“The United States conducted an airstrike that destroyed stolen Al-Shabaab
weapons and equipment in Somalia near an African Union military base that was
attacked by the group, officials reported Saturday. The base in Bulo Marer, 120
kilometers (75 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu, was housing Ugandan
troops when it was raided Friday in an attack claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked
jihadist group. In a statement, US Africa Command said that it ‘destroyed
weapons and equipment unlawfully taken by Al-Shabaab fighters,’ without
specifying when or where the weapons were stolen. ‘US Africa Command conducted
an airstrike against militants in the vicinity’ of Bulo Marer on Friday, in
support of the Somali federal government and the AU force known as ATMIS, it
said.”











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Eye on Extremism



May 30, 2023



AFP News: US Conducts Strike Near Site Of Shabaab Attack In Somalia
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“The United States conducted an airstrike that destroyed stolen Al-Shabaab
weapons and equipment in Somalia near an African Union military base that was
attacked by the group, officials reported Saturday. The base in Bulo Marer, 120
kilometers (75 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu, was housing Ugandan
troops when it was raided Friday in an attack claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked
jihadist group. In a statement, US Africa Command said that it ‘destroyed
weapons and equipment unlawfully taken by Al-Shabaab fighters,’ without
specifying when or where the weapons were stolen. ‘US Africa Command conducted
an airstrike against militants in the vicinity’ of Bulo Marer on Friday, in
support of the Somali federal government and the AU force known as ATMIS, it
said.”



Fox News: Libyan Court Tries 51 Suspected ISIS Militants, 23 Sentenced To Death

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“A Libyan court Monday sentenced 23 suspected Islamic State group militants
to death for launching deadly attacks that killed dozens of people, including
Egyptian Coptic Christians. The appeals court in the western city of Misrata
also sentenced 14 other militants to life in prison who were convicted on the
same charges, which include destruction of police facilities and public
property. The court sentenced nine defendants to between three and 12 years in
prison. It acquitted five suspects. The court did not elaborate further
details.”




CEP Expert Analysis

* Civilian Counterterrorism Forces and the Fight Against Extremism: A Review
of Nigeria, Somalia, and Burkina Faso
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* Extremism in Erdogan's AKP
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* Security Risks Emanating From Afghanistan
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* Unsolved Murders In Syria's Badia
<[link removed]>
* Transnational Linkages Between Violent Right-Wing Extremism, Terrorism and
Organized Crime
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Iran



Associated Press: Belgium, Iran Conduct Prisoner Swap In Oman, Freeing Aid
Worker And Diplomat Convicted In Bomb Plot
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“Belgium and Iran exchanged prisoners on Friday in a controversial move that
saw an Iranian diplomat convicted of attempting to bomb exiles in France
returning to Tehran bedecked in flowers while a visibly gaunt aid worker headed
back to Brussels. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said in a statement
that the aid worker, Olivier Vandecasteele, had been freed and said that for
him, ‘the choice was always clear: Olivier’s life was always the most
important.’ He said Vandecasteele had been unjustly held in Iran for 455 days
and added that ‘in Belgium, we abandon no one. Not least someone who is
innocent,’ whatever the legal and diplomatic consequences.”



Jewish News Syndicate: Iran Arrests 14 Members Of ‘Terrorist Cell Linked To
Israel’
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“Iran has arrested 14 members of what it claims was an Israel-linked
terrorist cell planning to carry out assassinations in the country, the
semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday. According to the report,
the hit squad was actively searching for targets. They were arrested in the
northwestern part of the country, home to a large Azeri population. The report
comes a little over a week after Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib
said that another Israel-affiliated terrorist group had been arrested on the
country’s western border. Iran has accused Israel in the past of conducting
operations inside its borders to thwart its nuclear program—in December of last
year executing four men convicted of cooperating with Israel’s Mossad
intelligence agency. Three other people received prison sentences of between
five and 10 years.”



Saudi Arabia



AFP News: Saudi Executes Two Bahrainis On Terrorism Charges: State Media
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“Saudi Arabia has put to death two Bahrainis accused of plotting terrorist
operations, state media said on Monday, raising the number of similar
executions to nine this month. The Bahraini nationals, identified as Jaafar
Sultan and Sadiq Thamer, had been charged with ‘joining a terrorist cell led by
a man wanted in Bahrain’ the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said. There was
no immediate reaction from Bahraini authorities. Since May 2 Saudi Arabia, one
of the world's most prolific users of the death penalty, has executed nine
terrorism convicts, all but one in the eastern region where the Shiite minority
is concentrated.”



Middle East



Israel National News: IDF Operates In Jenin After Shooting Attack, Arresting 2
Wanted Terrorists <[link removed]>



“IDF forces were deployed to the Palestinian Authority-controlled city of
Jenin early Monday morning, as part of a counter-terror operation following a
spate of attacks in and around Samaria Sunday. Arab rioters clashed with
Israeli security personnel during the operation. The Palestinian Authority's
WAFA media outlet reported that eight rioters were wounded by gunfire during
the clashes, adding that two suspects were arrested by the Israeli forces. WAFA
identified the suspects as Nawras Gawadrah and Hassan Tamim Hardan. The raid
comes a day after three separate terror attacks were reported across Samaria.”



Israel National News: Report: Palestinian Terrorists Taking Advantage Of
Student Exchange Programs <[link removed]>



“A recent expose’ by the Intelligence Division of the Regavim Movement, which
monitors the activities of the Palestinian Authority and foreign organizations
in Area C, reveals that the ‘Union of Agricultural Work Committees’ (UAWC),
officially designated as a terrorist organization by Defense Minister Gantz, is
running a ‘student exchange program for Palestinian students’ in cooperation
with academic institutions in France and Great Britain. The UAWC was declared a
terrorist organization by the Ministry of Defense in 2021 after the close
connection between the organization's activities and terrorist activity,
including the murder of Rena Shnerb in the summer of 2019, was exposed. n the
formal announcement of the UAWC’s designation as a PFLP-affiliated terrorist
organization, the Ministry of Defense proved that UAWC serves as a conduit for
the flow of millions of Euros to its parent organization, the Marxist terrorist
organization founded by George Habash that has perpetrated murder and mayhem
against Israelis, diaspora Jews and others over several decades. The UAWC is
one of a group of PFLP offshoots that pose as civil society organizations as
they battle against the existence of the State of Israel and support the
illegal Palestinian Authority annexation of Area C.”



Somalia



Goa Chronicle: Somalia Says Army Kills 8 Shabab Militants, Arrests 2 Others
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“The Somali National Army (SNA) killed eight al-Shabab militants and arrested
two others in the central Galgadud region, an SNA officer confirmed. The
officer, Osman Abdullahi, told the Somali national news agency that the two
arrested Shabab operatives are Mukhtar Mohamed, who was head of intelligence
for the group in the Galgadud region, and Aseyr Mohamed, who was in charge of
tax collection. Al-Shabab did not comment on the latest military operation in
central Somalia, which came after an attack on a base of the African Union
Transition Mission in Somalia in Bula Marer, a town in southern Somalia, where
the militants claimed to have killed more than 130 Ugandan soldiers on May 26.”



Garowe Online: Al-Shabaab Commander Surrenders To Somalia Forces
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“A senior Al-Shabaab commander in Somalia has surrendered to the National
Intelligence Security Agency [NISA] forces in Somalia, just before the
activation of the second phase of operations against the group, an indication
of huge strides made by the security forces in liberating the country.
Abdirahman Macalin Ahmed alias Abu Sa'eed or Sharif has been a member of the
group since its inception in 2006, holding various positions before his
decision to quit on Sunday. He joins hundreds of people who have quit the group
which preaches violent ideology in the Horn of Africa nation. Preliminary
investigations show Ahmed has held a number of strategic positions in the
Al-Qaeda-linked group, key among them being head of Al-Shabaab's Banadir
Regional Court, General head of Al-Shabaab's Court, and advisor to the late
leader Ahmed Godane who was killed in a US-led airstrike in 2014. Ahmed also
served as head of extortion collection in the Lower Shabelle region and his
decision to down tools has been termed as ‘most important victory for Somali
Forces’ as they enter the crucial phase in the elimination of the group.
Al-Shabaab has a huge presence in central and southern regions but has lately
lost in a number of fronts.”



Africa



Reuters: Armed Men Kill Four In Attack In Northern Cameroon
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“Unidentified assailants killed two customs officers, a policeman and a
civilian in an overnight attack on a security post in northern Cameroon, the
mayor and two military sources said on Tuesday. The attack took place at the
entrance to the town of Mora in Cameroon's Far North region, about 30 km (20
miles) from the border with Nigeria. One of the military sources, who requested
not to be identified, attributed it to the Islamist Boko Haram, which is waging
an insurgency in the region.”



AFP News: Niger Says 55 Jihadists Killed In Joint Operation
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“Niger's army said Monday that 55 jihadists, including several high-ranking
combatants affiliated to the Islamic State group, had been killed in a joint
operation with Nigeria. The 22-day operation which ended Sunday targeted an
Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) stronghold in Arege in northeastern
Nigeria's border region with Niger, it said. The 55 ‘neutralised terrorists’
include several senior military operatives as well as several religious
leaders, it said, using a traditional term for jihadists. The figures were
given in an army bulletin on operations in Niger's southeastern region of
Diffa, seen by AFP on Monday.”



Morning Express: Terrorist Organization DAESH Cell In Preparation For Action
Was Destroyed In Morocco
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“A written statement about the operation was made by the Forensic Research
Office of the Moroccan Ministry of Interior. In the statement, it was stated
that 3 terrorists were caught in the operations carried out in the northern
city of Tangier, in line with the information received from the intelligence,
and it was stated that the members of DAESH were ‘preparing for individual and
collective action aimed at disrupting the public order.’ In the statement, it
was stated that the captured terrorists were trying to communicate with the
elements of the organization operating in various countries, and it was pointed
out that the 3 terrorists were also preparing for action in the ‘Sahel and
Sahara’ regions.”



United Kingdom



BBC: Liverpool Man Arrested Under Terrorism Act After Raid
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“The 19-year-old was taken into custody after officers raided a property on
Outer Forum in Liverpool. A spokesperson for Counter Terrorism Policing North
West (CTPNW) said the property was evacuated as a precaution, with the bomb
squad in attendance. It has since been declared safe but a cordon remains in
place, CTPNW said. The man remains in custody for questioning and inquires
continue.”



Voice Of America News: UK Man Gets Life Sentence For Joining IS In Syria
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“A London court jailed a British man for life on Friday for traveling to
Syria to join the Islamic State group nearly a decade ago. Judge Mark Lucraft
handed Shabazz Suleman, from High Wycombe northwest of London, the prison term
for making his way to Syria to enlist in the terror group, which is barred by
English law. ‘You went to Syria in order to join IS. You understood IS was a
proscribed organization in English law,’ the judge said as he passed sentence
at London's Old Bailey criminal court. ‘Your ambition was to become a sniper,’
he noted. Suleman, 27, pleaded guilty last month of preparing acts of terrorism
by traveling from the U.K. to Turkey in August 2014, when he was 18, to join IS
in Syria.”



Germany



NBC News: Germany Cracks Down On Far Right With Raids As Hate Crimes Rise
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“Germany’s security services are stepping up efforts to monitor and contain
the threat from modern far-right extremists amid a rise in politically
motivated hate crimes. Earlier this week, the country’s domestic intelligence
service branded the youth wing of the country’s biggest far-right party a
dangerous extremist group. The seriousness with which the authorities are
taking the issue has increased dramatically in recent years, according to Kai
Arzheimer, a professor of politics at the University of Mainz in Germany, who
studies far-right extremism. ‘Politicians and the security apparatus have
underestimated or downplayed the scale of the problem for decades. Thankfully,
this began to change even under the last administration,’ he said.”



India



Reuters: Around 33 Tribal Militants Killed In Clashes In India's Manipur
-Minister
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“Around 33 tribal militants have been killed recently in India's far
northeastern state of Manipur in an ongoing security force operation following
ethnic clashes in the region, the state's chief minister said on Sunday. The
state bordering Myanmar has witnessed growing tension in recent weeks, with
rioting and ethnic clashes killing at least 60 people and displacing 35,000.
The violence began on May 3 when tribal groups clashed with ethnic majority
Meitei people - a non-tribal group, over economic benefits and quotas given to
the tribes. On Sunday, Chief Minister N Biren Singh told reporters around 33
militants had so far been killed.”



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