Eye on Extremism: December 16, 2020
“Boko Haram claimed responsibility Tuesday for abducting more than 300 boys from a secondary school in northwest Nigeria, marking a striking leap from the extremist group’s usual area of operation and a chilling expansion of Islamist militancy in West Africa. Hundreds of gunmen surrounded the boarding school in Katsina state on Friday and opened fire in a community that had never known such violence, witnesses said, before dragging the students deep into the woods. The mass kidnapping shocked the continent’s most populous country as deaths from a multifront conflict in the region soar. West Africa is home to the fastest-growing Islamist insurgencies in the world, conflict researchers say, with unrest by disparate forces gripping Nigeria and three of its regional neighbors: Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Boko Haram has killed at least 36,000 people and displaced millions over the past decade, but the campaign of terrorism has rarely stretched far from its stronghold in the Lake Chad Basin. The assault in the town of Kankara, however, signaled that the fighters’ murderous reach has shifted nearly 500 miles west, endangering peace in new territory. The extremist footprint is growing five years after Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari announced that Boko Haram had been “technically defeated.”
“U.S. victims of extremist violence in Israel allege that three of Qatar’s leading financial institutions have secretly funneled millions of dollars to Palestinian groups responsible for killing Americans, accusing a key U.S. ally in the Middle East of duplicity. In U.S. lawsuits, victims and their families claim that the government and royal family members of the wealthy Persian Gulf nation have spearheaded “a terrorism financing conspiracy” that has channeled tens of millions of dollars to support Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), both U.S.-designated terrorist groups. The initial two complaints, filed in federal court in June and on Tuesday in Brooklyn, assert that payments made under the guise of Qatari charitable donations have moved through the U.S. banking system since 2014 and landed in dozens of accounts that are maintained by Qatar National Bank and used by Hamas leaders and militants and their relatives. The funds allegedly assisted seven strikes, including stabbings, car-rammings and rocket attacks, that killed several U.S. citizens. The suits identified accounts purportedly used by Ahlam Aref Ahmad Al-Tamimi, a Jordanian woman who is on the FBI’s list of most-wanted terrorists for assisting a 2001 suicide bombing at a Jerusalem pizzeria that killed 15 people and wounded 130 others…”
France 24: Verdict Expected In French Trial Over 2015 Charlie Hebdo Attack
“Judges will issue their verdict Wednesday on 14 suspected accomplices of the Islamist gunmen who murdered some of France’s most famous cartoonists at the weekly Charlie Hebdo in 2015, killings that horrified the nation. Seventeen people were killed over three days of attacks in January 2015, beginning with the massacre of 12 people at the satirical magazine, which had published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. That attack was followed by the killing of a French policewoman and the hostage-taking at the Hyper Cacher market. The killings, which signalled the start of a wave of Islamist attacks around Europe, triggered a global outpouring of solidarity with France under the “I am Charlie” slogan. All three assailants were killed in shootouts with the police in the wake of the attacks. Those on trial are accused of assisting the Kouachi brothers, who carried out the Charlie Hebdo massacre, and their accomplice, the supermarket hostage-taker Amedy Coulibaly. Over three months long, the trial was repeatedly held up due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It has again highlighted the horror of the attacks, during a period when France has again faced killings blamed on Islamist radicals. Anti-terrorism prosecutors are seeking jail terms ranging from five year to life imprisonment for the accused.”
United States
PBS: How Did An American Mom Go From Indiana To ISIS Territory?
“In November 2020, Sam Sally, also known as Sam Elhassani, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison for financing terrorism — making her the first American woman brought back from Syria or Iraq and convicted on ISIS-related terrorism charges. How did this American mother go from a comfortable life in Indiana to the heart of ISIS’s self-declared caliphate in Syria, with her husband a sniper for the terror group and her 10-year-old son forced to threaten President Donald Trump in an ISIS propaganda video shown around the world? FRONTLINE tells the inside story in Return From ISIS, a documentary in association with the BBC that has been nearly four years in the making. It’s a saga in which truth is stranger than fiction: “I’ve covered many stories about ISIS and Westerners who’d joined the group,” says the documentary’s director, writer and producer Josh Baker (Battle for Iraq, I’m Not A Monster). “But I’ve never encountered anything quite like this.” Baker first received a tip about an American woman trapped in ISIS territory with her kids in early 2017. At that time, he was recovering from injuries sustained in an ISIS suicide bombing in Iraq, where he had been filming a documentary on the fight against the terror group.”
Foreign Affairs: When The Far Right Penetrates Law Enforcement
“The past decade has seen a notable spike in incidents of far-right terrorist violence around the world, from the 2011 attack in Norway that left 77 people dead to the Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand in 2019 that killed 51. Americans have mourned slaughters at a Walmart in El Paso in 2019, a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018, and a predominantly Black church in Charleston in 2015, among other white supremacist, anti-Semitic, and anti-immigrant assaults. Far-right activists have recently marched in U.S. cities to protest the electoral defeat of President Donald Trump, engaging in street brawls, stabbings, and shootings. People across the globe are waking up to the general threat of far-right violence, but another troubling development has not won commensurate attention: the penetration of these extremists within the ranks of law enforcement and the military—the very institutions charged with keeping the public safe. Newspaper investigations and government probes in Germany this year uncovered organized networks of far-right sympathizers in the rank and file of the country’s security services. Last month, military intelligence officials questioned eight individuals, including German soldiers, who are suspected of involvement in an antigovernment “sovereign citizen” movement.”
Turkey
Daily Sabah: Police Detain 18 Daesh-Linked Suspects In Counterterrorism Ops In Istanbul
“Turkish security forces detained 18 Daesh-linked suspects in counterterrorism operations in Istanbul, reports said Wednesday. Counterterrorism squads from Istanbul Police raided 11 addresses in nine districts, upon finding out that the terrorists were planning to carry out attacks, Ihlas News Agency (IHA) reported. Police confiscated digital materials and organizational documents in the raid, the report added. The suspects were taken to the Istanbul Security Directorate after going through routine health checkups. The terrorist group has been trying to establish a new formation in Turkey after receiving a heavy blow in Iraq and Syria. According to testimony by terrorists detained in previous operations in Adana province, Daesh had been attempting to kidnap judges, prosecutors and tourist groups as ransom in return for Daesh terrorists held in Iraq and Syria. Turkey detained the so-called “Turkey emir” of Daesh, named Mahmut Özden, in August. He was planning to carry out an attack on Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque and target politicians, nongovernmental organization (NGO) heads and other prominent figures in Turkey, according to the official investigation. Police deciphered encrypted messages of Daesh sent by the terrorist ringleaders in Syria and Iraq, with a wide range of instructions, including kidnapping tourist groups, prosecutors and deputies, attacking Incirlik Air Base in Adana and other plans.”
Egypt
The Straits Times: ISIS Steps Up Sinai Fight With Bombs In Civilian Homes In Egypt
“Residents of Egypt’s restive North Sinai region ran for their lives when an Islamic State group affiliate occupied their villages. Now, they are returning to find their homes booby-trapped. “I lost my sister-in-law and her nine-month-old baby when an explosive device planted in their home went off,” said a young resident of Aqtiya village, who asked not to be named for fear of repercussions. Around 15 people have been killed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) since mid-October in villages around Bir al-Abd, in the northwest of the troubled province, say Egyptian security sources. The IED attacks that have multiplied in the vast, remote and sparsely populated region which authorities have declared off-limits to journalists recall those the ISIS launched to sow terror in Iraq and Syria. The recent deaths have badly shaken the 1,000 or so residents who returned in October after seeking refuge elsewhere in Egypt for three months as the army continued its grinding battle to crush ISIS. Another resident, speaking to AFP by phone, said locals found ISIS had taken over their homes, used them as hideouts and then booby-trapped them. “They even stole our livestock,” he added. Egyptian security forces have been battling a long-running Islamist insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula, spearheaded by a local ISIS affiliate.”
Africa
Voice Of America: UN Condemns Boko Haram Attack That Kills Refugees, Displaced People In Niger
“The U.N. refugee agency has condemned a recent attack by armed assailants on Toumour, a town in southeast Niger, which killed at least 28 people and injured hundreds more. Aid workers are doing their best to pick up the pieces after Boko Haram militants savaged the town and its inhabitants during an attack on December 12, which lasted four hours. UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch says there is heightened concern for the safety of more than 30,000 refugees and internally displaced people sheltering in the town of Toumour, close to the Nigerian border. “According to local sources, the assailants destroyed nearly two-thirds of the town’s homes, burned the Toumour market to the ground, and killed more than a thousand cattle. Following the attack, most of the population fled to the bush, with some people returning only at daytime,” he said. Baloch says his agency and others are working with local authorities to provide emergency shelter, food, water and health care to the distraught inhabitants of Toumour. However, access to the area is difficult, he says because of recent heavy flooding. He notes many of the survivors are on the move toward Diffa, a town some 100 kilometers further inland.”
Reuters: U.S. Designates Bahrain-Based Group As Terrorist, Accusing It Of Having Iran Backing
“The United States on Tuesday designated the Bahrain-based Saraya al-Mukhtar group as a terrorist organization, accusing it of being backed by Iran and of having plotted attacks against U.S. personnel in the Gulf Arab state. The move, which comes amid a slew of sanctions announced by Washington as President Donald Trump’s term nears a close, designates Saraya al-Mukhtar, a marginal group operating underground, as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist”. Most of the group’s members are in jail or in Iran. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saraya al-Mukhtar, or Mukhtar Brigades, was designated for “posing a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism that threaten the national security and foreign policy of the United States”. “The group has plotted attacks against U.S. personnel in Bahrain and has offered cash rewards for the assassination of Bahraini officials,” Pompeo said in a statement. Tuesday’s action freezes any of the group’s U.S. assets and generally bars Americans from dealing with it. Pompeo also accused the group of having received financial and logistical support from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which controls a business empire as well as elite armed and intelligence forces in Iran.”
United Kingdom
BBC News: Manchester Arena Inquiry: Bomber ‘Sent Money To Family Before Attack’
“The Manchester Arena bomber transferred money to his family in Libya hours before the attack, a public inquiry into the 2017 bombing has heard. Rabie Zreba, who made the transfer, said he was contacted by a man he did not know on the afternoon of 22 May. The man was Salman Abedi, who provided Mr Zreba with a fake name and asked him to transfer £470, the inquiry heard. Later that night, Abedi detonated a bomb at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, murdering 22 people. Mr Zreba told the inquiry he was “well known within the Libyan community” for being involved in small trade and money transfers. He said he met Abedi, who gave the false name “Mohamed Araby” and asked him to transfer the money to his family, outside a mosque. The total amount transferred was £470 and Abedi gave the recipient’s name as “Muad Al-Tabbal”. The surname of Abedi’s mother, who is a suspect in the investigation into the bombing, is Tabbal. While the attack was being prepared, Salman Abedi and his brother Hashem Abedi used their mother’s benefits money which was paid into a UK bank account despite her having moved to Libya.”
“ISIS bride Shamima Begum will be arrested and must be treated as a security threat if she wins her legal battle to return home, the UK’s counter-terror chief has said. Neil Basu said people who had gone to Syria and made it back should expect to be investigated and face prosecution. The assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police said the country does not need to ‘import a greater problem’ on top of the current terrorism threat. It comes after the head of the terrorism watchdog warned attempts to deradicalise jihadis using mentoring and theological programmes do not work. Mr Basu told the Standard Begum was the best example of the problem assessing the risk of letting someone back into the UK. Begum, who was 15 when she and two other schoolgirls flew to Syria in 2015, is appealing against a government decision to strip her of her British citizenship. Her legal team last month told the Supreme Court about the difficulty in contacting their client, who is being held in a camp in the country. They claim the only way she can effectively appeal the Government’s decision is to return to the UK.”
France
Al Jazeera: Far-Right Activists Convicted Following Al Jazeera Investigation
“Three far-right activists in France caught on camera during an Al Jazeera undercover investigation have been found guilty of offences that included assault, and in one case incitement to “terrorism”. A judge at the High Court in the northern city of Lille said footage from the two-part documentary Generation Hate, by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit, played a key role in establishing Tuesday’s verdicts. Remi Falize, 33, a former leading member of the Flanders branch of the far-right group Generation Identity (GI), was convicted of incitement to “terrorism” and assault. He was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 18 months. Falize was filmed by an undercover Al Jazeera reporter who had infiltrated the GI’s Lille branch at the Citadelle bar in the city centre. Falize was caught on a covert camera declaring at the bar his dying wish would be to drive a car into the Wazemmes market in Lille, a place popular with Arabs and Muslims. “The day that I find out I’ve got a terminal illness, dude, I get a weapon, and I go sow carnage,” Falize said. He added: “A mosque, whatever … even a car-ramming, I take my car and bam! There we go! … Next to that, Charlie Hebdo will be like dog’s p***.”
Technology
“A Google-funded report examines the relationship between white supremacists and the internet, but it makes scant reference – all of it positive – to YouTube, the company’s platform that many experts blame more than any other for driving people to extremism. The report, by Jigsaw, a “tech incubator” that has operated within Google for the past decade, draws from interviews with dozens of former extremists and describes how the internet is a breeding ground for hate groups. Study after study has shown that YouTube serves as a megaphone for white supremacists and other hate groups and a pipeline for recruits. YouTube’s algorithm has been found to direct users to extreme content, sucking them into violent ideologies. “They’re underemphasizing the role that their own technology and their own platforms have in pushing people towards extremism,” said Bridget Todd, a writer and host of the podcast “There are No Girls on the Internet.” “Individuals certainly have a responsibility to not allow themselves to be engulfed in extremist content,” Todd said. “But if you’re a platform like Google, you can’t just emphasize the individual’s responsibility and completely obscure the fact that your massive platform has allowed online extremist content to fester and become so popular.”
The Jerusalem Post: Online Antisemitism Peaks In National Tension, Helped By Russian Trolls
“Soon after the 2017 far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, a Twitter user going by the name “jojoh888” knew who was to blame for the clashes between neo-Nazis and the antifa activists who opposed them: George Soros, the Jewish billionaire and progressive philanthropist. “George Soros is the puppet master. He’s funding both sides,” the account tweeted, echoing a false claim expressed frequently by far-right activists. “jojoh888” was a Russian troll controlled by Vladimir Putin’s government that was suspended in 2018 in an effort to root out disinformation from Twitter. To the Network Contagion Research Institute, which studies how hate manifests on social media, the tweet was a perfect encapsulation of how antisemitism is now showing up online. A new report by the institute illustrates how antisemitism has been a feature of the widely publicized Russian disinformation campaigns surrounding American elections and other moments of social tension, with an eye toward sowing division in the United States by way of social media. The anti-Jewish slurs from Russian accounts dovetail with increased online antisemitism around significant dates like Election Day or Inauguration Day, or during periods of crisis like the Charlottesville rally or the ongoing pandemic.”
