Eye on Extremism - October 31, 2019

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Eye on Extremism
October 31, 2019
RE: info@counterextremism.com

As of October 31, 2019:

U.S. News & World Report: Isis Remains Potent, Deadly Despite Baghdadi’s Death, Top Spy Says

“Killing the Islamic State group's founder and leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi will have little effect on preventing the terrorist network from conducting future attacks, the top U.S. official for counterterror operations said Wednesday. “There's no question that the losses over the weekend were significant to ISIS,” Russell Travers, acting director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told a congressional panel, using an alternative name for the Islamic State group. “At the same time, it's a deep bench.” Despite a consistent U.S.-led campaign to defeat the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria that effectively dismantled its so-called caliphate, the number of fighters in those countries aligned with the group has grown in the last five years from a low point of roughly 1,000 fighters, Travers told the House Homeland Security Committee. As many as 14,000 extremists remain there now, with roughly 2,000 in Syria from foreign countries. The Islamic State group maintains a network of roughly 20 affiliates around the globe, ranging in strength with some as few as hundreds of fighters. The affiliate in Afghanistan and Pakistan, known as ISIS-Khorasan, has thousands, Travers said. “The insurgency has a lot of options,” he added.”

The New York Times: ISIS Leader Paid Rival For Protection But Was Betrayed By His Own

“The Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was able to hide out in an unlikely part of Syria, the base of a rival group, because he was paying protection money to its members, according to receipts for the payments recovered by researchers. The receipts, typical of the Islamic State’s meticulous bookkeeping, showed that the group paid at least $67,000 to members of Hurras al Din, an unofficial affiliate of Al Qaeda and an enemy of the Islamic State. While the rival group kept Mr. al-Baghdadi’s secret, he was ultimately betrayed by a close confidant, two American officials said Wednesday, leading to his death in an American Special Forces raid last weekend. Other new details about the raid emerged on Wednesday, including that American forces recovered a number of laptops and cellphones from Mr. al-Baghdadi’s compound, and that, according to the Pentagon, six other people were killed in the compound, aside from Mr. al-Baghdadi and the two children he took with him when he detonated a suicide vest. Mr. al-Baghdadi spent his last months in an isolated villa in Barisha, a village in a part of Idlib Province dominated by rival jihadist groups and hundreds of miles from the Islamic State’s former territory along the border between Syria and Iraq.”

Voice Of America: IS Promises Big Announcement As US Braces For Revenge

“One of the Islamic State terror group's media divisions is promising supporters that a major announcement is on the way — the first of its kind since the death of its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in a U.S. raid on Sunday. IS's Al-Furqan Foundation started promoting the announcement at midday Wednesday. “Coming Soon ... By the Willingness of Allah the Almighty,” the announcement said, without sharing details. The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist communications, said supporters quickly began distributing the poster on social media platforms, with some expressing hope that Baghdadi was still alive while others were preparing to celebrate his martyrdom. IS official media operatives have been issuing their usual news updates on operations in Syria, Iraq and around the world, but they have been silent so far about the fate of Baghdadi, who was killed by U.S. special forces in a raid on a compound in Barisha in Syria's Idlib province. U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed Baghdadi's death in a White House speech the same day. U.S. officials also confirmed the death of IS spokesman Abu Hassan al-Muhajir in a follow-on operation a day later in Jarablus, near Syria's border with Turkey.”

The Wall Street Journal: U.S., Gulf Nations Sanction Iranian Financial Network In Joint Action

“Saudi Arabia, Qatar and four other Gulf nations joined the U.S. in imposing sanctions on a financing network controlled by Iran’s military and several men linked to the Tehran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah. Top U.S. Treasury Department officials said the action is the largest ever by the Riyadh-based Terrorist Financing Targeting Center, whose membership also includes the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait. The action is viewed by U.S. officials as a strategically important regional collaboration in the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign effort against Iran, as well as a milestone in regional governments cracking down on local terror networks. The move is likely to also reassure Israel after President Trump’s decision to pull U.S. troops out of northern Syria rattled the close U.S. ally over concerns that the pullback was a gain for Iran.”

VOA: White Supremacy Thriving Online, Despite Prevention Efforts

“As major tech companies step up efforts to curb extremist content on their platforms, far-right white extremists continue to find ways to spread violent messages and attract sympathizers on the internet. Josh Lipowsky, a senior researcher with the New York-based Counter Extremism Project, told VOA that more pressure is also needed on fringe sites to make sure they meet their responsibility of thwarting supremacist propaganda on their platforms. Lipowsky said “restricting this type of rhetoric is not limiting freedom of speech under the First Amendment. We are talking about private businesses that provide services. They are well within their rights to set limits on how their services are used to avoid abuse of their platforms.” He added that governments should step in to address these issues to “ensure across-the-board compliance in the interest of public safety and security.”

WTOP: The Hunt: Spy Who Exposed Baghdadi Had A Difficult Challenge

“The successful raid that killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was greatly assisted by a well-placed informant who facilitated the terrorist leader’s movements around Syria and even helped oversee construction work on his Syrian safe house. Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, discusses the difficult and dangerous role played by the spy within ISIS.”

United States

The Wall Street Journal: Twitter To Ban Political Ads

“Twitter Inc. is banning political advertising, taking the opposite position of rival Facebook Inc. on an issue that is riling campaigns and prompting social-media companies to rethink how to deal with the spread of potentially false and misleading information on their platforms. The decision, announced in a series of tweets Wednesday from Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey, reverberated to political campaign staffers, digital media buyers and even President Trump. The timing of Mr. Dorsey’s announcement—minutes before Facebook posted its quarterly results—highlighted the two companies’ diverging positions on what has become a thorny topic for the industry. Facebook has been roiled in recent weeks by lawmakers and its employees calling for changes in how the world’s largest social network company handles political advertising.”

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Says It Destroyed Baghdadi Compound To Prevent Shrine To Terror Leader

“U.S. military special operations forces destroyed the compound where a raid last weekend led to the death of Islamic State founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to assure that the site didn’t become a shrine to the extremist leader, a top commander said Wednesday. Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon for the first time since the weekend raid in northwestern Syria, Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. forces in the Middle East, released a series of videos showing the launch of the raid and the subsequent destruction of the compound in a giant cloud of smoke and debris. Adding new details about the raid, Gen. McKenzie said Baghdadi apparently tried to shoot at the U.S. forces closing in on the tunnel where he hid with two children believed under the age of 12 years, before detonating a suicide vest. Earlier, President Trump and other U.S. officials said there were three children in the tunnel with Baghdadi. It wasn’t known whether the two children were related to him, defense officials said.”

Fox News: US Rebukes Germany For Refusal To Say Iran's Threat To Destroy Israel Is Anti-Semitic

“Threats by Iran to obliterate Israel have been played down by Germany, prompting the Trump administration’s highest-profile ambassador to criticize Chancellor Angela Merkel government’s attitude towards Tehran. “Threatening the destruction of Israel is something that should not be dismissed, especially when the threats come from Iranian regime officials who regularly use terrorism as a weapon of intimidation. When someone shows you who they are, believe them,” Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, told Fox News Tuesday. Mojtaba Zonnour, chairman of National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in Iran’s Majlis legislature, said in October: “If Israel or America make a mistake, Israel won’t live for longer than 20 or 30 minutes.”

Reuters: EXCLUSIVE-U.S. To Renew Waivers Allowing Non-Proliferation Work With Iran -Sources

“The United States plans to allow Russian, Chinese and European companies to continue work at Iranian nuclear facilities to make it harder for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The Trump administration, which last year pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and re-imposed sanctions on Iran, will let the work go forward by issuing waivers to sanctions that bar non-U.S. firms from dealing with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said the sources on condition of anonymity. While the waivers’ renewal would allow non-proliferation work to continue at the Arak heavy water research reactor and the Fordow fuel enrichment plant, which AEOI oversees, it may also signal that Washington is leaving the door open to diplomacy.”

The Washington Post: FBI Director: Some Domestic Terrorism Suspects Travel Overseas For Training

“FBI Director Christopher A. Wray told Congress on Wednesday that American neo-Nazis seem increasingly to be communicating with like-minded violent racists overseas, but he cautioned that those links so far appear more about inspiration than organization. At a House Homeland Security Committee hearing, the FBI director was pressed repeatedly to explain trends among domestic terrorism suspects, and what the FBI is doing to combat such threats. Wray said the number of such cases has not changed dramatically in recent months but noted that senior U.S. officials have discussed how some suspects are in touch with, or in some cases traveling overseas to join, like-minded groups. Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) said he was concerned about domestic terrorists traveling to Ukraine for training “and coming back to do God knows what.” Ukraine has a number of paramilitary groups that have drawn the attention of American extremists, according to U.S. counterterrorism experts. Wray responded: “I think you’re onto a trend that we’re watching very carefully. . . . We are starting to see racially motivated violent extremists connecting with like-minded individuals online certainly, and in some instances, we have seen people travel overseas to train.”

NBC News: ISIS Victim Kayla Mueller's Parents On Al-Baghdadi: We're Glad That The 'Evil Person Is Gone'

“The parents of Kayla Mueller, an aid worker kidnapped by the Islamic State militant group in Syria who died in captivity at age 26 in 2015, said of the U.S. raid that killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi that they are glad the “evil person is gone.” Carl and Marsha Mueller spoke to “Today” in an exclusive interview Wednesday with Savannah Guthrie. The United States named the military operation that killed al-Baghdadi after Mueller, who was abducted after leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria, in 2013. The native of Prescott, Arizona, was held in captivity for 18 months, including a period in which she was reportedly raped and forcibly married to ISIS leader al-Baghdadi. She was killed in 2015. U.S. officials attempted to rescue Mueller and other ISIS hostages in 2014 to no avail. Mueller’s family learned their daughter was killed in February 2015, but the circumstances surrounding her death have remained unclear. Mueller’s parents spoke directly with President Donald Trump after al-Baghdadi's death was announced, pressing the president to help them get more information about their daughter, including where she is buried, they said.”

The Washington Times: Why U.S. World Leadership Is Needed To Stop Terrorism

“The nation and the world welcomed President Donald Trump’s Oct. 27 announcement that ISIS leader Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed by the U.S. military at his hideout in Northwest Syria. Our gratitude goes out to the military, the intelligence community, State Department and law enforcement for its coordinated effort to kill al-Baghdadi and destroy ISIS. This operation was reminiscent of the successful operation in 2011 that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of an al Qaeda organization that conducted terrorist attacks around the world. These successful operations speak to unrelenting U.S. international leadership in countering all forms of international terrorism, whether it’s ISIS, al Qaeda or another extremist group in the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia or Southeast Asia. The U.S. initiative in 2014 to establish the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, with 81 members, permits the U.S. and these member states and organizations to share information and strategize on efforts to counter all forms of violent extremism. There’s more work to be done by the United States and the Global Coalition, mindful of the hate and brutality of these extremist groups.”

Syria

The New York Times: Hundreds Of U.S. Troops Leaving, And Also Arriving In, Syria

“Every day in northeastern Syria, waves of American troops are pulling out under President Trump’s order this month that paved the way for a Turkish offensive that included assaults on the Pentagon’s allies, the Syrian Kurds. And at the same time, a separate wave of American troops from the opposite direction is pouring back in. In fact, once the comings and goings are done, the total number of United States forces in Syria is expected to be about 900 — close to the 1,000 troops on the ground when Mr. Trump ordered the withdrawal of American forces from the country. “It’s damage control,” said Alexander Bick, a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, who oversaw Syria issues at the National Security Council in the Obama administration. “But the damage is already done in terms of partners’ alarm at the capriciousness of U.S. policymaking, a strategic reshuffle along the Turkish border and the overwhelming sense that the United States is on its way out.”

CNN: Pentagon Releases First Images From Raid That Killed ISIS Leader

“The Pentagon released newly declassified video and images Wednesday of the daring, two hour raid targeting ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi that shows US forces taking small arms fire from multiple locations as their helicopters approached the compound. Video from an overhead drone also shows the commandos approaching Baghdadi's compound and aerial strikes carried out by US F-15 fighter jets and MQ-9 Reaper Drones to blow up the site once it was cleared. The commander of US Central Command, Gen. Frank McKenzie, said the DNA used to confirm Baghdadi's identity was from samples collected during his previous detention at Camp Bucca in Iraq. McKenzie told reporters that he could not confirm that Baghdadi was “whimpering and crying” in his final moments as President Donald Trump claimed in his televised address on Sunday. However, McKenzie added the terror leader “crawled into a hole with two small children and blew himself up while his people stayed on the ground. So you can deduce what type of person that is based on that activity.” McKenzie also revealed that Baghdadi may have shot at US forces from the hole.”

Reuters: After Baghdadi Death, Nobel Laureate Nadia Murad Asks: What About The Rest?

“The fight for justice for victims of Islamic State militants does not end with the death of leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Nobel laureate Nadia Murad said on Wednesday, asking: “How about those that raped us?” Murad, who won the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, is an Iraqi Yazidi woman who was enslaved and raped by Islamic State (ISIS)fighters in Mosul, Iraq, in 2014. Several of her brothers were killed by Islamic State and their wives also held captive. Since 2010, Baghdadi led the jihadist group. U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that Baghdadi killed himself by detonating a suicide vest after fleeing into a dead-end tunnel during a raid by U.S. special forces in northwest Syria. “At first I talked to my sisters-in-law,” Murad told reporters at the United Nations. “Everyone was saying: ‘OK, but this is just Baghdadi, how about all these ISIS?’” “How about those that raped us? They sold us, they still have our girls, they still have our children - about 300,000 Yazidis still missing, we don’t know anything about them,” she said.”

The Wall Street Journal: After Baghdadi, Terrorism Without Ideology

“Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead, a few weeks after Europe was racked by four separate incidents classified as terrorism: a truck-ramming in Limburg, Germany; a series of stabbings at a police station in Paris; a shooting at a synagogue in Halle, Germany; and another set of stabbings at a shopping mall in Manchester, England. While the investigations are still under way, at this stage it doesn’t appear that any of these attacks had any structured link to a terrorist group like Baghdadi’s Islamic State. Most of the perpetrators displayed some awareness of an extremist ideology, but we don’t know that any of them were directed to do what they did. What relevance does the death of Baghdadi have to any of these attackers, or to the terror threat at large? There is little historical evidence that decapitating terrorist groups destroys them. Leaders have networks around them built on personal contacts, and their deaths change those dynamics. Some particularly charismatic leaders drive groups forward by force of personality or personal narrative. Their removal can weaken the aura around their organizations, but it can’t promise eradication.”

France 24: New IS Leader Could Replace Baghdadi In Weeks: US Official

“The Islamic State group's leadership has a “deep bench” and a replacement for deceased chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi could surface within weeks, the US government's top counter-terrorism expert said Wednesday. Acting Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Russ Travers did not predict which IS figure would take over after Baghdadi, cornered in a weekend US military raid, killed himself in a Syria. But he said the group has a number of people who could take the helm, with the ability to command some 14,000 fighters who have dispersed across Syria and Iraq. “There's no question that the losses over the weekend were significant to ISIS,” Travers told the House Homeland Security Committee, referring to Baghdadi's death as well to the killing of IS spokesman Abu Hassan al-Muhajir. “At the same time, it's a deep bench,” he said. “The United States and the coalition overall has had tremendous success in eliminating leadership over the years in both Al-Qaeda and ISIS. And yet the bench tends to rise to the top.” “My guess it that... somewhere between a couple of days and a couple of weeks, we will see a new leader of the (caliphate) announced.”

NBC News: The Islamic State Spy Who Betrayed Al-Baghdadi Was An Insider Motivated By Revenge

“ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was betrayed by a member of his inner circle who helped lead American troops to his compound in Northern Syria. The commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Gen. Mazloum Abdi, gave NBC News a detailed account of how he spent months running a spy inside ISIS who followed al-Baghdadi as he moved from one safehouse to another, until he was finally trapped in a tunnel beneath one of them. Abdi did not identify the source, but Kurdish intelligence officials described him as an Arab who had many relatives in ISIS. Abdi said the informant’s main motivation was revenge. “I think he was under a lot of pressure from his family,” the general said. “His relatives were subjected to harsh treatment by ISIS and he no longer believed in the future of ISIS. He wanted to take revenge on ISIS and al-Baghdadi himself.”

NBC News: Another Al-Baghdadi-Style Raid On ISIS Militants Could Soon Become Mission Impossible

“The U.S. special operations raid that killed the Islamic State militant group’s top terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Saturday was almost perfect. The military, the intelligence agencies, the American allies and Trump administration officials all deserve credit for this success, as well as the drone strike Monday that killed ISIS spokesman Abu Hassan al-Muhajir. But the Trump administration’s recent actions could make the al-Baghdadi raid one of the last of its kind for many years. ISIS and other terrorist groups adapt quickly, and will start looking for safe havens that are impossible for U.S. special operations teams and drones to access. For more than a decade, until June 2019, I represented the Department of Homeland Security in interagency discussions that led to numerous successes — and some failures — against ISIS, al Qaeda and other terrorists at home and overseas. Over those years, we learned what it takes to defeat groups such as ISIS, and our success is based on two crucial factors that President Donald Trump’s recent decisions put at risk. First, we are running out of territory on which our military can carry out lethal ground operations. ISIS still has an underground presence in the area of northeast Syria from which Trump abruptly withdrew U.S. forces Oct. 6.”

Iran

The Washington Post: Frozen In Time, US Embassy A Monument To Iran Hostage Crisis

“The U.S. Embassy in Tehran remains frozen in 1979 as the 40th anniversary of the Iran hostage crisis approaches, a time capsule of revolutionary graffiti, Underwood typewriters and rotary telephones. The diplomatic compound was overrun by students angered when Washington allowed ousted Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi into the U.S. for medical treatment. What initially began as a sit-in devolved into 444 days of captivity for 52 Americans seized in the embassy. Today, the embassy remains held by the Basij, a volunteer wing of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, partly as a museum and a space for student groups.”

Reuters: Pointing To Iraq, Lebanon, Khamenei Recalls How Iran Put Down Unrest

“Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday accused the United States and Saudi Arabia of stoking unrest in Lebanon and Iraq, saying Tehran understood the situation in those countries because it had had to suppress similar foreign interference at home. “The U.S. and Western intelligence services, with the financial backing of reactionary countries in the region, are spreading turmoil,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted by his official website as telling graduating army cadets. Khamenei urged protesters to seek changes in a lawful way in Iraq and Lebanon, where Iran has powerful allies among Shi’ite Muslim government factions. In an apparent warning, Khamenei praised Iran’s crackdown against street protests at home in 2018.”

Radio Farda: Iran's Role In Violence Against Protesters In Iraq And Lebanon

“Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Wednesday said the protests in Iraq and Lebanon were financed by Gulf Arab countries, with petrodollars and organized by “intelligence services”. In a speech, Khamenei conceded that the demands of the protesters “are just”, but these should be addressed “within legal frameworks”. The popular protest movements in Iran and Lebanon have worried Iran’s leaders for the past month, as Iran regards governments in both countries to be under its influence and does not want to see any major change. Iranian officials and government-controlled media have been baling the protests on foreign machinations, mainly the United States and Saudi Arabia. This is a typical response by the Islamic Republic, which made the same allegation during rounds of protests in Iran in 2009 and then in 2017-2018. The Associated Press reports that immediately after the anti-government protests erupted in Iraq, the notorious commander of Iran’s Qods (Quds) force, Qassem Soleimani flew to Baghdad and chaired a meeting of Iraqi security officials. He told them that Iran knows how to put down protests, according to two senior officials who spoke with AP.”

Iraq

Al Jazeera: Iraq: Rockets Hit Baghdad's Green Zone, Killing One Soldier

“Rockets slammed into the Iraqi capital's heavily fortified Green Zone and killed a member of the security forces, the military said. Witnesses reported seeing projectiles flying towards the Green Zone, which houses Iraq's government buildings and foreign embassies, and blasts were heard coming from the area on Wednesday. Security officials said one of the Katyusha rockets landed about 100 metres (110 yards) away from the perimeter of the United States embassy, triggering alert sirens. Earlier this week, three rockets struck a large military base north of Baghdad that houses US and Iraqi forces. No casualties were reported from that attack.”

The New York Times: Iraq Prime Minister Pressed To Quit As Protests Clog Street

“Under pressure from a growing number of protesters, Iraq’s prime minister appeared likely Wednesday to step down in the coming days, although exactly when is the subject of negotiations between two powerful Shiite Muslim leaders. In a letter to one of the men, the cleric Moktada al-Sadr, Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said he would be willing to resign and call early elections. But Mr. Mahdi insisted that it be done according to the procedures in the Constitution. “It is not enough for the prime minister to go to Parliament to announce early elections,” Mr. Mahdi wrote on Tuesday, saying that there were constitutional requirements “that the prime minister must abide by.”

Turkey

Washington Examiner: Turkey Claims Arrests Of Over 100 People Tied To ISIS

“Turkish authorities claim that over 100 people linked to the Islamic State have been apprehended in sweeping raids across the country. Police Chief Mehmet Aktas said Wednesday that 26 raids took place across 21 different Turkish provinces, netting dozens of people with ties to the terrorist organization, according to the Associated Press. ISIS was allegedly planning a possible attack to coincide with Tuesday’s 96th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic. On Monday, police also arrested 20 foreign nationals suspected of ISIS ties during a sweep in the Turkish capital of Ankara. The country has stepped up security precautions after the U.S. raid that resulted in the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi over the weekend. U.S. special operations forces targeted the radical cleric Saturday night in an undisclosed location in Idlib province of Syria, where he had been under surveillance for weeks. The U.S. also killed ISIS spokesman Abu Hassan al Muhajir in an airstrike just hours later.”

The New Republic: What Did Turkey Know About Baghdadi’s Hideout?

“The death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi last weekend set spy services to public bragging: CIA officials told The New York Times that the discovery of the ISIS leader’s location came after the arrest and interrogation of one of his wives and a courier this summer. Kurdish leaders, who said back in April that Baghdadi was in Idlib, told The Washington Post they had provided intelligence for the operation. Iraq’s national intelligence service also boasted of giving Baghdadi’s location to the Americans after “constant monitoring and the formation of a specialised task force over an entire year.” But the Turkish National Intelligence Office (MIT)—the country’s closest equivalent to the CIA—isn’t among those taking credit for tracking down Baghdadi, who was killed Saturday in a U.S. Special Forces raid in northern Syria. This, despite the fact that Baghdadi was living just three and a half miles from the Turkish border, in an area controlled by the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army. Baghdadi’s death thus exposes an enduring and under-appreciated reality of geopolitics in the Middle East: The Islamic State has always had a peculiar—which is to say, not exclusively hostile—relationship with Turkey.”

Afghanistan

CNN: US Ramped Up Strikes In Afghanistan Following Collapse Of Taliban Peace Talks

“The US military ramped up the number of air and artillery strikes it conducted in Afghanistan during the month of September following the collapse of the peace talks with the Taliban after President Donald Trump canceled a Camp David summit with the insurgent group on September 7. US troops carried out 1,113 air and artillery strikes during the month of September, according to statistics released by the US military compared to 810 such strikes in August and just 465 strikes in September of 2018. “We had peace talks scheduled a few days ago. I called them off when I learned that they had killed a great American soldier from Puerto Rico and 11 other innocent people. They thought they would use this attack to show strength. But actually, what they showed is unrelenting weakness. The last four days, we have hit our enemy harder than they have ever been hit before, and that will continue,” Trump vowed at a Pentagon ceremony marking the anniversary of the September 11th attacks. In that four-day period referenced by Trump the US conducted some 153 strikes between September 8 and September 11, according to the data. “U.S. forces do not purport that strikes are decisive; however, we may occasionally talk about this information to provide context.”

Voice Of America: Taliban Attacks Getting More Effective, SIGAR Says

“Attacks carried out by Taliban and other insurgent groups in Afghanistan were twice as effective in the third quarter of 2019 than they were earlier in the year, according to a leading oversight authority on Afghanistan that reports to the United States Congress.” Roughly half of the 3,495 EIA (enemy initiated attacks) this quarter (49% from June 1 to August 31) were considered “effective” enemy-initiated attacks (EEIA) that resulted in ANDSF, Coalition, or civilian casualties. Enemy attacks have been more effective this quarter than they were during the preceding months of this year (42% effective from January-May 2019),” according to the latest quarterly report presented to the Congress Thursday by the U.S. Special Inspector General on Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). In addition, the report said, the number of attacks on Afghan government or coalition forces also increased compared to last summer. “RS (Resolute Support, the NATO mission) reported 7,183 EIA (enemy initiated attacks) this quarter (June 1-August 31, 2019), with most attacks occurring in the south, west and northwest of the country,” the SIGAR report said.”

Xinhua: Afghan Air Raids Kill 6 Insurgents In N. Afghanistan

“At least six militants were killed as fighting aircrafts pounded a Taliban hideout in Darqad district of Afghanistan's northern Takhar province on Wednesday, provincial governor's Spokesman Mohammad Jawad Hajari said Thursday. Five more militants sustained injuries due to the airstrikes, the official said. No security personnel or civilians had been hurt during the raids, the official added. Taliban militants who have lost grounds in parts of the relatively Takhar province with Taluqan as its capital 245 km north of Kabul have not made comments on the reports yet.”

Pakistan

CNN: 70 Dead After Gas Cylinder Explosion Sparks Fire On Pakistan Train

“At least 70 people have died after a gas canister exploded in a train in Pakistan, authorities said. The train was passing through the Punjab city of Rahim Yar Khan on Thursday morning when the cylinder exploded, causing a fire which spread through the train, according to local police officer Amir Taimoor. Seventy people are dead and another 30 are injured, said Nadeem Zia, the medical supervisor of District Headquarters Hospital in Liaquatpur, a city in Rahim Yar Khan district. Earlier, Taimoor said that around a dozen people are critically injured. Army troops, paramedics, and an army aviation helicopter are currently on site. Although gas cylinders are banned on trains, passengers were using gas-powered cookers to prepare breakfast inside the train carriage when the explosion occurred, Taimoor added. He added that many of the people on board the train were heading to a protest in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) from Rahim Yar Khan.”

Xinhua: Blasts Claim 14 Lives, Wound 22 In Afghanistan Within 24 Hours

“At least 14 people including four civilians have been killed and 22 civilians wounded in bomb blasts in the insurgency-battered Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, officials said on Wednesday. In the latest explosion, a motorbike went off in Spin Boldak district of the southern Kandahar province on Wednesday afternoon, wounding seven civilians, provincial police spokesman Jamal Barikzai said. According to the spokesman, anti-government militants placed an explosive device in a motorbike and detonated it in front of a hotel in the bazaar of Spin Boldak district at 1:11 p.m. local time, wounding seven civilians, some in critical condition. Similarly, an explosive-laden car drove by a militant in Mardyan district of the northern Jawzjan province on Tuesday evening exploded prematurely, killing 11 people including 10 militants and a civilian and wounding 12 civilians, provincial police chief Abdul Wahid Wajdan said Wednesday. A mine planted by militants on a road in Mizan district of the southern Zabul province struck a car, killing three civilians and wounding three others on Tuesday evening, a statement of provincial police said Wednesday.”

Yemen

Xinhua: Spotlight: UAE Continues Anti-Terror Fight In Yemen After Military Pullout

“Forces of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) completed their military pullout from Yemen's southern port city of Aden following five years of participation in the fighting against the Iran-allied Houthi rebels. The General Command of the UAE Armed Forces said in a statement that the UAE troops have achieved their goal of “liberating the region” and the responsibility for maintaining security has been transferred to Yemeni and Saudi Arabian troops. “The forces armed and trained the Yemeni forces in a way that would enable them to discharge their military responsibilities independently,” the military said. But the UAE, an active member of the Saudi-led Arab coalition, said it would continue to fight terror groups in the impoverished Arab country during the upcoming period. UAE's military withdrawal from Aden came in the wake of a deal to end the power struggle between the Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council (STC). Saudi Arabia that leads the anti-Houthi military campaign increased its military presence and deployed heavy forces backed by armored vehicles across Aden after the withdrawal of the UAE forces.”

Lebanon

Los Angeles Times: Hezbollah’s Road To Power In Lebanon Just Got A Lot Harder

“The resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri was a victory for anti-government protesters flooding the country’s streets by the millions. It also was a wake-up call for Hezbollah, the Shiite Muslim organization that wields substantial power in the region and is regarded as a terrorist organization by the United States. The group, which is aligned with Iran and is considered a dangerous foe by Israel, cemented its political clout in elections last year. It has wielded that power in a coalition government to maintain the arsenal of weapons it says it needs to fight Israel and protect its people. Yet the protests that drove out Hariri on Tuesday present a challenge to Hezbollah. On the one hand, it would seem to have common cause with the demonstrators, who are demanding an end to government corruption. Decaying infrastructure, intermittent electricity and water, little work and high prices all contributed to some of the largest demonstrations Lebanon has ever seen. Hezbollah also has railed against corruption, and has a reputation in Lebanon for being relatively untainted by it. At the same time, the organization has become a pillar and protector of the political establishment, the target of the protesters’ ire.”

France 24: US, Gulf Allies Sanction Hezbollah-Iran Network

“The United States and six Gulf allies announced sanctions Wednesday on 25 entities associated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Lebanon's Hezbollah, in a move to tighten controls on both group's finances. The sanctions were set by Riyadh-based Terrorist Financing Targeting Center, a two-year-old group that includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in addition to the United States. They targeted companies supporting the Basij Resistance Force, a subordinate group of the Revolutionary Guard, that the Treasury said are used “to oppress domestic opposition with brutal displays of violence” and supply fighters to regional conflicts. Among the 25 was Iranian Bank Mellat and mining, manufacturing and investment firms that allegedly support the Basij. Four of those listed were individuals running Hezbollah's operations in Iraq, the Treasury said. All 25 have previously been named in US Treasury sanctions announced in 2018. “The TFTC's coordinated disruption of the financial networks used by the Iranian regime to fund terrorism is a powerful demonstration of Gulf unity,” said US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a statement.”

Middle East

The Wall Street Journal: Popular Protests Rattle Arab Leaders

“Waves of sustained protests have shaken entrenched Arab rulers from Algeria to Iraq, injecting a new sense of euphoria among activists across the region as more leaders succumb to demands for change. United in their calls to end corruption and kleptocracy, demonstrators are fueling a new era of unrest that has defied violent crackdowns and politicians’ appeals to stay home. They are using lessons from the Arab Spring, maintaining a focus on reforms and trying to avoid the pitfalls that turned hopeful uprisings in Syria, Libya and Yemen into civil wars. “What we are witnessing in the Arab world right now is a continuation of the Arab Spring of 2011,” said Lina Khatib, head of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House, an independent think tank in London. “What unites the popular protests all over the region is that people have broken the wall of fear.”

The Arab Weekly: Qatar Invests Millions In US Lobbying, But PR Problems Remain

“More than two years after Qatar was boycotted by its Arab neighbours for its alleged support for extremism, the tiny Gulf state is spending millions to repair its image in Washington, only to see new perception issues crop up. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Qatar has allocated at least $24 million in US PR and lobbying since 2017. Qatar’s PR and lobbying budgets went to fighting legislation that would single it out for its ties to designated terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah and also to evade measures assailing the credibility of Doha’s state-financed broadcaster, Al Jazeera. The beleaguered emirate has had mixed success at best in reshaping its image, sometimes convincing lawmakers to water down critical laws and resolutions, but ironically drawing increased scrutiny in the US at its close relationship with America’s arch-foe Iran and for what Jewish advocacy groups say is blatant state-sponsored anti-semitism.”

FP: U.S. Deterrence In The Middle East Is Collapsing

“As welcome as was the U.S. raid that lead to the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi over the weekend, it can’t erase the damage done to U.S. interests in the Middle East over the past few months. Whatever explanations U.S. President Donald Trump and his supporters put forward to justify his impulsive decision to withdraw U.S. forces from northeastern Syria earlier this month, the searing images that followed told a far different tale. U.S. soldiers in chaotic retreat. Wartime allies abandoned. Hard-won battlefield gains surrendered to some of America’s most dangerous adversaries. And all to avoid confronting the threats of a viscerally anti-American Turkish authoritarian whose economy and military could be devastated by decisions made in Washington. Rightly or wrongly, both friends and foes of the United States have rapidly been reaching the conclusion that Trump, despite all his bluster and chest thumping, has no stomach for a sustained fight. Baghdadi’s death may mitigate, but does not reverse, the spreading perception that U.S. deterrence in the Middle East is collapsing.”

Xinhua: Kuwait Lists 21 Entities, 4 Individuals As Terrorist Elements

“The Kuwaiti authorities listed 21 entities and four individuals as terrorist elements, the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported Wednesday. The decision was made by an anti-terrorism committee of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs, KUNA said. The listing came as part of Kuwait's efforts to combat terrorism and dry up its resources, according to a ministry statement. The move also aims to “implement relevant security council resolutions under the UN Chapter VII concerning the combat of terrorism and barring proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” the statement said.”

Africa

Reuters: Twelve Niger Soldiers Killed In Probable Boko Haram Attack: Ministry

“Twelve soldiers in southeastern Niger were killed and eight wounded in an overnight attack by gunmen likely belonging to Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram, the defense ministry said on Wednesday. Boko Haram has been fighting for a decade to carve an Islamist caliphate out of northeast Nigeria, and has carried out regular raids over loosely guarded borders into neighboring Chad, Niger and Cameroon. On the night of Oct. 29-30, an army position in Diffa region was “attacked by unidentified armed persons very probably belonging to the terrorist group Boko Haram,” the ministry said in a radio statement.”

Xinhua: Two Terror Suspects Killed As Al-Shabab Raid Kenyan Police Camp

“Al-Shabab militants killed two of their accomplices who had been detained by Kenyan security officers when they raided a police camp in Wajir County near the border with Somalia on Tuesday evening. Northeastern regional police commander Paul Soi confirmed the incident on Wednesday, saying three police officers were injured during the gunfight with the extremist group suspected to have crossed from Somalia. Soi said there were plans to transfer the suspects to another station before the militants stormed the Dadajabula police station. The police and witnesses said it was raining heavily at the time of the raid, forcing the police officers on duty to take cover, giving way for the attackers to raid the station at around 8 pm. “It seems they were high-value suspects. They were pulled from the cells and killed,” said a local official who did not want to be named. He said the raid was about rescuing two al-Shabab suspects the police detained at the station. The station is about 13 kilometers from the Kenya-Somalia border. The border is porous that could allow in terrorists freely.”

United Kingdom

BBC News: Manchester Terror Arrests After Suspicious Items Found In Car

“Two men have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences after police stopped a Range Rover in a city centre. The pair were detained on Deansgate in Manchester following reports of two men acting suspiciously on Chapel Street in Salford at 14:30 GMT. Suspicious items were discovered inside the car and a precautionary cordon was placed around it, police said. The men are being held on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. Police said the items had been examined by bomb disposal officers at the scene, who confirmed they “represent no danger to the public”. There is no evidence to suggest any threat to the public and detectives are keeping an open mind as to the nature of the incident, Greater Manchester Police said. Deansgate was closed from Chester Road roundabout but it has since reopened.”

Germany

Deutsche Welle: Germany Announces Plans To Combat Far-Right Extremism And Online Hate Speech

“Tightening of gun laws, more protection for political figures at all levels and an obligation to report online criminal content for social media networks such as Facebook, Youtube and Twitter: those were just some of the measures announced by the German government on Wednesday as part of a new strategy which aims to combat far-right extremism and hate speech on the internet. For more than a year, Germany's Interior and Justice Ministries have wrangled over the new bill, but recent far-right extremist violence in Germany resulted in the German Cabinet upping the tempo and hashing out a new packet months earlier than planned. In June, pro-refugee regional official Walter Lübcke was gunned down at his home in central Germany by a right-wing extremist. Just three weeks ago, a heavily armed man killed two people after trying and failing to carry out a mass shooting in the local synagogue in the eastern city of Halle. Investigations into the suspect of the Halle attack have found that 27-year-old Stephan B. had often visited websites which circulated anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.”

Europe

CNN: Europe Never Really Dealt With Its ISIS Fighters. A Reckoning Is Coming

“They are good at dismay, the Europeans. Their cheek-clutching horror at US President Donald Trump's abandonment of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was worthy of Munch's “The Scream.” But to have reacted with surprise at this much-telegraphed decision reveals a staggering level of naivety. Worse still, their failure to anticipate the behavior of America's mercurial President reveals both cowardice and stupidity -- not among the tiny number of special forces from the United Kingdom, France, Denmark and elsewhere, who were sent to help with the defeat of ISIS, of course. But certainly among the leaders of wealthy western nations that have the greatest strategic interest in what happens in the Middle East. Trump may lack historical insight, or even much respect for the advice that top level American advisers and scholars can offer when it comes to Syria. It's hardly surprising that the President repeatedly singles out France, Germany and the UK for failing to address the issue of returning ISIS fighters, or their families, who languish in northern Syrian camps, fomenting jihadist rage in the pressure cookers of social discontent. Last year, Trump announced he wanted out of Syria. His defense secretary resigned over the decision.”

Middle East Online: Qatar’s Exemption From Schengen Visa Carries ‘Security Risk’

“The decision to exempt Qataris from Schengen visa raised serious suspicions over Qatar's relationship with leading Muslim Brotherhood activists and the support it provides to radical Islamist organisations. It alleged that the tiny Gulf emirate harboured terrorists and was a funder of extremist groups. “Qatar has a long history of providing support for extremism and terrorism, including but not limited to vast financial and material support to internationally designated terrorist groups and willing accommodation of internationally designated or wanted terrorist leaders and financiers,” Counter Extremism Project CEO Mark Wallace wrote in a letter sent to several companies worldwide. Wallace accused Doha of offering financial support, either directly or indirectly, to Hamas, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Taliban.”

Daily Mail: Thousands Of Inmates Set To Be Freed From European Prisons At The End Of Their Terms May Have Been Radicalised As Islamist Militants While In Jail, EU Security Chief Warns

“Thousands of inmates who are soon to be freed from European prisons may have been radicalised while in jail, the EU's security chief warned today. Julian King said there were 'thousands of such individuals' who were coming to the end of their prison terms. Around 1,100 people are being held on terrorism charges, King said, while others who were jailed for unrelated crimes may also have been radicalised. Returning fighters from Syria are also a concern, the commissioner told a news conference today. Security forces in Europe have arrested hundreds of militants amid a wave of deadly attacks since 2015. 'The jihadi threat has not gone away. There is no way we can lower our guard,' King said on Wednesday. 'We face a challenge from those who have been prosecuted and locked up in prison for terrorist offences over recent years coming to the end of their term and being released. 'There are some thousands of such individuals in our prisons across Europe.' In addition, around 500 European fighters were detained in Syria after ISIS lost its last patch of territory earlier this year, he said. He added that up to 1,400 children with at least one EU parent were also in Syria, of whom half are in prison.”

Southeast Asia

Asia Times: ISIS Fading In Mid East, Thriving In The Philippines

“While Islamic State’s (ISIS) fate hangs in the balance after the recent assassination of its leader in Syria, the terrorist group is still alive and well in the Philippines. Two years after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared the liberation of Marawi City from ISIS-aligned militants, the group is now recruiting a new generation of fighters from the ruined city’s dislocated and disenfranchised victims. Regional security experts are concerned that recent convulsions in Syria are driving a new wave of ISIS fighters into Southeast Asia, particularly into the southern Philippines, where dozens of local extremist outfits have declared fealty to the group. As during a previous exodus of ISIS fighters from the Middle East to Southeast Asia, where militants crossed into the Philippines lightly patrolled southern reaches on the island of Mindanao, analysts believe Marawi is reemerging as an extremist epicenter. “Marawi City has become a fertile ground for extremist recruitment,” said Rommel Banlaoi, chairman of the Manila-based Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, a think tank.”

Technology

Daily Mail: Terror Experts Warn Of 'Surge' In Pro-ISIS Social Media Posts After Death Of Leader Al-Baghdadi As Extremists Vow That 'Jihad Will Never Stop Even If Our Caliph Dies'

“Experts have noticed a 'surge' in pro-ISIS social media posts in the wake of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's death. The Counter Extremism Project said the jihadists had been posting 'regular propaganda' after the terrorist leader died in a U.S. special forces raid in Syria. While some have apparently been denying Baghdadi's death, others have pledged to fight on regardless, warning: 'Jihad will never stop, even if our own caliph dies.' The project's director David Ibsen said ISIS would 'undoubtedly use the death of their caliph to expand their online presence'. On Telegram, a messaging service, the Amaq news agency linked to ISIS has continued to post claims of attacks in the Middle East. However, there has been no comment from official ISIS channels on Baghdadi's death. Speaking to The National, Mr Ibsen said: 'Official ISIS news channels have been posting regular propaganda including stories of attacks by ISIS fighters around the world and photos of captured weapons. 'Individuals in pro-ISIS chats on Telegram have been urging patience and warning users not to believe non-ISIS media or spread rumours. 'Some chatroom participants have discussed the concepts of martyrdom and perseverance, and have repledged their support to ISIS.'“