Some among ISIS' digital support network have even celebrated the current U.S.-Israeli bombardment. The Counter Extremism Project monitor counted a dozen Telegram channels reveling in the news of the battle now consuming much of the Middle East, with one calling on followers to “rejoice in the good news."

Although the proceedings were complex and required considerable resources, they led to a thorough investigation in many places. This includes groundbreaking decisions such as the first conviction of an IS returnee for genocide against the Yazidis (Section 6 of the International Criminal Code (VstGB)). Compared to other European countries, Germany has done a good job here, especially in international criminal law, according to extremism researcher Sofia Koller from the Counter Extremism Project in an interview with LTO.

On February 4, CEP researchers located a 35-page guide from the pro-ISIS online group Al-Saqri Foundation, regarding the basic principles and handling of explosives, building a home explosives laboratory, and specifically calling for acts of terrorism. Mega.Nz removed the manual after CEP reported it, but a page on JustPaste.It advertising the manual and an Al-Saqri Telegram bot were both still online five days after they were reported.

Analyst Sofia Koller of the international think tank Counter Extremism Project (CEP) has long pointed to the poor prison conditions, the risk of re-radicalization, and potential prison escapes. "Germany must finally take responsibility for its citizens and bring the remaining individuals back to Germany to stand trial," says Koller. This would send a strong international signal for the rule of law.

"This is absolutely not how a radicalized person should be treated," says Sofia Koller, an expert on terrorism. She works at the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) research institute in Germany. According to Koller, a radicalized person should be offered a clear framework. A proper legal process and a roadmap for how to support the person to change their life, he says.

Although the United States, under all administrations, has continued to conduct attacks against ISIS positions, the recent killing of the three Americans in Syria explains the intensification of U.S. operations. “It’s essentially about showing ISIS that if it carries out attacks against American interests, it must understand that there will be very serious consequences,” comments Hans-Jakob Schindler, director of the Counter Extremism Project in Berlin.

“The online sphere is 100% key to these attacks,” said Hans-Jakob Schindler, the former coordinator of the United Nations Security Council’s panel on Islamic State and al Qaeda. […] The man then connected online with Islamic State sympathizers and spread extremist content, he added. Acting on the group’s advice available online, he bought a kitchen knife—rather than one that might draw officials’ notice—and stabbed the victims’ necks to increase the likelihood they would die, said Schindler, who is now senior director at the Counter Extremism Project, a nonprofit that combats extremist ideologies.