Violence and Security

IS Cells Target Schools, Religious Minorities in Afghanistan

July 09, 2018

Islamic State (IS) militant cells driving the caliphate jihad in Afghanistan followed through in their commitment to target the country’s schools, beheading three workers at a boys’ elementary school to which the extremists then set fire, followed a day later by a mass casualty suicide bombing that targeted Sikhs and Hindus.
Dutch Parliament Enacts Partial Ban on Face-Covering Clothing

June 29, 2018

The Netherlands has followed France, Belgium, Denmark, and other EU countries in legislating limited bans on "face-covering clothing," including Islamic veils and robes like the burka and niqab, in state institutions and on public transport, which are seen as a public communication and safety threat.
Iraqi PM Orders Execution of Prisoners Convicted of Supporting Caliphate

June 29, 2018

Iraqi Prime Monistee Haider al-Abadi ordered the immediate execution of all prisoners convicted of supporting the Islamic State (IS) as retaliation for IS killing of eight hostages from Iraq’s security services, a move that strategic experts argue reveals the ongoing commitment of Baghdad to terminate any resilience of the IS caliphate fighters.
US Terror Designation Reveals Saudi, Chinese Islamism Financing

June 29, 2018

The decision by the US government’s Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to place the Southwest Asian Allie on the terrorism financing watchdog list is a strike at Pakistan’s failure to take robust measures against Islamist extremist groups and shows networks of global money laundering and terror financing by Saudi Arabia and China for Pakistan’s ecosystem of Islamist militants.
Taliban Jihad Forecloses Children’s Future

June 28, 2018

The decades-long war of the Taliban to make Afghanistan an Islamist theocracy has produced massive emigration, billions of dollars in reconstruction needs, and the destruction of the country's education system and all associated institutions for child protection, thereby foreclosing the future for Afghan youth.
France Charges Cement Giant as Terror Financier to IS

June 28, 2018

In a landmark move human rights groups say will affect multinationals operating in some of the world's worst conflict zones, French authorities have charged cement giant Lafarge with complicity in terrorist financing and crimes against humanity due to alleged protection payments to the Islamic State (IS) and other Islamist radical groups to continue production in Syria.
OSCE Hosts Consultations on Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes

June 27, 2018

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights recently hosted consultations in Frankfurt on draft regional guidelines explaining how to counter anti-Muslim hate crimes and "address the security needs of Muslim communities."
CoE Report Warns of Rise in Xenophobia, "Hate Speech"

June 27, 2018

The annual report of the Council of Europe's (CoE) Commission against Racism and Intolerance observes a rise in Europe of "xenophobic populism and hate speech" in 2017 and calls on governments to promote a more "balanced" discourse that "emphasises the positive contribution of well-governed migration" to their citizens.
Boko Haram Murders 31 Civilians in Nigeria

June 25, 2018

The 31 civilian casualties in another suicide bombing attack that Nigeria’s security officials attribute to Boko Haram, the Islamist group whose name means "Western Education is a sin," underscores the resiliency of the jihadist effort to impose sharia law in Nigeria and across West Africa.
NY Bikepath Terrorist Invokes "Islam’s War for Global Sharia"

June 25, 2018

The man charged with perpetrating the terrorist truck attack that killed and wounded dozens last year on a Manhattan bike path declared at his pretrial hearing in a New York courtroom that he supported the Islamic State war "to impose sharia on earth" and invoked "Allah’s judgments" as the only legitimate evaluation for human action.