“Eleven soldiers have been found dead and about 50 civilians are missing after
an attack by Islamist militants on a 150-vehicle convoy taking supplies to a
town in northern Burkina Faso on Monday, the government said on Tuesday.
Twenty-eight people were wounded in the attack, including 20 soldiers, said the
statement by government spokesman Lionel Bilgo. The army had said in a previous
statement that dozens of trucks were destroyed. The assault took place in the
commune of Gaskinde in Soum province, where jihadists linked to al Qaeda and
Islamic State have escalated attacks and seized territory since 2015. Militants
have blockaded several areas, so government convoys and air drops have
delivered essential goods to trapped civilians. The convoy, which was under
military escort, was carrying supplies to the town of Djibo, just over 20 km
(12 miles) away from Gaskinde. A video shared online showed people scrambling
to retrieve goods from at least a dozen blazing trucks and a plume of smoke
stretching across the scrubland. Another video showed crowds welcoming vehicles
from the convoy that had survived the attack and made it to Djibo. Reuters has
not been able to verify the footage. Separately, suspected militants set fire
to the mayor's office and kidnapped one person in the town of Boni on Monday
night, two local residents and a military source said.”











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Eye on Extremism


September 28, 2022



Reuters: Eleven Soldiers Dead, 50 Civilians Missing After Burkina Faso Convoy
Attack
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“Eleven soldiers have been found dead and about 50 civilians are missing after
an attack by Islamist militants on a 150-vehicle convoy taking supplies to a
town in northern Burkina Faso on Monday, the government said on Tuesday.
Twenty-eight people were wounded in the attack, including 20 soldiers, said the
statement by government spokesman Lionel Bilgo. The army had said in a previous
statement that dozens of trucks were destroyed. The assault took place in the
commune of Gaskinde in Soum province, where jihadists linked to al Qaeda and
Islamic State have escalated attacks and seized territory since 2015. Militants
have blockaded several areas, so government convoys and air drops have
delivered essential goods to trapped civilians. The convoy, which was under
military escort, was carrying supplies to the town of Djibo, just over 20 km
(12 miles) away from Gaskinde. A video shared online showed people scrambling
to retrieve goods from at least a dozen blazing trucks and a plume of smoke
stretching across the scrubland. Another video showed crowds welcoming vehicles
from the convoy that had survived the attack and made it to Djibo. Reuters has
not been able to verify the footage. Separately, suspected militants set fire
to the mayor's office and kidnapped one person in the town of Boni on Monday
night, two local residents and a military source said.”



Reuters: Explosion Near Police Building In Turkey Kills One Police Officer
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“One police officer was killed late on Monday when a bomb exploded near a
residence that houses police in the southern Turkish province of Mersin, while
a second officer was wounded, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said. He said
the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) was responsible for the attack, which
occurred around 10:40 p.m. (1940 GMT), and that two women who carried out the
attacks died during the explosions. The two attackers first shot at the police
officer on duty and later detonated bombs that were attached to them, he said.
The attack took place in the Mezitli district of Mersin, state-owned Anadolu
Agency said. The PKK launched an insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984
and more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict. The PKK is
regarded as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European
Union.”



AFP: India Arrests Over 200 In Crackdown On Islamic Group
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“Indian police arrested over 200 members of an Islamic group in a nationwide
crackdown Tuesday, accusing them of fomenting sectarian violence and subversive
activities, police and local media said. Authorities have long claimed that the
Popular Front of India (PFI) has close ties with the Students Islamic Movement
of India, a militant group banned two decades ago. It has been accused of
radical activity and links with Islamic State -- charges the organisation
denies. More than 80 people were arrested in southern Karnataka state alone,
officers said. “They were inciting communal violence (and) trying to foment
trouble in the society,” senior state police official Alok Kumar said. Police
confirmed another 57 arrests in northern Uttar Pradesh state while media
reports said nearly 100 others had been taken into custody around the country.
The raids were the latest action against the group following the detention of
more than 100 people linked to the outfit last week. The PFI condemned the
latest arrests in a Twitter statement that accused the government of a
“witch-hunt” aimed at cracking down on protesters. Prime Minister Narendra
Modi's party has been accused by rights groups and foreign governments of
championing discriminatory policies towards India's 200-million-strong Muslim
minority since coming to power in 2014.”



Iraq



The Jerusalem Post: US Reaffirms Commitment To Assist Iraq And Kurdistan In
Fight Against ISIS <[link removed]>



“United States Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security
Affairs Celeste Wallander met with top Iraqi officials last week to underscore
the US' commitment to its alliance with the country and to defeating the
Islamic State terrorist organization, the Department of Defense confirmed on
Tuesday. Wallander also signed a memorandum of understanding with the minister
of peshmerga affairs in the Kurdistan region describing the parameters by which
the US will continue supporting Kurdish fighters against ISIS. Wallander also
met with Iraqi Defense Minister Jumah Inad Sadun and other defense officials to
talk about augmenting the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces and
extending cooperation to combat new threats and increase interoperability. In
Irbil, Wallander met with the president of Iraq's Kurdistan region and
commander in chief of the peshmerga, Nechirvan Idris Barzani, and other Kurdish
officials. “For decades, we have worked together based on shared objectives and
a common commitment to the mandate that all people deserve dignity, security
and the right to seek a better future,” Celeste Wallander, US Assistant
Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.”



Turkey



Voice Of America: Kurdish Militants Attack Turkish Police, Kill Themselves
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“Two suspected Kurdish militants opened fire on police in southern Turkey and
later killed themselves by detonating suicide bombs, Turkey’s interior minister
said. One police officer was killed in the attack while a second officer and a
civilian were wounded. The attack was carried out late on Monday in the Mezitli
district in the Mediterranean coastal province of Mersin, by two women
affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, Interior
Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters. They fired on police guarding a hotel
for security officers, touching off clashes between them and police and a group
of night guards who rushed to the scene, Soylu said. “The women terrorists were
wounded during these clashes. As the clashes continued, two separate explosions
were heard,” the minister said. “Because they were wounded, they understood
they would not be able to escape and they (killed) themselves.” Soylu said a
woman who was sitting on a balcony near the scene was hit by a stray bullet
during the clashes. Neither she nor the second police officer was seriously
hurt, he said. There was no immediate comment from the militant group. The PKK
is considered a terrorist organization in Turkey, Europe and the United States.”



MSN: Nearly 25 Suspected Islamic State Members Arrested In Turkey
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“Turkish security forces on Tuesday detained nearly 25 suspected members of
the Islamic State jihadist group in a series of operations carried out in the
city of Istanbul and the province of Mersin. Istanbul Anti-Terrorism Police
have carried out raids on fourteen locations in the city to arrest 16 suspects
preparing operations in the country, while eight others have been detained in
Mersin. According to information reported by the Turkish daily 'Hurriyet',
those arrested in Mersin had been under investigation for the last six months
due to their propaganda acts in favor of the group and the sending of money on
behalf of the jihadist organization. Turkish authorities have carried out
dozens of operations against the group over the past few years and in June 2021
announced the arrest of a senior Islamic State official considered to be
responsible for the jihadist group's activities in the country as part of an
operation carried out by the Intelligence services in Syria. Islamic State,
which Turkey declared a terrorist group in 2013, has perpetrated several
attacks on Turkish soil in recent years in which at least 300 people have been
killed and hundreds more injured.”



Afghanistan



Reuters: EXCLUSIVE Afghan Taliban Sign Deal For Russian Oil Products, Gas And
Wheat
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“The Taliban have signed a provisional deal with Russia to supply gasoline,
diesel, gas and wheat to Afghanistan, Acting Afghan Commerce and Industry
Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi told Reuters. Azizi said his ministry was working
to diversify its trading partners and that Russia had offered the Taliban
administration a discount to average global commodity prices. The move, the
first known major international economic deal struck by the Taliban since they
returned to power more than a year ago, could help to ease the Islamist
movement's isolation that has effectively cut it off from the global banking
system. No country formally recognises the group, which fought a 20-year
insurgency against Western forces and their local Afghan allies before sweeping
into Kabul as U.S. troops withdrew. Western diplomats have said the group needs
to change its course on human rights, particularly those of women, and prove it
has cut ties with international militant groups in order to gain formal
recognition.”



India



Reuters: India Bans Islamic Group PFI, Accuses It Of ‘Terrorism’
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“India declared the Popular Front of India (PFI) Islamic group and its
affiliates unlawful on Wednesday, accusing them of involvement in "terrorism"
and banning them for five years, after authorities detained more than 100 PFI
members this month. The PFI did not immediately respond to an email seeking
comment but its now-banned student wing, the Campus Front of India (CFI),
called the government action a political vendetta and propaganda. ‘We are
against the concept of a Hindu nation, we are against fascism, not India,’
Imran P.J., national secretary of the CFI, told Reuters. ‘We will overcome this
challenge. We will revive our ideology after five years. We will also consider
going to court against the ban.’ On Tuesday, the PFI denied accusations of
violence and anti-national activities when its offices were raided and dozens
of its members were detained in various states.”



Yemen



Arab News: Yemeni Forces Drive Al-Qaeda From Stronghold After Bitter Fighting
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“Yemeni forces say they have driven Al-Qaeda out of a key stronghold in the
south of the country, after fierce fighting in which 32 soldiers and at least
24 militants were killed. Mohammed Al-Naqeeb, a spokesman for the
pro-independence Southern Transitional Council, which commands the military
operations, told Arab News that the third phase of an offensive named “Eastern
Arrows” had ended after their forces captured Omaran valley in Abyan province.
He said 32 soldiers were killed and 42 wounded by Al-Qaeda counterattacks,
booby traps and roadside bombs. The militants suffered 24 dead in combat or in
the bombardment of Abyan’s high, rocky highlands. Al-Naqeeb said STC forces had
recovered landmines and improvised explosive devices from captured Al-Qaeda
strongholds, and were next preparing to target the group’s final hiding places
around the town of Al-Mahfad. “Al-Qaeda has taken significant hits and lost one
of its key strongholds in Omaran,” Al-Naqeeb said. “Our manpower and readiness
make us capable of clearing entire southern provinces. It has been eight years
since we began fighting terrorism. Our forces have gained expertise in
combating Al-Qaeda.” The Yemeni military and security services launched their
offensive earlier this month to drive Al-Qaeda out of Abyan and neighboring
Shabwa, from where the militants have trained and planned attacks against
Yemeni cities.”



Nigeria



All Africa: Nigeria: Military Artillery Kills Scores Of ISWAP Terrorists In
Yobe As 1 Cjtf Dies In Borno <[link removed]>



“The Nigerian Military Artillery have bombed a rendezvous of the Islamic
State of the West African Province (ISWAP), killing many of the terrorists in
Yobe State. LEADERSHIP gathered that the insurgents had converged at a location
given as Wulle on motorcycles and vehicles with the intention to carry out an
attack on the nearest Military formation. An intelligence report obtained by
Zagazola Makama, a Counter Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in the Lake
Chad from top military sources, which was made available to our correspondent,
indicated that acting on the intelligence, the troops of 27 Task Force
Battalion fired several artillery at the terrorists which resulted in the
killing of unspecified number of them. It was further reported that the
terrorists later returned on six motorcycles and one vehicle to evacuate their
corpses. In another development, a member of the Civilian Joint Task Force
(CJTF) was killed while four others were injured in a midnight raid by the
ISWAP terrorists in Benisheik, a village in Kaga local government area of Borno
State. Benisheikh is located about 72 km and 44.8 miles to Maiduguri, Borno
State capital. It was gathered that the terrorists sneaked into the town on
motorcycles at about 3:30am and engaged security men in a heavy gun battle.”



All Africa: Nigeria: Investigation - Why Terror Attack On Nigeria's Kuje
Prison Was Successful <[link removed]>



“The attack on the Kuje prison reveals a lacuna in the general preparedness
and armed reaction capacity of Nigeria's security services. In the security
circle, the prison is described as a “self-sustained defended” facility with
some resources to thwart attacks. But the vigil of armed personnel there had
slipped into a groove in which they usually lowered their guard. So, with a
chill in the air one night in July, they were relaxed, unprepared for the
coming danger despite the intelligence available to their office-based
superiors warning of an attack. Suddenly, they heard a loud bang, then sounds
of gunfire, pitching them into turmoil and panic. Disoriented, having not
prepared, they fled, making the attackers advance and ultimately deliver a
successful operation barely challenged. Terrorists attacked the Kuje Medium
Security Correctional Centre in Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory on 5 July
with a cocktail of Improvised Explosive Devices and high-calibre weapons to
free imprisoned fighters. ISIS-aligned Islamic State West Africa Province
(ISWAP) claimed the attack, which intelligence sources and researchers familiar
with the terror group's setup said was carried out by the group's Kogi cell
fighters, aided by another terror group, Ansaru.”



Somalia



Bloomberg: US, Militia Help Somalia Gain Control Of Militant-Held Areas
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“Somalia’s army, backed by thousands of militia members, have driven
al-Shabaab militants out of central areas of the country in the largest
offensive against the al-Qaeda-linked group in five years, the government said.
Allied forces captured 50 settlements, including several key villages in
central Somalia, covering an area of about 200 square kilometers (77 square
miles), Somali Interior Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi told reporters in the
capital, Mogadishu. After taking office in May, Somalia’s President Hassan
Sheikh Mohamud vowed to escalate the fight against al-Shabaab as it threatened
to spread attacks into Ethiopia and carry out more in neighboring Kenya. The
rebels reacted with a deadly siege on a hotel in Mogadishu last month. Somalia
has been battling the insurgency since 2006 and suffers regular blasts in the
capital and elsewhere. The group’s most violent operations included a 2015 raid
on a university campus that claimed at least 147 lives and an assault on
Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall in 2013, which killed 67. In July, it attacked
four towns near the border with Ethiopia. The offensive against the militants
has gained momentum this year, aided by President Joe Biden’s decision to send
US Special Operations troops back to the country.”



United Kingdom



The Independent: British Police Fear Weapons From Ukraine War Could Reach The
UK And Terrorists
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“British police are “working closely” to ensure that weapons from the
Ukrainian war do not reach the UK and find their way into the hands of
terrorists. Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner Matt Twist said
the conflict was one of several “international challenges” affecting security
in the UK. Speaking at the International Security Expo in London on Tuesday, he
added: “Whatever the outcome of this awful conflict, it is clear that over the
medium term there will be huge amounts of weapons and ammunition in the region,
which will take some time to stabilise and normalise when the phase of outright
war ends. “We will work very closely across policing and with security
partners, particularly the National Crime Agency to ensure that weapons from
this or any other conflict zone do not find their way to the UK.” British
counter-terror police are also leading investigations into alleged war crimes
in Ukraine and taking testimonies from refugees fleeing to Britain. Mr Twist,
who heads the “protect and prepare” strand of counter-terrorism policing, said
officers were also monitoring other potential impacts from the Russian
invasion, adding: “World events have an impact on the streets of London and
elsewhere in the UK.”



Arab News: Daesh ‘Beatle’ Dodges US Supermax Prison In ‘Kick In The Teeth’ To
Victims <[link removed]>



“Daesh “Beatle” El Shafee El-Sheikh has avoided serving prison time in a US
supermax prison after being moved to a lesser penitentiary following
conviction, The Mirror reported. The terrorist, who grew up in Britain and had
his citizenship stripped in 2018, was part of the four-man Daesh terror group
dubbed the “Beatles” that carried out brutal high-profile killings during
Syria’s civil war. But after being convicted in the US, the 34-year-old has
avoided being transferred to Colorado’s ADX Florence — the country’s most
notorious supermax prison — as was expected. Instead, the Sudan-born terrorist
is being held at nearby USP Florence High, where he will stay as part of the
general prison population rather than in solitary confinement. Earlier this
year in August, El-Sheikh’s legal team argued during sentencing that due to
mental health issues, the man dubbed “Jihadi Ringo” should serve time in a
lesser prison. “Sending Mr. El-Sheikh, an individual who is already showing
signs of mental and physical deterioration from his present and past detention,
to ADX Florence, is not an appropriate sentence,” they said. However, trial
judge Thomas Selby Ellis dismissed the plea at the time. El-Sheikh was found
guilty on eight charges, including four counts of hostage-taking resulting in
death, murder conspiracy and conspiracy to provide material support to a
terrorist organization.”



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