“The Biden administration on Monday ruled out releasing $3.5 billion in funds
held in the United States back to Afghanistan’s central bank anytime soo











<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>



Eye on Extremism


August 16, 2022



The New York Times: U.S. Will Not Release $3.5 Billion In Frozen Afghan Funds,
Citing Terror Fears
<[link removed]>



“The Biden administration on Monday ruled out releasing $3.5 billion in funds
held in the United States back to Afghanistan’s central bank anytime soon,
citing the discovery that Al Qaeda’s leader had taken refuge in the heart of
Kabul apparently with the protection of the Taliban government. The position on
the funds was outlined on the one-year anniversary of the takeover of
Afghanistan by the extremist Taliban militia and just over two weeks after an
American drone strike killed Ayman al-Zawahri, the Qaeda leader, on the balcony
of a house tied to a faction of the Taliban coalition in an exclusive enclave
of the Afghan capital. “We do not see recapitalization of the D.A.B. as a
near-term option,” said Thomas West, the American government’s special
representative for Afghanistan, referring to the initials for the central bank.
He noted that American officials have engaged for months with the central bank
about how to shore up Afghanistan’s economy but have not secured persuasive
guarantees that the money would not fall into terrorist hands. “We do not have
confidence that that institution has the safeguards and monitoring in place to
manage assets responsibly,” Mr. West said in a statement, previously reported
by The Wall Street Journal.”



Reuters: France Says Its Troops Have Left Mali, Remains Committed To Helping
Sahel
<[link removed]>



“France said on Monday that all of its troops battling Islamist militants in
Mali since 2013 have now left the country after a decision in February to
withdraw over the deterioration of relations between Paris and Bamako. "Today
at 13:00 (Paris time), the last military unit of the Barkhane force present on
Malian territory crossed the border between Mali and Niger," a defence ministry
statement said. After almost a decade where they were based in Mali to fight
Islamist insurgents around West Africa, France and military allies have said
they would do so from Niger instead. "France remains engaged in the (wider)
Sahel (region), in the Gulf of Guinea and the Lake Chad region with all
partners committed to stability and to the fight against terrorism," the French
presidency said in a statement. Coups in Mali, Chad and Burkina Faso have
weakened France's alliances in its former colonies, emboldened jihadists who
control large swathes of desert and scrubland, and opened the door to greater
Russian influence.”



United States



Axios: FBI And DHS Warn Of Spike In Threats To Law Enforcement After Trump
Search
<[link removed]>



“The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are warning of a surge in
threats to federal law enforcement after the search of former President Trump's
Mar-a-Lago residence. Driving the news: The federal agencies confirmed to
several outlets on Sunday that they issued an unclassified joint intelligence
bulletin two days earlier about the threats. What they're saying: Since the FBI
searched Trump's Florida residence last Monday, according to the bulletin,
threats have been coming in “primarily online and across multiple platforms,”
Politico, CBS News and other outlets reported. The FBI and DHS “have identified
multiple articulated threats and calls for the targeted killing of judicial,
law enforcement, and government officials associated with the Palm Beach
search, including the federal judge who approved the Palm Beach search
warrant,” the bulletin said. The agencies “observed an increase in violent
threats posted on social media against federal officials and facilities,” the
agencies continued. These include “a threat to place a so-called dirty bomb in
front of FBI Headquarters and issuing general calls for 'civil war' and 'armed
rebellion,' “which included threats “specific in identifying proposed targets,
tactics, or weaponry,” the bulletin added. The big picture: FBI director
Christopher Wray spoke out against threats to law enforcement after the Trump
residence search, one day before police killed an armed man trying to break
into the FBI's Cincinnati field office.”



Fox News: Christian Nonprofit Family Research Council Remains On SPLC's 'Hate
Map' 10 Years After Terrorist Attack
<[link removed]>



“Monday marks the 10th anniversary of the attack on Christian nonprofit, the
Family Research Council, by a man who targeted the organization by using the
Southern Poverty Law Center's “hate map.” “Terrorism is designed to intimidate
and to drive people back and make them feel fearful. Well, that I believe would
describe what they tried to do here yesterday at the Family Research Council
and by extension to traditional value supporters, Christians across the
nation,” Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said following the
attack in 2012. “But I want to tell you it’s not going to work. We’re not going
anywhere.” Shots rang out on Aug. 15, 2012 at FRC’s headquarters in Washington,
D.C., by a man named Floyd Lee Corkins II, who showed up to the building with a
9 mm pistol, multiple ammunition clips and a box of extra rounds. Prosecutors
said his mission was to “kill as many people as possible,” but one heroic
building manager’s action was ”the only thing that prevented Floyd Corkins, II
from carrying out a mass shooting.” Perkins told the media shortly after the
attack that he believed the Southern Poverty Law Center gave Corkins “license”
to carry out the attack after FRC was labeled “a hate group because we defend
the family and we stand for traditional, orthodox Christianity.”



SBS News: To the Extreme: A World Divided
<[link removed]>



“Several recent deadly acts of extremism labelled as terror attacks have
significantly shaped the way governments and agencies tackle national and
international security. In this episode of To The Extreme, we delve deeper into
the US Capitol insurrection and the Christchurch massacre to better understand
the risks and politics of the far right.”



Iran



Reuters: Explainer: Rushdie Attack Shows The Enduring Impact Of Fatwas
<[link removed]>



“The 1989 fatwa imposed by Iran's late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on Salman
Rushdie for his novel “the Satanic Verses” has haunted many liberal novelists
and thinkers whose writings were also seen as insulting to Islam and the
Prophet Mohammad. The attempt on Rushdie's life in New York on Friday is not an
isolated incident. Novelists, academics and journalists -- particularly in the
Middle East -- who dared criticise or question Islamic beliefs have faced
similar threats or condemnation from religious figures. They were either
murdered, arrested, flogged or forced into hiding or exile. Their books were
banned and denounced as blasphemous by religious establishments funded by
governments the West regarded as allies and advocates of moderate Islam such as
Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. In recent years underground Muslim
militants and jihadi preachers and leaders have used social media to incite
Muslims across the globe to kill those who they say denigrate Islam and the
Prophet.”



NBC News: Iran Blames Salman Rushdie And His Supporters For Stabbing Attack
<[link removed]>



“Iran said Monday that Salman Rushdie and his supporters are to blame for the
stabbing attack that left the famed author hospitalized with serious injuries.
In its first public comments since the assault, Tehran denied any involvement
but sought to justify the attack, which has been celebrated on front pages and
in coverage across the country's media. “We do not consider anyone other than
him and his supporters worthy of blame or even condemnation,” Iranian Foreign
Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said. “No one has the right to accuse Iran,”
he added. “The insult that was done and the support that was given was an
insult to all religions.” Rushdie, 75, is now “on the road to recovery,” his
agent said Sunday. He was removed from a ventilator a day earlier after having
been hospitalized with injuries to his neck, eye, liver and chest. The author
was stabbed about a dozen times during a speaking event at a resort in western
New York on Friday. Rushdie is best known for “The Satanic Verses,” which has
been banned in Iran and is considered by some Muslims to be blasphemous. A
decades-old fatwa demanding his killing still stands, though attention on the
issue had eased in recent years. Tehran said it had no knowledge of or relation
to the attacker.”



The National: What Is Behind The Rise In Iran-Sponsored Plots In The US?
<[link removed]>



“The rise in alleged assassination plots tied to the Iranian regime, which
have been uncovered by the US government, has raised questions on Tehran’s
threat and capabilities within America. Last month, the FBI said that
Iranian-American activist Masih Alinejad was a target of a Tehran plot to
kidnap her from the dissident’s Brooklyn home. Iranian authorities have
rejected this claim, but the alleged assailant, Khalid Mehdiyev, is in US
custody facing charges. Only last Wednesday, the US Justice Department charged
Shahram Poursafi, identified by US officials as a member of Iran's Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps, in a plot to assassinate former national security
adviser John Bolton as well as former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a
separate mission. On Friday, Hadi Matar, a Lebanese-American man stabbed
renowned author Salman Rushdie at an event in New York and now is facing
charges. In an interview with the Daily Mail, his mother, Silvana Fardos, said
her son had “changed” during a four-week trip to Lebanon in 2018. “I was
expecting him to come back motivated, to complete school, to get his degree and
a job. But instead, he locked himself in the basement. He had changed a lot, he
didn't say anything to me or his sisters for months,” she said.”



Afghanistan



NBC News: Life In Afghanistan After A Year Under The Taliban Takeover
<[link removed]>



“The future looks bleak for the vast majority of Afghans. At least 43% of the
population is living on less than one meal a day and 97% of Afghans are
expected to be living below the poverty line by the end of this year. Some
families have resorted to selling their organs to eat and others have sold
their own children in order to survive. “As global leaders sought to
economically isolate the Taliban, their policy approaches have crippled the
economy, destroyed the banking sector and plunged the country into a
humanitarian catastrophe that has left more than 24 million without enough food
to eat each day,” Vicki Aken, Afghanistan director of the International Rescue
Committee, said Friday. The organization added that unless this is addressed,
the current humanitarian crisis could lead to more deaths than 20 years of war.
In the year since the ultraconservative, insular and violent Taliban returned
to power, this desperately poor and violent country has rapidly deteriorated.
What little progress was made in the last two decades, in terms of democracy,
personal freedoms and women’s rights, has been reversed. The Taliban have shown
that they have not changed much from the group that ruled in the 1990s until
they were toppled by U.S.-led forces in the wake of the terrorist attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001.”



Middle East



The Jerusalem Post: Shin Bet Arrests ISIS-Affiliated Suspects Believed To Be
Planning Terror Attacks <[link removed]>



“The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) arrested two ISIS-affiliated
Arab-Israelis from Umm el-Fahm in July on suspicion that they intended to carry
out terrorist activity for the organization and to fight for it in Africa, an
agency representative said Monday. Mahmad Farouk al-Gabariya and Wabed
al-Mahadi Masoud, both 21, were under the supervision of security forces
because of their extreme jihad ideology. Masoud was known to the Shin Bet for
previous activity on behalf of ISIS. The interrogation of the suspects revealed
that they had been making plans to leave Israel to fight for ISIS and had
conferred with an Israeli citizen who had come back from fighting for al-Qaeda
in Africa on how best to do it. Multiple arrests of ISIS-affiliated suspects
have been made by the Shin Bet in the past. Another suspect was arrested in
July, and in his interrogation, he admitted to identifying with ISIS and
preparing to fight with the organization against Israel. In March, a wave of
terrorist attacks broke out throughout Israel. Two of the attacks, one in
Beersheba and one in Hadera, were carried out by terrorists who identified with
ISIS.”



Nigeria



The Conversation: What’s Behind Terrorist Attacks On Churches In Nigeria
<[link removed]>



“In early June 2022, 40 people died, including children, in a mass shooting
and bomb attack on a Catholic church in the city of Owo, southwestern Nigeria.
The incident remains one of the most prominent terror attacks in the country.
It drew global responses from the United Nations, the Pope, and various
governments, including the US. Five American senators asked Antony Blinken, the
US secretary of state, to re-designate Nigeria as a country of particular
concern with respect to religious persecutions. The senators argued that
horrific violence had been committed against Nigerian Christians lately,
including the massacre of churchgoers on Pentecost Sunday and the stoning of a
Christian college student. Sadly, such violence has become all too familiar for
Christians in Nigeria. A series of high-profile incidents this year has drawn
particular attention to the issue. According to data collected by the Armed
Conflict Location and Event Data Project, there have already been 34 separate
attacks on church premises so far this year. In 2020 there were 19, and in 2021
there were 33. The data shows 1,664 persons have died in targeted attacks
against churches, 390 persons sustained different forms of injuries, and 188
sanctuaries have been burnt or destroyed by terror arsonists since 2010.”



Sahara Reporters: Boko Haram Commander, Aminu Duniya, Others Reportedly Killed
In Military Airstrike In Niger State
<[link removed]>



“Boko Haram commander, Aminu Duniya, and other terrorists were reportedly
killed in a raid by the military. According to PRNigeria, the terrorists were
neutralised after intelligence revealed that they had assembled at Kurebe in
the Shiroro Local Government Area, for an important meeting hosted by Duniya.
The wanted commander was said to have invited his fellow criminals to his
enclave at Kurebe, to the meeting which attracted numerous terrorists, who came
in large numbers on their motorbikes. It was gathered that Kurebe is a known
terrorist haven as local inhabitants of the community have since vacated the
village after terrorists drove them away in 2021. According to a NAF
intelligence operative, though their bombardments eliminated many terrorists,
it remains unclear if Duniya was neutralised. “The strike at Kurebe came barely
hours after a coordinated joint air and ground operation killed several
terrorists operating around the Damba - Galbi axis in Chikun Local Government
Area of Kaduna State. “The activities of the terrorists continued to make life
unbearable to locals in the area. So, when intelligence had revealed that the
terrorists planned on overrunning a nearby village within the vicinity, the
military saw that as an opportunity to surprise them.”



Somalia



Voice Of America: US Airstrike In Somalia Kills 14 Al-Shabab Militants
<[link removed]>



“Officials in central Somalia say a U.S. airstrike against al-Shabab
militants has killed 14 fighters, the deadliest strike against the terrorist
group in months. The airstrike that targeted al-Qaida-linked Islamist militant
group al-Shabab took place Sunday in Somalia’s central region of Hiran.
Military officials there who spoke with VOA by phone said the attack killed 14
al-Shabab fighters. They say the airstrike was conducted by the U.S. military
to support Somali troops who were conducting operations against al-Shabab. The
Somali military said it captured the group’s main stronghold in the region,
located outside the town of Mahas, and also destroyed its hideouts. The U.S.
military has yet to comment on the attack. Last week, the U.S. African Command,
or AFRICOM, said it conducted an airstrike outside Beledweyne, the capital of
the Hiran region that borders Ethiopia. AFRICOM said that an airstrike, also
conducted in support of the Somali national army, killed four al-Shabab
terrorists. Abdurahman Sheikh Azhari, director of the Mogadishu-based Centre
for Analysis and Strategic Studies, told VOA that the United States is
increasing its role in Somalia again, noting that President Joe Biden has
pledged to return the small U.S. troop presence that was withdrawn by former
President Donald Trump.”



Mali



Reuters: Al Qaeda Affiliate Claims It Killed Four Russian Mercenaries In Mali
<[link removed]>



“Al Qaeda's affiliate in Mali claimed on Monday it had killed four
mercenaries from Russia's private military firm Wagner Group in an ambush
around Bandiagara in central Mali. The media unit for Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam
wal Muslimeen (JNIM), said in a statement its fighters clashed with the
mercenaries on Saturday in Mopti region, according to a translation by the SITE
Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist statements. Wagner has no public
representation and could not be reached for comment. Mali is struggling to stem
an Islamist insurgency that took root after a 2012 uprising and has since
spread to neighbouring countries, killing thousands and displacing millions
across West Africa's Sahel region. Wagner began supplying hundreds of fighters
last year to support the Malian military and has since been accused by human
rights groups and local residents of participating in massacres of civilians -
accusations it has not responded to. The Russian government has acknowledged
Wagner personnel are in Mali but the Malian government has described them as
instructors from the Russian military rather then private security contractors.
In July, JNIM claimed responsibility for an attack on Mali's main military
base, which it said was a response to governmental collaboration with Wagner.”



Africa



Africanews: Chad: Two Soldiers Killed By Jihadists Near Lake Chad
<[link removed]>



“Two Chadian soldiers have been killed by jihadists in the Lake Chad region,
which has in recent years become a major hideout for the Boko Haram and Islamic
State groups, President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno announced Monday. “Our valiant
armed forces have just repelled an aggression by the nebulous Boko Haram sect
in the vicinity of Bol,” about 300 km north of the capital N'Djamena, the head
of the ruling junta said on Twitter, claiming that “two soldiers fell while
performing their duty.” President Déby also reported “the death of a dozen
terrorists. Authorities refer indiscriminately to the Nigerian jihadist group
of the same name and its splinter group Islamic State in West Africa (Iswap) as
“Boko Haram,” which has set up camps on the multitude of islets covering the
Lake Chad Basin, a vast expanse of water and swampland that stretches its
shores across four countries: Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Nigeria. Jihadists
regularly carry out attacks against the military and civilians throughout the
area. In June, the Mixed Multinational Force (MMF) claimed to have killed more
than 800 jihadists in two months on islands in Lake Chad in joint force
operations. The Boko Haram insurgency emerged in 2009 in Nigeria before
spreading to neighboring countries.”



The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If
you value what we do, please consider making a donation.

DONATE NOW
<[link removed]>




Click here to unsubscribe.
<[link removed]>