“Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated early on Wednesday morning in
Iran, the Palestinian militant group and Tehran said, drawing threats of
revenge on Israel in a region already shaken by the war in Gaza and a deepening
conflict in Lebanon. Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed the death of
Haniyeh, hours after he attended a swearing in ceremony for the country's new
president, and said it was investigating. Haniyeh, normally based in Qatar, has
been the face of Hamas's international diplomacy as the war set off by the
Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7 has raged in Gaza. Hamas' armed wing said
in a statement Haniyeh's killing would "take the battle to new dimensions and
have major repercussions", while Iran also vowed to retaliate. Iran's Supreme
Leader Ali Khamenei said Israel had provided the grounds for "harsh punishment
for itself" and it was Tehran's duty to avenge the Hamas leader's death as it
had occurred in the Iranian capital.”











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Eye on Extremism



July 31, 2024



Reuters: Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh Killed In Iran, Stoking Fears Of Wider
Middle East War
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“Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated early on Wednesday morning in
Iran, the Palestinian militant group and Tehran said, drawing threats of
revenge on Israel in a region already shaken by the war in Gaza and a deepening
conflict in Lebanon. Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed the death of
Haniyeh, hours after he attended a swearing in ceremony for the country's new
president, and said it was investigating. Haniyeh, normally based in Qatar, has
been the face of Hamas's international diplomacy as the war set off by the
Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7 has raged in Gaza. Hamas' armed wing said
in a statement Haniyeh's killing would "take the battle to new dimensions and
have major repercussions", while Iran also vowed to retaliate. Iran's Supreme
Leader Ali Khamenei said Israel had provided the grounds for "harsh punishment
for itself" and it was Tehran's duty to avenge the Hamas leader's death as it
had occurred in the Iranian capital.”



Associated Press: Radical British Preacher Anjem Choudary Sentenced To Life In
Prison For Directing A Terrorist Group
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“Radical British preacher Anjem Choudary was sentenced Tuesday to life in
prison for directing a banned terrorist group that a judge said had put many
lives at risk. Choudary, 57, was convicted last week in Woolwich Crown Court
for directing the radical Muslim group al-Muhajiroun, or ALM, being a member of
the banned organization and for drumming up support for it. Justice Mark Wall
said Choudary was front and center in running a terrorist organization” that
“encouraged young men into radical activity.” ALM was outlawed by the British
government in 2010 as a group involved in committing, preparing for or
promoting terrorism. “Your actions while directing Al-Muhajiroun ran the risk
of causing or contributing to the deaths of very many people,” Wall said. “In
addition, by running an organization such as Al-Muhajiroun, you contributed in
a significant way to the fear of terrorist attack by radical Islamic
organizations which then existed in this country and abroad.”




The CEP CounterPoint: Expert Analysis

* CounterPoint Brief: Implications of Hezbollah Attack on Majdal Shams
<[link removed]>
* Reactions to Trump Assassination Attempt From Extreme Right Telegram
Channels
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* Thirty years on, AMIA victims still looking for justice
<[link removed]>
* The Financial Motive Behind Houthi Spyware Hacks
<[link removed]>
* ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency in June 2024
<[link removed]>



CEP Mentions



Bloomberg: Hezbollah Commander Targeted By Israel Has Long Been Wanted By US
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“The Hezbollah commander Israel targeted in Beirut to avenge a recent rocket
attack was also wanted by the US for a bombing in the same city more than 40
years ago. The Israeli army said Fuad Shukr was killed in an airstrike Tuesday
night because he was behind the attack in the Golan Heights that killed 12
youths over the weekend. [...] Shukr is alleged to have traveled to Tehran in
1994 on behalf of Hezbollah to retrieve a batch of US-made Stinger
anti-aircraft missiles originally intended for Afghan rebels during the
Afghan-Soviet war, according to the Counter Extremism Project, an advocacy
group based in Washington. Shukr also played a crucial role in Hezbollah’s
military campaign in Syria during the country’s civil war, aiding
pro-government troops against opposition forces, according to the US Treasury
Department.



The National: Anjem Choudary Jailed: Preacher With Fingerprints In Terror
Groups Across Europe
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“...Liam Duffy, strategic adviser at the Counter Extremism Project think
tank, told The National Choudary had caused considerable harm and his
fingerprints can be seen in terrorist groups across the world. "For a long
time, Anjem Choudary was seen as something of a novelty and a loudmouth but he
has devoted his life to the cause of activism, causing real and unquantifiable
damage in the process,” he said. "In addition to those who went on to be
involved in terror plots from his orbit, examination of the locales worst
affected by ISIS recruitment, the fingerprints of Choudary's Al-Muhajiroun and
the Sharia4 copycat organisations around Europe are visible. “Perhaps
opportunities were missed, legally speaking, but the bigger issue was that
civil societies across western Europe were not – and are still not – adequately
prepared to fend off Islamist extremist activism in all its various guises.
Choudary exploited this weakness more effectively than most."



Iraq



The Voice Of America: US Carries Out Strike In Iraq As Regional Tensions Worsen

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“The United States on Tuesday carried out a strike in Iraq in self-defense,
U.S. officials told Reuters, as regional tensions rose after an Israeli
airstrike in Beirut that Israel said killed Hezbollah's most senior commander.
Iraqi police and medical sources said the strike inside a base south of Baghdad
used by Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) killed four members of the
group, which includes several Iran-aligned armed militias, and wounded four
others. In a statement after the blasts, the Popular Mobilization Forces made
no accusation about who was responsible. U.S. officials, speaking on condition
of anonymity, said the United States carried out an airstrike in Musayib, in
Babil province, but did not provide more details on the location. The officials
added that the strike targeted militants that the U.S. deemed were looking to
launch drones and posed a threat to U.S. and coalition forces.”



Turkey



Reuters: Turkey Says It Killed 13 Kurdish Militants In Northern Iraq
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“Turkish forces targeted Kurdish militants in northern Iraq with air strikes,
killing 13 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the defence
ministry said on Tuesday. The PKK militants were "neutralised" in the Gara and
Haftanin regions of northern Iraq, the ministry said in a statement. The
ministry's use of the term "neutralised" generally means killed. Turkey's
military previously conducted air strikes in northern Iraq on Friday and
destroyed 25 Kurdish militant targets, the defence ministry said in an earlier
statement. It said those targets included caves, shelters, bunkers, depots and
facilities. The PKK, which has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish
state since 1984, is designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United
States and the European Union. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the
conflict.”



Lebanon



Reuters: Hezbollah Says Top Commander Was In Building Targeted By Israeli
Strike, Fate Unknown
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“Lebanon's Hezbollah said early on Wednesday its senior commander Fuad Shukr
had been in a building in the southern suburbs of Beirut when it was targeted
by an Israeli strike, but the group did not confirm his fate. Israel's military
announced late on Tuesday it had killed Shukr, whom it named as Hezbollah's
most senior commander and whom it blamed for an attack at the weekend that left
a dozen youngsters dead in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Iran-backed
Hezbollah has denied any involvement in Saturday's attack. Israeli Defence
Minister Yoav Gallant said Shukr "has the blood of many Israelis on his hands.
Tonight, we have shown that the blood of our people has a price, and that there
is no place out of reach for our forces to this end". A senior security source
from another country in the region confirmed Shukr had died of his wounds. At
least two women and two children were also killed, medical and security sources
said.”



Qatar



Reuters: Qatar PM Says: How Can Mediation Succeed When One Side Assassinates
Negotiator?
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“The prime minister of Qatar, which has acted as a mediator in ceasefire
negotiations between Israel and Hamas, suggested on Wednesday that the killing
of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh could jeopardise efforts to secure a truce in
Gaza. "Political assassinations and continued targeting of civilians in Gaza
while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party
assassinates the negotiator on other side?" Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin
Abdulrahman Al Thani wrote on X. "Peace needs serious partners & a global
stance against the disregard for human life." Qatar, Egypt and the United
States have repeatedly tried to secure a ceasefire between Israel and the
Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, where Israeli forces have killed more
than 39,000 Palestinians since Hamas-led fighters attacked Israel in October,
killing 1,200 people. A final deal to halt more than nine months of war has
been complicated by changes sought by Israel, sources have told Reuters.”



Middle East



Associated Press: UN Report Says Palestinians Detained By Israeli Authorities
Since Oct. 7 Faced Torture, Mistreatment
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“The U.N. human rights office issued a report Wednesday saying Palestinians
detained by Israeli authorities since the Oct. 7 attacks faced waterboarding,
sleep deprivation, electric shocks, the release of dogs, and other forms of
torture and mistreatment. The report said Israel’s prison service held more
than 9,400 “security detainees” as of the end of June, and some have been held
in secret without access to lawyers or respect for their legal rights. A
summary of the report, based on interviews with former detainees and other
sources, decried a “staggering” number of detainees — including men, women,
children, journalists and human rights defenders — and said such practices
raise concerns about arbitrary detention. “The testimonies gathered by my
office and other entities indicate a range of appalling acts, such as
waterboarding and the release of dogs on detainees, amongst other acts, in
flagrant violation of international human rights law and international
humanitarian law,” said U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Türk in a statement.”



Mali



Reuters: Al Qaeda Branch Says It Killed 50 Russian Mercenaries, 10 Malian
Soldiers In Mali
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“An al Qaeda affiliate said it killed 50 Russian Wagner mercenaries and 10
Malian soldiers in an ambush in Mali's northern Kidal region near the border
with Algeria on Saturday, according to the SITE Intelligence Group. The ambush
occurred on the same day a Tuareg rebel movement known as the Permanent
Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development (CSP-PSD) said it had
killed and injured dozens of Malian soldiers and Wagner mercenaries during days
of fighting at the border town of Tinzaouaten. The death toll is a significant
blow, amounting to what appears to be Wagner's heaviest defeat since it stepped
in two years ago to help Mali's junta fight Islamist groups that have been
waging insurgencies across the Sahel region since 2012. Mali, where the army
seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, has said Russian forces there are not
Wagner mercenaries but trainers helping local troops with equipment bought from
Russia.”


BBC: Mali Army Admits 'Significant' Losses In Wagner Battle
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“Mali's army has admitted it suffered “significant” losses during two days of
fighting involving Tuareg separatist rebels and al-Qaeda-linked militants. It
is rare for the military to own up to battlefield disasters and comes a day
after its ally, the Russian mercenary Wagner group, said one of its commanders
had died in the fighting that took place during a sandstorm. Neither Mali’s
military nor Wagner have given figures, but the estimated death toll for Wagner
fighters ranges from between 20 and 80. The clashes took place in the desert
near Tinzaouaten, a north-eastern town on the border with Algeria. According to
Wagner, its fighters and a detachment from the Malian military were retreating
from Tinzaouaten after clashes with separatist forces from the Tuareg ethnic
group. Whilst waiting for reinforcements, their convoy was ambushed in attacks
by the separatists and militants from an al-Qaeda affiliate, Jamaat Nusrat
al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).”



United Kingdom



BBC: Rise In People Fascinated By Violence, Police Warn
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“The threat from international and domestic terror presents a “breadth of
challenge greater than it has ever been”, according to senior US and UK police
officers who oversaw the successful prosecution of Anjem Choudary. The Islamist
preacher from east London is starting a life sentence for directing a group
banned under UK terror law, and encouraging support for it online. The officers
say his case highlights the continuing danger posed by radicalisers - and the
violent groups they support. But they also say counter-terrorism forces are now
battling a wide diversity of threats - including from a worrying number of
people who don't support an underlying ideology, but are simply drawn to
violence. Young people being attracted to online extremism through conspiracy
theories, the actions of “hostile states” such as Russia, and the “toxicity of
our political environment” are also of concern, they warn.”



Europe



Associated Press: Belarus’ Authoritarian President Pardons German Man
Sentenced To Death On Terrorism Charges
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“Belarus’ authoritarian leader on Tuesday granted a pardon to a German
citizen who had been sentenced to death on terrorism charges. It wasn’t
immediately clear whether President Alexander Lukashenko’s decision means that
the capital punishment will be replaced with life in prison for Rico Krieger,
as it’s usually done in Belarus in such cases, or whether he will be released.
A Telegram channel that reports Lukashenko’s decisions didn’t offer specifics.
The German Foreign Ministry confirmed that the man had been pardoned and said
that “this news is a relief.” It did not elaborate. Earlier on Tuesday,
Lukashenko called a meeting to discuss the appeal from Krieger, who was
convicted and sentenced to capital punishment in June. Krieger’s lawyer
Vladimir Gorbach, who took part in the meeting, told the Belarusian state TV
that Lukashenko said he would consider Krieger’s request for pardon and
announce his decision later.”



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