CEP Mentions
UN Women’s Halting Response to Hamas Attack Requires U.S. Action
“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
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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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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