“A ship traveling through the Red Sea came under repeated missile fire Friday
in a likely attack launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, authorities said, the
latest targeting the crucial maritime route. Five missiles landed near the
vessel as it traveled off the coast of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida in
Yemen, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center
said. The missiles landed near the vessel, but caused no damage, the UKTMO
added. The Houthis did not immediately claim the attack. However, it can take
them hours or even days before they acknowledge an assault. The rebels have
targeted more than 60 vessels by firing missiles and drones in their campaign
that has killed a total of four sailors. They seized one vessel and sank two
since November.”











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Eye on Extremism



June 28, 2024



Associated Press: 5 Missiles Land Near Ship In The Red Sea In Likely The
Latest Attack By Yemen’s Houthi Rebels
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“A ship traveling through the Red Sea came under repeated missile fire Friday
in a likely attack launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, authorities said, the
latest targeting the crucial maritime route. Five missiles landed near the
vessel as it traveled off the coast of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida in
Yemen, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center
said. The missiles landed near the vessel, but caused no damage, the UKTMO
added. The Houthis did not immediately claim the attack. However, it can take
them hours or even days before they acknowledge an assault. The rebels have
targeted more than 60 vessels by firing missiles and drones in their campaign
that has killed a total of four sailors. They seized one vessel and sank two
since November.”



Associated Press: Israel Readies Troops For A Potential Escalation In Lebanon
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“Israel’s prime minister and president toured northern Israel’s border and
met with military commanders there on Wednesday, amid escalating tensions with
Hezbollah forces in Lebanon and mounting concerns from world leaders that a
wider war could break out. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, posted
a video on social media during his visit of him saying that Israeli forces were
“determined and committed to the mission of achieving victory, and no less.”
The tours by Israeli officials along the border with Lebanon came as Israel’s
defense minister, Yoav Gallant, concluded four days of meetings in Washington
with senior Biden administration officials, who repeatedly stressed the need
for a diplomatic solution to tensions with Hezbollah. The Iran-backed militia
has been targeting Israel since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack set off a war with
Hamas in Gaza. Tensions have flared in recent weeks.”




Recent CEP Press Releases

* Counterpoint Brief: US Designates Nordic Resistance Movement As Specially
Designated Global Terrorist Organization
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* CEP Applauds U.S. Designation Of Nordic Resistance Movement As A Specially
Designated Terrorist Organization
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* Extremist Content Online: Extreme Right Telegram Channel Promote
Homophobia, Transphobia, And Violence In Response To LGBTQ Pride Month
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* Extremist Content Online: TikTok Post Glorifying Christchurch Attacker
Receives Over 35,000 Views, Account Links To Telegram Content Celebrating
Attacker
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* Extremist Content Online: Patriot Front Affiliated Jiu-Jitsu Team
Advertises Recent Tournament Participants
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CEP Mentions



Express: Nigel Farage Sensationally Claims Britain 'Helped Create ISIS' By
Intervening In Major War
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“Nigel Farage has claimed Britain “helped create ISIS” by intervening in the
Libyan civil war. The Reform UK leader said former prime minister David
Cameron’s decision “to go to war” was “total madness”. A bloody civil war –
following the death of tyrant Muammar Gaddafi – led to anarchy in Libya,
allowing the smuggling of militants, weapons and migrants across the
Mediterranean Sea. […] The Counter Extremism Project said the number of attacks
is rising in Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Cameroon. Jihadists have
even abducted and executed suspected Wagner-group spies in Mali. The Russian
mercenary group is carrying out different activities across several African
countries, including gathering information and protecting regimes.”



United States



Voice Of America: New Migration Patterns Could Fuel IS Plans For US, Some
Officials Contend
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“Recent changes in global migration patterns and smuggling routes have
created an opening for terror groups like the Islamic State to set their sights
on the U.S. southern border. For years, top U.S. counterterrorism officials
have pushed back against critics who sounded alarms about would-be terrorists
streaming across the U.S. border with Mexico. But changes within the past year
have increased the likelihood of such a reality. "What we face today is a
greater vulnerability to the possibility that terrorist organizations might use
that pathway to get individuals into the United States," according to Nick
Rasmussen, the counterterrorism coordinator for the Department of Homeland
Security, or DHS. "The diversity of the migrant population arriving at our
borders — this is not in any way, shape or form a problem of the Western
Hemisphere," Rasmussen told a conference Thursday in Omaha, Nebraska.”



Afghanistan



Voice Of America: Afghan Farmers Grow Poppies Despite Taliban’s Ban
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“Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan was down sharply last year, according
to the United Nations and private sources, but the plants are being grown in
most provinces despite a ban imposed by the Taliban. Some areas grow more than
others. According to sources inside Afghanistan and on Taliban-run social media
accounts, farmers in about 29 provinces have been growing poppies since spring.
The largest amounts are grown in Badakhshan, Helmand, Herat and Nangarhar
provinces. Poppies, which farmers process to make opium, are being grown in the
open and hidden behind property walls. Taliban forces conducted thousands of
operations to destroy the plant, as was announced on the X social media
platform by the Ministry of Interior Counter Narcotics. It listed 29 provinces
where they conducted eradication efforts.”



Lebanon



Politico: US Intel Indicates War Between Israel And Hezbollah Inching Closer
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“A large-scale confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah is likely to break
out in the next several weeks if Jerusalem and Hamas fail to reach a cease-fire
deal in Gaza, U.S. intelligence indicates. U.S. officials are trying to
convince both sides to deescalate — a task that would be significantly easier
with a cease-fire in place in Gaza. But that agreement is in tense negotiations
and U.S. officials are not confident Israel and Hamas will agree to the deal on
the table in the near future. Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces and
Hezbollah have drafted battle plans and are in the process of trying to procure
additional weapons, according to two senior U.S. officials briefed on the
intelligence. Both sides have publicly said they do not want to go to war, but
senior Biden officials increasingly believe that intense fighting is likely to
break out despite efforts to try and prevent it.”



Middle East



Reuters: Israeli Forces Push Deeper Into Southern And Northern Gaza
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“Israeli forces deepened their incursion into two northern and southern areas
of the Gaza Strip on Friday, and Palestinian health officials said tank
shelling in Rafah killed at least 11 people. Residents and Hamas media said
tanks advanced further west into the Shakoush neighbourhood of Rafah, forcing
thousands of displaced people there to leave their tent camps and head
northward to the nearby Khan Younis. The Israeli military did not immediately
comment. Since May 7, tanks have advanced in several districts of Rafah, and
forces remained in control of the entire border line with Egypt and the Rafah
crossing, the only gateway for most of Gaza's 2.3 million people with the
outside world.One resident, who spoke to Reuters via a chat app, said some
bulldozers in the Shakoush area were piling up sand for Israeli tanks to
station behind.”



Associated Press: Israel Lets 19 Kids Leave Gaza Who Are Sick Or Wounded,
First Medical Evacuation In Nearly 2 Months
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“Israeli authorities say 68 people — 19 sick or wounded children plus their
companions — have been allowed out of the Gaza Strip and into Egypt in the
first medical evacuation since early May, when the territory’s sole travel
crossing was shut down after Israel captured it. The nearly nine-month
Israel-Hamas war has devastated Gaza’s health sector and forced most of its
hospitals to shut down. Health officials say thousands of people need medical
treatment abroad, including hundreds of urgent cases. The Israeli military body
responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, known by its acronym COGAT, said
Thursday that the evacuation was carried out in coordination with officials
from the United States, Egypt and the international community. The children and
their companions left Gaza via the Kerem Shalom cargo crossing, and the
patients were to travel to Egypt and farther abroad for medical treatment.”



Somalia



Garowe Online: Al-Shabaab Leaders Killed In Somalia
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“At least seven Al-Shabaab militants were killed in central regions of the
country following operations carried out by the Somali National Army (SNA),
officials said, noting the contributions from the local forces who also joined
the crackdown. The seven militants were killed in Ali-Adhole within El-Dheer
District, a region which the militants have tried hard to take months after
losing it to the national army. The army has been camping in the region for
months, maintaining law and order. During the operation conducted early
Wednesday, the national forces also destroyed the militant’s base in the area
and recovered various weapons. Galmadug was one of the states where the first
operations phase against Al-Shabaab was mooted. Joint operations against
Al-Shabaab have achieved the common strategic goals, with Al-Shabab losing
critical frontlines in the struggle. Local communities have also been joining
security officers in the fight against Al-Shabaab.”



Europe



Voice of America: Busy With Ukraine War, Russia Ignoring Growing Islamist
Terror Threat, Experts Say
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“While the world has been focused on Russia’s two-year war in Ukraine,
Sunday's attacks in Dagestan, a majority-Muslim republic in Russia’s North
Caucasus region, were just the latest reminder of Moscow’s long-running
conflict with radical Islamists. Gunmen in Dagestan’s two largest cities — the
regional capital, Makhachkala, and Derbent — targeted a police post, two
Orthodox churches and a synagogue, killing 21 people, including an Orthodox
priest and 16 police officers. Dozens more were injured. According to
Dagestan’s regional head, Sergei Melikov, five attackers were killed. While
there has been no direct claim of responsibility for the attack, the
South-Central Asian regional branch of the Islamic State jihadist group
welcomed the attack as a response to its call for such strikes.”



Australia



The Guardian: Albanese Says ‘No Place For Extremism In Australia’ After Teen
Allegedly Enters MP’s Office With ‘Intention To Kill’
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“Anthony Albanese has declared “there’s no place for extremism in Australia”
after a 19-year-old man was charged with planning a terrorist attack after he
allegedly entered a New South Wales Labor MP’s office carrying “knives and
tactical equipment”. The prime minister was on Friday asked about a document
allegedly written by Jordan Patten who was arrested on Wednesday. A Sydney
magistrate on Thursday said police would allege Patten had intended to kill
Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp “due to his position in the Labor party”. The
prime minister said the teenager should “face the full force of the law”.
Investigators have confirmed that Patten circulated a 200-page document to
media outlets and public figures. In the document, allegedly written by Patten
and seen by Guardian Australia, there is a reference to a desire to kill Labor
MPs, prompting comment from the prime minister. Patten also details grievances
against the political party.”



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