Left Perspective
• Authorities have officially declared a deadly shooting in Australia a terrorist attack. The Australian Prime Minister labeled the attack at a public Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, which killed at least 15 people, an antisemitic terrorist attack. Police also reported finding unexploded improvised explosive devices at the scene.
• Security agencies in the U.S. and Germany successfully disrupted multiple planned attacks. In the United States, federal authorities arrested four people, thwarting a bombing plot planned for New Year’s Eve in Los Angeles. Similarly, German authorities arrested five suspected militants who were allegedly in the advanced stages of planning an attack on a Christmas market.
• Officials have identified and are acting against suspects with known or alleged extremist ties. Australian police stated one of the Sydney attackers had been previously scrutinized for extremist connections. In the U.S., prosecutors described the arrested suspects as members of an "anti-government, anti-capitalist" group, and in Germany, investigators said the suspects were inspired by global jihadist movements.
