Associated Press: US To Seek Iran’s Ouster From UN’s Top Women’s Rights Body
“The United States announced Wednesday it will seek to oust Iran from the U.N.’s premiere global body fighting for gender equality because of its violation of the rights of women and girls and its ongoing crackdown on demonstrators who took to the streets in September after the death of a 22-year-old woman taken into custody by the morality police. Vice-President Kamala Harris made the announcement of the U.S. intention to work with other countries to remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women, saying no nation that abuses women’s rights “should play a role in any international or United Nations body charged with protecting these very same rights.” She said Iran is “unfit” to serve on the commission and its presence “discredits the integrity” of its work. At an informal meeting of the U.N. Security Council later Wednesday on the protests in Iran, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield added that Iran’s membership “is an ugly stain on the commission’s credibility” and “in our view it cannot stand.’”
United States
CNN: ‘Well-Known’ Boogaloo Boys Member Spoke About His Desire To ‘Blow Up’ The IRS And Facebook, Documents Say
“Aron McKillips – a “well-known member” of the Boogaloo Boys – was taken into custody Tuesday by federal authorities after the FBI filed a probable cause affidavit for his arrest, according to an online court docket and documents. McKillips is facing charges of unlawful possession of a machine gun and interstate communication of threats. The Boogaloo Boys – also known as the Boogaloo Bois – are described as an anti-government extremist group in an affidavit filed this week. McKillips is also a reported member of the New Sons of Liberty militia group, the affidavit states. “McKillips has and does travel to multiple jurisdictions within the United States for protests, meetings, and training with other members of the Boogaloo Boys movement,” the affidavit states. According to investigators, McKillips illegally built machine guns and spoke about being in possession of a grenade launcher. The investigation into McKillips began on New Year’s Eve of 2020 – when he was stopped by police for a traffic violation. “In the rear of the vehicle officers located several hundred rounds of 5.56mm and 9mm ammunition, body armor, (an) AR-15 rifle (component), parachute flares, medical kits … and military-style equipment,” the affidavit states. Over much of the next 22 months, according to the affidavit, investigators heard from sources that McKillips spoke about weapons and violence on various messaging platforms.”
Middle East
i24 News: West Bank: 10 Terrorism Suspects Detained In Latest Army Raid
“Israeli security forces carried out the latest series of raids in the West Bank overnight Wednesday, arresting 10 suspected Palestinian terrorists and confiscating unlawfully stored firearms throughout the territory. The raid coincided with the general election in the country, that saw the security arrangements ramped up throughout the country. Hours later, a Palestinian rammed his vehicle into an Israeli soldier at a West Bank checkpoint; though seriously wounded, the soldier managed to gun down the assailant as he stepped out of the vehicle wielding a knife. Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Shin Bet security agency and Border Police operated at a number of West Bank locations, including the villages of Mizre, Arora, Haras and Kifel Herat. The forces operated in the flashpoint city of Hebron where they arrested four wanted suspects and confiscated illegally stored weapons. In the village of Anta, a man suspected of involvement in shooting attacks against Israelis was arrested and an M16 weapon, which he held illegally, was confiscated. In the area of the Menashe regional division, the forces operated in the village of Nur-a-Shams and the city of Tulkarm, where two wanted persons were seized and detained. The arrests were part of the “Break the Wave” counter-terrorism operation that features nightly raids of Palestinian towns and villages in search of terrorism suspects; it was initiated in response to a series of deadly attacks on Israeli civilians earlier this year.”
Somalia
BBC News: Al-Shabab: Are Militant Attacks On The Rise In Somalia?
“Al-Shabab militants have carried out several attacks in Somalia in recent weeks, including twin car bomb explosions in the capital, Mogadishu in which 120 people died. The Islamist group has been active in Somalia for more than 15 years. Are attacks increasing and are there more civilian casualties? In recent weeks, the government has launched a large-scale offensive against al-Shabab, working together with local clan militia. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who was re-elected in May, has pledged “total war” against the Islamist militants after they attacked a popular hotel in Mogadishu in August, killing at least 21 people. And government forces have been gaining ground, according to analysts. “The bombings were a message sent by the militants to show that they are still alive, despite the fact that they were defeated...by government forces,” President Mohamud said of the recent attacks in Mogadishu. Horn of Africa analyst Rashid Abdi says al-Shabab could be carrying out more attacks as a response to its losses. “No surprise Al-Shabab is more lethal now. Its back is to the wall. It has lost more territory in four months than it has in five years. “It is facing most serious clan revolt ever. Its economic empire [is] under strain,” The US embassy in Mogadishu has also suggested the recent attacks could be connected to battlefield losses.”
All Africa: Somalia: US Targets Smugglers Supplying Islamic State In Somalia
“…Even the information issued by the U.S. noted that despite efforts to raise funds and the movement of hundreds of thousands of dollars, IS-Somalia members receive low wages. Some former counterterrorism officials think that may have to do with IS-Somalia's focus, which is not on Somalia itself. IS-Somalia “is much more invested in its ability to support ISIS networks elsewhere,” Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former top U.N. official who is now a senior adviser to the New York and Berlin-based Counter Extremism Project (CEP), told VOA. The notion is supported by intelligence that indicates that despite its small size, IS-Somalia is home to one of the Islamic State's key regional hubs. U.N. member state intelligence published earlier this year suggests the so-called al-Karrar office based in Somalia serves as a key financial hub for IS, moving money from Yemen to Afghanistan to help buy weapons and pay the salaries of IS fighters in Somalia, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
Africa
Reuters: Suspected Al Shabaab Attackers Abduct Four In Kenya, Including Paramedics - Police
“Attackers suspected to be members of Somalia's al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group have abducted two paramedics, plus a driver and a patient near Kenya's border with Somalia, police said. The attackers ambushed an ambulance belonging to the regional county government of Mandera, north east of the country, as it transported the patient to a hospital in the county. “The .... ambulance (was) enroute to Elwak hospital for referral with a patient ... and ... in the company of hospital staff,” Mandera's Lafey police station said in a report late on Tuesday. “They were car jacked by suspected AS (al Shabaab) militia and driven towards Somalia ... They are not in communication at now due to network issues.” While the frequency and severity of al Shabaab attacks in Kenya have reduced in recent years, the group has in the past targeted security personnel, schools, vehicles, towns and telephone infrastructure in north east and eastern Kenya as part of their campaign to pressure Kenya into withdrawing its forces from Somalia. Kenyan troops are part of the African-Union mandated peace keeping force ATMIS that is helping defend Somalia's central government from al Shabaab. Al Shabaab has been fighting for more than a decade to topple Somalia's central government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.”
United Kingdom
The Guardian: Dover Petrol Bomb Attacker Said He Planned To ‘Obliterate Muslim Children’
“Andrew Leak said he planned to “obliterate Muslim children” an hour before his firebomb attack in Dover, it has been revealed, amid continuing questions about why it took police so long to treat the incident as terrorism. In his final tweet before the attack, Leak, 66, said: “We will obliterate them Muslim children [they] are now our target. And there [sic] disgusting women will be targeted mothers and sisters Is burn alive”. It was posted at 10.22am on Sunday. An hour later, at about 11.20am, Leak was photographed releasing a plastic bottle taped to a lit firework on Dover harbour’s Western Jet Foil, where dozens of people who had crossed the Channel in small boats were waiting to be processed by Border Force officers. Two people were hurt in the attack involving three petrol bombs. Leak was found dead minutes afterwards at a nearby petrol station. Leek’s final tweet was revealed in an archive of his social media postings compiled by the anti-fascist charity Hope Not Hate before they were deleted. On Tuesday, counter-terrorism police said they were now investigating the incident, after multiple calls for it to treated as an act of terror. In a Facebook post in October last year, Leak said he had written to the government warning: “I will end illegal immigration into this country within one year from the French boat side.” He later tweeted: “We will stop these boats.”
Southeast Asia
Associated Press: Myanmar Court Finds Ex-Lawmaker Guilty Of Terrorism, Sentenced To 148 Years In Prison
“A court in military-ruled Myanmar has found a former lawmaker from ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party guilty of terrorism and given him a 148-year prison sentence, which added to previous convictions extends his total prison term to 173 years, a person familiar with the case said Wednesday. The sentence handed Win Myint Hlaing, 52, on Monday appeared to be the longest given to any member of Suu Kyi’s government and party detained after the military takeover on Feb. 1, 2021. However, authorities executed at least four political activists who were convicted on terrorism charges. A statement from Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party in May said 917 party officials and members had been arrested and 701 were still being detained by the military. Suu Kyi, who was arrested on the day the army seized power, has already been convicted on several charges and sentenced to 26 years in prison. Her supporters say the charges were fabricated to discredit her and keep her from taking part in the next election, which the military has promised in 2023. Win Myint Hlain won election to the local parliament of Magway region, in Myanmar’s central heartland, in 2015, but didn’t take part in the 2020 election. He participated in anti-military protests before being arrested in Yaksawk township in eastern Shan state in November last year.”
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