Eye on Extremism
February 7, 2023
Associated Press: Sub-Saharan Africa Is ‘New Epicenter’ Of Extremism, Says UN
“The new global epicenter of violent Islamic extremism is sub-Saharan Africa where people are increasingly joining because of economic factors and less for religious ones, says a new report by the U.N.’s international development agency. A significant increase of 92% of new recruits to extremist groups are joining for better livelihoods compared to the motivations of those interviewed in a previous report released in 2017, according to the UNDP report released on Tuesday. Many Africans’ lives have been badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, high inflation, and climate change, said the report. There has been a 57% decrease in the number of people joining extremist groups for religious reasons, it said. Nearly 2,200 people were interviewed for the report in eight African countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, and Sudan. More than 1,000 interviewees are former members of violent extremist groups, both voluntary and forced recruits, said the report.”
Voice Of America News: 20 Escape Syria Prison Holding IS Inmates After Quake
“Prisoners mutinied in a northwestern Syria prison Monday following a deadly earthquake, with at least 20 escaping the jail holding mostly Islamic State group members, a source at the facility told AFP. The military police prison in the town of Rajo near the Turkish border holds about 2,000 inmates, with about 1,300 of them suspected to be IS fighters, said the source. The prison also holds fighters from Kurdish-led forces. ‘After the earthquake struck, Rajo was affected and inmates started to mutiny and took control of parts of the prison,’ said the official at Rajo jail, which is controlled by pro-Turkish factions. ‘About 20 prisoners fled... who are believed to be IS militants.’”
United States
CNN: Neo-Nazi Leader And Maryland Woman Allegedly Plotted To ‘Completely Destroy’ Baltimore, Justice Department Says
“Two people charged with conspiracy to damage energy facilities – a neo-Nazi leader and a woman with whom he had a personal relationship – allegedly planned to attack electrical substations encircling Baltimore and ‘completely destroy’ the entire city, according to federal court documents. The Justice Department has charged Brandon Clint Russell and Sarah Beth Clendaniel with conspiracy to damage energy facilities, alleging that the Maryland-focused plot was driven by ethnically or racially motivated extremist beliefs. They ‘conspired to inflict maximum harm on the power grid,’ Tom Sobocinski, who heads the FBI’s field office in Baltimore, said during a news conference Monday. ‘The accused were not just talking, but taking steps to fulfill their threats and further their extremist goals.’ The charges come as domestic violence experts have warned that attempts by extremist groups to attack power facilities are trending up.”
Afghanistan
Bloomberg: Dollars Smuggled From Pakistan Provide Lifeline For The Taliban
“Millions of dollars are being smuggled into Afghanistan from Pakistan every day, providing some support for the squeezed economy after the US and Europe denied the Taliban regime access to billions in foreign reserves. For Islamabad, the outflows are exacerbating a rapidly developing economic crisis. Traders and smugglers are bringing as much as $5 million across the border daily, according to Muhammad Zafar Paracha, general secretary of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan, a 26-member body of currency dealers. That more than covers the as much as $17 million that Afghanistan’s central bank injects into the market each week.”
Pakistan
The Nation: Karachi Police Arrest Two ‘Terrorists’ Of Banned Outfit
“Karachi police on Tuesday claimed to have arrested two alleged terrorists of a banned outfit from the site Superhighway. As per police, two ‘terrorists’ associated with an outlawed outfit were arrested during an action at Superhighway in which officials also recovered four hand grenades and two Kalashnikovs The arrested were identified as Ahmedullah alias Bashir and Naeemtullah. The police after initial integration said that the ‘terrorists’ got training from Afghanistan and were involved in incidents of terrorism, firing at houses and extortion money. Earlier on October 1, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed to kill two suspected terrorists of a banned outfit in an operation in Karachi’s Gulshan-e-Maymar area. According to details, the security force conducted the operation on intelligence reports of the presence of terrorists in a house in Janjal Goth near Gulshan-e-Maymar. The CTD team reached the site and surrounded the terrorists, a spokesperson said.”
Middle East
Wall Street Journal: Israeli Military Kills Five Militants Near Jericho As Violence Spreads
“Israeli forces said they killed five Palestinian militants during an operation targeting Hamas members in the Aqbat Jabr refugee camp near Jericho, the second such deadly raid in little over a week as violence escalates in the occupied West Bank. Israel’s military said it raided the camp to arrest two Palestinian suspects who last month attempted to carry out a shooting attack at a nearby restaurant frequented by Jewish Israelis, but their weapons malfunctioned and they fled. Israel’s military said they were hiding out in the refugee camp with the help of family and locals, and had continued to declare their intentions to carry out an attack. Since a series of deadly attacks by Palestinians inside Israel last spring, the Israeli military has been engaged in a prolonged operation against Palestinian militants in the West Bank, leading to one of the deadliest periods in over a decade and a half. Fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants has largely taken place in the northern West Bank, which has a history of militancy. Monday’s raid near Jericho, which is located in the south, suggests the violence could be spreading.”
Associated Press: Palestinians: Teen Killed In Israeli Army Raid In West Bank
“The Palestinian Health Ministry said Tuesday that Israeli troops killed a Palestinian teenager in an army raid in the occupied West Bank. He was the latest casualty in what is already one of the most violent periods in the West Bank in recent years. The ministry said 17-year-old Hamza al-Ashqar died of a gunshot wound to the head in the West Bank city of Nablus, but provided no additional details about the incident. The Israeli military said it carried out raids across the West Bank, including in the city of Nablus. It said troops came under attack there, and that soldiers fired at an armed Palestinian who shot at them. The incident came a day after Israeli forces killed five Palestinian gunmen linked to the Islamic militant Hamas group in a raid on refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.”
Africa
Reuters: Hope For Jobs Drives Recruitment By Militant Groups In Africa – Report
“Hope of employment more than religious belief is driving people to join fast-growing extremist groups in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a report by the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) based on interviews with hundreds of former fighters. While worldwide deaths from terrorism have declined in the last five years, deaths in sub-Saharan Africa have risen, making it now the global epicentre of attacks, the UNDP report said, citing an annual survey called the Global Terrorism Index. Countries from east to west Africa have seen Islamist militant groups take over large swathes of territory, displacing millions, eroding faith in democratic government and causing widespread hunger. The Sahel region has been the most affected, as groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State expand their attacks in one of the world's poorest regions.”
Tuko: Garissa: Police Shoot Dead Suspected Al-Shabaab Militant Found Emplacing IED On Road
“On Monday, February 6, security officers in Garissa county neutralised one and captured another al-Shabaab militant. The suspect donning a military outfit was caught emplacing Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) along the Sedahgose-Amuma road in Fafi in the company of two others. One more terrorist escaped with injuries while one IED, 1 AK-47 rifle and assorted materials were recovered.”
United Kingdom
BBC: Coventry Man Charged With Terrorism Offence
“A man has been charged with a terrorism offence after four people were arrested in Coventry last week. Mohamad Al Bared, 26, has been charged with engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorism under section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006. The Coventry resident is due to appear via video link at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday. Three others arrested - a woman, aged 58, a 57-year-old man and a man, aged 18 - have been released without charge.”
NDTV: Alleged Member Of Isis "Beatles" To Face Trial In Uk On Terror Charges
“An alleged member of the Islamic State (IS) group's ‘Beatles’ kidnap-and-murder cell will face trial in the UK this month on terrorism charges, a judge said on Monday. Aine Davis is accused of belonging to the notorious group of hostage-takers, who grew up and were radicalised in London. Active in Syria from 2012 to 2015, they were allegedly involved in abducting more than two dozen journalists and relief workers from the United States and other countries. The group members were nicknamed the ‘Beatles’ by their captives because of their distinctive British accents. The hostages, some of whom were released after their governments paid ransoms, were from at least 15 countries, including Denmark, France, Japan, Norway, Spain and the United States. The IS tortured and killed their victims, including by beheading, and released videos of the murders for propaganda purposes.”
Southeast Asia
The Manila Times: Local ISIS Kills Soldier, Wounds 3 In Lanao Sur
“A government soldier was killed and three others wounded after local ISIS fighters attacked a group of Marines in the restive Muslim province of Lanao del Sur, a known stronghold of the terrorist group in the southern Philippines. Police confirmed the weekend attack which occurred in the village of Cabasaran in Marogong town. It said the soldiers are members of the 2nd Marine Battalion Landing Team and the lone fatality was identified as Sgt. Tonti Melbert Pamaran. No other details were made available by the police and the military's Western Mindanao Command and the 6th Infantry Division. The Philippine Marines have not issued any report on the ambush. No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack, but police said the perpetrators were members of the Dawlah Islamiya or Islamic State.”
Technology
Washington Times: House GOP Warns Of Taliban, Terror Groups Purchasing Verified Blue Checks On Twitter
“House Republicans are warning Twitter CEO Elon Musk of terror organizations finding loopholes to amplify propaganda on the social media site. Reps. Pat Fallon, Keith Self and Ronny Jackson, all of Texas, and James Moylan of Guam, sent a letter to Mr. Musk demanding answers on how Twitter can prevent the misuse of its site by bad actors and how its verification process vets users’ identities. “Recent reports of Taliban officials purchasing blue checkmarks on Twitter have raised concerns that they may be using the algorithms associated with the program to spread hate, radical idealism, and terrorist propaganda,” the letter reads. “It is important to note that the United States does not recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.” Mr. Fallon added that other groups, like ISIS, have sought to use new methods to expand outreach efforts online.”
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