Eye on Extremism

March 9, 2022

 

Reuters: Six Pakistani Soldiers Killed In A Suicide Bombing

 

“At least six paramilitary soldiers were killed and 22 were injured in a suicide attack in southwest Pakistan on Tuesday, days after a suicide bombing at a Shi’ite Mosque in northwest Pakistan killed 63 people, officials said. Militant violence has risen in the South Asian nation amid political instability as country’s opposition parties prepare to bring a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Imran Khan in the coming days. The Islamic State affiliate in the region known as Islamic State in Khorasan province and headquartered in Afghanistan claimed Tuesday’s attack in a statement posted by the SITE Intelligence group. “The bomber first hurled a grenade which failed, after which he blew himself up close to paramilitary men, killing six,” Nasroor Alam Kolachi, a senior police officer of the Sibi District in South-West Balochistan province, told Reuters. The men were ending security duties after an annual cultural festival attended by President Arif Alivi. He had left the venue before the attack. On Friday, a suicide bombing at a Shi'ite mosque in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar killed at least 64 people, police and hospital officials said.”

 

The Hill: Zelensky To UK Parliament: Recognize Russia As A 'Terrorist State'

 

“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday implored the West to recognize Russia as a “terrorist state” while urging British lawmakers to impose more penalties on Moscow and send military assistance to Ukraine. “We are looking for your help, for the help of the civilized countries,” he said. “We are thankful for this help ... please increase the pressure of sanctions against [Russia], and please recognize this country as a terrorist state, and please make sure that our Ukrainian skies are safe,” Zelensky said, referring to earlier calls for NATO members to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine. “Please make sure that you do what needs to be done and what is stipulated by the greatness of your country,” he added. Zelensky, who has become an inspiration and symbol of Ukraine’s resistance against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assault, spoke virtually from Kyiv. The city is under siege from Russian forces that are slowly advancing toward the Ukrainian capital almost two weeks after Moscow first launched the invasion.”

 

United States

 

The Hill: House Votes To Condemn Threats To HBCUs And Attack On Texas Synagogue

 

“The House on Tuesday adopted measures to condemn the spike in bomb threats against historically Black colleges and universities, known as HBCUs, and the January attack on a Jewish synagogue in Texas. The resolution to condemn the threats of violence against more than 30 historically Black colleges and universities passed handily with bipartisan support, 418-0. On Feb. 1 alone, the first day of Black history month, at least 18 HBCUs all over the country received bomb threats. That came after more than a dozen threats in January. “It should not go unnoticed that these current threats underscore the very reason HBCUs were established in the first place: to eliminate the barriers to higher education for Black students by creating safe, affirming, and high-quality institutions,” said House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-Va.), who is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. The FBI said last month that it is investigating the threats as “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism and hate crimes.” The vote comes five days after the Senate passed a similar resolution condemning the threats of violence against HBCUs by unanimous consent. In addition, the House passed a resolution by voice vote to condemn the “heinous terrorist attack” on Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, on Jan. 15.”

 

NPR: Senate Passes Anti-Lynching Bill And Sends Federal Hate Crime Legislation To Biden

 

“The Senate unanimously passed a bill on Monday that criminalizes lynching and make it punishable by up to 30 years in prison. It sailed through the House of Representatives last month, and President Biden is expected to sign it. While it eased through both chambers of Congress this time with virtually no opposition, the path to passage took more than 100 years and 200 failed attempts. Under the bill, named the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act after the 14-year-old boy from Chicago who was lynched while visiting family in Mississippi, a crime can be prosecuted as a lynching when a hate crime results in a death or injury, said Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., a longtime sponsor of the legislation. “Lynching is a longstanding and uniquely American weapon of racial terror that has for decades been used to maintain the white hierarchy,” Rush said in a statement Monday evening. “Unanimous Senate passage of the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act sends a clear and emphatic message that our nation will no longer ignore this shameful chapter of our history and that the full force of the U.S. federal government will always be brought to bear against those who commit this heinous act.” Unanimous consent in the Senate allows a bill to pass without a roll call, so long as there's no senator present to object.”

 

Iran

 

Voice Of America: Iran’s Apparent Supply Of Combat Drones To Venezuela Highlights Terrorism Risks

 

“Israel’s contention that its regional foe Iran is helping Venezuela build combat drones is raising concerns that the two anti-U.S. allies could enable such drones to be used for terrorism. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on February 22 that his government determined that "Iranian precision-guided missiles are being delivered" to Venezuela to be fitted into "advanced Iranian Mohajer" drones and similar models. As Gantz spoke, a screen showed an image of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro presenting a model of a drone on state TV. Research group Aurora Intel, which first tweeted the screen shot of the Venezuelan TV program in November 2020, said the model was a representation of an Iranian Mohajer-6 drone, the latest version of its kind. Its capabilities include missile strikes and surveillance at a range of 200 kilometers and an endurance of 12 hours. "With this image in mind," Gantz said, "I can tell you that in my meetings with partners from around the world, including African and Latin American partners, I heard extreme concern about Iranian support for terrorism.’”

 

Pakistan

 

Newsweek Pakistan: Proactive Measures Needed To Tackle Terrorism In Future: Imran Khan

 

“The Government of Pakistan must adopt proactive measures to tackle incidents of terrorism in future, Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday, as he stressed “zero tolerance” for all extremist elements in the country. Chairing a meeting of the Apex Committee on the National Action Plan (NAP) in Islamabad, the premier strongly condemned last week’s bombing at a Shia mosque in Peshawar and offered condolences for the people who lost their lives in the attack. “The prime minister said that the government has zero tolerance for terrorists and swift persecution is required to set an example,” read a statement issued by the Press Information Department. The ISIS-K militant group has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a Shia imambargah in Peshawar during Friday prayers that left 57 people dead, and over 190 others injured. The death toll has since risen to 63, with the death of six of the 10 critically injured victims. The PID said that Khan had emphasized adopting a multi-pronged approach, including “vigorous” implementation of NAP to thwart the threat of terrorism in the country. He also stressed upon adopting proactive measures to prevent such incidents from occurring in future.”

 

Nigeria

 

Reuters: Gunmen Kill At Least 62 Vigilantes In Nigeria's Kebbi State

 

“Gunmen ambushed and killed at least 62 members of a volunteer vigilante group in Nigeria's northwestern Kebbi state, the head of the group and a police spokesman said, in the worst violence to hit the state since mid-January. Many northwestern states in Nigeria have groups of volunteers who help defend villages and towns from armed gangs as the security forces are stretched fighting Islamist militants and the gangs, known as bandits. Usman Sani, the head of the “Yan Sa Kai” vigilante group in Kebbi, told Reuters that his group had planned to attack bandits in the Sakaba area on Sunday night but someone tipped them off. “They lay in ambush, hid their motorcycles in the shrubs, circled us and opened fire from different directions,” Sani, a retired soldier, said on Tuesday. He said 62 people had been killed. Kebbi police spokesman Nafiu Abubakar confirmed the ambush but said he did not have details on how many people had been killed. In January, dozens of gunmen on motorbikes ransacked a village and killed more than 50 people in Kebbi. Gunmen have spread terror across the northwest, where they have kidnapped hundreds of school children and villagers for ransom. The violence has compounded the problems in northern states, which are typically poorer than those in the south.”

 

Mali

 

Voice Of America: Malian Army Accused Of Killings, Denies Culpability

 

“Videos of an alleged massacre in central Mali are circulating on social media, with locals saying those killed were ethnic Fulani men whom security forces arrested in late February and early March. Mali's military this week denied any responsibility for the killings; however, VOA spoke to a man who said he witnessed troops arresting a close friend. Last week, the videos began circulating on social media in Mali, showing the burned corpses of dozens of men, blindfolded, with their hands tied behind their backs. Fulani in villages around Diabaly, in central Mali, say that the victims were recently arrested by the Malian army. The Fulani are a traditionally pastoralist ethnic group spread across West Africa and have for years accused the army of unfairly targeting them for supposed ties to extremism. A local man, who did not wish to be identified for fear of reprisal, told VOA via a messaging app from his village that he witnessed troops arresting the men who disappeared, including a close friend and six of his acquaintances. It was the Malian army, he said. They are the ones who took them. He said they were wearing uniforms; they were on motorbikes. They chased us away, and they called in reinforcements. Then, he said, they took all these seven guys that I know myself, in their vehicles.”

 

Africa

 

The Jerusalem Post: Mozambique Military Downs IS Drones With Israeli Anti-Drone System

 

“The Mozambique Army downed drones belonging to the Islamic State using Israeli-designed jamming systems manufactured by MCTECH technologies. Based in Kfar Saba, MCTECH RF Technologies specializes in developing and manufacturing electronic warfare solutions for security forces, armies and governments in Israel and around the world. The company announced last September that it had sold and delivered its MC-Horizon 360D V3 systems to an East African army in order to protect forces maneuvering in conflict zones. Less than a year after acquiring the system, Mozambique announced that it had downed three IS drones that were allegedly gathering intelligence on troops as well as planning to bomb them. According to Yossi Gofer, the CEO of Orad, while MCTECH’s systems are in use by a number of militaries around the world, this marks the first time that a foreign army has reported interception with the Israeli system. “In Mozambique, IS is attacking troops with drones. They use drones to identify troops, to bomb troops and even to identify troops and then navigate artillery to hit forces. This is exactly the same thing that happened with IS in Iraq,” Gofer told The Jerusalem Post. According to him, the drones used by IS militants in the area are “so small and they fly very fast and very low to the ground so that it’s hard to identify them. You need a very good radar.”

 

United Kingdom

 

The Irish Times: Lisa Smith’s Facebook Messages With Jihadists To Be Admitted As Evidence

 

“Facebook messages between Lisa Smith and known jihadists in Syria and Australia will be admitted as evidence into the former soldier’s trial on charges of membership of Isis and funding terrorism, the Special Criminal Court has ruled. Ms Smith’s lawyers had asked the court to refuse to admit the messages, saying the use of private conversations that are stored indefinitely by Facebook is a breach of privacy rights. They also argued that the material, which was initially discovered by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), was gathered without any consideration of Ms Smith’s rights and shared with gardaí without any protocols as to how the material should be shared. Mr Justice Tony Hunt, who delivered the judgment of the three-judge, non-jury court, rejected all arguments made by Ms Smith’s lawyers. He said it is now customary in criminal trials for the accused to invoke the right to privacy under the Constitution to render their third-party conversations as inadmissible. He added: “The difficulty for individuals relying on this right is that it is far from absolute and its exercise is balanced against whatever other constitutional rights and values arise in the context.” In a criminal trial, he said, the privacy right must be balanced against society’s right to have “proper and effective investigation, detection and prosecution of serious crime.”

 

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