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Eye on Extremism
February 14, 2022
The New York Times: Taliban Free 2 Westerners Working For U.N., Days After Quiet Detention
“The Taliban on Friday released two Western citizens and two Afghan colleagues who had been working for the United Nations in Afghanistan, hours after the U.N. had announced that they had been held by the Taliban for several days in Afghanistan. The team members, including Andrew North, a British citizen and former BBC reporter, were on assignment with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and were detained in Kabul in recent days. “We are doing our utmost to resolve the situation,” the U.N.’s initial statement said. The statement was quickly picked up by international media, and the Taliban did not initially respond to requests for comment. But hours later, the government’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said that the Westerners had been released, without mentioning the two Afghans. “Those foreigners who were said to be related to an international entity were arrested because they did not have the correct identification and permits,” he said. “They are in good health, and after their identities were verified they were released.” People close to Mr. North confirmed that they had been in touch with him after his release. Late in the evening Friday, the U.N. Human Rights Commissioner’s office in Geneva confirmed the release of both Westerners and their Afghan colleagues.”
“Expanded missile attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels have fueled support among some U.S. and Middle Eastern officials for placing them back on a U.S. terrorist blacklist, a year after the Biden administration ended that designation on humanitarian grounds. The possible naming of the Iranian-backed rebels as a proscribed “foreign terrorist” organization, which would criminalize dealings with the group, is being raised following attacks on Yemen’s Gulf neighbors, including on a base housing U.S. troops in the United Arab Emirates. But such a step, if approved, would constitute a highly unusual reversal of an earlier decision to end a Trump-era terrorist designation that Biden administration officials said would worsen already-dire conditions for Yemeni civilians. Humanitarian groups are warning that a renewed designation could have the same punishing effect as it would hamper getting aid into the country. Peter Salisbury, a senior analyst for Yemen at the International Crisis Group, said there was no evidence that the designation would impact the ability of the Houthis, who have been locked in a war with a Saudi-led coalition since 2015 and now control much of Yemen, to conduct the drone and missile attacks that have made them a regional threat. “We’ve fallen back into the problem that, in absence of good options, they’ve started looking at bad options, largely to be seen as looking tough to their regional allies and some political constituencies in Washington,” he said.”
United States
Reuters: Suspect In Deadly Wisconsin Parade Attack Pleads Not Guilty
“A man accused of driving his vehicle into a traditional Christmas parade near Milwaukee late last year, killing six people and injuring dozens others, pleaded not guilty on Friday to multiple criminal charges. Darrell Brooks, 39, entered the pleas to 77 charges, including six counts of homicide and several counts of reckless endangerment, in a court appearance. “Not guilty plea entered. Bail remains as fixed”, court records showed after Friday's proceedings. Brooks will remain jailed on a $5 million bail and a hearing is scheduled for March 11, according to the website of a Wisconsin Circuit Court. Brooks, a Milwaukee resident, was arrested near the scene of the carnage in November. Authorities said Brooks deliberately drove an SUV through police barricades and into the annual parade in the city of Waukesha, about 20 miles (32 km) west of Milwaukee. The victims killed ranged in age from 8 to 81, and included some members of the “Milwaukee Dancing Grannies” parade group. In addition to those killed, more than 60 people were injured. Video of the incident showed a red SUV racing alongside the parade route and then into the procession, appearing to run over many people before bystanders raced from sidewalks to help. At the time of the incident, Brooks was out on bail from a domestic abuse case and was suspected in another violent altercation.”
Syria
Associated Press: US-Allied Syria Kurdish Commander Warns Of Growing ISIS Threat
“The Islamic State group is a growing threat in northeastern Syria despite the killing of its leader in a U.S. commando operation last week, says the chief commander of the U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish-led force. Mazloum Abdi, who heads the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, warned that IS fighters are still very much present in the wake of a deadly attack by the militants on a Syrian prison last month. That attack killed 121 fighters from the Syrian Kurdish-led force, he added. “We are surrounded by the Islamic State,” Abdi said in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press on Thursday night. “We have said this many times. If we don’t strive to fight IS now, they will spread again.” A tenuous calm has prevailed in the region since IS's spectacular Jan. 20 attack on Gweiran Prison, or al-Sinaa — a Kurdish-run facility in Syria's northeast where over 3,000 IS militants and young boys, mainly sons of IS fighters, were held. The attack on the prison led to 10 days of fighting between U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters and IS militants that left nearly 500 dead on both sides until the SDF brought the situation under control eventually. Abdi said immediate security measures were taken to contain IS sleeper cells after the assault: faulty detention centers prone to similar attacks have been emptied, security sweeps are ongoing and curfews limit night-time movements. But, the threat remains, he warned.”
Iraq
Al Monitor: Islamic State Kills Iraqi Forces In Sparsely Populated Anbar Desert
“The deaths of several soldiers in the western Anbar desert and attacks further south in the same province have drawn attention to the vast expanses that were long a hideout for insurgents. Although the danger had diminished in recent years, a Feb. 8 explosion reportedly killed at least three soldiers and one civilian, as well as injuring others and destroying the military vehicle in the desert near Rawa. Several attacks have meanwhile recently been carried out near Rutba in the southern part of the Anbar desert, not far from Iraq’s border with Jordan. Some claimed that the soldiers near Rawa had been escorting Kuwaiti or Qatari hunters and that the civilian killed had been the local guide. Questions to security officers had not been answered by the time of publication. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the incident. However, a security source claimed that the incident, 8 km from the town of Rawa, was due to explosives that had been planted during the Islamic State (IS) occupation of the area. The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stressed that “the area is safe”. But a security official from western Anbar instead claimed that “there are now close to a thousand” IS operating in the deserts of Anbar, Salah al-Din, and Nineveh, and that IS activities in the Anbar desert had been stepped up after a massive jailbreak in eastern Syria in recent weeks.”
Voice Of America: Enslaved By IS, Yazidi Woman Has Yet To Return Home
“The Islamic State (IS) group enslaved Roza Barakat when she was a young Yazidi girl. IS has been defeated, but she still feels like a prisoner. She was 11 years old when she was captured and enslaved. Thousands of Yazidi women and girls were taken when the militants overran northern Iraq in their cruel 2014 campaign. Barakat was taken from her family in the town of Sinjar, the home of the ancient, religious Yazidi minority, to Syria. She was sold and sexually attacked. She gave birth to a child, a boy she has since lost. Now, at 18, she speaks little of her native Kurdish language, Kurmanji. Eventually, her IS captors gave her a choice: Become a Muslim and marry an IS fighter or be sold again. She changed her religion, she says, to avoid being sold. She married a Lebanese man chosen for her. He supplied food and equipment for IS fighters. “He was better than most,” she said. At 13, she gave birth to a son, Hoodh. They lived for a while in Raqqa. As IS began losing control, Barakat fled with her husband. He later died in the fighting. Barakat is one of many Yazidi women who came of age under the cruel rule of IS. Troubled and lost, many struggle to move on from the past. Iraq's Yazidi community has forced women returning to Sinjar to give up their children as a condition to return. Many of the children have ended up in an orphanage in northeastern Syria.”
Turkey
i24 News: Report: At Least 12 Terrorist Plots Foiled Against Israelis In Turkey
“The past two years saw a number terrorist plots against Israelis linked to the Islamic State group. Israel's Mossad intelligence agency was involved in foiling 12 terrorist plots targeting Israelis in Turkey over the past two years, the Hebrew-language Channel 12 News reported on Saturday. According to the unsourced report, the majority of the plots were linked to the Islamic State jihadist group and targeted Israeli businesspeople on trips to Istanbul, Turkey's largest city. The report said that recent years saw Mossad’s ties with Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) grow in scope, in spite of the often strained diplomatic relations between Israeli leadership and Turkey's Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The report comes a day after the news of a thwarted Iranian plot to assassinate Israeli businessman Yair Geller in Turkey. According to the report, the plan represented attempted retaliation to the killing of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in 2020, often attributed to Israel, as well as an attempt to hinder potential normalization between Ankara and Jerusalem.”
Afghanistan
Associated Press: Afghan Taliban Say Explosion Near Mosque Kills 1, Wounds 7
“An explosion on the doorsteps of a mosque in northern Afghanistan killed one worshipper and wounded seven others on Friday, a Taliban official said. Baz Mohammad Sarwari of Badghis province said the cause of the explosion is unknown but investigations are ongoing. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion. The local Islamic State affiliate has in the past repeatedly claimed responsibility for similar attacks. Sarwari said the wounded were transferred to the provincial hospital while Taliban troops secured the area. The explosion went off while dozens of worshippers had gathered inside the mosque for Friday prayers.”
Yemen
Associated Press: Yemeni Officials Say Suspected Militants Abduct 5 UN Workers
“Suspected al-Qaida militants have abducted five U.N. workers in southern Yemen, Yemeni officials said on Saturday. The officials said the workers were abducted in the southern province of Abyan late Friday and taken to an unknown location. They include four Yemenis and a foreigner, they said. In response to a question about the abduction, United Nations U.N. Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said “we are aware of this case but for obvious reasons we are not commenting.” He did not elaborate. Tribal leaders said they were negotiating with the abductors to secure the workers’ release. They said the abductors demanded a ransom and the release of some militants imprisoned by the internationally recognized government. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media and the tribal leaders did so for fear of reprisals. The secessionist Southern Transitional Council, which controls much of Yemen’s south and is at odds with the Yemeni government, condemned the abductions as a “terrorist operation.” The Yemeni government confirmed that the workers with the U.N. Department of Security and Safety were abducted by unknown armed men, adding that it was working to secure their release. It didn’t provide further details. Abductions are frequent in Yemen, an impoverished nation where armed tribesmen and al-Qaida-linked militants take hostages to swap for prisoners or cash.”
Egypt
Asharq Al-Awsat: Egypt's Sisi, France's Macron Discuss Regional Issues, Fighting Terrorism
“Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on Friday to join efforts to help restore stability in Libya, fight terrorism and promote coordination to maintain security and stability in the Middle East, the Mediterranean basin and Africa. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the One Ocean Summit in the French city of Brest. A statement by the Egyptian presidency said the talks touched on strategic bilateral relations, especially at the economic, commercial, military and security levels. Macron said his country was proud of its strong and distinguished relations with Egypt, stressing “the commitment of the French administration to consolidate joint cooperation in various fields, and to support the tireless efforts of President Sisi to achieve comprehensive and sustainable development, and to combat terrorism and extremist ideology in the entire region.” Sisi pointed to “the special importance that Egypt attaches to strengthening cooperation with France, especially with regard to the transfer of French expertise and technology.” Egyptian presidential spokesman, Ambassador Bassam Rady said the meeting discussed regional issues of common interest, especially the latest developments in Libya, where Macron expressed his country’s appreciation for the Egyptian efforts to preserve Libya’s national institutions and promote a political settlement to the crisis.”
Africa
Al Jazeera: French Air Raids Kill 40 Fighters In Burkina Faso
“French forces have killed dozens of fighters in Burkina Faso linked to deadly attacks this week in neighbouring Benin whose victims included a Frenchman, the army said. The French-led Barkhane force in the Sahel region “engaged its air intelligence capacities to locate the armed group” responsible for the attacks, before carrying out air attacks that killed 40 fighters, the army’s general command said on Saturday. The Frenchman had been among nine people killed this week in two attacks on park rangers in the W National Park, a wildlife reserve in Benin’s remote north bordering troubled Niger and Burkina Faso. Two roadside bombs killed five park rangers, one park official, one soldier and a French trainer on Tuesday, according to a Beninese government toll. Two days later, another park official was killed in an explosion. France said on Thursday it had opened an investigation as a 50-year-old citizen was among those killed in a “terrorist attack” in the park. African Parks, the organisation running the reserve, said the Frenchman had been a “chief law enforcement instructor” there. Benin had long been one of the more stable countries in West Africa, where fighters from al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) threaten Sahel countries, but it has experienced several recent attacks. Criminal smuggling gangs also operate along its frontier. In January, two Beninese soldiers were killed when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive in the northern Atakora region.”
United Kingdom
“A terror suspect today denied travelling to Syria to join the IS fighters today. Shabbazz Suleman, 25, allegedly crossed into the war-torn country to join the militant terrorist group during a family holiday to Turkey in 2014. Upon returning to the UK on September 29, he was arrested at Heathrow Airport and charged under the Terrorism Act. Suleman, of High Wycombe, Bucks, faces charges of preparing for acts of terrorism, being a member of a proscribed organisation and receiving weapons training. He appeared at the Old Bailey via video link from Belmarsh prison dressed in a grey suit and yellow tie and denied all charges. Kathryn Selby, prosecuting, earlier said: ‘The prosecution’s case is that back in 2014 Mr Selby left the UK. 'He went on a family trip to Turkey which we say he crossed to travel to Syria in order to join what is know as the Islamic State.’ Judge Mark Lucraft said: ‘The trial is fixed on September 12 at this court before me. 'I have made various directions at this hearing which has been a preparatory hearing and the defendant has been arraigned.’ Suleman has been remanded in custody ahead of a further Old Bailey hearing on May 27.”
The Irish Times: FBI Believes It Is ‘Beyond Suspicion’ That Lisa Smith Joined Isis, Court Hears
“An FBI agent has told the Special Criminal Court that it was “beyond suspicion” that former Irish soldier Lisa Smith had joined the Islamic State (Isis) terrorist group when she was in Syria. Agent B, who cannot be identified because he is involved in counter terrorism operations around the world, told Ms Smith’s defence counsel Michael O’Higgins SC that he was in Syria in 2019 when she was being held in the Ain Issa camp.
When the witness said that Ms Smith had “joined Isis”, Mr O’Higgins put it to him that that was just his suspicion. The agent replied: “It was beyond suspicion at this point.” Ms Smith (39), 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. Five counter terrorism FBI agents gave evidence on Wednesday and Thursday this week during legal argument in the trial. Most of the evidence from the FBI agents was ruled inadmissible by the court. However, the agents were cross-examined about their knowledge of Ms Smith.”
BBC News: Widnes Man In Court Over Far-Right Extremist Material
“A man has appeared in court accused of having far-right extremist material. Mason Yates, of Elstree Court, Widnes, allegedly had a publication entitled 100 Deadly Skills and a copy of the White Resistance Manual between November 2020 and January 2021. The 19-year-old denies two counts of possessing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism. He was bailed at Manchester Crown Court, ahead of a trial on 25 April.”
“…Meanwhile Ian Acheson, a former prison governor and Senior Advisor to the Counter Extremism Project, added: 'I've resisted getting into personalities but what we need is someone with competence to make London safer, not a person that looks like a progressive identikit and spends his or her time servicing the ego of politicians.' Other candidates put forward to replace Dame Cressida include Merseyside cop Andy Cooke, who said violent criminals were 'not inherently bad people'. Simon Byrne, chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) since 2019 is in the running. But his time as chief constable of another force - Cheshire - ended in controversy after he was accused of bullying and humiliating staff. A misconduct hearing was told he had a reputation for being like Darth Vader and treated junior officers and staff like ‘roadkill’. While Martin Hewitt, head of the National Police Chiefs’ Council throughout the Covid crisis, could also get the job. His appearance at several Downing Street briefings during lockdowns means he is more recognisable than most other top cops. Here, MailOnline goes through the list of likely candidates to succeed Dame Cressida.”
Europe
Formiche: Denunciato Il Videogame Antisemita. Dossier A Governo E Senatrice Segre
“Dopo la denuncia presentata da alcuni avvocati, la questione del videogioco “I cavalieri di Al Aqsa”, realizzato da Nidal Nijm, un tecnico brasiliano figlio di un ex militante di Al Fatah espatriato in Sudamerica dopo la guerra in Libano del 1982, è arrivata in Parlamento. Andrea Giaccone, deputato della Lega, ha presentato un’interrogazione a risposta scritta al governo chiedendo “quali iniziative (…) intenda adottare, anche normative e con la massima urgenza, per arginare la distribuzione del videogioco, anche con riguardo ad una eventuale pianificazione di matrice ji[h]adista”. “Il gioco, nell’esaltare gli attacchi terroristici contro Israele, attraverso i violentissimi messaggi antisemiti che contiene, legittima e incoraggia l’odio tra popoli in base ad una visione politico-religiosa fanatica e intollerante”, si legge nell’interrogazione di Giaccone. Nei giorni scorsi le associazioni Italia-Israele di Asti, Reggio Calabria e Savona hanno presentato alla Procura della Repubblica di Asti una denuncia per terrorismo ed eversione dell’ordine democratico e istigazione a delinquere per motivi di discriminazione etnica e religiosa nei confronti degli ideatori, sviluppatori, produttori e distributori del videogioco, il cui obiettivo è l’uccisione del maggior numero possibile di agenti e soldati israeliani su un sottofondo di canti e inni tipici della jihad arabo-palestinese.”
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