Homeland Security Network Blog

White House says Russia invasion will be ‘extremely violent’ The Washington Times  By Jeff Mordock White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would be “extremely violent” and “harm” the country’s citizens.“We believe that any military operation the size, scope and magnitude of what we believe the Russians are planning will be extremely violent,” Mr. Sullivan said in an appearance on NBC’s “Today” show.“But we also have intelligence to suggest that there will be an even greater form of brutality because this will not simply be some conventional war between two armies,” he said. “It will be a war waged by Russia on the Ukrainian people to repress them, to crush them, to harm them.” Mr. Sullivan said the U.S. is still pursuing all diplomatic options to end the Ukraine crisis.“We’re prepared to respond decisively if Russia moves on Ukraine and we’re prepared for...

The Jerusalem Post Israel Seized NIS 103 Million Hamas Terror Funds - Counterterror Financial Official Cyberattacks on Israel jumped by seven times annually, National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing of Israel official Sagi Volkovitz said. By YONAH JEREMY BOB A range of moves by the government have led to the seizure of NIS 103 million of Hamas terrorism funds, National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing of Israel official Sagi Volkovitz said at a government conference on Tuesday.His agency is part of the Defense Ministry. Volkovitz gave complex examples of groups that would sell or deliver goods to Hamas in Gaza to get around banking regulations, while a seemingly disconnected Hamas office in a foreign country would pay for something in return that regulators would be hard-pressed to make a connection with.The conference primarily highlighted the 20th anniversary and work of the Israel Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority (IMPA) headed...

The Epoch Times Durham Filing Detailing Spying on Trump White House Raises National Security ImplicationsBy Jeff Carlson and Hans MahnckeA new filing from special counsel John Durham has raised major national security concerns over access to White House internet traffic.The filing, which was submitted late on Feb. 11 in connection with the indictment of Michael Sussmann, a former attorney to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, reveals that Rodney Joffe, a tech executive who was working with Sussmann, had exploited access to domain name system (DNS) internet traffic pertaining to the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP) as well as Trump Tower and Donald Trump’s Central Park West apartment building.The filing also discloses that Joffe, a private individual who has been implicated in mail order scams in the past, had access to the White House’s DNS internet traffic since at least 2014.Joffe gained this access when his firm, Neustar,...

  The Washington Post Missile Attacks Fuel Support For Reversing U.S. Stance And Placing Yemen Rebels Back On Terrorist Blacklist By Missy Ryan and John Hudson Expanded missile attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels have fueled support among some U.S. and Middle Eastern officials for placing them back on a U.S. terrorist blacklist, a year after the Biden administration ended that designation on humanitarian grounds.The possible naming of the Iranian-backed rebels as a proscribed “foreign terrorist” organization, which would criminalize dealings with the group, is being raised following attacks on Yemen’s Gulf neighbors, including on a base housing U.S. troops in the United Arab Emirates.But such a step, if approved, would constitute a highly unusual reversal of an earlier decision to end a Trump-era terrorist designation that Biden administration officials said would worsen already-dire conditions for Yemeni civilians. Humanitarian groups are warning that a renewed designation could have the same punishing effect as...

Associated Press UN Experts: ‘Terrorist Groups’ Enjoy Freedom In Afghanistan By EDITH M. LEDERER UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Al-Qaida’s past ties to the recently empowered Taliban have the potential of making Afghanistan a safe haven for extremists, and “terrorist groups enjoy greater freedom there than at any time in recent history,” U.N. experts said in a report circulated Monday.In the wide-ranging report, the experts also said extremists linked to both al-Qaida and the Islamic State group are successfully advancing in Africa, especially in the turbulent Sahel. And they said the Islamic State continues to operate “as an entrenched rural insurgency” in Iraq and Syria, where its so-called caliphate ruled a significant swathe of the two countries from 2014-2017 when it was defeated by Iraqi forces and a U.S.-led coalition.In what it called “a bright spot” in Southeast Asia, the panel of experts said both Indonesia and the Philippines reported “significant gains”...

The National US Centcom Nominee Urges 'Pragmatic' Co-Operation With Taliban In Anti-ISIS Fight by Bryant Harris President Joe Biden’s nominee to oversee US forces in the Middle East and Central Asia is floating the possibility of co-operating with the Taliban in certain instances to take out ISIS targets in Afghanistan.Lt Gen Erik Kurilla — who is the Biden administration's pick to head US Central Command, or Centcom — raised the idea during his nomination hearing before the Senate on Tuesday.“In my personal opinion, there are pragmatic instances where we could come together going after [ISIS-Khorasan] based on the threat to the homeland,” Lt Gen Kurilla said in response to a question from Angus King, an independent senator who votes with the Democrats. ISIS-K has stepped up attacks against Taliban targets in the months following the US withdrawal.Lt Gen Kurilla assessed that “over-the-horizon” counter-terrorism operations — strikes launched from another country or...

    BREAKING: Several People Injured By Vehicle That Appears To Intentionally Ram Into Truck At Trucker’s “Freedom Convoy” [VIDEO] By Patty McMurray "In the video, a white vehicle can be seen speeding up and then ramming into the back of another vehicle where protesters are casually lining the edge of the street. In the video, it appears as though the driver is intentionally ramming into the vehicle in front of it where the pedestrian is also standing." Read story at https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/02/breaking-several-people-injured-vehicle-appears-intentionally-ram-truck-truckers-freedom-convoy-video/

New York Times Live Updates: Biden Calls Death of ISIS Leader a Warning to Terrorists WorldwidePresident Biden said that the raid targeting Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi in Syria showed that American forces could “take out” terrorist threats anywhere in the world.RIGHT NOWWitnesses tell The Times what happened: ‘Those who remain will die.’ Here’s what you need to know:    Islamic State’s leader blows himself up during raid, U.S. says.    Biden describes a risky Special Forces raid designed to minimize civilian casualties.    U.S. officials say planning for the raid began months ago.    Who was Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi?    The raid targeted a three-story cinder block building surrounded by olive trees. President Biden said on Thursday that the leader of the Islamic State died during a raid by U.S. Special Operations commandos in a risky pre-dawn attack in northwest Syria. Rescue workers said women and children were among at least 13 people killed during...

Voice Of America With US Away, China Gets Friendly With Afghanistan's Taliban South & Central Asia by Asim KashgarianWASHINGTON — It's approaching six months since the Taliban took over the Afghan capital, Kabul, on August 15. And in the months since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, neighboring China has taken a keen interest in the fate of the Central Asian country.The interest, in fact, predated the Taliban takeover. In late July, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and a nine-member Taliban delegation met in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin. The meeting, some analysts said at the time, underscored Beijing's warming ties with the Islamist group and the Taliban's growing clout on the global stage. In addition, last October, Foreign Minister Wang spoke about China's expectations for Afghanistan's future after he had met with the Taliban interim government representatives in Doha, Qatar, where the two parties "decided to establish a working-level mechanism."China's...

The Wall Street Journal Islamic State Plotted Comeback Long Before Syria Prison Attack Jihadist group demonstrates it can adapt after being driven from power By Jared Malsin and Benoit FauconIslamic State has been slowly preparing for a comeback in the Syrian and Iraqi territory that it lost nearly three years ago.Black Islamic State flags have cropped up in northeastern Syria in recent months, witnesses say. Men claiming to represent the jihadists have extorted shopkeepers and truck drivers. Over the past year, the extremists have killed dozens of people in shootings and suicide bombings that attracted little attention outside the region. “The insurgency never went away,” said Gregory Waters, a research analyst who tracks Islamic State attacks with the Counter Extremism Project, a think tank. “They’ve been growing stronger.” There is little chance that the group could regain its former strength, according to local and Western security officials, who argue that regional...

Reuters U.S. Cites Missile, Drone Threat In Latest UAE Travel Warning WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Thursday urged Americans who may be considering travel to the United Arab Emirates to reconsider, citing the threat of missile or drone attacks.The department retained the highest level warning for the UAE in its updated travel advisory. It had already urged Americans against traveling to the country because of COVID-19.Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement launched a missile attack at the UAE on Monday that targeted a base hosting the U.S. military, U.S. and Emirati officials said. It was the second attack in a week.A Houthi military spokesperson said the group had fired Zulfiqar ballistic missiles at al-Dhafra airbase, used by U.S. forces, and other "sensitive targets". Houthis had also launched drones towards Dubai, the spokesperson said. Full story https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-state-department-cites-missile-drone-threats-latest-travel-warning-uae-2022-01-27/   Previous Yemen's Houthis fail in second missile attack on UAEBy Alexander...

Washington Examiner 14 illegal immigrants on terror watchlist stopped at border in 2021, former Border Patrol chief says by Anna Giaritelli, Homeland Security Reporter AUSTIN, Texas — Law enforcement intercepted 14 illegal immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border who were on the terrorist watchlist, a former top official said, more than the four stops that the Department of Homeland Security had disclosed.U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped 14 noncitizens who were named on the terror watchlist and tried to sneak into the United States between October 2020 and August 2021, one month short of the entire fiscal year 2021, according to recently retired Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott, who disclosed the number during a panel discussion at a Texas Public Policy Foundation conference in Austin this month and in a follow-up conversation with the Washington Examiner. The terror watchlist stops in 2021 are significant because they are higher than in previous years. U.S....

The New York Times Biden Weighs Deploying Thousands of Troops to Eastern Europe and Baltics By Helene Cooper and Eric SchmittWASHINGTON — President Biden is considering deploying several thousand U.S. troops, as well as warships and aircraft, to NATO allies in the Baltics and Eastern Europe, an expansion of American military involvement amid mounting fears of a Russian incursion into Ukraine, according to administration officials.The move would signal a major pivot for the Biden administration, which up until recently was taking a restrained stance on Ukraine, out of fear of provoking Russia into invading. But as President Vladimir V. Putin has ramped up his threatening actions toward Ukraine, and talks between American and Russian officials have failed to discourage him, the administration is now moving away from its do-not-provoke strategy.In a meeting on Saturday at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, senior Pentagon officials presented Mr. Biden with several options...

The Jerusalem Post Texas Synagogue Terrorist Said He Was 'Opening Door' For Attacks On US "We're coming to f***ing America...We'll give them f***ing war," Malik Faisal Akram told his brother in a recorded call. By JERUSALEM POST STAFF "I'm opening the doors for every youngster to enter America and f**k with them," said Malik Faisal Akram, the terrorist who held four people hostage in a Colleyville synagogue earlier this week, in a recording of a call with his brother, Gulbar, published by the Jewish Chronicle on Wednesday. Akram can be heard telling his brother he demanded that Pakistani Al-Qaeda-affiliated Aafia Siddiqui, who is serving an 86-year prison sentence for multiple felonies, be released and brought to him. "I've told them I'll release these four guys, I'll come on the yard, I'll have a toe to toe with you. Shoot me dead, shoot her (Siddiqui) dead because I'm dead and she's dead,...

  The Washington Post ‘Some People Just Don’t Like Us:’ In A Texas Synagogue, 11 Hours Of Terror By Marc Fisher, Drew Harwell and Mary Beth GahanRabbi Charlie had spoken just the previous Saturday about how hard it is now. Life seemed overwhelming, he said in his last sermon before the man came into the synagogue and changed everything.“We are living through a challenging time,” Charles Cytron-Walker told members of Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Tex. “We don’t always know how to cope. . . . There’s a lot of fear and there’s a lot of uncertainty.” But the Jewish people had been here before, the rabbi said, and had always endured. “They’ve been enslaved and they are watching plague after plague,” he said. “Imagine . . . watching the world get turned upside down time and time again. It would have been amazing to experience — and terrifying.” On Saturday, the call came into...

FBI investigating Texas synagogue attack as terrorism as U.K. takes two teens into custody Washington Post By Jennifer Hassan and William BoothLONDON — The FBI is investigating the Texas synagogue attack, in which an armed British citizen took four people hostage, as a terrorist incident — while police in northwestern England took two teenagers into custody for questioning as part of the investigation that now spans two countries.Malik Faisal Akram, a resident of the United Kingdom, held a rabbi and three congregants hostage during Saturday services at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, a suburb of Fort Worth and Dallas. The 11-hour standoff ended with the hostages freed and Akram dead, although it remains unclear whether the 44-year-old was killed by police or took his own life.“This is a terrorism-related matter, in which the Jewish community was targeted, and is being investigated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force,” the FBI said in...

Gunman holds hostages at synagogue in Texas, one released An FBI SWAT team was on the scene and law enforcement negotiated with the gunman. By ARIELLA MARSDEN A rabbi and three others were taken hostage during a Shabbat service at the reform Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, on Saturday. One hostage has been released, leaving three remaining hostages, according to police. According to multiple news outlets, the gunman demanded the release of Pakistani Al-Qaeda-affiliated Aafia Siddiqui, who is serving an 86-year prison sentence for multiple felonies including trying to kill US Army officers. The gunman demanded to meet with Aafia in negotiations with the FBI as well as have her released from a federal medical facility where she has been held for the last few days. According to CNN, the gunman spoke to a New York-based rabbi earlier in the day on the phone and told him that he was...

The Washington Times Iran-Backed Forces In Syria Attack U.S. Troops In Anti-ISIS Coalition  By Mike GlennIran is believed to be behind a number of recent attacks targeting U.S. forces operating in parts of Iraq and Syria as part of a continuing mission to defeat the remnants of Islamic State forces, also known as Daesh.American troops have come under fire at least three times since the start of the new year.The U.S.-led coalition on Jan. 6 accused Iran-backed militias of targeting Green Village, a Syrian Democratic Forces base with a small international advisory presence in northeast Syria. The attack didn’t cause any casualties, but several rounds impacted inside the base and caused minor damage, officials said.Coalition and Syrian Democratic Forces fired six artillery rounds toward the attack’s point of origin in response.The attacks’ indiscriminate nature pose a “serious threat” to civilians in the area, said Army Maj. Gen. John W. Brennan Jr.,...

  The New York Times Justice Dept. Forms Domestic Terrorism UnitThe move is in keeping with Attorney General Merrick B. Garland’s vow to make combating domestic terrorism a priority. by Katie Benner Olsen added, but a group of lawyers will now be dedicated to the domestic threat and ensure that cases will be “handled properly and effectively coordinated” across the agency and federal law enforcement.The move is in keeping with Attorney General Merrick B. Garland’s vow to prioritize combating domestic extremism. It comes as the Justice Department investigates the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, an assault that underscores the resurgence of domestic extremism driven in part by the baseless perception that the 2020 election was marred by election fraud.Last year, the Biden administration unveiled a national strategy to tackle domestic extremism, which called for preventing recruitment by extremist groups and bolstering information sharing across law enforcement.In its budget proposal this...

The National Sweden And France Launch Joint Task Force To Prosecute ISIS Fighters Over Yazidi Genocide by Nicky Harley Authorities in Sweden and France have launched a joint team to investigate atrocities committed by ISIS against the Yazidi community.Europe's crime agency, Eurojust, has set up the team to prosecute foreign terrorist fighters for their persecution of the Yazidi population.More than 10,000 Yazidis were killed when ISIS swept through northern Iraq in 2014 and about 7,000 women and girls were enslaved, many of whom are still missing."The main aim of the team will be to identify foreign terrorist fighters who were involved in core international crimes, such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, primarily perpetrated against members of the Yazidi minority during the armed conflict in Syria and Iraq, in view of potential prosecution," Eurojust said."The team will also focus on identifying victims and witnesses of these crimes committed by...