“The US has bolstered its military forces in the Middle East following a series
of attacks on US troops in Syria attributed to Iranian-affiliated militias, the
Pentagon said Friday. A squadron of A-10 attack aircraft are deploying to the
region ahead of a scheduled deployment. The deployment of the attack aircraft
was expedited by several weeks following the attacks in Syria, according to
Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Phil Ventura. In addition, the US ordered a carrier
strike group to remain in the region to support US forces in Central Command,
which covers the Middle East, and a squadron of A-10 attack aircraft to the
region, Ventura said. ‘We are committed to supporting the defeat-ISIS mission
alongside a global coalition in Syria and prepared to respond to a range of
contingencies in the Middle East if needed,’ Ventura said in a statement.”











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Eye on Extremism



April 3, 2023



CNN: US Bolsters Forces In Middle East Following Series Of Attacks On US
Troops In Syria
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“The US has bolstered its military forces in the Middle East following a
series of attacks on US troops in Syria attributed to Iranian-affiliated
militias, the Pentagon said Friday. A squadron of A-10 attack aircraft are
deploying to the region ahead of a scheduled deployment. The deployment of the
attack aircraft was expedited by several weeks following the attacks in Syria,
according to Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Phil Ventura. In addition, the US
ordered a carrier strike group to remain in the region to support US forces in
Central Command, which covers the Middle East, and a squadron of A-10 attack
aircraft to the region, Ventura said. ‘We are committed to supporting the
defeat-ISIS mission alongside a global coalition in Syria and prepared to
respond to a range of contingencies in the Middle East if needed,’ Ventura said
in a statement.”



Reuters: Spain's Asturias Ravaged By Fires As Authorities Blame 'Terrorist'
Arsonists
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“The lush region of Asturias in northern Spain was ravaged by more than 90
wildfires on Friday, most of them believed to have been started by arsonists
whom the region's leader called ‘fire terrorists’. Over 600 firefighters were
deployed to tackle the blazes and several towns have been evacuated as police
closed off roads and highways. The Spanish government has said it is worried
more wildfires will flare this year after an unusually dry winter across parts
of southern Europe and rising average temperatures due to climate change. ‘THEY
ARE BURNING OUR ASTURIAS. We are dealing with real terrorists who are
endangering lives, towns and cities,’ Adrian Barbon, the head of the regional
government, said on Twitter.”



United States



Associated Press: U.S. Citizen Gets 20 Years For Joining Islamic State Group
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“A U.S. citizen who moved his family to Syria to join the Islamic State
terrorist group has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Emraan Ali,
55, a U.S. citizen born in Trinidad and Tobago, was sentenced Tuesday in Miami
federal court, according to court records. He pleaded guilty in November to
conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
According to court records, Ali moved his family from Trinidad and Tobago to
Brazil, and then to Turkey and eventually Syria in March 2015. He falsely told
his children that they were going on vacation but actually intended to join IS,
prosecutors said. After arriving in Syria, IS registered Ali and his family,
and Ali underwent IS religious and military training with other English
speakers, officials said. The training included instruction on the operation of
various automatic weapons such as the AK-47 assault rifle and PKC machine gun.”



Turkey



Daily Sabah: 340 Terrorists Eliminated By Turkish Armed Forces In Past 3 Months

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“National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced Saturday evening that the
Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) had eliminated 340 members of the U.S.-backed PKK
and its Syrian offshoot YPG in the last three months. Akar was using a term to
indicate the terrorists in question were killed, injured or captured alive,
though the term mostly refers to the first party in most cases. ‘We are
determined and able to save our nation from this trouble that has plagued our
noble country for 40 years. We are determined to neutralize terrorists,
regardless of who is behind them, whether they provide weapons, helicopters,
ammunition or money,’ Akar said Saturday in southern Hatay province. He said
Ankara's only target is the terrorism threatening the country's borders and
national security. In its 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK –
listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and the EU – has been
responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women,
children and infants.”



Pakistan



Associated Press: Pakistani Army Says 4 Troops Killed By Iran-Based Militants
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“A militant attack from across the border with Iran left four Pakistani
soldiers dead Saturday in southwestern Baluchistan province, the army said. The
soldiers were part of a routine border patrol operating along the Pakistan-Iran
border when the militants struck in the Jalgai sector of Kech district, the
military said in a statement. There was no immediate claim of responsibility
for the attack. The army said necessary contact was being established with
Iranian officials for ‘effective action against terrorists’ to prevent such
incidents in the future. It identified the casualties as Sher Ahmed, Muhammad
Asghar, Muhammad Irfan and Abdur Rasheed.”



Saudi Arabia



Al Arabiya News: Saudi Arabia’s Etidal And Telegram Remove Over 6 Million
Extremist Content
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“Saudi Arabia’s Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology (Etidal) and
Telegram have removed over 6 million pieces of extremist content in the first
quarter of 2023, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Sunday. In a
collaboration between Etidal and Telegram, 6,004,218 pieces of content were
removed and a total of 1,840 channels belonging to ISIS, al-Qaeda and Hayat
Tahrir al-Sham were closed between January 1 and March 31 for promoting
extremist ideologies. The content targeted was in Arabic and varied between
audio recordings, PDF files, and videos, an infographic shared by SPA showed.
The Etidal team identified and monitored the activity of the three terrorist
organizations on Telegram where it discovered and removed 2,773,902 pieces of
extremist content on 477 channels belonging to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, 1,807,215
similar pieces on 1,040 channels belonging to ISIS, and 1,423,101 pieces on 323
channels belonging to al-Qaeda.”



Middle East



Reuters: U.S. Seeks To Keep Yemen-Bound Ammunition Seized From Iran
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“The United States is seeking to keep more than 1 million rounds of
ammunition the U.S. Navy seized in December as it was in transit from Iran’s
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to militants in Yemen, the Justice
Department said on Friday. ‘The United States disrupted a major operation by
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to smuggle weapons of war into the
hands of a militant group in Yemen,’ Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a
statement. ‘The Justice Department is now seeking the forfeiture of those
weapons, including over 1 million rounds of ammunition and thousands of
proximity fuses for rocket-propelled grenades.’ U.S. naval forces on Dec. 1
intercepted a fishing trawler smuggling more than 50 tons of ammunition rounds,
fuses and propellants for rockets in the Gulf of Oman along a maritime route
from Iran to Yemen, the Navy said.”



The Times Of Israel: Police Say DNA Found On Cop’s Gun Proves Old City
Incident Was Terrorism
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“Police announced on Sunday that they had found DNA evidence proving that a
man who was shot in Jerusalem’s Old City had grabbed the gun of a police
officer and carried out a terror attack. Police said testing found the DNA of
26-year-old Mohammed Elasibi — a resident of the Bedouin town of Hura in
southern Israel — on a weapon he was accused of grabbing and firing twice
before he was shot dead by officers near the Temple Mount. Eyewitnesses and
Arab officials have mostly rejected that version of events, and former police
officials said it is ‘hard to believe’ the force’s insistence that the shooting
wasn’t captured on any of the many CCTV cameras in the area. Elasibi’s family
rejected the ‘police’s story,’ which it called ‘false and slanderous” one of
his sisters, who requested anonymity due to fear of retaliation, told AFP. She
described her brother as a ‘polite and well-mannered person who loved helping
others and [had] a peaceful personality.’”



The Times Of Israel: Gallant Vows To Block Iran, Hezbollah In Syria After
Alleged Israeli Airstrikes
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“Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday warned Iran and the Iranian-backed
Hezbollah terrorist group that Israel would not tolerate any efforts to harm
the country or its citizens. The comments came after a series of airstrikes in
Syria that the Syrian government attributed to Israel, and a warning from Iran
over the attacks. ‘We have tensions on all fronts,’ Gallant said in a
pre-Passover toast with soldiers in the Etzion Brigade in the West Bank, saying
Iran was attempting to make inroads into the territory. ‘The Iranians are
extending their outreach to Judea and Samaria and Gaza, and are attempting to
entrench themselves in Syria and Lebanon,’ Gallant said. ‘We will not allow the
Iranians and Hezbollah to harm us. We have not allowed it in the past, we won’t
allow it now, or anytime in the future.’”



Somalia



Garowe Online: Somalia Military Kills 14 Al-Shabaab Militants In Offensive
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“The Somali National Army [SNA] confirmed the killing of over 14 Al-Shabaab
militants in the outskirts of Baidoa, the seat of Southwest state, which has
lately been the epicenter of tussles between the national army and the
Al-Qaeda-linked group. According to senior SNA officials, the militants were
ambushed at one of their hideouts in Makude which is situated at least 7
kilometers south of Baidoa town. The militants who tried to respond were killed
on spot by the national army officers who were on the offensive, SNA added.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has announced the second phase of the
Al-Shabaab crackdown which will target the militants in areas that are yet to
be redeemed from the group, particularly in central and southern parts of the
country where Al- Shabaab militants are predominant.”



Africa



Anadolu Agency: Algeria Rejects Foreign Military Intervention In Region For
‘Fighting Terrorism’
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“Algeria’s army chief, Lt. Gen. Said Chengriha, on Sunday reiterated his
country’s rejection of any foreign military intervention in the region under
the claim of combating terrorism. ‘Algeria rejects any form of foreign
intervention in the region under the pretext of combating terrorism because it
is an approach that has proven to be a complete failure,’ Chengriha said in a
speech during a military meeting. The army chief, however, did not provide any
details about parties seeking military intervention in the region. ‘Algeria's
will is to give a new dynamism to efforts to combat terrorism in the Sahel and
Sahara region,’ Chengriha said. Algeria maintains that countries of the region
have a responsibility to fight terrorism by themselves.”



United Kingdom



BBC: Ex-Boarding School Pupil Who Posted Neo-Nazi Videos Avoids Jail
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“A former private school pupil who posted neo-Nazi and homophobic videos on
the internet has avoided jail. Oliver Riley, 19, admitted a string of terrorism
offences following his arrest at a boarding school in Gloucestershire in
October 2021. He uploaded 23 videos to the internet that were racist,
homophobic and glorified Nazism and terrorist attacks. The judge said he
accepted Riley's ‘genuine remorse’ and sentenced him to a three-year community
order. Police seized a mobile phone, a laptop and a red notebook during a
search of Riley's room following his arrest. The channel he used to upload the
offensive material was open to the public and had 21 subscribers, the Old
Bailey heard.”



Europe



VICE: Street-Fighting US Neo-Nazi Leader Captured in Romania
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“…Last summer, the Southern California Active Club held a boxing tournament
in which neo-Nazis from across the United States attended. Rundo excitedly
promised his followers more of these events in a recent YouTube interview and
claimed that he was creating the new “street culture of white nationalism.’
Joshua Fisher-Birch, an analyst for the Counter Extremism Project, told VICE
News that Rundo’s arrest is a ‘positive development’ but it likely won’t deeply
impact the ‘active clubs.’ ‘Even though Rundo has been the public face of the
movement, it is unlikely that his arrest will blunt its growth, mainly because
active clubs are local entities with their own local structure,’ said
Fisher-Birch. ‘Rundo’s potential detention will likely be a specific rallying
call going forward for the movement and allied groups as they seek to create
new narratives and expand.’”



Middle East Forum: Germany's Leftist Government Refuses To Confront Islamism
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“…Hans-Jakob Schindler of the Berlin-based Counter Extremism Project told the
Bundestag that the dearth of information about the financing of Islamist groups
in Germany is partly due to ‘legal gaps and hurdles, existing limitations on
the powers of the security authorities, as well as a lack of transparency
requirements’ for mosques and Islamic associations. He said that the
legislative proposals could lead to ‘major improvements’ in filling the
knowledge gap (Erkenntnislücke) about the financing of Islamism in Germany. In
a parliamentary debate before the two proposals were rejected, Bundestag Member
Peggy Schierenbeck of the center-left Social Democrats branded the proposed
bills as ‘prejudice against people of other faiths’ and claimed that if they
were to be approved, ‘people from Muslim civil society would fall victim to
generalization and stigmatization.’ Bundestag Member Lamya Kaddor of the Greens
declared that ‘Islamism is nothing more than doing politics with religion.’
Kaddor, a first-generation German of Syrian origin known for her efforts to
expand the teaching of Islam in German schools, said the sponsors of the
proposals ‘want to determine who is a 'good' Muslim and who is a 'bad' Muslim —
'good' means 'secular,' they want Muslims without Islam.’ She insisted that
anyone who ‘problematizes Islamism must also problematize Islamophobia.’”



Associated Press: Greece: Suspects In Foiled Passover Attack Appear In Court
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“Two men accused of planning a Passover attack on a Jewish center in central
Athens appeared in court Friday to answer to terrorism charges and were ordered
to remain in pre-trial detention, authorities said. Greek officials announced
the suspects’ arrests earlier this week and described the men as being of
Pakistani origin. Police alleged they were planning to attack the Chabad of
Athens center, which is part of Judaism’s international Chabad-Lubavitch
movement. The center hosts religious services, as well as a kosher restaurant
and grocery.”



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