Eye on Extremism

February 15, 2022

 

Reuters: Taliban Call On Biden To Reverse Move To Halve Frozen Afghan Funds

 

“The Taliban on Monday warned that it would reconsider its policy towards the United States if President Joe Biden did not reverse his “unjustified” decision to return only half of Afghanistan's $7 billion deposited on U.S. soil. The United States will free up half of the $7 billion in frozen Afghan central bank assets on U.S. soil to help Afghans struggling with a humanitarian crisis and hold the rest to possibly satisfy terrorism-related lawsuits against the Taliban. “If the United States does not deviate from its position and continues its provocative actions, the Islamic Emirate will also be forced to reconsider its policy towards the country,” said a statement from the Taliban released by its spokesman on Monday. “The Islamic Emirate strongly rejects Biden's unjustified actions as a violation of the rights of all Afghans,” it added. Biden's plan calls for half of the funds to remain in the United States subject to ongoing litigation by U.S. victims of terrorism, including relatives of those who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacking attacks. “The 9/11 attacks had nothing to do with Afghans,” the Taliban statement said. While none of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers were Afghan, the mastermind of the attacks, al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, was given refuge by the then Taliban government.”

 

Bloomberg: African Union Seeks Funding Overhaul To Tackle Terrorism, Coups

 

“The African Union is urging its international partners to overhaul the way they finance peace and security operations to help the continent counter the growing scourges of terrorism, extremism and coups more effectively. The AU needs “adequate, predictable and sustainable funding” to play a more proactive role in maintaining security, and wants access to the obligatory payments countries make to finance the United Nations budget and peacekeeping operations, said Bankole Adeoye, the continental body’s peace and security commissioner. “Peacekeeping is not what we need, it is peace enforcement,” Adeoye said in an interview ahead of a summit between European and African leaders in Brussels this week. Without a shift in how security operations are conducted, the world is signing up to “a lifetime of just protecting civilians and not addressing the solution,” he said. Islamist insurgencies have been gaining momentum in several African nations, with West Africa’s Sahel region particularly hard hit. The continent has also seen five coups and one failed putsch over the past 18 months, highlighting the extent of insecurity it confronts. African leaders plan to discuss the power grabs, as well as counter terrorism and violent extremism at a special summit that will likely be held in Accra, Ghana’s capital, in mid-March.”

 

United States

 

Reuters: U.S. Judges Faced Over 4,500 Threats In 2021 Amid Rising Extremism -Official

 

“U.S. federal judges were the target of more than 4,500 threats and other inappropriate communications last year, the head of the U.S. Marshals Service said on Monday, adding that his office is concerned about the rise of domestic extremism in America. “The increase in our judicial ... threat investigations and inappropriate comments have been going up quite frankly for a couple of years,” Ronald Davis, director of the U.S. Marshals Service, told journalists in a conference call. He said the threat risk is “growing exponentially.” Federal law enforcement officials have sounded alarm bells about a growing tide of threats posed by white supremacists and anti-government activists, many of whom have touted former Republican President Donald Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Earlier this year, Attorney General Merrick Garland launched a task force aimed at combating threats targeting state election workers and volunteers, an effort that so far has led to two criminal cases. Garland has also instructed the FBI to work with local officials to monitor an increase in threats to school boards, which have faced an onslaught of criticism over issues ranging from mask mandates to the teaching of critical race theory. The threats to judges were varied and in some cases came from disgruntled defendants, Davis said.”

 

Syria

 

The Intercept: “It’s Not Sustainable”: Isis Prison Battle Shows Dangers Of Indefinite Detention

 

“When dozens of Islamic State fighters attacked a prison in northeast Syria last month, setting off a 10-day battle that drew in U.S. forces and left hundreds of people dead, they reminded the world that, three years after U.S. officials declared victory over the group, it is in fact still active — and eager for a comeback. The attack also confirmed unheeded warnings by human rights and humanitarian groups operating in the region, as well as by the U.S.-allied, Kurdish-led autonomous authority in charge of governing former ISIS territory: that the indefinite detention in both prisons and makeshift camps of tens of thousands of people believed to have been affiliated with the Islamic State was a dangerous tinderbox. By the time the Syrian Democratic Forces, the armed wing of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, regained control of al-Sina’a prison, more than 500 people were dead, including more than 100 members of the SDF and prison staff. The fighting had spilled into nearby neighborhoods, sending thousands of residents fleeing and causing at least seven civilian casualties. Dozens of bodies had been dumped from a front-end loader onto the street, and then shoveled into a gravel truck and driven off, according to a report by journalists on the ground. Some of the suspected militants who had been held at the prison remained unaccounted for, with estimates ranging from 30 to more than 300.”

 

Pakistan

 

Gulf News: Pakistan PM Imran Khan: US War On Terror Bred More Terrorists

 

“Prime Minister Imran Khan said in an interview that the war on terror by the United States “actually bred terrorists” in different regions of the world, including Pakistan. The prime minister made the comments on Sunday during a CNN interview responding to a question on the surge in terrorism in the Middle East and Pakistan-Afghanistan region despite the withdrawal of US forces. The Pakistani prime minister cited the example of his own country, where he said 80,000 people lost their lives after Pakistan joined the US in the war on terror. “Well, the US war on terror actually bred terrorists and by joining the US war on terror, Pakistan lost 80,000 people. “And we saw the war, as it went along, it produced more terrorists. And I am convinced it is exactly the same what happened in Afghanistan because of these night raids in Afghanistan, the drone attacks,” PM Khan said, urging that the United States “must review” its policy of drone strikes. “We watched what happened here. They were telling people in the US that drones were very accurate and they actually got the terrorists,” he regretted. “Bombs exploding in villages, you know how, how would they only get terrorists?” Khan said he was afraid that the American people do not know about these drone strikes that caused a “lot of collateral damage.”

 

Yemen

 

Arab News: Al-Qaeda Terrorists Seek To Swap Abducted UN Workers For Prisoners In Aden

 

“The suspected Al-Qaeda terrorists holding five kidnapped UN workers are seeking to swap them for prisoners detained by the Yemeni government in Aden, according to a local security official. The abductions happened on Friday when the workers — four Yemenis and a foreigner — traveling in two armored vehicles and with a military escort were confronted by a group of armed men in the Moudia district of Abyan as they were heading back to Aden from a field visit. On Monday, a senior security official told Arab News that the militants had issued their demands for the release of the workers and that the governor of Abyan, Abu Baker Hussein Salem, had asked local tribal figures to talk to them. “These are mercenaries known to be affiliated with Al-Qaeda. Security services (in Abyan) killed one of their leaders six months ago,” the official said on condition of anonymity. “There are negotiations with the terrorists. We do not want to use force in order not to harm the hostages,” he said, but added that a military operation would be initiated if the captors refused to release the workers. Al-Sharae newspaper reported on Sunday that two people representing the militants said the UN workers would be freed in return for the release of the prisoners in Aden and payment of a SR1 million ($266,000) ransom.”

 

Nigeria

 

The Punch Nigeria: Boko Haram, Others Recruited Over 8,000 Child Soldiers In 13 Years – UNICEF

 

“The United Nations Children’s Fund has said that more than 8,000 girls and boys have been recruited and used as child soldiers in different roles by armed groups across Nigeria. This was contained in a statement by UNICEF on Monday titled, ‘UNICEF calls for end to recruitment and use of child soldiers’, to commemorate the International Day Against the Use of Child Soldiers, known better as “Red Hand Day”. UNICEF Chief of Maiduguri Field Office, Phuong T. Nguyen, said for 13 years, armed conflict in North-East Nigeria has claimed thousands of lives, disrupted livelihoods and access to essential services for children and their families. According to her, nearly one million homes and 5,000 classrooms have been razed in the protracted armed conflict. “We call for an immediate end to the recruitment and use of innocent children as soldiers or for any other conflict-related role. “It is unacceptable and unconscionable that girls and boys continue to serve on the frontlines of a conflict they did not start,” she said. Nguyen, however, called for an end to the recruitment and use of children by armed groups in Nigeria, and the release of those in the custody of such groups. “We must do more to ensure that Nigeria’s children do not suffer the worst impacts of conflict.”

 

Mali

 

Reuters: Conditions No Longer In Place To Continue Mali Fight, France Says

 

“The conditions are no longer in place to continue the fight against Islamist militants in Mali and President Emmanuel Macron has asked to re-organise French troops in the region, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Monday. “If the conditions are no longer in place so that we can act in Mali, which is clearly the case, then we will continue to fight terrorism next door with the Sahel countries, who “Le Drian told France 5. France is considering withdrawing its troops from Mali, but adapting its strategy to prevent Islamist militancy spreading south may prove complex and contribute to uncertainty in the region. A French drawdown would mean the European special forces Takuba task force would also leave with diplomats saying that the political, operational and legal conditions to remain becoming increasingly difficult. Western foreign ministers and senior diplomats held crunch talks on their countries' future presence fighting Islamist militants in Mali on Monday after three weeks of consultations amid deterioration in relations between Mali and France, the main foreign military power in the Sahel region. Two European and one African diplomatic source said regional and international leaders would meet Wednesday for dinner in Paris to hold discussions with President Macron ahead of an EU-Africa summit on Thursday.”

 

United Kingdom

 

The National: UK Nazi Pipe Bomb Terrorist Could Be Free From Prison Within Months

 

“A terrorist who made a pipe bomb in his Nazi memorabilia-filled bedroom could walk free from jail within months despite his bid to be released early being rejected. The Parole Board refused to let Jack Coulson leave prison before the end of his sentence because it was not convinced there was any “real reduction in risk” since he was first jailed. But because of the type of sentence he is serving, Coulson is still expected to be freed this year when he has served his full time behind bars. In 2018 he was sentenced to four years and eight months in a young offenders’ institution for having the terrorism handbook The Big Book of Mischief, after previously being convicted for making the explosive. Leeds Crown Court heard how Coulson, then 19, downloaded the 60-page manual — which describes how to make and detonate explosives — on his phone after boasting about wanting to kill a female politician. References to banned right-wing group National Action and internet searches for Timothy McVeigh, the American terrorist who carried out the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that led to the deaths of 168 people, were also found on his phone. In a police interview Coulson had described Adolf Hitler as his “leader”, the court heard.”

 

BBC News: Manchester Arena Inquiry: Ex-Officer Accepts Intelligence Oversight

 

“A former senior detective has accepted intelligence about the Manchester Arena bomber should have been investigated years before the attack. Frank Morris investigated convicted terrorist Abdalraouf Abdallah between 2014 and 2016. The Manchester Arena Inquiry heard multiple messages found on his phone were from the bomber Salman Abedi. However, that fact only became known to detectives after the May 2017 arena attack, which killed 22 people. Abedi, 22, also killed himself and injured hundreds more when he detonated a homemade device as people left the venue following a concert. The inquiry heard there were about 1,300 messages between Abdallah and someone called “Salman” across a number of weeks in November 2014, but no effort was made to identify the latter person. The messages included references to martyrdom and slurs about non-Muslims. The hearing was told “Salman” also sent two “selfies” of himself to Abdallah and mentioned his surname, Abedi, from a mobile phone number which was later found to be registered in his real name. Evidence from their communications was used in the trial of Abdallah in 2016 in order to demonstrate the defendant's extremist mindset, but detectives made no attempts to identify “Salman.”

 

France

 

Reuters: Four Go On Trial Over Militant Murder Of French Priest

 

“Four men went on trial on Monday over the murder of an elderly priest who was knifed to death at his altar in a militant attack that rocked France. Father Jacques Hamel was leading morning mass in the Normandy town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in July 2016 when two attackers stormed in, forced the 85-year-old to his knees and slit his throat. They were both shot dead by police. The four defendants have been charged with complicity in the attack and “criminal terrorist association”. Prosecutors have said the men, who were all born in France, were in contact with the attackers. Three of the men appeared in the dock in the historic Palais de Justice courthouse in Paris. Before the hearing, their lawyers said they were innocent, Radio Franceinfo reported. The fourth defendant, Rachid Kassim, who prosecutors say contacted the attackers from Syria and encouraged them to kill the priest, is being tried in absentia. The U.S. military said they targeted Kassim, who they described as a senior Islamic State militant, in a strike near the city of Mosul, Iraq, in February 2017, though they did not say whether he was killed. Hamel’s murder was the first Islamist militant attack on a church in western Europe and came just 12 days after a Tunisian who had pledged allegiance to Islamic State drove his truck through a crowd of Bastille Day revellers in Nice, killing 84.”

 

Germany

 

Deutsche Welle: Germany: Right-Wing Extremist Soldier Back In Custody

 

“A spokesperson for Frankfurt's Higher Regional Court on Monday said a German military officer who made headlines in 2017 was back in police custody.  Franco A. has been on trial since May last year over preparing a “serious act of violent subversion.” He allegedly plotted to attack prominent politicians while posing as a Syrian refugee. The court announced that, during an identity check, new objects were found in his possession that could serve as evidence. A special police task force arrested Franco A. on Sunday morning, and he was due to appear before the court on Monday, the spokesperson said. First arrested in February 2017, Franco A. was in pretrial detention for seven months, until a court ordered his release in late November 2017. At the time, the court said there was “no urgent suspicion” he was preparing to commit a criminal act against the state.  Before his arrest Sunday, he was required to check in with the authorities regularly, and half his salary was being withheld. Prosecutors accused Franco A. of living a double life as a Bundeswehr soldier with far-right extremist sentiments and a refugee receiving government benefits. He allegedly planned to commit terrorist attacks targeting public figures while in disguise as a Syrian refugee and blame the incidents on asylum-seekers.”

 

Canada

 

The Guardian: Foreign Money Funding ‘Extremism’ In Canada, Says Hacker

 

“A hacker who leaked the names and locations of more than 90,000 people who donated money to the Canadian trucker convoy protest has said it exposed how money from abroad had funded “extremism” in the country. In an exclusive interview, the hacker told the Guardian that Canada was “not safe from foreign political manipulation”. “You see a huge amount of money that isn’t even coming from Canada – that’s plain as day,” said the hacker, who belongs to the hacktivist group Anonymous. The leaked data showed that more than 90,000 donations were made via GiveSendGo, with most funds appearing to come from Canada and the US. According to the data, individuals in countries including the UK, the Netherlands, Ireland and Denmark also donated. Amarnath Amarasingam, a professor at Canada’s Queens University and an expert in extremism and social movements, tweeted that of the 92,844 donations, “51,666 (56%) came from the US, 36,202 (29%) came from Canada, and 1,831 (2%) came from the UK.” US-based donations totalled US$3.62m, while Canadians donated US$4.31m, he added. The hacker said the sizeable number of donations coming from Canada showed that some people in the country had fallen into step with what they saw as American-style extremism.”

 

Europe

 

The National: Five ISIS Arrests In Spain On Grooming And Funding Charges

 

“Five people have been arrested in Spain on charges of grooming potential ISIS recruits and funding the organisation in Libya. In two separate anti-terrorist operations, Spanish national police swept on suspects in Barcelona, Girona, Valencia and Melilla, one of two Spanish cities in North Africa that has a border with Morocco. Two people were arrested in Melilla for allegedly recruiting young fighters for ISIS. Police began the grooming investigation, Operation Farcol, two years ago after discovering ISIS indoctrination videos that are believed to have been created and distributed by the two suspects. Three people were arrested, one each in Barcelona, Girona and Valencia, and charged with helping to fund ISIS in Libya. The main suspect, arrested as part of Operation Kital, allegedly used a complex network of companies with an international presence to divert funds to a group in Libya with links to ISIS. He is believed to be related to the leadership of that group. Five suspected ISIS members were arrested in October last year by Spanish police investigating an alleged attack plot. Last month, the authorities in Sweden and France launched a joint team to investigate atrocities committed by ISIS against the Yazidi community.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

The Diplomat: Rohingya Militancy: Myth Or Reality?

 

“…Even before the ARSA attacks in 2016 and 2017, organizations such as the International Crisis Group, RAND Corporation, Counter Extremism Project, and individual scholars have expressed concerns about a forthcoming wave of Rohingya radicalization. Some scholars identify internal and external factors for the rise of Rohingya militancy. Internal factors include the trauma caused by torture in Myanmar, the denial of basic and fundamental rights, the dream of an independent Rakhine State, and the social structures of the refugee camps. External causes include ideas of Muslim brotherhood, jihadism provoked by transnational groups, prejudice against non-Muslims, and the convenient environment for the development of such organizations. As a result of these factors, the sentiment of ummah (Muslim community) could well grow among Rohingyas, given that they have “long suffered suppression and persecution by both the Myanmar government and extremist Buddhists.” Rohingyas’ contested identity has also been identified as a catalyst for radicalization.”

 

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