“It was a bloody reminder that the dark days of extremist violence appeared to
have returned to Pakistan: a suicide attack on a religious festival in the
country’s southwest this past week that left around 60 people dead. For nearly
a decade, Pakistan had seemingly broken the cycle of such deadly attacks. In
2014, the country’s security forces carried out a large-scale military
operation in the tribal areas near Afghanistan, forcing militants across the
border and returning a relative peace to the restive frontier region. But since
the Taliban seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021, offering
some groups safe haven on Afghan soil and starting a crackdown on others that
pushed their fighters into neighboring Pakistan, the violence has roared back.
The number of terrorist attacks in Pakistan rose by around 50 percent during
the Taliban’s first year in power, compared with the year before, according to
the Pak Institute for Peace Studies, which monitors extremist violence and is
based in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.”











<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>





Eye on Extremism



October 3, 2023



The New York Times: With Surge In Attacks, Militants Begin New Era Of
Bloodshed In Pakistan
<[link removed]>



“It was a bloody reminder that the dark days of extremist violence appeared to
have returned to Pakistan: a suicide attack on a religious festival in the
country’s southwest this past week that left around 60 people dead. For nearly
a decade, Pakistan had seemingly broken the cycle of such deadly attacks. In
2014, the country’s security forces carried out a large-scale military
operation in the tribal areas near Afghanistan, forcing militants across the
border and returning a relative peace to the restive frontier region. But since
the Taliban seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021, offering
some groups safe haven on Afghan soil and starting a crackdown on others that
pushed their fighters into neighboring Pakistan, the violence has roared back.
The number of terrorist attacks in Pakistan rose by around 50 percent during
the Taliban’s first year in power, compared with the year before, according to
the Pak Institute for Peace Studies, which monitors extremist violence and is
based in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.”



Reuters: Turkey Arrests 145 People Over Suspected Links To Kurdish Militants
<[link removed]>



“Turkish police detained about 145 people across the country overnight
suspected of links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), state media
reported on Tuesday, two days after a bomb attack in Ankara claimed by the
militant group. On Sunday, two attackers detonated a bomb near government
buildings in Ankara, killing them both and wounding two police officers. The
outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group claimed responsibility.
Turkey subsequently carried out air strikes on militant targets in northern
Iraq and detained suspects in Istanbul overnight, hours after the PKK made its
claim of responsibility. The latest police operations were centered in Turkey's
southeastern Sanliurfa province. Four hundred and sixty-six operations have
been carried out against the "intelligence units" of Kurdish militant group PKK
across the country, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on the X
social media platform on Tuesday. Fifty-five suspects have been detained in 16
provinces, he added.”



<[link removed]>



Syria



Associated Press: Syria Says Israeli Airstrikes In An Eastern Province Wounded
2 Soldiers
<[link removed]>



“Syrian state media said Tuesday that the Israeli military carried out
airstrikes in a strategic eastern province wounding two soldiers and causing
material damage. There was no comment from Israel on the reported strikes.
Syria’s state news agency, SANA, quoted an unnamed military official as saying
the airstrikes late Monday targeted military positions in Deir el-Zour. The
eastern Deir el-Zour province that borders Iraq contains oil fields and has
been a strategic province throughout Syria’s conflict, now in its 13th year.
Iran-backed militia groups and Syrian forces control the area and have often
been the target of Israeli war planes in previous strikes. Britain-based
opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and activist
collective Deir Ezzor 24 said the airstrike targeted positions in the Boukamal
region along the Iraqi border, a stronghold for Iran-backed militia groups.
Both said they could not identify the source of the airstrike. Israel has
carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts
of war-torn Syria in recent years, including attacks on the airports in the
capital of Damascus, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations.
The strikes often target Syrian forces or Iranian-backed groups.”



Pakistan



Voice Of America: Pakistan Tightens Entry Rules For Afghan Travelers
<[link removed]>



“Pakistan has decided that all citizens of neighboring Afghanistan will be
required to enter the country with a valid passport and visa starting next
month, similar to travelers from other countries, VOA learned Monday. The
landmark "one document regime" policy will replace the decades-old practice of
granting special travel permits to individuals with divided tribes straddling
the nearly 2,600-kilometer border between the two countries. The "passport as
the only traveling document is going to be implemented from November 1, 2023,"
according to an official federal directive sent to immigration authorities at
all Afghan border crossings and seen by VOA. "No other document shall be
accepted to travel from Afghanistan to Pakistan," the document said. It
instructed relevant authorities to make necessary arrangements and advertise
the decision in "visible places" at all crossing points along the border. The
government has yet to make a formal announcement about the new policy.
Pakistani Interior Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said Monday that he would discuss in
detail Afghan-related policy matters at a news conference on Tuesday. A senior
Pakistani official confirmed the new travel rules for Afghans to VOA, saying
Islamabad hopes Afghanistan's Taliban authorities will cooperate in
implementing the decision. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was
not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.”



The Times Of India: Taliban, Terror And China: How 'Multiple Chickens Are
Coming Home To Roost' For Pakistan
<[link removed]>



“Taking a veiled dig at Pakistan, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said
the economic problems in the cash-strapped "unnamed country to our west" are a
result of multiple factors including excessive expenditure on military and
imprudent borrowing. Without explicitly naming Pakistan, Jaishankar said, "The
unnamed country to our west which we are talking about, their problems are much
more long-term, they are deeper historically in terms of what happens when
distortions have been introduced into the natural progress of an economy."
Jaishankar was speaking at a discussion organised by US think tank Hudson
Institute in Washington. "If you have excessive expenditure on the military or
if your borrowing has not been prudent or if you have infrastructure which
doesn't pay its way. I think there are lot of factors there. Multiple chickens
are coming home to roost," he said in response to a question during the
discussion. With terror attacks rising and the nation in the grips of a
catastrophic economic crisis -- all while its 'all-weather ally' China takes a
wait-and-watch approach -- here are some of the ways Pakistan is now suffering
due to its own poor decisions and policies.”



Middle East



The Times Of Israel: Gazan Terrorists Test Fire Rockets Days After Border
Riots Halted
<[link removed]>



“Gazans test-fired several rockets from the coastal enclave toward the
Mediterranean Sea Tuesday morning, setting off an alert in southern Israel, the
military said. The launches, claimed by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror
group, came days after Gazan groups halted nearly two weeks of escalating riots
along the security fence, including balloon-borne incendiary devices lofted
into Israel. The Israel Defense Forces said the rockets were aimed at the sea
and did not cross into Israeli territory. Islamic Jihad’s armed Al-Quds
Brigades confirmed carrying out a live fire drill “simulating raids on several
Zionist military sites and fortifications,” in a statement posted to messaging
app Telegram. The group said the exercises included “advanced offensive
maneuver at one of our sites with live ammunition, with the participation of
elite forces, including missiles, artillery, armor, and intelligence.” Footage
from the Israeli side of the Gaza border showed the launches. Due to the
proximity of the launch site to the Israeli border, an alert on the Home Front
Command application was activated in an open area in southern Israel, adjacent
to the northern Gaza Strip. Sirens did not go off in any towns in the region.”



Somalia



The Economist: The Drawdown Of African Peacekeepers From Somalia Has Stalled
<[link removed]>



“On peacekeeping mission anywhere has been as deadly, nor has any African-led
one lasted as long. After almost 17 years of trying to stabilise Somalia and
beat back jihadists, and perhaps 3,500 casualties among peacekeepers, many had
been looking forward to the next phase in the winding down of an almost
18,000-strong African Union (au) force. Yet plans to withdraw 3,000 troops at
the end of September have just been shelved, The Economist has learned. This is
because of concerns that Somalia’s army will be unable to hold territory that
had previously been recaptured from al-Shabab, a jihadist group that America’s
military command for Africa has termed “the largest and most deadly al-Qaeda
network in the world”. On September 30th the au agreed to pause the drawdown
for three months after a last-minute plea from Somalia, according to several
people with knowledge of the matter. A statement may be released this week,
possibly after a meeting between officials from the AU and UN Security Council.
An extension needs the approval of the Security Council, which had previously
said that the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) should number
no more than 14,626 from October and be completely withdrawn by the end of
2024. (A first phase of the drawdown saw 2,000 going home in June).”



India



The Times Of India: 'Working For Islamic State': Delhi Police Operation Brings
Spotlight Back On ISI Role
<[link removed]>



“The anti-terror operation undertaken by Delhi Police's Special Cell has led
the cops to probe deeper into a sinister operation run by Pakistan's ISI using
Indian fugitives Farhatullah Ghori and his son-in-law, Shahid Faisal. The two
men have been found to be radicalising and handling Indian Muslim youths in the
name of the Islamic State. Ghori alias Abu Sufiyan and Faisal absconded to
Pakistan after the Akshardham terror attack of 2002 and live there under the
aegis of that country's spy agency. A deep infiltration on the Telegram
accounts which the arrested suspects were in contact with shows that Ghori and
Faisal masqueraded as the foreign handlers of the module and recruiters of
Islamic State in Khorasan Province. "It was in reality a Lashkar-e-Taiba module
though the members thought they were working for Islamic State," revealed a
source The cops also found imprints of ISI in the use of pipes for bomb making
taught to the module members. Using pipes for bombs was once the hallmark of
members of SIMI, Kashmir-based groups and even the Indian Mujahideen.
Confirming the developments, special commissioner of police HGS Dhaliwal said
that the Special Cell had continuously kept surveillance on the activities of
the suspected operatives of ISIS and their contacts/sympathisers with special
focus on Delhi-centric suspects.”



The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If
you value what we do, please consider making a donation.

DONATE NOW
<[link removed]>
 




Click here to unsubscribe.
<[link removed]>