“Two people who federal prosecutors say ran a transnational terrorist group on
the messaging app Telegram have been charged with promoting violent and deadly
hate crimes around the world, the authorities said on Monday. The two, Dallas
Humber, 34, of Elk Grove, Calif., and Matthew Allison, 37, of Boise, Idaho, are
accused of running the group, Terrorgram Collective, through a network of
channels on Telegram, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern
District of California. Ms. Humber and Mr. Allison incited people who were
motivated by hate or bias to carry out violent attacks or plot to destroy
infrastructure, prosecutors said in a news release. At least three hate-driven
crimes, including a shooting at an L.G.B.T.Q. bar in Slovakia, a stabbing near
a mosque in Turkey and a plot to attack an energy grid in New Jersey were tied
to guidance shared by Ms. Humber and Mr. Allison, according to the indictment
in the case.”











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Eye on Extremism



September 11, 2024



The New York Times: 2 Charged With Inciting Violence And Promoting Hate Crimes
Around The World
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“Two people who federal prosecutors say ran a transnational terrorist group on
the messaging app Telegram have been charged with promoting violent and deadly
hate crimes around the world, the authorities said on Monday. The two, Dallas
Humber, 34, of Elk Grove, Calif., and Matthew Allison, 37, of Boise, Idaho, are
accused of running the group, Terrorgram Collective, through a network of
channels on Telegram, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern
District of California. Ms. Humber and Mr. Allison incited people who were
motivated by hate or bias to carry out violent attacks or plot to destroy
infrastructure, prosecutors said in a news release. At least three hate-driven
crimes, including a shooting at an L.G.B.T.Q. bar in Slovakia, a stabbing near
a mosque in Turkey and a plot to attack an energy grid in New Jersey were tied
to guidance shared by Ms. Humber and Mr. Allison, according to the indictment
in the case.”



The Washington Post: Israeli Strike Kills 19 In Gaza Humanitarian Area, Health
Officials Say
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“An Israeli strike Tuesday on Mawasi, a coastal tent encampment in southern
Gaza that Israeli forces designated a humanitarian zone, killed at least 19
people and injured more than 60, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Rescue workers
were still trying to reach people trapped under rubble and debris, it added. A
Gaza Civil Defense official, Mohammed al-Mughair, put the death toll at 40
earlier Tuesday. Ahmad al-Naqa, another Civil Defense official, said later in
the day that the previous number was an estimate and that the Health Ministry
reports the final numbers. The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that
it struck a Hamas command-and-control center hidden at Mawasi. It said it
targeted “a number of senior” Hamas figures who were embedded within the
humanitarian zone, accusing them of being “directly involved” in the Oct. 7
assault on Israel and of planning to carry out further attacks on Israelis.”




The CEP CounterPoint: Expert Analysis

* ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency in August 2024
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* CounterPoint Brief: EU Arrests Members of Newly-Designated Terrorist Group
The Base
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* CounterPoint Brief: U.S. and Iraqi Forces Target ISIS Leadership in Iraq
and Syria
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* CEP-KAS: Sahel Monitoring May 2024
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* Counterpoint Brief: ISIS Knife Attack in Solingen, Germany
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CEP Mentions



Daily Kos: More Trumper White Supremacists Are Again Arrested For Threatening
Assassination And Terrorism
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“... According to Joshua Fisher-Birch, an analyst at the Counter Extremism
Project (CEP), "These groups will continue to hold anti-immigration rallies
before the November election because they see an opportunity to recruit and
gain publicity within the broader anti-immigrant space," before warning, "These
extremist groups are not popular but frequently try to gain momentum from
culture-war issues in an attempt to stay relevant and recruit.” "The Trump
campaign inflaming hate crimes and far-right activism is not without precedent.
A study out of the University of North Texas on the 2016 Trump campaign, one
that held nativist racism at its core, statistically proved that in places
where Trump held one of his over 300 rallies, there was a '226% increase in
hate-motivated incidents,'" the Guardian is reporting.”



DW: The Teenage Terrorists Of The 'Islamic State'
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“... "You still have a central media service and a central command that
directed, for example, the attacks in Russia. But right now, I think there is a
much more diverse network recruiting these young people," says Pieter Van
Ostaeyen, an analyst who has been researching the IS group for over a decade
and also monitors it for the Counter Extremism Project, an international think
tank. "It's more of a diffuse network where you have kids in their own online
circles, in these communities, who want to be the influencers," confirms
Moustafa Ayad, executive director for Africa, the Middle East and Asia at the
London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which investigates extremism of
all kinds.”



Tagesschau: Kadyrov's Alleged "Governor" For Germany
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“... Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the international non-profit
organization Counter Extremism Project, shares this assessment. In his opinion,
Kadyrov's so-called "deputies" are also closely connected to the Russian
security authorities. Agaev's lawyer did not answer questions about this.
Schindler assumes that the system is part of the so-called "hybrid warfare".
"This is a broad-based approach by the Russians, who really see this as part of
their overall warfare. And Kadyrov and his people are part of it," Schindler
explains in an interview. In his social media activities, Agaev repeatedly
emphasizes that he is in contact with Kadyrov's closest confidants. Many of
them have been sanctioned by the UN and the EU for supporting Russia's war of
aggression against Ukraine.”



United States



Associated Press: Congress Bestows Its Highest Honor On The 13 Troops Killed
During Afghanistan Withdrawal
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“House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday presented Congress’ highest honor —
the Congressional Gold Medal — to 13 U.S. service members who were killed
during the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, even as the politics of a
presidential election swirled around the event. Both Democrats and Republicans
supported the legislation to posthumously honor the 13 U.S. troops, who were
killed along with more than 170 Afghans in a suicide bombing at the Abbey Gate
at Kabul Airport in August 2021. President Joe Biden signed the legislation in
December 2021. On Tuesday, the top Republican and Democratic leaders for both
the House and Senate spoke at a somber ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda, hailing
the lives and sacrifices of the service members. Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer called on the lawmakers gathered to “ensure the sacrifices of all our
service members were not in vain.””



The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Forces Try To Regroup As Al Qaeda, Islamic State
Sow Terror In West Africa
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The U.S. is gradually moving aircraft and commandos into coastal West Africa
in an urgent effort to try to stop the march of al Qaeda and Islamic State
militants across one of the world’s most volatile regions. American forces were
evicted this summer from their regional stronghold in Niger, further inland,
and now the Pentagon is patching together a backup counterinsurgency plan in
neighboring countries—refurbishing an airfield in Benin to accommodate American
helicopters, stationing Green Berets and surveillance planes in Ivory Coast,
and negotiating the return of U.S. commandos to a base they used to occupy in
Chad.



Syria



Associated Press: Israel Intensified Airstrikes On Iran-Linked Targets In Syria

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“Israel has intensified airstrikes on Iranian-linked targets in Syria,
inflicting civilian casualties on at least three occasions, an independent U.N.
commission said Tuesday. Since the Israel-Hamas war began nearly a year ago,
Israel has conducted dozens of airstrikes in different parts of Syria. Iran
blamed Israel for the April airstrike on Iranian consular offices in Damascus
that killed seven people including two Iranian generals, and Tehran responded
with an unprecedented attack against Israel almost two weeks later. Regional
tensions remain high after Iran vowed to retaliate for the July 31 killing of
top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, believed to be carried out by
Israel. The commission is made up of independent experts mandated by the U.N.’s
top human rights body.”



Iran



Associated Press: Iran’s Pezeshkian Seeks To Cement Ties In Iraq On His First
Trip Abroad As President
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“Iran’s reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday kicked off his
first trip abroad as president, hoping to cement Tehran’s ties to Baghdad as
regional tensions increasingly pull both countries into the widening Middle
East fray. For Iran, its relationship with Iraq remains crucial for economic,
political and religious reasons — something that has especially been true since
the U.S.-led 2003 invasion of Iraq toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, who
launched a bloody, yearslong war against Iran in the 1980s. Baghdad, meanwhile,
has been trying to balance its relationship with Tehran, which backs powerful
Shiite militias in the country, as well as with the United States, which
maintains a force of 2,500 troops in Iraq that remain in battle with remnants
of the once-dominant extremist Islamic State group.”



Turkey



Bloomberg: Turkey Wants To Build A Spacecraft Launchpad In Somalia
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“Turkey has held talks with Somalia about setting up a site to test-fire
missiles and space rockets from the Horn of Africa country, according to people
familiar with the matter. Ankara’s ballistic missile program requires
long-range testing and Somalia’s location on the eastern tip of mainland Africa
is ideal for firing toward the Indian Ocean, said the people, who asked not to
be identified discussing sensitive subjects. The country is close to the
equator, making it a suitable site for a spaceport, they said. Testing near the
equator can also help boost the range and efficiency of space rockets. Turkey
has long aspired to join a space race traditionally dominated by global powers
and plans to launch a rocket have been underway for some years. That could
potentially be fired from Somalia, the people said. Turkish officials are
confident Somalia will agree to its request, the people said. Turkey’s defense
ministry declined to comment.”



Afghanistan



Associated Press: A Second Afghan Embassy Says It Will Close After The Taliban
Withdrew Recognition
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“Afghanistan’s embassy in Norway is to close on Thursday, its occupants said,
the second of the country’s diplomatic missions to announce closure this week.
It follows a statement from the Taliban at the end of July saying they would no
longer recognize Afghan missions abroad set up by the former, Western-backed
government in Kabul, including the embassy in Oslo. In a statement on the
social media platform X, the embassy announced the closure would take place on
Thursday. “The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, like many other
political and consular missions of Afghanistan, will continue its activities
with the values of human rights, pluralism and peace, despite the many
difficulties and limited resources,” the statement said. The embassy premises
in Oslo would be handed over to Norway’s Foreign Ministry, according to the
statement in Dari.”



Middle East



Reuters: At Least 5 Reported Killed In West Bank Airstrike As Israeli Raids
Continue
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“An Israeli airstrike killed at least five people in the West Bank city of
Tubas on Wednesday, Palestinian emergency services said, as Israeli security
forces continued an extended operation that the military said targeted
Iranian-backed militant groups. The Palestinian Red Crescent said rescue crews
had recovered five bodies at the site and had transferred them to a hospital.
The Israeli military confirmed the strike, which it said had hit an armed
militant group but gave no details. "As part of the counter-terrorism activity,
an IAF (Israeli Air Force) aircraft struck an armed terrorist cell a short
while ago in the area of Tubas", it said in a statement. Entrances and exits
from Tubas were sealed off and Israeli military vehicles, including road
diggers and armored personnel carriers, could be seen moving through the city,
close to the border with Jordan at the northern end of the West Bank.”



Reuters: Two Rockets Fall Near US Forces In Baghdad, Sources Say
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“Two rockets fell near U.S. forces stationed near Baghdad airport at the Camp
Victory base, security sources said early on Wednesday, with reports of
material damage but no casualties. The U.S. embassy did not immediately respond
to a request for comment. Iraq's Iran-backed armed faction, Kataib Hezbollah,
said that the targeting of Baghdad's airport at this time was clearly aimed at
disrupting a visit by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian set to begin on
Wednesday morning. In a statement, the group called on Iraqi security forces to
investigate and determine who was behind the attack.”



Africa



Reuters: Exclusive: Wagner Lost Veteran Fighters In Mali Ambush, In Setback To
Russia's Africa Campaign
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“Among the dozens of Wagner mercenaries presumed dead after a lethal battle
with Tuareg rebels during a desert sandstorm in Mali in July were Russian war
veterans who survived tours in Ukraine, Libya and Syria, according to
interviews with relatives and a review of social media data. The loss of such
experienced fighters exposes dangers faced by Russian mercenary forces working
for military juntas, which are struggling to contain separatists and powerful
offshoots of Islamic State and Al Qaeda across the arid Sahel region in Mali,
Burkina Faso and Niger. The Mali defeat raises doubts over whether Moscow,
which has admitted funding Wagner and has absorbed many of its fighters into a
defence ministry force, will do better than Western and U.N. troops recently
expelled by the juntas, six officials and experts who work in the region said.”



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