Homeland Security Network Blog

  Foreign Policy Al Qaeda Isn’t Dead Yet The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has put 9/11’s planners back in the terror cockpit.By Lynne O’Donnell, a columnist at Foreign Policy and an Australian journalist and author. The United States, under then-President Donald Trump, made a peace pact in 2020 with the Taliban under the pretense that they would break ties with al Qaeda. It didn’t happen then, it hasn’t happened since, and now the group that blew up the twin towers is enjoying Taliban hospitality while remaining the dominant ideological and operational influence for jihadis from South Asia to North Africa. U.S. officials, in both the Trump and Biden administrations, saw the Islamic State rather than al Qaeda as the biggest threat to the American homeland. Al Qaeda, it was argued, was a spent force, especially after the forehead-tap elimination of leader Osama bin Laden in a raid by U.S. special forces...

The New York Times Texas shooting is the deadliest at an elementary school since Newtown. By Sarah Mervosh The shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday jolted a nation numbed by a drumbeat of mass shootings and evoked painful memories of another time a gunman crossed the sacred threshold of an elementary school and opened fire in Newtown, Conn., 10 years ago. The shooting at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday “horrifically, incomprehensibly” killed 14 students and a teacher, Gov. Greg Abbott announced. Within hours, the death toll rose to 19 students and two adults. It was the deadliest shooting at an elementary school since Newtown, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control advocacy group. The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in 2012 killed 20 first graders and six adults and plunged the nation into a stunned grief. The image of 6-year-old and...

Associated Press US removes 5 groups from terror blacklist, retains al-Qaida By MATTHEW LEE WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has removed five extremist groups, all believed to be defunct, from its list of foreign terrorist organizations. In notices published in the Federal Register on Friday, the State Department said it had removed the groups after a mandatory five-year review of their designations. Al-Qaida, which was also up for review, was kept on the list, which was created under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, or INA. “Our review of these five FTO designations determined that, as defined by the INA the five organizations are no longer engaged in terrorism or terrorist activity and do not retain the capability and intent to do so,” the State Department said in a statement. “Therefore, as required by the INA, these FTO designations are being revoked.” Several of the removed groups once posed significant...

  The Jerusalem Post IDF, Shin Bet, Border Police Arrest 13 Terrorism Suspects In The West Bank Israeli security forces were active in several areas throughout the West Bank, including the villages of al-'Arub, 'Abidia, Rifida, Bidu and the Qalandiya refugee camp. By JERUSALEM POST STAFF Thirteen individuals suspected of terrorist activity were arrested on Wednesday night by the IDF, Shin Bet and Border Police in the West Bank, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit announced. Israeli security forces were active in several areas throughout the West Bank, including the villages of al-'Arub, 'Abidia, Rifida, Bidu and the Qalandiya refugee camp. Five suspects were arrested in Hebron for alleged involvement in terrorist activities and possession of weapons. Two wanted persons were arrested in Beit Rima, where Israeli forces also found M-16 rifles and ammunition. Clashes broke out during this operation; dozens of Palestinians threw stones and fired fireworks at IDF soldiers who ultimately...

  ABC News Biden Approves Return Of US Troops For Somalia Counterterrorism Fight, Reversing Trump The move is meant to aid Somalia against al-Shabab, an al-Qaida affiliate. By Luis Martinez Reversing a decision by predecessor Donald Trump, President Joe Biden has approved a Pentagon request to redeploy several hundred American troops to Somalia for what the National Security Council calls "a persistent U.S. military presence" there as part of counterterrorism efforts. The move will reestablish an open-ended mission in Somalia assisting the country in its fight against al-Shabab, a local al-Qaida affiliate. The group once ruled Somalia and has been seeking to regain territorial control over parts of the country. It has carried out overseas terror attacks in Kenya, including in January 2020 when three Americans died in an assault targeting a U.S. base. The Biden administration believes the move will "enable our partners to conduct a more effective fight against...

Buffalo's worst mass shooting takes 10 lives, leaves 3 wounded; attack called 'a racially motivated hate crime' The Buffalo News by Lou Michel , Ben Tsujimoto , Maki Becker  Ten people were gunned down at a Buffalo supermarket Saturday in a horrifying mass shooting that officials were quick to label as "pure evil" and racially motivated. The shooting stunned a community basking in a warm May afternoon, with shoppers filling the Tops in a predominantly Black neighborhood at 1275 Jefferson Ave.  "It’s the weekend, so it was packed," Shonnell Harris, an operation manager working at the Tops during the shooting, told The Buffalo News. Harris said that when she heard gunshots, she ran frantically through the store, falling several times before exiting out the back. She saw the shooter, whom she described as a white man wearing camouflage. “He looked like he was in the Army,” she said. She thought she...

The Washington Post ISIS in Africa behind a surge in terrorist attacks, officials say by Souad Mekhennet MARRAKESH, Morocco — The Islamic State’s regional affiliates in Africa are carrying out lethal attacks at a tempo far surpassing that of the parent organization that once ruled large swaths of Iraq and Syria, Morocco’s chief diplomat said Wednesday at a meeting of the global alliance battling the militant group. Sub-Saharan Africa, home to several branches of the Islamic State, now accounts for nearly half of all deaths worldwide attributed to the terrorist group, Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita said. “We remain lucid on the state of the ISIS threat, which has not diminished,” said Bourita, whose country is hosting a conference of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. He said that sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 48 percent, or 3,461, of the deaths worldwide attributed to ISIS in 2021. “Today, 27 terrorist...

  Associated Press US Sanctions Alleged IS Child Trafficking Financiers By FATIMA HUSSEIN WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. announced Monday that it is sanctioning five people accused of fundraising for the Islamic State group and using the funds to help traffic children to serve as fighters for the organization. U.S. Treasury says the actors are pivotal to helping extremists travel to Syria and other regions where IS operates. Dwi Dahlia Susanti and her accomplices are accused of facilitating money transfers from Indonesia, Turkey, and Syria, where the Treasury Department says Sustani used the funds to help “smuggle teenage children out of the camps to the desert, where they were received by (IS) foreign fighters, likely as child recruits” for IS. The sanctions, imposed by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, block any property or other assets the individuals have in the U.S. and those who engage in business with...

  The Wall Street Journal Suspected Terrorist Attack in Israel Kills at Least Three on Independence Day Israeli police were searching for the two unidentified assailants who fled the scene of the attack, which occurred in Elad, a largely ultra-Orthodox town adjacent to the occupied West Bank By Adam Rasgon and David S. Cloud TEL AVIV—A suspected terrorist attack in central Israel killed at least three people and injured several others late on Thursday, shaking the country as it celebrated Independence Day. Two unidentified assailants were involved in the attack, including one who was armed with an ax, according to Deputy Superintendent Mirit Ben Mayor, an Israeli police spokeswoman. It occurred in Elad, a largely ultra-Orthodox town adjacent to the occupied West Bank, and came in the wake of increased tensions at one of Jerusalem’s most contested holy sites, where Israeli police and Palestinians clashed in the morning. Full story https://www.wsj.com/articles/suspected-terror-attack-in-israel-kills-at-least-three-on-independence-day-11651786798

ISIS attacks in Syria have declined 'while new fighters join terror cells' Counter Extremism Project says recruits from Hassakeh jail break could be bolstering terrorist group's ranks. By Nicky Harley A significant drop in ISIS attacks in Syria is due to new fighters being integrated into the group, a terrorism monitor has said. The Counter Extremism Project (CEP), which keeps a monthly record of attacks by ISIS, suggests fighters freed in the Hassakeh prison break in January are joining new cells and being trained. Thousands of ISIS prisoners were believed to have initially escaped the Ghwayran jail in Hassakeh, Syria, when attackers detonated a car bomb near the prison gates. It led to a week of clashes inside and around the jail, which is run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Hundreds died before US-led Kurdish forces recaptured the site. Full story https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/uk-news/2022/05/04/isis-attacks-in-syria-have-declined-while-new-fighters-join-terror-cells/

CBS News North Korea test fires its biggest ICBM yet — and it could apparently reach the entire U.S. Seoul, South Korea — North Korea said Friday it test-fired its biggest-yet intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) under the orders of leader Kim Jong Un, who vowed to expand the North's "nuclear war deterrent" while preparing for a "long-standing confrontation" with the United States.The report by North Korean state media came a day after the militaries of South Korea and Japan said they detected the North launching an ICBM in its first long-range test since 2017.The launch extended a barrage of weapons demonstrations this year that analysts say are aimed at forcing the United States to accept the idea of North Korea as a nuclear power and remove crippling sanctions against its broken economy that has been further damaged by pandemic-related difficulties. Seoul, South Korea — North Korea said Friday it test-fired its...

  The Wall Street Journal Iran Nuclear Deal’s Final Hurdle Is Lifting Terrorism Sanctions on Revolutionary Guards U.S. allies including Israel want the Iranian security force to remain on the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations by Laurence NormanWhile Iran says it isn’t trying to build nuclear weapons, a look at its key facilities suggests it could develop the technology to make them. WSJ breaks down Tehran’s capabilities as it hits new milestones in uranium enrichment and limits access to inspectors. Photo illustration: George DownsThe effort to revive the 2015 nuclear deal agreement now hinges on perhaps the most politically sensitive issue in the negotiations: whether to remove the U.S. terrorism designation for Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, the country’s powerful security force, diplomats said.The issue is galvanizing opposition to the nuclear deal in Washington and among Middle East allies such as Israel, where the government issued stinging public criticism of any attempt...

Al Monitor Islamic State Takes Advantage Of Ukraine War To Increase Attacks by Sultan al-Kanj The Islamic State has recently intensified its activity against the Syrian government forces and its allies, setting up a number of ambushes in the Syrian desert and killing dozens.The Islamic State (IS) regularly targets military bases and vehicles in the Syrian desert, which extends between the governorates of Homs and Deir ez-Zor on the border with Iraq, the area to which IS fighters have retreated since they lost their last stronghold in Syria in 2019.On March 6, Syria’s official SANA news agency quoted a government military source as saying that “13 soldiers were killed and 18 others were wounded when a military bus was attacked by terrorists in the Palmyra desert in the Homs countryside.”More recently, on March 16, IS militants staged an ambush against military targets belonging to Iranian forces in the Syrian desert, killing...

Russia claims first use of hypersonic Kinzhal missile in UkraineBy Paul KirbyBBC NewsRussia's military has fired a hypersonic ballistic missile and destroyed a big underground arms depot in western Ukraine, the defence ministry in Moscow has said.If confirmed it would be Russia's first use in this war of the Kinzhal, or Dagger, ballistic missile launched from the air, most likely by a MiG-31 warplane.What are hypersonic missiles?President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly highlighted Russia's investment in hypersonic missiles, which can travel at more than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5.The statistics are impressive: according to Russian officials the Kinzhal can hit a target up to 2,000km (1,240 miles) away and can fly faster than 6,000 km/h. But does that make them any more dangerous than other missiles or even artillery which can cause just as much death and destruction?"I don't view it as that significant," says James Acton, nuclear...

  Washington Examiner Head Of Africa Command Says ‘Deadly Terrorism Has Metastasized’ On Continent by Mike Brest, Defense Reporter The head of Africa Command warned members of Congress about the multitude of threats to the United States emanating from the continent in testimony on Tuesday.Gen. Stephen Townsend, the commander of AFRICOM, testified in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he laid out the terrorism landscape and provided insight into Russia's and China’s investments in Africa. “Due to a lack of effective governance and counter-terrorism pressure,” the terror group al-Shabaab “has only grown stronger and bolder over the past year,” while “Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslmin, or JNIM, has metastasized into a powerful, sprawling terrorist network now threatening Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and littoral West Africa,” he said in his written testimony. Townsend also expressed concern about the Islamic State, which he said exploits “ungoverned spaces, including recognition and creation of...

Washington Post After nuclear talks break down, Iran claims ballistic missile attack in IraqBAGHDAD — Iran claimed responsibility Sunday for a barrage of ballistic missiles that hit northern Iraq just after midnight, striking several kilometers from a U.S. compound and drawing sharp condemnation from the Iraqi and U.S. capitals.The semiofficial Fars news agency said that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps had launched “powerful missiles” in response to what it described as “recent crimes of the fake Zionist regime,” an apparent reference to the killing of two of its members last week in Syria, which it has blamed on Israel.The attack marked a significant escalation in the proxy and political conflicts playing out on Iraqi soil as talks between Iran and the United States to resurrect a nuclear deal shattered by President Donald Trump now stall as a consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Story continues below advertisementLanding at 1:30 a.m. local time, the...

IS confirms its leader was killed in Syria, names new chiefBEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group confirmed for the first time on Thursday that its leader was killed in a U.S. strike in northwestern Syria last month and named his successor. It was the first official comment from the militant group about its leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi since U.S. officials said he blew himself up along with members of his family as American forces raided his hideout in the northwestern Syrian town of Atmeh, near the border with Turkey, on Feb. 3. In an audio message released Thursday, IS spokesman Abu Omar al-Muhajer confirmed the death of the leader, as well as that of the group’s former spokesman, Abu Hamza al-Qurayshi, in the raid. Al-Muhajer also said that IS has named a successor to the former leader, identifying him as Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi and saying the late IS...

NBC News U.S. Sends Saudi Detainee Accused Of Link To 9/11 Home From Guantanamo Mohammad Mani Ahmad al-Qahtani, 46, who has been held at the U.S. base in Cuba since 2002, will receive treatment at a psychiatric facility. By Courtney Kube, Mosheh Gains and The Associated PressA Saudi detainee at Guantanamo Bay who allegedly tried to take part in the 9/11 hijacking plot has been sent back to Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said on Monday.Mohammad Mani Ahmad al-Qahtani, 46, who has been held at the U.S. base in Cuba since 2002, will receive treatment at a psychiatric facility. His lawyers maintain that he has displayed symptoms of schizophrenia since a young age, and in 2002 an FBI official saw al-Qahtani speaking to non-existent people, hearing voices and crouching in a corner of his cell while covering himself with a sheet for hours.A U.S. review board determined in 2021 that his detention...