“The Biden administration on Tuesday issued sanctions against a Lebanese travel
company and three businessmen for financially supporting Hezbollah, th

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


January 19, 2022

  

The Hill: US Sanctions Lebanese Tourism Company, Hezbollah Members For Ties To
Terrorism
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“The Biden administration on Tuesday issued sanctions against a Lebanese
travel company and three businessmen for financially supporting Hezbollah, the
U.S.-designated terrorist organization based in Lebanon.  Secretary of State
Antony Blinken said the sanctions designation was carried out “in solidarity
with the Lebanese people, whose security and sovereignty remains threatened by
Hizballah’s corrupt and destabilizing activities.” The sanctions target the
business Dar Al Salam for Travel & Tourism and three of its founders, Adel
Diab, Ali Mohamad Daoun, and Jihad Salem Alame. The Treasury Department said
all three men are members of Hezbollah and have “materially assisted,
sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or
goods or services to or in support of” Hezbollah. “With this action, Treasury
is disrupting businessmen who raise and launder funds for Hizballah’s
destabilizing activities while the Lebanese people face worsening economic and
humanitarian crises,” Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and
Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement. “Hizballah claims it
supports the Lebanese people, but just like other corrupt actors in Lebanon
that Treasury has designated, Hizballah continues to profit from insulated
business ventures and backdoor political deals, amassing wealth that the
Lebanese people never see.”

 

Associated Press: Al-Shabab Claims Deadly Bombing Near Somali Military Camp
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“At least four people were killed and 10 others wounded in Somalia’s capital
when a man in an explosive vest detonated at a teashop opposite a Somali
military training camp on Tuesday, the Somali National News Agency reports. The
teashop in Mogadishu is frequented by new recruits from the Nacnaca training
camp. The extremist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack,
saying via its Andalus radio station that it targeted a “Turkish training camp
for Somali militias.” Turkey has a much larger, heavily fortified military
training camp for the Somali army not far away from the Nacnaca camp. In
October, a suicide bomber targeted the same area, killing at least 10 people.”

 

United States

 

NBC News: Texas Synagogue Hostage-Taker Was Known To U.K. Intelligence Before
He Flew To U.S.
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“A British man who held four people hostage at a synagogue in Texas on
Saturday was known to U.K. intelligence, a British security source told NBC
News. Malik Faisal Akram, 44, was probed over suspected terrorist links, but
the case was closed by the time he traveled to the United States because it
didn’t meet the threshold for further investigation, the security source said.
Akram was named by the FBI as the gunman in the more than 10-hour standoff at
Congregation Beth Israel that culminated in the hostages escaping unharmed
before he was killed by federal agents. Akram, who is from Lancashire in
northwest England, was the subject of a short, low-level investigation by the
U.K.'s MI5 domestic intelligence agency in the second half of 2020, the
security source said. It lasted over a month and was based on information that
he may have been involved in Islamist terrorism, the source added. When there
was no indication of a terrorist threat, the source said, Akram joined
approximately 40,000 other closed “subjects of interest” in Britain who have
been investigated but not found to be plotting terrorist attacks. The U.K.'s
Home Office declined to comment, citing an ongoing police investigation. The
news was first reported by the BBC.”

 

The Hill: FBI, DHS Warn Faith-Based Communities Will Likely Remain Targets For
Violence
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“A Monday letter from top officials in the FBI and Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) warned that faith-based groups are likely to remain targets of
violence. “Faith based communities have and will likely continue to be targets
of violence by both domestic violent extremists and those inspired by foreign
terrorists,” FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate and John D. Cohen, who is the top
intelligence official at DHS, said in the letter, which was obtained by CNN.
The letter also said online platforms linked with domestic violent extremism
had discussed Jewish targets in connection with conspiracy theories about the
pandemic, the results of the 2020 election and “even the Taliban takeover of
Afghanistan and resettlement of Afghans to the United States,” according to
CNN. The letter comes shortly after several hostages were held for hours at
Congregation Beth Israel, a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, over the weekend
before one was released and the other three escaped. Homeland Security
Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also said on Sunday that DHS would work alongside
Congress to increase funding to allow faith-based groups to enhance their
security and provide more protection against terrorism, hate crimes and
targeted violence, CNN reported.”

 

Syria

 

Al Monitor: Syrian Jihadist Leader In Western Wear, Opens Road In Idlib
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“Unlike all other leaders of extremist organizations, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
(HTS) leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani attended a public event in Idlib,
displaying zero concerns about being targeted by the international coalition
warplanes that pursue extremist leaders in northern Syria. On Jan. 7, Golani
participated in the opening of the Aleppo-Bab al-Hawa road alongside the prime
minister of the HTS-affiliated Syrian Salvation Government, Ali Keda. The
project is the government’s first major project carried out in areas outside
the control of the Syrian government. Golani appeared in public wearing modern
clothes, which raised questions on social media. Many believed his outfit was
an attempt to come across as “moderate,” although HTS was previously known as
al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra. The group is designated a terrorist
organization by the United States and the UN Security Council. This isn't
Golani's first attempt at a makeover. In June last year, he did a television
interview with American journalist Martin Smith of PBS in a blue suit rather
than his usual robes. Photos from the road opening went viral, showing Golani
standing next to Keda in the city of Sarmada, 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of
Idlib.”

 

Iran

 

Al Monitor: Iran Tries Arab Dissident For Terrorism
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“A “Revolutionary” court in Tehran opened the trial of Habib Chaab, the leader
of a foreign-based pan-Arab movement, on terror-related charges. Reading out
the indictment in the Jan. 18 session, a prosecutor accused Chaab of
“corruption on earth,” a charge in Iran’s Islamic penal code that is punishable
by the death penalty. The indictment was based on Chaab’s alleged role in
“masterminding and carrying out terrorist operations” in a campaign “to fight
the Islamic Republic establishment.”  Chaab, also identified as Asyud, is
believed to have been one of the founders of an Arab opposition group, known by
such names as Al-Nidhal, Al-Ahwaziyah and the Arab Struggle Movement for the
Liberation of Ahwaz, which advocates independence for the Arab minority in
Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan province. The trial largely focused on a September
2018 attack by several gunmen who ambushed an Iran Army Day parade in the city
of Ahvaz, leaving at least 25 people dead. Iranian authorities have blamed the
attack on Chaab’s movement, a charge the group has denied. The first session
was adjourned without the defendant given a chance to speak to the court.
Wearing a prison uniform, the bearded Chaab was seated facing the photo of one
of the children killed in the 2018 attack.”

 

Iraq

 

Asharq Al-Awsat: Anticipating Militia Attacks, Iraqi Security On Maximum Alert
In Baghdad
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“Iraqi security authorities have announced a state of maximum alert as they
anticipate armed attacks in Baghdad and other cities. Hours after the visit of
the commander of the Iranian “Quds Force,” Ismail Qaani, armed factions held
several meetings to discuss “mechanisms to stop Muqtada al-Sadr’s project of
forming a majority government without them.” “The Iraqi forces received orders
to deploy in separate areas, according to the rules of engagement,” an Iraqi
officer who requested anonymity told Asharq Al-Awsat. Meanwhile, three Shiite
factions’ leaders confirmed holding separate meetings in military headquarters,
without mentioning any details about their outcomes. Later, multiple political
sources said that leading figures in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards joined
Qaani in Baghdad to meet with leaders in the Coordination Framework. These
meetings aim to unify the Shiite house after the recent row between the
Coordination Framework and the Sadrist movement. Iraq might for the first time
in years get a government that excludes Iran-backed parties if Sadr, who
dominated the recent election, keeps his word, say Iraqi politicians,
government officials and independent analysts. Meetings mounted by Iranian
officials in Iraq are taking place with a pragmatic motive to adapt to the
accelerating transformations led by Sadr.”

 

Afghanistan

 

The Wall Street Journal: Taliban Intensify Efforts To Take Control Of
Afghanistan’s Overseas Embassies
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“Five months after the Taliban seized Kabul, Afghanistan’s new rulers are
stepping up their campaign to gain control of the country’s embassies abroad,
most of which continue to be run by diplomats appointed by the former,
U.S.-backed government. No foreign capital has formally recognized the Taliban.
And nearly all of the country’s 65 diplomatic missions still fly the flag of
the fallen Afghan republic—though after the Aug. 15 flight of former President
Ashraf Ghani from Kabul, they have no government to represent. The Taliban
recently dispatched an envoy to the United Nations, but the global body
declined to accept him. The diplomat, Suhail Shaheen, protested, saying
Afghanistan’s seat should be held by “the current government in Afghanistan,
which has sovereignty and writ all over the country.” In other places, the
Taliban are trying a less direct approach. In China, where the ambassador of
the former government has resigned, the Taliban are angling to have an ally
become the de facto head of the embassy. In Italy, a pro-Taliban diplomat tried
to enter the embassy, but was blocked by the ambassador, an appointee of the
Afghan republic, in a confrontation that ended in a fist fight and intervention
by the Italian police.”

 

The Washington Post: How To Help Afghans Without Aiding The Taliban
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“In Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, aid groups are overwhelmed by the
starving. More than half the population, the United Nations has warned, won’t
get enough to eat this winter. The biggest problem isn’t a lack of food.
Rather, it’s the disappearance of what had been the lifeblood of the Afghan
economy — Western cash. As fears of a humanitarian disaster mount, the West
faces a desperate dilemma: Can it help Afghans without aiding the Taliban? The
answer depends on your definition of “aid.” But a range of creative solutions
are circulating — with some already being put to use — that could begin to
address warnings from relief agencies that Western sanctions on the Taliban are
hurting the Afghan people. Since the fall of Kabul in August, the Taliban —
unrecognized and under sanctions by the United States and European Union — have
been barred from accessing $10 billion in Afghan government funds, mostly
frozen in the U.S. Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, flows of foreign aid — once used
to cover the majority of public expenditures — have slowed to a trickle. The
result is a convergence of financial woes that take the troubles of a
poverty-stricken, war-torn country, mixes them with the hardships faced by
U.S.-sanctioned states like Iran and Venezuela, then piles on the dire
experience of a nation like Argentina during its catastrophic debt default and
banking crisis.”

 

Pakistan

 

Voice Of America: Taliban Militants Claim Responsibility For Rare Attack In
Pakistan’s Capital
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“The outlawed Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility Tuesday for a rare
overnight attack in Islamabad that killed a police officer and wounded two
others. Police officials said two gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire on a
security checkpoint near one of the city’s busy markets late on Monday. They
say the ensuing shootout killed both the assailants. “The gunfire by terrorists
martyred a police officer while two others were wounded,” said a police
statement. Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed condemned the gun
attack as an act of terrorism. “We have received a kind of signal that
terrorist incidents have started happening in Islamabad,” local media quoted
Ahmed as telling reporters after attending the funeral prayers of the slain
police officer. The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan or
TTP, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on Twitter and
confirmed the killing of its two gunmen involved in it. The TTP has increased
attacks in Pakistan, particularly since early December when a 30-day ceasefire
between the militants and the government expired. Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban
had brokered the truce to try to pave the way for substantive peace talks
between the two adversaries.”

 

Financial Times: Taliban Victory Unleashes Hardline Forces In Pakistan
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“Groups of Taliban fighters, dressed in the group’s usual assortment of
military fatigues and shawls, have massed on Afghanistan’s long and arid
southern border with Pakistan. The Durand Line, a 19th century boundary
demarcated by British imperialists, is fiercely rejected by many on both sides
of the border for carving up the traditional lands of the Pashtun people, tens
of millions of whom live on either side. In a series of choreographed,
well-publicised incidents, Taliban fighters dismantled poles and barbed wire
erected by Pakistan, accompanied by denunciations from their leaders. In one
video, local fighters appeared to topple a pillar emblazoned with the Pakistani
flag and rolled it down a sandy hill. Pakistan has long been one of the
Taliban’s most important advocates, from openly supporting its regime before
2001 to allegedly providing a haven to the group during the US war. Prime
Minister Imran Khan welcomed the Islamists’ military conquest in August and has
lobbied for more international assistance for its government. Yet the Taliban’s
victory has unleashed a wave of hardline forces that Khan’s government is
struggling to control, on and within Pakistan’s borders.”

 

Yemen

 

Arab News: Houthi Terror Chief Among 20 Killed As Coalition Strikes Back
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“A Houthi terrorist chief was one of about 20 people killed on Tuesday when
airstrikes by the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen struck militia
targets in Sanaa. Abdullah Qassim Al-Junaid, the head of the Iran-backed
militia’s aviation academy, had been sentenced to death in his absence by a
court in Marib last year on charges of staging a military coup and committing
war crimes. Tuesday’s airstrikes targeting Houthi camps and strongholds in the
Yemeni capital were the heaviest in nearly three years. They followed a Houthi
drone attack on Monday on an oil storage depot on the outskirts of UAE capital
Abu Dhabi, in which three people died, and the launch of eight armed drones
from Yemen to Saudi Arabia, which the Kingdom’s air defenses intercepted and
destroyed. After Monday’s drone strike the UAE said it reserved the right to
respond to “terrorist attacks and criminal escalation,” and Saudi Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed
Al-Nahyan agreed in a phone call to “jointly stand up to these acts of
aggression.” The US vowed to hold the Houthis accountable for the attack, which
was also condemned by the UN, the EU, Britain and France, and throughout the
Gulf and the wider Middle East, including Israel.”

 

The National: Houthi Terror Attack: What Drones Do The Terrorists Have?
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“After Monday’s terrorist attack against the UAE, which killed three people
and wounded six, international attention is once again focused on low-cost
drones: how to stop them, and how to prevent their acquisition by terror
groups. This follows the UAE's announcement that drones were a suspected method
behind the attack, but an investigation is ongoing. Explosive drones, or the
“loitering munitions” suspected in this case, have become a challenge to
advanced militaries around the world. But what exactly are these weapons,
frequently used by the Houthis and other Iran-backed groups to attack Saudi
Arabia and Iraq? Iran has proliferated unmanned aircraft originally designed
for target practice in the 1980s. They typically have a rear-mounted “pusher
propeller” system and are constructed from cheap material, sometimes including
wooden components. As cameras evolved, drones such as Iran’s Ababil were used
for reconnaissance, but in recent years the flimsy looking planes have been
rigged with bombs and are sometimes referred to as “Kamikaze drones”.
Notoriously, they were used in an attack that shocked the world at Abqaiq in
Saudi Arabia in September 2019, when critical oil infrastructure was destroyed.”

 

Middle East

 

The Cipher Brief: The Economics Driving Security In The Middle East
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“The Cipher Brief welcomes former National Intelligence Manager for Iran,
ODNI, and Cipher Brief Expert Norm Roule for a virtual briefing on the
economics affecting the situation in the Middle East. Norman T. Roule served
for 34 years in the Central Intelligence Agency, managing numerous programs
relating to Iran and the Middle East. He served as the National Intelligence
Manager for Iran (NIM-I) at the ODNI from November 2008 until September 2017.
As NIM-I, he was the principal Intelligence Community (IC) official responsible
for overseeing all aspects of national intelligence policy and activities
related to Iran, to include IC engagement on Iran issues with senior policy
makers in the National Security Council and the Department of State. Mr. Roule
currently serves as a Senior Adviser to the Counter Extremism Project and
United Against Nuclear Iran.”

 

Nigeria

 

Premium Times Nigeria: 220 People Killed, 200 Kidnapped In Niger State Between
January 1 & 17 – Governor
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“At least 220 people have been killed in attacks on about 300 communities in
Niger State this year, the state governor has said. Governor Sani Bello said
this while addressing journalists after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari
at the State House in Abuja. “In January this year alone, we suffered not less
than 50 reported attacks and loss of lives, between 1st and 17th January.
Within the same period, not less than 300 communities have been invaded by
bandits. “The number of people kidnapped is 200, including three Chinese
nationals. We also lost some security personnel. Their number is 25.
Unfortunately, we lost about 165 civilians and 30 local vigilantes. So, it’s a
very dire situation that we have been battling in the last few weeks since the
beginning of this year,” Mr Bello said. Mr Bello suggested that the terror
groups carrying out the attacks operate not only in Niger State but also in
other nearby states. “What I realize is that they have been taking us on a
merry-go-round. When we deal with them in Niger, they move to Kaduna. When
Kaduna deals with them, they move to Katsina. They have been hibernating in the
forest. Some of these operations need to be handled simultaneously so that we
get the result. “We are not happy and we are sad with the developments in these
states.”

 

Africa

 

France 24: Four French Soldiers Injured In Burkina Faso Bomb Blast, Says Army
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“Four French soldiers were wounded in an improvised explosive device blast in
northern Burkina Faso, France's military told AFP Tuesday evening. “(Their)
off-road vehicle activated an IED as it left Ouahigouya airport,” the army said
in a statement, adding the unit was part of the Barkhane operation, Paris'
deployment in the Sahel against a jihadist insurgency. Four soldiers were
wounded, including one seriously, the army said, with the group either
evacuated to Mali or France for those in a more serious condition. Burkina Faso
has been struggling with jihadist attacks since 2015, when militants linked to
Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group began mounting cross-border raids from
Mali. More than 2,000 people have died, according to an AFP toll. The
flashpoint “tri-border” area is frequently targeted by Islamic State in the
Greater Sahara and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and
Muslims (GSIM) with deadly attacks against civilians and soldiers. The French
army has killed several high-ranking members of ISGS since the start of its
military intervention in Mali in 2013. But in June last year, French President
Emmanuel Macron announced a major scaleback in the Barkhane mission to refocus
on counter-terrorism operations and supporting local forces.”

 

The Irish Times: Mozambique: Better Co-Ordination Needed To Tackle Islamist
Insurgency – Experts
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“The two international forces helping Mozambique to tackle an Islamist
insurgency in its northern provinces need to better co-ordinate their
operations to bring the deadly conflict under control, security experts have
said. Southern African leaders have agreed to extend a regional military
mission in Mozambique’s war-torn north, citing the “significant progress” its
troops had made against the Islamist militants terrorising Cabo Delgado
province since 2017. Following a Southern African Development Community (SADC)
security summit in Malawi last week, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa
hailed the regional military mission for “neutralising” the insurgents, saying
life was beginning to return to normal in the resource-rich province. Known
locally as Al-Shabaab (“the youth”), the militants have aligned themselves with
the international terror group Islamic State, also known as Isis, and are
seeking to establish a caliphate in the region. The SADC mission in Mozambique
(Samim), which was deployed in August, comprises special forces from Lesotho,
Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania. The decision by SADC to extend
its mission by at least three months came days after Rwanda signed an agreement
with Mozambique to expand their military cooperation, which also began last
year.”

 

United Kingdom

 

The Independent: Lisa Smith Bid To Have Terror Charges Dismissed To Continue
On Wednesday
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“A legal bid by former Irish Defence Forces member Lisa Smith to have
terror-related charges against her dropped will continue at the Special
Criminal Court on Wednesday. Co Louth woman Smith, 39, is accused of being a
member of so-called Islamic State (IS) and financing terrorism. A pre-trial
application, brought under section 4.e of the Criminal Procedure Act, to have
the case against her thrown out is expected to conclude on Wednesday. The
defence, led by Michael O’Higgins SC, made an application on Monday for the
case to be dismissed on the grounds there is not sufficient evidence to convict
her on any of the charges. Sean Gillane SC for the prosecution has maintained
there is enough evidence to proceed. The hearing was adjourned on Tuesday and
will resume on Wednesday at 10.30am at the SCC. The details of Tuesday’s
hearing cannot be reported on by the media. If the application is not
successful, the trial will go ahead and is likely to last for 12 weeks. Ms
Smith has appeared in court throughout the application, arriving on Tuesday in
a dark coat and black face covering. The case received widespread attention in
2019 when it emerged that Smith, a former Air Corps soldier who had worked on
the Government jet, had been detained in Syria over alleged links to IS.”

 

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