“Orthodox Jews assaulted on busy streets in Midtown Manhattan and in quiet
neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Swastikas drawn on a Long Island home and spray

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


April 27, 2022

 

The New York Times: Antisemitic Attacks In New York Are At Highest Level In
Decades
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“Orthodox Jews assaulted on busy streets in Midtown Manhattan and in quiet
neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Swastikas drawn on a Long Island home and spray
painted onto Wall Street’s Charging Bull statue. A bomb threat against a Jewish
community center in Albany, and fliers in Dutchess County that warned
residents, “Jews want to take your guns.” The number of antisemitic incidents
in New York increased by 24 percent last year to the highest level in decades,
including a surge in the number of assaults, as well as both criminal and
noncriminal incidents targeting Jews, according to an annual report released on
Tuesday by the Anti-Defamation League. The group said it counted 416
antisemitic incidents across the state, including 51 assaults, the most
physical attacks it has recorded since it began compiling such data in 1979.
The report was based on information collected from local law enforcement
agencies and Jewish community leaders and individuals. The surge was part of a
nationwide trend that saw 2,717 antisemitic incidents across the United States,
including 88 assaults, an increase of 167 percent from the year before. That
violence came after a yearslong string of antisemitic killings, including in
Pittsburgh; Poway, Calif.; and Jersey City that have left the Jewish community
on edge.”

 

Associated Press: German Prosecutors Suspect Terror In Extremist Blackout Plan
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“German federal prosecutors on Tuesday took over an investigation of
anti-government extremists who allegedly planned to cause a long nationwide
blackout and kidnap the country’s health minister, saying there’s evidence that
the group constituted a terror organization. Four German men were arrested on
April 13 over their alleged roles in the plot, which authorities suspect was
aimed at producing “conditions similar to civil war” and ultimately bringing
down the government and parliamentary democracy. Federal prosecutors, who in
Germany handle terrorism and national security cases, said they were stepping
in because there are sufficient indications that the suspects may have founded
or been members of a terrorist organization. The men are also suspected of
preparing a serious act of violence and violating weapons laws. Investigators
have said that the suspects were associated with the protest movement against
coronavirus restrictions and with the Reich Citizens movement, which disputes
the legitimacy of the post-World War II German constitution and, by extension,
the current government. Authorities said at the time of the arrests that the
group’s declared aim was to destroy electricity supply facilities and cause a
long blackout across the country as part of its goal of creating chaos. Police
seized 22 firearms, including a Kalashnikov rifle, along with hundreds of
rounds of ammunition, thousands of euros in cash, and numerous gold bars and
silver coins.”

 

United States

 

The New York Times: Youngest Guantánamo Detainee Is Cleared For Release
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“The youngest detainee at Guantánamo Bay, a Yemeni man who has spent his
entire adult life in U.S. custody, has been cleared for release, the Pentagon
disclosed on Tuesday, but must wait for the Biden administration to find a
country willing to offer him rehabilitation. At a Periodic Review Board hearing
on Jan. 25, an unidentified U.S. military officer described the detainee,
Hassan bin Attash, as believing that “his capture and subsequent detention had
changed the trajectory of his life.” The officer said the now-cleared prisoner
was influenced by American culture during his 20 years of detention, which
according to a Senate study included at least 120 days at a C.I.A. black site.
Mr. bin Attash, who was born in 1982 or 1985, was captured in a Pakistani
security services raid on Sept. 11, 2002, along with a defendant in the Sept.
11, 2001, case, Ramzi bin al-Shibh. Mr. bin Attash’s older brother, Walid, is
also accused of helping plot the Sept. 11 attacks. But Hassan bin Attash has
never been charged with a crime. Of the 37 wartime detainees at Guantánamo, 20
have now been provisionally approved for transfer. Twelve have been charged
with crimes, including the convicted Qaeda courier Majid Khan, who completed
his sentence last month but does not have a release arrangement.”

 

Pakistan

 

Voice Of America: Female Bomber In Pakistan Kills 3 Chinese Nationals, Local
Driver <[link removed]>

 

“Police in Pakistan said Tuesday three Chinese nationals and their local
driver were killed in a suicide bombing of a van in the southern city of
Karachi. Senior police officers told reporters the victims had been traveling
to the city's Chinese-built Confucius Institute when the blast hit their van at
the entrance. Those killed included the director of the institute, which offers
Chinese language graduate classes, and two female teachers. Also killed was
their Pakistani driver. Another Chinese national was injured in the attack.
Ghulam Nabi Memon, the Karachi police chief, said the blast might have been the
work of a suicide bomber but an investigation was underway. He noted that an
initial review of closed-circuit video from the site showed that a person
dressed in a black burqa walked up to the van just before the explosion. Local
television channels later aired footage showing a female attacker detonating
the bomb as the slow-moving van was entering the institute. An outlawed
separatist group known as the Baluch Liberation Army reportedly took
responsibility for the bombing, saying a woman carried out the attack. It was
not immediately possible to verify the militant group's claims from independent
sources.”

 

Lebanon

 

The Times Of Israel: Police Seize 100 Grenades Smuggled From Lebanon, In
Suspected Terror Plot
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“Israeli security forces foiled an attempt to smuggle dozens of grenades and
two firearms into Israel from Lebanon on Monday night, in what police suspect
was part of a terror plot. According to the Israel Police, some 100
fragmentation grenades and two rifles were found in a bag left on the border by
two suspects. “The suspicion is that they were intended to be used to carry out
terrorist attacks,” police said. Security officials said they were
investigating whether the smuggling was conducted on behalf of the Lebanese
terror group Hezbollah. Officials have warned that Hezbollah is attempting to
arm Arab Israelis in order for them to commit terror attacks in the event of
another surge in violence between Jews and Arabs. “The fact that fragmentation
grenades have been seized, an unusual weapon that has not yet been seized,
raises the suspicion that they were intended to carry out attacks against
crowded civilian places,” police said. The military published a video showing
two suspects approaching the border. Hezbollah’s al-Manar network reported that
the Israel Defense Forces launched flares over the Wazzani river area, close to
the town of Ghajar, during the smuggling attempt. Prime Minister Naftali
Bennett hailed the operation, repeating the suspicion that the weapons were
intended to be used in terror attacks, while asserting that authorities will
“continue until we suppress crime in the Arab community.”

 

Middle East

 

Al Monitor: Palestinian Shot Dead In Israeli 'Counter-Terror' West Bank Raid
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“A Palestinian was killed Tuesday when Israeli forces stormed a refugee camp
in the occupied West Bank in what the army called a “counter-terrorism”
operation that sparked violent riots. The deadly shooting was the latest in a
wave of bloodshed in the West Bank and Israel as the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover overlapped this month. The
Palestinian health ministry said 20-year-old Ahmed Ibrahim Oweidat “succumbed
to critical wounds sustained by live bullets to the head, at dawn today in
Aqabat Jaber camp” near Jericho. Two other men were wounded by live fire when
the “undercover” forces raided the camp overnight, the official Palestinian
news agency Wafa said. Israel's army said in a statement to AFP that soldiers
had conducted an overnight operation in Aqabat “to apprehend wanted suspects”.
“During the operational activity, dozens of Palestinians violently rioted and
attacked the soldiers,” it said, adding that no Israeli troops were hurt. “The
rioters burned tyres and hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at the soldiers.
The soldiers responded with riot dispersal means and live ammunition.” Clashes
between Israeli forces and Palestinians are common in the West Bank, a
territory occupied by Israel since 1967, but recent weeks have seen a surge in
unrest.”

 

Nigeria

 

Sahara Reporters: Breaking: Nigerian Troops, Civilian JTF Killed Several
ISWAP, Boko Haram Terrorists, Recovered Weapons In Borno – Army
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“The Nigerian Army has said troops have neutralised several members of the
Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram in Borno State. The
army said the operation was carried out in conjunction with the Civil Joint
Task Force (CJTF) on Tuesday. It noted that weapons and ammunition were
recovered by the joint assault team of the army and CJTF. In a post on its
official Twitter handle on Tuesday, the Nigerian Army said, “Gallant troops of
195 Battalion in conjunction with members of CJTF on a clearance operation
neutralized several ISWAP/BokoHaram at Kasha Kasha In Borno State today 26
April 2022. Weapons & ammunition amongst others were also recovered.”
Similarly, the Nigerian Army on February 10, 2022, tweeted, “Troops of 149 Task
Force Battalion in conjunction with CJTF while on fighting patrol today 10 Feb
2022 neutralized scores of BHT/ISWAP terrorists in Dunga Lawanti village near
Gubio in Borno State. Troops recovered four AK-47 rifles, two motorcycles
amongst other items.”

 

Mali

 

French Army Watches For Bombs And Potholes As It Withdraws From Mali Base |
Reuters
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“The French military left a remote base in northern Mali before dawn last week
for the last time, one hundred vehicles forming a miles-long convoy across the
barren desert terrain. Helicopters whirred above, air support for hundreds of
troops in trucks and armoured cars leaving the camp near the town of Gossi. A
team of sappers led the way, looking for explosives hidden on the sandy floor.
"We are in the middle of the desert, on a road with big potholes and with a
real direct risk from enemies who can lay mines or attack us with a car bomb,"
said Lieutenant Imran, part of a tactical team charged with protecting the
convoy. This is what France's withdrawal from northern Mali looks like:
painstaking and slow, through hostile territory that its forces have failed to
secure in ten years of conflict. The departure from Gossi, which follows
similar withdrawals from bases in Timbuktu and Kidal, is part of a staggered
pullout announced by France in February, prompted by worsening violence and a
breakdown in relations between the two countries.”

 

Africa

 

Associated Press: Hunger Grips Burkina Faso Due To Increasing Jihadi Violence
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“Martine Roamba’s 10-month-old daughter weakly tugs at her mother’s breast
searching for milk. The malnourished baby has been struggling to feed since
birth as her mother hasn't had enough to eat to produce sufficient breastmilk
since fleeing her village in northern Burkina Faso last year when jihadis
started killing people. Seated on a hospital bed with other severely
malnourished children and their parents on the outskirts of Burkina Faso's
capital, Ouagadougou, 30-year-old Roamba tries to calm her crying daughter.
“It’s very worrying and we’re praying to God that the baby doesn’t deteriorate
into an even worse situation,” she said. Hunger is soaring across
conflict-ridden Burkina Faso, a result of increasing violence linked to
al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, which has killed thousands and displaced
millions, preventing people from farming. Some 3.5 million people are food
insecure, with nearly 630,000 expected to be on the brink of starvation,
according to the latest food security report by the government and U.N.
agencies. This is an 82% increase from last year of people facing emergency
hunger.”

 

Reuters: At Least One Killed In Attack On North Benin Police Station
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“At least one police officer was killed and several wounded in an attack on a
police station in north Benin, an area affected by a spillover of militant
activity in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, two police sources said on
Tuesday. Unidentified assailants raided the Monsey police station in the
northeastern commune of Karimama, less than 50 km (30 miles) from the border
with Niger, before sunrise on Tuesday. A policeman was killed, several others
wounded and the police station was set alight, said the sources, who did not
wish to be named. Benin's army has not officially communicated on the incident
and its spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. It was the latest
in a string of deadly attacks in northern Benin, where groups linked to al
Qaeda and Islamic State have spread from West Africa's Sahel region. Five
soldiers were killed earlier this month when an army convoy struck an
improvised explosive device planted in northern Benin's Pendjari National Park.
Growing insecurity in the West African country has pushed park rangers and
anti-poaching units to collaborate with army and police forces in their battle
against the region's spiralling insurgency.”

 

Africanews: Burkina Faso Attempts Uncertain Dialogue With Armed Groups
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“Community leaders and fighters from local armed groups have begun talks with
an uncertain outcome in Burkina Faso, with the endorsement of the military
junta that took power in the country facing jihadist violence since 2015. In
early April, the junta that overthrew elected president Roch Marc Christian
Kaboré on 24 January announced the creation of “local dialogue committees” with
Burkinabe groups with no links to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS), which
have been destabilising Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso through violence for
several years. In Burkina Faso alone, jihadist violence has killed more than
2,000 people in seven years and forced at least 1.8 million people to flee
their homes. When the jihadist attacks began, the enemy “was essentially
crossing borders,” notes François Zoungrana, commander of the Special
Intervention Unit of the National Gendarmerie (USIGN), which is spearheading
the fight against jihadism. “Currently, the enemy is essentially composed of
Burkinabe citizens” and “is very often invisible and confused with the
population”, he says, which “forces us to rethink the war, the way we wage war.”

 

United Kingdom

 

The Independent: ‘Charismatic’ Terrorist Prisoners To Be Isolated In Jail
‘Separation Centres’
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“Dangerous and influential terrorist prisoners are to be isolated from the
main prison population to prevent them radicalising other inmates, the
Government has announced. Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said a new team – set
up at a cost of £1.2 million – will identify the most influential terrorists so
they can be moved to one of the Prison Service’s three separation centres. Mr
Raab said the Government would not allow “cultural and religious sensitivities”
to prevent it taking firm action on terrorism. The move comes as a review of
terrorist activity in jails in England and Wales by the Government’s
independent reviewer of terrorist legislation, Jonathan Hall QC, is published.
It follows a series of high-profile cases, including the 2019 London Bridge
attack when Usman Khan, a terrorist prisoner out on licence, stabbed two people
to death. The threat from terrorism is evolving, so our response must adapt. In
2020 Brusthom Ziamani, who was serving a 19-year sentence for plotting to
behead a soldier, was convicted of attempted murder for trying to hack an
officer to death in the maximum-security Whitemoor jail. Khairi Saadallah, who
was given a whole life sentence last year for murdering three men in a terror
attack in a Reading park, had been befriended by a radical preacher while
serving an earlier prison term.”

 

The National: UK Anti-Terror Report Calls For Ban On Funding Groups That
Undermine Prevent Scheme
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“Counterterrorism experts have called on the UK government to ban funding of
the Muslim Council of Britain, Cage and other groups which do not support its
anti-extremism Prevent strategy. Former prime minister David Cameron said
organisations critical of the UK's counterterrorism work were “enabling
terrorism” and described Prevent as a “vital tool”. A report published on
Tuesday by the Policy Exchange is calling for the Home Office to set up and run
a Centre for the Study of Extremism, a communications unit to combat
disinformation. It would work in tandem with a due diligence team to ensure
government departments are not supporting or funding groups “that disseminate
false narratives and conspiracy theories about Prevent, who campaign against
counterterrorism or counterextremism efforts”. It names the Muslim Council of
Britain (MCB), Muslim Engagement and Development (Mend) and Cage in its report
as organisations which have “sought to undermine Prevent and counterextremism
efforts”. The report, 'Delegitimising Counter-Terrorism The Activist Campaign
to Demonise Prevent', was led by Sir John Jenkins, who played an active role in
Sir John Chilcott’s Iraq Inquiry and was previously asked by Mr Cameron in
March 2014 to lead a policy review into the Muslim Brotherhood.”

 

Europe

 

Foreign Policy: ISIS Can’t Even Direct Lone-Wolf Attacks Anymore
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“The jihadi Islamic State group recently called on its supporters to resume
attacks in Europe while the West is focused on Russia’s Ukraine invasion. In a
speech posted online last week, Islamic State spokesman Abu Omar al-Muhajir
asked supporters to take advantage of the “crusaders fighting each other” by
launching a global offensive to take revenge for a former Islamic State chief
killed during a raid by U.S. special forces in northwest Syria earlier this
year. He also asked sympathizers in Israel to “arm themselves” against the
Israeli state and claimed that only the return of an Islamic caliphate could
liberate Palestinians. Since the Islamic State was territorially defeated in
2019, analysts have been debating whether the group will reemerge as a major
threat. That conversation became urgent in January when the group carried out a
prison break in Hasakah, northeast Syria, to free thousands of its members. In
2020, the group claimed an average of 45 attacks in Syria every month. It has
also gained strength in Afghanistan and in parts of Africa over the last few
years. At least two recent terrorist attacks in Israel, in the cities of
Beersheba and Hadera, were claimed by Islamic State sympathizers.”

 

Reuters: Military Unit In Moldovan Breakaway Region Hit By 'Terrorist Attack'
- Media
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“The Security Council of Moldova's breakaway Transdniestria region has
reported a “terrorist attack” on a military unit near the city of Tiraspol, the
TASS news agency reported on Tuesday. According to Novosti PMR, a local news
agency, it was one of three such attacks on the region, after blasts tore
through Transdniestria's state security HQ and two explosions damaged old
Soviet-era radio antennae. Transdniestria is a breakaway, pro-Russian region of
Moldova on the border with Ukraine.”

 

Southeast Asia

 

Al Jazeera: Bangladeshi Jailed For Life For Attack On Prominent Novelist
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“A court in Bangladesh has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for stabbing
one of the country’s most renowned authors, who the attacker accused of
insulting Islam. Foyzul Hasan was convicted on Tuesday under “anti-terror” laws
over the 2018 attack on science fiction writer and professor Muhammad Zafar
Iqbal, who survived the ordeal. The 28-year-old assailant was caught by
students and teachers after stabbing Iqbal in the head and neck at the author’s
university campus in the northeastern city of Sylhet. He later told police that
his target was “an enemy of Islam”. Hasan was not linked with any group but was
encouraged to carry out attacks after reading material online, Judge Nurul Amin
Biplob said in his verdict. The judge said Hasan believed a children’s book
written by Iqbal mocked and defamed Solomon, one of the Biblical prophets also
revered in Islam. A co-defendant of Hasan’s was sentenced to four years in jail
while four others were acquitted, Public Prosecutor Mominur Rahman Titu told
AFP news agency. Iqbal, 69, is a bestselling writer and celebrated secular
activist. The author became a household name through his books that included
science fiction, children’s stories, and other fiction and non-fiction, but in
recent years he has received criticism, particularly on social media, for his
political stands.”

 

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