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☆ Kabul airport attack exclusive: New evidence challenges the Pentagon’s official account of a horrific incident as the US withdrew from Afghanistan
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | Mick Krever | Mark Baron | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +22 min

One told CNN he heard the first large burst of shooting come from where US Marines were standing, near the blast site. This is significantly more than the three “near simultaneous” bursts of gunfire that the Pentagon investigations have claimed occurred. The Supplemental Review found no new evidence of a complex attack, and uncovered no new assertions of outgoing fire post-blast. “They were targeting people,” another, Nazir, 16, told CNN. CNN spoke with about ten Marines anonymously, many of whom described hearing gunfire and feeling under attack from it.

Persons: Hamid, Akhter Gulfam, –, Wakil Koshar, Robert Maher, Sarah Morris, Morris, Maher, Rob Lodewick, ”, “, ” Shogofa Hamidi, Morsal, Nazir, ” Noorullah Zakhel, Read, Sayeed Ahmadi, ” Ahmadi, Ahmadi, Lodewick, Marcus Yam, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh, “ You’ve, they’ve, It’s, Taylor Crul, Romel Finley, Finley, Barber, ‘, ” Finley, Christian Sanchez, Sanchez, Staff Mark Milley, Kenneth “ Frank ” McKenzie, Darrell Issa, Nick Paton Walsh, Sandi Sidhu, Julia Hollingsworth, Masoud Popalzai, Sitara Zamani, Abdul Basir Bina, Katie Polglase, Gianluca Mezzofiore Organizations: CNN, United, Pentagon, US, Airport, NATO, US Army Central Command, Getty, Montana State University, University of Southampton, Marines, British Ministry of Defense, U.S . Central Command, AP CNN, “, Los Angeles Times, Marine, ” Marines, Navy, US Air Force, . Air Force, Reuters, US Marines, YouTube, Investigators, Joint Chiefs, Staff, Central Command Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan, United States, airport’s, American, British, AFP, Bozeman, England, US, Kabul airport's, U.S, Finland, ”

☆ 3 Reasons This Country Is a Top ISIS Recruiting Ground
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Neil Macfarquhar | More About Neil Macfarquhar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the past year, jihadists from Tajikistan have been involved in an unusually high number of terrorist attacks or foiled plots linked to the Islamic State. Before that, Tajiks staged bloody assaults in Iran and Turkey, while several schemes in Europe said to involve Tajiks were thwarted. Hundreds of men from Tajikistan — a small, impoverished country in Central Asia controlled by an authoritarian president — have joined an affiliate of the Islamic State in Afghanistan known as the Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISIS-K, analysts say. Poverty Fuels DiscontentTajikistan ranks among the world’s poorest countries, which drives millions of workers to seek better lives elsewhere. In a country of 10 million people, a majority of working men, estimated at more than two million, toil abroad at any given time.

Persons: — Organizations: Islamic, Fuels Locations: jihadists, Tajikistan, Islamic State, Moscow, Iran, Turkey, Europe, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Khorasan Province

☆ An ISIS Terror Group Draws Half Its Recruits From Tiny Tajikistan
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Neil Macfarquhar | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Even though he spent five years in Tajik prisons as a teenager, she said he never exhibited signs of violent extremism. “We need to understand — who is recruiting young Tajiks, why do they want to highlight us as a nation of terrorists?” said the mother, Muyassar Zargarova. Many governments and terrorism experts are asking the same question. Tajik adherents of the Islamic State — especially within its affiliate in Afghanistan known as the Islamic State Khorasan Province (I.S.K.P. ISIS-K is believed to have several thousand soldiers, with Tajiks constituting more than half, experts said.

Persons: ”, Muyassar Organizations: Islamic Locations: Moscow, Tajikistan, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Khorasan Province, Russia, Iran, Turkey, Europe

☆ Opinion: We all lose if the Olympic surveillance state becomes the norm
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Opinion Jules Boykoff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

He is the author of six books on the politics of the Olympic Games, most recently “What Are the Olympics For?” The views expressed here are his own. France enacted an Olympic Games Law in May 2023 that legalized the use of AI-driven video surveillance this summer and allowed experimentation with intelligent video surveillance until March 31, 2025. The law made France the first nation in the European Union to greenlight biometric surveillance systems. She told me that the Olympic Law “infringes the right to privacy, the right to be anonymous in the streets.”“Everything in this is political,” Levain said. The French Ministry of the Armed Forces unveiled plans to use HELMA-P, an anti-drone laser weapon system prototype, at the Paris Games.

Persons: Jules Boykoff, Emmanuel Macron, Jules Boykoff Jessi, –, ” Noémie, “, ” Levain, ”, Gérald Darmanin, we’ve, Amelie Oudea, Macron, Natsuko Sasaki, Laurent Nuñez, Le, Danielle Simonnet, Thomas Bach Organizations: Pacific University, Olympic Games, CNN, Olympic, Games, ISIS, Stade de France –, Law, European Union, Amnesty International, European Civic Forum, Human Rights, Ministry of, France’s, French Ministry of, Armed Forces, Paris Games, Stade de France, Paris Police, Le Parisien, Paris, Patriotes, Palais Royal, National Assembly, France Insoumise Party Locations: Paris, Palestinian, Atlanta, France, Le, Europe, Moscow

☆ Opinion: Biden needs to bring US troops back from Iraq, now
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Opinion Daniel R. Depetris | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The subject of finally concluding America’s counter-ISIS mission in Iraq has been the plot of ongoing deliberations between Washington and Baghdad for the last three years. If the Biden administration’s approach is to wait for the perfect time to get out, then it will wait for eternity. It’s worth remembering why the United States sent troops to Iraq in the first place. The mission — eliminating ISIS’ territorial caliphate — was achieved. US troops should be pulled out of Iraq and Syria now.

Persons: Daniel R, Monday’s, Joe Biden, Mohammed Shia, DePetris, Sudani, ”, Biden, Nouri al, Barack Obama, “, —, Trump, Bashar Al, Assad, Saddam Hussein, territorially, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Israel, Iran’s Organizations: Defense, Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, Politico, Street, Guardian, CNN, Iraqi, ISIS, “, Islamic State, Maliki, US, US Air Force, State Department, “ ISIS, Twitter Locations: The, Iraq, Washington, Baghdad, Israel, United States, Syria, Iraqi, Mosul, Syrian, Baghouz, Iran, Iranian, Turkey, Russia, Afghanistan, Moscow, Israeli, Tehran

☆ Opinion: What does Iran really want?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“A modern, strong, peaceful Iran could become a pillar of stability and progress in the region,” former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wrote in 2006. Iran introduced into the Iraqi war zone highly effective roadside bombs known as EFPs – Explosively Formed Penetrators – that wounded and killed hundreds of American soldiers. The official US Army history of the Iraq War concluded that Iran was the only winner of that war. Iran’s ‘cookie-cutter approach’Norman Roule was the top US intelligence official on Iran from 2008 to 2017. The withdrawal of the US troops from neighboring Iraq is a key goal of Iran, which exerts considerable influence over some Iraqi politicians.

Persons: Peter Bergen, Osama bin Laden, Shah, Henry Kissinger, Iran’s ayatollahs, Karim Sadjadpour, Sadjadpour, Reagan, bin Laden, bin, al, Saddam Hussein, –, Noam Chomsky, Iran’s, Norman Roule, Roule, propping, Bashar al, Assad, Christine Abizaid, ”, Trump, Obama, Donald Trump, ‘, Benjamin Netanyahu, hasn’t, Joe Biden, Netanyahu, hadn’t, Biden, Abizaid, Mohammed Shia Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, CNN, Saturday, East, CIA, US Army, Israel, US National Counterterrorism Center, US Treasury Department, ‘ Deemed, United Nations, Israel’s, Hamas, Iran, White, ISIS Locations: New America, Israel, Iranian, Damascus, Iran, United States, Palestine, ”, Lebanon, Beirut, Saudi, al Qaeda, Iraqi, Saddam, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Red, Suez, Gaza, New York, Damascus ”, Jordan

☆ A bloodthirsty ISIS branch is 'on the upswing' after the US left Afghanistan in a lurch, a former top commander says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

AdvertisementIn the years since the US and its NATO allies left Afghanistan, a particularly violent branch of the Islamic State terror group has grown stronger. During the first few years of its existence, ISIS-K attacks were mainly confined to Afghanistan and Pakistan. The first year under the Taliban's rule saw a sharp uptick in terror attacks inside Afghanistan. But that trend has changed in recent months; attacks inside the country declined while attacks beyond its borders have increased. Thus, the conditions inside Afghanistan have awarded the terror group space to develop a greater capacity to stage external attacks.

Persons: —, Joseph Votel, Hamid, Taylor Crul, Michael Kugelman, Kugelman, MARCUS YAM, Votel, that's, Doug Ellis, Qassem, STRINGER, Michael Kurilla, John Kirby, Biden, Kirby Organizations: Service, NATO, 82nd Airborne Division, U.S . Air Force, US Air Force, REUTERS ISIS, Islamic, ISIS, Department of Defense, Hamid, AP, South Asia Institute, Wilson, Kabul International Airport, ANGELES, US Central Command, Security Forces, Staff, Getty, White, National Security, Department, Defense Locations: Afghanistan, Moscow, Kabul, Handout, Khorasan Provence, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Washington, Darzab district, Jowzjan province, Mar, Iran, Central Asia, Iranian, Kerman, Europe, Russia, Islamic State, Crocus, American, Achin, Nangarhar Province

☆ Ukraine isn't the only country Russia is trying to topple
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Even as Russian bombs pound Ukraine, Moscow's mercenaries and spies are busy trying to set much of the rest of the world afire. To Russia, the conventional warfare waged in Ukraine, and unconventional "gray zone" warfare waged around the world, are two sides of the same coin. Human intelligence operations are used to attempt elite capture through the offer of assistance to politicians who support Russian interests. "As the war in Ukraine protracts, Russia has an interest in creating crises further afield," said RUSI. "As a lot of Russia's unconventional operations are self-defeating, countering Russian unconventional warfare must be premised on careful, selective, and intelligence- driven targeting," the study emphasized.

Persons: —, RUSI, Vladimir Putin, Jack Watling, Oleksandr Danylyuk, Nick Reynolds, Britain —, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov, Kadyrov, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Britain's Royal United Services Institute, Business, Kremlin, Soviet Union, NATO, Directorate, Staff of, Armed Forces, Getty, Russian, Central African, Wagner, GRU Expeditionary Corps, Convoy, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Europe, Africa, Central Asia, Soviet, Montenegro, Moscow, Moldova, Russian, Britain, Ukraine protracts, Balkans, Russia's, Libya, Mali, Sudan, Central African Republic, Chechnya, Forbes

☆ Madonna honors victims and survivors of Pulse nightclub shooting in powerful speech during Miami concert
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Alli Rosenbloom | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Madonna is honoring the survivors and victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Florida. Authorities at the time said it was the deadliest mass shooting in the United States and the nation’s worst terror attack since 9/11. “My job is to bring you together, to make people dance, to make people happy, to not judge. This s— is not supposed to happen.”The “Vogue” singer named a number of the survivors in the audience and mentioned their harrowing survival stories. Innocent lives depend on it.”Madonna heads to Austin, Texas for her next “Celebration” tour show on Sunday.

Persons: ” Madonna, ”, who’d, Madonna, —, Gloria Gaynor’s “, Ray, Madame X Organizations: CNN, ISIS, Authorities, Vogue, . Volunteer Locations: Florida, Miami, American, Orlando, United States, Isla, Argentina, Orlando ., Austin , Texas

☆ 'Drone hunting drones' are already impacting Middle East conflicts
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Iran's 538 loitering missile is designed to intercept low-flying drones. The 358 missiles confiscated by the US Navy were powered by small gas turbine engines made by a Dutch company. "As air defense systems increase in power and effectiveness, it will mark a new challenge to drone systems that have long had command of the air," Rogers said. A US Central Command handout shows one of the Iranian-made 538 loitering missile seized by the USS Forrest Sherman in November 2019. CENTCOM'Drone hunting drones'A report in March speculates that Turkey's arch-foe, the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK group, may have acquired Iranian Meraj loitering missiles.

Persons: —, James Patton Rogers, Rogers, Ryan Bohl, RANE, Bohl, USS Forrest Sherman Organizations: Service, US Navy, Cornell Brooks Tech, Institute, Cornell University, American Warfare, Saudi, US, Pentagon, East, Command, USS, Kurdistan Workers ' Party, Turkish Locations: Iran, Yemen, Lebanon, Iran's, Dutch, Turkey, North Africa, Kurdistan, Iraq, Tehran

CNN —Paris police will “considerably boost security measures” for the Champions League quarterfinal between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona this week, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told journalists Tuesday. The heightened security presence follows a threat from the Islamic State terror group against the Parc des Princes and other European soccer stadiums hosting Champions League matches, Darmanin said. “We’re aware of online and media reports in relation to calls to target matches across Europe and here in London. Tightened security in the Spanish capitalIn Madrid, Spanish security forces are reinforcing security measures ahead of the city’s two Champions League games at the Bernabéu and Civitas Metropolitano stadiums, police sources told CNN. On Wednesday, 1,275 security personnel are expected to be deployed for a match watched by around 68,000.

Persons: Germain, Gerald Darmanin, Darmanin, ”, Ade Adelekan, “, Clive Mason, Santiago Bernabéu, Francisco Martín Organizations: CNN, Paris, Champions League, Paris Saint, French, League, European, UEFA, London’s Metropolitan Police, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Emirates, ” Arsenal, Metropolitan Police, Police, Bayern, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Santiago, PSG, Atlético Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, ISIS, Civitas Metropolitano, Spanish Locations: Barcelona, Parc des, London’s, London, Europe, Moscow, Spanish, Madrid, England

Public safety officials in England, France and Spain said Tuesday that they would step up security for matches this week in the Champions League, Europe’s marquee soccer competition, after ISIS-related groups called for violent attacks on the contests. The first of four quarterfinal matchups were scheduled in London and Madrid on Tuesday, and were to feature some of the top clubs in world soccer: Spain’s Real Madrid; the English giants Arsenal and Manchester City; and Germany’s Bayern Munich. Two other high-profile matches will take place on Wednesday in Paris and Madrid. “We don’t know what location might be particularly targeted, neither in what conditions,” the French interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, told reporters in Paris. The ministry said security measures at the matches in Madrid had been increased and additional agents deployed.

Persons: Gérald Darmanin Organizations: Champions League, ISIS, Spain’s, Arsenal, Manchester City, Germany’s Bayern Munich, ”, El Mundo Locations: England, France, Spain, London, Madrid, Spain’s Real Madrid, Paris, Spanish, El

☆ Opinion | Sensible Ways to Fight Terrorism
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

First, as the authors note, pulling all U.S. troops and intelligence assets from fragile conflict zones is a boon to globalized terror movements. Second, we must reckon with the underlying grievances that make violent anti-Western ideologies, including militant jihadism, attractive to so many in the first place. These include the ill effects of globalization, and a “rules-based” world order increasingly insensitive to the needs of developing countries and regions. Simply maintaining a military or intelligence presence in terror hot spots does nothing to reduce the sticky recruiting power of militant movements. Stuart GottliebNew YorkThe writer teaches American foreign policy and international security at Columbia University.

Persons: Hasn’t, Christopher P, Costa, Colin P, Clarke, Stuart Gottlieb Organizations: ISIS, Columbia University Locations: Iraq, Afghanistan, United States

☆ NATO’s next challenge: How to reverse years of underfunding defense
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

For over a decade, allies have chronically underspent on defense while the West’s adversaries modernized and bolstered their own military capabilities. Defense spending stayed low across the West not just because of budget pressures, but also because everyone – including the US – was frightened to provoke Russia. However, the nature of NATO allies’ support for Ukraine – much of it direct military support – has exposed the vulnerability that years of underfunding has caused the alliance. Fabian Bimmer/Pool/ReutersThis means that the challenge in front of NATO allies now is not just how can they meet the demand for weapons coming from Ukraine, but how do they reverse years of underfunding their own defenses? Some allies don’t trust that others will be quite so generous with defense spending if the Russia-Ukraine war were to end.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, Murat Kula, ”, ” John Herbst, Antony Blinken, Ulf Kristersson, Andrew Caballero, Reynolds, underfunding, It’s, Herbst, NATO’s, –, Jens Stoltenberg, Olaf Scholz, Fabian Bimmer, Stoltenberg, ” Stoltenberg, Peter Ricketts, Douglas Lute, “ Organizations: CNN, NATO, Turkish, Anadolu Agency, Pentagon, “, Swedish, US State Department, Getty, Ukraine, Rheinmetall, Trump Locations: Soviet, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, United States, British, Vilnius, Russia, Kyiv, Europe, Germany, AFP, North Korea, Iran, Washington, Unterluess, Baltic, Brussels, Finland, Sweden, NATO

☆ Gabrielle Union teases the possibility of a 'Bring It On' sequel with Kirsten Dunst: 'We may have something cooking'
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Caralynn Matassa | Palmer Haasch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Gabrielle Union told BI she and "Bring It On" costar Kirsten Dunst "may have something cooking." AdvertisementIf you're holding out for the possibility of a "Bring It On" sequel, you might not be completely out of luck. Union told BI. "We have talked about doing a 20-years-later thing that becomes a generational cheerleader movie," Reed told BI. Dunst told Entertainment Tonight at a Los Angeles screening of "Civil War" on Tuesday.

Persons: Gabrielle, Kirsten Dunst, Dunst, —, Gabrielle Union, Torrance, Union's Isis, Solange Knowles, Hayden Panettiere, Anne Hathaway, Alex Garland's, she'd, Union, Peyton Reed, Jessica Bendinger, Reed Organizations: Gabrielle Union, BI, Service, East, TV Festival, Union, SXSW Locations: San Diego, East Compton, Los Angeles

☆ Exclusive: State Department officials told House investigators they created Afghanistan withdrawal plans from scratch
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Kylie Atwood | Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The State Department has continued to publicly defend its decision making around the NEO as well as the ending of the war. Milley and retired Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, who were in charge of the US military during the withdrawal, blamed the State Department for not ordering a NEO sooner. The State Department officials did not weigh in on whether calling a NEO sooner would have had a substantial impact, as this would have preceded their arrival in Afghanistan. Although the State Department has faced sharp criticism from the Defense Department – most recently in a congressional hearing with retired Gens. Coordination with the militaryAnd on the ground, as they grappled with the frenzied and fluid situation, State Department officials and service members at Hamid Karzai International Airport were regularly coordinating.

Persons: John Bass, Jim DeHart, Jayne Howell, Michael McCaul’s, McCaul, Biden, ”, Mark Milley, ” Howell, DeHart, ” Bass, Hamid, Bass, Wendy Sherman, Washington . Howell, I’m, Howell, “, Trump, Anna Moneymaker, Milley, Kenneth McKenzie, McKenzie, Vedant Patel, “ It’s, Defense Department –, Gens, Kenneth McKenzie –, ” DeHart, didn’t Organizations: CNN, State Department, House Foreign Affairs, Republican, Department, Foreign Affairs, Chiefs, House Foreign, ”, DC, State, Department of Defense, Airport, Foreign Service Institute, Pentagon, Biden, Joint Chiefs, Staff, US, US Central Command, ” State Department, Defense Department, Hamid Locations: Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghan, Ukraine, Kabul Afghanistan, Washington ., Turkey, Rayburn, Washington , DC, extremis

☆ Opinion: Despite ISIS threat, Putin’s only concern is the politics of terrorism
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Opinion Douglas London | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Russia knows it has a terrorist problem, despite its deflection and spin to preserve Putin’s image, but his priorities are elsewhere. Russian intelligence also suffers from systemic failings in recognizing, penetrating and dismantling terrorist cells, failings that stem from doctrine and a deliberately stovepiped structure that obstructs information sharing and agility. FSB officers will coerce, threaten and intimidate potential sources with diminishing returns that will only fuel ISIS-K recruitment and fundraising, which is no doubt seeing a surge from its Moscow attack. Russian intelligence will be left to depend on the unwilling, ill-informed or duplicitous. At the Islamic State’s height, Tajik Gulmurod Khalimov commanded its Iraqi capital of Mosul.

Persons: Douglas London, ”, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Bortnikov, Douglas, Mike Pompeo, Russia’s, Sergey Naryshkin, Igor Korobov, Donald Trump, Pompeo, Russia Michael McFaul, Barack Obama, Trump, Putin, Gulmurod Khalimov, Khalimov, “ Omar al, “ Omar, ” Batirashvili, Washington, Sergei Skripal, Yulia Organizations: CIA, of American Intelligence, Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, Global National Security Institutes, CNN, Federal Security Service, CBC, Ukraine, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Russian Military Intelligence, Trump, White, ISIS, Central, Former, Terrorism, Embassy, K’s, Tajikistan’s Interior Ministry, Islamic Locations: South, Southwest Asia, London, Khorasan, United States, Afghanistan, Islamic State, Great Britain, Russia, Washington, State, Moscow, Syria, Iraq, Russian, US, Ukraine, St . Petersburg, Central Asia, Central Asian, Central, East, Turkey, Turkish, Istanbul, Mosul, Chechen, Georgian, Georgia, Iran, Kerman, Salisbury, England

For all of the counterterrorism wins that the United States has had in its fight against the Islamic State — and there have been many — we still have not figured out how to defeat it. It served as the latest deadly reminder that the Islamic State — and particularly its Khorasan branch, ISIS-K, which is active in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan — remains a potent threat. Several ISIS-K plots in Europe have been disrupted, with arrests in Austria, France, Germany and the Netherlands. All of these events point to what we now know: Stripping the Islamic State of its self-proclaimed caliphate is not the same as beating it. Forced from this redoubt, ISIS has reconstituted itself in other countries, going underground in less detectable — but more dangerous — forms.

Persons: “ Organizations: Islamic, —, ISIS Locations: United States, Russian, Moscow, Khorasan, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Kabul, Turkey, Europe, Austria, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Britain, State, Levant, Southeast Asia

☆ How ISIS has Europe and the US in sights after deadly Moscow attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

ISIS claimed responsibility for the Moscow attack. Maxim Shemetov/ReutersHe regards the Moscow attack as a “breakthrough success” for the group, demonstrating a level of planning not previously seen beyond south Asia. Russia’s support for authoritarian regimes in central Asia – which ISIS-K has described as Russia’s “puppets” – has deepened the animus. The attitude of the Russian government, both pre- and post- the Moscow attack, may not help it confront the threat. For ISIS-K, the Moscow attack is a coup.

Persons: Erik Kurilla, “, Sanaullah Ghafari, Edmund Fitton, Brown, Fitton, Amira Jadoon, ” Jadoon, Hans, Jakob Schindler, Christine Abizaid, ” Fitton, Maxim Shemetov, –, Gabriel Attal, ”, Jadoon, Putin, Abu Bakr al, Sinai, Vladimir Putin, Assad, Shamsidin, Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, Muhammadsobir Fayzov, Yulia Morozova, Shamil Hukumatov, ” Putin, ” Schindler, Alexander Bortnikov, they’ll, Rita Katz Organizations: CNN, Analysts, ISIS, Islamic, US Central Command, UN, Taliban, Russian, Clemson University, Counter, ”, K, US National Counterterrorism Center, –, Crocus City, US Defense Department, Paris, Central, Crocus City Hall, St, City, Tajik, Kyiv, SITE Intelligence Locations: State, Ukraine, Gaza, Moscow, Khorasan, Afghanistan, Europe, Asia, Russia, ‘, Islamic State, Pakistan, Iran, Crocus, United States, West, New York, Tajik, Kabul, Afghan, Kandahar, Central Asia, Baujur, Pakistani, Baluchistan, Iranian, Kerman, Germany, al Qaeda, Turkey, France, America, Russian, Sharm el, St . Petersburg, Syria, Kaluga, St Petersburg, Istanbul, Washington

☆ After the Moscow Attack, Putin’s Next Escalation Is Coming - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Hanna Notte | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In the wake of the terrorist attack at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall last Friday, which killed at least 143 people, Russia is in mourning. Despite ISIS claiming responsibility for the attack, the Russian leadership has repeatedly blamed Ukraine and its Western backers. But even without the Crocus City Hall attack, Mr. Putin was primed to step up his assault on Ukraine. After his landslide victory in this month’s rubber-stamp presidential election, Mr. Putin is more secure than ever in his position and free to focus fully on the war effort. The timing is good, too: With Western military support for Kyiv mired in uncertainty, the next few months offer Moscow a window of opportunity for new offensives.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, “, ”, Dmitri Peskov, Putin Organizations: Moscow’s, ISIS Locations: Moscow’s Crocus, Russia, Ukraine, Kyiv, Crocus, Russian, Moscow

☆ Kremlin’s security services were aware of ISIS threat to Russia before concert attack, new evidence from investigative body suggests
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Matthew Chance | Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The Kremlin’s security services were aware of an ISIS threat days before a deadly attack on a concert hall near Moscow, Russian intelligence documents obtained by a UK-based investigative organization suggest. The Dossier Center is a Russian investigation group backed by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an exiled former Russian oil tycoon turned Kremlin critic. “Even before the attack on Crocus City Hall, a source close to the intelligence services told the Dossier Center about this,” it added. The following year, German police arrested several people from Tajikistan accused of plotting an attack on Cologne Cathedral, according to the Dossier Center. According to the Dossier Center, Russian law enforcement was monitoring all these reports and “considered the risk” to Russia.

Persons: Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Vladimir Putin, “, ”, Adrienne Watson, Putin, ” Putin, Ilya Ponomarev, CNN’s Erin Burnett Organizations: CNN, ISIS, Crocus City Hall, Security, Crocus City, Central, Embassy, National Security, Kremlin Locations: Moscow, London, Russia, Crocus, Russian, Tajikistan, Washington, United States, Ukraine, Kabul, Cologne, Kyrgyzstan

☆ Central Asian migrants face xenophobic backlash in Russia after Moscow terror attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Sebastian Shukla | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The men had been in Russia as migrant workers on either temporary or expired visas, authorities said. But in the days since, that emotion – combined with the disturbing videos – appears to have unleashed a wave of xenophobia from some towards Central Asian migrant workers in general. Her organization offers legal assistance to migrants looking for help in Russia, often on a pro bono basis. We need to spread the word.”A user in another channel, with 200,000 followers, suggested there was no space for anyone to feel sorry for migrants in Russia. According to Umerov, there are some 7 million migrants in Russia, of whom around 80% are from Central Asia.

Persons: Moskovsky, “ I’m, Vladimir Putin, Shamsidin, Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, Muhammadsobir Fayzov, Yulia Morozova, Putin, ”, ‘ It’s, Valentina Chupik, Tong Jahoni, Temur Umerov, don’t, ” Umerov, Umerov, Emomali Rahmon, “ Putin Organizations: CNN, Moscow’s Crocus, Central, Crocus City Hall, Reuters, Soviet, Kazakhstan —, Human Rights Watch, Central Asia, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Hall, Russian, Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry, European Bank for Reconstruction, “, Institute of Economics, Russian Academy of Sciences, ISIS, Kremlin Locations: Moscow’s Crocus City, Tajikistan, Soviet, Central Asia, Russia, Ivanovo, Russian, Crocus, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Illinois, Moscow, Central, Berlin, Ukraine, Kyrgyz, Tashkent, Western

☆ Former CIA officer breaks down 'duty to warn' requirement that saw the US give rival Russia a heads up before the attack in Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Ella Sherman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ex-CIA officer Laura Thomas explained the 'duty to warn' protocol, that sounds the alarm on threats. Before the March 22 Crocus City Hall attack, Russia dismissed the US warnings. The CIA uses the "duty to warn" protocol to alert a US or non-US entity of an impending threat. Once a "duty to warn" notification is delivered, the CIA officer who issued the warning documents marks it as a "fulfilled" duty. "CIA's own duty to warn process does not always involve State Department, as it is not the same as a 'public' notification," Thomas said.

Persons: Laura Thomas, —, It's, ake, ould, ure, eason, haring, ike Organizations: CIA, Crocus City, Service, ust, tate Locations: Russia, italy

A day before the U.S. embassy in Moscow put out a rare public alert this month about a possible extremist attack at a Russian concert venue, the local C.I.A. station delivered a private warning to Russian officials that included at least one additional detail: The plot in question involved an offshoot of the Islamic State known as ISIS-K.American intelligence had been tracking the group closely and believed the threat credible. Within days, however, President Vladimir V. Putin was disparaging the warnings, calling them “outright blackmail” and attempts to “intimidate and destabilize our society.”Three days after he spoke, gunmen stormed Crocus City Hall outside Moscow last Friday night and killed at least 143 people in the deadliest attack in Russia in nearly two decades. ISIS quickly claimed responsibility for the massacre with statements, a photo and a propaganda video. What made the security lapse seemingly even more notable was that in the days before the massacre Russia’s own security establishment had also acknowledged the domestic threat posed by the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan, called Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISIS-K.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, ” Organizations: Crocus City Hall, Moscow, ISIS, Islamic State Locations: U.S, Moscow, Russian, Islamic, Crocus, Russia, Afghanistan, State Khorasan Province

☆ Opinion: Watch carefully what Putin does next
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Literally and figuratively, Putin was telling Russians — who would soon vote in a presidential election — that he was the man to protect them. Once in office, attack after attack gave him the pretext to dismantle democracy brick by brick. Once in office, attack after attack gave him the pretext to dismantle democracy brick by brick. Patrushev, incidentally, now heads the national security council, and as I recently wrote, is a possible successor to Putin. The terrorist attack was a glaring failure by the president and his regime.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Vladimir Putin, Boris Yeltsin, Putin, —, ”, Yeltsin, Nikolai Patrushev, Alexander Litvinenko, Denis Sinyakov, Moscow’s, beholden, Oleg Nikishin, Crocus Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Frida Ghitis CNN, Crocus City Hall, ISIS, Putin, FSB, European Court, Human Rights, Kremlin, Chechen, Getty Locations: Crocus, Moscow, Ukraine, Washington, Chechnya, Russian, Ryazan, AFP, Russia, Beslan, ”

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