Eye on Extremism
February 13, 2023
New York Times: Terror Trial Could Yield Manhattan’s First Death Penalty In 60 Years
“On Monday, U.S. prosecutors will ask 12 people to authorize a punishment that hasn’t been levied on a Manhattan defendant since 1963: death. Sayfullo Saipov, 35, was convicted last month of fatally mowing down eight people as he raced a truck down a West Side bike path in 2017. Now comes the phase of his trial that will determine his punishment: The U.S. government wants to end Mr. Saipov’s life with a lethal injection. To succeed, prosecutors must win a unanimous vote from the jurors, who will deliberate in a city that has been both a bastion of liberalism and a stage for repeated acts of terrorism. The clash over Mr. Saipov’s fate will test how a jury in the Southern District of New York — which includes Manhattan, the Bronx, Westchester and five other downstate counties — weighs crime against punishment two decades after 9/11.”
CNN: US Says It Killed 12 Al-Shabaab Fighters In Somalia Airstrike
“US Africa Command has said it killed 12 al-Shabaab fighters in a remote area of Somalia on Friday in support of that country’s federal government and army. No civilians were injured or killed, AFRICOM said in a statement Sunday, given the remote location of the strike, about 472 kilometers northeast of the Somali capital of Mogadishu. ‘Rooting out extremism requires intervention beyond traditional military means,’ the command said. The US has provided ongoing support to the Somali government since President Joe Biden last year approved a Pentagon request to redeploy US troops the area in an attempt to counter the al-Shabaab terrorist group. The approval to send fewer than 500 troops was a reversal of former President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw all US troops from the country in 2020. In recent months, US forces have conducted numerous strikes in the region that have resulted in dozens of al-Shabaab casualties.”
Syria
Middle East Institute: “Please Send Tents And Blankets”: A Desperate Plea From Syria’s Survivors
“In the center of Harem, Idlib, hundreds of Syrian families huddle around stoves and in tents as they look on at the row of collapsed apartments they used to call home. “This disaster hasn’t happened to Syria in a thousand years,” says Abu Ahmed, the director of the new camp. “The international community must witness what is happening to us and help.” Yet despite the scores of international aid flights that have landed in Damascus, and Thursday’s visit to Aleppo by the head of the United Nations’ World Food Program, the first U.N. aid trucks did not reach opposition-held Syria until Saturday afternoon. Just 22 trucks arrived at the Bab al-Hawa crossing, and it took until late Saturday for the first convoys from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar to arrive in north Aleppo. No other international NGOs have yet sent aid.”
CBC: Federal Government Appealing Court Order To Repatriate 4 Canadian Men Detained In Syria
“The federal government is appealing a Federal Court ruling that ordered the government to repatriate four Canadian men being detained in northeastern Syria in prisons for suspected ISIS members. In its notice to the Federal Court of Appeal, the government asks that the court order be stayed pending the appeal. The Canadian men — who have not been charged with crimes — are currently in prisons run by Kurdish forces in Northern Syria and are being detained for alleged ISIS ties. The Canadian government has listed ISIS as a terrorist group. In his ruling last month, Federal Court Justice Henry Brown said that the four men had a right to return to Canada under S. 6(1) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The section says that ‘every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in and leave Canada.’”
BBC: Islamic State Attack Kills Syria Mushroom Pickers
“Militants attacked a group of about 75 people picking mushrooms near Palmyra, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said. Syria's state news agency SANA reported a lower death toll of four. The attack took place away from parts of northern Syria that were hit by Monday's deadly earthquake. The SOHR, which monitors developments in Syria through a network of sources, said that Islamic State cells have been exploiting the ‘preoccupation of the international community’ following the aftermath of the quakes. It said that 10 civilians including a woman plus a member of the Syrian regime forces were killed, and others are missing. SANA reported that Islamic State members fired machine guns at the people on Saturday, and that ten were wounded in the attack, some ‘critically’.”
Iraqi News: 7 Terrorists Killed In Air Strikes In Diyala
“The Iraqi security announced on Sunday that seven terrorists belonging to ISIS, including the so-called Wali of Diyala (Governor of Diyala), were killed in airstrikes in Diyala governorate in eastern Iraq. The spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, Yahya Rasoul, mentioned in a statement that the Iraqi Armed Forces continue to pursue terrorists belonging to ISIS. ‘Through field follow-up and intensified intelligence efforts of the Military Intelligence Directorate, in coordination with the Joint Operations Command, the Iraqi Air Force carried out two successful air strikes by F-16 fighter jets,’ Rasoul explained in the statement. ‘The air strikes took place in the area of Hamrin mountains extending from Diyala governorate bordering Iran, northwest to the Tigris river, crossing northern Salah Al-Din governorate and southern Kirkuk governorate,’ Rasoul added. The statement elaborated that two air strikes targeted and killed seven terrorists, including the terrorist Sami Mohan, nicknamed Ibn Abdul Rahman or Wali of Diyala.”
Turkey
AFP: Kurdish Militants Halt 'Operations' After Turkey Quake
“Kurdish militants from the outlawed PKK group announced a temporary halt in fighting to ease recovery work in the wake of a massive earthquake that struck southeastern Turkey and parts of Syria. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Ankara and its Western allies for waging a brutal insurgency that has claimed tens of thousands of lives since 1984. Ankara is also trying to ban a top opposition party that supports Kurdish causes over its alleged links to the militants. But Monday's earthquake has the potential to reshape the political landscape while claiming nearly 23,000 lives -- more than 19,000 of them in Turkey. It struck a multi-ethnic region that has witnessed some of the heaviest fighting between Turkish government forces and the PKK. The group's co-leader Cemil Bayik told the PKK-linked ANF news agency that ‘thousands of our people are under the rubble’ and urged a focus on recovery work rather than waging war.”
Pakistan
Associated Press: Bomb Hits Vehicle, Killing 2 Troops, Wounding 3 In Pakistan
“A powerful roadside bomb went off near a vehicle carrying Pakistani security forces in the country’s volatile southwest on Friday, killing two soldiers and wounding three, authorities said. Hours later, the separatist Baluchistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack in Kohlu, a district about 300 kilometers (180 miles) east of Quetta, the provincial capital in Baluchistan. The group was designated a terrorist organization by the United States in 2019. Baluchistan province has seen increasing violence lately, with militant and separatist groups taking responsibility for attacks. A local police official, Lal Khan, said the casualties were transported to a hospital in the area. A military statement identified the two killed as a major and a captain and said they sacrificed their lives ‘in defense of the motherland against an externally perpetrated threat.’ The military said the soldiers were carrying out an operation at the time of the attack, but did not provide further details.”
The News International: ASI Among Eight Hurt In Militants Attack In N Waziristan
“Eight people were injured, some of them seriously, when armed assailants attacked the house of a police official in the Dandey Saidgi area of North Waziristan early Sunday, sources said. The local and official sources said the incident happened in the limits of Ghulam Khan Police Station. Those injured in the attack included ASI Ameenullah, two women and five others. All the injured belonged to the same family. The assailants escaped after the attack. The injured persons were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Miranshah. Those with serious injuries were transported to the DHQ Hospital in Bannu.”
Middle East
Outlook India: Israel: 2 Killed, 5 Injured In Car Attack In Jerusalem, Suspect Shot Dead, Read All About Vehicular Terror Attacks
“…The think tank Counter Extremism Project (CEP) says the 2016 Nice attack launched a wave of vehicular terrorist attacks around the world. It also says that Hamas is among the terrorist groups engaging in vehicular terrorist attacks. The CEP says, "Terrorist groups like al-Qaeda, ISIS, and Hamas have long called for—and claimed responsibility for—vehicular terrorist attacks...Following the wave of vehicular terrorist attacks in 2016 and 2017, ISIS has continued to issue calls to violence and warnings of additional car-ramming attacks." The CEP notes that Israel has particularly faced the brunt of car attacks. The CEP says, "A slew of car-ramming attacks have also been carried out by Palestinian assailants in Israel and the West Bank. In November of 2014, Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups—including the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)—praised a wave of vehicular attacks and called for more. One such image posted online read, 'Run [them] over, son of Hebron...and son of Jerusalem. Take your car...and run over the Zionists'."”
Outlook India: Israeli-Palestinian Tensions: Airstrike Targets Terrorists In Gaza, Palestinian Man Killed In Israeli Raid
“...Think tank Counter Extremism Project (CEP) says, "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." The Gaza-Israel frontier had been largely quiet in recent months, but there have been intermittent rocket fire and airstrikes influenced by soaring violence between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.”
Associated Press: Israeli Jets Hit Militant Site In Gaza After Rocket Attack
“Residents of the Gaza Strip said Israeli aircraft launched a series of airstrikes at militant sites in the coastal Palestinian territory early Monday. The airstrikes appear to be a response to the firing of a rocket by Palestinian militants toward southern Israel Saturday evening. Israeli air defenses intercepted the rocket. The Israeli military said the airstrikes targeted an underground rocket manufacturing complex run by Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The Gaza-Israel frontier had been largely quiet in recent months, but there have been intermittent rocket fire and airstrikes influenced by soaring violence between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.”
The Jerusalem Post: Father Of Bnei Brak Terrorist Sentenced To 14 Months In Prison - IDF
“Ahmed Hamarsheh, father of terrorist Dia Hamarsheh, was convicted on Sunday of incitement and support for a hostile organization, according to the IDF on Twitter. Hamarsheh encouraged and supported the actions of his son, who carried out a terrorist attack in Bnei Brak on March 29, 2022, in which five people were murdered. The convicted criminal gave several speeches in support of his son following the attack, both in person and on social media. He praised his son and the perpetrators of other attacks and called for the continuation of a violent struggle in Israel. The court sentenced Hamarsheh to serve 14 months in prison.”
Nigeria
The Cable: ‘Over 20 Insurgents’ Killed In Multiple ISWAP, Boko Haram Clashes
“Several fighters of the Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have reportedly lost their lives during a series of clashes between the two camps. The fighting started on Tuesday after the two camps clashed at Kuwa Nguro and Ngoldiri communities located in the Timbuktu triangle axis in Damboa, Borno state. According to Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication, the clash lasted for three hours and led to the death of fighters on both sides. It is, however, not yet clear how many fatalities were recorded in the clash.”
Somalia
Garowe Online: More Al-Shabaab Militants Killed In Somalia
“Al-Shabaab militants suffered casualties over the weekend in Central Somalia, the Commander of Somali National Army [SNA] infantry regiment General Mohamed Tahalil Bihi said, noting that the latest operation was carried out in Mudug region of Galmadug state in Somalia. The operation, he noted, left at least 117 Al-Shabaab militants seat following 8 hours intense gun battle with the group at Doonyaale in Galmadug. This was the biggest success against the group in 2023, he added while acknowledging support from members of the international community. Somali National Army has been fighting alongside the US Africa Command, the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] and the local militia. Throughout the operation, the teams have managed to down several Al-Shabaab commanders in strategic villages across the country.”
Africa
Reuters: Niger Says At Least 10 Soldiers Killed In Insurgent Ambush
“At least 10 Nigerien soldiers were killed in an ambush, and more than a dozen others were injured by armed assailants near the West African Sahel nation's border with neighbouring Mali, Niger's defence minister said in a statement on Saturday. Around 16 people are missing following the attack on Friday evening in Banibangou near Mali, Alkassoum Indattou said in a statement, adding that air force support forced the insurgents to flee across the border into Mali. Niger, alongside neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso are struggling to quell insurgents linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State who carry out raids, and control swathes of territories in the vast Sahel region.”
Reuters: North Burkina Faso Ambush Kills At Least 16 Security Forces
“Sixteen security forces were killed in an ambush in Burkina Faso's insurgent-hit north on Wednesday, three security sources said on Friday. The attack took place near the village of Koumestenga in Namentenga province in the Centre-North region, one of several areas plagued with jihadist activity. One army source and two sources in the gendarmerie who did not wish to be named confirmed the attack and gave the death toll on Friday. They said seven gendarmes and nine members of a volunteer self-defence force had been killed. The army did not publicly comment on the attack. Burkina Faso is one of several West African countries fighting a violent insurgency that took root in neighbouring Mali in 2012.”
United Kingdom
The Times: Parents Urged To Report Their Radicalised Teens Using Online Form
“…Research by the Counter Extremism Project found that police sources had been told that the Abedis had to have known that Hashem and Salman were becoming more radical. After the attack, a mutual friend said the pair had discussed and expressed support for Isis. In his review, Shawcross said: “Such accounts suggest Prevent referrals from friends or family could have been particularly important.” Shawcross also recommended extending the duty to report individuals to Prevent to other public sector organisations such as job centres and those working within immigration. He said that people who had sought or gained asylum in Britain had subsequently committed terrorist attacks, such as that on Liverpool’s women’s hospital in 2021.”
BBC: Far-Right Extremist Jailed After Lake District Tunnel Plan
“’Chief propagandist’ Kurt McGowan, of Workington, Cumbria, was jailed for seven years after pleading guilty to seven terrorist offences. The cell called him ‘our very own Goebbels’, a reference to Nazi Joseph Goebbels, in a group on messaging app Telegram, Preston Crown Court heard. Judge Neil Flewitt KC described him as ‘determined and manipulative’. Sentencing McGowan, the judge said: ‘You are prepared to educate and encourage others in the use of violence to achieve your goal of white supremacy.’ ‘I have no doubt you are a committed, determined and manipulative adherent to extreme right-wing ideology.’ McGowan, 23, pleaded guilty to four offences of collecting terrorist information and three counts of disseminating terrorist publications.”
BBC: Man To Go On Trial Over 3D-Printed Gun Manual
“A man is facing trial accused of having an instruction manual on how to make a 3D-printed gun following an investigation into Islamist extremism. Abdiwahid Abdulkadir Mohamed has been charged with six counts of possessing documents useful for committing or preparing an act of terrorism. The 31-year-old, from north London, appeared at the Old Bailey by video link where a provisional seven-day trial was set from 18 September. His plea hearing was set for 7 July. Mr Mohamed, who is studying to become an electrician at North West College in Willesden, is accused of using electronic devices to store a range of information, including how to manufacture 3D weapons. Setting a timetable for the case, Mr Justice Jeremy Baker said the trial would be heard at Kingston Crown Court.”
Daily Mail: IS Jihadis, Wannabe Suicide Bombers And A Machine Gun Killer: Britain Banned From Deporting 53 Foreign Terrorists As European Judges Say It Would Breach Their Human Rights
“Murderers, bomb plotters and would-be suicide bombers are among 53 foreign terrorists whose deportation is being blocked by European human rights laws, a Mail on Sunday investigation today reveals. In one extraordinary case, an Islamic State member from Bangladesh who was jailed for attempting to recruit new members in Birmingham has successfully blocked his deportation because he would lose access to free NHS healthcare. Another terrorist, an Iranian who had ingredients for a bomb in his garage in Surrey, has managed to stay in Britain by claiming he suffers from depression. Our shocking dossier, obtained from top-level security sources, will ignite the row over Britain's continuing membership of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).”
France
Reuters: Opposition Groups Rally In France Demanding EU List Iran's Guards As Terrorist Group
“Thousands of opponents of Iran's ruling authorities rallied for a second day in Paris on Sunday to pressure European Union states to list Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation in response to a crackdown in the country. Tehran has been engaged in a violent crackdown on protesters since September, including carrying out executions, and it has also detained dozens of European nationals. The EU has become increasingly critical of its actions. Ties between EU members and Tehran have also deteriorated in recent months as efforts to revive talks on Iran's nuclear programme have stalled and the country has transferred drones to Russia to help it in its war against Ukraine.”
Germany
NDTV: German Teen Gets 2 Years In Jail For Planning "Extremist Attack" On His School
“A teenager was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence in Germany on Friday for planning a deadly attack on a school he attended, a court spokeswoman said. The 17-year-old was found guilty of planning a serious act of violence endangering the state, the spokeswoman for the higher regional court in Duesseldorf said. German prosecutors had previously said the teenager, named as Jeremy R., planned the ‘right-wing extremist motivated attack’ for May 13, 2022. The massacre using explosives and various other weapons was only narrowly prevented when he was arrested the day before. ‘Teachers and a larger number of pupils were to be killed’ in the attack, the prosecutors said. Jeremy R., who was 16 at the time of his arrest, had allegedly acquired the necessary materials to assemble pipe bombs and obtained information on the internet about how to build them.”
Europe
Reuters: Dutch To Prosecute Woman For Islamic State Membership, Yazidi Enslavement
“Prosecutors in the Netherlands on Friday announced they plan to put a Dutch woman who joined Islamic State on trial for crimes against humanity for enslaving a Yazidi woman in Syria in 2015. The woman, identified by Dutch media as Hasna Aarab, will also be tried for membership of a terrorist organisation along with 11 other women who were repatriated to the Netherlands in November last year from camps for IS members in Syria. It is the first time Dutch prosecutors have brought a case for crimes against humanity committed against Yazidis, an ancient religious minority who combine Zoroastrian, Christian, Manichean, Jewish and Muslim beliefs, the prosecution service said in a news release. In neighbouring Germany, several former IS members have already been convicted for crimes, including genocide, against Yazidis. IS, which views the Yazidis as devil worshippers, have killed more than 3,000 of them, enslaved 7,000 Yazidi women and girls and displaced most of the 550,000-strong community from its ancestral home in northern Iraq.”
Southeast Asia
The New Indian Express: Four Al-Qaeda-Linked Operatives Convicted By Delhi Court
“A Delhi court on Friday convicted four operatives of Al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) for conspiracy to commit terror acts across the country and recruiting members for the terror group.The convict, identified as Mohd Asif, Mohd Abdul Rehman, Zafar Masood, and Abdul Sami, were convicted under sections 18 and 18B of the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Apart from the four AQIS operatives, the Court acquitted two people, identified as Syed Mohd. Zeeshan Ali and Dr. Sabeel Ahmad, who were accused of allegedly being part of a conspiracy for providing financial and logistics assistance to the cadres of AQIS in the United Arab Emirates. The Special Cell of Delhi Police, who had arrested all the four convicted Al-Qaida-linked operatives, said in the month of December 2015, information was received that the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda is trying to set up its base in India under the banner of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and had declared one Asim Umar as its Amir.”
India Today: NIA Arrests Suspected Al-Qaeda Terrorist In Bengaluru
“A suspected terrorist, with links to the banned terror outfit Al Qaeda, was arrested in Bengaluru by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday morning. The suspect, identified as Arif, was working as a software engineer in Bengaluru. As per the sources, he was in touch with people over the internet for more than two years. He wanted to fly to Iran and Afghanistan to join the Islamic State (IS). NIA has seized his laptop and other electronic devices for investigation.”
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