“Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks said Tuesday. Mediator Qatar said the negotiations were at the “closest point” yet to sealing a deal. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the proposed agreement, and an Egyptian official and a Hamas official confirmed its authenticity. An Israeli official said progress has been made, but the details are being finalized. The plan would need to be submitted to the Israeli Cabinet for final approval. All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks.”
“Aides to President Joe Biden sent a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin after they feared that the Russians may attempt to bring the war in Ukraine to the U.S., according to a New York Times report. This summer, cargo shipments began to catch fire at German, British, and Polish airports and warehouses. Both Washington and the Europeans believed that the Russians were responsible. In August, the White House grew concerned that the Russians were also planning to bring their sabotage to the U.S., according to secretly obtained intelligence. The problem was simply how to get a warning to Putin, who hasn’t spoken to Biden since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.”
Merkur.de: China Is Being Targeted By Allies Of The New Syrian Rulers
“... The TIP is "still officially part of the global al-Qaida network and, unlike HTS, has never distanced itself from al-Qaida," explains terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler of the Counter Extremism Project. "The fact that HTS accepts the TIP in its coalition is one of the main arguments that call into question the ideological orientation of the HTS," Schindler told the Münchner Merkur. Beijing's UN envoy Fu Cong told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that China was "extremely concerned" about reports that members of the TIP had been given high-ranking positions within the Syrian army. "We call on Syria to fulfill its obligations to combat terrorism and prevent terrorist forces from using Syrian territory to threaten the security of other countries."”
CapX: A Lack Of Trust Is Empowering Britain’s Extremists
“What can recent developments in the scandal over child sexual exploitation tell us about our dangerous descent into a low trust society? Two Labour MPs have now broken ranks to contradict the leadership and say a national inquiry into child rape grooming gangs is now needed. Many people will not have heard of Dan Carden, but Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, is Red royalty and his intervention will matter. Whether this was an attack of conscience or cynical opportunism is a subject for another time. But in his defence, Burnham did initiate an independent review of the police response to child sexual exploitation in Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale in 2017… Professor Ian Acheson is Senior Advisor to the Counter Extremism Project.”
Kurier: Kidnapped Viennese Woman In Niger: Terrorist Militia Denies Responsibility
“The group, through its media organization Az-Zallaqa Foundation, also criticized journalists and the local government's security management in light of the crisis in the region on Monday, regional media reported. The 72-year-old was kidnapped by unknown assailants on Saturday in the desert city of Agadez. According to KURIER information, the assailant is Eva Gretzmacher, who lives in Niger… Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), the "Support Group for Islam and Muslims," is a Mali-based affiliated al-Qaeda group that has expanded its operations to neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso, Niger and Senegal in recent years. As a formal al-Qaeda branch in Africa, JNIM is committed to disempowering regional governments and implementing sharia (Islamic law) in the areas in which it operates, explains the anti-extremism organization Counter Extremism Project (CEP).”
“A 42-year-old Texas consultant named Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove through a crowd of New Year's revelers in New Orleans as they celebrated the beginning of 2025 — flying an ISIS flag from the hitch of his rented pickup while killing 14 and injuring another 30. On the 350-mile drive from Houston to the Big Easy, Jabbar recorded selfie videos declaring his allegiance to ISIS and saying he initially planned to kill his own friends and family but decided on attacking innocent members of the public in order to attract more attention to what he called a "war between the believers and the disbelievers," according to the FBI. He was a U.S. Army veteran and had a lucrative job at a major consulting firm, but he brought a pair of IEDs and two firearms with him to attack civilians — allegedly radicalized in just weeks.”
Reuters: US Designates Extreme Right-Wing 'Terrorgram' Network As Terrorist Group
“The U.S. on Monday imposed sanctions on an extreme right-wing online network, designating the "Terrorgram" collective a terrorist group and accusing it of promoting violent white supremacy. The U.S. State Department said in a statement that it had designated the group, which primarily operates on the Telegram social media site, and three of its leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. The State Department said the group has motivated and facilitated attacks and attempted attacks by users, including a 2022 shooting outside an LGBTQ bar in Slovakia, a planned attack in 2024 on energy facilities in New Jersey and an August knife attack at a mosque in Turkey.”
Reuters: Iraq PM Says He Will Sign Security Deal With Britain
“Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said on Monday he would sign a bilateral security deal with Britain as well as a strategic partnership accord as he headed to London for an official visit against a backdrop of historic shifts in the Middle East. Iraq is trying to avoid becoming a conflict zone once again amid a period of regional upheaval that has seen Iran's allies Hamas degraded in Gaza, Hezbollah battered in Lebanon and Bashar al-Assad ousted in Syria. A rare ally of both Washington and Tehran, Iraq's balancing act has been tested by Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups' attacks on Israel and on U.S. troops in the country in the aftermath of the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, 2023.”
Reuters: Erdogan Ally Urges Jailed Militant Leader To Announce PKK's Disbandment
“Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's key nationalist ally urged jailed PKK militant group leader Abdullah Ocalan to explicitly announce the group's disbandment after his next expected meeting with the country's pro-Kurdish political party. The remarks by Devlet Bahceli, leader of the nationalist MHP party, came after a rare meeting between officials from the pro-Kurdish DEM Party and Ocalan last week. The PKK, designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and European Union, has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 and more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.”
Associated Press: Pakistani Security Forces Kill 8 Militants In Raids In Northwest
“Pakistani security forces killed eight militants in two raids targeting militant hideouts in restive northwest Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, the military said Tuesday. The raids were conducted Monday in the Tank and Tirah Valley districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, it said in a statement. The military described the dead militants as “Khwarij,” a phrase the government uses for Pakistani Taliban. It gave no further details. Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, are allies of the Afghan Taliban but are a separate group. They have stepped up their assaults in the region since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. The TTP are outlawed in Pakistan and have been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban came into power.”
Reuters: Lebanon's Nawaf Salam To Be Designated PM, Angering Hezbollah
“Lebanese President Joseph Aoun summoned Nawaf Salam, head of the International Court of Justice, to designate him prime minister after most lawmakers nominated him on Monday, a big blow to Hezbollah, which accused opponents of seeking to exclude it. The choice of Salam underlined the major shift in the power balance among Lebanon's sectarian factions since the Iran-backed Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah was pummelled in a war with Israel last year, and its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad was toppled. The presidency said Salam, currently outside the country and due to return on Tuesday, had secured the backing of 84 out of parliament's 128 lawmakers, and Aoun had summoned him to assign him to form the government.”
“At least 40 farmers were killed in an attack by Islamic militants in northeast Nigeria’s Borno state, a government official said Monday. The attack Sunday was suspected to have been carried out by extremists from the Boko Haram group and its breakaway faction that is loyal to the Islamic State group in Borno’s Dumba community, said Borno state Gov. Babagana Umara Zulum. He warned civilians to stay within designated “safe zones” that have been cleared by the army of both extremists and munitions. Zulum also called for an investigation into the attack by the armed forces.”
The New York Times: A Neo-Nazi Helped Incite U.K. Riots. Elon Musk Criticized His Sentencing.
“Hours after a deadly knife attack in the northern English town of Southport last July, Andrew McIntyre set up a Telegram channel called “Southport Wake Up.” Amid posts riddled with anti-Islamic, antisemitic and anti-immigrant abuse, he urged people to take to the streets, directing them to a mosque and calling for “war.” Mr. McIntyre, 39, who took part in two of several riots that rattled Britain last summer, was sentenced to seven years in prison last Monday. He pleaded guilty to encouraging violent disorder and criminal damage, and to possession of a knife. A day after his conviction, Elon Musk, the billionaire tech mogul, bemoaned Mr. McIntyre’s sentencing in a post on his social media platform X, declaring: “Over 7 years prison for social media posts … Whoever gave that sentence deserves prison themselves.””
Fox News: New Orleans Terrorist Radicalized By ISIS Online Within Weeks, FBI Director Says
“New Orleans terrorist attacker Shamsud-Din Jabbar was radicalized by ISIS online "within weeks," according to FBI Director Christopher Wray. Jabbar killed 14 civilians when he rammed a rented Ford F-150 truck through a New Year's crowd celebrating on Bourbon Street around 3:15 a.m. on Jan. 1. He then began shooting at police, who returned fire, killing the attacker. "[H]e appears to have been inspired — from afar — by ISIS. And it is, in many ways, the most challenging type of terrorist threat we face," Wray told "60 Minutes" in a wide-ranging interview that aired Sunday. "You're talking about guys like this, who radicalize not in years but in weeks, and whose method of attack is still very deadly but fairly crude. And if you think about that old saying about connecting the dots, there are not a lot of dots out there to connect. And there's very little time in which to connect them."”
Forbes: Cyberterrorism Unmasked: Lessons From The New Orleans Terror Attack
“As we mourn the victims of the recent ISIS-inspired attack in New Orleans by ex-Army veteran-turned-terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a chilling reality comes into sharper focus—one we have not confronted so vividly since 9/11. Terrorism is no longer confined to distant battlefields; it is waged here at home and increasingly fought in the digital sphere. Terrorist groups like ISIS, al-Qaeda, and their affiliates are leveraging cyberspace to extend their reach, radicalize and recruit individuals, fund their operations, and spread fear and chaos on a global scale. In a 60 Minutes interview on January 12, FBI Director Christopher Wray revealed that the bureau’s investigation into the New Orleans New Year’s Day terrorist attack confirmed that the suspect had been "radicalized online."”
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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