Eye on Extremism
October 31, 2024
The New York Times: U.S. Military Says It Killed Up To 35 Islamic State Militants In Syria
“U.S. airstrikes hit several Islamic State camps in the Syrian desert on Monday, killing up to 35 of the group’s operatives, the United States Central Command said in a statement on Wednesday. The strikes targeted multiple senior leaders in the early evening, the statement said, and there were no known civilian casualties. U.S. officials did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the identities of the officials targeted. The United States has dispatched warships and air defense systems to the region, where Israel is at war with Hezbollah and Hamas, backed by Iran, and Iran and Israel have exchanged blows directly. Syria, allied with Iran and Hezbollah, has also been entangled in the conflict, adding to international unease about the already unstable region.”
Reuters: Lebanon, Israel Could Agree To Ceasefire Within Days, Lebanese Prime Minister Says
“Lebanon's prime minister expressed hope on Wednesday that a ceasefire deal with Israel would be announced within days as Israel's public broadcaster published what it said was a draft agreement providing for an initial 60-day truce. The document, which broadcaster Kan said was a leaked proposal written by Washington, said Israel would withdraw its forces from Lebanon within the first week of the 60-day ceasefire. It largely aligned with details reported earlier by Reuters based on two sources familiar with the matter. Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said he had not believed a deal would be possible until after Tuesday's U.S. presidential election. But he said he became more optimistic after speaking on Wednesday with U.S. envoy for the Middle East Amos Hochstein, who was due to travel to Israel on Thursday.”
CEP Mentions
The Cipher Brief: The Houthis Are Deeply Unpopular In Yemen – And That’s An Opportunity
“It has been widely acknowledged that the Houthi attacks against Israel and international shipping that followed Hamas’s deadly October 7th attacks last year, were used to defuse a domestic crisis. Shortly before that terrible day, the Houthis were facing unprecedented opposition at home due to growing resentment over their misrule. That changed in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks, and Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Since the Houthis started bombarding Israel and international shipping one year ago, the group has promoted massive public rallies in Yemen to celebrate its “resistance” throughout the territory under their control. It has been generally assumed that the Houthi offensive had redirected public anger, but recent public opinion polls tell a different story.”
I24: How Qatari Money Influences France's Anti-Israel Policy
“... According to experts from the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), France has opted for a strategic partnership with Qatar. Only a fraction of this alliance is transparent - in early 2024, the emirate has committed to investing 10 billion euros in the French economy. The hidden part is much larger and is growing silently as Qatar's significant investments in the French sports and luxury sectors gradually increase. The Qatari government owns luxury hotels in Paris, Cannes and Nice, a stake in Bernard Arnault's famous French brand, LVMH. The Qataris own the Printemps department store and a majority stake in Paris Saint-Germain. In 2022, France became the second European destination for Qatari investments after the United Kingdom, with assets of more than 25 billion euros, and we are only talking about direct purchases by Qatari entities.”
Vijesti: Far-Right Group Uses Sports To 'Create Paramilitary'
“... Aleksandar Ritzman, a researcher at the international organization Counter-Extremism Project and an advisor to the Radicalization Awareness Network at the European Commission, said that "he has never seen any network in right-wing extremism spread so quickly." He says AC is a "sophisticated operation" and warned that if the movement is "allowed to continue to operate and multiply, the likelihood of targeted political violence will increase." He said that its goal is to "create a kind of paramilitary that hides behind the image of a sports club, while actually preparing for organized violence." "When the violence starts, members and groups will not subsequently publish a manifesto," he said. "This is different from the other kind of extreme right-wing terrorism, where manifestos with all sorts of explanations and theories are published after an attack."”
United States
Washington Examiner: Arizona Man Accused Of Shooting Democratic Campaign Office Charged With Terrorism
“The man accused of shooting several times at a Democratic campaign office in Arizona has been charged with terrorism. A grand jury has indicted Jeffrey Kelly, 60, with one count of terrorism, three counts of discharge of a firearm at a structure, three counts of unlawful discharge of a firearm, and one count of criminal damage. He was arrested after his alleged involvement with multiple shootings at an Arizona campaign office and a separate scare involving a mysterious white substance. “Kelly first used a CO2 powered gun, then escalated to firearms for the second and third shootings. Over the course of the three shootings, Kelly fired more than twenty times, causing damage to the building’s windows, front doors, and walls,” the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said in a news release.”
Syria
Associated Press: US Airstrikes Target Multiple Sites In Syria, Killing Up To 35 Islamic State Militants
“The U.S. military has struck a number of Islamic State group camps in Syria this week, killing as many as 35 militants, U.S. Central Command said Wednesday. The airstrikes in the desert of central Syria were done Monday evening and targeted multiple locations and senior leaders of the group. The attacks came on the heels of a number of joint operations with Iraqi forces that targeted IS militants in Iraq. Pentagon officials have said that the Islamic State group remains a threat in the region, but it is no longer as powerful as it was 10 years ago when the militants swept across Iraq and Syria, taking control of large swaths of the two countries. U.S. Central Command said the latest strikes in Syria will disrupt the group’s ability to plan, organize and conduct attacks against civilians and U.S. and allied forces in the region.”
Turkey
Associated Press: Mayor From Turkey’s Main Opposition Party Is Detained Over Alleged Ties To Kurdish Militants
“A mayor from Turkey’s main opposition party was detained Wednesday on suspicion of being a member of a banned Kurdish militant group, state-run media reported. Ahmet Ozer, mayor of Istanbul’s Esenyurt district and a member of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, was arrested by anti-terrorist police over alleged connections to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. The arrest comes as Turkey is debating a tentative peace process to end a 40-year conflict between the PKK and the Turkish state that has led to tens of thousands of deaths. Ozer, 64, is a former academic originally from Van in eastern Turkey. He was elected mayor of Esenyurt, a western suburb on Istanbul’s European side, in March local elections. The state-run Anadolu news agency reported that the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said an investigation showed Ozer had maintained contacts with PKK figures for more than 10 years.”
Afghanistan
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Taliban Further Restricts Women's Voices With Ban On Praying Aloud In Front Of Other Women
“The Taliban has extended restrictions on Afghan women's voices by banning them from praying loudly or reciting the Koran in front of other women. The move — which comes after the hardline religious group in August forbade women from speaking in public — has sparked further condemnation from activists and rights organisations. During an event in eastern Logar province on Sunday, Vice and Virtue Minister Khalid Hanafi said: "It is prohibited for a grown woman to recite Koranic verses or perform recitations in front of another grown woman." He said that uttering expressions like "subhanallah", another word central to the Islamic faith, was also not allowed. A woman was not permitted to perform the call to prayer, he told the gathering. "So, there is certainly no permission for singing." Nobody from the Vice and Virtue Ministry was immediately available to clarify the official's remarks or confirm if the prohibition would also become part of the morality laws.”
Pakistan
Associated Press: 3 Pakistani Soldiers And 8 Militants Killed During A Raid On Insurgents’ Hideout
“Three soldiers and eight militants were killed after Pakistani security forces backed by military helicopters raided a hideout in a former stronghold of insurgents in a restive province bordering Afghanistan on Wednesday, police said. A local militant commander was believed to be among those killed in the operation in Bannu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local police official Zahid Ullah said. The military said a major was among the soldiers “martyred” during the intelligence-based operation, adding that its forces were going after other militants in the area “to wipe out the menace of terrorism.” Authorities often carry out such operations against the Pakistani Taliban, who are known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. The TTP — an ally of the Afghan Taliban despite being a separate group — has stepped up its assaults in the region since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.”
Yemen
Business Insider: A Familiar-Looking Houthi Torpedo Could Be Derived From Captured US Tech, Analysts Say
“The Houthi rebels in Yemen have a new torpedo to show off — and it looks familiar. The militant group published videos on Sunday and Monday touting its new weapon, named Al Qar'iah, or "Calamity." The Yemeni group is not known for its technical daring, and experts assessing the video saw echoes of captured US weaponry, a naval drone that was taken whole in 2018. Without assessing one in detail, it is impossible to say how the Calamity came to be. But it would be in keeping with other examples of US equipment being reverse-engineered into the arsenals of its foes, especially those tied to Iran. Martin Kelly of the UK advisory firm EOS Risk Group said the torpedo could be derived from a US REMUS 600 drone lost in 2018. Footage the group released around the time the waterborne drone was lost appears to show them seizing it, with names of Western defense companies still visible on its body.”
Middle East
The Washington Post: Israel Orders Baalbek Evacuation As Hezbollah Chief Vows To Fight
“The Israeli military broadened its air campaign in Lebanon on Wednesday, striking the northeastern city of Baalbek after ordering residents to flee, as the new leader of Hezbollah, in his inaugural speech, said the group is prepared to fight “a long war” with Israel. “We are not betting that the war will end tomorrow,” Naim Qassem said in his first televised address since assuming the role Tuesday, replacing his slain predecessor, Hasan Nasrallah. “We are able to continue for days, weeks and months.” His remarks came as chaos was unfolding in Baalbek, an ancient city and UNESCO World Heritage site in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. In the morning, the Israeli military ordered Baalbek’s roughly 80,000 residents to leave, saying in a post on X that the Israel Defense Forces would “act forcefully against Hezbollah interests in your city and villages.””
United Kingdom
Reuters: Former UK Soldier Accused Of Helping Iran Tells Jurors He Is Against Tehran
“A British soldier accused of passing sensitive information to people linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and of then breaking out of prison told jurors on Wednesday that he and his family were opposed to the Iranian government. Daniel Abed Khalife allegedly collected sensitive information between May 2019 and January 2022, prosecutor Mark Heywood told jurors at the start of the trial at London's Woolwich Crown Court. Khalife, who is no longer a member of the British armed forces, is also accused of leaving a fake bomb on a desk and absconding from his barracks in 2023, and then escaping from prison, sparking a brief nationwide manhunt. The 23-year-old is standing trial charged with gathering information that might be useful to an enemy, namely Iran – an offence under the Official Secrets Act. Khalife has denied all the charges.”
Europe
Associated Press: Russian Bomb Hits Residential Building In Ukraine’s 2nd Largest City, Killing 12-Year-Old Boy
“Russian forces struck a residential building in Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv early Thursday, killing a 12-year-old boy and injuring scores of others. Regional head Oleh Syniehubov said the boy was fatally injured when the building was hit by a Russian 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) glide bomb. “He was freed from under the rubble with severe head injuries and fractures,” Syniehubov wrote on his messaging app channel. “Doctors performed resuscitation measures for more than half an hour. Unfortunately, it was not possible to save the child.” Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said that at least 35 people suffered injuries in the attack and others could be still trapped under the rubble, including a missing 15-year-old boy.”
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