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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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?
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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.”
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