“A man who raced a truck down a Hudson River bike path in 2017, killing eight
people in what the authorities have called the deadliest terrorist attack in
New York City since 9/11, was convicted of murder charges on Thursday by a
federal jury and could now face the death penalty. The man, Sayfullo Saipov, a
34-year-old Uzbek native, said after his arrest that he was inspired to carry
out the attack by Islamic State videos that he watched on his phone and that he
chose a truck to inflict maximum damage against civilians. Mr. Saipov is the
first defendant to face a federal death penalty trial during the administration
of President Biden, who had campaigned against capital punishment. The
Manhattan jury delivered its verdict shortly after 3 p.m. on its first full day
of deliberations, after hearing wrenching testimony from survivors and
relatives of people killed in the attack. The truck had plowed into bicyclists,
sending riders flying into the air, crushing others on the ground and leaving
broken truck parts, mangled bicycles and bodies scattered behind. The eight
fatalities included six tourists, one from Belgium and five from Argentina. The
other victims were a 23-year-old software engineer from Manhattan and a
32-year-old financial worker from New Jersey.”











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Eye on Extremism


January 27, 2023



New York Times: Man Convicted In Terror Attack That Killed 8 On A Manhattan
Bike Path
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“A man who raced a truck down a Hudson River bike path in 2017, killing eight
people in what the authorities have called the deadliest terrorist attack in
New York City since 9/11, was convicted of murder charges on Thursday by a
federal jury and could now face the death penalty. The man, Sayfullo Saipov, a
34-year-old Uzbek native, said after his arrest that he was inspired to carry
out the attack by Islamic State videos that he watched on his phone and that he
chose a truck to inflict maximum damage against civilians. Mr. Saipov is the
first defendant to face a federal death penalty trial during the administration
of President Biden, who had campaigned against capital punishment. The
Manhattan jury delivered its verdict shortly after 3 p.m. on its first full day
of deliberations, after hearing wrenching testimony from survivors and
relatives of people killed in the attack. The truck had plowed into bicyclists,
sending riders flying into the air, crushing others on the ground and leaving
broken truck parts, mangled bicycles and bodies scattered behind. The eight
fatalities included six tourists, one from Belgium and five from Argentina. The
other victims were a 23-year-old software engineer from Manhattan and a
32-year-old financial worker from New Jersey.”



Fox News: SEAL Team Six Kills Key ISIS Facilitator Bilal Al-Sudani, 10
Operatives In Counterterrorism Mission In Somalia
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“The U.S. military killed a key ISIS facilitator, Bilal al-Sudani, and about
10 ISIS operatives in a counterterrorism mission that resulted in no U.S.
casualties, senior administration officials said Thursday. Officials said that
after "extensive planning and exquisite execution of the plan, there were no
casualties among American service members or civilians." Officials say
al-Sudani was involved in funding a network of ISIS affiliates around the
world. One official said al-Sudani had specifically been funding and expanding
ISIS’ reach throughout Africa and through the ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed the assault operation in a statement
Thursday afternoon, saying al-Sudani "was responsible for fostering the growing
presence of ISIS in Africa and for funding the group’s operations worldwide,
including in Afghanistan." "This action leaves the United States and its
partners safer and more secure, and it reflects our steadfast commitment to
protecting Americans from the threat of terrorism at home and abroad," Austin
said. "We are grateful to our extraordinary service members as well as our
intelligence community and other interagency partners for their support to this
successful counterterrorism operation."”



United States



Associated Press: Jamaican Cleric Convicted In NY State Terrorism Trial
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“A Jamaican cleric accused of recruiting support for the Islamic State group
was convicted Thursday of state terrorism charges after being extradited to New
York City following an undercover New York Police Department sting that went
international. Abdullah el-Faisal is due to be sentenced next month after his
conviction in state Supreme Court in Manhattan on counts including soliciting
or providing support for an act of terrorism, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin
Bragg’s office said. Bragg’s office said it was the first-ever state-level
trial on terrorism charges. New York’s laws on terrorism were passed in the
aftermath of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.”



CNN: Convicted ISIS Supporter Allegedly Met With ‘American Taliban’ John Lindh
In Violation Of Release Conditions
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“Ali Shukri Amin, a Virginia man who pleaded guilty in 2015 to providing
support to ISIS, is accused of violating his release conditions after allegedly
meeting multiple times with John Walker Lindh, the so-called ‘American Taliban’
who served 17 years in prison for supplying services to the group. According to
court documents, the FBI photographed Amin having several conversations with
Lindh in 2021, a violation of Amin’s release condition that he not communicate
with any known extremists. Lindh, who was released in 2019, was also on
supervised release and subject to the same condition as Amin at the time of the
alleged meetings, but has not been accused of violating those terms.”



Syria



Fox News: Syrian Kurdish-Led Forces Capture Islamic State Group Commander In
Eastern Syria
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“Syrian Kurdish-led forces captured a local commander of the Islamic State
group in eastern Syria as part of an ongoing operation targeting sleeper cells
in the city of Raqqa, the U.S.-backed forces announced Thursday. The commander
served as the chief of the extremist group’s faction for Raqqa and was among
the 68 militants detained in the operation, the Syrian Democratic Forces said.
The operation started earlier this week, in response to a December attack by IS
that targeted military and security buildings in Raqqa and killed at least six
Syrian Kurdish fighters. A Kurdish commander, Mazloum Abdi, said they had
indications of "serious preparations" by IS for attacks.”



Iraq



Al Arabiya News: Iraq To Hang 14 People For ISIS Massacre Of Hundreds Of Army
Cadets In 2014
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“Iraq has sentenced 14 people to death by hanging for their role in the ISIS
terrorist group massacre of hundreds of army cadets in 2014, judicial officials
said Thursday. The massacre, one of the worst committed by ISIS in Iraq, saw
the extremists in June 2014 abduct up to 1,700 mainly Shia cadets from the
Speicher military base in the Tikrit region and execute them…The Al-Rusafa
Criminal Court in the capital Baghdad “issued death sentences against 14
criminal terrorists for their participation in the Camp Speicher massacre in
2014,” the judicial authority said in a statement, without specifying their
nationalities. The 14 men have 30 days to appeal the sentence. Decrees
authorizing executions must also be signed by the president.”



Afghanistan



Voice of America: Taliban Refill Afghan Jails
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“Less than two years after releasing all prisoners held by the previous
Afghan government, including suspected terrorists, the Taliban are rapidly
refilling prisons with new inmates. Over the past 18 months, de facto Taliban
authorities detained more than 29,000 individuals on various charges such as
theft, kidnapping, murder and moral crimes according to country’s top prison
official. “We have released some 15,000 inmates,” Mohammad Yusuf Mistari, the
Taliban’s director of prisons, told VOA in WhatsApp messages. “Currently, there
are approximately 14,000 inmates in the Islamic Emirate’s jails.” Among the
prisoners, up to 1,100 are women. Taliban officials claim they have no
political prisoners and that all the prisoners are held on criminal charges — a
claim not confirmed by independent organizations.”



The National: Twenty Terrorist Groups 'With Foreign Objectives' Operating In
Afghanistan
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“Twenty extremist groups are entrenched in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan with
eyes on targets abroad, a security expert has said. In a chilling warning to
the international community, Arian Sharifi suggested the landlocked country has
become a breeding ground for terrorists looking to establish or re-establish
themselves. It has been 17 months since the Taliban entered Afghanistan’s
capital Kabul and took control of the country. They have since implemented
policies reminiscent of their brutal rule in the late 1990s, including banning
woman from studying at universities and working for aid groups. After storming
back into power, the Taliban promised the West it would not allow the country
to serve as a platform for terrorists amid fears foreign groups could use it as
a springboard to launch attacks elsewhere.”



Lebanon



Middle East Monitor: US To Provide $72m In Salaries To Lebanon Army, Police
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“The United States announced on Wednesday it would provide $72 million as
cash stipends to Lebanon's security forces through a bespoke United Nations
program after a currency meltdown slashed salaries, Reuters reported. Lebanon's
currency has lost about 97 per cent of its value against the dollar since the
country's financial system collapsed in 2019, driving down most soldiers'
monthly wages to around $80.

The military has been squeezed so badly that its canteens stopped serving
meat to troops in 2020, and it began offering sightseeing tours in its
helicopters to raise cash. US Ambassador, Dorothy Shea, said the scheme was a
"temporary" measure "in light of the urgency of Lebanon's economic situation".
Announcing details alongside Lebanese Armed Forces Commander, Joseph Aoun, she
said the program would disburse $100 in cash monthly, for six months, to
members of the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Internal Security Forces.”



Reuters: Lebanese Money Exchanger Moukalled Denies Hezbollah Ties After U.S.
Sanctions
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“Lebanese money exchanger Hassan Moukalled on Thursday denied that he or his
company CTEX have financial ties to Hezbollah and said he would mount legal
challenges to U.S. Treasury sanctions against him. The claims are wrong - all
wrong," Moukalled told Reuters. "We will take all legal measures to respond to
this in Lebanon and the U.S. The U.S. Treasury said Moukalled was a financial
adviser to Iran-backed Hezbollah and carried out financial transactions on its
behalf that earned him hundreds of thousands of dollars… Hezbollah is a
heavily-armed and politically powerful faction founded in 1982 by Iran's
Revolutionary Guards and classified by the U.S. and other Western countries as
a ‘terrorist organization.’”



Middle East



Reuters: Gaza Militants Fire Rockets, Israel Strikes In Gaza
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“Palestinian militants on Friday fired two rockets from the Gaza Strip
towards southern Israel that were intercepted by missile defenses, and Israel
then carried out strikes in Gaza. The cross-border fire came after an Israeli
raid in the occupied West Bank on Thursday that led to the largest single death
toll in years of fighting. The overnight rockets triggered sirens in Israeli
communities near the border with Gaza, warning residents to take shelter.”



Nigeria



Leadership News: Boko Haram Kills Over 300 Members Planning To Surrender –
Borno Govt
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“Boko Haram and ISWAP commanders have eliminated over 300 insurgents and
their families who were coming out of Sambisa Forest to surrender to government
authorities in North East Nigeria. The terrorists carried out the mass killing
of its members to frustrate the ongoing dialogue and surrendering process of
repentant terrorists in Borno State, the government said. The special adviser
to Borno State governor on security affairs, Brig Gen. Ishaq Abdullahi (rtd),
made the revelation yesterday in an interview in Maiduguri. According to him,
more than 90,000 Boko Haram fighters and their families have so far surrendered
to the state government in the last 17 months due to the peace dialogue
initiative with the fighters.”



Africa



Associated Press: Fighting Intensifies In Eastern Congo, Displacing Hundreds
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“Fighting intensified around a town in eastern Congo Thursday as a rebel
group seeking to expand the territory it controls increased pressure on
government troops defending it, forcing hundreds of civilians to flee their
homes. By evening it was unclear who controlled Kitchanga in North Kivu
province. Videos on social media appeared to show fighters in the M23 group
celebrating and claiming they’d captured the town. It was impossible to
independently verify their authenticity. Congo for months has accused
neighboring Rwanda of supporting the M23 group — whose origins lie in the
region’s ethnic fighting — and powerful voices in the West have openly agreed.
Rwanda denies backing the group, which is one of dozens operating in
mineral-rich eastern Congo. At a Nov. 23 summit in Angola, which included
Congo’s president and Rwanda’s foreign minister, regional leaders called for a
cease-fire in eastern Congo to be followed by a withdrawal of rebels from major
towns under M23 control.”



United Kingdom



Reuters: UK Police Charge Man With Terrorism After Arrest At Leeds Hospital
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“British police on Thursday said a 27-year-old man has been charged with
terrorism and other offences after he was found last week with a suspicious
device in the grounds of a hospital in Leeds, in northern England. Mohammed
Farooq from Leeds was charged with preparation of a terrorist act and
possession of an explosive substance and an imitation firearm, the Crown
Prosecution Service (CPS) said. Farooq, who was arrested last week, will appear
at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday, the CPS added.”



Germany



Associated Press: Germany: Victims Of Fatal Train Attack Identified As 2 Teens
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“A 33-year-old man arrested on suspicion of fatally stabbing two teenagers
and injuring five other passengers on a train in northern Germany had been
released from pretrial detention a week ago and had previous criminal
convictions, investigating officials said Thursday. The man, who was identified
as Ibrahim A., a stateless Palestinian who came to Germany in 2014, allegedly
stabbed multiple people Wednesday afternoon on a regional train traveling from
Kiel to Hamburg. A 17-year-old girl and a 19-year-old man died of their wounds,
authorities said. Two victims were still in life-threatening condition and two
others were severely injured. One person was slightly injured, police said.
Other passengers overwhelmed the suspect, who was treated at a hospital for
slight injuries and is in police custody, local police said at a press
conference in Kiel.”



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