Eye on Extremism
February 6, 2023
New York Times: Ties To Kabul Bombing Put ISIS Leader In Somalia In U.S. Cross Hairs
“Bilal al-Sudani was no stranger to American counterterrorism officials. Before joining the Islamic State affiliate in Somalia, Mr. al-Sudani was subjected to punitive sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2012 for his involvement with Al Shabab, Al Qaeda’s branch in the East African country. But it wasn’t until American officials started digging deeper into the background of another Islamic State branch, the one in Afghanistan that had carried out the deadly bombing at Kabul’s international airport in August 2021, that analysts fully realized Mr. al-Sudani oversaw a sprawling ISIS financial and logistical network across Africa, Europe and Afghanistan.”
Associated Press: Turkey Detains 15 For IS Links But Finds No Concrete Threats
“Turkish police have arrested 15 people for alleged links to the extremist Islamic State group, the country’s official news agency said late Saturday, following days of security warnings by Western consulates. Anadolu news agency, sourcing an Istanbul police statement, said the group was detained for purportedly planning attacks on the Swedish and Dutch Consulates in Istanbul as well as on churches and synagogues. But the police added they couldn’t ascertain any ‘concrete threats’ against the locations. The intelligence that led to the police operation stated that the group may have received instructions from an affiliate of IS called Islamic State-Khorasan Province, which is active in South Asia and Central Asia. Sweden and the Netherlands have been the subject of angry protests in Turkey after an anti-Muslim activist burned the Muslim holy book in Stockholm. and a similar action took place in The Hague.”
United States
Associated Press: Husband And Wife Get Decade In Prison For Terror Support
“A husband-wife militant duo will spend about a decade in prison after each of them pleaded guilty to trying to provide material support to a terrorist organization. Prosecutors say the man told a law enforcement officer posing as a terrorism sympathizer that he wanted to carry out a terror attack in the United States. Potential targets included the U.S. Military Academy at West Point or against a university in New York State where he frequently saw Reserve Officer Training Corps or ROTC cadets training. James Bradley, 21, of the Bronx was sentenced to 11 years in prison Thursday in a federal court in Manhattan. His wife, Arwa Muthana, 30, of Hoover, Alabama, was sentenced Friday to nine years in prison during proceedings before Judge Paul A. Engelmayer. The sentencings came after they pleaded guilty in September, admitting that they were Islamic State group supporters who tried to go to the Middle East to fight for the organization.”
CNN: San Francisco Police Arrest Man Who Allegedly Fired ‘Possible Blanks’ Inside A Synagogue
“San Francisco police arrested a man suspected of firing several apparently blank rounds inside a synagogue and a movie theater earlier this week, authorities said Friday. Officers found the man around 5:00 p.m. PT Friday and detained him ‘without further incident,’ the San Francisco Police Department said in a statement. Investigators developed probable cause to obtain a search warrant and searched the suspect’s home. Evidence related to both incidents was seized, according to police. The suspect, whose name was not released Friday, was booked into the San Francisco County Jail on the charges of disturbing any religious assembly, brandishing an imitation firearm, and causing another to refrain from engaging in a religious service, the statement said. ‘While an arrest has been made, this remains an active investigation,’ San Francisco police said.”
Syria
Prensa Latina: Terrorists Escalate Actions In Idlib, Syria
“According to the sources, the group announced that jihadists recently carried out over 11 suicide operations against Syrian regulars on the front lines in the areas surrounding the provinces of Idlib, Hama, Latakia and Aleppo. They added that the most recent attack took place on Saturday in the town of Kobani in the northeast of Latakia, where at least five suicide bombers were killed and a soldier lost his life, in a failed action by the radicals. In turn, military sources reported that the extremists are taking advantage of the foggy and snowy weather conditions to launch their sudden attacks against military positions. On February 2nd, eight soldiers, including two officers, were reported killed as a result of attacks against positions of the Syrian armed forces in Maret al-Nouman, in Idlib. According to analysts, this increase is intended to hit the efforts being carried out to achieve rapprochement between Syria and Turkiye.”
Afghanistan
Reuters: Qatar Sends Envoy To Afghan Capital To Meet With Taliban
“An envoy for Qatar's foreign affairs minister visited the Afghan capital on Sunday and met with the Taliban administration's acting foreign minister, according to an Afghan foreign ministry statement. The visit comes after the Taliban administration placed restrictions on women's education and NGO work, which Qatar labelled "deeply concerning" amid widespread international criticism. Mutlaq Bin Majed Al-Qahtani, the special envoy of Qatar's foreign minister, took part in meetings with acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul, according to Afghan foreign affairs spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi.”
Pakistan
Voice Of America News: Deadly Bomb Targets Pakistan Military Convoy
“A bomb blast in southwestern Pakistan Sunday reportedly killed at least one soldier and injured 12 people, including civilians. The attack targeted a military vehicle at the entrance to a security checkpoint in a highly guarded central part of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, residents and officials said. Neither provincial police nor the military’s media wing shared any details about the casualties or the nature of the Quetta blast. The Pakistani Taliban insurgent group, also called Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, claimed responsibility, saying one of its suicide bombers carried out the attack on a military convoy. The insurgents gave a much higher casualty toll in the ensuing blast, but they often release inflated details about such attacks. Rescue workers confirmed at least five passersby were injured in the attack and transported to a nearby civilian hospital.”
Associated Press: Police: 2 Pakistani Taliban Commanders Killed In Northwest
“Pakistani police killed two commanders from a militant group in the country’s northwest, a local officer said Saturday. Pakistan has increased its operations against militants after a surge in violence by the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, particularly in the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The TTP ended its cease-fire with the government in November, ordering its fighters to carry out attacks across the country. Regional police officer Muhammad Ali Gandapur said the slain TTP fighters were wanted in connection with the killing of five police officers and were also involved in attacks on security checkpoints. The government had a bounty of $7,259 on the two men. Police arrested four fighters and recovered gunpowder, hand grenades, electronic detonators and Kalashnikov rifles in the same intelligence operation in Hund village, Swabi district.”
The Print: Pakistan: Soldier Killed, Seven Injured In Landmine Explosion, Subsequent Attack By Militants
“A soldier was killed and seven others were injured in a landmine explosion and subsequent attack by armed militants in the Jiwani area of Pakistan’s Gwadar district, Dawn newspaper reported. Coast Guard personnel were travelling in their vehicle when it hit a landmine in the Duran area on Saturday, according to officials. Post the blast, the vehicle was ambushed by armed men on motorcycles who opened fire. The soldier killed has been identified as Sameer. A senior police officer at the Jiwani police station, Hafiz Baloch said those injured were moved to a nearby hospital. A search operation has been launched in the area to arrest the attackers, Dawn newspaper reported.”
Middle East
Outlook India: Five Palestinian Terrorists Killed In Gunbattle In West Bank: Israeli Military
“…The Hamas is the largest Palestinian terrorist group which controls the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military says Hamas has elements in the West Bank as well. "The group’s ideology blends Islamism and Palestinian nationalism and seeks the destruction of Israel and the creation of an Islamic state between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River...Hamas’s preferred methods include suicide bombings, rocket and mortar attacks, shootings, and kidnappings," says think tank Counter Extremism Project (CEP) about Hamas.”
Somalia
Garowe Online: Somalia: Al-Shabaab Militants Killed In Jubaland
“A multi-agency security team led by the Jubaland military on Saturday neutralized Al-Shabaab militants between Jana Cabdalle and Afmadow towns, local media reported, just days after a state wide crackdown against the militants was reported by authorities in the Western part of Somalia. The federal troops with assistance from the Jubaland regional soldiers killed four militants between the two towns, who are believed to be senior Al-Shabaab commanders. The troops displayed two bodies; a spokesperson claimed they were preparing burial for the other two not captured by the camera. Al-Shabaab are increasingly under onslaught from the federal army with assistance from the US Africa Command, the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia, regional troops and local militia, who have managed to displace them from various strategic towns in the country.”
Africa
Al Arabiya News: At Least Nine Killed In Extremist Attack On Niger Refugee Camp: Sources
“Heavily armed extremists stormed a camp housing refugees from neighboring Mali in western Niger and killed nine people, a local official said Saturday. The attack took place on Wednesday at a camp in the Tahoua region bordering extremist-hit Mali, an elected local official said. ‘The toll from the attack is nine dead, one wounded and six missing,’ the official said. He said ‘heavily armed terrorists’ arrived on motorcycles and ‘opened fire’ before fleeing back to Mali. A security source confirmed the attack without giving any details.”
United Kingdom
Arab News: UK Officials Who Oversaw Funding Of Extremist Muslim Groups Must Be Sacked: Counterterrorism Expert
…Prof. Ian Acheson, a senior adviser to the Counter Extremism Project, which contributed to the long-delayed Shawcross review of the government’s anti-extremism Prevent program due to be released this week, called for a stricter approach to Muslim groups that “undermine social cohesion.” The review, led by William Shawcross, is expected to criticize Prevent for using its $48 million fund to provide money to controversial groups, ostensibly to support religious and community moderation in the UK. Acheson, a former prison governor who published a review of Islamist extremism in UK jails in 2016, criticized Prevent’s “mission creep,” arguing that “‘securitizing’ growing numbers of young people for thoughts that will not translate into actions is a waste of time and scarce resources.”
The Times: Sack Civil Servants Who Gave Funding To Islamist Extremists, Says Expert
“…Professor Ian Acheson, who is now a senior adviser to the Counter Extremism Project, said the UK should take a far tougher approach to non-violent Islamist groups who “undermine social cohesion” by spreading hatred. This week William Shawcross’s review of Prevent, the government’s counter-extremism programme, will be published. According to leaked extracts, it blames some Muslim organisations and individuals for promoting extremist narratives. Some of them have benefited from taxpayers’ money as part of Prevent’s £40 million fund that is supposed to support faith and community groups to steer people away from extremism. Acheson writes in today’s Times: “There will also be huge concern at the Home Office with Shawcross detailing how Prevent funding has been given to those who have used it to undermine the effectiveness of the programme.”
Arab News: UK Muslim Groups Linked To Extremism Face Funding Cuts, Increased Monitoring
“Muslim groups in the UK linked to the promotion of extremism are set to face funding cuts and greater monitoring under plans presented by UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman, The Times newspaper has reported. The plans to overhaul Britain’s anti-extremism program — Prevent — comes ahead of the expected release next week of the long-awaited results of the Shawcross review of the program. Sources told The Times that the review will criticize Prevent for failing to clamp down on, and in some cases financially supporting, Muslim groups linked to extremism. Some such groups received funding from Prevent’s $48 million reserves allocated to support community groups tackling extremism, the report will claim. Reviews of the charity statuses of Muslim organizations, which could lead to a loss of tax breaks, are also likely to follow. Seven of the 13 terrorist attacks carried out in Britain in the past six years were undertaken by people known to the Prevent program, leading to criticism over the scheme’s ability to deter violence, and a surge in Prevent referrals — including 2,127 schoolboys — has led to concerns that the program is failing to stop those classed as ‘vulnerable’ from turning to terror.”
Europe
Daily Sabah: Suspected Supporter Of PKK Terrorist Group Detained In Sweden
“A district court in Sweden's capital Stockholm detained a suspect who allegedly financially supported the PKK terrorist group for the first time, according to a statement made by prosecutor Hans Ihrman on Friday. The suspect in his 40s has been in Sweden for about five years, according to a report by Swedish SR Radio. Ihrman, citing court documents, said suspicions of attempted terrorist financing arose in connection with an investigation into attempted extortion and the suspect was arrested Friday on suspicion of attempted extortion and aggravated weapons offenses as well as terror financing. The detention marks the first time that a prosecutor in Sweden linked someone to PKK – a terror group responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in Türkiye. The suspect refused to comment during the court hearing, said the report.”
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