“One day after the Israeli army recovered the bodies of six hostages held by
Hamas in Gaza, hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Tel
Aviv on Sunday to demand the Israeli government negotiate a deal to bring the
remaining hostages home. The Israel Defense Forces identified the six, all of
whom were taken hostage in the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks, as Israeli
American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov,
Almog Sarusi and Master Sgt. Ori Danino.”











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Eye on Extremism



September 3, 2024



NBC News: Six Hostages, Including Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Found
Dead In Gaza <[link removed]>



“One day after the Israeli army recovered the bodies of six hostages held by
Hamas in Gaza, hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Tel
Aviv on Sunday to demand the Israeli government negotiate a deal to bring the
remaining hostages home. The Israel Defense Forces identified the six, all of
whom were taken hostage in the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks, as Israeli
American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov,
Almog Sarusi and Master Sgt. Ori Danino.”



Fox News: Top General In Fight Against The Taliban Says Afghanistan Has Once
Again Become A ‘Crucible Of Terrorism’
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“Friday marked the third anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan
and the end of the first U.S. campaign in what has been dubbed the Global War
on Terror. But the conclusion to the 20-year-long war, which saw the death of
more than 6,200 American soldiers and contractors, over 1,100 allied troops,
70,000 Afghan military and police, and more than 46,300 Afghan civilians,
ultimately resulted in the collapse of Afghanistan to the Taliban and a safe
haven for al Qaeda – once again becoming a "crucible of terrorism," according
to former Afghan Lt. Gen. Sami Sadat. Despite the more than $2.3 trillion spent
on the war in Afghanistan and President Biden’s pronouncement that al Qaeda was
"gone," the terrorist group is stronger than it was before the attacks on Sept.
11, 2001, argued Sadat, author of "The Last Commander: The Once and Future
Battle for Afghanistan."”



CEP Mentions



The Cradle: Iraqi PM Asserts To US Officials: 'ISIS Poses No Threat'
<[link removed]>



“... The nonprofit Counter Extremism Project (CEP) released a report claiming
69 confirmed attacks by ISIS in central Syria in March. The attacks resulted in
the deaths of at least 84 Syrian soldiers, and 44 civilians and more than
doubled the total number of confirmed ISIS operations for all of 2024. “March
was, by every metric, the most violent month of ISIS’s Badia [central Syrian
desert] insurgency since late 2017, when the group first lost control of its
territory,” according to the CEP report. “The unique and alarming difference in
March was the scale of attacks against security forces,” the report added.
“ISIS cells successfully and consistently targeted regime outposts and ambushed
patrols, frequently capturing and executing soldiers.” Russia has accused the
US of supporting ISIS in Syria, including training ISIS fighters at the Al-Tanf
base on the Syria–Iraq–Jordan border, as part of a broader effort to
destabilize the country and justify the presence of US forces there.”



Metro: Preparing For ‘Day X’ – Combat-Ready Neo-Nazi ‘Active Clubs’ Spreading
In The UK
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“... The clubs are ‘arguably the largest and fastest growing violent
extreme-right network’, and are spreading across the UK, according to the
insights provided to Metro.co.uk by the Counter Extremism Project (CEP). The
government responded to the research by highlighting ‘rapid’ work taking place
to counter ‘growing and changing patterns of extremism.’ ‘The Active Club
strategy was specifically developed to evade law enforcement monitoring and
intervention and to prepare for a Day X scenario,’ senior CEP advisor Alexander
Ritzmann said. ‘For example, this could be serving as the militia to a
political extreme-right party and to fight their political enemies. ‘Violence
by groups and individuals that follow the Active Club strategy will likely come
without manifestos in the meantime.’”



FDD's Long War Journal: Analysis: Responding forcefully to the Axis of
Resistance
<[link removed]>



“Iran has defined itself in opposition to Israel, the United States, and the
wider West since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Over the course of half a century
of complex regional and global events, the clerical regime’s hostility and
determination to “resist” has never abated, even when Iran finds itself
naturally on the same side as the US in a given conflict.”



United States



Associated Press: Israel-Hamas War Latest: Biden Adds To Pressure On Netanyahu
To Reach Cease-Fire Deal
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“United States President Joe Biden is adding to the pressure on Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he isn’t doing enough to reach a cease-fire
deal in Gaza. Israel’s largest trade union, the Histadrut, called for the
general strike, the first since the start of the war. It aimed to shut down or
disrupt major sectors of the economy, including banking, health care and the
country’s main airport. But a court ruled it had to end early after the
government called the strike politically motivated. Hundreds of thousands of
Israelis poured into the streets Sunday in grief and anger after six hostages
were found dead in Gaza. The families and much of the public blamed Netanyahu,
saying they could have been returned alive in a deal with Hamas to end the
nearly 11-month-old war.”



Iraq



Associated Press: 7 US Troops Hurt In A Raid With Iraqi Forces That Left 15
Suspected Militants Dead
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“The United States military and Iraq launched a joint raid targeting
suspected Islamic State group militants in the country’s western desert that
killed at least 15 people and left seven American troops hurt, officials said
Saturday. For years after dislodging the militants from their self-declared
caliphate across Iraq and Syria, U.S. forces have fought the Islamic State
group, though the casualties from this raid were higher than in previous ones.
The U.S. military’s Central Command said the militants were armed with
“numerous weapons, grenades, and explosive ‘suicide’ belts” during the raid
Thursday, which Iraqi forces said happened in the Anbar Desert. “This operation
targeted ISIS leaders to disrupt and degrade ISIS’ ability to plan, organize,
and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians, as well as U.S. citizens, allies,
and partners throughout the region and beyond,” Central Command said, using an
acronym for the militant group. “Iraqi Security Forces continue to further
exploit the locations raided.””



Turkey



Associated Press: Suspect Arrested In Turkey For Allegedly Transferring Money
To Mossad Operatives, Report Says
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“Turkish police have arrested a suspect believed to have been transferring
money to operatives from Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency in Turkey, the
state-run news agency reported Tuesday. The suspect, identified as Liridon
Rexhepi from Kosovo, entered Turkey on Aug. 25, and was detained last Friday
and formally arrested on Tuesday, the Anadolu Agency said. The report said he
had confessed during interrogation that he conducted the money transfers. Since
January, Turkish authorities have detained dozens of people, among them private
investigators, on charges of collecting data on individuals, mostly
Palestinians residing in Turkey, for Israeli intelligence. Israel has not
commented on the arrests in Turkey.”



Afghanistan



Voice Of America: Taliban: Suicide Bomb Blast In Kabul Kills 6 Afghan Civilians

<[link removed]>



“Taliban authorities in Afghanistan reported Monday that a suicide bomb blast
in Kabul killed at least six people, including a woman, and wounded 13 others.
Police confirmed the deadly attack in the Afghan capital, saying it occurred in
the city's southwestern Qala Bakhtiar area when a suicide bomber detonated
explosives strapped to his body. Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran wrote
on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that the victims
were civilians and that investigations into the attack were ongoing. He shared
no further details. There were no immediate claims of responsibility, but the
Afghan offshoot of the Islamic State, IS-Khorasan, is the primary suspect. The
terrorist outfit has taken credit for almost all recent attacks in Kabul and
elsewhere in Afghanistan.”



Yemen



Associated Press; Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Target Oil Tanker In The Red Sea. US
Says Rebels Also Hit Saudi-Flagged Tanker
<[link removed]>



“An attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted a Panama-flagged oil tanker in
the Red Sea on Monday, authorities said, as a nearby Saudi-flagged tanker ship
also allegedly came under fire from the group. The attacks are believed to be
the latest in the Iranian-backed rebels’ campaign that has disrupted the $1
trillion in goods that pass through the Red Sea each year over the Israel-Hamas
war in the Gaza Strip and has halted some aid shipments to conflict-ravaged
Sudan and Yemen. The new attacks on oil tankers also come amid efforts to
salvage the still-burning Sounion oil tanker earlier hit by the Houthis,
seeking to head off the potential ecological disaster posed by its cargo of 1
million barrels of crude oil. In Monday’s first assault, two ballistic missiles
hit the oil tanker Blue Lagoon I, and a third exploded near the ship, the
multination Joint Maritime Information Center overseen by the U.S. Navy said.”



Reuters: Salvage Of Stricken Oil Tanker In Red Sea Expected Soon, Sources Say
<[link removed]>



“A salvage operation to recover a Greek-registered oil tanker stranded ablaze
in the Red Sea after an attack by Houthi militants is expected to start in the
coming days, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Friday. The
Sounion, which the Houthis and maritime sources have said has been rigged with
explosives, is laden with about 1 million barrels of crude oil. If a spill
occurs, it has the potential to be among the largest from a ship in recorded
history and could cause an environmental catastrophe in an area that is
particularly dangerous to access. "What was decided yesterday is an initial
game plan, of the operation starting in 48 hours," one of the sources said. A
second source said the operation was likely to be complex, given Houthis have
planted explosives on board. Greece said in a letter circulated through the
U.N. shipping agency on Friday that what it called a "potential spill" of 2.2
nautical miles (4.2 km) in length had been detected in the area matching the
location of the Sounion in the Red Sea.”



Middle East



Reuters: UN To Vaccinate Gaza's Children Against Polio During Pauses In
Fighting
<[link removed]>



“The United Nations will start vaccinating some 640,000 children in the Gaza
Strip against polio on Sunday, a campaign that relies on daily eight-hour
pauses in fighting between Israel and Hamas militants in specific areas of the
besieged enclave. The complex campaign, which is targeting children under age
10, follows confirmation last week that a baby was paralyzed by the type 2
polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years. WHO officials
say at least 90% of the children need to be vaccinated twice with four weeks
between doses for the campaign to succeed, but it faces huge challenges in
Gaza, which has been largely destroyed by nearly 11 months of war. "It's not
ideal," Rik Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization's senior official for the
Palestinian territories, told reporters in Geneva on Friday. "We think it is
feasible if all of the pieces of the puzzle are in place," he said.”



Associated Press: Palestinian Militants Kill 3 Israeli Police In The West Bank
<[link removed]>



“Palestinian militants killed three Israeli police officers on Sunday when
they opened fire on a vehicle in the occupied West Bank, where Israel has
carried out large-scale raids in recent days. The attack took place along a
road in the southern West Bank. The raids have mainly been focused on urban
refugee camps in the northern part of the territory, where Israeli forces have
traded fire with militants on a near-daily basis since the outbreak of the war
in Gaza. The police confirmed that all three killed were officers and said the
assailants slipped away. One of the officers killed was Roni Shakuri, 61, from
the southern town of Sderot near the Gaza border, police said. His daughter,
Mor, who was also a police officer, was killed in a battle with Hamas militants
when they tried to take over the Sderot police station during the Oct. 7
attack. A little-known militant group calling itself the Khalil al-Rahman
Brigade claimed responsibility for the shooting on Sunday. Hamas praised the
attack as a “natural response” to the war in Gaza and called for more.”



Reuters: Israeli Troops, Palestinian Militants Clash In West Bank
<[link removed]>



“Clashes broke out between Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters in the
occupied West Bank on Saturday as Israel pushed ahead with a military operation
in the flashpoint city of Jenin. Israeli troops searched areas around Jewish
settlements after two separate security incidents on Friday evening. In Jenin
itself, drones and helicopters circled overhead while the sound of sporadic
firing could be heard in the city. Hundreds of Israeli troops have been
carrying out raids since Wednesday in one of their largest actions in the West
Bank in months. The operation, which Israel says was mounted to block
Iranian-backed militant groups from attacking its citizens, has drawn
international calls for a halt. At least 19 Palestinians, including armed
fighters and civilians, have now been killed since it began. The Israeli
military said on Saturday a soldier had been killed during the fighting in the
West Bank.”



Germany



The Washington Post: Far Right Set To Win In A German State For The First Time
Since WWII
<[link removed]>



“Projections in Germany’s closely watched elections Sunday showed the
anti-migrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party leading in one state and
running a close second in another, a result that, if confirmed by official
tallies, would see a far-right party win a state for the first time in the
country’s postwar history. The projections, based on early vote counts and
commissioned by public broadcaster ARD, showed the AfD well ahead with 32.8
percent in the state of Thuringia, and claiming 30.8 percent in Saxony — 1
percentage point behind the center-right Christian Democrats. A second forecast
by broadcaster ZDF showed an even tighter race in Saxony. In both states in
eastern Germany — which has become a stronghold of the far right — other
parties have refused to cooperate with the AfD, meaning it is unlikely to form
part of any new state governments. Nevertheless, the victory in Thuringia in
particular would be seen as highly symbolic.”



Technology



Reuters: Media Matters Must Face X’s Lawsuit Over Report About Ads Next To
Extremist Posts
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“A federal judge in Texas has refused to dismiss a lawsuit by Elon Musk’s
social media company X accusing watchdog Media Matters of disparaging the
platform in a report that said the site had placed ads for major brands next to
extremist content. In a Thursday decision, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in
Fort Worth said X could pursue federal claims that Media Matters “knowingly and
maliciously fabricated side-by-side images” of major advertisers next to
neo-Nazi content, driving some companies to stop or pause their spending on the
site. O'Connor rejected Media Matter's arguments for dismissal, including that
it can’t be liable for business disparagement by reporting truthful statements.
O'Connor said X had sufficiently alleged that Media Matters had acted with
“actual malice” based on statements criticizing the platform. X did not
immediately respond to requests for comment.”



The Economic Times: Pakistani Netizens Being 'Walled Off' As Army Shifts Focus
To 'Digital Terrorism'
<[link removed]>



“Pakistan's "whole-of-system approach" to combat militancy is evolving and
may be taking a darker direction, as the army's new anti-terror operation,
'Azm-e-Istehkam' (Resolve for Stability), shifts its focus toward what is
termed "digital terrorism” as per a TOI report. Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff
General Asim Munir has over the past few months repeatedly warned that digital
platforms are being exploited to disseminate misinformation and incite unrest
against state institutions. He described the activities of "inimical" forces as
a form of "digital terrorism" aimed at creating discord between the military
and the public by spreading "lies and fake news".”



Fox News: Autonomous Car Bombs, Online Recruitment: Experts Worry How AI Can
Transform Terrorism
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“Experts worry that terrorists will find novel and problematic uses for
artificial intelligence (AI), including new methods of delivering explosives
and improving their online recruitment initiatives. "The reality is that AI can
be extremely dangerous if used with malicious intent," Antonia Marie De Meo,
director of the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research
Institute, wrote in a report looking at how terrorists might use AI. "With a
proven track record in the world of cybercrime, it is a powerful tool that
could conceivably be employed to further facilitate terrorism and violent
extremism conducive to terrorism," she added, citing self-driving car bombs,
augmenting cyberattacks or finding easier paths to spread hate speech or incite
violence online. The report, "Algorithms and Terrorism: The Malicious Use of
Artificial Intelligence for Terrorist Purposes," concludes that law enforcement
will need to remain at the cutting edge of AI.”



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