Denmark 2026
30/01/2026: Zahra Halane, the 28-year-old woman who returned to Denmark on October 24, 2024 after joining IS, was sentenced by the Aarhus District Court to 5 years in prison and received a warning of deportation. The trial started on December 5, 2025. According to the verdict, she is guilty of recruitment for terrorism as soon as June 26, 2014, training and education for terrorism, promoting terrorist activities between 2014 and 2015 and of having resided in districts in Syria that were under IS' rule between September 30, 2016 and March 2019. Although Halane acknowledged settling in the so-called IS "Caliphate", she denied the charges and claimed she was coerced into joining IS. However photos and posts from social media allowed the Court to deem she voluntarily committed the crimes she was accused of. Born from Somali parents, Halane was stripped of her Danish citizenship on October 21, 2020 and even though deportation was considered by the prosecution, it has ultimately been assessed that such measure would be againt the interests of her 9-year-old son who retained his Danish citizenship. The latter was taken in charge by social services upon his return to Denmark and is reportedly chronically traumatized. Halane's husband who was an IS fighter died in battle. (Source)
03/02/2026: The Copenhagen District Court has sentenced two Swedes to 12 and 14 years in prison for terrorism. The trial started on November 12, 2025. Both men threw hand grenades near the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen, in October 2024 when they were 16 and 19 year-old. The grenades damaged the terrace of a house next to the embassy. No one was injured in the attack. The youngest said he did not know the Israeli embassy was the target, but the Court deemed that explanation not credible. According to the Court, about nine hours earlier, the man had fired shots at the Israeli embassy in Stockholm. Nonetheless, he acknowledged that he was part of the Foxtrot network since he turned 12 year-old and already committed various crimes for the gang, including murder. Foxtrot is often depicted as a "proxy" for hostile foreign forces such as Iran, to carry out attacks and terrorist activties in the Nordics. Prosecutor Soren Harbo said in a police statement that Foxtrot actually "operated as the armed wing of a Middle Eastern terrorist organization in Denmark, where the Israeli embassy was identified as the target of the attack". Both men will be expelled from Denmark to Sweden, never to return. However, they have appealed the verdict. (Source)
28/02/2026: Following the airstrikes on the Islamic Republic of Iran carried out by Israel and the United States of America on February 28, 2026 that resulted in the elimination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei with risks of further escalation, Danish PET stated that they are closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East and have, prior to the ongoing conflict, already taken measures to ensure the safety of potential Jewish and Israeli targets against Iranian retaliations. (Source)
14/04/2026: In cooperation with Danish PET, Copenhagen's West Coast Police has arrested in Brøndby a 38-year-old man and 25-year-old woman for having promoted Hamas through the "sale of various clothing items" on Instagram and TikTok, in compliance with Section 114 e of the Criminal Code. Since Hamas is considered as a terrorist organization by Danish authorities, the arrest was carried out for condoning terrorism following a lengthy investigation. Both suspects have reportedly "shared images of, offered for sale and sold several different clothing items with motifs related to Hamas and/or the terrorist attack in Israel on October 7, 2023", such as "Two Years ago God shed his light upon us. Glory to our heroes, glory to their legacy" between January 2025 and the day of their arrest. Although the accused pleaded not guilty, they have been remanded in custody for four weeks. (Source)
24/04/2026: Two men have been sentenced by the Aarhus Court to suspended prison sentences for terror glorification after writing comments regarding Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The two men received suspended sentences for violating Section 136(2) of the Danish Criminal Code, which prohibits public approval of terrorist acts. The convicted individuals wrote comments on Ekstra Bladet's Facebook page under the headline "Israel attacked by missiles". A Jutland-based "provocateur artist" reported the comments to the police, initiating the investigation. The Court deemed that the men should have known that the situation concerned a terrorist attack. (Source)
27/05/2026: A 25-year-old Danish national named Yousif C. was arrested in the Copenhagen area by Danish police officers at the request of Germany for allegedly playing an active role as a henchman for the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas. According to the indictment, he handed over in July 2025 five pistols and ammunition to to another terrorist suspect named Abed Al G. who is already in the custody of the German authorities. The weapons from the Dane were subsequently delivered to a third man, Mohammed A., who is also being prosecuted in Germany for ensuring that the arsenal of weapons and associated ammunition reached the Austrian capital, Vienna. This action was intended to prepare Hamas' planned attacks on Israeli or Jewish institutions in Germany and Europe. Yousif was brought before a judge in a constitutional hearing in the Glostrup District Court the following day and remanded in custody for four weeks so that a decision can be made as to whether he can be extradited to Germany. Back in November 2025, a man of Lebanese origin living in Denmark was arrested on his way to the Czech Republic for the same charges. (Source)
29/05/2026: The Danish Centre for Terror Analysis (CTA) made available the Assessment of the Terrorist Threat to the Kingdom of Denmark 2026 report which concludes that the overall terrorist threat to the Kingdom of Denmark remains at the “significant” level, with Islamism continuing to constitute the main terrorist threat while Far-Right terrorism threat remains at the "general" level.
The report emphasize that both domestic and foreign individuals and groups related to Islamism retain the capability and intent to conduct attacks against targets in Denmark. The principal sources of this threat remain IS, Al-Qaeda, their regional affiliates, and their supporters. Although these organizations are primarily based outside the West, they continue to seek attacks against Western countries and maintain the ability to inspire, facilitate, and support sympathizers operating in Europe. A central theme of the assessment is the enduring influence of perceived insults to Islam on the threat directed at Denmark. The Muhammad cartoons controversy and the Quran-burning incidents of 2023 have become lasting reference points within Jihadist propaganda. Although militant Islamists have shown less immediate focus on Denmark since 2024, these controversies remain embedded in extremist narratives and may rapidly reactivate Denmark as a priority target should similar incidents gain renewed visibility. The CTA judges that the most likely Islamist attack scenario in Denmark would involve a lone actor or a small cell that has undergone radicalization primarily online rather than through established physical networks. Likely targets include large public gatherings, government institutions, Jewish and Israeli sites, locations associated with perceived insults to Islam, and LGBT+ targets. The report further notes that many recent attackers in Western countries have been young individuals radicalized through social media and online extremist ecosystems.
The Gaza conflict remains a major driver of radicalization and mobilization. Since October 2023, numerous completed and disrupted terrorist plots in the West have been linked to the conflict. Islamist organizations, especially IS and Al-Qaeda, continue to exploit the war in their propaganda to encourage attacks against Western targets. The conflict has reinforced narratives portraying a fundamental confrontation between Muslims and the West and has contributed to broader polarization and radicalization processes. Israeli and Jewish targets have been particularly prominent among attack objectives. The report also stresses that the global presence of IS and Al-Qaeda remains substantial. Both organizations continue to expand in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, thereby strengthening their transnational networks and their potential ability to support or direct attacks in Western countries. Although the CTA considers large-scale, complex attacks in Europe less likely in the short term, the persistence and geographical spread of these organizations sustain the long-term threat to Denmark.
A particularly significant development identified in the report is the increasing role of Iran in the European terrorist threat landscape. The CTA assesses that Iran currently demonstrates an elevated willingness to direct or support violent actions in Europe, including Denmark, against Israeli and Jewish interests as well as certain Iranian dissidents. Under specific circumstances, such activities may constitute terrorism under Danish Law. The escalation of the Iran–Israel conflict and the outbreak of direct hostilities between Iran, Israel, and the United States in February 2026 have altered the threat environment throughout the West. According to the CTA, attacks against Israeli, Jewish, and American interests have already occurred in Western countries since the conflict intensified, and the situation remains highly volatile and unpredictable. Importantly, the report states that Iran does not appear to regard Denmark itself as an adversary. Rather, Denmark is viewed as one arena among several in which Iran pursues its broader geopolitical conflicts. Iranian activities in Denmark are therefore directed primarily against Israeli and Jewish interests and against selected Iranian dissidents. Potential targets include the Israeli embassy, individuals and institutions associated with Judaism or Israel, and companies that Tehran perceives as supporting Israel militarily. The CTA further highlights Iran’s extensive use of proxies. Iranian intelligence services frequently rely on criminal networks and other intermediaries to prepare or execute attacks in Europe. This outsourcing model, sometimes described as “Crime-as-a-Service”, obscures the connection to Iranian state actors and reduces their direct exposure. The report cites examples from Sweden and notes cases in which individuals arrested in Denmark were suspected of acting on behalf of Iranian intelligence services in plots targeting Jewish or Israeli interests elsewhere in Europe.
Together, these dynamics contribute to a more complex, transnational, and less predictable security landscape for Denmark and the wider European region. (Source)