Eye on Extremism - February 20, 2020

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Eye on Extremism
February 20, 2020
Re: info@counterextremism.com

As of February 20, 2020:

The Wall Street Journal: Eight People Killed In Shootings Near Frankfurt

“Gunmen killed eight people Wednesday night in shootings in central Germany that have left police guessing about the motive and the number of shooters, who remain at large, police said early Thursday. The attacks took place around 10 p.m. local time when the gunmen opened fire on patrons of a hookah lounge in downtown Hanau, near Frankfurt, and then fled in a dark vehicle, police said. They later resumed shooting in another part of town. “Eight people were fatally wounded,” a police spokesman said, adding that five people were in serious condition following the attacks. Police said they had no information about the motive and didn’t know how many shooters were involved. Armed police were scouring the city in pursuit of the shooters, going door-to-door in some neighborhoods as police helicopters hovered over the city searching the streets below. Police were scouring the city in pursuit of the shooters, but had no further information about the attack. While violent crime is relatively rare in Germany, the country has experienced a rise in far-right and Islamist terrorism as well as an organized-crime wave.”

WTOP: The Hunt: ISIS Still Has Significant Presence On The Internet

“Organizations that monitor terrorist activity on the internet say they are still finding a lot of dangerous propaganda, more than two years after ISIS was defeated. On this week’s edition of The Hunt with WTOP national security correspondent J.J. Green, Joshua Fisher-Birch, a researcher with the Counter-Extremism Project, says the responsibility lies with both ISIS and internet companies. He also spoke about internet material connected with domestic right-wing extremists.”

Sky News: Under Attack: Dozens Of Hospitals Targeted During Latest Phase Of Syria's Bloody War

“There have been at least 67 attacks on hospitals, health facilities and health workers in northwest Syria since April last year, Sky News analysis has shown. Using information from non-profit organisations, activists and the United Nations, we have identified dozens of locations that have been hit where patients were treated or healthcare staff were working. The UN says there have been 83 attacks on healthcare in Syria as a whole in the same period, but does not make the locations public. Many of the sites we have identified are in villages in Idlib province that have been on the frontline as Syria's President Bashar al Assad has fought to reclaim territory he lost during the nine-year civil war. Idlib is the last bastion of jihadist rebels, many of whom are allied to al Qaeda. But it has also become a haven for people fleeing the fighting in other parts of Syria, who have seen the destruction the Assad regime has waged and are terrified of being killed or persecuted. Last spring, a number of countries sought to re-establish relations with Syria during a lull in the war, prompting some to ponder whether the war was over. Syria and its allies Russia and Iran had taken back territory from rebels in the south and west and had reached an impasse with the Kurds in the north.”

United States

New York Post: ‘Bike Path Terrorist’ Sayfullo Saipov Threatened To Decapitate Corrections Officer: Court Papers

“Accused bike path terrorist Sayfullo Saipov threatened to decapitate a federal corrections officer for repeatedly waking him while he’s locked up at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, a new court filing detailing a trove of the government’s evidence against him alleges. Saipov, who’s accused of killing eight people during his 2017 Halloween terror attack on the West Side Highway, allegedly threatened the officer on Dec. 17 last year for repeatedly slamming a door at night, making it hard for the ISIS follower to sleep, the filing states. “During the course of this confrontation, the defendant threatened to kill the Officer. Indeed, as the defendant later admitted to the MCC’s disciplinary committee (the ‘Committee’), he told the Officer that if the Officer dared to open the defendant’s cell, in two minutes ‘other guys will be picking up your dead body,’” the filing states. The next day, still angry from the prior incident, Saipov obstructed a security camera in his cell and said he wouldn’t remove it until “the Officer’s head was cut off” and then referred to the officer “as an animal,” according to the filing. “Again, the defendant unapologetically admitted this threat to the Committee, telling the Committee that he wanted to ‘cut this animal head off,’” prosecutors allege.”

Syria

Vice: Thousands Of Foreign ISIS Fighters In Syria Will Go On Trial Starting In March

“Thousands of foreign Islamic State fighters currently held in northeastern Syria will be put on trial by a new court system as early as March, a senior Kurdish official told VICE News. The foreign fighters, who flocked to northern Syria from more than 50 countries to fight for the Islamic State group, have largely been blocked from returning to their countries of origin since the defeat of ISIS in March 2019, and have been held in prisons by Kurdish forces ever since. Former ISIS fighters are being held in prisons and camps across Rojava, a Kurdish-held autonomous region in northern Syria. Majority Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces or SDF were instrumental in defeating ISIS in Syria, fighting and training alongside the U.S.-led coalition. But after President Trump announced the withdrawal of 1,500 U.S. troops from the area in October, anti-ISIS operations by the U.S. has slowed down leaving the SDF to largely shoulder the burden of both foreign prisoners and security. Abdul Karim Omar, co-chair of the Foreign Relations Commission in North Syria, told VICE that trials of the men and women held in the camps will be conducted in conjunction with their countries of origin.”

Newsweek: U.S. Military Left 'Thousands' Of Weapons 'Vulnerable To Loss Or Theft' During Fight Against Isis In Syria

“A new Pentagon report revealed that U.S. forces failed to properly track or store hundreds of millions of dollars worth of weapons sent to American allies to support the fight against Islamic State militants in Syria. The Defense Department Inspector General report released Tuesday said officials with Special Operations Joint Task Force–Operation Inherent Resolve (SOJTF-OIR) and the 1st Theater Sustainment Command (TSC) did not properly account for $715 million in arms earmarked for Syrian forces fighting ISIS. This may have resulted in gear damage and duplicate weapons purchases, inflating the operation's spending figures. The Pentagon noted that thousands of weapons were also left “vulnerable to loss or theft.” Inadequate accounting meant officials could not say if any arms had been lost or stolen. SOJTF-OIR oversees the the “day-to-day operations” of the Counter-Islamic State of Iraq and Syria Train and Equip Fund (CTEF), deciding which weapons and equipment local allies require, The Military Times explained. These include the Kurdish-led Syrian Defense Forces (SDF) that bore the brunt of anti-ISIS operations. The 1st TSC oversees storage of these weapons at a warehouse in Kuwait and their movement to other warehouses closer to the Syrian border.”

The Canberra Times: Sydney Man Jailed For Joining IS In Syria

“A Sydney man who says he travelled to war-torn Syria to join Islamic State for humanitarian reasons has been jailed for at least two years and nine months. Belal Betka pleaded guilty to engaging in hostile activity in a foreign country but claimed the trip he took with his then-wife was honourable. During a sentencing hearing in December, he said he left after being told he had to fight for IS and because its members were mistreating civilians. NSW Supreme Court Justice Ian Harrison on Thursday said he believed Betka's account and there was no evidence to suggest he ever held violent extremist views. Justice Harrison told the court, sitting in Parramatta, there was no evidence the Algerian Australian was militarily trained or actively fought with Islamic State. The Crown had argued recorded phone conversations between Betka and an un-named woman showed otherwise. Betka allegedly spoke about the strengths of an AK-47 machine gun, said he'd “smelled death” and claimed Muslim fighters who died were 10 times better than the living. Justice Harrison said it was “exaggerated self-promotion” and that Betka had been talking up what was a “frustratingly uneventful” time in Syria.”

Turkey

BBC News: Verdict Delayed For Turkish Activists Held On Terror Charges

“A Turkish court has delayed its verdict in the case of 11 rights activists arrested in 2017 on terror charges. In an unexpected move, the court announced another hearing for 3 April. The activists include Taner Kilic and Idil Eser, the former head and former director of human rights group Amnesty International in Turkey. All are accused of having links to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, leader of a banned group which Turkey blames for a failed coup attempt in 2016. They have denied the charges. The activists have since been released on bail, but are awaiting a ruling on the case. In a statement, Amnesty said the charges have been “repeatedly and categorically disproven”, and called for the immediate acquittal of the activists. Speaking outside the court ahead of the ruling, Mr Kilic said he was “optimistic for justice”. Wednesday's hearing comes the day after the prominent businessman and rights activist Osman Kavala was re-arrested just hours after his acquittal, on a new warrant issued over the attempt to oust Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016. Amnesty said Mr Kavala's renewed detention “smacks of deliberate and calculated cruelty”, while Human Rights Watch Turkey director Emma Sinclair Webb called the new warrant “lawless and vindictive.”

Afghanistan

Reuters: U.S. Special Envoy Discusses Taliban Deal With Re-Elected Afghan President

“U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday discussed a U.S. deal with Taliban militants on a weeklong reduction in violence, meeting the day after Ghani was declared a winner of a disputed presidential poll. Ghani’s main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, who came in second, rejected the result and vowed to form his own government, threatening new political turmoil as the United States strives to seal a U.S. troop withdrawal deal with Taliban militants. The Afghan presidential palace in a statement quoted President Ghani as telling Khalilzad he had held “effective” meetings with local leaders on how the Afghan government would handle the peace process. The U.S.-Taliban deal was struck in protracted negotiations in the Qatari capital Doha and was announced on Friday after a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Ghani and U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper in Munich. Khalilzad, who has led talks with the Taliban on a U.S. troop withdrawal agreement, briefed Ghani on the steps that will be taken after the reduction in violence agreement comes into force, the presidential palace statement said.”

Fox News: What To Know About US-Taliban Peace Talks

“The Trump administration is hoping to reach a peace deal with the Taliban that would end America's longest war and begin the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. The Taliban said Monday a deal could be signed by the end of February, though U.S. officials remain cautiously optimistic. Both sides recently agreed to a seven-day period of reduced violence in Afghanistan. The U.S. will monitor the temporary truce to determine if there are any violations. “We've said all along that the best, if not the only, solution in Afghanistan is a political agreement. Progress has been made on that front and we'll have more to report on that soon, I hope,” Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters in Brussels, Belgium, last week. The agreement comes amid progress in negotiations between the Taliban and U.S. Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, Washington's chief negotiator with the group, since December in the Qatari capital of Doha. “I believe that, maybe better than any time in the last couple of decades, there is an opportunity for peace,” Khalilzad said, according to The Washington Post, while speaking in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Monday at a United Nations conference on refugees marking four decades of conflict in Afghanistan.”

Pakistan

Radio Free Europe: Five Pakistani Soldiers Killed By Militant Attack Near Iranian Border

“Five soldiers from Pakistan's Frontier Corps (FC) have been killed in an overnight attack by militants near the Iran-Pakistan border, Pakistani officials told RFE/RL on February 19. Speaking on condition of anonymity, officials told RFE/RL that the attackers used “heavy weapons” late on February 18 to target a security post in the Balangor area west of the city of Turbat in Balochistan Province’s Kech district. The checkpoint was located about 30 kilometers from the Iranian border on a key highway that links southeastern Iran with Balochistan’s provincial capital of Quetta. Three Pakistani soldiers wounded in the attack have been rushed to a nearby hospital, the officials said. Pakistani security forces launched a counteroperation early on February 19 in an attempt to locate the assailants. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which took place in an area where Baluch separatists frequently target Pakistani security convoys and checkpoints. The attack follows a suicide bombing on February 17 that killed eight radical Sunni Muslims and injured 16 others at a Islamist rally in Quetta. There also was no claim responsibility the Quetta attack.”

Yemen

Al Monitor: Report: Yemen’s Houthis Now Sporting Deadlier Drones

“Drones used by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen are becoming deadlier and more accurate over long ranges, according to a report released Wednesday. While the Yemeni group had been using earlier variants of Iran-linked drones in kamikaze-style attacks that sought to smash directly into targets, newer models discharge explosives and shrapnel, such as in an attack on a Yemeni military parade in al-Anad last year that killed six people and wounded several more. “It’s not just an evolution in their technology, but their ability to reach targets beyond the conflict,” said Jonah Leff, the director of operations at Conflict Armament Research, known by the acronym CAR, which analyzed nine drones seized from the battlefield by the United Arab Emirates. The CAR report states that the parts used in drones are “identical or similar” to improvised explosive devices found in Yemen and Bahrain. As the Donald Trump administration has backed off of earlier claims of direct linkages between the Houthi movement, which practices a blend of Zaydi Shiite Islam, and Iran, Leff, the CAR expert, said it’s increasingly “likely” the rebel fighters have the ability to develop their own parts.”

Libya

The New York Times: Inside Hifter’s Libya: A Police State With An Islamist Twist

“The field marshal stares from billboards into the wreckage of the Libyan city of Benghazi. His uniform is festooned with epaulets and honors, even as the civil war he is waging has stalled into a bloody stalemate. His plainclothes security agents loiter and listen in cafes and hotel lobbies. He has handed control of the mosques to extremist preachers. And he has showered patronage on a tribal death squad called the Avengers of Blood, blamed for a long string of disappearances and killings of his political opponents. “We are living in a prison,” said Ahmed Sharkasi, a liberal activist from Benghazi who fled to Tunis because of threats on his life. Khalifa Hifter, the 76-year-old commander known in his dominion as “the marshal,” is the military ruler of eastern Libya. He has been fighting for nearly six years to take control of the country, and he has been waging an assault on the capital, Tripoli, for the last 10 months. The United Arab Emirates, Egypt and others have lined up behind him, and Russia has sent mercenaries. The largely powerless United Nations-sponsored government in Tripoli is defended mainly by regional militias and, recently, Turkey, which has flown in hundreds of paid Syrian fighters.”

The New York Times: Ship Captain Arrested In Probe Of Arms Trafficking To Libya

“Authorities in northern Italy arrested the captain of a Lebanese-flagged cargo ship on suspicion of international arms trafficking Wednesday while they investigate if the vessel transported tanks, rockets and other weapons from Turkey to Libya. The captain is under investigation for allegedly transferring military goods to Libya with as-yet unidentified Turkish military officials in violation of a United Nations arms embargo, Italian prosecutor Franceso Pinto told The Associated Press. Italian authorities launched their probe based on allegations a crew member made after the cargo ship arrived in the port city of Genoa earlier this month. The cargo ship, the Bana, turned up on the radar of French authorities not long before it reached Genoa on Feb. 2. The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle shadowed the vessel in late January. The Lebanese crew member who blew the whistle in Italy alleged that tanks and other vehicles that could be used for military purposes were loaded onto the Bana at a Turkish port and then transported to Tripoli, the Libyan capital. The sailor, who told Italian border police he was seeking political asylum, said the Bana allegedly sailed without cargo from Libya to Genoa. The 40-year--old ship's hold is designed to carry vehicles.”

Nigeria

Sahara Reporters: Boko Haram Terrorists Kill Many, Capture Military Truck During Attack On Borno Community, Chibok

“Tens of people were killed following an attack by Boko Haram insurgents in Korongilum, a community under Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State. Sources revealed that the terrorists also killed operatives of special forces stationed to counter insurgency in the local government. The insurgents had stormed the community, shooting sporadically and also setting houses on fire. “People were just returning to their houses from the farm when the insurgents came in. “They came in through Forfor,” a resident said. It was gathered that members of the Special Forces comprising military, vigilante and hunters mobilised to the community to repel the attack. However, they were met with superior firepower as the insurgents were well equipped. “When the special forces mobilised to the scene, the attackers ambushed them, killing scores of special forces. “Two gun trucks belonging to the military and two Hilux vans owned by vigilante were taken away by the attackers. “The insurgents gained entry into the camp after forcing the military to withdraw and looted food items,” military sources said. It was also gathered that the insurgents withdrew from Korongilum after the encounter.”

Somalia

Voice Of America: 10 Somali Soldiers, 16 Militants Killed In Al-Shabab Attacks

“At least 10 Somali government soldiers and 16 militants were killed Wednesday when Islamist group al-Shabab attacked two military bases in Somalia's Lower Shabelle region. The first attack at Qoryooley town, about 95 km south of Mogadishu, started when the militants used an explosives-laden vehicle driven by a suicide bomber to target a military base run by local militia allied with the Somali federal government.” Their aim was to destroy the town’s bridges. They have damaged one and we foiled their attempt on the other one. Then, dozens of heavily armed fighters attacked us,” said Abdi Ahmed Ali, Qoryooley deputy district commissioner. According to multiple reliable sources in the town, at least 10 militants and six fighters belonging to the pro-government militia were killed during the battle. Al-Shabab also launched a dawn attack on a military base at El Salini, 60 kilometers, southwest of Mogadishu. Security officials said a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle containing explosives at the main gate of the base before gunmen stormed the premises. Speaking to government-run radio, Colonel Hassan Mohamed Abuker, one of the commanders at the base, said four government soldiers and at least six militants were killed.”

Africa

The Washington Post: 3 Killed By Al-Shabab Extremists In Bus Attack In Kenya

“The owner of a bus company says three people have been killed by suspected extremists from Somalia after they were pulled out of a bus in northeastern Kenya. Haji Abass said Wednesday that the bus belonging to his company, Moyale Raha, was heading to the Kenyan capital of Nairobi from Moyale, a market town on the Ethiopian border in Mandera county, when it was attacked. Abass said suspected al-Shabab fighters in full police uniform flagged the bus down, but the conductor and passengers who knew the route said there was no police roadblock in the area, so the driver kept going. The fighters then fired at the bus, injuring the driver. The front and back tires deflated and the bus lost control and went into a ditch. The fighters then pulled out the passengers and killed two non-Muslims, as in previous attacks, as well as one Muslim, Abass said. It was not clear why they shot a man believed to be Muslim, he said. The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab has vowed retribution for Kenya’s troop presence in neighboring Somalia. Its fighters have carried out numerous attacks on Kenyan soil since Kenya deployed troops in 2011 to fight the extremists. Such attacks have brought education to a near-standstill in Kenya’s Mandera, Garissa and Wajir counties.”

United Kingdom

Sky News: Government's Terror Laws Adviser Raises Fears Over Reforms

“Keeping prisoners behind bars for longer could “expose them to worse influences” than if they were released, the government's terror laws adviser has said. Jonathan Hall QC raised doubts about the “effectiveness” of legislation being rushed through parliament after the Streatham and London Bridge attacks. He questioned whether keeping “non-risky prisoners” in jail for longer would really “protect the public” in an analysis of the Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Bill, which has completed its journey through the Commons and will be debated by the House of Lords next week. Members of the House of Lords and guests in the chamber ahead of the State Opening of Parliament by Queen Elizabeth II, in the House of Lords at the Palace of Westminster in London. The plans, which will affect around 50 people currently behind bars, aim to make sure terrorist offenders serve two-thirds of their sentence before they are considered eligible for release, rather than the current halfway mark, and require sign-off by the parole board. Ministers are trying to speed its passage through parliament before the next jailed terrorist is due for release on Friday 28 February.”

Germany

The New York Times: Germany To Require Social Media Sites To Report Hate Speech

“The German Cabinet has approved a bill that will require social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube to report certain hate speech to the police. According to the bill passed by ministers Wednesday, internet companies will have to flag far-right propaganda, graphic portrayals of violence, murder or rape threats, posts indicating that someone is preparing a terrorist attack or distributing child sexual abuse images. Social media sites are already required to delete such posts. The measures, which still need to be approved by parliament, will also see the definition of criminal hate speech extended to include threats of rape or property damage and expressions of approval for serious crimes. Crimes motivated by anti-Semitism will also result in increased sentences. In a further measure, authorities will make it easier for politicians, volunteers and journalists to prevent others from obtaining their home addresses from public registers. Jurists estimate the number of online hate speech cases in Germany each year to be in the six figures.”

Europe

The New York Times: Kosovo Woman Faces Terror Charges For Joining IS Group

“Kosovar prosecutors on Wednesday filed terrorism charges against an ethnic Albanian woman who allegedly joined a terror group in Syria. A statement from the special prosecutors' office said the suspect, identified only as H.K., left Kosovo early 2014 to join her husband, who was a fighter with the Islamic State group. She went to Istanbul and then crossed into Syria to join the group. After her husband was killed in the fighting, she married another IS fighter and continued her life with the group. She received a regular monthly payment from the group and, according to recordings of her phone calls, she voluntarily promulgated IS terror attacks. Charged with organizing and being part of a terror group, she faces up to 15 years in prison, if convicted. The statement does not say whether the defendant is part of a group of 110 Kosovo citizens repatriated from Syria last year. About 30 ethnic Albanians from Kosovo are still believed to be with terror groups in Syria and Iraq.”