Eye on Extremism
October 5, 2022
Reuters: Al Qaeda Branch Claims Attack On Burkina Faso Convoy That Killed Over A Dozen
“The Sahel-based branch of Al Qaeda, Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), has claimed an attack on a convoy in Burkina Faso that killed over a dozen soldiers last month, the SITE Intelligence Group said on Tuesday. Islamist militants attacked a convoy taking supplies to a town in northern Burkina Faso on Sept. 26, days before the West African country was hit by its second military takeover this year. JNIM claimed credit for the ambush and said it "caused significant economic losses to the enemy and 'led to a shakeup' in the Burkinabe army ranks, culminating in the military coup", the SITE statement said. Eleven soldiers were found dead and about 50 civilians were reported missing after the attack, the previous government said. But an internal security document seen by Reuters on Tuesday gave a death toll of 27 soldiers.”
Arab News: Yemen Government Slams Houthi Threats To Attack Oil Ships
“The internationally recognized government of Yemen has slammed Houthi threats to attack oil ships and called for international action to stop the group from damaging civilian infrastructure and power sources. Yemeni Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak described the threats as “criminal and terrorist activity,” adding that the Iran-backed Houthis had no respect for international agreements prohibiting attacks on civilian facilities. “Such a threat is unmistakable evidence of these groups’ terrorist nature, which is nothing new to Yemenis. It is crucial that the world understands how this terrorist organization operates and how it disregards fundamental international laws and conventions,” he told Arab News on Tuesday. The minister’s comments came as the Aden-based Ministry of Transportation urged foreign shipping companies to continue their operations despite Houthi demands that they stop movements of the country’s oil. In a letter sent on Monday to agents of shipping firms operating in Yemen, the ministry’s Maritime Affairs Authority said they should carry on exporting the nation’s oil, gas, and minerals from government-controlled ports and not comply with Houthi demands or threats.”
Pakistan
Associated Press: Army: 2 Pakistani Soldiers, 7 Militants Killed In Shooutouts
“Militants with small arms attacked a convoy of Pakistani security forces near the northwest border with Afghanistan, triggering an intense shootout that killed two soldiers and three insurgents, the military said Tuesday. The firefight happened near Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The military provided no further details and the identities of the slain insurgents were not known. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Separately, in an overnight raid, troops killed four militants in Tank, a northwestern town that also borders Afghanistan, the military said. It provided no further details. Mohammad Khurasani, a spokesperson for the Pakistani Taliban, said the four men killed in Tank were their “holy warriors.” In a statement, he said such military raids indicate that the government and its institutions do not want peace in Pakistan. The Pakistani Taliban are a separate group but are allies of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan more than a year ago as the U.S. and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout. The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan has emboldened the Pakistani Taliban, who are known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. A monthslong cease-fire between the TTP and Pakistan is intact.”
Middle East
The Times Of Israel: Israel Shuts Down For Yom Kippur; Security Forces On High Alert Amid Terror Threats
“Israel shut down beginning Tuesday afternoon for Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement and the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, as security forces remained on high alert for the holiday amid a spike in terror warnings. All flights in and out of Ben Gurion airport ceased at 2:00 p.m on Tuesday. The airport will reopen Wednesday night with arrivals starting at 10:30 p.m., while departures will resume an hour later. During this period Israel’s air space is also closed to flights passing through. Border crossings were also shut and will reopen late Wednesday. Trains stopped operating at 1:00 p.m. and will only resume on Thursday morning, as inner-city buses and inter-city transport also halted their routes starting at 2:00 p.m. They will gradually restart Wednesday evening. As sundown approached, all local radio and television broadcasts also gradually fell silent. Roads will largely clear of cars by early Tuesday evening as is the national tradition — to be replaced with multitudes of people on bicycles and other non-motorized vehicles. Driving during the Jewish Day of Atonement is considered taboo, and many secular Israelis have turned the day into a biking holiday, taking advantage of the car-free roads.”
Nigeria
Sahara Reporters: Suspected Boko Haram Terrorists Kill Three, Burn Houses In Nigerian Community, Chibok
“Three residents of Njilang community in the Chibok local government area of Borno state have been killed by suspected Boko Haram terrorists. TheCable reports that the terrorists invaded the community with heavy weapons in the early hours of Tuesday. Sources told the medium that the terrorists stormed the community around 3:43 am and razed six houses and five shops in an attempt to kidnap residents. “They came in and surrounded the community and started shooting. They attacked around 3:43 am when the residents were asleep,” the source said. “The people came with a lot of firepower including machine guns and RPGs. Residents of Chibok which is about 4 km away could hear the sounds of their gun." A resident who spoke to the medium, said the terrorists broke into shops and looted them, adding that "after looting, they burnt everything down”. “They tried to kidnap some people but they ran. They even grabbed some persons but they managed to manoeuvre their way out of their grasp. “After all the destruction they caused, they still went away freely because the army did not arrive on time. They eventually came this morning.”
Sahara Reporters: Over 400 Inmates Who Escaped From Kuje Prison Yet To Return After Three Months
“No fewer than 422 inmates who escaped from the Kuje Medium Custodial Facility, Abuja during the July 5, 2022 jailbreak are yet to be recaptured. It will be recalled that 879 inmates, including 64 high-profile Boko Haram terrorists fled the facility during the jailbreak. The Nigerian Correctional Service’s spokesperson, Umar Abubakar, had said five persons, including an officer of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and four inmates, died during the attack. Hours later, the Islamic State in West Africa Province claimed responsibility for the attack. According to media reports, between July 15 and October 3, 2022, no fewer than 32 out of the 454 escapees have been recaptured. The NCoS spokesperson, Abubakar Umar, in an interview with PUNCH on Monday, said the hunt for the fleeing inmates is still ongoing and very soon, all of them will be recaptured. Umar said, “Except for any inmates that escaped from our custody and remain prisoners in their homes, they will be caught when they step out because every detail about them is in the system.” When asked how many have been re-arrested due to synergy with security agencies and deployment of e-technology in the last 30 days, the spokesperson said, “Recapturing is an ongoing process.”
Somalia
AFP: Senior Officials Among Nine Dead In Somalia Car Bombings
“Nine people, including senior regional officials, were killed in twin car bombings claimed by Al-Shabaab in central Somalia on Monday, police said, as the government escalates an offensive against the Islamists. Two cars packed with explosives were detonated minutes apart outside local government offices in Beledweyne, a city at the heart of recent offensives against the Al-Qaeda-linked militants who control swathes of Somalia. “The initial information we have received confirms the death of nine people,” including a state minister and a commissioner, said Mohamed Moalim Ali, a local police commander. The health minister of Hirshabelle state — where Beledweyne is located — and a deputy district commissioner were among the dead, Ali added, with 10 others injured in the “suicide attacks.” Somali forces and “international security partners” have been waging an aggressive counterinsurgency in recent weeks, with the government on Monday announcing the killing of Abdullahi Yare, a top Al-Shabaab operative, in a joint air strike on Saturday in the south of the country. “This leader… was the head preacher of the group and one of the most notorious members of the Shabaab group,” the ministry of information said.”
Voice Of America: 'Ma'awisley' Militias In Central Somalia Mobilizing Against Al-Shabab
“For years, Somali clans and villages have tried to resist demands from the Islamist group al-Shabab, which can include taxes called "zakat," plus livestock, weapons and boys they can turn into fighters. And for years, al-Shabab has effectively crushed the local rebellions, usually with ruthless efficiency. In early 2018, al-Shabab militants took over the village of Gulane, in the Middle Shabelle region north of Mogadishu, and asked residents to "donate" money, rifles and boys. A local farmer, Hibaad Ali Dasar, said he would rather die than hand over his son, who was younger than 12 at the time. Al-Shabab responded by taking Dasar's grain and burning down his farm, said Adale deputy mayor Mukhtar Mohamed Mohamud, who knew Dasar. Dasar and other men in the village moved their families to the government-controlled town of Adale and organized a militia of about 60, which clashed with al-Shabab starting in May 2018. They called themselves "Ma'awisley," a reference to the sarong many of them wear. Clashes continued through the summer of that year. The federal government provided ammunition and some weapons but other no significant support, Mohamud said. That October, Dasar and several of his men were planning an attack when they were ambushed and killed by two al-Shabab units. The rebellion ended, and the militants got their taxes.”
Africa
The North Africa Post: Morocco, A Strategic Partner For Spain In Fight Against Terrorism, Spanish Interior Minister Says
“Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska on Tuesday commended Morocco as a “strategic partner” in the fight against terrorism, and hailed its cooperation with Spain in this field. “Morocco is an absolutely strategic partner in the fight against terrorist cells,” stressed the Spanish minister, in statements to the press, following the dismantling earlier in the day of a terrorist cell allegedly linked to the Islamic State. The cell members were nabbed thanks to cooperation between the security services of the two countries. Grande-Marlaska said that cooperation between Morocco and Spain “has allowed us to dismantle dangerous jihadist networks.” In this sense, the Spanish official highlighted “the effectiveness” and “the firmness” of joint actions to move forward in the fight against terrorism, welcoming the tangible results achieved in this area. The Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) succeeded Tuesday, in a joint and simultaneous security operation with the General Intelligence Station of the Spanish National Police, to dismantle a terrorist cell operating in Nador and Melilla, allegedly linked to the Islamic State. Two men, aged 34 and 39, were nabbed in the Moroccan Northeastern city of Nador and nine others were captured in the Spanish enclave of Melilla in the operation.”
Europe
The Irish Times: Lisa Smith’s Sentence For Being At ‘Lowest Level’ Of Isis Terror Group Excessive, Court Told
“Former soldier Lisa Smith, who was convicted earlier this year of membership of Islamic State (Isis), was at the “lowest level” of the terrorist organisation and her sentence of 15 months was “excessive”, her lawyers have told the Court of Appeal. Appealing the sentence, Michael O’Higgins SC told the three-judge court that his client went to Isis-controlled Syria “got married, kept house and that’s it”. He said she went out of a religious conviction and “did not contribute to any state-building exercise and did no positive act in favour of Isis”. Mr O’Higgins said that the Special Criminal Court, which convicted and sentenced Smith, did not give enough regard to the mitigating factors, including that she is a mother of a young child. He said the court had incorrectly placed her offending at the higher end of the lower level for membership of a terrorist organisation and stated that the evidence showed that her involvement with Isis could not have been at a lower level than it was. Mr O’Higgins also said that, in sentencing Smith, the Special Criminal Court should have taken into account the nine-and-a-half months she spent in two detention camps in Syria. The conditions in those camps were appalling, he said, adding that she was locked up “day and night” in a place where people held extreme views and where murder “routinely happens.”
The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If you value what we do, please consider making a donation.
