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Eye on Extremism
March 31, 2022
The Wall Street Journal: Israel Boosts Security Amid Deadly Wave Of Terrorist Attacks
“Israel is beefing up its military forces in the West Bank and carrying out a wave of arrests as its leaders grapple with the deadliest surge of terrorist attacks on the country’s soil in years. At least 11 Israelis have died from three attacks in the past week. Fearing more, the Israeli military said it is sending 12 additional battalions into the West Bank—from where Tuesday’s attacker hailed—as well as two additional battalions to its border with the Gaza Strip and 15 companies of special forces to aid Israel’s police. Authorities said the police are suspending normal routines to focus on counterterrorism within Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has put the country on crisis footing as calls grew for a strong response that could include major military operations. He called on Israelis to step up and help security forces defend the country. “Whoever has a license to carry a weapon, this is the time to carry it,” said Mr. Bennett in a video statement. He said all trained combat soldiers in active or reserve duty could carry their weapons home, announced an operation to seize illegal weapons in Arab-Israeli communities and said civilian volunteers might be recruited to keep watch. Mr. Bennett said security forces were carrying out more than 200 investigations or arrest operations.”
The Washington Post: British Militant Accused Of Torture Says He Was ‘Simple ISIS Fighter’
“El Shafee Elsheikh has admitted in numerous media interviews that he helped the Islamic State seek ransoms from the families of Western hostages captured during the Syrian civil war, beating the prisoners and demanding personal information. But on trial in Alexandria, Va., federal court and facing a potential life term, Elsheikh is arguing that those admissions were false and that surviving hostages who identify him as one of four British militants known as the “Beatles” are mistaken. Elsheikh was “a simple ISIS fighter,” his attorney Edward MacMahon said in his opening statement Wednesday at the outset of a trial that could last through April. “Mr. Elsheikh was not a member of the ‘Beatles’ and not involved in the kidnapping, torture and deaths of any of these individuals.” The Islamic State is also known as ISIS. Elsheikh is the only one of the four on trial. Executioner Mohammed Emwazi, better known as “Jihadi John,” died in a drone strike in 2015. Aine Davis is in prison in Turkey. Alexanda Kotey pleaded guilty in Alexandria last year. Although they always wore masks, the British captors stood out as “utterly terrifying” compared with other guards, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Gibbs said in his opening statement.”
Afghanistan
Miami Herald: What’s Happening In Afghanistan? What To Know As Experts Warn Of Taliban’s Extremism
“Only hours after schools reopened for girls for the first time in months in Afghanistan, the Taliban announced that those above the sixth grade would not be allowed to attend. The news came as a shock to both Afghans and the international community as the Taliban had assured that girls could return to classrooms in the Persian New Year, or March 20, according to Time. “It shows that the Taliban is exactly the same as before – they are against girls’ education,” Shukria Barakzai, an Afghan politician and journalist, told Al Jazeera. Is the Taliban really the same as before 2001, and should foreign countries be worried? Here’s what experts say. After U.S. troops left Afghanistan, the government collapsed in August and the Taliban quickly assumed power of the country. Now, the Taliban is imposing repressive measures, taking the country back in time — women must cover their bodies and faces, travel accompanied by a male, and stay home from school, Dipali Mukhopadhyay, senior expert at the U.S. Institute of Peace, wrote in Foreign Affairs on March 28. International media such as Voice of America (VOA) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) have also been banned from the country, according to VOA.”
Pakistan
Associated Press: Militants Attack Troops In Northwestern Pakistan, Killing 6
“Militants attacked Pakistan’s paramilitary security forces in the country’s northwest early on Wednesday, triggering a shootout in which at least six troops and three insurgents were killed, the military and police said. Spokesman Mohammad Khurasani of the Pakistani Taliban — also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, an outlawed militant group — claimed responsibility for the attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Local police official Zahid Khan said about two dozen security personnel were also wounded in the attack, but that the paramilitary forces had apparently taken control of the situation. In a statement, the military said troops retaliated after coming under attack and killed all three insurgents involved in the assault. The Pakistani Taliban have been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban last year seized power across the border in Afghanistan. They have stepped up attacks on Pakistani security forces since December when a month-long cease-fire between the TTP and the government ended. Pakistani authorities say most of the fighters and leaders of the TTP are hiding in Afghanistan.”
Middle East
“With security forces on high alert following a spate of deadly terror attacks, police on Wednesday shot two East Jerusalem Palestinians in the city’s main public market during an arrest that turned violent. The suspects suffered light injuries to their lower extremities. An officer was also hurt. Police said that the men raised suspicions with their behavior and remarks as they were traveling on the Jerusalem Light Rail, which they took the Mahane Yehuda Market. Members of the public then alerted police. Officers arrived at the scene and after a search located the men in a butcher shop in the market. As police approached them, the two suspects “brutally attacked officers with punches and chokeholds,” the statement said. “In light of the danger to police at the scene due to the unusual violence the suspects showed toward them,” an officer shot the suspects in the lower body, causing them light injuries, police said, citing medical assessments of their condition. The arrested men were taken away for medical treatment. One officer was also injured in the face. Jerusalem District Commander Doron Turgeman arrived at the scene and held a situational assessment, and police said they opened an investigation into the incident.”
The Jerusalem Post: Shades Of Terror: Fatah Vs Hamas Vs ISIS - Analysis
“Part of the challenge facing security forces in the face of the terrorist attacks over the past eight days has been their source: the perpetrators came from radically different sectors, and do not fit into a conventional box that holds a clear answer on what to do next. The initial two terrorist attacks in Beersheba and Hadera were committed by Arab-Israelis inspired by ISIS. Suddenly, everyone remembered the violence and riots that erupted within Israel proper during the May war with Hamas in Gaza. Security officials said they would also shift to more actively tracking and reviewing the status of Arab-Israelis who had prior minor convictions related to links to ISIS. Included in this group would be those who volunteered to fight with ISIS in Syria against Bashar Assad’s regime, but not against Israel per se. However, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad jumped on the bandwagon of the ISIS-inspired terrorist attacks, hoping to broaden the “appeal” and piggyback onto the new terrorism momentum. Hamas has not only been encouraging terrorism in its public relations, but in facts on the ground: on March 7, for instance, it took credit for a terrorist stabbing attack on the Temple Mount, the second attack that week in the area of Jerusalem’s Old City.”
Nigeria
Premium Times Nigeria: ANALYSIS: What Nigeria, Others Should Do To Defeat Boko Haram
“The devastation caused by Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin is not limited to deaths and displacements. It includes severe disruptions to economic activities. And it’s not just the violent extremists who are making it difficult for communities to sustain their livelihoods – but also the government’s measures to counter the insurgency. New research by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) found that the Lake Chad Basin had thriving fishing and agro-pastoral activities before the conflict. It also had a vibrant transborder trade sector, exchanging goods produced in and outside the region. Today the work of fishers, farmers, traders and transporters is hampered by both Boko Haram and the government’s responses to terrorism. The ISS study covered Cameroon (North and Extreme North), Chad (Lac and Hadjer-Lamis), Niger (Diffa) and Nigeria (Borno, Adamawa and Yobe). These areas were already marginalised socio-economically before the conflict, and the uneven presence of the state and government services enabled Boko Haram to appropriate economic activities for its benefit. Violent extremists came in and destroyed farms, killing or displacing farmers. Fishing areas became no-go zones after locals were murdered or displaced.”
Somalia
Voice Of America: US Ambassador To Somalia Condemns Al-Shabab Attacks
“U.S. Ambassador to Somalia Larry André has condemned a recent wave of attacks by al-Shabab militants across the country that killed more than 60 people. Speaking to VOA Somali on Tuesday, André said the attacks in Mogadishu, Beledweyne and elsewhere were intended to prevent Somalia from moving toward stability. “We condemn those who seek to murder and destroy,” the ambassador said. “They are stopping the revival of Somalia and they're taking many lives in doing so. We support those who seek to build a secure, prosperous and peaceful Somalia. That is what our cooperation with the Somali authorities, with the Somali people, with Somali civil society is all aimed at.” A daring March 23 attack by al-Shabab on Mogadishu's heavily fortified airport killed at least seven people including five foreigners, according to Somali police spokesperson Major Abdifatah Aden Hassan. On the same day, two deadlier explosions in Beledweyne claimed the lives of 48 more people including a female lawmaker, Amina Mohamed Abdi. Al-Shabab attacks continued into this week as the militant group carried out a raid and roadside explosion in Puntland, killing five soldiers. Another attack on Tuesday night in the town of Wanlaweyn injured a security official and killed his teenage son.”
United Kingdom
BBC News: Lincoln Teenager Arrested For Terror Offences
“A 19-year-old man from Lincoln has been arrested on suspicion of terror offences. Lincolnshire Police said East Midlands counter-terrorism officers detained the teenager in a pre-planned operation shortly before 07:30 BST on Wednesday. He remains in custody and will be interviewed at a local police station. The arrest, south of the city centre, was part of the unit's “year-round work to assess and respond to potential threats”, the force said.”
France
The Guardian: Suicide Vest Of Paris Attacks Defendant Was Faulty, Expert Tells Court
“A police explosives expert has told a court that the suicide vest worn by the main suspect on trial for the 2015 Paris terror attacks that left 130 people dead and hundreds injured was faulty. The witness said the detonators on the front and back of the vest abandoned by Salah Abdeslam near a rubbish bin were “defective” and there was no switch or battery present. “I suppose it could have been set off with a match or a lighter. And if the TATP [explosive] was dry enough it could have gone off unexpectedly by itself,” he said. The testimony threw doubt on Abdeslam’s claims that he willingly backed out of taking part in the attacks at the last minute. The police expert admitted it was impossible to know if Abdeslam had tried to detonate the vest. “We can’t know that: it’s instant; either it works or it doesn’t work,” he said. When Abdeslam called friends in Belgium to ask them to come and collect him on the night of the attacks, he told them the vest had not worked. On Wednesday, he claimed this was a lie. “I chose not to set off my suicide vest. Not out of cowardice or fear, but I didn’t want to do it. I wore it but I didn’t set it off. That’s all. I was ashamed that I hadn’t gone through with it when I knew what the others had done. I was 25 and I was afraid of what others would think. It was the fact I was ashamed. Simply that,” he told the court.”
Canada
Vice: Home Linked To International Neo-Nazi Propagandist Raided By Police: Sources
“Multiple sources have told VICE News that the last known address of an infamous artist who created propaganda for listed neo-Nazi terrorist organizations has been raided by police in Canada. For years, the artist, Patrick Gordon MacDonald, a 20-something graphic designer living in Ottawa and going by the alias “Dark Foreigner,” produced work for Atomwaffen Division–a U.S.-based terror group that has subsequently rebranded with a new name—and other organizations within the ultraviolent neo-Nazi terror movement. In the summer of 2021, VICE News revealed that he was operating a graphic design studio out of the Canadian capital and living with his parents, after having quietly produced art for multiple organizations. (As VICE News reported, for example, it’s believed he not only produced art for Sonnenkrieg Division but also traveled to the United Kingdom to meet with members; the group’s founder was convicted last year of 15 terrorism-related offenses, including terrorism funding.) One tipster, who did not want to be identified, said that the raid began in the early-morning hours and involved the RCMP—Canada’s federal police force, which is responsible for counterterrorism operations—as well as the Ottawa Police Service and the Ontario Provincial Police.”
Europe
AFP: Irish Ex-Soldier Was Not IS Member, Says Lawyer
“The lawyer for an Irish ex-soldier accused of being a member of the so-called Islamic State group on Wednesday denied she was involved in terrorist activities, speaking on the final day of her trial. Lisa Smith, 40, from Dundalk, on Ireland's east coast, has pleaded not guilty to membership of an unlawful terrorist group between October 28, 2015 and December 1, 2019. She has also denied funding terrorism by sending 800 euros ($900) to aid medical treatment for a Syrian man in Turkey. As the nine-week trial wrapped up, defence lawyer Michael O'Higgins pushed back against arguments by experts that his client was a member of the Islamic State because she had moved to IS-controlled territory. It was inaccurate to describe everyone who travelled to the hardline jihadists' self-styled caliphate as a “foreign fighter” regardless of what role they actually played, he argued. The only act that “might at a stretch be argued as some form of assistance” was that Smith had kept a home for her husband, he added. O'Higgins reminded the three judges at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin that Smith had told Irish police in interviews that she would “never join a group like that”. The court has been told that she was a member of the Irish Defence Forces from 2001 to 2011 but left after converting to Islam.”
Asia
Reuters: Russia Concerned At Islamic State's Plans To Destabilise Central Asia -Report
“Russia is concerned about the plans of militant group Islamic State to destabilise central Asia and spread instability to the country as well, the RIA news agency said. It was quoting remarks on Thursday by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at an Afghanistan-focused conference in China. Lavrov added that the first diplomat appointed by Afghanistan's Taliban government started work in Moscow last month after being accredited by Russia.”
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