Eye on Extremism - 03-03-21

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Eye on Extremism - March 3, 2021
Topic: US Sanctions 2 Houthi Leaders In Yemen
By: Counter Extremism Project - 03-03-11
Re: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ta...BTmkPqxvldrgCR

Topic: As of March-3rd-2021:

Voice Of America: US Sanctions 2 Houthi Leaders In Yemen

“The United States imposed sanctions Tuesday on two senior leaders of the Iranian-backed Houthi militant group in Yemen. “Mansur Al-Sa’adi and Ahmad ‘Ali Ahsan al-Hamzi are responsible for orchestrating attacks by Houthi forces impacting Yemeni civilians, bordering nations, and commercial vessels in international waters,” the U.S. Treasury Department said in a press release. “These actions, which were done to advance the Iranian regime’s destabilizing agenda, have fueled the Yemeni conflict, displacing more than 1 million people and pushing Yemen to the brink of famine,” the statement added. The Treasury Department said Al-Sa’adi, who received training in Iran, serves as the Houthi Naval Forces’ chief of staff, which masterminded “lethal attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea.” It also accused the Houthi naval forces of laying naval mines, which can pose a threat to commercial fishing and civilian shipping. Al-Sa’adi is also accused of smuggling Iranian weapons into Yemen. Ahmad ‘Ali Ahsan al-Hamzi, is the head of the Houthi-aligned Yemeni Air Force and Air Defense Forces. In addition to unmanned aerial vehicles, he reportedly acquired Iranian weapons that have been used in the Yemeni civil war.”

The New York Times: Hundreds Of Girls Abducted From Nigerian School Are Freed, Official Says

“Hundreds of girls who were abducted last week from their boarding school in Nigeria by a group of armed men have been released, a local official said on Tuesday, the second time in less than a week that gunmen have returned kidnapped schoolchildren in the country. The girls were taken on Friday from Government Girls Secondary School in the town of Jangebe, in the northern state of Zamfara. The Nigerian government has denied paying ransoms. It was not clear how the release of the children in this case was secured. “It gladdens my heart to announce the release of the abducted students of GGSS Jangebe from captivity,” the governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, wrote on Twitter early Tuesday, referring to their school’s name. Mr. Matawalle did not provide details about the girls’ release. Officials initially said that 317 girls had been in the group, but later told journalists that the correct number was 279. The frequency of mass kidnappings of girls and boys at boarding schools in northwestern Nigeria is rising in part because abduction has become a growth industry amid the country’s economic crisis. The victims are increasingly schoolchildren — not just the rich, powerful or famous.”

United States

The New York Times: Domestic Terrorism Threat Is ‘Metastasizing’ In U.S., F.B.I. Director Says

“The F.B.I. director warned senators on Tuesday that domestic terrorism was “metastasizing across the country,” reaffirming the threat from racially motivated extremists while largely escaping any tough questions about the bureau’s actions before the siege of the Capitol. The director, Christopher A. Wray, who had largely remained out of public view since the riot on Jan. 6, condemned the supporters of former President Donald J. Trump who ransacked the Capitol, resulting in five deaths and scores of injuries to police officers. “That attack, that siege, was criminal behavior, plain and simple, and it was behavior that we, the F.B.I., view as domestic terrorism,” Mr. Wray said. “It’s got no place in our democracy. He also revealed that the number of domestic terrorism investigations at the F.B.I. had risen to 2,000 since he became its director in 2017. The Capitol riot was part of a broader threat that had grown significantly in recent years, Mr. Wray said. He did not break down the inquiries along an ideological divide, but The New York Times has reported that agents opened more than 400 domestic terrorism investigations last year as violence flared during racial justice protests, including about 40 cases into possible adherents of the far-left antifascist movement known as antifa and another 40 into the Boogaloo, a far-right movement seeking to start a civil war.”

Iraq

Al Jazeera: ‘Constant Fear’: Iraq And Syria Face ISIL Resurgence

“Rania Najim Abed is terrified that ISIL (ISIS) might return to Tel Eskof, her hometown in northern Iraq, 15km (9 miles) from the armed group’s former stronghold of Mosul. In 2014, Abed, 23, and her Christian family fled the Nineveh plains for Kirkuk to escape ISIL. The group had massacred minorities and established the so-called Islamic caliphate that straddled Iraq and Syria and was about the size of Britain. Then, in 2016, ISIL attacked Kirkuk. “I was in the medical college in Kirkuk,” she said. “I was so scared that they might abduct me as they had done with so many other girls. Thankfully the Kurdish forces protected us.” The same year the Iraqi government announced the defeat of ISIL and Abed returned home. But the group’s resurgence makes her feel unsafe once again. “We live in constant fear,” Abed told Al Jazeera. “Despite their defeat in Iraq and in Syria, there are still so many ISIL attacks. There was an attack in Kirkuk, in Diyala, in Salah-ad-din, in Baghdad. I know that these areas are far from my town, but we are near the desert and ISIL is everywhere in the Iraq-Syria desert.” ISIL’s physical “caliphate” was destroyed with the battle of Baghouz in Syria in March 2019, but the ideology and socioeconomic fault lines that gave birth to it are still intact in the region.”

Afghanistan

The New York Times: Three Women Working For A News Outlet Gunned Down In Afghanistan

“Three women who worked at a local news outlet were gunned down in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, according to local officials, adding to the bloody tally of Afghan media workers and journalists who have been killed at alarming rates in the past year. The women were on their way home from work at Enikass Radio and TV, in the bustling city of Jalalabad, when they were killed in two separate attacks, according to Shokorullah Pasoon, the manager of publishing at the station, who offered scant details of how the incident unfolded. The victims were Mursal Hakimi, 25, Sadia, 20, and Shanaz, 20 — many Afghans have a single name — who worked in a department that records voice-overs for foreign programs, Mr. Pasoon said. A fourth woman was wounded in one of the attacks and taken to the hospital, according to a provincial hospital spokesman. Malalai Maiwand, 26, a television and radio presenter with Enikass was gunned down in much the same way in December. The Islamic State affiliate in the country claimed responsibility for that killing, but has not released a statement claiming Tuesday’s attack.”

Pakistan

Deutsche Welle: How 'Sticky Bombs' Could Impact Kashmir Insurgency

“Indian security forces have seized dozens of “sticky bombs” during raids in India-administered Kashmir in recent months. “These bombs are a threat to security forces. We have issued orders to the security forces to remain alert,” Rajesh Sharma, a senior police official in Samba district, told DW. Sticky bombs, or Magnet-attached Improvised Explosive Devices (MIEDs), can be attached to a vehicle and detonated remotely. They have been used by militants in Afghanistan over the past few months and although these bombs have not been used by Kashmiri insurgents, officials fear their presence could be a sign of impending violence in the disputed region. Muslim insurgents have been fighting Indian forces in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir — a region of 12 million people, about 70% of whom are Muslim — since 1989. Two of their three wars that India and Pakistan have fought since their independence in 1947, have been over Kashmir — which both claim in full, but rule in part. In August 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government in New Delhi abrogated Kashmir's semi-autonomous status and split the state into two federally governed territories.”

Lebanon

Arab News: Hezbollah Gunmen Fight Off Bid To Arrest Rafik Hariri’s Killer

“Gunfire broke out in south Beirut on Tuesday night when Hezbollah fought off an apparent attempt by Lebanese security forces to arrest the man convicted of assassinating former prime minister Rafik a. Information circulating on social media said officers tried to raid a house thought to be the hideout of Salim Ayyash, 57, who is wanted by the Lebanese state at the request of the International Tribunal for Lebanon. Hezbollah fighters opened fire, surrounded the security patrol, and detained its members and their vehicles. Amateur video footage on social media shows shots being fired and a Hezbollah fighter shouting: “Attack them and disarm them.” An activist close to Hezbollah told Arab News: “The security patrol wanted to arrest wanted suspects accused of a crime, it is not true that there was a clash with Hezbollah.” Rafik Hariri died in a suicide bombing of his car in Beirut in February 2005. The Special Tribunal tried Ayyash in his absence, and sentenced him to life imprisonment in August 2020 for conspiracy to commit a terrorist act. Hezbollah has said it will never hand him over.”

Nigeria

Associated Press: Jihadis Attack Town, Humanitarian Posts In Northeast Nigeria

“Jihadis linked to the Islamic State group attacked the northeastern Nigerian town of Dikwa and humanitarian posts there, security officials said. The attack in Borno state that began late Monday night came about 48 hours after the governor of Borno state, Babagana Zulum, visited the community along with other officials, to distribute cash and food to displaced families there. The assailants arrived in trucks and motorcycles, surrounding residents and people staying at a camp for people who are displaced within Nigeria, residents said. The member representing Dikwa at the Borno state House of Assembly, Zakariya Dikwa, said they burned down the police station, the primary health center and attacked humanitarian offices and left with their vehicles. “The attack was massive because the Boko Haram fighters went there with over 13 gun trucks — all of which had their bodies pasted with mud,” he said. The military later confirmed the fighters are with Boko Haram offshoot The Islamic State of West Africa Province, known as ISWAP. It said in a statement Tuesday that the military had routed the jihadis from Dikwa with heavy bombardment and firepower. The jihadis tried to invade the town after hearing of the food distribution.”

Reuters: Insurgents Seize, Then Leave Government Stronghold In Northeast Nigeria

“Islamic State insurgents left the town of Dikwa on Tuesday after seizing and overrunning the humanitarian hub and government stronghold in northeastern Nigeria, two aid workers there said. An army spokesman had earlier on Tuesday denied reports by security sources, aid workers and residents that the town in Borno state had been overrun by militants. He said the attack was repelled and denied insurgents had trapped aid workers. But the fighting for Dikwa, home to almost 100,000 people, underscored the worsening security situation in northern Nigeria, where the security forces face growing challenges. Dikwa has been a flashpoint in an 11-year insurgency waged by jihadist group Boko Haram and its offshoot Islamic State West Africa Province, which said it was behind the attack. The two aid workers in Dikwa, requesting anonymity because they were not permitted to speak to media, said Islamic State fighters had left the town of their own accord before noon on Tuesday, without meeting any Nigerian military resistance. A Nigerian soldier said the militants had proved too strong in the earlier fighting, which he said had begun on Monday. “We tried our best to repel the attack but they already overpowered us,” the soldier said. “We fled to the bush despite reinforcements from the air force.”

Africa

Bloomberg: Amnesty Says Mozambique Insurgents, Army Commit War Crimes

“Insurgents, security forces and a private military company contracted by the government have killed hundreds of civilians in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province, according to Amnesty International. “The people of Cabo Delgado are caught between the Mozambican security forces, the private militia fighting alongside the government and the armed opposition group locally known as ‘al-Shabaab’ -- none of which respect their right to life, or the rules of war,” Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s regional director for east and southern Africa, said in a statement on the organization’s website on Tuesday. “All three have committed war crimes, causing the deaths of hundreds of civilians.” The report, based on interviews with scores of people displaced by the violence, focuses primarily on the impact of increased fighting in Cabo Delgado since a major attack by the insurgents on Mocímboa da Praia in March 2020. The insurgency, which began in the natural gas-rich region in October 2017, has left more than 2,500 people dead and forced an estimated 668,000 others to flee their homes. At the turn of the year, Total SE suspended onshore work on a $20 billion project to export the fuel after attacks close to its site.”

The East African: Kenya: U.S. Warns Of Al-Shabaab Attacks In Kenyan Airspace

“The US government has issued a new warning to civilian airlines flying in the Kenyan airspace to watch out for possible attacks by militant groups, in what could heighten anxiety for the industry already weighed down by massive financial losses due to travel restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19. The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) said the advisory is consistent with the fact that Somalia-based terrorist group, Al-Shabaab remains in possession of weapons capable of hitting aircraft at low altitudes of up to 25,000 feet -- putting at risk arrival and departure phases of flights, especially on the popular aviation route through northeastern Kenya and Somalia. The air routes covered by the FAA warning include those connecting Nairobi and Far Eastern countries like Dubai (UAE), India and China, among other destinations serviced by major airlines. Planes plying the routes overpass eastern Kenya counties such as Garissa and exit into neighbouring Somalia. “The Kesom (FIR) to Mogdu (FIR), which is covered by the warning is a shorter and direct route from Nairobi to Far Eastern countries hence the reason airlines prefer it,” an aviation consultant told the Business Daily on condition of anonymity.”

Australia

Agence France-Presse: Australia To Place First Far-Right Group On Terror List

“A Britain-based neo-Nazi outfit will become the first far-right organisation to be listed as a terror group in Australia, authorities said Tuesday, after growing warnings from security services. The Department of Home Affairs signalled that the Sonnenkrieg Division would join the current list of 27 proscribed organisations, which have so far been exclusively jihadist or separatist groups linked to the Middle East and central Asia. Australia's domestic spy agency has repeatedly sounded the alarm about the growing threat of far-right violence. Since an Australian gunman killed 51 worshippers at mosques in New Zealand's Christchurch in 2019, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation has said the far-right threat had “increased” and become an “enduring threat”. But until now the country's conservative government has been reluctant to formally designate any organisations as terror groups. The move means that being a member of the Sonnenkrieg Division or helping the organisation financially will be outlawed. Home affairs minister Peter Dutton said the Sonnenkrieg Division, or SKD, had “a presence that we're particularly worried about in the UK”. “Their reach goes into the minds of young people and Australians here,” he told Nine News.”

Technology

Fox News: 'No Social Media Accounts For Terrorists': House GOP Pushes To Block Sanctioned Foreign Leaders From Platforms

“House Republicans are proposing legislation that would expand U.S. sanctions law to prohibit social media companies from allowing foreign individuals or entities sanctioned for terrorism from using their platforms. The legislation, led by GOP Reps. Andy Barr, Jim Banks, and Joe Wilson, and cosponsored by 40 other members of the House Republican Study Committee, is titled the “No Social Media Accounts for Terrorists or State Sponsors of Terrorism Act of 2021.” “U.S. law gives big tech a free pass to provide platforms to terrorist groups and dictators,” Barr, R-Ky., told Fox News. “Social media companies should not provide a vehicle for terrorist groups like ISIS to raise money or for dictators like the Ayatollah of Iran to spread propaganda.” Under current U.S. sanctions law, the president of the United States does not have the authority to require social media platforms to adhere to U.S. sanctions laws on terrorists due to the International Economic Emergency Powers Act of 1976—specifically the “Berman Amendments” passed in 1988 and 1994—which prohibit the president from even indirectly regulating or prohibiting anything to do with the free flow of informational services.”

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Personal note: I swear the whole world is become more radical this year. Blame it on the virus or just plain poor National Unity amongst the residence of these Nations!?
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