“French police apprehended and detained the suspect behind the arson attack on
a synagogue in a southwestern Mediterranean town that injured a police officer,
the country's acting interior minister said early Sunday. Two cars parked at
the Beth Yaacov synagogue complex in the seaside resort town of La Grande Motte
near Montpellier were set ablaze just after 8 a.m. local time on Saturday, the
National Anti-terrorism Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. Firefighters
discovered additional fires at two entrances to the synagogue. A police officer
who walked up to the site was injured after a propane gas tank in one of the
vehicles exploded, the prosecutor's statement said.”











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Eye on Extremism



August 26, 2024



CBS News: Suspect Arrested In Arson Attack Targeting Synagogue In France: "The
Fight Against Antisemitism Is A Constant Battle"
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“French police apprehended and detained the suspect behind the arson attack on
a synagogue in a southwestern Mediterranean town that injured a police officer,
the country's acting interior minister said early Sunday. Two cars parked at
the Beth Yaacov synagogue complex in the seaside resort town of La Grande Motte
near Montpellier were set ablaze just after 8 a.m. local time on Saturday, the
National Anti-terrorism Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. Firefighters
discovered additional fires at two entrances to the synagogue. A police officer
who walked up to the site was injured after a propane gas tank in one of the
vehicles exploded, the prosecutor's statement said.”



The Washington Post: German Feds Take Over Festival Stabbing Case, Citing
Suspected Terrorism
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“German federal prosecutors took over the investigation Sunday of a stabbing
rampage in the city of Solingen that left three people dead, citing terrorism
as the suspected motive. A 26-year-old Syrian man turned himself in to police
late Saturday after a day-long manhunt that included a search of refugee
housing in the city center, said Raimund Dockter, a spokesman for the
Düsseldorf police, in a telephone interview Sunday. Federal prosecutors on
Sunday identified the suspect as Issa Al H., not releasing his full last name
because of Germany’s privacy laws, and said he is “strongly suspected of
membership in a terrorist organization abroad” — referring to the Islamic
State, which claimed responsibility for the assault Saturday. He was brought
before the Federal Court of Justice, which issued his arrest warrant and
ordered that he be kept in custody until his trial.”




CEP Expert Analysis

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



GB News: Germany Festival Stabbing
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“'Terrorist organisations are being given more breathing space because since
2019 we've reduced our military engagement in these areas.' Counter terrorism
expert, Dr Hans-Jakob Schindler, shares his analysis of recent terror attacks
and attempts.”



BBC News: Yemen Weapons Dealers Selling Machine-Guns On X
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“...The traders operate in the capital Sana’a and other areas under control
of the Houthis, a rebel group backed by Iran and proscribed as terrorists by
the US and Australian governments.

"It is inconceivable that they [the weapons dealers] are not operating on the
Houthis’ behalf," said the former British Ambassador to Yemen, Edmund
Fitton-Brown, who now works for the Counter Extremism Project. "Purely private
dealers who tried to profit from supplying, [for example] the government of
Yemen, would be quickly shut down."



Daily Mail: Why DID Pavel Durov Fly To France Knowing He Faced Arrest? Mystery
Surrounds Telegram Founder's Visit As Russia Demands Access To Billionaire Amid
Brewing Diplomatic Row
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“…The campaigning organisation Counter Extremism Project said Telegram has
taken some action to reduce the use of its platform by terrorists but commented
on its website 'it is clear that more can and should be done.'”



Syria



Reuters: US Military Says It Killed Leader Of Al Qaeda-Aligned Group In Syria
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“The U.S. military said it carried out a strike in Syria on Friday that killed
a senior leader of an Al Qaeda aligned group. The strike targeted Abu-’Abd
al-Rahman al-Makki, a senior leader of the Al Qaeda-aligned Hurras al-Din, the
U.S. Central Command said in a post on X.”



Iran



Reuters: Iran Doesn't Seek To Raise Regional Tensions, Foreign Minister Tells
Italian Counterpart
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“Iran does not seek to increase Middle East tensions, Foreign Minister Abbas
Araqchi told his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani, adding that its response
to the killing of the Hamas chief in Tehran would be "definite and calculated".
Iran blames Israel for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on July
31, which Araqchi was quoted by Iran's state media as saying was "an
unforgivable violation of Iran's security and sovereignty". Israel has neither
claimed nor denied responsibility for Haniyeh's death in the Iranian capital.
"Iran does not seek to increase tensions. However it is not afraid of it,"
Araqchi told his Italian counterpart on the phone, according to a statement
about the phone call published on Monday by Iran's foreign ministry. Araqchi
said that Iran's response would be "definite, calculated and accurate",
according to the statement.”



Israel



Reuters: Israel And Hezbollah In Major Missile Exchange As Escalation Fears
Grow
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“Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel early on Sunday,
as Israel's military said it struck Lebanon with around 100 jets to thwart a
larger attack, in one of the biggest clashes in more than 10 months of border
warfare. Missiles were visible curling up through the dawn sky, dark vapour
trails behind them, as an air raid siren sounded in Israel and a distant blast
lit the horizon, while smoke rose over houses in Khiam in southern Lebanon. On
Sunday evening, sirens sounded in Rishon Letsiyon, central Israel, the Israeli
Defense Forces (IDF) said, and added that one projectile had been identified
crossing from the southern Gaza Strip and falling in an open area. The armed
wing of Hamas said it had fired an "M90" rocket at Tel Aviv. Any major
spillover in the fighting, which began in parallel with the war in Gaza, risks
morphing into a regional conflagration drawing in Hezbollah's backer Iran and
Israel's main ally the United States.”



Turkey



Associated Press: Turkey And Russia Resume Joint Patrols In Northern Syria As
Ankara Seeks To Mend Ties With Assad
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“Turkey and Russia have resumed joint military patrols in northern Syria
after nearly a year’s break, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced Saturday.
Combined patrols began in the Operation Peace Spring area, the statement said,
referring to a 30-kilometer (19-mile) -deep strip of land on the Syrian side of
the Turkey-Syria border between Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn. The territory was
captured from Kurdish fighters by Turkish and allied Syrian forces in 2019. The
renewed Turkish-Russian patrols come as Ankara is trying to repair its
relations with Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose regime draws support from
Moscow. Assad has said he will only meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
to discuss the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Syria and an end to Ankara’s
support for Syrian fighters that Damascus considers terrorists.”



Afghanistan



Associated Press: Taliban Vice And Virtue Laws Provide ‘Distressing Vision’
For Afghanistan, Warns UN Envoy
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“The Taliban’s new vice and virtue laws that include a ban on women’s voices
and bare faces in public provide a “distressing vision” for Afghanistan’s
future, a top U.N. official warned Sunday. Roza Otunbayeva, who heads the U.N.
mission in the country, said the laws extend the “ already intolerable
restrictions ” on the rights of women and girls, with “even the sound of a
female voice” outside the home apparently deemed a moral violation.
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers last Wednesday issued the country’s first set of
laws to prevent vice and promote virtue. They include a requirement for a woman
to conceal her face, body and voice outside the home. The laws empower the Vice
and Virtue Ministry to be at the front line of regulating personal conduct and
administering punishments like warnings or arrest if its enforcers allege that
Afghans have broken the laws.”



Pakistan



BBC: At Least 22 Killed After Having IDs Checked In Pakistan
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“According to Najibullah Kakar, a senior local official, around 30 to 40
militants were involved. "They stopped 22 vehicles," he told AFP news agency.
"Vehicles traveling to and from Punjab were inspected, andindividuals from
Punjab were identified and shot." The BLA has said it was targeting military
personnel travelling in civilian clothes, according to newsagency Reuters.
Before the attack, the BLA warned the Baloch public to stay away from the
highway, adding that their "fight is against the occupying Pakistani military".
"We have taken full control of all major highways across Balochistan, blocking
them completely," it added. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed "deep grief
and condemnation over the terrorist attack" in a statement issued by his
office. Balochistan is Pakistan's largest province but, although it has more
resources than other provinces, it is the least developed.”



Associated Press: Gunmen Kill 31 People In 2 Separate Attacks In Southwestern
Pakistan; 12 Insurgents Also Killed
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“Gunmen in southwestern Pakistan killed at least 31 people in two separate
attacks on Monday and security forces killed 12 insurgents, officials said, in
one of the deadliest days of violence in the restive Baluchistan province, with
reports of other shootings and destruction in the area.Twenty-three people were
fatally shot after being identified and taken from buses, vehicles and trucks
in Musakhail, a district in Baluchistan, senior police official Ayub Achakzai
said. The attackers burned at least 10 vehicles before fleeing. In a separate
attack, gunmen killed at least nine people, including four police officers and
five passersby, in Qalat district also in Baluchistan, authorities said.
Insurgents blew up a railway track in Bolan, attacked a police station in
Mastung and attacked and burned vehicles in Gwadar, all districts in
Baluchistan. No casualties were reported in those attacks.”



Yemen



Associated Press: At Least 13 People Have Died After A Boat Carrying Migrants
Sunk Off Yemen’s Coast, UN Says
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“A boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of Yemen, leaving more than two
dozen people dead or missing, the U.N. migration agency said Sunday, the latest
in a string of shipwrecks that have left scores dead. Despite a nearly
decade-long civil war, Yemen — which borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman
to the northeast — remains a major route for migrants from East Africa trying
to reach wealthy Gulf countries for work. The vessel was carrying 25 Ethiopian
migrants and the boat captain and his assistant, both Yemeni, when it capsized
Tuesday off the province of Taiz, the International Organization for Migration
said in a statement. The bodies of 11 men and two women were recovered along
the shore of Bab el-Mandeb Strait that links the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea,
while the 14 others — including the two Yemenis — remain missing.”



Associated Press: Fires Break Out On Abandoned Greek-Flagged Oil Tanker
Sounion That Yemen Rebels Attacked In Red Sea
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“Fires broke out Friday on a Greek-flagged oil tanker previously attacked by
Yemen’s Houthi rebels this week, with the vessel now appearing to be adrift in
the Red Sea, authorities said. It wasn’t immediately clear what had happened to
the oil tanker Sounion, which had been abandoned by its crew on Thursday and
reportedly anchored in place. The Houthis didn’t immediately acknowledge the
fire. The rebels are suspected to have gone back and attacked at least one
other vessel that later sank as part of their monthslong campaign against
shipping in the Red Sea over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
The attacks have disrupted a trade route that typically sees $1 trillion in
goods pass through it annually. The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime
Trade Operations center reported the fires in a note to mariners on Friday
night.”



Middle East



Reuters: Families Flee After New Israeli Evacuation Orders In Gaza As
Ceasefire Hopes Dim
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“Israel issued new evacuation orders for Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza
Strip late on Sunday, forcing more families to flee, saying forces intended to
act against militant group Hamas and others operating in the area. In recent
days, Israel has issued several evacuation orders across Gaza, the most since
the beginning of the 10-month war, prompting an outcry from Palestinians, the
United Nations and relief officials over the reduction of humanitarian zones
and the absence of safe areas. The Deir Al-Balah municipality says Israeli
evacuation orders have so far displaced 250,000 people. Israeli military
strikes killed at least seven Palestinians on Monday, medics said. Two were
killed in Deir Al-Balah, where around a million people were sheltering, two at
a school in the Al-Nuseirat camp and three in the southern city of Rafah, near
the border with Egypt.”



Associated Press; Israel-Hamas War Latest: Israel Launches More Strikes On
Lebanon, State Media And Witnesses Say
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“After a short-lived calm following a heavy exchange of strikes between
Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, fighting resumed Monday.
State media and witnesses reported that Israeli strikes targeted the Lebanese
border village of Tair Harfa and in the area of the coastal city of Sidon on
Monday afternoon. A car was hit in the latter strike. It was not immediately
clear whether there were casualties. On Sunday, Israel launched dozens of
strikes on southern Lebanon that it described as a preemptive operation, saying
it had averted a major attack planned by Hezbollah in retaliation for the
killing of one of its top commanders, Fouad Shukur, in an Israeli strike in
Beirut last month. Shortly afterward, Hezbollah launched a barrage of hundreds
of drones and rockets, which it said was in retaliation for the killing of
Shukur.”



Associated Press: Israel-Hamas War Latest: Israel Launches More Strikes On
Lebanon, State Media And Witnesses Say
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“After a short-lived calm following a heavy exchange of strikes between
Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, fighting resumed Monday.
State media and witnesses reported that Israeli strikes targeted the Lebanese
border village of Tair Harfa and in the area of the coastal city of Sidon on
Monday afternoon. A car was hit in the latter strike. It was not immediately
clear whether there were casualties. On Sunday, Israel launched dozens of
strikes on southern Lebanon that it described as a preemptive operation, saying
it had averted a major attack planned by Hezbollah in retaliation for the
killing of one of its top commanders, Fouad Shukur, in an Israeli strike in
Beirut last month. Shortly afterward, Hezbollah launched a barrage of hundreds
of drones and rockets, which it said was in retaliation for the killing of
Shukur.”



Egypt



Reuters: Egypt Warns Visiting US General On Lebanon Risk
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“Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned America's top general during
a meeting on Sunday of the dangers of a major conflict in Lebanon. U.S. Air
Force General C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in
Egypt hours after a significant missile exchange between Israel and Lebanese
Hezbollah. Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel and
Israel said it struck Lebanon with about 100 jets to thwart a bigger attack, in
one of the largest clashes in more than 10 months of border warfare. In a
statement, Sisi's office said the Egyptian leader told Brown that the
international community needed to "exert all efforts and intensify pressures to
defuse tension and stop the state of escalation that threatens the security and
stability of the entire region."”



Associated Press: Israeli Airstrikes Kill Dozens In Gaza On The Eve Of
High-Level Cease-Fire Talks In Egypt
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“Israeli airstrikes killed at least three dozen Palestinians in southern
Gaza, health workers said Saturday, as officials including a Hamas delegation
gathered for high-level cease-fire talks in neighboring Egypt. Eleven members
of a family, including two children, were among the dead after an airstrike hit
their home in Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, which received a total
of 33 bodies from three strikes in and around the city that also hit tuk-tuks
and passersby. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said it received three bodies from
another strike. The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports.
First responders also recovered 16 bodies from the Hamad City area of Khan
Younis after a partial pullout of Israeli forces, 10 bodies from a residential
building west of Khan Younis and two farther south in Rafah.”



Nigeria



Voice Of America: Pro-Iran Militants Kill 2 Nigerian Police Officers
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“An attack Sunday by an outlawed pro-Iran Nigerian Shiite group killed at
least two law enforcement officers, police said, with three more found
unconscious in the capital Abuja. The capital's police force confirmed "an
unprovoked attack by the proscribed Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN)... on
some personnel of the Nigeria Police Force," said a statement by police
spokesperson Josephine Adeh. During the attack on a police checkpoint, "two
police personnel were killed, three [were] left unconscious in the hospital,
and three police patrol vehicles [were] set ablaze," Adeh added. Inspired by
the Islamic Revolution in Iran in the late 1970s, the IMN still maintains close
ties with Tehran. It has long been at loggerheads with Nigeria's secular
authorities and was banned in 2019.”



Mali



Reuters: Mali Drone Strikes Kill At Least 21 In Northern Town, Rebels Say
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“At least 21 people, including 11 children, were killed by drone strikes on
Sunday on the town of Tinzaouaten in north Mali, near where the army suffered a
heavy blow last month, Tuareg rebels said. Mali had already carried out
airstrikes on insurgent targets in and around Tinzaouaten shortly after Tuareg
and Islamist fighters killed a large number of Malian soldiers and Russian
Wagner mercenaries near the town in July. The town, located near the Algerian
border, came under drone attack again on Sunday, a spokesperson for a rebel
coalition known as the Strategic Framework for the Defence of the People of
Azawad (CSP-DPA) said in a statement. The strikes targeted a pharmacy and
gatherings of people, causing a provisional death toll of 21 civilians,
including 11 children and the pharmacy manager. Dozens more were injured and
there was severe material damage.”



France



The Washington Post: French Police Arrest Suspect In Arson Attack On Synagogue
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“Police in France have arrested a suspect in an early-morning arson attack on
asynagogue in the country’s south, the interior minister said late Saturday.
Gérald Darmanin announced the arrest on X and said the suspect had fired at
police seeking to apprehend him, but offered few other details. Earlier
Saturday, authorities opened a terrorism investigation into the attack, which
saw two cars explode outside a synagogue in La Grande-Motte, near Montpellier,
as well as two fires lit at the door of the building. The vehicles, parked
outside the Beth Yaacov synagogue, were set alight around 8 a.m., the
Associated Press reported, citing a statement from the National Anti-terrorism
Prosecutor’s Office. Four people and a rabbi were present at the time of the
attack but were not harmed, officials said, though a police officer was injured
after a propane gas tank inside one the cars detonated.”



Russia



Associated Press: Snipers Kill 4 Hostage-Takers At Russian Prison Who Claimed
Allegiance To Islamic State Group
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“Snipers from Russia’s National Guard on Friday killed four inmates who had
stabbed four prison guards to death and briefly held others as hostages while
declaring allegiance to the Islamic State group. The Federal Prison Service
said that four inmates took eight prison guards and four inmates hostage. It
said they stabbed four of the guards, three of whom died on the spot and the
fourth one later died at a hospital. The agency said three other guards were
hospitalized with injuries. Russia’s National Guard said its snipers
“neutralized” all four attackers, freeing all the hostages, while the Federal
Prison Service also claimed credit for killing the assailants. The discrepancy
couldn’t be immediately explained. Details of the violence at the prison in
Surovkino in the Volgograd region, 860 kilometers (535 miles) southeast of
Moscow, were sparse and it was not clear how the inmates had taken hostages
several hours earlier.”



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