Reuters: Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh Killed In Iran, Stoking Fears Of Wider Middle East War

“Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated early on Wednesday morning in Iran, the Palestinian militant group and Tehran said, drawing threats of revenge on Israel in a region already shaken by the war in Gaza and a deepening conflict in Lebanon. Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed the death of Haniyeh, hours after he attended a swearing in ceremony for the country's new president, and said it was investigating. Haniyeh, normally based in Qatar, has been the face of Hamas's international diplomacy as the war set off by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7 has raged in Gaza. Hamas' armed wing said in a statement Haniyeh's killing would "take the battle to new dimensions and have major repercussions", while Iran also vowed to retaliate. Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Israel had provided the grounds for "harsh punishment for itself" and it was Tehran's duty to avenge the Hamas leader's death as it had occurred in the Iranian capital.”

Associated Press: Radical British Preacher Anjem Choudary Sentenced To Life In Prison For Directing A Terrorist Group

“Radical British preacher Anjem Choudary was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for directing a banned terrorist group that a judge said had put many lives at risk. Choudary, 57, was convicted last week in Woolwich Crown Court for directing the radical Muslim group al-Muhajiroun, or ALM, being a member of the banned organization and for drumming up support for it. Justice Mark Wall said Choudary was front and center in running a terrorist organization” that “encouraged young men into radical activity.” ALM was outlawed by the British government in 2010 as a group involved in committing, preparing for or promoting terrorism. “Your actions while directing Al-Muhajiroun ran the risk of causing or contributing to the deaths of very many people,” Wall said. “In addition, by running an organization such as Al-Muhajiroun, you contributed in a significant way to the fear of terrorist attack by radical Islamic organizations which then existed in this country and abroad.”

CEP Mentions

Bloomberg: Hezbollah Commander Targeted By Israel Has Long Been Wanted By US

“The Hezbollah commander Israel targeted in Beirut to avenge a recent rocket attack was also wanted by the US for a bombing in the same city more than 40 years ago. The Israeli army said Fuad Shukr was killed in an airstrike Tuesday night because he was behind the attack in the Golan Heights that killed 12 youths over the weekend. [...] Shukr is alleged to have traveled to Tehran in 1994 on behalf of Hezbollah to retrieve a batch of US-made Stinger anti-aircraft missiles originally intended for Afghan rebels during the Afghan-Soviet war, according to the Counter Extremism Project, an advocacy group based in Washington. Shukr also played a crucial role in Hezbollah’s military campaign in Syria during the country’s civil war, aiding pro-government troops against opposition forces, according to the US Treasury Department.”

The National: Anjem Choudary Jailed: Preacher With Fingerprints In Terror Groups Across Europe

“...Liam Duffy, strategic adviser at the Counter Extremism Project think tank, told The National Choudary had caused considerable harm and his fingerprints can be seen in terrorist groups across the world. "For a long time, Anjem Choudary was seen as something of a novelty and a loudmouth but he has devoted his life to the cause of activism, causing real and unquantifiable damage in the process,” he said. "In addition to those who went on to be involved in terror plots from his orbit, examination of the locales worst affected by ISIS recruitment, the fingerprints of Choudary's Al-Muhajiroun and the Sharia4 copycat organisations around Europe are visible. “Perhaps opportunities were missed, legally speaking, but the bigger issue was that civil societies across western Europe were not – and are still not – adequately prepared to fend off Islamist extremist activism in all its various guises. Choudary exploited this weakness more effectively than most.”

Iraq

The Voice Of America: US Carries Out Strike In Iraq As Regional Tensions Worsen

“The United States on Tuesday carried out a strike in Iraq in self-defense, U.S. officials told Reuters, as regional tensions rose after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut that Israel said killed Hezbollah's most senior commander. Iraqi police and medical sources said the strike inside a base south of Baghdad used by Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) killed four members of the group, which includes several Iran-aligned armed militias, and wounded four others. In a statement after the blasts, the Popular Mobilization Forces made no accusation about who was responsible. U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States carried out an airstrike in Musayib, in Babil province, but did not provide more details on the location. The officials added that the strike targeted militants that the U.S. deemed were looking to launch drones and posed a threat to U.S. and coalition forces.”

Turkey

Reuters: Turkey Says It Killed 13 Kurdish Militants In Northern Iraq

“Turkish forces targeted Kurdish militants in northern Iraq with air strikes, killing 13 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the defence ministry said on Tuesday. The PKK militants were "neutralised" in the Gara and Haftanin regions of northern Iraq, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry's use of the term "neutralised" generally means killed. Turkey's military previously conducted air strikes in northern Iraq on Friday and destroyed 25 Kurdish militant targets, the defence ministry said in an earlier statement. It said those targets included caves, shelters, bunkers, depots and facilities. The PKK, which has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, is designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.”

Lebanon

Reuters: Hezbollah Says Top Commander Was In Building Targeted By Israeli Strike, Fate Unknown

“Lebanon's Hezbollah said early on Wednesday its senior commander Fuad Shukr had been in a building in the southern suburbs of Beirut when it was targeted by an Israeli strike, but the group did not confirm his fate. Israel's military announced late on Tuesday it had killed Shukr, whom it named as Hezbollah's most senior commander and whom it blamed for an attack at the weekend that left a dozen youngsters dead in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Iran-backed Hezbollah has denied any involvement in Saturday's attack. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Shukr "has the blood of many Israelis on his hands. Tonight, we have shown that the blood of our people has a price, and that there is no place out of reach for our forces to this end". A senior security source from another country in the region confirmed Shukr had died of his wounds. At least two women and two children were also killed, medical and security sources said.”

Qatar

Reuters: Qatar PM Says: How Can Mediation Succeed When One Side Assassinates Negotiator?

“The prime minister of Qatar, which has acted as a mediator in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, suggested on Wednesday that the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh could jeopardise efforts to secure a truce in Gaza. "Political assassinations and continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on other side?" Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani wrote on X. "Peace needs serious partners & a global stance against the disregard for human life." Qatar, Egypt and the United States have repeatedly tried to secure a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, where Israeli forces have killed more than 39,000 Palestinians since Hamas-led fighters attacked Israel in October, killing 1,200 people. A final deal to halt more than nine months of war has been complicated by changes sought by Israel, sources have told Reuters.”

Middle East

Associated Press: UN Report Says Palestinians Detained By Israeli Authorities Since Oct. 7 Faced Torture, Mistreatment

“The U.N. human rights office issued a report Wednesday saying Palestinians detained by Israeli authorities since the Oct. 7 attacks faced waterboarding, sleep deprivation, electric shocks, the release of dogs, and other forms of torture and mistreatment. The report said Israel’s prison service held more than 9,400 “security detainees” as of the end of June, and some have been held in secret without access to lawyers or respect for their legal rights. A summary of the report, based on interviews with former detainees and other sources, decried a “staggering” number of detainees — including men, women, children, journalists and human rights defenders — and said such practices raise concerns about arbitrary detention. “The testimonies gathered by my office and other entities indicate a range of appalling acts, such as waterboarding and the release of dogs on detainees, amongst other acts, in flagrant violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law,” said U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Türk in a statement.”

Mali

Reuters: Al Qaeda Branch Says It Killed 50 Russian Mercenaries, 10 Malian Soldiers In Mali

“An al Qaeda affiliate said it killed 50 Russian Wagner mercenaries and 10 Malian soldiers in an ambush in Mali's northern Kidal region near the border with Algeria on Saturday, according to the SITE Intelligence Group. The ambush occurred on the same day a Tuareg rebel movement known as the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development (CSP-PSD) said it had killed and injured dozens of Malian soldiers and Wagner mercenaries during days of fighting at the border town of Tinzaouaten. The death toll is a significant blow, amounting to what appears to be Wagner's heaviest defeat since it stepped in two years ago to help Mali's junta fight Islamist groups that have been waging insurgencies across the Sahel region since 2012. Mali, where the army seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, has said Russian forces there are not Wagner mercenaries but trainers helping local troops with equipment bought from Russia.”

BBC: Mali Army Admits 'Significant' Losses In Wagner Battle

“Mali's army has admitted it suffered “significant” losses during two days of fighting involving Tuareg separatist rebels and al-Qaeda-linked militants. It is rare for the military to own up to battlefield disasters and comes a day after its ally, the Russian mercenary Wagner group, said one of its commanders had died in the fighting that took place during a sandstorm. Neither Mali’s military nor Wagner have given figures, but the estimated death toll for Wagner fighters ranges from between 20 and 80. The clashes took place in the desert near Tinzaouaten, a north-eastern town on the border with Algeria. According to Wagner, its fighters and a detachment from the Malian military were retreating from Tinzaouaten after clashes with separatist forces from the Tuareg ethnic group. Whilst waiting for reinforcements, their convoy was ambushed in attacks by the separatists and militants from an al-Qaeda affiliate, Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).”

United Kingdom

BBC: Rise In People Fascinated By Violence, Police Warn

“The threat from international and domestic terror presents a “breadth of challenge greater than it has ever been”, according to senior US and UK police officers who oversaw the successful prosecution of Anjem Choudary. The Islamist preacher from east London is starting a life sentence for directing a group banned under UK terror law, and encouraging support for it online. The officers say his case highlights the continuing danger posed by radicalisers - and the violent groups they support. But they also say counter-terrorism forces are now battling a wide diversity of threats - including from a worrying number of people who don't support an underlying ideology, but are simply drawn to violence. Young people being attracted to online extremism through conspiracy theories, the actions of “hostile states” such as Russia, and the “toxicity of our political environment” are also of concern, they warn.”

Europe

Associated Press: Belarus’ Authoritarian President Pardons German Man Sentenced To Death On Terrorism Charges

“Belarus’ authoritarian leader on Tuesday granted a pardon to a German citizen who had been sentenced to death on terrorism charges. It wasn’t immediately clear whether President Alexander Lukashenko’s decision means that the capital punishment will be replaced with life in prison for Rico Krieger, as it’s usually done in Belarus in such cases, or whether he will be released. A Telegram channel that reports Lukashenko’s decisions didn’t offer specifics. The German Foreign Ministry confirmed that the man had been pardoned and said that “this news is a relief.” It did not elaborate. Earlier on Tuesday, Lukashenko called a meeting to discuss the appeal from Krieger, who was convicted and sentenced to capital punishment in June. Krieger’s lawyer Vladimir Gorbach, who took part in the meeting, told the Belarusian state TV that Lukashenko said he would consider Krieger’s request for pardon and announce his decision later.”