United States
ABC: Chicago Terrorist Charged In India Can Stay In US During Extradition Appeal, Judge Rules
“A convicted terrorist from Chicago has won a temporary court fight. A judge ruled Tahawwur Rana may stay in the U.S. during appeal of his extradition to India where he would face certain conviction and the death penalty for his role in a Mumbai massacre. Rana has already been convicted in Chicago of ties to the Pakistani terror group that was responsible for the several day siege in Mumbai, India on November 2008. The attack killed 175 people, including six Americans. Rana owned and operated a Rogers Park travel agency that authorities said was perfect cover for a jihadist plot with his friend David Headley to help terrorists in their native Pakistan attack arch-enemy India. After his conviction in Chicago for ties to the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, and serving a 15 year sentence, a US judge ruled Rana must be extradited to India to stand trial there.”
The New York Times: Judge Throws Out Confession Of Bombing Suspect As Derived From Torture
“The military judge in the U.S.S. Cole bombing case on Friday threw out confessions the Saudi defendant had made to federal agents at Guantánamo Bay after years of secret imprisonment by the C.I.A., declaring the statements the product of torture. The decision deprives prosecutors of a key piece of evidence against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, 58, in the longest-running death-penalty case at Guantánamo Bay. He is accused of orchestrating Al Qaeda’s suicide bombing of the warship on Oct. 12, 2000, in Yemen’s Aden Harbor that killed 17 U.S. sailors. “Exclusion of such evidence is not without societal costs,” the judge, Col. Lanny J. Acosta Jr., wrote in a 50-page decision. “However, permitting the admission of evidence obtained by or derived from torture by the same government that seeks to prosecute and execute the accused may have even greater societal costs.””
Homeland Security Today: U.S. Airstrike Kills Five Al-Shabaab Terrorists
“At the request of the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted a collective self-defense airstrike in a remote area near Cali Heele, approximately 244 kilometers North East of Mogadishu, Somalia against al-Shabaab terrorists on August 15. The airstrike was in support of Somali National Army forces who were engaged by the terrorist organization. Working with the Somali National Army, U.S. Africa Command’s initial assessment is that the U.S. airstrike killed 5 al-Shabaab terrorists and that no civilians were injured or killed. U.S. Africa Command takes great measures to prevent civilian casualties. Protecting civilians remains a vital part of the command’s operations to promote a more secure and stable Africa.
Syria
The Jerusalem Post: Turkish-Backed Extremist Groups In Syria Sanctioned By US - Analysis
“The US has continued to confront human rights abuses in Syria by targeting extremist groups that occupied in Turkish-occupied areas of Syria. The US has sanctioned the Syrian regime as well, but in the last several years a spotlight as fallen on Syrian rebel groups that became more extreme. Over the weekend the US Treasure Department sanctioned two more Turkish-backed groups. Al-Monitor noted that these groups were “accused of forcibly displacing and oppressing the local Kurdish population in northern Syria's Afrin region.” The groups listed include the Suleiman Shah Brigade and Hamza Division and they are accused of exacerbating “the suffering caused by years of civil war in northern Syria and hindered the region’s recovery by engaging in serious human rights abuses against vulnerable populations."”
Associated Press: Lebanese State Media Say Syrian Man Suspected Of Deadly Bombing Committed Suicide To Avoid Detention
“A Syrian citizen suspected of being behind a deadly bombing that killed and wounded dozens near the capital, Damascus, last month committed suicide when gunmen tried to detain him in Lebanon where he fled, state-run National News Agency reported Saturday. The agency identified the man as Wissam Dalla and said that he entered Lebanon illegally and was staying with relatives in a southern suburb of Beirut — a stronghold of the militant group Hezbollah — where he was planning another “terrorist attack.” The 23-year-old man jumped from the 7th floor of the building where he was staying late Friday night and later succumbed to his wounds in hospital. NNA did not report on who tried to detain Dalla but other media outlets said they were members of Hezbollah, adding that the dead man was suspected of links to the extremist Islamic State organization.”
Afghanistan
NE Global: The Global Impact Two Years After The Taliban’s Takeover
Two years ago, the world saw the return of a repressive Taliban regime. The rapid fall of the Afghan government sent shockwaves throughout neighbouring countries and beyond, as the new Taliban powerbrokers in Kabul systematically degraded human rights and afforded protection to a long list of Al-Qaeda linked terrorist groups in Afghanistan. The complex competition between Taliban on the one hand the local branch of ISIS, Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISKP, on the other, extends far beyond local political objectives, as it becomes increasingly evident that the resulting terror threat is being transmitted across the globe.
The New European: Is The Taliban Getting Hooked On Fentanyl?
“…Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Berlin-based Counter Terrorism Project and an expert on Afghanistan, has seen it all before. Last time the Taliban were in power, from 1996-2001, they curtailed poppy production for the 2000-01 season. Heroin prices soared. Then, when the Taliban were pushed out of power after 9/11, they needed cash to fund their insurgency. In an unequivocal demonstration of their control over the drugs trade, they went back into the opium business.”
The Economic Times: Afghanistan: Girls, Women Demand Reopening Educational Institutes For Them
“Girls and Women both students and teachers in Afghanistan who were deprived of their basic rights have demanded the reopening of educational institutes in the country for them, TOLONews reported. As the Taliban regime completed its second year in Afghanistan after taking over the country, the women wished that their basic right to education will be given back to them. "Yesterday, I thought that maybe schools, universities, and many other places that were closed would open but they didn't," said Marwa, a student. "We call on the government to reopen schools and universities for girls," said Najma, a student. Meanwhile, some students and teachers warn of the negative consequences of closing girls' schools and said that closing the gates of schools will spread illiteracy in the country more than before, as per TOLONews.”
Saudi Arabia
Associated Press: Rights Group Says Saudi Arabian Border Guards Fired On And Killed Hundreds Of Ethiopian Migrants
“Border guards in Saudi Arabia have fired machine guns and launched mortars at Ethiopians trying to cross into the kingdom from Yemen, likely killing hundreds of the unarmed migrants in recent years, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Monday. The rights group cited eyewitness reports of attacks by troops and images that showed dead bodies and burial sites on migrant routes, saying the death toll could even be “possibly thousands.” The United Nations has already questioned Saudi Arabia about its troops opening fire on the migrants in an escalating pattern of attacks along its southern border with war-torn Yemen. A Saudi government official, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak publicly, called the Human Rights Watch report “unfounded and not based on reliable sources,” without offering evidence to support the assertion. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who allegedly make tens of thousands of dollars a week smuggling migrants over the border, did not respond to requests for comment.”
Middle East
i24 News: Netanyahu Vows To Catch Huwara Terrorist: 'His Day Will Come Sooner Than He Thinks'
“The Israeli military continues to search for the terrorist responsible for murdering two Israeli civilians in the town of Huwara in the West Bank. The victims, identified as Shai Silas Nigerker, 60, and his son Aviad Nir, 28, from the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, were killed on Saturday afternoon while at a car wash station. According to witnesses, the two men stopped there to have maintenance work done on their vehicle. The employees of the car wash reportedly alerted the terrorist about the presence of people speaking Hebrew. The terrorist then allegedly approached the victims on foot and shot them at point-blank range before fleeing. The IDF arrested the owner of the car wash on suspicion of collaborating with the terrorist. Israeli forces also closed the roads around the town and the nearby Tapuach junction, and extended their search to the West Bank city of Nablus, where the terrorist is believed to have escaped.”
Jewish News Syndicate: What Is Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah Thinking?
“Since the beginning of July 2023, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has escalated his anti-Israel rhetoric, belittling the Jewish state and arguing that the Jewish state has lost its deterrence because of its domestic weakness. Nasrallah, who is known to be a compulsive reader of the Israeli press and international press coverage relating to Israel, seems to have concluded that Israel is weakened from within and lacks the resolve to wage war against Hezbollah or any other adversary. Few doubt that Nasrallah’s bellicose policies match the strategies of his Iranian patrons and are carried out with Iran’s approval. When his operatives erected tents on the Israeli side of the “Blue Line,” the designated boundary that since 2000 has demarcated the U.N.-recognized line of Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon, he openly threw down his gauntlet, stating that Hezbollah was prepared to act militarily if Israel moved to dismantle the outpost. He bluntly declared that the tents had been erected on Lebanese land and that Hezbollah did not intend to dismantle them and withdraw.”
Somalia
Garowe Online: Somalis Protest Against Al-Shabaab Menace, Support Army Offensive
“In a rare show of solidarity, hundreds of Somali citizens have thronged into streets of various towns across the country, protesting against Al-Shabaab's frequent attacks and taxation, usually targeting innocent civilians mostly women and children. On Friday, residents of Adado demonstrated in support of the military offensive against Al-Shabaab, just hours after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud announced that his administration is working around the clock to ensure the militants have been defeated within the next months. The residents, state media reports, showed support to the military besides thanking them for a well-executed first phase of operations against the group, which targeted HirShabelle and Galmadug states. Currently, the military is combining the two states before embarking on the second and perhaps final assault against Al-Shabaab.”
Reuters: Somalia Bans TikTok, Telegram And 1XBet Over 'Horrific' Content, Misinformation
“Somalia has banned TikTok, messaging app Telegram and online-betting website 1XBet to limit the spread of indecent content and propaganda, its communications minister said." The minister of communications orders internet companies to stop the aforementioned applications, which terrorists and immoral groups use to spread constant horrific images and misinformation to the public," the minister, Jama Hassan Khalif, said in a statement late on Sunday. Members of insurgent group al Shabaab often post about their activities on TikTok and Telegram. The decision comes days after Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said a military offensive against al Shabaab aims to eliminate the al Qaeda-linked group in the next five months. TikTok, Telegram and 1XBet did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. The order gave internet service providers until Aug. 24 to comply.”
United Kingdom
Al Khaleej Today: UK Nurse Lucy Letby To Be Sentenced For Murdering Seven Babies
“…Former prison governor Prof Ian Acheson told the BBC judges should have the power to compel criminals into the courtroom "to be sentenced in front of the people they have harmed".”
The Guardian: Man Charged With Terrorism Offences After Northern Ireland Police Data Breach
“50-year-old man has been charged with possessing documents or records likely to be useful to terrorists and possession of articles for use in terrorism, in relation to the major Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) data breach. He is due to appear at Coleraine magistrates court on Monday, the PSNI said. Last week the force revealed that a document had mistakenly been shared online for about three hours, in response to a Freedom of Information request, which included the names of about 10,000 officers and civilian staff members. Details released included the surname and first initial of every employee, their rank or grade, where they were based, and the unit they worked in. A 39-year-old man was also detained in relation to the breach after a search in Lurgan, County Armagh, on Wednesday, and was released on bail.”
Independent: £1m Counterextremism Funding Returned To Home Office Despite Rising Terror Threat
“Almost £1m of unspent funding for counterextremism work has been handed back to the government despite a warning that “the risk from terrorism is rising”. The Commission for Countering Extremism (CCE) was formed by the Home Office following the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing but the government has never publicly responded to any of its recommendations or reports. Since current commissioner Robin Simcox took the helm in 2021, it has published no new research or scrutiny of government policy, despite home secretary Suella Braverman warning last month that the threat to Britain is rising as attackers become “increasingly unpredictable” and harder to detect. Shadow security minister Holly Lynch said tackling extremism “should be a top priority for this government”.”
Southeast Asia
The Manila Times: ISIS Troops Attack MILF – Reports
“Local Muslim militants allied with the Islamic State launched simultaneous attacks anew against the former rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the restive southern province of Maguindanao. The Middle East Media Research Institute (Memri) which monitors, tracks, translates, researches, and analyzes cyber jihad originating from the Middle East, Iran, South Asia, and North and West Africa reported the attack was mounted by fighters of the Islamic State East Asia Province (Iseap). It also released a photo showing an automatic rifle and magazines, including a radio communication set seized by Iseap from the MILF. An ISIS flag was prominently displayed along with the seized weapon. The report was contained in the weekly ISIS newsletter Al-Naba' and obtained by Memri which was released only this week.”
India
The Tribune: CBI Seeks Cancellation Of JKLF Terrorist Rafiq Pahloo’s Bail
“The CBI on Saturday moved a court here seeking the cancellation of bail to Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) terrorist Rafiq Pahloo in connection with the murders of Indian Air Force officers in 1990 and the abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed in 1989. Both the terror-related cases came up for hearing in the special TADA court on Saturday, Senior Additional Advocate General and chief prosecutor of CBI Monika Kohli said. Pahloo has got the bail but was arrested in Srinagar recently along with several others for trying to revive separatist activities. JKLF chief Yasin Malik, also an accused in the killing and the kidnapping cases, could not attend the proceedings through videoconferencing facility due to some “technical glitch”.
The Economic Times: J-K Admin Selectively Terminating Kashmiri Employees From Service: Mehbooba
“PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday slammed the Jammu and Kashmir administration for selectively terminating Kashmiri employees from service by labelling them as "terrorist sympathisers". Mehbooba's reaction comes a day after the Jammu and Kashmir Bank sacked its chief manager Sajad Ahmad Bazaz for allegedly being a "threat to the security of the state". In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the former chief minister wrote, "Selectively terminating Kashmiri employees by wrongfully dubbing them as terrorist sympathisers & pro ISI has been normalised." "The accused isn't given a chance to prove his innocence with the government acting as judge & jury. This hooliganism is meant to frighten Kashmiris into submission," she added.”
The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If you value what we do, please consider making a donation.
