“Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they fired missiles and drones
at militant targets in the Kurdish region of neighbouring northern Iraq, where
authorities said 13 people were killed. The strikes were reported after Iranian
authorities accused armed Iranian Kurdish dissidents of involvement in unrest
now shaking Iran, especially in the northwest where most of the country's
population of over 10 million Kurds live. Thirteen people were killed and 58
wounded in the attacks near Erbil and Sulaimaniya in Iraqi Kurdistan, Iraq's
state news agency said citing its counter-terrorism service in Kurdistan. Iraqi
Kurdish sources said drone strikes targeted at least 10 bases of Iranian Kurds
near Sulaimaniya in Iraqi Kurdistan on Wednesday morning, without elaborating
about possible casualties. The U.S. Army Central Command said it downed an
Iranian drone on Wednesday while it was on its way to Erbil, adding that the
drone posed a threat to U.S. personnel in the region. “No U.S. forces were
wounded or killed as a result of the strikes and there is no damage to U.S.
equipment,” it said in a statement. A senior member of Komala, an exiled
Iranian Kurdish opposition party, told Reuters that several of their offices
were struck as well.”











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Eye on Extremism


September 29, 2022



Reuters: Thirteen Reported Killed As Iran Revolutionary Guards Target
Dissident Sites In Iraq
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“Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they fired missiles and drones
at militant targets in the Kurdish region of neighbouring northern Iraq, where
authorities said 13 people were killed. The strikes were reported after Iranian
authorities accused armed Iranian Kurdish dissidents of involvement in unrest
now shaking Iran, especially in the northwest where most of the country's
population of over 10 million Kurds live. Thirteen people were killed and 58
wounded in the attacks near Erbil and Sulaimaniya in Iraqi Kurdistan, Iraq's
state news agency said citing its counter-terrorism service in Kurdistan. Iraqi
Kurdish sources said drone strikes targeted at least 10 bases of Iranian Kurds
near Sulaimaniya in Iraqi Kurdistan on Wednesday morning, without elaborating
about possible casualties. The U.S. Army Central Command said it downed an
Iranian drone on Wednesday while it was on its way to Erbil, adding that the
drone posed a threat to U.S. personnel in the region. “No U.S. forces were
wounded or killed as a result of the strikes and there is no damage to U.S.
equipment,” it said in a statement. A senior member of Komala, an exiled
Iranian Kurdish opposition party, told Reuters that several of their offices
were struck as well.”



Voice Of America: Burkina Faso: 11 Dead, Dozens Missing After Militants Attack
Convoy
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“Burkina Faso says an Islamist militant attack on an aid convoy has left 11
troops dead and dozens of civilians missing. The Burkina Faso government said
Tuesday that armed fighters ambushed a 150-vehicle military-escorted convoy
carrying supplies to the northern town of Djibo. It said at least 11 soldiers
were killed and more than 50 civilians are missing. The government said that
the incident occurred Monday in the commune of Gaskinde in the northern
province of Soum, where, since 2015, armed organizations affiliated with
al-Qaida and Islamic State have taken over large swathes of territory.
Government spokesman Lionel Bilgo described the incident as “cowardly and
savage.” The death toll could reach 60, according to French news agency AFP,
which cited a security source who said “practically the entire caravan was
burned.” The attack will likely exacerbate shortages of basic supplies, such as
food and fuel in Djibo, which has been under a de facto siege for months by
militant groups. It may also increase concern about Burkina Faso, where some
two million people are displaced amid increasing conflict and climate change.”



AFP: One Killed In Belgium Anti-Terror Raids On Far-Right
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“Belgian police killed a man in a shootout on Wednesday during raids on a
suspected extreme-right group thought to be planning a “terrorist attack”,
prosecutors said. The 36-year-old died from a police bullet during a swoop on
an address in the Merksem suburb of Antwerp, in the country's north, they said
in a statement. As special federal police entered the house, “the team was
fired upon. Shots were returned, hitting the occupant,” who died of his wounds,
it said. The police operation, targeting a dozen addresses around Antwerp, was
launched to counter “the preparation of a terrorist attack”. Prosecutors said
“many weapons and ammunition” were seized in the raids. Some of the weapons
were legally registered, they said. Later, they said they believed the suspects
wanted “to mount a form of armed resistance against the government”. But they
added that their alleged plans had no definite target nor date for action. One
Belgian media outlet, Het Laatste Nieuws, reported that the man killed, which
it identified as Yannick V., was regarded as one of the leaders of the group.
His social media profiles presented him as an arms collector, gold trader and
history buff. Recent posts argued that the West was in decline and echoed the
debunked conspiracy that Covid vaccines were a way to control the population.”



United States



Bloomberg: Fighter Jets Scrambled After Bomb Threat On Singapore Airlines
Flight From San Francisco
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“A Singapore Airlines Ltd. flight en-route from San Francisco was escorted by
fighter jets after a passenger allegedly claimed there was a bomb in his
carry-on bag and assaulted the crew, according to the police. Singapore
Airlines Flight 33 landed safely at Changi airport at 5:50am, the city-state’s
Police Force said in a statement. The plane was taxied to a remote bay for
security checks and was later towed to the terminal, Singapore Airlines said in
a separate statement. All passengers and crew disembarked normally. Fake bomb
threats are fairly common in aviation while fighter jets are generally used
when crew don’t respond to commands from ground handlers or an aircraft veers
off its approved route. In July, an EasyJet Plc flight to Spain was escorted by
a fighter jet after a British teenager made a bomb threat on social media,
according to Reuters. On Wednesday, residents living nearby reported hearing
two loud fighter planes passing overhead just before 6am local time, one first,
followed by another a few seconds later.”



Syria



Kurdistan 24: SDF Confiscate Large ISIS Weapons Cache Near Tal Hamis
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“Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Wednesday said they confiscated one of the
largest weapon caches near the town of Tal Hamis in the Hasakah province. “This
cache is considered one of the largest caches to be seized by our forces after
the battle of al-Baghouz and the second strong blow to be dealt to the ISIS
cells since the battle of Al-Sina’a prison in al-Hasaka,” the SDF said in a
statement. “Based on the initial investigations and intelligence information,
the terrorist cell was planning to use these weapons in a potential attack on
the al-Hol camp, the eastern countryside of the al-Hasaka, in parallel with the
last attack on the al-Sina’a prison,” the SDF said. “After their failed attack
on the al-Sina’a prison (in Jan this year), ISIS switched to plan B which is
attacking the al-Hol camp. However, the dangerous terrorist scheme has been
thwarted, thanks to the security measures taken by our forces, the rapid
intervention operations, and arresting many members of the terrorist cells.”
The US-led anti-ISIS coalition in a tweet said that their SDF “partners
continue to demonstrate their will & ability to build a safe and secure
Northeast Syria.” “Well done to SDF for deterring the ISIS threat and
countering their desperate attempts to execute attacks & threaten the region.”



Afghanistan



Voice Of America: US Voices Terrorism Concerns In Afghanistan, Opts For
Taliban Engagement
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“Al-Qaida’s former leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, had freedom in the
Taliban-controlled Afghan capital before he was assassinated in a U.S. drone
strike, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday. “He was unquestionably a
threat to the United States and he had greater freedom to operate in Kabul than
from wherever he came from,” Thomas West, U.S. special representative for
Afghanistan, said at an event at the Center for International and Strategic
Studies. Al-Zawahiri was targeted on July 31 at a house in downtown Kabul.
Taliban authorities have not confirmed his death. In the aftermath of the drone
strike in Kabul, both the U.S. and Taliban have accused each other of violating
the February 2020 U.S.-Taliban agreement, widely known as the Doha Agreement,
that commits the Taliban to prevent terror threats to the U.S. and its allies
from territories under Taliban control. West said the U.S. is deeply concerned
about a number of other terrorist groups active in Afghanistan. “We have
concerns about al-Qaida in the Indian subcontinent, Jaish-e-Mohammed,
Laskhar-e-Toiba, Ansarullah and a range of terrorist groups that still have an
active presence in Afghanistan that we are exceedingly concerned about,” he
said.”



Pakistan



The Wall Street Journal: Police In Pakistan Probe Whether Attack On Dental
Clinic Was Anti-Chinese
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“Police in the southern city of Karachi are investigating if the attacker who
opened fire at a well-known dental clinic, killing one person and injuring two
others, was targeting members of the city’s Chinese community. Pakistan has
seen a series of attacks on Chinese nationals in recent years as their presence
grew alongside Beijing’s investment program in its close ally. Both ethnic
separatists and jihadists have hit Chinese personnel and interests. Pakistan
has been a showcase for China’s global Belt and Road Initiative, which builds
infrastructure abroad in a bid to spread Chinese influence. The police
described the three victims as dual Pakistani and Chinese citizens. The two
injured were the founders of the clinic, an ethnically Chinese couple in their
70s, Richard Hu and Phen Teyin, who were long-time residents of Pakistan. The
dead man was a cashier at the clinic called Ronald Raymond Chou, aged 32,
police said. China doesn’t allow dual citizenship; Pakistan permits dual
citizenship. A police official said authorities will verify their citizenship
status with the Chinese authorities. A gunman posing as a patient entered the
clinic and shot the three of them, escaping the scene on the back of a waiting
motorbike outside, police said.”



Bloomberg Law: Largest Bank In Pakistan Faces Liability For Terrorist Attacks
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“Habib Bank Ltd. failed to shake off claims of aiding and abetting al-Qaeda
terrorism and joining in a conspiracy to launch attacks that killed or injured
370 plaintiffs or their family members. Habib, the largest commercial bank in
Pakistan, faces secondary liability under the Justice Against Sponsors of
Terrorism Act as a party that “aids and abets, by knowingly providing
substantial assistance, or who conspires with the person who committed such an
act of international terrorism,” Judge Lorna G. Schofield said Wednesday. The
plaintiffs in the three consolidated cases sufficiently allege that the attacks
were planned or authorized by an…”



Middle East



The Times Of Israel: Shaked Moves To Expel Family Of Terrorist Who Committed
Deadly 2017 Ramming Attack
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“Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked on Wednesday ordered the expulsion of
several relatives of a terrorist who killed four Israeli soldiers in a 2017
truck-ramming attack in Jerusalem, giving the family members seven days to
leave the country or be forcibly removed. Citing a Jerusalem appeals court
ruling from last week authorizing her to deport 17 of Fadi al-Qanbar’s
relatives, Shaked announced she was revoking the residency permits of seven of
them and that they were therefore now illegally in Israel. It was unclear why
those seven had been singled out. Arguing the move had an important deterrent
effect for potential assailants and citing recent security tensions, Shaked
sent a letter to Public Security Minister Omer Barlev urging him to carry out
the expulsions under his authority as overseer of the the police. “The State of
Israel needs to fight terror with all means available to it and the time has
come to this use this tool for deterrence,” Shaked said in a statement. Though
they had permanent Jerusalem residency permits, al-Qanbar’s relatives are not
Israeli citizens, and Shaked already moved to revoke their Jerusalem residency
permits. Shaked did not say what country she believes will accept the seven
deported individuals — who are not known to hold any other citizenship.”



Nigeria



Sahara Reporters: Nigerian Soldiers, Boko Haram Terrorists Engage In Gun
Battle In Borno
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“Troops of the Nigerian Army on Wednesday engaged Boko Haram insurgents in a
gun battle along Damboa-Maiduguri Road in Northeast Borno. It was learnt that
the suspected members of the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād, Boko
Haram terrorist group ambushed troops of Operation Hadin Kai escorting
commercial vehicles at Yaleri village, along the road. According to Zagazola
Makama, a publication focused on the Lake Chad region, the troops battled with
the terrorists, while many of the passengers scampered to safety. “The
jihadists rained heavy gunfire on the Military convoy moving in armoured and
soft-skin vehicles, escorting commercial vehicles but the troops are currently
responding to them. “There is no certain figure of casualties yet,” an
intelligence officer told the newspaper. A major highway between Maiduguri and
Damboa towns was closed on Saturday as troops of the Nigerian Army engaged Boko
Haram terrorists in a shootout that reportedly lasted hours. Zagazola Makama
noted that local sources, some of whom escaped the attack confirmed that the
ambush triggered a heavy exchange of gunfire between the terrorists and the
soldiers, forcing passengers in the convoy to scamper to safety with the help
of the troops.”



Africa



The National: Simon Mann Warns Africa In Danger Of Becoming Ground Zero For
Extremists
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“Africa will become “ground zero” for extremist violence unless western
powers use private military contractors, a controversial former British
mercenary has said. Simon Mann has claimed that the world’s “negligence”
towards the continent could lead to uncontainable wars breaking out, with
Nigeria and South Africa particularly vulnerable. Terrorist groups such as ISIS
could also take over key areas producing vital resources for green technology
in countries such as Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mr Mann,
who used to run his own private military company (PMC) in Sierra Leone and
Angola, has called on countries afraid of deploying their own forces, such as
the US and Britain, to utilise mercenaries. “With no help, Africa will be
ground zero for Islamic violent extremist organisations and international
organised crime,” he wrote in The National Interest magazine. “Intervention
against Africa’s insurgencies and collapsing security is a must.” He said the
West’s “negligence towards Africa has cost it dearly”, with extremists
overrunning the Sahel, the “unfolding collapse of Nigeria”, ISIS resurgent in
northern Mozambique and new dangers facing South Africa. The Eton-educated
former officer claimed that with western powers nervous about using their own
soldiers to stabilise countries, “successful intervention in Africa is
possible” by hiring foreign troops.”



Germany



Associated Press: German Charged With Crimes Against Humanity, IS Membership
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“German federal prosecutors said Wednesday they have charged a woman with
crimes against humanity and aiding and abetting genocide for allegedly having
joined the extremist Islamic State group in Syria where she had a Yazidi slave
and committed other crimes. The suspect, only identified as German citizen
Nadine K. in line with privacy rules, will soon have to stand trial before the
Koblenz Higher Regional Court, the prosecutor’s office said. She is alleged to
have traveled to Syria with her husband in December 2014 and joined IS there.
In 2015, the couple moved to the Iraqi town of Mosul, where they raised their
daughter in line with IS ideology. The couple stored hand grenades, assault
rifles and explosives in their house and also set up a reception center for
single female IS members at their home. They kept a Yazidi slave at their home
who was regularly raped and beaten by K.’s husband with her knowledge. In
addition, the Yazidi woman had to do housework, take care of children and was
forced to observe Islamic rites. “All of this served IS’s stated goal of
destroying the Yazidi faith,” the prosecutor’s statement said. K. was arrested
in March together with three other women upon entering the country at Frankfurt
Airport, and was subsequently taken into custody.”



Europe



Reuters: Man Killed In Shoot-Out During Belgian Raids Targeting Far Right
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“A man was killed in a shoot-out with police in Belgium on Wednesday during
raids into far-right sympathisers suspected of planning an attack and illegally
possessing arms. Police carried out raids at around 10 addresses mostly in the
northern port city of Antwerp, federal prosecutors said. At one, an exchange of
fire resulted in the death of a man inside. Investigators discovered a large
number of firearms and ammunition, a spokesperson for federal prosecutors said,
adding that the raids were linked to an investigation into preparations for a
terrorist attack and illegal arms possession. "Some of the people are suspected
of being close to the extreme right," the spokesperson said, declining to say
how many people had been detained or to give further details about the attack
planning.”



Russia



Reuters: Kremlin Says Nord Stream Gas Leaks Look Like ‘Act Of Terrorism’
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“Incidents on two major undersea gas pipelines from Russia to Germany look
like "an act of terrorism" and require investigation in cooperation with a
number of countries, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. The
European Union is investigating major leaks in the Gazprom-led (GAZP.MM) Nord
Stream 1 and 2 pipelines under the Baltic Sea and has said it suspects
sabotage. The U.S. news channel CNN, citing three sources, reported that
European security officials had observed Russian navy support ships and
submarines not far from the sites of the Nord Stream leaks. Asked for a comment
on the CNN report, Peskov said there had been a much larger NATO presence in
the area.”



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