Eye on Extremism
November 8, 2019
The
Wall Street Journal: Detained Islamic State Members Turn To Europe’s
Courts To Come Home
“Jessie Van Eetvelde was a Belgian supermarket cashier who heard
the Muslim call to prayer on a vacation in Morocco 11 years ago and
converted to Islam. Back home she married a Dutch Muslim man, and in
2014 the couple headed to Syria to join Islamic State’s self-professed
holy war. Today, Ms. Van Eetvelde is detained in a camp in northern
Syria, a widow caring for her two toddlers. She says she just wants to
go home. But her country doesn’t want her—and is fighting a legal
battle to keep her out. “We hope to get back,” she said in a WhatsApp
voice recording she made for The Wall Street Journal. “That’s what we
all wished from the beginning, but probably nobody cares about us.”
European governments have resisted taking back their nationals who
joined Islamic State in Syria, despite repeated entreaties from the
Trump administration. Now Europe’s courts are weighing in. Cases
brought by detainees or family members in German, French, Belgian and
Dutch courts are seeking to force governments to bring them home. Most
are widowed women and their children, although some cases involve male
fighters now being held by Kurdish forces in Syria.”
CBS
News: Captured Al-Baghdadi Wife Revealed Lots Of Information About
ISIS, Source Says
“One of slain Islamic State of Iraq and Iran (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi's wives revealed “a lot of information” about the jihadist
group's “inner workings” after she was captured last year, a Turkish
official told Agence France-Presse. The official said Baghdadi's
spouse identified herself as Rania Mahmoud but was in fact Asma Fawzi
Muhammad Al-Qubaysi. She was said to be the “first wife” of the ISIS
leader, who was killed in a U.S. special forces raid in Syria last
month. Al-Bagdadi was known to have four wives, according to The
Associated Press. AFP said the woman was arrested on June 2, 2018, in
the Turkish province of Hatay, near the Syrian border, along with 10
others, including Baghdadi's daughter, who identified herself as Leila
Jabeer. The official said the family links were confirmed using a DNA
sample of Baghdadi provided by Iraqi authorities. “We discovered (the
wife's) real identity pretty quickly. At that point, she volunteered a
lot of information about Baghdadi and the inner workings of ISIS,” the
official said. “We were able to confirm a lot of things that we
already knew. We also obtained new information that led to a series of
arrests elsewhere.” The detainees are being held at a deportation
center in Turkey, a senior Turkish official told CBS News, adding,
“There may or may not be other high-value targets in Turkish
custody.”
Voice
Of America: US Adds Mali Jihadist To Global Terrorist
List
“The United States imposed sanctions Thursday on a senior jihadist
leader and preacher from Mali for his membership in Jama'at Nusrat
al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaida affiliate active in the
Sahel region of Africa. Amadou Kouffa led Mali's Macina Liberation
Front militant group before announcing its merger with JNIM and three
other Islamist groups in March 2017. The U.S. State Department
designated JNIM as a terrorist organization in September 2018. Since
its formation, JNIM has targeted Malian and French troops, as well as
U.N. peacekeepers. The group has been blamed for the deaths of more
than 500 civilians and the kidnapping of dozens of others in attacks
in the Sahel region, including the June 2017 attack at a resort
frequented by Westerners outside Bamako, Mali, and the March 2018
attacks in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. “Earlier this year, Kouffa led
an attack against the Malian army in which more than 20 soldiers were
killed,” the State Department said in a statement. The State
Department said the terrorist designation aims to deny Kouffa the
resources to plan and carry out more terrorist attacks. Among other
consequences, it prohibits U.S. nationals from engaging in any
transactions with him.”
The
New York Times: U.S. Offers Up To $4 Million For Location Of Freed
Guantánamo Convict
“The United States government on Thursday offered a $4 million
reward for information on the whereabouts of a Sudanese man who was
convicted of war crimes at Guantánamo, was repatriated in 2012 and is
suspected of recruiting for Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen. It is believed
to be the first case of the United States offering a reward for the
whereabouts of a prisoner released from Guantánamo by the Obama
administration. In 2014, the United States similarly offered a reward
for a Saudi man who had been held at Guantánamo but never charged and
was released by the Bush administration in 2006. He was killed in a
drone strike in 2015. The State Department declined on Thursday to say
whether any money was paid. The announcement by the State Department
of the new bounty on Thursday offered up to $4 million for information
on the location of the Sudanese man, Ibrahim al-Qosi, 59. He pleaded
guilty at Guantánamo in 2010 to providing support for terrorism and Al
Qaeda in exchange for his repatriation. The reward announcement
described Mr. al-Qosi as a member of the leadership team of the
Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.”
The
Wall Street Journal: U.S. Accuses Iran Of Intimidating U.N. Nuclear
Agency Inspectors
“The U.S. accused Iran of intimidating nuclear inspectors after a
woman from the United Nations atomic agency was blocked from entering
the country’s main enrichment site and briefly stopped from leaving
the country, as tensions mounted over the 2015 nuclear deal. Western
diplomats said on Thursday that the inspector had been held by Iranian
authorities last week and her papers confiscated after she had been
prevented from entering Iran’s enrichment facility at Natanz, some 180
miles south of Tehran. The U.S. ambassador to the International Atomic
Energy Agency, Jackie Wolcott, called the move an “outrageous
provocation” and harassment of the agency’s monitoring work. Iran’s
ambassador to the IAEA Kazem Gharib Abadi said that the inspector had
been stopped from entering the Natanz nuclear facility after an alarm
went off at the entrance, which includes equipment to detect traces of
nitrate explosives. He said the procedure was repeated several times
and the alarm went off again. The incident is the first flare-up
between Iran and the IAEA, which monitors Iran’s compliance with the
nuclear deal, since it was implemented in January 2016. Before the
deal, Iran repeatedly denied IAEA inspectors access to sites and
accused the agency of sending in spies.”
Financial
Times: Can Facebook Really Rely On Artificial Intelligence To Spot
Abuse?
“Facebook faces a monumental challenge: how can its 35,000
moderators watch over billions of posts and comments every day to sift
out abusive and dangerous content? Just 18 months ago, Mark
Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder, was confident that rapid advances in
artificial intelligence would solve the problem. Computers would spot
and stop bullying, hate speech and other violations of Facebook’s
policies before they could spread. But while the company has made
significant advances, the promise of AI still seems distant. In recent
months, Facebook has suffered high-profile failures to prevent illegal
content, such as live footage from terrorist shootings, and Mr
Zuckerberg has conceded that the company still needs to spend heavily
on humans to spot problems. “There’s just so much content flowing
through the system that we do need a lot of people looking at this,”
he said. In interviews, Facebook’s executives in charge of developing
moderation software and outside experts said that there are
persistent, and perhaps insurmountable,
challenges.”
United States
The
Washington Post: Translator Whose Own Voice Was Intercepted Expected
To Plea
“A former FBI translator charged with altering transcripts after
his own voice was caught on intercepts with terrorism suspects is
expected to enter a guilty plea. Abdirizak Wehelie (wuh-HEEL’-ee) of
Burke, Virginia, was arrested earlier this year and pleaded not guilty
to charges including false statements and obstructing an
investigation. Now, a change-of-plea hearing is scheduled for Friday
in federal court in Alexandria. In court papers, prosecutors say
Wehelie was tasked with translating phone calls made by an individual
under investigation for helping a person join al-Shabab, a militant
Somali group designated as terrorists by the U.S. When Wehelie heard
his own name on the calls, prosecutors said he marked himself down as
“unidentified male.”
The
New York Times: Powerful Coalition Pushes Back On Anti-Tech
Fervor
“Thomas Lambert, a professor at the University of Missouri’s law
school, gave his former colleague Josh Hawley a warning before Mr.
Hawley became a senator in January. Mr. Lambert had been wary of Mr.
Hawley’s decision in 2017, as Missouri’s attorney general, to open an
antitrust investigation into Google, saying he didn’t see the state’s
logic for the case. While he wished Mr. Hawley well in Congress, and
said he was glad they were friends, Mr. Lambert also noted that he
would continue to speak out when he disagreed with the senator’s
policy positions. “And he said, ‘I assume you mean on things like
tech,’” Mr. Lambert recalled recently. “And I said, ‘Well, mainly.’”
Their interaction highlights a deepening divide in Washington and
around the country. The rising movement in the United States to
consider charging the country’s biggest tech companies with violating
antitrust laws is running headlong into powerful and well-funded
conservatives and libertarians committed to pushing back on those
efforts. They include academics like Mr. Lambert; lawmakers like
Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah; and groups like the Koch
political network and others that are connected to the tech companies
themselves.”
Khaleej
Times: US Announces Reward Up To $10 Million For Two Senior Al Qaeda
Leaders
“The United States on Thursday offered a reward of up to $10
million for information on two senior leaders of Al Qaeda in the
Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the State Department said. Michael Evanoff,
the assistant secretary for diplomatic security, told reporters in a
briefing that the department was offering up to $6 million for
information on Saad bin Atef Al Awlaki and up to $4 million for
Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud Al Qosi, who he said have encouraged attacks
against the United States.”
Pro
Publica: They Are Racist; Some Of Them Have Guns. Inside The White
Supremacist Group Hiding In Plain Sight.
“In the hours after the slaughter in El Paso, Texas, on Aug. 3, a
final toll emerged: 22 dead, most of them Latinos, some Mexican
nationals. A portrait of the gunman accused of killing them soon took
shape: a 21-year-old from a suburb of Dallas who had been radicalized
as a white supremacist online and who saw immigrants as a threat to
the future of white America. While much of the country reacted with a
weary sense of sorrow and outrage, word of the mass killing was
processed differently by members of Patriot Front, one of the more
prominent white supremacist groups in the U.S. In secret chat forums,
some Patriot Front members embraced the spirit of the anti-immigrant
manifesto left behind by the accused gunman. Others floated false
conspiracy theories: the CIA was behind the murders; the accused
killer was actually Jewish. Still other members cautioned that the
group had its own “loose cannons” to worry about. It would be a bad
look if the next mass murderer was one of their
own.”
Syria
The
Washington Post: Turkish Patrol Kills Protester Amid Shaky Truce In NE
Syria
“A Syrian protester was killed after he was run over by a Turkish
military vehicle during a joint Turkish-Russian patrol in northeastern
Syria on Friday, Kurdish forces and a Syria war monitoring group said.
The man was among a group of residents who had chased and pelted the
convoy with shoes and stones, prompting Turkish troops to fire
tear-gas to disperse the protesters. Ten people were hospitalized,
according to the Rojava Information Center, an activist operated group
in Kurdish-held areas. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war
monitoring group, said the man was run over in the village of
Sarmasakh near the border by a Turkish vehicle which was conducting a
joint patrol with the Russians — the third under a cease-fire deal
brokered by Moscow that forced Kurdish fighters to withdraw from areas
bordering Turkey.”
The
New York Times: U.S. Envoy In Syria Says Not Enough Was Done To Avert
Turkish Attack
“The top American diplomat on the ground in northern Syria has
criticized the Trump administration for not trying harder to prevent
Turkey’s military offensive there last month — and said Turkish-backed
militia fighters committed “war crimes and ethnic cleansing.” In a
searing internal memo, the diplomat, William V. Roebuck, raised the
question of whether tougher American diplomacy, blunter threats of
economic sanctions and increased military patrols could have deterred
Turkey from attacking. Similar measures had dissuaded Turkish military
action before. “It’s a tough call, and the answer is probably not,”
Mr. Roebuck wrote in the 3,200-word memo. “But we won’t know because
we didn’t try.” He did note several reasons the Turks might not have
been deterred: the small American military presence at two border
outposts, Turkey’s decades-long standing as a NATO ally and its
formidable army massing at the Syrian frontier. In an unusually blunt
critique, Mr. Roebuck said the political and military turmoil that
upended the administration’s policy in northern Syria — and left
Syrian Kurdish allies abandoned and opened the door for a possible
Islamic State resurgence — was a “sideshow” to the bloody, yearslong
upheaval in Syria overall.”
Newsweek:
U.S. Official Says New Isis Leader Is 'Not Going To Enjoy His
Promotion'
“A senior official within President Donald Trump's administration
has issued a new threat against the individual who succeeded Islamic
State militant group (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi following his
death in Syria during a U.S. Special Operations raid. ISIS announced
last week that newly-vacated leadership positions had been filled
after Baghdadi detonated his suicide vest in the face of assaulting
Delta Team personnel in an Idlib operation first reported by Newsweek
and ISIS spokesperson Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir was killed in CIA
strikes in Aleppo. In an audio message, new spokesperson Abu Hamza
al-Qurashi declared that Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi—both names
also sometimes spelled Qurayshi—would take over, but the Trump
administration has warned he would meet the same fate. “He is probably
not going to enjoy his promotion,” a senior State Department official
told reporters Thursday. “We intend to subject him and any other ISIS
leader to unrelenting pressure, using all the tools at our disposal,”
he added. “That was true of previous ISIS leadership; that's going to
be true of future ISIS leadership.”
Washington
Examiner: The Future Of The Islamic
State
“Less than a week after Abu Bakr al Baghdadi detonated himself
rather than risk capture, the Islamic State named his successor. “We
give our obedience to the commander of the faithful, the caliph of the
Muslims, Abu Ibrahim al Hashimi al Qurayshi, pledging to listen and
obey, in times of delight and dislike, and in times of hardship and
ease, and to do so selflessly,” the group’s new spokesman announced.
Little is known about al Qurayshi. The announcement omitted any
biographic details, so even basics such as nationality, age, and
previous role within ISIS are unknown. The demonym al Qurayshi
suggests descent from the Prophet Muhammad’s family, but that could
easily be a cynical ploy to buy religious legitimacy for a man who
might not have arisen from such lofty stock. Such anonymity amplifies
the aura of mystery around the new caliph, but is also practical:
After Baghdadi’s death, security is paramount. The less external
intelligence agencies know about al Qurayshi, assuming he is even a
single person rather than a composite, the better for ISIS’s inner
circle.”
Iran
The
New York Times: Iran Downs A Drone Over Southern Port City Of
Mahshahr: Report
“A semi-official Iranian website reported on Friday that Iran has
shot down a drone over its southern port city of Mahshahr, without
providing further details. The Iran Front Page website did not say
whether it was a military or a civil drone. Iranian officials were not
immediately available to comment.”
The
Guardian: Growing Calls In Iran To Abandon Nuclear Treaty, Ambassador
Warns
“The Iranian government is under growing domestic pressure to pull
out of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty next year, the country’s
ambassador to the UK has said. Hamid Baeidinejad said it was
government policy to remain in the treaty but there were growing calls
to pull out next year, when it is due for renewal, as it required Iran
to make one-sided commitments. “There are views by some circles, some
personalities, that Iran has not benefited from membership of the
[treaty] and it is time to withdraw,” he said, adding that Iran
remained committed on religious grounds to not developing nuclear
weapons. Iran is a founding member of the treaty, which is aimed at
achieving disarmament by nuclear-armed states. Three non-signatories –
Israel, India and Pakistan – have nuclear weapons. This week the
Iranian government took a fourth step in reducing its adherence to its
2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which has been unravelling since
Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal last year and reimposed
sanctions. Iran announced on Tuesday it was injecting uranium gas into
centrifuges at its Fordow plant, a move that dramatically increases
its enrichment capacity.”
Arab
News: Iran’s Support For Terrorism Has Surged In
2019
“The US State Department last week released its annual Country
Reports on Terrorism document. The report describes the Islamic
Republic as the “world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism” in 2018. It
also lists Iran’s staunch ally, the Syrian government, as a state
sponsor of terrorism. While the report looks at Iran’s activities in
2018, it is important to examine how its behavior has changed this
year, as there has been a significant surge in Iran’s support for
terrorist activities. The Iranian regime has been involvedin and
subsequently sanctioned for numerous terrorist and destabilizing
activities in the Middle East in 2019. This has included the
harassmentof ships in the Strait of Hormuz, such as the seizing of the
UK-flagged Stena Impero by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and
attacks against four ships: Two Saudi oil tankers, a Norwegian-flagged
vessel and one flagged in Sharjah, which were anchored off the coast
of the UAE. The Iranian regime has also continued to smuggleweapons
and provide military, financial, intelligence and advisory assistance
to proxies such as the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah, and Iraqi Shiite
militias including Kata’ib Hezbollah.”
Turkey
Newsweek:
Turkey Keeps Capturing Former Isis Leader's Family, But They Have
Complicated History In Syria
“Turkey has announced the capture of at least four family members
of former Islamic State militant group (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi in as many days this week, claiming a resounding victory
against a group it's been accused of empowering in the first place.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan first announced Wednesday that
his security forces “have captured his wife, sister and
brother-in-law” of Baghdadi. The following day, the Turkish president
revealed during another speech that a “DNA test has confirmed” that
another captured individual was a child of the dead militant leader.
Erdogan revealed little about when or how these operations occurred,
but Reuters first reported Monday that Baghdadi's older sister,
Rasmiya Awad, was caught in the northern Syrian town of Azaz in Aleppo
province, citing a senior Turkish official. The news was confirmed
that same day by communications director Fahrettin Altun, who called
it “yet another example of the success of our counter-terrorism
operations” on Twitter. “Much dark propaganda against Turkey has been
circulating to raise doubts about our resolve against Daesh. We have
been leading in the fight against terrorism in all its forms,” he
added, using the Arabic-language acronym for
ISIS.”
Afghanistan
Reuters:
Three Judges Killed At Taliban Checkpoint In Afghanistan, Officials
Say
“Three judges and a court staffer were killed in Afghanistan on
Thursday after Taliban militants stopped their car in the latest
attack on the judiciary, officials said. Abdullah Hasrat, a spokesman
for the governor in eastern Paktia province where the judges worked,
told Reuters the incident took place in Mohammad Agha district of
neighboring Logar province. “They were traveling in a car but were
stopped by the Taliban checkpoint on the road,” Hasrat said. No group
has claimed responsibility for attack, which came as the victims were
driving to the capital, Kabul. Taliban insurgents fighting to
overthrow the foreign-backed Afghan government have long targeted the
judiciary in retaliation for harsh sentences given to their fighters.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters he was not aware of
the attack but would check with local commanders. The Taliban now
controls more territory than at any point since the United States’
invasion of the country in 2001. The United States is trying to end
its longest ever war, but peace talks with the Taliban are currently
stalled. As Afghan police casualties mounted, the Afghan government
this year pulled back from hundreds of checkpoints in isolated areas
that acted as a magnet for Taliban attacks.”
Middle East
Al
Jazeera: US-Led Coalition Launches Operation To Protect Gulf
Waters
“A US-led naval coalition officially launched operations in Bahrain
on Thursday to protect shipping in the troubled waters of the Gulf,
following a string of attacks that Washington and its allies blamed on
Iran. The coalition, aimed at warding off the perceived threat to the
world's oil supply, has been in the making since June. Iran, which has
denied any responsibility for the mystery attacks, has put forward its
own proposals for boosting Gulf security that pointedly exclude
outside powers. Bahrain, which hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, joined
the International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC) in August. Saudi
Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) followed suit in
September.”
The
New York Times: U.S. Imposes Sanctions On Leader Of Mali Islamist
Militant Group
“The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on a leader of an
al Qaeda-linked Islamist militant group in Mali and warned the
influence of Islamic State in West Africa was on the rise even as it
lost territory elsewhere. The U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted
Amadou Koufa, a Salafist preacher and a leader of Jama’at Nusrat
al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al Qaeda affiliate in the Sahel
region. French officials last year had said the militant leader had
died in a raid in the former French colony, but he appeared in a
propaganda video in February. U.S. sanctions block any assets Koufa
may have under U.S. control and bar any persons or entities in the
United States from any dealings or transactions with him. Northern and
central Mali saw an increase in "widespread terrorist activity" in
2018, according to the U.S. State Department's annual global terrorism
report.”
The
Times Of Israel: Shin Bet Thwarted Over 450 Terror Attacks In 2019,
Chief Says
“The head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic security and
counterintelligence service, said Thursday that his organization had
thwarted over 450 significant terror attacks in the previous year. “In
the past year, we have thwarted over 450 significant terror attacks,
and we have allowed Israeli citizens to have full and comfortable
lives in the day-to-day without knowing what’s going on underground,”
Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman said. Argaman credited these successes to
specialized technologies used by the service, its cooperation with
other Israeli security forces and its “synergy with our counterparts
around the world. The Shin Bet chief made his remarks at the UVID
International Conference and Exhibition on Unmanned Vehicles in Tel
Aviv. “Israeli technology and the [defense] industry are always close
to us, close to our hearts. We purchase Israeli technologies before
[buying] from anywhere else,” Argaman said. “We are investing in very
advanced technology,” he added. In addition to an extensive network of
informants and other conventional intelligence-gathering techniques,
the Shin Bet has long been known to use advanced algorithms to scan
social media and other databases for indications of terrorist
activities.”
Egypt
Egypt
Today: Egyptians In Continuous Struggle Against Terrorism:
Sisi
“Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Thursday said he had a
“relentless will” to counter terrorism as it had badly affected the
image of the religion, adding that Egyptian people were in a
continuous struggle against terrorism. Sisi’s remarks came in his
speech on the occasion of Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday (Al-Mawlid
Al-Nabawi) celebrated by many Muslims in several countries, and is
believed by Sunni scholars to be on 12th Rabi' al-awwal, according to
the Islamic calendar (November 9th this year). The president affirmed
that extremism, terrorism, and physical and moral destruction would
not be able to prevent people from moving towards a better future. “We
do not pay attention to the attempts of obstruction by our enemies. We
respond to them by much more work and a lot of effort, and we look
forward with hope and confidence.” “I am absolutely confident that
Allah’s (God’s) close help to Egypt and its people, in the fulfillment
of our hopes in building an advanced and a modern homeland in which
the people enjoy a dignified and safe life.” Sisi referred to the June
30 revolution in 2013, which ousted Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated
President Mohamed Morsi, saying that he asked Egyptians to take to
streets on July 24 this year to give him the authorization to fight
terrorism, as these groups have the belief that they “must rule you or
kill.”
Nigeria
African
Arguments: What Does The Death Of IS Leader Al-Baghdadi Mean For Boko
Haram?
“On 25 October, the “caliph” of so-called Islamic State (IS)
Abubakar al-Baghdadi was killed in a US-led military operation in
Syria. Soon after, IS spokesperson Abu Hassan al-Muhajir was killed in
another raid in the same Syrian province. IS has factored into
Nigerian Islamist militancy for several years now. What effect could
these deaths have on security in northeast Nigeria and surrounding
regions? IS ties to the insurgency in West Africa are complex. They
involve material, ideological, strategic, and organisational
influences. They have also changed over time with different important
individuals and factions. One key figure in this is Abubakar Shekau.
Having led Boko Haram since 2009, Shekau pledged loyalty to
al-Baghdadi in March 2015 and oversaw the group’s rebranding as
Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Just over a year later in
August 2016, however, Shekau was ejected from ISWAP for ignoring
orders from IS and targeting Muslim civilians, including women who he
claimed to “enslave”. After his expulsion, Shekau did not renounce his
allegiance to al-Baghdadi and his loyalists still emulate IS, but he
returned to leading his faction under the old name of Boko Haram.”
Gulf
News: 10 Nigerian Troops Killed In Militant Ambush
“At least 10 Nigerian soldiers have been killed and nine severely
injured in an ambush by suspected Boko Haram fighters in restive
northeast Nigeria, military sources said Thursday. Another 12 soldiers
were missing after a column of troops on patrol was ambushed by the
extremists on Wednesday in Damboa district of Borno state, a military
officer told AFP on condition of anonymity. “We lost 10 troops in the
intense fighting with the terrorists who ambushed our soldiers
conducting a clearance operation in the area,” said the officer, who
asked not to be identified because he was not authorised to speak
about the incident. “Nine soldiers were injured and 12 are still
missing.” The decade-long extremist insurgency in northeast Nigeria
has killed 35,000 people, displaced two million others and spilt into
neighbouring countries. The troops came under attack while returning
to their base in Damboa, 88km from the state capital Maiduguri, said a
second military officer who gave the same casualty toll. The area of
the attack is on the edge of the Sambisa Forest which is a stronghold
of the Boko Haram faction led by long-time leader Abubakar Shekau.
Soldiers were forced to withdraw after an hour-long battle in which
nine extremists were also killed, said the second source.”
All
Africa: Nigeria: Why Boko Haram Insurgency Persists -
Minister
“The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management,
Sadiya Umar-Farouq, has blamed the failure to end the Boko Haram war
on “poor management” of strategy on the part of the military and other
international humanitarian agencies working in North-east Nigeria. Mrs
Umar-Farouq said this at the opening of a 3-days international
workshop on civil-security cooperation holding in Maiduguri, the Borno
State capital. The minister said though all the relevant stakeholders
have put in their best to ensure the decade long war comes to an end,
lack of “civil-security relations have continued to frustrate and
plunge successes being recorded.” Ms Umar-Farouq recalled that the
recent banning of two international non-governmental agencies, Action
Against Hunger and Mercy Corps, by the Nigeria military was a function
of lack of proper synergy amongst the key actors at the frontline.
Mercy Corps and Action Against Hunger have since resumed work this
week following the temporary lifting of the ban by the Nigerian
government last week. The two outfits were accused by the military of
“aiding and abetting” the activities of the Boko Haram. Speaking at
the opening of the workshop on Wednesday, the minister said: “It is
apparent that where civil-security relations are poorly managed,
humanitarian action may inadvertently compound other security
problems.”
Africa
Associated
Press: US Targets Al-Qaida Leaders In West Africa And
Mideast
“The Trump administration is trying to turn up pressure on three
senior al-Qaida leaders in Africa and the Middle East. The State
Department placed the head of the main al-Qaida affiliate in Mali on a
terrorism blacklist. It also offered rewards for information leading
to the location of two top members of al-Qaida’s affiliate in Yemen.
The sanctions are against Amadou Kouffa for attacks in Africa’s Sahel
region. The action announced Thursday freezes any assets he may have
under U.S. jurisdiction. A reward of up to $6 million was also offered
for information about the emir of Yemen’s Shabwah province for his
role in al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. And the U.S. is offering up
to $4 million for a Sudanese AQAP leader who once worked with Osama
bin Laden.”
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Morocco Worried About Return Of ISIS
Militants
“Morocco’s Interior Ministry described the return of terrorist
militants from hotbeds of tension in Syria, Iraq and Libya as
“worrying” for the country and one of the most important challenges
facing the concerned countries. It stressed that efforts exerted in
the Kingdom has enabled it to uncover 13 terrorist cells until late
October that were working on recruiting young Moroccans to fight in
areas where militant groups are active. The Ministry issued a report
and distributed it to members of its committee and the House of
Representatives on the occasion of presenting the sub-budget for 2020.
According to the report, terrorism phenomena affects all the regions
in the world and threatens the countries’ security and stability,
including Morocco. Terrorist organizations are calling on the
returning militants to infiltrate their “home countries to carry out
terrorist operations, the Ministry explained. This contributes to
targeting stability, disrupting the economic movement and encouraging
the establishment of sleeper cells to revive the so-called ISIS
“caliphate.” The report noted that the Ministry has “continued to work
during this year with the highest levels of vigilance and
preparedness, contained in the national plan to combat terrorism, both
at the level of the territorial administration and security
interests.”
Military
Times: Countering Lies With Truth: Battling Terrorist Propaganda In
East Africa
“Lies, coercion, and deceit. These are a few of the malign tactics,
techniques and procedures of terrorist organizations. Al-Shabaab, the
al-Qaida affiliate in East Africa, is no exception. Terrorist
organizations often spread disinformation and falsities as propaganda
to bolster their destructive cause and to aid recruiting efforts. This
is particularly true when losses on the battlefield are mounting and
their footing is beginning to slip, which is the current case of
al-Shabaab in Somalia. For example, the al-Shabaab terrorists recently
proclaimed a great victory, which is easy to do when you are not bound
by the truth, nor a moral code. The terrorist group even released a 52
minute video earlier this month narrated by al-Shabaab leader Ahmed
Omar Abu Ubeyda in which Abu Ubeyda makes false claims and
congratulates those who participated in the attack. To be clear, the
claims made by al-Shabaab regarding a recent assault on a Somali
military compound in Baledogle are simply untrue. While the
terrorists proclaim to have inflicted a significant blow, the truth is
that on the morning of Sept. 30, a squad of al-Shabaab extremists
attempted to gain access to the base — 15 al-Shabaab fighters were
swiftly killed by the Somali and U.S. forces guarding the
installation.”
United Kingdom
Al
Jazeera: British Army Reject To Be Sentenced For Training To Fight
ISIL
“A British army reject who trained to fight against the Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) could be facing a jail
sentence on Thursday. Aidan James, 28, from Formby, Merseyside, had no
previous military knowledge when he set out to join the war in 2017,
the Old Bailey heard. Following a landmark trial, James, who was
repeatedly turned down by British armed forces due to his mental
health, was found guilty of training in weapons with the banned
Marxist political organisation the PKK in Iraq. But he was cleared of
a second charge of training with Kurdish People's Protection Units
(YPG), across the border in Syria. The defendant, who is in custody,
will appear at the Old Bailey - the Central Criminal Court of England
and Wales - before Justice Andrew Edis for sentencing. It is the first
time a Briton has been put on trial for going to Syria to oppose ISIL,
after charges were dropped against ex-soldier James Matthews, 43, from
Dalston, east London. The court had heard how James was in contact
with the antiterrorism programme Prevent before he left Britain for
Iraq in August 2017. While there, he wrote in his diary that sitting
on a roof with a 0.50-calibre machinegun was like something out of
“Mad Max.”
The
Telegraph: Former Counter Terror Chief Warns A Lack Of Integration
From Some Communities Is Fuelling Far Right Extremism
“A lack of integration from some communities is fuelling far right
extremism, Britain's former counter terror chief has suggested,
despite recent comments from his successor, who has argued that
minority groups should not be forced to assimilate. Sir Mark Rowley,
who was assistant commissioner at the Metropolitan Police during the
terror attacks of 2017, warned that terrorists were preying on
grievances caused by a lack of integration. He said those on the far
right were exploiting the fact some communities preferred to remain
isolated and not mix with other faiths and cultures. Mr Rowley
suggested minority communities should do more to integrate in order to
prevent these divisions growing. He said: “Extremists including the
far right are preying on the grievances and the tension caused by a
lack of integration and that enables them to grow their cause and that
is a real concern.” He went on: ““We have a country that has one
identity, that has one set of laws and pone set of principles
underneath that so that is what this country is about and integration
is a part of buying into that.” But his comments seemed to be at odds
with remarks made by Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, who took over
from his following his retirement in 2017.”
France
The
New York Times: Terrorism Financing Charge Upheld Against French
Company Lafarge
“A French court on Thursday upheld preliminary criminal charges
against one of France’s biggest companies over allegations that it
financed the Islamic State and other armed groups in Syria, while
putting the lives of its employees there in danger. In its ruling, the
Court of Appeal in Paris also said the company, the multinational
cement maker Lafarge, had violated international embargoes as it
sought to maintain business in Syria despite a civil war. But the
court rejected a separate, more serious charge that the company was
complicit in crimes against humanity after former employees accused
Lafarge of abetting terrorist groups operating in the region by
funneling financing to them. The ruling paves the way for a possible
future trial over the other charges, which are part of an
investigation by the French authorities and were brought last year
against Lafarge as well as six former executives, including its former
chief executive Bruno Lafont. The case is the first in France to have
led to a criminal inquiry into a company’s liability for its
activities abroad. The Lafarge plant, on Syria’s northern border with
Turkey, was shut down after the Islamic State, known as ISIS, attacked
it in 2014 as employees fled the factory.”
Germany
Deutsche
Welle: Germany: Terror Victims To Recieve Better
Compensation
“Future victims of terror attacks in Germany will get better and
speedier compensated after a new law was passed in the Bundestag on
Thursday evening. The modernizing move came after criticism of the
treatment received by the victims of the 2016 Berlin terror attack and
their surviving dependents. The law passed by Labor Minister Hubertus
Heil provides for higher cash benefits for surviving dependants and
injured parties. Access to vocational reintegration measures and
assistance in everyday life will also be improved. Trauma outpatient
clinics, which provide fast and targeted care for victims, will be
available nationwide in future. Victims will also be assigned case
managers during the application process for compensation and in the
proceeding events. The new law also opens the possibility of such
compensation for the victims of psychological violence such as
stalking or passive violence such as the neglect of a child. Victims
of human trafficking and sexual violence will also be covered. Widows,
widowers and orphans will also rise and witnesses who were
psychologically affected by an attack will be eligible for
compensation. Most regulations will not take effect until 2024, while
some improvements will be applied retroactively, including equal
treatment for foreign nationals.”
Europe
The
Washington Post: Boy Whose Mother Joined IS In Syria Returns To Dad In
Italy
“An 11-year-old Albanian boy whose mother took him to Syria five
years ago when she joined the Islamic State group returned on Friday
to Italy for a joyous reunion with his father and sisters. The boy,
Alvin, wearing a red cap, smiled shyly as he was escorted by two
policewomen at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport to an airport
reception where his father, Afrim Berisha, and two older sisters took
turns hugging him, long and tightly. Red Cross and Red Crescent staff
worked with Albanian and Italian government officials to facilitate
his return from the crowded al-Hol detention camp in northeastern
Syria where he was living without his family. The father, an Albanian,
lives in northern Italy. The boy has an Albanian passport and
permission from Italian authorities to reside in Italy.”
The
New York Times: Kosovo Charges Man Returned From Syria With Fighting
For IS
“Kosovo prosecutors have filed terrorism charges against a man
suspected of fighting with the Islamic State group in Syria. A
statement Thursday from the prosecutors' office said that, in July
2015, the man identified as A.M. went to neighboring North Macedonia
and secured a false passport, then continued to Syria via Greece and
Turkey. He is accused of fighting as an IS member until Kurdish forces
arrested him in July 2017. He was among 110 Kosovo citizens
repatriated from Syria in April with the assistance of the United
States. If convicted of terrorist acts, he could face a prison
sentence of 10 years or more. Kosovo authorities say 30 of the
country's citizens are still actively supporting terror groups in
Syria.”
France
24: EU Sees 'Short Window' To Decide IS Repatriations From
Syria
“EU countries have a “short window” to decide whether to repatriate
their nationals -- including hundreds of very young children -- held
in camps in Syria after the defeat of the Islamic State group, MEPs
heard Thursday. A US troop withdrawal and subsequent Turkish military
incursion into northeast Syria last month has injected urgency into
the issue, the European Parliament lawmakers were told, in a session
on the fate of children of foreign fighters. Control of the camps is
slipping as Kurdish SDF fighters formerly allied to the US become
squeezed between the hostile Turkish and Syrian armies, raising the
risk of those in the camps escaping, perhaps to Europe in some cases,
or falling into the hands of President Bashar al-Assad's forces, they
heard. “There's a short window now, of perhaps one or several months,
while the camps with family members of European foreign fighters are
still under the control of the SDF,” Christiane Hoehn, a senior EU
counter-terrorism official told the committee. The changed battlefield
circumstances in Syria “have created new circumstances and this might
need to lead to the need to redefine policy,” she said.”
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Dutch ISIS Militant Involved In Plot To Bomb Russian
Aircraft In 2015
“An Australian convicted of terrorism has implicated a Danish
national in the plot to blow up a Russian aircraft that crashed in
2015 shortly after taking-off from Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh airport, a
Danish newspaper reported on Wednesday. ISIS claimed responsibility
for the bombing, which killed 224 people. In a report published on its
website, DR Newspaper said its information was based on statements
made by Khalid al-Khayat. Khayat was convicted in Australia earlier
this year on charges of planning to blow up a passenger plane carrying
400 people during a flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi in 2017. The paper
said Danish and other foreign intelligence believe that the Danish,
Bassil Hassan, is also involved in 2017’s incident. It noted that the
terrorist didn’t succeed to carry out this attack after the Australian
police confiscated a meat chopping machine with explosives hidden
inside. It also explained that Khayat told the police that those who
tried to blow up the plane in Sydney were also behind the bombing of
the Russian aircraft above Egypt. The Danish newspaper pointed out
that its information is also based on court documents in Australia,
adding that it confirms that Hassan was a key figure in ISIS “foreign
operations.”
Asia
Reuters:
China Says Killing Of Islamic State Leader Is Progress, Much Work
Remains
“The United States’ killing of Islamic State’s leader is important
progress, but the world should not rest on its laurels in the fight
against terrorism, China’s special envoy to the Middle East said on
Friday. China has long worried about ethnic Uighurs from China’s far
heavily Muslim western region of Xinjiang who have traveled
clandestinely to Syria and Iraq to fight with Islamist groups there.
Islamic State has killed at least one Chinese hostage and militant
groups have issued statements threatening to attack China. Speaking to
reporters following a visit to Saudi Arabia, Iran and Egypt last
month, Zhai Jun said last month’s killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by
U.S. forces was “important progress in the fight against terrorism”.
“But that does not mean the Islamic State has been completely wiped
out,” Zhai, an Arabic speaker and former Chinese ambassador in Tripoli
and Paris, said. “The ideological tide of terrorism lives on,” he
added. “We must not lower our vigilance.” Affiliates of Islamic State,
as well as other militant organizations were still active in other
countries, Zhai said. Zhai’s remarks on Baghdadi’s death were the most
high profile to date on the issue from China, which had previously
only said it was closely monitoring the
situation.”
Xinhua:
Terror Threat To Remain Apparent In Indonesia's 2020 Regional
Elections: Analyst
“Indonesia is facing threats of terror attacks which might be
perpetrated by homegrown radical groups affiliated to Islamic State
(IS) in the 2020 regional elections process, an Indonesian
intelligence analyst said here on Thursday. Identifying the threats as
part of potential conflicts during the regional elections scheduled
nationwide on Sept. 23, 2020, Director of the Indonesia Intelligence
Institute Ridlwan Habib said the attacks could occur in areas known as
their potential targets and network development basis across the
country. “They don't like any election that uses a system totally
against their ideology. Their attacks would not be based on their
affiliation to any candidate taking part in the regional elections,”
Habib said. Currently some 1,200 die-hard radical groups' militants
remain on the loose, and continue developing their networks in several
areas. Areas identified as prone to possible attacks include cities in
Java, southern part of Sumatra, Bali and West Nusa Tenggara province,
Habib said. The Indonesian police arrested 68 terrorist suspects from
January to May this year. They were identified as militants of the
banned radical group Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) that had been
plotting deadly attacks during the chaotic days in Jakarta related to
announcement of Indonesia's April elections winners in May.”
Technology
Washington
Examiner: 'Speed Of Social Media': Online Terrorist Activity Leaves
Little Time To React
“The FBI is investigating about 850 cases involving domestic
terrorism and more than 4,000 involving international terrorism. In a
breakdown provided to the Washington Examiner, roughly 5,000 open
terrorism investigations across the United States and around the world
were shown, along with the number of domestic terrorism arrests and
international terrorism arrests, which have remained fairly constant
over the past three years. In the 2019 fiscal year, the bureau
arrested 121 international terrorism suspects and 107 domestic
terrorism suspects, compared with 100 international and 115 domestic
arrests in 2018 and 110 international and 150 domestic arrests in
2017. “Preventing terrorist attacks remains the FBI’s top priority,”
FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement to both the House
and Senate Homeland Security Committees over the last week. “However,
the threat posed by terrorism — both international terrorism and
domestic violence extremism — has evolved significantly since 9/11.”
The threat is shifting and expanding, especially online. Wray warned
domestic terrorists and violent extremists are being radicalized and
recruited online, such as in recent deadly mass shootings in
Pennsylvania, Texas, and Ohio.”
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