United States
Associated Press: Jury Selection Opens In Terrorism Trial Of Extended Family Members Dating To 2018 New Mexico Raid
“Jury selection began Monday in federal court as members of an extended family confronted kidnapping and terrorism charges stemming from the search for a missing 3-year-old boy by agents who raided a squalid New Mexico encampment in 2018. The boy’s badly decomposed remains were eventually found in an underground tunnel at the compound on the outskirts of Amalia near the Colorado line. Authorities allege the family engaged in firearms and tactical training in preparation for attacks against the government, tied to an apparent belief that the boy would be resurrected as Jesus Christ and provide instructions. An exact cause of death was never determined amid accusations that the boy, who was sickly, had been deprived of crucial medication linked to disabilities. Federal prosecutors opted for kidnapping charges. The two men and two women on trial have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to support planned attacks on U.S. law enforcement officers, military members and government employees. They also deny the kidnapping charges leveled against three of the defendants.”
ABC: Cuba Denounces Attack On Its U.S. Embassy As Terrorism
“The U.S. on Monday condemned an attack on Cuba's embassy in Washington, in which a man allegedly threw two Molotov cocktails at the mission. Cuba described the incident Sunday night as a "terrorist attack." No one was injured. "This is the second violent attack against #Cuba's diplomatic mission," Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Cuba's Foreign Minister, wrote on social media, referring to an incident in April 2020 in which a man opened fire on the building. There were no injuries from that attack either. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez also called the incident a "terrorist attack," adding on social media that it was an "act of violence and impotence that could have cost valuable lives. We denounce it and await action from the North American authorities." State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on Monday said the U.S. was in touch with the Cuban embassy and was committed to the safety and security of diplomatic facilities and personnel.”
The Independent: How White Supremacist Fight Clubs Are Building Covert Far-Right Militias
“... At least 46 so-called “active clubs” – which publicly promote “brotherhood” and training in combat sports and fitness while covertly advancing fascist and neo-Nazi agendas and preparing for large-scale violence – have sprouted in 34 states between 2020 and 2023, according to the report from the Counter Extremism Project. That relatively rapid growth is alarming researchers who have closely tracked the explosion in far-right extremism and white supremacist movements in recent years, parallel to a surge in threats of political violence and violences towards marginalised groups. “I’ve never seen a network in right-wing extremism grow so fast. Usually it takes years to build a transnational network,” report author and CEP adviser Alexander Ritzmann told VICE News, which first reported the research. “It’s concerning.” While the groups outwardly promote group fitness events like boxing, jiu jitsu and other martial arts, the narratives surrounding their creation typically rely on white grievances and victimhood and empowerment through white supremacy, according to the report.
Al Mayadeen: Network Of Far-Right Militias Covertly Proliferating In US: Report
“A recent report by Counter Extremism Project, published by The Independent, shows that extremist organizations with white supremacist ideologies are employing the guise of fitness and martial arts to attract and expand their ranks, effectively establishing a new network of militias across the United States, Canada, and Europe. According to the report, at least 46 "active clubs" have emerged in 34 US states between 2020 and 2023. These clubs publicly promote "brotherhood" and training in combat sports and fitness while covertly recruiting members into extremist militias.”
Iraq
The National: Iraq Vows It 'Will Not Be Lenient' With Elizabeth Tsurkov's Kidnappers
“Iraq has said it will show no leniency to the kidnappers of an Israeli-Russian researcher who has been missing for more than six months, as international pressure mounts on Baghdad to move forward with the investigation. Elizabeth Tsurkov, a PhD student at Princeton University in the US, who was conducting research in Baghdad when she was kidnapped, was last seen leaving a coffee shop in the Iraqi capital in March. The Israeli government believes she is being held by Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Iraqi armed militia. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani said from New York that authorities were still investigating. "Our security forces are responsible for ensuring security for all those arriving in Iraq, including the woman who entered Iraq with a Russian passport and disappeared months ago,” Mr Al Sudani told CNN, referring to Ms Tsurkov. “We are following the case, we are serious about revealing her fate and we will not be lenient," he said, without giving out further details. “We are following the case, we are serious about revealing her fate and we will not be lenient," he said, without giving out further details.”
Afghanistan
Voice Of America: Taliban Weighs Using US Mass Surveillance Plan, Met With China's Huawei
“The Taliban are creating a large-scale camera surveillance network for Afghan cities that could involve repurposing a plan crafted by the Americans before their 2021 pullout, an interior ministry spokesman told Reuters, as authorities seek to supplement thousands of cameras already across the capital, Kabul. The Taliban administration — which has publicly said it is focused on restoring security and clamping down on Islamic State, which has claimed many major attacks in Afghan cities — has also consulted with Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei about potential cooperation, the spokesman said. Preventing attacks by international militant groups — including prominent organizations such as Islamic State — is at the heart of the interaction between the Taliban and many foreign nations, including the U.S. and China, according to readouts from those meetings. But some analysts question the cash-strapped regime's ability to fund the program, and rights groups have expressed concern that any resources will be used to crackdown on protesters.”
Middle East
Associated Press: Bahrain Says Attack By Yemen Rebels Kills A Bahraini Officer And A Soldier On The Saudi Border
“A drone attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels killed a Bahraini officer and soldier who were patrolling Saudi Arabia’s southern border early Monday, Bahrain’s military command said. The Houthis did not immediately acknowledge carrying out the attack as efforts to strike a peace deal between Riyadh and the rebels continue. The military statement, carried by the state-run Bahrain News Agency, says “a number” of Bahraini soldiers were also wounded in the strike, without elaborating. “This terrorist attack was carried out by the Houthis, who sent aircraft targeting the position of the Bahraini guards on the southern border of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia despite the halt of military operations between the warring sides in Yemen,” the statement said. It did not identify the site of the attack. Bahrain later repatriated the bodies to the island kingdom, where they were met by an honor guard and top military officials.”
The Times Of Israel: Israel Strikes Hamas Post Near Gaza Border Amid Violent Rioting
“The Israeli military said it launched a strike in the Gaza Strip on Monday evening, the second within a day, targeting a “military position” of the Palestinian terror group Hamas. The military said it carried out the strike using unmanned aircraft after there was gunfire toward Israel Defense Forces troops during disturbances by dozens of Gazan rioters along the border, the latest violent rally near the barrier in what has become a daily occurrence. From the timing of the IDF announcement, it appeared that the strike may have been carried out during Yom Kippur. The IDF additionally said troops used sniper fire and deployed crowd dispersal means against the rioters, adding that several were hit. “IDF forces fired at a terrorist who shot toward troops and hit him,” the military said. Two Palestinians were wounded by “Israeli bullets,” the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza said in a statement. In addition, rioters burned tires and threw rocks at soldiers who responded with tear gas.”
Nigeria
Associated Press: Security Forces Rescue 14 Students Abducted From Nigerian University
“Security forces rescued 14 out of at least 20 students abducted from a university in northwestern Nigeria and were searching for the remaining captives, school authorities said Monday. Gunmen attacked the school in the hard-hit Zamfara state’s Bungudu district last week and fled with the students and some workers in the first mass school abduction in the West African nation since President Bola Tinubu took office in May. Such abductions of students from schools are common in Nigeria’s northwest and central regions where armed groups often take people hostage in exchange for huge ransoms which analysts have said help them to buy guns and sustain their operations. The 14 students from the Federal University Gusau were rescued alongside two other people, a statement from the university said, without further details about when they were freed or the nature of the rescue operation. “The sad and unfortunate incident has indeed thrown the University community into serious tension and apprehension,” the statement said, adding that security forces were “doing their best” to rescue the remaining students. It also said steps were being taken to boost security around the university.”
United Kingdom
The Independent: Men Who Confronted Fishmonger’s Hall Terrorist To Be Honoured
“Two men who tackled the Fishmongers’ Hall terror attacker in 2019 are set to be honoured at Windsor Castle. John Crilly and Likasz Koczocik, two of the four men who confronted convicted terrorist Usman Khan until armed police arrived at the scene, will receive the Queen’s Gallantry Medal on Tuesday. The decoration is awarded for exemplary acts of bravery. The pair featured on this year’s Civilian Gallantry List, the last to be approved by the late Queen. Ex-prisoner Mr Crilly hosed Khan with a fire extinguisher after Mr Koczocik had used a long ceremonial pike taken from the walls of the Grade II-listed building to disarm him. The attacker was tackled to the ground and restrained until armed police arrived. Khan, who had two large knives and a fake suicide belt, stabbed Cambridge graduates Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, and injured three other people before running on to London Bridge. Among the other people receiving an honour is Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns who will be awarded damehood at Windsor Castle for her political and public service.”
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