CEP: Eye on Extremism Report 8/9/2022

 

Eye on Extremism August 9, 2022   The Washington Post: Top Pakistani Taliban Leader Killed In Afghanistan; Shiites Targeted In Kabul   “A top leader of the Pakistani Taliban militia was reported killed Sunday in southeastern Afghanistan, potentially dealing a serious blow to peace talks being negotiated between the extremist group and Pakistani officials with assistance from senior Taliban leaders in Afghanistan. An aide to the Pakistani militia leader, known as Omar Khalid Khorasani, said in a tweet Monday morning that he died in a bomb blast in southeastern Afghanistan. “He is no more with us,” said the aide, Ehsanullah Ehsan. “May Allah … give him the highest place in Jannah,” or heaven. The reported death of Khorasani followed months of talks that began shortly after Afghan Taliban forces took power in Kabul one year ago. Numerous delegations have met in Afghanistan since then to help end the years-long conflict between Pakistani forces and hard-line Pakistani militants. There were conflicting reports Monday on the circumstances of Khorasani’s death and the precise location in southeastern Afghanistan where it occurred. Ehsan told The Washington Post that two other Pakistani Taliban leaders who were traveling with Khorasani, Mufti Hassan Swati and Hafiz Dawlat Khan, were killed in the same incident. In a brief online conversation via Telegram, he said all three were killed by an “IED blast,” referring to an improvised explosive device or roadside bomb, but he did not specify where it happened or who was responsible.”   Bloomberg: Thousands Arrested As Ethiopia Acts Against Suspected Militants   “Ethiopia has arrested thousands of people suspected of being members of militias or terrorist organizations as it seeks to end instability. In an almost two-month crackdown in various regions including the capital, Addis Ababa, authorities detained more than 4,000 people for allegedly being linked to the Oromo Liberation Army, al-Shabaab and other armed groups operating in the country, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Office said in a statement on Monday. In the eastern Somali region, security forces killed 813 al-Shabaab militants and arrested 79 since the al-Qaeda-linked group attacked four towns near the border with Somalia on July 21, it said. In Oromia, 3,180 OLA members were taken into custody. Abiy has struggled to restore peace in the Horn of Africa nation even as fighting has ebbed in the civil war with the northern Tigray region that started in November 2020. That’s hampered efforts to lure investors despite a planned privatization drive. Authorities have also relocated about 250,000 internally displaced people back to their homes across the regions, the government said.”   Afghanistan   The New York Times Magazine: The Taliban’s Dangerous Collision Course With The West   “Afghanistan’s ministry of education sits on a chaotic thoroughfare in downtown Kabul, not far from the presidential palace. When I visited this May, I was able to walk straight into the main building without having to state my business or undergo more than a light frisk. The country’s four-decade civil war is at its lowest ebb in years, and many of the capital’s draconian security measures have been scaled back by the new Taliban government. The crowds of petitioners inside the ministries have changed, as well: Women are seldom seen, and the traditional garb of robe and trousers has become nearly ubiquitous among men. It was my first trip back since I covered the collapse of the republic the last summer. Regular flights had resumed from Dubai and Islamabad. At the Kabul airport, site of last year’s chaotic and bloody evacuation, there was a new sign on the side of the terminal, near the white flag of the Taliban: “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan seeks peaceful and positive relations with the world.” It had been 20 years since the United States and its allies overthrew the first Taliban government, which refused to allow Afghan girls to be educated, one of many repressive measures against women that cemented the regime’s pariah status. During the 1990s, only Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E. and Pakistan ever recognized the group as the nation’s legitimate government.”   Pakistan   Reuters: Suicide Attack Kills Four Pakistani Soldiers – Army   “A suicide bomber attacked a military convoy in a Pakistani tribal region along the Afghan border, killing four soldiers, the army said on Tuesday. The incident took place in Mir Ali, North Waziristan district, according to an army statement, which didn't say when the attack too place. Police and intelligence officials told Reuters the bomber rammed a three-wheeler into the convoy late on Monday in the remote district, which has seen a rise in militant violence in recent weeks. The region was once a hotbed of local and foreign Islamist militants but they have mostly been driven out by various Pakistani military operations. No one has claimed the responsibility for the bombing, which came a day after a senior Pakistani militant, Abdul Wali also known as Omar Khalid Khurasani, with a $3 million U.S. bounty on his head, was killed in an explosion in Afghanistan.”   Lebanon   Reuters: Hezbollah Warns Israel Against Targeting Palestinian Militants In Lebanon   “The head of Lebanon's powerful armed movement Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, warned on Tuesday against any Israeli attempts to expand their targeting of Palestinian militants to Lebanon. "Any attack on any human being will not go unpunished or unanswered," Nasrallah said in a televised address marking Ashura, a melancholic commemoration for Shi'ite Muslims of the killing the Prophet Mohammad's grandson Hussein. The comments came after a flare-up in violence between Israel and the Islamic Jihad movement in the Gaza strip, prompted by Israel's arrest of a senior Islamic Jihad leader earlier this month. On Saturday, Israeli defence minister Benny Gantz hinted at the possible targeting of Islamic Jihad officials abroad, who he said could be seen in "restaurants and hotels in Tehran, Syria and Lebanon".”   Middle East   AFP: 'Fragile' Gaza Truce Between Israel And Islamic Jihad Holds   “A “fragile” Egypt-brokered truce between Israel and Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza appeared to be holding early Monday, raising hopes that the recent intense conflict that has left at least 44 Palestinians dead, including 15 children, has ended. The truce, which officially started at 11:30 pm (2030 GMT) Sunday night, aims to stem the worst fighting in Gaza since an 11-day war last year devastated the Palestinian coastal territory. Though a flurry of strikes and rocket attacks took place in the run-up to the truce, with sirens sounding in southern Israel moments before and after the deadline, neither side had reported any major violations of the agreement after four hours. In a statement sent three minutes after the ceasefire began, Israel's army said that “in response to rockets fired toward Israeli territory, the (military) is currently striking a wide range of targets” belonging to Islamic Jihad in Gaza. In a subsequent statement, the army clarified that its “last” strikes took place at 11:25 p.m. While both sides had agreed to the truce, each had warned the other that it would respond with force to any violence. U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed the ceasefire, thanking Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for his country's role in brokering it. Biden also called for investigations into civilian casualties, which he called a “tragedy.”   Fox News: After Israel Hits Terror Group, UN Security Council Meets As Some Members Rebuke The Jewish State   “A group of largely anti-Israel countries on Monday pushed the United Nations Security Council to yet again turn Israel into its punching bag for merely defending itself against the Iranian regime-backed terrorist movement Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ.)  In his remarks ahead of the session, Israel’s U.N. ambassador Gilad Erdan singled out Norway and Ireland, who frequently bash the Jewish state, for their role in securing an emergency meeting. “How would  Norway react to Islamists plotting to fire missiles at civilians in Oslo? How would Ireland react if Jihadi rocketeers were raining down on Dublin in an effort to wipe out the ‘infidel?” he asked. Israel waged a three-day conflict with the U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization PIJ. Erdan said, “The Palestinian (Islamic) Jihad deliberately fired eleven-hundred rockets at Israelis civilians, with roughly two-hundred landing inside the Gaza Strip, killing innocent Palestinians and among them young children.” The Islamic Republic of Iran — the world’s worst international-sponsor of terrorism — has played a key role in stoking violence against Israel, Middle East experts say. Erdan noted, “The Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a radical terror organization, armed, funded and trained by Iran.” China holds this month's presidency of the Security Council and threw its support behind the emergency meeting.”   The Times Of Israel: IDF Demolishes Homes Of Palestinians Charged With Killing 3 In Elad Terror Attack   “Israeli forces early Monday morning demolished the homes of two Palestinians charged with carrying out a deadly axe terror attack in the central city of Elad in May. On May 5, As’ad Yousef As’ad al-Rifa’i, 19, and Subhi Emad Sbeihat, 20, hacked three people to death with an axe and severely wounded several others in the central Israeli city of Elad. A knife was also believed to have been used in the attack. The pair was arrested in a forested area about a kilometer from the scene of the attack, after a 60-hour manhunt. Late Sunday night, the Israel Defense Forces said it was operating in the West Bank town of Rummanah, near Jenin to raze the pair’s homes. Footage published by the IDF showed the homes being destroyed by military bulldozers. The IDF said that during the operation, “riots developed in the area” during which hundreds of Palestinians hurled stones, set fire to tires, and launched fireworks at troops, who responded with “riot control means.” No soldiers were hurt, according to the IDF. In separate overnight raids across the West Bank, troops detained four wanted Palestinians, the IDF said Monday morning. Al-Rifa’i and Sbeihat were indicted in June, and were charged with three counts of murder under aggravated circumstances in an act of terror, five counts of attempted murder in an act of terror, and entering Israel illegally, among other charges.”   Libya   Africanews: Libya: Trial Opens For Dozens Accused Of Islamic State Membership   “Libya on Monday began trying men accused of being members of the Islamic State group. More than 50 men dressed in blue jumpsuits sat behind a cage in a Misrata courtroom as armed security personnel kept an eye on them. They are accused of being members of a terrorist organization and of carrying out killings. “The objective of these hearings and representing the families of the martyrs and the wounded is to provide evidence against each accused so that the trial is fair and not subject to appeal,” Lotfi Muhaishem, a lawyer representing the victims and their families said.  In 2014, Islamic State took advantage of the disorder that followed the killing of Muammar Gaddafi to establish itself in Libya. In 2015, the organization seized the coastal city of Sirte, but lost it in 2016 after heavy fighting between the jihadists and Misrata forces. “We, the families of the martyrs and wounded, the people of Misrata and the residents of Libya, demand the death penalty for these members of the IS group” said Fatima al-Tlisi, mother of a victim of the IS group. Although the group was defeated in Libya, some experts have expressed concern that it could reappear in the country's south where its members have staged deadly ambushes against security forces.”   Nigeria   Daily Post Nigeria: Nigerian Military Kills Scores Of Boko Haram/ISWAP Terrorists In Borno   “The Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation Hadin Kai has obliterated scores of Boko Haram/Islamic State of West African (ISWAP) terrorists in an air raid in the North East of Bama, Borno. It was gathered that the terrorists from the two factions were neutralized in the middle of their infighting in Gazuwa, a notorious headquarters of Boko Haram, located 8 kilometers from Bama Local Government Area on August 5, 2022. Top Intelligence sources told Zagazola Makama, a counter-terrorism expert and security analyst in Lake Chad, that the damaging air interdiction mission was launched after series of surveillance missions which indicated heavy presence of the terrorists in the area. “They were in a middle of a fight when the Super Tukano attacked them, scoring a devastating hit on them, killing scores of the Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists,in the process,” the sources said. The source explained also that in continuation of its employment of the air-power to decimate the capability of the insurgents, the air strikes successfully took off another group of the terrorists around the axis of Gargash. According to the sources, unspecified numbers of the Mujahedeens were neutralised in the process. Life has been turned upside-down in the camps of the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād, Boko Haram, within the past weeks following massive air and ground attacks coordinated by the troops of Operations Hadin Kai.”   Mali   France 24: At Least 17 Killed In Clashes With ISIS Militants In Mali   “At least 17 soldiers and four civilians were killed Sunday in an attack in a strategic border zone between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, Mali’s army said. Some 22 troops were injured while nine other soldiers are missing, the army said late Monday, adding that the toll could still rise. The army had blamed the attack on “terrorists” in an earlier announcement late Sunday, using the term it typically uses for jihadists. It had said its troops had been repelling an attack by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) group, affiliated with the Islamic State organisation. The previous death toll was four soldiers and two civilians. The two civilians killed were local elected officials, their relatives told AFP. The army said Monday it killed seven from the attacking side, “likely” from the ISGS group, adding that there was “an unknown number of dead and injured carried away by the attackers”. It also said the attack caused damage to vehicles and residents’ homes. Tessit is located on the Malian side of the so-called three-border area in a vast gold-rich region beyond state control. Like the whole of the zone, Tessit is even more isolated during the rainy season when heavy rainfall blocks access. Armed groups under the umbrella of Al-Qaeda aligned jihadists Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, or JNIM, are fighting ISGS there.”   Africa   The Hill: Jihadists Are On The Rise Across Africa — The US And Its Allies Must Remain Vigilant   “A deadly assault on Mali’s largest military base. Suicide bombings in Somalia. A massive armed prison break in Nigeria. Though these events happened hundreds of miles apart from each other, they’re all related –– because they’re all part of the rising wave of Islamic extremism in Africa.  The American public’s attention may have shifted away from radical Islamic terrorists, but that doesn’t mean jihadists have stopped sowing death and destruction. Nor did the recent death of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri end the terrorist threat. On the contrary, extremists continue to spread instability and chaos across the globe.  Al-Qaeda affiliates in Africa’s Sahel region pose some of the greatest dangers. In the past 15 years, groups like Al-Shabaab and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) have increased their attacks tenfold. Today they stand toe-to-toe with African military forces and are drawing ever closer to realizing their dreams of creating Islamic states rooted in Sharia law.   Al-Qaeda affiliates are particularly gaining ground in Mali, especially as France withdraws its forces in response to the military coup in Bamako. The jihadists are already turning the country into a launching pad for attacks throughout the region, and Al-Qaeda’s leadership is thrilled at the prospect of additional victories.”   United Kingdom   The Independent: Terrorist Kept In Prison Because Home Office Plan To Deport Him Causes ‘Risk To Public’   “The Parole Board has refused to release a terrorist from prison after finding that government plans to deport him could put public safety at risk abroad. Jawad Akbar, now 39, was jailed for his part in an al-Qaeda-inspired plot to bomb potential targets including London’s Ministry of Sound nightclub and the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent. The plot was foiled in 2004, weeks after the Madrid bombings, and Akbar was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 17-and-a-half years for conspiring to cause an explosion. The Home Office imposed a deportation order on Akbar in 2017 following its own risk assessment, meaning that on release he would be sent to Italy - despite his alleged history of terrorist activity abroad. He had previously travelled with other jihadis to the Malakand terrorist training camp in Pakistan, which was said to be run by al-Qaeda, and had bomb-making manuals on his laptop. At trial, Akbar’s defence team claimed he “intended to leave for Pakistan rather than carrying out any acts of terrorism here”. He was born in Pakistan but moved to the UK with his family at the age of nine, and holds Italian citizenship through his father. Akbar’s minimum prison term expired in September last year, causing the Parole Board to formally decide whether it was safe for him to be freed from prison.”   The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If you value what we do, please consider making a donation. DONATE NOW