“The European Parliament on Thursday called for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to
be put on the European Union’s terrorist list and insisted that sanctions
targeting Tehran had to be expanded after the violent suppression of protests.
In a nonbinding resolution, the legislature mustered a large majority to call
on the EU’s 27 member states for such punitive action to counter what it sees
as a swift backsliding of human rights in Iran. Beyond the call to put the
organization on its terrorist blacklist, the European Parliament also wants the
EU to ban any economic or financial activity that can linked to the
Revolutionary Guard Corps. The United States has already designated the corps
as a “foreign terrorist organization,” and subjected it to unprecedented
sanctions. The European Parliament action came before Monday’s meeting of EU
foreign ministers where more sanctions against Tehran are expected to be
approved.











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Eye on Extremism


January 19, 2023



Associated Press: EU Assembly Wants Iran’s Revolutionary Guard On Terror List
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“The European Parliament on Thursday called for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to
be put on the European Union’s terrorist list and insisted that sanctions
targeting Tehran had to be expanded after the violent suppression of protests.
In a nonbinding resolution, the legislature mustered a large majority to call
on the EU’s 27 member states for such punitive action to counter what it sees
as a swift backsliding of human rights in Iran. Beyond the call to put the
organization on its terrorist blacklist, the European Parliament also wants the
EU to ban any economic or financial activity that can linked to the
Revolutionary Guard Corps. The United States has already designated the corps
as a “foreign terrorist organization,” and subjected it to unprecedented
sanctions. The European Parliament action came before Monday’s meeting of EU
foreign ministers where more sanctions against Tehran are expected to be
approved."



Bloomberg: Taliban Minister Blames Sanctions For Restrictions On Women In
Afghanistan
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“Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi appeared to use women’s rights as
a bargaining chip to gain sanctions relief, telling a United Nations official
that Taliban leaders currently saw little incentive to shift course.
“Afghanistan has been sanctioned, the banking system has been sanctioned, and
our businessmen are facing serious difficulties. They can’t even transfer money
abroad to import food and fuel,” Muttaqi told UN Deputy Secretary General Amina
Mohammed in Kabul Wednesday, while discussing women’s rights. “What action has
the UN taken that I can pass on to my leaders and people?” Taliban Threaten
Women at Gunpoint After Education Ban Order The Taliban recently banned local
female staff members of international non-governmental organizations from
working and women from attending universities until further notice. It was the
latest curb on women’s rights and freedoms since the group retook control of
the country.”



United States



OPB: FBI Warns Of Neo-Nazi Plots As Attacks On Northwest Power Grid Spike
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“…Joshua Fisher-Birch, a researcher with the Counter Extremism Project, a
nonprofit that tracks extremists groups’ online activities, said the attacks in
North Carolina and those in the Northwest have energized some on the far right.
“The recent substation attacks have been spoken about in glowing terms by
certain members of the extreme right, particularly by neo-Nazi accelerationists
and white supremacist accelerationists who subscribe to this ideology where
they want to push chaos,” Fisher-Birch said. Far-right forums online provide
instruction manuals for how to attack substations and other critical
infrastructure. The design of the manuals invokes a video game and taps into
costume-play subculture, according to Eric Ward, senior advisor at Western
States Center, a Portland-based civil rights group that advocates against
extremism.”



CBS: Prosecutors Say Sayfullo Saipov Followed ISIS Playbook In Deadly 2017
West Side Highway Terror Attack
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“It's week two of the terror trial of Sayfullo Saipov. He's the Uzbekistan
native accused of mowing down eight bicyclists with a rented truck along a path
on the West Side Highway on Halloween 2017, he says in the name of ISIS.
Severed and twisted bicycles, a damaged yellow school bus, a crushed Home Depot
rental truck and the path of death and destruction Saipov left was shown to
jurors, as well as video of him running around with fake guns before being shot
by a police officer. Victim and witness testimony last week filled in the gaps
for the court about the moments before the attack. Tourists from Belgium and
Argentina on celebratory trips never saw the speeding truck behind them. Others
from New York and New Jersey were merely commuting.”



Syria



Al-Monitor: Iraq Repatriates 580 Citizens From Syria’s al-Hol Camp
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“Iraqi officials transferred 580 former residents of the al-Hol detention
camp in northeast Syria to a rehabilitation camp in northern Iraq on Saturday,
the US military said Wednesday, marking the latest step in efforts to
repatriate suspected Islamic State (IS) relatives to their home countries. Some
142 Iraqi families previously held at al-Hol were transferred to the Jeddah-1
rehabilitation camp south of Mosul in the country's Ninevah province, according
to US Central Command. Why it matters: The Biden administration has been
quietly pressing other countries to bring back their citizens from al-Hol,
which houses some 54,000 suspected relatives of IS fighters in squalid
conditions.”



Iraq



Kurdistan 24: Kurdish Fighters Instrumental In The Fight Against ISIS: EU Chair

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“The Chair of the European Parliament Subcommittee on Security and Defense,
Nathalie Loiseau, told Kurdistan 24’s Barzan Hassan that Kurdish fighters have
been instrumental in the fight against ISIS, and the fight against ISIS remains
a priority. “And we know how instrumental the Kurdish fighters are in this
fight against Daash (ISIS). We have troops in Iraq, working with Kurdish
soldiers, fighting Daash (ISIS) and we will continue. This is a priority and
nothing should come against this priority,” she added. Earlier, she was part of
a six-member European Parliament delegation visit to Erbil in May. “I was not
happy with the functioning of our EU mission in Iraq. I think the message that
I brought back from there was crystal clear.” “There has been a lot of
reorganization and I think we have to have a strong civilian mission, working
hand in hand with Iraqi authorities in Baghdad, but also with Kurdish
authorities in Erbil, so that we can tackle the challenges together, including
terrorism,” she added.”



Kurdistan 24: Two Kurdish Police Officers Killed By ISIS In Kirkuk
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"Two Kurdish police officers were killed during an ISIS attack in northern
Kirkuk on Tuesday night, a security source told Kurdistan 24.
Lieutenant-Colonel Nawzad Al, along with his driver, Mohammad Pasha, visiting a
checkpoint in the Jabal Bor area of the oil-rich province, were ambushed and
killed by ISIS suspects, an anonymous source confirmed to Kurdistan 24. The
Kirkuk Police Department has not officially commented on the attack, which took
place near a highway leading to Sulaimani province in the Kurdistan Region,
Dilan Barzan, Kurdistan 24 correspondent in Kirkuk said at the scene. The
province has seen an uptick in ISIS attacks in recent months. At least 13
members of the security forces were killed in 2022 in the province by suspected
ISIS militants. The lack of security cooperation between Kurdish and Iraqi
forces in the disputed territories, including Kirkuk, has led to an increased
insurgency by the group, according to security experts and government
officials."



Asharq Al-Awsat: ISIS Attacks Still Claim Iraqi Lives Five Years After Defeat
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“The attack came after sunset in the quiet Iraqi village of Albu Bali when
ISIS group gunmen drove into town and unleashed fire with automatic rifles. "I
heard the shots, I went out and I saw my nephew lying on the ground," recalled
Ali Menwar about the deadly violence that shattered the local calm on December
19. The group of extremists "arrived at about 8:15 pm and started firing
randomly", said another local from the mainly Shiite village, Abbas Mazhar
Hussein, 34. As Menwar rushed inside, bullets smashed into the wall around him
and two grazed his neck, which now bears angry red scars, before he could slam
the gate shut behind him, AFP said. Others were less lucky in the village of
5,000 people, about 70 kilometers (40 miles) north of the capital Baghdad. "My
son, my grandson and my cousins fell as martyrs," said Menwar's neighbor Jabbar
Alwan, his eyes welling up with tears.”



Afghanistan



Firstpost: Afghan Taliban 'Fears' ISIS Threat From Pakistan
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“Since it was formed after the partition of India in 1947, Pakistan has used
its territory for fuelling cross-border terrorism against its eastern
neighbour. Since then, Pakistan has supported terrorist groups in other
neighbouring countries such as Afghanistan and Iran. Now, even the Afghan
Taliban, which was until recently backed by the Pakistan Army, has started
complaining about terrorism emanating from Pakistani soil. According to an ANI
report, for the first time, the Taliban reported threats from Pakistan, which
they considered as the safe haven from 2000-2021, independent journalist Bilal
Sarwary said citing an internal memo. Taking to Twitter, Sarwary said, “A
leaked Taliban internal memo reports an ISKP training camp inside Pak’s tribal
area&warns of ISKP massing from Pak into Logar. This is an interesting twist in
the story with first-time Taliban reports of threats from Pakistan where they
once had their safe havens from 2002-2021.”



Lebanon



The Jerusalem Post: UN Lebanon Envoy Thanks Hezbollah, Drawing Rebuke From
Israeli Diplomats <[link removed]>



“A United Nations official on Monday thanked a representative of Hezbollah,
which is designated as a terrorist organization by the State Department, for
giving her a "tour d’horizon" of Lebanese issues. The statement drew
condemnation from Israeli officials. "I thank Mr. Ammar Moussawi of Hizbullah
(sic) for a tour d’horizon on issues of priority for #Lebanon, including the
election of a new President, the functioning of state institutions and the
impact of regional and international developments on the country," Joanna
Wronecka, the UN’s special coordinator for Lebanon and formerly Poland's
ambassador, tweeted to Ammar Moussawi, head of international relations for
Hezbollah.”



Middle East



Reuters: Analysis: Hamas Sees West Bank As Battleground With New Israel Gov't
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“Gaza's ruling Hamas Islamists are building ties with militant groups in the
West Bank, seeking to attract support beyond the enclave by backing
Palestinians involved in near daily unrest that Israel's new hardline
government has vowed to crush. The initiative reflects a degree of caution on
the part of Hamas, which is still rebuilding the enclave following a 2021 war
and appears unwilling to pursue a head on confrontation from Gaza with the
administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, analysts said. The return
of Netanyahu in an alliance with a clutch of religious and hard right parties
avowedly in favour of settlement expansion has drawn fears of renewed
confrontation with the Palestinians and in particular with Hamas, which has
fought five wars with Israel since 2009. New hardline ministers like Itamar
Ben-Gvir, a settler from Hebron, will be in charge of police as national
security minister, while Bezalel Smotrich, another far-right politician, will
have wide control over policy in the West Bank.”



Middle East Monitor: Egypt Intends To Renew Efforts To Reach Prisoner Exchange
Deal Between Israel And Hamas
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“The Egyptian mediators between Hamas and Israel renewed their willingness to
continue the past effort to reach a prisoner exchange deal. According to the
Lebanese newspaper, Al-Akhbar, Hamas recently confirmed, during contact with
the Egyptians, its willingness to resume the exchange negotiations at where
they ended. This would allow the implementation of the first phase of the deal,
represented in the release of the two soldiers, Mengistu and Hisham Al-Sayed,
in addition to information about the other two soldiers, Hadar Goldin and Oron
Shaul. This is in exchange for the release of the prisoners who had been
released as part of the Wafaa Al-Ahrar deal who were re-arrested, as well as
women, children, ill, martyrs and long-serving prisoners. The Egyptians
informed Hamas that they were in the process of resuming contact with the new
Israeli government about the prisoners' file, and that they were waiting for
the appointment of a new official in charge of this file, to succeed Yaron
Blum.”



Jewish News: Hamas Condemns UAE For Including Materials On Holocaust In
Curriculum
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“Hamas has condemned the United Arab Emirates for its decision to include the
Holocaust in curriculum for primary and secondary schools. “We condemn and
denounce the UAE embassy’s announcement in Washington that its country has
included materials on the ‘Holocaust’ in its educational curricula, and we
consider that support for the Zionist narrative and a form of cultural
normalisation,” spokesperson for the terror group, Hazem Qassem, said. Hamas
has previously called the Holocaust “a lie invented by the Zionists,” while
lashing out at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for wanting
to educate children in Gaza about Holocaust. The UAE embassy in Washington
announced earlier this month that “In the wake of the historic Abraham Accords,
(the UAE) will now include the Holocaust in the curriculum for primary and
secondary schools.” “Memorialising the victims of the Holocaust is crucial.
Public figures failed to speak the truth because a political agenda hijacked
their narrative, yet a tragedy on the scale of the Holocaust targets not only
Jews but humanity as a whole,” it added.”



Africa



Reuters: Abducted Burkina Women Flee Jihadist Gunmen Through Bush
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“Piercing thorns and stones underfoot did not stop the young woman as she
charged through thickets, baby strapped to her back, fleeing armed militants
who had kidnapped her with dozens of others in northern Burkina Faso last week.
Now back home in the town of Arbinda along with a few who also managed to
escape, the 20-year-old, who asked to remain anonymous for fear over her
safety, recounted the ordeal that started when unknown men fired gunshots and
then closed in on her as she was scouring the bush for food. Burkina Faso
authorities said about 50 women were kidnapped on Jan. 12 and 13 in Arbinda
district, part of the restive Soum province -- a new tactic by Islamist
insurgents whose brutal attacks blight the West African country. The escapee
said the militants forced the women to walk through the bush for a whole day.
"The next morning they assembled us again ... It was at this moment that some
of us decided to take a risk. Those who were lucky managed to escape," she
said.”



United Kingdom



BBC: Suspect Due In Court Over Alleged Terrorist Documents
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“A man is due to appear in court accused of possessing documents linked to
Islamist terrorism. Abdiwahid Abdulkadir Mohamed, 31, from north London, was
arrested and charged on Wednesday. He is accused of six counts of possessing
documents likely to be useful for committing or preparing an act of terrorism.
Mr Mohamed is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court later. The
Metropolitan Police said the arrest and charges followed an operation by the
force's Counter Terrorism Command.”



Australia



ABC Australia: Counter-Terrorism Police Charge Three Queensland Men Over
Display Of Nazi Symbols
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“Three men have been charged by Queensland Police's Counter-Terrorism
Investigation Group over the display of Nazi symbols in the state's south-east.
On Tuesday police executed search warrants at properties in the Brisbane suburb
of Toowong and the Gold Coast suburbs of Pimpama and Oxenford. Among the items
allegedly found were flyers, stickers, computer devices and a banner that
police said was displayed over the Pacific Highway in Helensvale last November.
Police allege the men were involved in posting offensive imagery in public
areas multiple times, damaging infrastructure and causing community concern.
"Our primary focus is on keeping the community safe," Acting Detective
Superintendent Leonie Steyger said in a statement. "Those responsible represent
the smallest minority of our communities, and my team will continue to disrupt
and charge individuals who are motivated by this type of behaviour." A
21-year-old Toowong man has been charged with two counts of wilful damage, two
counts of contravening storage measures and other precautions about access to
restricted items.”



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