Eye on Extremism
May 14, 2024
Associated Press: US Calls On Iran To Halt Unprecedented Weapons Transfers To Yemen’s Houthis For Attacks On Ships
“The United States called on Iran on Monday to halt its transfer of an “unprecedented” amount of weaponry to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, enabling their fighters to carry out “reckless attacks” on ships in the Red Sea and elsewhere. U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood told the U.N. Security Council that if it wants to make progress toward ending the civil war in Yemen, it should collectively “call Iran out for its destabilizing role and insist that it cannot hide behind the Houthis.” He said there is extensive evidence that Iran is providing advanced weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles, to the Houthis in violation of U.N. sanctions. “To underscore the council’s concern regarding the ongoing violations of the arms embargo, we must do more to strengthen enforcement and deter sanctions violators,” Wood said.”
Bloomberg: Israel, Hamas Talks In Limbo After Rafah Move, Says Qatar PM
“Cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas have reached an impasse following the Jewish state’s initial invasion of the Gazan city of Rafah, according to Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Over the past few weeks, “we have seen some momentum building but unfortunately things didn’t move in the right direction,” Sheikh Mohammed said at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday. “Right now, we are in a status of almost a stalemate.” Negotiations to secure at least a pause in hostilities in the seven-month war have been deadlocked for months, with the two sides far apart on elements such as the status of Israeli troops in Gaza and the terms of a release of hostages held by Hamas. International mediators include Qatar, Egypt and the US.”
United States
ABC: Foreign Terrorist Organizations Could Target Pride Month Events: FBI, DHS
“Foreign terrorist organizations may seek to exploit "LGBTQIA+-related events and venues," including events during 2024 Pride month -- celebrated in June, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security warned in a recent public service announcement. "Organizations like ISIS may seek to exploit increased gatherings associated with the upcoming June 2024 Pride Month," according to the announcement, which the agencies issued last week. The announcement added that the threat is "compounded" by the "current heightened threat environment" in the United States. The threats could come online, in person or in the mail, according to the FBI and DHS. Nearly eight years ago, ISIS applauded the June 12, 2016, shooting at Pulse nightclub -- when a gunman killed 49 and wounded 53 at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.”
Iraq
Associated Press: Notorious People Smuggler Wanted In Europe Arrested In Northern Iraq
“One of Europe’s most notorious human smugglers was arrested Monday in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, security officials said. The regional government’s security agency said it had arrested Barzan Majeed, known as “the Scorpion,” in the area of Sulaymaniyah, upon a request from Interpol and “after the exchange of intelligence information.” He was handed over to the regional justice department, it said. The U.K.'s National Crime Agency announced Majeed’s arrest on the X social media platform. The crime agency had issued an appeal for assistance in tracking Majeed down in 2022, after he was convicted in absentia in Belgium of people smuggling crimes, following a joint U.K.-Belgian investigation. The agency said he had attempted to smuggle 100 migrants to the U.K. in small boats and trucks.”
Turkey
Reuters: Erdogan Defends Hamas, Says Members Are Being Treated In Turkish Hospitals
“Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that more than 1,000 members of the militant Palestinian group Hamas were being treated in hospitals across Turkey as he reiterated his stance that it was a "resistance movement". A Turkish official later said Erdogan had "misspoke" and meant that Gazans more generally were being treated in Turkey. "If you call Hamas a 'terrorist organisation,' this would sadden us," Erdogan said at a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Ankara after Mitsotakis had referred to Hamas as such. "We don't deem Hamas a terrorist organisation... More than 1,000 members of Hamas are under treatment in hospitals across our country," Erdogan said. A Turkish official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, later said that Erdogan had meant to refer to Palestinians from Hamas-run Gaza in general, rather than Hamas members.”
Afghanistan
The Washington Post: After U.S. Withdrawal, Terror Groups ‘Gaining Strength’ In Afghanistan, Report Warns
“The power vacuum that America left behind in Afghanistan is fueling a resurgence of Islamist terrorists who have the will, and perhaps the capability, to target the U.S. and its interests abroad, according to a major report by the United States Institute of Peace, which argues that the Biden administration should consider unleashing more military strikes against terrorist targets in the country. The study, being made public Tuesday, is one of the most detailed looks at the threats emanating from Afghanistan in the years since President Biden ordered the U.S. military withdrawal in 2021. It cites the rising threat from ISIS-K, the Islamic State’s Afghanistan affiliate, and continued support for al Qaeda from Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban regime as two of the most immediate threats confronting America and its allies.”
Pakistan
Associated Press: Pakistan, US Discuss How To Tackle The Regional Security Threat Posed By IS Group And Local Taliban
“Pakistani and U.S. officials have held their latest talks in Washington on how to expand cooperation in tackling the threat posed to regional security by an affiliate of the Islamic State group and the Pakistani Taliban, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said Monday. A joint statement said Pakistani diplomat Haider Shah and the State Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism, Ambassador Elizabeth Richard, chaired the weekend talks. The talks occurred amid a surge in militants attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, and an Afghan branch of the Islamic State group. The TTP is an ally of the Afghan Taliban that seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. Pakistan’s military recently said a suicide bombing that killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver in March was planned in Afghanistan and that the bomber was an Afghan citizen. Kabul has denied the charge.”
BBC: Four Dead In Protests Against Flour And Energy Prices
“Four people have died and 100 others were left wounded after violent clashes with authorities in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Thousands of people have been on the streets since Friday to protest rising prices of flour and electricity. Organisers called off the protests on Tuesday, a day after Pakistan's PM Shehbaz Sharif offered subsidies worth 24 billion rupees ($86m; £69m). "The government has accepted all of our demands," said Shaukat Nawaz Mir, one of the activists leading the demonstrations. Mr Mir had also demanded that the government offer financial compensation for the families of those killed in the violence. Violence had intensified since the weekend, prompting authorities to cut mobile services. Schools, public transportation and businesses have also been suspended.”
Middle East
The New York Times: Secret Hamas Files Show How It Spied On Everyday Palestinians
“The Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has for years overseen a secret police force in Gaza that conducted surveillance on everyday Palestinians and built files on young people, journalists and those who questioned the government, according to intelligence officials and a trove of internal documents reviewed by The New York Times. The unit, known as the General Security Service, relied on a network of Gaza informants, some of whom reported their own neighbors to the police. People landed in security files for attending protests or publicly criticizing Hamas. In some cases, the records suggest that the authorities followed people to determine if they were carrying on romantic relationships outside marriage.”
Associated Press: Misery Deepens In Gaza’s Rafah As Israeli Troops Press Operation
“Aid workers struggled Monday to distribute dwindling food and other supplies to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by what Israel says is a limited military operation in Rafah, as the two main crossings near the southern Gaza city remained closed. The United Nations’ agency for Palestinian refugees said 360,000 Palestinians have fled Rafah over the past week, out of 1.3 million who were sheltering there before the operation began. Most had already fled fighting elsewhere during the seven-month war between Israel and Hamas. Israel has portrayed Rafah as the last stronghold of the militant group, brushing off warnings from the United States and other allies that any major operation there would be catastrophic for civilians. Hamas has meanwhile regrouped and is battling Israeli forces in parts of Gaza that Israel bombarded and invaded earlier in the war.”
Somalia
Garowe Online: US Fails To Compensate Victims Of Drone Strikes In Somalia
“The Department of Defence has failed to compensate victims of drone strikes in Somalia since 2022, The Intercept reports, despite evidence of several casualties throughout the said period in a total of 288 attacks within the country. For 17 years, the US has carried out 288 attacks in the Horn of Africa nation, with the US Africa Command only admitting 5 deaths, including Luul and Mariam, who tragically succumbed to their injuries following an airstrike in southern regions. But despite the smaller number quoted by US Africa Command, the Airwars, a UK-based group monitoring airstrikes, at least 3,000 people have been killed in Somalia over the last two decades, with their families failing to get justice even with overwhelming evidence.”
Africa
Associated Press: Fires Used As Weapon Of War In Sudan Destroyed Or Damaged 72 Villages Last Month, Study Says
“Fires resulting from the fighting in Sudan destroyed or damaged 72 villages and settlements last month, a U.K.-based rights group said Monday, highlighting the use of fire as a weapon of war in the conflict in the African country. Investigators from Sudan Witness, an open-source project run by the nonprofit Center for Information Resilience, say that more blazes than in any other month since the war started in mid-April 2023. The number also brings to 201 the total number of fires in Sudan since fighting broke out between Sudan’s military and the rival paramilitary force. The analysis didn’t provide any casualty figures from the fires. In the war in Sudan, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have often used fire, setting entire villages ablaze, especially in Sudan’s western Darfur region.”
United Kingdom
BBC: Men Charged In Terrorism Investigation
“Three men have been charged with terrorism offences in Greater Manchester. Arrests were made last week after searches at four addresses across Wigan and Bolton. Walid Saadaoui, 37, of Crankwood Road, Abram, Wigan, and Amar Hussein, 51, of no fixed address, have been charged with preparation of terrorist acts, Greater Manchester Police said. Bilel Saadaoui, 35, of Fairclough Street, Hindley, has been charged with failure to disclose information about an act of terrorism. The men were scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court later.”
Germany
Politico: Germany’s Domestic Intelligence Agency Can Continue To Surveil Far-Right AfD, High Court Rules
“Intelligence authorities are justified in classifying the far-right Alternative for Germany party and its youth wing as suspected extremist organizations, a German high court ruled Monday. The ruling rejected an appeal by the AfD that would have stopped intelligence agents from surveilling the party. The move allows Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which is tasked with monitoring anti-constitutional groups inside the country, to wiretap functionaries in the AfD and use informants to monitor the party. Judges from the higher administrative court in Muenster said the designation of the AfD as a suspected extremist organization is justified based on statements politicians in the party have made about immigrants and Muslims in Germany.”
Southeast Asia
Associated Press: China And Cambodia To Begin Annual Military Exercise To Strengthen Cooperation, Fight Terrorism
“Cambodia and China begin their annual Golden Dragon military exercise this week to strengthen cooperation and exchange military experiences, a Cambodian official said Monday. A total of 1,315 military personnel from Cambodia and 760 from China will participate in the 15-day exercise, backed by three Chinese warships and 11 Cambodian ships, Cambodian army spokesperson Maj. Gen. Thong Solimo told journalists. He said the exercise, starting Thursday, is aimed at training to fight terrorism and provide humanitarian relief in both countries as well as in the region. The annual Golden Dragon exercises began in December 2016, shortly after Cambodia canceled similar exercises with the United States called Angkor Sentinel.”
Technology
Forbes: Extremist Groups Rely On Social Media, Rooting Them Out Won't Be Easy
“Social media continues to be an echo chamber for those with strong political stances, and that will likely continue to contribute to our great national divide. However, a far more ominous concern is how social media is being used as a recruiting tool for extremist militias and other fringe groups—and it appears little efforts are being made to stamp it out. "Social media platforms are attractive to extremist groups for many reasons," warned Dr. Lance Y. Hunter, professor of international relations at Augusta University. "Extremist groups can use social media platforms to recruit new members due to the significant number of individuals on social media and the ability to reach people across large geographical areas." Social media platforms are powerful tools for extremist groups for several key reasons.”
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