CEP Mentions
Frankfurter Rundschau: Syria: Allies Of The New Rulers Target China
“... The TIP is "still officially part of the global al-Qaida network and, unlike HTS, has never distanced itself from al-Qaida," explains terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler of the Counter Extremism Project. "The fact that HTS accepts the TIP in its coalition is one of the main arguments that call into question the ideological orientation of the HTS," Schindler told the Münchner Merkur. Beijing's UN envoy Fu Cong told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that China was "extremely concerned" about reports that members of the TIP had been given high-ranking positions within the Syrian army.”
The Express Tribune: Reemergence Of Islamic Extremism
“The internet and its extensive use have made it possible for people with a strong view of the world to communicate with like-minded folks. Common philosophies are finding new followers while those who are "fence sitters" come down and become adherents of the views being advertised on the internet. Belonging to this category of believers are the Islamic extremists who are able to spread their word among those who are searching for new ways of ordering their lives. "Terrorism is essentially communications," said Hans-Jacob Schindler, a former United Nations diplomat who is a senior director of the Counter Extremist Project, a think-tank with offices in New York and Berlin. "It is not warfare because obviously ISIS cannot militarily defeat the West. They tried and it didn't exactly end well."”
The New York Times: ISIS Says It Inspired New Orleans Attack, But Doesn’t Claim Responsibility
“... The newsletter bulletin, obtained by the Counter Extremism Project, a terrorism watchdog, appeared to mock the American news media for “holding its breath” while waiting for ISIS to claim the attack. While the ISIS message did not directly mention New Orleans, it did describe an attack by an American man and referenced Meta glasses. The F.B.I. has said the attacker, Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, was wearing Meta glasses. and the Counter Extremism Project said the ISIS message was referring to the New Orleans attack. The truck driven by Mr. Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran from Texas, carried an ISIS flag.”
The Telegraph: British Organisations Deemed Terror Groups By The UAE For Alleged Links To The Muslim Brotherhood
“Eight organisations in the UK have been deemed terror groups by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over their alleged links to the Muslim Brotherhood. The UAE cabinet named the eight groups to be added to the country’s approved “local terror list” of individuals and organisations. It means they face travel and financial sanctions for their alleged support of terrorism. It means anyone working for the organisations face travel bans and the freezing of their assets… Ian Acheson, a senior adviser to the Counter Extremism Project, a think tank, said the eight organisations were not breaking any British laws as the UK had not proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood even though it is banned in some countries including Syria and Austria.”
NOLA.com: How The Bourbon Street Attack In New Orleans Came Straight From Online ISIS Playbooks
“The man who plowed through Bourbon Street on New Year’s Day with an ISIS flag on his truck was closely following the terror group’s playbook, promoted in English language magazines and online content circulated globally in an attempt to inspire lone-wolf attacks. Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the Army veteran from Texas whose attack killed 14 and injured dozens more, checked almost every box of ISIS’s guidance for carrying out such an attack, based on a review of ISIS literature and interviews with experts… “Even before reviewing my notes, the details of the attack struck me as being particularly reminiscent of ISIS advice,” said Joshua Fisher-Birch, researcher at the Counter Extremism Project, a nonprofit. ISIS and its affiliates have called for attacks similar to Jabbar’s for years, and ISIS followers have carried out or attempted several attacks on New Year’s celebrations before, according to the Counter Extremism Project. Several plots have been foiled in the U.S. and Europe in recent years.”
UnHerd: Is The UAE Stricter On Terrorism Than The UK?
“On Thursday, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that it had added 19 individuals and entities to its “Local Terrorist List” for their links to the Muslim Brotherhood, according to reports by local media. In the UAE, the Brotherhood is a proscribed terror group. What is striking about this list is that eight of the “entities” listed are UK organisations. This means that, in effect, a Muslim country is sanctioning legal UK organisations for their affiliation with terrorism… Having worked in the past with the Emirati Government on a counter-extremism project, I have been impressed by the resolute stand it has taken against violent extremism. It is crucial that the UK Government uses all the regulatory and security machinery at its disposal to ensure that we are not undermining one of our most important regional partners, and ourselves, in the fight against terrorism. Ian Acheson is a former prison governor and author of Screwed: Britain’s Prison Crisis and How To Escape it.”
WTOP News: 462 | Terror Attack Sets Off Security Scramble In The U.S.
“Don Mihalek, Retired Sr. Secret Service agent and Hans-Jakob Schindler, Sr. Director at the Counter Extremism Project break down the impact of the New Orleans terror attack on U.S. security -especially in Washington, D.C.”
United States
Fox News: Body Language Expert Says New Orleans Terrorist Exhibited 'Red Flags' Before Attack
“The New Orleans terrorist attacker raised "red flags" as he placed two IEDs in the French Quarter hours before he carried out an attack that left 14 civilians dead, according to behavioral analyst Susan Constantine. Constantine described Shamsud-Din Jabbar as an "anomaly" in the French Quarter on New Year's Eve, as shown in videos released by the FBI last week. In the videos, Jabbar can be seen wearing a long, formal-looking coat and glasses, carrying a cooler on wheels and frequently looking at his phone. "These are all red flags," Constantine told Fox News Digital. "Anyone looking for danger would pull out these anomalies, he’s texting very quickly, obviously in communication with someone else. And then he’s motioning to someone."”
Reuters: Biden Spoke With Families Of Americans Detained In Afghanistan, White House Says
“U.S. President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday with the families of three Americans detained in Afghanistan by its Taliban rulers since 2022, and emphasized his commitment to bringing home Americans wrongfully held overseas, the White House said. Biden's administration has been negotiating with the Taliban since at least July about a U.S. proposal to release the three Americans - Ryan Corbett, George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi - in exchange for Muhammad Rahim al-Afghani, a high-profile prisoner held in Guantanamo Bay, Reuters reported last week, citing a source familiar with the discussions.
Efforts to secure the release of the Americans continue, a second source familiar with the initiative said on Sunday.”
Syria
Associated Press: Syrian Intelligence Agency Says It Thwarted A Planned Islamic State Attack On A Shiite Shrine
“Intelligence officials in Syria’s new de facto government thwarted a plan by the Islamic State group to set off a bomb at a Shiite shrine in the Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab, state media reported Saturday. State news agency SANA reported, citing an unnamed official in the General Intelligence Service, that members of the IS cell planning the attack were arrested. It quoted the official as saying that the intelligence service is “putting all its capabilities to stand in the face of all attempts to target the Syrian people in all their spectrums.” Sayyida Zeinab has been the site of past attacks on Shiite pilgrims by IS — which takes an extreme interpretation of Sunni Islam and considers Shiites to be infidels.”
Reuters: Syria's Al-Sharaa Meets Lebanese PM In Bid To Improve Long-Fraught Ties
“Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa met Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in Damascus on Saturday in a bid to improve long-fraught ties, with the pair focusing on strengthening their shared border. The trip was the first by a head of government to Syria since Bashar al-Assad was toppled by a sweeping rebel offensive on Dec. 8, and the first visit by a Lebanese premier to neighbouring Syria in 15 years. Ties between Damascus and Beirut have often been fraught since they became independent states in the 1940s. The countries agreed to work together to secure their land borders and delineate their shared land and sea borders as a matter of priority, Mikati said following the meeting.”
Turkey
Reuters: Turkey Detains 2013 Bombing Suspect Inside Syria
“Turkey's intelligence agency conducted a cross-border operation inside Syria and seized a man suspected of perpetrating a 2013 bomb attack near the Syrian border that killed dozens of people, a Turkish security source said on Monday. Twin car bombs ripped through the border town of Reyhanli in Hatay province on May 11, 2013, killing 53 people. At the time, Turkey accused a group loyal to Syria's then-President Bashar al-Assad of carrying out the attacks. Damascus denied any involvement. Turkey's National Intelligence Agency (MIT) found out that Muhammed Dib Korali, who was suspected of planning the attack and providing the bombs, was inside Syria, the source said.”
Afghanistan
Voice Of America: Afghan Taliban Skip Pakistan-Hosted Summit On Girls Education
“Pakistan hosted a two-day global conference Saturday, where delegates advocated for the promotion of girls education worldwide in Muslim communities and denounced restrictions on female schooling as contrary to the principles of Islam. However, speakers, including the host, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and scholars from participating nations, refrained from mentioning Afghanistan, the sole Islamic country where its hard-line Taliban leaders have banned girls from seeking education beyond the sixth grade. Pakistani officials announced on the eve of the conference that the Taliban government in Kabul had been formally invited to attend the Global Summit on Girls' Education in Muslim Communities, but Islamabad did not receive a response.”
BBC: Taliban 'Do Not See Women As Human', Says Malala
“Malala Yousafzai has urged Muslim leaders to challenge the Taliban government in Afghanistan and its repressive policies for girls and women. "Simply put, the Taliban in Afghanistan do not see women as human beings," she told an international summit hosted by Pakistan on girls education in Islamic countries. Ms Yousafzai told Muslim leaders there was "nothing Islamic" about the Taliban's policies which include preventing girls and women from accessing education and work. The 27-year-old was evacuated from Pakistan at 15 after being shot in the head by a Pakistan Taliban gunman who targeted her for speaking out about girls' education.”
Yemen
NBC News: 15 Killed In An Explosion And Fire At A Gas Station In Central Yemen
“An explosion at a gas station triggered a massive fire in central Yemen, killing at least 15 people, health officials said Sunday. The explosion occurred Saturday at the Zaher district in the province of Bayda, the Houthi rebel-run Health Ministry said in a statement. At least 67 others were injured, including 40 in critical condition. The ministry said rescue teams were searching for those reported missing. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the explosion. Footage circulated online showing a massive fire that sent columns of smoke into the sky and left vehicles charred and burning. Bayda is controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who have been at war with Yemen’s internationally recognized government for more than a decade.”
Qatar
CBS: Israel Sends Mossad Intelligence Agency Director To Gaza Ceasefire Talks In Qatar
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved sending the director of the Mossad foreign intelligence agency to ceasefire negotiations in Qatar in a sign of progress in talks on the war in Gaza. Netanyahu's office announced the decision Saturday evening, local time. It was not immediately clear when David Barnea would travel to Qatar's capital, Doha, for the latest round of indirect talks between Israel and the Hamas militant group. His presence means high-level Israeli officials who would need to sign off on any agreement are now involved. Just one brief ceasefire has been achieved in 15 months of war, and that was in the earliest weeks of fighting. The talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar have repeatedly stalled since then.”
Middle East
Reuters: Israeli Military Confirms Hostage Killed Alongside Father In Gaza
“Israel confirmed on Friday that the remains of a hostage found killed in Gaza were of Hamza Ziyadne, the son of deceased hostage Youssef Ziyadne, whose body was found beside him in an underground tunnel near the southern city of Rafah. Israeli forces continued on Friday to pound Gaza, with Palestinian medics saying at least 15 people had been killed, including a journalist for Cairo-based Al-Ghad TV who had been covering an incident at Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. There was no immediate comment on the latest fighting from Israeli's military, which earlier announced it had concluded forensic tests to identify Hamza Ziyadne, an Israeli Bedouin taken hostage by Hamas-led fighters alongside his father and two of his siblings.”
Voice Of America: Israeli Military Says 4 Soldiers Killed In North Gaza
“Four soldiers died in combat in the north of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said Saturday, more than 15 months into its war with Hamas militants. The deaths brought to 403 the number of soldiers killed in the Palestinian territory since Israel launched its ground offensive in retaliation for Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack. The United States, United Kingdom, European Union and others have designated Hamas as a terror organization. An officer and a reservist soldier were "seriously wounded" during the same incident and were taken to a hospital, the military said in a statement.”
The New York Times: Israel Strikes Houthi-Controlled Ports And A Power Plant In Yemen
“Israeli warplanes bombed ports and a power plant in Yemeni territory controlled by the Houthis on Friday, the Israeli military said, in the latest attempt to force the Iranian-backed militant group to stop firing at Israel and commercial ships in the Red Sea. Israel has escalated its strikes on the Houthis in recent weeks in response to repeated attacks by the Yemeni militia, which has been launching missiles and drones against Israel in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza. The United States and Britain have also struck Yemen repeatedly in an effort to secure international waterways from Houthi attacks, including new American strikes on Wednesday.”
Egypt
Reuters: Tourist Sites On Alert As Militants Go For Egypt's Economic Lifeline
“After a violent campaign directed at security forces, Egyptian militants appear to be zooming in on President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's most vulnerable point: the economy. Attacks on two prime tourist sites in the space of eight days are deeply worrying for a government which has staked much of its credibility on reviving the economy after years of political turmoil. A suicide bomber blew himself up on Wednesday near the ancient Karnak temple in Luxor, wounding four Egyptians. A week earlier, two police officers were killed in an attack near the Giza Pyramids, hundreds of miles to the north. Security forces on Thursday dismantled a bomb found at the entrance of the supplies ministry in Cairo, state news agency MENA said.”
Nigeria
BBC: Nigeria Military Kills 16 Civilians In Air Strike 'Mistake'
“At least 16 civilians in Nigeria's north-western Zamfara State have been killed in a military air strike, apparently after being mistaken for criminal gangs. Residents told local media the victims were members of local vigilante groups and civilians defending themselves from armed gangs notorious for kidnapping people for ransom. The strikes targeted militant gangs in Zurmi and Maradun areas and the state governor, Dauda Lawal, offered his condolences to the community. The military has acknowledged conducting air strikes, which it said had dealt "a decisive blow to bandits terrorising villages in the area". The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) said it was investigating "reports of vigilante losses".”
Somalia
Reuters: Somalia's President Visits Ethiopia In Boost To Strained Relations
“Somalia's president visited Ethiopia on Saturday, his office said, the strongest sign yet of improving relations between the two neighbours after a year of tensions over Addis Ababa's plans to build a naval base in a breakaway Somali region. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud flew to Ethiopia from Uganda where he travelled earlier on Saturday to attend a summit on African agriculture, his office said in a statement posted on the X social media platform. While in Ethiopia, he held discussions with Ethiopian leadership "to strengthen bilateral relations and advance shared priorities", the statement said. "This renewed cooperation underscores a new era of collaboration between Somalia and Ethiopia."”
United Kingdom
BBC: UK Should Consider Letting IS Members Return, Terror Watchdog Says
“The government should consider repatriating British members of the Islamic State group (IS) who are being held in Syrian detention camps, the government's independent terrorism legislation reviewer Jonathan Hall KC has said. Mr Hall's comments come after Donald Trump's incoming counter-terrorism chief, Sebastian Gorka, said that if the UK wanted to be seen as a "serious ally" of the US it should take back its citizens who joined IS. One Briton who travelled to Syria to support the jihadist movement was Shamima Begum, who left London as a teenager in 2015 and was stripped of her UK citizenship in 2019. Foreign Secretary David Lammy has insisted Ms Begum "will not be coming back to the UK".”
Germany
Associated Press: Germany Welcomes Release Of German-Iranian Rights Activist From Prison In Iran And Her Return Home
“Germany’s foreign minister on Monday welcomed the release of a German-Iranian rights activist from prison in Iran and her return to Germany. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on the social media platform X that it’s “a great moment of joy that Nahid Taghavi can finally embrace her family again.” Baerbock retweeted a post by Taghavi’s daughter, Mariam Claren, with a photo of herself hugging her mother, which said: “It’s over. Nahid is free! After more than 4 years as a political prisoner in the Islamic Republic of Iran my mother Nahid Taghavi was freed and is back in Germany.” Taghavi was sentenced to 10 years and eight months in prison in Iran in 2021.”
Europe
Associated Press: EU Ministers Will Consider Easing Sanctions On Syria At A Meeting Later In January
“European Union foreign ministers will meet in late January to discuss easing sanctions imposed on Syria, the bloc’s foreign policy chief said Sunday. However, she said the move would depend on Syria’s new rulers carrying out an inclusive political transition after last month’s overthrow of President Bashar Assad. Kaja Kallas’ comments came at a gathering of top European and Middle Eastern diplomats in the Saudi capital of Riyadh to discuss Syria’s future. Saudi Arabia called for the lifting of sanctions, which threaten to undermine Syria’s recovery from nearly 14 years of civil war that killed an estimated 500,000 people and displaced half the country’s prewar population of 23 million.”
Australia
Voice Of America: Australian Counter-Terrorism Police Probe Rise In Antisemitic Hate Crimes
“Australian authorities are warning of escalating acts of antisemitism, which are now being investigated by counter-terrorism officers. A synagogue in Sydney, the country’s most populous city, was defaced Saturday with hate symbols and an attempt was made to start a fire. Red swastikas were daubed along the front fence of the synagogue in the latest act of hate thought to be linked to conflicts in the Middle East. Security images released by the police show two people wearing black hooded jackets and dark clothing outside the building. Authorities say the vandalism was an act of “violence, hatred and racism.””
Technology
The Guardian: Fears For UK Boomer Radicalisation On Facebook After Meta Drops Factcheckers
“Experts fear the decision by Meta to drop professional factcheckers from Facebook will exacerbate so-called boomer radicalisation in the UK. Even before what Keir Starmer described as “far-right riots” in England last summer, alarm bells were ringing amid fears older people were even more susceptible to misinformation and radicalisation than younger “digital natives”. Suspects were generally older than those charged in the 2011 unrest, according to a Guardian analysis of hundreds of defendants that found that as many as 35% were in their 40s or older.”
The Guardian: Rise In Vigilante Attacks In US Highlight Growing Online DIY Terrorism Resources
“A spate of recent vigilante and extremist attacks in the US have highlighted how the booming availability of internet resources is a growing national security concern. Experts and world governments have been sounding the alarm on digital radicalization as accessibility to materials such as assassination manuals, files for 3D printed guns, or something as simple as ChatGPT grows. During the early days of the war on terror, obtaining literature and guidance on lone actor terrorist attacks from an organization like al-Qaida could require more obscure dark web access or specific tradecraft from harder to reach parts of the internet.”
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