“Israel’s foreign minister threatened Wednesday that his country’s forces would
strike Iran directly if the Islamic Republic launched an attack from its
territory against Israel, as tensions between the rival powers flare following
the killings of Iranian generals in a blast at the Iranian consulate in Syria.
“If Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will respond and attack in Iran,”
Israel Katz said in a post on X in both Farsi and Hebrew. The remarks came
after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reiterated early Wednesday a
promise to retaliate against Israel over the attack on its consulate in
Damascus earlier this month. Tehran holds Israel responsible for the strike
that leveled the building, killing 12 people. Israel has not acknowledged its
involvement, though it has been bracing for an Iranian response to the attack,
a significant escalation in their long-running shadow war. Khamenei spoke at a
prayer ceremony celebrating the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, saying
the airstrike was “wrongdoing” and akin to an attack on Iranian territory.”











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Eye on Extremism



April 10, 2024



Associated Press: Israel Threatens To Strike Iran Directly If Iran Launches
Attack From Its Territory
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“Israel’s foreign minister threatened Wednesday that his country’s forces
would strike Iran directly if the Islamic Republic launched an attack from its
territory against Israel, as tensions between the rival powers flare following
the killings of Iranian generals in a blast at the Iranian consulate in Syria.
“If Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will respond and attack in Iran,”
Israel Katz said in a post on X in both Farsi and Hebrew. The remarks came
after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reiterated early Wednesday a
promise to retaliate against Israel over the attack on its consulate in
Damascus earlier this month. Tehran holds Israel responsible for the strike
that leveled the building, killing 12 people. Israel has not acknowledged its
involvement, though it has been bracing for an Iranian response to the attack,
a significant escalation in their long-running shadow war. Khamenei spoke at a
prayer ceremony celebrating the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, saying
the airstrike was “wrongdoing” and akin to an attack on Iranian territory.”



Politico: ISIS Terror Threat Forces France To Ramp Up Champions League
Football Security
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“The French government said Tuesday that security will be “considerably”
reinforced in Paris for a crucial Champions League football match after a
threat from the Islamic State group. The terrorist organization reportedly
threatened to target quarterfinal games in UEFA’s flagship competition this
week. In France, Paris Saint-Germain will host Barcelona on Wednesday night.
“The police chief with whom I spoke very early this morning has considerably
increased the security resources,” French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin
told reporters Tuesday. Earlier this week, a media outlet linked to ISIS
released a threatening image naming the four host stadiums, which included the
caption “Kill them all.” The poster prompted the governments of the host
countries to increase security measures. Earlier Tuesday, the Spanish interior
ministry also issued “orders to reinforce security where the matches will be
held,” according to Spanish newspaper El País.”




The CEP CounterPoint: Expert Analysis

* Fluid Structures: Assessing Left-Wing Violent Extremist Groups'
Organizational Systems
<[link removed]>
* Breaking down six months of war with Hamas
<[link removed]>
* CEP-KAS: Sahel Monitoring February 2024
<[link removed]>
* ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency in March 2024
<[link removed]>
* Violence-Oriented Right-Wing Extremist Actors in Russia: Foreign Fights –
Part 1
<[link removed]>



CEP Mentions



Medium: Resurgence Of Islamic State In Syria Raises Alarms: Growing Threat And
Urgent Action Needed
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“... regaining strength in Syria, posing a significant threat to stability in
the region. Data from U.S. Central Command indicates a troubling increase in
the number of IS fighters in Syria and Iraq, now estimated at about 2,500, more
than double previous estimates from late January. This resurgence is further
highlighted by a surge in IS attacks, particularly in central Syria, as noted
by the Counter Extremism Project (CEP). Their report revealed at least 69
confirmed attacks by IS in central Syria last month, resulting in numerous
casualties among Syrian soldiers and civilians. The situation is exacerbated by
the group’s persistent activity in areas nominally controlled by the
U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as highlighted by the Rojava
Information Center (RIC). RIC’s monthly report documented a concerning pattern
of IS attacks targeting SDF troops and locations. This trend underscores the
urgent need for enhanced security measures and international cooperation to
counter the growing threat posed by IS operatives in Syria.”



The Guardian: Rise In Activity From Rightwing Extremists Who Want To Trigger
‘Race War’ In Australia, Asio Warns
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“... The global anti-terror group Counter Extremism Project last week warned
the Senate committee about Australian neo-Nazis creating crowdfunding campaigns
and “active clubs” to train members in combat. Asio’s submission raised
examples of accelerationist groups endorsing attacks against critical
infrastructure such as power grids, electrical substations and railways. The
agency said its biggest concern remained “lone wolf” attacks that come together
with little warning, saying the most likely attacks would be “low-cost, using
readily available weapons, and simple tactics” such as knives, vehicles,
explosives or firearms. Asio said while the “most likely” location for
terrorist attacks would be crowded city locations like shopping centres or
transport hubs, it also said some specific ideologies “may lead the attacker to
choose a symbolic location such as a government building or place of worship”.
“Asio will continue to monitor developments in the threat environment and will
respond appropriately to protect Australia and Australians from threats to
security,” its submission concluded.”



United States



The Washington Post: Teen Arrested Day Before He Planned To Attack Churches In
Name Of ISIS, Feds Say
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“After months of planning, federal officials say, 18-year-old Alexander Scott
Mercurio was just a few days away from executing an attack on American soil in
the name of the Islamic State militant group. Mercurio detailed his plot to a
man in a hotel, according to court documents: The Idaho teen said he would walk
to a church from his home in Coeur d’Alene, kneecap churchgoers with a metal
pipe, kill them with a knife, set off fires using small butane canisters and
then try to wrestle a gun away from an officer once police arrived. He said he
was committed to slaying as many people as he could before dying through
suicide or an encounter with law enforcement. What he didn’t know is that the
person he was talking to was an FBI informant. Mercurio was arrested Saturday
and charged in District of Idaho federal court with providing support to a
terrorist organization. No attorney was listed for him in the federal courts
system. He remained in the Kootenai County jail in Coeur d’Alene as of Tuesday
afternoon, according to records.”



Voice Of America: US Destroys Anti-Ship Missile Fired By Houthis
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“The U.S. military said late Monday it destroyed an anti-ship ballistic
missile fired by Houthi militants in Yemen toward ships in the Gulf of Aden.
U.S. Central Command said in a statement that the missile was likely targeting
the U.S.-flagged, U.S.-owned container ship MV Yorktown, which was being
escorted by a U.S. Navy destroyer. “It was determined the ABSM presented an
imminent threat to U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels in the region,”
CENTCOM said. The United States is leading a coalition effort to help protect
the key shipping route through the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea from attacks by
the Yemen-based, Iran-backed Houthis. The Houthis, designated by the U.S. as a
terror group, have said their campaign targeting ships is in solidarity with
the Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.”



ABC: Foreign Terrorists Targeting US 'Increasingly Concerning': FBI Director
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“Foreign adversaries and terrorist groups are sharpening their aim at the
United States -- targeting cyber operations, security and "mafia-like" tactics
in an "increasingly concerning" way, FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a
speech on Tuesday. At the American Bar Association luncheon in Washington,
D.C., Wray said the agency is working to prevent a coordinated attack from
terrorist groups such as ISIS-K, an affiliate of ISIS. "Foreign terrorists,
including ISIS, al-Qaida and their adherents, have renewed calls for attacks
against Jewish communities here in the United States and across the West in
statements and propaganda," Wray said. "The foreign terrorist threat and the
potential for a coordinated attack here in the homeland, like the ISIS-K attack
we saw at the Russia Concert Hall a couple weeks ago, is now increasingly
concerning. Oct. 7 and the conflict that's followed will feed a pipeline of
radicalization and mobilization for years to come." The warning comes as
experts predict ISIS will try to carry out an attack on the United States.”



Voice Of America: Biden Calls Netanyahu’s Approach To Hamas War ‘A Mistake’
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“U.S. President Joe Biden said in an interview aired late Tuesday that he
does not agree with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approach to
Israel’s war against the Hamas militant group, and that Israel should call for
a halt in fighting to facilitate humanitarian aid deliveries. The
Spanish-language network Univision interviewed Biden on April 3, two days after
an Israeli attack killed seven staff members from the aid group World Central
Kitchen in Gaza. Biden said there is no excuse for not providing food and
medical aid to the people of Gaza, and that those efforts “should be done now.”
“What I'm calling for is for the Israelis to just call for a cease-fire, allow
for the next six, eight weeks total access to all food and medicine going into
the country,” Biden said. “I've spoken with everyone from the Saudis to the
Jordanians to the Egyptians. They're prepared to move in. They're prepared to
move this food in.” The White House said last week that Biden made similar
points when he spoke with Netanyahu in a phone call, emphasizing that the
humanitarian situation in Gaza is “unacceptable.””



Syria



Iran: Iran’s Better, Stealthier Drones Are Remaking Global Warfare
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“In January, rebels fighting the Sudanese army shot down a drone near
Khartoum. As jubilant gunmen posted video of the wreckage on social media, they
offered a fresh data point on how Iranian technology is remaking the global
weapons trade. The drone in the video, which is clearly modeled after Iran’s
Ababil model — the workhorse of paramilitaries across the Middle East since it
was developed in the 1990s — reflected a design tweak: Its two front tires,
instead of the usual one, provided actual battlefield evidence that Sudan is
modifying the Iranian drone into its own weapon, which it calls the Zagel-3.
That revelation follows the emergence in the last two years of ramped-up
Iranian drone production in at least five other countries, from South America
to Central Asia. Most recently, Russia has started making Iranian drones for
its war in Ukraine, bringing the number of countries using Iranian technology,
assistance, or parts to at least a dozen.”



Reuters: Khamenei Says Israel 'Must Be Punished' For Syria Embassy Attack
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“Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Wednesday that Israel
"must be punished and it shall be" for attacking the Iranian embassy compound
in Syria. In a major escalation of Israel's war with regional adversaries,
suspected Israeli warplanes bombed Iran's consulate in the Syrian capital on
April 1 in a strike that Iran said killed seven military advisers. "When they
attack the consulate, it is as if they have attacked our soil," Khamenei said
in a speech marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. "The evil
regime made a mistake and must be punished and it shall be," he added. In an
apparent response to Khamenei, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on
Wednesday that Israel will respond if Iran attacks Israel from its own soil.
"If Iran attacks from its own territory, Israel will respond and attack in
Iran," Katz said in post on the social media platform X. Iran backs groups that
have entered the fray across the region since Israel launched its invasion of
Gaza following the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas. Some 33,360
Palestinians have been killed in six months of Israeli bombardment of Gaza.
Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli
tallies.”



Associated Press: Gunmen Kill 6 Policemen In An Ambush In Southeastern Iran,
Media Reports Say
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“Gunmen ambushed a police convoy in Iran’s restive southeast on Tuesday,
killing six policemen, media reports said. The attack on a road in Sistan and
Baluchistan province also left two other policemen wounded, according to
yjc.ir, a website affiliated with the state broadcasting company. The report
said the Jaish al-Adl militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The report could not be independently verified. The militants have allegedly
been fighting for greater rights for the ethnic Baluch minority in the region.
Iran and some other nations consider it to be a terrorist group. The attack was
the second in as many weeks targeting security forces, indicating deterioration
of the security situation in the region. Last week’s clashes in three separate
areas of the province left 10 Iranian troops and 18 militants killed during the
fighting and six more members of the security forces died later in the
hospital.”



Turkey



Associated Press: Turkey And Israel Announce Trade Barriers On Each Other As
Relations Deteriorate Over Gaza
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“Turkey and Israel announced trade barriers on each other Tuesday as
relations deteriorated further amid the war in Gaza. Turkey, a staunch critic
of Israel’s military actions in the territory, announced that it was
restricting exports of 54 types of products to Israel with immediate effect.
They include aluminum, steel, construction products, jet fuel and chemical
fertilizers. In response, Israel said it was preparing a ban on products from
Turkey. The announcements came a day after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan
said Israel had barred Turkish military cargo planes from joining an operation
to airdrop humanitarian aid to Gaza and vowed to respond with a series of
measures against Israel until it declares a cease-fire and allows aid to flow
in without interruptions. “There is no excuse for Israel to block our attempt
to deliver aid by air to starving people of Gaza,” Fidan said.”



Afghanistan



Voice Of America: Taliban's Plans To Curtail Access To Facebook In Afghanistan
Alarm Critics <[link removed]>



“Media freedom advocates are expressing alarm over the Taliban's proposal to
restrict or completely ban access to Facebook in Afghanistan and have urged the
fundamentalist rulers to reconsider the move. Najibullah Haqqani, minister of
telecommunications and Information, announced last week on a local TV news
channel that he has finalized a proposal to limit access to the social media
platform, pending approval by the Taliban. The Committee to Protect
Journalists, or CPJ, has urged the Taliban not to move ahead on a measure that
it said would “further impede the free flow of information in Afghanistan.” In
a statement issued on Monday, the U.S.-based advocate of media freedom
highlighted Facebook's widespread use by Afghan news outlets to disseminate
news and information in the country. “Social media platforms, including
Facebook, have helped to fill a void left by the decline of the Afghan media
industry since the Taliban’s August 2021 takeover and the ensuing crackdown on
press freedom,” said Beh Lih Yi, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator.”



Pakistan



Associated Press: Pakistan Deploys More Than 100,000 Police And Paramilitary
Forces Ahead Of Eid Al-Fitr
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“Pakistani authorities have deployed more than 100,000 police and
paramilitary forces at mosques and marketplaces across the country ahead of the
massive Eid al-Fitr holiday, officials said Tuesday. Eid al-Fitr, which means
feast, will be celebrated in Pakistan on Wednesday, subject to sighting of the
moon. The three-day holiday marks the end of Ramadan, Islam’s holy month of
fasting. Though attacks during Eid are rare in Pakistan, Intelligence agencies
alerted the Interior Ministry that militants could use the holiday to target
civilians, government and military buildings, and compounds housing police,
officials said. The country has witnessed a surge in militant attacks in recent
years, mostly claimed by Pakistani Taliban and separatists who mainly operate
from the southwestern Baluchistan province. Security was also being beefed up
at places where high-profile personalities are expected to say their Eid
prayers. Taliban spokesperson for the Interior Ministry Abdul Mateen Qani said
forces were fully alert to ensure security during Eid al-Fitr in Afghanistan.
He said security forces will be deployed in all crowded areas, including
mosques.”



Lebanon



Associated Press: Lebanon Official Urges Restrictions On Syrian Refugees After
Slaying Blamed On Syrian Gang
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“Lebanon’s caretaker interior minister said Tuesday that this week’s slaying
of a local politician by what authorities say was a gang of Syrian nationals
signals the need to restrict the number of refugees entering the country from
neighboring Syria. Bassam Mawlawi also urged Lebanese to show restraint amid
flaring tensions over the slaying of Pascale Suleiman of the Christian
nationalist Lebanese Forces party, which has prompted anti-Syrian violence and
worsened political tensions among deeply divided Lebanese. Lebanese military
officials have said the slaying in northern Lebanon was part of a robbery, but
Suleiman’s party suspects political motives. The tiny Mediterranean country of
over 6 million people, including refugees, hosts what the U.N. refugee agency
says are nearly 785,000 U.N.-registered Syrian refugees, of which 90% rely on
aid to survive. Lebanese officials estimate the actual number could be as high
as 1.5 or 2 million. “We are seeing more crimes committed by Syrians,” Mawlawi
said at a news conference following a meeting with security and military
officials, adding that some 35% of detainees in Lebanon’s prisons are Syrian
nationals.”



Qatar



The Guardian: Qatar Airways Avoids Lawsuit Over Treatment Of Australian Women
At Doha Airport
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“Qatar Airways has successfully dodged an Australian lawsuit over an incident
at Doha airport in which women were forcibly removed from planes by armed
guards and some intimately examined. However, while the federal court dismissed
the case against the airline, justice John Halley determined the five
Australian women bringing the case could instead refile their claims for
damages against Matar, a Qatar Airways-owned subsidiary engaged by the Qatar
Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) to run Doha airport. The five women initiated
legal action against the airline in 2022, later adding the QCAA and Matar to
the case over the October 2020 incident, seeking damages over alleged “unlawful
physical contact”, false imprisonment and mental health impacts, including
depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. They were among more than a
dozen passengers who were escorted off the Sydney-bound Qatar Airways plane by
armed guards as authorities searched for the mother of a newborn baby found
abandoned in a plastic bag at Hamad international airport. The infant survived.”



The Times Of Israel: GOP Senators Introduce Bill Aimed At Downgrading Qatar
Ties If It Doesn’t Pressure Hamas
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A group of Republican senators has introduced legislation that aims to strip
Qatar of its status as a major non-NATO ally (MNNA) of the US if Doha doesn’t
exert all leverage it has over Hamas to secure the release of the American
hostages in Gaza, in addition to expelling all members of the terror group
currently residing in the Gulf state. The bill co-sponsored by Senators Ted
Budd, Rick Scott and Joni Ernst would require US Secretary of State Antony
Blinken to certify that it is in the national interest of the US for Qatar to
maintain its designation as a major non-NATO ally; that Qatar does not directly
or indirectly provide aid to Hamas; that it is sufficiently pressuring Hamas to
release the hostages; and that it has expelled Hamas members along with all
others involved in the October 7 attack on Israel. “If the secretary of state
cannot make this certification in good faith, then the president is required to
immediately terminate the designation of the State of Qatar as a major non-NATO
ally,” says the legislation.”



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