Email from Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Global News on Extremism and Terrorism Eye on Extremism October 27, 2025   Top Stories Times of Israel: Israel reveals Iran’s Guards leader behind attacks on Jewish sites in Europe, Australia A transnational terror network run by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force is behind a string of recent attacks on Jewish sites in Western countries, the Mossad intelligence agency said on Sunday. According to Israel’s spy agency, senior IRGC-Quds Force commander Sardar Ammar heads the network, which intensified its efforts to attack Jewish and Israeli sites around the world since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel. Ammar commands some 11,000 operatives in carrying out covert operations, Mossad alleged. The Free Press: How the Muslim Brotherhood Built a Media Empire Since its founding in Egypt in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood has evolved into a vast network of chapters and offshoots that operate autonomously. Though each has faced periods of both repression and resurgence, the movement has preserved and enhanced its ability to control the public narrative and spread its message. Today its media empire is diverse, diffuse, and pervasive, with no single mastermind or headquarters. The group’s ideology moves across borders through a web of seemingly uncoordinated but deeply connected channels. Together, they speak in one voice, infecting generations of Arab minds with the group’s Islamist doctrine. The links between terrorist and extremist content on tech platforms and real-world violence are undeniable. The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) has long been at the forefront of monitoring these online spaces and responding to content that puts users and the public at risk. This work is increasingly important as terrorist and extremist groups exploit global instability and conflict to spread propaganda and disinformation. We need your support to continue this vital work. DONATE CEP Mentions Shalom: “Digital Peacebuilders”: Using Social Media to Fight Antisemitism Alexander Ritzmann stated, "To counter extremism, we must focus not only on individual acts of antisemitism, but on the strategy and financing of extremists. We are talking about a real network of organized antisemitism." To do this, Ritzmann stated, "It is necessary to distinguish those who practice professional antisemitism from people who hold antisemitic ideas." Ritzmann also highlighted the distinction between those who organize and those who commit acts of antisemitism. But there are also different ways of being antisemitic: "There are those who use antisemitic narratives to justify violence, out of solidarity with the enemy of my enemy, and those who write online comments that glorify terrorism. Antisemitism is changing." SRF-TV: Is the AfD spying for Russia? CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed on potential Russian espionage in Germany. “Is the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party spying for Russia? In the Thuringian state parliament, the party submitted dozens of inquiries about critical infrastructure, military transports, and drone defense. This fuels suspicions that AfD members of parliament are deliberately investigating security-related areas.” Euronews: Low-level agents in Germany: Russia's covert shadow force “Dr Hans Jakob Schindler, terrorism expert and head of the Counter Extremism Project, told Euronews that these "agents" are hired for a single purpose, which means they have little understanding of the structures of Russian intelligence in Germany or across Europe. They operate not only in Germany but throughout the continent. For foreign actors, including Russia, their main advantage is anonymity. Most are identified via Russia-friendly Telegram channels, where they have expressed pro-Russian views. According to Schindler, these agents – typically male and with lower levels of formal education – are then contacted and recruited.” Analysis Foreign Podicy: Mariam Wahba on the Muslim Brotherhood’s Media Empire For two years, Israel has been fighting a war on multiple fronts. Israel has delivered serious blows to Iran’s rulers, Hezbollah, and Hamas on the ground, but it hasn’t been winning the information war — a campaign of slander and blood libels fueled by a media empire built by the Muslim Brotherhood. To expose where — from Al Jazeera’s studios in Doha to Turkish satellite channels and newsrooms in London — and how this empire works — amplifying Hamas disinformation, laundering Islamist ideology through “journalism,” and reshaping the narrative from Cairo to Washington — host Cliff May is joined by FDD’s Mariam Wahba. United States Times of Israel: Trump says Hamas withholding bodies of hostages, warns he’s watching ‘very closely’ US President Donald Trump issued fresh threats to Hamas on Saturday, saying the terror group would be to blame if the ceasefire collapsed, and repeating Israeli assertions that the group has been choosing not to hand over the bodies of some deceased hostages despite being able to. He warned that he would be watching Hamas’s actions “very closely” over the next 48 hours. Trump made the remarks in a social media post, and as he met Qatar’s emir and prime minister aboard Air Force One. The Gulf state served as a key mediator of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal that took effect earlier this month. NPR: A report claims left-wing terrorism is rising. The data paints a complicated picture The assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk has turbocharged the conversation — and fears — around political violence in the U.S. And, more than perhaps any other recent high-profile incident, it has fed claims that far-left extremists are primarily responsible for the worsening environment. "From the attack on my life in Butler, Pennsylvania, last year, which killed a husband and father, to the attacks on ICE agents, to the vicious murder of a health care executive in the streets of New York, to the shooting of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and three others, radical-left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives," President Trump said, just hours after Kirk was killed. CBS News: Southeastern Minnesota swatting incidents tied to terrorist organization Investigators say they have linked two swatting incidents in southeastern Minnesota to a terrorist organization that targets children through extortion and violence. Swatting is when someone makes a false report, intending to trigger a large-scale response. On Tuesday and Thursday, the Red Wing Police Department says officers were called to two separate emergency calls reporting multiple shooting victims at a residence on the 1300 block of East Avenue. Austria Algemeiner: 12-Year-Old Jewish Boy Brutally Attacked in Vienna Austrian police have launched an investigation after a 12-year-old Jewish boy was brutally attacked by a group of classmates on his way home from school in Vienna, sparking outrage within the country’s Jewish community and renewed calls for swift action against rising antisemitism. On Tuesday, the boy reportedly had a dispute with a classmate earlier at school. As he was heading home, a group of students followed and harassed him. According to the boy’s mother, he was repeatedly kicked and punched by his classmates, who also shouted antisemitic slurs and threats during the attack. The victim was later taken to a hospital with bruises and other injuries across his body. Germany BR24: Shots fired at cars: investigators suspect Islamist motive After air rifle shots were fired at motorists on a main road near Dillingen an der Donau in Swabia, investigators are assuming a possible Islamist background. There are new findings about the 21-year-old suspect arrested around one and a half months ago, the Munich Public Prosecutor General's Office announced on Friday. According to BR information, the suspect had virtual contact with Salafists. According to the Public Prosecutor General's Office, the young man allegedly acted as a "sympathizer" of the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS). The evidence indicated that it was a planned "series of attacks". Between September 9 and 11, the man allegedly shot at 22 randomly selected vehicles on federal highway 16 near Dillingen an der Donau. No one was injured. WELT: How German Middle East scholars oppose Israel German Middle East studies are taking a turn towards political activism - and against Israel. According to its program, the new board of the 1300-strong Middle East Studies Association (Davo) is turning against its own "colonial thought patterns", wants to "overcome Orientalism" and give the most important association in the field a new name. Science should not be neutral, writes Christine Binzel, Professor of Economics at the Friedrich-Alexander University of Nuremberg-Erlangen, who has been in office since September. They stand "against genocide and genocide, colonialism and racism" and want to show "visible solidarity with Palestine". Deutsche Presse-Agentur: Killed employee of German broadcaster's Gaza partner was Hamas member German public broadcaster ZDF on Monday said an employee of its Palestinian partner organization who was killed last week in Gaza was a member of the Islamist group Hamas. Israel has provided evidence of the man's membership in the militant group, ZDF said. All cooperation with Palestine Media Production (PMP) - where the man was employed as an engineer - has been suspended, the broadcaster said. ZDF had worked with the firm for decades. United Kingdom Jewish Chronicle: MPs call for tougher action against Iran at ‘kamikaze drone’ display Several MPs have called for the UK to adopt a tougher stance on Iran at an event displaying an Iranian-made drone that has been supplied to Russian forces in Ukraine. The downed Shahed-136 attack drone, acquired from Ukraine by policy organisation United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), has been placed in Portcullis House on the parliamentary estate after being unveiled in a ceremony last Tuesday by figures including former security minister Tom Tugendhat, Foreign Minister of Poland Radek Sikorski, and former US Ambassador to the UN Mark D. Wallace. Turkey Reuters: Kurdish PKK militants announce withdrawal from Turkey as part of disarmament The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group said on Sunday it was withdrawing from Turkey as part of a disarmament process being coordinated with the government, pressing Ankara to move ahead with steps allowing it to enter politics. The PKK, which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, decided in May to disarm and disband after a call to end its armed struggle from its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan. The fighting has killed more than 40,000 people. In July, the outlawed group, which is designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the U.S. and European Union, burned some weapons in a symbolic act of good faith. Israel Times of Israel: Israeli envoy in NY laments ‘strategic error’ of allowing Qatari cash transfers to Gaza Israel’s consul-general in New York said Saturday that the government’s yearslong policy of facilitating Qatari funds to Hamas-ruled Gaza was a “serious mistake” that enabled the Palestinian terror group to construct its tunnel network. “It was a serious mistake, and it essentially gave Hamas the ability to build the tunnels with Qatari money,” Ofir Akunis, a longtime member of the ruling Likud party, told the Kan public broadcaster. Akunis claimed that he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the time he opposed the policy, which was “not put to a government vote.” Jerusalem Post: Israel will 'take action' if Hamas fails to return hostage remains, Israeli official tells 'Post' For five days now, Hamas has not transferred the remains of Israeli hostages to Israel, and Israeli officials are making it clear that their patience is running out. “We won’t wait forever,” a senior political source told The Jerusalem Post. “We want to see progress. President Trump gave Hamas a 48-hour ultimatum to make some kind of advancement on the issue of returning the bodies of the kidnapped victims—and we will take action if, in the end, Hamas fails to move forward on this matter.” According to Israeli sources, Hamas could return most of the bodies immediately. “The terrorist organization is capable of returning a large number of the murdered hostages’ bodies without any difficulty,” an Israeli official told The Post. Reuters: Netanyahu says Israel will decide which foreign troops acceptable to secure Gaza ceasefire Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday Israel would determine which foreign forces it would allow as part of a planned international force in Gaza to help secure a fragile ceasefire under U.S. President Donald Trump's plan. t remains unclear whether Arab and other states will be ready to commit troops, in part given the refusal of Palestinian Hamas militants to disarm as called for by the plan, while Israel has voiced concerns about the make-up of the force. While the Trump administration has ruled out sending U.S. soldiers into the Gaza Strip, it has been speaking to Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and Azerbaijan to contribute to the multinational force. Gaza Strip / West Bank Times of Israel: Anti-Hamas militias come out against Turkish, Qatari involvement in postwar Gaza Leaders of anti-Hamas militias operating in areas under Israeli control in the Gaza Strip have said they oppose any involvement of Qatari or Turkish forces in postwar Gaza, according to a Saturday report. Hussam al-Astal, the leader of a militia in the Khan Younis area, charged that Turkey “supports Hamas and protects Hamas,” and said he considers both Turkey and Qatar to be “war criminals,” Channel 12 reported. He added, however, that “anyone who helps us against Hamas will be welcomed.” Associated Press: Hamas expands search for the remains of hostages in Gaza Hamas has expanded its search for bodies of hostages in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian group said Sunday, a day after Egypt deployed a team of experts and heavy equipment to help retrieve them. Under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, which took effect on Oct. 10, Hamas is expected to return the remains of all Israeli hostages as soon as possible. Israel has agreed to return 15 bodies of Palestinians for each one. New York Times: Egypt Aids Search for Bodies of Dead Captives in Gaza Egypt sent a team of experts into Gaza this weekend to help locate the bodies of deceased hostages as part of an international effort to shore up the fragile cease-fire in the territory, the Israeli prime minister’s office said on Sunday. Aside from humanitarian workers, the Egyptians were the first international team to openly enter Gaza to buttress the U.S.-brokered truce, which took effect on Oct. 10. The issue of the unreturned bodies has severely strained the cease-fire. Haaretz: Complaints on Jewish Terrorism in the West Bank Surge, but Police Investigations Drop The number of police investigations into Jewish nationalist and terrorism-related crimes in the West Bank is falling, as the number of complaints filed by Palestinians since the beginning of the year has been rising, according to police data obtained by Haaretz under a freedom of information request. Jerusalem Post: Palestinian ‘Pay for slay’ isn’t over, watchdog says, citing Saturday payouts The Palestinian Authority paid stipends to security prisoners and to families of “martyrs” at PA post offices on Saturday morning, despite publicly claiming to have ended the practice, according to a new report by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) director Itamar Marcus on Sunday. “Yesterday, Saturday, Oct. 25, at 10:00 a.m., the PA Post Offices paid terrorists’ salaries and stipends to families of terrorist ‘Martyrs,’” Marcus wrote, adding that there was “no official announcement” and that payments were delayed so “everyone, even the terrorists’ families, would think that the program had ended.” Egypt New York Post: Hundreds of Hamas terrorists reportedly basking in luxury at swanky 5-star Egyptian hotel More than 150 Hamas prisoners were photographed enjoying the good life in a ritzy, five-star hotel in Egypt after being freed as part of the Gaza peace deal — but have now apparently ditched their lush digs. The Renaissance Cairo Mirage City Hotel in Cairo had been the upscale landing spot for 154 terrorists recently released from Israeli confinement in the initial stages of President Trump’s historic 20-point Gaza peace deal, the Daily Mail reported. The killers were photographed sipping cappuccinos, noshing on fine dining, and dabbling in the world-class amenities of the lavish hotel. Lebanon Haaretz: IDF Says It Took Out Top Hezbollah Commander in Lebanon After Two Reported Killed The IDF said it killed a "terrorist who was involved in efforts to reestablish Hezbollah's military capabilities" earlier Friday in southern Lebanon. Yemen Associated Press: Houthi rebels detain 2 more UN staffers in Yemen as the world body reevaluates its operations Houthi rebels detained two additional United Nations staff members and raided the homes of several others in Yemen over the last 48 hours, the latest in a series of events now forcing the world body to reassess how it operates in the war-torn country. The detainment of two staffers was confirmed by Farhan Haqq, the deputy U.N. spokesperson, on Friday. Three officials with the World Food Program confirmed the raids on the homes of Yemeni staff and the U.N. facility took place on Thursday and Friday. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak on the matter. Times of Israel: Houthis set to announce deaths of leaders killed in Israeli and US strikes, lifting information blackout during war — report Yemen’s Houthis rebels are set to announce the deaths of several leaders killed in Israeli and American attacks during the war in Gaza, after holding off on the declarations amid the conflict, the Yemeni Defense Line news site reports, citing unnamed sources from the terror group. According to the report, the Houthis wanted to maintain an information blackout on the matter and postpone their funerals until the fighting ended. Associated Press: Houthis release Yemeni actor after she spent nearly 5 years in prison Yemen ’s Houthi rebels released actor and model Intisar al-Hammadi after nearly five years in prison over charges of committing an indecent act and drug possession in a case rights groups said was marred with irregularities and abuse,” her lawyer said Sunday. Al-Hammadi was detained in the capital Sanaa in February 2021 and sentenced to five years in prison after a Houthi-run court convicted her of committing an indecent act and having drugs in her possession. Her detention and trial showcased the Houthi repression of women and dissent in areas under their control in war-torn Yemen. i24 News: After Israeli strikes cripple Sana’a airport, Houthis turn south The Houthis and allied pro-Iranian groups have begun using southern Yemen’s Aden as a new base of operations after Israeli airstrikes rendered Sana’a International Airport inoperable, Yemen’s Interior Minister said in an interview published Sunday. Major General Ibrahim Haydan, speaking to A-Sharq Al-Awsat, said security forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognized government have recently detained several Hezbollah operatives, along with Syrian and Iranian nationals, accused of drug trafficking and supporting Houthi operations. Niger Long War Journal: American abducted by suspected jihadists in Niger On Tuesday, Kevin Rideout, an American Christian missionary in the West African state of Niger, was abducted from his home in the country’s capital, as first reported by CBS News. Rideout had lived in Niamey since 2010, where he worked as a pilot for the US-based Serving in Mission organization. According to CBS, three gunmen raided Rideout’s home compound Tuesday night, which is only approximately 100 yards from Niger’s Presidential Palace. His phone was then last tracked to roughly 56 miles north of Niamey, corresponding with areas where the Islamic State’s Sahel Province (ISSP) maintains a strong presence. Terrorism Financing Reuters: South Africa, Nigeria exit global financial crime watch list Sub-Saharan Africa's largest economies, South Africa and Nigeria, have been removed from a global watchdog's list of countries subject to increased monitoring for illicit money flows. The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) made the announcement at the end of a plenary meeting on Friday, also removing commodity-rich Mozambique and Burkina Faso from its 'grey list'. CEP Podcasts Unpacking the week's extremism-related anniversaries and news, as well as counter extremism developments and prospects. A deep dive into CEP's research and topics that are relevant to our mission, from our Berlin-based team.   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