“A powerful explosion killed more than 50 worshippers after Friday prayers at a
Kabul mosque, its leader said, the latest in a series of attacks on ci

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


May 2, 2022

 

Reuters: Blast Kills More Than 50 At Kabul Mosque, Its Leader Says
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“A powerful explosion killed more than 50 worshippers after Friday prayers at
a Kabul mosque, its leader said, the latest in a series of attacks on civilian
targets in Afghanistan during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The blast hit
the Khalifa Sahib Mosque in the west of the capital in the early afternoon,
said Besmullah Habib, deputy spokesman for the interior ministry, who said the
official confirmed death toll was 10. The attack came as worshippers at the
Sunni mosque gathered after Friday prayers for a congregation known as Zikr -
an act of religious remembrance practised by some Muslims but seen as heretical
by some hardline Sunni groups. Sayed Fazil Agha, the head of the mosque, said
someone they believed was a suicide bomber joined them in the ceremony and
detonated explosives. "Black smoke rose and spread everywhere, dead bodies were
everywhere," he told Reuters, adding that his nephews were among the dead. "I
myself survived, but lost my beloved ones." Resident Mohammad Sabir said he had
seen wounded people being loaded into ambulances.”

 

Associated Press: Egyptian Officials: Militants Blow Up Gas Pipeline In Sinai
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“Suspected Islamic State militants blew up a natural gas pipeline Saturday in
Egypt’s restive northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, causing a fire but no
casualties, security officials said. The officials said the suspected militants
planted explosives under a pipeline in the town of Bir al-Abd. The expulsion
sent thick flames of fire shooting into the sky, and authorities stopped the
flow of gas to extinguish the fire, according to eyewitnesses. The officials
spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to
media and the eyewitnesses asked not to be named for fear of reprisal. No group
immediately claimed the attack which caused no human casualties. The Islamic
State group affiliate, which is centered in Northern Sinai, however, has
claimed previous attacks targeted gas pipelines between Egypt and both Jordan
and Israel. Egypt is battling an Islamic State-led insurgency in the Sinai that
intensified after the military overthrew an elected but divisive Islamist
president in 2013. The militants have carried out scores of attacks, mainly
targeting security forces and Christians. Saturday’s attack comes as the
militants suffered heavy losses in recent months with Egyptian security forces,
aided by armed tribesmen, who intensified their efforts to eliminate the group.”

 

Syria

 

Al Jazeera: ISIL Attacks Warn Of A Re-Emergence In Northeast Syria
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“ISIL (ISIS) is believed to have carried out a spate of attacks in the past
week in northeastern Syria, an indication, experts and monitors have said, that
the group is potentially on the rise once again. A suspected ISIL attack at a
Ramadan iftar gathering near Deir Az Zor on Wednesday killed seven people,
including the former spokesperson of the United States-backed Kurdish-led
Syrian Democratic Forces, Nouri Hamish. The brazen nature of the attack has
alarmed residents, and analysts and humanitarian agencies now fear that
increased attacks could risk life-saving humanitarian work in the impoverished
region, and put millions of vulnerable people at risk of attack. ISIL has
increased its attacks in northeast Syria after US special forces assassinated
then-leader Abu Ibrahim al-Qurayshi and his official spokesperson. Current ISIL
spokesman Abu Omar al-Muhajir called on ISIL fighters to avenge their deaths on
April 17 in an audio message called “Vengeance for the Two Sheikhs”. According
to the northeast Syria-based media group Rojava Information Center, ISIL has
conducted at least 20 attacks since then.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Reuters: Second Bombing In Two Days In Kabul On Eve Of Eid Al-Fitr Holiday
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A bomb blast in a passenger van in Kabul on Saturday killed at least one
person, officials said, in the second explosion in the Afghan capital in two
days, as security concerns rise on the eve of the Muslim holiday of Eid
al-Fitr. Islamic state claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday,
according to the group's telegram channel. "One woman was killed and three more
injured," Khalid Zadran, a spokesman for Kabul's commander, told Reuters. A day
earlier, an explosion killed more than 50 worshippers after Friday prayers at a
Kabul mosque amid a spate of mosque attacks during the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan. One witness to the passenger van blast, Ali Maisam, 19, who was
waiting outside a nearby bakery at the time, said he saw a number of bodies. "I
saw people coming out of the minibus with bloody and burnt faces... I saw that
four bodies were taken out and a woman was among the dead,” he said.”

 

Business Insider: Constant ISIS Terror Attacks Are Challenging The Taliban's
Tenuous Grip On Power In Afghanistan
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“A recent string of deadly terror attacks across Afghanistan has left the
country reeling, challenging the Taliban's already strained governance just
eight months after the US withdrawal. An explosion at a mosque on Friday in
Afghanistan's capital city Kabul killed at least 10 people and left 20 others
injured, according to multiple reports. It's the latest in a series of attacks
this month that have targeted mosques, schools, and buses — leaving dozens dead
and hundreds more injured. And the attacks have not been limited to Kabul —
people have also died in the northern cities of Mazar-e Sharif and Kunduz. Some
of the carnage has been officially claimed by ISIS-K, also known as the Islamic
State in Khorasan Province, and is the terror group's Afghanistan affiliate.
But Michael Kugelman, an expert on the region at the Wilson Center, a DC-based
think tank, told Insider he believes most — if not all — of the attacks were
carried out by ISIS-K. The reasoning behind this surge in violence? ISIS-K — a
rival of the Taliban — is essentially looking for ways to make the Taliban look
bad and undermine its legitimacy. Kugelman said ISIS-K also wants to “push
back” against the Taliban's narrative that it restored peace and stability
across the country in the wake of the US departure.  “If Afghans are seeing
things blown up left and right, obviously that flies in the face of that
Taliban narrative,” Kugelman said.”

 

Middle East

 

The Times Of Israel: Islamic State Accuses Israel Of Slaying Jihadist Leader
In Sinai Airstrike
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“The Islamic State terror organization claimed Thursday the Israeli Air Force
helped assassinate a local jihadist group leader in Egypt’s Sinai Desert in
April. In its weekly al-Naba newspaper, Islamic State said Abu Omar al-Ansari,
a military leader in the terror group’s so-called Sinai Province, was killed by
“Jewish planes” as the Egyptian army launched a new campaign against the group.
The report said Israeli jets and drones have intensified their air support for
the Egyptian army in the past month, in its fight against jihadist group
members in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, close to the border with
the Gaza Strip. “This greatly limits the ability of the Mujahideen to move and
maneuver,” a security source was quoted as saying in the Islamic State
publication. It was not clear exactly when or where al-Ansari was killed. Egypt
is battling an Islamic State-led insurgency in the Sinai that intensified after
the military overthrew an elected but divisive Islamist president in 2013. The
terrorists have carried out scores of attacks, mainly targeting Egyptian
security forces and Christians. On Saturday, suspected Islamic State terrorists
blew up a natural gas pipeline in northern Sinai. In 2018, it was reported that
Israeli drones, fighter jets, and helicopter gunships carried out more than 100
airstrikes against Islamic State-affiliated terrorists over a two-year period
in the area, close to Israel’s border.”

 

France 24: Palestinian Militant Group Claims Responsibility For Killing
Israeli Guard
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“Israeli security forces reinforced their presence in the occupied West Bank
on Saturday and made arrests after the killing of a guard at a Jewish
settlement. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, one of the main militant groups
present in the West Bank, claimed responsibility for the murder which -- along
with the killing of a Palestinian, brought a deadly conclusion to a Friday
marked by clashes at Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque. The army said the
guard was on duty at the entrance to Ariel settlement on Friday night when
attackers opened fire. Emergency services confirmed that the man, in his 20s,
had died from his wounds. Soldiers on Saturday stepped up their presence
particularly at the entrance to the neighbouring Palestinian community of
Salfi, an army statement said. It added that security forces had made arrests
and seized weapons at Bruqin, also nearby, and at the Balata refugee camp. The
group which on Saturday said it carried out the attack is the armed wing of
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah faction. “We claim responsibility
for the heroic operation in the colony of Ariel in which a Zionist officer was
killed, in response to violations committed by the occupation government in
Jerusalem,” the group said.”

 

Haaretz: Israelis From ISIS-Linked Shooters' Hometown Charged With Knowledge
Of Terror Attack
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“Prosecutors charged on Friday two residents of the Arab-Israeli city of Umm
al-Fahm for failing to prevent a terror attack in the Israeli city of Hadera
last month. Hassan Mahagna, 18, and Muhammad Agbarieh, 26, are accused of
having knowledge of the assailants' intent to carry out the attack and of
failing to report it…”

 

Nigeria

 

All Africa: Nigeria: 22 Boko Haram Killed By Joint Air, Land Forces Of MNJTF
In Lake Chad <[link removed]>

 

“Troops of the Multi-national Joint Task Force, MNJTF have neutralized
twenty-two Boko Haram terrorists following increased aggressive patrols and
mounted offensives on criminals' hideouts in Lake Chad. The Chief of Military
Public Information, HQ MNJTF N'Djamena Chad, Lieutenant Colonel Kamarudeen
Adegoke, made this known in a statement. The statement said, “The troops of
combined Taskforce Mallam Fatori/Damasak at forwarding Operations Base, Arege
drawn from MNJTF Sectors 3 and 4 (Nigerian and Nigeriene troops) have continued
with aggressive patrols from 27 April 2022 to dominate and put pressure on the
criminals. “With multiple sorties against the terrorists' positions, Air
Taskforce gave effective close air support and attacked the criminals to enable
ground forces to access thitherto well-defended terrorists' strongholds in the
vicinity of Tumbun Rago. “Despite strong resistance by the Boko Haram
Terrorists (BHTs), the ground troops charged through several obstacles and
cleared the mined routes which made them come in contact with elements of the
BHTs. “After the operational engagement which was firmly supported by the ATFs
of OPHK and the MNJTF, a battle damage assessment clearly revealed at least 20
BHT were neutralised, twelve (12) AK47 rifles, 1X Mortar 60mm and large catches
of ammunition of different calibres were recovered.”

 

Sahara Reporters: Terrorist Bomb Threat: Nigeria Police Tighten Security
Around Places Of Worship In Capital City, Abuja
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“Amid threats by terrorists to attack important places, the Federal Capital
Territory (FCT) Police Command has assured the Muslim faithful and other
residents in the territory of safety during the Sallah celebration. In a
statement by the spokesperson for the command, DSP Josephine Adeh, the
Commissioner of Police, Babaji Sunday, said robust security architecture had
already been deployed for the celebration, noting that the operation was
designed to ensure watertight security at all places of worship and their
environs. The statement reads, “The Command wishes to emphatically enjoin
members of the public to go about their lawful businesses without the fear of
harassment or molestation of any kind from any quarters in this period and
beyond. “In addition to the above, the CP, while highlighting the importance of
the holy month of Ramadan, called on the faithful to take advantage of the
blessings and the values attached to the season in seeking peace, adherence to
the laws of the land, and above all, love for fellow humans.” The Command
further urged the people of the FCT not to relent in cooperating with the
police and to remain vigilant and report any suspicious or abnormal occurrence
in the city through the emergency lines.”

 

Africa

 

Al Jazeera: Joint West African Force Claims 20 Rebels Killed In Lake Chad
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“Troops participating in a West African joint military force claim to have
killed an estimated 20 rebel fighters in the Lake Chad basin. Between April 27
and 29, “at least 20 terrorists were neutralised” despite “strong resistance”,
the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF), a coalition of the militaries of
Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria and Niger, said on Sunday. A senior MJTF official told
AFP news agency that “neutralised” meant killed, adding that the operation took
place in Cameroon and in Nigeria. Lake Chad’s basin, which is shared by the
four countries, and the lake’s many islets have become one of the main
locations for fighters from Nigeria’s Boko Haram and its dissident branch, the
Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP). For years the rebels have
launched attacks from their island enclaves in Lake Chad, littering the area
with improvised explosive devices, laying road ambushes and, more recently,
firing mortar bombs towards military posts. The coalition launched a new
offensive in March that aimed to “completely destroy Boko Haram and other
terrorist groups which plague the basin”, the senior official said. The MJTF
said in a statement on Saturday that aerial support provided by Nigerien and
Nigerian forces allowed the coalition to carry out “aggressive patrols …
against terrorists’ positions” in Tumbun Rago, in the Nigerian state of Borno.”

 

Al Jazeera: Central African Republic: Six Soldiers Killed In Rebel Attack
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“Rebels have killed at least six soldiers in an attack on a military outpost
in southeast Central African Republic, the latest reported incident in a
decade-long conflict, a local official and a hospital director have said.
Members of an alliance of armed groups known as the Coalition of Patriots for
Change (CPC) assaulted a military camp on the outskirts of Bakouma town early
on Thursday morning, said a local government official who did not wish to be
named for security reasons. Six soldiers and four rebels were killed, he said.
The attack was confirmed by the head of a hospital in the nearby city of
Bangassou, also on condition of anonymity, where bodies and wounded soldiers
were taken. Mineral-rich Central African Republic has been mired in violence
since a coalition of mainly Muslim Seleka rebels deposed then-President
Francois Bozize in 2013, sparking reprisals from mostly Christian militias. In
recent years the army, backed by United Nations peacekeepers, Russian and
Rwandan troops – has been battling CPC fighters seeking to overturn the outcome
of an election in December 2020 that saw President Faustin-Archange Touadéra
clinch a second term. The UN has accused all parties of abuses including
summary killings, torture, conflict-related sexual violence and the use of
child fighters among others.”

 

All Africa: Uganda Ready To Support The Fight Against Terrorism
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“Uganda has expressed its will to support Mozambique in fighting terrorism in
the northern province of Cabo Delgado, where, since October 2017, islamist
terrorists have murdered nearly 3,000 civilians and displaced over 800,000,
Radio Mozambique reported on Wednesday. Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi
announced Uganda's willingness to help combat terrorism in the Ugandan capital,
Kampala, where he is paying a three day State visit, at the invitation of his
counterpart, Yoweri Museveni. Nyusi said that Uganda's support will be
channeled to the veterans of the country's liberation war who are now part of
the local militias, assisting the Mozambican armed forces in Cabo Delgado.
“Uganda is already supporting Mozambique logistically and one of the purposes
of this visit is to thank the sister country,” Nyusi said addressing a joint
press conference between the two leaders shortly after the official talks
between the delegations of the two countries. “I also do this on behalf of the
war veterans. President Museveni knows many of them very well.” The Ugandan
leader, Nyusi declared, also intends to support agro-industrial development
projects in Montepuez district, in Cabo Delgado, for the liberation war
veterans.”

 

Canada

 

CBC: Intelligence Agency Needs To Keep A Closer Watch On Extremism In Prisons,
Report Says
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“Canada's spies could be doing a better job of investigating extremism in the
prison system, says an internal report. The document, obtained through an
access to information request, emerged from a behind-the-scenes review of how
the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the RCMP share
information. “One of the concerns we have is the lack of coverage over persons
convicted of terrorism offences once they are in jail,” says the report. It was
written by two national security lawyers tasked by the RCMP and CSIS with
making recommendations to deal with information-sharing bottlenecks in the
national security intelligence sphere. “It is accepted that there is a
radicalisation problem within our correctional institutions, not only Islamic
extremism but also extreme right-wing white nationalism,” the report says. “The
vast majority of inmates will be released to the community. The challenge is to
monitor these released offenders to evaluate the threat posed, if any.” RCMP
officers quit after being asked to arrest national security target with no
details, report says. The authors write that while it's impossible for CSIS to
investigate every potential threat, “it can and should investigate threats
arising from those in custody.”

 

Technology

 

The Jerusalem Post: Cyber Police: Over 10,000 Terror Incitement Posts Removed
In April <[link removed]>

 

“The cyber state prosecution on Sunday announced that law enforcement had
obtained the removal of over 10,000 terror incitement posts over the last
month. According to the prosecution, these removals came from approximately
14,000 posts with some connection to terror and incitement which were reviewed
by the cyber police and prosecution. The state announced that over the last
month there has been a systematic campaign to encourage terror on social media
through Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Tik Tok, Twitter and Telegram.  The
actions taken by the cyber prosecution were designed to try to limit the
violent impact of online incitement. According to a press statement, the Shin
Bet (Israel Security Agency), IDF and other intelligence forces were also
involved in efforts to track social media terror incitement. On Facebook,
around 7,700 posts were checked, of which approximately 5,500 were found to be
problematic from an incitement perspective. Approximately 90% of those posts
which Israel asked to be removed, were in fact removed by Facebook. Regarding
TikTok, approximately 3,500 videos were reviewed. Around 2,300 were found to be
problematic and about 74% of those were removed upon request.”

 

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