Eye on Extremism - June 14, 2021

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Eye on Extremism - June 14, 2021
By: Counter - Extremism Project - 06-14-21
Re: info@counterextremism.com

As of June 14, 2021:

Deutsche Welle: Gunmen Attack Villages, Kill Over 90 In Nigeria

“At least 90 people were killed by armed men in northwestern Nigeria, local media reported on Friday citing the region's police. “An attack took place at Kadawa village of Zurmi local government where bandits took advantage of the night to strike on unsuspecting people and killed them in cold blood,” a police spokesperson told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). “On getting the news of the attack, the Commissioner of Police ordered combined units of security personnel to mobilize to the area, restore peace and confidence in the communities and track the perpetrators so that they can be brought to book,” he added. The attack, which took place on Thursday in a village in Zamfara state, was the latest in a spate of deadly attacks and mass kidnappings the region has seen in recent months. Earlier on Friday, the governor of Zamfara told residents to take matters into their own hands and fight back against such attacks. “I am calling on the people of the state to defend themselves if the bandits attack them,” Governor Bello Matawalle was quoted as saying by the Nigerian Tribune daily. “My government has approved that whenever the bandits attack you, do not wait for the security personnel to come to your rescue. You should rise and protect yourselves,” he said.”

Los Angeles Times: Islamic State Claims Responsibility For Bomb Attacks In Afghan Capital That Kill 7

“The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for bombing two minivans in a mostly Shiite neighborhood in the Afghan capital that killed seven people. Among the dead were two employees of Afghanistan’s state-run film company, a colleague said Sunday. In a statement issued late Saturday, Afghanistan’s Islamic State affiliate said its operatives blew up two minivans carrying “disbeliever Shiites” using so-called sticky bombs. Sticky bombs slapped onto cars trapped in Kabul’s chaotic traffic are the newest weapons terrorizing Afghans in the increasingly lawless nation. Film director Sahra Karimi said on Twitter on Sunday that Fatima Mohammadi and Tayiba Musavi, who worked for the Afghan Film Organization, were among the six killed in the first attack. Their families identified their burned bodies in the forensic hospital of Kabul, she said. Karimi said Mohammadi and Musavi were animators working on a film for children, and they were returning home when they were attacked. The Saturday attacks targeted minivans on the same road about 1.25 miles apart in a neighborhood in western Kabul. The second bombing took place in front of Muhammad Ali Jinnah hospital, where a majority of COVID-19 patients are admitted, killing one and wounding four.”

United States

New York Post: Biden Declines To Mention Islamic State In Pulse Massacre Statement

“President Biden issued a statement Saturday commemorating the five-year anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Fla. The attack by gunman Omar Mateen left 49 dead at the LGBT nightclub, marking the deadliest act of Islamic terror on US soil since 9/11. Mateen was shot dead by police. “In the coming days, I will sign a bill designating Pulse Nightclub as a national memorial, enshrining in law what has been true since that terrible day five years ago: Pulse Nightclub is hallowed ground,” Biden wrote. But the statement curiously omitted any references to Islamic terrorism or the Islamic State — to which the shooter declared his allegiance shortly before carrying out his deadly rampage. “I pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of the Islamic State,” Mateen said in a 911 phone call. The Islamic State later took credit for the attack. It also later emerged that the FBI previously placed Mateen under surveillance for 10 months after he was overheard talking at work about Al-Qaeda connections and dying as a martyr, the Washington Post reported. The FBI deemed the Pulse shooting a terrorist attack at the time.”

Syria

The Jerusalem Post: A Jihadist Leader In Syria Did Outreach To The US At A Key Time

“Syrian jihadist extremists, who have suppressed minorities and women, have been doing outreach to the United States for years. An interview conducted months ago with the former US envoy against ISIS revealed the depth to which Hayat Tahrir al-Sham told the US that “we want to be your friend.” It is unclear how much the US considered an alliance with the extremist group, linked to Al Qaeda. It is worth looking back at the March interview to understand some of the US dilemmas in the region. This matters because President Joe Biden is meeting with Turkey's leader this week and Idlib may be on the agenda. The strange story of the US flirtation with extremists, including those who are not much different than the leaders of ISIS or planners of 9/11, has continued to be one of the stories of US policy in the Middle East over the years. From diplomats rooted in a Cold War mentality to others who tend to find extremists “exotic,” there has been a lobby that has seen Sunni Islamist extremists as potential allies against Iran, Russia, the Assad regime and others. Even of those groups blow up churches, ethnically cleanse minorities, kidnap westerners or merely create the circumstances for radicalization and the suppression of all human rights, get some sympathy.”

Iraq

The National: New Arrests In Iraq Point To Ongoing Struggle With Militias And Corruption

“Two generals have been arrested on suspicion of taking bribes to waive customs duties, a practice estimated to cost the state $6.3 billion a year in lost revenues, the Iraqi government said on Saturday. The arrests are part of a campaign announced by Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi last year to rein in rampant corruption at Iraq's ports. Both men worked at the Gulf port of Umm Qasr, an entry point for imported foodstuffs and medicines that is reputed to be partly under the control of corrupt political parties and Iran-backed militias. The sums allegedly found in their possession were tiny given the scale of corruption in Iraq, which is estimated to have cost the country hundreds of billions of dollars since the US-led invasion of 2003. “$1,000 were found in the office of the general in charge of Umm Qasr North, while the other general had hidden $2,100 in a waste basket in his office,” a source in the state anti-corruption body, the Commission for Integrity, told AFP. “These were bribes intended to facilitate the smooth passage of cargoes,” the source said. Iraq’s border points have been plagued by corrupt officials appointed by political parties or armed groups, who ensure a steady flow of illicit revenue to their patrons.”

Afghanistan

Al Jazeera: Turkey’s Troops Should Leave Afghanistan Under 2020 Deal: Taliban

“Turkey should withdraw its troops from Afghanistan under the 2020 deal for the pullout of foreign forces, a Taliban spokesman has said, effectively rejecting Ankara’s proposal to guard and run Kabul’s airport after the United States-led NATO forces depart. The development raises serious questions for the US, other countries and international organisations with missions in Kabul about how to securely evacuate their personnel from landlocked Afghanistan, should fighting threaten the capital, Reuters news agency reported on Thursday. It also appeared to dash Ankara’s hopes of using the securing of Kabul airport to help improve ties with Washington – strained by Turkey’s purchase of Russian defence systems – in talks set for Monday between President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Asked in a text message whether the Taliban rejected Turkey’s proposal to keep forces in Kabul to guard and run the international airport after other foreign troops leave, the Taliban spokesman in Doha responded that they should go as well. “Turkey was part of NATO forces in the past 20 years, so as such, they should withdraw from Afghanistan on the basis of the agreement we signed with US on 29th Feb 2020,” Suhail Shaheen told Reuters.”

Voice Of America: Taliban Reject Foreign Military Role In Guarding Kabul Airport After Troop Exit

“The Taliban warned Saturday that it would be “unacceptable” to them and a “mistake” on the part of any nation to retain a military presence in Afghanistan to guard airports or other installations after the departure of U.S.-led NATO troops from the warn-torn country. The insurgent group’s warning raises questions for Washington, other world countries, and aid groups with missions in Kabul about how to safely evacuate their personnel from the landlocked South Asian nation should fighting intensify and engulf the Afghan capital once all international forces withdraw by a September 11 deadline. Turkey, with about 500 soldiers still in Afghanistan, has offered its services to guard and run Kabul’s international airport beyond the withdrawal deadline set by U.S. President Joe Biden. Ankara reportedly floated the proposal at a NATO meeting last month. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday that talks between different allies, including Turkey, were underway on exactly how to ensure security and safe administration of the Kabul international airport.”

The National: Islamic Leaders Hail Accord To Promote Peace In Afghanistan

“The Organisation of Islamic Co-operation has hailed the signing of the Declaration of Peace in Afghanistan by Afghan and Pakistani scholars at a meeting hosted by Saudi Arabia in Makkah on Thursday. The conference, organised by the Muslim World League, brought together senior scholars from both countries for the first time with the aim of supporting peace efforts in Afghanistan, the state Saudi Press Agency reported. The declaration signed at the meeting “provides a final and comprehensive solution to the Afghan conflict, by supporting reconciliation between the conflicting parties in Afghanistan, and bringing them to a common ground, by addressing all political, social, economic and other related issues, through the spirit of joint action in order to stop the ongoing bloodshed in Afghanistan, and to lead the people of Afghanistan towards peace, reconciliation, stability and progress,” SPA said. “It emphasises that violence is not linked to any religion, nationality, civilisation or race, and considers violence resulting from extremism and terrorism in all its forms, including violence against civilians and suicide attacks, contrary to the principles of Islam.”

The Wall Street Journal: An Alternative To The Afghan Pullout

“I had the opportunity this month to visit and thank U.S. troops stationed around the world. Some of our troops are too young to remember 9/11, but that day is etched in my memory and the heart of our nation. The threat we saw that day is why we went to Afghanistan in 2001. The conditions on the ground had created an incubator for terrorists with international ambitions. Our troops went to prevent further attacks on the U.S. and our allies. Unfortunately, President Biden chose to ignore the conditions on the ground and withdraw all U.S. troops by Sept. 11 of this year—a purely political decision. The Biden administration pretends there are only two options: unconditional U.S. withdrawal, or a “forever war.” Nobody wants to see U.S. troops in Afghanistan forever. But there is a third option: maintaining a relatively small troop presence until the conditions outlined in the 2020 U.S.-Taliban Agreement are fully implemented. As we saw after President Obama’s withdrawal from Iraq in 2011, terrorists will exploit a security vacuum. Two and a half years after U.S. troops left Iraq, ISIS captured Mosul. It took five years, tens of thousands of troops and more than 30,000 airstrikes to destroy the physical caliphate.”

Yemen

The National: Yemen's STC Force Captures Al Qaeda-Linked Cell Responsible For Deadly Attacks Against Troops

“Security Belt Forces in southern Yemen on Sunday said they captured an Al Qaeda-linked cell responsible for a dozen recent attacks against troops in Abyan province. Last week a bomb attack by militants linked with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or Aqap, hit a lorry carrying soldiers in Zinjubar city, in the southern Yemen province. Seven soldiers of the SBF, who are fighting for the Southern Transitional Council, were killed and 25 wounded by a blast from a booby-trapped motorbike that was blown up remotely. “Following the terrorist blast which targeted our soldiers on Friday, a battalion from our forces succeeded in identifying the head of the Aqap-linked cell that orchestrated and carried out Friday's attack,” Abyan SBF spokesman Capt Salah Al Yousifi told The National on Sunday. “The head of the terrorist cell was captured in Zinjubar city on Sunday morning along with another member of the cell.” Capt Al Yousifi said both militants admitted their responsibility for Friday's terrorist attack. “The interrogation with the head of the cell led us to capture the other 13 members engaged in Friday's attack,” he said. Capt Al Yousifi said many of them admitted responsibility for a dozen attacks on soldiers in Abyan.”

Nigeria

Premium Times: Nigerian Army Urges Boko Haram Terrorists To Surrender

“The Nigerian Army has urged remnants of the Boko Haram terrorists to surrender and embrace peace. The General Officer Commanding (GOC), 7 Division, Nigerian Army, Brig.-Gen. A.A. Eyitayo, made the call at a feast organised for journalists by the army on Sunday in Maiduguri. Mr Eyitayo, who is also the Commander Sector 1, Operation Hadin Kai, said the recent military onslaught against the Boko Haram insurgents dealt decisive blow on the terrorists leaving their remnants in disarray. He noted that nobody including the military was happy over the bloodshed, hence, the need for the remnants of the insurgents to leverage on the amnesty and repent their nefarious ways. This, he said, would avail them (insurgents) opportunity to enjoy rehabilitation and acquire skills to enable them to live a useful live in the society. The GOC lauded the contributions of the media in the counter insurgency campaign and urged it to enlighten the insurgents to see the light and repent from their wasteful ventures. “We are not here for bloodletting, nobody is happy that people are dying. “Some of them (Boko Haram insurgents) are listening to the media so it is good for us to appeal to them through the media to shun violence, turn up to seek forgiveness and reconciliation,” Mr Eyitayo said.”

Africa

Reuters: Ambush In Northern Ivory Coast Kills Three Soldiers

“Three Ivorian soldiers were killed on patrol near the border with Burkina Faso on Saturday when one of their vehicles hit an improvised explosive and the convoy was ambushed, Ivory Coast's defence ministry said in a statement. The soldiers were on a reconnaissance mission near the northeastern town of Tehini when they fell victim to what the ministry called a complex attack. An additional four soldiers were wounded, it said in a statement on Sunday, without giving further details. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but previous attacks in the area have been blamed on jihadists. Armed groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State are active in Ivory Coast's northern neighbours, Mali and Burkina Faso, and have made incursions south. read more One soldier was killed when armed men attacked the nearby town of Tougbo on June 7. Ivory Coast and France on Thursday inaugurated a new counter-terrorism academy In the commercial capital Abidjan, intended to boost regional capacity to combat the growing Islamist threat.”

BBC News: Allied Democratic Forces: The Ugandan Rebels Working With IS In DR Congo

“The eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo has long been a cradle of rebel activity, often the spill-over of conflict in neighbouring Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda. Among the most notorious groups now operating there is Uganda's Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). The Islamist militant outfit was formed in the 1990s and primarily concerned itself with domestic grievances within Uganda. But after re-emerging in DR Congo, its activity has taken on a more global jihadist dimension, with attacks increasingly being claimed in the name of the Islamic State (IS) group. How did the ADF start? The ADF was created in northern Uganda by former military officers loyal to former strongman Idi Amin. It took up arms against Uganda's long-serving President, Yoweri Museveni, alleging government persecution of Muslims. After its defeat by the Ugandan army in 2001, it relocated to North Kivu province in the DR Congo. Following a period of low-level activity, the ADF re-emerged in 2014 with a series of attacks on Congolese civilians. Musa Seka Baluku became leader in 2015 following the arrest of his predecessor Jamil Mukulu. Baluku reportedly first pledged allegiance to IS in 2016.”

The Defense Post: Anti-Terror ‘Academy’ Set Up In Ivory Coast

“Ivory Coast and France on Thursday inaugurated a counter-terrorism academy designed to ramp up the Sahel region’s ability to counter a widespread jihadist threat. Ivorian Prime Minister Patrick Achi and his defense minister, Tene Birahima Ouattara, were joined by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian for the opening of the International Academy for the Fight Against Terrorism (AILCT) based just outside Abidjan, the country’s business capital. The three-building site will put those attending the academy through three stages of special forces anti-terrorism training. “The AILCT will be at the forefront of the response (to terror) of a free and conscientious West Africa, specially trained and utterly determined to fight jihadism,” said Achi. Ouattara said the academy would be “a focal point of regional competence in the anti-terror fight to benefit the stability of our states and the security of our populations.” He added that 500 people had already gone through training since 2017 prior to the formal inauguration of the facility. The site comes to fruition as the region faces up to attacks from jihadist groups in northern neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso. This week saw an Ivorian soldier killed in one such attack near the Burkina Faso border.”

United Kingdom

The Guardian: Neo-Nazi Student Guilty Of Terrorism And Hate Offences

“A neo-Nazi student who promoted an extremist organisation that was later banned as a terrorist group has been found guilty of terrorism and hate offences. Andrew Dymock used online platforms to raise money for System Resistance Network (SRN), one of a number of groups that sought to take over after the far-right group National Action (NA) was proscribed in 2016. The 24-year-old faces a jail sentence after he was found guilty at the Old Bailey of 15 charges, including 12 terrorism-related offences in 2017 and 2018. His trial heard how he had used a Twitter account and a website to promote SRN, which aimed to “stir up a race war” and “preached zero-tolerance” of non-white, Jewish and Muslim communities and described homosexuality as a “disease”. Dymock, who was studying politics at Aberystwyth University in Wales at the time, denied being behind the accounts, claiming he was framed by his now former partner, who he said had failed to recruit him to join NA. But he was found guilty of five charges of encouraging terrorism, two of fundraising for terrorism, four counts of disseminating terrorist publications, possessing a terrorist document, stirring up racial hatred and hatred based on sexual orientation, and possessing racially inflammatory material.”

France

Reuters: France Kills Senior Islamist Leader In Sahel, Vows To Fight On

“French forces killed an al Qaeda leader during an operation in the Sahel region of Africa, France's armed forces minister said on Friday, vowing to keep a substantial military presence in the region a day after President Emmanuel Macron ordered a draw-down. Speaking in an impromptu address, Florence Parly said that Baye ag Bakabo, who she said was responsible for the death of two French reporters in Mali in 2013, was killed on June 5. Three other militants were also killed. “An operation was then launched against an armed terrorist group which was about to unleash mortar fire on a base held by a Chadian battalion of MINUSMA,” Parly said, referring to the United Nations mission in Mali. “Four people were neutralised in the mission.” Radio journalists Claude Verlon and Ghislaine Dupont were abducted and shot dead after interviewing a member of the MNLA Tuareg separatist group in northern Mali in November 2013, six month after French troops drove back al-Qaeda-linked groups that had seized cities and towns in northern Mali. Their families have sought numerous legal avenues to bring their killers to justice. Paris prosecutors as early as 2013 had named Bakabo, a Touareg rebel and drug trafficker linked to al Qaeda’s north African wing, as the chief suspect after his pick-up truck was found abandoned in the desert near the bodies of the journalists.”

Canada

Reuters: Thousands March In Support Of Muslim Family Killed In Truck Attack In Canada

“Thousands of people marched on Friday in support of a Canadian Muslim family run over and killed by a man driving a pick-up truck last Sunday in an attack the police described as a hate crime. The four victims, spanning three generations, were killed when Nathaniel Veltman, 20, ran into them while they were out for an evening walk near their home. A fifth family member, a 9-year-old boy, survived. People in London, Ontario marched about 7 kilometers (4.4 miles) from the spot where the family was struck down to a nearby mosque, the site close to where Veltman was arrested by police. Some carried placards with messages reading 'Hate has no home here', 'Love over hate.' Similar events were held in other cities in Ontario, Canada's most populous province. “The best part was not just the numbers ... but the diversity of the people coming from every single community in London, coming together for this cause,” said 19-year old college student Abdullah Al Jarad at the march. The attack sparked outrage across Canada, with politicians from all sides condemning the crime, spurring growing calls to take action to curb hate crime and Islamophobia. Veltman made a brief court appearance on Thursday and will return to court on Monday.”

Vice: ‘When Is London Going To Wake Up?’ Muslims Describe The Terror Of Living In Canadian City Where Family Was Killed

“There’s a public square outside London, Ontario’s Covent Garden Market with more than a dozen wooden picnic tables—a spot where people can sit and eat snacks they picked up at the shop, relax, and read. It’s about a 90-second walk from the apartment of Nathaniel Veltman, the 20-year-old man accused of murdering four members of a Muslim family and injuring another. It’s also the spot where London resident Mohammad Sharifi was violently beaten by two men in May 2016, leaving him with a concussion and post-traumatic stress disorder. Sharifi, who at the time was a 30-year-old grad student at Western University, told VICE World News that he and his then girlfriend were poring over school work one evening when they heard the two men yelling at them across the street. “I saw the expression on my girlfriend’s face change and she was like, ‘They’re coming this way,’” Sharifi said. According to Sharifi, the bigger of the two men began calling Sharifi a “fucking Muslim, an Arab, a terrorist,” before shoving him to the ground and punching him repeatedly. The men, Blaire Gibson and Justin Smart, both 24 at the time, were eventually convicted of assault. It’s been more than five years, but the hatred Sharifi experienced in London hasn’t gone anywhere.”