Eye on Extremism: March 6, 2026
Top Stories
Guardian: Four men arrested suspected of spying for Iran and targeting Jews in London
Armed police have arrested four men suspected of spying for Iran and allegedly targeting synagogues and Jews in London. Counter-terrorism detectives are investigating why the alleged surveillance of Jewish locations and individuals was being carried out, and whether it was linked to a wish to carry out attacks on British soil. Part of the investigation is looking at claims that in-person surveillance in London took place and whether it was directed from overseas. The operation by counter-terrorism police and MI5 had been going on for months.
Islamic militants attacked a town in northeastern Nigeria on Friday, abducting more than 300 people, including women and children, local officials said. The attack happened in the town of Ngoshe in Borno state, according to Bulama Sawa, an official from the Gwoza area. He told The Associated Press the attack was likely in retaliation for an operation by the military that killed three commanders of the militant Boko Haram group.
CEP Mentions
The National: Syria foils ISIS car bomb plot with help of Turkish spies
[Counter Extremism Project Senior Director] Hans-Jakob Schindler, a former UN Security Council co-ordinator for monitoring ISIS and Al Qaeda, said ISIS has sensed that "this is our opportunity to come back". He said the group's willingness to declare a "new phase" of operations hinted at a boost to manpower after the prison escapes and a push to recruit from Mr Al Shara's ranks.
DW News: Has Germany's support for Trump's unlawful attacks on Iran made it a target of retaliation?
How credible are claims of an Iranian hybrid warfare threat to Germany? DW's Giulia Saudelli asks terrorism analyst [CEP Senior Director] Hans-Jakob Schindler if Iran poses a real danger to Germany.
Analysis
After the United States and Israel began attacking Iran on February 28, questions have arisen about the potential dangers for the U.S. homeland. The Department of Homeland Security has reportedly warned of potential lone-wolf attacks and cyberattacks in the wake of the strikes, and state and local authorities have moved to heightened alert for any retaliation on American soil. A shooting in Austin, Texas, over the weekend, in which two people were killed and fourteen wounded, is now under investigation by the FBI as a potential act of terrorism. This has further ramped up tensions and security concerns that have emerged in the United States since the strikes on Iran began.
The Bondi Beach attack in Australia on 14 December and the Red Fort attack in India on 10 November 2025 demonstrate how social media platforms are being systematically weaponised to radicalise individuals to launch terrorist attacks. Far from reality, such attacks are concealed as individual efforts, but are systematically designed and organised.
Atlantic: Something New Is Happening in Lebanon
Like thousands here in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, I was jolted awake just before 3 a.m. Monday morning by the unmistakable sounds of explosions resulting from Israeli air strikes. Hezbollah had launched a salvo of missiles and drones into Israel, supposedly in solidarity with the slain Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Now Israel was retaliating. Lebanon had once again been plunged into a war that had nothing to do with its national interests, by a militia group that has retained a private army and run its own foreign policy for decades.
United States
USA Today: Police release new video of Austin bar shooting amid 'terrorism' probe
Police in Austin, Texas, released new videos related to the deadly shooting outside a bar that killed three people and is being investigating as a "potential act of terrorism." Videos show the chaotic scene that broke out when gunfire erupted outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden in the city's busy entertainment district around 2 a.m. on March 1. Bystanders can be seen running away from gunshots and hiding behind cars as officers yell "everybody down!" and ask, "Where is he?"
Miami Herald: Senators vote to give Florida’s governor the power to label ‘terrorist’ groups
The Florida Senate approved a bill Thursday giving the governor the ability to label groups as “terrorist organizations,” a move that targets college students and Islamic schools that receive state voucher money. Under HB 1471, college students could be immediately expelled for supporting a group dubbed a terrorist organization — an apparent response to pro-Palestinian protesters who have opposed Israel’s war in Gaza on campuses.
Fox 32: Jewish leaders want Chicago mayor to create antisemitism task force
Jewish leaders are pressuring Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to establish an antisemitism task force, because they believe he’s not doing enough to protect the Jewish community, Fox News Digital has learned. "There was a 58% rise in hate crimes," Rebecca Weininger, the senior regional director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Midwest, told Fox News Digital, specifically referring to anti-Jewish hate crimes. "So to be clear, that's not hate incidents. It's hate crimes, bias-motivated crimes against Jews in the city of Chicago."
Canada
Toronto Sun: Recent antisemitic attacks underline need for royal commission: B'nai Brith Canada
Recent antisemitic attacks have Canada’s Jewish community on edge, and highlight the need for Canada to start taking the crisis seriously. That’s the message B’nai Brith Canada has for the federal government, saying that Canada’s escalating crisis of anti-Jewish hatred shows the need for Ottawa to establish a royal commission on antisemitism. “We are urging all Canadians to sign our petition for the Government to establish a Royal Commission on Antisemitism in Canada,” said B’nai Brith Canada CEO Simon Wolle.
A social media account promoting Sikh extremist views is claiming responsibility for the stabbing of a woman in the southwestern Ontario town of LaSalle this week. LaSalle police on Wednesday identified 45-year-old Nancy Grewal of Windsor, Ont., as the victim in the stabbing. She died March 3 in the area of Todd Lane. On social media, an account says in Punjabi that Nancy Grewal of Windsor was killed over her criticism of the Khalistani movement.
Europe
Euronews: Europol warns of elevated terrorism threat in EU amid Iran conflict
The escalating conflict in Iran is putting Europe on high alert, with international police agency Europol warning of “an elevated threat” of terrorism and “violent extremism” on European soil as well as increased cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns. The ongoing US-Israeli war with Iran has “immediate repercussions for serious and organised crime and terrorism in the EU,” Jan op gen Oorth, Europol’s head of communications, told Euronews in an emailed statement. “Key risks are an elevated threat of terrorism and violent extremism, increased cyber-attacks targeting EU infrastructure, a rise in conflict-themed online fraud schemes, and the spread of disinformation and influence campaigns.”
United Kingdom
Bristol Live: Neo-Nazis pull out of 'Bristol Patriots' march over Jewish participants
A group of neo-Nazis have withdrawn from taking part in a ‘Bristol Patriots’ rally in the city centre tomorrow (Saturday), saying that, despite claiming they were invited, they didn’t want to be associated with the Jewish people taking part or be associated with the call for support for Iranians. The national group calling itself the ‘Aryan Front’ had posted a series of videos on social media announcing their intention to join the Bristol Patriots on their latest controversial rally and march through the city centre.
Afghanistan
Reuters: Pakistani, Afghan border forces clash as UN says war displaces 100,000
Pakistani and Afghan troops exchanged fire at dozens of points along their border on Friday as the U.N. said their week-old conflict has forced the displacement of more than 100,000 people. The South Asian nations show no signs of rapprochement in their worst fighting in years, adding to the volatility in a region also contending with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran - a nation that borders both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The new Criminal Regulation recently endorsed by the Taliban leader will further entrench violence and discrimination against women, Amnesty International said in a new legal analysis documenting its wide-ranging and regressive impact on human rights. The “Criminal Procedure Regulation of the Courts”, which lays out punishments and sentencing for a range of vague and overly broad offences, criminalizes domestic violence only in cases where a woman has suffered a broken bone or visible injuries. The decree also prescribes a three-month prison sentence for any woman who regularly visits family members without her husband’s permission and who refuses a court order to return home.
Armenia
As Israel faces Iranian attacks, a parallel information battle is unfolding on Telegram channels operating from Armenia, where posts this week have circulated false claims of sweeping Iranian “successes” against Israel and the United States. A review of posts across several of the channels shows a steady stream of unverified and, in some cases, false reports. Among them are claims of a “direct hit” on a Glilot base linked to the Mossad; posts alleging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials were “eliminated”; purported strikes on the US Incirlik base in Turkey; supposed heavy Israeli casualties; a US warship allegedly hit by an Iranian missile; and the “complete destruction” of a US base in Kuwait.
Azerbaijan
Guardian: Azerbaijan accuses Iran of ‘terrorist’ drone attack on airport that injured four people
Azerbaijan has accused Iran of a “terrorist” drone attack that struck an airport and injured four civilians, raising concerns the conflict could spread beyond the Middle East. Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said Iran fired four drones at the country, one of which hit the terminal building at the only airport in Nakhchivan, an Azerbaijani exclave bordering Iran. A second drone fell close to a school in a nearby village, the ministry said.
Middle East
Guardian: Iran-backed militias intensify attacks against US, Israel and allies
Iran-backed militias around the Middle East are intensifying attacks against Israel, the US and their allies, in retaliation for the ongoing joint US-Israeli offensive against Tehran as the war draws in new armed actors, threatening wider chaos and violence. Israel and the US have targeted Iran’s network of militant groups, with Iraq emerging as a key front in this new and often clandestine confrontation.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Palestinians and Israeli activists reported ongoing harassment by extremist settlers close to the Palestinian village of Duma on Thursday, despite the IDF imposing a closed military zone order over the area. The harassment reportedly saw the Palestinian residents of one dwelling in the northern West Bank area abandon their homes on Thursday, the second such compound said to be abandoned this week due to the settler violence.
Ynet: With focus on Iran, IDF turns to deception against Hamas in Gaza
While most of the IDF’s attention is focused on Iran and Lebanon, significant forces are still operating in the Gaza Strip against attempts by Hamas to regroup. The military is also preparing for the possibility that the terrorist group could join the war at a higher intensity, as Hezbollah has done.
Iraq
BBC: Iran targets headquarters of Iranian Kurdish forces in Iraq
Iran's military has said it has targeted the headquarters of Iranian Kurdish forces in northern Iraq, stepping up strikes on Kurdish regions in both Iran and Iraq. The military said it attacked "Kurdish groups opposed to the [Islamic] revolution in Iraqi Kurdistan with three missiles". One person was killed and three injured in the strikes on Tuesday and Wednesday, the BBC has confirmed. Tehran is intensifying its attacks on Iranian Kurdish groups in Iraq amid reports that US President Donald Trump wants them to join the fight against Iran, as US and Israeli strikes continue.
Officials with one of the armed Kurdish Iranian dissident groups based in northern Iraq told The Associated Press that they are not planning an imminent cross-border attack on Iran but would join a ground invasion if the U.S. were to launch one. The comments appeared to be aimed at reassuring Iraqi Kurdish officials, who have said they do not want attacks to be launched against Iran from their territory, fearing that they will be further dragged into the war in the Middle East sparked by the U.S. and Israel’s strikes on Iran.
Reuters: Iran spent years fostering proxies in Iraq. Now, many aren’t eager to join the war
Iran has spent decades and billions of dollars preparing foreign proxy fighters like A.J., a commander in a pro-Iranian paramilitary group in Iraq, for a moment just like this. Since the U.S. and Israel went to war on the Islamic Republic a week ago, A.J. has been awaiting marching orders from Tehran. But they have yet to come. And so as the leadership in Tehran faces a potentially existential threat, many of the fighters and militia groups the Iranians cultivated in Iraq have so far not entered the fight for them. There has been no mass mobilization of Iran’s proxies inside Iraq, one of the last redoubts of the Islamic Republic’s once-formidable system of alliances stretching from Gaza, Lebanon and Syria to Yemen and Iraq.
Israel
The daughter of a terrorist released in a hostage-terrorist exchange during the Israel-Hamas war has been arrested for online incitement to terrorism, the Israel Police stated on Friday. The woman is a resident of the Palestinian village of Shiukh and was arrested by fighters from the unit “Yehuda Arrow” in the Etzion sector.
Lebanon
Axios: Scoop: Dozens of IRGC members flee Lebanon, Israeli officials say
Several dozen Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) officers have fled Beirut over the last 48 hours fearing they will be targeted, two senior Israeli defense officials and a third source with knowledge of the situation told Axios. Why it matters: The Iranian officers were mostly members of the elite Quds Force, working as military advisers to Hezbollah with significant influence over the group's operations.
Times of Israel: IDF says strike in south Lebanon targeted offices of a top Hamas fundraiser
An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon this morning targeted the offices of a top Hamas money man, the IDF and Shin Bet say. The Shin Bet says that the head of Hamas’s “fundraising apparatus,” Essam Khashan, and other operatives operated out of the “clandestine office.” No further details are given on where the strike was conducted.
CNN: As Iran war rages, Israel seizes chance to finish the job against Hezbollah
For the past week, Israel has unleashed a furious assault across Lebanon, targeting the militant group Hezbollah from Tripoli in the far north to the villages along the country’s southern border. The Israeli military says it has targeted Hezbollah sites with hundreds of strikes. The attacks have killed at least 217 people, wounded nearly 700 more, Lebanese authorities say, with hundreds of thousands displaced. At least 12 Israeli soldiers have been injured in the renewed fighting, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
New York Times: Lebanon at ‘Tipping Point’ as It Seeks to Curb Hezbollah’s Influence
For much of the past year, Lebanon’s government has walked a tightrope in its dealings with the Iranian-backed armed group Hezbollah as it has moved to disarm the militants and curb their influence in Lebanese politics. Now, as Lebanon faces a rapidly escalating conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, the country is waiting to see if the government seizes on this moment to take decisive action against Hezbollah — and how the group will respond.
Yemen
New Arab: Yemen's Houthis say they're ready to support Iran 'when required'
The leader of the Houthis, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, announced on Thursday that his group stands alongside Iran amid the US-Israeli war on the country, saying fighters from the Yemeni rebel movement are "ready to move militarily if developments require it". In a televised speech broadcast by media outlets affiliated with the movement, al-Houthi said his position is to "stand by the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Iranian people", saying that "our hands are on the trigger whenever developments require it".
Deutsche Welle: Iran war: What role will Yemen's Houthi group play?
How is the Houthi rebel group in Yemen reacting to the attack by the US and Israel on Iran? Although the Houthis have made angry statements, the staunch allies of Iran seem to be holding back — at least for now. The Houthis, whose official name is Ansar Allah, have controlled large parts of northern and western Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, since 2014. Their advance in Yemen triggered the intervention of a Saudi-led military coalition in 2015. According to the UN, the ensuing conflict between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition claimed more than 150,000 lives. A ceasefire was reached in 2022 but Yemen remains divided.
West Africa
Africa Defense Forum: Terror Groups Pressure Sahel Capitals
The terrorist attack on the airport serving Niger’s capital, Niamey, in January provided another example of how Sahelian extremists threaten the security of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and West Africa as a whole. During the January 29 attack, 30 Islamic State-Sahel Province fighters used armed drones, small arms and mortars to assault Dori Hamani International Airport and military Air Base 101. The base houses Nigerien military drone operations and the headquarters for the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). The alliance is the mutual defense and economic union Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger created in 2023 after leaving the Economic Community of West African States.
Nigeria
Associated Press: Terrorists kidnap over 300 people in northeastern Nigeria
Armed militants raided a town in northeastern Nigeria on Friday, abducting more than 300 residents, including women and children, according to local officials. The attack happened in the town of Ngoshe in Borno state, according to Bulama Sawa, an official from the Gwoza area. He told The Associated Press the attack was likely in retaliation for an operation by the military that killed three commanders of the terrorist Boko Haram group.
BBC: 'Massive' numbers killed by gunmen in latest Nigeria attack, senator tells BBC
A Nigerian senator has told the BBC that "massive" numbers of civilians were killed by armed men who attacked their village in Borno state on Wednesday, although he did not have the precise figure. "The number of people killed actually is very massive but we don't know the exact number, because I rely on the information from the chairman of the local government and the locals there," said Nigerian lawmaker Mohammed Ali Ndume of the attack in the remote village of Ngoshe.
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