“ISIS has claimed responsibility for a deadly Iran bombing that killed more
than 80 people and wounded scores more. ISIS, seen as a terrorist group by most
of the world, said in a widely circulated statement that suicide bombers
detonated explosive belts in the middle of the crowd that had gathered in the
southeastern Iranian city of Kerman. ISIS, an anti-Shia and anti-Iranian
faction, has fought against Iran for years across the Middle East, and though
largely defeated, it maintains a presence in the region. A U.S. official on
Wednesday said the working theory is that ISIS carried out the bombing, saying
it was consistent with previous attacks. The bombing killed 84 people and
wounded more than 140 more in one of the deadliest attacks in Iran since 1979.”











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Eye on Extremism



January 5, 2024



The Hill: ISIS Claims Responsibility For Deadly Iran Bombing
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“ISIS has claimed responsibility for a deadly Iran bombing that killed more
than 80 people and wounded scores more. ISIS, seen as a terrorist group by most
of the world, said in a widely circulated statement that suicide bombers
detonated explosive belts in the middle of the crowd that had gathered in the
southeastern Iranian city of Kerman. ISIS, an anti-Shia and anti-Iranian
faction, has fought against Iran for years across the Middle East, and though
largely defeated, it maintains a presence in the region. A U.S. official on
Wednesday said the working theory is that ISIS carried out the bombing, saying
it was consistent with previous attacks. The bombing killed 84 people and
wounded more than 140 more in one of the deadliest attacks in Iran since 1979.”



Associated Press: Houthis Launch Sea Drone To Attack Ships Hours After US,
Allies Issue Final Warning
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“An armed unmanned surface vessel launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen got
within a “couple of miles” of U.S. Navy and commercial vessels in the Red Sea
before detonating on Thursday, just hours after the White House and a host of
partner nations issued a final warning to the Iran-backed militia group to
cease the attacks or face potential military action. Vice Admiral Brad Cooper,
the head of U.S. Navy operations in the Middle East, said it was the first time
the Houthis had used an unmanned surface vessel, or USV, since their harassment
of commercial ships in the Red Sea began after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas
war. They have, however, used them in years past. Fabian Hinz, a missile expert
and research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said
the USV’s are a key part of the Houthi maritime arsenal and were used during
previous battles against the Saudi coalition forces that intervened in Yemen’s
war. They have regularly been used as suicide drone boats that explode upon
impact.”




Recent CEP Press Releases

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New CEP Report: The Wagner Group In The Central Sahel – Decolonization Or
Destabilization?
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CEP BRIEF: HAMAS LEADER SALEH AL-AROURI KILLED IN ALLEGED ISRAELI STRIKE IN
LEBANON
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MULTIPLE ARRESTS IN EUROPE HIGHLIGHT COMPLEX THREAT OF ISLAMIST TERRORISM
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Help Support CEP’s Influential Monitoring Of Afghanistan Since The Taliban
Takeover
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CEP Webinar: Spying, Extorting and Filtering – How The Houthis Control
Telecommunications In Yemen
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United States



Associated Press: New Jersey Police Seek Killer Of A Muslim Leader Outside
Newark Mosque
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“Police in New Jersey hunted Thursday for the killer of a Muslim leader who
was shot outside his mosque before morning prayers, offering cash to anyone who
can help them make an arrest. Authorities said they had no evidence that
religious hate motivated the imam’s slaying, but vowed to protect people of
faith amid soaring reports of bias attacks across the U.S. The killing of Imam
Hassan Sharif as he prepared to open the Masjid Muhammad-Newark mosque on
Wednesday has generated an intense law enforcement dragnet. The state’s
attorney general pledged to assist county and local officials, and the Essex
County sheriff announced a $25,000 reward. Sharif’s shooting comes amid
intensifying bias incidents against Muslims and Jews since Hamas committed
terror attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, provoking a punishing war in the Gaza
Strip. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim
civil rights and advocacy organization, recorded more than 2,000 bias incidents
against U.S. Muslims in the first two months since the Mideast attacks began,
up from nearly 800 in the same period last year.”



The Washington Examiner: White House Forcefully Defends UNRWA Amid Alleged
Terrorism Ties: 'They Do Great Work In Gaza'
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“The White House defended the United Nations Relief and Works Agency Thursday
as Republican lawmakers are demanding investigations into reports that the aid
body's staff has embedded with Hamas and aiding the terror organization in Gaza
and throughout the Middle East. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby
defended the agency, however, when asked if Republicans' calls to investigate
the agency have shifted the administration's "strategy" regarding the
organization. Former President Donald Trump forcibly cut ties with UNRWA in
2018, but the group again began receiving money from the U.S. after President
Joe Biden entered office in 2021. Since that time, the U.S. has sent UNRWA more
than $700 million.”



Iran



Associated Press: Iran Mourns Those Slain In Islamic State-Claimed Suicide
Blasts As Death Toll Rises To 89
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“Iranian officials tried Friday to link Israel and the U.S. to an Islamic
State group-claimed suicide bombing while speaking to a mass funeral for some
of the 89 people killed in the attack, seeking to intertwine the assault with
wider Middle East tensions from the Israel-Hamas war. Iranian President Ebrahim
Raisi and the top commander of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard sought
to make the link without offering evidence for their claims. The gathered crowd
in front of flag-draped caskets shouted in response: “Death to America!” and
“Death to Israel!” “The enemy always sees the power of the Islamic Republic.
The whole world is recognizing this power and this ability,” Raisi said,
without directly naming any country. “Be sure, the initiative is in the hands
of our powerful forces. The place and time will be determined by our forces.”
Iranian state television also sought to link America to the attack. At one
point, it re-broadcast comments from 2016 from then-presidential candidate
Donald Trump, who wrongly accused then-President Barack Obama of being the
“founder” of the extremist group.”



Iraq



Associated Press: Airstrike In Central Baghdad Kills Iran-Backed Militia
Leader As Regional Tensions Escalate
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“A U.S. airstrike on the headquarters of an Iran-backed militia in central
Baghdad on Thursday killed a high-ranking militia commander, militia officials
said. Thursday’s strike comes amid mounting regional tensions fueled by the
Israel-Hamas war and fears that it could spill over into surrounding countries.
It also coincides with a push by Iraqi officials for US-led coalition forces to
leave the country. The Popular Mobilization Force, or PMF, a coalition of
militias that is nominally under the control of the Iraqi military, announced
in a statement that its deputy head of operations in Baghdad, identified as Abu
Taqwa, had been killed “as a result of brutal American aggression.” A U.S.
defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide information
that has not yet been publicly released, confirmed details of the strike
Thursday, saying that Abu Taqwa was targeted because he was actively involved
in attacks on U.S. personnel. Abu Taqwa was identified as a leader of the
Harakat al-Nujaba group. That group, one of the militias within PMF. was
designated a terrorist organization by Washington in 2019.”



The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Killing Of Militia Leader Marks Bid To Stop
Attacks On Its Forces In Iraq
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“An American airstrike killed an Iran-backed militia leader in Baghdad on
Thursday, U.S. officials said, drawing denunciations from Iraqi leaders and a
vow from the militant group to retaliate, amid already metastasizing tensions
in the region. A U.S. official said Washington conducted a “precision strike”
on a vehicle traveling in eastern Baghdad, targeting a member of the Harakat al
Nujaba group that the U.S. has been tracking. The group is designated by the
U.S. as a terrorist organization. The Pentagon didn’t immediately respond to a
request for comment. The person targeted “had American blood on his hands,”
another U.S. official said. Harakat al Nujaba said in a statement on its
Telegram channel that Moshtaq Talib Al-Saadi had been unjustly killed by U.S.
aggression. Iraq’s government said that the attack was a blatant violation of
Iraq’s security and sovereignty and “undermines all agreements between Iraqi
forces and coalition forces in Iraq.” “We view this action as a dangerous
escalation and assault on Iraq, diverging from the spirit and the text of the
mandate and the mission for which the Global Coalition was established in
Iraq,” said Yehia Rasool, spokesman for the Iraqi military.”



Afghanistan



Associated Press: Taliban Arrest Women For ‘Bad Hijab’ In The First Dress Code
Crackdown Since Their Return To Power
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“The Taliban have arrested women in the Afghan capital for wearing “bad
hijab,” a spokesman at the country’s Vice and Virtue Ministry said Thursday.
It’s the first official confirmation of a crackdown on women who don’t follow
the dress code imposed by the Taliban since they returned to power in 2021 and
has echoes with neighboring Iran, which has enforced mandatory hijab for
decades. The development is the latest blow to Afghan women and girls, who are
already reeling from bans on education, employment and access to public spaces.
The spokesman from the Vice and Virtue Ministry, Abdul Ghafar Farooq, didn’t
say how many women have been arrested or what constitutes bad hijab. In May
2022, the Taliban issued a decree calling for women to only show their eyes and
recommending they wear the head-to-toe burqa, similar to restrictions during
the Taliban’s previous rule between 1996 and 2001. Farooq said the women were
arrested three days ago.”



Middle East



Associated Press: Israeli Defense Minister Lays Out Vision For Next Steps Of
Gaza War Ahead Of Blinken Visit
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“Israel’s defense minister on Thursday laid out his vision for the next phase
of the war in Gaza, describing how Israeli forces would shift to an apparently
scaled-down “new combat approach” in northern Gaza, while continuing to fight
Hamas in the south of the territory “for as long as necessary.” Ahead of a
visit by the U.S. secretary of state, Yoav Gallant also outlined a proposal for
how Gaza would be run once Hamas is defeated, with Israel keeping security
control while an undefined, Israeli-guided Palestinian body runs day-to-day
administration, and the U.S. and other countries oversee rebuilding. Israel has
come under heavy international pressure to spell out a post-war vision but so
far has not done so. The issue is likely to be on the agenda in Secretary of
State Antony Blinken’s talks this weekend in Israel and other countries in the
region. The United States has pressed Israel to shift to lower-intensity
military operations in Gaza that more precisely target Hamas, after nearly
three devastating months of bombardment and ground assaults.”



The Wall Street Journal: The ‘CEO’ Of Hamas Who Found The Money To Attack
Israel
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“When Zaher Jabarin ran a Hamas cell in the 1980s, he borrowed cash from his
mother to buy weapons. Now, he oversees a financial empire that the U.S.
estimates is worth hundreds of millions of dollars and funds Hamas’s operations
against Israel. The 55-year-old militant manages Hamas’s financial relationship
with its main benefactor Iran and handles how Tehran gets cash to the Gaza
Strip, U.S. and Israeli officials say. He looks after a portfolio of companies
that deliver income annually for Hamas and runs a network of private donors and
businessmen who invest for the Islamist group. Jabarin’s influence over Hamas’s
finances is so significant that current and former U.S. and Israeli security
officials believe he enabled the group to pay for weapons and fighters’ wages
to mount the Oct. 7 attacks. “Jabarin played a huge role because he handles all
of Hamas finance outside Gaza,” said Uzi Shaya, a former Israeli security
official who has researched illicit finance. “Jabarin is the CEO of Hamas.”



Reuters: Jordan Strikes Iran-Linked Drug Dealers In Syria - Intelligence
Sources
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“Jordan on Thursday launched air strikes inside Syria against suspected
warehouses and hideouts of Iranian-backed drug smugglers, Jordanian and
regional intelligence sources said. The army has stepped up a campaign against
drug dealers after protracted clashes last month with dozens of infiltrators
from Syria linked to pro-Iranian militias, carrying large hauls who crossed its
border with weapons and explosives. The sources told Reuters jets bombed the
suspected home of a leading drug dealer in the town of Shaab in Sweida province
while the other strike hit warehouses near the village of Al-Ghariya. Both
locations are in the province of Sweida near the Jordanian border Ryan Marouf,
editor of Suwayda 24, a Syrian news website, who has tracked the drug war, said
a plume of smoke was seen from the border area soon after the strikes. "The
first strike targeted a leading drug dealer linked to Iranian militias and the
other raid bombed a farm where drugs are stored," Marouf said.”



Somalia



Reuters: UKMTO Receives Report That Armed Group Have Boarded Liberia-Flagged
Vessel Off Somalia
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“United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) and British maritime
security firm Ambrey said on Thursday that a Liberia-flagged bulk carrier had
reportedly been boarded by armed individuals southeast of Eyl, Somalia. In its
statement, UKMTO said that it received a report that five to six unauthorized
armed persons have boarded the merchant vessel. The vessel was destined for
Khalifa bin Salman in Bahrain, according to Ambrey's statement.”



Africa



Reuters: Tunisian Anti-Terrorism Unit Arrests Al Jazeera Reporter - Union
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“A Tunisian anti-terrorism unit arrested Al Jazeera reporter Samir Sassi late
on Wednesday, the Tunisian journalists' union said. The unit has searched his
home and seized his computer and phone, as well as those of his family members,
the union said in a statement on Thursday. The union denounced the arrest as
"arbitrary" and alluded to the possibility of Sassi being investigated for a
suspected terrorism charge, since his lawyer is not allowed to talk to him for
48 hours. Al Jazeera's Tunis bureau chief, Lotfi Hajji, said on his Facebook
account that security forces did not tell Sassi's family why he was arrested.
On Monday, Tunisia's judicial authorities ordered the pre-trial detention of
journalist Zied El-Heni on the charge of defamation, after he criticized the
trade minister. Freedom of speech and media were key gains for Tunisians after
the 2011 revolution that ousted autocratic President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
and triggered the "Arab Spring" protests.”



United Kingdom



Associated Press: Neo-Nazi Podcasters Sent To Prison On Terror Charges For
Targeting Prince Harry And His Young Son
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“A neo-Nazi podcaster who called for the deaths of Prince Harry and his young
son received a prison sentence Thursday along with his co-host Thursday. The
sentencing judge in London called the duo “dedicated and unapologetic white
supremacists” who encouraged terrorism. Christopher Gibbons and Tyrone
Patten-Walsh espoused racist, antisemitic, Islamophobic, homophobic and
misogynistic views and encouraged listeners of their “Lone Wolf Radio” podcast
to commit violent acts against ethnic minorities, authorities said. Using
aliases on their show, the pair said “the white race was likely to be
‘genocided’ unless steps were taken to fight back.” They approved of a day when
so-called race traitors would be hanged, particularly those in interracial
relationships. Prince Harry’s wife, Meghan, is biracial. On one episode,
Gibbons said the Duke of Sussex should be “prosecuted and judicially killed for
treason” and called Harry’s son, Archie, who is now 4, a “creature” that
“should be put down.”



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