CEP Mentions
CNN: Why Has ISIS Not Yet Claimed The New Orleans Vehicle Attack?
“It is the deadliest attack by an ISIS supporter on the West in several years. But still, almost a week later, the group also known as Islamic State has yet to issue its trademark claim of responsibility for the horrific New Year’s violence in New Orleans. There may be a mundane, technical reason for a delay. Or there could be another explanation: that the group genuinely had no foreknowledge of the attack, and is reluctant to make a false claim… “There’s no question it was IS inspired,” said Edmund Fitton-Brown, senior adviser to the Counter Extremism Project. “So why would they not grab it gratefully? It seems an unmissable opportunity to claim a direct hit on the ‘biggest Satan.’”
Firstpost: New Orleans Attack: Beaten And Bruised In West Asia, Islamic State Continues To Radicalise Globally
“... The group has been notorious for circulating online videos on different social media platforms, to influence people around the world and recruit the vulnerable. “Terrorism is essentially communications,” said Hans-Jakob Schindler, a former United Nations diplomat who is the senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, a think tank with offices in New York and Berlin. “It is not warfare, because obviously, ISIS cannot militarily defeat the West, right? They tried and it didn’t exactly end well," he added during his conversation with The New York Times.”
The New York Times: How The Islamic State Radicalizes People Today
“... “Terrorism is essentially communications,” said Hans-Jakob Schindler, a former United Nations diplomat who is the senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, a think tank with offices in New York and Berlin. “It is not warfare, because obviously, ISIS cannot militarily defeat the West, right? They tried and it didn’t exactly end well.” How did the Islamic State keep its influence alive? In part, by transforming its movement into a global franchise beyond the Middle East, with active chapters in Afghanistan, Somalia, Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Caucuses and Turkey, among other places.”
Sri Lanka Guardian: ISIS Exploits Social Media To Inspire And Radicalize People
“The Islamic State (ISIS), once considered defeated after the collapse of its caliphate in Iraq and Syria, demonstrated its enduring influence on New Year’s Day when Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar carried out a deadly attack in New Orleans. Jabbar, driving a truck adorned with an ISIS flag, plowed into a crowd, killing 14 people and injuring many more. While authorities found no direct ties between Jabbar and the terrorist group, the FBI confirmed he was “100 percent inspired by ISIS.”… “Terror groups don’t have to make a ton of effort to radicalize people anymore; the algorithm does it for them,” said Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project. ISIS has adapted to crackdowns on mainstream social media by moving its propaganda to decentralized platforms and the dark web. However, it continues to exploit popular platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram, often creating new accounts as older ones are shut down.”
CyprusMail: Investigators Seek Clues To New Orleans Attacker’s Path To Radicalisation
“As investigators learn more about the man who pledged allegiance to Islamic State and killed 14 people with a truck on New Year’s Day in New Orleans, a key question remains: How did a veteran and one-time employee of a major corporation become radicalised? […] Individuals susceptible to recruitment “might have lost their jobs, might have had a mental health crisis, might have just concluded that however hard they’ve tried, they never belong,” said Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former British diplomat who led a UN team that monitors Islamic State and al Qaeda… “People that are carrying out those attacks may never in their lives have actually met somebody who is a member of Isis,” said Fitton-Brown, a senior adviser to the Counter-Extremism Project, a policy and research organisation. “But that doesn’t mean they can’t carry out an Isis-inspired attack.”
Inquierer.Net: The Quiet Financier: Islamic State’s Elusive Strongman
“His orange henna-dyed beard and striking eyewear would make him easy to pick out in a crowd, but Abdul Qadir Mumin has remained elusive. The Somalian leader of the Islamic State (IS) group has in all likelihood risen to the status of strongman of the entire organisation, even if he lacks the official title, analysts say… “That would create some kind of uproar within the community of supporters and sympathisers of IS,” said Hans-Jakob Schindler, director of the Counter-Extremism Project (CEP) think tank. In theory, the caliph has to be an Arab from a tribe linked to the prophet. The supreme leader of a group so concerned with its ideological foundations “cannot be just any Somali with an orange beard,” Schindler told AFP.”
WTOP News: Global Terrorism Concerns Grow
“Dr. Hans Jacob Schindler, Sr. Director at the Counter Extremism Project, says 2024 signaled a very concerning terrorism trend for 2025.”
United States
Fox News: Feds Reveal Chilling New Timeline Of How Maniac Terrorist Scoped Out New Orleans Kill Zone
“The FBI on Sunday released new details about 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the man authorities say carried out the deadly New Years Day terrorist attack in New Orleans, including his movements in and out of the country and the preparations he took immediately prior to the attack. Jabbar, who authorities said acted alone in the attack on Bourbon Street that killed 14 people, had traveled to Cairo, Egypt, from June 22 to July 3, 2023, then returned to the U.S. In a separate trip on July 10, 2023, he traveled to Ontario, Canada, and returned to the U.S. a few days later, the FBI said during a press conference. The FBI also said Jabbar visited Tampa, Florida recently.”
Associated Press: New Orleans Attack Came As Officials Warned Of An Escalating Threat Of International Terrorism
“After Hamas launched the deadly assault on Israel that triggered retaliatory airstrikes on Gaza, FBI Director Christopher Wray said he feared the Middle East violence could embolden individuals or groups to carry out attacks inside the United States. Months later, after extremists with the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate killed more than 140 people at a Russian concert hall, Wray sounded the alarm about the potential for a similar coordinated attack closer to home. Following these months of warnings about a resurgent terrorism threat, an Army veteran inspired by IS slammed a pickup truck into crowds celebrating New Year’s in New Orleans.”
Syria
The New York Times: Saudi Arabia And U.A.E. Tread Cautiously With Syria’s New Leaders
“For decades, Syria was Iran’s closest Arab ally in the Middle East while the wealthy Persian Gulf monarchies were locked in a competition with Tehran for power and influence across the region. With the sudden overthrow of the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, his close ally Iran has been sidelined. That presents an opportunity for Gulf states to fill the void and develop ties with the new government in Damascus. The two leading Gulf powers, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are taking a cautious approach, because Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main rebel faction that has seized control of much of Syria, leans toward Islamism and was once affiliated with the extremist group Al Qaeda.”
Afghanistan
The New York Times: Emeralds For Sale: The Taliban Look Below Ground To Revive The Economy
“In a chilly auditorium in Afghanistan, heaps of freshly mined green emeralds glowed under bright table lamps as bearded gemstone dealers inspected them for purity and quality. An auctioneer asked for bids on the first lot, which weighed 256 carats. With that, the Taliban’s weekly gemstone auction was underway. These sales, in the emerald-rich Panjshir Province of eastern Afghanistan, are part of an effort by the Taliban government to cash in on the country’s vast mineral and gemstone potential. Map locates Bazarak in the Panjshir Province of Afghanistan, and Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital. Since seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban say they have signed deals with scores of investors to mine gemstones, gold, copper, iron and other valuable minerals, like chromite.”
Middle East
Reuters: Hamas And Israel Wrangle Over Talks As Israeli Strikes In Gaza Intensify
“Israel and Hamas wrangled on Sunday over the details of a deal to halt fighting in the Gaza Strip and return hostages home, as Palestinian officials said intensified Israeli bombardments had killed more than 100 people over the weekend. A Hamas official said the group had approved a list of 34 Israeli hostages to be returned as part of a deal that could eventually lead to a ceasefire. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office swiftly issued a statement saying Hamas had not provided a hostage list. Later on Sunday, the Hamas official provided Reuters a copy of the list showing the names of 34 hostages it agreed to set free in any possible ceasefire deal with Israel.”
Reuters: Hamas Says It Has Approved Israeli List Of 34 Hostages For Possible Deal
“Palestinian militant group Hamas has approved a list of 34 hostages presented by Israel to be exchanged in a possible ceasefire deal, a group official told Reuters on Sunday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, also reiterated that any deal is contingent upon reaching an agreement on an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire.”
The New York Times: Israel Conducts Raids In Syria Amid Accusations Of Cease-Fire Violations
“The Israeli military said on Sunday that it has been conducting “operational raids” in recent weeks on Mount Hermon in Syria, continuing a military campaign on Syrian soil that is drawing increasing international condemnation. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based Syrian war monitor, on Sunday also reported airstrikes around the Syrian capital, Damascus, attributing them to the Israeli military. The strikes targeted an ammunitions warehouse used by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted in a rebel offensive last month, the observatory said. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the airstrikes.”
Mali
Reuters: Mali Rebels Say Army, Russian Fighters Killed Nine Civilians In Car Attack
“Nine civilians including women and children were killed in an attack on a vehicle in Mali's Segou region last week, a civil society group and a rebel coalition said late on Saturday, accusing the army and Russian mercenaries of being responsible. The vehicle was travelling from the town of Niono to a refugee camp in Mauritania on Thursday when it came under fire, said Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, spokesperson for the coalition of Tuareg groups that are fighting for an independent homeland in northern Mali. He and local civil society association Kal Akal said Malian armed forces and allied fighters from Russia's Wagner private military contractor group had carried out the attack.”
Africa
Associated Press: They Fled From Extremists. Now The Government In Burkina Faso Tries To Hide Their Existence
“Their loved ones were slaughtered by Islamist extremists or government-affiliated fighters. Their villages were attacked, their homes destroyed. Exhausted and traumatized, they fled in search of safety, food and shelter. This is the reality for over 2.5 million displaced people across the West African nation of Burkina Faso, torn apart by years of extreme violence. But unlike others displaced in the region, they are seen as a challenge to Burkina Faso’s military junta that took power two years ago on the pledge of bringing stability. Their existence contradicts its official narrative: that security is improving and people are safely returning home. Those who fled to Ouagadougou, the capital, which has been shielded from violence, find fear instead of respite.”
Voice Of America: Cameroon Officials Say Country's Military Seized Weapons From Terrorists Re-Arming Boko Haram
“Cameroon’s military says it has seized several hundred weapons and combat uniforms that were being smuggled to a hideout of the Nigeria-based terrorist group Boko Haram. Officials say troops have been deployed in a bid to capture more weapons and prevent Boko Haram from re-arming itself. Cameroon government officials say long-barreled firearms, military uniforms, over 400 packets of tear gas and more than 100 gallons of oxidizing agents were seized from suspected Boko Haram members this week in Maroua, a northern town near the central African country’s border with Nigeria and Chad. The military says the oxidizing agents are used by Boko Haram terrorists to produce explosives.”
Technology
NBC News: ‘A Perfect Storm’: Extremism Online And Political Polarization Are Increasing The Risk Of Attacks, Experts Say
“The ISIS-inspired attack in New Orleans underscores how extremism online and political divisions at home have created “a perfect storm” for radicalization in America, experts say, with law enforcement struggling to track an increasingly fractured threat. Finding and accessing extremist communities online has never been easier, the threat has never been higher, and the ideology of those carrying out attacks has never been more splintered, according to the experts. “What the FBI and law enforcement in general are dealing with right now is a threat landscape that is both diverse and complicated,” said Seamus Hughes, a senior researcher and policy associate with the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center at the University of Nebraska Omaha.”
ABC News: New Orleans Terrorist Recorded French Quarter With Meta Glasses, FBI Says
“The man who drove a truck into crowds in New Orleans had previously visited the city twice and recorded video of the French Quarter with hands-free glasses, according to an FBI official. Shamsud-Din Jabbar killed 14 people and injured at least 30 others when he rammed into crowds on New Year's Day. The earlier reported death toll of 15 included Jabbar, who was fatally shot at the scene on Bourbon Street. FBI deputy assistant director Christopher Raia said Jabbar travelled to Egypt and Canada, but it was not yet clear whether those trips were connected to the attack. FBI special agent in charge of the New Orleans Field Office Lyonel Myrthil added that the suspect travelled to Cairo in the summer of 2023 and then to Canada a few days later.”
The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If you value what we do, please consider making a donation.
