Iran
Associated Press: Belgium, Iran Conduct Prisoner Swap In Oman, Freeing Aid Worker And Diplomat Convicted In Bomb Plot
“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’
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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.”
The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If you value what we do, please consider making a donation.
