Eye on Extremism - February 24, 2020

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Eye on Extremism - February 24, 2020
Re: info@counterextremism.com

As of February 24, 2020:

The Washington Post: Al-Qaeda And Islamic State Groups Are Working Together In West Africa To Grab Large Swaths Of Territory

“Groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, at war with each other in the Middle East, are working together to take control of territory across a vast stretch of West Africa, U.S. and local officials say, sparking fears the regional threat could grow into a global crisis. Fighters appear to be coordinating attacks and carving out mutually agreed-upon areas of influence in the Sahel, the strip of land beneath the Sahara desert. The rural territory at risk is so large it could “fit multiple Afghanistans and Iraqs,” said Brig. Gen. Dagvin Anderson, head of the U.S. military’s Special Operations arm in Africa. “What we’ve seen is not just random acts of violence under a terrorist banner but a deliberate campaign that is trying to bring these various groups under a common cause,” he said. “That larger effort then poses a threat to the United States.” The militants have wielded increasingly sophisticated tactics in recent months as they have rooted deeper into Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, attacking army bases and dominating villages with surprising force, according to interviews with more than a dozen senior officials and military leaders from the United States, France and West Africa.”

Voice Of America: Al-Qaida Confirms Death Of AQAP Leader

“The terror group al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula has confirmed the death of its leader, Qasim al-Rimi, the Site Intelligence Group reported Sunday. President Donald Trump said earlier this month that al-Rimi was killed in a U.S. “counterterrorism operation in Yemen,” where the U.S. has carried out drone strikes against AQAP for several years. “Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces,” Trump said Feb. 6. “His death further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qaida movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security.” The Yemeni-based AQAP is a spinoff of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida and the U.S. regards it as one of the world’s most dangerous terrorist groups. Al-Rimi was one of 23 al-Qaida prisoners who escaped in 2006 from a Yemen prison and has been linked to several terror operations targeting Americans. He was also suspected of being involved in several high-profile terrorist attacks, including the July 2007 suicide bombing in Yemen, killing Spanish tourists. AQAP was also behind the 2015 attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, the satirical French magazine.”

Deutsche Welle: Germany's Schäuble Denounces Far-Right AfD For Not Stamping Out Extremism

“The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is “open to right-wing extremism,” Wolfgang Schäuble, the president of the Bundestag (Germany's parliament) told the newspaper Handelsblatt on Saturday. “The problem is that the AfD does not draw a line,” he said, criticizing the party for its affiliation with right-wing extremism. His comments follow several days of finger-pointing towards the far-right, anti-immigrant party — the third-largest in Germany's parliament — in the wake of Wednesday night's deadly shootings in Hanau, which targeted the patrons of two hookah bars. Schäuble gave the example of Thuringian AfD state leader Björn Höcke, who he said could be called a fascist, in reference to Höcke's support for another German nationalist and anti-Islam movement, Pegida. If every problem in Germany is attributed to immigrants, events will quickly escalate to include all minorities, Schäuble warned. “We have known for a long time that words can turn into actions. Elected representatives cannot be released from this responsibility,” he added. The former finance minister said it was up to investigating authorities to quickly determine the motives and background relating to last week's shootings.”

Al Jazeera: How Will Germany Tackle Racially Motivated Attacks?

“Germany's leaders are promising a strong response to the latest racially motivated attacks. A gunman killed nine people at two shisha cafes on Wednesday in the city of Hanau. He targeted places popular with the Turkish and Kurdish communities. The 43-year-old suspect had posted documents with racist and far-right views online. The interior minister said such attacks are a reminder of what he called the "growing threat of extremism" in Germany.”

United States

ABC News: New Jersey Facing 'High' Level Of Terrorism Threat From Extremist Groups And White Supremacists In 2020, Officials Say

“Homeland security officials in New Jersey are warning residents of the potential terrorism threats the state faces from extremist and white supremacist groups. Officials have “taken notice at the rise in activity from white supremacist extremists” and have increased the threat posed by them in 2020 from moderate to high, according to the 2020 terrorism threat assessment released by New Jersey's Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. Homegrown violent extremists are the “most persistent hostile actors in New Jersey,” according to the statement. The assessment referenced the shooting at the Walmart in El Paso, Texas, in August that targeted the Hispanic community and left 22 dead, another that killed a woman during a Passover service at a synagogue near San Diego in April and the shooting rampage at two mosques in New Zealand that left more than 50 people dead in March 2019. “New Jersey has also faced incidents supportive of extremist ideologies,” the statement read, mentioning the Jersey City attack “rooted in anti-Semitism” that killed Jersey City Police Det. Joseph Seals and five others in December.”

Syria

The Wall Street Journal: Israel Strikes Militants In Syria And Gaza After Clash Over Body At Border

“A macabre tug of war over the body of a Palestinian militant on the Gaza-Israel border, captured Sunday on video in broad daylight, prompted a barrage of rocket fire from Gaza met by retaliatory Israeli airstrikes late Sunday. Israel’s use of heavy machinery to retrieve a militant’s body earlier in the day drew harsh criticism even within the country. But Israel’s hawkish defense minister, Naftali Bennett, defended the army’s seizure of the body as appropriate, suggesting it could be used as a bargaining chip to recover the remains of two Israeli soldiers who have been held in Gaza since 2014. The day of tensions began around 6:30 a.m. when, Israel said, its soldiers spotted two militants from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group placing an explosive near the border east of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. Israel later released a surveillance video that it said showed the two men approaching the fence, and a photo of the explosive. Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s armed wing has repeatedly tried to provoke violence between Israel and Gaza in recent months. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has tried mightily to maintain quiet before elections set for March 2.”

Iraq

The Defense Post: Alleged Iraqi ISIS Member Accused Of Letting Yazidi ‘Slave’ Girl Die To Be Charged With Genocide In Germany

“An Iraqi suspected of belonging to Islamic State will face charges of murder and genocide, German prosecutors said on Friday, accused especially of letting a five-year-old “slave” girl die of thirst. Taha A.-J. is the husband of Jennifer W., a woman who has been on trial in Munich since last year over accusations that the two mistreated a Yazidi mother and daughter, before allowing the young girl to die. The case against the couple has been described by media and lawyers as the first time worldwide that an ISIS member has been tried for crimes against the Yazidis, a religious minority which suffered brutal persecution at the hands of the Islamic State from 2014. Prosecutors allege that A.-J., who joined ISIS in 2013, purchased the Yazidi child and her mother as household “slaves” and held them captive while living with Jennifer W. in then ISIS-occupied Mosul, Iraq, in 2015. Their actions were aimed at “destroying the Yazidis, their religion and their culture in keeping with the aims of ISIS,” the prosecutors’ statement said. The couple are alleged to have forced the mother and daughter to convert to Islam, starved them of food and water and subjected them to beatings.”

Afghanistan

The Wall Street Journal: U.S., Taliban Start Weeklong Partial Truce In Effort To End Afghan War

“As the U.S. and the Afghan Taliban started Saturday a seven-day partial truce ahead of a possible peace deal to end more than 18 years of war, the United Nations provided evidence of the conflict’s massive toll on civilians. More than 10,000 civilians were killed and injured from fighting in Afghanistan for the sixth straight year in 2019, the U.N. said in a report. The number of civilian casualties has now surpassed 100,000 after more than a decade of the U.N. documenting the war’s impact on civilians, it said. While the 3,403 civilians killed in 2019 represented a 10.5% decrease from the year before, mainly due to a reduction in civilian casualties caused by Islamic State’s branch in Afghanistan, known as ISIS-Khorasan, deadly attacks from the Taliban and other groups increased. “Almost no civilian in Afghanistan has escaped being personally affected in some way by the ongoing violence,” said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the U.N. Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of the organization’s Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. “It is absolutely imperative for all parties to seize the moment to stop the fighting, as peace is long overdue; civilian lives must be protected and efforts for peace are under way,” he added.”

The Washington Post: U.S. Halts Offensive Military Operations In Afghanistan As Part Of Taliban Deal

“The United States has ceased offensive military operations in Afghanistan against the Taliban in accordance with an agreement to reduce violence ahead of a possible peace deal, the top U.S. military commander here announced Saturday. Gen. Austin “Scott” Miller told reporters in Kabul that “our operations are defensive at this point. We stopped our offensive operations as part of our obligations, but we remain committed to defend our forces.” The week-long reduction in violence is a precondition to a U.S.-Taliban peace deal that both parties have said they plan to sign at the end of the month. U.S. and Afghan officials have cautioned that the deal is fragile, as there are many armed groups in Afghanistan who don’t see peace as being in their interest. But U.S. officials said monitoring mechanisms in place will be able to identify whether attacks are the work of “spoilers.” Just hours after the agreement went into effect, local security forces reported a number of clashes between government and Taliban forces. But Miller and senior Afghan officials said the violence does not necessarily constitute a breach of the agreement. Standing beside the Afghan acting minister of interior and acting minister of defense, Miller described the reduction in violence as a “trial period” during which U.S. and Afghan government forces reserve the right to defend themselves if attacked.”

Reuters: Taliban, Afghan Forces Clash On First Day Of Violence Reduction Period

“Taliban fighters and Afghan security forces clashed in parts of Afghanistan on Saturday, a day after a week-long “reduction in violence” was announced, but the incidents did not spark immediate alarm on either side. If the violence reduction period is observed successfully, the United States and the Taliban will sign an agreement on Feb. 29 that could lead to a pullout of thousands of U.S. troops after nearly two decades in the country. Taliban fighters attacked Afghan forces in Balkh province in the early hours of Saturday, according to the spokesman for the provincial police and head of the provincial council. The attack was confirmed by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in an audio message to Reuters. He said an Afghan forces convoy tried to enter territory controlled by the group. The two sides have fought for control over parts of Balkh province for years. The Taliban spokesman also confirmed similar clashes in other parts of the country, adding that the violence reduction understanding covered specific actions and areas and all incidents of firing should not be considered a violation of the understanding, which, he stressed, was “not a ceasefire”. There were no immediate details on the casualties in the clashes.”

Pakistan

Reuters: Global Watchdog Keeps Pakistan On Terrorism Financing 'Gray List'

“Pakistan won an extra four months to meet international anti-terrorism financing norms on Friday when a global dirty money watchdog decided to keep the country off its blacklist for now. After Pakistan missed multiple previous deadlines, the Financial Action Task Force said it was concerned that Islamabad had again failed to complete an internationally agreed action plan. “The FATF strongly urges Pakistan to swiftly complete its full action plan by June 2020,” the FATF said in a statement issued after a meeting in Paris. “Otherwise, should significant and sustainable progress especially in prosecuting and penalizing TF (terrorism financing) not be made by the next Plenary, the FATF will take action.” It said such action could include calling on its member states to order their financial institutions to give particularly rigorous attention to business relations and transactions with Pakistani clients. Inclusion on the FATF blacklist would put Pakistan in company with Iran and North Korea and mean it would be shunned by international financial institutions. Pakistan has long been accused of nurturing and supporting Islamist militant groups for use as proxies to project power in the South Asian region particularly towards its arch-rival India and in Afghanistan.”

The Washington Times: Pakistan Says 5 Militants Killed In Shootout; 2 Arrested

“Pakistani security forces said Saturday that five suspected militants were killed in an overnight raid in the country’s northwest, and that two other militants were arrested in a separate operation. Senior counter-terrorism officer Tahir Khan said the shootout took place at a compound in the working-class suburb of Mathra near Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. He said the militants belonged to a banned group and that security forces found suicide vests, sub-machine guns and other weapons at the scene. Two militant commanders from the Sajna group of the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban, were captured in a second Friday-night raid, according to counter-terrorism officer Mohammad Ajmal. The operation took place in Tank district, which serves as a gateway to the mountainous South Waziristan district, a former militant stronghold. Pakistan has carried out a number of operations in the country’s rugged northwest in recent years. The government has repeatedly claimed the areas were cleared of insurgents, but violence there has continued. Militant groups in northwest Pakistan are often interlinked with those across the border in Afghanistan.”

Yemen

The New York Times: Saudi-Led Coalition Says It Foiled Red Sea Attack By Yemen's Houthis

“Naval forces from the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen on Sunday foiled an “imminent terrorist” attack by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in the southern Red Sea, a major commercial shipping channel, the coalition said. The forces destroyed an unmanned boat laden with explosives that was launched from Hodeidah province in western Yemen, coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said in a statement on Saudi state news agency SPA, without identifying the targets. There was no immediate confirmation from the Houthi movement, which has been battling the Sunni Muslim military coalition since 2015 in a conflict that is largely seen in the region as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and foe Shi'ite Iran. Yemen lies along the Bab al-Mandeb strait at the southern mouth of the Red Sea, one of the most important trade routes for oil tankers heading from the Middle East to Europe. Malki said the planned attack posed a threat to regional and international security and maritime trade. He said the use of Hodeidah for operations was a “glaring violation” of a U.N.-led peace deal in the disputed port city that was agreed between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and the Houthis in December 2018.”

Lebanon

Eurasia Review: Islamic State Was Going To Attack Beirut’s Us Embassy – Lebanese Security

“Lebanon’s security agency this week released a number of documents detailing a thwarted plot by a member of the Islamic State (IS) group to attack the US Embassy in Lebanon with a drone. The Directorate of General Security published documents including handwritten notes and sketches of an improvised drone device as well as pictures of the ingredients used to build DIY bombs. The release comes days after a Syrian national, identified as Ibrahim al-Salem, was referred to trial along with 20 other suspected collaborators after being held on suspicion of plotting an attack on the US Embassy in Lebanon. A Lebanese military judge indicted the man on charges of belonging to the IS militant group and planning the operation on its behalf, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA). NNA said the man was suspected of having prepared explosives and attempting to buy a drone for the attack. However further details of the plot released on Monday reveal a string of blunders that eventually foiled the group’s attempt at an attack, including al-Salem’s attempt to receive money from a fellow IS member, known Abu Yusuf Al-Oropi (the European), but the plan fell through as he could not speak English.”

Nigeria

Sahara Reporters: Boko Haram Terrorists Burn Police Barracks, Churches, Army General's House In Adamawa

“Police barracks, churches and a house belonging to General Paul Tarfa were among several buildings torched in Adamawa State on Friday during an attack by Boko Haram terrorists. The insurgents attacked and sacked the ancient missionary town on Friday evening, causing huge devastation. A source from Garkida, Andrawus Tarfa, narrated how the hoodlums looted the town and set fire to major structures unhindered. He said, “They came in droves, with about 14 vans and plundered the town; they looted pharmaceutical shops and food stuff. “They had unfettered access because a battalion of troops in the town was withdrawn sometimes back, leaving behind just a pocket of soldiers who could not repel the insurgents. “After looting, they burnt down a police barracks, police station, two churches, Living Faith and EYN, and a shopping mall. “People were also killed but I have no record as of now. “They have also razed General Paul Tarfa's resident, among other important buildings in the town.” Spokesperson for the police in the state, Suleiman Nguroje, when contacted by our correspondent on the issue, declined comments, saying, “It is exclusively a military jurisdiction.”

Somalia

Bloomberg: U.S. Bombs Al-Shabaab Compound In Somalia, Wounding Three

“The U.S. Africa Command bombed an al-Shabaab compound near Dujuuma, Somalia, on Sunday, the seventh in a series of strikes on the terrorist group this month in operations coordinated with the Somalia government. Three militants were wounded, per a U.S. assessment, a day after two others were killed and one wounded at a compound near Saakow, Somalia, and four days after a strike killed three people near Wadajir, Somalia. No civilians were injured or killed, per a U.S. assessment. Gregory Hadfield, the deputy director of intelligence for the U.S. Africa Command, touted the importance of U.S. support for the counter-terrorism mission. “China and Russia appear content to remain on the sidelines as our African partners, with U.S. support, fight extremism and pave the way to enhanced security and stability on the continent,” he said in a statement. Africa Command said the al-Qaeda-aligned group’s leadership has expressed a desire to attack U.S. interests, but lacks the capability to strike the U.S. homeland due to pressure placed on the group. U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo visited Africa last week in an effort to reassure allies that the U.S. is committed to fighting the spread of Islamist militancy, even as the Trump administration weighs cutting troops stationed across the continent.”

United Kingdom

The Guardian: Isis Supporter Admits Plot To Bomb St Paul's Cathedral And A Hotel

“A supporter of Islamic State has pleaded guilty to plotting to bomb St Paul’s Cathedral and a hotel. Safiyya Amira Shaikh, 36, from Hayes, west London, admitted preparation of terrorist acts and dissemination of terrorist publications at a hearing at the Old Bailey. It was alleged Shaikh made contact with someone who could prepare explosives, and went on a reconnaissance trip to scope out the cathedral and a hotel as locations to plant bombs. She prepared the words of a pledge of allegiance to Isis between August 2019 and October 2019. She also shared terrorist documents via groups using the Telegram messaging app over the same period. The defendant spoke quietly as she entered her guilty pleas before Mr Justice Sweeney in court on Friday. Sweeney ordered pre-sentence reports before sentencing on 12 May. The judge ordered that the defence should serve any psychiatric report by 3 April. The court heard how Shaikh had carried out research before settling on her plan between between August and October last year. She made contact with someone she believed could help make explosives online and provided two bags, one for each bomb. Shaikh travelled to central London and stayed at a hotel as part of her reconnaissance.”

Germany

The New York Times: Far-Right Terrorism Is No. 1 Threat, Germany Is Told After Attack

“German officials have faced accusations for years of turning a blind eye to the threat posed by right-wing extremists. But after a German who embraced violent racist ideals killed nine mostly young people in hookah bars in the central city of Hanau this week, the response was swift and clear. “Far-right terror is the biggest threat to our democracy right now,” Christine Lambrecht, the justice minister, told reporters on Friday, a day after joining the country’s president at a vigil for the victims. “This is visible in the number and intensity of attacks.” The Hanau shootings on Wednesday were the latest in a series of far-right attacks at a time when the country’s hard-won democratic institutions face growing distrust and its usually consensus-driven politics have been fractured by the rise of a right-wing populist party, Alternative for Germany. Officials have recorded increases in the number of far-right hate crimes in recent years, and security officials count 12,000 people in the country as known right-wing extremists. Horst Seehofer, the interior minister, said on Friday that he had ordered increased police patrols of key infrastructure like airports and train stations and high-profile events such as the Berlin Film Festival in response to the Hanau attack.”

Deutsche Welle: Support For Far-Right AfD Falls After Hanau Attack In Germany

“The majority of Germans believe that the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) is partly responsible for right-wing extremist violence in the country, a survey taken the day after a deadly attack on two hookah bars in Hanau showed. According to research done by the Kantar Institute and published in Bild am Sonntag on Sunday, 60% of respondents agreed that the AfD is partly responsible for instances of right-wing extremist violence such as took place in the city near Frankfurt last week. Late Wednesday evening, a 43-year-old German man in Hanau killed nine people of foreign descent, seemingly motivated by a xenophobic worldview. He was later found dead in his apartment, along with his mother. Only 26% of the survey's respondents did not think that the far-right party, which has been represented in Germany's parliament since 2017, is partly responsible for such acts of violence. Another 14% were undecided. Forty-nine percent also believed that right-wing extremism is the greatest terrorist threat in Germany. Only 27% considered Muslim fundamentalists to be the greatest threat, while 6% said left-wing terror was the greatest threat.”

Technology

The Times: Far-Right Irish Extremist Groups Are Plotting Nationalist Rebrand On Facebook

“A leaked document which is being circulated among far-right activists on closed Facebook groups and chat rooms has revealed a long-term plan to generate support by rebranding Irish extremist groups as nationalists opposed to globalisation and European federalism. The 12-page document urges far-right activists to unite into a single political party and set up cumainn named after republican icons in every county of Ireland in advance of the next election. The document also encourages far-right supporters to copy tactics used by Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail to attract voters by highlighting issues concerning drug abuse, low pay in the public sector, the cost of childcare, and the availability of affordable housing.”