• Israeli air strike destroys Iranian missile production, storage facility in Syria

    Satellite images released Sunday by ImageSat International (ISI) showed the impact of an airstrike, blamed on Israel, on a missile base in Syria on Saturday evening that reportedly killed Iranian personnel. Israeli analysts say that recent Israeli air strikes in Syria probably would not have passed without public Russian comment had Israel and Russia not reached an understanding designed to reduce possible friction and improve early warning between Israeli and Russian armed forces operating in Syria.

  • U.K. citizens prohibited from traveling to, remaining in designated terrorist areas

    British Home Secretary Sajid Javid said that British citizens who travel to overseas terrorism areas will face up to ten years in jail under new laws, which come into effect today. The legislation targets potential foreign fighters, and making it a punishable offense to enter or remain in a “designated area.”

  • German police raids Hamas-linked charities

    The German police have staged raids across Germany, targeting charities which provide support to the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip. The United States, Israel, and the EU regard Hamas a terrorist organization.

  • Islamic State: the “caliphate” is off the map for now, but will evolve in dangerous ways

    The so-called Islamic State (IS) recently lost its last remnant of territory in Syria, but observers were quick to remind the world that the war against the organization is far from over. IS is now expected to evolve, but with its defeat on the ground in Syria and Iraq, IS and its offshoots will have a more limited capacity for recruitment, indoctrination and growth.

  • Police foil possible terror truck attack outside Washington, D.C.

    A Maryland man has been arrested for an Islamic State-inspired terror plot to run down pedestrians with a stolen truck. Federal prosecutors will argue in a court appearance Tuesday that 28-year-old Rondell Henry should remain in detention pending trial.

  • Foiled terrorist plot targeted Colombia's president

    The Colombian government said that armed groups were plotting an attack against President Ivan Duque. The attorney general said the alleged scheme involved “a high-precision weapon.” The Colombian authorities are investigating the militant plan to target Duque during a scheduled meeting with indigenous communities on Tuesday.

  • Hate incidents are underreported. Now, there’s an app for that

    Despite the FBI recording an all-time high in hate-motivated incidents in 2017 (the most recent year’s statistics available) the number is likely much higher. Low reporting from victims to police and inconsistent reporting from police to federal authorities have created a massive gap in how we understand hate in America. Researchers from the University of Utah want to fill that gap with an app.

  • U.S. designates Iran's Revolutionary Guards as “foreign terrorist organization”

    The United States has designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) a foreign terrorist organization. The U.S. currently designates some sixty groups around the world as foreign terrorist organizations, but none of them is a state-run military like the IRGC.

  • Countering violent extremism (CVE): Which programs work, and why

    As countries around the world develop countering violent extremism (CVE) programs to prevent homegrown terrorism, there is a dearth of understanding about what types of such programs exist and which approaches are most effective.

  • If we want students to feel safe at school, we can’t encourage teachers to spot potential extremists

    Governments have been reaching into schools to try to nip violent extremism in the bud for some time. The Obama administration announced a Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) program in 2014. Programs like these have also been introduced without adequate evidence for their effectiveness. Delivering a program that hasn’t been properly evaluated could make the underlying issues worse. It could ultimately increase youth vulnerabilities (rather than resilience) to radicalization, and other antisocial behaviors.

  • Germany to strip citizenship from dual nationals joining terrorist groups

    Germany will change its citizenship law to allow dual nationals to lose their citizenship if they fight for a foreign terrorist militia. The new law, approved Wednesday by the cabinet, will not be applied retroactively and will not apply to minors.

  • Polymers help minimize fuel explosions and fires from accidents and terrorist acts

    When an act of terrorism or a vehicle or industrial accident ignites fuel, the resulting fire or explosion can be devastating. On Tuesday, scientists described how lengthy but microscopic chains of polymers could be added to fuel to significantly reduce the damage from these terrifying incidents without impacting performance.

  • Back to the future: The return of violent far-right terrorism in the age of lone wolves

    Five years ago, when U.S. law enforcement agencies were asked to identify the most serious violent extremist threats they faced in their respective jurisdictions, they cited far-right, anti-government extremists; followed by Salafi-Jihadi inspired extremist violence; radical environmentalists; and, racist, violent extremism. Terrorism expert Bruce Hoffman writes that “given the rise of violent white nationalism and far-right extremism, and the power of twenty-first-century communications platforms, the threat is evolving rapidly.”

  • Pox on everybody’s house

    It was not so long ago that a NIH scientist stumbled across smallpox vials in a cold-storage room — and it was not during a time of increased concern for synthetic biology. Pandora Report notes that from CRISPR babies to garage DIY biohacking kits, it seems like the last few years have been inundated with synbio conversations.

  • UN Security Council unanimously passes binding terror financing resolution

    The UN Security Council voted to impose sanctions on countries which finance terror groups. The issue of terror financing has been partially addressed before, but Thursday resolution is the first comprehensive measure of its kind.