Reuters: Pakistan's Missile Program Is 'Emerging Threat', Top US Official Says
“A senior White House official on Thursday said nuclear-armed Pakistan is developing long-range ballistic missile capabilities that eventually could allow it to strike targets well beyond South Asia, making it an "emerging threat" to the United States. Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer's surprise revelation underscored how far the once-close ties between Washington and Islamabad have deteriorated since the 2021 U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. It also raised questions about whether Pakistan has shifted the objectives of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs long intended to counter those of India, with which it has fought three major wars since 1947.”
Reuters: Israel's Netanyahu Eyes Iran After Triumphs Over Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria
“2025 will be a year of reckoning for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his country's arch foe Iran. The veteran Israeli leader is set to cement his strategic goals: tightening his military control over Gaza, thwarting Iran's nuclear ambitions and capitalising on the dismantling of Tehran's allies -- Palestinian Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah and the removal of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Assad's collapse, the elimination of the top leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah and the destruction of their military structure mark a succession of monumental wins for Netanyahu. Without Syria, the alliances Tehran has nurtured for decades have unraveled. As Iran's influence weakens, Israel is emerging as the dominant power in the region.”
The Jerusalem Post: The Unique Brutality Of Yemen's Houthi Intelligence Services - Exclusive
“The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) on Thursday published a report delving into the unique brutality of the Yemen Houthi intelligence services. The report, which The Jerusalem Post exclusively obtaining a copy of the report prior to its publication, names some of the top Yemen Houthis intelligence officials which could also lead to new sanctions against some of those individuals. Also, the report uncovers how the Yemen Houthis have “laundered” some of their officials into their Foreign Ministry in order to continue to sabotage and siphon off humanitarian aid after global powers started to notice the intelligence ministry was undertaking such illegal activities.”
Express: UK Tells Syria's New Ruler That ISIS Must Not Be Allowed To Regain Strength
“Islamic State must not be allowed to rebuild in Syria, Britain has told the Islamist rebels that overthrew Bashar al-Assad. Diplomats have held talks with Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) leader Ahmad al Sharaa in Damascus, despite the group being proscribed as a terrorist organisation… Dr Hans-Jakob Schindler, Senior Director at the Counter Extremism Project, said: “To fully assess the emerging terrorism challenges emanating from the fall of the Assad regime and the rise of HTS, it is important to understand that from a global Islamist terrorist perspective, these events did not happen in a vacuum. “Islamist terrorist sympathizers think that their forces were able to drive American and international forces out of Afghanistan in 2021; expel the French, the United Nations, and American and European forces out of West Africa since 2022; and now defeat Russia and Iran in Syria.”
“A Virginia college student was arrested by the FBI this week for allegedly plotting a terrorist attack on the Israeli Consulate in New York City. Abdullah Ezzeldin Taha Mohamed Hassan, an Egyptian national and 18-year-old student at George Mason University in Virginia, was taken into custody on Tuesday by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. He was busted for telling his plans for the attack to an undercover FBI informant. He faces federal charges on one count of “demonstrating how to manufacture an explosive with intent to murder internationally protected persons,” according to reports. He reportedly referred to the consulate as a “goldmine of targets” for such violent terrorist attacks.”
The Washington Examiner: Pentagon Quietly Doubled Troop Presence In Syria Prior To Assad’s Fall
“The U.S. military more than doubled the number of troops it has in Syria to fight ISIS prior to the collapse of the Assad regime earlier this month. Pentagon officials have long said the United States had about 900 troops in the country, the exact total fluctuating frequently due to the ending and beginning of various deployments, though Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon’s spokesman, told reporters on Thursday that the tally is actually around 2,000 troops. The increased number of troops arrived prior to Assad’s collapse and were deployed to augment the “core” 900 troops, whose mission is specifically to prevent the growth and reconstitution of ISIS, he said. The roughly 1,100 others are “temporary forces,” which Ryder said have been there for “months.””
Reuters: Iraq Sends Nearly 2,000 Syrian Soldiers Back Home
“Iraq sent back nearly 2,000 Syrian soldiers on Thursday to their homeland after they had sought refuge in Iraq during the advance of rebel forces that toppled President Bashar al-Assad earlier this month, according to an Iraqi military statement. The Syrian soldiers were returned at their request and entered via a border crossing between Iraq and Syria, it said. "In coordination with some parties on the Syrian side, 1,905 Syrian officers and soldiers were handed over in a legal manner to a protection force on the Syrian side at the Al-Qaim border crossing," the statement said. Their weapons remained in the possession of the Iraqi defence ministry and would be handed over to a new Syrian government once formed, it added.”
“A series of intense Israeli airstrikes shook Yemen’s rebel-held capital and a port city early Thursday and killed at least nine people, officials said, shortly after a Houthi missile targeted central Israel. Thursday’s strikes risk further escalating conflict with the Iranian-backed Houthis, whose attacks on the Red Sea corridor have drastically impacted global shipping. The rebels have so far avoided the same level of intense military strikes that have targeted Palestinian militant group Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, fellow members of Tehran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance.” Israel’s military said that it conducted two waves of strikes in a preplanned operation that began early Thursday and involved 14 fighter jets.”
BBC: Neo-Nazi With Home 'Armoury' Jailed For 10 Years
“An extremist who amassed an "armoury" at his home and discussed launching an attack on a local LGBT group has been jailed for 10 years. A court heard Alan Edward, 55, from Falkirk who had nearly 28,000 followers on social media, believed in white supremacy and openly expressed racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic views. He denied all the offences, but a jury found him guilty of charges under the Terrorism Act, racism, anti-semitism, holocaust denial and breach of the peace. Edward will also be supervised for five years following his release, and monitored for 30 years under the terms of the Terrorism Act. Judge Fiona Tait told Edward: "The author of the risk assessment on you assesses you at high risk of re-offending.”
“A Russian ballistic missile attack on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv early Friday killed at least one person and injured 12 others, officials said. Moscow claimed it was in response to a Ukrainian strike on Russian soil using American-made weapons. At least three loud blasts were heard in Kyiv shortly before sunrise. Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted five Iskander short-range ballistic missiles fired at the city. The attack knocked out heating to 630 residential buildings, 16 medical facilities, and 30 schools and kindergartens, the city administration said, and falling missile debris caused damage and sparked fires in three districts. “We ask citizens to immediately respond to reports of ballistic attack threats, because there is very little time to find shelter,” the air force said.”
Associated Press: 5 Suspected Militants Killed In Kashmir Fighting, Indian Military Says
“Government forces in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed five suspected militants in a gunbattle on Thursday, the Indian military said. Soldiers and police launched a joint operation after receiving a tip that rebels were hiding in a village in southern Kulgam district, the military said in a statement. The militants opened “indiscriminate and heavy volumes of fire” at the raiding troops, leading to a gunbattle, it said. Five militants were killed in the fighting, the statement said, adding that two soldiers were also injured. Troops continued to search the area. There was no independent confirmation of the battle. India and Pakistan each administer a part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety.”
Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.
Fact:
On October 7, 2023, Hamas invaded southern Israel where, in the space of eight hours, hundreds of armed terrorists perpetrated mass crimes of brutality, rape, and torture against men, women and children. In the biggest attack on Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, 1,200 were killed, and 251 were taken hostage into Gaza—where 101 remain. One year on, antisemitic incidents have increased by record numbers.
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