|
Eye on Extremism
March 30, 2022
Associated Press: Palestinian Gunman Kills 5 In 3rd Attack In Israel In A Week
“A gunman on a motorcycle opened fire in a crowded city in central Israel late Tuesday, methodically gunning down victims as he killed at least five people in the second mass shooting rampage this week. The shooter was killed by police. The shooting appeared to be the latest in a string of attacks by Arab assailants ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the anniversary of last year’s Gaza war. Israeli media said the attacker was a Palestinian from the West Bank. The previous two attacks, carried out by Arab citizens of Israel inspired by the Islamic State extremist group, have raised concerns of further violence. Israel “stands before a wave of murderous Arab terrorism,” declared Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. He pledged to combat it “with perseverance, stubbornness and an iron fist.” He held an emergency meeting of top security officials and planned a meeting of his Security Cabinet on Wednesday. Israeli authorities have not yet determined whether the string of attacks were organized or whether the attackers acted individually. The Israeli military announced it would be deploying additional troops to the West Bank, and the police chief raised the national readiness level to its highest.”
BBC News: Far-Right Cell Found Guilty Of Terror Offences
“Four members of a “fascist” cell who made pistol parts on a 3D printer and celebrated right-wing attacks have been convicted of a range of offences. Daniel Wright, 29, Liam Hall, 31, and Stacey Salmon, 29, all from Keighley, West Yorkshire, and Samuel Whibley, 29, from Menai Bridge, Anglesey, had denied the charges. During the trial prosecutors said the four “celebrated racist violence and killing” through online messages. They will be sentenced at a later date. A two-month trial, which was moved to Doncaster Crown Court due to problems at Sheffield Crown Court, heard the defendants used online messaging app Telegram to exchange terror manuals, share racist ideology and post videos of atrocities. Prosecutor Annabel Darlow QC said the group described killers such as Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and Anders Breivik, who murdered 77 people in Norway, as “saints”. She told jurors the group also had an “active interest in the manufacture of explosives and weaponry”. Daniel Wright, of Whinfield Avenue, Keighley, was found guilty of disseminating a terrorist publication, possessing articles for terrorist purposes, and the collection of information contrary to the Terrorism Act.”
United States
“Federal agents in Chicago raided the home of a teenage boy last month as part of an ongoing probe into an alleged ISIS-inspired plot to attack a Shiite mosque during spring break and kill as many people as possible, newly unsealed court records show. The raid was connected to the case against Xavier Pelkey, 18, who was charged in February in U.S. District Court in Maine with possessing several shrapnel-packed homemade explosives. Prosecutors there said Pelkey had been plotting online to travel to Chicago and commit “mass murder” at area places of worship, the Tribune has previously reported. On Feb. 5, a week before Pelkey’s arrest in Waterville, Maine, agents in Chicago executed a search warrant at the home of a 15-year-old boy who had been communicating online with Pelkey, according to a declaration by FBI Special Agent Garrett Drew unsealed Friday. Drew said the boy, identified only as “Juvenile #1,” and Pelkey, who used the name “Abdullah” on Instagram, were conspiring with a 17-year-old boy from Kentucky to attack “an identified Shia Muslim mosque in the Chicago area” in late March, coinciding with spring break. “Juvenile #1 further explained that they would enter the Shia mosque and separate the adults from the children, then murder the adults,” Drew stated.”
Associated Press: Convicted Terrorist Sentenced For Selling Methamphetamine
“A convicted terrorist from Southern California was sentenced to more than 15 1/2 years in prison for selling drugs to an undercover FBI agent, prosecutors said. Ahmed Binyamin Alasiri, 45, of Garden Grove was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty last fall to distributing methamphetamine, the U.S. attorney's office said. Alasiri also received a concurrent two-year sentence for violating the terms of his supervised release from federal prison. Alasiri sold 1.7 kilograms (3.8 pounds) of methamphetamine to an undercover agent in three transactions in 2020, a year after he was released from federal prison, prosecutors said. In 2007, Alasiri, who was then known as Kevin Lamar James, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to levy war against the United States government through terrorism. His co-conspirators staged armed robberies of gas stations “to raise money for attacks Alasiri planned on U.S. military operations and Israeli and Jewish facilities in Southern California,” the U.S. attorney's office said in a statement. He served 16 years in federal prison before being released in 2019. Alasiri “was industrious and obtained legitimate full-time employment, yet he did not hesitate to traffic in drugs to earn income,” prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum.”
Syria
Al Jazeera: Clashes Between ISIL And Kurds Kill Four In Syrian Camp
“Three people, including a child, have been killed in northeastern Syria’s Al-Hol camp, caught in the fighting between Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in charge of the site and ISIL (ISIS) cells, a war monitoring group said. An ISIL member was also reportedly killed in the clashes. “Reliable sources reported that Al-Hawl [Al-Hol] camp in the far south-east countryside of Al-Hasakah province has been witnessing ongoing tension” since Monday night, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Tuesday. It added that another 10 people had been wounded. The Kurdish Hawar news agency reported that the clashes lasted for three hours after an ISIL cell attacked members of the SDF’s Asayish Forces. In another report citing the Asayish’s media center, Hawar news said the cell used Kalashnikovs, pistols, and rocket-propelled grenades. It has been three years since a United States-led coalition captured the last sliver of territory held by ISIL, ending their self-declared caliphate that covered large parts of Iraq and Syria. The brutal war lasted several years and left US-allied Kurdish authorities in control of the country’s east and northeast areas, with a small presence of several hundred American forces still deployed there.”
Kurdistan 24: Security Forces Arrest Suspected ISIS Suicide Bomber In Syria's Notorious Al-Hol Camp
“An alleged ISIS suicide bomber was arrested before he could blow himself up in the 5th section of northeast Syria's al-Hol camp, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) war monitor reported on Monday. Security forces launched an operation in the 5th section of the sprawling camp, the SOHR report said. Moreover, clashes erupted between armed men in the 4th and 5th sections of the enormous camp. The Syria-based North Press agency also reported clashes erupted in the camp on Monday. One ISIS member was killed during those clashes. On Mar. 2, North Press reported that intelligence reports indicated that ISIS is plotting a full-scale attack on al-Hol. On Tuesday, North Press tweeted that the Asayish again received information indicating ISIS is plotting an attack. On Jan. 20, ISIS launched a large-scale attack on Hasakah's al-Sina'a prison, which hosts around 3,000 to 3,500 suspected militants. The SDF announced on Jan. 30 that it had fully recaptured al-Sina'a after the remaining ISIS fighters there surrendered after ten days of fighting. According to data from the UN, al-Hol is the largest camp for refugees and internally displaced people in Syria, hosting about 56,000 people.”
Iraq
Kurdistan 24: Iraqi F-16s Strike ISIS In Kirkuk
“Iraqi Air Force F-16 aircraft attacked ISIS militants in Wadi al-Shay in southern Kirkuk province, the Iraqi military’s Security Media Cell announced on Tuesday. The Media Cell tweeted that the airstrike destroyed an ISIS target after the military obtained accurate intelligence about its location. “According to the available information, the terrorist detachment that was killed in this specific operation is responsible for targeting the security forces in Kirkuk Governorate,” the Media Cell tweeted. “The message of our security forces to the terrorists is clear: They will not survive the fatal blows wherever they are,” it added. “Iraq is a country of security and peace.” The Iraqi Air Force frequently targets ISIS hideouts located in rural parts of Kirkuk in the north and Anbar province in the west. Its F-16s are the air force’s most advanced jets and can carry the kinds of precision-guided munitions required to strike ISIS targets accurately. Iraq continues airstrikes against ISIS to maintain pressure on the group and hinder its attempts to make a resurgence in the country.”
Yemen
Asharq Al-Awsat: OIC Urges Washington To Re-Designate Houthis As A Terrorist Group
“The Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) strongly denounced on Monday the military escalation by the Houthi militias against civilian targets in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It urged the US to re-designate the Houthis as a terrorist group pursuant to the UN Security Council Resolution 2624. The OIC warned that the US failure to do so encourages the group to commit more crimes against civilians in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It also stressed the need to put an immediate end to such aggressive acts and prevent their recurrence in the future, calling for a political process that could restore stability and security in Yemen. “The Houthis persistence in hostile acts poses a real threat to peace, security and stability in the region and the world at large,” said an OIC statement. The statement further hailed the efforts exerted by the Saudi-led Coalition Forces to help deliver humanitarian aid to impoverished people in Yemen. It also reaffirmed its support for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE in their efforts to protect the safety of civilian life and property in both countries.”
Middle East
Asharq Al-Awsat: Israel Changes Policy Towards ISIS, Hires 15,000 Personnel To Confront Threats
“Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett issued instructions to change the policy on dealing with ISIS terrorists to impose severe penalties on their activities and monitor their behavior and their accounts on social networks. Bennett stepping up anti-ISIS measures follows two people being killed in a shooting attack in Hadera, the second attack linked to the militant group in Israel within a week. Moreover, Tel Aviv issued a series of security decisions that included recruiting 15,000 individuals to its police and border guards’ apparatuses. The increase in personnel is meant to deter additional threats of terror attacks during Islam’s holy month of fasting, Ramadan. “A second attack by ISIS supporters inside Israel requires the security forces to adapt quickly to the new threat,” said Bennett, adding that extremist elements of the Arab community in Israel are being directed by an extremist Islamic ideology to carry out terrorist operations that take human lives. One of the two attackers who carried out the shooting Sunday had served a year and a half in an Israeli prison following a conviction for attempting to enter Syria to become an ISIS fighter. Ibrahim Agbarieh, 29, from the Israeli town of Umm al-Fahm was arrested by Turkish police ahead of boarding a bus headed for the Syrian border. Apparently, information provided to Turkey by Israeli authorities led to the arrest.”
Nigeria
Associated Press: Gunmen Attack Train Near Nigeria’s Capital, Kill Some Riders
“Gunmen attacked a train near Nigeria’s capital on Monday night with explosives and gunfire, killing an unspecified number of the nearly 1,000 passengers on board, authorities and survivors told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The attackers used explosives to first blow up the rail track before opening fire on the train near Abuja in northwest Nigeria, according to Fidet Okhiria, chief executive of the state-owned Nigerian Railway Corporation. Many people are also feared to have been abducted during the “unprecedented” attack, he said. Authorities could not immediately confirm the number of passengers on the train but local media reported that nearly 1,000 were on board. “There were casualties but we have not been able to confirm the number,” said Okhiria, calling the attack a major setback. It is the latest in a series of other train attacks. Abdulwadud Ahmad, a survivor, said he knew of nine passengers killed including someone sitting close to him. “They bombed the track and started exchanging fire with the security inside the train,” he told the AP. “They subdued the security, then came into the train … and kidnapped a lot of people. They killed some people intentionally while some (were killed) with stray bullets.”
Somalia
All Africa: Somalia Claims Fresh Terror Attack Foiled, 12 Shabaab Militants Killed
“Security forces in Somalia on Sunday repelled an attack on a military base in northeast Puntland State, killing 12 militants of the al-Shabab terror group, local officials said. Three soldiers of the Puntland Security Forces (PSF) died in the attack on the army base near Af-Urur village early Sunday morning, local security officials told Radio Mogadishu. Witnesses said Shabab militants fired mortar shells in the attack, which prompted a heavy gunfight with security forces.”
Deutsche Welle: Attacks Intensify As Somalia Prepares For Presidential Election
“In the latest violence to rock Somalia, militants overran the Af Urur military base in the north of the country on Sunday, killing four soldiers. That ambush comes barely a week after two deadly attacks: one on the Halane base near the airport in the capital, Mogadishu, and twin blasts in the city of Beledweyne, in central Somalia, which killed 48 people and injured more than 100. Amina Mohamed Abdi, a prominent opposition politician and outspoken government critic, was among the people killed in the Beledweyne explosions. Al-Shabab said it carried out the attacks to target politicians contesting Somalia's elections, which are already more than a year overdue. The election of the lower house, which has been ongoing for several months, is now scheduled to be completed on March 31. This will pave the way for lawmakers to pick a president, a process that has been long and deeply troubled. President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, also known as Farmaajo, extended his mandate by two years in April 2021 after his term expired with no agreement on how to replace him. The president has been at loggerheads ever since with Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble, who accused Farmaajo of an “attempted coup” when he extended his term.”
United Kingdom
AFP: El Shafee Elsheikh, 'Most Brutal' Of The IS 'Beatles'
“…Elsheikh was born in Sudan in 1988 but moved to Britain as a child. His father left the family when he was seven years old, according to the non-profit Counter Extremism Project (CEP). Elsheikh studied mechanical engineering at Acton College in London, according to CEP, and was stabbed in a fight with a gang member when he was 19. He married an Ethiopian woman in Canada when he was 21, CEP said, but was not allowed to bring her to Britain, deepening his anger at the British government. “He had this hate for the Western world and for Westerners deep inside him, even if he grew up in England,” Espinosa said. Elsheikh became increasingly radicalized and took part in a “Muslims Against Crusades” demonstration outside the US Embassy in London on September 11, 2011, according to the US indictment. He traveled to Syria in 2012, the indictment says, to “wage violent jihad on behalf of radical Islamic groups,” first joining an Al-Qaeda affiliate there and then IS. Between 2012 and 2015, Elsheikh and the others seized numerous hostages and administered torture including electric shocks, waterboarding and mock executions, the indictment says. In an interview with The Washington Post after his capture, Elsheikh denied ever torturing captives but acknowledged he did not always show them “compassion.”
Europe
New York Post: Ericsson Investors Revolt Over ISIS Payments Scandal: ‘We Don’t Trust Them’
“Shareholders of Ericsson are revolting against the Swedish telecom giant’s executives – including top boss Börje Ekholm – after their admission that the company may have inadvertently made payments to ISIS. European activist investment firm Cevian Capital and Norway’s $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, two of Ericcson’s top 10 shareholders, will vote against a measure shielding Ekhold and other board members from liability over the scandal. Last month, Ekholm noted “unusual expenses dating back to 2018” as the company attempted to gain access to truck routes in Iraq that were controlled by terrorist groups, including ISIS. Ekholm said the company hasn’t determined who was the “final recipient” of the money. “Basically, we don’t trust them. We wonder whether they’re hiding something, otherwise they would come clean. The governance is dysfunctional,” one individual identified as a top-10 shareholder of Ericsson stock told the Financial Times. Norway’s fund told the outlet it “cannot discharge based on the information we have now.” Meanwhile, Cevian addressed its plan vote against the liability discharge by noting it “still [lacks] the information necessary to make an informed judgment of what went wrong, why, and who should be held responsible.”
The National: Former Irish Soldier ‘Answered Call To Migrate To Syria’, Court Hears
“Former Irish soldier Lisa Smith, who denies membership in ISIS, “specifically assessed, analysed and ultimately answered the call to migrate” to Syria, a court has heard. A prosecutor in the trial of the former Defence Forces soldier told the Special Criminal Court that it was not a case of a “simple or innocent act of travel” at an unfortunate point in time when Ms Smith travelled to ISIS-controlled territory. The Co Louth woman, 39, has pleaded not guilty to charges of membership in ISIS and providing funds to benefit the group. In his closing speech following a nine-week trial, prosecuting counsel Sean Gillane told the three-judge, non-jury court that the “element of buyer’s remorse” asserted was not a defence. “Ms Smith is not being prosecuted for believing in Islam or following Islam, or for believing in a caliphate or a caliph,” Mr Gillane added. “It’s important to resist any attempt to conflate the nomenclature, she is being prosecuted for joining a terrorist group. “There are many straw men in the case that obscure the real issue. “To ask the court to consider the merits, legitimacy of a caliphate is about as valid as asking the court to pronounce on the existence of heaven or hell.”
Greek City Times: Putin Tells Macron That Ukrainian “Nationalists” In Mariupol Must Surrender
“…The battalion’s role in recapturing Mariupol in June 2014 from Russian-backed forces brought it “hero status” in Ukraine, said Alexander Ritzmann, a senior adviser at the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), based in Berlin. But that status came with baggage – the far-right views of some members and neo-Nazi insignia. These included the black sun, “a pagan symbol appropriated by Nazis for their pseudo-religion,” and the Wolfsangel, “a symbol that far-right extremists have also adopted,” he said. “The Azov movement is a dangerous key player of the transnational extreme-right and has served as a network hub for several years now, with strong ties to far-right extremists in many European Union countries and the United States,” Ritzmann added. Meanwhile, nearly 5,000 people, including about 210 children, have been killed in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol since Russian forces laid siege to it, a spokesperson for the mayor said on Monday. Mariupol is ruined, wrecked and demolished by war and the city council says 170,000 civilians remain trapped there. Mayor Vadym Boychenko said that Russian forces controlled some neighborhoods and were entering “deeper into the city” of almost half a million people before the war but Mariupol remains “under the control of Ukrainian armed forces.” “Mariupol needs a complete evacuation,” Boychenko told the local UNIAN news agency in an interview published overnight.”
Technology
Newsmax: House Republicans Target Social Media That Harbor Terrorist Groups
“A new piece of House legislation, the No Publicity for Terrorists Act, would mandate social media platforms remove terrorist organizations and their supporters or face a $50,000 fine for every infraction. The Act is spearheaded by Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., who wrote the bill with Rep. Bob Good, R-Va. “There is no excuse or justification for Big Tech to give known terrorists a dangerous platform,” Good wrote in a statement. “This is especially egregious given Big Tech's track record of regularly and unjustifiably censoring conservative voices like President [Donald] Trump, and members of Congress.” Republicans have been highly critical of social media platforms, accusing them of bias and silencing prominent conservative voices. The bill is aimed at holding these companies accountable for what Cawthorn described as their double standard in enforcing community guidelines, The Washington Free Beacon reported. “They claim President Trump is a danger to public discourse, but allow terrorist organizations, hate groups, and dictators to remain on their platforms?” Cawthorn said. Major platforms from Twitter to Facebook have long faced scrutiny on Capitol Hill for allowing their social sites to be used by extremist groups that promote violence against the United States, Israel, and other American allies, the Free Beacon observed.”
The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If you value what we do, please consider making a donation.
| |
Click here to unsubscribe.