“The Islamic State group’s local affiliate has stepped up attacks against the
Taliban and civilians since the former insurgents took over the country











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



Eye on Extremism


August 19, 2022



Associated Press: Death Toll In Afghan Capital Mosque Bombing Rises To 21,
Police Say
<[link removed]>



“The Islamic State group’s local affiliate has stepped up attacks against the
Taliban and civilians since the former insurgents took over the country last
year as U.S. and NATO troops were in the final stages of their withdrawal. Last
week, the extremists claimed responsibility for killing a prominent Taliban
cleric at his religious center in Kabul. The mosque bombing comes just two days
after the anniversary of the fall of Kabul on Aug. 15, 2021. Khalid Zadran, the
spokesman for Kabul’s Taliban police chief, gave the latest figures to The
Associated Press for the bombing at the Siddiquiya mosque in the city’s Kher
Khanna neighborhood. An eyewitness told the AP the explosion was carried out by
a suicide bomber. The slain cleric was Mullah Amir Mohammad Kabuli, the
eyewitness said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to talk to the media. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned
the explosion and vowed that the “perpetrators of such crimes will soon be
brought to justice and will be punished.” There were fears the casualty numbers
could rise further. On Thursday morning, one witness to the blast who gave his
name as Qyaamuddin told the AP he believed as many as 25 people may have been
killed in the blast.”



AFP: Islamic State 'Beatle' Faces Life Sentence For US Hostage Deaths
<[link removed]>



“A member of the notorious Islamic State kidnap-and-murder cell known as the
“Beatles,” is to be sentenced in a US court on Friday for the deaths of four
American hostages in Syria. El Shafee Elsheikh, 34, faces a mandatory sentence
of life in prison after being convicted in Alexandria, Virginia, in April of
hostage-taking, conspiracy to murder US citizens and supporting a terrorist
organization. The grueling two-week trial of the former British national, which
featured emotional testimony from former hostages and parents of the victims,
was the most significant prosecution of an IS militant in the United States.
The 12-person federal jury deliberated for less than six hours over two days
before finding Elsheikh guilty for his role in the deaths of four Americans --
journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Peter Kassig and
Kayla Mueller. Elsheikh and another former “Beatle,” Alexanda Amon Kotey, were
captured by a Kurdish militia in Syria in January 2018 and handed over to US
forces in Iraq. They were flown to the United States in 2020 to face trial.
Kotey, 38, pleaded guilty in September 2021 and was sentenced to life in prison
in April by US District Court Judge T.S. Ellis, who will also deliver the
sentence on Friday against Elsheikh.”



United States



NPR: Anti-Government Threats Are Up, But It's Tough To Assess Them
<[link removed]>



“Shortly after news broke that federal agents had executed a court-authorized
search for documents at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, Rita
Katz said she and her team jumped online. Katz, the founder and executive
director of the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist communities
online, said they were primarily interested in what discussions looked like in
spaces frequented by the far right, such as Telegram, Gab and Truth Social.
“What we saw were calls for civil war,” said Katz. “Calls such as, 'This is
what the Second Amendment stands for,' and asking then, 'When does the shooting
start?' “ In the days after, a man was killed in a standoff with the FBI after
he attempted to attack the agency's field office in Cincinnati. The U.S.
Department of Justice has also charged a man in Pennsylvania with threatening
federal law enforcement officers after he allegedly posted violent statements
online. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued a joint
intelligence bulletin highlighting the escalation in violent rhetoric against
their agencies and employees. But even as law enforcement may be monitoring or
alerted to threats made in these spaces, experts say that responding to them
will be challenging.”



Afghanistan



The Washington Post: How Strong Is The Islamic State In Taliban-Ruled
Afghanistan?
<[link removed]>



“A bomb blast that killed at least 21 worshipers, including an influential
cleric, and injured more than 30 others in Afghanistan’s capital during evening
prayers on Wednesday evening, according to Taliban officials and residents, has
renewed focus on the threat to the Taliban posed by Afghanistan’s Islamic State
affiliate. Residents of the Khair Khana area of Kabul told The Washington Post
that the prayer leader who was killed, Amir Mohammad Kabuli, was an outspoken
preacher unaffiliated with any one faction. No group has claimed responsibility
for Wednesday’s blast, but it came a week after the Islamic State-Khorasan
(ISIS-K), a rival of the Taliban, claimed responsibility for a bombing that
killed Rahimullah Haqqani, a prominent Taliban-linked cleric. It’s the latest
in a string of attacks, many of which have been attributed to ISIS-K, since the
Taliban swept to national power in Afghanistan a year ago. The Islamic State is
most associated with Iraq and Syria, where the brutal extremist group held huge
swaths of territory under its self-declared “caliphate” at the group’s peak in
late 2014. Known for its transnational recruitment and appetite for violence,
ISIS saw its power decline sharply after a U.S.-coalition drove it from the
last of its territory in 2019.”



Middle East



The Washington Post: Do Armed Drones Reduce Terrorism? Here’s The Data.
<[link removed]>



“At 6:18 a.m. on July 31, a CIA drone fired the two Hellfire missiles that
killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, a former deputy to Osama bin Laden.
Since 9/11, the United States has conducted over 14,000 drone strikes like this
against suspected terrorist targets. Countries such as Iran, Turkey, Nigeria
and Egypt have also acquired armed drones and conduct their own strikes. But do
armed drone operations reduce terrorism, or do they actually make countries
more vulnerable to it? To find out, we analyzed patterns of terrorism in 18
countries — every country that has fielded armed drones to date. The evidence
reveals that obtaining armed drones reduces the amount of terrorism a country
experiences. Armed drones may raise ethical concerns but appear to be an
effective counterterrorism tool. The U.S. killed al-Qaeda’s leader. That might
boost terrorism. Some analysts argue that the use of drones increases terrorism
for two main reasons. First, drones can cause “blowback” among civilian
populations, when drones kill or psychologically terrify noncombatants and
violate countries’ sovereignty. For example, data collected by the Bureau of
Investigative Journalism suggests that U.S. drone strikes have killed up to
2,220 civilians since 2010, including up to 450 children.”



The Jerusalem Post: Israel Shuts Down 7 Offices Of Orgs. In W. Bank Designated
'Terrorist' <[link removed]>



“During an arrest operation in the West Bank, Israeli security forces,
including the IDF, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Border Police closed
down seven institutions that had ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation
of Palestine (PFLP), Including six that Defense Minister Benny Gantz previously
declared as terrorist organizations. The Israeli forces arrested 10 terror
suspects overnight, operating throughout the Judea and Samaria, Baka and Amakim
Regional Divisions, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit. During the
operation, stones and Molotov cocktails were thrown at the forces, who
responded with protest dispersal measures. Last year, the Justice and Defense
ministries declared that several leading Palestinian NGOs were arms of the PFLP
terrorist organization. The ministries each issued documents classifying
Addameer, Al-Haq, Bisan Center, Defense for Children International – Palestine
(DCI-P), the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC) and the Union Of
Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) as branches of the PFLP, joining other NGOs
that had also been designated as terrorist affiliates.”



Egypt



The Jerusalem Post: Palestinian Islamic State Leader In Sinai Killed By
Egyptian Forces - Report
<[link removed]>



“The leader of Islamic State in Sinai responsible for the death of 305
Egyptians in a 2017 mosque massacre has been killed in fighting with the
Egyptian Armed Forces, the Sinai United Tribes announced on Monday.

Hamza Adel Muhammad Al-Zamili, better known by the Jihadi moniker Abu Kazem
Al-Maqdisi, was killed in combat along with nine other Islamic State fighters.
Three others were arrested, and as of Tuesday, Egyptian military operations
were still underway, according to the Sinai United Tribes, which is aligned
with the Egyptian government. In 2017, 305 people at Al Rawdah mosque in the
northern Sinai were killed in a bombing and gun attack during Friday prayers.
Many of those killed were reportedly Sufis, a branch of Islam that is
considered idolatrous by the Islamic State. Maqdisi was reportedly responsible
for the attack. “The armed forces and the police will avenge our martyrs and
restore security and stability with the utmost force,” Egypt's President Abdel
Fattah al-Sisi said in a televised address at the time. “What is happening is
an attempt to stop us from our efforts in the fight against terrorism, to
destroy our efforts to stop the terrible criminal plan that aims to destroy
what is left of our region.”



Mali



Fox News: Mali: 'Africa's Afghanistan' Sees France Withdraw Troops And Terror
Groups Run Amok
<[link removed]>



“It is being called Africa’s Afghanistan, a land where militants linked to
both al Qaeda and ISIS jihadists fester, reaping terror, death, displacement
and despair. Named the world’s terrorism hotspot, a third of all
terrorism-related deaths in 2021 spilled blood over this country’s dusty
plains. Some 2,700 have been killed in West Africa’s Mali in the first six
months of this year, up 40% on last year. As the mayhem escalates in this
region known as the Sahel, this week the last unilateral Western peacekeeping
force was pulled – or was it pushed – out. Mali’s military junta is now letting
Russia’s shadowy Wagner mercenary group reportedly run amok, with an
ever-growing catalog of human rights abuses against Mali’s people. “Is Mali
Africa's Afghanistan?” Jasmine Opperman, a security consultant specializing in
extremism and political violence, discussed with Fox News Digital. “Looking at
its history, looking at the complexities of the driving forces, looking at
international actors’ involvement aggravating the security situation and acting
as a trigger mechanism for extremism, I think we can definitely conclude that
based on the similarities, Mali can be considered as Africa's Afghanistan.”



United Kingdom



BBC News: Boy, 15, Faces Trial Over Alleged Isle Of Wight Festival Terror Plot
<[link removed]>



“A 15-year-old boy is to go on trial accused of plotting a terror attack
after allegedly researching the Isle of Wight Festival as a potential target.
The boy, from Cowes, Isle of Wight, appeared at the Old Bailey charged with
preparation of terrorist acts. It is claimed he had developed an interest in
the Islamic State Group. A plea hearing has been set for 4 November, and a
three-week trial has been scheduled to start at Winchester Crown Court on 18
April next year. Prosecutors said the teenager was arrested after police
received a tip-off from the FBI that he was allegedly planning to attack
someone he thought had insulted Islam. It is alleged the teenager researched
the music festival, which is held in June and attracts around 90,000 people. is
also said to have also looked up weapons, including firearms, vehicles and a
stab vest. The defendant, who cannot be identified because of his age, was
remanded in custody.”



Europe



Russia Matters: Foreign Fighters In Ukraine: What Concerns Should Really Be On
The Agenda?
<[link removed]>



“…A group of experts gathered by the Counter-Extremism Project believes the
number of pro-Ukraine foreign fighters present in-country ranges from “several
hundred… to a few thousand.” Fighters from Eastern Europe and former Soviet
republics still seem to constitute the bulk of arrivals,1 with Poland, Georgia,
Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania among the most frequently mentioned in
open sources as countries of origin. Western countries of origin with the
greatest number of arriving foreign fighters include the U.S., U.K., Canada,
Germany, and France, with “dozens of Japanese men” reportedly also applying. In
terms of deployment, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych claimed
last month that around 1,000 pro-Ukrainian foreign fighters had taken part in
battles. Russia, meanwhile, claimed in mid-June that nearly 7,000 “mercenaries
and weapons specialists,” including trainers, from 64 countries had come to
Ukraine’s aid since the war began, around 2,000 had already been killed and
nearly 1,800 had left. (Besides foreigners, a far larger number of Ukrainian
nationals—estimated at 22,000—have returned from abroad to join the fight.
Reliable statistics on pro-Russian foreign fighters are even more difficult to
find.”



Southeast Asia



Associated Press: Australia Upset At Indonesia Reducing Bali Bomber's Sentence
<[link removed]>



“Australia's leader said Friday that it's upsetting Indonesia has further
reduced the prison sentence of the bombmaker in the Bali terror attack that
killed 202 people — meaning the terrorist could be freed within days if he's
granted parole. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he'd been told
by Indonesian authorities that Umar Patek's sentence had been reduced by
another five months, taking his total reductions to almost two years. That
means Patek could be released on parole ahead of the 20th anniversary of the
bombings in October. “This will cause further distress to Australians who were
the families of victims of the Bali bombings,” Albanese told Channel 9. “We
lost 88 Australian lives in those bombings.” Albanese said he would continue
making “diplomatic representations” to Indonesia about Patek's sentence and a
range of other issues, including Australians currently jailed in Indonesia.
Albanese described Patek as “abhorrent.” “His actions were the actions of a
terrorist,” Albanese told Channel 9. “They did have such dreadful results for
Australian families that are ongoing, the trauma which is there.” Indonesia
often grants sentence reductions to prisoners on major holidays such as the
nation's Independence Day, which was Wednesday.”



Technology



The Independent: Extremism Experts Sound The Alarm As Trump Supporters
Threaten Civil War On TikTok
<[link removed]>



“The videos share a few common themes: they are filmed by an excitable solo
protagonist. That protagonist is often addressing fellow “patriots” and asking
them to prepare for something very big to happen. They include some veiled or
explicit threat of violence in response. And many of them are posted on TikTok,
the short-form video app made popular by dancing teenagers. In the wake of the
FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago, threats of violence against federal agents from
Donald Trump’s supporters have skyrocketed, according to extremism monitors.
Warnings of civil war and veiled threats of violence against politicians have
also increased. In a departure from the norm, many of those threats are being
made in the open, on social media platforms like TikTok, with no attempt to
hide their identity. A collection of TikTok videos collated by one Twitter user
included numerous calls for violence against the FBI and the government from
Trump supporters. “I seen what happened to Trump,” one person says in a video
while a weapon and ammunition can be seen on a bed behind him. “Yea, it’s go
time. Everyone knows exactly what I’m talking about,” he adds. Other videos
include conspiracy theories about IRS agents coming to take their weapons.”



The Jerusalem Post: Antisemitic Threats On Truth Social Continue In The Wake
Of FBI’s Mar-A-Lago Raid
<[link removed]>



“When a Florida synagogue canceled its “Beach Shabbat” services amid threats
against one of its board members, the judge who signed the warrant authorizing
an FBI search of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, it felt to some
like a pivotal moment in the history of American antisemitism. “The combination
of a synagogue in Florida having to cancel Shabbat due to antisemitic threats
against the Jewish judge who signed the Trump warrant, combined with right-wing
media figures pointing out that Merrick Garland is Jewish, is making me very
uneasy as an American Jew,” a doctoral student in American Jewish history named
Joel Swanson wrote on Twitter. Many of the attacks on Judge Bruce Reinhardt
have referenced his Jewish identity, from a viral tweet by retired baseball
player Lenny Dykstra to chatter on pro-Trump message boards. So, too, has
criticism of Merrick Garland, the US attorney general who authorized the search
as part of an ongoing investigation into whether Trump may have violated the
Espionage Act. The torrent of antisemitic vitriol against them have raised
concerns that Trump’s base, which has already shown potential for violence,
could channel that rhetoric into action.”



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]>