“The Somali government said Thursday its soldiers — backed by international
partners and local clan militias — killed about 80 al-Shabab militants and
wounded dozens more in three operations in the country’s southern and central
regions. A government official indicated the attacks stopped a terrorist
operation. “The militants were planning spectacular attacks to coincide with an
important date in the Ramadan calendar, the 17th day of the fast,” said the
government’s deputy information minister, Abdirahman Yusuf Adala. There was no
independent confirmation of the death toll, reported by Adala and Somalia’s
defense ministry, and no immediate comment from al-Shabab through its
spokesperson or websites. The Ministry of Information said the Somali National
Army carried out a coordinated series of operations across the regional states
of Galmudug, Hirshabelle and Southwest. A press release says the operations
were carried out with the support of international security partners. Countries
helping the Somali government include the United States, Turkey and members of
the African Union.”











<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>



Eye on Extremism



April 2, 2024



Voice Of America: Somali Government Says At Least 80 Al-Shabab Militants
Killed In Attacks
<[link removed]>



“The Somali government said Thursday its soldiers — backed by international
partners and local clan militias — killed about 80 al-Shabab militants and
wounded dozens more in three operations in the country’s southern and central
regions. A government official indicated the attacks stopped a terrorist
operation. “The militants were planning spectacular attacks to coincide with an
important date in the Ramadan calendar, the 17th day of the fast,” said the
government’s deputy information minister, Abdirahman Yusuf Adala. There was no
independent confirmation of the death toll, reported by Adala and Somalia’s
defense ministry, and no immediate comment from al-Shabab through its
spokesperson or websites. The Ministry of Information said the Somali National
Army carried out a coordinated series of operations across the regional states
of Galmudug, Hirshabelle and Southwest. A press release says the operations
were carried out with the support of international security partners. Countries
helping the Somali government include the United States, Turkey and members of
the African Union.”



The Washington Post: Once Wary Of Extremist Violence, Europe Now Fears
Extremism In Politics
<[link removed]>



“For years, discussions of extremism across Europe were about Islamic
extremism and terrorism, but the debate has now shifted to extreme-right
ideologies, with governments saying they need to be regulated to protect their
democracies. The issue is arguably most vivid in Germany, where calls for a ban
of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) — the country’s
second-most-popular political party — are growing and the government wants to
cut off funding sources of right-wing extremist networks. In Britain, the
government wants to keep extremists from meeting with lawmakers or receiving
public funds, and it plans to publish a new list of groups it considers
“extremist,” focusing more on beliefs rather than a propensity for violence.
The debate over extremism has come a long way from the early 2000s and the
terrorist attacks in the United States and Britain. As recently as 2015,
then-Prime Minister David Cameron declared that “the fight against Islamist
extremism is, I believe, one of the great struggles of our generation.””



CEP Mentions



Voice Of America: World Braces for Islamic State to Build on Moscow Attack
<[link removed]>



“...“This could even be the first sort of real flowering of a developed
ISIL-Khorasan capability,” according to Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former senior
U.N. counterterrorism official, using another acronym for the IS Afghan
affiliate. And Fitton-Brown, now a senior adviser for the New York and
Berlin-based Counter Extremism Project, worries IS leaders will want to
capitalize on the momentum they likely see from this year’s successful terror
attacks. “They got that attention for Iran. They've got a lot more attention
for doing it in Russia. And they would get even more attention if they could
bring off something on this scale in Western Europe,” he told VOA. “But whether
they can bring it off is a question, because up to now there have been a lot of
abortive attempts where they've had active terrorist plots in Western Europe,
particularly in Germany, but they've been detected and prevented and
disrupted,” Fitton-Brown said.”



The Long War Journal: Ep. 154 — The Islamic Republic Of Iran’s Axis of
Resistance
<[link removed]>



“Bill, co-host Behnam, and long-time friend of the show Edmund Fitton-Brown
preview and share insights from a project they’ve been working on concerning
the Islamic Republic of Iran’s axis of resistance. They discuss Tehran’s
extensive track record of not playing by the rules — and not paying a price for
it — as well as the origins of conflict between Iran and the West from before
the 1979 revolution to tapping their regional proxies on and after October 7,
2023 to target Israeli and American interests in the Middle East — and
everything in between.”



CNN: How ISIS Has Europe And The US In Sights After Deadly Moscow Attack
<[link removed]>



“...Edmund Fitton-Brown, a senior adviser to the New York-based Counter
Extremism Project, told CNN that ISIS-K “has the desire and a growing ability
to project beyond Afghanistan and carry out regional attacks” in Pakistan, Iran
and central Asia, bolstered by a robust media output in Tajik, Uzbek and
Russian. Fitton-Brown said that in Afghanistan the Taliban’s “Pashto chauvinism
has helped ISIS-K recruit from other Afghan ethnic groups.” ISIS-K’s most
infamous attack until now was the suicide bombing at Kabul airport in 2021 that
killed nearly 200 people, including 13 US soldiers guarding the airport. It has
continued a campaign of suicide bombings and assassinations against the
Taliban, which it regards as insufficiently radical and beholden to outside
powers. Just last week, an ISIS-K suicide bomber detonated his explosive belt
among Taliban militia in the Afghan city of Kandahar, inflicting dozens of
casualties, according to local accounts.”



ABC: Al-Qaeda Resurges Under Taliban: Report Says
<[link removed]>



“When the US signed the Doha agreement with the Taliban in 2020, accelerating
its withdrawal from Afghanistan, it contained measures specifically aimed at
preventing al-Qaeda from gaining another foothold there. But a new report
circulating among Western diplomats, outlines how al-Qaeda is being allowed to
rake in tens of millions of dollars a week - all under the watch of Taliban
leaders.”



The Spectator: Who Will Take Responsibility For Our Appalling Prisons?
<[link removed]>



“We know our prison system is awash with drugs but just what are they smoking
at the Ministry of Justice? A shocking story in the Times yesterday revealed
what a desperate state Britain’s jails are in. Paul Morgan-Bentley, an
undercover reporter, was hired at breakneck speed to work as a uniformed
Operational Support Grade (OSG) escort at beleaguered HMP Bedford. He lifted
the lid on a security nightmare. A catalogue of errors and incompetence
emerged. He wasn’t security cleared before starting his sensitive post. He had
access to prisoners in this Category B jail after a day’s training where even
his tutor complained of a ‘pandemic’ of unlocked security gates. On two
occasions, scanners at the gate were completely unmanned, allowing him and
dozens of other workers to walk straight in off the street into the heart of
the prison potentially carrying anything from a mobile phone to a firearm. On
other occasions, gate staff complained they had not been trained to use the
scanners and workers were waved through after rudimentary checks. Drugs were
being smoked openly in front of officers corralled behind perspex in a central
office. A female colleague of his, barely trained and with no personal
protective equipment, escorted male sex offenders through places with CCTV
blind spots.”



Forbes: Yes, Even Putin Just Warned You That Telegram Is Dangerous
<[link removed]>



“...This surprise twist comes courtesy of an interview Russia’s Life conducted
with Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, in the aftermath of the March 22
attack on a concert at Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk. ISIS has taken credit
for the attack, which killed more than 130 people. It is actually little
surprise that Telegram—according to the captured suspects, featured heavily in
their recruitment. As the Counter Extremism Project says, “terrorist and
extremist groups like ISIS, al-Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, and others use the
encrypted application Telegram for purposes that may include recruiting new
members, fundraising, inciting violence, and even coordinating terrorist
activity.” “This unique and phenomenal from a technological point of view
resource, which has grown, in fact, before the eyes of our generation, is
increasingly becoming a tool in the hands of terrorists - it is used for
terrorist purposes," Peskov told Life, directing his comments at Telegram’s
founder. “Of course, we would expect more attention from Pavel Durov.””



USA Today: How ISIS-K Killed Americans, Beat The Taliban, And Massacred 140
People In Moscow
<[link removed]>



“...Since shortly after the chaotic pull-out of U.S. forces in 2021, the
group, known as ISIS-Khorasan or ISKP, has used Afghanistan to become the most
capable branch of the global ISIS terror organization, signaling the possible
re-emergence of ISIS worldwide, said Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former UN terrorism
expert and senior advisor for the New York-based Counter Extremism Project.
“The resurgence of the ISIS threat globally,” he said, “is more likely to come
from ISKP than from other ISIS affiliates.” The group was behind deadly suicide
blasts outside the Kabul airport in August 2021 that killed more than 170
Afghans and 13 U.S. troops − and has set its sights on a range of foreign
targets, experts say. Ahmad Zia Seraj, former head of the Afghan National
Directorate of Security, said the group’s “main message has been that
Afghanistan is the safest place in the world for ISKP. Its intelligence
penetration among the Taliban is quite deep and significant.””



The Jerusalem Post: A Closer Look At The IS Branch Responsible For The Moscow
Attack <[link removed]>



“...Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project
and former coordinator of the UN Security Council’s ISIL, al-Qaida and Taliban
Monitoring Team, spoke to The Media Line and explained that ISIS-K is very
different from all the other IS affiliates around the world. He noted that all
IS affiliates were pre-existing groups that, for the most part, were part of
al-Qaida before switching sides and declaring their loyalty to ISIL. In
contrast, he added, ISIS-K was established specifically from the ground up by
its central command from Iraq and Syria. “At the end of 2014, IS sent a central
group of Arabs to travel around Afghanistan and build up a new affiliate from
scratch inside Afghanistan, as competition to the al-Qaida structures in
Afghanistan,” Schindler noted, adding that ISIS-K is, therefore, the closest
affiliate to the IS terrorist center that exists.”



The Media Line: A Closer Look At The ISIL Branch Responsible For The Moscow
Attack: Why Russia, Why Now?
<[link removed]>



“…Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project
and former coordinator of the UN Security Council’s ISIL, al-Qaida and Taliban
Monitoring Team, spoke to The Media Line and explained that ISIS-K is very
different from all the other IS affiliates around the world. He noted that all
IS affiliates were pre-existing groups that, for the most part, were part of
al-Qaida before switching sides and declaring their loyalty to ISIL. In
contrast, he added, ISIS-K was established specifically from the ground up by
its central command from Iraq and Syria.”



Veteran Times: Al Qaeda Is Flourishing In Afghanistan
<[link removed]>



“…The report’s findings “demonstrate that, as expected, the Taliban leadership
continues to be willing to protect not only the leadership of al Qaeda but also
fighters, including foreign terrorist fighters from a long list of al Qaeda
affiliates”, said Hans-Jakob Schindler, the senior director of the Berlin- and
New York-based Counter Extremism Project and an expert on terrorism. “It is
clear that the Taliban have never changed their stance toward international
terrorism and, in particular, Al Qaeda”.”



United States



Politico: Why the US Warned Russia Of A Terrorist Attack
<[link removed]>



“Two weeks before a deadly terrorist attack at a Moscow theater killed more
than 130 people in March, the United States intelligence community notified its
Russian counterparts of an imminent assault that ISIS-K extremists were
planning. A few weeks before that, the United States warned Iranian officials
of an upcoming attack in Kerman, when ISIS-K suicide bombers killed more than
100 people attending a memorial for the slain Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani. Many people might be shocked that the
U.S. government would go out of its way to share sensitive intelligence with
some of its sharpest adversaries and alert them of impending attacks, but it’s
actually part of an official policy known as a “duty to warn.” As a former CIA
veteran and a terrorism scholar, we know it’s an approach that has the
potential to boost security for Americans and other citizens across the globe —
but it works only if there is real international cooperation on
counterterrorism, something in increasingly short supply.”



Reuters: US Military Says It Destroyed 4 Drones Launched By Yemen's Houthis
<[link removed]>



“The U.S. military said on Thursday that it had destroyed four unmanned drones
launched by Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen. The U.S. Central Command said
on the social media site X that the drones "presented an imminent threat to
merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region." The drones were aimed at a
coalition vessel and a U.S. warship and "were engaged in self defense over the
Red Sea," the statement from the U.S. Central Command said, adding there were
no injuries or damage reported to the U.S. or coalition ships.”



Syria



The Independent: Hezbollah Militants Among Dozens Killed In Israeli Strikes On
Syria’s Aleppo
<[link removed]>



“Israeli airstrikes hit the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Friday morning,
killing dozens of people including five members of the Lebanese armed group
Hezbollah. At about 1.45am local time (10.45pm GMT on Thursday), airstrikes
targeted several areas in Aleppo’s countryside, in which a number of civilians
and military personnel were killed, a Syrian Defence Ministry statement said.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the targets were
weapons stores used by Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. At least
38 people were confirmed dead in the strikes, according to Reuters news agency,
which reported two sources saying that at least five of them were members of
Hezbollah. The Syrian Defence Ministry also confirmed a drone attack was
carried out from Idlib and western rural Aleppo. However, the ministry said the
attack was conducted by “terrorist organisations” targeting civilians in Aleppo
and its surroundings. However, the ministry did not mention a specific death
toll for the attack.”



The Washington Post: Israeli Strikes In Syria Kill Dozens, Including Soldiers
And Hezbollah Militants
<[link removed]>



“Israel carried out airstrikes in Syria early Friday that killed dozens of
Syrian soldiers and several members of Hezbollah as well as civilians,
according to a spokesperson for Hezbollah and Syria’s state news agency. The
attack, which occurred near the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, marked the most
significant escalation of Israel’s military campaign against Iranian-backed
forces beyond its borders since the outbreak of the war in Gaza. The Israeli
military, which rarely acknowledges its Syria operations, declined to comment
on the strikes. Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group and political party,
announced Friday that seven of its members had been killed, without providing
details on the circumstances. A spokesperson for the group, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity according to the organization’s rules, said four of the
group’s members had been killed in the Aleppo strikes. The spokesperson also
said dozens of Syrian soldiers were killed. Earlier in the day, Syrian state
news agency SANA reported that an unspecified number of “civilians and
soldiers” were killed and wounded in early-morning attacks in Aleppo province.”



Associated Press: A Car Bomb In A Syrian Opposition-Held Town Kills At Least 3
People, Including 2 Children
<[link removed]>



“A car bomb exploded in a busy market in a northern Syrian town controlled by
Turkey-based Syrian opposition fighters early Sunday, killing at least three
people, rescue workers and a war monitor said. The bomb exploded in the town of
Aziz in Aleppo province. Volunteers with the Syrian Civil Defense, known as the
White Helmets, said the blast, just after midnight, killed two children and a
woman. The explosion that tore through the busy market also wounded five
civilians and destroyed shops and homes in the area, the paramedic group said.
First responders struggled to break through the panicking crowds in the market,
searching for casualties, clearing the wreckage, and putting out fires. No
group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Meanwhile, the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based opposition war monitor,
said at least eight people were killed and 23 wounded. Turkey has launched
three major cross-border operations in Syria since 2016 and controls some
Syrian territory in the north. Elsewhere, Syrian state media said Israeli jets
struck several locations near Damascus, wounding two civilians and causing
material damage.”



Iran



Reuters: Exclusive: Iran Alerted Russia To Security Threat Before Moscow Attack

<[link removed]>



“Iran tipped off Russia about the possibility of a major "terrorist operation"
on its soil ahead of the concert hall massacre near Moscow last month, three
sources familiar with the matter said. In the deadliest attack inside Russia in
20 years, gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons at concertgoers on March 22
at the Crocus City Hall, killing at least 144 people in violence claimed by the
Islamic State militant group. The United States had also warned Russia in
advance of a likely militant Islamist attack but Moscow, deeply distrustful of
Washington's intentions, played down that intelligence. It is harder, however,
for Russia to dismiss intelligence from diplomatic ally Iran on the attack,
which has also raised questions over the effectiveness of Russian security
services. Moscow and Tehran, both under Western sanctions, have deepened
military and other cooperation during the two-year Ukraine war. "Days before
the attack in Russia, Tehran shared information with Moscow about a possible
big terrorist attack inside Russia that was acquired during interrogations of
those arrested in connection with deadly bombings in Iran," one of the sources
told Reuters.”



Associated Press: Iran Vows Response After Strike It Blames On Israel
Demolishes Consulate In Syria
<[link removed]>



“Iran and one of its key proxies vowed Tuesday to respond to a strike widely
attributed to Israel that demolished Iran’s consulate in the Syrian capital of
Damascus and killed eight people, including two Iranian generals. Iran’s state
TV reported Tuesday that the country’s Supreme National Security Council, a key
decision-making body, met late Monday and decided on a “required” response to
the strike. The report said the meeting was chaired by President Ebrahim Raisi,
but provided no further details. Israel has repeatedly targeted military
officials from Iran, which supports militant groups fighting Israel in Gaza,
and along its border with Lebanon. Monday’s strike in Damascus signaled an
escalation because it struck an Iranian diplomatic mission. It was not clear if
Iran would respond itself, risking a dangerous confrontation with Israel and
its ally the United States, or if it would continue to rely on proxies,
including Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia and Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The airstrike
in Syria killed Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who led the elite Quds Force in
Lebanon and Syria until 2016, according to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. It also
killed Zahedi’s deputy, Gen. Mohammad Hadi Hajriahimi, and five other officers.”



Turkey



ABC Media: Islamic State Supporters Arrested In Istanbul On Suspicion Of
Preparing Terror Attack <[link removed]>



“Two supporters of the terrorist organization Islamic State have been arrested
in Istanbul on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack, Ihlas news agency
reports. The Turkish security forces conducted operations in Istanbul’s Pendik
district to arrest Tajik citizen A. Fashcheljo, 37, and Kyrgyz citizen S.
Zulfiya, 41. During the search operation, gendarmerie uniforms, police vests,
means of communication, and other tools related to the preparation of a terror
attack were found in their apartment basement and seized. The Tajik citizen was
arrested, while his accomplice was deported from Turkey.”



Afghanistan



CBS: Moscow Attack Fuels Concern Over Global ISIS-K Threat Growing Under The
Taliban In Afghanistan
<[link removed]>



“The devastating March 22 terrorist attack on a packed concert hall in the
Moscow suburbs brought Afghanistan abruptly back into the spotlight, as
suspicions quickly fell on the ISIS branch in the country. While ISIS
attributed the carnage to a never-before-mentioned Russian wing, the U.S. had
warned about two weeks earlier of intelligence suggesting the Afghan affiliate,
ISIS-Khorasan or ISIS-K, was planning attacks in Russia. Russian officials also
said, at about the same time, that they'd thwarted another ISIS-K plot
targeting a synagogue in Moscow. Four men identified by Russia as suspects in
the concert hall attack, dragged before a judge bearing signs of significant
beatings this week, were all said to be nationals of Tajikistan. That country
sits right on Afghanistan's northern border, and many of ISIS-K's fighters are
believed to be Tajik nationals. So while Moscow hurls accusations at Ukraine
that both Kyiv and Washington say are baseless, and no positive link has been
established between the concert hall attack and ISIS' Afghan franchise, it has
renewed concern about the promise made by Afghanistan's Taliban rulers to
prevent the country from once again becoming a haven for terrorist groups to
plot attacks around the world.”



Pakistan



Voice Of America: More Than Just Islamic State: Rising Militancy In
Afghanistan And Pakistan
<[link removed]>



“There has been a wave of attacks across Pakistan in recent weeks by militant
groups operating in the region that have widely varying objectives. This week,
a suicide attacker killed five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver in
a convoy in Pakistan’s northwest. Pakistani Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan, or TTP, is the usual suspect for such attacks in the northwest, but
in a statement on Wednesday, it denied being behind targeting the Chinese
workers. Earlier, two suicide attacks in Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
province killed nine Pakistani troops in the third week of March. In the
southwest, militants carried out a brazen attack on Pakistan’s second-largest
naval airbase and a port complex near the Arabian Sea in the volatile
Balochistan province. The Pakistan army said two soldiers and 14 militants were
killed in the attacks. Designated terrorist group Baloch Liberation Army, or
BLA, accepted the responsibility. The attacks by suspected regional militant
groups came as the most active terrorist group in the region, Islamic
State-Khorasan, was blamed by Washington for the attack in Moscow a week ago
that killed more than 140 concert-goers.”



Yemen



Bloomberg: Russian Navy Enters Warship-Crowded Red Sea Amid Houthi Attacks
<[link removed]>



“Russian warships from the Pacific Fleet have crossed the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait
and entered the Red Sea, the state-run Tass news agency said, venturing into a
maritime region plagued by Houthi attacks and crowded with naval vessels. The
detachment included the missile cruiser Varyag and frigate Marshal
Shaposhnikov, Tass reported Thursday, citing the Russian Pacific Fleet’s press
service, which said the ships were carrying out “assigned tasks within the
framework of the long-range sea campaign.” The ultimate destination of the
ships was unclear from the report, as was the reason Russia sent vessels to the
area. For months, the Yemen-based Houthis have carried out a series of attacks
on vessels in the Red Sea in retaliation for Israel’s military actions in Gaza,
forcing many ships to redirect their journeys. The group told China and Russia
earlier this month that their ships can sail through the Red Sea and Gulf of
Aden without being attacked. In exchange, the two countries may provide
political support to the Houthis in bodies such as the United Nations Security
Council, according to several people with knowledge of the militant group’s
discussions.”



The New York Times: In Yemen, Renewed Conflict And Rising Hunger Stalk A Lean
Ramadan
<[link removed]>



“In the years before war and hunger upended daily life in Yemen, Mohammed
Abdullah Yousef used to sit down after a long day of fasting during Ramadan to
a rich spread of food. His family would dine on meat, falafel, beans, savory
fried pastries and occasionally store-bought crème caramel. This year, the
Islamic holy month looks different for Mr. Yousef, 52, a social studies teacher
in the coastal city of Al Mukalla. He, his wife and their five children break
their fast with bread, soup and vegetables. Earning the equivalent of $66 a
month, he frets that his salary sometimes slips from his hands in less than two
weeks, much of it to pay grocery bills. “I’m fighting to make ends meet,” Mr.
Yousef said in an interview, describing how even before Ramadan he had begun
skipping meals to stretch his meager paychecks, yet could barely afford bus
fare to his job at a primary school. A decade ago, his salary covered his
family’s needs and more. But conflict, poverty and hunger have overtaken much
of Yemen. As rapid inflation eats away at their spending power, middle-class
Yemenis like Mr. Yousef have found themselves sliding into economic collapse.”



Lebanon



Associated Press: Hezbollah Fires Heavy Rockets At Northern Israel After
Deadliest Day Of Israeli Strikes On Lebanon
<[link removed]>



“The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired rockets with heavy warheads at
towns in northern Israel, saying it used the weapons against civilian targets
for the first time Thursday in retaliation for Israeli airstrikes the night
before that killed nine, including what the group said were several paramedics.
There were no reports of Israelis hurt in the rocket attack, local media said.
The Israeli military did not immediately offer comment on the rocket attack.
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza on Oct. 7, concerns have
grown that near-daily clashes along the border between Israel and Lebanon could
escalate into a full-scale war. Airstrikes and rocket fire Wednesday killed 16
Lebanese and one Israeli, making it the deadliest day of the current conflict.
Israel’s chief military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said Israel had
killed 30 Hezbollah militants in the past week and had destroyed dozens of
Hezbollah military sites in an effort to push the Iran-backed group away from
the border. The recent increase in violence has raised alarm in Washington and
at the United Nations.”



Qatar



Bloomberg: Qatar Signs Deals For More Ships Ahead Of Massive LNG Expansion
<[link removed]>



“QatarEnergy has signed four agreements to charter 19 liquefied natural gas
carriers from Asian ship operators as it prepares to ramp up output. China’s
CMES Co. Ltd. and Shandong MarineGroup Ltd. will supply six vessels each,
Qatar’s energy minister Saad Al-Kaabi said at a ceremony in Doha on Sunday.
Malaysia’s MISC Bhd will supply three and a joint venture of Kawasaki Kisen
Kaisha Ltd. and Hyundai Glovis Co. will provide four. Each ship has a capacity
of 174,000 cubic meters. Qatar needs more LNG carriers as it’s raising its
annual production capacity from the North Field to 142 million tons by 2030
from 77 million tons currently. In doing so, the small Middle Eastern nation is
set to re-establish its dominance of the global LNG market. Projects in
Australia and the US have eroded its supremacy in recent years to the point
where all three countries export roughly the same. However, the US recently
imposed a temporary freeze on permits for new projects and Qatar’s investments
in its new facilities has put it on course to take the lead again.”



Reuters: Netanyahu Pushes To Shut Israeli Office Of Qatar's Al Jazeera TV
<[link removed]>



“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Monday to shutter the local
office of Qatari satellite television network Al Jazeera while the war in Gaza
continues. Hours after his party spokesperson said parliament would be convened
to ratify the necessary law, the Knesset approved the bill allowing the
temporary closure in Israel of foreign broadcasters considered to be a threat
to national security. Al Jazeera, which is funded by the Qatari government,
called the Israeli measure an "escalation" and said it "comes as part of a
series of systematic Israeli attacks to silence Al Jazeera," according to a
statement late on Monday. The law approved on Monday would allow Netanyahu and
the security cabinet to shut the network's offices in Israel for 45 days, which
could be renewed, and would stay in force until the end of July or until the
end of major military operations in Gaza. Al Jazeera rejected accusations that
it harmed Israel's security as a "dangerous and ridiculous lie" that puts its
journalists at risk.”



Reuters: Israel's Netanyahu Agrees To Send Delegation To Egypt, Qatar For Gaza
Talks
<[link removed]>



“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to send delegations to
Egypt and Qatar, where negotiators have been trying to secure the release of
Israeli hostages as part of a possible Gaza ceasefire deal, his office said on
Friday. Netanyahu's office said he spoke with the heads of Israeli intelligence
agencies Shin Bet and Mossad and "approved that delegations on their behalf go
in the coming days to Doha and Cairo," with a mandate to push forward with
negotiations.”



Middle East



Time: Israeli Troops Withdraw From Shifa Hospital After Two-Week Raid
<[link removed]>



“The Israeli military withdrew from Gaza’s largest hospital early Monday after
a two-week raid that engulfed the facility and surrounding districts in
fighting. Footage showed widespread devastation, with the facility's main
buildings reduced to burned-out husks. The military has described the raid on
Shifa Hospital as a major battlefield victory in the nearly six-month war and
said its troops killed 200 militants in the operation, though the claim they
were all militants could not be confirmed. But the raid came at a time of
mounting frustration in Israel, with tens of thousands protesting Sunday
against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanding that he do more to
bring home dozens of hostages held in Gaza. It was the largest anti-government
demonstration since the start of the war. Elsewhere, Syrian officials and state
media said an Israeli airstrike destroyed the consular section of Iran’s embass
y in Syria, killing a senior Iranian military adviser and several others. The
strike appears to signify an escalation of Israel’s targeting of Iranian
military officials and their allies in Syria. The targeting has intensified
since Hamas militants — who are supported by Iran — attacked Israel on Oct. 7.”



Reuters: Israeli Airstrike On Gaza Kills Seven Working For Food Aid NGO
<[link removed]>



“Citizens from Australia, Britain and Poland were among seven people working
for celebrity chef Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen who were killed in an
Israeli airstrike in central Gaza on Monday, the NGO said. The workers, who
also included Palestinians and a dual citizen of the United States and Canada,
were travelling in two armoured cars emblazoned with the WCK logo and another
vehicle, WCK said in a statement. Israel has long denied it is hindering the
distribution of urgently needed food aid in Gaza, saying the problem is caused
by the inability of international aid groups to get it to those in need.
Despite co-ordinating movements with the Israeli Defence Force, the convoy was
hit as it was leaving its Deir al-Balah warehouse, after unloading more than
100 tons of humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza by sea, WCK said. "This is
not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations
showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon
of war," said Erin Gore, chief executive of World Central Kitchen. "This is
unforgivable."”



Mali



Associated Press: In Mali, Russian Wagner Mercenaries Are Helping The Army
Kill Civilians, Rights Groups Say
<[link removed]>



“The Russian mercenary group known as Wagner is helping government forces in
central and northern Mali carry out raids and drone strikes that have killed
scores of civilians, including many children, rights groups said in reports
published this week that span the period from December to March. Mali, along
with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger, has for over a decade battled an
insurgency fought by jihadi groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the
Islamic State group. Following military coups in all three nations in recent
years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russia’s
mercenary units for security assistance instead. Violence has escalated in Mali
since Russian mercenaries arrived there following a coup in 2021. Its ruling
junta has ramped up operations, carrying out deadly drone strikes that have hit
gatherings of civilians, and raids accompanied by Russian mercenaries that have
killed civilians. Residents of the Sahel region that includes Mali say Russia’s
presence doesn’t appear to have changed since Wagner’s leader, Yevgeny
Prigozhin, died in a suspicious plane crash last year.”



United Kingdom



Voice Of America: UK Anti-Terrorism Police Investigate Stabbing Of
Persian-Language Journalist
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“British counterterrorism detectives are investigating after a journalist
working for a Persian-language media organization was stabbed Friday in London
amid fears he had been targeted because of his job, police said. Police said
the man, in his 30s, was attacked and suffered an injury to his leg in the
Friday afternoon incident in Wimbledon, southwest London. Britain's National
Union of Journalists (NUJ) said the victim was prominent Britain-based Iranian
journalist Pouria Zeraati, who hosts a show on the Persian-language television
news network Iran International, which is critical of Iran's government. Police
said his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening and he was in stable
condition. "This cowardly attack on Pouria is deeply shocking, and our thoughts
are with him, his family and all of his colleagues at Iran International,"
Michelle Stanistreet, the NUJ general secretary, said in a statement. In
January, Britain imposed sanctions on Iranian officials it said were involved
in threats to kill journalists on British soil.”



Russia



AFP: Russia Says It Arrested 4 More Moscow Attack Plotters
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“Russia's FSB security service has said that four people arrested Sunday in a
foiled "terror" plot had provided money and arms for the deadly attack on a
Moscow concert hall last month.

More than 140 people were killed when gunmen stormed the Crocus City Hall
venue on March 22 before setting the building on fire in the most fatal attack
in Russia for two decades. The FSB said in a statement on Monday that it had
arrested a group of four a day earlier in the southern Dagestan region who
"were directly involved in the financing and supply of terrorist means to the
perpetrators of the terrorist act carried out on 22 March in the Crocus City
Hall in Moscow."



Associated Press: A Russian Journalist Who Covered Navalny’s Trials Is Jailed
In Moscow On Charges Of Extremism
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“A Moscow court on Friday ordered a Russian journalist who covered the trials
of late Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny and other dissidents to
remain in custody pending an investigation and trial on charges of extremism.
Antonina Favorskaya, also identified by court officials as Antonina Kravtsova,
was arrested earlier in March. On Friday, Moscow’s Basmanny District Court
ordered that she remain in pre-trial detention at least until May 28. The
hearing was conducted behind closed doors at the request of the investigators,
which was supported by the presiding judge. Favorskaya and her lawyer protested
the decision, the independent news site Mediazona reported. “I am completely
against a closed process. The press needs to know what’s going on here, what
I’m being accused of,” the outlet quoted Favorskaya as saying. She is accused
of collecting material, producing and editing videos and publications for
Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption, which had been outlawed as
extremist by Russian authorities, according to court officials. She has been
charged with involvement with an extremist group, a criminal offense punishable
by up to six years in prison.”



Reuters: Islamic State Spokesperson Praises Group's Attack On Concert Hall In
Russia
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“The spokesperson for Islamic State praised the group's attack that killed
more than 140 people in a Russian concert hall near Moscow. Abu Huthaifa
al-Ansari was speaking in a recorded message posted on Thursday on the militant
group's Telegram channel. Al-Ansari also reiterated urging the group's
supporters to target "crusaders" everywhere, especially in the United States,
Europe and Israel. "We ask God that you make it to Palestine so you could fight
the Jews face to face in an endless religious war," he said. Russian
investigators said on Thursday they had found proof that the concert hall
gunmen were linked to "Ukrainian nationalists", an assertion immediately
dismissed by the United States as baseless propaganda. Eleven people were
arrested in the first 24 hours after the shooting and eight of them, including
the four suspected gunmen, have been placed in pre-trial detention. Seven are
from the Central Asian state of Tajikistan and the other from Kyrgyzstan.”



India



Voice of America: US Unfazed As India Engages Taliban
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“Just two weeks after senior Indian diplomat J.P. Singh visited Kabul to meet
with Taliban officials, a senior U.S. official landed in New Delhi to discuss
Afghanistan. Thomas West, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan,
urged Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra to develop “a unified diplomatic
approach in support of collective interests” in Afghanistan. Unlike India, the
United States has severed diplomatic ties with Kabul since the United States’
withdrawal from war-torn Afghanistan in 2021. Washington maintains a policy of
sanctions and isolation toward Taliban leaders. Some analysts criticize that
approach as ineffective, but U.S. officials maintain there will be no change
until the Taliban reverse their bans on women's education and work and form a
more inclusive government. “The United States is going to continue to pursue
policies in Afghanistan that protect our national interests and support the
Afghan people,” a State Department spokesperson wrote to VOA. India takes a
different approach. It views the Taliban as having brought a measure of
stability to Afghanistan after 20 years of civil war, according to Rustam Shah
Mohmand, a former Pakistani ambassador to Kabul.”



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