Tag Archives: ISIS

FBI Sting Uncovers Russian Smugglers of Nuclear Material

An FBI sting was caught on video in Moldova as Russian linked smugglers attempted to sell nuclear and radioactive materials to undercover agents posing as ISIS operatives.

A Moldovan minister said that the FBI helped Moldovan authorities three times in the last five years to stop potential smuggling of nuclear and radioactive material.
According to an investigation by The Associated Press [AP], one case that was uncovered was an attempt to sell bomb-grade uranium to a real buyer from the Middle East, the first known case of its kind.

A list compiled by the Terrorism Research Initiative details more than 360 smuggling and security “incidents” in the Black Sea region from 1990 to 2011 — by far the most stemming from Russia. This list also goes on to say that from 1993 to 2013, 664 incidents of theft or loss of nuclear or radiological materials were reported. It says it doesn’t know how many times these materials were subsequently sold.

Moldovan police and judicial authorities shared investigative case files with the AP in an effort to spotlight how dangerous the black market has become. They say a breakdown in cooperation between Russia and the West means that it is much harder to know whether smugglers are finding ways to move parts of Russia’s vast store of radioactive materials.

Russia, Syria Coordinate Attacks

Moscow stated on Wednesday that its warships fired 26 missiles into Syria, hitting 11 targets and Syrian ground troops hit at least four insurgent positions.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that ISIS was the primary target.

Coordinated attacks by Russia and Syria were launched on Islamist factions in numerous towns in Hama and Idlib provinces in western Syria. If the reports are correct, this could be proof that Russia’s primary goal is to support President Bashar al-Assad instead of fighting ISIS.

The UK based Syrian Observatory for Human rights reported that there were no ISIS positions in the targeted areas. Instead, the areas are home to fierce clashes between regime forces and the armed Islamist rebel factions.

Turkey’s Prime Minister reported that only 3.5% of Russia’s airstrikes in Syria have targeted ISIS.

Despite the recent strikes, Russia said it was still willing to cooperate with the U.S. in Syria. U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter responded by saying that the U.S. was not ready to cooperate with Russia on operations in Syria. However, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov indicated that cooperation was in the works.

Explosions Rock Yemen, Killing 15

Three explosions hit Yemen’s port city of Aden on Tuesday, killing 15 people. One rocket hit a hotel housing exiled Yemeni officials, and the other two attacks struck locations used by troops from the United Arab Emirates. Authorities state no government officials have been hurt.

At this time it is not clear who the victims were.

Officials originally blamed Yemen’s Shiite rebels for the attack, but a new Islamic State affiliate claimed responsibility for the attacks. The terrorist group used Twitter to claim the attack, posting photos of the suicide bombers and the aftermath of the bombing. More chaos is expected to ensue now that the Islamic State is involved with Yemen’s months-long civil war.

Military official, Major General Ahmed Sayf stated that the attacks were deployed with car bombs.

Yemen is currently in the middle of a civil war where Shiite rebels and forces loyal to the former president are fighting the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government as well as local militias, Sunni extremists, and southern separatists. The war in Yemen began in March of this year and so far, more than 4,000 people have been killed. The country is also on the brink of famine.

Russia Violated Turkish Airspace Again, Also Sends Ground Troops into Syria

NATO’s secretary confirmed on Tuesday that Russian planes had violated Turkish airspace a second time and that Russian ground troops were in Syria.

Officials reported that the first violation took place on Saturday, and the second violation took place on Sunday. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also confirmed the latest updates.

“We also have seen two of them, two violations of Turkish airspace,” he said. “Intelligence that we have received provides me with reason to say it doesn’t look like an accident.”

Turkey’s air force also issued a statement that said an MiG-29 fighter jet of unknown nationality interfered with eight Turkish F-16s on the Turkey-Syria border on Monday. The Turkish planes were also under a radar lock for 4 minutes and 30 seconds.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Russia that the situation could escalate quickly if their actions continued. Turkey has been a member of NATO since 1952, and alliance rules state that any attack on one of the 28 member states would be treated as an attack on all.

“Any attack on Turkey is an attack on NATO,” Erdogan said. “If Russia loses a friend like Turkey with whom it has cooperated on many issues, it will lose a lot.”

Russia continues to claim that the airspace violations were mistakes and that their intentions in Syria is to take down the Islamic terrorist organization, ISIS also known as ISIL. U.S. officials question Russia’s motives as the Kremlin continues to target places in Syria where ISIS has not been active. They believe that Russia’s intentions are to bolster the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. However, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported that within the last 24 hours, Russia has launched at least 34 airstrikes in areas controlled by ISIS, killing at least 38 members of ISIS and destroying an arms depot.

NATO defense ministers will meet on Thursday to discuss the actions of the Russian military in Syria.

International Partners Ask Russia to Stop Airstrikes, Focus on ISIS

Escalating tension continues between the U.S. and Russian over Russian airstrikes that government officials feel are serving to strengthen Syrian President Bashar Assad by targeting “moderate” rebels rather than ISIS fighters that it promised to attack.

The Pentagon is wrestling with the question as to whether the U.S. should use military force to protect U.S. trained and equipped Syrian rebels now that they may be the targets of Russian airstrikes. Pentagon leaders have been consistent in saying that the U.S. must take steps to protect the American-trained rebels.
An international coalition is urging Russia to immediately cease attacks on the Syrian opposition and civilians and focus instead on fighting the ISIS terrorist group.

“We express our deep concern with regard to the Russian military build-up in Syria and especially the attacks by the Russian Air Force on Hama, Homs and Idlib since yesterday which led to civilian casualties and did not target Da’esh,” said the statement, jointly issued late Thursday by the United States, the United Kingdom, Turkey, France, Germany, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Russia’s defense ministry said that over the past 24 hours it had damaged or destroyed 12 targets in Syria belonging to the ISIS fighters, including a command center and ammunition depots. A U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, Col. Steve Warren, said he had no indication that the Russians had hit Islamic State targets.

Concerns are being raised that this conflict is leading to a new alliance between Russia, Syria, Iraq and Iran.

Russia Continues Bombings in Syria -Defends Targets

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed reporters outside the U.N. on the second day of Russian bombings in Syria. Russia’s airstrikes in Syria “do not go beyond ISIL (ISIS), al Nusra or other terrorist groups recognized by the United Nations Security Council or Russian law,”

Lavrov defended Russia’s air strikes remarking that the U.S. led coalition was going after the same terror groups as the Russian’s were. Rejecting any comments that their actions were to bolster Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, he said that Russia did not consider Assad’s main opposition, the Free Syrian Army to be a terrorist group.

Hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria to join a major ground offensive to accompany Russian airstrikes. According to defense officials it was always “understood” that the Russians would provide the air force and the Iranians would provide the ground force in Syria.“It has always been understood that the Russians would provide the air force, and the Iranians would provide the ground force in Syria,” one official said.

U.S. officials say that the bombings are not in ISIS held territories. Russian were given only a one hour notice before the bombings and that was more to tell our military to stop our own airstrikes. The U.S. declined that request.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Wednesday that the Russian attacks, which the Kremlin said were meant to target terrorists, didn’t appear to hit targets under the control of ISIS, which operates in the north and east of the country.

Sen. John McCain — chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee called the Russian strikes “an incredible flouting of any kind of cooperation or effort to conceal what their first — Putin’s priority is. And that is of course to prop up Bashar al-Assad.”

Russians Release First Airstrike in Syria

After Russian Parliament gave the all go to using air power to combat in Syria, a Russian General told the U.S. to stay out of Syrian airspace.

“A Russian official in Baghdad this morning informed U.S. Embassy personnel that Russian military aircraft would begin flying anti-ISIL missions today over Syria,” said spokesman John Kirby. “He further requested that U.S. aircraft avoid Syrian airspace during these missions.”

Putin said the action was preemptive, warning that Moscow would be hunting down Islamic State militants before they target Russia.

Russian defense officials say that they were targeting the Islamic State group saying it has hit IS weapons, depots, ammunition, communications infrastructure, and fuel.  

The head of the Western-backed Syrian political opposition said the Russian strikes had killed at least 36 civilians and targeted areas where Islamic State and al Qaeda-linked fighters were not present.  Official reports of casualties have been mixed.  

An unnamed U.S. official told Reuters that so far they did not appear to be targeting ISIS held territory but only hitting areas where Free Syrian Army and other anti-Assad groups are located.  

Officials Announce New Sanctions on ISIS Affiliates

On Tuesday, U.S. government officials announced sanctions against 25 people and groups affiliated with the Islamic State. The announcement has revealed that the Islamic terrorist organization has connections in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

The financial sanctions were placed in hopes of interrupting the Islamic State’s financial, logistical, and recruiting operatives who are not suitable targets for drone strikes. Many of the ISIS affiliates operate outside of the war in Iraq and Syria. U.S. officials also hope that the sanctions prevent ISIS fighters from getting supplies and travelling.

The Treasury Department’s sanctions were forced on Islamic State officials who operate in Pakistan, Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Tunisia. Individuals who were sanctioned included was a British national Aqsa Mahmood. Mahmood is accused of recruiting three young British school girls to leave the United Kingdom and become wives of ISIS fighters in February. It is believed that her location is in Syria.

Government officials also reported that the Islamic State’s biggest money-maker is oil sales, taxation, and extortion, which won’t be affected by the sanctions. Daniel Glaser, the Treasury’s assistant secretary for terrorist financing, said that ISIS is making as much as $500 million per year from oil sales, which is beyond their estimated payroll of $360 million a year. Experts are also skeptical of the effectiveness of the sanctions given the extensive smuggling networks in the region.

U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders recently discussed the battle against the Islamic State during the address at the General Assembly.

“This is not a conventional battle. This is a long-term campaign — not only against this particular network, but against its ideology,” Obama said.

World leaders still have not come to an overall agreement on how to eradicate ISIS.

Israel Launches Airstrikes in Gaza in Response to Palestinian Rocket

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched a series of airstrikes in the Gaza strip after the Palestinian enclave shot a rocket that was heading for the Jewish nation. The Palestinian rocket was stopped by the Iron Dome anti-missile system.

Palestinian sources told Ynet that the IAF hit 4 “terror targets” inside Gaza, and at least two of the targets belonged to Hamas.

While many citizens heard explosions and reported them on social media, there were no immediate reports of injuries. Israel also had no reports of injuries from the rock that had been intercepted by the Iron Dome near the city of Ashdod.

Israel Defence Force (IDF) spokesman, Lt. Col. Peter Lerner stated: “This evening, the third day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, a rocket was fired at southern Israel sending the residents of Ashdod as well as several surrounding communities to nearby bomb-shelters. Hamas is responsible and will be held accountable for every attack emanating from the Gaza Strip. The IDF will continue defending all Israelis who are repeatedly attacked by such blatant acts of aggression.”

Sheikh Omar Hadid, and ISIS affiliated Salafist group, used social media to claim responsibility for the rocket attack. The group stated that the rocket was a response to the fatal shooting of Hadeel al-Hashlamon, an 18-year-old woman who was killed at the checkpoint in the West Bank last week. The arrest of an Israeli Arab women for allegedly joining ISIS was another stated reason for the rocket attack.

U.S. President Obama to Meet with Russian President Putin

In their first face-to-face meeting in nearly a year, President Obama and President Putin will meet in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly next week.

The meeting was at Putin’s request and officials believe the discussion will be over the situations in Ukraine and Syria. Press Secretary Josh Earnest reported to Fox News that Obama plans to warn Putin against boosting support for Bashar Assad and urge Putin to make more of a contribution in the fight against ISIS. President Obama also plans on using the meeting as a way to figure out Russia’s intentions in Ukraine.

“Given the situations in Ukraine and Syria, despite our profound differences with Moscow, the president believes that it would be irresponsible not to test whether we can make progress through high-level engagement with the Russians,” a senior administration official added.

However, Russian officials have stated that President Putin wants to focus the conversation on Syria.

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters: “Of course, the primary topic will be Syria.” Asked whether Ukraine would be discussed, he said: “Well, if time allows.”

Tensions have been high between the United States and Russia after the U.S. and other Western countries imposed sanctions on Russia last year. The sanctions came after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. Russia continues to deny that they are militarily involved in Ukraine.

The request for a meeting comes days after news agencies reported that Russia was building two more military facilities located on Syria’s Mediterranean coast.