“The F.B.I. is treating the attack on a suburban Fort Worth synagogue on
Saturday as “an act of terrorism targeting the Jewish community,” Christopher

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


January 21, 2022

  

The New York Times: F.B.I. Director Calls Texas Synagogue Attack An Act Of
Antisemitism
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“The F.B.I. is treating the attack on a suburban Fort Worth synagogue on
Saturday as “an act of terrorism targeting the Jewish community,” Christopher
A. Wray, the bureau’s director, said on Thursday. “This was not some random
occurrence,” Mr. Wray told viewers of a webinar hosted by the Anti-Defamation
League. “It was intentional, it was symbolic and we’re not going to tolerate
antisemitism in this country.” The bureau initially said that the attacker, a
British citizen named Malik Faisal Akram, was not driven by antisemitism when
he held four people at the synagogue hostage for 11 hours. At a news conference
on Saturday night after all four hostages were free, the special agent in
charge of the F.B.I.’s Dallas field office, Matthew DeSarno, said Mr. Akram was
motivated by an issue “not specifically related to the Jewish community.”
During the attack at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, which was partly
livestreamed, Mr. Akram was heard referring to Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani
neuroscientist who is serving an 86-year prison sentence in nearby Fort Worth.
Ms. Siddiqui was convicted in a federal court in 2010 for “terroristic events”
in Afghanistan, including trying to kill American soldiers and plotting to blow
up the Statue of Liberty.”

 

Associated Press: Pakistani Police: Bomb In City Of Lahore Kills 3, Wounds 28
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“A powerful bombing struck a crowded bazar Thursday in Pakistan's second
largest city, Lahore, killing at least three people and wounding 28, police and
rescue officials said. A newly formed separatist group from southwestern
Baluchistan province claimed responsibility for the attack. The blast was so
powerful that it damaged several shops at the famous Anarkali bazar, two
witnesses, Mohammad Hafeez and Abdul Majeed, told reporters. Video footage from
the scene showed burning motorcycles and victims crying out for help. The
killed and wounded included passers-by, shoppers or local store owners.
According to Abid Khan, a senior police official, the bombing killed three
people. Some of the wounded were listed as being in critical condition and he
said there were fears the death toll could climb further. Police were still
trying to determine what kind of device was used in the attack, Khan added. An
investigation was underway. Hours after the attack, the newly formed
Baluchistan Nationalist Army said it was behind the bombing. The group was
established earlier this month, when two minor separatist groups — the
Baluchistan Republican Army and the United Baluch Army — merged and appointed
Mureed Baloch as their spokesman.”

 

United States

 

The Wall Street Journal: Oath Keepers Cached Weapons For Jan. 6 Capitol
Attack, Prosecutors Say
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“The right-wing Oath Keepers militia group was prepared to move a stash of
firearms and equipment from a Virginia hotel to rioters on Jan. 6 last year,
federal prosecutors said, painting the most detailed portrait yet of the
planning the group’s members allegedly undertook as they tried to stop the
certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election win. Edward Vallejo, a
63-year-old Arizona man arrested last week on seditious-conspiracy and other
charges, worked with others to coordinate what they called “quick reaction
forces” stationed at a Comfort Inn in Arlington, Va., prosecutors said. The
teams, armed with weapons, ammunition and “essential supplies to last 30 days,”
awaited direction on the day of the riot and ultimately didn’t need to deliver
the materials since the group successfully breached the U.S. Capitol without
them, the prosecutors said. A federal magistrate judge in Arizona agreed
Thursday afternoon with the government’s request to detain Mr. Vallejo before
trial, saying that he believed Mr. Vallejo presented a danger to the community
given his actions on Jan. 6, 2021. “You were prepared to act,” Magistrate Judge
John Boyle said at the detention hearing in which Mr. Vallejo appeared via
telephone. “If…given that order, you would have complied,” the judge said,
describing how he believed Mr. Vallejo would have transported the weapons to
the Capitol if asked.”

 

The Boston Globe: Democrats Urge Biden To Change Strategy On Terrorism
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“Congressional Democrats on Thursday urged President Biden to overhaul his
counterterrorism strategy and targeting criteria for drone strikes, citing
grave concerns about “repeated civilian casualties arising from secretive and
unaccountable lethal operations.” The letter came a day after The New York
Times published newly declassified surveillance footage providing additional
details about the final minutes and aftermath of a botched drone strike in
Kabul in August that killed 10 innocent civilians, including seven children.
Eleven senators and 39 members of the House, led by Senators Elizabeth Warren
of Massachusetts and Christopher Murphy of Connecticut, cited that strike as
“emblematic of this systemic failure that has persisted across decades and
administrations.” “When there is little policy change or accountability for
repeated mistakes this grave and this costly,” the senators wrote, “it sends a
message throughout the US armed forces and the entire US government that
civilian deaths — including deaths where there was no military target — are the
inevitable consequence of modern conflict, rather than avoidable and damaging
failures of policy.”

 

Syria

 

Reuters: Islamic State Militants Attack Prison In Syria's Al-Hasaka,
U.S.-Backed SDF Says
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“Islamic State militants attacked a prison in Syria's al-Hasaka in an attempt
to free prisoners belonging to the group who had mutinied, the Kurdish-led
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said in a statement on Thursday. Islamic State
“sleeper cells ... infiltrated from the surrounding neighbourhoods and clashed
with the internal Security Forces,” the U.S.-backed group added. The SDF, which
is spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG militia, said its forces thwarted the escape
attempt by prisoners that coincided with a car bomb that was detonated near the
prison by militants, spokesman Farhad Shami said in a tweet. There were
unconfirmed reports that several inmates had been killed in the mutiny, the
latest of several recent attempts to flee from SDF prisons, according to two
residents. Arab tribal figures in touch with residents in the area said U.S.
coalition planes were seen flying overhead in the vicinity of the prison
following the incident. It was not clear how many inmates were in the prison,
one of several where the SDF has kept thousands of detainees, many of whose
relatives say are young children and others arrested on flimsy charges or for
disobeying the SDF’s policy of forcible conscription.”

 

Iraq

 

Associated Press: IS Gunmen Kill 11 Iraqi Troops In Brazen Attack On Barracks
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“Gunmen from the Islamic State extremist group attacked an army barracks in a
mountainous area north of Baghdad early Friday, killing 11 soldiers as they
slept, Iraqi security officials said. The officials said the attack occurred in
the Al-Azim district, an open area north of of Baqouba in Diyala province. The
circumstances of the attack were not immediately clear, but two officials who
spoke to The Associated Press said Islamic State group militants broke into the
barracks at 3 a.m. local time and shot dead the soldiers. The officials spoke
on condition of anonymity as they weren't authorized to issue official
statements. The brazen attack more than 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of the
capital Baghdad was one of the deadliest targeting the Iraqi military in recent
months. The Islamic State group was largely defeated in the country in 2017,
although it remains active through sleeper cells in many areas. Militants from
the Sunni Muslim extremist group still conduct operations, often targeting
security forces, power stations and other infrastructure. In October, IS
militants armed with machine guns raided a predominantly Shiite village in
Diyala province, killing 11 civilians and wounding several others. Officials at
the time said the attack occurred after the militants had kidnapped villagers
and their demands for ransom were not met.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Associated Press: Taliban Storm Kabul Apartment, Arrest Activist, Her Sisters
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“The Taliban stormed an apartment in Kabul, smashing the door in and arresting
a woman rights activist and her three sisters, an eyewitness said Thursday. A
Taliban statement appeared to blame the incident on a recent women's protest,
saying insulting Afghan values will no longer be tolerated. The activist,
Tamana Zaryabi Paryani, was among about 25 women who took part in an
anti-Taliban protest on Sunday against the compulsory Islamic headscarf, or
hijab, for women. A person from the neighborhood who witnessed the arrest said
about 10 armed men, claiming to be from the Taliban intelligence department,
carried out the raid on Wednesday night. Shortly before she and her sisters
were taken away, footage of Paryani was posted on social media, showing her
frightened and breathless and screaming for help, saying the Taliban were
banging on her door. “Help please, the Taliban have come to our home . . . only
my sisters are home,” she is heard saying in the footage. There are other
female voices in the background, crying. “I can’t open the door. Please . . .
help!” Associated Press footage from the scene on Thursday showed the
apartment's front door, made of metal and painted reddish brown, dented and
left slightly ajar. The occupants of a neighboring apartment ran inside their
home, not wanting to talk to reporters.”

 

Yemen

 

Reuters: Intelligence Group Says AQAP Announces Death Of Former Bin Laden
Associate In U.S. Strike In Yemen
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“The director of SITE Intelligence Group said on Thursday that AQAP (Al Qaeda
in the Arabian Peninsula) announced the death of a military commander in a U.S.
air strike in Yemen. Rita Katz, director of SITE which monitors militants
groups online, said the militant group did not mention any date or location for
the death of Salih bin Salim bin Ubayd ’Abolan (aka Abu 'Umayr al-Hadhrami) who
was also a former associate of Al Qaeda's leader Osama Bin laden. Katz pointed
to Twitter reports of a U.S. air strike that killed 3 AQAP militants on Nov.
14.”

 

Nigeria

 

Associated Press: Jihadi Video Shows Child Fighters Executing Nigeria Soldiers
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“An Islamic State-linked extremist group accused of killing hundreds in
northeast Nigeria has released a video purporting to show child soldiers
executing two men identified as members of the Nigerian military. The video
released by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) was published on
Tuesday by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi activity. It
showed a man in Nigerian army uniform who said he was with the army special
forces being shot twice in the head by a boy of about 12. Shortly after,
another soldier who said he was captured in April 2021 was shot in the head by
one of the three masked fighters behind him. A Nigerian military spokesperson
did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment on the video,
which security analysts told The Associated Press appears to have been shot
near the Lake Chad basin, the stronghold of the extremist group. Rita Katz,
executive director of SITE Intelligence Group, told AP Thursday that ISIS is
now “more desperate than ever to keep its name in the global discussion … given
the fact that it no longer has a physical ‘caliphate’ outside of relatively
small bases in different countries.” The video, she said, “demonstrates the
immense focus ISIS is placing on Africa” and puts a “spotlight on Nigeria as
one of its strongholds and projecting itself as an adaptive, enduring force to
the world.”

 

Africa

 

Asharq Al-Awsat: Africom: Al-Qaeda, Isis Unity Efforts Threaten Lake Chad Basin

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“Last year, the US withdrawal from wars in Somalia and Afghanistan turned
attention to other theaters of conflicts around the world to see if they, in
turn, would witness similar US regression. Such a scenario poses risks
threatening the fall of regimes and the growth of the influence of extremist
movements. The withdrawal of US forces from Somalia in early 2021 prompted an
escalation of attacks by Al-Shabaab, Al-Qaeda’s branch of in the Horn of
Africa. The attacks were met by Somali government forces weakened by inner
conflict. In Afghanistan, the picture was clearer and more decisive. Shortly
after the US pulled out in August, the Kabul government fell and was replaced
by the Taliban. Such a scenario can be repeated in other areas from which the
Americans decide to withdraw, especially in the African continent, where many
countries are witnessing political conflicts and civil wars. To date, the US
remains engaged through its military command in Africa (AFRICOM) as part of
Washington’s efforts to counter Al-Qaeda and ISIS in Sahel countries. Americans
have also warned Africans of the “risks” of using mercenaries from the Russian
Wagner Group, which are now widespread in many African countries, including
Mali and Libya.”

 

United Kingdom

 

Fox News: UK Terror Police Arrest Two More People In Texas Synagogue Hostage
Probe
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“U.K. terrorism police announced Thursday that two more individuals have been
arrested in connection to investigations into the Texas synagogue hostage
incident over the weekend. Two teenagers were already detained in South
Manchester the day after 44-year-old British citizen Malik Faisal Akram took
Jewish worshippers hostage at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas,
and released Wednesday without charges after three nights in custody. Greater
Manchester Police, in sharing an update from Counter Terrorism Policing North
West, said two men were arrested for questioning Thursday morning in Birmingham
and Manchester. The U.K. terrorism police said they are continuing to “support
U.S. authorities with their investigation into the events in Texas,” and will
further “liaise with and support colleagues from other forces.”  Several
reports said the two teens detained had been Akram’s sons, but police have not
confirmed. Terrorism police also searched an address in North Manchester as
part of their investigation.”

 

BBC News: Far-Right Terror: Group Used 3D Printer To Make Pistol Parts, Court
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“Four people accused of being members of a far-right cell “celebrated racist
violence” and made pistol parts using a 3D printer, a court has heard. Daniel
Wright, 29, Liam Hall, 31, and Stacey Salmon, 29, all from Keighley, West
Yorkshire, deny multiple terrorism-related offences. Samuel Whibley, 29, of
Derwen Deg, Menai Bridge, Anglesey, also denies terrorism offences. The trial
at Sheffield Crown Court is expected to last five weeks. The prosecution said
the four defendants used a Telegram channel called Oaken Hearth to exchange
terror manuals, share racist ideology and post videos of atrocities. Prosecutor
Annabel Darlow QC, said the four defendants had been members of an “extreme
fascist and terroristic cell” during the first four months of 2021. “They
embraced extreme right-wing propaganda and celebrated racist violence and
killing,” she said. “The defendants demonstrated an active interest in the
manufacture of explosives and weaponry.” Ms Darlow said the defendants had
sought information on how to manufacture firearms at home and had used 3D
printers to print plastic parts, which could be assembled with metal
components. She said it was their intention to create “functional and lethal”
firearms. “The prosecution allege that the ideology embraced by these
defendants, and the violent, terroristic views they expressed, clearly
demonstrate that their actions in respect of these homemade firearms was
terrorist in nature and intent,” she said.”

 

Europe

 

The National: Sweden Deports Imam Accused Of Being An ISIS Recruiter
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“An imam suspected of being a recruiter for ISIS has been deported by Sweden
after a year in detention. Ahmed Ahmed, 52, was detained last year on suspicion
of being a key figure in the radicalisation and recruitment of ISIS fighters
across Sweden, where he had worked in a number of mosques. Originally from
Iraq, Swedish security services deported him last week after a judge ruled he
posed a threat to national security. It is alleged 14 people connected to him
travelled to fight for ISIS. In a 2015 raid on his home, images of ISIS
fighters and Osama bin Laden were allegedly found on his phone along with a
picture of the Jordanian pilot who was burnt alive by ISIS. A preliminary
investigation against him was dropped and the imam denied the allegations. “I
can confirm that he has been deported,” his lawyer Alparslan Tügel told
newspaper Aftonbladet. He is one of several imams the Swedish government has
detained prior to deportation. Despite criminal charges not proceeding,
investigators alleged that he had contact with most of the people in Örebro who
had joined ISIS. Terrorist researcher Magnus Ranstorp told Swedish newspaper
Doku that Mr Ahmed was a key recruiter. “He has been important when it comes to
recruitment in Örebro but he has also worked in other cities such as
Gothenburg, Stockholm and Eskilstuna,” he said.”

 

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