“British radical Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary has been charged with three
terrorism offences after being arrested in London last week, police said on
Monday. Choudary, 56, has been charged with membership of a proscribed
organisation, directing a terrorist organisation and addressing meetings to
encourage support for a proscribed organisation, police said. He will appear in
court in London on Monday. Once Britain's most high profile Islamist preacher,
Choudary was imprisoned in Britain in 2016 for encouraging support for Islamic
State before being released in 2018 after serving half of his five-and-a-half
year sentence. Choudary, former head of the now banned organization
al-Muhajiroun, drew attention for praising the men responsible for the 9/11
attacks on the United States and saying he wanted to convert Buckingham Palace
into a mosque.”











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Eye on Extremism



July 24, 2023



Reuters: Radical UK Islamist Preacher Anjem Choudary Charged With Three
Terrorist Offences
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“British radical Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary has been charged with three
terrorism offences after being arrested in London last week, police said on
Monday. Choudary, 56, has been charged with membership of a proscribed
organisation, directing a terrorist organisation and addressing meetings to
encourage support for a proscribed organisation, police said. He will appear in
court in London on Monday. Once Britain's most high profile Islamist preacher,
Choudary was imprisoned in Britain in 2016 for encouraging support for Islamic
State before being released in 2018 after serving half of his five-and-a-half
year sentence. Choudary, former head of the now banned organization
al-Muhajiroun, drew attention for praising the men responsible for the 9/11
attacks on the United States and saying he wanted to convert Buckingham Palace
into a mosque.”



Daily Sabah: Turkish Intelligence Eliminates Terrorist Behind 2021 Forest Fires

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“Turkish intelligence eliminated Özgür Şoreş, the Türkiye officer of
terrorist group PKK/KCK-YPS, codenamed Özgür Alparslan, with an operation in
northern Iraq, security sources said Saturday. Şoreş, responsible for the
terrorist group's activities in Türkiye since 2019, was also the founder of
Children of Fire initiative responsible for numerous forest fires and sabotages
in Türkiye, and had personally given the order for the forest fires that
started in Antalya's Manavgat on July 28, 2021 and caused the destruction of
over 150,000 hectares of forest fields across Muğla, Mersin and Hatay. National
Intelligence Agency (MIT) had been following Şoreş in Iraq where he received an
order from Murat Karayılan, the PKK's de-facto leader, and was in search of a
new terror attack in Türkiye. MIT killed him alongside a group of terrorists he
was trying to get into Türkiye for the attack.”




CEP Expert Analysis

* West Africa's Terrorism Challenge: Development Of Al-Qaeda In The Western
Sahel Region
<[link removed]>
* West Africa's Terrorism Challenge: Status Of ISWAP And ISGS In West Africa
And Sahel
<[link removed]>
* Civilian Counterterrorism Forces and the Fight Against Extremism: A Review
of Nigeria, Somalia, and Burkina Faso
<[link removed]>
* Extremism in Erdogan's AKP
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* Security Risks Emanating From Afghanistan
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United States



Sun Journal: Hate Groups Are On The March In Maine
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“…“If their message is ‘white people are superior,’ the pool is smaller. So,
they look for on-ramps to recruitment,” said Joshua Fisher-Birch, a researcher
with the nonprofit Counter Extremism Project.”



Dawn: US Retains Ability To Counter Terrorism In Pak-Afghan Region: State Dept
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“The United States has said that it retains the ability to conduct its own
operations against terrorism in the Pak-Afghan region and does not depend on
the Taliban’s promises to keep terrorists out of Afghanistan. US State
Department’s spokesperson Matthew Miller made these comments while responding
to a question about recent terrorist attacks inside Pakistan from militant
hideouts in Afghanistan. Last week, terrorists attacked a military installation
in Zhob, Balochistan, and killed nine soldiers. Soon after the attack, the
military’s media wing, ISPR, issued a statement, expressing ‘serious concerns’
on the presence of terrorist ‘safe havens’ in Afghanistan and asked Kabul not
to allow militants to use their territory for carrying out attacks inside
Pakistan. The statement also reminded the interim Afghan government that the
Doha agreement binds them to do so. The agreement, signed in Doha, Qatar,
between the US and Afghan Taliban in February 2020, ultimately led to the
withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan on Aug 15, 2021.”



Iran



Associated Press: Militants Kill 4 Highway Policemen In Southeast Iran, State
TV Says
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“Militants shot and killed four highway policemen Sunday in southeast Iran,
state media reported. State TV said the officers were on a routine mission on a
road linking Khash and Taftan towns some 1200 kilometers (745 miles) southeast
of the capital, Tehran, in restive Sistan and Baluchistan province, when they
were ‘attacked by terrorists,’ a reference to separatist groups. The province
has witnessed multiple clashes between Iranian security forces and drug
smugglers as well as a Sunni separatist group affiliated with the extremist
group al-Qaida, known as Jeish al-Adl, or Army of Justice. Sistan and
Baluchistan province is a well-known route for drug and human trafficking from
Pakistan and Afghanistan to Europe and Arab nations in the Persian Gulf and
elsewhere.”



Iraq



Anadolu Agency: Türkiye 'Neutralizes' 5 PKK Terrorists In Northern Iraq
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“Turkish security forces ‘neutralized’ five PKK terrorists in northern Iraq
near the Turkish border, the National Defense Ministry said on Saturday. The
terrorists were targeted in an airstrike in the Operation Claw-Lock zone in
Metina, the ministry said in a statement. Turkish authorities use the term
‘neutralize’ to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or
captured. PKK terrorists often hide out across the border in northern Iraq to
plot terror attacks in Türkiye.”



Iraqi News: Iraqi Security Arrests 404 Terrorists, Drug Dealers Within A Week
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“The Iraqi Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency (FIIA) announced on
Saturday that its officers had arrested 404 terrorists and drug dealers within
a week, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported. A statement issued by the FIIA
clarified that 86 terrorists and 318 drug dealers were arrested last week. The
FIIA also announced that 998 suspects involved in different crimes were
arrested. Additionally, 126 different weapons and 12 improvised explosive
devices were seized.”



Russia



ARD Frontal: Power Struggle Over The Wagner Group
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"Interview with CEP Senior Director Hans-Jakob Schindler."



Turkey



Reuters: Turkey Urges Sweden To Act Over Terrorism For NATO Membership Support
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“Turkey will act to ratify Sweden's NATO membership bid in conjunction with
cooperation from Stockholm in the fight against terrorism, President Tayyip
Erdogan was quoted on Friday as saying. Sweden and Finland applied for NATO
membership last year in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, abandoning
policies of military non-alignment that had lasted through the Cold War. Their
applications must be approved by all members of the alliance. Having held up
ratification of Sweden's NATO bid for more than a year, Erdogan unexpectedly
agreed after the alliance's summit in Lithuania this month to forward it to
Turkey's parliament when the legislature reconvenes in October. ‘Turkish
parliament's working schedule will determine the process of Sweden's NATO
membership (ratification),’ Erdogan told reporters on a flight returning from
Gulf countries and northern Cyprus, according to a readout from his office.”



Afghanistan



Arab News: Kabul Denies Daesh Fighters Making Inroads Into Afghanistan, Warns
Iran Against Raising ‘False Alarms’
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“Afghanistan’s foreign ministry on Saturday denied Iranian allegations about
the transfer of Daesh fighters to the landlocked country from Iraq, Syria and
Libya, warning Tehran against raising ‘false alarms’ with regard to
Afghanistan. The statement came a day after the Iranian foreign minister, Amir
Hossein Abdollahian, said the shifting of Daesh leaders and fighters of Daesh,
or the so-called Islamic State (IS), had become one of the main challenges of
the interim Afghan government. He raised concerns that any instability in
Afghanistan would directly affect the border region between the two countries.
Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a spokesman for the Afghan foreign ministry, rejected the
Iranian foreign minister’s allegation and said Afghanistan’s Taliban
authorities had meticulously fought against Daesh both during and after the end
of Afghanistan’s “occupation” by the United States-led forces.”



Al Jazeera: Taliban Rejects Iran Claim Leaders Of ISIL Sent To Afghanistan
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“The Taliban has rejected a claim by Iran’s foreign minister that the leaders
of the ISIL (ISIS) armed group had been sent to Afghanistan. ‘If Iran has any
intelligence that Daesh members have been transferred to Afghanistan, we hope
[they] share it so the Afghan security forces can take the necessary steps,’
Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a spokesman for the foreign ministry, said on Twitter on
Saturday using a common Arabic name for the ISIL group. ‘The Islamic Emirate of
Afghanistan has meticulously fought against Daesh both during & after the end
of the occupation,’ he added. Balkhi also urged Iranian authorities to take a
constructive stance on economic, political, and social issues.”



Pakistan



Dawn: 665 Militant Attacks Reported In KP Since June 2022: Police
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“The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police have said 665 militant attacks, including 15
suicide bombings, were reported in the province between June 18, 2022, and June
18, 2023. They also reported 382 gun attacks, 107 grenade blasts, 145 IED
explosions, 15 rocket and missile hits, and two vehicle-borne IED attacks in
the province during that period. According to the list of ‘Motive Wise
Terrorism Incidents’ compiled by the provincial police, 140 militant
activities, including eight suicide blasts, 37 IED and three hand grenade
explosions, five rocket attacks and 85 firing incidents were reported in North
Waziristan tribal district alone. The list, a copy of which is available with
Dawn, said 81 militant attacks took place in Dera Ismail Khan district and they
included 70 firing incidents, seven IED and two grenade explosions, and one
suicide and rocket attack each.”



Anadolu Agency: Amid Rise In Militant Attacks, Pakistan's Military Chief Meets
US Commander
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“Commander of the US CENTCOM, Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, met with Pakistan's
army chief Gen. Asim Munir on Monday to discuss a variety of issues, including
the region’s security situation. The meeting, which comes on the heels of
increasing attacks allegedly carried out by Afghanistan-based militants on
Pakistani security forces in recent months, was held at the army headquarters
in the northeastern garrison city of Rawalpindi, said a statement from the
army's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations. It also follows Munir's
recent visit to Washington's arch-rival Iran. ‘During the meeting matters of
mutual interest, regional security situation, and defense cooperation were
discussed,’ the statement added. The two reiterated the desire to further
enhance bilateral relations between the two armies in ‘all fields.’”



Yemen



Associated Press: Gunmen Riding On A Motorcycle Open Fire, Killing A Worker
For The World Food Program In Yemen
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“Gunmen shot and killed the head of one of the World Food Program’s offices
in southwestern Yemen on Friday, the humanitarian organization said. Nomilitant
group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement, WFP
said that Moayad Hameidi, a Jordanian, was shot by gunmen in the city of Taiz
not long after he arrived in the country to assume the role as head of its
office in that city. It added he died shortly after reaching a hospital.
Hameidi was shot by two armed assailants on a motorbike, according to a
statement issued by a local security committee on Friday. No further
information was given.”



Middle East



Fox News: Iranian Hornet's Nest Of Terror Groups Surround Israel Amid Calls
For New US Sanctions
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“Amid President Biden’s pledge to Israel President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday
that America’s commitment to the security of the Jewish state is ‘ironclad,’ a
new think tank report reveals the U.S. has declined to designate a number of
Iranian-backed entities as terrorist organizations. Just weeks ago, Israel
deployed nearly 2,000 troops to root out Palestinian terrorists who are backed
by the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to Brig. Gen. (res.) Amir Avivi, a
former deputy commander of the Israel Defense Forces’ Gaza Division. Avivi told
Fox News Digital, ‘For the last year and a half, Iran stated clearly that its
main strategy is to make the Samaria region another Gaza.’ Samaria is the
biblical Hebrew name for a part of the West Bank. The entire West Bank is also
known in Israel by its biblical name Judea and Samaria.”



The Times Of Israel: Hamas Raids Islamic Jihad Mosque In Gaza, Arrests
Prominent Cleric
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“Police in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip swarmed a mosque and arrested a
prominent religious figure affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror
group this week. Sheikh Yahya Mansour’s hand was broken by police during the
arrest on Tuesday, while PIJ members and other civilians were wounded in the
raid on Rafah’s Al Awda mosque, a PIJ stronghold, the Tazpit Press Service
reported, citing eyewitnesses. Unnamed Gaza sources told TPS that the raid was
part of a broader strategy by Hamas to take control of mosques in the enclave
and subjugate PIJ. Mansour later claimed in a video that the Hamas members
‘wanted to kill me.’”



Africa



AFP News: 'Vigilance Is Key': Al Shabaab Threat Rising In Kenya's Northeast
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“In Kenya's rural northeast, roadside bombs and beheadings that killed two
dozen people last month appear to be part of a troubling escalation of violence
by Al-Qaeda-linked Islamists, analysts say. A regional economic powerhouse and
a popular tourist draw, Kenya has not suffered a high-profile jihadist attack
since 2019, when 21 people lost their lives at a hotel and surrounding offices
in Nairobi. The recent attacks have been small-scale and focused on minor
targets, but have raised fears that Al-Shabaab jihadists, who have been blamed
for the assaults, are turning their attention to Kenya as they suffer losses in
their native Somalia. Estimated to have between 7,000 and 12,000 fighters,
Al-Shabaab has in recent months faced a multi-pronged counterterrorism
offensive by the Somali National Army and US-trained ‘lightning’ commandos
supported by clan militias known as ‘macawisley’. The militants, who have waged
war against the fragile government in Mogadishu for over 15 years, have
recently carried out several attacks along Kenya's long and porous frontier
with Somalia.”



United Kingdom



The Guardian: Terrorist Anders Breivik’s Manifesto Was Listed For Sale On
Waterstones Website
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“The notorious manifesto of far-right terrorist Anders Breivik, who killed 77
people in Norway’s worst peacetime atrocity, was listed for sale by Britain’s
biggest book chain, Waterstones. Investigators found Breivik’s manifesto on the
website last Wednesday before it was removed after the bookseller was informed.
Breivik killed eight people with a car bomb in Oslo before heading to a youth
camp on the island of Utøya, where he killed 69 people, mostly teenagers, in a
gun attack in July 2011. The right-wing extremist launched his 1,500 page
anti-Muslim manifesto hours before committing his attacks.”



BBC: Man Admits Sharing Far-Right Terrorist Documents
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“Alfie Stevens, 24, of Surrey Quays, pleaded guilty to three charges of
dissemination of a terrorist document during a hearing at the Old Bailey. The
offences related to posts Stevens made to two groups on the encrypted Telegram
app on 27 January 2021. He shared two documents in a group called Band Of
Brothers. He also posted one of them in a group named White Race Camp. The
charges stated that at the time he intended his actions to be a ‘direct or
indirect encouragement’ of terrorism or was ‘reckless to whether his conduct
had such an effect’. Mr Justice Jeremy Baker adjourned Stevens' sentencing to
13 October for a psychological and pre-sentence report to be prepared.”



Daily Mail: MI5 Foil IS Plot To Target Isle Of Wight Festival For Terror
Outrage On 90,000 People
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“MI5 operatives have foiled a plot from Islamic extremists to unleash terror
at the Isle of Wight Festival. Last year, a tip-off led officers from Britain's
intelligence agency to believe a 15-year-old boy was thought to be setting up
an attack on the festival which is attended by about 90,000 every year.
According to claims made by the Sun, the youth was 'inspired' by the Islamic
State. A security source revealed: 'The threat of a mainland terror attack of
scale is still an active and live threat.' It comes after counter-terrorism
police this week revealed they have foiled 39 recent terror incidents,
including attacks on Pride and Members of Parliament.”



India



The Times Of India: 21 Terrorists Killed In J&K Encounters In June-July
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“The months of June and July have been the deadliest for terrorists in Jammu
and Kashmir, with 21 killed in encounters with security forces between June 1
and July 20. In the first five months of this year, 14 terrorists were
neutralised. After a decline in the number of terrorists killed in J&K between
January and April — with four fatalities recorded in January, three in
February, one in March and nil in April — the graph started rising in May with
six terrorist fatalities, before shooting up to 13 in June. Till the 20th day
of this month, eight fatalities of terrorists were recorded.”



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