“President Macron will use a speech in Toulon on Wednesday to bring to an
official end France's eight-year anti-jihadist operation in the Sahel.
Operation Barkhane has been inoperative since February, when France announced
its military withdrawal from Mali. The last French troops left their base in
the Malian town of Gao on 15 August. According to the Élysée Palace, Mr Macron
wants to spell out new priorities that from now on will govern military
interventions in Africa. At its high point, there were 5,500 French troops
taking part in Operation Barkhane, which was initially launched in 2013 to stem
the advance of jihadist insurgents in Mali. The other countries in the
partnership were Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania. But faced with the
continuing spread in the region of groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State
- as well as a growing casualty list of French troops (58 dead) - military
leaders and politicians in Paris became increasingly doubtful of the viability
of the campaign. Mounting hostility to France among local populations - fanned
by social media and widespread disinformation - made the task a thankless as
well as a dangerous one. The last straw was the 2020 coup in Mali, whose
leaders accused France of interference and turned instead for security to
Russian mercenary group Wagner.”











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Eye on Extremism


November 9, 2022



BBC News: France Calls Time On Anti-Jihadist Operation Barkhane In Sahel
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“President Macron will use a speech in Toulon on Wednesday to bring to an
official end France's eight-year anti-jihadist operation in the Sahel.
Operation Barkhane has been inoperative since February, when France announced
its military withdrawal from Mali. The last French troops left their base in
the Malian town of Gao on 15 August. According to the Élysée Palace, Mr Macron
wants to spell out new priorities that from now on will govern military
interventions in Africa. At its high point, there were 5,500 French troops
taking part in Operation Barkhane, which was initially launched in 2013 to stem
the advance of jihadist insurgents in Mali. The other countries in the
partnership were Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania. But faced with the
continuing spread in the region of groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State
- as well as a growing casualty list of French troops (58 dead) - military
leaders and politicians in Paris became increasingly doubtful of the viability
of the campaign. Mounting hostility to France among local populations - fanned
by social media and widespread disinformation - made the task a thankless as
well as a dangerous one. The last straw was the 2020 coup in Mali, whose
leaders accused France of interference and turned instead for security to
Russian mercenary group Wagner.”




<[link removed]>



Reuters: New Zealand Mosque Shooter Files Appeal Against Life Sentence
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“A white supremacist who killed 51 Muslim worshippers at mosques in
Christchurch in March 2019, the worst mass shooting in New Zealand's history,
has filed an appeal against his life sentence, a court spokesperson said on
Tuesday. No hearing date has been set at this stage, Chris Abraham, a
spokesperson for the Court of Appeal, told Reuters. Brenton Tarrant was
sentenced in 2020 to jail for life without parole for the murder of 51 people
and attempted murder of 40 others at two mosques in Christchurch, the largest
city in the South Island of New Zealand. It was the first time a New Zealand
court had sentenced a person to prison for the rest of their life. In November
2021, Tarrant's then lawyer, Tony Ellis, said Tarrant was considering appealing
the verdict, adding his guilty plea was obtained under duress. Ellis in an
emailed response on Tuesday told Reuters he does not represent Tarrant anymore.
Tarrant, an Australian national, stormed the mosques armed with military-style
semi-automatics, indiscriminately shooting at Muslims gathered for Friday
prayers and livestreaming the killings using a head-mounted camera.”



Iraq



CNN: US Citizen Murdered In Baghdad Attack
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“A US citizen was murdered in Baghdad on Monday, according to Iraqi Prime
Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani. A US State Department spokesperson confirmed
on Tuesday that American Stephen Edward Troell died in Baghdad, noting they
“are closely monitoring local authorities’ investigation into the cause of
death.” “The timing of the murder of an American citizen in Baghdad puts
question marks,” al-Sudani said on Monday, adding: “Security is a red line.”
Two armed people attacked a vehicle Troell was driving in downtown Baghdad,
security sources told CNN. Troell sustained severe injuries in the attack and
was transferred to a nearby hospital to receive medical care, but later
succumbed to his injuries. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for
the killing. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said that investigations into the
attack are ongoing by security authorities in Baghdad. Troell had been living
in Baghdad for two years and had worked for a civil society organization that
taught English to Iraqis. “With great sadness and sorrow, we bid farewell to
our dear, Stephen Troell, who has always loved Iraq and its people and sought
to serve them,” Global English Institute Baghdad, where Troell worked, said in
a statement on Tuesday. US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski expressed her
thanks on Twitter Tuesday to “the Iraqi people for their supportive messages
following the brutal murder of Steven Troell last night in Baghdad.”



Al Monitor: Iraq Suspends Repatriations From Syria's Notorious Islamic State
Camp Al-Hol
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“Iraq’s new government seems to be taking the issue of thousands of its
citizens still in a camp across the border in Syria seriously and has focused
on it in meetings in the very first days of its mandate. Exactly when it plans
to bring most of them home and how it will reintegrate them, especially given
the stigma attached to their perceived or actual ties to former Islamic State
fighters, is not for the moment clear. After the government under Prime
Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani was sworn in Oct. 27, on Nov. 2 Minister of
Migration and Displacement Evan Faeq suspended the return of displaced Iraqis
from the Syrian al-Hol camp. Faeq, who held the same position in former Prime
Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s government, said that she was suspending the
repatriations until “a new mechanism” for their return and reintegration is
created. On Nov. 5, Sudani chaired a meeting on the issue with Iraq’s migration
and interior ministers as well as his national security adviser, his national
security service chief and representatives from UN agencies and the
International Organization for Migration (IOM). A statement released afterward
noted, “During the meeting, the prime minister assessed the situation of al-Hol
camp since it compromises both humanitarian and security aspects and assigned
duties to the relevant bodies in order to expedite the resolution of this
issue.”



Turkey



Associated Press: Sweden's Leader Vows To Counter Terror Threats To Turkey
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“Sweden’s new prime minister pledged Tuesday to work toward countering
“terrorism” threats to Turkey, as his government seeks Turkey's approval for
his country’s NATO membership bid. Sweden and Finland abandoned their
longstanding policies of military nonalignment and applied for NATO membership
this year after Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February, fearing that
Russian President Vladimir Putin might target them next. But Turkey, which
joined NATO in 1952, has not yet endorsed their accession, which requires
unanimous approval from existing alliance members. The Turkish government has
accused Sweden — and to a lesser degree Finland — of ignoring its security
concerns. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government is pressing the
two countries to crack down on individuals it considers terrorists, including
supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and people the
government suspects of orchestrating a failed 2016 coup in Turkey. “My
government was elected just a few weeks ago on a mandate to put law and order
first,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said during a joint news
conference with Erdogan. “And this includes countering terrorism and terrorist
organizations like the PKK in Sweden.” “This is why I want to reassure all
Turks: Sweden will live up to all the obligations made to Turkey in countering
the terrorist threat before becoming a member of NATO and as a future ally,” he
said.”



Middle East



The Jerusalem Post: Break The Wave: Israeli Security Forces Arrest 3 Terror
Suspects <[link removed]>



“The IDF, Shin Bet and Border Police arrested eight suspects from the West
Bank overnight on suspicion of involvement in terrorism as part of the ongoing
Operation Break the Wave.”



Nigeria



Sahara Reporters: ISWAP Fighters Kill Two Nigerian Police Officers, Set
Operational Vehicle Ablaze In Borno
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“The Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram, the Islamic State West
Africa Province (ISWAP), formerly known as Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah
wa'l-Jihād, has claimed that its fighters killed two policemen during an attack
on a checkpoint in Magumeri Local Government Area of Borno State. Gunmen had
last week invaded the town, shooting sporadically. ISWAP in a post sighted by
SaharaReporters on Tuesday claimed responsibility for the attack. The group
added that its men also burnt down a police vehicle. Since the death of JAS
leader, Abubakar Shekau, ISWAP has been consolidating its grip in locations
around Lake Chad. The sect’s membership has swollen with the defection of
hundreds of Boko Haram fighters under Shekau. The Nigerian Army has repeatedly
claimed that the insurgency has been largely defeated. Meanwhile, the
terrorists have caused the death of thousands of people and displacement of
millions of others mainly in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states.”



The Epoch Times: US Terror Alerts Ignoring Terrorist Attacks In Nigeria’s
‘Breadbasket’
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“U.S. officials in Nigeria have been criticized for ignoring a rash of armed
attacks in central Benue state that have displaced thousands of local farmers
and threatened U.S. citizens in the country. The state is widely acclaimed as
the “breadbasket” of Africa’s most populous nation. But its productivity is
slowly being strangled by radicalized terror groups seeking to set up a
caliphate, according to Michael Burton, an American missionary in Benue who has
been studying the situation. In recent years, U.S. terror alerts in Nigeria
have failed to acknowledge the threats in Benue, Burton said. As of Nov. 4, the
U.S. mission in Abuja has yet to list Benue in its latest travel advisory that
referenced heightened danger to U.S. citizens in the country’s capital and 11
other states. The advisory issued on Oct. 27 notes a variety of threats,
including kidnapping for ransom. But it ignores a mass of terror raids just 200
miles away in Benue that have claimed at least five lives per day since
October, according to Daniel Adakole, program officer of Benue Civil Societies,
a network of local monitoring groups. “Benue state has been turned to a killing
field with more than 150 people killed between Oct. 3 and Nov. 3 alone,” said
Adakole, the national youth leader of Idoma—a dominant tribe in Benue.”



Punch Nigeria: Nigeria High Risk For Terrorist Financing – Report
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“The Basel Institute on Governance has rated Nigeria as a high-risk country
for money laundering and terrorist financing. Nigeria was rated 6.77 out of 10,
with the country being 17th out of 128 countries. The rating was contained in
its report titled, ‘Basel AML Index 2022: 11th Public Edition – Ranking money
laundering and terrorist financing risks around the world’. The Basel AML Index
is developed and maintained by the International Centre for Asset Recovery at
the Basel Institute on Governance, which is an independent, international
non-profit organisation dedicated to preventing and combating corruption and
other financial crimes and to strengthening governance around the world. The
report further noted, “Countries with high risks of ML/TF often suffer from
high risks of environmental crime.” It was also noted that many countries were
not doing enough to tackle the issue of money laundering and terrorist
financing. The report read in part, “When it comes to tackling dirty money,
most countries are taking one step forward and four steps back – and remaining
too many steps behind criminals seeking to launder illicit funds. “Eleven years
since the first publication of the Basel AML Index – a leading independent
ranking of money laundering and terrorist financing risks in countries around
the world – progress in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing
remains paralysed.”



Mali



AFP: Top Mali Commander Calls On All Tuaregs To Fight Islamic State Group
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“A leading commander in Mali’s army has called on ethnic Tuaregs to fight
jihadists in the north of the country in a WhatsApp audio message authenticated
Monday by AFP. General El Hadj Ag Gamou, himself a Tuareg and a major figure in
the Malian army’s fight against the Islamic State in the Great Sahara (ISGS) —
which is affiliated with the Islamic State organization — called on the
military help of all Tuaregs inside and outside the country. The Tuareg
community is made up of dozens of nomadic sub-communities settled in the Sahara
across several countries, mainly Mali, Algeria, Niger, and Libya. In the
Tamashek-language message, he said he would “give 10 days to all young Tuaregs
from Algeria, Libya and elsewhere to reach Gao”, the largest city in northern
Mali, which has been plagued by jihadist violence. Ag Gamou is one of the
leaders of a pro-government armed group, the Self-Defence Group of Imghad
Tuaregs and Their Allies (GATIA), as well as a general in the national army.
ISGS has since March increased its offensives in the expansive regions of Gao
and Menaka. The UN has repeatedly expressed its concern about the deteriorating
situation, and labor unions in the Gao region have called for a 48-hour strike
this week to protest against the situation and “government inaction.” As of
Monday, the ruling junta had not yet reacted to Ag Gamou’s remarks.”



United Kingdom



BBC News: Man And Boy From Birmingham Charged With Terrorism Offence
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“A man and a boy from Birmingham have been charged with a terrorism offence.
The accused, aged 20 and 17, were charged with engaging in conduct in
preparation for terrorism under section five of the Terrorism Act 2006, on
Tuesday. The charge follows arrests made by detectives from Counter Terrorism
Policing West Midlands on 2 November. Both suspects have been remanded in
custody to appear before magistrates in Westminster on Wednesday. “



Australia



Daily Mail: 'Dumping Ground' Fury As Residents Erupt At ISIS Brides And Their
Kids Moving Into Their Suburb: 'They Turned Their Back On Their Own Country'
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“Sydney residents say they've become the 'dumping ground' for the prime
minister after the first group of ISIS brides and their children were rescued
from a Syrian refugee camp and resettled in the west of the city - as questions
are raised as to why the families aren't being welcomed in Victoria as a state
election looms. Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone, Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun, and
Campbelltown Mayor George Greiss, all regions that recently welcomed the former
Islamic State families, hit back at the federal government's decision to put
them in their electorates. Four women, all of whom were married to Islamic
State fighters before they were killed in the war, and their 13 children
touched down in Sydney on October 29 after being rescued from the al-Roj
refugee camp in Syria. Appearing on Sunrise on Wednesday morning, the western
Sydney mayors said their enraged communities refused to be a 'dumping ground'
for people who had 'turned their back on their own country'. Mr Carbone and Mr
Mannoun told host Natalie Barr they had signed a joint letter asking Prime
Minister Anthony Albanese to meet with them to discuss the resettlement of the
newest arrivals to their LGAs. 'The repatriated women and children should not
be resettled in south west Sydney, due to the high level of anxiety and
concerns from the communities that have fled Islamic State brutality,' the
letter read in part.”



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