“Four rockets fired from eastern Baghdad on Thursday landed around the Iraqi
capital’s Green Zone, home to government buildings and foreign missions, police
said, as political unrest intensified. There were no immediate reports of
casualties from the strikes and no claim of responsibility, two police officers
said. A number of Shi’ite Muslim militant groups have offices and supporters in
eastern Baghdad. A similar attack on Wednesday wounded seven members of the
Iraqi security forces in the Green Zone, and appeared to add a new dimension to
a contest among power-hungry politicians. Rocket attacks on the Green Zone have
been regular in recent years but they are normally directed at Western targets
by Iran-backed militia groups. Those attacks have been rare in recent months.
Wednesday’s attack took place as parliament was holding a vote to confirm its
speaker. The political crisis has left Iraq without a government for nearly a
year after elections last October. The crisis broadly pits the powerful
populist Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a political, religious and militia
leader, against an array of mostly Iran-aligned political and militant groups.
Sadr, the biggest winner of the election, withdrew all his lawmakers from
parliament in June and has sworn not to let parliament convene, fearing other
parties will form a government without him.”











<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>



Eye on Extremism


September 30, 2022



Reuters: Rockets Hit Central Baghdad For Second Day In Escalating Unrest
<[link removed]>



“Four rockets fired from eastern Baghdad on Thursday landed around the Iraqi
capital’s Green Zone, home to government buildings and foreign missions, police
said, as political unrest intensified. There were no immediate reports of
casualties from the strikes and no claim of responsibility, two police officers
said. A number of Shi’ite Muslim militant groups have offices and supporters in
eastern Baghdad. A similar attack on Wednesday wounded seven members of the
Iraqi security forces in the Green Zone, and appeared to add a new dimension to
a contest among power-hungry politicians. Rocket attacks on the Green Zone have
been regular in recent years but they are normally directed at Western targets
by Iran-backed militia groups. Those attacks have been rare in recent months.
Wednesday’s attack took place as parliament was holding a vote to confirm its
speaker. The political crisis has left Iraq without a government for nearly a
year after elections last October. The crisis broadly pits the powerful
populist Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a political, religious and militia
leader, against an array of mostly Iran-aligned political and militant groups.
Sadr, the biggest winner of the election, withdrew all his lawmakers from
parliament in June and has sworn not to let parliament convene, fearing other
parties will form a government without him.”



Iran International: New US Push On Iran Sanctions Signals End Of Nuclear Talks
<[link removed]>



“After reports that nuclear talks with Iran have ended, Washington tightened
the screws by sanctioning several foreign companies involved in oil trade with
Tehran. Critics have been accusing the Biden administration of not seriously
implementing sanctions imposed by former President Donald Trump, while
negotiating with Tehran to revive the 2015 nuclear accord, the JCPOA. They
argue that a substantial increase in Iranian oil exports to China occurred when
President Joe Biden assumed office. This in turn made Iran more intransigent in
nuclear talks that began in April 2021. The latest warning came on September 23
from an advocacy group, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), opposed to the
revival of the JCPOA. In a report UANI argued that since President Joe Biden’s
election, China has bought around $38 billion of crude oil from Iran in
violation of US third-party sanctions.”



United States



Yahoo News: NYPD Cop Of 18 Years Charged With Hate Crime Over Anti-Muslim
Attack <[link removed]>



“An officer who spent the last 18 years with the New York Police Department
has been fired from the force due to his alleged involvement in an anti-Muslim
attack earlier this year. Riggs Kwong, 50, is facing multiple charges —
including hate crimes — for the Jan. 16 road rage incident, which allegedly saw
him pummel, spit on and use anti-Muslim language toward a 32-year-old man. The
altercation reportedly started when Kwong’s Honda Accord blocked Abdul Motalab,
who was in a Toyota RAV4, from making a turn at McDonald and Church Avenues in
Kensington, Brooklyn. Motalab retaliated by cutting Kwong off when the latter
tried to turn from Church Avenue onto an Ocean Parkway service road. Kwong then
filmed himself unleashing a series of anti-Muslim slurs, according to
prosecutors. More from NextShark: Boba shop owner’s life savings gone after
fire destroys multiple businesses in Seattle “I’m trying to make a left here on
the service road and this terrorist is terrorizing me,” Kwong told Motalab.
“You’re upset because I didn’t let you make a U-turn, Mr. Mohammed… Al Qaeda,
terrorist, ISIS…” Motalab exited his vehicle to take a photo of Kwong’s license
plate. Meanwhile, Kwong allegedly continued to hurl racial slurs.”



ABC 7 News: New Details Revealed In Suspected Terror Plot Targeting Chicago
Area Mosques And Synagogues
<[link removed]>



“Xavier Pelkey, an 18-year-old from New England, planned to separate
worshipers at a Chicago Shia mosque, then kill all the adults, according to a
secret FBI search warrant obtained by the I-Team. The 45 pages lay out an
intricate plot we first reported last spring, when the Maine teenager was
charged with possessing a bomb. Now, it appears the feds are ready to level far
more serious charges against Pelkey. The ABC7 I-Team looked into a national
security question: Is there some top-secret component of an alleged Chicago
plot to bomb mosques? Pictures of swords, guns, and menacing looking subjects
posed in front of the ISIS flag are posted in the search warrant. Pictures
shown in the document adorn chat room conversations alleged between Pelkey, 18,
who lived with his family in the small Maine town of Waterville, and unnamed,
uncharged teen co-defendants in Chicago and Kentucky. Initially, Pelkey was
charged only with having explosives, even though authorities said he was going
to come to Chicago and attack mosques and synagogues. At that point, the extent
of the alleged plot wasn't revealed. The federal search warrant we obtained
reveals terrifying details of a violent planned attack: a “mass shooting at an
identified Shia mosque in the Chicago area in late March.”



Iran



Reuters: U.S. Imposes New Sanctions On Iran Oil Exports, Targets Chinese Firms
<[link removed]>



“The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on companies it accused of
involvement in Iran's petrochemical and petroleum trade, including five based
in China, pressuring Tehran as it seeks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Washington has increasingly targeted Chinese companies over the export of
Iran's petrochemicals as the prospects of reviving the nuclear pact have
dimmed. Indirect talks on the accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action (JCPOA), have broken down. "So long as Iran refuses a mutual
return to full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the
United States will continue to enforce its sanctions on the sale of Iranian
petroleum and petrochemical products," the Treasury's Under Secretary for
Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement.”



Iraq



Daily Sabah: '16 Terrorist Caves Destroyed In Northern Iraq': Akar
<[link removed]>



“Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced on Thursday that 16 caves were hit in
an operation carried out in the 140-kilometer-deep (almost 90-mile-deep) region
in northern Iraq. Akar was speaking on the program “City Meetings Towards 2023”
in the southeastern Turkish town of Şırnak. He stated that they respect the
territorial integrity of all neighbors, especially Iraq and Syria, and their
sovereignty rights. “Syrians are our brothers, Iraqis are our brothers. There
is no problem with that. Our problem is terrorists. We are after terrorists.
This struggle will continue until the last terrorist is eliminated,” Akar said.
Noting that the Claw Operations started after 2019, Akar stated that the most
recent, Claw-Lock, is currently ongoing in northern Iraq's Zap. Stating that
terrorists were targeted with great determination, Akar said: “The Turkish
Armed Forces (TSK) entered 140 kilometers, hit and successfully destroyed 16
terrorist caves, bunkers, shelters and so-called command posts in Asos. This
will continue. They really thought that Turkish soldiers could not reach them.
Turkish soldiers have entered all of the places and continue to clean each spot
one by one.” “We continue to stand by our friends, brothers and allies in their
just cause, especially our brothers in Cyprus.”



Afghanistan



Foreign Policy: Afghan Resistance Leaders See ‘No Option’ But War
<[link removed]>



“Afghanistan is now perhaps the most dangerous country in the world,
controlled by Taliban terrorists who are sheltering dozens of anti-Western
jihadi groups while torturing, raping, starving, and killing their Afghan
opponents. Yet the one person who could make a credible claim to be the leader
of an opposition group to overthrow the Taliban has been unable to draw
international support or unite fellow Afghans behind him. Ahmad Massoud, the
33-year-old son of an anti-Taliban war hero, leads the National Resistance
Front (NRF), which is concentrated in the Panjshir Valley, a lush and
mountainous province close to the capital, Kabul, where the Taliban have been
struggling to dislodge them in the year since they took control of Afghanistan.
The NRF is one of at least 22 resistance groups the United Nations says have
emerged since the Taliban’s takeover last year. A few thousand men are fighting
in disparate groups, taking and holding territory in a dozen provinces mainly
across the north, where anti-Taliban sentiment is strongest. But they’ve yet to
form a cohesive opposition to the Taliban, who have an increasingly tenuous
hold on power as factional feuds emerge and international legitimacy remains
elusive.”



India



Fox News: India Bans Muslim Group Popular Front Of India Over Terrorism
Concerns
<[link removed]>



“India’s government banned a Muslim organization for five years, accusing it
Wednesday of funding terrorist activities, providing armed training to its
supporters and radicalizing people for anti-India activities. The ban followed
the arrests and detentions of nearly 200 members of the Popular Front of India
and raids on its offices this month. A counsel for the PFI rejected the
accusations and accused investigating agencies of fabricating evidence and
targeting the group. Muslims comprise more than 14% of India’s nearly 1.4
billion people. Tensions between Muslims and and Hindus have been rising, which
critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi attribute to his government's
Hindu-nationalist agenda. The government accused the PFI of ties with the
banned Students Islamic Movement of India, the Jamat-ul-Mujahideen of
Bangladesh and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. “PFI and its associates
operated openly as a socio-economic, educational and political organization but
they have been pursuing a secret agenda to radicalize a particular section of
the society,” the government's notification said. The group came into existence
in 2006 to counter Hindu-nationalist groups with the merger of the Karnataka
Forum for Dignity and the National Development Front.”



Lebanon



The Jerusalem Post: Hezbollah Says It 'Won't Allow' Election Of President
'Dependent' On US <[link removed]>



“The head of Hezbollah's executive council, Hashem Safi al-Din, warned
Wednesday that the terrorist movement would not allow the election of a
Lebanese president who is “dependent” on the US, according to Al-Manar. Din
stated some Lebanese “make the mistake of seeking to secure America's
interests” in elections or the plan to bring Lebanon out of its current crisis.
The Hezbollah official warned that Hezbollah “will not allow and will not
accept” the election of a Lebanese president who will follow and depend on the
US. The statement comes just hours after the Lebanese parliament failed to
elect a president, with a majority (63) MPs casting blank ballots. Michel
Moawad, an independent Lebanese politician opposed to Hezbollah, received the
largest number of votes (36), followed by Salim Eddeh who received 11 votes.
Moawad is the son of former Lebanese president Rene Moawad, who was killed in
November 1989 just a few weeks after taking office. According to Lebanese
newspaper L'Orient Le Jour, he has strong ties with the US and has hosted a
number of US officials in Lebanon, including then US secretary of state Mike
Pompeo in March 2019.”



Middle East



The Jerusalem Post: Hamas Funneled Terrorism Funds Through Gazans With Israeli
Entry Permits <[link removed]>



“The IDF and Shin Bet thwarted a Hamas terrorism financing scheme using
Gazans who were entering Israel for humanitarian reasons or with work permits
and student activists at the Birzeit University in the West Bank, the IDF's
Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee announced on Thursday. The
terrorist movement used the financing scheme in order to transfer funds from
the Gaza Strip to Hamas members in Turkey and to finance terrorist activities
in the West Bank and Turkey. A group of student activists at Birzeit University
were arrested in the case after they were caught in possession of credit cards
that were used to transfer illegal funds from the Hamas leadership in Gaza to
Hamas officials in Turkey. The money was smuggled out of Gaza using people who
entered Israel for humanitarian reasons or with the aim of looking for work.
The students at Birzeit University then withdrew the money from ATMs in
Ramallah and used the funds for terrorist purposes, including to fund Hamas
activists who belong to the Islamic bloc, which is considered to be student
cells who work for Hamas at educational institutions in Judea, Samaria and the
Gaza Strip. The Hamas movement has been caught using a variety of schemes in
recent years to fund its activities in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and abroad.”



The Jerusalem Post: Lapid: Israel Acting On Every Front To Prevent Terror
<[link removed]>



“Israel is acting on every front to prevent terror, particularly in the West
Bank, Prime Minister Yair Lapid said on Thursday after he met with Shin Bet
Chief Ronen Bar at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv. Such activity
is necessary to safeguard Israeli citizens so they can continue their normative
routines, Lapid said. Bar briefed Lapid on the activities of the security force
and said that they should remain in a state of increased readiness.”



Nigeria



All Africa: Nigeria: 2,295 Teachers' Lives Lost To Terrorism, Insurgency In
Northeast - TRCN <[link removed]>



“The Registrar/Chief Executive, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria
(TRCN), Prof. Olusegun Ajiboye, has said 2,295 teachers have lost their lives
to terrorism and insurgency in the North-east. This is just as he disclosed
that over 1,500 schools have been forced to close down in the region between
2009 and 2022. Ajiboye, while speaking at the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT)
National Delegates Conference held in Ibadan Thursday, described the loss of
the teachers as tragic, adding that 1.2 million students require emergency
education in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States. The TRCN boss also disclosed that
over 910 schools have either been damaged or destroyed, noting that the world
is grappling with terrorism which has dealt a serious blow on every facet of
the economy including education. While urging the federal government to review
its security architecture to address the deteriorating security situation
because of its effect on education, he stated that he is willing to continue to
champion the professionalism and welfare of teachers in the country. He said:
“Government should implement fully the safe schools declaration guidelines
endorsed by Nigeria in 2015 and ratified by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.”



Africa



AFP: Morocco Arrests Suspected ISIS Member
<[link removed]>



“Moroccan police said Thursday they had arrested a suspected ISIS member, in
cooperation with US intelligence officers, who was accused of plotting a
“terrorist” act. The 29-year-old man was arrested in the economic capital
Casablanca “for his alleged involvement in the preparation of a terrorist
scheme aimed at seriously undermining public order,” Morocco’s Central Bureau
of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) said in a statement. For the latest headlines,
follow our Google News channel online or via the app. The suspect had carried
out “reconnaissance visits to identify certain security checkpoints, with a
view to attacking them and using their weapons in terrorist operations,” the
BCIJ added. The suspect had reportedly sought to “join terrorist organizations”
including those based in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in Syria and Iraq. In
2003, Casablanca was hit by a dozen suicide bombers, killing 33 people and
wounding dozens more. Since then, Morocco has been spared major attacks, but
its security services regularly report foiling plots. Since 2002, Moroccan
police claim to have dismantled 2,000 “terror cells” and arrested some 3,500
people in cases linked to terror, according to the BCIJ.”



United Kingdom



Evening Standard: British Man Extradited From Spain To Face Far-Right Terror
Charges
<[link removed]>



“A man is due in court charged with terrorism offences after being extradited
from Spain. Kristofer Thomas Kearney, 37, a British national based in Alicante,
was arrested as part of an investigation into far-right terrorism led by the
Met’s Counter Terrorism Command. He is due to appear at the Old Bailey on
Friday charged with two counts of disseminating a terrorist publication.
Kearney was arrested at an address in Alicante by Spanish Police on March 2,
under a Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TaCA) warrant obtained by the Counter
Terrorism Command. He was extradited from Spain on Thursday, September 8, and
arrested by counter terrorism officers as he arrived back in the UK. He was
charged that evening, and first appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court the
following day when he was remanded in custody.”



Russia



Reuters: Kremlin Says Nord Stream Incidents Look Like State-Sponsored
'Terrorism'
<[link removed]>



“The Kremlin said on Thursday that incidents on two major undersea gas
pipelines from Russia to Germany look like acts of state-sponsored “terrorism”.
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. “This looks like an act of terrorism, possibly on a state level,”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a daily call. “It is very
difficult to imagine that such an act of a terrorism could have happen without
the involvement of a state of some kind,” Peskov said. “This is a very
dangerous situation which requires an urgent investigation.” 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.”



Southeast Asia



Reuters: Four Shot Dead In Indonesia’s Restive Papua Region
<[link removed]>



“Four people were shot and killed by an armed rebel group in Indonesia's
restive West Papua province, the latest in a string of attacks on civilians,
police said on Friday. The West Papua National Liberation Army, which the
government has designated as a terrorist organisation, said its members on
Thursday night shot people they believed were Indonesian intelligence personnel
disguised as road construction workers. "Our troops succeeded in shooting dead
four Indonesian intelligence officers disguised as workers," Sebby Sambom, a
spokesperson for the rebel group said in a statement, adding that the victims'
bodies were still being held by the group. He did not provide evidence to
substantiate the claim that the victims were intelligence officers. Indonesia's
easternmost provinces of Papua and West Papua have seen a long-simmering
independence movement, which has intensified in recent years.”



Technology



GZERO: Future-Proofing The Internet From Radicalization & Extremist Content
<[link removed]>



“The Christchurch Call to Action, a political summit initiated by New
Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, gathered during the UN’s General
Assembly to renew its commitment to creating a safer digital world. The Summit
was formed in 2019 following a massive terror attack in Christchurch that left
51 dead and dozens wounded. The terrorist used social media to livestream the
murderous rampage for several minutes, and the video was viewed by thousands
before it was removed from the internet. In an interview with GZERO Media, Paul
Ash, PM Ardern’s Special Representative on Cyber and Digital, detailed the key
issues discussed in the meeting. “The first, how do we respond to crises and
keep people safe when the internet is abused by terrorists and violent
extremists? Second, how do we think about prevention? Ash continued, “The third
thing we looked at in our summit meeting was the question of how the
Christchurch Call can remain current. How do we future-proof it as the internet
changes into a more immersive environment?” The Summit is aimed at combatting
extremism and hate online, and, in particular, gender-based hatred and
harassment and attacks on the LGBTQI communities.”



The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If
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