Eye on Extremism

July 29, 2024

Associated Press: Israel Weighs Response To Hezbollah After A Rocket From Lebanon Kills 12 Youths On A Soccer Field

“The Middle East braced for a potential flare-up in violence on Sunday after Israeli authorities said a rocket from Lebanon struck a soccer field in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, killing 12 children and teens in what the military called the deadliest attack on civilians since Oct. 7. It raised fears of a broader regional war between Israel and Hezbollah, which in a rare move denied it was responsible. The White House National Security Council said it was speaking with Israeli and Lebanese counterparts and working on a diplomatic solution to “end all attacks once and for all” in the border area between Israel and Lebanon. The Israeli military said it struck a number of targets inside Lebanon overnight into Sunday, though their intensity was similar to months of cross-border fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah. Hezbollah said it also carried out strikes. There were no immediate reports of casualties.”

CNN: Children And Teens Among 12 Dead In Golan Heights Attack That Israel Blames On Hezbollah, Raising Fears Of Major Escalation

“At least 12 people, including children, were killed when a rocket hit a village in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights Saturday, Israeli officials said, in an attack that has raised fears of a major escalation in the long-running conflict. Israel said it had identified “approximately 30 projectiles” crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory in a barrage it blamed on the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and described as the deadliest against it since October 7. Hezbollah has admitted targeting other parts of the Golan Heights but “firmly denies” it was behind the deadly strike. Overnight following the attack, Israeli warplanes conducted airstrikes against Hezbollah targets “deep inside Lebanese territory and in southern Lebanon,” according to a statement from the military on Sunday morning. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) hit a series of Hezbollah targets including weapons caches and “terrorist infrastructure,” the statement said.”

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CEP Mentions

WE News: EU Designates Neo-Nazi Group “The Base” as Terrorist Outfit Organization

“...The Counter Extremism Project revealed that Nazzaro worked for the US Department of Homeland Security from 2004 to 2006 and with US forces on counterterrorism, holding top-secret clearance. He resigned from his US national security role after adopting white nationalist views. Concerns have been raised by CSIS about The Base potentially attracting radicalized members from the US military and law enforcement. The Soufan Center, founded by a former FBI agent, reported that Nazzaro has boasted of his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.”

Euractiv: EU Adds Neo-Nazi Group The Base To Its ‘Terrorist’ List

“...The Counter Extremism Project, an association focused on extremist groups, said Nazzaro worked for the US Department of Homeland Security between 2004 and 2006, and reportedly with US forces in the Middle East on counterterrorism — a role that gave him top-secret clearance. Nazzaro resigned his US national security position after developing his white nationalist beliefs, the Counter Extremism Project said. The CSIS think tank said there were concerns that “The Base poses a notable threat of attracting radicalised members from the US military” and in law enforcement. Another think tank, the Soufan Center, started by a former FBI agent, said Nazzaro reportedly boasted of his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.”

United States

The New York Post: 11-Year-Old ‘Juvenile Terrorist’ Arrested For Making 20 Bomb And Shooting Threats To Florida Schools

“A disturbed Virginia tween with an interest in snuff films and animal cruelty called in more than 20 violent threats to several Florida schools in May — including one in which he said there were two bombs at an elementary school, and he’d “shoot every police officer that responded,” authorities in the Sunshine State said. The so-called “juvenile terrorist” — who hasn’t been identified because he’s a minor — was arrested July 19 in Henrico County, Va., about two months after an alleged nine-day spree of phone calls that mostly targeted a handful of schools in Flagler County, Fla. But the boy also made similar calls to Virginia, Alabama, Alaska, Tennessee and Nebraska — as well as the Maryland State House, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said in a Thursday press conference, according to Axios Richmond. Staly said the boy is a “juvenile terrorist” who now faces 29 felony counts and 14 misdemeanors for his alleged crimes — which led to massive police responses, locked-down schools and worried parents.”

Pakistan

Voice Of America: Pakistan Boosts Security Of Chinese Workers Amid Growing Terrorism

““We have never seen a Chinese reaction like this one,” says regional security affairs analyst Ahmed Rashid, referring to Beijing’s persistent public demand that Pakistan ensure the safety of Chinese nationals since a March 26 suicide attack killed five Chinese workers there. As Pakistan fights a resurgent wave of terrorism that has killed hundreds of local civilians and security personnel this year, officials insist they can keep a few thousand Chinese nationals safe. A major ally of China, Pakistan has seen billions of dollars in much-needed energy and infrastructure projects pour in through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor — the flagship project of Beijing’s global Belt and Road infrastructure initiative. The project, popularly known as CPEC, however, has suffered as Islamist militants and Baloch insurgents fighting the Pakistani state target Chinese nationals and projects.”

Lebanon

Associated Press: Israel-Hamas War Latest: Israeli Strike Killed 2 People In Southern Lebanon, Lebanese Media Say

“Israeli strikes killed two people and injured three others in southern Lebanon early Monday, Lebanon’s state-run news agency said. The report came as Israel mulls its response to a rocket attack from Lebanon over the weekend that killed 12 children and teenagers in a town in the Israel-controlled Golan Heights. Monday’s strikes did not appear to be Israel’s response to the deadly weekend attack but more routine fighting. Lebanese state media said a Monday morning strike hit a motorcycle traveling close to the Lebanon-Israel border, killing two riders and injuring a child. No more information about the dead or injured was immediately available. Also Monday, two were injured in a separate strike in southern Lebanon, Lebanese state media reported. Israeli military officials said only that the military had struck Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure but did not give more information."

Middle East

Reuters: At Least 30 Dead In Gaza School Airstrike, Israel Says Targeted Militants

“At least 30 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school housing displaced people in Gaza on Saturday, Palestinian health officials said, an attack that Israel said targeted militants who were using the compound. The Hamas-run government media office said 15 children and eight women were among those killed in the strike in the central town of Deir Al-Balah. More than 100 people were wounded, the media office and the Gaza health ministry said. Israel's military said it had targeted militants operating there and that it had taken steps to reduce the risk to civilians. At Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, ambulances rushed the wounded in for treatment. Some people arrived on foot, their clothes stained with blood. Reuters footage showed people returning to the site of the bombing to check on their belongings, and fires burning in the area. Walls were blasted and debris scattered in the schoolyard, where some cars were damaged.”

The Wall Street Journal: Israel Approves A Retaliatory Strike On Hezbollah

“U.S. and Middle East diplomats on Sunday rushed to prevent an all-out war between Israel and the powerful Lebanese militia, Hezbollah, as burials began for the 12 children killed by a rocket fired from Lebanon. Israel and the U.S. have accused the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah of carrying out Saturday’s strike. Israel threatened a forceful response and its government met Sunday hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned from his visit to Washington. The Israeli military already struck several targets deep in Lebanon on Sunday morning in immediate response to the attack. As many in Lebanon braced for an Israeli strike, Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines delayed the return of some of its flights Sunday evening. Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist group that controls southern Lebanon, said it had nothing to do with the deaths but claimed responsibility for a series of other attacks in the area on Saturday, including launching a Falaq-1 rocket at an Israeli military site a few miles from the strike scene.”

Reuters: Israeli forces battle Palestinian fighters in southern Gaza

“Israeli troops backed by air strikes battled groups of Palestinian fighters around Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, as they continued a week-long operation they said was meant to clear Islamist Hamas militants. A week after ordering civilians to evacuate the area, tanks pushed into the towns of Al-Karara, Al-Zanna, and Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Younis, where medics said at least 34 Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes. Residents reported fierce fighting as thousands of Palestinians, many displaced multiple times, headed to the overcrowded areas in Al-Mawasi southwest of Khan Younis, and northwards to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. The days of fighting in Khan Younis underscored the fierce resistance Israeli forces have encountered almost 10 months after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct 7 that triggered Israel's campaign in Gaza.”

Nigeria

Reuters: At Least Seven Nigerian Soldiers Killed By Landmine

“At least seven Nigerian soldiers were killed after a mine exploded on a highway in Borno state, the hotbed of a Boko Haram militant insurgency, two vigilante officers said on Friday. Nigeria faces a raft of security challenges including a long-running Islamist insurgency in the northeast, separatist violence in the southeast, rampant oil theft in the Niger Delta and kidnapping for ransom by criminal gangs. Shaibu Musa, a local vigilante officer helping to combat the insurgents, said a military vehicle was travelling along the road linking the villages of Monguno and Baga on Thursday when the vehicle detonated an improvised explosive device. The military did not immediately respond to request for comment on the incident. Another security official, Isa Bukar, said the explosion occurred on Thursday morning after soldiers on patrol triggered the mine, which killed seven of them.”

Somalia

Garowe Online: Ex-Somali President Says Al-Shabaab Regrouped After Govt Failure In War

“Former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed says the security situation in Somalia has significantly deteriorated in the past two years, arguing that the al-Shabaab militants have regrouped, exposing civilians to uncertainty. In a press statement, the former leader who is credited for evicting the militants from Mogadishu said the influx of illegal arms smuggled into Somalia in recent months has exacerbated existing tensions and conflicts, particularly in regions already grappling with the presence of extremist groups such as Al-Shabaab. According to him, Al-Shabaab once thought to be on the retreat, has managed to regroup and grow stronger, posing a significant threat to our security and stability. The militants have been fighting to topple the fragile UN-backed federal government of Somalia. Last week, Al-Shabaab suffered heavy losses in Jubaland after an attempted raid at three military bases, in an incident that left over 150 fighters dead.”

Africa

Voice Of America: 7 Security Forces, 5 Rangers Killed In Benin By Jihadi Violence

“At least seven members of Beninese security forces and five rangers working with a conservation nonprofit have been killed in an attack by an armed group in Benin's National Park W that is overrun by militants, according to the conservation group. The attack Wednesday happened not far from the Mékrou River in the 10,000-square-kilometer (3,800-square-miles) park which straddles the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger, the African Parks group said in a statement Saturday. Authorities in Benin have not yet spoken about the attack, which is common with the government and the military. It is the latest in a surge in violence in which jihadis from the conflict-battered Sahel region that is south of the Sahara Desert have spread farther into West Africa, targeting coastal states like Benin. It was not clear which jihadi group carried out the attack in Park W, into which militants from troubled neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger have recently moved, raising fears they could use its vast protected area as a base for infiltrating other West African countries.”

France

NBC: Attack On Train System Highlights Broad Array Of Security Threats To Paris Olympics

“The coordinated arson attack on high-speed rail by suspected far-left anarchists hours before the opening of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris shows the broad array of sophisticated security threats faced by French law enforcement officials.The potential threats to the event include a Russian-backed sabotage campaign, an attack directed or inspired by a terrorist group based in the Middle East, and a cyberattack that could disrupt communications, according to multiple current and senior law enforcement officials based in France, Europe and the U.S. So far, French officials have not confirmed a motive or whether the group responsible for the attacks, which targeted train signals in France’s rail system, was coordinated by a foreign government. Before the rail attack, the French minister of the interior said officials believed they had thwarted four specific and credible planned attacks on the Olympics — including one possibly tied to Russia.”

India

Reuters: India's Modi Says Pakistan Using 'Terrorism, Proxy War' To Stay Relevant

“Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that Pakistan was trying to stay relevant through "terrorism" and "proxy war" but such a strategy would never succeed. The nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours have uneasy relations and India has, for decades, accused Pakistan of backing Islamist militants fighting its rule in Kashmir, the Himalayan region both claim in full but rule only in part. Modi spoke at an event to mark the 25th anniversary of India's short military conflict with Pakistan in the Himalayan region of Kargil. The arch rivals have also fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir. Modi said Pakistan had been unsuccessful whenever it tried to further its plans but had "not learned anything from its history". "I want to tell these patrons of terrorism that their unholy plans will never be successful...Our brave (forces) will squash terrorism, the enemy will be given a befitting reply," he said. Pakistan has previously denied such accusations by India, saying it only provides diplomatic and moral support to Kashmiris seeking self-determination in the Muslim-majority region.”

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