CEP Mentions
Middle East Forum: UK Limiting Islamist Books In Prisons Raises Questions
“... Acheson, senior advisor to the UK NGO the Counter Extremism Project and former prison governor, warns that the new measures will prove to be “fiendishly difficult” to enforce “If you are running a high security prison … you are lucky to get from one end of the day to the other without a major incident,” he said. “So pragmatically, taking on highly ideological prisoners who have gang followings in prisons to limit the amount of material they have in their cells, is inevitably going to provoke a violent reaction. Prison governors think ’We won’t be backed up if we try to do that, so we’ll just have to try to manage it.” Despite recent recruitment of imams trained in countering violent extremist views and beliefs, there are not always enough to lead prayers,” Acheson said, adding that “Some of those who are [available] are not strong enough to call out any dissent that might exist.””
Tagesspiegel: New Documents On The Attack On October 7, This is How Hard Hamas Wanted To Hit Israel With Iran’s Help
“It was apparently intended to be an ultimate, devastating blow against Israel. This is suggested by new findings on the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023. According to the New York Times and the Washington Post, the terrorist strategists around their leader Jahia Sinwar planned their attack in detail for more than two years. […] Hans-Jakob Schindler calls Iran's reaction to Hamas's request "typical". The leadership of the Islamic Republic almost always avoids an open "no" in negotiations and prefers to use formulations such as "further clarification required", says the senior director of the international Counter Extremism Project and head of the Berlin office.”
France 24: Hurricanes In The US: How Neo-Nazis Are Taking Advantage Of The Devastation
“"We are trying to bring some normality back to the lives of the affected communities."Any volunteer who comes to North Carolina or Florida to help the victims of hurricanes Helene and Milton could say the same. But the man who says this in front of a camera in a video posted on Telegram on October 6 and shared on most social networks is not just anyone. […] "The Patriot Front is also clearly fascist, and its logo is inspired by that of Benito Mussolini's Italian National Fascist Party ," says Matthew Feldman. It is also a group anchored in a culture of violence that "is linked to the American network of neo-Nazi cells of the Active Club Network ," says Joshua-Fisher Birch, an American analyst for the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), an international organisation that fights extremist movements.”
United States
ABC News: Soldier Who Attempted To Assist ISIS in Killing US Troops Sentenced To 14 Years
“A United States Army soldier has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after he allegedly attempted to assist ISIS in conducting a deadly ambush on U.S. troops, according to the Department of Justice. Cole Bridges, a 24-year old man from Stow, Ohio, has been sentenced to 168 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for “attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and attempting to murder U.S. military service members, based on his efforts to assist the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) to attack and kill U.S. soldiers in the Middle East,” the DOJ announced Friday. Bridges originally pleaded guilty to terrorism charges on June 14, 2023, but his sentence was handed down this week, officials said. Bridges joined the U.S. Army in approximately September 2019 and was assigned as a cavalry scout in the Third Infantry Division based in Fort Stewart, Georgia, according to court documents.”
Syria
Associated Press: US Airstrikes Target Multiple Militant Camps In Syria
“A series of U.S. airstrikes targeted several camps run by the Islamic State group in Syria in an operation the U.S. military said will disrupt the extremists from conducting attacks in the region and beyond. The U.S. Central Command said the airstrikes were conducted Friday, without specifying in which parts of Syria. About 900 U.S. troops have been deployed in eastern Syria alongside the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that were instrumental in the fight against IS militants. Despite their defeat, attacks by IS sleeper cells in Iraq and Syria have been on the rise over the past years, with scores of people killed or wounded. The Islamic State group seized territory at the height of its power and declared a caliphate in large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014, but was defeated in Iraq in 2017. In March 2019, the extremists lost the last sliver of land they once controlled in eastern Syria.”
Lebanon
Associated Press: UN Peacekeepers In Southern Lebanon Are In The Crosshairs Of Israel’s War On Hezbollah
“The U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon said Israeli tanks “forcibly entered” one of its positions on Sunday, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded it leave the area. International criticism is growing after Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on U.N. peacekeepers since the start of its ground operation in Lebanon. Five peacekeepers have been wounded in attacks that struck their positions in recent days, most of them blamed on Israeli forces. As Israel escalates its ground invasion against Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, the 10,000-strong peacekeeping force is increasingly in the crosshairs. Relations have worsened between Israel and the United Nations over the way Israel has conducted its war in Gaza. In an unprecedented move, Israel earlier this month said the U.N. secretary-general was persona non grata in Israel.”
Voice Of America: Exclusive: Hezbollah Running Out Of Money Amid Israeli Bombardment
“Lebanese militia Hezbollah is running out of money, researchers tell VOA, as a weekslong Israeli offensive against the Iran-backed group disrupts three of its key sources of cash. U.S. and Lebanon-based researchers and U.S. Treasury Department reports identify Hezbollah’s main cash source as Al-Qard al-Hasan, or AQAH, a Lebanese quasi-banking institution operated by the U.S.-designated terror group without a government banking license. The researchers say the group’s other cash sources include Lebanon’s insolvent but licensed commercial banks and arrivals of cash-bearing planes at Beirut’s airport. The Israeli military escalated its attacks on Hezbollah leaders and facilities last month, after 11 months of limiting its responses to the militia’s daily attacks on northern Israel in support of Hamas. The Palestinian terror group, also backed by Iran, invaded southern Israel from Gaza last October, sparking a fierce Israeli response.”
Associated Press: As Hezbollah And Israel Battle On The Border, Lebanon’s Army Watches From The Sidelines
“Since Israel launched its ground invasion of Lebanon, Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants have clashed along the border while the Lebanese army has largely stood on the sidelines. It’s not the first time the national army has found itself watching war at home from the discomfiting position of bystander. Lebanon’s widely beloved army is one of the few institutions that bridge the country’s sectarian and political divides. Several army commanders have become president, and the current commander, Gen. Joseph Aoun, is widely regarded as one of the front-runners to step in when the deadlocked parliament fills a two-year vacuum and names a president. But with an aging arsenal and no air defenses, and battered by five years of economic crisis, the national army is ill-prepared to defend Lebanon against either aerial bombardment or a ground offensive by a well-equipped modern army like Israel’s.”
Middle East
Associated Press: Israel Says 4 Soldiers Killed By Hezbollah Drone Attack While Israeli Strike In Gaza Leaves 20 Dead
“A Hezbollah drone attack on an army base in central Israel killed four soldiers and severely wounded seven others Sunday, the military said, in the deadliest strike by the militant group since Israel launched its ground invasion of Lebanon nearly two weeks ago. The Lebanon-based Hezbollah called the attack near Binyamina city retaliation for Israeli strikes on Beirut on Thursday that killed 22 people. It later said it targeted Israel’s elite Golani brigade, launching dozens of missiles to occupy Israeli air defense systems during the assault by “squadrons” of drones. Israel’s national rescue service said the attack wounded 61. With Israel’s advanced air-defense systems, it’s rare for so many people to be injured by drones or missiles. Hezbollah and Israel have traded fire almost daily in the year since the war in Gaza began, and fighting has escalated.”
Reuters: Israeli Tanks Deepen Their Push Into The Northern Gaza Strip
“Israeli forces widened their raid into northern Gaza and tanks reached the north edge of Gaza City, pounding some districts of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood and forcing many families to leave their homes, residents said. In the early hours of Monday, an Israeli air strike killed three people and wounded 40 others when it hit some tents of displaced Palestinians inside Al-Aqsa Hospital in the central Gaza Strip city of Deir Al-Balah, where a million people were sheltering, medics said. Footage circulated on social media, which Reuters couldn't immediately verify, showed several tents were set ablaze as some Palestinians tried helplessly to put out the fire. The Israeli military said it struck militants operating from a command center inside the compound, accusing Hamas of using civilian facilities such as hospitals for military purposes, which Hamas denies.”
Nigeria
Associated Press: They Fled Their Homes To Escape Boko Haram. Now Nigeria Is Resettling Them Back Despite Their Fears
“When Boko Haram launched an insurgency in northeastern Nigeria in 2010, Abdulhameed Salisu packed his bag and fled from his hometown of Damasak in the country’s battered Borno state. The 45-year-old father of seven came back with his family early last year. They are among thousands of Nigerians taken back from displacement camps to their villages, hometowns or newly built settlements known as “host communities” under a resettlement program that analysts say is being rushed to suggest the conflict with the Islamic militants is nearly over. Across Borno, dozens of displacement camps have been shut down, with authorities claiming they are no longer needed and that most places from where the displaced fled are now safe. But many of the displaced say it’s not safe to go back. Boko Haram — Nigeria’s homegrown jihadis — took up arms in 2009 to fight against Western education and impose their radical version of Islamic law, or Sharia.”
United Kingdom
The Guardian: Teenagers As Young As 13 Under Suspicion For Uk Far-Right Terrorism
“Teenagers as young as 13 are coming under suspicion of engaging in terrorism after being exposed to a toxic cocktail of easily accessible far-right extremism online, experts have warned. Insiders describe “a horrible hateful soup” of social media content where children can “pick and mix” terrorist narratives, including the Terrorgram network – recently banned in the UK – of white supremacist channels on Telegram. Experts have tracked 49 children convicted of terror offences since 2016 – all but one of whom are boys – and this week Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, said “13% of all those being investigated by MI5 for involvement in UK terrorism are under 18”, a threefold increase in three years. But the increasing proportion of children under scrutiny also poses problems, with questions arising over whether teenagers should be criminalised – and MI5 and experts acknowledge cases often raise issues of mental health or grooming.”
Reuters: British Police Reduce X Presence Amid Extremist Content Worries
“As Elon Musk's X battles to keep users in key markets, several British police forces are scaling back their presence on the global social media platform and one has abandoned it, reflecting concern about its role in promoting extremist views. X, formerly Twitter, was used to spread disinformation this summer that sparked riots across Britain, and has reinstated British-based accounts that had been banned for extremist content. Critics say Musk's hands-off approach has allowed lies and hate speech to spread. Reuters contacted all 45 territorial police forces and British Transport Police by email. Of the 33 to give details about their policy, 10 forces who collectively police nearly 13 million people said they were actively reviewing their presence on X, while 13 said they frequently reviewed all their social media platforms.”
France
Associated Press: French Anti-Terror Authorities Investigate Afghan National Over Suspected Attack Plot
“French anti-terror prosecutors said Saturday that an Afghan national is being investigated on terrorism charges over a suspected attack plot. The 22-year-old suspect was among three people who authorities revealed earlier this week were detained in the southern Toulouse region. The two other people were released from custody. Authorities said that an investigation that was opened on Sept. 27 subsequently revealed a suspected “plan for violent action targeting people in a football stadium or a shopping center” allegedly linked to the Afghan suspect. They said they found “several elements” allegedly linking the person to “radicalization” and “adherence to the ideology of the Islamic State” group.”
Europe
Voice Of America: Sweden Wants EU To Classify Revolutionary Guards As Terrorist Organization
“Sweden wants the European Union to classify Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization after several attacks on Israeli targets in Sweden that Stockholm blames on Iran, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Sunday. The Scandinavian country's intelligence agency, Sapo, has accused Iran of recruiting members of Swedish criminal gangs to commit "acts of violence" against Israeli and other interests in Sweden, a charge Tehran has denied. "We want Sweden to seriously address, together with other EU countries, the incredibly problematic connection between the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its destructive role in the (Middle East) region, but also its increasing actions in various European countries, including Sweden," Kristersson told the Expressen daily. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a special branch of the Iranian armed forces whose officers hold key positions within the Iranian government.”
Associated Press: Middle East Latest: EU Condemns Attacks On Peacekeepers In Lebanon
“The European Union on Monday condemned attacks on U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon and rejected Israeli allegations that the U.N. was keeping them there to obstruct military operations against Hezbollah. Five peacekeepers have been wounded in attacks that struck their positions since Israel began a ground campaign against the Hezbollah militant group, with most blamed on Israeli forces. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that “their work is very important. It’s completely unacceptable attacking United Nations troops.” Israel has been escalating its campaign against Hezbollah after a year of exchanges of fire, while it is also at war with Hamas in Gaza. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not say how many were fighters but say women and children make up more than half of the fatalities.”
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