“The U.S. Treasury on Tuesday slapped terrorism sanctions on a family network
of seven individuals and businesses in Lebanon and South America accused of
financing the militant group Hezbollah, including a Lebanese man who officials
say was involved in two deadly attacks in Argentina in the 1990s. Amer Mohamed
Akil Rada was described as “one of the operational members” who carried out the
attack on the Argentine-Israelite Mutual Association in Buenos Aires in 1994,
which killed 85 people and wounded hundreds. A 1992 attack on the Israeli
Embassy in Argentina killed 29 people. “Today’s action underscores the U.S.
government’s commitment to pursuing Hezbollah operatives and financiers no
matter their location,” said Brian Nelson, the Treasury’s under-secretary for
terrorism and financial intelligence, in a statement. The Iran-backed group is
designated a “foreign terrorist organization,” and Washington also claims that
the group has been involved in drug trafficking in Latin America to generate
revenue.”











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Eye on Extremism



September 13, 2023



Associated Press: US Sanctions Lebanon-South America Network Accused Of
Financing Hezbollah
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“The U.S. Treasury on Tuesday slapped terrorism sanctions on a family network
of seven individuals and businesses in Lebanon and South America accused of
financing the militant group Hezbollah, including a Lebanese man who officials
say was involved in two deadly attacks in Argentina in the 1990s. Amer Mohamed
Akil Rada was described as “one of the operational members” who carried out the
attack on the Argentine-Israelite Mutual Association in Buenos Aires in 1994,
which killed 85 people and wounded hundreds. A 1992 attack on the Israeli
Embassy in Argentina killed 29 people. “Today’s action underscores the U.S.
government’s commitment to pursuing Hezbollah operatives and financiers no
matter their location,” said Brian Nelson, the Treasury’s under-secretary for
terrorism and financial intelligence, in a statement. The Iran-backed group is
designated a “foreign terrorist organization,” and Washington also claims that
the group has been involved in drug trafficking in Latin America to generate
revenue.”



Voice Of America: US Envoy: Taliban Kill 8 Key Islamic State Leaders In
Afghanistan
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“The Taliban's "successful" offensive against the Islamic State branch in
Afghanistan, IS-Khorasan, has "significantly degraded" its capability and
steadily decreased large-scale attacks against civilians, according to a senior
US envoy. Tom West, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, shared the
assessment during a Tuesday seminar at the nonpartisan Stimson Center think
tank in Washington. "They have a very aggressive violent offensive ongoing that
has significantly degraded ISKP capability," West said, using an acronym for
IS-Khorasan. "I think it's notable that since early 2023, Taliban raids in
Afghanistan have removed at least eight key ISKP leaders, some responsible for
external plotting." West said the counterterrorism actions had led to a "steady
decrease" in attacks against Afghan civilians. "There were horrific attacks
largely against the Hazara population, but we have not seen a return to those
sorts of attacks since then," he added.”






The CEP CounterPoint: Expert Analysis

* CEP-KAS: Sahel Monitoring August 2023
<[link removed]>
* ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency in August 2023
<[link removed]>
* ISIS Women In Court: Jennifer W. – Taking Responsibility
<[link removed]>
* Afghanistan Terrorism Report: July 2023
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* ISIS Women In Court: Jennifer W. – Enslavement Resulting In Death
<[link removed]>



United States



Voice Of America: US Maintains Taliban Engagement, Names Obstacles To
Normalization
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“The Taliban's quest for normalization of relations with the international
community, which includes relief from terrorism sanctions and the release of
Afghan financial assets, faces significant obstacles due to the regime's
oppressive policies toward women, ongoing security threats, and the group's
failure to form an inclusive government, according to a top U.S. official.
Despite the Taliban holding sway over all of Afghanistan for more than two
years, no country has officially recognized their self-proclaimed Islamic
Emirate. Thomas West, U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, underscored
the reasons behind the diplomatic standoff during a Tuesday event at the
Stimson Center, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington. "Steps toward
normalization, I think, are not going to be possible. And I think there will
remain remarkable unity among the international community until and unless we
see a significant change in their [Taliban] treatment of the population," West
said.”



Afghanistan



UN News: Afghanistan: Human Rights ‘In A State Of Collapse’, Warns Türk
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““Human rights in Afghanistan are in a state of collapse,” he told the Human
Rights Council, before sounding the alarm over ongoing reports of extrajudicial
killings, torture and ill-treatment and arbitrary arrests and detentions, as
well as serious violations against former Government officials, as documented
in a new human rights office (OHCHR) report. “Compounding all of this is a
deeply troubling lack of accountability for perpetrators of human rights
violations,” he said. Highlighting the “devastating precedent” set by
Afghanistan as the only country in the world where women and girls are denied
access to secondary and higher education. Mr. Türk underscored the “long list
of misogynistic restrictions” confining the country’s women “to the four walls
of their homes”, before asking: “What can possibly come next?” The High
Commissioner insisted that any prospect of a stable, prosperous Afghanistan
rests on the participation of men and women.”



Pakistan



Associated Press: Taliban Reject Pakistani Claims Of Unlawful Structures,
Indiscriminate Firing At Key Border Crossing
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“The Taliban on Tuesday rejected Pakistani government accusations that
they’re to blame for the closure of a key border crossing. Pakistan shut the
vital commercial artery of Torkham in its northwest last Wednesday after guards
from the two countries exchanged fire. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson in
Islamabad on Monday accused the Taliban of building unlawful structures and
indiscriminate and unprovoked firing. The spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch,
also repeated claims that Afghanistan allows its soil to be used for terror
attacks on Pakistan. The two countries have been trading blame for months over
border issues and militancy. Baloch’s remarks have infuriated the Taliban, with
one ministry official calling the Pakistani government “impotent” because it
cannot guarantee the country’s security. The Taliban-led Aghan Interior
Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said such incidents happen at borders. “In
this case, we did not attack,” he told The Associated Press. “When we were
attacked, we defended ourselves and this is our right. It is a matter of regret
that Pakistan has not been able to ensure its security and is putting its
problems on Afghans, that we are interfering. This is the reason for their
impotence, they cannot ensure their own security.””



Lebanon



The Times India: Top Hamas Leader In Beirut In A Bid To Stop Clashes At
Palestinian Refugee Camp
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“A top Hamas leader arrives in Beirut to push for an end to clashes in
Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp that resumed despite multiple
ceasefire agreements. Days of fighting in the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp near
the southern port city of Sidon left at least six people dead and over 50
others wounded, according to medical officials and state media. Stray bullets
and shells hit residential areas in the country’s third-largest city, wounding
five Lebanese soldiers at checkpoints near the camp yesterday. A ceasefire
declared late yesterday, after Lebanon’s head of the country’s General Security
Directorate met with officials from rival Palestinian factions, lasted just
hours before fighting erupted again. Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk
will meet with Lebanese officials and representatives from the Palestinian
factions to try and reach a settlement to end the clashes, the militant group
said in a statement.”



Middle East



Bloomberg: Saudi-UAE Rift Threatens US Effort To End Yemen War
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“A deepening rift over the fate of Yemen is endangering peace prospects with
risks for the oil-rich Gulf powers that are at the heart of it. After joining
forces to fight the Iranian-backed Houthi group that looked set to overrun
Yemen in 2015, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are backing rival
groups vying for control of a country that sits at the crossroads of vital
shipping lanes and on the edge of a major energy-exporting region. Now,
divisions over what a post-war Yemen should look like imperil a fragile truce
with the Houthis and threaten to escalate into a fresh round of bloodletting
between proxy groups supported by the UAE on one side and Saudi Arabia on the
other, said four people directly involved in events on the ground. Recent
clashes between Houthi fighters and forces backed by the UAE have already left
nearly two dozen dead.”



Voice Of America: Extremist Sect Threatens Protests After Yeshiva Student
Arrested For IDF Desertion
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“The extremist ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem Faction threatened on Wednesday to
hold demonstrations across the country and block roads during rush hour to
protest the arrest of a 23-year-old man for alleged military desertion. The man
from the central city of Bnei Brak, reportedly a student at the Ponevezh
Yeshiva, was detained by military police after he failed to turn up to the
Israel Defense Forces recruiting office, according to Hebrew media reports. The
Haredi population of Israel overwhelmingly opposes performing mandated national
civil or military service, seeing it as a way for secular forces to potentially
draw away its members. In recent years, there have been several large protests
against the IDF draft by the Jerusalem Faction, an anti-Zionist sect. The
drafting of ultra-Orthodox men into the military has long been highly
controversial, and even more so in recent months, with Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s hardline government planning a law to facilitate increased
exemptions for Haredim from military service.”



Somalia



Garowe Online: After Defeats By Al-Shabaab, Somalia Army Remobilizes Ahead Of
Operations
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“With a series of defeats inflicted on the Somali National Army [SNA],
particularly in Oswein village and its environs, troops have started
reorganizing themselves in several frontlines ahead of the second and perhaps
the final phase of operations against the Al-Shabaab militants. With President
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud moving around the country to encourage the troops to
soldier on, a number of them have been arraigned in military court for
"abdicating duties". A number of soldiers had withdrawn from various frontlines
after Al-Shabaab's victory in Casweyne/Oswein in central regions. According to
Investigative Dossier, government troops are moving to revive the military
offensive against al-Shabaab. Within the last few days Govt forces moved into
El Lahelay [Ceel Lahelay], and El Garas [Ceel Garas] in the Galgudud region,
the VOA-run program notes. At El-Garas town on Sunday, troops moved out
following an IED explosion with al-Shabaab moved back in but officials insist
the troops are still on the outskirts. These troops, the same unit that entered
El Lahelay appear to be cautious and they are staying together, The Dossier
reveals.”



Mali



Reuters: Malian Army And Northern Rebels Report Dozens Killed In Clashes
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“Mali's military and Tuareg rebels said there had been deadly clashes on
Tuesday in the northern town of Bourem, in a further sign of the unravelling of
a 2015 peace deal. The rebel alliance, called the Coordination of Azawad
Movements (CMA), has been fighting the army since August, a conflict unleashed
in part by the departure of a United Nations peacekeeping mission that for
years had helped maintain a fragile calm. But clashes appear to be intensifying
as both sides seek to control territory in areas recently vacated by the U.N.
Bourem is just 90 km (55 miles) north of the strategic city of Gao. The general
staff of the Malian armed forces said 10 combatants on its side were killed on
Tuesday repelling an attack near Bourem and said 46 enemy fighters had been
killed during the operation. The CMA said in a statement on Wednesday that it
had lost nine fighters and had killed about 97 Malian soldiers. The group,
formed by semi-nomadic Tuareg people, said it had attacked four army positions
around the town of Bourem and made away with vehicles, weapons and ammunition.”



The Times Of India: Mali Army Says About 10 Soldiers Died In Suicide Attack
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“Mali's on Tuesday said it had lost around ten soldiers in an attack last
week on a camp in the northern city of Gao that was claimed by
Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadists. In a post on its website, the army said a car
bomb attack on September 8 "caused around ten deaths... among the Malian Armed
Forces". The chief of general staff of the armies, General Oumar Diarra,
visited the site on Sunday, it added. No death toll had previously been
reported. The Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist alliance Support Group for Islam and
Muslims (GSIM) claimed responsibility for the incident the following day on the
Al-Zallaqa propaganda platform. SITE, an American NGO specialising in
monitoring radical groups, said four people carried out the attack. It took
place amid growing tensions between government forces and various armed actors,
and a succession of attacks and hostile acts around Gao and the ancient city of
Timbuktu. On September 7, at least 64 civilians and soldiers were killed in
twin attacks in the north attributed to jihadists.”



Southeast Asia



The Times Of India: 'Militants' In Police Commando Uniform Kill Three In
Manipur
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“Suspected militants disguised as police commandos killed three tribal
villagers travelling along a mud road meant to procure emergency food and
medicine supplies, early Tuesday morning in Manipur's Kangpokpi district,
keeping the brutal sectarian strife alive for more than four months now.
Security sources said at least nine militants sneaked into the hill territory
at night on foot after crossing the buffer zone through gaps in the security
deployment and laid an ambush between a Naga village, Ireng, and a Vaiphei
village, Kharam. Around 6.30 am, they attacked three unarmed villagers, Satneo
Tuboi (37), Ngamminlun Lhouvum (30) and Ngamminlun Kipgen (32), travelling in a
gypsy from Ponlen village to Kangpokpi for medical treatment and procuring
essential items. Security officials said the dirt road taken by the villagers
is the lone supply route between tribals in Kangchup areas and its Kangpokpi
district headquarters and it runs through Ireng Village Authority, the owners
of the land.”



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