Eye on Extremism
January 9, 2025
The Washington Post: Strikes, Raids In West Bank Follow Hamas Killing Of Three Israeli Settlers
“Three Palestinians were killed, including two children, in an Israeli airstrike in the West Bank on Wednesday, Palestinian officials said, as arrests, raids and strikes continued across the occupied territory in the wake of an attack that killed three Israelis on Monday. Late Wednesday, the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, claimed responsibility for the Monday attack in a statement on Telegram. Two boys, alongside an older relative, were killed in a drone strike in the town of Tamun, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. It identified the boys as Rida Bisharat, 9, and Hamza Bisharat, 10. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called the attack that killed them a “heinous crime.””
NBC News: U.S. In Talks With Taliban For Release Of Americans Held In Afghanistan, Source Says
“The Biden administration has been in talks with the Taliban to exchange Americans detained in Afghanistan for Afghans in U.S. custody, a senior Taliban leader with direct knowledge of the negotiations told NBC News on Wednesday. The Taliban leader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly, said the two sides had been negotiating for the past two years but had so far failed to reach a deal. He said the Taliban had demanded three Afghan nationals, including Muhammad Rahim, the only Afghan prisoner left at Guantánamo Bay, a detention site in Cuba for the mostly Muslim men taken into custody around the world in the U.S. “war on terror.””
CEP Mentions
Barron’s: UK Sanctions 'Extreme Right-Wing' Blood And Honour Group
“... The group emerged in England in 1987 from the skinhead music scene, according to The Counter Extremism Project (CEP), a non-profit policy organisation working to combat extremist ideologies. Founded by Ian Stuart Donaldson, who died in a 1993 car crash, it has since spread across Europe, Russia, Australia, and North America, the CEP noted. Right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who carried out Norway's deadliest peacetime attack when he killed 77 people in 2011, told a court there in 2022 he was merely a "foot soldier" for the Blood and Honour movement. Canada designated it and its violent offshoot Combat 18 as terrorist groups in 2019, while several European countries have banned them.”
Merkur.de: Special Funds For The Fight Against Is In Germany? Expert Goes Even Further With Demand
“... Terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler from the Counter Extremism Project also sees a growing danger from IS terror for Europe and Germany . However, a special fund alone will not provide a solution, Schindler warned in an interview with the Münchner Merkur . "Money alone is not a solution. The legal basis must first be created, only then can the money from a special fund be used effectively," said Schindler. Above all, the online powers of the security authorities need to be modernized, says the expert: "This involves data retention, IP data storage independent of the reason and, above all, the evaluation of mass data from social media using AI."”
The New Arab: UK Sanctions 'Extreme Right-Wing' Blood And Honour Group
“Britain on Wednesday froze the assets of international neo-Nazi group Blood and Honour, the first use of the UK's counter-terrorism sanctions to target a far-right entity. The finance ministry said it had "reasonable grounds" to suspect that Blood and Honour was "promoting and encouraging terrorism, seeking to recruit people for that purpose and making funds available" for terror activities… The group emerged in England in 1987 from the skinhead music scene, according to The Counter Extremism Project (CEP), a non-profit policy organisation working to combat extremist ideologies. Founded by Ian Stuart Donaldson, who died in a 1993 car crash, it has since spread across Europe, Russia, Australia, and North America, the CEP noted.”
United States
The Guardian: British IS Members In Syria Should Be Allowed Home, Says Trump’s Counter-Terror Pick
“British nationals being held in Syrian prison camps for fighting on behalf of Islamic State should be allowed to return to the UK, Donald Trump’s incoming counter-terrorism chief has said. Any country that wants to be a “serious ally” to the United States should commit to the international fight against the extremist group by repatriating its citizens, according to Sebastian Gorka. He declared that this applies “doubly” to Britain and suggested the move would help to cement the transatlantic “special relationship” under the second Trump presidency. In an interview with the Times, when asked if the UK should be forced to accept IS members back, Gorka said: “Any nation which wishes to be seen to be a serious ally and friend of the most powerful nation in the world should act in a fashion that reflects that serious commitment.”
Fox News: US Strikes Underground Houthi Weapons Depots Used To Hit American Ships
“The U.S. military on Wednesday said its forces struck weapons depots used by the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist group in Yemen to target naval warships and merchant vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. "U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted multiple precision strikes against two Iranian-backed Houthi underground Advanced Conventional Weapon (ACW) storage facilities within Houthi-controlled territories of Yemen," CENTCOM said in a statement. The military command confirmed there were no injuries to U.S. personnel and no U.S. equipment was damaged in the strike. It did not confirm whether any Houthi terrorists were killed or injured in the attack.”
Syria
Associated Press: US Troops Need To Stay In Syria To Counter The Islamic State Group, Austin Says
“The U.S. needs to keep troops deployed in Syria to prevent the Islamic State group from reconstituting as a major threat following the ouster of Bashar Assad’s government, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told The Associated Press. American forces are still needed there, particularly to ensure the security of detention camps holding tens of thousands of former IS fighters and family members, Austin said Wednesday in one of his final interviews before he leaves office. According to estimates, there are as many as 8,000-10,000 IS fighters in the camps, and at least 2,000 of them are considered to be very dangerous.”
Afghanistan
Reuters: Taliban Say India Is A 'Significant Regional Partner' After Meeting
“The Taliban's foreign office said they saw India as a "significant regional and economic partner" after meeting with its most senior foreign ministry official, the highest level talks with Delhi since their takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met acting Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai on Wednesday. Afghanistan's foreign ministry said in a statement that they had discussed expanding relations with Afghanistan and to boost trade through Chabahar Port in Iran, which India has been developing for goods to bypass the ports of Karachi and Gwadar in its rival Pakistan. "In line with Afghanistan's balanced and economy-focused foreign policy, the Islamic Emirate aims to strengthen political and economic ties with India as a significant regional and economic partner," the statement from Afghanistan's foreign ministry said late on Wednesday.”
Pakistan
Associated Press: Separatists Attack A Government Office And Burn A Police Station In Restive Southwest Pakistan
“Dozens of armed Baloch separatists seized a government office, robbed a bank and partially burned a police station in a remote district in southwestern Pakistan before fleeing when security forces arrived, police said Thursday. The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack Wednesday in Khuzdar in Balochistan, where analysts say separatists are becoming as large a threat to national security as the Pakistani Taliban. There were no casualties in the attack, authorities said. Suhail Khalid, a local police officer, said the insurgents fled when security forces arrived and the situation was under control. In recent months, Balochistan and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have experienced a surge in militant violence, most blamed on the Baloch army and the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.”
Lebanon
Bloomberg: Lebanon Seeks To Elect First President Since 2022 In Wake Of War
“Lebanese lawmakers will attempt to elect a first president in more than two years this week, with army commander Joseph Aoun one of the two main candidates to lead a country battered by months of war. Aoun, who has the backing of the US due to Washington’s support for the Lebanese military, will be challenged by International Monetary Fund Middle East Director Jihad Azour, a former finance minister. The winner will need the votes of roughly two-thirds of parliament to lead the nation, with choosing a president key to reconstruction efforts and enacting reforms needed to recover from an economic crisis. The election scheduled for Thursday is Lebanon’s latest bid to elect a leader after several failed attempts since Michel Aoun, no relation of Joseph, stepped down at the end of his term in 2022.”
Middle East
Reuters: Hamas Armed Wing Claims Responsibility For Monday West Bank Shooting, Statement Says
“Hamas' armed wing al-Qassam Brigades, along with two other brigades, claimed on Wednesday the responsibility for the West Bank shooting that happened on Monday and killed three Israelis.”
BBC: Israeli Military Says Body Of Bedouin Hostage Found In Gaza
“The Israeli military says its troops have found the body of a Bedouin Arab hostage held by Hamas in Gaza, as well as evidence that suggests another may also be dead. The body of Yousef Zyadna, 53, was recovered from an underground tunnel in the southern Rafah area on Tuesday. The troops also made what the military described as "findings... which raise serious concerns" for the life of his son, Hamza, 22, who was also abducted by Hamas gunmen during the 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel. Two of Hamza's siblings, Aisha and Bilal, were seized alongside the at a kibbutz farm that day. But they were among 105 hostages released during a week-long ceasefire in November 2023.”
Nigeria
Associated Press: 6 Soldiers And 34 Extremist Rebels Die In A Clash In Northeastern Nigeria, Military Says
“At least six soldiers and 34 Islamic extremists died in a clash in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state, the military said Wednesday. The rebels, riding on motorcycles and gun trucks, launched a surprise attack on the troops, who resisted and engaged them in a gun battle, Nigerian military spokesperson Edward Buba said in a statement. Borno has been the center of extremist violence in Nigeria since the Boko Haram extremist group launched an insurgency in 2009 to enforce their interpretation of Shariah law. The insurgency, which has spilled over to Nigeria’s three neighbors in the Lake Chad region, has killed more than 35,000 people and displaced 2.6 million others. The latest attack occurred Sunday in Sabon Gari village in the Damboa council area, a hot spot that has been mostly deserted by residents.”
United Kingdom
BBC: Far-Right Group Blood And Honour Has Assets Frozen By Government
“The neo-Nazi organisation Blood and Honour, which is linked to parts of the skinhead music scene, has become the first extreme right-wing group to have financial sanctions imposed by the UK government. Treasury ministers said they had "reasonable grounds to suspect" Blood and Honour of being involved in "terrorist activities through promoting and encouraging terrorism, seeking to recruit people for that purpose and making funds available for the purposes of its terrorist activities". The assets freeze - which was extended to all aliases or affiliate groups including Combat 18 and 28 Radio - means nobody in the UK can provide funding or financial services to those named organisations.”
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