“The military takeover in Niger has upended years of Western counterterrorism
efforts in West Africa and now poses wrenching new challenges for the Biden
administration’s fight against Islamist militants on the continent.
American-led efforts to degrade terrorist networks around the world have
largely succeeded in longtime jihadist hot spots like Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.
Not so in Africa, especially in the Sahel, the vast, semiarid region south of
the Sahara where groups linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State are gaining
ground at an alarming pace. Niger, an impoverished nation of 25 million people
that is nearly twice the size of Texas, has recently been the exception to that
trend.”











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Eye on Extremism



August 17, 2023



The New York Times: Coup In Niger Upends U.S. Terrorism Fight And Could Open A
Door For Russia
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“The military takeover in Niger has upended years of Western counterterrorism
efforts in West Africa and now poses wrenching new challenges for the Biden
administration’s fight against Islamist militants on the continent.
American-led efforts to degrade terrorist networks around the world have
largely succeeded in longtime jihadist hot spots like Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.
Not so in Africa, especially in the Sahel, the vast, semiarid region south of
the Sahara where groups linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State are gaining
ground at an alarming pace. Niger, an impoverished nation of 25 million people
that is nearly twice the size of Texas, has recently been the exception to that
trend.”



CBS News: "Our Dreams Were Shattered": Afghan Women Reflect On 2 Years Of
Taliban Rule
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“The Taliban marked the second anniversary of their return to power in
Afghanistan on Tuesday, and celebrated what the Islamic regime said was a day
of victory over the United States and its allies with a public holiday. Two
years after the United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan and the subsequent
collapse of the democratically elected Afghan government allowed the Taliban to
seize power in Kabul, the current regime have set their sights on establishing
an "Islamic government" and implementing their harsh interpretation of Sharia
law in the country. For the women of Afghanistan, the consequences have been
severe, and their futures have been left uncertain.”



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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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United States



Fox News: Treasury Department Sanctions Hezbollah’s Bogus ‘Environmental’
Organization As Terrorist Front
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“The alleged architect of the September 11, 2001 attack and several other
defendants could avoid the death penalty under plea agreements being
considered, according to a letter to families from the Pentagon and FBI. The
letter was sent by federal agencies to several families of the thousands of
people killed during the 9/11 attacks. It comes a year and a half after
military prosecutors and defense lawyers began looking at a potential
resolution to the case. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as well as four other people are
being held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The case has been hindered and delayed,
particularly over the legal issues of the interrogation under torture that the
men went through while in CIA custody.”



U.S. Department Of The Treasury: Treasury Sanctions Lebanese Entity And Leader
For Providing Support To Hizballah
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“WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign
Assets Control (OFAC) designated Lebanon-based Green Without Borders and its
leader. Green Without Borders is a Lebanon-based organization that has provided
support to and cover for Hizballah’s operations in southern Lebanon along the
“Blue Line” between Lebanon and Israel over the last decade while publicly
operating under the guise of environmental activism. “The United States rejects
Hizballah’s cynical efforts to cloak its destabilizing terrorist activities
with false environmentalism,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for
Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “We will continue to
support the many Lebanese civil society groups protecting Lebanon’s unique and
sensitive natural environment while also relentlessly pursuing Hizballah and
their support networks.””



Iran



Gatestone Institute: Iran's Plan To Turn The West Bank Into A Terror Base
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“Palestinian terrorists are working hard to turn the West Bank into a
launching pad for waging war on Israel. They have already turned the
Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip into a base for firing tens of thousands of rockets
towards Israel. Now, the terrorists, with the help of Iran, are trying to use
the West Bank to launch rockets at Israeli civilian communities. The US
Administration's recent move to give Iran access to at least $16 billion,
including $6 billion held in South Korea, as part of a prisoner exchange deal,
will undoubtedly benefit Tehran's Palestinian terror proxies: Hamas and
Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The two terror groups, which seek the destruction of
Israel, have long been receiving financial and military aid from Iran's
mullahs.”



Iraq



Iraqi News: Iraqi Security Launches Preemptive Strike Against ISIS
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“Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi security forces launched on Tuesday a
preemptive air strike against remnants of the terrorist group ISIS in the
northern governorate of Kirkuk to paralyze its ability to prove its presence
after announcing the name of its new leader, Abu Hafs Al-Hashimi Al-Qurashi.
The Iraqi Security Media Cell (ISMC) mentioned in a statement that the air
strike was carried out using F-16 fighter jets in a valley in Kirkuk,
indicating that the strike resulted in the killing of terrorist elements. The
statement emphasized that security forces will continue their qualitative and
preemptive operations against the remaining terrorists until they have no place
in Iraq.”



The New Arab: Islamic State Group Still Poses Serious Threat In Syria, Iraq
And Afghanistan, Un Experts Say
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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, UN experts said in a report
circulated on 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 UN 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.”



Afghanistan



The Times Of India: Worry, Despair And More Terror Attacks In Pakistan: 2
Years Of Taliban Takeover In Afghanistan
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“NEW DELHI: August 15, 2023, marks two years since the the Taliban stormed
back to power in Afghanistan as US and NATO forces withdrew from the country
following two decades of brutal war. Two Years Since Kabul's Fall: How life
changed for Afghan women since the Taliban took power. Since the takeover of
the hardline Islamist group, the country has been isolated globally and is
struggling to kickstart its fledging economy. Its series of severe restrictions
against women has further pushed it away from international assistance and
funds. India has been slowly gaining ground in Afghanistan on the diplomatic
front, and has been towing a fine line between offering assistance in
infrastructure projects and humanitarian aid but also reiterating the global
position for need of an inclusive government.”



PBS: UN Envoy Says ICC Should Prosecute Taliban For Crimes Against Humanity
For Denying Education, Employment To Women
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“UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The International Criminal Court should prosecute
Taliban leaders for a crime against humanity for denying education and
employment to Afghan girls and women, the U.N. special envoy for global
education said. Gordon Brown told a virtual U.N. press conference on the second
anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan on Tuesday that its rulers
are responsible for “the most egregious, vicious and indefensible violation of
women’s rights and girls’ rights in the world today.” The former British prime
minister said he has sent a legal opinion to ICC prosecutor Karim Khan that
shows the denial of education and employment is “gender discrimination, which
should count as a crime against humanity, and it should be prosecuted by the
International Criminal Court.””



Pakistan



NBC News: Pakistan Arrests 129 Muslims After Mob Attacks Churches And Homes Of
Minority Christians
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“Police arrested more than 100 Muslims in overnight raids from an area in
eastern Pakistan where a Muslim mob angered over the alleged desecration of the
Quran by a Christian man attacked churches and homes of minority Christians,
prompting authorities to summon troops to restore order, officials said
Thursday. There were no casualties as Christians living in a residential area
in the city of Jaranwala in the Faisalabad district quickly moved to safer
places along with their families. Christians slowly returned to their homes
Thursday, only to see the destruction of at least one church that was burned.
Four other churches were also damaged. Two dozen homes were torched or badly
damaged during the riots.”



Yemen



AFP: Concern At UN Over Risks Of Renewed Conflict In Yemen
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“United Nations and Western Security Council representatives sounded alarms
over renewed risks of conflict in Yemen on Wednesday, after nearly a year and a
half of relative calm in the warring country. UN special envoy for Yemen Hans
Grundberg warned of "public threats to return to war" in the Middle Eastern
nation, without offering any specific examples, while the United States and
United Kingdom warned of escalating attacks and threats from Houthi rebels. The
poorest country on the Arabian peninsula, Yemen's economy has collapsed in the
eight years of war between Iran-backed Houthis and the Saudi coalition-backed
government.”



Lebanon



The National News: Hezbollah Is Leveraging Its Own Interests Even As Lebanon
Crumbles
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“A very serious incident occurred last week, when a Hezbollah truck
transporting weapons to Beirut turned over in the nearby Christian village of
Kahaleh. What the episode showed, above all, is that while Hezbollah remains
powerful militarily, its cross-communal support in Lebanese society no longer
exists. While the sequence of events is not absolutely clear, armed Hezbollah
members accompanying the truck tried to force villagers away once the vehicle
had turned over. When the villagers realised the truck was carrying weapons,
they began throwing rocks at the armed men. One villager, Fadi Bejjani, started
firing on them, killing one of the Hezbollah members, before his comrades shot
and killed Bejjani.”



Middle East



Israel National News: Report: Wanted Terrorist Eliminated In Jenin
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“On Thursday morning, following precise ISA intelligence, IDF and Israel
Border Police forces conducted counterterrorism activity in order to apprehend
a terrorist cell associated with the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization.
During an operation in which Israel Border Police forces apprehended two wanted
suspects, a gunfight erupted between the terrorists and the Israeli security
forces. Shots were fired at the forces from the building, and the forces
immediately responded with live fire and breached the building. During
exchanges of fire, Mustafa Kumbua, a resident of Jenin, was shot and killed
after shooting at the forces and attempting to flee during the apprehension
attempt. Mustafa was involved in terrorist activity and shot at IDF soldiers.”



Jewish News Syndicate: The Israeli Left’s New Blood Libel: ‘Jewish Terrorism’
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“On Friday night, Aug. 4, the Israeli media reported that “Jewish terrorists”
had entered the Palestinian village of Burqa in the Binyamin region and
murdered a Palestinian in a deliberate act of terrorist murder. The claim was
based on the Palestinian Authority’s propaganda organ the Wafa “news” service.
The Israel Defense Forces spokesman, the Shin Bet and the Israeli Police also
adopted and presented the Wafa allegation as fact. The “Jewish terrorists” in
question were not given a fair hearing. Observing Shabbat, they did not speak
to the media and were unaware that they were being demonized as terrorists
until Saturday night. As it happened, the entire tale was fictional.”



Somalia



Garowe Online: Why Somalia Is Delaying Phase II Of Al-Shabaab Crackdown
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“MOGADISHU, Somalia - The federal government of Somalia may delay planned
operations against Al-Shabaab militants due to inadequate preparations and lack
of confirmation from frontline nations whether they will participate in the
crackdown or not, several months after a number of countries pledged to
dispatch their troops. Major General Ibrahim Sheikh Muhudin told VOA's The
Dossier that it doesn’t appear to him that troops from Ethiopia, Kenya, and
Djibouti will participate in the second phase of operations dubbed “Operation
Black Lion.” According to him, all indications are that the frontline nations
"will not have immediate, direct participation".”



Africa



WTOP News: The Hunt: The Coup In Niger Is Hampering Counterterrorism Efforts
In West Africa
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In this week’s episode of “The Hunt with WTOP national security correspondent
J.J. Green,” Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director at the Counter Extremism
Project, said terror groups are definitely trying to take advantage of the
instability.



The Punch: Boko Haram Ethnic Factions Battle, Kill 82 In Borno
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“An inter-ethnic clash among Boko Haram fighters occurred in Kukawa Local
Government Area of Borno State, according to local and security sources living
in Baga and areas along Lake Chad fringes. In a report by Daily Trust, the
clash was triggered by the killing of seven Boko Haram fighters from the Buduma
tribe. The fighters were executed by their commander on Bukkwaram Island after
their failed surrender to the Nigerian military on Tuesday. According to the
source, “Their colleagues, whom they confided in, betrayed them and informed
their commander of their plan to surrender. They were later intercepted and
taken to Bukkwaram Island where the commander sentenced them to death by
firing. “So after killing them, an ethnic crisis broke out among the four
tribes of the fighters—Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri and Buduma.”



Vanguard News: Over 100 Terrorists Massacred In Power Struggle, Infighting
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“More than 100 terrorists belonging to terrorist group of the Islamic State,
West Africa Province (ISWAP) and the Bomo Haram terrorist group have been
massacred in the last 7 days as a result of infighting and power struggle
between the two groups in the Lake Chad Basin areas, Intelligence sources have
revealed. This is just as another 60 members of the ISWAP group were said to
been captured by the Boko Haram group aftermath of the fighting. However,
following intensive air and ground assault on the hideouts, and enclaves of the
terrorists bases in the Sambisa forest and Lake Chad fringes, three (3) BHT
Commanders and 78 fighters along with members of their families have
surrendered to troops of the Multi-national Joint Task Force in Monguno.”



Germany



The Times: Far Right On The March In Germany As Extremist Events Triple
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“The number of extreme right-wing and neo-Nazi marches in Germany is on the
rise, with three times as many happening this year as in 2022. Figures from the
Bundestag, the German parliament, reveal that in the first half of 2023, 162
right-wing extremist gatherings took place across the country, compared with 52
for the same period in 2022. The figures were released in response to an
inquiry by the left-wing democratic-socialist party Die Linke. The marches,
rallies and protests have been held predominantly by groups such as the Freie
Sachsen (Free Saxons) party, founded in 2021, and by members of Die Heimat (The
Homeland), the new name for the National Democratic Party of Germany, founded
in 1964.”



Europe



Bloomberg: Sweden Is Reportedly Set To Raise Terror Threat Level To High After
Koran Burnings
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“Sweden is set to announce an increased level of terrorist threat following a
series of Koran burnings that have sparked anger in the Muslim world, daily
Dagens Nyheter reported on Thursday. The threat level will be raised to four
from three on a five-point scale, according to the newspaper, which cited
unnamed sources. That implies a “high” threat, compared with the current
“elevated” level. The move comes in the wake of a number of public events where
people have desecrated Islam’s holy book. The actions, which have led to
protests and riots, have been criticized by the Swedish government. The
country’s law enforcement have sought to block them, but courts have struck
down those efforts, citing Sweden’s far-reaching rights to freedom of speech
and assembly.”



Southeast Asia



Asia News Network: Indonesia’s Densus 88 Anti-Terror Squad Arrests State
Railway Employee For Alleged Link To IS
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“JAKARTA – The National Police’s Densus 88 counterterrorism squad has
arrested an employee of state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia
(KAI) on suspicions that he is an Islamic State (IS) sympathizer. The suspected
terrorist, identified only by his initials DE, was arrested on Monday afternoon
at his rented house in Bekasi, West Java. DE had rented the house just six
months ago and lived there with his pregnant wife and children, according to
local neighborhood unit head Ichwanul Munlimin, as reported by several media
outlets. The police searched the suspect’s home and seized more than a dozen
firearms, including pistols, rifles and airsoft guns converted into real guns,
as well as hundreds of rounds of ammunition, Densus 88 spokesperson Sr. Comr.
Aswin Siregar said.”



The Economist: Indonesia Wants To Export Moderate Islam
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“On Christmas Eve 22 years ago, jihadist terrorists planted bombs at churches
in cities across Indonesia, killing 18 people. Every Christmas since then,
members of the country’s largest Muslim group, Nahdlatul Ulama (nu), have
gathered outside churches in Indonesia to ensure that Christians can worship in
safety. Now the powerful Islamic organisation has a more ambitious goal: to
spread its moderate views across the Muslim world. Despite being the world’s
most populous Muslim-majority country, Indonesia has long punched below its
weight in the big Islamic debates. The dominant Muslim ideas, spiritual and
political, long emanated from the conservative Middle East. This is apparent
among Indonesia’s 237m Muslims. Demonstrations of Middle-Eastern-style public
piety have become much more common in recent decades. Many more women now wear
a Muslim headscarf, or hijab. Yet most Indonesians still hew to the region’s
syncretic traditions. In East Java, nu’s heartland, they mingle Islam with
local Javanese beliefs called kejawen.”



Bangladesh



The Daily Star: How Serious Is The Threat Of A Militant Resurgence?
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“The recent spate of arrests following the suspected emergence of a new
militant outfit and subsequent police raids have raised concerns about the
resurgence of militancy in the country. On Monday, police took into custody 17
alleged militants after locals, with the help of autorickshaw drivers,
apprehended them in Moulvibazar. This marks a dramatic escalation in
counter-terrorism scrutiny of the region after police raided a suspected
militant hideout two days earlier. Overall, in four separate drives over a span
of eight days – the first two held in Mirpur, Dhaka – some 38 suspected
militants have been arrested. We are told that the suspects also had 11
children with them.”



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