“A suicide attack at a tutoring centre in the Afghan capital Kabul killed at
least 19 people and wounded dozens, police said on Friday, but there was no
immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. Many of those living in the
western area where the blast occurred are Hazara, an ethnic mostly Shi'ite
Muslim minority targeted in past attacks launched by the ultra-radical Islamic
State and others. Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said the official
toll was 19 people dead and 27 wounded. He said the attack took place at a
private tutoring centre where an exam was taking place. Schools are usually
closed in Afghanistan on Fridays. “Attacking civilian targets proves the
enemy's inhuman cruelty and lack of moral standards,” he said, without
specifying who was believed to be behind the attack. The official death toll is
likely to rise. A hospital source said 23 people had been killed. A Taliban
source said 33 people had been killed and that female students were among the
casualties. Ghulm Sadiq, a local resident, said he was at home when he heard a
loud sound and went outside to see smoke rising from the centre where he and
neighbours rushed to help. “My friends and I were able to move around 15
wounded and 9 dead bodies from the explosion site ... other bodies were lying
under chairs and tables inside the classroom,” he said.”











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



Eye on Extremism


October 3, 2022



Reuters: Suicide Attack At Tutoring Centre In Afghan Capital Kills 19
<[link removed]>



“A suicide attack at a tutoring centre in the Afghan capital Kabul killed at
least 19 people and wounded dozens, police said on Friday, but there was no
immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. Many of those living in the
western area where the blast occurred are Hazara, an ethnic mostly Shi'ite
Muslim minority targeted in past attacks launched by the ultra-radical Islamic
State and others. Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said the official
toll was 19 people dead and 27 wounded. He said the attack took place at a
private tutoring centre where an exam was taking place. Schools are usually
closed in Afghanistan on Fridays. “Attacking civilian targets proves the
enemy's inhuman cruelty and lack of moral standards,” he said, without
specifying who was believed to be behind the attack. The official death toll is
likely to rise. A hospital source said 23 people had been killed. A Taliban
source said 33 people had been killed and that female students were among the
casualties. Ghulm Sadiq, a local resident, said he was at home when he heard a
loud sound and went outside to see smoke rising from the centre where he and
neighbours rushed to help. “My friends and I were able to move around 15
wounded and 9 dead bodies from the explosion site ... other bodies were lying
under chairs and tables inside the classroom,” he said.”



Associated Press: Libyan Authorities: 42 Bodies Discovered In Mass Grave
<[link removed]>



“Libya’s Missing Persons Authority announced Sunday the discovery of 42
bodies buried in a mass grave in the central coastal city of Sirte, a former
stronghold of the ousted Islamic State group. In a statement, the authority’s
spokesperson said the 42 bodies had been exhumed from a school site in the city
following a “tip off” from an investigation conducted with captured Islamic
State fighters. Sirte, the birthplace of former longtime dictator Moammar
Gadhafi, fell under Islamic State control between 2015 and 2016, as the
extremist group sought to profit from the chaos that engulfed the oil-rich
nation since the fallout of the 2011 revolution. The Islamist group were
eventually expelled from the city in December 2016 by forces fighting for the
former U.N.-backed Government of National Accord. Hundreds of alleged former
Islamic State fighters remain incarcerated in Libyan prisons, many of whom are
awaiting trial. The spokesman for the Missing Persons Authority, Abdulaziz El
Mabrouk, said all 42 bodies had since been transferred to a nearby hospital and
that samples of their blood, teeth and bones were collected to identify the
missing victims. A further 11 corpses were found near the same site in May, he
added.”



Syria



Reuters: Australia To Rescue Families Of Islamic State Fighters From Syria
<[link removed]>



“Canberra is set to rescue dozens of Australian women and children of Islamic
State fighters from refugee camps in Syria, following a secret mission by the
country's security intelligence agency, media reported on Monday. The
government did not immediately confirm reports that 16 women and 42 children of
dead or jailed Islamic State fighters who have been held in camps for three and
a half years would be repatriated. “The Australian Government's overriding
priority is the protection of Australians and Australia's national interests,
informed by national security advice,” a spokesperson for Home Affairs Minister
Clare O'Neil said in emailed comments. “Given the sensitive nature of the
matters involved, it would not be appropriate to comment further.” O'Neil had
no immediate response to a call by her opposition counterpart for the
government to assure Australians that anyone who may have been radicalised
posed no threat on their return to Australia. Environment Minister Tanya
Plibersek said on Monday that there are around 40 Australian children living in
a camp in Syria, and some of their mothers were tricked and married off to
Islamic State fighters when they were very young.”



Kurdistan 24: Dutch Government Planning To Repatriate 41 ISIS Women And
Children From Syria
<[link removed]>



“The Dutch government is planning to repatriate 12 ISIS women and 29 children
from northern Syria, the Dutch broadcaster RTL reported on Friday. The Dutch
government has earlier repatriated women and children, but this will be the
biggest group repatriated as a result of a court decision. In May, a Dutch
court ruled that if the women are not returned to the Netherlands, criminal
proceedings in the case against the women would risk being closed and they can
never be prosecuted in the Netherlands. Moreover, earlier the court has given
the government a deadline of four months to repatriate the ISIS families. So
far it's unclear when the government will repatriate the families due to the
large number of the group. “While it’s unfortunate that the Netherlands had to
be forced by a court to act, its planned repatriation of 41 more Dutch women
and children marks a significant step toward ending foreign countries’
unconscionable abandonment of their nationals in northeast Syria,” Letta
Tayler, associate director of the Crisis and Conflict Division at Human Rights
Watch, told Kurdistan 24. “Thanks to court rulings and concerted efforts from
detainees’ families and rights groups, the cracks in the wall of resistance to
repatriations continue to widen.”



Iraq



Associated Press: Turkey Says 23 Kurdish Militants Killed In Iraq Airstrikes
<[link removed]>



“Turkish warplanes “neutralized” 23 Kurdish militants in a raid 140
kilometers (90 miles) inside Iraq, the Turkish Defense Ministry said Sunday.
The ministry usually refers to killed militants as “neutralized.” It said the
number of casualties in the mission in the Asos region of northern Iraq, which
is controlled by the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government, was expected to
rise. A video accompanying the ministry’s tweet showed F-16 fighters taking off
and a number of explosions in a mountainous area. The ministry referred to a
statement from Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on Thursday in which he said
airstrikes had hit 16 targets in the Asos region. Turkey has been conducting a
series of operations in northern Iraq since 2019, saying the military is
targeting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, to prevent it from launching
cross-border attacks on Turkey. In April, Operation Claw-Lock was launched,
which involves ground and air forces. The PKK has waged an on-again, off-again
insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, a conflict that has killed
tens of thousands of people. The group is listed as a terrorist organization by
Turkey, the United States and the European Union.”



Turkey



Associated Press: Turkish Minister Says Deadly Gun Attack Was 'America-Based'
<[link removed]>



“Turkey’s interior minister on Saturday described a gun attack that killed a
police officer in the country’s south as an “America-based” operation. Two
suspected Kurdish militants opened fire on security force lodgings in the
Mediterranean province of Mersin late Monday, killing one officer and wounding
a second officer and a civilian. The female attackers, who Turkish authorities
said were affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, later
killed themselves by detonating suicide bombs. “This action is an America-based
action,” Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told ruling party officials in the
Black Sea province of Giresun, according to the private Demiroren news agency
and other outlets. Soylu also said U.S. authorities had requested the serial
numbers of the firearms used in the attack from the Turkish police, without
specifying which U.S. agency made the request. Turkish government officials
have previously accused Washington of supporting the PKK by arming and training
the group’s Syrian branch, known as the YPG. Tens of thousands of people have
been killed in the 38-year on-off conflict between the PKK and the Turkish
state. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and
the European Union.”



Al Monitor: Turkish Opposition Revives Questions Over Islamic State Burning
Execution
<[link removed]>



“Turkey’s main opposition has revived questions over the gruesome execution
of two Turkish nationals by the Islamic State (IS) in Syria, almost six years
after a video showing the pair being burned alive shook the nation to its core.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, head of the Republican People’s Party, visited the family
of one of the victims this week, pledging to take the issue to parliament.
“What upsets me the most is that the army and the government made no statement
about the incident after it reverberated on social media,” he said. The
authorities responded with silence to the execution video, shared by IS-linked
accounts in December 2016, that showed two young Turkish-speaking men clad in
military camouflage being burned alive. One of the victims — Sefter Tas, a
soldier abducted from a border area the year before — has been confirmed dead.
According to official records, the other victim — Fethi Sahin — is still alive.
Authorities have yet to shed light on the execution and punish its
perpetrators, even though several suspects — most of them Turkish nationals —
have emerged from IS-related court cases over the years.”



Middle East



The Jerusalem Post: Islamic State Cell Plan To Attack Nazareth Muslim School
Thwarted By Israeli Forces <[link removed]>



“An Islamic State (ISIS) cell in Nazareth was broken up a few weeks ago when
six suspects were arrested by the Shin Bet and Israel Police, the Shin Bet
announced on Sunday morning. The ISIS cell had planned to attack a variety of
targets. One of the main targets was a local Muslim high school, which
according to the suspects, “operates in the way of 'the infidels.'“The Shin Bet
investigation found plan outlines and research on terrorist targets such as bus
stops, a nearby police station, and a park that was frequented by Jews. Israeli
intelligence said that the group attempted to spread its ideology among Israeli
citizens and residents through the internet and social media. The suspects
themselves were radicalized by online ISIS content. The suspects are Mahmoud
Ahab Suleiman, 25 — Who was previously known by security forces for his
previous connections to ISIS — A-Jafar Suleiman, 21; Muman Nijam, 20, Ahmed
Balel Suleiman, 18; Jihad Baqr, 20. The sixth member of the cell was identified
only as a minor. “The Shin Bet and Israel Police will continue to do everything
in their power and use all measures at their disposal to deal with phenomena
related to radical Islamic ideologies, and preemptively eliminate intentions to
harm the security of the State of Israel,” said the Shin Bet.”



Nigeria



Sahara Reporters: We’ll Support Nigeria To Counter Terrorism, Conduct Credible
Elections In 2023 – US Government
<[link removed]>



“The United States government has stated that it is committed to supporting
Nigerian efforts to counter terrorism and insecurity in the country. The US
said it joined Nigerians to celebrate the country’s 62nd Independence Day, even
as it pledged to also support free and fair elections in 2023. In a press
statement on Saturday, the US Secretary, Antony Blinken, said the partnership
between both countries was built on shared values of democracy, diversity, and
a spirit of entrepreneurship. According to Blinken, the US is committed to
supporting Nigerian efforts to counter terrorism, insecurity, and as well as
free and fair elections. The statement read, “On behalf of the USA, I extend
best wishes to the people of Nigeria on the 62nd anniversary of their
independence. “The partnership between our two countries is strong and is built
on our shared values of democracy, diversity, and a spirit of entrepreneurship.
“The US is committed to supporting Nigerian efforts to counter terrorism and
insecurity, improve health systems, strengthen democratic institutions, promote
respect for human rights, and bolster economic growth including through
bilateral trade and investment between the US and Nigeria.”



The Christian Post: Killings At 'Epidemic Levels': Nigerian Christians
Slaughtered By Radical Fulani Herders, ISWAP Terrorists
<[link removed]>



“Suspected Fulani herdsmen killed two Christians in Plateau state, Nigeria, a
day after Islamic State terrorists allegedly killed two others in the city of
Kano last Saturday, sources said. In northern Nigeria’s Kano state, suspected
members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) shot the two
Christians to death at about 8 p.m. local time on Sept. 25 in the state
capital, said area resident Chukwudi Iwuchukwu. He identified the slain
Christians as Ifeanyi Ilechukwu, 41, and Chibuke Emannuel, 33. Iwuchukwu said
ISWAP terrorists approached them at their shop in Kano city’s predominantly
Christian area of Sabon Gari in Fagge County. “The terrorists came to the
business shop of Ifeanyi Ilechukwu, where the Christians were sitting, and shot
them at close range,” Iwuchukwu told Morning Star News in a text message.
“Ilechukwu died instantly, while Emannuel, who was shot in his leg, died in the
hospital on Sunday.” The killing followed a Sept. 18 bomb attack on a
Christian-owned business in Taraba state’s Jalingo town, in northeast Nigeria,
by suspected ISWAP members. The terrorists detonated an Improvised Explosive
Device on the shop in the ATC area of the city in Ardo Kola County at about
9:30 p.m., damaging some shops and residential buildings, said area resident
James Galvo.”



Sahara Reporters: Nigerian Army Confirms Having Over 80,000 Ex-Boko Haram
Terrorists In Custody
<[link removed]>



“Major General Chris Musa, the Theatre Commander for Operation Hadin Kai,
stated on Saturday that there are approximately 80,000 former Boko Haram
militants being held by the military. He said this in an interview on Channels
TV to commemorate Nigeria's 62nd Independence Day. He responded, “80,000 now,”
when asked how many former Boko Haram fighters and their families had turned
themselves in and were being held by the military. He claimed that the total
was 30,000 more than the initial 50,000 ex-insurgents who decided to lay down
their weapons and start over last year. “The strategy now is an all-government
activity, the military, Operation Hadin Kai working together with the state
government,” Musa who appeared on the programme via Zoom in Maiduguri stated.
“When the terrorist comes out from the bush, he reports to the closet unit. The
commander takes him with his men, and then he is profiled and disarmed. “The
state government provides the transport that they take them into Maiduguri
where we have three camps. The fourth camp is being constructed. We are not the
ones directly in charge of the administration and management. The state
government takes care of all of them.”



Somalia



Reuters: Al Shabaab Fighters Kill Crew Drilling Well In Southern Somalia
<[link removed]>



“Islamist militants from al Shabaab on Friday killed 12 people drilling a
well in drought-ravaged southern Somalia, a local resident and official said.
Conflict between the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, which wants to implement a
strict implementation of sharia, or Islamic law, and the central government has
killed thousands of people since 2006. Somali security forces say they have
made gains on the battlefield in recent weeks while fighting alongside local
self-defence groups, but al Shabaab has continued to conduct deadly raids. The
latest attack happened in the town of Gariley in the southern Gedo region when
the militants attacked the crew at its work site, burning their bodies and
drilling equipment, said Mahad Abdi, a local resident who visited the scene and
counted the bodies. The area is suffering from the Horn of Africa's worst
drought in 40 years, leading the United Nations to warn of a looming famine. “I
am very sorry that al Shabaab is causing such trouble for us while we are
suffering from drought and lack of water in our area and we don't want water
100 km away from us,” Abdi told Reuters. Mahmoud Abdel Warsame, the mayor of
Gariley, confirmed the death toll and said security forces also killed six al
Shabaab fighters.”



Africa



Associated Press: Military: Gunmen Kill Pakistani UN Peacekeeper In East Congo
<[link removed]>



“A Pakistani soldier serving as a U.N. peacekeeper in the Democratic Republic
of Congo was killed in a militant attack in the country’s volatile east, the
military said. A group of six militants reached the United Nations’ permanent
operation base in the district of Minembwe, ostensibly to surrender their
weapons as part of a U.N. initiative. But the group’s leader started firing
indiscriminately, Pakistan’s military said in a statement late Saturday. A
Pakistani soldier serving as a guard at the weapons surrender point was shot in
the head, the statement said. Pakistani peacekeepers responded to the fire
immediately, it said, without offering details. The badly wounded soldier,
identified only as 35-year-old Babar, was rushed to the nearest Pakistani army
medical unit but he later died. The U.N. identified the gunmen in Friday’s
attack as suspected Twirwaneho combatants. The Pakistani military said they
were linked to the Banyamulenge, a Tutsi community in the eastern province of
South Kivu. Pakistan is part of a U.N. peacekeeping force of more than 16,000
troops and police called the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission
in The Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO). It began in July 2010 and is
aimed at protecting civilians, deterring armed groups and helping build state
institutions and services.”



United Kingdom



BBC News: Pair Accused Of Terror Offences And 5G Mast Damage Set For Trial
<[link removed]>



“A man and a woman are set to go on trial accused of terror offences and
plotting to destroy a 5G mast.

Darren Reynolds and Christine Grayson are charged with conspiring to commit
criminal damage between May and June. Mr Reynolds is accused of six counts of
possessing material containing information likely to be useful to a person
committing a terrorist act. He is also accused of three offences of
disseminating a terrorist publication on the messaging app Telegram. On Friday,
Mr Reynolds, 59, of Newbould Crescent, Sheffield, appeared at the Old Bailey
before Mr Justice Sweeney for a preliminary hearing. Representing himself in
court, he spoke to confirm his identity by video-link. Ms Grayson, also 59, of
Boothwood Road, York, is also charged with publishing a statement on Telegram
encouraging the preparation of acts of terror. Mr Justice Sweeney said the
earliest available trial date at Leeds Crown Court was 24 April, with a plea
and case management hearing due on 27 January.”



Europe



The Independent: Security Forces Audio Recordings Allowed As Evidence In
Terror Trial
<[link removed]>



“Recordings from covert listening devices have been allowed as evidence in a
long-running terror trial in Belfast. However a portion of voice recognition
evidence which attributes the recordings to three suspects has been excluded in
the trial, which has been running for almost a decade. Colin Duffy, of Forest
Glade in Belfast, Henry Fitzsimmons of Dunmore Mews, Belfast, and Alex McCrory
of Sliabh Dubh View in Belfast, are charged with directing terrorism and
membership of an illegal organisation, namely the IRA. Fitzsimmons and McCrory
are also charged with attempting to murder police officers in a gun attack on
the Crumlin Road in north Belfast on December 5, 2013, and with possessing two
firearms and ammunition used in the attack. They have denied the charges. The
trio were granted bail in 2016 after spending more than two years on remand.
The key evidence being used by the prosecution is a quantity of audio which was
recorded by the security forces from listening devices planted at various
points in Demesne Park in Lurgan, Co Armagh. The devices picked up a
conversation which the prosecution contends was an incriminating discussion
between the three defendants. The prosecution argues the recordings show
Fitzsimmons and McCrory were “intimately involved” in the Crumlin Road gun
attack and that they knew of it, approved it and, in effect, signed off on it
before it took place.”



European Eye On Radicalization: EER Webinar: Is There A Way To Resolve
Europe’s Problem In Repatriating Jihadist Fighters And Their Families?
<[link removed]>



“…The ECtHR decision could have legal implications for other states that have
put themselves under its jurisdiction, and in the meantime has renewed the
debate, among academics and practitioners, as well as the public, about the
wisdom of repatriating jihadists. To discuss these complexities, EER gathered a
panel of experts: Abigail Thorley, Researcher at the International Centre for
Counter-Terrorism (ICCT). Liam Duffy, Researcher, speaker and trainer in
counter- terrorism based in London. Sharon Weill, Associate Professor of
International law, American University of Paris. Associate Researcher, CERI,
Sciences PO Paris. Sofia Koller, Senior Research Analyst, Counter Extremism
Project (CEP), Germany.”



Southeast Asia



Associated Press: Indonesian Police Kill Militant Suspected In Farmers' Deaths
<[link removed]>



“Indonesia’s elite counterterrorism police have killed a militant who was the
last remaining member of an organization that pledged allegiance to the Islamic
State, police said Friday. Police said Al Ikhwarisman, also known as Jaid, was
a key member of the East Indonesia Mujahideen network. The East Indonesia
Mujahideen, known by the Indonesian acronym MIT, has claimed responsibility for
the killings of police officers and minority Christians, some by beheading, and
has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. Provincial police chief Rudy
Sufahriadi said Jaid conducted at least 10 of the group’s executions, including
the killing of four Christian farmers in May 2021. He was killed by the Densus
88 counterterrorism unit in a shootout late Thursday in mountainous Kawende
village in Poso district, an extremist hotbed in Central Sulawesi province,
Sufahriadi said. Thursday’s shootout occurred four months after security forces
killed the other remaining member of MIT in a jungle shootout, police said. “He
was the last remaining suspected member of the group,” Sufahriadi said. “We
have managed to eliminate a dangerous militant group that has disturbed peace
in Poso.” Security operations in Central Sulawesi were intensified last year to
capture MIT members, particularly Ali Kalora, the group’s leader and
Indonesia’s most wanted militant.”



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]>