Eye on Extremism

October 9, 2024

Reuters: Hezbollah Targets Israeli Troops On Lebanese Border, Sirens Sound In Northern Israel

“Hezbollah militants targeted Israeli soldiers near the Lebanese border village of Labbouneh with artillery shells and rockets on Wednesday, the group said, a day after Israel said it had killed two successors to its slain leader. The Iran-backed movement, which has been launching rockets against Israel for a year in parallel with the Gaza war and is now fighting it in ground clashes, said it had pushed the troops back. The escalation in Lebanon, after a year of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, has raised fears of a wider Middle East conflict that could suck in Iran and Israel's superpower ally the United States. The Israeli military said three of its soldiers were severely injured on Tuesday and Wednesday during combat in southern Lebanon. Sirens sounded in northern Israel on Wednesday morning after Israel renewed bombing of Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, overnight.”

Associated Press: FBI Arrests Afghan Man Who Officials Say Planned Election Day Attack In The US

“The FBI has arrested an Afghan man who officials say was inspired by the Islamic State militant organization and was plotting an Election Day attack targeting large crowds in the U.S., the Justice Department said Tuesday. Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, of Oklahoma City told investigators after his arrest Monday that he had planned his attack to coincide with Election Day next month and that he and a co-conspirator expected to die as martyrs, according to charging documents. Tawhedi, who arrived in the U.S. in September 2021, had taken steps in recent weeks to advance his attack plans, including by ordering AK-47 rifles, liquidating his family’s assets and buying one-way tickets for his wife and child to travel home to Afghanistan, officials said.”

The CEP CounterPoint: Expert Analysis

• One Year On: Remembering October 7 in London
• Al-Qaeda's Brazen Attacks in Mali's Capital Bamako
• ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency in August 2024
• Counterpoint Brief: EU Arrests Members of Newly-Designed Terrorist Group The Base
• Counterpoint Brief: U.S. and Iraqi Forces Target ISIS Leadership in Iraq and Syria

CEP Mentions

The Guardian: Far-Right Activists Fundraising For People Jailed Over UK Riots

“... Ian Acheson, who reviewed the threat of Islamist extremism in prisons in 2016, cautioned against a move towards viewing the many hundreds who were convicted of criminal offences during the riots as a single group susceptible to far-right ideas, a narrative that could be welcomed by extremists. “We have to be extremely careful about gifting these people with an ideology and it’s notable that many of those convicted in the riots had previous convictions,” he said. “That is not to say that the prison service shouldn’t be trying to get ahead of the curve and look at who, if anybody, in the steadily growing population of extreme rightwing offenders might be trying to proselytise others.”

Business Insider: Israel May Have Military Superiority, But It Lacks A Clear Strategic Vision, Say Experts

“... Netanyahu's stance toward a peace deal may hinge on who wins the US presidential elections in November, said Edmund Fitton-Brown, a senior advisor to the Counter Extremism Project. While former president Donald Trump would give Netanyahu "carte blanche" to do everything on his own terms, Vice President Kamala Harris would push for a "constructive attitude to ceasefires and peace processes," he said. "I think we're a lot closer to the beginning of this conflict than we are to the end," former CIA station chief Daniel Hoffman told Fox Business on Monday. "There's going to be a new administration, and that will have a lot of implications on our strategy."”

United States

ABC News: FBI Foils Alleged ISIS-Inspired Election Day Terror Plot By Afghan National

“The Justice Department announced the arrest Tuesday of an Afghan national living in Oklahoma and accused him of plotting to kill Americans on Election Day on behalf of the terror group ISIS. Nasir Tawhedi, 27, is alleged to have sought to purchase semiautomatic firearms and ammunition to further his alleged plans to carry out the attack, and even went so far as to liquidate his family's assets and resettling family members overseas in preparation. According to the complaint, Tawhedi entered the U.S. in September 2021 on a special immigrant visa and is currently on parole status pending adjudication of his immigration proceedings. The charging documents additionally reference at least one co-conspirator, who is identified as a citizen of Afghanistan with legal permanent resident status who also resides in Oklahoma but is a juvenile. FBI investigators say they obtained images, posts and texts from devices belonging to Tawhedi that showed his adherence to ISIS' ideology.”

Reuters: US Says Ceasefire Call Shows Hezbollah 'Getting Battered'

“Hezbollah's call for a ceasefire on Tuesday shows the militant group is on the back foot and "getting battered," U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a regular briefing on Tuesday. Hezbollah's deputy leader Naim Qassem said in a televised address on Tuesday the Iran-backed group's capabilities were intact and its fighters were pushing back Israeli ground incursions, despite the "painful blows" inflicted by Israel in recent weeks. Qassem said the group supported the efforts of Lebanon's Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, to secure a ceasefire, without providing further details on any conditions demanded by Hezbollah. "For a year, you had the world calling for this ceasefire, you had Hezbollah refusing to agree to one, and now that Hezbollah is on the back foot and is getting battered, suddenly they've changed their tune and want a ceasefire," Miller said. "We continue to ultimately want a diplomatic solution to this conflict," Miller said.”

Syria

Reuters: Israeli Strike On Residential Building In Syria's Damascus Kills Seven Civilians, State Media Says

“An Israeli airstrike targeted a residential building in the Mezzah suburb west of the Syrian capital Damascus, killing seven civilians and injuring 11 others, Syrian state media reported on Tuesday. Preliminary reports said the seven civilians included women and children, state media reported citing a military source, adding it also caused "grave" material damage on private properties in surrounding areas. As per the cited source, the airstrike was conducted through three missiles coming from the direction of the Golan heights. State media earlier reported that Syria's air defences had intercepted "hostile" targets in the vicinity of Damascus. Israel has been carrying out strikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria for years but has ramped up such raids since last year's Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian group Hamas on Israeli territory that sparked the Gaza war.”

Afghanistan

Voice Of America: Religious Education Surges Under Taliban As Secular Schooling Languishes

“The number of madrassas, or religious schools, has increased fourfold under the Taliban in Afghanistan as experts worry that the rise could fuel extremism in the country and limit opportunities for younger Afghans, particularly girls. "In the past year, at least 1 million children have been enrolled in madrassas for religious education," said Karamatullah Akhundzada, the deputy minister of education, in a September news conference. The year’s new enrollments brought the total to 3.6 million students at more than about 21,000 madrassas registered in the country, This shift marks a change in the educational landscape in Afghanistan, where madrassas now outnumber the more than 18,000 public and private schools. Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, founding director of the Center for Governance and Markets at the University of Pittsburgh, told VOA that the increase in the number of madrassas is part of the Taliban's effort to establish control.”

Lebanon

The Wall Street Journal: Israel Boosts Troops On Lebanon Border, Signals Maritime Operation

“Israel expanded its offensive in Lebanon, sending more troops to conduct ground operations along the countries’ shared border and warning people to stay away from the coast of southern Lebanon ahead of a maritime operation. The additional Israeli forces are being added as the military expands its operations from the eastern part of the border to the west. The Israeli military said Tuesday that its 146th reserve division began operations in southwestern Lebanon against Hezbollah targets, after declaring Israeli communities near the western part of its border with Lebanon as closed military zones. Israel’s limited ground incursions along the border began in the east and have moved westward, each time adding new divisions.  The Israeli military on Tuesday said it took control of a Hezbollah compound in Maroun El Ras, a village that overlooks Israeli towns and was the site of a significant battle between Hezbollah and Israel in their last major war in 2006.”

Reuters: Hezbollah Officials Drop Gaza Truce As Condition For Lebanon Ceasefire

“Hezbollah officials are no longer demanding a truce in Gaza as a condition for reaching a ceasefire in Lebanon, rowing back from an oft-repeated promise to keep fighting until Israel halts its offensive against Hezbollah's Iran-backed ally Hamas. Ever since Hezbollah began launching missiles across Lebanon's border a day after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Israel, Hezbollah officials have consistently said they would not stop until Israel ended the war in Gaza. But Naim Qassem, the deputy leader of Hezbollah, broke that link in a televised speech on Tuesday, even as he promised to continue to stand with Hamas and Palestinians in their battle with Israel. Qassem, now Hezbollah's top official after its chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli strike, said he backed efforts by Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, to secure a truce - without setting a precondition.”

Middle East

Reuters: Hamas, Fatah Leaders To Hold Palestinian Unity Talks In Cairo

“Leaders from the Islamist group Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement will hold further unity talks in Cairo on Wednesday, a Hamas official told Reuters. According to Taher Al-Nono, the media adviser of the Hamas political chief, the Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Tuesday. It was led by Khalil Al-Hayya, the group's chief negotiator and Hamas' second-in-command, currently based in Qatar. "The meeting will discuss the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, and the challenges facing the Palestinian cause," Nono said. There was no immediate comment from Fatah. The meeting will be the first in months since the two groups held talks in the Chinese capital in July, agreeing on steps to form a unity government. Similar rounds in the past have so far failed to make progress.”

France

BBC: Osama Bin Laden's Son Banned From Re-Entering France

“A son of the al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has been banned from returning to France, the country's interior minister has announced. Omar Bin Laden, 43, has spent years living in Normandy in the north of France, where he has earned a living painting landscape portraits. But new Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said he signed an order barring him from returning to France, accusing him of authoring social media posts last year which "glorified terrorism". Mr Bin Laden left France in 2023 after his residency permit was revoked for two years by officials in the wake of the posts. French media reported that the dispute related to content marking the anniversary of his father's death. Mr Bin Laden has lived in France since 2016, earning a residency permit through his marriage to UK citizen Zaina Mohamed Al-Sabah - born Jane Felix-Browne.” But Retailleau said the order now permanently banned Mr Bin Laden from returning to France "for any reason whatsoever”.”

Europe

Reuters: Norway Raises Terrorism Alert Level Due To Middle East Conflict

“Norway has raised its terrorism threat assessment to the second-highest level due to an increased risk of attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets, the national police directorate said on Tuesday. Last week police in neighbouring Denmark charged two men suspected of detonating hand grenades near Israel's Copenhagen embassy, while police in Sweden are investigating a suspected shooting near the Israeli diplomatic mission in Stockholm. Norwegian police officers, who are normally unarmed, will now carry guns nationwide as a result of the decision by the PST security service to raise the threat level, the directorate said. "PST raises the terror threat level in Norway from moderate to high as a result of the ongoing escalation of the conflict in the Middle East," the police said in a statement. "It is primarily the threat to Jewish and Israeli targets that has been further intensified," the statement said.”

Russia

Reuters: Russia's GRU Seeking To Cause 'Mayhem' In Britain And Europe, UK Spy Chief Says

“Russia's GRU military intelligence service is seeking to cause "mayhem" across Britain and Europe, the UK's domestic spy chief said on Tuesday, while a growing threat from resurgent al Qaeda and Islamic State was his greatest terrorism concern. In a wide-ranging speech outlining the current threat picture, Security Service (MI5) Director General Ken McCallum also accused Iran of being behind "plot after plot" on British soil. McCallum said state threat investigations were up 48% in the last year as Russia and Iran turned to criminals, drug traffickers and proxies to carry out their "dirty work". "It will be clear to you that MI5 has one hell of a job on its hands," he said. Since March 2017, he said MI5 and the British police had disrupted 43 late-stage plots, some of which were in the final days of planning for mass murder.”

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