• ExtremismGerman police raid suspected KKK members' homes

    German police on Wednesday conducted raids on several properties throughout Germany connected to an extremist group which associates itself with the American Ku Klux Klan. Germany’s domestic intellig agency said around forty people are either under surveillance or investigation for connections with the extreme-right group.

  • ExtremismThe KKK is active in Germany

    The KKK’s sway on the racist, far-right end of the spectrum has declined as other, more contemporary hate groups have emrged as part of the alt-right. In Germany, however, some violent groups on the right fringe have associated themselves with the KKK. An author of a recent book on the KKK in Germany discusses the danger of the KKK and why it has emetrged on the German right fringe.

  • TerrorismFar-right German journalist implicated in firebombing of Hungarian center in Ukraine

    A Polish man accused of involvement in the firebombing of a Hungarian cultural center in western Ukraine last year says he received instructions on the attack from a German journalist who has worked as a consultant for a German parliament deputy with the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

  • Radicalization in prisonReducing prison radicalization by placing terrorists in general prison populations

    New research shows people imprisoned on terrorism offenses stand a better chance of being rehabilitated when placed in general prison populations, than when kept in isolation or in a separate location with other terrorists. The study challenges the traditional view that violent extremist offenders will spread their radical ideology amongst other prisoners.

  • Airport securityDrone jamming system to protect European airports, public spaces

    Airports could be equipped with technology capable of detecting and bringing down drones that stray into their air space, according to Dan Hermansen, chief technology officer of Danish anti-drone firm MyDefence. The company has developed a drone alarm and protection system that is being installed at a number of prominent sites around Europe, including an airport. It has the potential to prevent the kind of costly disruption that hit London’s Gatwick and Heathrow airports recently.

  • Border securityU.S. counterterror officials see no signs of IS, al-Qaeda on southern border

    By Jeff Seldin

    U.S. counterterrorism officials are sticking by their assessment that terror groups like Islamic State and al-Qaeda are not actively trying to sneak operatives into the country from Mexico, despite claims by the White House and Homeland Security officials that “the threat is real.” “We do not see any evidence that ISIS or other Sunni terrorist groups are trying to infiltrate the southern U.S. border,” a senior counterterrorism official first told VOA in November, while acknowledging the existence of “vulnerabilities at both our northern and southern borders.”

  • TerrorismEU to sanction Iranian intelligence agency for foiled terror plots

    The European Union (EU) announced that it would place a unit of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry and two of its agents under sanctions for attempted terror plots on European soil, Reuters reported Tuesday. The EU’s decision follows two well-publicized attempted terror attacks against dissidents in Paris and Denmark last year.

  • TerrorismThe group dynamics that make terrorist teams work

    By Matthias Spitzmuller

    Acts of terrorism are harrowing and can cause extensive damage and tragic deaths, and they have been occurring with alarming frequency over the last decade. Scholars, governments and analysts have spent a lot of time exploring individual motivations of terrorists. However, terrorist activities are typically performed by groups, not isolated individuals. Examining the role of team dynamics in terrorist activities can elucidate how terrorist teams radicalize, organize and make decisions. There is a common misconception in the West that leaders of terrorist groups are recruiting and brainwashing people into giving up their lives to establish a new political order. This is an incorrect model that has been vastly exaggerated in the media, based on a Western understanding of leadership.

  • Hemispheric securityColombia: Venezuelans behind plot to assassinate President Ivan Duque

    The Colombian government said that the country’s security services had foiled a plot to kill President Ivan Duque. The security services said that the plot involved three Venezuelans who were recently arrested with assault weapons. The conservative Ivan Duque has been a vocal critic of his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro.

  • ExtremismEuropean far-right groups eschew violence to broaden appeal

    More than seventy years after the defeat of Nazi Germany, ethno-nationalist and white supremacist movements in Europe continue to thrive. They include far-right political parties, neo-Nazi movements, and apolitical protest groups. These groups’ outward rejection of violence expands the reach of their message, and  can increase the potential for radicalization.

  • Hate speechHow we built a tool that detects the strength of Islamophobic hate speech on Twitter

    By Bertie Vidgen and Taha Yasseri

    In a landmark move, a group of MPs recently published a working definition of the term Islamophobia. They defined it as “rooted in racism,” and as “a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” In our latest working paper, we wanted to better understand the prevalence and severity of such Islamophobic hate speech on social media. Such speech harms targeted victims, creates a sense of fear among Muslim communities, and contravenes fundamental principles of fairness. But we faced a key challenge: while extremely harmful, Islamophobic hate speech is actually quite rare.

  • TerrorismManchester, U.K. knife attacks treated as an act of terrorism

    Manchester, U.K. police said Tuesday they are treating the New Year’s Eve stabbing of three people as a terrorist incident. Greater Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said two people suffered “very serious” injuries in the attack and remain in the hospital receiving treatment. A police sergeant who was stabbed in the shoulder has been released.

  • Syria2018 death toll in Syria lowest since 2011

    About 20,000 people were killed this year in Syria’s civil war — a record low in a conflict that has already claimed half a million lives. The largest death toll was 76,000 in 2014. The recent announcement of U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria has raised fears that violence could flare up again in 2019.

  • Terrorism & social mediaTerrorism lawsuits threaten lawful speech: 2018 in review

    By Aaron Mackey

    One of the most important principles underpinning the Internet is that if you say something illegal, you should be held responsible for it—not the owners of the site or service where you said it. That principle has seen many threats this year—not just in federal legislation, but also in a string of civil lawsuits intended to pin liability on online platforms for allegedly providing material support to terrorists.

  • TerrorismCharlie Hebdo attack suspect deported to France, charged

    A fugitive jihadist has been deported from Djibouti to France in connection with the deadly 2015 attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, French authorities said. The Paris prosecutor’s office said Peter Cherif was expelled to France after his recent arrest in Djibouti, and was immediately taken into custody and charged upon his arrival on 23 December at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport.