**NOTE: CEP’s Eye On Extremism will be suspended Monday, February 20 in observance of Presidents’ Day. It will resume Tuesday, February 21.**
Eye on Extremism
February 17, 2023
Associated Press: UN Votes Unanimously To Extend Sanctions On Yemen’s Houthis
“The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Wednesday to extend the arms embargo on Yemen’s Houthi rebels and an asset freeze and travel ban on Houthi leaders and top officials until Nov. 15. The British-drafted resolution also extends the mandate of the U.N. panel of experts monitoring the sanctions until Dec. 15. In February 2022, the Security Council expanded an arms embargo on Houthi leaders to include all Houthis, saying they have threatened the peace, security and stability of the war-torn country. After Wednesday’s vote, the council met behind closed doors to hear briefings by Hans Grundberg, the U.N. special envoy for Yemen, and Joyce Msuya, the assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs.”
Reuters: U.N. Seeks $1.3 Billion For Nigerians Affected By Insurgency
“The United Nations on Thursday appealed for $1.3 billion to provide assistance to six million Nigerians who are suffering the impact of a long-running Islamist insurgency in the northeast of the country. The militant Boko Haram group and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province, have been fighting Nigerian security forces in the northeast for over a decade, displacing more than 2 million people and killing hundreds of others, aid agencies say. Matthias Schmale, the U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator for Nigeria said the ‘large-scale humanitarian and protection crisis shows no sign of abating’. The number of children suffering from acute malnutrition was projected to increase to 2 million this year, up from 1.74 million last year, the U.N. said. ‘Women and girls are the hardest hit,’ Schmale said when launching the financial appeal in northeastern Adamawa state.”
United States
WMTW ABC: Waterville 19-Year-Old Suspected Of Plotting ISIS-Inspired Chicago Terror Attack To Enter Plea Deal
“A plea deal is in the works in Maine’s first ISIS-related terrorism case. 19-year-old Xavier Pelkey is charged with conspirng to provide material support for terrorism for allegedly plotting with other teens to attack a mosque in Chicago and of building homemade explosive devices that were found in his Waterville home. On Thursday, Pelkey's defense attorney filed a motion with U.S. District Judge Lance Walker, in Bangor federal court, to delay his trial, again, until April, and revealed he and federal prosecutors are nearing a plea agreement. ‘The parties anticipate scheduling a plea in this matter, but are still finalizing the agreement,’ wrote Christopher MacLean, Pelkey's defense attorney. Pelkey was arrested last February, and this continuance, unopposed by the government, is the fifth trial delay.”
Iran
Reuters: Iran Denies U.S. Claims Linking Tehran To Al Qaeda's Leader - Foreign Minister
“Iran denied U.S. claims that Al Qaeda's leader Seif al-Adel is based in the country, foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian wrote on Twitter on Thursday, a day after Washington aligned itself with a U.N. statement locating Adel in Iran. ‘I advise the officials of the White House to stop the failed game of Iran-phobia, making news about the leader of Al-Qaeda and linking him to Iran is laughable,’ Amirabdollahian wrote. Seif al-Adel, a former Egyptian special forces officer who is a high-ranking member of al Qaeda with a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head, is now the ‘uncontested’ leader of the militant group, according to a new U.N. report on the organisation. The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday it aligned with U.N. assessments that Seif al-Adel is based in Iran.”
Iraq
AFP News: Four Iraqi Soldiers Killed In Raid On Suspected IS Fighters
“Four Iraqi soldiers were killed Thursday during a counter-terrorism operation north of Baghdad, security forces said, as the majority-Shiite country marks a key religious rite. Clashes broke out in Tarmiya, an agricultural area about 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the capital where Islamic State group fighters operate. The raid came as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims descended on the Kadhimiya shrine in north Baghdad of Mussa Kadhim, seventh of the 12 imams revered by Shiites. An army unit launched a ‘raid on a hideout of IS terrorists’, the Iraqi government's security media cell said, adding that ‘three terrorists were killed, one of whom was wearing an explosive belt’.”
Afghanistan
CNN India: Islamic State Group Threatens To Launch Attack Against Pakistan Embassy In Afghanistan | Exclusive
“Days after calling Pakistan a cancer state, the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP) has threatened to launch attacks against the Pakistan embassy in the Afghanistan capital, sources told CNN-News18. The Islamic State group has said that it is planning to attack Pakistan Embassy and consulates in the Taliban-ruled country. Following the terror threat, an alert has been issued and the Afghanistan intelligence agency has started operations against the ISKP, sources said. The threat comes after ISKP, in its magazine, called Pakistan a ‘cancer’ for Islamic existence and is run at the behest of the United States.”
Pakistan
Dunya News: Terrorist Of Banned Outfit Killed In Encounter With CTD In Kalabagh
“A terrorist of banned outfit was killed in an exchange of fire with Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel in Kalabagh area of District Mianwali on Thursday night, Dunya News reported. According to CTD Spokesperson, terrorists opened fire at a team of CTD Mianwali in Kalabagh. The CTD personnel retaliated and returned the fire. The exchange of fire between CTD and terrorists lasted for 20 minutes during which one terrorist was killed while two of his accomplices managed to escape.”
La Prensa Latina: Woman Killed, Several Injured In Pakistan Train Bombing
“A Baloch militant group claimed Thursday that it bombed a train in Pakistan, killing a woman and injuring several others. However, authorities were unsure of the nature of the explosion inside the train traveling from Balochistan’s Quetta to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) – the two restive provinces of Pakistan. Pakistan Railways spokesperson Babar Raza said the explosion hit the Jaffar Express train near eastern Punjab province’s Chichawatni city. ‘The blast occurred in bogie number four of economy class near the washroom at 7.10 in the morning,’ Raza said. ‘One woman who belonged to Faisalabad was killed while seven other passengers were wounded.’”
The Kashmir Walla: Taliban Suicide Bomber Killed In Pak’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province
“A Taliban suicide bomber was killed during an intelligence-based operation by the government forces in Pakistan’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, police said. The operation was conducted in the Spinkai area of south Waziristan district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province after intelligence confirmed the presence of the suicide bomber belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Upon receiving information about the presence of the bomber, the forces rushed to a village in the district and encircled the suspected compound. The bomber was killed after the explosives wrapped around his body exploded during an exchange of fire with the government forces.”
Lebanon
i24 News: Hezbollah’s Nasrallah Threatens Israel, Warns U.S. Against Stirring 'Chaos’
“Hassan Nasrallah, chief of Lebanon’s Islamist terror group Hezbollah, on Thursday warned the United States against stirring ‘chaos’ in the crisis-hit country, threatening that doing so would spread to the entire region, including Israel. In a speech commemorating slain Hezbollah leaders, Nasrallah condemned any ‘conspiracies by the U.S. against Lebanon, saying his Shiite militant movement would ‘extend its hand against Israel, and whoever expects us to stand idly by is mistaken.’ ‘I till the Americans that if they want to sow chaos in Lebanon, you will lose everything. Those who bet that pain and suffering will make our environment abandon its principles and achievements are delusional,’ he said.”
Middle East
Associated Press: Israel Demolishes West Bank Home Of Palestinian Attacker
“Israeli forces demolished the home on Thursday of a Palestinian behind a deadly shooting in the occupied West Bank, as tensions and unrest surge in the region. The military said the demolition was carried out after an Israeli court rejected appeals to spare the residence. The home, in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron, was demolished in a controlled explosion. A flash and then grey tufts of smoke were seen emerging from the apartment in the early morning hours. Israel says home demolitions are meant to deter future attackers but critics say they amount to collective punishment against the families of assailants and only exacerbate tensions with Palestinians.”
The National News: 59 Women And Children Repatriated To Kyrgyzstan From Camps In Syria, US Military Says
“Fifty-nine women and children have been repatriated from Syrian conflict areas to Kyrgyzstan, the US military said on Thursday. ‘Yesterday, 59 women and children were repatriated to the Kyrgyz Republic from internally displaced persons camps in north-east Syria,’ US Central Command said in a statement. ‘We are grateful to the leadership of the Kyrgyz Republic for working to resolve the ongoing humanitarian crisis resulting from the dismantling of the so-called ISIS caliphate.’ The US military asserted that the successful repatriation, rehabilitation and reintegration of residents of the camps in north-eastern Syria back to their countries of origin is the only long-term solution to the crisis.”
Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty: Notorious Tajik Islamic State Recruiter Sentenced To 21 Years In Prison In Dushanbe
“A notorious Islamic State recruiter from Tajikistan, Parviz Saidrahmonov (aka Abu Dovud), was sentenced to 21 years in prison in November on terrorism charges in Dushanbe, Tajik Supreme Court officials said on February 16. According to the officials, the 35-year-old Saidrahmonov was extradited from Turkey in September and sentenced on November 11 on charges of organizing a terrorist group, extremism, and recruiting mercenaries to fight in a foreign country. There were no official reports about Saidrahmonov's trial or an explanation for why the Supreme Court announced the sentencing three months after it was handed down. Some media reports cited sources as saying that prosecutors had sought life in prison for him. Saidrahmonov, who was also suspected of having links to terrorist attacks in Sweden, Russia, and Tajikistan, was a migrant worker in Russia when he left in 2014 for Iraq, where he joined the ranks of the Islamic State terrorist organization.”
Egypt
Egypt Today: Egypt Blacklists Members Of ‘Ansar Beit Al Maqdis’ Terrorist Group
“The Egyptian authorities put 149 members of the banned group Muslim Brotherhood on the terrorist list for five years in accordance with the Law of Regulating Terrorist Entities and Terrorists. The members are facing charges of belonging to the terrorist group ‘Ansar Beit Al Maqdis’ and the decision of blacklisting was published on Thursday in the official gazette ‘Al Waqaie Al Masryia’ to intact on the following day. The convicts were charged with establishing a terrorist group ‘Ansar Beit Al Maqdis’ which embraces extremist ideology under the pretext of not applying Islamic law. They were charged with committing premeditated murder of police officers and personnel, civilians, and children, sabotaging and damaging public facilities, natural gag pipelines, and gas stations, and possessing and using explosives.”
Somalia
CNN: US Strike Kills 5 Al-Shabaab Fighters In Somalia, US Africa Command Says
“A US strike in Somalia killed five al-Shabaab fighters on Wednesday, US Africa Command said in a statement. The strike was carried out at the request of the Somali government and was a ‘collective self-defense strike,’ according to AFRICOM. The strike was carried out approximately 300 miles north of the Somali capital of Mogadishu. No civilians were injured or killed, AFRICOM said, citing the remote location of the operation.”
Africa
Reuters: Ethiopia Commission Accuses Oromiya Rebels Of Killing 50 People
“At least 50 people were killed in Ethiopia's Oromiya region this month in an attack by a banned rebel group, the state-appointed human rights commission said on Wednesday. Oromiya is home to Ethiopia's largest ethnic group and has experienced unrest for many years, rooted in grievances about political marginalisation and neglect by the central government. The killings on Feb. 2 mainly targeted internally displaced persons in the town of Ano, about 380 km (235 miles) west of the capital Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said in a report. The report, which cited families of the victims, witnesses and government bodies, blamed the attack on the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), without providing a reason for the alleged attack.”
United Kingdom
Reuters: UK Counter-Terrorism Police Turn Focus To China, Russia And Iran
“Britain's counter-terrorism police chief said on Thursday his officers are increasingly dealing with threats from hostile states such as Russia, China and Iran in a shift in focus away from Islamist extremism. The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and deadly incidents in Britain made tackling Islamist plots the priority for counter-terrorism police, with resources focused on the threat from home-grown and foreign-based militants. Matt Jukes, the head of counter-terrorism at London's Metropolitan Police, said there has been a shift in emphasis as foreign states try to corrupt or intimidate people and are involved in murder and kidnap plots in Britain. ‘The requirement for us to play a law enforcement part in countering the threats from hostile states is unprecedented,’ Jukes told reporters at New Scotland Yard, the Metropolitan Police's headquarters.”
Europe
European Eye On Radicalization: EER-CEP Webinar: Tackling Domestic Extremism In The West
“European Eye on Radicalization (EER) was pleased to host a joint event with the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) recently about how Western states have handled domestic extremists and terrorists, the far-Right and Islamists. Alexander Ritzmann, a Senior Advisor to CEP and the Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN), as well as an Associate Fellow of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), spoke first about the financing of far-Right extremists, particularly in Germany. Ritzmann began by noting that CEP has been working to map the far-Right networks, beginning with a November 2020 report commissioned by the German Federal Foreign Office, ‘Violent Right-Wing Extremism: Transnational Connectivity, Definitions, Incidents, Structures, and Countermeasures,’ and this has led on to further studies of the financial and online infrastructure of these extremists. A ‘follow the money’ approach is difficult with far-Right extremists, says Ritzmann, unlike with Islamists, because of the way they are structured, and this has led to a narrative that suggests the far-Right does not have sophisticated finances.”
Al Mayadeen: Ukrainian Soldier Wearing ISIS Patch Caught On Danish TV News Report
“Danish broadcaster DRTV published footage of a Ukrainian soldier in his military uniform wearing what appeared to be a patch of the logo of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization. During a news report covering the updates on Ukraine, the TV reporter caught on video two Ukrainian servicemen wearing their military uniforms, one of which was wearing the patch. Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service said on (SVR) said the US defense is recruiting fighters to plot and execute terrorist attacks on Russian soil and that of CIS countries (such as Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Uzbekistan). ‘According to credible data received by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia, the US military is actively recruiting militants from jihadist groups affiliated with the Daesh* and Al-Qaeda* to carry out terrorist attacks in Russia and the CIS countries. Particular attention is paid to attracting people from the Russian North Caucasus and Central Asia to cooperation,’ the SVR statement read.”
Southeast Asia
The Straits Times: Indonesia’s Anti-Terrorism Squad Defused Bomb Ahead Of Bali G-20 Summit: Sources
“About a month before world leaders gathered in Bali for the Group of 20 (G-20) summit in mid-November, Indonesia’s anti-terrorism squad Densus 88 defused a fully assembled bomb during a raid in Banten province on Java island, according to two government sources. The bomb was meant to target the summit, one of the sources told The Straits Times, though the tight security around the venue made it highly improbable for any militant group to penetrate the island. ‘If anyone had been caught at the border crossing to Bali and the bomb exploded, it would have led to foreign delegates departing Bali quickly, ahead of the summit,’ the source said. Densus 88 conducted five raids in September and October in Central Java and Banten provinces, acting on tip-offs from the public as well as gathered intelligence, according to the sources.”
South Korea
The Korea Times: Foreigners Caught Funding Terrorist Group Using Cryptocurrency
“Two foreign nationals residing in Korea have been arrested for funding an al-Qaida-linked terrorist group using cryptocurrency, police said Thursday. A 31-year-old Uzbek man and a 29-year-old Kazakh man were sent to the Supreme Prosecutors Office on Jan. 17 on charges of breaking the anti-terrorism and anti-terrorist funding acts, according to the National Office of Investigation of the National Police Agency. The funds were delivered to Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad, or KTJ, an anti-Syrian government terrorist group affiliated with al-Qaida, via a cryptocurrency broker, the police said. The United Nations designated KTJ as a terrorist group in March 2022. Seven other foreigners who funded KTJ with the two suspects were deported in December last year, police said. The case marks the first time foreigners here have been caught funding a terrorist group in cryptocurrencies, investigators said.”
Technology
VICE News: Facebook Auto-Created Pages For ISIS And Al-Qaeda: Study
“Facebook has auto-created the pages of designated terrorist organizations including ISIS and al-Qaeda for years, according to a new report. The Tech Transparency Project (TTP) investigation comes less than a week before the Supreme Court hears a landmark case, which examines the responsibility of tech companies for policing terrorism online, and shows how the presence of terror groups continues to linger on Facebook despite years of pressure to remove that content. In the years since the rise of ISIS, the company has taken measures to try and stem the problem of extremism on its platform. But TTP, a tech industry watchdog group, found that a tech ‘quirk’ on Facebook unknowingly auto-generated landing pages for terror organizations when users list them under things like their work, education, local businesses, interests, or even locations—and no page already exists for it.”
POLITICO: Digital Bridge: Munich Security Conference — Online Content On Trial — Kids’ Privacy Rights
“…If you’re looking for two good opposing views on the issue, I would read this amicus brief from the American Civil Liberties Union and this one from the Counter Extremism Project. For the uber-wonks among us, I would also recommend watching this debate from leading policy content/platform experts. Word of warning: none of this is easy. When does an algorithm shift from providing someone with information they are looking for to pushing them down a rabbit hole of nasty material? How do you stop companies from over-censoring for fear of lawsuits versus allowing hate speech to pop up in people’s YouTube recommendations?”
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