“The U.S. on Wednesday returned the Yemen-based Houthi rebels to a list of
terrorist groups, as the militants attacked their second U.S.-operated vessel
in the Red Sea region this week and the U.S. military carried out fresh
strikes. Attacks by the Iran-allied Houthi militia on ships in the region since
November have slowed trade between Asia and Europe and alarmed major powers in
an escalation of the war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants in
Gaza. The Houthis say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians and have
threatened to expand attacks to include U.S. ships in response to American and
British strikes on the group's positions. In a sign it remains undeterred, the
Houthi movement on Wednesday said its missiles had made a "direct hit" on the
U.S. Genco Picardy bulk carrier. Shipping operator Genco confirmed the attack,
and said its vessel was hit by a projectile while it was transiting through the
Gulf of Aden with a cargo of phosphate rock. Genco said there were no injuries
to the crew and the ship suffered limited damage to its gangway and was on a
course out of the area.”











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Eye on Extremism



January 18, 2024



Reuters: U.S. Lists Houthis As Terrorists, Rebels Hit Another US-Operated Ship
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“The U.S. on Wednesday returned the Yemen-based Houthi rebels to a list of
terrorist groups, as the militants attacked their second U.S.-operated vessel
in the Red Sea region this week and the U.S. military carried out fresh
strikes. Attacks by the Iran-allied Houthi militia on ships in the region since
November have slowed trade between Asia and Europe and alarmed major powers in
an escalation of the war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants in
Gaza. The Houthis say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians and have
threatened to expand attacks to include U.S. ships in response to American and
British strikes on the group's positions. In a sign it remains undeterred, the
Houthi movement on Wednesday said its missiles had made a "direct hit" on the
U.S. Genco Picardy bulk carrier. Shipping operator Genco confirmed the attack,
and said its vessel was hit by a projectile while it was transiting through the
Gulf of Aden with a cargo of phosphate rock. Genco said there were no injuries
to the crew and the ship suffered limited damage to its gangway and was on a
course out of the area.”



Reuters: Hezbollah Rejected US Overtures, Still Open To Diplomacy To Avoid
Wider War
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“Iran-backed Hezbollah has rebuffed Washington's initial ideas for cooling
tit-for-tat fighting with neighbouring Israel, such as pulling its fighters
further from the border, but remains open to U.S. diplomacy to avoid a ruinous
war, Lebanese officials said. U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein has been leading a
diplomatic outreach to restore security at the Israel-Lebanon frontier as the
wider region teeters dangerously towards a major escalation of the conflict
ignited by the Gaza war. Attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on shipping in
the Red Sea, U.S. strikes in response and fighting elsewhere in the Middle East
have added urgency to the efforts. "Hezbollah is ready to listen," a senior
Lebanese official familiar with the group's thinking said, while emphasising
that the group saw the ideas presented by veteran negotiator Hochstein on a
visit to Beirut last week as unrealistic. Hezbollah's position is that it will
fire rockets at Israel until there is a full ceasefire in Gaza. Hezbollah's
rejection of the proposals presented by Hochstein has not been previously
reported.”

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CEP Mentions



PA Media: Who Are Islamist Group Hizb Ut-Tahrir Which The Home Secretary Plans
To Ban?
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“... According to the Counter-Extremism Project, the group says its goal is to
peacefully convert Muslim nations into adopting Islamist political systems. The
group claims it only seeks to establish the caliphate in the Muslim world and
not in western countries such as the UK.”



DW News: Further Iranian Attacks In Iraq, Syria: What Is Tehran's Goal?
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“Tensions are rising between Pakistan and Iran after an Iranian air strike on
Pakistani territory killed two children. Islamabad recalled its ambassador to
Iran on Wednesday, and has expelled the Iranian ambassador. According to
Iranian state media, the airstrike targeted the headquarters of the militant
group Jaish al-Adl. Iran has accused the group of carrying out terrorist
attacks on Iranian soil. In the last few days Iran has launched similar strikes
against targets in Iraq and Syria.”



WTOP News: The Hunt: What Does Re-Designating Yemen’s Houthis As A Terrorist
Organization Really Mean?
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“In this week’s edition of “The Hunt with WTOP national security correspondent
J.J. Green,” Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism
Project, says the U.S. re-designating Yemen’s Houthis as a terrorist
organization is long overdue — but may not go far enough.”



United States



Associated Press: At Davos, Blinken Calls A Pathway To A Palestinian State A
Necessity For Israeli Security
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“U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that Israel cannot
achieve “genuine security” without a pathway to a Palestinian state, insisting
such a move could help unify the Middle East and isolate Israel’s top rival:
Iran. Speaking at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in the Swiss ski
resort of Davos, Blinken said the view of leaders in the Arab and Muslim world
have changed on Israel and the creation of a Palestinian state would help
Israel integrate in the region. “The problem is getting from here to there, and
of course, it requires very difficult, challenging decisions. It requires a
mindset that is open to that perspective,” Blinken said. The Biden
administration has been at pains to navigate between longtime U.S. support for
Israel and growing concerns that too many Palestinian civilians have been
killed or injured in Israel’s war against Hamas militants since their deadly
Oct. 7 rampage in Israel. Blinken reiterated the need for a “pathway to a
Palestinian state” and said Israel would not “get genuine security absent that.”



Syria



Reuters: Suspected Jordan Strikes On Southern Syria Kill 10 - Monitors, Local
Media
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“Suspected Jordanian air strikes on southern Syria killed 10 people including
children early on Thursday, according to local Syrian media and monitors
tracking the conflict. There was no immediate comment from Jordanian
authorities. Jordan's army has stepped up a campaign against drug dealers in
recent weeks after clashes last month with dozens of people suspected of links
to pro-Iranian militias carrying large hauls of narcotics over its border with
Syria, along with weapons and explosives.”



Iran



Reuters: Who Are The Baloch Militants Targeted By Pakistan In Iran?
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“Pakistan said on Thursday it had carried out airstrikes against separatist
militants in Iran, the latest step in a tense standoff after Iran's missile and
drone strikes in the South Asian nation's border province of Balochistan. Here
are some facts on the group Pakistan targeted and the restive province at the
heart of the tension. The Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), which an intelligence
official called the target of Pakistan's strikes in Iran, seeks independence
for Pakistan's western province of Balochistan. Ethnic Baloch militants have
battled the government for decades for a separate state, saying the central
government unfairly exploits the province's rich gas and mineral resources of
Balochistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran. The BLF is among the
insurgents who often target gas projects, infrastructure and security posts
there, but have begun launching attacks in other parts of Pakistan. They also
attack Chinese projects, and occasionally kill Chinese workers despite
Pakistan's assurances that it is doing all it can to protect the Chinese
projects. The vast province of roughly 15 million people is mostly arid desert
and mountainous territory holding untapped mineral wealth.”



Jerusalem Post: Iran Attacked Syria With Long-Range Missile In Message To
Israel - Analysis <[link removed]>



“Iran carried out a long-range attack on Syria this week using its Kheibar
Shekan ballistic missile, with Iranian media saying this was a “message” for
the US and Israel. Iran is now attacking random areas in Syria to show off its
missile capabilities. Iran uses the cover of “striking terrorists” in order to
test the missiles’ precision. This particular type of missile was unveiled in
2022, and Iran claims it has a range of 1,450km. It is supposed to have a high
speed and have precision strike capabilities. This is a dangerous strategic
weapon, and Iran claims it used it this week on Tuesday morning to strike at
ISIS in northwest Syria. There is no evidence that Iran actually struck ISIS.
In fact, it appears it carried out the attack on an area of Syria controlled by
Turkish-backed extremist groups solely to show off the capability of the
missile.”



Iraq



Voice Of America: Kurds Question Iraq’s Will And US Loyalty After Iran Attacks
Their Capital
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“Kurdistan Region’s authorities are grappling with the consequences of a
deadly Iranian missile attack on their capital city this week, as officials
question the will of the Iraqi government and the loyalty of the U.S.
government to help them deal with increasing Iranian pressure. “If the Iraqi
government does not take a serious stance against these attacks, there will be
no meaning left of Iraq’s sovereignty,” Peshawa Hawramani, the spokesperson of
the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, told VOA. “Countries sometimes
summon each other's ambassadors and withdraw their own ambassadors over a
simple statement. I do not know what worse can be done against [Iraq], you have
been attacked by ballistic missiles and you have no response,” Kurdish
spokesperson Hawramani told VOA. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, or IRGC, on
Monday launched several ballistic missiles at the Kurdistan Region’s Irbil city
and province, killing two businessmen, a toddler and a Filipino woman. The IRGC
and Iranian foreign ministry have said the attack targeted an Israeli espionage
center in Irbil.”



Wall Street Journal: Iraq Prime Minister Says U.S.-Led Military Coalition In
Iraq Is No Longer Needed
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“Iraq’s prime minister said the U.S.-led military coalition that has been
helping his country fight Islamic State militants is no longer needed, though
he still wants strong ties with Washington. “We believe the justifications for
the international coalition have ended,” Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani told
The Wall Street Journal, as the war in Gaza frays Iraqi relations with
Washington. Sudani didn’t set a deadline for the departure of the coalition,
which was formed in 2014 to mentor and support Iraqi forces in regaining
control of their country after Islamic State militants seized swaths of
northern and western Iraq. Nor did Sudani close the door to a role for U.S.
troops advising Iraqi forces to remain in the country under a new bilateral
relationship that he said should follow. But in an interview Tuesday during the
World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Sudani expressed broad
dissatisfaction with American policy on the Gaza conflict. The West had turned
a blind eye toward the plight of the Palestinians before Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack
on Israel, he said, calling for increased pressure on Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu to end what he described as genocide.”



Afghanistan



The Daily News: Tenney Calls For Release Of Dansville Man Held Hostage By The
Taliban
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“Congresswoman Claudia Tenney amped up efforts Wednesday to secure the release
of a Dansville man held hostage by the Taliban. Ryan Corbett was detained by
the Taliban on Aug. 10, 2022. He’s remained in captivity ever since, and has
had only sporadic contact with his family. Tenney, R-Cleveland, introduced
H.Res. 965, a resolution calling for Corbett’s immediate release and condemning
wrongful detention of Americans by the Taliban. The bipartisan bill was
cosponsored by 28 other lawmakers including Congressmen Joseph Morelle,
D-Rochester, whose district includes a portion of Orleans County, and Nick
Langworthy, R-Clarence.”



Pakistan



Reuters: Pakistan Strikes Inside Iran Against Militant Targets, Stokes
Regional Tension
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“Pakistan used killer drones and rockets to strike separatist Baloch militants
inside Iran on Thursday, Pakistani authorities said, two days after Tehran said
it had attacked the bases of another group within Pakistani territory. Iranian
media said several missiles hit a village in the Sistan-Baluchestan province
that borders Pakistan, killing at least nine people. Earlier reports said three
women and four children were killed, all non-Iranians. The neighbours have had
rocky ties in the past, but the strikes are the highest-profile cross-border
intrusions in recent years and come amid growing worries about instability in
the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted on Oct. 7. "A
number of terrorists were killed during the intelligence-based operation,"
Pakistan's foreign ministry said, describing it as a "series of highly
coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes against
terrorist hideouts". "Pakistan fully respects the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran," the ministry added in its
statement.”



Yemen



Associated Press: US Military Launches Another Barrage Of Missiles Against
Houthi Sites In Yemen
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“The U.S. military fired another wave of ship- and submarine-launch missile
strikes against Houthi-controlled sites Wednesday, U.S. Central Command said,
marking the fourth time in days it has directly targeted the group in Yemen as
violence that ignited in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war continues to spill
over in the Middle East. The strikes were launched from the Red Sea and hit 14
missiles that the command deemed an “imminent threat.” The strikes followed an
official announcement Wednesday that the U.S. has put the Houthis back on its
list of specially designated global terrorists. The sanctions that come with
the formal designation are meant to sever violent extremist groups from their
sources of financing. “Forces conducted strikes on 14 Iran-backed Houthi
missiles that were loaded to be fired in Houthi controlled areas in Yemen,”
Central Command said in a statement posted on X late Wednesday. “These missiles
on launch rails presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy
ships in the region and could have been fired at any time, prompting U.S.
forces to exercise their inherent right and obligation to defend themselves.”



Associated Press: Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Attack A US-Owned Ship In The Gulf Of
Aden With Bomb-Carrying Drone
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“A U.S.-owned ship in the Gulf of Aden came under attack Wednesday from a
bomb-carrying drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, officials said. The
attack on the Genco Picardy represented the second in recent days targeting
vessels directly linked to America after U.S.-led strikes targeting the
Houthis. It also underlined the risks to shipping in the vital waterway amid
Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The attack happened some 70 miles (110
kilometers) southeast of Aden, where the drone smashed into the vessel, said
the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, an arm of the British navy that
oversees Mideast waterways. The ship’s captain reported there was fire onboard
that had been extinguished, it said. “Vessel and crew are safe and proceeding
to next port of call,” it added. Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman
for the Houthis, identified the ship attacked as the bulk carrier Genco
Picardy. Satellite-tracking data had put that vessel off Saudi Arabia in recent
days as it was bound for India.”



Middle East



Associated Press: Medicine For Hostages And Palestinians Arrives In Gaza Under
First Israel-Hamas Deal Since November
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“A shipment of medicine for dozens of hostages held by Hamas arrived in Gaza
on Wednesday, part of a France- and Qatar- mediated deal that marked the first
agreement between Israel and the militant group since a weeklong cease-fire in
November. The deal could bring respite to some of the roughly 100 hostages who
remain in captivity, as well as to Palestinians in Gaza in desperate need of
aid. But fighting still rages in many parts of the beleaguered enclave, and an
end to the war — or the release of the hostages — seems nowhere in sight.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Majed al-Ansari, announced late Wednesday
on X, formerly Twitter, that the shipment had crossed into Gaza, without saying
when or how the medicine would be distributed. “Over the past few hours,
medicine & aid entered the Gaza Strip, in implementation of the agreement
announced yesterday for the benefit of civilians in the Strip, including
hostages,” he wrote.”



Associated Press: Live Updates | Israel-Hamas War Tensions Inflame The Middle
East As Fighting Persists In Gaza
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“Hamas militants are keeping up a stiff resistance across the Gaza Strip to
Israel’s offensive. The war shows no sign of ending and has inflamed tensions
across the Middle East, with a dizzying array of strikes and counterstrikes in
recent days. Pakistan launched retaliatory airstrikes on Iran early Thursday,
killing multiple people and further raising the threat of violence spreading in
a Middle East unsettled by Israel’s war with Hamas. In Gaza, a shipment of
medicine for dozens of hostages held by the Palestinian militant group Hamas
entered the territory late Wednesday in a deal that Qatar and France worked out
between Israel and Hamas. Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 24,200
Palestinians have died. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian
and combatant deaths, but said 70% of the dead were women and children. In
Israel, around 1,200 people were killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that
sparked the war and saw some 250 people taken hostage by militants.”



Associated Press: UN: Palestinians Are Dying In Hospitals As Estimated 60,000
Wounded Overwhelm Remaining Doctors
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“Palestinians are dying every day in Gaza’s overwhelmed remaining hospitals
which can’t deal with the tens of thousands people hurt in Israeli’s military
offensive, a U.N. health emergency expert said Wednesday, while a doctor with
the International Rescue Committee called the situation in Gaza’s hospitals the
most extreme she had ever seen. The two health professionals, who recently left
Gaza after weeks working in hospitals there, described overwhelmed doctors
trying to save the lives of thousands of wounded people amid collapsing
hospitals that have turned into impromptu refugee camps. The World Health
Organization’s Sean Casey, who left Gaza recently after five weeks of trying to
get more staff and supplies to the territory’s 16 partially functioning
hospitals, told a U.N. news conference that he saw “a really horrifying
situation in the hospitals” as the health system collapsed day by day. Al-Shifa
Hospital, once Gaza’s leading hospital with 700 beds, has been reduced to
treating only emergency trauma victims, and is filled with thousands of people
who have fled their homes and are now living in operating rooms, corridors and
stairs, he said.”



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