CEP Mentions
Daily Kos: More Trumper White Supremacists Are Again Arrested For Threatening Assassination And Terrorism
“... 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'
“... "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
“... 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
“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
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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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.”
The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If you value what we do, please consider making a donation.
