CEP Mentions
UnHerd: Are Teenage Terrorists Really On The Rise?
“This week, newly-released Prevent statistics showed that a record 44% of those referred to the anti-radicalisation scheme in the last year were aged under 15. At the same time, Counter Terrorism Police published a joint paper between the Five Eyes Alliance of the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, warning of the “imminent threat to national security” posed by terrorist minors. In subsequent reporting, the two developments have been closely linked — and no doubt the publication of both on the same day was intentional — but the Prevent referral statistics do not support the argument of a teenage terror threat.”
UnHerd: Britain’s Prisons Crisis Goes Deeper Than Starmer Realises
“Thanks to a new National Audit Office report on jail capacity, we now know that prison is awful — but there’s also not enough of it. This paradox sits at the heart of the present overcrowding crisis. The report highlights that the current prison expansion plans are insufficient to meet future demand, projecting a shortage of 12,400 prison places by the end of 2027. The Government’s commitment to provide 20,000 new prison places is significantly delayed and over budget, with completion now expected to take a decade. Let’s not forget that the absurdly optimistic forecasting, brought to you by the Ministry of Justice and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, has resulted in the emergency release of thousands of dangerous prisoners.”
Conservative Home: Ian Acheson: Challenging Labour On Criminal Justice Means Admitting To Fourteen Years Of Destruction
“The news agenda has been quite chewy of late, so not many people will have noticed the publication of The Home Detention Curfew and Requisite and Minimum Custodial Periods (Amendment) Order 2024, slipped out last month. Statutory Orders can be made through delegated authority from primary legislation. What this means with this draft order is that from July next year, the length of time a prisoner is eligible to be released on electronic monitoring before the end of his sentence is doubled from a maximum of 6 months out to a maximum of a year, without the faff of any further debate in Parliament. So what? Well, electronic monitoring or tagging has been used since the late 1990s. It is deployed mainly to manage risky prisoners released on different forms of licence by applying an ankle tag which offenders must wear continuously as a condition of continuing release from jail.”
Spiked: How Usman Khan Slipped Through The Net
“Five years ago, convicted terrorist Usman Khan murdered two young people at an event hosted by the prisoner-rehabilitation scheme, Learning Together, at London Bridge. Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt were both involved in running Learning Together, which was part of the University of Cambridge. They were stabbed to death on 29 November 2019 by the 28-year-old Khan, who was supposedly on community supervision nearly a year after being released from HMP Whitemoor. Khan had taken part in previous publicity for Learning Together, which showcased him as a reformed character, moving on from his terrorist lifestyle. He had been sentenced to prison indefinitely in 2012 for planning a terrorist bomb attack on the London Stock exchange with a group of nine extremists.”
Deutsche Welle: Syrian Rebels Declare Damascus ‘Free From Assad’
“The regime of President Bashar al-Assad has collapsed after a lightning rebel offensive that began less than two weeks ago. The alliance of opposition groups is led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Hans-Jakob Schindler of the Counter Extremism Project talked to DW about support for the rebels among the Syrian public.”
Forskning.no: Who Are The Rebels Controlling Syria?
“The rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded the lightning offensive against the capital, is an Islamist movement that has controlled Syria's northwestern areas for several years… Hans-Jakob Schindler, director of the international research institute Counter Extremism Project (CEP), believes that there is no reason to remove the blacklist. "If you have to ask permission from al-Qaeda's leadership before breaking ties with al-Qaeda, the sincerity of the ideological reorientation is questionable," he told AFP. – There is absolutely no doubt that they should still be listed as a terrorist group, he claims.”
Modern Ghana: Who Is The Leader Of Syrian Islamist Group HTS, And How Is The Region Reacting To Assad's Downfall?
“The Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, led by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, has toppled the regime of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad. The group insists it has renounced its ties to al-Qaeda and that it will respect pluralism and the rights of minorities. Since the downfall of Assad's regime, the Syrian President has reportedly fled the country and been granted asylum in Russia. Meanwhile Israel has seized a buffer zone in the Syrian-controlled area of the Golan Heights… Hans-Jakob Schindler, Senior Director at the Counter Extremism Project, on Syrian Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.”
United States
Politico: US Pounds ISIS Camps In Syria After Assad Flees
“The U.S. carried out a major round of airstrikes on Islamic State targets on Sunday, and warned the terror group against trying to regain strength in the country after rebels took over the government. The operation included “dozens” of airstrikes on over 75 targets involving ISIS operatives and camps using B-52 bombers, F-15 fighter jets and A-10 close-air support attack aircraft “to ensure that ISIS does not seek to take advantage of the current situation to reconstitute in central Syria,” according to a statement from U.S. Central Command. “There should be no doubt — we will not allow ISIS to reconstitute and take advantage of the current situation in Syria,” said Central Command chief Gen. Erik Kurilla, “All organizations in Syria should know that we will hold them accountable if they partner with or support ISIS in any way.””
The Guardian: Trump Pick A Threat To US Military’s Counter-Extremism Effort, Experts Warn
“Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s embattled choice for secretary of defense, will struggle to handle the serious problem of extremism in the US military due to his own far-right political views, experts in the subject have warned. “I think it’s going to be an absolute disaster,” said Kristofer Goldsmith, an Iraq war veteran and the CEO of nonprofit watchdog Task Force Butler. “Pete Hegseth is a domestic extremist.” One of president Joe Biden’s earliest policy initiatives was tackling extremism among government workers, including soldiers in the military. Fresh off January 6, when scores of active duty or former US servicemen were caught participating in trying to overthrow the Capitol, current secretary of defense Loyd Austin issued a historic “stand-down order” in February 2021, demanding all servicemen in every branch of the military reflect on the issue of extremism.”
Syria
Politico: Israeli Military Enters Golan Heights As Netanyahu Warns Off Syrian Militants
“Israel’s military entered a demilitarized buffer zone in the Syrian-controlled Golan Heights on Sunday aiming to head off any threat from the insurgency that has toppled Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated. “We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border,” Netanyahu said. Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), the main Syrian armed opposition group under the command of Abu Mohammad Jolani — who has family roots in the Golan Heights — overran Damascus early Sunday as Assad fled to Russia. HTS emerged from a former al-Qaida affiliate, and while Jolani has distanced himself from the terrorist group and projects modernity, Israel remains on high alert for threats to its security emerging from the chaos in Syria.”
Iran
Reuters: Exclusive: Iran In Direct Contact With Groups In Syria's New Leadership, Iranian Official Says
“Iran has opened a direct line of communication with rebels in Syria's new leadership since its ally Bashar al-Assad was ousted, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday, in an attempt to "prevent a hostile trajectory" between the countries. The lightning advance of a militia alliance spearheaded by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, marked one of the biggest turning points for the Middle East in generations. Assad's fall as president removed a bastion from which Iran and Russia exercised influence across the Arab world. Hours after Assad's fall, Iran said it expected relations with Damascus to continue based on the two countries' "far-sighted and wise approach" and called for the establishment of an inclusive government representing all segments of Syrian society.”
Afghanistan
Forbes: Taliban Targeting The Hazara In Afghanistan Yet Again
“In November 2024, the Guardian, the Centre for Information Resilience’s Afghan Witness project, Lighthouse Reports and the Afghan news outlets Zan Times and Etilaat Roz published the findings of their investigation into the Taliban’s “regeneration program” across Kabul. According to the report, the Taliban began the “redevelopment” in Kabul soon after returning to power in August 2021 and continues to this day. Their analysis of satellite imagery revealed that 1.56 sq km (385 acres) of the city was flattened. While the Taliban claim that such demolitions were part of the “regeneration program” of the area, it now transpires that the Taliban had a brutal impact on the most vulnerable communities, such as minorities or internally displaced people (IDPs).”
Pakistan
Reuters: Six Pakistani Soldiers, 22 Militants Killed In Clashes Near Afghan Border, Army Says
“Six Pakistani soldiers and 22 militants were killed in armed clashes in a northwestern region near the Afghan border on Saturday, the army said, as Islamist fighters increase their attacks on security forces in the area. The firefights took place in three districts after soldiers conducted intelligence-based operations in Waziristan and its adjoining regions, the army statement said. The Pakistan Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), said its fighters had killed the soldiers by storming a security checkpoint. It did not say how many militants had died in the clashes. The TTP has accelerated its attacks in recent months, mostly targeting members of the security forces.”
Lebanon
Reuters: Hezbollah Sent 'Supervising' Forces To Syria's Homs, Sources Say
“Lebanese armed group Hezbollah sent a small number of "supervising forces" from Lebanon to Syria overnight to help prevent anti-government fighters from seizing the strategic city of Homs, two senior Lebanese security sources said on Friday. "Homs must not fall," one of the sources told Reuters, adding that senior officers deployed overnight to oversee some Hezbollah fighters who had been in Syria near the border with Lebanon for years. A Syrian military officer and two regional officials close to Tehran also told Reuters that elite Hezbollah forces had crossed over from Lebanon and taken up positions in Homs. The move reflects the dramatic shakeup in Syria's battlegrounds since Monday, when sources close to the group said Hezbollah was not intending to deploy to Syria for now.”
Middle East
Reuters: Israel Says It Will Destroy Syria's Heavy Strategic Weaponry
“Israel will step up airstrikes on Syrian stores of advanced weaponry, Israeli officials said on Monday, and keep a 'limited' troop presence on the ground, hoping to head off any threat that could emerge in the fallout of president Bashar al-Assad's overthrow. Israel has watched the upheaval in Syria with a mixture of hope and concern as it weighs the consequences of one of the most significant strategic shifts in the Middle East in years. While Assad's fall wiped out a bastion from which Israel's arch-foe Iran had exercised influence in the region, the lightning advance of a disparate group of rebel forces with roots in the Islamist ideology of Al Qaeda poses risks.”
Associated Press: Middle East Latest: Israeli Strikes Hit Gaza And Also Target Suspected Weapons Sites In Syria
“Israeli strikes killed at least six people in the central Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical officials said Monday, while also hitting suspected chemical and long-range weapons sites in Syria to keep them from rebels who seized Damascus. The U.N. Security Council plans to hold emergency closed consultations on Syria later Monday at the request of Russia, which on Monday said it granted asylum to its longtime ally Syrian leader Bashar Assad. Russian President Vladimir Putin personally made the decision to offer asylum to Assad, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Peskov wouldn’t comment on Assad’s specific whereabouts and said that Putin wasn’t planning to meet with him.”
Associated Press: Gaza Health Officials Say Latest Israeli Airstrikes Kill At Least 14 Including Children
“Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza killed at least 14 people including children Sunday, Palestinian health officials said, while the bombing of a hospital in northern Gaza wounded a half-dozen patients. Israel’s military continues its latest offensive against Hamas militants in northern Gaza, whose remaining Palestinians have been almost completely cut off from the rest of the territory amid a growing humanitarian crisis. One airstrike flattened a residential building in the urban Bureij refugee camp Sunday afternoon, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the nearby city of Deir al-Balah, where the casualties were taken. At least nine people were killed including six children and a woman. An Associated Press journalist saw the bodies at the hospital’s morgue.”
United Kingdom
The Guardian: Politicians’ ‘Inflammatory Language’ Part Of Failure To Tackle Extremism, UK Report Finds
“Politicians have been criticised for using “inflammatory language” and peddling conspiracy theories in a report that finds government policies are failing to prevent extremism spreading and taking root in the UK. The report from Dame Sara Khan, a former counter-extremism commissioner, urges a “radical rethink” of how ministers tackle extremism amid a “chronic risk of democratic decline” due to conspiracy theories, worsening social cohesion and other threats. Anger and grievances about the cost of living crisis as well as growing polarisation were among factors linked in the report to decreasing societal and democratic resilience in Britain.”
BBC: UK To Make Swift Decision On Banned Syria Group HTS, Says Minister
“The UK government will consider if Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham should still be designated a terrorist organisation after the rebels led the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, said a minister. Pat McFadden told the BBC the situation in the country was "very fluid" and if it stabilised any change in the ban would be a "relatively swift decision". Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is proscribed as a terror organisation by the UK because of its past association with al-Qaeda. It comes after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the end of the rule of al-Assad, who was overthrown and fled Syria on Sunday. HTS and allied rebel factions seized control of the Syrian capital Damascus on Sunday.”
Australia
CBS: Australia Synagogue Fire "Likely A Terrorist Incident," Police Say As They Seek Suspects In Melbourne Arson
“Australian police said Monday they are hunting for three suspects over an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue, designating it a terrorist act. Mask-wearing attackers set the Adass Israel Synagogue ablaze before dawn on Friday, police said, gutting much of the building. Some congregants were inside the single-story building at the time but no serious injuries were reported. The fire sparked international condemnation, including from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Police have "three suspects in that matter, who we are pursuing," Victorian police chief commissioner Shane Patton told a news conference. Investigations over the weekend had made "significant progress," Patton said, declining to provide further details of the operation.”
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