Eye on Extremism
January 23, 2020
The
New York Times: Chaos As Militants Overran Airfield, Killing 3
Americans In Kenya
“Armed with rifles and explosives, about a dozen Shabab fighters
destroyed an American surveillance plane as it was taking off and
ignited an hourslong gunfight earlier this month on a sprawling
military base in Kenya that houses United States troops. By the time
the Shabab were done, portions of the airfield were burning and three
Americans were dead. Surprised by the attack, American commandos took
around an hour to respond. Many of the local Kenyan forces, assigned
to defend the base, hid in the grass while other American troops and
support staff were corralled into tents, with little protection, to
wait out the battle. It would require hours to evacuate one of the
wounded to a military hospital in Djibouti, roughly 1,500 miles away.
The brazen assault at Manda Bay, a sleepy seaside base near the Somali
border, on Jan. 5, was largely overshadowed by the crisis with Iran
after the killing of that country’s most important general two days
earlier, and is only now drawing closer scrutiny from Congress and
Pentagon officials. But the storming of an airfield used by the
American military so alarmed the Pentagon that it immediately sent
about 100 troops from the 101st Airborne Division to establish
security at the base.”
Bloomberg:
German Defense Chief Warns Islamic State Could Resume
‘Terror’
“Germany’s defense minister warned that Islamic State fighters
could return in force in the Middle East if an international coalition
is unable to continue its work against the militant organization.
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, speaking in an interview at the World
Economic Forum on Thursday, said that Germany aims to keep its forces
in Iraq, but can only do so at the behest of the government in
Baghdad. “We need to keep in mind that in Iraq, IS is not yet
defeated,” Kramp-Karrenbauer told Bloomberg Television in Davos,
Switzerland. “If the pressure is reduced, then the danger is great
that it resumes its regime of terror.” The concerns by a key U.S. ally
underscore how the mission has been shaken since the killing of
Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, which prompted the Iraqis to demand
the departure of 5,000 American troops from the country. The
self-declared caliphate was largely subdued by early last year in
Syria and Iraq, where it once controlled territory the size of
Iceland. Germany, which has some 120 troops in Iraq as part of an
anti-ISIS campaign, suspended its operations amid the crisis.
Thirty-two German troops were transferred to Jordan and three to
Kuwait.”
The
Washington Post: Iran Uses Violence, Politics To Try To Push US Out Of
Iraq
“Iran has long sought the withdrawal of American forces from
neighboring Iraq, but the U.S. killing of an Iranian general and an
Iraqi militia commander in Baghdad has added new impetus to the
effort, stoking anti-American feelings that Tehran hopes to exploit to
help realize the goal. The Jan. 3 killing has led Iraq’s parliament to
call for the ouster of U.S. troops, but there are many lingering
questions over whether Iran will be able to capitalize on the
sentiment. An early test will be a “million-man” demonstration against
the American presence, called for by influential Shiite cleric Moqtada
al-Sadr and scheduled for Friday. It is not clear whether the
protesters will try to recreate a New Year’s Eve attack on the U.S.
Embassy compound in Baghdad by Iran-supported militias in the wake of
U.S. airstrikes that killed 25 militiamen along the border with Syria.
Iran might simply try to use the march to telegraph its intention to
keep up the pressure on U.S. troops in Iraq. But experts say Iran can
be counted on to try to seize what it sees as an opportunity to push
its agenda in Iraq, despite an ongoing mass uprising that is targeting
government corruption as well as Iranian influence in the
country.”
United States
The
New York Times: A New Face Of White Supremacy: Plots Expose Danger Of
The ‘Base’
“The plans were as sweeping as they were chilling: “Derail some
trains, kill some people, and poison some water supplies.” It was the
blunt, bloody prescription for sparking a race war by a member of the
Base, a white supremacist group that has come under intense scrutiny
amid a series of stunning recent arrests. Federal agents, who had
secretly recorded those remarks in a bugged apartment during a
domestic terrorism investigation, pounced on seven members of the
group last week in advance of a rally on Monday by gun rights
advocates in Richmond, Va. Three members of one cell in Maryland
affiliated with the group plotted attacks at the rally, hoping to
ignite wider violence that would lead to the creation of a white
ethno-state, law enforcement officials said. The “defendants did more
than talk,” Robert K. Hur, the United States attorney for Maryland,
said after a detention hearing on Wednesday in federal court in
Greenbelt, Md. “They took steps to act and act violently on their
racist views.” The details that emerged in court and in documents from
active cases in three other states — Georgia, Wisconsin and New Jersey
— unveiled a disturbing new face of white supremacy.”
The
New York Times: Judge: Canadian Tied To Extremist Group Is 'Very
Dangerous'
“A former Canadian Armed Forces reservist plotted with other
members of a white supremacist group to carry out “essentially a
paramilitary strike” at a Virginia gun rights rally, a federal
prosecutor said Wednesday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy Sullivan
agreed to keep Patrik Mathews, 27, detained in federal custody pending
a Jan. 30 preliminary hearing. Mathews leaned back in his chair and
quietly laughed when the magistrate read aloud a transcript of a video
in which the Canadian national advocated killing people, poisoning
water supplies and derailing trains. “This is a very dangerous
person,” the magistrate said during Mathews' detention hearing in
Maryland. “He espouses very dangerous beliefs.” Later Wednesday,
Sullivan refused to set bail for another defendant arrested in the
FBI's investigation of The Base. A prosecutor described William
Garfield Bilbrough IV — a 19-year-old pizza delivery driver who lives
with his grandmother in Denton, Maryland — as a leader of the group
who was seen as a “prophet” by Mathews and the third man arrested in
the case.”
CBS
Boston: Northeastern Student Was Deported Back To Iran Over Family’s
Ties To Terroristic Groups
“Shabab Dehghani, a Northeastern University college student who was
detained at Logan Airport and sent back to Iran before an immigration
hearing was held, was deported because of his family’s ties to
terroristic groups, CBS News reports. A U.S. official familiar with
information reviewed by authorities told CBS News that Dehghani
himself does not have ties to terroristic groups, but “some very close
to him” do. Dehghani is studying economics at Northeastern. He’s been
studying in Boston for two years, but was stuck at home in Iran in
December 2018 after visiting his family as he waited for his student
visa to be renewed. Dehghani’s attorney, Susan Church, told WBZ-TV he
was detained starting Sunday night despite having a legal F1 Student
Visa, as he tried to get back to school – and said at the time she
didn’t know why. An immigration hearing was scheduled for Tuesday
morning, but Dehghani was deported before it began. Judge Richard
Stearns said during the brief hearing that there was nothing he could
do because Dehghani had already been deported. Massachusetts Senator
Ed Markey tweeted Wednesday that he still hadn’t heard from U.S.
Customs and Border Protection about why Dehghani was turned away.”
Syria
The
Washington Post: How Islamic State Gains From Strife Among Its
Enemies
“If there is one cause common to the governments of the U.S.,
Turkey, Iraq and Iran, it’s the continued suppression of Islamic
State, the most destructive Islamist militant organization the world
has seen. Working together and separately, those nations and their
allies by early 2019 managed to subdue the group in Iraq and Syria,
where it once controlled a chunk of territory as big as Iceland. Now,
tensions among the countries that dismantled Islamic State threaten to
subvert efforts to combat its resurgence. 1. What condition is Islamic
State in? Its self-declared caliphate -- a state that claims dominion
over all Muslims -- has been in ruins since March 2019 when
U.S.-assisted Syrian Kurdish forces, Russian-backed Syrian government
troops and Iranian-supported fighters from Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan
and Pakistan took the group’s last remaining strongholds in Syria. It
had lost its territorial foothold in neighboring Iraq in 2017 to
government forces backed by a U.S.-led multinational coalition. The
group’s enigmatic leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed in a U.S.
strike in northern Syria in October. His death is widely believed to
have been a blow to the group, but not a fatal one. U.S. intelligence
concluded that it would have little impact on the group’s ability to
rebuild.”
Reuters:
Militants Set Off Car Bombs, Storm Army Positions In Syria's Idlib:
State News Agency
“Militants in Syria set off car bombs and used heavy gunfire to
storm army positions in Idlib on Thursday, state news agency SANA
reported. The militant attack forced the army to redeploy and clashes
were ongoing, SANA added. Idlib is the last rebel-held swathe of
territory in the country and hundreds of thousands of people in the
area have fled in recent weeks amid heavy airstrikes by Russian and
Syrian forces.”
Voice
Of America: In Syria, Captured Islamic State Fighters, Followers Going
Home
“A growing number of fighters and followers captured during the
final battles to defeat the Islamic State terror group’s self-declared
caliphate are being released in Syria, with some facing justice and
others being given a chance to restart their lives. Once held under
heavy guard in makeshift prisons or in camps for displaced persons,
dozens of fighters and hundreds of so-called IS-affiliated persons
have made the journey home since late last year, according to U.S. and
U.N. officials. And while the prospect of allowing some former IS
fighters and followers to mingle in communities freed from the terror
group’s grip has, in some cases, raised tensions, U.S. officials, so
far, have been pleased with the results. “We see these SDF [Syrian
Democratic Forces] return-and-reintegration initiatives as positive,”
a State Department official told VOA, asking for anonymity because of
the sensitive nature of the program. “They have been successful in
holding fighters to account and also reintegrating some individuals
and a significant number of families back into Syrian communities,
usually under tribal and family oversight,” the official added. About
4,000 captured Syrian IS fighters are thought to be in SDF custody,
while the number of noncombatants — women and children and others —
held in displaced-persons camps still number in the tens of
thousands.”
Iraq
France
24: IS Resurgence Possible If US Leaves Iraq: General
“The Islamic State group is weakened but a resurgence is possible
if the United States leaves Iraq, US Major General Alexus Grynkewich,
the number two commander for the international anti-jihadist coalition
in Iraq and Syria, said Wednesday. The group “certainly still remain a
threat,” he said. “They have the potential to resurge if we take
pressure off of them for too long.” The general said he did not see
the threat of an immediate IS comeback. “But the more time we take
pressure off of them, the more of that threat will continue to grow,”
he said. At a Pentagon press conference, he said the structural
weakness of IS is shown by their failure to take advantage of
demonstrations in Iraq calling for political reforms since October.
More than 460 protesters have been killed, and demonstrators are angry
that few Iraqi security personnel have been charged for the violence.
The allies at the heart of the international coalition have over the
last few months been evaluating the position of the jihadist movement
whose self-declared “caliphate” once spanned parts of Iraq and Syria.
It collapsed last March after years of battle with coalition-backed
forces. IS went underground and reverted to well-honed guerrilla
tactics that continued to do damage.”
Military
Times: No ISIS Surge During Pause In US Operations, General
Says
“Islamic State fighters did not capitalize on a recent break in
U.S. operations to significantly reconstitute their ranks in Iraq,
according to a top general. After a U.S. airstrike killed Iran's top
military commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the U.S. briefly
suspended coalition training activities in Iraq on Jan. 5. The move
came during a heightened state of alert to protect facilities housing
U.S. troops amid unpredictable retaliations from Iran's proxy forces.
Air Force Maj. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, deputy commander of Combined
Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve at U.S. Central Command,
told an audience at a Mitchell Institute event outside Washington,
D.C., that U.S. and coalition troops have not observed a compelling
uptick in ISIS activities throughout Iraq and Syria recently. He added
that targeted strikes on ISIS fighters have waned in recent months to
about “two to three airstrikes per week.” “[But] we certainly want to
get back to providing that overall pressure” to keep ISIS at bay for
the foreseeable future, Grynkewich said Wednesday. He credited Iraqi
forces with keeping the pressure on ISIS during the break. The U.S.
announced it was resuming operations against the Islamic State on Jan.
15.”
Afghanistan
The
New York Times: Afghan Officials: Taliban Kill Officer; Bomb Kills 2
Troops
“The Taliban ambushed and killed an Afghan intelligence official in
southern Helmand province as he was walking home from work while a
roadside bombing in the country's north killed a military commander
and his bodyguard, officials said Thursday. The attacks were the
latest violence in Afghanistan even as the Taliban hold peace talks
with a U.S. envoy tasked with finding a resolution to the 18-year war,
America's longest conflict. In the Helmand attack, the officer, who
headed the intelligence department's press office for the province,
was ambushed late on Wednesday, according to the provincial police
chief’s spokesman Zaman Hamdard. Another member of the intelligence
department was wounded in the attack, the spokesman said. An
investigation was underway to find the perpetrators, Hamdard added.
Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the attack.
The roadside bombing in northern Faryab province took place on
Wednesday morning, killing the commandeer of the Afghan army's First
Battalion and his bodyguard, and wounding two other bodyguards.
According to Mohammad Hanif Rezaie, the military spokesman in northern
Afghanistan, the battalion commander, Capt. Muhib Shah, was traveling
to the volatile Khwaja Sabzposh district when the car he and his
bodyguards were in hit the roadside bomb.”
Reuters:
Trump Says Taliban Must Curb Violence For Meaningful Afghanistan
Talks
“U.S. President Donald Trump told Afghanistan’s President Ashraf
Ghani that there cannot be meaningful negotiations until the Taliban
significantly reduces its violence, the White House said in a
statement on Wednesday. “Trump reiterated the need for a significant
and lasting reduction in violence by the Taliban that would facilitate
meaningful negotiations on Afghanistan’s future,” the White House
said. Trump had been in Davos attending the World Economic Forum.”
Saudi Arabia
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Saudi Arabia Asks US To Remove Sudan From Terror
List
“Saudi Arabia has asked the United States to remove Sudan from its
list of state sponsors of terrorism, Saudi state TV said on Wednesday,
citing Minister of State for African Affairs Ahmed Kattan. The US
government added Sudan to its list of state sponsors of terrorism in
1993 over allegations of cooperation with extremist groups, mainly
al-Qaeda. In 2017, the United States lifted trade sanctions imposed on
Sudan a decade before but kept Khartoum on its terrorism blacklist
alongside Iran, North Korea and Syria. Saudi media said Kattan met in
Riyadh with the US envoy to Sudan, Donald Booth, and “stressed to
Washington the necessity of lifting Sudan from the terrorism list”.
According to state broadcaster Al-Ekhbaria, the minister emphasized
“Saudi Arabia's support for Sudan's security and
stability.”
Lebanon
NBC
News: Lebanon's New Government Backed By Hezbollah And Allies Meets
For First Time
“Lebanon's new government met for the first time Wednesday as
President Michel Aoun said its main task was to win back international
confidence that could unlock the funding the crisis-hit country badly
needs. Formed by the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah and its allies
without the participation of major Lebanese political parties that
enjoy Western backing, it also faces one of the biggest financial
crises in the heavily indebted country's history. A liquidity crunch
that has hit the Lebanese pound, fueled inflation and driven banks to
impose capital controls. “Your mission is delicate,” Aoun's office
cited him as telling the cabinet. “It is necessary to work to tackle
the economic situation, restore the confidence of the international
community in Lebanese institutions andreassure the Lebanese about
their future,” Aoun said. Lebanon, burdened with a public debt
equivalent to about 150 percent of GDP, won pledges exceeding $11
billion at an international conference in April 2018 conditional on
reforms that it has so far failed to implement. U.N. Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres welcomed the government's formation and said he would
work with Prime Minister Hassan Diab to support the reform agenda,
Guterres' spokesman said in a statement on
Wednesday.”
Egypt
Al
Monitor: Why Egypt Is Amending Its Terrorism Law
“The Council of Ministers approved Jan. 8 the draft amendments to
Law No. 8 of 2015, with the goal of making more effective the measures
to counter terrorism and terrorism financing. The amendments involve
expanding the general prosecution’s powers of freezing the assets and
funds of individuals and entities affiliated with terrorist groups or
activities. While Article 7 of the law requires freezing and seizing
the funds of such individuals and entities when used in a terrorist
activity only, the new amendments grant the authorities the right to
freeze all of the funds the defendants own. The amendments stipulate
freezing the funds or other assets owned solely or jointly or
controlled directly or indirectly by the individual and entity, as
well as the returns generated from these properties, and the funds or
assets of the individuals and entities acting on their behalf. The new
amendments also stipulate freezing the funds and other financial
assets and economic resources, including oil resources, and other
natural resources and properties of any kind, regardless of how the
individual or entity obtained them.”
Nigeria
The
Washington Post: Islamic Extremists Kill Nigerian Pastor, Attack His
Hometown
“Islamic militants in Nigeria have killed a Christian pastor who
had pleaded for his life in a video just days earlier, and a human
rights activist said Tuesday that other extremists attacked his
hometown on the same day. The Rev. Lawan Andimi was abducted earlier
this month when Boko Haram militants attacked the Michika local
government area, where he was the chairman of a local chapter of the
Christian Association of Nigeria. He was killed on Monday. Nigeria’s
President Muhammadu Buhari condemned Andimi’s slaying, calling it
“cruel, inhuman and deliberately provocative.” “I am greatly saddened
by the fact that the terrorists went on to kill him even while giving
signals of a willingness to set him free by releasing him to third
parties,” Buhari tweeted. Osai Ojigho, director of Amnesty
International in Nigeria, called it “appalling” that Boko Haram
followed up Andimi’s killing on Monday with an attack on his hometown
in the Chibok local government area of northeastern Borno state. In
April 2014, 276 girls were abducted from the Government Secondary
School in Chibok. More than 100 are still missing nearly six years
later. Andimi is the latest Christian to be killed by Boko Haram or a
breakaway faction that has ties to the Islamic State group.”
Somalia
Breitbart:
Somalia Offers To Take Swedish Islamic State Members From
Syria
“Somalian President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has offered to take
in Swedish-Somalian Islamic State members, stating that he will accept
them if European countries will not take them. Kurdish authorities
have said that around half of the Swedish woman in the al-Hol prison
camp have a Somalian background, a number estimated to be between 30
to 40 people, Swedish broadcaster SVT reports. “If no one wants them
and the Europeans do not take them back, then Somalia’s president has
decided that women and children who want to can be taken to Somalia,”
said Somalia’s European Union ambassador Ali Said Faqi. The Swedish
Foreign Ministry has refused to comment on the offer, with the
ministry’s press spokeswoman Julia Eriksson Pogorzelska saying: “We
are aware of the remarks, but there is nothing we can comment on.”
Sweden has had a mixed history with returning Islamic State members
and fighters, with some politicians advocating that returning
jihadists should be integrated back into society. Others, such as
terror expert Magnus Ranstorp, have argued that because there are not
sufficient laws to prosecute them, Sweden should not allow returning
jihadists, including female members of the terror group, to return to
the country.”
Africa
The
New York Times: Burkina Faso Approves State Backing For Vigilantes
Fighting Jihadists
“Burkina Faso's parliament has voted to provide funding and
training to local vigilantes in response to the growing firepower of
jihadist groups who threaten to overrun government forces across large
swathes of the West African country. The move, which is expected to
apply mostly to vigilante groups called koglweogo - “guardians of the
bush” in the Moore language - has drawn concerns from the United
Nations and human rights activists, who fear it could empower fighters
accused of ethnic killings in the past. The vigilantes grew
significantly as a response to instability that followed the 2014
revolution that overthrew longtime President Blaise Compaore. There
are an estimated 40,000 such groups across Burkina Faso, according to
the U.N. “This law was voted unanimously by the parliament,” Defence
Minister Moumina Cheriff Sy told reporters after the vote late on
Tuesday. “It shows that beyond our differences of opinion... we can be
one when it comes to defending the homeland.” Security deteriorated
dramatically across Burkina Faso and its neighbors in the semi-arid
Sahel region last year, as Islamist militants with ties to Islamic
State and al Qaeda stepped up their attacks. On Monday, militants
killed 36 people at a market in a village in northern Burkina
Faso.”
Business
Insider: US Troops In Kenya Were Hit Hard And Fast By Terrorist
Militants Who Broke Into A Frail
Base
“Around a dozen al-Shabab militants launched a surprise attack
against a Kenyan military base housing US forces earlier in January,
according to new details in a New York Times report published
Wednesday. The attack killed two civilian contractors and a US Army
soldier, the Times said. In fighting that lasted several hours, the
militants successfully infiltrated the Manda Bay, Kenya, near the
Kenya-Somalia border, on January 5. US forces and Kenyan Rangers were
stationed at the base to conduct training and surveillance operations
against the terrorist group. It is unclear how the militants made
their way into the base, which was guarded by local Kenyan forces and
a fence line. Some of the Kenyan troops whose job was to defend the
base are thought to have hidden in the grass during the attack, The
Times reported. Once the militants made their way inside, two Defense
Department contractor pilots who were taxiing their aircraft on the
tarmac initially took them for animals on the runaway, according to
The Times. The militants then fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the
aircraft, killing pilots Dustin Harrison and Bruce Triplett. The
fighters also struck at other nearby aircraft and an fuel storage
area, The Times reported, causing damages estimated to have cost
millions of dollars."
The
Guardian: Sahel Faces Surge In Violence From Terror
Attacks
“The Sahel is facing an unprecedented wave of violence, with more
than 4,000 deaths reported last year, and a bloody start to 2020. The
number of attacks have increased fivefold in Burkina Faso, Mali and
Niger since 2016, United Nations figures have revealed. Mohamed Ibn
Chambas, the UN’s envoy for the fragile region on the southern rim of
the Sahara, said it had experienced “a devastating surge in terrorist
attacks against civilian and military targets”. In Burkina Faso, the
number of deaths rose from about 80 in 2016 to more than 1,800 in
2019. On Tuesday, authorities in Ouagadougou, the capital, said dozens
of civilians had been killed in the latest attack by suspected Islamic
militants on a village market in the northern province of Sanmatenga.
Chambas told the UN security council earlier this month that the
“devastating surge in terrorist attacks against civilian and military
targets” would have alarming humanitarian consequences in the region
and was set to spread. “Most significantly, the geographic focus of
terrorist attacks has shifted eastwards from Mali to Burkina Faso and
is increasingly threatening west African coastal states,” he said
earlier this month.”
United Kingdom
The
Guardian: Non-Violent Groups On UK Counter-Terror List Threaten Legal
Action
“Peaceful protest groups listed in a counter-terrorism guide used
as part of anti-extremism briefings are threatening legal action
unless it is withdrawn. The Guardian revealed on Friday that
Greenpeace, Peta and other non-violent groups were listed alongside
neo-Nazis in the document used as part of training for Prevent, the
anti-radicalisation scheme designed to catch those at risk of
committing terrorist violence. The guide, from June 2019, bears the
logo “Counter Terrorism Policing” on every page, and was presented in
briefings to public sector workers such as medical staff and teachers.
Police said the document was provided to Prevent partners as “a guide
to help them identify and understand the range of organisations they
might come across”. The groups listed say their rights have been
violated and their inclusion in the guidance is “unlawful” and open to
legal challenge. The groups behind the legal threat include Animal
Aid, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament, and Extinction Rebellion. The letter sent by solicitors
acting for the groups says: “Our clients are non-violent organisations
focused on lawful protest and engagement to pursue their legitimate
aims.”
France
RFI:
France To Further Boost Its Anti-Jihad Force In
Sahel
“France will further bolster its anti-jihadist force in the Sahel,
on top of 220 reinforcement soldiers already sent recently to try to
stem a spiral of violence in the region, the country's top general
said Wednesday. Defence chief of staff Francois Lecointre told
reporters in Paris he would detail the “profile and composition” of
the proposed troop buildup to President Emmanuel Macron in the coming
days. France has a 4,500-member force in the Sahel region, recently
reinforced with a further 220 soldiers, to train and assist local
forces fighting an increasingly deadly insurgency in Mali, Burkina
Faso, Niger, Mauritania and Chad. Thousands of civilians have been
killed and more than a million displaced, with hundreds of troops
killed, including dozens of French soldiers. Further reinforcements
will be accompanied by “additional logistical and intelligence tools,”
said Lecointre, with efforts concentrated on the Liptako-Gourma region
where the Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger borders meet. “Today in this
extremely vast zone, the means at Operation Barkhane's disposal are
not sufficient for us to have soldiers deployed 24 hours a day, seven
days a week,” he said, using the official name for France's Sahel
mission.”
Southeast Asia
Voice
Of America: Indonesia Considers Repatriating More Than 600 Citizens
With Alleged Terror Ties
“Indonesia is discussing the possible repatriation of 660 citizens
with alleged links to terrorism — foreign fighters and dozens of their
family members — who have been detained abroad. Mahfud MD, the
country’s coordinating minister for politics, law and security, told
VOA that his government had started talks about the future of the
fighters and their families, and expects to reach a decision by
midyear. He said the citizens in question are being held in a number
of countries, with the majority in Syria and Afghanistan. “This
[repatriation] involves many ministries. The Social Ministry, which,
for example, accommodates its social consequences. The Ministry of
Political, Legal and Security [Affairs], concerning the law and
citizenship. There are also the tourism and investment aspects, which
can be impacted if, for example, there is still a perception of
terrorism, and so on. Everything will be considered,” he said. The
rise in recent years of Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria and the
Maute militant group in the neighboring Philippines have led to
hundreds of Indonesians traveling abroad to join the extremist groups.
When IS lost its final enclave in Syria in March 2019, however, dozens
of the fighters and their family members there were detained by
U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.”
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