Articles about Terror

Lawyers for accused had argued names of family members should be suppressed due to fears for their mental and physical safetyFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe alleged Bondi attacker has been denied a suppression order over his family member’s names and home and work addresses after a collective of media organisations won a challenge against the bid.In the Downing Centre local court on Thursday, judge Hugh Donnelly decided to deny the request for a 40-year suppression order, ending an interim suppression order that was granted for Naveed Akram’s mother, brother and sister in early March which banned the publication of their names and addresses. Continue reading...

Jayson Joseph Michaels allegedly planned attack on police headquarters, Parliament House and mosquesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA man accused of plotting a mass casualty terror attack targeting public buildings and places of worship believed his assault would be worse than the Bondi beach mass shootings, a court has heard.Jayson Joseph Michaels detailed his alleged plan for a violent assault on Western Australia police headquarters, WA Parliament House and mosques in a diary, the Perth magistrates court was told during a failed bid for bail on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Khalid Ahmed, 24, from Ealing in west London, also charged with one count of possession of prohibited ammunitionA 24-year-old man who was stopped at Dover has been charged with 10 counts of possession of a firearm.Khalid Ahmed, from Ealing in west London, who is a dual Dutch and Irish national, is to appear at Westminster magistrates court on Wednesday, where he will also face one charge of possession of prohibited ammunition. Continue reading...

The home affairs select committee said Prevent cannot deal with the modern challenges of fighting extremismThe government’s anti-terrorism programme, Prevent, is “outdated and inadequately prepared” to deal with modern challenges such as extremists adhering to no particular ideology, an influential cross-party group of MPs has concluded.The home affairs select committee has called for a reset to the approach for dealing with fast-evolving online subcultures promoting antisemitism, anti-Muslim hostility, misogyny and violence, as well as an over-representation of neurodiverse people and those with mental health conditions.A growing prevalence of under-18s being drawn into extremism.Neurodiverse individuals, particularly those with Autistic Spectrum Disorder, being over-represented among referrals to the programme.Fluid or hybrid ideological beliefs among those referred and a shift toward nihilistic violence.Influencers and creative tools such as memes, humour and coded messaging being used to spread extremist content in a way that is accessible and appealing.Generative AI being used to produce large volumes of tailored content and disinformation.An increase in hate crimes and incidents in the UK that are linked to anti-blasphemy activism, anti-Israel extremism, anti-Muslim hostility and eco-extremism. Continue reading...

Lawyers for Liam Alexander Hall say the 32-year-old is undergoing treatment in custodyFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLawyers acting for Liam Alexander Hall, a 32-year-old man accused of attempting to bomb an Invasion Day rally in Perth, have foreshadowed a potential not guilty by insanity plea.Hall was scheduled to appear before magistrate Matthew Walton via video link from Western Australia’s most secure psychiatric facility on Tuesday, but did not. Instead the case was adjourned until May. Continue reading...

Experts see potential hallmarks of Iranian involvement in firebombing of four ambulances in Golders Green on MondayTo some it was the moment the mask slipped. Wearing an open-necked white shirt, Mohsen Rafighdoost, former minister of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was filmed last March fondly reminiscing with an interviewer from the Tehran-based Dibdan Iran news website about the assassinations he had organised around Europe.There was Prince Shahriar Shafiq, the last Shah of Iran’s 34-year-old nephew, who was shot twice in the head outside his mother’s home in Paris in 1979. Continue reading...

Deposed Venezuelan president and his wife, who both pleaded not guilty, were captured by US military in JanuaryThe deposed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro is again scheduled to appear in a Manhattan federal court on Thursday for his “narco-terrorism” case after his capture by US military forces earlier this year.US special forces captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on 3 January in a controversial pre-dawn raid during an assault on Caracas that reportedly killed 100 people. Continue reading...

Australian counterterrorism experts observe December shooting came amid years of messaging from terror group urging followers to act ‘on their own initiative’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Bondi beach terror attack occurred amid an international spike of anti-western plots in December last year that appeared to be “inspired or instigated” by Islamic State, a new report has found, with many of them targeting holiday events such as Christmas markets.In research published by the West Point Combating Terrorism Center in its publication Sentinel on Thursday, Australian counterterrorism experts Andrew Zammit and Levi West examined Islamic State’s strategic shifts and jihadi tactics in Australia prior to the alleged antisemitic terrorist attack. Continue reading...

NSW police allege the boy ‘held a mixed ideology and outlined plans for acts of violence’A 16-year-old boy has been charged with multiple terrorism offences after he allegedly posted threats of extremist violence online.Police initially arrested and charged the boy with weapons offences in December after the NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team received reports of someone making violent threats online, the Australian Federal Police said in a statement on Wednesday morning. Continue reading...

• On March 21, 2026, Subcommittee Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX) requested a GAO review of threats from violent extremists using AI technologies against the US. • The letter warns that malicious actors, including cyber threats and insiders, exploit generative AI for terrorist tactics like recruitment and attacks. • Pfluger emphasizes the challenges in detecting and deterring these evolving national security risks, citing prior hearings on foreign terrorist use of emerging tech.

Joe Kent, who left Trump administration over Iran war, tells Megyn Kelly ‘facts are on my side’ amid FBI investigationSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe counter-terrorism official who resigned from Donald Trump’s administration over the US and Israel’s war against Iran has said he is bracing for political retribution – but would do it all again anyway.Asked by conservative podcaster Megyn Kelly if he was concerned about a pre-existing FBI search investigating him for leaking classified information, Kent said he was ambivalent. Continue reading...

• Joe Kent, Trump's former head of counterterrorism, resigned and urged President Trump to reverse course on his Iran policy in a resignation letter. • The departure signals deepening divisions within the Trump administration over military strikes and Iran strategy, with Kent joining other vocal critics. • Kent's resignation reflects broader fragmentation within Trump's base and among senior officials over foreign policy direction, particularly regarding Middle East engagement.

• The FBI and IRS are initiating a joint investigation into nonprofits over possible ties to domestic terrorism, targeting groups promoting extreme views on immigration, gender ideology, and anti-American sentiment. • The probe follows a memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi last year ordering lists of such organizations. • This initiative raises concerns about free speech and government overreach amid heightened security focus.

Nigeria had largest increase in terrorism-related deaths, ranking fourth in global index behind Pakistan, Burkina Faso and NigerJihadist violence rose sharply in Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo last year, even as global deaths from terrorism dropped to their lowest level in a decade, according to a new report.Nigeria recorded the largest increase in terrorism deaths globally in 2025, with fatalities rising by 46% from 513 in 2024 to 750, placing it fourth in the Global Terrorism Index, behind Pakistan, Burkina Faso and Niger. Continue reading...

The reported inquiry predates Joe Kent’s departure on Tuesday from his post as director of the national counter-terrorism centerThe resignation of Joe Kent, a senior counter-terrorism official who spoke out against the US war in Iran, took a dramatic turn on Wednesday with a report that he is under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over an alleged leak of classified information.The inquiry predates Kent’s departure on Tuesday from his post as director of the national counterterrorism center, where he had overseen the analysis of terrorist threats, according to Semafor and CBS News. The FBI declined to comment on the existence of any such investigation. Continue reading...

Thousands of police prepare to deploy to South Korea’s capital ahead of K-pop’s most anticipated comebackSeoul has stepped up security ahead of BTS’s huge comeback concert on Saturday, which more than a quarter of a million fans are expected to attend, with authorities raising the terror alert in the area and preparing to deploy thousands of police to the capital.South Korean president Lee Jae Myung warned at a cabinet meeting this week that “the issue is safety” and urged heightened vigilance by the interior ministry and emergency services to prepare for every possibility. He described the concert as an important occasion to reaffirm the country’s global cultural standing. Continue reading...

Experts say attacks on Afghanistan are ‘defensive, not offensive’ but carry a risk of spiralling cycle of violenceAn escalating Pakistani campaign of airstrikes against targets in Afghanistan is aimed at forcing the Taliban authorities to abandon their support for Pakistani militants, according to officials and experts.The strategy is to impose such a steep cost on the Taliban administration that they act to prevent attacks emanating from Afghanistan. Yet it carries the risk of spiralling violence. Continue reading...

Ukraine’s president says mass attacks on civilians are no longer the preserve of a ‘madman like Putin’European nations should prepare for attacks by non-state actors including criminal networks, terror groups and lone attackers as drone technology advances, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned.The Ukrainian president said it was no longer just “a wealthy madman like Putin” who could afford mass attacks as he demonstrated the latest technology to British MPs and peers. Continue reading...

Joe Kent resigned as national counter-terrorism center director, saying Iran posed no imminent threat to the USSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxJoe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center and a far-right political figure and supporter of Donald Trump, resigned from his position on Tuesday in protest of the war in Iran.“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent wrote in a resignation letter posted to X. “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” Continue reading...

• A federal jury in Texas convicted eight anti-ICE protesters on terrorism charges Friday, marking the first successful terrorism prosecution against activists by the Justice Department. • Federal prosecutors accused the protesters of being members of antifa in connection with a reported shooting during a demonstration outside the Prairieland ICE jail in Alvarado last year. • The conviction has raised concerns about the Trump administration's intensifying crackdown on activists and First Amendment rights, with the DFW Support Committee calling it "a sham trial, built on political persecution and ideological attacks."

• A federal jury in Texas convicted eight anti-ICE protesters on terrorism charges Friday in a closely watched trial that has raised concerns about the Trump administration's expanding crackdown on activist speech. • The convictions represent an intensified prosecutorial approach against immigration enforcement protesters, raising questions about First Amendment protections for demonstration activity. • The case has drawn criticism from civil liberties advocates warning of an erosion of protest rights under the current administration's enforcement posture.

Suspects accused of throwing explosive devices at rightwing anti-Islam protesters as tensions rise across USEarly on Monday afternoon, two teens in white plastic jumpsuits were escorted into a Manhattan federal courtroom. Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, who were shackled and handcuffed, quietly took their seats at the defense table.If not for the metal restraints and jail garb, Balat, 18, and Kayumi, 19, could have been any number of young men who carry themselves with an aura of discomfort about their place in America. Continue reading...

‘Of course there’s going to be retaliation,’ says one expert. ‘It may be that this is what Trump’s interested in’For decades, the US and its allies have painted Iran as the world’s biggest sponsor of state terrorism – invoking its Islamic rulers’ supposed revolutionary fanaticism and determined support for militant proxies.Now a long-standing but mainly latent threat is coalescing, with the war waged on the country by the US and Israel, to raise the risk of an attack on American soil to levels unseen since the murderous al-Qaida assaults of 11 September 2001, experts say. Continue reading...

Three ideologically inspired attacks occurred in the past week: ISIS-inspired bombings at a New York City protest, a vehicle ramming at a Michigan synagogue by a Lebanese citizen, and a shooting at a Virginia university by a prior terrorism convict yelling 'Allahu akbar.' These incidents coincide with the US war against Iran, following strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, and FBI Director Kash Patel's firings of dozens of agents, including those on Iran and Trump document cases, straining counterterrorism resources. A Pakistani was convicted last week for 2024 assassination plots against Trump under Iranian Revolutionary Guard orders, while Justice Department seized domains used by Iran for dissident killings. The threats elevate national security risks as midterm elections approach, with cyber attacks like the one on Stryker adding to concerns.