Islamists in EU declare start of war against synagogues

Flag of the new Islamist group. Photo: Al Jazeera

In March 2026, a new radical group launched terrorist activity in Europe. Last week, the EU saw an explosion at a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, an attack on a Jewish residential complex in Greece, and an arson attack on a synagogue in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The Islamist organization Ashab al-Yamin has claimed responsibility for the attacks on Jewish institutions carried out over the course of the week, The Jerusalem Post reports.

The group, whose name can be translated as “People of the Right” or “Companions of the Right,” was previously unknown and has not created its own social media channels. However, videos of all three attacks appeared almost immediately in Telegram channels linked to Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC. That has led experts to suspect a direct connection between the new organization and Iranian proxy structures.

The symbolism of Ashab al-Yamin also points to Iranian influence: its logo shows a hand clutching a rifle against the backdrop of the globe, closely mirroring the emblems of Hezbollah and the IRGC. Notably, the militants chose the Soviet-made Dragunov sniper rifle, or SVD, as their weapon of choice – rare in Europe, but widely used in the Middle East. In its official statement, the group called on the “mujahideen of Islam” and the “knights of the shadows” to rise for jihad and spread “justice and light” throughout the world.

Analysts at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, or FDD, believe Ashab al-Yamin is a “front” organization used by Iran to conceal its direct role in terrorist attacks on the territory of Western countries. Such a tactic allows Tehran to operate through a network of clients that appear suddenly and disappear just as quickly once the mission is complete. Although no one was injured in the current attacks, experts view them as an act of propaganda aimed at intimidating religious communities amid a broader global conflict.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that an unknown assailant had carried out a terrorist attack at the largest synagogue in the United States, in Michigan.

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