This week, it was revealed that the Indonesian authorities had detained a British woman who is on the terror watch list last year. Meanwhile, US-led air strike had killed a top Daesh leader in Kirkuk, Iraq. Separately, Daesh had attacked and killed government fighters along with their allied militia forces in Syria. Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab had attacked a hotel in Somalia and killed nine people.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Indonesian media revealed that the authorities had detained a 47-year old British woman identified as Tazneen Miriam Sailar (aka Aisyah Humaira, Ummu Yasmin) along with her 10-year old son for visa violations last year. The Manchester-born convert was also listed on the terrorism watch list, although she had not been charged with terrorism offences. Her late husband, Acep Ahmad Setiawan (aka Abu Ahmad al-Indunisy), was an Indonesian militant who perished in Syria. Abu Bakar Ba’asyir, the Jemaah Islamiyah’s (JI) spiritual leader, had officiated the couple’s marriage in 2010. Sailar had been involved in organising charities to raise funds for women and children in Syria. Sailar is currently being held in the immigration detention centre while waiting to be deported back to England.
MIDDLE EAST
A US-led air strike killed a Daesh senior leader, 43-year old Jabbar Salman Ali Farhan al-Issawi (aka Abu Yasser) in Kirkuk, Iraq. The operation, which was a joint military cooperation between the US and the Iraqi forces, also killed 10 other Daesh members. Iraqi officials described Al-Issawi, who hailed from Fallujah, as the deputy caliph for the Daesh network in Iraq. Experts believed that Al-Issawi’s death could be a significant blow to the group’s efforts to regroup. Al-Issawi was responsible for coordinating the group’s operations in Iraq. He also played a pivotal role in expanding the group’s presence in Iraq. He had developed and provided guidance to Daesh fighters.
Meanwhile, 19 Syrian regime personnel were killed, including 11 members of the Baqir Brigade, in a Daesh attack in Hama, Syria. Daesh militants had targeted the regime positions in the Fasidah area in Tuwaynan province in eastern Hama, an area known for frequent clashes between regime forces and jihadists. Russian forces are known to guard the checkpoints on occasions. The small Tuwaynan town is often targeted by Daesh for attacks.
EAST AFRICA
The Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab orchestrated an attack on the Hotel Afrik in Mogadishu, Somalia. A suicide bomber struck the hotel’s main entrance with a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED). Gunmen then stormed the hotel, exchanging fire with the hotel security personnel. The attack saw nine people dead and ten others injured. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in a brief statement on Andalus, the pro-Al-Shabaab radio station.