CEP Mentions
Tagesspiegel: Killed By Israel: Who Was The High-Ranking Hezbollah Commander Ibrahim Akil?
“…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
“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?
“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?
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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
“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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