Eye on the Extremism
Eye on Extremism
April 26, 2016
Counter Extremism Project
The New Arab: Washington's Islamic State-Saturated Foreign Policy Narrative Is Misguided
“There was consensus around the complexities that underpin ‘the drivers of radicalisation’, but perhaps the most interesting question that flummoxed the panel was around how previous policies never sought to ‘de-radicalise’ Irish Republican terrorists - but, rather, simply ‘de-operationalise’ them and prevent them from causing harm. Twitter and social media at large found itself in the crosshairs of frustrated security professionals. Mark Simmonds, a former MP and now CEO of the Counter-Extremism Project, spoke of Twitter as ‘the gateway’, and that it ‘needs to do much more’ to clamp down on the 46,000 accounts linked to IS.”
Reuters: At Least 60 Killed In Aleppo Violence In Past Three Days, Monitor Says
“At least 60 people have been killed in three days of fighting in Syria's northern city of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, as violence continues to escalate. Seven children and 10 women were among those killed in a series of air strikes by the government side and shelling attacks by insurgents since Friday, the monitoring group said. Fighting has intensified in Syria in recent weeks, all but destroying a partial ceasefire that took effect at the end of February. Last week, the main opposition walked out of formal talks in Geneva. Beginning early on Friday, government warplanes bombed a number of rebel-held parts of Aleppo, control of which is split between the warring sides.”
The New York Times: ISIS Spreading In Europe, U.S. Intelligence Chief Warns
“The Islamic State is operating clandestine terrorist cells in Britain, Germany and Italy, similar to the groups that carried out the attacks in Paris and Brussels, the top-ranking American intelligence official said on Monday. When asked if the Islamic State was engaging in secret activities in those nations, the official, James R. Clapper Jr.’ the director of national intelligence, said: ‘Yes, they do. That is a concern, obviously, of ours and our European allies.’ He then added, ‘We continue to see evidence of plotting on the part of ISIL in the countries you named.’ ISIL is another name for the Islamic State.”
Telegraph: How Isil Colluded With Assad To Make $40m A Month In Oil Deals
“The Syrian government cut deals with Islamic State to help the jihadists earn more than $40 million a month from the sale of oil, documents recovered from a US and British raid on a key commander have revealed. Thousands of spreadsheets and accounts kept by the group’s oil boss Abu Sayyaf, retrieved in the biggest intelligence raid in US Special Forces' history last year, reveal how the two sides forged a mutually beneficial arrangement despite being at war with one another. Isil fighters captured some of the state’s best-producing oil fields of eastern Syria in 2013.”
New York Times: In Effort To Defeat ISIS, U.S. And Iran Impede One Another
“Iraqi forces, backed by American airstrikes and advised by American officers, have been making strides in Anbar Province, slowly taking back territory from the Islamic State. But in Falluja, a city in Sunni-dominated Anbar that has been in the hands of the Islamic State longer than any other in Iraq or Syria, civilians are starving as the Iraqi Army and militias lay siege to the city. And elsewhere in the province, Shiite militias supported by Iran are carrying out kidnappings and murders and restricting the movement of Sunni Arab civilians, according to American and Iraqi officials.”
The Guardian: US Warships May Join EU In Patrolling Waters Off Libya
“American warships may join European Union vessels off the coast of Libya by the summer in a Nato-led attempt to slow the flow of refugees from Africa into Europe, it emerged at a meeting of the G5 world leaders in Hanover. Until now, the EU, through Operation Sophia, has been entirely responsible for policing the international waters off Libya and Nato has been patrolling the much narrower Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece. The wider Libya mission is likely to be approved by alliance leaders at a Warsaw summit on 7 July, according to the Italian defence minister, Roberta Pinotti. ‘At the Nato level, we have asked for Operation Active Endeavour to be recalibrated from an anti-terrorist operation in the eastern Mediterranean to one which oversees the Libyan coast,’ said Pinotti.”
The New York Times: Yemen Retakes Oil Export Terminal From Al Qaeda
“Yemeni government forces and allies from the United Arab Emirates took back control of Yemen’s largest oil export terminal from Al Qaeda on Monday, security officials said, a day after routing the militants from their nearby stronghold, the southern port city of Al Mukalla. About 80 percent of Yemen’s modest oil reserves were exported in peacetime from the terminal in Ash Shihr, 42 miles east of Al Mukalla. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula tried last year to export the two million barrels of oil stored there with the approval of Yemen’s government, which refused. The terminal has been shut since Al Qaeda seized the area.”
The Jerusalem Post: Report: Iran Looks To Deploy Hamas In The Battle To Liberate Mosul From ISIS
“The Iranian Revolutionary Guards plan to deploy Hamas forces in the battle for Iraq’s second biggest city, Mosul, which has been controlled by ISIS since June 2014, the London-based Arab daily a-Sharq al-Awsat reported Sunday. According to the report, Hamas forces would fight for Mosul's liberation alongside Hezbollah fighters and the Shi'ite Houthi militias which are currently struggling in Yemen against the Sunni coalition of Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia.”
The Washington Post: Afghan President Puts Aside Peace Bids And Vows Harsher Fight Against Taliban
“Afghan President Ashraf Ghani stepped back Monday from attempts to engage Taliban insurgents in peace talks, vowing that Afghanistan will instead ‘execute’ enemies of the state and undertake preparations for an extended war. In a speech that signaled a significant shift in policies, Ghani left open the prospect of dialogue with Taliban fighters who put down their weapons. But he labeled the broader Taliban organization and its Pakistan-based offshoot, the Haqqani network, as ‘terrorists’ and promised expanded attacks by the Afghan military.”
New York Times: Bangladesh Gay Rights Activist Is Hacked To Death
“A Bangladeshi gay rights activist and his friend were hacked to death Monday in what the police believe is the latest in a series of targeted killings by Islamist militants. The activist, Julhas Mannan, had attracted the attention of extremist groups by helping to organize a march for gay and transgender youths that had been scheduled for the Bengali New Year on April 14. The Rainbow Rally, as it was called, drew threats of violence and police canceled the march, saying the event would offend religious sentiments.”
CNN: Nigeria's Missing Girls: Infiltrating The Forest Boko Haram Calls Home
“As night falls, the curfew comes into effect. Nobody is allowed on the streets. Anxiety hangs in the air. Those unable to make it home before sunset are shepherded to roundabouts to wait until day breaks. This is Maiduguri -- a city on the edge. The capital of Borno state, it is at the heart of the Nigerian Army's battle to retake Boko Haram territory. A place where no one is above suspicion. Where young girls, packaged as suicide bombers, are sent by militants to realize the group's brutal jihad. Teenagers outside of the city's comparative safety -- like the Chibok girls -- are targeted and snatched away by Boko Haram.”
“The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Monday for its first terrorist attack in Somalia. In an official statement circulated on social media, the extremist group said its fighters detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) targeting a military vehicle belonging to African Union peacekeeping forces on the outskirts of Mogadishu, the country’s sprawling capital. The blast damaged the vehicle, but it was not immediately clear whether anybody was either killed or wounded, the militant group aka either ISIL or ISIS said in its statement.”
United States
Reuters: Obama Sends More Special Forces To Syria To Help Battle IS
“President Barack Obama announced on Monday the biggest expansion of U.S. ground troops in Syria since its civil war began, but the move was unlikely to mollify Arab allies angry over Washington's cautious approach to the conflict. The deployment of up to 250 Special Forces soldiers increases U.S. forces in Syria roughly six-fold and is aimed at helping militia fighters who have clawed back territory from Islamic State in a string of victories. Defense experts said giving more fighters on the ground access to U.S. close air support could shift the momentum in Syria. But a senior member of the Saudi royal family who asked not to be identified dismissed the decision as ‘window dressing.’”
The New York Times: Obama Stresses Need To Monitor Data In Fighting Terrorism
“The trans-Atlantic debate over digital privacy rights versus the surveillance needs of intelligence agencies was put under a spotlight on Monday, as President Obama called for continued access by law enforcement officials to thwart terrorism, while some European privacy advocates urged greater restraint. ‘I want to say this to young people who value their privacy and spend a lot of time on their phones: The threat of terrorism is real,’ Mr. Obama said, speaking at a trade show in Hanover, Germany. ‘I’ve worked to reform our surveillance programs to ensure that they’re consistent with the rule of law and upholding our values, like privacy — and, by the way, we include the privacy of people outside of the United States,’ he added. Mr. Obama’s message comes at a sensitive time, as cities like Brussels and Paris are still recovering from recent terrorist attacks.”
Fortune: U.S. Is Dropping 'Cyberbombs' On ISIS
“The U.S. has opened a new front in its battle with ISIS: Hacking. The National Security Agency’s (NSA) Cyber Command has started to hack into ISIS, or ISIL, networks, The New York Times is reporting, citing people with knowledge of its activities. According to the Times, the hacking is focused on several functions, including disrupting the Islamic State’s daily functions, preventing commanders from paying their fighters, and stopping the militant group from spreading its message. ‘We are dropping cyberbombs,’ Robert Work, Deputy Secretary of Defense, was quoted as saying. ‘We have never done that before.’ ISIS is arguably one of the most sophisticated militant groups in the world, using a wide array of digital technologies to not only run its operation but also attract new recruits.”
Syria
Reuters: Car Bomb Near Damascus Kills At Least Six: Islamic State
“A car bomb in a district south of Damascus killed at least six people and possibly many more on Monday, according to Islamic State militants who claimed responsibility for the attack. The ultra-hardline Sunni group's attack near a Syrian army checkpoint had killed or injured 48 people, a news agency close to the militants said. Lebanese group Hezbollah's Al Manar television reported the blast was at an army checkpoint and put the death toll at eight. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said eight people had been killed and the toll was expected to rise because of the number of people with serious injuries.”
Newsweek: Syria Conflict: Activists Report Deadly Russian Strikes In Aleppo Despite Ceasefire
“Activists in the Syrian city of Aleppo reported that Russian airstrikes killed at least 10 civilians on Sunday as an internationally brokered ceasefire fell apart over the weekend. A video released by the Syrian Civil Defense Forces showed the aftermath of strikes in the Aleppo neighborhood of al-Sukhour. It shows volunteers arriving on the scene to rescue civilians from the rubble of the strikes and to cover up those killed. The Syrian regime reportedly carried out airstrikes on opposition neighborhoods in Aleppo on Saturday, causing a total of 27 civilian deaths, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.”
Iraq
Reuters: U.N. Envoy Says War Goals In Iraq Obscuring Humanitarian Crisis
“A U.N. human rights envoy said on Monday Iraq was being run by a failed government and warned foreign powers not to be ‘complicit’ in its neglect of the plight of normal Iraqis. The United Nations' deputy high commissioner for human rights said both Baghdad and its international supporters were too focused on defeating Islamic State and had no strategy for mending the country after that. ‘It is beholden on the international community, that rightly focuses on the military action, to have ... comparable investment in non-military relief,’ Kate Gilmore said after a week-long trip to Iraq. ‘The international community must not allow itself to be made complicit with the failed leadership of Iraq,’ she said, and urged Iraqi politicians to fight corruption, reform the judiciary and foster reconciliation.”
Reuters: Kurds And Shi'ites Clash In Northern Iraq Despite Ceasefire
“Clashes between Kurdish and Shi'ite Turkmen fighters in an Iraqi town late on Monday cut the main road from Baghdad to the north for the second day in a row and threatened to undermine a ceasefire agreement reached by military leaders a day earlier. The violence in Tuz Khurmatu, 175 km (110 miles) north of the capital, is the latest and most severe flare-up of tensions that have been brewing since Islamic State militants were driven back from the town in 2014. Shi'ite paramilitary leaders and Kurdish peshmerga commanders had brokered a truce on Sunday to end fighting that killed at least 12 people on both sides, but it broke down before sunset on Monday.”
Turkey
Times Of Israel: Turkey Says It Deported 3,300 Suspected Jihadists
“A top Turkish official says Ankara has deported 3,300 foreigners suspected of links to jihadi groups, particularly the Islamic State militants, and another 41,000 foreigners have been barred from entering Turkey as part of the country’s fight against the militant group. Turkish authorities also arrested eight members of IS who attempted to cross the border from Syria near Gaziantep, Reuters reported. Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, also said Monday that Turkish profiling teams have interviewed 9,500 people upon their arrival in Turkey. Some 2,000 of them were denied entry.”
The New York Times: How Turkey’s Promise To Stop The Flow Of Refugees Is Creating A New Crisis
“More than one million people have passed through Turkey en route to Europe since the beginning of last year. Most were coming from war-torn countries, and about half were Syrians. Under a new agreement, Europe is sending refugees back to Turkey if they enter Greece illegally. In exchange, the European Union offered Turkey 6 billion euros (about $6.8 billion) to help with the crisis. Now Turkey is scrambling to create long-term solutions for millions of people it had expected to house temporarily. Last week, the cease-fire in place in Syria since late February started to give clear signs of crumbling. Renewed fighting in Idlib and Aleppo Provinces has displaced tens of thousands in areas near the Turkish border.”
Middle East
The Jerusalem Post: Security Forces Arrest 4 Hamas Members In Hebron
“Four Hamas members were arrested in two West Bank raids in the Hebron area on Monday. The IDF declined to provide details on the cause for the arrests, and did not answer a question on whether the raids were launched to thwart an imminent terror plot. According to the IDF’s statement, army units arrested two Hamas members in Hebron, and two additional Hamas men in Dahariya, southwest of the city. ‘We are not providing further details on those arrested,’ an army spokeswoman said. On April 21, near the beginning of the seven-day-long Passover holiday, the military imposed a general closure on the West Bank and shut down the Gaza border crossings.”
Nigeria
Bloomberg: Nigeria Army Kills Five Suspected Boko Haram Militants In Ambush
“Nigeria’s army said it killed five suspected Boko Haram insurgents in an ambush in the northeastern Sambisa forest on Sunday. ‘The troops sprang a surprise ambush on the group of escaping terrorists from Sambisa forest crossing towards Alagarno mounted on motorcycles and bicycles,’ army spokesman Colonel Sani Usman said in an e-mailed statement. While Nigeria says it’s making progress in the battle against Boko Haram, which has waged a violent seven-year campaign to impose its version of Islamic law on Africa’s most populous nation, the group continues to carry out massacres in remote areas and suicide bombings in towns and cities.”
The Huffington Post: The Suicide Bombers Of Boko Haram
“With the attacks on Paris and Brussels earlier this year, the act of a man or woman strapping on a vest of explosives, walking to a populated area and detonating themselves as a bomb has again drawn worldwide attention. But a lesser known and rarely discussed setting may serve to reorient how we think of suicide bombings. While ISIS is seen to pose the biggest threat to Europe and the Middle East, their efforts have been outmatched in the last year by the group known as Boko Haram, the terrorist group operating mostly in northern Nigeria. This group that operates in the peripheries of Western consciousness gained global infamy when its members kidnapped 276 young girls from the town of Chibok in 2014. The majority of those girls, taken two years ago this month, have yet to be rescued, though this week the U.S. government swore they had not been forgotten.”
United Kingdom
“Britain’s Home Secretary Theresa May said Monday that the U.K. would be safer from terrorism and other crime by remaining in the European Union, in her first major speech of the campaign ahead of a referendum on Britain’s continued membership of the bloc. It came as leading figures lobbying for Britain to leave the EU sought to shift the focus of the debate to immigration and sovereignty after U.S. President Barack Obama during a visit to the U.K. voiced his support for Prime Minister David Cameron’s arguments that leaving the bloc would harm Britain’s economy and global standing.”
Germany
Associated Press: Merkel Hints At Further Military Effort In Libya After Talks
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday that she, U.S. President Barack Obama and the leaders of France, Britain and Italy discussed ways of supporting the fragile unity government in Libya and the possibility of expanding military efforts to stop the smuggling of migrants across the Mediterranean. NATO is already patrolling for smugglers farther east, in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey, and Obama had assured the European leaders the U.S. was ‘prepared to also take responsibility with regard to the migration route from Libya to Italy if necessary,’ Merkel said. She emphasized, however, that the five leaders didn't discuss ‘concrete proposals’ for a NATO mission off Libya during their hour-long meeting in Hannover, and that a European Union mission in the Mediterranean had been ‘working quite well.’”
Europe
CNN: Top U.S. Intelligence Official: ISIS Has Cells In UK, Germany, And Italy
“America's top intelligence official, James Clapper, said Monday that ISIS has clandestine cells in the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy, comments that come as President Barack Obama concludes an overseas visit where he asked Europe to contribute more to the fight against ISIS. When asked by a reporter if ISIS had British, German and Italian underground cells like the ones that carried out the deadly March terrorist attacks in Brussels, Clapper, the director of national intelligence, said, ‘Yes they do.’ Clapper added, ‘We continue to see evidence of plotting on the part of ISIL in (the UK, Germany and Italy).’ ISIL is the administration's preferred acronym for ISIS.”
Australia
Australia Charges Teenager With Plotting Anzac Day Terror Attack
“A 16-year-old boy has been arrested in Australia on suspicion of plotting to carry out an attack during the country’s veterans commemorations on Monday, the police said. The boy, whose name was not disclosed by the authorities, was arrested on Sunday in Auburn, a Sydney suburb, after he was said to have tried to obtain a firearm, according to Australian news reports. He was charged with planning a terrorist act, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. The boy’s lawyer said he would contest the charge and apply for bail in a hearing on Tuesday, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. The Australian justice minister, Michael Keenan, said in a written statement that the plot was ‘a truly chilling and disturbing scenario’ and ‘a sad reflection of the current terror threat landscape in Australia.’”
Technology
The Huffington Post: How Tech Is Helping Us Fight Terrorism
“Lately, a week doesn’t pass without reports of a terrorist attack flooding the news — there is a sinking realization that terrorism and martyrdom are gaining traction as an effective means of expressing ideology or political dysfunction. Still, amid the seeming chaos, it is heartening to know that law enforcement and tech companies often partner up to prevent, thwart, and catch terrorists. Some of their heroics and efforts are described below. While it might feel at times like humankind has lost its virtue, it’s important to keep moving forward and recognize that there are people out there — whether law enforcement agents, politicians, human rights activists, and big data scientists — making sure we never experience something like Brussels, Ankara, Paris, or San Bernardino (the list can go on) again.”
Arabic Language Clips
Terrorist Financing
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov, on Monday, claimed that oil smuggling is the main source of funding for terrorist groups active in the Syrian Arab Republic. At the International Security Conference in Moscow, Antonov reported: "After a strong blow to the terrorists in Syria –destroying their weapons depots and eliminating militants along with their military installations - the terrorists’ economic infrastructure was severely debilitated. It has become clear to everyone that the source of [terrorists] funds is primarily Syrian oil smuggling."
ISIS
With the approach of the second anniversary of its control over the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, in Nineveh province, ISIS continues to impose a burden of heavy taxes on the residents of the city in exchange for providing public services that were previously almost free of charge. These taxes, or what the terror group calls "fees for access to public services", are their means of easing the formidable financial pressure on the organization following the decline in its resources. These taxes are oppressive for the already poverty-stricken residents of Mosul, who are unable to earn even 5000 Iraqi dinars (about $ 4) as a daily income due to the lack of jobs, cuts in salaries, and the overall deterioration of the economic situation in the city. ISIS's charge of up to 150,000 dinars (roughly $136) for reserving birthing rooms in public hospitals in Mosul amounts to extortion, since this was a free service before ISIS took control. Also, the fee for issuing birth certificates comes to 5000 dinars, after it, too, was previously free.
Muslim Brotherhood
Mohammed Badawi Desouki, a member representing the governorate of Giza in Egypt's Parliament, warned that Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated currency exchange companies might manipulate the dollar exchange rate in local markets in order to harm the Egyptian economy. He noted, for instance, that these companies have been preventing Egyptian expatriates from transferring foreign currency to Egypt through normal banking channels. Badawi claimed that these companies employ agents abroad to take over the hard currency earned by Egyptians in other Arab countries which is intended for transfer, in Egyptian pounds, to their families in Egypt. By doing this, these companies block the flow of the dollar to Egypt.
Albawaba: Expectations Of Closure Of Brotherhood TV Channel In Jordan
Jordanian authorities stated that they did not confer with the Egyptian Satellite Company (NileSat) before stopping the broadcasts of Al-Yarmouk TV Channel, which belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood. The channel’s management says that this amounts to the government’s "laying siege" to it. Jordanian authorities, however, declared that cessation of the channel’s broadcasts is legal and has no political dimensions, as claimed by the Muslim Brotherhood. Sources expected that the channel would soon be closed by a judicial decision, based on the lack of a legal license which allows it to broadcast in Jordan.
Houthi
Banking sources claimed that the absence from the bank of the Governor of the Central Bank of Yemen, Mohammed Awad Bin Hammam, allows the "Houthis to make decisions and take actions which violate the policy of the Central Bank”. While the Governor was careful not to cross the Bank's red lines, one of these actions had the Ministry of Finance granting the right to withdraw 260 billion riyals ($ 1.2 billion) from banking accounts. Also allowed was the withdrawal of deposits held by the Central Bank in order to compensate the financial obligations of the Ministry of Finance, the Supreme Revolutionary Commission, and the Yemen army institutions controlled by the Houthis. This decision was the source of sharp disagreement between the Governor of the Central Bank, the Finance Ministry and the Houthis, who nevertheless insisted on its implementation.
The Counter Extremism Project