Email from Counter Extremism Project (CEP) In Public and in Private, New York Prepares to Mark 9/11 Anniversary Eye on Extremism September 11, 2025   Top Stories  Fox News: Al Qaeda remains most dangerous terrorist group 24 years after 9/11, expert warns In the 24-years since a group of 19 members of the al Qaeda terrorist group boarded and hijacked four flights in a series of attacks on the U.S. that killed 2,977 people, the infamous network remains the "most dangerous terrorist group" in the world today, warned one expert. New York Times: In Public and in Private, New York Prepares to Mark 9/11 Anniversary At 14 minutes to 9 on Thursday morning, for thousands of people in New York City and across the region, time will stop and silence will descend, filled by memories of another balmy blue-sky morning two dozen years ago. Then, on a memorial plaza near the bottom of Manhattan, survivors and relatives of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the Sept. 11 attack will begin reading the names of the dead, as New York’s most somber annual event takes place for the 24th time.   S5 E6: UK policing; a Palestine state; Palestine Action; and Mexico's drug cartels. In this season's finale, Edmund and Ian assess new UK police advice on revealing the ethnicity of suspects to quell community tensions; the impact of calls for the recognition of a Palestinian state; Palestine Action as a terrorist organzation; and Mexican drug cartels. Listen here.   Analysis ICCT: The end of US-led global counter-terrorism? Changing trends in terrorist designation Global counter-terrorism is fundamentally changing, as is evident in recent patterns of terrorist designation. For decades, the US Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) list has been a bellwether of counter-terrorism policies – countries around the world, both US allies and others, have often followed the list when updating their own terrorist lists. However, a strong divergence is becoming apparent. New York Times: If We Keep This Up, Charlie Kirk Will Not Be the Last to Die Kirk might have been the most successful conservative political personality in America not named Donald Trump. He helped found Turning Point USA in 2012 and built it into the most influential conservative youth organization in the United States. And that was only one part of Kirk’s empire. He put together a vast get-out-the-vote operation for the 2024 election. He hosted a popular podcast. But to simply recite a list of his accomplishments is to understate the impact of his life and of his death. United States New York Post: House Intelligence Committee announce bipartisan review of 9/11 Commission report A House intelligence panel announced Thursday that it will conduct a bipartisan review of recommendations included in the 9/11 Commission Report, with hearings to be held starting next month as the nation prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the Al Qaeda terror attacks in 2026. On the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence established the review, to be chaired by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY). Boston Herald: ‘We’re still vulnerable to a 9/11-style attack’ without secondary cockpit barriers: Ex-FAA special agent Almost 25 years after 9/11, there are still major security risks on airplanes without secondary cockpit barriers. That’s the urgent message from a former FAA special agent, the widow of a pilot who was killed on September 11th and others who are pleading with airlines to install these life-protecting barriers. Iran International: US offers $15 million reward over Iran's Revolutionary Guards network The United States offered a reward of up to $15 million for information to disrupt financial networks of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including its Qods Force, the State Department said on Wednesday. Washington said Chinese national Wang Shaoyun and Omani oil trader Mahmood Rashid Amur al Habsi worked with front companies in China, Oman and Turkey to sell sanctioned Iranian oil worth more than $100 million to Chinese state refineries, using the US financial system. New York Times: Manhunt Underway After Charlie Kirk, Charismatic Right-Wing Activist, Is Fatally Shot An intense manhunt was underway Thursday for the person who killed Charlie Kirk, the charismatic founder of the nation’s pre-eminent right-wing youth activist group, in a brazen attack on a Utah college campus. No suspects were in custody early Thursday, more than 12 hours after Mr. Kirk, a close ally of President Trump and the founder of a prominent conservative youth activist group, was shot while speaking to students at Utah Valley University. The F.B.I. released the man its director had said was a subject of the investigation. New York Times: Charlie Kirk Assassination Raises Fear of Surging Political Violence Even before the assassination of Charlie Kirk, an influential right-wing activist, there were signs of a looming political crisis. Rising polarization and the coarsening of public discourse left little room for shared understanding. Acts of violence, targeting figures on the left and the right, had begun piling up. But the killing of Mr. Kirk on a Utah college campus on Wednesday — shortly after he began speaking to a young crowd on a sunny afternoon — raises the possibility that the country has entered an even more perilous phase. WIRED: ‘War Is Here’: The Far-Right Responds to Charlie Kirk Shooting With Calls for Violence Minutes after right-wing activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while speaking at an event in Utah on Wednesday, far-right influencers and extremist communities lit up social media with calls for violence against the left. The Guardian: Trump blames 'radical left political violence' for killing of Charlie Kirk – video In an Oval Office address delivered before the person who killed the conservative activist Charlie Kirk has been identified, Donald Trump blamed ‘the radical left’ for the shooting and promised a crackdown. Trump recited a list of incidents of what he termed 'radical left political violence', including the attempt to kill him last year. The president’s list did not include violence against Democrats, such as the murder of Melissa Hortman, a Minnesota state lawmaker, and her husband, and the shooting of another Democratic state lawmaker and his wife in June. The attack on the former House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband; the Trump supporter who sent pipe bombs to leading Democrats; and the threats to the life of his first vice-president, Mike Pence, were also omitted The Guardian: Far-right commentators echo Trump in calling for ‘vengeance and retribution’ for Charlie Kirk’s death Within hours of Charlie Kirk being shot dead at a college event in Utah, he’d been turned into a far-right martyr in the US’s raging culture war. Many prominent rightwing voices and influencers quickly characterized his murder, in no uncertain terms, as an act of war from the left – and have vowed to respond in kind. “We have to have steely resolve,” said conservative political strategist Steve Bannon on his show War Room. “Charlie Kirk is a casualty of war. We are at war in this country. We are.” AP: Shooter still at large after conservative activist Charlie Kirk assassinated at Utah university Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, was shot and killed at a Utah college event in what the governor called a political assassination. Authorities say Kirk was killed with a single shot from a rooftop on Wednesday. Whoever fired the gun then slipped away amid the chaos of screams and students fleeing the Utah Valley University campus. Times of Israel: Seinfeld compares ‘Free Palestine’ movement to Ku Klux Klan, says both antisemites Jerry Seinfeld compared the far-right Ku Klux Klan hate group to the “Free Palestine” movement at an event on Tuesday, saying they both “don’t like Jews.” Speaking at Duke University alongside a released Israeli hostage, the Jewish actor and comedian argued that the slogan “Free Palestine” serves as cover for antisemites. Jewish Telegraphic Agency: Antisemitism flares and ‘Reichstag’ mentions soar online in wake of Charlie Kirk assassination No alleged shooter has yet been identified in the assassination Wednesday of right-wing icon Charlie Kirk. But President Donald Trump is blaming the left and vowing vengeance, while antisemitism is flaring among extremists online who said they believed the Jews and Israel were responsible. “Charlie Kirk was assassinated by jews,” tweeted an account called Greatest Noticer, whose username is an apparent allusion to a neo-Nazi watchword. Canada Global News: Alberta man was ISIS propagandist, police say Writing under the alias “Sulaiman Dawood al-Kanadie,” he penned fiery propaganda for the Islamic State about attacks that would dwarf Sept. 11, 2001. In the ISIS magazine Voice of Khurasan, he praised the terror group’s late leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, demonized Jews and lectured about fighting jihad. Mexico  Reuters: Inside the CIA’s secret fight against Mexico’s drug cartels A Reuters investigation has found that the CIA has been running covert operations in Mexico for years to track down the country’s most-wanted drug traffickers. The secret: The U.S. spy agency works closely with special narco-hunting units inside the Mexican military. ith the permission of the Mexican government, the CIA gives training and equipment to these outfits, as well as financial backing for activities like travel. The U.S. spy agency also screens their members with U.S.-administered polygraph tests, which is why the groups are often called “CIA vetted units.” Europe The Guardian: Europe’s far-right leaders attack ‘hate-mongering left’ after Charlie Kirk murder European far-right leaders have lauded Charlie Kirk, the influential 31-year-old conservative US activist who was fatally shot on Wednesday, with several also claiming his death was a consequence of violent leftwing rhetoric. The European parliament briefly descended into chaos as far-right MEPs demanded a minute’s silence to honour Kirk, a rising star of Trump’s Maga movement, who was hit in the neck by a single bullet as he addressed students at Utah Valley University. Belgium The Times: Germany accuses Belgium of antisemitism over ban on Israeli conductor Belgium has been accused of “pure antisemitism” by Germany after a leading music festival cancelled a concert by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra because it has an Israeli conductor. Organisers of the Ghent festival, one of the highlights of the European cultural calendar, said the decision to cancel the performance with the conductor Lahav Shani next week was to preserve “serenity and guarantee the concert experience for visitors and musicians”. France The Telegraph: France suspects Russian meddling after pig heads left outside mosques At least nine pig heads were placed in front of Paris mosques in what prosecutors suspect is a plot by Russian intelligence services to destabilise France. The severed pig heads were discovered in front of mosques in the French capital’s 20th and 15th arrondissements, as well as in a suitcase in the 18th arrondissement, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. The name “Macron” had been painted in blue at one of the sites. Germany ARD: Sentence for IS returnee to be retried The Koblenz Higher Regional Court must once again deal with the case of a woman who, as a member of the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS), abused a kidnapped Yazidi woman as a slave. The German Nadine K. was convicted in June 2023 - among other things for crimes against humanity by enslavement and aiding and abetting genocide. Nadine K. had lodged an appeal against this, but the Federal Court of Justice now saw errors of law in her conviction for aiding and abetting genocide, among other things. The highest German criminal court changed the guilty verdict in part. The Higher Regional Court must therefore renegotiate the sentencing for the woman, it said in a statement. Originally, she had been sentenced to a total of nine years and three months imprisonment. ARD: Bundestag lifts immunity of AfD politician Krah The Bundestag has stripped AfD politician Maximilan Krah of his immunity. Parliament thus authorized the execution of court search and seizure orders against Krah. Among other things, the AfD politician is accused of corruption as an MEP. There were accusations against Krah that he had accepted money from Russia, which he himself denies. In addition, a member of Krah's staff from the European Parliament was arrested on suspicion of spying for China. Last week, Krah testified as a witness in the espionage trial against his former employee at the Higher Regional Court in Dresden. He declared that he had known nothing about his alleged agent activities for China. Deutsche Welle: German extremists charged with planning neo-Nazi state German federal prosecutors on Wednesday brought charges against eight suspected members of an far-right extremist group based in the eastern German state of Saxony that was broken up in 2024. The members of the so-called "Saxony Separatists" are said to have expected the imminent collapse of the German state, and were accused of preparing to violently take over chunks of territory in Saxony after what they referred to as "day X." Federal prosecutors charged the eight men with establishment of and membership in a terrorist organization, along with the preparation of a treasonous undertaking, according to German public broadcaster MDR. Politico: German parliament revokes immunity of far-right ex-MEP with China links The German Bundestag on Thursday revoked the immunity of controversial far-right politician Maximilian Krah as authorities intensified a corruption probe. A spokesperson from the Dresden Public Prosecutor’s Office told POLITICO that it was investigating “a member of the German Bundestag” over money-laundering and corruption, involving payments from China. Italy FTN News: Jewish Tourists Reportedly Attacked in Separate Antisemitic Incidents in Venice Jewish tourists were reportedly attacked in two separate antisemitic incidents in Venice during August and September, prompting police investigations and renewed concern over visitor safety. The assaults targeted American and Israeli visitors near popular tourist sites including the Rialto Bridge and Santa Fosca church. United Kingdom The Telegraph: Labour MP’s constituency office ‘set on fire’ A Labour MP’s constituency office has been hit by a suspected arson attack. A man in his 20s was arrested on Thursday for allegedly causing the blaze at the office of Sharon Hodgson, the MP for Washington and Gateshead South. Photographs show the office in the Concord area of Washington, Tyne and Wear, in flames from 12.20am. The message “328 days blood on your hands” was spray-painted on a wall. Jewish News: SEVENTH-linked antisemitic attack in Golders Green as synagogue and nursery daubed with faeces A synagogue and adjoining Jewish children’s nursery in Golders Green were both daubed with excrement in the early hours of Thursday morning, in the latest in a spate of antisemitic incidents that have rocked the area. Afghanistan Afghanistan International: Taliban Publicly Flog 16 People In Kabul & Balkh The Taliban said Wednesday it publicly flogged 16 people, including one woman, in Kabul and Balkh provinces on charges ranging from drug trafficking to so-called illicit relations. The group’s Supreme Court said 14 men in Kabul were convicted by a primary court of selling or smuggling narcotic tablets. Each received between 20 and 39 lashes and prison terms ranging from 10 months to three and a half years. Egypt Kurdistan24: Egypt Arrests Dozens Over Social Media Posts, Rights Groups Warn of Growing Repression Egyptian authorities have arrested or prosecuted around 40 people over the past month for their social media activity, targeting them with charges ranging from “indecency” to “undermining family values,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday. Iran Iran International: Iranian MP says Tehran should stop worrying and build a bomb An Iranian lawmaker said on Wednesday the country should pursue building a nuclear weapon since it already paid a heavy price for its nuclear activities in a 12-day conflict with Israel and the United States in June. “I’ve always believed we should have built it long ago. I’ve always supported building a nuclear bomb because we’ve already paid the costs for it,” national security committee member Ahmad Bakhshayesh told state media on Tuesday. Israel New York Times: What Drove Israel’s Attack on Hamas in Qatar? Since Hamas killed and abducted hundreds of Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has assassinated leaders of the Palestinian militant group in Lebanon, Iran and Gaza. But Qatar, where some of Hamas’s top leaders have been living, was long seen as off-limits. The wealthy Gulf nation hosts the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East and has maintained informal relations with Israel. It has also been mediating between Israel and Hamas to end the Gaza war. So it was startling when Israel set all those considerations aside and sent warplanes on Tuesday to try to assassinate Hamas’s leadership in the Qatari capital, Doha, targeting a burnt orange building in broad daylight in a residential neighborhood with schools and embassies. Times of Israel: Netanyahu tells Qatar to expel Hamas chiefs or bring them to justice Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back on Wednesday against mounting international criticism over Israel’s strike against Hamas leaders in Qatar the previous day, and compared the operation to US actions in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, despite the strike ostensibly failing to kill any of its intended targets. The premier took a defiant tone in an English-language video defending Israel’s actions, and warned Qatar that either it must “expel” the Hamas politburo members or “bring them to justice, because if you don’t, we will.” Times of Israel: Netanyahu takes a calculated risk on a legitimate target in a deeply problematic location The assumption, as news broke on Tuesday afternoon that Israel had targeted the Hamas leadership in Qatar, was that the attack had been closely coordinated with US President Donald Trump. And the assumption was understandable. For one thing, given that the US maintains its biggest military base in the region in Qatar, among other relevant assets, there was no way that Israel could have carried out the strike without the US seeing it coming and even potentially scrambling to head it off. Times of Israel: IDF says it will soon increase pace of Gaza City strikes, reiterates call to evacuate The IDF said on Wednesday it would increase its strikes on Gaza City in the coming days as part of its preparations to invade and conquer the city, as it continued to urge Palestinians to evacuate the area in the northern Gaza Strip, pushing back against Hamas’s claims that the humanitarian zone in the enclave’s south was full. It said in a statement on Wednesday evening that it would “increase the pace of strikes” in the densely populated Gaza City, with the intention of “targeting Hamas’ terror infrastructure, disrupting its operational readiness, and reducing the threat to our forces as part of preparations for the next stages” of the offensive. Jewish News Syndicate: Netanyahu likens Israel’s strike in Qatar to US response after 9/11 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday invoked the memory of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States as he defended Israel’s strike in Qatar targeting Hamas leaders behind the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre. Naharnet: Qatar official says Netanyahu 'killed any hope' of hostage release with Doha strike Qatar's prime minister said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "killed any hope" of releasing hostages still held in the Gaza Strip after Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha. The comments from Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, ahead of appearing at the United Nations on Thursday, underscored the wider anger among Gulf Arab countries over Israel's strike that killed at least six people. The Telegraph: Israeli spies fear Hamas leaders escaped Qatar bombings Senior Israeli intelligence officials are sceptical over the success of Tuesday’s strike on Hamas leadership in Doha, according to local media reports. “Right now there’s no indication that the terrorists were killed,” an anonymous intelligence source told Channel 12 news, the main Israeli TV network. “We continue to hope they were assassinated, but optimism is fading.” Lebanon Jerusalem Post: Hezbollah disarmament the final thread Lebanon is afraid to pull Lebanon continues to say it will disarm Hezbollah. However, when one tries to go by the phrase “trust but verify,” there is no verification. Beirut is moving fast enough to take the arms from the terrorist group. Beirut has disarmed several Palestinian factions after an agreement with the Palestinian Authority. However, the state seems not yet willing to confront Hezbollah. Beirut has promised disarmament in stages. If it were successful, this could pave the way for the same thing in Gaza and peace in the region. If it is unsuccessful, then problems will continue. Naharnet: Aoun says Israel preventing army from implementing disarmament plan President Joseph Aoun said Thursday, after a meeting with French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, that the Israeli violations of the ceasefire deal are preventing the army from completing its deployment in south Lebanon, urging France and the U.S. to put more pressure on Israel. Le Drian had told Aoun during the meeting that Lebanon's plan to disarm Hezbollah is a positive development that would lead to increased international support. Naharnet: US announces Lebanese Army aid for disposing of Hezbollah arms caches The U.S. Department of War has approved a Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) package for Lebanon with an estimated value of $14.2 million. “The PDA package will build the capability and capacity of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to dismantle weapons caches and military infrastructure of non-state groups, including Hezbollah,” the Department said in a statement. Qatar Times of Israel: After Israeli strike, Qatar to host emergency Arab-Islamic summit to discuss response Qatar will host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit in Doha on Sunday and Monday to discuss the Israeli attack on the Gulf state’s capital city that targeted Hamas leaders, according to an invitation received Thursday by Qatar’s news agency. Jerusalem Post: 'Find some other partners': Qatar reviewing security pact with US after Israeli attack – report Qatar was reviewing its security partnership with the United States following the Israeli strikes on its capital targeting Hamas leaders, Axios reported on Thursday. According to the report, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani informed the White House that Doha considers the attack an "act of betrayal" by Washington. Syria Jerusalem Post: Syrian government captures Hezbollah cells operating near Israel The Syrian transitional government’s Ministry of Interior announced that they have detained a "terrorist cell affiliated with the Hezbollah militia" operating in the towns of Sasa and Kanaker in the western Damascus countryside. The two towns are around 10 miles from the outskirts of Damascus and also about five miles from the 1974 ceasefire line of Israeli control on the Golan. As such, they are very close to Israel’s current forces operating in the ceasefire zone between Israel and Syria. Sasa is on Route 7, which goes from Damascus to Kfar Arnabeh. Kanaker is a town a mile from Route 7. Kurdistan24: Al-Sharaa, First Syrian President to Address UN General Assembly Since 1967 Syria’s transitional president Ahmad al-Sharaa will participate in the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, marking the first time since 1967 that a Syrian head of state addresses the world body from its iconic podium. The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported on Wednesday that al-Sharaa will attend the high-level week between September 23 and 30, accompanied by Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani and a senior diplomatic delegation. Yemen BBC: Israeli strikes in Yemen kill 35 people, Houthis say At least 35 people were killed in Israeli air strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on Wednesday, according to the Iran-backed group's health ministry. The Israeli military said it struck military targets in the capital Sanaa and al-Jawf province, including what it called "the Houthis' military public relations headquarters", in response to recent missile and drone attacks on Israel. India Bharat: Post Graduate Among 5 ISIS Terrorists Arrested, All Were Given 'Big Task' The Special Cell of Delhi Police arrested five more terrorists with alleged links to ISIS from different states of the country, police said on Thursday. Officials said that the parts used for making improvised devices (IEDs) were also recovered from them, raising suspicions that a big terror attack was being planned. Pakistan Associated Press: Pakistani security forces kill 19 militants in raids near Afghan border Pakistani security forces raided three militant hideouts in northwestern Pakistan, killing 19 fighters, the military said Thursday. The statement described the militants as “Khwarij,” a term the government uses for the Pakistani Taliban. The group is allied with, but separate from, the Afghan Taliban, which seized power in Kabul in 2021. Afghanistan International: Pakistan, Tajikistan Envoys Discuss Joint Anti-Terror Strategy Special envoys from Pakistan and Tajikistan met this week to discuss the growing threat of terrorism in the region and the need for a coordinated response, Pakistani officials said. Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s envoy for Afghanistan, said he and his Tajik counterpart, Khisrav Sohibzoda, agreed on the importance of developing a joint and coordinated strategy to counter extremist threats. The talks took place on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, he added. Australia The Guardian: Brisbane teen faces court on terrorism charges after violent extremist material and chemicals allegedly seized A Queensland teenager charged with terrorism offences has been granted bail after police allegedly seized violent extremist material including an Islamic State video and chemicals for explosives. Max Belter, 18, appeared in a green prison jumper in Brisbane magistrates court on Thursday after a joint terrorism taskforce raided his property at The Gap in Brisbane’s north.   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. Counter Extremism Project (CEP) | PO Box 3980 | NEW YORK, NY 10185 US Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice