ISIS – Page 5 – CounterVortex

North Africa

More mass graves discovered in Libya

A mass grave containing two dozen bodies was discovered in the coastal city of Sirte, once controlled by ISIS. The National Authority for Searching & Identifying Missing People, a body of the internationally recognized government in Tripoli, said its team is recovering the 24 bodies found under destroyed buildings in the dstrict of al-Kambo. A mass grave was similarly uncovered in the city in October 2022. Another mass grave is meanwhile reported to have been found in the desert along the Libya-Tunisia border, the UN Human Rights Commission confirmed. This was the second such mass grave found on Libya's borderlands this year. In March, the International Organization for Migration reported the discovery of the bodies of at least 65 presumed migrants in southwest Libya. (Map: Perry-Castañeda Library)

Greater Middle East

ISIS claims Ashura mosque attack in Oman

Nine people were killed, including three attackers, and 30 more wounded as gunmen opened fire on worshippers outside a Shi'ite mosque in Wadi al-Kabir district of Muscat, the capital of usually peaceful Oman. The assailants reportedly shouted as they fired, "You non-believers, this is your end!" Four Pakistani nationals and a police officer were among those killed. The Islamic State group (ISIS) claimed responsibility the attack, which occurred during the Shi'ite holy month of Ashura. ISIS released a video showing three men holding rifles and their black flag, boasting of "the targeting of the Rafida," a pejorative term for Shi'ites. (Map: PCL)

Europe

Russian playwright gets prison for ‘justifying terrorism’

A Russian military court convicted playwright Svetlana Petriychuk and theater director Yevgeniya Berkovich and sentenced them each to six years in prison over a play that was found to "justify terrorism." The basis for the prosecution was the play Finist the Brave Falcon, its plot drawing inspiration from the plight of Russian women who went to Syria to marry Islamist fighters and were convicted upon return to their home country. Berkovich and Petrychuk repeatedly stated that their play was intended to warn against terrorism and not to justify it. In the eyes of the defense and human rights organizations, the real reason for the prosecution was retribution against the pair for their outspoken opposition to the war in Ukraine. (Photo: StageRussia)

Africa

Uranium at issue in Great Game for Sahel

The ruling junta in Niger revoked the operating license of French nuclear fuel producer Orano at one of the world’s largest uranium mines. Russian companies have meanwhile indicated interest in picking up the lease for the giant Imouraren mine. However, exports are stalled by closure of the border with Benin, the vital sea corridor for landlocked Niger, as tensions mount between the two countries. The uranium dispute comes as French and US troops have been forced to withdraw from Niger, and Russian forces have moved in. The Pentagon's AFRICOM commander Gen. Michael Langley has acknowledged that the US is seeking to establish new bases in neighboring West African countries, including Benin. (Map: Wikivoyage)

Africa

Niger: jihadis score deadly blow against junta

Authorities in Niger declared three days of national mourning after an ambush on security forces near the village of Tassia resulted in the deaths of at least 20 soldiers and one civilian. Tassia lies in the western Tillabéri region bordering Mali and Burkina Faso, long a stronghold of jihadist insurgents. The incident highlights the growing challenges facing the ruling junta one year after it came to power in a July 2023 coup, overthrowing the civilian government led by Mohamed Bazoum. (Map: PCL)

Afghanistan

HRW: Afghanistan Hazara community at risk

Inadequate protections by the de facto Taliban authorities in Afghanistan continue to leave the Shi'ite Hazara community at risk of being targeted in atrocities that may amount to war crimes, according a report by Human Rights Watch. The report emphasized the threat from the self-declared Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), which continues to carry out attacks targeting Hazara mosques, schools and neighborhoods. In the most recent such attack, a presumed ISKP militant opened fire on worshippers at a Hazara mosque at Guzara, in western Herat province, killing six, including a child. (Photo: Hazara of Daykundi province in 2011. Credit: Karla K. Marshall/USACE via Wikimedia Commons)

Greater Middle East

Germany: ISIS suspect arrested for war crimes

The German Federal Criminal Police arrested a suspect identified as Sohail A, said to be a former member of the Syrian insurgent group Liwa Jund al-Rahman and the Islamic State. Both are designated "terrorist organizations" by the German government, making membership an offense under the Criminal Code. Sohail A is also accused of participating in war crimes incuding forced displacement. Liwa Jund al-Rahman, or Brigade of the Soldiers of the Merciful God, carried out a 2013 "cleansing operation" in Deir ez-Zor province, in which Shi'ite residents were forcibly expelled. According to the German Prosecutor General, Sohail A glorified the operation on social media platforms as part of the group's propaganda department. (Photo via Syria Call)

Inner Asia

Tajikistan denies Moscow claim of mercenary recruitment

Tajikistan's Foreign Ministry denied claims by Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev that Ukraine has been recruiting mercenaries for its military the country's territory. Patrushev charged that Kyiv's embassy in Dushanbe, the Tajik capital, has been recruiting Tajikistan nationals to join the International Legion of the Ukrainian army, with a pathway to Ukrainian citizenship for those who choose to stay in the country. The allegations come as relations between Tajikistan and Russia are under strain following the deadly attack on the Crocus Music Hall outside Moscow, which was claimed by ISIS. The four suspected gunmen arrested in Russia are said to be Tajikistan nationals, and nine others were detained in connection with the attack in Tajikistan. Some Russian officials have alleged that several of those involved in the attack were recruited through the Ukrainian embassy in Dushanbe. Ukraine has denied any involvement in the attack. (Map: CIA via PCL Map Collection)

Watching the Shadows

Podcast: conspiracy theory and the Moscow terror

The deadly terror attack in a concert hall outside Moscow was immediately claimed by ISIS-K, the Islamic State network's Afghanistan franchise. But just as quickly, the Russian and Ukrainian intelligence services accused each other of being behind it—the latter saying it was organized as a "provocation" to expand Moscow's war in Ukraine. Putin's rise to power, including his recent rise to outright autocratic power, as well as his various military adventures, have indeed been lubricated every step of the way by terror attacks. But who was actually behind the Crocus City Center attack may not really matter overmuch. If 9-11 was a "Reichstag Fire" for the hyper-interventionist aims of Dubya Bush, that analogy may prove to apply even more closely to the concert hall carnage serving the war aims and totalitarian domestic agenda of Vladimir Putin. Bill Weinberg discusses in Episode 219 of the CounterVortex podcast. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. (Photo: governor of Moscow Oblast via Wikimedia Commons)

Europe

Moscow terror: ISIS, Ukraine or ‘false flag’?

A group of armed men opened fire at a concert hall in a Moscow suburb, killing at least 133 people and injuring scores more. ISIS-K, the Islamic State network's Afghanistan franchise, quickly took credit for the attack. But just as quickly, the Russian and Ukrainian intelligence services accused each other of being behind it—the latter saying it was organized as a "provocation" to expand Moscow's war in Ukraine. Putin's rise to power, including his recent rise of outright autocratic power, as well as his various military adventures, have indeed been lubricated every step of the way by terror attacks. But who was actually behind the Crocus City Center attack does not really matter overmuch. Just as 9-11—whoever was behind it—served the hyper-interventionist aims of Dubya Bush and his administration, we may be reasonably certain that the concert hall carnage will serve the war aims and totalitarian domestic agenda of Vladimir Putin. (Image: Wikipedia)

Africa

Conflict lingers in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado

Mozambique's military said last year that more than 90% of northern Cabo Delgado province had been secured from ISIS-affiliated insurgents known locally as al-Shabab—yet ongoing attacks indicate that the conflict is far from over. After seizing a strategic village last month, jihadists killed more than 20 soldiers in a battle this month. Cases of beheadings, kidnappings, and ambushes are still being reported by conflict monitors, even as a regional military intervention force is set to end its three-year mission. (Map via Moscow Times)

Afghanistan

China moves toward recognition of Taliban regime

Chinese President Xi Jinping officially accepted the credentials of the envoy to Beijing from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan—a clear step toward recognition of the regime. A month before that, Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister, visited Kabul to meet with Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi—the highest-level meeting between China and the Taliban regime since its return to power in 2021. China has already struck hydrocarbon deals with the Taliban, and has been eyeing Afghanistan's lithium, copper and rare-earth metal mines. This is in line with Beijing's perceived design to establish control over the planet's rare earth minerals. (Map: Perry-Castañeda Library)