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Eye on Extremism
April 1, 2022
Associated Press: UN Authorizes New AU Mission In Somalia To Combat Extremists
“The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to endorse the African Union’s new transitional mission in Somalia and authorized it to take action against al-Qaida and Islamic State extremist groups and conduct a phased handover of security responsibilities to Somalia’s government. The African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia, known as ATMIS, replaces the African Union Mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM, which has been in the Horn of Africa nation for 15 years trying to build lasting peace and security. While the resolution adopted by the council recognizes significant changes in the security situation since it authorized AMISOM in February 2007 and improvements in Somalia’s capability to respond to security challenges, it also reaffirms “the need to combat terrorist threats by all means.” Only in the past few years has Somalia begun to find its footing after three decades of chaos from warlords to the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group and the emergence of Islamic State-linked extremist groups. Last year, a political crisis further postponed long-delayed elections and lower house elections which were to be completed on March 15 are still not complete, further delaying the vote for a new president.”
Reuters: Saudi Arabia Adds 25 To List Of Those Suspected Of Financing Yemen's Houthis
“Saudi Arabia added 25 people and entities from different nationalities to its terrorism list, saying they are involved in financing Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement, Saudi state media reported on Thursday. The designations were done “unilaterally and in coordination with the U.S. Treasury Department”, the Presidency of State Security said in a statement on state news agency SPA. It said those listed were involved in facilitating financial activities of the Houthi group “with support of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps”. Riyadh, which leads a coalition that has been battling the Houthis for seven years, accuses Iran of providing arms and financial support to the movement, charges denied by Tehran. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the internationally recognised government from the capital, Sanaa, in late 2014. The Houthis say they are fighting a corrupt system and foreign aggression.”
United States
CNN: Hostage Survivor Testifies In Trial Of ISIS Member Accused In Deaths Of Several Americans
“A hostage taken by the ISIS terror cell known as the “Beatles” testified Thursday in a trial against one of the alleged members, El Shafee Elsheikh, who is accused of assisting in the kidnapping, torture and death of several Americans, Europeans and other foreign nationals from 2012 to 2015. During the second day of trial, Italian aid worker Federico Motka told the jury how he was captured, imprisoned and tortured by the terror cell alongside other hostages who were eventually killed, including Americans James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig. The so-called Beatles -- as the hostages came to call them because of their British accents -- were the primary handlers of the hostages and, according to the Department of Justice, Elsheikh is the last of the group to stand trial. His co-defendant pleaded guilty in September and the other member, Mohamed Emwazi, was killed in a drone strike in 2015. Motka told the jury he was captured in 2013 along with British aid worker David Haines on a trip to Syria to better understand the needs of refugees in the area. “I think we're getting kidnapped,” Motka testified that he told his boss on the phone as masked men armed with guns surrounded their car, eventually pulling them out and pushing them in the trunk of their cars.”
Syria
“The U.S.-led coalition's campaign against ISIS in Raqqa, Syria, contributed to the leveling of the city and presents a “cautionary tale” for future conflicts in urban settings, a new report has found. The report released by RAND on Thursday concluded the Defense Department made efforts to prevent civilian harm in the 2017 battle for Raqqa, but there remains room for improvement. The battle for Raqqa - the last major city held by ISIS in Syria and considered the caliphate's administrative capital - resulted in as many as 1,600 civilian casualties and destroyed an estimated 60-80% of the city, leaving it uninhabitable, according to the RAND report. The RAND report was sponsored by the Defense Department and will be incorporated in the Pentagon's initiatives to prevent civilian casualties in US airstrikes, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said in a press briefing Thursday. “No other military works as hard as we do to mitigate civilian harm and yet we still cause it,” Kirby said. The battle for Raqqa played out from June to October 2017 with the coalition playing a supporting role for the Syrian Democratic Forces. The coalition hit ISIS with airstrikes and shell fire until the last of the militants left Raqqa in October 2017.”
Kurdistan 24: SDF Arrests More Than 46 People In Syria's Al-Hol Camp
“Over 46 people were arrested in a recent operation carried out by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Asayish, and HAT counter-terrorism forces in northeast Syria's al-Hol camp, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) war monitor reported on Thursday. The report noted that the campaign followed recent developments in the notorious camp. In recent days, a man, woman, and child were killed, and four women, six children, and three members of the Asayish were injured. An ISIS member was also recently killed in the camp. Since Monday, the situation in the camp has been tense following violent clashes between Kurdish-led authorities and ISIS cells. SOHR sources said that SDF-backed HAT counter-terrorism forces recently imposed a complete curfew on the camp and town in response. US-led coalition helicopters and reconnaissance aircraft flew over the area as HAT imposed that preventive measure. On Tuesday, a high-ranking security official in the civilian Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) said intelligence indicates ISIS is planning a major coordinated attack on al-Hol similar to the operation it launched against Hasakah's al-Sina'a prison in January, which aimed to free thousands of militants in SDF captivity.”
Afghanistan
The Wall Street Journal: Taliban Want To Control Aid Funds, A Red Line For Donors
“The Taliban are asserting control over nongovernmental organizations working in Afghanistan, demanding a greater say over who receives aid and the staff NGOs hire, jeopardizing lifesaving deliveries to the Afghan population. At stake are the billions of dollars in aid money the international community has committed to Afghanistan since August, when the Taliban took control of the country and the economy nosedived. The Taliban government has publicly said it is committed to allowing NGOs deliver assistance to those who need it. But in practice, the Taliban are increasingly interfering with the ability of humanitarian organizations to operate independently, according to humanitarian organizations, foreign officials and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Above all, through a series of formal and informal orders, the Taliban—who have little revenue of their own—are trying to determine how aid money is spent. The Taliban’s grab for more influence over humanitarian organizations comes ahead of a big donor conference on Thursday, where the United Nations is hoping to raise $4.4 billion in aid for Afghanistan, its largest single-country appeal ever. Since the Taliban takeover last August, millions of people have fallen into extreme poverty, with 95% of Afghans not getting enough to eat, according to the U.N.”
Middle East
The Jerusalem Post: Hamas’ Terrorism Threats Could Backfire, Experts Say
“Three terror attacks in one week left 11 victims and four terrorists dead in the streets of Israel. And on Thursday, a screwdriver-wielding attacker in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem, left a bus passenger hospitalized in serious condition before being slain. In response, the security forces have taken a series of measures in an effort to stem the wave of attacks. While Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Tuesday’s attack in Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, Hamas threatened further escalation after two Palestinians were killed in a gun battle during an IDF raid in the Jenin refugee camp on Thursday morning. “The continuous crimes of the occupation portend a total explosion, which will be still more powerful and more painful and miserable [than those that preceded it] and which our people will join in every part of our occupied land,” Hamas said in a statement. The terrorist organization said it welcomes “the blessed month of Ramadan, the month of struggle and martyrdom and victories,” by “embracing the hands of our revolutionary heroes.” Ramadan will begin on Saturday or Sunday evening. Emmanuel Navon, a professor of international relations at Tel Aviv University, told The Media Line that Hamas’ issued the threat to undermine the Palestinian Authority.”
“In the wake of two deadly attacks committed by men affiliated with Islamic State, 43 suspects who allegedly sympathize with the jihadist group have been arrested, according to Hebrew-language media reports. The reports say 36 of them are from northern Israel. Last Tuesday, an Arab Israeli man from the southern town of Hura — previously jailed for attempting to join Islamic State — killed four people at a shopping center in Beersheba. And on Sunday, two cousins from Umm al-Fahm — one of whom had been previously jailed for attempting to join Islamic State — killed two police officers at a bus stop in Hadera. The jihadist group has claimed responsibility for both attacks, but it does not appear the terrorists were instructed by it to commit them. Police officials say the wave of arrests against those affiliated with Islamic State is expected to continue in the coming days.”
Nigeria
Sahara Reporters: Boko Haram Terrorists Ambush ISWAP Fighters, Kill 50 In Borno
“At least 50 fighters of the Islamic State of the West African Province (ISWAP), have been killed in an ambush by its affiliates, Jama’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihad faction of Boko Haram in the North East of Lake Chad, Borno State. The latest battle is part of a renewed war of supremacy between the deadly sects. The rival groups have been attacking communities in the North-East region since both camps fell apart over leadership issues. The groups have also since been having clashes, and Abubakar Shekau, leader of Boko Haram, was reportedly killed during one of such clashes in 2021. The latest incident sources said, happened when Boko Haram fighters laid an ambush for ISWAP fighters in the Abadam Local Government Area of Borno State. This was said to have led to a gun battle between the two groups. The Boko Haram fighters led by Mohammed Ari were said to have overpowered those of ISWAP, killing about 50 of them. Their bodies were also shown in a trending video as they were being slaughtered and dumped inside makeshift graves around the Lake Chad axis. Some ISWAP insurgents were also burnt inside their gun trucks.”
Mali
The Defense Post: Jihadist-Hit Mali Gets Combat Helicopters From Russia
“Mali’s junta-dominated government has taken delivery of combat helicopters from Russia to help its army fight a bloody jihadist insurgency, an AFP journalist saw. Defense Minister Sadio Camara late Wednesday formally received two helicopters, radar, and other equipment brought by a Russian transport plane to a military base at Bamako airport. The delivery adds to at least four helicopters and weapons provided by Russia under closer ties forged by rebel colonels who seized power in 2020. Russia has also supplied what are officially described as military instructors — personnel that France says are operatives from Russia’s Wagner security arm. Mali’s rapprochement with the Kremlin has prompted French forces and their European allies to announce their exit from the country. They have been helping the impoverished Sahel nation fight a decade-old jihadist campaign that has claimed thousands of lives and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes. On its website, the Malian army said the new consignment was “the fruit of a sincere and very long-running partnership” with Moscow. The equipment comprised “combat helicopters, the latest radars and much other material needed for the fight against terrorism and extremism.”
Africa
AFP: Niger Calls For Regional Force Against Sahel Jihadists
“Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum on Thursday called for Nigeria to help create a regional military task force to combat insecurity in the Sahel region. Nigeria's neighbors Niger and Burkina Faso are struggling to contain militant insurgencies aligned with the Islamic State and al-Qaida that have spread across their territories. Nigeria already helped establish the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) for the Lake Chad region, involving the armed forces of Chad and Niger and others to battle Boko Haram militants there. “We want to replicate this kind of model in countries of Sahel,” Bazoum said in a statement from Nigeria's presidency after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja. “Why? Because this model has allowed us in the Lake Chad basin to address a common threat,” he said. He said if Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy and a regional powerhouse, helped organize a similar model for the Sahel, it would reduce the financial burden to fight militants there. Niger is attempting an initiative to talk to jihadis whose attacks have battered the country's southwest, as fears grow of a new wave of bloodshed. The impoverished Sahel nation has been fearing a new onslaught in its Tillaberi region since France announced its troops would leave neighboring Mali.”
Germany
Associated Press: Germany Repatriates Women, Children From Syrian Camp
“Germany says it has brought home 10 women and 27 children from a camp in northeastern Syria where suspected members of the Islamic State group have been held. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the group was repatriated from the Roj camp on Wednesday in what she called an “extremely difficult” operation. She said some of the mothers were taken into custody immediately after arriving in Germany. “The 27 children are, at the end of the day, victims of IS, and they have a right to a better future far from its deadly ideology, and also to live in security, as we would wish for our own children,” Baerbock said in a statement. “The mothers must be held accountable for their actions.” Germany previously repatriated 23 children and their eight mothers from Roj in October. At the same time, neighboring Denmark brought home 14 children and three women. Baerbock thanked Kurdish authorities in Syria and “our U.S. partners, who once again provided us with logistical support.” With Wednesday’s operation, “the majority of the German children whose mothers are willing to return to Germany have been brought to safety,” she said. “There are now only a few special cases for which we are continuing to work on individual solutions.”
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