The Jerusalem Post IDF destroying Hezbollah's last, largest cross-border attack tunnel The tunnel, which began in the southern Lebanese village of Ramiya and stretched one kilometer infiltrated several dozen meters into northern Israel, close to the communities of Zarit and Shetula. By Anna Ahronheim Six months after the Israeli military declared an end to Operation Northern Shield, the IDF has begun destroying the final and largest cross-border tunnel dug by Hezbollah into Israeli territory.The tunnel began in the Lebanese village of Ramiyeh and stretched one kilometer before infiltrating several meters into northern Israel, close to the communities of Zarit and Shtula.It was the last one discovered by the IDF in early January, the largest and most strategic of the six cross-border tunnels dug by the Lebanese Shi’ite group. Hezbollah had planned to have dozens of armed terrorists attack the nearby communities in the next war with Israel. Read more: https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/IDF-destroys-Hezbollahs-last-largest-cross-border-attack-tunnel-591019...

The Wall Street Journal As Diplomacy Shifts, U.S. Expands Military-Style Counterterrorism Training Sites are added to aid governments in Africa, Southeast Asia as diplomacy faces potential cuts By Jessica DonatiDAKAR, Senegal—The U.S. State Department is opening new, military-style training facilities around the world, expanding plans to prop up local forces battling terrorism as the Trump administration seeks cutbacks in conventional diplomacy and development programs.Three new State Department training centers—in Africa and Southeast Asia—are joining two centers in the Middle East that train and equip forces responding to terrorist attacks in their home countries. Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/state-department-expands-military-style-counterterrorism-training-overseas-11557141192...

US Army DOD Centers share best practices on 'Securing Borders against Traveling Terrorists'By Christine June, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany -- The U.S. Department of Defense Regional Centers in the Indo-Pacific and Europe teamed up to host the first collaborative global counterterrorism alumni workshop here from May 13 to 17.Professors of the counterterrorism courses at Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii, and George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies based here, organized this workshop for their alumni to discuss and exchange ideas, best practices and recommendations regarding the issues of how to deal with "Securing Borders against Traveling Terrorists."Attending this week-long workshop were 24 security professionals, 10 alumni from DKI APCSS and 14 from the Marshall Center, representing 19 countries.'PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH'Retired U.S. Marine Corps Col. James Howcroft, Marshall Center's course director of the Program on Terrorism and Security...

Captured ISIS fighter says he helped imprison James Foley and Alan HenningBy Nada Bashir Alexanda Kotey, a former ISIS fighter accused of forming one of the group's most notorious terror cells, admitted he was responsible for overseeing the imprisonment of western hostages James Foley, Alan Henning and John Cantlie. Foley, an American journalist, and Henning, a British aid worker, were beheaded on camera by the terror group in 2014. Cantlie's whereabouts are unknown. He was a British war photographer and correspondent before being captured by the group, and was featured as a presenter in several of ISIS' propaganda videos. Kotey is being held by Syrian Kurdish forces in Syria awaiting potential extradition to the US. The US State Department accuses him of engaging in ISIS executions and the "exceptionally cruel torture" of Western hostages. Speaking to the ITV News, Kotey explained that he joined ISIS as a regular fighter but...

Clarion Project FBI Arrests Former Translator A former FBI translator from Virginia was arrested on charges of obstructing a federal investigation over his connection to a terror suspect.The indictment against Abdirizak Wehelie, 66, was unsealed May 6, 2019. Wehelie worked as a contractor, translating for the FBI from 2012 to 2015. In December 2012, a man targeted by the FBI because of his connections to the Al-Shabab terrorist organization in Somalia called Wehelie and left him a voicemail using Wehelie’s name, according to court documents.The call was monitored as per a court order. The next day, Wehelie was given the job of translating the call. In the translation, instead of identifying himself as did the man on the phone, Wehelie marked himself down as an “unidentified male.”When the FBI questioned Wehelie about the translation in 2016, he admitted that he had failed to identify himself. However, he also told the...

ISIS bombing kills 5, injures 10 who were extinguishing fire in disputed Kirkuk: source Kurdistan 24 ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An alleged Islamic State bomb late Saturday killed five people who were going to their farm fields in the disputed province of Kirkuk to put out fires that had also been started by the terrorist organization, local media reported.“An improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in the evening, in the al-Abbasi sub-district of the al-Hawija district of Kirkuk, killing four civilians and wounding two others,” Alsumaria reported, quoting a security source.One of the injuries seemed to have been fatal as shortly after another source told Kurdistan 24 that five “farmers and firefighters” had died in the incident. It added that 10 others had been injured. All were transported to the nearest hospital in Hawija city.The victims were attempting to put out a major fire at an agricultural farm, which Islamic State...

For The Record - The IPT Blog  U.S. Islamist Leader Calls for Stigmatizing Words He Calls 'Islamophobic'by John Rossomando Anyone who uses terms including "jihadist," "violent jihad," "Islamist terrorism" or "Islamic extremist" is a hater who deserves to be shunned, an influential Muslim political leader argues.Esam Omeish issued this call Friday on Facebook, in the emotional wake of the Christchurch mosque massacre in New Zealand.Omeish is a board member at the Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Va., which has exhibited Muslim Brotherhood sympathies. He previously served as president of the Muslim American Society (MAS), which prosecutors say was established as the "overt arm" of the Muslim Brotherhood in America."Anyone who uses the following terms is Islamophobic and must stop their hate," Omeish said.Memo to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups which have "jihad" in their name: Esam Omeish thinks you hate Muslims. Read more: https://www.investigativeproject.org/7865/us-islamist-leader-calls-for-stigmatizing-words...

The Washington Times: By Cal Thomas - ANALYSIS/OPINIONSecretary of State Mike Pompeo called the release of self-admitted “American Taliban” member John Walker Lindh “unexplainable and unconscionable.”Lindh, who was paroled last Thursday from a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, served 17 years of a 20-year sentence for illegally aiding Taliban forces. Lindh had joined the terrorist organization before Sept. 11, 2001. He was in Afghanistan at the time and was also there when a group of Taliban prisoners murdered CIA officer Johnny Micheal Spann.Spann’s daughter, who was 9 when her father died, called Lindh’s early release “a slap in the face” to everyone who died on 9-11. After his capture and return to the United States, Lindh struck a plea bargain, admitting to illegally providing help to the Taliban, but denying any role in Spann’s death.Lindh is barred from traveling and using a cellphone or the Internet. He could still...

Clarion Project In honor of Memorial Day, Clarion reached out to veterans to talk to them about preventing violent extremism. This following is Part II of our series “Veterans Speak Out.”     Read more: https://clarionproject.org/veterans-speak-out-part-ii-parents-can-prevent-radicalization/...

by Majid Rafizadeh  •  Gatestone Intstitute   A leading Republican lawmaker, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), also the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has pointed out that recent intelligence obtained about Iran's threat was extremely detailed. These are simply preemptive measures that any rational state would take in the face of those clear threats. They were being taken to save the lives of American citizens and prevent the world's official leading state sponsor of terrorism from destabilizing the region. What do critics of the Trump administration expect the American government to do...? Do these critics want the Trump administration to ignore Iran and its terror groups until another terrorist act like 9/11 occurs? Or is it possible that these critics, deep-down, do not care about U.S. national security and the lives of ordinary citizens? While plans were being concocted to harm or murder Americans, it is mind-boggling that...

French Report: US Sanctions Choke Off Iran’s Aid To Hezbollah Asharq Al-Awsat London - A French newspaper has found that crippling US sanctions on Iran have choked off Tehran’s financial support to Hezbollah, one of the country’s most important proxies in the Middle East. Le Figaro’s report entitled, “Hezbollah put on diet due to the fall of Iranian aid”, emphasized that Iran has cut its transfers to the Lebanese group by half, reducing the salaries of party members. The report quoted a Hezbollah media worker as saying that the salaries were cut by two thirds, and that the party had to reduce compensation to the families of “martyrs.” According to the report, wages paid to Hezbollah fighters returning from Syria (formerly ranging between $600 and $1,200) have fallen by 50 percent, while salaries of soldiers fully dedicated to the fighting will be also reduced. A well-informed diplomatic source quoted by Le Figaro said that...

The Daily Signal Please Don’t Forget Memorial Day’s Meaningby Steven Bucci America has undergone a lot of maturing between the Vietnam War and the conflicts of the 21st century. I know, I wore a uniform during both periods.On Memorial Day, let’s not regress in that maturity.When I was still a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, I watched our instructors (all multitour Vietnam veterans) deal with the end of the war. In that cathartic period, these brave warriors related the stories of coming home, not to the cheering parades held for their predecessors, but to horrible vilification. This included name-calling and spitting on service members in airports.All of it was infantile blaming of the young men and women who fought because of the policy decisions of the elected government that sent them. Read more: https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/05/26/please-dont-forget-memorial-days-meaning/...

The Wall Street Journal When Jihadists Come Back Home Returning foreign fighters can make would-be local killers far deadlier, posing a major new challenge for Western counterterrorism efforts By Daniel Byman In 2015, Mohamed Elshinawy, a Maryland resident, considered joining Islamic State’s self-declared caliphate in Syria but decided to attack at home instead. Islamic State provided him with several thousand dollars, as well as instructions on how to build a peroxide bomb. But the FBI had been following the money transfer almost from the start, and the feds arrested Mr. Elshinawy before his plot was close to fruition. This made for a counterterrorism success story. But what if Mr. Elshinawy—or some of the hundreds of other Americans who wanted to join Islamic State—had joined with a foreign fighter who had come back from waging jihad in Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan? Such returning jihadists, who often carry Western passports, could have...

John Hernandez Felix found guilty on all counts in Palm Springs police murder trial by Christopher Damien, Palm Springs Desert Sun John Hernandez Felix has been found guilty on all counts for the 2016 murders of Palm Springs Police officers Jose "Gil" Vega and Lesley Zerebny, the attempted murders of six other police officers dispatched to the scene of the shooting, and firearms charges.In addition to the guilty verdicts, the jury found true special circumstance enhancements that the two were killed while working as police officers, meaning the case will now go to the sentencing phase Tuesday at 10 a.m. to decide on the death penalty.Vega was killed just months before he was set to retire after 35 years of service and Zerebny was killed after recently returning to her patrol from maternity leave.The verdict was read by Judge Anthony Villalobos on Monday just after 1:30 p.m. at the Larson...

Federal Grand Jury Charges San Fernando Valley Man with Planning Long Beach Terror Attack in Plot to Cause Mass CasualtiesDepartment of JusticeOffice of Public AffairsA federal grand jury has indicted a San Fernando Valley man for his role in planning to bomb a rally in Long Beach last month for the purpose of causing mass casualties.  Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers and U.S. Attorney Nicola T. Hanna for the Central District of California made the announcement.Mark Steven Domingo, 26, of Reseda, California, a former U.S. Army infantryman who was deployed to Afghanistan, was previously arrested on a criminal complaint in this case.  The indictment returned today formally charges him with providing material support to terrorists and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.  If convicted, he would face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.Domingo, who has been in federal custody since his...

Xinhua BAGHDAD, (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces killed 11 Islamic State (IS) militants in an operation in Iraq's central province of Salahudin, the Iraqi military said on Tuesday.A joint force from the Iraqi army, provincial police and paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units conducted an operation to clear a desert area in Salahudin province from IS militants, the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said in a statement.During the operation, the troops discovered 13 IS hideouts and two car-bomb-making sites, as well as killing 11 IS militants and destroying two booby-trapped vehicles, the statement said.The troops also found 16 explosive belts and six containers filled with explosives, in addition to other supplies and equipment, the statement added.The security situation in Iraq was dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country in late 2017. Read more: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-05/21/c_138077209.htm...

The Jerusalem Post Israel slams UN for consorting with Hezbollah "We are shocked and disappointed by this meeting with a designated terror organization’s leader." By JERUSALEM POST STAFF  After United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis met with Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem of Hezbollah, Israel officials condemned the meeting. "We are shocked and disappointed by this meeting with a designated terror organization’s leader, threatening Israel, Lebanon and the whole region," Israel’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon tweeted. "One doesn’t need to read the Naim Qassem book, courtesy of #Hezbollah terrorists, in order to understand this !!" Read more: https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Israel-slams-UN-for-consorting-with-Hezbollah-590342...

Iran's Deadly Reach in the Middle East Puts U.S. Forces and Israel in Striking RangeIran backs militias in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, where U.S. troops are also based, and in Lebanon and Yemen, located next to Washington's closest regional allies Israel and Saudi Arabia Haaretz and Reuters Threats of conflict between the United States and Iran have highlighted the places and ways their forces, proxies or allies could clash. Iran and Saudi Arabia have long been locked in a regional Cold War using proxy battles in four different countries to attack the other's interests. From Lebanon to Syria to Iraq to Yemen, each country has paid the price of being a battleground in the Iran-Saudi regional power battle. Iran backs militias in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, where U.S. troops are also based, and in Lebanon and Yemen, located next to Washington's closest regional allies Israel and Saudi Arabia.It is situated...

Voice of America by Jeff Seldin The collapse of the Islamic State's self-declared caliphate in Syria and Iraq is doing little to slow down the terror group's branch in Afghanistan.Newly unclassified intelligence suggests IS-Khorasan, as the group is known, is growing both in numbers and ambition, now boasting as many as 5,000 fighters — nearly five times as many as estimates from last year — while turning its focus to bigger and more spectacular attacks.Military officials say the numbers, shared by U.S. Forces-Afghanistan for the latest quarterly report by the Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom Sentinel, issued Tuesday, are "low confidence" estimates but that IS-Khorasan has fighters in Kabul, as well as in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces and in other parts of northeastern Afghanistan.More worrisome, according to defense intelligence officials, is that the terror group has been gaining ground, both against the Afghan government and the Taliban, expanding the...

Department of Justice   Office of Public Affairs   Federal Grand Jury Charges San Fernando Valley Man with Planning Long Beach Terror Attack in Plot to Cause Mass Casualties A federal grand jury has indicted a San Fernando Valley man for his role in planning to bomb a rally in Long Beach last month for the purpose of causing mass casualties.  Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers and U.S. Attorney Nicola T. Hanna for the Central District of California made the announcement. Mark Steven Domingo, 26, of Reseda, California, a former U.S. Army infantryman who was deployed to Afghanistan, was previously arrested on a criminal complaint in this case.  The indictment returned today formally charges him with providing material support to terrorists and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.  If convicted, he would face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison. Domingo, who...