Homeland Security Network Blog

  Asharq Al-Awsat ISIS Network Of Tunnels Found In Syria's Al-Hol Camp Hasakah - Kamal Sheikho The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava) has found a network of trenches and tunnels under al-Hol camp, east of al-Hasakah. The security sources said these trenches and tunnels were used by sleeper cells loyal to the ISIS terrorist organization to smuggle persons and carry out murders and assassination attempts. The ongoing investigations revealed that the tunnel connects one of the camp sectors to the outer wall and from there to the surrounding areas. A day earlier, the Rojava security forces thwarted a mass escape through a truck designated for transporting construction materials. The truck was transporting 39 children and 17 women from 56 ISIS families. The camp witnessed 728 escape attempts since March 2020. A video recording inside the camp showed how tunnels were dug with primitive tools, covered with metal and...

New York Post Iran vows to build nukes, turn New York into ‘hellish ruins’ By Joshua Rhett Miller Iran has reportedly threatened to build nuclear warheads and warned that it has the capability to turn New York into “hellish ruins” — amid stalled efforts to reinstate a nuclear deal between the county and world powers. Two Telegram channels with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps posted a 2-minute video Saturday that vowed to quickly start building nuclear bombs if the “US or Zionist regime make any stupid mistakes,” according to Iran International, a London-based news outlet. The video claims secret underground facilities in Fordow, near Qom, are close to working to turn the Islamic Republic into a nuclear power — and warned that its “peaceful nuclear program” could morph into a weaponized one with ease. “The nuclear facilities of Fordow have been built deep under mountains of Iran and are...

Washington Post U.S. kills al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in drone strike in Kabul By Shane Harris, Dan Lamothe, Karen DeYoung, Souad Mekhennet and Pamela Constable The United States has killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda and one of the world’s most-wanted terrorists, who, alongside the group’s founder, Osama bin Laden, oversaw the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, President Biden announced Monday evening. Zawahiri was killed in a CIA drone strike in Kabul over the weekend, according to U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence. When U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan last August, Biden administration officials said they would retain capability for “over-the-horizon” attacks from elsewhere on terrorist forces inside Afghanistan. The attack against Zawahiri is the first known counterterrorism strike there since the withdrawal. Speaking in a live television address from a balcony at the White House, Biden announced that days ago he had...

  Iran's Deepening Military Expansion Into Europe   by Con Coughlin  •  Gatestone Institute The Iranian regime's decision to give its backing to Russia's military offensive against Ukraine... represents an alarming expansion in Iran's military ambitions beyond the Middle East. Arguably Khamenei's most revealing comment during the visit was his call for Iran and Russia to increase what he termed "reciprocal cooperation" between the two countries to counter the threat of Western sanctions. The concern now, say Western security officials, is that the commercial ties between the two countries will lead to closer military cooperation. Iran's very public displays of support for Russia certainly undermine the long-standing assumption of American and European policymakers that the Iranian threat, allowing Iran unlimited nuclear weapons, relates only to the Middle East -- and specifically against Israel. US President Joe Biden's confused position on the Iran issue has been further exposed by the head of...

  Kim threatens to use nukes amid tensions with US, S. Korea SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned he’s ready to use his nuclear weapons in potential military conflicts with the United States and South Korea, state media said Thursday, as he unleashed fiery rhetoric against rivals he says are pushing the Korean Peninsula to the brink of war. Kim’s speech to war veterans on the 69th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War was apparently meant to boost internal unity in the impoverished country amid pandemic-related economic difficulties. While Kim has increasingly threatened his rivals with nuclear weapons, it’s unlikely that he would use them first against the superior militaries of the U.S. and its allies, observers say. “Our armed forces are completely prepared to respond to any crisis, and our country’s nuclear war deterrent is also ready to mobilize its absolute...

Foreign Policy The Taliban’s Neighbors Fear Afghanistan’s ‘Boiling Pot’ Of Terrorism A three-day conference in Uzbekistan has united the region, worried about the guerrillas in their midst.By Lynne O’Donnell The Taliban’s failure to make the leap from insurgency to governance is coming under scrutiny this week as they meet with representatives of countries that are growing increasingly concerned that after almost year in power, the extremists have again transformed Afghanistan into a global terrorist haven. The July 25-27 conference in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, follows the latest report on Afghanistan by the United Nations Security Council, which contains alarming details on the activities of terrorist groups, including al Qaeda, now enjoying the Taliban’s protection in Afghanistan. The report indicated that Afghanistan has essentially reverted to the state it was in before Sept. 11, 2001, when it hosted Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, while the group planned the...

  Given all the threats to the U.S., how significant a threat is ISIS right now? NPR NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Seth Jones at the Center for Strategic and International Studies about the threat from ISIS, and U.S. military operations that killed or captured some of its leaders. LEILA FADEL, HOST: The U.S. military confirmed the death of an ISIS leader in Syria last week. A drone strike killed Maher al-Agal. U.S. Central Command called him one of the top five ISIS leaders worldwide. This mission was the third U.S. counterterrorism operation in Syria in about a month. So how significant a threat is ISIS right now? I asked Seth Jones. He's a senior vice president and director of the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. His team keeps a database of groups that pose active threats to the U.S. Right now, they've got white...

  Fox News Africa: The New Ground Zero For Jihadi Terror Groups, Experts Say By Paul Tilsley JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Africa has been beset by jihadi violence, and it is something the U.S. will need to pay close attention to, observers warn. On Sunday, a U.S. airstrike killed two al-Shabab terrorists in response to an attack carried out against U.S. partner forces in Somalia. "The Islamic Jihad in Africa is real," claims Jasmine Opperman, South Africa based security consultant specializing in extremism and political violence, who believes Africa has taken over from the Middle East as the jihadis main area of operations. "It definitely is the case", Opperman told Fox News Digital. "If one looks at the history of Africa, I'm going into Mali and the West Africa region, Somalia, the East Africa region, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mozambique, we are seeing that al-Qaeda has always had...

  Associated Press UN Experts: Terrorist Threat Remains High In Conflict Areas By EDITH M. LEDERER UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. experts said Tuesday the threat from Islamic State extremists and al-Qaida remains high in conflict areas and neighboring countries and warned that those conflicts will “incubate” the capability for a terrorist operation elsewhere in the world unless they are successfully resolved. In a wide-ranging report to the U.N. Security Council, the experts said both the Islamic State and al-Qaida operate in the areas of greatest concern -- Africa, central and south Asia, and the “Levant” which includes Syria and Iraq. The experts said foreigners who fought with the Islamic State group are “another major potential threat multiplier” along with their dependents and quoted one unnamed country reporting that an estimated 120,000 remain in 11 camps and some 20 prison facilities in northeast Syria. Another country reported that approximately 10,000 “foreign...

Iran claims "technical ability to build a nuclear bomb" CBS News Tehran — Iran has the technical capacity to build a nuclear weapon but has not taken a decision to do so, an official told the Al Jazeera broadcaster on Sunday. Iran "has the technical ability to build a nuclear bomb" said Kamal Kharrazi, who heads an advisory board linked to Iran's leadership. But Tehran has "not made a decision to build an atomic bomb," he added. The comments come after U.S. President Joe Biden visited the Middle East this week and signed a security pact with Israel vowing to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. It also comes as efforts to revive a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers remain stalled. Kharrazi, a former foreign minister, also told Al Jazeera that Tehran had carried out extensive drills to be able to strike deep inside Israel "if sensitive (Iranian)...

The Texas Tribune Leaked video shows Texas law enforcement’s long wait to confront Uvalde school shooter Elected officials and law enforcement leaders criticized the leak of the video that was supposed to first be shown to victims’ families. by Uriel J. García and Zach Despart UVALDE — On the same day that a Texas House committee investigating the Uvalde school shooting announced plans to release footage of law enforcement response to the incident, a video showing police waiting for more than an hour in the school hallway before confronting the shooter was published by the Austin American-Statesman and KVUE-TV. The apparent leak of the video before victims’ families could view it drew ire from local and state leaders. At a Uvalde City Council meeting Tuesday night, Mayor Don McLaughlin said it was unprofessional to have leaked the video to news outlets. He said families deserved to have viewed the video first...

Domestic terror cases increasingly cross borders, FBI director says British intelligence chief says that young neo-Nazi suspects obsessed with weapons present a “cocktail of risk” around the globe.By Devlin Barrett LONDON — Many domestic terrorism cases now have an international component, as would-be killers are “egging each other on” and drawing inspiration from racist or neo-Nazi attacks overseas, the head of the FBI and his British counterpart said Friday.Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine. FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, speaking to reporters alongside Ken McCallum, director general of the British domestic security agency MI5, said their agencies have spent decades developing tip-sharing systems to handle international terrorism cases, but that “muscle memory” is now being applied to domestic terrorism investigations. “Travel and technology,” Wray said, “have really blurred the lines between foreign and domestic threats.” The FBI director said the...

Japan’s Shinzo Abe, Former Prime Minister, Is Assassinated Police arrest 41-year-old man suspected of firing two shots at former leader with crudely made gun By Alastair Gale and Miho Inada TOKYO—Shinzo Abe, a former Japanese prime minister, died after being shot Friday during an election campaign rally, sending shock waves through a country unaccustomed to gun violence. Police arrested a 41-year-old man who they said approached Mr. Abe from behind as he gave a speech in the city of Nara and fired twice with what appeared to be an improvised firearm. A doctor who treated Mr. Abe said he had gunshot wounds near the base of his neck and one bullet pierced his heart. Mr. Abe, 67, was the longest-serving prime minister in Japanese history and remained powerful even after stepping down in 2020. During his term in office, he pushed to strengthen the nation’s military, beefed up cooperation with U.S....

New York Times Parade Shooting Live Updates: 22-Year-Old Is in Custody After Manhunt The police said they had detained a man they described as a person of interest in the shooting at the Highland Park, Ill., Fourth of July celebration. Six people were killed, including a 76-year-old grandfather. Many details about the attack remained unclear a day after the shooting. HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. — The attack on a Fourth of July parade in a lakefront suburb north of Chicago that killed six people on Monday left the community and country reeling with questions, as a 22-year-old suspect remained in custody, his motive unclear and charges expected. Numerous people were still being treated in hospitals for gunshot wounds and other injuries. The shooting came a week and a half after President Biden signed the most significant gun measure to clear Congress in nearly three decades, but it was unclear whether any of...

New York Post Protests erupt in Ohio after graphic video released of Jayland Walker’s police shooting By Snejana Farberov Heated protests broke out in downtown Akron, Ohio, Sunday, raging late into the night, after police released graphic body camera video showing black DoorDash deliveryman Jayland Walker being shot dozens of times as he tried to flee a traffic stop. Demonstrations have been held around Akron since the June 27 police shooting of Walker, but they intensified Sunday after police made the video public, with Akron Mayor Daniel Horrigan calling it “heartbreaking.” Video captured cops dressed in riot gear and carrying shields confronting demonstrators, who could be heard chanting, “F–k the police,” “Justice for Jayland” and “We are done dying,” reported News 5 Cleveland. Other videos depicted police officers deploying what appeared to be a dozen cannisters of tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowd after someone had knocked over...

WESH 2 ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando police released body camera video on Monday showing a shooting involving officers that happened near Mall at Millenia on May 28. An off-duty police officer was working extra duty at Mall at Millenia, near Millenia Boulevard and Conroy Road, when a man was asked to leave through a Neiman Marcus store around 7:12 p.m. Nineteen-year-old Sebastian Roman allegedly pulled out a gun and fired once outside of the mall, OPD said. In the video, Roman was asked to leave the mall by an officer. Then an officer asked if he could search Roman's bag, and that's when shots were fired. The off-duty officer initiated a foot pursuit and called for backup. According to the police department, the officer did not discharge his weapon when initially shot at outside of the mall. An on-duty officer in a patrol car caught up to the suspect outside an...

  US forces kill senior terrorist leader in Syria Abu Hamzah al Yemeni was a senior leader of al-Qaida-affiliated terrorist group. By Matt Seyler U.S. forces killed a senior terrorist leader in an airstrike in Syria on Monday, according to military officials. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the target of the strike, Abu Hamzah al Yemeni, was a senior leader of an al-Qaida-affiliated terrorist group known as Hurras al-Din. The leader was riding alone on a motorcycle in Idlib province at the time of the attack, CENTCOM said. Violent groups like Hurras al-Din pose an ongoing threat to the U.S. and its allies, according to the statement. "The removal of this senior leader will disrupt Al Qaeda's ability to carry out attacks against U.S. citizens our partners, and innocent civilians around the world," the statement said. An early review showed no sign of civilian casualties, according to the U.S. military. The...

  BBC Oslo Shooting: Norway Attack Being Treated As Islamist Terrorism, Police Say A 42-year-old man has been arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder and terrorist acts after a shooting in the centre of Norway's capital, Oslo. Two people died and 21 were wounded early on Saturday in what police called an "act of Islamist terrorism". The shootings were in and near the London Pub, a popular LGBTQ+ venue, the Herr Nilsen jazz club and another pub. Norway's prime minister told the BBC the suspect was questioned in May, but was not deemed a threat at the time. "We now need to see the result of an investigation," PM Jonas Gahr Stoere told the BBC's Newshour programme late on Saturday. The shooting started at about 01:15 local time on Saturday (23:15 GMT Friday), officials said. Full story https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61933817

    Head of State Police Calls Response to Uvalde Shooting an ‘Abject Failure’ The director of the Department of Public Safety said that police officers wasted time looking for a classroom door key that was “never needed.” New York Times By J. David Goodman AUSTIN, Texas — The head of the Texas State Police on Tuesday offered a pointed and emphatic rebuke of the police response to a shooting last month at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, calling it “an abject failure” that ran counter to decades of training. In his comments before a special State Senate committee in Austin, Steven McCraw, the director of the Department of Public Safety, provided the most complete public account yet of his agency’s month-old investigation and a forceful argument that officers at the scene could have — and should have — confronted the gunman without delay after arriving. Just minutes after a...

France 24 Suspected Jihadists Kill More Than 130 Civilians In Central Mali, Officials Say Suspected jihadists massacred more than 130 civilians over the weekend in neighbouring central Mali towns, the latest mass killings in the troubled Sahel region. Local officials reported scenes of systematic killings by armed men in Diallassagou and two surrounding towns in the Bankass circle, a longtime hotbed of Sahelian violence. "They have also been burning huts, houses, and stealing cattle -- it's really a free-for-all," said a local official who for security reasons spoke on the condition of anonymity. He and another official, who like him had fled his village, said the death toll was still being counted on Monday. Nouhoum Togo, a local official from Bankass, the main town in the area, said it was even higher than the 132 announced by the government, who have blamed al-Qaeda affiliated jihadists for the killings. The national authorities...