“Danish police made several arrests Thursday, saying they carried out the
operation “on suspicion of preparation for a terrorist attack.” The arrests
were made in “a coordinated action” in several locations in Denmark early
Thursday. No other details were given. The Copenhagen police and Denmark’s
domestic intelligence service were to give a press conference later.











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Eye on Extremism



December 14, 2023



Associated Press: Danish Police Arrest Several People Suspected Of Planning
Terror Attacks
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“Danish police made several arrests Thursday, saying they carried out the
operation “on suspicion of preparation for a terrorist attack.” The arrests
were made in “a coordinated action” in several locations in Denmark early
Thursday. No other details were given. The Copenhagen police and Denmark’s
domestic intelligence service were to give a press conference later. The terror
threat level in Denmark current is at level four, the second highest. Earlier
this month, the European Union’s home affairs commissioner, Ylva Johansson,
warned that Europe faces a “huge risk of terrorist attacks” over the Christmas
holiday period due to the fallout from the war between Israel and the
Palestinian militant group Hamas. In July 2022, a gunman at a shopping mall in
Copenhagen killed three people and injured seven. The man, who believed the
victims were zombies, was sentenced in July to detention in a secure medical
facility. He had been charged with murder and attempted murder in the rampage
at the huge Field’s shopping center on the outskirts of Copenhagen. In 2015, a
22-year-old Danish Muslim gunman killed two people and wounded five others at a
free speech event and a synagogue in Copenhagen.”



Wall Street Journal: Israel-Hamas War Enters Deadlier Phase With More Close
Combat
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“The Israeli military and Palestinian officials are reporting heavy losses as
fighting in Gaza intensifies, with Israel under increased international
pressure to move quickly to achieve war aims that remain out of reach for now.
Tuesday was one of the deadliest days for Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip
since the war began two months ago. Ten soldiers were killed in battle in the
northern part of the enclave, most of them under the age of 25, according to
the Israeli military. Israel’s most recent battlefield losses in Gaza show that
the military’s overarching goal—to cripple Hamas and its ability to harm
Israelis—remains elusive, including in the northern part of the Gaza Strip,
which has been the primary focus of military activity since the war’s outset.
Since the start of the war, 115 Israeli soldiers have died and around 600 have
been injured, according to the Israeli military. That is a greater number of
casualties than Israel’s military has experienced in its other Gaza ground
offensives. “I’m worried we will declare victory before winning the war,” said
Danny Danon, an Israeli lawmaker in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud
party. “We need to clarify what exactly are the goals of the war, what it
really means to win and eradicate Hamas.””

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CEP Mentions



UN Women’s Halting Response to Hamas Attack Requires U.S. Action
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“The UN Women organization calls itself a “global champion for women and
girls” but has failed in its response to the countless acts of
violence—including sexual violence— committed by Hamas against women and girls
on October 7. The US must demand UN Women redress this scandal — or face
consequences.”



Diplomatic Insight: The Ghost Of Terrorism Re-Emerges: The Resurgence Of
‘ISIS’ And ‘Al-Qaeda’ Organizational Activity And Their Strategy For Adaptation
And Resilience
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Al-Qaeda has shifted its focus towards the concept of the ‘near enemy’ rather
than the ‘far enemy,’ and the American withdrawal from Afghanistan allowed it
to regain its primary safe haven, after the Taliban reopened its old bases,
established training camps, rebuilt its organizational and operational
capabilities, and granted its members Afghan national identities for legitimate
residency. Therefore, Afghanistan has become a logistical hub for recruiting
and training Al-Qaeda fighters, and its terrorist operations have started to
surface in various regions across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.
According to a report by the International Security Council and another by the
Counter Extremism Project (CEP) on the state of terrorism in Afghanistan, both
issued in July 2023, there is a presence of around 10,000 foreign fighters in
Afghanistan affiliated with various terrorist groups, including approximately
900 from Al-Qaeda and its branch in the Indian subcontinent.



United States



CBS: Wife Of American Held Hostage By The Taliban Fears Time Is Running Out
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“Ryan and Anna Corbett, along with their three children, were among the
thousands of American passport holders who fled Afghanistan during the U.S.
military withdrawal in August 2021. They had a matter of hours to pack up their
lives into five carry-on suitcases. "To suddenly decide what could fit in and
what couldn't was just awful," Anna Corbett, 43, said in a recent interview
with CBS News. "We loved living there." For almost 12 years, Afghanistan's
capital city of Kabul had been home. The family moved there from Minneapolis in
2010, putting down roots, raising pets and welcoming their son, Caleb, who was
born in Afghanistan in 2011. He and his two sisters were homeschooled by Anna,
who had long shared an interest in travel and service with her husband. "I had
a lot of good times there," Caleb, now 13, said. "Just hanging out with my
Afghan friends. It was good." "I love the people there and I love the country.
It's beautiful there," he added. For the first few years, Ryan worked with
local NGOs. In 2017, he founded Bloom Afghanistan, a business consultancy
focused on strengthening Afghanistan's private sector. He taught business and
helped Afghans get microloans to buy livestock and auto rickshaws. "He learned
Pashto, and had a lot of relationships, and really enjoyed helping men find
their way forward and find ways they could make their country better," Anna
said.”



Reuters: U.S., Britain Impose More Sanctions On Hamas Officials
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“The United States and Britain on Wednesday imposed an additional round of
sanctions on people in Turkey and elsewhere who are linked to the Palestinian
Hamas militant group, the U.S. Treasury Department said. The sanctions target
eight officials who advance Hamas’ agenda and interests abroad and help manage
its finances, the Treasury said in a statement. "Hamas continues to rely
heavily on networks of well-placed officials and affiliates, exploiting
seemingly permissive jurisdictions to direct fundraising campaigns for the
group’s benefit and funneling those illicit proceeds to support its military
activities in Gaza," said Brian Nelson, under secretary of the Treasury for
Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. Several of the Hamas officials targeted
were based in Turkey, including one of the group's key financial operatives
there, Haroun Mansour Yaqoub Nasser Al-Din, Treasury said. Haroun Nasser Al-Din
has been involved in a network that transferred money from Turkey and Gaza to
the Hamas command center in the West Bank city of Hebron, it said, and helped
subsidize Hamas activities to further unrest in the West Bank. Nelson traveled
to Oman and Turkey at the end of November to work on U.S. efforts to deny Hamas
and other groups the ability to raise and move funds.”



Pakistan



Voice Of America: Pakistan Seeks U.S. Help Against Pakistani Taliban In
Afghanistan
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“Pakistan's army chief is in Washington this week seeking U.S. assistance
against what Islamabad alleges are terrorist havens in neighboring Afghanistan.
General Asim Munir is trying to convince U.S. security and defense officials
that militant groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic
State's Khorasan offshoot (IS-K) pose a threat not only to Pakistan but also to
U.S. and global security, experts say. "In seeking U.S. sympathy and support
for Pakistan's counterterrorism concerns, he may note the many years of
U.S.-Pakistan military cooperation that includes some counterterrorism
collaborations, as well as many years of military education and training
exchanges," said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the
Wilson Center. "He will likely also note that both countries face threats
emanating from Afghanistan, whether IS-K or TTP," Kugelman added. On Wednesday,
Munir met with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and discussed "recent regional
security developments and potential areas for bilateral defense cooperation,"
according to a brief statement from the Pentagon. Despite the withdrawal of
troops from Afghanistan over two years ago, the United States has retained what
U.S. officials term over-the-horizon capabilities in the region: the ability to
strike targets in response to security threats. In July 2022, a U.S. drone
strike killed Ayman al-Zawahiri the former al-Qaida chief in Kabul.”



Associated Press: Pakistan Court Says Military Trials Can Resume For 103
Supporters Of Imran Khan
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“Pakistan’s top court on Wednesday allowed military courts to resume the
trials of more than 100 supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on
charges of attacking military installations during violent demonstrations that
broke out following Khan’s arrest in May. The latest order by the Supreme Court
came less than two months after five judges on the same court stopped the trial
of 103 civilians who were arrested as part of a crackdown on Khan’s party,
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. The violence subsided only after Khan was released on
orders of Pakistan’s Supreme Court. Khan, 71, is currently serving three
sentences at a high-security prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. He was
removed as prime minister in April 2022 following a vote of no confidence in
Parliament. Though Khan is also accused of inciting people to violence, he is
not facing military trial. According to the prosecution, Khan was indicted by a
special court on charges of revealing official secrets on Wednesday, but his
lawyer Salman Safdar told reporters that his indictment was delayed after the
court adjourned the case until Thursday. It was not immediately clear what
caused confusion among Khan’s lawyers, as the prosecutor Zulfiqar Naqvi told
reporters that Khan entered a not guilty plea when charges were read out during
the court hearing at Adiyala prison.”



Yemen



Reuters: Tanker In Red Sea Targeted By Speedboat Gunfire And Missiles -Sources
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“A tanker in the Red Sea off Yemen's coast was fired on by gunmen in a
speedboat and targeted with missiles, maritime sources said on Wednesday, the
latest incident to threaten the shipping lane after Yemeni Houthi forces warned
ships not to travel to Israel. A second commercial vessel was also approached
by the speedboat in the same area though not attacked, British maritime
security firm Ambrey and other sources said. Separately, a U.S. defence
official in Washington said the U.S. Navy destroyer Mason on Wednesday shot
down a Houthi drone launched from Yemen that was headed in its direction as it
responded to reports of an attack on a commercial vessel. The U.S. official
said Houthis had attacked the commercial vessel Ardmore Encounter in skiffs and
then two missiles were fired from Yemen that missed the ship. The Ardmore
Encounter reported no damage or injuries and continued on its way. Ardmore
Shipping Corp, owner and operator of the Ardmore Encounter, confirmed the
vessel came under attack while transiting the Red Sea. "No one boarded the
vessel and all crew members are safe and accounted for. The vessel remains
fully operational with no loss of cargo or damage onboard, and is considered to
be out of immediate danger," the company said in a statement, adding the ship
"received military assistance during the attack".”



Associated Press: Missiles From Rebel-held Yemen Miss A Ship Loaded With Jet
Fuel Near The Key Bab El-Mandeb Strait
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“Two missiles fired from territory held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels missed a
commercial tanker loaded with Indian-manufactured jet fuel near the key Bab
el-Mandeb Strait on Wednesday, two U.S. officials said. It is the first time
they target an energy shipment heading to the Suez Canal. An American warship,
the USS Mason, also shot down a suspected Houthi drone flying in its direction
during the incident, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to
discuss intelligence matters. No one was hurt in the attack, the officials
said. The assault on the tanker Ardmore Encounter further escalates a campaign
by the Iranian-backed rebels targeting ships close to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait,
and also widens the international impact of the Israel-Hamas war raging in the
Gaza Strip. The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker was traveling north toward the
Suez Canal in the Red Sea, satellite tracking data analyzed by The Associated
Press showed. The vessel was on its way from Mangalore, India, and had an armed
security crew aboard it, according to data transmitted by the ship. Those
guards apparently opened fire to drive off skiffs loaded with men trying to
board the vessel, the private intelligence firm Ambrey said. Ardmore Shipping
Corp., which owns and operates the ship, issued a statement to the AP
acknowledging the attack.”



Lebanon



Forbes: Hezbollah Is Firing Rockets From Near A U.N. Compound In Lebanon
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“The Israel Defense Force says Hezbollah is launching rockets into Israel from
near a U.N. compound in southern Lebanon. What does the U.N. have to say about
it? The IDF reported the launches in a release on Tuesday. “One of the rockets
was launched 130 meters [426 ft.] from a U.N. compound in southern Lebanon.
Additional launches toward Israel have originated from this area in recent
weeks,” the release stated. In emailed replies to a series of questions I posed
about the Hezbollah rocket launches a spokesperson for the United Nations
Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) indicated that the U.N is aware of these
launches. They form part of a broader pattern in the Middle East wherein
terrorist organizations actively engage in hostilities while trying to leverage
the potential protection of nearby civilian and/or international/NGO facilities
for protection from counterstrikes. The IDF released an accompanying
infographic of the launches from the area of the UNFIL compound, the location
of which was not specified. The United Nations’ “Blue Line” dividing Lebanon
from Israel is noted in the lower right corner of the top panel, illustrating
the proximity of the compound to the Israel-Lebanon border.”



Middle East



The Sun: Panicked Hamas Terror Chiefs Flee Cushy Qatar Safe-Haven Over Threat
Of Assassination By Elite Mossad Hitmen
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At least three panicked senior Hamas members and their superiors recently ran
from Qatar, where the brutes have been allowed to run a political office for a
decade, in a desperate bid to escape the bounties on their heads. Israel's
intelligence services vowed to eliminate all of the savage militants
responsible for the bloody massacres of October 7 as the war in the Gaza Strip
winds down. Chief of the Israel Security Agency Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, said: "We
will look for them everywhere: in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon, in
Turkey, in Qatar, everywhere. It will take a few years, but we will do it." A
number of terrorist leaders have now fled Qatar, turning off their mobile
phones and refusing calls for fear of being tracked or caught, according to
Israeli media outlet Kan which cited sources in Doha.



Reuters: Israel Strikes Southern Gaza As Disease Stalks Residents
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“Israel kept up its barrage of the Gaza Strip on Thursday despite intensifying
international calls to reduce civilian casualties from its bombardment as a
surge in deadly diseases sweeps through displaced residents. Israel says its
attacks on Gaza are aimed at annihilating Hamas, the group whose fighters
stormed across the border fence from Gaza on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 Israelis,
mostly civilians, and seizing 240 hostages. Since then, Israel has laid much of
the Palestinian enclave to waste. At least 18,608 people have been killed and
50,594 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza, according to Gaza's health ministry.
The vast majority of the population of 2.3 million has fled their homes, many
sleeping rough, leaving them vulnerable to illness. At Nasser hospital in Khan
Younis, where the trauma ward has been overwhelmed with the wounded, sick
babies were also crammed several to a bed in the children's ward. "A number of
patients come with cases of extreme dehydration, some of which can get to the
point of kidney failure or weakening kidney function," said Dr Ahmed al-Farra,
head of pediatrics. There had already been up to 30 cases of hepatitis A, which
takes up to a month to incubate, he said.”



Associated Press: Israel Vows To Fight On In Gaza Despite Deadly Ambush And
Rising International Pressure
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“Israel has vowed to keep fighting in Gaza until it crushes Hamas after one of
the deadliest single battles of the war for its soldiers, even as it faces
mounting international calls for a cease-fire and unease on the part of its
closest ally, the United States. The ambush in Gaza City showed Hamas is still
able to fight in some of the hardest-hit areas more than two and a half months
into a massive air and ground war aimed at destroying its military
capabilities. Israel has imposed a total siege on northern Gaza and flattened
much of it, forcing most of the population to flee south several weeks ago.
Hamas’ resilience has called into question whether Israel can defeat it without
wiping out Gaza. Support for Hamas has surged among Palestinians — in part
because of the militant group’s stiff resistance to a far more powerful foe —
while Israel’s most important ally, the U.S., has expressed growing discomfort
over civilian deaths in what is already one of the 21st century’s most
devastating military campaigns. “We are continuing until the end, there is no
question,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Wednesday. “I say this
even given the great pain and the international pressure. Nothing will stop
us.””



Reuters: Most Israelis Want Hamas Crushed Despite Gaza Casualties, UN Rebuke
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“Israeli citizens said on Wednesday the army should not back off its
unrelenting offensive to crush Hamas, despite the U.N. General Assembly's
ceasefire call, the growing list of troop casualties and a spiralling
Palestinian death toll in Gaza. Israel's military suffered one of the deadliest
days in the two-month-old Gaza war on Tuesday, with a colonel among 10 soldiers
killed, bringing the toll to 115 - almost double the number killed during
clashes in the coastal enclave nine years ago. And with much of the enclave
laid to waste, conditions dire and more than 18,500 Palestinians killed in the
Israeli army's air and ground assault, U.S. President Joe Biden said the
"indiscriminate" bombing of Gazan civilians was costing Israel international
support. Polls in recent weeks show overwhelming backing for the war despite
the rising human costs. Six Israelis who spoke to Reuters on Wednesday said now
was not the time back down, regardless of fading global sympathy reflected in
Tuesday's U.N resolution. Hamas' killing of about 1,200 people, mostly
civilians, on Oct. 7 revived something Israel previously felt when Arabs staged
a surprise attack in 1973 - fears that its neighbours and enemies could do away
with the Jewish nation all together, said political scientist Tamar Hermann.”



Associated Press: Palestinian Poll Shows A Rise In Hamas Support And Close To
90% Wanting US-Backed Abbas To Resign
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“A wartime opinion poll among Palestinians published Wednesday shows a rise in
support for Hamas, which appears to have ticked up even in the devastated Gaza
Strip, and an overwhelming rejection of Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas,
with nearly 90% saying he must resign. The findings by a Palestinian pollster
signal more difficulties ahead for the Biden administration’s postwar vision
for Gaza and raise questions about Israel’s stated goal of ending Hamas’
military and governing capabilities. Washington has called for the West
Bank-based Palestinian Authority, currently led by Abbas, to eventually assume
control of Gaza and run both territories as a precursor to statehood. U.S.
officials have said the PA must be revitalized, without letting on whether this
would mean leadership changes. The PA administers pockets of the
Israeli-occupied West Bank and has governed Gaza until a takeover by Hamas
militants in 2007. The Palestinians have not held elections since 2006 when
Hamas won a parliamentary majority. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who
leads the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, has soundly rejected
any role for the PA in Gaza and insists Israel must retain open-ended security
control there.”



Nigeria



Reuters: Gunmen Kill Four Soldiers, Kidnap Two S. Korean Workers In Nigeria
Oil Region
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“Six people, including four soldiers, were killed while two South Korean
employees were kidnapped after gunmen ambushed their convoy in Nigeria's
oil-producing Niger Delta, a security source and the army said on Wednesday.
Attacks by militants in the Niger Delta have significantly decreased over the
years but the region remains volatile and suffers from crude oil theft and
vandalism of pipelines, which has hurt Nigeria's oil output. Danjuma Jonah
Danjuma, army spokesperson for Nigeria's 6 Division, said troops on routine
escort duty for an oil-servicing company in southern Rivers State were attacked
by suspected militants on Tuesday. "Unfortunately, 4 soldiers were killed in
action, with 2 other oil workers unaccounted for," Danjuma said in a statement.
A security source told Reuters that two civilian drivers had also died in the
attack, adding that the unaccounted for oil workers were South Korean
nationals.”



Mali



Reuters: Dozens Killed In Double Attack On Mali Army Camp And Village
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“Around two dozen soldiers and at least five civilians were killed when
militants attacked a military camp and a village in central Mali on Tuesday, a
local official said. The attack took place in a rural commune of Mali's
south-central Segou Region on Tuesday afternoon. Armed assailants stormed the
village of Farabougou and a nearby military camp, shooting everywhere, the
official said via telephone. Militants seized and destroyed the camp, killing
around 30 soldiers, said the official, who did not wish to be named. "There
were many civilian and military victims," he said, adding that the bodies of
five villagers had been found and many more were injured. The aftermath is
still being assessed, he said. Two other local officials confirmed the attack
but did not provide a death toll. One survivor told a local radio station that
the assailants kidnapped some male residents and killed the rest. "They took
the camp, killed all the soldiers and burnt it down," she said. Mali is one of
several West African countries fighting a jihadist insurgency that took root in
its arid north after militants hijacked a Tuareg rebellion in 2012. The
violence has spread across the Sahel region south of the Sahara, where groups
linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have seized swathes of territory, killed
thousands and displaced millions of people.”



Australia



The Guardian: Court Expected To Rule Next Week To Release Convicted Terrorist
Abdul Nacer Benbrika From Prison
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“A court is expected to rule on Tuesday next week that convicted terrorist
Abdul Nacer Benbrika should be released from prison and placed on a supervision
order that will force him to comply with strict conditions. Guardian Australia
understands that the Victorian supreme court will find Benbrika should be
released on an extended supervision order (ESO) on Tuesday, meaning that he
will free for the first time since being arrested on terror charges in 2005. He
was due for release in 2020 but instead became the first person held on a
continuing detention order (CDO), a post-sentence regime that the country’s
former national security legislation watchdog said should be scrapped.
Benbrika’s order was due to expire on 24 December. The attorney general’s
department applied for Benbrika to be placed on an ESO at the expiration of
this order, a spokesperson for the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, said, for
the maximum period of three years. “The commonwealth has taken the strongest
possible action available under law in accordance with the advice from all
operational agencies involved in the matter, including AFP and Victoria police.”



Technology



New York Times: State Dept.’s Fight Against Disinformation Comes Under Attack
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“A Republican-led campaign against researchers who study disinformation online
has zeroed in on the most prominent American government agency dedicated to
countering propaganda and other information operations from terrorists and
hostile nations. The agency, the State Department’s Global Engagement Center,
is facing a torrent of accusations in court and in Congress that it has helped
the social media giants — including Facebook, YouTube and X — to censor
Americans in violation of the First Amendment. The attorney general of Texas,
Ken Paxton, and two conservative digital news outlets last week became the
latest plaintiffs to sue the department and its top officials, including
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken. The lawsuit said the center’s work was
“one of the most egregious government operations to censor the American press
in the history of the nation.” The center faces a more existential threat in
Congress. House Republicans blocked a proposal this month to reauthorize the
center, which began in 2011 to counter the propaganda of terrorist groups like
Al Qaeda and the Islamic State. A small agency, with a regular staff of 125
people, many of them contractors, and a budget of $61 million, the center
coordinates efforts across the government to track and expose propaganda and
disinformation from Russia, China and other adversaries. With its mandate set
to expire at the end of next year, the center is now operating under a shroud
of uncertainty, even though its supporters say there is no evidence to back the
charges against it.”



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