Eye on Extremism: August 31, 2026
Top Stories
Reuters: Iran’s IRGC says it launched attack on two US bases in Jordan
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday that it launched an attack on the King Hussein and Al Azraq U.S. bases in Jordan with ballistic missiles in response to the U.S. attack on Larak Island, Iranian media reported.
Hezbollah has continued to invest in its recovery and adapt its strategy for what it anticipates could be a prolonged, low-intensity war with Israel, according to the latest assessment by the Alma Research and Education Center, published on Sunday.
CEP Mentions
New York Sun: One in Five Germans Is Now an Immigrant. The Crime Numbers Are Impossible To Ignore
A senior director at the Counter Extremism Project, Hans-Jakob Schindler, points to an overwhelmed integration system rather than any administrative bias in how crimes are recorded.
SRF: “Europe must take Iran's terror threats seriously.”
Iran is threatening terrorist attacks against American or Jewish institutions in Europe because of the war the US is waging against the regime. How real is this threat? Terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler from the “Counter Extremism Project” in Berlin advises extreme vigilance.
Analysis
ICCT: A Story of Aspiration: Western Mobilisation to African Jihadist Groups, 2019–2026
The case of six French teenagers who dubbed themselves Team Musul in an online group chat initially reads like a familiar file in a country that continues to see Islamic State-inspired plots and occasional travel attempts to the Levant.
The Media Line: Analysis – The Plan for Post-Hamas Gaza Has a Palestinian Authority Problem
While Israel may accept an arrangement, provided Hamas fully disarms, sources told TML that the technocratic government, even if not in name, is effectively the Palestinian Authority. Any agreement that relies on Israel working with the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), the Palestinian technocratic government, is likely doomed to fail, according to two Palestinian affairs analysts who spoke with The Media Line as decisions are being made about the next steps for governing and disarming the Gaza Strip.
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz posted on X/Twitter on August 28 that he had met with Board of Peace (BoP) High Representative Nikolay Mladenov. “He is a key partner in the work to secure Gaza’s future, rid Hamas of its weapons, restore basic governance under a Committee of Palestinian technocrats, and build a real foundation for stability in the Middle East,” the US diplomat noted.
United States
Newly unclassified Pentagon images show suspected drug-smuggling boats at sea, including vessels loaded with apparent narcotics. The images come as the department warned traffickers that the U.S. will continue hunting down those who threaten Americans, nearly a year after the Trump administration began striking suspected drug-trafficking vessels.
Washington Post: British far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos deported by ICE
Milo Yiannopoulos, the British far-right provocateur and former Yeezy executive, has been deported to the United Kingdom, the Department of Homeland Security said Saturday.
Fox News: Judge throws out Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s 9/11 confession in already long wait for trial
A military judge on Friday threw out a confession made by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. In his ruling, Lt. Col. Michael Schrama, a military judge, wrote that statements made by Mohammed to investigators in 2007 were not given voluntarily, the New York Post reported.
JTA: Rep. Randy Fine denounces ‘rise of Islam in America’ at GOP Jewish confab
Jewish far-right firebrand Rep. Randy Fine of Florida attacked Muslim politicians in the Democratic party as he addressed the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual summit on Sunday night. There were many denouncements of democratic socialist politicians at the gathering’s gala dinner, but the Florida Republican congressman’s criticism was the most pointed as he addressed what he said was “the elephant in the room: the rise of Islam in America.”
Boxing Insider: Somebody in Tallahassee looked at this Duel Arena card and said yes.
A kickboxing match sold on the antagonism between a white-supremacist streamer with a federal firearms conviction and a Jewish opponent. An announced exhibition between a 202-pound casino owner and a 90-pound opponent. Mike Perry, the main event fighter, taking a purse cut of half for saving the show on two days’ notice, as Ariel Helwani confirmed. All of it on one permit, issued by the same Florida commission that told the United States Senate in April it was the model for health and safety.
The August 2026 federal indictment of Heidi Beirich, a longtime researcher who studies political violence and the American far right, has provoked strong reactions within the professional community of extremism scholars.
The United States on Saturday deported dozens of people to the Central African Republic, including an Afghan whose brothers collaborated with the U.S. military, his lawyer and an advocacy group said.
JNS: El-Sayed apologizes for his response to attack on Michigan synagogue
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a former Detroit health director and the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan, apologized on Saturday for his response to the March 12 attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich.
CNN: Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander faces anti-Israel hecklers at New York protest
Brad Lander, a Democratic congressional nominee in New York City, faced heckling Saturday over his stance on Israel as he protested a Hindu nationalist politician speaking at Madison Square Garden. Lander, a critic of the Israeli government who identifies as a liberal Zionist, was welcomed by some protesting Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat’s Saturday remarks in New York City. But others demanded that he leave.
Canada
Canadian Jewish News: CBC changed its terrorism policy for 9/11—but still not for Hamas
A leaked memo to CBC journalists last week ordered them not to call the 9/11 al-Qaida attacks “terrorism” in forthcoming coverage of next month’s 25th anniversary. It prompted backlash within Canada and beyond.
Two days after a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) internal memo became public – in which instructions to its reporters stated, “Do not refer to the Sept. 11 attacks as terrorist attacks” – the outlet reversed its stance. The memo restated a longstanding CBC policy regarding the use of the words “terrorist” and “terrorism,” a practice shared with numerous other media organizations. The guidance nonetheless drew sharp criticism from U.S. and Canadian officials, who called it a distortion of history.
Europe
BBC: WhatsApp chat used to send cash for crime and extremism
A WhatsApp group chat was used to send hundreds of millions of euros in cash around the world, funding organised crime and extremism with no paper trail, an investigation by European broadcasters has found. The 532-member group chat, called “Traders of Greater Europe,” was used to arrange cash transfers across borders for their clients, including to British cities such as Birmingham and London.
Finland
Helsinki Times: Voislav Torden’s life sentence cut to 12.5 years
The Helsinki Court of Appeal has reduced the life sentence of Russian national Voislav Torden to 12 years and six months after finding him guilty of three war crimes committed in eastern Ukraine in 2014. The Helsinki District Court had convicted him of four war crimes in March 2025 and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Germany
Reuters: Merz says Germany finalising response to suspected Leipzig attack
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday Berlin was preparing a response to the suspected drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane in Leipzig this month in coordination with its European and NATO partners.
Deutsche Welle: Germany: Sven Schulze takes on the far-right AfD
“It’s far from decided.” State Premier Sven Schulze likes to repeat his big campaign message over and over again ahead of the impending election in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt on September 6. His audience, however, rarely responds with enthusiasm. The German public and international media alike are watching this election closely. Never before has the Alternative for Germany (AfD) — classified by the domestic intelligence agency as “confirmed right-wing extremist” — had a better chance to take over a state government. The party is polling at over 40% compared to Schulze’s center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) at around 23%.
CBC: As Germany’s far right gains ground, coded symbols are hiding in plain sight
As Germany's far right gains political ground in some parts of the country, researchers say some supporters are getting more comfortable showing their views in public — albeit sometimes without displaying an explicitly political symbol.
Switzerland
Reuters: Swiss police arrest suspect after deadly rave shooting
Swiss police said on Monday that they had arrested a 43-year-old suspect in relation to a deadly shooting incident at a rave in the town of Aarau on the weekend. A 22-year-old Italian woman was killed and five people injured after the shooting at the event at a covered horse race track in the early hours of Sunday morning.
United Kingdom
The Times: Prince Harry: Security chief didn’t tell me of al-Qaeda threat
The Duke of Sussex has accused the head of the committee that revoked his state-funded security of failing to inform him about a 2023 threat from al-Qaeda, The Sunday Times understands.
Jerusalem Post: NHS doctor denies posting social media support for Hamas in London court
A doctor working in Britain’s state-funded National Health Service (NHS) has denied posting social media content supporting Hamas during a court appearance at London’s Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey, on Friday.
Fox News: Muslim jail gangs said to force conversions on prisoners in UK: ‘Jihadist training camps’
Radical Muslim inmates are said to be forcing other prisoners — mostly White British men — to convert to Islam in some of the U.K.'s prisons, according to British media reports this week. The problem of Muslim gangs in the nation's prisons has become progressively worse since Britain's Sky News first reported in 2013 that “British inmates are being bullied into converting to Islam while in jail” while noting that the “Prison Officers Association says it is symptomatic of the growing power and influence of Muslim gangs in prison.”
Afghanistan
The Financial Times: Taliban makes overtures to Trump administration over mineral deals
Afghanistan is offering the US access to mineral resources, in an overture to the Trump administration as the de facto Taliban government pitches for relief from sanctions and the release of frozen assets to support one of the world’s poorest countries.
Afghanistan International: Kabul Wants To Normalise Relations With US, Says Taliban FM
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi says the group’s government wants to normalise relations with the United States and has urged Washington to abandon what he described as a confrontational approach towards the Taliban. He said the two sides could shape their relationship based on mutual respect and shared interests.
Afghanistan International: Taliban Attack Triggered Clash In Badakhshan, Says AFF
The Afghanistan Freedom Front says its forces clashed with the Taliban in Zebak district of Badakhshan on Sunday night, 30 August, after Taliban fighters attacked one of its positions. In a statement issued on Monday, the front said its commandos launched a counterattack and pushed back the Taliban forces.
Afghanistan International: More Taliban Commanders Defy Kandahar Leadership In Badakhshan
Nearly two weeks after Juma Khan Fateh, a Taliban dissident commander, surrendered and one phase of tensions in Badakhshan ended, the province is entering a new period of deeper internal Taliban divisions and defiance of orders from Kandahar.
8AM Media: Taliban Police Headquarters in Ghor Attacked
Sources in Ghor province say that the Taliban’s provincial police headquarters was attacked with a hand grenade. The sources told The Hasht-e Subh Daily on Monday, August 31, that the grenade attack on the Taliban police headquarters in Firozkoh city took place earlier today.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Despite spending 24 years behind bars, imprisoned senior Fatah figure Marwan Barghouti continues to command significant support among Palestinians, largely because of the “myth” surrounding him and what he has come to symbolize, Dr. Michael Milshtein, head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at Tel Aviv University’s Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
As of Sunday evening, there had still been no arrests made in connection with a settler attack on the Palestinian West Bank village of Qusra on Saturday, even though footage showed the faces of a number of those involved.
JNS: IDF kills Hamas terrorists in Gaza, including Oct. 7 perpetrator and another hiding in hospital
The Israel Defense Forces over the weekend targeted and killed a Hamas commander who infiltrated the northwest Negev as part of the terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre, the military said on Sunday.
Fatah’s Democratic Reform (FDR) faction is seeking to unify Hamas, Fatah, and all Palestinian factions, hoping that doing so will allow the groups to focus on building a Palestinian state rather than becoming consumed by internal conflict.
Iran
IranWire: US Military Targets IRGC Positions on Larak Island
Separate reports indicate that the US military launched an attack on Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) positions on Larak Island on the evening of Sunday, August 30. Hours after these reports surfaced, the IRGC announced that the strike resulted in the deaths and injuries of several military personnel. Reuters, Al Jazeera, and Axios reporter Barak Ravid, citing US officials, reported that the US military targeted two IRGC launch pads on Larak Island.
Reuters: Iran’s Khamenei urges Gulf rulers in written message to confront 'real enemy'
Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei urged Muslim countries, particularly those in the Gulf, to unite against what he called their “real enemy” and said divisions among Muslims served the interests of their adversaries. The message was published on Khamenei’s Telegram account for Islamic Unity Week, which marks the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad.
The US military struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces were seen preparing to fire towards the Strait of Hormuz, a US official confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Sunday night, marking the first US strike on Iran in several weeks.
Iraq
Shafaq: Killer of Iraqi Brigadier arrested at ISIS safehouse
Intelligence and technical leads helped security forces arrest the main suspect in a shooting that recently killed two security personnel, including a brigadier general, the Interior Ministry reported on Saturday.
A security co-operation agreement between the US and Iraq’s Kurdistan Region is due to expire at the end of September, but it will not end ties between Erbil and Washington, Kurdish officials told The National, after reports US assistance to the region had been suspended.
Israel
I24: Former Shin Bet negotiator reveals secret direct talks with senior Hamas official
Former Shin Bet negotiator Adi Rotem said Saturday that he held secret telephone talks with senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad in 2024, opening a direct line of communication that he says helped advance the January 2025 hostage agreement.
Lebanon
Naharnet: Qassem: Resistance will ultimately defeat the enemy’s project
Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem on Sunday warned that “any retreat” in the face of the U.S. and Israel will lead to the “annihilation” of Iran, Hezbollah, their allies, and Muslims in general.
Naharnet: US says Hezbollah doesn’t want to talk to anyone
A U.S. Department of State spokesperson has said that “the Trilateral Framework clearly states that the Lebanese Government is the sole legitimate interlocutor for discussions about the future of Lebanon and on behalf of the Lebanese people.” “The United States stands with the Lebanese people and wants Lebanon to be a safe and sovereign country. For that to happen, Hizballah must disarm,” the spokesperson added.
Associated Press: UN votes to end its peacekeeping force in Lebanon next year after nearly 5 decades
The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on Thursday to terminate the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon at the end of next year after nearly five decades, bowing to demands from the United States and its close ally Israel.
Naharnet: Qassem again rejects Lebanon-Israel deal, refuses ‘surrender’
Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem has again rejected a deal struck between Israel and Lebanon and said his Iran-backed group refused to “surrender” nearly six months after war erupted with Israel.
Syria
The Times: What next for elite all-female militia that Syria doesn’t want?
As the sun sets over the plains of Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province, a group of young women clutching Kalashnikovs scramble across rocks between fortified hilltop positions. They are not here to fight but to take photos and pose in front of the sunset, the sky cast in turquoise and purple. Their guns, once turned against the forces of Islamic State, are rarely used these days.
India
The Times of India: Bengaluru’s Al-Hind ISIS case: Key conspirator sentenced to 7 years in jail
A special NIA court Saturday sentenced Syed Fasiur Rehaman, a key figure in the Al-Hind ISIS terror conspiracy case, to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 48,000.
The case, linked to the proscribed ISIS terrorist organisation, was initially registered by Suddaguntepalya police in Bengaluru on Jan 10, 2020, under various sections of IPC and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). NIA later took over the investigation and re-registered the case on Jan 23, 2020.
The sharp decline in Indians attempting to travel abroad to join the Islamic State or al Qaeda has opened up a different challenge for security agencies: handlers are now allegedly encouraging potential recruits to remain in India and operate from within the country.
Pakistan
8AM Media: Pakistan: From Backing the Taliban to Backing Its Rivals
One cannot confront the Taliban through comfort-seeking, self-isolation, or a refusal to engage with a particular country. Fighting the Taliban demands risk, demands diving headfirst into the unknown, demands the strength of a bull and the seasoning of an old hand; in simple terms, it demands a lion’s heart.
Australia
JNS: Australian documentary on cancel culture quashing Jewish artists is itself canceled
An Australian documentary on how antisemitic cancel culture post-Oct. 7 has manifested itself in the world of art has itself been “canceled,” with the country’s major film festivals and its two public broadcasters refusing to screen the film, the documentary’s producer and director said on Sunday.
A white supremacist who fled to Australia when war broke out in Ukraine has been deported back home while facing charges related to a clash at the Indigenous Camp Sovereignty in Melbourne.
Stay up to date on our latest news.
Get the latest news on extremism and counter-extremism delivered to your inbox.