“Iran will send missiles, drones and more advisers to Syria, a senior Iranian
official said on Friday, as rebel forces pushed their lightning offensive south
towards the city of Homs in the biggest challenge for years to President Bashar
al-Assad's rule. Seizing Homs would cut off Syria's capital Damascus from the
coast, a longtime redoubt of Assad's minority Alawite sect and where his
Russian allies have a naval base and air base. After years locked behind frozen
front lines, the insurgents have burst out of their northwestern Idlib bastion
to achieve the swiftest battlefield advance by either side since a street
uprising against Assad mushroomed into civil war 13 years ago. Assad regained
control of most of Syria after his key allies - Russia, Iran and Lebanon's
Hezbollah group - came to his support. But all have recently been diverted by
other crises, giving Syrian Sunni Muslim militants a window to fight back.”











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Eye on Extremism



December 6, 2024



Reuters: Iran, Hezbollah Aim To Bolster Assad As Rebels Bear Down On Homs
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“Iran will send missiles, drones and more advisers to Syria, a senior Iranian
official said on Friday, as rebel forces pushed their lightning offensive south
towards the city of Homs in the biggest challenge for years to President Bashar
al-Assad's rule. Seizing Homs would cut off Syria's capital Damascus from the
coast, a longtime redoubt of Assad's minority Alawite sect and where his
Russian allies have a naval base and air base. After years locked behind frozen
front lines, the insurgents have burst out of their northwestern Idlib bastion
to achieve the swiftest battlefield advance by either side since a street
uprising against Assad mushroomed into civil war 13 years ago. Assad regained
control of most of Syria after his key allies - Russia, Iran and Lebanon's
Hezbollah group - came to his support. But all have recently been diverted by
other crises, giving Syrian Sunni Muslim militants a window to fight back.”



Associated Press: Syrian Insurgents Enter 2 Central Towns, Bringing Them Close
To The City Of Homs
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“Syrian insurgents entered two central towns early Friday just north of the
central city of Homs, bringing them closer Syria’s third largest city, an
opposition war monitor and pro-government media both reported. The break into
Rastan and Talbiseh came a day after opposition gunmen captured the central
city of Hama, Syria’s fourth largest, after the Syrian army said it withdrew to
avoid fighting inside the city and spare the lives of civilians. The
insurgents, led by the jihadi Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, have said
that they will march to Homs and Damascus, President Bashar Assad’s seat of
power. The city of Homs, parts of which were controlled by insurgents until
2014, is a major intersection point between the capital, Damascus, and Syria’s
coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus where Assad enjoys wide support.”




Recent CEP Press Releases

*
Antisemitic Violence Instigated by Pro-Palestinian Protestors in Amsterdam
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Statement on the Death of Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar
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One Year After October 7
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CEP Report: Civilian Counterterrorism Militias Take Action, Introduce New
Challenges To Combatting Violent Extremism In Africa
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Counter Extremism Project Statement Marking 9/11
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CEP Mentions



Talk TV: ‘Prevent’ & Children: Kids Make Up 53% Of Referrals To
Counter-Extremism Programme <[link removed]>



“EXCLUSIVE: Over half of all counter extremism referrals are children. Counter
terrorism expert Liam Duffy: "Very few of those referrals will go on to be
channel cases... Prevent was turning into a bit of a clearing house, where any
kind of vulnerability is referred."”



United States



The Washington Post: Trump Could Hobble Renewed Fight Against Domestic
Terrorism, Analysts Warn
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“After more than two decades of prioritizing efforts to combat militant
Islamist groups, U.S. counterterrorism programs have slowly shifted their focus
in recent years to a domestic threat the FBI has said is deadlier and more
active: violent far-right movements. But that pivot is likely to halt when
President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month, according to analysts and
former national security officials. Based on campaign promises and Trump’s
first-term record, analysts foresee a rollback of initiatives aimed at curbing
violent extremism, especially among right-wing movements. Among the
predictions: a slashing of domestic terrorism resources, White House pressure
to investigate what Trump terms “the radical left” and cuts to programs aimed
at the prevention of radicalization.”



Syria



Reuters: Abu Mohammed Al-Golani: The Leader Of Syrian Hts Rebels Steering
Shock Offensive
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“As the commander of al Qaeda's franchise in the Syrian civil war, Abu
Mohammed al-Golani was a shadowy figure who kept out of the public eye, even
when his group became the most powerful faction fighting President Bashar
al-Assad. Today, he is Syria's most recognisable insurgent, having gradually
stepped into the limelight since severing ties to al Qaeda in 2016, rebranding
his group and emerging as the de facto ruler of rebel-held northwestern Syria.
The transformation has been showcased since rebels led by Golani's Hayat Tahrir
al-Sham (HTS), formerly known as the Nusra Front, captured Aleppo last week,
with Golani featuring prominently and sending messages aimed at reassuring
Syrian minorities who have long feared the jihadists.”



Reuters: Syrian Rebels Capture Key City Of Hama In Fresh Blow To Assad
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“Syrian rebels captured the city of Hama on Thursday, a major victory in a
week-old lightning advance across northern Syria and a devastating new blow to
President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian and Iranian allies. After years
locked behind frozen frontlines, the rebels have burst forth to mount the
swiftest battlefield advance by either side since a rebellion against Assad
descended into civil war 13 years ago. The capture of Hama gives them control
of a strategic central city they never managed to seize before. The Syrian army
said it was redeploying outside the city "to preserve civilian lives and
prevent urban combat" after what it called intense clashes. Rebels were seen on
television parading through Hama into the evening to the sound of celebratory
gunfire. Other footage showed detainees pouring out of the city prison after
rebels freed them.”



Iran



Associated Press: Iran Says It Conducted A Successful Space Launch In A
Program Long Criticized By West
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“Iran said Friday it conducted a successful space launch, the latest for its
program the West alleges improves Tehran’s ballistic missile program. Iran
conducted the launch using its Simorgh program, a satellite-carrying rocket
that had had a series of failed launches, at Iran’s Imam Khomeini Spaceport in
rural Semnan province. That’s the site of Iran’s civilian space program. The
Simorgh carried what Iran described as an “orbital propulsion system,” as well
as two research systems to a 400-kilometer (250-mile) orbit above the Earth. A
system that could change the orbit of a spacecraft would allow Iran to
geo-synchronize the orbits of its satellites. Tehran has long sought that
ability. Iran also put the payload of the Simorgh at 300 kilograms (660
pounds), heavier than its previous successful launches.”



Iraq



Reuters: War-Weary Iraq Weighs Syria Intervention As Rebels Advance
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“Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim ruling parties and armed groups are weighing the pros
and cons of armed intervention in Syria, viewing as a grave threat the advance
of Sunni Islamist rebels who have taken two Syrian cities and now bear down on
a third. Baghdad has a dark history with Syria-based Sunni fighters, thousands
of whom crossed into Iraq after the 2003 U.S. invasion and fuelled years of
sectarian killing before returning again in 2013 as Islamic State to conquer a
third of the country. The Syrian rebels advancing in Syria today, led by Hayat
Tahrir al-Sham, have disavowed Al Qaeda and IS and say they have no ambitions
in Iraq, but ruling factions have little trust in those assertions.”



Pakistan



Reuters: Pakistan's Jailed Former PM Imran Khan Threatens Civil Disobedience
Movement
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“Pakistan's jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan has called on his
supporters to hold a rally next week and threatened to start a civil
disobedience movement days after his party led a deadly protest march in
Islamabad In a post on X on Thursday, Khan asked supporters to converge on Dec.
13 in the northwestern city of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
province which is ruled by his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. He
demanded a judicial probe into the crackdown on the Nov 25 protest march which
he said killed at least 12 of his supporters and violence on May 9 last year
which killed 8. All arrested political workers should also be released, he
said. "If these two demands are not met, a civil disobedience movement will
start from December 14, and the government will be held responsible for any
consequences," Khan said.”



Middle East



NBC News: Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Offers A Fragile Peace Some Fear Won't Be
Enough
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“The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah appeared on the verge
of collapse this week — something that is not a surprise to many Israelis. Both
sides accused the other of violating last week’s ceasefire arrangement. On
Monday night, Israeli strikes on two southern Lebanese villages killed at least
10 people, Lebanon’s Public Health Ministry said. That was a response to an
earlier Hezbollah attack on Israeli military positions in the disputed Shebaa
Farms, which itself was in retaliation for what the militant group said were
multiple ceasefire violations.”



Associated Press: Hamas Official Says Gaza Ceasefire Talks Have Resumed After
Weekslong Hiatus
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“A Hamas official said Thursday that international mediators have resumed
negotiating with the militant group and Israel over a ceasefire in Gaza, and
that he was hopeful a deal to end the 14-month war was within reach. Ceasefire
negotiations were halted last month when Qatar suspended talks with mediators
from Egypt and the United States because of frustration over a lack of progress
between Israel and Hamas. But there has been a “reactivation” of efforts in
recent days to end the fighting, release hostages from Gaza and free
Palestinian prisoners in Israel, according to Bassem Naim, an official in
Hamas’ political bureau who spoke with The Associated Press in Turkey.”



Associated Press: Ailing Kids Wait Months For Israeli Permission To Leave Gaza
For Treatment. Some Die In The Meantime
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“The 12-year-old Palestinian boy was lying in a hospital bed in central Gaza,
wracked with leukemia, malnourished and whimpering in pain despite the morphine
doctors were giving him, when Rosalia Bollen, a UNICEF official, said she saw
him in late October. Islam al-Rayahen’s family had asked Israeli authorities
six times over the past months for permission to evacuate him from Gaza for a
desperately needed stem cell transplant, Bollen said. Six times, the request
was refused for unexplained security reasons, she said. Islam died three days
after she saw him, Bollen said.” Thousands of patients in Gaza are waiting for
Israeli permission for urgently needed medical evacuation from Gaza for
treatment of war wounds or chronic diseases they can’t get after the
destruction of much of the territory’s health care system by Israel’s 15-month
military campaign.



United Kingdom



Reuters: Two Men Charged Over Attack On British-Iranian Journalist
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“British prosecutors said on Thursday they had authorised charges to be
brought against two Romanian men over the stabbing of a journalist working for
a Persian language media organisation in London in March. Pouria Zeraati, a
British-Iranian journalist who works for Iran International, sustained leg
injuries after being stabbed near his home in Wimbledon, southwest London.
Counter-terrorism police have led the investigation into the attack over
concerns he had been targeted because of his job at the Persian language
television news network, which is critical of Iran's government. Britain's
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Nandito Badea, 19, and George Stana, 23,
had been arrested in Romania on Wednesday and charged with wounding with intent
to cause grievous bodily harm, and wounding.”



Germany



Politico: Terror Attack On Bavarian Christmas Market Foiled By Police
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“German authorities foiled a potential terror attack on a Christmas market in
Bavaria after a tip-off from a foreign intelligence agency. The 37-year-old
suspect from Iraq was arrested on Wednesday evening in shared accommodation for
asylum-seekers in Augsburg, German newspaper Welt reported. A spokesperson for
the Bavarian police confirmed the arrest Friday morning. Welt, a sister
publication of POLITICO in the Axel Springer Group, cited sources saying the
suspect had disseminated posts on social media glorifying Islamic State (IS)
and photographed the Christmas market in Augsburg. He allegedly talked about
wanting to drive a car through the market, according to the report.”



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