“Heavily armed law enforcement officers swarmed the Philadelphia home of a
teenager who was plotting to launch a national terrorist attack, authorities
said. The suspect, an unnamed 17-year-old, was in contact with a global
terrorist group affiliated with al Qaeda and had access to a "significant"
number of guns and was building bombs, FBI Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline
Maguire said during a Monday press conference. The teen, who was arrested
Friday, "conducted general research" into potential targets that weren't
confined to one location, and they were not just in Philadelphia, she said.
"Most concerning was the evidence to his access to firearms and purchased items
and materials commonly [used] for constructing improvised explosive devices,"
Maguire said. "Among the items he purchased were tactical equipment, wiring,
chemicals and devices often used as the detonators."











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Eye on Extremism



August 15, 2023



Fox News: Philadelphia Teen Charged With Planning National Terrorist Attack
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“Heavily armed law enforcement officers swarmed the Philadelphia home of a
teenager who was plotting to launch a national terrorist attack, authorities
said. The suspect, an unnamed 17-year-old, was in contact with a global
terrorist group affiliated with al Qaeda and had access to a "significant"
number of guns and was building bombs, FBI Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline
Maguire said during a Monday press conference. The teen, who was arrested
Friday, "conducted general research" into potential targets that weren't
confined to one location, and they were not just in Philadelphia, she said.
"Most concerning was the evidence to his access to firearms and purchased items
and materials commonly [used] for constructing improvised explosive devices,"
Maguire said. "Among the items he purchased were tactical equipment, wiring,
chemicals and devices often used as the detonators."



CBS News: 2 Years Since Taliban Retook Afghanistan, Its Secluded Supreme
Leader Rules From The Shadows
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“On the border with Pakistan, thousands of Afghans are waiting in line to get
their passports stamped so they can leave Afghanistan behind and never return.
On this hot and humid day, as they cram between two fences like livestock, the
sight of desperate travelers passing out is all too common, with waiting times
averaging from three hours to a whole day during the busiest periods. The only
relief from the heat is the bottled water sold by children as young as five who
run up and down the fence shouting prices at thirsty travelers. Beyond the
chaotic crossing, a former contractor sighs in relief.”



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Fighting Terror is a podcast that brings together counterterrorism experts and
practitioners from Europe, the United States, and beyond to address different
approaches to combating terrorism in our society. Our frank discussions cover
the lifecycle of terrorism from propaganda and recruitment, to financing,
action, and failure. Listenhere
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or wherever you get your podcasts.




United States



The New York Times: The Long, Lonely Wait For Justice For 17 Fallen U.S.
Sailors
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“In the nearly 12 years since a prisoner was charged in the bombing of the
U.S.S. Cole warship, eight parents of the 17 fallen American sailors have died
waiting for a trial to begin. In the two decades since the attack, 10 more
shipmates have also died. Early in the case, relatives and survivors would
travel to Guantánamo Bay to observe pretrial proceedings, filling the seats in
a special section of the court. Late this June, just two members of that group
were there — a sailor’s father and a naval officer who survived the blast. The
bombing of the Cole never garnered the attention of Guantánamo’s better-known
prosecution of the five men who are accused of plotting the attacks of Sept.
11, 2001. That case also grinds on in its second decade.”



Victoria Advocate: National Editorial: White Nationalist Patriot Front Members
Sue For Being Exposed
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“…In the Pacific Northwest, the group has defaced civil rights and Pride
murals, and monuments and signs that promote equality, a tactic it employs
nationally, according to the Counter Extremism Project, The Seattle Times
reported.”



Iraq



Rudaw: Three ISIS Suspects Arrested In Sulaimani
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“Sulaimani’s internal security forces (Asayish) on Monday announced they had
arrested three “wanted” Islamic States (ISIS) suspects through two separate
operations since the start of the month. The Asayish forces were able to arrest
the suspects “after receiving intelligence from the security agencies of the
[Iraqi] federal government regarding the presence of three wanted individuals
according to Article 4 of the anti-terror law,” read a statement from the
forces. Article 4 of the 2005 Iraqi anti-terrorism law stipulates that anyone
who participates in committing a “terrorist act,” as defined by the law, shall
be given the death sentence, with life imprisonment sentences being handed out
to those found guilty of intentionally concealing a “terrorist act” or
harboring a perpetrator of the act. Two of the detainees were arrested in a
security operation carried out on August 2, while the other suspect was
arrested in an operation on Sunday. The latter has been accused of “taking,
transporting, and distributing” the properties and assets of Yazidis from
Shingal (Sinjar).”



Turkey



Grey Dynamics: Grey Wolves: Turkish Ultranationalist Paramilitary Or Idealist
Hearths?
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“…David Ibsen, the Executive Director of ‘The Counter Extremism Project’,
explained that nationalists view the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkan
wars as a great tragedy (source). This somewhat explains why the group are
seeking to consolidate its influence in Bosnia.”



Afghanistan



The Mirror: ISIS And Al-Qaeda 'Back In Afghanistan' After 'Foreign Policy
Failure' Ex-Diplomat Warns
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“Terrorists have returned to Afghanistan two years after Western forces quit
the war-torn nation, Britain’s former ambassador to the country warned today.
Marking the second anniversary of the Taliban rampaging back to power in Kabul,
Sir Laurie Bristow raised fears Afghanistan could once again become a lair for
extremists to plot attacks on the West. Admitting that failing to build an
Afghan regime which could repel a Taliban revival was “a foreign policy
failure”, he said: “There was no shortage of resources put into Afghanistan,
primarily by the Americans, secondarily by the UK and other allies. “But what
they didn’t produce was a state that was capable of standing on its own two
feet. We need to understand why that was. My own view was that we didn’t engage
early enough in the question of how to create the kind of political settlement
that would bind in the Taliban and the people they represent in a way that
would enable us safely to withdraw our troops.”



Middle East



Associated Press: UN: Islamic State Still Has Thousands Of Fighters Across
Syria And Iraq
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“The Islamic State group still commands between 5,000 and 7,000 members
across its former stronghold in Syria and Iraq and its fighters pose the most
serious terrorist threat in Afghanistan today, U.N. experts said in a report
circulated Monday. The experts monitoring sanctions against the militant group,
also known by its Arab acronym Daesh, said that during the first half of 2023
the threat posed by IS remained “mostly high in conflict zones and low in
non-conflict areas.” But the panel said in a report to the U.N. Security
Council that “the overall situation is dynamic,” and despite significant losses
in the group’s leadership and reduced activity in Syria and Iraq, the risk of
its resurgence remains. “The group has adapted its strategy, embedding itself
with local populations, and has exercised caution in choosing battles that are
likely to result in limited losses, while rebuilding and recruiting from camps
in the northeast of the Syrian Arab Republic and from vulnerable communities,
including in neighboring countries,” the experts said.”



Africa



Reuters: Niger Junta Says It Will Prosecute Ousted President For Treason
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“The military junta that seized power in Niger in a coup last month has said
it will prosecute ousted President Mohamed Bazoum for high treason over his
exchanges with foreign heads of state and international organisations. The
United States, United Nations and West African leaders condemned the move,
calling it a further sign that the junta is unwilling to seek a peaceful route
out of the crisis. The coup leaders have imprisoned Bazoum and dissolved the
elected government, drawing condemnation from global powers and West Africa's
regional bloc ECOWAS, which decided last week to assemble a standby military
force that could intervene if diplomacy fails. At stake is not just the fate of
Niger - a major uranium producer and Western ally in the fight against an
Islamist insurgency - but also the influence of rival global powers with
strategic interests in the region.”



The Star: Two Killed, Three Missing In Lamu Terror Attack
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“At least two civilians have been killed in an attack by suspected al Shabaab
militants in Lamu. Three other people are also missing. Police said the
incident happened when the suspected terrorists attacked vehicles travelling
towards Mokowe in the Milihoi area. Police and witnesses said they fired
semiautomatic weapons/assault riffles at the vehicle leading to the deaths in
the Tuesday morning incident.”



Europe



The Spectator: The Importance Of Remembering The Omagh Bombing
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“On this day, 25 years ago, not long after the ink had dried on the Good
Friday Agreement, a car bomb exploded in the market town of Omagh in Country
Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The bomb had been set in the town’s busy main
shopping area by dissident republican terrorists styling themselves as the
‘Real IRA’. The group had rejected the acceptance by Sinn Fein, the Provisional
IRA’s political mouthpiece, that Irish unification could not be achieved by
violence, and instead bathed a community in blood. Twenty nine people were
killed that day.”



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