“The United States announced a reward of up to $5 million on Thursday for
information leading to the capture of the leader of the ADF militia, which is
primarily active in DR Congo. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) is one of the
deadliest armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a volatile
region that has been plagued by violence for decades. The militia -- which the
Islamic State group claims as its central African affiliate -- has been accused
of slaughtering thousands of Congolese civilians and carrying out bomb attacks
in Uganda. On Thursday, the US embassy in Kinshasa said it was offering up to
$5 million for information leading to the reward of ADF leader Seka Musa
Baluku.”











<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>



Eye on Extremism



March 3, 2023



AFP News: US Offers Up To $5 Mn Reward For Leader Of DR Congo ADF Militia
<[link removed]>



“The United States announced a reward of up to $5 million on Thursday for
information leading to the capture of the leader of the ADF militia, which is
primarily active in DR Congo. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) is one of the
deadliest armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a volatile
region that has been plagued by violence for decades. The militia -- which the
Islamic State group claims as its central African affiliate -- has been accused
of slaughtering thousands of Congolese civilians and carrying out bomb attacks
in Uganda. On Thursday, the US embassy in Kinshasa said it was offering up to
$5 million for information leading to the reward of ADF leader Seka Musa
Baluku.”



Bloomberg: Plot To Bomb California Democratic Headquarters Sends Two To Prison
<[link removed]>



“Two California men were sentenced to prison for plotting to firebomb the
Democratic headquarters in the state’s capital following the 2020 presidential
election. Ian Benjamin Rogers, 46, was ordered to serve a nine-year term and
Jarrod Copeland, 39, got 4 1/2 years Thursday at a court hearing in San
Francisco, federal prosecutors said in a statement. Both men pleaded guilty in
May to conspiring to destroy the John L. Burton Democratic Headquarters in
Sacramento, according to the US Attorney’s Office in San Francisco. US District
Judge Charles Breyer said the plan amounted to ‘an act of terrorism,’ according
to the statement. ‘The evidence that was obtained certainly shows that there
was a plan, a design, an opportunity and ability to carry out the firebombing,’
Breyer said.”



United States



Yahoo News: Ohio Law Enforcement Links Erin Brockovich To Potential For
'Special Interest Terrorism' Threat In East Palestine
<[link removed]>



“Ohio law enforcement issued a report late last month warning that events
planned in East Palestine by the environmental activist Erin Brockovich could
prompt a terrorist threat from violent extremists, according to an intelligence
bulletin obtained by Yahoo News. Dated Feb. 24 and distributed to law
enforcement agencies by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Ohio
Statewide Terrorism Analysis & Crime Center Terrorism Analysis Unit Situational
Awareness [STACC TAU] report obtained by Yahoo News ‘assesses that special
interest extremist groups will continue to call for changes in governmental
policy, which may lead to protests in/around East Palestine and/or at the
Statehouse in Columbus.’ The report then singles out the reaction by
Brockovich, a whistleblower who helped build a successful lawsuit against the
California utility company Pacific Gas and Electric in a case involving
contaminated groundwater, to the Feb. 3 train derailment and release of toxic
chemicals in East Palestine. ‘On 24 February, environmental activist Erin
BrockovichUSPER [United States person] is scheduled to be in East Palestine to
explain residents’ legal rights. Brokovich has urged the community to use
common sense and ask questions. Brockovich is also placing blame solely on
Norfolk Southern.The STACC TAU assess this event could potentially increase
tensions within the community.’”



Voice Of America News: US Attorney General Says He Would Not Object To
Designating Wagner A Foreign Terrorist Organization
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“U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland says he would not ‘object’ to
designating Russia's Wagner mercenary group as a Foreign Terrorist
Organization, calling its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a ‘war criminal.’ In
testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Garland was asked
by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, if he
agreed that the Wagner group ‘should be a Foreign Terrorist Organization under
U.S. law.’ ‘I think they're an organization that is committing war crimes, an
organization that's damaging the United States,’ Garland said, noting that the
designation is made by the State Department. Graham, along with a bipartisan
group of senators, is sponsoring legislation that would direct the secretary of
state to designate Wagner as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.”



The Times Of Israel: Pro-Palestinian Activist Went Looking To Beat Jews At NYC
Israel Rally – Prosecutors
<[link removed]>



“A pro-Palestinian activist who committed a series of attacks on Jews in New
York City in 2021 and 2022 discussed bringing firebombs to a pro-Israel rally,
bragged about antisemitic assaults and plotted how to evade law enforcement,
according to federal prosecutors. Saadah Masoud pleaded guilty to conspiracy to
commit hate crimes in federal court in November as part of a plea agreement.
His sentencing for separate attacks on three Jews will be held on Friday in the
Southern District Court of New York. He faces up to two years in prison.”



Syria



AFP News: UN Chief Urges Nations To Repatriate Citizens From Syria Camp
<[link removed]>



“UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called for the swift
repatriation of foreigners held in Syria's infamous Al-Hol camp which houses
relatives of jihadists. The sprawling and overcrowded Kurdish-run Al-Hol camp
in northern Syria is home to more than 50,000 people, including family members
of suspected Islamic State group militants as well as displaced Syrians and
Iraqi refugees. Nearly half of the camp's population is under the age of 12 and
residents are ‘deprived of their rights, vulnerable, and marginalised’,
Guterres said in a statement during a visit to Iraq. ‘They are trapped in a
desperate situation with no end in sight,’ he said at the Jadaa camp, which
Iraqi authorities describe as a ‘rehabilitation’ centre for those returning
from Syria.”



Iran



The Jewish Chronicle: Iran-Run School Exposed By JC Referred To Extremism Unit
<[link removed]>



“The London school whose children sang in an Iranian propaganda video that
alluded to a myth about massacring Jews has been referred to the Department for
Education (DfE) Counter-Extremism Division, the JC has learnt. It follows a
damning report on the school published last month by education watchdog Ofsted
that rated it as ‘inadequate’, adding that its safeguarding policies and
practice were ‘not effective’. The JC revealed in November that children at the
Islamic Republic of Iran Primary School in northwest London, a short walk from
numerous synagogues, had been filmed singing a propaganda song called Hello
Commander. In the film, they pledged to join a mythical band of 313 warriors in
an apocalyptic conflict against the infidels, when, according to the Iranian
regime’s ideology, a great leader known as the Mahdi will return to Earth after
a 1,200-year absence and Israel will be obliterated and Jews killed. The song
has been highly praised by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His
government owns the school and it is understood that most of its 110 pupils are
the children of Iranian diplomats and regime officials.”



Iraq



Daily Sabah: MIT Eliminates Senior Member Of Terrorist Group In Iraq's Sinjar
<[link removed]>



“The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) has eliminated a senior member
of the PKK terrorist group responsible for Iraq’s northern Sinjar region.
According to security sources quoted by Anadolu Agency (AA) on Friday, the
terrorist Saad Ali Bedel, code-named ‘Ceko Pir,’ had participated in attacks
against the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) while also organizing acts against MIT
in the Sinjar region. Bedel was followed by a special MIT team and it was found
that he hid among the Yazidi people. After receiving intelligence that Bedel
was planning a new attack on the TSK's Bashika base in Mosul, MIT eliminated
the terrorist in an operation while paying the utmost attention not to harm
civilians that Bedel was using as a shield. TSK regularly conducts cross-border
operations in northern Iraq, a region where PKK terrorists have hideouts and
bases from which to carry out attacks against Türkiye.”



TRT World: Senior PKK/KCK Terrorist 'Neutralised' By Turkish Intelligence In
N. Iraq
<[link removed]>



“A senior PKK/KCK terrorist was ‘neutralised’ by Turkish intelligence in
northern Iraq, according to security sources. The Turkish intelligence
neutralised the terrorist in Sinjar, and showed high-level sensitivity not to
harm the civilian population used by the terrorist as a shield, the sources
said on Friday. Saad Ali Bedel, codenamed Ceko Pir, who was determined to have
participated in actions against Turkish bases, was the ringleader of the
terrorist activities against the Turkish intelligence agency in the Sinjar
region, according to the sources. The agency, which assigned a special team to
monitor Bedel's activities in Sinjar, determined that the terrorist was living
with the Ezidi people, a religious minority group.”



Turkey



Daily Sabah: Türkiye Slams US Terrorism Report Over ‘Twisted’ Claims
<[link removed]>



“Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry has lambasted the United States for ‘purposefully
twisting’ the country’s fight against terrorist organizations that directly
threaten its national security. ‘We are calling on the U.S. to show solidarity
with Türkiye and display a principled, consistent, determined and effective
attitude in the spirit of alliance,’ Foreign Ministry spokesperson and
Ambassador Tanju Bilgiç said Thursday in a written response to the U.S.' 2021
Country Reports on Terrorism. Türkiye conducts its war on terrorist
organizations like the PKK and its Syrian branch YPG, the Revolutionary
People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C), the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and
Daesh without discrimination in line with the law and actively contributes to
international efforts on this front, Bilgiç underlined. ‘Referring to the YPG,
the extension of the PKK, as a partner of the U.S. in the fight against Daesh
demonstrates the fact that U.S. authorities are still unable to comprehend the
fallacy of using a terrorist organization in combatting another terrorist
organization,’ he said.”



Afghanistan



Atalayar: Afghanistan's International Isolation Cracks Taliban Leadership:
"Infighting Is Probable"
<[link removed]>



“…The Haqqani network is also an internal current of the Taliban movement,
founded by his late father Jalaluddin Haqqani in the 1970s, which came to
prominence during the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan a decade later. ‘It is
considered a branch of the Afghan Taliban but operates independently and has a
more diffuse command structure,’ reports The Counter Extremism Project. ‘After
the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, Jalaluddin Haqqani formed an alliance
with the Taliban and supported the growth of al-Qaeda. Even before Osama bin
Laden moved his base of operations to Afghanistan, Haqqani took the
extraordinary step of issuing communiqués and appeals for alliance with
al-Qaeda affiliates across Africa.’”



Pakistan



Dawn: ‘Militants’ Killed, Nadra Office Attacked In Kech
<[link removed]>



“Two alleged militants were killed in an exchange of fire with security
forces in Shapok and Sammi areas of Kech district on Thursday. Officials said
security forces had launched a search operation on a tip-off about the presence
of suspected militants in the mountainous area of Kech district. The alleged
militants were identified as Shoaib and Yahya who belonged to a banned outfit,
according to officials. In another incident, unknown attackers ransacked the
National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) office in the Bal-Nagor
area of Kech district.”



Samaa: Around 70 Most-Wanted ‘Terrorists’ Of Daesh, Al-Qaeda Held From Across
Punjab <[link removed]>



“In a major breakthrough, the counter-terrorism authorities have arrested
over 170 most-wanted terrorists in a series of covert operations spanning over
11 months across the country’s largest province of Punjab. Samaa’s
Investigation Unit gained access to official documents, which revealed that the
Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) launched covert operations against
operatives of the Islamic State (IS), Al-Qaeda, Islamic State-Khorasan and
other local militant groups last year. Several terrorists were gunned down in
these operations, revealed the CTD officials. As per the documents, 22 Al-Qaeda
members were arrested in south Punjab in 40 operations. The authorities also
nabbed 41 terrorists of the IS in 35 operations, while intelligence-based
operations also resulted in the arrest of four operators of the IS-Khorasan
group. The CTD teams also arrested 89 operatives of the Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP) during these operations conducted in different cities of Punjab.”



Saudi Arabia



Asharq Al-Awsat: Saudi FM Calls For Combating Cybercrime As Part Of Fight
Against Terrorism
<[link removed]>



“Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah stressed on
Thursday that combating terrorism also demands fighting cybercrimes through
international cooperation and effective legislations. Addressing the second
session of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi, India, he stressed
that Saudi Arabia had adopted several local initiatives within the National
Cybersecurity Authority (NCA). Moreover, he highlighted the Kingdom’s
pioneering role in proposing invaluable initiatives, such as the establishment
of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology (Etidal). He underlined
the Kingdom's membership in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to combat
money laundering and financing of terrorism, as well as the Kingdom's
membership in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.”



Middle East



The Jerusalem Post: Syrian Hezbollah Agent Indicted For Spying, Terrorism
After Capture In Israel <[link removed]>



“A Syrian Hezbollah agent was indicted for espionage and terrorism, the
Attorney-General’s Office announced, after the suspect was caught in an IDF
ambush when he infiltrated Israeli territory on January 27. Ayat Abdullah and
another man, Abed al-Rahman, were recruited and paid to observe and report on
troop strength, vehicle types and amount, operational hours and routes of IDF
forces by a Hezbollah operative who initially posed as a Syrian state security
officer. The duo would spy on IDF forces along the fence, and meet with their
handler bimonthly for reports and payment. According to the announcement,
Rahman was killed in an explosion in May 2022, which Hezbollah claimed was
caused by an Israeli missile assassination.”



Israel National News: Terrorist Prisoners Preparing For Hunger Strike During
Ramadan <[link removed]>



“The Palestinian Arab committee representing terrorist imprisoned in Israel
is sending a warning to the Israeli government following the approval in a
preliminary reading of the death penalty for terrorists bill. In a statement on
Thursday, the committee stated that ‘our enemy will regret the moment of the
final approval of this law.’ ‘Today we enter the seventeenth day of our move
against the measures of he who is known as Ben Gvir, who threatens us with
further measures of revenge and heavy handedness, and it is now clear that he
and the people around him did not receive our message, and they do not
understand the stubborn character of the Palestinian, who will not back down
from his right and we will continue our rebellion and our activity until our
victory [is achieved] and the prison guard is defeated,’ the statement said.
‘The only demand of the strike is the freedom of the prisoners, and this matter
requires the support of all our people to stand against the blatant aggression
against us,’ it continued. The committee called on the Palestinian Arab public
to turn every Friday into a day of support for the terrorist prisoners.”



Nigeria



Reuters: Nigeria's Buhari Opens Emergency Power Plant In Troubled Northeast
<[link removed]>



“Nigeria's outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari opened an emergency gas-fired
power plant in the northeastern city of Maiduguri on Thursday, where Islamist
insurgents have wreaked havoc with attacks on the electricity network. The
50-megawatt plant is meant to bring temporary relief to the Borno state
capital, the locus of Nigeria's 12-year battle against Islamist militants, who
last year cut the city's power by blowing up transmission lines. No city in
Nigeria, Africa's leading energy producer, is spared electricity shortages --
the whirr of diesel generators is ubiquitous -- but most major cities at least
have intermittent grid power. Maiduguri has been without power since the attack
in January 2021.”



The East African: Nigerian Troops Killed 133 Extremists Over Election Period
<[link removed]>



“The Nigerian military attacked identified territories of Boko Haram and
Islamic State West African Province (Iswap) militias, killing 133 in a
proactive operation meant to weaken the extremists and prevent them from
disrupting the just concluded elections. The troops also recovered heavy
ammunition including AK-47 rifles and Nato Dane guns, attack trucks,
motorcycles, desert camouflage and medical supplies from enclaves of the
terrorists who have been troubling the northern Nigeria region since 2009. The
ongoing operation was carried out to enable Nigeria conduct peaceful
presidential and national assembly elections held on February 25, 2023.
Director of Nigerian Army Public Relations Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu
on Thursday said in Abuja that apart from the Northeast Nigeria operation,
troops also curtailed the bandits in north central and north west as well as
crippling violent secessionist activities in the south east.”



Somalia



The National: US Cautiously Optimistic About Somalia's Anti-Al Shabab Military
Campaign
<[link removed]>



“The head of the US military's Africa Command, Gen Michael Langley, said he
is ‘very cautiously optimistic’ about Somalia's fight against Al Shabab
militants. Speaking after the international African Chiefs of Defence
Conference on Thursday, Gen Langley expressed confidence in Somali President
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's ‘whole of government approach’ to addressing both the
militant presence in Somalia, as well as persistent famine plaguing much of the
population. Al Shabab militants have been trying to overthrow Somalia's central
government for almost 15 years. Mr Mohamud has publicly stated that he
prioritises economic reform, social and political reconciliation, and religious
tolerance in the fight against international terrorism.”



Africa



Voice Of America News: Somalia's Neighbors To Send Additional Troops To Fight
Al-Shabab
<[link removed]>



“The three neighboring countries of Somalia are to send new troops to support
Somali forces against al-Shabab in the next phase of military operations, the
national security adviser for the Somali president said. In an interview with
VOA's Somali Service on Wednesday, Hussein Sheikh-Ali said Djibouti, Ethiopia
and Kenya will be sending troops in addition to the soldiers they already have
serving as part of the African Transitional Mission in Somalia, or ATMIS. He
said the new troops will not be part of the ATMIS mission. ‘It is their plan to
be coming inside Somalia within eight weeks,’ he said. Ali declined to give
specific number of the incoming troops, citing ‘operational purposes.’”



United Kingdom



Express Co: Manchester Arena Bomber Was Not Radicalised Overnight, Says LIAM
DUFFY
<[link removed]>



“What could drive a young man, born and raised in Manchester, to transform
his own body into an explosive weapon with which to take the lives of
twenty-two innocents - many of them children? It’s a question both implicit and
explicit in much of the coverage since the night of 22nd May 2017. It’s a
question explored by Sir John Saunders in his Manchester Arena bombing inquiry,
published yesterday. The conventional answer is that suicide bomber, Salman
Abedi, was radicalised. But what if he wasn’t radicalised – at least not in the
way we understand?”



CNN: MI5 Missed Opportunity To Prevent Manchester Arena Bombing, Inquiry Finds
<[link removed]>



“MI5, the United Kingdom’s domestic spy agency, missed an opportunity to
prevent the Manchester Arena bombing, an inquiry into the terror attack has
found according to a report in British news agency PA Media. At least 22 people
were killed in the attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England,
on Monday, May 22, 2017. The final report of a public inquiry led by chairman
John Saunders and released Thursday found that the attack might have been
prevented if MI5 had acted on two key pieces of information regarding bomber
Salman Abedi. The information was assessed by MI5 and not found to be
terrorism-related, but an officer has admitted that they did consider one
detail to contain a potentially urgent national security concern. However, the
issue was not immediately addressed with other colleagues.”



Jewish News Syndicate: Frontrunner For Scottish Leadership Met With Senior
Hamas Member
<[link removed]>



“Humza Yousaf, the favorite to become Scotland’s first minister, met with a
former senior Hamas commander, the U.K’s Jewish Chronicle reported Thursday.
Yousaf, 37, currently Scottish health secretary for the Scottish National
Party, arranged the high-level meeting with Hamas leader Mohammad Sawalha,
whose nom de guerre is Abu Obada. Yousaf, then 22, was working as a
parliamentary assistant for Scotland’s first Muslim Scottish member of
Parliament, Bashir Ahmad. At the same time, Yousef, along with his cousin Osama
Saeed, was running the Scottish Islamic Foundation (SIF). Sawalha’s history was
public knowledge, the Jewish news site reported. The BBC in 2006 identified him
as having ‘masterminded much of Hamas’ political and military strategy.’”



France



Alaska Commons: French Court Seeks 14-Year Sentence For Ex-ISIS Member Douha
Mounib
<[link removed]>



“The trial of Douha Mounib, a trained midwife who had twice joined the
Islamic State in Iraq and Syria between 2013 and 2017, began with the Advocate
General requesting 14 years in prison and a two-thirds security period. The
magistrate questioned the genuineness of her repentance, citing her
minimization of the facts, her extreme determination, and her attempt to escape
justice. She also highlighted the humanitarian role Mounib had in the Islamic
State, which was essential to the settlement and training of future combatants.
The Advocate General concluded that, for the interests of the society, she
would take the bet not to believe Mounib’s change. The trial continues as the
court examines the evidence.”



India



Maktoob: UP: Two Muslim Men Arrested Over “Al-Qaeda Module” Gets Bail After
597 Days
<[link removed]>



“Allahabad High Court Thursday has granted bail to two Muslim men, Mohd
Mustaqeem and Mohammad Shakeel, who were arrested in connection with a pressure
cooker bomb case in Lucknow. They had been held in custody for 597 days prior
to being granted bail. The two Muslim men were arrested by Uttar Pradesh Police
Anti Terrorism Squad on 14 July 2021 and they were later handed over to
National Investigation Agency. The bail was granted on the condition that the
individuals would cooperate with the investigation.”



Australia



Mint: Quad Announces Formation Of Working Group On Counter-Terrorism
<[link removed]>



“Quad Group on Friday announced the establishment of a Working Group on
Counter-Terrorism in sharpening its focus to combat terror. A joint statement
of the Quad leaders, comprising the US, Japan, Australia, and India, was issued
in New Delhi today, according to the news agency ANI. The statement denounced
the use of terrorist proxies and committed to promoting accountability for
terrorist attacks including the 26/11 attack in Mumbai, ‘which claimed lives of
citizens from all Quad countries’. Heavily-armed terrorists from Pakistan
struck Mumbai on November 26, 2008, in which at least 174 people, including 26
foreign nationals, were killed and over 300 people injured.”



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