“U.S. and Taliban officials have exchanged proposals for the release of
billions of dollars from Afghan central bank reserves held abroad into a trust











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Eye on Extremism


July 26, 2022



Reuters: EXCLUSIVE US And Taliban Make Progress On Afghan Reserves, But Big
Gaps Remain
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“U.S. and Taliban officials have exchanged proposals for the release of
billions of dollars from Afghan central bank reserves held abroad into a trust
fund, three sources familiar with the talks said, offering a hint of progress
in efforts to ease Afghanistan's economic crisis. Significant differences
between the sides remain, however, according to two of the sources, including
the Taliban's refusal to replace the bank's top political appointees, one of
whom is under U.S. sanctions as are several of the movement's leaders. Some
experts said such a move would help restore confidence in the institution by
insulating it from interference by the Islamist militant group that seized
power a year ago but which foreign governments do not recognise. Freeing up
cash may not solve all of Afghanistan's financial troubles, but it would
provide relief for a country hit by a slump in foreign aid, persistent drought
and an earthquake in June that killed 1,000 people. Millions of Afghans are
facing a second winter without enough to eat.”



ABC News: Trial For NYC Subway Shooting Suspect Frank James Tentatively Set
For 2023
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“Accused New York City subway shooter Frank James will tentatively stand
trial early next year for allegedly opening fire on a Manhattan-bound N train
in Brooklyn in April. A federal judge in Brooklyn on Monday set a trial date
for Feb. 27, 2023, after prosecutors disclosed a vast amount of evidence in the
case. "Videotaped post-arrest statements made by the defendant on or about
April 13, 2022," along with "videos of the defendant collected from YouTube,"
will all be part of the case, prosecutors said in a court filing. The
government has collected numerous photos, records and reports and turned them
over to James' defense team. On April 12, James allegedly shot and wounded 10
commuters before he was caught in the East Village following a manhunt through
parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. No one was killed.”



United States



Axios: Biological Weapons Could Target DNA, Food Supply, Two U.S. Lawmakers Say
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“Biological and chemical weapons have the potential to pose a national
security threat to the U.S. that the country is not equipped to handle, a panel
of lawmakers and a military leader told an audience at the Aspen Security Forum
on Friday. Why it matters: The COVID-19 pandemic underscored how globally
debilitating and dangerous pathogens could be if deliberately engineered and
released. In May, former federal officials warned that the U.S. is not prepared
for the possibility of germ warfare. The big picture Army Gen. Richard Clarke,
the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, said chemical weapons such as
chlorine and mustard gas had been used in 2014-16 by actors such as ISIS in
Iraq and Syria. Clarke said non-state actors such as ISIS or al-Qaeda continue
to look to these weapons “because they instill fear.” As such it is necessary
to develop capabilities to protect U.S. troops that are in proximity, which the
U.S. is working to do, Clarke said. Clarke added that state actors like Russia
could also pose a threat. “Russia is willing to use those against political
opponents. They're willing to use them on their own soil, but then to go in on
the soil of a NATO ally in the UK and use those,” Clarke said, alluding to the
nerve agent attack against British resident Sergei Skripal and his daughter
Yulia in 2018.”



Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Judge Delays North Side Terror Sentencing So U.S. Can
Review Defense’s Psych Report
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“A U.S. judge has postponed next week's sentencing for a Syrian refugee
convicted of plotting to bomb a North Side church so that prosecutors have time
to review a defense report indicating psychological trauma from the Syrian
civil war was largely to blame for the crime. Mustafa Alowemer, a refugee who
had been living in Northview Heights, pleaded guilty to planning to blow up
Legacy International Worship Center and was set to be sentenced on Aug. 4. But
his public defender said he intends to ask for leniency based in part on a
psychological exam he said will show that Alowemer suffered “enormous torment
and tragedy” in his home country before coming to the U.S. The U.S. attorney's
office said it wants time to review that report and consult its own experts to
possibly refute it. U.S. District Judge Marilyn Horan granted the request but
didn't set a new sentencing date. Assistant U.S. Attorney Soo Song said in
court papers that her office and Alowemer's public defender, Andrew Lipson, are
at “extremely disparate” positions on what kind of sentence Alowemer should
get. The U.S. wants 30 years to life and has indicated it will seek the
terrorism enhancement.”



Syria



AFP: Syria’s Kurds Repatriate Nearly 150 ISIS-Linked Tajiki Women And Children
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“Syria’s semi-autonomous Kurdish administration handed Tajikistan 146 women
and children related to ISIS extremists, a Kurdish official said Monday, in the
first such repatriation to the ex-Soviet state. For the latest headlines,
follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Thousands of foreign
extremists joined ISIS as fighters, often bringing their wives and children to
live in the “caliphate” declared by the group across swathes of Iraq and Syria
in 2014. The extremists were dislodged in 2019 from their last scrap of
territory in Syria by Kurdish-led forces backed by a US-led coalition, and
Kurdish authorities have repeatedly called on countries to repatriate their
citizens from crowded displaced camps. But nations have mostly received them
only sporadically, fearing a domestic political backlash. The Kurds handed over
“42 women and 104 children, including orphans, who were held in the al-Hol and
Roj camps” in northeast Syria to Tajikistan’s ambassador to Kuwait Zabidullah
Zabidov, Kurdish foreign affairs official Fanar al-Kaeet said. Zabidov is
handling the repatriation process for Tajikistan. The ex-Soviet state has been
in contact with Syria’s Kurds “for months” to repatriate their citizens, Kaeet
said during a press conference in the northeastern city of Qamishli. The women
“did not commit any crimes or terrorist acts in northeastern Syria,” he said.”



Iran



Reuters: Iran Parliament To Discuss Belgium Prisoner Swap Treaty -State Media
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“Iran's parliament is to debate a prisoner exchange deal with Belgium, state
media said on Monday, after Brussels approved the deal that may lead to the
release of an Iranian diplomat jailed for planning to bomb a rally of an exiled
opposition group. The official Iranian news agency IRNA said the cabinet
approved the prisoner exchange treaty bill and sent it to parliament. If passed
by parliament, the bill needs to be approved by a clerical council before it
becomes law.”



Iraq



Reuters: Erdogan Says Attack On Iraq's Dohuk A Terrorist Act Aimed At Harming
Turkey-Iraq Ties
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“Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that an attack on a mountain
resort in Iraq's northern province of Dohuk last week that killed nine people
was carried out by “terrorists” and was aimed at harming Turkey-Iraq ties.
Speaking to state broadcaster TRT Haber, Erdogan said Turkey had informed its
NATO allies, including the United States, and Iraqi authorities of its position
on the attack, and added that he called on Iraq not to fall for the propaganda
by Kurdish militants.”



Middle East



The Jerusalem Post: Israeli Forces Thwart Terror Attack In Gush Etzion
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“A Palestinian man from the town of Beit Fajjar threw a Molotov cocktail
towards the Israeli town of Migdal Oz in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc,
United Hatzalah announced on Monday night. The IDF later confirmed the
incident. IDF chased the man, and found an improvised gun on him when they
apprehended him, as well as fireworks and two more Molotov cocktails. The
suspect has been transferred for further questioning.”



Nigeria



Premium Times Nigeria: EXCLUSIVE: Terrorists Plotting More Prison Attacks In
Three States – Military Intel
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“Terrorists are planning more prison attacks targeting facilities in Gusau,
Birnin Kebbi, and Katsina to free their imprisoned fighters, military
intelligence sources have said, a warning already passed to the Nigerian
Correctional Service (NCS). The attacks are planned to be carried out
successively, first, in Gusau, then Birnin Kebbi, and finally Katsina, the
military told the correctional service, according to officials familiar with
the transmission of the intelligence and documents sighted by PREMIUM TIMES.
The phased plan, sources said, is because the terrorists are unable to mobilise
sufficient logistical capabilities to strike simultaneously in three states.
All the target facilities are in Nigeria’s North-west facing aggravated
violence by terrorists, often called bandits, and other violent extremist
groups like Boko Haram, Ansaru, and ISWAP, who have expanded into the region in
the past years from the North-east. A rare collaboration of ISWAP and Ansaru,
two Boko Haram splinter groups, produced the audacious July 6 Kuje prison
attack in the federal capital, Abuja, researchers and negotiators with an
understanding of the working of the terrorists said. The attack showed the
terrorists’ capacity to exploit Nigeria’s worsening vulnerability under
President Muhammadu Buhari.”



Somalia



AFP: Al-Shabaab Fighters ‘Destroyed’ In Ethiopian Incursion
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“Authorities in the Ethiopian region of Somali on Saturday said they had
“destroyed” fighters from the Al-Shabaab Islamist group, in a rare militant
incursion from neighboring Somalia. Somali’s state communication bureau in a
statement said an armed Al-Shabaab group that crossed into the southeastern
region on Tuesday “was surrounded in a sub-locality called Hulhul and
completely destroyed.” A three-day operation left more than 100 members of the
militant group dead and destroyed 13 vehicles, it added. The authorities said
the armed group was seeking to pass through El-Kere district in the Somali
region, more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Somalia-Ethiopian border.
On Thursday, officials and residents of Bakool region, on the border with
neighboring Somalia, reported Al-Shabaab attacks the previous day against bases
hosting a special Ethiopian police unit which helps protect the frontier.
Mohamed Malim, a local official in Somalia’s Hudur district, told AFP on
Thursday that “this was the heaviest fighting ever” around the towns of Ato and
Yeed in the country’s west. “It continued about six hours before the militants
had been repelled, there are dead and wounded combatants from both sides, but
we don’t have the details so far,” he said.”



Long War Journal: Analysis: Shabaab’s Multi-Day Incursion Into Ethiopia
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“Late last week, Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa, conducted a rare
military incursion into eastern Ethiopia’s Somali Region. The foray inside
Ethiopian territory reportedly lasted at least three days, with the Ethiopian
government acknowledging it combated the jihadists inside its borders.
According to officials in Ethiopia’s Somali Region (also known as the Ogaden),
Shabaab militants entered Ethiopian territory through the region’s Afdheer Zone
which borders Somalia’s Bakool Region on July 21. The jihadists then briefly
took control over Hulhul, a town inside Ethiopia, before reportedly being
beaten back after a three-day battle for the town. The Ethiopian government,
while acknowledging the rare invasion of its territory by Shabaab, framed the
raid in a more propagandistic narrative. State officials in Ethiopia’s Somali
Region remarked that its forces killed at least 100 members of Shabaab in the
counter-offensive, though this has not been independently verified. Public
statements by Somali regional state officials also alleged that Shabaab’s
incursion was intended to reach Oromia State to coordinate with the Oromo
Liberation Army, an Oromo nationalist rebel group currently waging its own
deadly insurgency against the Ethiopian government.”



Australia



The Sydney Morning Herald: Man Guilty Of Advocating Terrorism To Be Released
From Jail
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“A regional NSW chef who made online posts advocating right-wing terrorism
will be released from custody immediately after he was given a prison sentence
he has already served. Tyler Jakovac, 20, was jailed on Monday for a maximum of
18 months after he wrote a series of posts on messaging apps Snapchat and
Telegram suggesting racial minorities should be targeted with violence. On June
24, 2020, Jakovac posted a picture of military-style paraphernalia to Snapchat
and included the caption: “The shooting will take place on 3 of July, make sure
to DM me for my Facebook for the livestream guys, I’m sick of [racial
epithets], [derogatory term about homosexuality] and race-mixers.” Jakovac
claimed there was a race war, posted a tribute celebrating the birthday of
Adolf Hitler, discussed attacking Somalians in his local Albury area, and
wrote: “Prepare for terror. Store and stack weapons and learn makeshift bombs
too”. He was placed under police surveillance from August 2020 until his
eventual arrest several months later. On December 7, Jakovac had consumed four
beers when he posted to Snapchat wearing dark clothing and a balaclava, with
his finger in the air. He captioned the image: “I’m actually going to commit a
massive national tragedy.”



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