“President Biden said on Thursday that the leader of the Islamic State died
during a raid by U.S. Special Operations commandos in a risky pre-dawn att

 

 


<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
Eye on Extremism


February 3, 2022

 

The New York Times: U.S. Announces Death Of ISIS Leader In Raid
<[link removed]>

 

“President Biden said on Thursday that the leader of the Islamic State died
during a raid by U.S. Special Operations commandos in a risky pre-dawn attack
in northwest Syria. Rescue workers said women and children were among at least
13 people killed during the raid. Mr. Biden said in a statement that the
terrorist leader, identified by ISIS as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, was
killed. A senior administration official said Mr. al-Qurayshi died at the
beginning of the operation when he exploded a bomb that killed him and members
of his own family, including women and children. “Thanks to the skill and
bravery of our armed forces, we have taken off the battlefield Abu Ibrahim
al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi — the leader of ISIS,” Mr. Biden said in a statement.
“All Americans have returned safely from the operation.” The helicopter-borne
assault carried out by about two dozen American commandos, backed by helicopter
gunships, armed Reaper drones and attack jets, resembled the raid in October
2019 in which Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the previous leader of the Islamic State,
died when he detonated a suicide vest as U.S. forces raided a hide-out not far
from where Thursday’s operation took place.”

 

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. To Send Jet Fighters, Warship To U.A.E. After
Houthi Attacks
<[link removed]>

 

“The U.S. is sending advanced jet fighters and a guided-missile destroyer to
the United Arab Emirates to help it counter an escalating threat from Yemen’s
Houthi rebels after the Iran-backed group launched a series of missiles and
drones at the Persian Gulf nation. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Abu
Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the de facto ruler of the Gulf
nation, that the U.S. is beefing up its military support “as a clear signal
that the U.S. stands with the U.A.E. as a longstanding strategic partner.”
Along with the jet fighters, the Pentagon said Tuesday it was sending the
warship USS Cole to work with the U.A.E. navy. The U.S. is also providing the
U.A.E. with early-warning intelligence to identify Houthi launch sites and
operating Patriot missile defense systems that have been used to protect Abu
Dhabi during recent attacks. The U.S. military moves come as Houthi forces are
vowing to continue their attacks on the U.A.E., which is part of a Saudi-led
military coalition that has tried for seven years to dislodge the Iran-backed
fighters from power in Yemen. The Houthis control a large part of the country’s
north, including the nation’s capital. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
assured the U.A.E of American support.”

 

United States

 

The New York Times: Six Juveniles Are Persons Of Interest In Threats To
Historically Black Colleges
<[link removed]>

 

“The F.B.I. has identified six juveniles as persons of interest in a series of
bomb threats that targeted historically Black colleges and universities, a law
enforcement official said on Wednesday. The bureau said it was investigating
the threats as racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism and hate
crimes. The bureau made the announcement during a week in which at least 17
historically Black colleges and universities received bomb threats, prompting
administrators to temporarily cancel in-person classes and lock down buildings.
The F.B.I. said its joint terrorism task forces were leading the investigation,
which was “of the highest priority” and involved more than 20 field offices
across the country. “Although at this time no explosive devices have been found
at any of the locations, the F.B.I. takes all threats with the utmost
seriousness and we are committed to thoroughly and aggressively investigating
these threats,” the F.B.I. said in a statement. Students said they felt
fearful, angry and mentally taxed by the threats. “A lot of us feel like this
is political,” said Joyce Dihi, 19, a freshman at Spelman College in Atlanta,
which received a threat on Tuesday, the first day of Black History Month.
“There are people out there who don’t like that H.B.C.U.s support the
excellence of Black people,” Ms. Dihi said.”

 

USA Today: Allison Fluke-Ekren Is A Rarity To Experts: A Woman Alleged To Have
A Senior Role In ISIS
<[link removed]>

 

“Three weeks ago, an imprisoned woman known as “Lady al-Qaida” inspired a
hostage-taking at a Texas synagogue. This week, an American woman appeared in
court on charges she trained other women in the Islamic State and plotted bomb
attacks. International terrorism charges against women are extremely rare,
according to experts, because men tend to dominate the misogynistic groups such
as al-Qaida, the lslamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS, and related groups
in Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world. But a dozen cases over
the last decade of U.S. citizens or permanent residents revealed women shedding
traditional caretaker roles to recruit fellow warriors, train others to use
rifles and explosives, and even kill. Veteran counter-terrorism officials say
that while the latest case against Allison Fluke-Ekren, a former teacher from
Kansas, is unusual in terms of the senior operational rank she allegedly
achieved in ISIS, women have played important roles in the international
Islamic jihad movement. “I think it's startling to the American people because
they're like, 'Wait, women do this too?' But they've been doing it all along,”
Tracy Walder, a former CIA counter-terrorism officer who served extensively in
the Middle East, told USA TODAY.”

 

U.S. Department Of Justice: Man Who Attempted To Provide Material Support To
ISIS Sentenced To 16 Years In Federal Prison
<[link removed]>

 

“A federal district judge in Miami has sentenced Jonathan Guerra Blanco, a/k/a
“Abu Zahra Al-Andalusi,” a Cuban-born naturalized United States citizen, to 16
years’ imprisonment and a lifetime of supervised release for attempting to
provide material support to a designated terrorist organization. In 2019, law
enforcement officers learned that Guerra Blanco was following widely
distributed instructions from ISIS directing adherents to -- on their own --
publish ISIS propaganda, fundraising requests, recruitment material,
justification for attacks on the United States, and all manner of material
helpful to ISIS. Guerra Blanco attempted to provide material support to ISIS by
translating the group’s materials into Spanish for his target audience. In
addition, Guerra Blanco produced videos that he intended to use to recruit
Spanish speakers to ISIS’s cause, as well as to terrorize regular citizens of
Spain. Many of the videos that Guerra Blanco produced and distributed from his
two ISIS media networks glorified the terrorist group’s violence and called for
attacks on Spanish authorities. On December 22, 2020, Guerra Blanco pled guilty
to a one-count information charging him with attempting to provide material
support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, ISIS, in
violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339B.  U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola, Jr.
imposed Guerra Blanco’s sentence.”

 

Syria

 

Reuters: Islamic State Hits Back, Aided By Power Vacuum In Iraq And Syria
<[link removed]>

 

“Yousif Ibrahim no longer travels by night along the roads around his hometown
of Jalawla in northeastern Iraq. He fears getting caught up in attacks by
Islamic State. “The police and army don't come into our area much anymore. If
they do, they get shot at by militants,” said the 25-year-old, who sells fish
for a living in a nearby market. Nearly three years after the group lost its
final enclave, Islamic State fighters are re-emerging as a deadly threat, aided
by the lack of central control in many areas, according to a dozen security
officials, local leaders and residents in northern Iraq. Islamic State is far
from the formidable force it once was, but militant cells often operating
independently have survived across a swathe of northern Iraq and northeastern
Syria, and in recent months they have launched increasingly brazen attacks.
“Daesh (Islamic State) isn't as powerful as it was in 2014,” said Jabar Yawar,
a senior official in the Peshmerga forces of Iraq's northern autonomous
Kurdistan region. “Its resources are limited and there's no strong joint
leadership,” he told Reuters in the city of Sulaimaniya. “But as long as
political disputes aren't solved, Daesh will come back.” Some fear that could
be starting to happen.”

 

Reuters: U.S.-Led Raid In Syria Targets Jihadist, Many Civilian
Casualties-Residents
<[link removed]>

 

“A U.S.-led coalition raid on Thursday targeted a suspected al
Qaeda-affiliated jihadist in the northern Syrian town of Atmeh, resulting in
several civilian casualties, said residents and sources with the rebels
fighting against the Syrian government. One resident said at least 12 people
were killed in the raid that took place around midnight in a densely populated
area near the border with Turkey, where tens of thousands of displaced Syrians
live in makeshift camps or overcrowded housing. There was no immediate reports
of any jihadist being killed, but residents said they heard heavy gunfire
during the operation, indicating resistance to the raid. The U.S. State
Department and the spokesperson for the coalition forces in northern Syria did
not respond to requests for comment. Charles Lister, senior fellow with the
Washington-based Middle East Institute, said he had spoken to residents who
said the operation lasted more than two hours. “Clearly they wanted whoever it
was alive,” Lister said. “This looks like the biggest of this type of
operation” since the Baghdadi raid, he said. Islamic State leader Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi died in a U.S. special operations raid in northwest Syria in 2019.”

 

Yemen

 

Arab News: UAE Diplomats Call On US To Re-Classify Houthis As Terrorist
Organization <[link removed]>

 

“UAE diplomats have urged Washington to re-designate Yemen’s Houthi militia as
a terrorist organization, news channel Al-Arabiya reported, citing an opinion
piece published in the Wall Street Journal. US Yousef al-Otaiba and UAE
permanent representative to the UN Lana Zaki Nusseibeh wrote that the
re-designation “would help choke off [the Houthis’] financial and arms supplies
without restricting humanitarian relief for the Yemeni people.” President Joe
Biden’s administration revoked the Houthis ‘terrorist’ classification, which
was introduced by former President Donald Trump last February. The UAE
diplomats also called on the US to provide the UAE with better anti-missile and
anti-drone equipment in order for the country to continue defending itself
against the Houthis. “Better anti-missile and anti-drone capabilities are...
needed. The US Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems
prevented an even greater loss of life in the January strikes,” Al-Otaiba and
Nusseibeh wrote. This comes after Abu Dhabi was attacked three times in January
by the Houthis, who targeted civilian sites using ballistic missiles and
explosive drones, which led to the death of three residents.”

 

Fox News: Iranian Dissidents Warn Regime Is Creating Proxy Terrorist Naval
Units To Back Houthis In Yemen
<[link removed]>

 

“Iranian dissidents are warning that the brutal regime in Tehran is creating a
proxy naval force in the region with which it intends to attack ships and help
the embattled Houthi forces in Yemen. The National Council of Resistance of
Iran, the umbrella group for those opposed to the regime, issued a report on
Wednesday that claims that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) Quds
Force has been recruiting mercenaries for “newly created, armed and trained
terrorist units to attack ships and maritime targets in the region.” The report
claims that after the U.S. strike that took out Quds leader Qassem Soleimani in
2020, Iran’s ability to affect nearby countries including Iraq, Lebanon and
Syria was damaged. “To compensate for this failure, the IRGC has turned to
intervention in Yemen, especially escalating naval terrorist activities and
threatening the international shipping on its shores,” the report says. The
NCRI report alleges that the Quds forces in Yemen recruit Iran-backed Houthi
forces -- who are engaged in a brutal and yearslong civil war with the
Saudi-backed government -- and sends them to Iran for training. The regime then
trains mercenaries from Africa, Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon both at home and
at nearby Persian Gulf islands, before they are dispatched to their home
countries to form naval proxy units.”

 

Middle East

 

ABC News: UAE Says 'Hostile' Drones Intercepted In 4th Such Attack
<[link removed]>

 

“The United Arab Emirates intercepted several drones fired at the country
Wednesday, the UAE military said, the fourth such attack on the federation in
recent weeks. A little-known group that previously claimed a January 2021
attack targeting a palace in Saudi Arabia said it was responsible, an assault
authorities that believe came from Iraq. That raises the possibility the
Emirates now is being targeted from its north and south after three recent
attacks launched by Iran-backed rebel Houthis. The Houthis have claimed
responsibility for several drone and missile attacks on the UAE that have
widened Yemen’s 7-year-old civil war and fueled regional tensions. In a short
statement just before midnight Wednesday on Twitter, the Emirati Defense
Ministry said it had destroyed three “hostile drones” that targeted the UAE at
dawn. It said the interception occurred “away from populated areas,” without
elaborating. The acknowledgement came several hours after an online account
associated with Awliya Wa’ad al-Haq, or “The True Promise Brigades,” claimed it
launched “four drones targeting vital facilities in Abu Dhabi.” The group
claimed it launched the attack over the Emirates' policies in both Iraq and
Yemen.”

 

Africa

 

The New York Times: At Least 60 Dead In Attack On Camp For Displaced People In
Congo
<[link removed]>

 

“The families had fled their homes and farms to escape attacks by marauding
militants, taking refuge in a makeshift camp for displaced people in eastern
Democratic Republic of Congo. But a militia found them anyway as they slept in
the white tents of the Plaine Savo camp in Ituri province on Tuesday night,
shooting and hacking to death at least 60 people — many of them women and
children. The heinous act of violence shook Africa’s second-largest nation,
where a surge of attacks has left communities displaced, devastated and in dire
need of humanitarian assistance. The assault was one of the biggest in almost a
year to hit the country’s restive eastern region, which is beset by poor
governance, weak security and rampant corruption. More than 120 armed groups
operate in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri, according
to the Kivu Security Tracker, which records violence and human rights
violations in eastern Congo. Ndalo Budz, who works for Caritas Congo and
manages the camp that was attacked on Tuesday night said that besides those
killed, more than 50 people were injured, some severely. The fatalities
included at least 16 children and nine women, according to Pierre Boisselet,
the coordinator of the Kivu Security Tracker.”

 

All Africa: Mozambique: Government Seeks Review Of Terrorism Laws
<[link removed]>

 

“Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Tuesday said that the government will
deliver, later this year, a package of proposals to the country's parliament,
the Assembly of the Republic (AR), seeking a review of the structural laws
against terrorism and related crimes dealing with violent extremism. Addressing
the opening ceremony of the 2022 Judicial Year in Maputo, Nyusi declared that
the move is intended to ensure an effective response to the growing challenges
and threats. Since the first attacks by islamist terrorists in October 2017, in
the northern province of Cabo Delgado, the jihadists have murdered over 2,000
people. More than 800,000 people have been driven from their homes by the
conflict. “Over the last few years, important legal instruments have been
passed to strengthen the fight against terrorism and related crimes, and the
country enjoys the advantage of having a framework aligned with the core
instruments of international law,” Nyusi said. Mozambique, Nyusi added, is also
adopting a package of urgent and all-inclusive measures which will dissuade
criminal and terrorists groups operating in the north, from luring youngsters
into the illegal mining of mineral resources, and looting communities'
livelihoods, forcing them into poverty.”

 

United Kingdom

 

Daily Mail: British ISIS Beatles 'Turn Supergrass And Reveal Masterminds
Behind European Terror Attacks' Ahead Of US Trial
<[link removed]>

 

“Two of the British ISIS 'Beatles' reportedly turned supergrass and revealed
the masterminds behind European terror attacks while awaiting trial in the
United States. Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh are said to have given up
the information to US secret service interrogators after their 2018 capture in
Syria. They also revealed details of who ordered the kidnap and torture of
Western hostages, according to French publication Mediapart. According to both
men, Abu Lôqman - the head of Islamic State's secret service - was in charge of
the capture, imprisonment and torture of hostages. According to the French
report, Kotey and Elsheikh confirmed the real identity of Abu Ahmed al-Iraqi as
Oussama Atar (left), who is currently on trial in France in-absentia and
believed to have masterminded terrorist attacks in Brussels and Paris. They
also said that Abu Lôqman (right) - the head of Islamic State's secret service
- was in charge of the capture, imprisonment and torture of hostages  The pair
of British ISIS fighters both reported to third 'Beatle' Mohammed Emwazi, aka
Jihadi John, who himself reported to emir Abu Ahmed al-Iraqi. According to the
French report, Kotey (aka Ringo) and Elsheikh (aka George) also confirmed the
real identity of Abu Ahmed al-Iraqi as Oussama Atar.”

 

The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If
you value what we do, please consider making a donation.
DONATE NOW
<[link removed]>


Click here to unsubscribe.
<[link removed]>