“Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the
release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks said
Tuesday. Mediator Qatar said the negotiations were at the “closest point” yet
to sealing a deal. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the proposed
agreement, and an Egyptian official and a Hamas official confirmed its
authenticity. An Israeli official said progress has been made, but the details
are being finalized. The plan would need to be submitted to the Israeli Cabinet
for final approval. All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity to
discuss the closed-door talks.”











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Eye on Extremism



January 14, 2025



Associated Press: Hamas Has Accepted A Draft Agreement For A Gaza Ceasefire
And The Release Of Hostages, Officials Say
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“Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and
the release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks said
Tuesday. Mediator Qatar said the negotiations were at the “closest point” yet
to sealing a deal. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the proposed
agreement, and an Egyptian official and a Hamas official confirmed its
authenticity. An Israeli official said progress has been made, but the details
are being finalized. The plan would need to be submitted to the Israeli Cabinet
for final approval. All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity to
discuss the closed-door talks.”



The Independent: US Officials Reached Out To Putin Over Fears Of Russia
‘Enabling Terrorism,’ Report Says
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“Aides to President Joe Biden sent a warning to Russian President Vladimir
Putin after they feared that the Russians may attempt to bring the war in
Ukraine to the U.S., according to a New York Times report. This summer, cargo
shipments began to catch fire at German, British, and Polish airports and
warehouses. Both Washington and the Europeans believed that the Russians were
responsible. In August, the White House grew concerned that the Russians were
also planning to bring their sabotage to the U.S., according to secretly
obtained intelligence. The problem was simply how to get a warning to Putin,
who hasn’t spoken to Biden since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February
2022.”



CEP Mentions



Merkur.de: China Is Being Targeted By Allies Of The New Syrian Rulers
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“... 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. "We call
on Syria to fulfill its obligations to combat terrorism and prevent terrorist
forces from using Syrian territory to threaten the security of other
countries."”



CapX: A Lack Of Trust Is Empowering Britain’s Extremists
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“What can recent developments in the scandal over child sexual exploitation
tell us about our dangerous descent into a low trust society? Two Labour MPs
have now broken ranks to contradict the leadership and say a national inquiry
into child rape grooming gangs is now needed. Many people will not have heard
of Dan Carden, but Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, is Red royalty
and his intervention will matter. Whether this was an attack of conscience or
cynical opportunism is a subject for another time. But in his defence, Burnham
did initiate an independent review of the police response to child sexual
exploitation in Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale in 2017… Professor Ian Acheson
is Senior Advisor to the Counter Extremism Project.”



Kurier: Kidnapped Viennese Woman In Niger: Terrorist Militia Denies
Responsibility
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“The group, through its media organization Az-Zallaqa Foundation, also
criticized journalists and the local government's security management in light
of the crisis in the region on Monday, regional media reported. The 72-year-old
was kidnapped by unknown assailants on Saturday in the desert city of Agadez.
According to KURIER information, the assailant is Eva Gretzmacher, who lives in
Niger… Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), the "Support Group for
Islam and Muslims," is a Mali-based affiliated al-Qaeda group that has expanded
its operations to neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso, Niger and Senegal
in recent years. As a formal al-Qaeda branch in Africa, JNIM is committed to
disempowering regional governments and implementing sharia (Islamic law) in the
areas in which it operates, explains the anti-extremism organization Counter
Extremism Project (CEP).”



United States



Fox News: New Orleans Terrorist's Radical Shift A Wake-Up Call For All
Americans: ‘ISIS And Others Are Back'
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“A 42-year-old Texas consultant named Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove through a
crowd of New Year's revelers in New Orleans as they celebrated the beginning of
2025 — flying an ISIS flag from the hitch of his rented pickup while killing 14
and injuring another 30. On the 350-mile drive from Houston to the Big Easy,
Jabbar recorded selfie videos declaring his allegiance to ISIS and saying he
initially planned to kill his own friends and family but decided on attacking
innocent members of the public in order to attract more attention to what he
called a "war between the believers and the disbelievers," according to the
FBI. He was a U.S. Army veteran and had a lucrative job at a major consulting
firm, but he brought a pair of IEDs and two firearms with him to attack
civilians — allegedly radicalized in just weeks.”



Reuters: US Designates Extreme Right-Wing 'Terrorgram' Network As Terrorist
Group
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“The U.S. on Monday imposed sanctions on an extreme right-wing online
network, designating the "Terrorgram" collective a terrorist group and accusing
it of promoting violent white supremacy. The U.S. State Department said in a
statement that it had designated the group, which primarily operates on the
Telegram social media site, and three of its leaders as Specially Designated
Global Terrorists. The State Department said the group has motivated and
facilitated attacks and attempted attacks by users, including a 2022 shooting
outside an LGBTQ bar in Slovakia, a planned attack in 2024 on energy facilities
in New Jersey and an August knife attack at a mosque in Turkey.”



Iraq



Reuters: Iraq PM Says He Will Sign Security Deal With Britain
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“Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said on Monday he would sign a
bilateral security deal with Britain as well as a strategic partnership accord
as he headed to London for an official visit against a backdrop of historic
shifts in the Middle East. Iraq is trying to avoid becoming a conflict zone
once again amid a period of regional upheaval that has seen Iran's allies Hamas
degraded in Gaza, Hezbollah battered in Lebanon and Bashar al-Assad ousted in
Syria. A rare ally of both Washington and Tehran, Iraq's balancing act has been
tested by Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups' attacks on Israel and on U.S. troops
in the country in the aftermath of the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct.
7, 2023.”



Turkey



Reuters: Erdogan Ally Urges Jailed Militant Leader To Announce PKK's
Disbandment
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“Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's key nationalist ally urged jailed PKK
militant group leader Abdullah Ocalan to explicitly announce the group's
disbandment after his next expected meeting with the country's pro-Kurdish
political party. The remarks by Devlet Bahceli, leader of the nationalist MHP
party, came after a rare meeting between officials from the pro-Kurdish DEM
Party and Ocalan last week. The PKK, designated a terrorist organisation by
Turkey, the United States and European Union, has been waging an insurgency
against the Turkish state since 1984 and more than 40,000 people have been
killed in the conflict.”



Pakistan



Associated Press: Pakistani Security Forces Kill 8 Militants In Raids In
Northwest
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“Pakistani security forces killed eight militants in two raids targeting
militant hideouts in restive northwest Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, the
military said Tuesday. The raids were conducted Monday in the Tank and Tirah
Valley districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, it said in a statement. The
military described the dead militants as “Khwarij,” a phrase the government
uses for Pakistani Taliban. It gave no further details. Pakistani Taliban,
known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, are allies of the Afghan Taliban but
are a separate group. They have stepped up their assaults in the region since
the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. The TTP are outlawed in
Pakistan and have been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban came into power.”



Lebanon



Reuters: Lebanon's Nawaf Salam To Be Designated PM, Angering Hezbollah
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“Lebanese President Joseph Aoun summoned Nawaf Salam, head of the
International Court of Justice, to designate him prime minister after most
lawmakers nominated him on Monday, a big blow to Hezbollah, which accused
opponents of seeking to exclude it. The choice of Salam underlined the major
shift in the power balance among Lebanon's sectarian factions since the
Iran-backed Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah was pummelled in a war with Israel
last year, and its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad was toppled. The presidency said
Salam, currently outside the country and due to return on Tuesday, had secured
the backing of 84 out of parliament's 128 lawmakers, and Aoun had summoned him
to assign him to form the government.”



Nigeria



Associated Press: At Least 40 Farmers Killed By Boko Haram Militants In
Northeast Nigeria, An Official Says
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“At least 40 farmers were killed in an attack by Islamic militants in
northeast Nigeria’s Borno state, a government official said Monday. The attack
Sunday was suspected to have been carried out by extremists from the Boko Haram
group and its breakaway faction that is loyal to the Islamic State group in
Borno’s Dumba community, said Borno state Gov. Babagana Umara Zulum. He warned
civilians to stay within designated “safe zones” that have been cleared by the
army of both extremists and munitions. Zulum also called for an investigation
into the attack by the armed forces.”



United Kingdom



The New York Times: A Neo-Nazi Helped Incite U.K. Riots. Elon Musk Criticized
His Sentencing.
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“Hours after a deadly knife attack in the northern English town of Southport
last July, Andrew McIntyre set up a Telegram channel called “Southport Wake
Up.” Amid posts riddled with anti-Islamic, antisemitic and anti-immigrant
abuse, he urged people to take to the streets, directing them to a mosque and
calling for “war.” Mr. McIntyre, 39, who took part in two of several riots that
rattled Britain last summer, was sentenced to seven years in prison last
Monday. He pleaded guilty to encouraging violent disorder and criminal damage,
and to possession of a knife. A day after his conviction, Elon Musk, the
billionaire tech mogul, bemoaned Mr. McIntyre’s sentencing in a post on his
social media platform X, declaring: “Over 7 years prison for social media posts
… Whoever gave that sentence deserves prison themselves.””



Technology



Fox News: New Orleans Terrorist Radicalized By ISIS Online Within Weeks, FBI
Director Says
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“New Orleans terrorist attacker Shamsud-Din Jabbar was radicalized by ISIS
online "within weeks," according to FBI Director Christopher Wray. Jabbar
killed 14 civilians when he rammed a rented Ford F-150 truck through a New
Year's crowd celebrating on Bourbon Street around 3:15 a.m. on Jan. 1. He then
began shooting at police, who returned fire, killing the attacker. "[H]e
appears to have been inspired — from afar — by ISIS. And it is, in many ways,
the most challenging type of terrorist threat we face," Wray told "60 Minutes"
in a wide-ranging interview that aired Sunday. "You're talking about guys like
this, who radicalize not in years but in weeks, and whose method of attack is
still very deadly but fairly crude. And if you think about that old saying
about connecting the dots, there are not a lot of dots out there to connect.
And there's very little time in which to connect them."”



Forbes: Cyberterrorism Unmasked: Lessons From The New Orleans Terror Attack
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“As we mourn the victims of the recent ISIS-inspired attack in New Orleans by
ex-Army veteran-turned-terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a chilling reality comes
into sharper focus—one we have not confronted so vividly since 9/11. Terrorism
is no longer confined to distant battlefields; it is waged here at home and
increasingly fought in the digital sphere. Terrorist groups like ISIS,
al-Qaeda, and their affiliates are leveraging cyberspace to extend their reach,
radicalize and recruit individuals, fund their operations, and spread fear and
chaos on a global scale. In a 60 Minutes interview on January 12, FBI Director
Christopher Wray revealed that the bureau’s investigation into the New Orleans
New Year’s Day terrorist attack confirmed that the suspect had been
"radicalized online."”



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