Eye on Extremism
December 9, 2019
Reuters:
Air Strikes Kill At Least 20 In Syria's Idlib: Observatory,
Activists
“Air strikes by Syrian government and Russian forces killed at
least 20 people in rebel-held northwestern Syria on Saturday,
activists and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The
attacks hit five villages in the Idlib region of the northwest, part
of the last major territorial foothold of the insurgency against
President Bashar al-Assad. Russian jets killed at least nine people in
an attack that hit a market in the village of Balyoun and another four
people in a strike on the village of al-Bara, the Observatory said.
Five more people were killed in a barrel bomb attack by Syrian
government helicopters on the village of Abdita, the Observatory said.
Barrel bombs killed two more people in the villages of Jebghas and Tel
Minis, it added.”
The
New York Times: Pensacola Attack Probed For Terrorism Link. Saudi
Suspect Clashed With Instructor.
“The investigation into the fatal shooting last week at a Navy
training center in Florida was officially characterized as a terrorism
inquiry on Sunday, as new details emerged about the Saudi Air Force
trainee who killed three sailors on the base where he was a visiting
student. As the F.B.I. continues to conduct interviews with everyone
at the Pensacola Naval Air Station who may have had contact with the
gunman, identified as Second Lt. Mohammed Alshamrani, a new report
emerged that the Saudi trainee filed a formal complaint earlier this
year against one of his instructors, who left him “infuriated” in
class by tagging him with a derogatory nickname. The complaint, quoted
in a communication circulated among people connected to the flight
training, said that the instructor referred to Lieutenant Alshamrani
as “Porn Stash” in front of about 10 other aviation students,
embarrassing and angering him. “I was infuriated as to why he would
say that in front of the class,” the Saudi trainee wrote in his
complaint, as quoted in the summary. The document was reviewed by The
New York Times and authenticated by a person who spoke with Lieutenant
Alshamrani shortly after the incident.”
Fox
News: New York City ISIS Supporter Seen As 'Ticking Time Bomb' Gets
Decades In Prison
“A U.S. citizen who kept an Islamic State flag and a cache of
weapons in his New York City apartment was sentenced Friday to 22
years in prison after pleading guilty to providing material support to
the terrorist group, the Justice Department announced. Sajmir
Alimehmeti, a 26-year-old Albanian turned U.S. citizen, was sentenced
Friday by U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, who called him a
"ticking time bomb." He called the Bronx man's conduct "terrifying."
In February 2018, Alimehmeti admitted providing material support to
the group. Alimehmeti, a onetime plumbing assistant who had studied
funeral services, was arrested in May 2016 on evidence assembled over
eight months by two undercover New York City police officers and an
undercover FBI employee posing as ISIS recruits. The man started
collecting weapons such as combat knives that could be used in a
"lone-wolf" style terrorist attack, investigators said. Arresting
agents reported recovering terrorist propaganda, the flag and images
of jihadist fighters. Alimehmeti had traveled overseas to support
ISIS’ terror campaign by buying military-grade weapons and helping
another recruit get travel documents, equipment and encryption
technology to fight with the group in Syria, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S.
Berman said in a news release.”
CNN:
UN Says It Has Evidence That Iran Was 'Shooting To Kill'
Protesters
“The United Nations said Friday that it has video evidence
appearing to show Iranian security forces "shooting to kill"
protesters during Iran's latest wave of demonstrations. In a statement
on Friday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet
said she was alarmed by "the continuing lack of transparency about
casualties and the treatment of thousands of detainees" during the
recent protests in Iran. Bachelet said "prompt, independent and
impartial investigations" into all possible violations needed to be
undertaken, "including the killing of protesters." Iranians took to
the streets in mid-November, shortly after the government announced an
increase in fuel prices by as much as 300%. The exact death toll in
the protests remains unclear as the government has withheld these
numbers. The UN Human Rights Office said it had information suggesting
that at least 208 people were killed, including 13 women and 12
children. It said at least 7,000 have reportedly been arrested across
the country. The government imposed a nationwide internet shutdown for
over a week.”
Al
Jazeera: At Least 10 Killed In Kenya Bus Attack Claimed By
Al-Shabab
“At least 10 people, including several police officers, have been
killed when gunmen attacked a bus in northeast Kenya. The vehicle
belonging to the Medina Bus Company was attacked on Friday on a lonely
stretch of road in the Kotulo area as it travelled between the towns
of Wajir and Mandera, close to the border with Somalia. "People, among
them police officers, were brutally murdered," President Uhuru
Kenyatta's office said in a statement on Saturday. The Somalia-based
al-Shabab armed group, which has also carried out a number of attacks
in neighbouring Kenya, took responsibility for the assault, saying it
had killed people that included "secret security agents and government
employees". Police said 10 people had been killed and that the
attackers had specifically targeted non-Somalis after flagging down
the bus. The area is mostly inhabited by ethnic Somali Kenyans. Seven
police officers were killed in the attack, local media reported. A
security source gave the same figure to the AFP news agency.”
The
Sun: NAZI NETWORK Inside Neo-Nazi Social Network The Base That
Coordinates Secret Paramilitary Training For Ultra-Violent US
Extremists
The Base is a group that unites white separatists who allegedly
wish to carry out acts of violence against the government, Jews,
people of color, and the LGBT community.Joshua Fisher-Birch, a
research analyst with Counter Extremism Project (CEP), is convinced
the group poses a credible threat. He told The Sun Online: “The Base
poses a significant risk to public safety. "[This is] due to the
group’s desire to commit acts of terrorism against the government and
groups such as Jews, people of color, LGBT people, and journalists.
"The Base has previously posted information on explosives and has
organized training camps where they have conducted firearms drills.
"From an ideological perspective, it is possible that the group might
eventually attempt to commit acts of terrorism to further their...
agenda.”
United States
The
Wall Street Journal: Pensacola Shooting Rattles A Kingdom Struggling
To Repair Its Image
“The deadly shooting by a Saudi Air Force aviation student at a
U.S. military base presents the latest test for a monarchy struggling
to repair its image in the West following a series of crises in recent
years. Mohammed Alshamrani used a handgun to open fire in a classroom
Friday morning at Naval Air Station Pensacola, officials said, killing
at least three people and injuring eight. Investigators are searching
for a motive in the shooting. But some lawmakers have already called
it terrorism, underscoring the challenge that Saudi Arabia faces in
improving public opinion about its rulers, including Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman, in the U.S. and Europe. The kingdom’s repression
in recent years of activists and dissidents, including the murder of
journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018, has evoked widespread
international criticism. Its war in Yemen has been condemned by
Congress. Now, the shooting has revived memories of the turbulent
history between Washington and Riyadh since the Sept. 11
attacks—bringing more scrutiny to the kingdom, including its close
military relationship with the U.S. The shooting will also test the
relationship between Prince Mohammed and President Trump, who has
continued to voice support for the Saudi ruler, saying it was not
clear whether the royal was involved in the Khashoggi killing, in
spite of a C.I.A. assessment that concluded he likely ordered the
killing.”
Bloomberg:
U.S. Navy Base Gunman Watched Shooting Videos Before
Attack
“The Saudi student who fatally shot three sailors at a U.S. naval
base in Florida hosted a dinner party earlier in the week where he and
three others watched videos of mass shootings, a U.S. official told
The Associated Press on Saturday. Officials investigating the deadly
attack were working Saturday to determine whether it was motivated by
terrorism, while President Donald Trump indicated he would review
policies governing foreign military training in the United States. The
Navy on Saturday identified the three victims and hailed them as
heroes for trying to stop the shooter and flagging down first
responders after being shot. “The Sailors that lost their lives in the
line of duty and showed exceptional heroism and bravery in the face of
evil,” Capt. Tim Kinsella, the commanding officer of Naval Air Station
Pensacola, said in a statement. “When confronted, they didn’t run from
danger; they ran towards it and saved lives.” The shooter opened fire
inside a classroom at the naval base on Friday, killing three people
and wounding two sheriff's deputies, one in the arm and one in the
knee, before one of the deputies killed him. Eight others were also
hurt. Both deputies were expected to survive.”
Chicago
Tribune: Islamic State Sympathizer Sentenced To 22 Years In
Prison
“An Albanian turned U.S. citizen who kept an Islamic State group
flag in his apartment was sentenced to 22 years in prison Friday after
pleading guilty to terror charges. Sajmir Alimehmeti, 26, of the Bronx
was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, who
called him a “ticking time bomb.” He called his conduct “terrifying.”
In February 2018, he admitted providing material support to the group.
A onetime plumbing assistant who had studied funeral services,
Alimehmeti was arrested in May 2016 on evidence assembled over eight
months by two undercover New York City police officers and an
undercover FBI employee posing as Islamic State group recruits.
Authorities said Alimehmeti began collecting weapons such as combat
knives that could be used in a “lone-wolf” style terrorist attack.
Arresting agents reported recovering terrorist propaganda, the flag
and images of jihadist fighters. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said
in a release that Alimehmeti had traveled overseas to support the
Islamic State group's terror campaign by buying military-grade weapons
and helping another recruit get travel documents, equipment and
encryption technology to fight with the group in Syria.”
Fox
News: Trump Will 'Temporarily Hold Off' Designating Mexican Cartels As
Terror Groups
“President Trump announced Friday that he will hold off on
officially designating Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations
while he works with the Mexican president “to deal decisively” with
the issue. “All necessary work has been completed to declare Mexican
Cartels terrorist organizations,” Trump tweeted Friday. “Statutorily
we are ready to do so. However, at the request of a man who I like and
respect, and has worked so well with us, President Andres Manuel
@lopezobrador_ we will temporarily hold off this designation and step
up our joint efforts to deal decisively with these vicious and
ever-growing organizations!” Mexico's foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard
thanked Trump on Twitter for his decision. “I appreciate President
Donald Trump's decision to postpone the designation of organizations
as terrorists at the request of President López Obrador, who also
respects and appreciates him,” Ebrard said. Obrador praised Trump's
decision at an event Friday in his home state of Tabasco. “I celebrate
that he has taken our opinion into account,” the Mexican president
said, according to The New York Times. “There has to be cooperation
with respect for our sovereignties, cooperation without
interventionism. And I think it was a very good decision that he took
today.”
Haaretz:
U.S. Releases First Photos Of 'Sophisticated Iranian Weapons' Seized
En Route To Yemen
“The U.S. State Department released Thursday photos of advanced
missile parts believed to be linked to Iran from a boat stopped by the
Navy in the Arabian Sea last month. At a press briefing, U.S. Special
Representative for Iran Brian Hook said the parts seized on November
25 are likely further proof of Tehran's efforts to inflame conflict in
the region. "We interdicted a significant hoard of weapons and missile
parts evidently of Iranian origin. The seizure includes sophisticated
weapons," he said, adding that the vessel was reportedly heading to
Yemen to deliver the weapons. "The weapon components comprise the most
sophisticated weapons seized by the U.S. Navy to date during the Yemen
conflict," Hook said. U.S. officials said Wednesday the suspected
Iranian guided missile parts were headed to rebels in Yemen, marking
the first time that such sophisticated components have been taken en
route to the war there.”
ABC
News: US Envoy: US Has `Other Tools' If Iran's Bad Actions Go
On
“U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft warned Iran on Friday that the Trump
administration will keep up its maximum pressure campaign and use
“other tools” if Tehran continues its “malicious behavior.” Craft also
told her first press conference since arriving at the United Nations
in September that all 15 members of the U.N. Security Council are
united in their concern about any more ballistic missile launches by
North Korea, saying there have been 13 launches since May and
Pyongyang’s actions are a serious global issue. North Korea has ramped
up its missile tests in recent months, and experts say the launches
are likely to continue as a way to pressure Washington into meeting
Pyongyang’s demand for new proposals to revive nuclear diplomacy by
leader Kim Jong Un's deadline at the end of
December.”
The
New Yorker: The Real Deal Behind The U.S.–Iran Prisoner
Swap
“Donald Trump celebrated a surprise prisoner exchange with Iran in
a tweet on Saturday, just hours after a Princeton graduate student and
an Iranian scientist were traded on the tarmac of Zurich’s
international airport. “Thank you to Iran on a very fair negotiation.
See, we can make a deal together!” he wrote. The swap was a rare
moment of détente following months of escalating hostilities, which
came within minutes of a military confrontation in June, after Iran
shot down a sophisticated U.S. drone. It ended the traumatic saga of
Xiyue Wang, an American student in the fourth year of a ten-year
prison sentence in Iran on two charges of espionage. He had been
arrested, in 2016, while doing doctoral research in Tehran’s national
archives on the nineteenth and early twentieth century Qajar dynasty.
The swap also ended the controversial case of Masoud Soleimani, an
Iranian stem-cell researcher who was arrested when he landed in the
United States, in October, 2018, en route to a visiting-scholar
position at the Mayo Clinic. He had been charged with trying to export
proteins used to culture cells for medical research without a U.S.
license, a minor form of sanctions-busting.”
Syria
Voice
Of America: Airstrikes In Northwest Syria Kill At
Least 18
“Airstrikes on areas in the last major rebel stronghold in
northwest Syria on Saturday killed at least 18 people, including women
and children, and wounded others as a three-month truce crumbles,
opposition activists said. The airstrikes on Idlib province have
intensified over the past few weeks as the government appears to be
preparing for an offensive on rebel-held areas east of the province to
secure the main highway that links the capital Damascus with the
northern city of Aleppo, Syria's largest and once a commercial center.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 20 people were killed in
Idlib province while the opposition's Syrian Civil Defense said 18
lost their lives. The largest number of casualties occurred in the
village of Balyoun, where the Civil Defense said eight people were
killed while the Observatory said nine died. Both groups also said
that four people, including a child and two women, were killed in
airstrikes on the rebel-held village of Bara. Both groups also said
that five others were killed in the village of Ibdeita. The Civil
Defense said another child was killed in a nearby village in Idlib
while the Observatory had two more. Conflicting casualty figures are
common in the immediate aftermath of violence in Syria, where an
eight-year conflict has killed about 400,000 people, wounded more than
a million and displaced half the country's prewar population.”
Reuters:
Russian Forces Enter Former Islamic State Stronghold In Syria After
U.S. Pullback
“Russian forces have entered Raqqa, the former de facto capital of
the Islamic State caliphate, in one of the starkest examples yet of
how Moscow has filled the vacuum created by President Donald Trump’s
decision to pull U.S. forces from northern Syria. Russian troops were
shown in footage on the defence ministry’s Zvezda TV channel shaking
hands with Syrian children and unloading humanitarian aid bundles with
the slogan “Russia is with you” from the back of trucks. Raqqa was
captured two years ago by U.S. troops and their Kurdish-led Syrian
allies in the biggest victory of Washington’s campaign against Islamic
State in Syria. But since Trump abruptly ordered a pull-out in
October, Moscow has swiftly advanced into territory where U.S. troops
had operated.”
Iran
Associated
Press: Iran Frees Chinese-American Scholar For US-Held
Scientist
“A Princeton scholar held for three years in Iran on widely
criticized espionage charges was freed Saturday as part of a prisoner
exchange that saw America release a detained Iranian scientist, a rare
diplomatic breakthrough between Tehran and Washington after months of
tensions. The trade on the tarmac of a Swiss airport saw Iranian
officials hand over Chinese-American graduate student Xiyue Wang for
scientist Massoud Soleimani, who had faced a federal trial in Georgia
over charges he violated sanctions by trying to have biological
material brought to Iran. The swap, however, had clear limits.
Crushing U.S. sanctions on Iran blocking it from selling crude oil
abroad remain in place, part of President Donald Trump’s maximum
pressure campaign imposed following his unilateral withdraw from
Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers last year. Those sanctions in
part fueled the anger seen in nationwide protests last month that
Iranian security forces violently put down, unrest that reportedly
killed over 200 people.”
CBC
News: Iran Protests 'A Prelude To Collapse Of Regime': Nobel Laureate
Predicts
“The newest wave of unrest that has seized Iran in recent weeks has
sparked an exceptionally brutal response that left thousands of
victims in its wake. At least 208 people have been killed and 7,000
arrested in protests since mid-November, according to UN human rights
monitors and the latest estimates are likely far below the real
numbers. The Trump administration believes as many as 1,000 have been
killed in the ruthless crackdown. In a year when Iran celebrated the
40th anniversary of the revolution that ushered in the Islamic regime,
some activists believe it is on the verge of another revolutionary
moment. The evidence, says Nobel Prize-winning human rights activist
Shirin Ebadi, is in the scale of the protests and the subsequent
crackdown — as well as the identity of the protesters themselves.
Unlike previous episodes of unrest, this time the protests have spread
throughout Iran — some 100 cities in 28 of Iran's 31 provinces. And
while the initial spark was a sudden hike in the price of petrol, the
unmistakable target of the protesters' wrath is the Islamic regime
itself. Crucially, the protests have swept up less advantaged,
low-income people, among whom support for the Islamic regime has
traditionally been strong. Protesters see the Iranian regime as
corrupt, said Ebadi, and too concerned about foreign and regional
issues when ordinary people at home are suffering unprecedented levels
of poverty.”
Iraq
Reuters:
Rocket Hits Iraqi Cleric's Home Following Deadly Baghdad
Attack
“A rocket fired from a drone targeted the home of populist Iraqi
cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Saturday, lawmakers from his Saeroon party
said, following one of the capital’s bloodiest nights in recent weeks.
The drone attack, which caused little damage and left no casualties,
followed a deadly attack by armed men near Baghdad’s main protest site
on Friday night, which left at least 23 dead, police and medical
sources said. Nearly 130 others were wounded by gunfire and stabbings
targeting anti-government protesters at the Sinak bridge near Tahrir
Square, the sources said. The death toll includes three members of the
police. Thousands of Iraqis have occupied the central square and three
nearby bridges which lead to the city’s Green Zone, Iraq’s political
center, for more than two months, calling for a complete uprooting of
the political system. Friday and Saturday’s attacks came days after
Iraq’s prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, said he would resign. Sadr, a
mercurial figure who has supported the protests but not thrown his
full weight behind them, was in Iran at the time of the drone attack
on his home in the southern holy city of Najaf, a source in his office
said. However, a spokesman for his party said the incidents were aimed
at pressuring both protesters and political leaders to accept
whichever candidate is nominated for the premiership by the ruling
elite.”
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Iraq Authorities Launch Military Operation Against ISIS In 4
Provinces
“Iraq launched the second phase of Will of Victory operation
against ISIS in four different governorates, including Salaheddine,
Kirkuk, Samarra and Diyala, announced spokesperson Joint Operations
Command spokesman Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji. Khafaji said the
operation will be completed within its specified time and achieve all
of its goals, warning that ISIS plans to target the ongoing
anti-government demonstrations in Iraq. He revealed that preliminary
investigations with ISIS’ second in command, Hamid Shaker, known as
Abu Khaldoun, uncovered that the organization plans to carry out
terrorist operations in Baghdad, taking advantage of the security
forces' preoccupation with the demonstrators. He added that on the
first day of the Will of Victory operation, security forces destroyed
11 hideouts and three tunnels in Salaheddine and seized 50 kilograms
of urea and 23 explosive devices. In Kirkuk, they searched 45 villages
and destroyed four tunnels and two terrorist hideouts and arrested two
terrorists. Security expert Fadel Abu Ragheef told Asharq Al-Awsat
that it is possible for ISIS to carry out attacks against protesters,
taking advantage of the conditions the country is going through.”
Xinhua:
Death Toll Rises To 23 In Gunmen Attack On Demonstrators In Iraq's
Capital
“Up to 23 people were killed, and 137 others wounded in Friday's
attack on protesters in Iraq's capital Baghdad, an Interior Ministry
official said Saturday. “The final toll of the attack by unidentified
gunmen on demonstrators on Friday evening is 23 killed and some 137
others wounded,” the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
On Friday evening, dozens of unidentified gunmen, in four-wheel drive
and pick-up vehicles, broke into the al-Khalani Square in central
Baghdad and opened fire with assault rifles on demonstrators. The
attack pushed many of the protesters to take cover in buildings and
mosques at the scene, or flee for their lives to nearby al-Tahrir
Square, the epicenter of the protest movement. Hundreds of
anti-government protesters are occupying part of al-Jumhouriyah and
al-Rashid Streets on the east side of Tigris River, as well as seizing
the nearby bridges of al-Jumhouriyah, al-Sinak and al-Ahrar, which all
lead to the heavily fortified Green Zone on the other side of Tigris
River. In a statement by his office, Iraqi President Barham Salih
described the attack on the protesters as “criminal attack” and called
on the authorities to “prevent and criminalize” any armed and violent
reaction to the peaceful demonstrators.”
Kurdistan
24: ISIS Attack Kills 5 Militiamen In Kirkuk As Iraqi PM Orders
Anti-Terror Operations
“Islamic State gunmen attacked a Hashd al-Shaabi unit in the
disputed province of Kirkuk amid a general uptick in terrorist attacks
in the region. In response, Prime Minister of Iraq’s caretaker
government, Adil Abdul Mahdi, has ordered an anti-ISIS operation in
three provinces. The latest incident reportedly occurred Saturday
morning in the Danadish area of Kirkuk’s Hawija district. Islamic
State militants took advantage of adverse weather conditions and
attacked a unit of the 56th Brigades of the Shia-majority militias,
also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). “The attack
resulted in deaths of two Hashd al-Shaabi members, and wounded three
others,” a source told Shafaaq news. Just a day earlier, an explosion
rocked the city of Kirkuk, targeting a police car, killing at least
one officer. The province, which is part of disputed territories
between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Federal
Government of Iraq, has witnessed a series of attacks since last week.
Multiple Islamic State attacks have occurred in the northern parts of
Diyala province as well, on both the KRG-controlled and Iraqi sides.
The Peshmerga forces deployed reinforcements to the area to bolster
defenses against further assaults.”
Turkey
Reuters:
Turkey Says It Has Deported 11 French Terrorist
Suspects
“Turkey said on Monday it had deported 11 French nationals back to
France as part of a program to extradite what it says are foreign
terrorist fighters. Turkey’s Interior Ministry, which made the
announcement, gave no details. France’s Foreign Ministry declined to
comment, but diplomatic sources said the 11 included four women and
seven children. Turkey is holding hundreds of Islamic State suspects
and last month launched a program to repatriate detainees that has
caused friction with its NATO allies. Ankara has accused European
countries of being too slow to take back citizens who traveled to the
Middle East to fight. Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said in
November that Ankara would repatriate most detainees with suspected
links to Islamic State by the end of this year. The move is forcing
European governments to decide how to handle the return of radicalized
militants, including those with battlefield experience. Paris signed
an agreement with Ankara five years ago for French nationals arrested
by Turkish authorities to be deported in coordination with the French
authorities. Turkey has expelled almost 300 French nationals since
then, French officials say. France’s Center for Analysis of Terrorism
said one of the newly deported women was Amandine Le Coz, who had been
married to a Moroccan militant killed in Syria. She joined Islamic
State with her husband in 2014.”
Afghanistan
CNN:
Taliban Says It Has Resumed Peace Talks With The
US
“The United States and the Taliban have resumed peace talks in the
Qatari capital of Doha, a Taliban spokesman tweeted on Saturday. “On
Saturday talks between the Taliban and US started from where they
stopped,” Suhail Shaheen said, adding that Anas Haqqani, a former
Taliban prisoner who was released in a swap last month, participated
in Saturday's talks as a negotiation member. The announcement comes
more than a week after President Donald Trump made a surprise
Thanksgiving visit to US troops in Afghanistan and said talks had
restarted. He told troops at the time that “the Taliban wants to make
a deal. We'll see if they want to make a deal. It's got to be a real
deal, but we'll see. But they want to make a deal.” During the trip
Trump also held a bilateral meeting with the President of Afghanistan,
Ashraf Ghani. Following that meeting, Ghani tweeted that “both sides
underscored that if the Taliban are sincere in their commitment to
reaching a peace deal, they must accept a ceasefire. We also
emphasized that for any peace to last, terrorist safe havens outside
Afghanistan must be dismantled.” CNN has reached out to the State
Department for reaction. In September, Trump announced an end to
formal talks after a Taliban-claimed attack in Kabul killed a dozen
people, including an American soldier.”
Xinhua:
10 Killed In Clashes In N. Afghan Provinces
“Ten people, including an Afghan Special Forces' commander, were
killed in clashes in two northern Afghan provinces on Saturday night,
authorities said Sunday. In one incident, Mohammad Khan Ahmadi,
commander of Special Operations Forces of northern Faryab province,
and two of his colleagues were killed after militants ambushed his
vehicle in Sholgara district of northern Balkh province, district
chief Harif Iqbal told Xinhua. Ahmadi was travelling from Faryab to
attend his father's funeral in Balkh, the official said, adding two of
Ahmadi's relatives were kidnapped by militants following the attack.
In neighboring Baghlan province, three Afghan National Police
personnel and four pro-government local militia fighters were killed
after Taliban militants stormed joint security checkpoints in
Baghlan-e-Markazi district, the district chief Khanzada Mazlumyar told
Xinhua. Fighting rages across Afghanistan as Taliban militants have
been attempting to take territory and consolidate their positions
ahead of the winter in the mountainous country. The die-hard
militants, who ruled the country before being ousted in late 2001,
renewed armed insurgency, killing government troops as well as
civilians.”
Yemen
The
National: ISIS Claims Killing Of Security Commander In
Yemen
“ISIS has claimed responsibility for the killing of a paramilitary
security officer in Aden on Saturday. Captain Mohammed Saleh Al
Radfani, 30, a security commander from the Security Belt Forces, the
elite wing of the Southern Transitional Council, was killed in Aden on
Saturday afternoon. A security source told The National that gun-men
wearing masks shot at Al Radfani while he was in his car near his home
in the Army Buildings neighbourhood in Al Mansoura district. He had
been about to drive his sister back to her home at the time. ISIS
circulated pictures of the assassination operation on Twitter,
claiming responsibility for the assassination. It followed a series of
similar terror actions targeting security officers and military
commanders in the port city in recent weeks. On Friday evening,
Colonel Musfer Al Harithi, a commander in Yemen's Ministry of Defence,
survived an attempt on his life by unknown gun-men riding motorcycles
when they shot over his car while he was driving home. On Sunday,
gunmen also targeted the director of the criminal detection unit,
Major Salah Hojairi, who also survived. Attacks on officials have
increasingly ramped up in the port city of Aden since the return of
the Yemen government to the city, which is recognised as a seat for
the internationally recognised government.”
Lebanon
The
Arab Weekly: Hezbollah Is Seeking Foreign Help To Protect Its
Power
“More than six weeks since the start of the Lebanese uprising, the
entrenched power in control of Lebanon seems to have only one option
left to reproduce itself — seek foreign help and bring in influential
regional and international powers. The option does not exist to appeal
to the Lebanese people, who have been exposing the corruption and
fragility of the authority in the country by insisting on an
independent interim government to prepare for an early parliamentary
election. The power referred to is represented by the triangle headed
by Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah with Lebanese
President Michel Aoun and parliament Speaker Nabih Berri holding the
base angles. The absence of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri from the
power triangle does not exonerate him from having been part of it.
However, that Hariri, along with Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and
Christian leader Samir Geagea, are out of the decision-making
equation, which remains firmly in the hands of the power trio
mentioned above, if not in the hands of Nasrallah alone. The strength
of the uprising lies in various factors. It is genuinely Lebanese with
an unprecedented demographic and geographical spread. It has enough
vitality to create new forms of resistance to the authorities.”
Middle East
The
New York Times: The Children Of ISIS Don’t Belong In Cages,
Either
“Children peer out from behind the bars into the light, scarred by
intense trauma and uncertain of their future, terrified both of their
prison and the outside world. The images and stories of these
youngsters, robbed of their childhood by the extreme violence of life
under the Islamic State, are harrowing. Many are unaccompanied, the
large majority are under 12. They now find themselves abandoned in
appalling conditions in rudimentary camps in Syria. Governments have
to do better: This is not the way to treat children who are also
victims of terrorism. Nor is it effective counterterrorism policy.
Tens of thousands of men, women and children with an alleged
connection to the Islamic State are currently held in camps in
northeastern Syria.”
Egypt
The
Washington Post: Egyptian Officials Say Policeman, Militant Killed In
Sinai
“Egyptian officials say a militant attack has killed a police
conscript in the restive northern part of the Sinai Peninsula. The
officials say that the militants attacked a police checkpoint in the
town of Rafah early on Sunday, wounding another two conscripts who
were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Authorities say that
security forces killed one militant and wounded others in clashes that
followed the assault. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as
they weren’t authorized to talk to reporters. No group claimed
responsibility for the attack, which bore the hallmarks of an Islamic
State group affiliate based in northern Sinai. Egypt is battling an
Islamic State-led insurgency in the Sinai that intensified after the
military overthrew an Islamist president in 2013.”
Egypt
Today: FM: Terrorism Poses Major Threat To Peace, Stability,
Development
“Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that terrorism poses a major
threat to peace, stability and development efforts, which requires
taking collective and resolute action to counter all terrorist groups
and hold accountable all those who provide support and safe haven to
them. The top Egyptian diplomat underlined the necessity of targeting
all organizations that adopt the extremist thought and use religion as
a cover for their own political goals, including the Muslim
Brotherhood, Boko Haram and Al Shabab, along with Daesh and al Qaeda.
Shoukry's remarks came during his participation in a special session
held on the sidelines of the Rome Mediterranean Dialogues (MED 2019)
conference in Italy to review Egypt's view on the situation in the
Middle East, Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Ahmed Hafez said.
Shoukry also shed light on the important and vital role played by
Egypt to strengthen regional security and stability, as well as its
endeavors to settle armed conflicts, the spokesman added. With regard
to mounting challenges in the Mediterranean region, Shoukry asserted
the importance of reaching comprehensive political settlements to
regional crises as a prerequisite for any serious endeavor towards
peace and stability.”
Nigeria
Punch:
Boko Haram: Troops Rescue 31 Women, Children In Borno
“The Nigerian Army has said that its troops have rescued 31 persons
comprising 14 women and 17 children at Mantari, Malam Masari and
Gabchari villages in Bama Local Government Area of Borno State.
Nigerian Army Operations Media Coordinator, Col. Aminu Iliyasu, stated
this in a statement on Monday in Abuja. Iliyasu said that the
successful ambush operation conducted by the troops of 21 Special
Armoured Brigade on December 4 at Darel Jamel, Bama LGA of Borno led
to the rescue. He added that the troops killed a number of Boko Haram
terrorists while several others escaped with gunshot wounds during the
encounter. According to him, the combined troops of 68/94 Battalions
of Operation LAFIYA DOLE also uncovered a Boko Haram enclave at Malam
Fatori in Abadam LGA. He added that the troops engaged the terrorists
at the enclave.”
Africa
Free
Malaysia Today: Islamists Decapitate 3 Cameroon
Villagers
“Security forces have found the decapitated bodies of three
villagers kidnapped in northern Cameroon by Boko Haram Islamists,
local government officials said Sunday. The three men had been
snatched on Friday, along with a woman who remains missing, from the
village of Tolkomari some 10km from the border with Nigeria’s Borno
state, a longtime stronghold of Boko Haram. “The remains of three men,
decapitated … were found Saturday in the bush near (Tolkomari),” one
high-ranking official told AFP, requesting anonymity and blaming the
atrocity on Boko Haram. The Nigeria-based Islamist group has stepped
up deadly attacks and kidnappings in the Lake Chad region where
northern Cameroon converges with Nigeria, Niger and Chad. The bodies
were found during an operation against Boko Haram by the Multinational
Joint Task Force (MNJTF) comprising troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad,
Cameroon and Benin, the official said. “Villagers who suffer regular
attacks by Boko Haram and are more familiar with the area” where the
group operates helped the MNJTF in the search, he said.”
The
Wall Street Journal: New Sudan Leader Moves To Settle With Families Of
Terror Victims
“Sudan is weeks away from reaching a settlement with families of
those killed in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania,
one of the last steps in getting the African country removed from the
U.S. list of state sponsorsof terrorism, new Prime Minister Abdalla
Hamdok said in an interview. Mr. Hamdok was in Washington this week to
attempt to persuade the Trump administration and government agencies
that Sudan has turned over a new leaf after a revolution ousted
dictator Omar al-Bashir earlier this year. Removing Sudan from the
U.S. terrorism list after 25 years would recalibrate geopolitics in a
strategically volatile region of northeastern Africa perched on
waterways that carry 10% of the world’s seaborne trade. In addition to
reaching a settlement with families of the victims in Kenya and
Tanzania, Mr. Hamdok said his government is pursuing a deal with those
injured in 2000 in the bombing of the USS Cole, a guided-missile
destroyer. In both cases, Sudan is accused of providing material
support to al Qaeda, the terrorist group responsible for the attacks.
Lawyers representing the victims didn’t immediately respond to a
request for comment. The embassy attacks killed 224 people in Kenya
and Tanzania, including 12 Americans, while the USS Cole bombing
killed 17 sailors and wounded 40 others.”
North Korea
CNN:
Trump Warns Kim Could Lose 'Special Relationship' After North Korea
Claims 'Important' Test At Missile Site
“President Donald Trump warned Sunday that North Korean Leader Kim
Jong Un could "void" their "special relationship" amid reports that
the hermit nation conducted an "important" test at a missile site.
"Kim Jong Un is too smart and has far too much to lose, everything
actually, if he acts in a hostile way," Trump wrote in a pair of
tweets. "He does not want to void his special relationship with the
President of the United States..." The warning from Trump, whose
at-times rocky relationship with Kim has been a hallmark of his
presidency, comes as a senior administration official tells CNN that
the White House has "seen the reports of a test, and are coordinating
closely with allies and partners." On Saturday, the Korean Central
News Agency reported that a "very important test took place at the
Sohae Satellite launching Ground" that day.”
South America
The
Times Of Israel: Visiting Israel, Guatemala’s Incoming President Vows
To Outlaw Hezbollah
“Guatemala is going to formally recognize Hezbollah as a terrorist
organization, the Central American country’s president-elect announced
this week during his first-ever visit to Israel. Alejandro Giammattei
also said that he not only intends to keep the Guatemalan embassy in
Jerusalem, but that he will urge other nations to transfer their
Israel embassies to the city as well. Giammattei, who won the June
presidential election but will only be inaugurated next month, updated
President Reuven Rivlin and Foreign Minister Israel Katz about his
planned move to outlaw Hezbollah. “The decision will take effect as
soon as I take office, as part of the security cooperation with
Israel, and will include all aspects of Hezbollah, including the
economic one,” he told the Israel Hayom daily in an interview
published Monday. After their meeting, Katz said in a tweet that he
was “happy” about the incoming Guatemalan leader’s promise to outlaw
Hezbollah. Some governments only recognize the Lebanese group’s
military wing as a terrorist organization, maintaining ties to its
political branch.”
United Kingdom
BBC
News: Public Counter-Terror Training Course Launched By
Police
“Free online training for the public on how to react to a terrorism
incident is being made available by police. The course devised by UK
counter-terrorism officers and experts was previously only open to
company staff working in crowded places such as shopping centres.
Counter Terrorism Policing is inviting people to take the course and
become so-called CT Citizens. Police said the move was not in response
to the London Bridge attack But the National Police Chiefs' Council
(NPCC) said the 29 November incident, which left two people dead, was
a “stark reminder” of the “ongoing threat and the need for vigilance”.
Called ACT Awareness, the training comprises seven modules and takes
45 minutes to complete. Users are asked give details including an
email and home address in order to register for the course.
Registration can then take up to seven days to complete, according to
the website. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Lucy D'Orsi, senior
national co-ordinator for protective security at the NPCC, said the
course was especially useful for anyone working in or regularly
visiting crowded places. “The threat level remains at substantial,
meaning an attack is likely, so giving everyone the chance to be extra
eyes and ears for police and local security teams helps to keep all
communities safe,” she said.”
New
York Post: ‘ISIS Bride’ Shamima Begum’s UK Return Bid Undercut By
Court Ruling
“ISIS bride” Shamima Begum’s bid to return home to the United
Kingdom may have been dealt a serious blow by a recent ruling in a
similar British court case, a report said Sunday. Following a lengthy
legal battle, the UK’s High Court has affirmed that the country was
allowed to revoke the citizenship of two Bangladeshi-British men over
suspected terror ties, despite arguments that the move would leave the
men stateless, according to the Daily Mail. The ruling could have
repercussions for Begum, whose British citizenship was yanked earlier
this year after she fled the UK at age 15 with two other girls in 2015
to join ISIS fighters in Syria. In February, Begum — who was nine
months pregnant at the time — said she’d had enough of ISIS and wanted
to return home for the sake of her unborn son, who has since died.
Like her two fellow Bangladeshi-Brits — identified in court documents
only as E3 and N3 — Begum petitioned the UK’s Special Immigration
Appeals Commission last month to have her citizenship restored,
according to the Daily Mail. SIAC initially sided with E3 and N3, but
the High Court ruled that they can in fact claim citizenship in
Bangladesh, meaning they would not be left stateless if barred from
Britain.”
The
Guardian: British Isis Captives ‘Could Be Handed Over
To Assad’
“Fears are growing that the Foreign Office has paved the way for
British Islamic State captives held in Syria to be handed over to the
regime of President Bashar al-Assad, which is accused of war crimes
including mass torture and executions. Human rights groups argue that,
as they face pressure to repatriate Britons detainedin Syria,
ministers’ inaction may result in the transfer of UK nationals to
Assad’s forces. The legal charity Reprieve says that differing
statements from the Foreign Office indicate that the government has
diluted its previous opposition to British nationals being prosecuted
in Assad-controlled Syria. In April, parliament was told by the then
Foreign Office minister Mark Field that, “given the regime’s appalling
human rights record, we would not view prosecution by the Assad regime
as an appropriate means of justice”. However, the Foreign Office
recently appeared to offer a changed stance when asked what steps were
being taken to stop Britons being transferred to Assad forces. Andrew
Murrison, the current minister of state with responsibility for the
Middle East , said the UK would work not only with international
agencies but also “partners in the region who can assist in
establishing an appropriate pathway to justice within their territory
or legal systems.”
The
Guardian: London Bridge Attack Follows ‘Dumbing Down’ Of Freed
Terrorist Scheme – Expert
“The architect of the government programme for moving convicted
terrorists from prison into the community believes the current system
lacks the “legitimacy and credibility” required to rehabilitate
extremists safely. Simon Cornwall, who set up the probation service’s
central extremism unit, said that as a result of “a dumbing down of
how things are done”, the current approach was missing the
safeguarding and human relationships required to modify behaviour and
reduce risk. His intervention follows the attack at London Bridge by
convicted terrorist Usman Khan, who was out on licence from prison
when he killed Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, and injured
three others during a meeting of the Cambridge University
rehabilitation initiative Learning Together on 29 November. Cornwall,
who worked with a number of the nine-strong terror group – including
Khan – which was jailed for plotting to bomb the London Stock Exchange
in 2010, said: “There’s been a breakdown in the system, a dumbing down
of how things are done. “The criminal justice system has become very
insular, moving away from partnerships with community groups who can
form crucial relationships with offenders to a really securitised
view. It has lost the legitimacy and credibility it had before,” he
said.”
Sky
News: Terror Arrests: Pair Held In Dover On Suspicion Of Offences
Linked To Syria
“A man and a woman have been arrested in Dover on suspicion of
terror offences relating to Syria, police have said. In a statement,
West Midlands Police said the pair were detained on Saturday and are
being questioned by officers in the region. The arrests are not being
linked to the London Bridge terror attack. The force said: “A
32-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman were arrested in Dover. “The
man was arrested on suspicion of preparing to commit terrorism
offences and funding/supporting terrorism. “The woman was arrested on
suspicion of preparing to commit terrorism offences. “The arrests were
carried out by West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit detectives and the
two are being questioned at a police station in the West Midlands.
“The arrests are not linked in any way to the London Bridge terror
attack and enquiries into this matter were under way prior to the
incident on 29 November.”
Germany
Deutsche
Welle: Germany Deported More Than 90 'Potential
Terrorists'
“Germany has deported 90 “Gefährder” and other “relevant persons”
since the 2016 attack on a Berlin Christmas market, according to
German newsmagazine Der Spiegel, which cited a government response to
a parliamentary inquiry on Friday. In Germany a “Gefährder” (lit.
“endangerer”) is someone who could pose a threat to public safety as
certain “facts justify the assumption that he or she may commit a
severe crime.” Such individuals are often identified by German
intelligence authorities as potential terror suspects and a threat to
public safety. In response to the inquiry by the business-friendly
Free Democrats (FDP), officials said that 40% of the people deported
were from Syria, while others held Iraqi, Turkish or Russian
citizenship. The federal government currently has 225 “suspects” under
examination by authorities, who may face deportation or other legal
consequences. In February 2018, at the request of the far-right
Alternative for Germany party, the federal government reported that
there were 745 people in Germany who could be potential terrorists
connected to the “Islamic State” group."
Voice
Of America: No Place For Right-Wing Extremists In Ranks, German Army
Says
“As reports about the threat of far-right recruitment among
Europe's law enforcement and military grow, German armed forces, or
Bundeswehr, told VOA that they are working to keep far-right
extremists away from their units or to remove them once they have been
identified. A spokesperson for the Military Counterintelligence
Service (MAD) told VOA the military was expanding its cooperation with
German security authorities and international partners to analyze
links and connections of suspected right-wing extremists to try to
expose them. “There is no place whatsoever for extremists in any form,
but especially right-wing extremists, in the Bundeswehr with its over
250,000 members,” the MAD spokesman, who did not wish to be named,
said. He said the military has taken several approaches to prevent
infiltration by far-right extremists, including carrying out 16,000
security checks annually for all its applicants. “We also take other
preventive measures, aiming to encourage an improved reporting culture
within the units through advisories, talks and our own publications,”
the spokesperson added. German media Sunday reported that the
Bundeswehr had suspended an officer of its elite special forces, or
Kommando Spezialkräfte, who had ties to right-wing elements.”
Europe
Voice
Of America: Russian Blogger Given Suspended Sentence For 'Inciting
Online Extremism'
“A court in Moscow has handed popular blogger Yegor Zhukov a
three-year suspended sentence after finding him guilty of inciting
extremism online in a case condemned as politically motivated. The
Kuntsevo district court announced the verdict Friday as hundreds of
supporters of Zhukov, 21, a student at Moscow's prestigious Higher
School of Economics, gathered outside the court building in western
Moscow. “The court has established that Zhukov made public calls for
extremist activity using the internet,” Judge Svetlana Ukhnaleva said.
Zhukov was arrested in August amid protests that gripped Moscow for
weeks this past summer as Russians vented against the country's
repressive political system. “Of course, this is not an ultimate
victory. A big thank you to everyone,” Zhukov said after the verdict
was announced. In his final court appearance, on Wednesday, Zhukov
made an impassioned appeal to his supporters — and offered an
indictment of Russia's political system. Russia's current political
system has fostered economic inequality that, Zhukov said, destroys
any opportunity for human prosperity, with the top 10 percent holding
90 percent of the country's wealth. “Among them, of course, there are
very honorable citizens.”
Canada
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Canadian Charged With Terror Offenses Over ISIS
Activities
“A Canadian man who was arrested in Turkey near its border with
Syria, allegedly with propaganda videos from ISIS on his cell phone,
was charged on Friday with terrorism offenses. Ikar Mao, 22, of
Guelph, Ontario, a city 100 km west of Toronto, is accused of
participating in the activities of a terrorist group, and faces a
separate charge of leaving Canada to do so. Each count carries a
maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The man was arrested on July
11 along with his wife and the pair were eventually repatriated. Both
deny wanting to join the ISIS. According to public broadcaster CBC, a
Turkish court heard evidence about the ISIS materials allegedly
uncovered in Mao's phone, and that the couple left a letter for their
families saying they planned to join ISIS. The newlyweds returned to
Canada on October 19 after three months in Turkish custody. At that
time, Mao agreed to a curfew, electronic monitoring and curbs on his
Internet access -- at the behest of federal police. The new charges
lodged against him come after a national security investigation
conducted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. According to the
latest government data, four other Canadians have been successfully
prosecuted for leaving or attempting to leave the country to join
terrorist groups, out of 60 returnees.”
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