Eye on Extremism

September 13, 2024

Associated Press: Israel-Hamas War Latest: Blinken Says Us Will Keep Pressing Israel To Spare Gaza Humanitarian Sites

“The U.S. secretary of state said Thursday that the United States will continue to press Israel to do more to spare humanitarian sites in the Gaza Strip, a day after an Israeli airstrike on a U.N. school complex sheltering displaced Palestinians killed 14 people, including six U.N. staffers. Meanwhile, Turkey announced its own investigation into the death of a Turkish American activist who was shot and killed by Israeli forces last week while protesting settlements in the occupied West Bank. A Syrian pro-government media outlet and an opposition war monitor said an Israeli strike hit a car in southern Syria on Thursday, killing two people. The Health Ministry says more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began. It does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count. The war has caused vast destruction and displaced about 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, often multiple times.”

Reuters: Several People Killed In Attack In Afghanistan, Says Interior Ministry

“Several people were killed, and others injured in an attack by unknown armed individuals in Afghanistan on Thursday, the country's Interior Ministry spokesman said, the first attack on civilians in Daykundi province since the Taliban took power. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, the group said on Thursday on its Telegram channel. It did not immediately provide any evidence for its assertion. Most of the residents of Daykundi province are Shia Muslims, and it is considered one of the safest provinces. Islamic State-Khurasan, a local affiliate of the Middle East-based Islamic State, has waged an insurgency against the Taliban, who they see as their enemies. Taliban authorities say they have mostly crushed the group, even as it continues to carry out attacks in Afghanistan.”

Recent CEP Press Releases 

• Counter Extremism Project Statement Marking 9/11
• Premiere of New Documentary on UANI's Role in the U.S. Seizure of the Suez Rajan Coincide with UNGA
• CEP Statement on U.S. Indictment of Hamas Leaders
• Extremist Content Online: Active Clubs Celebrate "Frontier" Boxing and MMA Event, White Supremacist CashApp Fundraiser Removed, White Power Webstore Advertises on Telegram
• CEP Statement on Executions of Hostages by Hamas 

Iran

Associated Press: Gunmen Kill 3 Border Guards In An Attack In Restive Southeastern Iran

“Gunmen killed three border guards and wounded one other person Thursday in restive southeastern Iran, state-run media reported. IRNA news agency reported that gunmen in a car opened fire on a border regiment vehicle in Mirjaveh county in southeast Sistan and Baluchistan province, near the Pakistani border, killing two soldiers and an officer. A civilian was wounded. IRNA said the militant group Jaish al-Adl, which allegedly seeks greater rights for the ethnic Baluch minority, claimed responsibility for the attack. In April, in two separate clashes in the province, at least 22 Iranian policemen died. The province, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been the site of occasional deadly clashes involving militant groups, armed drug smugglers, and Iranian security forces.”

Yemen

Reuters: Risky Salvage Of Sounion Tanker To Restart In Red Sea This Week, Sources Say

“Experts will this week resume a risky operation to salvage the Sounion tanker that was repeatedly attacked by Yemen's Houthis in the Red Sea last month and still holds about one million barrels of crude oil, maritime sources said on Thursday. The towing of the 900-foot Greek-registered vessel - which was struck by multiple projectiles, lost power and caught fire on Aug. 21 - was paused after it was deemed unsafe by the companies initially involved in the project. The salvage operation will be particularly delicate, given the full load and a host of other factors, officials said. Any spill could be one of the largest from a ship, risking catastrophic environmental damage in an area that is particularly dangerous to enter. The Houthis - who say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians caught up in the Israel-Gaza war - detonated charges on the tanker after the initial attack, causing more fires.”

Middle East

Reuters: Hamas Chief Sinwar Thanks Hezbollah In Letter To Nasrallah

“Hamas chief Yehya Sinwar thanked the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah for his group's support in the conflict with Israel, Hezbollah said on Friday, in the first reported message since Sinwar became Hamas leader in August. The Iran-backed Hezbollah has been waging attacks on Israel for nearly a year in a conflict across the Lebanese-Israeli border that has been taking place in parallel to the Gaza war. Hezbollah says its attacks aim to support the Palestinians. "Your blessed actions have expressed your solidarity on the fronts of the Axis of Resistance, supporting and engaging in the battle," Sinwar told Nasrallah, according to Hezbollah's al-Manar broadcaster. Sinwar has not appeared in public since the Oct. 7 attacks and is widely thought to be running the war from tunnels beneath Gaza. It was the second time this week he is reported to have sent a letter.”

Somalia

Voice Of America: Report: IS-Somalia Becomes Financial Hub; Leader Could Be Top IS Chief

“The International Crisis Group says Islamic State in Somalia has become an important financial influence for terrorism, and a report suggests the leader of the branch might become the new overall head of the militant group. IS-Somalia is not as active on the battlefield as its local counterpart, the al-Qaida-linked terror group al-Shabab, which controls large parts of southern and central Somalia, but it is building relations with other IS branches, the International Crisis Group said in a report released Thursday. In addition, the report says, IS-Somalia is able to finance terror operations in other African countries. Omar Mahmood, a senior researcher with the International Crisis Group, or ICG, said IS-Somalia plays a bigger role outside Somalia than al-Shabab does. "Al-Shabab is by far and away a bigger threat,” Mahmood said.”

Voice Of America: Exclusive Interview: US Boosts Diplomacy, Security Support In Somalia

“In an exclusive interview, U.S. Ambassador to Somalia Richard Riley shed light on the ongoing diplomatic efforts and security challenges facing the East African nation, including U.S. efforts to find a peaceful diplomatic solution to the ongoing dispute between Somalia and Ethiopia. Somalia and Ethiopia have been in a dispute that was ignited at the beginning of this year when Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding, or MoU, with the breakaway region of Somaliland — a deal Somalia sees as an infringement on its sovereignty. The agreement gives Ethiopia leasing rights to a large portion of the Red Sea coastline in Somaliland. During the interview conducted at the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu, Riley, who was sworn into his post in May, shared with VOA his insights on the U.S. commitment to finding peaceful resolutions and supporting the Somali government in combating terrorism.”

Europe

Associated Press: EU Top Diplomat Urges Lebanon And Israel To Ease Tensions Along Their Border

“The European Union’s top diplomat on Thursday urged Lebanon and Israel to work on deescalating tensions along the border, saying that since his last trip to the region in January “the drums of war have not stopped pounding.” The comments of Josep Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief, came as members of the militant Hezbollah group and Israel’s military carried out cross-border attacks along the tense frontier on Thursday. Western and Arab officials have visited Beirut over the past year to try to reduce tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border, but Hezbollah officials have said they will only stop carrying out attacks along the border when Israel stops its offensive in the Gaza Strip. “Since I lasted visited Lebanon in January the drums of war have not stopped pounding,” Borrell told reporters in Beirut during a joint press conference with Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib.”

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