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Eye on Extremism
December 22, 2021
**NOTE: CEP’s Eye On Extremism will be suspended December 23-24 in observance of the holidays. It will resume Monday, December 27.**
The Wall Street Journal: Iran-Backed Houthis Doubled Attacks This Year On Saudi Arabia, Report Says
“Attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi militant group against Saudi Arabia have more than doubled this year from their pace last year, according to a recent report that provides details of escalating violence in the Gulf region. During the first nine months of 2021, Houthi attacks against the Saudi kingdom averaged 78 a month, or 702 in total, said the report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington. During the same period in 2020, the report said, the monthly average was 38. The report analyzes more than 4,100 Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia between 2016 and 2021, providing a clearer picture of a long-running regional conflict that has developed into a proxy war between Tehran and Riyadh. Houthi militants in Yemen have turned to irregular or asymmetric weapons against Saudi Arabia, which has led a military intervention in Yemen since 2015 following the fall of the government there. Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which is also backed by Iran, has provided the Houthis with weapons and training, the report notes. The relatively low-cost support from Iran and Hezbollah makes the Houthi attacks on the Saudi kingdom so effective, said Seth Jones, a senior analyst for the international security program at CSIS who authored the report.”
Bloomberg: Hong Kong Went From Zero To 29 Terrorism Arrests In 18 Months
“When Louis Lo was arrested at the height of Hong Kong’s 2019 pro-democracy protests and accused of masterminding the city’s largest bomb plot in decades, authorities chose not to prosecute him for terrorism. At that time, the city had never charged anyone with trying to carry out a terrorist act under a law passed years earlier for just that purpose. Instead, the independence activist, who the trial judge said sought to create “terror among citizens,” was charged with keeping explosives. He pleaded guilty in April and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Yet Hong Kong has shown a greater willingness to level terrorism charges since China imposed powerful national security legislation on the city last year. Authorities began using its sweeping provisions to round up members of the opposition in the former British colony, arresting 29 people on terrorism-related allegations in the past 18 months -- the first just hours after the security law took effect on June 30, 2020. Some of the cases involve activities that would probably meet most international definitions of terrorism, such as a group of 14 accused in July of stockpiling explosives to attack public infrastructure. Others, however, might fall short of such standards, including a waiter sentenced to nine years in prison for driving a motorcycle into a group of cops and four university students charged with advocating terrorism for commemorating a man who stabbed a police officer.”
United States
“A Michigan middle school teacher was charged with making a false threat of terrorism against the school after she was caught leaving “inappropriate” notes at teacher stations. The woman, Johnna Rhone, 59, an art teacher at Jefferson Middle School outside Detroit, was caught on camera delivering the notes Friday, Lakeview Public Schools said in a statement. The three notes, delivered to three different teachers, were handwritten and “similar in nature,” the statement said. One of the notes “appeared to be an attempt at making a false threat in the hope of closing school,” it said. Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said one of the notes read: “Start break early. He’s gonna do it. Just don’t be in the hall after lunch. Boom! Get it?” Michigan schools have been fielding an influx of threats since four teenagers were killed in a shooting at Oxford High School last month. Jefferson Middle School did not close Friday. “Based on the facts, information and timeline, the team was confident everyone was safe, and there was no need for initiating any lockdown or other safety protocols,” the school district statement said. Rhone was arrested at the school, according to a report from St. Clair Shores police. She was arraigned Monday in St. Clair Shores District Court, and bond was set at $75,000, NBC affiliate WDIV of Detroit reported.”
CNS News: Border Patrol Council President: Terrorists Can Take Advantage Of Gaps In Border Wall
“National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd said Tuesday that terrorist organizations will be able to take advantage of gaps in the border wall to sneak terrorists into the United States. He said there are already people being apprehended at the border from 151 different countries. “When you look at the total number of people that are crossing our border illegally there is a rush. Now whether there’s a rush of people from Saudi Arabia or Iran, Iraq, that’s a different story, but we do know we're apprehending people from 151 different countries including countries all over the Middle East, countries that have ties to terrorist organizations such as Eritrea in the African continent,” he told Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.” “So yes, we’re apprehending people from everywhere, and then on top of that, we're having a record number of people that are able to evade apprehension. When you go to Yuma. I was there on Monday of last week. When you go to Yuma, 90% of our resources are in processing. We only have 10% of our agents that are on the border,” Judd said. “We have holes that are just wide open that criminal cartels are able to exploit and including terrorist organizations will be able to exploit those holes in our coverage as well if they want to. So yes, it exists. It’s there. It’s a real threat.”
Afghanistan
Associated Press: Protesters In Kabul Call For Release Of Afghanistan’s Assets
“Hundreds of protesters marched through the streets of Kabul toward the shuttered U.S. Embassy on Tuesday, urging the release of Afghanistan’s frozen assets. Holding banners reading, “Let us eat” and “Give us our frozen money,” the protesters chanted slogans and marched down a central avenue, with the ruling Taliban providing security. International funding to Afghanistan has been suspended and billions of dollars of the country’s assets abroad, mostly in the United States, were frozen after the Taliban took control of the country in mid-August. The lack of funding has battered Afghanistan’s already troubled economy, leading to increasing poverty while aid groups warn of a looming humanitarian catastrophe. State employees, from doctors to teachers and administrative civil servants, haven’t been paid in months. Banks, meanwhile, have restricted how much money account holders can withdraw. No country has yet officially recognized the country’s new Taliban rulers due to the armed group’s previous track record. The Taliban’s previous regime 20 years ago banned women and girls from education and public life, mandated beards for men and attendance at prayers, banned sports and entertainment and carried out public executions.”
Reuters: Exclusive-U.N. Proposing Paying Nearly $6 Million To Taliban For Security
“The United Nations is proposing to pay nearly $6 million for protection in Afghanistan to Taliban-run Interior Ministry personnel, whose chief is under U.N. and U.S. sanctions and wanted by the FBI, according to a U.N. document and a source familiar with the matter. The proposed funds would be paid next year mostly to subsidize the monthly wages of Taliban fighters guarding U.N. facilities and to provide them a monthly food allowance under an expansion of an accord with the former U.S.-backed Afghan government, the document reviewed by Reuters shows. The plan underscores the persisting insecurity in Afghanistan following the Islamist Taliban’s takeover in August as the last U.S. troops left, as well as a dire shortage of funds hampering the new government because of a cutoff of international financial aid. “The United Nations has a duty as an employer to reinforce and, where necessary, supplement the capacity of host states in circumstances where U.N. personnel work in areas of insecurity,” deputy U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq wrote in an email in response to Reuters’ questions about the proposed payments. He did not dispute the contents of the document. Several experts said the proposed payments raise questions about whether they would violate U.S. and U.N. sanctions on the Taliban and their top leaders, and whether the United Nations could detect diversions of funds for other purposes.”
Middle East
The Jerusalem Post: Hamas Sees Terrorism As The Way To Push Israel Towards Concessions - Analysis
“Hamas is increasingly pushing for deadly terrorist attacks in the West Bank as tensions continue to rise in the Gaza Strip and inside Israeli prisons for Palestinian prisoners. More than half a year since the last round of violent escalations between the two sides, Hamas has understood that terrorism is the route it must take to push Israel to make concessions. Though it has been relatively quiet in the South since a ceasefire brought to an end the 11 days of fighting in May, there have been close to a dozen attacks on Israeli civilians by Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem over the past month and a half. Two of the attacks were deadly: A Hamas member killed 26-year-old Eli Kay in a shooting attack in Jerusalem, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the death of 25-year-old Yehuda Dimentman in a shooting attack near the West Bank settlement of Homesh. According to reports, Hamas told Egyptian mediators they do not accept Israel’s connection of reconstructing the coastal enclave with a prisoner-swap deal and warned of renewed hostilities over Israel’s “foot-dragging” over Gaza’s reconstruction and the lifting of the blockade.”
Somalia
Reuters: Seven Killed In Clashes Between Pro-Government Somali Forces
“Fighting between elements of Somali pro-government forces killed at least seven people and injured 50 in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland on Tuesday, a doctor at a hospital that treated the casualties told Reuters. It was the first reported deadly clash between forces loyal to Puntland's president and the U.S.-trained Puntland Security Forces (PSF), which both support Somali central government forces against al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab insurgents. “At least seven people including (forces) from both sides and civilians died in the fighting,” said Mohamed Ahmed, a doctor at the main hospital in the regional capital Bosaso. Both combatants and civilians were among the injured, Ahmed said. A Puntland forces commander who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media confirmed the deaths, saying four were from his side, two were PSF fighters and the other a civilian. Clashes between the two groups broke out early on Tuesday with each accusing the other of initiating the violence. Fighting had stopped by late on Tuesday with the streets of Bosaso empty and businesses shuttered. Tensions between the two have run high since last month when Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni fired PSF commander Mohamoud Osman Diyano. Deni won elections in January 2019, defeating Asad Osman Diyano, the brother of the PSF commander.”
Africa
Voice Of America: Cameroon Arrests Hundreds For Deadly Clashes That Displaced 100,000
“Cameroonian authorities say troops have arrested hundreds of armed men blamed for communal violence in the northeast this month that displaced more than a hundred thousand people — most to neighboring Chad. Authorities say they also seized hundreds of weapons as well as cattle stolen during the conflict over scarce resources. Cameroonian authorities say the military is conducting an intensive search to find and arrest additional armed men operating in Logone and Chari, along the northern border with Chad. The governor of the Far North region, Midjiyawa Bakari, says military raids on hideouts in the area led to the arrests of several hundred men. Speaking from the region’s capital, Maroua, Bakari said the men were believed responsible for much of the violence this month that displaced more than 100,000 people — most of them across the border to Chad. He says besides the arrests, the military also seized several hundred weapons that the men were using to attack and kill civilians. Bakari says troops also seized 30 motorcycles that armed men from rival communities were using in attacks. He says more than 200 cattle stolen from ranchers have been recovered and will be handed over after investigations to determine their legitimate owners. Clashes broke out on December 4 between ranchers and fishers over water resources, leaving scores dead and sending tens of thousands fleeing — most of them women and children.”
The National: France Kills ISIS Leader Soumana Boura In Niger
“A regional ISIS leader wanted in connection with the killing of French aid workers has been killed in Niger, France said. The French army said it “neutralised” Soumana Boura in an operation carried out with Nigerien co-operation. Boura was wanted in connection with the killing of seven aid workers, mostly French citizens, and a guide in a Niger giraffe park in August 2020. Operatives from France’s anti-insurgent force Operation Barkhane killed Boura in an air strike, the Defence Ministry in Paris said. He had been found in a sanctuary north of the town of Tillaberi. France claims Boura was among the perpetrators of the August 9, 2020 attack in Koure Park, Niger. The victims had been on a day of sightseeing when they were attacked just before noon. An ambulance sent by the French military stationed in Niger found the bodies and a burnt-out vehicle. In September France confirmed the death of another Niger suspect, Adnan Abu Walid Al Sahrawi. The French military has been fighting extremists in the sub-Sahara region, where it was once the colonial power, after intervening in northern Mali in 2013. Mr Macron in June announced a major scale-back in France's anti-militant Barkhane force in the sub-Sahara to refocus on counter-terrorism operations and supporting local forces.”
AFP: Mozambique Says Troops Killed 10 Rebels
“Mozambican soldiers backed by regional forces stormed a rebel base and shot dead 10 insurgents in the country’s deeply troubled north, the defense minister said. The incident, which took place Sunday, follows several attacks in the last two weeks by jihadists in villages in the Macomia district of the gas-rich Cabo Delgado province. The area has been rocked by attacks by Islamic State-linked militants since 2017, killing at least 3,300 people and displacing more than 800,000 others. But since July, more than 3,100 African, European and US soldiers have been deployed to the northern province to quell the unrest. “Yesterday, our forces and (southern African regional troops) attacked a terrorist base in Macomia and shot down 10 terrorists,” Defense Minister Cristovao Chume said late Monday. “The situation is worrying”, he said. “Our forces are on the ground. And in the coming weeks we will have positive results”. President Filipe Nyusi said last week his country had witnessed fewer jihadist attacks this year than last, after Rwanda and neighboring countries helped tackle the four-year insurgency. “We were able to reduce terrorist attacks by three times,” he said. While in 2020 the country registered just over 160 attacks, that number was reduced to 52 in 2021, he said.”
United Kingdom
BBC News: Oxford Woman Arrested For Encouraging Terrorism Online
“A 20-year-old woman from Oxford has been arrested on suspicion of encouraging terrorism online. Counter terrorism officers arrested the woman at a property in Blackbird Leys on Monday, police said. She remains in custody. The pre-planned arrest was in connection with statements which had been made on the internet. Thames Valley Police said people might notice an increased presence in the area while officers continue a search.”
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