“Independents backed by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan won the most
seats in Pakistan's election on Friday after results from over half the
constituencies were announced, leaving political parties trailing. Almost 24
hours have passed since the close of polls and the results have been unusually
delayed, which the government ascribed to the suspension of mobile phone
services - a security measure ahead of Thursday's election. Of the 136 seats
counted by 1045 GMT from 235 contested, independent candidates backed by Khan
had won 49, according to a Reuters tally of results declared by the Election
Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan
Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won 42 while the Pakistan Peoples Party of Bilawal
Bhutto Zardari, the son of assassinated premier Benazir Bhutto, got 34.”











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Eye on Extremism



February 9, 2024



Reuters: With Over Half The Seats Counted, Imran Khan's Supporters Lead In
Pakistan Polls
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“Independents backed by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan won the most
seats in Pakistan's election on Friday after results from over half the
constituencies were announced, leaving political parties trailing. Almost 24
hours have passed since the close of polls and the results have been unusually
delayed, which the government ascribed to the suspension of mobile phone
services - a security measure ahead of Thursday's election. Of the 136 seats
counted by 1045 GMT from 235 contested, independent candidates backed by Khan
had won 49, according to a Reuters tally of results declared by the Election
Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan
Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won 42 while the Pakistan Peoples Party of Bilawal
Bhutto Zardari, the son of assassinated premier Benazir Bhutto, got 34.”



Associated Press: Iranian Man Wielding An Axe And Knife Is Killed By Police
After Seizing Hostages On Swiss Train
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"Swiss police say a 32-year-old Iranian asylum-seeker was killed by police
after he used an axe and a knife to seize more than a dozen hostages for
several hours on a train in western Switzerland. No passengers were injured.
The man took the hostages early Thursday evening and police, alerted by
passengers, sealed off the area while the train was stopped in the town of
Essert-sous-Champvert, police in the French-speaking Vaud region said Friday.
The man, speaking Farsi and English, demanded that the train engineer join the
15 hostages. Nearly four hours after the incident began, police stormed the
train after trying to negotiate with the man through an interpreter. More than
60 police were involved. “The hostages were all freed safe and sound,” a police
statement said. “The hostage-taker was mortally injured during the operation.
Vincent Derouand, a spokesperson for the Vaud prosecutors’ office, said an
investigation was underway in part to determine the man’s motive.”




Recent CEP Press Releases

* Extremist Content Online: Neo-Nazi Accelerationist Telegram Channels
Encourage Violence
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* Extremist Content Online: Audiobook Version of Jacksonville Dollar General
Shooter’s Manifesto Released on Telegram
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* Extremist Content Online: White Supremacist Telegram Channels Spread
Manifesto of Jacksonville Gunman
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* CEP APPLAUDS UNITED KINGDOM FOR PROSCRIBING HIZB UT-TAHRIR
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* CEP Webinar: The Stakes Of Houthi Aggression Against International Shipping
Since Oct. 7
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CEP Mentions



The Limited Times: Germany Sends Frigate To The Red Sea – Expert: Fight
Against Houthi “Not Over In Three Months”
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“... Now Germany is also involved in the operation against the Houthis: On
Thursday, the German frigate “Hessen” left for a planned EU military operation
in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping there against attacks by the
militant Islamist Houthi militia. The warship set off from the German Navy's
largest base in Wilhelmshaven with around 240 soldiers on board.Marine
inspector Jan Christian Kaack said: “This is the most serious operation by a
German naval unit in many decades.” However, the international fight against
the Houthis is likely to take many more months, believes Middle East expert
Hans-Jakob Schindler from the Counter Extremism Project initiative (CEP).”



Menas Associates: Podcast – The Houthis And The Red Sea: Can The Houthis Be
Deterred?
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“This recording is from “The Houthis and the Red Sea: can the Houthis be
deterred?” which was an hour long webinar by Noel Brehony and Edmund
Fitton-Brown held on 7 February 2024.”



United States



Associated Press: Blinken Ends Latest Mideast Mission After New Israeli Snub
Of Proposed Gaza Cease-Fire Plan
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“U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken left the Middle East on Thursday with
public divisions between the United States and Israel at perhaps their worst
level since Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza began in October. Wrapping up a
four-nation Mideast trip — his fifth to the region since the conflict erupted —
Blinken was returning to Washington after getting a virtual slap in the face
from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the war would continue
until Israel is completely victorious and appeared to reject outright a
response from Hamas to a proposed cease-fire plan."



Fox News: Biden Invited Muslim Leader Who Publicly Supported Terror Group
Hezbollah To Meet With His Top Aides
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“President Biden sent top aides to Michigan on Thursday to meet with Arab
American and Muslim community leaders, and one person reportedly invited to the
discussion has publicly expressed support for the terror groups Hezbollah and
Hamas. Biden made the move with the leaders as he's faced criticism from the
Muslim community over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war."



Syria



Reuters: Exclusive: US-Backed Force In Syria: More Air Defense Needed After
Deadly Drone Attack
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“A force that has been the backbone of the U.S.-led campaign against Islamic
State said additional air defenses should be deployed in northeast Syria after
six of its fighters were killed in a drone attack it blamed on pro-Iran
factions. Mazloum Abdi, commander of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces,
said his force considered it "a dangerous development when our camps are
targeted in drone attacks by factions backed by Iran."



CBS: Top General Leading U.S.-Backed Kurdish Forces In Syria Warns Of ISIS
Resurgence
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“The commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces warned Thursday there's been a
"spike" in ISIS activity in Syria recently, as ISIS tries to take advantage of
tensions in the Middle East. Gen. Mazloum Abdi Kobane, the commander of the
Syrian Democratic Forces, told reporters in a Zoom briefing Thursday that the
escalation of attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed forces
since October has impeded their efforts to prevent ISIS from resurging. "We're
seeing that ISIS is taking the benefit from all these attacks, and we have seen
a spike in movements of ISIS," he told reporters through a translator. The SDF
and the U.S. work together in Syria in the global coalition to defeat ISIS."



Iraq



Reuters: Iraq Says US Strikes Pushing Government To End US-Led Coalition's
Mission
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“Repeated U.S. strikes against Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq are pushing
the Baghdad government to end the mission of the U.S.-led coalition in the
country, the prime minister's military spokesperson said on Thursday. The U.S.
military said a strike on Wednesday killed a commander from Kataib Hezbollah,
an Iran-backed armed group in Iraq that the Pentagon has blamed for attacking
its troops. Spokesperson Yahya Rasool said in a statement the U.S.-led
coalition "has become a factor for instability and threatens to entangle Iraq
in the cycle of conflict". In Washington, the Pentagon said it had notified the
Iraqi government about the strike shortly after it had taken place."



Associated Press: A Look At The Iraqi Government’s Relationship With Armed
Groups That Are Clashing With US Forces
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“A U.S. strike in Baghdad that killed a commander of the powerful Kataib
Hezbollah paramilitary group this week highlighted the ambiguous status of the
country’s Iran-allied armed factions. Some operate simultaneously as a part of
the official security forces and outside of state control. That has put the
government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in an increasingly
delicate position as it attempts to balance between its relations with the
United States and with Iraqi armed groups that are sometimes in direct conflict
with U.S. forces. Here’s a look at the complicated relationship between Iraq,
paramilitary groups such as Kataib Hezbollah and the United States: Kataib
Hezbollah is one of the most powerful armed groups in Iraq. It was formed
during the power vacuum that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, with
support from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard.”



Afghanistan



Voice Of America: Taliban Consider Attending Doha Meeting, Reject New UN Envoy
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“Taliban officials remain opposed to the possible appointment of a U.N. envoy
but say they are considering “meaningful participation” in an upcoming
international meeting on Afghanistan. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres
will convene a meeting of various countries’ special representatives for
Afghanistan in Qatar on February 18 to discuss engagement strategies with de
facto Taliban authorities."



Pakistan



Voice Of America: Pakistan Awaits Results Of Contentious Election Amid Rising
Political Tensions
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“Preliminary official results of Pakistan’s parliamentary polls were slowly
coming in Friday after an unusually long delay and allegations they were being
manipulated in favor of military-backed parties. The vote was held Thursday
amid the nationwide suspension of mobile phone and internet services and
sporadic violence, fueling doubts about results and credibility concerns about
an already controversial election."



Middle East



Associated Press: Gaza’s Main Aid Agency Is On The Brink. The European Union,
A Key Donor, Is Wavering Over What To Do
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“With the embattled U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees in Gaza teetering on
the brink of financial collapse, one of its biggest donors is wavering over
whether to extend it a lifeline worth tens of millions of dollars within the
next few weeks. Israel’s allegations that 12 employees of the aid agency known
as UNRWA participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel shook the
organization last month. Several countries suspended funding worth some $440
million, almost half of the agency’s annual budget."



Reuters: UN Chief Vows Immediate Action On 'Infiltration Of Hamas' In UN
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“United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday pledged to act
immediately on any new information from Israel related to "infiltration of
Hamas" in the world body after nine U.N. staff in the Gaza Strip were fired
last month. Israel last month accused 12 staff with the U.N. Palestinian
refugee agency of taking part in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants. Of the
remaining three staff, one is dead, while the U.N. was clarifying the identity
of the other two. An internal U.N. investigation has been launched as the
United States - the largest donor to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) - and other countries paused
funding following the allegations. "One thing that you can be absolutely sure,
any delegation that is presented to us by the government of Israel in relation
to any other infiltration of Hamas in the U.N., at whatever level, we will act
immediately upon it," Guterres told reporters on Thursday. A six-page Israeli
intelligence dossier, seen by Reuters, further alleges that some 190 UNRWA
employees, including teachers, have doubled as Hamas or Islamic Jihad
militants.”



Somalia



Reuters: Somalia's Al Shabaab Rebels Back On Twitter After Suspension
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“Somalia's Islamist al Shabaab militants, who have used Twitter to announce
assassinations and bombings, are back on the microblog service two weeks after
their account was suspended."[Our new account] will function like the one they
closed," a spokesman who declined to be named said on Tuesday. Al Shabaab's
previous official Twitter account was suspended around January 24, days after
group, which is aligned with al Qaeda, used the social media site to threaten
to kill two Kenyan hostages. The group tweeted a link to a video of the
abducted civil servants and threatened to kill them unless the Kenyan
government released all Muslim prisoners in its jails. Twitter rules say
threats of violence are forbidden but the site declined at the time to comment
on why al Shabaab's account, which had thousands of followers, had been
suspended. Al Shabaab's Somali- and Arabic-language Twitter accounts were never
closed. The new account, using the handle @HSMPRESS1, has attracted over 1,100
followers within two days.”



Africa



Reuters: West Africa Bloc Urges Burkina, Niger And Mali Not To Withdraw
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“The West African regional bloc ECOWAS pushed junta-led Burkina Faso, Niger
and Mali to reconsider their decision to quit the political and economic
alliance, it said on Thursday, warning of the hardships the move would force on
their citizens. The three countries' self-appointed military leaders jointly
announced on Jan. 28 they were abandoning the bloc after it pressured them to
restore constitutional order following a string of coups. Their departure
threatens to further weaken ECOWAS, which has struggled to curtail a retreat of
democracy in West Africa that started with a military takeover in Mali in 2020."



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