Eye on Extremism: June 17, 2025
Top Stories
Reuters: Trump urges Tehran evacuation as Iran-Israel conflict enters fifth day
Israel and Iran attacked each other for a fifth straight day on Tuesday, and U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iranians to evacuate Tehran, citing what he said was the country's rejection of a deal to curb nuclear weapons development. Trump was due to leave the Group of Seven summit in Canada later on Monday, a day early, due to the Middle East situation, the White House said. Fox News reported he would convene his National Security Council. French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump's early departure was positive, given the immediate objective was to get Israel and Iran to agree to a ceasefire.
New York Times: Terrorism Threat Grows in West Africa as U.S. Turns Away
About half of terrorism deaths worldwide in 2023 were recorded in the Sahel, the arid region in West Africa known for its seminomadic tribes and ancient trade routes. Emboldened by their success in the landlocked nations of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, insurgents affiliated with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State are moving south toward the Atlantic and into coastal nations such as Ivory Coast. African and Western officials fear the advance will further destabilize West Africa at a time when the United States and European allies have drawn down their presence here, and the Trump administration has turned its attention to a chaotic deportation policy and travel ban that does not include any nations in the Sahel.
CEP Mentions
Tagesspiegel: Expert roundtable: Is a major war now looming in the Middle East?
"It is not entirely clear what the Netanyahu government wants to achieve in Iran," says Hans-Jakob Schindler, Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project think tank. "When it comes to rolling back Iran's nuclear program, you can roughly calculate how long it will take Israel." It would be different if the country pushed for the fall of the mullah regime, Schindler adds. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Iranian people directly in a speech on Friday and called on them to rise up against the regime. This could lead to a long and unpredictable conflict, warns Schindler.
Frankfurter Rundschau: Middle East escalation between Israel and Iran – Germany’s lacking role
However, Germany has no influence anyway, said Middle East expert and extremism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler from the Counter Extremism Project on the fringes of a Tagesspiegel panel discussion in Berlin: "We are just onlookers. After the Americans withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, Germany retreated into a corner, we are no longer involved."
Deutsche Welle: How far has Iran progressed in its nuclear program?
"According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran has increased its enrichment to 60 percent and has also increased its missile tests. This could be interpreted as an attempt by Tehran to increase its bargaining power vis-à-vis the US. But it could also be seen as Iran moving very quickly towards the production of nuclear weapons," Hans Jakob Schindler, a security expert at the Counter Extremism Project, told DW.
WELT: “No automatic weakening of the regime if senior generals are eliminated”
CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed: The war between Israel and Iran continues and escalates. Following renewed rocket attacks, the number of civilian casualties is rising. Extremism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler discusses this on WELT TV.
Analysis
Financial Times: Iran’s regime fights for survival
In a matter of days, Israel has decapitated the top leadership of Iran’s military, struck its main nuclear sites, bombed key energy infrastructure and sown fear across the country as drones and swarms of fighter jets conduct sorties across the republic, seemingly unimpeded. More than 200 Iranian civilians have been killed, according to Iran’s health ministry. The regime’s intelligence agencies have been humiliated and its air defences all but spent, leaving Tehran at the mercy of Israeli air forces that on Monday declared “full operational control” of the skies above the capital.
Wall Street Journal: Iran’s Ayatollahs Are Weaker Than Ever
The 1979 Islamic Revolution retains power in Tehran, and it could rebuild its nuclear and ballistic-missile programs and terrorist networks. The only lasting foundation for Middle East peace and security is overthrowing the ayatollahs. America’s declared objective should be just that. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the case last week, telling the Iranian people: “The time has come for you to unite around your flag and your historic legacy by standing up for your freedom from an evil and oppressive regime.”
A decade ago, Israel’s government and the three major powers in Europe were diametrically opposed to Israel on how best to stop Iran from going nuclear. Britain, France and Germany all favored the Iran nuclear deal; Israel did its best to keep it from happening. Now, with Israel and Iran verging on all-out war the European governments and Israel are — with minor tonal differences — on the same page. The leaders of all three European countries have said Israel’s right to self-defense and preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon are paramount.
United States
USA Today: As ‘lone actor’ attacks rise, Trump cuts program aimed at spotting them
Just as politically motivated attacks by so-called "lone actors" surge across the country, the administration of President Donald Trump is dismantling the very office that oversees efforts to identify and stop such violent extremists before they strike.
The U.S. military has moved a large number of refueling aircraft to Europe to provide options to President Donald Trump as Middle East tensions erupt into conflict between Iran and Israel, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity. The officials also said the U.S. aircraft carrier Nimitz was heading to the Middle East, in what one of them said was a pre-planned deployment. The Nimitz can hold 5,000 personnel and more than 60 aircraft, including fighter jets. Taken together, the deployments, which were first reported by Reuters, suggest the United States is greatly strengthening its air power for potentially sustained operations as Iran and Israel trade blows in unprecedented open warfare.
Reuters: Trump says he wants Iran to give up entirely on nuclear weapons
U.S. President Donald Trump said he wanted a "real end" to the nuclear problem with Iran, with Iran "giving up entirely" on nuclear weapons, in comments he made to reporters on Air Force One on his way back from the Group of Seven summit in Canada. "Giving up entirely," Trump told reporters early on Tuesday. "Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, it's very simple."
The U.S. military has moved a large number of refueling aircraft to Europe to provide options to President Donald Trump as Middle East tensions erupt into conflict between Iran and Israel, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity. The officials also said the U.S. aircraft carrier Nimitz was heading to the Middle East, in what one of them said was a pre-planned deployment. The Nimitz can hold 5,000 personnel and more than 60 aircraft, including fighter jets.
Washington Post: Minnesota shooting suspect went from youthful evangelizer to far-right zealot
Vance Boelter grew up in a sports-loving Lutheran family in a small Minnesota town where nobody locked their doors — a background that gave little hint of the zealotry to come or the deadly violence of which he is now accused. At 17, he had a religious conversion. As he recalled decades later during a passionate sermon overseas, what happened next shook his life. Waving a Bible and thundering from the podium, he spoke about meeting the holy spirit and running off pamphlets about Jesus to give to everyone he knew.
Reuters: Suspect in Minnesota lawmaker killing visited other legislators' homes, prosecutors say
The suspect accused of assassinating a Minnesota lawmaker and shooting another this weekend drove to the homes of at least four state politicians as part of a planned killing spree, U.S. authorities said on Monday. Vance Boelter, 57, faces state and federal murder charges after his arrest on Sunday night following a massive two-day manhunt that was the largest in state history. Prosecutors said on Monday that Boelter visited the homes of two other lawmakers disguised as a police officer, hunting more targets. Investigators said they recovered notebooks from his car and residence that included the names of dozens of Democratic legislators, along with abortion rights advocates.
The number of White Nationalist, hate, and anti-government groups around the U.S. dropped slightly in 2024, not because of any shrinking influence but rather the opposite. Many feel their beliefs, which include racist narratives and so-called Christian persecution, have become more normalized in government and mainstream discourse.
NPR: Charleston marks decade since racist attack at church that killed 9 Black worshippers
Charleston, S.C., is marking 10 years since one of the nation's most heinous hate crimes, when a white supremacist shot and killed nine Black worshippers at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
KOSU: Oklahoma City man pleads guilty to election day terrorism plot
Ahead of the 2024 election, two Afghan men living in central Oklahoma planned an election day terror attack on behalf of the Islamic State group. After Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi changed his plea last week, both men have admitted to the plot.
Jewish Insider: Far left and far right converge in opposition to U.S. involvement in Israel-Iran war
We’ve written a lot about the so-called horseshoe theory of U.S. politics and foreign policy — the point at which the far left and the far right coalesce into agreement — but the Israeli campaign against Iranian military and nuclear targets is providing a particularly stark example of that convergence. The two factions find themselves openly and publicly aligned in opposition to any form of U.S. intervention in Israel’s campaign and against Israel’s operations in general.
When the facts of the story emerged—that the alleged shooter had been registered in other states as a Republican, was said to have voted for President Donald Trump and, as WIRED reported, had participated in an evangelical ministry where he preached against abortion and demonized the LGTBQ community—the conspiracy theories didn’t stop. Instead, they just changed. Posters then claimed the incident was a false flag conducted by the shadowy deep state, while trying to distance the shooter from any connection to the president and the wider MAGA movement.
WJLA ABC 7: Surge in threats to public officials reflects rising political violence, experts say
The tragic events of this past weekend in Minnesota, where a shooting left one Minnesota lawmaker and her husband dead and another lawmaker and his wife wounded, did not come as a shock to Luke Baumgartner, a research fellow at George Washington University's Program on Extremism. “The rhetoric that we saw on the far right from the groups that I look at and monitor online were calling for this sort of violence and calling for these sorts of acts, so it’s really not entirely surprising,” Baumgartner told 7News' I-Team Reporter John Barr Monday.
An armed man arrested Saturday during Nashville’s “No Kings” protest has a long history of fascination with Nazis and mass murderers, and he was already on the FBI's radar, NewsChannel 5 Investigates has learned. Elijah Millar, 19, of Murfreesboro, was arrested Saturday after he “brandished” a handgun while clashing with a few of the thousands of protesters who attended the peaceful rally in downtown Nashville, according to the arrest warrant taken out by Metro Nashville police.
Bosnia
A meeting of leading European rabbis has been canceled in Sarajevo after high-profile appeals against their gathering. About 50 Jewish leaders were headed to the meeting of the Conference of European Rabbis, scheduled for next week at the Swissotel in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. But on Tuesday, the hotel notified the CER that it was nixing their event because of “recent developments and significant public attention.”
France
Euractiv: French far-right urges MPs to quit Facebook groups spreading hate speech
Violent messages have surfaced in an official online support group for French far-right leader Jordan Bardella, reigniting concerns over the Rassemblement National's efforts to curb extremist content. On Tuesday, the secretary-general of the Rassemblement National (RN) group in the National Assembly, Renaud Labaye, confirmed to AFP that he had asked the far-right party’s MPs to leave any Facebook group sharing antisemitic, anti-Muslim or homophobic content.
Arab Weekly: Murder of Tunisian immigrant brings France’s attention to far-right inspired terror
Hichem Miraoui, a 45-year-old Tunisian barber, was at home in the south of France late in May, chatting on the phone with his mother and sisters, when a neighbour drove past and shot him dead on his doorstep. Miraoui has since been buried in his place of birth in the province of Kairouan, Tunisia. After killing Miraoui and shooting Kurdish neighbour Akif Badur in the hand, Christophe Belgembe posted four videos on Facebook, according to France’s anti-terror prosecutor’s office, known as PNAT. Bemoaning a state “unable to protect us, unable to send them home,” Belgembe said he had “taken out two or three pieces of shit” and this was only the beginning. He also called on the French to shoot foreigners.
Germany
ARD: German government returns Germans from Israel
The Federal Foreign Office is preparing to repatriate German citizens from Israel. A charter flight from the Jordanian capital Amman to Frankfurt is planned. A self-organized departure via Egypt is also possible. The Federal Foreign Office wants to fly German citizens out of Israel via its neighbor Jordan. A charter flight from the Jordanian capital Amman to Frankfurt is scheduled for midday next Wednesday, according to the ministry. "Germans in Israel registered on the Elefand crisis preparedness list have been informed about this possibility and the modalities," said a spokeswoman.
Hungary
Reuters: Budapest mayor says city will organise Budapest Pride, circumventing Orban's legislation
The city of Budapest will organise Hungary's Pride march by the LGBTQ community on June 28 as a municipal event celebrating freedom, Budapest's liberal mayor said on Monday, in a move to circumvent a law that allows police to ban LGBTQ marches. Hungary’s parliament, in which Prime Minister Viktor Orban's right-wing Fidesz Party has a big majority, passed legislation in March that creates a legal basis to ban LGBTQ marches, citing protection of children. It also lets police use facial recognition cameras to identify people who attend.
Poland
Balkan Insight: Poland’s Right-Wing Media Publish Controversial Recordings of Governing MPs
Poland’s TV Republika, a right-wing channel, on Monday evening broadcast long-trailed recordings purportedly of Roman Giertych, a prominent politician from the governing camp, discussing political strategy with a well-known businessman or delivering a homily about the attempts of Donald Tusk’s coalition to reverse the judicial reforms of the previous government. The television channel, which is known to have links to the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, has been trailing the “revelations” for over a week, claiming they show how the “backrooms of power” work in Poland under the leadership of Prime Minister Tusk.
Portugal
Associated Press: Portugal arrests six linked to a far-right group and seizes explosives and weapons
Portuguese authorities arrested six people linked to a far-right group and seized explosive material and several firearms, police said Tuesday. The detainees are believed to belong to the so-called Movimento Armilar Lusitano (MAL), which sought to establish itself as a political movement supported by an armed militia, according to a police statement.
Afghanistan
Amu: Taliban flog more than 120 people in less than a month
Taliban have flogged at least 125 people, including 12 women, across 16 provinces in less than a month, according to data collected by Amu from Taliban statements. The punishments, often carried out in front of large crowds in public squares, were concentrated in Kabul, Laghman, Khost, Kunar and Sar-e Pul—provinces that recorded the highest numbers during the solar calendar month of Jawza (22 May to June 15).
Afghanistan International: Taliban Criminalise Use Of Fake Social Media Accounts
The Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has announced that the use of fake social media accounts is now considered a criminal offence under the group’s regulations, as part of a broader crackdown on online activity. In a statement issued this week, ministry spokesperson Saif-ul-Islam Khyber warned that individuals who violate the directive will face serious legal consequences. “No one should misuse social media,” he said, adding that online platforms must be used solely for “sharing accurate information, business, education, and public awareness.”
Afghanistan International: Killed Two Taliban Fighters In Takhar, Says AFF
The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) has claimed responsibility for an attack on a vehicle carrying Taliban fighters in the capital of Takhar province, saying two members of the group were killed.’
Iran
Reuters: Iran leader Khamenei sees his inner circle hollowed out by Israel
Iran's 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cuts an increasingly lonely figure. Khamenei has seen his main military and security advisers killed by Israeli air strikes, leaving major holes in his inner circle and raising the risk of strategic errors, according to five people familiar with his decision-making process.
Times of Israel: IAEA chief: Likely all machines at Iran’s main enrichment plant ‘severely damaged’
It is very likely all the roughly 15,000 centrifuges operating at Iran’s biggest uranium enrichment plant at Natanz were badly damaged or destroyed because of a power cut caused by an Israeli strike, the UN nuclear watchdog chief told the BBC on Monday. The International Atomic Energy Agency and its Director General Rafael Grossi had previously said the centrifuges at the underground enrichment plant at Natanz may have been damaged as a result of an airstrike on its power supply, even though the hall housing the plant itself did not seem to have been hit. “Our assessment is that with this sudden loss of external power, in great probability the centrifuges have been severely damaged if not destroyed altogether,” Grossi said in an interview with the BBC.
Reuters: G7 expresses support for Israel, calls Iran source of instability
The Group of Seven nations expressed support for Israel in a statement, opens new tab issued late on Monday and labeled its rival Iran as a source of instability in the Middle East, with the G7 leaders urging broader de-escalation of hostilities in the region. The air war between Iran and Israel - which began on Friday when Israel attacked Iran with air strikes - has raised alarms in a region that had already been on edge since the start of Israel's military assault on Gaza in October 2023.
Reuters: Iranian supreme leader Khamenei has been implacable opponent of US and Israel
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has spent almost four decades as Shi'ite Iran's supreme leader building a regional power to rival the Sunni states across the Gulf and implacably hostile to the U.S. and Israel - while crushing repeated unrest at home. At first dismissed as weak and an unlikely successor to the Islamic Republic's late founder, the charismatic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Khamenei has steadily tightened his grip to become Iran's unquestioned decision-maker.
Reuters: Iran sought US pressure on Israel for ceasefire via Gulf states, sources say
Tehran has asked Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to press U.S. President Donald Trump to use his influence on Israel to agree to an immediate ceasefire with Iran in return for Iranian flexibility in nuclear negotiations, two Iranian and three regional sources told Reuters on Monday. Gulf leaders and their top diplomats worked the phones all weekend, speaking to each other, to Tehran, Washington and beyond in an effort to prevent a widening of the biggest ever confrontation between longstanding enemies Israel and Iran.
Iran International: Hacktivist group claims cyberattack on Iran’s Bank Sepah
The hacker group Predatory Sparrow claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a cyberattack targeting Bank Sepah, one of Iran’s oldest financial institutions with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Army. The group alleged it had “destroyed all data” at the bank.The claim comes amid reports of widespread banking disruptions in Iran.
Iraq
Rudaw: ISIS-linked families resist repatriation to Iraq
Iraq has requested the repatriation of 36 families with suspected ties to the Islamic State (ISIS) from the notorious Roj camp in northeast Syria (Rojava). However, the families have reportedly refused, citing fears of retaliation, a senior Iraqi official said. Speaking to Rudaw on condition of anonymity, the official stated that while 46 Iraqi families have been brought back from the camp so far, 38 others remain in the camp, adding that “their return requires security screening and procedures by Iraq's security agencies.”
The Iraqi Council of Representatives convened on Tuesday to address what it described as “Israeli violations of Iraqi sovereignty,” condemning the alleged use of Iraqi airspace by Israeli forces to carry out attacks on neighboring Iran. In a unified stance, the parliament expressed the Iraqi people's solidarity with the Iranian people amid escalating regional tensions. Lawmakers called on the federal government to take appropriate countermeasures to safeguard Iraq’s sovereignty and airspace.
Kurdistan24: Ballistic Missile Lands Near Sulaimani's Qaradagh Sub-District, No Casualties Reported
A ballistic missile landed near the village of Tafan in Qaradagh sub-district in Sulaimani province on Monday, causing no injuries or loss of life, local officials confirmed. Shireen Mahmood, mayor of Qaradagh, told Kurdistan24 reporter Hawzhin Jamal that the missile impacted approximately 500 meters from the town center.
Kurdistan24: Drone Shot Down Over Erbil Amid Ongoing Iran-Israel Conflict
Coalition forces shot down a drone flying over the skies of Erbil on Monday, amid heightened regional tensions stemming from the ongoing missile conflict between Israel and Iran. According to Kurdistan24’s monitoring, the incident resulted in no human casualties.
Israel
Reuters: Trump says he wants 'real end' to nuclear problem with Iran, Israel warns Khamenei
U.S. President Donald Trump said he wanted a "real end" to the nuclear dispute with Iran and indicated he may send senior American officials to meet with the Islamic Republic as the Israel-Iran air war raged for a fifth day. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said meanwhile that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could face the same fate as Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who was toppled in a U.S.-led invasion and eventually hanged after a trial.
Times of Israel: Iranian missiles impact central Israel in morning barrage, injuring 5
Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel on Tuesday morning, some of which slammed into central areas of the country, including the city of Herzliya, causing a few light injuries. Some 20 ballistic missiles were launched at Israel in Iran’s attack, according to initial Israel Defense Forces assessments.
Times of Israel: All facilities at Haifa oil refinery shut down after deadly Iran missile strike
The Bazan Group said Monday that all facilities at its oil refinery in the Haifa Bay had been shut down as a result of an Iranian missile strike the previous night that killed three people on site. In a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Bazan said that “as a result of damage to the facilities, the power plant was significantly damaged, and therefore all of the refinery’s and subsidiary companies’ facilities were shut down.”
Times of Israel: IDF bombs Iran state broadcaster after issuing major evacuation warning for Tehran
Israel bombed Iran’s state broadcaster building in Tehran on Monday evening, after issuing a large and unprecedented evacuation warning for one of the capital’s most central districts. The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) live broadcast was interrupted by the strikes, and Sahar Emami, an anchor at the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, was seen hurrying off-camera as the screen behind her cut out. People on set were heard saying “Allahu akbar,” the Arabic phrase for God is great. The strike came hours after the Israeli military issued a wide warning to central Tehran’s third district, an area home to some 330,000 people.
Times of Israel: Netanyahu says Israel won’t rule out killing Khamenei
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday did not rule out plans to target Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Instead, he suggested that it would be a surefire way to “end the conflict” with the Islamic Republic. Asked during an ABC News interview about reports that US President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan to kill the Iranian supreme leader out of concern that it would escalate the fighting between the two countries further, Netanyahu was dismissive. “It’s not going to escalate the conflict, it’s going to end the conflict,” he said.
Wall Street Journal: Israel Takes Control of Iran’s Skies—a Feat That Still Eludes Russia in Ukraine
Within 48 hours of starting its war on Iran, Israel said it gained air superiority over the western part of the country, including Tehran. Israeli warplanes began dropping bombs from within Iranian skies instead of relying on expensive long-range missiles. That is a feat that the giant Russian air force has been unable to achieve in Ukraine in 3½ years of war. This setback is one of the reasons why Moscow’s troops have been bogged down in grinding trench warfare, sustaining staggering losses, ever since they failed to rapidly seize Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, in February 2022. On Sunday, Israel was exploiting its advantage, saying it had taken out dozens of surface-to-air missiles in western Iran and killed the intelligence chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, along with his deputy.
Forbes: Terrorist Attack Texts And Calls Are Fake, Israel Warns
An ongoing “psychological warfare” campaign is ongoing, Israeli authorities warn, aiming to keep citizens away from bomb shelters for fear of terrorist attacks. The calls and texts claimed to originate from IDF’s Home Front Command’s “OREFAlert.” “Officials believe these threats are part of a psychological warfare campaign orchestrated by Iranian or pro-Iranian groups,” reports The Jerusalem Post, “aiming to sow widespread panic during the ongoing military campaign against Iran.”
Lebanon
Naharnet: Lebanese leaders urge Hezbollah to stay out of Israel-Iran conflict
Lebanon's president and prime minister have said that their country must stay out of the conflict between Israel and Iran because any engagement would be detrimental to the small nation engulfed in an economic crisis and struggling to recover from the latest Israel-Hezbollah war. Their remarks Monday amounted to a message to Hezbollah — an ally of both Iran and Hamas — to stay out of the fray.
Saudi Arabia
Reuters: Bomb threat forces Saudia plane to make emergency landing in Indonesia
A Saudia Airlines plane carrying hajj pilgrims home made an emergency landing in Indonesia on Tuesday after a bomb threat, police and the carrier said, with all passengers evacuated. The plane, carrying 442 hajj pilgrims from Jeddah to Jakarta, landed mid-morning in North Sumatra province due to the emailed threat, Indonesia's transport ministry said.
Naharnet: Report: Handover of Palestinian arms to begin from south Lebanon
The major developments in the region, especially the Israeli-Iranian war, have reshuffled all cards in Lebanon and frozen the discussion of a number of files, most notably the handover of Palestinian weapons present in refugee camps, a process that was supposed to begin Monday from Beirut’s camps, a media report said. Official sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that the relevant Palestinian sides in Lebanon are yet to be informed of any instructions, whether from the leadership in Ramallah or from Lebanese security agencies, regarding the handover of weapons present in any camp during the coming days.
Syria
Caliber: Evacuation of first Syrian families begins from Al-Hol camp in northeast Syria
In the Al-Hol camp, located in northeastern Syria and controlled by the terrorist group YPG (the Syrian branch of the PKK), the evacuation of the first group of Syrian families to the northwest regions of the country has started. This operation is being coordinated by the newly established administration of the Arab Republic.
Turkey
Reuters: Far-right Turkish leader released from prison, Haberturk says
A Turkish court ruled on Tuesday that far-right party leader Umit Ozdag should be released from prison, five months after he was jailed pending trial on charges of inciting public hatred, broadcaster Haberturk said. Ozdag heads the Victory Party, which won 2.23% of the votes in 2023 elections, and is known for his fierce opposition to immigrants. He was jailed in January on charges of insulting President Tayyip Erdogan and inciting anti-refugee riots in Kayseri in the summer of 2022, through his social media posts.
India
India Today: Manipur police arrest Chin Kuki militant linked to cross-border crimes
Manipur Police on June 16 arrested an active member of the Chin Kuki National Defence Force/Army (CKNDF/A), a non-SoO insurgent group, from his residence in Churachandpur district. The individual, identified as Ngamkhosat Touthang, also known as Sasat, aged 38, hails from B. Ebenezer in Tuibong.
Pakistan
Daily Times: Pakistan says 700 army personnel killed in militant attacks in last 2 years
Around 700 army personnel have been killed in various militant attacks over the past two years, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Saturday, accusing India of supporting terror outfits in the country.
Pakistan Today: Security forces kill five Khawarij in KP operations: ISPR
Security forces have killed five suspected terrorists affiliated with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in two separate intelligence-based operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The operations, conducted on June 15 and 16, targeted militants allegedly backed by Indian interests, according to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
Mali
Al Jazeera: Wagner vs Africa Corps: The future of Russian paramilitaries in Mali
This month, the Russian mercenary outfit Wagner Group announced its total withdrawal from Mali, claiming it had completed its mission after three and a half years of operations in the West African country. For years, Wagner had been battling rebels and armed groups on behalf of the Malian government, as well as asserting Russia’s interests in the Sahel. But as Wagner leaves, security advisers from the Africa Corps, a Kremlin-controlled paramilitary group, will remain in their place, ensuring a lingering presence of Russian forces.So, what does this change mean for Mali, and is there a difference between the two Russian paramilitary groups and their mission in Africa?
Niger
Reuters: Niger targets jihadist financing, kills 13 in illegal gold mine raids
Niger's army has raided jihadist-controlled informal mining sites in the country's west, killing more than a dozen insurgents and seizing material linked to the manufacture of improvised explosive devices, it said.An army statement said the raids took place last week in the Tagueye locality, near Niger's western border with Burkina Faso. It said 13 insurgents were killed and one arrested.
Nigeria
The death toll from an attack by gunmen over the weekend in north-central Nigeria has climbed to 150, survivors said Monday as the villagers were still digging through burned homes, counting their dead and looking for dozens of people still missing. Assailants stormed Benue state’s Yelewata community late on Friday night, opening fire on villagers who were asleep and setting their homes ablaze, survivors and the local farmers union said. Many of those killed were sheltering in a local market after fleeing violence in other parts of the state.
Somalia
Garowe Online: Somalia: Al-Shabaab Blows Up Key Bridge as Troops Advance on Strategic Towns
The al-Qaeda-linked group in Somalia, the al-Shabaab, blew up a critical bridge in Somalia following intense pressure from the AU Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) and the Somali Army, who are pursuing strategic towns within the country.
Technology
Wall Street Journal: Companies Warned On Iranian Cyberattacks
Iranian actions before and during the conflict in the Gaza Strip provide some indication of the regime’s capabilities. A report published in February 2024 by Google’s Threat Intelligence Group said that Iran-linked groups have focused on destructive malware and ransomware attacks inside Israel, such as the attack on the Israel Institute of Technology in February 2023. Google also identified hack-and-leak operations, in which data is stolen from government organizations and companies, then posted publicly. Examples have included exaggerated or misleading leaks from hackers claiming they compromised Israeli water companies.
Organizations and individuals explicitly supporting white supremacy, anti-LGBTQ+, and QAnon conspiracies raised over $6m on fundraising sites, including GiveSendGo, between 2016 and 2022, according to a report from the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism. GiveSendGo hosted the majority of fundraisers, about 86.5% of the money tracked by the ADL.
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