“A pair of bombings at the election offices of a political party and an
independent candidate in southwest Pakistan killed at least 26 people and
wounded more than two dozen others, officials said Wednesday, the day before
parliamentary elections are to be held. The first attack hit the election
office of Asfandyar Khan in Pashin, a district in Baluchistan province, said
Jan Achakzai, the spokesperson for the provincial government. Officials said at
least 15 people were killed in the attack and the wounded are being transported
to a nearby hospital. Police said some of them were listed in critical
condition. Later Wednesday, another bombing at the elections office of
politician Fazlur Rehman’s Jamiat Ulema Islam party in Qilla Saifullah town of
Baluchistan killed at least 11 people, Acahkzai and local authorities said.”











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Eye on Extremism



February 7, 2024



Associated Press: Twin Bombings At Pakistan Political Offices Kill At Least 26
A Day Before Voting Begins
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“A pair of bombings at the election offices of a political party and an
independent candidate in southwest Pakistan killed at least 26 people and
wounded more than two dozen others, officials said Wednesday, the day before
parliamentary elections are to be held. The first attack hit the election
office of Asfandyar Khan in Pashin, a district in Baluchistan province, said
Jan Achakzai, the spokesperson for the provincial government. Officials said at
least 15 people were killed in the attack and the wounded are being transported
to a nearby hospital. Police said some of them were listed in critical
condition. Later Wednesday, another bombing at the elections office of
politician Fazlur Rehman’s Jamiat Ulema Islam party in Qilla Saifullah town of
Baluchistan killed at least 11 people, Acahkzai and local authorities said.”



Reuters: Blasts In Somalia's Capital Mogadishu Kill At Least 10 - Residents
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“Several blasts at a popular open-air market in Somalia's capital Mogadishu
killed at least 10 people and left many others injured on Tuesday, local
residents told Reuters. "I have counted 10 dead people and 15 others injured.
My shop is completely destroyed. The blasts took place in four places in the
centre of the market," Hassan Ali, a trader at the Bakara market told Reuters.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the blasts but Islamist
group al Shabaab frequently carries out bombings in Somalia and elsewhere. The
government was not immediately available for comment. Bakara, Mogadishu's
largest market, teems with traders and is where most residents buy their food,
clothes, medicine, electronics and other items daily. Residents told Reuters
several blasts went off, destroying many shops. Three nurses at Erdogan
Hospital in Mogadishu told Reuters over 20 injured people had been brought to
the facility."




The CEP CounterPoint: Expert Analysis

* Violence-Oriented Right-Wing Extremist Actors in Russia: Russian Imperial
Movement (RIM)
<[link removed]>
* Violence-Oriented Right-Wing Extremist Actors in Russia: Club of Angry
Patriots- Part 2
<[link removed]>
* Follow Britain’s Lead On Banning Hizb Ut-Tahrir
<[link removed]>
* CounterPoint Brief: U.K. Declares Hizb ut-Tahrir a Terrorist Group
<[link removed]>
* CounterPoint Brief: Retaliatory Strikes Launched Against Houthi Targets
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CEP Mentions



Foundation For Defense Of Democracies: Podcast: New UN Report On Al Qaeda And
Islamic State: Here’s What To Know
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“Bill and Caleb are joined again by Edmund Fitton-Brown — former coordinator
of the UN’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team — to discuss the
group’s latest report on the threat posed by al Qaeda and the Islamic State.
They unpack the report’s highlights and key takeaways, including uncertainty
surrounding the new IS leader and why the reason behind it could be
“earth-shattering;” West Africa’s slide into even deeper chaos; how only one
‘member state’ denied that al Qaeda’s leader is inside Iran, the state which
Edmund says is “the spider at the center of the web; and more.”



United States



Associated Press: Blinken To Brief Israeli Leaders On Cease-Fire And Hostage
Talks As War In Gaza Enters 5th Month
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“U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was set to meet Israeli leaders on
Wednesday as Hamas suggested it was open to a new ceasefire and hostage release
deal, but both sides remain dug in on thus far elusive goals as the war enters
its fifth month. The deadliest round of fighting in the history of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict has killed over 27,000 Palestinians, leveled
entire neighborhoods, driven the vast majority of Gaza’s population from their
homes, and pushed a quarter of the population to starvation. Iran-backed
militant groups across the region have conducted attacks, mostly on U.S. and
Israeli targets, in solidarity with the Palestinians, drawing reprisals as the
risk of a wider conflict grows. Israel remains deeply shaken by Hamas’ Oct 7
attack, in which militants burst through the country’s vaunted defenses and
rampaged across southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians,
and abducting some 250, around half of whom remain in captivity in Gaza.”



Iran



New York Post: Iranian Ambassador To UN Denies Involvement In Israel Massacre
— But Boasts About ‘Training’ Palestinian Terrorists
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“... However, Iravani was quick to detail the Iranian regime’s extensive
efforts to support “resistance” against Israel and the West in the Middle East
region. “In the case of the Palestine [sic], we’re sending arm [sic], we’re
training them and empowering them,” the UN ambassador said. “But with the other
parts of the region, resistance part of the, in the region, we have some
coordination, cooperation, consultation, and maybe some financing also.”



Iraq



Associated Press: UN Envoy Warns More Attacks On Iraq Threaten Its Hard-Won
Stability
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“Iraq’s government is focused on avoiding a domestic or regional spillover of
the Israel-Hamas war but continuing attacks on the country threaten its
hard-won stability, the U.N. envoy for Iraq warned Tuesday. With the war raging
in Gaza, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert told the U.N. Security Council that “the
Middle East is at a critical juncture” and “the same is true for Iraq.” Attacks
originating from inside and outside Iraq will not only undo the country’s
stability but “other achievements made in the past 18 months,” she said, adding
that “messaging by strikes only serves to recklessly heighten tensions, to kill
or injure people and to destroy property.” She pointed to the Jan. 28 drone
strike on a Jordanian facility hosting U.S. forces fighting Islamic State
extremists that killed three U.S. Army members and injured many more – and to
the U.S. response with 85 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against sites used by
Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on Feb. 2. Both
Iraq and Syria claimed civilians were killed and injured, and property
destroyed.”



Turkey



Associated Press: 3 People Killed In Alleged Extremist Attack At Turkey’s
Largest Courthouse
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“Two people attacked Turkey’s largest courthouse before being shot dead
Tuesday in an exchange of fire that also left one other person dead and five
wounded. Authorities alleged the assailants were part of an extremist
organization that had been largely inactive in recent years. Interior Minister
Ali Yerlikaya said the man and woman attacked a security checkpoint at the
Caglayan courthouse in Istanbul, and then were killed in an exchange of fire.
Authorities said that one other woman also was killed in the gunfire, and that
three police officers and two civilians were wounded. Yerlikaya later said the
attackers were alleged members of the Revolutionary People’s Liberation
Party-Front, or DHKP/C, a far-left group that is considered a terrorist
organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. The Caglayan
courthouse, also known as the Istanbul Justice Palace, is a huge and heavily
guarded court complex in the Kagithane district. It was Europe’s largest
courthouse when it opened in 2011.”



Yemen



Voice Of America: Houthis Fire 6 More Anti-Ship Missiles Into Red Sea
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"Iranian-backed Houthi militants have once again ignored U.S. calls to stop
attacking international shipping lanes or face consequences, this time firing
six anti-ship missiles from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into the Red Sea,
a U.S. official tells VOA. The official, who spoke on the condition of
anonymity, said U.S. naval forces had shot at least one of the missiles down on
Tuesday, with others falling into the sea. There were no reported injuries, and
the ship was able to continue toward its destination, CENTCOM said in a
statement."



Middle East



Associated Press: Qatar Gets ‘Positive’ Response From Hamas On Cease-Fire Plan
As Group Reiterates Its Broader Demands
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“Hamas’ response to the latest plan for a cease-fire in Gaza and the release
of hostages was “generally positive,” key mediator Qatar said Tuesday, as the
militant group reiterated its demand for an end to the war, something Israel
has thus far ruled out. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdurrahman
Al Thani announced the response during a news conference with U.S. Secretary of
State Antony Blinken, who said he would brief Israeli leaders on it Wednesday
when he meets with them. Blinken, who met with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman the day before, said the Saudis still have a “strong
interest” in normalizing relations with Israel but require an end to the war
and a “clear, credible, time-bound path to the establishment of a Palestinian
state.” Qatar, which has long mediated with Hamas, has been working with the
U.S. and Egypt to broker a cease-fire that would involve a halt in fighting for
several weeks and the release of the over 100 hostages still held by Hamas
after its Oct. 7 cross-border raid that ignited the war.”



Reuters: Hamas Proposes 135-Day Gaza Truce With Total Israeli Withdrawal
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“Hamas has proposed a ceasefire plan that would quiet the guns in Gaza for
four-and-a-half months, during which all hostages would go free, Israel would
withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip and an agreement would be reached on an
end to the war. The militant group's proposal - a response to an offer sent
last week by Qatari and Egyptian mediators - comes in the biggest diplomatic
push yet for an extended halt to the fighting, and was met with hope and relief
in the Gaza Strip. There was no immediate public response from Israel, which
has said it will not pull its troops out of Gaza until Hamas is wiped out.
According to a draft document seen by Reuters, the Hamas counterproposal
envisages three phases of a truce, lasting 45 days each. Militants would
exchange remaining Israeli hostages they captured on Oct. 7 for Palestinian
prisoners. The reconstruction of Gaza would begin, Israeli forces would
withdraw completely, and bodies and remains would be exchanged.”



Reuters: Israel Strike Targets Syrian Army Outposts In Homs Province - State
Media
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“Israeli missiles struck a number of sites in Syria's Homs province, the
Syrian army said on Wednesday, with local sources saying the attacks targeted
Syrian army outposts and an airbase in the area. Syrian air defense shot down a
number of missiles, state media said, without giving details on the targets
hit. A military source later told state media that there were several
casualties and people injured as well as damage to property. State television
showed ambulances rushing to the scene of a strike, where wreckage and debris
lay from a building that was hit. Reuters could not verify the location of the
site. Since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians and soldiers,
Israel has escalated its strikes on Iranian-backed militia targets in Syria and
also struck Syrian army air defences and some Syrian forces. The attacks
targeted the Shuyrat airbase and several locations on the outskirts of Homs,
according to a Syrian military intelligence source familiar with the matter.”



Germany



Politico: Far-Right AfD’s Youth Wing May Be Classified As ‘Extremist,’ German
Court Rules
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“A German court has ruled that Germany’s domestic intelligence agency may
classify the youth wing of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as
extremist, fueling a debate about whether the group should be banned. The youth
group, known as Young Alternative, “continues to engage in massive
anti-foreigner and, in particular, anti-Islam and anti-Muslim agitation,” an
administrative court in Cologne found, according to German media reports.
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, which is tasked with surveilling groups
deemed anti-constitutional, classified the Young Alternative as extremist in
2023 after monitoring it for years. The AfD and Young Alternative sought to
counter the move in court. The Cologne court, however, ruled that the
classification of Young Alternative as extremist is justified, though the group
is likely to now appeal that decision.”



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