Bulgarian Authorities Arrest 18 For Smuggling Migrants Across Southern Border

A criminal network smuggling mainly Syrian migrants from Türkiye to Western Europe has been taken down following a coordinated action led by the Bulgarian authorities and supported by Europol.

On 3 June, law enforcement carried out raids in five major cities across Bulgaria under the supervision of the Burgas Prosecutor’s Office. Officers from Greece, Romania and Moldova joined Bulgarian investigators on the ground, with Europol also deployed to support the action. In total, 18 people were arrested, including a high-value target.

Les maitres du chaos – Épisode 1 – L’empire du bluff – Réseau International

Lorsque l’Histoire se fait illusion, l’illusion devient Histoire. Dans ce théâtre mondial où les géants de l’Occident, drapés dans l’armure de la démocratie et du progrès, orchestrent des jeux de pouvoir et d’influence, il semble que l’unique vérité réside dans la manipulation. Derrière les discours enflammés et les gestes grandiloquents des États-Unis, de l’OTAN comme de l’ONU, se cache une structure insidieuse, un empire non pas d’épées et de soldats, mais de promesses non tenues et de visages masqués. Cet «Empire du Bluff» n’est pas fait de fer et de ferveur, mais d’une construction spectrale, où l’apparence et la forme prennent le pas sur la substance. Un empire où, sous l’ombre des grandes puissances, se joue la danse macabre de l’illusion de sécurité et de prospérité. Le monde n’est pas dirigé par des démocraties aux mains tremblantes, mais par des entités financières, froides, cyniques et organisées autour d’intérêts qui se moquent éperdument des peuples, des frontières ou des morts. Car les guerres ne naissent pas d’un coup de folie ou d’un excès de passion nationaliste mais elles sont financées, planifiées, allumées volontairement par des acteurs qui, eux, ne meurent jamais dans les tranchées.

First Anti-Immigration March Takes Place in Polish Capital

For the first time, a march labelled specifically as “anti-immigration” took place in Poland on Saturday, even if the message has often been heard before on the streets of Polish cities, particularly during the annual Independence Day parades held on November 11.

Taliban Detains Loyalist As Internal Rift Over Jihad Policy Widens

Sources told Afghanistan International that the Taliban have arrested Rahim Sekandar, a prominent supporter of the group on social media.

His detention reportedly followed criticism of a Taliban official’s remarks opposing the participation of Taliban fighters in clashes between militants and Pakistani security forces.

U.S. Funding Cuts Risk Jeopardizing Counter-Islamic State Operations

Since the Islamic State crashed onto the scene in 2014, the U.S. has led efforts to combat the group’s influence, acting as one of the largest donors to the Global Coalition to Counter the Islamic State and leading its forces through Operation Inherent Resolve. These efforts resulted in the successful territorial defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019. With the fall of the Islamic State’s so-called caliphate, however, the threat changed—demanding a new approach. Accordingly, in 2022, U.S. Central Command Commanding General Michael Kurilla divided the Islamic State threat into three parts: “[Islamic State] at large” (the leaders and operatives fighting the U.S. and its partners Irweaq and Syria); “[Islamic State] in detention” (the thousands of Islamic State-affiliated men and boys, as well as some women and girls, held in detention facilities and youth “rehabilitation” centers in Iraq and Syria); and the “potential next generation of [Islamic State]” (the tens of thousands of primarily women and minors held in northeast Syrian Al-Hol and Roj detention camps).

Actor Profile: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)

Introduction

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is an Islamist political and militant group mainly operating in Syria’s Greater Idleb area, which includes parts of Aleppo’s western countryside, the Lattakia mountains, and al-Ghab Plain in northwestern Hama. HTS leadership was historically composed of both Syrian and foreign Islamists, with links to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. However, the group’s current identity is largely Syrian Islamist, reflecting a pragmatic shift in its strategic goals. HTS has rebranded itself from a former transnational Salafi-Jihadi group to a more localized Islamist group that at times targets and clashes with other radical Islamist groups such as the Islamic State and the al-Qaeda-affiliated Hurras-al-Din. With this change, the group has increasingly sought to cultivate a more moderate public image.

The Evolution of the Islamist Terror Threat Landscape in Germany Since 2020

Abstract: Today, Germany is facing heightened security alerts due to Islamist terror threats at Christmas markets in the winter, Carnival parades in the spring, public festivals, pedestrian areas, protests, and at Israeli diplomatic missions and Jewish institutions. Over the last five years, authorities have seen younger perpetrators, new online spaces for radicalization, and new targets. Attackers are using familiar methods of attack and declaring support to well-known groups such as the Islamic State. This article provides an overview of the key developments in the Islamist terror threat in Germany between 2020 and 2025 by taking an in-depth look at all nine executed Islamist terrorist attacks and the 20 publicly reported thwarted attack plots during that time. It concludes with an analysis of the five most notable trends according to the data regarding attack vectors, terrorist profiles, propaganda and recruitment, the impact of October 7, and the role of foreign intelligence.