“London’s police commissioner will meet with senior members of the Jewish
community on Monday after the force bungled its apology for suggesting an
“openly Jewish’’ man’s presence along the route of a pro-Palestinian march
risked provoking the demonstrators. Amid calls for his resignation,
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley is also expected to meet with
London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Home Secretary James Cleverly, who together are
responsible for law and order in the city. “We remain focused on doing
everything possible to ensure Jewish Londoners feel safe in this city,” the
Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement Sunday. “We know recent events
and some of our recent actions have contributed to concerns felt by many.” The
meeting comes as London police struggle to manage tensions sparked by the
Israel-Hamas war, with some Jewish residents saying they feel threatened by
repeated pro-Palestinian marches through the streets of the U.K. capital.”











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Eye on Extremism



April 22, 2024



Associated Press: London Police To Meet With Jewish Leaders As Protests Spark
Concerns About The Safety Of Jews
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“London’s police commissioner will meet with senior members of the Jewish
community on Monday after the force bungled its apology for suggesting an
“openly Jewish’’ man’s presence along the route of a pro-Palestinian march
risked provoking the demonstrators. Amid calls for his resignation,
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley is also expected to meet with
London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Home Secretary James Cleverly, who together are
responsible for law and order in the city. “We remain focused on doing
everything possible to ensure Jewish Londoners feel safe in this city,” the
Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement Sunday. “We know recent events
and some of our recent actions have contributed to concerns felt by many.” The
meeting comes as London police struggle to manage tensions sparked by the
Israel-Hamas war, with some Jewish residents saying they feel threatened by
repeated pro-Palestinian marches through the streets of the U.K. capital.”



The Washington Post: Proud Boys Appear At Trump Rally, Drawing Condemnation
From Biden
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“At least 10 men wearing the uniform of the Proud Boys, a violent extremist
group, appeared outside the entrance of a rally here for presumptive Republican
nominee Donald Trump, prompting condemnation from President Biden’s campaign.
The men — wearing black and yellow shirts, hats and masks identifying them as
Proud Boys — were seen walking along the line of vendors selling Trump apparel
and souvenirs around the time that the gates opened for a planned Trump rally
here. One of the men held a sign saying “Free All of the J6 Prisoners,” a
reference to people charged in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita said, “We don’t comment on
stupid.” A spokesman for the Biden campaign condemned Trump for emboldening
violent extremists. “When Trump told his supporters to ‘stop the steal’, they
attacked the Capitol, violently assaulted police officers, and tried to
overturn an election,” Biden spokesman Ammar Moussa said. “Now they’re back,
standing by once again as Trump threatens of a ‘bloodbath’ if he loses in
November. This is Donald Trump’s America: where white nationalists and violent
far-right extremists are empowered and working families are left behind.””




CEP Expert Analysis

* ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency in March 2024
<[link removed]>
* CEP Report: Central Syria’s ISIS Insurgency In 2023
<[link removed]>
* CEP Statement Calling For U.S. Sanctions Against Qatar, DIMDEX Conference,
And Al Thani Royal Family
<[link removed]>
* Extremist Content Online: The Base Calls For Members of Other White
Supremacist Groups to Join
<[link removed]>
* CEP Webinar: Cruel And Unusual Punishment – How The Houthis Target Women,
Journalists And Religious Minorities
<[link removed]>



CEP Mentions



Daily Mail: Inside Our Failing Jails: Former Prison Governor Ian Acheson
Reveals A System Gripped By Violence, Rampant Drug Taking And Radicalisation -
While Woke Bosses Take The Knee Rather Than Tackle The Chaos
<[link removed]>



“Every morning, men and women serving on the front line of His Majesty's
Prison and Probation Service pull on a cheap uniform and go to work in what's
been called the most hostile work environment in Europe. The endemic violence
in our jails means many of them are ending their shifts in hospital rather than
home with their families. A month ago, an officer went on duty on B wing in HMP
Whitemoor, one of our maximum security prisons. He left in an ambulance and was
put on a ventilator, unconscious, after a vicious assault. He's now thankfully
recovering. Rates of assault against prison staff run at almost one every hour
of every day. Would you work in a place like this? I used to walk those
landings too many years ago. I progressed from officer to senior manager and
then senior mandarin. I like to think I know what I'm talking about. I know
this experience is causing those in power some embarrassment. Tough.”



Daily Mail: Prisons Carry Out So Few Mandatory Drugs Tests On Inmates That
Officials Have Stopped Publishing The Data - As Spice Epidemic Spirals
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“…Professor Ian Acheson, a former prison governor and author of Screwed:
Britain's Prison Crisis and How To Escape It, was shocked when he came across
the figures. He wrote in an exclusive op-ed for MailOnline: 'The prison drugs
market is enormous and much of it is under the control of organised crime
cartels who have a literally captive market and enormous mark ups for product.
'And now we can't even know the true scale of the problem because the prison
service redacted its own findings.' Professor Acheson suggested a lack of
prison officers to carry out the tests could be to blame.”



Front Office Sports: A Bare-Knuckle Fighter Won His Pro Debut. The Far Right
Scored A Marketing Win
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“...“A successful individual, such as a celebrity or someone who stands out
in their field, can help make extremist beliefs more appealing to regular
people,” says Joshua Fisher-Birch, a researcher at the Counter Extremism
Project. BKFC founder David Feldman did not respond to a request for comment
sent in early April. He did reply immediately to an FOS inquiry about the
availability of media assets sent in mid-April, after which he claimed not to
have received the initial request for comment. He did not respond to subsequent
calls and emails. “We were not aware of Polk’s sponsor or [alleged] ties to
these groups,” he told the Southern Poverty Law Center. “Him or any other
fighter who fights for organizations who support white supremacist beliefs are
not welcome and will not fight in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.””



United States



Associated Press: US Sanctions Fundraisers For Extremist West Bank Settlers
Who Commit Violence Against Palestinians
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“The Biden administration on Friday imposed sanctions on two entities accused
of fundraising for extremist Israel settlers already sanctioned, as well as the
founder of an organization whose members regularly assault Palestinians. The
Treasury Department announcement comes as the West Bank has seen some of its
worst violence perpetrated by extremist settlers against Palestinians since the
war in nearby Gaza began. There is also friction between President Joe Biden
and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose far-right government has
reacted angrily to previous sanctions imposed against West Bank settlers.
Included in the Friday sanctions are two entities — Mount Hebron Fund and Shlom
Asiraich — accused of raising funds for sanctioned settlers Yinon Levi and
David Chai Chasdai. Both men were previously sanctioned by the Biden
administration for violently attacking Palestinians in the West Bank.”



MSNBC: Nearly Three Decades After The Oklahoma City Bombing, GOP Has Learned
The Wrong Lessons
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“Twenty-nine years after killing 168 people in the bombing of the Alfred P.
Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City — the deadliest act of domestic
terrorism in U.S. history — Timothy McVeigh is dead and buried. But the
extremism that fueled his hate on April 19, 1995, is alive and unencumbered in
today’s conservative movement. In many ways, McVeigh embodied the threats of
political violence and radicalization presently gripping conservatives — and
thus, the rest of the U.S., too. I think of McVeigh as connecting the eras of
white domestic terrorism that characterized the 20th century and the more
recent strain of extremism infecting the MAGA movement. In 2018, for example,
historian Kathleen Belew wrote that the Oklahoma City bombing ought not be seen
as the act of a “lone wolf” but, rather, in its proper context: McVeigh, who
was executed in 2001, wasn’t a lone wolf. He was one among a pack. And his
death appears only to have spawned other extremists.”



Iran



Associated Press: Iran’s Supreme Leader Tacitly Acknowledges That Tehran Hit
Little In Its Attack On Israel
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“Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday dismissed any discussion of whether Tehran’s
unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel hit anything there, a tacit
acknowledgment that despite launching a major assault, few projectiles actually
made it through to their targets. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comments before
senior military leaders didn’t touch on the apparent Israeli retaliatory strike
on Friday on the central city of Isfahan, even though air defenses opened fire
and Iran grounded commercial flights across much of the country. Analysts
believe both Iran and Israel, regional archrivals locked in a shadow war for
years, are trying to dial back tensions following a series of escalatory
attacks between them as the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip rages on and
inflames the wider region. Khamenei, 85, made the comments in a meeting
attended by the top ranks of Iran’s regular military, police and paramilitary
Revolutionary Guard, a powerful force within its Shiite theocracy.”



Bloomberg: Week Of Iran-Israel Strikes Marks A Mideast ‘Game Changer’
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“One of the most incendiary weeks in the decades-long shadow war between Iran
and Israel ended with relief Friday after Tehran declared it had defeated what
it said was a small attack on its territory by Israeli drones. But while the
strike, which Israel didn’t officially claim, avoided touching off fresh
escalation for now, there was no escaping that the tit-for-tat exchange ushered
in a new era where the two adversaries look more willing to fight each other
directly rather than through proxies. And that, government officials and
experts fear, could lead to open war. “The past week has been a game-changer,”
said Suzanne Maloney, a former State Department official who’s now vice
president at the Brookings Institution. Iran’s massive missile attack on Israel
six days ago “has changed the nature of this conflict and I don’t see it
changing back even though the Israelis were very, very calibrated in their
response,” she said. “The baseline for escalation is much higher.””



Iraq



Associated Press: Iraq Investigates A Blast At A Base Of Iran-Allied Militias
That Killed 1. US Denies Involvement
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“Iraqi authorities said Saturday that they were investigating an explosion
that struck a base belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of
Iran-allied militias, killing one person and injuring eight. Militia officials
had initially described the explosion at the Kalsu military base north of
Babylon — a former U.S. base that was handed over to the Iraqi military in 2011
— as an airstrike, blaming it on U.S. forces. The U.S. Central Command denied
in a statement that it had carried out any airstrikes in Iraq. The PMF in a
statement Saturday afternoon described the blast as an “attack” but did not
blame any specific party. Iraq’s Security Media Cell said the country’s air
defense command had not detected any drones or fighter plane in the airspace of
Babylon before or during the explosion. It said one PMF member died and eight
people were injured, including an Iraqi army soldier.”



Reuters: Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah Denies Saying It Resumes Attacks On Us Forces
<[link removed]>



“Iraqi armed faction Kataib Hezbollah has denied issuing a statement saying
it had resumed attacks on U.S. forces, a statement from the group issued on the
Telegram messaging app said. The denial came hours after a post circulated on
groups thought to be affiliated with the Iran-backed armed faction that
declared a resumption in the attacks some three months after they were
suspended. Kataib Hezbollah described that as "fabricated news". On Sunday at
least five rockets were launched from Iraq's town of Zummar towards a U.S.
military base in northeastern Syria, two Iraqi security sources and a U.S.
official told Reuters. The attack against U.S. forces is the first since early
February when Iranian-backed groups in Iraq stopped their attacks against U.S.
troops.”



Turkey



Reuters: Turkey Detains Dozens Over Alleged Islamic State Ties
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“Turkish authorities have detained 36 people over suspected ties to Islamic
State, in operations carried out across four provinces, Interior Minister Ali
Yerlikaya said on Sunday. In a post on social media platform X, Yerlikaya said
police had seized suspects who were found to have been active within Islamic
State, to have helped fund and provide supplies to the group. Police also
seized several unlicensed shotguns and pistols as part of the operations, the
minister said.”



Afghanistan



Voice Of America: One Killed In Explosion Claimed By IS In Afghan Capital
<[link removed]>



“One person was killed and three others wounded by an explosion in Kabul on
Saturday evening, Afghan police said, with the Islamic State group claiming
responsibility for the sticky bomb attack. The improvised explosive device was
detonated in the Kot-e-Sangi neighborhood, near an enclave of the historically
persecuted Shiite Hazara community, which has been targeted by the militant
group in the past. "The sticky bomb was planted on a minibus," Kabul police
spokesperson Khalid Zadran said in a statement late Saturday. "The driver of
the vehicle lost his life, and three other civilians were injured." Security
personnel were investigating the incident, the statement added. The Islamic
State group claimed responsibility on its Telegram channel, saying a minibus
carrying Hazaras was blown up as it passed through a Taliban checkpoint. The
attack "led to its destruction and the killing and wounding of around 10"
people, the IS statement said.”



Pakistan



Associated Press: Iran’s President Holds Talks With Pakistani Premier After
Arrival In Islamabad For A 3-Day Visit
<[link removed]>



“Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz
Sharif on Monday soon after arriving in the capital, Islamabad, for a three-day
visit, officials said. The meeting came as part of efforts by Islamabad and
Tehran to mend ties which had been briefly strained in January when the two
sides carried out tit-for-tat strikes targeting militants accused of attacking
their security forces. Raisi was welcomed at the airport by Housing Minister
Riaz Hussain Pirzada and other officials. Authorities have deployed hundreds of
additional police and paramilitary forces to ensure security during the visit.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence in recent months, mostly
blamed on Pakistani Taliban and insurgents targeting security forces in
Pakistan and neighboring Iran. Sharif welcomed Raisi with a guard of honor
ceremony in front of the premier’s office, broadcast by the state-run Pakistan
Television.”



Voice Of America: High-Profile Afghan Taliban Religious Scholar Assassinated
In Pakistan
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“Afghanistan’s Taliban government confirmed Friday that one of its leading
religious scholars was assassinated by unknown assailants in neighboring
Pakistan. The deceased, identified as Mohammad Omar Jan Akhundzada, was leading
evening prayers at a mosque in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on
Thursday when gunmen stormed the building and fatally shot him before fleeing,
according to local police. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for
the deadly shooting. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Friday on social
media platform X that Akhundzada was part of a government oversight committee
of top Islamic scholars and taught at the central “jihadi” madrasa, or Isla mic
seminary, in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. Mujahid also tweeted a
picture of the deceased man.”



Qatar



The Wall Street Journal: Hamas Explores Moving Political Headquarters Out Of
Qatar
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“Hamas’s political leadership is looking to move from its current base in
Qatar, as U.S. legislators build pressure on the Gulf state to deliver on
cease-fire negotiations that look likely to fail. If Hamas left Qatar, the move
could upend delicate talks to free dozens of Israeli hostages held captive in
Gaza and likely make it more difficult for Israel and the U.S. to pass messages
to a group designated by Washington as a terrorist organization. Hamas leaders
have lived in Doha, the Qatari capital, since 2012 in an arrangement supported
by the U.S.”



Middle East



i24: Terrorist Behind Killing Of Israeli Teen Benjamin Achimeir Arrested In
West Bank
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“Iseali security agency Shin Bet, Israeli police and the Israel Defense
Forces (IDF) on Monday reported arresting Ahmed Duavsha, 21, in a joint
operation in the town of Duma near Nablus in the West Bank. Duavsha is believed
to be the terrorists who on April 12 killed an Israeli Benjamin Achimeir, 14.
The joint statement by the Israeli security forces said Dawabsha “implicated
himself” in the attack near the outpost of Malachei Shalom during an initial
interrogation. Shin Bet stated there were significant developments in the
investigation during the past days leading to the arrest. Achimeir went missing
while shepherding in the West Bank on April 12. His body was found a day later.”



Associated Press: Israeli Strikes On Southern Gaza City Of Rafah Kill 22,
Mostly Children, As Us Advances Aid Package
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“Israeli strikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight killed 22
people, including 18 children, health officials said Sunday, as the United
States was on track to approve billions of dollars of additional military aid
to Israel, its close ally. Israel has carried out near-daily air raids on
Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million has sought
refuge from fighting elsewhere. It has also vowed to expand its ground
offensive against the Hamas militant group to the city on the border with Egypt
despite calls for restraint, including from the U.S. “In the coming days, we
will increase the political and military pressure on Hamas because this is the
only way to bring back our hostages and achieve victory. We will land more and
painful blows on Hamas — soon,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a
statement. He didn’t give details.”



Associated Press: Israeli Leaders Criticize Expected US Sanctions Against
Military Unit That Could Further Strain Ties
<[link removed]>



“Israeli leaders on Sunday harshly criticized an expected decision by the
U.S. to impose sanctions on a unit of ultra-Orthodox soldiers in the Israeli
military. The decision, expected as soon as Monday, would mark the first time
the U.S. has imposed sanctions on a unit inside the Israeli military and would
further strain relations between the two allies, which have grown increasingly
tense during Israel’s war in Gaza. While U.S. officials declined to identify
the unit expected to be sanctioned, Israeli leaders and local media identified
it as Netzah Yehuda — an infantry battalion founded roughly a quarter of a
century ago to incorporate ultra-Orthodox men into the military. Many religious
men receive exemptions from what is supposed to be compulsory service. Israeli
leaders condemned the anticipated decision as unfair, especially at a time when
Israel is at war, and vowed to oppose it.”



Somalia



Garowe Online: ISIS Clashes Al-Shabaab In Fight For Control In Somalia's
Puntland
<[link removed]>



“The war against terrorists in Somalia has taken an interesting twist after
ISIS militants reportedly raided Al-Shabaab bases in the northeastern part of
the country, which could further change the dynamics in the ongoing operations
across the country. For the last 20 months, Somalia has invested in the fight
against Al-Shabaab, one of the terror groups with substantive bases across the
nation, with the soldiers on the frontlines managing to secure several
strategic towns. Much focus has been on the fight against Al-Shabaab, which has
dominated central and southern regions of the country for the last two decades.
The al-Shabaab is affiliated with Al-Qaeda, a huge terror network in the Middle
Eastern region. According to sources, the ISIS militants launched an assault on
Al-Shabaab bases in Puntland, claiming the lives of more than 50 members,
including important commanders, according to a report published in the Al_Naba.”



Southeast Asia



Jurist: India Security Forces Kill At Least 29 Left-Wing Extremists In
Chhattisgarh
<[link removed]>



“Indian security forces killed at least 29 left-wing extremists called
Naxals, or Maoists, in the Indian Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected state of
Chhattisgarh’s sensitive region Bastar this week. The Indian states of
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,
Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Kerala are all considered LWE affected, albeit
to varying degrees. The Indian Border Security Force (BSF) and District Reserve
Guard (DRG) carried out an operation based on intelligence from BSF in the
Kanker, which falls under the LWE-affected sensitive region of Bastar in
Chattisgarh state. At least 29 left-wing extremists were killed in the
operation, and at least one BSF member was injured. BSF’s official X (formerly
Twitter) account shared information about the operation. It stated: In a major
crackdown against the Maoist menace in Kanker, Chattisgarh, a joint operation
by BSF & DRG was launched based on specific BSF intelligence. The operation
yielded huge success as the troops eliminated 29 CPI Maoist cadres including
top commander Shankar Rao. A large cache of weapons & ammunition were also
recovered. The successful operation will help in breaking backbone of maoist
activity and immensely augment the efforts to bring normalcy & development in
the region.”



Associated Press: Indonesian Police Arrest 8 Suspected Militants, Part Of A
Banned Extremist Group With Al-Qaida Links
<[link removed]>



“Indonesia’s elite counterterrorism police arrested eight suspected militants
in recent days believed to be part of a new cell linked to Jemaah Islamiyah, an
al-Qaida-linked group, authorities said Saturday. Police conducted raids in
Central Sulawesi province between Tuesday and Thursday, said Agus Nugroho, the
provincial police chief, adding that five suspects were arrested in the city of
Palu, two in Sigi, and one in Poso which is a known extremist hotbed. Two
laptops, several cellular phones and documents, including jihadist books were
seized and suspects were being interrogated, Nugroho said. National Police
spokesperson Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko said the arrests were the result of
information obtained from 59 suspected militants detained in Oct. 2023. “(The
eight) all actively participate in organization activities, particularly in
military-style training and collecting funds for alleged plans of terror acts,”
Andiko told reporters at the National Police headquarters in the capital,
Jakarta. He added that convicted leaders of the group and veteran fighters in
Afghanistan were recruiting and training new members.”



China



Bloomberg: China Plays Diplomatic Long Game In Iran-Israel Feud
<[link removed]>



“Hi, I'm Ben Holland in Hong Kong, where my 15 years of experience covering
the Middle East from Istanbul and Washington has suddenly made me very popular
in the newsroom. Chinese officials were on the phone this week to the Middle
East right after Iran’s missile and drone strike against Israel – perhaps
checking on the prospects for one of their main diplomatic success stories.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke to his counterparts in Iran and Saudi Arabia,
the two longtime rivals who reached a détente deal just over a year ago that
surprised the world. With Israel’s war in Gaza threatening to spill into a
wider conflict — especially after its apparent attack on Iran on Friday — it’s
a tough time to draw up long-term blueprints for the Middle East. Still, Wang’s
phone diplomacy is a reminder that there are two such projects under way: The
Saudi-Iran rapprochement that China backs and the Saudi-Israel normalization
that the US is pursuing.”



Technology



The Telegraph: Men Who Hate Women: How ‘Incel’ Culture Became Mainstream
<[link removed]>



“It should have been a joyful day spent shopping for clothes and enjoying
time with loved ones. Instead, on April 13, at the Westfield Bondi Junction
shopping centre in Sydney, 40-year-old Joel Cauchi created terror, stabbing six
people to death – five of whom were women. One, Ashlee Good, 38, threw her
stabbed baby into the arms of a stranger before later dying in hospital of her
wounds. Her nine-month-old child is still recovering. The only man who died was
security guard, Faraz Tahir, 30, who tried in vain to intervene. Following the
attack, the New South Wales police commissioner, Karen Webb, told Australia’s
ABC News that it was clear Mr Cauchi targeted women. “It’s obvious to me, it’s
obvious to detectives... that the offender focused on women and avoided the
men,” she said. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the gender
element of the attack as “concerning”. Cauchi’s father meanwhile told
reporters: “To you, he is a monster. To me, he was a very sick boy… he wanted a
girlfriend and he’s got no social skills and he was frustrated out of his
brain.””



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