War on terror

U.S. carried out strike on Pensacola shooter's al Qaeda contact in Yemen after the FBI broke through encryption on his iPhones

The US carried out a counter-terrorism operation targeting an al Qaeda operative in Yemen after cellphone evidence linked him the gunman who attacked a Florida naval base.   

Attorney General Bill Barr on Monday announced that the FBI had managed to break through the encryption protecting two iPhones used by Mohammed Alshamrani, the Saudi military trainee who killed three US sailors and injured eight others in the December shooting at the Naval Air Base Station in Pensacola. 

Barr said data stored on the devices led to a strike against one of Alshamrani's contacts with al Qaeda's branch in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). 

'The information from the phones has already proven invaluable in protecting the American people,' he said. 'A counter-terrorism operation targeting AQAP operative Abdullah al-Maliki, one of Alshamrani's overseas associates, was recently conducted in Yemen. We will not hesitate to act against those who harm Americans.' 

He declined to say whether al-Maliki was killed in that operation, but said he was 'very pleased' with the outcome.  

War on terror

In an exclusive clip from the Showtime documentary “The Longest War,” premiering April 19, CIA agents explain how Bill Clinton blocked the U.S. from killing Osama bin Laden.


When the Afghan tribal networks uncovered that a caravan carrying bin Laden would be traveling along a certain route, they suggested U.S. forces bury a cache of explosives along it to eliminate the infamous terrorist. But Grenier told them they’d be “risking jail” if they did, and that was all thanks to President Clinton.

“The CIA had a so-called ‘lethal finding’ [bill] that had been signed by President Clinton that said that we could engage in ‘lethal activity’ against bin Laden, but the purpose of our attack against bin Laden couldn’t be to kill him,” Grenier explains in the film. “We were being asked to remove this threat to the United States essentially with one hand tied behind our backs.”

According to director Greg Barker, “It’s hard to believe now, but back in the late ‘90s, most of the Washington national security establishment—including President Clinton, the State Department, the Department of Defense—simply did not view Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda as a serious threat.

War on terror

Trump pushed CIA to find, kill Osama bin Laden's son over higher priority targets

When intelligence officials briefed President Donald Trump on the most worrisome terrorist threats during the first two years of his tenure, they regularly mentioned the names of the senior terrorist figures the CIA was working hardest to find and kill, including the leader of al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahri.

Trump would ultimately greenlight successful strikes on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Yemeni al Qaeda chief Qasim al-Rimi — perhaps the most significant names on the CIA list of potential U.S. targets.

But he was more interested in a young and less influential figure much farther down the list, according to two people familiar with the briefings, because he recognized the name.

"He would say, 'I've never heard of any of these people. What about Hamza bin Laden?'" one former official said.

War on terror

Trump appears to confirm killing of al-Qaida leader in Yemen

Donald Trump appeared on Saturday to confirm the death of Qassim al-Rimi, the leader of an al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen, through a series of tweets.

Yemeni terror chief warns US: 'Your security has broken away'

 

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According to a New York Times report on Friday, Rimi, 41 and the leader of the splinter-group al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, is believed to have been killed in a drone strike in Wadi Abedah in the centre of the war-torn country last month.

On Saturday, Trump was at his Florida resort. Before the strike had been publicly confirmed by either US authorities or AQAP, he retweeted posts from an intelligence analyst and a reporter that discussed reports of Rimi’s death. He then tweeted a picture of his golf swing.

Contacted by the Guardian, a Department of Defense spokesman offered no information.

War on terror

Putin thanks Trump for foiling new year attacks

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has thanked US counterpart Donald Trump for intelligence that helped foil "acts of terrorism" on Russian soil, according to a Kremlin statement.

Mr Putin and Mr Trump spoke on the phone on Sunday, it said.

The Kremlin said the information came via intelligence services, but it provided no further details.

Russian media is reporting the discovery of a plot to attack St Petersburg over the new year period.

Tass news agency says two Russian nationals have been arrested and plans to attack a mass gathering were seized, according to a spokesperson from the FSB, the Russian intelligence agency.

Mr Putin and Mr Trump have spoken on the phone and in person various times since the latter took office.

War on terror

US Conducted at Least Three Strikes With Secret Sword Blade Hellfire Missile This Year – Report

Various media outlets have fuelled speculation that the US possesses a shadowy version of its Hellfire missile known as AIM-114R9X with the reports suggesting the projectile was allegedly used in an attack on a member of an al-Qaeda* outfit in Yemen this January. According to reports, it has also been repeatedly used in Syria over the last week.

The secret US Hellfire missile AGM-114R9X, which reportedly has six swing-out sword-like blades instead of an explosive warhead in the centre, has been used at least three times this year. Two of the icidents were carried in Syria on 3 and 7 December, according to a report by the Drive.

While the extent of the AGM-114R9X’s use still remains rather secretive, according to several outlets, it was reportedly used back in February 2017 to target al-Qaeda's* deputy chief, Ahmed Hasan Abu Khayr al-Masri, in northwestern Syria. The pictures of his seriously damaged vehicle towards the front passenger side severely puzzled experts and the general public at the time, but now many believe that it was a ninja-like projectile that killed al-Masri.

War on terror

Mexico: We Will Not Allow US Military Operations Against Cartels

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador warned Friday he would not allow the United States to conduct cross-border armed operations, after Donald Trump vowed to designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorist groups.

The U.S. president has been talking tough on the powerful drug cartels since one was allegedly responsible for the massacre of nine women and children from a U.S.-Mexican Mormon community in northern Mexico on November 4.

Trump tweeted after the killings that the U.S. was ready to help Mexico "wage war on the drug cartels," and he followed up this week by vowing to add Mexican cartels to the U.S. blacklist of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

That insulted national pride in Mexico, which resents a long history of armed interventions by its giant northern neighbor, and where Trump's comments have been taken as a threat of armed cross-border operations.

"Armed foreigners cannot intervene in our territory. We will not allow that," Lopez Obrador said.

War on terror

The impact of designating Mexican cartels a 'foreign terrorist organization'

President Trump has said efforts to designate Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) are moving ahead – prompting both praise and criticism. But what impact would such a title have, and would it work in dismantling such networks who burn, behead, smuggle and instill fear?

“The Mexican Cartels certainly earned a designation of a Foreign Terrorist Organization which is authorized in the Immigration and Naturalization act. Under the ‘terrorist activity defined, they meet the criteria for being engaged in hijacking and sabotage conveyances, detaining/murder/ injuring an individual or a government organization to keep them from doing any act as a condition for the release of an individual,” Lenny DePaul, Chief Inspector/Commander of the U. S. Marshal Service, told Fox News. “As well as assassinations and use of explosives, firearms, or other weapons with the intent to endanger individuals, government agencies or damage to property, etc.”

In his view, “the impact that a designation would have is significant in a variety of ways. It heightens public awareness and knowledge of individuals or entities linked to terrorism.”

“It also sends a message to other Governments about the concerns the U. S. has about individuals or entities aiding terrorism, and promotes due diligence by such governments and private sector entities operating within their territories to avoid potential contact with terrorist,” DePaul continued.

War on terror

‘Shock & awe’ for Sinaloa? Trump to declare Mexican cartels ‘terrorists’, won't rule out DRONE STRIKES

US President Donald Trump said that his administration will begin designating Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations, citing their role in narco- and human trafficking, and refused to rule out military action.

Asked whether that designation means he would “start hitting them with drones and things like that,” the US president refused to elaborate:“Look, we’re losing 100,000 people a year to what’s happening and what’s coming through Mexico,” he said, referring to deaths linked to the drug trade. “[The cartels] have unlimited money, because it’s drug money, and human trafficking money.”

Outraged by the prospects of a US military intervention, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, told reporters on Monday: “We will never accept that, we are not ‘vendepatrias’ [nation sellers],” while the country’s foreign relations minister said it would be “unnecessary and inconvenient.”

War on terror

Al-Baghdadi’s ‘number one replacement’ is dead, Trump says

U.S. troops have successfully taken down the top replacement for Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, according to President Donald Trump.

“Just confirmed that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s number one replacement has been terminated by American troops,” Trump tweeted Tuesday. “Most likely would have taken the top spot - Now he is also Dead!”

The Pentagon referred questions about the tweet to the White House, which did not immediately provide additional information when contacted by Military Times. The State Department also did not provide comment on the record to Military Times.

It’s unclear who Trump was specifically referring to, however, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that ISIS’s spokesman Abu Hassan al-Muhajir was killed in a strike in northeast Syria. An anonymous U.S. official told the Journal that al Muhajir “would have been one of the potential successors” to al-Baghdadi.

Syrian Democratic Forces, the anti-ISIS coalition the U.S. has backed, also announced Sunday that al-Muhajir was dead. Mazloum Abdî, the commander of the SDF, said Sunday he “was targeted in a village named Ein al Baat near Jaraboul city, the mission was conducted via direct coordination of SDF Intel & US military.”

War on terror

Syrian Kurds say spy stole Baghdadi’s underpants for DNA test

Syrian Kurds say they managed to place a spy in Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s inner circle who stole a pair of the Islamic State leader’s underpants to prove his identity and then helped guide US soldiers to his Syrian hideout.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) claim they played a key role in tracking down Baghdadi to a compound in northern Syria where he was reportedly planning his escape over the nearby border into Turkey.

Donald Trump has thus played down the role of the SDF, who fought the military campaign against Isis with US troops, but whom Trump abandoned earlier this month by ordering US troops to stand aside before a Turkish offensive against the Syrian Kurds.

“Since 15 May, we have been working together with the CIA to track Al Baghdadi and monitor him closely,” Polat Can, a senior SDF official said on Twitter. “One of our sources was able to reach the house where Al Baghdadi was hiding. Al Baghdadi changed his places of residence very often. He was about to move to a new place in Jerablus [on the border with Turkey].”

He continued: “Our own source, who had been able to reach Al Baghdadi, brought Al Baghdadi’s underwear to conduct a DNA test and make sure (100%) that the person in question was Al Baghdadi himself.”

War on terror

Here’s the US military dog that helped take down ISIS leader Baghdadi

One of the most discussed details of the US military raid to kill ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is that a dog — yes, a dog — played a vital part in the whole operation.

As the notorious terrorist tried to escape capture by fleeing into underground tunnels, a trained military canine followed to keep tabs on him. It allowed US forces to close in on Baghdadi, leading him to explode the vest he was wearing, killing himself and three children he had with him.

President Donald Trump praised the animal in his remarks announcing the operation’s success on Sunday, saying “the dog was so great.” The president did note that the dog sustained injuries during the mission, but Army Gen. Mark Miller, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the canine is recovering and is already back to work.

War on terror

Exclusive: Baghdadi's aide was key to his capture - Iraqi intelligence sources

In their long hunt for Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Iraqi intelligence teams secured a break in February 2018 after one of the Islamic State leader’s top aides gave them information on how he escaped capture for so many years, said two Iraqi security officials.

Baghdadi would sometimes hold strategy talks with his commanders in moving minibuses packed with vegetables in order to avoid detection, Ismael al-Ethawi told officials after he was arrested by Turkish authorities and handed to the Iraqis.

“Ethawi gave valuable information which helped the Iraqi multi-security agencies team complete the missing pieces of the puzzle of Baghdadi’s movements and places he used to hide,” one of the Iraqi security officials said.

“Ethawi gave us details on five men, including him, whom were meeting Baghdadi inside Syria and the different locations they used,” he told Reuters.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Baghdadi died “whimpering and crying” in a raid by U.S. special forces in the Idlib region of northwest Syria.

War on terror

ISIS target believed to be Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is killed in Syria: sources

The Islamic State group leader who reportedly had a $25 million bounty on his head is believed to have been killed in Syria.

A "high value ISIS target" -- believed to be Islamic State mastermind Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi -- was killed by U.S.-led forces in Idlib, a well-placed military source told Fox News on Saturday night.

A senior Trump administration official later confirmed the source's account.

But at 9:23 p.m. Saturday, President Trump posted a Twitter message hinting at "very big" news.

Soon after, the White House issued a statement that major news would be announced there at 9 a.m. Sunday.

Newsweek reported late Saturday that Baghdadi was killed during a special operations mission that President Trump approved about a week ago.

In September, an audio recording purportedly by Baghdadi included a call for members of the extremist group to use any means necessary to free Muslims who were being detained "by Crusaders and their Shiite followers."

The U.S. had reportedly posted a bounty of $25 million for information leading to the capture of Baghdadi.

Earlier this year, Iraqi intelligence officials speaking to Fox News maintained he was lurking in Syrian border towns, often donning non-traditional or “regular” clothes, using a civilian car and making sure all those around him had no mobile phones or electronic devices in order to bypass detection.

Some experts had predicted that as time passed and ISIS losses in the Middle East started to mount, it was inevitable that Baghdadi would either be captured or killed.

War on terror

A US military operation killed Osama bin Laden’s son, Hamza, the White House confirms

A senior member of al-Qaeda and son of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden, Hamza bin Laden, was killed in a US counterterrorism operation, the White House announced on Saturday.

Bin Laden’s death was first reported on July 31. The news was met with skepticism from some corners, given terrorist leaders have been reported dead before only to resurface months later. Anonymous intelligence officials cited in the reports also would not, or could not, indicate whether the US had been involved in his death, which they said had occurred within in the last two years.

Saturday’s announcement also did not say when or how bin Laden had been killed. In a statement from President Donald Trump, the White House confirmed his death and claimed responsibility for the attack that killed him:

“Hamza bin Ladin, the high-ranking al-Qa’ida member and son of Usama bin Ladin, was killed in a United States counterterrorism operation in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region,” the statement read, using alternate spellings for the terrorist organization and bin Laden family name.

Hamza bin Laden was believed to be in his early 30s at the time of his death, and was married to the daughter of Mohammed Atta, the lead hijacker in the September 11 attacks.

War on terror

EXCLUSIVE: America's top ally in Syria warns ISIS is resurging and asks for more US support

America's top ally in the fight against ISIS, the commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, warned Friday that the terrorist group was resurging in Syria and asked for increased US support for his troops as they seek to keep ISIS from reestablishing itself.
Asked if he agreed with a recent Pentagon inspector general report that said ISIS was resurging in Syria after President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw about half the US troops from the country, Gen. Mazloum Kobani Abdi, the Syrian Democratic Forces commander, told CNN that "this is our opinion as well."
While US Defense Secretary Mark Esper recently said the terror group was not resurging in Syria, Mazloum told CNN in an exclusive interview that ISIS had prepared for its transformation into an insurgency even before it lost its last territorial holdings in the country.
Speaking through an interpreter, Mazloum said ISIS' new insurgency was enabled because the group had some freedom of movement in areas bordering the region of Syria that the Syrian Democratic Forces control, including across the border in Iraq and places west of the Euphrates River that are ostensibly controlled by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which the SDF has stayed.

War on terror

A strategic US approach is required to counter the Muslim Brotherhood

After meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi last month, US President Donald Trump has been contemplating designating the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO). However, many experts have been pointing out the pitfalls of such a broad categorisation, so the issue remains unresolved.

The State Department maintains a list of formally designated FTOs, the main purpose of which is to criminalise dealings with those groups by Americans. The operative law from 1996 was intended to make otherwise lawful activity criminal, if it in any way benefited designated organisations, including charitable and educational efforts, and any kind of advice, even about how to stop being a terrorist group.

When the US wants to directly punish a foreign individual or group with sanctions, that is mainly done by the Treasury Department. This State Department FTO list is political and often symbolic. It brands contact with entities such as Hamas and Hezbollah as unacceptable, under penalty of law.

It is easy to see the appeal of designating the Muslim Brotherhood, since it is indeed the main source of ideology behind almost all Sunni Islamist terrorism. There would be no Al Qaeda or ISIS, if not for the Brotherhood.

It is also accurate to compare the Brotherhood to a gateway drug for terrorism. If only one in 10 Brotherhood members graduates to Al Qaeda, that is one too many.

War on terror

Joint Chiefs chair floats longer military presence in Afghanistan

The United States will need U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan for the foreseeable future to act as a counterterrorism force until all insurgency is removed, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday.

Gen. Joseph Dunford told lawmakers at the Capitol that the United States will “need to maintain a counterterrorism presence as long as an insurgency continues in Afghanistan.”

The United States is in the midst of peace talks with the Taliban to negotiate an end to the nearly 18-year war.

The Trump administration hopes negotiations will lead to a withdrawal of U.S. troops in exchange for the Taliban agreeing to not harbor terrorist organizations that could threaten U.S. security, though the talks appeared to stall in recent weeks and have been met with bipartisan skepticism on Capitol Hill.

Dunford said there are still 20 extremist groups in the Afghanistan region, and “a handful” have said they want to attack the United States.

War on terror

WATCH Russian special forces clash with ISIS terrorists in Siberian city

Eyewitness footage of the Russian special forces' raid on Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants in the Siberian city of Tyumen shows a house turn into a raging fireball as bursts of automatic gunfire rock the area.

In the video filmed by onlookers, apparently from a window in a building near where the anti-terrorist operation took place, long bursts of gunfire can be heard in the dark. Shortly after, the house with suspected terrorists inside is engulfed in flames. A dog can be heard whimpering in the background, scared by the shots.

The locals who the filmed apparent climax of the anti-terrorist raid say the building is believed to be a large, privately-owned cottage.

In the wake of the raid, the Russian anti-terrorism squad reported that they averted an imminent ISIS attack on a public place in the city, eliminating two militants who refused to lay down their weapons. The terrorists were killed in the shootout.

War on terror

The war against ISIS is over in Iraq and Syria — except for all the fighting and bombing

OPERATIONS CONTINUE TO ELIMINATE ISIS: The ISIS caliphate is history, but the battle to eliminate the terrorist group continues in Iraq and Syria. The U.S.-led coalition, officially named Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, no longer conducts regular briefings, but it does issue a bi-weekly “strike summary,” which shows plenty of bombing is going on along with ground operations as ISIS continues to pose a threat in both countries.

“Between March 24 - April 6, the U.S. and its coalition partners conducted 52 strikes against nearly 100 targets in Syria and Iraq,” according to the latest CJTF-OIR release.

“In Syria, CJTF-OIR conducted 29 strikes consisting of 53 engagements, engaged 28 [ISIS] tactical units, and destroyed 72 vehicles, 17 fighting positions, 15 supply routes, and three vehicle borne improvised explosive devices,” said the summary. “In Iraq, CJTF-OIR conducted 23 strikes consisting of 45 engagements, engaged three [ISIS] tactical units, and destroyed seven tunnels, four supply routes, two buildings, two caves, one command and control center, and one compound.”