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Vice President Mike Pence met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in New York on Tuesday and discussed the US strategy in South Asia, according to the White House.
During their conversation, Pence highlighted ways Pakistan could work with the US to “bolster stability and prosperity for all in South Asia,” said the statement. Read the rest of this entry »
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with The Associated Press (AP) that he welcomed the announcement by US President Donald Trump that the US is now going to be in Afghanistan on a condition-based mission and said NATO will also increase troop numbers to train Afghan forces.
He did not however reveal details as to the number of troops to be deployed. Read the rest of this entry »
The U.S. forces with coordination of Afghan military have doubled its airstrikes in Afghanistan, following Washington’s new strategy for the war-torn country, Presidential Palace (ARG) said Wednesday.
According to ARG, drone and warplane raids were being “effective” in suppressing the insurgents across the country. Read the rest of this entry »
Iraqi security forces and paramilitary units launched a dawn assault Tuesday against one of the Daesh group’s last bastions in the vast western province of Anbar bordering Syria.
The Joint Operations Command, which is co-ordinating Iraqi security forces battling Daesh, said an offensive had begun to retake the town of Anna and the nearby village of Al Rayhanna. Read the rest of this entry »
The European Union reiterated Wednesday its steadfast support for Iraq’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity and called for dialogue between Irbil and Baghdad to resolve outstanding issues.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini described the Kurdistan region’s planned September 25 independence referendum as “counterproductive,” saying that it “must be avoided.” Read the rest of this entry »
Egypt says that it will host the reorganisation of Libya’s army, currently an eastern-based force led by General Khalifa Hifter.
A statement signed by the Egyptian Committee on Libya on Tuesday says Libyan military officers who met in Cairo recently chose Egypt as a starting point for plans to unify the army. Read the rest of this entry »
EXCLUSIVE: ISIS-Sinai Claims September 11, 2017 Attacks On Gaza Border, Releases Photos Of One Of The Attacks
On September 13, 2017, ISIS Sinai claimed responsibility for two deadly attacks on Egyptian police and military forces near Rafah on September 11, 2017.
AQAP Senior Commander Ibrahim Asiri Vows To Continue Targeting U.S. Until It Stops Supporting Israel, Killing Muslims
On September 12, 2017, the 16th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Al-Malahem, the media arm of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a statement written by its senior commander, Saudi national Ibrahim Asiri, who vowed to continue targeting the U.S. until it stops supporting Israel and killing Muslims around the world.
ISIS Supporters On Telegram Commemorate September 11 Attacks With Threatening Graphics, Including Arc de Triomphe In Paris
Numerous pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channels are commemorating the 16th anniversary of the September 11 attacks by publishing and circulating graphics promising future attacks. The Telegram channel ISIS Watch posted an image of the twin towers of the World Trade Center burning with the caption: “Their Liberty will go down as quick as their twin towers & we’ll drag them by their necks to pay jizya [poll-tax on non-Muslims].” (by memri.org)
ISIS Releases Issue 13 Of ‘Rumiyah,’ Threatens To Escalate Attacks Against ‘Infidel’ Countries
On September 9, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS) released Issue 13 of its monthly online magazine Rumiyah, in which it condemned European countries for taking part in the war against it under the leadership of the U.S. and threatened to “escalate” its attacks “to a greater level in the coming period.” Links to this issue of Rumiyah have been posted on multiple pro-ISIS Twitter accounts and Telegram channels.
Pakistan’s Arrest Of Terror Suspects Turns Focus To University Of Karachi As Terror Hub
According to a report in an Urdu-language Pakistani daily, the little-known terror group Ansarul Sharia planned the failed September 2, 2017 assassination attempt against Khwaja Izharul Hassan, a politician of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party in Karachi.
Pro-ISIS Telegram Channels Warn Of Suspicious Channel Posting ‘Modified Apps With Added GPS Permissions’
On September 6, 2017, the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) English-language Telegram channel Terror Agency posted a warning about suspicious Telegram channels posting “modified apps” with GPS enabled in them to reveal the user’s location.
ISIS-Affiliated Nasher News Agency Provides Instructions On Pinning Its Telegram Channels And Groups
On September 13, 2017, the Islamic State (ISIS)-affiliated Nasher News Agency, which posts ISIS’s official content on Telegram, posted instructions on pinning its Telegram channels and groups. (by memri.org)
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono convened the second US-India-Japan ministerial-level trilateral dialogue Monday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York during which they discussed topics of mutual concern.
State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement that the ministers “affirmed and applauded the international community’s firm resolve to oppose the DPRK’s (North Korea) unlawful Read the rest of this entry »
NATO will take another month to respond to Washington’s demands for alliance allies to send more troops to Afghanistan.
During a meeting of the NATO Military Committee in Tirana in Albania on Saturday, defense chiefs from 29 member nations recognized the need to send in more troops, said the committee’s chairman General Petr Pavel. Read the rest of this entry »
Iraqi armed forces on Saturday dislodged the Daesh terror group from a natural gas-rich border area with Syria, according to the military.
Iranian-backed forces fighting with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s army simultaneously announced the start of an offensive to reach the same border area from the opposite side.
An Iraqi military statement said Akashat, a desert region located south of the Euphrates River, was captured in an offensive which had been announced earlier in the day. Read the rest of this entry »
Turkey launched a military drill featuring tanks close to the Iraqi border on Monday, the army said, a week before Iraq’s Kurdish region will hold an independence referendum.
Despite opposition from Turkey, Iran and the United States, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s leaders have said they will hold the non-binding independence vote on Sept. 25.
Ankara has previously warned against the poll, saying it could risk “civil war” and will “have a cost” if it goes ahead. Read the rest of this entry »
U.K. Defense Minister Michael Fallon arrived in Baghdad on Monday morning to discuss the ongoing fight against Daesh and Iraq’s precarious political situation with Iraqi officials.
Iraqi Interior Minister Qassem al-Araji received the British defense minister at Baghdad’s international airport this morning. Read the rest of this entry »
A top Egyptian court upheld on Saturday a life sentence for ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in a case revolving around state documents leaked to Qatar, a judicial official said.
The Court of Cassation ruling, which is final, overthrew a 15-year sentence for Morsi on charges of stealing the documents, handed during the initial sentencing. Read the rest of this entry »
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Central African Republic is requesting about 750 more troops to help fill a “security vacuum” worsened by the withdrawal of US special forces as violence surges again, according to a confidential cable obtained by The Associated Press. Read the rest of this entry »
Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar visited neighbouring Tunisia on Monday for talks with President Beji Caid Essebsi, who offered to act as a mediator between rival Libyan factions.
Libya, which plunged into chaos after the ouster and killing of dictator Moammar Gaddafi in 2011, has two rival governments and parliaments, as well as several militia groups battling to control its oil wealth. Read the rest of this entry »
Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States expressed their commitment to eliminate Daesh from the region, which could best be achieved through information sharing, complementary efforts and enhanced cooperation. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the tripartite (Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States) counter Daesh and Pak-Afghan bilateral military cooperation Read the rest of this entry »
US-backed Syrian opposition factions will not let forces backing the regime of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad cross the Euphrates River in their bid to recover eastern Syria, their commander said.
Syrian opposition commander Abu Khawla said a civilian administration would be set up to run areas of Deir al-Zor province being captured from ISIS by his fighters, including its oil fields. The Syrian government was “not fit to lead and rule the people”, he said. Read the rest of this entry »
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) planned referendum on independence was “unconstitutional” on Tuesday, hours after parliament voted against the regional plebiscite.
“I call upon the Kurdish leadership to come to Baghdad and conclude the dialogue,” Abadi said in a press conference.
Abadi’s remarks came after the Iraqi Parliament vote to reject the independence referendum planned for Sept. 25, authorizing the prime minister to take all measures to preserve Iraq’s unity. Read the rest of this entry »
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the terrorist attacks in southern Iraq and called for the perpetrators to be quickly brought to justice.
In a statement from his spokesperson, the Secretary-General expressed “his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government and people of Iraq.” Read the rest of this entry »
The US and UAE’s ground forces will begin a joint military exercise in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, as part of efforts to consolidate their bilateral relations and exchange training and military expertise.
Code-named Iron Union 5, the drill is an extension of a series of Iron Claw exercises, which the UAE organises with friendly countries to exchange and develop their skills according to the latest advanced military systems.
The exercise aims to upgrade and boost the readiness of the UAE’s armed forces and to allow both armies to promote their international co-operation in joint military operations, reported state news agency Wam.
The United States on Friday strongly urged northern Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) to call off a controversial referendum on independence from Baghdad.
The announcement comes hours after the KRG parliament voted to hold the poll next week despite opposition from the central government and Iraq’s neighbours. Read the rest of this entry »
The UN Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution welcoming recent efforts to bring opposing sides together in Libya – a conflict that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says is ripe for mediation to end years of chaos and restore peace. Read the rest of this entry »
Warplanes from allies Egypt and Saudi Arabia have begun joint war games that are coinciding with separate drills between Egypt and both the United States and Russia.
Thursday’s announcement by Egypt’s official MENA news agency says the Saudi-Egyptian games are being held in Egypt and will last several days. It gave no further details. Read the rest of this entry »
The second Indo-Afghan Strategic Partnership Council meeting was held in New Delhi on Monday. At the meeting, both countries held extensive talks and discussed political relations, security issues, development and cultural cooperation, investments and reviewing challenges in mutual relations. Afghanistan minister of foreign affairs also met with Indian national security advisor and discussed counter terrorist efforts and other related issues. Read the rest of this entry »
Afghan security forces have repulsed a major coordinated assault by hundreds of Taliban militants in eastern Nuristan province, killing over 70 militants, officials said Wednesday.
Hundreds of militants stormed security check posts in this mountainous province bordering Pakistan a day earlier.
The militants were taken on by National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) for hours. Read the rest of this entry »
At least 14 Daesh terrorists were killed Tuesday in airstrikes carried out by a U.S.-led coalition in Iraq’s northern Kirkuk province, according to local security sources.
“An aircraft belonging to the international coalition targeted a Daesh bomb factory in Hawija’s Riyadh district southwest of Kirkuk city,” Khalid al-Numan, a Kirkuk police officer said.
The airstrikes, he said, had left at least 14 Daesh militants dead. Read the rest of this entry »
The Iraqi prime minister says the country is in its final stages of liberation from ISIL militants.
As Iraqi forces battled to push the extemists out of their last remaining pockets of territory, Haider al Abadi attributed the forthcoming victory over ISIL to iraqi unity and solidarity.
“Iraq was at a crossroads when ISIL entered using terror, the international community backed Iraq to prevent ISIL from spreading in the region,” Mr Al Abadi said. Read the rest of this entry »
Egypt’s defense minister, on a visit to Seoul, announced that his country has cut military ties with North Korea, according to a report by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
There was no immediate confirmation from the Egyptian government of the agency’s report, but the move follows last month’s decision by the United States to cut or delay nearly $300m in aid over Egypt’s human rights record and ties with Pyongyang. Read the rest of this entry »
At least 25 people in the Central African Republic have been killed in recent sectarian clashes between armed groups, while a new wave of thousands have been made homeless by the violence, the UN said on Tuesday.
In the central city of Bria, preliminary estimates indicate “at least 10 bodies and about 50 wounded” after fighting between two rival factions of an armed group on September 7 and 8, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its weekly report. Read the rest of this entry »
The US has carried out three drone strikes in southern Somalia that killed six members of the al-Shabaab extremist group, the military said on Wednesday, as efforts increase to combat Africa’s deadliest Islamic extremist organisation.
A US Africa Command statement said on Wednesday morning’s strikes occurred about 260km south of the capital, Mogadishu. The statement, unlike previous ones, did not give more information on the location of the strikes. Read the rest of this entry »
Egypt’s military said two soldiers and six jihadists were killed in a “foiled” suicide bombing in Sinai on Wednesday, days after the Islamic State group staged a large scale attack in the peninsula.
The bomber had taken advantage of a fog to creep up on an army “installation” when troops spotted and killed him, the military said in a statement. Read the rest of this entry »
In recent years, cyber-attacks have become a significant challenge to the security of the modern state and society. With the rising frequency of malicious actions in cyberspace, followed by billion-dollar losses and damages to the credibility of the targeted entities, governments began to establish strategies, policies, agencies and procedures to defend against cyber-threats. Nevertheless, the perpetrators of cyber-attacks – already considered to be the pirates of the 22nd century – seem to be ahead of both governments and private businesses.
The increasing number of large data thefts, online frauds, or even damage to physical devices caused by malicious software, as well as the disclosures about the role played by cyber-manipulation in influencing political and social processes increase the fears that cyber-attacks may have limitless possibilities to cause harm.
Another worrying trend is the spectacular growth of the ransomware attacks that, according to recent statistics, have been soaring and the number of such incidents increased by 50 percent in 2016.
The growth in the volume of cyber-attacks also indicates that the number of those who engage in damaging actions in cyberspace is increasing. New individuals and groups enter the dark nets of cyberspace, where information about vulnerabilities that provide access to protected systems are traded, the electronic tools to break into safeguarded systems are built and sold (scripts, trojans, worms), and illegal networks are created and leased out to allow large-scale attacks (the so- called botnets). The “Dark Internet” (“darknet”) is now a thriving part of cyberspace, even if it remains largely invisible to the average network user.
Recent cyber-attacks
Threats recorded by NATO
According to official statistics, NATO warded off 500 cyber-attacks each month in 2016 (an increase of roughly 60% over 2015), with the systems registering over 500 million suspicious cyber events each day. The increasing new cyber threat led to a corresponding reaction and, at the beginning of the year, NATO Secretary General announced at the Davos Forum in Switzerland that the alliance would respond to cyber-attacks in the same way that it would to a conventional assault, making cyber eligible for the invocation of NATO’s mutual defense clause, Article V. In June, NATO included cyber among the official operational domains of warfare, along with air, sea and land. NATO has also named cyber-attacks, along with ballistic missiles and terrorism, as one of the top three threats to the alliance.
NATO officials have said that the alliance already faces daily attacks from a variety of hostile actors, with Russia believed to have the most sophisticated cyber capabilities among NATO’s traditional adversaries. The comments came in the context of the concerns over security following the U.S. intelligence community’s findings that Russia directed cyber attacks against U.S. electoral organizations.
U.S. officials have also warned that Russia may mount similar cyber campaigns against targets in Europe, a warning that was shortly followed by the cyber incidents during the presidential campaign in France and the fake news episode that led to the diplomatic crisis between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
WannaCry
Last May, the WannaCry malicious software has hit Britain’s National Health Service, some of Spain’s largest companies including Telefónica, the German state railways, as well as computers across Russia, the Ukraine and Taiwan, leading toPCs and data being locked up and held for ransom. The attack affected more than 150 countries.
International investigations led by Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC, a subsidiary of GCHQ)) attributed the WannaCry malware to the North Korean-affiliated hacking team known as Lazarus Group. The U.S. National Security Agency also linked the attack to North Korea.
Analyses revealed that an earlier version of WannaCry, named “Wanna Decryptor v1.0”, was being distributed in a way that shared code with an earlier piece of malware called Brambul, which was associated with a North Korean threat group, Nickel Academy (AKA Lazarus group). The code overlap was also seen in another piece of malware used to attack the Polish banking regulator KNF, an operation attributed to the Lazarus group.
WannaCry is not the first ransomware linked to the Lazarus Group and North Korea: a strike against a South Korean supermarket chain was also identified as such. The best-known attack attributed to the Lazarus Group, the 2014 hacking of Sony Pictures, came as the company planned to release the film The Interview, a comedy about journalists embroiled in a plot to assassinate Kim Jong-Un.
Unlike other state actors, such as Russian-affiliated group APT28 (also known as Fancy Bear), many of the Lazarus Group’s activities are based around cyber-crime, with immediate financial reward. Some have speculated that WannaCry may have not been deliberately released: the software contained features that are unusual for advanced ransomware, such as a hardcoded payment address instead of one for each victim, and a universal “killswitch” which prevented the software from self-replicating.
According to intelligence experts on North Korea, the use of ransomware to raise funds for the state would fall under both North Korea’s asymmetric military strategy and ‘self-financing’ policy, and be within the broad operational framework of their intelligence services.
At the beginning of August, nearly three months after the WannaCry ransomware attack, more than £108,000 in bitcoin paid by some of the victims has been withdrawn from the digital wallets the funds were being held in. The money, presumably moved by the hackers, was taken from three bitcoin wallets associated with WannaCry, according to tracking firm Elliptic. Between 24 July and 3 August, more than £18,000 in bitcoin was removed from the three wallets, with the remainder taken out in seven batches worth between £15,000 and £21,000 each. Experts at Elliptic believe the money may be used to purchase goods and services on the dark web, adding another layer of difficulty to tracking the wallets’ owners. Read the rest of this entry »
ISIS Threatens To Down U.S. Jets In Video, Invites U.S. To Send Ground Troops To Raqqa, Syria
On September 5, 2017, the media office of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Raqqa, Syria released a video threatening to down U.S. jets and calling on the U.S. to either stop the war or send ground troops to Raqqa.
Pro-ISIS Telegram Channel Distributes Guide No. 4 In How-To Series For Lone Wolves – Focusing On Nighttime AttacksOn September 6, 2017, the Ansarul Haqq Telegram channel distributed the fourth in its “Knights Of Lone Jihad” series of guides for strategy and tactics; this one focused on nighttime attacks.
Pro-ISIS Telegram Channel Suggests Targeting Smaller Cities In UK
On September 4, 2017, the administrator of a pro-ISIS Telegram channel posted a message suggesting jihadi fighters need to target smaller cities in the UK such as Liverpool, Blackpool, and Sunderland, instead of bigger European cities like London, Paris, and Barcelona, where the security is tighter.
Pro-ISIS Telegram Channel Suggests Lone Wolves Poison Food In Malls With Cyanide
On September 3, 2017, the Furat Wilayah Telegram channel released the third installment of the “Knights Of Lone Jihad” guide, which focused on the use of poisons.(by memri.org)
Intense Criticism In Iraq: The Hizbullah Deal Endangers Iraq’s Security
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-’Abadi denounced the deal between the Lebanese Hizbullah and ISIS, as part of which ISIS fighters were bused to the Syria-Iraq border, saying: “We must not give terror a chance anywhere. Transferring terrorists to the Syria-Iraq border threatens our people… The ISIS organization is [now] drawing its last gasps, and it is a mistake to give it a chance to breathe.”
Former Ambassador To Syria Robert Ford In Interview To UAE Daily: Assad Has WonIn a recent interview with the UAE English-language daily The National, former U.S. ambassador to Syria Robert Ford says that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has won the war and may never be held accountable for his crimes. Furthermore, Iran is probably in Syria to stay and “there isn’t much we can do about it.”
EXCLUSIVE: ISIS Supporter In Message To Donald, Ivanka Trump: Terror Will Continue To Pound Europe, AmericaAfter posting messages praising recent terror incidents in Brussels and London, ISIS supporter “Awis Al-Khalifa” posted two more articles claiming that ISIS will triumph and spread and promising more terror in the West. The articles were posted by the ISIS-affiliated media company Al-Battar. (by memri.org)
