“A man went on a stabbing rampage in a small city in France on Saturday,
killing one person and injuring several more in what President Emmanuel Macron
called “an Islamist terrorist attack.” “It was a terrorist attack, there’s no
doubt — an Islamist terrorist attack,” he said, adding that the government was
determined “to root out terrorism in our country.” The police said they were
investigating the stabbing as a terrorist attack. The man, identified by
France’s interior minister as an Algerian national who had been flagged to
return to his home country, targeted a market in Mulhouse, a city about 70
miles south of Strasbourg, near France’s borders with Germany and Switzerland.
As he began his attack, the 37-year-old was heard shouting, “Allahu akbar,”
according to France’s antiterrorism police.”











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Eye on Extremism



February 24, 2025



The New York Times: ‘Terrorist’ Attack At Market In France Leaves One Dead
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“A man went on a stabbing rampage in a small city in France on Saturday,
killing one person and injuring several more in what President Emmanuel Macron
called “an Islamist terrorist attack.” “It was a terrorist attack, there’s no
doubt — an Islamist terrorist attack,” he said, adding that the government was
determined “to root out terrorism in our country.” The police said they were
investigating the stabbing as a terrorist attack. The man, identified by
France’s interior minister as an Algerian national who had been flagged to
return to his home country, targeted a market in Mulhouse, a city about 70
miles south of Strasbourg, near France’s borders with Germany and Switzerland.
As he began his attack, the 37-year-old was heard shouting, “Allahu akbar,”
according to France’s antiterrorism police.”



Associated Press: Masses Of Mourners Attend The Funeral Of Hezbollah Leader
Nasrallah, 5 Months After His Killing
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“Hundreds of thousands of people packed into a stadium in Beirut and nearby
streets on Sunday for the funeral of Hezbollah’s former leader, Hassan
Nasrallah, nearly five months after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Nasrallah died after Israel’s air force dropped more than 80 bombs on the
militant group’s main operations room in a southern suburb of the Lebanese
capital, dealing a major blow to the Iran-backed group and political party that
he had transformed into a potent force in the Middle East. He was one of
Hezbollah’s founders and led it for more than 30 years, enjoying wide influence
among the so-called Iran-led “axis of resistance” that also included Iraqi,
Yemeni and Palestinian factions. Nasrallah also became an icon in other parts
of the Arab world after Hezbollah fought Israel to a draw in a brutal monthlong
war in 2006, but the group’s image suffered after it intervened on the side of
former President Bashar Assad in Syria’s civil war.”





Counter Extremism Perspectives

Active Clubs: White supremacist network
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CounterPod

U.K. Home Office Counter Terror ‘sprint’ report; Donald Trump on Gaza; Eric
Glass; extremism in South Africa; kicked off by an irreverent explanation of
the Tush Push.
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CEP Mentions



BR24: Attack On Israeli Embassy? 18-Year-Old Arrested
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“Security forces have arrested an 18-year-old Russian citizen in Brandenburg.
He is suspected of having planned a politically motivated attack in Berlin,
according to the Brandenburg Public Prosecutor's Office and the Potsdam Police
Headquarters. According to ARD information, the attack was aimed at the Israeli
embassy (external link) . Security authorities assume that the attack had an
Islamist background. An arrest warrant has been issued against the man… IS has
been calling for attacks for months via its propaganda channels, with threats
increasing particularly on a German-language IS website. Recently, the
suspected IS attacker in Villach was celebrated there, and after the
Islamist-motivated attack in Munich, there were calls to run people over with
vehicles. Experts warn against spreading such propaganda without context.
Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the international organization
"Counter Extremism Project," emphasizes that IS aims to spread its messages
widely through various media.”



Frankfurter Rundschau: AfD Election Advertising On Amazon Leads To Reich
Citizens Articles – “Unappetizing”
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“Berlin – Shortly before the federal election, the online mail order company
Amazon is being flooded with AfD promotional items . There are numerous
T-shirts and hoodies with the party logo, buttons and stickers with slogans. We
reported on AfD merchandise on Amazon a year ago, but one shop suddenly
disappeared during our research . But new ones have been added: Often, shipping
is done directly via the Amazon service “Merch on Demand”… Articles from other
parties cannot be found on Amazon. Experts are extremely critical of this
particular form of election advertising. Extremism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler,
director of the Counter Extremism Project, told our editorial team: "The AfD is
pursuing a normalization strategy. The technical term for remigration is
'ethnic cleansing'. And now the party is using it officially and it is being
printed on merchandise. That is more than worrying."”



BR24: Arrest – The Networks Of Islamists From The North Caucasus
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“An 18-year-old Chechen was arrested in Brandenburg who, according to ARD
information, is said to have planned an Islamist-motivated attack on the
Israeli embassy in Berlin. Anti-Semitism within the Chechen community is
particularly pronounced, said Chechen-born legal scholar Adam Ashab in an
interview with BR24. Even before October 7, 2023, the day of the Hamas attack
in Israel, North Caucasian preachers had spread anti-Semitic messages in
videos: "They called on people to join their fight against the USA, Israel and
global Zionism." […] According to the Counter Extremism Project, IS fighters
carried out an attack in Somalia in late 2024 (external link) – without Somali
involvement. Instead, IS identified the attackers as Tanzanians, Saudi
Arabians, Moroccans, Libyans, Tunisians, Yemenis and Ethiopians, as documented
by published images.”




CEP Expert Analysis

*
ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency, Special Edition
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*
ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency In October 2024
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*
ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency In September 2024
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*
CEP Report: Civilian Counterterrorism Militias Take Action, Introduce New
Challenges to Combatting Violent Extremism in Africa
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*
CEP Policy Brief: Identifying and Disrupting Key Antisemitic Actors
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United States



The Jerusalem Post: US Laser-Focused On Striking Terror Groups In Northwest
Syria - Analysis <[link removed]>



“Over the last three weeks, the US has been laser-focused on decimating the
leadership of a small Al Qaeda affiliate that has forces in northwest Syria.
The US has carried out several strikes against Hurras al-Din. The group is
present in areas between Idlib and Afrin and has operated there for several
years, often close to the Turkish border. Idlib was run by the group Hayat
Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). HTS swept to power in Damascus on December 8 as the Assad
regime fell from power. The US has used this period to focus on getting rid of
terror threats that could emerge in the vacuum in Syria. On February 21, US
Central Command (CENTCOM) said that its “forces conducted a precision airstrike
in Northwest Syria, killing Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, a senior leadership
facilitator of the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din (HaD), an Al-Qaeda
affiliate.””



The Guardian: US White Supremacist Groups Emboldened With ‘Ethnic And Racial
Hatred’ As Trump Stokes Immigration Fears
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“From under the floorboards of a large, white building in Maysville,
Kentucky, African American slaves making the arduous, secret escape from the
south would hide one final time. Freedom, across the Ohio River to the north,
was in clear sight. The Underground Railroad term was thought to have first
been coined in Maysville, when Tice Davids, a slave, escaped a life of cruelty
in 1831 by swimming across the roiling Ohio River. For tens of thousands of
people such as Davids, the river was the final barrier to freedom, separating
the free state Ohio from slavery in the south. But today, more than 150 years
since the legal end of slavery, shards of a hateful past appear to live on.”



Syria



Alarabiya News: Syria’s Foreign Minister To Visit Turkey On Monday, Two
Sources Say
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“Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani will visit Ankara on Monday
for talks with Turkish officials, two sources familiar with the plan told
Reuters. The visit coincides with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
holding talks with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in the Turkish capital.”



The Guardian: Missing Australian Member Of Islamic State Found Alive In Syrian
Prison
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“An Australian member of Islamic State who was wounded in the extremist
group’s final battle and whose fate was not publicly known has been discovered
alive and in custody in a prison in north-eastern Syria. Mustafa Hajj-Obeid,
41, who is one of a cohort of accused IS members whose Australian citizenship
was stripped and then restored in 2022 after a legal challenge, has been
reported as missing for the past six years since the military defeat of IS. He
was encountered by the Guardian – with his head shaved and wearing a brown
jumpsuit – by chance during a rare tour of Panorama prison, a detention centre
for accused IS members run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Permitted to speak for only a few minutes through a small grate in a cell
housing about two dozen men, Hajj-Obeid told the Guardian he had no idea if his
family in Australia were aware he had survived. “I really don’t know,” he said.
“I know nothing, seriously.””



Reuters: Israel Won't Allow HTS Forces In Southern Syria, Netanyahu Says
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“Israel on Sunday said it will not tolerate presence of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
(HTS) in southern Syria, nor any other forces affiliated with the country's new
rulers, and demanded the territory be demilitarized. Former Al Qaeda affiliate
HTS took control of Damascus on December 8 in a stunning offensive, ending
then-president Bashar al-Assad's rule and prompting a wary Israel to move
forces into a U.N.-monitored demilitarized zone within Syria. Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will keep its positions there as a
defensive measure and for as long as is necessary. "We will not allow forces of
the HTS or the new Syrian army to enter the territory south of Damascus. We
demand full demilitarization of southern Syria, in the provinces of Quneitra,
Daraa and Sweida," Netanyahu said at a military graduation ceremony. "And we
will not tolerate any threat to the Druze sect in southern Syria," he added.
The Druze, who practice an offshoot of Islam, are a minority group in Syria as
well as Israel.”



Iraq



Reuters: U.S. Piles Pressure On Iraq To Resume Kurdish Oil Exports, Sources Say

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“U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is piling pressure on Iraq to
allow Kurdish oil exports to restart or face sanctions alongside Iran, eight
sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. An advisor to the
Iraqi prime minister denied in a statement there had been a threat of sanctions
or pressure on the government during its communications with the U.S.
administration. A speedy resumption of exports from Iraq's semi-autonomous
Kurdistan region would help to offset a potential fall in Iranian oil exports,
which Washington has pledged to cut to zero as part of Trump's "maximum
pressure" campaign against Tehran. The U.S. government has said it wants to
isolate Iran from the global economy and eliminate its oil export revenues in
order to slow Iran's development of a nuclear weapon. Iraq's oil minister made
a surprise announcement on Monday that exports from Kurdistan would resume next
week. That would mark the end of a near two-year dispute that has cut flows of
more than 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Kurdish oil via Turkey to global
markets.”



Afghanistan



Voice Of America: Rubio highlights emerging terror threat in Afghanistan
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“U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested late Thursday there are
ungoverned regions in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan that provide opportunities
for extremist groups to operate. The comments came in an interview with former
CBS correspondent Catherine Herridge on X, where Rubio was asked if
intelligence indicates that al-Qaida and Islamic State had set up safe havens
in Afghanistan, posing a threat comparable to the one preceding the Sept. 11,
2001, attacks. “I wouldn’t say it’s the pre-9/11 landscape, but I think anytime
you have governing spaces that are contested that you don’t have a government
that has full control of every part of their territory, it creates the
opportunity for these groups,” Rubio said.”



Associated Press: Afghan Women’s Radio Station Will Resume Broadcasts After
Taliban Lift Suspension
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“An Afghan women’s radio station will resume broadcasts after the Taliban
lifted their suspension over alleged cooperation with an overseas TV channel.
Radio Begum launched on International Women’s Day in March 2021, five months
before the Taliban seized power amid the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. and NATO
troops. The station’s content is produced entirely by Afghan women. Its sister
satellite channel, Begum TV, operates from France and broadcasts programs that
cover the Afghan school curriculum from seventh to 12th grade. The Taliban have
banned education for women and girls in the country beyond grade six.”



BBC: British Couple In Their 70s Arrested By Taliban
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“A British couple in their 70s have been arrested by the Taliban in
Afghanistan. Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, were returning to
their home in Bamiyan on 1 February when they were detained. The couple have
been running training projects in Afghanistan for 18 years and their daughter,
Sarah Entwistle, told the BBC she had not heard from her parents in more than
two weeks. It is not known exactly what the couple were arrested for but
projects run by them include one training mothers and children, which had
apparently been approved by the local authorities despite a ban by the Taliban
on women working and on education for girls older than the age of 12.”



Pakistan



Associated Press: Pakistan Security Forces Kill 6 Militants In A Raid In The
Northwest
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“Security forces in Pakistan acting on intelligence raided a militant hideout
in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in the country’s northwest on
Friday, triggering an intense shootout in which six militants were killed, the
military said. The raid was carried out in Karak, a district in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, the military said in a statement.
An operation was underway to eliminate any other militants found there. The
military provided no further details about the killed militants, but such
operations are often conducted against the Pakistani Taliban, which are also
known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. The TTP is an ally of the Taliban
in Afghanistan and has stepped up its assaults in Pakistan since the Afghan
Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.”



Middle East



The Times Of Israel: Terrorist Behind Deadly Bombing Falls To His Death A Week
After Release Under Gaza Deal
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“Nael Obeid, a Hamas terrorist notorious for his role in the deadly 2003 Cafe
Hillel bombing in Jerusalem, fell to his death near his home in East Jerusalem
after being freed in a hostage-prisoner exchange a week ago. Obeid went free on
February 15 as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza,
which has seen Israel free hundreds of terrorists, many of them convicted for
deadly attacks, in return for hostages taken on October 7, 2023. The cause of
his fall was not immediately clear. He was pronounced dead at Hadassah Medical
Center near Mount Scopus on Saturday afternoon, according to local Palestinian
media. Obeid helped plan one of the most infamous suicide bombing attacks
during the Second Intifada, which killed seven people and wounded 57 others at
Cafe Hillel in the capital’s Emek Refaim Street.”



Jewish News Syndicate: Israel Nabs Terrorists Who Wounded Jewish Shepherds In
Samaria
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“Israeli security forces have arrested two Palestinian suspected of having
wounding Israeli civilians in southern Samaria over the weekend, the Israel
Defense Forces said on Monday. “IDF, Israel Security Agency [Shin Bet] and
Israel Police forces operated overnight in the town of Deir Dibwan in the
Binyamin Brigade [deployment area], arresting two suspects in the attack and
injury of two Israeli civilians the day before yesterday in the Michmash area
of the Binyamin Brigade,” the military said in a joint statement with the two
agencies. The suspects will be interrogated by the IDF and the Shin Bet. The
army said on Saturday that several Arab terrorists armed with clubs, knives and
rocks attacked two Jewish shepherds in a pasture in the Michmash area before
fleeing back toward Deir Dibwan.”



Associated Press: Israel Delays Release Of Palestinian Prisoners, Citing
‘Humiliating’ Handovers Of Hostages
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“Israel says the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners is delayed
“until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the
humiliating ceremonies” at handovers of Israeli captives in Gaza. The statement
by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office came early Sunday as military
vehicles that normally move in advance of the buses carrying prisoners left the
open gates of Ofer prison, only to turn around and go back in. The release of
620 Palestinian prisoners had been delayed for several hours and was meant to
occur just after six Israeli hostages were released on Saturday. It was meant
to be the largest one-day prisoner release in the Gaza ceasefire’s first phase.
Israel’s announcement abruptly put the future of the truce into further doubt.”



Mali



Associated Press: Mali Army Opens An Investigation Into Deaths Of Civilians
Blamed On Soldiers
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“Mali’s army said it’s investigating soldiers who were accused by separatist
Tuareg rebels of killing at least 24 civilians earlier this week, in a rare
probe of human rights abuses since the military took power in 2020. The Front
for the Liberation of Azawad, the Tuareg independence movement in the north of
the country, accused soldiers and Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group of
intercepting two civilian transport vehicles bound for Algeria from Gao on
Monday, and “coldly executing” at least 24 people among the passengers. The
general staff of the Malian armed forces, without referring to the killings, on
Wednesday denounced “intoxicating campaigns” against the army."



Africa



Associated Press: Congo’s President Says He’ll Create A Unity Government As
Violence Spreads
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“Congo’s president says he is going to launch a unity government as violence
spreads across the country’s east and pressure mounts over his handling of the
crisis. In some of his first statements since Rwandan-backed rebels captured
major cities in eastern Congo, President Felix Tshisekedi told a meeting of the
Sacred Union of the Nation ruling coalition on Saturday not to be distracted by
internal quarrels. “I lost the battle and not the war. I must reach out to
everyone including the opposition. There will be a government of national
unity,” said Tshisekedi. He didn’t give more details on what that would entail
or when it would happen. M23 rebels — the most prominent of more than 100 armed
groups vying for control and influence in eastern Congo — have swept through
the region seizing key cities, killing some 3,000 people. In a lightning
three-week offensive, the M23 took control of eastern Congo’s main city Goma
and seized the second largest city, Bukavu.”



Fox News: 70 Christians Beheaded In African Country By ISIS-Aligned Militants,
Groups Say; World Mostly Silent
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“Seventy Christians have been beheaded with machetes or large knives,
according to multiple groups that monitor terrorism and persecution, by
Islamist militants in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – and yet the
world remains mostly silent. The 70 Christians were first rounded up by
Islamist rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces, a group affiliated with the
terror group Islamic State, or ISIS, according to Open Doors U.S., which
monitors Christian persecution around the world. The Christians, reportedly all
from the Lubero district, were forced out of their homes allegedly early in the
morning of Feb. 13, with the rebels shouting, "Get out, get out." They were
taken hostage, and moved to a small Christian church in the village of Kasanga.
There, inside the building that had until then been considered a sanctuary,
they were first tied up, and then all 70 were beheaded, the groups say.”



France



POLITICO: Macron Condemns Deadly Mulhouse Attack As ‘Islamic Terrorist Act’
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“French President Emmanuel Macron condemned a deadly attack in the city of
Mulhouse in eastern France on Saturday, describing it as an “Islamic terrorist
act.” “Following the terrorist attack in Mulhouse, I wanted to express my
condolences to the victims’ families and express the solidarity of the entire
nation,” Macron said late Saturday. He said there was “no doubt” that the
incident was “a terrorist act,” specifically “an Islamic terrorist act.” The
attack took place on Saturday in Mulhouse, in the Alsace region, when a man
armed with a knife killed one person and injured several others. “Horror has
just gripped our city,” Mulhouse Mayor Michèle Lutz said in a post on Facebook.”



Reuters: Explosive Projectiles Thrown At Russian Consulate In France
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“Three projectiles were thrown over the perimeter wall of Russia's consulate
in the southern French port city of Marseille on Monday, two of which exploded,
Marseille police said. The incendiary devices were thrown into the gardens of
the consulate in France's second-largest city by population. Investigators were
analysing the contents of the three soda bottles that were used as projectiles.
The Kremlin said that Russia was pressing France over security measures
following the incident, which Moscow said appeared to be an act of terrorism.
Russia demanded a full French investigation, state news agency TASS reported.
No-one was injured, police added. Earlier, consulate staff had been kept
indoors while bomb disposal officers conducted checks.”



Germany



The New York Times: The Unabashedly Provocative Youth Driving Germany’s Far
Right
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“The Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, with its anti-immigrant and
nationalist platform, has long been the pariah of German politics. Its members
have been fined for Nazi slogans and labeled extremist by the government. Ahead
of Sunday’s national parliamentary election, a new band of influencers has
found a voice among voters by bringing a more youthful edge to the party known
for its provocations and controversies. They welcome the scorn of protesters,
journalists and the mainstream political parties. Some of them still trade
jokes about Hitler and Jews, along with the occasional Sig Heil salute.”



Europe



Reuters: Global Consensus On Human Rights Is Crumbling, UN Rights Chief Says
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“The U.N. human rights chief on Monday warned that a system of global
protections built in the decades after World War Two has never before been
under so much strain, calling for an effort to reinforce it or risk suffering
the atrocities of the past. "The global consensus on human rights is crumbling
under the weight of authoritarians, strongmen and oligarchs," United Nations
High Commissioner Volker Turk told a high-level meeting of the Human Rights
Council in Geneva. "We need an all-out effort by everyone, to make sure that
human rights and the rule of law remain foundational to communities, societies
and international relations. Otherwise, the picture is very dangerous," he
said.”



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