“A determined but often chaotic uprising by clan militias supported by Somali
government troops has forced the al-Shabab militant group, one of al-Qaeda’s
wealthiest and strongest global affiliates, onto the back foot, say Somali and
U.S. officials. Political infighting in the Somali government had stymied any
military offensive against al-Shabab for the past three years, allowing the
group to consolidate its control over parts of Somalia. But after elections
were held in May and the new government put its backing behind some of the
clans in central Somalia, their militias began to claw back territory, taking
over insurgent checkpoints previously used to extort money and bases used to
launch attacks. “What we’re seeing is really large scale combat operations
taking place in Somalia and incorporating the clans in a way that we just have
not … seen,” said Rear Adm. Milton Sands, who heads U.S. Special Operations
Command Africa, in an interview. “I’m really optimistic.” Clan militias have
fought the insurgency before, but it is the first time they have had such
extensive military backing, and that support is now encouraging many aggrieved
Somalis to join the militias and fight. “I’ve been in and out of Somalia for 13
years, and I’ve never seen the federal government, member states and clans all
angry and so united to finish al-Shabab,” said Gen. Keith Katungi, the acting
force commander of the African Union peacekeeping force. “This is the first big
Somali-led offensive.”











<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>



Eye on Extremism


December 15, 2022



The Washington Post: Uprising By Somali Clans Puts Al-Qaeda-Linked Militants
On The Defensive
<[link removed]>



“A determined but often chaotic uprising by clan militias supported by Somali
government troops has forced the al-Shabab militant group, one of al-Qaeda’s
wealthiest and strongest global affiliates, onto the back foot, say Somali and
U.S. officials. Political infighting in the Somali government had stymied any
military offensive against al-Shabab for the past three years, allowing the
group to consolidate its control over parts of Somalia. But after elections
were held in May and the new government put its backing behind some of the
clans in central Somalia, their militias began to claw back territory, taking
over insurgent checkpoints previously used to extort money and bases used to
launch attacks. “What we’re seeing is really large scale combat operations
taking place in Somalia and incorporating the clans in a way that we just have
not … seen,” said Rear Adm. Milton Sands, who heads U.S. Special Operations
Command Africa, in an interview. “I’m really optimistic.” Clan militias have
fought the insurgency before, but it is the first time they have had such
extensive military backing, and that support is now encouraging many aggrieved
Somalis to join the militias and fight. “I’ve been in and out of Somalia for 13
years, and I’ve never seen the federal government, member states and clans all
angry and so united to finish al-Shabab,” said Gen. Keith Katungi, the acting
force commander of the African Union peacekeeping force. “This is the first big
Somali-led offensive.”



Reuters: Pakistan To Approach UN After Blaming India For Bombing
<[link removed]>



“Pakistan will take a dossier to the United Nations alleging its neighbour
India has backed incidents of terrorism, the foreign ministry said on
Wednesday, a day after Islamabad said India was behind a high-profile bombing.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar said the dossier will
include detailed evidence and information of India's involvement in a 2021
bombing outside the house of an Islamist leader, among other incidents of
sabotage and what she called terrorism. "We will call it information based
evidence," Rabbani Khar said about the dossier. "It is sharing information and
sharing evidence on what India has been up to." "Let's put the record straight,
that's what it is, and ... to let the world know that what is happening in the
region." India's foreign office did not immediately respond to a Reuters
request for comment about the dossier. Rabbani Khar did not say when the
dossier was to be presented to the U.N., or to which U.N. body.



United States



The Washington Post: Anti-LGBTQ Rhetoric Brought Violence, Shooting Survivors
Tell House Panel
<[link removed]>



“LGBTQ activists and survivors of the Club Q and Pulse nightclub shootings
told the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, during more than three hours
of testimony, that a rise in anti-LGBTQ extremism and violence has left them
traumatized and afraid. Over the past year, they said, extremists in the United
States have attacked nearly 150 LGBTQ events. Two dozen hospitals and providers
have faced online harassment because they provide gender-affirming care to
children, and a record number of transgender and gender-nonconforming people
have been slain, they noted. Hate crimes against LGBTQ people have increased 40
percent since 2015, and FBI data shows that in 2020, 1 in 5 hate crimes were
motivated by anti-LGBTQ bias. Those incidents did not occur in a vacuum, said
Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), who chairs the committee. “These actions are
the culmination of years of anti-LGBTQ extremism that began in statehouses
across the country and spread to social media platforms before boiling over
into the communities where we reside,” Maloney said. Maloney had announced the
hearing earlier this week, as a means to examine “how the surge of anti-LGBTQI+
policies advanced by Republican lawmakers and the proliferation of extreme
anti-LGBTQI+ rhetoric are fueling a rise in violence against LGBTQI+ people in
the United States.”



CNN: Five People Arrested On Domestic Terrorism Charges In Clash At Atlanta’s
‘Cop City’ Site
<[link removed]>



“Five people were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism in Atlanta on
Tuesday after a clash between activists and law enforcement at a site set to be
turned into a state-of-the-art training facility for police, state
investigators said. The planned $90 million, 85-acre Atlanta Public Safety
Training Center is to be built in a forested area of Dekalb County that used to
be a prison farm. The proposed facility will include a shooting range, mock
city and burn building, CNN has previously reported. Activists determined to
stop the project – dubbed “Cop City” – have camped out in the forest’s trees
and have said they do not plan to leave. On Tuesday, several police agencies
entered the site as part of a joint operation to remove barricades that were
blocking some of the entrances to the center, the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation said. “Yesterday, several people threw rocks at police cars and
attacked EMT’s outside the neighboring fire stations with rocks and bottles,”
the bureau said Wednesday. “Task force members used various tactics to arrest
individuals who were occupying makeshift treehouses.” The bureau said police
cleared the area of makeshift treehouses and later found explosive devices,
gasoline and road flares. The five people who were arrested come from all over
the country, including Maine, California and Wisconsin, according to the
bureau.”



Iraq



Associated Press: Iraq's Military: 3 Killed In Explosion North Of Baghdad
<[link removed]>



“Three members of the Iraqi security forces were killed in an explosion north
of Baghdad on Wednesday, Iraq's military said. The personnel were killed when
an explosive device detonated during a security operation in the Khan area of
the Tarmiyah district. A commander of the 59th Infantry Brigade and two others
were killed, a military statement said. Lieutenant General Qais al-Muhammadawi,
commander of Iraq's ground forces, will lead an investigation in the area into
the causes of the explosion, the statement added. The perpetrators were not
immediately known. The Tarmiyah district has witnessed numerous attacks by the
Islamic State group since Iraqi security forces with assistance from the
U.S.-led coalition drove out the group in a military operation. IS's
territorial control in Iraq and Syria was crushed by the years-long campaign,
but sleeper cells have carried out attacks that have killed scores of Iraqis
and Syrians. In Iraq, the militants have successfully exploited security gaps
across a patch of territory in the north because of a dispute between Baghdad
and Irbil, the capital of the the Kurdish-run semiautonomous region of Iraq.
Iraqi security forces have been ambushed or targeted with improvised explosive
devices by the militants.”



Afghanistan



Voice Of America: Taliban Publicly Flog 27 Afghan Men, Women Convicted Of
‘Moral’ Crimes <[link removed]>



“Taliban authorities in southern Afghanistan publicly flogged 27 people,
including two women Wednesday, for allegedly committing theft, adultery and
other crimes. Officials and residents reported the punishments were
administered in the southern Helmand and Zabul provinces. Mohammad Qasim Riyaz,
a provincial government spokesman in Helmand, said 20 men were lashed in the
sports stadium in the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah. Riyaz said that each man
was flogged between 35 to 39 times before a large number of spectators,
including provincial Taliban officials, religious clerics and local elders.
Some of the convicts were additionally given prison terms, he added.
Separately, the Taliban-run state news agency reported public flogging of five
men and two women for “illicit relationships, robbery and other crimes” in
Qalat, the capital of Zabul. It did not elaborate. Afghanistan’s hardline
rulers have flogged dozens of men and women in crowded football stadiums in
several provinces and the capital, Kabul, in recent weeks, applying their
strict interpretation of Islamic law to criminal justice. Wednesday’s public
lashings come a week after the Taliban carried out their first public execution
of a convicted murderer since taking control of the conflict-torn impoverished
South Asian nation.”



Pakistan



Associated Press: Pakistan: Bombing Kills 2, Injures 14 In Restive Border Area
<[link removed]>



“A roadside bomb killed a soldier and a passerby and wounded at least 14
others in Pakistan’s northwest border area on Wednesday, the military and
police said Thursday. A local police official, Khalid Wazir, said the bombing
appeared to target a convoy of security forces passing by the town of Miran
Shah in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan frontier. The blast damaged
nearby shops but the injured were mostly troops, the official added. No group
immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the mountainous and
isolated area is a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, known as
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, which is allied with neighboring
Afghanistan’s rulers. Local Taliban have stepped up attacks on security forces
in recent weeks after unilaterally ending a monthslong ceasefire with
Pakistan’s government last month. Pakistan has repeatedly complained that
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have failed to secure the frontier areas and are
giving shelter to Pakistani Taliban fighters and leaders across the unruly
border. The Pakistani Taliban have been emboldened by the return to power of
Afghanistan’s Taliban, who took power in Kabul after the U.S. troop withdrawal
last year.”



Yemen



Asharq Al-Awsat: Yemen Renews Call For Stronger Int’l Position Against Houthi
Terrorism
<[link removed]’l-position-against-houthi-terrorism>



“The Yemeni government renewed its call for stronger international stances
against Houthi terrorism and welcomed the latest European Union statement on
the coup escalation. The government issued a statement Tuesday, welcoming the
European announcement to increase its humanitarian and development support and
interventions for 2022 and 2023, and called on the donor community to double
their financial pledges and ensure more effective humanitarian and development
work. The Yemeni statement lauded the Union's appreciation for the constructive
approach of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) and government during the
humanitarian truce. It also welcomed the EU support of the constructive
approach of the Yemeni government during the truce and ongoing efforts by
regional actors, notably Saudi Arabia and Oman, on the ceasefire extension. The
statement renewed the government's commitment to a just and comprehensive peace
under national, regional, and international references. It also called for
serious and responsible engagement with all efforts aimed at alleviating the
human suffering of the Yemeni people, achieving their aspirations to restore
state institutions, and ending the Houthi coup. The statement appreciated the
EU positions, including the Union's explicit condemnation of the Houthi
terrorist attacks on oil installations and infrastructure, warning of their
catastrophic repercussions on the humanitarian situation and maritime security.”



Middle East



The Times Of Israel: IDF Releases Photos Showing Terror Groups Put Rocket
Launchers Next To Gaza Schools
<[link removed]>



“The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday released photos showing what it said
were rocket launch sites that Palestinian terror groups have positioned next to
several schools in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The IDF released statements in
English and Arabic that included satellite photos of three schools in Gaza
City, outside which it said rocket launchers have been set up. “Over 1,000
innocent students attend these schools that Hamas uses for terrorist
activities. Hamas purposefully puts civilians and pupils in danger by using
them as human shields,” the IDF said. The military identified two of the launch
sites as belonging to Hamas — including one outside a school used as a shelter
by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees during emergencies. It attributed a
third site to unspecified terrorists. According to the IDF, the principal of
the school used as a shelter by UNRWA was in contact with a Hamas rocket
operative ahead of the war in Gaza last May. “The cynical exploitation of
schools proves once again that the terrorist organization consciously chooses
to endanger Gazan civilians and use them as ‘human shields’ to benefit their
terrorist agenda,” the IDF said in reference to Hamas. The military did not
specify when the satellite photos were taken.”



Nigeria



Sahara Reporters: Nigerian Police Repel Terrorists Attack In Buhari’s Home
State, Kill Two Insurgents On Wanted List
<[link removed]>



“The Nigeria Police Force, Katsina State Command, has confirmed that its men
and officers on Tuesday evening repelled terrorists attack at Sokoto-Rima
Quarters in Dutsinma Local Government Area of the state. The Katsina State
Police Public Relations Officer, SP Gambo Isah, who confirmed the incident in a
statement said that the police operatives also killed two terrorists identified
as Abu Na-Iraqi and Abu Na-Masari, who had been on the police wanted list.
Katsina is the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari and has a fair share of
the terrorism and banditry crisis which has engulfed the northern region
especially. During the incident that happened at about 7:30pm, the police said
it also recovered two AK-47 rifles from the terrorists while search parties are
still combing the area to arrest other members of the terrorists syndicate who
fled with gunshot wounds. The PPRO said that “On December 13, 2022 (13/12/2022
) at about 1930hrs, a distress call was received that terrorists in their
numbers, shooting sporadically with AK-47 rifles, attacked Sokoto-Rima
Quarters, Dutsinma LGA of Katsina state, with intent to kidnap some residents.
“Subsequently, Area commander Dutsinma and team, swiftly moved to the area,
engaged the terrorists in a gun duel, neutralized two (2) notorious terrorists,
on the wanted list of the police, identified as (1) Abu Na-Iraqi and Abu
Na-Masari and recovered two (2) AK 47 rifles.”



Africa



AFP: 10 Killed In DR Congo Rebel Attack: Local Sources
<[link removed]>



“At least 10 civilians have been killed by rebels in northeast Democratic
Republic of Congo, local sources said Wednesday, criticising joint Congolese
and Ugandan security operations in the region. The Allied Democratic Forces
(ADF) -- which the Islamic State group claims as its Central African offshoot
-- is accused of slaughtering thousands of Congolese civilians and carrying out
bombings in Uganda. The 10, two women and eight men, were killed Tuesday during
an incursion by ADF fighters into Ndalya village in the south of Ituri
province, Christophe Munyanderu, head of the CRDH rights organisation told AFP.
Another source put the death toll at 14. The attackers also torched two houses.
Munyanderu said that on Wednesday morning a Congolese soldier was wounded after
stepping on an improvised bomb placed near strategic Highway 4 which ADF
fighters had approached, targeting surrounding villages. “We regret the way the
Congolese government is handling the ADF situation,” the activist said. He
expressed surprise that the rebels were able to operate even though “they are
well identified and their positions” known. The ADF is accused of having
massacred thousands of civilians in the DRC and carrying out attacks in Uganda,
most recently in the capital Kampala in October and November 2021.”



AFP: Uganda Forces Kill 11 ADF Rebels After Incursion
<[link removed]>



“Ugandan forces killed 11 ADF rebels after they crossed into the country from
the Democratic Republic of Congo, the army said Tuesday, in the first known
incursion by the group this year. The Allied Democratic Forces — which the
Islamic State group claims as its Central African offshoot — is accused of
slaughtering thousands of Congolese civilians and carrying out bombings in
Uganda. An “estimated 20-30 ADF fighters last night crossed River Semliki… Our
intelligence got wind of them and they were intercepted,” Brigadier-General
Felix Kulayigye, spokesman for the Ugandan military, said in a statement. “A
fight is on to decisively deal with the group,” he said, adding that 11 rebels
had been killed while eight others had been taken into custody. “Operation is
ongoing,” he said. The ADF is among the most violent of more than 120 armed
groups active in the DRC’s volatile east. Uganda was hit by a series of
bombings in October and November last year that killed five people and injured
dozens, with the authorities blaming a “domestic terror group” with ties to the
ADF for the blasts. Following the attacks, Uganda deployed forces and launched
air and artillery strikes in the DRC against the ADF, after Kinshasa gave
Kampala approval to pursue the militants on its soil. Last year, the United
States placed the ADF on its list of “terrorist” organizations linked to IS.”



Germany



The Wall Street Journal: German Terrorism-Plot Suspect Met Russian Diplomats,
Officials Say
<[link removed]>



“The alleged leader of a suspected far-right terrorist cell that German
authorities dismantled last week met with Russian diplomats in what
investigators believe was a failed bid to obtain support for his plot to
overthrow the government, German officials said. Prince Heinrich XIII of Reuss,
who was arrested alongside 24 other people following a monthslong investigation
into an alleged conspiracy to commit armed attacks on parliament, had contacted
the Russian general consulate in the city of Leipzig and met diplomats there
during a reception for a Russian national holiday, officials said. A Russian
Embassy official denied that any diplomatic representative of Moscow ever
knowingly had any contacts with conspirators or terrorist organizations in
Germany. The official didn’t return queries about a meeting at the consulate.
Wiretapping of subsequent communications among the suspects by the
investigators produced no evidence that the Russians offered any kind of
support, according to investigators and lawmakers briefed on some details of
the probe. Mr. Reuss, a 71-year-old property dealer who comes from a minor
aristocratic family that can be traced back to the 13th century, contacted the
consulate via his girlfriend, a Russian national named as Vitalia B., officials
said.”



Europe



Radio Free Europe: Belarusian Lawmakers Approve Bill Allowing Stripping Of
Citizenship For Extremism
<[link removed]>



“Belarus's National Assembly approved in two readings on December 14 a bill
that allows authorities to strip citizenship from anyone, including native
Belarusians, for extremism. The current law allows only naturalized citizens to
be deprived of their citizenship if convicted of extremist activities.
Authorities have labeled numerous independent media outlets, NGOs, journalists,
and bloggers as extremists in the wake of mass protests that gripped the
country following an August 2020 presidential vote that handed the
authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka a sixth term in office despite
opposition claims the election was rigged.”



Technology



Reuters: Meta's Oversight Board Restores Nigeria Church Attack Video On
Instagram
<[link removed]>



“Meta's Oversight Board on Wednesday overturned a decision to remove a video
that was shared on Instagram showing the gruesome aftermath of an attack on a
church in Nigeria that killed at least 40 people. The video showing motionless,
bloodied bodies on the floor, apparently the aftermath of the church attack
that took place on June 5 in Owo, southwest Nigeria, was shared by an Instagram
user on the same day. Meta removed the video, saying hashtags added by the user
could be read as glorifying violence and minimizing suffering. The user
appealed against the removal to the independent board. The board on Wednesday
asked Meta to restore the post with a "disturbing content" warning screen,
saying this would protect victims' privacy while allowing for discussion of
events. "Nigeria is experiencing an ongoing series of terrorist attacks and the
Nigerian government has suppressed coverage of some of them, though it does not
appear to have done so in relation tothe June 5 attack," the board said.”



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