United States
Reuters: Pfizer, Astrazeneca And Others Ask US Supreme Court To Bar Iraq Terrorism Funding Claims
“More than 20 U.S. and European pharmaceutical and medical-device makers have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to bar claims that the companies helped to fund terrorism that killed or injured hundreds of American service members during the war in Iraq. The companies, part of five corporate families — AstraZeneca (AZN.L), Pfizer (PFE.N), GE Healthcare USA, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) and F. Hoffmann-La Roche — are challenging a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The petition at the high court was added on Wednesday to the court's public docket. The D.C. Circuit order from last year at the center of the case reinstated a lawsuit alleging that 21 U.S. and European medical equipment and pharmaceutical companies made corrupt payments to the Hezbollah-sponsored militia group Jaysh al-Mahdi in order to obtain medical-supply contracts. The plaintiffs’ complaint said Jaysh al-Mahdi controlled Iraq's health ministry.”
Iraq
Iraqi News: Iraqi Security Arrests 6 ISIS Terrorists
“The Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency (FIIA) announced on Monday the arrest of six dangerous terrorists in Nineveh governorate in northern Iraq. The FIIA indicated that the terrorists that have been arrested previously joined different terrorist groups belonging to ISIS and were receiving money for their participation in terrorist operations, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA). Iraq announced in late 2017 the liberation of all its territories from the grip of ISIS, but the authorities are constantly launching security operations to pursue remnants of the terrorist group that carry out attacks from time to time in the country. The Iraqi security forces wage battles in several Iraqi governorates, including Nineveh, Kirkuk, Diyala, Salah Al-Din, Anbar, and the outskirts of Baghdad, to eliminate the remaining members of the ISIS group, following the elimination of the terrorist group, which occupied large areas in Iraq and Syria for years. The Iraqi authorities have confirmed more than once that the security forces are trying to eliminate remnants of terrorist organizations in the country and tighten restrictions on firearms.”
Anadolu Agency: PKK Terrorists Carry Out Drone Attack On Border Guards In Northern Iraq: Kurdish Regional Government
“The Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq on Wednesday said that PKK terrorists carried out a drone attack on border guards in the Duhok region. A bomb-laden drone targeted the first brigade of border guards in the Batifa subdistrict of Zakho district at 2:25 p.m. local time, the anti-terrorism unit of the KRG said on its Facebook social media account. No casualties were reported in the attack, it said. The drone was launched from a place between the villages of Dukere and Beroshka Saduni, where PKK terrorists were hiding, it added.”
Hürriyet Daily News: 9 PKK Terrorists ‘Neutralized’ In Northern Iraq
“Security forces have ‘neutralized’ nine PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, the territory of a cross-border operation, the Defense Ministry announced on July 2. Nine terrorists identified in the Claw-Lock Operation area were ‘neutralized’ as a result of an air strike, the ministry said in a written statement on July 2. Turkish forces will continue their anti-terror operations with determination, the ministry added. Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock in April 2022 to target PKK hideouts in northern Iraq’s Metina, Zap and Avasin-Basyan regions. Turkish military and officials use the term ‘neutralize’ to imply the terrorists in question surrendered, were killed, or captured.”
Turkey
Reuters: Sweden Will Not Get Turkey's Nod For NATO Bid Unless It Stops Sheltering 'Terrorists,' Erdogan Says
“Turkey will not lift its opposition to Sweden joining NATO unless it stops harbouring groups Ankara considers to be terrorists, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday. Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership last year, ditching long-held policies of military non-alignment after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Applications for membership must be approved by all NATO members, but Turkey and Hungary have yet to clear Sweden's bid. Turkey has repeatedly said that Sweden needs to take additional steps against supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and members of a network Ankara holds responsible for a 2016 coup attempt. Turkey treats both groups as terrorist organisations.”
Daily Sabah: 13,138 Operations Carried Out Against Terrorist Organizations In June
“Turkish security forces carried out 13,138 operations against terrorist organizations last month, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Tuesday. Yerlikaya wrote on social media that Türkiye’s fight against terrorism is continuing while 65 terrorists have been eliminated within the scope of June’s counterterrorism operations in urban and rural areas. Moreover, 418 have been caught, 112 of which were arrested. As a result of the operations, 16 terrorist acts were prevented, 38 bunkers and shelters were rendered unusable, 51 weapons – 39 of which were heavy and long-barreled, 70 hand grenades, 24 mines/IEDs, a total of 313 kilograms (690.05 pounds) of explosives, and 3 kilograms of plastic explosives of various diameters were eliminated while 6,937 ammunition of differing sizes were seized. For over 40 years, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.”
Al Monitor: Turkey Says It Busted Israeli Mossad Spy Ring Targeting Hezbollah, Others
“Turkey’s counter-intelligence services detained seven people who allegedly confessed to spying on behalf of Israel, part of a massive espionage ring targeting the likes of Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, whose tentacles extended beyond Turkey to Sweden, Jordan, Thailand and Syria, Turkish media reported Monday. The pro-government Daily Sabah said Turkey’s national spy agency, MIT, had uncovered 56 operatives linked to nine separate networks who gathered ‘biographical intelligence’ on foreign nationals, hacked into their communication devices and tracked their vehicles. Daily Sabah named one Israeli of Arab origin called Soliman Agbaria as one of the ringleaders. Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency allegedly sent ethnic Arab assets in Istanbul to Lebanon and Syria to establish the locations of Lebanese Hezbollah, notably in Beirut’s Hrair Hreik municipality, with the aim of striking them with drones. All of their activities were orchestrated from Tel Aviv, Daily Sabah claimed.”
Afghanistan
AFP: Afghan Taliban Say Biden 'Acknowledged Reality' About Al-Qaeda
“Biden was leaving a press conference on Friday on the US Supreme Court's decision to block his student debt relief program when a reporter asked if he admitted to mistakes during the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. ‘No, no. All the evidence is coming back,’ he replied, according to a White House transcript. ‘Do you remember what I said about Afghanistan? I said al Qaeda would not be there. I said it wouldn't be there. I said we'd get help from the Taliban. What's happening now? What's going on? Read your press. I was right.’ The question was prompted by a report released Friday which said US officials were inhibited during mass evacuations from Afghanistan in 2021 by a lack of clear decision-making, an absence of centralised crisis management and confusing public messaging.”
Pakistan
Associated Press: Shootout In Southwest Pakistan Kills 4 Security Forces, 1 Militant, Officials Say
“Militants attacked a security post in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province, triggering a shootout that left three police officers a paramilitary soldier and one militant dead on Sunday, officials said. Local police chief, Abdul Salam Baloch said one of the militants was also killed while the others managed to escape to the mountainous terrain in the Shirani district, bordering North Waziristan where they have multiple hideouts. Baloch said the attackers used hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles on the joint security post of police and paramilitary forces. Bilal Shabbir, a top administrative officer in Shirani district, said two militants and one paramilitary trooper were wounded in the shootout that lasted for about two hours. He said the attackers managed to escape with their wounded accomplices. He added that security forces launched a search operation in the area and surrounding mountains to trace and eliminate the perpetrators.”
Voice Of America: Militant Ambush Kills 2 Pakistan Soldiers Amid Spike In Terrorism
“Officials in Pakistan said Monday that insurgents had ambushed a military convoy in a southwestern region and killed two security personnel, including an army major. The deadly overnight assault occurred in Balor in the turbulent Baluchistan province. The army’s media wing said troops were on a counterterrorism search mission in the area and trying to block ‘escape routes’ when a group of ‘terrorists’ ambushed them. The ensuing ‘heavy exchange of fire’ killed two army officers and injured another, it added. No group claimed responsibility for Sunday’s deadly ambush in Baluchistan, where several ethnic Baluch insurgent groups and the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, routinely target security forces.”
Dawn: 6 Terrorists Killed In Tank, North Waziristan Operations: ISPR
“The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that on the night of June 29/30, ‘a fire exchange took place between own troops and terrorists in general area Manzai, Tank district. Own troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location. Resultantly, three were sent to hell,’ adding that weapons and ammunition were also recovered from them. It further said that in another ‘fierce encounter’ between troops and terrorists in North Waziristan’s general area of Razmak, ‘three more terrorists were sent to hell.’ The ISPR said the slain militants were actively involved in terrorist activities against security forces and killing innocent citizens.”
Lebanon
Al Jazeera: Israel Attacks Launch Site In Lebanon After Rockets ‘Fired’
“Israeli forces have struck an area of Lebanon from which a cross-border rocket launch was carried, its military said. The statement said a rocket fired earlier on Thursday from within Lebanon had exploded within Israeli territory. ‘In response, the IDF (Israeli military) is currently striking the area from which the launch was carried out in Lebanese territory,’ the military statement said. A previous statement by the military had said there were no preliminary findings of any unusual events on Israel’s side of the border.”
Middle East
Outlook India: Explained: Why Has Israel Launched Its Biggest Military Operation In 2 Decades in Jenin? What Are The Objectives?
“…"The group’s ideology blends Islamism and Palestinian nationalism and seeks the destruction of Israel and the creation of an Islamic state between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River...Hamas views the entirety of the land of Mandate Palestine—excluding the 80 percent of Palestine that became modern-day Jordan—as an Islamic birthright that has been usurped. To that end, Hamas does not recognize Israel’s right to exist and has dedicated itself to violently seeking Israel’s destruction," says think tank Counter Extremism Project (CEP) about Hamas.”
New York Post: Princeton University Student Kidnapped By Iran-Backed Militia Group In Iraq — In March: Officials
“A Princeton University doctoral student was abducted by a radical Iran-backed militia group while doing work for the school in Iraq — and has been missing for months. Elizabeth Tsurkov, 36 — an Israeli-Russian citizen studying political science at the New Jersey-based Ivy League institution — was seized in March by members of the Shiite group Kataeb Hezbollah in Baghdad, officials said Wednesday. [Elizabeth Tsurkov] is an Israeli-Russian dual citizen who has been missing for several months in Iraq, where she is being held by the Shi’ite militia Kata’ib Hezbollah,’ the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. The Israeli government ‘views Iraq as responsible for her fate and safety,’ it said. The student researcher had used her Russian passport to visit the country in January ‘in pursuit of a doctoral thesis from Princeton University,’ according to Netanyahu’s office.”
Asharq Al-Awsat: Israel Moves To Seize Hamas Funds In Europe
“Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has signed administrative memorandums allowing the confiscation of funds paid to five senior Hamas officials working in Europe, amounting to more than $1 million, according to Israel Hayom newspaper. The new step is part of an ongoing campaign by the security establishment in Israel, in partnership with the General Security Service and the Israeli Bureau for Combating Terrorist Financing, aiming to thwart the Hamas movement's organizational infrastructure and financial resources within the European Union (EU). The memorandums claimed that these senior officials worked within the framework of a foreign branch of Hamas, led by Khaled Meshaal, to raise funds and gain public support. Israel says hundreds of thousands of dollars were transferred to these people to promote Hamas' activities within the EU. Israeli media reported that Hamas activists reside in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and Italy. In the past few years, the Israeli security services have increased monitoring of the routes and transfers of Hamas funds, including money transferred to the movement in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and abroad.”
Nigeria
AFP News: Five Killed In Nigeria Jihadist Rocket Attack
“Five people have been killed and 11 others injured after suspected jihadists fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a town in northeast Nigeria's Borno state, two anti-jihadist militia commanders told AFP on Sunday. Scores of fighters attempted to invade the town of Damboa late on Friday but met stiff resistance from the anti-jihadist militia, a paramilitary outfit that works alongside the armed forces, the militia said. The attack is the latest in Nigeria's 14-year jihadist conflict in the northeast, where 40,000 have died and more than two million have been displaced by the fighting since 2009. ‘Out of desperation, the insurgents fired an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) on the town from a distance, which killed five people and injured 11 others,’ said Babakura Kolo, a militia leader in the region.”
Punch: B’Haram Killed Over 5,000 In 30 Months, Says Report
“Boko Haram terrorists have killed no fewer than 5,873 Nigerians between December 2020 and May 2023, a report has said. SBM Intelligence in its report released on Friday said the number of fatalities was recorded in 430 incidents. The report added that Borno leads with the highest number of fatalities, followed by Yobe, Niger, Kastina, and Adamawa states. Others are Taraba, Kogi, Kaduna, Kano and Nasarawa states, FCT, and Ondo State. The report noted that although the military had recorded progress in the fight against the terrorists, the war was far from over.”
Somalia
Garowe Online: Al-Shabaab Raids KDF's Newly Handed Over Base In Somalia
“In what would be a setback to the ongoing drawdown of troops attached to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS], the Al-Shabaab militants on Tuesday raided one of the newly handed over Forward Opérating Base [FOBI in Somalia, a country which has been struggling with instability. According to reports, the militants raided Gherille Forward Operating Base which was handed over to the Somali National Army [SNA] last week by the Kenya Defense Forces [KDFI, who are set to leave the country after a successful tour of duty. The base is one of the seven FOBs which have been handed over to the Somali government. But reports indicate that a fierce gunfight ensued between the militants and the SNA troops on-site, forcing the terrorists to flee from the area. Gherille Forward Operating* Base is located in the Gedo region of Jubaland state which is under the control of Jubaland regional troops.”
AllAfrica: Somalia: Al-Shabaab Operative Killed In Nisa Raid In Lower Shabelle Region
“Somali Intelligence forces conducted an operation against Al-Shabaab in Barire and Sabid, Lower Shabelle region in response to rising raids on SNA and AU bases. NISA said the troops killed Al-Shabaab and seized his AK-47 riffle during the covert operation that comes weeks after militants attack UPDF base in Bulo-Marer town. Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has announced the deaths of 54 Ugandan soldiers in the May 26 al-Shabab attack on a base housing African Union peacekeepers. ‘NISA carried out a planned operation in Macalinka village located between Barire and Sabid within Lower Shabelle region, and killed an Al-Shabaab fighter,’ reads the statement.”
Africa
Reuters: Kenya To Delay Re-Opening Somali Border Over "Wave Of Attacks"
“Kenya will delay re-opening its border with Somalia because of a ‘wave of attacks’ it blames on al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants, interior minister Kithure Kindiki said on Wednesday. In May the two governments agreed to reopen within 90 days several border posts including Mandera, Liboi, and Kiunga, which have been closed since 2011 when Kenya sent its forces into southern Somalia to help fight al Shabaab. More than a dozen people have been killed along their shared border in the last month, part of what security analysts say are ongoing efforts by al Shabaab to pressure Kenya into withdrawing its troops from peacekeeping missions in Somalia. ‘The government will delay the planned phased-out reopening of the Kenya-Somalia border points to facilitate comprehensive and conclusive handling of the recent wave of terror attacks and cross-border crime,’ Kindiki wrote on Twitter.”
Al Jazeera: Burkina Faso Suspends French News Channel Over Report On Rebels
“Burkina Faso’s military government has suspended a French television news channel for a report on armed groups’ activity, which it said lacked objectivity and credibility, the latest escalation in a crackdown on French media. Relations between Burkina Faso and its former coloniser France have soured since frustrations over worsening insecurity spurred two military takeovers last year. French television channel La Chaine Info (LCI), of private broadcaster TF1, was suspended for three months from June 23 over a report aired at the end of April, according to a statement by the national media regulator published on Thursday. The media regulator said the report overplayed the scale of the insurgency and ‘seditiously’ exposed ‘unverified’ failures in Burkina Faso’s military response to the crisis. TF1 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.”
Al Arabiya: About 15 Civilians Killed In Suspected Burkina Faso Extremist Attack
“Around 15 civilians were killed Wednesday by suspected extremists in Burkina Faso, security and local sources told AFP, sparking an exodus of people fearing further bloodshed. ‘Terrorists carried out an attack early this morning in Sorgha,’ in the eastern province of Gnagna, ‘which cost the lives of about 15 inhabitants, including women,’ a local official told AFP. The attack was confirmed by a resident and security sources. Burkina, one of the world’s poorest nations, is struggling with an extremist insurgency that swept in from Mali in 2015, and has seen more than 10,000 civilians, troops and police killed, according to an NGO count.”
United Kingdom
Unherd: A New Blasphemy Battle Is Coming
“Last summer, Sir Salman Rushdie told a German magazine that some normality was finally returning to his life. Two weeks later, he was stabbed multiple times on stage in New York. The incident was a cruel reminder that, despite all the time elapsed and normality resumed, the fatwa against him was every bit as valid as the day it was announced: Valentine’s Day, 1989.”
BBC: Brighton Teenager Charged With Terrorism Offences
“Mason Reynolds, 18, of Moulsecoomb Way, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, and will next appear at the Old Bailey on 21 July. The charges against him are linked to an ‘extreme right-wing ideology’, counter-terrorism police say. Among the charges are five counts of collecting information which could be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism. He is also charged with five counts of dissemination of terrorist publications, and a further count of possessing an article for the purpose of terrorism. Mr Reynolds was arrested on 27 June. The investigation which led to his arrest was carried out by the Counter Terrorism Policing South East unit.”
Daily Mail: Drill Rapper, 20, Accused Of Plotting A London Terror Atrocity Says He Was Only 'Pretending To Be ISIS To Help Him Seduce Women'
“A drill rapper accused of plotting a terrorist attack in central London has told a court he put on an 'extremist Isis' persona to impress women. Al-Arfat Hassan, gained a strong following of young Muslims under the name 'TS', using his music to glorify so-called Islamic State (IS) killings, say prosecutors. Mr Hassan, 20, from Enfield, north London, is on trial at Sheffield Crown Court accused of preparing terrorist acts alongside one of his fans, a 16-year-old from Leeds. On Friday, jurors were shown one of Hassan's music videos, which showed him and other young men sitting round a table, wearing black clothing and balaclavas, with money and weapons on the table. The defendant told the court the video was meant to show 'a terrorist jihadi network discussing plans'. Mr Hassan said women were 'drawn in' by the 'jihadi persona' he was developing online in 2021.”
Russia
Metro.Co: The Shadowy Russian Military Firms Vying For Power After Wagner Mutiny
“…Kacper Rekawek, a non-resident research fellow at the Counter Extremism Project, a Washington-based think tank, places the PMCs within a tradition of Russia having many different elements within its armed forces. Some, such as groupings of Cossacks or Chechens, reflect different ethnic and regional identities. Another tradition Rekawek identifies is deniability; the ability to operate with stealth and to keep Ukraine and the West guessing. Added to the mix are long-standing links between the Russian state and the far-right, which crosses into the political sphere.’ ‘The PMCs, which are illegal under Russian law and are structured as NGOs or associations, neatly come into this scope and tradition,’ Rekawek said. ‘If you create something which is deniable and does bad and rotten things for you, then it attracts bad and rotten people. ‘Some of these people are coming from the extreme right.’”
Germany
Voice Of America News: German Court Categorizes Islamic Center As ‘Extremist Islamic Organization’
“Germany’s Federal Administrative Court has upheld a determination that activities conducted by the Islamic Center in the city of Hamburg, known as the Blue Mosque, are those of an ‘extremist Islamic organization.’ Acting on an objection and complaint lodged by the Islamic Center against action by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Germany, the Administrative Court of Hamburg on Friday upheld the categorization of the center's activities as ‘Islamic extremism.’ In both 2018 and 2019, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution identified activities of the Blue Mosque as falling under the classification of ‘extremist Islamist organizations.’ After conducting two oral hearings in April and May of this year, the Administrative Court of Hamburg issued its written verdict addressing the complaint filed by the Islamic Center. The court's ruling acknowledges a partial acceptance of the plaintiffs' complaint, leading to the prohibition of publishing specific sections of the report by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.”
Europe
Associated Press: Germany, Netherlands Arrest 9 Over An Alleged Plan For Attacks In Line With Islamic State Group
“Nine people from central Asia were arrested in Germany and the Netherlands on Thursday in connection alleged plans to carry out attacks in Germany in line with the Islamic State group’s ideology, authorities said. Seven men arrested in Germany are accused of founding a militant group and of supporting IS, German federal prosecutors said. All had known each other for a long time, had radical Islamic views and came to Germany more or less simultaneously from Ukraine shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion last year, they added. A year ago, the suspects allegedly formed a group that aimed to carry out attacks in Germany. According to prosecutors, the group was in contact with an IS offshoot, Islamic State Khorasan Province.”
The Jerusalem Post: Anti-Israel Sentiment In Ireland Almost Indivisible From Antisemitism - Ex-Minister
“…For years, former minister of European affairs and deputy foreign minister Lucinda Creighton was one of the few pro-Israel voices in Irish politics, and as a lawmaker, she was one of the members of the ‘not-very-well-attended friendship group,’ as she called it, between the Irish parliament and the Knesset. Creighton continues trying to build ties between her home country and Israel as CEO of Vulcan Consulting, which helps Israeli and other companies get a foothold in the EU. She is also senior adviser to the Counter Extremism Project and hosted a podcast on the rise in antisemitism in Europe. In Ireland, Creighton said, few understand what is happening in Israel, and that ignorance has been translated into hostility. ‘There is very little independent, impartial reporting documenting what is happening in Israel, which feeds into a lack of fact-based knowledge, and I think that allows these narratives to kind of take off and be propagated, and that has been the case in Ireland,’ she stated.”
Canada
CBC: RCMP Charge Ottawa Man Tied To 'Violent Far-Right Ideology' With Terrorism Offences
“RCMP officers have arrested two people and charged one with three terrorism offences in a first-of-its-kind case. The Mounties charged Patrick Gordon Macdonald, a 26-year-old Ottawa man, with participating in the activity of a terrorist group, facilitating terrorist activity and commission of an offence for terrorist group (wilful promotion of hatred). Macdonald appeared in an Ottawa court Wednesday and will appear again Friday morning. The RCMP said in a news release that the arrests of Macdonald and a second individual came about in response to information it received about the activities of the far-right Atomwaffen Division, a group Canada has listed as a terrorist entity. ‘This case is the first in Canada in which an individual advocating a violent far-right ideology has been charged with both terrorism and hate propaganda,’ the RCMP said in the news release. The force said it uncovered evidence that Macdonald allegedly helped to create and distribute three propaganda videos for the Atomwaffen Division.”
Technology
Associated Press: Why Social Media Is Being Blamed For Fueling The Riots In France
“…Hany Farid, a digital forensics expert at the University of California, Berkeley who stepped down in January from TikTok’s U.S. content advisory council, said if a government asks for a specific piece of content to be taken down because it violates local law, most platforms will comply. But he said the feasibility of requests also depends on the platform, as well as the breadth and rationale for the request. If a government “asks for a broad takedown of tens of thousands of pieces of content, then this may be met with more resistance,” Farid said.”
The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If you value what we do, please consider making a donation.
