Eye on Extremism

November 1, 2023 

Reuters: Yemen's Houthis Enter Mideast Fray, Hardening Spillover Fears

“Yemen's Houthis have waded into the Israel-Hamas war raging more than 1,000 miles from their seat of power in Sanaa, declaring on Tuesday they had fired drones and missiles at Israel in attacks that highlight the regional risks of the conflict. Part of an "Axis of Resistance" backed by Iran, the Houthis have rallied behind the Palestinians since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, opening a new front for a movement that has waged war for eight years with a Saudi-led coalition in the Gulf. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a televised statement the group had launched a "large number" of ballistic missiles and drones towards Israel, and there would be more such attacks to come "to help the Palestinians to victory". His statement confirmed the widening scope of a conflict that has unnerved states including the world's biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia, hardening fears of spillover as Israel seeks to destroy Hamas in its Gaza Strip stronghold. Saree said it was the Houthis' third attack on Israel since the start of the conflict, appearing to confirm they were behind a drone attack on Oct. 28 that resulted in blasts in Egypt and was blamed by Israel on the Houthis, and an Oct. 19 incident in which the U.S. navy intercepted three cruise missiles.”

The New York Times: Israel Struck A Dense Area In Gaza, Saying It Killed Hamas Militants

“Airstrikes that Israel said were aimed at Hamas militants hit the densely populated area of Jabaliya in Gaza today, leaving a large crater and causing widespread damage. The Gaza Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, said the strikes killed or wounded “hundreds” of people. A doctor at a nearby hospital said the facility was receiving hundreds of injured and that dozens were dead. The Israeli military said its strike had killed Hamas militants, including Ibrahim Biari, a commander who it said had helped plan the massacres in Israel on Oct. 7. It also said that the “underground terror infrastructure” beneath the buildings in Jabaliya had collapsed following the strike. Photographs showed shattered apartment blocks and piles of rubble around at least one large crater in the area. Another photograph, published by Reuters, showed white sheets wrapped around what appeared to be more than 30 bodies laid on the ground. Israeli ground troops and tanks continued to push deeper into Gaza today, edging closer to Gaza City, the local authorities said. See a detailed satellite view of the invasion.” On the ground: Humanitarian officials warned that two million Palestinian civilians in Gaza faced a growing catastrophe. Access to water is dwindling.”

The CEP CounterPoint: Expert Analysis

• Violence-Oriented Right-Wing Extremist Actors in Russia: Night Wolves - Part 2
• Violence-Oriented Right-Wing Extremist Actors in Russia: Night Wolves - Part 1
• CEP-KAS: Sahel Monitoring September 2023 
• Hamas’s Attack on Israel: This Must be a Moment of International Action
• Violence-Oriented Right-Wing Extremist Actors in Russia: The Other Russia of E. V. Limonov – Part 2

CEP Mentions

Wall Street Journal: Is Qatar A Middle-East Fireman Or Arsonist?

“…Qatar is said to “engage with all sides.” More accurately, Qatar plays all sides, performing the role of disinterested arbiter while its more authentic, pro-Hamas messaging is aired on its state-funded mouthpiece, Al Jazeera. Mere hours after Hamas’s slaughter of 1,400 Israelis, Qatar declared that Israel was “solely responsible.” Qatar has had every opportunity to hand over the perpetrators of Oct. 7 to face justice. It has flatly refused. We at the Counter Extremism Project will continue our campaign for the economic and diplomatic isolation of Qatar until every hostage is released, every Hamas leader is arrested and Qatar makes clear by its actions—not only words—that in the war against terrorism it is on our side.

United States

Voice Of America: Thousands Of Afghans Seek Asylum In US, Congress Yet To Pass Adjustment Act

“The number of Afghans seeking asylum in the United States has jumped to 19,000 over the past two years, marking a sharp contrast to the annual double- and triple-digit figures previously reported by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. From 2013 to 2021, the United States granted asylum to fewer than 1,000 Afghans in total. The sharp rise in the number of Afghan asylum-seekers is directly linked to the evacuation by the U.S. military of more than 124,000 individuals, mostly Afghan nationals, from Kabul International Airport in August 2021. After undergoing initial security and health screenings at U.S. military bases in Qatar, Germany and other countries, the Afghan evacuees subsequently entered the United States under a status known as humanitarian parole. In May 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees USCIS, announced Temporary Protected Status registration for 72,500 Afghans, allowing them to work and live in the country until Nov. 20, 2023. Last month, Homeland Security said it is extending the program until May 2025 to cover previous and newly eligible individuals.”

Reuters: Hamas Attack Will Inspire Greatest US Terror Threat Since ISIS, FBI Director Says

“The attack by Hamas on Israel will inspire the most significant terror threat to the United States since the rise of ISIS nearly a decade ago, FBI Director Christopher Wray said at a congressional hearing on Tuesday. Wray said that since the start of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza earlier this month, multiple foreign terrorist organizations have called for attacks against Americans and the West, raising the threat posed by homegrown U.S. violent extremists. "The actions of Hamas and its allies will serve as an inspiration the likes of which we haven't seen since ISIS launched its so-called caliphate several years ago," Wray said. The remarks came during a hearing before the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee focused on threats to the United States. The U.S. government has seen an increase in threats against Jews, Muslims and Arab Americans since fighting broke out in Gaza, officials have said. The number of attacks on U.S. military bases overseas by Iran-backed militia groups have risen this month, Wray said. Cyber attacks against the United States by Iran and non-state actors will likely worsen if the conflict expands, he said.”

Syria

Voice Of America: Pentagon: 27 Attacks Target US Forces In Iraq, Syria

“U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria have been attacked with drones or rockets at least 27 times in recent days, as more U.S. forces deploy to the region, Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder said Tuesday. At least seven of these attacks were launched after U.S. forces in the early morning hours of Friday struck two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated groups. The U.S. strikes were in response to earlier attacks on U.S. forces and were "narrowly tailored … to protect and defend U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria," Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement. None of the attacks carried out since the U.S. retaliatory strikes on Friday has caused casualties or damage, according to defense officials. The latest attack occurred Monday and used multiple one-way attack drones to target al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq, said a defense official who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity due to security sensitivities. Multiple rockets were used in another attack on al-Asad on Monday, and rockets targeted U.S. and coalition forces at two locations in eastern Syria as well, one at a base known as Green Village and another at Mission Support Site Euphrates.”

Middle East

The Times Of India: 'Surrender To Terrorism': Israel On Bolivia's Decision To Cut Diplomatic Ties Over Ongoing Conflict With Hamas

“Israel has called the decision of Bolivia to cut diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv over the Hamas war a "surrender to terrorism". The Spokesperson of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lior Haiat, in a post on social media platform X, wrote, "The decision of the Bolivian government to break diplomatic relations with Israel is a surrender to terrorism and the Ayatollah regime in Iran. "By adopting this measure, the Bolivian government is aligning itself with the terrorist organization Hamas, which massacred more than 1,400 Israelis and kidnapped 240 people, including children, women, babies and the elderly," he added. The spokesperson further said that Israel condemns Bolivia's support for terrorism and its submission to the Iranian regime. "Israel condemns Bolivia's support for terrorism and its submission to the Iranian regime, which reflect the values that the Bolivian government represents. Since the change of government in Bolivia, relations between the countries have lacked content," he said. The Spokesperson of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the remarks following the Bolivian government's announcement on Tuesday that it would be cutting diplomatic ties with Israel over the country's ongoing war with Hamas.”

Mali

Associated Press: UN Peacekeepers Have Departed A Rebel Stronghold In Northern Mali Early As Violence Increases

“United Nations peacekeepers on Tuesday withdrew from a rebel stronghold in northern Mali weeks earlier than planned because of growing insecurity, leaving the town in the hands of ethnic Tuareg separatists. Underscoring the uptick in violence, at least two peacekeepers were wounded en route to the largest U.N. base in Gao. “The peacekeepers’ convoy that left Kidal this morning was the victim of two improvised explosive device attacks,” Myriam Dessables, head of communications for the U.N. mission known as MINUSMA, told The Associated Press. JNIM, an extremist group with links to al-Qaida, later claimed responsibility for the attack. MINUSMA has now left eight of its 13 bases after Mali’s junta earlier this year ordered the 15,000-strong mission to leave the West African country, claiming it had failed in its mission in trying to contain an Islamic extremist insurgency. “The conditions for the departure of all these bases were extremely difficult and trying, for a variety of reasons — all completely beyond the mission’s control — including the deterioration of the security situation and the resulting multiple threats to peacekeepers,” MINUSMA said in a statement confirming the latest departure.”

India

Reuters: Armed Militants Kill Police Officer, Ambush Security Convoy In India's Manipur

“Armed militants shot dead a senior police officer and wounded two others in separate attacks in India's Manipur on Tuesday, officials said, the latest episodes of violence in the restive state where ethnic clashes have killed at least 180 people this year. A police spokesperson said militants opened fire at a sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) while the officer was overseeing the construction of a helipad in Moreh, a trading town on the border with Myanmar. Ethnic clashes erupted in the northeastern state on May 3 as members of the majority Meitei ethnic group and minority Kuki tribals fought over sharing government benefits and quotas in jobs and education. Sporadic violence has continued since the peak of the clashes, despite tens of thousands of extra security personnel being deployed, marking a rare security failure for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government in a state ruled by his Bharatiya Janata Party. The police spokesperson said militants that attacked the senior official belonged to the Kuki community. No arrests have been made so far. The Meitei make up 53% of Manipur's population, while the Kuki account for 16%.”

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