Eye on Extremism
December 13, 2019
The
New York Times: Jersey City Shooting Was ‘Domestic Terrorism,’
Officials Say
“The deadly rampage that ended with one police officer slain and
three bystanders killed at a kosher market in New Jersey is now being
treated as an act of domestic terrorism, the authorities said on
Thursday. Investigators believe the two attackers were “fueled both by
anti-Semitism and anti-law enforcement beliefs,” New Jersey’s attorney
general, Gurbir S. Grewal, told reporters at a news conference. As a
result of the evidence so far, the F.B.I. was investigating the
violence as “a domestic terrorism incident with a hate crime bias,”
said Gregory W. Ehrie, the special agent in charge of the bureau’s
office in Newark. After initially calling the attack on the JC Kosher
Supermarket in Jersey City on Tuesday a random act, investigators said
that the store had been deliberately targeted but did not explicitly
say it was motivated by anti-Semitism. Even as it emerged that one of
the two attackers, David N. Anderson, had published anti-Semitic posts
online and had ties to a movement that has expressed hostility toward
Jews, federal and state authorities shied away from calling the
assault a bias crime. While other officials demurred, the mayor of
Jersey City, Steven Fulop, explicitly called the attack a “hate crime”
on Wednesday night.”
France
24: IS Claims Responsibility For Niger Attack Which Killed 71:
SITE
“The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack
on an army camp in Niger which left 71 military personnel dead, the
SITE intelligence group said Thursday. Hundreds of jihadists attacked
the camp, near the border with Mali with shells and mortars on
Tuesday, killing 71, injuring 122 and leaving "others missing,"
according to the defence ministry. The attack in Inates in the western
Tillaberi region was the deadliest on Niger's military since Islamist
militant violence began to spill over from neighbouring Mali in 2015.
"The Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP) claimed credit for
the deadly raid on the Inates military base in Niger," SITE, which
monitors jihadist media, said in a statement Thursday. It added that
ISWAP claimed it had killed "over a hundred soldiers". The attack was
carried out by "heavily armed terrorists estimated to number many
hundreds", the defence ministry said Wednesday, adding that "a
substantial number of terrorists were neutralised". The fighting
lasted three hours, combining shelling and artillery fire with "the
use of kamikaze vehicles by the enemy".”
NBC
News: U.S. Envoy To Afghanistan Announces 'Pause' In Taliban Peace
Talks After Attack On Air Base
“The U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan said Thursday he was
outraged by a Taliban attack near Bagram airfield this week, and
“we’re taking a brief pause,” apparently in reference to peace talks
that had recently resumed with the militant group. “When I met the
Talibs today, I expressed outrage about yesterday’s attack on Bagram,
which recklessly killed two and wounded dozens of civilians,” Zalmay
Khalilzad, U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation,
tweeted. He said the Taliban “must show they are willing & able to
respond to Afghan desire for peace,” and that “we’re taking a brief
pause for them to consult their leadership on this essential topic.”
No coalition service members were killed in Wednesday's attack, in
which Taliban fighters attempted to breach Bagram airfield north of
Kabul, but some were evaluated for minor injuries, a spokesman for the
NATO-led Resolute Support mission said. Two Afghan civilians were
killed, and more than 70 civilians were reported injured, the
spokesman said. The remaining Taliban fighters barricaded themselves
inside the medical building, which is outside the base, and were
killed in in a series of airstrikes, the spokesman said. The tweets by
Khalilzad appear to throw another wrench in peace talks between the
U.S. and the Taliban.”
The
New York Times: Suicide Bomber Kills Seven Iraqi Paramilitary
Fighters-Military
“A suicide bomber blew himself up killing at least seven fighters
from an Iraqi paramilitary group near the city of Samarra north of
Baghdad on Thursday, the military said in a statement. It said three
other fighters were wounded in the attack, but gave no further
details. There was no immediate claim for the attack. Iraqi forces and
mainly Shi'ite Muslim paramilitary groups are fighting an insurgency
by Sunni Islamic State militants across parts of northern Iraq, two
years after the group lost its sway over territory in the country. The
militants stage regular attacks against security forces but such a
deadly one is rare.”
Voice
Of America: Analysts: Seized Weapons Show Iran’s Deep Involvement In
Yemen’s War
“The recent U.S. seizure of suspected Iranian guided missile parts
headed to rebels in Yemen highlights Iran's continued far-reaching
involvement in the war-torn country, experts say. U.S. officials said
earlier this month that a U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard boarding team
seized a small boat in the northern Arabian Sea that was carrying
sophisticated weapons to Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen. Iran has not
commented on the seizure, but the country has in the past denied
sending weapons to Houthi rebels. Some experts believe the incident
shows Iran's escalating efforts to defy international obligations and
to destabilize Yemen and the broader region. "This is one additional
piece of evidence that Iran continues to violate multiple U.N.
Security Council resolutions in exporting arms, which it's not allowed
to do," said James Phillips, a senior research fellow at the Heritage
Foundation in Washington.”
NPR:
'We Were Blindsided': Families Of Extremists Form Group To Fight
Hate
“It was a busy fall morning at Reagan National Airport near
Washington, D.C. Myrieme Churchill found a clearing in the arrivals
hall and scanned the crowd. One by one, her people showed up: a black
father and daughter from Tennessee. A white couple from Georgia. A
Somali immigrant. Two South Asians — one from Canada, one from
Britain. Churchill greeted them in a blend of languages: Salaam!
Bonjour! Welcome to D.C.! The travelers embraced and began chatting
about the weather, barbecue, kids. Anything but the unseen thread that
brought them together in Washington: extremism. That would come later,
in private, at the fourth annual summit of the nonprofit Parents For
Peace. Nearly everyone in the group is a former extremist or the
relative of one. “They were each isolated by their own stories,” said
Churchill, the group's executive director. “They were suffering on
their own.” Parents For Peace began in 2015 mainly as a support group.
Now, in response to resurgent extremist violence, the focus is
shifting to policy and prevention work. Members came to Washington to
put human faces to a problem typically addressed as a national
security issue. They want to reframe extremism as a public health
emergency that cuts across race, religion, geography.”
United States
Houston
Chronicle: Would-Be ISIS Fighter Faces Re-Sentencing Before Federal
Judge
“Over shawarma at a restaurant in Istanbul in 2014, two Houston
friends parted ways: One would stick with his plan to catch a bus to
the front lines and join a new group called the Islamic State in the
burgeoning revolution in Syria; the other, who’d pitched the idea,
would ditch his secret itinerary and head back to Texas. Ten months
later, family members learned that the friend who’d stayed and joined
the group known as ISIS, Sixto Ramiro Garcia, had died in the Middle
East. Meanwhile, Asher Abid Khan — who had devised the plan, helped
Garcia get a passport and connected him with an ISIS recruiter — was
living with his family in Spring, delivering pizza and working on a
degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Houston. Khan,
who was charged with providing material support to the infamous jihadi
group, served one of the lightest federal sentences in the country for
his crime. The sentence prompted the Justice Department to mount a
successful appeal. On Friday, Khan will be back in court in Houston
facing the prospect of more prison time.Prosecutors believe U.S.
District Judge Lynn Hughes should have tacked on a steep “terrorism
enhancement” to Khan’s sentence because he backed the group known for
enslaving and raping women and children and distributing gruesome
videos of militants beheading captives, and because he effectively
recruited a combatant, encouraging his friend down a path that led to
his death.”
The
Guardian: Extremist Cops: How US Law Enforcement Is Failing To Police
Itself
“Ever since he was a teenager, Joshua Doggrell has believed that
the former slave-holding states of the American south should secede
from the United States. When he was a freshman in college at the
University of Alabama in 1995, Doggrell discovered a group whose
worldview chimed with his – the League of the South. The League
believes that white southern culture is in danger of extinction from
forces such as religious pluralism, homosexuality and interracial
coupling. Doggrell wanted to protect that culture. In 2006, when he
was 29 years old, he applied to be a police officer in Anniston,
Alabama, a sparsely populated city at the foothills of the Appalachian
mountains, where more than half of the residents are people of colour.
On his police application, Doggrell wrote that he was a member of the
League. Shortly after, he was hired. During nearly a decade on the
police force, Doggrell was a vocal advocate for the League, working to
recruit fellow officers to the group. He encouraged his colleagues to
attend the League’s monthly meetings, which he held at a steakhouse
not far from the police station. On Facebook, he posted
neo-Confederate material, including a photo of an early leader of the
Ku Klux Klan, and wrote that he was “against egalitarianism in all
forms.”
Roll
Call: Thornberry Calls For US Action To Deter Iran
Aggression
“Iran is likely to attack more Western targets in the Middle East
soon, and the United States will need to respond, Mac Thornberry of
Texas, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said
in an interview Thursday. “I expect Iran will take further provocative
actions in the coming weeks,” Thornberry said on a C-SPAN “Newsmakers”
program set to air Friday night. Noting Iran’s leaders have faced a
month of demonstrations in which hundreds of Iranians have reportedly
died, Thornberry predicted Iranian rulers will “lash out and try to
find an external enemy.” He added that Iran has yet to respond to an
attack on one of its oil tankers in October and that retaliation may
be coming. “I do think it’s important to have a response,” Thornberry
said, without specifying any particular type of military strike,
covert action or other step. Iran is “going to have to have some sort
of pushback or they will continue to be more aggressive.” Thornberry
has long been the House Republican Caucus’ leading voice on national
security issues. He has announced plans to retire next year.”
Syria
The
Telegraph: How Much Longer Will The West Continue To Fail The
War-Ravaged People Of Syria?
“Winter has now fully arrived in the North-Western Syrian province
of Idlib. Most of its inhabitants are living in tents and shacks, and
as the temperature plummets the snows will soon cover the land. These
internally displaced people have no electricity, running water or
sanitation. Food is scarce and the few remaining hospitals are running
out of basic medicines. The atrocities and crimes against humanity
have continued unabated during our general election campaign. Of those
hospitals, only one is fully functioning, the others destroyed in
Russian and Syrian airstrikes.”
Associated
Press: Over 1,000 Ancient Relics Recovered From Syrian
Museum
“More than 1,000 ancient relics and mosaics were saved from Islamic
State group militants when staff at the museum of the Syrian city of
Raqqa managed to hide them underground and in storehouses, Syrian
officials and experts said Thursday. The Syrian Kurdish-led
administration in northeastern Syria said the 1,097 pieces — which
were part of the original nearly 7,000 relics in the Raqqa museum —
have been saved. The museum was looted and damaged by militants in
Syria’s nine-year war, but was stripped of most of its belonging when
Islamic State militants seized control of the city in 2014. The
militants were defeated and expelled from Raqqa in 2017. Since then,
the local administration has been working to rehabilitate the museum
and account for any remaining antiquities. Maamoun Abdul-Karim,
Syria’s former director general of Antiquities and Museums, told The
Associated Press the 1,097 relics were among 5,800 pieces stashed away
safely at the start of the war.”
The
Defense Post: Fearing Conscription Into Assad’s Army, Syrian Kurds
Flee To Iraq
“When Giwan fled his city of Amuda in northeastern Syria two months
ago, the ongoing Turkish military offensive wasn’t the only reason he
packed his bags. “Not everyone fled due to the war. Many of us fled in
fear of the regime,” explained the 27-year-old refugee who asked that
his real name not be used. He and roughly 10,000 other Syrians now
live in tents at Bardarash camp near the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk.
Giwan, like most of his neighbors in the camp, paid a smuggler to
cross the border into the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. “We ended up
coming here after the Syrian regime entered the city,” he said. “We
had no option but to flee the area because we knew they would arrest
us.” In mid-October, Syrian government troops deployed along the
Turkish border, the result of a Russia-brokered deal reached with
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces designed to fend off Turkish
troops and their allied forces who had just launched an offensive in
northern Syria. The arrangement — struck after withdrawing U.S.
troops cleared the way for Ankara’s operation — saw the Syrian Arab
Army return to cities and towns it hadn’t occupied in years, dashing
hopes of a continued Kurdish semi-state in the northeast. “Everyone
has fled. We heard that they would take those reached conscription
age,” Alan, a 17-year-old refugee from the town of Derik, said of the
Syrian army.”
Kurdistan
24: Kurdish-Led Forces Target ISIS Smuggling Network In
Syria
“The US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on
Wednesday announced that they had carried out a large-scale operation
against an Islamic State smuggling network in Syria’s eastern Deir
al-Zor province. “Our Counter-Terrorism units carried out a wider
operation against an ISIS sleeper-cell that were responsible for
running a smuggling network of logistical equipment, weapons and other
armory,” the SDF press office said in a statement, which added that
multiple militants were captured in three separate operations in
Diban, Busayra, and Hajin. “Our forces targeted their logistical and
weapons supply-lines as well as the ISIS members responsible for the
network. The members of the smuggler-network posed a threat and
carried out attacks on the population with the items that were being
traded,” the SDF said. As well as the arrest of the individuals
suspected of being part of the smuggling network, said the statement,
“A large number of weapons and armory and miscellaneous documents were
seized during the operation.” The SDF stated that the operation would
have the effect of foiling future attempts of the group to carry out
new attacks.”
Iran
The
Jerusalem Post: Iran’s Imam Ali Base Is Key To Its Nexus Of Influence
Over Iraq And Syria
“Iran has been constructing a new base near Albukamal in Syria,
near the Iraqi border, according to satellite images published by
Image Sat International over the last several months, which also has
shown the bases’ continued expansion. The base is now clearly part of
a much larger nexus of Iranian influence across Iraq and Syria that is
in the spotlight as Iran moves ballistic missiles to Iraq, and as
Iranian-backed militias fire rockets at bases housing US forces. An
examination of the area shows that the new base has 30km of internal
roads and is linked to the strategic T-4 base 290 km to the West via
desert roads. The Imam Ali base rose like a mirage from the desert
over the last few months. Not so long ago this land area, which covers
around 20 square kilometers, was just dunes and dry landscape. This
area of the border, a key crossing between Iraq and Syria near the
Euphrates river, was once held by ISIS from 2014 to 2017. Iraqi forces
coming from the east and Syrian regime forces from the west took back
this area in 2017. In 2018 a group of Shi’ite militias spearheaded by
Kataib Hezbollah crossed from Iraq into Syria to bolster the Syrian
regime units. The regime was weak and didn’t have enough forces to
control the areas around Albukamal. Iraqi militias would help.”
Radio
Free Europe Radio Liberty: In Iran, Six Years For One
Word
“Use of a single word deemed offensive by Iranian religious
officials resulted in a six-year jail sentence for journalist Pouyan
Khoshhal. In an article published in October 2018 in the daily
Ebtekar, Khoshhal used the word “death” instead of “martyrdom” in a
reference to Imam Husayn, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad who is
revered under Iran's official religion, Shi'ite Islam. Khoshhal
decided six years was too harsh of a penalty and he fled Iran. The
“inadvertent mistake,” as Khoshhal describes it, resulted in a wave of
attacks by hard-liners on social media who accused him of insulting
religious sanctities -- some even suggesting he should be executed.
“They created an uproar over a word,” Khoshhal told RFE/RL in a
December 11 interview via phone. Ebtekar quickly fired him and
Khoshhal was arrested two days after the article was published. He
says he was held and interrogated by the feared intelligence branch of
the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), who told him the
social-media attacks against him were the reason he was arrested.
Khoshhal, 29, says he faced psychological pressure while detained,
including 10 days in solitary confinement with no contact with the
outside world. His interrogators pressured him to falsely confess he
had been told by outsiders to insult Islamic sanctities.”
NPR:
The Situation In Iran Is Leading Many People To Flee The
Country
“Iranians facing a crackdown on protests are going for a break, or
permanently, to Istanbul, where they're a little more free to talk
about the situation back home. MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: The situation
in Iran is leading many people to flee that country. A hike in gas
prices last month led to strikes that paralyzed Iran. The government
responded with a violent crackdown. NPR's Peter Kenyon met with
Iranians who had come to Istanbul and can now speak a bit more freely
about the situation at home. PETER KENYON, BYLINE: On a recent
afternoon, Istanbul's Taksim Square was swarming with visitors,
including Iranian families happy to be away from the pressures and
hardships of life at home. Some agree to speak with a reporter, but
only if family names aren't used. Ali is one of several Iranians I met
who says his family isn't just visiting. They're moving here. He says
he was back in Tehran last week and found people searching for family
and friends missing since the crackdown that Amnesty International
says killed more than 200 people. The government disputes the figure
but offers none of its own. As his small dog strains at his leash and
barks at passersby, Ali says no one thinks officials have the public's
welfare in mind.”
War
On The Rocks: Understanding Iran’s Nuclear Escalation
Strategy
“Iran is back in the nuclear game. In May 2019, Iran’s President
Hassan Rouhani announced that his country would no longer be bound by
the nuclear limits under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPOA), better known simply as the Iran nuclear deal. Rouhani’s
remarks marked the end of a year-long period in which Iran continued
implementing the agreement after Washington withdrew from it in May
2018. Throughout the rest of 2019, Iran gradually reduced its
compliance with the deal. Meanwhile, the U.S. “maximum pressure”
campaign starved Iran’s economy, helping fuel nationwide protests in
November, which left hundreds dead following a crackdown by security
forces. While ramping up its nuclear activities in contravention of
the nuclear deal may seem like an attempt to get a bomb, we don’t
think that’s the case. The fact that it is gradually and so publicly
violating the deal suggests Iran is, instead, trying to put pressure
on the international community to relieve sanctions.”
Iraq
The
Christian Science Monitor: The Real Story Behind A Charred Iraqi
Shrine: Resentment Of Iran
“Outside the charred walls of a shrine complex here is ample
evidence of the ferocity of a dayslong battle mounted by Iraqi
protesters, convinced they were targeting a symbol of Iranian power in
Iraq. Molotov cocktails that failed to explode – their blackened fuses
stuffed into bottles of gasoline or spirits – lie scattered amid a
carpet of stones, bricks, and broken glass. They were thrown by men
who first stormed and torched the nearby Iranian consulate Nov. 27,
chanting “Iran out of Iraq” – the first of three attacks on that
building in a week. Then they moved to the shrine, their anger fueled
by rumors of an Iranian intelligence presence at this vast mausoleum,
built to deify Ayatollah Mohammad Bakr al-Hakkim, leader of an Iraqi
opposition group created by Iran in the 1980s. “Iran takes all our
resources, our funding, our freedom,” charges one protester,
explaining why he and others fought at the complex. Beside him, a
student, Zain, holds three pieces of metal shot extracted from his
bandaged forehead.”
Turkey
Asia
Times: Turkey Forcing Europe To Deal With ISIS
Returnees
“Four weeks have passed since Turkey began enacting one of its most
controversial policies, forcibly deporting ISIS fighters and their
families without the consent of the receiving country. The
deportations have continued regularly; on Monday, 11 French nationals
landed back in France. At least two dozen ISIS members have been
deported to countries across the European Union; Britain, Germany,
Ireland, Denmark and the Netherlands have all had citizens sent back.
Turkey says it is holding another 1,000 ISIS prisoners and will deport
them all by the end of the year. This sudden influx of returning men
and women has caught European countries by surprise and raised some
difficult legal, political and moral questions – questions that
Europe, in common with the estimated 100 countries whose citizens also
washed up on the shores of the Islamic State “caliphate,” had hoped to
avoid dealing with. Now Turkey is forcing these countries to confront
their forgotten sons and daughters and the hard questions that come
with them. The rise and fall of the ISIS proto-state between Syria and
Iraq has created a fiendishly complicated – and still evolving –
political and legal situation. ISIS fighters, supporters and their
families are held under one of three jurisdictions: detained by a
state (either Turkey or Iraq); detained by Kurdish militias in
northeastern Syria under an indeterminate legal structure; or living
in spaces ungoverned by the rule of law, either in the still-disputed
province of Idlib or in parts of eastern Syria.”
Afghanistan
The
New York Times: Afghan Official: Roadside Bombing Kills 10
Civilians
“A roadside bombing in central Afghanistan on Friday killed 10
civilians, including four women and a child, an Afghan official said.
The explosion, which took place in the district of Jaghato in Ghazni
province, also wounded six civilians, according to Marwa Amini,
spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry. The civilians were in a
minivan, traveling from the Day Kundi province to the city of Ghazni,
the Ghazni provincial capital, when their vehicle was targeted. There
was no immediate claim of responsibility but Amini blamed the Taliban,
who control much of the region. The Taliban control or hold sway over
nearly half of Afghanistan, staging regular attacks that target
foreign and Afghan forces, as well as Kabul government officials, but
also kill scores of civilians.”
Xinhua:
Insider Attack Kills 7 Police In S. Afghanistan
“An insider attack on a police checkpoint killed seven police
personnel in Shahr-e-Safa district of Afghanistan's southern Zabul
province on Thursday, head of provincial council Ata Jan Haqbayan
said. The incident took place early morning and the perpetrator after
killing seven police took away their weapons and escaped, the official
said. According to the official, the perpetrator might be a Taliban
protégé to terrorize the police as well as the people. Police have not
made comments yet.”
Lebanon
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Two Obstacles Face The Lebanese Uprising: Banks,
Hezbollah
“Two obstacles stand in the way of the Lebanese uprising and
prevent it from achieving its goals: the banking sector and Hezbollah.
While the dynamics of obstruction and counter-revolution overlapped
with these two components, each of them has a strategy to thwart and
besiege the uprising. The banking sector seems to be ignoring and
refraining from making any concessions, not only to meet the demands
of the street but also to respond to calls made by the governor of
Banque du Liban, who was involved in maximizing the influence of
bankers decades ago. It is a strategy of laziness and deliberate
indifference, waiting for the anger to fade and for the ruling
political group to be able to beg some aid from unknown
“philanthropists”. On the other hand, Hezbollah is adopting an active
strategy by threatening to use violence, similarly to its allies who
faced the revolution in Iraq and suppressed protesters in Iran.”
Middle East
Voice
Of America: US-Taliban Talks In Qatar Pause For A ‘Few
Days’
“The Afghan Taliban says it wrapped up nearly a week of peace
negotiations Thursday with the United States in Qatar in a "good and
positive" atmosphere, but the insurgent group did not report any
breakthrough. Both Taliban and U.S. negotiators have agreed to resume
the talks after "a few days" and internal consultations, said Suhail
Shaheen, who speaks for the Taliban negotiating team. The U.S.-Taliban
dialogue ended a day after insurgents carried out a major suicide car
bomb and gun attack on the largest American military base in
Afghanistan, the Bagram Airfield. Local officials said, however, the
Taliban raid inflicted casualties only on the nearby Afghan civilian
population, killing at least one woman and injuring scores of people
there. Shaheen attempted to dismiss suggestions the assault dealt a
blow to the negotiation process in Qatar, saying the atmosphere in
Thursday's session of meetings was "good and positive." There were no
immediate comments from the U.S. negotiating team, which is led by the
special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay
Khalilzad.”
Critical
Threats: Al Houthi Attacks On Saudi Arabia And The UAE:
2016-2019
“The al Houthi movement retains the capability to threaten key
Saudi and possibly Emirati infrastructure. Iran has enabled the
development of the al Houthis’ advanced attack capabilities over the
course of Yemen’s current conflict. The al Houthis escalated real and
claimed cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia in spring and summer
2019 to support an Iranian escalation in the Gulf and pressure the
Saudis to accept a ceasefire in Yemen. The al Houthis paused missile
and drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia in September 2019 to pursue
negotiations. The US Navy’s interdiction of sophisticated Iranian
missile components bound for Yemen in December 2019 signals continued
Iranian support for the al Houthi missile threat.”
Nigeria
All
Africa: Nigeria: Air Strikes Kill 30 Insurgents As NAF Launches
Operation Rattle Snake In North-East
“Fighter jets of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) wednesday bombarded
terrorist locations, killing 30 insurgents in Borno State. This was
coming as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Abayomi
Olonisakin, pledged the judicious use of military budget. The air
strikes targeted tactical headquarters of the insurgents in Parisu and
Garin Maloma located on the fringes of Sambisa Forest. The air
interdiction followed intelligence report that revealed the location
of the terrorists. An update on the ongoing war against insurgency
issued by the NAF said many terrorists were decimated during the
attack. “The Nigerian Air Force, through the Air Task Force (ATF) of
Operation Lafiya Dole, has launched Operation Rattle Snake against
terrorists' elements in the North-east of the country. “The air
interdiction operation, which commenced yesterday, 10 December 2019,
will target selected locations within the North-east in order to
further degrade the remnants of the terrorists as well as deny them
safe havens and freedom of action”, it said. The statement said on the
day one of the operation “air strikes by NAF aircraft resulted in the
neutralisation of several Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs) and destruction
of some of their structures at their tactical headquarters in Parisu
as well as another settlement, Garin Maloma, both on the fringes of
the Sambisa Forest in Borno State.”
Somalia
The
Defense Post: Al-Shabaab Attacks Somali Army Base In Hilweyne, Killing
5
“Four civilians and a soldier were killed when heavily-armed
al-Shabaab fighters attacked a Somali army base north of the capital,
military sources and witnesses said Thursday. Witnesses said dozens of
al-Shabaab members, arriving aboard four pickup trucks, took part in
the attack late Wednesday, December 11 on Hilweyne base 25 km (15
miles) north of Mogadishu, while a soldier said there had been
hundreds of assailants. Al-Shabaab fighters took over the camp for a
while before pulling out. “After [a] tactical retreat by the armed
forces, the military is back to the camp now and the situation is
under control,” said Mohamed Salad, a Somali military commander in the
nearby town of Balcad.”We have lost one soldier in the fighting, but
the terrorists also killed four other civilians including two women
who were running small businesses near the camp.” Hussein Luqman, a
witness, said: “There was heavy exchange of gunfire which continued
for more than 30 minutes. “The Shabab fighters … stormed the base
after attacking from several directions using technicals,” Luqman
said, referring to pickup trucks. “Two women who used to sell food and
other items to the soldiers in the camp were among the dead.”
Africa
CNN:
Attack On Niger Military Base Leaves 71 Soldiers Dead
“ISIS has claimed responsibility for one of the deadliest attacks
on Niger's military, which left 71 soldiers dead and 12 wounded. The
attack happened on Tuesday, when several hundred heavily armed
militants ambushed soldiers at an outpost in Inates, in the west of
the country near the Mali border, according to defense minister,
Issoufou Katambe. Fierce fighting followed and a “substantial number
of the terrorists were neutralized,” Katambe said. ISIS claimed on
social media that it managed to seize the military base for several
hours, and that it stole weapons and ammunition, including several
tanks. The terrorist group did not provide any evidence to support its
claim. According to the presidency's official Twitter handle,
President Mahamadou Issoufou who was in Egypt at the time the
“tragedy” took place had to cut off his trip to return home. The
attack came just days ahead of a summit in France between President
Emmanuel Macron and leaders of five West African leaders to discuss
the deteriorating security in the region. That meeting has now been
postponed to early 2020, according to a Reuters report. Niger is a
member of the G5 Sahel force of troops from Mauritania, Mali, Burkina
Faso, and Chad set up in 2014 to tackle insecurity.”
Fox
News: Niger Terror Attack: ISIS-Linked Militants Claim Responsibility
For Massacre
“Islamic State (ISIS)-linked militants claimed responsibility for
an attack on a military installation in western Niger near the border
of Mali on Wednesday, which killed at least 71 people and left 12
injured. The SITE intelligence group, which tracks jihadist media,
said fighters from the Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP)
claimed responsibility for the attack, according to CBS News. The
group splintered off from Boko Haram and is made up of 3,000 men. The
onslaught took place on Tuesday and caused President Mahamadou
Issoufou to cut his overseas trip to Egypt short so he could return
home to deal with the crisis. The terrorist group reportedly numbered
in the hundreds and was heavily armed as they descended upon the
unsuspecting military camp. Niger's defense ministry claimed “a
substantial number of terrorists were neutralized” in the process. Two
years ago, four U.S. service members were killed, along with four
Nigerien soldiers, when they were ambushed by militants just 30 miles
from the sight of this week's carnage. The violence erupted just days
before a summit where French President Emmanuel Macron was set to
address the role of French soldiers in West African's Sahel
region.”
Voice
Of America: Cameroon Records Daily Boko Haram Attacks Along Nigeria
Border
“Authorities in Cameroon say Boko Haram terrorists have been
launching daily attacks on villages along the Nigeria border, killing
at least 30 people and injuring scores in the past few months. Cattle
rancher Lamsi Guidjo, 55 years old and speaking through an
interpreter, asked for temporary housing at the central Mosque in the
town of Mora, on Cameroon's northern border with Nigeria. He said Boko
Haram militants attacked his ranch in Werwack village on Tuesday and
it is not safe for him to return. Guidjo was told by villagers that
Boko Haram killed five people in the attack. The governor of
Cameroon's far north region, Midjiyawa Bakary, said the attack on
Werwack was just one among a hundred they have recorded in the past
three months. At a high-level security meeting Wednesday in the city
of Maroua, Bakary said the Boko Haram attacks left at least 30 people
dead in villages around Mora, Tokombere, Limani, Kolofata and
Ashigachia. Participants at the meeting recommended that traditional
rulers, the clergy and civilians work with the military to help reduce
the attacks. Boko Haram fighters usually step up their attacks at the
end of the year when cross-border traffic between Nigeria and Cameroon
increases so they can steal supplies, Bakary said.”
United Kingdom
The
New York Times: Subduing Terrorist On London Bridge, He Was Prepared
To Die
“A woman’s scream was the first sign John Crilly had of a terrorist
attack. For a moment, he wasn’t sure it signaled real distress, he
said, but then “it got a lot louder, a lot more intense.” It sounded
like they were both in the same building, the historic Fishmonger’s
Hall on the north bank of the River Thames. Rushing to investigate, he
saw Saskia Jones, wounded and “sprawled across the stairs with her
arms out,” recalled Mr. Crilly, who would be hailed as a hero of the
deadly episode on Nov. 29 that ended on London Bridge. Her attacker,
Usman Khan, stood at the bottom of the staircase, a knife in each
hand. Mr. Khan said “something like, ‘kill everyone,’ or ‘going to
kill you,’ or something about killing people,” Mr. Crilly, 48, told
the BBC in an emotional interview published on Thursday. Risking his
own safety, he went at the killer, armed with only the improvised
tools at hand — first a wooden lectern, and then a fire extinguisher —
as the clash began in a central London building and then spilled out
into the street. He saw that Mr. Khan was wearing what looked like an
explosive suicide belt, though it turned out to be a fake. “I’m just
basically screaming at him to blow it,” Mr. Crilly recalled, “like
calling his bluff.”
BBC
News: Islamist Fighter's Wife Amaani Noor Guilty Of £34 Terror
Donation
“A woman who married an Islamist fighter online has been convicted
of funding terrorism.Amaani Noor, 21, of Liverpool was convicted of
donating $45 (£34) to terrorist group The Merciful Hands on 23 May
last year. Liverpool Crown Court heard she married Hakim Noor via a
videolink ceremony and planned to join him in Syria. Noor, a former
beauty contestant and ex-girlfriend of a professional footballer, had
denied the charge. She claimed she thought the money was going to buy
food for women and children in Syria. The jury heard on the same day
Noor, of Cinema Drive, Wavertree married she joined The Merciful Hands
and sent money under a false name. The former Miss Teen GB
semi-finalist had booked flights to Turkey when police searched her
home, the court heard. She told the court she was planning to join her
husband, who she said described himself as an “independent” fighter in
Syria, and she believed he was fighting for Islam and Sharia law. Noor
said she focused on religion after she broke up from an unfaithful
boyfriend who was “in the public eye” when she was 18, then began
discussing extremist organisations with people she met on the internet
following a failed marriage to a Muslim
preacher.”
Europe
Reuters:
Belgium Ordered To Take In 10 Children Born To Islamic State
Fighters
“A Brussels court ordered the Belgian government on Thursday to
help bring to Belgium 10 children who were born in Syria to Islamic
State fighters of Belgian nationality. The children, aged between
seven months and seven years, must be brought to Belgium within six
weeks, the court said. They are now at the Al-Hol refugee camp in
northeastern Syria which is under Kurdish control.If the government
does not comply by providing consular assistance and administrative
documents for the children, it will be fined 5,000 euros ($5,511) per
child per day, the court said. Belgium’s justice minister, Koen Geens,
told public radio the government was ready to take back the children
as long as it did not have to take in their mothers as well. Last
month the court requested that the government take back within 75 days
a woman whose husband fought for Islamic State, and her two
children.”
Southeast Asia
The
Guardian: 'I Hate Isis': Uprooted Survivors Of Marawi Siege Long To
Return Home
“Thousands of survivors of an Islamic State siege in the
Philippines are stuck in makeshift dwellings more than two years after
their city was liberated, with many forced to drink contaminated water
despite the presence of EU-funded aid agencies. They were among an
estimated 350,000 people driven from their homes when Islamist
fighters seized control of the city of Marawi, on the island of
Mindanao, in May 2017. Most assumed they would be back home within
days, but the attack marked the start of a five-month siege, and more
than 130,000 people remain displaced, according to the UN refugee
agency, the UNHCR. Driving through what remains of the heart of the
city, it is not hard to see why. The worst-affected area remains in
ruins. The walls of houses and mosques are pockmarked with bullet and
shrapnel holes; pro-Isis graffiti is sprayed on walls alongside
messages from property owners asserting their rights.”
Technology
The
Wall Street Journal: FTC Weighs Seeking Injunction Against Facebook
Over How Its Apps Interact
“Federal officials are considering seeking a preliminary injunction
against Facebook Inc. over antitrust concerns related to how its
products interact, according to people familiar with the matter. If it
materializes, the action by the Federal Trade Commission would focus
on Facebook’s policies concerning it how it integrates its apps or
allows them to work with potential rivals, these people said.
Alongside its core social network, Facebook’s key products also
include Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp. The potential FTC action
would likely seek to block Facebook from enforcing those policies on
grounds that they are anticompetitive, the people said. An injunction
could seek to bar Facebook from further integrating apps that federal
regulators might look to unwind as part of a potential future breakup
of the company, one of the people said. A majority of the five-member
FTC would be needed to seek an injunction, which the commission would
need to file suit in federal court to obtain. The FTC declined to
comment.”
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