“Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen’s main airport as a civilian Airbus 320 with
hundreds of passengers on board was landing and a U.N. delegation was waiting
to leave, the U.N.'s top humanitarian official in Yemen said Friday. Julien
Harneis told U.N. reporters that the most frightening thing about the two
airstrikes on Thursday wasn’t their effect on him and about 15 others in the
VIP lounge at the international airport in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, including
the head of the U.N. World Health Organization. Rather, it was the destruction
of the airport control tower as a Yemenia Airways plane was taxiing in after
touching down.”











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Eye on Extremism



December 30, 2024



Associated Press: Israeli Airstrikes Hit A Yemen Airport As A Jet With
Hundreds Onboard Was Landing, UN Official Says
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“Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen’s main airport as a civilian Airbus 320 with
hundreds of passengers on board was landing and a U.N. delegation was waiting
to leave, the U.N.'s top humanitarian official in Yemen said Friday. Julien
Harneis told U.N. reporters that the most frightening thing about the two
airstrikes on Thursday wasn’t their effect on him and about 15 others in the
VIP lounge at the international airport in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, including
the head of the U.N. World Health Organization. Rather, it was the destruction
of the airport control tower as a Yemenia Airways plane was taxiing in after
touching down.”



BBC: New Elections Could Take Up To Four Years, Syria Rebel Leader Says
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“Holding new elections in Syria could take up to four years, rebel leader
Ahmed al-Sharaa has said in a broadcast interview. This is the first time he
has given a timeline for possible elections in Syria since his group Hayat
Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led a rebel offensive that ousted former President Bashar
al-Assad. In the interview with Saudi state broadcaster Al Arabiya on Sunday,
he said drafting a new constitution could take up to three years. He said it
could also be a year before Syrians begin to see significant change and
improvements to public services following the overthrow of the Assad regime.
Sharaa said Syria needed to rebuild its legal system and would have to hold a
comprehensive population census to run legitimate elections.”




CEP Expert Analysis

*
ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency In October 2024
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ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency In September 2024
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CEP Report: Civilian Counterterrorism Militias Take Action, Introduce New
Challenges to Combatting Violent Extremism in Africa
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CEP Policy Brief: Identifying and Disrupting Key Antisemitic Actors
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Extremist Content Online: Extreme Right Celebrates Anti-Muslim Immigration
Riots on Telegram and X
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CEP Mentions



Daily Mail: Revealed... The Criminals Trying To Get Into Jail! Gang Members
Attempt To Secure Prison Jobs So They Can Smuggle In Drugs, Experts Warn
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“... Professor Ian Acheson, senior adviser to the Counter Extremism Project,
said: 'This is the first time I have seen the insider threat explicitly
acknowledged by HM Prison Service, albeit you have to really hunt to find the
admission.' The former prison governor said that as well as the threat from
organised crime gangs, it is also likely that terrorist groups will try to
infiltrate prisons with 'clean skin' staff who are not known to police or the
security services. But he went on: 'The rampant and out-of-control drugs
economy in our prisons is too big to fail. 'So I think this figure reflects
efforts being made by those in criminal control of a lucrative trade with a
literally captive market to outwit ineffectual supply controls.'”



Tovima.com: Magdeburg: A Tragedy Rooted In Ideology And Paranoia
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“In their methods, all terrorists share a common goal: to spread fear and
terror through violence against innocents, taking as many lives as possible.
Mass media play a crucial role in this, broadcasting the images of horror
worldwide—along with any potential political messages… The Magdeburg terror
attack also poses challenges to researchers studying violent extremism.
According to German terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler, the case
demonstrates that alongside the classic categories of Islamic extremism,
right-wing extremism, and left-wing extremism, there is now a new category:
individuals who create their own ideological, personalized narratives.”



South America



Associated Press: Venezuela Accuses An Argentine Officer Of Terrorism As
Relations Deteriorate
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“An Argentine military officer who was arrested in Venezuela earlier this
month has been charged with terrorism, Venezuela’s attorney general said
Friday. In a statement published on Instagram, Attorney General Tarek William
Saab accused the officer, Nahuel Gallo, of “being part of a group of people who
tried to commit destabilizing and terrorist acts (in Venezuela) with the
support of international far-right groups.” In a press conference on Friday,
Argentine Security Minister Patricia Bullrich described the charges as “another
lie” by Venezuela’s government, and said that Gallo should be returned to
Argentina “immediately.” The case has ramped up tensions between Venezuela’s
socialist government and the right-wing administration of Argentine President
Javier Milei, whose embassy in Caracas is currently sheltering five
high-profile opposition activists and is surrounded by Venezuelan security
forces.”



Syria



Associated Press: Relatives Of Bashar Assad Arrested As They Tried To Fly Out
Of Lebanon, Officials Say
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“The wife and daughter of one of deposed Syrian president Bashar Assad ’s
cousins were arrested Friday at the Beirut airport, where they attempted to fly
out with allegedly forged passports, Lebanese judicial and security officials
said. Assad’s uncle departed the day before. Rasha Khazem, the wife of Duraid
Assad — the son of former Syrian Vice President Rifaat Assad, the uncle of
Bashar Assad — and their daughter, Shams, were smuggled illegally into Lebanon
and were trying to fly to Egypt when they were arrested, according to five
Lebanese officials familiar with the case. They were being detained by Lebanese
General Security. Rifaat had flown out the day before on his real passport and
was not stopped, the officials said.”



NPR: Syria's U.S.-Backed Kurdish Coalition Faces An Uncertain Future After
Assad's Ouster
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“In the aftermath of Bashar al-Assad's ouster, Syria remains territorially
fractured as the rebels who defeated Assad work to consolidate power. The
country's uncertain future has raised questions about the fate of the
U.S.-backed Kurdish coalition known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). This
week, Syria's new leadership took steps to dissolve the different rebel
factions and unite them under the new Syrian army. But the SDF did not join in.
In a statement, SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami said the group wasn't opposed to
joining the Syrian military in principle, but that the matter required
negotiations with Damascus. The realities of the new Syria, however, have left
the SDF with few options to maintain its status quo.”



Iran



Associated Press: A Suicide Bomber Kills A Police Officer And Wounds Another
In Southern Iran
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“A suicide bomber killed a local police officer and wounded another in a
southern Iranian port city, home to a large Sunni Muslim community, local media
said Sunday. The hard-line Javan Daily, a newspaper close to the country’s
powerful Revolutionary Guard, said the attacker stopped Capt. Mojtaba Shahid’s
car Saturday evening in Bandar Lengeh in the province of Hormozgan before
detonating his vest. Shahid’s deputy, who was also in the car, has been
hospitalized in critical condition, the paper reported, describing the attack
as an act of terrorism. The city, some 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of
the capital Tehran, has no recent history of militancy.”



The New York Times: Italian Journalist Is Detained While Reporting In Iran
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“A prominent Italian journalist was arrested in Iran and jailed in the
country’s infamous Evin prison after spending days reporting in Tehran, Italian
officials said. Italy’s foreign ministry said the journalist, Cecilia Sala, 29,
was arrested on Dec. 19, but news of her arrest and detention only became
public on Friday. The reason for the arrest of Ms. Sala, one of Italy’s most
renowned foreign correspondents, has not yet been made public. Ms. Sala, a
writer and a podcaster, had published reports from Tehran since Dec. 13,
describing how the country had changed over the past tumultuous year as
military conflict roiled the region and Iran ushered in new leadership with its
president, Masoud Pezeshkian, taking office in July.”



Turkey



Reuters: Turkey Ready To Supply Power To Syria And Lebanon, Energy Minister
Says
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“Turkey is ready to supply electricity to Syria and Lebanon and a team of
government officials is already in Syria working on how to resolve its energy
issues, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said. Turkey, which backed
rebels in neighbouring Syria who toppled Bashar al-Assad this month after a
13-year civil war, has reopened its embassy in Damascus and already conducted
high level contacts with new de-facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. "Maybe the
electricity that Syria and Lebanon need will initially be met by exporting it
from Turkey, and of course we can see the picture a little more after seeing
the situation in the transmission network," Bayraktar told reporters in
Turkey's southeastern city of Sanliurfa. The ministry delegation arrived in
Damascus on Saturday and, according to Bayraktar's previous comments, was going
to discuss possible energy cooperation including transmitting electricity to
ease power shortages.”



Afghanistan



Voice Of America: Taliban Hint At Shielding Anti-Pakistan Militants In
Afghanistan As 'Guests'
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“A senior Taliban leader in Afghanistan has indicated that they will continue
to provide refuge to anti-Pakistan militants, describing them as "guests" under
the country's traditions. Taliban Information Minister Khairullah Khairkhwa
made the rare remarks just days after the Pakistani military reportedly
conducted airstrikes against suspected terrorist locations in an eastern Afghan
border province. The Taliban claimed that Tuesday's attack in Paktika resulted
in the deaths of nearly 50 civilians, predominantly refugees from Pakistan.
While the claims could not be verified from independent sources, the United
Nations said that it had "received credible reports" from the remote Afghan
province that dozens of civilians, including women and children, were killed in
the Pakistani airstrikes.”



Yemen



BBC: Houthis Vow To Continue Attacking Israel Despite Strikes On Yemen
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“A Houthi political official says the group will continue attacking Israel in
solidarity with the Palestinians despite the escalating Israeli air strikes in
Yemen. Mohammed al-Bukhaiti told the BBC that the Houthis would "escalate our
military targeting of Israel" until it stopped what he described as "the
genocide in Gaza". On Thursday, Israeli warplanes struck the international
airport in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and ports and power stations on the Red Sea
coast, killing at least four people. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
warned that its response to more than a year of missile and drone attacks by
the Iran-backed group was "just getting started". Overnight, the Houthis
launched another ballistic missile at Israel, which the Israeli military said
was intercepted before it reached Israeli territory.”



Lebanon



Reuters: Lebanon’s Economy Reels From War: ‘We Are Starting From Zero’
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“Weeks after Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, Hasan Raad went from a decent job
and a comfortable life to unemployment and displacement. The 28-year-old
content creator had finished building his production studio in the capital,
Beirut, and was saving to buy a secondhand Mustang convertible. As war
enveloped the country, he began using his savings to help friends and family
and for donating to the displaced. He could not get into his studio for weeks,
and his clients, including celebrities, furniture brands and restaurants, dried
up. Then, an Israeli airstrike hit his family’s apartment building south of
Beirut, leaving them homeless. “We came out of this war with nothing,” Mr. Raad
said on a recent afternoon while sitting near the crumbled home. “We are
starting from zero.””



Middle East



The Washington Post: Israel Prepares For A New Battlefront Against The Houthis
In Yemen
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“Israel is preparing to fight along a new front against Houthi militants in
Yemen, striking back at the group for its drone and missile attacks and
signaling a potential lengthy campaign that would take the battle far from
Israel’s borders. The Houthi movement, which controls parts of Yemen and is
backed by Iran, was once considered by Israel’s security establishment to be a
more manageable threat than Hamas in Gaza or Hezbollah in Lebanon. The group
attacked Israel soon after the Hamas-led assault on Israeli communities on Oct.
7, 2023. Since then, the Houthis have fired on or intercepted commercial and
naval vessels transiting the Red Sea. In recent weeks, they have also stepped
up their attacks on Israel, sending missiles flying toward Israeli cities, most
of which were intercepted but forced millions of people to rush to bomb
shelters on a near-nightly basis.”



The New York Times: Israel Bombs Yemeni Airport And Ports After Houthi Missile
Launches
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“The Israeli military on Thursday unleashed a significant air assault on
parts of Yemen controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia in retaliation
for the group’s missile attacks against Israel, striking back at an adversary
more than a thousand miles away. The Israeli assault comes after a week of the
Houthis’ near-nightly launches of ballistic missiles and drones against Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously telegraphed Israel’s aim against
its foes in the region, saying on Wednesday of Iran’s proxies and the recently
toppled government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria: “The Houthis, too, will learn
what Hamas, Hezbollah, the Assad regime and others have learned. And even if it
takes time, this lesson will be understood across the Middle East.” On Thursday
after the Israeli strikes, Mr. Netanyahu said in an interview with an Israeli
TV station of the Houthis: “We are just getting started with them.””



Somalia



The Guardian: UN Authorises New Mission Against Al-Shabaab In Somalia
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“The UN has authorised a new African peacekeeping mission to continue
supporting Somalia in its fight against al-Shabaab, the insurgent group
affiliated with al-Qaida, but there are doubts about whether troops from
neighbouring Ethiopia will remain part of the deployment. The UN security
council adopted a resolution on Friday allowing the deployment of up to 12,626
personnel to support the Somali government’s nearly two decades-long fight
against al-Shabaab. The existing peacekeeping force, known as the African Union
transition mission in Somalia (Atmis), whose mandate ends at the end of this
year, will be replaced by the leaner African Union support and stabilization
mission in Somalia (Aussom).”



Africa



Reuters: At Least 71 Killed In Ethiopia Road Accident
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“At least 71 people died in Ethiopia when a truck packed with passengers
plunged into a river, according to the spokesperson for the southern Sidama
regional government and a statement.

The accident occurred in the Bona district, the regional communication bureau
said in a statement issued late on Sunday. Wosenyeleh Simion, spokesperson for
the Sidama regional government, told Reuters on Monday at least 71 people had
died, including 68 males and 3 females. "Five are in a critical condition and
taking treatment at Bona General Hospital," he said. In a statement late on
Sunday the regional communication bureau had given the death toll as 60.
Wosenyeleh said the truck had missed a bridge and fell into a river and that
the road had many bends. Some of the passengers were returning from a wedding
ceremony and some families had lost multiple members, he said, adding traffic
police in the region had reported the truck was overloaded, which likely caused
the accident.”



Germany



The New York Times: Musk Doubles Down On Support For German Far-Right Party
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“Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a close adviser to President-elect
Donald J. Trump, shocked many in Germany last week by endorsing its far-right
Alternative for Germany party, which is under surveillance by domestic
intelligence for being extremist. This week, Mr. Musk entangled himself even
more in the country’s snap election, explaining in a newspaper opinion essay
why he believes the far-right party is the “last spark of hope” for Germany.
“The traditional parties have failed in Germany,” Mr. Musk wrote in comments
published online by the daily Welt on Saturday. “Their policies have led to
economic stagnation, social unrest, and the erosion of national identity.””



Southeast Asia



Voice Of America: Extremist Groups Harass Kashmiri Vendors In Northern India
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“Nomadic shawl vendors from the Indian side of Kashmir told VOA Friday that
extremist Hindu groups have been harassing, threatening and obstructing them
from selling their goods in Himachal Pradesh, a northern Indian state. Hindu
groups claim that the local shopkeepers lose business when nomadic vendors sell
their wares nearby. Sandeep Dhawal, police superintendent in the Bilaspur
district, quoted in Friday’s edition of the Indian Express, a leading Indian
newspaper, acknowledged that more than a dozen shawl vendors filed a complaint
at the Ghumarwin police station. Dhawal said a similar dispute arose last year
between Kashmiri hawkers and local shopkeepers, who claimed financial losses
because of the vendors.”



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