Eye on Extremism November 16, 2018

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Eye on Extremism - November 16, 2018

The New York Times: Mark Zuckerberg Defends Facebook As Furor Over Its Tactics Grows

“On Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive and chairman, held a conference call with reporters to discuss how the social network manages problematic posts and its community standards. The call quickly went sideways. For more than an hour, the 34-year-old billionaire instead fielded questions about how he and his No. 2, Sheryl Sandberg, obfuscated problems such as Russian interference on Facebook and how the company had gone on the attack against rivals and critics. In response, Mr. Zuckerberg — at times defiant and at times conciliatory — defended the social network, Ms. Sandberg and his own record. “The reality of running a company of more than 10,000 people is that you’re not going to know everything that’s going on,” he said at one point. Yet even as Mr. Zuckerberg was making his case, a furor against his company was gathering momentum.”

Reuters: U.N. Still Sees Big Risks In Syria, Despite A Lull In Northwest

“Thousands of Syrians are trapped by battles or face hard choices about returning home even though relative calm has held in the northwest for two months, the United Nations said on Thursday. Seven and a half years of war have left most remaining rebel forces boxed into northwestern Idlib province. Neighboring Turkey and Russia hatched a de-escalation plan for Idlib that stalled a Syrian government offensive which the U.N. said would have caused a humanitarian catastrophe. The past two months in Idlib have been the quietest in five years with no air raids, said U.N. humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland. But there is still shelling along the Idlib perimeter, and the 2-3 million civilians and 12,000 humanitarian workers there did not know if the lull would hold. “There are many signs that bad things will happen unless there are further breakthroughs in the negotiations with the numerous armed groups inside,” Egeland told reporters after a regular U.N. humanitarian meeting on Syria. “The worst case scenario is still horrific war across enormous areas but the way that Russia and Turkey tell us of their plans ... makes me a cautious optimist. I don’t see the big war coming any time soon to Idlib.”

The Washington Post: UN Committee Criticizes Human Rights Violations In Iran

“A U.N. committee on human rights approved a resolution Thursday urging Iran to stop its widespread use of arbitrary detention and expressing serious concern at its “alarmingly high” use of the death penalty. The General Assembly’s Human Rights Committee adopted the resolution by a vote of 85-30, with 68 abstentions. It is virtually certain to be approved by the 193-member world body next month. The resolution “strongly urges” Iran to eliminate discrimination against women in law and practice and expresses “serious concern about ongoing severe limitations and restrictions on the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief.” It singles out violations including harassment, intimidation and persecution against religious minorities including Christians, Gonabadi Dervishes, Jews, Sufi Muslims, Sunni Muslims, Yarsanis, Zoroastrians and members of the Baha’i faith — and urges the release of religious practitioners including Baha’i leaders. The resolution, sponsored by Canada, also calls on Iran to end “widespread and serious restrictions” including on freedom of assembly of political opponents, human rights defenders, labor leaders, environmentalists, academics, filmmakers, journalists, bloggers, social media users and others.”

Al Jazeera: Argentina Arrests Two Men With Suspected Links To Hezbollah

“Two citizens from Argentina with suspected links to Lebanon's Hezbollah were arrested on Thursday, leading up to the G20 summit due to take place in Buenos Aires at the end of the month, Argentina's security ministry said in a statement. The two men, aged 23 and 25, were arrested in the capital, Buenos Aires. Police discovered a small arsenal that included a rifle, one shotgun and a number of pistols, among other weapons. Police said they discovered evidence of travel abroad "along with credentials in Arabic and an image of the Hezbollah flag". Police did not specify the nature of the travel or credentials, and did not say whether the men had intention of attacking the G20 event. Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said on Thursday security forces were on the lookout for any suspicious activity ahead of the conference. The Lebanese armed group along with Iran is suspected of having carried out the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires. Argentine courts have blamed the attack on Iran but no one has been brought to trial in either that case or the 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish centre that killed 85 people. On Tuesday, the US State Department designated Jawad Nasrallah, son of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, a terrorist and accused him of carrying out attacks against Israel in the occupied West Bank.”

The New York Times: Kroger Shooting Suspect Is Charged With Hate Crimes In Killings Of 2 Black People

“A federal grand jury on Thursday handed down hate crime charges against a white man who the authorities say shot and killed two black grandparents at a Kroger supermarket in Kentucky last month. “There is no place, no place, for hate-fueled violence in this community and no place in this commonwealth,” Russell M. Coleman, the United States attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, said at a Thursday afternoon news conference. The six-count indictment against the suspect, Gregory Bush, 51, of Louisville, Ky., included two counts of shooting or killing a victim based on race or color and one count of attempting to shoot or kill a victim based on race or color. The remaining charges were for firearm-related offenses. The grand jury in Louisville returned the indictment midafternoon. “Cutting through the legal jargon, we have three federal hate crimes, three what you would refer to as federal firearms offenses or ‘gun crimes,’ Mr. Coleman said.”

The New York Times: ‘No Morals’: Advertisers React To Facebook Report

“Advertisers are the financial engine of Facebook, but lately the relationship had gotten rocky. It got rockier on Thursday. Several top marketers were openly critical of the tech giant, a day after The New York Times published an investigation detailing how Facebook’s top executives — Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg — made the company’s growth a priority while ignoring and hiding warning signs over how its data and power were being exploited to disrupt elections and spread toxic content. The article also spotlighted a lobbying campaign overseen by Ms. Sandberg, who also oversees advertising, that sought to shift public anger to Facebook’s critics and rival tech firms. The revelations may be “the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” said Rishad Tobaccowala, chief growth officer for the Publicis Groupe, one of the world’s biggest ad companies. “Now we know Facebook will do whatever it takes to make money. They have absolutely no morals.” Marketers have grumbled about Facebook in the past, concerned that advertisements could appear next to misinformation and hate speech on the platform. They have complained about how the company handles consumer data and how it measures ads and its user base. But those issues were not enough to outweigh the lure of Facebook’s vast audience and the company’s insistence that it was trying to address its flaws.”

Syria
The New York Times: Report: Airstrikes On IS-Held Area In Syria Kill At Least 18

“Syria's state news agency and a war monitor say airstrikes on an area controlled by the Islamic State group have killed at least 18 people. SANA news agency says Thursday's airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition on IS-held parts of the eastern province of Deir el-Zour killed 23 and wounded many others. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrikes killed 18, including 12 children and teenagers. U.S.-backed fighters of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have been trying to take the IS-held pocket since Sept. 10 under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition. The area is home to some 15,000 people including hundreds of IS fighters.”

The Los Angeles Times: With Peace On The Horizon In Syria, This Christian City Grapples With Its Decision To Back The Government

“Shadi Shahdeh, a motorcycle mechanic, was working in his shop here when he heard that a missile had struck his neighborhood along the Orontes River. He rushed home and found his 83-year-old mother dead, slumped in the doorway. Gone too was his 8-year-old daughter, her stomach torn open by shrapnel. A few yards up the street were the mangled remains of the rest: his 33-year-old wife and their 6-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter. “This missile got them all,” said Shahdeh, 42. “They were shredded.” The attack on the city, which supports Syrian President Bashar Assad in the country’s civil war, came the same day the government and its ally Russia agreed to postpone an offensive to crush what remained of the various rebel groups that had been fighting to topple him for seven years. The rebels were confined to the neighboring province of Idlib, the final redoubt of the opposition. The attack, which killed 13 people, was a parting shot.”

Asharq Al-Awsat: Jeffrey On US Objectives In Syria: Defeat ISIS, Get Iran Out

“US envoy James Jeffrey has reiterated that the US administration’s presence in Syria is aimed at defeating ISIS and forcing the departure of all Iranian-commanded forces from the war-torn country. “Eventually, technically, the Syrian government invited them in; we expect the Syrian government to ask them to leave,” Jeffrey said in response to a question on the Iranian forces. He spoke during a press conference at the State Department on Thursday. Jeffrey said that Russia, the Syrian regime’s backer, has “been told at the highest level what our policy is, specifically by President Trump at the Helsinki summit now four months ago. We have communications constantly with the Russians at every level. John Bolton, the National Security Advisor, was just in Moscow. Much of the conversation was on Syria. They know the situation.” Asked about the regime of Bashar Assad, the envoy said: “We’re not about regime change. We’re about a change in the behavior of a government and of a state, and that’s not just our view. That’s the view in a whole series of international agreements related to Syria since 2012, culminating in the resolution of 2254.” Other than fighting that the US is leading with the Syrian Democratic Forces along the Euphrates River against ISIS, there’s a relative ceasefire in Syria, he said. “But the conflict is, alas, not over and there are still dangers. There are five outside forces – US, Iranian, Turkish, Russian, and at times Israeli Air Force units – involved in Syria for important, or in several cases of the neighbors, existential interests,” he said.”

Iran
The Express: Iran Urges ‘Total Annihilation’ Of ‘Evil’ US - ‘Hostility To Continue’

“Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari staged the blistering intervention while speaking in the Iranian city of Qazvin. The words were reported by Iranian news agency IRNA. Qazvin is in the west of the Middle Eastern nation. The Iranian military commander said: “The United States is a regime formed on the basis of capitalism, racial discrimination and hegemonism. “Our hostility toward them will continue.” The army boss maintained Western and US officials have admitted “defeat” in their opposition to Iran. He contended the “might and dignity” of Donald Trump’s global superpower have suffered and that Washington was “much weaker” as a world power than it was four decades ago.”

The Tribune: Son Of Iranian-American Detainee Asks Tehran ‘To Show Mercy’

“In a story Nov. 15 about an Iranian-American held in Tehran, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Baquer Namazi had been diagnosed with narcolepsy. The diagnosis was epilepsy. A corrected version of the story is below: Son of Iranian-American detainee asks Tehran ‘to show mercy’ The family and attorney of an Iranian-American dual national held in Tehran say his health is rapidly deteriorating and are appealing to the Iranian authorities to allow him to leave for medical treatment. The health of an Iranian-American dual national held in Tehran is rapidly deteriorating, his family and attorney warned Thursday as they appealed to Iranian authorities to allow him to leave for medical treatment. “I’m here today to beg the Iranian government,” said Babak Namazi, the son of 81-year-old Baquer Namazi who has been held in Iran for over two years. The younger Namazi called on the Iranian government to “show mercy” and give his father permission to leave for medical treatment.”

Bloomberg: U.S. Warns Europe Against Iran Payments After Austria Bows Out

“The U.S. official overseeing President Donald Trump’s Iran strategy warned European countries against hosting a payment system to keep money flowing to the Islamic Republic, days after Austria became the latest nation to decline to host such a facility. “We are on alert for any type of sanctions evasion, and if we see evasion we won’t hesitate to use our sanctions to stop it,” Brian Hook, the State Department special representative for Iran, said in a phone interview from Tel Aviv, where he had just wrapped up a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “In light of Iran’s dark history of terrorism in Europe going back many decades, we think business-as-usual sends the wrong signal,” Hook said. Hook’s comments came after Austrian officials rebuffed entreaties from France, Germany and the U.K. to host the so-called special purpose vehicle, a system that the European Union sought to handle payments to Iran in defiance of U.S. sanctions.”

The Jerusalem Post: U.S. Envoy: Iran Sanctions Help Cut Fund Streams To Hamas And Hezbollah

“After having imposed sanctions on Iran, the US is poised to choke off Iran’s financial support for terrorist groups in the region, Brian Hook, Washington’s special envoy on Iran, said on Thursday. Before meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hook said “Now that we have reimposed our sanctions, we are in a position to really go after all the revenue streams Iran uses to fund Hamas and Hezbollah, its missile proliferation – all the threats to peace and security that Iran presents.” Hook told Netanyahu that he was a “fantastic and committed partner to this endeavor, and we are very grateful for all the support you give.” Earlier this month, the US imposed a second round of sanctions on Iran, targeting its crude oil trade. A first round of sanctions went into effect in August, three months after US President Donald Trump pulled out of the Iranian nuclear deal. Netanyahu welcomed Hook by congratulating the US for “the powerful sanctions against Iran.”

Newsweek: U.S. Warns Iran Will Create New ISIS, Says ‘We Have No Better Partner’ Than Saudi Arabia To Fight It

“The United States has warned that Iran could create a new malign force akin to the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) and said Saudi Arabia was an ideal partner to help contain the revolutionary Shiite Muslim power in the Middle East. James Jeffrey, the State Department's special representative to Syria, told the Sixth Annual Defense One Summit Thursday that direct military action would not be enough to defeat Iran and its expanding network of armed allies, many of which were comprised of Shiite Muslim militias. Like the Pentagon and its own local partners, these fighters have fought jihadi groups like ISIS in Iraq and Syria, but they oppose U.S. influence there. The diplomat argued that in such countries "it requires stability ops to break Iran's meddling influence,” Defense One reported. Jeffrey cautioned that Iran "will create a new Daesh if we don't get at the underlying problem," referring to an Arabic acronym for ISIS. In tackling Iran, he said, "We have no better partner" than Saudi Arabia. He added, "We couldn't be doing what we're doing in the region without them." These comments came despite Saudi Arabia's role in the murder of local journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who fled abroad to criticize the government, only to be killed by Riyadh's agents at the kingdom's embassy in Istanbul early last month. Saudi Arabia's initial denials and shifting accounts of the incident have drawn international criticism, prompting Riyadh to announce death sentences for five of its own agents allegedly involved in the affair, while the U.S. Department of Treasury has called for sanctions on 17 arrested for the incident.”

Reuters: INSIGHT:

Reimposed U.S. Anti-Iran Sanctions Leverage American Economic Power

“The United States on Monday reactivated its most biting sanctions on Iran, prohibiting and penalizing business with Iran's energy, shipping, and financial services sectors, as well as other activities. The move follows the United States' unilateral withdrawal in May(here) from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran Nuclear Deal. The re-imposition of sanctions puts the remaining parties to the JCPOA – in addition to Iran, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany, with the EU – in a difficult position. They want to remain faithful to the JCPOA and their foreign policy prerogatives, without the legal and commercial risks of U.S. sanctions. The balancing act is proving difficult to achieve. The Trump Administration will grant limited oil-related sanctions waivers to eight countries(here) that are understood to have already reduced or will reduce their oil imports from Iran. The waivers will allow the recipient countries – including India, Japan, South Korea, China, and Turkey – to continue importing Iranian crude oil, free from the threat of U.S. secondary sanctions, but only to an extent and for a limited time. Notably, the Trump administration is not inclined to grant a waiver to the European Union, as a whole.”

Iraq
Iraqi News: 3 Islamic State Terrorists Apprehended Inside House In Iraq’s Hawija

“Three extremist militants of Islamic State were arrested Thursday in Hawija district in Kikruk, which was declared free of terrorism almost a year ago, a security source was quoted as saying. Speaking to TRT, the source said that the three terrorists were hiding inside a house in Hawija district when the troops stormed the place. “They were plotting to target security forces with the aim of undermining security in the region,” added the source. A huge amount of ammunition and money were seized inside the house. In October 2017, former Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi declared that Iraqi troops recaptured Hawija, a main town held by Islamic State in the country. The town had fallen to IS in June 2014, when the militant group seized control of much of northern and western Iraq and proclaimed the creation of a self-styled “caliphate”. There, Islamic State’s reign forced thousands to flee to refugee camps, while hundreds had been executed by the group for attempting to escape the area or contacting security forces. Hawija, which lies 215km (135 miles) north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, has been a bastion of Jihadists since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.”

Voice Of America: Is Explosives Still Terrorize Mosul Residents

“More than a year after Mosul was liberated from the grip of the Islamic State terror group, landmines and unexploded ordnance remain a threat to residents. Two weeks ago, a group of children playing on the site of the historic Great Mosque of al-Nuri in western Mosul found and inadvertently detonated an explosive device. One child was killed in the explosion and two others were injured. "When I heard that my son was injured, I was in shock," Omar Abdulqader told VOA. "I hurried to the hospital only to find out that my daughter, too, was injured in the explosion. "I saw her bleeding from her wounds. A [piece of] shrapnel injured her chest and her throat. I lost my son," Abdulqader added. The Great Mosque of al-Nuri in old Mosul was built in the 12th century. It held a symbolic importance for IS, as it was used by the terror group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2014 to declare the plan for a so-called caliphate. Before Mosul was retaken from IS in June 2017, the terror group blew up the mosque and planted explosives to hinder Iraq's military operations. The local government has not been able to fully clear the area of landmines and explosive devices. Radwan Taha was playing with his now-deceased friend, Amjad, when the explosion occurred. "The boy held up a device, the device exploded among us. A shrapnel injured my eye from the explosion. A group of people gathered and took us all in their cars to the hospital," Taha told VOA.”

Afghanistan
The Washington Post: Afghan Election, Taliban Talks May Be On Collision Course

“An important upcoming milestone for Afghanistan’s Western-backed democracy and a separate, crucial chance to settle the country’s 17-year war appear to be crashing into each other. The country’s presidential election, planned for April 20, is already roiling the political atmosphere. As President Ashraf Ghani, who is seeking a second term, and an array of potential rivals try to form winning coalitions, observers fear the race could divide the country along dangerous ethnic lines. At the same time, momentum for talks with the Taliban is steadily building, with a special U.S. peace envoy pushing the process hard and insurgent leaders showing serious interest in negotiating for the first time. But they have insisted that they will not deal directly with the Ghani government, instead reportedly meeting U.S. officials in Qatar and then attending a recent pro-peace conference in Moscow. As both developments accelerate, some Afghan and Western voices have begun questioning whether the peace process may need to come first, rather than competing on a parallel track that could enmesh the election run-up in battles over the cost of peace and sabotage the first steps toward reconciliation. “The constitution is not as important as peace. If peace can be restored, then the elections will have to be delayed for it,” Wadir Safi, a professor of political science at Kabul University, told the Weesa Daily newspaper here.”

Radio Free Europe: Dozens Killed In Taliban Attack On Afghan Security Forces

“Taliban insurgents attacked a joint police and army outpost in Afghanistan’s western Farah Province, killing at least 38 officers and soldiers, as the onslaught against the country’s security forces mounts, officials say. Provincial council member Khair Mohammad Noorzai told the dpa news agency that the four-hour attack occurred in the early morning of November 15 and killed nearly all of the soldiers and police officers stationed at the joint base. In Kabul, lawmaker Samiullah Samim told the AP that air strikes killed 17 of the Taliban attackers but most managed to flee. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack and said about 80 weapons and several vehicles were captured by militants. Meanwhile, fighting with Taliban militants in two districts of central Ghazni Province has displaced thousands of people, most of them from the minority Shi’ite Hazara population. Some 100 Afghan security forces have been killed in those battles. The resurgent Taliban have mounted increasing numbers of a provincial attacks in their battle to bring down the Western-backed government in Kabul and force out foreign troops. Unofficial reports have estimated that some 45 Afghan police officers or soldiers are killed daily or wounded in attacks by the Taliban and other militants. Afghan security forces have struggled to counter attacks from militant groups since the withdrawal of most NATO combat troops in 2014. The remaining Western forces mainly train and advise the Afghan military, although some are still occasionally caught in firefights.”

Business Insider:

The Taliban Has Taken A 'Horrific' Toll On Afghanistan's Police And Soldiers, But The Country's President Still Says The Taliban Is Losing

“Over the past three years, more than 28,000 Afghan soldiers and police have been killed, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani revealed this week in a rare admission. "Since 2015, still much regrettable, but the entire loss of American forces in Afghanistan is 58 Americans. In the same period, 28,529 of our security forces have lost their lives," the president said, Hamid Karzai, former Afghan president, told the Associated Press that the blame for these losses rests on the shoulders of the US. Coalition bombing is at a 5-year high, according to the latest airpower report from US Air Forces Central Command, and the year isn't out. The latest reports on the war in Afghanistan seem to contradict the government assurances that victory is within reach, painting a picture of a bloody conflict with no end in sight. Over the past week, 242 Afghan security force members were killed in brutal engagements with Taliban insurgents, The New York Times reported Thursday. Over the weekend, militants almost wiped out an elite company of Afghan special forces in an area considered the country's "safest district," and officials told Voice of America Thursday that more than 40 government troops were recently killed in Taliban attacks near the border. Over the past three years, more than 28,000 Afghan soldiers and police have been killed, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani revealed this week in a rare admission.”

Yemen
Sky News: United Nations Yemen Envoy Hopeful Of Peace Talks To End Deadly Conflict

“The man trying to broker peace in Yemen said he is hopeful a new round of talks between the warring sides will begin within weeks provided a lull in fighting for a key port city holds. Martin Griffiths, the United Nations special envoy for Yemen, revealed in an interview he has overcome a hurdle that doomed a previous attempt to bring the different factions together. He told Sky News he secured an agreement for a delegation of Houthi rebels to attend a meeting in Sweden without fear of being prevented from returning to Yemen by a coalition - led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - they are fighting. Concern over travel had been a factor stopping the Houthis from taking part in talks in Geneva in September. The envoy, who is due to address the United Nations Security Council in New York on Friday about the crisis in Yemen, said he believes it is possible to find a political solution to the near-four-year civil war that has killed thousands and created the world's worst humanitarian crisis.”

Lebanon
The Hill: Israel More Concerned About Threats From Hezbollah Than Hamas, Says Middle East Expert

“American Enterprise Institute research fellow Katherine Zimmerman said on Thursday that Israel is more concerned about threats from Hezbollah and the ongoing Syrian civil war than it is with Hamas. “For the Israelis, the concern is less about Hamas right now and much more about Hezbollah and the events in Syria, and that's where they want to put their effort,” Zimmerman told Hill.TV's Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti on "Rising," when asked how much Israel will have to invest in ground operations amid recent attacks from Hamas. Her comments come after a failed Israeli operation in Gaza sparked a new wave of violence, resulting in the deaths of three Palestinians. Israeli forces launched over 30 airstrikes into the Gaza strip, while Hamas-linked militants launched hundreds of rockets into Israel, wounding at least seven Israelis. “It's estimated that it was over 450 rocks in 24 hours, and that's a level that we haven't seen, so yes it is unprecedented, and it shows that Hamas has been stockpiling, but the Israeli defense systems worked,” Zimmerman said. Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shi’ite group, has become a significant participant in Syria's ongoing civil war, which is taking place in relatively close proximity to Israel. “We condemn any normalization with Israel, and call on the Palestinian people not to be afraid,” Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, told supporters last week.”

Middle East

The Daily Star: Leaders Call For Tolerance In The Face Of Extremism

“With extremist rhetoric on the rise around the world, speakers at a summit in the United Arab Emirates Thursday underscored the importance of countering the trend with tolerance and pluralism to achieve prosperity. On the opening day of the first World Tolerance Summit in Dubai, participants stressed the value of tolerance, not only in the Middle East, beset by multiple incidents of terrorism, but worldwide. “I call on you [attendees] to agree with us that pluralism within diverse human societies must become a positive and creative force for development and stability in the world,” said Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al-Nahyan, the UAE’s minister of state for tolerance, to a packed room, with Dubai ruler Mohammad bin Rashid Al-Maktoum and Lebanese caretaker Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury in attendance. A number of countries, including Lebanon, were represented at the two-day conference by political, diplomatic and religious figures expressing views on how tolerance should be embodied in society.”

Libya
News 24: Libya Planning To Extradite Manchester Bomber's Brother: PM

“Libya is planning to extradite the brother of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi to Britain by the end of the year, Libya's UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj told the BBC in an interview on Wednesday. Britain last year submitted a request to extradite Hashem Abedi after the bombing in May 2017 in which 22 people - many of them minors - were killed. Abedi detonated the bomb, killing himself, outside one of the arena exits shortly after the end of a concert by pre-teen idol Ariana Grande. Hashem Abedi is suspected of involvement and is wanted by Manchester police on charges of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to cause explosions. In an interview with the BBC on the sidelines of an international conference in Italy, Sarraj said: "I think from here to the end of this year we will finish all the legal procedures in Libya. "We are fully cooperating because we understand the suffering of the families of the victims of this terrorist attack. "According to the general prosecutor we can extradite. After we complete the legal process in Libya it is only a matter of time." When Britain first made the extradition request in November 2017, the armed group holding him refused it. The Manchester Arena bombing was Britain's worst terror attack in more than a decade. Salman Abedi was born in Manchester in 1994, to parents who had been granted asylum after fleeing Moamer Kadhafi's regime. He was in Libya just days before the attack.”

Nigeria
The Economist: A Mysterious Shia Group Has Nigeria Worried

“The streets are quiet and the tear gas has dissipated, but no one knows for sure how many protesters were killed in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, at the end of October. The army claims six people died when soldiers stopped demonstrators from overrunning a checkpoint. Human-rights groups say at least 45 were killed—and that the demonstrations were peaceful. More mystery surrounds the group that organised the protests, the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (imn). It is known to be made up mostly of Shia Muslims. Analysts count millions of members. Many gathered in Abuja to demand the release of their leader, Ibrahim Zakzaky, who was jailed three years ago. He preaches non-violence, but the army is testing the imn’s restraint. Some fear the government is creating a new Boko Haram, the Sunni jihadists waging a bloody insurgency in the north. There were few Shias in Nigeria 40 years ago. Mr Zakzaky is almost single-handedly responsible for changing that. Entranced by the Iranian revolution, he converted from Sunni Islam to Shiism in 1979, then went about converting others. Today analysts think Nigeria has up to 3m Shias; nearly all are in the imn. They form a small minority of Nigeria’s roughly 180m population, split between Muslims (mostly Sunnis), who dominate the north, and Christians, who dominate in the south.”

The Punch: Three Nigerian Soldiers Killed In Boko Haram Attack On Military Base

“At least three soldiers were killed and several missing after a Boko Haram attack on a military base in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state, military and militia sources told AFP Thursday. Boko Haram fighters believed to be from the IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province late Wednesday attacked the base in the town of Kareto, 150 kilometres (about 90 miles) north of the state capital Maiduguri. The militants temporarily dislodged troops from the base before being repelled with aerial support, the sources said. “We lost three soldiers in the fight and several others are still missing,” a military officer in Maiduguri told AFP. “The terrorists were smoked out of the base by a fighter jet which deployed to the scene,” said the officer who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the incident. Troop reinforcements were sent to the base, the officer said. It was not clear if the jihadists took away weapons. A civilian militia fighting Boko Haram in the area said troops withdrew to the town of Gubio, 60 km away, while Kareto residents fled across the border into Niger. “The bodies of three soldiers were recovered after the attack,” said the militia who preferred not to be identified. “More troops have arrived in Kareto but most residents have not returned,” he said.”

Somalia
The East African: How Kenyan Police Let In Somalia's Shabaab Bombers

“Police officers at the Kenya-Somalia border let in five Al-Shabaab suicide bombers in February this year after receiving bribes, a new United Nations report says. The report lays bare how Kenyan security forces routinely accept cash gifts from as low as Ksh2,000 ($20) from terror militants to wave them through. The Somalia Report 2018, released on Tuesday by the Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group (SEMG), paints a rather disturbing picture of the misplaced loyalties of some of the security officers Kenya has deployed to protect itself, and reveals, for the first time, how the Somalia-based militants are routinely allowed to cross over to Kenya to kill and maim. For instance, an investigation into a foiled attack in February this year revealed that Al-Shabaab operatives crossed the Kenya-Somalia border five times in three months, detected but unobstructed, by giving $20 bribes to security forces. Four of the five rifles seized by the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit during an operation to foil an attack on key installations in Nairobi had been imported by Somalia’s Federal Government in 2013 following the partial lifting of the arms embargo under United Nations Security Council resolution 2093, the report shows. Police had, during a routine patrol in Merti, Isiolo, in February this year, arrested two suspected Al-Shabaab operatives — Abdimajit Hasan Adan and Mohammed Nanne Osman — as they drove a vehicle laden with bombs intended for a complex attack in Nairobi, which the UN says would have been the most significant Al-Shabaab attack outside Somalia since the Garissa University College massacre of April 2015.”

Africa
Yahoo News: Jihadist Leader 'Very Probably' Killed By French Forces In Mali

“French forces operating in Mali killed seven suspected jihadists after a recent nighttime raid, possibly including a top leader in an alliance of insurgents linked to Al-Qaeda, the French army said Thursday. Al-Mansour Ag Alkassim, the chief of a wing of the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), was "very probably" among those killed in the operation the night of Sunday to Monday, army spokesman Patrik Steiger told AFP. The GSIM, which the US added to its list of foreign terrorist organisations in September, has been carrying out attacks across the arid Sahel expanses of Western Africa over the past two years. Alkassim, operating mainly in northern Mali, has been sought by the authorities for years. France has deployed the 4,500-member Barkhane force to the region in a bid to train local forces and help repel the attacks. Most recently the GSIM claimed responsibility for a suicide attack where killed three in the northern city of Gao on Monday.”

Reuters: Financier Of Islamic State Paid Money To Rebel Group In Eastern Congo -Report

“An Islamist rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo received money from a financier linked to Islamic State, suggesting tentative ties between the Congo insurgents and other jihadists in Africa and beyond, a report said on Thursday. Islamist “financial facilitator” Waleed Ahmed Zein paid the Allied Democratic Forces at least once, said the report from New York University’s Congo Research Group and the Bridgeway Foundation that cited U.S. sources and an ADF defector. Zein is on a U.S. government sanctions list and was arrested in his home country of Kenya in July for links to Islamic State. The payments were made in recent years but it was not clear when, how much was paid or how the money was used. The Congolese government blames the ADF for a series of massacres in the last two years in the east of the country where violence around the city of Beni has hobbled efforts to contain an Ebola outbreak. The ADF was set up by Ugandan Muslims in the 1990s purporting to fight for the rights of the Tablighi Jamaat sect, although it turned to banditry after crossing Uganda’s western border with Congo. The Congolese and Ugandan governments accuse the ADF of links with jihadists like al Qaeda but has offered little evidence to back up these claims. The payment was made as the ADF seeks to align itself with Islamic State, Nigeria-based Boko Haram and al Qaeda and other groups.”

The Daily Beast: UN Peacekeepers Killed By Militants In Ebola-Hit East Congo

“At least seven United Nations peacekeepers were killed by militias in the epicenter of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s ongoing Ebola epidemic, United Nations and diplomatic sources said Thursday. “Our peacekeeping colleagues tell us that six peacekeepers from Malawi and one from Tanzania who are part of the U.N. peacekeeping operation in the DRC ... were killed yesterday, in Beni territory, in North Kivu,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York. The Beni territory and surrounding villages are currently suffering an Ebola epidemic that has killed about 200 people. For the past year, the Beni region in Eastern Congo has seen a surge in militant violence. Eastern Congo has been inundated by armed insurrections for over twenty years, after the fall of their military ruler Mobutu Sese Seko. The attacks have prevented medical workers from reaching victims, hampering international efforts to contain the outbreak. According to a U.N. spokesperson, Secretary General Antonio Guterres “calls on all armed groups to stop their destabilizing activities, which continue to add to the suffering of the population and complicate the response to the ongoing Ebola outbreak.”

North Korea
The New York Times: North Korea Says It Has Tested ‘Ultramodern Tactical Weapon’

“North Korea has tested a new tactical weapon, the North’s official news media said on Friday, reporting that Kim Jong-un witnessed the event in his first publicized visit to a weapons test site since the country test-launched its intercontinental ballistic missile last November. State media did not identify the weapon, and the test did not appear to violate the voluntary moratorium North Korea imposed on nuclear and long-range ballistic missile tests this year. Still, Mr. Kim’s renewed activities at weapons test sites could complicate the already stalled talks between North Korea and the United States over how to remove the North’s nuclear weapons. North Korea tends to use the prospects of rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula as leverage when negotiations with Washington do not go in its favor. In recent weeks, it has issued vague threats that it might resume testing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles should the United States continue to refuse to make concessions like easing sanctions. On Friday, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said Mr. Kim visited the testing ground of the Academy of Defense Science, the center of weapons development in North Korea, and “supervised a newly developed ultramodern tactical weapon test.”

Associated Press: North Korea Deports American Even As It Boasts Of New Weapon

“North Korea on Friday said it will deport an American citizen it detained for illegal entrance, an apparent concession to the United States that came even as it announced the test of a newly developed but unspecified “ultramodern” weapon that will be seen as a pressuring tactic by Washington. The two whiplash announcements, which seemed aimed at both appeasing and annoying Washington, suggest North Korea wants to keep alive dialogue with the United States even as it struggles to express its frustration at stalled nuclear diplomacy. North Korea in the past has held arrested American citizens for an extended period before high-profile U.S. figures travelled to Pyongyang to secure their freedom. Last year, American university student Otto Warmbier died days after he was released in a coma from North Korea after 17 months in captivity. On Friday, the Korean Central News Agency said American national Bruce Byron Lowrance was detained on Oct. 16 for illegally entering the country from China. It said he told investigators that he was under the “manipulation” of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. It was not clear if the North’s spelling of the man’s name was correct, and past reports from Pyongyang have contained incorrect spellings.”

Germany
Associated Press: German Woman Charged With Islamic State Membership

“Federal prosecutors say they’ve charged a 26-year-old German woman with membership in a terrorist organization on allegations she joined the extremist Islamic State. Prosecutors said Thursday that Derya O., whose full name wasn’t given in line with privacy laws, is accused of joining the group in Syria in February 2014 and marrying a fighter there with whom she had had previous contact over the internet. They lived in Syria and Iraq off funds the husband received from IS, and had a child together. She’s alleged to have also received small-arms weapons training from her husband and had an explosive belt that could have been used in a suicide bombing. She left Syria through Turkey in 2017 and returned to Germany that August.”

Europe
The Trumpet: As Christmas Approaches, Islamic State Threatens Christians

“Al-Abd Al-Faqir, a media group supported by the Islamic State, published two propaganda posters last month that depict an attack on Pope Francis. One poster stated “Don’t think you are away from our attacks” and showed a jihadist with an Islamic State wristband and a handgun, taking aim at the pope as he walked by a barbed wire fence on a visit to Auschwitz. The other recent poster, again set at Auschwitz, was addressed to “slaves of the Cross” and depicted an assailant sneaking up on the pope from behind. Posters like these are often circulated during the winter holiday season. The Islamic State employed a similar strategy last November, when it published propaganda showing a jihadist beheading the pope. Another, threatening “Christmas blood,” showed a masked jihadist driving down Via della Conciliazione toward St. Peter’s Square with a rifle, handgun, and explosive suicide backpack on the passenger seat. A terror attack near or during the winter holidays carries extra weight in predominantly Catholic, Christian Europe. We already witnessed outrage in Europe after an attack on a Berlin Christmas market in 2017. But the Islamic State has never carried out an attack in Italy or the Vatican. Such an event would likely have an even greater impact on Catholic Europeans.”

Radio Free Europe: Ukrainian Man Charged With Abetting Terrorism Refuses To Testify At Russia Trial

“A 20-year-old Ukrainian man charged with abetting terrorism has refused to testify at his trial in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. "I am not guilty and refuse to give any testimonies," Pavlo Hryb told the North Caucasus Regional Military Court where the trial resumed on November 15. Hryb, whose family contends he was set up by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), went on trial on July 23, but the court halted it after finding that the formal charge against the defendant was based on a clause of the Criminal Code that had not been in place at the time of the alleged crime. Prosecutors sent the case back to the court in October after correcting what Russian media called a “procedural mistake.” Hryb went missing in August 2017 after he traveled to Belarus to meet a woman he met online. Relatives believe he walked into a trap set by the FSB, which later told Ukraine that Hryb was being held in a detention center in Russia on suspicion of abetting terrorism. Russian investigators accuse Hryb of using the Internet to instruct a teenage girl in Russia's southern city of Sochi to carry out a terrorist act using an explosive device. Hryb's father, Ihor Hryb, has argued that the case against his son was Russian retaliation for Internet posts that were openly critical of Russia's interference in Ukraine. Russia seized control of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 after sending in troops and staging a referendum dismissed as illegal by at least 100 countries.”

Australia
The Australian: ISIS Tries To Leverage Knife Attack

“Islamic State-aligned groups have released fresh propaganda based on Friday’s terror attack in Bourke Street, as new data showed a high incidence of *violent radicalism among Australians denied their passports by security agencies. Islamic State-linked Sunni Shield Media Foundation this week released posters with *images of the Bourke Street *attack, including one showing *attacker Hassan Khalif Shire Ali attempting to stab a police officer. Another poster contained a photo of the utility that Shire Ali set alight during his fatal jihadi mission. “Australia, don’t think you are away from our attacks,” text on the poster read. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton yesterday condemned the propaganda. “This demonstration shows their evil minds at work,” he said. “We will continue our efforts to counter propaganda and gather intelligence to defeat the scourge.” Bill Shorten condemned the propaganda. “I urge internet providers and social media companies to remove any objectionable material which encourages terrorism,” the Opposition Leader said. “We all have an obligation to ensure it is not disseminated further and doesn’t reach vulnerable young people.” An analysis by The Australian found at least 10 of the 240 people who were refused passports or had them cancelled have launched attacks or have been convicted of planning acts of terrorism since 2014.”

ABC News Australia: Melbourne CBD Christmas Terror Plot 'Ringleader' Found Guilty, Given 24-Year Jail Term

“A fourth man involved in planning a terror attack in Melbourne's CBD around Christmas in 2016 has been sentenced to 24 years in jail. The ABC can now reveal that Ibrahim Abbas — the brother of co-accused Hamza Abbas — was sentenced to 24 years in jail on September 20th after pleading guilty to conspiring to do acts in preparation for a terrorist attack. For legal reasons the ABC was not able to report on this until today. Ibrahim Abbas was a key witness in the trial of his brother, Ahmed Mohamed and Abdullah Chaarani who were found guilty by a jury on November 2nd. The outcome of their trial was only revealed this week for legal reasons. From late October until they were arrested on December 22nd, 2016, the four men had planned an attack on Federation Square using explosive devices and knives. During his evidence in the trial of his co-accused, the 24-year-old claimed to have been the group's ringleader and told the jury he had convinced his brother and his friends to take part in the Islamic State-inspired plot. In a police interview, Ibrahim Abbas complained that Australia was killing Muslims in the Middle East. "Australia kills and bombs Muslims overseas regardless of age, gender, whatever," he said in that interview, according to sentencing notes released today. "This act of terrorism on my people makes legitimate that civilians of Australia deserve the same thing, the same treatment that we are treated.”

Financial Review: Living With Islamist Terror On The Streets Of Melbourne

“When Sisto Malaspina, a man who represented the soul of Melbourne, lay dying from a terrorist's stab wounds in the heart of the city, his final breaths were witnessed by people in China watching WeChat on iPhones. The feeds originated from Chinese students attending nearby RMIT. They filmed the shocking attack late on Friday afternoon, November 9, as 30-year-old Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, an Islamist terrorist, set fire to his four-wheel-drive in Bourke Street, then stabbed three men, including the universally respected 74-year-old restaurateur, Malaspina, who died at the scene. Minutes later Shire Ali was shot in the chest by police and later died in hospital. As the incident unfolded staff at the RMIT's Fact Check Unit just a few blocks away started getting Twitter feeds – words and video. "Within minutes you knew exactly what was happening," says Caitlyn Batterham, an intern with the Fact Check Unit. She drew on the SnapMap facility on SnapChat, a place "where you find where your friends are and hot-spots of activity". "There was a massive red dot where this was happening – a lot of people Snap Chatting videos and shots from the area." Social media revolutionised the public's real time, direct and visual witnessing of the shocking terrorist attack on Bourke Street. "You can't censor things; it's just what people were seeing," says Batterham.”

Southeast Asia

The Straits Times: Malaysia Arrests 8 Suspected Militants, Including Filipino Asked To Recruit Children As 'Human Shields'

“The Malaysia police have detained eight suspected militants, including a Filipino man from the Abu Sayyaf terror group who was in charge of recruiting children for use as "human shields" in battles against the authorities. The suspects - seven Filipinos and one Malaysian - were arrested in Putrajaya and Sabah from Oct 30 to Nov 12, according to a police statement released on Friday (Nov 16). The Filipino played a part too in the beheadings of several hostages held by the Abu Sayyaf group, said Malaysia's national top cop Mohamad Fuzi Harun. "The children... were to be used as human shields during battles against the Filipino army in Basilan, Southern Philippines," said Tan Sri Fuzi, who is Inspector-General of Police, in the statement. The Filipino, a 35-year-old technician, was arrested in Ranau, Sabah, on Nov 8, with another countryman. Both were planning to flee to the southern Philippines to avoid arrest by the Malaysian authorities when they were arrested. Earlier on Nov 3, the police had detained in Tenom, Sabah, three Filipino members of the ASG - a group notorious for its kidnapping-for-ransom activities in the southern Philippines and Sabah. The men, aged between 27 and 51, had worked as labourers. "One of them, a 34-year-old, has the expertise of producing firearms to be used by the ASG," said Mr Fuzi.”

Associated Press: Last Khmer Rouge Leaders Guilty Of Genocide, Get Life Terms

“The last surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime that ruled Cambodia in the 1970s, when their reign of terror was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people, were convicted Friday by an international tribunal of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan were top leaders in a regime that forced residents out of the cities into the countryside, where they labored under brutal conditions in giant agricultural cooperatives and work projects. The communist Khmer Rouge, under the leadership of the late Pol Pot, sought to eliminate all traces of what they saw as corrupt bourgeois life, destroying most religious, financial and social institutions. Nuon Chea (NOO’-ahn CHEE’-ah) and Khieu Samphan (KEE’-yoh sahm-PAHN’) were sentenced by the U.N.-assisted court to life in prison, the same punishment they are already serving after being convicted in a previous trial for crimes against humanity connected with forced transfers of people and mass disappearances. Cambodia has no death penalty.”

Technology

The New York Times: How To Find Out What Facebook Knew

“Facebook cannot be trusted to regulate itself,” tweeted Rhode Island Representative David Cicilline on Wednesday night. Mr. Cicilline, who is likely to chair the House of Representative’s Judiciary subcommittee that focuses on antitrust law, was responding to a Times investigation, one that painted a damning picture of how Facebook had handled the discovery of Russian misinformation campaigns on its platform. Based on interviews with more than 50 people, the investigation depicted Facebook’s top executives — including Sheryl Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg — ignoring and downplaying the extent of Russian skulduggery, even going as far as to stall the publication of internal findings. On Thursday, Facebook pushed back in a blog post that denied slow-rolling its response to foreign election interference. But familiar questions remain unanswered: How much did Facebook know, and when?”

CNBC: Facebook’s Sandberg Denies Report That She Ignored Russian Activity On Site And Thwarted Investigations

“Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg on Thursday night responded to a New York Times report that described how the company ignored and then tried to conceal Russia’s use of the social network to disrupt the 2016 U.S. election. In a Facebook post, Sandberg acknowledged that she and founder Mark Zuckerberg were “too slow” to respond to the Russian interference on the site. “But to suggest that we weren’t interested in knowing the truth, or we wanted to hide what we knew, or that we tried to prevent investigations, is simply untrue,” she said. “The allegations saying I personally stood in the way are also just plain wrong. This was an investigation of a foreign actor trying to interfere in our election. Nothing could be more important to me or to Facebook,” Sandberg added. Her remarks came after an extensively reported New York Times article on Wednesday that described how Zuckerberg and Sandberg downplayed internal efforts to assess the Russian misinformation campaigns, and then tried to deflect public scrutiny onto Facebook’s competitors instead.”