and have become caught up in a decades-long conflict with Hausa farming communities over access to water and grazing land. Security forces deployed after the attacks are patrolling the affected areas, but no arrests have been announced and details are still emerging. Local residents reported that the assailants rampaged for hours in some of the villages. Nine people were killed across three villaged on Friday, according to Kaduna commissioner Aruwan, a reminder of how the armed groups are able to carry out prolonged assaults in remote locations where help is often delayed as a result of inadequate security presence.”
The New York Times: Pentagon Updates Its Rules On Extremism In The Military
“The Pentagon on Monday issued new guidelines meant to root out extremism in the U.S. military, warning that “liking” white nationalist and extremist content on social media and similar activities could result in disciplinary action. The guidelines come nearly a year after the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, which dozens of current and former service members attended, leading to a reckoning at the Pentagon over extremism in the ranks. The participation of military personnel in the Capitol riot distressed senior Pentagon officials so much that Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III ordered a 60-day “stand down,” completed in April, to address the issue. During that period, most units in the armed forces discussed why white supremacy and extremism have no place in the military. In those conversations, one young service member said that for the first four months after he joined his Army unit, a flag representing the right-wing extremist militia called the Three Percenters hung on a wall in the foyer of his barracks. A Black Marine described feeling sick when he saw the red and gold flag that represents his service being flown during the Capitol attack. A white brigadier general worried privately about whether service members could be in trouble for supporting former President Donald J. Trump.”
United States
NBC News: Kentucky Man Accused Of Joining Terrorist Group Is Returned To Face Charges
“A Kentucky man who is accused of joining the Islamic State group, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., made his initial court appearance Monday as part of a federal case that accuses him of assisting the group, prosecutors said. The man, Mirsad Hariz Adem Ramic, 31, of Bowling Green, is charged with providing material support and conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organization. He is also charged with receiving military training from such a foe. It wasn't clear whether Ramic had an attorney. A federal public defender's office that serves Kentucky didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. A federal court in Kentucky unsealed the indictment Monday, the Justice Department said in a statement. Ramic, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Bosnia, is alleged to have left the U.S. for Istanbul in 2014. Traveling with two unnamed co-conspirators, prosecutors said, the trio eventually crossed into Syria to join the terrorist group, better known as ISIS. Ramic attended fighter training, in which he fired an AK-47, relocated to Raqqa, Syria, and used an anti-aircraft weapon “to shoot at planes,” prosecutors alleged in the Justice Department's statement. He and the alleged co-conspirators discussed jihad, or holy war, martyrdom and fighting for the Islamic State group, the Justice Department said.”
Iraq
Al Monitor: Iraqi Air Force Strikes Islamic State Targets
“The Iraqi air force conducted airstrikes against the Islamic State today following a flurry of attacks. Iraqi pilots using US-made F-16 fighter jets struck IS outside of Sadiyah in the Diyala province in northeastern Iraq. Iraqi army and police units discovered the bodies of IS fighters, M-16 rifles, destroyed sniper hideouts and more after the strikes, the Security Media Cell said in a statement. The Islamic State has conducted several attacks on civilians and the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces recently. A total of eight Peshmerga soldiers were killed in a series of IS ambushes in Diyala Nov. 27-29. IS also attacked Peshmerga soldiers and civilians in Makhmour south of the Kurdistan Region capital Erbil on Dec. 2. The Iraqi air force also hit IS targets in the Hamrin mountains in Diyala on Nov. 22. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi visited Makhmour earlier this month in a show of defiance against IS.”
Turkey
Daily Sabah: Turkey Detains 22 Daesh, Al-Qaida Terrorists In Istanbul, Ankara
“Police in Istanbul and Ankara detained at least 22 terrorist suspects linked to Daesh, al-Qaida and other terrorist groups as part of counterterrorism operations ahead of New Year's Day. In Istanbul, police detained nine foreign nationals with links to al-Qaida and Daesh terrorists, Demirören News Agency (DHA) reported Monday. Operations were conducted in eight different districts in the country's largest metropolis. Suspects were transferred to the police station for testimony, the report said. In the capital Ankara, police detained 13 other Daesh-linked suspects. The suspects had been in contact with Daesh in Iraq and Syria or assisted the terrorists. After giving testimony, they will be transferred to the local migration authority for deportation procedures, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported. In 2013, Turkey became one of the first countries to declare Daesh a terrorist group. The country has since been attacked by the terrorist group multiple times, with over 300 people killed and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks and four armed assaults. In response, Turkey launched counterterrorism operations within and abroad to prevent further attacks.”
Afghanistan
“Flowing from the capital, the highway begins without promise, a long, curving scar stretching across the navel of Afghanistan. Potholes. Ruts. A bridge destroyed in an airstrike, still unfixed. Visible symbols of two decades of war, corruption, and neglect along the artery that connects the nation’s two largest cities, Kabul and Kandahar. The conflict is over, at least as it was known for the past 20 years: airstrikes, night raids, ambushes, roadside bombs, a grass roots insurgency that outmaneuvered the world’s most powerful army and its proxies.
Taliban fighters, whose attacks burnished this road’s reputation as “the highway of death,” are again Afghanistan’s rulers. The Americans have left, but peace remains elusive. There are fresh enemies, fresh challenges. Hundreds of Afghans have been killed by suicide-bombings and other attacks since the takeover. Millions more are struggling to find work, purchase necessities and pay rent amid multiple crises, including a collapsing economy, deepening humanitarian woes and drought. If roads can be the chroniclers of a nation, transporting not just passengers and goods but also the stories, aspirations and fears of a people, then the 300-mile journey from Kabul to Kandahar on National Highway 1 unveils Afghanistan’s past, present and future in all its cataclysms and yearnings.”
Middle East
The Jerusalem Post: Palestinians Shoot At IDF As It Maps Out Demolition Of Terrorist Homes
“Serious clashes broke out between Palestinians and the IDF in the pre-dawn hours of Monday as soldiers mapped out the homes of four terror suspects so it can weigh the demolition of the structures as a punitive measure. Palestinians shot at the soldiers as they operated in the village of Silat al-Harithiya, where the four were arrested the day before. They are believed to be involved in Thursday’s shooting terror attack near the site of the former Homesh settlement that claimed the life of 25-year-old Yehuda Dimentman. A violent clash also broke out between soldiers and Palestinians, in which stones were thrown at the troops. The IDF responded with riot dispersal means. In the aftermath of the attack, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) reached an agreement to step up terror activity against Israel in the West Bank and Jerusalem. The situation in the West Bank has remained volatile. Defense Minister Benny Gantz updated the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee regarding the danger to Israelis and security forces in the West Bank. “In recent weeks, in response to an increased number of alerts, we have carried out extensive counter-terrorism operations, which have curtailed both [terror] capabilities and intentions,” Gantz said, adding that “These operations will continue.”
Nigeria
“At least 25 people were killed after 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 attacked Kilangar village, Askira Uba Local Government Area of Borno State on Sunday, multiple security sources have told SaharaReporters. The Deputy Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Abdullahi Askira is from the Kilangar community. SaharaReporters gathered that the terrorists who came in no fewer than 10 gun trucks burnt down the residence of the District Head of the town, Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu Kilangar. Some houses including that of the Deputy Speaker and shops were also destroyed by the gunmen. The latest attack comes a few hours after President Muhammadu Buhari claimed the Boko Haram terrorist group had been weakened by his government. Speaking at the third edition of the Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit on Saturday, Buhari added that the insurgents are only “preying on soft targets”. 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.”
Mali
All Africa: Mali Left Alone To Fight Extremists Amid Political Crisis
“With French troops now gone from the city of Timbuktu, Mali now faces the major task of deciding how to fight off Islamic extremists who have posed a security threat for years. French soldiers have built a presence in northern Mali over the last decade after helping to keep the extremists from power in a military intervention in 2013. But not even these foreign troops were able to deter the jihadis operating in the Sahel region stretching between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso from continuing with their attacks. The task of securing the West African nation now appears even more daunting for the current military-led transitional government, which is facing sanctions from the regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Abdoulaye Diop, Mali's foreign affairs minister, told DW that his country had no choice but to rethink how it is taking care of its own security. Speaking of France's decision to withdraw its troops, he said it was clear that Mali could not rely forever on external security assistance. “We recognize the sacrifices of French soldiers or others who have fallen to help us, but we must be aware that external aid is destined to end for one reason or another,” he said.”
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