The New York Times: Many Syrians Want Justice For Regime Crimes. Others Want Revenge.
“Bashar Abdo had just returned home last month after four years in the Syrian military when a mob of neighbors and others armed with guns and knives swarmed his family’s front door and accused him of being a thug for the ousted regime. His sisters and sister-in-law tried to block the crowd as he hid. But people stormed in and found Mr. Abdo, 22, in the kitchen. They stabbed him before dragging him outside, even as his sister, Marwa, clung to him. There, he was shot. The account, shared by Mr. Abdo’s family, was confirmed by local police in the northwestern city of Idlib. Video footage widely shared on Syrian social media and verified by The New York Times captured the gruesome scene that followed: As Ms. Abdo gripped his lifeless body, neighbors continued to kick him.”
Reuters: Iraq Wants Iran-Backed Factions To Lay Down Weapons, Foreign Minister Says
“Iraq is trying to convince powerful armed factions in the country that have fought U.S. forces and fired rockets and drones at Israel to lay down their weapons or join official security forces, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said. The push comes with a backdrop of seismic shifts in the Middle East that have seen Iran's armed allies in Gaza and Lebanon heavily degraded and Syria's government overthrown by rebels. The incoming U.S. Trump administration promises to pile more pressure on Tehran, which has long backed a number of political parties and an array of armed factions in Iraq. Some Baghdad officials are concerned the status quo there may be upended next, but Hussein played this down in an interview with Reuters during an official visit to London.”
DW: Gaza Ceasefire: Israel Says Hamas Blocking Deal
“... Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, has told DW that the ceasefire deal is "a victory" for the hostages and Palestinian civilians in Gaza. However, Schindler said the Hamas command and control structure, and its tunnel network, had been severely degraded. Every month or week Hamas leaders wait for a ceasefire will only make them weaker, he said. "For Hamas, this deal really is the recognition that they have nothing more to gain by prolonging this conflict," he said. However, he said that Hamas was in a position to rebuild itself. "Outside Gaza and outside the Palestinian territories, the Hamas infrastructure is pretty much untouched," Schindler said, mentioning the organization's leadership and money.”
“The house at 88 Legionow Street is imposing and ugly on the outside, but functional and spacious within. With temperatures below freezing and snow thick on the ground, visitors really notice the blast of warm air coming from the radiators when they walk through the door. It is what Nazi mass murderer Rudolf Höss would have felt after a day of 'work' just a few hundred feet away at the most notorious factory of death in history… The property is set to be turned into a weapon for good after being bought by the US-based Counter Extremism Project, who will transform it into a key pillar of their bid to combat radicalisation and violence.”
CNN: The Family Home Next To Auschwitz Is Opening Its Doors To The World
“... Since Auschwitz was liberated in January 1945, the house at 88 Legionow Street had been in the private hands of a Polish family. But last year it was acquired by the Counter Extremism Project, a New York-based NGO that has sought to combat extremism since 2014. Within days, this building – a potent symbol of how the Holocaust was orchestrated and a major character in the Oscar-winning movie “The Zone of Interest” – will open its door to visitors in a brand-new form. “The idea behind the project is to create something that doesn’t exist, a global center to fight extremism in the house of one of the historically worst extremists and anti-semites that ever existed,” Hans Jakob Schindler, the senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, told CNN. ”
The Guardian: Role Of US Servicemen In Acts Of Extremist Violence Under Scrutiny
“After the two men who carried out stateside terror attacks on New Year’s Day were revealed to be veterans of the “war on terror”, public scrutiny about the role of American servicemen in such incidents came into focus. The New Orleans attacker, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, was a 13-year veteran of the US army, while the Las Vegas suicide bomber was an active-duty Green Beret… “In a few cases, they have attracted individuals serving in the armed forces,” said Joshua Fisher Birch, a terrorism analyst at the New York-based Counter Extremism Project. “The perpetrator of the 2009 Fort Hood Shooting, where a US army psychiatrist killed 13 people and wounded 32 others, had communicated with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki.””
Polityka: Rudolf Höss's House At Auschwitz Wall Sold. Anti-Hate Center To Be Established
“The villa of the former commandant of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, Rudolf Höss, has been purchased by the American non-governmental organization Counter Extremism Project and will be open to visitors in a few days. The amount for which the building was purchased from private owners is not known. In an interview with the New York Times, a lawyer for the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) only stated that it was "significantly greater" than the market value of the house, which was estimated at about $120,000, or about PLN 500,000. The building has been undergoing renovation in recent weeks, as the new owners wanted to restore the interiors as much as possible to the condition they had during World War II , when the Höss family lived there from 1941 to 1944. In addition, the interiors were furnished with period items, including German newspapers and a coffee mug with the SS emblem.”
“Mr. Schindler, the hostage deal has barely been announced and there is already a dispute between Hamas and Israel. What else could cause the agreement to fail? “Hamas wants to decide alone who will be released from Israeli prisons in return for the release of the hostages. Israel cannot agree to that.” What speaks against it?“ No government would allow itself to be dictated to as to which prisoners it would release and which it would not. If there is no agreement on this issue, an agreement could still fail. But I do not expect that to happen. The outcome of the negotiations is basically a given…” Hans-Jakob Schindler is Senior Director of the international Counter Extremism Project and heads its office in Berlin.”
“A North Carolina man is charged with providing material support to ISIS after he allegedly made plans to travel to Morocco in December 2024 to join the foreign terrorist organization (FTO), according to federal court documents. Alexander Justin White, 29, of Durham, allegedly used social media — primarily Facebook and encrypted messaging apps (EMAs) — to "make posts about supporting ISIS and jihad" and communicate with other ISIS supporters about wanting to join the FTO. In those communications, White, using the pseudonym "Sulaiman Al-Amriki," unknowingly had online conversations with an undercover FBI agent, authorities said.”
Reuters: U.S. General Wants To Revive Training Of Syrians Fighting Islamic State
“A top U.S. general has asked for permission to resurrect an effort to train Syrian opposition fighters for battles against Islamic State militants, but on a smaller scale than a previous programme that failed and was scrapped last year. General Lloyd Austin, the head of Central Command, which oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East, told a Senate hearing on Tuesday that unlike the previous effort, which sought to recruit and train entire units of fighters outside the country to redeploy into Syria, the new programme would focus on shorter-term training of smaller groups. "As we reintroduce those people back into the fight, they will be able to enable the larger groups that they’re a part of," Austin said.”
Reuters: Pakistani Al Qaeda Suspect Goes On Trial In U.S. For Bomb Plot Charges
“A Pakistan-born man went on trial on Wednesday on U.S. charges that he took part in an al Qaeda plot to carry out bombing attacks in the United States and Europe in 2008 and 2009. Jury selection began in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, for the trial of Abid Naseer, 28, who was extradited in 2013 from Britain to face U.S. charges that he was involved in one of three al Qaeda cells planning attacks in England, Norway and the United States. One of the cells that Naseer did not belong to but was part of the conspiracy had plotted to bomb the New York City subway system, prosecutors said. Two men, Najibullah Zazi and Zarein Ahmedzay, have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the New York plot, and a third, Adis Medunjanin, was convicted at trial and sentenced in 2012 to life in prison.”
“Officials in Syria’s new de facto government hardened their tone Thursday against Israel’s incursions into Syrian territory after an Israeli strike killed three people and wounded five others in the south of the country. “Israel advanced into the buffer zone under the pretext of the presence of Iranian militias, but this excuse no longer holds after Damascus was liberated,” Ahmad al-Sharaa, leader of Syria’s new administration and formerly known as Mohammad al-Jolani, said at a press conference in the Syrian capital. For decades, the Syrian-Israeli border remained largely quiet under a 1974 Disengagement Agreement, which established a U.N.-patrolled demilitarized buffer zone between the two countries after a war they fought the year before.”
Voice Of America: VOA Kurdish: Iraqi, Kurdish Forces Conduct Joint Operation Against IS
“Iraqi and Kurdistan Regional Government security forces launched a joint operation in the Gharaw Palkana area of Khurmatu district, a known Islamic State stronghold connecting several provinces. The operation involved ground forces and airstrikes targeting ISIS positions, with heavy explosions reported. Officials emphasized the strategic importance of disrupting ISIS movements and logistics in this region.”
Bloomberg: Houthis Signal Pause On Red Sea Ship Attacks After Gaza Truce
“The Yemen-based Houthis signaled a pause in their months-long attacks on commercial ships following a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. In his first comments since the Gaza truce accord was announced on Wednesday, Houthi leader Abdulmalik Al-Houthi said that the group would follow the agreement, suggesting a halt in its campaign on vessels and on Israel. Still, he left the door open for resuming the attacks, which would likely mean shipping firms will remain very cautious of returning to the Red Sea. “We will continue to follow the stages of implementing the agreement,” Al-Houthi said in a speech Thursday. “Any Israeli breach, massacre, or siege — we will be immediately ready to provide military support to Palestinians.””
“A mysterious airstrip being built on a remote island in Yemen is nearing completion, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show, one of several built in a nation mired in a stalemated war threatening to reignite. The airstrip on Abd al-Kuri Island, which rises out of the Indian Ocean near the mouth of the Gulf of Aden, could provide a key landing zone for military operations patrolling that waterway. That could be useful as commercial shipping through the Gulf and Red Sea — a key route for cargo and energy shipments heading to Europe — has halved under attacks by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. The area also has seen weapons smuggling from Iran to the rebels.”
The Guardian: Islamist Groups In Middle East Will Emerge From Gaza War Weakened
“The ceasefire due to come into force on Sunday, barring a major last-minute problem, will cement massive and rapid changes across the Middle East and may seal a significant defeat for the Islamist militant groups that have been powerful actors in the region for years. Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and assorted Shia Muslim militia in Iraq and Syria will all emerge from the conflict considerably weakened. Only the Houthis in Yemen are stronger – though this may not last. The Islamic State remains a shadow of its former self. For an organisation like Hamas simply to survive a big conflict is an achievement, and means Israel has failed to achieve one of its primary war aims.”
The Washington Post: Israeli Cabinet To Vote Friday On Ceasefire, Hostage Release Deal With Hamas
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been informed by Israel’s negotiation team that agreements have been reached on a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, his office said in a statement early Friday local time. Families of the hostages held by the militant group were also briefed on the agreements. Netanyahu expressed his appreciation to the team “and all those who assisted,” the office said. The Israeli prime minister on Thursday accused Hamas of “reneging” on parts of the agreement, leading to a delay in the Israeli cabinet meeting scheduled to vote on the deal, which requires approval from both the cabinet and Israel’s coalition government.”
“Egypt’s chief diplomat on Thursday called on Israel and Hamas to implement a Gaza ceasefire plan “without any delay,” raising pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the deal. Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty delivered the message at a sensitive time in efforts to end a devastating 15-month conflict. A day after President Joe Biden and other international mediators announced the ceasefire agreement, Netanyahu was still insisting there was no deal. However, a pre-dawn statement on Friday appeared to have cleared the way for the deal to be voted on by Israel’s security cabinet. If approved Israel said the deal could go into effect on Sunday.”
“Nigerian troops killed 76 Islamic militants in the country’s northeast during operations conducted in various parts of Borno state, the military said Thursday. The operations took place between Jan. 7 and Jan. 13, Nigerian army spokesperson Edward Buba said during a news conference in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. He added that the military also arrested 72 suspects and rescued eight hostages kidnapped by the militants. Buba did not provide details about the extremists’ affiliation but the area of operations has long been plagued by attacks from the Boko Haram group and its breakaway faction that is loyal to the Islamic State group. The army spokesperson also did not specify if any members of the Nigerian military were killed during the operations.”
Politico: ‘Shameful’ Russia Locks Up Navalny’s Lawyers On Extremism Charges
“Three lawyers for deceased Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny were on Friday sentenced to prison for “being part of an extremist group,” a Russian court ruled. Vadim Kobzev, Alexei Liptser and Igor Sergunin, who have been in pre-trial detention since October 2023, are accused of passing Navalny’s prison messages to the outside world. The court said that allowed Navalny — who died in the Arctic Polar Wolf prison colony in February 2024 — to continue his role as the “leader of the extremist group.” Navalny, thanks to associates outside, was able to post on social media and file lawsuits over his treatment in prison. His letters partly served as a basis for the memoir “Patriots,” which was released late last year.”
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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