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Eye on Extremism
February 3, 2022
The New York Times: U.S. Announces Death Of ISIS Leader In Raid
“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
“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
“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
“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.”
“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
“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
“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
“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.”
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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.”
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