“Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Sunday it had launched rockets at Israeli military
industry complex in the northern city of Haifa in an initial response for pager
and walkie talkie blasts; the Iran-backed group posted on its Telegram channel.”











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Eye on Extremism



September 23, 2024



Reuters: Hezbollah Attacks Israeli Military Industry Complex In Haifa In
Response For Pager Blasts, Statement Says
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“Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Sunday it had launched rockets at Israeli
military industry complex in the northern city of Haifa in an initial response
for pager and walkie talkie blasts; the Iran-backed group posted on its
Telegram channel.”



Associated Press: Israel-Hamas War Latest: Israel’s Air Force Launches Dozens
Of Airstrikes On Southern Lebanon
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“Israel’s air force carried out dozens of airstrikes early Monday on southern
Lebanon, as the Israeli military called on people in the area to immediately
evacuate homes and other buildings where it claimed the Hezbollah militant
group stores weapons. Separately, Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip killed
eight Palestinians, including five children, on Monday morning, according to
Palestinian medical officials. Residents of different villages in southern
Lebanon posted photos on social media that they said showed their towns that
were being struck. The state-run National News Agency also reported airstrikes
in different areas. The Israeli military’s Arab-language spokesperson said the
air force was attacking targets related to Hezbollah. The wave of airstrikes
came after a tense day in which Hezbollah fired over 100 rockets into northern
Israel, with some landing near the city of Haifa.”




CEP Expert Analysis

* ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency in August 2024
<[link removed]>
* CounterPoint Brief: EU Arrests Members of Newly-Designated Terrorist Group
The Base
<[link removed]>
* CounterPoint Brief: U.S. and Iraqi Forces Target ISIS Leadership in Iraq
and Syria
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* CounterPoint Brief: ISIS Knife Attack in Solingen, Germany
<[link removed]>
* The Houthis Exploit Western Ambiguity to Fund Their War Machine
<[link removed]>



CEP Mentions



Tagesspiegel: Killed By Israel: Who Was The High-Ranking Hezbollah Commander
Ibrahim Akil?
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“…Almost all members of the military chain of command around Hezbollah leader
Hassan Nasrallah have been killed. Security expert Hans-Jakob Schindler sees
this as a particular problem for the Shiite militia: "If this Israeli campaign
continues, it will lead to a slow but very painful reduction in command
capabilities for Hezbollah." At the moment, it is therefore unclear who could
succeed Ibrahim Akil. According to Schindler, there are currently too few
battle-tested leadership personnel within the militia.”



Civic Space: Ian Acheson <[link removed]>



“Counter Extremism Project Senior Advisor Ian Acheson sat down for an
interview about growing up with a terrorist threat on the Civic Space podcast
from the University of Liverpool.”



Sky News: Can You Fix The Prison Service?
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“On this episode, Niall Paterson speaks to former prison governor Professor
Ian Acheson, author of the book Screwed - Britain's Prison Crisis and How to
Escape It, about the prison environment and how systemic a problem it has
become.”



DW News: Why Hasn't Iran Responded To Israeli Attacks And Where Is The Mideast
Conflict Headed? <[link removed]>



“Hans Jakob-Schindler, senior director at the Counter Extremism Project,
discusses the situation in Lebanon and the growing fears of an all-out war.”



Iran



Reuters: Exclusive: Iran's Guards Ban Communications Devices After Strike On
Hezbollah
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“Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has ordered all members to
stop using any type of communication devices after thousands of pagers and
walkie-talkies used by its Hezbollah allies in Lebanon blew up in deadly
attacks last week, two senior Iranian security officials told Reuters. One of
the security officials said a large-scale operation is underway by the IRGC to
inspect all devices, not just communication equipment. He said most of these
devices were either homemade or imported from China and Russia. Iran was
concerned about infiltration by Israeli agents, including Iranians on Israel's
payroll, and a thorough investigation of personnel has already begun, targeting
mid and high-ranking members of the IRGC, added the official, who declined to
be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.”



Iraq



Reuters: Islamic Resistance In Iraq Says Its Drones Target Israeli Base
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“Drones of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq targeted the Israeli military's
Golani observation base in the "occupied Palestinian territories," the
pro-Iranian militant group said on Monday. On Sunday, the group said it had
launched a drone attack on a target in the Israeli-occupied Jordan Valley.
Iraqi Shi'ite armed factions, like other pro-Iranian groups, pledged to carry
out attacks in solidarity with the Palestinians after Hamas militants launched
its attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year, triggering the war in Gaza. Islamic
Resistance in Iraq vowed to escalate its attacks. In separate statements, the
Israeli military said interceptors were launched toward an unmanned aerial
vehicle (UAV) that had been launched from Iraq and was identified as crossing
into Israeli territory from Syria. No injuries were reported.”



Turkey



Reuters: At U.N., Turkey To Press Criticism Of Israel Over Gaza War
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“Turkey, among the world's sharpest critics of the Israeli military operation
in Gaza, will use the U.N. General Assembly this week to highlight what it says
is a genocide unfolding there and will urge international pressure on Israel.
President Tayyip Erdogan and several Turkish ministers will take part in the
General Assembly in New York, which comes amid the heaviest cross-border fire
between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, alongside the
Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. NATO member Turkey has condemned Israel's military
campaign in the Gaza Strip, which came in retaliation for Palestinian militant
group Hamas' cross-border attack on Oct. 7 last year. Turkey halted all trade
with Israel and applied to join a genocide case against Israel at the World
Court. Israel has repeatedly dismissed the genocide case as baseless, arguing
in the court that its operations in Gaza are self-defense and target Gaza's
ruling Hamas group.”



Afghanistan



The Washington Post: As Taliban Starts Restricting Men, Too, Some Regret Not
Speaking Up Sooner
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“As the Taliban starts enforcing draconian new rules on women in Afghanistan,
it has also begun to target a group that didn’t see tight restrictions on them
coming: Afghan men. Women have faced an onslaught of increasingly severe limits
on their personal freedom and rules about their dress since the Taliban seized
power three years ago. But men in urban areas could, for the most part, carry
on freely. The past four weeks, however, have brought significant changes for
them, too. New laws promulgated in late August mandate that men wear a
fist-long beard, bar them from imitating non-Muslims in appearance or behavior,
widely interpreted as a prohibition against jeans, and ban haircuts that are
against Islamic law, which essentially means short or Western styles. Men are
now also prohibited from looking at women other than their wives or relatives.”



Pakistan



Associated Press: Bomb Targeting Foreign Diplomats’ Convoy Kills Policeman In
Pakistan’s Restive Northwest
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“A roadside blast caused by an improvised explosive device, targeting a convoy
of foreign diplomats, killed a policeman and injured four others, an official
said Sunday. The diplomats were traveling to a tourist area in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan and is a base for militant
groups, including the Pakistani Taliban. The blast occurred at the tourist spot
and hill station of Malam Jabba, one of Pakistan’s two ski resorts, some 250 km
(155 miles) north of the provincial capital Peshawar. The diplomats in the
convoy were from Indonesia, Portugal, Kazakhstan, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, Iran, Russia and Tajikistan. All of
them are safe, and a heavy security contingent is at the scene, police officer
Javed Khan said. They were visiting the area at the invitation of the local
chamber of commerce and industry, Khan added.”



Lebanon



NPR: Israel Warns Civilians To Evacuate As It Strikes Wide Swathes Of Southern
Lebanon
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“The Israeli military on Monday called on residents of southern Lebanon to
immediately evacuate homes and other buildings where it claimed Hezbollah
stores weapons and said it was carrying out “extensive strikes” against the
militant group. It was the first warning of its kind in nearly a year of
steadily escalating conflict and came after a particularly heavy exchange of
fire on Sunday. Hezbollah launched around 150 rockets, missiles and drones into
northern Israel in retaliation for strikes that killed a top commander and
dozens of fighters. There was no sign of an immediate exodus from the villages
of southern Lebanon. The escalating strikes and counterstrikes have raised
fears of an all-out war, even as Israel is still battling the Palestinian Hamas
in Gaza and trying to return scores of hostages taken in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.”



Middle East



Reuters: Netanyahu Examining Siege Plan For Hamas In North Gaza, Israeli Media
Report
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“Israel is examining a plan to use siege tactics against Hamas in northern
Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quoted by several Israeli media
outlets as saying on Sunday. Netanyahu's office did not respond to a request
for comment. The reports cited unnamed sources at a closed parliament committee
meeting. The plan, published by retired military commanders and floated by some
parliament members this month, suggests Palestinian civilians would be
instructed to evacuate northern Gaza, which would then be declared a closed
military zone. An estimated 5,000 Hamas militants remaining there would then be
put under siege until they surrender. Army Radio reported that Netanyahu told
lawmakers at parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee that it was
being examined. Public broadcaster Kan quoted Netanyahu as saying that the
blueprint "makes sense" and that "it is one of the plans being considered, but
there are others as well.”



Mali



BBC: Jihadist Airport Assault Leaves Mali's Junta Rattled
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“The al-Qaeda flag flutters from an airport building. A jihadist places a
burning rag in the engine of the presidential jet; others explore the VIP
terminal or fire shots as they approach planes belonging to the UN Humanitarian
Air Service (UNHAS) – a familiar survival lifeline for so many countries in
crisis around the world. The social media images broadcast by the jihadists who
on Tuesday morning attacked the international airport complex outside Mali's
capital, Bamako, and then roamed around the site, graphically demonstrate the
fragile security of what should have been one of the most protected locations
in the West African country. A training center for the gendarmerie
(paramilitary police) in the Faladié suburb was also targeted. Residents filmed
smoke rising above the skyline as explosions and gunshots shattered the dawn
calm.”



United Kingdom



Reuters: UK Foreign Minister Says More Sanctions Possible Over West Bank
Violence
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“Britain will keep under review possible new sanctions against Israeli
settlers in the West Bank and will act if it has to, foreign minister David
Lammy said on Sunday, adding he was concerned by actions that were inflaming
tensions. Britain announced sanctions against Israeli settlers in February and
May this year over what it said were extremist groups perpetrating settler
violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Lammy, who became foreign
minister in July after a Labour election victory, indicated the new government
would take a similar approach and said that further sanctions were possible. He
added that, notwithstanding Israel's genuine security concerns in the West
Bank, "We are very worried about escalatory behavior, very worried about
inflamed tensions.”



Southeast Asia



The Economic Time: Search Ops By Security Forces Lead To Exchange Of Fire With
Militants In Jammu And Kashmir Kishtwar
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“A joint search operation in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district led to an
exchange of fire with terrorists on Sunday evening, police said. A police
spokesperson said the search operation was launched near the Danna Dhar Forest
area in the upper reaches of Gurinal village in the Chatroo belt. During the
operation, firing occurred from both sides after security forces established
contact with the terrorists, she said. On Saturday evening, a brief encounter
took place between terrorists and security forces in Chatroo forest following
information about the presence of terrorists, she said. Meanwhile, a massive
search operation is continuing for the third consecutive day in the Chassana
area of the Reasi district, where terrorists and security forces were engaged
in a gunfight on Friday evening.”



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