Eye on Extremism: October 13, 2026
Top Stories
Associated Press: Fear grips Taiz as Houthi rebels tighten siege of Yemen’s 3rd largest city
As word came of Houthi rebels advancing on Taiz, Weam Abdullah and her family decided it was time to leave Yemen’s third largest city. They had survived a yearslong siege by the rebels earlier in their country’s civil war, and they didn’t want to endure that again.
An umbrella group of the organized Jewish communities in Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States held a “frank and direct” conversation with Ed Miliband, the British foreign secretary, according to the leaders of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
CEP Mentions
Welt: Another attack on Riyadh airport – “We are seeing a very serious escalation here”
Following another Houthi attack on the airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, security expert Hans-Jakob Schindler assesses the situation and explains why the militia from Yemen is escalating the conflict right now.
Welt: “The word ‘fear’ does not exist in the Saudi dictionary,” Riad assures
Following another Houthi attack on the airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, security expert Hans-Jakob Schindler assesses the situation and explains why the militia from Yemen is escalating the conflict right now.
ZDFheute: Attack on Riyadh airport - many dead and injured
The Houthi militia, allied with Iran, effectively controls the important Bab al-Mandab Strait. What does this mean? ZDFheute live provides an analysis with Middle East expert Hans-Jakob Schindler.
Analysis
Iran International: Machete-wielding men at IRGC-backed rally revive scrutiny of crackdowns
Footage and images showing men wielding machetes and swords at an IRGC-backed rally in the central Iranian city of Isfahan have renewed scrutiny of the Islamic Republic's history of using unofficial armed groups to suppress anti-government protests.
Iran International: US military support against Houthis risks widening Iran war, expert says
Washington could support the Saudi campaign against the Houthis at little direct cost by lifting political objections to its operations, but deeper military involvement risks appearing to widen the Iran war, senior Middle East analyst Ryan Bohl told Iran International.
United States
For Wayne Jones Sr., discussing the horrific supermarket shooting in Buffalo, New York, in which a white supremacist killed 10 people, including Jones’ mother, Celestine Chaney, has taken over much of his life these past four years.
New York Times: American Woman Who Is Accused of Joining ISIS Goes on Trial
Halima Salman is believed to be the first woman accused of being a member of ISIS to go on trial in U.S. federal court.
Washington Examiner: Al Qaeda threatens to kill any US captives if Fort Hood shooter is executed
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is threatening to execute any U.S. nationals that the terrorist group kidnaps if the U.S. government follows through with its scheduled execution of Nidal Hasan, the 2009 Fort Hood shooter.
From October 2023, the month of the Oct. 7 attacks, until this month, Illinois has recorded 221 anti-Jewish hate crime offenses, which were part of 190 such incidents, according to FBI data.
Jerusalem Post: Bomb threat called on Boca Raton Jewish preschool, law enforcement evacuates area
A Jewish preschool in Boca Raton, Florida, had a bomb threat reported at it, prompting local law enforcement to evacuate the area, US media outlets reported on Monday.
Protesters, including one who held a sign referencing the Ku Klux Klan, disrupted a speech by Minnesota House Speaker and gubernatorial candidate Lisa Demuth at a Republican dinner in Eagan on Friday evening.
An Israeli-American student at Seattle Central College is asking the district to probe whether student clubs took part in planning an Oct. 7 anti-Israel protest on campus that she thinks had ties to a U.S.-designated terror organization.
JNS: Harvard fired Jewish staffer after he took off for Rosh Hashanah, lawsuit alleges
Harvard University discriminated against a Jewish employee by firing him after he took two days off work to observe Rosh Hashanah, according to a lawsuit filed on Friday.
Anti-Israel protesters burned an American flag outside the Hillel at the University of Oregon in Eugene on Oct. 7, on the third anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, and called for the Hillel to be removed from campus.
Canada
A B.C. woman who married an ISIS fighter has pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges in a Vancouver court. The Public Prosecution Service of Canada confirmed that Kimberly Polman pleaded guilty on Thursday to leaving Canada to participate in activities of a terrorist group, namely the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Europe
JNS: Hamas, intifada praised in Amsterdam and Berlin rallies
For the second time since Oct. 7, 2023, protesters in Amsterdam on Sunday displayed a banner stating “I support Hamas” at the city’s main monument for World War II fatalities. Separately, at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, hundreds gathered for a rally featuring signs and chants of “yallah intifada” and portraits of Ali Khamenei, the late spiritual leader of Iran, according to rally footage and a report by Bild. Intifada means “uprising” in Arabic, and is used to describe a coordinated series of terrorist attacks against Israelis, and often also Jews.
JNS: ‘Dangerous territory’: Herzog slams Europe, where Jewish life is contracting in fear
inhospitable environment for Jews, with communities shrinking amid fear and insecurity as Israel is scapegoated and portrayed as evil. “In a Europe that not so long ago turned on its Jews and on itself, today Israel is demonized, while its Jewish communities contract in fear, forced—once again—into a defensive posture between two identities, and denied—once again—simple, safe belonging,” said Herzog.
France
Reuters: French anti-terrorism prosecutor takes over investigation into school shooting
The French anti-terrorism prosecutor has taken over an investigation into a school shooting after an initial probe found the 14-year-old suspect appeared to belong to a group called the True Crime Community.
Germany
A 67-year-old wheelchair-bound shop owner in Berlin has been repeatedly attacked after displaying posters condemning antisemitism and the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, according to German media reports on Saturday.
Ireland
Irish Times: Sentencing of Isis supporter who stabbed garda and set fire to McGregor pub put back
A supporter of Islamic State who stabbed a garda and set fire to a pub owned by Conor McGregor has been remanded into custody before his sentencing next month. Abdullah Khan (24), whose address cannot be published because of a court order, appeared before the non-jury Special Criminal Court in Dublin on Monday, via video-link from prison.
Netherlands
NL Times: Terrorism alleged in Pride Amsterdam arson; Suspect praised ISIS, received mystery cash
Anes A., the 27-year-old man suspected of setting two fires at Pride Amsterdam last year, wrote posts online praising the terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS) and received €750 shortly before the arson, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said in a hearing against him on Tuesday. The OM suspects the man of acting with terrorist intent, the Telegraaf reported.
United Kingdom
Reuters: UK PM Burnham says Iran’s IRGC likely behind RAF Fairford incident
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Monday that a suspected plot targeting the RAF Fairford air base in Britain was “highly likely” to have been coordinated in Iran, and almost certainly directed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iran is trying to hit military sites in the U.K. and the suspected plot to attack a U.S.-run military air base in September is “not unique,” the head of Britain’s MI5 spy agency said Tuesday.
JTA: Recorded anti-Jewish hate crimes rise 10% in England and Wales
Hate crimes targeting Jewish people in England and Wales rose by 10% in the year ended in March, according to the latest data released by the British government.
Guardian: Rightwing extremists increasingly likely to consider terrorist attacks, MI5 chief says
Extremists holding anti-immigration opinions are becoming increasingly likely to consider carrying out terrorist attacks against immigration centres and asylum hotels in the UK, the head of MI5 has warned.
Five NHS workers shared inflammatory posts claiming Zionists ‘control the world,’ Hamas terrorists are ‘the resistance’ and the Israeli prime minister ‘needs to be dead,’ Daily Mail can reveal.
BBC: Dragon flags spark row over ‘far-right’ links
A councillor has criticised the local authority his own party runs for not removing flags which he and others claim have links to white nationalism. Reform UK councillor Adrian Schulman said five flags depicting a white dragon on a red background were hung up in Crook in September.
Britain’s Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced on Monday a public inquiry into the deaths of two Jewish men who were killed during a terror attack at a synagogue in Manchester in October 2025. Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz were killed during the attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
The Herald: Jewish Council urges Edinburgh University to retain IHRA definition
A representative body of Scottish Jews has urged Edinburgh University to retain a prominent definition of antisemitism. The intervention comes after the submission of a motion to the university’s Senate which accuses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, adopted by the institution in 2020, of “omitting commonly found negative perceptions of Jews, while focusing excessively on attitudes and speech relating to Israel.”
Afghanistan
Afghanistan International: Taliban Suspends BBC World Service FM Broadcasts In Afghanistan
The Taliban has stopped BBC radio broadcasts on FM frequencies in Afghanistan. The BBC World Service confirmed the move, amid reports the group accused the broadcaster of breaching its media policy. The BBC World Service said its radio programmes in Dari Persian, Pashto and English were no longer being broadcast on FM frequencies and that it was in talks with the Taliban over continuing its operations in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan International: Conflict With Pakistan Serves Foreign Interests, Says Taliban Official
Hayatullah Muhajir Farahi, a Taliban deputy information minister, called efforts to draw the group into war with Pakistan a foreign project, but said its lack of response to Pakistani strikes did not mean retreat and that war remained an option.
Afghanistan International: Pakistan Warns Taliban Of Consequences Over Failure To Combat Terrorism
Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has warned the Afghan Taliban of consequences if it fails to act against terrorism originating from Afghanistan, calling terrorism the biggest challenge facing the region and the world.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Times of Israel: One year into ceasefire, vexed Gazans say they’re still living like war never ended
A year after a ceasefire ended two years of fighting that left Gaza in ruin, living conditions in the Strip remain as crude and rudimentary as Nael’s half-destroyed home, with hundreds of thousands still stuck in ramshackle housing and living in severely degraded conditions.
A West Bank Palestinian said Tuesday that a group of settlers posing as soldiers entered his home, then beat him, his wife, and two of their daughters, causing them all injuries. Yusuf Abu Aisha, a resident of the village of Talfit, south of Nablus, told The Times of Israel that the assault happened while Israel Defense Forces troops were operating in the village.
Iran
Iran International: Khamenei representative says adversaries failed to destroy Islamic Republic
Mojtaba Khamenei’s representative in the IRGC said Iran’s adversaries failed to achieve their goal of destroying the Islamic Republic despite inflicting heavy material losses. “They are now pleading for a return to the conditions that existed before the war,” Hossein Tayyebifar added.
Iran International: IRGC convoy hit by two mines in Iran’s restive southeast – report
Two mines exploded along the route of a convoy carrying IRGC forces and members of its Fatemiyoun fighters, an Iran-backed Afghan Shiite militia, near the Kaleh military base in the Pirsuran area of Taftan, in Iran’s southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province, local Baluch rights group Haalvsh reported.
Iraq
In the wake of the US withdrawal from Iraq on September 30, the Iraqi government has increased airstrikes and operations against the Islamic State to avoid ISIS seizing the opportunity to try to mount a comeback. ISIS, though, has been considerably weakened and generally only consists of scattered cells in very rural areas. Iraq appears to be trying to send a message that it will not allow ISIS to exploit the situation.
Israel
Times of Israel: Herzog says Israel needs bigger police force to stop violent crime, settler attacks
Israel needs a larger and stronger police force to tackle the country’s challenges, said President Isaac Herzog in an interview this week, lamenting the surge in homicides within the Arab community and the daily attacks by settler extremists against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Times of Israel: Delta plane given all-clear at Ben Gurion Airport after anonymous bomb threat
A Delta Air Lines plane that landed at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport on Tuesday was cleared after undergoing security checks following an anonymous report alleging that a “suspicious” device was on board.
An 18-year-old resident of Umm el-Fahm was indicted on Tuesday for planning a terrorist attack against IDF soldiers in the Old City of Jerusalem and pledging allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization.
An Israeli high school student was killed and two dozen other people injured Monday by a suspected leftover Hezbollah bomb as they hiked near the Lebanese border, Israeli officials said.
Lebanon
Lebanon will carry out a thorough investigation to track down the suspected members of the militant Hezbollah group believed to be linked to an explosives-laden truck intercepted at the Dahr al-Baidar checkpoint last week, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Monday.
Naharnet: Hezbollah MP says self-defense ‘natural right’ after explosives bust
Hezbollah MP Ibrahim al-Moussawi said that self-defense is “a natural right” after the army and security forces seized explosives suspected of belonging to Hezbollah, while rejecting claims that the group is planning assassinations.
Naharnet: New explosives shipment seized, this time on a ‘donkey’
The Lebanese Army seized over the past few hours a shipment containing 200 kilograms of C-4 explosives being transported on a donkey crossing the mountains between Syria and Lebanon, a judicial source told MTV.
Hezbollah will pay up to $14,000 in aid to families whose homes in Lebanon were destroyed or made uninhabitable during the war with Israel, the head of the group’s Executive Council said Tuesday.
Naharnet: Salam discusses south security and explosives file with army chief
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met Tuesday at the Grand Serail with Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal and discussed with him the security situation in the country, particularly in the South.
Naharnet: Report: Detainees in Hezbollah explosives case belong to Resistance Brigades
The two detainees held in the so-called Hezbollah explosives case belong to the Hezbollah-affiliated Resistance Brigades, the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Monday. It identified them as Haitham Amhaz, who hails from the town of Nabha, and Ali al-Kurdi, who hails from the town of Saadnayel, noting that the latter is the brother of the Brigades’ top official in Saadnayel.
Naharnet: Geagea says Hezbollah chain of command must be dismantled over explosives bust
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said the hundreds of kilograms of explosives that were busted at the Dahr al-Baydar checkpoint “were probably intended to be used inside Lebanon,” called on the state to continue its investigation “even if it should include (Hezbollah chief Sheikh) Naim Qassem.”
Saudi Arabia
Associated Press: Saudi airport passenger terminal is struck again, a day after 12 were killed
A projectile struck a passenger terminal at the international airport in Riyadh on Sunday, a day after a missile hit the same terminal and killed 12 people, the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said. The Houthis claimed responsibility for those attacks and others.
Yemen
Reuters: Saudi-led coalition orders evacuation of Yemen oil facility in Sanaa ahead of operation
A Saudi-led coalition urged civilians on Tuesday to evacuate the Yemen Oil Company’s Sabah central station in the capital Sanaa ahead of a planned military operation. A statement from the coalition's joint forces command identified the site on a map and said civilians should leave the area for their own safety.
Nigeria
Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday heard that the international terrorist group Al-Qaeda backed members of the proscribed Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan, also known as ANSARU, in planning the May 15 attacks on schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Somalia
Shabelle Media Network: Somalia Sanctions 10 Individuals Over Alleged Al-Shabaab Financing
Somalia has added 10 individuals to its national financial sanctions list over alleged involvement in financing and supporting Al-Shabaab, the country’s National Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Committee said Tuesday.
Australia
AFP: Melbourne imam denies links to suspected flydubai hijacker
A Melbourne imam whose Islamic community centre has been linked by prosecutors in the United Arab Emirates to the co-pilot who allegedly attacked the captain of a flydubai jet has said he “never met” the man and insisted he has “consistently preached peace.”
New Zealand
Searchlight: New Zealand neo-nazi soldier exposed as would-be spy for foreign power
A former New Zealand Army soldier convicted of attempting to betray his country by passing military secrets to a foreign power has finally been named, exposing his extensive involvement in the country’s neo-nazi movement.
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