“It was one of the largest fines ever for corporate fraud, a billion-dollar
penalty that telecommunications giant Ericsson paid to avoid U.S. prosecut

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


February 28, 2022

 

The Washington Post: Telecom Giant Ericsson Continued Doing Business In Areas
That Fell To ISIS, Internal Report Finds
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“It was one of the largest fines ever for corporate fraud, a billion-dollar
penalty that telecommunications giant Ericsson paid to avoid U.S. prosecution
for corrupt schemes in foreign markets from China to East Africa. But even as
it signed that 2019 settlement, the Swedish company was withholding knowledge
from the public about another corruption scandal, one in which workers’ lives
had been imperiled. Executives were confronting an internal investigation that
documented “a range of misconduct perpetrated by Ericsson employees and third
parties” in Iraq over nearly a decade, according to findings that have not
previously been disclosed. The internal report identifies wrongdoing including
“bribes and kickbacks,” “fraud and embezzlement,” and the use of smuggling
routes to bypass official Iraqi customs authorities. It describes an enterprise
so out of control that auditors couldn’t figure out who pocketed payments
totaling as much as $10.5 million, fake purchase orders used in creating an
“uncontrolled slush fund” and a dubious donation to a purported charity run by
a ruling clan in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Investigators also uncovered
disturbing details about Ericsson’s decisions to send workers into territory
overrun by Islamic State fighters, the handling of a worker’s kidnapping by
terrorists, and transportation contracts that likely involved paying cash to
militants — money that Ericsson feared had made its way into the Islamic
State’s war chest.”

 

Bloomberg: Militants Increasing Attacks In Mozambique Gas Region, UN Says
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“Islamic State-linked insurgents in Mozambique’s gas-rich northeast are
increasing their attacks on government forces and civilians, despite the
presence of thousands of regional troops in the area. The number of attacks by
the militants grew between January and February and forced more than 12,000
people to flee their homes, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs in Cabo Delgado province said in a report Thursday. The
insurgency in Cabo Delgado has killed more than 3,500 people and displaced
700,000 others. It’s also suspended the development of a $20 billion
liquid-natural-gas project by TotalEnergies SE, which has demanded that the
security situation be stabilized before the company resumes work. The latest
attacks didn’t take place near the TotalEnergies development site, UNOCHA said,
without providing more information. Security experts say attacks in Cabo
Delgado will continue because of intelligence failures and as the insurgents
adapt to the presence of foreign forces. The Southern African Development
Community, a regional economic bloc, and Rwanda have deployed more than 3,000
foreign troops to help the government fight the militants. “The insecurity
situation in Cabo Delgado has not been restored yet and the insurgency will
continue for much longer,” Colonel Luis Bernardino, a professor at the Centre
for International Studies at the Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, said in an
interview.”

 

United States

 

Seacoastonline: Preston Xanthopoulos: Neo-Nazis Not Welcome In Hampton
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“…According to the “Counter Extremism Project," members of the NSC are
stockpiling weapons in preparation for a war they intend to fight, in the name
of white supremacy. Their rhetoric is dangerous. Their intentions are violent.
They have no home in Hampton. They should have no home anywhere. The rise in
extremism is frightening. From antifa to Q’Anon to groups like the one that
showed up in Hampton, extremism is dangerous. However, it is all practiced and
believed by a very small, yet very loud, group of people. Maybe it’s time we,
the majority, the non-extremists, got louder.  There is one title or label I
think that we all can unite under and stand for regardless of race or religion
or ethnicity to show support for each other, for acceptance, for all of us,
together. Our banners can be simple and we already have a flag for it:
#American.”

 

Syria

 

Voice Of America: Free From Islamic State, Many Syrians Leave Raqqa
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“Raqqa, the former capital of the Islamic State (IS) and home to about 300,000
people, is now free. Yet many of its people want to leave. Those with property
are trying to sell it to save up for the journey to Turkey. Those without money
struggle to get by. At least 3,000 people left Raqqa for Turkey in 2021, said
the city’s civil council co-chair Mohammed Nour. In some ways, the city’s
recovery from IS rule is clear. Cafes and restaurants are full of people.
Kurdish-led forces stand guard on major streets. But poverty is widespread.
People line up for basics such as bread. Unemployed young men sit around. Water
and electricity are limited. Many live among bombed-out ruins. Local officials
say at least 30 percent of the city is destroyed. Poverty and unemployment
drive young men into the arms of IS. Kurdish investigators say new IS recruits
captured last month had been drawn in by money. At the same time, the
Kurdish-led city government received applications from 27,000 job seekers last
year, but had no jobs. Milhem Daher, a 35-year-old engineer, is in the process
of selling his home, businesses and properties to pay a smuggler to take him
and his family of eight to Turkey, a key route for Syrians trying to get to
Europe.”

 

Turkey

 

Daily Mail: Australian ISIS Terrorist Is Released From Jail And Thrown In
Immigration Detention While Turkey Figures Out Where To Deport Him To - But NO
Country Will Take Him
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“An Australian-born Islamic State terrorist has been released from jail in
Turkey but is stuck in immigration detention while he waits to see if any
country will accept him. Melbourne-born Neil Prakash, who was raised a
Buddhist, was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison in March 2019. He
was captured by Turkish border guards in October 2016 as he tried to enter the
country from Syria, and spent five years in a maximum-security prison in the
city of Gaziantep. Prakash appeared in several propaganda videos for ISIS -
encouraging attacks on Melbourne and Sydney - and took up arms for the terror
group in Syria. The former rap singer was also linked to a failed Melbourne
plot to behead a police officer and had connections to a number of Australian
jihadis. He was stripped of his Australian citizenship and had his passport
cancelled on December 21, 2018. This action was taken after the Turkish courts
refused to extradite him to Australia to face trial. If he had been sent to
Australia, he would have faced charges related to fighting for a foreign
country, a crime that could have led to a sentence of life in prison.  The
Australian government said it was able to do cancel his citizenship as Prakash
was entitled to Fijian citizenship through his father, who was born there, so
he would not become stateless.”

 

Afghanistan

 

The Washington Post: Taliban Launches Sweeping House-To-House Raids Across
Kabul In Search Of Weapons
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“Guns drawn, half a dozen Taliban fighters crowded into the house of a Kabul
laborer Saturday. As a commander watched, his men took knives to the cushions
that lined the family’s sitting room, splitting them open and dumping the
stuffing onto the floor. Others pulled family photos off shelves and tossed
clothing out of closets. “They said they were looking for weapons,” said the
laborer’s wife, who listened to the exchange from a room in the back of the
house. “They said, ‘We know you had relations with the former regime.’ But my
husband never worked for the government.” The wife, like others in this report,
spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. After finding
nothing, the fighters beat the laborer’s adolescent son and confiscated a
family car. Such raids, part of a massive search operation launched in Kabul
and surrounding districts Friday, according to the ministry of interior, mark a
significant shift in how the group enforces security. When raids occurred in
the past, they were generally not announced and largely conducted at night to
reduce visibility. This operation is being carried out in broad daylight. The
searches began in northern Kabul, but by Saturday thousands of armed Taliban
fighters fanned out into the city center, according to the spokesman for the
city’s police chief, Khalid Zadran.”

 

AFP: Taliban Say No More Evacuations Until Life Improves For Afghans Abroad
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“The Taliban will not allow any more Afghans to be evacuated until the
situation improves abroad for those who have already left, their spokesman said
Sunday. Families wanting to leave in future would also need a good excuse for
doing so, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference, adding a
promise to allow anyone to go abroad was not “continuous”. More than 120,000
Afghans and dual nationals were evacuated up to August 31 when the last US-led
troops withdrew, two weeks after the hardline Islamists seized Kabul. Hundreds
more were allowed to leave on flights after that, but the last official
evacuation by air was on December 1. Mujahid said the Taliban had received
reports of thousands of Afghans “living in very bad conditions” in Qatar and
Turkey. “The government has the responsibility to protect the people so this
will be stopped until we get the assurance that their lives will not be
endangered,” he said. He was responding to a question about reports circulating
on social media that border officials had been told not to allow anyone to be
evacuated -- including by road. After seizing power the Taliban promised
Afghans would be allowed to come and go as they pleased -- as long as they had
passports and visas for their destinations.”

 

The National: UN’s Counter-Terror Committee Warns ISIS Is Expanding And
Exploiting Afghanistan
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“The UN’s counter-terror committee has said the threat posed by ISIS still
exists and that the terror group is “expanding and exploiting” Afghanistan. In
its latest report to the UN Security Council on ISIS, the Counter-Terrorism
Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) says the group needs to be “closely
monitored” following the death of its leader, Muhammad Al Mawla, also known as
Abu Ibrahim Al Hashimi Al Qurayshi.Al Qurayshi was killed in February when he
detonated a bomb in the third-storey apartment he and his family shared in
Atmeh village in north-western Syria as US forces closed in. The warning comes
as the head of Britain's domestic intelligence service, Ken McCallum, said that
Afghanistan is becoming a hotbed for terrorism. He says the service has
evidence of terrorist groups gathering in Afghanistan and recruits are
travelling to join them. Weixiong Chen, the acting executive director of CTED,
says ISIS is expanding. “The threat of ISIS persists, as the group and its
affiliates continue to recalibrate their strategic and operational approaches,”
he said. “ISIS has become more decentralised, with supporters notably emerging
and expanding their operations in battlefields of West, East, Southern and
Central Africa. and is also seeking to exploit recent developments in
Afghanistan.”

 

Washington Examiner: Six Months On, Biden Administration Won't Identify Kabul
Airport Bomber
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“The U.S. government is refusing to identify the bomber who six months ago
perpetrated a deadly Islamic State suicide bombing at the airport in Kabul,
Afghanistan, despite numerous reports of anonymous officials naming the
attacker as Abdul Rehman al Logari. The attacker’s alleged identity is
something of an open secret in national security circles and on Capitol Hill,
but the Biden administration has refused to openly confirm that Logari, who had
been freed from a prison at Bagram Air Base in August of last year when the
Taliban took it over, was indeed the bomber who killed and wounded 58 U.S.
troops. The Aug. 26 attack killed 13 U.S. service members and nearly 200
Afghans while wounding dozens more as the United States led evacuation
operations at the airport with the Taliban providing security outside. When
asked about Logari’s identity, a CIA spokesperson referred the Washington
Examiner to the Pentagon. A Pentagon public affairs officer, Army Maj. Rob
Lodewick, told the Washington Examiner that “DoD has not confirmed this. I’d
have to refer you to the FBI’s investigation on the matter.” A spokesperson for
the State Department also referred the Washington Examiner to the FBI. But an
FBI spokesperson said the bureau “has no comment.” The Office of the Director
of National Intelligence, the Justice Department, the National Security
Council, and the White House did not provide comment.”

 

Pakistan

 

Associated Press: Pakistan: Forces Kill Militant In Raid In Northwest
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“Pakistani security forces raided a militant hideout in the country’s
northwest, triggering a firefight that killed one militant, the military said
Saturday. The raid took place in the Spinwam area of the North Waziristan
tribal district that long served as a safe haven for Islamic militants. The
raid was part of a continuing operation to rid the tribal belt of militants.
The military said the dead militant was involved in attacks on security forces
in recent months and that arms and ammunition were seized from the hideout.
North Waziristan and other tribal regions bordering Afghanistan had been a
sanctuary for militants until massive military operations began after the 2014
militant attack on an army-run school in Peshawar. More than 150 people were
killed, mostly school children.”

 

Nigeria

 

Sahara Reporters: Boko Haram, ISWAP Fighters Attack Borno Community, Kill 13
Persons
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“At least 13 people were reportedly killed by fighters from the Islamic State
for West African Province, ISWAP, within 48 hours in Borno State, Northeast
Nigeria. ISWAP on Sunday reportedly attacked Sabongari village, a few
kilometres from Damboa town in the Damboa Local Government Area of the state.
“The attackers left seven people dead,” local vigilantes told Daily Post on
Sunday. This comes barely 24 hours after an attack was reported in Mandaragirau
and Ghuma villages in the Biu Local Government Area. It was also less than 48
hours after the insurgents attacked Kautikari village in Chibok, leaving
several persons dead. Locals in Mandaragirau village said this is the second
time the insurgents will be attacking their village in February. According to
them, the first time, they abducted some young men from the village, who are
still in captivity. The attack in Mandaragirau village left three persons dead
with scores injured, according to locals from the area. “In Ghuma village, they
abducted two girls and looted food items. They also razed down shops and took
some livestock with them,” a witness, Umar Audu, said.”

 

Premium Times Nigeria: 466 Terrorists Surrendered In Two Weeks, Scores Killed
– Official
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“Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have continued to record successes as 466
terrorists surrendered while scores were killed in different operations within
two weeks in the North-east , Defence Headquarters says. The Director, Defence
Media Operations, Bernard Onyeuko, said this while giving updates of military
operations across the country from February 10 to 24 on Thursday in Abuja. Mr
Onyeuko said the sustained land and air raids by the troops led to the
surrendering of 466 Boko Haram and Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP)
terrorists comprising 120 adult males, 137 adult females and 209 children. He
said the surrendered terrorists claimed that they had lost interest in the Boko
Haram terrorists’ ideology. He added that the air interdiction by the air
component on February 11, around Marte area of Borno led to the killing of one
of the leaders of ISWAP terrorists known as Mohammed Yusuf and his fighters.
“Cumulatively, troops eliminated six terrorists, arrested 26 and recovered
cache of different calibres of arms and ammunition and four gun trucks. “Also,
20 abducted civilian victims were rescued by the troops. “The surrendered
terrorists and arrested criminals have been properly documented and handed over
to the appropriate security agencies for necessary action,” he said.”

 

Somalia

 

All Africa: Somalia: Al-Shabaab Strikes Amid Polls Deadlock
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“The long-delayed electoral process is fuelling attacks by the armed extremist
group, Al-Shabaab, in Somalia. In the latest attack, at least 15 people were
killed by a suicide bomb in the central Beledweyne. It targeted a restaurant
popular with local officials and politicians. Al-Shabaab has taken
responsibility for the attack. The attack was the latest in a recent surge of
violence led by the group, including attacks on police stations and government
checkpoints in the capital of Mogadishu earlier in February. The Global Centre
for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P) blamed the surge on the divisive
electoral process. Presidential elections are set to be completed by this week.
This month elections were postponed later than initially planned due to
political infighting and a volatile security situation. On February 10,
Al-Shabaab targeted a minibus full of electoral delegates in the capital,
Mogadishu, killing at least six civilians. Among those killed was a candidate
in the parliamentary vote. James Swan, the United Nations Special
Representative on Somalia, warned that political divisions and election delays
had allowed insurgent forces to make some recent gains. The UN Mission in
Somalia continues to documenting killings, attacks on schools and hospitals,
recruitment of child soldiers, abductions, rape and sexual violence. “These
acts may amount to war crimes,” Swan said.”

 

Africa

 

Associated Press: Armed Men Kidnap 5 MSF Workers In Northern Cameroon
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“Armed men have kidnapped five people working for Medecins Sans Frontieres in
Cameroon’s Far North, the organization’s local branch said Friday. Overnight
Thursday into Friday, armed men broke into the organization’s base in Fotokol
and abducted five people, MSF Cameroon said. Neither the identity nor the
motives of the perpetrators are known at this time, it said. Boko Haram and the
Islamic State West Africa Province are known to launch attacks in the region
that lies between Nigeria and Chad.”

 

United Kingdom

 

The Independent: Ukraine War: British Volunteers Who Travel To Fight Russia
Could Violate Terror Laws But Prosecutions Unlikely
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“Britons fighting against Russia alongside Ukrainian forces could fall under
the UK’s definition of terrorism, a watchdog has said after the foreign
secretary backed volunteers. Liz Truss said she would “absolutely” support
British nationals who travel to the warzone following an invitation by
president Volodymyr Zelensky to international combatants. A statement issued by
Ukraine’s defence ministry on Sunday announced the formation of an
international legion and said people could enlist through embassies in their
home countries. “Anyone who wants to join the defence of Ukraine, Europe and
the world can come and fight side by side with the Ukrainians against the
Russian war criminals,” it added. Asked on the BBC's Sunday Morning programme
if she would support UK citizens who chose to answer the call, Ms Truss said:
“That is something people can make their own decisions about. “The people of
Ukraine are fighting for freedom and democracy, not just for Ukraine but for
the whole of Europe. “Absolutely, if people want to support that struggle I
would support them in doing that.” But fighting overseas has previously been
prosecuted under terrorism laws, which saw charges against people who joined
UK-backed Kurdish groups to defeat Isis.”

 

France

 

RFI: Epic Paris Terror Trial Reaches Half-Way Stage With More Questions Than
Answers
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“Despite the ravages provoked by Covid-19, which have already led to three
weeks of suspensions, the Paris terror trial has reached the end of its second
major stage: the examination of the activities and religious attitudes of the
accused up to the summer of 2015, before the detailed planning of the Paris
attacks began. The crucial questions have concerned “radicalisation” and the
Islamic State project in Syria-Iraq. It's hard to say where we are. This trial
opened last September and probably won't end before July. So we're roughly half
way through. But it doesn’t feel like that. Each survivor, each bereaved family
member, got one brief moment to say what it feels like to lose a beloved child,
husband, friend in a terrorist attack. And then they left and went back to the
business of dealing with their grief, their anger, their incomprehension. The
accused are there all the time. For them, 13 November 2015 marks either the end
of a complicated process intended to advance the cause of an extreme form of
Islam, or the beginning of a judicial nightmare which they hope this trial will
dispel. There are 20 accused in total, 14 of them actually before the Paris
court, one in jail in Turkey, the five others are presumed dead in the Syrian
war zone.”

 

Europe

 

The Washington Post: Ukrainians Return Home To Fight Russia: ‘I Have To Go’
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“…For years, the combatants crossing Ukraine’s borders to pick up arms were
joining the pro-Russian forces that had taken control of a territory in eastern
Ukraine. Since 2014, more than 17,000 fighters from more than 50 countries have
joined the Russian-backed forces there, according to the Counter Extremism
Project, a monitoring group. Last week, Ukraine’s military said another
detachment of foreign mercenaries had arrived in the east, part of what Kyiv
says is a plan to stage provocations to justify Russia’s invasion. Few of the
volunteers have guns, instead hoping to pick them up from the state armory on
their arrival. Igor Tokar, a 53-year-old truck driver working in Poland, was
counting on grabbing his Beretta hunting shotgun from his village home en
route. Truck drivers, he said, had been organizing among themselves. “I know so
many other truck drivers from Lithuania who are coming, and they haven’t even
made it here yet,” he said, waiting to drive across the border. Two cars behind
him, another truck driver waiting to cross said he knew of 10 friends planning
to come. Sergei Libanski, another volunteer who arrived at the border Sunday,
said he knew of 20. “A lot of us were here in Europe, working,” said Mr.
Libanski, a 42-year-old trucker. “Now we’re going home to fight.’”

 

The New York Times: Far-Right Militias In Europe Plan To Confront Russian
Forces, A Research Group Says.
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“The Russian attack on Ukraine has prompted a flurry of activity among
far-right European militia leaders, who have taken to the internet to raise
funds, recruit fighters and plan travel to the front lines to confront the
country’s invaders, according to a research group. In recent days, militia
leaders in France, Finland and Ukraine have posted declarations urging their
supporters to join in the fight to defend Ukraine against a Russian invasion.
The posts have been located and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, a
private organization that specializes in tracking extremist groups. Rita Katz,
the director of SITE, said that numerous far-right white nationalist and
neo-Nazi groups throughout Europe and North America had expressed an outpouring
of support for Ukraine, including by seeking to join paramilitary units in
battling Russia. The motivation to travel to Ukraine, she said, was to gain
combat training. It was also ideologically-driven, she added, since these far
right groups viewed the fight against Russia as a fight against communism,
clinging to World War II historical narratives, and associating modern-day
Russia and its president, Vladimir V. Putin, with the former Soviet Union.”

 

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