Eye on Extremism - April 30, 2019

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Eye on Extremism
April 30, 2019
RE: info@counterextremism.com

Today - April 30, 2019

The Wall Street Journal: ISIS Video Purports To Show Leader Baghdadi In First Such Footage In Years

“Islamic State released a rare recorded video that purports to show its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, following the complete collapse of the extremist group’s self-declared caliphate last month when its last outpost in Syria was captured. In what would be the first known video footage of him in nearly five years, the 47-year-old terror group leader appeared with a graying beard as he urged his followers to fight on despite the setbacks and praised the Easter attacks undertaken by the “brothers in Sri Lanka.” “The truth is the battle of Islam and its people with the crusaders and their people is a long battle,” says Baghdadi in the 18-minute video, according to monitoring group SITE Intelligence. The Wall Street Journal couldn’t independently confirm that the figure in the video was Baghdadi. Army Col. James Rawlinson, a spokesman for the anti-Islamic State coalition, said U.S. officials were working to validate the video.”

The New York Times: Trump Pushes To Designate Muslim Brotherhood A Terrorist Group

“The Trump administration is pushing to issue an order that would designate the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization, bringing the weight of American sanctions against a storied and influential Islamist political movement with millions of members across the Middle East, according to officials familiar with the matter. The White House directed national security and diplomatic officials to find a way to place sanctions on the group after a White House visit on April 9 by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, for whom the Brotherhood represents a source of political opposition. In a private meeting without reporters and photographers, Mr. el-Sisi urged Mr. Trump to take that step and join Egypt in branding the movement a terrorist organization. Such a designation imposes wide-ranging economic and travel sanctions on companies and individuals who interact with the targeted group. The president responded affirmatively to Mr. el-Sisi, saying it would make sense. Some of Mr. Trump’s advisers have interpreted that as a commitment, officials said. But the proposal has prompted fierce debate within the administration, including at a senior-level meeting of policymakers from various departments convened last week by the White House’s National Security Council, the officials said.”

The Los Angeles Times: L.A. Terror Plot Thwarted: Army Vet Planned ‘Mass Casualties,’ FBI Says

“A U.S. Army veteran who wanted revenge for attacks on Muslims around the globe was planning to detonate a bomb at a Long Beach rally this past weekend before he was intercepted by law enforcement officials, authorities said Monday. Mark Steven Domingo, 26, was arrested Friday night after he took delivery of what he thought was an improvised explosive device from an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a bomb-maker, officials said. He was charged with attempting to provide material support to terrorists and, if convicted, could face up to 15 years in prison. According to a federal affidavit, Domingo considered “various attacks — including targeting Jews, churches and police officers” before he decided “to detonate an IED at a rally scheduled to take place in Long Beach this past weekend.”

The Wall Street Journal: Sri Lanka Bomber Trained In Syria With Islamic State

“At least one suicide bomber in the Easter attacks in Sri Lanka trained with Islamic State in Syria, people with knowledge of the investigations said, reflecting the extremist group’s continued reach after the collapse of its self-declared caliphate. The first direct links between Islamic State and those who carried out the deadly bombings came as the group released on Monday a rare recorded video purportedly of its leader, 47-year-old Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In the video, which couldn't be independently confirmed by The Wall Street Journal and would be the first known footage of the jihadist in nearly five years, Baghdadi urged followers to fight on despite the setbacks. He called the Sri Lanka attacks an act of revenge following the caliphate’s loss of its last strip of territory in Syria. Investigators said one suicide bomber, Jameel Mohammed Abdul Latheef, had planned to blow himself up at a luxury hotel, Taj Samudra, in the capital Colombo around the same time Easter morning that other attackers detonated explosives strapped to their bodies at three other top-end hotels and three churches. But they believe Latheef’s device malfunctioned. He blew himself up outside a small inn, killing himself and two other people. Latheef traveled to Raqqa, Syria, in 2014, when it was Islamic State’s de facto capital and attracted foreign fighters from around the world, one of the people familiar with the matter said.”

The Washington Examiner: Pentagon Official Says More Than 10,000 ‘Unrepentant’ ISIS Fighters Remain

“More than 10,000 members of the Islamic State survived the fighting that drove the organization from its territory in Iraq and Syria, according to a senior Pentagon official. “The physical caliphate is defeated, but ISIS is not,” Michael Mulroy, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, said Monday. “There’s upwards of 10,000 ISIS fighters and support elements within Syria and Iraq. And they are completely unrepentant.” Mulroy’s sobering warning comes amid a flurry of terror threats from ISIS four months after President Trump declared victory over the jihadist group. It reinforces recent acknowledgments from U.S. officials that terrorism, including attacks by ISIS, will pose a danger to the West for the foreseeable future. “That’s something that we intend or expect to deal with for many years to come,” Mulroy said at the Center for a New American Security. That admission came the same day ISIS boss Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi went public for the first time since 2014 in a video in which he downplayed the significance of the lost ground. ”The battle of Baghouz had ended, and in it, the barbarity and savagery of the nation of the cross towards the ummah of Islam was clear,” Baghdadi said, mentioning the final Syrian town the U.S.-led coalition took from ISIS in March.”

NBC News: As Synagogue Shooting Unfolded, Extremists Gathered On Facebook Page Connected To Gunman

“As a gunman killed one person and wounded three others at a synagogue near San Diego on Saturday, white supremacists descended on a Facebook page connected to the suspected shooter to express support and push racist propaganda. A link to the Facebook page was posted before the shooting to the far-right message board 8chan by a user claiming to be John T. Earnest, the white supremacist who has been charged in the attack on the Chabad of Poway synagogue. The page promised a livestream of the attack and an “open letter” filled with anti-Semitic tropes. Many of the posts on the Facebook page celebrated mass shooters, and the first posts provided guesses as to how many people he would kill. One user posted a meme featuring an AR-15 rifle with the words “here we go.” Another commenter asked for a video stream of the attack, saying he “needs the blood for Santa Muerte,” the saint of death. Both of those accounts remain active. The shooting adds to a growing list of violent acts with ties to fringe parts of the internet that can also be found on mainstream platforms. Experts have warned that in addition to providing ways for extremists to organize, the internet has played a role in radicalizing some people.”

United States

The New York Times: Terror Attack Thwarted In Los Angeles, Authorities Say

“Federal authorities said on Monday that they had thwarted a domestic terror plot by an American military veteran aimed at “multiple targets” in Southern California, including Huntington Beach, the port of Long Beach and the Santa Monica Pier. The suspect, who was identified as Mark Steven Domingo, was seeking retribution for the recent attacks on mosques in New Zealand, according to the authorities. He spoke of unleashing an attack similar to the massacre in Las Vegas, aiming to kill hundreds of people, and was especially targeting white nationalists, Jews, churches and military bases, according to court documents filed Monday. The suspect was arrested Friday night after he received what he thought was a live bomb, but in fact was an inert explosive device that was delivered by an undercover law enforcement officer as part of an investigation by the F.B.I.’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. After Mr. Domingo was given the inert device, he purchased “several hundred” nails that he wanted to put inside the bomb, Nicola Hanna, the United States attorney for the Central District of California, said at a news conference on Monday. “Mr. Domingo said he specifically bought three-inch nails because they would be long enough to penetrate the human body and puncture internal organs,” Mr. Hanna said.”

The New York Times: A Terrorist Tried To Kill Me Because I Am A Jew. I Will Never Back Down.

“Today should have been my funeral. I was preparing to give my sermon Shabbat morning, Saturday, which was also the last day of Passover, the festival of our freedom, when I heard a loud bang in the lobby of my synagogue. I thought a table had fallen down or maybe even that, God forbid, my dear friend Lori Gilbert Kaye had tripped and fallen. Only a few moments earlier I had greeted Lori there; she had come to services to say Yizkor, the mourning prayer, for her late mother. I went to the lobby to check on her. What I saw in those seconds will haunt me for the rest of my days. I saw Lori bleeding on the ground. And I saw the terrorist who murdered her. This terrorist was a teenager. He was standing there with a big rifle in his hands. And he was now aiming it at me. For one reason: I am a Jew. He started shooting. My right index finger got blown off. Another bullet hit my left index finger, which started gushing blood. After the massacre in Pittsburgh, we had a community training. Now that training kicked in. Somehow my brain directed my body to the synagogue ballroom, where the children, including two of my grandchildren, were playing. I ran toward them screaming “Get out! Get out!” I grabbed as many as I could with my bloody hands and pushed them out of the building.”

The New York Times: In California, Home To Many Hate Groups, Officials Struggle To Spot The Next Threat

“California has more organized hate groups than any other state — it has chapters for street-fighting skinheads and black nationalists, Holocaust deniers and Muslim haters. But the perpetrator of a mass shooting at a synagogue near San Diego on Saturday, law enforcement officials said, was not a member of any of them. Instead he was the product of a landscape that is both increasingly restive and fractured, where hate groups have gone underground, avoiding social gatherings and concerts, and newcomers need only the internet to become self-radicalized and violent. Lone actors who come out of the blue present a daunting challenge for law enforcement, even in a region where investigators have a solid grasp on extremist organizing networks. The attacker on Saturday, identified by officials as John Earnest, 19, claimed to have been inspired by last month’s massacre of Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand, by a self-radicalized white supremacist and to have begun planning his attack just four weeks ago. “This guy was nothing before,” said a local law enforcement official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about active investigations. “So how many others are having the same ideas?”

The Washington Post: The Poway Shooter Used An Age Old Terrorist Tactic. The Media Fell For It.

“On Saturday, a 19-year-old student allegedly walked into a synagogue in Poway, Calif., armed with a semiautomatic rifle and opened fire on the congregation that was commemorating the last day of Passover, killing a 60-year-old woman and injuring three others. In 2016, another 19-year-old walked into a church in Normandy, France, slitting the throat of an 84-year-old French priest, Jacques Hamel, and injuring another. These two attacks took place nearly three years and more than 5,000 miles apart. Yet they represent a common feature of political violence in the 21st century: not only did the perpetrators attack the faithful in their houses of worship, they were also acting in the name of global, virulent ideologies that both, paradoxically, emerged in response to globalization. The first young man appears to have been inspired to violence by white nationalism, the second by ISIS. They took it upon themselves to murder in the name of a greater cause, aiming to use symbolic violence to generate mass media attention that could inspire sympathizers and intimidate targeted groups. Such acts have a long history, and the best way to combat them is to deprive these terrorists of the attention they crave and use the very same media channels they aim to manipulate to fight back.”

The Washington Post: Beyond Politics And Prose: White Nationalists Target Bookstores, Libraries In Protests Nationwide

“When a group of self-avowed white nationalists interrupted an author chat Saturday at bookstore Politics and Prose with a megaphone and chants of “This land is our land,” workers were surprised — but not unprepared. The Northwest Washington bookstore began training employees earlier this year to respond to flash protests, co-owner Bradley Graham said. The decision came after previous author events, including a talk last month by former homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano, drew the ire and attention of left-wing activists and agitators. Bookstores, libraries and book fairs have become frequent targets of white nationalist groups, who in recent years have interrupted author talks, children’s reading hours and, in one instance, threatened to burn down a bookstore in Berkeley, Calif. “One of the issues is we can’t always anticipate what author or event might draw protesters or a demonstration,” Graham said. “Clearly, when the political climate heats up, there would seem to be more kindling that could be lit. But whether this will translate to more disturbances at author talks, I certainly hope not, but who knows.” Patrick Casey, co-founder of the white-nationalist group American Identity Movement, strode into the bookstore Saturday holding a megaphone branded with the organization’s insignia and led a chant of “AIM” on his way out the door.”

Syria

The New York Times: ISIS’ Mysterious Leader Is Not Dead, New Video Shows

“Five years ago, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi mounted the pulpit of a mosque in Iraq to declare himself the head of a rapidly expanding terrorist organization. Since then, his group, the Islamic State, has transfixed the world with its apocalyptic violence while he has remained a mystery. Spottings were rare. Rumors swirled that he was wounded or dead. The United States put $25 million on his head and still failed to find him. On Monday, he reappeared, leaning on a cushion with an assault rifle at his side, in a video seeking to rally his followers after the loss of the group’s territory in Iraq and Syria and its execution of one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in years, on Easter in Sri Lanka. “Our battle today is a battle of attrition, and we will prolong it for the enemy, and they must know that the jihad will continue until Judgment Day,” he said in the video. The message he intended to send was clear, analysts said: The Islamic State still exists, he is still in charge, and its international network of militants will continue to launch painful, unpredictable attacks. If he felt compelled to reveal himself now, after years in hiding, they said, it was to reassert his authority in the face of a punishing loss in Syria.”

The New York Times: Where ISIS Ruled In Syria, Fear And Uncertainty Reign

“Cities and towns across eastern Syria are overwhelmed by rubble. The militias that fought the Islamic State are digging tunnels to prepare for a possible battle against Turkey. A recent explosion in the city of Raqqa killed nine people. The routing of the Islamic State from its final piece of territory in Syria last month was hailed as a milestone in the fight against the world’s most fearsome terrorist organization. But the territory it once ruled remains in shambles, insecure and its future uncertain. Entire communities are destroyed, with little help to rebuild. A range of powers — the Syrian government, Turkey, Russia and militias backed by Iran — hope to fill the void left by the jihadists’ defeat. And the Islamic State isn’t even gone: while the bombings that killed at least 250 people in Sri Lanka last week demonstrated that its ideology continues to echo globally, in Syria thousands of its fighters have merely gone underground to launch attacks and plot their comeback. “We are talking about a secret organization that is still operating,” said Redur Xelil, a senior official with the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurdish-led militia that the United States backed to fight the jihadists. “It has a network, means of communication and a central command.”

Iran

Al Jazeera: Amnesty: Iran Secretly Executes Two Minor Boys Over Rape

“Iran secretly executed two boys under the age of 18 over multiple charges of rape, Amnesty International reported as it condemned the country's "utter disdain for international law and childrens' rights". Cousins Mehdi Sohrabifar and Amin Sedaghat, who were arrested at the age of 15 and convicted following an "unfair trial", were executed on Thursday in the southern city of Shiraz, according to the UK-based rights group. The teenagers had lash marks on their bodies, showing signs they had been flogged before the executions, Amnesty said on Monday. "The Iranian authorities have once again proved that they are sickeningly prepared to put children to death, in flagrant disregard of international law," said Philip Luther, Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa director, in a statement.”

The National: Pompeo: Iran Is Instructing Yemen’s Houthis To Reject Political Process

“US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday accused Iran of directing Yemen's Houthi rebels to renege on commitments they made in Stockholm last December and continue fighting. The Houthis "continue to refuse to comply with the agreements that they signed up for in Stockholm, Sweden, they refuse to withdraw from the port of Hodeidah ... this is because Iran has chosen to direct them to do that”, Mr Pompeo said at an event in Washington hosted by The Hill newspaper. He said Iran's guidelines to the Houthis were also seen “with the missile system, the hardware, the military capability” that they had acquired. “These are not Houthi indigenous weapons systems. They have been smuggled into Yemen from Iran,” Mr Pompeo said. He defended Washington’s roles in Yemen, fighting Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula supporting Saudi Arabia in countering the missile threat from the Houthis.”

Iraq

Foreign Policy: Among Displaced Iraqis, One Group Is Worse Off Than The Rest

“Thousands of Iraqis with perceived family ties to the Islamic State are facing extreme poverty and abuse in displacement camps across the country, with little or no chance of returning home. Many are refused security clearances in the camps, which means they cannot obtain the identity cards needed to access basic services and their movement is restricted. Some women have suffered sexual violence and exploitation at the hands of armed men, including security guards, pro-government militiamen, and soldiers, according to interviews conducted in northern Iraq and northeastern Syria this month. Some of these Iraqis are the wives or siblings of Islamic State fighters, but others have only loose tribal connections to people in the militant group. Still others say they’ve been stigmatized for simply remaining in their hometowns when the Islamic State took control instead of fleeing. One thing they have in common: All are Sunni Muslims. This abuse of people with only the flimsiest ties to the Islamic State—which has been ousted from the vast swaths of territory it once controlled—raises doubts about the prospects of long-term stability in Iraq, a country plagued by violence since the U.S. invasion in 2003.”

Turkey

Reuters: Turkey Detains 22 Suspected Islamic State Members: TRT Haber

“Turkish police detained 22 suspected Islamic State members in Ankara, state broadcaster TRT Haber said on Monday. The 17 Iraqi and 5 Syrian nationals were preparing to recruit more members and get in touch with the organization before May 1, the broadcaster said. Last week, Turkish authorities arrested a suspected Islamic State member they believe was planning to attack a World War One commemoration at Gallipoli attended by hundreds of Australians and New Zealanders.”

Afghanistan

The Wall Street Journal: Afghan Leader Hosts Peace-Plan Assembly

“Afghan President Ashraf Ghani convened a rare assembly of prominent Afghans on Monday to hammer out an approach to peace talks with the Taliban, the latest attempt by the U.S.-backed government to insert itself into the peace process. “Today we listen to an Afghanistan that hasn’t been heard,” Mr. Ghani told the gathering of 3,200 people. Tribal chiefs, clerics, politicians and civil society leaders were brought to the Afghan capital at government expense for the four-day gathering, known as a loya jirga, aimed at defining the limits and framework of negotiations with the Taliban. Mr. Ghani’s speech set a tough tone toward the Taliban, preceded by a video that juxtaposed images of government-sponsored development projects with those showing victims of Taliban attacks. Even more pointedly, the images included the insurgency’s notorious destruction of two giant, 1,400-year-old Buddha statues in Bamyan province in early 2001. A delegate from Bamyan, 42-year-old Amina Hassanpoor, praised Mr. Ghani’s address and described the convergence of thousands of Afghans from across the country as an “opportunity to defend the rights of all Afghans and to highlight the country’s achievements” since the Taliban were forced from power in a U.S.-led invasion nearly 18 years ago.”

The Straits Times: After 'Caliphate' Collapse, ISIS Militants Head To Afghanistan To Plot Attacks

“Fighters of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) who waged a bloody campaign in Syria and Iraq are heading to Afghanistan to continue their battle and help plot “spectacular” attacks against America, a US official has told AFP. The warning comes as ISIS seeks to assert a regional influence after the loss of its self-proclaimed Middle East “caliphate”, and as South Asia reels from a series of devastating attacks. “We know some have already made their way back here and are trying to transfer the knowledge, skills and experience they learned over there,” a senior US intelligence official in Kabul told AFP in a recent interview. “If we don't continue counter-terrorism pressure against (ISIS in Afghanistan), there will be an attack in our homeland - and a spectacular attack - probably within the year,” added the official, who asked not to be named for security reasons. The official did not describe the nature of any plot, but ISIS has been linked to or inspired several big attacks in America, including a 2016 mass shooting in Florida. The gunman, who had sworn allegiance to ISIS, killed 49 people in an Orlando nightclub.”

Xinhua: Gov't Forces Kill 7 Militants In N. Afghanistan

“Fighting between Afghan military forces and the Taliban group have left seven insurgents dead and six others wounded in the country's northern Balkh province, Abdul Hadi Jamal, a press officer of the army corps Pamir 217, said Tuesday. The clash, according to the official, broke out after a group of Taliban militants attacked police checkpoints in Sharsharak area along the Mazar-e-Sharif-Jawzjan highway on Monday afternoon and lasted for hours during which seven militants had been killed and six others injured. Five security personnel were injured in the fighting, the official said. Security forces have been pursuing the militants to ensure lasting peace on the highway linking northern Balkh province to Jawzjan onward to Faryab province. Confirming the conflict, army spokesman in the northern region Mohammad Hanif Rezai said that the militants fled away after arriving of units of national army to support police in the area.”

Pakistan

News 18: Pakistan To Bring Over 30,000 Madrasas Under Govt Control To 'Combat Extremism'

“Pakistan will bring over 30,000 madrasas into the mainstream education system as part of a determined campaign to combat extremism, the country’s military spokesperson has said. Major General Asif Ghafoor, while addressing a press conference in Rawalpindi, said Pakistan had witnessed a surge in religious seminaries from 247 madrasas in 1947 to 2,861 in 1980. “And now there are over 30,000 madrasas. Out of these, only 100 are involved in propagating terrorism,” he said, adding that several steps were afoot to control and bring the seminaries into the mainstream. “All madrasas will be brought under the Ministry of Education so that contemporary subjects can be taught. We will formulate a syllabus which will not have hate speech and students will be taught respect for different sects,” he said. The military spokesman said the students will also receive a degree which will be associated with the education board. “In February, money was allotted to bring the seminaries into the mainstream. To control the welfare activities of proscribed organisations, the government has made a system to mainstream their social activities,” Ghafoor said.”

Yemen

Arab News: KSRelief Clears 2,321 Mines Planted By Iranian-Backed Houthis

“The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) has stepped up a number of initiatives in Yemen and Sudan ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, removing mines and providing aid packages to displaced and impoverished families. MASAM, KSRelief’s mine removal project in Yemen, successfully cleared 24 anti-personnel mines, 1,018 anti-tank mines, 197 improvised explosive devices and an additional 1,082 pieces of unexploded ordinance during the fourth week of April. Since its launch, the project has removed 63,719 mines and spare munitions planted by Iranian-backed Houthi militias. Meanwhile, during the same period, over 1,500 food baskets were also distributed in the towns of Heran and Abbs in the province of Hijja, benefiting 9,096 people. The center also released statistics on its medical campaigns in Yemen for the first quarter of 2019. In the port city of Hodeidah, more than 1,000 cholera cases were reported to KSRelief clinics by the beginning of April.”

Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthis Stage Series Of Attacks In Hodeidah Ahead Of UN Team Visit

“The Iran-backed Houthi militias have been trying to lure army forces deployed to the outskirts of the coastal city of Hodeidah into armed confrontation. Analysts said the militias are plotting to break the UN-brokered Stockholm agreement, which was signed last December. According to the deal, signed by both the Houthi and legitimate government, militias must redeploy from Hodeidah and its three ports. Militants on Sunday, however, targeted army positions east of the city based at the “May 22” roundabout. Light arms and shells, which damaged many houses, were fired by Houthis for about five hours nonstop. The attack took place a day before a planned visit by the head of the UN Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC), Lieutenant-General Michael Lollesgaard.”

Lebanon

Iran News Update: Lebanon Will Not Be A Strong Country While Iran-Backed Hezbollah Is Armed

“The head of the Lebanese Forces Party has said that Lebanon cannot be an effective and strong state as long as Iran-backed Hezbollah continues to be armed. Samir Geagea said that he expected Iran’s funding of Hezbollah to decline given the recent US sanctions on Iran and said that as this happens Hezbollah’s overall influence will suffer, noting that this would mean tens of thousands of Hezbollah fighters losing their money. He said: “The tougher the sanctions the more it will be reflected in the funding of Hezbollah as it appears on the Lebanese arena… Even though a huge part of Hezbollah is driven by ideology, doctrine and religious sentiment, we are talking about tens of thousands of people who are receiving salaries, social institutions, and a lot of aid, consequently, it will have its effect.” Geagea said that he sees the sanctions as clamping down on the Iranian economy, which is good but warned that Iran may well make an unexpected move because it feels backed into a corner.”

Libya

Associated Press: Airstrikes, Roadblocks Trap Civilians In Libya’s Tripoli

“Libyan forces loyal to a former military commander have intensified their airstrikes on Tripoli, where heavy fighting and blocked roads have left civilians trapped in their homes, officials said Monday. Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter’s self-styled Libyan National Army launched an operation to retake the capital on April 4 and has been locked in heavy fighting in and around the city with militias loosely allied with a U.N.-supported government. The clashes have killed at least 345 people, including 22 civilians, according to the latest U.N. figures released last on Sunday. Libyan officials said LNA airstrikes have targeted the Nawasi Brigade in the Abu Salim district, about 7 kilometers (4 miles) from Tripoli’s center. At least four civilians were killed, they said.”

Nigeria

Premium Times: Five Soldiers Killed, Dozens Missing As Boko Haram Overruns Nigerian Military Base

“At least five Nigerian soldiers were feared killed and dozens more missing after Boko Haram fighters invaded a Nigerian military base in Borno State. The attack on April 26 occurred at a forward operating base in Mararrabar Kimba, an agrarian community roughly 130 kilometres from Maiduguri, the state capital. The base was manned by the Nigerian Army 254 Task Force Battalion under the 25 Task Force Brigade, a crucial outpost in the ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’. At least eight soldiers were gravely wounded and heavy military hardware were carted away in the attack, a military source told PREMIUM TIMES. The soldiers put up resistance at the earliest stage of the attack, but most later fled into the bush due to faulty weapons and combat trucks, sources said. The number of missing troops could not be established as of Tuesday morning, but a military source estimated dozens.”

Africa News: Five Nigerian Soldiers Killed In Boko Haram Battle - Army

“Five soldiers were killed after Boko Haram militants attacked a military base in northeastern Nigeria, military sources reported on Monday. Members of the Islamic State Group in the West African Province (ISWAP), took the base of Mararrabar Kimba, in Borno State, 135 km from the regional capital, Maiduguri, on Friday. The insurgents seized the weapons before withdrawing, an officer said Saturday. Three days later, a first assessment shows that at least five people have died and about 30 missing. “We found five bodies of soldiers who paid the ultimate price in fighting terrorists,” an officer told AFP. “Rescue teams are still looking for about 30 other soldiers who have gone missing since the attack,” he added. A second officer, who confirmed the death toll of five, added that the army was still hoping that the soldiers who were at large would be found. “There are high hopes that the missing soldiers will be found – or that they will find their way back,” he hoped: “We don’t think of the worst case scenario. The Nigerian army has not officially reported on the incident. According to information gathered from military sources on Saturday, the attackers arrived in a dozen pick-ups equipped with heavy machine guns.”

Africa

The New York Times: 6 Killed In Attack On Church In Burkina Faso

“Six people, including a pastor, were killed in an attack on a Christian church in Burkina Faso, a government spokesman said. The violence took place Sunday in the village of Silgadji, in the country’s north, not far from the volatile border with Mali. Urbain Kabore, the communications director for the Sahel region of Burkina Faso, said Monday that the six people were killed after Sunday services. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Violent Islamist extremism has been increasingly destabilizing Burkina Faso, and a number of jihadist groups are known to operate in the area of the attack. Authorities said that in a separate attack in the east of Burkina Faso, five teachers were shot to death Friday. The extremists also have targeted foreigners, abducting and killing a Canadian geologist earlier this year."

The National: Trial For ISIS-Inspired Murder Of Scandinavian Hikers To Open In Morocco

“Two dozen suspects are set to go on trial in Morocco on Thursday for offences linked to the gruesome murder of two young Scandinavian hikers late last year that shocked the North African country. Danish student Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, and 28-year-old Norwegian Maren Ueland had their throats slit before they were beheaded in December at an isolated site in the High Atlas mountains. Three main defendants accused of direct involvement in the murders and who allegedly pledged allegiance to ISIS could theoretically face the death penalty. A total of 24 defendants are due to appear before a criminal court in Sale to answer charges including promoting terrorism, forming a terrorist cell and premeditated murder. A Spanish-Swiss convert to Islam is among the suspects who are due to face justice in the city near Rabat. But families of the slain hikers and their lawyers will not attend the trial. Nature lovers, the two friends shared an apartment and went to Norway's Bo University, where they were studying to be guides. They had travelled together to Morocco for their Christmas holidays. Their lives were cut short in the foothills of Toubkal, the highest summit in North Africa, some 80 kilometres from the city of Marrakesh, a tourist magnet.”

France

The National: Syria Links Investigated As France Arrests Four Over Suspected Terror Attack Plot

“Four people, including a minor, have been arrested in France over an alleged plot to attack security forces, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Monday. The individuals were arrested on Friday on suspicion of preparing for an “extremely violent” attack as part of an investigation into a terrorist conspiracy by France’s domestic intelligence agency, DGSI. French newspaper Le Figaro reported that the suspects, all male, had been looking for weapons to commit terrorist acts on security forces. “We had sufficiently significant indications to fear a major attack,” said Interior Minister Christophe Castaner. One of the suspects is a teenager serving a probationary sentence for trying to travel to Syria, the prosecutor’s office said. The suspect, aged 17, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment in February 2017, two of which were suspended with probation, for “terrorist criminal conspiracy”, Le Figaro reported. The other three were also known to French authorities for common law offences. France’s security forces have been the target of a number of attacks by groups claiming to be affiliated with ISIS since the 2015 Paris attacks. In March 2018, a gunman affiliated with the terror group shot at a group of police officers jogging in the southern town of Trebes.”

Germany

Al Jazeera: ISIL Fighters' Families Stage German Protest For Their Return

“German parents and relatives of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) members demonstrated on Monday outside the foreign ministry, urging Berlin to repatriate wives and children of fighters held in Syria. Some brought posters saying “Children are not responsible”, while others held up banners reading “Innocent German children will die and the state is just watching.” “I want my grandchildren to leave Syria and come to Hamburg to live normally, to go to the nursery, to be protected, to be able to hug them, to have food, to be warm, and to love them,” said Intessar Aataba, 51, the grandmother of a three-year-old and a year-old toddler born in Syria. Another protester who identified himself as Shawani, 55, pleaded for his three grandchildren, aged two, three and four, to be repatriated. “Why blame the grandchildren? What are they guilty of? I don't understand,” he said. According to the interior ministry, at least 59 children of German ISIL fighters were still in Syria at the end of March. With the collapse of the last ISIL bastion in Syria last month, the fate of foreign fighters and their families has become a significant problem for governments as the conflict draws to a close.”

Daily Sabah: Germany Faces 'Civil War' Threat From Rising Far-Right Groups

“As Germany faces a growing risk of violence from far-right extremists, a recent secret report has revealed that right-wing extremists are preparing for “a civil war scenario” by training to use firearms and explosives. Those people are collecting firearms and other supplies in preparation for “a civil war” or “a feared collapse of public order” in the country, according to Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV). The secret report also revealed that there are an alarming number of extremists who could plot attacks involving improvised explosive devices as many of them are not known to the domestic security agency. Intelligence services have for years been increasing their surveillance of ultra-right groups, which are seen as a growing threat and capable of carrying out terrorist attacks similar to those that left 50 dead at two mosques in New Zealand. The far-right terrorist group National Socialist Underground (NSU) killed eight Turkish immigrants, one Greek citizen and a German police officer between 2000 and 2007, but the murders had long remained unresolved. The loose and diverse far-right scene includes police and army officers, the report also said.”

Southeast Asia

Eurasia Review: Indonesia Needs To Watch Out For Women Playing Larger Role In Terrorism – Think Tank

“Indonesian police and military members should guard against women taking a more active role in potential terrorist attacks by Muslim extremists – as seen in Surabaya in 2018 and in Sri Lanka earlier this month – a Jakarta-based think tank said in a report published Monday. Suicide bombings carried out in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday underscore that Indonesia has not had to not face coordinated attacks that kill hundreds of people, the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) said in opening its report. “Indonesia has been lucky thus far that its terrorists generally have had too little experience to think big. With a little imagination and better leadership, these pro-ISIS cells could do far greater damage,” IPAC said, using another acronym for the Islamic State (IS). The report, “The Ongoing Problem of Pro-ISIS Cells in Indonesia,” described Indonesia as fortunate to have had “such low-caliber terrorists and high-caliber counter-terrorism police.”

The New York Times: Sri Lanka Authorities Were Warned, In Detail, 12 Days Before Attack

“More evidence emerged Monday that the Sri Lankan government had ignored detailed warnings about an imminent terrorist attack, days before suicide bombers killed more than 250 people at crowded churches and hotels. In a memo dated April 9 and labeled “Top Secret, (Eyes Only),” the chief of national intelligence warned the country’s police chief that “Sri Lanka based Zahran Hashmi of National Thowheeth Jama’ath and his associates are planning to carry out a suicide terrorist attack in Sri Lanka shortly.” The bombings came 12 days later. The memo, whose authenticity was confirmed by two high-ranking government officials, is the earliest one revealed so far to have so obviously conveyed a sense of urgency. A security memo two days later warned of “a possible suicide attack” by the radical Islamist group but did not say when it was expected. Day by day, the paper trail of detailed warnings gets longer, casting more doubts on President Maithripala Sirisena’s claims that he did not know the attack was coming. Several Sri Lankan officials said it would have gone against standard practice for the national intelligence chief to have shared such highly classified information with police officials, without first sharing it with the president.”

The Wall Street Journal: India Raids Homes Allegedly Linked To Islamic State

“Indian authorities searched three locations allegedly linked to Islamic State recruitment, a week after deadly Easter attacks in neighboring Sri Lanka that investigators think were backed by the militant group. The National Investigation Agency has been trying to keep track of a group of 15 people from the southern state of Kerala who it says left India in 2016 to join ISIS and be trained. Some of them are believed to be in Afghanistan, according to an agency official. Three residences of people connected to that group were searched Sunday. The Indian agency obtained mobile phones, SIM cards, memory-storage devices and diaries with handwritten notes as potential evidence. “Digital devices will be forensically examined,” the agency said. Three occupants of the searched houses were questioned but not detained. Sri Lankan police say they believe the bombers in the Sri Lankan attacks, which killed more than 250 people, likely worked with Islamic State, but they are trying to determine how much direct support the bombers received. Though India has the third-largest population of Muslims in the world, terrorism experts say it has seen fewer of its citizens joining Islamic State compared with the mostly European countries that have seen their citizens joining the terror outfit in larger numbers.”

CNN: Sri Lanka Bombers Had Clear Links To ISIS, President Says

“Sri Lankan intelligence services believe the Easter Sunday suicide bombers had “very clear” links to ISIS, the country's president told CNN Monday. President Maithripala Sirisena said the terror group had provided training to the perpetrators of last week's attacks, and that links between ISIS and extremists in Sri Lanka could be traced back 15 years. But Sirisena rejected claims that he should resign in the face of the catastrophic intelligence failures in the runup to the attacks, which killed more than 250 people and injured at least 500. Instead, he blamed officials and ministers in his government for failing to act on warnings. Secretary of Defense Hemesiri Fernando and the Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara had been “careless, negligent and irresponsible in executing their duties” for “not thinking that an incident of this nature would actually occur,” the President said. Fernando resigned last week. Sirisena said he had “not been updated or notified with the information that they received about the possibility of such a severe attack on our soil.” The President admitted that he was abroad “for a personal holiday” when intelligence memos warning of a potential terrorist act were sent to Sri Lankan defense ministry and police chiefs. Sirisena also hit back at criticism that a political rift with his Prime Minister had created a governmental void which paved the way for such terrorist attacks to take place.”

USA Today: Sri Lanka Bombings Do Not Mean There's An ISIS Worth Fighting

“Everyone favors vigilance against terrorism. The question is what sort of vigilance is sensible, and whether keeping U.S. troops involved in unending wars qualifies. The answer is no. U.S. forces in Syria have achieved all they can against the Islamic State. Without territory, ISIS will struggle to meet, train and organize attacks. Losing its “caliphate” deprived it of the allure that brought recruits and the professed allegiance of distant jihadists. No real military mission is left for U.S. troops in Syria. ISIS’ remnants in Syria are unlikely to gather where U.S. military forces patrol. Their prospects are poor. Forces in Syria eager to hunt them include the Kurds, the Syrian government, Russians and Iran-backed militias. If that fails and ISIS plots attacks on Americans, U.S. forces — hopefully with congressional authorization this time — can use surveillance, airstrikes and even raids to stop them. Bombings in ISIS’ name in places like Sri Lanka does not mean there is an ISIS worth fighting in Syria. No evidence exists that anyone in Syria organized the Sri Lanka bombings. They might have inspired it, but occupations can’t stop that. It is closer to the opposite. Occupying a swath of Syria is likely to provoke anti-U.S. animus and some terrorism.”

The Straits Times: Suspected Extremists Killed In Bangladesh Raid; ISIS Claims Blast

“Bangladeshi security forces raided a suspected Islamist extremist hideout in Dhaka on Monday (April 29) killing at least two militants, police said, as the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, claimed to have wounded three police in a bombing. Police commandos were met with gunfire on arriving at a house in the capital's Bosila neighbourhood after midnight on Monday, Lieutenant Colonel Ashique Billah told AFP. This was followed by an explosion which demolished the walls of the house, the Rapid Action Battalion commander added. Bangladesh launched a crackdown on Islamist extremism after attacks in July 2016, when ISIS-inspired militants stormed a Dhaka cafe killing 22 people, including 18 foreigners. “Our bomb disposal unit found the body parts of two militants in the house. The explosion was so powerful that it tore apart the bodies and shook the whole area,” Billah said. Four other people were detained including a caretaker and imam from a nearby mosque, the officer added. Separately, in their first claimed attack in Bangladesh in more than two years, ISIS jihadists said they “detonated an explosive device” on a group of police, the SITE Intelligence Group reported.”

Technology

BBC News: Alleged Far-Right Extremist Faces Trial Over Social Media Posts

“An alleged far-right extremist is to face trial accused of encouraging terrorism on a Russian social media site similar to Facebook. Luke Crompton, 29, of Tyldesley, Wigan, was arrested last year after police found two profiles on VKontakte (VK) allegedly containing white supremacist material. He is accused of posting about protecting white bloodlines and hatred towards non-white skin colours. A trial is due to begin on 9 September. Mr Crompton is accused of making a series of posts on VK. It is alleged that at the time of publishing, he “intended members of the public to be directly or indirectly encouraged or otherwise induced to commit, prepare or instigate acts of terrorism”. Mr Crompton was charged with two counts of encouraging terrorism between December 2017 and September 2018. At a hearing at the Old Bailey, Mr Justice Sweeney ordered the case to be transferred to Manchester Crown Court and the defendant granted conditional bail until his next hearing on 17 June.”

The New York Times: Sri Lanka’s President Lifts Ban On Social Media

“Sri Lanka’s president on Tuesday called for the “immediate” lifting of a temporary ban on several social media networks, a clampdown that had been intended to prevent the spread of misinformation after devastating suicide bombings on Easter. The restrictions, which were put into place quickly after attacks at three churches and three high-end hotels killed more than 250 people in Sri Lanka, reflected increasing global concern about the role that American-owned networks play in spreading hate speech and inciting communal violence. The government’s statement on Tuesday called on the public “to use social media responsibly even though the ban is lifted, due to the prevailing situation in the country.” According to internet monitoring groups, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Viber were among those affected.”