“The Biden administration on Wednesday issued sanctions targeting an
international business network that funds Yemen’s Houthi rebels and their
attacks

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


February 24, 2022

 

The Hill: Biden Sanctions Yemen's Houthi-Financing Network Amid Increase In
Terrorist Attacks
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“The Biden administration on Wednesday issued sanctions targeting an
international business network that funds Yemen’s Houthi rebels and their
attacks on civilians in Yemen and the Persian Gulf, an action that is part of
efforts to bankrupt funds that prolong the country’s seven-year civil war.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the sanctions were closely
coordinated with Gulf partners as a response to Houthi attacks inside Yemen and
recent terrorist attacks targeting civilian sites in Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates over recent weeks, which have caused numerous civilian
casualties. “We continue to work closely with our regional partners to act
decisively against those seeking to prolong this war for their own goals,”
Blinken said in a statement. “The United States remains firmly committed to
helping Saudi Arabia and the UAE defend themselves and the tens of thousands of
U.S. citizens living in the Gulf against these Houthi attacks.” The Biden
administration is under pressure to more forcefully confront Yemen’s Houthis,
which are backed by Iran, after lifting a terrorist designation on the group
that was imposed by former President Trump in the waning days of the
administration.”

 

Associated Press: Pakistan Says Forces Kill 10 Insurgents In Baluchistan
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“Security forces in Pakistan's volatile southwest raided a militant hideout
Wednesday, triggering an intense firefight that killed 10 insurgents, the
military said. The operation took place in Hoshab, a remote district in
Baluchistan province, the military said in a statement. It said the militants
were involved in multiple recent attacks on security forces. Troops also
recovered a cache of weapons from the hideout. The slain insurgents were
believed to be from the Baluchistan Liberation Army, designated a terrorist
group by the U.S. in 2019. Baluchistan province has witnessed a low-level
insurgency by small groups who demand independence from the central government
in Islamabad. Although the government says it has quelled the insurgency,
violence in the province has persisted.”

 

United States

 

The New York Times: 3 Men Plead Guilty In Plot To Attack U.S. Power Grid
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“Three men pleaded guilty on Wednesday in a plot to attack power grids in the
United States, which they believed could lead to economic and civil unrest and
create the opportunity for white leaders to rise, federal prosecutors said. The
men, Christopher Brenner Cook, 20, of Columbus, Ohio; Jonathan Allen Frost, 24,
of West Lafayette, Ind., and of Katy, Texas; and Jackson Matthew Sawall, 22, of
Oshkosh, Wis., each pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Columbus on
Wednesday to one count of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.
They will each face up to 15 years in prison when they are sentenced. A date
has not been scheduled. Kenneth Parker, the U.S. attorney for the Southern
District of Ohio, said in a statement on Wednesday that the three men
“conspired to use violence to sow hate, create chaos, and endanger the safety
of the American people.” Timothy Langan, assistant director of the F.B.I.
counterterrorism division, said in a statement that the three men expected
their plot to lead to “economic distress and civil unrest.” “These individuals
wanted to carry out such a plot because of their adherence to racially or
ethnically motivated violent extremist views,” Mr. Langan said. Samuel
Shamansky, a lawyer for Mr. Frost, said on Wednesday that Mr. Frost had
“accepted complete responsibility for his reprehensible conduct.”

 

WTOP News: The Hunt: Cyberattacks, Physical Harm Americans Could Encounter
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“On this episode of “The Hunt with WTOP national security correspondent J.J.
Green, Dr. Hans Jakob Schindler Sr., director of the Counter Extremism Project,
discusses concerns about possible cyberattacks and physical harm Americans
could encounter.”

 

Syria

 

The Independent: Resurgence Of Isis Spreads Fear In Syria As Fresh Violence
Reopens Old Wounds
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“Five years after giving birth on death row in a prison run by Isis, Sara is
scared for her life once again. The Syrian mother started receiving threatening
text messages from the militant Islamist terrorist group, thought to have been
defeated by Russian forces and a US-led coalition nearly three years ago. “Go
back to your good Islamic principles,” reads the first text she shows The
Independent. “Stay away from working with the infidels. Or else.” The militant
Islamist group made its last stand in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, where
Sara lives. After the final surrender, when Syrian and foreign Isis members
were packed off to jail, the west largely forgot about this corner of the
war-torn country…”

 

Al Monitor: Yazidis React To Killing Of Islamic State Leader
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“The death of Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi,
also known as Abdullah Qaradash, in Syria’s northwest province of Idlib on Feb.
3 sparked various reactions among Yazidis, against whom IS committed war crimes
and atrocities since it occupied their historic homeland in Iraq in August
2014. Seif Mito, a 19-year-old Yazidi, told Al-Monitor how he suffered at the
hands of IS during its rule. He said IS fighters kidnapped him from Sinjar in
northern Iraq, along with his brother Zeid, who is five years younger than him,
after his entire family was killed. Commenting on Qurayshi’s role in the
genocide against the Yazidis, Mito said, “After the soldiers of the caliphate
captured us, they moved us — there were hundreds of Yazidi boys and girls — to
the technical institute in Solagh, east of Sinjar, on Aug. 15, 2014. Then,
Qurayshi arrived with some IS figures in a Toyota Prado, and told us that we
will be the next generation of the caliphate and the soldiers of their Islamic
state. He then gave the Yazidi girls to his soldiers as sex slaves, and chose
young Yazidi girls as sex slaves for himself. I recognized three of the girls,
including a neighbor of mine. Then they moved us to Raqqa in Syria.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Vice: Senior Taliban Minister Brags About Record Number Of Suicide Attacks
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“A senior Taliban minister has boasted about “historic” numbers of suicide
attacks the Islamist group has carried out, while complaining that the group
has yet to be recognised as Afghanistan’s official government by any other
country in the world.  Muhammad Hanafi, the Taliban’s minister for the
propagation of virtue and prevention of vice, appeared in a video broadcast on
national television and distributed by pro-Taliban social media accounts on
Monday, in which he showed off about the brutal levels of violence meted out by
the group over the past 20 years. The Taliban swept to power in August after
the US military withdrew from the country. So far, not a single country has
recognised the hardline Islamists as the country’s official government because
of the group’s history of sheltering jihadi groups and its terrible human
rights record against women, ethnic and religious minorities and anyone who
dares criticise them. Hanafi — a senior member within the Haqqani network,
which is notorious for extortion and kidnappings — was taking part in a
conference talking about the “struggle” with being branded an international
pariah.  Hanafi’s ministry works as the country’s feared moral police, an
institution found in some countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran. It had been
scrapped under the US-backed government, but the Taliban brought it back last
year and put its headquarters in the former women’s ministry.”

 

Pakistan

 

Asia Times: Abandoned US Arms Fueling Militancy In Pakistan
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“Sophisticated military weapons abandoned by retreating US and NATO forces in
Afghanistan are now openly for sale at thriving illegal weapons markets in
tribal areas along the Pakistan-Afghan border. Those markets are where several
militant, separatist and terror groups operating in Pakistan against state
forces shop for their wares, evidenced in recent attacks on Pakistani security
forces where militants used advanced Western weapons. The advanced weapons
threaten to intensify the already gathering security threat posed by militant
groups opposed for various reasons to the Pakistan state. They could also put
already deteriorating Pakistan-Afghanistan relations on a dangerous new
footing, particularly if perceptions grow the ruling Taliban is funneling the
arms to the militants. Last year, Pakistani customs officials foiled a bid to
smuggle US and NATO-issued arms into the country from Afghanistan. Officials
recovered two huge catches of M4A1 carbine rifles, Glock 9mm pistols, Beretta
pistol barrels and ammunition from a vehicle traveling from the Afghan capital
of Kabul. But other shipments of unknown origin are known to have gone
undetected, representing a potent new security threat to Pakistan emanating
from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.”

 

Yemen

 

Reuters: UAE Designates One Individual And 5 Entities Linked To Yemen's
Houthis As Terrorists -News Agency
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“The United Arab Emirates designated one individual and five entities as
terrorists, saying they are linked to supporting Yemen's Houthis, the state
news agency (WAM) reported on Wednesday. The United States earlier on Wednesday
sanctioned a sprawling international network run by Iran’s Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a Houthi financier that provided tens of
millions of dollars to the Houthi rebels, the U.S. Treasury said. Both the U.S.
and the UAE's latest terrorism designations included Abdo Abdullah Dael Ahmed,
a UAE- and Sweden-based commodities trader and his company, Moaz Abdallah Dael
Import and Export. Yemen's Houthi movement, battling a Saudi-led military
coalition that includes the UAE, recently launched missile attacks at the Gulf
country, saying the attacks would continue as long as the UAE backs militias
that are blocking their attempts to capture oil-producing regions in Yemen.”

 

Middle East

 

Gulf News: Kuwait: Last Group Of Hezbollah Funding Suspects Released
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“Kuwait has released the last group of suspects in a high-profile case related
to funding the pro-Iran Lebanese Hezbollah group, according to a local
newspaper. Public prosecution has released the last five suspects, who were
still in detention in connection to the case, on a bail of KD5,000 per each,
added Al Rai. Earlier this month, three other suspects in the same case were
released on a bail of KD5,000 each and barred from travel abroad. The case
dates back to last November when Kuwait dismantled a cell suspected of having
links with and funding Hezbollah. The arrests were made after authorities
received a security report from an unspecified “sisterly” country, the Kuwaiti
newspaper Al Seyassah said at the time. The suspects were questioned by the
Kuwaiti State Security Service on charges including money laundry for Hezbollah
and encouraging young Kuwaitis to collaborate with the Lebanese movement, carry
out terror acts and smuggle drugs in Syria and Yemen. The paper said the
suspects had admitted in investigations that they had collected donations in
mosques in Kuwait without approval from authorities.”

 

Nigeria

 

Associated Press: Islamic State Group Claims Attacks On Nigeria Soldiers
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“Dozens of Nigerian soldiers were killed and wounded in recent attacks in
Nigeria’s insecure northeast region, according to a statement from the Islamic
State group, which said its West Africa members carried out the assaults. The
attacks using explosives targeted soldiers on patrol at various checkpoints in
Borno state, killing and wounding more than 30 soldiers, said the statement on
the latest of the attacks released late Tuesday. The Islamic State in West
Africa Province (ISWAP) is a breakaway faction of the Boko Haram extremist
group which launched a rebel insurgency against the Nigerian government more
than a decade ago. Nigeria’s military did not immediately respond to an inquiry
for comment to confirm the attacks, but also reported killing “several”
extremists and recovering a “large cache of weapons” and vehicles from the
militants during “clearance operations” on Monday in Borno state in a location
different from where IS said its fighters attacked. On Tuesday, IS militants
targeted a Nigerian army patrol team with four explosive devices followed by
mortar shells launched at a military camp in the town of Mallam Fatori, a few
miles (kilometers) away from Nigeria’s northern neighbor Niger, the group said
in one statement.”

 

All Africa: Nigeria: 41 Terrorists Surrender Following Troops Onslaught In
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“Troops of 144 Battalion while on clearance Operations received 41
surrendering Boko Haram Terrorists comprising 22 females,11 males and eight
children. The Nigerian Army on its official Facebook page said the troops also
carried out some civil military projects such as road maintenance along
Damboa-Wajiroko road in Borno State. “Ongoing offensive clearance operations
records another feat as BokoHaram terrorists, and their families numbering 41
comprising 11 males, 22 females and 8 children surrendered to troops of 144
Battalion in Dissa Village axis of Borno State on Monday 21 February 2022.
“Additionally, In a bid to enhance Civil Military relations as well as deny
BHT/ISWAP opportunities to plant IEDs, troops of 28 Task Force Bde in
conjunction with CJTF conducted some minor road maintenance including patching
of potholes along Damboa-Wajiroko road in Borno State,” it stated.”

 

Somalia

 

All Africa: Somalia: Al-Shabaab Spent U.S.$24 Million In Arms Purchasing Deals
In 2021 - Report <[link removed]>

 

“Somalia-based militant group Al-Shabaab spent 24 million US dollars for arms
procurement in 2021, a report by Hiraal Institute, a Mogadishu-based Research
group has revealed. The report titled “Al-Shabaab's Arsenal from Taxes to
Terror” indicated that the Al-Qaeda linked terror outfit spends 2 million US
dollars monthly, where 1.8 million is used on 'in-house' explosives while other
weapons manufacturing goes for 150,000 dollars per month. “Additional
expenditure from within the Amniyat budget - which in total is assessed at over
USD 21 million per year - is likely: some procurement does take place through
local units, mainly focused on small arms and ammunition, but it is unclear if
other Amniyat equipment is financed from within the Amniyat or arms procurement
budgets,” the report read in part. Hiraal Institute stated that the militant
group was believed to have an annual revenue collection of about 180 million
dollars as of 2021 with planned expenditure of around 100 million dollars. “Of
this security-associated expenditure accounts for the vast majority of AS
planned expenditure, at around 70-75 per cent. This security related
expenditure includes that which is undertaken by the Jaish and Amniyat,” the
report said.”

 

Mali

 

Vice: ‘I’m Very Nervous’: Young Malians On How They Feel As France Quits
Jihadist War
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“After nine years, France is ending its anti-jihadist military task force in
the West African state of Mali, following months of escalating tensions between
Paris and Bamako’s ruling military junta. As France closes its bases and its
2,400 troops prepare to retreat from Mali, young Malians - who have grown up
under the shadow of French imperialism - have been left with mixed emotions. “I
am very nervous,” Bintou, a 22-year-old student at the University of Bamako,
told VICE World News speaking under a pseudonym. “I really hope France’s
withdrawal won’t cause jihadist groups to move toward Bamako.” The move will
see France withdraw its Barkhane and Takuba special task-forces from
counter-terror engagement in Mali, where they have been fighting Islamist
extremist groups and ethnic conflict alongside Malian Armed Forces since 2013.
Central Mali has been one of the most violent hotpots of the war against the
Islamic State and its regional affiliates across the Sahel, a conflict-stricken
region in West Africa. Fighting has killed an estimated 5,317 in Mali and
neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger in 2021. Last year also saw 948 violent
incidents in Mali - the highest number in nearly a decade - and 400,000 people
are displaced.”

 

United Kingdom

 

The National: UK Urged To Separate Extremist Inmates After Manchester Arena
Terrorist Formed Gang
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“The UK’s independent adviser on terrorism has urged the authorities to look
at separation centres to prevent extremists from forming gangs in prison. It
comes as three convicted ISIS terrorists, including the brother of the
Manchester Arena bomber, formed a gang in Belmarsh prison, London, and attacked
a prison officer. Ringleader Hashem Abedi, 24, Parsons Green Tube bomber Ahmed
Hassan, 22, and Muhammed Saeed, 23, were this week given longer jail sentences
after they attacked Paul Edwards in May 2020. Jonathan Hall QC, the independent
reviewer of terrorism legislation, said the case demonstrated an attempt by an
“established gang” to seize power from authority. He suggested that measures
such as “separation centres” could be used to keep terrorists in custody away
from one another. “I think it’s a problem that they were allowed to associate
in a way that led to the formation of a gang,” he said. “In terms of what you
do about it, I think you’ve got to recognise that these are not just gangs like
any other gangs. “This is a gang led by a terrorist mass murderer, and the
consequences of this sort of gang led by this sort of individual having
influence within the prison are so serious that it has to be disrupted – in
terms of the impact on other prisoners, recruitment and radicalisation within
prison, and potential encouragement to further offences against the
authorities.”

 

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