Eye on Extremism
November 1, 2022
Bloomberg: UN Says Crypto Use In Terror Financing Likely Soaring
“A United Nations official said more cases of crypto use in terror-financing are being detected amid stepped up scrutiny of such practices. A couple of years ago 5% of terrorist attacks were viewed as crypto-financed or linked to digital assets, but “now we’re thinking that it may reach about 20%,” Svetlana Martynova, senior legal officer at the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, said in an interview in Mumbai. “Statistics here are not our best friends,” Martynova stressed in the Oct. 28 interview. “We’re just seeing more as we’re looking more into it.” Cryptocurrency-based crime hit an all-time high in 2021, with illicit digital-asset addresses receiving $14 billion, up from $7.8 billion in 2020, according to a report by blockchain specialist Chainalysis Inc. A number of militant organizations, like Al-Qaeda or al-Qassam Brigades -- Hamas’ military wing -- tried to finance operations with crypto but it’s hard to find “a group that has gotten away with it,” Chainalysis said. Martynova said a UN Security Council resolution specifically calls on member states to tackle the risks linked to virtual assets and terrorism financing. She added that the Financial Action Task Force has helped to set global standards on regulations, particularly for tracking information on blockchains across jurisdictions -- known as the Travel Rule.”
AFP: US Woman Who Led Female ISIS Battalion Faces 20 Years In Prison
“A US woman who grew up on a farm in Kansas, converted to Islam and joined ISIS in Syria — where she led an all-female military battalion — is to be sentenced Tuesday for providing support to a foreign terrorist group. Allison Fluke-Ekren, 42, faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to terror charges in June in a US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia. “For at least eight years, Fluke-Ekren committed terrorist acts on behalf of three foreign terrorist organisations across war zones in Libya, Iraq, and Syria,” US attorney Raj Parekh said. “Fluke-Ekren brainwashed young girls and trained them to kill,” Mr Parekh said. “She carved a path of terror, plunging her own children into unfathomable depths of cruelty by physically, psychologically, emotionally and sexually abusing them.” Mr Parekh, urging Judge Leonie Brinkema to impose the maximum 20 year sentence, traced Ms Fluke-Ekren's path from her upbringing on an 33-hectare farm in Kansas to her apprehension in Syria after the 2019 territorial defeat of ISIS. While other Americans travelled to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS, most were men. Ms Fluke-Ekren is the rare US woman who occupied a senior position in the ranks of the now-defunct group. Born Allison Brooks, she grew up in a “loving and stable home” in Overbrook, Kansas, and was considered a “gifted” student, the US attorney said. She dropped out of high school in her sophomore year, however, and married a local man named Fluke, with whom she had two children.”
Iran
AFP: Iran Arrests ‘Accomplice’ Of Islamic State-Claimed Shrine Attack That Killed 15
“Iran announced Monday that a suspected accomplice of the shooter who carried out a deadly attack on a Shiite Muslim shrine in Shiraz has been arrested, state news agency IRNA reported. At least 13 people were killed Wednesday in the Shah Cheragh mausoleum in the southern city, according to a revised official toll, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group. State media had initially given a death toll of 15. “The second person involved in the terrorist operation at the sacred sanctuary, who provided support, has been arrested,” said local deputy governor Esmail Mohebipour, quoted by IRNA. The suspect, arrested Sunday evening in Shiraz, had not entered the shrine, and his alleged role was not clear. The perpetrator of the attack in Shiraz, identified by local media as Hamed Badakhshan, died of wounds sustained while he was being arrested, a local official said Saturday. The shooting at the shrine came on the same day that thousands of people across Iran paid tribute to Mahsa Amini, 40 days after her death in police custody. Amini, 22, died on September 16, three days after her arrest by the morality police in Tehran for allegedly breaching the country’s Islamic dress code for women. Remarks made Thursday by President Ebrahim Raisi appeared to link the Shiraz attack, one of the country’s deadliest in years, with the protests and “riots” following Amini’s death.”
Nigeria
Voice Of America: Nigerian President Meets Security Chiefs Amid Terror Alerts By Foreign Missions
“Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari is holding emergency meetings Monday with security chiefs after several foreign missions issued terror warnings last week for the capital, Abuja. Buhar’s spokesperson, Garba Shehu, made the announcement in a tweet late Sunday. He said top security officials including the defense minister, armed services chiefs, police and heads of other security agencies will meet the president in Abuja on Monday morning. Shehu said the meeting is to further review and strengthen the security network in the country. The meeting follows series of warning by various foreign missions in Nigeria of an elevated risk of terror attacks in Nigeria, especially the capital. The U.S., UK, Ireland, Canada, Germany, Turkey and Austria last week issued advisories to their citizens warning against non-essential travel to Nigeria. Nigerian authorities insist the country is safe and that there is no cause for alarm. But the warning caused fears among residents and led to the shutdown of businesses and activities. Security expert Senator Iruegbu said authorities are only trying to allay fears but that the warnings must be taken seriously. “We have to continue as members of the public for one's safety, we have to continue demanding that they should improve. When they give assurances, I think that's the right thing to do because you don't need to create more panic or to show the public you're not in charge of the situation,” said Iruegbu.”
AFP: Nigeria Army Repels Attack On Base, Kills 8 ISWAP Jihadists
“Nigeria’s military killed eight suspected of Islamic State-allied jihadists after repelling a raid on a military base in central Niger state, where hundreds of militants are being held, two military sources said on Monday. Dozens of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters tried to break into the Wawa military cantonment in the remote New Bussa village near the border with Benin Republic late on Saturday to free more than 1,000 of their comrades detained there, the military officers told AFP. The Wawa attack underscores the threat ISWAP poses to Nigeria as the group expands outside its traditional northeast stronghold, where the army has battled jihadists for more than a decade. “The terrorists attacked the base around midnight in large numbers but they were pulverised with air support, leading to the death of eight of them,” one military officer said. Three of the attackers, including their commander, were captured in the fight, the officer said. The army has still not officially commented on the attack. Troops at the base had received intelligence militants were preparing an attack and waited for them, said a second officer who gave the same toll. The jihadists tried to blast their way through the gates of the base with dynamite and heavy guns, but met “stiff resistance” from troops at the base, said the second source. “It was obvious they wanted to free other terrorists being held in the facility as they did in Kuje Prison,” said the officer.”
Somalia
All Africa: Somalia: Troops Retake Town From Al-Shabaab
“The Somali forces have retaken Ali Gadud Mosque in the Middle Shabelle region this morning, where they have been struggling to control it for the past few days. The Minister of Information of Somalia Daoud Aweys Jama said that the forces of the country and the local forces have completely taken control of the area from Al-Shabaab. The minister who spoke to the media in Mogadishu said that Al-Shabaab has been in control of the village for years. He added that 100 militants were killed in the offensive. Also, Daoud Aweys, said that community services will be delivered to the area, calling on the military to continue operations against Al-Shabaab. According to reports, the military carried out a mine search operation in the area of Masjid Ali Gadud and some of them blew up, which they buried in Al-Shabaab.”
Germany
Bulan Institute For Peace Innovations: Interview With Ms. Sofia Koller, Senior Research Analyst At The German Counter Extremism Project
“About 1,150 individuals left Germany and traveled to the Middle East to join ISIS and other terrorist groups. Germany has conducted various repatriation operations bringing back ISIS-affiliated women and minors though many male fighters remain in Syria and Iraq. According to a recent report published by the Counter Extremism Project, at least 7 women and 22 children remain in the Al-Roj camp, with 2 German women also present in the Al-Howl camp in Northeast Syria. The Bulan Institute interviewed Ms. Sofia Koller, a Senior Research Analyst at the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) in Germany. She conducted extensive research on the state approaches in EU countries toward former fighters and their family members. From June 2018 to December 2021, Sofia Koller was a research fellow for counterterrorism and the prevention of violent extremism as well as project leader of the International Forum for Expert Exchange on Countering Islamist Extremism. She studied international relations and management at the University of Applied Sciences Regensburg and the German-Jordanian University in Amman as well as international conflict studies at the War Studies Department at King’s College London.”
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