Email from Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Extremist Content Online: ISIS Celebrates January 19 Kabul Attack and Releases Propaganda Video Depicting Executions in Nigeria; Neo-Nazi Group Claims Responsibility for Antisemitic Vandalism (New York, N.Y.) — The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) reports on the methods used by extremists and terrorist groups on the Internet to spread propaganda and incite violence. Last week, ISIS claimed credit for 23 attacks, including a suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, targeting Chinese nationals, their translators, and guards. On January 23, ISIS released a new propaganda video from Nigeria that showed multiple executions of government-aligned militia members, accused spies, and a village official. CEP researchers reported 33 video uploads to 10 websites, which removed almost 85% of them within three days. ISIS’s Al-Naba newsletter, released on January 22, condemned Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and praised ISIS-aligned prisoners in Syria. Pro-ISIS Telegram channels also called for the freeing of prisoners in Syria and followed developments in multiple detainee facilities and prisons related to the changing security situation in the country, related to fighting and the ceasefire between the Syrian transitional government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). A new neo-Nazi accelerationist group with fewer than 100 followers on Telegram claimed responsibility for vandalizing a Jewish community center in Charlotte, North Carolina. A Telegram account connected to an accelerationist neo-Nazi Telegram website recommended that their supporters in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom only access the website using an .onion address via the Tor Browser. Finally, the sixth issue of a neo-Nazi prison outreach newsletter was released, which celebrated the first year of operation, contained a news roundup, praised the founder of the neo-Nazi terrorist group The Order, and summarized the Italian Years of Lead. Roundup of Claimed ISIS Attacks; ISIS Celebrates January 19 Kabul Attack Between January 18 and January 24, ISIS claimed credit for 23 attacks: 10 attacks in Nigeria, eight in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two in Niger, and one attack in Mali, the Central African Republic, and Afghanistan. On January 19, ISIS claimed credit for a suicide bombing targeting Chinese nationals in the Shahr-e Naw neighborhood of Kabul, Afghanistan. ISIS claimed to have killed or injured 25 people, including Taliban guards, and specifically noted in the Amaq claim of responsibility that the attack was due in part to the Chinese government’s campaign of persecution against Uyghur Muslims. News reports indicated that seven people were killed and at least a dozen were injured.  ISIS’s Al-Naba newsletter, released on January 22, noted that the group had performed surveillance of the targeted restaurant, and that the bomber had waited until 10 Chinese nationals arrived with translators and Taliban guards. The article also noted that the Taliban have not defeated ISIS, despite the former’s claims, and that following the attack, the Chinese government called on the Taliban to protect Chinese citizens and projects in the country. ISIS also noted via the Al-Naba article that the Chinese government had called on its citizens to avoid traveling to Afghanistan following the attack. The article concluded by affirming that the bombing was done in part as revenge for Chinese persecution of the Uyghurs, implying that the Taliban does not care about China’s persecution of Muslims and would prefer to work with the Chinese government. The article also mentioned the December 12, 2022, ISIS attack on a hotel popular with Chinese nationals, also in the Shahr-e Naw neighborhood, which ISIS noted called into question the Taliban’s ability to ensure security even in areas popular with government officials and foreigners. ISIS-K-linked Al-Azaim Media released a poster online on January 20 praising the Kabul attacker, using his pseudonym. The poster threatened additional attacks against Chinese nationals in Afghanistan. Pro-ISIS Telegram channels carried updates of the January 19 attack and the Chinese government’s response. ISIS Amaq claim of responsibility for the January 19 Kabul attack. ISIS Releases Propaganda Video Showing Executions in Nigeria On January 23, ISIS released a propaganda video from the group’s self-proclaimed West Africa Province. The five-minute video, titled “The Consequences of Betrayal 2,” consisted of execution footage of individuals accused of working for the Nigerian government, including 11 members of local militias, eight individuals accused of spying on behalf of the Nigerian military or government, and one man described as a pro-government village official. In the video, speakers declared that they were watching militia members and alleged spies in Nigeria. The last video from ISIS’s West Africa Province, “The Consequences of Betrayal,” was released on July 15, 2025. CEP researchers located the video or distribution links on Telegram, RocketChat, Element, and SimpleX Chat. The video was also uploaded to at least ten additional websites: files.fm, fromsmash.com, gofile.io, LimeWire, Mega.Nz, Odysee, Lain.La, qu.ax, Ufile.io, and Dropbox. CEP reported 33 links to the 10 websites on January 23. As of January 26, 28 of the reported links had been removed, almost 85% of the reported links, with the video still available on files.fm and ufile.io. On January 23, a pro-ISIS Telegram channel posted a message of congratulations to the group’s West Africa Province, noting their “technological advancement” in producing propaganda, and stated that the killing of individuals accused of being spies was essential for a successful military campaign. The same channel noted intelligence assets were crucial to the current anti-ISIS campaign conducted by the Nigerian government and the U.S., and that they identified ISIS members and forwarded geographic coordinates. ISIS Al-Naba Editorial Condemns Ahmed Al-Sharaa, Praises ISIS Prisoners in Syria In issue 531 of ISIS’s Al-Naba newsletter, released on January 22, the terrorist group once again condemned the Syrian transitional government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The editorial claimed that the U.S. was throwing all its support behind al-Sharaa because he would faithfully serve as an American proxy, and not work directly for Syria or the Syrian people. The article noted that al-Sharaa was a tyrant like many others who had come before and would also fall, and that all tyrants and their supporters share the same characteristics. The editorial also condemned the treatment of ISIS prisoners and their families in Syria, calling them heroes who had sacrificed for the terrorist group and the institution of religious law. Pro-ISIS Telegram Channels Note Changing Al-Hol Camp Situation, Urge Freeing of Prisoners Between January 17 and 20, pro-ISIS Telegram channels posted news regarding the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrawal from the area around the Al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria and their replacement by Syrian transitional government forces. Posts celebrated the SDF repositioning from the camp, which contains an estimated 26,000 people, including 6,000 foreigners from approximately 60 countries, many of them women and children, who are allegedly linked to ISIS or previously lived in ISIS-held territory. Additional posts claimed that some individuals had escaped, amidst news reports claiming that potentially hundreds of detainees had fled Shaddadeh prison, a different facility in Northern Syria. Telegram posts on the morning of January 20 claimed that some female detainees from the foreigners’ section in Al-Hol had joined those from Syria or Iraq, and other posts claimed that some detainees had escaped. On January 22, a pro-ISIS channel posted photos allegedly of a fire set in a bakery, in protest of the cessation of provisions of food, water, and medical supplies. Other pro-ISIS posts noted the importance of freeing prisoners, as well as Al-Naba reposts regarding ISIS’s attack on the Ghweran prison facility in January 2022. Pro-ISIS images released on January 22 promoted freeing ISIS-affiliated detainees and claimed that ISIS would eventually fight for their release. On Wednesday, January 21, the U.S. military transferred 150 ISIS prisoners from Syria to an undisclosed location in Iraq, due to fears that more escapes could occur amidst an uncertain security situation. The U.S. military noted that up to 7,000 ISIS detainees could eventually be transferred to Iraq. On January 22, a pro-ISIS news channel noted that 150 men had allegedly been sent to three prisons in Iraq. Neo-Nazi Group Claims Responsibility for Charlotte Synagogue Vandalism On January 20, a neo-Nazi group claimed responsibility for an antisemitic flyer placed at Shalom Park, a Jewish community center, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Antisemitic graffiti and signs were found on the property. In a Telegram post, the neo-Nazi group stated that one of their members had placed the flyer, posted a photo, and shared subsequent news coverage. The neo-Nazi group, a small entity with fewer than 100 followers on Telegram, claims to have been founded in early January 2026, embraces accelerationist ideology, and has stated that they are inspired by the Atomwaffen Division (AWD) and James Mason’s anthology Siege. On Telegram, the group has posted propaganda endorsing violence and AWD-inspired content. The group also congratulated a different accelerationist neo-Nazi group that posted antisemitic flyers at a Tucson Jewish community center earlier in January. Neo-Nazi Accelerationist Website Encourages Non-U.S. Followers to Access Site Via Tor On January 20, a Telegram channel connected to a neo-Nazi accelerationist website linked to former AWD members and members of successor organizations, recommended that their followers outside of the U.S. access the site via a .onion address using the Tor browser. The post recommended that, given recent anti-hate speech laws in Australia, followers there unsubscribe from the Telegram channel and access the site only via Tor, noting that readers in the United Kingdom and Canada should do the same due to anti-hate speech or counterterrorism laws. Sixth Issue of Neo-Nazi Prison Outreach Newsletter Released On January 21, the sixth issue of an accelerationist neo-Nazi prison newsletter was released on Telegram. The issue opened with a quote from Terrorgram Collective leader Dallas Humber, praising white supremacist prisoners. The Telegram channel connected to the newsletter had expressed support for Humber in December, who is serving a 30-year prison sentence for soliciting hate crimes, soliciting the murder of federal officials, and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. The main article celebrated the first anniversary of the newsletter, noting that the goal was to bridge the gap between imprisoned white supremacists and those on the outside, including those who adopted their belief system while incarcerated, with the larger goal of creating a stronger and more unified movement. Additionally, the article stated that the newsletter’s creators sought to educate others about “revolutionary national socialist” ideology. The second article contained a history and praise for Robert Jay Mathews, the founder of the neo-Nazi terrorist group The Order. The section described Mathews’ background, the founding and activities of The Order, and Mathews’ death in a fire during a shootout with FBI agents in December 1984. The article concluded by honoring Mathews, noting that he was not content with only talking about revolutionary ideology but “decided to do something to solve these problems.” The article recommended that those in the white power movement look to Mathews as an inspiration, but stopped short of directly supporting violence, advocating that action “such as activism or supporting an incarcerated comrade” was sufficient.  Just as with prior issues, the sixth issue contained a roundup of recent events, including U.S. intervention in Venezuela and the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro; the ongoing conflict between conspiracy theorist Candace Owens and current Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk; allegations of fraud by taxpayer funded childcare facilities in Minneapolis; Immigrations and Customs Enforcement operations in Minnesota and the killing of Renee Good; the incomplete and heavily redacted release of the Epstein files; the disbanding of the Australian group National Socialist Network; and the release of what was intended as a counter-extremist educational videogame in the United Kingdom, “Pathways,” and the memeification of one of the characters by the far-right. The final substantive article chronicled the Years of Lead in Italy, from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, noting that this period showed that internal conflict was not a binary between full-scale civil war and peace. The article noted that the Years of Lead were not a full civil war, but a period of increased tension and acts of terrorism, noting that the U.S. may be heading in the same direction. The author expressed hope that a right-wing movement would defeat the political left and eventually establish fascism in the U.S., urging participation and noting the importance of being “ready to defend” the “truths and ideas we hold sacred.”   Learn about CEP’s new Auschwitz Research Center on Hate, Extremism and Radicalization (ARCHER) at House 88, the former home of the concentration camp commandant Rudolf Höss, and how to support this important effort here.   The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) is a nonprofit and non-partisan international policy organization working to combat the growing threat posed by extremist ideologies. CEP depends on the generosity of its supporters. If you value what we do, please consider making a donation. DONATE Were you forwarded this email? Subscribe for yourself here. 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