Eye on Extremism: October 8, 2025
Top Stories
Washington Post: FBI says it stopped teen’s plan for ISIS-inspired attack at Mall of America
Federal officials arrested a Minnesota teenager on Tuesday who they say was planning a mass shooting at the Mall of America inspired by the Islamic State.
Several explosions were heard in Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh on Thursday, including a large blast at the city’s international airport, a witness told The Associated Press, a day after the kingdom said an attack on the airport killed one person and wounded others.
CEP Mentions
Deutsche Welle: War abroad, soaring prices at home: is Trump in trouble?
With the U.S. midterm elections fast approaching, the outlook is bleak for President Donald Trump and his Republican Party. Are rising inflation and the war with Iran setting the stage for a Republican defeat? Hans-Jakob Schindler, Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project offers his opinion on the matter.
DW News: Iran war and high fuel prices: is Trump getting his comeuppance?
Senior Director Hans-Jakob Schindler shares insights on the war against Iran and the current situation in the USA.
Al Qahera News TV: “October 7” redraws the balance of power in the Middle East
Senior Director Hans-Jakob Schindler joins regional experts in discussing the Gaza War and its impact on regional security and the dynamics of the Middle East.
Senior Director Hans-Jakob Schindler comments on the gains and losses following October 7th.
In an interview with Al Qahera News, CEP Senior Director Hans- Jakob Schindler comments on the changing security landscape of the Middle East region.
Analysis
Jerusalem Post: US-led coalition exit shifts more counter-ISIS burden to Iraq and Syria
The end of Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq leaves local forces carrying more of the operational burden while Washington retains a regional intelligence and support role.
United States
The Republican Senate nominee in Minnesota is sounding the alarm about crime levels in the state amid a wave of Somali gang violence and a foiled terror plot by an American born to Somali parents.
Security concerns are growing around US military installations in Germany following intelligence warnings that Iranian operatives could be preparing attacks against American facilities, according to German media and US officials cited in separate reports.
Canada
Yorkton terrorism case highlights reach of extremist network
Terrorism charges announced earlier this week by the RCMP against a young adult from Yorkton have raised questions of how an extremist network is targeting people in Saskatchewan.
France
Jerusalem Post: French investigation spotlights Hamas links to crypto funding, local NGOs
The French arrests follow the US Treasury’s designation of a “member of Hamas’s military wing, along with two France-based individuals and two affiliated entities that provide financing to Hamas.”
8AM Media: France Begins Talks with Taliban on Returning Afghans
According to international media reports, France has begun technical consultations with the Taliban on the return of Afghan nationals with criminal records.
Germany
Deutsche Welle: Germany news: Merz rails against extremism, AfD sympathizers
Political extremism threatens Germany's existing social order, Chancellor Merz has said. The Transport Ministry has proposed a five-year plan to improve Germany's ailing railroad infrastructure.
Italy
Il Mattino: Dismantling a Neo-Nazi Telegram Network in Florence
The Florence Digos has dismantled a virtual network inspired by supremacist and neo-Nazi ideology that used a Telegram channel to incite attacks against Jews and people of color.
Spain
Politico: Far-right Vox sees election as its big chance to reshape Spain
Polling third in the race, Vox is Spain’s leading nationalist, euroskeptic force and it sees next month’s contest as its prime opportunity to remold the country after eight years of Sánchez’s socialist premiership by getting its people into top ministerial jobs.
United Kingdom
Independent: Royal Navy member appears in court charged with ‘spying for Russia’
A serving member of the Royal Navy has appeared in court accused of spying for a foreign power, understood to be Russia. Teddy Young, 24, has been charged with two offences under the National Security Act, including having “obtained, copied, recorded or retained protected information, intending the conduct to benefit a foreign power.”
Sky News: Seventh man bailed in connection with alleged terror plot near RAF Fairford
The seventh man arrested by police investigating a suspected terror plot close to RAF Fairford has been released on bail. The 22-year-old British national, who was not named, was held on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts in Westminster, central London, on Tuesday, counter terror police (CTP) said.
There were 3,867 arrests for terrorism-related activity in the year ending June 2026, latest figures showed. Some 94 per cent of the arrests were connected to backing Palestine Action after the group was proscribed as a terror organisation on July 5 last year. Today's figures are a whopping 1,525 per cent higher than the historical 10-year median of 238 arrests.
Telegraph: Jewish man beaten for trying to stop anti-Israel graffiti
A Jewish man was beaten when he tried to stop two men from spraying graffiti that accused a Labour candidate of being a “puppet of genocidal Israel.”
Guardian: Racial and religious hate crimes at record high in England and Wales, data shows
Racially and religiously motivated offences have reached record highs in the UK as the government’s main Islamophobia partner says attacks on mosques are increasing in severity.
Belarus
Belsat: Belarus hosts anti-terror forum while prosecuting dissent as “terrorism”
On October 7–8, a counterterrorism forum of CIS and SCO countries will be held in Minsk. The delegations will, among other things, share experience in combating terrorism – but the Belarusian authorities have their own understanding of this phenomenon. Will they manage to impose their vision of the "threat" on their partners?
Afghanistan
A judge at the People’s Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan, said in Madrid that after five years of Taliban rule, conditions had not improved and the outlook remained bleak.
Afghanistan International: Planned Armed Attack on UNAMA Was Foiled, Says Taliban
Taliban police say they arrested four men in Kabul who allegedly planned to attack UNAMA’s office and staff, claiming they belonged to the National Resistance Front. The NRF rejected the allegation as intelligence propaganda.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Le Monde: In Gaza, after 20 years without elections, an uncertain vote
Caught between impatience for political renewal and profound mistrust of Hamas, which they hold responsible for provoking the devastating Israeli war with the October 7 massacres, Gazans struggle to imagine holding an election in a ravaged territory that remains deeply insecure.
Associated Press: Palestinian factions move to delay the first legislative elections in 20 years
Palestinian factions are discussing postponing legislative elections that had been planned for November, officials said Thursday. A top official with the Hamas-allied Islamic Jihad group said the factions had reached an agreement to delay the vote, which is facing huge logistical issues in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and war-ravaged Gaza, as well as the long history of internal feuding among the Palestinians.
Iran
Iran International: Iran’s reported $200 million Hezbollah aid angers cash-strapped citizens
Reports that the Islamic Republic sent $200 million to Lebanon's Hezbollah have drawn anger from Iranians struggling with rising living costs, low wages and medicine shortages, according to messages sent to Iran International.
Reuters: Iran’s wartime hunt for protesters at home and abroad ushers in a new era of repression
Iran’s government has withstood months of attacks by the United States and Israel. Its resilience isn’t limited to the battlefield. The Islamic Republic’s repressive security and judicial apparatus is hunting down dissident Iranians inside and outside the country, Reuters has found.
Iran International: Hezbollah recruitment network in Iran exposed, four safe houses identified
Hezbollah’s external operations unit has been recruiting foreign nationals in Iran and using safe houses in Qom and Tehran to train and shelter recruits, according to information obtained by Iran International.
Iraq
Iraqi News: ISIS claims responsibility for attack on Iraqi police in Kirkuk
ISIS claimed responsibility on Tuesday for an attack targeting Iraqi police forces southwest of the city of Kirkuk, which killed one police officer and injured others. The attack is the first against Iraqi security forces since the withdrawal of the US-led international coalition from Iraq on September 30, ending the US military mission in the country.
Asharq Al-Awsat: Iraq Warns of ISIS Resurgence after Attacks North of Baghdad
Iraqi officials warned Wednesday of an ISIS resurgence after a series of attacks on security forces in rural areas north of Baghdad left several personnel dead or wounded, prompting authorities to impose a nighttime curfew in parts of Kirkuk province.
Israel
Ynet: ISIS-inspired pharmacy student charged with plotting mass killing of Jews using poisons
Mohammed Shalabi, 22, a pharmacy student from eastern Jerusalem, allegedly planned mass-casualty attacks using bombs and deadly poisons; Inspired by ISIS, he purchased chemicals, tested mixtures at home and sought to kill 'lots of Jews'
Lebanon
Hezbollah terror operatives are maintaining a presence in several areas within the pilot zones in southern Lebanon, KAN News reported on Wednesday. According to KAN, Hezbollah members have been located in the areas of Froun, Srifa, and Zawtar al-Gharbiyah, flying under the radar by posing as civilians.
Australia
Townsville Bulletin: Update on alleged ISIS propagandist
A man accused of operating as a terror propagandist in an Australian network of ISIS supporters has been released on bail two weeks after his arrest.
Australia’s top cop has warned the nation’s threat environment is ‘more complex’ today almost a year on from its worst terror attack.
Africa
Africa News: Egypt accuses 6 Journalists of terrorism in press freedom crackdown
Egyptian prosecutors accused six journalists from an independent fact-checking platform on Wednesday of terrorism-related offences, alleging they worked for the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and received foreign funding to spread “false news.”
Morocco World News: Speakers at UN Committee Warn of Polisario Links to Sahel Terrorist Groups
Several speakers before the United Nations General Assembly’s Fourth Committee on Wednesday warned of links between the Polisario Front and terrorist groups operating in the Sahel and Sahara, arguing that the connections pose risks to regional security and stability.
Islamic State group-affiliated militants attacked a military base in Nigeria’s northeast, killing several Nigerian soldiers, military officials said Wednesday.
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