Eye on Extremism
February 14, 2023
Associated Press: UN Report: Sayf Al-’Adl Widely Seen As New Al-Qaida Leader
“U.N. experts say the predominant view among member nations is that the leadership of al-Qaida has passed to Sayf al-’Adl, who was responsible for Osama bin Laden’s security and trained some of the hijackers involved in the 9/11 attack on the U.S. The panel of experts said in a report to the U.N. Security Council circulated Monday that no announcement has been made of Sayf al-’Adl replacing Ayman al-Zawahri, who was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Kabul last August. “But in discussions in November and December many U.N. member states took the view that Sayf al-’Adl is already operating as the de facto and uncontested leader of the group,” the report says. Assessments vary as to why al-’Adl’s leadership hasn’t been declared, it said.”
Reuters: Militia Attacks Kill 22 In East DR Congo - Official, Human Rights Group
“Militiamen killed 22 people in two separate attacks in the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Ituri province on Sunday and Monday, a local official and a human rights group said, in ongoing violence in the region. The DRC's government declared martial law in Ituri and neighbouring North Kivu province in 2021 to quell the bloodshed, but deadly raids have continued. The first attack on Sunday took place in the town of Mongbwalu, in Djugu territory, where 10 people were killed. Mongbwalu Mayor Jean-Pierre Bikilisende blamed the attack on CODECO, one of many militias operating in the DRC's conflict-ridden east. The group could not be reached for comment.”
United States
Reuters: Lafarge's Terrorist Financing Guilty Plea Offers Warnings To Those Operating In High-Risk Zones
“Last year's guilty plea by cement-making company Lafarge to terrorist financing charges is a warning that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is focused on corporate misconduct that threatens national security. Lafarge's Syrian business paid almost $6 million to terrorists to continue operating a cement plant in a territory they occupied. It paid the United States $777.78 million in criminal fines and forfeiture as part of its October settlement. The plea agreement offers hard-learned compliance lessons to companies operating in high-risk zones. Paying terrorists to continue operating in areas they control was rarely prosecuted until the Lafarge case. At the same time, the temptation to engage with terrorists is increasing, as more companies, particularly those extracting natural resources, seek to do business in high-risk and terrorist-controlled zones.”
Syria
Republic World: Syrian Rebel Leader With Links To Al Qaeda Seeks Help For Earthquake-Ravaged Idlib
“A Syrian rebel leader with links to Al Qaeda is calling on the international community to help the last remaining rebel-controlled areas in Syria recover from the earthquake. The rebel leader, identified as Ahmed Hussein al-Shara (known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani), appealed for international aid to help people in the quake-hit northwestern province of Idlib, Syria, The Guardian reported. The plea from the leader came a week after a series of massive earthquakes jolted Syria and Turkey, leading to the death of over 36,000 people in the region. While the government-held areas of Syria did manage to get aid from both the international community and the Syrian government, the plight of the people of the northwestern region remained mostly neglected, The Guardian report said. The rebel leader, who has a whopping $10 million US government bounty on his head, urged the United Nations to understand the gravity of the situation in the northwestern region. ‘The United Nations needs to understand that it’s required to help in a crisis,’ al-Jolani told The Guardian.”
Afghanistan
Bloomberg: Taliban Minister’s Rebuke Of Supreme Leader Shows Infighting
“Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s powerful interior minister, has lambasted for the first time the group’s reclusive spiritual leader for monopolizing power and damaging their government in Afghanistan. “Power monopolization and defamation of the entire system have become common,” Haqqani said in an angry speech at the packed graduation ceremony of an Islamic religious school in the southeastern Khost province over the weekend. “The situation cannot be tolerated any longer,” he added, without naming Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada directly. Haqqani’s comments reflect the deep divisions emerging within the Taliban factions that seized power in the country in the wake of the US troop’s exit in 2021. The differences were inflamed after Akhundzada’s order last year, banning women from all education and work, drawing widespread international condemnation.”
The Khaama Press News Agency: Security Forces Destroyed Important ISIS Hideout In Kabul: Mujahid
“According to Zabiullah Mujahid, Taliban security personnel stormed an important Daesh (ISIS) hideout during a special operation in provincial district 8th of Kabul late Monday night, which resulted in the death of some key members of Daesh, which included some foreign nationals as well. ‘Daesh fighters have been behind many brutal terror attacks in Kabul, which claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians and injured many others,’ Mujahid said. Dr. Mahmut Cengiz has written on the ‘Home Security Today’ website that prior to the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, ISIS presence was not tangible in Kabul – they were mainly based in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces. With the return of the Taliban to power, ISIS expanded its domain to Kabul and has been behind many brutal attacks in 2022. The terror group’s dominance in Afghanistan has been substantial in the past year. Although other militant groups including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Al-Qaida have also gotten momentum with the return of the Taliban to power, they do not pose threats to the Taliban-run administration, because they have deep ties with the Afghan Taliban.”
Voice Of America News: Top Taliban Official's Public Criticism Reignites Internal Rift Speculations
“Senior leaders of Afghanistan’s ruling Islamist Taliban have recently resorted to rare public criticism of each other, reigniting internal rift speculations over whether girls should be allowed to receive an education. The war of words began last Saturday when the influential Taliban interior minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, lashed out at his leadership for ‘monopolizing’ power, though he did not name anyone. ‘Our views and thoughts have dominated us to such an extent that power monopolization and defamation of the entire [ruling] system have become common,’ Haqqani told a religious gathering in his native southeastern Khost region. ‘This situation can no more be tolerated.’ The minister added that the Taliban administration should desist from adopting policies that would drive a wedge between ‘the [ruling] system and the people, allowing others to exploit it to defame Islam.’ Haqqani’s remarks seemingly were directed at the Taliban supreme leader or emir, Hibatullah Akhundzada.”
Pakistan
The Khaama Press News Agency: Cop Injured In Terrorist Attack In Pakistan’s KP
“According to a police spokesman, a group of terrorists attacked the check post on Dera Ismail Khan and fled from the scene. A cop was injured in the incident. Police also added that due to the exchange of fire between police and the attackers, the terrorists fled from the area. Meanwhile, after receiving the information, a significant police presence arrived at the scene and began a search operation in the area. For a couple of months, security has deteriorated in Pakistan, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Baluchistan and other major cities.”
Dunya News: Two Terrorists Rounded Up In DG Khan
“The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Monday apprehended two terrorists during an operation in Dera Ghazi Khan. According to the CTD spokesperson, the arrested terrorists were identified as Subhanallah Illyas and Masood-ur-Rehman. Hand grenades, 1970 grams explosive material, Safety fuse, detonator and ball-bearings packets were recovered from the possession of the terrorists. The spokesperson further said that the terrorists belonging to a proscribed outfit were detained on a tip off. Investigation has been launched after lodging an FIR against the terrorists.”
Tribune: CTD Claims Killing Four Terrorists In North Waziristan
“According to a spokesperson of the CTD, the operation team of North Waziristan was transporting criminals from Miran Shah to Bannu when terrorists suddenly opened indiscriminate fire on CTD officers and threw hand grenades near the Mir Ali Bypass. Four terrorists were killed in the retaliatory operation, the spokesperson maintained. During the joint search and clearance operation of the security forces and the police, the accomplices of the terrorists escaped by taking advantage of the darkness. The dead terrorists were identified as Irshadullah alias Abu Bakrul Masoomullah Sukna Madip Khel Noor who belonged to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Zarrar Banuchi Group, Abdul Rehman from the Ghazi Force Zafiruddin Group, Meher Din from the TTP Zargul faction. Meanwhile, one militant could not be identified. The slain terrorists were wanted by the CTD in several terrorism cases, including attacks on security forces and the police. They were involved in several terror incidents, including the hand grenade attack on the Police Station Cantt and the targeted killing of Constable Iftikhar.”
Middle East
The Jerusalem Post: Border Police Officer Killed In Terror Attack Outside Shuafat
“Israel Border Police officer Asil Suaed was killed in a stabbing attack at the checkpoint to the Shuafat refugee camp just hours after a man in his 20's was lightly injured after being stabbed by a terrorist near the Chain Gate of the Temple Mount on Monday afternoon. On Monday evening, a 13-year-old Palestinian terrorist pulled out a knife and assaulted Border Police officers who were conducting a security check on a bus at the checkpoint to the Shuafat refugee camp. The officers fired at the terrorist and arrested him. One of the officers was critically wounded after being stabbed and hit by shots fired by a civilian security guard who shot at the terrorist after the terrorist assaulted them. Despite resuscitation efforts at the scene and at the hospital, the officer succumbed to his wounds later in the evening.”
Jewish News Syndicate: Al-Qaeda Video Shows Former Leader Urging Muslims ‘To Target Interests Of Israel’
“Al-Sahab, the media arm of Al-Qaeda Central Command, published an eight-minute video on Sunday showing a speech by the organization’s assassinated leader, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who was killed in a U.S. drone hit in Kabul on July 31, 2022. According to a report by MEMRI’s Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor, shared first with JNS, the video titled ‘How to Support the Palestinian Cause’ is subtitled in English, and Al-Sahab published transcripts of Al-Zawahiri’s speech in Arabic and English. Zawahiri urged Muslims to rise up and help Palestinian Muslims ‘by targeting the interests of Israel and [of] the powers that support Israel everywhere.’ Addressing Palestinian Muslims, Al-Zawahiri urges them to defend their homeland ‘until your last breath.’ The video was posted during a Palestinian terror wave against Israelis.”
Nigeria
The Sun News Nigeria: Boko Haram Kills Over 2,295 Teachers, Displaces 19,000 Others – NSCDC
“With increasing attacks on schools by Boko Haram terrorists, the Federal Government has disclosed that over 2,295 teachers have been killed and 19,000 others displaced in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States between 2009 and 2018 alone, with an estimated 1,500 schools destroyed since 2014, with over 1,280 casualties among teachers and students. Speaking during the flag-off of the National School Security and Emergency Response Centre, in Abuja, the Commandant General of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi added that these violent attacks have negative effects on teaching and learning thereby reversing our sustainable national development efforts. To this effect, Audi said that it has become expedient for the Federal Government to deploy extraordinary measures to tackle the spate of attacks on school facilities in Nigeria ‘In view of the importance of education and human capital development towards overall national development, it has become expedient for the Federal Government to deploy extraordinary measures to tackle the spate of attacks on school facilities in Nigeria…’”
Africa
Reuters: Gemfields Evacuates Mozambique Exploration Camp After Attack
“Precious stones miner Gemfields Group (GEMGE.L), on Tuesday said it has halted operations and was evacuating personnel from its Nairoto exploration camp in Mozambique's insurgent-hit Cabo Delgado province after an attack on a nearby village. The northern Mozambican province has seen an Islamic State-linked insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives since it broke out in 2017, disrupting multibillion-dollar natural gas and mining projects. "Shortly before midnight on Sunday, 12 February 2023, an attack attributed to insurgents took place in the village of Nairoto in the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique. The village of Nairoto lies approximately 15 kilometres (9.32 miles) south west of the exploration camp in which Gemfields owns 75%," the company said in a statement.”
United Kingdom
Unherd: Andrew Tate Is Not A Terrorist
“In 2020, I attended a meeting with various professionals and volunteers in Nairobi to discuss the recruitment of Kenyans by al-Shabaab, the formidable al-Qaeda affiliate across the border in Somalia. Midway through the presentations by assorted Europeans, the room began to grow restless. The Kenyan contingent made up of community workers and volunteers asked where, in all the models of radicalisation being discussed, was the individual agency of the terrorist? Many of them had travelled to the capital from the coastal towns where al-Shabaab was most active, and where all the structural “push” factors one could imagine are present: poverty, boredom, marginalisation, corruption — and extrajudicial killings. Perhaps that’s what enabled them to diagnose one of the central shortcomings of the policies generally known as Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), of which Britain’s Prevent Strategy is a part. In his independent review of Prevent, published last week, William Shawcross came to the same conclusion: the overemphasis on vulnerability in the process of radicalisation strips individuals of their agency, obscures reality and sucks the politics out of political violence.”
Southeast Asia
Hindustan Times: Jem Terrorist Arrested In Pulwama, 25 Hand Grenades Recovered: Police
“A JeM (Jaish-e-Muhammad) terrorist from Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir was on Monday arrested along with 25 hand grenades among other arms and ammunition, police said. The arrested person was planning to target police and security forces at the behest of a jailed terrorist. Acting on a tip off regarding delivery of consignment in Pulwama, a team was of police and army (55RR) was formed to nab the accused. ‘At Naina Bhatpora, one suspected person riding a scooty tried to flee from the spot after spotting the team. The suspect was caught and the consignment of arms and ammunition was recovered,’ the spokesman said. Oe Pistol, 25 Chinese grenades, two pistol magazines, 230 pistol cartridges, 10 AK magazines, 300 AK cartridges and other incriminating materials were recovered from his possession.”
The Manila Times: Abu Sayyaf Subleader Captured In Zamboanga
“Police commandos captured a subleader of the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf following a raid in his hideout in the largely Catholic city of Zamboanga in southern Philippines. Police said Isnirul Kirin, who has a P5 million bounty for his capture, was tracked down in the coastal village of Sinunuc, about 11 kilometers from downtown Zamboanga. Kirin, 51, is facing over two dozen charges of murder and frustrated murder and had escaped military operations in the island-province of Basilan, about 44 nautical miles from here. Police did not say how they tracked down the elusive terrorist over the weekend, but the operation also involved the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and several other police units. It was unknown how long Kirin had been hiding in Zamboanga City, home of the regional military and police headquarters in the Peninsula, or whether his pro-ISIS group was planning an attack.”
Odisha Bytes: Al-Qaeda Operative Abdur Rehman Arrested From Odisha Sentenced To 7.5 Year Ri
“Al-Qaida in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) operative Mohd Abdur Rehman, who was arrested from Odisha’s Cuttack for his alleged links with terror outfit Al-Qaeda, was sentenced to 7 years and five months of rigorous imprisonment by Patiala House Court in Delhi on Tuesday. Besides pronouncing the quantum of punishment, the court has also slapped Rs 25,000 fine on the convict. Three other Al-Qaeda operatives – Mohd Asif, Zafar Masood and Abdul Sami, whom the court had convicted for plotting terrorism against India on Friday, were awarded similar sentences. Rehman was arrested during a joint operation by the special cell of Delhi and Odisha police on December 16, 2015, for allegedly running an illegal Madrasa at Tangi near Cuttack and radicalising the youths who enrolled there for terror activities. Police sources said that he had visited Pakistan illegally and met top militants, including Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Sajid Mir, both wanted in the 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks, there.”
Technology
The Jerusalem Post: IDF Unit 8200 Commander Reveals Cyber Use To Target Hamas Commander
“IDF Unit 8200 Data Science and AI Commander Col. Yoav on Monday revealed that his unit used its cyber tools during the May 2021 Gaza War to successfully target at least two Hamas commanders. According to Yoav, who was speaking at the AI Conference at Tel Aviv University, the IDF was able to target at least one of the Hamas squad missile commanders and one of the Hamas anti-tank missile units using data science and AI (artificial intelligence) capabilities. In all, he said new digital methods ‘helped produce 200 new target assets’ during the 10-day operation. ‘Remember breaking the human barrier – there were times when this took us almost a year,’ he said. ‘How do we do it? We take original subgroups, calculate their close circle [of personal connections], calculate relevant features, rank results and determine thresholds, use intelligence officers’ feedback to improve the algorithm,’ and then use classified digital platforms to locate the targets.”
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