Eye on Extremism - 02-08-21

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Eye on Extremism - February 8, 2021
By: Counter Extremism Project - 02-08-21
Re: info@counterextremism.com

As of February 8, 2021:

Agence France-Presse: Sweden Deploys Military To Battle Extremists In Mali

“Swedish soldiers have deployed in a new European special forces mission fighting extremists in Mali, French military sources said on Friday. “The first operations have been carried out,” French military spokesman Frederic Barbry said of the Swedes, adding that they would stay in Mali until the end of the month. The Swedish parliament approved the deployment of up to 150 soldiers to the so-called Takuba task force in June last year, with reinforcements of up to 100 others. The mandate expires on December 31 2021. Backed by three US-made Black Hawk helicopters and a medical unit, the Swedes are being stationed in the Liptako region, a volatile zone close to Mali’s border with Niger and Burkina Faso. Several extremist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) reputedly operate in the area. The Swedish army, questioned by AFP, confirmed that it “already has personnel in the sector.” Their arrival is a boost for France, which has 5,100 troops stationed in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad as part of efforts to stabilize the arid and poverty-wracked region. Paris has been urging its European partners to share this burden. The Swedish contingent will be joining soldiers from Estonia and the Czech Republic in the French-led elite force, whose goal is to train Malian soldiers and operate alongide them.”

The New York Times: Biden Reverses Trump Terrorist Designation For Houthis In Yemen

“The State Department on Friday said it would lift a terrorist designation against Houthi rebels in Yemen that the Trump administration had issued in its final days, revoking penalties that aides to President Biden worried would bring more pain to millions of starving people than to the rebels. Three officials familiar with the decision said the Biden administration had notified Democrats in Congress on Friday evening that it would scrap the designation, which served as President Donald J. Trump’s final jab at the Houthis’ main patron, Iran. Caught in widespread poverty and civil war, about 80 percent of Yemen’s population of 30 million people live in areas under Houthi control. The United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, said in November that Yemen was “in imminent danger of the worst famine the world has seen for decades.” Senator Christopher S. Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, said in a statement that removing the terrorist designation would “save lives.” “The designation did not impact the Houthis in any practical way, but it stopped food and other critical aid from being delivered inside Yemen and would have prevented effective political negotiation,” Mr. Murphy said.”

United States

The New York Times: U.S. Will Examine Giving F.B.I. More Resources To Counter Domestic Extremism

“The Biden administration will examine if additional F.B.I. agents are needed at the bureau’s field offices to address the threat of domestic violent extremism, a senior administration official said on Friday. Last month, the White House ordered a review of the threat of domestic violent extremism, led by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. That assessment will inform a policy review that will consider F.B.I. resources, additional authorities, foreign influence operations and other questions. The senior administration official said that the assessment and initial policy review would take about 100 days. The official spoke on a conference call with reporters on ground rules of anonymity to broach current policy discussions. The issue of violent extremist groups in the United States has come to the top of the agenda since a mob of far-right extremist organizations stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. The assault, which aimed to stop the counting of Electoral College votes and halt the transition of power to the Biden administration, has led to a string of federal charges against the rioters. Since the attack, there have been a series of questions about the intelligence gathered before Jan. 6, and whether the federal government was taking the threat of violence and extremist groups seriously enough.”

Reuters: Biden's Homeland Security Czar Vows To Fight Domestic Terrorism

“U.S. Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas, who last week became the first Latino and immigrant to hold the post, on Saturday reaffirmed his resolve to fight domestic terrorism, one of the greatest threats to the United States. Mayorkas, who served as deputy secretary at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under President Barack Obama, was sworn after the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of outgoing Republican President Donald Trump. “To see the insurrection, to see the horrific acts of Jan. 6 were not only personally devastating, but ... that created in me a commitment to redouble our efforts to fight hate and to fight one of the greatest threats that we face currently on our homeland, which is the threat of domestic terrorism,” Mayorkas told CNN in an interview that aired Saturday evening. Mayorkas also said the Biden administration was working with “due urgency” on efforts to end a Trump-era policy known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), which forced more than 65,000 asylum seekers back to Mexico to wait for U.S. immigration court hearings. “We are looking at that as recently as earlier today,” he said. “The urgency of that also cannot be overstated.”

Syria

BBC News: IS Brutality Returning To Syrian Towns

“The Islamic State (IS) group has launched more than 100 attacks in north-eastern Syria over the last month alone and is terrorising many towns and villages at night. The violence is concentrated in the largely desert province of Deir al-Zour. Syrian researcher Ali (his real name, along with the name of the non-governmental organisation he works for withheld for his own protection) has been compiling statistics on the attacks. He says the violence is taking many forms. “Beheadings, bombings, motorcycle suicide, assassination and kidnappings - and we're just talking about a small area east of Deir al-Zour city.” In one of these recent attacks, 40 people were killed when an IS sleeper cell ambushed a bus. Ali says civilians are most vulnerable after sundown, when IS fighters move into what's fast becoming a security vacuum. “At night they are in fear [and] in the hands of IS fighters. They used to go to the authorities [for protection] but nobody responds. They always say we don't have enough arms to fight them, so they evacuate. After sunset all the soldiers related to the SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] leave the town.” Amira (not her real name) has relatives in the SDF, a Kurdish-led force which spearheaded the fight against IS in the region with the support of a US-led coalition, driving it out of territory the jihadists had captured and controlled.”

Kurdistan 24: SDF Launches Anti-ISIS Campaign To Avenge Killed Female Politicians

“The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Friday announced they launched a new operation in response to the killing of two female officials by Islamic State two weeks ago. The SDF media center said in a statement that its fighters launched a large-scale operation on Thursday from the town of Deir al-Zor to the Iraqi border to avenge the deaths of two “revolutionary women” from the autonomous administration in northeast Syria. Hind Latif al-Khadir, co-head of the Tal al-Chayir council, and Economy Committee Co-head Sa’da Faysal al-Hermas were kidnapped from their homes in Hasakah province and killed on January 23. “Because of the increase of activity and attacks of Daesh (ISIS) in Deir al-Zor, we launched on 4th of February [an operation] with the participation of the Syrian Democratic Forces, People's Protection Units (YPG), Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), and Internal Security Forces (ISF),” the statement said. The official YPG account said Friday that the second day of operations continued along the Iraqi border and Deir al-Zor desert. “So far YPG and YPJ Anti-Terror units and SDF CT (Counter-Terrorism) forces arrested more than a dozen terrorists and confiscated ammunition belonging to the cells,” the YPG said in a tweet that included a video of the operation.”

Iran

The National Interest: Iran: Still A State-Sponsor Of Terrorism, And Growing Bolder

“In his Senate confirmation hearing, Secretary of State Antony Blinken affirmed his view of Iran as the largest state sponsor of terrorism, a distinction long recognized by American administrations of both parties. Indeed, Iran’s culpability in sowing sectarian chaos and conflict in its fractured neighborhood was recently highlighted by its own terrorist proxies and clients, from Hezbollah to Hamas. As a new administration seeks to make diplomatic headway with Tehran, it must also grapple with the regime’s relentless commitment to providing funds, weapons, and training to extremists across the Middle East. Iran backs a diverse array of actors that use violence to stoke instability, allowing Tehran to increase its own influence. As a revisionist, revolutionary power, it maintains a stridently anti-Western and anti-American mission. The regime undermines U.S. interests by challenging freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf, threatening the sovereignty of surrounding countries, and sponsoring terrorism both in the region and abroad. It is also openly dedicated to the annihilation of Israel. “We will support and assist any nation or any group anywhere who opposes and fights the Zionist regime,” Iran’s supreme leader bluntly pledged last May.”

Iraq

Voice Of America: Kurds Warn Of Growing Islamic State Capabilities In Iraq

“The recent killing of Islamic State’s top leader in Iraq should not be seen as a crippling sign for the terror group, which has in recent months received fresh recruits and increased its attacks in the country, says a senior Iraqi Kurdish military official. U.S. officials have confirmed that a U.S.-led coalition airstrike eliminated Jabbar Salman Ali Farhan al-Issawi, known as Abu Yasser, last week near the Iraqi province of Kirkuk. Abu Yasser reportedly had been leading the IS insurgency in Iraq since 2017. Despite Abu Yasser’s death, Sarbast Lazgin, deputy minister of Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces, says the terror group has increased its activities while Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have yet to come to an effective joint mechanism on how to govern so-called disputed areas. Kirkuk is also considered part of the disputed territories between Baghdad and the KRG. In a phone interview with VOA, Lazgin said the jihadists are already exploiting a “security vacuum” in those areas. ”I don’t want to say it will have no impact,” he said, referring to Abu Yasser’s death. “But experience has shown groups that can indoctrinate their members to a level where they are willing to blow themselves up, the demise of one person will not change much. It may have a temporary impact, but the group will soon find a new replacement.”

Afghanistan

Associated Press: Afghan Officials: Separate Blasts In Kabul Kill 3, Wound 4

“Two separate explosions rocked the Afghan capital of Kabul on Saturday, killing at least three people including members of the minority Sikh community and wounding four others, Afghan officials said. The first explosion hit a store in the heart of the capital, causing it to collapse and kill at least two Sikhs, according to two Afghan police officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, but the Islamic State group has targeted Sikhs and other minority communities in Afghanistan. A nationwide spike in bombings, targeted killings and violence on the battlefield comes as peace negotiations in Qatar between the Taliban and the Afghan government have stalled. Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz said six people were wounded in the blast in the store and no one was killed. He said police were investigating what caused the explosion. The discrepancy between the two numbers could not immediately be accounted for. In Saturday’s second explosion, Faramarz said a sticky bomb was attached to a police car and went off in northern Kabul, killing a police officer. Tensions in Afghanistan are high amid a string of targeted killings.”

NBC News: Many Taliban Return To Afghanistan Front-Line Duty, As Biden Admin Reviews U.S.-Taliban Deal

“Taliban fighters have been called out of their traditional winter break from fighting to front-line duty, three militant leaders tell NBC News, amid growing concerns in their ranks that the Biden administration will not withdraw foreign troops by an agreed May deadline. “Senior commanders and governors have been directed to return to their positions and attend special sessions and discussions to chalk out a future strategy,” a Taliban commander in Helmand province said. He said there were “multiple issues” that the movement’s leadership needed to address, including a “deadlock” in the peace talks with the Afghan government and doubts about the future raised by the new administration in Washington. Like other insurgents cited in this article, the commander spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. The comments come amid growing warnings about escalating violence from local and foreign officials and experts, with President Joe Biden — who assumed office just months before a deadline to withdraw all foreign troops — weighing what to do next in America’s longest war. Going through with the drawdown would end nearly 20 years of war for America in Afghanistan, but risks emboldening the Taliban whose raison d’etre for decades has been to force foreign soldiers from the country.”

Voice Of America: Taliban Kills 21 Afghan Troops, Warns Of 'Dangerous Escalation' If US Breaches Deal

“Taliban insurgents have killed at least 21 government troops in new attacks in Afghanistan as U.S.-brokered peace talks between the two warring sides remain stalled. The fighting comes as the United States is reviewing a February 2020 agreement with the Taliban, which required remaining American and allied forces to leave Afghanistan by May of this year. An Afghan security officer said Friday that a major pre-dawn Taliban raid targeted in an outpost in Khan Abad district in northeastern Kunduz province. The officer, who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity, said the attack killed 16 security force members, including their commander, and assailants also took two others hostage. Separately, insurgents stormed an Afghan army outpost in northern Faryab province Thursday night, killing five soldiers. The provincial governor told local TOLO television channel the Taliban also took “some soldiers” hostage. The insurgent group has not immediately commented on either of the attacks, which come amid increased hostilities in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the Taliban warned U.S. President Joe Biden's administration against abandoning the February 29 deal between the two adversaries, saying leaving the agreement “will lead to a dangerous escalation” in the Afghan war.”

Yemen

Al Monitor: Al-Qaeda’s Top Man In Yemen Captured Last Year, UN Reveals

“The head of al-Qaeda’s branch in Yemen, Khalid Batarfi, was captured in the country’s eastern Mahra governorate in October, according to a new United Nations report. The operation was reported to have taken place in the town of al-Ghayda and led to the death of the local franchise’s second-in-command, Saad Atef al-Awlaqi. The report did not say who conducted the operation. A spokesperson for US Central Command credited Yemen’s armed forces with capturing Batarfi, one of the highest-ranking al-Qaeda officials ever taken alive. He was later turned over to Saudi Arabia, according to the UN report. The jihadi leader’s detention follows a series of heavy blows to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in recent years. The group has suffered significant defections and dissension and has largely been driven out of al-Bayda governorate. Al-Khidr al-Walidi, the group’s top official in Abyan province, was killed in an operation in November, the UN report noted. In October, SITE Intelligence Group, which uses open-source materials to monitor terrorism, cited unconfirmed reports of Batarfi’s capture by Yemeni security services. Last week, an obviously prerecorded video of Batarfi was released. His capture is a likely intelligence windfall for the United States and its regional partners.”

Lebanon

Reuters: Activists In Beirut Protest Killing Of Hezbollah Critic Lokman Slim

“Around a hundred activists rallied in downtown Beirut on Saturday to protest the killing of prominent Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim and to demand a transparent investigation. Slim, a Shi’ite publisher in his late fifties, ran a research centre, made documentaries with his wife and led efforts to build an archive on Lebanon’s 1975-1990 sectarian civil war. He was a vocal critic of what he described as armed group Hezbollah’s intimidation tactics and attempts to monopolise Lebanese politics. He was shot dead and found in his car on Thursday in south Lebanon - the first killing of a high-profile activist in years. Slim had gone missing the night before. He had four bullets in his head and one in his back. On Saturday morning Slim’s wife, Monika Borgmann, tweeted for the first time since his death, sharing a two-word banner with a black background that said “zero fear” in Arabic. The same two words appeared on a banner at the protest where activists blamed the Iranian-backed Shi’ite Hezbollah for the killing. “If Hezbollah is really innocent of this crime or refuses it and condemns it, then they have to help the security apparatus and Lebanese judicial authorities especially that Lokman Slim was killed in their area of security influence,” said one of the protesters, Youssef Diab.”

Middle East

Reuters: Bahrain Says It Foiled 'Terrorist Plots' To Bomb Two Bank ATMs

“Bahrain security services foiled “terrorist plots” to bomb two ATMs belonging to a national bank, the interior ministry said on Saturday. The bombs had been placed at the locations at different times on Wednesday morning, the ministry said in a statement, adding that a number of suspects had been arrested and the case had been referred to public prosecutors. “The concerned security authorities in cooperation with the National Security Agency foiled two terrorist plots which aimed to blow up two ATMs belonging to one of the national banks in the al-Naim and Jidhafs areas in the Capital Governorate,” the statement said.”

Nigeria

Agence France-Presse: Nigeria Troops Overrun ISWAP Jihadist Camps In Northeast

“Nigerian troops backed by jets have taken control of several camps of IS-linked jihadists, with two senior commanders escaping after several other ranking militants were killed, two military sources told AFP Thursday. Troops overran Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) camps in an area straddling Yobe and Borno states in northeast Nigeria after a month-long military operation, the sources said. The operations have been ongoing as President Muhammadu Buhari replaced his four top military commanders after months of pressure over his government’s failure to end the country’s more than decade-long Islamist insurgency. On Wednesday, soldiers aided by fighter jets overran Dole camp, the last jihadist stronghold in the so-called “Timbuktu triangle,” the two military officers said. “With the fall of Dole the whole area is now under the effective control of Nigerian troops,” said one of the officers. The jihadists have been in control of the area since 2013 when they seized it and established a strong presence, especially in the Talala area, which became the second-largest ISWAP camp outside the group’s Lake Chad stronghold. Last month troops took over Talala after a fierce battle in which six soldiers were killed by a suicide bomber who detonated his explosive-laden vehicle among troops, military sources told AFP.”

Somalia

Voice Of America: Roadside Bomb Kills 12 Somali Soldiers

“Twelve members of Somalia’s security forces were killed, and two others wounded on Sunday following a powerful roadside explosion in the central state of Galmudug, officials said. The attack occurred near the village of El Dhere, 28 kilometers west of Dhusamareb town, during a security operation, officials said. Dhusamareb is about 510 kilometers north of the Somali capital, Mogadishu. The chief of the intelligence agency in the town of Dhusamareb, Major Abdirashid Abdinur Qoje, was among those killed, the state’s information minister, Ahmed Shire Falagle, confirmed to VOA Somali. “A vehicle carrying the officer, Qoje, and other soldiers accompanying him were hit by a landmine; the officer and some of the soldiers died, so it was a bomb,” Falagle said. The al-Shabab militant group claimed responsibility. The attack marked the second confrontation between al-Shabab and Somali government forces outside Dhusamareb in the space of three days. On Friday, seven militants were killed by government forces after mortars were fired into the town as political leaders held a meeting on election management. The meeting in Dhusamareb collapsed in the early hours of Saturday after President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble failed to reach a deal on election management with the leaders of five federal member states.”

Africa

Reuters: Suspected Islamists Kill 10 In Eastern Congo Machete Attack

“Suspected Islamists killed 10 people in a raid on a village in eastern Democractic Republic of Congo and kidnapped several others, local authorities and a witness said. The attack, in which assailants used machetes, occurred on Friday night in the village of Mabule, around 25 km (16 miles) south east of Beni, the sources said. “They killed 10 people here without any reason,” said Muhindo Mbela, a survivor of the massacre. It was not yet clear who carried out the attack, though local authorities blamed the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan armed group active in eastern Congo since the 1990s. The group killed around 850 people last year, according to U.N. figures. “They simply finished off the victims with machetes,” said Mambo Kitambala from a local civil rights group. Reprisal attacks against civilians increased sharply since the army began an operation against the ADF in November 2019, dislodging it from several bases in mountainous jungle near the Ugandan border. “We confirm the attack on the village of Mabule by armed men we have identified as the ADF,” said Donat Kibwana, the administrator of Beni territory.”

United Kingdom

BBC News: Man In Court Accused Of Sharing Of IS Beheading Videos

“A man from north London who moved to Syria has appeared in court accused of sharing Islamic State group videos. Stefan Aristidou, 27 and originally from Enfield, is accused of texting videos of beheading and executions. He was arrested at Heathrow Airport after arriving on a flight from Turkey on Wednesday. Mr Aristidou appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court after being charged with seven counts of disseminating terrorist publications. The offences relate to alleged activity in 2014 and 2015, before he travelled to Syria. Mr Aristidou is accused of sending other people Islamic State group videos depicting public executions and the beheading of a soldier. He is said to have travelled to Syria from the UK in 2015 at a time when Islamic State controlled a large amountof territory. The defendant indicated not guilty pleas to the seven charges. He was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on 19 February.”

Europe

Associated Press: Norway Arrests Syrian Teenager On Terror Suspicion

“Norway’s domestic security agency said Friday that a Syrian teenager has been arrested in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, on suspicion of planning an act of terror. The agency, known by its acronym PST, said the suspect, who was arrested Thursday, was a boy aged 16. The Norwegian broadcaster NRK quoted PST head Hans Sverre Sjoevold saying the youth was a Syrian national but declined to say whether the attack was planned to take place in Norway. No details were given as to when the attack was to be carried out. The VG newspaper, quoting unnamed sources, said the suspect, who was not identified, has sympathies with the Islamic State extremist group. He had arrived in Norway through a family reunification scheme. On Twitter, PST said the boy was to appear before a court in Oslo Friday for a custody hearing, adding the agency would request it to be held behind closed doors. Also Friday, the Norwegian news agency NTB reported that a 30-year-old Norwegian woman of Pakistani descent who was repatriated to Norway last year from a northeastern Syria refugee camp, has been charged with participation in extremist groups. The woman who was not identified, had traveled to Syria in June 2013.”

Counter Terror Business: Far-Right Extremism In Europe And The United States

“Historically, there has been little overlap between patterns of right-wing terror in Europe and the United States. This, on its face, is not surprising. The ideological roots of right-wing extremism differ significantly between the two continents. The American far-right has long been composed of an uneasy mix of white supremacists and neo-confederates with a disdain for federal government. By contrast, right-wing extremists in Europe are animated more by the historical remembrance of European fascist regimes and conspiratorial fears of civilisational decline.. White supremacy is certainly an important element of European far-right ideology, but it is distinctive from the American variant in its tangible Nazi roots. Terrorist indexes for the past decade, however, reflect a curious trend. Not only are the rates of right-wing extremist terror rising sharply in both Europe and the US, but they are rising with startling synchronicity. Authorities are beginning to see the writing on the wall. In early February 2020, FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress that racially motivated extremists are ‘the top threat we face from domestic violent extremists’. The German Minister for Justice Christine Lambrecht also declared last year that far-right terror ‘is the biggest threat to our democracy right now’. Independent developments on both sides of the Atlantic have helped to trigger the rise in far-right terror threats.”

Technology

USA Today: Crowdfunding Hate: How White Supremacists And Other Extremists Raise Money From Legions Of Online Followers

“A mysterious $500,000 Bitcoin transfer. Online stores selling sham nutritional supplements and buckets of protein powder. Inane, live-streamed video game sessions, full of dog whistles and racial slurs, fed by a steady flow of cryptocurrency donations in the form of virtual lemons. Some of the income streams exploited by America's extremist movements have come under increased scrutiny after last month’s attack on the U.S. Capitol, for which some far-right extremists fundraised online. Even as extremists are removed from platforms that serve as reliable sources of followers and money, they find new ways to wring financial support from an army of online haters. “A good analogy is that for every five people who would buy a $20 T-shirt, there’s probably 500 people who would pay a dollar or 50 cents to their favorite streamer to hear them say the N-word or mock minorities online,” said Megan Squire, a computer science professor at Elon University who has studied how extremists fundraise online. “The numbers are substantially larger, both in the number of people participating and the number of times they donate.”

The Washington Post: TheDonald’s Owner Speaks Out On Why He Finally Pulled Plug On Hate-Filled Site

“Jody Williams knew things had gotten out of hand early last month, when a post on the pro-Trump message board TheDonald included a detailed diagram of how to tie a “hangman’s knot” on a noose. Williams was a moderator for the board and owner of its Web address, so he removed the noose instructions. But within an hour, he said, another moderator quietly restored it near the top of the site … Joshua Fisher-Birch of the Counter Extremism Project, a research group, said TheDonald’s radicalization illustrated the push and pull between online communities’ leaders and followers that can turn them into “hotbeds for extremist content and networking.” Site moderators set the tone for what is acceptable based on what they keep or remove. And followers incentivize certain messages, memes and behaviors based on what they upvote, comment on or celebrate. An anything-goes message board catering to an audience of anonymous trolls and partisans is destined to push the boundaries of what is permissible, fueling hate speech, sexism and white supremacy, he said. “It’s not like someone wakes up one day and, all of a sudden, their site has become this cesspool of hate speech and extremism,” Fisher-Birch said. But “a site that doesn’t remove content that encourages violence is really just encouraging more of the same content by those posters.”