Counterterrorism - Page 3

Immediately following Friday’s horrendous jihadist attacks, the Italian government decreed a level-two terrorist alert for the whole country, considerably increasing security measures around the Vatican City State, considered a prime target of ISIS terrorists. The level-two alert comprises the deployment

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Iran increased its nefarious activities in the Middle East in the months after it reached a nuclear deal with U.S.-led world powers, suggested a top State Department official.

The reported emergence of a new terror group in Afghanistan, calling itself the “Islamic Commandos,” indicates that the country remains a safe haven for terrorist organizations.

Al-Qaeda has been replaced by the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) as the number one threat to the U.S. homeland, argue members of President Obama’s top intelligence, counterterrorism, and law enforcement team, who focus on national threats, reports The News York Times (NYT).

The U.S. is seeking to establish a drone base in North Africa to combat the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in Libya, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has learned from American counterterrorism officials.

In a coordinated blitz early Wednesday morning, the Italian counterterrorism police (“Digos”) arrested three Italian Islamists and an Albanian in three different northern Italian cities as special units of the Albanian police made a connected arrest in Albania.

American troops in Afghanistan raided the home of a local anti-Taliban commander and proceeded to blow up a munition cache inside his home, an action that shows U.S. forces are carrying out combat missions beyond their stated train, advise, and assist role, reports The New York Times (NYT).

The Bashar al-Assad regime launched airstrikes to help its purported enemy the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) advance in and around Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, the U.S. Embassy in Syria wrote on its official Twitter account.

“Secret files held by Yemeni security forces that contain details of American intelligence operations in the country have been looted by Iran-backed militia leaders, exposing names of confidential informants and plans for U.S.-backed counter-terrorism strikes,” reports the L.A. Times.

ROME, Italy– At dawn on Wednesday, Italian special forces executed the final stage of a counterterrorist operation, breaking up an ISIS terrorist cell in northern Italy.

Australia has been conducting a strong push against terrorism, which began months ago with some general comments from officials who knew they had a problem, and it quickly developed into effective action. Part of the program involves preventing would-be jihadis, including teenagers, from fleeing the country and signing up with ISIS and other ugly crews in Iraq and Syria.

Wednesday at the White House press briefing, reporters from ABC, CNN and Fox News grilled press secretary Josh Earnest for continuing to claim Yemen is the Obama administration’s model for counterterrorism. Their questions come as today’s news that the country

Norwegian police have revealed the gruesome clips they have discovered on the phones of new arrivals, but have admitted proving whether the asylum seekers have a hidden evil intent is prohibitively difficult. The films found while making inspections of the

Chinese officials visited Baghdad this weekend to vow cooperation with the Iraqi government in eradicating the Islamic State and rebuilding the oil-rich Iraqi economy. Outlets differ on the sparse details, though the message of resolve to participate in the fight against ISIS appears throughout.

Monday at the White House press briefing, in light of Saturday’s evacuation of all remaining special forces troops amid the chaos erupting in Yemen, when asked if President Barack Obama’s claims that Yemen is a model for success in U.S.

President Barack Obama is meeting next week with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and is expected to announce plans to slow down the pace of troop withdrawals between now and the end of 2016 to maintain security in Afghanistan.