Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/rantburg/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !
Recent Appearances... Rantburg

Arabia
STC members killed and wounded during clash in Zinjibar
2025-07-04
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] At least three members of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) were killed and four others maimed on Tuesday, including field commanders, in bloody festivities in the city of Zinjibar of Abyan
...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues...
province, southern Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
A local source in the city said that the festivities erupted between members of the Security Belt factions, led by Mustafa Lashqam, and the Gulf City Protection Force, led by Abdul Rahman al-Faqih.

The source attributed the festivities to previous disputes following the arrest of al-Faqih's brother by Security Belt forces last November at the Arish checkpoint on charges of possessing alcohol and women.

The festivities broke out after an attempt to oust al-Faqih from command of the Gulf City residential area in Khanfar district, which led to a kaboom of tensions between the UAE-funded faction leaders, who have witnessed unprecedented internal conflicts and disputes due to their rivalry over lands in the area.
Related:
Zinjibar: 2025-04-16 Former al-Qaeda commander and HTS associate launches new movement in Hadhramaut Valley
Zinjibar: 2025-02-16 Two prominent Al-Qaeda figures killed in Saudi-occupied Yemen
Zinjibar: 2025-01-15 New study reveals million dollar business in human trafficking of African refugees to Yemen
Related:
Southern Transitional Council: 2025-05-29 Putin begins talks with Yemeni leader al-Alimi
Southern Transitional Council: 2025-05-08 The US has given in to the Houthis
Southern Transitional Council: 2025-04-22 STC accuses unnamed groups of deception, potentially alluding to Islah and GPC parties — Hodhod Yemen News Agency
Link


Africa North
Malian army positions targeted in coordinated attacks, military says
2025-07-01
[Reuters] Seven Malian army positions in western Mali, some near the Senegalese border, were targeted in coordinated attacks early Tuesday, according to a military statement. No death toll was provided and the attacks, the latest in a new series, have so far not been claimed by any jihadist group operating in the vast, impoverished Sahel region.

Suspected jihadists attacked military installations in several towns in western Mali early Tuesday, the military and residents said, in a new series of attacks in the junta-led country amid resurging violence in the wider Sahel region.

For more than a decade Mali has faced attacks from groups linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State group as well as separatist movements and criminal gangs.

Jihadists have claimed two major attacks against the Malian army in just the last month.

Although Tuesday's attacks bore the hallmarks of jihadists from the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), no group has so far claimed responsibility.

Mali's army said in a statement that seven of its positions in the west had been targeted in "coordinated attacks carried out very early this morning". No death toll was given.

Residents and a local politician confirmed the attacks in at least four towns.

"We woke up in shock this morning. There's gunfire, and from my house I can see smoke billowing towards the governor's residence," one resident in the city of Kayes told AFP.

The person described the gunfire as "intense" while another reported sheltering at home while the assault raged on.

A military source confirmed that an explosion was first heard coming from the governor's residence but said that "by the time we got organised, there was already gunfire at the camp".

Elsewhere, a local political official wrote on Facebook that "the region of Nioro woke up in shock" and that the towns of Nioro, Sandare and Gogui had been targeted.

All seven of the towns named by the military are in western Mali, with one, Diboli, directly on the border with Senegal.

JNIM, from its position in Mali, hopes to establish itself in Senegal and Mauritania, according to a study by the Timbuktu Institute, a research centre based in Dakar.

Mali's military said in the statement Tuesday that the situation involving the latest attacks was being followed "very closely" and that it would provide more details later.

INTENSIFIED OFFENCES
The assaults come on the heels of two major attacks claimed by jihadists within the last month.

On June 2, a coordinated assault targeted an army camp in the ancient city of Timbuktu in Mali's north, as well as its airport.

Read moreTwin attacks on Malian army bases, Timbuktu airport leave scores dead

That attack came a day after a bloody raid killed at least 30 soldiers in the centre of the country.

Jihadists have also intensified their offensives in the larger Sahel region in recent weeks, carrying out raids not just in Mali, but also in Burkina Faso and Niger.

The three Sahel states' military juntas pledged during the coups that brought them to power to make security a priority, but they are struggling to contain the jihadists' advance.
Related:
Western Mali: 2021-01-03 Mali: Targeted attack kills two French soldiers
Western Mali: 2017-05-29 Syrian artillery pounds eastern Daraa
Western Mali: 2016-11-22 Malian Soldiers, Civilian Killed in Election-Linked 'Jihadist' Attacks
Related:
Kayes: 2023-11-03 UAE and Jordan concerned about 'expansion of conflict' following Yemeni strikes on Zionist forces
Kayes: 2023-06-11 Mali's sole passenger train resumes service after a 5-year hiatus
Kayes: 2022-12-27 Shin Bet busts Gaza-directed terror cell planning ‘major’ bombing in Israel
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syria's current position regarding Israel
2025-06-30
[X]

PM Netanyahu will only meet at the UN so long as Zohran Mamdani is not the mayor of New York City, because Mr. Mamdani has promised to arrest him, unless the State Department intervenes. The Golan Heights will not ever be on the table. Withdrawal from southern Syria might be, for a suitable consideration; so start with a very good offer, because you need Israel considerably more than Israel needs you. .
Golan’s status not discussed in talks with Israel, main concern is pullout from buffer zone, Syrian official says

[IsraelTimes] Syria has not brought up the issue of the Golan Heights in negotiations with Israel, with its main concern being the withdrawal of IDF troops from the buffer zone created in the south of the country, after the fall of president Bashar al-Assad’s regime, a Syrian official tells the Kan public broadcaster.
Perceptive — the HTS leader has a much higher EQ than any of the other Al Qaeda-related jihadi groups that I am aware of, including realizing that pure viciousness isn’t going to carry the day in the wider world. Israel no longer tries to buy peace with land — look what giving up the Sinai got them on 10/7. Also, the last time Syria held the Golan Heights, mortars regularly rained down on the Israeli towns below.
The official says that “the contact between Israel and Syria could be very meaningful,” and that the current government in Damascus is opposed to Iran and its proxy terror groups, Hezbollah and Hamas.”

“The issue of the Golan hasn’t even come up yet in the discussions. It is still early. But the Americans are a key factor here,” the official says.
President Trump recognized Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights his last term in office, so that’s already done, in case the Hayat Tahrir al Sham government was hoping America would force Israel to surrender.
The Assad regime had demanded that Israel withdraw from the Golan Heights, which it conquered in 1967 and then annexed in 1981, in exchange for a potential peace with the Jewish state.
It’s hard to miss that all Assad’s demanding did not result in Israel trading the Golan Heights for peace, or anything else for peace either. In fact all President Assad got was Israeli jets bombing his weapons stashes and Hezbollah and IRGC warehouses and drop-offs, which continued until HTS drove him out. Is this a game HTS wants to play?
The buffer zone, however, refers to a UN-patrolled buffer zone that was intended to keep Israeli and Syrian forces apart, which Israel took control of after forces loyal to Assad’s government abandoned their positions before rebel groups reached Damascus in December.

The United Nations considers Israel’s takeover of the buffer zone a violation of the 1974 disengagement accord. Israel says the accord had fallen apart since one of the sides was no longer in a position to implement it.
That’s how international law works. HTS has to start their negotiations from scratch. To their credit, they at least are ready to negotiate, and their demands are no more than testing the water to see what they’re facing.
Link


Africa North
Malian Army announced that a commander and his bodyguards from the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) were killed in the northern Ménaka region
2025-06-30
[PUBLISH.TWITTER] ULULULULULULULU!!!!!

Parachuted in a Syrian CEO? And former Al Qaeda muckety-muck who was jailed in 2005 for leading al Qaeda in Spain? I’m impressed.
Update from DeepNewz at 2:20 p.m. EDT courtesy of Besoeker:
Mali’s armed forces, backed by Russia’s Africa Corps and the Tuareg-led Movement for the Salvation of Azawad, have killed Islamic State Sahel Province commander Abu Dahdah and six of his fighters during an operation in Chamane, about 38 kilometres north of Ménaka. Military statements said the raid took place on 28 June after intelligence indicated the militants planned to address local residents.

Abu Dahdah, a Moroccan national
…not the Syrian gent of the same name?
also identified as Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, was described as the group’s explosives expert and deputy to senior ISSP leader Abu Algabas. Local sources link him to a recent high-profile assault in Bani Bangou across the Niger border. He previously served prison time in Spain for his alleged role in al-Qaeda’s 9/11 plot, according to Africa Corps accounts.
So the same gentleman, just a different birthplace. Got it.
In a separate development the same day, the Malian military reported that Boubacar Ibrahim—widely known as Oubel—and ten of his fighters surrendered with their weapons in Lellehoye, Ansongo circle. The back-to-back blow underscores growing pressure on Islamic State affiliates operating in Mali’s northeast.

Related:
Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas 04/29/2008 Funding charges for Spain's al Qaeda chief
Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas 12/20/2007 UK: Freed Guantanamo man arrested at Spain's request
Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas 04/26/2007 Moroccan wins case against extradition


Related:
Menaka: 2024-05-21 Black flags over the Dark Continent. Who is the Russian Afrika Korps fighting with?
Menaka: 2023-01-18 UN: Al-Qaeda and ISIS terrorist groups driving insecurity in Mali
Menaka: 2022-08-01 At least 16 killed in attacks in NE Mali
Related:
Salvation of Azawad: 2022-09-11 At Least 45 Persons Killed In Mali As ISIS Jihadists Attack Community
Salvation of Azawad: 2018-12-14 Several dozen killed near Mali's border with Niger
Salvation of Azawad: 2018-09-26 At least 12 dead in Mali attack near Nigeria
Related:
Abu Dahdah 12/20/2007 UK: Freed Guantanamo man arrested at Spain's request
Abu Dahdah 07/02/2007 Algerian security forces kill Ali Abu Dahdah
Abu Dahdah 06/01/2006 Spain acquits Sept 11 suspect of conspiracy charge


Related:
Ansongo: 2023-11-21 Mali: Minusma hands over 9th base to authorities
Ansongo: 2023-10-29 MINUSMA pull out from northern Mali enters new phase amid intensifying fighting
Ansongo: 2021-03-22 ISIS Claims Responsibility for Killing 33 Malian Soldiers
Link


Afghanistan
Islamic Emirate Rejects US Claims of Terrorist Safe Havens in Afghanistan
2025-06-28
[ToloNews] The Islamic Emirate has once again rejected accusations that terrorist groups are active in Afghanistan.
It’s a taqqiya lie, of course — the jihadi groups, mostly linked to Al Qaeda, have been there since the Taliban welcomed them the firet time they ruled the country.
Bill Huizenga, chairman of the US House Subcommittee on Foreign Affairs, claimed that following the withdrawal of US troops, Afghanistan has once again become a safe haven for terrorist groups, contrary to the Doha Agreement.

He stated: "Despite the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
's Doha Agreement's commitments Afghanistan has once again become a hotbed for murderous Moslems looking for safe harbor as they grow their ranks and abilities to project attacks across the region and frankly the world."

Meanwhile,
...back at the barn, a little lightbulb figuratively appeared over Bossy's head...
Yuri Kokov, Deputy Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, also expressed concern in an interview with a state newspaper, saying that instability in Afghanistan remains a threat to neighboring countries.

He said: "Despite the end of large-scale military conflict, instability in Afghanistan persists, posing a threat to neighboring states. There is particular concern about the plans of international terrorist groups such as ISIS, which intend to export terrorism to Central Asian countries and eventually to Russia."

Military analyst Sayed Muqadam Amin commented: "Russia plays a central role in global decision-making and acts with caution. It is closely monitoring the situation in Afghanistan. However,
there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened...
it has not yet developed a strategic relationship that would lead to formal recognition of the Afghan government."

In response, the Islamic Emirate strongly rejected the US claims regarding the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan.

Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, said that no one is allowed to use Afghan soil to threaten other countries.

"We strongly reject the claims made by the US House suggesting the presence of foreign groups in Afghanistan or threats emanating from our soil. Afghanistan has a strong and unified government with full control over its territory and does not permit anyone to use its land against another country," Mujahid added.

Concerns voiced by Western and regional countries about Afghanistan’s security situation have been repeatedly denied by the Islamic Emirate in the past.
Related:
Afghanistan: 2025-06-26 Syrian migrant accused of Germany stabbing was Islamic State member, say prosecutors
Afghanistan: 2025-06-26 Moment of Mutation: The US's Transformation into a Guarantor of Democracy Began with Korea'
Afghanistan: 2025-06-25 Make Iran Great Again? 'Tehrangeles' community in LA reflects on US strikes
Link


Home Front: WoT
College campuses could be ground zero for Iranian sleeper cells plotting to harm Americans, experts warn
2025-06-27
[FoxNews] Experts warn Iranian operatives could be leveraging anti-Israel protests after Biden's border policies enabled terrorist entry

As the threat of Iranian retaliation looms, the potential for terror proxies to leverage new-age methods remains front of mind for experts pointing to antisemitic campus protests and social media propaganda as possible methods of creating chaos within the United States.

After strikes on Iran’s key nuclear sites by U.S. forces Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin warning of the heightened risk of domestic terrorism from Iranian-backed or domestic attackers.

"The likelihood of violent extremists in the Homeland independently mobilizing to violence in response to the conflict would likely increase if Iranian leadership issued a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against targets in the Homeland," the bulletin says.

Sleeper cells are groups planted within a country by a foreign government to live and work among citizens with the ultimate goal of eventually carrying out a terror attack or politically motivated act of violence.

Due to depleted funding and resources, terror organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas have been forced to "sit this one out" when it comes to aiding Iran in its attacks, significantly depleting the regime’s show of force when looking to retaliate against the U.S. and Israel, according to Barak Seener, a senior fellow at the Henry Jackson Society.

"Iran’s ability to react militarily is increasingly minimalized," Seener told Fox News Digital. "We have to remember that Iran’s terrorist proxies have been severely degraded."

In response to the loss of Iran’s usual terrorist proxies, Seener points to the government utilizing sleeper cells to carry out its agenda on the soil of its adversaries.

"Iran will be seeking to flex by activating sleeper cells in the U.S., Britain, Europe or even Asia," Seener said. "[It’s] about conducting surveillance and then targeting either community centers or policy officials. So, Iran is not new to this game."

The threat to Americans’ safety has U.S. officials on high alert, and DHS and the FBI are ramping up security measures throughout the country. Since the bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites over the weekend, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 11 Iranian nationals in the country illegally, including an alleged sniper in the Iranian army, according to DHS.

"It is our duty to keep the nation safe and informed, especially during times of conflict," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "The ongoing Israel-Iran conflict brings the possibility of increased threat to the homeland in the form of possible cyberattacks, acts of violence and antisemitic hate crimes."

The FBI declined Fox News Digital's request for comment.

"A number of Lebanese, Iranian, South American operatives with Iranian connections have come through the borders," Seener said, referencing the Biden administration’s previous open border policies. "[There’s] just no way of tracking."

However, Seener also raised the possibility of Iranian operatives commandeering anti-Israel campus protests throughout the U.S. while using cyber warfare to launch disinformation campaigns on social media.

"Much of the opposition to U.S. foreign policy toward Israel and Gaza has been people that have been coming to the [country] on student visas," Seener said. "They’re not U.S. nationals. And, yet, they’re able to create a disturbance and contribute to an enormous disruption."

In response to the ongoing anti-Israel protests on college campuses, President Donald Trump has ordered his administration to revoke hundreds of student visas belonging to known activists.

However, the risk of Iranian sleeper cells pales in comparison to the possibility of an individual radicalized by the regime choosing to carry out an attack on U.S. soil, according to Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD executive officer with the Intelligence Operations and Analysis Bureau.

"If [Iran] was looking to insert an asset into America, why would you not go through a porous southern border," Mauro told Fox News Digital. "Insert foreign agents here and embed them in these campus protests." )

The campus protests provide the Iranian government an attractive target to embed with, with the primary goal of creating disruption and dissent on American soil, according to Mauro.

"They can be the recipient of funds," Mauro said. "They can contextualize what is going on for you. They can tell you who the big players are, how the disruption could go. And it just saps our blood and treasure here on the home front and creates chaos."

Like Seener, Mauro pointed to the possibility of the Iranian regime using social media and online platforms to radicalize Americans in an attempt to build homegrown terrorists from the ground up.

"That is a real low-rent, easy-to-run operation," Mauro said. "You get somebody who is leading a slipping down life [who] doesn’t have much of an identity, somebody who is looking for a persona, and you give them one. It’s subtle, and it’s a seduction process."

While the use of propaganda and targeted social media is historically aligned with ISIS, Mauro pointed out changing digital times affecting how attacks can be waged.

"Traditionally, that’s not the Iranian MO," Mauro said. "That’s not the Hezbollah MO. But we’re in a new world."

However, the possibility for terror groups to come together with new strategies to use against a common enemy remains front of mind.

"Right now, the enemy of my enemy is my friend," Mauro said. "You could have the kind of elements that previously, people in remnants of Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Syria, Iraq could [be] figuring right now that America is going to be a soft target because you have all this unrest among the progressives."

While the bulletin released by DHS does not cite any specific threats to the American people, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies throughout the country are on high alert as they encourage people to remain vigilant with tensions between the U.S. and Iran continuing to rise.

"There are no rules of engagement to a rogue regime like Iran," Seener said. "Everything is fair game. Western democracies don’t operate in that manner, and it’s alien to us, but that is how Iran operates."
Link


Africa Horn
Somali Forces and Local Militias Launch Major Offensive Against Al-Shabaab in Central Region
2025-06-26
[ShabelleMedia] Somali government troops backed by local militias have launched a large-scale military operation in the central Middle Shabelle region, targeting areas previously controlled by the Al-Qaeda-linked group Al-Shabaab, security sources and residents said on Thursday.

The operation is concentrated around Masaajid Cali Gaduud, a strategic town recently recaptured by Somali forces after being held by Al-Shabaab fighters for several months. The offensive has since expanded to nearby villages, including Towfiiq, where heavy troop movements have been observed.

Residents reported seeing heavily armed Somali National Army (SNA) soldiers and allied Macawiisley militias streaming into the area in a push to dislodge remaining militants.

Following the retaking of Masaajid Cali Gaduud, the army conducted mine clearance operations to secure key roads and infrastructure. Military officials said the town was used by Al-Shabaab as a launch point for attacks in Hirshabelle state and surrounding regions.

“Al-Shabaab has suffered heavy losses and has been forced to withdraw from several villages,” a military spokesperson told Radio Shabelle, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the press.
Related:
Middle Shabelle: 2025-06-25 Somalia delisted from child soldiers recruitment countries
Middle Shabelle: 2025-06-24 Al-Shabaab Weapons Store Destroyed in Somalia
Middle Shabelle: 2025-06-24 Somali Forces, Supported by Local Militias, Kill Over 20 Al-Shabaab Fighters in Clashes in Hiiraan
Related:
Masaajid Cali Gaduud: 2025-03-29 Al-Shabaab seizes strategic town during Somalia President's frontline trip
Masaajid Cali Gaduud: 2025-03-29 Why Al-Shabaab intensified attacks in Somalia recent months
Related:
Macawiisley militia: 2025-06-24 Somali Forces, Supported by Local Militias, Kill Over 20 Al-Shabaab Fighters in Clashes in Hiiraan
Macawiisley militia: 2025-06-21 Dozens of Clan Fighters Surrender to Al-Shabaab in Central Somalia: Sources
Macawiisley militia: 2025-05-27 Landmine Blast Kills One, Injures Two in Central Somalia Amid Ongoing Clashes
Link


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Two members of Basayev's gang were sentenced to 21 and 24 years in prison
2025-06-26
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Southern District Military Court sentenced two members of Shamil Basayev's gang,
…Shamil Salmanovich Basayev, also known as Emir Abdullah Shamil Abu-Idrisand by his kunya, “Abu Idris” (1965-2006). Basayev was a Chechen warlord in the post-Soviet Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, which after his death became the Al Qaeda-linked Caucasus Emirate. In 2015 most of the hard boys changed their allegiance to the local Islamic State affiliate, Vilayat Kavkaz, whereupon a majority chose to escape the Spetsnaz hunting them by making hijra to the caliphate in Syria — those that survived the reconquest and the SDF prison camps are about to become the property of the HTS government of Syria, which will be educational, one way or another. Some of Basayev’s projects were the 2004 Beslan school siege and the 2002 Moscow theater hostage crisis (the Nord-Ost siege)…
Vakhit Khamzatkhanov and Takhir Begeldiev (both are included in the Russian Federation's list of terrorists and extremists), to 21 and 24 years in a strict regime penal colony for participating in an attack on Russian servicemen in Chechnya in 1999. The court hearing was held on June 25.

The investigation established that the convicted men joined the gang of Basayev and Amir Khattab in 1999. In October, as part of a detachment of about 400 militants, they ambushed Russian fighters in the village of Chervlennaya in the Shelkovsky district. In the shootout, 15 Russian soldiers were killed and another 28 were wounded.

Begeldiev and Khamzatkhanov were found guilty under Article 317 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Encroachment on the life of a law enforcement officer or military serviceman." Cases were also brought against them under Article 209 ("Banditry") and Article 279 ("Armed rebellion"), but they were dropped due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

As reported by the Regnum news agency, in May the FSB published a video of the arrest of four members of the Basayev and Khattab gang, involved in attacks on Russian servicemen in 1999-2000. The operations took place in Stavropol Krai, Ingushetia, Dagestan and Astrakhan Oblast. The detainees were also in an ambush in the village of Chervlennaya. In addition, they participated in a battle with Pskov paratroopers near the village of Ulus-Kert in February 2000.

In October 2024, security forces detained three members of the Basayev and Khattab gang in Dagestan, Karachay-Cherkessia and the Volgograd region. They participated in the militants' attack on the Pskov paratroopers.
Related:
Shamil Basayev 05/28/2025 FSB shows footage of the arrest of four members of Basayev and Khattab's gang
Shamil Basayev 04/24/2025 Astrakhan resident convicted for justifying Beslan school seizure
Shamil Basayev 04/16/2025 Former Basayev hostage involved in Moscow metro niqab conflict

Link


Home Front: WoT
Suspect arrested for planning mass shooting at Texas Jewish community center
2025-06-22
Sudden Jihad Syndrome, another paid Iran proxy, Al Qaeda or ISIS? Or a nutter whose schizophrenia/bipolar/externally oriented depression drove him (or more rarely her) to go after a Jewish site? So many possibilities, so little evidence.
[IsraelTimes] Director of San Antonio’s Temple Beth El says FBI told him plot targeted the city’s entire Jewish community; mayor vows to take ‘all necessary steps’ for Jewish safety

A suspect was arrested Thursday who allegedly planned a mass shooting at the Barshop Jewish Community Center in San Antonio, Texas.

The suspect, who was not identified, was located by police in another state and was arrested based on statements made by the suspect while in police custody, according to San Antonio Police Chief William McManus.

In response to the alleged threats, the Barshop JCC was closed Thursday and police presence was increased at Jewish facilities throughout the city, according to police.

“The FBI received information overnight indicating that an individual may have been planning to conduct a mass shooting at a Jewish Cultural Enrichment Center,” the FBI San Antonio Field Office said in a statement. “An individual believed to be associated with this has been located by the FBI in another state and the investigation is continuing to determine the veracity of the threat information.”

Eric Ryniker, the executive director of San Antonio synagogue Temple Beth El, told local news channel KSAT that he had received a call from the FBI early Thursday morning informing him that they were not only “focusing on the JCC but the Jewish community entirely.”

Ryniker told KSAT that his reaction to the call from the FBI was “frustration more than anything” — but not because of how the agency was responding.

“Honestly, frustration more than anything because of how almost routine it is. It’s terrible. It’s tragic. It’s not OK,” Ryniker said. “And yet, this is just part of what we do. We have these protocols in place because we know things like this are going to happen.”

Rhonda Grimm, the president of the National Council of Jewish Women San Antonio, told local television station KENS that they had received a strong show of support.

“We received a great deal of support today, so while tensions are high and there’s anxiety, there’s a very, very strong show of support,” Grimm said.

“It could be us targeted, it could be another group targeted tomorrow,” Grimm continued. “We all look out for each other.”
Link


Home Front: WoT
Hezbollah sleeper cells and IRCG networks, oh my! U.S. Ramps Up Surveillance
2025-06-22
[ZeroHedge] President Trump stated Thursday that a potential U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear targets could occur within a two-week window. This announcement aligns with an uptick in U.S. military activity across the USNORTHCOM, USEUCOM, and USCENTCOM theaters, including airlift missions, the deployment of aerial refueling tankers, and the repositioning of naval assets—indicators consistent with pre-strike staging. While officially framed around countering Iran's nuclear program, the operation so far suggests regime change.

Simultaneously, in the Homeland, concerns are flourishing over the possible activation of Iran-backed operatives. According to CBS News, intelligence and law enforcement officials remain focused on Hezbollah-linked sleeper cells and IRGC proxy networks, which could be directed to carry out retaliatory actions if the U.S. initiates kinetic attacks against Iran to support Israel.

Here's more from CBS News, citing multiple sources...

As President Trump is contemplating potential U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, law enforcement officials have stepped up surveillance of Iran-backed operatives in the United States, multiple sources told CBS News.

FBI Director Kash Patel has increased efforts to monitor possible domestic sleeper cells linked to Hezbollah — a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization backed by Iran — since Israel's Operation Rising Lion offensive began earlier this month, U.S. officials said.

...

The threat from Iranian operatives has worried current and former administration officials since Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was assassinated on Mr. Trump's orders in January 2020.

CBS noted:

Late last year, federal prosecutors charged an operative of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and two U.S.-based people with plotting to surveil and assassinate critics of the Iranian regime. The IRGC operative allegedly told investigators he was pushed by unnamed IRGC officials to plan an attack against Mr. Trump.

The threat on the Homeland has never been graver given the Biden-Harris regime of globalists facilitated the greatest invasion this nation has ever seen on the southern border, with millions of unvetted migrants, criminals, cartel gangsters, and terrorists.

In late 2024, former CIA targeting officer Sarah Adams spoke on the Shawn Ryan Show about Al-Qaeda terrorists on American soil.

Ryan asked Adams: "I just want to clarify. You are 100% certain that there are 1,000 plus Al-Qaeda-trained fighters within the U.S. borders?"

Adams, currently a global threat advisor with extensive experience in Middle Eastern affairs, responded: "Well, Al-Qaeda says they trained and deployed a thousand for this attack. First off, I think there are more than a thousand Al-Qaeda members in the United States, but for the Homeland Attack, that number is based on what Al-Qaeda is saying, so they could exaggerate it; however, they did have about 1,400 in the Hamas Attack so the number is not off from what they did in the first round of attacks."

Frightening information to hear. Former CIA targeting officer Sarah Adams is warning of an IRGC U.S. Homeland attack in retaliation for Soleimani. She says 1,000 or more terrorists may already be here and discusses the “Invisible Bomb” undetectable to magnetometers and now… pic.twitter.com/tVGLhHGqZI

— Johnny St.Pete (@JohnMcCloy) December 28, 2024

The overlap between the Israel-Iran conflict and an elevated U.S. counter-terrorism posture signals a rising domestic threat environment should President Trump decide on direct military action. Open southern borders over the past four years via the globalists in the Biden-Harris regime have markedly increased uncertainty about the number of IRGC- or Hezbollah-linked operatives inside the country. In the event of a U.S. strike on Iran, these terror networks could conduct retaliatory attacks against high-visibility or soft targets.

Link


Africa Horn
Dozens of Clan Fighters Surrender to Al-Shabaab in Central Somalia: Sources
2025-06-21
19/06/2025
[ShabelleMedia] Dozens of clan-based fighters known as “Macawiisley” have reportedly surrendered to the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab group in parts of Somalia’s central Middle Shabelle region, local sources said on Thursday.

The defections come in the wake of a significant withdrawal of Somali government and African Union forces from several key areas, including the strategic village of Xawaadleey, which was recently abandoned after flooding from the Shabelle River.

According to local elders and officials, the Macawiisley fighters had long relied on logistical and military support from Burundian troops stationed in the area. Following the troop withdrawal, the fighters were left without supplies or reinforcements, prompting some to negotiate their surrender to Al-Shabaab.

“More than 20 of our fighters have surrendered to Al-Shabaab,” a Macawiisley spokesperson confirmed, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. “They had no choice after support was cut off.”

Local elders are said to be playing a key role in mediating between the clan militias and the Islamist group to ensure a peaceful handover. Witnesses report that Al-Shabaab has disarmed those who surrendered and absorbed them into its ranks or detained them.

The Macawiisley militia, composed largely of local clan volunteers, had been fighting Al-Shabaab in the region for several years with government backing. Their recent collapse marks a significant gain for the militants, who have intensified their campaign in central Somalia amid faltering counter-insurgency efforts.
Related:
Macawiisley: 2025-06-09 Heavy clashes erupted Saturday in Hiran region as Somali army, local militia battle Al-Shabaab, push continues Sunday
Macawiisley: 2025-06-01 Troop buildup on Somalia’s Hiiraan–Middle Shabelle border sparks fears of fresh clashes
Macawiisley: 2025-05-27 Landmine Blast Kills One, Injures Two in Central Somalia Amid Ongoing Clashes
Related:
Middle Shabelle: 2025-06-14 Somali forces kill 13 Al-Shabaab fighters in central operation: ministry
Middle Shabelle: 2025-06-12 Somali Forces Launch Major Military Push in Middle Shabelle region Tuesday
Middle Shabelle: 2025-06-09 Heavy clashes erupted Saturday in Hiran region as Somali army, local militia battle Al-Shabaab, push continues Sunday
Related:
Xawaadleey: 2025-06-07 Helicopter Crashes in Al-Shabaab-Controlled Area in Central Somalia
Link


Home Front: WoT
Lawfare: Supreme Court unanimously rules that American terror victims can sue PA and PLO
2025-06-21
Hams next? Let the lawsuits commence!
[IsraelTimes] Justices uphold 2019 law allowing American citizens harmed in attacks outside the United States to file lawsuits against the Palestinian entities

The US Supreme Court upheld on Friday a statute passed by Congress to facilitate lawsuits against Paleostinian authorities by Americans killed or injured in attacks abroad as plaintiffs pursue monetary damages for violence years ago in Israel and the West Bank.

The 9-0 ruling overturned a lower court’s decision that the 2019 law, the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, violated the rights of the Paleostinian Authority and Paleostine Liberation Organization to due process under the US Constitution.

Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, who authored the ruling, said the 2019 jurisdictional law comported with due process rights enshrined in the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment.

"It is permissible for the federal government to craft a narrow jurisdictional provision that ensures, as part of a broader foreign policy agenda, that Americans injured or killed by acts of terror have an adequate forum in which to vindicate their right" to compensation under a federal law known as the Antiterrorism Act of 1990, Roberts wrote.

The US government and a group of American victims and their families had appealed the lower court’s decision that struck down a provision of the law.

Among the plaintiffs are families who in 2015 won a $655 million judgment
Goodness! Any chance they’ll actually get anything like that amount out of the other side?
in a civil case alleging that the Paleostinian entities were responsible for a series of terror shootings and bombings around Jerusalem from 2002 to 2004. They also include relatives of Ari Fuld, who was fatally stabbed by a Paleostinian terrorist in 2018.

"The plaintiffs, US families who had loved ones maimed or murdered in PLO-sponsored terror attacks, have been waiting for justice for many years," said Kent Yalowitz, a lawyer for the plaintiffs.

"I am very hopeful that the case will soon be resolved without subjecting these families to further protracted and unnecessary litigation," Yalowitz added.

The ongoing fighting involving Israel and the Paleostinians served as a backdrop to the case, with Fuld’s murderer released as part of a hostage-prisoner exchange earlier this year between Israel and the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
-ruling Hamas
..always the voice of sweet reason...
terror group.

US courts for years have grappled over whether they have jurisdiction in cases involving the Paleostinian Authority and PLO for actions taken abroad.
A fair question.
Under the language at issue in the 2019 law, the PLO and Paleostinian Authority automatically "consent" to jurisdiction if they conduct certain activities in the United States or make payments to people who attack Americans.

Roberts in Friday’s ruling wrote that Congress and the president enacted the jurisdictional law based on their "considered judgment to subject the PLO and PA (Paleostinian Authority) to liability in US courts as part of a comprehensive legal response to ’halt, deter and disrupt’ acts of international terrorism that threaten the life and limb of American citizens."

New York-based US District Judge Jesse Furman ruled in 2022 that the law violated the due process rights of the PLO and Paleostinian Authority.
Do terror orgs have due process rights?
The New York-based 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling.

President Joe The Big Guy Biden
...46th president of the U.S. Joe's wife and daughter weren't killed by a drunk driver. He didn't graduate with three or even two degrees, wasn't in the top half of his law class, and his daddy didn't come home from a hard day's work in the mines and play football with the guys. The NAACP hasn't endorsed him every time he's run....
’s administration initiated the government’s appeal, which subsequently was taken up by President Donald Trump
...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US...
’s administration. The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case on April 1.
Related:
US Supreme Court: 2025-06-07 US Supreme Court allows DOGE broad access to Social Security data
US Supreme Court: 2025-05-29 Trump asks Supreme Court to allow deportations without warning
US Supreme Court: 2025-05-24 Temporary setback: Amy Coney Barrett ensures religious school fight fails in Supreme Court
Related:
Ari Fuld 06/09/2025 Australia blocks visit by Israel activist Hillel Fuld, causing diplomatic uproar
Ari Fuld 03/15/2025 Lawyer for Radical Columbia Grad Student Repped Al Qaeda Members—Including 'Close Associate' of Bin Laden
Ari Fuld 09/30/2018 Gilad Erdan: Israel Is Making Progress Against Terrorism And BDS

Related:
PLO: 2025-06-13 Hamas police says it killed 12 members of Gaza’s Israeli-backed Abu Shabab militia
PLO: 2025-06-13 Islamic State reactivating fighters, eyeing comeback in Syria and Iraq
PLO: 2025-05-30 Neville Witkoff
Related:
Jesse Furman 03/15/2025 Lawyer for Radical Columbia Grad Student Repped Al Qaeda Members—Including 'Close Associate' of Bin Laden
Jesse Furman 03/13/2025 Mahmoud Khalil: Palestinian Graduate Arrested In US Worked For UK 'Flagship Soft Power Policy', judge rules to keep him longer in LA detention, a dozen arrested in unruly protest crowd outside courtroom
Jesse Furman 01/16/2019 Judge bans citizenship question in 2020 census, says Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross 'violated public trust'

Link



Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/rantburg/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-12 More