“Israeli and Palestinian officials were holding talks in Egypt on Sunday ‘to
restore calm’ after a surge in deadly violence in the occupied West Bank,
Egypt's foreign ministry said. The meeting, which follows similar talks last
month in Jordan where both sides pledged to prevent more violence, comes amid
concerns of a feared escalation during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan
starting in the coming week. The meeting is aimed at ‘supporting dialogue
between the Palestinian and Israeli sides to put a stop to unilateral actions
and escalation and break the cycle of violence’, Egypt's foreign ministry
added. Officials from Egypt, Jordan and the United States were attending the
meeting in the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh, it added. Hussein al-Sheikh,
Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) secretary general, said Saturday on
Twitter that the Palestinian delegation would participate ‘to demand an end to
the continuous Israeli aggression against us’. Few details have emerged from
the talks, but the efforts were already rejected by militant Palestinian
factions.”











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



Eye on Extremism



March 20, 2023



AFP News: Israeli-Palestinian Talks In Egypt Aim To 'Restore Calm'
<[link removed]>



“Israeli and Palestinian officials were holding talks in Egypt on Sunday ‘to
restore calm’ after a surge in deadly violence in the occupied West Bank,
Egypt's foreign ministry said. The meeting, which follows similar talks last
month in Jordan where both sides pledged to prevent more violence, comes amid
concerns of a feared escalation during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan
starting in the coming week. The meeting is aimed at ‘supporting dialogue
between the Palestinian and Israeli sides to put a stop to unilateral actions
and escalation and break the cycle of violence’, Egypt's foreign ministry
added. Officials from Egypt, Jordan and the United States were attending the
meeting in the Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh, it added. Hussein al-Sheikh,
Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) secretary general, said Saturday on
Twitter that the Palestinian delegation would participate ‘to demand an end to
the continuous Israeli aggression against us’. Few details have emerged from
the talks, but the efforts were already rejected by militant Palestinian
factions.”



Reuters: East Congo Militants Kill At Least 22 In String Of Attacks
<[link removed]>



“Suspected militants killed at least 22 people in a string of attacks across
the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern Ituri and North Kivu provinces
overnight Saturday, officials and activists said on Sunday. The incidents were
the latest in a stream of continuous violence that has plagued eastern Congo
for years, despite increasing interventions from the country's army and U.N.
peacekeepers. At least 12 people were killed Saturday in simultaneous raids
across several villages in Ituri province. Local officials and civil society
leaders blamed the CODECO group, one of several militias that have destabilized
the densely forested region.”



United States



New York Post: ISIS Lover Busted For Plotting To Kill Cops On Street Of
Yonkers St. Patrick’s Day Parade
<[link removed]>



“An ISIS-loving radical Islamic extremist from Yonkers was busted by the feds
Friday for plotting to kill the city’s police officers and mayor beginning on
the street where the local St. Patrick’s Day parade was set to go down,
authorities said Friday. Ridon Kola, 32, directly messaged the Yonkers police,
saying ‘I will crucify Yonkers cops and their bosses all along McLean ave. It
will be a horror scene . . . Allahu Ekberr,’ according to federal authorities.
Though Kola didn’t directly threaten the parade, McLean Avenue is the street
where the city’s St. Patrick’s Day event is scheduled for Saturday — and it
prompted officials to quickly bust him Friday so he couldn’t do any damage at
the event. ‘Yonkers is proud to host one of New York’s largest St. Patrick’s
Day parades and threats like this will not intimidate us from celebrating the
many contributions of our Irish American community,’ Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano
tweeted after the bust.”



Syria



Associated Press: Palestinian Militant Group: Commander Assassinated In Syria
<[link removed]>



“A commander in the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad was killed in
Syria on Sunday in what it described as an assassination by Israeli agents. The
Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad group, said in a
statement that Ali Ramzi al-Aswad, 31, was killed Sunday morning in the
Damascus countryside in a ‘cowardly assassination with bullets bearing the
fingerprints of the Zionist enemy,’ referring to Israel. There was no immediate
statement from Israel on Sunday’s alleged assassination. The Islamic Jihad said
in a statement Aswad’s family had been displaced from the city of Haifa in 1948
and settled in the refugee camps in Syria, where he joined the organization as
a young man. In 2019, Israeli warplanes fired missiles at the home of Akram
al-Ajouri, a member of Islamic Jihad’s leadership living in exile. Ajouri was
not harmed, but his son was reportedly killed in the attack.”



Associated Press: Syrian Kurdish Force Says It Lost 9 Fighters In Iraq Crash
<[link removed](AP)%20%E2%80%94,this%20week%20in%20neighboring%20Iraq.>



“The main U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led force in northeastern Syria said Friday
it lost nine fighters, including a commander, when two helicopters crashed this
week in neighboring Iraq. The group known as Syrian Democratic Forces said the
helicopters crashed during bad weather while en route to the northern Iraqi
city of Suleimaniyah on Wednesday night. The nine killed included elite
fighters, the group said. The statement added that the Syrian Kurdish fighters
were in Iraq as part of an ‘exchange of expertise’ in the fight against the
militant Islamic state group. It identified the killed commander as Sherfan
Kobani, a cousin of SDF’s top commander, Mazloum Abdi. The SDF did not
elaborate on the cause of the crash or provide further details. The group
called on local authorities in Iraq to hand over the nine bodies so they could
be brought home for burial in Syria.”



The Jerusalem Post: US To Send Islamic Terrorists To Ukraine, Syria's Assad
Tells Russian Media <[link removed]>



“The United States plans to send Islamic terrorists from Syria to Ukraine to
aid in the war against Russia, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told Russian
state-owned media RIA Novosti. On Wednesday, Assad met with Russian President
Vladimir Putin for the first time since the Ukraine-Russia War began to discuss
Syria and Russia’s political, economic, and military relationships. RIA spoke
to Assad after the meeting about the situation in Ukraine and the United
States' presence in Europe and the Middle East. Both the interviewer from RIA
and Assad accused the US of harboring terrorists and manipulating the war for
its own benefit.”



Iran



Reuters: Iran Court Sentences Two To Death Over Deadly Shrine Attack
<[link removed]>



“An Iranian court has handed out death sentences to two men over an attack on
a Shi'ite shrine in Iran that killed 15 people in October and was claimed by
the militant group Islamic State, the official news agency IRNA reported on
Saturday. Fars Province judiciary head Kazem Mousavi said the two men had been
found guilty of charges including ‘spreading corruption on earth’ and acting
against national security, IRNA reported, adding that the sentences can be
appealed. CCTV footage broadcast on state TV showed the attacker entering the
popular Shah Cheragh shrine in the southern city of Shiraz after hiding an
assault rifle in a bag and shooting as worshippers tried to flee and hide in
corridors. The gunman, identified as a citizen of Tajikistan, later died in a
hospital from injuries sustained during the attack. The two men sentenced to
death said during the trial that they had been in contact with the Islamic
State in neighbouring Afghanistan and helped organise the attack, Iranian media
reported.”



Iraq



Daily Sabah: Helicopter Carrying PKK Terrorists In Iraq Owned By PUK Members:
KRG
<[link removed]>



“As the mystery lingers over a helicopter crash that killed members of the
PKK terrorist group in Iraq, the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern
Iraq issued a new statement regarding the incident last week. The helicopter
was purchased by a group within the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)
political party, the premier of the KRG said, according to local media. KRG
Prime Minister Masrour Barzani noted that the helicopter crashed in the Duhok
region during Nowruz Festival celebrations on Saturday. ‘Actually, the
helicopter was purchased by a group within the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
(PUK), but we don't know how it got into the hands of the SDF (PKK/YPG),’
Barzani said, adding that there was so far no further information about a
second helicopter in the area whose presence was speculated by media outlets.”



Afghanistan



The Khaama Press News Agency: ISIS In Afghanistan Capable Of Overseas Attacks,
Says US Commander
<[link removed]>



“…The terrorist group carried out four high-profile attacks from
December-January 2022, hitting Afghanistan’s foreign ministry, the military
section of Kabul’s airport, the Pakistani embassy, and a hotel housing Chinese
guests, according to the nonprofit Counter Extremism Project. Security remains
a significant challenge for Afghanistan’s de facto authorities among other
critical issues, such as poverty, unemployment, and economic challenges.”



Prensa Latina: Taliban Attack ISIS Hideouts In Balkh Province, Afghanistan
<[link removed]>



“The spokesman described the attack as a substantial blow against the
insurgents and stated that Taliban security forces have launched special
operations against ISIS militants in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh
province. Several ISIS fighters were killed as a result of the operation and a
member of the Islamic Emirate’s security personnel was wounded, Mujahid said.
In addition, local sources reported a clash between Taliban forces and
anti-government militants in the Dashte Shor area of Mazar-e-Sharif. The
self-styled Islamic State of Greater Khorasan (ISIS-K) claimed responsibility
for the attack on the Tabyan Cultural Center in Mazar-e-Sharif, killing and
injuring dozens of journalists. The group also launched ruthless attacks on
educational institutions and also on senior Taliban officials in Kabul.”



Pakistan



The Indian Express: Pakistani Court Grants Imran Khan Protective Bail In 8
Terrorism Cases, One Civil Case
<[link removed]>



“In a relief to embattled Imran Khan, a top Pakistani court here granted
protective bail to the former prime minister on Friday in eight terrorism cases
and a civil case after he appeared before the court, hours after another court
suspended non-bailable arrest warrants against him till March 18 in a
corruption case. Khan, the 70-year-old chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
(PTI) party, travelled to the Lahore High Court (LHC) in a bulletproof vehicle
to seek protective bail in nine cases. A two-member bench of the LHC,
comprising Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh and Justice Farooq Haider conducted the
hearing on bail pleas filed against the cases that are lodged under terrorism
sections, according to Geo TV. For the five cases in Islamabad, the court
granted bail to the PTI chief till March 24 and for the three cases in Lahore,
Khan received bail till March 27, the report said.”



Middle East



Associated Press: Military: Rocket Fired From Gaza Lands On Southern Israel
<[link removed]>



“The Israeli military said Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a
rocket toward southern Israel Saturday evening. The rocket fell and exploded in
an open area, triggering warning sirens in the Nahal Oz community to the east
of Gaza City. There were no reports of casualties or damage. The Israeli
military usually responds to such rocket fire with airstrikes in the
Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, raising the possibility of further violence just ahead
of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.”



i24 News: West Bank: IDF Soldiers Shoot Dead Knife-Wielding Palestinian
Terrorist
<[link removed]>



“Israeli soldiers in the West Bank on Friday shot a Palestinian terrorist who
tried to stab one of them. No Israel Defense Forces troops were wounded in the
incident, which took part outside the Givat Assaf settlement, not far from
Ramallah. After the terrorist unsuccessfully tried stabbing one of the
soldiers, they fired warning rounds into the air, telling the Palestinian to
drop the knife. After the assailant failed to comply, soldiers shot and wounded
him. He died of his wounds later.”



The Times Of Israel: 2 Jewish Teens Indicted On Terror Charges For January
Firebombing Of Herzliya Mosque
<[link removed]>



“Two Jewish suspects, including a minor, were indicted Friday on terror
charges for recently firebombing a mosque in the central city of Herzliya. The
Tel Aviv residents, aged 16 and 19, were arrested by police in the past few
days for targeting the Sidna Ali Mosque in January with Molotov cocktails as an
act of revenge for Palestinian terror attacks, according to a Justice Ministry
statement. The suspects were charged with conspiracy to commit acts of
terrorism and arson offenses. The roof of the mosque was left covered in soot
due to the act.”



Nigeria



Associated Press: Officials Abducted, Jihadists Repelled In Nigeria Vote
<[link removed]>



“Security forces repelled an attack by Islamic extremists on a coalition
center in northeastern Nigeria and several election officials elsewhere were
kidnapped as results trickled in Sunday from the gubernatorial vote. Meanwhile,
the incumbent governor in the battleground state of Lagos appeared to have
secured reelection, though results from more than two-thirds of the states were
still being counted. Festus Okoye, a spokesman for Nigeria’s Independent
National Electoral Commission, said Sunday it had received reports of violence
and was reviewing them. Nigeria’s election laws grant the electoral body the
power to void the outcome of an election in certain circumstances.”



Sahara Reporters: Exclusive: Three Young Nigerian Soldiers Killed After Patrol
Vehicle Drives Over Bomb Planted By Iswap Terrorists In Borno
<[link removed]>



“Three young personnel of the 152 Task Force Battalion, Banki town in Borno
State have been confirmed dead after running into an improvised explosive
device (IED) planted by the Islamic State-backed faction of Boko Haram, the
Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), formerly known as Jamā'at Ahl
as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād. SaharaReporters gathered that the troops were
on fighting patrol around 10 am on Thursday when the vehicle drives over the
planted IED. One of the victims was identified as Ogbosomi; he reportedly
joined the Army in 2020. ‘Three of our men were killed after a roadside
improvised explosive device (IED) struck a convoy of troops during a fighting
patrol.’”



Punch: Election Day Attack: Soldiers Kill 60 Terrorists In Borno
<[link removed]>



“The military in Borno State averted what could have been a major
governorship and state assembly election day tragedy by foiling an attempted
attack by the Islamic State’s West Africa Province on the Mafa Local Government
Area collation centre in the state. Dependable reports said the terrorists
attempted to infiltrate the army base serving as a collation centre for the
March 18 elections. Troops, according to the sources, swiftly mobilised and
confronted the terrorists, instantly killing 60 of them in a fierce duel.
Military sources in Maiduguri said the terrorists stormed Mafa Town in gun
trucks and motorcycles around 2am and headed towards the military base where
the collation of votes for the LGA was ongoing.”



Somalia



Garowe Online: Somalia: Burundian Linked To Al-Shabaab Suicide Bomb In Jana
Cabdalle
<[link removed]>



“A Burundian national was directly linked to the recent Al-Shabaab attack in
Jana Cabdalle, a town located in Jubaland, the group has claimed in a
statement. This development exposes the militants' recruitment strategy, which
is expanding rapidly across East Africa and the Great Lakes region. Recently,
the group acknowledged that Kenyan and Tanzania nationals participated in an
attack targeting US Naval base in Manda Airbase within Kenya which left at
least three Americans dead. The attack was mainly engineered by foreigners with
two Somalis also taking part.”



Africa



Reuters: Islamic State Claims Responsibility For Killing 10 People In Eastern
DRC
<[link removed]>



“Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack that took place in an
eastern village in the Democratic Republic of Congo killing 10 people and
injuring many others, a telegram account for the group said on Sunday. ‘This is
our first attack in Lubero province and this is expansion for the IS
operations’ the account said.”



Free Press Kashmir: US Conducts ‘Counter-Terrorism’ Drills In West Africa
<[link removed]>



“A two-week US-led counter-terrorism exercise that assembled over 400
soldiers from across West Africa with the aim of combatting extremist violence
in the region has concluded in Ghana. According to the US military trainers
overseeing the drills, the platform was also used to press nations in the
region to rely on each other rather than on non-Western powers, the Russian TV
Network RT reported. Military personnel from Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Nigeria
took part in the exercises, dubbed ‘Flintlock’, which wrapped up on March 15.
During the maritime and cross-border drills, soldiers learned, among other
things, how to use motorcycles to counter jihadist insurgent attacks. ‘You have
governments with so many problems that they begin reaching out to other malign
actors who are perhaps more exploitive of the resources in those countries,’
Colonel Robert Zyla of the US Special Operations Command Africa told Reuters.”



United Kingdom



BBC: William Howitt: Man, 26, Charged With Terrorism Offence
<[link removed]>



“A 26-year-old man has been charged with a terrorism offence. William Howitt,
of Holme Road, West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, was arrested on Tuesday by
counter-terrorism officers. Police said he had since been charged with engaging
in conduct in preparation for terrorism, under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act
2006. At Westminster Magistrates' Court Mr Howitt was given a trial date of 31
March at the Old Bailey.”



The National News: UK Tests Emergency Response Systems By Holding ‘Terror
Attacks’ In London And York
<[link removed]>



“A knife-wielding terrorist rampaging through York Racecourse and suicide
bombers targeting London's transport systems were part of two terrorism
exercises held to assess the UK's emergency response systems. Surprised
onlookers were met with armed police and ambulances attending staged terrorism
incidents where actors were covered in fake blood and injuries. The events were
held to test the UK’s response systems after emergency services were criticised
following the Manchester Arena terrorist attack. Suicide bomber Salman Abedi
killed 22 people and injured more than 1,000 others when he detonated a bomb in
his backpack at the end of an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017. An inquiry
into the attack made a number of recommendations, which included calling for
emergency responders to become more effective and improve how they work
together.”



Oxford Mail: Blackbird Leys Woman Will Stand Trial In November On Terrorism
Charges
<[link removed]>



“A woman from Oxford will stand trial in November accused of sharing Islamist
‘terror publications’ online. Roma Iqbal, 23, appeared before the Old Bailey
this morning (March 17), when Mr Justice Baker fixed her trial for November 13.
The case is expected to be sent to Winchester Crown Court. Granting her
conditional bail, the High Court judge told Iqbal she was next due before the
court in July for a mention hearing.”



Technology



The Jerusalem Post: Social Media Videos Instruct Terrorists How To Carry Out
Attacks <[link removed]>



“Instructional videos on how to kill Israelis in stabbings and shootings are
being circulated online, according to a report by the Jewish Chronicle on
Friday. One video, which was translated by the JC showed two men demonstrating
how best to stab a person. The video provides instructions on what type of
knife to use and where best to stab. The video instructs prospective stabbers
not to use kitchen knives or blunt knives, according to the JC's translation.”



Mirror: EXCLUSIVE: Britain's Biggest Fascist Group Sharing Far-Right
Propaganda And Racist Slurs On Youtube
<[link removed]>



“…YouTube says it does not allow hate speech under its terms of service and
removes any content that incites violence or hatred. But a joint investigation
by this newspaper and the Counter Extremism Project found videos contravening
this policy have been online for up to two years.”



The Sun: 'BEGGARS BELIEF' Youtube Still Broadcasting Racist Song Videos Which
Inspired Terrorist Neo-Nazi Anders Breivik
<[link removed]>



“…Sir Ivor Roberts, senior adviser at the Counter Extremism Project, said it
‘beggars belief’ they are on YouTube 12 years on. He added: ‘It’s sickening to
think such material can be easily accessed by children and vulnerable adults —
and essentially act as recruiting videos, glamourising and justifying a violent
neo-Nazi cause. ‘The laws requiring wealthy social media giants to prevent such
harmful material from being broadcast are simply not robust enough.’ Breivik
was jailed for Norway’s maximum term of 21 years. YouTube was approached for
comment.”



The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If
you value what we do, please consider making a donation.

DONATE NOW
<[link removed]>
 




Click here to unsubscribe.
<[link removed]>