“Counter-terrorism experts said Tuesday that Africa is now the world’s
terrorism hot spot, with half of the victims killed last year in sub-Saharan
Africa, though al-Qaida and Islamic State affiliates remain widespread,
persistent and active elsewhere around the globe. Interpol, the international
criminal police agency, also reported during a panel discussion at the U.N.
that terrorism linked to extreme right-wing ideology increased an estimated
50-fold over the past decade, particularly in Europe, North America and parts
of the Asia-Pacific. The experts see other trends: Deteriorating global
security is making the terrorism threat ‘more complex and decentralized.’
Extremists are increasingly using sophisticated technology, and drones and
artificial intelligence have opened new ways to plan and carry out attacks. The
United Nations this week is hosting its third high-level conference of heads of
counter-terrorism agencies. Tuesday’s panel on assessing current and emerging
terrorist trends and threats brought together experts from the U.N., Interpol,
Russia, the United States and Qatar, and Google’s senior manager for strategic
intelligence.”











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Eye on Extremism



June 21, 2023



Associated Press: Counter-Terrorism Experts Say Africa Is The World’s
Terrorism Hot Spot With Half Of 2022′s Victims
<[link removed]>



“Counter-terrorism experts said Tuesday that Africa is now the world’s
terrorism hot spot, with half of the victims killed last year in sub-Saharan
Africa, though al-Qaida and Islamic State affiliates remain widespread,
persistent and active elsewhere around the globe. Interpol, the international
criminal police agency, also reported during a panel discussion at the U.N.
that terrorism linked to extreme right-wing ideology increased an estimated
50-fold over the past decade, particularly in Europe, North America and parts
of the Asia-Pacific. The experts see other trends: Deteriorating global
security is making the terrorism threat ‘more complex and decentralized.’
Extremists are increasingly using sophisticated technology, and drones and
artificial intelligence have opened new ways to plan and carry out attacks. The
United Nations this week is hosting its third high-level conference of heads of
counter-terrorism agencies. Tuesday’s panel on assessing current and emerging
terrorist trends and threats brought together experts from the U.N., Interpol,
Russia, the United States and Qatar, and Google’s senior manager for strategic
intelligence.”



Reuters: Spanish Court Charges Parcel Bomb Suspect With Terrorism Offences
<[link removed]>



“A Spanish judge has charged a 74-year-old man suspected of sending several
parcel bombs targeting government, diplomatic and defence industry institutions
in late 2022 with two counts of aggravated terrorism, a high court document
showed on Tuesday. Pompeyo Gonzalez Pascual was arrested in January after
allegedly sending six parcels with homemade explosives addressed to Prime
Minister Pedro Sanchez, Defence Minister Margarita Robles, the embassies of
Ukraine and the United States in Madrid, an air force base and a weapons
manufacturer between Nov. 24 and Dec. 2 of last year. Most were defused,
although a security employee at the Ukrainian embassy was slightly injured when
one detonated. Investigating magistrate Jose Luis Calama, speaking in the High
Court in Madrid, said the two charges of terrorism and manufacturing explosive
devices for terrorist purposes were warranted even if there was no evidence
that Gonzalez belonged to or colluded with an organised terrorist group.”




The CEP CounterPoint: Expert Analysis

* CEP-KAS – Sahel Monitoring May 2023
<[link removed]>
* ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency in May 2023
<[link removed]>
* Afghanistan Terrorism Report: April 2023
<[link removed]>
* ISIS Women in Court: Marcia M. – A Perfect Cover?
<[link removed]>
* CEP-KAS: Sahel Monitoring April 2023
<[link removed]>

<[link removed]>



Iran



The National: Hamas And Islamic Jihad Leaders Visit Iran As West Bank Tensions
Increase
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“Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas's political bureau, has been leading a
delegation of the Palestinian movement on a visit to Tehran where they met
Iranian officials, including Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. Mr Haniyeh held
talks with the Iranian president on Tuesday after arriving in Tehran a day
earlier on a visit to discuss several key issues related to the Palestinian
cause, according to a statement by Hamas. ‘Even those who once sought to
negotiate with the Zionist regime and its supporters have come to the
conclusion that it is useless to talk to the Israelis and that resistance is
the only way to deal with the regime,’ Mr Raisi told the Iranian Irna news
agency after his meeting with the Hamas leader. Mr Haniyeh affirmed Iran’s
continued support for the Palestinian cause and said that the ‘Resistance Front
is today expanding its power not only in the Gaza Strip, but also in the
occupied West Bank and in the lands occupied since 1948.’”



Iran International: Germany Claims Regime Employing State Terrorism To
Eliminate Opposition <[link removed]>



“Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution claims the
Iranian regime employs ‘state terrorism’ to intimidate and eliminate opposition
members. It cautioned that Iranians residing in Germany could be targeted by
Iranian intelligence and security services for abduction and espionage
operations. ‘Fighting opposition groups and individuals at home and abroad is
the focus of Iranian intelligence activities,’ reads the Constitutional
Protection Report 2022, which has just been released. The report further
claimed that spying activities against (pro-)Israel and (pro-) Jewish targets
in Germany are still part of Iran's field of espionage.”



Turkey



Daily Sabah: German Intel. Chief Calls PKK Biggest Foreign Terror Group In
Country
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“The top German intelligence chief said the PKK is the biggest foreign
terrorist group in the country, with around 14,500 supporters. Türkiye has
complained that despite the group's illegal status, European Union countries
have long turned a blind eye to its activities on their soil, including media
outlets, pro-terror demonstrations, and violence threatening Turkish diplomatic
offices and Turkish nationals abroad. ‘Extremists use crises to make
connections with the middle classes and also share conspiracy myths,
disinformation, and propaganda,’ said Thomas Haldenwang, the head of Germany's
domestic intelligence agency Federal Office for the Protection of the
Constitution (BfV) during a joint news conference with Interior Minister Nancy
Faeser in Berlin. Right-wing extremism continues to be the greatest extremist
threat in the country, he remarked. ‘We also see a high level of radicalization
in violent left-wing extremism,’ Haldenwang added.”



Pakistan



Samaa English: Punjab CTD Arrests Four Alleged Terrorists In IBO
<[link removed]>



“The operation led to the arrest of four individuals suspected of being
involved in terrorist activities. The CTD officials have confirmed that the
apprehensions took place in Rawalpindi, Sheikhupura, Sargodha, and Sahiwal. The
arrested individuals are affiliated with a banned organization, against whom
cases have already been registered. The CTD’s swift action in apprehending
these suspects has potentially averted any potential threats they might have
posed to public safety.”



Middle East



Outlook: Palestinian Man Kills 4 Israelis In West Bank, Injures Several Others
<[link removed]>



"…PIJ is dedicated to eradicating Israel and establishing an autonomous
Islamic Palestinian state in the lands currently comprising Israel, the West
Bank, and Gaza. PIJ believes that the land of Palestine is consecrated for
Islam, that Israel usurped Palestine, and, therefore, that Israel is an affront
to God and Islam and that Palestine’s re-conquest is a holy task," notes think
tank Counter Extremism Project (CEP), adding that the PIJ does not participate
in the political process.”



i24 News: Palestinians Identify Terrorist Responsible For Death Of 4 Israeli
Civilians
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“Palestinian social media accounts affiliated with terror groups identified
the attacker as 25-year-old Muhannad Shehadeh, from the town of Orif near
Nablus. Shehadeh is reportedly from the ranks of Hamas and a released security
prisoner. He carried out a terror attack in the West Bank, initially at a
restaurant, where they opened fire with a semi-automatic M16 rifle. From there
they fled and attacked a gas station. In total, four Israeli civilians were
killed, and four were wounded, one critically, two moderately and another
lightly.”



The Jerusalem Post: Hezbollah Infiltrates, Sets Up Armed Position In Israel
<[link removed]>



“Hezbollah infiltrated Israel and set up an armed military position within
Israeli territory in the last few weeks, Kan revealed on Wednesday morning. The
IDF told Kan that ‘the matter is known and being dealt with together with the
relevant authorities.’ Kan reported that the relevant authorities were UNIFIL
and the UN. Due to the sensitivity of the area, the IDF has decided not to take
any military action against the terrorists for now. The incident was discussed
in a security government meeting last week, and according to what was said,
Hezbollah terrorists crossed the border at Har Dov and set up two tents on
Israeli land. The tent is manned by three to eight armed terrorists.”



Somalia



AFP News: AU Force In Somalia Starts Reducing Troop Numbers
<[link removed]>



“The African Union's mission in Somalia said Wednesday it had begun reducing
troop numbers in line with plans to eventually hand over security to the
troubled country's national army. ‘The African Union Transition Mission in
Somalia has started to drawdown in compliance with (UN Resolutions) which
mandate ATMIS to drawdown 2,000 soldiers by the end of June 2023,’ it said in a
statement. The move comes despite continued deadly attacks by Al-Shabaab in the
face of a major offensive by pro-government forces backed by ATMIS against the
jihadist group. Only last month, 54 Ugandan peacekeepers were killed when
Al-Shabaab fighters stormed an AU base located southwest of the capital
Mogadishu in one of the deadliest attacks since the offensive was launched last
year. Al-Shabaab has been waging a bloody insurgency against the fragile
government in Mogadishu for more than 15 years, carrying out attacks both in
Somalia and neighbouring countries.”



Africa



Reuters: Islamic State Affiliate Expanding Reach In DR Congo, UN Experts Say
<[link removed](Reuters),of%20experts%20said%20on%20Tuesday.>



“A Ugandan armed group that killed dozens of school children last week is
expanding its operations in Democratic Republic of Congo with funding from
Islamic State, a United Nations group of experts said on Tuesday. The Allied
Democratic Forces (ADF) started as an uprising in Uganda but has been based in
neighbouring Congo since the late 1990s. It pledged allegiance to Islamic State
in 2019. The ADF killed at least 37 people in an attack on a school in western
Uganda near the Congolese border on Friday night.”



i24 News: Uganda Arrests 20 'Collaborators' In Terror Attack School Massacre
<[link removed]>



“Ugandan police stated on Monday that 20 people had been arrested as
suspected collaborators in a terror attack at a school that killed 42,
including 37 students. It was blamed on the Islamic State-linked Allied
Democratic Forces (ADF), based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
‘Twenty arrests have been made of suspected collaborators, suspected ADF
collaborators,’ said police spokesman Fred Enanga at a press conference,
according to AFP. In a separate statement, he stated that the death toll was
42, including 37 students. The oldest was a 95-year-old woman, and the youngest
a 12-year-old girl. He revealed that the arrested included the head teacher and
the director of the Lhubiriha Secondary School in Mpondwe, western Uganda.”



United Kingdom



Evening Standard: Terrorist From Leyton Who Discussed Police Station Attacks
On Telegram Jailed
<[link removed]>



“A young man who shared so-called Islamic State propaganda on Telegram and
WhatsApp has been jailed for six years. Ismail Kissa, 24, from Leyton, east
London, was stopped at Stansted Airport on March 29 last year and two mobile
phones were seized. On the devices, a number of disturbing files and videos
linked to Daesh and Islamist terrorism were found by counter-terrorism officers
from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit. Kissa was a member of various
extremist chat groups on the Telegram app, the Old Bailey heard on Tuesday.”



Germany



Morning Star: Far-Right Is Germany's Biggest Security Threat – And It's
Growing, Security Agency Reports
<[link removed]>



“…Last year, Alexander Ritzmann, the Berlin head of the Counter Extremism
Project, warned that the problem would grow if neonazi groups with ties to
Ukrainian fascist militias such as III.Weg (‘Third Path’), which has trained
and invited speakers from Ukraine’s neonazi Azov Battalion, sent volunteers to
fight Russian forces. ‘If we have groups of highly motivated,
combat-experienced far-right extremists with post-traumatic stress disorders,
then attacks in European countries may look very different in the future,’ he
told an extremism summit.”



Europe



Euronews: The Myth Far-Right Zealots Run Ukraine Is Russian Propaganda
<[link removed]>



“The West’s inability to properly understand the Azov movement has led to the
spread of damaging anti-Ukraine propaganda in the media, Alexander Ritzmann
writes. As the war in Ukraine rages on, Europe’s international policy analysts
and journalists have turned their attention to the Azov regiment, a former
Nazi-insignia-carrying extreme-right street militia that has become integrated
into the country's National Guard. Russia's Vladimir Putin himself has claimed
one of his reasons for the invasion was to “denazify Ukraine”.”



AFP News: Turk On Trial In Sweden Accused Of 'Terrorist Funding'
<[link removed]>



“A Turkish citizen appeared in a Swedish court on Tuesday accused of
‘attempted terrorist financing’ of the pro-Kurdish PKK, a first in the
Scandinavian country seeking Ankara's approval to join NATO. Turkey has accused
Sweden of being a haven for ‘terrorists’, especially members of the PKK, and
has asked Stockholm to extradite dozens of people. The accused, in his 40s, was
arrested in January after making threats and firing a gun outside a restaurant
in Stockholm. Prosecutors say the man's aim was to extort money and use it to
finance the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is classified as a terrorist
organisation by Turkey, as well as Sweden, the EU and Washington.”



Associated Press: Norwegian Citizen Arrested In Hungary For Alleged Extremist
Plot
<[link removed]>



“Police have arrested a Norwegian citizen in Hungary on suspicion that he was
planning an extremist attack modeled after a 2011 massacre in Norway that
killed 77 people, authorities said Tuesday. The National Investigation Office
of the Hungarian police said the 45-year-old man had posted numerous videos to
the internet in which he described his plans to commit the attacks. After
analyzing the videos and identifying the suspect, Hungary’s Counter Terrorism
Center arrested the man in a Budapest apartment on June 14 and confiscated his
electronic devices. In the videos, the suspect speaks Norwegian and English,
police said, and threatens to carry out attacks in airports, railway stations
and on airplanes. ‘I will destroy the innocent,’ he said in one video,
according to police. The suspect also described his desire to surpass the
crimes committed by Norwegian far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who
killed 77 people in bomb-and-gun massacres in Norway in 2011.”



India



Dunya News: CTD Arrests Terrorist Involved In Blasts On Railway Tracks
<[link removed]->



“Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) arrested a terrorist belonging to
proscribed organisation on Tuesday night. According to CTD spokesperson, one
terrorist was arrested during the operation whereas the other fled the scene
utilising the advantage of the darkness. The CTD claims to initiate a search
operation and set-up checkpoints in the area to arrest the fleeing terrorist.
The spokesperson said that the arrested terrorist carried out an explosion at
Bhulari railway track on March 23, 2023. The spokesperson further mentioned
that explosives and hand grenades has been recovered from the possession of the
terrorist and a case against him was registered. The law enforcing agency
claimed that the process of investigation is underway and further information
would be revealed as the proceedings will progress.”



Technology



Fast Company: How Monero Became Extremists’ Privacy Coin Of Choice
<[link removed]>



“Analysts with the Counter Extremism Project were used to seeing radical
groups asking for donations in crypto currencies. Everyone from neo-Nazis to
ISIS sympathizers liked Bitcoin, as it helps avoid oversight from banks and
regulators. But in 2020 those with the unenviable job of monitoring hate groups
online saw a pro-ISIS group switch its donation preference from Bitcoin to a
much smaller and lesser know currency called Monero. Other organizations soon
followed; suddenly Islamic extremists and white supremacist groups alike were
asking for donations in Monero. ‘About a year and a half ago this Monero thing
took off, and now it’s pretty widespread,’ Hans-Jakob Schindler, the senior
director of the Counter Extremism Project, says.”



The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If
you value what we do, please consider making a donation.

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