Eye on Extremism
June 25, 2024
Associated Press: US And Allies Clash With Tehran And Moscow Over Iranian Nuclear Program At UN Security Council
“The United States and its key European allies clashed with Iran and Russia over Tehran’s expanding nuclear program, with the U.S. vowing “to use all means necessary to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran” in a U.N. Security Council meeting on Monday. The U.S., France, Britain and Germany accused Iran of escalating its nuclear activities far beyond limits it agreed to in a 2015 deal aimed at preventing Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, and of failing to cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran and Russia accused the U.S. and its allies of continuing to apply economic sanctions that were supposed to be lifted under the deal, and insisted that Tehran’s nuclear program remains under constant oversight by the IAEA.”
Bloomberg: Deadly Attack In Russia Stirs Fear Of Wave Of Extremist Violence
“A deadly attack by gunmen in the majority Muslim region of Dagestan just months after the assault on a Moscow concert hall is raising the spectre that Russia may be facing a wave of violence by religious extremists. Security services said that terrorists were behind Sunday’s attacks that targeted churches and a synagogue in the often violence-wracked region in southern Russia. At least 15 police officers and four civilians, including a priest, were killed, Russia’s Investigative Committee said Monday on Telegram. Among six militants who were killed, three were sons and a nephew of a local official that the ruling United Russia party later expelled, according to the Interfax news service. Investigators are trying to establish who was responsible for organizing the attacks.”
CEP Mentions
The Daily Wire: After Suspected Tajik Terrorist Arrests, Little-Known Biden Border Entry Program Demands Hard Focus
“A multi-state FBI counterterrorism wiretap sting has rolled up eight Tajikistani nationals in three cities who had entered over the U.S. Southwest Border and were plotting some sort of bombing. On its own, what little is known about this terrible new consequence of President Joe Biden’s ongoing historic mass migration border crisis – a coordinated, large-cell infiltration attack on the homeland – ranked as startling enough to draw congressional demands for much more basic information than the administration will currently release. […] As one indication of public sentiment toward Islamic extremist ideology in the Kyrgyz Republic, an estimated 850 of its citizens reportedly joined ISIS between 2013 and 2015, and regional scholars insist the real number is higher, according to the Counter Extremism Project.”
DW News: Netanyahu: ‘Intense Phase’ Of Military Operations In Gaza Drawing To A Close
"Israel's declared aim with the war is to eliminate Hamas and liberate the Israeli hostages held by militant groups. Both have yet to be achieved. But the Israeli military chief of staff says the structure of Hamas in the city of Rafah is nearly dismantled. Benjamin Netanyahu has signaled that the "intense phase" of Israel's military operations against Hamas in Gaza is drawing to a close. But the Israeli prime minister says fighting won't stop until the group no longer controls the Gaza Strip. DW asks Hans-Jakob Schindler, Director of the Counter Extremism Project in Berlin, how he views the progress of Israel’s war in Gaza."
Global With JJ Green: Terror Attack In Dagestan: Who Did It And Why?
"Dr. Hans Jakob Schindler, Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project breaks down the terror attack in Dagestan on YouTube News Channel, GLOBAL with JJ Green."
United States
Politico: US To Hezbollah: Don’t Count On Us To Stop An Israeli Attack
“U.S. officials trying to prevent a bigger Middle East war are issuing an unusual warning to Hezbollah: Don’t assume that Washington can stop Israel from attacking you. The American message is designed to get the Lebanese-based Shiite militia to back down and de-escalate the brewing crisis along the Israeli-Lebanese border, a person familiar with the discussions said. The blunt message comes as many U.S. officials appear resigned to the possibility that Israel will make a major move against Hezbollah inside Lebanon in the coming weeks. Two U.S. officials told POLITICO that the militia needs to also understand that Washington will help Israel defend itself if Hezbollah retaliates. They stressed that the militant group should not count on America to act as a brake on Israeli decision-making.”
Afghanistan
Voice Of American: Taliban Tout UN Invite To Doha Meeting As Proof Of Regime’s Rising Importance
“Afghanistan's Taliban are touting a United Nations invitation to an international conference in Qatar later this month, viewing it as an acknowledgment of their administration's growing significance globally. The two-day U.N. meeting between the Taliban and international envoys on Afghanistan is set for June 30 in Doha, the capital of the Gulf state, amid sharp criticism from human rights groups for excluding Afghan women representatives. It will be the third session of what is known as the “Doha process,” and the fundamentalist de facto Afghan rulers have agreed to attend for the first time. “The Doha meeting will be held in the coming days, and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has been officially invited to attend,” Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi announced in a video statement released by his office on Monday.”
Pakistan
Bloomberg: Pakistan To Build ‘Consensus’ Before Operation Against Militants
“Pakistan’s government is making efforts to build a nationwide “consensus” before it launches a new military operation against militants, the defense minister said, a move that comes after China showed concerns following attacks on its projects in the South Asian country. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet is discussing the modalities of the operation on Tuesday before the plan is announced to Parliament, Khawaja Asif said at a news conference in Islamabad. A few political parties have opposed the planned on-ground operation.”
Yemen
The New York Times: ‘It’s All Happening Again.’ The Supply Chain Is Under Strain.
“Stephanie Loomis had hoped that the chaos besieging the global supply chain was subsiding. The floating traffic jams off ports. The multiplying costs of moving freight. The resulting shortages of goods. All of this had seemed like an unpleasant memory confined to the Covid-19 pandemic. No such luck. As head of ocean freight for the Americas at Rhenus Logistics, a company based in Germany, Ms. Loomis spends her days negotiating with international shipping carriers on behalf of clients moving products and parts around the globe. Over the last few months, she has watched cargo prices soar as a series of disturbances have roiled the seas. Late last year, Houthi rebels in Yemen began firing on ships entering the Red Sea en route to the Suez Canal, a vital artery for vessels moving between Asia, Europe and the East Coast of the United States.”
Associate Press: Aerial Drone Launched By Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Hits Ship In The Red Sea, Causing Damage And Injuries
“An aerial drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck and damaged a vessel in the Red Sea on Sunday, officials said, the latest attack by the group targeting shipping in the vital maritime corridor. The attack comes as the U.S. has sent the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower back home after an eight-month deployment in which it lead the American response to the Houthi assaults. Those attacks have reduced shipping drastically through the route crucial to Asian, Middle East and European markets in a campaign the Houthis say will continue as long as the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip rages on. The drone attack happened around dawn off the coast of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. It said the vessel sustained damage but its mariners on board “were reported safe.””
Lebanon
Associated Press: Thousands Of Iran-Backed Fighters Offer To Join Hezbollah In Its Fight Against Israel
“Thousands of fighters from Iran-backed groups in the Middle East are ready to come to Lebanon to join with the militant Hezbollah group in its battle with Israel if the simmering conflict escalates into a full-blown war, officials with Iran-backed factions and analysts say. Almost daily exchanges of fire have occurred along Lebanon’s frontier with northern Israel since fighters from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip staged a bloody assault on southern Israel in early October that set off a war in Gaza. The situation to the north worsened this month after an Israeli airstrike killed a senior Hezbollah military commander in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah retaliated by firing hundreds of rockets and explosive drones into northern Israel. Israeli officials have threatened a military offensive in Lebanon if there is no negotiated end to push Hezbollah away from the border.”
Middle East
Associated Press: With Another Setback For Cease-Fire Talks, Worries Of Full-Scale War For Israel And Lebanon Escalate
“The prospect of a full-scale war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group terrifies people on both sides of the border, but some see it as an inevitable fallout from Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, particularly as cease-fire negotiations have faltered. Such a war could be the most destructive either side has ever experienced. Israel and Hezbollah each have lessons from their last war, in 2006, a monthlong conflict that ended in a draw. They’ve also had nearly nine months to prepare for another war, even as the United States tries to prevent a widening of the conflict that could spark a confrontation with Iran and endanger U.S. forces in the region. Here’s a look at each side’s preparedness, how war might unfold and what’s being done to prevent it.”
Associated Press: Experts Say Gaza Is At ‘High Risk’ Of Famine Despite Increased Aid To The North
“An influx of aid appears to have eased a hunger crisis in northern Gaza for now, but the entire territory remains at “high risk” of famine after Israel’s offensive in Rafah caused displacement and the disruption of aid operations in the south, a draft report said Monday. The report by the leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises said nearly everyone in Gaza is struggling to get enough food and that more than 495,000 people, or greater than a fifth of the population of 2.3 million, are expected to experience the highest level of starvation in the coming months. That’s despite months of U.S. pressure on Israel to do more to facilitate aid efforts, the installation of a $230 million U.S.-built pier that has been beset by problems and repeated airdrops by multiple countries that aid agencies say are insufficient to meet vital needs”
Somalia
Garowe Online: Kenyan Troops Withdraw From Border Town In Somalia Amid Al-Shabaab Threat
“Several Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) service members left El-wak Forward Operating Base along the border between Kenya and Somalia, consequently handing over the mandate to protect the region to the Somali National Army (SNA) which will be responsible for the security. The KDF team from the region is leaving the country as part of the Somali Transition Plan (STP) in which the entire African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) is expected to leave the country by the end of December 2024. The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia announced that 5,000 troops have since left the country as the third phase kicks off in the coming days. The Somali National Army has been inheriting all FOBs left by the ATMIS contingent.”
Russia
The Wall Street Journal: Terrorist Attacks In Russia’s Dagestan Target Synagogue, Churches, Police
“Gunmen killed at least nine people in attacks Sunday on a synagogue, police station and two churches in Russia’s restive North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, the latest incidents in a trend of rising violence across Russia in the past year. Dagestan’s Interior Ministry said assailants with automatic rifles opened fire on houses of worship in Dagestan’s capital of Makhachkala and the city of Derbent, in apparently coordinated attacks. Russian authorities said the attacks were carried out by followers of an international terrorist organization, without giving further details, the TASS state-run news agency reported. Seven of the dead are police officers. Dagestan governor Sergei Melikov called for calm as a manhunt unfolded on Sunday evening. Four gunmen were later killed in a shootout with police, according to TASS.”
CNN: Russia Has Seen Two Major Terror Attacks In Just Three Months. Here’s What We Know
“Russia is reeling from another major terror attack, with at least 19 people killed and 25 injured in what appeared to be coordinated shootings at various places of worship in Russia’s southernmost Dagestan republic. The attack is the second in the last three months after more than 130 people were killed at a concert hall near Moscow in a terrorist attack claimed by ISIS-K in March, and challenges President Vladimir Putin’s self-declared reputation as a leader able to guarantee order across the vast, turbulent country. The uptick in violence comes as long-simmering ethnic tensions resurface, compounded both by drives to fill Russia’s military ranks as Putin’s war against Ukraine grinds on – and by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Here’s what you need to know.”
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