“A large explosion caused by a suicide bomber in Kabul's diplomatic district
left at least 13 people dead and others injured Wednesday in the latest attack
targeting Afghanistan's Taliban regime, according to a CBS News source. The
blast happened at the main entrance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs just as
employees were leaving for the day, and images shared on social media showing
multiple people on the ground on the road in front of the building's entrance.
A former employee of the ministry told CBS News that at least 13 people were
killed, all of them employees of the foreign ministry. Earlier, Khalid Zadran,
a spokesman for the Kabul police force, confirmed to reporters that the
explosion, which struck around 4 p.m. local time, had killed at least five
people and left many more wounded. An emergency hospital in Kabul run by an
Italian charity said it had received at least 40 people for treatment from the
incident, but it did not say how many had died.”











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Eye on Extremism


January 12, 2023



CBS News: Suicide Bomber Attacks Taliban Regime In Afghanistan's Capital
Kabul, Killing At Least 13
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“A large explosion caused by a suicide bomber in Kabul's diplomatic district
left at least 13 people dead and others injured Wednesday in the latest attack
targeting Afghanistan's Taliban regime, according to a CBS News source. The
blast happened at the main entrance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs just as
employees were leaving for the day, and images shared on social media showing
multiple people on the ground on the road in front of the building's entrance.
A former employee of the ministry told CBS News that at least 13 people were
killed, all of them employees of the foreign ministry. Earlier, Khalid Zadran,
a spokesman for the Kabul police force, confirmed to reporters that the
explosion, which struck around 4 p.m. local time, had killed at least five
people and left many more wounded. An emergency hospital in Kabul run by an
Italian charity said it had received at least 40 people for treatment from the
incident, but it did not say how many had died.”



Associated Press: 14 Malian Soldiers Killed By Explosives In Multiple Attacks
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“Coordinated attacks by Islamic extremists have killed 14 Malian soldiers and
wounded nearly a dozen, the army said. Multiple improvised explosive devices
detonated between Dia and Diafarabe villages as well as between Koumara and
Macina towns in central Mali, said Col. Souleymane Dembele, the director of
public relations for the army, in a statement Wednesday. During the same
attacks, which occurred earlier this week, Mali’s forces killed more than 30
“terrorists,” Dembele said. The West African nation has been riddled with
violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group for a decade. Thousands
of people have been killed. Mali’s ruling junta, which seized power in two
coups starting in 2020, has been struggling to beat back the jihadis,
especially since French troops pulled out of the country in August amid frayed
relations with the junta. France has been in the region since 2013 when it sent
in troops to Mali to push back extremists encroaching on the capital, Bamako,
but the jihadis have since regrouped.”



Afghanistan



CNN: Australia Pulls Out Of Afghanistan Cricket Series Over Taliban’s
Restrictions On Women
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“Australia’s men’s cricket team has withdrawn from a series of upcoming
matches against Afghanistan in protest over the ruling Taliban’s restrictions
on women and girls’ education and employment, Cricket Australia (CA) said in a
statement Thursday. The teams were scheduled to play three One Day
International (ODI) games in the United Arab Emirates in March, but CA decided
to cancel the series after “extensive consultation” with “several stakeholders
including the Australian government,” the statement said. “CA is committed to
supporting growing the game for women and men around the world, including in
Afghanistan, and will continue to engage with the Afghanistan Cricket Board in
anticipation of improved conditions for women and girls in the country,” it
added. In December, the Taliban announced the suspension of university
education for all female students. The move followed a decision in March to bar
girls from returning to secondary schools, following months-long closures that
had been in place since the hardline Islamist group took over Afghanistan in
August 2021.”



Middle East



The Jerusalem Post: Israeli Injured In Terrorist Stabbing Attack South Of
Hebron – IDF <[link removed]>



“A Palestinian terrorist stabbed Israeli Elyashiv Nahum, 29, near the West
Bank outpost of Havat Yehuda, where he lives. Nahum suffered moderate injuries
and was transferred to the Soroka-University Medical Center in Beersheba for
further medical attention by Magen David Adom. The Palestinian terrorist was
then shot and killed. Reports were mixed about who shot the Palestinian,
whether it was Nahum himself, who managed to stay composed, or a visiting
electrician who happened to be on the scene. Nahum was bleeding from his upper
body in multiple spots. He is in stable condition. The Palestinian stabber has
been identified by Palestinian media as Sanad Muhammad Samamra, 18, from the
nearby Palestinian town of Dhahiriya, only a few kilometers away. Elyashiv’s
wife, Roni, told Ynet that “he was at the entrance to our home. Elyashiv called
out to him, ‘Who is it?’ He responded, ‘I only came to drink water.’ Then he
pulled his knife.” Roni’s father is Noam Arnon, Ynet added, a spokesman for
Hebron.”



i24: Ground Forces Key To Victory In War With Hezbollah
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“A decisive and overwhelming victory - that’s what the Israeli military is
aiming for in a future war with Hezbollah. It knows that such a victory will be
won on the ground rather than, say, by employing overwhelming air power or
missiles. "The ground maneuver is one of the tools the military has against the
enemy,” says Lieutenant Colonel Shimon Orkabi, an Engineering Corps battalion
commander. “Our maneuver can be strong and effective and, if needed, will be
able to complete its mission.” Boots on the ground demand a completely
different level of logistics that doesn’t end with supplying the infantry and
armored corps with all they need to fight. It also means sending the
engineering corps in to deal with any surprise the enemy is preparing. This is
what the corps have been training for this week. “Our battalion conducted a
drill depicting an incursion deep into Lebanon with the scenarios we expect to
meet on the battlefield,” says Orkabi. “We aim to allow the infantry and
armored corps to reach the targets in the next war.” Israel’s border with
Lebanon has been almost tranquil for more than 16 years now, since the summer
war in 2006. Both Israel and Hezbollah seem to have an interest in keeping it
this way. But both Israel and Hezbollah also know that this silence may be
interrupted at any minute.”



Somalia



Voice Of America: Somali Government Says Funding Sources To Al-Shabab Shut Down

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“The Somali government says it has shut down the financial infrastructure
that supports Islamist militant group al-Shabab. Speaking Wednesday to a
gathering of Somali diaspora members in Cairo, Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi
Barre said his government has closed every known account connected with the
militants. “The government has closed down about 250 militant-connected
accounts in four banks and also shut down the network and the data services of
about 70 mobile phones the militants were using to transfer money,” Hamza said.
“This was a major victory and was only possible because of the tips of the
Somali citizens and we are in the process of investigating the amount of the
frozen money in the closed accounts,” said the prime minister. Hamza said
Somali security forces have also arrested individuals carrying money to
al-Shabab financial offices. Al-Shabab has funded itself for years by extorting
businesses in Mogadishu and collecting taxes in the areas under its control."



Africa



AFP: West African Chief Vows Support For Extremist-Torn Burkina Faso
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“The head of West Africa’s regional bloc has expressed support for
extremist-hit Burkina Faso less than five months after an insurgency sparked by
militants sparked a new coup, the Burkinabe government said. Guinea-Bissau
President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, current president of the Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS), made a one-day visit to Ouagadougou on Wednesday
for talks with junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traore. Traore, 34, seized power on
September 30 at the head of army officers angered at failures to roll back a
bloody extremist campaign. In a statement issued after the talks, Traore’s
office said Embalo was “reassured by the steady transition” for returning the
country to civilian rule. Embalo also “reaffirmed the willingness of the West
African organization to support and accompany Burkina Faso in the fight against
terrorism.” ECOWAS, a 15-member organization which includes Burkina Faso, is
struggling with a string of military coups in its region and an escalating
extremist insurgency in the Sahel. It has taken a relatively hard line with
Guinea and Mali over coups there, invoking the threat of sanctions to try to
speed up the return to civilian rule.”



Reuters: Suspected Islamist Fighters Kill Four Road Workers In Eastern Kenya
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“Four workers from Kenya's highways agency were killed in an ambush by
suspected Islamist militants on Wednesday near the country's eastern border
with Somalia, police said. The workers were leading a three-car convoy from the
town of Garissa to Bura when they hit an explosive device planted in the road
by suspected members of the Somali insurgent group al Shabaab, according to a
police report. "A vehicle with four employees of the Kenya National Highway
Authority was attacked with an IED, all the four died on the spot," said John
Otieno, a local government administrator. Spokespersons for al Shabaab could
not immediately be reached for comment as their phones were switched off. Al
Shabaab killed 166 people at Garissa University in 2015, and 67 at a mall in
Nairobi in 2013, but the frequency and severity of the group's attacks in Kenya
has reduced in recent years. The al Qaeda franchise's cross-border raids are
part of its campaign to pressure Kenya into withdrawing its troops from the
African-Union mandated peacekeeping force in Somalia, ATMIS.”



United Kingdom



BBC: Bath Man 'Shared Explosive-Making Recipe In Group Chat', Court Hears
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“A man shared instructions which could have been used to make an explosive, a
court has heard. Elliot Brown, 25, from Bath, shared a video on a messenger app
group chat of his speaker reading out a recipe on how to make thermite. Three
days later, fellow member Dean Morrice purchased materials to make the
explosive substance. Mr Brown is accused of the collection and dissemination of
terrorist publication, which he denies. Bristol Crown Court heard Mr Brown
recorded a 30-second video on 22 March 2020, in which his Amazon Alexa speaker
responded to his question - "how do I make thermite?". Alexa read out
instructions from a website, which Mr Brown recorded and sent into a far-right
group chat via the messenger app Telegram. The group chat contained messages
from members, including Mr Brown, expressing racist, homophobic and
anti-Semitic views, the court heard. It also contained photos related to the
support of neo-Nazism, the jury was told.”



The National: Extinction Rebellion Tactics Shift But 'Fringe Groups' Dangers
Grow
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“Extinction Rebellion has launched a 100-day countdown to a large protest in
a switch in tactics triggered by tougher enforcement, amid calls for a
crackdown on emerging dangers of similar movements. Prof Ian Acheson of the
Counter Extremism Project has called on the UK to use existing laws and set up
special courts to expedite the arrest, prosecution and punishment of people
whose actions have a disproportionate effect on the public. A January 1
announcement by Extinction Rebellion, also known as XR, to end acts of public
disruption came as seven members of the group face possible prison sentences
for criminal damage. It unveiled a banner on Westminster Bridge on Wednesday as
it aims to stage a protest of 100,000 people outside the Houses of Parliament
on April 21. It comes as Just Stop Oil has called an online meeting of its
supporters to discuss ramping up their activity after the Extinction Rebellion
decision.”



Germany



Al Arabiya: German Woman Goes On Trial Over ‘Enslaving’ Yazidi Woman
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“A German woman went on trial Wednesday accused of aiding and abetting war
crimes and genocide with the ISIS terrorist group in Syria by “enslaving” a
Yazidi woman. The 37-year-old defendant, identified only as Nadine K., is also
facing charges of crimes against humanity and membership of a foreign terrorist
organization before a court in the southwestern city of Koblenz. Federal
prosecutors say Nadine K. travelled with her husband in December 2014 from
Germany to the ISIS-controlled part of Syria where they joined the terrorist
group. Months later the couple and their daughter settled in the Iraqi city of
Mosul, the former “capital” proclaimed by ISIS, where they allegedly hoarded
weapons and established a hostel providing room and board for “single female
members” of ISIS. “From early 2016, Nadine K. and her husband kept a Yazidi
woman as a slave,” prosecutors said when she was charged in September. “The man
raped and beat the woman regularly, which Nadine K. knew.” They said Nadine K.
kept watch to prevent the woman, who was 22 at the time, from fleeing and
forced her to do housework and care for children while observing Islamic
rituals. “All of this served the declared purpose of ISIS, to wipe out the
Yazidi faith,” prosecutors said.”



Europe



WTOP News: The Hunt: Is The West Forgetting About The Threat Of Terrorism?
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“In this week’s edition of “The Hunt with WTOP national security
correspondent J.J. Green,” Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler warns that terror groups
are taking advantage of western countries turning their focus to geopolitical
concerns in China and Russia.”



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