Eye on Extremism - May 26, 2021

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Eye on Extremism - May 26, 2021
By: Counter Extremism Project
Re: info@counterextremism.com

As of May 26, 2021:

The National: Saudi Arabia-Led Coalition Air Strike Kills High-Ranking Hezbollah Commander, Says Yemeni Official

“The Saudi Arabia-led military coalition engaged in fighting the Houthi rebels in Yemen killed a high-ranking Hezbollah commander in an air strike in northern Marib province, Yemen’s Information Minister Moamer Al Eryani told The National on Tuesday. Mustafa Al Gharawi was killed in the Serwah region west of Marib on Monday, Mr Al Eryani said. The Houthis began an assault on Marib in February and are now within a few kilometres of the government-held city, the site of the only oil refinery in the north and a gateway to nearby oilfields. “Al Gharawi was killed in an air strike launched by coalition aircraft on sites controlled by the Houthi militia in Serwah,” Mr Al Eryani said. A fighter loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed government mans a position near the front line facing Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Marib province. The minister, who is part of the internationally recognised Yemeni government, said Iran has been intensively involved in backing the Houthi rebels in the recent escalation in Marib. “His killing reflects the level of the Iranian involvement in military escalation waged by the Houthi militia on various Marib fronts,” he said. The latest round of talks on enacting a ceasefire in Marib and other hotspots in Yemen have stalled, killing hopes of a breakthrough after US President Joe Biden's administration made ending the war a priority.”

NBC News: In Peru, Shining Path Rebels Kill At Least 16 Ahead Of Vote, U.N. Condemns 'Murder'

“Leftist Shining Path militants killed at least 16 people, including two children, in a remote region of Peru and burned some of the bodies beyond recognition, according to the military. Peru's interim president said on Tuesday there will be “no impunity” for the authors of the massacre in the jungle region known for cocaine production, which authorities attribute to a dissident faction of Shining Path rebels. “We are doing all we can to deploy the police and the military in a way that we can efficiently combat this plague,” interim President Francisco Sagasti told reporters. “We know this is a rough terrain with many ravines that the narcoterrorists know very well.” Pamphlets encouraging Peruvians to refrain from voting in the June 6 presidential election were found at the site of Sunday's massacre, the joint command of Peru's armed forces said in a statement. The military called the murders “an act of genocide” and said the Shining Path had previously labeled such attacks a form of “social cleansing.” The statement assured Peruvians of “a secure electoral process.” The incident took place in a region called Valle de los Rios Apurimac, Ene y Mantaro (VRAEM), which produces 75% of the South American nation's cocaine, according to authorities.”

Syria

Al Monitor: Islamic State Escalates Operations Against Syrian Forces During Ramadan

“The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said in a recent report that a military convoy affiliated with the Syrian government and allied Iranian militias were ambushed by the Islamic State (IS) on May 18 in the south of al-Mateyah village in the Maskanah desert, east of Aleppo. According to SOHR sources, five four-wheel-drive vehicles of the government’s 25th Division and Iranian militias were attacked while passing through the area. Clashes ensued between IS members and government-affiliated forces, which led to the killing of eight people, including a commander of the Iranian militias. Between March 24, 2019, and May 18, the UK-based war monitor documented the killing of 1,430 government forces and Syrian and foreign fighters loyal to them, including two Russians at least. On May 16, the IS-affiliated Amaq news agency published a statement, in which it noted that, during the month of Ramadan between April 13 and May 13, the organization carried out 79 attacks in Syria, during which 122 members of the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were killed and wounded. According to the statement, half of the operations occurred in Deir ez-Zor, where IS carried out 40 operations, while 11 operations were carried out in Homs, 10 in Raqqa, nine in Daraa, six in Hasakah, two in Aleppo and one in Hama.”

Kurdistan 24: Pentagon Reaffirms US Commitment To Fighting ISIS In Iraq, Syria

“Speaking to journalists on Monday, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby repeatedly affirmed the US commitment to continuing the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Kirby’s statement follows a trip to the region by CENTCOM commander, Gen. Frank McKenzie, in which he visited Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia in the period between May 20 and 23. “We remain committed to Coalition efforts against ISIS in Iraq and Syria,” Kirby affirmed in reply to a question from Kurdistan 24. “We still have troops in both places that are dedicated to that mission,” he continued. “We still have partners in the Coalition that are dedicated to that mission, and nothing has changed about it as of today.” For the past two months, there has been widespread misreporting about the US commitment to continuing the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The misreporting has implied that the US is about to abandon the fight against ISIS. But that is not so. Thus, on Monday, one reporter, citing a wire service story that suggested an impending US withdrawal, challenged Kirby, “The press reporting, at least from our colleagues in the AP, leaves us under the impression that a vacuum” is emerging in the area. “Is the United States committed to the security” of “its allies and partners in the area?”

Iran

The Telegraph: Ban Iranian Revolutionary Guard As Terrorist Group After 'Brazen' Flag Incident, Says Senior MP

“Ministers have been urged to proscribe Iran’s revolutionary guard as a terrorist organisation after its flag was brazenly unfurled in central London at an anti-Israeli rally this weekend. Tom Tugendhat, Tory chair of the foreign affairs committee, urged the government to follow the US in banning the guard which would be the first state group to be proscribed. He said it was “disturbing” to see the flag of a “terrorist organisation” flagrantly displayed on Britain’s streets. One of the main Iranian news agencies has been screening the display of the flag of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which has been blamed for fomenting jihad around the world and was proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the US in 2019. It was unfurled during an anti-Israel demonstration in Trafalgar Square on Saturday May 22, with its distinctive automatic gun insignia. In addition, a black and white flag of the Hashd Al-Sha’abi - also known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces, PMF - is visible in the video.The Hashd Al-Sha’abi, which was formed in 2014 during the conflict with Islamic State, is an Iraqi umbrella organisation comprised of 40 mostly Shi’a militia groups.”

Iraq

The Washington Post: 100 Iraqi Families From IS-Linked Camp In Syria Repatriated

“Nearly a dozen buses carrying 100 Iraqi families who lived in a sprawling Syrian camp for supporters and families of Islamic State militants returned to Iraq on Tuesday, where public opinion is divided about their return. The families include women, children and men, according to Syrian Kurdish and Iraqi officials familiar with the repatriation plans. Iraqi security officials in Ninevah confirmed the buses had entered the province and would be going to Jadah camp, near the town of Qayara. The officials declined to be named because the repatriation has not yet been made public. The buses were accompanied by a huge convoy of Iraqi security forces, including the army, the federal police and the Popular Mobilization Forces. The families have been living in al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria since early 2019 following the military defeat of the extremist group in which it lost the last territory it held. The repatriation is one of the issues discussed between Iraqi and U.S. officials and has been delayed before amid opposition from Iraqi officials out of security concerns. Al-Hol camp is home to nearly 70,000 people — most of them women and children — who were displaced by the military offensive of the U.S.-led coalition against IS.”

Turkey

Asharq Al-Awsat: Turkey Arrests Egyptian Suspected ISIS Explosives Expert

“Turkish authorities have arrested an Egyptian man they accuse of being an ISIS explosives expert who is wanted by the United States. Mustafa Abdulwahab Mahmoud, born in 1999, was arrested along with three suspected accomplices in Istanbul where he was after fleeing Syria through Egypt, Turkish state television channel TRT reported. A prosecutor has also drafted an indictment in which he calls for up to 22 and a half years in prison against the suspect for “belonging to and running a terrorist group.” According to TRT, the detainee is an expert in making homemade bombs and explosive belts and was planning attacks in Turkey, including against American interests. He also shared his know-how on the internet with aspiring extremists in other countries. American intelligence services shared information with Turkish authorities that made it possible to arrest him, according to the Turkish media. In a related matter, police arrested a Syrian national in the Nevsehir province for his links to ISIS. The terrorist group has claimed responsibility for 10 suicide bombings that killed 315 and injured hundreds in Turkey between 2015-2017. In early May, Turkey arrested an Afghan national described as the right-hand man of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was killed in October 2019 after being tracked down by US forces in a hideout close to the Turkish border.”

Afghanistan

The New York Times: Pentagon Accelerates Withdrawal From Afghanistan

“United States troops and their NATO allies intend to be out of Afghanistan by early to mid-July, well ahead of President Biden’s Sept. 11 withdrawal deadline, military officials said, in what has turned into an accelerated ending to America’s longest war. But the race to the exits, which has picked up steam as planeloads of equipment and troops are flown out of the country, leaves the United States grappling with huge unresolved issues that officials had thought they would have more time to figure out. The Pentagon still has not determined how it will combat terrorist threats like Al Qaeda from afar after American troops leave. Nor have top Defense Department officials secured agreement from allies about repositioning American troops in other nearby countries. And administration officials are still grappling with the thorny question of whether American warplanes — most likely armed Reaper drones — will provide air support to Afghan forces to help prevent the country’s cities from falling to the Taliban. “Withdrawing forces is actually a really delicate kind of operation that has risks associated with it,” said Michèle A. Flournoy, a former under secretary for defense under President Barack Obama.”

Voice Of America: VOA Exclusive: Taliban Attach Conditions To Istanbul Conference Participation

“The Afghan Taliban have decided upon three conditions to attend an eagerly awaited U.S.-proposed conference in Turkey: The conference must be short, the agenda should not include decision-making on critical issues, and the Taliban delegation should be low level, a senior Taliban leader told VOA Tuesday. “Our leadership has proposed that the Istanbul meeting should not be longer than three days,” said the leader who did not want to be identified as he is not allowed to speak on the record. Another senior Taliban leader confirmed the news when approached by VOA. The conference, to be hosted jointly by the United Nations, Turkey, and Qatar, was first proposed by the United States in April, days after President Joe Biden announced that foreign forces would leave Afghanistan by September of this year. No date has been announced. It was one of several proposed conferences involving the Taliban, the Afghan government, and regional countries designed to give momentum to the peace talks between the Taliban and an official Afghan government team in Doha. A Taliban delegation attended one such conference in Moscow but refused to attend the conference in Turkey, saying they were deliberating on this and other key issues.”

Pakistan

Voice Of America: Pakistan Rules Out Military Bases For US Anti-Terror Afghan Operations

“Pakistan dismissed Tuesday the possibility of allowing the United States to operate a military base on Pakistani territory or conduct “kinetic drone” operations against Afghanistan. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s statement came amid reports Islamabad is allegedly negotiating a new arrangement with Washington to facilitate future U.S. counterterrorism operations in the war-torn neighboring country following the withdrawal of international troops. Qureshi rejected the reports as baseless and speculative. “Let this house and the Pakistani nation be a witness to my testimony that under [Prime Minister] Imran Khan there will be no American base built on Pakistani soil. Forget about the past,” he told the upper house of the parliament. “The government of Pakistan has categorically said that we will not allow kinetic use of drones nor are we interested in the surveillance of your drones. That’s a very clear-cut policy of this government,” Qureshi said. The chief Pakistani diplomat delivered his speech a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa. That conversation followed Sunday’s meeting in Geneva between U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and his Pakistani counterpart, Moeed Yusuf.”

Lebanon

The Washington Post: Hezbollah Leader: Breach Of Jerusalem Means Regional War

“The leader of Lebanon’s militant group Hezbollah said Tuesday any violations of Jerusalem and the sites holy to Muslims and Christians would lead to a regional war. Speaking for the first time since the cease-fire ending the 11-day war between Hamas and Israel, Hassan Nasrallah said Gaza’s militant groups have proved that no one can sit idle when Israel attacks the holy sites or tries to undermine the Palestinians’ right to the city. Even from besieged Gaza and with limited capabilities and home-made rockets, Hamas and other groups responded to what he called Israeli violations and attacks outside of territory it controlled, Nasrallah said. He described it as a great victory that paralyzed the Israeli state. The war was triggered by weeks of clashes in Jerusalem between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters in and around the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a site revered by Jews and Muslims. The site has seen several outbreaks of violence between Israelis and Palestinians over the years. The protests were directed at Israel’s policing of the area during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers. “The Israelis must understand that breaching the holy city and al-Aqsa mosque and sanctuaries won’t stop at Gaza resistance,” Nasrallah said during his 100-minute speech.”

Africa

All Africa: Ethiopia: Government Official, Six Others Killed In Militant Ambush

“An Ethiopian government official and several others were killed after recently “terrorist designated” militants ambushed a government convoy that has been visiting development projects in West Guji Zone in Ethiopia's Oromia region. Seven people, including the head of the Gelan district's Security and Administration Office, were killed in the attack, a regional police source told The EastAfrican on Sunday. The injured are being treated at Dilla Town Referral Hospital. Speaking to the state-run Ethiopian News Agency (ENA), Commander Obsa Hundesa, the head of the Gelana Woreda, West Guji Zone police department, said authorities are searching for the attackers. He urged the public to support and cooperate with the government to wipe out militants from the areas. Police said the attack was carried out by “Shene militants”, an armed group which the Ethiopian government recently designated as a terrorist group. It also designated the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) a terrorist organisation. Gelana Woreda Government Communication Head, Gebeyehu Yadete, said efforts are underway to restore peace in the area. Rising insecurity across Ethiopia has continued to claim lives of hundreds of citizens.”

United Kingdom

BBC News: Maidenhead Far-Right 'Extremist' Jailed For Terrorism Offences

“A “right-wing extremist” has been jailed for possessing manuals on knife fighting and making explosives. Police found a hoard of Nazi-era daggers, far-right literature and a framed Ku Klux Klan certificate in Nicholas Brock's bedroom in Berkshire. The 53-year-old was found guilty in March of three counts of possessing materials which could be of use in preparing terrorist acts. He was jailed for four years at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court. Brock's collection included a copy of Hitler's Mein Kampf manifesto and a video of a white supremacist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019, the court heard. Prosecutors described the hoard as materials suitable for “an undergraduate degree” in the far-right. The stash and a hard drive containing the terrorist manuals were found in 2018 at Brock's home in Maidenhead, which he shared with his mother. Judge Peter Lodder QC told him: “It is clear from the wide range of other material found on your computer and your hard drive that you are a right-wing extremist. “Your enthusiasm for this repulsive and toxic ideology is demonstrated by the graphic, racist, Islamophobic and white supremacist iconography which you have stored.”

Australia

7 News: Right-Wing Terror Threat Still On The Rise

“Australia's right-wing terrorism threat has continued to rise with almost half of domestic spy counter-terrorism investigations now dedicated to ideological extremists. ASIO director-general Mike Burgess told a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra on Tuesday terror threats were complex and challenging. “Our investigations in ideologically motivated violent extremism, such as racists and nationalists, are approaching 50 per cent of our counter-terrorism onshore caseload,” he said. “This reflects a growing international trend as well as ASIO's decision to allocate more resources to the threat.” He said the increase was concerning and challenging but needed to be viewed in context. “Religiously motivated violent extremism remains, in the short term, our most serious terrorist threat.” Mr Burgess said battle-hardened foreign fighters could return to the country, while 14 Australians convicted of terrorism offences were due to end prison terms over the next five years. “Right now ASIO is aware of multiple religiously motivated violent extremists who want to kill Australians. Groups such as ISIL continue to urge attacks,” he said. The threat of a terrorism attack remains probable, with Mr Burgess telling a hearing last month an incident was likely within the next year.”

New Zealand

NZ Herald: Alleged Isis Sympathiser Found Guilty Of Possessing Objectionable Hymns, Acquitted Of Video And Knife Charges

“A man accused of being an Islamic State sympathiser has been found guilty by a jury of possessing propaganda-style material for the terrorist organisation. However, he has been acquitted on other charges for allegedly possessing a graphic video depicting a prisoner being decapitated and possession of an offensive weapon.The 32-year-old, known only as S due to an interim suppression order, was on trial in the High Court at Auckland for the past week. Today, the jury returned verdicts over three charges of possessing an objectionable publication relating to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis). S was also charged with failing to comply with a police search, for which the jury found him guilty. The three publications were two audio videos with nasheeds (hymns and chants) and a seven-minute, violently graphic, Isis propaganda video. S was found guilty of possessing the two nasheed publications but not guilty of possessing the longer video. The material has since been declared objectionable by the Chief Censor for promoting acts of extreme violence, cruelty and terrorism. It was only the second time the Office of Film and Literature Classification was asked to look at Isis-related material.”

Southeast Asia

Al Jazeera: Bangladesh Detains Popular Preacher In ‘Anti-Terrorism’ Case

“Bangladesh police have arrested one of the country’s most popular preachers, whose rallies draw tens of thousands of people, on charges of inciting “militants”, a senior officer said. Amir Hamza was detained in a raid at his home on Tuesday in the western city of Kushtia and then transferred to Dhaka, police said. Hamza is the latest high-profile religious leader to be held since March when a visit by India’s Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi sparked protests in which at least 13 people died. A court remanded Hamza for 10 days for questioning, Mohammad Asaduzzaman, head of Dhaka police’s counterterrorism unit, told the AFP news agency. “He is an accused in an anti-terrorism case,” Asaduzzaman said, adding that investigators had found videos of Hamza’s speeches in the mobile phone of a suspect detained this month over an alleged plot to attack Bangladesh’s parliament. Hamza, who is in his 30s, is one of a new generation of preachers whose firebrand speeches draw huge crowds in the country of 160 million. Hamza’s YouTube video speeches get millions of views. In 2019, Mizanur Rahmani Azhari, another prominent preacher, fled the country over fears he would be prosecuted for his remarks.”

Technology

Politico: Facebook Takes Down Support Group For Extremist Belgian Soldier

“A Facebook group with over 40,000 members supporting a far-right soldier on the run from Belgian authorities was taken down by the social network. “We removed the group because it violated our policy on Dangerous Individuals and Organizations. Content, groups or pages that praises or support terrorists, like Jürgen Conings, are not allowed on Facebook or Instagram”, a Facebook spokesperson told POLITICO. Conings' personal account was also taken down later. The group was launched last week to support Jürgen Conings, a soldier who threatened Belgian virologist Marc Van Ranst, and is said to be heavily armed. Belgian police and armed forces are still looking for Conings, who remains in hiding. The company cited its policy on “Dangerous Individuals and Organizations,” in removing the group, which was also the basis for its crackdown on militarized social movements like the one that resulted in the Capitol Hill riots in the U.S. in January."