“The next leader of Islamic State is likely to be from a close circle of
battle-hardened Iraqi jihadists who emerged in the aftermath of the 2003 U.S.

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


February 9, 2022

 

Reuters: Islamic State Likely To Pick Battle-Hardened Iraqi As Next Leader -
Officials, Analysts
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“The next leader of Islamic State is likely to be from a close circle of
battle-hardened Iraqi jihadists who emerged in the aftermath of the 2003 U.S.
invasion, two Iraqi security officials and three independent analysts said. The
group of potential successors to Abu Ibrahim al-Quraishi, who blew himself up
during a U.S. operation to capture him in Syria last week, includes one
commander whom Washington and Baghdad declared killed last year, the Iraqi
officials said. The death of Quraishi, 45, was another crushing blow to IS two
years after the violent Sunni Muslim group lost longtime leader Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi in a similar raid in 2019. Quraishi, an Iraqi, never publicly
addressed his fighters or followers, avoided electronic communications and
oversaw a move to fighting in small devolved units in response to intense
pressure from Iraqi and U.S.-led forces. But those following Islamic State
closely expect it to name a successor in coming weeks, as the group which
imposed brutal rule over vast swathes of Iraq and Syria from 2014 to 2017
continues a stubborn and deadly insurgency in the Middle East.”

 

Associated Press: Grenade Attack At Bus Station In Pakistan Kills 1, Wounds 2
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“Assailants threw a hand grenade at a bus station in volatile southwest
Pakistan on Tuesday, killing a passerby and wounding two others, police said,
in a sign of increasing violence in the region. The attack happened in Dera
Murad Jamali, a town in Baluchistan province, said Aziz Baloch, an area police
official. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. It came hours after
Prime Minister Imran Khan visited another region in the province to assure his
support for troops who came under attack in the Naushki and Panjgur districts
last Wednesday. Nine soldiers and 20 assailants were killed in those twin
attacks and subsequent clearing operations. The Baluchistan Liberation Army, a
group designated terrorist by the U.S. in 2019, claimed responsibility.
Baluchistan has witnessed a low-level insurgency by small groups who demand
independence from the central government in Islamabad. Although authorities say
they have quelled the insurgency, violence in province has persisted.”

 

United States

 

Business Insider: Leaked Chats Show Current Troops And Veterans Joined A White
Supremacist Group, Offering 'Martial Arts' And Ability To 'Clear Rooms'
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“The records were posted online by Unicorn Riot, a media collective known for
reporting on extremist groups. Applicants with military backgrounds said they
could offer skills like “Marine martial arts” and the ability to “clear rooms.”
Leaked chat records and membership applications show roughly one in five people
who applied to join the white supremacist group Patriot Front claimed to have
current or former ties to the US military, according to documents published by
Unicorn Riot and analyzed by the Southern Poverty Law Center. SPLC, a civil
rights nonprofit that tracks hate groups, found that 18 of the 87 people who
applied said they were either in the military or veterans, with a number
highlighting skills picked up through the military. Applicants reportedly
included a 21-year-old man claiming to be a former Marine and a current
employee of the Department of Homeland Security, a man claiming to be a current
Army reservist, and a veteran who said that he became a national socialist
after listening to Alex Jones' 9/11 conspiracy theories. In January, activists
from Unicorn Riot, a left-leaning media collective known for reporting on
extremist groups, published more than 55,000 messages and files from the
Patriot Front group.”

 

Iraq

 

Al Monitor: Iraq Keeps Wary Eye On Prison Security After Islamic State
Jailbreak In Syria
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“Iraq has stepped up monitoring of several of its prisons after hundreds of
alleged Islamic State (IS) fighters escaped detention facilities in
northeastern Syria in an attack on Jan. 20. The spokesman for the Iraqi
commander-in-chief stated on Jan. 30 that units from the country’s
Counterterrorism Services (CTS) had between Jan. 22 and Jan. 30 engaged in a
“major campaign to inspect” prisons in several Iraq provinces. The prisons, he
said, included ones in the cities of Baghdad, Nasiriyah, Basra, and Taji, as
well as ones in the Babil and Nineveh provinces. Iraq holds tens of thousands
of prisoners either convicted or accused of involvement in IS. It has been
repeatedly been criticized for extreme overcrowding and poor conditions in many
of its detention facilities. A few hours after the attack on the prison in
northeastern Syria — which continued for about ten days and left hundreds dead
and hundreds missing — an IS attack north of Baghdad in the Diyala province
overran an outpost and killed the entire garrison: ten soldiers and an officer.
The top leader of the international terrorist organization has always been an
Iraqi national, including Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi, who reportedly
blew himself up early Feb. 3 during a US Special Forces raid on his hideout in
northwestern Syria. His successor has not yet been named.”

 

Afghanistan

 

The Guardian: Two Suspected British Islamic State Recruits Seized By Taliban
At Border
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“Two suspected Islamic State recruits, one of them carrying a British
passport, were seized by the Taliban when they tried to slip into Afghanistan
last autumn through its northern border, the Guardian can reveal. The men, who
were carrying more than £10,000 in cash, military fatigues and night-vision
goggles in their bags, were arrested after a tipoff from Uzbekistan, according
to a Taliban source with knowledge of the operation. “There was one passport
from England and one from another country in Europe,” said the source. He
discussed the men’s capture at the border crossing of Hairatan on condition of
anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to journalists. An Uzbek source
said both men were using British passports when they flew into the Uzbek
capital, Tashkent – it is not clear whether one also had a European passport
that he used at the Afghan border, or whether the Taliban source was confused –
and both had Afghan heritage. Their interception was a stark reminder that
while the west was able to end its war in Afghanistan by withdrawing troops,
there is no such simple resolution to the security threat posed by
international terror groups that shelter inside its borders. Hundreds of
Britons went to live under Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, but this is the
first time UK citizens have been intercepted allegedly trying to join the group
in Afghanistan, and the first reported case of attempted international
recruitment to IS since the Taliban took power in the country.”

 

The National: US Centcom Nominee Urges 'Pragmatic' Co-Operation With Taliban
In Anti-ISIS Fight
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“President Joe Biden’s nominee to oversee US forces in the Middle East and
Central Asia is floating the possibility of co-operating with the Taliban in
certain instances to take out ISIS targets in Afghanistan. Lt Gen Erik Kurilla
— who is the Biden administration's pick to head US Central Command, or Centcom
— raised the idea during his nomination hearing before the Senate on Tuesday.
“In my personal opinion, there are pragmatic instances where we could come
together going after [ISIS-Khorasan] based on the threat to the homeland,” Lt
Gen Kurilla said in response to a question from Angus King, an independent
senator who votes with the Democrats. ISIS-K has stepped up attacks against
Taliban targets in the months following the US withdrawal. Lt Gen Kurilla
assessed that “over-the-horizon” counter-terrorism operations — strikes
launched from another country or an aircraft carrier — in Afghanistan against
ISIS and Al Qaeda targets are “difficult, but not impossible” after the US
drawdown. Mr King noted that the US has not conducted a single strike in
Afghanistan since the full US military withdrawal in August. The Biden
administration has repeatedly assured Congress it will retain strike
capabilities against ISIS and Al Qaeda targets using US assets based in the
Gulf.”

 

Yemen

 

AFP: Dozens Killed As Fighting Rages Around Yemen City
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“Dozens of Yemeni pro-government fighters have been killed in a new offensive
to take a rebel-held city, loyalist sources said on Tuesday, following a surge
in violence including missile attacks on the United Arab Emirates. Thirty-two
soldiers have died and at least 100 have been wounded in three days of fighting
to drive the Iran-backed rebels from Haradh, north of the capital Sanaa and
near the Saudi border, the sources said. Yemen has been embroiled in a civil
war between the government -- supported by a Saudi-led military coalition --
and the Iran-backed Huthis, who control much of the north, since 2014. The
latest clashes come after the Huthi rebels, after suffering territorial defeats
to UAE-trained troops, killed three oil workers in a series of drone and
missile attacks on Abu Dhabi. Fighting was still raging around Haradh on
Tuesday, the pro-government sources said, adding that the loyalists have
besieged the area but are yet to seize the city.”

 

The National: US Plans To Target Houthi Launchers Before Attempted Strikes On
UAE
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“The US military commander in the Middle East is planning to target Houthi
missiles and drones on the ground before they are fired towards the UAE. Lt Gen
Kenneth McKenzie said the plan is part of a range of measures designed to
protect the Emirates from the rebel group in Yemen. Speaking in Abu Dhabi on
Tuesday, the head of US Central Command (Centcom) said a squadron of F-22
Raptor fighter jets will arrive in the next week. “We're going to bring in a
squadron of F-22 fighter jets, the best air superiority fighters in the world,”
he told UAE state news agency Wam. “They will also work with their UAE partners
to help defend the nation. We think this is just one friend helping another in
a time of crisis.” Lt Gen McKenzie said the UAE's Terminal High Altitude Area
Defence system (Thaad) had successfully intercepted two attempted strikes, and
that the US is working to strengthen Emirati defences further. “I know that it
sends a strong message of reassurance to everyone in UAE. We will continue to
work with UAE to make that system even better in the future,” he said. Lt Gen
McKenzie met Lt Gen Hamad Al Rumaithi, Chief of Staff of the UAE Armed Forces,
on Tuesday. Last week, the Pentagon said it would send fighter jets and a
guided missile warship after the recent attacks on the Emirates by the Houthi
rebels in Yemen.”

 

Saudi Arabia

 

Asharq Al-Awsat: Saudi Govt Reiterates Kingdom's Firm Commitment To Combating
Terrorism
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“The Saudi government reiterated on Tuesday the Kingdom's firm commitment to
combating terrorism. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin
Abdulaziz chaired the cabinet meeting that was held in person in Riyadh. The
government highlighted the Kingdom's speech before the annual briefing of
ambassadors of member states of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office and
during which it stressed its commitment to working with the agency in fighting
terror. The ministers were briefed on the various talks and meetings Saudi
officials held with their counterparts from around the world in the past week.
Acting Media Minister Dr. Majed al-Qasabi said the cabinet reviewed various
developments and international efforts exerted towards them for the sake of
preserving regional security and peace. It highlighted the inaugural LEAP 2022
conference that was held in Riyadh last week. It reviewed the various
initiatives and investments that were launched and that topped 6.4 billion
dollars in value. The conference is the embodiment of the Kingdom's constant
efforts to push forward the digital economy and bolster prosperity in the
Middle East and North Africa.”

 

Middle East

 

Associated Press: Israeli Forces Kill 3 Suspected Militants In West Bank City
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“Israel says security forces killed three Palestinian militants in the
occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday who had been responsible for
recent shooting attacks. The Shin Bet internal security agency initially said
they were killed in a “clash,” but police later acknowledged that while the men
had two assault rifles on them they did not fire them. “During the arrest, they
tried to open fire and were neutralized,” the police said. Thousands marched
through the street at their funeral, waving Palestinian and factional flags.
Some fired guns into the air. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed group
loosely tied to President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party, said the three are
“heroic martyrs” and vowed revenge. In a statement, it identified them as
Ashraf al-Mubaslat, Adham Mabrouk and Mohammed al-Dakhil, without giving their
ages. Photos of the three men circulating online show them posing with assault
rifles. The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the occupied West
Bank, condemned the shooting of the three men and called for an international
investigation. Palestinians and rights groups often accuse Israel of using
excessive force and of killing attackers who could have been safely detained.
Israel says its forces strive to avoid unnecessary casualties but must make
split-second decisions in dangerous situations.”

 

United Kingdom

 

The Irish Times: Lisa Smith Watched ‘Barbaric’ Isis Drowning Video Before
Going To Syria
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“Former soldier Lisa Smith watched a video of men being drowned in a cage by
the Islamic State (Isis) and posted a message to a WhatsApp group saying: “Now
I understand why they were drowned. I didn’t know the other half of the story,”
the Special Criminal Court has heard. Ms Smith said during garda interviews
that she meant she understood why the men were drowned but not that she agreed
with it. She described the killings as “barbaric” and said the video made her
feel “disgusted”. The 39-year-old from Dundalk, Co Louth has pleaded not guilty
to membership of an unlawful terrorist group, Isis, between October 28th, 2015
and December 1st, 2019. She has also pleaded not guilty to financing terrorism
by sending €800, via a Western Union transfer, to a named man on May 6th, 2015.
Det Sgt Carrie O’Connor told prosecution counsel Seán Gillane SC that she
interviewed Ms Smith at Kevin Street station on December 3rd, 2019. Ms Smith
had been arrested on suspicion of Isis membership two days earlier at Dublin
Airport after flying to Ireland from Syria, where she had travelled to join the
Muslim caliphate about four years earlier. Det Sgt O’Connor agreed that gardaí
put to Ms Smith a series of exchanges from June 24th, 2015 between the accused
and others on a WhatsApp group.”

 

Europe

 

Politico: Belgian Anti-Terror Police Make 13 Arrests In Antwerp
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“Belgian police arrested 13 suspected members of an Islamist terror group in
an operation in Antwerp on Tuesday. The suspects were detained for spreading
jihadist propaganda on social media, though police said it was unclear whether
they had made concrete plans to launch an attack. Around 100 police officers
were deployed at 13 different addresses during the raid. “These are people who
are suspected of belonging to a Salafist movement. And so, in effect, this is
an open case for terrorism,” a spokesperson for Belgium’s federal public
prosecutor said. The investigation has been ongoing for “several months,” the
spokesperson added. The 13 will appear before a judge in Antwerp within 48
hours, when a decision will be made on whether to proceed with the charges. “We
do not place people under arrest without reason. If they are placed under
arrest, it is because there are already elements in the file that deserve to be
verified or further investigated,” the spokesperson said.”

 

Australia

 

Daily Mail: Far-Right Extremism Inquiry Is Launched In Victoria Amid Fears
White Supremacist Groups Are Capitalising On The Pandemic To Grow And Mobilise
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“The threat of far-right extremism in Victoria will be examined by a
parliamentary inquiry. The Greens motion was introduced at the end of last year
and on Wednesday the Legal and Social Issues Committee formally approved the
inquiry to go ahead. The inquiry will report by May 31 and its terms of
reference include exploring the rise of far-right extremist movements in
Victoria, their methods of recruitment and communication, how the pandemic has
affected the growth of far-right extremism and the risks posed to Victorians.
The links between far-right extremist groups, other forms of extremism, radical
populist right and anti-vaccine misinformation groups will also be examined,
along with steps needed to counter such groups. Victorian Greens leader
Samantha Ratnam said her party has been worried about the rise of far-right
extremist groups for years and that she herself has been a victim of their
harassment and abuse. 'At the beginning of last year, we saw white supremacists
openly gathering in regional Victoria,' she said in a statement. 'Throughout
the pandemic, we've seen these groups play into the genuine fears and anxieties
of Victorians in an attempt to mobilise and grow their movement.”

 

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