“The Iraqi foreign minister urged Western countries to continue chasing the
remnants of ISIS until the organization is completely eliminated because it
presents a threat to humanity. “We must take it seriously because, when they
started, they were also small. But once they became part of the problem, not
only that they have got weapons in their hands, but this has to do with an
ideology as ISIS has to do with their culture, with ideas,” Iraq’s Foreign
Minister Fuad Hussein told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview on the
sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. “So we must fight ISIS … not
only fighting ISIS on military field or by military means,” Hussein added. “We
need different kinds of education so the fight against ISIS as an ideology is
not yet there. And we need to do more. “We need different platforms talking
about this ideology, because, at the end, it is a threat for humanity.” The
U.S. and its allies declared a military victory over ISIS and an end to the
caliphate in 2019 after destroying the last stronghold in the Syrian village of
Baghouz. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which cooperates with the U.S.
military, led the effort on the ground. But remnants of ISIS continued to
operate in rural Iraq and Syria. Operatives have focused recruiting efforts on
the al-Hol refugee camp, the largest such camp in Syria, which U.S. Central
Command chief Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla warned was a “breeding ground” for
future ISIS operatives.”











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Eye on Extremism


September 22, 2022



Fox News: ISIS Is Threat To Entire Human Race, Iraqi Foreign Minister Says In
Exclusive Interview
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“The Iraqi foreign minister urged Western countries to continue chasing the
remnants of ISIS until the organization is completely eliminated because it
presents a threat to humanity. “We must take it seriously because, when they
started, they were also small. But once they became part of the problem, not
only that they have got weapons in their hands, but this has to do with an
ideology as ISIS has to do with their culture, with ideas,” Iraq’s Foreign
Minister Fuad Hussein told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview on the
sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. “So we must fight ISIS … not
only fighting ISIS on military field or by military means,” Hussein added. “We
need different kinds of education so the fight against ISIS as an ideology is
not yet there. And we need to do more. “We need different platforms talking
about this ideology, because, at the end, it is a threat for humanity.” The
U.S. and its allies declared a military victory over ISIS and an end to the
caliphate in 2019 after destroying the last stronghold in the Syrian village of
Baghouz. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which cooperates with the U.S.
military, led the effort on the ground. But remnants of ISIS continued to
operate in rural Iraq and Syria. Operatives have focused recruiting efforts on
the al-Hol refugee camp, the largest such camp in Syria, which U.S. Central
Command chief Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla warned was a “breeding ground” for
future ISIS operatives.”



Reuters: U.S. Says It Kills 27 Al Shabaab Militants In Somalia Air Strike
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“The U.S. military said on Wednesday it had killed 27 fighters from the al
Shabaab militant group in an air strike in Somalia's central Hiran region,
where the army and allied forces have launched an offensive against the
insurgents in the last month. The United States has been carrying out air
strikes in Somalia against al Shabaab, an al Qaeda franchise, for years.
Sunday's strike was the sixth recorded in 2022, according to the U.S. Africa
Command (AFRICOM) website. In Hiran region residents say al Shabaab's torching
of houses, destruction of wells and killing of civilians, combined with demands
for taxes amidst the worst drought in 40 years, has pushed locals to form
paramilitary groups to fight alongside the government. The militants, who are
seeking to overthrow the Western-backed central government and implement a
strict interpretation of Islamic law, were killed while attacking federal
forces near Buulobarde, a town around 200 km (125 miles) north of the capital
Mogadishu, AFRICOM said in a statement. “The defensive strikes allowed the
Somali National Army and African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS)
forces to regain the initiative and continue the operation to disrupt al
Shabaab in the Hiraan region of central Somalia,” AFRICOM said. “This operation
is the largest combined Somali and ATMIS offensive operation in five years.”



United States



CNN: Man Who Attacked NYPD Officers In 2020 Jihadist-Inspired Attack Sentenced
To 30 Years In Prison, Then Deportation, Prosecutors Say
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“A man who attacked New York Police Department officers in a
Jihadist-inspired attack in 2020 was sentenced 30 years in prison Wednesday,
according to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern
District of New York. Dzenan Camovic, a Bosnian national who was living in
Brooklyn illegally, was inspired by terrorism, prosecutors said, adding he will
be deported after completing his sentence. Camovic pleaded guilty in March to
charges related to the attack, the US Attorney’s Office previously announced.
“Today’s 30-year sentence, along with Camovic’s removal from the United States,
guarantees the community will be protected from his hate-filled ideology and
actions,” Breon Peace, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York,
said in a statement. Prosecutors said Camovic approached two uniformed NYPD
officers on the night of June 3, 2020, and stabbed one of them in the neck with
a knife, according to the indictment. Camovic then chased the second officer,
“repeatedly and violently stabbing at the officer with the knife and eventually
throwing the knife at the officer,” the indictment says. Camovic then returned
to the first officer, attacked him again and robbed him of his gun, according
to the indictment. He then used that weapon to fire multiple shots at several
officers, prosecutors said.”



Syria



Kurdistan 24: SDF-Linked Forces Prevent ISIS Attack On Al-Hol Camp: Asayish
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“The official Twitter account of Internal Security Forces (also known as
Asayish) on Tuesday evening confirmed that their forces prevented an ISIS
attack on al-Hol camp. Also Aram Hanna, spokesperson of the Syrian Democratic
Forces (SDF) on Wednesday confirmed in a tweet that SDF-linked forces yesterday
prevented an attack on al-Hol camp by ISIS sleeper cells. “As a result of the
information, our forces thwarted this plan and clashed with the cell that was
preparing itself for the attack,” he tweeted. The clash resulted in the killing
of a number of ISIS elements and the capture of others, he added. The Asayish
last night said the search operation was still going on and that more
information will be provided soon. The announcement by the Asayish and SDF
comes a few days after the end of the anti-ISIS Operation Humanity and Security
campaign in al-Hol camp. On Saturday, the Asayish announced the end of the
campaign that lasted 24 days in which a total number of 226 ISIS suspects were
arrested, including 36 ‘extremist women involved in murder and terrorism
offenses.’ The SDF has always warned they had information ISIS was planning to
attack the camp, which is seen by the coalition and the SDF as a breeding
ground for the next ISIS generation.”



Afghanistan



Associated Press: Taliban Official: Explosion Kills 3 People In Afghan Capital
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“An explosion in Afghanistan’s capital has killed at least three people and
wounded 13 others, a Taliban official said on Wednesday. According to Khalid
Zadran, the Taliban-appointed spokesman for the Kabul police chief, the blast
occurred in a restaurant in the city’s western Dehmazang neighborhood. A team
has arrived in the area to find out the cause of the blast, he added. Police
did not say if the blast was an accident or the result of an attack. Afghan
cities are sometimes the target of the local Islamic State group affiliate.
Residents and workers in the area said the restaurant was a popular place to
eat for low-income workers and poor people because it was cheap. One of those
killed in the explosion was a teenager who worked in a photography shop in the
area. His funeral took place on Wednesday, several hours after the incident. An
eyewitness, Hamid, said three of his friends were killed. “There were many
casualties and we put them into a civilian vehicle and some other vehicles, and
they were taken to Isteqlal hospital.” Mohammad Mukhtar, the father of one of
the victims, said his son had been having lunch at the restaurant. “Five
minutes later, we were informed that my son was martyred in the explosion. When
I went to the hospital, I saw my son’s dead body. Who is responsible for it?
Whom I can hold accountable for his loss?”



Middle East



CBS News: Palestinians Reach Truce To Stop Violent Clashes In West Bank City
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“Palestinian security forces and militants agreed to a truce on Wednesday to
end violent clashes in a flashpoint West Bank city, local officials said. The
violence highlighted deep disenchantment with the internationally backed
Palestinian leadership. For now, the deal to end the clashes eases tensions in
the area, which on Tuesday was gripped by some of the fiercest antagonism
directed at the Palestinian Authority in years. But the truce failed to address
the underlying and widespread opposition to Palestinian security coordination
with Israel. The clashes erupted after an arrest raid by Palestinian security
against local militants. The two sides exchanged fire as angry residents pelted
an armored jeep with objects and chased it away. One man was reported dead. The
violence was reminiscent of the way Palestinians typically protest against
Israeli troops. The unrest in Nablus reflected the deep unpopularity of the
Palestinian leadership, which is widely seen because of its security ties with
Israel as entrenching Israel's 55-year military occupation of the West Bank and
its nearly 3 million residents. It has also been beset by corruption and has
repeatedly delayed elections. A semblance of normal life returned on Wednesday
to Nablus, known as the West Bank's business capital.”



Nigeria



AFP: Niger Receives $13 Million From US To Fight Extremism
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“Niger has received new military equipment from Washington to support its
fight against extremists plaguing the west and southeast of the country,
Niamey’s defense ministry told AFP on Wednesday. The shipment consists mainly
of vehicles, including armored models, the ministry said, with the consignment
worth $13 million (8.5 billion CFA francs). The new support for Niger “is proof
of the strength of our relations with the United States” in view of the “rise
in capacity” of the Niger Armed Forces, said Defense Minister Alkassoum
Indatou, who received the equipment in Niamey. The equipment will be used for a
German-funded special forces training center in Tillia, in the western Tahoua
region, where extremist groups affiliated to the ISIS terrorist group and
al-Qaeda are active. The equipment will also be used to train Niger soldiers
serving with the United Nations mission in Mali, which also faces extremism.
Niger and the United States have had a military cooperation agreement since
2015 on “security and good governance” under which the two countries committed
“to work together on the fight against terrorism.” The US military must also
“train Niger’s military in the fight against terrorism,” according to the
agreement.”



Africa



AFP: Suspected Jihadis Kill 11 Farmers In Niger
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“Suspected jihadis have shot dead 11 farmers, nine from Niger and two
Nigerians, in southeastern Niger, a local official said on Wednesday. “Eleven
farmers have been executed by shooting [Tuesday] morning by elements of Boko
Haram, seven kilometers from Toummour,” Issa Bonga, Toummour's mayor, told AFP.
The town is in the Diffa region close to the Lake Chad basin, a strategic area
where the borders of four countries converge: Cameroon, Chad, Niger and
Nigeria. Boko Haram and its rival, the Islamic State in West Africa Province
(ISWAP), have established bases on the many small islands in the vast, swampy
Lake Chad basin. The 11 victims had set off to cut wood in the bush, the mayor
said. The nine from Niger, who came from Bosso, a neighboring town to Toummour,
were scheduled to be buried early Wednesday, the mayor added. “Thirteen
woodcutters [who] left to look for wood have been intercepted by elements of
ISWAP. Eleven have been executed,” a local group called Jeunesse Diffa (Diffa
Youth), which has closely reported on the security problems in southeast Niger,
said on Facebook. “In addition, the terrorists sent a message through the
channel of one of the released woodcutters to warn residents to no longer
frequent” the area where they operate, the group's posting said.”



AFP: Mozambique, Tanzania Pen Deals To Fight Terrorism
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“Leaders of Mozambique and Tanzania said on Wednesday they had signed defence
and security deals aimed at fighting terrorism and crime along their shared
border. No details were released about the agreements, which were signed during
a visit to Maputo by Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan. A deadly
insurgency erupted in northern Mozambique, near the Tanzanian border, five
years ago. It has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands. But
life now was “gradually returning to normal” after thousands of foreign troops
from several African countries were deployed more than a year ago to quell the
unrest, said Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi. “The enemy is now operating in
small groups trying to descend into the southern districts,” Nyusi said during
their talks. President Hassan said as the two neighbours share a “very long”
boundary, “we need a good security system in which we can protect our border”.
“We have been seeing... cross-border crimes (and) terrorism,” she said. Nyusi
on Tuesday toured the recovered port of Mocimboa da Praia, previously the
de-facto headquarters of the jihadists. In October 2017, about 30 armed men
launched a dawn raid on three police stations in Mocimboa da Praia -- marking
the start of the insurgency.”



France



The Guardian: ‘It Was War’: Survivors Of 2016 Nice Attack Describe Experiences
In Court
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“Survivors of the 2016 Bastille day attack in Nice have described how the
seafront was turned into a “war zone” when a gunman drove a heavy truck at high
speed into the crowd gathered to watch fireworks in the French Riviera city.
“It was war, people were crushed, I saw a woman being run down with a baby in
her arms,” said Abdallah Kebaïer, a retired maintenance worker, who was
catapulted into the air by the truck and suffered seven broken ribs, head
trauma and injuries to his liver and pancreas. Giving evidence at a trial of
seven men and one woman, Kebaïer, 67, described the sense of confusion and
panic as thousands who had gathered to watch fireworks on the seafront
boulevard lined with palm trees noticed a heavy truck deliberately driving into
the crowd, zigzagging and accelerating towards people for 2km along the
esplanade. The attack, which killed 86 people and injured more than 400, was
the second most deadly massacre in peacetime France. It came eight months after
the Paris attacks on bars, restaurants, the national stadium and Bataclan
concert hall that killed 130 people and were claimed by Islamic State. Kebaïer,
whose daughter was getting married that week, watched the fireworks display
with his brother and cousin.”



Southeast Asia



The Sydney Morning Herald: Fuelled On Social Media, Terrorism Remains A Threat
In Indonesia: Police Chief
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“The chief of Indonesia police’s anti-terror squad has warned that violent
extremism still poses a danger in South-East Asia’s largest nation, admitting
authorities are powerless to stop jihadists from spreading their ideology on
social media. Indonesian authorities have rounded up hundreds of militants in
the past two years in a crackdown that has severely weakened organisations such
as Jemaah Islamiyah, the al-Qaeda-linked network that carried out the 2002 Bali
terror attack. In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age ahead
of the 20th anniversary of the Bali bombings on October 12, Inspector General
Marthinus Hukom said terror groups were still a threat in Indonesia, the
world’s biggest Muslim-majority country. “Today [JI] don’t have a structure,
they are loose. But they can move together and get massive because they consist
of small cells planted everywhere. So they are quite dangerous,” said Hukom,
who heads Detachment 88, the counter-terrorism police unit set up after the
Kuta nightclub blasts with funding and training from Australia and the United
States. He warns Islamic State-affiliated groups in Indonesia remain equally
dangerous despite lacking organisation.”



Technology



Global News: Fighting Extremist Content Online: Feds Dedicate $1.9M To
Terrorist Analytic Tool
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“The federal government is giving new funding to continue the development of
an automated tool for finding and flagging terrorist content online. In a press
released issued Tuesday evening, the public safety department detailed a
$1.9-million, three-year investment in funding “to combat online terrorist and
violent extremist content.” “We need to confront the rise of hate and violent
extremism,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a tweet on Tuesday. “At the
Christchurch Call Summit, I announced that Canada will fund a new tool that
helps small and medium-size online platforms better identify and counter
content related to terrorism and violent extremism.” The tool Trudeau referred
to is the Terrorist Content Analytics Platform. Created by the United Nations’
Tech Against Terrorism initiative in 2020, the tool combs various corners of
the internet for terrorist content and flags it for tech companies around the
world to review — and, if they choose to do so, remove. The creation of this
tool is funded by Public Safety Canada through the Community Resilience Fund.
However, despite their funds supporting it, the government is at arms-length
from the work TCAP does, according to the website for the tool.”



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