Eye on Extremism
March 16 2023
AFP News: Army Says Suspected Hezbollah-Linked Suicide Bomber Shot Dead In Israel
“Israel's army on Wednesday announced it killed a suspect wearing an explosive belt in the country's north earlier this week, suggesting the possible involvement of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement. ‘We are examining a possibility of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation of being involved’ with the suspected attacker who was shot dead on Monday, the army said. The suspect was stopped in a car at one of the established border crossings in the north of Israel after an explosive device was detonated in the area, at the Meggido junction about 35 kilometres (22 miles) from Haifa. The army said the suspect was believed to have been responsible for that explosion, which severely injured an Israeli civilian.”
Reuters: Police Deploy To Sensitive Sites In Vienna, Warning Of Islamist Attack
“Vienna police stepped up armed patrols at sensitive sites in the Austrian capital including churches on Wednesday after the country's domestic intelligence agency received information suggesting an Islamist attack was being planned. The city's police took the rare step of warning the public on social media that there would be a heightened presence of armed police, including special forces, in the city. Vienna is among the safest capitals in the world and militant attacks are rare. The first deadly attack in a generation took place in 2020 when a jihadist gunman killed four people in a shooting rampage before being shot dead by police. ‘Our intelligence services have reason to believe that an assault with an Islamistic motive is planned to be carried out in Vienna,’ Vienna police said in English on Twitter.”
United States
WTOP: Washington FBI Chief ‘Concerned All The Time’ About Terrorism, Spies And Crime
“…’It means we need to be perfect 100% of the time. They need to be perfect only once,’ said Hans-Jakob Schindler, Sr. Director of the Counter Extremism Project, in an interview. Schindler said terror groups are essentially waiting for the right opportunity to attack western countries. ‘They recognize that we have all the technology, that we have the military might, and great intelligence agencies,’ Schindler said. ‘They also understand that we have very evolved and complex societies and economies.’ But most importantly, he said, ‘They also know we can’t predict when they will attack.’ Sundberg draws praise from international counterterrorism officials for his caution and concern, because of a dangerous geyser of arrogance bubbling up in the global jihadist community. For terrorism organizations, ‘the last 24 months were glorious,’ said Schindler emphatically.”
Syria
Hawar News Agency: SDF Capture One Of ISIS Terrorists In Deir Ezzor
“SDF's Media Center stated, ‘On March 13th, our SDF Counter-terrorism Units (YAT) arrested an ISIS terrorist in the Deir Ezzor region, who was responsible for providing the terrorist cells of ISIS with intelligence for planning terrorist acts targeting the region’s safety and stability. Based on precise monitoring and with the participation of the International Coalition, our forces spotted and raided the place where the terrorist was hiding, arresting him and confiscating several weapons and military equipment that were in his possession and they are as follows: 1- AK-47 /1/ 2- Smartphones /3/ 3- Ammunition. Moreover, this operation is part of a series of ongoing successful operations conducted by our forces and their partners against ISIS until achieving the enduring defeat of ISIS cells in the region.’”
Pakistan
Associated Press: Pakistan: 8 Insurgents, 2 Kids Killed In Battle With Troops
“Pakistani security forces attacked a militant hideout near the Afghan border Wednesday, prompting a shootout that killed eight of the insurgents and two children and wounded two soldiers, the military said. It was unclear whose fire killed the two children during the raid on the outpost in South Waziristan, a district in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The military, in its statement about the violence, did not identify the militant group to which the slain insurgents belonged. South Waziristan served as a base for the Pakistani Taliban and other militants until a few years ago, when the army said it cleared the region of insurgents. But occasional attacks have continued. The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, are a separate insurgent group from the Afghan Taliban, although Pakistan’s militant groups are often interlinked with those across the border in Afghanistan.”
Anadolu Agency: 8 Militants Killed In Military Operation In Northwest Pakistan
“Pakistan Army said on Thursday that eight militants were killed in a military operation in the northwestern South Waziristan tribal region, adding that two children were also killed during the exchange of fire with the terrorists. The operation was carried out on the basis of a tip in the remote Zinghara area of South Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan and was once a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban's umbrella organization, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). ‘Upon the presence of information of terrorists in the Zinghara area of South Waziristan, security forces carried out an operation. During intense exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists including mortar fire, eight terrorists have been killed, whereas two soldiers are injured,’ said a statement issued by Pakistan Army’s media wing. ‘Unfortunately, two children embraced martyrdom during the exchange of fire,’ the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement added, without providing further details, including the affiliation of the killed militants.”
The Nation: ATC Grants Physical Remand Of Suspects Involved In KPO Attack Case
“The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Wednesday produced two operatives of a banned outfit in anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Karachi Police Office attack case. The court granted physical remand of the accused to the police till March 21. It also ordered to produce accused before the court on March 22 with investigation report. According to the police report, the terrorists attacked the KPO office on February 17. After hours-long gun battle, two militants were gunned down by the police, while the third one blew himself up on the third floor of the building, police said.”
Middle East
Associated Press: Israel Says Roadside Bomb Suspect May Have Come From Lebanon
“The Israeli army said Wednesday that soldiers killed an armed man suspected of entering the country from Lebanon and blowing up a car, raising the risk of renewed tensions with Hezbollah. The security situation in Israel prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cut in half his planned two-day visit to Germany this week, his office said. The incident unnerved Israelis, who questioned on social media and elsewhere how someone with explosives could travel dozens of kilometers inside Israel and set off a roadside bomb before being detected. The army said soldiers stopped a car carrying the bombing suspect at a checkpoint Monday shortly after a roadside explosion seriously injured a driver near Megiddo Junction in the country’s north. The suspect was wearing a suicide vest and had a rifle and a gun when he was stopped near the border with Lebanon. The army said it shot and killed the man and is questioning the driver.”
The Times Of Israel: Hezbollah Harassing Northern Residents With Lasers; IDF Responds With Stink Bombs
“Operatives from Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group have been harassing people in Israel by dazzling them with laser beams aimed over the border, prompting the military to counter with another assault on the senses. For a while Hezbollah activists were aiming lasers at the Israeli border town of Metulla, targeting drivers and people walking outside, and even shining the beams into people’s homes, Channel 12 reported Wednesday. There have been numerous complaints about the problem. In addition, residents have complained of loud explosions and the pouring of sewerage near the border, the report said. The local council took the matter up with the army and it was raised with the UN monitoring units that patrol the area, but no action was taken.”
Nigeria
Sahara Reporters: Global Terrorism Index Ranks IPOB In Nigeria Among World’s 10 Deadliest Terror Groups
“The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) had ranked Biafran group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as the 10th deadliest terror groups in the world in 2022. Although SaharaReporters could not ascertain the yardstick or the index modules for the arrival at the conclusion, the report said IPOB was responsible for 57 deaths in the year 2022, from 40 attacks with 16 persons injured. According to the GTI report published annually by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the Islamic State (IS) and its affiliates, were recorded as the deadliest terrorist groups in the world in 2022. They were followed by Al-Shabaab, ISK and Jamaat Nusrat Al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM). IS, Alshabab, ISK and JNIM have remained the deadliest terror group globally for the eighth consecutive year, recording the most attacks and deaths in the world.”
Punch: Terrorists Invade Kaduna Community, Kill 10
“No fewer than 10 persons have been allegedly killed by terrorists during an invasion of the Langson community, in the Zango Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State. PUNCH Metro gathered that during the attack which occurred three days after the attack on the Ungwan Wakili community, four villagers were also injured. The invaders were said to have stormed the community around 9pm on Tuesday, shot sporadically and looted a shop in the area before they were repelled by mobile police officers. The President, Atyap Community Development Association, Sam Achie, while confirming the incident to our correspondent, said 10 corpses had been recovered, adding that the corpses of other slain victims were still missing.”
Somalia
Anadolu Agency: Somalia Military Court Executes 3 Terrorists By Firing Squad
“Somalia’s military court executed three al-Qaeda-affiliated terror group senior officers Wednesday by firing squad in the nation’s capital of Mogadishu. Mohamed Abdi Nur Jirow, Sharif Mohamed Barqadle Ayanle Jeego, and Mohamed Abdulle Abkow Omar Biyamalow were found guilty of carrying out bombings and murders throughout the country and in particular in Mogadishu, according to the court. Thirteen people from the al-Shabaab and ISIS/Daesh terrorist groups were also executed in the northeastern semiautonomous state of Puntland earlier this month. The executions ordered by a military court took place around Galkayo, Garowe, and the state’s commercial capital of Bosaso. The court in the region also executed six soldiers after they were convicted of carrying out killings in Puntland.”
Africa
Arab News: Niger Says It Killed ‘30 Militants’, Arrests 960
“Militant-hit Niger last week killed about 30 members of the Boko Haram group and detained 960 followers, most of them women and children, who had fled neighboring Nigeria, official sources said State TV channel Tele Sahel said late Tuesday that on March 7 aerial surveillance spotted a ‘massive movement of people’ along the Kamadougou Yoge River, which marks the border between the two countries, who were heading toward Lke Chad. The report said they were members of the Boko Haram militant group, who were fleeing their hideout in Sambisa forest in northeast Nigeria after coming under pressure from their rivals, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). ISWAP split from Boko Haram in 2016 and rose to become the dominant group in the region’s long-running militant turmoil. It seized swathes of territory under Boko Haram control after leader Abubakar Shekau was killed in clashes with ISWAP in May 2021.”
Middle East Online: Morocco Arrests Three Extremists Affiliated To Islamic State
“Elements of the prefectural service of the Casablanca judicial police have arrested, on Wednesday, in close coordination with the national brigade of the judicial police and the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), three extremists affiliated to the terrorist organization ‘Daesh’ (The Islamic State group), for their alleged involvement in an intentional homicide in the context of a terrorist project of which a policeman on duties was a victim. A statement from the Directorate General of National Security (DGSN) said that the security operations conducted simultaneously by the regional brigades of interventions, under the supervision of officers of the judicial police in charge of the investigation, resulted in the arrest of the two main suspects in Casablanca and in the Sidi Hrazem region, near Fez, while the third defendant was apprehended during a subsequent operation in Casablanca. According to the initial investigation, the suspects have recently pledged allegiance to the alleged emir of ‘Daesh’ and planned to participate in a local terrorist project with the aim of seriously undermining public order, said the same source. The three suspects had decided to attack a police officer in order to execute him and take his weapon with the intention of robbing a bank branch, whose location has been previously determined and the mode of attack defined, with the aim of grabbing the money from this criminal act, it added.”
Prensa Latina: US Transfers And Trains Daesh Terrorists From Syria To Iraq
“Local activists quoted by SANA national news agency reported that the radicals are of different nationalities and were transferred from Al-Sinaa prison in Hasakeh, controlled by the pro-US militia Syrian Democratic Forces ‘SDF’. They specified that the Pentagon caravan entered Iraq through the illegal crossing of Semalka, after witch the radicals were taken to sites near the U.S. bases inside the neighboring territory. According to sources, the action follows the visit of a U.S. delegation of diplomats and military experts to northeastern Syria. Damascus and Moscow have denounced on several occasions that the United States trains and transfers terrorists who are used to attack the Syrian army´s positions and civilian communities in the desert, in order to destabilize and prolong the war in this Levantine nation.”
Morocco World News: Morocco Announces Arrest Of ISIS Suspects Involved In Policeman Murder
“Moroccan security services arrested on Wednesday three ISIS-affiliated suspects for their involvement in the heinous murder of a policeman in the district of Errahma in Casablanca. The arrest of the two main suspects took place in simultaneous operations in the city of Casablanca and in Fez, said a statement from the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN), adding that the third suspect was arrested in Casablanca in a subsequent operation. Preliminary data from the investigation show that the suspects had recently declared allegiance to the emir of an ISIS terrorist cell and were plotting a series of terror projects to undermine Morocco’s security. The terrorist plots targeted security employees, including the policeman who was the victim of the heinous murder.”
Australia
Arab News: Australian Woman Accused Of Joining Daesh Faces 10 Years In Jail After Rescue From Syrian Camp
“An Australian woman accused of joining Daesh to be with her husband, a senior fighter and recruiter, has appeared in a regional court after being repatriated from Syria’s Al-Roj camp. Mariam Raad, 31, appeared on Wednesday at Young Local Court in New South Wales, wearing large sunglasses and a facemask. If found guilty of the charges, she faces up to 10 years’ in jail. Prosecutors are set to compile evidence including financial records and phone messages. The 31-year-old mother-of-four allegedly left Australia for Syria to join her husband, a former mathematics teacher who became a top recruiter for Daesh before his death in 2018.”
United Kingdom
Belfast Live: New IRA: Man Arrested By PSNI Terrorism Investigation Unit
“Police investigating activities of the New IRA have arrested a man. The 42-year-old suspect was brought into custody on the morning of Wednesday March 15. He was taken to the Serious Crime Suite of Musgrave police station in Belfast after his arrest in Derry. Police investigating activities of the New IRA have arrested a man. The 42-year-old suspect was brought into custody on the morning of Wednesday March 15. He was taken to the Serious Crime Suite of Musgrave police station in Belfast after his arrest in Derry.”
Germany
WTOP: The Hunt: ‘Rare’ Mass Shooting In Germany Prompts Concerns About Mental Illness, Terrorism, And Guns
“On this week’s edition of ‘The Hunt with WTOP national security correspondent J.J. Green,’ Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, says Germans are shocked and worried.”
Europe
In-Cyprus: Kurdish Political Refugee Wanted By Germany On Terrorism-Related Charges Arrested At Larnaca Airport
“A 48-year-old Kurdish man wanted by German authorities on terrorism-related charges was arrested on Thursday at Larnaca Airport. The recognized political refugee will be brought before a Larnaca district court for a remand order withing the day, police also said. Insiders said Efstathios Efstathiou – the lawyer who undertook the case – will ask the German authorities to justify the request for his extradition. And that his client is not remanded in custody but released on parole instead. In addition, a request will be made for the essential documents sent by the Germans for the purpose of his extradition which is to be translated into his mother tongue as well. The charges he is facing are punishable by up to 10 years in prison, namely that he had participated in a terrorist organisation.”
India
The Indian Express: 44 Terror Groups Banned, 4 This Year: MHA
“THE MINISTRY of Home Affairs on Wednesday has informed the Rajya Sabha that it has so far banned 54 terrorists and 44 terrorist organisations under the Fourth Schedule and the First Schedule of the UAPA. Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said that four organisations have been notified as terrorist organizations under the UAPA this year and their names have been added in the First Schedule of the Act. ‘These four organisations — The Resistance Front (TRF), Peoples Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force (JKGF) and Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) have been involved in terrorism and have committed and participated in various acts of terrorism in India,’ he said. Sharing details of the four organisations, Rai said the TRF is a proxy outfit of terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba and came into existence in 2019.”
Technology
BBC: Far-Right Scot Jailed For Replica Machine Gun Video
“James Farrell, 32, shared racist and neo-Nazi views with other members of the Oaken Hearth group. The former security guard also posted offensive comments and photos online about black and Jewish people. Farrell, from Priesthill, Glasgow, admitted charges under the Terrorism Act at the High Court in Glasgow. He was arrested after he was identified through a photograph of a right-wing book, which showed his dog in the background.”
BBC: Luton: Bomb-Making And Explosives Guides Found On Mobile Phone
“Mohammed Adnan Saleem, 22, of Montrose Avenue, Luton, had saved several banned documents, including a bomb-making manual and a file on explosives. He was found guilty on three counts - brought under the Terrorism Act 2000 - after a three-week trial at the Old Bailey in London. Saleem will be sentenced at the same court on 28 April. Investigators seized two mobile phones, a laptop, digital storage devices and a games console, which were examined by digital forensics experts. He was charged with eight counts of collecting or possessing material likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.”
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