“The United Nations says five staff members who were kidnapped in Yemen 18
months ago have walked free. In a brief statement on Friday, Farhan Haq, deputy
spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said all “available
information suggests that all five colleagues are in good health.” “The
Secretary-General is profoundly relieved that their ordeal and the anxiety of
their families and friends have finally come to an end,” said Haq. “The
Secretary-General reiterates that kidnapping is an inhumane and unjustifiable
crime and calls for the perpetrators to be held accountable. He also expresses
his solidarity with other people still held against their will in Yemen.”











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Eye on Extremism



August 14, 2023



Al Jazeera: UN: 5 Staff Members Kidnapped In Yemen Last Year Released
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“The United Nations says five staff members who were kidnapped in Yemen 18
months ago have walked free. In a brief statement on Friday, Farhan Haq, deputy
spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said all “available
information suggests that all five colleagues are in good health.” “The
Secretary-General is profoundly relieved that their ordeal and the anxiety of
their families and friends have finally come to an end,” said Haq. “The
Secretary-General reiterates that kidnapping is an inhumane and unjustifiable
crime and calls for the perpetrators to be held accountable. He also expresses
his solidarity with other people still held against their will in Yemen.”



AFP: Niger Crisis Deepens Amid Concern For Detained President, Warnings
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“The coup crisis in Niger deepened Friday amid growing concerns for the
detained president and warnings of military intervention from West African
leaders. The European Union and African Union joined the United States and
other voices in sounding the alarm for democratically elected President Mohamed
Bazoum, who was ousted by members of his guard on July 26. "Bazoum and his
family, according to the latest information, have been deprived of food,
electricity and medical care for several days," said EU foreign policy chief
Josep Borrell, calling for the leader's immediate restoration to office. The AU
echoed the concern, saying "such treatment of a democratically elected
president" was "unacceptable."




CEP Expert Analysis

* Afghanistan Terrorism Report: June 2023
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* West Africa's Terrorism Challenge: Development Of Al-Qaeda In The Western
Sahel Region
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* West Africa's Terrorism Challenge: Status Of ISWAP And ISGS In West Africa
And Sahel
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* Civilian Counterterrorism Forces and the Fight Against Extremism: A Review
of Nigeria, Somalia, and Burkina Faso
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* Extremism in Erdogan's AKP
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United States



MSNBC: The Pentagon Is Failing At Its Anti-Extremism Efforts In A Big Way
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“A damning new report from the Defense Department's inspector general shows
major failures in military screening practices meant to weed out extremists
during the recruitment process. A press release from the inspector general's
office summarized the report’s findings Monday: This report highlights that the
military service recruiting organizations generally screened applicants for
extremist and criminal gang behavior using applicant interviews, screening
questionnaires, tattoo reviews, and background investigations. However, we
identified a number of instances where military service recruiters did not
complete required screening steps in accordance [with] military service
guidance. For example, military service recruiters did not always administer
screening questionnaires or forms, provide evidence of fingerprint check
results, or provide evidence that a background investigation was initiated.”



Iran



Al Jazeera: Iran’s Shiraz Shrine Comes Under Second Deadly Attack In Months
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“A holy shrine in Iran’s southern city of Shiraz has come under a second
deadly attack in less than a year with another gunman breaking into its grounds
and opening fire. Yadollah Bouali, the provincial commander of the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), told state media that one shooter entered the
Shah Cheragh shrine through its southern gate on Sunday at 7pm (15:30 GMT) to
carry out a “terrorist” operation, revising earlier reports indicating two
shooters. The assailant, who was arrested at the scene, shot four people
killing one, he said, adding the shooter carried an assault rifle and eight
magazines with 240 bullets, 11 of which he managed to get off before being
subdued. Videos online showed people running in panic outside the shrine and
shutting down their shops. Images showed bullet holes in walls and windows and
blood on the ground.”



Iraq



Rudaw: Nine Years On, Yazidis Grieve ISIS Massacre In Kocho
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“Nine years ago, Kache Amo along with 11 others miraculously survived the
genocide campaign that the Islamic State (ISIS) committed in their village of
Kocho in Shingal, which eventually became the symbol of the group's barbaric
atrocities against Yazidis. Amo had been rounded up for death together with
hundreds of other men in Kocho. He still has trouble comprehending how he
managed to dodge the bullets by hiding among the corpses of his neighbors,
friends, and relatives. Ever since he witnessed the tragedy unfold with his
eyes, the Yazidi man has been traumatized and haunted by grief.”



Pakistan



Radio Free Europe: The Azadi Briefing: Taliban, Pakistan Continue To Wrangle
Over Militants
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“Erstwhile allies Pakistan and Afghanistan's hard-line Islamist rulers
continue to spar over the Taliban's alleged support to militants fighting
Islamabad. "It is the responsibility of the security and intelligence agencies
of Pakistan to carry out their duties properly and not to blame Afghanistan,"
chief Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on August 9 His statement was
an apparent response to an August 7 speech by General Asim Munir. The head of
Pakistan's powerful military said Islamabad was concerned "over sanctuaries
available to banned outfits and the liberty of action they enjoy on Afghan
soil," vowing that his country will dismantle terrorist organizations. "The
involvement of Afghan nationals in terrorist incidents in Pakistan is
detrimental to regional peace," Munir said.”



Yemen



Asharq Al-Awsat: Qaeda Assassinates Yemeni Senior Security Commander In Abyan
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“A high-ranking security commander and his companions were assassinated in
the Mudiyah district in the Abyan governorate in a suspected al-Qaeda attack.
The roadside bomb detonated while the convoy was passing near the village, days
after the launch of a new campaign targeting al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
(AQAP) terrorists. Local sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that an explosive device
targeted the convoy of the commander of the Security Belt Forces in Abyan,
Abdullatif al-Sayyid, killing him along with about five of his companions,
including a tribal leader. The convoy was en route to an area with regular
clashes with Qaeda fighters.”



Middle East



i24 News: Hezbollah Terrorist Throws Molotov Cocktail Into Israeli Territory
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“No Israelis were hurt in the attempted attack A Hezbollah terrorist hurled a
Molotov cocktail over the Israeli-Lebanese border on Sunday. No one was hurt in
the incident, the Israeli military said. The border guards fired warning shots
in the air. The incident, which occurred near the Israeli town of Metula, comes
amid heightened tension with the Lebanese terrorist group and several incidents
on the Lebanese border. In recent months, several clashes have broken out
between Lebanese civilians rioting at the border, egged on by the Shiite
Lebanese terrorist organization, and Israeli troops. Hezbollah also stationed
terrorists in close proximity to the border earlier this year before
dismantling these outposts.”



Times Of Israel: IDF Informs Terrorist’s Family Their Home Is Set For
Demolition
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“The Israeli military informs the family of Khaled Mustafa Sabah, one of two
Hamas terrorists who carried out a deadly shooting attack at a West Bank gas
station in June, that their home is slated for demolition. On June 20, Sabah
and Muhannad Faleh Shehadeh opened fire at diners at a hummus restaurant and at
motorists at an adjacent gas station near the West Bank settlement of Eli,
killing four Israelis and wounding four others. Shehadeh was shot dead at the
scene by an armed civilian, while Sabah fled in a car stolen from the gas
station, and was killed some two hours later by special forces. The Israel
Defense Forces measured both their homes in the West Bank town of Urif a day
after the attack, in the first step before a potential demolition.”



Mali



AFP: ‘Armed Terrorist Groups’ Kill 6 Soldiers In Mali
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“Six Malian soldiers have been killed in an attack by “armed terrorist
groups” in the north of the country, according to an army report. An early army
statement on the incident had said one soldier was killed and four wounded in
the attack in Ber on Friday. The death toll has risen to six, it said on
Saturday, while “in their rout armed terrorist groups abandoned 24 bodies.”
They also left behind AK-47 assault rifles and motorbikes, the army said.”



Africa



Washington Post: As ISIS Affiliate Expands In Central Africa, Escapees Recount
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“Deep in Congo’s forested ravines, a local affiliate of the Islamic State has
been growing increasingly deadly — seizing children to swell its ranks, honing
its bombmaking skills, and launching ferocious attacks on villages, churches
and clinics — without attracting much international attention. The Allied
Democratic Forces (ADF) has also widened its recruitment from elsewhere in
Africa and the Middle East and has plugged itself into foreign financing
networks that help fund its campaign of bombings, according to investigators
from the United Nations and the U.S.-based Bridgeway Foundation. This year has
been the group’s bloodiest yet. The ADF was founded decades ago in neighboring
Uganda with the aim of overthrowing that country’s government, which eventually
pushed the group’s fighters over the border into the forested mountains of the
Democratic Republic of Congo. The group’s ambitions broadened after its founder
was arrested in 2015 and a new leader, former religious judge Musa Baluku, took
over. Desperate for funds, Baluku vowed allegiance to the Islamic State.”



Anadolu Agency: At Least 13 Killed In Boko Haram Terrorist Attacks In Nigeria
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“Members of the Boko Haram terrorist group killed 13 people in two separate
attacks in northeast Nigeria, local media reported Sunday. The terrorist
organization carried out a predawn attack on Saturday on a military base in the
village of Wulari in Borno state, killing three soldiers in a fierce gun
battle. Late on Saturday, they rounded up 10 farmers and shot them dead while
they were working in their field in the village of Maiwa, also in Borno. Tens
of thousands of people have lost their lives in mass acts of violence organized
by Boko Haram, which has existed in Nigeria since the early 2000s.”



Europe



Sky News: Omagh Attack: Memorial Service Takes Place In Northern Ireland On
25th Anniversary Of Deadly Bombing
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“Families of those killed in Northern Ireland's worst single terrorist
atrocity have taken part in a memorial service on its 25th anniversary. The car
bombing by dissident republicans in the town of Omagh on 15 August 1998 claimed
29 lives, including a woman pregnant with twins, her 18-month-old daughter and
her mother - several generations of one family. Three hundred others were
injured. At the service, the names of all the victims and their ages were read
out. Sixteen of those who died were under 25.”



Reuters: Britain Warns Of Possible Terrorist Attacks In Sweden
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“Britain on Sunday warned citizens going to Sweden of possible terrorist
attacks following Koran burnings by anti-Islam activists that have outraged
Muslims. In updated travel advice, Britain's foreign ministry said Swedish
authorities had successfully disrupted some planned attacks and made arrests.
"You should be vigilant at this time," it said, adding that "terrorists are
very likely to try and carry out attacks in Sweden" with places visited by
foreigners potential targets. In a statement acknowledging Britain's changed
travel advice, Sweden's National Security Advisor Henrik Landerholm reiterated
the increased threats to Sweden since the burnings.”



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