“Germany’s ruling coalition is seeking to crack down on foreigners who glorify
the killing of Israeli civilians or similar acts of terror with updated
legislation that would facilitate their expulsion from the country. Chancellor
Olaf Scholz’s cabinet will approve the amendment to Germany’s deportation law
at its regular meeting Wednesday in Berlin, according to Interior Minister
Nancy Faeser, a member of Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats. It’s part of a
push to claw back the initiative in an increasingly heated debate over
migration, an issue successfully exploited by the far-right Alternative for
Germany party. The updated rules would mean that even a single comment on
social media deemed to be lauding terror can be enough to prompt deportation
for people without a German passport.”











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Eye on Extremism



June 26, 2024



Bloomberg: Germany Cracks Down On Foreigners Who Glorify Terrorist Acts
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“Germany’s ruling coalition is seeking to crack down on foreigners who glorify
the killing of Israeli civilians or similar acts of terror with updated
legislation that would facilitate their expulsion from the country. Chancellor
Olaf Scholz’s cabinet will approve the amendment to Germany’s deportation law
at its regular meeting Wednesday in Berlin, according to Interior Minister
Nancy Faeser, a member of Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats. It’s part of a
push to claw back the initiative in an increasingly heated debate over
migration, an issue successfully exploited by the far-right Alternative for
Germany party. The updated rules would mean that even a single comment on
social media deemed to be lauding terror can be enough to prompt deportation
for people without a German passport.”



Associated Press: Expanding Extremist Groups In Africa Fuel Worries That They
Could Attack The US Or Western Allies
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“Violent extremist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group are
growing in size and influence across Africa, fueling worries that as they
improve their tactics they could attack the U.S. or Western allies. U.S.
defense and military officials described the threats and their concerns about
growing instability in Africa, where a number of coups have put ruling juntas
in control, leading to the ouster of American troops and a decline in U.S.
intelligence gathering. “Threats like Wagner, terrorist groups and
transnational criminal organizations continue to sow instability in multiple
regions,” Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said
in opening remarks Tuesday at a conference of African chiefs of defense in
Botswana. “I think we can all agree, what happens in one part of the world,
does not stay in one part of the world.””




The CEP CounterPoint: Expert Analysis

* CounterPoint Brief: U.S. Designated Nordic Resistance Movement as Specially
Designated Global Terrorist Organization
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* CEP-KAS: Sahel Monitoring April 2024
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* ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency in May 2024
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* The Houthis Fortify Their Regime by Targeting Yemen's Youngest
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* 'We will dance again' – Remembering the horrors of October 7 at a powerful
new exhibition
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United States



The New York Times: The Southern Border, Terrorism Fears And The Arrests Of 8
Tajik Men
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“When eight Tajik men sought asylum at the southwestern U.S. border months
ago, federal authorities had no reason to doubt that they were desperate
migrants fleeing a poor country in war-torn Central Asia. But soon after they
were admitted into the country, the F.B.I. learned they might have ties to the
Islamic State and opened a counterterrorism investigation. This was no ordinary
inquiry. Dozens of personnel monitored the men closely as they made their way
to different cities across the United States, officials said. The White House
was updated regularly. The bureau hoped to gather information about a broader
terrorist network. But heightened concerns about a potential attack in at least
one location triggered the arrest of all eight men earlier this month on
immigration charges, according to several U.S. officials speaking on the
condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive investigation.”



NBC News: DHS Identifies Over 400 Migrants Brought To The US By An
ISIS-Affiliated Human Smuggling Network
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“The Department of Homeland Security has identified over 400 immigrants who
have come to the U.S. from Central Asia and elsewhere as “subjects of concern”
because they were brought by an ISIS-affiliated human smuggling network, three
U.S. officials tell NBC News. While over 150 of them have been arrested, the
whereabouts of over 50 remain unknown, the officials said, and Immigration and
Customs Enforcement is looking to arrest them on immigration charges when they
are located. “In this case, it was the information that suggested a potential
tie to ISIS because of some of the individuals involved in [smuggling migrants
to the border] that led us to want to take extra care,” said a senior Biden
administration official, “and out of an abundance of caution make sure that we
exercised our authority in the most expansive and appropriate way to mitigate
risk because of this potential connection being made.””



Yemen



Associated Press: Suspected Houthi Attack Targets A Ship In The Gulf Of Aden,
While Iraq-Claimed Attack Targets Eilat
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“Suspected attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels early Wednesday targeted a ship
in the Gulf of Aden, while a separate attack claimed by Iraqi militants allied
with the rebels targeted the southern Israeli port city of Eilat, authorities
said. The attacks follow the departure of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower after an
eight-month deployment in which the aircraft carrier led 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 rages in the Gaza
Strip. Meanwhile, the Houthis faced allegations they seized commercial aircraft
that brought back pilgrims from the Hajj amid a widening economic dispute
between the rebels and the country’s exiled government.”



Reuters: Yemen's Houthis Say They Targeted 'MSC Sarah V' Vessel In Arabian Sea
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“Yemen's Houthis said on Tuesday that they used a new ballistic missile to
hit the MSC Sarah V vessel in the Arabian Sea, claiming responsibility for an
attack reported a day earlier. The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Joint Maritime
Information Center on Monday said the Liberian-flagged vessel was targeted by a
missile in the Arabian Sea, but was not hit. It said it was likely attacked due
to perceived Israeli association. Yahya Sarea, the Yemeni group's spokesperson,
claimed a "accurate and direct" hit on the ship, describing the vessel as
"Israeli." The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations has said the crew were
reported safe and that the vessel, which was sailing 246 nautical miles off
Yemen's Nishtun when it was targeted, was heading to its next port of call.”



Lebanon



Bloomberg: What Is Hezbollah’s Role In The Israel-Hamas War?
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“Since a new war broke out between Israel and the militant Palestinian group
Hamas on Oct. 7, the Lebanese militia Hezbollah has expressed solidarity with
Hamas through military action. It has fired missiles, mortars, rockets and
explosive drones into northern Israel almost daily, prompting Israel to respond
with its own fire. Now, an escalation of the fighting appears to have edged the
two sides closer to all-out war. In addition, Hezbollah has threatened to bring
the nearby island nation of Cyprus into the hostilities, accusing it of
allowing Israeli soldiers to train on its soil. Yet both Israel and Hezbollah
have reasons to avoid a full-blown conflict.”



Middle East



Associated Press: Israelis’ Lawsuit Says UN Agency Helps Hamas By Paying Gaza
Staff In Dollars
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“Israelis who were taken hostage or lost loved ones during Hamas’ Oct. 7
attack are suing the United Nations agency that aids Palestinians, claiming it
has helped finance the militants by paying agency staffers in U.S. dollars and
thereby funneling them to money-changers in Gaza who allegedly give a cut to
Hamas. But the agency, known as UNWRA, told The Associated Press on Tuesday
that the staffers were paid in dollars by their own choice. Gaza and the
Israeli-occupied West Bank don’t have their own national currency, and
primarily use Israeli shekels. The lawsuit, filed Monday in a U.S. federal
court in New York, marks the latest challenge to the beleaguered U.N. agency,
which has been the main supplier of food, water and shelter to civilians during
the Israel-Hamas war.”



Reuters: Israeli Forces Pound North And South Gaza, Battle Hamas In Rafah
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“Israeli forces pounded several areas across Gaza on Wednesday, and residents
reported fierce fighting overnight in Rafah in the south of the Palestinian
enclave. Residents said fighting intensified in the Tel Al-Sultan neighbourhood
in western Rafah, where tanks were also trying to force their way north amid
heavy clashes. The armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said fighters
attacked Israeli forces with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs. Since early
May, ground fighting has focused on Rafah, abutting Egypt on Gaza's southern
edge, where around half of the enclave's 2.3 million people had been sheltering
after fleeing other areas. Most have since had to flee again. Medics said two
Palestinians were killed in one Israeli missile strike in Rafah earlier on
Wednesday.”



Reuters: High Risk Of Famine Persists Across Gaza, Global Hunger Monitor Says
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“Gaza remains at high risk of famine as war between Israel and Hamas
continues and access to aid is restricted, though delivery of supplies had
limited the projected spread of extreme hunger in northern areas, a global
monitor said on Tuesday. More than 495,000 people across the Gaza Strip are
facing the most severe, or "catastrophic", level of food insecurity, according
to an update from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). That
is down from a forecast of 1.1 million in the previous update three months ago,
but is still more than one fifth of Gaza's population. Under "catastrophic"
food insecurity, households suffer an extreme lack of food, leading to acute
malnutrition in young children, an imminent risk of starvation, and deaths.”



Nigeria



Associated Press: 21 Nigerien Soldiers Killed In Ambush By ‘Terrorist Group,’
Ruling Junta Says
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“An ambush by a “terrorist group” killed 21 Nigerien soldiers near the
country’s border with Burkina Faso on Tuesday, Niger’s ruling military junta
said in a statement read on national television. The statement Tuesday evening
did not specify which group was behind the attack. Niger is struggling with a
deadly security crisis involving several armed groups. Last week, the rebel
Patriotic Liberation Front attacked a China-backed pipeline and threatened more
attacks if the $400 million deal with China isn’t canceled. The group, led by
Salah Mahmoud, a former rebel leader, took up arms after the junta staged a
coup last year ousting a democratically elected government. Niger and
neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso are also battling movements linked to
al-Qaida and the Islamic State extremist group in a decade-long conflict in the
Sahel region that is worsening.”



Africa



France 24: Niger In Mourning After ‘Terrorist Armed Group Kill 20 Soldiers,
One Civilian
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“"A coalition of terrorist armed groups" attacked security forces near the
village of Tassia, leaving "21 martyrs including one civilian" and nine
injured, the ministry announced in a statement on national television. It said
"several dozen" of the assailants were killed and that aerial and ground
reinforcements were being deployed to track down the rest of the attackers.
Three days of national mourning will begin from Wednesday with flags lowered to
half-mast, the ministry said, speaking of the security forces' "unshakeable
determination" to "continue this fight for sovereignty". Tassia lies in the
Tillaberi region bordering Mali and Burkina Faso where rebels linked to
Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have waged a bloody insurgency for almost
a decade.”



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