CEP Mentions
Merkur.de: Shooting In Munich: Austria Has “Aggressive” Islamist Scene From Chechnya
“... According to the police, the man is an 18-year-old who was born in Austria. There are many indications that the incident has a radical Islamist background, says extremism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler from the Counter Extremism Project (CEP). Why did the Austrian choose Munich as his target? "There may be a connection to the anniversary of the 1972 Olympic attacks," says Schindler. On September 5, 52 years ago, Palestinian terrorists carried out an attack on Israeli athletes at the Summer Games in Munich and murdered eleven Olympic participants. For months, security experts have been observing that the war in Israel following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, is fueling radicalization in Islamist circles.”
Merkur.de: Terrorist Attack In Munich Foiled: Explosive Details About The Murder Weapon – Police Request Information From Munich
“... Update, 5:01 p.m.: According to extremism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler from the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), there is a "very aggressive and relatively large Islamist scene" in Austria. There is a "huge illegal arms trade in Austria." You can read what else is known about the Islamist scene in Austria here. Update 4:53 p.m.: After the exchange of gunfire near the Israeli Consulate General in Munich, investigators believe that the victim attempted a terrorist attack. According to current information, the attack by the 18-year-old Austrian armed with a rifle is believed to have a "connection to the Consulate General of the State of Israel," police and the Attorney General's Office announced after the shooting in Munich this afternoon.”
United States
Reuters: Blinken Says Incumbent On Hamas, Israel To Remove Gaps In Gaza Ceasefire Deal
“U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday it was incumbent on both Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas to say yes on remaining issues to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal, which has faced obstacles in negotiations across months. "Based on what I have seen, 90% is agreed but there are a few critical issues that remain," including the so-called Philadelphi corridor on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip bordering Egypt, Blinken said at a press briefing in Haiti. He said there were also some gaps in the agreement in how Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners are exchanged. "I expect in the coming days, we will share with Israel, and they (Qatar and Egypt) will share with Hamas our thoughts, the three of us, on exactly how to resolve remaining outstanding questions," Blinken said, referring to the U.S. and mediators Qatar and Egypt.”
Iraq
Reuters: Turkish Drone Strike Kills Three In Iraqi Kurdistan, Sources Say
“A Turkish drone strike on a vehicle in Iraq's semi-autonomous northern Kurdistan region killed three people on Thursday, security and medical sources said. The strike took place in the Sulaimaniya region, the sources said, adding the vehicle had been set ablaze and the identity of the victims had not been determined. Turkey regularly carries out strikes that it says are aimed at militants belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq. It also has dozens of outposts in the Iraqi territory. The PKK launched an insurgency against Ankara in 1984 with the initial aim of creating an independent Kurdish state.”
Afghanistan
CBS: Afghan Women Raise Their Voices In Song In Online Protests Against Taliban's Bid To Silence Them
“Afghan women have turned to social media to protest the latest draconian edict issued by Afghanistan's Taliban rulers, which the Biden administration says is aimed at erasing them completely from society. Women both inside and outside the country have posted poignant videos of themselves singing — a defiant response to the Taliban's latest restrictive laws prohibiting women and girls from using their voices or showing their faces outside their homes. As CBS News reported, Article 13 of the 114-page law adopted by Afghanistan's Taliban rulers in August states that if a woman leaves her own home, "she is obligated to hide her voice, face, and body." The Biden administration said the law sought to remove women completely from public life in Afghanistan and it has expressed growing frustration with the country's Taliban regime, which swept back to power in the summer of 2021 as U.S. and allied forces pulled out in a chaotic withdrawal.”
Middle East
Associated Press: Israeli Forces Appear To Withdraw From A West Bank Camp After A Major Military Operation
“Israeli forces appeared to have withdrawn from three refugee camps in the occupied West Bank by Friday morning, after a more-than weeklong military operation that left dozens dead and a trail of destruction. Overnight, Israeli armored personnel carriers were seen leaving the Jenin refugee camp from a checkpoint set up on one of the main roads, and an Associated Press reporter inside the camp saw no evidence of any remaining troops inside as dawn broke early Friday morning. During the operation, Israeli military officials said they were targeting militants in Jenin, Tulkarem and the Al-Faraa refugee camps in an attempt to curb recent attacks against Israeli civilians they say have become more sophisticated and deadly. Troops were pulled out of the Tulkarem camp by Friday morning and had left Al-Faraa earlier, but in a statement, the Israeli military suggested the operation was not yet over.”
Voice Of America: Israel Kills 6 Palestinian Militants In West Bank
“Israel said Thursday that it killed six Palestinian militants in new fighting in the occupied West Bank, including the son of a prominent jailed militant. The latest attacks were part of larger-scale raids in the territory over the last week that Palestinians fear could be a widening of the Israeli war against Hamas militants in Gaza. The Palestinian Health Ministry said a strike overnight in the northern West Bank town of Tubas killed five people, including Mohammed Zubeidi, the son of Zakaria Zubeidi, a well-known militant commander during the second Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s. The elder Zubeidi took part in a rare jailbreak in 2021 before being arrested and returned to prison days later. The Israeli military said the younger Zubeidi had taken part in attacks against Israeli forces in the West Bank and that he was with a militant cell when he was targeted.”
Technology
Bloomberg: Georgia Shooting Suspect Was Kicked Off Discord For Extremism
“Colt Gray, the 14-year-old suspected shooter in an attack that killed four people at a Georgia high school, was banned from the chat app Discord in 2023 for violating its policy against extremism. The app’s safety team reported Gray’s postings to law enforcement at the time, according to an emailed statement from the company. “Based on our ongoing investigation since then, we have no indication that the suspect used Discord to discuss the plan or this horrific attack,” Discord said. The Federal Bureau of Investigation was tipped off to online threats to commit a school shooting in May 2023, including photographs of guns, according to a Wednesday post on X from the bureau’s Atlantic Division. The agency referred the information to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, which located Gray and interviewed him and his father.”
The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If you value what we do, please consider making a donation.
