Eye on Extremism
December 7, 2022
The Washington Post: U.S. Troops To Expand Patrols In Syria Despite Tension With Turkey
“The Pentagon is preparing to resume full ground operations alongside Kurdish partners in northern Syria, officials said Tuesday, a move that risks further inflaming relations with NATO ally Turkey, which blames the Kurds for a deadly bombing in Istanbul last month and has threatened a ground assault in retaliation. U.S. commanders restricted such movements after Turkey unleashed air and artillery strikes on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which in tandem with American military personnel have kept a check on the Islamic State’s lingering presence in the region. The two groups have carried out only limited joint movements in recent days, to conduct security patrols and transport supplies between bases, officials said. Three U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue, said it is possible Turkey could follow through on its threat to send ground forces into northern Syria this month, potentially jeopardizing the Americans there and upending what has been a relatively stable situation for the past several years. “We are concerned with any action that may jeopardize the hard-fought gains made in security and stability in Syria,” Col. Joseph Buccino, a U.S. military spokesman, said in a statement. “Further, we’re concerned for the security of the SDF, our vetted, recognized and reliable partners in a place where we’ve withdrawn most troops.” The Turkish Embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.”
Reuters: Germany Arrests 25 Suspected Of Violent Far-Right Plot To Install Prince
“Germany on Wednesday detained 25 members and supporters of a far-right group that prosecutors said were preparing a violent overthrow of the state, with some members suspected of plotting an armed attack on the parliament. Prosecutors said the group was inspired by the deep state conspiracy theories of QAnon and the Reichsbuerger, who do not recognise the legitimacy of modern Germany, insisting the far larger "Deutsche Reich" still existed despite the Nazis' defeat in World War Two. The plot envisaged a former member of a German royal family, identified as Heinrich XIII P. R. under Germany's privacy law, as the leader in a future state while another suspect, Ruediger v. P., was the head of the military arm, the prosecutors' office said. It said Heinrich, who uses the title prince and comes from the royal House of Reuss, which had ruled over parts of eastern Germany, had reached out to representatives of Russia, whom the group saw as its central contact for establishing its new order. It said there was no evidence the representatives had reacted positively to the request.”
United States
Military.com: The Military Still Has No Good Way To Spot Extremist Recruits And Troops On Social Media
“The Pentagon still hasn't implemented a social media vetting process to identify extremists trying to join the ranks despite a high-profile push to root out the activity by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, according to a new think tank report released Tuesday. Social media posts could provide the military with important indicators of who is participating in violent domestic extremism, the Center for a New American Security, based in Washington, D.C., said in the report. But the services do not have a uniform standard to apply to such screening, and the virtual world is beset with challenges such as confirming identities and sorting out pseudonyms. Extremist activity has surged in the U.S., experts say, and groups such as the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys -- both had members charged with seditious conspiracy for the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol -- often seek out service members and veterans with military experience. Extremist plots hatched by troops and veterans have included attacks on law enforcement and the power grid. The military has struggled to address the problem, saying the numbers of extremists in the ranks are relatively small. Austin ordered an extremism working group in the months after the Capitol attack that created some recommendations, as well as a department-wide stand-down.”
Vice: High-Ranking Prison Officer Aided A Neo-Nazi Gang Attack On Black Prisoners
“A former high-ranking correctional officer at an Oklahoma prison just received a multi-year prison sentence for facilitating a white supremacist attack on Black inmates. Matthew Ware, 53, a former lieutenant at the Kay County Detention Center, was sentenced to 46 months after being found guilty of violating the civil rights of three pretrial detainees, the Department of Justice announced on Monday. In 2017, Ware, who was responsible for the day-to-day oversight of the prison, ordered correctional officers to move several Black pretrial detainees to a row of jail cells that contained white supremacists who belonged to the United Aryan Brotherhood, a neo-Nazi prison gang. It was known that this particular cell row housed neo-Nazis and Black prisoners weren’t to be assigned there. After the Black detainees were moved to the new cell row, Ware then ordered his underlings to unlock the doors to the cells containing the white supremacists at the same time as the cells containing the Black detainees. “Several of the (correctional officers) who were present protested this order, telling Mr. Ware that, if he maintained this order, it would likely lead to violence,” reads the court documents. “Mr. Ware responded to his staff’s concerns of violence by saying that the inmates were adults and that ‘if they want to act like animals, they would be treated like animals.’”
Iraq
AFP: The Long Road To Bring Iraq's IS Jihadists To Justice
“The horrors of the Islamic State group's rule over northern Iraq may be in the past, but efforts to bring the jihadists to justice are still gathering pace. “A lot of work remains to be done,” said the UN's chief investigator Christian Ritscher, who is looking into a slew of IS atrocities, from murder, torture and mass rape to slavery and genocide. Five years after the group's defeat in Iraq, with many thousands of their members in Iraqi jails, work is ongoing to probe their crimes, said Ritscher, who heads the dedicated UN investigative team (UNITAD) seeking to promote accountability. In a Baghdad interview, the German former prosecutor described the grim task -- undertaken with the cooperation of Iraqi authorities -- as “challenging” and diverse in scope. “We have just opened an investigation into the destruction of the cultural heritage of Iraq by IS -- the destruction of mausoleums, churches, cultural sites, museums,” Ritscher told AFP. A future investigation will focus on crimes committed in Mosul, a major city in Iraq's north which IS occupied from 2014 until 2017, he added. Iraq declared victory over IS on December 9, 2017, but the group kept its grip on territory in neighbouring Syria until March 2019, when it was defeated by US-backed, Kurdish-led forces. The rise of IS and its self-proclaimed “caliphate” appeared meteoric. Its seizure of Mosul helped it to briefly hold roughly one-third of Iraqi territory, and for a time there were real fears of a major attack on the capital Baghdad.”
The National: Iraq 'Neutralises' Suicide Bombers In Karbala
“Iraq has said it has killed two would-be suicide bombers in the southern city of Karbala. Security forces “neutralised” a person wearing an explosive belt, said army spokesman Yehia Rasool. A second suspect fled the scene and was later killed by security forces. Karbala, south-west of Baghdad, is home to the shrines of Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas. Millions of Shiite pilgrims visit the city each year, with at least five million visiting the shrines during the Arbaeen commemoration each September. After years of violence, bombings are relatively rare in Iraq, but Karbala was once the site of frequent attacks, with a series of Al Qaeda-linked bombings killing over 100 people there in March 2004. More than 30 people were killed in a rare bombing at a Baghdad market in July last year, months after twin blasts killed dozens in the capital. ISIS, which succeeded Al Qaeda in Iraq, mainly operates in remote areas and has focused attacks on both Iraqi security forces and Kurdish troops in the north. According to Joel Wing, an analyst who has tracked violence in Iraq since 2008 and compiled a database of militant violence, ISIS in Iraq is losing “relevance” to the country's security situation. “The insurgency in Iraq has been in a tailspin downwards for the last several years. At its current state it is having little to no impact upon Iraq overall because the militants are isolated in rural areas where there are few people and little government presence.”
Afghanistan
Associated Press: Taliban: Roadside Bomb Kills 6 People In North Afghanistan
“A roadside bomb went off near a bus with government employees during rush hour on Tuesday morning in northern Afghanistan, killing six people, a Taliban official said. Mohammad Asif Waziri, the Taliban-appointed spokesman for the police chief in Balkh province, said the bombing in Mazar-e Sharif, the provincial capital, also wounded seven people. The bomb was placed inside a cart by the side of the road and detonated when a bus belonging to the Hiarata gas and petroleum department was taking employees to work. Separately, at least six people were wounded when a bomb exploded at the money exchange market in the city of Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province, according to Abdul Basir Zabuli, a Taliban-appointed spokesman for the provincial police chief. Zabuli said the bomb was planted near the market and that the wounded were in stable condition, according to a hospital report. An investigation was underway, he added. No one claimed responsibility for the bombings in Balkh or Jalalabad, but the regional affiliate of the Islamic State group — known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province and a rival of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban — has increased its attacks since Taliban takeover in 2021. Images posted on social media from the scene in Balkh show a damaged bus and another vehicle, along with several carts and fruit stalls lying scattered by the roadside following the explosion. The bus was later towed away.”
Middle East
The Jerusalem Post: Break The Wave: 3 Terrorism Suspects Arrested In West Bank
“Three Palestinians suspected of terrorist activities were arrested by Israeli forces on Monday night as part of Operation Break the Wave, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit. Israeli forces operated in Yata and Burin overnight. During the night, shots were fired towards the settlement of Karmei Tzur. No injuries or damage were reported.”
Nigeria
AFP: Gunmen Kill Police, Civilians In Nigeria Market Attack
“Gunmen in northwest Nigeria have killed six people, including four policemen, in the latest violence to hit the region, police said Tuesday. Attackers arriving on motorcycles opened fire Monday on a police patrol van outside the weekly market in Yar Bulutu, a village in Sokoto state near the border with Niger, said state police spokesman Sanusi Abubakar. “We lost four policemen in the attack by bandits who also shot dead two civilians,” he told AFP. The two were traders who were shot as the assailants tried to flee. “We have launched a manhunt for the attackers and we are sure they will be apprehended,” he said. Abubakar said the assault could be a reprisal for last week's killings of bandits by policemen in nearby Silame district during a foiled attack on residents. Northwest and central Nigeria are a hub of criminal gangs called bandits by locals who raid villages, kill and abduct residents after looting and burning homes. The bandits, who have been officially declared terrorists, maintain camps in Rugu forest, straddling Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states. Communities in Sokoto's Sabon Birni come under periodic attacks by bandits who sneak in from their hideouts in neighbouring Zamfara state. Analysts say the gangs who are driven by financial motives are increasingly forging alliances with jihadists from the northeast waging a 13-year-old insurrection to establish an Islamic state.”
Sahara Reporters: Boko Haram Fighters Slaughter 33 Wives Of ISWAP Terrorists In Deadly Clashes In Borno State
“In what appeared to be a continuation of their sustained inter-rivalry clash, irate Boko Haram fighters have killed at least 33 wives of Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) terrorists in Borno State. A counter-insurgency expert, Zagazo Makama, disclosed this in a series of tweets on Tuesday. The rival groups have been attacking communities in the Northeast region since both camps fell apart over leadership issues. The groups have also since been having clashes, and Abubakar Shekau, leader of Boko Haram, was reportedly killed during one of such clashes in 2021. According to Makama, the recent inter-rivalry clash occurred in Sambisa Forest. He said the action was to avenge the killing of Boko Haram commander, Malam Aboubakar (Munzir) and 15 other fighters who were neutrialised in a deadly infighting. “In the aftermath of the encounters, Boko Haram members seized four Hilux trucks mounted with weapons belonging to their rivals and burnt another,” he tweeted. “A source said that shortly after the victory, the Boko Haram fighters mobilised more fighters from Abu Ikilima's camp at Gaizuwa, Gabchari, Mantari and Mallum Masari to attack more ISWAP positions in Ukuba, Arra and Sabil Huda and Farisu, killing about 23 more fighters. “Few hours later, a top ISWAP leader, Ba'ana Chingori, called for a declaration of war and led a column of fighters to carry out reprisal attacks on the Boko Haram in Farisu.”
Southeast Asia
Reuters: Indonesian Suicide Bomber Leaves Note Criticising New Criminal Code
“A suspected Islamist militant, angered by Indonesia's new criminal code, killed one other person and wounded at least 10 in a suicide bomb attack at a police station in the city of Bandung on Wednesday, authorities said. The suicide bomber was believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State-inspired group Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) and had previously been jailed on terrorism charges, Indonesian police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo told a news conference. The police chief said the attacker, identified as Agus Sujatno, was released in late 2021 and investigators had found dozens of documents protesting the country's controversial new criminal code at the crime scene. "We found dozens of papers protesting the newly ratified criminal code," he said. Though there are sharia-based provisions in the new criminal code ratified by parliament on Tuesday, Islamist hardliners could have been angered by other articles that could be used to crackdown on the propagation of extremist ideologies, analysts say. West Java police chief Suntana earlier told Metro TV that authorities had found a blue motorbike at the scene, which they believed was used by the attacker.”
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