“The UN Security Council has condemned terrorist attacks in Iraq that have left
17 dead amid a surge in violence in the country. ISIS terrorists killed nine
federal police officers in an ambush on Sunday in Iraq's northern Kirkuk
province. A day later, extremists on motorbikes killed eight civilians in a
village in Diyala province. “The members of the Security Council condemned in
the strongest terms the cowardly terrorist attacks near Kirkuk and Albu Bali,”
the council said. They repeated “their support for the independence,
sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, democratic process and prosperity of
Iraq”. The Security Council extended its condolences to the families of the
victims and to the government of Iraq, and wished the wounded a speedy
recovery. ISIS seized large areas in Iraq and Syria in 2014 and declared a
“caliphate” that it ruled with extreme violence before it was defeated in late
2017 by Iraqi forces backed by a US-led military coalition. The extremist group
lost its last bastion — in Syria, near the Iraqi border — in 2019. Despite the
setbacks that have left ISIS a pale shadow of its former self, it can still
call on its underground network of between 6,000 and 10,000 fighters to carry
out attacks on both sides of the porous border, a UN report said earlier this
year. Last Wednesday, three Iraqi soldiers were killed when a bomb exploded
during a security operation in Tarmiyah district, north of Baghdad.”











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Eye on Extremism


December 22, 2022



**NOTE: CEP’s Eye On Extremism will be suspended December 23 and December 26
in observance of the holidays. It will resume Tuesday, December 27.**



The National: Security Council Condemns Terrorist Attacks In Iraq
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“The UN Security Council has condemned terrorist attacks in Iraq that have
left 17 dead amid a surge in violence in the country. ISIS terrorists killed
nine federal police officers in an ambush on Sunday in Iraq's northern Kirkuk
province. A day later, extremists on motorbikes killed eight civilians in a
village in Diyala province. “The members of the Security Council condemned in
the strongest terms the cowardly terrorist attacks near Kirkuk and Albu Bali,”
the council said. They repeated “their support for the independence,
sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, democratic process and prosperity of
Iraq”. The Security Council extended its condolences to the families of the
victims and to the government of Iraq, and wished the wounded a speedy
recovery. ISIS seized large areas in Iraq and Syria in 2014 and declared a
“caliphate” that it ruled with extreme violence before it was defeated in late
2017 by Iraqi forces backed by a US-led military coalition. The extremist group
lost its last bastion — in Syria, near the Iraqi border — in 2019. Despite the
setbacks that have left ISIS a pale shadow of its former self, it can still
call on its underground network of between 6,000 and 10,000 fighters to carry
out attacks on both sides of the porous border, a UN report said earlier this
year. Last Wednesday, three Iraqi soldiers were killed when a bomb exploded
during a security operation in Tarmiyah district, north of Baghdad.”



Barron’s: I.Coast Seeks Life For Four Suspects Over 2016 Attack
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“An Ivory Coast prosecutor Wednesday urged life in jail for four suspects
over one of West Africa's bloodiest jihadist attacks -- a 2016 machine-gun
assault on a beach resort that killed 19. State prosecutor Richard Adou
demanded a life sentence for the four defendants present at a trial that
started last month over the attack, saying it would be "an exemplary and
dissuasive punishment". He also asked for life for 14 other suspects being
tried in absentia, including the suspected masterminds of the assault. They are
either on the run or being held in neighbouring Mali. All 18 stand accused of
acts of terrorism, murder, attempted murder, criminal concealment, illegal
possession of firearms and ammunition "and complicity in these deeds". The
verdict is expected on Thursday. On March 13, 2016, three men wielding assault
rifles attacked Grand-Bassam, a tourist complex popular with foreigners that
lies 40 kilometres (25 miles) east of the capital Abidjan. In an operation
echoing a jihadist massacre the previous year in Tunisia, the trio stormed the
beach and then attacked several hotels and restaurants.”



United States



The New York Times: Frank James To Plead Guilty To Terror Counts In Brooklyn
Subway Shooting
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“Frank R. James, who was accused of carrying out the worst attack on the New
York subway system in years, is expected to plead guilty to terrorism in
connection with an April shooting spree on a train in Brooklyn, his lawyers
said Wednesday. Mr. James’s lawyers said in a letter filed Wednesday in federal
court in Brooklyn that he would plead guilty to an 11-count indictment, which
charged Mr. James with 10 counts of terrorist attack for each of the 10 people
shot in the assault, as well as with a firearms charge. A judge overseeing the
case set a Jan. 3 change-of-plea hearing. On April 12, the authorities said,
Mr. James unleashed a barrage of gunfire on an N train during the morning rush
hour in Brooklyn. No one was killed, but the attack rattled many in the city
and set off a 31-hour manhunt that culminated in Mr. James’s arrest in
Manhattan. The assault — which came as New Yorkers were starting to ease back
into weekday commutes suspended by the pandemic — seemed to crystallize several
New York crises at once: the vulnerability of the transit system and its
riders, gaps in mental health care and the paradoxical ability of a suspect to
disappear into a city of millions with hundreds of thousands of cameras. The
city seemed to freeze until Mr. James’s arrest. Mr. James, 63, faces a possible
life sentence. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn, which
brought the case, declined to comment.”



Syria



Deutsche Welle: Syria: Bring Extremists' Children Out — But Leave Mothers?
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“In May this year, an 8-year-old boy drowned in a sewage trench in the camp.
In November, two girls, aged 12 and 15, were found in another sewage trench,
reportedly beheaded after being sexually assaulted. An expert in extremism told
DW they had seen young children in al-Hol camp being taught to behead cats and
dogs, practicing for recruitment to the extremist “Islamic State” (IS) group.
Al-Hol in north-eastern Syria, often described as “the most dangerous camp in
the world,” is home to over 53,000 people. Although not all the inhabitants
still support IS, they are best known as being the displaced families of the
group, who were forced to come here when the brutal extremist group was
defeated in its Iraqi and Syrian strongholds. A boy who works as a porter
pauses for a portrait in the marketplace at Al-Hol camp.A boy who works as a
porter pauses for a portrait in the marketplace at Al-Hol camp. Most of those
in the camp are from either Iraq or Syria but there are also between 10,000 and
11,000 foreigners from other countries, including in Europe, the US and Canada.
The camp's population consists mainly of women and children. Aid organizations
estimate that between 60% and 64% of the camp's population are children, and
mostly under 12. Given the conditions in the overcrowded camp, a lack of
medical care, limited supplies and barely any education, life for the thousands
of children in al-Hol was already hard. Over the past year, it has only become
harder. There were 126 murders and 41 attempted murders recorded in 2021,
making it al-Hol's most violent year.”



Iraq



Associated Press: Explosion In Northern Iraq Kills Two Soldiers, Injures Three
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“wo soldiers were killed and three were injured in an explosion in northern
Iraq, Iraqi state news said Thursday. The soldiers were traveling in an army
vehicle a day earlier in the Makhmour district when an explosive device
detonated, the state Iraqi News Agency reported. No group immediately claimed
responsibility for the attack. It was the latest in a string of similar
incidents in recent days. Eight people were killed and three injured Monday in
an attack by gunmen on the village of Albu Bali northwest of Fallujah,
previously held by the Islamic State extremist group. On Sunday, an explosive
device went off in northern Iraq, killing at least nine members of the Iraqi
federal police force who were on patrol in the village of Ali al-Sultan in the
Riyadh district of the province of Kirkuk. On Wednesday, Iraqi Prime Minister
Mohammed Shia al-Sudani had convened a meeting of security officials to discuss
the “terrorist attacks” and the army’s plans to respond, according to an
official statement.”



Afghanistan



Reuters: Dozens Protest In Afghan Capital After Taliban Close Universities To
Women
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“Dozens of women gathered outside Kabul University on Thursday to protest in
the first major public demonstration in the capital since the Taliban's
decision to close universities to female students. Female university students
were turned away the previous day from campuses after the Taliban-run
administration said on Tuesday that women would be suspended from tertiary
education. According to witnesses, about 50 mainly female protestors assembled
while holding banners and chanted: "Education is our right, universities should
be opened." The Taliban-led administration had already drawn criticism
including from foreign governments for not opening girls' high schools at the
start of the school year in March, making a U-turn on signals it would do so.
The backlash towards restrictions on female education is complicating the
Taliban-led administration's efforts to gain formal recognition and the lifting
of sanctions that are hampering the economy, diplomats say.”



Yemen



Asharq Al-Awsat: Yemen’s Al-Alimi Reiterates Demand For Int’l Designation Of
Houthis As Terrorist
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“Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi
reiterated on Tuesday his country’s demands for the international community to
designate the Iran-backed Houthi militias as terrorist. Al-Alimi received in
Riyadh a delegation of the European Parliament headed by the Chair of the
Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, David McAllister. He urged the
delegation to take action by designating the Houthis as terrorist in view of
its egregious practices and violations of international law that “have even
surpassed the crimes committed by Al-Qaeda and ISIS terror groups and their
allies in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.” “We call on the EU to support the
Leadership Council and the legitimate government in achieving reforms and
alleviating the suffering of Yemeni citizens,” he said, according to the Yemeni
news agency, Saba. Al-Alimi and the delegation discussed the latest
developments in Yemen and European efforts required to establish peace and
stability, and fulfill the aspirations of the Yemeni people to restore state
institutions and end the terrorist Houthi coup. He expressed his gratitude to
Europe’s support of the legitimate government and humanitarian efforts in
easing the suffering of the people. He stressed the importance of doubling
international pressure on the terrorist Houthi militias, and supporting the
reforms led by the Presidential Leadership Council and the government as an
ideal option to bring peace and reduce the catastrophic repercussions of the
worst humanitarian crisis in the world.”



Middle East



The Jerusalem Post: Israel To Hold Body Of Fatah Terrorist To Negotiate With
Hamas <[link removed]>



“Israel will hold onto the body of Nasser Abu Hamid, one of the founders of
Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, as part of efforts to negotiate a deal with
Hamas, Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced on Wednesday morning. The deal
Gantz is hoping to achieve would return captured Israelis Avera Mengistu and
Hisham al-Sayed, who have been held in Gaza since 2014 and 2015 respectively.
It would also see the return of the bodies of Lt. Hadar Goldin and Sgt. Oron
Shaul who were killed during Operation Protective Edge in 2014. Gantz said that
his decision was simply following protocol already approved by the security
cabinet, although Israel has swung wildly back and forth on returning the
bodies of Palestinian terrorists in the past. The move was unusual because it
appears that Jerusalem is intentionally linking the return of a Fatah militant
to negotiations with Hamas, whereas in the past, Israel has preferred to delink
such issues so as not to empower Gaza’s current rulers. It was also an unusual
move since Abu Hamid died while in Israeli custody serving a life sentence,
whereas most other cases of holding back terrorists’ bodies occurred after they
were killed in the field. The High Court of Justice has reached various
contradictory rulings over the issue of holding onto terrorists’ bodies, all of
which have given different Israeli governments a broad level of discretion over
the issue.”



The Times Of Israel: Israeli Forces Nab Hamas Member Over Northern West Bank
Shooting Attack
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“Israeli security forces on Wednesday afternoon arrested a member of the
Hamas terror group suspected of being involved in a shooting attack in the
northern West Bank over the weekend, police and the Shin Bet security agency
said. On Friday, Palestinian gunmen opened fire at an Israeli-owned car near
the unauthorized outpost of Havat Gilad, south of the West Bank city of Nablus.
The Israeli motorist was unharmed in the shooting, but the gunfire — at least
four shots — shattered the car’s windows and struck the driver’s headrest.
Border Police troops on Wednesday entered Nablus to arrest Mujahid al-Talfiti,
25, over his alleged involvement in the attack. Two other suspects were
arrested over the attack earlier this week. Palestinian media reports said
al-Talfiti was detained after Israeli forces surrounded a building he was in.
Al-Talfiti had been formerly jailed in Israel over various terror activities
and his affiliation with the Hamas terror group, according to the Shin Bet.
There were no reports of any major clashes during the raid in Nablus. The
Nablus-based Lion’s Den terror group claimed responsibility for the attack but
did not provide any evidence. In recent months, Palestinian gunmen have
repeatedly targeted military posts, troops operating along the West Bank
security barrier, Israeli settlements and civilians on the roads.”



Nigeria



Sahara Reporters: Boko Haram Terrorists Attack Borno Community, Burn Several
Silos Of Grain
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“Boko Haram terrorists have invaded Jibwiwi community in Hawul Local
Government Area of Borno State and burnt down eight houses and many grains
silos. The insurgents, who rode on several motorcycles, stormed the village
around 6pm on Monday. A vigilante in the town told Daily Trust that the
terrorists set ablaze the silos containing hundreds of cereal bags without
taking anything. “They burnt eight houses and many silos; most of the stores
contained dozens of bags of maize, guinea corn and groundnuts etc. “From there,
they proceeded to Ngulde community in Askira Uba LGA, but we were able to
subdue them with the help of hunters. “The quick intervention of vigilantes
saved the situation as the terrorists escaped after sighting lights of the
hunters’ patrol vehicles,” he said. The chairman, Northeast Hunters/Vigilante
Group, Shawulu Yohanna, confirmed the attack, adding that his team was quick to
respond and prevent the terrorists from attacking the next community.”



Africa



Associated Press: Suspected Extremists Attack Police In Northern Kenya; 3 Dead
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“Three people, including two police officers, were killed Wednesday morning
in an attack by al-Shabab extremists in northern Kenya, Kenyan police have
announced. The victims were in a police vehicle when they were attacked between
the Hayley Lapsset Camp and Garissa town, northeastern Kenya police chief
George Seda said in a statement. The attack began when the police vehicle was
demobilized when it hit an explosive device planted on the road, said police
and witnesses. The attackers then fired a rocket-propelled grenade which killed
two officers and a civilian, said the statement. Several other people escaped
into the bush and their whereabouts are still unknown, it said. The attackers
then set the vehicle ablaze. The area is near Kenya’s border with Somalia.
Police are pursuing the attackers and more officers have been deployed to the
area to search for those missing from the vehicle, said the statement.
Al-Shabab, Somalia’s homegrown extremist rebel group that is allied with
al-Qaida, is suspected of carrying out the attack by has not yet claimed
responsibility. Police say intelligence reports show there are pockets of
extremists who have come from Somalia on a mission to carry out violent attacks
in Kenya. On Saturday night, police fought off an attempt by suspected
extremists to seize control of a police station in Kutulo, Mandera County.”



Europe



The Brussels Times: Next Year's Brussels Terror Attacks Trial Schedule
Announced By Court
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“Brussels Court President Laurence Massart, in charge of presiding the trial
for the Brussels March 2016 terror attacks, has announced the schedule of
proceedings for the first months of 2023. Victims of the bombings will be heard
from 13 February until 9 March before defendants take the stand from 13 March
onwards. On Wednesday, the presiding judge of the Brussels terror attacks trial
Laurence Massart unveiled the upcoming schedule of proceedings, set to resume
after the end-of-year holidays. She announced that investigators and
investigating judges will be heard until 30 January, after which five days will
be reserved for possible questions from the various parties. The civil parties
will then take the stand from 13 February until 9 March, which will see victims
testify about their experiences. “We will make sure not to change the schedule
again,” Massart added, as certain lawyers for the civil party had regretted a
change to the previously announced schedule. The defendants will then be
questioned from 13 March onwards.”



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