On September 23, media reports emerged that Lebanese Army Intelligence had arrested a suspected Islamic State member in northern Lebanon after placing him under surveillance. During questioning, the individual allegedly said that Islamic State commanders in Syria had tasked him with assassinating Pope Leo XIV during the pope’s visit to Lebanon in November 2025. He reportedly said heightened security prevented him from carrying out the attack.
The suspect, only identified as “Al-Daamish,” was reportedly a senior Islamic State member in Aleppo. He spent three years in prison under Bashar al Assad’s government before escaping to Lebanon following the regime’s collapse in December 2024. According to investigators, the individual reestablished contact with Islamic State leaders in Syria after entering Lebanon, prompting Lebanese Army Intelligence to place him under surveillance.
Daamish is expected to face charges of membership in a terrorist organization and planning a terrorist operation.
Canada
On September 23, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) arrested Louay Angoud, a Quebec City resident, in Montreal. Investigators allege that he intended to make a poison or chemical weapon to attack Canadians on behalf of the Islamic State.
Angoud has been charged with “using or possessing property for terrorist purposes; commission of an offense for a terrorist group; participating in the activity of a terrorist group and possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose.”
Angoud allegedly communicated with Islamic State members online and tried to obtain information on how to build a weapon to poison Canadians.
The RCMP began investigating Angoud in April 2026 after investigators obtained intelligence about him.
“Mr. Angoud reportedly claimed to know how to make a poison or chemical weapon in order to poison Canadian citizens on behalf of the Islamic State,” the RCMP wrote to local news agencies. “However, he was not in possession of the substances. The investigation has determined that the individual is believed to have acted alone. The evidence collected to date remains under ongoing analysis.”
On September 24, Angoud appeared in court in Quebec and remained detained. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 28.
Australia
On September 23, Australian counterterrorism police arrested Mohamed Bakit, 65, in Carlton, a suburb of Melbourne. Police accuse Bakit of acting as an Islamic State propagandist and sharing approximately 10,000 images, documents, videos, and audio files.
The Somali-born Australian citizen allegedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State between 2018 and 2020. Police also accuse him of distributing instructions for carrying out mass casualty attacks and avoiding detection by law enforcement.
“The scale and dissemination [by] this man placed him as a principal distributor of ISIS propaganda within the group,” Australian Federal Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Paula Hudson said.
The investigation began in November 2020, when customs officials searched Bakit’s luggage before a trip to Egypt and seized his phone after finding suspicious material. He remained in Egypt for six months. On September 24, he appeared in court charged with membership in a terrorist organization, possession of extremist material, and use of a carriage service to cause offense.
Bakit is the seventh man to be arrested for possessing or distributing Islamic State content online in Victoria since May. In early September, a Melbourne man was detained and charged with possessing violent extremist content before departing Australia for the Middle East.
United States
On September 23, Davud Ansariy, an Uzbek-born naturalized US citizen, was extradited from Tbilisi, Georgia, to face charges in the Eastern District of New York. He pleaded not guilty to conspiring and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State and Al Nusrah Front.
Prosecutors allege that between 2013 and 2016, Ansariy helped raise money for prospective members of the two organizations and funded travel to Syria for three people who were later killed. Ansariy traveled to Turkey in May 2016, five days after a co-conspirator’s arrest. A federal grand jury indicted him in November 2021, and authorities arrested him in Georgia in August 2026.
“More than a decade ago, the defendant fled the United States in an effort to evade justice for his extremely serious crimes,” United States Attorney Joseph Nocella stated. “As alleged, the defendant facilitated an expansive network that sought to finance the travel of foreign fighters to wage violent jihad.”
Although the Islamic State lost its caliphate in 2019, it remains active and capable of attracting supporters internationally.
