“Over a thousand Afghan civilians have been killed in bombings and other
violence since foreign forces left and the Taliban took over in 2021, according
to a report by the UN's mission to Afghanistan released on Tuesday. Between
August 15, 2021 and May 2023 1,095 civilians have been killed and 2,679
wounded, according to the UN Mission to Afghanistan UNAMA, underscoring the
security challenges that remain even after the end of decades of war. The
majority of deaths – just over 700 – were caused by improvised explosive
devices, including suicide bombings in public places such as mosques, education
centres and markets. Though armed fighting has fallen dramatically since the
Taliban took over in August 2021 as the Nato-backed military collapsed,
security challenges remain, particularly from ISIS. The extremist group was
responsible for the majority of attacks, according to the UNAMA, which also
noted that the deadliness of attacks had escalated despite fewer violent
incidents.”











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Eye on Extremism



June 27, 2023



The National: Over 1,000 Afghan Civilians Killed In Blasts, Violence Since
Taliban Takeover Says UN
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“Over a thousand Afghan civilians have been killed in bombings and other
violence since foreign forces left and the Taliban took over in 2021, according
to a report by the UN's mission to Afghanistan released on Tuesday. Between
August 15, 2021 and May 2023 1,095 civilians have been killed and 2,679
wounded, according to the UN Mission to Afghanistan UNAMA, underscoring the
security challenges that remain even after the end of decades of war. The
majority of deaths – just over 700 – were caused by improvised explosive
devices, including suicide bombings in public places such as mosques, education
centres and markets. Though armed fighting has fallen dramatically since the
Taliban took over in August 2021 as the Nato-backed military collapsed,
security challenges remain, particularly from ISIS. The extremist group was
responsible for the majority of attacks, according to the UNAMA, which also
noted that the deadliness of attacks had escalated despite fewer violent
incidents.”



Daily Sabah: Turkish Intelligence Eliminates 11 Terrorists Backed By US In
Syria
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“Precision strikes in Syria’s Manbij by Turkish intelligence ‘neutralized’ 11
members of the PKK terrorist organization's Syrian wing, the YPG, security
sources said Monday. The operations on Sunday targeted members of the terrorist
group backed by the United States in Syria, in a location next to the area of
the 2016-2017 Operation Euphrates Shield, where Türkiye launched a cross-border
offensive to wipe out the presence of the terrorist group. The National
Intelligence Organization (MIT) identified the location where the operations
were held as a point of convergence for terrorists seeking to cross into
opposition-held areas in northern Syria to carry out attacks. It was also this
area in Manbij where terrorists launched rocket and mortar attacks. Security
sources said that after aerial surveillance and land reconnaissance, MIT teams
launched simultaneous operations on Sunday night, neutralizing terrorists and
demolishing a compound used by the YPG/PKK. The term ‘neutralizing’ refers to
terrorists killed or captured alive by Turkish forces.”



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approaches to combating terrorism in our society. Our frank discussions cover
the lifecycle of terrorism from propaganda and recruitment, to financing,
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Syria



Prensa Latina: New Terrorist Attacks Are Reported In Syria
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“According to local authorities, the town of Yourin, in the west of Hama
province, suffered material damage as a result of attacks carried out by
extremists, who used drones and mortars. A rocket attack targeted the town of
Nabee Al-Tayeb, where losses were also just material, the sources said. Elite
units of the Syrian army were deployed throughout the front line bordering the
areas occupied by radicals in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib. The extremists
settled in Idlib increased their actions against residential areas located
under government control in recent months, launching four drone attacks that
claimed the lives of four civilians. The national army managed to liberate 56
percent of Idlib during its operations in 2020, but the jihadists still control
the rest, where they hold hundreds of thousands of civilians as human shields.”



Iraq



TRT World: Iraqi Soldier, Daesh Militants Killed In Army Raid
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“An Iraqi soldier was killed and an officer wounded during a
counter-terrorism raid in Iraq that also killed three suspected Daesh members,
Baghdad's security forces have said. Sunday's military operation in Kirkuk
province, north of the Iraqi capital, targeted ‘three figures of the terrorist
group Daesh in the Turkelan region,’ the security forces said in a statement.
After the suspected Daesh members were identified, Iraqi troops approached and
a clash erupted, added the statement late Sunday. The militants ‘were
surrounded and killed, the explosive belts they were wearing were detonated’,
it said.”



Turkey



Daily Sabah: Swiss Tolerance For PKK Terrorist Group Prevails With New Event
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“Supporters of the PKK terrorist group have found another platform to raise
their voices in Switzerland. Photos and videos shared by media outlets linked
to the group show an open-air pro-PKK event taking place in Zurich, a few weeks
after PKK supporters hanged an effigy of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and
unfurled banners in the city, calling for his murder. In the event, the
children are seen singing in a concert as part of a festival dedicated to
Sakine Cansız, one of the founders of the terrorist group who was killed in
Paris in 2013. Pro-PKK media outlets shared the videos of the concert on a
stage adorned with photos of Cansız and Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of
the terrorist group. Among those who attended the event was Besime Konca, a
former lawmaker of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), a pro-PKK party, who is
wanted by Türkiye for her links to the terrorist group. Switzerland is among
the European countries harboring supporters of the PKK, although it is
recognized as a terrorist group by Türkiye, the European Union and the United
States.”



Afghanistan



Voice Of America News: Taliban Flaunts Terrorism Commitments By Appointing
Al-Qaida-Affiliated Governors
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“For more than 15 years, Qari Baryal has been on a special list of
Washington’s ‘most-wanted’ Taliban and al-Qaida leaders in Afghanistan, accused
of carrying out bombing and suicide attacks across the country. Baryal and the
militants he oversaw were ‘involved in the supervision of IED [improvised
explosive device] production, suicide personnel allocation, and overall attack
planning and execution’ in Kabul and surrounding provinces, according to U.S.
military reports. In November 2021, two months after U.S. and NATO forces
withdrew from Afghanistan, the Taliban appointed Baryal as the governor of
Kabul province. In March 2022, he became the provincial governor for Kapisa
province, northeast of Kabul. Baryal is among those listed in a recent United
Nations report as one of the Taliban’s leaders ‘affiliated’ with al-Qaida.
Besides Baryal, Nuristan Governor Hafiz Muhammad Agha Hakeem and Tajmir Jawad,
the Taliban’s deputy director of intelligence, are also listed in the report.”



Pakistan



Reuters: Pakistan Summons US Deputy Mission Chief Over US-India Statement
<[link removed](Reuters),as%20a%20base%20for%20militant>



“Pakistan's foreign ministry on Monday summoned the U.S. embassy's deputy
chief of mission to express concern over a statement last week by U.S.
President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that called on
Pakistan to ensure its territory was not used as a base for militant attacks.
The statement from the United States and India was released after a meeting
between the two countries' leaders at the White House on Friday and had
received criticism from Pakistan, which called it contrary to diplomatic norms.
‘It was stressed that the United States should refrain from issuing statements
that may be construed as an encouragement of India's baseless and politically
motivated narrative against Pakistan,’ Pakistan's foreign office said in a
statement. ‘It was also emphasized that counter-terrorism co-operation between
Pakistan and the U.S. had been progressing well and that an enabling
environment, centred around trust and understanding, was imperative to further
solidifying Pakistan-U.S. ties.’”



Lebanon



Associated Press: Lebanon’s Militant Hezbollah Group Says It Shot Down An
Israeli Drone Near The Southern Border
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“Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group said its fighters shot down an Israeli
drone Monday that was flying near the border and over southern Lebanon. The
group gave no further details about the type of drone that it claimed was
downed near the village of Zibqine just north of the border with Israel. An
Israeli military spokesman said in a tweet that a drone crashed in Lebanon when
an Israeli force was performing routine activities. The spokesman, Avichay
Adraee, added in Arabic that there were no concerns of information being
leaked.”



Middle East



Al Arabiya: Hezbollah Recruited Lebanese Army Soldiers, Infiltrated
Surveillance Cameras: Sources
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“Lebanon’s Hezbollah has been able to access the country’s surveillance
cameras without the knowledge of the Lebanese Army, and the Iran-backed group
is recruiting Lebanese soldiers to help it penetrate security apparatuses,
according to Western sources. Over the last year, Hezbollah, designated a
terrorist group by the United States and most of the Arab world, has
infiltrated intelligence equipment of the Lebanese state. Some of the equipment
that Hezbollah was able to gain access to illicitly was provided by the US and
other Western countries, sources told Al-Hadath. The sources familiar with the
situation told Al-Hadath that a Lebanese soldier with the initials H.M. was
tasked by Hezbollah to allow the group access to security cameras around the
country. Sources told Al Arabiya this soldier’s name was Hamza Msheik.”



Somalia



Garowe Online: ISIS Leaders Captured In Somalia's Puntland
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“Security forces in Puntland state have arrested a number of leaders
association with the ISIS group, senior officials have confirmed, in the latest
wave of operations targeting terrorists in the country, who have been wreaking
havoc in the Horn of Africa nation. According to reports, the militants were
arrested in Amano within Bulidhidin District

in Bari region, where they are believed to have been planning wave of attacks
against security forces and innocent civilians. ISI militants are predominantly
in Puntland state. Puntland Police Command said one of the arrested individual
was Mohamed Ibrahim Daha, a Sudanese national who has been coordinate attacks
in the country. Authorities are yet to identify another foreign national who is
believed to be having roots in Syria.”



Europe



Associated Press: Dutch Authorities Detain Father, Daughter On Suspicion Of
Funding Palestinian Militant Group Hamas
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“Dutch authorities arrested a man and his daughter on suspicion of sending
millions of euros to organizations linked to the Palestinian militant group
Hamas, prosecutors said on Monday. The 55-year-old man and his 25-year-old
daughter from the town of Leidschendam on the outskirts of The Hague on June 22
were detained on suspicion of breaching sanctions regulations by funding the
militant group that runs the Gaza Strip. The public prosecution office said in
a statement that the pair are suspected of sending about 5.5 million euros ($6
million) to bodies ‘related to the organization Hamas, which was sanctioned in
2003.’ The father and daughter ‘are also suspected of participating in a
criminal organization whose purpose is to support Hamas financially,’ the
prosecution statement said. They remain in custody. Their names were not
released, in line with Dutch privacy regulations.”



Australia



Daily Mail: Aussie Man Who Fought Alongside Terrorist Group In Syria And
Posted About 'Chopping Off Heads' Is Jailed
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“A Gold Coast man who fought with a terrorist organisation in Syria will
remain behind bars for more than eight years. Agim Ajazi, 34, was sentenced in
Brisbane Supreme Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to three terrorism
charges linked to his involvement in the Syrian Civil War. An investigation by
the Queensland Joint Counter Terrorism Team found that Ajazi had engaged in
armed conflict in a bid to overthrow the Assad regime as part of a group
aligned with proscribed terrorist organisation Jabhat Al-Nusra. Ajazi was also
advocating acts of terrorism in the West.”



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