Agence France-Presse: US says it killed military leader of Syrian Al-Qaida affiliate
The U.S. Army said Saturday it had killed a top military leader of Hurras al-Din, a Syrian branch of Al-Qaida that announced its dissolution in January. The U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, which oversees American forces in the Middle East, said in a statement that its forces on Feb. 23 "conducted a precision airstrike in Northwest Syria, targeting and killing Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay, the senior military leader of the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din." "As we have said in the past, we will continue to relentlessly pursue these terrorists in order to defend our homeland, and U.S., allied, and partner personnel in the region," said General Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander. Since Hurras al-Din announced in late January that it was dissolving itself, U.S. airstrikes have killed several of the group's leaders, according to CENTCOM.
A trial began Tuesday in Germany for four alleged Hamas members suspected of organizing weapons caches across Europe. The country’s top prosecutor accuses the men of membership in a foreign terrorist organization. It’s a pilot case for prosecutors, German news agency dpa reported. “For the first time in Germany, people are facing charges of participating as members of the foreign terrorist organization Hamas,” prosecutor Jochen Weingarten said, according to dpa. The men are accused of seeking out some weapons depots set up years ago, as well as setting up new ones, for the militant group across Europe so militants could later use the firearms and ammunition for attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets on the continent, prosecutors said when filing charges last year. The weapons were allegedly moved around Europe in preparation for Hamas’ attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, prosecutors said. Around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in that attack, and about 250 taken hostage.
CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed: "The IS calls for attacks on carnival parades. And there have just been attacks in Munich, Berlin, Austria and France. Terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler talks about the reasons - and about problems that a stricter asylum policy alone cannot solve."
Spiked: “France is facing up to Islamism, so why can’t Britain?”
CEP Strategic Advisor Liam Duffy writes: "In Britain, Islamist terror attacks tend to be treated as merely tragic. We respond with renditions of ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ and try to move on from them as quickly as possible. In France, jihadist terrorism and the broader challenge of Islamist extremism to society are the subject of regular discussion. Their presence is felt looming over every major public event. They are the subject of fierce debate on France’s many tele-magazine shows. One factor here is laïcité, France’s official state secularism. This doesn’t mean that public figures aren’t immune from being overly sensitive about religion. Nor does it protect anyone from spurious charges of Islamophobia when discussing Islamism or jihadism, as elsewhere in Europe. But it does mean that there is more cultural weight in opposition to what is ultimately a militant, bullying and hyper-violent expression of religious fundamentalism."
Spectator: “Gentler stop and search tactics won’t keep Britain safe”
CEP Senior Advisor Ian Acheson writes: "What sort of mojo do you want your police officer to bring with them the next time you’re stopped and searched? The Metropolitan police asked Londoners to help them use this procedure better: one quoted consultation response was to stop using ‘bad energy’ in such an encounter. Perhaps the answer to London’s awful street crime problem is more astrology than criminology. Such comments have influenced the creation of a new ‘charter’ eighteen months in the making, which signals the advent of kinder, gentler frisking in the nation’s capital."
New York Times: Trump Relaxes Limits on Counterterrorism Strikes Outside Conventional War Zones
President Trump has rescinded Biden-era limits on counterterrorism drone strikes and commando raids outside conventional war zones, reverting to the looser set of rules he used in his first term, according to officials familiar with the matter. Under restrictions imposed by the Biden administration, U.S. military and C.I.A. drone operators generally had to obtain permission from the White House to target a suspected militant outside a conventional war zone. Now commanders in the field will again have greater latitude to decide for themselves whether to carry out a strike. The relaxation of the rules suggests that the United States is likely to more frequently carry out airstrikes aimed at killing terrorism suspects in poorly governed places that are not deemed traditional battlefield zones, like Somalia and Yemen. It also means there may be greater risk to civilians.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Taliban Declares End To Doha Agreement With The United States
Afghanistan’s hard-line Islamist Taliban rulers say they no longer consider the Doha agreement -- a peace deal with the United States that paved the way for the withdrawal of Western forces from the country -- to be valid. Speaking on February 28, the fifth anniversary of the agreement, chief Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the accord was limited to a particular time frame, which has now expired. “The Islamic Emirate has its own governance system, and now we are no longer moving forward based on that agreement,” he told the state TV. Mujahid said that the Taliban had fulfilled its key obligation under the agreement by preventing Afghanistan from becoming a launchpad for terrorist attacks against Washington and its allies.
Associated Press: Israel cuts off Gaza aid to pressure Hamas to accept a new ceasefire proposal
Israel stopped the entry of all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip on Sunday and warned of “additional consequences” if Hamas doesn’t accept a new proposal to extend a fragile ceasefire, while key mediator Egypt accused Israel of using “starvation as a weapon.” Hamas accused Israel of trying to derail the ceasefire agreement hours after its first phase ended. It called the decision to cut off aid “cheap extortion, a war crime and a blatant attack” on the truce, which took hold in January after over a year of negotiations. Both sides stopped short of saying the ceasefire had ended. The first phase, which included a surge in humanitarian assistance after months of growing hunger in the territory, expired on Saturday. The two sides have yet to negotiate the second phase, in which Hamas was to release dozens of remaining hostages in return for an Israeli pullout from Gaza and a lasting ceasefire. Talks should have begun a month ago.
France 24: Lebanon intercepts $2.5 million intended for Hezbollah, sources say
Lebanon seized $2.5 million in cash from a man arriving from Turkey, the finance ministry said on Friday, with three sources saying the money was destined for militant group Hezbollah. One of the sources said it was the first time such a seizure had been made. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah. The detainee and the seized funds will be handed over to the investigation division at the General Directorate of General Security," Lebanon's finance ministry said in a statement, without making a reference to Hezbollah. Israel's military said earlier on Friday it had killed a Hezbollah weapons smuggler in a strike on eastern Lebanon a day earlier.
Reuters: Turkey's Kurds say PKK militants heeding jailed leader's peace call is the right move
Residents in Diyarbakir, Turkey's largest Kurdish-majority city, said on Sunday that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party's (PKK) decision to heed its jailed leader's call for peace was correct and prosperity would follow if the decades-old conflict ended. On Saturday, the PKK declared an immediate ceasefire, a news agency close to it said, heeding jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan's disarmament call, in what could be a major step towards ending a 40-year insurgency that has killed more than 40,000 people. President Tayyip Erdogan's government, its nationalist ally, and the pro-Kurdish DEM Party have voiced support for the peace call. However, Erdogan also warned that Ankara would resume military operations against the militant group if promises are not kept. Zihni Capin, a teacher, said in Diyarbakir that people were "exhausted both mentally and physically" by the conflict, and added he hoped the process would conclude in a way that contributes to "prosperity, peace and happiness" in the region.
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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