Eye on Extremism
August 11, 2022
The Wall Street Journal: John Bolton Was Target Of Assassination Plot By Iranian National
“An Iranian national plotted to assassinate at least two former Trump administration officials, the Department of Justice said, in what it described as a likely retaliation for the 2020 killing of a prominent Iranian general. A criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday said Shahram Poursafi, 45 years old, of Tehran, tried to kill one of former President Donald Trump’s national-security advisers, John Bolton, by offering to pay an individual in the U.S. $300,000. Agents affiliated with Mr. Poursafi conducted surveillance on Mr. Bolton. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was also notified that he was an intended target, according to a person close to him. The charging document mentions a second “job” that Mr. Poursafi had intended to pursue against a “former high-ranking United States Government official from the Trump administration,” but didn’t mention Mr. Pompeo by name. The Justice Department said the attempts were probably a response to the U.S.’s killing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, Qassem Soleimani, in January 2020.”
BBC News: Aine Davis: Alleged Fourth IS 'Beatle' Arrested In UK On Terror Charges
“A man accused of being part of a notorious Islamic State group cell which murdered hostages, has been arrested on terror charges in the UK. Aine Davis, of west London, flew into Luton airport after his release from a Turkish jail where he was serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence for membership of the terror group. During his trial, Davis denied being part of the cell, nicknamed the Beatles because of members' British accents. Davis is being held in police custody. The 38-year-old was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command and taken to a police station in south London. He was arrested in relation to offences under the Terrorism Act, 2000, including fundraising and possession of articles for terrorist purposes. The 'Beatles' cell is believed to have been made up of four members - all thought to have grown up in west London - who volunteered to fight for IS in Syria and ended up guarding Western hostages. They were nicknamed the Beatles, after the Liverpudlian band, by hostages due to their English accents. US authorities have said the group killed 27 hostages, beheading several of them. Videos of the murders were sent around the world, causing outrage.”
United States
New York Daily News: Man Who Helped Bankroll Brooklyn ISIS Wannabe Fighter Sentenced To 11 Years
“A Uzbek man who plotted to bankroll ISIS wannabes hoping to fight in Syria was sentenced in Brooklyn federal court Wednesday to 11 years behind bars. Dilshod Khusanov, 37, admitted to plotting to pay the travel expenses for one of the jihadist hopefuls to join the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham and the al-Nusra Front. Khusanov lived near Chicago, but the would-be fighters he sponsored was from Brooklyn, and was caught trying to pass through John F. Kennedy Airport. In court filings Khusanov’s lawyer argued that his client had no interest in taking action against America. “On the contrary, as the referenced conversations reflect, he respected the United States and the freedom it gave him and fellow Muslims to worship,” his attorney, Richard Levitt, wrote. “His goal was to assist others to oppose the brutal and oppressive regime of our common enemy, Bashar Al-Assad.” Levitt also brought up Khusanov’s five years spent awaiting trial in the troubled Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, pointing out that his client suffered through the jail’s days-long blackout in the winter of 2019. As part of his plea deal, Khusanov couldn’t be sentenced to less than 11 years behind bars without prosecutors’ approval, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office didn’t buy his anti-Assad argument.”
Syria
AFP: Syria Says Daesh Leader Killed In South
“A leader of Daesh group blew himself up in southern Syria after being surrounded by government forces, state media reported on Wednesday, citing a security source. The official SANA news agency said security forces carried out a “special operation” in the Daraa area that led to the death of “the terrorist Abu Salem Al-Iraqi.” Iraqi “triggered his explosive belt after being surrounded and wounded,” the agency said. The security source said Iraqi had been the military chief of the extremist group in the country’s south. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, which has a vast network of sources on the ground, said Iraqi died on Tuesday. It said he had been hiding out in the area since 2018, and had taken part in killings and attacks there. Daraa province has mostly been under regime control since 2018, but rebel groups still control some areas under a truce deal agreed with Russia, an ally of Damascus. After a meteoric rise in 2014 in Iraq and Syria that saw it conquer vast swathes of territory, Daesh saw its self-proclaimed “caliphate” collapse under a wave of offensives. It was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later, but sleeper cells of the extremist Sunni Muslim group still carry out attacks in both countries.”
Iraq
Al Monitor: Suicide Attack Thwarted As Iraqi Shiites Celebrate Ashura
“Concerns about possible attacks during the Shiite Muslim Ashura religious celebrations that began this week led to heightened security and concerns across both much of the Middle East and Afghanistan. In the Iraqi capital, there were no reported attacks. In the Diyala province along the Iranian border, however, a suicide bomber who had been planning on attacking the Shiite celebrations reportedly blew himself up after being surrounded by security forces there. The attacker, who was wearing an explosive belt, had reportedly been approaching a military headquarters when he was surrounded. Diyala has a mixed Shiite and Sunni population and a history wrought with extremist and sectarian violence. It has suffered multiple attacks claimed by the Islamic State (IS) in recent months and has for years been one of the most concerning areas in the country in terms of IS incidents. Four soldiers were killed in a single attack recently in the province. In October last year, an IS attack against members of a prominent Shiite-majority tribe in Diyala was followed by retaliatory violence against local Sunnis.”
Afghanistan
Arab News: Taliban Gunmen Attack Al-Hadath TV Team During Live Broadcast In Kabul
“Several armed Taliban members attacked an Al-Hadath TV team on Wednesday during a live broadcast while they were covering the Food and Agriculture Organization’s humanitarian aid distribution in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul. In the video of the incident, Al-Hadath’s Kabul correspondent Christiane Baissary and her camera crew are seen being pushed around by men carrying guns, while the camera pans away. Baissary is then heard saying “they attacked the cameraman,” while the camera focuses on two men waving their hands and guns at the TV team. Al-Hadath’s correspondent then explains that the men are Taliban members in civilian dress. “Some said we could film here, but others said we cannot,” explains Baissary. In the video, one armed Taliban man waves the camera away, and then forces the cameraman from the scene. Baissary reiterates that one man has allowed them to film the FAO’s food aid distribution, but that another has attacked the cameraman with a whip, which is seen in his hand. Baissary is then heard saying that they have to leave the scene, with the camera still rolling. As the team members climb into their car, another Taliban man with a gun approaches the vehicle and the reporter is heard saying: “They entered the car and they are armed.”
Nigeria
All Africa: Nigeria: Army Arrests 7 Boko Haram Logistics Suppliers, Kidnappers, Rescues Victims
“Troops of 195 Battalion of Operation Hadin Kai, have arrested seven Boko Haram logistics suppliers and kidnappers on the outskirts of Maidugiri, the Borno State capital. The arrested suppliers include; Hadiza Ali, Kelo Abba, Mariam Aji, Kamsilum Ali, Ngubdo Modu and Abiso Lawan, among others. According to an intelligence report obtained by Zagazola Makama, a Counter Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in the Lake Chad, from top military sources and made available to LEADERSHIP, the suspects were discovered with large quantities of logistics meant for the Boko Haram terrorists. “During searching, different items including large quantities of fuel, mosquito nets, noodles among others were recovered. “Troops, however, became suspicious when large quantities of garri concealed in gallons and hidden beneath the vehicles were discovered. “Upon systematic interrogation, the females confessed being Boko Haram members operating within Muna Garage IDP Camp, Mafa and Dikwa with their fighters camp at Boboshe and Gulumba riverline in Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno State. “They revealed that the garri were packed in the gallons in other to beat checkpoints and also to help preserve it against rain as the garri and other items are burried in the ground at their agreed exchange points, where their fighters collect them.”
Mali
Reuters: Forty-Two Malian Soldiers Killed In Suspected Islamist Attack
“Forty-two Malian soldiers were killed and 22 injured in an attack near the town of Tessit on Sunday, Mali's government said on Wednesday, blaming an Islamic State affiliate. It was one of the deadliest attacks in recent years for the Malian army, which has been battling a decade-long insurgency by militant groups that have spread across West Africa's Sahel region. “The Malian army units of Tessit... reacted vigorously to a complex and coordinated attack by armed terrorist groups, presumably from Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), characterised by the use of drones, explosives, car bombs, and artillery,” the government said in a statement. Soldiers killed 37 combatants during several hours of heavy fighting, it added. The army had previously said that 17 soldiers had been killed in the attack and that nine had gone missing. Mali is ruled by a military junta that overthrew the democratic government in 2020, in part over frustration at its failure to rein in violence, but attacks have remained common. An al Qaeda affiliate claimed an attack on the country's main military base in late July.”
Associated Press: Mali Declares 3 Days Of Mourning After Attacks Kill Dozens
“Malian authorities declared three days of national mourning to begin Thursday after a pair of weekend attacks by Islamic extremist groups killed dozens of soldiers and police officers across the volatile West African country. In the deadliest violence, the Malian army said an attack Sunday in the northern region of Gao killed 42 soldiers. A statement said the assault was carried out by Islamic militants who used drones, artillery and booby-trapped vehicles. Also Sunday, five police officers were killed in the country's south, when extremists attacked a police station near the border with Burkina Faso. Three other officers remained missing after the assault on the Sona border police station, said Soulaimane Traore, director-general of the national police. The following day, militants belonging to an al-Qaida-linked group known as JNIM claimed responsibility. Mali and its international partners have been fighting off extremists for nearly a decade, and the situation has showed signs of deteriorating after France began withdrawing its troops following a series of disputes with the Malian government. In 2013, France led a military operation to expel Islamic militants from power in the major towns across Mali's north.”
Africa
Associated Press: 5 Dead, 750 Escape In Rebel Attack On Eastern Congo Prison
“At least five people, including two policemen, were killed in an attack on a prison in which about 750 inmates escaped in Congo’s eastern Butembo town, local officials said Wednesday. Rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces attacked the Kakwangura prison early Wednesday during a transfer of prisoners, said Capt. Anthony Mwalushay, spokesman for the Congolese army in Beni. Three ADF attackers burned to death in the assault, he said. The rebels launched the attack based on information that women prisoners associated with their group would be transferred from Beni to Butembo, he said. “We call on the population to remain calm,” he said. Butembo mayor Mowa Baeki-Telly told The Associated Press that the prison held more than 800 prisoners and that only about 50 remain. “We are tracking the ADF rebels and detaining them in town,” he said, adding that they will have a more official count by the end of the day. In October 2020, another rebel attack on the Kangbayi prison, caused about 1,300 detainees to escape in Beni in the North Kivu province.”
United Kingdom
The U.S. Sun: ISIS ‘Beatle’ Arrested After Landing In UK After Release From Turkish Prison
“…Victims were beheaded on film by Mohamed Emwazi, 27 — Jihadi John, who was killed in a US drone strike in Syria in 2015. The other gang members — Alexanda Kotey, 38, who was dubbed Jihadi George and El Shafee Elsheikh, 34, known as Jihadi Ringo — were jailed for life in the US in April. Among those they killed were British aid workers David Haines, 44, Alan Henning, 47, and two US journalists. Prof Ian Acheson, advisor to the Counter Extremism Project, said: “We must take responsibility for our own citizens suspected of serious terrorist offences overseas. “They need to be returned to this county and held accountable in our courts for their crimes and, if convicted, serve sentences here. “We can and should use all legal methods at our disposal to send people from this country who travel abroad to commit acts of violent extremism to jail for a very long time.”
Middle East Eye: Tory Leadership Race Shatters Hopes For A More Tolerant Conservative Party
“…His justification for this is that 80 percent of live counterterrorism investigations, but barely a quarter of Prevent referrals, are “Islamist”-related. Indeed, leaks from the upcoming review of Prevent have revealed that it will recommend an emphasis on “Islamist extremism”, rather than the far right. Recent reporting has blamed political correctness for Muslims not being flagged to the “counter-extremism” programme in higher numbers. “We don’t have the robust challenge we should have, because everyone is so afraid of being racist,” warned Professor Ian Acheson, a former prison governor and senior advisor to the Counter Extremism Project, an international policy organisation.”
Technology
The Washington Post: Facebook Bans Hate Speech But Still Makes Money From White Supremacists
“Last year, a Facebook page administrator put out a clarion call for new followers: They were looking for “the good ole boys and girls from the south who believe in white [supremacy].” The page — named Southern Brotherhood — was live on Tuesday afternoon and riddled with photos of swastikas and expressions of white power. Facebook has long banned content referencing white nationalism. But a plethora of hate groups still populate the site, and the company boosts its revenue by running ads on searches for these pages. A new report from the Tech Transparency Project, a nonprofit tech watchdog, found 119 Facebook pages and 20 Facebook groups associated with white supremacy organizations. Of 226 groups identified as white-supremacist organizations by the Anti-Defamation League, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and a leaked version of Facebook’s dangerous organizations and individuals list, more than a third have a presence on the platform, according to the study. Released Wednesday and obtained exclusively by The Washington Post, the report found that Facebook continues to serve ads against searches for white-supremacist content, such as the phrases Ku Klux Klan and American Defense Skinheads, a longtime criticism of civil rights groups, who argue that the company prioritizes profits over the dangerous impact of such content.”
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