“The Islamic State’s regional affiliates in Africa are carrying out lethal
attacks at a tempo far surpassing that of the parent organization that once





 


 


<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>



Eye on Extremism


May 12, 2022

 

The Washington Post: ISIS In Africa Behind A Surge In Terrorist Attacks,
Officials Say
<[link removed]>

 

“The Islamic State’s regional affiliates in Africa are carrying out lethal
attacks at a tempo far surpassing that of the parent organization that once
ruled large swaths of Iraq and Syria, Morocco’s chief diplomat said Wednesday
at a meeting of the global alliance battling the militant group. Sub-Saharan
Africa, home to several branches of the Islamic State, now accounts for nearly
half of all deaths worldwide attributed to the terrorist group, Moroccan
Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita said. “We remain lucid on the state
of the ISIS threat, which has not diminished,” said Bourita, whose country is
hosting a conference of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. He said that
sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 48 percent, or 3,461, of the deaths worldwide
attributed to ISIS in 2021. “Today, 27 terrorist entities based in Africa are
registered on the U.N. Security Council sanction list,” Bourita said. “This is
a clear indicator of their connections to major global terrorist groups.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken had planned to attend the meeting here, but
canceled after testing positive for covid-19. Victoria Nuland, undersecretary
for political affairs, and Yael Lempert, acting assistant secretary for Near
Eastern affairs, led the U.S. delegation.”

 

Washington Examiner: Intelligence Community Chiefs Give Update On Afghan
Terrorist Threat
<[link removed]>

 

“Terrorist organizations within Afghanistan’s borders are still roughly a year
or more away from having the capability to launch attacks against Western
countries, though intelligence officials remain concerned about the
possibility. Defense officials told lawmakers in the fall that groups like al
Qaeda and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) could gain that ability
within six to 12 months, but Defense Department and intelligence leaders have
pushed that back. Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, the director of the Defense
Intelligence Agency, testified in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee
on Tuesday and said the threat from ISIS-K could take “a year, slightly longer,
and longer for al Qaeda.” He is “more concerned about ISIS-K in Afghanistan and
the fact that they have had known successful and catastrophic attacks in
Canada, which does not portend well for the future,” the DIA chief explained.
“Al Qaeda has had some problems with reconstituting leadership, and to a
degree, the Taliban have held to their word about not allowing al Qaeda [to]
rejuvenate,” Berrier added. “But it’s something that we’re watching very, very
carefully.” Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, who testified
alongside Berrier, agreed with his assessment, acknowledging that ISIS-K is
“the more concerning threat.”

 

United States

 

ABC News: Jury Returns Mixed Verdict In New York Terrorism Case
<[link removed]>

 

“A Manhattan federal court jury returned a mixed verdict Wednesday in the
trial of a New Jersey software developer who authorities say researched and
photographed U.S. landmarks for possible attacks. The jury was unable to reach
a verdict on one terrorism charge — providing material support for a terrorist
group — but found Alexei Saab, 44, had received military-type training from
Hezbollah’s Islamic Jihad Organization, which is based in Lebanon. Saab was
also found guilty of conspiring to commit marriage fraud and making false
statements. The Morristown, New Jersey, resident was exonerated on three other
charges after a two-week trial. Saab’s lawyer, Marlon Kirton, said much of the
evidence came from what Saab himself told FBI investigators that was
“un-credible, crazy, unsubstantiated information,” and which can’t be
considered reliable. Saab spoke with the FBI in 11 sessions over several weeks
prior to his 2019 arrest, but was never read his rights, Kirton said in an
email after the verdict. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams highlighted the jury’s
unanimous verdict that Saab was trained by a terrorist organization. “The
evidence at trial showed that Saab surveilled some of New York’s most iconic
and highly trafficked locations,” Williams said in a statement, “in order to
provide critical intelligence on how they could be most effectively attacked.”

 

Syria

 

Voice Of America: Global Coalition Warns No Rest For Fight Against Islamic
State
<[link removed]>

 

“Nearly three years after U.S.-backed forces in Syria seized the last
remaining territory held by Islamic State’s self-declared caliphate, members of
the global coalition charged with eradicating the terror group warn their task
is not getting any easier. Despite IS’s loss of several key leaders and
intelligence that suggests a dwindling number of fighters in the core areas of
Iraq and Syria, coalition members say the reputation and ideology of the group
— also known as ISIS or by the Arabic acronym of Daesh — continues to hold its
affiliates together while fostering its growth. Officials attending Wednesday’s
ministerial in Marrakesh, Morocco, say nowhere is the threat more worrisome
than in Africa, where a joint coalition communiqué described IS as an “evolving
threat.” “Our shared assessment of the dangerous rise of terrorist threat in
Africa has led to the emergence of a tailored approach of the coalition's
support to the African continent,” Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser
Bourita said following the meeting. The United States, which co-hosted the
ministerial with Morocco, emphasized the need to strengthen African members of
the Defeat ISIS coalition with what U.S. officials have called a
civilian-focused approach.”

 

Iraq

 

Al Jazeera: Iran’s IRGC Shells ‘Terrorist Positions’ In Iraq’s Erbil
<[link removed]>

 

“Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has shelled an area in Erbil
in neighbouring Iraq, targeting positions it said were held by “terrorist
groups”. The IRGC ground forces launched artillery fire on Iraq’s northern
Kurdish regional capital early on Wednesday, according to the semi-official
Tasnim news website. There have been no reports of casualties in the shelling.
The IRGC’s website said in a statement that its ground forces dismantled an
Erbil-based “terrorist team” inside Iran a day earlier and five members of the
team were arrested in Baneh near Iran’s western border with Iraq. Based on
their confessions about plans to engage in “sabotage” operations in Iran, it
said, the IRGC ground forces moved to target their bases in northern Iraq. In
mid-March, the IRGC launched ballistic missiles towards an area in Erbil which
it said housed an Israeli “strategic centre”. It also warned that any further
attacks by Israel will be met with a “harsh, decisive and destructive
response”. The missile launches had come after Israel killed two IRGC members
in Syria in an air attack. There were also unconfirmed reports of an Israeli
attack on a base in western Iran, which allegedly targeted Iranian drones.”

 

Middle East

 

The Jerusalem Post: Journalist's Death Will Become Excuse For Terror Attacks
On Israel - Editorial <[link removed]>

 

“The killing of veteran Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh during a
firefight between IDF soldiers and Palestinians in Jenin is a tragedy. 
Journalists doing their job should be protected, even in the most dangerous
situations. The death of the 51-year-old, whose face is familiar to millions of
viewers around the Arabic world, is a tragedy, as are the deaths of all
journalists who have been caught in the crossfire and killed while reporting
from conflict and war zones around the world. Abu Akleh held American
citizenship, and US Ambassador Tom Nides called for a “thorough investigation
in the circumstances” of her death. We support Nides call, but there are
problems. First, some are wildly casting blame on Israel before an
investigation has even begun. Second, the Palestinians are not willing to
cooperate with Israel in a joint investigation. A high-profile journalist lies
dead on the street where a firefight took place and the conclusion immediately
drawn by Palestinians and their supporters, with no questions asked, is that
Israel killed her – and did so intentionally. Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas declared immediately that Israel bears full responsibility for
her death. Palestinian politician Hanan Ashrawi tweeted that Abu Akleh was
“shot & murdered by the Israeli occupation army.”

 

The Jerusalem Post: Attempted Stabbing Attack Thwarted In Jerusalem's Old City
<[link removed]>

 

“An attempted stabbing attack was thwarted near the Temple Mount in the Old
City of Jerusalem on Wednesday afternoon, after a terrorist who attempted to
stab a police officer was shot. According to police, a suspect arrived at the
Cotton Merchants' Gate of the Temple Mount and ran at soldiers while shouting
“Allahu Akbar” and moving his hands in stabbing and assault motions. Police
officers responded with fire and neutralized the suspect. No Israeli forces
were injured. The suspect was a Palestinian resident of the West Bank. The
suspect received initial treatment at the scene and was transferred for further
treatment in critical condition. An investigation into the incident is being
conducted. Police did not state if the Palestinian was armed. Police officers
entered the Temple Mount shortly after the attempted attack and clashed with
Arab worshippers at the site. The attempted terrorist attack comes just days
after a stabbing attack injured a Border Police officer at the Damascus Gate of
the Old City and an attempted terrorist attack in Tekoa was thwarted by a
resident who shot a Palestinian armed with a knife who was trying to jump over
the fence of his home. The attempted attack also comes just hours after
Al-Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh was shot and killed during armed
clashes between Palestinians and IDF troops in Jenin.”

 

Egypt

 

ABC News: Egypt Says Officer, 4 Troops Killed In Fighting In Sinai
<[link removed]>

 

“Fighting on Wednesday in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula left an officer and four
troops dead, the military said, just days after an attack there killed 11
forces. In a statement, the military's spokesman said the forces had been
killed during a clash with militants, and that it came after airstrikes in
recent days. The military claimed that at least seven extremists had been
killed in the same bout of fighting. Two security officials said the clashes
took place after militants attacked a checkpoint belonging to the country's
border guards near the city of Rafah, on the country's Mediterranean coast that
borders the Gaza Strip. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because
they weren’t authorized to speak to media. Saturday's attack, one of the
deadliest on Egyptian security forces in recent years, was claimed by the
Islamic State group. Egypt is battling an insurgency in Sinai that intensified
after the military overthrew an elected but divisive Islamist president in
2013. The extremists have carried out scores of attacks, mainly targeting
security forces and Christians, but the pace has slowed in recent years. On
April 30, suspected militants blew up a natural gas pipeline in Northern
Sinai’s town of Bir al-Abd, causing a fire but no casualties.”

 

Nigeria

 

Reuters: Gunmen Kill Seven Nigerian Soldiers In Ambush On Army Patrol -Sources
<[link removed]>

 

“At least seven soldiers were killed and two others were missing in Nigeria
after they were ambushed by gunmen while on patrol in the eastern state of
Taraba, two military sources said on Wednesday. The attack occurred on Tuesday
night when troops from the 93 Battalion came under heavy fire in the village of
Tati in the Takum local government area of Taraba. A brigadier general and his
aide were missing after the attack, the sources said. “Right now a search and
rescue operation is ongoing,” said an army source from the 93 battalion who
declined to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media. There
was no claim of responsibility for the attack. An army spokesman did not
immediately respond to calls for comment. Taraba suffered two separate bombings
last month that were claimed by Islamic State militants and killed at least
three people and injured more than 30. read more For more than a decade,
Nigeria has grappled with an Islamist insurgency that has targeted communities
and security forces in northern parts of the country.”

 

Daily Mail: Knife-Wielding ISIS Fanatics Execute 20 Christians In Nigeria 'To
Avenge The Killing Of The Group's Leaders In The Middle East'
<[link removed]>

 

“ISIS extremists have callously executed 20 Christians in Nigeria in a
bloodthirsty rampage to 'avenge the killing of the group's leaders in the
Middle East'. The terrorist group published footage of the ruthless killings,
showing the masked knife and gun-wielding fanatics standing behind their
kneeling victims. The militants carried out the merciless executions in Borno
state where rival Islamist groups Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa
(ISWAP) have been abducting, looting and killing on a huge scale. Footage of
the latest massacre shows one of the executioners saying in the Hausa language
that the killings are a response to ISIS deaths in the Middle East earlier this
year. It was published on a terrorist-linked outlet and shows three groups of
captives wearing civilian clothes.  It comes after Islamic rebels killed at
least seven people in an attack in northeast Borno last week. The rebels
attacked Kautukari village in the Chibok area at the same time that UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was in the state to meet with survivors of
jihadi violence. The Chibok area is 70 miles away from Maiduguri, the state
capital, where Guterres met with former militants being reintegrated back into
the society and thousands of people displaced by the insurgency. They came in
large number with superior firepower (and) took over the community,' said
Hassan Chibok, a community leader.”

 

Africa

 

Voice Of America: Global Coalition Preparing 'Holistic' Assault On Islamic
State In Africa
<[link removed]>

 

“Overshadowed for months by Russia's war in Ukraine, the ever-present threat
from Islamic State is again being thrust onto the global stage, with the United
States voicing hope that it is not too late to prevent the terror group from
turning yet another continent into a dangerous playground. Officials from 85
countries and a handful of organizations, including the Arab League, NATO and
Interpol, are in Marrakech, Morocco, this week for the Global Coalition to
Defeat ISIS' first ministerial in Africa. Co-hosted by Morocco and the U.S.,
the meeting will focus on “ways to sustain pressure on ISIS remnants globally,”
according to a State Department statement issued Tuesday. But U.S. officials
who spoke to VOA prior to Wednesday's ministerial said that much of the focus
will be on Africa, where the threat from Islamic State, also known to coalition
members as ISIS, IS and Daesh, has been percolating. “It's a very serious
threat,” said Doug Hoyt, the acting deputy envoy for the Global Coalition to
Defeat ISIS. “We're talking thousands [of fighters].” “Most troubling is the
ISIS affiliates that are currently active in the sub-Saharan continent because
the numbers are extraordinary, and they have a lot of territory to play around
with,” he said.”

 

Al Jazeera: Togo: Eight Soldiers Killed In Attack By Suspected ‘Terrorists’
<[link removed]>

 

“Eight soldiers have been killed and 13 wounded in an attack in northern Togo,
the government said, marking potentially the first deadly raid on its territory
by armed groups who have killed thousands in neighbouring countries. Before
dawn on Wednesday, a group of heavily armed gunmen ambushed an army post in the
Kpendjal prefecture near the border with Burkina Faso, the government said in a
statement. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. The government
blamed “terrorists”, without providing specifics. Security analysts said the
attack was likely carried out by a local al-Qaeda affiliate that is based in
Mali but in recent years has spread south into Burkina Faso. Groups linked to
ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda have carried out hundreds of attacks across the Sahel
region of West Africa in recent years, focusing mainly on the landlocked
countries of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali. Togo has so far been spared the
violence, which has forced millions to flee their homes, but security experts
have warned about a spread in operations that could encompass coastal states
like Togo. In 2018, Togo’s military launched an operation to stop armed groups
ghosting in from the north. Security forces repelled an attack by gunmen on an
outpost in the same area as Wednesday’s attack in November, without sustaining
casualties.”

 

United Kingdom

 

The National: Terrorists Embrace Climate Change To Fuel Extremist Violence
<[link removed]>

 

“The climate crisis could lead to a rising threat of catastrophic terrorist
attacks sparked by a new refugee crisis as people are forced to flee their
homes, researchers warned. Climate change has inflamed tensions in flashpoint
areas with the deadly effects of human conflict expected to increase in
parallel with increased natural disasters, extreme weather conditions and the
loss of cultivatable land, according to a new report. The study, by the
National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism
(Start), said that violent extremist groups were trying to radicalise people
who had lost their livelihoods to climate change. Far-right groups have also
embraced “eco-fascism” to exploit culture clashes between ethnic groups as
populations are forced to leave their traditional homes in a search for new
land to ensure their long-term survival. The greatest driver of
climate-change-linked terrorism comes from the expected surge of refugees and
the struggle for control of scarce resources, Bill Braniff, the director of
Start, told an online insurance conference. “This is a recipe for incredibly
violent outcomes,” he told a session of the annual conference of The
International Forum of Terrorism Risk (Re)Insurance Pools (Iftrip).”

 

BBC News: Birmingham Man Jailed For Sharing Extremist Videos
<[link removed]>

 

“A man has been jailed for possessing and sharing extremist videos. Musa
Muhammad, 30, from Dunsink Road in Witton, Birmingham, was sentenced to five
years in prison at the city's crown court on Friday. He admitted three charges
of possessing and sending extremist videos at a hearing in March. Muhammad will
also have to keep the police informed about his address and other details once
he is released. “We cannot underestimate the dangerous nature of extremist
propaganda and the influence it can have,” Det Chief Supt Mark Payne said.
“Which is why it is so important to hold to account those who share with others
such social media posts.”

  

The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If
you value what we do, please consider making a donation.

DONATE NOW
<[link removed]>




Click here to unsubscribe.
<[link removed]>