Eye on Extremism
September 2, 2022
**NOTE: CEP’s Eye On Extremism will be suspended on Monday, September 5 in observance of Labor Day. It will resume Tuesday, September 6.**
CNN: Canada To Probe Allegations That 'Intelligence Agent' Aided In Human Trafficking To ISIS
“Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised to “follow up” on allegations that a person alleged to have been an intelligence agent for Canada smuggled British schoolgirls into Syria. Trudeau's comments followed a Wednesday report from the BBC detailing the activities of a man who allegedly smuggled multiple people to ISIS and shared their personal information with Canadian intelligence. The BBC spoke to an unnamed senior intelligence officer from an unspecified country that is fighting ISIS, and obtained what they described as a “dossier” on the man BBC described as “an intelligence agent for Canada.” The dossier contained information from law enforcement and intelligence, the BBC said. The BBC also spoke to Shamima Begum, one of the British schoolgirls who travelled to Syria to join ISIS in 2015 at the age of 15. Begum claimed that the man “organized the entire trip from Turkey to Syria,” according to the BBC, which said the interview was part of an upcoming podcast. Begum travelled to northern Syria along with two East London classmates who were 15 and 16 years old at the time. The BBC reports, citing documents they have seen, that the alleged intelligence agent claimed to “have shared Ms Begum's passport details with Canada.”
Associated Press: Hezbollah At 40 Stronger Than Ever But Has More Enemies
“Forty years since Hezbollah was founded at the height of Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon, the group has morphed from a ragtag organization to the largest and most heavily armed militant group in the Middle East. The Iranian-armed and funded Hezbollah, which has marked the anniversary with ceremonies in its strongholds in recent weeks, dominates Lebanon’s politics and plays an instrumental role in spreading Tehran’s influence throughout the Arab world. But the Shiite powerhouse, once praised around the Arab world for unrelentingly standing against Israel, faces deep criticism on multiple fronts. At home in Lebanon, a significant part of the population opposes its grip on power and accuses it of using the threat of force to prevent change. Across the region, many resent its military interventions in Iraq and in Syria’s civil war, where it helped tip the balance of power in favor of President Bashar Assad’s forces. There is no specific date on when Hezbollah was founded, starting as a small, shadowy group of fighters helped by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. But the group says it happened during the summer of 1982. The 40th anniversary comes this year as Hezbollah officials have warned of a possible new war with Israel over the disputed gas-rich maritime border between Lebanon and Israel.”
Iraq
Associated Press: Four Militiamen Killed In Reprisal Attacks In Southern Iraq
“Four militants were killed in reprisal attacks between rival Shiite militia groups in southern Iraq, two security officials said on Thursday, after violent clashes in Baghdad brought the country to the precipice of street warfare. Iraqi security forces were swiftly deployed in the southern oil-rich city of Basra to contain the violence that erupted overnight between an armed faction of powerful cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and the Asaib Ahl al-Haq paramilitary group, lead by a key, Iran-backed rival. Two militiamen from al-Sadr’s group Saraya Salam and another two from AAH were killed in tit-for-tat attacks, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. The details of the attacks were not immediately clear and there were conflicting reports. The attacks come after clashes in Baghdad’s government zone between al-Sadr’s loyalists and Iraqi security forces left at least 30 people dead and over 400 wounded. The armed hostilities ended on Tuesday when al-Sadr called on his followers to withdraw. The threat of more clashes looms as the political rivalry between al-Sadr and his Iran-backed rivals in the Coordination Framework bloc, which includes the leader of AAH, Qais al-Khazali, have not been settled.”
Afghanistan
The Independent: Isis Says It Will Release Video Of Top Taliban Cleric’s Assassination
“Islamic State Khorasan Province [ISKP] is planning to release a video of the assassination of Rahimullah Haqqani, a prominent Afghan cleric who supported the Taliban as well as education of girls. According to the ISKP’s media wing Al-Azaim Foundation — which published the eighth issue of the group’s mouthpiece Khurasan Ghag magazine — the video will be aimed at winning the Salafist support and undermining the Taliban rule in Afghanistan. Haqqani had been a critic of ISKP. He was killed in an attack last month when a man detonated explosives hidden in an artificial plastic limb. A senior Taliban official told Reuters at the time: “It’s a very huge loss for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”. Haqqani had previously survived at least two assassination attempts, more recently in 2020 when IS claimed responsibility for an explosion at a religious school in the Pakistani city of Peshawar that killed at least seven people. The ISKP’s magazine carried the cover photo of its slain spokesperson Maqbool Orakzai aka Abu Kumar Maqbool who had earlier also served as a senior spokesperson for Tehreek-e-Taliban, Pakistan. ISKP — the IS’s regional affiliate — has remained a formidable armed actor in Afghanistan since the Taliban took over Kabul more than a year ago.”
Saudi Arabia
Arab News: Global Terror Threat Pressing Issue For International Community: Saudi UN Envoy
“Confronting the growing threat of global terror groups and organizations is one of the most pressing issues facing the international community, Saudi Arabia’s UN envoy has said. The Kingdom’s permanent representative, Abdulaziz Al-Wasil, was speaking during a UN Economic and Social Council meeting about threats to international peace and security from transnational terror groups, the Saudi Press Agency reported Thursday. During the meeting, he spoke about the systematic and deliberate violations of international law by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen and its attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as its attacks on international maritime traffic. Al-Wasil called on the international community to take immediate and decisive action to stop these attacks, especially those which targeted civilians, civilian infrastructure and global energy supplies. Adding that Saudi Arabia rejected and denounced any acts of terrorism, he drew attention to the Kingdom’s efforts in bringing about a ceasefire in Yemen and its commitment to bringing security and stability to the country. “The Houthi terrorist militia has violated an arms embargo imposed on Yemen,” he said.”
Middle East
The Times Of Israel: Arab Israeli Man Indicted On Terror Charges For Acre Mob Assault
“An Arab Israeli man was indicted Thursday on terror charges for allegedly participating in a mob attack against a Jewish resident of Acre during the May 2021 riots that left the victim, Mor Ganashvili, with life-threatening injuries. Ayman Zalfi, 29, a resident of Acre, was charged in the Haifa District Court with committing a terrorist act, causing serious injury with aggravated intent, manufacturing weapons for terror purposes, racially motivated rioting and a series of other offenses. The riots in Acre were part of a series of violent inter-communal disturbances, particularly in Israel’s mixed Jewish-Arab cities, that took place in the days following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza on May 10 last year. Zalfi is the sixth person to be indicted for the attack on Ganashvili, who was beaten with iron bars and other blunt instruments that rendered him unconscious and left him with two brain hemorrhages, internal bleeding, and numerous other injuries. Ganashvili was rescued by another Arab Israeli resident of Acre, nurse Fadi Qassem, who gave him first aid treatment and helped save his life before security forces and emergency medical services took him to the hospital.”
i24 News: Two Palestinians Killed In Israeli Anti-Terrorism Raids
“Two Palestinians were killed early Thursday in separate clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank, according to local media. In the Balata refugee camp in Nablus, in the northern West Bank, armed clashes erupted after Israeli troops entered to arrest wanted people. A Palestinian, identified as Samer Khaled from nearby Ein Beit al-Ma' refugee camp, was shot in the neck and died of his wounds, Palestinian media reported. The Israeli army said that fire from Palestinian militants caused the death of the person in the Balata camp. Reports indicate that a second Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes in the town of al-Bireh near Ramallah. He was identified as Yazan Afaneh, from the nearby Qalandiya refugee camp, north of Jerusalem. Tensions have recently escalated in the West Bank amid Operation “Break the Wave,” launched by Israeli forces amid a spate of terrorist attacks in the spring that killed 19 people. Three Palestinians involved in shootings near a West Bank settlement, along with six other suspects were arrested in counter-terrorism raids on Wednesday.”
Nigeria
Barron’s: Boko Haram Jihadists Kill Fishermen In Lake Chad: Sources
“Boko Haram jihadists have rounded up Nigerian fishermen, abducting some and killing others in Niger's side of Lake Chad, according to a security source, a local official and fishermen in the region. Northeast Nigeria is facing a 13-year jihadist insurgency that has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced around two million more since 2009. The killing of the fishermen this week underscores how deeply embedded that violence has become in neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, especially in the strategic Lake Chad islands where jihadists have set up hidden bases. Fighters rounded up dozens of fishermen from Kwatar Kaoulaha island in Diffa region on Sunday through Monday, slaughtering some and taking others hostage for disobeying a directive to leave the area, fishermen told AFP. “Many fishermen were killed and others taken hostage by Boko Haram fighters loyal to Baakura Buduma for failing to leave the area as ordered,” fisherman Kallah Sani said, referring to a local Boko Haram faction chief. Sani could not provide a specific toll but said those who escaped told him dozens of fishermen were on the island at the time of the attack. Sani was among around 300 fishermen who obeyed the one-hour quit notice, leaving behind their catch and other possessions for the jihadists.”
All Africa: Nigeria: Aid Worker Regains Freedom After 174 Days In Boko Haram Den
“Mohammed Alkali Imam, a staff member of International Rescue Committee (IRC) who was abducted by Boko Haram on March 10, 2022, has been freed by his captors. Imam was abducted in the Monguno area of Borno State when insurgents stormed his residence and forcefully took him to an unknown destination. Confirming his release, Ag. Secretary of Borno State Nigeria Union of Journalists, Comrade Ali Chiroma, said, “Alhamdulillah for the unconditional release of my former colleague and close associate Alkali Babakura Imam. All praises to the Most High.” His employers, NUJ and numerous humanitarian organizations had tirelessly fought for his release through negotiations with the Boko Haram sect. Daily Trust reports that Maiduguri Press Centre of the NUJ is agog with celebrations over the release of the aid worker.”
Africa
AFP: Rebel Attacks Kill Over A Dozen In East DR Congo
“Rebel attacks in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo this week claimed over a dozen civilian lives, local sources said on Wednesday, in the latest violence to hit the turbulent region. Militants from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) group raided villages near the town of Biakato in Ituri province on Tuesday, residents of the area told AFP. Kamba Tonge, the head of a youth association in Biakato, said that he and other volunteers had found the bodies of 14 civilians in two villages while conducting a search on Wednesday. Volunteers also found the bodies of two ADF rebels who had been killed by Congolese soldiers, he added. Gilbert Sivamwenda, a Biakato civil society leader, confirmed that the bodies of 14 civilians had been found in the wake of the attack. AFP was unable to independently confirm the death toll. Colonel Charles Ehuta Omeanga, the military administrator of the Beni region in neighboring North Kivu province, said the army had intervened during the ADF incursion but he did not specify how many people were killed. The ADF – which the Islamic State group claims as its Central African offshoot – is among the most violent armed groups in troubled eastern Congo. It has been accused of slaughtering thousands of Congolese civilians and carrying out bomb attacks in neighboring Uganda.”
Canada
CBC: 'Salad-Bar' Extremism On The Rise In Canada, Report Says
“Extremists in Canada are increasingly cherry-picking aspects of various violent ideologies to form their own belief system, in a phenomenon known as “salad-bar extremism,” a new report has found. “This “salad bar' extremism, originally used to describe an emerging phenomenon in the U.S., is now present in Canada,” a report released Thursday by the Organization for the Prevention of Violence (OPV) reads. Hate, Extremism, and Terrorism In Alberta, Canada, and Beyond measures the shift in activity between 2019 to 2022. Mike King, director of research at the OPV, said that in the past, there were many distinct ideologies, listing examples such as white supremacy, anti-government extremism and left-wing extremism and extreme misogyny. “Now we're seeing more and more blurred planes between these ideologies where people are kind of picking and choosing portions of the same ideologies, and putting them together and almost kind of having a tailored extremist ideology of their own,” he said. It's been three years since the OPV – a non-government organization formed to prevent radicalization and challenge extremist views – published its first report about hate-motivated violence, extremism and terrorism in Alberta.”
Europe
Associated Press: Swiss Police Nab 2 Suspected Of Ties To Islamic State Group
“Swiss police arrested two people Thursday in connection with a federal investigation into their suspected support for, or participation in, the banned Islamic State group, authorities said. The police operation, which also involved searches of four houses in the Geneva and Vaud cantons, or regions, was part of a criminal case opened in July last year by the Swiss attorney general’s office. The case centers on a Swiss-Macedonian dual national and a citizen of Kosovo, who lived separately in the two Swiss regions. The arrests were made in French-speaking western Switzerland.The two suspects, who were not identified by name, were transferred to the Swiss capital, Bern, for questioning by the attorney general's office, which will decide whether to keep them in custody pending trial. Switzerland, whose policy of neutrality aims to keep it out of conflicts, has largely avoided the violent extremism that has swept across other parts of Europe.”
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