Eye on Extremism - June 29, 2021

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Eye on Extremism - June 29, 2021
By: Counter Extremism Project: 06-29-21
Re: info@counterextremism.com

Iran-Backed Militias Fire Rockets In New Attack Aimed At U.S. Forces

As of June 29, 2021:

The Wall Street Journal: Iran-Backed Militias Fire Rockets In New Attack Aimed At U.S. Forces

“U.S. troops in northeast Syria came under rocket fire Monday night after Iran-backed militias vowed revenge for U.S. airstrikes earlier that day in Iraq and Syria, a sign that fighting may be evolving into sustained confrontation. A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, Col. Wayne Marotto, said that multiple rockets had been fired at U.S. troops and that American forces responded by firing artillery at the rocket launching positions. There were no U.S. injuries, he added. The rocket attack, which a pro-militia news agency said had occurred near Syria’s al-Omar oil field, came as the Biden administration warned Monday that it stood ready to defend U.S. troops. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that President Biden is “fully prepared to act and act appropriately and deliberately to protect U.S. interests,” if Iran-backed militia continued to attack American forces in the region. The U.S. airstrikes, which Iran-backed militia groups said killed four of their members, highlight the challenge facing the Biden administration as it attempts to deter attacks without provoking an escalation.”

The Defense Post: Al Shabaab Jihadists Kill At Least 12 In Somalia Raid: Sources

“Al Shabaab jihadists killed at least 12 people Sunday in a raid on a town and military base in central Somalia, the army and local officials said. Fighters attacked the base and nearby town of Wisil in Galmudug state, more than 700 kilometers (430 miles) from the capital Mogadishu, several sources told AFP. Abdirahman Adan, commander of a paramilitary unit in Galmudug state, said by telephone it was difficult to know the exact number of dead. But for the moment they knew that 12 people, six of them from the security forces, had died in Wisil. The attackers had been pushed back and many of them had been killed, he added, without saying how many. Abdullahi Sahal, a community leader in Wisil, also said six civilians and six soldiers had been killed. The attack started with the detonation of a vehicle loaded with explosives, said another paramilitary commander, Mohamed Mire. “After the car bomb explosion, they started heavy machine guns,” he said. But the security pushed them back, inflicting losses, and they were now in full control, he added. Ahmed Ayanle, a local resident, said: “There was an enormous explosion which hit the town before a heavy exchange of gunfire started early in the morning.”

United States

The Washington Post: Pelosi Introduces Legislation That Would Establish Select Committee To Probe Jan. 6 Capitol Attack

“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday introduced legislation that would create a select committee to probe the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, with an aide suggesting the speaker may include a Republican among her appointees. The House Rules Committee considered the legislation Monday night. The House will hold a procedural vote on the measure Tuesday, and a vote on the legislation itself is expected Wednesday. “The speaker is seriously considering including a Republican among her eight appointments to the Select Committee,” a Pelosi aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity because that person was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter, said in an email. Pelosi’s move to form a select 13-member committee comes one month after Senate Republicans blocked an effort to create an independent, bipartisan commission. The panel will investigate the facts and causes of the assault that left five dead and nearly 140 officers attacked as they faced rioters armed with ax handles, bats, metal batons, wooden poles, hockey sticks and other weapons, authorities said. The riot led to the impeachment of President Donald Trump on a charge of “incitement of insurrection.”

The Detroit News: Convicted ISIS Fighter Testifies Against Dearborn Man In Terror Case

“A one-armed Islamic State soldier testified Monday he served alongside a Dearborn man accused of fighting on behalf of the terrorist organization, an unprecedented admission in federal court during the war on terror. Minnesota resident Abdelhamid Al-Madioum testified during a dramatic, virtual faceoff in federal court in Detroit involving two Americans who prosecutors say fled the country to wage jihad on behalf of a terrorist organization. During more than two hours of testimony, Al-Madioum, 24, said that he met Ibraheem Musaibli four times while both served in the Tariq bin Ziyad brigade, which was filled with foreign fighters — including Americans — who served in war zones in Iraq and Syria. Al-Madioum was the government's star witness Monday during a fight over evidence gathered by FBI counterterrorism investigators. He testified about maintaining an ISIS database while in Mosul in northern Iraq in 2016. The roster contained names of brigade members, including Musaibli, 31, who was captured three years ago on a Syrian battlefield and brought back to the U.S.”

Syria

The Washington Post: Blinken Says The Number Of ISIS Fighters And Family Members Being Held At Detention Camps In Syria Is ‘Untenable’

“More than two years after they last met in person, top diplomats representing the 78-nation coalition to defeat the Islamic State gathered here Monday to assess what has happened in the interim and position themselves for the future. The news, in many respects, was not good. While the caliphate in Syria was declared dead in 2019, “there is still more work to be done,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his global counterparts as he opened the meeting co-hosted by the United States and Italy. Rapidly expanding in Africa, the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, is also regrouping in Iraq and Syria, where U.S. military commanders have said the potential for new recruitment is high among tens of thousands of displaced youths and children being held in detention camps run by U.S.-allied Kurds in northeastern Syria. At least 10,000 captured Islamic State fighters — 2,000 of them foreigners from around the world, most of whose homelands have refused to take them back, even for prosecution — are in separate, makeshift Kurdish prisons. The situation, Blinken said in remarks opening the conference, is “simply untenable.”

Turkey

Al Monitor: Turkey Arrests 26 In Raids Against Islamic State

“Turkish police arrested 26 people on Monday for allegedly being linked to the Islamic State (IS). Police intelligence identified 30 suspects in the capital Ankara, including 28 Iraqi citizens and two Syrians. They arrested 26 of them during several raids and are searching for the remaining four, the Turkish government’s official Anadolu Agency reported. IS lost its final territory in 2019, but remains active in parts of Iraq and Syria, including near the Turkish border. Turkey has a complicated history with IS. Several Yazidi women have been freed from IS captivity in Turkey in recent years, indicating the group can still operate in Turkish territory. In neighboring Syria, Turkey fights Kurdish groups that helped defeat IS, and some in northeast Syria accuse Turkey’s Syrian rebel allies of accepting former IS fighters into their ranks. IS’ longtime leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was staying just a few miles from the Turkish border when he was killed in 2019. Thousands of IS fighters also entered Iraq and Syria through Turkey during the group’s heyday. On the other hand, IS has carried out several attacks in Turkey, most notably at Istanbul’s airport in 2016. Turkey has also conducted numerous operations against IS, including in Syria.”

Afghanistan

Bloomberg: Biden Needs To Leave Afghanistan The Right Way

“As U.S. troops prepare to leave Afghanistan after nearly 20 years of combat, the situation on the ground could hardly be more disheartening. Taliban insurgents are already racking up battlefield gains; deprived of U.S. close air support and help maintaining its equipment, the Afghan military may well crumble against concerted onslaught. Al-Qaeda maintains ties to the Taliban and could pose a renewed threat to the U.S. in as little as two years. That timeline could shrink if the Kabul government falls to the Taliban or the country devolves into civil war. At their meeting in the White House on Friday, with the U.S. withdrawal well underway, President Joe Biden told Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that the U.S. would continue to support his country, promising $266 million in humanitarian aid and $3.3 billion in security assistance. Ghani expressed his thanks but can be under no illusions. Biden is leaving him severely weakened, even if not (for the moment) entirely stranded. Washington’s ability to influence events will only diminish once the formal withdrawal is complete. Starting now, Biden needs to be clear about how bad things could get — while doing his best to mitigate the inevitable damage.”

Pakistan

The Washington Post: Police: Suspected Militants Kill Kashmir Officer, Family

“Suspected militants fatally shot a police officer, his wife and their daughter in Indian-controlled Kashmir, authorities said Monday. Police said anti-India militants entered officer Fayaz Ahmad’s home in the southern Tral area late Sunday and fired indiscriminately at those inside. Ahmad was killed immediately, while his wife died a few hours later at a hospital. Their 23-year-old daughter died at a hospital early Monday. In a statement, police called it a “terror attack.” Ahmad was a so-called special police officer, a lower-ranked police official recruited mainly for intelligence gathering and counterinsurgency operations. His son works in the Indian military’s counterinsurgency unit. Meanwhile, a gunbattle between government forces and rebels raged Monday in Srinagar, the region’s main city. Police said government forces surrounded a neighborhood in the city on a tip that militants were there. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The Himalayan region of Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety. Rebels have been fighting Indian rule since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebel goal that the territory be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. New Delhi deems the Kashmir militancy to be Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.”

Middle East

NBC News: Hamas Wins Palestinian Hearts As Gaza Conflict Threatens Broader Shift

“Hamas may be an international pariah, branded as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and Israel, but the militant group has succeeded in winning the admiration and respect of Palestinians in the wake of the recent 11-day war with Israel. Hamas framed its role in the fighting, which caused widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip, as a defense of both Jerusalem and the Palestinian cause after weeks of growing tension and years of unresolved grievances. Though its principal role has been in running the Gaza Strip, it is now seen by many Palestinians as having filled a vacuum left by the more moderate and secular Palestinian leadership in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. “They did something real on the ground,” said Alaa Salaymeh, 24, whose family is among those threatened with eviction by Israeli settlers in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. “Unfortunately the occupation only understands power,” she added, her face framed by a pale pink headscarf. By contrast, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his ruling Fatah party, which controls the internationally-backed Palestinian Authority, were widely accused of persistent impotency and inaction, and of being under Israel’s thumb.”

Nigeria

The Punch Nigeria: 12 Terrorists Killed As Troops Repel Attack On Borno Base

“The Nigerian Army on Monday said troops, in conjunction with the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai, killed 12 suspected Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province members during a gun duel in Borno State. The suspected terrorists were said to have attempted an attack on one of the military operational bases in Bula Yobe, but fled following the resistance from the troops. However, no fewer than two soldiers were killed and five injured during the encounter. According to a statement by the Director of Army Public Relations, Onyema Nwachukwu, the injured troops were receiving medical attention. He added that a gun truck, one self-propelled Gun-9, one Dushika gun and one mounted QJC Machine Gun, one light machine gun and five AK-47 rifles were recovered from the terrorists. It read, “Troops of 152 Task Force Battalion in conjunction with the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai on Sunday, 27 June, 2021 dealt a devastating blow on marauding Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province while attempting to infiltrate the Forward Operational Base at Bula Yobe in Borno State.”

Mali

The Nation: Germany Opposes Troop Withdrawal From Mali After Terror Attack

“German foreign minister Monday spoke out against the withdrawal of German soldiers from Mali in the wake of the latest suicide attack in the West African country, according to local media reports. “We have to realize that the region threatens to become a hub of international terrorism,” Heiko Maas said on the sidelines of a meeting of the international anti-ISIS-Daesh coalition in Rome. “That is why it is necessary to continue to get involved with other partners over there (Mali). We are now talking about this within the European Union and, above all, with France,” he added. A suicide bomber had attacked a UN patrol with a car bomb on Friday morning northeast of the Malian city of Gao. At least 13 UN soldiers, including 12 Germans and one Belgian, were injured. According to the UN, the German soldiers were escorting the convoy of a Malian battalion. In addition to the UN mission to stabilize the country, the German army is also involved in a European Union training mission in Mali. Meanwhile, Chancellor Angela Merkel Monday called for stronger international cooperation in the fight against terrorism in Mali. “We will have to bring all these missions together and coordinate them even better in the next few years,” said Merkel in Berlin during a virtual meeting of the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly.”

Africa

Reuters: Congo Blames Islamist Militia For Dual Blasts In Eastern City

“Democratic Republic of Congo's army said on Monday an Islamist militia which claims links to Islamic State (IS) was responsible for two blasts in the eastern city of Beni, as the mayor closed schools, churches and markets for 48 hours. The army said Sunday's attacks bore the signature of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which has used improvised explosive devices in the past. The ADF, which originally hails from Uganda, has been accused of killing thousands of people since 2014, most in massacres in remote villages carried out with machetes, hatchets and firearms. On Sunday, the first explosive device injured two people at a Catholic church. Later a suspected bomber was killed when the device he was carrying detonated prematurely at a busy intersection, authorities said. No one else was reported killed. The army said the bomber was a Ugandan national. “We have arrested two suspects who were with the bomber and it is thanks to them that we have been able to identify him,” said Anthony Mualushay, an army spokesman. The army's statement coincided with the publication of a claim by Islamic State that it had carried out the attacks. It said they killed two people. It was not possible to independently verify the assertion, made through a verified IS-related Telegram channel.”

Voice Of America: Global Coalition Fears Islamic State Expansion In Africa

“Western powers are promising recent successes by the Islamic State across Africa will not go unanswered, backing plans for a task force to focus on the terror group’s spread from Iraq and Syria to the African continent. The announcement Monday following a meeting in Rome by the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS comes a day before the seventh anniversary of the terror group’s proclamation of its self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria, and two years since the caliphate’s territorial defeat in Syria. But despite constant pressure from the U.S. military and other coalition members, Western counterterrorism officials warn that IS, or Daesh as the group is also known, has found ways not just to survive but to spread, increasingly focusing the group’s propaganda on the exploits of its African affiliates. “We are fearing the expansion and spread of Daesh in Africa,” Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio told reporters Monday, citing what he described as a “cry for help” from communities in countries such as Niger and Mali. “We know that many villages have fallen in the hands of terrorists,” Di Maio said through an interpreter, adding the threat is pressing ever closer. “We're now seeing that a number of terrorist cells are proliferating in regions such as the Sahel, where obviously the main migration routes are present, the routes of those who come to Europe,” he said.”

United Kingdom

The Independent: Neo-Nazi Teenager Who Threatened To Attack Migrants In Dover Admits Terror Offences

“A teenage neo-Nazi who threatened to launch an attack on migrants in Dover has admitted terror offences. The 15-year-old, who cannot be named, discussed the potential attack in a far-right group he had created on the encrypted Telegram platform. In September, he wrote: “I am planning an attack against the Dover coast where every Muslim and refugee has been given safety. If you’re interested tell me now.” When another member asked what could be used in the attack, he listed potential weapons including Molotov cocktails and “metal bats”, while advising people to wear thick clothing that he claimed would protect against Tasers. The boy, from Derbyshire, pleaded guilty to encouraging terrorism, and to possessing and disseminating a terrorist publication, on the first day of his trial on Monday. Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard that he had a previous conviction for threatening to blow up a mosque on 20 January last year, in what chief magistrate Paul Goldspring said had been described to him as a “bomb hoax, a prank and a joke”. He was handed a referral order on 25 September 2020 after pleading guilty to an offence under the Malicious Communications Act. He appeared in court alongside a 16-year-old boy from southeast London, who was a member of the same online group and had written racial slurs, referring to people as “P***s.”

Sky News: Schoolboy Set Up Far-Right Chat Group And Encouraged Terrorist Attacks, Court Hears

“A 14-year-old schoolboy from Derbyshire set up a far-right chat group which encouraged fellow teenagers to launch terrorist attacks, a court has heard. The youth, who cannot be named because of his age, set up and managed the channel on messaging app Telegram. The channel was said to be of an extreme right-wing and “openly racist nature” and the youth boasted online that his criminal record would be cleared when he reached 18. He vetted like-minded individuals before allowing them entry to private chat groups where there was discussion about “doing something” against ethnic minorities and talk about weapons, prosecutors said. He downloaded a “leaderboard” of far-right killers and told members of one far-right group that he wanted to go down to his local skatepark and launch an attack. Now aged 15, the youth admitted at Westminster Youth Court one offence of encouragement of terrorism, one of dissemination of a terrorist publication and one offence of possessing information useful for terrorism. In one online boast, he claimed that he had been arrested three times and added: “Luckily my record will get clear when I'm 18.”

Germany

The Irish Times: Germany Grapples With Framing Of Extremist Attacks After Three Women Stabbed To Death

“A 24-year-old Somali-born man stabbed three women to death and injured seven more; a 42-year-old Kurdish man risked his own life to intervene and prevented much worse. Three months to election day, Germany’s tortured immigration debate is back on the political agenda as politicians and journalists grapple with how to frame a horrific kitchen-knife attack in the southern city of Würzburg. Police say their only suspect in Friday’s attack is a man who arrived in Germany six years ago and had been treated at a local psychiatric institution. On Friday evening he entered a discount store and stabbed three people with a knife. His victims were all women: a 24-year-old shopping for a dress for a friend’s wedding; a 49-year-old stabbed while protecting her daughter from the attacker; and an 82-year-old pensioner who tried to overpower the man. Identified locally as Abdirahman J, the suspect was born in Mogadishu in 1997 and applied for asylum in Germany in 2015. He remained in Germany with subsidiary protection status after his application was rejected. Investigators say the man, who was shot in the thigh and overpowered by police, has no known Islamist links.”

PRI: A New Documentary Tracks The Latest Rise In Far-Right, Neo-Nazism In Germany

“October 9, 2019. It's a date that many Jewish people in Germany cannot forget. Not even two years ago, a synagogue in the German city of Halle was attacked. It happened on the holiest day of the Jewish calender, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. One person reported seeing somebody dressed in military combat fatigues. That gunman tried to enter the synagogue. The door was locked. So instead, he shot two bystanders. The gunman, later identified as Stephan Balliet, was eventually jailed for life. This attempted massacre was a wake-up call that right-wing extremism is on the rise in Germany. “Right-wing extremism is the most vital threat that we face at the moment in the Federal Republic of Germany,” said Stephan Kramer, the intelligence chief in Thuringia state. “We have [about] 35,000 considered right-wing extremists across Germany; 13-14,000, roughly spoken, considered to be aggressive and violent. But the problem is, it’s like with an iceberg, you see just a small tip on the surface, and the rest is beneath,” he said. On June 29, PBS' FRONTLINE will broadcast a new film called “Germany's Neo-Nazis and the Far Right.”

Southeast Asia

The Straits Times: Singapore Supports Global Efforts To Ensure ISIS Enduring Defeat: Vivian Balakrishnan

“Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan on Monday (June 28) reaffirmed Singapore's support for global efforts to ensure the enduring defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), saying that while the terror group no longer controls territory, it continues to retain a diffused global presence and remains a threat. Speaking at a ministerial meeting of the 83-nation Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Rome, he emphasised that a robust security response is essential but not sufficient, and highlighted Singapore's efforts to counter terrorism through close community engagement and domestic security response preparedness. He also noted the establishment of the Counter-Terrorism Information Facility in Singapore this year, for like-minded countries to share intelligence and pool monitoring and analysis capabilities. “We will continue to work closely with the community and religious organisations to identify radicalised individuals,” he said in a speech. “We need to win hearts and minds of people around the world and around the region. We need trust and unity amongst different groups, and to eliminate misperceptions or prejudice wherever they arise.”

Technology

NBC News: YouTube Reinstates Channel Devoted To Exposing Conservative Extremism

“YouTube said Monday that it had reinstated a channel run by Right Wing Watch that cataloged some of the most extreme statements of prominent conservatives, hours after the Google-owned video platform had banned the channel for violating its rules. “Right Wing Watch's YouTube channel was mistakenly suspended, but upon further review, has now been reinstated,” the tech company said in a statement. It attributed the mistake to the large volume of videos on its site. YouTube automates much of the content moderation for the more than 500 hours of content that it says are uploaded every minute, and it said it tries to act quickly when a channel is mistakenly removed. Right Wing Watch is a project of People for the American Way, a liberal advocacy group founded in 1981 and based in Washington, D.C. The project had been posting video clips from politicians, preachers and other figures for more than 10 years on YouTube, carving out an audience of about 47,000 subscribers. Earlier Monday, Right Wing Watch said it had received a notice of a permanent ban related to rules violations in the video clips that it posts, which often show examples of alleged hate speech, conspiracy theories and other prohibited content.”