Eye on Extremism
December 13, 2022
The National: Defendants Refuse To Attend Brussels Bombing Trial Until Security Measures Are Relaxed
“A stand-off has enveloped the long-awaited 2016 Brussels bombing trial which has faced a rocky start as the main defendants of the triple suicide attacks that killed 32 people have refused to comply with the security procedures put in place. Six defendants — Ali El Haddad Asufi, Mohamed Abrini, Osama Krayem, Sofien Ayari, Bilal El Makhoukhi and Herve Bayingana Muhirwa — walked out on Monday as the trial entered its second week. The boycott is over measures which include strip searches twice a day, lawyers have told The National. A lawyer of seventh defendant Salah Abdeslam said he was not attending the hearing because he had a cold. Prosecutors are currently completing a readout of a 450-page arraignment, which they have so far mostly set out in the absence of defendants. The seven men walked out at the start of Thursday's hearing after Asufi accused police of strangling him as he exited his cell. Local media reported that the police accused Asufi of rebelling. “It’s my client’s wish to not attend hearings until conditions are relaxed,” one of Asufi’s lawyers, Jean-Christophe de Block, told The National. Hearings are not held on Fridays. Five defendants exited the courtroom on Wednesday to protest against “humiliating” security measures during their transfer from prison to the court.”
Reuters: Nigerian Army Massacred Children In Its War Against Islamist Insurgents, Witnesses Say
“First he heard voices, then the sputter of gunfire. Kaka crept behind an acacia tree and froze in terror. The teen was returning home after gathering firewood late one July afternoon in 2020. Peering ahead, he saw a group of men at a waterhole, most in Nigerian Army camouflage. They stood over a line of children face down in the dirt, wailing for their mothers, Kaka recalled. Nearby, several adults lay prone – including mothers with infants tied to their backs. He heard some voices cry out to God. Two or three men already lay dead; the soldiers shot three more. They killed the women next, and then the children, cutting short their cries with a hail of bullets, Kaka said. The troops dragged the bodies into a pre-dug grave, shoveled sandy earth over them and drove off. Panic-stricken, Kaka tore off toward Kukawa, the nearby town in Nigeria’s northeast where he lived. The young man, now in his early 20s, was one of five people who recounted to Reuters details of the army-led roundup and mass shooting of at least 10 children and several adults at the waterhole that day. The massacre, previously unreported, is just one instance in which the Nigerian Army and allied security forces have slaughtered children during their gruelling 13-year war against Islamist extremists in the country’s northeast, a Reuters investigation found.”
Afghanistan
Reuters: Islamic State Claims Responsibility For Kabul Hotel Attack -Group On Telegram
“Islamic State claimed on Monday responsibility for an attack on a hotel in central Kabul popular with Chinese nationals, the group said on its channel on Telegram. Armed men opened fire on Monday inside the hotel, and at least three gunmen were killed by security forces. Kabul's Emergency Hospital, run by an Italian non-profit, reported receiving 21 casualties - 18 injured and three dead on arrival.”
Reuters: Five Chinese Nationals Were Wounded In Kabul Hotel Attack - Chinese Foreign Ministry
“Five Chinese nationals were wounded in an attack on a hotel in central Kabul on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday. The attack, claimed by Islamic State, prompted China to lodge representations with Afghanistan's Taliban-run administration, Wang told a regular news briefing. "China demands the Afghan side spare no efforts in searching for and rescuing Chinese individuals, and at the same time open a comprehensive investigation, severely punish the attackers, and earnestly strengthen the protection of Chinese citizens and organisations in Afghanistan," Wang said. Wang added that in light of the security situation in Afghanistan, the foreign ministry once again recommended Chinese citizens and organisations to leave the country as soon as possible.”
Middle East
The Wall Street Journal: Teen Palestinian Killed By Israeli Forces During Shootout Between Soldiers, Militants
“Israeli soldiers shot and killed a teenage Palestinian girl Monday during a gunbattle between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants, adding another young casualty to the bloodiest year in decades at the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military said the teenager’s death was unintentional and occurred during an operation to arrest militants in the Palestinian city of Jenin in the northern West Bank early Monday morning. The Israeli military said its soldiers returned fire after militants shot at them and hurled explosive devices. Teenager Jana Zakarneh was shot when she stepped onto the roof of her house near where the Israeli army had entered the city, said Jenin’s governor, Gen. Akram Rajoub. The girl—who was 15 or 16 years old, Palestinian authorities said—died later from a gunshot wound to the head, Palestinian health officials said. Senior Palestinian Authority official Hussein al-Sheikh, in a statement on Twitter, called for an immediate investigation into what he called an “execution of the young woman.” The Israeli military said its own inquiry found that a Palestinian girl was killed by unintentional fire from Israeli soldiers, who were aiming at armed militants that had shot at them from a nearby roof. The military didn’t name the victim. “The claim that security forces purposefully fired at uninvolved civilians is implausible and without foundation,” the Israeli military said. A local Palestinian militia known as the Jenin Brigade—which Israeli security analysts say has ties to the more established militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad—admitted to shooting at the Israeli soldiers.”
The Times Of Israel: Terror Charges Filed Against Bedouin Man For Ramming Student In Beersheba
“Prosecutors on Monday filed an indictment against a Bedouin Israeli man for allegedly carrying out a car-ramming attack, wounding a student in the southern city of Beersheba last month. Amr Alkirnawi, 39, of Rahat, was charged with a terrorist act of attempted murder, aggravated assault, and illegal use of a vehicle, over the November 24 attack. According to the charge sheet, Alkirnawi became disgruntled after getting into an argument with a Jewish Israeli man in the southern city two days before the ramming. During the altercation, Alkirnawi allegedly spat at the resident, who asked him to move his truck which was blocking a private parking lot, and in response, the Jewish man said: “You stinking Arab, you deserve a bullet in the head.” Both men were questioned by police over the incident. Alkirnawi then published several posts on TikTok falsely claiming the Jewish man had threatened him with a gun. “Nobody can threaten the Bedouins here in Beersheba or in the south. If you respect us we will respect you, and if not you will suffer. This is not a threat, but for our dignity, we are willing to give up our lives,” the suspect said in a rant. In another clip, as the suspect walked out of a police station after filing a complaint against the man for allegedly threatening him, he called on Bedouins to prepare to defend themselves. “I call on Bedouins: You need to be prepared at any moment for any threat. Each and everyone should protect themselves in this racist country,” he said.”
Nigeria
Reuters: Gunmen Attack Electoral Office In Southeast Nigeria, Kill Policeman
“Gunmen bombed the headquarters of the electoral commission in Nigeria's southeastern Imo state on Monday and killed a policeman during a gunfight, police spokesman Michael Abattam said. Elections have in the past been marred by violence in Nigeria, which holds a presidential vote in February to elect a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari, now in his second and final term. Imo is one of the states in the southeast where gunmen have attacked electoral officials, killed politicians and security agents this year. The government blames the separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra, which has denied the charge. Abattam said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in the state capital Owerri was attacked at about 3 a.m. (0200 GMT). “They threw bombs on the roof of the INEC building but unfortunately for them, they were resisted by our men who were guarding the place,” Abattam said. He said the police repelled the attack after receiving reinforcements. “Fortunately, we neutralised three of them. Others escaped with bullet wound injuries,” he said, adding that a policeman was killed and another injured. Two other gunmen were arrested and police recovered explosives, phones and five rifles. INEC said in a statement no critical election materials were damaged. It added that this was the third attack on its facilities in Imo state this month.”
Africa
Reuters: Uganda Army Says 11 Islamist Militants Killed In Cross-Border Raid
“A group of 11 Islamist militants based in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo were killed in clashes with Ugandan forces overnight during a cross-border raid, Uganda's army said on Tuesday. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which pledged allegiance to Islamic State in 2019, started as an uprising in Uganda but has been operating in the dense forests of eastern Congo since the late 1990s, where it has killed thousands of civilians. Some 20-30 ADF fighters crossed the Semiliki River into Uganda's southwestern Ntoroko district on Monday night, sparking a firefight with Ugandan soldiers, the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) spokesman Felix Kulayigye wrote on Twitter. "Our intelligence got wind of them and they were intercepted. A fight is on to decisively deal with the group. 11 of them have been (killed)," he said, adding that a further eight had been captured, while one Ugandan soldier died.”
United Kingdom
CNN: Pan Am Flight 103: The Story Of The UK’s Deadliest Terror Attack
“The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 may have taken place more than 30 years ago, but the appearance of alleged bombmaker Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi in a US court on Monday has sparked a new wave of interest in the attack. Here’s what you need to know about the deadliest terrorist attack to have taken place in the United Kingdom. On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 exploded 31,000 feet over Lockerbie, Scotland, 38 minutes after takeoff from London. Two hundred and fifty-nine people on board the New York-bound Boeing 747 were killed, along with 11 people on the ground. Witnesses in Lockerbie and the surrounding areas reported portions of the aircraft falling “from the sky, some of which appeared to be engulfed in flames,” according to a 2020 affidavit by a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agent, shared by the US Department of Justice. “As pieces of the aircraft hit the ground, some exploded. One such incident created an explosion that witnesses likened to a “mushroom cloud,” and left a crater approximately 40 feet deep where, moments before, residential homes had stood in the town of Lockerbie,” the agent said in the affadavit. Afterward, United States and British investigators found fragments of a circuit board and a timer, and ruled that a bomb, not mechanical failure, caused the explosion. Over three years, investigators from the United States, Britain, Germany and other countries questioned more than 15,000 people in more than 30 countries and collected thousands of pieces of evidence.”
France
AFP: French Court To Rule On 2016 Nice Terror Attack Suspects
“A French court will issue verdicts Tuesday for eight suspects charged in the harrowing 2016 terror attack in Nice, where an allegedly radicalised Islamist attacker is accused of ploughing his truck into a crowd celebrating the July 14 national holiday. Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a 31-year-old Tunisian resident, killed 86 people and injured over 450 after speeding onto a seaside embankment in the southern city, rampaging for four minutes before being shot dead by police. Prosecutors are seeking 15-year prison terms against three suspects on charges of association with terrorists. Ramzi Arefa, who has admitted to providing Lahouaiej-Bouhlel with a gun that he fired at police without hitting anyone, faces charges relating to supplying the weapon. He is not thought to have been aware of the attacker's radicalisation. “I'm guilty of selling a weapon, without thinking about it, and since then it's been six years that I haven't stopped thinking about it,” Arefa told the court in his closing statement Monday. But two others, Mohamed Ghraieb and Chokri Chafroud, allegedly knew about the attacker's turn to Islamist radicalism and his potential to carry out a terror attack, based on records of phone calls and text messages among the three in the days ahead of the massacre. Ghraieb, a 47-year-old from the same Tunisian town as Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, and Chafroud are also accused of helping him rent the delivery truck. They have denied the charges.”
Germany
The National: German 'Coup' Prompts Push To Purge Extremism In Police And Military
“Right-wing extremists could be sacked from German police ranks more quickly after the discovery of an alleged armed coup plot. Prosecutors said they uncovered a terrorist cell including ex-soldiers that hoped to recruit from the police and military. It was the latest in a series of alarming incidents involving alleged far-right sympathies in the German security forces. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wants to reform disciplinary rules for public servants after last week's raids. It would allow police to sack suspected far-right sympathisers without going through a lengthy court procedure. But her plans face resistance from police unions and critics who accuse her of presuming guilt. A union representing federal police posted a cartoon of Ms Faeser suggesting she was pursuing a witch hunt. It shows a police officer being burnt at the stake and being told by Ms Faeser to prove they are not a witch. “Reversing the burden of proof would be the real putsch,” said Georg Pazderski, a former soldier and far-right politician in Berlin. Ms Faeser denied throwing a blanket of suspicion on police, and said the majority of officers were loyal to the constitution. But she said “enemies of the constitution” should be removed from public service as quickly as possible.”
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