Eye on Extremism - April 9, 2021

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Eye on Extremism - April 9, 2021
By: Counter Extremism Project - 04-09-21
Re: info@counterextremism.com

As of April 9, 2021:

Deutsche Welle: Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Leader Gets Life Sentence On Terrorism Charges

“An Egyptian court on Thursday sentenced 76-year-old Muslim Brotherhood leader Mahmoud Ezzat to life in prison on terrorism charges, according to the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper. Ezzat was convicted on terrorism charges related to violence after the military ousted former Islamist-aligned Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. Ezzat was arrested in Cairo in August of last year, with police reportedly finding encrypted software in his apartment that he had used to communicate with other Brotherhood members both domestically and abroad. The authorities previously believed he had fled the country. Ezzat was found guilty of supplying weapons during confrontations between Muslim Brotherhood supporters and opponents. He was also accused of having a role in the 2015 assassination of former Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat, a foe of the Muslim Brotherhood movement. Ezzat's lawyer has not yet commented on the sentence. The Brotherhood has previously said the Egyptian authorities are pursuing “false political charges” against Ezzat. Ezzat had previously been sentenced to death and life in prison in absentia in 2015, and he has since faced retrials following his August arrest.”

Arab News: Houthi Landmines Have Killed 8,000 Yemenis Since Start Of War

“A Yemeni official has called on the international community to pressure the Houthi to stop planting landmines, which have so far killed 8,000, state news agency SABA reported. Director of the National Mine Action Program Ameen Al-Aqeeli said on Wednesday that 61 members of his crew “have lost their lives and a large number of others have sustained wounds” due to the mines. “Large swaths of the territories recently liberated from Houthi control in Taiz have been found to be contaminated with mines,” Al-Aqeeli said. He said that this has led him to believe that current areas under Houthi control may also be contaminated with landmines.”

United States

ABC News: White Supremacists, Extremists May Use Chauvin Trial To Further Their Agendas: DHS

“As Derek Chauvin's murder trial continues in Minneapolis, the intelligence branch of the Department of Homeland Security is warning that foreign adversaries and domestic extremists may use the case to further their own agendas. In an intelligence briefing obtained by ABC News, DHS analysts warn that domestic extremists -- including anarchists and white supremacists -- “may attempt to exploit activities and events surrounding the legal proceeding” and “violence could occur with little or no warning.” The briefing goes through the various types of extremists who it says might exploit the events. The agency warns that domestic violent extremists could commit violence during the trial, but “are more likely following the outcome of the trials associated with the death of George Floyd.” Some domestic extremist groups the briefing warns about include those who are adherents to the anti-government “boogaloo” movement. After the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the Justice Department announced the arrest of two militia members associated with the boogaloo movement, including one who allegedly sought to incite a riot in Louisville, Kentucky, during the Capitol riot.”

Business Insider: ISIS Leader Was Once A 'Cooperative' Prison Informant Who Ratted Out Terrorists To The US Military, Newly-Released Records Show

“The current leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria was once a prison informant who named or described dozens of terrorists during interrogation sessions while in US military custody. After US forces killed ISIS founder and leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2019, the terror group chose a new leader, a man whose nom de guerre is Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. The US has since identified that man as Amir Muhammad Sa'id Abd-al-Rahman al-Mawla. US counterterrorism officials know the Iraqi terrorist leader well because he was previously an informant while detained in a coalition prison in 2008. In September, the Pentagon-funded Combating Terrorism Center at West Point released once confidential records of three interrogation sessions where al-Mawla named or described, often in detail, 88 people affiliated in some way with the Islamic State in Iraq, out of which ISIS grew. The center released another 53 interrogation records this week. The newly-released records show that not only was he informing on terrorists within the organization that would evolve into the one he leads today, but he was doing so in a “very cooperative and forthcoming” way. In the records, which run from January to July 2008, al-Mawla regularly gives up information on rivals and foreign-born terrorists within the organization.”

Newsweek: How QAnon And ISIS Radicalize Supporters In The Same Way

“People are radicalized into the QAnon conspiracy theory in much the same way as those who joined up with the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), according to an extremist expert. Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, talked about the similarities in how ISIS and QAnon managed to appeal to people to join, and how they also attract the same type of person, during an episode of The Hunt with WTOP national security correspondent J.J. Green. Schindler described how, just like QAnon, ISIS propaganda found an audience by being shared online. The difference being most people did not fully comprehend how the beliefs of QAnon, listed as a domestic terrorist threat by the FBI, could escalate into real life violence until their supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6. “ISIS propaganda very quickly gained the attention of everyone around the world because they put up extremely horrific images of beheadings and mass killings,” Schindler said. “For QAnon, it was for a long time perceived as a group of weirdos who are absolutely bereft of any rationality.” Schindler said it was not just the U.S. who failed to understand the “magnitude” of threat behind “new aspects” of extreme right wing groups and movements.”

Vice: Atomwaffen Division Leader Pleads Guilty To Terror-Related Crimes

“Cameron Shea, 24, described by the Department of Justice as the “leader” of Atomwaffen Division, pleaded guilty yesterday to federal hate crime and conspiracy charges. They stemmed from a campaign in which he personally ordered a “show of force” involving members of the neo-Nazi terror group to place posters on the homes of journalists and activists across the country. Last year, five members of the group were rounded up by the FBI after printed threats were sent to the homes of journalists and activists in Florida, Arizona, and Washington state. Shea himself sent an Anti-Defamation League official that, according to a DOJ release, “depicted a Grim Reaper-like figure wearing a skeleton mask holding a Molotov cocktail outside a residence, with the text “Our Patience Has Its Limits …. You have been visited by your local Nazis…“[Atomwaffen Division] has specifically advocated for violence since they were founded in 2015,” said Joshua Fisher-Birch, a terrorism analyst at the Counter Extremism project who monitors the group and its adjacent movement. “[S] everal of their members have been charged or found guilty of crimes including explosives-related offenses and murder. The neo-Nazi organization’s violent character should be considered during sentencing, especially because there continue to be numerous non-group affiliated individuals inspired by [Atomwaffen Division’s] legacy, brand, and ideology.”

Iraq

Yahoo News: In Iraq, Scars Of ISIS Linger On Surviving Families Trying To Find Stability

“For the Moussa family, the thought of home is now a painful memory. “All of it is burnt,” wife and mother Niran Shaika Khormz, told ABC News in Arabic. It’s the home where she lived with her husband Raed Moussa and their two children. They fled Baghdad almost 20 years ago to escape the war after Moussa’s father was murdered for being Christian. They settled in the majority-Christian city of Qaraqosh, in the north of Iraq. It was supposed to be their safe haven, but war found them again. ISIS occupied the city from 2014 to 2016 and destroyed their home. They say they lost every possession, including their furniture, television and personal belongings. “I never imagined this. Never,” Moussa said, shaking his head. For now, the militants are gone. But the pain from their destruction runs deep throughout the community. The Moussas are just one family among thousands struggling to rebuild their lives in a country that remains incredibly fragile. Iraqis are still fighting and protesting against foreign interference, corruption and terror, while also still battling ISIS extremists. Since 2019, there have been mass anti-government demonstrations in Baghdad and the south of Iraq calling for an end to corruption.”

Turkey

Daily Sabah: Turkish Security Forces Nab 2 Terrorist Suspects At Border

“After Turkish security forces caught nine people trying to illegally cross into Syria and Greece, it was discovered that two of them were identified as terrorist suspects, the country's National Defense Ministry said Thursday. “It was determined that one of those captured was a member of Daesh and another one a member of the FETÖ (Gülenist Terror Group) terrorist organization,” the ministry said on Twitter. “Our struggle against illegal crossings through our borders continues,” the statement added. FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people killed and 2,734 injured. FETÖ was also behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary. FETÖ fugitives have been known to flee to Greece, and Turkey has criticized Athens' failure to extradite them to face justice. In 2013, Turkey became one of the first countries to declare Daesh a terrorist group. The country has since been attacked by the terrorist group multiple times, with over 300 people killed and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks and four armed assaults.”

Afghanistan

CNN: Taliban Attack On Covert US Base In Afghanistan Complicates Biden Withdrawal Decision

“In one of the most significant attacks against US forces in Afghanistan recently, CNN has learned that the Taliban twice targeted one of the most heavily guarded bases in the country late last month and that US military personnel working for the CIA were at the installation when it came under fire. Rockets landed near Forward Operating Base Chapman, a classified US military installation in eastern Afghanistan, and wounded seven civilians outside the base, according to a US official familiar with the details. During a second attack, a water tower was hit and a few rounds landed on the base, though no US personnel were killed or injured. The attacks, which have not been widely reported, were followed by another in Kandahar this week, where Taliban rockets landed near a NATO air base used by US and coalition troops providing support to Afghan forces. The flurry of violence is fueling concerns inside the Biden administration that the Taliban could step up efforts to target American forces ahead of a May 1 deadline for the US to withdraw under an agreement struck under then-President Donald Trump, sources say.”

Voice Of America: 'Security Threat' Prompts Afghans To Turn Back Plane Carrying Pakistan Lawmakers

“Officials in Afghanistan said a plane carrying a high-profile Pakistan parliamentary delegation was turned back Thursday as it was about to land in Kabul after explosives were found at the airport. The large Pakistani delegation was to stay in the Afghan capital for three days under the leadership of Asad Qaiser, speaker of the lower house of Parliament, or the National Assembly. Qaisar and his delegation were invited by his Afghan counterpart, Mir Rahman Rahmani. Abdul Qadir Zazai, a spokesperson for the Afghan Parliament, said that during construction work, a digging team found old “unexploded ordnance” in part of the airport. The discovery prompted the control tower to refuse landing permission to several planes, including the one carrying the Pakistani guests, he explained. Zazai said NATO-led military personnel later helped the Afghan partners carry out a controlled detonation of the ordnance to defuse the threat. It was not immediately known who planted the explosives. Both Rahmani and Qaiser agreed to reschedule the visit, Zazai said. Pakistani special envoy to Afghanistan, Mohammed Sadiq, who was also part of the delegation, tweeted that a “security threat” prompted the postponement of their visit.”

Stars And Stripes: Pentagon Condemns Taliban Attack On Base Housing Hundreds Of US Troops

“The Taliban fired rockets at Kandahar Airfield, causing no damage or casualties but drawing a swift condemnation from the Pentagon which said the attack was “disruptive” to peace negotiations. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby declined to say whether the Wednesday attack violated last year’s U.S.-Taliban peace deal. The attack occurred about three weeks before the peace agreement requires all U.S. troops to have left the country. “We condemn the attack, and we believe this decision to provoke even more violence remains disruptive,” Kirby said. “I can’t deliver a comprehensive analysis of what we believe they were trying to achieve or what message they were trying to send.” Massoud Pashtoon, the airfield director, told Stars and Stripes on Wednesday that the attack began around 10 a.m. and ended after four rockets landed in an open field. Kandahar Airfield has been a key base for the U.S. military throughout the war, housing an estimated 30,000 service members and contractors at its peak. But the Afghan government recently assumed control of operations at the airfield and only a few hundred U.S. troops remain, the military has said.”

Pakistan

The Defense Post: Russia To Provide Weapons To Pakistan In Bid To Fight Terrorism

“Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov vowed that his country will supply the armed forces of Pakistan with a number of unspecified weapons in an effort to boost ties in countering terrorism. He made his remarks on Wednesday during a two-day state visit to the country in a bid to strengthen diplomatic relations and increase Russia’s reputation in the region. Aside from providing weaponry, the country said it will begin joint exercises with Pakistan to toughen its military presence at sea and in the mountains. “We have confirmed that we stand ready to strengthen the anti-terrorist potential of Pakistan, including by supplying Pakistan with special military equipment,” Lavrov remarked, without providing details on the equipment. “This serves the interests of all states of the region.” Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian government said it will provide more doses of Sputnik-V vaccine to Pakistan, and it will look into the possibility of setting up a vaccine plant in the country. “We have supplied to Pakistan 50,000 doses of the vaccine, and soon we will add 150,000 more doses. Vaccine production is up and running in India, in Korea, Belarus, so these vaccines can be supplied to Pakistan,” the foreign minister explained.”

Nigeria

Reuters: Eleven Soldiers Killed In Attack In Nigeria's Benue State

“One army officer and 10 soldiers were killed in Nigeria’s Benue state in what a spokesman said was an unprovoked attack on Thursday. The army said in a statement that it would “fish out and deal decisively with these bad elements.” Civilians, in fear of soldiers looking to root out the perpetrators, were fleeing the Konshisha local government where one local leader’s house had been burnt to the ground, sources told Reuters. The violence in the restive Middle Belt region marked the latest bout of instability in Nigeria, Africa’s most-populous nation. On Monday, heavily armed gunman freed more than 1,800 prisoners in the southeast, while armed gangs have kidnapped hundreds of school children in the northwest in recent months and Islamist militants in the northeast have waged a decade-long insurgency. Troops patrol in the Middle Belt due in part to clashes between farmers and nomadic cattle herders that have killed thousands and displaced half a million over the past decade, according to estimates from French medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres. Army spokesman Mohammed Yerima said the troops were initially declared missing while on a routine operational task, but a search-and-rescue team later found the bodies.”

Africa

Council On Foreign Relations: Islamic State And Al-Qaeda Linked To African Insurgencies

“Violence attributed to Islamist groups has dramatically increased in sub-Saharan Africa over the past decade, and continues to infect new venues where it has been absent. In the recent attacks on Palma in northern Mozambique, the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) is claiming responsibility. In other instances, say, in the Sahel and the Horn, al-Qaeda and its affiliated groups make the claim. Some analysts see a Faustian bargain between IS or al-Qaeda and insurgencies that are driven by local grievances associated with corrupt governments that have marginalized those far from the national capital. The essence of the bargain is that IS and al-Qaeda are able to demonstrate their prowess despite reverses in the Middle East—valuable for recruitment and fundraising. For locally based insurgencies, ties, no matter how tenuous, enhance their prestige and win international publicity. The extent to which these bargains translate into tactical, strategic, or financial partnerships with IS or al-Qaeda varies from one insurrection to another. However, for both sides of the bargain, incentives are to exaggerate its importance. Insofar as Western policy makers associate IS and al-Qaeda with the insurrection, the prestige and therefore the power of both grows.”

Arab News: Death Toll In Sudan- Darfur Clashes Rises To 132

“Intercommunal clashes in Sudan’s West Darfur state have left at least 132 people dead in recent days, its governor said on Thursday. Members of the Massalit and Arab communities have fought since Saturday in and around the state capital El-Geneina, trading gun and heavy weapons fire. Sudan’s government has declared a state of emergency in the region. “According to medical reports, the number of dead is now 132,” Mohammed Abdallah Douma, the governor of the region bordering Chad, told a press conference in Khartoum. “The situation is now relatively stable,” he said, adding that there was “looting” but “no more fighting.” Douma blamed the fighting on militia fighters who had crossed over from neighboring Chad and Libya, and had used heavy weapons. But the UN had said the conflict was between Sudan’s Massalit and the Arab communities, the latest in a string of clashes since January, which has forced over 100,000 people to flee their homes. Sudan is in the midst of a rocky transition following the toppling of long-time president Omar Bashir in April 2019, following mass protests against his rule. The transitional government has pushed to build peace with rebel groups in Sudan’s main conflict zones, including Darfur, where UN peacekeepers were recently withdrawn.”

France

The Washington Post: Suspect Arrested Over Easter Linked To French Church Plot

“French anti-terrorism investigators said Thursday that an 18-year-old woman arrested over the Easter weekend was suspected of planning an attack on a church. New details have emerged about the teen, who was living in a housing project in Beziers, in southern France, and is suspected of plotting an attack targeting nearby Montpellier over Easter. On Thursday, anti-terrorism officials said that during a search of her home they found a photo of the schoolteacher beheaded by a radical Islamist in October. Samuel Paty was murdered after showing caricatures of the prophet of Islam to his class. Officials also said that bomb-making materials were found in the apartment, as well as photos of “armed jihadists,” a diagram of a nearby church and handwritten notes referring to the Nazis and the Islamic State group. The teen, who has not been identified, was not previously known to authorities. Authorities stressed that no constructed explosives were found.”

Technology

The Washington Post: Civil Rights Groups Flagged Dozens Of Anti-Muslim Pages And Groups To Facebook That Stayed Up, Lawsuit Alleges

“Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was “making false and deceptive statements” when he told Congress that the company removes content that violates its hate-speech rules, a lawsuit alleges. The suit, filed Thursday in D.C. Superior Court, alleges that since 2017, civil rights groups and other experts have brought hundreds of anti-Muslim groups and pages on the platform to Facebook’s attention, but that the company has failed to penalize more than half of them. It also alleges that Facebook and its top executives violated the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act, under which it is illegal for a company to make material misrepresentations about a good or service. Civil rights group Muslim Advocates, the law firm Gupta Wessler and University of Chicago law professor Aziz Z. Huq brought the suit. “Every day, ordinary people are bombarded with harmful content that violates Facebook’s own policies on hate speech, bullying, harassment, dangerous organizations, and violence,” the suit alleges. “The anti-Muslim hate that’s pervasive on Facebook presents an enormous problem — both online and in real life.” Facebook has created an atmosphere where “Muslims feel under siege,” the suit says.”