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Eye on Extremism
April 8, 2022
ABC News: 2 Dead, Several Other People Shot In Terror Attack In Tel Aviv, Israel
“Two people were shot dead and several others were injured in a terror attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Thursday night, according to authorities. At least nine people were shot in the attack, with victims being taken to Ichilov, Sheba Tel Hashomer and Wolfson hospitals, according to Magen David Adom, Israel's national emergency medical service. Two men, “approximately 30 years old,” were pronounced dead at Ichilov Hospital. Three people in serious condition -- a 20-year-old man, 28-year-old woman and 38-year-old man -- were being treated for serious injuries, according to the medical service. Four others were being treated for mild injuries. Several other people at the scene were being treated for “stress symptoms,” according to Magen David Adom. A gunman has not been apprehended. Israeli police said they are searching for a single suspect. Officials said “several” shootings took place at Dizengoff Street, Gordon Street and surrounding areas in Tel Aviv. Dizengoff Street is a major street that runs through Tel Aviv and has many shops, bars and restaurants and would have been bustling with activity on a Thursday night.”
BBC News: Sir David Amess: Terror Suspect Tells Court He Killed MP Over Syria Vote
“A terror suspect accused of murdering Sir David Amess told jurors he decided to kill him over his vote for airstrikes on Syria. The Southend West MP was stabbed to death during a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex on 15 October 2021. Ali Harbi Ali, 26, told the court he had no regrets, adding “If I thought I did anything wrong, I wouldn't have done it”. He denies murder and preparing acts of terrorism. He told jurors at the Old Bailey: “He [Sir David] voted previously in Parliament, not just him... I decided if I couldn't make hijrah, if I couldn't help the Muslims [in Syria], I would do something here.” Asked what difference killing Sir David would make, he said: “For one, he can't vote again. “If he had previous for doing votes like that he won't do it in the future, and perhaps send a message to his colleagues.” He added: “So hopefully, he won't be able to harm Muslims in that regard.” He said that another “big problem” for him about Sir David was his membership of the Conservative Friends of Israel Group. Under cross-examination by Tom Little QC, Mr Ali told the court he had no regrets about killing Sir David, 69, during a constituency surgery at Belfairs Church - but denied being “utterly shameless.”
United States
“A French journalist held by ISIS testified Wednesday that he and other hostages were forced by their captors to sing a depraved parody of the Eagles song “Hotel California” called “Hotel Osama.” “It was terrifying for us, a joke for them,” Nicolas Henin said at the Arlington, Virginia trial of El Shafee Elsheikh, a 33-year-old former British national. Elsheikh is accused of involvement in the murders of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig. Henin is one of several former hostages who have testified at the trial in federal court of the alleged member of the notorious ISIS kidnap-and-murder cell known as the “Beatles.” French journalist and former hostage in Syria Nicolas Henin gives a press conference at Le Point newspaper headquarters on September 6, 2014 in Paris. Henin said the words to “Hotel Osama” included the original lyrics from “Hotel California” about checking in but never leaving, but with a twist. “If you try, you'll die Mr. Bigley style,” the lyrics went, a reference to British engineer Kenneth Bigley, who was beheaded in 2004 by Jordanian Abu Musab Zarqawi, head of the al Qaeda terror network in Iraq. Henin said he was captured in June 2013 on his fifth reporting trip to Syria.”
New York Post: California Man Who Tried To Join ISIS Sentenced To 20 Years: Feds
“A California man who tried to join ISIS and wanted to encourage more English speakers to be part of the terror group was sentenced to 20 years behind bars, Brooklyn federal prosecutors announced. Bernard Augustine, 25, represented himself during his one-week trial in August and told jurors that if he was acquitted, he’d try once again to join the terror group, prosecutors said after his Wednesday sentencing. “The trial evidence demonstrated that Augustine is a committed supporter of ISIS, that he glorified beheadings and other acts of terror, and that he intended to support the terrorist organization by encouraging more English speakers to join its ranks,” US Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. “Today’s sentence ensures this dangerous defendant will not join ISIS as he tried to do in 2016, and testified at trial that he would do again if the jury acquitted him.” Around the time Augustine turned 18 while living in Keyes, a small rural community outside of Modesto, he made plans to travel in February 2016 to Tunisia from San Francisco with the goal of joining ISIS across the border in Libya. Bernard Augustine described videos of ISIS beheading Syrian captives as “good” and “really cool.”
Iran
AFP: Top US General Opposes 'Terror' Delisting For Iran Guards Elite Force
“The Pentagon's top general said Thursday he was opposed to removing the elite Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards from the US terror group list, one of Tehran's conditions for restoring the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement. “In my personal opinion, I believe the IRGC Quds Force to be a terrorist organization, and I do not support them being delisted from the foreign terrorist organization list,” Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley told a congressional hearing. Iran has pressed for the removal of the State Department's official “Foreign Terrorist Organization” designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a condition for returning to the 2015 deal that sought to control its nuclear development and prevent it from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability. The previous US administration of Donald Trump unilaterally abrogated the deal in 2018 and a year later slapped the FTO label on the Guards. President Joe Biden has sought in negotiations to salvage the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, as the 2015 deal is officially called. But talks have stalled in the past month over a handful of final issues, including Iran's demand over the terror designation. The talks are led by the State Department and Milley and the Pentagon are not directly involved.”
Middle East
The Times Of Israel: Gantz Approves Administrative Detention For Islamic State Suspect From Nazareth
“Defense Minister Benny Gantz signed an order to hold an Israeli citizen suspected of being an Islamic State operative in administrative detention for four months, his office revealed Thursday. According to the statement, the man is a Nazareth resident previously convicted of weapons offenses. Gantz made the decision upon the recommendation of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and in light of information indicating the suspect’s “extremism and support for the ‘Salafi Jihadi’ movement, which espouses the carrying out of military jihadist acts.” The statement also cited his suspected backing of Islamic State’s “extremist ideology.” The Defense Ministry said Thursday that Gantza also ordered seven residents of East Jerusalem to be held under administrative detention “in light of the recent security situation.” Israel’s policy of administrative detention, which allows Israeli authorities to arrest those deemed to pose an imminent threat without charges or a full trial, is highly controversial. Israel contends that such means are necessary to fight terror, although rights groups say Israel abuses the practice. The practice is used primarily against Palestinian suspects, although it has been utilized against Jewish terror suspects in rare instances as well as Arab Israelis.”
Nigeria
Reuters: Nigeria To Hear All Terrorism Trials In Secret, Judge Rules
“A federal judge ruled on Thursday that all trials of terrorism cases in Nigeria will henceforth be held in camera. In a statement titled “new practice directions on hearing of terrorism cases”, Justice John Terhemba Tsoho also said coverage of any part of such proceedings would be prohibited. He said the new ruling was designed to ensure the security and safety of all parties and members of the public and ensuring fair trials. Separately, the leader of a banned separatist movement charged with terrorism offences filed a suit alleging that he cannot be tried because he was illegally extradited from Kenya, court papers showed. Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) group, disappeared from Nigeria after skipping bail in 2017. He was arrested after years on the run. His lawyer said last year he was mistreated in detention in Kenya before being returned to Nigeria. The Kenyan high commissioner has denied his country's involvement. Kanu's lead lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, on Thursday said that he cannot be tried on charges of terrorism and knowingly broadcasting falsehoods because he was not surrendered to Nigeria based on those charges. Ozekhome is asking the court to declare his detention illegal.”
All Africa: Nigeria: Boko Haram Executes 10 ISWAP Fighters, Commanders In Lake Chad
“Many fighters drowned in the water while 10 ISWAP fighters were apprehended by the Buduma's in the aftermath of the battle. The expert and security analyst in Lake Chad obtained a video showing the two terrorist groups in a heavy gun battle in a boat on top of the water. Also, in the 6:40 minutes videos seen by Zagazola, two ISWAP top commanders were interrogated before being taken to somewhere and slaughtered. A top-ranking Amir of the Buduma's group suspected to be Mohammed Ari, a deadly Spiritual Warfare Commander, who appeared in the video, said God has continued to allow them to defeat their enemies (ISWAP). He said: “We are the Mujahideens from the Jama'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihad faction in Lake Chad. “As you are aware, there has been an intensified infighting between us and our enemies (ISWAP) for the past few months and Allah has been giving us victories to eliminate our enemies. “We have arrested about 10 of them including some of their top commanders and we have asked them why they are waging war against us. And the commander said they don't have any reason but they are just fighting us.”
The Times: Boko Haram Chief ‘Killed For Trying To Defect’
“The leader of one of Boko Haram’s two rival factions is said to have been killed as he tried to defect to the Nigerian government, a sign of Islamic State’s rule over jihadism in the country. Bakura Sa’alaba, who led one of two groups that emerged from the split of Boko Haram in 2016, was fed up with a stagnant fight against Isis, according to a former jihadist who spoke to a defector that was in his entourage. The source said Sa’alaba was tracked down by fighters inside his faction in late March and killed along with other associates. Sa’alaba was the imam of Jama’tu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, also known as the Bakura group, whose former leader Abubakar Shekau led Boko Haram at the…”
Africa
Associated Press: 8 Dead In Explosion At Military Camp Bar In Eastern Congo
“An explosion at a military camp bar on the outskirts of eastern Congo's largest city killed at least eight people Thursday night, a government spokesman said. The victims had gathered for drinks in the Katindo military camp around 7:40 p.m., Patrick Muyaya said on his Twitter account. Witnesses at the scene told The Associated Press that a grenade caused the explosion, but there was no immediate official confirmation of the accounts. The military camp is about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the center of Goma, a city near the Rwandan border that is home to a large U.N. peacekeeping mission presence. “Teams are already on site to investigate,” Muyaya tweeted. “We call on the population to remain calm.” The rare explosion in Goma comes amid mounting violence in eastern Congo, some of which has been blamed on militants with shadowy links to Islamic extremist organizations. Those fighters have deliberately targeted the Congolese military as soldiers have stepped up counterinsurgency operations. Bars serving alcohol also have come under increasing attack, including a suicide bombing at a nightclub in the town of Beni on Christmas Day that killed six people. An Islamic State-affiliated group later claimed responsibility for those killings.”
Southeast Asia
The Manila Times: Suspected Terrorists Nabbed In Indonesia
“The Indonesian police's anti-terror squad has arrested five suspected terrorists in South Tangerang, a satellite town of the capital Jakarta. Police spokesman Ahmad Ramadhan said on Wednesday the suspects, believed to be affiliated with a terrorist network of the Indonesian Islamic State (NII), were apprehended on Sunday. The police did not reveal the suspects' identities as an investigation was underway. This came after the Densus 88 police force arrested 16 suspected terrorists for recruiting new members, including children, on March 25. These 16 were connected with other NII members in Jakarta, West Java province and the country's resort island of Bali. NII is a rebel group that aims to make Indonesia an Islamic state led by Kartosoewirjo, who was arrested and executed in 1962.”
Technology
“The player's profile picture raised no red flags: just the smiling Lego like-face of a typical Roblox avatar, little different from the estimated 220 million people who log in at least once a month to the wildly popular children's video gaming platform. On closer inspection, however, the player's “favourites” list had been arranged into an impromptu mosaic with the words: “Patriotic Front. Life, liberty, victory! Reclaim America!” The Patriot Front is an American group of fascist street fighters, who use “reclaim America” as their slogan. The player was also part of an in-game group called Justice 4 Floyd, whose logo appeared to be based on the black shield of Nazi German SS combat divisions in the Second World War. That group was linked by “alliances” to other Roblox groups with names such as the British Nationalist Vanguard, the Condor Division (similar to the Nazis' Condor Legion), and the New Hampshire 2nd Infantry Platoon, whose description bore references to known neo-Nazi groups. This is just one of the suspicious networks uncovered in popular video games and gaming-related social networks by Alex Newhouse, a researcher at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California.”
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