“Armed assailants have killed about 50 people in a part of eastern Burkina Faso
ravaged by Islamist violence, the region's governor said on Thursday.





 


 


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Eye on Extremism


May 27, 2022

 

**NOTE: CEP’s Eye On Extremism will be suspended on Monday, May 30
in observance of Memorial Day. It will resume Tuesday, May 31.**

 

Reuters: Armed Assailants Kill About 50 People In Eastern Burkina Faso
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“Armed assailants have killed about 50 people in a part of eastern Burkina
Faso ravaged by Islamist violence, the region's governor said on Thursday. It
was not immediately clear who was behind the attack on Wednesday against
residents of the rural commune of Madjoari, said Colonel Hubert Yameogo, the
governor of the East Region. The victims were traveling to a town in the nearby
commune of Pama, close to the borders with Benin and Togo, Yameogo said in a
statement. Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have overrun
swathes of Burkina Faso in recent years, part of a wider insurgency across West
Africa's semi-arid Sahel region. The violence has expanded and intensified in
the past decade, killing thousands of civilians each year. The conflict is now
spilling over into coastal West African countries like Benin and Togo. Eight
soldiers were killed and 13 wounded in northern Togo this month in what was
likely the first deadly raid in Togo by Islamist militants. Wednesday's attack
in Burkina Faso followed two others this month in Madjoari. One killed 17
civilians and another killed 11 soldiers. Army officers angry about worsening
militant attacks overthrew Burkina Faso's president in January and vowed to
improve security, but levels of violence have remained high.”

 

Voice Of America: Turkish Officials Claim Capture Of New Islamic State Leader
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“The reign of new Islamic State terror group leader Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi
al-Qurashi may be over, less than three months after it began. The Turkish
website OdaTV first reported the arrest of Abu al-Hassan Thursday, saying
Turkish police captured him without firing a single bullet during a raid on a
house in Istanbul last week. The website further reported the IS leader was
being questioned and that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to
formally announce the arrest and share additional details in the coming days.
Separately, two senior Turkish officials, speaking on the condition of
anonymity, confirmed the arrest to Bloomberg News, adding that Erdogan has been
informed. U.S. officials, however, remained cautious. “[We] can’t confirm the
reports about al-Qurashi,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters
Thursday. “Obviously we've been looking at this all day, but we're just not in
a position where we can actually confirm that press reporting.” IS named Abu
al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi as the terror group’s third leader in March,
saying he took over shortly after the death of his predecessor during a raid by
U.S. special forces in northwestern Syria in February. IS followers quickly
lined up behind the new leader, with the terror group’s media division sharing
photos and videos of fighters from Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, Somalia, Afghanistan,
the Philippines and elsewhere pledging their allegiance to Abu al-Hassan.”

 

United States

 

The Wall Street Journal: Senate Republicans Block Domestic Terrorism Bill
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“Senate Republicans blocked debate Thursday on a bill that would establish new
domestic terrorism offices in the wake of a shooting that killed 10 Black
people at a Buffalo, N.Y., supermarket this month, saying the legislation could
let the government target conservatives for their political views. The Domestic
Terrorism Prevention Act failed to reach the 60 votes need to advance under the
threshold set by Senate filibuster rules, with 47 in favor and 47 opposed.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) called the bill “a necessary
and timely step to honor the memories of the dead in Buffalo, and to make sure
mass shootings motivated by race don’t happen again.” The bill would have
created new offices within the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the
Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, and would have required
coordination between the agencies, as well as regular reporting on domestic
terrorism threats. The bill doesn’t contain any expansion of domestic
surveillance authority or add criminal offenses, and some of its backers called
it a limited measure. But the effort, which previously enjoyed GOP support,
couldn’t overcome fresh opposition from Republicans who voiced concerns about
backing any legislation that they allege could be subjectively applied to
conservative causes.”

 

Associated Press: Detention Hearing Waived In Plot To Kill George W. Bush
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“An Iraqi man behind bars following his arrest on a charge of plotting to
assassinate former President George W. Bush has waived his right to a detention
hearing and will remain behind bars for now, according to a court document
filed Thursday. Shihab Ahmed Shihab Shihab, 52, also schemed to smuggle other
Iraqis into the U.S. from Mexico to aid in the plot, after which they’d be
smuggled back out through Mexico, prosecutors said in a criminal complaint
filed in federal court in Columbus following his Tuesday arrest. Shihab, who
came to the U.S. from Iraq in 2020 on a visitor’s visa, insinuated he had
contacts with the Islamic State group, prosecutors said. It did not appear the
plot came close to materializing, with confidential informants briefing the FBI
from April 2021 through this month. Shihab on Thursday waived his right to a
detention hearing scheduled for Friday, according to the court document which
did not provide details. A message was left with Shihab’s federal public
defender. If convicted, Shihab could face up to 30 years in prison and $500,000
in fines.”

 

Syria

 

Foreign Affairs: The Child Victims Of ISIS
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“Three years ago, a global coalition of countries led by the United States
retook most of the territory in Iraq and Syria controlled by the Islamic State.
Once ISIS was defeated on the battlefield, the world moved on. Left unanswered
was the question of what to do about the people, including thousands of
children, who had come from abroad, either voluntarily or through coercion, to
live under ISIS rule and were now abandoned by their governments. Many of the
women and children, and a small number of men, ended up in two detention camps
in the middle of the desert in northeast Syria, where they remain today, with
no way out. Some of the camps’ residents had been willing adherents to ISIS,
whereas others were victims of trafficking and online grooming. Still others
were taken as children to join ISIS or lived in ISIS-controlled territory and
were displaced, co-opted, or coerced into the control of the group. The larger
of the two camps, Al Hol, was initially built for Iraqi refugees in 1991; the
smaller, Roj, was established in 2014, also to house families fleeing Iraq.
Both camps expanded in earnest in 2019, after the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic
Forces (SDF) conquered Baghouz, the last holdout of ISIS in Syria. Estimates of
the camps’ population vary, but the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) puts the
combined total at over 60,000 people, with more than 80 percent being women and
children.”

 

Nigeria

 

All Africa: Nigerians Must Unite To Fight Terrorism - Buhari
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“President Muhammadu Buhari has called on Nigerians to be united against the
activities of the terrorists causing mayhem in some parts of the country. This
is just as he said the nation was in a mourning mood over the 'senseless loss
of lives seen in Borno State and Katsina State over the last 48 hours'. The
President, in a release issued Wednesday by his spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu,
assured that the perpetrators of the killings would be brought to justice even
as he noted that they were already running scared. According to him, 56,000
Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists have surrendered to the authorities in a year
and still counting. He said: “That these terrorists and bandits have been
reduced to scavenging from our artisanal miners and farmers for survival is
evidence that they are backed into a corner. “This will be small comfort to the
family members and loved ones of those murdered this week. But it is in times
like these that we must be at our strongest. “Now more than ever Nigerians must
come together, in proud defiance of those who would seek through terror and
violence to divide us along religious, political or ethnic lines. “And so while
we are in mourning for those we have lost, let us face these cowards already
fading in strength, number and willpower as one. “Let us show them that
Nigerians will not be swayed by terror. Let us show them that Nigerians will
not be divided. Let us show them we will not be defeated.”

 

Premium Times Nigeria: Train Attack: Terrorists Release Another Video Of
Abducted Passengers
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“The gunmen who abducted passengers on a Kaduna-bound train have released
another video of the abductees. In the recent photo, the hostages were pleading
with the Nigerian authorities to come to their rescue. This is the fourth time
bandits are releasing video or pictorial evidence that the abductees are alive.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how the bandits planted explosives on the rail track and
immobilised the train around Katari and Rijana axis on the 28 of March. At
least nine people were killed in the attack while several others were injured.
The Nigerian government said it doing its best to rescue the abducted
passengers but 56 days later only the Bank of Agriculture, Alwan Hassan and a
pregnant woman have been released by the gunmen. In the 2 minutes and 39
seconds video, six of the captives – three men and three women – were shown
sitting and kneeling on a taurpalin with one gunman standing behind them
ordering them to introduce themselves and speak. One of the hostages said: “My
name is Mohammed Dayyabu. We are among those abducted when the Kaduna bound
train was attacked. We are calling on the Federal Government, Kaduna state
government, non-governmental organisations and international human rights
organisations to please accept the conditions laid down by these people who
captured us so that we all will go back to our families. Thank you.”

 

Somalia

 

Foreign Policy: Somalia’s Al Qaeda Branch Has Gotten ‘Bigger, Stronger, And
Bolder’ Since U.S. Exit
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“Somalia’s al Qaeda franchise has gotten “bigger, stronger, and bolder” since
the small U.S. military footprint of 750 troops was ordered out of the country
by then-U.S. President Donald Trump in late 2020, the Pentagon’s top military
official for Africa said on Wednesday. U.S. Africa Command chief Gen. Stephen
Townsend told reporters at the command’s headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany,
that the terrorist group al-Shabab had taken advantage of Somalia’s political
dysfunction after the U.S. withdrawal to regroup and improve its capability to
strike within the Horn of Africa region and overrun African nations’ forward
operating bases. Now, after U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to send troops
back, which U.S. officials have described as a move to keep a consistent
presence in the country to tamp down on the rising terrorist threat, the United
States is making preparations to send just under 500 troops to try to reverse
the tide. But al-Shabab’s ability to conduct complex attacks has grown due to
the Trump-era hiatus, U.S. military officials believe. In early May, the
terrorist group overran an African Union forward operating base in Somalia
about 100 miles from the capital of Mogadishu, killing up to an estimated 30
peacekeepers in a tense firefight. And the group stepped up attacks ahead of
this month’s elections—including a suicide bombing near the capital city’s
airport that killed at least four people and wounded seven.”

 

Africa

 

Associated Press: Congo's M23 Rebels Attack Military Base In Country's East
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“Congo’s army defended a major military camp in the country’s east on Thursday
after days of fighting with M23 rebels making advances in the region. Clashes
continued at the Rumangabo base in the Rutshuru area of North Kivu province
about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the provincial capital, Goma. “There is no
truce. The fighting is still continuing this morning on the same fronts as
yesterday,” deputy army spokesman Gen. Sylvain Ekenge said. Gunfire exchanges
have been heard there since early in the morning, said Manouvo Nguka, who lives
in Rumangabo where the base is located. “The army seeks to regain full control
of Rumangabo,” he told The Associated Press. The situation has been critical
since Wednesday night, he added. “There was more than an hour of exchange of
fire between the loyalist army and the M23 rebels,” he said. The army earlier
confirmed the rebels also attacked its positions in the Nyragongo and Rutshuru
areas. More than 20 shells were fired by the rebels on Tuesday and Wednesday on
Rumangabo, Natale, near the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of
 Nature, and the surrounding area, according to a statement from military
spokesman Lt. Gen. Constant Ndima.”

 

United Kingdom

 

BBC News: Terrorism Caution After Sheffield Pepper Spray Protest
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“A protester arrested at a demonstration where officers were accused of
heavy-handed tactics has been cautioned for terrorism offences. Campaigners
said police “went berserk” with pepper spray at last months' pro-Kurdish event
at Sheffield Town Hall. A 44-year-old man has since been cautioned for
displaying an article suggesting membership or support of a banned group. An
internal police inquiry cleared officers of any wrongdoing. It was launched
when Sheffield TUC contacted the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner
to lodge a formal complaint about the actions of officers involved. Footage of
the demonstration appeared to show some attendees washing their eyes due to the
effects of pepper spray. John Grayson, from South Yorkshire Migration and
Asylum Action Group, which was supporting the protest, told the BBC at the time
that the “police went berserk”. “They started to throw people to the floor,
started hitting people with batons and started pepper-spraying people and
saying 'get back',” he said. Deputy Chief Constable Tim Forber, who reviewed
the video evidence from the protest, said: “Following this internal review, I
am very satisfied our officers carried out their duties with the utmost
professionalism and patience.”

 

Canada

 

Calgary Herald: Calgary-Area Man Who Went To Syria To Join ISIS As A Fighter
Handed 12-Year Sentence On Terrorism Charges
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“Going to Syria to become an ISIS fighter has landed a Calgary-area man a
12-year prison term. Calgary Court of Queen’s Bench Justice David Labrenz on
Thursday accepted a joint Crown and defence submission to sentence Hussein
Borhot to a dozen years on terrorism-related charges, including participating
in the activities of a terrorist group and taking part in the commission of an
offence — kidnapping — for a terrorist group. Labrenz sentenced Borhot to eight
years for participating in ISIS activities and an additional four years for the
kidnapping offence. The judge also accepted the submission from Crown
prosecutor Kent Brown and defence counsel Rame Katrib that Borhot be ordered to
serve at least half the term before he is eligible for parole. During his April
28 guilty pleas, the Airdrie resident admitted travelling to Turkey in 2013 to
join the terrorist group in its fight in nearby Syria. Court heard Borhot, 36,
initially considered becoming a suicide bomber before joining ISIS as a
fighter. Details of Borhot’s involvement with the group surfaced during an RCMP
undercover operation involving an operative, identified in court as HQ1544,
between October 2016 and December 2018, co-Crown prosecutor Domenic Puglia told
Labrenz.”

 

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