“A series of explosions shook Afghanistan on Wednesday, the Taliban said,
including a blast inside a mosque in the capital, Kabul, that killed at leas





 


 


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Eye on Extremism


May 26, 2022

 

Associated Press: Blast In Kabul Mosque, IS Bombs In North Afghanistan Kill 14
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“A series of explosions shook Afghanistan on Wednesday, the Taliban said,
including a blast inside a mosque in the capital, Kabul, that killed at least
five worshippers and three bombings of minivans in the country’s north that
killed nine passengers. The Islamic State group’s local affiliate claimed
responsibility for the minivan bombings. The Kabul Emergency Hospital said it
received 22 victims of the mosque bombing, including five dead. There were no
further details on the blast that struck the Hazrat Zakaria Mosque in the
city’s central Police District 4, according to Khalid Zadran, a Taliban police
spokesman in Kabul. “The blast took place while people were inside the mosque
for the evening prayers,” Zadran said, adding that they were waiting for an
update. The minivans were targeted in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif after
explosive devices were placed inside the vehicles, according to Mohammad Asif
Waziri, a Taliban-appointed spokesman in Balkh province. He said the explosions
killed nine and wounded 15. The IS claim of responsibility was posted on the
Sunni militant group’s Aamaq news agency. The statement said IS targeted three
buses with improvised explosive devices. There was no claim of responsibility
for the Kabul mosque explosion, but it also bore the hallmarks of the regional
affiliate of the Islamic State group, known as Islamic State in Khorasan
Province, or IS-K.”

 

Associated Press: Indian Court Sentences Kashmiri Leader To Life In Prison
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“An Indian court sentenced a Kashmiri separatist leader to life in prison on
Wednesday after declaring him guilty of terrorism and sedition, triggering a
clash between protesters and police and a partial shutdown of businesses in the
Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. Mohammed Yasin Malik, 56, led the banned
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, one of the first armed rebel groups in the
Indian-held area, but later shifted to peaceful means in seeking the end of
Indian rule. Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and
Pakistan since British colonialists granted it independence in 1947. Both
countries claim the region in its entirety and have fought two wars over its
control. Malik was arrested in 2019 and was convicted last week on charges of
committing terrorist acts, illegally raising funds, belonging to a terrorist
organization, and criminal conspiracy and sedition. Before Wednesday’s
sentencing, dozens of Kashmiris gathered at Malik’s home in Srinagar, the
largest city in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Some marched through the streets,
chanting “We want freedom” and “Go back India.” Government forces fired tear
gas at the marchers, who threw stones. No injuries were immediately reported.”

 

United States

 

The Washington Post: How ‘Great Replacement’ Theory Led To The Buffalo Mass
Shooting
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“Last weekend, a man identified by law enforcement authorities as an avowed
white supremacist killed 10 people at a Buffalo grocery store. Police say the
suspect intentionally targeted Black Americans on the basis of their race. As
with other recent mass shooters in El Paso and Christchurch, New Zealand,
authorities say the suspect explained his actions in a screed that draws
heavily from the “great replacement” narrative — a racist theory that maintains
native-born Whites are being intentionally displaced as ethnic majorities in
their nations.

This narrative has spread well beyond the forums of the far right. It is now
promoted by such prominent figures as Fox’s Tucker Carlson and Republican
officials, who argue that Democrats want to increase immigration to secure an
electoral majority. And France’s recent presidential election included several
right-leaning candidates who openly referred to the theory to exploit
xenophobic fears. Since the Buffalo attack, commentators and politicians from
the right have attempted to divert attention from the theory and instead focus
on the shooter’s shaky mental health. But ignoring this narrative would obscure
how it feeds and amplifies networks of white extremist violence. Replacement
theory significantly threatens civil society by provoking White race panic over
ongoing population change.”

 

Reuters: Minutes Before School Attack, Texas Gunman Sent Online Warning
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“The Texas gunman who murdered 19 children and two teachers posted an online
message warning that he was going to shoot up an elementary school minutes
before he attacked, Governor Greg Abbott said on Wednesday, as harrowing new
details of the massacre emerged. The gunman, whose rampage ended when police
killed him, also had sent a message on Tuesday saying he was going to shoot his
grandmother, followed by another internet post confirming he had done so,
Abbott said at a news conference. The suspect's grandmother, shot in the face
before her grandson left the home they shared and attacked the school, survived
and called police. The gunman, identified as Salvador Ramos, 18, otherwise gave
no warning he was about to commit what now ranks as the deadliest U.S. school
shooting in nearly a decade, authorities said. Fleeing the shooting of his
grandmother, he crashed his car near Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas,
about 80 miles (130 km) west of San Antonio, then managed to evade a school
police officer who approached him before running inside. No gunfire was
exchanged at that point, according to police. But authorities offered few
details of the encounter, likely to become a focus of investigations, except to
say that the suspect dropped a bag full of ammunition and ran toward the school
when he saw the officer.”

 

New York Post: Brooklyn Man Convicted Of Backing ISIS By Recruiting Members,
Smuggling Guns
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“A Brooklyn man who became a high-ranking member of ISIS was convicted of
supporting the terrorist organization by recruiting members, pushing propaganda
and smuggling weapons into Syria, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Mirsad Kandic, 40, was found guilty of conspiracy and providing material
support to ISIS Tuesday after a three-week trial in Brooklyn federal court. He
faces up to life in prison at his sentencing on Nov. 9. Kandic is responsible
for recruiting thousands of Westerners to fight in Syria and the Middle East,
including Australian teenager and suicide bomber Jake Bilardi, who killed
himself, more than 30 Iraqi soldiers and a policeman in Ramadi, Iraq, on March
11, 2015, officials allege. Kandic left Brooklyn in 2013, sneaking into Syria
and joining ISIS. His travel to the Middle East had been thwarted twice
previously as early as 2012, by authorities who had placed him on a no-fly
list, according to the Brooklyn US Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors said Kandic
first began fighting on the ground using AK-47s and PK machine guns in the ISIS
stronghold on the outskirts of Aleppo. He then moved to Turkey, where he began
helping to smuggle foreign fighters and weapons into Syria and heading ISIS
media there — including running more than 120 Twitter accounts with the purpose
of attracting new recruits and spreading gruesome propaganda, the feds said.”

 

Afghanistan

 

Reuters: Islamic State Claims Responsibility For Attack In Afghan City Of
Mazar-I-Sharif
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“Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack in the northern Afghan
city of Mazar-i-Sharif, the militant group said on its Telegram channel on
Wednesday. Three blasts tore through passenger vehicles in Mazar-i-Sharif on
Wednesday, killing at least nine, a provincial commander spokesman said, as
authorities confirmed another blast in Kabul, the Afghan capital.”

 

India

 

Reuters: India's Kashmir Sees Upsurge In Violence, Tense After Separatist
Convicted
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“Indian security forces have killed six militants in Kashmir in the past 24
hours while militants shot dead a female TV performer and a police officer,
officials said on Thursday, following the conviction of the region's best-known
separatist. A New Delhi court on Wednesday ordered life in jail for Kashmiri
separatist leader Yasin Malik for funding "terrorist" activities and for many
other crimes. The sentencing prompted warnings from politicians that it would
promote alienation and separatism in India's only Muslim-majority region. Shops
and businesses in Kashmir remained closed for a second day of protesting
against the verdict, while police detained 10 people for throwing stones and
for sloganeering outside Malik's residence. India and Pakistan each rule part
of Kashmir and claim it in full. Mainly Hindu India has been fighting an armed
insurgency in its portion of the region since the late 1980s. "Three militants
each of Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba were killed in two separate gun
battles in Kashmir since yesterday," Kashmir Police Chief Vijay Kumar told
Reuters, referring to two militant organisations. "We have also lost a cop in
one of the operations."

 

Nigeria

 

AFP: Niger Says Army Killed 40 Boko Haram Fighters On Lake Chad Islands
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“The Niger government said Wednesday that the army had killed around 40 Boko
Haram jihadis in overnight fighting on islets in Lake Chad. “Some 100 Boko
Haram fighters arrived in four large wooden canoes and an armed speedboat” and
attempted to attack troops on the islets of the lake, which borders Niger,
Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, the defense ministry said. The soldiers “forced the
assailants to flee with several dead in their ranks,” the ministry said. A
subsequent operation in the area “led to the neutralization of some 40
fighters” and the recovery of several weapons along with ammunition and
explosives. On the army side, seven soldiers were injured when their vehicle
was blown up by an improvised explosive device, the ministry said. The Lake
Chad basin, and its countless small islands, has become one of the main havens
for jihadis from Nigeria's Boko Haram and its dissident branch, the Islamic
State in West Africa Province (ISWAP). Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad
revived the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) in 2015 to fight the
extremists. The forces launched a new offensive in March that aimed to
“completely destroy Boko Haram and other terrorist groups which plague the
basin,” a senior MJTF official, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP
earlier this month. The joint force killed some 20 jihadis in an operation in
early May.”

 

Africanews: Jihadists Kill At Least 30 In Revenge Attacks In Northeast Nigeria
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“Jihadists have killed around 30 men in a revenge attack after their
commanders died in military airstrikes in Nigeria's northeast Borno state.
Fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) seized the men in
Mudu village in the Dikwa area on Saturday. “Most of the 30 men were
slaughtered by ISWAP terrorists while a few who tried to flee were shot,”
militia leader Babakura Kolo said. “They were metal scrap scavengers who were
in the area in search of burnt vehicles which dot villages in northern Borno
following attacks by the terrorists,” he said. He said the men had trekked from
the town of Rann, 80 kilometres away, where they lived in camps for people
displaced by the jihadist violence. Another militia leader Umar Ari said ISWAP
had accused the slain men of passing information on their positions to the
military in the area. “The 30 men were unlucky to have been in the area at that
time when the terrorists were grieving the death of their two commanders killed
in a military operation”. In recent weeks, the Nigerian military has carried
out successful ground and air assaults against ISWAP and rival Boko Haram
fighters, killing several high-profile Jihadist commanders. ISWAP split from
mainstream Boko Haram in 2016 and rose to become a dominant group in the
region.”

 

France

 

AFP: France Charges 18-Yr-Old Over ISIS Attack Plot: Judicial Source
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“French authorities have charged an 18-year-old man on suspicion of planning
an imminent terror attack with a knife in the name of ISIS extremists, a
judicial source said on Wednesday. Initial investigations indicated that he
planned to carry out a terror attack “in the name of ISIS, to which he had
pledged allegiance,” said the source, who asked not to be named. The source
added that the man had been detained in the Drome region of southeast France
and charged in Paris. For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel
online or via the app. The man, from a Muslim family, had adopted extremist
views and was considered a threat, sparking France’s anti-terror prosecutors
office (PNAT) to open an investigation on May 19, a source close to the case
said. Police arrested him on Friday and a video of him swearing allegiance to
ISIS was found in his possession. The source did not say whom he was planning
to target in the attack or in which location. France saw a wave of extremist
attacks from 2015 that left hundreds dead and pushed the country to its highest
level of security alert. There has been no repeat of a mass atrocity in the
last years, but there have been several deadly attacks carried out by lone
individuals.”

 

RFI: Paris Terror Trial Enters Final Phase With Pleas On Behalf Of The
Survivors And The Bereaved
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“The Paris attacks trial, where 20 men are being judged on charges of
complicity in the November 2015 terrorist killings, continues with concluding
pleas from the lawyers representing the injured and those who lost family
members. There are nearly 2,500 civil witnesses registered with the special
criminal court. They include survivors of the attacks, the families who lost
loved ones, security and medical professionals traumatised by the events they
witnessed on the night of 13 November 2015. This week and until 7 June, those
lawyers are being called to the bar to resume their version of this epic trial
which began on 8 September last year. In order to avoid pointless repetition,
more than one hundred of those representing the civil witnesses have agreed to
forego their right to speak. And those who do address the court have promised
to limit themselves to 25 minutes. The point of this unusual professional
solidarity, according to one of the lawyers behind the collective pleading
proposition, is to ensure that no witness feels lost in the crowd, “that each
can be treated as an individual”. To that end, this week's hearings have opened
with a rapid succession of presentations, each one evoking the memory of
particular victims in a few phrases. The lawyers quote their bereaved clients,
read letters or press reports, recite poems.”

 

Europe

 

The National: Swedish Would-Be ISIS Fighters Jailed After Recruitment Sting
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“Two Swedish brothers have been sentenced to jail for eight months after their
efforts to join ISIS unravelled when their recruiter was revealed as an
undercover intelligence officer. The men, who have not been identified, were
arrested in February at Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport as they tried to leave
Sweden to join the combat ranks of the terrorist group. Prosecutors produced
200 pages of messages passed to them by an unidentified foreign intelligence
agency, which revealed how the pair were seeking a fighting role with ISIS.
They told their ‘recruiter’ that they were prepared to travel to Syria, Iraq or
Libya, where they held joint citizenship, prosecutors said. They were found to
be carrying equipment including a rifle sling, knee and elbow pads and an MP3
player that included lectures about martyrdom, senior public prosecutor Henrik
Olin said. The men, who were born in Sweden but spent some of their childhood
in Libya, were believed to have previously been in the region in 2013 fighting
for an extremist group. Mr Olin said the messages showed that the pair were
willing to travel wherever they were needed and wanted more than merely
administrative roles with ISIS. “It was clear they really wanted to fight for
ISIS,” he said. “During months of conversations, they were open to joining
ISIS. “The message was clear that that would be where it was doing the most
good from the ISIS perspective.”

 

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