Fact:
On April 3, 2017, the day Vladimir Putin was due to visit the city, a suicide bombing was carried out in the St. Petersburg metro, killing 15 people and injuring 64. An al-Qaeda affiliate, Imam Shamil Battalion, claimed responsibility.
Eye on Extremism: May 12, 2025
Top Stories
Reuters: Hamas set to free U.S.-Israeli hostage, Israel says no ceasefire
Hamas will release Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander from Gaza on Monday, the Palestinian militant group said, but Israel's prime minister said there would be no ceasefire and plans for an intensified military campaign would continue. Fighting will pause to allow for Alexander's safe passage, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Three Palestinians in Gaza told Reuters early on Monday afternoon that there had been calm since midday, with no sound of drones or warplanes.
New York Times: As Truce Seems to Hold, India and Pakistan Both Claim Victory
The fragile truce between India and Pakistan appeared to be largely holding on its first full day after some initial skirmishing, as both countries turned on Sunday to making the case that they had come out on top in the four-day conflict. President Trump announced on Saturday that the two sides had agreed to a cease-fire with the help of U.S. mediation. That brought a halt to a military confrontation that had involved drones, missiles and intense shelling, and that had escalated, with strikes on military bases in both countries. Mr. Trump followed up with a congratulatory note on Sunday, praising the two sides for “having the strength, wisdom, and fortitude to fully know and understand that it was time to stop the current aggression that could have lead to the death and destruction of so many, and so much.”
Analysis
New York Times: The Danger for India and Pakistan Has Not Gone Away
India and Pakistan have seemingly pulled back from the brink again. But so much was new about the nuclear-armed enemies’ chaotic four-day clash, and so many of the underlying accelerants remain volatile, that there’s little to suggest that the truce represents any return to old patterns of restraint. A new generation of military technology fueled a dizzying aerial escalation. Waves of airstrikes and antiaircraft volleys with modern weapons set the stage. Soon they were joined by weaponized drones en masse for the first time both along the two countries’ extensive boundaries and deep into their territory — hundreds of them in the sky, probing each nation’s defenses and striking without risk to any pilot.
Jerusalem Post: 'The Hamas Intelligence War against Israel'
Before the current crisis of the war in Gaza erupted, there had been four major clashes with Hamas, beginning with Operation Cast Lead in 2008 to Operation Guardian of the Walls in 2021. While the media report the human face of the tragedies of war, the book The Hamas Intelligence War against Israel (Cambridge University Press, 2025) by Netanel Flamer uncovers Hamas’s carefully constructed infrastructure. Flamer, an academic at Bar-Ilan University, is adept at utilizing Hebrew and Arabic sources to produce a detailed picture of Hamas’s modus operandi. The book aims “to describe and analyze the evolution of Hamas’s intelligence warfare,” and does so admirably. It breaks down Hamas’s approach into different categories, such as human intelligence (HUMINT) gathering and signal intelligence (SIGINT) and cyberwarfare.
Netra News: An ideologue returns with a louder voice
The fall of Sheikh Hasina’s rule last August, followed by an uprising led largely by students, was hailed by many in Bangladesh and abroad as the beginning of a new democratic chapter. But as the dust settles, the country’s volatile political vacuum is drawing in figures long relegated to the extremist margins. This week, Mufti Jasimuddin Rahmani — a radical cleric once imprisoned for inciting extremism and described by the US-based Counter Extremism Project as a follower of Al-Qaeda ideologue Anwar al-Awlaki — appeared at a rally calling for the dissolution of Hasina’s Awami League. Flanked by supporters, Rahmani led a roadside prayer, delivered fiery remarks, and joined chants demanding the party’s formal ban.
United States
New York Times: Amid Blockade, Trump and Israel Mull Divisive Aid Plan For Gaza
The Trump administration is working with the Israeli government on a plan to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and end Israel’s two-month blockade on food and fuel deliveries, according to the State Department. Aid workers have raised serious doubts about the approach. The mechanism has yet to be finalized, but the general idea is to establish a handful of distribution zones that would each serve food to several hundred thousand Palestinians, according to two Israeli officials and a U.N. diplomat. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the proposal, and The New York Times also reviewed briefing papers that detail the proposal and confirmed their authenticity with diplomats and officials.
Washington Examiner: How terrorists hide as legal immigrants
It would be unwise to assume that the relative paucity of domestic terrorist attacks inside this country perpetrated by foreigners over the last two decades, much less the lack of large-scale attacks, can be attributed mainly to ICE’s excellence. At least as significant a factor here is how competent the FBI has become at thwarting terrorist attacks inside the U.S. The FBI is greatly helped in its efforts to stop attacks “left of boom,” as the pros say, by the commonplace lack of competence and operational security among would-be terrorists. Take the fresh case of Abdullah Haji Zada, an 18-year-old Afghan national. This month, he pleaded guilty to his role in a jihadist terrorist plot to shoot up voting sites in Oklahoma City on last year’s Election Day. Zada, who was legally in the U.S., agreed as part of his plea deal to be removed from the country and return to Afghanistan at the end of his prison sentence.
The Times: Trump set to meet ‘terrorist’ president of Syria
President Trump is expected to meet Syria’s leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who remains designated a terrorist by the US, during his trip to Saudi Arabia this week, The Times understands. Al-Sharaa, an Islamist leader who came to power in January, is expected to meet Trump in a group that includes Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian National Authority, and Joseph Aoun, president of Lebanon.
Deutsche Welle: Trump defends controversial gift of jet from Qatar
US President Donald Trump on Sunday defended plans to receive a new luxury Boeing aircraft as a gift after media reported that he would receive an aircraft from Qatar's royal family to replace the current Air Force One. The Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet was described by the ABC News broadcaster in its scoop as a "flying palace," saying it would possibly be the most costly present ever received by the US government.
Naharnet: Hamas says held direct Gaza talks with US, reports 'progress'
Hamas and U.S. representatives have held direct talks in Doha in recent days, two officials from the Palestinian militant group told AFP on Sunday, with one saying there had been "progress" towards a truce in Gaza. "Direct talks have taken place in Doha between the Hamas leadership and the United States regarding a ceasefire in Gaza, a prisoner exchange and the entry of humanitarian aid," said a senior Hamas official, adding that the talks "are still ongoing".
Denver's Auraria campus and the pro-Palestinian encampment that popped up on campus last spring will now be investigated by the federal government. The Colorado Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights voted unanimously to begin a year-long examination of the "presence and/or absence of antisemitism at Colorado universities and colleges, specifically at the Auraria Campus in Denver that hosts the Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver, andUniversity of Colorado Denver."
Baltimore Sun: Johns Hopkins among universities targeted by federal antisemitism probes
College rivalries are likely as old as colleges themselves. But with the Trump administration targeting universities on multiple fronts — from alleging antisemitism on campuses to cutting research funds to revoking visas of international students — some academics are banding together rather than fighting individually. “When any one institution is under attack, it’s not just up to that institution to respond,” said Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities. “We each must respond.”
John Legend says it was “shocking” to see the public “descent” of his ex-friend and former business associate Kanye West after he went from musical genius to a controversial figure. “Back then Kanye was very passionate, very gifted, and he had big dreams not only for himself but also for all the people around him,” the EGOT winner recalled of working with West in a new interview with The Times.
Long Island Business News: Touro Law launches antisemitism legal clinic
Central Islip-based Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center has launched the Antisemitism Law Clinic, which will begin student enrollment this fall. Leading the clinic is Rabbi Mark Goldfeder, an attorney, who will serve as its director and assistant clinical law professor. The clinic is designed to provide students with the opportunity to gain practical experience by working on various aspects of anti-discrimination litigation and legislation, including motion practice, discovery requests, appellate briefing and drafting and marking up of bills.
Argentina
Reuters: Argentina's top court finds 80 boxes of Nazi materials in its basement
Dozens of boxes of Nazi material confiscated by Argentinean authorities during World War II were recently rediscovered in the Supreme Court's basement, the court said on Sunday. The 83 boxes were sent by the Germany embassy in Tokyo to Argentina in June 1941 aboard the Japanese steamship "Nan-a-Maru," according to the history that the court was able to piece together, it said in a statement.
Brazil
Jerusalem Post: Brazilian Jewish group slams President Lula for 'antisemitic blood libel'
Brazil's central Jewish organization has criticized President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for "antisemitic" comments about Israel during a speech in Moscow on Saturday. Lula told reporters that Israel is "attacking women and children under the pretext of killing terrorists." He claimed that there have been cases where hospitals containing just women and children were bombed, with no terrorists present.
Europe
Jewish News Syndicate: 28% in Europe see Jew-hatred of anti-Israel activists, per poll
A survey of 4,400 European adults published on Monday found that more than a quarter said they had seen antisemitism disguised as pro-Palestinian activism. The 28% figure suggests a high level of public awareness of Jew-hate in the media and at thousands of rallies across Europe that have proliferated since Oct. 7, 2023.
France
RFI: Court allows controversial ultra-nationalist rally in Paris
Demonstrators carried a banner reading “Sébastien Deyzieu Présent” and walked to the beat of drums while chanting “Europa, Youth, Revolution" – the slogan of the GUD, a violent, far-right student union officially disbanded in 2024. Many participants covered their faces, which is prohibited in France. Some carried torches and displayed symbols linked to far-right movements such as Celtic crosses, and wore black t-shirts with neo-Nazi and hooligan imagery.
Hungary
Ynet: German tourists assault 8 Israelis in antisemitic attack in Budapest
A violent antisemitic incident took place in Budapest when eight Orthodox Israeli men— two residents and six tourists — were assaulted by a group of drunk German tourists. According to the victims, the attack, which took place 10 days ago, occurred shortly after they left evening prayers at a local synagogue and were heading to a friend's apartment. They were approached by around 15 young Germans who recognized that they were Jewish based on their religious appearance and began hurling racist slurs before physically attacking them.
Germany
Deutsche Welle: Fact check: Is Germany's AfD not right-wing extremist?
The classification "confirmed right-wing extremist" was not withdrawn. The AfD, which increased its number of seats to 152 (out of 630) in the last parliamentary election in February, applied to the court to issue an injunction order if the BfV were to reject the "standstill" order. Both instruments are legal tools that can be used by plaintiffs to ensure that an authority must pause measures that the plaintiff considers unlawful. "The Federal Office has now preempted the issuance of such an injunction by issuing the 'standstill' order, which means that the Federal Office will refrain from designating the AfD as a 'confirmed right-wing extremist' party and will not treat it as such until the proceedings have been concluded," said Markus Ogorek, director of the Institute for Public Law and Administrative Theory at Cologne University.
Deutsche Welle: Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer dies at 103
Margot Friedländer — a survivor and witness to the Nazi Holocaust and a prominent voice in modern-day Germany — passed away on Friday at the age of 103. Friedländer spent part of the war years hiding in Berlin before she was taken to the Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1944. She emigrated to the United States shortly after the end of the war, only moving back to the German capital in 2010, at the age of 88. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed his condolences, saying that Friedländer "gifted our country reconciliation." Steinmeier was due to honor Friedländer with a state medal on Friday. Germany's new Chancellor Friedrich Merz praised Friedländer for speaking up for "peaceful cooperation, against antisemitism, and forgetting." "She entrusted us with her story. It is our task and our duty to pass it on," Merz said.
Reuters: New German foreign minister travels to Israel for 'critical discussions'
The new German foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, departed for Israel on Saturday for a Middle East trip in which "critical discussions" are expected, he said when leaving Berlin. "In both of our democracies, critical discussions about the policies of one's own government and friendly nations are part of this," Wadephul said on Saturday. Wadephul condemned the Hamas' attacks "in the strongest terms" and called for the liberation of all hostages. According to a Foreign Office spokesperson, Wadephul will meet Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Wadephul will also visit the Yad Vashem memorial and talk to the relatives of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
Russia
The Guardian: Is Russia co-opting US far-right groups to attack western democracies?
A former Pentagon contractor works with secretive sections of US special forces, then ups and moves to Russia. He gets married, radicalizes and starts popping up on Telegram channels as the leader of a neo-Nazi terrorist group recruiting Americans. Soon, allegations swirl that he is a Russian spy. While this sounds like something Tom Clancy would write, it is reality: Rinaldo Nazzaro, better known as the leader of the Base, once worked in drone targeting with the US Special Operations Command in Iraq and Afghanistan. Recently, the Guardian revealed allegations from inside the Base that he was long suspected of working with the FSB, one of Russia’s main intelligence services. If true, the startling revelation about Nazzaro fits into the Kremlin’s well-documented global mission of co-opting far-right and criminal organizations to carry out attacks on western democracies.
United Kingdom
New York Post: BBC star Oghenochuko Ojiri pleads guilty to financing suspected Hezbollah financier
Oghenochuko Ojiri, who regularly appeared as an art expert on the popular BBC series “Bargain Hunt,” pleaded guilty to helping finance the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Ojiri made the stunning admission on Friday during a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London, according to BBC News. He pleaded guilty to eight counts of failing to disclose potential terrorist financing. Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, is designated as a terrorist group by both the US and the UK. The embattled “Bargain Hunt” star reportedly admitted that he had helped fund the group by selling artwork to Nazem Ahmad, a suspected terrorist financier sanctioned by the US and UK due to his alleged links to Hezbollah.
Jerusalem Post: BBC puts Gaza documentary on hold amid Hamas link scandal
BBC's new Gaza documentary put on "indefinite" hold until a controversial Hamas-linked film is finished being reviewed, according to a report in the Telegraph last week. The Gaza documentary that was set to air in February is titled, for the time being, Gaza: Medics Under Fire, following doctors and healthcare workers in the war zone. The production company behind the latest documentary, Basement Films, is run by Ben de Pear, a former editor at Channel 4 News, the Telegraph added. The company reportedly expressed frustration that the documentary could be affected by the scandal.
Jewish News: New Reform councillors shared Hitler memes and neo-Nazi content
An investigation by anti-racism charity HOPE Not Hate revealed that seven Reform UK candidates standing in Doncaster had previously posted antisemitic conspiracy theories, neo-Nazi material, and extreme anti-Muslim content. Six of them were successfully elected.
Nine suspects arrested by police investigating neo-Nazis who were caught celebrating Adolf Hitler's birthday in an Oldham pub have been released on bail. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) today (Friday May 9) confirmed nine people, aged from their 20s to their 60s, who were arrested on suspicion of a section 18 public order offence, have been released on bail 'under strict conditions'.
Israel
Reuters: Airlines suspend flights to Israel after Houthi attack on airport
Some global airlines have again halted their flights to and from Tel Aviv after a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels towards Israel on May 4 landed near the country's main international airport. Foreign airlines had begun to resume flights to Israel after a ceasefire deal with Palestinian militant group Hamas in January. Many carriers had halted them for much of the last year and a half since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
Jerusalem Post: Most Israelis fear Oct. 7-style West Bank invasion, poll finds – exclusive
A clear majority of Jewish Israelis oppose a potential hostage deal if it would allow Hamas to remain in power in any form in Gaza, a survey conducted by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs found. The JCFA poll, which was conducted by Lazar Research on May 5-6, included 702 respondents – both Jews and Arabs – aged 18 and older. It presents a stark picture of public opinion over a year and a half after the October 7 Hamas-led massacre, which triggered the war.
Times of Israel: Backchannel helped secure release of American-Israeli hostage, sources tell ToI
A third-party mediator operated a backchannel between the United States and Hamas that helped secure the agreement to release American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, a source familiar with the matter and a Palestinian official revealed to The Times of Israel on Sunday. The backchannel was operated by a non-governmental individual who passed along messages between Hamas’s leadership in Qatar and US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, the sources said, while declining to reveal the identity of the person on the record.
Rejecting criticism about Israel having played no role in the pending release of hostage Edan Alexander, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declares that “you have to be crazy to turn an event like this into something that is against the government.”
Times of Israel: IDF said limiting Gaza operations ahead of Edan Alexander release, but no truce
Israeli forces have not been instructed to halt military activities in the Gaza Strip ahead of the expected release of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander on Monday, but will make “adjustments” to allow safe passage of the captive out of the Strip, Channel 12 reported. “Adjustments have been made for the release, but the army continues with normal operations,” a security source tells the network amid conflicting reports of a truce ahead of the release that was negotiated without Israel’s involvement.
The IDF and Mossad have recovered the body of Sgt. First Class Zvi Feldman, who has been missing since the 1982 First Lebanon War’s battle of Sultan Yacoub, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces. Feldman went missing along with Sgt. First Class Yehuda Katz and Sgt. First Class Zachary Baumel, the latter of whom whose remains were recovered and returned to Israel in 2019.
Lebanon
Wall Street Journal: Loosening Hezbollah’s Grip on Lebanon Begins at the Airport
Dozens of airport staffers suspected of being affiliated with Hezbollah have been removed, according to senior Lebanese security and military officials. Smugglers have been arrested and existing laws are now being enforced, Lebanon’s new prime minister said. Ground crews say they are no longer directed by superiors to exempt some planes and passengers from searches, while flights from Iran have been suspended since February. And the state is installing new surveillance technologies that will incorporate artificial intelligence, a senior security official said. The overhaul is part of a broader effort to limit Hezbollah’s influence and revenue flows that have made it such a powerful force in the country.
Syria
Naharnet: Syria warns Kurds against delay in integrating into state
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani warned Monday that postponing implementation of an agreement between Syria's new administration and Kurdish-led forces in the northeast would "prolong the chaos" in the country. His remarks came as the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) announced it was disbanding, an announcement the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which control swathes of north and northeast Syria has not yet commented on.
CBS News: Search by FBI, Qatar uncovers remains of 30 people believed killed by ISIS in Syria
The remains of 30 people believed to have been killed by the militant Islamic State group have been found in a remote Syrian town in a search led by Qatari search teams and the FBI, according to a statement from Qatar on Monday. The Qatari internal security forces said the FBI had requested the search, and that DNA tests are currently underway to determine the identities of the people. The Qatari agency did not say whom the American intelligence and security agency is trying to find. However, the Reuters news agency, citing two sources briefed on the mission, said they were searching for the remains of American hostages killed by ISIS.
Qatar
When President Trump visits the Middle East this coming week — spending four days in a trio of Arabian Gulf nations — his most controversial stop will be Qatar. Claiming to be America’s friend, yet in intimate contact with America’s enemies, Qatar is what many might call the ultimate “frenemy.”
Turkey
Reuters: Kurdish PKK congress took 'historic decisions' after jailed leader urged disarmament
The militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) made "historic decisions" at a congress this week after a call from its jailed leader to dissolve, a linked news agency said on Friday - a potentially key step in resolving a long conflict with Turkey. The Firat news agency reported the PKK as saying it held its congress on May 5-7 in northern Iraq, where the outlawed group is now based. But the PKK statement it published did not say whether the insurgents had decided to disband or disarm. Any PKK decision to formally disarm and dissolve, which is not guaranteed, would have far-reaching political and security consequences for the region, including in neighbouring Syria where Kurdish forces are allied with U.S. forces.
Reuters: Families in Turkey await news of loved ones as Kurdish insurgency ends
Hours after the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) announced it was disbanding its armed wing, families gathered outside an office in the Turkish city of Diyarbakir, many with tears in their eyes and photos in their hands. Some talked about the chances for peace, but many had more pressing personal concerns - the children and other loved ones who had left to join the armed struggle over the decades who they hoped and prayed might now be able to come home.
The PKK Kurdish militant group announced Monday that it is disbanding and renouncing armed conflict as part of a new peace initiative with Turkey, ending four decades of hostilities. The decision by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which promises to put an end to one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East and could have significant impact in Turkey, Syria and Iraq, was announced by the Firat News Agency, a media outlet close to the group. It comes days after the PKK convened a party congress in northern Iraq.
Yemen
CNN: Israel issues evacuation warnings for Yemen ports after vowing to ‘defend itself by itself’
The Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for three ports in Yemen on Sunday night after vowing to “defend itself by itself” following a ceasefire deal between the US and the Houthis that excluded Israel. The warning, posted on social media by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Arabic media spokesperson Avichay Adraee, warned people to evacuate the ports of Ras Isa, Hodeidah, and Salif.
Reuters: Israel intercepts missile launched from Yemen, Houthis claim responsibility
Israel's military said on Friday it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen towards Israeli territory, an attack for which Yemen's Houthi forces claimed responsibility. The incident came days after Oman said it mediated a ceasefire deal between the U.S. and the Houthis, with the Yemeni group saying the accord did not include close U.S. ally Israel.
Bangladesh
Decclan Herald: Bangladesh officially bans Hasina-led Awami League under revised anti-terror law
Bangladesh on Monday issued a gazette notification, officially banning all activities of deposed premier Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party under an overnight revised anti-terrorism law. "The Home Ministry today issued the gazette notification banning all activities of the Awami League, its all front, associate and brotherly organisations,” Home Adviser Lt Gen (retd.) Jahangir Alam told a media briefing.
India
New York Times: India and Pakistan Announce Cease-Fire but Clashes Persist
India and Pakistan abruptly declared a cease-fire on Saturday after four days of rapidly escalating drone volleys, shelling and airstrikes that appeared to bring the old enemies to the brink of outright war. Hours later, each country accused the other of violating the deal. The agreement and subsequent reports of cross-border firing came after four dizzying days of strikes by the nuclear-armed rivals that went deep into each other’s territories, and intense shelling on either side of India and Pakistan’s disputed Kashmir border that left many civilians dead, wounded or displaced. Adding to the bewilderment many people felt at the breakneck pace of events, the truce was initially announced not by India or Pakistan but by President Trump on social media. And it was not clear, as night fell on Saturday, that the cease-fire would take hold in Kashmir, where a terrorist attack last month on the Indian-controlled side killed 26 people and set off the crisis. Cross-border firing was reported in both the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of the region, and India’s foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, told a news conference that there had been “repeated violations” of the agreement.
New York Times: What We Know About the Terrorist Groups India Said It Targeted
The spark for the latest conflict between India and Pakistan, the most expansive fighting between the two countries in decades, was a terrorist attack on civilians in Kashmir last month. The Indian government had been projecting calm on its side of the disputed Kashmir region. A group of militants managed to puncture that image. They came out of the woods in a scenic picnic spot and killed 26 men. The men, almost all of them Hindu, were singled out for their religion, and many of them were killed in front of their wives and families, according to witness accounts.
The Indian government announced on Thursday that its military had killed an Islamist terrorist who was indirectly involved in the murder of Jewish-American journalist Daniel Pearl. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India's governing party, said that the Indian army killed Pakistani terrorist Abdul Rauf Azhar in "Operation Sindhoor."
Pakistan
Newsweek: How a US-Designated Global Terrorist Contested an Election in Pakistan
Hafiz Abdur Rauf, who is designated a global terrorist by the United States, contested elections in Pakistan last year, according to details reviewed by Newsweek. The fact that he was able to stand in the ballot adds more fuel to allegations from India that Pakistan is not serious enough about tackling terrorism at a time of high tension between the nuclear-armed neighbors, analysts said. Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs did not immediately respond to Newsweek's request for comment.
NDTV: BBC Asked Pak Minister, 'Do Terrorists Live In...?' His One-Word Reply
Pakistan does not shelter active terrorists or terrorist outfits, and those living in its territory "do not indulge in terror activities, either in Pak or across the order in India', that country's Defence Minister Khwaja Asif told British broadcaster BBC in an interview earlier this month. The interview took place hours after India-Pak military tension spiked against the backdrop of the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 people, mostly civilians, were killed was claimed by a proxy of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a banned terrorist group India has said operates from Pakistan soil and with support from the deep state.
NDTV: Pak Says Man Who Led Terrorists' Funeral "A Family Man". US Disagrees
The Pakistani armed forces have claimed that Hafiz Abdur Rauf, a US-designated global terrorist, who led the funeral of the terrorists killed in Indian airstrikes during Operation Sindoor is an ordinary citizen. Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Pakistan's Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR), categorically denied that the man seen in the image was a terrorist. Instead, he was described as a religious leader and "a common family man."
The Tribune: Daniel Pearl’s father slams Pak army over tributes to slain terrorists
Operation Sindoor has delivered a significant blow to terrorism, with the elimination of Rauf Asghar Alvi — also known as Mufti Abdul Rauf Asghar — brother of Masood Azhar and operational head of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). The military strike had targeted a JeM terror camp in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. The development has brought renewed focus to the 2002 murder of journalist Daniel Pearl, who was beheaded by Pakistani terrorists while investigating extremist networks. The operation targeted facilities linked to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and JeM — both terror organisations with historical ties to Pearl’s killing.
Burkina Faso
RFI: Jihadist attacks in northern Burkina Fasso leave dozens dead
Members of al-Qaeda-linked Group for the support of Islam and Muslims, (Jnim), carried out simultaneous attacks on Sunday on a military detachment and police posts in the northern town of Djibo, as well as other towns in the north of the country.
Nigeria
France 24: At least 23 killed in attacks by gunmen in central Nigeria, Red Cross says
Gunmen killed 23 people in four separate attacks in central Nigeria's Benue state, a Red Cross official said Sunday, the latest flare-up of unrest in the region. The attacks happened Saturday night in four villages.
Technology
Sky News has found videos posted on TikTok, YouTube and Google that appear to be filmed at the Markaz Taiba Mosque in Muridke. The captions and usernames contain expressions of support for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and a group called '313'.
Daily Dose
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