“The threat posed by Islamic State extremists remains high and has increased in
and around conflict zones, and the group’s expansion is “particularly worrying”
in Africa’s center, south and Sahel regions, the U.N. counter-terrorism chief
said Thursday. Undersecretary-General Vladimir Voronkov told the U.N. Security
Council that the group, also known by its Arabic acronym Daesh, continues to
use the Internet, social media, video games and gaming platforms “to extend the
reach of its propaganda to radicalize and recruit new supporters.” “Daesh’s use
of new and emerging technologies also remains a key concern,” he said, pointing
to its continuing use of drones for surveillance and reconnaissance as well as
“virtual assets” to raise money. Voronkov said the high level of threat posed
by the Islamic State and its affiliates, including their sustained expansion in
parts of Africa, underscores the need for multifaceted approaches to respond –
not just focused on security but on preventive measures including preventing
conflicts.”











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Eye on Extremism


February 10, 2023



Associated Press: UN Says Threat From Islamic State Extremists Remains High
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“The threat posed by Islamic State extremists remains high and has increased
in and around conflict zones, and the group’s expansion is “particularly
worrying” in Africa’s center, south and Sahel regions, the U.N.
counter-terrorism chief said Thursday. Undersecretary-General Vladimir Voronkov
told the U.N. Security Council that the group, also known by its Arabic acronym
Daesh, continues to use the Internet, social media, video games and gaming
platforms “to extend the reach of its propaganda to radicalize and recruit new
supporters.” “Daesh’s use of new and emerging technologies also remains a key
concern,” he said, pointing to its continuing use of drones for surveillance
and reconnaissance as well as “virtual assets” to raise money. Voronkov said
the high level of threat posed by the Islamic State and its affiliates,
including their sustained expansion in parts of Africa, underscores the need
for multifaceted approaches to respond – not just focused on security but on
preventive measures including preventing conflicts.”



CNN: Senators Introduce Bill On US Approach To ISIS Detainee And Displacement
Camps In Syria
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“A bipartisan group of US senators put forward a bill to give a senior
official the ability to coordinate the US government’s approach to ISIS
detainee and displacement camps in Syria, where tens of thousands of refugees
as well as those accused of being tied to the terrorist group are housed. The
reintroduction of the ‘Syria Detainee and Displaced Persons Act’ comes days
after a devastating earthquake struck parts of Turkey and Syria, with the death
toll topping 20,000 people as of Thursday. The proposed legislation builds on
the establishment in a 2019 bill of the ISIS detainee coordinator position – a
role which has not been filled – and is led by Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen
of New Hampshire, along with lead Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South
Carolina. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, a New
Jersey Democrat, and Ranking Member Sen. Jim Risch, an Idaho Republican, are
fellow cosponsors. Last October, Ian Moss, a deputy coordinator at the State
Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism, said the US assessed that ‘the
situation in northeast Syria detention facilities and displaced persons camps
to be both a security and humanitarian crisis that will continue to worsen if
nothing is done to address the situation.’ The bipartisan bill aims to empower
a coordinator ‘to synchronize the whole-of-government effort’ to address this
crisis, according to a press release. Specifically, the bill would elevate the
coordinator position to a senior level one, renew the coordinator’s mandate
until 2025 and expand it ‘to explicitly include all inhabitants of the camps,
not just fighters and ISIS-affiliated individuals.’”



United States



The Dallas Morning News: Plots, Attacks Against Power Grids Are Increasing
Nationwide. How Vulnerable Is Texas?
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“…Joshua Fisher-Birch, a researcher with the Counter Extremism Project,
cautioned against prescribing unsolved attacks on power stations to a certain
ideological bent. Some of the attacks could have been from people hoping to
steal wire, he said, or those who are simply destructive. One suspect in an
attack on power infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest that cut the lights off
for 14,000 people on Christmas Day said he hoped to burglarize a business after
knocking out power. But ideas about attacks on critical infrastructure are
discussed constantly in Neo-Nazi messaging groups. “There are definitely
conversations happening on Telegram and happening in places where Neo-Nazi
accelerationists congregate where they are discussing these attacks,” he said,
“and they’re saying, ‘What can we learn from this?’””



Department Of Justice: U.S. Citizen Sentenced For Conspiring To Provide
Electronic Equipment And Technology To The Government Of Iran
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“Earlier today in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, Kambiz Attar Kashani,
44, a dual citizen of the United States and Iran, was sentenced to 30 months in
prison for conspiring to illegally export U.S. goods and technology to end
users in Iran, including the Central Bank of Iran, in violation of the
International Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The Central Bank of Iran is an
Iranian government agency that, according to the U.S. government, has
materially supported Lebanese Hizballah and the Qods Force of Iran’s Islamic
Revolutionary Guards Corps, both designated terrorist organizations. ‘Kashani
conspired to illegally export U.S. goods and technology for the benefit of the
Central Bank of Iran, a designated entity that materially supports known
terrorist organizations,’ said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of
the Justice Department’s National Security Division. ‘The Department remains
vigilant against any efforts to circumvent our export control and sanctions
laws, which exist to protect the security of the United States and its people.’
‘Kashani defied export restrictions and sanctions against Iran, a country that
sponsors international terrorism,’ said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the
Eastern District of New York. ‘His scheme undermined U.S. foreign policy and
national security interests and warranted a substantial sentence of
incarceration to deter others.’”



Pakistan



Pakistan Today: CTD Lassoes Two TTP Terrorists With Arms, Explosives
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“The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Thursday claimed to have foiled a
terror bid designed to target Rawalpindi Police Lines and other sensitive
locations and arrested two terrorists associated with outlawed
Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The CTD also seized arms, explosives and
sensitive documents from their possession. According to the CTD, the
Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and other law enforcement agencies carried
out an intelligence-based and caught two terrorists identified as Hayat Ullah
and Waqeek Khan belonging to Haji Faqeer Group of TTP. Modern weapons,
explosives, satellite phones and sensitive documents were recovered from
possession of the nabbed terrorists.”



DAWN: Two TTP Militants Killed In Nowshera Operation
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“According to details provided by police, a raid was planned following
information about the presence of militants in Misri Banda in the jurisdiction
of Risalpur police station. A police official said that the team reached the
spot to arrest the militants. They however opened fire and hurled a hand
grenade at the team, adding that police returned fire killing the two
militants, the official said adding that three other terrorists managed to
escape and a search was underway to arrest them. Later, the slain militants
were identified as Mohammad Zeeshan alias Usman and Salman alias Emirati and
both were wanted in several cases in districts Mardan and Charsadda, an
official statement issued by the CTD said. It stated that Usman and Emirati
were also involved in the targeted killing of senior medical technician Abdul
Tawab and the martyrdom of constable Bilal, constable Muzamil Shah and
constable Zaramust in Tangi districts.”



India Today: Wanted Pakistani Taliban Militant Gunned Down In Country's Punjab
Province
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“Pakistan's security forces have gunned down a high-profile militant of the
outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Punjab province, as the government
intensified its offensive against the outfit following a sharp rise in terror
attacks across the country. Based on a tip-off, the Counter Terrorism
Department (CTD) of Punjab Police raided a TTP hideout in Khanewal, situated
around 300 km from Lahore on Wednesday. ‘A police team reached the spot and
surrounded the militants and asked them to surrender. However, in the resultant
cross-fire, a wanted militant was killed, but two others managed to flee,’ the
CTD said in a statement. The militant was identified as Irfanullah Afridi, a
resident of Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Police have
recovered a Kalashnikov rifle, two hand grenades, 11 bullets, a magazine and a
TTP flag from the hideout.”



Yemen



Associated Press: Mystery Yemen Drone Strike Renews Questions Over US Campaign
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“Onlookers gathered around a small, four-door car coated in dried mud, peering
through its shattered windows and torn-away roof at three dead men inside.
Tribal leaders identified the three — killed in late January near Yemen’s
central city of Marib — as suspected members of al-Qaida in the Arabian
Peninsula, or AQAP, long considered one of the extremist group’s most dangerous
branches. They appear to have been killed in a rare drone strike by the U.S.,
using a weapon that’s been deployed sparingly in the past, typically against
high-value targets. The strike renews questions over the U.S. drone campaign in
Yemen, now two decades old and just as secretive as ever despite promises from
the Biden administration to put more rules in place to govern them. That
secrecy, coupled with a years-long war ripping at Yemen, makes it even more
difficult to determine and assess the reasons behind suspected American
strikes. The suspected al-Qaida members appear to have been killed by a
Hellfire R9X, otherwise known as the ‘flying Ginsu’ or ‘knife bomb,’ based on
images of the wreckage analyzed by The Associated Press and weapons experts.”



Middle East



WTOP News: The Hunt: ISIS Fighters Use US Money To Escape Prison During Syria,
Turkey Quake
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“On this week’s edition of ‘The Hunt with WTOP national security correspondent
J.J. Green,’ Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism
Project, says this is a very troubling development because they actually had
thousands of dollars to pay bribes.”



Associated Press: Israeli Army Kills Palestinian It Says Tried To Stab Soldier
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“Israeli security forces killed a Palestinian who allegedly tried to stab a
soldier in the West Bank on Thursday, authorities said, the latest violence in
a period of heightened tensions in the occupied territory. The Israeli army
said it fired at a suspected Palestinian stabber who lunged toward a group of
troops near the town of al-Fawar, southwest of the city of Hebron. It said the
soldier the attacker tried to stab was not hurt. The Palestinian Health
Ministry identified the Palestinian as 22-year-old Sharif Rabaa, saying he died
from his wounds shortly after he was shot while being stopped at a checkpoint
near the entrance to al-Fawar refugee camp. His death brings the total number
of Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces in the West Bank and east
Jerusalem to 43 since the start of this year, according to a tally by The
Associated Press, the deadliest increase in violence in the West Bank and
Israel in years. The Israeli army says most of the Palestinians killed have
been militants. But stone-throwing youths protesting the incursions and others
not involved in confrontations have also been killed.”



Daily Mail: ISIS Calls For Attacks On Christians Around The World In The Wake
Of Koran Book-Burning Stunts In Sweden
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“ISIS has called for attacks on Christians around the world in the wake of
Koran book-burning stunts in Sweden. The terrorist group launched a campaign
calling for attacks against Christians, according to a report by the Meir Amit
Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center on February 6. Videos and posts
calling on Islamists to carry out attacks around the world, especially in
Europe, were distributed on social media. An ISIS-affiliated Telegram channel
published posts calling for attacks against Christians around the world, saying
that Muslims should see the burning of the Koran as an insult to the religion
and they were encouraged to 'shed the blood of the perpetrator'. It was
emphasized that all Muslims must protect their religion if they want to go to
heaven and that they should act according to the 'measure for measure'
principle.”



Jewish News Syndicate: Two Arab Israelis Indicted For Selling Weapons To
Islamic Jihad Terrorists
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“The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) announced on Thursday the arrest and
indictment of two Arab Israelis and a Palestinian for involvement in a
large-scale weapons trafficking scheme. Brothers Adam and Muhammad Abu Taha of
Tel Sheva in the Negev, and Majdi Amarna, a resident of Yabad, located near
Jenin in Samaria, were detained in December. According to the Israel Security
Agency, the brothers sold some 150,000 bullets and hundreds of M-16 rifle
magazines to Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists operating in Yabad. The
brothers also supplied weapons components and other military equipment to
terrorists across the Jenin area and to criminal elements throughout the Negev,
according to the indictment. The brothers have been indicted on multiple
charges relating to weapons trafficking and terrorism; Amarna is expected to be
indicted during the coming days.”



Egypt



Reuters: Egypt Hold Talks Seeking To Prevent Israeli-Palestinian Escalation In
Ramadan
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“Egypt has stepped up mediation between Israel and the Palestinians in a bid
to tamp down violence in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank and to prevent
its spread to the Gaza Strip ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan,
officials said. This week Cairo hosted leaders from Gaza's ruling Hamas
Islamist militant group and from the smaller, allied Palestinian Islamic Jihad
(PIJ) group, according to the officials. Talks with Israeli representatives
were held earlier, they said. West Bank violence, which surged last year as
Israel intensified raids following a series of lethal Palestinian street
attacks in Israeli cities, has picked up pace since a hard-right Israeli
government was sworn in on Dec. 29. Two Egyptian officials, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity, said Cairo believed the situation could further spiral
out of control, especially given Palestinian sensitivities about Israeli
control of access to Jerusalem during Ramadan, which begins in late March.”



Nigeria



Humangle Media: Boko Haram “Slaughtering” People Every Friday In Remote Borno
Community
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“Suspected members of Boko Haram are waging a new and sickening campaign of
violence in a community in the Mandara mountains Borno, northeast Nigeria,
local sources say. In the past three months hundreds of people have been killed
in the most brutal way, relatives of those murdered and people collecting their
stories in Gwoza, the main town of the local government area, have told
HumAngle. Multiple sources say the terrorists seize villagers from their homes
and take them to a remote mountain village called Guduf Nagadiyo in Bubayagwa
ward. The victims are being held in a large pit. Every Friday, according to
multiple reports from people who escaped the village, the terrorists select a
group to be brought out.”



Africa



AFP: Attempted Bombing In North Ghana Fuels Jihadist Fears
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“Criminals in northern Ghana tried to blow up a bridge using explosives for
the first time in a region where the government fears growing violent spillover
from a jihadist war across the border in Burkina Faso, a top official said.
Ghana along with Gulf of Guinea neighbours Benin, Ivory Coast and Togo are wary
of instability just over their northern frontiers, where jihadist groups have
been expanding. Benin, Ivory Coast and Togo have already suffered attacks and
incursions across their borders, but Ghana has so far escaped a direct attack
linked to Islamist militants in Burkina Faso. Ghana's defence minister Dominic
Nitiwul told parliament this week that criminal elements tried blowing up a
bridge on Monday with improvised explosive devices in the Bawku area near the
border. Bawku is caught up in a decades-long dispute between two rival
communities that some experts worry could add to instability and allow
jihadists opportunities to infiltrate Ghana.”



Nation Africa: US Warns Citizens Of Possible Terror Attack In Nairobi
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“The United States has warned its citizens in Kenya of possible terror attack
in Nairobi County. Through its Embassy in Nairobi, the US said that terrorist
groups could stage an attack with little or no warning, targeting areas with
many people. It has flagged high traffic areas frequented by foreigners and
tourists in Nairobi and elsewhere in Kenya as target for the terror groups.
‘Terrorist groups could attack with little or no warning, targeting hotels,
embassies, restaurants, malls and markets, schools, police stations, places of
worship, and other places frequented by foreigners and tourists,’ part of the
statement reads.”



United Kingdom



Daily Mail: Scottish Neo-Nazi Who Spread Instructions On How To Build A DIY
Machine Gun Is Convicted Of Terrorism
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“A Scottish neo-Nazi who shared information on how to build a DIY machine gun
has been convicted of terrorism. James Farrell, 32, today admitted an offence
under the Terrorism Act and also pleaded guilty to expressing anti-Semitic,
racist and neo-Nazi views. He had been in contact with like-minded individuals
from the north east of England and other parts of the UK using the messaging
service Telegram, where they shared instructions on how to assemble a homemade
automatic weapon. In March last year, members of this group were also convicted
of offences under the Terrorism Act. During their trial, it was heard that they
exchanged terror manuals, shared racist ideology and posted videos of
atrocities. And Farrell, of Pollok, Glasgow, admitted his crimes at the High
Court in Glasgow today (Thurs).”



Southeast Asia



The Times Of India: Terrorist Hideout Busted In Poonch, Rusted Ammunition
Recovered
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“Security forces in a joint search operation on Thursday busted a terrorist
hideout in Naka Manjari village of Mendhar in J&K’s Poonch district and
recovered rusted ammunition from there. ‘On specific input, a team of Army and
Poonch Police launched a search operation in Naka Manjari and busted the
hideout. A body pouch was found from the spot from which security forces
recovered four AK rifle magazines, bullets, two grenades, explosive material, a
binocular and other war like stores,’ a police official said. More searches are
being carried out in the area.”



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