Eye on Extremism - March 13, 2020

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Eye on Extremism
By: Counter Extremism Project: March 13, 2020
Re: info@counterextremism.com

As of March 13, 2020:

The Wall Street Journal: Germany Labels Part Of Nativist Opposition Party An Extreme-Right Group

“Germany’s domestic intelligence agency said on Thursday that it would put a group within the nativist AfD opposition party under surveillance as an extremist organization amid rising concern about growing far-right violence in the country. The measure caps a yearlong investigation and means the agency can start covertly monitoring members of Der Flügel, or The Wing, a network within the Alternative for Germany party, or AfD. The surveillance could include tapping phones, monitoring electronic communications, and inserting undercover agents into the network. “This is a warning to all enemies of democracy,” said Thomas Haldenwang, head of the intelligence agency, told journalists on Thursday. The decision is a setback for the AfD, the federal parliament’s largest opposition party, which had long criticized the probe. While nationalists have gradually increased their influence in the party over more moderate voices, the AfD still paints itself as a robustly conservative yet reputable alternative to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right Christian Democratic Union.”

Reuters: Trump Authorizes Military To Respond After Deadly Attack Blamed On Iran-Backed Militia

“President Donald Trump has authorized the U.S. military to respond to Wednesday’s rocket attack in Iraq that killed two American troops and a British service member, the Pentagon said on Thursday, blaming Iran-backed militia. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stopped short of blaming Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah or naming any specific militia. But they were clear that they believe Iran backed the fighters who carried out the attack, and warned that all options were on the table - language suggesting the United States, Iran and the forces Tehran backs were again on a path toward renewed confrontation inside of Iraq. “I have spoken with the president. He’s given me the authority to do what we need to do, consistent with his guidance,” Esper told reporters at the Pentagon. Asked if a U.S. response could include strikes inside Iran, Esper hinted that strikes against the militia itself were the priority. Trump gives Pentagon authority for potential response after deadly Iraq attack “I’m not going to take any option off the table right now, but we are focused on the group - groups - that we believe perpetrated this in Iraq, as the immediate (focus),” he said.”

The Straits Times: ISIS 'Trying To Exploit' Growing Hindu-Muslim Tensions In India

“The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has appropriated Hindu-Muslim fault lines in India, exacerbated by ongoing protests and violence centred on a controversial amendment to the country's citizenship law, in its latest attempt to gain a greater toehold in a country with the world's second-biggest Muslim population. A viral Reuters photo of a bloodied Muslim man cowering under blows from a Hindu mob during the recent communal riots in Delhi was adapted by an ISIS-aligned media unit into a poster last month, according to the United States-based SITE Intelligence Group that tracks online activities of global terror groups.”

United States

U.S. News & World Report: Man Accused In Homemade Bomb Attack Sentenced To Prison

“A New Hampshire man accused of throwing a homemade bomb into a house and threatening the residents inside was sentenced to prison. Dalton Rowe, 29, pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges, including reckless conduct with a deadly weapon and possession of an infernal machine and was ordered to serve at least two years in prison, the Valley News reported. The Claremont resident has had past issues with drugs and alcohol, and said he is currently being treated for schizophrenia. Rowe's attorney, Ben St. Pierre, said his client was intoxicated and not on his medication when he arrived at the house on Oct. 22. Prosecutors said he entered the house that night and began to scream for his “significant other.” When one of the tenants told him the woman wasn't around, Rowe pulled out two knives and threatened her and the other tenants, Deputy County Attorney Justin Hersh said Wednesday. After being kicked out of the house, Rowe returned 20 minutes later and threw a homemade device at the building, causing what one resident described as a “big flame,” Hersh said. “I’m sorry for the crimes ... for what happened,” Rowe said during his court appearance. “I’m doing much better now.”

Syria

The Washington Post: Turkey Blames Kurdish Fighters For Syria Blast That Killed 4

“A car bomb exploded at a checkpoint manned by Turkey-backed opposition fighters in northeast Syria killing at least four people Thursday, local officials and Syrian opposition activists said. The governor’s office of Turkey’s southern Sanliurfa region said in a statement on its website that one gendarmerie corporal and three local security personnel were killed in the attack. It blamed Kurdish militants for the blast on the road leading to the Syrian town of Ras al-Ayn Thursday afternoon. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the blast killed five, including three Turkey-backed opposition fighters and two members of Turkey’s paramilitary force. The governor’s office said 10 others were wounded, including seven civilians, who were being treated in the Turkish border village of Ceylanpinar and their conditions were stable. Turkey has blamed explosions that killed and wounded dozens of people in northeast Syria in recent months on Kurdish fighters. Ankara views the Kurdish fighters as terrorists for their links to a Kurdish insurgency inside Turkey. The Kurdish fighters had, however, partnered with the U.S. against the Islamic State group.”

Iraq

The National: Iraq Rocket Strike Underscores New Threat To Anti-ISIS Coalition

“The deadly rocket attack on an Iraqi base hosting troops from the international anti-ISIS coalition underlines the seriousness of a new threat that risks detracting from the fight against remnants of the militant group in the country. American officials said the attack, which killed two US and one British servicemen, was most likely carried out by Kataib Hezbollah, one of a group of Iran-backed Iraqi militias that supported the government's fight against ISIS. The rocket strikes came just days after two US Marines were killed in a joint operation with Iraqi special forces against ISIS in northern Iraq, making this the deadliest week for the coalition in two years. Iraqi bases hosting the US contingent of the coalition have witnessed a series of low-level attacks since last year that Washington has blamed on Iraq's Iran-backed militias. They have come as Tehran feels the pressure of US sanctions aimed at reining in its nuclear activities and regional interference through proxy forces. Although no group has claimed responsibility, Wednesday’s attack fits exactly with the pattern of previous attacks – at least 20 this year – although none have been as deadly.”

Turkey

Al Monitor: Turkey Detains Kurdish Human Rights Lawyers On Terror Claims

“At least nine lawyers were detained on terror charges in early morning raids in the mainly Kurdish provinces of Urfa and Diyarbakir today, part of an ongoing campaign of repression targeting human rights defenders, said Abdullah Oncel, the president of the Urfa Bar Association. Seven of the lawyers were detained in Urfa and two others in Diyarbakir. Three others — all from Diyarbakir — are being sought, Oncel told Al-Monitor. Several of the lawyers’ offices were ransacked by police and their homes raided, he added. Bunyamin Seker, co-chair of the Jurists for Freedom Association, said a fourth lawyer from Sirnak, a heavily Kurdish province on the Iraqi border, was also being sought in connection with the case that is being overseen by the chief prosecutor of Urfa. “We have been unable to find out the details or the exact reasoning of this operation but it’s obvious to us that with respect to lawyers, it’s to do with their work on abuses, particularly those that occur inside prison,” he told Al-Monitor. Another 12 individuals, none of them lawyers, are also believed to be facing charges in the case but their identities remain unknown and it remains unclear whether any have been detained, Seker said. A secrecy order has been slapped on the investigation.”

Afghanistan

Reuters: Taliban Attacks Need To Go Down Considerably In Afghanistan, U.S. General Says

“A top U.S. general said on Thursday that the Taliban had to significantly reduce the number of attacks it is carrying out, after an accord it signed with the United States earlier this month. “I would not consider what the Taliban is doing as consistent with any path to going forward to come to a final end state agreement with the current government of Afghanistan,” U.S. Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, the head of the military’s Central Command, said during a Senate hearing. “Those attacks are going to have to come off considerably... we need to get way below where we are now,” he added.”

Yemen

Al Monitor: Yemen's Houthis Advance In Marib, Saudi Border Areas

“Houthi rebels in Yemen this week secured crucial areas of oil-rich Marib province — the main stronghold of the internationally recognized government of exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. The Houthis took over critical parts of the province March 10, building on recent victories that gave them control over the strategic Nahm district, east of the capital, Sanaa, and the Hazm district, the center of al-Jawf province. They also captured al-Ghail district adjacent to Hazm in the country's northeast. This comes in light of the retreat of the forces of Yemen's internationally recognized government, backed by a Saudi-led Arab military coalition, and Riyadh’s declining military support to this government. Government military sources told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity for security reasons that Saudi Arabia didn't adequately support government forces in the al-Jawf battle. The recent defeat of government forces is due to several reasons, most notably the struggle of field military wings with multiple political and ideological loyalties. While many of them are affiliated with al-Islah Party (the Muslim Brotherhood), other forces are loyal to the General People's Congress political party led by Lt. Gen. Sagheer bin Aziz, the president's recently appointed chief of staff.”

Saudi Arabia

Al Monitor: Saudi Arabia Tries Palestinians Accused Of Hamas Ties

“Dozens of Palestinians in Saudi Arabia are being tried before Riyadh’s special terrorism court for their perceived links to the Hamas movement in Gaza, according to press reports. Of the 68 defendants whose trials began Sunday, most were Palestinians arrested in April 2019, along with some Jordanians, according to the reports. A wave of arrests targeting Palestinian students, academics and businessmen in Saudi Arabia began in February 2019. Amnesty International says that those detained have since been held without charges or access to legal representation, and that some were subjected to solitary confinement. The Saudi government has not officially commented on the arrests or trials. Those arrested include Dr. Mohammed al-Khodari, an 81-year-old doctor who is the official representative of Hamas in Saudi Arabia, and his son, Hani. As Al-Monitor previously reported, Kuwait had agreed to negotiate for the release of the detainees, including Khodari, who holds dual Kuwaiti-Palestinian nationality. In September, the Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor told the United Nations Human Rights Council that it had the names of about 60 Palestinians subjected to enforced disappearance in Saudi Arabia.”

Africa

The Wall Street Journal: Inside A No-Go Zone For Terror

“Mauritania, a vast Muslim country on the edge of West Africa, has adopted a unique strategy to protect itself against an Islamist militant threat that is getting bigger and closer: It has turned more than a quarter of its territory into a no-go zone. In 2018, Mauritania handed its military control over 108,000 square miles of the Sahara, an area roughly the size of Nevada. Late last month, the Mauritanian army gave The Wall Street Journal unprecedented access to the exclusion zone. Inside, troops have great latitude to arrest or kill anyone suspected of smuggling arms, trafficking drugs or importing Islamist violence. “If you’re in the military zone and you don’t have permission, you’re a suspected terrorist,” said army Maj. Sidi Mohamed Hedeid. It was a move born of a fear that bad things are coming Mauritania’s way. The country straddles the Sahara, and in the south, the Sahel, a belt of semiarid land that stretches just below the great desert. A wave of Islamist militancy is overwhelming the countries of the Sahel. Affiliates of al Qaeda and Islamic State killed more than 4,000 people in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali last year in some 800 attacks. Deep inside Mauritania’s exclusion zone is a military outpost called Lemgheity, or “covered well.”

RFI: Mali’s Jihadists Demand French Withdrawal As Condition For Talks

“A Malian jihadist group affiliated with al-Qaeda says it is willing to engage in dialogue with the government – but only if French troops and the United Nations mission leave the country. The statement by GSIM, or Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, follows a decision taken this year by Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to open talks with jihadist groups in the country. Ketia’s move breaks away from the official line taken by the government since 2012, when the crisis erupted, not to engage with terrorists and jihadists. The statement by GSIM, issued on 8 March, has been verified by SITE intelligence group, a counter-terrorism NGO. The al-Qaeda affiliated organisation, which regroups several jihadist groups in Mali, wrote that a precondition for talks was “an end to the arrogant, racist, crusader French occupation”. GSIM or JNIM (Jam’at Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen) is asking for “the departure of all French forces and their followers from Mali”. It wants the Malian government to “openly declare an end to the presence of Barkhane and MINUSMA troops on their territories”. MINUSMA, the United Nations mission in Mali with some 12,000 troops, has been established since April 2013.”

All Africa: Tanzania Vows To Support War On Terrorism

“Tanzania has reiterated the willingness to cooperate with global communities to end threats of terrorism in in the world, highlighting possible strategies that would simplify the process. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Dr Damas Ndumbaro made the statement yesterday during the 16th European Remembrance Day for the victims of terrorism. At the event that was attended by Ambassadors from European Union (EU) countries, Dr Ndumbaro said terrorism can be defeated if countries would complement security measures with prevention efforts that identify and address root causes. “We must prioritise international cooperation in our counter-terrorism strategy as there is no single country or organisation that has all the answers to the cross-border challenges posed by terrorism, in this case, private sector and civil societies should play a part to successfully address the challenge,” he explained. The deputy minister also suggested that the United Nations (UN) should strengthen its institutional links with regional organisations, especially through exchanging critical information and knowledge, and the implementation of joint investigations and operations.”

Germany

The New York Times: Germany Places Part Of Far-Right Party Under Surveillance

“In an unusually strongly worded warning, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency on Thursday officially classified a part of the far-right Alternative for Germany party as extremist and said it would place some of its most influential leaders under surveillance. It is the first time in Germany’s postwar history that a party represented in the federal Parliament has elicited such intense scrutiny, and it points to an uneasy quandary facing the country’s institutions: What to do with a party that is at once considered a danger to democracy and that is gaining in popularity in parts of the country? The leaders of the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, as the party is known, routinely attack the press, accuse Muslim immigrants of being criminals and question the universalist principles of liberal democracy. Yet the party sits in the federal Parliament, where it is the leading voice of the opposition. The warning on Thursday was issued by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, whose founding mission after World War II was to protect against the rise of political forces — primarily another Nazi party — that could once again threaten Germany’s democracy. “We take that mission very seriously,” Thomas Haldenwang, the president of the agency, told reporters at a news conference.”

Europe

Reuters: Bosnia Indicts Islamic State Fighter For Terrorism

“A Bosnian Muslim who fought for Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria has been indicted for terrorism after he was brought back to the country in December, the office of the state prosecutor said on Thursday. Armen Dzelko, 30, who is from the wider Sarajevo area, has been in custody since he was extradited from Syria following his surrender to the anti-terrorist coalition late last year. He was returned as part of a group of 25 former IS fighters, women and children. Seven men from the group were immediately detained. Dzelko has been indicted for organising a terrorist group, the prosecutor's office said in a statement. Using the names “Abdullah” and “Ike”, Dzelko spent nearly seven years in Syria, where he participated in terrorist activities, fought on the side of Islamic State militants, and was wounded several times, the statement said. Bosnia's state court has tried and convicted 46 people who have returned from Syria or Iraq over the past few years. According to Bosnian intelligence, 241 adults and 80 children left Bosnia or the Bosnian diaspora from 2012-2016 for Syria and Iraq, where 150 more children were born. At least 88 have since died or been killed.”

Australia

ABC News Australia: Australian FBI Suspect Admits To Role With Islamic State After Capture In Syria

“A Sydney man wanted by the FBI over accusations he helped young Americans join Islamic State has confessed to Turkish authorities that he worked for the group as a translator and communications official, the ABC can reveal. Mohamed Zuhbi, 29, was captured by a pro-Turkish militia in June last year and handed over to Turkish authorities. He has since been convicted in a court there and is expected to be deported to Australia soon. Zuhbi was one of the most prominent among Australia's Islamic State supporters and was close to many of the Australian men who went to fight and die in Syria and Iraq with the declared terrorist group. Until now there has been no suggestion that Zuhbi actually joined or fought for Islamic State. However, the ABC has obtained Turkish court documents which state the Australian confessed that he had travelled to the group's de-facto Syrian capital, Raqqa, in 2015, to join, and underwent weeks of religious and military training. He told prosecutors he was then assigned a role in an Islamic State bureaucracy connected to travel and communication and also worked as an English translator for the group. When Raqqa fell to a Kurdish offensive in mid-2017 he used smugglers to flee to Syria's north-west.”

Technology

The Hill: Freshman Dem Finds Voice In Fight Against Online Extremism

“Rose has paired those efforts with legislation, the Raising the Bar Act, which is co-sponsored by eight Democrats, including Thompson. It would direct the Department of Homeland Security to designate a lead institution to administer a voluntary program to score how well tech companies handle terrorist content, an approach that requires buy-in from the industry and mostly takes control out of government hands. The program is modeled after a similar system in the European Union, which requires the companies to submit to audits around how they’re handling “hate speech” – an approach that could never fly in the U.S. “I think what he’s doing is very realistic, and it makes sense for the American context,” said Lara Pham, the deputy director of the Counter Extremism Project, which helped advise Rose’s office on the bill. “I want [the tech companies] to sign onto the Raising the Bar Act,” Rose said, accusing those of not supporting the bill of “supporting terrorism.”