Eye on Extremism - May 13, 2016

Eye on Extremism May 13, 2016 Washington Post: In Blow To Hezbollah, Senior Commander Killed In Syria “Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia announced Friday that its top military commander in the Syrian civil war died in a mysterious blast in Damascus, dealing a major blow to the powerful Iranian-backed group. The killing of Mustafa Badreddine, 55, comes as Hezbollah struggles to balance combatting its traditional nemesis, Israel, with its costly intervention in the Syrian conflict to bolster President Bashar al-Assad’s forces against rebel factions, including some groups backed by the United States and its allies. Badreddine is the most senior Hezbollah official killed in Syria. He was linked to deadly attacks in 1983 on U.S. and French embassies in Kuwait, and was among four people indicted by a U.N. tribunal for involvement in the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri.” The New York Times: ISIS Kills Dozens In Iraq In New Round Of Bombings “Islamic State fighters extended their barrage of suicide bombings in Iraq on Thursday, killing at least 20 Iraqi soldiers and tribal fighters outside the western regional capital of Ramadi, and five policemen in a coordinated attack outside the Abu Ghraib district of Baghdad, officials said. The new attacks came a day after the Sunni terrorist group staged a deadly wave of bombings in Baghdad, including one in which dozens were killed at a crowded market in the Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City. Even as the Iraqi security forces have made progress in taking back territory from the group in recent months, the Islamic State has seemed to step up its calculated bomb plots.” The Daily Beast: Taking ISIS Stronghold Is Delayed Again “The war to reclaim Iraq’s second-largest city from the self-proclaimed Islamic State has been pushed back yet again, three Pentagon officials told The Daily Beast. Where officials once hoped to launch the campaign to reclaim the city of Mosul by the end of year, officials believe a year from now is ‘optimistic,’ as one defense official explained. It’s the latest adjustment to the keystone battle against ISIS, one that has been plagued by U.S. miscalculations about the abilities of the Iraqi security forces. And the pushed backed timeline reinforces a growing belief that for all the U.S. training of Iraqi forces, local ground forces cannot reclaim the city on their own.” BBC: Yemen Conflict: Suicide Attacks Hit Government Forces “At least 10 soldiers have been killed in three attacks on army bases in the southern Yemen city of Mukalla, military sources say. The so-called Islamic State (IS) said it was behind at least one of the attacks, a suicide car bombing. Mukalla was held by al-Qaeda militants up until a month ago, when it was recaptured by pro-government forces. The attacks came hours before Yemen PM Ahmed Obeid bin Dagher was due to arrive in Mukalla for a visit. Officials said a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle packed with explosives into the gate of a naval base in the Mukalla's outskirts. Two other explosions were reported to have hit the military headquarters in the city. IS in Yemen, in a statement posted online, said one of its militants carried out the attack on the naval base.” Voice Of America: Why Pakistan Won't Go After Afghan Taliban “Pakistan is hesitant to take action against the Afghan Taliban on its soil because of concerns the group will redirect its violence against Pakistan and Afghan intelligence will support it, a senior Pakistani official said. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani recently demanded that Pakistan either take military action against Taliban commanders on its soil or arrest them and hand them over to Kabul. Pakistan has often complained that when it launched military operations in Swat and South Waziristan in 2009, militants belonging to Pakistani Taliban took shelter in Afghanistan and started using it as a base, with the help of Afghan intelligence, to carry out operations against Pakistan.” TIME: Sun, Sea And ISIS: How Radical Insurgents Have Made The Southern Philippines A No-Go Zone “Terrorism, kidnappings and beheadings have turned the southern Philippines the sort of place where hotel guests need to sign a waiver simply to go to the beach. Gagay Jaire’s proudest moment was making the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. ‘It was inspiring,’ she says, drawing clear, cool water from a cast-iron pump on the northeast rim of Samal Island in the southern Philippines. ‘It is one of the Muslim dreams to reach Mecca.’ Since she returned from Saudi Arabia, where she worked for fours years, Jaire moved back to her family home next to the island’s Dungas Mosque. The squat, whitewashed building is the largest of Samal’s four Muslim places of worship, sitting right on the shore between tidal fishing pens of crooked poles and fields of scavenging goats.” Bloomberg: FBI Has Sights on Larger Battle Over Encryption After Apple Feud “After buying a software tool to access a dead terrorist’s encrypted iPhone, the FBI is exploring how to make broader use of the hack while bracing for a larger battle involving encrypted text messages, e-mails and other data, Director James Comey said. The tool used to get into the phone used by Syed Rizwan Farook, who with his wife carried out a deadly December attack in San Bernardino, California, could ‘in theory be used in any case where there’s a court order’ to access data on an iPhone 5c running Apple’s iOS 9 operating system, Comey told reporters in Washington on Wednesday. However, accessing content on a phone -- known as ‘data at rest’ -- is only part of the challenge that encryption poses for U.S. investigators.” Newsweek: How Theft Has Hampered Nigeria's War On Boko Haram “From 2011, when it re-emerged, until early 2015, Boko Haram inflicted one defeat after another on the Nigerian security services, principally the army. Boko Haram carved out a territory the size of the U.S. state of Maryland, and threatened Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state and a major Nigerian city. For many observers, the seeming collapse of the Nigerian military, once regarded as the best in West Africa, was bewildering, and a sign that Boko Haram was a formidable fighting force. Boko Haram was beaten back in 2015 by a multinational effort, South African mercenaries, and a revived Nigerian military. However, since Muhammadu Buhari assumed the presidency in May 2015, there have been regular revelations of spectacular levels of theft of funding intended to fight Boko Haram during the Jonathan administration.” Business Insider: ISIS Has Released A New Android App Aimed At Children “A news broadcaster affiliated with the terrorist group ISIS has released an Android app that teaches children the Arabic alphabet — and it's full of references to weapons and jihad. Al Bayan Radio, which broadcasts ISIS propaganda on radio waves in the Middle East and through its Android apps, made the app available to supporters on the encrypted messaging app Telegram and other platforms ISIS commonly uses. The app isn't available on the Google Play store, but can be accessed through files shared online. This app is the latest step in Al Bayan's expansion — the radio network broadcasts on FM frequencies in the Middle East, but has also recently released other Android apps and Telegram channels that distribute its propaganda to a wider audience.” United States The Washington Post: U.S. Establishes Libyan Outposts With Eye Toward Offensive Against Islamic State “American Special Operations troops have been stationed at two outposts in eastern and western Libya since late 2015, tasked with lining up local partners in advance of a possible offensive against the Islamic State, U.S. officials said. Two teams totaling fewer than 25 troops are operating from around the cities of Misurata and Benghazi to identify potential ­allies among local armed factions and gather intelligence on threats, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive mission overseas. The insertion of a tiny group of U.S. personnel into a country rife with militant threats reflects the Obama administration’s worries about the Islamic State’s powerful Libyan branch and the widespread expectations of an expanded campaign against it.” Politico: FBI To Europe: Follow Our Lead When Tackling Terror “FBI director James Comey has a plea for the patchwork of European law enforcement agencies investigating terrorism leads: learn from our experience. And call Washington for help. While Comey was careful to be diplomatic, it wasn’t just friendly advice. In a briefing with reporters Wednesday, Comey made it clear that U.S. law enforcement officials see Europe’s lack of coordination on counter-terrorism as a potential threat to the United States. ‘Europe is hours from here via an air flight so we think of it as part of the same threat environment,’ Comey said. FBI officials ‘think about [terrorist threats] worldwide, so please ask us and we will share with you what we know.’ Comey said he’s been pushing European officials to heed the lessons learned by the U.S. government after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.” The Hill: Lawmakers Push For ISIS War Measure In Defense Bill “A bipartisan group of lawmakers is hoping to use an annual defense policy bill to force Congress to debate an authorization for the use of force against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The lawmakers, who have filed amendments to the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), gathered Thursday to again urge their colleagues to debate the issue on the House floor. ‘For too long, Congress has been missing in action,’ Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) told reporters at a press conference. ‘It’s unacceptable that while our brave service men and women face snipers and mortar rounds, Congress cannot even muster the courage to declare the war that they are fighting.’ The latest call for a war measure comes after President Obama sent hundreds more troops to Iraq and Syria, raising concerns over mission creep — a gradual shift in mission commitments during a campaign — among some critics of his strategy.” Syria Reuters: Russian Military Losses In Syria Continue Despite Withdrawals “Russia on Thursday buried its eighth serviceman officially acknowledged to have been killed in its military campaign in Syria, suggesting as many have died in combat since the Kremlin announced a partial pullout as before the March announcement. Moscow has continued sending military hardware to Syria, according to a Reuters analysis of shipping and aircraft data, and its capability is roughly the same as before it announced the drawdown. Since mid-March, when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the bulk of the contingent in Syria to withdraw, Moscow has acknowledged the loss of four soldiers in combat, the same number as in the previous five months of the campaign. The latest officially acknowledged casualty of the campaign was a signaler called Anton Yerygin who died on May 7, according to Interfax news agency.” Associated Press: Al-Qaida, Hard-Line Rebels Seize Alawite Village In Syria “Al-Qaida fighters and other ultraconservative Sunni insurgents seized a predominantly Alawite village in central Syria on Thursday, sparking fears of sectarian violence as families from the village were reported missing by activists. Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi said ‘terrorists’ were killing townspeople, while Syrian state media said militants had looted and destroyed homes in the village of Zaara, which was previously controlled by the government. Clashes between insurgents and pro-government forces continued into the afternoon as government or allied Russian aircraft pounded rebel positions, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, adding that seven militants were killed. The Local Coordination Committees, an activist-run network, said the insurgents killed over 30 pro-government fighters in the clashes.” The New York Times: In Syria, An Aid Convoy Is Refused Entry To A Besieged Town “The residents of a rebel-held Syrian town, besieged and bombarded by government forces for more than three years, learned Thursday morning that an international aid delivery was headed their way, for the first time ever. So they began to gather, as close as they could get to a government checkpoint that seals them off from the outside world. But they got nothing. Instead, at day’s end, government officials turned away the convoy, revoking permission negotiated in advance. And moments later, two civilians, a father and son, were dead, hit by a shelling attack on the area where they had been waiting.” Iraq Reuters: Shooting And Bombing In Northern Iraq Kill 16, Sources Say “Three gunmen opened fire overnight on a cafe in northern Iraq where young men had gathered at the start of the weekend, killing at least 12 and wounding 25, police and hospital sources said on Friday. The assailants in the predominately Shi'ite Muslim town of Balad, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, sprayed machine gun fire from their cars for around 10 minutes before speeding off. Hours later a suicide bomber set off his explosive vest at a nearby vegetable market after police and Shi'ite militia members cornered him in a disused building and exchanged gunfire, security sources said. Four were killed and two critically wounded, medical sources added.” Reuters: Islamic State Kills 17 Iraqi Soldiers With Suicide Truck Bombs “Islamic State insurgents killed at least 17 Iraqi soldiers with suicide truck bombs on Thursday in a major attack on government forces that recaptured the western city of Ramadi in December, military officials said. The jihadist group also killed two policemen and wounded eight others in two suicide bombings in Abu Ghraib outside Baghdad, a day after killing at least 80 people in bombings at an outdoor market and two checkpoints inside the capital. The attacks near Ramadi dealt one of the heaviest blows to the army since it drove Islamic State out of the western city five months ago. An army colonel told Reuters that militants killed at least 17 soldiers with suicide truck bombs in Jarayshi, 10 km (6 miles) north of Ramadi.” Turkey Reuters: Four Killed, 17 Wounded In Blast In Southeast Turkey: Sources “Four suspected bomb makers were killed and 17 people wounded when an explosion ripped through a village in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast, security sources and the Interior Ministry said. The blast occurred at about 10:30 p.m. (3.30 p.m. ET) in the Sarikamis district, about 25 km (15 miles) from the region's biggest city of Diyarbakir, as Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants loaded explosives onto a small truck, according to the Interior Ministry. A photograph taken from a police helicopter and provided to reporters by the Interior Ministry showed what appeared to be a massive crater in a field caused by the explosion.” The Wall Street Journal: Turkey Threatens Stronger Military Action In Syria “President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened Thursday to take stronger military action inside Syria to halt relentless Islamic State rocket attacks that have brought life in parts of one Turkish border town to a standstill. After weeks of deadly Islamic State strikes, Mr. Erdogan suggested that Turkey was prepared to send troops into neighboring Syria to bring an end to attacks on Kilis, the Turkish town nominated this year for a Nobel Peace Prize for welcoming so many Syrian refugees. ‘We are making our necessary preparations to clean up across the border due to problems happening in Kilis,’ Mr. Erdogan said during an address in the Turkish capital.” Reuters: Turkish Artillery, U.S.-Led Coalition Jets Pound Islamic State In Syria: Sources “Turkish artillery pounded Islamic State targets in northern Syria overnight and the U.S.-led coalition carried out air strikes, killing 28 militants near a Turkish border town repeatedly hit by rocket fire, Turkish military sources said. The artillery strikes near Kilis, north of the Syrian city of Aleppo, started at about 8 p.m. (1700 GMT) and ended in the morning, the sources said. Intelligence reports had suggested the militants were preparing attacks, they said. The air strikes destroyed a two-storey building used by the militants as a base, along with 11 fortified defensive positions, they said. The Turkish and coalition operations targeted an area about 10 km (6 miles) south of the border.” Afghanistan Reuters: Shadowy Unit Seeks To Exploit Afghan Taliban Divisions In South “A shadowy new unit run by Afghanistan's main intelligence agency has begun operations in southern Helmand province with a mission to exploit divisions within the Taliban insurgency, government officials and a militant spokesman said. The aim is to weaken an increasingly dangerous enemy by turning the tables on the Taliban, who boast of placing agents among government security forces to carry out ‘insider attacks’. The initiative comes as fledgling Afghan forces are struggling to prevent the Taliban overrunning large parts of Helmand and other parts of the country. Abdul Jabbar Qahraman, President Ashraf Ghani's special envoy for security affairs in the southern province, confirmed the existence of the unit, whose members do not wear uniform, but declined to provide further details.” Middle East The Times Of Israel: Israeli Man, 20, Lightly Wounded In Jerusalem Stabbing “The young man was attacked in the city’s Pisgat Zeev neighborhood and stabbed in his upper body. His assailant escaped and officials said it was not immiediately clear whether the attack was criminal or nationalistic in nature. Paramedics treated the victim at the scene and evacuated him to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital for further treatment. Israel, and particularly Jerusalem, has seen a wave of Palestinian stabbing, shooting, and car-ramming attacks since October that has left 29 Israelis and four foreigners dead. Some 200 Palestinians were killed in the same period, most of them as they carried out attacks against Israelis and the remainder in violent protests in the West Bank, according to the IDF.” Libya The Wall Street Journal: Struggling To Fight Islamic State In A Fractured Libya “Elsewhere across Libya, disparate factions are trying to hold the line against ISIS, often tenuously. The terrorist group is most entrenched in the central city of Sirte. Refugees fleeting Sirte tell me that ISIS extorts businesses and stops traffic to conduct executions. In late March, a new presidential council—formed under the auspices of a U.N.-brokered unity agreement—arrived with great fanfare in the capital of Tripoli. Washington and its allies had hoped this would provide a foundation for a military campaign against ISIS. But after an initial burst of public enthusiasm, the council is struggling to exert its authority.The fight against Islamic State faces daunting challenges.” Nigeria The New York Times: Suicide Bomber Kills At Least 6 In Northeastern Nigeria “A suicide bomber who was stopped from entering a government compound killed at least six people, including two police officers, on Thursday in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram was suspected. Maiduguri was the birthplace of Boko Haram and has been the scene of numerous attacks by the group’s fighters in the past seven years. In recent weeks, the Nigerian military’s operations against the group had kept fighters out of the city center for the most part and residents had been starting to look ahead to a possible end of the long war with the militants.” Bloomberg: Military Pressure Is Hurting Boko Haram. Now What? “As a regional military offensive weakens the Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram, French President Francois Hollande is set to push for the rebuilding of a region where the seven-year conflict has killed thousands and caused at least $9 billion worth of damage. At a meeting Saturday in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, Hollande and regional leaders will discuss how to develop the impoverished region around Lake Chad and re-establish state authority at the same time as keeping the military pressure on Boko Haram, according to French officials. While it’s continued suicide bombings and massacres in remote villages, the Jihadist group no longer controls big expanses of territory as it did a year ago after the war spread to Nigeria’s neighbors.” United Kingdom Evening Standard: Suspected Terror Cell Accused Of UK Plot 'Smuggled 600 Immigrants Into Europe’ “Gulistan Ahmadzai, 29, from Afghanistan, was recorded by police boasting of his people smuggling. Another member of the alleged cell, Hakim Nasiri, is facing terrorism charges after being photographed outside the Shard and on a train in south-east London. He was also pictured holding an assault rifle in a supermarket believed to be in England. Police believe Nasiri was part of a five-strong terror gang scouting potential terror targets including London hotels and restaurants.   In telephone intercepts recorded by police on May 5, Ahmadzai was recorded telling another trafficker identified as ‘Mama’ that he had threatened to shoot a rival who wanted to cut his people smuggling business in the head. Ahmadzai was about to leave for Hungary when he was arrested, police said.” Germany International Business Times: Will ISIS Attack Germany? Poll Reveals Germans Fear Terrorism, Say Islam Has No Place In Their Country “Nearly three of four Germans fear their country will suffer from a terror attack by Islamic radicals in the near future, and nearly two-thirds say the religion of Islam has no place in their country, a poll indicated Thursday. The survey was released as tensions in Germany have continued to rise concerning a large, predominantly Muslim refugee population. Around 64 percent of respondents said Islam has no place in German culture, with only 34 percent saying it did, a poll from German research agency Infratest Dimap indicated. Those numbers were up from a similar survey in August 2014 when 55 percent of those queried said Islam had no place and 44 percent said it did. Terrorism fears have also been high, according to the same survey in which 72 percent of those polled said they feared they would see a terror attack on German soil.” France Times Of Israel: Over 100 Arrested On Terror Charges In France This Year “France has arrested 101 people since the start of the year over ‘direct links to terrorism,’ Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in an interview to be published Friday, exactly six months after the Paris attacks. ‘We are doing everything we can to protect the people of France, but the threat level is still very high,’ Cazeneuve told the Ebra media group, which publishes several dailies. Since 2013, 15 planned attacks have been foiled, he added. ‘At the European level, thanks in great measure to France’s impetus, progress is being made,’ he said. ‘Aside from the closely coordinated police and judicial French-Belgian efforts that helped us carry out the recent arrests, the European Parliament has finally adopted the PNR (Passenger Name Record) system which will enhance our detection capabilities of jihadists’ movements,’ he said.”