Eye on Extremism
August 23, 2022
The Washington Post: Pakistan Charges Former Leader Imran Khan Under Terrorism Act
“Imran Khan, Pakistan’s former prime minister, has been charged under the country’s anti-terrorism act, the latest chapter in a tense struggle for power with Pakistan’s current government since his ouster. Sunday’s move came a day after Khan addressed a rally and criticized top police officials and a judge for the arrest of his chief of staff. Police said in a charge report that Khan had threatened the officials. “The way Imran Khan made his speech and the threats he made led to fear and terror among the police, judiciary and the common people and it harmed the peace of country,” the report stated. Since Khan was ousted from power in April, he has held boisterous rallies castigating the government. The former cricket star has maintained his strong political base and gained momentum in local elections. By contrast, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who replaced Khan, has made little progress in addressing the dire economic crisis that sent consumer prices skyrocketing. Khan “will have to face the law for threatening and hurling abuses at the Magistrate and Police officers. Such acts of brazen thuggery are responsible for instigating extremism in society,” Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah tweeted early Monday. Faisal Choudhary, one of Khan’s lawyers, told The Washington Post on Monday that his legal team requested the former prime minister be granted “pre-arrest bail,” an often temporary measure that would have kept Khan out of prison while his case moves through Pakistan’s judicial system.”
France 24: UN Security Council Members Split Over Ban On Taliban Officials' Travel
“Under a 2011 Security Council resolution, 135 Taliban leaders are subject to a sanctions regime that includes asset freezes and travel bans. Thirteen of them benefited from an exemption from the travel ban, renewed regularly, to allow them to meet officials from other countries abroad. But this exemption ended last Friday, after Ireland objected to its automatic renewal for another month. In June, the Sanctions Committee in charge of Afghanistan, comprised of the Security Council's 15 members, had already removed from the exemptions list two Taliban ministers responsible for education, in retaliation for the drastic reduction in the rights of women and girls that was imposed by the hardline Islamist regime. Several Western countries would like to further reduce the list, according to diplomatic sources. They highlight the failure to respect the commitments to uphold human rights or fight terrorism that were made by the Taliban when they returned to power a year ago. Early this month the United States announced the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a drone strike on Kabul, calling into question the Taliban's promise not to harbor militant groups. China and Russia, however, supported a regular extension of exemptions list.”
Afghanistan
NPR: Life For Afghan Women And Girls Under Taliban Rule
“One year after the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, the lives of women and girls have changed dramatically. Girls are no longer permitted to attend secondary school. Women are blocked from working in most sectors. And they are under orders to cover themselves in public. Rangina Hamidi was the acting minister of education when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. We hear about her decision to leave the country and her yearning to return. Additional reporting in this episode comes from NPR's Steve Inskeep and Diaa Hadid.”
Yemen
Reuters: Yemeni Southern Separatists Launch Military Campaign In Abyan
“Yemen's main southern separatist group said late on Monday it had launched a military operation in Abyan "to cleanse it of terrorist organisations" in a move that would strengthen the UAE-backed faction's control in the south. The seven-year war pitting a fractious coalition led by Saudi Arabia against the Iran-aligned Houthi group has split Yemen, with the Houthis largely holding the north and the internationally recognised government based in the south. Rivalries among Yemeni factions in the coalition resurfaced recently as southern forces backed by the United Arab Emirates expand their reach, imperiling a new presidential council and further complicating international efforts to end the conflict. The Southern Transitional Council (STC) deployment in Abyan province, expanding its presence there, follows gains in neighbouring Shabwa by the UAE-backed Giants Brigade against rival factions including the Islah Party.”
Lebanon
The Times Of Israel: Gantz Warns Hezbollah Attack On Israeli Gas Field May Trigger War
“Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Monday warned Lebanon’s Hezbollah that any attack on its gas assets could spark war, after the terror group threatened to “sever” Israel’s hands if it taps a disputed offshore field. The warning came amid lengthy negotiations between the eastern Mediterranean neighbors, which do not have diplomatic relations, to settle a dispute over their maritime border. Tensions spiked in June when a production vessel chartered by Israel arrived near the Karish offshore gas field, which Lebanon claims is within contested waters. Last month, the Israeli military shot down four unarmed Hezbollah drones flying toward Karish. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on August 9 that “the hand that reaches for any of this wealth will be severed” and over the weekend warned of an “escalation” if Lebanon’s demands aren’t met in the US-mediated maritime talks. Asked if any attack by Hezbollah against an Israeli gas field could lead to war, Gantz told Israel’s 103 FM radio station: “Yes, that could trigger a reaction, leading to several days of fighting and to a military campaign. We are strong and prepared for this scenario, but we don’t want it.” Gantz said extraction from the gas field would begin “when it is ready to produce,” reaffirming Israel’s claim to Karish.”
Middle East
Arab News: CIA Finds No Evidence For Israeli ‘Terror’ Label For Palestinian Rights Groups
“The CIA could not find any evidence to support Israel’s claim that six prominent Palestinian rights groups were “terrorist organizations,” intelligence sources told The Guardian. Last October, the Israeli government labeled the following groups as terror-related: Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Al-Haq, the Bisan Center for Research and Development, Defense for Children International — Palestine, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, and the Union of Palestinian Women Committees. Israel claimed that these outfits were fronts for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a left-wing Palestinian political party that has a paramilitary wing. Two sources told The Guardian that Israel shared intelligence with American partners about the decision to designate the groups as terror-related, but in its own assessments, the CIA did not find any evidence supporting the Israeli position. The CIA report “doesn’t say that the groups are guilty of anything,” one source, who has knowledge of the CIA assessment, told The Guardian. The second source confirmed that the assessment was classified to high levels of security protection. The US has not publicly criticized Israel’s assessment, but Washington’s security apparatus has not listed any of the six groups as terror outfits. No other Western intelligence organizations have shared Israel’s assessment.”
Egypt
Al Monitor: Egypt Army Makes Gains Against Islamic State In Western Sinai
“Fierce battles continue to rage between Egyptian army troops — aided by dozens of tribal fighters — and Islamic State-affiliated Wilayat Sinai in the Sinai Peninsula for control over a village close to the Suez Canal. The battles started Aug. 10, soon after the IS militants overran Gilbana, a village close to the northwestern Sinai city of Bir al-Abd, which is part of the Suez Canal province of Ismailia. They seized several vehicles, including a food truck that was on its way to the village, planted explosives along roads leading to the village and injured local residents, most of them farmers away from their fields. Wilayat Sinai has been intensifying its operations, especially the planting of explosives, in different parts of Sinai for several weeks now. In June, explosive devices planted by the group in the northeastern Sinai towns of Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid killed two tribal fighters and injured two others, along with an army conscript. The Egyptian army has not released any statements about the battles going on in Gilbana. However, the Sinai Tribes Union, the umbrella organization of Sinai tribes that assist the army in the fight against IS, published several videos in the past few days, including one on Aug. 15 that shows army helicopters bombing areas in Gilbana, and another on Aug. 17 that shows trucks full of its fighters heading toward the village to fight IS militants.”
The Africa Report: Egypt: Who Is Seif Al-Adel, The Prospective Head Of Al-Qaeda?
“Seif al-Adel, an Egyptian in his sixties, is a true veteran of the international jihad and a close associate of Osama Bin Laden's family. The FBI has promised $10m for any information leading to Seif al-Adel’s capture. This Egyptian in his sixties – his precise date of birth is unknown – is now being considered to take over al-Qaeda’s leadership, following the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was killed in a US strike in Afghanistan on 31 July. From Anwar al-Sadat’s assassination in 1981 to the emergence of IS, Adel has witnessed all the developments in international jihadism over the past 40 years. A former colonel of the Egyptian special forces, he became a member of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad cell that assassinated President Sadat during a military parade on 6 October 1981. He was arrested in 1987 and released two years later. He then joined the Afghan front, where he met Osama Bin Laden. When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 1990 and directly threatened Saudi Arabia, Bin Laden, who had experience as a warlord in Afghanistan, offered his support to Riyadh. The Saudi authorities refused and turned instead to the US, to the great anger of Bin Laden, who could not bear to see “infidels” treading on Arabia’s sacred soil.”
Nigeria
Daily Post Nigeria: Terrorists Eliminated As Military Bombard Camp Of ISWAP Leader, Fiya Yuram
“The Nigeria military at the weekend bombarded the camp of Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) leader, Fiya Ba Yuram. Scores of terrorists were killed in the raid conducted in Sambisa Forest by Nigerian Air Force (NAF) jets. The operation followed intelligence gathered by the Air Component of Operation of Hadin Kai, which revealed the terrorists were preparing for an attack. The military said the strikes were successful, though yet to confirm if Yuram was among the insurgents eliminated. A number of areas in the Tunbuns near Lake Chad were also shelled after terrorists’ activities were observed. One of the locations struck was a camp suspectedly used for the training of ISWAP fighters. “Pandemonium broke out as the remnant of surviving terrorists took cover under nearby trees which were later struck by the aircraft,” an officer told PRNigeria. NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet confirmed the offensive. Gabkwet said the strikes hit specific targets in the Tunbuns and Sambisa “with varying degrees of successes recorded”. “The NAF won’t, however, be drawn into the details of those neutralized”, the spokesman added.”
Somalia
Voice Of America: Somali PM Vows Accountability After Deadly Hotel Attack
“Somalia’s prime minister is promising accountability after the latest al-Shabab attack, on a popular Mogadishu hotel, killed 21 people and injured 117 others. Hamza Abdi Barre said the government takes responsibility for what happened in Friday’s attack on the Hayat Hotel. After visiting hospitals treating the injured victims, Barre said those who failed to “perform their duties, anyone who fell short, and anyone who infringed will be held accountable.” He added, “A repeat of what has happened is not acceptable.” The comments aired late Sunday on state television. He did not single out any person or government branch for specific blame. Mukhtar Robow, the former deputy leader of al-Shabab, now the country’s religious affairs minister, condemned the attack as well in a televised speech, along with religious clerics. “This is not right and you know it,” Robow said in remarks aimed at al-Shabab. “Give up and repent.” Robow, also known as Abu Mansour, called for unity against the Islamist militant group. Government troops ended al-Shabab's siege on the hotel after a 30-hour operation.”
Africa
Associated Press: Mozambique’s Jihadi Rebels Launch New Offensive In North
“A new offensive by Mozambique’s Islamic extremist rebels in the embattled northern province of Cabo Delgado has increased the number of displaced by 80,000 and undermines the government’s claims of containing the insurgency. The rebels have expanded their area in a campaign that has lasted for more than two months. The new offensive, which started in June, follows a period of relative calm when the commander-general of Mozambique’s national police had declared that “the war against terrorism is almost at an end.” That claim proved to be hollow as the fighters have struck further south than ever before, burning villages and beheading civilians in the Ancuabe, Chiure and Mecufi districts which had previously been untouched by the conflict since it began in October 2017. The latest bout of violence brings the total number of people displaced in Cabo Delgado to just under 950,000, according to estimates by the International Organization for Migration.”
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