Eye on Extremism
November 6, 2019
Voice
Of America: In Last Days, Al-Baghdadi Sought Safety In Shrinking
Domain
“In his last months on the run, Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi was agitated, fearful of traitors, sometimes disguised as
a shepherd, sometimes hiding underground, always dependent on a
shrinking circle of confidants. Associates paint a picture of a man
obsessed with his security and well-being and trying to find safety in
towns and deserts in eastern Syria near the Iraqi border as the
extremists' domains crumbled. In the end, the brutal leader once
hailed as “caliph” left former IS areas completely, slipping into
hostile territory in Syria's northwestern Idlib province run by the
radical group's al-Qaida-linked rivals. There, he blew himself up
during an Oct. 26 raid by U.S. special forces on his heavily fortified
safe house. For months, he kept a Yazidi teen as a slave, and she told
The Associated Press how he brought her along as he moved, traveling
with a core group of up to seven close associates. Months ago, he
delegated most of his powers to a senior deputy who is likely the man
announced by the group as his successor. The Yazidi girl, who was
freed in a U.S.-led raid in May, said al-Baghdadi first tried to flee
to Idlib in late 2017. She said one night she was loaded into a
three-vehicle convoy that included the IS leader, his wife and his
security entourage, headed for the province. The convoy reached a main
road but then turned around, apparently fearing it would come under
attack, said the girl, who was 17 at the time.”
The
National: France Claims Death Of Top Extremist Leader In
Mali
“France on Tuesday announced the death of a top extremist leader in
Mali as it sought to reassure the West African nation of European
support in the fight against militants. French troops killed Moroccan
Ali Maychou, co-founder of a group named GSIM, in Mali last month.
Defence Minister Florence Parly made the announcement aboard a
government plane as she returned from an official visit to the region.
Maychou was “the second most-wanted terrorist in the Sahel”, after
GSIM's number one, Iyad Ag Ghaly, Ms Parly told AFP. A collection of
extremist groups linked to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the GSIM
was launched in 2017 and has claimed responsibility for the biggest
attacks in the Sahel. Ag Ghaly is a Tuareg Malian who has been
involved in militancy for nearly three decades. Mali's army has been
struggling to contain the insurgency despite help from France, African
neighbours and the UN. Deadly assaults have underscored the fragility
of a region where extremist violence has claimed hundreds of lives. In
the latest attack, claimed by ISIS-allied militants, gunmen on Friday
shot dead 49 Malian troops at an army base near the border with Niger.
Over the weekend, two more Malian troops and a French soldier were
killed.”
U.S.
News & World Report: Man Charged In Terrorist Support Case Pleads
Guilty
“A man who authorities said thought he was working with an Al-Qaida
operative to scout locations for a July 4 terror attack in downtown
Cleveland has pleaded guilty to federal charges. The U.S. Justice
Department said 50-year-old Demetrius Pitts, of Maple Heights, pleaded
guilty Tuesday to attempting to provide support to a terrorist group
and for threats against President Donald Trump and his family.
Authorities said Pitts between 2015 and 2017 wanted to recruit people
to kill Americans. He met with an undercover FBI agent posing as an
Al-Qaida operative in 2018 to discuss plans for a terrorist attack
during July 4 fireworks. Pitts' attorney declined to comment about the
plea. Pitts is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 11 and could face as
many as 14 years in prison.”
Foreign
Policy: The Islamic State Will Outlive Baghdadi. Afghanistan Shows
How.
“A couple of years ago, a conspiracy theory emerged alleging that
the United States was backing the Islamic State in Afghanistan. It had
a curious mix of propagators: former Afghan President Hamid Karzai,
the Russian government, and large numbers of Pakistani Twitter
handles, among others. In 2017, Karzai described the Islamic State as
a “tool” of the United States and later claimed Washington was
propping up the group in order to justify a long-term military
presence in Afghanistan. The next year, Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov suggested that unmarked U.S. helicopters were ferrying
in weapons for the group. And in recent months, tweets from Pakistani
accounts have asserted that at some point not long ago, U.S. forces
airlifted Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi into Afghanistan.
The idea wasn’t new. Observers from Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei, to a group of university students listening to me give a
guest lecture in the Indian state of Bihar have claimed that America
was behind the very creation of the militant group. These assertions
aren’t just attributable to psy-ops or hostility toward the United
States; they’re also rooted in some relevant facts—such as past U.S.
support for Islamist fighters in Afghanistan during the Soviet
occupation and the Islamic State’s emergence after U.S. forces invaded
Iraq.”
The
Washington Post: Two Men Plead Guilty To Acting As Illegal Agents For
Iran In Surveilling Americans
“Two men have pleaded guilty to acting as illegal agents of the
government of Iran on charges stemming from monitoring a Jewish center
in Chicago and Americans who are members of an exiled Iranian
opposition group, the U.S. Justice Department and FBI announced
Tuesday. Majid Ghorbani, 60, an Iranian citizen and U.S. permanent
resident living in Costa Mesa, Calif., pleaded guilty Monday to one
count of violating U.S. sanctions, according to court records.
Ahmadreza Mohammadi-Doostdar, 39, a dual Iranian-U.S. citizen, pleaded
guilty Oct. 8 to one count of conspiracy and one count of acting as an
undeclared agent of the Iranian government, court filings show.
Ghorbani was arrested in August 2018, and Doostdar that September, and
both were accused of conducting surveillance and collecting
information about Americans involved with the Mujahideen-e Khalq, or
People’s Mujahideen of Iran, an Iranian dissident group that seeks
regime change in Iran.”
BuzzFeed
News: The White Supremacist Charged With Plotting To Blow Up A
Colorado Temple Documented His Racist Activities On Facebook For
Years
“The 27-year-old white supremacist charged with a federal hate
crime for allegedly plotting to bomb a Colorado synagogue had been
known to law enforcement for years due to his frequent, neo-Nazi
postings on Facebook, including a video of himself urinating on a
California temple. Federal authorities arrested Richard Holzer on
Friday after he met with undercover FBI agents believing he would
obtain explosives to bomb the Temple Emanuel Synagogue in the southern
Colorado city of Pueblo. According to court documents, the suspect
called the plan his “mountain” and referred to Jews and the synagogue
as a “cancer." At a press conference Monday, authorities detailed how
Holzer repeatedly expressed his hatred of Jews and, using multiple
Facebook accounts, posted pictures of himself in neo-Nazi garb and
blatantly advocated for racially motivated violence. In a blog post on
Tuesday, the Anti-Defamation League reported that its Center on
Extremism had been aware of Holzer's online activities for years and
had "shared information with law enforcement on several occasions ...
citing concerns he might be dangerous."
United States
Fox
News: Ohio Man Pleads Guilty In July 4 Cleveland Terror Plot On Behalf
Of Al Qaeda
“An Ohio man accused of scouting locations for a potential July 4
terror attack in downtown Cleveland on behalf of Al Qaeda pleaded
guilty Tuesday to federal charges including attempting to provide
support to a terrorist group and threatening to kill President Trump
and his family. Demetrius Nathaniel Pitts, also known as Abdur Raheem
Rafeeq, was busted by undercover FBI agents who met with him in 2018
under the guise of being "brothers" of the terror group who would help
him plan the Independence Day attack, Justice Department officials
said in a statement. “I’m trying to figure out something that would
shake them up on the 4th of July," Pitts told an undercover officer,
according to an affidavit filed in the case. “What would hit them at
their core? Have a bomb blow up in the 4th of July
parade.”
The
Hill: Collins, Warner Request Unclassified Assessment Of Impact Of
Escaped ISIS Prisoners On US Security
“Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) wrote to the
Trump administration Tuesday demanding an assessment of the threat
ISIS poses to the U.S. amid reports that several detained members of
the terrorist group escaped captivity in northeastern Syria. Collins
and Warner, who both serve on the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote
a letter to acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire
expressing “grave concern” over the escape of “several” ISIS detainees
from detention facilities run by Kurdish groups that are currently
embroiled in a standoff with Turkish forces in the area. “As the Kurds
understandably shift their focus to defending themselves, their
ability to securely detain these ISIS fighters will become
increasingly uncertain. Already, press reports have indicated that
senior U.S. officials say they have ‘no real idea’ how many fighters
may have already escaped, and how many more are likely to do so,” the
lawmakers wrote. “Therefore, please provide to the Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence an assessment of the impact the escape of
ISIS detainees in SDF custody could have on the security of United
States and our allies, including the detainees who have escaped and
those still residing in SDF custody.”
The
Wall Street Journal: Silicon Valley’s Congresswomen Want A New Tech
Regulator
“Two lawmakers from Silicon Valley proposed a new U.S. agency to
regulate the collection of Americans’ personal information, a signal
of hometown support for heightened oversight of the technology
industry. The proposed Democratic legislation unveiled Tuesday is one
of many circulating on Capitol Hill as Congress discusses a federal
online-privacy law. Those talks have dragged on for months without a
bipartisan compromise, disappointing many who hoped for action this
year after massive breaches of Americans’ personal information and the
misuse of data by Facebook Inc. and others. Reps. Anna Eshoo and Zoe
Lofgren, California Democrats representing the region home to Facebook
and Alphabet Inc. ’s Google, have been tech-industry allies. Their
132-page bill—the most detailed proposed privacy law yet from House
Democrats—would give Americans new rights to control how online
services use their personal information and create a U.S. Digital
Privacy Agency to write and enforce privacy rules.”
The
Washington Post: Nine Members Of Mormon Family, Dual U.S.-Mexican
Citizens, Killed In Attack In Northern Mexico; Trump Offers
Support
“Assailants killed at least nine members of a fundamentalist Mormon
community in Northern Mexico, authorities said Tuesday, shooting and
incinerating women and children in a brutal assault that highlighted
the increasing grip of organized crime on parts of the country.
Mexican Public Security Secretary Alfonso Durazo said three women and
six children of the extended LeBaron family were killed in attacks on
three vehicles Monday in the northern state of Sonora. The victims
were part of a community of U.S.-Mexican dual citizens who have lived
in Mexico for decades. Drug traffickers in the region came under
immediate suspicion. But the massacre was barbarous, even for them.
“There have been conflicts between the cartels of Chihuahua and
Sonora,” family member Julian LeBaron said on Mexico’s Radio Fórmula.
“But to open fire in broad daylight on women and children? This crime
has no name.” The attacks on the women and children — some of whom
were traveling to a wedding — stunned a nation reeling from a series
of violent incidents in recent weeks. President Andrés Manuel López
Obrador has been lambasted for the botched attempt last month to
arrest a son of the former Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo”
Guzmán.”
The
Philadelphia Inquirer: A Philadelphia Navy Yard Worker Posted Racist
Threats On Facebook. Is He Too Dangerous For Bail?
“His Facebook pages are littered with photos of him brandishing
guns and knives under captions such as “coming to a synagogue near
you.” He routinely shared disturbing right-wing memes, including one
depicting a bleeding woman hanged for dating outside of her race. And
when others online challenged Fred C. Arena, an avowed white
supremacist and internet troll from Salem, N.J., he boasted of past
successes doxxing and haranguing a rival until “he wanted to kill
himself.” But now — nearly two weeks after the former Philadelphia
Navy Yard employee was charged with lying to the FBI about his ties to
white nationalist groups — a federal judge must decide whether that
long record of racist vitriol and online harassment makes him an
actual safety risk or just another blowhard with an internet
connection and extremist views. Prosecutors are expected to push
during a hearing Wednesday to hold Arena without bail until his trial,
calling him a danger to the community and potential witnesses in their
case. Arena’s attorney, Brian J. Zeiger, says government lawyers are
seeking to jail his client solely for his distasteful beliefs. At a
court hearing last week, Zeiger balked at prosecutors’ assertions that
Arena’s racist Facebook posts and photos with guns were proof that he
posed an imminent danger and argued that the alleged crime — lying to
federal agents — was not serious enough to warrant pretrial
detention.”
Washington
Examiner: ISIS Encouraging Followers To Light Forest Fires In
US
“The Islamic State is telling its followers to ignite destructive
forest fires in the United States and Europe. As California continues
to grapple with powerful fires that have forced hundreds of thousands
to evacuate, a pro-ISIS media outlet called Quraysh has reportedly
released propaganda posters urging adherents to “ignite fires.”
According to the Middle East Media Research Institute, the first of
the posters began circulating in April and the latest appeared on
Monday. The institute, which monitors and tracks communications in
radical groups, said the translation on the April poster read, “Oh
monotheists [ISIS followers], ignite fires in the forests and fields,
and we are addressing especially those who live in Europe and America,
for they are painful to them.” The latest poster singled out
individual countries in Europe as well, telling followers to “Ignite
fires in the forests of America, France, Britain, and Germany, for
they are painful to them.” Last week, Democratic California Gov. Gavin
Newsom declared a statewide emergency over the spate of fires. Pacific
Gas and Electric has used targeted blackouts in high-wind areas as a
way to stop more forest fires and millions have been left without
power.”
Syria
The
Washington Post: The Death Of Baghdadi Isn’t The End Of
ISIS
“On Oct. 26, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, arguably the most wanted
terrorist in the world, detonated a suicide belt to avoid capture by
U.S. forces. His death, an important and symbolic event in the fight
against the Islamic State, was soon followed by the announcement of a
successor last Thursday. ISIS has suffered significant setbacks over
the past two years, losing most of its territorial control, and has
returned to its roots as an insurgent organization. Although the group
no longer operates as a proto-state governing vast amounts of land, it
remains active, with estimates of between 10,000 and 15,000 fighters
in Iraq and Syria. According to the Global Terrorism Database, ISIS
has carried out thousands of attacks since 2014. Given the recent
successes in the fight against ISIS, many analysts and government
officials are optimistic that Baghdadi’s death will result in
substantial weakening and perhaps the demise of ISIS. Advocates of
this view argue that Baghdadi is irreplaceable, given his claim of
lineage to the prophet Muhammad, religious credentials and education
in Koranic studies, and operational success in creating an Islamic
State.”
NBC
News: Senators Ask How Many ISIS Prisoners Have Escaped Since Trump
Cleared Way For Turkish Military Action
“Senators from both parties are demanding answers from the Trump
administration about how many ISIS detainees have escaped from
Kurdish-run detention centers in Syria after the president cleared the
way for Turkish military action in the region. In a letter Tuesday to
Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, Sens. Mark Warner of
Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee,
and Susan Collins of Maine, a Republican on the committee, said they
had “grave concern” that “numerous Islamic State detainees from
detention facilities that had been run by America's Kurdish partners
in the Syrian Defense Forces” had escaped. The largely Kurdish Syrian
force, known as the SDF, had been holding more than 10,000 captured
ISIS fighters, including 2,000 “foreign fighters,” committed jihadists
who traveled from Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere to join ISIS,
the senators noted. “Many of these individuals are hard-core
terrorists, with the kinds of expertise — bomb-making, leadership and
propaganda — that had made ISIS such a threat to the United States and
our allies.” After President Donald Trump cleared the way for Turkish
military action against the Kurds, Kurdish officials told NBC News
that staffing the detention camps would no longer be a top
priority.”
Iran
Reuters:
U.S.: Iran's Expansion Of Uranium Enrichment 'A Big Step In The Wrong
Direction'
“Iran’s expansion of uranium enrichment activities in defiance of
key nuclear commitments is “a big step in the wrong direction,” a
spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday, after
Tehran announced it would start injecting uranium gas into centrifuges
at its underground Fordow enrichment facility. “We fully support the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in conducting its
independent verification role in Iran and look to the IAEA to report
on any developments,” the spokesperson said in a statement.”
Military
Times: Iran Threatens US Forces And Allies Who Host American
Troops
“A spokesman for Iran’s armed forces has threatened a “crushing
response” against any U.S. aggression and allies who host American
troops. “Any place and any point of any territories which host the US
and its allies’ interests will be threatened (in case of any war) and
the Islamic Republic has proved that it has the capability to do so,”
Brig. Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi said during a Sunday interview with
Iranian Fars News Agency. “Even if a country does not directly
participate in any possible war but its territories host the enemy, we
consider that country as a hostile territory and will treat it as an
aggressor,” he said during the interview. “If an aggressor makes a
strategic mistake, that aggression will be confronted with the
strongest and the most crushing response.” Meanwhile, Iranian
President President Hassan Rouhani announced Tuesday that Iran would
move a step closer to enriching uranium by injecting gas into more
than 1,000 centrifuges, according to the New York Times. The comments
from the Iranian commander came a day before the 40th anniversary of
the Iran hostage crisis. In 1979, Iranian militants stormed the U.S.
Embassy in Tehran and held 98 people captive for 444 days.”
Iraq
Associated
Press: Protests In Iraq Reveal A Long-Simmering Anger At
Iran
“The shoes are coming off again in Iraq. In years past, Iraqis have
beaten their shoes against portraits of Saddam Hussein in a sign of
anger and insult. In 2008, an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at a
ducking President George W. Bush during a news conference to vent his
outrage at the U.S.-led invasion. Now protesters in Baghdad’s Tahrir
Square are using their shoes again — slapping them against banners
depicting Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader. More violent
demonstrations of their fury have erupted in southern Iraq, where
protesters have torched the headquarters of parties and militias
linked to Iran and thrown firebombs at an Iranian Consulate. The
anti-government protests that have convulsed Iraq in the past month
are fueled by economic grievances and are mainly directed at Iraq’s
own political leaders. But they have also exposed long-simmering
resentment at Iran’s influence in the country, with protesters
targeting Shiite political parties and militias with close ties to
Tehran. The uprising in Iraq, and similar anti-government protests
underway in Lebanon, pose a threat to key Iranian allies at a time
when Tehran is under mounting pressure from U.S. sanctions.”
Turkey
Reuters:
Turkey's Erdogan Says Kurdish YPG Have Not Left Syria 'Safe
Zone'
“Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday the Kurdish YPG
militia had not withdrawn from some Syrian border areas and that U.S.
forces were still carrying out joint patrols with the group, contrary
to an agreement between them. He was speaking as Turkish and Russian
soldiers in armored vehicles held their second joint ground patrol in
northern Syria near the town of Kobani, under a deal to push the YPG
some 30 km (19 miles) away from Turkey’s border. Nearly a month ago,
Turkey and Syrian rebel allies launched a cross-border incursion
against Kurdish YPG fighters, seizing control of 120 km (75 miles) of
land along the frontier. Turkey subsequently struck two separate deals
with the United States and Russia for the YPG to withdraw from the
“safe zone” it plans to form in the region, in return for Ankara
stopping its offensive against the group. While Washington and Moscow
have said the fighters had left the border region, Erdogan said this
was not the case. “These areas are not cleared of terrorists.
Terrorists have not been taken out of either Tel Rifaat or Manbij,”
Erdogan said, referring to two towns in the western border area where
he said YPG fighters remained.”
Al-Monitor:
Baghdadi's Death Complicates Turkey's Plan In Idlib
“Although Turkey is trying to curb operations against Syrian
opposition groups in Idlib, back-to-back American operations hunting
down notable Islamic State (IS) members have complicated Ankara’s
efforts to maintain the status quo. The United States has ceded
control of northeastern Syria to Turkey and Russia, but the operation
that ended the life of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi put Turkey in a
tough position. Baghdadi's death — particularly the location of the
raid — turned the tables in favor of the Kurds, who have long said
that Turkey does not effectively fight IS militants in regions under
its control. The compound where the erstwhile caliph died was located
in the small northwestern Syrian village of Barisha, only some 5
kilometers (3 miles) from the Turkish border. A day after his death,
on Oct. 26, IS spokesman Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir was killed in the
village of Ain al-Baydah near Jarablus, which has been under the
control of the Turkish army since Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016.
There are also unconfirmed reports that US troops rounded up several
jihadis in separate airborne raids conducted in Jarablus.”
Deutsche
Welle: Turkey And 'Islamic State' — Is Ankara Doing
Enough?
“It came as a great relief to many Western governments when
Washington announced last week that the leader of the “Islamic State”
(IS) terrorist militia, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, had been killed during
during a US military raid in the northern Syrian region of Idlib.
Among the Turkish public, however, al-Baghdadi's whereabouts has
raised a serious question: How can one of the most wanted terrorists
in the world go unnoticed only a few kilometers from Turkey's border?
The terrorist leader's 65-year-old sister was also located around 6
kilometers (4 miles) from the Turkish border, Ankara reported on
Tuesday. She is said to have been arrested by Turkish authorities near
the northern Syrian town of Azar. The news has many people in Turkey
wondering whether the country's border region has become a hideout for
high-ranking IS terrorists, and what sort of relationship the
country's government has with jihadist groups. The fact that high
profile terrorists have sought refuge near the Turkish border, despite
Anakara's declared goal to eradicate terrorism from northern Syria,
comes as a surprise to Erk Acarer, a Turkish journalist and expert on
IS terrorism. “Through the military operation in Idlib, 3,000 Syrians
invaded Turkey and the authorities did not even look,” he said,
lamenting the lack of scrutiny directed toward people who could pose a
threat and easily enter the country from Syria.”
Afghanistan
Voice
Of America: Key Islamic State Affiliate Appears To Back New
Leader
“The reign of new Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi
al-Qurashi is getting a boost, thanks to the apparent endorsement of
one of the terror group's more influential affiliates. IS media
officials Tuesday released photos of fighters with IS-Khorasan, the
affiliate in Afghanistan, giving bay'ah (oath of allegiance) to
Qurashi. According to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors
jihadist communications, the series of 16 photos appears to show
several groups of fighters, from different locations, carrying IS
banners and raising their fists or their guns as they pledge their
loyalty. “Their message seems to be that it's business as usual and
that nothing has changed except for their leader,” said Raphael Gluck,
co-founder of Jihadoscope, another company that monitors online
activity by Islamist extremists. “They want to show they can mobilize
and fast, and that the caliphate is still there,” he said. IS-Khorasan
has been of the most resilient of the IS affiliates, surviving
repeated attempts by U.S. and Afghan forces to annihilate its
leadership and fighters. At one point, in April 2017, the United
States dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb in its arsenal — a GBU-43
Massive Ordnance Air Blast — on an IS cave and tunnel system in
Afghanistan's Nangarhar province to little avail.”
Yahoo
News: Five Taliban Terrorists Killed In Afghanistan's Logar
Province
“At least five Taliban terrorists were killed by Afghan police in
an operation launched in Shena Qala village of Barak-e-Barak district
in Afghanistan. Five Taliban members were killed in an operation
carried by special police forces in central Logar province on Monday,
Tolo News reported. The police officials also seized weapons during
the operation in Barak-e-Barak. So far, the Taliban has not commented
on the Afghan police operation. Meanwhile, Afghan security forces
found two Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) in the Jaghatu district
of Ghazni province and safely detonated them.”
Xinhua:
District Police Chief Killed In Afghan Taliban Pre-Dawn
Attack
“A district police chief was killed and three police officers
wounded after Taliban militants launched a pre-dawn attack on a
district headquarters in Afghanistan's northern Balkh province on
Wednesday, a local government official said. “Maj. Qalaumuddin, police
chief of Chahar Bolak district, was martyred during clashes with
Taliban militants early Wednesday morning,” provincial government
spokesman Munir Ahmad Farhad told Xinhua. According to the official,
the clashes started roughly at 4:00 a.m. local time Wednesday after
militants armed with guns and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs)
attacked Chahar Bolak district center from separate locations. “The
security fought back the attackers and three district police officers
were also wounded during the fighting,” Farhad noted, adding that the
injured were shifted to a district hospital after the fighting.
Several militants were also killed and wounded during the gun battle,
but their number could not be exactly specified as the militants
evacuated their casualties, he said. The Taliban militants,
controlling parts of the mountainous province, use rugged terrains and
mountains as hideouts and frequently launch hit-and-run attacks
against the security forces.”
Pakistan
Xinhua:
3 Killed In Terror Attack In NW Pakistan
“A terrorist attack on a vehicle of security forces in Pakistan's
northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday left three people
dead, including two security personnel, police said. District Police
Officer of Dera Ismail Khan district of the province Dilawar Bangash
said that two terrorists armed with automatic guns opened fire at the
personnel of Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force, in the Bacha Abad
area of the district. Two security personnel were killed and two
others injured, while the driver of a passing-by rickshaw was also
killed in the attack, the officer said. The terrorists riding on a
motorcycle managed to escape from the site after the firing. The
wounded personnel were shifted to a nearby military hospital where
they are reportedly in a stable condition. No group has claimed the
attack yet. Earlier in the day, security forces killed three
terrorists in southwestern Balochistan province when they were trying
to transfer an explosive-laden vehicle to the provincial capital of
Quetta.”
Newsweek
Pakistan: Pakistan ‘Disappointed’ At Annual U.S. Terrorism
Report
“Pakistan on Tuesday expressed disappointment at a report issued by
the U.S. State Department, which criticized Islamabad’s
counter-terrorism efforts. In a statement issued by the Foreign
Office, Islamabad said the Country Report on Terrorism 2018
“completely overlooks the factual situation on the ground and the
tremendous contribution made and sacrifices rendered by Pakistan over
the last two decades in the international struggle against terrorism.”
It said that Pakistan’s efforts had helped eliminate Al Qaeda from the
region, making the entire world “a safer place” as a result. The U.S.
report, released on Nov. 1, acknowledged Pakistan’s progress in
adhering to international standards to reduce money laundering and
terror financing but noted “implementation remains uneven.” It also
criticized Islamabad for taking limited steps to tackle groups staging
terror attacks from its soil, specifically identifying Lashkar-e-Taiba
and Jaish-e-Mohammed as continuing to operate in Pakistan without any
issues. It also noted that even though Pakistan had criminalized
unlicensed money transfer systems such as hawala and hundi, they
continued to be utilized across the country “and were open to abuse by
terrorism financiers operating in the cross-border area [between
Pakistan and Afghanistan.”
Yemen
The
New York Times: Yemen’s Government Signs Peace Deal With Southern
Rebels
“Yemen’s Saudi-backed government signed an agreement with southern
separatists on Tuesday to end a power struggle in southern Yemen.
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, hailed the agreement
as a step toward a wider political solution to end the multifaceted
conflict. The standoff had opened a new front in the four-year war and
fractured a Saudi-led coalition that has been battling the Houthi
movement in northern Yemen. The Iran-backed Houthis ousted the
Saudi-backed government from the capital, Sana, in late 2014. Saudi
Arabia’s envoy to Yemen told reporters that the agreement would allow
the separatists and other southerners to join a new Yemeni cabinet and
would place southern armed forces under the control of the Yemeni
government.”
Middle East
The
New York Times: Jordan Stabbing Attack Leaves At Least 8 Wounded At
Roman Site
“An assailant stabbed at least eight people at the popular
archaeological site of Jerash in northern Jordan on Wednesday,
according to the authorities, who said the individual had been
arrested. The motive for the attack remained unclear. Four foreign
tourists and four Jordanians — a tour guide, a truck driver, and two
police officers, one of whom tried to stop the attack — were wounded
and taken to a hospital, a spokesman for the Jordanian police said.
Three of the foreign victims were Mexican, the police said, and the
other Swiss. One of the police officers and the Swiss tourist were in
serious condition, while the others were in stable condition, the
police said.”
Egypt
Al
Jazeera: Two Suspected Suicide Bombers From Egypt Killed In
Philippines
“Soldiers in the southern Philippines have foiled what the army
called an attempted suicide bombing in an urban area, the latest in a
series of attacks blamed on the ISIL-aligned Abu Sayyaf armed group.
Troops manning a checkpoint on the island of Jolo, Sulu province,
engaged in a short gunfight with three men, include two Egyptian
nationals on a motorcycle late on Tuesday afternoon, the military said
in a statement on Wednesday. The attackers were killed and bomb vests,
a handgun, a grenade and detonators were seized. The intended target
was an urban area of Jolo, the island's capital, and two of the men
were Egyptian, the statement said. The other man was Filipino and a
member of Abu Sayyaf, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS) and is notorious for
piracy and kidnapping foreigners. He was identified as alias Dems.
Cirilito Sobejana, military commander of Western Mindanao, identified
the two Egyptians as Abduramil and his son, Abdurahman, according to
the Manila-based TV station, GMA News. Corleto Vinluan Jr, military
commander in Sulu, was quoted by news reports as lauding the “superb
planning and careful execution” to stop the operation.”
Nigeria
Xinhua:
Nigerian Troops Kill 10 Boko Haram Militants In
Attack
“A total of 1o Boko Haram militants were killed and several others
fled with bullet wounds as Nigerian troops repelled an attack in the
country's northeastern state of Borno early Tuesday, the army said.
Two other Boko Haram militants were captured during the gunfight which
lasted about three hours along the Monguno-Ngolom-Marte road, said
Bulama Biu, a commander of the army in Nigeria's northeast region. A
group of Boko Haram fighters had laid an ambush for troops who were on
deployment to the Marte area of Borno, launching an attack with
several gun trucks. Biu told Xinhua that the troops successfully
repelled the attack. According to him, the wounded militants fled due
to the superior firepower of the troops. On Monday, he said some Boko
Haram militants had earlier attempted to launch an attack on
Gajiganna, a different location in Borno, but troops pushed them back,
forcing the militants to also flee in disarray. The army commander
said troops had cordoned off the attacked areas in search of the
fleeing militants.”
Somalia
The
Washington Post: In Somalia, Can Al-Shabab Be Defeated? Here’s Why A
Nonmilitary Option Might Succeed.
“On Oct. 13, al-Shabab sent mortar rounds into the United Nations
base at the Mogadishu airport, one of the most fortified areas in
Somalia. A July hotel attack and car bombing in a Somali port town
left more than 26 dead. In May, al-Shabab detonated a car bomb near
the presidential palace in Mogadishu, killing nine people. Al-Shabab
is an Islamist extremist group affiliated with al-Qaeda, seeking to
oust the Western-backed federal government of Somalia and install an
Islamic government instituting sharia law. Despite coalition efforts
to counter this militant group, al-Shabab continues to demonstrate
resiliency and the ability to launch attacks both domestically and
cross-border into Kenya. The U.S. government estimates al-Shabab has
7,000 to 9,000 fighters. The counterinsurgency campaign focused on
militarily defeating the group is a coalition that includes the
Somalian government, an African Union peacekeeping mission (AMISOM)
deployment of more than 20,000 troops and the Somali National Army
(SNA), supported by U.S. airstrikes. In Somalia, al-Shabab targeted
U.S. and E.U. forces. Here’s what these troops are doing there. The
coalition has had some success liberating al-Shabab-controlled
territory in south-central Somalia but has been unable to eradicate
the group.”
Voice
Of America: Al-Shabab Chief Partially Seen On Video For First
Time
“Somalia's al-Shabab militants have released a video that for the
first time gives a partial view of the group's leader, Abu Ubaidah.
The video, released Tuesday, shows Ubaidah meeting with Shabab
fighters in a forest before the group's failed Sept. 30 raid on
Ballidogle, an airbase used by U.S. forces in Somalia. The video shows
Ubaidah’s hands and shoulders but blurs out his face. His voice his
heard addressing the would-be attackers, telling them to target U.S.
military personnel in the attack. “Our biggest target today is the
Americans, not the apostates,” he says. “The only reason we have
exerted all this effort and undertaken all this preparation today is
to attack the American troops. Therefore you must carry out the
operation with great efficiency.” The U.S. has offered a reward of up
to $6 million for information leading to Ubaidah's capture. Ubaidah,
previously known as Ahmed Diriye, became al-Shabab's emir in 2014
after the death of the previous leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane. Godane was
one of many al-Shabab fighters and leaders who were killed in attacks
by U.S. aircraft and drones. The new video does show the faces and
names of about a dozen militants who participated in the Ballidogle
attack.”
Africa
The
Washington Post: Stuck On US Terror List, Sudan Turns To Wealthy Gulf
For Aid
“Sudan’s reformist prime minister has repeatedly urged the West to
end his country’s international pariah status, arguing it’s the only
way to save the nation’s three-month-old democratic transition from a
plunging economy. Abdallah Hamdok, who came to power following a
power-sharing deal between protesters and the military that removed
longtime President Omar al-Bashir from power, said in September he was
expecting a “big breakthrough” that would remove Sudan from the U.S.
list of state sponsors of terrorism and unlocking desperately needed
foreign aid. But nothing changed — except that Hamdok is now turning
to two wealthy Gulf Arab monarchies, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates, to secure the funds to keep his government afloat. Both
countries are known for bankrolling military rulers in Egypt, Libya
and, previously, Sudan.”
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Terrorist Cell Linked To ISIS Leaders Uncovered In
Tunisia
“Tunisian National Guard units uncovered a four-member terrorist
cell that has pledged allegiance to ISIS. They said defendants were in
contact with elements who joined extremist organizations in hotbeds
outside Tunisia. Security probes have shown that one of Nabeul city’s
residents downloaded posts and videos on his account on social media
to glorify ISIS. The defendant also contacted terrorist elements in
Tunisia and made virtual contacts with a number of Tunisian extremists
abroad, who were found to have joined militant groups. While pursuing
movements of extremist groups, counterterrorism teams stepped up their
investigations until confirming there were three other elements who
belong to the same cell, adopt the same ideas and communicate with the
same ISIS leaders. Tunisian security sources stressed that
counterterrorism teams have arrested the four defendants and opened a
judicial case against them for glorifying and inciting extremism and
for belonging to a militant organization. In this context, the
country’s Interior Ministry announced last week's arresting five other
operatives within the so-called ‘solo wolves’ that adopt radical
ideas.”
United Kingdom
BBC
News: Terror Accused Durham Teen 'Had Neo-Nazi
Alter-Ego'
“A boy accused of planning a terrorist attack developed a neo-Nazi
“alter-ego” to make him feel superior to other people, a court has
heard. The 16-year-old, from Durham, who cannot be identified for
legal reasons, denies six terror offences. He told Manchester Crown
Court the “persona” was limited to his diaries and online activity.
Michelle Nelson QC, prosecuting, said the defendant was “lying and
attempting to manipulate” the jury. She asked why he chose to adopt an
“extreme right-wing, fascist persona”. “Because that was the most
extreme I could think of”, the defendant replied, adding it tied-in
with looking down on other people. Ms Nelson said the boy had a
history of racism pre-dating 2017, when he said he created the
persona. Asked about the similarity between his diary and those kept
by the perpetrators of the Columbine massacre in the US, the defendant
said he copied their tone and “that was the start of building an
alter-ego”. Under cross examination, he accepted that racist jokes he
told at school - which other students had complained about in 2016 -
were him and not his “persona”. Mrs Nelson asked if “the problem you
had at school was that you were a racist, an anti-Semite, and a
homophobe?”
The
Atlantic: ‘It Can Happen To Anyone’: How ISIS Radicalized My
Son
“In June 2015, 19-year-old Rasheed Benyahia left for work at the
engineering firm in Birmingham, England, where he was an apprentice.
He never returned home. “I immediately knew something was very, very
wrong,” says Rasheed’s mother, Nicola Benyahia, in Noémi Varga’s short
documentary And It Was the Same With My Son. “He was the type of boy
that, even if he was going to be 10 minutes late, he would always
phone me.” Ten weeks would pass before Nicola learned of her son’s
whereabouts. When Rasheed sent a text to notify his mother that he was
in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa—at the time, the de facto capital
of the Islamic State—Nicola “knew he had a death sentence.” Six months
later, she was notified that her son had been killed by shrapnel in a
coalition air strike, less than a week after he arrived on the front
lines of the war zone. In Varga’s award-winning film, premiering on
The Atlantic Selects today, Nicola recounts the harrowing story of her
son’s radicalization by ISIS. Where another documentarian might have
turned to talking-head interviews, Varga instead depicts Nicola’s
emotional journey through poetic re-creations that emphasize her grief
and isolation. “I knew I didn’t want to make a traditional
documentary,” Varga told me.”
The
National: UK Removes Al Qaeda-Linked Group From Terrorism
List
“The UK government has removed a “defunct” Al Qaeda-linked Libyan
group from a list of terrorist organisations just 18 months after it
was forced to apologise for handing over a former leader to the regime
of Col Muammar Qaddafi. The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) was a
“brutal terrorist organisation” but was disbanded in 2010-11 during
the final days of the Qaddafi regime and was no longer concerned in
terrorism, according to the UK government. The decision was only the
fourth time that a terrorist organisation has been taken off the list
since terrorist laws to ban international groups were introduced in
2000. It ends the threat of a ten-year jail term for members of the
organisation. The group was headed by Abdul Hakim Belhaj who secured
an apology from the UK government last year after he was snatched in a
CIA-led operation in southeast Asia in 2004 based on intelligence
supplied by the UK. He was held in a Libyan jail for six years where
he was questioned by UK officials and also suffered from torture. The
British government said that “we sincerely regret our failures” after
refusing for years to apologise for its role in his rendition.”
Germany
The
Jerusalem Post: New Head Of German Pro-Israel NGO Wants Merkel To
Sanction Iran, Hezbollah
“The German-Israeli Association (DIG) elected as its new director
the Christian Democratic Union Party politician Uwe Becker, who
pledged in late October a more aggressive posture toward Chancellor
Angela Merkel’s largely pro-Iranian regime and Hezbollah policies.
Becker immediately called for a full ban of the terrorist entity
Hezbollah in Germany and new sanctions targeting the Iranian clerical
regime. “We must also come to a clear classification of Hezbollah as a
terrorist organization in Germany and prohibit it, since one cannot
distinguish between a terrorist and a political arm of this terrorist
organization,” Becker said. Merkel’s administration vehemently opposes
a terror designation of Hezbollah’s entire movement, and Germany has
merely banned the so-called military wing of Hezbollah. Merkel has
also rejected appeals from Central Council of Jews in Germany and the
US government to outlaw the antisemitic organization Hezbollah amid
rising Jew-hatred in the central European country. Becker, who is
widely considered one of Israel’s strongest political supporters in
Germany, currently serves as the deputy mayor and treasurer for the
city of Frankfurt, as well the commissioner to combat antisemitism for
the German state of Hesse where Frankfurt is located.”
Vice:
The German Branch Of A U.S. Neo-Nazi Group Has A 'Kill List' Of
Left-Wing Politicians
“Last year, a German offshoot of the U.S. neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen
Division announced its existence to the world with a chilling video
declaring “National Socialism is alive.” Now, it’s issuing death
threats to left-wing German politicians. Two lawmakers from Germany’s
Green Party have revealed they have received death threats from the
group, warning that they were the first and second names on the
group’s kill list. “At the moment, we are planning how and when we
will execute you. At the next public rally? Or will we get you in
front of your home?” read the email to 53-year-old Cem Özdemir, a
veteran politician of Turkish descent, who co-chaired the Greens for a
decade before stepping aside last year. Fellow Green MP Claudia Roth
received an email the same day — Oct. 27 — warning that she was second
on the list. The messages, which have been passed to police, are just
the latest far-right death threats to stir concern in Germany, amid a
climate of rising right-wing extremism. Germany’s government condemned
the threats Monday, vowing to crack down on the perpetrators. “The
German government clearly condemns any kind of threats or violence
against politicians,” Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokeswoman Ulrike
Demmer told reporters.”
Europe
The
New York Times: Sweden Charges Iraqi Man With Spying For
Iran
“A 46-year-old Iraqi man was on Wednesday charged with spying for
Iran by gathering information on Iranian refugees in Sweden, Belgium
and the Netherlands. Prosecutor Hans-Jorgen Hanstrom said the man, who
was not identified, collected "personal information" about Iranian
Arabs, known as Ahvazis, for Iran "under the cover of representing an
Arabic online newspaper." The man is suspected of "having photographed
and filmed Ahvazi conference delegates and demonstration participants
in Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden," Hanstrom said in a statement.
The man was active during a four-year period ending February 2019, and
also allegedly infiltrated online forums for opposition supporters,
and gathered login information for routers, he said. Hanstrom added
the man allegedly communicated with Iranian intelligence agents via
the internet or at personal meetings, including in Tehran. Iran's
Persian-dominated government is often accused of discriminating
against its ethnic Arab minority.”
NPR:
Russian Court Sentences Jehovah's Witness To 6 Years In Prison For
'Extremism'
“A Russian court has sentenced a man to six years in prison. His
crime? Being a practicing Jehovah's Witness. Sergei Klimov was
sentenced Tuesday in the Siberian college town of Tomsk. He is one of
a number of Jehovah's Witnesses to be convicted in the two years since
Russia's Supreme Court banned the religious group as an extremist
organization. The court said that Klimov had continued heading a
regional Jehovah's Witnesses branch in defiance of the government's
ban. Russian state media referred to Klimov's group as a “cell of an
extremist organization.” Russia effectively considers Jehovah's
Witnesses on par with the Islamic State. Human Rights Watch says the
group has been increasingly persecuted as part of an “escalating
crackdown on Jehovah's Witnesses, who are targeted simply for
practicing their faith.” Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin
described pressure on Jehovah's Witnesses as “complete nonsense.”
However, Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday
that Klimov's sentence was simply the court following the rule of law.
Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty says that when Peskov was pressed by
reporters about whether there were plans to change the controversial
law, he responded that there were “no new developments.”
Asia
Business
Standard: India Calls For 'Meaningful Collective Response' Against
Terrorism
“Terrorism has emerged as one of the worst forms of violation of
human rights yet any meaningful collective response to address the
menace continues to remain elusive, India told the UN, stressing on
cooperation among nations to deny safe havens to terrorists and
extradite perpetrators of terror acts. Speaking at the General
Assembly session on Report of the Human Rights Council', India's
Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador K Nagaraj Naidu
said India appreciates the role of the Council in advocating a
balanced approach that considers the impact of terrorism on the
enjoyment of human rights while espousing international cooperation to
combat the menace of terrorism. "Terrorism has emerged as one of the
worst forms of violation of human rights. Despite terrorism being
acknowledged as one of the foremost global challenges, any meaningful
collective responses to address this menace continues remain elusive,
Naidu said.”
Reuters:
Militants Attack Tajik Border Post, 17 Killed: Security
Officials
“Masked Islamic State militants attacked a border post on the
Tajik-Uzbek border overnight, triggering a gun battle that killed 15
of the militants, a guard and a policeman, Tajik authorities said on
Wednesday. There was no immediate announcement from the militant
group, which has claimed responsibility for a series of assaults in
Tajikistan in recent months. Five of the gunmen were captured after
the attack on the Tajik side of the border, 50 km (30 miles) southwest
of the capital Dushanbe, Tajikistan’s National Security Committee
said. It released a photograph showing the badly burned bodies of
three men in black military-style outfits, lying on the ground next to
a wrecked car. The committee said the gunmen had entered the former
Soviet republic earlier this month via its border with Afghanistan and
were “on a special mission”. Islamic State claimed responsibility for
the killing of four Western cyclists in Tajikistan last year and for a
prison riot in May which left dozens dead. The jihadi group, whose
main stronghold was in Iraq and Syria before its territorial defeat,
has recruited thousands of fighters from Central Asia, where Sunni
Islam is the dominant religion.”
CNN
Philippines: 3 Suicide Bombers' Foiled Plan In Sulu Linked To ISIS
Leader's Killing
“The planned suicide bombing of three foreign terrorists killed in
an encounter with government troops in Sulu could be to retaliate for
the recent death of top ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a raid by
US Special Forces, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said Wednesday.
Cirilito Sobejana”The foiled suicide bombing among 3 terror member, 2
of whom are foreigners, could be a retaliation to the recent killing
of the ISIS leader in Syria,” said AFP Western Mindanao Command
(Wesmincom),Commander LtGen. Cirilito Sobejana in a phone message to
CNN Philippines. Sobejana said soldiers set up a checkpoint at Sitio
Itawon, Barangay Kan Islam, Indanan after receiving a report on a
planned suicide bombing in Jolo. The Westmincom also reported the
three suspects were on board a motorcycle when they saw the solders
and fired at them. The exchange of fire lasted for five minutes. The
report said two of those killed were Egyptian terrorists identified as
“Abduramil” and “Abdurahman.” Sobejana said the third suspect is a
Filipino. The Westmincom chief also noted that the alleged suicide
bombers were under an Abu Sayyaf group led by Hatib Sawadjaan, the
alleged mastermind in the bombing of a Catholic cathedral in Jolo last
January. “[They are] under ASG Sub-leader Hatib
Sawadjaan.”
Bloomberg:
Thailand Probes Southern Attack That Killed At Least 14
People
“Thailand began a probe into an attack that killed at least 14
people in its restive deep south, one of the worst such incidents in
recent years. An unknown number of assailants attacked two checkpoints
in Yala province just before midnight Tuesday, a government report
showed. Five people were injured apart from those killed. The report
said the attackers sprayed gunfire at the checkpoints and were trying
to provoke unrest in the region. It described the toll of dead and
injured as preliminary. “We’ve received information about the incident
and have begun investigating,” Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha told
reporters in Bangkok on Wednesday. Separatists in the southern
provinces of Narathiwat, Yala, Pattani and Songkhla have fought for an
independent state since Thailand formally annexed the autonomous
Malay-Muslim sultanate in 1902.”
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