Latest news with #extremists
The National
8 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
Syria church attack shows there must be no let-up in the fight against terrorism
Scenes of panic, pools of blood and religious icons shattered by gunfire – the images from Sunday's appalling terrorist attack on worshippers gathered in Damascus's Mar Elias Church are reminiscent of previous outrageous attacks committed against vulnerable Christian communities in other Middle Eastern countries, particularly Iraq and Egypt. Mar Elias joins a long list of atrocities carried out by extremists determined to impose their dogma on the peoples of the region – and Christians are not the only targets. Civilians from various walks of life have been targeted, sometimes tourists, at other times people at religious gatherings. At a time when the crisis involving Israel, Iran and the US is rightly commanding the attention of the international community and national leaders, it is understandable that the threat posed by domestic terrorism might fall in the list of political and security priorities. This would be a mistake. The Damascus attack, which the Syrian Ministry of Health blamed on 'a suicide bomber affiliated with the terrorist group ISIS', is the latest example of extremists exploiting uncertainty and instability, particularly in fragile societies. As the global focus remains fixed on preventing the Middle East war from spreading further, attacking soft targets such as Mar Elias Church is a characteristically cruel way for militants to demonstrate their relevance and further destabilise the countries in which they operate by exacerbating sectarian divisions. More instability is the last thing the region needs at this time of acute crisis. Organisations such as ISIS need little excuse to carry out murderous attacks against those they consider to be their enemies. However, there is a real risk that similar attacks could take place while the state-level conflict playing out between Israel and Iran threatens to divert attention, intelligence and security resources away from the difficult work of containing and countering extremist radicals. If counterterrorism finds itself struggling for support as governments reckon with the risk of war, armed cells in countries such as Iraq, Syria and Yemen will have an opportunity to rebuild, recruit and carry out more attacks. Indeed, the longer the conflict between Israel and Iran plays out, the more unpredictable are its effects. Attacks from any side on targets in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen could exacerbate an already-volatile situation. Prolonged conflict could also lead to further weapons proliferation in the Middle East, allowing ISIS and other radicals to rearm. A security vacuum in Syria, where ISIS has repeatedly tried to free thousands of imprisoned members, would be particularly dangerous. As terrorists strike at brittle societies' pressure points, the risk of additional security challenges mounts Despite their many setbacks in recent years, ISIS and its fellow travellers have proved to be worryingly resilient. The group has carried out dozens of attacks in Syria since the start of this year and ISIS affiliates have struck military and civilian targets in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Mozambique. The attack on Christian worshippers in a poor Damascus suburb may, at first glance, seem unconnected to wider instability in the Middle East. As terrorists strike at brittle societies' pressure points, however, the risk of additional security challenges mounts. Co-operation and intelligence sharing must not be neglected. The price for doing so is paid by ordinary people, such as the congregation of Mar Elias Church.
Washington Post
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Deadly church bombing reignites Christians' fears in post-Assad Syria
BEIRUT — A deadly suicide bombing at a church outside Damascus, which Syrian authorities have blamed on the Islamic State, has revived worries that extremists might exploit Syria's fragile peace as its six-month-old government tries to keep a lid on bubbling sectarian violence across the country after the brutal Assad regime.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Recent US political violence aided by DIY murder tradecraft available on internet
A rash of recent assassinations have brought on congressional scrutiny and concern among law enforcement agencies who are wary of an age of political polarization turning deadly. But experts say the violence is as much a byproduct of the times as it is the easy accessibility to DIY murder tradecraft, evident in some high-profile slayings of late. So while the willingness to commit these acts has certainly increased, the tradecraft to pull them off has never been more obtainable. 'Political polarization, combined with the idea that one's opponents are irredeemably evil and that there are no other legal avenues to create change, can lead to violence,' said Joshua Fisher-Birch, a terrorism analyst who closely tracks extremists across the political spectrum. 'There are several guides online for assassination, guerrilla warfare or similar violent acts, as well as counter-surveillance manuals shared by individuals in communication apps such as Telegram and online libraries.' The proliferation of those kinds of resources have spilled into the mainstream and have given the average person the knowhow to access the types of instructions on popular apps that were once only available on dark web archives. Whether it's downloading blueprints for and creating a 3D-printed gun, professionally tracking down targets, cooking up a bomb recipe or looking up ways to evade law enforcement once an act has been committed, a number of public attacks show so-called 'lone wolves' using internet resources to plot their crimes. For example, police say Vance Boelter, 57, charged with killing Democratic state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband at their home in Minnesota earlier this month, used a number of data brokering websites to amass not only a hitlist of 'mostly or all Democrats' but their home addresses, too. Court documents say Boelter was caught with 'lists of internet-based people search engines including Truepeoplesearch, Spokeo, Pipl, Peoplefinders, Beenverified, Whitepages, Truthfinder, Intelius, Ownerly, USsearch and Peoplelooker' which can 'aggregate data from various online and offline sources to provide the querying user details about the searched-for person, such as home addresses, phone numbers and information about family members'. Extremists on the far right have also used similar resources to create kill lists of their enemies, and Fisher-Birch said some have become more 'adept at doxing in recent years'. He noted that terrorist groups have gone about producing easily digestible manuals in pdf form then spreading them on Telegram, while other instructional materials are 'commercially available books written by former members of militaries or intelligence services' they suggest reading. Available online materials can also extend to sourcing weaponry. Fisher-Birch continued: 'According to police, Luigi Mangione used a partially 3D-printed pistol to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.' Mangione, who has amassed a cult-like following among anti-corporatists after the Manhattan assassination of Thompson in December, also allegedly managed to evade a manhunt for days with a stunning amount of counter-surveillance tradecraft – something other known attackers have achieved. Still, to this day, the masked and hooded suspect seen planting pipe bombs at the RNC and DNC offices in Washington DC the night before the 6 January 2021 insurrection on Capitol Hill has yet to be caught. In the past, multiple law enforcement sources remarked how the surveillance footage shows the would-be bomber wearing the same prescribed disguise and gloves featured in terrorism manuals circulated on the far right. Incidents like that suggest the ecosystem of DIY manualling has partly been seeded by extremist organizations on social media, which have then spread elsewhere. As early as 2018, the internationally designated neo-Nazi terrorist group the Base posted military tradecraft gleaned from US Marine Corps manuals and other sources instructing how to make a covert exit if you're pursued by authorities. Other jihadists groups, such as the Islamic State, have uploaded similar literature on encrypted forums they use to communicate with recruits. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion 'More generally, violent extremists groups put considerable time and effort into inciting followers to plot attacks and building robust online communities for information sharing and advice,' said Lucas Webber, a senior threat intelligence analyst at Tech Against Terrorism and a research fellow at the Soufan Center. '[IS] and al-Qaida produce and disseminate manuals and videos teaching followers to construct explosive devices, detonators, suppressors and more.' Coinciding with this surge in political violence is the growing willingness of nation-states to increase covert assassination operations on foreign soil, taking advantage of the moment. Iranian agents sponsored the attempted assassination of a dissident in New York by tapping criminal networks to carry it out, while Indian diplomats tried to disguise the murder of a Sikh activist in Canada as a gangland killing. Of course, political assassinations and their attempts, without the clear aid of online tools, have also come to pass: a man stalked an event at a Jewish museum in DC to gun down Israeli diplomats in May, while then presidential candidate Donald Trump faced an attempted assassination last summer in the lead-up to the November vote – both attackers using over-the-counter firearms and limited tradecraft. One thing does seem clear: authorities appear unable or unsure on how to counter the rising threat of lethal political violence. The FBI declined to comment on the broad string of recent political assassinations and how the agency plans to handle them in the future. 'We have nothing to add to previous statements about the events you mention,' said a spokesperson in an email. After Boelter was caught, a federal agent in Minnesota called his alleged murders 'an appalling act of political violence that has no place in our country'.
Free Malaysia Today
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Pakistani troops kill 54 rebels trying to cross border from Afghanistan
Pakistan is grappling with a broad uptick in insurgency coinciding with the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan. (AFP pic) ISLAMABAD : Pakistan's army said today its soldiers killed 54 rebels who had tried to enter the country by crossing its northwestern border with Afghanistan. 'Movement of a large group… who were trying to infiltrate through Pakistan-Afghanistan border was detected by the security forces' in the northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa between Friday and today, according to an army statement. The 'group of extremists was specifically infiltrating on behest of their 'foreign masters' to undertake high-profile terrorist activities inside Pakistan', it said, adding that 54 insurgents had been killed. 'Such actions by (extremists), at a time when India is levelling baseless accusations against Pakistan, clearly implies on whose cues (the extremists are) operating,' it said. Pakistan is grappling with a broad uptick in insurgency coinciding with the Taliban's 2021 return to power in neighbouring Afghanistan, where Islamabad claims attackers are now taking shelter. Separately, India has accused Pakistan of supporting 'cross-border terrorism' after gunmen killed 26 people on April 22 in the worst attack on civilians in the contested Kashmir region in years. Islamabad has denied any involvement. The Pakistani army said today a 'large cache of weapons, ammunition and explosives was also recovered' from the insurgents attempting to enter Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It comes a day after 15 rebels were killed in the province in three clashes that also left two soldiers dead. More than 200 people, mostly security forces, have been killed in attacks since the start of the year by armed groups fighting the government in both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, according to an AFP tally. Interior minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore today that the rebels' 'foreign masters are pushing them to enter Pakistan'. 'Our soldiers attacked them from three sides and killed 54 (rebels),' Naqvi said. 'This is the biggest number of this ongoing operation till today, such a big number has never been killed before.' Last year was the deadliest in nearly a decade in Pakistan, according to the Centre for Research and Security Studies in Islamabad, with the vast majority of the attacks near the western border with Afghanistan. Pakistan accuses the Taliban government of failing to rout out rebels organising on Afghan soil, a charge Kabul routinely denies.
