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While the Proud Boys and National socialists are both associated with far-right extremist ideologies, they have different focuses and goals. The Proud Boys emphasize a broader "western chauvinist" or "patriot" identity, while National Socialists adhere to the highly specific framework of Adolf Hitler's Nazi ideology. Due to these ideological differences, the recent conflicts and clashes come as no surprise.
In early June, the small neo-Nazi group, Order of the Black Sun (OBS), who primarily operate in Florida, held a protest at the main entrance of Disney World in Orlando, Florida, in which they waved Nazi flags and signs that were anti-Semitic, anti-black, and anti-LGBTQ+.
While OBS' actions prompted expected negative reactions from the general public, their protest also generated an unequivocal and public denouncement on social media from the Proud Boys (PB), who stated, "When Nazis attempt an anti-groomer protest, they are only helping the groomers....Nazis are groomers, because if you help a groomer you are a groomer."
TRAC posits that this was the first proverbial stone thrown in what is quickly becoming a heated feud between National Socialist (neo-Nazi) groups and the Proud Boys.
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(L) Members of Order of the Black Sun raising a Nazi flag outside of Disney World's main entrance;
(R) Proud Boys post on social media denouncing the protest.
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Two weeks later, on 24 June 2023, a Proud Boys (PB) chapter clashed with a group of Rose City Nationalists during a LGBTQ+ protest in Oregon City, Oregon. The PB members used anti-white slurs and physically assaulted Rose City members, eventually unmasking a few of them.
This incident caused a significant upheaval in the White Nationalist community, with groups like the Tennessee Active Club, American Futurist and Australian Nationalist Socialist Club leader Thomas Sewell going onto condemn PB's actions, likening PB to that of Antifa, and even Sewell calling for an overall boycott of Proud Boys in the US and in Australia.
In their defense, the Proud Boys claimed that the "Rose City Nationalists" were actually Jewish and were working for US Federal Agents. The group even circulated a collage featuring photos purportedly of one of the Rose City members in order to back their claim.
The massive stir that the "unmasking incident" caused within the wider RWE community escalated from exchanges of schoolyard insults to viable recruitment opportunities for white nationalist groups internationally. Most importantly, the incident has revealed a new fissure within the Proud Boys national organization, with there being two opposing viewpoints: the Proud Boys who want to stress more "white nationalism, masculinity and white pride" and the other side wanting to, at least, appear to be more inclusive to drive more males to the organization.
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This most recent incident isn’t the first time the Proud Boys' national charters have been threatened with mutiny. After Proud Boys leader, Enrique Tarrio's arrest in August 2020, it came to light that Tarrio had been acting as an FBI informant causing a massive defection and the creation of the splinter group The Proud Goys, notably more public about their racists and fascists beliefs.
By February 2021, the Indiana Proud Boy chapter was the first to denounce affiliation with the umbrella national organization. Between 03-09 February 2021 at least four more separate Proud Boys chapters: St Louis, Tulsa, Alabama, and Las Vegas declared autonomy from the National Group. Since that time it has been rumored that the Ohio Chapter, the most active and most provocative of all the chapters, has also disavowed the national umbrella group.
TRAC contends that PB chapters across the US will splinter off and will emerge as Active Clubs, which have recently gained popularity in the US.
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TRAC Incident Report:
Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) Female Suicide Bomber Targeted a VIP Convoy of the Pakistani Army in Chakar-e-Azam Chowk, Turbat, Kech, Balochistan, Pakistan
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On 24 June 2023, a Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) female suicide bomber targeted a VIP convoy of the Pakistani army in Chakar-e-Azam Chowk, Turbat. The suicide bomber was identified as Sumaiya Qalandrani Baloch of the Majeed Brigade.
Local reports added that the convoy was targeted on the way from Turbat International Airport to Turbat City and authorities indicated that one police officer was killed and two others were injured. BLA claimed that the attack was conducted with insider information on the movement of the convoy with its route.
Prior to becoming a suicide bomber for the organization, Sumaiya aka Sammo, the daughter of Ubaid Qalandrani and resident of Tootak in Khuzdar, had been part of BLA for the last seven years, four of which were spent training. According to BLA, Sumaiya not only worked with the organization's media wing for five years, but was also the fiancé of Rehan Baloch, the son of BLA’s founding leader General Aslam Baloch, who was 'martyred' in 2018.
Two days after the bombing, Sumaiya's final video address was released via official BLA media outlets. The video depicted her with at least ten other female fighters. Sumaiya used her last words as a recruitment tool, stating the BLA's "need for sacrifice against enemies," and pleaded for both male and female youths to join BLA.
Notably, this is the second recorded Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) female suicide bomber attack, the first being Shari Baloch’s suicide bombing targeting Chinese nationals on Karachi University Campus in April 2022. Since Shari Baloch's bombing, she has been consistently celebrated in BLA propaganda. Like Sumaiya, Shari was part of the Majeed Brigade and like Shari, Sumaiya's attack should be expected to be widely celebrated by BLA and their sympathizers for years to come. More female suicide bombers should be anticipated in the near future.
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TRAC Incident Report:
Israeli Soldiers Kill Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AAMB) Militant
after Armed Assault on Military Checkpoint in Qalandia,
West Bank, Israel
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On 24 June 2023, a 17-year-old-boy, Ishaq Hamdi Ajlouni opened fire on Israeli Forces at a military checkpoint in Qalandia in the West Bank. Ajlouni wounded one guard before he was shot and killed by the Israeli forces. This attack prompted Israeli settlers to storm Palestinian neighborhoods lighting property on fire and ultimately killing a Palestinian man.
While the usual political violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories is normally conducted by Hamas out of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has seen a considerable uptick in violence in the West Bank following the air raid in Jenin by the Israeli military, and the subsequent killing of four Israeli settlers by Palestinian extremists in response. AAMB itself has not been as active as its other Palestine militant counterparts. This could be due to its relation with Fatah, of which AAMB is the armed wing, usually attempting to take a more diplomatic approach to the conflict. That being said, the aforementioned events could indicate a turn, as the AAMB and Fatah are undoubtedly recruiting and fundraising off of the unrest.
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TRAC Incident Report:
Suspected Islamic State(IS) Militants Assassinate
Oil Investor Mohammed Saleh Al-Habel at His House
in Dhiban, Deir Ezzor, Syria
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Area where the assassination took place | |
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On 23 June 2023, with the use of an RPG, suspected IS militants assassinated an oil investor, Mohammed Saleh Al-Habel at his house in Dhiban, Deir Ezzor, Syria.
Islamic State insiders deliberately keep chatter about Dhiban to a minimum so as to not draw attention to their activities in this oil-rich part of Syria. To this end, the last time IS insiders talked about Dhiban was back on 15 April 2023.
Oil smuggling is one of Islamic State’s main funding mechanisms and controlling the oil distribution in Syria would go a long way to helping them reach their goal of reestablishing the Caliphate in parts of ash-Sham that were once their strongholds like Raqqa and Mosul.
It should be noted that the amount of the insider information IS has about targets for assassination, such as their full names and home addresses, is astonishing. However, what sets this assassination apart from many others are two points of interest. First it is extremely rare to see a single human target be assassinated with an RGP, rather than an automatic rifle. Second, given the amount of information that Islamic State insiders seem to have on hand, in a highly unusual fashion, the insiders didn’t share a photo of the victim.
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TRAC Incident Report: Ansar al-Islam (AI) Targeted Syrian and Russian Forces in Mirza Castle and al-Baraka Town With 120mm Mortars
in Retaliation for Shelling Our People in Jisr
al-Shughur, al-Ghab Plain, al-Suqaylabiyah District, Syria
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TRAC Incident Report: Unidentified Armed Gunmen Set 20 Coal Trucks on Fire & Targeted the Vehicle of Deputy Commissioner, in Harnai District of Balochistan, Pakistan | |
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TRAC Video Report: Islamic State (IS) Releases "Makers of Epics" Featuring
IS in Syria
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