“Islamist militants seized a counter-terrorism centre in the northwestern
Pakistani area of Bannu on Sunday and took hostages to negotiate with
government authorities, officials said. “It's not clear if the terrorists
attacked from outside, or if they snatched the ammunition from staff inside”
while being interrogated following their arrest, Bannu police spokesman
Muhammad Naseeb told Reuters. He said the compound had been surrounded by
security forces. Two other officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said
the militants were looking to negotiate for safe passage to neighbouring
Afghanistan, ruled by the hardline Islamist Taliban. One said about 15
militants took control of the centre after overpowering interrogators inside,
grabbing their weapons and taking five or six of them hostage. The affiliation
of the militants was not immediately known. Pakistan has been fighting an
insurgency by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. The TTP associates itself with
Afghanistan's Taliban, which had been trying to broker talks between the
Pakistani government and the TTP. A spokesman for the TTP did not immediately
confirm or deny a link with the militants in the compound.”











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



Eye on Extremism


December 19, 2022



Reuters: Militants Seize Counter-Terrorism Centre In Pakistan, Take Hostages
<[link removed]>



“Islamist militants seized a counter-terrorism centre in the northwestern
Pakistani area of Bannu on Sunday and took hostages to negotiate with
government authorities, officials said. “It's not clear if the terrorists
attacked from outside, or if they snatched the ammunition from staff inside”
while being interrogated following their arrest, Bannu police spokesman
Muhammad Naseeb told Reuters. He said the compound had been surrounded by
security forces. Two other officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said
the militants were looking to negotiate for safe passage to neighbouring
Afghanistan, ruled by the hardline Islamist Taliban. One said about 15
militants took control of the centre after overpowering interrogators inside,
grabbing their weapons and taking five or six of them hostage. The affiliation
of the militants was not immediately known. Pakistan has been fighting an
insurgency by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. The TTP associates itself with
Afghanistan's Taliban, which had been trying to broker talks between the
Pakistani government and the TTP. A spokesman for the TTP did not immediately
confirm or deny a link with the militants in the compound.”



Fox News: Suspected NYC Subway Mass Shooter Hit With More Terrorism Charges
<[link removed]>



“Suspected New York City subway mass shooter Frank Robert James was hit with
additional federal terrorism charges Friday in connection with wounding
multiple commuters inside a Brooklyn train car. James, 62, was already charged
with carrying out a terror attack against a mass transit system as well as
discharging a firearm during a crime of violence before prosecutors added nine
more terror attack counts against him, bringing the total to 10, one for each
victim struck by gunfire during the April 12 shooting, according to a
superseding indictment. James is accused of injuring 29 people in a Sunset
Park, Brooklyn, subway station. He was aboard a Manhattan-bound N train during
the morning rush-hour when he allegedly placed a gas mask on his face,
activated a smoke canister and opened fire inside the train and on the platform
of the 36th Street subway station. According to a criminal complaint,
authorities discovered two bags and a reflective jacket among items that were
left behind at the scene. Prosecutors said James rented a U-Haul van from a
Philadelphia store the day before the shooting before traveling to New York
City. In videos he posted on YouTube before the attack, James made various
statements about the New York City subway system. He also addressed statements
to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, authorities said.”



Syria



Kurdistan 24: More Than 42,400 ISIS-Linked Foreigners Remain Stuck In
Northeast Syria: HRW
<[link removed]>



“Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday said that more than 42,400 foreigners
accused of Islamic State (ISIS) links remain abandoned by their countries in
camps and prisons in northeast Syria despite increased repatriations of women
and children in recent months. The HRW said that the Kurdish-led authorities
are holding the detainees, most of them children, along with 23,200 Syrians in
life-threatening conditions. Furthermore, HRW said that recent Turkish air and
artillery strikes have compounded the danger in northeast Syria. During the
strikes in November, Turkey hit the vicinity of the Jerkin prison in Qamishlo,
which holds hundreds of ISIS detainees, and killed eight guards of the al-Hol
camp. “But even before Turkey’s attacks, at least 42 people had been killed
during 2022 in al-Hol, the largest camp, some by ISIS loyalists. Hundreds of
others were killed in an attempted ISIS prison break in January,” HRW said.
Furthermore, children have drowned in sewage pits, died in tent fires, and been
run over by water trucks, and hundreds have died from treatable illnesses,
staff, aid workers, and detainees said. “Nearly four years on, countries have
run out of excuses for refusing to help their citizens trapped in
life-threatening conditions in northeast Syria,” Letta Tayler, associate
director of the Crisis and Conflict Division at Human Rights Watch, told
Kurdistan 24.”



Iraq



Reuters: Islamic State Claims Bomb Attack On Iraqi Police Near Kirkuk
<[link removed]>



“Islamic State claimed responsibility for the killing at least nine Iraqi
federal policemen on Sunday in a bomb attack on their convoy near the oil city
of Kirkuk, the militant group said on its Telegram channel. The blast occurred
near the village of Safra, some 30 km (20 miles) southwest of Kirkuk in the
Kurdistan region, two security sources told Reuters, adding that two other
policemen were critically wounded.”



National Review: Iraqi Officials Blame Islamic State Remnants For Spate Of
Deadly Attacks
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“Over a dozen Iraqi security service members have been killed in a string of
attacks that have rocked the country this week, attacks government officials
are blaming on the remnants of the Islamic State (IS). On Sunday, a bomb blast
hit a police truck in the northern province of Kirkuk and was followed by “a
direct attack with small arms,” a federal officer notified AFP. Although no
militant group has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack, the carnage
comes on the heels of Wednesday’s roadside IED strike outside Baghdad. The
attack claimed three lives. Iraqi officials are now casting the blame on the
tattered remnants of IS that have remained in the country since the group’s
main defeat in December 2017. IS first burst onto the scene in Iraq in 2014
when the group declared a “caliphate” across vast swaths of Iraq and Syria.
Three years later, following its defeat at the hands of an American-led
military coalition supported by local troops, the caliphate was dismantled and
power returned to government forces. Last year, the United Nations (UN) warned
that despite “significant leadership losses” IS remained capable of exploiting
“security gaps and conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism to recruit
and to organise and execute complex attacks.” Northern Iraq has proven to be
particularly difficult for local Iraqi forces to defend. Last month, four were
killed on in an attack on a military outpost in the region.”



Pakistan



Associated Press: Militants Kill 4 In Attack On Police Station In NW Pakistan
<[link removed]>



“Four Pakistani police officers were killed and another four critically
wounded Sunday when suspected militants attacked a police station in the
country’s volatile northwest, police said. The suspects used grenades and
automatic weapons on the station in Lakki Marwat district before fleeing the
scene overnight, said Nawaz Khan, an officer of the targeted police station.
Khan said police on duty retaliated and called for reinforcement before the
attackers, their ammunition apparently exhausted, fled the scene before help
arrived. Police were searching for the attackers. No group immediately claimed
responsibility for the attack, but previous attacks on police in the district
have been claimed by Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan, TTP. Last month, militants ambushed a routine police patrol, killing
all six policemen in the vehicle in the Dadewala area of the Lakki Marwat
district. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the Dadewala ambush.
The militant group is separate but allied with the Afghan Taliban. A suicide
bomber blew himself up near a truck carrying police officers on their way to
protect polio workers near Quetta, in southwestern Pakistan late last month,
killing a police officer and three family members traveling in a car nearby.
The bombing wounded 23 others, mostly police.”



Newsweek: Exclusive: Pakistan FM Says Taliban Must Be Part Of Asia Anti-Terror
Fight
<[link removed]>



“Amid a flurry of high-level diplomatic engagements, Pakistani Foreign
Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari sat down for an exclusive interview with
Newsweek Senior Foreign Policy Writer Tom O'Connor within the chambers of the
United Nations Headquarters in New York City. Throughout the conversation, the
youngest-ever top diplomat of his nation discussed an array of issues,
including the importance of amplifying the voices of developing countries on
matters of international import, navigating the increasingly volatile rivalry
between the world's two leading powers and tackling the persistent threat of
terrorism plaguing not only Pakistan's own territory, but also across its
borders. Zardari, 34, is the millennial successor to a political dynasty that
first saw his maternal grandfather, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, take the country's
helm in the 1970s as president and later prime minister before he was ousted
and later executed in a military coup. Zardari's mother, Benazir Bhutto, would
go on to become the first elected female leader of a majority-Muslim nation,
but her life too ended early when she was assassinated in a plot claimed by
Islamic extremists in 2007. His father, Asif Ali Zardari, was elected president
a year later as the younger Zardari was left in charge of the Pakistan People's
Party and, after the dramatic ousting of cricket star-turned-premier Imran Khan
in a no-confidence vote in April, rose to the position of foreign minister
under current Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.”



Middle East



The Times Of Israel: IDF Issues Demolition Order For Home Of Terrorist Who
Killed Israeli Man Near Hebron
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“The Israeli military on Sunday night informed the family of a Palestinian
man who carried out a deadly terror attack near the West Bank settlement of
Kiryat Arba in October, that their home in the adjacent city of Hebron is
slated for demolition. Muhammed Kamel al-Jabari, an apparent member of the
Hamas terror group, carried out the shooting attack near a convenience store
owned by a Palestinian, between Kiryat Arba and Hebron on October 29. Ronen
Hanania, an Israeli resident of Kiryat Arba, was killed and his son was wounded
in the initial attack. Al-Jabari left the scene by car and returned on foot
several minutes later, and opened fire on medics and settlement security guards
who arrived at the scene to help the pair. This gunfire seriously injured
veteran paramedic and settler activist Ofer Ohana, who has since mostly
recovered. Two others, including a Palestinian man, were also hurt in the
attack. A security guard eventually rammed Al-Jabari with his vehicle and he
was shot dead by an off-duty soldier. In the hours after the attack, Israeli
troops measured al-Jabari’s home — the first step before its potential
demolition — in Hebron. On Sunday, his family was notified of the military’s
intention to raze their home. Israel regularly demolishes the homes of
Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks as a matter of
policy.”



Nigeria



Fox News: Nigerian Human Rights Officials To Investigate Report The Military
Forced Abortions On Thousands Of Women
<[link removed]>



“A Human Rights commission in Nigeria says it will investigate reports that
the country’s military has run a secret abortion program that conducted tens of
thousands of forced abortions on women suspected of having been impregnated by
Boko Haram terrorists. Officials from the United Nations, the Nigerian
government and other partners met at the National Human Rights Commission
headquarters in the capital city of Abuja on Friday and said they will probe
the report on the mass abortions carried out by the military, VOA News
reported. The move from Nigerian officials follows a Reuters report earlier
this month that the military had conducted at least 10,000 secret and often
forced abortions on women who had been suspected of having been impregnated by
Boko Haram militants since 2013 as the nation looked to crack down on the
insurgency group. After speaking with victims, health care workers and military
members, the report detailed that a clandestine abortion program had been
launched because senior officials had reportedly believed that infants born to
insurgent fathers were “predestined” to “one day take up arms against the
Nigerian government.” One civilian health care worker described the program as
“sanitizing the society” as women, largely without their consent, were given
pills and injections to force abortions after having been kidnapped and often
raped by members of Boko Haram.”



Sahara Reporters: Four Boko Haram Commanders Surrender To Nigerian Army In
Borno After Years In Sambisa Forest
<[link removed]>



“Four top Commanders of the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād Boko
Haram terrorists group have surrendered to the Nigerian Army in Borno State. A
counter-insurgency expert, in the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama, disclosed
this in a series of tweets. The commanders are identified as Mala’ana (Khaid),
titled a governor, Abu Dauda (Munzir), Modu Yalee (Commander), and Bin Diska
(Nakif). They reportedly laid down their arms on December 12, 2022 to troops of
Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) patrolling Gwoza Local Government Area of the state.
The insurgents were said to have come out from Sambisa where they had been
hiding and waging campaigns of terror from the forest. He tweeted, “The sources
said that they were former Commanders of Abubakar Shekau at Njimiya camp but
laid down their arms and moved to join ISWAP in the Lake Chad after the
invasion of Sambisa Forest in May 2021, which led to the death of Shekau.
“However, the four commanders later denounced ISWAP, and fled to Sambisa where
they pitched their tent and operated on their own. “They surrendered for fear
of battle field elimination due to the sustained intensified onslaught on the
terrorists’ hideouts as well as rivalry attacks.”



All Africa: Nigeria: Troops Kill 6 Boko Haram Terrorists In Borno, Launch
Joint Operation In Kwara <[link removed]>



“Troops of Operation Hadin Kai of the Nigerian Army in Collaboration with
vigilante members early yesterday killed six Boko Haram militants in a raid in
Daula market, Bama local government area of Borno State. Reports obtained from
intelligence sources in the area said the troops ambushed the terrorists who
usually go to the market located a few kilometers from Bama town for
transactions with other terrorist groups. “The troops were said to have laid an
ambush for the insurgents before engaging them in a gun battle. Four of them
were neutralised in the gun battle,” the sources said. The troops recovered
Ak-47 rifles and seven bicycles. In related development, the Nigerian Air Force
303 Medium Airlift Group (MAG) Ilorin will today commence a joint operation
with other sister security agencies to eliminate criminals operating along
Eiyenkorin-Peke-Okolowo axis of Ilorin, Kwara State. The operation is codenamed
'Exercise Apejopo Idi' (meaning gathering of the eagles) and will run till the
end of December. “Exercise Apejopo Idi, which is planned for 16th to 31st
December 2022, aims at utilizing NAF ground and air assets to comb the bushes
and vulnerable communities within Eiyenkorin-Peke-Okolowo Axis,” the Commander
of 303 Medium Airlift Group, Air Commodore Ibrahim Garba Jibia, said in a
statement.”



Somalia



Voice Of America: 88 Militants Killed In Middle Shabelle Region, Somali
Government Says
<[link removed]>



“Eighty-eight al-Shabab militants were killed this week in a joint operation
by the Somali National Army and allied clan militia in the Middle Shabelle
region, Somali's Deputy Information Minister Abdirahman Yusuf Al-Adala said
Thursday at a news conference. The minister said national forces defeated the
militants, who were regrouping in those areas, and the forces recaptured Juhay
village. The forces are collecting the bodies of the killed militants, he
added. Abdisalam Guled, founder of Eagle Range Services, a security company in
Mogadishu, said the success against al-Shabab in Middle Shabelle is a major
boost for the ongoing campaign by government forces and local militias.
However, Guled said there is criticism that the fighting against al-Shabab is
led by tribal forces and the government is only taking part in it. He warned
that the government risks losing control of the campaign by allowing militias
to take the lead. He said the fighting against al-Shabab, which was led by the
Hawadle clan, broke out in the Hiiraan region and was successful, and now it
seems that the Abgaal clan is leading the fight in the Middle Shabelle region,
and the government is acting as a participant. Guled, who previously served as
the national deputy director of intelligence, said the government needs to make
a concerted effort to complete the remaining operations in the central regions
before opening up other battle fronts.”



Voice Of America: New US Airstrikes In Somalia Kill 15 Militants
<[link removed]>



“The U.S. military has reported two new airstrikes against al-Shabab fighters
in Somalia’s Hirshabelle State. In a statement, the U.S. military in Africa
says it conducted two “collective self-defense” strikes against the group on
December 14 and 17 in the vicinity of the coastal town of Adale. The strikes
came at the request of the Federal Government of Somalia, and in support of the
Somali National Army forces. The first strike took place 176 kilometers
northeast of Mogadishu, killing seven militants, while the second strike took
place approximately 220 kilometers northeast of Mogadishu, killing eight
al-Shabab fighters. U.S. Africa Command’s initial assessment is that no
civilians were injured or killed in either strike, according to AFRICOM. “U.S.
Africa Command will continue to assess the results of these operations and will
provide additional information as appropriate,” read the statement. “Specific
details about the units involved and assets used will not be released in order
to ensure operations security.” The Somali government reported December 15 that
it conducted an operation against al-Shabab in the vicinity of the Juhay and
Gulane villages in the Hirshabelle State. The government said that 88 al-Shabab
fighters were killed in the 48-hour operation, which was conducted in
collaboration with international partners, a phrase that often refers to the
involvement of airstrikes by friendly countries supporting the Somali army.”



Mali



Associated Press: 2 Peacekeepers Killed, 4 Wounded In Attack In Mali, UN Says
<[link removed]>



“Two U.N. peacekeepers from Nigeria were killed and four others wounded in an
attack Friday on a peace patrol in the town of Timbuktu in northern Mali, the
United Nations said. The U.N. Security Council said a member of Mali's security
forces was also killed in the attack. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said one
of the peacekeepers killed was a woman. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
and the Security Council strongly condemned the attack. The council stressed
that involvement in planning, directing, sponsoring or conducting attacks
targeting U.N. peacekeepers may constitute war crimes. Mali has been in turmoil
since a 2012 uprising when mutinous soldiers overthrew the president. The power
vacuum that resulted ultimately led to a jihadist insurgency and a French-led
war that ousted the jihadists from power in 2013. Insurgents remain active in
Mali and extremist groups affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group
have moved from the arid north to more populated central Mali since 2015,
stoking animosity and violence between ethnic groups in the region. Tensions
have grown between Mali, its African neighbors and the West since Mali’s
government allowed Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group to deploy on its
territory.”



Africa



Voice Of America: Botswana Develops Security Strategy To Counter Terrorism
Threat
<[link removed]>



“Botswana is developing a national security strategy amid fears of heightened
terrorism threats. The country's minister of defense, Kagiso Mmusi, addressed
parliament Thursday. “The emerging global security challenges, such as
cybercrime, terrorism, poaching, human trafficking, distribution of drugs,
money laundering and transnational organized crimes, continue to threaten
Botswana's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Irregular migration also
poses a threat to multilateralism,” Mmusi said. To this end, he said, a
strategy to counter possible acts of terrorism and other national security
threats is being developed. “In an effort to address the above-mentioned global
challenges, the country is developing the national security strategy. Botswana
will ensure the permanent inviolability of national territory and its effective
control by employing all available instruments of national power,” Mmusi said.
In June, Botswana's army commander, Placid Segogo, told lawmakers the country
needed to scale up efforts to counter terrorism, as the deployment of 300
troops to Mozambique had created challenges. Botswana's troops in Mozambique
are part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Standby Force's
more than 1,000 soldiers in Cabo Delgado. “As the defense force, we continue to
have challenges in respect to cybercrime terrorism because we are now clearly
in Mozambique specifically because of terrorism. We do realize that our
footprint there creates an even bigger vulnerability,” Segogo said.”



AFP: Burkina Army Says Air-Land Sweep Kills 39 ‘Terrorists’, One Soldier
<[link removed]>



“A single soldier and 39 suspected jihadists died in a 10-day security
operation in volatile northwestern Burkina Faso, the army said on Friday. The
sweep completed last Saturday was planned to restore security to Banwa province
near the Mali border, an area which has been wracked by violence. “Offensive
land operations combined with air strikes and artillery brought major tactical
results,” an army statement said. “Terrorist bases” had been dismantled and
their occupants “put out of action.” The statement listed “at least 15
terrorists killed” on December 2 at Bolomakote in Bondokuy department and a
military ambush on December 7 in which 24 suspects were killed near Ouarkoye.
“Unfortunately one soldier lost his life at the very start of the operation. We
also registered a dozen soldiers wounded,” the army said. One of the world’s
poorest countries, Burkina has been battling a jihadist insurgency since 2015.
Thousands of civilians and members of the security forces have died and around
two million people have been displaced. Disgruntled army officers have carried
out two coups this year in a show of anger at failures to roll back the
insurgency. Captain Ibrahim Traore, who took over as president after a coup on
September 30, has declared his intention to win back territory occupied by the
“terrorist hordes.”



United Kingdom



Daily Mail: Brother Faces Jail For Sharing ISIS-Supporting Propaganda As His
Sibling Is Cleared Of Terror Charges
<[link removed]>



“One brother is facing jail while another was cleared of sharing Islamic
extremist propaganda on social media. On Friday, a jury at the Old Bailey found
construction worker Ayub Khan, 20, not guilty of three charges of disseminating
terrorist publications and one of possessing a 12-inch knife for a terrorist
purpose. Khan, 20, allegedly sent WhatsApp videos and messages glorifying the
activities of Al-Qaeda and IS between May 1 and 3, 2020. The jury, which
deliberated for half a day, was not told that his older brother Mohammed Khan,
22, who worked in security, had admitted eight counts of dissemination of a
terrorist publication before the trial. Judge Richard Marks KC lifted a
reporting restriction on the older sibling's case after thanking jurors for
their 'close and conscientious' consideration of Ayub Khan's case. The judge
ordered that Mohammed Khan be sentenced at the Old Bailey on January 27. The
court had heard how the brothers were arrested after police raided their family
home in Greenford, west London, on November 16 last year. A 12-inch knife was
found near Ayub Khan's bed and a large black flag associated with jihad was
recovered from the brothers' shared bedroom. Internet inquiries revealed the
flag had been bought on eBay in May 2021, the jury was told. A number of mobile
phones were seized and examined, the court heard.”



Canada



CBC: Toronto Man Charged In Probe Into Alleged ISIS Fundraising Campaigns
Disguised As Humanitarian Aid
<[link removed]>



“A Toronto man has been charged along with three others in an FBI
investigation into an alleged scheme to raise money for ISIS using a series of
online campaigns disguised as humanitarian efforts. The U.S. Department of
Justice says the 34-year-old man was arrested by Canadian police Wednesday
under a provisional arrest request, often the first step in the extradition
process. He is facing charges in the U.S., along with three Americans, for
allegedly conspiring to provide material support to ISIS. The charge carries a
maximum statutory penalty of up to 20 years in prison. In an email to CBC
Toronto, the Department of Justice Canada confirmed the man is from North York
and was arrested in Toronto on Wednesday. His first court appearance took place
before the Ontario Superior Court the same day and he was expected to appear in
court again Friday. Toronto police told CBC Toronto the man was identified as
being wanted by authorities and was taken into custody by the force's fugitive
squad. He remains in detention in Toronto pending an extradition hearing and
does not face any criminal charges in Canada, spokesperson Stephanie Sayer
said. U.S. officials allege the Canadian was part of an encrypted social media
group chat of ISIS supporters where members discussed posting donation links
that appeared to support humanitarian causes but were actually intended to aid
ISIS militants.”



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