Reuters: Sweden Police Arrest Suspected Islamists Believed To Prepare Attack

“Swedish police on Thursday apprehended four people on suspicion of preparing a terrorist crime tied to violent Islamist extremism, the Sapo security service and prosecution agency said. "We see links to serious organised crime and also international connections that we tie to the terrorist organisation Islamic State," a Sapo spokesperson told Reuters. The spokesperson gave no further details about the suspected links to IS, the identity of the suspects or the nature of the alleged planned attack. The arrests followed an extensive investigation of the case, police said in a statement. The arrests were made in the Stockholm area, the national prosecution service said separately. Swedish media earlier on Thursday reported that a large number of police officers led by the security service had made the arrests in Tyreso, a southern suburb of the Swedish capital.”

BBC: Arrests Made Over Alleged Support For Terror Group

“Four people have been arrested on suspicion of encouraging support for a banned terrorist group at a protest in London, the Met Police has said. Three of the suspects were arrested at a pro-Palestine demonstration at Victoria Embankment on Saturday. The fourth was arrested when he went to a second protest against their arrests outside a west London police station on Sunday. All four have been released on bail until late March and their homes have been searched. A 34-year-old man from Kent, a 58-year-old man from west London and a 36-year-old woman from South Yorkshire were all arrested on suspicion of inviting support for a proscribed organisation, police said. The fourth suspect, a 49-year-old man from south London, was arrested on suspicion of the same offence when he was spotted protesting against the arrests. Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met Counter Terrorism Command, said: "The vast majority of people attending protests are doing so peacefully.”

CEP Mentions

European Union: Call For Participants: RAN Practitioners Training Webinar - ‘Trends And Developments In Narratives And Recruitment Techniques Online’, 27 March 2024

“... In this webinar, you will hear from three experts who will share their insights on the topics discussed above. The first presentation will be from professor Peter Neumann from ICSR, who will discuss the overarching trends and developments regarding the normalisation of extremist narratives. Then, another expert (tbc) will delve into the recruitment trends in Islamist extremism, followed by Alexander Ritzmann from the Counter-Extremism Project, who will discuss developments and narratives in far-right extremism.”

United States

Associated Press: Biden Orders US Military To Set Up Temporary Aid Port For Gaza As Famine Threatens

“President Joe Biden ordered the U.S. military Thursday to set up a temporary port off the coast of Gaza, joining international partners in trying to carve out a sea route to deliver food and other aid to desperate Palestinian civilians cut off by the Hamas-Israel war and by Israeli restrictions on humanitarian access by land. While reiterating his support for Israel, Biden used the announcement and the bright spotlight of his State of the Union speech to renew months of U.S. calls to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change how he conducts the war, including by allowing in more aid to Gaza and doing more to protect humanitarian workers there. “To the leadership of Israel I say this: Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip,” Biden declared before Congress. He repeated calls as well for Israel to do more to protect civilians in the fighting, and to work toward Palestinian statehood as the only long-term solution to Israeli-Palestinian violence.”

Iran

Associated Press: Iran Is Responsible For The ‘Physical Violence’ That Killed Mahsa Amini In 2022, UN Probe Finds

“Iran is responsible for the “physical violence” that led to the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022 and sparked nationwide protests against the country’s mandatory headscarf, or hijab, laws and its ruling theocracy, a U.N. fact-finding mission said Friday. The stark pronouncement came in a wide-ranging initial report submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council by the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran. It also found that the Islamic Republic employed “unnecessary and disproportionate use of lethal force” to put down the demonstrations that erupted following Amini’s death, and that Iranian security forces sexually assaulted detainees. The monthslong security crackdown killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained. There was no immediate comment on the report from Iran. Iranian officials did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press on the mission’s findings.”

Afghanistan

Associated Press: Violence In The Mideast, Rising Threats From Islamic State Group In Afghanistan Pressure US, Allies

“Exploding violence in the Middle East, fueled by Iran, presents the most likely threat to the U.S. homeland, and the risk of an attack by violent extremists in Afghanistan on American and Western interests abroad is increasing, the top U.S. commander for the region told a Senate committee Thursday. Army Gen. Erik Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command, said the Islamic State group’s Khorasan affiliates in Afghanistan and Syria “retain the capability and the will” to attack and could strike “in as little as six months and with little to no warning.” Such an attack would be more likely against the U.S. and its allies in Europe, and it will take “substantially more resources” to hit the U.S. homeland. Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Kurilla painted a dire picture of violence in the Middle East region in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. That assault and Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, has fueled attacks by Iran-backed militant groups in Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria, threatening maritime traffic in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, and targeting U.S. bases and troops across the region.”

Yemen

Reuters: Ship Evacuated After First Civilian Fatalities In Houthis' Red Sea Attacks

“India's navy evacuated all 20 crew from a stricken vessel in the Red Sea on Thursday, after a Houthi attack killed three seafarers in the first civilian fatalities from the Yemeni group's campaign against the key shipping route. The Iran-aligned militants fired a missile at the Barbados-flagged, Greek-operated True Confidence on Wednesday about 50 nautical miles off the southern Yemeni port of Aden, setting it ablaze. In a statement, the owners and manager said all 20 crew and three armed guards on board were taken to hospital in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa by an Indian warship. Two of the dead were Filipino nationals, while the third was Vietnamese, the owners and managers said, expressing condolences to families. Two other Filipinos were also severely injured. Vietnam on Thursday condemned the attack, and said one of the Vietnamese crew died while the remaining three nationals were in good health. Images released by the Indian Navy showed a helicopter winching crew members from a small life raft in choppy seas and taking them to a naval ship.”

Reuters: US Conducts Strikes In Yemen And Downs Houthi Drones

“U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said it conducted self-defence strikes on Thursday against four mobile Houthi anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM) and one Houthi unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. CENTCOM said its forces shot down three UAVs launched toward the Gulf of Aden from areas controlled by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.”

Middle East

Associated Press: After Months Of Warnings That Israel’s Siege Is Causing Famine, Children Begin To Die In Gaza

“After months of warnings over the risk of famine in Gaza under Israel’s bombardment, offensives and siege, children are starting to die. Hunger is most acute in northern Gaza, which has been isolated by Israeli forces and has suffered long cutoffs of food supply deliveries. At least 20 people have died from malnutrition and dehydration at the north’s Kamal Adwan and Shifa hospitals, according to the Health Ministry. Most of the dead are children – including ones as old as 15 – as well as a 72-year-old man. Particularly vulnerable children are also beginning to succumb in the south, where access to aid is more regular. At the Emirati Hospital in Rafah, 16 premature babies have died of malnutrition-related causes over the past five weeks, one of the senior doctors told The Associated Press. “The child deaths we feared are here,” Adele Khodr, UNICEF’s Middle East chief, said in a statement earlier this week.”

ABC: No Gaza Cease-Fire Deal Is Likely By Ramadan, Hamas Leader Says

“Hamas' delegation has left Cairo, ending cease-fire talks between the militant group and Israel and making it unlikely that there will be a break in the violence before the religious month of Ramadan begins on March 10, Hamas leader Hussam Badran said in a statement. While Israel signed off on a number of Hamas' terms, Hamas then ramped up its demands, insisting on a permanent cease-fire that retained its control of Gaza, two U.S. officials familiar with the talks said Wednesday. Hamas said Israel's negative positions kept the Cairo negotiations from reaching an agreement. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew said at an event in Israel on Thursday that it's a "mistake" to think the hostage and cease-fire negotiation talks are over. "There are still conversations going on. Still a back and forth. The differences are being narrowed. it’s still not an agreement," Lew said. "And everyone is looking towards Ramadan, which is coming closer." "I can’t tell you it will be successful but it’s not yet the case that [the talks have] broken down," Lew said.”

Nigeria

New York Times: Hundreds Are Feared Seized In Nigeria, As Kidnapping Epidemic Worsens

“Theirs were already lives of great hardship, in camps for displaced people, after they had fled their homes in Nigeria’s embattled northeast. One recent day, they risked a foray into the countryside to collect firewood — and around 200 of them, some officials said, were kidnapped. Just days later, dozens of children — if not more — were reported abducted on Thursday from a primary school some 500 miles away in central Nigeria. Who was responsible was unclear, and the security services have made no statements. The first incident took place in the region terrorized by Boko Haram, the brutal Islamist group with a history of mass abductions. Residents told the local news media that bandits had carried out the second. But the two had vital elements in common: They involved some of the most vulnerable people in society, and demonstrated the failure of Nigeria’s successive governments and armed forces to bring peace and stability to a fractious land.”

Russia

NBC: U.S. Warns Of Imminent Moscow Attack By 'Extremists,' Urges Citizens To Avoid Crowds

“U.S. citizens in Moscow have been warned to avoid large gatherings Friday and Saturday because of heightened fears of a terrorist attack. The U.S. Embassy in the Russian capital said it was "monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours." U.S. citizens should avoid crowds, monitor local media for updates and "be aware of your surroundings," it said in a brief online update. The embassy did not elaborate on who or what poses the apparent threat to the Russian capital, or what kind of attack may be imminent. But Russia's FSB security service said Thursday that it had foiled a planned attack by an Afghan offshoot of the Islamic State terrorist group on a synagogue in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow.”

Reuters: Russia Says It Neutralized ISIS Cell Plotting Attack On Moscow Synagogue

“Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday it prevented an attack on a synagogue in Moscow that was plotted by an Islamic State cell, Russian state news agencies reported. FSB said that the members of the organization had been planning "to commit a terrorist act against one of the Jewish religious institutions in Moscow", the RIA news agency quoted the report as saying. The attackers opened fire during the attempted arrest and were "neutralized by return fire", the FSB said.”

Washington Examiner: Close Call Underscores Zelensky Call For More Air Defense For Ukraine

“It’s unclear if Russia was tracking the movements of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when a Russian missile landed too close for comfort as his convoy, which was also carrying Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, made its way through the port city of Odesa on the Black Sea on Wednesday. “We were ending this presentation and, I mean, boarding the cars in the motorcade when we saw the strike actually,” Igor Zhovkva, an adviser to Zelensky, told CNN. “It really was less than 500 meters from us. What was that? You cannot exclude anything with these insane people who are striking every day, every night, every corner of my country. So you cannot exclude it was directed at the delegation of my president or at the delegation of the foreign guests.”

Europe

Associated Press: A Top EU Official Says A Ship Is Leaving For Gaza As Test Of New Humanitarian Corridor

“A ship will head to Gaza on Friday carrying humanitarian aid, the European Commission president said, as international donors launch a sea corridor to supply the territory, which faces widespread hunger and shortages of other essential supplies after nearly five months of war. A ship belonging to Spain’s Open Arms will make a pilot voyage to test the sea corridor, Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Cyprus, where she’s inspecting preparations for the sea corridor. It’s been waiting at Cyprus’s port of Larnaca waiting for permission to deliver food aid from World Central Kitchen, a U.S. charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés. She said the EU, together with the U.S., the United Arab Emirates and other involved partner countries are launching the sea corridor to deliver large quantities of aid to Gaza to respond to a “humanitarian catastrophe,” speaking at a news conference with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides. Efforts to dramatically ramp up aid deliveries signaled growing frustration with Israel’s conduct in the war in the United States and Europe.”

BBC: Adviser Warns London A 'No-Go Zone For Jews Every Weekend'

“London has become a "no-go zone for Jews" during weekend pro-Palestinian marches, the government's counter-extremism commissioner has said. Robin Simcox urged ministers to "be bolder and be willing to accept higher legal risk" when tackling extremism. Last week Prime Minister Rishi Sunak used a speech to warn of forces "trying to tear the country apart". Stop the War Coalition, a group taking part in the marches, said there was "no need" for Jewish people to be scared."