“Iran fired air defenses at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday
morning near the central city of Isfahan after spotting drones, which were
suspected to be part of an Israeli attack in retaliation for Tehran’s
unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country. No Iranian official
directly acknowledged the possibility that Israel attacked, and the Israeli
military did not respond to a request for comment. However, tensions have been
high since the Saturday assault on Israel amid its war on Hamas in the Gaza
Strip and its own strikes targeting Iran in Syria. United States officials
declined to comment as of early Friday, but American broadcast networks quoting
unnamed U.S. officials said Israel carried out the attack. The New York Times
quoted anonymous Israeli officials claiming the assault, which came on Iranian
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s 85th birthday. Israeli politicians also
made comments hinting that the country had launched an attack.”











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Eye on Extremism



April 19, 2024



Associated Press: Iran Fires At Suspected Israeli Attack Drones Near Isfahan
Air Base And Nuclear Site
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“Iran fired air defenses at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday
morning near the central city of Isfahan after spotting drones, which were
suspected to be part of an Israeli attack in retaliation for Tehran’s
unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country. No Iranian official
directly acknowledged the possibility that Israel attacked, and the Israeli
military did not respond to a request for comment. However, tensions have been
high since the Saturday assault on Israel amid its war on Hamas in the Gaza
Strip and its own strikes targeting Iran in Syria. United States officials
declined to comment as of early Friday, but American broadcast networks quoting
unnamed U.S. officials said Israel carried out the attack. The New York Times
quoted anonymous Israeli officials claiming the assault, which came on Iranian
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s 85th birthday. Israeli politicians also
made comments hinting that the country had launched an attack.”



Associated Press: Attack Blamed On IS Militants Kills 22 Pro-Government
Fighters In Central Syria
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“An attack on pro-government fighters by suspected members of the Islamic
State group in central Syria killed 22 pro-government fighters, an opposition
war monitor and pro-government media reported Friday. Gunmen attacked a bus
carrying members of the Quds Brigade, a government and Russian-backed faction
of mostly Palestinian fighters in Syria, near the town of Sukhna late Thursday
night. Sukhna was once an IS stronghold. There was no immediate claim of
responsibility but both the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based
opposition war monitor, and the pro-government radio station Sham FM said IS
was behind the attack. Both the Observatory and Sham FM said 22 fighters were
killed. Sham FM said they were all Quds Brigade gunmen, while the Observatory
said the majority belonged to the group. The Quds Brigade fought on the side of
Syrian government forces during the country’s 13-year conflict, which has
killed half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war
population of 23 million.”




Recent CEP Press Releases

* Extremist Content Online: Alleged 'New Criteria' Prompts Twitter/X To
Reinstate Account Belonging To Australian Neo-Nazi
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* Extremist Content Online: Content Containing Clips From Christchurch
Terrorist Attack Located On Twitter, TikTok, And Instagram
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* UANI and CEP Mourn The Loss of Senator Joseph I. Lieberman
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* Extremist Content Online: Pro-ISIS TikTok Users Celebrate Accused Attacker
In Zurich Stabbing
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* CEP Marks 20th Anniversary Of The Madrid Train Bombings
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United States



Politico: Iraq Thinks ISIS Is Gone. The U.S. Begs To Differ.
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“Iraqi Prime Minister MOHAMMED SHIA AL-SUDANI has one overarching message for
Washington this week: ISIS just isn’t the threat it was a decade ago — and the
bilateral relationship needs to adapt as a result. Speaking with journalists at
the Willard Intercontinental Hotel in Washington on Tuesday, Al-Sudani
emphasized that point multiple times when asked about the future of the
U.S.-Iraq relationship. “ISIS is not a threat now to Iraq and most of its
members are now hiding in the mountains in caves in the Sahara Desert, and our
security forces continue to track them down,” he said. As a result, Baghdad
plans to “reevaluate the schedule of ending or tapering out the mission” of the
U.S.-led military coalition. The Biden administration disagrees. The State
Department said in a statement to NatSec Daily that while ISIS has been
“territorially defeated in Iraq” as a result of the work of Iraq’s military and
the global coalition, “ISIS continues to pose a real threat, although
diminished, in Iraq and the wider region.””



Associated Press: US Vetoes Widely Supported Resolution Backing Full UN
Membership For Palestine
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“The United States vetoed a widely backed U.N. resolution Thursday that would
have paved the way for full United Nations membership for Palestine, a goal the
Palestinians have long sought and Israel has worked to prevent. The vote in the
15-member Security Council was 12 in favor, the United States opposed and two
abstentions, from the United Kingdom and Switzerland. U.S. allies France, Japan
and South Korea supported the resolution. The strong support the Palestinians
received reflects not only the growing number of countries recognizing their
statehood but almost certainly the global support for Palestinians facing a
humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Gaza, now in its seventh month. The
resolution would have recommended that the 193-member U.N. General Assembly,
where there are no vetoes, approve Palestine becoming the 194th member of the
United Nations. Some 140 countries have already recognized Palestine, so its
admission would have been approved, likely by a much higher number of
countries.”



Iraq



Associated Press: Iraq’s Prime Minister Heads To Michigan To Meet Arab
Americans At A Tense Time For The Middle East
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“The leader of Iraq traveled to Michigan on Thursday following a sit-down
with President Joe Biden to meet with the state’s large Iraqi community and
update them on escalating tensions in the Middle East following Iran’s weekend
aerial assault on Israel. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s trip
to both Washington and Michigan to discuss U.S.-Iraq relations had been planned
well before Saturday’s drone and missile launches from Iran-backed groups. The
visit has been thrust into the spotlight as tensions in the region escalate
following the strike, which included drone and missile launches that overflew
Iraqi airspace and others that were launched from Iraq by Iran-backed groups.
Michigan holds one of the largest populations of Iraqis in the nation and many
local Democrats have pushed back against U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza
following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. The state holds the largest concentration
of Arab Americans in the country.”



Afghanistan



Voice Of America: Afghans With Disability Urge Taliban To End Ban On Aid Agency

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“For years, Qari Wazir Mohammad and his six siblings received assistance from
the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, or SCA, enabling all seven of them to
read Braille and perform daily tasks such as cooking and cleaning. All born
blind in a remote village of war-torn Ghazni province, the four brothers and
three sisters faced extreme poverty and a lack of support for their
disabilities. Last year, the Taliban directed the SCA to halt humanitarian
activities, including support programs for the disabled. Taliban officials
issued the order in protest of an Iraqi Christian refugee who burned a copy of
the Quran in Sweden. That refugee, Salwan Momika, has since reportedly left
Sweden, but the ban remains in place, depriving tens of thousands of disabled
Afghans of the SCA’s critical assistance services. “We have clarified our
status as an independent NGO and our condemnation of the events in Sweden that
led to our suspension,” Andreas Stefansson, secretary general of the SCA, told
VOA in written comments.”



Pakistan



Associated Press: Five Japanese Escape Unhurt In Pakistan Suicide Blast Attack
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“Five Japanese nationals in Pakistan escaped unhurt on Friday from a suicide
bomb attack on their vehicle as police shot down a gunman accompanying the
bomber, a police spokesperson said, but two bystanders were among the three
injured. Islamist militants seeking to overthrow the government and set up
their own strict brand of Islamic rule have launched some of Pakistan's
bloodiest attacks during the last few years, with some separatist groups
targeting foreigners, including Chinese. No militant group immediately claimed
responsibility for the rare attack on Japanese nationals, however, with
Pakistani authorities identifying them as engineers working for the management
of an export processing zone in the port city. The Japanese have been moved to
a safe place in police custody, the spokesperson, Abrar Hussain Baloch, said,
although the bystanders and a guard with the visitors suffered injuries.”



Lebanon



Voice Of America: Israeli Airstrikes Kill Hezbollah Fighters In Lebanon
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“Israel's military said Thursday it conducted airstrikes throughout the Gaza
Strip targeting Hamas fighters and infrastructure along with aerial strikes
that killed two Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon. The Lebanon strikes
were the latest in cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has
raised concerns about the spread of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Agence
France-Presse cited Hezbollah saying two of its fighters were killed in an
Israeli strike in Kfar Kila. Israel said 14 of its soldiers were injured
Wednesday in a Hezbollah attack on northern Israel. The White House said U.S.
and Israeli officials on Thursday discussed American concerns over Israel's
planned military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which Israel
agreed to consider.”



Qatar



The New York Times: Qatar Says It Is Reviewing Its Mediator Role As
Israel-Hamas Talks Stall
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“Qatar’s prime minister has said that his government is reviewing its role as
a key mediator between Israel and Hamas after criticism by U.S. and Israeli
officials, who have urged it to exert more pressure on the Palestinian armed
group to reach a deal. “We have seen insults against our mediation, and its
exploitation for the sake of narrow political interests,” Sheikh Mohammed bin
Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the Qatari premier, said at a news conference
this week. “This has caused Qatar to comprehensively review that role.” In late
March, a flurry of shuttle diplomacy involving Israel, Hamas and mediators
including the United States had raised hopes for a new cease-fire deal in the
war in Gaza. But those efforts appear to have reached a dead end for now,
according to Israeli and Hamas officials.”



United Kingdom



Garowe Online: UK Releases £2.75 Million For Fight Against Al-Shabaab In
Somalia
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“The United Kingdom (UK) has released £2.75 million ostensibly for support
towards the fight against Al-Shabaab militants, who still control large swathes
of rural central and southern regions in the Horn of Africa nation. According
to the UK, the money will be diverted towards assisting in transportation and
provision of food and communication equipment to the Somali Security Forces who
are in the frontlines as the war against al-Shabaab takes shape. In addition,
the money that has been released through the United Nations Support Office in
Somalia (UNSOS) will also help in medical evacuations, capacity building, and
sustainability of operations in various regions across Somalia. Reports further
indicate part of the money will be used to equip the Somali National Army with
Very High Frequency (VHF) communication systems and train them in maintaining
and installing these systems.”



Australia



Reuters: Teen Charged With Terrorism Over Sydney Bishop Stabbing
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“Thousands of Muslims gathered in mosques across Sydney for regular prayers
on Friday despite concerns about retaliatory attacks after police charged a
16-year-old boy with a terrorism offence over the stabbing of a Sydney bishop
earlier this week. Police charged a 16-year-old boy with a terrorism offence on
Thursday for the alleged stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel at a church on
Monday. Footage from the scene showed the boy restrained by the congregation
and shouting at Emmanuel for insulting Islam. Police said they will allege he
stabbed the bishop, who is in stable condition in hospital, as many as six
times. The offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The boy was
refused bail. A mob of thousands descended on the church after the attack,
where they clashed with police and demanded the boy be brought out to face
justice. Hours afterwards the Lakemba mosque, one of Australia's largest,
received fire bomb threats.”



Southeast Asia



Eurasianet: Tajikistan Striving To Convince The World That It Can Contain
Terrorism
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“Tajikistan, a Central Asian state with limited means, is trying to project a
get-tough-on-terror image following the late March attack at a Moscow concert
venue, in which Tajik militants are accused of killing over 140 people. But the
government steps being taken appear to address the symptoms of the domestic
challenge, not the disease. The March 22 terror tragedy prompted a wave of
retribution against Tajik citizens in Russia and placed President Imomali
Rahmon’s regime in an unwelcome spotlight, reminding the world of its numerous
flaws in governance. Rahmon’s damage-control efforts have included a mixture of
denial and a “round-up-the-usual suspects” approach that does not address the
underlying causes of economic and social discontent fueling the spread radical
Islamic ideas in the country.”



Reuters: Soldiers From Russia And Tajikistan Stage Counter-Terrorist Drills
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“Troops from Russia and Tajikistan on Thursday completed several days of
joint exercises in the Central Asian country to rehearse scenarios for
cross-border incursions by militants or illegal armed groups. Tajikistan shares
a long border with Afghanistan, which is home to a branch of Islamic State. The
militant group claimed responsibility for an attack that killed at least 144
people at a concert hall just outside Moscow last month. The Russian Defence
Ministry released video of the drills, in which attack helicopters, drones,
multiple launch rocket systems, howitzers and tanks were deployed in desert and
mountain terrain against the mock enemy. It said the objectives included
"destroying terrorist gangs", and the exercises incorporated lessons learned by
Russia's military from the war in Ukraine. Russia and Tajikistan are both
members of a security alliance of former Soviet states, and Russia maintains a
military base in the country.”



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