Eye on Extremism
January 24, 2020
The
New York Times: Afghanistan President: Pakistan Still Shelters
Insurgents
“Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani said on Thursday that
Pakistan continued to give sanctuary to an insurgent group that helps
the Taliban in its war against Kabul and the United States, directly
contradicting an earlier statement by Pakistan's prime minister. On
Wednesday, Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan told reporters at the
annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that the Haqqani
network, which the United States has designated as a terrorist group,
had no activities or bases in Pakistan. “And you believed him?” Ghani,
also at Davos, asked on Thursday. “One can also say that the earth
does not revolve around the sun.” “This is a denial that is not
helpful. We need to engage in a constructive engagement where the
special relation between the Taliban and Pakistan ends. It is good for
both countries and it is good for the region and the world.” Reuters
has contacted Pakistan's Foreign Ministry for comment. Ghani also said
that talks between the United States and the Taliban showed few signs
of progress. Afghanistan has long said it wants a full ceasefire
before Kabul will join the talks. “The outcome the public seeks is an
end to violence,” he said. “We want to see that the Taliban accepts a
political process.”
France
24: Malian Army Says Six Soldiers Killed, Several Wounded In Overnight
Attack
“Six soldiers were killed and several were wounded in an overnight
attack in central Mali, the army said Thursday, in fresh violence in
the war-torn West African state. The troops came under fire late
Wednesday from “unidentified armed men” in Dioungani, an area in
central Mali's volatile Mopti region near the border with Burkina
Faso, the army said on Twitter. Local authorities and inhabitants have
blamed the attack on jihadists. The army gave a “provisional toll” of
six dead and several wounded, without giving further details. Mali has
been struggling to contain an Islamist insurgency that erupted in the
north in 2012 and has claimed thousands of military and civilian lives
since. Despite some 4,500 French troops in the Sahel region, plus a
13,000-strong UN peacekeeping force in Mali, the conflict has engulfed
the centre of the country and spread to neighbouring Burkina Faso and
Niger. Local Malian troops are frequently attacked. On Tuesday, two
soldiers were killed in the Mopti region when their convoy hit a
roadside bomb.”
The
Guardian: Revealed: The True Identity Of The Leader Of An American
Neo-Nazi Terror Group
“The Guardian has learned the true identity of the leader and
founder of the US-based neo-Nazi terror network the Base, which was
recently the target of raids by the FBI after an investigation into
domestic terrorism uncovered their plans to start a race war. Members
of the group stand accused of federal hate crimes, murder plots and
firearms offenses, and have harbored international fugitives in recent
months. The Base’s leader previously operated under the aliases
“Norman Spear” and “Roman Wolf”. Members of the network do not know
his true identity due to the group’s culture of internal secrecy. But
the Guardian can reveal that “Norman Spear” is in fact US-born Rinaldo
Nazzaro, 46, who has a long history of advertising his services as an
intelligence, military and security contractor. He has claimed, under
his alias, to have served in Russia and Afghanistan. The revelation of
his identity comes after a months-long investigation by the Guardian
into Nazzaro and the activities of the Base.”
United States
New
York Daily News: Three Suspects Linked To Extremist Group Wanted To
Spark ‘Civil War’ At Virginia Gun Rally, Court Docs
Say
“One of three suspected white supremacists arrested for allegedly
planning to use a pro-gun rally in Virginia to launch a “civil war”
was ordered to remain in federal custody after a judge labeled him a
“very dangerous person.” Canadian national Patrik Mathews, who is
accused of being in the United States illegally, was ordered on
Wednesday to be detained on two federal gun charges pending his
preliminary hearing at the end of the month. The 27-year-old, who also
previously served as a Canadian Armed Forces reservist, was arrested
earlier this month alongside 33-year-old Brian Lemley Jr. from Elkton,
Md., and 19-year-old William Bilbrough of Denton. All three men are
alleged members of “The Base,” a white supremacist group that
frequently discusses, among other things, “recruitment, creating a
white ethno-state, committing acts of violence against minority
communities” — including African-Americans and Jewish-Americans — “the
organization’s military-style training camps, and ways to make
improvised explosive devices,” according to a criminal complaint.”
WMUR:
Keene White Nationalist Accused Of Making Threat Through
App
“A white nationalist from Keene who pleaded guilty in 2018 to
charges stemming from a torch-lit rally at the University of Virginia
is facing new charges of extortion and making threats. Christopher C.
Cantwell, 39, was arrested Thursday morning in Keene by FBI agents.
Officials said he was indicted by a federal grand jury and charged
with extortion and sending interstate threats. According to the
indictment, Cantwell allegedly sent an instant message through the
Telegram Messenger app to a man who uses the online pseudonym "VM."
The indictment alleges that Cantwell threatened to sexually assault
the man's wife if he didn't give him information he wanted about
someone else. Cantwell pleaded not guilty Thursday afternoon. He is
being held until a detention hearing scheduled for Tuesday. A four-day
trial is planned for March. Cantwell pleaded guilty in July 2018 to
two counts of assault and battery after he was accused of using pepper
spray against two counter-protesters during a march the night before a
white supremacist and neo-Nazi rally in 2017 in Charlottesville,
Virginia. Under the plea agreement, Cantwell was barred from Virginia
for five years. He maintained that he used the pepper spray in
self-defense.”
Syria
Reuters:
U.S. Says No Uptick In Violence From Islamic State In Syria,
Iraq
“The United States has seen no uptick in Islamic State activity in
Iraq and northeastern Syria, U.S. special representative for Syria
James Jeffrey said on Thursday, weeks after a U.S. drone strike killed
Iranian military commander Qassem Suleimani in Baghdad. Jeffrey said
U.S.-led coalition operations have been on pause in Iraq as the focus
has been on force protection and talks with the Baghdad government on
the way forward after Iraq’s parliament voted to expel foreign troops.
The lawmakers were furious at the Jan. 3 drone strike on Iraqi soil
that killed Soleimani, the architect of Iran’s drive to extend its
influence across the region, and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi
al-Muhandis. “We have not seen an uptick in violence in Iraq by Daesh
in this period,” Jeffrey told reporters at the State Department, using
a term for Islamic State. Jeffrey said officials will meet in
Copenhagen on Wednesday to discuss the way forward in the U.S.-led
operation against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. “The coalition is
very, very much committed to this mission,” Jeffrey said. Jeffrey
acknowledged the pause in Iraq could hamper the fight against Islamic
State if it continues.”
BBC
News: Syria War: Jihadist Assault 'Kills Dozens Of
Soldiers'
“Up to 40 Syrian soldiers have been killed in an assault by
hundreds of militants in north-western Syria, according to Russia's
defence ministry. The ministry, which supports Syria's government,
said there were several attacks in which the militants seized two
settlements in Idlib province. Syrian state media said members of a
jihadist alliance had set off car bombs and used heavy fire as they
targeted positions in the Maarat al-Numan area. But they did not
mention casualties. A Syrian military source was cited as saying army
units were redeployed to the area and eventually repelled the attacks
“with high efficiency”. A spokesman for National Liberation Front
rebel alliance, Naji Mustafa, said the assault had taken place earlier
this week. Idlib is the last stronghold of the opposition to President
Bashar al-Assad and home to three million people, of whom 76% are
women and children. Meanwhile, rescue workers reported that Russian
air strikes killed at least eight civilians across the region on
Thursday. The Syria Civil Defence, whose volunteers are known as the
White Helmets, said a women and her two children had died in the
village of Arnabah after midnight, and that three children and two
adults died when the town of Saraqeb was bombed. On Tuesday, air
strikes by Russian and Syrian government warplanes reportedly killed
at least 28 people, including a family of eight in the village of Kfar
Taal.”
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.”
Afghanistan
The
New York Times: Afghanistan Is Ready For Major U.S. Troop Reduction,
Ghani Says
“Afghanistan is prepared for a major reduction in United States
forces there, President Ashraf Ghani said on Thursday, adding that he
had given that message to President Trump, a step toward winding down
the costly American military presence as diplomats struggle to
finalize a peace deal with the Taliban. About 12,000 American troops
remain in Afghanistan, down from a peak of about 100,000 eight years
ago. The eventual withdrawal of those forces has been one of the
strongest pieces of leverage American negotiators have in talks with
the Taliban to end the 18-year war. A gradual reduction in United
States troops in the country has taken place since 2018, despite the
absence of a settlement emerging from peace negotiations in the Gulf
state of Qatar over the past year. Mr. Trump declared the talks “dead”
in September, just as the two sides were on the verge of finalizing an
agreement. They later resumed, but have since stalled. Mr. Ghani has
been a vocal critic of the United States’ negotiations with the
insurgents, because the talks have excluded his government. But
speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland, on Thursday, he said he had told Mr. Trump that the
Afghan government was ready for a further reduction of 4,000 American
troops, one-third of those remaining.”
Voice
Of America: Polio Remains Threat In Militant-Hit Areas Of Afghanistan
And Pakistan
“Afghanistan and Pakistan witnessed a spike in reported polio cases
last year, further highlighting what local officials call an imminent
threat to the border region between the two countries caused by
militant threats and misinformation. “2019 has really been a bad year
for polio eradication in Pakistan,” Rana Muhammad Safdar, Pakistan
national coordinator for polio eradication, told VOA. “Misconceptions
about the vaccination and polio eradication are seen as a Western
agenda especially after the Shakil Afridi episode,” said Safdar,
referring to a Pakistani doctor who allegedly helped the CIA to track
and ultimately kill Osama Bin Laden in 2011 through a fake hepatitis
vaccination program. In Afghanistan, officials say parents refused to
immunize their children because of fear of being targeted by the
Taliban, which sees medical teams as a threat to its control in the
region. “One of the reasons for Taliban’s oppositions to
house-to-house vaccination is that they suspect the vaccinators might
spy on them,” said Hedayatullah Stanikzai, a polio eradication
representative to the Afghan health ministry. Polio is a disabling and
potentially deadly infectious viral disease.”
Xinhua:
1 Civilian Killed, 6 Others Injured In Grenade Attack In
Afghanistan
“One civilian was killed and six others were injured after a few
militants attacked a medical store with grenade in Dawlatabad district
of the northern Faryab province on Wednesday, police spokesman in the
restive province Abdul Karim Yurash said Thursday. The militants threw
a grenade to a medical store in Dawlatabad district on Wednesday
evening, killing the owner of the store and wounding six others, the
official said. He said police had arrested one person in this regard
and the arrested man admitted to his affiliation with the Taliban
outfit. Taliban group has yet to make comments. Dawlatabad district in
the Faryab province with Maimana as its capital 425 km northwest of
Kabul, has been the scene of Taliban-led militancy over the past few
years.”
Libya
CNN:
Libyan Tied To Benghazi Attack Sentenced To 19 And A Half
Years
“A Libyan man who acted as a scout for the Islamist militia that
stormed the US consulate in Benghazi in 2012 was sentenced to 19 and a
half years in prison Thursday by a federal judge in Washington.
Mustafa al-Imam was convicted last summer of destroying property at
the US diplomatic compound in the Libyan city and conspiring to
support terrorists, but he escaped more severe punishment when a jury
was unable to reach a verdict on more than a dozen other counts,
including murder charges related to the deaths of US Ambassador
Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. Judge Christopher
Cooper, who delivered the sentence, said al-Imam was not simply
“guilty by association” but had likely acted as the “eyes and ears” of
the attack's mastermind that night. Cooper also evoked the separate
siege of the US Embassy in Baghdad late last year, noting that he was
punishing al-Imam in part to deter other would-be attackers from
targeting US diplomats and service members abroad. “Those folks are
very exposed and very vulnerable targets, as recent events have
shown,” Cooper said. “Anyone contemplating harming them needs to know
they will face serious consequences.”
The
New York Times: Libya's Neighbors, Global Envoys Seek Solutions To
Conflict
“Top diplomats from Libya's neighboring countries and beyond met in
the Algerian capital on Thursday amid intensifying international
efforts to end the conflict tearing apart the oil-rich North African
country. The meeting brought together foreign ministers from Egypt,
Sudan, Chad, Niger, Algeria, Tunisia and Mali. All of the nations but
Mali border Libya, and all have suffered fallout from the fighting
between the forces of Libya's U.N.-backed government in Tripoli and
eastern-based forces led by Gen. Khalifa Hifter. World powers are
pushing both sides to respect a tentative truce. “Libya has been in
turmoil. The conflict there has increasingly turned into a proxy war
by foreign powers that are far away and much less affected by what is
happening,” said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who also took
part in the meeting. Maas, whose country hosted a Libya peace summit
on Sunday, said much of the fallout from the conflict, including
organized crime, terrorism, smuggling of weapons and humans, and flows
of refugees, has been borne by Libya's neighbors. “It is therefore the
neighbors that have the most interest in peace and stability in
Libya,” he said.”
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Tunisia Repatriates ISIS Children From
Libya
“Libyan authorities handed over to Tunisia on Thursday six Tunisian
children of militants killed in the city of Sirte in 2016. Six
Tunisian children, aged three to 12 years old, along with a dozen
others of different nationalities, had for three years been cared for
by The Libyan Red Crescent in Misrata. The issue was criticized by
NGOs in Libya and Tunisia which accused Tunisian officials of
“dragging their feet” on efforts to repatriate the children. The
Libyan Red Crescent said Thursday it met with a Tunisian delegation
that traveled to Misrata to repatriate the children. During their stay
at the charity in Misrata, “the children received all sorts of care
and services. The main objective was for their return home to live
with their relatives,” said the Red Crescent. A year ago, Tunisian
forensic police took DNA samples from the children to confirm their
nationality before evacuating them out of Libya. The head of the
Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez al-Sarraj, announced the
liberation of Sirte from ISIS in December 2016. But the Libyan
National Army led by Khalifa Haftar took control of the city earlier
this month. Since April, Haftar has been waging a military offensive
on the capital, Tripoli.”
Nigeria
Council
On Foreign Relations: Borno State Increasingly Isolated As Boko Haram
Threatens Roads
“Over the last couple of weeks, Boko Haram has increased attacks on
the road from Maiduguri to Kano, the only remaining safe highway of
the six major roads that connect Maiduguri with the rest of the state
and country, according to Nigeria media. A major report on the
increasing isolation of Maiduguri closely follows Boko Haram attacks
on transmission lines supplying the city with electricity. Destroyed
bridges and frequent attacks on travelers have cut off not only
Maiduguri residents, but many other residents of Borno state from
accessing or travelling to Borno’s neighboring states. In response,
the Nigerian army has evacuated many villages along the highway,
causing hardship and anger among the residents and friction between
the governor of Borno state and the army. Borno state and its capital,
Maiduguri, have been ground zero for Boko Haram. Mohammed Yussuf
founded the movement in Maiduguri, the police murdered him there in
2009, and Boko Haram emerged there in 2011 as a deadly terrorist
movement. By 2015, Boko Haram controlled a territory as large as
Belgium in Borno and adjacent Yobe and Adamawa states. The Nigerian
army, assisted by Chadian forces and South African mercenaries, pushed
Boko Haram back.”
All
Africa: Nigeria: Terrorists Kill 8 Soldiers In Borno
“No fewer than eight soldiers including a lieutenant have been
killed, and many others injured, with several missing after insurgents
of the Islamic West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacked a military
formation in Kaga Local Government Area of Borno State on Tuesday,
security sources have said. The ISWAP stormed a remote village of
Mainok at about 1pm along Maiduguri/Damaturu road in Kaga LGA and
opened fire on troops digging trenches to protect their base. The
security source said two gun trucks belonging to 121 Task Force
Battalion were also forcefully taken by the ISWAP but later recovered
by the Police Force. “We thought they were a friendly force because
they rode on a Police Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) and headed
towards us while we were digging trenches to fortify our base near
Mainok town. “They then opened fire on our soldiers, unfortunately,
eight soldiers including a lieutenant were killed instantly and many
of our soldiers are still unaccounted for,” the source said.
Similarly, Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) operatives of Borno
Police Command on Tuesday successfully foiled an ambush and killed
five Boko Haram insurgents at Mainok village after they attacked a
military base earlier.”
Africa
Washington
Examiner: ISIS Launches Attacks In Africa While Pentagon Shifts Focus
To 'Great Powers' Russia And China
“An Islamic State affiliate recently launched a series of violent
assaults in West Africa, according to a British military publication
that monitors terrorism and insurgency. Over the past two months, ISIS
has killed more than 150 African troops in Niger, Jane's Defense
Weekly reported. A Jan. 9 attack killed 89 soldiers, the publication
said, noting that “the attack was the third major such operation since
10 December, with at least 174 Nigerien soldiers having been killed by
militants operating under the Islamic State's Wilayat Gharb Afriqiyya
during the period.” The attacks show the growing focus of ISIS on the
Sahel region of Africa, and its loyalty to ISIS central leadership,
the publication said. The uptick comes at a time when the Pentagon is
reviewing its deployments around the world and considering a possible
drawdown of the roughly 7,000 U.S. troops in Africa. “We’ve begun a
review process where I’m looking at every theater, understanding what
the requirements are that we set out for, making sure we’re as
efficient as possible with our forces,” Secretary of Defense Mark
Esper told reporters in December. Esper said yesterday that no
decisions have been made but confirmed that he wants to shift
resources to focus more on “great power” competition with Russia and
China.”
RFI:
Survivors Of Burkina Jihadi Attack Tell Of Terror And
Escape
“Mechanic Robert Ousseni Sawadogo was tinkering with repairs in his
Burkina Faso village when dozens of militants suddenly streamed into
the marketplace on motorbikes opening fire on anyone in their path.
Their faces wrapped in turbans, the jihadists split up, cutting off
escape routes as villagers fled. Sawadogo managed to escape, but
others near him were cut down in Monday's attack that left 36 people
dead. “They rode through the market on motorbikes and they opened
fire,” Sawadogo said. “They closed down the three entrances to the
market. When they attacked, we ran. I managed to escape, but others
close to me didn't.” Hundreds of people fled the area in Sanmatenga
province, trekking past existing camps for displaced people to reach
Kaya, a town about 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of the capital
Ouagadougou. The assault is the latest to target civilians in northern
Burkina Faso, where the poorly trained and under-equipped armed forces
are struggling against a rising jihadist threat. Militant attacks have
killed more than 750 in Burkina Faso since 2015 when jihadist violence
to spill across from neighbouring Mali and spead across the Sahel
region. Violence has displaced more than half a million people in
Burkina Faso alone.”
United Kingdom
BBC
News: Rugby Boy, 16, Denies Right-Wing Terrorism
Offences
“A 16-year-old boy has appeared in court charged with seven
terrorism offences. The teenager, from Rugby, Warwickshire, who cannot
be named for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty at Birmingham Crown
Court to preparing acts of terrorism. He also denied six counts of
possessing documents useful to a terrorist. The charges are linked to
alleged extreme right-wing activity. The counts involving alleged
terrorist documents relate to “homemade” firearms manuals. The boy is
due to stand trial on 24 February.”
Germany
The
Guardian: Germany Bans Neo-Nazi Group Combat 18
Deutschland
“Germany is banning the neo-Nazi group Combat 18 Deutschland in
what the country’s top security official said was a “clear message”
against far-right extremism and antisemitism. More than 200 police
officers carried out raids in six German states early on Thursday,
seizing mobile phones, computers, unspecified weaponry, Nazi
memorabilia and propaganda material, the interior ministry said. The
group had spread “far-right extremism and antisemitic hatred” in
German society by producing neo-Nazi music and staging concerts for
extremist bands, Horst Seehofer, the interior minister, said. The
group is an offshoot of Combat 18, which was founded in Britain in the
early 1990s as a militant wing of the British National party (BNP).
The number 18 is intended to represent the first and eighth letters of
the alphabet, A and H, the initials of Adolf Hitler. The German
chapter of Combat 18 “enjoys great respect within the far-right
extremist scene” and is regarded as a symbol of violent extremism,
Seehofer said. Some of the group’s members were convicted of illegally
importing ammunition to Germany as they returned from firearms
training in the Czech Republic in September 2017.”
Technology
BuzzFeed
News: Clearview AI Says Its Facial Recognition Software Identified A
Terrorism Suspect. The Cops Say That's Not True.
“Clearview AI, a facial recognition company that says it’s amassed
a database of billions of photos, has a fantastic selling point it
offers up to police departments nationwide: It cracked a case of
alleged terrorism in a New York City subway station last August in a
matter of seconds. “How a Terrorism Suspect Was Instantly Identified
With Clearview,” read the subject line of a November email sent to law
enforcement agencies across all 50 states through a crime alert
service, suggesting its technology was integral to the arrest. It’s a
compelling pitch that has helped rocket Clearview to partnerships with
police departments across the country. But there’s just one problem:
The New York Police Department said that Clearview played no role in
the case. As revealed to the world in a startling story in the New
York Times this weekend, Clearview AI has crossed a boundary that no
other tech company seemed willing to breach: building a database of
what it claims to be more than 3 billion photos that can be used to
identify a person in almost any situation. It’s raised fears that a
much-hyped moment, when universal facial recognition could be deployed
at a mass scale, is finally at hand.”
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