Eye on Extremism

August 10, 2023 

Times Of Israel: Terrorist Who Killed Tel Aviv Patrolman Thought To Have Snuck In Via West Bank Fence

“The Palestinian terrorist who carried out a deadly attack in Tel Aviv over the weekend, killing patrolman Chen Amir, is thought to have infiltrated into Israel from the West Bank via a gap in the security barrier. According to the military and Shin Bet security agency’s initial investigation of the attack, several hours before the shooting on Saturday afternoon, Kamel Abu Bakr, 22, apparently snuck through the barrier near his hometown of Rummanah, near Jenin. Abu Bakr, who had been wanted by Israel for a previous shooting attack against troops in the West Bank, had been hiding in the Jenin refugee camp for at least the past six months, according to defense officials.”

AFP: Niger Junta Accuses France Of Violating Airspace, Freeing Terrorists

“Niger’s military leaders accused France of breaching a ban on the country’s air space, a charge that came on the eve of a West African summit following a coup two weeks earlier. A French military aircraft “deliberately cut off all contact with air traffic control on entering our air space,” from 6:39-11:15 am (0539-1015 GMT) on Wednesday, the regime said in a statement read on national TV. Niger’s new military rulers also accused France, the country’s traditional ally, of having “unilaterally freed captured terrorists,” a term used for extremists who have been conducting a bloody eight-year-old insurgency. The extremists allegedly planned an attack on “military positions in the tri-border area,” a hotspot region where the frontiers of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali converge, according to a statement from the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), which seized power on July 26.”

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United States

Boston Globe: West Brookfield Residents Receive Antisemitic Messages From Neo-Nazi Group, Police Say

“West Brookfield residents have reported receiving antisemitic messages this week that are believed to have been sent by a neo-Nazi extremist group, officials said. Police received reports Tuesday from townspeople who had received zipper bags “filled with rice, accompanied by offensive content targeting the Jewish community,” police said in a statement posted to Facebook on Tuesday. The statement did not describe the antisemitic messages. Police notified local religious leaders and consulted the Anti-Defamation League of New England, where staff members worked with police to conclude that the offensive material “was distributed by the Goyim Defense League, which is recognized as neo-Nazi extremist group operating nationally,” officials said.”

King 5: Patriot Front-Affiliated Group Suing Seattle-Area Man Over Identity Reveals

“…The plaintiffs say Capito had a restraining order filed against him as part of a domestic abuse petition in 2019 and has been affiliated with the Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club, a chapter of a national gun-rights club that "seeks to disrupt fascists and fascist organizations and events," according to the Counter Extremism Project.”

Syria

Media Line: Recent Islamic State Attack In Syria Suggests Bid For Continued Relevance

“…Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project and former coordinator of a terror monitoring team in the UN Security Council, told The Media Line that Syria no longer operates as IS’s center of gravity as it once did. He said that the recent attack in Syria might be a way for the group to “show [its] relevance” and improve its public image.”

Fox News: Fire Erupts In Northeast Syria's Al-Hol Camp, Home To ISIS-Linked Individuals

“A fire broke out Wednesday in a sprawling camp in northeast Syria housing tens of thousands of mostly women and children linked to the Islamic State group causing material damage but no casualties, the camp’s director said. The Al-Hol Camp holds about 51,000 people, the vast majority of them women and children, including the wives, widows and other family members of IS militants. Most are Syrians and Iraqis. But there are also around 8,000 women and children from 60 other nationalities who live in a part of the camp known as the Annex. They are generally considered the most die-hard IS supporters among the camp residents. The camp’s director, Jihan Hanan, told The Associated Press that the fire broke out in the annex torching 10 tents and reaching a center for an organization that takes care of children. She added that a container used by the center was burnt as well.”

Turkey

Reuters: Two Killed In Turkish Drone Attacks Against PKK Members In Iraq

“Turkish drone strikes on Wednesday killed two Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in two separate attacks in Iraq's northern province of Sulaimaniya, according to Iraqi Kurdistan's counter-terrorism service and a security source. The first drone attack targeted a vehicle in a mountain area near Sulaimaniya, killing one person identified by the Iraqi Kurdistan's counter-terrorism service statement as a “PKK intelligence official”. Two PKK fighters were seriously wounded in the drone strike. A separate Turkish drone strike targeted a vehicle, killing one PKK member and wounding two in an area just 10 km (6 miles) from the mountain resort of Dukan, said the Iraqi Kurdistan's counter-terrorism service statement.”

India

The New Indian Express: 1,050 Militants, 305 Security Men Killed In J&K In Five Years

“At least 1,050 militants and 319 security men have been killed in 791 militancy-related incidents in Jammu and Kashmir since 2018, as per the Centre’s data. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, there were 791 militancy-related incidents including 626 encounters in Jammu and Kashmir from 2018 till July 31, 2023. “In 2018, 228 militancy incidents were reported followed by 153 in 2019, 126 in 2020, 129 in 2021, 125 in 2022 and  30 till July 31, 2023,”  Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said in a written reply. As per the data, in the 791 militancy incident, about 1,050 militants have been killed with the highest number of 257 militants killed in 2018 followed by 221 in 2020, 187 in 2022, 180 in 2021, 157 in 2019 and 50 till July 31, 2023. The data reveals that from 2018 to July 31 2023, 319 security men were killed. As per the data, 90 security men were killed in 2018, 80 in 2019, 63 in 2020, 42 in 2021, 32 in 2022 and 11 in 2023.”

Yemen

Asharq Al-Awsat: Yemen Defense Ministry Warns Of Houthi Collusion With ISIS, Qaeda

“Yemen’s Defense Ministry has issued a stern warning about the peril of the ongoing aggressive actions by the Iran-backed Houthi militias against the army. The ministry called upon the international community to exhibit greater firmness in addressing the unyielding Houthi obstinacy towards peace. Yemeni Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Mohsen Mohammed al-Daeri raised the alarm about the dangerous collusion between the terrorist Houthi militias and the Al-Qaeda and ISIS organizations with the aim to destabilized liberated regions. He emphasized that the threat of these militias extends not only within Yemen but also to the wider region and the world. He made his remarks during a meeting in the interim capital of Aden on Tuesday with the political division team of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen.”

Somalia

La Prensa Latina: At Least 6 Dead, 12 Wounded In Bus Explosion In Somalia

“At least six people were killed and 12 others were wounded after a roadside bomb hit a passenger bus carrying businessmen on Wednesday in southern Somalia, the state news agency said. “The explosion was caused by a terrorist attack,” said Mohamed Ibrahim, the governor of Lower Shabelle region where the attack occurred, according to Somali National News Agency. “The victims were business people targeted by the terrorists,” on a road between Marka and Qoryooley districts of the country, the governor added. Children were also among the 12 injured, who were taken to Shalaanbot hospital for treatment.”

Africa

France 24: Romanian Kidnapped In Burkina Faso Released After 8 Years

“Iulian Ghergut, now 47, was taken on April 4, 2015, while working in a manganese mine in northeast Burkina Faso, near the border with Mali and Niger. “He has been released and is currently safe on Romanian territory,” Romania’s foreign ministry said in a press release, thanking Morocco for its “important support”. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis on X, formerly known as Twitter, welcomed the release of Ghergut and thanked the Romanian institutions and its “external partners” for their efforts. “I feel like walking to Bucharest just to see him,” Ghergut’s mother told Romanian channel Digi 24 after learning of her son’s release through television.”

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