Eye on Extremism: October 5, 2026
Top Stories
New York Times: Saudi and Yemeni Forces Attack to Retake Control of Red Sea Coast
Saudi Arabia and its allies in the Yemeni government attacked the Iranian-backed Houthi militia on Monday to try to reclaim territory along the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a choke point at the southern tip of the Red Sea.
The FlyDubai stabbing is contributing to concerns that Iran could increase covert and deniable attacks as the conflict with the United States and Israel drags on. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, meanwhile, said there are “strong indications” Iran played a role in a suspected terror plot near RAF Fairford, the British air base used by U.S. forces during operations against Iran. Counterterrorism police have since arrested a dual U.K.-Iranian national on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts.
CEP Mentions
DW News: The Flydubai attacker and future of flying
DW’s Ben Fajzullin asks Hans-Jakob Schindler from the Counter Extremism Project how someone reportedly banned from flying due to his extremist views, got back into the air and onto a flight to Tel Aviv.
Ruhbarone: The Left: Will it become a junior partner in a terrorist complex?
Here, it is currently Hamas that is internationalizing its terror. Terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler, Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) , has been warning since October 7th of a “change of strategy” by Hamas, which appears to be carrying its terror to Europe. Peter R. Neumann, Professor of Security Studies at King's College London, speaks of a “dramatic change of strategy.”
Patch: Neo-Nazi Group Targets Danbury After Police Hiring Change
The Counter Extremism Project described Northeast Action as a neo-Nazi organization in a report published last week. According to the organization, Northeast Action announced its existence in November 2025 and claims to have members or conduct activity in Connecticut and eight other Northeastern states.
Analysis
New York Times: U.K. Base Would Be Ambitious Target for ‘Gig Economy’ Warfare
The U.S. war in Iran unleashed small-scale attacks by local criminals or disenfranchised young men hired anonymously to target Jewish and American sites in Europe and North America, experts say.
Yemeni government forces launched a new offensive against the Iranian-backed Houthis on Monday. They claimed to be advancing near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait and carrying out strikes on Houthi positions across several provinces.
A disputed report of secret talks between Syrian officials and Hezbollah representatives in Turkey has raised a broad question: Could border security, weapons smuggling, and armed networks lead Syria’s new government and Hezbollah to establish a limited channel for managing tensions?
United States
Fox News: Dramatic footage shows alleged narco boat erupt in fireball during US military strike
The U.S. military on Sunday announced a lethal strike on another vessel in the Caribbean carrying alleged narco-traffickers, killing four people on board. The U.S. Southern Command said the vessel was traveling along “established narco-trafficking routes” in the Caribbean. The military shared a video that showed what appeared to be an explosion destroying a moving boat it described as a go-fast vessel.
Fox News: US pulls all bombers from key UK base after suspected Iran-linked terror plot
All U.S. Air Force bombers in the U.K. were returned to their home bases in the United States following a suspected terror plot that U.S. officials have suggested may be linked to Iran targeting a U.S. military facility last week, officials said.
New York Times: Inside the Group of Texans Accused of Being Antifa Terrorists
The strange story behind the first federal terrorism prosecution of American protesters.
Taunton Daily Gazette: Lawsuit with Nazis in Fall River, Taunton may settle | Exclusive
A long-simmering lawsuit that pits the state against a band of neo-Nazis who invaded and caused disturbances at drag queen story hours in Fall River and Taunton may be nearing a resolution.
Fox 12 Oregon: Portland teen faces attempted murder, domestic terrorism charges
A 15-year-old Benson Polytechnic High School student accused of mixing toxic chemicals in the school cafeteria last month will return to a locked treatment program after a court hearing Friday, a decision prosecutors immediately asked a judge to reconsider.
News Times: White supremacist group demonstrated outside Danbury police headquarters
A white supremacist group demonstrated in front of the Danbury Police Department's headquarters on Saturday night, according to the mayor. In a post Sunday evening on Facebook, Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves said he had seen a video of what appears to be a white supremacist group gathered outside Danbury police headquarters.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit that was indicted for allegedly funneling donor funds to members of white supremacist groups, updated its antisemitism resource on Thursday, adding “weaponization” to its list of examples of prominent antisemitic narratives.
A Wikipedia editor added a disputed description of the pro-Israel media watchdog Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis to New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s biography days after Kraft barred rapper Macklemore from performing at Gillette Stadium with Ed Sheeran, raising questions about the entry’s neutrality.
Bridgeview, Illinois, Mayor Steven Landek was expected Sunday to join Palestinian community leaders in a press conference to address security concerns regarding the 4th annual Palestinian Fest, in response to far-right activist Jake Lang’s anti-Muslim calls to protest the event.
NBC Bay Area: Police investigate antisemitic graffiti at San Anselmo school as hate crime
Police in Marin County are investigating after antisemitic graffiti was posted at a school in San Anselmo, the Central Marin Police Authority said Sunday. On Saturday at about 8:30 p.m., officers responded to a report of antisemitic images and writing on the asphalt at Brookside Elementary School, the department said.
JNS: Park in Seattle named for Beersheva vandalized with ‘long live Oct. 7’
The Seattle Police Department’s bias crime unit is reviewing vandalism at Be’er Sheva Park, named for Seattle’s sister city Beersheva in Israel, after “long live Oct. 7" was spray-painted in red on the park’s welcome sign.
JNS: Florida man indicted for threatening to ‘hunt’ Jews
Duncan Fraser MacDonald was indicted on Thursday for threatening to “hunt” Jews and displaying his guns in videos that he posted on social media.
Canada
The Canadian Press: ‘Disturbing’: Belleville synagogue receives antisemitic flyers after shooting
Antisemitic flyers were distributed this week to a Belleville, Ont., synagogue targeted in a shooting last month as well as the surrounding neighbourhoods, the synagogue’s president said Friday. Norman Weddum said he woke up Thursday morning to find four different flyers blaming Jewish people “for everything under the sun” had been distributed overnight to the Sons of Jacob synagogue and throughout the city’s east end.
Twelve Jewish teachers and educators in Ontario filed human rights applications on Thursday against four public school boards and two teachers’ unions, alleging that they faced antisemitic discrimination and that their complaints were ignored or mishandled. The educators are asking the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario to hear the cases together and are seeking a combined C$1.8 million in damages.
Germany
Reuters: Germany’s AfD weighs shift from anti-EU roots, strategy paper shows
Members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) are advocating a shift in the party’s long-standing opposition to Germany’s membership in the European Union and the euro, according to a strategy paper seen by Reuters on Monday.
Italy
Italy’s parliament is expected to hold a final vote in the coming weeks on whether to formally adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism.
Lithuania
LRT: European Muslim group expresses concern over anti-Muslim incidents in Lithuania
The European Muslim League has expressed concern over recent incidents targeting Lithuania’s Muslim community and Islamic religious symbols, calling on authorities and society to stand against hatred and intimidation.
Slovakia
Slovak Spectator: Teen says he used adult’s app to buy alcohol before attack on Indian men
A 17-year-old identified as D.E., who is accused over a racist attack on Indian men in Nitra, has told a court that he and his friends could buy alcohol despite being underage at a COOP Jednota shop, using an app from an adult friend.
United Kingdom
Reuters: Man who planned attack on Israeli embassy in London jailed for at least 20 years
A Kuwaiti man who tried to enter Israel's embassy in London armed with two knives and carrying a “martyrdom note” was sentenced to life in prison on Monday with a minimum term of 20 years after being convicted of preparing an act of terrorism.
Independent: Chair of Jewish Greens considering leaving party over ‘Zionism is racism’ motion
The chair of Jewish Greens has said she is considering leaving the party after it voted to adopt a policy defining Zionism as racism. Vivien Lichtenstein said she hasn’t yet decided whether she will remain a member of the Green Party after members backed the motion at the party conference on Sunday with 1,022 votes in favour and 813 against.
Deutsche Welle: UK remands 2 Iranians over alleged antisemitic terror plot
Two Iranian nationals charged with plotting acts of terrorism against the United Kingdom's Jewish community were remanded in custody by a court in London on Saturday. The pair were detained on September 20, the eve of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
The Guardian: Jacob Rees-Mogg accuses Tucker Carlson of ‘verging on defending Hitler’
The former Tory minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has found himself defending Britain’s decision to fight against Adolf Hitler after inviting the US rightwinger and Vladimir Putin sympathiser Tucker Carlson into his home for an interview.
Jerusalem Post: London police urge students to reschedule October 7 pro-Palestinian march
London’s Metropolitan Police on Friday publicly urged organizers of a large pro-Palestinian demonstration planned for Wednesday, October 7, to move the march to another date, citing serious concerns over its impact on Jewish students and staff on the third anniversary of the Hamas massacre in Israel.
Russia
Associated Press: Russia hosts a Taliban delegation, others for consultations on Afghanistan
A delegation from Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban government joined representatives from China, India, Iran, Pakistan and other nations for talks in Russia on Monday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov welcomed the Taliban’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to Moscow by congratulating him on “the fifth anniversary of Afghanistan’s liberation from the NATO contingent.”
Middle East
Al-Qaeda and its affiliates remain “alive and kicking” in the Sahara and Arabian Peninsula, continuing to invest heavily in publishing propaganda on a daily basis, Yoram Schweitzer, an expert on international terrorism and head of the INSS Research Field on Terrorism and Low Intensity Conflict, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday, a day after CNN reported on the flydubai terrorist’s connection to the group.
Reuters: Co-pilot planned flydubai attack before joining airline, two Israeli officials say
The flydubai co-pilot who stabbed his captain in a suspected attempt to crash the plane has told UAE interrogators he planned the attack before he was hired by the Dubai state-owned airline, according to two Israeli officials with knowledge of the probe.
Associated Press: Ax-wielding FlyDubai co-pilot had been flagged over extremism concerns
The co-pilot accused of attacking the captain of an Israel-bound flight with an ax and trying to seize the controls was an Omani national who had been barred from flying on his country’s airline because of concerns about extremist views, officials said Saturday.
Hamam al-Hammami, the copilot accused of trying to hijack and crash a flydubai aircraft bound for Israel, stated during interrogation that he had researched which airlines operate routes to Tel Aviv and consequently chose flydubai, an Israeli source told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
Kurdistan24: Anti-ISIS Coalition Pledges $75 Million for Iraq, Syria
Members of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS have pledged more than $75 million for counterterrorism and related needs in Iraq and Syria, days after the formal end of Operation Inherent Resolve's mandate in Iraq transferred primary responsibility for preventing an ISIS resurgence to Iraqi security institutions.
Afghanistan
Reuters: ICC provides more details on arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders
The International Criminal Court provided more details on Monday on arrest warrants issued last year for two Taliban leaders, Haibatullah Akhundzada, the group’s supreme spiritual leader, and Abdul Hakim Haqqani, who has been chief justice since 2021.
Afghanistan International: Pakistan Using Force, Maximum Pressure Against Taliban, Says Muttaqi
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi accused Pakistan of using force and maximum pressure against the group, saying disputes between Kabul and Islamabad should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy, not military action.
Afghanistan International: Taliban Rule, IS-K Threats Increase Risks For Hazaras, Says Report
A new research report published on Genocide Watch’s website warns that conditions for Afghanistan’s Hazara community have deteriorated sharply under Taliban rule. The authors note that threats from Islamic State Khorasan Province have also significantly increased the vulnerability of Hazara communities in different parts of the country.
Afghanistan International: Russia Steps Up Support For Security Along Tajikistan-Afghanistan Border
Russia’s Foreign Ministry says Moscow is closely monitoring security along the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border and continues to provide military equipment to strengthen it. Senior diplomat Alexander Sternik stressed continued arms and technical support for Dushanbe.
Hassan Mortazavi, deputy head of Iran’s embassy in Kabul, says Iran and the Taliban face common opportunities and threats in the current regional and global environment. He stressed that these commonalities require cooperation between the two sides.
Reuters: Afghan Taliban says problems with Pakistan can be resolved through diplomacy
Problems affecting relations between neighbours Afghanistan and Pakistan can be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy, Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said on Monday.
Egypt
Guardian: Egyptian journalist faces terrorism charges after entire newsroom detained
An Egyptian journalist has been charged with joining a terrorist group, days after an entire newsroom was detained in what rights groups have said is a crackdown on press freedoms.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Times of Israel: IDF says Palestinian car rammed army vehicle in West Bank, one occupant shot dead
A car with three Palestinian men in it accelerated toward troops near the West Bank town of Bani Naim, with soldiers opening fire and killing one of them on Monday, the military said. According to a preliminary probe by the army, soldiers had attempted to stop the suspicious car at an earlier checkpoint, before it crashed into an army vehicle near Bani Naim.
An Israeli airstrike in Gaza City overnight Friday-Saturday targeted Ali al-Amoudi, the terror group’s de facto leader in the enclave, according to the military, with Palestinian media reporting five people killed, including a number of women. It was unclear whether Amoudi was killed.
Iran
Iran International: Two tankers struck, third threatened by IRGC in Hormuz – UKMTO
Two tankers were struck by unidentified projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported Monday, with a third vessel ordered by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to turn back or face attack.
Iraq
Shafaq: Counter-terrorism forces arrest suspect in Al-Sulaymaniyah
Counter-terrorism forces arrested a wanted terrorism suspect following an intelligence-led security operation, the General Directorate of Counter-Terrorism said on Monday. After the collapse of ISIS, the suspect moved to Al-Sulaymaniyah and settled there but remained active with the group within the province until his arrest, according to the directorate.
Israel
Prosecutors on Monday charged a Bar Ilan University math professor with hatching a “thorough and detailed plan” over the past three years to murder hundreds of Arab citizens and cause thousands more to flee to Jordan, Lebanon and Gaza, allegedly with help from “subversive elements” in the military.
AFP: Netanyahu vows to keep striking Hezbollah to ‘create opportunity for peace’ with Lebanon
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed to keep striking Hezbollah to "create an opportunity for peace” with Lebanon. Netanyahu added that the Lebanese people, “for the most part, want peace” with Israel.
Lebanon
Naharnet: Gemayel: State must liberate Lebanon and Shiites from hegemony of Hezbollah and Iran
Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel noted Monday that Lebanon faces a “historic opportunity” to build a sovereign, independent, and stable state, calling on the state to move from decisions to execution, and not to miss the circumstances available today, as this opportunity may not recur.
Naharnet: Fadlallah says Hezbollah backs strengthening state role in south
MP Hassan Fadlallah of Hezbollah on Monday described the relation between south Lebanon and the Lebanese state as a “one-sided love,” noting that “the historical demand of its people is for this State to be present and fulfill its duties in protection and care.”
Turkey
Khaama Press: Turkey Arrests 51 Suspected ISIS Members in 16 Provinces
Turkish security forces have detained 51 people suspected of links to the Islamic State (ISIS) in operations across 16 provinces, Turkey’s Interior Ministry said Saturday. The operations were carried out in Adana, Adiyaman, Balikesir, Bursa, Diyarbakir, Duzce, Edirne, Gaziantep, Igdir, Kayseri, Mardin, Mersin, Nevsehir, Sinop, Sanliurfa and Zonguldak, according to the ministry.
Yemen
Reuters: Yemeni government launches offensive to seize all areas from Iran-backed Houthis
Yemen’s Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government said on Sunday it was launching a major military campaign to recapture all areas of the country controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis, opens new tab.
Ethiopia
Reuters: Airstrikes and artillery hit north Ethiopia after Tigray capital’s fall, aid sources say
Airstrikes and artillery fire hit northern Ethiopia's Tigray region overnight into Monday morning, aid sources said, almost two weeks into clashes between federal government and rebel forces that have raised fears of wider fighting.
Philippines
ABS-CBN: 10 soldiers injured in Basilan ambush
At least 10 soldiers were injured when a military convoy was ambushed in Barangay Badja in the town of Tipo-Tipo in Basilan province, Monday morning. According to a report from the Police Regional Office in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR), the convoy, composed of three military trucks and three civilian vehicles, was traversing the road from Tipo-Tipo en route to Lamitan City when it encountered an armed attack by still unidentified perpetrators.
Australia
Sydney Morning Herald: Sadistic predators targeting Australian children through gaming platforms
Sadistic and nihilistic online networks are using Australia’s most popular gaming platforms to coerce children into self-mutilating and committing violence against their siblings and pets, experts warn.
Technology
A two-days hackathon was hosted last week by the European Commission in Brussels to develop innovative solutions on-line to combat antisemitism and foster Jewish life. TikTok and Meta have committed to support the development of three awarded projects. Both platforms currently face regulatory pressure from the EU over systemic moderation failures.
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