“Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip,
Israel Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Thursday. Sinwar has been credited as
the mastermind behind the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that led to the deaths
of 1,200 people, the worst terrorist attack in Israel's history. "The master
murderer Yahya Sinwar, who is responsible for the massacre and atrocities of
October 7, was killed" by Israel Defense Forces soldiers, Katz said in a
statement. "This is a great military and moral achievement for Israel and a
victory for the entire free world against the evil axis of extreme Islam led by
Iran." Sinwar, 62, had served as Hamas' leader in Gaza since 2017 and assumed
leadership of the group's political bureau after the assassination of Ismail
Haniyeh in Iran this July. Israeli authorities said they had been pursuing
Sinwar for a year and that he had been hiding "behind the civilian population
of Gaza, both above and below ground in Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip.””











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Eye on Extremism



October 18, 2024



ABC News: Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar Killed In Gaza By Israeli Forces,
Officials Say
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“Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip,
Israel Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Thursday. Sinwar has been credited as
the mastermind behind the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that led to the deaths
of 1,200 people, the worst terrorist attack in Israel's history. "The master
murderer Yahya Sinwar, who is responsible for the massacre and atrocities of
October 7, was killed" by Israel Defense Forces soldiers, Katz said in a
statement. "This is a great military and moral achievement for Israel and a
victory for the entire free world against the evil axis of extreme Islam led by
Iran." Sinwar, 62, had served as Hamas' leader in Gaza since 2017 and assumed
leadership of the group's political bureau after the assassination of Ismail
Haniyeh in Iran this July. Israeli authorities said they had been pursuing
Sinwar for a year and that he had been hiding "behind the civilian population
of Gaza, both above and below ground in Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip.””



Reuters: Netanyahu Promises More War, Dashing Peace Hopes After Hamas Leader
Killed
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“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's promises to press on with Israel's wars
in Gaza and Lebanon dashed hopes on Friday that the killing of Hamas leader
Yahya Sinwar might help end more than a year of escalating conflict in the
Middle East. Lebanese militant group Hezbollah meanwhile vowed to escalate
fighting against Israel and its backer Iran said "the spirit of resistance"
would be strengthened by the death of its Palestinian ally Sinwar in Gaza.
Sinwar, a mastermind of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the Gaza war,
was killed during an operation by Israeli soldiers in the Palestinian enclave
on Wednesday, a pivotal event in the year-long conflict. Netanyahu called
Sinwar's killing a milestone late on Thursday but vowed to keep up the war,
which in recent weeks expanded from fighting against Palestinian group Hamas in
Gaza into an invasion of southern Lebanon and the bombardment of large swathes
of the country. "The war, my dear ones, is not yet over," Netanyahu told
Israelis, saying fighting would continue until hostages held by Hamas are
released.”




Recent CEP Press Releases

* One Year After October 7
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* Counter Extremism Project Statement Marking 9/11
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* CEP Statement on U.S. Indictment of Hamas Leaders
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* Extremist Content Online: Active Clubs Celebrate "Frontier" Boxing and MMA
Event, White Supremacist CashApp Fundraiser Removed, White Power Webstore
Advertises on Telegram
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CEP Mentions



Voice Of America: Death Of Hamas Leader Brings Hope, Peril
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“Sinwar's death is a "a major blow" to Hamas, said Edmund Fitton-Brown, a
former senior United Nations counterterrorism official who currently serves as
a senior adviser for the Counter Extremism Project. Only it is not a certain
death blow for the Gaza-based terror group. "It may be that Hamas' status as
top dog is less clear. But no other group is in a position to seize that
position," Fitton-Brown said. "It might lead to fragmentation of Palestinian
extremists with unpredictable results." That could include ongoing fighting in
Gaza. "I would expect a low-level insurgency to continue," said Jonathan
Schanzer, senior vice president for research and Middle East scholar at the
Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "There will likely be
pockets of resistance by Hamas or perhaps Hamas-aligned fighters," Schanzer
told VOA.”



Daily Mail: Death Of Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar Will Make Hostage Negotiations
‘Extremely Difficult’ And Prolong War In The Region, Experts Warn
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“The death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza will make negotiations with
Israel 'extremely difficult' and could prolong a drawn out war in the region,
experts warn. Hamas' leader in Gaza was killed on Wednesday in an Israeli
strike in the Palestinian enclave, the IDF confirmed after an extensive study
of dental records. […] Edmund Fitton Brown, Senior Advisor to the Counter
Extremism Project and former UK Ambassador to Yemen, told MailOnline the
assassination could lead to 'fragmentation' and the 'collapse of
communications, command and control'. 'It may be that Hamas' status as top dog
amongst Palestinian Islamists is less clear than it was. But no other group [in
Gaza] is positioned to seize that mantle,' he said. 'It's hard to see exactly
how to get [to a ceasefire]. And one hesitates to express optimism.”



Tagesspiegel: Hamas Leader Killed In Gaza Strip, Who Was Jihia Sinwar, The
Architect Of October 7?
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“He was the head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip - and is now the head of the
entire organization. Jihia Sinwar, the terror group announced this week on the
short message service Telegram, has been appointed head of the political
office. This means that power within Hamas is concentrated on the man the
Israelis have been hunting for months - and who is said to have successfully
hidden in the tunnels of Gaza. […] In fact, Sinwar had the most influence
within the terrorist organization, even though Haniya held the political
leadership position on paper. "As a result of the attack on October 7, the
Hamas leadership in Gaza took actual control of the terrorist group," explains
Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the international Counter Extremism
Project.”



DW News: What Is The Immediate Impact Of Sinwar’s Death?
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"Israel's prime minister says the top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been
killed in a military operation in Gaza. Israeli officials said Sinwar's body
was recovered, with DNA tests confirming his identity. Sinwar is considered the
chief architect behind the Hamas October 7 terror attack on Israel that left
more than a thousand people dead and triggered the war in Gaza, which health
officials there say has killed more than 42,000 people. Sinwar took over
leadership of the Palestinian militant group after the top political leader
Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran. Hamas has not yet commented on the
fate of its leader. […] Hans Jakob-Schindler, Middle East Security Expert, on
implications of Sinwar’s death."



MSG For Banking: Counter Terrorism Financing, Episode 1, Risk Of Terrorist
Financing In Europe <[link removed]>



“Interview featuring CEP Senior Director, Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler on the
topic of Counter Terrorism Financing”



United States



Associated Press: Judge Orders Afghan Man Accused Of Planning Election Day
Attack In US To Remain In Custody
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“An Afghan man who is accused of plotting an Election Day attack in the U.S.
was ordered Thursday to remain in custody as officials disclosed that he had
previously worked as a security guard for an American military installation in
Afghanistan. U.S. Magistrate Judge Suzanne Mitchell in Oklahoma City issued her
ruling after hearing testimony from an FBI special agent that Nasir Ahmad
Tawhedi, 27, of Oklahoma City, and his brother-in-law, a juvenile, took steps
to obtain AK-47 rifles and ammunition and planned to carry out an attack
targeting large crowds on Election Day next month. Mitchell also determined
there was probable cause to bind Tawhedi over for trial. FBI agent Derek Wiley
testified that Tawhedi also is linked to an investigation in France that led to
the arrests this month of three people, including two of Tawhedi’s brothers,
who authorities say were plotting a terrorist attack in that country.”



Reuters: At 10-Year Mark, US And Allies Weigh Future Of Islamic State Mission
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“Ten years to the day after the formal launch of the U.S.-led operation
against the Islamic State, the United States and its NATO allies gathered in
Brussels on Thursday to discuss the future of a mission facing increasing
headwinds. Niger kicked out the U.S. military from its counter-terrorism base
in West Africa this summer. Afghanistan has been largely off-limits since the
Taliban's 2021 takeover. And Iraq wants the Pentagon to start reducing its
personnel and end coalition operations there. At the same time, American
officials warn the global threat from Islamic State is growing in Africa and
elsewhere, even as public attention has shifted to Russia's war in Ukraine and
expanding conflicts in the Middle East. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin,
who helped launch the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State a decade ago as
a four-star general, cautioned allies at NATO headquarters in Brussels that
Islamic State was still a threat that required international attention.”



South America



Reuters: Venezuela Detains Three Americans, Two Others For Alleged Terrorism
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“Venezuela has detained three Americans and two others for alleged terrorist
activities, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said on Thursday, marking an
increase in the count of foreign prisoners in the South American country. The
government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has regularly accused members
of the opposition and foreign detainees of conspiring with U.S. entities such
as the Central Intelligence Agency to plan terrorist attacks. Venezuela
released dozens of prisoners, including 10 Americans, in December 2023
following months of negotiations between Caracas and Washington. In exchange,
the United States released Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman and close ally of
Maduro. The new list of detainees, which also included one Bolivian and one
Peruvian, brings the number of foreign detainees in Venezuela to at least 12.
"The detained foreigners speak Spanish perfectly, a necessary requirement for
them to involve themselves in communities," Cabello said on state television.”



Yemen



The New York Times: U.S. Stealth Bombers Attack Houthi Weapons Caches In Yemen
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“The U.S. military struck five underground weapons facilities in areas of
Yemen controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia on Wednesday, using
warplanes that included B-2 stealth bombers in an attack that could also serve
as a warning to Tehran. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said President
Biden had ordered the strikes to “further degrade the Houthis’ capability” to
attack ships and disrupt the flow of commerce in the Red Sea and the Gulf of
Aden. Mr. Austin made no mention of Iran, but the rare use of the B-2, the only
plane capable of striking Iran’s deeply buried nuclear facilities, against the
Houthis was notable at a time of tensions between Israel and Iran that threaten
to spill into full-blown war.”



Middle East



NPR: Israel Says It Killed Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar In Gaza
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“Israel says it killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, believed to be the
mastermind behind the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack in the country. In a
statement Thursday, the Israeli military said it and the Shin Bin domestic
intelligence agency confirmed that on Wednesday, Israeli soldiers "eliminated
Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the Hamas terrorist organization, in an operation
in the southern Gaza Strip." Hamas has not commented publicly on the
announcement. The news marks a major development — the death of Israel's most
wanted man — a year into the war in Gaza after Israel vowed to crush Hamas
following its attack on Israel.”



Somalia



Reuters: Seven Killed In Suicide Bombing In Somalia
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“At least seven people died and six were wounded after a suicide bomber blew
himself up in a restaurant in Somalia's capital on Thursday, local police said
in a statement. It was not immediately clear who had carried out the attacks,
although Islamist militant group al Shabaab frequently orchestrates bombings
and gun attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere in the fragile Horn of Africa
nation. The restaurant, which was located opposite a police training station,
was frequented by officers, according to a security source. "My cousin and four
of his colleagues died in the blast. We are rushing to the scene to take his
body," Hassan Osman, a relative of one of the victims, told Reuters. The
al-Qaeda affiliate frequently attacks military outposts and state targets as
part of a mission to overturn Somalia's government and establish its own rule.”



France



Politico: French Cement Company To Face Trial For Financing ISIS
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“French cement-maker Lafarge will face trial in Paris on charges that it
financed terrorism and breached international sanctions, investigating judges
said Wednesday. Lafarge, which was purchased in 2015 by the Swiss group Holcim,
is suspected of paying $5 million to Islamic State (ISIS) and other jihadist
groups to keep its plant in Syria operating in 2013 and 2014. The payments were
made through its Syrian subsidiary in the middle of that country’s civil war,
even as ISIS was kidnapping and killing Westerners. Lafarge told POLITICO in a
statement that it acknowledged the decision of the investigating judges. Along
with the group, eight people including the company’s former CEO, managers and
Syrian intermediaries will be tried at the end of 2025. In a separate
investigation, the company pled guilty to these charges in a U.S. court in
2022, and agreed to pay $778 million as part of a plea agreement.”



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