“The man who detonated a bomb outside the Kabul airport in August 2021, killing
170 Afghans and 13 American service members, was an Islamic State operative who
had been held in a coalition detention facility in Afghanistan but was freed by
the Taliban, according to a new U.S. military review that has identified him
for the first time. Some service members who were at the airport that day
claimed they had spotted the suicide bomber at the site and were ordered not to
engage. But the review found that those service members had the wrong man in
their sights, and the strike was not preventable. “There was no opportunity to
engage the bomber prior to the attack,” said a senior U.S. military official,
who was involved in the supplemental review. The bombing at Abbey Gate took
place during the U.S. military’s chaotic exit from Afghanistan. Thousands of
people had converged on the airport in a desperate effort to flee after the
Taliban’s swift takeover of the country.”











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Eye on Extremism



April 16, 2024



NBC: Kabul Airport Bomber Was An ISIS Operative Freed From Prison By The
Taliban
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“The man who detonated a bomb outside the Kabul airport in August 2021,
killing 170 Afghans and 13 American service members, was an Islamic State
operative who had been held in a coalition detention facility in Afghanistan
but was freed by the Taliban, according to a new U.S. military review that has
identified him for the first time. Some service members who were at the airport
that day claimed they had spotted the suicide bomber at the site and were
ordered not to engage. But the review found that those service members had the
wrong man in their sights, and the strike was not preventable. “There was no
opportunity to engage the bomber prior to the attack,” said a senior U.S.
military official, who was involved in the supplemental review. The bombing at
Abbey Gate took place during the U.S. military’s chaotic exit from Afghanistan.
Thousands of people had converged on the airport in a desperate effort to flee
after the Taliban’s swift takeover of the country.”



Associated Press: Islamic State-Linked Attackers Kill At Least 11 People And
Torch Vehicles In Eastern Congo
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“Extremist-linked rebels attacked villages in eastern Congo over the weekend,
killing at least 11 people, torching vehicles and taking possessions, a local
official said. The attacks occurred Saturday and were reported by the local
mayor on Sunday. Allied Democratic Forces rebels with ties to the Islamic State
group have long operated in the border area near Uganda. The United Nations
said earlier this month that almost 200 people have been killed there this
year. In one area, 11 bodies were recovered from four different places in the
commune of Mulekera, according to the mayor, Ngongo Mayanga. Mulekera is near
Beni town in North Kivu province. Eastern Congo has been ravaged by conflict
for decades as more than 120 armed groups fight for control of valuable mineral
resources and some try to protect their communities. Mass killings by rebels
are frequent. The violence has led over 7 million people to flee their homes,
the U.N. has said.”



CEP Mentions



iMEdD Lab: Direct Analysis: "Iran's Objective Likely Not A Militarily
Successful Attack"
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“...Dr Schindler served as Germany’s diplomatic representative in Iran from
2005 to 2011 and currently is the Senior Director of the Counter Extremism
Project in New York and Berlin. Speaking to iMEdD, he highlights that the
recent strike by Tehran, which occurred just the day before yesterday, disrupts
the status quo between the two nations and he further explains that despite
successfully intercepting the assault, Israel has suffered a significant loss
of crucial strategic capability. “Going forward, Israel will have to expect
potential Iranian attacks on its territory any time it attacks Iranian proxies
or any significant Iranian military or intelligence personnel in the region.
This means, at this moment, Israel has lost an important deterrent capability
against Iran. Clearly Iran is no longer sufficiently deterred by Israel not to
attack directly, ” asserts Dr. Schindler.”



Georgetown Security Studies Review: The Great Replacement Theory & Racially Or
Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists
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“…In the midst of frustration and legitimate political discourse over
concerns with U.S. immigration policy, there has been a surge in the use of
violent language consistent with the Great Replacement Theory to promote
violence against immigrants at the U.S. southern border. As defined by the
Counter Extremism Project, the “great replacement theory” states non-white
immigrants are replacing white populations. While various ethno-nationalist
groups who adhere to the great replacement theory state they are non-violent,
others use the Great Replacement Theory to justify violence, as evidenced by
the 2019 New Zealand Mosque shooter who named his manifesto “The Great
Replacement.” The surge in the use of violent online language to describe
immigrants at the U.S. southern border normalizes dehumanizing language that
promotes the bigoted “great replacement theory,” which not only foments discord
amongst the U.S. population but also may lead toviolence.”



United States



ABC: Review Finds US Troops Did Not Spot ISIS-K Suicide Bomber Before Abbey
Gate Attack
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“Members of a Marine scout sniper team who believed they could have taken out
the suicide bomber ahead of the catastrophic attack at Kabul's Hamid Karzai
International Airport during the final days of the American withdrawal from
Afghanistan were mistaken, a review ordered by U.S. Central Command has
determined. "Over the past two years, some service members have claimed that
they had the bomber in their sights and they could have prevented the attack.
We now know that is not correct," a member of the supplemental review team,
which was tasked with building on the military's initial investigation by
taking into account newer information and claims that have surfaced, told
reporters in a recent briefing. In another significant revelation, members of
the team identified Abdul Rahman al-Logari as the terrorist responsible for
killing 13 American service members and some 170 Afghans when on Aug. 26 2021
he detonated a suicide vest laden with 20 pounds of military-grade explosives
near the airport's Abbey Gate. The blast sent a mass of 5-millimeter ball
bearings ripping through the densely-packed crowd. This is the first time U.S.
officials have confirmed al-Logari was the bomber.”



Voice Of America: Biden Meets Iraqi PM Amid Escalating Mideast Tensions
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“As U.S. President Joe Biden hosted Iraq’s prime minister Monday, all eyes
were on Iran, which over the weekend made a historic first strike on Israel.
That attack has inflamed concerns of a wider regional war — a situation that
effectively eclipsed the leaders’ already-planned Oval Office meeting, where
they wanted to discuss their mutual fight against Islamic State, economic
issues and Iraq’s progress toward energy independence and modernization. “The
two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the enduring strategic partnership
between Iraq and the United States, and discussed their visions for
comprehensive bilateral cooperation under the 2008 U.S.-Iraq Strategic
Framework Agreement,” the two leaders said in a joint statement after Prime
Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani met with Biden. Meanwhile, White House
officials disputed reports that Iran delivered a clear warning before the
strike. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby called such
reports “nonsense.””



Iran



Associated Press: Analysis: Iran Upends Decades Of Shadow Warfare In Direct
Attack On Israel As Tensions Mount At Home
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“Iran’s direct attack on Israel over the weekend upended decades of its
shadowy warfare by proxy, something Tehran has used to manage international
repercussions for its actions. But with both economic and political tensions at
home boiling, the country’s Shiite theocracy chose a new path as changes loom
for the Islamic Republic. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will mark his
85th birthday Friday, with no clear successor in sight and still serving as the
final arbiter of every decision Iran makes. Coming to power in the wake of
Iran’s devastating eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s, Khamenei preached for
years about “strategic patience” in confronting his government’s main rivals,
Israel and the United States, to avoid open combat. That saw Iran invest more
deeply in regional militia forces to harass Israel — such as Hamas in the Gaza
Strip or Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia — and contain the U.S., like with the
militias that planted devastating improvised explosives that killed American
troops during the Iraq war. That’s extended even into impoverished Yemen, where
Iran’s arming of the Houthi rebels empowered their takeover of the capital and
checkmated a Saudi-led coalition still trapped in a yearslong war there.”



Iraq



Jerusalem Post: Iraq's Struggle: Divided Between The US Coalition And Becoming
An Iranian Proxy-State
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“Five years ago, ISIS was defeated by a global coalition and its local
partners in the controlled territory of Baghuz, Syria. This marked the final
territorial defeat of the terrorist organization in its last remaining Iraqi
stronghold. o the cooperation between the international community’s military
and economic investments and Iraqi security forces. By July 2017, Mosul was
once again under Iraqi government control. However, the country still had to
regain stability after years under ISIS' grip. Today, despite being almost
fully liberated from the ISIS threat, Iraq still faces problems, particularly
repatriating the 1.1 million people who were internally displaced by ISIS. They
currently live in refugee camps or have been forced to resettle elsewhere due
to continued fighting among various local militias. “In Sinjar [Iraq], Turkey
and local militias, which are considered to be affiliated with the PKK, are
still fighting. Other places in southwest Baghdad are still under the control
of the militias, and those areas are practically depopulated. People are not
allowed to go back home, and they make up about 3% of Iraq’s population,” Omar
al Nidawi, a Middle East analyst focusing on Iraqi political, security, and
energy affairs, told The Media Line.”



Reuters: Iraqi Leader Calls For Restraint In Middle East
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“Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani called for restraint in the
Middle East on Monday during talks in Washington as tensions soar between Iran
and Israel after Tehran's weekend strikes. "We encourage all the efforts of
stopping the expansion of the area of conflict, especially the latest
development," Sudani said at the White House at the start of a meeting with
President Joe Biden. The meetings come as U.S. ally Israel weighs its response
to Iran's missile and drone attack, with the United States and Europe urging
restraint. Iraq is a rare ally of both Washington and Tehran. Iraqi airspace
was a main route for Iran’s unprecedented drone and ballistic missile attack on
Israel, and Iraqi officials say Iran informed them, as well as other countries
in the region, ahead of the attack. Sudani is leading a delegation that met
officials across Washington on Monday, including Biden and Defense Secretary
Lloyd Austin. "In the spirit of partnership our views may be divergent about
what’s happening in the region," Sudani said through a translator as he sat
next to Biden in the Oval Office.”



Pakistan



Associated Press: Pakistan’s Premier Calls For Closer Cooperation With Saudi
Arabia To Enhance Investment In Pakistan
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“Pakistan’s prime minister called for closer cooperation between Saudi Arabia
and his cash-strapped Islamic nation to enhance Saudi investment in his
country, a government statement said Tuesday. Shehbaz Sharif made his remarks
during a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan
who arrived Monday in the capital, Islamabad, to discuss a range of issues,
including how to help Pakistan overcome its economic crisis. The previous week,
Sharif met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, one of
Pakistan’s closest allies and a leading supplier of oil to Islamabad. According
to Pakistani officials, Prince Mohammed had assured Pakistan that Saudi Arabia
would invest $5 billion in Pakistan. On Monday, Sharif said the visit by Prince
Faisal and the high level delegation showed the “strong commitment of both
countries to the strengthening of bilateral relations focused on mutually
beneficial economic cooperation.””



Lebanon



The National: Will Lebanon Pay The Price For Iran-Israel Escalation?
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“Israel has pledged to retaliate after Iran's unprecedented air attack on
Saturday, creating fears that Lebanon may pay the price for the escalation,
depending on the scale and targets of Israel's response. One risk is that
Israel could retaliate by striking Iran-backed Hezbollah, or that an extended
Iran-Israel war would resulted in Hezbollah intervening at scale, analysts and
diplomatic sources have told The National. The hundreds of missiles and drones
that Iran launched from its territory, despite causing little damage, have
reshuffled old lines between the two foes, who until now have mostly operated
against each other in the shadows with unclaimed assassinations and acts of
sabotage. Iran's operation, launched in response to a suspected Israeli attack
on Iran's consulate in Damascus on April 1, which killed two senior generals in
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was described as “completely
successful” by the Iranian commander Gen Mohammad Bagheri.”



Middle East



Associated Press: Israel’s Military Chief Says That Israel Will Respond To
Iran’s Weekend Missile Attack
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“Israel’s military chief said Monday that his country will respond to Iran’s
weekend attack, but he did not elaborate on when and how as world leaders urged
against retaliation, trying to avoid a spiral of violence in the Middle East.
The Iranian attack on Saturday came in response to a suspected Israeli strike
two weeks earlier on an Iranian consular building in the Syrian capital of
Damascus that killed two Iranian generals. It marked the first time Iran has
launched a direct military assault on Israel despite decades of enmity dating
back to the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran launched hundreds of
drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles at Israel in the attack. The
Israeli military said that 99% of the drones and missiles were intercepted, by
Israel’s own air defenses and warplanes and in coordination with a U.S.-led
coalition of partners. Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said Monday
that Israel is considering its next steps but that the Iranian strike “will be
met with a response.””



Associated Press: Israeli Military Tells Palestinians Not To Return To North
Gaza After Witnesses Say Troops Killed 5
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“The Israeli military renewed warnings on Monday for Palestinians not to
return to northern Gaza, a day after witnesses and medical officials said
Israeli troops opened fire and killed five people among throngs of displaced
residents trying to walk back to their homes in the devastated area. Hundreds
of thousands of Palestinians were driven from the north after Israeli forces
first launched their offensive there soon after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on
southern Israel. In the months of fighting since, vast parts of the north have
been flattened, including much of Gaza City. After months of Israeli
restrictions on aid to the north, some 300,000 who remained there are on the
brink of famine, according to the United Nations. Still, many Palestinians have
wanted to go back, saying they are sick of the conditions they endured in
displacement. For months, families have been crammed into tent camps,
schools-turned-shelters and homes of relatives throughout the south of the Gaza
Strip. Some also fear remaining in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost town, as Israel
says it plans to attack it eventually to root out Hamas.”



Reuters: Israeli Military Official Says Four Israeli Soldiers Wounded By Blast
In Lebanon
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“Four Israeli soldiers were wounded in an explosion hundreds of metres inside
Lebanese territory, an Israeli military official said on Monday. It appeared to
be the first such incident to become known since the Gaza war erupted in
October, leading to months of exchanges of fire between Israel and Lebanon's
armed group Hezbollah. Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters planted
explosive devices in the Tel Ismail area near the border on the Lebanese side.
It said that when a patrol of Israel's Golani Brigade crossed into Lebanon and
arrived at the area where the devices were planted, Hezbollah detonated them,
leading to deaths and injuries. Earlier on Monday, the military said four
soldiers were injured, one severely, as a result of an explosion of an unknown
source during overnight activity along the northern border and that the
incident was under review. Israeli shelling since Oct. 7 has killed around 270
Hezbollah fighters and around 50 civilians, security sources say, and displaced
some 90,000 people in southern Lebanon.”



Somalia



Garowe
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Online
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:
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Somali
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Pirates
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Confirm
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Taking
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$5
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Million
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Ransom
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To
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Release
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Bangladeshi
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Ship
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“The Somali pirates who were arrested by Puntland authorities received $5
million ransom before releasing a Bangladeshi merchant ship, several weeks
after they intercepted it along the Indian Ocean, amid rising cases of piracy.
MV Abdullah was released before the pirates were intercepted by the Puntland
Marine Police Force (PMPF) who have tightened the fight against the pirates in
Somalia’s 3,333 KM coastline, which is also subject to Al-shabaab terror
attacks. The vessel was en route from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates
when hijacked approximately 600 nautical miles east of Mogadishu in March. The
ransom was given a few days ago with those delivering dropping it using a small
aircraft "After confirming the money's authenticity, we distributed it among
our teams and then escaped, steering clear of government forces," Abdiashid
Yusuf, one of the pirates purportedly involved in the incident, told Reuters.”



United Kingdom



BBC: Isle Of Wight Festival Terror Plot: Teen Jailed For Seven Years
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“The teenager from Cowes on the Isle of Wight, who cannot be named for legal
reasons, was planning to attack people he believed had insulted Islam. He also
shared terrorist publications with others, Counter Terrorism Policing South
East (CTPSE) said. He was found guilty in February of preparation of terrorist
acts. The jury at Kingston Crown Court also found him guilty of three counts of
dissemination of terrorist publications and having a bladed article in a public
place. The trial heard the FBI discovered messages relating to an alleged
attack that was due to take place in July 2022. The boy developed an "Islamic
extremist mindset" in late 2021 and repeatedly researched the Isle of Wight
Festival in June 2022, according to prosecutor Serena Gates. His internet
search terms included "gun Isle of Wight", "fast lorry", "how many people are
going to Isle of Wigh [sic] fest", "Isle of Wight Festival gate" and "Isle of
Wight Festival gate names".”



Europe



EU Observer: EU To Blacklist Israeli Settlers, After New Sanctions On Hamas
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“EU states are planning to impose for the first time visa-bans and
asset-freezes on six extremist settlers on Friday (19 April) in a bid to chill
Israeli aggression. The decision is to be quietly adopted by a "written
procedure" in the EU Council, diplomatic sources said — instead of by EU
leaders during their summit in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday or EU foreign
ministers meeting next Monday. The move comes amid a fresh surge in
anti-Palestinian violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, following the
death of a 14-year-old Israeli shepherd. The new sanctions are part of wider
diplomatic efforts to curb Israeli aggression in Gaza and to slow settlement
expansion in the hope of reviving the two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli
conflict. The US, Israel's staunch ally, and individual European countries,
Belgium, France, and the UK, have already sanctioned violent settlers. But
Belgium, France, and the Netherlands, backed by Ireland and Spain, pushed for
the EU-level move to increase pressure, amid hints that the concerted Western
pushback was just a first round of sanctions if Israeli behaviour didn't
change.”



Australia



Reuters: Australia Says Assyrian Church Stabbing Was Terrorist Act
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“Australian police on Tuesday said a knife attack on an Assyrian church
bishop and some followers in Sydney was a terrorist act motivated by suspected
religious extremism, as the country reeled from a second stabbing incident in
three days. At least four people were wounded in the attack, including Bishop
Mar Mari Emmanuel of the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church, when a man
lunged at him with a knife during a service live-streamed on Monday. The
incident at the western Sydney suburb of Wakeley triggered clashes outside the
church between police and an angry crowd of the bishop's followers who demanded
the attacker be handed over to them. Police arrested a male teenager at the
scene and were forced to hold him at the church for his own safety. "We believe
there are elements that are satisfied in terms of religious motivated
extremism," New South Wales state Police Commissioner Karen Webb said during a
press conference. "After consideration of all the material, I declared that it
was a terrorist incident."”



Russia



Reuters: Russia Adds Director And Playwright To 'Terrorists And Extremists'
List
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“Russian theatre director Zhenya Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk
have been added to an official list of "terrorists and extremists" as they
await trial on charges of "justifying terrorism". The pair were arrested in May
last year. The charges against them relate to an award-winning play about
Russian women who married Islamic State fighters. The "terrorists and
extremists" register is published online and run by Rosfinmonitoring, a state
agency which is empowered to freeze the assets of people and entities on the
list - even if they have yet to be convicted of a crime. Berkovich, 38, and
Petriychuk, 43, are among many thousands of people and entities who have been
similarly designated in a crackdown on perceived subversive activity that
intensified after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The Kremlin does not comment on individual cases but says Russia is engaged in
an existential struggle with the West and needs to robustly uphold its laws and
defend itself.”



India



The Hindu: Firing Between Assam Rifles, Militants In Assam
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“An encounter took place between Assam Rifles personnel and suspected
militants in Assam’s Tinsukia district on April 16,” a defence source said. “An
incident involving suspected militants took place in the morning. We are
awaiting details,” he said. "We are yet to receive inputs from the spot and we
can share further details only later," the source said. A police source in
Tinsukia said Assam Rifles vehicles were fired upon near Namdang in Margherita.
The vehicles were coming from Changlang in Arunachal Pradesh towards
Margherita. Local TV channels showed Army helicopters purportedly reaching the
spot of the incident as additional forces were also despatched.”



Technology



NBC News: Verified Pro-Nazi X Accounts Flourish Under Elon Musk
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“Elon Musk’s X is a thriving hub for Nazi support and propaganda, with paid
subscribers sharing speeches by Adolf Hitler or content praising his genocidal
regime. NBC News found that at least 150 paid “Premium” subscriber X accounts
and thousands of unpaid accounts have posted or amplified pro-Nazi content on X
in recent months, often in apparent violation of X’s rules. The paid accounts
posting the content all consistently posted antisemitic or pro-Nazi material.
Examples included praise of Nazi soldiers, sharing of Nazi symbols and denials
of the Holocaust.”



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