Reuters: Iran, Hezbollah Aim To Bolster Assad As Rebels Bear Down On Homs
“Iran will send missiles, drones and more advisers to Syria, a senior Iranian official said on Friday, as rebel forces pushed their lightning offensive south towards the city of Homs in the biggest challenge for years to President Bashar al-Assad's rule. Seizing Homs would cut off Syria's capital Damascus from the coast, a longtime redoubt of Assad's minority Alawite sect and where his Russian allies have a naval base and air base. After years locked behind frozen front lines, the insurgents have burst out of their northwestern Idlib bastion to achieve the swiftest battlefield advance by either side since a street uprising against Assad mushroomed into civil war 13 years ago. Assad regained control of most of Syria after his key allies - Russia, Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah group - came to his support. But all have recently been diverted by other crises, giving Syrian Sunni Muslim militants a window to fight back.”
Associated Press: Syrian Insurgents Enter 2 Central Towns, Bringing Them Close To The City Of Homs
“Syrian insurgents entered two central towns early Friday just north of the central city of Homs, bringing them closer Syria’s third largest city, an opposition war monitor and pro-government media both reported. The break into Rastan and Talbiseh came a day after opposition gunmen captured the central city of Hama, Syria’s fourth largest, after the Syrian army said it withdrew to avoid fighting inside the city and spare the lives of civilians. The insurgents, led by the jihadi Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, have said that they will march to Homs and Damascus, President Bashar Assad’s seat of power. The city of Homs, parts of which were controlled by insurgents until 2014, is a major intersection point between the capital, Damascus, and Syria’s coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus where Assad enjoys wide support.”
Talk TV: ‘Prevent’ & Children: Kids Make Up 53% Of Referrals To Counter-Extremism Programme
“EXCLUSIVE: Over half of all counter extremism referrals are children. Counter terrorism expert Liam Duffy: "Very few of those referrals will go on to be channel cases... Prevent was turning into a bit of a clearing house, where any kind of vulnerability is referred."”
The Washington Post: Trump Could Hobble Renewed Fight Against Domestic Terrorism, Analysts Warn
“After more than two decades of prioritizing efforts to combat militant Islamist groups, U.S. counterterrorism programs have slowly shifted their focus in recent years to a domestic threat the FBI has said is deadlier and more active: violent far-right movements. But that pivot is likely to halt when President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month, according to analysts and former national security officials. Based on campaign promises and Trump’s first-term record, analysts foresee a rollback of initiatives aimed at curbing violent extremism, especially among right-wing movements. Among the predictions: a slashing of domestic terrorism resources, White House pressure to investigate what Trump terms “the radical left” and cuts to programs aimed at the prevention of radicalization.”
Reuters: Abu Mohammed Al-Golani: The Leader Of Syrian Hts Rebels Steering Shock Offensive
“As the commander of al Qaeda's franchise in the Syrian civil war, Abu Mohammed al-Golani was a shadowy figure who kept out of the public eye, even when his group became the most powerful faction fighting President Bashar al-Assad. Today, he is Syria's most recognisable insurgent, having gradually stepped into the limelight since severing ties to al Qaeda in 2016, rebranding his group and emerging as the de facto ruler of rebel-held northwestern Syria. The transformation has been showcased since rebels led by Golani's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly known as the Nusra Front, captured Aleppo last week, with Golani featuring prominently and sending messages aimed at reassuring Syrian minorities who have long feared the jihadists.”
Reuters: Syrian Rebels Capture Key City Of Hama In Fresh Blow To Assad
“Syrian rebels captured the city of Hama on Thursday, a major victory in a week-old lightning advance across northern Syria and a devastating new blow to President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian and Iranian allies. After years locked behind frozen frontlines, the rebels have burst forth to mount the swiftest battlefield advance by either side since a rebellion against Assad descended into civil war 13 years ago. The capture of Hama gives them control of a strategic central city they never managed to seize before. The Syrian army said it was redeploying outside the city "to preserve civilian lives and prevent urban combat" after what it called intense clashes. Rebels were seen on television parading through Hama into the evening to the sound of celebratory gunfire. Other footage showed detainees pouring out of the city prison after rebels freed them.”
“Iran said Friday it conducted a successful space launch, the latest for its program the West alleges improves Tehran’s ballistic missile program. Iran conducted the launch using its Simorgh program, a satellite-carrying rocket that had had a series of failed launches, at Iran’s Imam Khomeini Spaceport in rural Semnan province. That’s the site of Iran’s civilian space program. The Simorgh carried what Iran described as an “orbital propulsion system,” as well as two research systems to a 400-kilometer (250-mile) orbit above the Earth. A system that could change the orbit of a spacecraft would allow Iran to geo-synchronize the orbits of its satellites. Tehran has long sought that ability. Iran also put the payload of the Simorgh at 300 kilograms (660 pounds), heavier than its previous successful launches.”
Reuters: War-Weary Iraq Weighs Syria Intervention As Rebels Advance
“Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim ruling parties and armed groups are weighing the pros and cons of armed intervention in Syria, viewing as a grave threat the advance of Sunni Islamist rebels who have taken two Syrian cities and now bear down on a third. Baghdad has a dark history with Syria-based Sunni fighters, thousands of whom crossed into Iraq after the 2003 U.S. invasion and fuelled years of sectarian killing before returning again in 2013 as Islamic State to conquer a third of the country. The Syrian rebels advancing in Syria today, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, have disavowed Al Qaeda and IS and say they have no ambitions in Iraq, but ruling factions have little trust in those assertions.”
Reuters: Pakistan's Jailed Former PM Imran Khan Threatens Civil Disobedience Movement
“Pakistan's jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan has called on his supporters to hold a rally next week and threatened to start a civil disobedience movement days after his party led a deadly protest march in Islamabad In a post on X on Thursday, Khan asked supporters to converge on Dec. 13 in the northwestern city of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which is ruled by his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. He demanded a judicial probe into the crackdown on the Nov 25 protest march which he said killed at least 12 of his supporters and violence on May 9 last year which killed 8. All arrested political workers should also be released, he said. "If these two demands are not met, a civil disobedience movement will start from December 14, and the government will be held responsible for any consequences," Khan said.”
NBC News: Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Offers A Fragile Peace Some Fear Won't Be Enough
“The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah appeared on the verge of collapse this week — something that is not a surprise to many Israelis. Both sides accused the other of violating last week’s ceasefire arrangement. On Monday night, Israeli strikes on two southern Lebanese villages killed at least 10 people, Lebanon’s Public Health Ministry said. That was a response to an earlier Hezbollah attack on Israeli military positions in the disputed Shebaa Farms, which itself was in retaliation for what the militant group said were multiple ceasefire violations.”
Associated Press: Hamas Official Says Gaza Ceasefire Talks Have Resumed After Weekslong Hiatus
“A Hamas official said Thursday that international mediators have resumed negotiating with the militant group and Israel over a ceasefire in Gaza, and that he was hopeful a deal to end the 14-month war was within reach. Ceasefire negotiations were halted last month when Qatar suspended talks with mediators from Egypt and the United States because of frustration over a lack of progress between Israel and Hamas. But there has been a “reactivation” of efforts in recent days to end the fighting, release hostages from Gaza and free Palestinian prisoners in Israel, according to Bassem Naim, an official in Hamas’ political bureau who spoke with The Associated Press in Turkey.”
“The 12-year-old Palestinian boy was lying in a hospital bed in central Gaza, wracked with leukemia, malnourished and whimpering in pain despite the morphine doctors were giving him, when Rosalia Bollen, a UNICEF official, said she saw him in late October. Islam al-Rayahen’s family had asked Israeli authorities six times over the past months for permission to evacuate him from Gaza for a desperately needed stem cell transplant, Bollen said. Six times, the request was refused for unexplained security reasons, she said. Islam died three days after she saw him, Bollen said.” Thousands of patients in Gaza are waiting for Israeli permission for urgently needed medical evacuation from Gaza for treatment of war wounds or chronic diseases they can’t get after the destruction of much of the territory’s health care system by Israel’s 15-month military campaign.”
Reuters: Two Men Charged Over Attack On British-Iranian Journalist
“British prosecutors said on Thursday they had authorised charges to be brought against two Romanian men over the stabbing of a journalist working for a Persian language media organisation in London in March. Pouria Zeraati, a British-Iranian journalist who works for Iran International, sustained leg injuries after being stabbed near his home in Wimbledon, southwest London. Counter-terrorism police have led the investigation into the attack over concerns he had been targeted because of his job at the Persian language television news network, which is critical of Iran's government. Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Nandito Badea, 19, and George Stana, 23, had been arrested in Romania on Wednesday and charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and wounding.”
Politico: Terror Attack On Bavarian Christmas Market Foiled By Police
“German authorities foiled a potential terror attack on a Christmas market in Bavaria after a tip-off from a foreign intelligence agency. The 37-year-old suspect from Iraq was arrested on Wednesday evening in shared accommodation for asylum-seekers in Augsburg, German newspaper Welt reported. A spokesperson for the Bavarian police confirmed the arrest Friday morning. Welt, a sister publication of POLITICO in the Axel Springer Group, cited sources saying the suspect had disseminated posts on social media glorifying Islamic State (IS) and photographed the Christmas market in Augsburg. He allegedly talked about wanting to drive a car through the market, according to the report.”
Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.
Fact:
On October 7, 2023, Hamas invaded southern Israel where, in the space of eight hours, hundreds of armed terrorists perpetrated mass crimes of brutality, rape, and torture against men, women and children. In the biggest attack on Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, 1,200 were killed, and 251 were taken hostage into Gaza—where 101 remain. One year on, antisemitic incidents have increased by record numbers.
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