Eye on Extremism: August 17, 2026
Top Stories
Iran International: IRGC says it will crush threats with ‘powerful offensive operations’
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Monday that the force would respond to any threat with “maximum deterrence” and “powerful offensive operations.”
Hate crimes were down about 7% in the United States from 11,404 incidents in 2024, to 10,606 in 2025, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Friday as part of an announcement of what it said was the “largest year-to-year decline in violent crime rates since FBI estimations began in 1936.”
CEP Mentions
Zman Israel: Crowd-funded terrorism
Hans-Jacob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, based in New York and Berlin, placed the phenomenon of crowdfunding for terrorism within the broader context of the difficulties in delivering humanitarian aid to conflict zones, which are controlled by organizations such as Hamas in Gaza and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Deutsche Welle: Berlin Pride attack: What went wrong?
Hans-Jakob Schindler retraces Ballout’s path through Germany’s courts, police, intelligence services, and what happened after his release.
Il Foglio: This is how Germany transforms its services from analysis offices to real intelligence
“The reform, however, brings Germany up to the 2026 standard,” explains Hans-Jakob Schindler, a security and intelligence expert and director of the CEP (Counter Extremism Project) in New York and Berlin.
Analysis
Lowy Institute: The fragmentation of resistance in Afghanistan
It’s been five years since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, and once again the country’s exiled media are brimming with resistance. Armed fronts announce attacks from Badakhshan to Helmand, opposition outlets trumpet battlefield body counts, and Western advocates celebrate an expanding cast of commanders and militias as evidence that Taliban rule is, finally, beginning to crack.
United States
Axios: Scoop: Inside Trump's secret backchannel to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard
In mid-May, U.S. negotiators trying to reach a deal with Iran to end the war ran into a problem: They couldn’t tell if the people across the table actually spoke for the country's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Fox News: Trump confirms IRGC backchannel, but calls for Iran's ‘white flag of surrender’
The 60-day ceasefire deadline is expiring Monday, but President Donald Trump’s resolve on ending Iran’s nuclear weapons aspirations is not, he told Fox News on Monday morning, where he confirmed there is a backchannel for peace talks with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Afghanistan International: Afghans Hold Anti-Taliban Protest In Washington
Afghan artists, civil society activists and citizens gathered in Washington to protest Taliban policies, joining demonstrations in cities worldwide and calling for support for Afghans’ rights, particularly those of women and girls. The protest was held on Sunday, 16 August, with participants stressing the need to continue advocacy and efforts to build a free, just and dignified future for Afghanistan.
New York Times: Islamophobia’s Rise in Texas: ‘I Won’t Rest Until Every Muslim Is Gone’
In recent months, a man was arrested and charged with making a terroristic threat at a major new Islamic center in Houston. Not far away, in Conroe, a woman told Muslim shoppers at a grocery store they were “not welcome in this state or this country” — after losing her job, she received nearly $250,000 from supporters after video of her comments circulated widely. In McKinney, a Dallas suburb, a woman grabbed a former mayor and stuffed paper with an anti-Muslim message down his shirt during a heated City Council hearing over a mosque expansion.
Officers arrested Larry Montes, 46, of the Bronx, on Friday night and charged him with 14 charges, including six hate crimes, after he allegedly hit a 63-year-old woman and spat upon and heat-butted a 65-year-old security guard at Central Synagogue in Manhattan on Friday night, the New York City Police Department told JNS.
A Jewish security watchdog is doubling down on safety measures in the wake of a Friday night attack against worshipers at Manhattan’s Central Synagogue, calling on police to identify cutting edge tactics to identify hot spots for potential hate crimes and to place more officers in those areas.
NBC News: Mayor Mamdani condemns antisemitism after synagogue assault
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is condemning antisemitism and hate crimes across the five boroughs after a service to welcome the sabbath was shattered by hate and violence Friday. A 63-year-old woman was injured after police say a man stormed into Central Synagogue in Manhattan during a Shabbat service and attacked her, an incident authorities are investigating as a hate crime.
Free Press: This High School Wouldn’t Fix Its Antisemitism Problem
In less than three weeks, the first day of school arrives for Yorktown High School in Arlington, Virginia, which has about 2,600 students and is so academically ambitious that the 10 heaviest backpacks worn by students exceeded 20 pounds each, The Yorktown Sentry student newspaper reported in April. Yorktown’s mission statement says that it will “support students by name, strength, and need.” But an investigation by the Virginia attorney general’s office into how the high school responded to complaints of antisemitism both before and after the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel concluded that Yorktown failed to live up to its words or to protect Jewish students.
Jewish Insider: Florida primaries to test antisemitism’s reach in both parties
Tuesday’s Florida primaries are shaping up to be the starkest test yet of how widespread the scourge of antisemitism and extreme anti-Israel views are within both parties.
Jewish Insider: Randy Fine’s primary opponent pushes openly antisemitic, pro-Hitler messaging
Rep. Randy Fine’s (R-FL) primary opponent, influencer Dan Bilzerian, is pushing blatantly antisemitic and pro-Adolf Hitler messaging in the closing days of Florida’s primary season.
Canada
National Post: External review finds antisemitism, harassment and fear at TMU
Jewish students, faculty and staff at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) say they have stopped wearing religious symbols, changed their routines, avoided campus events and, in some cases, concealed their identities because they fear harassment or assault.
Bulgaria
Sofia Globe: Bulgarian police arrest 18 in Plovdiv linked to neo-Nazi ‘Blood and Honour’
A total of 18 people belonging to the international neo-Nazi organisation “Blood and Honour” have been arrested at an overnight raid on a private club in Bulgaria’s Plovdiv, the head of the city’s regional directorate of the Interior Ministry Vassil Kostadinov told reporters on August 16.
Germany
Deutsche Welle: German activists target neo-Nazis with trademark law
Neo-Nazi clothing is a growing business. But activists in Germany are fighting back. By trademarking extremist symbols and brands, they're forcing online shops to remove products, disrupting a key source of revenue.
Deutsche Welle: What if Germany's far-right AfD party wins in Saxony-Anhalt?
The party is heading for a historic victory in Saxony-Anhalt and could govern alone. DW examines what's at stake for law and order, schools, culture and Germany's political future.
Deutsche Welle: Germany reviews Berlin Pride attack security failures
What can surveillance, electronic ankle monitors and deradicalization programs realistically achieve? And what are the limits of Germany's justice and security system?
Norway
A foundation established, funded and appointed by the Norwegian government held undisclosed meetings with senior Hamas officials in Gaza five years ago to examine ways to improve ties between the terror group and the European Union, according to internal Hamas documents seen by The Times of Israel.
Middle East
Naharnet: Report: Israel, Hezbollah agree to de-escalate after latest flare-up
The Israeli airstrikes that assassinated two Hezbollah commanders represented “a harsh message to Hezbollah,” following “a security operation carried out about a week prior to the strikes, which Hezbollah is still keeping secret," a diplomatic source said, adding that it is likely to remain unclaimed.
Afghanistan
Reuters: Taliban mark five years in power as aid groups warn of crisis
The Taliban marked five years in power on Saturday, seeking to portray their government as in control even as aid and rights groups warned of escalating crises. Outside the former U.S. embassy in Kabul, armoured Taliban vehicles took part in a parade, displaying flags and banners, and celebrating what the government described as “victory day” from Western domination.
Taliban rulers and other officials gathered at Afghanistan’s traditional Loya Jirga assembly hall on Saturday to celebrate the fifth anniversary of their return to power, touting what they described as restored stability and an end to decades of conflict.
Afghanistan International: Dissident Taliban Commander Juma Khan Fateh ‘Surrenders’
Sources in Badakhshan told Afghanistan International on Monday that dissident Taliban commander Juma Khan Fateh left his military positions and surrendered to Taliban army chief Fasihuddin Fitrat in Nusay district centre. The Taliban’s Information and Culture Directorate in Badakhshan said: “The recent tensions in Badakhshan have ended.”
Afghanistan International: Taliban Re-Enacts Bomb Attack On US Forces In Eastern Afghanistan
The Taliban re-enacted a bomb attack on US forces in Paktia province as part of events marking the fifth anniversary of its return to power. At the same time, Taliban members and supporters in Kandahar paraded an effigy of US President Donald Trump through the streets and beat it.
The Guardian: Taliban threaten former Afghan police worker after MoD leak reveals identity
A man has received threats from the Taliban after his work for the Afghan police was revealed by a Ministry of Defence leak and the UK refused his application for resettlement.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban interior minister, says the group is seeking to resolve existing challenges through engagement with the world, while warning that some circles abroad are trying to create disorder in Afghanistan.
Taliban Defence Minister Yaqoob Mujahid warned on Friday that the group’s forces were ready to confront internal and external threats, saying any Pakistani aggression against Afghan territory would receive a calculated response.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Israel and the United States have reached an understanding that, during the initial stage of Hamas's disarmament, weapons handed over by the terrorist organization will be transferred to the ISF, headed by US Maj.-Gen. Jasper Jeffers, for destruction rather than to the proposed National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), according to a source who spoke with The Jerusalem Post.
US President Donald Trump’s top aide Jared Kushner met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday, an official familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.
Reuters: Who is Khalil Al-Hayya, the Hamas leader who met Kushner in Cairo?
Khalil Al-Hayya, the Hamas chief who met U.S. envoy Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, in Cairo on Sunday, emerged as a pivotal figure in the Palestinian militant group during the Gaza war as Israel killed its other leaders. Named Hamas' overall leader in July, Hayya narrowly escaped assassination himself in a 2025 Israeli airstrike in Qatar that killed his son and aides.
US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and top aide Jared Kushner met with Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya in the Egyptian coastal city of El-Alamein on Sunday, an Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel, even as Israel kept up strikes targeting terror groups in the Strip.
Times of Israel: IDF: Tank in Gaza hit by explosive device in ‘grave’ truce breach; no soldiers hurt
An IDF tank was struck by a Hamas explosive device in the southern Gaza Strip, the military said on Saturday, decrying the incident as a violation of the ceasefire in the enclave.
Border Police arrested a 36-year-old Palestinian resident of Kalandiya on Sunday night after discovering him and several other people digging a tunnel near the border fence between Israel and the West Bank.
Times of Israel: US officials to reportedly tour West Bank town besieged by settler extremists
A delegation of senior American officials intends to go to the West Bank village of Qusra in the next few days, where violent settlers have besieged Palestinians residents, to see for themselves what’s going on there, Israeli television reported Sunday.
JTA: U.S. ambassador calls settlers who sieged Palestinian homes in Qusra ‘terrorists’
The West Bank settlement movement’s leadership joined with one of its most prominent defenders, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee, in condemning an Israeli settler outpost set up in a Palestinian family’s yard.
Iran
Iran International: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards deny direct backchannel with Trump administration
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps denied any talks with US officials after President Donald Trump said his administration had established a direct backchannel with the force, the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency reported on Monday, citing spokesperson Hossein Mohebi.
Iran International: Iran lawmaker says Hezbollah, regional allied groups stronger than before
Iranian lawmaker Ali Khezrian said Iran’s regional allied armed groups were stronger than ever despite the killing of figures including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, arguing that the Iran-backed group’s operations against Israel had increased sharply.
Iraq
Kurdistan24: Explosive Drones Target Kurdistan Prime Minister's Private Office in Erbil
Two explosive-laden drones targeted the private office of the Kurdistan Region Prime Minister and the residence of the Director of the Protection (Parastin) Agency in Erbil Province early Monday, the Kurdistan Counter-Terrorism Directorate said.
Lebanon
Naharnet: Aoun: Our first choice is to extend UNIFIL's mandate
President Joseph Aoun on Monday welcomed a parliamentary initiative and petition calling for the extension of the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). "The presence of UNIFIL in the south is important in many respects. It helps to keep residents in their villages and towns and strengthens stability through cooperation and coordination with the Lebanese Army," Aoun said.
Naharnet: US official says Hezbollah ‘bears sole responsibility for Israel's presence’ in Lebanon
A U.S. State Department spokesperson has said that Hezbollah “bears sole responsibility for Israel’s presence on Lebanese soil,” following the latest deadly Israeli strikes in south Lebanon. “This is precisely why Hezbollah must be disarmed and dismantled,” the spokesperson said.
Naharnet: Israel vows to go after Hezbollah as it names another killed
Israel vowed Sunday it would hit Hezbollah again if threatened, as it identified what it described as a commander killed in strikes a day earlier that also left several children dead.
Agence France-Presse: Israel says Ansar strike targeted Hezbollah commander
The Israeli military said on Saturday that its strike on the Lebanese village of Ansar, where authorities reported seven people killed including children, targeted a Hezbollah commander. It said it “struck a central headquarters of the Radwan Force,” referring to an elite Hezbollah unit, adding that “the strike eliminated terrorist Ali Samir Al-Haj Hassan, a battalion commander in the Radwan Force.”
Syria
Jerusalem Post: Syrian army soldiers filmed chanting death threats against Jews in Damascus
“I am coming for you Jew…I will make your blood flow in rivers,” soldiers from the Syrian Arab Army chanted outside the historic Damascus Citadel on Saturday, according to Arab media reports and footage published on Sunday
Yemen
Reuters: Houthis say they attacked Saudi vessels off Yemen’s Mocha
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis attacked what they described as a Saudi military ship and four escort vessels in the Red Sea with missiles, according to the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree on Telegram on Monday.
Fox News: Bab el-Mandeb Strait faces growing threat as Houthi attacks raise fears of a second Hormuz
The Iran-backed Houthis’ escalating attacks on shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait are raising a growing strategic question: Could the waterway become the next Strait of Hormuz?
Bangladesh
Business Standard: 2 ‘Dawlatul Islam’ members placed on remand in anti-terrorism case
A Dhaka court today (17 August) placed two suspected members of the militant organisation “Dawlatul Islam” on remand in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Pakistan
Balochistan Pulse: UN Report Links BLA to ISKP, TTP and Al-Qaeda Training Networks in Afghanistan
The latest report of the United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team (UNMT) has documented operational linkages between the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and internationally designated terrorist organizations, including Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Al-Qaeda.
Mali
Africa News: UN says $50 million ransom fueled Al-Qaeda offensive in Mali
The United Nations said a ransom of about 50 million dollars, paid in late 2025 for the release of a hostage in Mali, helped finance Al-Qaeda-linked militants and their offensive across West Africa. According to a new UN report, most of the money was redistributed to fighters in the Sahel, while some was passed on to Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in the Arabian Peninsula and to the group’s central command.
Somalia
Reuters: Somali troops push militiamen out of Baidoa after fierce fighting
Somali federal troops drove opposition forces out of one of the country's biggest cities, Baidoa, on Monday, following heavy clashes that left many people dead, residents told Reuters.
Australia
New South Wales in Australia is slated to begin a gun buyback scheme in November, the first state in the nation to kick off the program as part of the national response to a shooting spree that killed 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration in the state capital of Sydney, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Sunday.
Technology
Business Standard: Could AI help al-Qaeda and other groups plan terror attacks?
Followers of extremist groups regularly ask how AI can help them plan terrorist attacks. A new study suggests that about one-third of AI chatbots might help them, if asked the right way.
The Telegraph: Revealed: The neo-fascist marketplace peddling hate speech and Hitler
A self-proclaimed fascist website is selling extremist material alongside far-Right activists’ merchandise, The Telegraph can reveal. The Fash Front forum allows extremists to buy and sell far-Right and openly racist propaganda, such as Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and other Nazi speeches and memorabilia.
Futurism: Facebook Is Drowning In Islamophobic AI Slop Calling for Violence Against Muslim Americans
When far-right white nationalist Jake Lang rolled up to a peaceful religious procession in Dearborn, Michigan earlier this month with a sign calling to “deport 100 million” Muslims, he clearly didn’t plan on making any friends.
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