Eye on Extremism
August 17, 2022
The Washington Post: Al-Qaeda And Islamic State Are On The Rise In Africa
“As the world remembered the chaos and tragedy that surrounded the U.S. and allied withdrawal from Afghanistan a year ago, a quieter exit took place Monday. The last French troops left Mali for neighboring Niger, drawing to a formal close a near-decade-long mission in the sprawling West African nation of 21 million people. Their presence in Mali had begun in 2013 as part of an ambitious Paris-led effort to fight back an Islamist militant threat that was spreading across the vast region between desert and savanna known as the Sahel. But the mission ended incomplete despite billions of euros spent and thousands of Malian lives lost (as well as 59 French soldiers), leaving in its wake no shortage of geopolitical rancor and a worryingly deteriorating security situation. Militants from factions linked to both al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have entrenched themselves on a widening battlefield across the African continent. The French departure from Mali had been telegraphed months in advance amid a rupture in relations between the government of French President Emmanuel Macron and a Malian junta that seized power in August 2020 and carried out “a coup within a coup” — as Macron himself put it — against civilian officials nine months later.”
Associated Press: Pakistani Doctor Pleads Guilty To Terror Charge In Minnesota
“A Pakistani doctor and former Mayo Clinic research coordinator pleaded guilty Tuesday to a terrorism charge, more than two years after he was arrested for telling paid FBI informants that he pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State group and that he wanted to carry out lone wolf attacks in the U.S. According to online court records, Muhammad Masood pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. A sentencing date has not been set. Prosecutors say Masood was in the U.S. on a work visa. They alleged that starting in January of 2020, Masood made several statements to paid informants — whom he believed were members of the Islamic State group — pledging his allegiance to the group and its leader. Prosecutors said Masood expressed his desire to travel to Syria to fight for ISIS and a desire to carry out lone wolf attacks in the U.S. The Mayo Clinic has previously confirmed that Masood was a former employee at the medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, but was not employed by the clinic at the time of his arrest.”
Syria
Navy Times: US Forces In Syria Decry Suicide Drone And Rocket Attacks
“Coalition forces at Al-Tanf Garrison on the Iraq-Syria border faced a rocket attack Monday night and shot down a one-way aerial drone earlier that same day, according to Operation Inherent Resolve, which did not name the attackers. One drone was shot down at 6:30 a.m. on Monday, preventing its impact, OIR said in a statement. Another drone, OIR added, detonated within a compound used by Maghaweir al-Thowra, a U.S.-backed Syrian opposition group. Then on Monday evening, at about 9 p.m., multiple rounds of indirect fire landed in the vicinity of Green Village in northeastern Syria, OIR said in a separate statement on Tuesday. “Thankfully on this occasion, there were no casualties and no damage reported,” the OIR statement reads. Several rockets failed to launch and were recovered by coalition troops and their Syrian Democratic Forces partners, according to OIR. “Such attacks put the lives of innocent Syrian civilians at risk and undermine the significant efforts by our Partner Forces to maintain the lasting defeat of ISIS,” said Maj. Gen. John Brennan, the Combined Joint Task Force-OIR commander, in a statement. “Coalition personnel retain the right to self-defense, and we will take appropriate measures to protect our forces.”
Afghanistan
Bloomberg: Afghanistan Is Trapped In A Taliban Time Warp
“A year has passed since the Taliban stormed into Kabul, taking advantage of the power vacuum left by the departure of US and allied troops from Afghanistan. The militant group made big promises as it established its Islamic Emirate and offered a fresh start. Women would be free to work and study, there’d be no safe haven for terror groups and old foes would receive amnesty. Instead, as the country unraveled further, the new Taliban has proved to be just like the old Taliban. For women it’s been a journey back in time to the era when the group held sway for five years before US troops arrived in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks on America in 2001. For most other Afghans too, it’s hard to see a normal future. The economy has cratered in the absence of foreign aid. Surging global food prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have combined with the worst drought in three decades to intensify the risk of famine. Aid agencies estimate nearly 23 million people, or more than half the population, face acute hunger. Some Afghans are so desperate they’ve resorted to selling their young children, mostly girls, into marriage to feed the rest of the family. Teenage girls can no longer attend school and few women are allowed to hold jobs.”
Associated Press: Afghanistan Marks 1 Year Since Taliban Seizure As Woes Mount
“The Taliban on Monday marked a year since they seized the Afghan capital in a rapid takeover that triggered a hasty escape of the nation's Western-backed leaders, sent the economy into a tailspin and fundamentally transformed the country. Bearded Taliban fighters, some hoisting rifles or the white banners of their movement, staged victory parades on foot, bicycles and motorcycles in the streets of Kabul. One group marched past the former U.S. Embassy, chanting “Long live Islam” and “Death to America.” A year after the dramatic day, much has changed in Afghanistan. The former insurgents struggle to govern and remain internationally isolated. The economic downturn has driven millions more Afghans into poverty and even hunger, as the flow of foreign aid slowed to a trickle. The U.N. humanitarian chief for Afghanistan warned that unless donors provide $2.6 billion very soon the country faces “pure catastrophe” over the coming winter with millions of lives at stake. Ramiz Alakbarov told a virtual news conference from Kabul that the U.N.’s $4.4 billion humanitarian appeal for Afghanistan this year has received only about $1.8 billion, leaving a $2.6 billion gap in funding for desperately needed food and other aid.”
Pakistan
Associated Press: Police Suspect Militants Fatally Shot Local Hindu In Kashmir
“Assailants killed a Kashmiri Hindu man and wounded his brother in a shooting Tuesday that police blamed on militants fighting Indian rule in the disputed region. Police said suspected militants fired at two Kashmiri Hindu brothers inside an apple orchard in the Shopian district in the south of Indian-controlled Kashmir. Both were taken to a hospital with critical gunshot wounds where one died, police said in a statement. Soldiers and police cordoned off the area and began searching for the attackers. Kashmir has witnessed a spate of targeted killings in recent months. Several Hindus, including immigrant workers from Indian states, have been killed. Police say the killings — including that of Muslim village councilors, police officers and civilians — have been carried out by anti-India rebels. The spate of killings this year come as Indian troops have continued counterinsurgency operations across the region amid a clampdown on dissent and press freedom, which critics have likened to a militaristic policy. Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety. Rebels in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebel goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.”
Middle East
Al Arabiya: ‘Rottenyahu’: Terrorist Propaganda Magazines Using ‘Humor’ In Harmful Messaging
“Humor is being used in terrorist propaganda magazines to reinforce identity and promote group bonding, new research suggests. The study found that different terrorist groups use varying comedic tactics, while using “humor” to label global presidents; including “the Senile Crusader” to describe US President Joe Biden, and “Rottenyahu” to depict former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The study, conducted by the United Kingdom’s University of Exeter, found that the Taliban, al-Qaeda and Tahrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were mainly using humor in a similar way, using situational comedy, while humor in ISIS magazines was dehumanizing and mocking. Around 82 terrorist magazines (published in English) were examined and the research team found that al-Qaeda and the Taliban in particular used parody and mockery to sway the curious and send their message by emphasizing an “us versus them” mentality. This usually involves using aggressive imagery of people and countries to portray them as animals. Published in the journal Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, the study was carried out by Dr. Weeda Mehran from the University of Exeter and her MA students Megan Byrne, Ella Gibbs-Pearce, Archie Macfarlane, Jacob Minihane and Amy Ranger.”
United Kingdom
Daily Mail: Manchester Arena Bombing Survivor, 27, Becomes Police Constable Five Years After 'Something Clicked In Me' When ISIS-Supporting Terrorist Murdered 22 Concert-Goers
“A teaching assistant who survived the Manchester Arena bombing has become a Durham police constable after applying to join the force when an ISIS-supporting terrorist callously murdered 22 innocent concert-goers. Josh Elliott, 27, decided to serve in the line of duty after Salman Abedi slaughtered young revellers and injured more than 1,000 more at an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017. Thankfully he and his friends avoided the deadly blasts - but Mr Elliott was so overcome by the rapid response to the atrocity that he decided to swap the classroom for the beat. He has since been promoted to the role of police constable. Mr Elliott said: 'It was a horrendous situation to be in. But seeing how the officers sprang into action and put themselves in danger to get us to safety just made something click in me. 'But seeing how the officers sprang into action and put themselves in danger to get us to safety just made something click in me. 'I saw it as a way of turning a negative into a positive and I knew then that I had to go into policing.' 'We were literally walking out and just heard this massive bang and then saw the smoke and people started to run and scream,' he said. 'No one knew what was going on. 'There were about 30 or 40 cop cars there and I just remember thinking it was like an army of police who had come out of nowhere to get us to safety.”
Europe
Vice: More Boogaloo Bois Are Heading To Ukraine To Fight
“…Joshua Fisher-Birch, an expert and analyst on the far-right at the Counter-Extremism Project, said some extremists may see the conflict as a chance to become battle hardened and gain military skills. “Some right-wing extremists have viewed the war in Ukraine as an opportunity to gain critical combat experience which would otherwise be unavailable to them,” said Fisher-Birch, pointing out that war experience can also help boost their cachet within the movement at home. “Combat experience not only serves the purpose of increasing their own capabilities but passing those skill sets along to others in their movement.” Dunn got his start in anti-government organizing in late 2019, when he latched onto anger simmering among pro–Second Amendment Virginians over proposed state gun control legislation and participated in efforts to form county-level militias in response. In 2020, Dunn tried to position himself as a kingpin of the surging Boogaloo movement. But a year later, with the Boogaloo and its adherents under heavy government scrutiny, Dunn and others left the movement. Dunn deleted his social media accounts, changed his phone number, and retreated from the public persona he’d built around himself.”
Vice: Music Festival Cancelled After City Authorities Realise Bands Are Nazis
“An “identitarian” music festival for radical Flemish nationalists was cancelled by local authorities in the Belgian city of Ypres on Tuesday, after warnings that the event would feature neo-Nazi acts and attract right-wing extremists. The Frontnacht music festival was due to be held the weekend of August 27-28, with attendees camping in a field in Steenstraete, near Ypres, to listen to a lineup of far-right musical acts. The festival was being held for the first time in a bid to rejuvenate and increase the youth appeal of the IJzerwake, an annual gathering of radical Flemish nationalists organised by a group of the same name. Ypres city council initially granted the organisers a licence to hold the event, but were forced to rethink their stance after critics pointed out the clear right-wing extremist affiliations of the acts on the bill. A petition was launched calling on the authorities to ban the festival, while European security services also expressed their concern. Headlining the festival was an Italian band called Bronson, whose members belong to Italy’s neo-fascist CasaPound movement, and who frequently express their adulation for dictator Benito Mussolini. Other acts have links to the neo-Nazi movement Blood and Honour and the violent white supremacist Hammerskins gang.”
Technology
Business Insider: Since The Mar-A-Lago Raid, Extremists Have Flooded Mainstream Sites Like TikTok, Twitter, And YouTube To Preach Pro-Trump Violence
“A woman wearing a red, white, and blue beach hat faces the camera and begins speaking. “Good morning, TikTok. Nothing funny about this post,” she warns. Her voice quavering with emotion, she then promises, “I will go out in a blaze of glory” rather than let President Joe Biden invoke martial law (something he has not threatened to do) and come after “conservatives and people trying to save America.” “She's just in tears over this,” extremism expert Wendy Via told Insider of the video, which was posted from a now-inactive account the day after the Mar-a-Lago raid. “It was on TikTok,” said Via, cofounder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. “TikTok is the place, man.” So too is YouTube, and Twitter, and any number of mainstream platforms and websites where threatening, anti-government posts are now easily accessible, experts say. These days, experts note, you don't have to venture into the unregulated, porn-laden corners of the internet — your 4Chans, 8Chans and openly-white-supremacist websites — to watch angry people flash assault weapons and talk about taking down the government. In fact, much of the surge in hate speech and anti-government threats that experts are seeing in the wake of the Mar-a-Lago raid are being posted on mainstream platforms.”
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