“A man accused of helping find weapons for the jihadist gunmen who attacked the
Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket in France eight years ago was
given a life sentence after his appeal trial, a judicial source said Thursday.
Ali Riza Polat, 37, who contests the charges of complicity in a terrorist
attack, was originally handed a 30-year sentence in December 2020. A second
suspect who appealed his 20-year sentence for conspiring with the attackers,
Amar Ramdani, 41, was again found guilty but saw his sentence reduced to 13
years. Twelve people were massacred at Charlie Hebdo's Paris offices on January
7, 2015, by the brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi, who said they were acting on
behalf of Al-Qaeda to avenge the paper's decision to publish cartoons of the
Prophet Mohammed. A day later, Amedy Coulibaly killed a 27-year-old police
officer during a traffic check outside Paris, before killing four Jewish men
during a hostage-taking at the Hyper Cacher supermarket on January 9, claiming
to act in the name of the Islamic State group. All three were killed by police,
and in December 2020 a French court convicted 14 people of helping to carry out
the attacks. Polat and Ramdani were the only ones to appeal their convictions.
Polat's new sentence carries a minimum jail time of 20 years before he can be
eligible for parole.”











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Eye on Extremism


October 21, 2022



AFP: Suspect In Charlie Hebdo Attack Gets Life Sentence On Appeal
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“A man accused of helping find weapons for the jihadist gunmen who attacked
the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket in France eight years ago
was given a life sentence after his appeal trial, a judicial source said
Thursday. Ali Riza Polat, 37, who contests the charges of complicity in a
terrorist attack, was originally handed a 30-year sentence in December 2020. A
second suspect who appealed his 20-year sentence for conspiring with the
attackers, Amar Ramdani, 41, was again found guilty but saw his sentence
reduced to 13 years. Twelve people were massacred at Charlie Hebdo's Paris
offices on January 7, 2015, by the brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi, who said
they were acting on behalf of Al-Qaeda to avenge the paper's decision to
publish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. A day later, Amedy Coulibaly killed a
27-year-old police officer during a traffic check outside Paris, before killing
four Jewish men during a hostage-taking at the Hyper Cacher supermarket on
January 9, claiming to act in the name of the Islamic State group. All three
were killed by police, and in December 2020 a French court convicted 14 people
of helping to carry out the attacks. Polat and Ramdani were the only ones to
appeal their convictions. Polat's new sentence carries a minimum jail time of
20 years before he can be eligible for parole.”



The Washington Post: ISIS Fighters Terrorize Mozambique, Threaten Gas Supply
Amid Ukraine War
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“The boy’s scars streak under his ears and circle his neck, dark razor marks
left by the Islamic State militants who overran his village. The fighters tried
to recruit him. When he refused, the torture began. He was 13. But the boy’s
deepest trauma surfaces when he talks about what happened to his uncle. His
eyes dim and his voice gets low, almost disappearing in the breeze. “They
beheaded my uncle that day, along with others,” recalled R.A., who is now 16
and living in a refugee camp. “He was begging for help, but I could do nothing.
I was too scared. I could hear the machete striking him. I could hear his
screams.” In northern Mozambique, one of the Islamic State’s newest branches is
fueling a brutal insurgency that has raged out of sight in small villages and
remote forests since late 2017. Women are kidnapped and kept as sex slaves,
boys are forced to become child soldiers, beheadings are weapons of terror. The
conflict has claimed about 4,000 lives; nearly 1 million people have fled their
homes, separating countless families. Victims shared their stories with The
Washington Post on the condition that they be identified only by their first
names, and, in R.A.’s case, by his initials, because his first name is
uncommon. They still live in fear of the militants. The violence and
instability also threaten one of the world’s most lucrative deposits of natural
gas.”



United States



NBC News: Should Cuba Be On The U.S. List Of State Sponsors Of Terrorism?
Former Intelligence Officials Say No
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“Along with Iran, Syria and North Korea, Cuba is listed as a “state sponsor
of terrorism” by the U.S. Department of State. The designation subjects it to
sanctions “that penalize persons and countries engaging in certain trade with
Cuba,” according to the State Department. Scared of being accused of abetting
terror and being hit by mammoth fines, most banks refuse to process Cuban
payments, cementing the Caribbean nation’s pariah status in the international
financial system. “It’s lethal,” said Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez
when asked about the designation’s effects at a press conference in Havana on
Wednesday. He added that the listing prevents people from sending remittances
to the country from abroad, and raises the price of vital products the country
buys on the world market. Cuba has called the sponsor of terrorism designation
“illegitimate and immoral,” arguing that it deprives it of financing and credit
sources. The country is grappling with shortages in a moribund economy that has
been buffeted by the pandemic, U.S. sanctions and the decades long embargo and
a global rise in food prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Yet,
according to half a dozen interviews with former intelligence analysts and
officials who worked on Cub policy in both Republican and Democratic
administrations, the “consensus position” in the U.S. intelligence community
has for decades been that the communist-led nation does not sponsor terrorism.”



Syria



Reuters: Syria's Raqqa In Slow Rebound 5 Years Since Islamic State Defeat
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“Five years since Islamic State was driven from its Syrian headquarters at
Raqqa, the city is still slowly recovering from the devastation caused by the
battle between U.S.-backed forces and the jihadists. Today, badly damaged
buildings bear testament to the battle for the city that culminated in October
2017 with Islamic State's defeat, a key moment in the demise of its
self-declared “caliphate” in Syria and Iraq. Ragheb Abeid, who still lives in a
partially destroyed home, said that after Raqqa's liberation, people were
“scared at the sight of the destruction, especially at night when the power
went off”. He said a good amount of the city was rebuilt after the liberation
but work had since slowed due to a collapse of the Syrian pound, which fell
precipitously some three years ago. “The price of materials began to increase,”
he said. Still, there is a semblance of normalcy in the streets where Islamic
State once paraded military vehicles and staged executions. Public parks are
open, the streets are busy with traffic, and pedestrians stroll along a parade
of shops. Islamic State was defeated at Raqqa by the Kurdish-led Syrian
Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by air strikes mounted by the U.S.-led
coalition. The battle left entire districts in ruins. In 2019, Amnesty
International and the monitoring group Airwars said the U.S.-backed assault to
drive Islamic State from Raqqa killed more than 1,600 civilians.”



Al Monitor: Syrian Government Retaliates For Killing Of Soldiers By Islamic
State
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“At least 18 Syrian soldiers were killed in an IED explosion targeting a
military bus in the suburb of al-Saboura in the countryside of the Syrian
capital, Damascus, on Oct. 13. The state-run Syrian news agency, SANA, quoted
an unnamed military source as saying that a bus carrying military troops was
hit on the morning of Oct. 13 in a “terrorist attack” that left 18 soldiers
dead and 27 others wounded. On the same day, Imad Nuseirat, a journalist for
the Syrian government’s Tishreen newspaper, published a picture of the
explosion site in al-Saboura suburb. No party has claimed responsibility for
the attack as of yet. A military source close to the Syrian government forces
who is based in Damascus’ countryside told Al-Monitor on condition of
anonymity, “The targeted bus belongs to the Fourth Armored Division led by
Maher al-Assad, the brother of President Bashar al-Assad.” The source added,
“Al-Saboura suburb has served as the stronghold of the Fourth Armored Division
for many years. The area has not witnessed any military operations since 2011.”
“It is a secured zone with the exception of some sporadic explosions targeting
the Fourth Armored Division on the roads inside the area,” the source said. The
attack coincided with the escalating attacks by the Islamic State (IS) since
the beginning of 2022 in the countryside of Damascus, namely in al-Kiswah area.”



Middle East



Asharq Al-Awsat: Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Who Shot Dead Soldier
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“A Palestinian gunman who killed an Israeli soldier earlier this month was
shot dead Wednesday after opening fire at a security guard at a West Bank
settlement near Jerusalem, Israel’s prime minister said. Yair Lapid said Uday
Tamimi, from the Shuafat refugee camp near Jerusalem who was the subject of a
more than weeklong manhunt, was killed by Israeli security forces. Police
commander Uzi Levy told reporters that Tamimi opened fire at security guards at
the entrance of Maale Adumim. Levy said that Tamimi was armed with a pistol and
was carrying an explosive device. Paramedics said a security guard was treated
for a gunshot wound to the hand. On Oct. 8, Tamimi allegedly fired at a
checkpoint from close range, killing a 19-year-old female Israeli soldier and
severely wounding a security guard before disappearing toward Shuafat. Israeli
security forces placed a cordon around the refugee camp in east Jerusalem as
the manhunt dragged on for days. Lapid said that Israel “will act with a heavy
hand and not hesitate against terror.” Hazem Qassem, a spokesman for the
militant Hamas group that controls Gaza, said the killing of Tamimi will not
stop the uprising in the West Bank. Tamimi “will remain a national Palestinian
icon,” he said, The Associated Press reported. More than 120 Palestinians have
been killed in the fighting this year, making 2022 the deadliest year since
2015.”



Nigeria



Reuters: At Least 23 Killed In Nigeria After Herdsmen Attack Villagers
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“Clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the Nigerian state of Benue left at
least 23 people dead, a local official said on Thursday, the latest deadly
incident fuelled by growing pressure on land resources in Africa's most
populous country. Violence between farmers and pastoralists has become
increasingly common in recent years as population growth leads to an expansion
of the area dedicated to farming, leaving less land available for open grazing
by nomads' herds of cattle. Kertyo Tyounbur, chairman of the Ukum local
government area of Benue where the violence took place, gave a death toll of
23. Local resident William Samson said the trouble started on Tuesday when
villagers killed two herders and stole their cattle. This was followed by a
reprisal attack by herdsmen on Wednesday on the village of Gbeji, he said.
Reuters could not verify his account from other sources in the remote rural
area. Benue is one of Nigeria's Middle Belt states, where the majority Muslim
North meets the predominantly Christian South. Competition over land use is
particularly intractable in the Middle Belt as the fault lines between farmers
and herders often overlap with ethnic and religious divisions. The Boko Haram
insurgency in the northeast has worsened the problem by driving herders into
the Middle Belt and further south, analysts say, while climate change and
increasing aridity in the North are also contributing factors.”



Somalia



All Africa: Somalia: Somali Troops Take Villages From Al-Shabaab
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“The government forces have wrestled control of a number of villages from the
Al-Shabab following an operation assisted by local militia. Early on Wednesday
morning, the troops moved into Warkulan, Bakajeh, Galef, War-Isse, Qordhere,
and Jilabley located on Jowhar-Raga-El highway in the Middle Shabelle region.
Al-Shabaab militants left the areas before the arrival of the SNA, and there
was no confrontation during the takeover, which took place in a peaceful
manner. Somali soldiers along with allied militia are making efforts to
dislodge Al-Shabaab from the remaining areas under its control. The government
claims victory over the current war.”



Africa



Bloomberg: Suspected Islamist Militants Attack Ruby Mine In Northeastern
Mozambique
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“Shares in Gemfields Group Ltd. fell more than a fifth in Johannesburg after
an attack by suspected Islamic State-linked insurgents on a ruby mine near its
operations in northern Mozambique prompted the company to evacuate staff. The
raid took place on an operation 12 kilometers (7 miles) southeast of
Gemfields’s 75%-owned Montepuez Ruby Mining Limitada, or MRM, early on
Thursday, the company said in a statement. Its shares dropped as much as 21% --
the most since Feb. 7 -- and were 7.4% lower at 3.11 rand by 1:05 p.m. in
Johannesburg. “MRM has initiated the process of evacuating operational
employees and contractors, and therefore mining operations at the site have
ceased,” Gemfields said. “Security personnel and Mozambique police force remain
on site and Mozambique military are arriving on site.” The attack is the latest
in five years of violence in northeastern Mozambique that’s left at least 4,332
people dead and displaced almost 1 million others. The conflict in the
resource-rich Cabo Delgado province has also held up natural-gas projects worth
tens of billions of dollars, even as prices for the fuel soared this year as
European nations scramble to find alternative supplies because of Russia’s war
with Ukraine. While foreign troops have helped improve security in over the
past year, the attack on the ruby mine shows small groups are still able to
target foreign-owned businesses.”



AFP: Facing Threat, Togo Forces Simulate 'Jihadist' Attack
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“Togo's security forces on Thursday carried out a simulated jihadist attack
in the capital Lome, training to counter a hostage-taking as the country faces
increasing threats. Togo and neighbouring West African coastal states like
Ghana, Benin and Ivory Coast are preparing for growing spillover from Islamist
militant conflicts across their northern borders in Niger and Burkina Faso. On
Thursday, a restaurant called “Noudoudou-a-gnon” in Lome's Adidogome district
was attacked by a “commando” of police disguised as six heavily armed
militants, who opened fire and took hostages. Two instructors from the French
National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN) oversaw the exercise. It was the
first simulation exercise since Togo recorded the first in a series of attacks
from November 2021, and at least four more since then in its far northern
border region. Togo's Security Minister General Damehame Yark said the exercise
was part of “measures so that we can face this threat” in the region. The
exercise is part of a training course in “specialised intervention techniques”.
It also used a gendarme drone unit to help “neutralise” the militants and free
the hostages. The country was hit in mid-July by a bloody attack carried out by
“unidentified armed individuals”, according to the army, which reported
“several dead and a few wounded.”



Europe



Reuters: Sweden To Deeply Involve Itself In NATO's Counter-Terrorism Work, PM
Says
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“Sweden will involve itself more clearly and deeply in NATO's
counter-terrorism activities, the country's recently appointed Prime Minister
Ulf Kristersson told a joint news conference with NATO's secretary general on
Thursday.”



Technology



The Herald- Record: After Supermarket Mass Shooting, NY Attorney General Wants
Online Sites Held Accountable
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“The livestream of a gunman killing 10 shoppers in a Buffalo grocery store in
May was recorded and posted online by a single individual across the country in
Washington state, who was one of about just 30 viewers. But by the time a 4chan
moderator removed the post about 30 minutes later, the video had already been
downloaded and reposted thousands of times, a state investigation revealed this
week. New York Attorney General Letitia James is calling for legislative
reforms that she said would restrict the livestreaming of violence and hold
loosely moderated online platforms accountable for allowing “hateful and
extremist views to proliferate online, leading to radicalization and violence.”
The memorial around the Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Ave. in Buffalo, NY
on June 17, 2022. The memorial commemorated the people the people who were
killed in a racially motivated attack by a gunman May 14. In a report Tuesday,
James said the 19-year-old gunman was both a product and perpetrator of online
extremism. In hundreds of pages written by the shooter, he outlined how
discussions and videos of other mass shootings found on unmoderated platforms
fostered his racist and violent beliefs and helped him prepare for the attack
at Tops Friendly Market on May 14. He then turned to the same platforms to
broadcast it, livestreaming the shooting and posting the 180-page document
online to encourage copycats.”



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