“The ex-wife of an accused radical who abandoned America and his family to
become an ISIS sniper told jurors on Monday that his terrorist transformation
seemed like something out of a movie. Ruslan Asainov’s former spouse testified
at his trial in Brooklyn Federal Court on charges that he conspired to provide
material support for terrorists while training snipers for ISIS. She said the
loving husband and father-turned-violent-extremist sent his estranged wife
pictures of dead soldiers and photos of himself in camouflage holding an
assault rifle to show his commitment to the terrorist cause. After Asainov
abruptly pulled up roots in the U.S. in 2013 and made his way to Syria to
become a “warrior, sniper and sniper trainer” for the jihadi organization, he
and his wife remained in contact, though their exchanges were tense, she said.”











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Eye on Extremism


January 24, 2023



New York Daily News: Terror Trial Begins For NYC Man Accused Of Training ISIS
Snipers: ‘He Taught Them To Kill’
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“The ex-wife of an accused radical who abandoned America and his family to
become an ISIS sniper told jurors on Monday that his terrorist transformation
seemed like something out of a movie. Ruslan Asainov’s former spouse testified
at his trial in Brooklyn Federal Court on charges that he conspired to provide
material support for terrorists while training snipers for ISIS. She said the
loving husband and father-turned-violent-extremist sent his estranged wife
pictures of dead soldiers and photos of himself in camouflage holding an
assault rifle to show his commitment to the terrorist cause. After Asainov
abruptly pulled up roots in the U.S. in 2013 and made his way to Syria to
become a “warrior, sniper and sniper trainer” for the jihadi organization, he
and his wife remained in contact, though their exchanges were tense, she said.”



Reuters: Analysis: Iraqi PM Walks Diplomatic Tightrope In Crackdown On Dollars
Smuggled To Iran
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“Under pressure from Washington to stem the flow of dollars into Iran, Iraq's
prime minister sent elite counter-terrorism forces more accustomed to battling
Islamist militants to shut down dealers smuggling the currency to the Islamic
Republic. Saturday's raids in Baghdad represent an early test for Prime
Minister Mohammed al-Sudani, who took office in October after more than a year
of political paralysis and must now tread a delicate diplomatic path. The New
York Federal Reserve introduced tighter controls on international dollar
transactions by commercial Iraqi banks in November. The move was designed to
stop the illegal siphoning of dollars to Iran and apply more pressure along
with U.S sanctions imposed over Tehran's nuclear programme and other disputes,
leaving Tehran struggling to source dollars. Aqeel al-Fatlawi, a Shi'ite
lawmaker, accused Washington of deliberately using the new regulations as a
political weapon.”



United States



Maine Public Radio: White Supremacists Might Be To Blame For An Uptick In
Power Grid Attacks In The PNW
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“…Neo-Nazi groups have launched several plots to take out the U.S. grid in
recent years. They've even put out how-to manuals to make it easier to attack
vulnerable parts of the nation's critical infrastructure. Joshua Fisher-Birch
is a researcher with the Counter Extremism Project, which tracks these groups'
online activities. JOSHUA FISHER-BIRCH: The recent substation attacks have been
spoken about in glowing terms by certain members of the extreme right and
particularly by neo-Nazi accelerationists.”



Afghanistan



Reuters: U.N. Aid Chief Raises Women's Rights Concerns With Taliban In Afghan
Capital
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“The United Nations' aid chief visited Kabul on Monday and raised concerns
over women's education and work with the Taliban administration's acting
minister of foreign affairs, an Afghan ministry statement said. The Taliban-run
administration last month ordered NGOs not to allow most female employees to
work, prompting many aid agencies to partially suspend operations in the midst
of a humanitarian crisis unfolding during a bitterly cold winter. U.N.
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths raised the
issue of women's education and work and how this affected the U.N.'s
operations, according to a ministry of foreign affairs statement. Speaking
generally about Griffiths's visit to Afghanistan, U.N. spokesman Stephane
Dujarric said Griffiths would engage the Taliban administration "with the same
message that we've been delivering since the beginning on the need to to
rollback the policies that were put in place" on women.”



Pakistan



The Diplomat: Resurgence Of Terrorism In Pakistan
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“Pakistan has witnessed a renewed spate of terrorism in recent months,
particularly after the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) called off its
ceasefire and asked its fighters to resume countrywide attacks. Since the
Afghan Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, there has been a 55
percent increase in terrorist attacks in Pakistan. Terrorism’s resurgence has
brought into sharp focus the fragility of Pakistan’s counterterrorism gains.
While Pakistan will have to adopt a more proactive counterterrorism policy, an
analysis of factors underlying the resurgence of terrorism is important, as a
comprehensive understanding of the problem will pave the way for informed
policymaking.”



Lebanon



Reuters: Lebanon Blast Investigator Charges Former PM, Top Public Prosecutor
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“The judge probing the 2020 Beirut blast has charged Lebanon's top public
prosecutor, the then-premier and other senior current and former officials in
connection with the devastating explosion, judicial sources said and court
summons show. Judge Tarek Bitar unexpectedly resumed an inquiry on Monday after
it was paralysed for more than a year by political resistance and legal
complaints filed by top officials he was seeking to question. The explosion on
Aug. 4, 2020 was caused by hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been
stored at the port in poor conditions since it was unloaded in 2013. So far, no
senior official has been held to account. Bitar has charged prime minister
Hassan Diab and former ministers with homicide with probable intent, according
to court summons seen by Reuters on Tuesday. He also charged Prosecutor General
Ghassan Oweidat, the head of Lebanon's domestic intelligence agency Major
General Abbas Ibrahim, former army commander Jean Kahwaji and other current and
former security and judicial officials, court sources said.”



Middle East



The Times Of Israel: Hezbollah Erects New Watchtowers On Lebanon Border As IDF
Builds Defensive Wall
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“Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group has established new tall observation posts
on Israel’s northern border as the Israel Defense Forces has ramped up the
construction of a defensive wall. Residents of the northern town of Shtula who
spoke to the Ynet news site and Channel 12 news said one such 18-meter-high
tower, a few dozen meters from the border, had been constructed over the past
month, right where the IDF was replacing its aging border fence with a
nine-meter-high concrete wall. The Israeli military has long accused Hezbollah
of conducting clandestine activities along the Israel-Lebanon border under the
guise of an environmental group known as “Green Without Borders,” and published
details of one such new site last year. Ynet’s northern correspondent reported
that at least 20 posts manned by Hezbollah members in civilian clothing 24
hours a day have been built over the past year. Some of the posts are just
meters away from the internationally recognized border between the countries —
known as the Blue Line — and IDF positions on the other side of the fence.
According to the IDF, the alleged Hezbollah positions represent a violation of
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war.”



Africa



Associated Press: UN Rights Chief Condemns Killing Of Activist In Eswatini
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“United Nations humans rights chief Volker Türk on Monday condemned the
“brutal killing” of a leading pro-democracy activist in the southern African
nation of Eswatini, which is one of the world’s few remaining absolute
monarchies. Human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko was shot in his home on
Saturday, Türk said in a statement. He called on Eswatini authorities to ensure
there was an independent and effective investigation into the killing. Maseko
was a leading figure in the push for Eswatini to transition into a multi-party
democracy. He was imprisoned in 2014 for allegedly criticizing the judicial
system’s lack of independence, the U.N. said. He was acquitted on appeal and
released a year later. Eswatini was formerly known as Swaziland and is a
country of just over 1 million that borders South Africa and Mozambique. It is
Africa’s last remaining absolute monarchy and has been ruled by King Mswati III
since 1986.”



Associated Press: Governor Declares Emergency In Sudan Province After 4 Killed
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“Armed men opened fire on a bus station in southern Sudan on Monday,
officials said, killing at least four people and prompting authorities to
declare a monthlong state of emergency. Officials in South Kordofan province
said the attack in the provincial capital of Kadugli wounded at least four
others. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which took
place as the victims were heading to areas controlled by a rebel group, known
as the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, local media reported. Mousa
Gaber Mahmoud, South Kordofan’s acting provincial governor, called the attack
“unfortunate,” pledging that local authorities “will spare no effort to regain
security and stability” in the province. He said a state of emergency took
effect Monday across the southern province on the border with South Sudan.”



Reuters: Cameroon Denies Asking For Help To Mediate Separatist Conflict
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“Cameroon's government said it had not asked any country to mediate in its
conflict with Anglophone separatists, despite Canada saying it had received a
request to work on a peace process. Canada's foreign ministry said it had
accepted a mandate to facilitate talks between Cameroonian authorities and some
separatist factions in English-speaking regions to resolve a conflict that has
killed more than 6,000 people since 2017. But, in a statement on Monday that
did not directly mention Canada, Cameroon's government said it had "not
entrusted any foreign country or external entity with any role of mediator or
facilitator to settle the crisis". A spokesperson for the Anglophone
separatists, who are trying to form a breakaway state called Ambazonia in
minority English-speaking regions, said they had taken note of the government's
latest statement but would not comment further.”



Reuters: Prominent Cameroon Journalist Found Dead After Abduction
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“The mutilated body of a prominent Cameroonian journalist was found on Sunday
near the capital Yaounde five days after he was abducted by unidentified
assailants, the press union and a colleague said on Sunday. Media advocates
described Martinez Zogo's disappearance and death as a further sign of the
perils of reporting in the African country. Zogo, the director of private radio
station Amplitude FM, was kidnapped on Jan. 17 by unknown assailants after
trying to enter a police station to escape his attackers, media watchdog
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said. Zogo had recently been talking on air
about a case of alleged embezzlement involving a media outlet with government
connections, RSF said. "Cameroonian media has just lost one of its members, a
victim of hatred and barbarism," Cameroon's journalists' trade union said in a
statement. "Where is the freedom of the press, freedom of opinion and freedom
of expression in Cameroon when working in the media now entails a mortal risk?"



Reuters: Islamists Suspected Of Killing About 20 People In Eastern Congo Raid
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“Suspected Islamists killed about 20 people in a raid on a village in eastern
Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday night, a local chief and a military
official said on Monday. Both blamed the killings on the Allied Democratic
Forces (ADF), a Ugandan armed group based in eastern Congo that has pledged
allegiance to Islamic State and wages frequent attacks. "We were attacked last
night in the village of Mukungwe in Beni territory. It is the ADFs who stormed
the village," said Eugene Matsozi, the customary chief of the area. "So far we
have buried 24 people," he said. Colonel Charles Omeonga, the military
administrator of Beni territory, said "around 20" villagers were killed but
that he was waiting for a final assessment. Troops are in pursuit of the
attackers, he added.”



France



Asharq Al-Awsat: France Repatriates 15 Women, 32 Children From Syrian ISIS
Camps
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“France repatriated 15 women and 32 children held in ISIS prison camps in
northeastern Syria, the French foreign ministry said Tuesday. "The minors were
handed over to the services in charge of child assistance and will be subject
to medical and social monitoring," the ministry said in a statement. It added
that "the adults have been handed over to the competent judicial authorities".
Over the past decade, thousands of extremists in Europe travelled to Syria to
become fighters with the ISIS, often taking their families to live in the
self-declared "caliphate" it set up in territory seized in Iraq and Syria.
Since the "caliphate" fell in 2019, the return of family members of fighters
who were captured or killed has been a thorny issue for European countries.”



Germany



Fox News: German Prosecutors Indict 5 People For Treason, Forming 'Terrorist
Organization' Aimed At Sparking A Civil War
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“Federal prosecutors in Germany said Monday that they have indicted five
people for treason and forming a "terrorist organization" that aimed to topple
the government and spark a civil war. Prosecutors said the suspects, four men
and one woman, had made "concrete preparations" to cause a large-scale blackout
in the country and use the ensuing chaos to establish an alternative
government. They also allegedly planned to kidnap the country’s health
minister, Karl Lauterbach, who has faced extreme vitriol from opponents of the
government's pandemic restrictions. The group is accused of being driven by the
‘Reich Citizens’ ideology propagated by one of its members, who was identified
only as Elisabeth R. due to German privacy rules. All five German citizens were
arrested last year and remain in pre-trial detention. Authorities uncovered a
similar plot by another, larger far-right group last month. Its members were
also adherents of the Reich Citizens movement that believes the current
government is illegitimate and that the German constitution of 1871 is still in
force.”



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