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It was recently learned that earlier this month, on 04 May 2023, the FBI took into custody an Islamic State (IS) supporter, 33-year-old Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa and charged him with financing terrorism for wiring thousands of dollars to Islamic State women held in the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria.
Although Chhipa is of Indian descent, he has been a naturalized United States citizen since August 2021. He was arrested at his apartment to which he had just moved, located on Kingsford Road, in Springfield, Fairfax County, Virginia.
Chhipa, who was found to have expressed his support for violent jihad online, reportedly raised money through his social media accounts between 2019 and 2022 in the hopes of smuggling the women out of the al-Hol Syrian refugee camp. Chhipa purchased $172,000 in virtual currency, as well as collected $15,000 in digital funds from other individuals. The investigation leading up to Chhipa's arrest revealed that the virtual currency was converted back to cash and secretly handed to the intended recipients, thanks to the mediation of an undisclosed British female national based in Syria. According to the investigators, more than $18,000 reached the pockets of Islamic State women, but approximately $60,000 still remains unaccounted for.
Following his arrest, federal agents also discovered additional digital propaganda material advocating for jihad and extremist ideology.
|  | Aerial view of al-Hol refugee camp | |
During questioning, Chhipa stated that he had been raising money for providing a 'shelter' to Islamic State women. It should be noted that almost all the women held in the al-Hol camp were once married to Islamic State fighters who were killed or captured while fighting for control of Syrian territory.
Despite that fact that the camp should only be housing women and children, al-Hol remains a stronghold of IS ideology and the women there continue to have babies inside the camp. In this regard, while it cannot be ruled out that the funds might have been intended for smugglers to take the detainees from al-Hol into Turkey, TRAC posits that Chhippa was planning to set up an IS 'breeding' facility in Syria in an effort to boost the population of the Caliphate. It has been reported on numerous occasions that older male children are frequently married off to IS females for the sole purpose of impregnating them and many IS male fighters have been found hiding inside the massive detention center.
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TRAC Incident Report:
Joint People’s Defence Forces (PDF) and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Drive-By Shooting Targeted Junta Forces in
Monywa, Sagaing Region, Myanmar
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On 13 May 2023, in a joint militant operation with the People’s Defence Forces (PDF) and People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the Junta forces were targeted in a drive-by shooting in Monywa, Sagaing Region, Myanmar.
This is the first that TRAC has recorded an incident of the PLA and PDF working together and it certainly reflects the widespread hatred of the current government that took power through a military coup in 2021.
Based on evident similarities captured on video of the vehicle used in the assaults, the 13 May shooting was carried out by the same cell of militants that conducted a drive-by shooting in Monywa just three days earlier. This makes the third drive-by shooting in Monywa since 02 April 2023 and highlights the PDF’s guerilla warfare strategy; however, the lack of reported casualties in any of the three drive-by shootings gives cause to question the efficiency of executing said strategy.
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TRAC Incident Report:
Israeli Airstrike Kills Iyad al-Hassani, Head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)’s Operations Department, Gaza Strip, Israel
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Iyad al-Hassani, the senior PIJ member killed by the Israeli airstrike on 12 May | |
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On 12 May 2023, in the afternoon hours, a targeted airstrike conducted by the Israeli Air Force led to the killing of a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) member identified as Iyad al-Hassani. Al-Hassani, a member of the Military Council and head of the Operations Unit in Saraya Al-Quds, was reportedly behind the recent rocket attacks against Israel.
The airstrike took place in the Gaza City neighborhood of Nasser, targeting the top-floor apartment of a building, which also resulted in the killing of al-Hassani’s assistant and injuring of five others. With the help of an intelligence-led operation conducted by the use of aircraft surveillance, the senior PIJ leader was tracked down while traveling in several vehicles over the previous day.
This incident comes amid ceasefire talks mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations and it should be noted that Iyad al-Hassani, killed on 12 May, was only recently appointed as the replacement for the head of Islamic Jihad in northern Gaza, Khalil Bahtini, who was killed on 09 May. It is very likely that we will see PIJ retaliate with more rocket attacks against the Israeli settlements in the next days, once a substitute for al-Hassani is appointed.
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TRAC Incident Report:
Aryan Freedom Network (AFN) Distribute “It’s Okay to Be White” Flyers in Residential Neighborhood in
Naples, Florida, United States
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Partial image of the flyers left in residents' driveways in Naples Park | |
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On the morning of Mother’s Day, 14 May 2023, residents of the Naples Park neighborhood in Naples, Florida woke up to find Aryan Freedom Network (AFN) flyers in their driveways. There were approximately 70 flyers that were distributed in total, with each flyer placed in a clear baggie and weighed down with white rice. The flyer, clearly marked with the AFN logo and website, depicts an image of a young Caucasian family with the message, “It’s Okay to be White,” a phrase that was hijacked from a 2017 4chan forum and quickly made a popular slogan by staunch white supremacists like David Duke, the former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office said that despite the direct message, they do not believe there is any threat to the public. Additionally, while authorities acknowledge that the flyers appear to have been created by AFN, they are investigating so see if that’s true. It should be noted that while AFN has neither claimed nor denied this incident, their supporters on Telegram certainly celebrated it.
Far-right extremist groups like Nationalist Socialist Florida (NSF) have announced an increase in its membership and recently launched the largest banner drop in Florida along with other groups. Florida has seen such a significant rise in neo-Nazi activities, that the state's governor saw fit to sign a bill that would make acts such as distributing racist or antisemitic propaganda to residential neighborhoods a felony.
Like NSF, the Aryan Freedom Network (AFN) has also been working on expanding their operational bases throughout the United States. Their latest recruitment efforts include organizing ‘Meet and Greets’ in various locations and inviting anyone who subscribes to a pro-white and/or a neo-Nazi ideology. What transpires at these gatherings is not known entirely, but given how this recent incident took place so soon after the group’s 'meet and greet' in Pensacola, Florida on 29 April 2023, coupled by the fact that there have been no reports of groups associated with the Aryan Brotherhood using the ‘flyering’ tactic since 2019, it is highly likely that ‘flyering’ is one topic of discussion at these gatherings.
The use of flyer distribution in residential neighborhoods is a favored tactic amongst racist groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and other neo-Nazi groups like National Socialist Florida (NSF), as it is a tactic that despite its offensiveness, still remains within the hemlines of the law, at least for now.
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TRAC Incident Report: Security Forces Arrest Héctor Flores Aceves, Aka 'El 15', a High-Ranking Leader of 'Los Chapitos' Group, Guamuchil, Sinaloa, Mexico | |
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Claim Report:
Anonymous German Anarchists Arson of Three DHL Logistic Company Vehicles, in Altona District, Hamburg, Germany
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TRAC Incident Report: Loyalist Feud-Linked Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Found Outside a House in Ardmillan Crescent, Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom | | | | |
