Eye on Extremism
June 20, 2024
BBC: Canada Lists Iran's Revolutionary Guards As A Terrorist Group
“Canada has listed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, after years of pressure from opposition legislators and some members of the Iranian diaspora. Announcing the decision on Wednesday, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc called it a “significant tool in fighting global terrorism”. The move will mean that thousands of senior Iranian government officials, including top IRGC officials, will be barred from entering Canada. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, quoted by Iran's Fars news agency, has condemned what he described as the "unwise and unconventional" step. The IRGC is a major military, political and economic force in Iran, with close ties to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It is estimated to have more than 190,000 active personnel with its own ground forces, navy and air force that oversee Iran’s strategic weapons.”
Associated Press: 5 Family Members Of Malaysian Man Who Attacked Police Station Face Terrorism Charges
“The father of a Malaysian man who attacked a police station and killed two police officers last month was charged Wednesday with inciting terrorism in his family. His Singaporean wife and three other children were also brought to court to face charges. Radin Imran Radin Mohd Yassin, 62, faces four charges including promoting terrorist acts by allegedly instilling the violent ideology of the Islamic State group in his family, including his 21-year-old son Radin Luqman, who was killed by police in the attack. Radin Luqman stormed the police station in southern Johor state near Singapore in the early hours of May 17 with a machete. He hacked a police constable to death and then used the officer’s weapon to kill another. He wounded a third officer before being shot dead. Police initially said the man could have been planning to take firearms from the station.”
CEP Mentions
Voice of America: Islamic State In Somalia Poses Growing Threat, US Officials Say
“The United States is sharpening its counterterrorism focus on Somalia, going after increasingly high-profile targets linked to a resurgence of the Islamic State terror group from its base in the Horn of Africa. U.S. officials are concerned that IS-Somalia, as the terror group’s regional affiliate is known, has moved from being a key cog in the Islamic State global financial network to hosting the group’s top leader. […] “The importance of Mumin, ISIS-Somalia, ISCAP [Islamic State Central Africa Province] and the al-Karrar office is not in doubt,” said Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former senior United Nations counterterrorism official who currently serves as a senior adviser for the nonprofit Counter Extremism Project.”
CapX: Why Can’t Sinn Fein’s Candidates Condemn The IRA?
“... One of the survivors of the 1987 IRA Remembrance Sunday massacre in Enniskillen described his injuries when he regained consciousness in the rubble: My mouth was blown out. My jaw was missing on the right-hand side. I was split open nine inches from my chin to my ear. My face and tongue were paralysed. I had nine broken ribs. My pelvis, two hips and one leg were smashed. Most normal people would have no hesitation in condemning what was done to Jim Dixon and the other townspeople murdered beside him as straightforward terrorism. That is beyond the capability of Pat Cullen, the Sinn Fein candidate standing for that constituency in the forthcoming Westminster elections. When challenged directly to condemn the slaughter on BBC Radio Ulster, all Ms Cullen had in response was evasive word salad: ‘Those were very dark days’ she said, ‘let’s not go back there’.”
Garowe Online: ISIS Branch In Somalia Poses Danger To The World, US says
“... “The importance of Mumin, ISIS-Somalia, ISCAP [Islamic State Central Africa Province], and the al-Karrar office is not in doubt,” said Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former senior United Nations counterterrorism official who currently serves as a senior adviser for the nonprofit Counter Extremism Project. “But ISIS is a profoundly racist organization, and they like to claim that the caliph is descended from Muhammad,” he told VOA. “I don’t believe they are ready for an African caliph.””
Syria
Reuters: US Army Kills Senior Islamic State Official In Syria
“The U.S. Central Command said on Wednesday it had conducted an airstrike in Syria that killed a senior Islamic State official and facilitator named Usamah Jamal Muhammad Ibrahim al-Janabi. "His death will disrupt ISIS’s ability to resource and conduct terror attacks," it said in a statement on X. It said: "There is no indication any civilians were harmed in this strike."”
Afghanistan
The Washington Examiner: ISIS-K Is Going International
“As foreign policy discourse has shifted focus to great power competition and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, it is tempting to forget the threat that terrorist organizations pose to the United States. However, the danger posed by those such as the Islamic State group has risen to levels not seen since the peak of their international attacks in the mid-2010s. After the ascent of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the local chapter of the Islamic State group, known as ISIS-K, has faced setbacks in its attempts to found a territorial state in the country’s eastern regions. Taliban counterinsurgency operations and crackdowns on ISIS-K international financing have led to a decline in ISIS-K’s local power. Many Salafi leaders in Afghanistan, the traditional base of support for ISIS-K, have instead sought a détente with the Taliban emirate.”
Voice Of America: Taliban Accuse UN Rights Expert On Afghanistan Of Undermining Doha Meeting
“Afghanistan’s Taliban have labeled the latest United Nations report on alleged human rights violations as an attempt to “tarnish perceptions” in the lead-up to this month’s international meeting to discuss the crisis-ridden country. Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief Taliban spokesman, emphasized Wednesday the need for “constructive and positive engagement” between their government and the international community. His response came a day after Richard Bennett, the U.N. special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, alleged that the Taliban’s “pattern of systematic violations of women’s and girls’ fundamental rights” has intensified. Bennett presented his hard-hitting report on Tuesday to a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, demanding that those responsible for Afghan human rights abuses be held to account.”
Yemen
Associated Press: Ship Attacked By Yemen’s Houthi Rebels In Fatal Assault Sinks In Red Sea In Their Second Sinking
“A bulk carrier sank days after an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who are believed to have killed one mariner on board, authorities said early Wednesday. It was the second ship sunk in the rebels’ campaign targeting Red Sea shipping. The sinking of the Tutor marks what appears to be a new escalation by the Iranian-backed Houthis in their campaign of attacks on ships in the vital maritime corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. The attack comes despite a monthslong U.S.-led campaign in the region that has seen the Navy face its most-intense maritime fighting since World War II, with near-daily attacks targeting commercial vessels and warship. The Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned-and-operated Tutor sank in the Red Sea, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said in a warning to sailors in the region.”
Lebanon
Associated Press: The Latest | Hezbollah Says Israeli Strikes Kill 3 Fighters As Us Envoy Tries To Calm Tensions
“Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed three Hezbollah fighters on Wednesday, the militant group said, as a U.S. envoy tasked with avoiding a devastating regional war returned to Israel after meeting officials in Lebanon. Lebanese state media reported multiple Israeli strikes along the border and in an area north of the coastal city of Tyre, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the frontier. The Israeli military said two Hezbollah launches damaged several vehicles in northern Israel. Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden, was back in Israel after meetings in Lebanon on Tuesday. There has been no word on whether he has made progress in his efforts to avoid a wider war. With the Israeli offensive in Gaza now in its ninth month, international criticism has grown steadily over the U.S. support for Israel’s air and ground attacks.”
Associated Press: The Leader Of Lebanon’s Hezbollah Militant Group Warns Archenemy Israel Against Wider War
“Lebanon’s Hezbollah has new weapons and intelligence capabilities that could help it target more critical positions deeper inside Israel in case of an all-out war, the militant group’s leader warned on Wednesday. Hassan Nasrallah’s comments came as the monthslong cross-border conflict simmering between Hezbollah and Israel appears to be reaching a boiling point, and a day after a top U.S. envoy met Lebanese officials in his latest attempt to ease tensions. “We now have new weapons. But I won’t say what they are,” he said in a televised address commemorating a top Hezbollah commander killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon last week. “When the decision is made, they will be seen on the front lines.” Hezbollah has used locally made explosive drones for the first time since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October, as well as surface-to-air missiles to chase off Israeli jets."
Middle East
Associated Press: The Fate Of The Latest Cease-Fire Proposal Hinges On Netanyahu And Hamas’ Leader In Gaza
“The fate of the proposed cease-fire deal for Gaza hinges in many ways on two men: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. Each leader faces significant political and personal pressures that may be influencing their decision-making. And neither seems to be in a rush to make concessions to end the devastating eight-month-long war and free hostages taken by Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack. Hamas has accepted the broad outline of the plan but requested “amendments.” Netanyahu has publicly disputed aspects of it, even though the U.S. has framed it as an Israeli plan. Among the major sticking points is how to move from an initial temporary truce in the deal’s first phase to a permanent cease-fire that includes an end to the fighting and full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.”
Associated Press: Rifts Seem To Appear Between Israel’s Political And Military Leadership Over Conduct Of The Gaza War
“The Israeli army’s chief spokesman on Wednesday appeared to question the stated goal of destroying the Hamas militant group in Gaza in a rare public rift between the country’s political and military leadership. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted Israel will pursue the fight against Hamas, the group running the besieged Gaza Strip, until its military and governing capabilities in the Palestinian territory are eliminated. But with the war now in its ninth month, frustration has been mounting with no clear end or postwar plan in sight. “This business of destroying Hamas, making Hamas disappear — it’s simply throwing sand in the eyes of the public,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the military spokesperson, told Israel’s Channel 13 TV. “Hamas is an idea, Hamas is a party. It’s rooted in the hearts of the people — whoever thinks we can eliminate Hamas is wrong.”’
Nigeria
Voice Of America: Nigeria Announces Plans To Acquire 50 Military Aircraft; Analysts Question Intent
“The Nigerian air force said Tuesday it will acquire 50 new aircraft to strengthen its capabilities against armed gangs and terrorists in northwest Nigeria. Nigerian Chief of Air Staff Marshal Hassan Bala Abubakar made the announcement at the opening of new military facilities, including two aircraft hangars in northwest Katsina state. Abubakar said the aircraft would include 12 AH-1 attack helicopters, 24 M-346 combat planes, 12 AW109 multipurpose helicopters and a pair of Casa 295 transport aircraft. He did not disclose the cost, nor did he say who would provide the aircraft. He said Nigeria is expected to receive them by next year. The aircraft will be used to bolster offensives against jihadist groups and armed gangs that have terrorized northwest and central states in recent years, Abubakar said. But security analyst Mike Ejiofor says acquiring 50 aircraft is overambitious and possibly misdirected.”
Africa
Associated Press: Jihadis From Africa’s Sahel Have Crossed Into Nigeria’s North, A New Report Says. A Lot Is At Stake
“Jihadi fighters who had long operated in Africa’s volatile Sahel region have settled in northwestern Nigeria after crossing from neighboring Benin, a report said Wednesday, the latest trend in the militants’ movements to wealthier West African coastal nations. The extremists believed to be linked to al-Qaida have in the last year crossed over from Benin’s hard-hit northern region and settled in Kainji Lake National Park, one of Nigeria’s largest, where other armed groups have also gained access, according to the report by the Clingendael Institute think tank, which has done extensive research in the Sahel. Residents close to the park told The Associated Press that the facility, which holds one of West Africa’s fast-declining lion populations, has been closed for more than a year because of security threats from armed groups attacking neighboring villages and roads.“
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