Thursday, August 1, 2019
- watchofficermanager
- Aug 1, 2019
- 23 min read
Updated: Sep 4, 2019
DAILY TERRORISM ACTIVITY REPORT
The following is the Daily Terrorism Activity Report for Thursday, August 1, 2019
Report time: 0000-2359
BREAKDOWN BY TYPE
Total Number of Attacks: 8
Terrorist: 6
Cyber: 1
Counterintelligence (CI): 1
Explosives Used: 2
IED: 1
VBIED: 1
Weapons Used: 4
Rockets/Missile: 1
Firearms: 2
Unknown: 1
Cyber/Counterintelligence (CI) Attacks Total: 1
Deception: 1
Status
Killed: 66
Wounded: 31
Country
Afghanistan: 1
Iraq: 2
Nigeria: 1
Pakistan: 1
United States: 1
Yemen: 2
Terrorist Organizations
Boko Haram: 1
Houthi: 1
ISIS/ISIL: 2
Unknown: 2
Counterterrorism Efforts Total: 12
Arrests: 7
Killed: 11
Attack/Response on Attackers/Terrorists/Hostiles
By
Law Enforcement: 3
Military/Security Forces (Government): 6
Weapons/Tactics Used
Firearms - Guns/Rifles: 1
Drone: 1
Missiles from Aircraft: 1
Unknown: 9
IMPORTANT
TERRORIST ACTIVITY
AFRICA (AFRICOM)
Location: Borno State, Nigeria
Time: 1830 Local Time (Source reported Wednesday, July 31, 2019)
Status: Concluded
Situation: Boko Haram Kills Many In Jakana In Fresh Borno Attack
Summary: Many villagers were believed to have been killed in an attack by Boko Haram insurgents on Jakana in Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State last night, sources within the civilian joint task force said. The incident was said to have occurred at 1830 along the Maiduguri- Kano Road. The insurgents, who drove in six gun trucks, were reportedly shooting sporadically.
Source: Obiaks
ASIA (PACOM)
Nothing to Report
EUROPE & EURASIA (EUCOM)
Nothing to Report
MIDDLE EAST & CENTRAL ASIA (CENTCOM)
Location: Kabul, Afghanistan
Time: 0430 Local Time
Status: Under Investigation
Situation: 2 policemen killed in Kabul bomb attack
Summary: Two policemen were killed and three others injured in a bomb attack in Afghan capital Kabul on Thursday, authorities confirmed. "An improvised explosive device (IED) planted outside a police checkpoint in Panjsad Family neighbourhood was detonated roughly at 0430 on Thursday, leaving the casualties," spokesman of Interior Ministry Nasrat Rahimi told Xinhua news agency.
Source: Outlook India
Location: Kifri, Iraq
Time: 2300 Local Time (Source reported Wednesday, July 31, 2019)
Status: Concluded
Situation: Four Kurdish security officials killed in ISIS attack south of Kirkuk
Summary: Islamic State (ISIS) militants killed four Kurdish security members and wounded eight others in an assault on a checkpoint near Kifri south of Kirkuk Wednesday night. A group of ISIS fighters attacked the checkpoint manned by Kurdish security forces known as Asayesh in Kolajo in the Garmiyan region at 11:00 pm. Commander of Garmiyan operations Aso Jalal, as well as an Asayesh member named Haidar Fuad, were among those killed, according to Khalil Khudada, head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) office in Jalawla.
Source: Rudaw
Location: Aden, Yemen
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Yemen's Houthi rebels target military parade in Aden
Summary: An explosion in Aden, the seat of Yemen's internationally recognised government, has caused unspecified casualties, according to reports.The Houthi rebel movement, which controls the capital, Sanaa, claimed responsibility for the attack on Thursday which targeted a military parade at a camp in the southern city. The Houthi-linked al-Masirah TV said the group launched a medium-range ballistic missile and armed drone at the parade.
Source: Al Jazeera
Update: At least 32 people have been killed in an attack on a military parade by Yemen's rebel Houthi movement. Missiles and an armed drone were launched at the parade taking place in the southern port city of Aden, a Houthi-run TV channel says.
Updated Source: BBC News
Update: A rebel missile struck a military parade in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden as coordinated suicide bombings targeted a police station in another neighborhood of the city on Thursday, killing at least 50 people and wounding dozens, a security official and witnesses said.
The missile hit the neighborhood of Breiqa where a military parade was under way by forces loyal to the United Arab Emirates, a member of the Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels since 2015 in support of Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
Updated Source: Court House News
Location: Tikrit, Iraq
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Six dead in ISIS attacks on security forces in northern Iraq
Summary: Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group attacks on security forces north of the Iraqi capital killed six of their members overnight, officials said Thursday. Three policemen and two members of the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force died in an attack on a checkpoint south of the city of Tikrit, a security official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. The attack sparked a three-hour gun battle, he said.
Source: The Arab Weekly
Location: Sheikh Othman neighborhood, Aden, Yemen
Time: Unknown at Time of Report (Source reported morning)
Status: Under Investigation
Situation: Car bombing strikes police station in Yemen's Aden, kills 4
Summary: At least four members of the newly-recruited security forces were killed Thursday morning in a car bombing against a police station in Yemen's southern port city of Aden, a government official told Xinhua. "A car loaded with explosives struck the police station based in Sheikh Othman neighborhood of Aden province, causing a huge explosion that rocked the city," the local government source said on condition of anonymity. Initial information indicate that around four newly-recruited security soldiers were killed and nearly 20 others injured during the explosion, said the source.
Source: Xinhua
NORTH AMERICA - CANADA, MEXICO & BAHAMAS (NORTHCOM)
Nothing to Report
CENTRAL, SOUTH, & LATIN AMERICA / CARIBBEAN (SOUTHCOM)
Nothing to Report
CYBER
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana, US
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Under Investigation
Situation: New Orleans-area school targeted by cyber attack
Summary: The New Orleans Public School District said Morris Jeff Community School experienced a cybersecurity breach on Wednesday (Aug. 1). School officials immediately shut down the network. Similar attacks targeted schools across the state and country. The cyber criminals target the computer networks with malware, locking down the networks and demanding a ransom.
Source: FOX 8
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE
Location: Dera Ghazi Khan district, Punjab province, Pakistan
Time: Unknown at Time of Report (Source Reported Wednesday, July 31, 2019)
Status: Concluded
Situation: Indian national arrested for spying, claims Pakistan police
Summary: Police in Pakistan's Punjab province claimed to have arrested an "Indian spy" in the town of Dera Ghazi Khan. Police said the accused, identified as Raju Lakshman, was arrested on Wednesday from Rakhi Gaj area of Dera Ghazi Khan district, some 400-km from Lahore. He has been shifted to an undisclosed place for further investigation.
Source: India Today
MARITIME / PIRACY
Nothing to Report
HAZARDS
Location: Gisenyi-Goma Border, Rwanda
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Panic and confusion as Rwanda closes border with DRC over Ebola outbreak
Summary: Rwanda’s government briefly closed and then reopened part of a busy land border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Thursday, prompting panic and confusion in both countries. The temporary closure came the day after a second Ebola-related death was confirmed in the densely populated Congolese border city of Goma. The Rwandan government faced intense pressure from international agencies to keep the border open, the Guardian learned.
Source: The Guardian
Location: Danville, Kentucky, USA
Time: 0130 Local Time
Status: Under Investigation
Situation: Kentucky 'gas explosion': Huge fireball and 'mushroom cloud' over Danville
Summary: A possible gas explosion blew open doors and sent debris raining down as a huge fireball and mushroom-like cloud filled the night sky. One resident thought a nuclear bomb had gone off after seeing the giant cloud billowing into the air near the US city of Danville, Kentucky.
A number of homes have reportedly been evacuated.
Source: Mirror
Location: North Franklin Township, Pennsylvania, USA
Time: Unknown at Time of Report (Source reported Wednesday, July 31, 2019)
Status: Concluded
Situation: A home was obliterated following a natural gas explosion in North Franklin Township, Washington County.
Summary: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the explosion happened in the 100 block of Park Lane, near Trinity High School. Many nearby homes have damage from the blast. Witnesses say the explosion sounded like a bomb and could be felt for miles away. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the explosion happened in the 100 block of Park Lane, near Trinity High School. Many nearby homes have damage from the blast.
Source: KDKA
Location: Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk and Chita, Russia
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Wildfires spread in remote Siberia, Russian Far East
Summary: Hundreds of Russian towns and cities are shrouded in heavy smoke from wildfires in Siberia and the Far East Thursday, and the blazes appear to be spreading in remote terrain. Avialesookhrana, Russia's aerial forest protection service, said more than 30,000 square kilometers (11,850 square miles) are on fire, with the vast majority in areas that are hard to reach and where potential damage is likely to be less than the cost of fighting them. Although the fires have not hit populated areas, heavy smoke from them is affecting about 800 communities, officials said, including the large cities of Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk and Chita.
Source: FOX25
Location: Toddbrook Reservoir, Derbyshire, England
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Whaley Bridge dam 'collapse': Reservoir wall damaged as public warned to stay away
Summary: Residents in a remote rural town at the bottom of a huge reservoir fear its dam could collapse. A wall around Toddbrook Reservoir in Derbyshire has been severely damaged after heavy rain battered the region. Now police have warned people in nearby Whaley Bridge to stay away from the water and the surrounding area.
Source: Mirror
Location: Indonesia
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Indonesia steps up response to massive forest fires
Summary: Forest fires burning throughout Indonesia have prompted six provinces to declare a state of emergency and deploy thousands of security forces, a disaster official said Thursday. Firefighting measures included aerial water drops in anticipation of worsening forest fires that each year spread health-damaging haze across much of Southeast Asia, said Agus Wibowo, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman. He said several fires detected on Sumatra and Borneo islands by weather satellites led to very poor air quality in six provinces with a combined population of more than 23 million.
Source: The Washington Post
COUNTERTERRORISM EFFORTS
Location: Borno, Nigeria
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Nigerian governor calls for more troops in restive NE state
Summary: Babagana Zulum, governor of Nigeria's restive northeastern state of Borno, on Thursday called for deployment of more security apparatus to fast track peace building process in the conflict prone areas of the state. The governor made the appeal in Jakana community following an attack by suspected Boko Haram insurgents in the area on Tuesday, where they abducted two people and looted food items. He called on the villagers not to flee their homes for fear of the insurgents' attacks, assuring that the military was on top of the situation.
Source: Xinhua
Location: Gaza Strip, Palestine
Time: Unknown at Time of Report (Source reported after 0200 local time)
Status: Concluded
Situation: Three Israeli Soldiers Wounded, Attacker Killed After Gaza Border Breach, Army Says
Summary: Three Israeli soldiers were shot and wounded by a Palestinian who infiltrated the Gaza border fence east of Khan Yunis on Thursday, the army said in a statement. According to the Israel Defense Forces, the Palestinian, was subsequently killed by Israeli fire and his body was captured in Israeli territory. Palestinian social networks have identified the man as Hani Abu Salah, who belonged to Hamas' border patrol. Abu Salah's brother, Fawdi, who was disabled, was killed 14 months ago by Israeli troops during Gaza border demonstrations.
Source: Haaretz
Location: Farah Province, Afghanistan
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Key Taliban group commander Mullah Ghazali dies of wounds in Farah
Summary: A key group commander of Taliban Mullah Ghazali died of his wounds in western Farah province of Afghanistan.The Provincial Police Headquarters in a statement said Mullah Ghazali sustained injuries during a clash with the security forces few days earlier.
Source: Khaama Press
Location: Afghanistan
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Kerala youth Muhammed Muhasin, who had joined ISIS, killed in Afghanistan
Summary: A Keralite from Malappuram, who joined ISIS in 2017 is reportedly killed in Afghanistan. The killed youth is identified as Muhammed Muhasin from Edappal, Malappuram in Kerala. According to reports, the death of the youth was communicated to his family through a WhatsApp message. The Malayalam message says, “Muhasin has become a martyr, he was martyred in an American drone attack in Afghanistan.”
Source: My Nation
Location: Chester County, Pennsylvania, USA
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Tredyffrin Township man charged with threatening to kill family, 'shoot up' college
Summary: A Chester County, Pennsylvania man is behind bars after authorities say he had thoughts of killing his parents and plotted to "shoot up" his former college. According to investigators, Frank Wang, 20, of Tredyffrin Township told someone he trusted that he had thoughts about killing his parents and plotted to "shoot up" the Haverford College campus where he once attended.
Source: 6 ABC
Location: Monroe, Michigan, USA
Time: Unknown at Time of Report (Source reported Wednesday, July 31, 2019)
Status: Concluded
Situation: ICE's most wanted alleged human-trafficker nabbed in Michigan
Summary: Federal agents apprehended a member of Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Most Wanted List Wednesday who has been on the run for more than two years for his alleged role in operating a large-scale human trafficking and drug operation out of a Detroit motel. Darrick Bell, 50, was arrested at the Econo Lodge, a motel in Monroe, Mich., an ICE spokesperson told the Detroit Free Press.
Source: Fox News
https://www.foxnews.com/us/michigan-detroit-darrick-bell-arrest-drug-sex-trafficking-ice-most-wanted
Location: Budgam, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Jammu and Kashmir Police arrests Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist from Budgam district
Summary: A Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) terrorist was arrested on Thursday by the Jammu and Kashmir Police from Budgam district. The police arrested the terrorist from Qazipora area after receiving credible inputs.The terrorist identified as Showkat Ahmad Tantary, a resident of Warpora DH Pora Kulgam, was intercepted by officers carrying arms and ammunition. As per the police records, he was affiliated with proscribed terror outfit.
Source: Zee News
Location: Paktika, Afghanistan
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Airstrike kills Taliban militants, destroy suicide bombing vests in Paktika
Summary: The security forces conducted an airstrike against a Taliban hideout in south-eastern Paktika province killing at least 8 militants.The 203rd Thunder Corps in a statement said the security forces conducted the airstrike in Gomal district of Paktika. The statement further added that the airstrike killed 8 militants and destroyed 11 suicide bombing vests.
Source: Khaama Press
Location: Châteaudun and Saint-Maur, France
Time: Unknown at Time of Report (Source reported on Friday, July 26, 2019)
Status: Concluded
Situation: French intelligence foils prisoner terrorist plot
Summary: The French daily Le Parisien reported that a former soldier, a convert to Islam and a jihadist “returnee” were indicted on 26 July – the same week they allegedly intended to carry out the attack. Two of the men were in prison, while the third had been released earlier this year. Sources close to the case say the attack was to be carried out upon the release of another of the suspects. Investigators reportedly seized “small arms” from the men, aged 27, 31 and 42, and who deny the allegations of a terror plot.
Source: RFI
Location: San Antonio, Texas, USA
Time: 0841 Local Time
Status: Concluded
Situation: 3 Arrested for Human Trafficking After Attempting to Sell 9-Year-Old Boy
Summary: Federal authorities rescued a 9-year-old boy from accused human traffickers in San Antonio this week. Three people were charged in the case on Wednesday, including a 65-year-old San Antonio man. Elida Kassandra Moreno, a 26-year-old from Mexico, has been charged with bringing the boy into the U.S. to be sold.
Source: Spectrum News
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Time: 0520 Local Time
Status: Concluded
Situation: Another military flight souvenir, this time a rocket launcher, found in luggage at BWI
Summary: For the second time in two days, Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport officials seized an inert launcher, this time described as a “rocket launcher,” brought back as a souvenir early Thursday morning, according to a release from the Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal. Along with TSA agents, the Fire Marshal’s Bomb Squad and the Maryland Transportation Authority reported to the American Airlines baggage area at around 0520, where the launcher had been found. It was being brought back on a military flight by a United States Air Force Sergeant as a memento for their service, according to the release.
Source: Capital Gazette
Location: Dallas, Texas, USA
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: U.S. citizen captured in Syria faces terrorism charge for alleged ISIS support
Summary: A U.S. citizen living in Dallas was indicted on a charge of conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State, the Justice Department said Thursday. Omer Kuzu, 23, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Dallas. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors say Mr. Kuzu and his brother traveled from Houston to Istanbul, Turkey in October 2014 to join Islamic State, better known by the acronym ISIS. He eventually ended up in Iraq, where he received physical and weapon training from Islamic State instructors.
Source: The Washington Times
ITEMS OF INTEREST OR CONCERN
Location: Sydney, Australia
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Three arrested and $1.5 million in cash and designer goods seized in Sydney raids
Summary: A loot of designer goods worth almost $1 million has been seized in raids police claim are connected to a sophisticated cocaine syndicate. The high-end goods were seized along with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash. Three Sydney men have been charged over their roles in the alleged syndicate, which police say has now been dismantled. Police photos from the raids show incredible stacks of riches, including piles of boxed designer goods such as shoes, bags, watches and accessories as well as huge wads of cash.
Source: News.com.au
Location: Death Valley National Park, California, USA
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: US Navy pilot killed in crash in Death Valley National Park
Summary: The US Navy confirmed Thursday that the pilot of the F/A-18E Super Hornet that crashed Wednesday in Death Valley National Park died as a result of the crash. The crash took place in Death Valley National Park at a spot known to aviation enthusiasts as Star Wars Canyon, according to park spokesman Patrick Taylor, who told CNN that seven visitors had suffered minor injuries as a result. The F/A-18 had been assigned to the "Vigilantes" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 151 based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California.
Source: CNN
Location: Global
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Intel indicates al Qaeda leader has potentially serious 'heart complaint', official says
Summary: Recent intelligence indicates that al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has a "heart complaint," according to a senior official involved in international counterterrorism efforts. The official said the information suggests Zawahiri had a potentially serious condition but cautioned it was difficult to ascertain the severity of his health problems and what effect they might have on his longevity. The possibility that Zawahiri, who just turned 68, is seriously ill increases uncertainty over al Qaeda's long-term leadership succession plans.
Source: CNN
Location: USA and Pakistan
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: US asks Pakistan to meet international obligations on combating terror financing
Summary: The US during the recent visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan asked Pakistan to meet its international obligations on combating terror financing, a senior State Department official has said. The official, on the condition of anonymity, said Pakistan is working to implement its action plan that it submitted to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the issue came up for discussion when Khan held a meeting with President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week. In June, the Paris-based anti-money laundering watchdog said that Pakistan failed to complete its action plan on terror financing.
Source: Financial Express
Location: Global
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Facebook takes down network of fake accounts linked to Saudi government
Summary: Facebook announced Thursday the removal of hundreds of fake accounts and pages, including many it says were linked to the government of Saudi Arabia and used to spread propaganda for the regime. The crackdown targeted two separate campaigns, one originating in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt and another in Saudi Arabia, for creating what the company calls “coordinated inauthentic behavior.” Both created fake profiles, pages and groups to mislead their followers about who they were and what they were doing, according to a blog post by Nathaniel Gleicher, the company’s head of cybersecurity policy.
Source: New York Daily News
Location: USA
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Syrians fleeing war allowed to stay longer in the United States
Summary: U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration will allow about 7,000 Syrians who have fled war in their country to stay 18 months longer in the United States, extending them a temporary protection on Thursday it has tried to deny to other migrants. The United States grants Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to immigrants whose home countries have been devastated by war or natural disaster and are deemed too dangerous to return. The Department of Homeland Security announced it would extend TPS to Syrians based on the eight-year-long civil war in Syria.
Source: Reuters
Location: Iraq and Syria
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: UN experts warn Islamic State aiming for resurgence in Iraq, Syria
Summary: Leaders of the Islamic State extremist group are aiming to consolidate and create conditions for an “eventual resurgence in its Iraqi and Syrian heartlands,” UN experts said in a new report. The panel of experts said in a report to the Security Council this week that the process is more advanced in Iraq, where IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and most of the militant group’s leadership are now based following the fall of the so-called “caliphate” that he declared in the two neighboring countries.
Source: Times of Israel
Location: Australia
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Australia launches $55M anti-trafficking effort for ASEAN
Summary: Australia on Thursday launched a new 80 million Australian dollars ($55 million) program to help Southeast Asian nations combat human trafficking. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the 10-year program was an extension of Canberra’s assistance to the region to tackle the menace in the last 15 years. She said Australia has helped train more than 13,000 judicial officials who bolstered their legal systems to fight human trafficking and ensure better protection for victims in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Source: Washington Post
Location: Tehran, Iran
Time: Unknown at Time of Report (Source reported Wednesday, July, 31, 2019)
Status: Concluded
Situation: Yemen rebels welcome UAE visit to Iran
Summary: Yemen’s Houthi rebel group on Wednesday welcomed a visit by a military delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Iran. “The UAE message from Iran was positive,” Houthi member Mohamed Ali al-Houthi said on Twitter, without providing any further details. On Tuesday, a UAE military delegation arrived in Tehran for talks on border cooperation between the two countries.
Source: Brinkwire
Location: Hong Kong, China
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: China’s army chief in Hong Kong says ‘violent radical incidents’ cannot be tolerated, as garrison releases slick PR vid
Summary: The head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) garrison in Hong Kong has commented on the city’s protests for the first time, saying that they cannot be tolerated and that the army was determined to protect national security and sovereignty. “Recently, Hong Kong saw a series of violent radical incidents, which seriously disrupted Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability, seriously challenged Hong Kong’s rule of law and social order, seriously threatened the life and property of Hong Kong citizens, and seriously violated the bottom line of One Country, Two Systems,” said commander Chen Daoxiang. Chen also said that the PLA’s Hong Kong garrison was a “heroic force,” and has kept its character as a “people’s army” as a “linchpin for Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability.”
Source: Hong Kong Free Press
Location: North Korea
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: North Korean hacking groups and copycats are going after financial institutions
Summary: State-sponsored and criminal actors are mounting a wide array of cyber attacks against the global finance industry with an aim to steal data and sabotage trading systems, according to new research. The report, published by Finnish cybersecurity firm F-Secure, detailed the increasing sophistication of these financially-motivated cyber attacks. With financial institutions becoming a lucrative target because of their socio-economic importance, the attackers are exploiting the threat landscape to commit identity fraud, engage in insider trading, and inflict reputational damage that can run into millions of dollars.
Source: The Next Web
Location: Xinjiang, China
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: China says most people in Xinjiang camps have 'returned to society'
Summary: Most people sent to mass detention centers in China's Xinjiang region have "returned to society", a senior official from the area said on Tuesday, but he declined to give an estimate of how many have been held in recent years. A spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department said there was no evidence to support the assertion made by Xinjiang's vice chairman, Alken Tuniaz, and said Beijing should allow the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights unhindered access to assess the claim. U.N. experts and activists say at least 1 million ethnic Uighurs, and members of other largely Muslim minority groups, have been detained in camps in the region of western China.
Source: YAHOO! News
Location: Somalia
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Somalia, AU vow to enhance fight against human trafficking
Summary: Somalia and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have vowed to enhance the fight against human trafficking which is rampant across the borders. The AU mission, which organized a forum in Mogadishu to mark the World Day against Trafficking in Persons to help raise awareness on promoting and protecting the rights of victims of trafficking, said the vice has forced many people into becoming slaves. Rex Dundun, acting police commissioner of AMISOM, said equipping security officers with knowledge was critical in the fight against trafficking in persons.
Source: Xinhua
Location: England
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: No-deal Brexit could be exploited by terrorists
Summary: Terrorism is a major international security issue. While the Treaty on European Union clearly states that national security is a national issue, the EU has also realized the benefits of increased collaboration against a common enemy. In the past five years, the European Parliamenthas increased its security budget, expanded Europol’s access to information, established the Passenger Name Record (PNR), and tackled money laundering head-on to prevent the financing of terrorism.
Source: Arab News
Location: USA
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Exclusive: FBI document warns conspiracy theories are a new domestic terrorism threat
Summary: The FBI for the first time has identified fringe conspiracy theories as a domestic terrorist threat, according to a previously unpublicized document obtained by Yahoo News. (Read the document below.) The FBI intelligence bulletin from the bureau’s Phoenix field office, dated May 30, 2019, describes “conspiracy theory-driven domestic extremists,” as a growing threat, and notes that it is the first such report to do so. It lists a number of arrests, including some that haven’t been publicized, related to violent incidents motivated by fringe beliefs.
Source: Yahoo News
Location: Nigeria
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Nigeria insists Boko Haram 'defeated' after 10-year insurgency
Summary: Nigeria's presidency claimed Boko Haram's 10-year-old insurgency had been "defeated" but admitted that international jihadists posed a growing threat. "The position of the Nigerian government is that the Boko Haram terrorism has been degraded and defeated. The real Boko Haram we know is defeated," the presidency said in a statement late on Tuesday.
Source: Sierra Leone Times
Location: USA
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: FBI memo warns QAnon poses potential terror threat
Summary: The FBI has identified conspiracy theories as potential domestic terrorism threats, specifically identifying QAnon, a group that believes there is a deep state working against President Trump. Acts of violence has been committed because of QAnon conspiracy theories such as a shooting in 2016 at the Comet Ping Pong pizza shop in Washington D.C. Where a man was investigating the Pizzagate conspiracy.
Source: The Hill
Location: Chesogon market, West Pokot and Elgeyo Marak, Kenya
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: North rift leaders sign peace accord to end conflict
Summary: North rift leaders have signed peace accord in a bid to end conflict and stop banditry activities that have seen several people killed and property lost. The historic event held at the Chesogon market at the border of West Pokot and Elgeyo Marakwet was witnessed by elected leaders from Marakwet and Pokot and hundreds of residents from the two communities. Chesogon Market had been closed for seven years due to the perennial bandit attacks.
Source: KBC 1
Location: Washington DC, USA
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Money from a retirement program for the US military is set to be diverted to pay for Trump's border wall
Summary: The White House scored a major win last week after the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision said that about$2.5 billion in Defense Department funds could be used to construct sections of the president's highly sought-after wall at the US-Mexico border. Notably, it said about $224 million would be taken from the Blended Retirement System, which combines elements of the military's retirement system with a system offering benefits similar to civilian 401(k) programs. Other programs set to significantly lose funding: $604 million that was supposed to support Afghan security forces; $251 million in Pentagon funds for destroying US chemical weapons; and about $343 million "in spending from Air Force weapons programs where officials have negotiated reductions or canceled systems," The Journal said.
Source: Business Insider
Location: Marawi City, Philippines
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: More bombs set for blasting as Marawi clearing continues
Summary: The military on Saturday will detonate unexploded bombs recovered through the ongoing clearing of debris in war-torn Marawi City as the government prepares for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Lanao del Sur capital. Assistant Secretary Felix Castro of Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) said the government team set the blasting for Saturday to avoid disrupting classes. Many offices and establishments are also closed during that day. Castro said scheduled for detonation are 260-pound and 110-pound bombs, several 40mm grenades, nine mortar shells and two 105mm howitzer shells.
Source: Inquirer.net
Location: Seattle, Washington, USA
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Capital One hacker suspect threatened to 'shoot up' tech company and had access to assault rifles
Summary: The suspected Capital One hacker threatened to “shoot up” a California social media company and was living in a house-turned-arsenal with a convicted felon who had once been arrested for being part of a “contract murder plot,” federal court papers in Seattle revealed. Paige Thompson, a former Seattle software engineer, was identified as “Person 1” in a motion to detain her housemate, Park Hung Quan, a source confirmed to NBC News. “As law enforcement was aware, Person 1 was the subject of one or more restraining orders and had made express threats to harm others and herself,” the court record states. “In fact, in late May 2019, Person 1 had threatened to ‘shoot up’ the office of a California social media company.”
Source: NBC News
Location: Global
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Facebook open-sources algorithms for detecting child exploitation and terrorism imagery
Summary: Facebook will open-source two algorithms it uses to identify child sexual exploitation, terrorist propaganda, and graphic violence, the company said today. PDQ and TMK+PDQF, a pair of technologies that store files as digital hashes and compare them with known examples of harmful content, have been released on Github, Facebook said in a blog post. Facebook said it hopes that other tech companies, nonprofit organizations, and individual developers will use the technology to identify more harmful content and add it to shared databases. That helps platforms remove the content more quickly when people attempt to upload it.
Source: The Verge
Location: Global
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Drug traffickers are recruiting smugglers on Facebook
Summary: Two American citizens who were recently caught smuggling large quantities of illegal narcotics from Mexico into the United States said they had been recruited through job ads posted on Facebook. One, a 33-year-old woman arrested at a California border crossing last month with 37 kilos of cocaine in her car, said she was recruited through a Facebook ad that promised “an opportunity to make money.” The other, a California man found with 67 kilos of meth and 5.6 kilos of cocaine when he attempted to drive across the border in April, also said he had answered an ad on Facebook which was soliciting “people looking for work.”
Source: Quartz
Location: USA and Afghanistan
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Taliban Expects Peace Deal With US in Next Meeting
Summary: The Taliban says it is hopeful an agreement will be reached with the United States to end the 18-year-old war in Afghanistan when the two adversaries meet later this week in Qatar for a crucial round of peace negotiations. The two sides have worked hard for nearly one year and almost drafted a text in which “we have addressed all major issues,” Suhail Shaheen, who speaks for the Taliban negotiating team, told VOA. Taliban negotiators have done their part and it is now up to the American side whether they have “made up their mind” and take the next step of winding up the dialogue process, he asserted.
Source: New Delhi Times
OPINION/EDITORIAL
Location: Israel
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: TWO ATTACKS ON TWO BORDERS IN ONE DAY: IS THE IDF READY FOR WAR ON 3 FRONTS?
Summary: With fronts ripe for conflict to break out at any moment, the IDF’s ability to operate effectively on multiple fronts simultaneously is crucial for Israel to deal with the region’s unpredictable and explosive nature. The IDF, which has put Gaza as a top priority, is concerned that should a war break out in both the North and South, the military’s air defense might not be as available, leaving whole communities and cities vulnerable to rocket fire. Despite Israel’s missile defense capabilities being at an all-time high after successful trials of the Arrow 3 over Alaska this week, defense officials believe the advanced technological capabilities coupled with intensive firepower by the country’s enemies – be it from the South or North – will lead to unprecedented damage and fatalities.
Source: The Jerusalem Post
Location: USA
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Why Does Trump Fan the Flames of Race-Based Terrorism?
Summary: If I learned anything from 25 years in the F.B.I., including a stint as head of counterintelligence, it was to trust my gut when I see a threat unfolding. Those of us who were part of the post-Sept. 11 intelligence community had a duty to sound the alarm about an impending threat. Now, instinct and experience tell me we’re headed for trouble in the form of white hate violence stoked by a racially divisive president, I hope I’m wrong.
Source: New York Times
Location: Global
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: How Much Do Organizations Understand the Risk Exposure of IoT Devices?
Summary: In the digital age, cyber is everywhere. Cyber risk now permeates nearly every aspect of how we live and work. Organizations should better understand how to manage the risks created by known and unknown Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial IoT (IIoT) devices. Security-by-design saves time: it takes longer to retroactively fix issues than it does to do it correctly the first time when building the product.
Source: Yahoo Finance
Location: USA
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Conspiracy theories about social media bias are undermining American institutions
Summary: President Donald Trump recently held a social media summit in which he claimed Twitter was actively engaging in efforts to limit his voice. Congress soon followed suit. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, held a hearing on alleged bias in Google’s search algorithm, arguing that “the American people are ... subject to both overt censorship and covert manipulation.” Certainly, many conservatives worry that technology companies have acted in bad faith when it comes to managing right-leaning content.
Source: Las Vegas Sun
Location: Lebanon
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Hezbollah is the Real Government in Lebanon
Summary: The Lebanese government has been disabled for a while due to a concocted crisis, the intentions behind which go much further exploiting the deaths of two young men in the village of Qabr Shmoun, in Mount Lebanon’s Aley District. The true intentions are to undermine, and bring down, a redundant ‘compromise cabinet’ through making the position of Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri untenable; leading to either impose presidential rule through pro-Hezbollah President Michel Aoun, or to a political ‘vacuum’ that only Hezbollah can fill. Either way, then, Hezbollah is the party most interested in undermining the current fragile compromise, bringing down the cabinet, and fomenting internal strife within Lebanon’s sectarian communities.
Source: ASHARQ AL-AWSAT
Location: Global
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: North Korea defection an embarrassment for Kim Jong Un
Summary: A South Korean legislator said a former North Korean diplomat in Italy is now known to have left that country and is under protection in an unidentified country, in a new embarrassment for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Jo Song Gil, Pyongyang’s acting ambassador in Rome since 2017, in early January was widely reported as having abandoned his post and gone into hiding with his wife, after the pair went missing two months earlier. Opposition lawmaker Lee Eun-jae said legislators were told by the head of the National Intelligence Service that Mr Jo was “protected somewhere”.
Source: Financial Times
Location: Turkey
Time: Unknown at Time of Report
Status: Concluded
Situation: Opposition using Syrian asylum seekers to generate new divides in Turkish politics
Summary: The status of more than 3.6 million temporary Syrian asylum seekers across Turkey has been one of the most controversial political issues being discussed by the Turkish people and politicians in the last few weeks. Because of manipulation and disinformation campaigns by media channels and populist politicians from the opposition camp, systematic anti-Syrian rhetoric has spread throughout the entire Turkish population. Turkey's right and left-wing populist politicians are trying to create new spaces for their political agendas by manipulating the issue of Syrians in Turkey.
Source:Daily Sabah
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