BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT: London-based TRAC Analyst Sophia Badawy has been following the rapidly developing use of drones in multiple areas of operations including by Hamas. On 13 May, there were unconfirmed reports of Hamas using kamikaze weaponized drones near the Alumim kibbutz in the northwestern Negev desert in southern Israel, near the Gaza Strip, which is under the control of Sdot Negev Regional Council. A second suicide drone was reported at Nahal Oz Kibbutz, also in the Negev desert under the authority of Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. Hamas later released a propaganda video as evidence that they do in fact have weaponized drone capability. Written on the side of the drone is Hamas' name for the done "Shehab", meaning 'shooting star', however, it is the same Iranian Ababil UAV used by Hezbollah. In addition, Houthis also use the "Qasef-1" and the upgraded version is called Qasef-2K. The advancement of Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades use of drones cannot be underestimated. Kamikaze drones aka suicide drones, are made for one mission, to never return and are most used by the Houthis. The clear development of drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) worldwide by terrorist organizations and non-state actors, illuminates a massive security issue for all countries. Organizations such as Islamic State, Jund al-Aqsa and Houthi Movement (Ansarallah) are just the beginning of the non-state actors who use drone strikes. Mexican drug cartels have been experimenting with weaponized drones; Hayy'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has also boasted of their new weaponized nascent drone program, albeit still appears to be in its infancy.
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TRAC Insight: Islamic State Khurasan (ISK) Targets Power Pylons and Fuel Shipments In 'Ongoing Economic War'- Afghanistan |
On 9 May, TRAC Senior Analyst Daniel Lebowitz detected that the Afghan power utility company Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) reported a 530 megawatt shortage leading to widespread outages and intermittent service in Kabul due to the acts of sabotage. It will take up to a month to repair the damages and completely restore power, an endeavour made difficult by the lack of security and coinciding potential explosive devices at the work site (at least one worker has been injured by such a munition during repair efforts). The restoration of the pylons will likely cost millions of afghanis, and DABS confirms a loss of 800 million afghanis this year due to infrastructure offlining and the inability to sell electricity. Such costs will be a boon for the ISK mission to wreak economic havoc.
That Islamic State Khurasan (ISK) destroyed four power pylons near the capital during a single week (7 May-14 May) suggests the militants may be repositioning away from Nangarhar in the east, to the Kalakan district north of Kabul. Local observers quoted in Tolo News have noted an influx of 'outsiders' with fake IDs, whose arrival is a byproduct of the security vacuum in the area. The Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan also targeted government fuel transports and transmission components of the electric grid during May, emphasizing an 'ongoing economic war' in the country. During a two week period, the Afghan power utility company Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) reported that up to 13 power pylons were damaged in five separate provinces in the country. Islamic State Khurasan (ISK) are responsible for sabotaging at least 4 of those pylons, with bombings claimed in Kabul, the Kalakan area north of the capital, and Kunduz still further north.
Government owned and operated oil tankers tasked with delivering fuel have also been targeted by ISK in Baghlan, Parwan, Kunduz and Kabul provinces.
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TRAC INCIDENT REPORT: Anarchist Group "The Truly Infallible Organization" Claims 10 March 2021 Arson Attack on OVH Web Hosting Company's Data Facility in Strasburg, Grand Est Region, France |
OVH is a cloud-computing company that provides VPS, dedicated servers and other web services. By 2019, OVH was the largest hosting provider in Europe and the third largest in the world based on physical servers alone. On 10 March, a fire broke out in their offices in Strasbourg, France and it was initially reported in the news as an accidental fire. The news website Chez.Renart, received a statement from L’Organisation Vraiment Hinfaillible [The Really Infallible Organization] on Monday, 22 March 2021 and published the letter with the headline "Almost claim of the OVH fire." The claim quickly spread across anarchist websites on 13 May 2021. TRAC obtained copies of the claim on both Chez.Renart and Act For Free websites. Based on the wording used in the statement and the fact that anarchists websites are only now reporting the incident, the OVH fire appears to be a claim of convenience to further the anarchist movement in Europe, rather than a planned intentional attack. That said, anarchist preferred tactic is arson especially in Europe. Additionally, it is not unusual for anarchists in general to claim attacks weeks and months after an event happened in order to evade detection. L’Organisation Vraiment Hinfaillible is a previously unknown group. Often, anarchists claim under one-off group names never to be heard from again.
L’Organisation Vraiment Hinfaillible claims the attack was meant to punish the Chinese for raping Ghana and Nigeria of their natural resources as well as the harmful effects of 4G and 5G technology. Though there have been innumerable attacks on 5G networks across the globe, to date anarchists are the only ideology to claim attacks on 5G telecommunication networks since the beginning of the pandemic.
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Images (Above): Act For Free website banner; (Middle) OVH Data Center Facility fire; (Below) Claim of Credit on TRAC
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Images: (Above) Various scenes from video available on TRAC
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(Right Wing Extremism) Telegram Channel: Published Video Dedicated to Thomas Sewell, Leader of the National Socialist Network, Promotes the Idea of Government Fealty to Minorities While Working Against the White Race |
TRAC Research Associate Samantha Roberts reviews a video published on a Telegram channel promotes the idea that the United States government and governments worldwide protect and encourage criminal behavior from minority races while law-abiding white men who seek to defend from these criminals are labeled terrorists. The video shows various clips of violent attacks and police shootings against Black individuals. Additionally, the video shows clips of rioters during the Black Lives Matter protests destroying cars and storefronts followed by clips from Rise of the Planet of the Apes in which the monkeys are engaging in similar behavior. The song playing over the video is “Idiocracy” by Sin Shake Sin, and repeats the lyrics “I refuse to be part of your idiocracy” and “don’t be afraid, the crooks are here to save the day." Towards the end of the video, it features a clip of Thomas Sewell, the leader of the National Socialist Network, an Australian neo-Nazi group, assaulting a Black security guard. It appears the security guard was ushering Sewell and the cameraman out of Channel Nine’s office building headquarters when Sewell yells a racial slur at the guard. The man puts his hand over the camera and Sewell strikes him, causing him to fall to the ground where Sewell continues to strike him a number of times. This assault occurred just hours before Channel Nine was scheduled to broadcast a segment about the National Socialist Network and is an example of how the organization uses the media to draw public attention, one of the techniques outlined in their leaked ‘activism manual."
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