Eye on Extremism: August 8, 2025
Top Stories
Washington Post: A powerful, opaque al-Qaeda affiliate is rampaging across West Africa
After years spent quietly gaining strength, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) is now the most well-armed militant force in West Africa and among the most powerful in the world, according to regional and Western officials, with as many as 6,000 fighters under its command. Local strategies employed to combat JNIM are accelerating its rise, officials and experts say, as atrocities by West African forces have allowed the group to claim the moral high ground and legitimize its growing authority.
WELT: Donations, weapons and prayers: Hezbollah's German network
WELT spent months researching Hezbollah's activities abroad - and can now show how Hezbollah tries to generate income abroad, including in Germany, how it procures militarily useful materials, recruits supporters and trains them ideologically. According to security circles, the approach has become more conspiratorial over the years. As recently as 2014, German investigators caught sight of a comparatively openly operating Hezbollah fundraising organization, the so-called Orphans Project. The organization had sent more than three million euros to the terrorists. Since then, however, the terrorist group has concentrated on transactions that are difficult to trace.
Analysis
New York Times: Israel Says It’s Preparing to Take Control of Gaza City. What Does That Mean?
Mr. Netanyahu said in interviews on Thursday that an expanded operation would ensure Israel’s security, drive Hamas from power, enable the return of hostages and pave the way for a temporary administration in Gaza, which he said Israel wanted to eventually hand over to “Arab forces.” On Friday, after the meeting, Mr. Netanyahu’s office said the security cabinet had adopted “five principles for concluding the war,” including disarming Hamas, bringing back the hostages, demilitarizing Gaza, establishing Israeli security control over the enclave and setting up “an alternative civilian administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.”
For decades, Iran has pursued a calculated and often covert strategy to expand its ideological, cultural, and political influence across Europe. Unlike conventional diplomacy, this campaign is not built on statecraft alone, but on infiltration — of diaspora networks, religious institutions, media outlets, and civil society organisations. European governments are beginning to recognise the extent of Tehran's reach, but their responses are still not very coordinated. At the heart of this campaign lies Iran’s practice of embedding ideological narratives into everyday community life. Religious and cultural centres — such as the now-banned Islamic Centre Hamburg (IZH) in Germany and the Imam Ali Islamic Centre in Stockholm — have presented themselves as neutral places of worship.
France 24: Twelve-day war: Impact of Iran’s strikes censored by Israel
A month after the end of the conflict between Iran and Israel, the damage caused by the Islamic republic remains unclear largely because of Israeli censorship. Images analysed by the FRANCE 24 Observers team show that Iran caused extensive damage and hit at least eight strategic and military targets.
United States
Reuters: American Nazis: The Aryan Freedom Network is riding high in Trump era
Wearing cargo shorts, flip-flops and a baseball cap shading his eyes from the sun, Dalton Henry Stout blends in easily in rural America. Except for the insignia on his hat. It bears the skull and crossbones of the infamous “Death’s Head” SS units that oversaw Nazi Germany’s concentration camps – and the initials “AFN,” short for Aryan Freedom Network, the neo-Nazi group Stout leads with his partner. From a modest ranch house in Texas, the couple oversee a network they say has been turbocharged by President Donald Trump’s return to the White House. They point to Trump’s rhetoric – his attacks on diversity initiatives, his hardline stance on immigration and his invocation of “Western values” – as driving a surge in interest and recruitment.
Reuters: FBI looks to add drug cartel suspects to terror watch list, government files show
The FBI has asked local police to submit the names of people tied to drug cartels and gangs to the U.S. government's terrorist watch list created after 9/11, which could land more Americans on the list, according to law enforcement documents seen by Reuters. The bureau told law enforcement agencies in a May 9 email to share the names of people they believe are linked to eight criminal groups President Donald Trump has labeled foreign terrorist organizations. It also asked agencies to share information about family members and associates of the groups' members.
The Guardian: Neo-Nazi leader sentenced to 20 years for plot to attack Maryland’s power grid
The founder of a Florida-based neo-Nazi group has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for conspiring with his girlfriend to plan an attack on Maryland’s power grid in furtherance of their shared racist beliefs. Brandon Russell, 30, was convicted by a jury earlier this year. Prosecutors presented evidence detailing his longstanding affiliation with white supremacist causes and his recent efforts to organize “sniper attacks” on electrical substations around Baltimore.
Antisemitism is at record levels in the US, according to polling. US campuses have seen disruptive anti-Israel protests that sometimes veer into outright antisemitism, and activists have held thousands of anti-Israel demonstrations across the country. Some of the insurgent Jewish activists believe the community’s groups need to rethink their strategy for communicating with the broader public.
Amu: Trump calls Qassem Soleimani ‘father of roadside bombs’ in tribute to US veterans
President Donald Trump on Thursday referred to the late Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani as the “father of the roadside bomb,” claiming the general was responsible for the vast majority of improvised explosive device (IED) attacks that injured or killed US service members during the Afghanistan war. Speaking at a National Purple Heart Day ceremony honoring American veterans, Trump recounted the story of Army Sgt. Brian Willette, who was severely wounded in a 2010 roadside bombing during a resupply mission in Afghanistan.
The Associated Press shocked many social media users on Wednesday by publishing a story that they viewed as sympathetic to Hezbollah terrorists. In September, over 3,000 members of the Iran-backed terror group were injured and at least 30 killed when a covert Israeli operation launched two waves of near-simultaneous detonations of the organization’s pagers and other electronic devices across Lebanon and Syria. The AP story focused on how “[s]urvivors of Israel’s pager attack on Hezbollah struggle to recover.”
Axios: Scoop: ADL says only 9 states "leading" on fighting antisemitism
Just nine states are meeting the Anti-Defamation League's standards for combating antisemitism, according to a new report from the group set to be released Friday.
Washington Post: Baltimore City schools face federal probe into alleged antisemitism
The U.S. Department of Education has opened a civil rights investigation into Baltimore City Public Schools following allegations that the system “tolerated numerous incidents of antisemitic discrimination and harassment,” the agency said Thursday.
Europe
Express: ISIS jihadists behead Christians and burn churches as terrorists plot 'European attacks'
ISIS terrorists are beheading Christians and burning churches and homes in central and southern Africa, according to international observers. Military groups linked to Islamic terrorists have been held responsible for a swathe of attacks in the area in recent months.
Austria
Reuters: UN committee probes disappearance of Syrian man deported by Austria
The U.N. Committee on Enforced Disappearances has launched an inquiry into the whereabouts and fate of a Syrian man who was deported by Austria in early July and has not been in contact with his legal team or family since. Austria has been asked by the U.N. committee "to make formal diplomatic representations to the Syrian authorities to determine whether the (person) is alive, where he is being held, in what conditions, and (to) request diplomatic guarantees to ensure his safety and humane treatment," according to a letter dated August 6 from the U.N. Petitions Section, seen by Reuters.
Belgium
Jewish News Syndicate: Belgium revokes asylum status of European coordinator of Samidoun
Belgium’s General Commission for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRA) has revoked the refugee status of Mohammed Khatib, the coordinator of the Samidoun network for Europe, according to Belgian media.
Convicted terrorist Nizar Trabelsi is returning to Belgium, VRT NWS writes on Friday. This marks the end of years of legal disputes in Belgium and the US, where he was held. It is not yet clear whether the Tunisian national will be permitted to remain in the country. Nizar Trabelsi was sentenced to ten years in prison in Belgium in 2004 for planning an attack on the Kleine-Brogel military base, which is home to US military personnel and is said to store US nuclear warheads. The former Tunisian footballer was also found guilty of illegally possessing weapons and belonging to the jihadist terror group al-Qaida.
Germany
Deutsche Welle: Germany suspends arms exports to Israel for use in Gaza
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday that Berlin would not approve German weapons exports to Israel for use in the Gaza Strip "until further notice." The announcement marks a major change of course for Germany, which has been one of Israel's staunchest international allies. Merz reiterated that "Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas terrorism." "The release of the hostages and determined negotiations for a ceasefire are our top priority," he said in a statement. However, "the even tougher military action by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip" that was approved by the Israeli Security Cabinet "makes it increasingly difficult to see how these goals can be achieved," he added.
ARD: After the dissolution of the "Young Alternative": Power struggle for new AfD youth
Too radical: In January, the AfD parted ways with the "Young Alternative". However, the party right could also have influence in a new youth organization. According to research by WDR, NDR and SZ, networks are apparently still active today. The new party youth organization is to be founded at the end of November - and there are increasing signs that less could change than the AfD leadership had announced. "The hard core of the old YES is far from finished with the YES," according to those close to the party leadership, who are currently seeing clear tendencies that existing nationwide networks want to ensure that as few changes as possible are made to the independence and personnel within the youth organization. Security circles also share the impression that the extreme right in the JA is currently trying to maintain its influence.
United Kingdom
The Guardian: Amnesty urges Met police not to arrest protesters supporting Palestine Action
Amnesty International has warned the Met police against arresting participants protesting this Saturday in London in support of Palestine Action, as the first people were charged for showing support for the banned group. Two women and a man who were arrested in Westminster after a protest in central London on 5 July will appear in court on 16 September.
Sky News: Police warn of mass arrests if Palestine Action protest goes ahead
Police are warning of mass arrests if a protest in support of the banned group Palestine Action goes ahead on Saturday. Hundreds of people are expected to turn out for the demonstration, which is understood to be planned for London.
Afghanistan
Amu: Exclusive: Kabul beauticians claim some Taliban personnel make ‘immoral proposals’
Several women beauticians in Kabul claim that some Taliban security personnel have treated them disrespectfully and made proposals they described as “immoral.” The women told Amu TV that these men contacted them with inappropriate requests for “personal, immoral meetings.” In some cases, when Taliban officials raided secret salons, the callers verbally accused them of “immorality.” Many opted to remain anonymous for safety reasons; their voices were disguised, and identities withheld in this report.
Amu: Taliban leader says people have grown unfamiliar with Sharia
Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has said that people have become unfamiliar with Sharia law, blaming previous governments for promoting what he called “un-Islamic practices” that, he claimed, distanced the population from religious teachings. “In the past systems, un-Islamic matters were promoted, and people were alienated from religion,” Akhundzada said, according to a statement released by the Taliban’s deputy spokesperson. “They spread corruption and immorality, distorted the minds and thinking of the people, and attempted to drive them toward opposing religion and sect.”
Amu: Taliban beat, detain young man in Faryab, sources say
Local sources in Faryab province told Amu Thursday that Taliban authorities detained and brutally beat a young man without apparent cause in Pashtun Kot district. The man, identified as Mohammad Azim, was seized and beaten in the Mian Dara market by a Taliban official who holds allegiance to Gul Ahmad Haqqani, the deputy intelligence chief in neighboring Jawzjan province, sources said.
Amu: Taliban re-arrest three journalists from Radio Nasim in Daikundi: Sources
The Taliban intelligence has re-arrested three staff members of Radio Nasim, a local radio station in the central province of Daikundi, sources said on Wednesday. The arrests took place Wednesday afternoon, August 6, in the city of Nili, the capital of Daikundi. Those detained include Sultan-Ali Jawadi, director of Radio Nasim, and journalists Saifullah Rezai and Mojtaba Qasemi. The Taliban have not commented publicly on the detentions.
Afghanistan International: Taliban Leader In Balkh Rejects Need For International Recognition
A senior Taliban official has said that international recognition is irrelevant to the group’s legitimacy, marking a clear divergence from the stance of Taliban officials engaged in global diplomacy. Yousuf Wafa, the Taliban-appointed governor of Balkh province and a close ally of the group’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, made the remarks during a gathering in Balkh on Thursday.
Afghanistan International: Taliban Using Justice System To Oppress Women, Says UN Rapporteur
The Taliban have weaponised Afghanistan’s justice system to suppress women and girls, amounting to possible crimes against humanity, according to Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan. Speaking before the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, Bennett said that since seizing power, the Taliban have suspended the Afghan constitution and repealed all laws that previously protected the rights of women and girls. He noted that all judges from the former government, including 270 women, have been removed from their positions.
The Taliban’s Supreme Court has announced that 14 individuals including one woman were publicly flogged in Kabul and Zabul provinces on charges including alcohol and drug trafficking, theft, and so-called “illicit relationships.” In a statement issued Thursday, the court said the group’s drug control court in Kabul had sentenced seven individuals for trafficking and selling alcohol, hashish. The defendants received between 10 and 39 lashes, along with prison sentences ranging from one to three years.
Iran
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has issued a stark warning to its adversaries, vowing an unprecedented and severe retaliation against any hostile act targeting the Islamic Republic of Iran. In a statement published by Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, the IRGC emphasized that any new aggression would be met with a response “beyond the enemy’s imagination” and far harsher than what was experienced during Operation True Promise III.
Israel
New York Times: Israeli Security Cabinet Approves Plan to Take Control of Gaza City
The Israeli government early on Friday approved a plan to expand the war by taking control of Gaza City, a pivotal and risky decision that went against the recommendations of the Israeli military. After 10 hours of deliberations, a majority of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet backed his proposal, according to a predawn statement from his office. At a later stage, the military could potentially push into central areas of the enclave where Hamas is believed to be holding Israeli hostages and where Israeli troops have largely refrained from operating before. But the government announcement did not explicitly pledge to do so.
Opposition leaders, families of hostages held in Gaza, and various international actors all issued swift condemnations Friday to the security cabinet’s decision to take over Gaza City. Overnight, the high-level body approved a proposal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take over the densely populated city, bucking warnings from the Israel Defense Forces that the operation risks the lives of the remaining hostages in addition to potentially sparking a humanitarian disaster.
ProPublica: The Man Running Israel’s Intelligence Operation
David Barnea, the director of the Mossad for some of the most remarkable successes in its storied history, never intended to be an intelligence officer. As a young man, he served as a team leader in the Israeli military’s most elite commando unit and then came to New York to study for a career in business. After earning a master’s degree in finance at Pace University, he took jobs at an Israeli investment bank and then a brokerage firm, the first steps toward a career in which the biggest danger was an unexpected shift in the world’s financial markets.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the New York Times of defaming Israel over its coverage of starvation in Gaza and is weighing a lawsuit against the Gray Lady. “The New York Times should be sued,” Netanyahu told Fox News on Thursday, adding: “I am actually looking into whether a country can sue the New York Times … I think it’s such clear defamation.”
Lebanon
Reuters: US plan sees Hezbollah disarmed by year-end, Israeli withdrawal
The United States has presented Lebanon with a proposal for disarming Hezbollah by the end of the year, along with ending Israel's military operations in the country and the withdrawal of its troops from five positions in south Lebanon, according to a copy of a Lebanese cabinet agenda reviewed by Reuters. The plan, submitted by U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy to the region, Tom Barrack, and being discussed at a Lebanese cabinet meeting on Thursday, sets out the most detailed steps yet for disarming the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, which has rejected mounting calls to disarm since last year's devastating war with Israel. Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos said following the cabinet meeting on Thursday that the cabinet approved only the objectives of Barrack's plan but did not discuss it in full.
A senior commander in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group was killed Thursday in an Israeli airstrike at a border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, the IDF and Shin Bet announced on Friday afternoon. The statement confirmed a previous announcement by the group itself, as well as Lebanese media reports.
Naharnet: Report: Shiite Duo won't withdraw from govt. or resort to street action
The Shiite Duo’s rejection of the government’s decisions on arms monopolization “will remain limited to political action and state institutions,” the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying. The Shiite Duo “has informed those concerned that its MPs and ministers will remain in the parliament and government and that it will not use the street as a detonator or to create internal strife,” the sources added.
Naharnet: Report: Berri convinced Hezbollah to take part in cabinet session
Hezbollah was not in favor of participation in Thursday’s cabinet session that approved the “objectives” of the U.S. paper, but Speaker Nabih Berri insisted that Hezbollah and the Amal Movement take part in the meeting, pro-Hezbollah newspaper al-Akhbar reported on Friday. Berri argued that “the current period is very sensitive and we should deal positively and give full time for discussions and negotiation,” the daily said.
Naharnet: Hezbollah MP: Door of dialogue still open with Salam's govt.
MP Amin Sherri of Hezbollah’s Loyalty to Resistance bloc said his party “will deal with what the government does according to the step by step principle,” adding that Hezbollah “objected to the U.S. paper because it reflects Israel’s goals.” “What the government is doing are rushed steps that do not immunize sovereignty and do not liberate the land. We want a serious discussion about the defense strategy and using the elements of strength,” Sherri added, in an interview on Al-Jazeera television.
Naharnet: What did Lebanese government approve on Thursday?
The Lebanese government on Thursday endorsed the “objectives” of the U.S. paper presented by U.S. envoy Tom Barrack, despite a walkout by the ministers of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement. The implementation timetable will depend on a Lebanese Army plan that is supposed to be submitted to Cabinet before the end of this month.
Naharnet: GCC welcomes Lebanon 'important' decision to disarm Hezbollah
Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jassem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi, welcomed Friday a decision by the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah, describing it as an important step towards sovereignty and stability. Budaiwi said the decision will significantly contribute to enhancing the trust of the international community and multilateral partners, paving the way for a more attractive environment for investment, including in the private sector.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants on Thursday strongly condemned recent remarks by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi concerning Hezbollah and Lebanon's internal political decisions, calling them a "flagrant interference" in the country’s sovereign affairs.
Syria
Washington Post: Ferocity of recent killings in Syria reveals country’s fragility
Charred bodies sat in an awful heap on a city sidewalk. Blood mixed with dirt in a traffic circle where civilians were gunned down. Grieving women clasped arms on Sweida’s stricken streets, wearing black. This was the aftermath of the brutal violence that seized the Sweida area in mid-July, among the deadliest in Syria since rebels toppled Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship last year. In a fight charged by sectarian rage, more than 1,000 people were killed as gunmen battled for days, according to human rights groups.
India
Afghanistan International: India Hands Control Of Afghan Consulate In Hyderabad To Taliban Rep
India has quietly handed over control of the Afghan consulate in Hyderabad to a Taliban representative to run the mission, according to a source in the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry. The source told Afghanistan International that the handover took place in June, with Mohammad Rahman named as the Taliban’s diplomatic representative at the consulate.
Pakistan
Reuters: Pakistan says troops kill 33 militants crossing from Afghanistan
Pakistani security forces killed 33 militants trying to cross from Afghanistan overnight, the military said on Friday, describing them as "Indian-sponsored". The fighters were intercepted and engaged with "precise" fire, the military's public relations wing said, adding that weapons, ammunition and explosives were recovered.
Africa
Terrorist activity is surging in Africa’s volatile Sahel region, making life more difficult and dangerous for women and girls, senior U.N. officials said Thursday. Over the past decade, the arid region south of the Sahara Desert has been shaken by extremist uprisings and military coups. Three nations — Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso — are now ruled by military leaders who took power by force, pledging to provide more security to citizens. But the security situation has worsened.
Congo
Reuters: M23 rebel group says no invitation received to Doha peace talks with Congo
The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group has not received an invitation to peace talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo scheduled to begin in Doha on Friday, its leader Bertrand Bisimwa told reporters on Thursday. A delay to the start of the talks risks scuppering an ambitious pledge by the two sides to end the fighting in eastern Congo that has killed thousands of people this year and displaced hundreds of thousands more.
Mozambique
FOX News: ISIS soldiers behead Christians in Mozambique, burning church and homes: 'Silent genocide'
International observers are reporting that ISIS-aligned soldiers are beheading Christians and burning churches and homes in central and southern Africa – with some of the most brutal attacks happening in the nation of Mozambique. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) – a counter-terrorism research nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. – is sounding that alarm about what it describes as a "silent genocide" taking place against Christians. The Islamic State Mozambique Province (ISMP) recently released 20 photos boasting of four attacks on "Christian villages" in the Chiure district, in Mozambique's northern Cabo Delgado province, according to MEMRI.
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