“Turkey has terminated the mission of diplomats appointed by Afghanistan’s former pro-Western government, the outgoing diplomatic team said, in a move that paves the way for the Taliban to appoint their own envoys. The departing team said on X that it had handed over the embassy in Ankara to Turkey’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday. The unusually strongly-worded statement said that the decision by the Turkish government to end the mission was the result of pressure by the Taliban on the diplomats and Turkish officials.”
Associated Press: 25 Civilians Killed In An Attack By Gunmen In Mali
“Gunmen have attacked a convoy of vehicles escorted by Mali’s army, killing 25 civilians mostly gold miners, a military spokesman said Sunday. The attack took place Friday about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Gao, the largest city in the country’s northeast where armed groups hostile to the ruling junta operate. It was the deadliest attack on civilians this year. The assailants targeted a convoy of some 60 vehicles escorted by the army, military spokesman Col. Maj. Souleymane Dembélé told The Associated Press. He said soldiers assisted the victims and transferred 13 wounded to the Gao hospital. He said four of the attackers were wounded and declined to comment on any army casualties.”
Spiked: Valdo Calocane Was Dangerous, Not Vulnerable
“The best description of the failures of multiple agencies to contain the risk posed by the Nottingham triple-murderer, Valdo Calocane, came from the parent of one of his victims. Speaking on Wednesday night’s edition of Newsnight, Emma Webber, the mother of 19-year-old student Barnaby, described it as ‘an appalling horror show’. Webber was reacting to an independent review commissioned by the NHS into the care of Calocane, a profoundly mentally disturbed man who went on a knife rampage in Nottingham city centre in June 2023.”
The Guardian: Extremists Who Were Targeted By FBI Cheer Trump Maga Pick To Head Agency
“... “White supremacist extremists will likely continue to see the FBI as a threat to their organizing and as a convenient opponent in propaganda,” said Joshua Fisher Birch, a terrorism analyst at the non-profit Counter Extremism Project. “These same extremists are also cheering the firing of FBI agents and are hoping that the agency is weakened going forward.” Christopher Pohlhaus, the leader of the Blood Tribe neo-Nazi group, cheekily congratulated the pardon of Riley June Williams, one of the Trump pardonees for actions on January 6. She was previously linked to his group, which he downplayed, until now.”
The Jerusalem Post: ‘Zone Of Interest’ Nazi House To Become Center To Combat Antisemitism
“... “I had to get out of there,” Grazyna Jurczak, the home’s former owner, told The New York Times earlier this year.Enter Mark D. Wallace, a former US ambassador to the United Nations and founder of the Counter Extremism Project, a New York-based nonprofit, and fellow philanthropists Elliott Broidy and Dr. Thomas Kaplan. Recognizing the urgent need to push back against the normalization of Jew-hatred, they purchased Höss’s former home with the intention of converting it into a center dedicated to combating antisemitism, extremism, and hate.”
The New York Times: Springfield, Ohio, Sues Neo-Nazi Group, Saying It Intimidated Haitians
“... After the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017, national attention focused on extreme right-wing groups in the country. Some groups retreated from public view and became more active online, but the groups never went away, said Joshua Fisher-Birch, a researcher with the Counter Extremism Project, a think tank with offices in New York and Berlin. Now, some extremists are hoping to take advantage of the growing popular support for policies like mass deportation, even if many remain deeply suspicious of the government, Mr. Fisher-Birsch said. But even within the universe of radical groups, Blood Tribe is an outlier, he added.”
Bianet: Nazi House In Auschwitz Becomes Centre For Combating Hatred
“Nazi house number 88 in Oswiecim, Poland, just outside the barbed wire of Auschwitz and the inspiration for the film The Zone of Interest , is opening to visitors for the first time in 80 years. This building, where Rudolf Höss, the commandant of the Nazi camp, lived with his family, will now house studies on hatred and radicalization. While Höss created a heavenly life for his family in this house, he was organizing mass murders right next door. The former owner of the house, Maria Jurczak, told the New York Times that she decided to sell the property because it had become a burden on her and her family. The Counter Extremism Project purchased the house and began the process of returning it to society. Counter Extremism Project (CEP) is a non-governmental organization that works to investigate radicalism and ideologies of hate, combat such threats, and raise public awareness.”
NBC News: Trump's Gaza Comments Hand Jihadist Terrorists A 'Rallying Cry,' Experts Say
“President Donald Trump’s calls for the United States to “take over” and “develop” the Gaza Strip have handed jihadist terrorist groups a rallying cry to recruit and inspire attacks against Americans at home and abroad, security experts and former intelligence officials say. Trump’s comments this week, proposing that the United States would control the Palestinian enclave while its residents would be forced to relocate abroad, have caused shock and outrage around the world — and terrorists will pounce on that anger to attract more support and organize attacks, experts said.”
Voice Of America: Authorities In Somalia Warn Against Financing Terrorism
“Somalia's government Saturday sent stern warnings to businesses and individuals that pay extortion money to al-Shabab, saying the full force of the law would be brought against traders and individuals who pay the al-Qaida ally. Presenting a unified front, Somalia's Minister of Internal Security Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail and Minister of Religious Affairs Mukhtar Ali Robow joined the government's attorney general and the deputy minister of information at a joint news conference in Mogadishu, Somalia. They said, any business found to have paid or collaborated with al-Shabab in any way would "face legal action," including having their government-issued trading permits revoked.”
Voice Of America: VOA Kurdish: USAID Freeze Threatens Security Of Syria's Al-Hol Camp
“The USAID freeze has had a direct impact on the al-Hol camp in northeast Syria, where 90% of the funding for organizations working in the camp depends on USAID. The camp administrator said that if aid is cut and no solution is found, the camp will get out of control, which would threaten the security of the region as a whole.”
Associated Press: Chemical Weapons Watchdog Delegation Meets With Syria’s New Leaders
“A delegation from the global chemical weapons watchdog was in Damascus on Saturday for talks with Syria’s new leaders for the first time since the fall of former President Bashar Assad. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, or OPCW, had found evidence of repeated use of chemical weapons by Assad’s government during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war. Syria joined the OPCW in 2013 to ward off the threat of airstrikes in response to a chemical attack on the outskirts of Damascus, and Assad denied using chemical weapons. Last year, the organization also found the Islamic State group had used mustard gas against the town of Marea.”
The Guardian: Kurdish Officials Fear Islamic State Revival As US Aid Cuts Loom
“Kurdish officials have warned of an Islamic State resurgence if US foreign aid cuts take effect on Monday, which would cripple essential services for tens of thousands of people detained in tented camps in north-east Syria, including suspected members of IS and their families. Blumont, a Virginia-based humanitarian aid group responsible for the management of two of Syria’s IS detention camps, al-Hol and al-Roj, was given a stop-work order on 24 January by the US state department. The sudden cessation of services prompted panic in the camps after aid workers failed to turn up for work. Three days later, Blumont was given a two-week waiver to the aid cuts, which unless extended, will expire on Monday.”
The New York Times: Iran’s Supreme Leader Denounces Talk With U.S. But Seems To Leave Door Ajar
“Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, said negotiating with the United States was “unwise, unintelligent, and not honorable,” just days after President Trump said he was willing to revive negotiations with Tehran. But Mr. Khamenei stopped short of ordering Iran’s government, which for months has sent signals that it is interested in negotiations, not to engage with Washington. And though Mr. Khamenei made an unusual gesture last year of openness to talks, he has generally taken a publicly hostile posture toward Washington even while quietly allowing Iranian officials to negotiate. In comments on Friday, Mr. Khamenei argued that Iran’s previous experiences negotiating with the United States showed that Washington could easily renege on agreements.”
“A newly appointed U.S. envoy said Friday that she hoped Lebanese authorities were committed to making sure that the Hezbollah militant group isn’t a part of the new government in any form. Morgan Ortagus, a former U.S. State Department spokesperson and U.S. Navy Reserve officer, recently assumed the role of deputy special envoy for Middle East peace in President Donald Trump’s administration, replacing Amos Hochstein, who helped broker the ceasefire that ended the 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah. “We are grateful to our ally Israel for defeating Hezbollah,” Ortagus said at a news conference in Beirut’s southeastern suburb of Baabda after a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. “”
Bloomberg: US Aircarft Carrier Leaves Red Sea As Houthis Pause Attacks
“A US aircraft carrier strike group left the Red Sea for Europe weeks after Yemen’s Houthi rebel group said it will stop attacking vessels in the region. The USS Harry S. Truman and its embarked fighter jets arrived in Greece following two months of combat operations in the Red Sea area, the US Navy said in a statement. The move comes as the shipping industry waits for signs that vessel traffic in the Red Sea will begin to return to normal after more than a year of disruption. While there have a been a handful of US and UK ships sailing through the waterway since the Houthis said they would pause their attacks, the majority of vessels are continuing to sail thousands of miles around Africa instead.”
Reuters: Israeli Delegation In Qatar For Gaza Ceasefire Talks
“An Israel delegation arrived in Qatar on Sunday for more Gaza truce talks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesperson said, as its military withdrew from an important crossing point in the enclave, as agreed under the truce with Hamas. Indirect negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas on the next stage of the ceasefire are set to start this week following Netanyahu's visit to the United States last week. However, a source in Netanyahu's office said the Israeli delegation at this point will only discuss technical issues, rather than the bigger matters which are supposed to be hammered out, including the administration of post-war Gaza.”
CBS News: 3 More Israeli Hostages Released By Hamas As Ceasefire Deal Continues To Hold
“Three more Israeli hostages were released Saturday in exchange for dozens of Palestinian prisoners as the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas continued to hold. It was the fifth hostage and prisoner exchange to occur as part of the first phase of the deal, which began on Jan. 19. Ohad Ben Ami, 56, Eli Sharabi, 52, and Or Levy, 34, were all taken hostage during Hamas' brutal attack on Oct. 7, 2023 that killed 1,200 people in Israel and sparked the war in Gaza. More than 47,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, according to the local Hamas-run ministry of health.”
Reuters: 2 Mass Graves With Bodies Of Nearly 50 Migrants Found In Southeastern Libya
“Libya authorities have uncovered nearly 50 bodies from two mass graves in the country’s southeastern desert, officials said Sunday, in the latest tragedy involving people seeking to reach Europe through the chaos-stricken North African country. The first mass grave with 19 bodies was found Friday in a farm in the southeastern city of Kufra, the security directorate said in a statement, adding that authorities took them for autopsy. Authorities posted images on its Facebook page showing police officers and medics digging in the sand and recovering dead bodies that were wrapped in blankets. The al-Abreen charity, which helps migrants in eastern and southern Libya, said that some were apparently shot and killed before being buried.”
Reuters: Puntland Offensive Deals Blow To Islamic State In Somalia
“Forces from Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region have captured swathes of territory from Islamic State during a weeks-long offensive they hope will draw increased international support, according to officials and Reuters reporters. The advances come against an IS faction that has gained in importance and was the target last week of the first air strikes of U.S. President Donald Trump's new administration. Before those strikes, Reuters reporters who gained rare access to the village of Balidhidin, which IS controlled for a decade, saw Puntland security forces patrolling and residents circulating on foot near the carcasses of army trucks destroyed in recent fighting.”
BBC: Why More Young Men In Germany Are Turning To The Far Right
“"What my parents taught me is that they used to live in peace and calm, without having to have any fear in their own country," says 19-year-old Nick. "I would like to live in a country where I don't have to be afraid." I meet him in a small bar on a street corner in the ex-mining town of Freiberg, Saxony – where he is playing darts. It's a cold, foggy night in February with just over two weeks to go until Germany's national election. Nick and his friend Dominic, who is 30, are backers or sympathetic to Alternative für Deutschland - a party that has been consistently polling second in Germany for more than a year and a half, as the far right here and elsewhere in Europe attracts an increasing number of young people, particularly men, into its orbit.”
Reuters: Swedish Mass Shooting Victims Include Christians Who Fled Syria
“Ten years ago, Salim Iskef fled Syria - where Islamic State militants had killed his father - for Sweden, only to be gunned down this week by an unemployed Swedish man with no apparent ideological motive. The 29-year-old victim was one of several members of Sweden's Syriac-speaking community caught up in Tuesday's attack at an adult education school in Orebro, central Sweden - which left 11 people dead, including the attacker, and many injured. He was due to get married in the summer and had recently bought a house with his fiancée.”
The Tribune: 3 Militants Arrested In Manipur’s Imphal West District
“Manipur Police arrested three militants from Imphal West district, an officer said on Sunday. Police arrested two militants of the banned United National Liberation Front (UNLF-Pambei) group from Narankonjil area of the district on Saturday. The two militants were involved in extortion activity and also in illegal smuggling of arms and ammunition, the officer said. One .32 pistol and Rs 3,120 in cash was seized from their possession, he said. One militant of the banned outfit People’s Liberation Army (PLA) involved in extortion activity was arrested from Kangjabi Leirak Machin area on Saturday, the officer added.”
ABC: Australia's Sanctions Against Terrorgram May Amount To Symbolism Under A Trump US Presidency
“In October 2022, 19-year-old Juraj Krajcik shot dead two young men outside a gay bar in the Slovakian capital, Bratislava, before ending his own life. The incident shook the central European city but the murders received little international attention. Like shooters before him, Krajcik posted online before and after the murders — making public a manifesto and venerating the Australian-born Christchurch shooter who killed 51 people during a mosque attack in 2019. Terrorgram derives its name from the encrypted messaging service Telegram — where it largely operates.”
Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.
Fact:
On October 7, 2023, Hamas invaded southern Israel where, in the space of eight hours, hundreds of armed terrorists perpetrated mass crimes of brutality, rape, and torture against men, women and children. In the biggest attack on Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, 1,200 were killed, and 251 were taken hostage into Gaza—where 101 remain. One year on, antisemitic incidents have increased by record numbers.
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