Eye on Extremism March 29, 2019

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Eye on Extremism - March 29, 2019
By: Counter Extremism Project
RE: info@counterextremism.com

March 29, 2019


The Wall Street Journal: U.N. Security Council Asks Nations to Adopt Laws on Terror Financing

“The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution Thursday naming terrorist financing a serious crime and demanding that all countries set up a domestic legal framework to counter the practice. The U.N.’s counterterrorism chief Vladimir Voronkov said the resolution came at a critical time, as terrorist attacks around the globe have demonstrated that groups like Islamic State and al Qaeda have continuing access to vast financial revenues. Mr. Voronkov said that the Security Council resolution demanded that every country “ensure that their domestic laws and regulations establish terror financing as serious criminal offense.” The global web of terrorist financing is complex and diverse, according to experts. Cash flow is generated from oil sales, kidnapping ransoms, drug trafficking and investments in business ventures such as construction and car trade. Militant groups such as Hezbollah, in Lebanon, and Hamas, of the Gaza Strip, both designated as terrorist organizations by U.S. and Europe, have managed to remain afloat with funding from nations like Iran. The Security Council resolution, initiated by France, is the first of its kind, representing a binding call to action for countries to alter domestic laws to fight terror financing through all means.”

Kurdistan 24: Airstrikes In Baghouz Kill At Least 50 ISIS Fighters Hiding In Caves, Bunkers: Monitor

“US-led coalition airstrikes killed at least 50 Islamic State militants who were hiding in caves in Syria’s Baghouz, a monitoring group said on Thursday. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the coalition air raids targeted members of the extremist group who were hiding in caves as well as bunkers underground. It said at least 50 terrorists were killed in the offensive as ongoing efforts from the coalition and its Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) allies continue to clear the region of Islamic State remnants. Following a prolonged military offensive on the extremist group’s last remaining pocket of territory in war-torn Syria, the US-backed SDF announced victory over the Islamic State on March 23. The final push was initially put on hold earlier this month by the coalition and the SDF in an attempt to spare civilian lives and hostages that were being held captive by the resisting militants. During the months-long operation, thousands of Islamic State fighters and their wives and children surrendered to the Kurdish-led forces. The announcement marked the end of the so-called Islamic State’s self-declared caliphate from June 2014, which at its height controlled an area comparable to the size of Britain, with a population estimated at 12 million people under its control.”

Fox News: Alleged ISIS Terror Cell Busted In Europe, Iraqi Man Suspected Of Carrying Out 2 Unsuccessful German Train Attacks

“European authorities busted a suspected Islamist terror cell in central Europe, arresting an Iraqi ISIS sympathizer who allegedly carried out two unsuccessful attacks on trains in Germany last year. The 42-year-old man was detained Monday in the Austrian capital of Vienna, where he normally lives. The authorities said he’s accused of “carrying out terrorist attacks on railway lines in Germany in October and December 2018.” Czech authorities, meanwhile, arrested two individuals who allegedly formed a terror cell with the suspect of the train attacks. Interior Minister Herbert Kickl told the Austrian parliament Thursday that the two suspects, who are believed to have formed a cell with the Iraqi, were arrested in Prague. The suspect allegedly tried to commit mass atrocities twice last year. In October, he allegedly interfered with the train tracks in an effort to cause a high-speed derailment. He left a steel cable stretched over the tracks between electrification masts on the Nuremberg-Munich line. The attack was unsuccessful and damaged only the driver’s cab, with no reported injuries to the people on the train. Investigators found a threatening Arabic note in addition to other documents that suggested the man is linked to ISIS.”

The Washington Post: Driver Sentenced To Life For Ramming 17 People In Australia

“An Islamic State group sympathizer who rammed a car into pedestrians on a busy Australian city sidewalk, killing one person and injuring 16 others, was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison. Victoria state Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth ordered Saeed Noori, 37, to serve 30 years behind bars before he is eligible for parole. Hollingworth said it was “sheer good fortune” that more people were not killed or injured. “Deliberately driving a vehicle into a crowd of people is a dreadful crime,” the judge said. “Your actions have horrified and traumatized many people.” Noori drove his mother’s SUV into pedestrians on Dec. 21, 2017, outside a train station in downtown Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city. A woman identified as Noori’s mother collapsed in court as her son was sentenced. He pleaded guilty in December to the murder of 83-year-old Antonios Crocaris, who died in a hospital eight days after he was struck. Murder carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. He also pleaded guilty to 11 counts of recklessly causing serious injury, which carries a maximum of 15 years in prison, and five counts of conduct endangering life, which carries up to 10 years in prison. He came to Australia from Afghanistan as a refugee in 2004 and is an Australian citizen.”

Reuters: Africa's Sahel Conflict Sees Surge In Militia Killings-Group

“Africa’s Sahel region has seen a huge surge in civilian deaths in the past five months because of attacks by Islamist militants and ethnic militias, researchers said on Thursday. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), which is financed in part by the U.S. State Department, said it had documented 2,151 reported killings in 724 direct attacks targeting civilians between Nov. 1, 2018 and March 23, 2019. The Sahel - the arid region between the Sahara desert to the north and Africa’s savannas and forests to the south - has become increasingly prone to attacks by well-armed jihadists and reprisals by ethnic militia. The region experienced one of its bloodiest days in living memory on Saturday, when gunmen in central Mali killed at least 157 people in a village inhabited by Fulani herders — prompting the government to vow to disarm vigilantes. The biggest surge in fatalities from attacks on civilians was in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, despite the deployment of thousands of Western and United Nations troops to try to contain the violence. Islamist militants based in Mali have regrouped after a French intervention in 2013 and now use the country’s north and centre as launchpads for attacks on neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.”

The Straits Times: Singapore And Australia Push For Global Effort To Combat Extremism Online

“Singapore and Australia on Friday (March 29) agreed to cooperate on combating violent extremism and ensuring that technology firms prevent the spread of hate speech and intolerance in the wake of the Christchurch mass shooting. Following a meeting in Sydney of their ministers for foreign affairs, defence and trade, the two countries said they had directed officials to prevent internet technologies being exploited for terrorist purposes. "In the shadow of this horrific attack, the Ministers reaffirmed their shared commitment to inclusion and diversity," said a joint statement after the meeting which coincided with a national remembrance service in New Zealand for the 50 people killed in the attack by a white supremacist at two mosques in Christchurch on March 15.”

United States

Bloomberg: U.S. Law Against Islamic Terror Can’t Stop White Nationalists

“The slaughter of 50 people at a New Zealand mosque this month by a white-supremacist gunman set off a new round of debate about whether white nationalist violence should be treated like Islamic terror. The discussion has covered various practical and theoretical topics but is missing a key element: the legal structure for dealing with the two is different. The legal side of the war on terror has been conducted through the U.S. material support statute, a draconian law that punishes aid to or affiliation with designated terrorist organizations. But the only terrorists covered by the law are those who belong to specific foreign-based organizations listed by the State Department. That includes al-Qaeda, Islamic State and many other groups, most of them Islamic. It doesn’t include any white supremacist groups. Until any part of that equation changes, the legal weapons available to fight violent white supremacy can’t come close to those that have been trained on Islamic terrorist groups. The material support statute allows the U.S. government to take steps against terrorists and their associates that other democracies mostly wouldn’t touch. It doesn’t merely outlaw acts of terror, but forbids any form of meaningful support to the listed groups.”

Syria

The New York Times: Stuck In A Syria Tent Camp, The Women And Children Of ISIS Wait

“She left the Netherlands to join the Islamic State in Syria, and married a fighter here. He was killed, so she married another, who got her pregnant before he was killed, too. Then this month, as the Islamic State collapsed, she surrendered with her son to United States-backed forces battling the jihadists and landed in the sprawling Al Hol tent camp, which has swollen to the breaking point with the human remnants of the so-called caliphate. “I just want to go back to a normal life,” said Jeanetta Yahani, 34, as her son Ahmed, 3, clung to her leg and shook with a violent cough. The announcement a week ago that the Islamic State had lost its final patch of territory in Syria was a milestone in the battle against the world’s most fearsome terrorist network. But it also raised urgent questions about the tens of thousands of people who flocked to join the jihadists from around the world and now have nowhere else to go. Untold numbers of the more than 12 million people who lived under the Islamic State’s control in Iraq and Syria were killed by the militants or in the battle against them. Camps holding some who survived dot Iraq, Libya and Syria, where the Kurdish-led administration in the country’s northeast runs three.”

The National Interest: The Islamic State Was A Sham

“As a conventional army, the Islamic State is a spent force. The group that once lorded over eight million people across a section of Iraq and Syria about the side of the United Kingdom is now a collection of exhausted, dirty, smelly, and tired jihadists encased in a square mile of dusty tents and wailing children. Some are repentant, vowing to fight the approaching Kurdish and Arab forces until their last breath. Others are surrendering, choosing to live under the custody of their enemies rather than sacrifice themselves for a losing cause. The territorial caliphate that Islamic State emir Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared from the Grand Mosque in Mosul over four years ago is dead and buried. A few hundred stragglers remain in the village of Baghouz, ready to be killed or captured. The Islamic utopia Baghdadi effectively sold at that particular time, which brought tens of thousands of foreigners from 110 different countries into Iraq and Syria, turned out to be a ruse. Some foreigners who joined the Islamic State are now begging to come back to their countries of origin, as big an admission as any that they made a terrible mistake.”

Iran

Haaretz: Iran Is Declaring War On Israel – From Gaza

“Iran is doubling down on its explosive investment in Gaza: Islamic Jihad. An impoverished Hamas faces a militant, rejectionist and increasingly untamable rival, flush with cash and determined to trigger war with Israel.”

Turkey

The Economist: Turkey’s President Erdogan Accuses The West Of Terrorism

“Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, once spoke of terrorist acts committed with a pen. Ahead of local elections, he has turned his attention to those committed with vegetables. “They’ve made aubergine, tomato, potato and cucumber prices increase,” he told a rally last month, referring to wholesalers suspected of hoarding. “They are spreading terror.” Despite the government’s attempts to distract voters, the economy will weigh heavily on the minds of most Turks when they elect mayors and councillors on March 31st. Overall, Mr Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development (ak) party has done well in this area. Since 2002, when akfirst came to power, the economy has expanded by an annual average of 5%. Millions of Turks have propelled themselves out of poverty. But the wave of credit that companies and consumers have been riding over the past decade, often with reckless abandon, has come crashing down. In one year the Turkish lira has plunged in value by about 30%, stoking the worst inflation since ak came to power. Interest-rate hikes have stymied growth. It is now officially in recession.”

Afghanistan

Fox News: Afghan Officials: Taliban Attacks Target Police, Killing 17

“Afghan officials say the latest Taliban attacks have killed 17 policemen across the country. Nik Mohammad Nazari, spokesman in northern Badakhshan province, says three policemen were killed on Friday in the district of Arghanj Khowa, where fighting is still underway. Provincial police chief Ghulam Daoud Tarakhil says the Taliban launched massive attacks in eastern Ghazni province, targeting two checkpoints on Thursday and killing nine policemen. Tarakhil says the Taliban were “defeated with heavy causalities” after hours of gunbattles. Deputy provincial council chief Asadullah Kakar says five policemen were killed in southeastern Zabul province's district of Shinkay on Thursday.Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for all three attacks. Separately, governor spokesman Asadullah Dawlatzai says a mortar struck a house in eastern Laghman province on Thursday, killing two, including a child.”

PBS News Hour: The U.S. Is Trying To Negotiate Peace With The Taliban, But Is Afghanistan Ready?

“The U.S. is serious about making peace with the Taliban, but some experts question whether Afghanistan is ready for the U.S. withdrawal that would accompany an accord. As Nick Schifrin reports, Afghanistan currently relies upon American firepower, training and financial support, and it faces risks of renewed violence, government collapse and loss of progressive gains if those resources disappear. The U.S. is currently negotiating with the Taliban to find an end to the America's longest war, in Afghanistan. Tonight, the chief U.S. negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad, is in Europe, briefing allies and trying to set up a meeting that will include the Taliban and the Afghan government. But a new U.S. government report out today asks a fundamental question: Is Afghanistan ready for a peace deal and the American withdrawal that would come with it? For more than 17 years, American troops have fought, and more 2,400 have died, to bring peace to Afghanistan. For more than 17 years, Afghans have struggled to find stability and transform a nonexistent bureaucracy into a functioning government. And now that the U.S. is pursuing its most serious ever talks with the Taliban, John Sopko has a warning. It's important for the policy-makers now to plan now for what we call the day after.”

Pakistan

Hindustan Times: 4 Militants Killed In Kashmir, 30 Since Pulwama Attack

“Four militants were killed in two separate gunfights with security forces in Kashmir on Thursday. While three militants of a joint group of Hizbul Mujahideen and Lahkar-e-Taiba were killed in south Kashmir’s Shopian; the fourth militant Danish Ahmad Dar was killed in north Kashmir’s Handwara in Kupwara district.The first gunfight started in Yawran area of Keller in Shopian after police, army and CRPF started a cordon and search operation, following inputs about the presence of militants in the area. “As the searches were going on, the search party was fired upon by the terrorists. The fire was retaliated leading to a gunfight. In the ensuing encounter, 3 terrorists were killed and the bodies were retrieved from the site of encounter,” read a statement from the police. The militants have been identified as Sajad Khanday, Aqib Ahmad Dar and Basharat Ahmad Mir, all residents of Pulwama; while the fourth militant Danish Ahmad Dar was a resident of Sopore. “They were wanted by law for their complicity in a series of terror crimes, including attack on security establishments and for civilian atrocities,” he said. The police said that Aqib had a “long history of terror crime records” and several cases were registered against him while Sajad and Basharat were also “involved in many terror attacks”.

Voice Of America: Pakistan, China Slam Fresh US Anti-Terror Move In UN

“China and Pakistan are criticizing the United States for bypassing established mechanisms and submitting a draft resolution directly in the United Nations Security Council to push for outlawing a Pakistani extremist leader. Washington circulated the resolution to the 15-member council on Wednesday with the support of France and Britain to designate Masood Azhar, the head of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), a global terrorist. The move came two weeks after Beijing blocked a similar U.S.-sponsored resolution at the U.N. anti-terrorism “1267 sanctions committee”, which China insists is the authorized U.N. body to deal by consensus with the listing issues. Chinese officials at the time defended their placement of a “technical hold” on the resolution to allow for further discussions and dialogue to settle the issue. Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang while responding to the latest move at a news conference in Beijing urged Washington to “act cautiously and avoid “forcefully” moving forward the draft resolution.”

Nigeria

The Defense Post: Nigeria: 2 Killed In Boko Haram Attack On Miringa Military Base

“Islamist militants attacked a military base in northeast Nigeria, killing a police officer and a local resident, witnesses said Thursday. Fighters in 13 vehicles late Wednesday, March 27 attacked the base outside Miringa village in Borno state, very close to Buratai, the homeplace of Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai. The insurgents burnt the base along with an armored vehicle and a primary school. They were thought to be from the Islamic State West Africa province faction of Boko Haram, AFP reported. “They came around 6:30 p.m. in 13 vehicles and attacked the military location just outside the village,” Miringa resident Umar Sanda told AFP. “The two sides fought for more than one hour while all the people in the village fled into the bush.” Fleeing residents later returned to their homes and “found the base, the lodging, an armoured personnel carrier and a section of a primary school burnt,” said another resident, Abba Usman. Usman said the bodies of a police officer and a resident who lived near the base were recovered. “The soldiers were able to fight off the attack and prevented the insurgents from entering the village,” said civilian militia leader Mustapha Karimbe, from the nearby town of Biu, which is home to the newly established Nigerian Army University.”

The Daily Caller: Islamic Terrorists Ramp Up Attacks On Nigerian Christians

“Islamic terrorists killed more than 120 Christians and burned dozens of homes in northern Nigeria in a series of attacks they have waged since February. ISIS-affiliated Boko Haram militants and Muslim Fulani tribesmen have hammered Christian villages in the Kaduna, Benue and Borno state, spurred on partly by Kaduna Gov. Nasir El-Rufai’s dubious claims that 133 people, mostly Fulani, were murdered on the eve of Nigeria’s presidential elections. The Nigerian Emergency Management Agency refuted his claim, calling it “a rumor to instigate violence.” Nigerian Christian leaders and advocacy groups like Save The Persecuted Christians have repeatedly urged President Donald Trump to intervene and help bring an end to the attacks, specifically by appointing a U.S. special envoy to Nigeria. Father Peter John Wumbadi, who leads St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Michika and witnessed Boko Haram’s March 18 attack on the village, also pleaded for help, claiming Nigerian government sources spread misinformation about the attacks. “I appeal to President Trump to be proactive in urging our country’s government to alleviate the Boko Haram problem. That means to listen to the masses who are at the level where the violence is happening.”

News 24: Boko Haram Attacks In Eastern Niger Leave A Dozen Dead - Mayor

“Ten people were killed along with two suicide bombers in a coordinated attack late on Tuesday by Boko Haram jihadists on a town in eastern Niger, the local mayor said. “Two female suicide bombers blew themselves up and gunmen then attacked civilians,” the mayor of the town of N'Guigmi, Abba Kaya Issa, told AFP on Wednesday. “We have a provisional toll of 10 dead plus the two suicide bombers,” he said, blaming “Boko Haram elements” for the assault.”

Somalia

The New York Times: Deadly Explosion Outside Crowded Restaurant In Mogadishu

“A car bomb exploded on Thursday near a hotel and restaurant in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, killing at least 15 people, rescue services said, in a strike on a busy area that has been targeted by Islamist militants in the past. The explosion sent a huge cloud of smoke into the sky and destroyed two restaurants and cars parked in the area, officials said. “So far, 15 people died, including five women. Seventeen others were injured in the blast,” Abdikadir Abdirahman, the director of Amin Ambulance service, told Reuters. Another witness at the scene said she had seen 18 bodies. The Islamist group the Shabab claimed responsibility for the bombing through its Radio al-Andalus website. The group, which is linked to Al Qaeda, previously targeted the same location, the Wehliye Hotel, which is along Maka al-Mukaram Road. A police spokesman, Maj. Mohamed Hussein, told The Associated Press that the explosives-laden vehicle had detonated outside the restaurant. “The blast destroyed a restaurant and killed many who were inside and outside the restaurant,” the same police captain told Reuters. “The death toll may rise.” He said dozens of others had been injured in the blast, and that most of the casualties had been among diners at the crowded restaurant.”

Africa

The Washington Post: Trump Says ISIS Is Defeated — But In West Africa, There Are Fears Extremism Will Get Worse

“Days after President Trump declared the Islamic State’s caliphate had been eliminated in Syria, the prime minister of one of West Africa’s most turbulent nations urged the United States to shift attention to a rising extremist threat in the Sahel. Malian Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga visited Washington this week to ask U.S. officials to bolster support for his country’s fight against terrorism, warning that the weakened Islamic State in Iraq and Syria could jump-start the flow of extremists across the Sahel, Africa’s arid northwest, worsen the region’s security and jeopardize American interests there. “The United States should have the same engagement in the Sahel as it does in the Middle East,” he said in an interview. “Malian security is the essential key to international security.” Extremist groups, including some affiliated with the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, have wreaked havoc across parts of West Africa and the Sahel. In 2012, al-Qaeda-linked extremists infiltrated Mali, taking control of some of the country’s territory. A French intervention eventually beat them back, but parts of Mali remain a hotbed for extremists. In December, the White House unveiled a broad Africa strategy that included prioritizing efforts to counter “radical Islamic terrorism.”

France 24: Tunisian Mountain Militants Butcher Desert Shepherds

“Communities in theTunisian border region of Kasserine live in fear of extremists hiding out in the mountains. Jihadists brutally target locals they accuse of working with authorities against them. Kenya is the fourth largest tea exporter in the world and number one in Africa. Its position is being further secured as a side effect of ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan. And the search for white gold. Truffle hunters brave the heat of the Libyan desert in search of the prized pale fungus. Known locally as terfas they are some of the only things that grow beneath the treacherous sands.”

United Kingdom

The Guardian: Far-Right Terrorism Threat Is Growing, Say MI5 And Police Chiefs

“Far-right terrorism has been identified as a key threat to the safety and prosperity of the country, according to the director general of MI5, Andrew Parker, and Cressida Dick, the commissioner of the Metropolitan police. Writing in the Times, the pair warned that while Islamist terrorism remains the largest by scale, they are also “concerned about the growing threat from other forms of violent extremism … covering a spectrum of hate-driven ideologies, including the extreme right and left.” “Over the past few years [police] have stopped a number of rightwing terrorist attacks from getting through,” they wrote. In the wake of the Christchurch attacks, in which 50 Muslims were killed by a suspected white supremacist, security services worldwide have refocused on the threat of far-right extremists. Sara Khan, the UK’s lead anti-extremism commissioner, told the Observer this month there has been a surge of UK-based far-right activists who are “organised, professional and actively attempting to recruit”. Khan, who is preparing a report on extremism for the home secretary, said: “I have heard deep concern about the far right and its devastating impact on individuals, communities and our democracy.” She also said that a “frightening amount of legal extremist content online” was fuelling far-right activism.”

Europe

Arab News: Denmark To Deprive Militants’ Children Of Citizenship

“Children born abroad to Danish militants will no longer receive Danish citizenship, the minority government announced Thursday after striking a deal with its populist ally the Danish People’s Party. “Contrary to current rules, children who will be born in regions prohibited to Danes... will not automatically receive Danish nationality,” the immigration ministry said in a statement. “As their parents have turned their back on Denmark, there is no reason for the children to become Danish citizens,” Immigration Minister Inger Stojberg was quoted as saying in the statement. The proposal must still go through parliament. No date has been set for the vote but it is expected to pass. The fate of foreign fighters with the Daesh group and their families has become a major international headache since the fall of the last vestige of its so-called caliphate in Syria. Since 2016, it has been a criminal offense under Danish law to have fought in conflict zones for a terrorist group. The courts have already convicted 13 people for having joined or tried to join a terrorist organization. Nine of those were stripped of their Danish nationality and expelled from the country. The others could not be stripped of their citizenship as they did not hold dual nationality.”

Canada

National Observer: Violent White Supremacists Threaten Canada's Stability, Says Freeland

“Canada’s foreign affairs minister says violent white supremacists and other far-right groups threaten the country's stability and should be the primary focus of the international community’s counter-terrorism efforts, including by stopping the spread of hate online. Chrystia Freeland told the United Nations Security Council on March 28 that she felt a "personal responsibility" to denounce white supremacist attacks "as the foreign minister of a majority white and majority Christian country." The minister referred to the attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand, where a white supremacist gunned down 50 Muslims at two mosques who were gathered for Friday prayers. “As a Canadian, this attack was all too familiar," she said. "Two years ago, a terrorist killed six people in a Quebec City mosque."

New Zealand

The New York Times: New Zealand Memorial Service for Shooting Victims Draws Thousands

“Lamenting that “the world has been stuck in a vicious cycle of extremism breeding extremism,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand said at a national memorial service for the Christchurch attack victims on Friday that the dangerous cycle “must end.” Ms. Ardern’s call for a collective global response to violence and terrorism — based in “our humanity” — came two weeks after a gunman killed 50 worshipers in attacks on two mosques in the city. Her speech reflected questions that New Zealanders have been wrestling with as the shock of the attack has begun to fade: namely, how deeply extremist sentiments have taken root in the country, and how to prevent such violence from happening again. “The ugliest of viruses can exist in places they are not welcome,” Ms. Ardern said, adding that racism, violence, extremism and assaults on freedom of worship were “not welcome here.”

Australia

The Sydney Morning Herald: Omarjan Azari Sentenced To 18 Years Behind Bars Over Terror Funding And Phone Call

“A man who indicated in a phone call that he would do anything for Islamic State, including murdering people in Australia, has been sentenced to a maximum of 18 years behind bars. Omarjan Azari, 24, was speaking to a senior member of Islamic State – fellow Australian Mohammad Ali Baryalei – in September 2014 when Baryalei urged him to “pick any random unbeliever” in Australia and “finish” them, and to kill five or six each month. Baryalei told Azari to film the killings, put the IS flag in the background and send the footage to Syria, so it could be used for propaganda and show that “as you kill our people we will also kill your people one by one”. Azari responded: “Yeah, yeah. Allah willing. Yeah.” Baryalei also told Azari that if the person they “terminate” is a tourist or backpacker, particularly French, American or British, it would be “even better”. “I want this work to be continuous,” Baryalei said. “Every month terminate five, six, seven people ... and we will make videos and videos and videos.” Azari said that he needed to wait two months before they could “do the work”, because the surveillance level in Australia had gone up along with the terror threat level. Police were listening to the phone call and arrested Azari in a raid shortly afterwards.”

China

The Wall Street Journal: The Islamic World’s China Blind Spot

“After a shooting rampage left dozens of Muslim worshipers dead in Christchurch, New Zealand, the governments of Muslim-majority countries condemned the attack. Some cited Islamophobia as a cause of the violence. This is understandable, but most of the Islamic world remains silent about the world’s worst instance of official Islamophobia. About 15 years ago China began a program of protracted cultural genocide against the nearly 11 million Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang province. Government-run concentration camps reportedly hold more than one million Uighurs. Former detainees report that the government desecrates Qurans and forces prisoners to eat pork and renounce Islam. Others have been tortured and starved. Beijing first denied the existence of the camps but now euphemistically calls them “vocational education centers.”

Southeast Asia

CNBC: Southeast Asia Should Be Aware Of Iran’s Tactics To Evade Oil Sanctions: US Official

“The United States is keen to see that Malaysia, Singapore and others are fully aware of illicit Iranian oil shipments and the tactics Iran uses to evade sanctions, a top U.S. sanctions official said on Friday. Sigal Mandelker, under-secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, told reporters in Singapore the United States had placed additional “intense pressure” on Iran this week. “It’s very important that these countries have important visibility into the different ways the Iranian regime uses to deceive the international community in connection with shipment of oil,” she said, referring to her talks in Singapore and Malaysia. She said would stress the inherent risks in dealing with Iran in meetings over coming days with government officials in Malaysia, Singapore and India. “This trip follows on the heels of additional intense pressure we have placed on Iran. In just the last week, we took action against nuclear scientists and agencies and other key personnel involved with the Iranian regime’s past nuclear weapons entities,” Mandelker said.”

Technology

The New York Times: Facebook Engages In Housing Discrimination With Its Ad Practices, U.S. Says

“The Department of Housing and Urban Development sued Facebook on Thursday for engaging in housing discrimination by allowing advertisers to restrict who is able to see ads on the platform based on characteristics like race, religion and national origin. In addition to targeting Facebook’s advertising practices, the housing department, known as HUD, claims in its lawsuit that the company uses its data-mining practices to determine which of its users are able to view housing-related ads. On both counts, the agency said, Facebook is in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act. “Facebook is discriminating against people based upon who they are and where they live,” Ben Carson, the housing secretary, said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “Using a computer to limit a person’s housing choices can be just as discriminatory as slamming a door in someone’s face.”