Eye on Extremism - 12-22-20

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Eye on Extremism
By: Counter Extremism Project - 12-22-20
Re: info@counterextremism.com

Voice Of America: Fresh Kidnapping Of 80 Students In Nigeria Shows Worsening Insecurities

“Nigeria security on Sunday rescued 80 more students kidnapped by gunmen in northwest Katsina state. The kidnapping and rescue came just days after gunmen released more than 300 schoolboys from a week in captivity and underscores serious concerns about security in the region. The Islamiyya school students, mostly girls were ambushed in the Dandume local government area of Northwestern Katsina state Saturday during a school procession to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed. The military said it rescued all the students including four others held by the bandits on Sunday and recovered 12 cows. But the attack comes in the wake of the brazen recent kidnapping and release of more than 300 students in the state, which drew global condemnation. Eze Onyekpere, founder of nonprofit Center for Social Justice says attacks are a sign of growing insecurity in Nigeria. “It is clear from what is happening the security architecture has actually collapsed and by the international ratings I think Nigeria is the third most dangerous place to live on planet Earth. We have a situation where kidnappings, banditry and terrorism activities are the order of the day,” he said.”

The New York Times: German White Supremacist Is Sentenced To Life For Synagogue Attack

“A white supremacist who live-streamed his efforts to blast his way into a synagogue in Germany last year on the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, failing to cause widespread bloodshed only because he could not breach a heavy wooden door, was sentenced on Monday to life in prison. Two people were killed outside the synagogue in Halle, in eastern Germany, during the attack on Oct. 9, 2019. In convicting the assailant of murder and attempted murder, the presiding judge, Ursula Mertens, said that the effort to kill the 51 people inside as they observed Yom Kippur had been “despicable, cowardly and inhuman.” The attacker, Stephan Balliet, a 28-year-old German nationalist, stood motionless as the judge read the sentence. He had confessed to the attack, some of which he had filmed with a camera and streamed live over the internet. Although the streamed assault attracted little attention at the time, downloads of it have since been widely shared among like-minded individuals on the far right, an expert witness told the court. That was the ultimate goal of the defendant, who had also hoped to use the trial as an opportunity to expound on his hatred for Jews, Muslims, women and others whom he viewed as a threat to himself and to white, German society, the judge said.”

United States

The New York Times: 1998 U.S. Embassy Bombing Victims Are Assured Equal Compensation In Deal With Sudan

“Victims of the 1998 bombings of two United States Embassies in East Africa will soon receive up to $485 million in compensation as part of a wide-ranging settlement to remove Sudan from a list of state sponsors of terrorism and, in turn, foster peace with Israel. But the deal, which is part of the $2.3 trillion spending package that Congress is poised to approve on Monday, leaves Sudan liable for potentially billions of dollars in additional payments to the families of those who were killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The agreement largely puts to rest months of furious negotiations between the Trump administration and Congress over how to help Sudan’s fragile transitional government and debt-ridden economy by settling many of the lawsuits that accused the country of harboring Al Qaeda, mostly during the 1990s. It also ensures that American victims of the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania — whether they were United States citizens at the time of the attacks or naturalized later — will receive equitable compensation by adding up to $150 million in payouts in addition to the $335 million that Sudan has committed.”

The Hill: How The US And Europe Quietly Share Data To Prevent Terrorist Attacks

“Since the Second World War, our alliance with the democratic nations of Europe has been the fulcrum of America’s global security posture. Intelligence and counterterrorism cooperation form an important part of this partnership. My agency, the U.S. government’s Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, recently concluded a three-year review of a program that fits squarely within this tradition of intelligence cooperation: the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program, known as TFTP. The program relies on data from SWIFT, which provides secure financial messaging services to banks around the world. Much of TFTP’s SWIFT data comes from U.S. sources. Some, however, comes from Europe. Understanding why requires a bit of background on SWIFT’s geographic arrangements. Normally, SWIFT messages for EU banks would stay in Europe, at data centers in the Netherlands and Switzerland. TFTP is an exception. Under a U.S.-EU agreement, SWIFT provides some European data to the U.S. Treasury. What happens next illustrates the cooperative arrangement at the heart of TFTP. Europol, the EU police agency, sends terrorism-related search requests to Treasury. Treasury runs those searches against the SWIFT data and sends back the results.”

Afghanistan

Associated Press: Afghan Police Say Bomb Tears Through Car, Killing 5

“A roadside bomb tore through a vehicle in the Afghan capital of Kabul Tuesday, killing at least five people, four of them doctors, police said. The doctors worked at the Puli Charkhi prison, Kabul's main penitentiary, and were killed as they were on the way to their office in the city's Doghabad neighborhood. It was not immediately clear if the doctors were targeted in the attack. The car, a white sedan, did not appear to have any markings on it that indicated that its passengers were medical workers. The vehicle was almost completely destroyed in the blast. Ferdaws Faramarz, a spokesman for the Kabul police chief, said two others were wounded in the attack. The identity of the fifth person killed was not immediately known. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which damaged nearby buildings and shops. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks in the capital of Kabul in recent months, including on educational institutions that killed 50 people, most of them students. IS also claimed responsibility for Saturday’s rocket attacks at the major U.S. base in Afghanistan. There were no casualties in that assault, according to NATO and provincial officials.”

Pakistan

Associated Press: Pakistan Warns India Against 'False Flag' Attacks In Kashmir

“Pakistan's military was on high alert in Kashmir on Monday as its prime minister warned India against carrying out any “false flag” operations in the disputed region after a U.N. vehicle in the Pakistan-held part came under attack. Pakistan blamed Friday's attack on India, implying it was aimed at embarrassing Islamabad and harming relations with the international community. The two U.N. observers in the vehicle escaped unharmed. “I am making absolutely clear to the (international) community that if India was to be reckless enough to conduct a false flag operation against Pakistan, it would confront a strong national Pakistani resolve & be given a befitting response at all levels of the threat. Make no mistake,” Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted Sunday. Pakistan says the attack on the U.N. vehicle was deliberate, as such vehicles are clearly marked and “recognizable even from long distances.” The U.N. confirmed the attack and said it was being investigated. India has not commented on the attack or responded to Khan's tweets. The two nuclear-armed nations are bitter rivals which have fought three wars since gaining independence from British rule in 1947, two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir.”

Yemen

The Hill: Pompeo Pressed Against Labeling Houthis A Terrorist Group

“The Trump administration’s push to label Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi group as a terrorist organization would be “deeply damaging” to U.S. national security, say former U.S. diplomats and State Department officials. In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sent Sunday, 20 former senior officials with a focus on U.S. policy in the Middle East called for the administration to “abandon plans” to label the Houthis a Foreign Terrorist Organization. They raise alarm that such a move would be viewed as politically motivated and “undermine the credibility of U.S. counterterrorism programs and policies.” “To be clear, we hold no sympathy for the Houthi movement, nor are we condoning its actions,” wrote the signatories, who include nearly every living former U.S. ambassador to Yemen, former counterterrorism coordinators at the State Department and former senior career officials from both Republican and Democratic administrations. “That said, we do not believe that the Houthi movement meets the definition of a Foreign Terrorist Organization nor do we believe that the designation will advance U.S. national security interests.” The Trump administration is reportedly weighing the designation for the insurgent military group engaged in a six-year civil war against the Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally-recognized Yemeni government.”

Middle East

The Jerusalem Post: Terrorist Attack In Jerusalem's Old City, Perpetrator Shot

“A terrorist attack took place in Jerusalem's Old City on Monday evening, Israel Police reported. Police reported a shooting incident at the Lion's Gate in the Old City between an armed terrorist and police officers who were on the scene. The suspect, reportedly a 17-year-old Palestinian from Qabatiya in the northern West Bank, was armed with a Carlo-type submachine gun according to police, and shot at a police post before being neutralized by Border Police officers. The Old City's gates were closed as the police searched the area for another possible suspect who they believe may have assisted the perpetrator. Shortly after, a second suspect was arrested by police in the surrounding area. He is believed to have assisted the shooter and was meant to help him escape. One police officer was injured during the incident and was evacuated to the hospital. A bystander who was jogging was lightly injured during the incident and was treated by paramedics on the scene. United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Yechiel Stern who was one of the first responders at the scene relayed: “I treated one person who was lightly injured due and suffered contusions. The attacker was subdued by security forces.”

The Times Of Israel: Mother-Of-Six Murdered In West Bank, In What Police Believe Was Terror Attack

“An Israeli woman in her 50s was found dead in a northern West Bank forest in the early hours of Monday after she went for a run on her own a day earlier, with authorities investigating the case as a suspected terror attack. Police said in a statement that there were signs of violence to her body and that the woman’s death was considered a suspected murder. The Shin Bet security service was also taking part in the investigation. The woman was later identified as Esther Horgen, 52, of the Tal Menashe settlement, a mother of six. The police and Shin Bet were “increasingly convinced” that the killing was terror-related, security officials said Monday afternoon, though the police officially said that “all directions are being investigated.” The Shin Bet declined to officially comment on the matter. The head of the Samaria Regional Council, Yossi Dagan, said Horgen was killed with a large rock. There were no initial reports of any arrests. Police requested and eceived a court-issued gag order on Monday morning, barring media outlets from identifying the identities of any suspects or any other details of the investigation.”

Nigeria

Agence France-Presse: Nigeria Jihadists Kill Five Soldiers, Kidnap Dozens Of Civilians

“Five Nigerian soldiers were killed by Islamic State-aligned jihadists and dozens of civilians were kidnapped in a separate attack, military sources said Sunday, in the latest violence to grip the north of the country. A military convoy was hit in northeast Borno state on Saturday, and militants also attacked a transport convoy in the same region a day before, abducting 35 people and killing one woman. Nigeria’s Boko Haram and a splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have killed 36,000 people and displaced around two million as part of a decade-long conflict. Deadly attacks and kidnappings by jihadists in the northeast and criminal gangs in the northwest have intensified in recent weeks. Saturday’s attack on the military convoy took place outside of Mafa, 44 kilometers (27 miles) north of the regional capital Maiduguri. “The terrorists fired an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) on the convoy which hit one of the vehicles with five soldiers in it,” one security source said. “All five were killed.” The insurgents seized two vehicles in the attack, said a second source who gave the same toll. ISWAP split from the mainstream Boko Haram six years ago and rose to become a dominant group.”

Somalia

Military.com: AFRICOM Sends Warning To Al-Shabab As US Troops Begin Withdrawing From Somalia

“The U.S. announced a plan over the weekend to begin withdrawing the estimated 800 American troops from Somalia by early January, but it came with a warning to the al-Shabab insurgent group: “They should not test us.” “We remain committed to helping our African partners build a more secure future,” Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, head of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), said in a statement Saturday. “We also remain capable of striking al-Shabab at the time and place of our choosing -- they should not test us.” Townsend did not call the exit of U.S. troops from Somalia a withdrawal, but rather the “directed re-positioning” of forces to other bases in East Africa, most likely to neighboring Kenya. The continuing threat from al-Shabab was evidenced a day before Townsend's announcement in a suicide attack in the central Somali town of Galkayo, which killed at least 10. Among those killed in the attack was Col. Mukhtar Abdi Aden, regional commander of Danab, the main Somali military unit trained by the U.S. The attack came shortly before the arrival in Galkayo of Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble to attend a political rally in a football stadium, according to Voice of America.”

Africa

Associated Press: Tunisia: IS-Affiliated Group Accused Of Beheading Farmer

“Tunisian authorities say a group that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group was behind the weekend beheading of a sheep farmer that has raised national concern. The farmer, Okba Dhehibi, was found dead Sunday in a mountainous area near the town of Mont Salloum. The military sent reinforcements to search for the attackers, and the prime minister pledged heightened government efforts against terrorism. Dhehibi and two friends were taking his sheep to graze when multiple assailants attacked them, according to official Tunisian news agency TAP. Regional court spokesman Riadh Nouioui said Monday that the Jound Al Khilafa brigade was behind the attack. Tunisian authorities say the group has pledged allegiance to IS and has fighters hiding out in the Mount Salloum region, near the Algerian border. The brigade was accused of killing two other young shepherds in the area in recent years. Interior Minister Taoufik Charfeddine traveled to the region Monday to pay the government’s condolences for Dhehibi's death and to offer material and psychological support to his family. While he was en route, a car accident killed three national guard officers accompanying the ministerial convoy and injured two others, according to the minister’s office.”

Daily Nation: Kenya: Terrorists On The Run After Defecting To Isis

“Wanted Al-Shabaab terrorist Abdifatah Abubakar Abdi alias Musa Muhajir has defected to the Somalia faction of the so-called Islamic State, a Kenyan security report says. Abdifatah has been the deputy of Jaysh Ayman -- the terror group's wing that has been known to make incursions into Kenya -- answering to Maalim Ayman. Jaysh Ayman was for a long time made up of foreign terrorist fighters (non-Somali nationals) who would be deployed in the Lakta belt adjacent to Lamu's Boni forest in the Kenyan Coast region to carry out attacks. “In the recent past, Abdifatah and Maalim Ayman have been at loggerheads over discontent and defections by foreign fighters, including Kenyans, from Al-Shabaab to Daesh (Islamic State). Al-Shabaab leadership openly discriminates against foreign fighters, whom they perceive to be invading opportunists who cannot be allowed to take over the leadership,” says the report. Over the years, there have been reports that foreign terrorists within Somalia have been sidelined and are tactfully sent to the frontlines as a way of eliminating them. They are also segregated as belonging to a lower pedigree, and receive lower pay compared to Somali fighters, who are also entitled to longer off-time from the frontlines.”

Daily Nation: Kenya: Red Alert After Shabaab Attack In Lamu

“Security agencies in Coast are on red alert following a brazen gun attack on 10 police officers in Lamu yesterday, barely 24 hours after at least 16 Al-Shabaab fighters slipped into the country from Somalia. The officers from Border Patrol Unit narrowly escaped death after suspected Shabaabs opened fire on their vehicle on the Lamu-Gamba road in Nyongoro. “It was reported that while escorting motor vehicles from Lamu to Gamba, the lead vehicle, GKB 253T, came under heavy attack at Lango La Simba area at about 1115 hrs,” reads a police report seen by the Nation. The officers responded and a heavy exchange of fire ensued for about 10 minutes before the attackers were overpowered, according to the report. The vehicles in the convoy, which were behind the lead escort car, were stopped as the officers battled the armed men, the report said. “The escort vehicles, which were behind, reinforced the lead car and the attackers disappeared into the nearby bushes,” added the report. Spent cartridges were found at the scene. The Sunday attack happened on a day intelligence reports indicated that at around 5am on Saturday, 16 suspected Shabaabs crossed from Somalia into Garissa before entering Tana River County.”

United Kingdom

BBC News: Man Accused Of Planning Terrorist Acts In Aberdeen

“A man who allegedly claimed “all Muslims must die” is accused of planning terrorist acts in Aberdeen. Richard Smith, 28, faced the allegations during a hearing at the High Court in Glasgow. He denied the charges which cover the period from August 2018 to November 2019 at various addresses in Aberdeen. Prosecutors claim Mr Smith “with the intention of carrying out acts of terrorism” did “engage in conduct” in the preparation of them. It is alleged Mr Smith, described as a prisoner in Perth, possessed and made explosive substances. He also allegedly had material which did “advance anti-Muslim, Neo-Nazi and other racist causes”. Mr Smith is also said to have possessed details on the use of chemical agents as weapons as well as the manufacture of explosives and firearms. He faces a separate charge of having information on a number of electronic devices and discs linked to terrorism. This included the “practice of guerrilla warfare and paramilitary survival”. Both these charges are under the Terrorism Act 2000 or 2006. Mr Smith is further accused of sending an offensive text to a relative allegedly claiming “all Muslims must die.”

Germany

Deutsche Welle: Opinion: Anti-Semitic Extremists Don't Deserve A Platform

“The purpose of a trial is to ascertain whether a suspect is guilty of a crime and to hand down an appropriate punishment. Naturally, court cases examine a suspect's character. This largely determines the sentencing. Trials centering on politically motivated crimes often put significant emotional strain on the victims and their loved ones. Perpetrators frequently downplay their actions in court, or, worse yet, seek the limelight and boast of their gruesome crimes. Many victims say that kind of behavior is difficult to endure. The trial of Stephan B., who has now been found guilty of having perpetrated the deadly anti-Semitic Halle terror attack, is no exception. He is a right-wing extremist yearning for attention. After all, Stephan B. streamed his attack and the murders on social media. In court, he capitalized on the attention afforded to him to spread anti-Semitic propaganda and deny the Holocaust. The presiding judge, however, endeavored to limit his chance to spout anti-Semitic, racist and far-right bile. She granted ample to time to the victims of his actions, and their loved ones, to publicly talk about their pain and deep-rooted fear of further anti-Semitic crimes— and to express their outrage over how insensitive and incompetent German police have acted.”