Eye on Extremism --3-09-21

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Eye on Extremism -March 9, 2021
By: Counter Extremism Project
Re: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ta...KzfQBbMfVGdZld

Voice Of America: Italy Arrests An Algerian On Terrorism Charges

“Italian state police arrested an Algerian citizen in Italy’s southern city of Bari Monday who is suspected of belonging to Islamic State and providing help for the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 130 people. Police identified the 36-year-old Algerian as Athmane Touami, also known as Tomi Mahraz. According to investigators, Touami gave direct support for the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks at the Bataclan concert hall, the Stade de France, and in three boroughs of Paris on Nov. 13, 2015. The Paris attacks in which hundreds more people were wounded, were France's deadliest since World War II. Touami is also believed to have provided counterfeit documents to the gunmen and bombers who participated in the attacks, a statement by the Bari police said. Athmane Touami, his brothers Medhi and Lyes, and several other individuals, some of them not yet identified, had been operating in Italy and Algeria, as well as in France, Belgium, Spain and Syria, with links to radical jihadist circles, the statement said. Athmane Touami has been in prison in Bari since 2019, because while in the Temporary Detention Center for migrants in Bari, he was found in possession of false documents used to move freely in the countries of the Schengen zone.”

Sahara Reporters: Boko Haram Kills Three Nigerian Soldiers, Travellers Along Maiduguri-Damaturu Highway

“At least three soldiers and some travellers were killed on Sunday when gunmen believed to be Boko Haram insurgents attacked a military detachment stationed at Lawan-Mainari village on Maiduguri-Damaturu highway. Travelling the 135km Maiduguri-Damaturu highway, which passes through Jakana town, is considered extremely dangerous if such a journey is done before 9 am or after 2 pm when the route is busy. Sources said the insurgents stormed the area around 7 am with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades but were repelled by the soldiers who engaged them in a shootout. Travellers were reportedly stranded along the highway for several hours while the troops engaged the group in a gun battle. “They exchanged fire for some time as many of us remained in the vehicles, ducking to avoid being hit by bullets. “When the shooting stopped and the Boko Haram fighters left, three soldiers, four Boko Haram members and some passengers were killed with other members of the dreaded group retreating into the bushes,” a source said. Boko Haram and its offshoot, Islamic State West Africa Province, have killed thousands and displaced millions in North-Eastern Nigeria. The Nigerian military has repeatedly claimed that the insurgency had been largely defeated and frequently underplays any losses.”

Turkey

Daily Sabah: Turkish Prosecutor Seeks Lifelong Prison For Jordanian Daesh Terrorist

“The chief public prosecutor’s office of Sakarya has opened an indictment against a Jordan-origin Daesh terrorist member, who is the terror group's so-called education deputy minister, demanding double aggravated life imprisonment. The 24-page indictment stated that an investigation was opened after the suspect was identified in a video published on a website pushing propaganda for Daesh. Several documents belonging to the terrorist organization were seized during the investigation while the telephone numbers of the organization’s members were found on the suspect’s tablet. Photos of children, including the suspect’s own child, holding guns and long-barreled weapons were also found on the tablet. The indictment further pointed out that the suspect confessed to having carried out an execution, and a video showing the incident was found. Stating that the suspect joined the terrorist organization in 2014 in Syria’s Raqqa, it added that he used Kalashnikovs, has worked in several posts and units and was later appointed as the so-called education deputy minister of the organization in Syria where Daesh had a significant presence. It was determined that the suspect brutally killed people he took hostage and posted the footage as propaganda on social media.”

Saudi Arabia

Gulf News: Al Houthi Terror Attacks On Saudi Arabia Must Stop

“By all standards, Sunday’s criminal attacks, claimed by the Iran-backed Al Houthis terror group on the Saudi oil facilities and civil areas in the eastern region represent an extremely dangerous escalation. The world should not tolerate the preposterous acts that jeopardise the region’s security and the global energy supplies. On Sunday, the Saudi ministry of energy said a petroleum tank farm in the port of Ras Tanura, one of the world’s largest oil shipping ports, was attacked by a drone and a ballistic missile targeted Saudi Aramco facilities in Dhahran. A ministry spokesperson said neither attack caused any injury or loss of life or property, but shrapnel from the intercepted missile fell near residential areas in the city of Dhahran, the Saudi News Agency, SPA reported. “Such acts of sabotage do not only target the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but also the security and stability of energy supplies to the world, and therefore, the global economy,” the ministry said. “They affect the security of petroleum exports, freedom of world trade, and maritime traffic.” Countries around the world condemned the criminal attacks. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation stressed the continued threat of these attacks in recent days is “a grave escalation that represents these militias’ attempts to defy international laws and regulations.”

Lebanon

Amnesty International: Lebanon: Authorities Step Up Repression Through Use Of Terrorism Charges Against Protesters

“Lebanese authorities must immediately stop the use of terrorism-related charges to prosecute protesters, which marks a worrying new turn in the ongoing repression of activists and demonstrators, said Amnesty International. The organization further reiterates its call that the authorities must immediately cease the practice of summoning civilians before military courts. On 19 February, Lebanon’s military prosecutor filed terrorism-related charges against at least 23 detainees, including two minors, involved in heated protests in the northern city of Tripoli - during which both Internal Security Forces (ISF) officers and civilians were injured and one civilian killed - citing articles from the Law on Terrorism. If convicted, these protesters could face the death penalty. “The Lebanese authorities’ oppressive and disproportionate use of terrorism-related charges to prosecute protesters marks an alarming escalation in their repression and is clearly intended to instil fear and deter protests. This only serves to punish people who are suffering a relentless stream of hardships as a result of the soaring cost of food in the midst of an economic and financial meltdown, strict lockdown measures and worsening shortages in basic services including electricity and medical supplies,” said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.”

Middle East

The Washington Post: The Middle East’s Religious Minorities Are Facing Extinction. The World Must Act.

“Pope Francis began his first-ever papal trip to Iraq on Friday, marking a watershed moment in relations between the Catholic Church and the Middle East. Yet for all the optimism of the Pope’s message, his visit also serves to remind us that Christianity and other minority faiths of the region are facing dark times. The Middle East is the cradle of the three Abrahamic faiths that have more than 4 billion adherents around the globe. The region remains home to some of the world’s most ancient languages, cultures and heritage sites. Yet oppressive governments and violent extremist movements have been busy erasing the Middle East’s diverse religious communities. Today, Syria and Yemen have lost almost all of their Jews, while Turkey has done the same with its Chaldean Christians, ethnic Syriacs who follow the Catholic rite. Iraq’s Yazidis, a Kurdish-speaking community that adheres to a long-persecuted ancient monotheistic faith narrowly escaped destruction during the Islamic State’s genocidal campaign. Iraq’s Mandaeans, followers of another indigenous Middle Eastern faith, also fear extinction. The U.S. government should take a stand to defend diversity and pluralism in the Middle East and beyond, in concert with its transatlantic allies and other partners.”

The Jerusalem Post: Three Attempted Terror Attacks In Last 48 Hours

“An attempted stabbing attack was reported at the Sde Ephraim farm on Monday after a Palestinian woman entered the farm and attempted to stab the wife of the owner, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit. The woman was stopped by local residents and no one was injured in the incident. IDF soldiers arrived at the scene and are handling the incident. On Sunday night, the IDF thwarted an attempted stabbing attack in the Palestinian town of Tubas in the West Bank, north of Nablus, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit. A terrorist attempted to stab a soldier operating in the town. The soldier pushed off the terrorist and commander at the scene spotted the terrorist and shot him. The soldier was lightly wounded and treated at the scene. In a third event in the past 48 hours, IDF forces identified two suspects throwing Molotov cocktails at passing Israeli cars on the road near the village of al-Khader on Monday, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit reported. The soldiers opened fire on the suspects and hit both of them.”

Nigeria

BBC News: Nigeria Kidnappings: The Chibok Captive Who Defied Boko Haram

“Mass kidnappings of children in Nigeria have been making global headlines recently and this has been hard to watch for a young woman who was abducted in an infamous attack on a school in Chibok. Naomi Adamu is quiet. As she talks she rarely makes eye contact, keeping her voice low and steady. Upon meeting her, few would suspect she survived one of the most harrowing experiences a young woman could go through. But her timid demeanour belies an extraordinary strength of character. Naomi, 24 at the time of the attack, was the oldest of more than 270 students from the Chibok Government Secondary School for Girls abducted by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram in April 2014. Her classmates referred to her as Maman Mu, Our Mother. Her education had been interrupted by health problems as a child. She is now the main protagonist in a new book on the so-called “Chibok girls”. Bring Back Our Girls by journalists Joe Parkinson and Drew Hinshaw is based on hundreds of interviews with the abducted students, their families and others connected to their story. The book explores the girls' time in captivity in detail, and shows how the social media campaign that made them famous also made it harder to secure their release.”

Africa

The Irish Times: Self-Declared Hunter Trades Big Game For Jihadists In Burkina Faso

“Outside his temporary lodgings in the city of Fada N’Gourma in eastern Burkina Faso, Timothé Mano proudly waves the blade that he alleges has ended the lives of dozens of militants. The 46-year-old is a commander in the VDP, a civilian volunteer force legalised in early 2020 to help Burkina Faso’s beleaguered army combat the growing threat posed by armed Islamists. He is a self-declared hunter and is delighted to have traded hunting big game in the nearby Arli National Park for stalking jihadists on the outskirts of the city. “When I heard the government was asking for people to volunteer themselves and fight against those who are coming to attack us, I knew I had to join,” he says. During the week Timothé shuttles back to his village, Tanwalbougou, about 45km east of Fada, where he, along with another, commands more than 100 boys and men. Over the past year they have fought the jihadists about 23 times. They have received no equipment from the government, despite promises, so have resorted to taking weapons from the battlefield. They claim none of their own has been killed. Burkina Faso, once one of the most stable countries in west Africa, has fallen prey to the militant violence sweeping across the Sahel, a semi-arid region that stretches across north Africa.”

Germany

Voice Of America: Germany’s Spy Chiefs Urge Court To Agree On Monitoring Of Far-Right AfD

“Germany’s domestic intelligence agency says there’s sufficient evidence to warrant labeling the country’s main opposition party, the populist far-right Alternative for Germany, AfD, as “anti-constitutional” and an organization hostile to democracy. With nationwide elections just half a year away, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) wants a court to agree it can place the entire party under surveillance. On Friday, a court ordered the BfV to delay the surveillance until a ruling is made on a party challenge to the monitoring. If the courts agree that designating the AfD a menace to democracy is warranted, the agency would be able to step up monitoring of the party and its members, allowing the BfV to eavesdrop on party communications and recruit informants. AfD officials say the move is anti-democratic and a “scandalous” attempt to influence public opinion about the party ahead of multiple federal and regional elections and would undermine its ability to contest the polls on an equal footing with rivals. But politicians from other parties say the surveillance is needed. “The concept of a defensible democracy means naming and fighting the opponents of the free democratic basic order,” says Volker Ullrich, the interior affairs spokesman for the CSU, the Bavarian sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats.”

Canada

Huff Post: Growth Of Extremist Groups Threatens Political Progress For Women: Kim Campbell

“Former prime minister Kim Campbell spoke frankly Monday about how increased representation of women in politics can sometimes be followed with pushback from extremist groups. Speaking virtually to delegates at Daughters of the Vote, an annual summit organized by Equal Voice Canada to encourage more women to get into politics, Campbell called the timing “fortuitous” for the 338 participants to apprentice as members of Parliament for the day. “We see resurgent authoritarianism coming out of Vladimir Putin and others, Asia and Europe or in China,” she said, adding there’s been a growth in extremist groups “and particularly right-wing and racist extremist organizations.” Campbell did not name a specific extremist organization but said there’s a common thread. If you look at the fine print, she said, those movements are advocating for a regression in the status of women. Campbell says the global COVID-19 pandemic is one of those rare lifetime events that has made multi-generational impacts on society, beckoning a need for new resources, and more women in politics. “We are dealing now with a global pandemic, a challenge to our society, a challenge to our health and well-being, a challenge to our economic survival, a challenge to so many things,” the former prime minister said.”

Europe

Associated Press: Sweden Sentences Woman For Taking Child To Islamic State Area In Syria

“A southern Swedish court on Monday sentenced a woman to three years in prison for taking her 2-year-old son to Syria in 2014, to an area that was then controlled by the Islamic State group. The woman, who lived in the southern town of Landskrona, has allegedly told the child's father that she and the boy were only going on a holiday to Turkey. However, once in Turkey, the two crossed into Syria and ISIS-run territory. The Lund District Court said the woman, who was not named, took the child to an area “where there was war and an environment characterized by the violent ideology of the Islamic State group.” The court, which did not identify the woman's nationality, rejected her claims that she had only intended to go to Syria for a few days to see how it was there and then return home. She also told the court that she had become interested in religion after the death of a close relative. “She intended to move to Syria with her son and settle there permanently, and took her son away from his father in an arbitrary manner,” said the court statement. In 2017, when the Islamic State's reign began to collapse, she fled from Raqqa — the city that was known as the capital of the so-called ISIS “caliphate” — and was captured by Syrian Kurdish troops, the Sydsvenska daily wrote.”

Technology

NBC News: Why Did The FBI Miss The Threats About Jan. 6 On Social Media?

“A senator had a simple question for the FBI's counterterrorism chief at a hearing last week about the Capitol riot. Didn't the FBI see all those postings by extremists on social media before the event, she asked Wednesday, including promises to “occupy the Capitol” and bring “revolution” to Washington? “To my knowledge, no, ma'am,” the counterterrorism chief, Jill Sanborn, responded, going on to explain that the FBI can't monitor “First Amendment-protected activities” without a tip or an open investigation that directs agents to a specific post. The senator, Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., kept pressing. “So the FBI does not monitor publicly available social media conversations?” “Correct, ma'am,” Sanborn replied. “It's not within our authorities.” Fact check: false. FBI agents have said in court records that they monitor public social media, and the bureau recently signed a $14 million contract with a “threat intelligence” company called ZeroFox “to proactively identify threats to the United States and its interests” on the internet. For years, the FBI has had a similar arrangement with DataMinr, which can flag social media postings of interest to its clients.”