“Taliban security forces in Afghanistan claimed Sunday that they had killed a
key Islamic State commander in an eastern province bordering Pakistan. An
official Taliban media outlet reported that counter-terrorism forces in
Nangarhar had raided a hideout of Islamic State Khorasan, also known as IS-K,
an Afghan-based affiliate of the transnational extremist group. The Al-Mersaad
outlet said that Sunday’s action had resulted in the killing of “Zakirullah …
known as Abu Sher” and identified him as IS Khorasan’s military leader for the
border province’s Achin district. The media report said “Taliban special
forces” had concluded the operation in the Mohmand Dara district. It was not
possible to verify Al-Mersaad’s claims from independent sources, nor have
Taliban government officials commented on the operation in a province where IS
Khorasan launched its extremist activities in Afghanistan and the region at
large in 2015, with Achin as its headquarters.”











<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>



Eye on Extremism



July 8, 2024



Voice Of America: Key Islamic State Commander Reported Killed In Afghanistan
<[link removed]>



“Taliban security forces in Afghanistan claimed Sunday that they had killed a
key Islamic State commander in an eastern province bordering Pakistan. An
official Taliban media outlet reported that counter-terrorism forces in
Nangarhar had raided a hideout of Islamic State Khorasan, also known as IS-K,
an Afghan-based affiliate of the transnational extremist group. The Al-Mersaad
outlet said that Sunday’s action had resulted in the killing of “Zakirullah …
known as Abu Sher” and identified him as IS Khorasan’s military leader for the
border province’s Achin district. The media report said “Taliban special
forces” had concluded the operation in the Mohmand Dara district. It was not
possible to verify Al-Mersaad’s claims from independent sources, nor have
Taliban government officials commented on the operation in a province where IS
Khorasan launched its extremist activities in Afghanistan and the region at
large in 2015, with Achin as its headquarters.”



Reuters: Israel Says It Killed Hezbollah Operative In Eastern Lebanon
<[link removed]>



“Israel's army said on Saturday it killed a key operative in Hezbollah's
Aerial Defence Unit in eastern Lebanon, accusing him of carrying out numerous
attacks against Israelis. In a statement, the army identified the Hezbollah
member as Meitham Mustafa Altaar, saying that he had visited Iran several
times, "where he gained knowledge and assisted in building up Hezbollah's force
and arsenal of Iranian weapons." Lebanese state media said Altaar's car was
attacked in a drone strike in the town of Shaath, north of Lebanon's eastern
city of Baalbek. Hezbollah confirmed the killing of the 33-year-old but did not
specify his role in the movement. The Iran-backed group and Israel have been
trading fire for nearly nine months in hostilities that have played out in
parallel to the Gaza conflict, raising fears of an all-out war between the
heavily armed adversaries. Hezbollah has said its campaign of rocket and drone
attacks on northern Israel has aimed to support Palestinians under Israeli
bombardment in Gaza.”




CEP Expert Analysis

* Counterpoint Brief: US Designates Nordic Resistance Movement Specially
Designated Global Terrorist Organization
<[link removed]>
* ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency in March 2024
<[link removed]>
* CEP Report: Central Syria’s ISIS Insurgency In 2023
<[link removed]>
* CEP Statement Calling For U.S. Sanctions Against Qatar, DIMDEX Conference,
And Al Thani Royal Family
<[link removed]>
* Extremist Content Online: The Base Calls For Members of Other White
Supremacist Groups to Join
<[link removed]>



CEP Mentions



Jewish Standard: Defining Antisemitism
<[link removed]>



“Last week, after two days of hearings, a New Jersey bill that would establish
a statewide definition of antisemitism based on the International Holocaust
Remembrance Alliance’s definition, and another that would require that
definitions of antisemitism and Islamophobia be included in the state’s
diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, cleared a state Senate committee.
Josh Lipowsky of Bergen County is a senior research analyst for the Counter
Extremism Project. The CEP’s goal is to create a central address where people
can go to learn about all forms of extremism and become better equipped to
combat the growing trend of extremism around the world, he said. “We look at
all forms of extremism, whether it’s Islamist, right wing, left wing, white
supremacist, so we cover the entire gamut.””



The Spectator: Can Sinn Fein Win The UK’s Most Marginal Constituency Again?
<[link removed]>



“It’s Monday afternoon and I’m walking through the estate where I was born on
the outskirts of Enniskillen in Northern Ireland. Here in the United Kingdom’s
most westerly and most marginal constituency, politics continues to be war by
other means. The Unionist marching season beckons and as well as the usual red
white and blue bunting, there are a sea of Israeli flags fluttering in the
drizzle. Across town, in nationalist estates, Palestinian flags abound. These
adopted tribal identities epitomise the immutable sectarian character of the
competition for the seat in Fermanagh and South Tyrone. While Northern Ireland
is slowly becoming a more homogenous society and progressive politics makes
progress in the urban east, out here on the rural edge of the union, it’s
different.”



The Spectator: There Is No Quick Fix For Britain’s Overcrowded Prisons
<[link removed]>



“Imagine the scene. It’s Friday morning and the new Secretary of State for
Justice, Shabana Mahmood, has just slipped into the big chair. Her predecessor
has left her a note on the desk, ‘I’m afraid there is no cell space. Kind
regards – and good luck! Alex.’ With prison capacity running at 99 per cent and
new jails still on the far horizon, the first priority of the new Lord
Chancellor is to stop the criminal justice system grinding to a halt. Keir
Starmer, aware that the shelf life of ‘inherited mess’ will be brutally short,
has gone on TV to prepare public opinion for the emergency early release of
prisoners to continue and go even further. The party’s tough on crime poetry
pre-election will collide with the prosaic reality of full, anarchic prisons.”



The Spectator: The Complete Guide To Labour’s Cabinet
<[link removed]>



“Keir Starmer has appointed his cabinet, but who are the men and women who
will be running Britain? The Spectator‘s writers, including Katy Balls, Kate
Andrews and James Heale give the run down on Labour’s top team. […] Ian
Acheson: Yvette Cooper has two enormous challenges that can’t wait for a
honeymoon. The first is making her Border Command, the latest iteration in a
long line of failed initiatives on controlling illegal migration, actually
deliver. The second is restoring the status and importance of community
policing in neighbourhoods marooned in criminal impunity with demoralised cops
leaving in droves. Both require agility and energy from a Home Office with
neither. Her formidable toughness needs to be turned inward. This is a hot seat
on fire.”



Daily Mail: Keir Starmer Admits Labour Will ‘In All Likelihood Continue
Releasing Prisoners Early Amid Fears Jails Will Run Out Of Space Soon After The
Election
<[link removed]>



“Sir Keir Starmer has admitted he will almost certainly have to keep
releasing prisoners early if elected Prime Minister amid fears jails will run
out of space within days of the election. The Labour leader conceded that 'in
all likelihood' the policy being pursued by the current government would remain
in place. Britain's prison estate is severely overcrowded and numerous recent
inspections have warned of dangerous conditions within jails due to staffing
issues, endemic violence and widespread drug use. […] Read More: Inside our
failing jails: Former prison governor IAN ACHESON reveals a system gripped by
violence, rampant drug taking and radicalisation”



Canada



Reuters: Canada Police Charge Syrian Returnee With Terrorism Offenses
<[link removed]>



“Canadian police said on Saturday they had charged a returnee from Syria with
terrorism-related offenses after an investigation into allegations that she had
gone to join the Islamic State group. Kimberly Polman, 51, was charged with two
counts of leaving Canada to participate in the activity of a terrorist group
and participation in the activity of a terrorist group, the police said in a
statement. The charges under Section 83 of the Criminal Code stem from the
investigation into the allegations Polman traveled to Syria from Canada in 2015
to join ISIS, police said. She was repatriated to Canada in 2022 but not
charged criminally, her lawyer said at the time.”



Syria



Associated Press: Special Adviser To Syrian President Assad Dies Following Car
Crash Under Unclear Circumstances
<[link removed]>



“A close adviser to Syrian President Bashar Assad has died after a car
accident left her hospitalized for four days, the president’s office said
Friday in a statement. Luna al-Shibl, a former journalist, had worked as the
director of Assad’s political and media offices and as a special adviser to the
president. She was slapped with U.S. sanctions in 2020 along with five other
Syrian military, government and financial officials, and later was also
sanctioned by the United Kingdom. Syria’s state-run news agency SANA reported
Tuesday that al-Shibl had been in an accident that “caused the car she was in
to swerve off the road, and she was subjected to several collisions.” She was
hospitalized in Damascus and admitted to intensive care with “severe injuries”
including a head hemorrhage. The U.K.-based opposition war monitor Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights reported at the time that another car had hit
al-Shibl and its driver was arrested”



Afghanistan



Time: Why Pakistan-Afghanistan Tensions Are Soaring
<[link removed]>



“Tensions between neighbors Pakistan and Afghanistan are running high as the
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said this week that his country plans
to continue launching cross-border attacks as part of a new military operation
to curb terrorism. The comments mark a notable shift for Pakistani officials
who, until now, had only admitted to one such cross-border strike in March. “We
won’t serve them with cake and pastries. If attacked, we’ll attack back,” Asif
told the BBC. Pakistan has experienced a surge in violence since the Pakistani
Taliban, or Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a close ally of the Afghan
Taliban, unilaterally ended a ceasefire with Islamabad in November 2022. Last
year alone, more than 700 attacks killed nearly 1,000 people. The Pakistani
government accuses the Afghan Taliban of providing a safe haven to the TTP.”



Saudi Arabia



The New York Times: Netflix Show Earns Its Saudi Creator Plaudits, And A
Prison Sentence
<[link removed]>



“From the outside, the past few years looked like the peak of Abdulaziz
Almuzaini’s career. As the head of an animation studio in Saudi Arabia, he
signed a five-year deal with Netflix in 2020. A sardonic cartoon franchise that
he helped create, “Masameer,” likened to a Saudi version of “South Park,” was
soon streaming to audiences around the world. And as the conservative Islamic
kingdom loosened up, Mr. Almuzaini was being publicly celebrated — as recently
as a few months ago — as one of the homegrown talents shaping its nascent
entertainment industry. Behind the scenes, though, he was on trial in an opaque
national security court, as Saudi prosecutors — who accused him of promoting
extremism through the cartoon series and social media posts — sought to ensure
that he would spend the rest of his life in prison or under a travel ban.”



Lebanon



Reuters: Hezbollah Launches Drone Attack On Mount Hermon In Israeli-Occupied
Syrian Golan Heights
<[link removed]>



“The Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group said on Sunday it launched a
drone attack on Mount Hermon in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights where
Israel has a key surveillance centre. It said this was its first such bombing
since it began trading fire with Israel on Oct. 8, a day after its Palestinian
ally Hamas attacked southern Israel, sparking the Gaza war. Hezbollah says it
would halt operations only when the war ends. . Although it had hit other areas
in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights repeatedly, Lebanon's Hezbollah said it
was the first time to hit the military target that is at the highest elevation
in the Israeli-controlled territory. Israel has key surveillance, espionage and
air defence installations on Mount Hermon where it overlooks the Syrian capital
and serves to monitor Syria, Iraq, Jordan and parts of Saudi Arabia since the
1973 Oct. Arab-Israeli war.”



Middle East



Reuters: Israeli Tanks Storm Gaza City Districts, Residents Report Heavy Fire
<[link removed]>



“Israeli forces bombarded Gaza City early on Monday and columns of tanks
advanced into the heart of the city from different directions in what residents
said was one of the heaviest attacks in the Palestinian territory since the
start of the war. The Gaza Civil Emergency Service said it believed dozens of
people were killed but emergency teams were unable to reach them because of
ongoing offensives in Daraj and Tuffah in the east and Tel Al-Hawa, Sabra and
Rimal further west. Residents said neighbourhoods in Gaza City, which lies in
the north of the Gaza Strip, had been bombed throughout the night into the
early morning hours. Several multi-floor buildings have been destroyed, they
added. One Israeli tank thrust pushed people towards the western road near the
Mediterranean, residents said. "The enemy is behind us and the sea is in front
of us, where we will we go?" said Abdel-Ghani, one Gaza City resident, who did
not give his full name.”



BBC: Senior Hamas Official Killed As Israel Orders Fresh Evacuation
<[link removed]>



“A senior Hamas administration official was among four people killed in an
Israeli air strike at a school in Gaza City, Palestinian sources say. A local
official told the BBC that Ehab Al-Ghussein was appointed to manage the affairs
of the Hamas government in Gaza City and northern Gaza three months ago. The
Israeli army says that it carried out a strike on the area of a school building
in Gaza City from which it says "terrorists were operating and hiding". It says
that it took steps to minimise the risk of civilians being harmed. Eyewitnesses
say the attack targeted the Holy Family School next to the Holy Family Church
to the west of Gaza city. A large number of people were sheltering in the
building, the BBC understands. The air strike targeted two classrooms on the
ground floor, they said. Ehab Al-Ghussein was formerly deputy labour minister
in the Hamas administration and before that an interior ministry spokesman.”



Associated Press: Gaza Destruction Likely Helped Push Hamas To Soften
Cease-Fire Demands, Several Officials Say
<[link removed]>



“Several officials in the Middle East and the U.S. believe the level of
devastation in the Gaza Strip caused by a nine-month Israeli offensive likely
has helped push Hamas to soften its demands for a cease-fire agreement. Hamas
over the weekend appeared to drop its longstanding demand that Israel promise
to end the war as part of any cease-fire deal. The sudden shift has raised new
hopes for progress in internationally brokered negotiations. Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday boasted that military pressure —
including Israel’s ongoing two-month offensive in the southern Gaza city of
Rafah — “is what has led Hamas to enter negotiations.” Hamas, an Islamic
militant group that seeks Israel’s destruction and took control of Gaza in
2007, is highly secretive and little is known about its inner workings.”



Nigeria



Reuters: Deadly Attacks In Nigerian Town A Reminder Of Boko Haram Threat
<[link removed]>



“When Nigerian Adamu Buba saw a woman in a torn hijab at his friend's wedding
last Saturday, he asked two colleagues to serve her food. Moments later, while
taking photos of the bride and groom, he heard a loud blast that knocked him to
the ground. The woman in the hijab detonated explosives strapped on her back,
killing herself and 10 others. Buba lay bleeding and disoriented. "All I could
see were dead bodies on the ground and body parts all around," said the
34-year-old Buba from a hospital bed in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state
in northeast Nigeria. The bride and groom survived. This was the first of four
suspected suicide bombings in the past week by women that also targeted a
funeral for victims, a hospital and a security checkpoint, which authorities
say killed up to 32 people in Gwoza town in Borno, the heartland of an Islamist
insurgency. No group claimed responsibility.”



Associated Press: Nigeria Claims It Has Degraded Extremists. New Suicide
Bombings Suggest They Remain Potent
<[link removed]>



“For the first time since 2020, three female suicide bombers attacked the
Nigerian border town of Gwoza, where Boko Haram extremists declared a
short-lived caliphate 10 years ago, signaling that the world’s longest war on
militancy is still ongoing. This came two days after officials touted success
in their war against extremists, with Nigeria’s military spokesperson Maj. Gen.
Edward Buba telling reporters the often-used phrase: “We have greatly degraded
the terrorists.” The first of the three coordinated suicide bombings on June 30
targeted a well-attended wedding, the second was detonated at the victims’
funeral and the the third at a hospital attending to the injured. At least 32
people in total were killed in the attacks, including nine family members and
friends of Mohammed Kehaya, a resident who is now worried about his safety in
the state of Borno, a hotbed of Islamic militancy, where extremists once
kidnapped hundreds of schoolgirls in 2014."



Europe



Associated Press: Iranian-Born Norwegian Man Found Guilty In 2022 Oslo LGBT+
Festival Attack, Sentenced To 30 Years
<[link removed]>



“An Iranian-born Norwegian man was found guilty of terrorism on Thursday in a
2022 attack on an LGBTQ+ festival in Oslo and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Two people were killed and nine were seriously wounded in the shooting at three
locations, chiefly outside the London Pub, a popular gay bar, on June 25, 2022.
The Oslo District Court said Zaniar shot 10 rounds with a machine gun and eight
shots with a handgun into the crowd. It said Matapour had sworn allegiance to
the Islamic State group and “has been radicalized for several years.” His
30-year sentence was the highest penalty in Norway since terror legislation was
changed in 2015. Matapour can request parole after 20 years but can only be
released if he is deemed no longer dangerous.”



Southeast Asia



Retuers: Southeast Asian Militant Group Jemaah Islamiyah To Be Disbanded, Say
Its Senior Leaders
<[link removed]>



“Senior members of Jemaah Islamiyah, the Southeast Asian militant network
blamed for the deadly Bali bombings, have announced they are disbanding the
group, according to a report by a Jakarta-based think tank on Thursday. The
report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), confirmed the
authenticity of a June 30 video statement by sixteen Jemaah Islamiyah (JI)
leaders announcing they were dissolving the extremist network. In the
statement, captured on video and shared online, the leaders confirmed their
commitment to the Indonesian state and law, and said all material taught in
JI-affiliated boarding schools would be in line with orthodox Islam. "It is too
early to say what the consequences are, but the men who signed the statement
have enough respect and credibility within the organisation to ensure
widespread acceptance," said Sidney Jones, who authored IPAC's preliminary
analysis. The Al-Qaeda linked militant group is accused of orchestrating some
of the deadliest attacks in Indonesia, including the 2002 bombing of Bali
nightclubs that killed more than 200 people.”



China



Bloomberg: China, UAE Said In Talks To Increase Flights Between Two Nations
<[link removed]>



“China and the United Arab Emirates are seeking to increase bilateral air
traffic rights after years of stagnant travel growth, a move that would seek to
boost trade and tourism between the two nations. Officials from both sides will
meet in Beijing in coming weeks to discuss granting airlines increases in
flights between the two nations, according to people familiar with the matter.
Both China and the UAE want more connections after links were exhausted at 56
flights per country per week, said the people, asking not to be identified
because the discussions are private. No specific increase has been determined,
one of the people said, and the exact outcome of the talks isn’t certain. The
Civil Aviation Administration of China didn’t respond to a request for comment."



The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If
you value what we do, please consider making a donation.

DONATE NOW
<[link removed]>
 




Click here to unsubscribe.
<[link removed]>