"Russian Africa Corps soldiers deployed to Niger, which will challenge U.S. efforts to stay in Niger in the immediate term—undermining the West’s counterterrorism goals—and present long-term opportunities for the Kremlin to create threats that strategically pressure Europe."

🔶️ "The Africa Corps contingent in Niger will likely remain small in the coming months because it lacks the capacity for a bigger deployment due to recruitment issues."

🔶️ "This small footprint will enable Russia to strengthen its influence in Niger and consolidate its logistical network in Africa without significantly affecting the rapidly escalating al Qaeda and Islamic State insurgencies in Niger."

🔶️ "Greater Russian influence and military presence in Niger in the coming years will create several future opportunities for the Kremlin to strategically threaten Europe with energy blackmail, migration influxes, and conventional military threats."

Islamic regime hijacked Portuguese-flagged ship

The #Islamic regime in #Iran #hijacked the Portuguese-flagged container ship MSC #ARIES.
According to a Visegrád 24 report, the Islamic regime in Iran just hijacked the Portuguese-flagged container ship MSC ARIES, assisted by a helicopter. She was sailing from the UAE to India when it was hijacked near the Strait of Hormuz. Reportedly, 20 Filipino sailors are kidnapped.

The ship is part-owned by an Israeli firm, the "Zodiac Maritime" group.

Iran confirms seizure of MSC Aries in Strait of Hormuz.
"The Navy of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps seized the commercial vessel MSC Aries in the Strait of Hormuz, the IRNA news agency reported."

Possible reasons why the Houthis have reduced the intensity of attacks on ships in the Red Sea

The intensity of Houthi attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has decreased slightly. The last large vessel attacked was the tanker MADO, transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG), which was not seriously damaged and continued on its way.

Last week, the Financial Times reported on secret negotiations between Washington and Tehran. According to him, the United States is trying to influence the Yemeni Houthis not only militarily, but also diplomatically. In January, the White House held secret talks with Iran to persuade the Islamic Republic to influence Yemeni rebels to stop attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Iran did not deny the fact of the meeting, but emphasized that the negotiations were about something completely different.

Islamic Republic authorities claim that "resistance groups in the region do not receive instructions" from Tehran. However, the facts suggest that the Iranians still have considerable influence over their proxy forces. The American administration, for its part, allegedly agreed to lift a number of sanctions from Iran, which will allow the release of $10 billion. This is the price to pay for stopping the Houthi attacks.

Whether this information is a hoax with the aim of discrediting the Ansar Allah movement or, conversely, to raise its status, will become clear in the coming days. It is important to monitor the Houthis' actions over time. Since October 2023, they have carried out more than 100 attacks in the Red Sea and surrounding waters, affecting 15 merchant ships, including four American ones.

Shi’i armed groups fire three missiles at U.S. base in Syria

Armed Shi’i militias from the ‘Islamic Resistance of Iraq’ movement have launched a missile attack on the U.S. military base near the Koniko gas field in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor province, the Sham FM radio station said, adding that three missiles were fired.

Eyewitnesses reported explosions on its premises. There were no other details so far.

On February 8, the US military base near the Al-Omar oilfield in eastern Syria came under a drone attack.

Since October 17, 2023, US facilities in the region were targeted with 168 attacks. The Shi’i militias informed that they had conducted those operations "in response to the aggression unleashed against the Palestinians by the US-backed occupation regime of Israel.".

Killing of #Christians - #Sahel and Somalia: The Epicenter of Violence

In the Sahel region, a staggering 11,643 fatalities were linked to Islamic violence in 2023, marking a record high for any of the five African theaters. This represents a nearly threefold increase from the levels seen in 2020, highlighting the deteriorating security situation in the region.

Violence against civilians in the Sahel accounts for 35 percent of all Islamic-related events, the highest percentage across the continent. However, it’s important to note that the actual numbers may be higher due to underreporting, attributed to shrinking media coverage in the wake of political instability in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.

The report underscores that a significant portion of the surge in fatalities can be attributed to the Jama’at Nusrat al Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) coalition, particularly the Macina Liberation Front (FLM) and Ansaroul Islam. This Muslim coalition was associated with a 67-percent spike in reported deaths, making it a major driver of violence in the Sahel. - RAIR Foundation

CENTCOM Statement on U.S. Strikes in #Iraq and #Syria

At 4:00 p.m. (EST) Feb. 02, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups.

U.S. military forces struck more than 85 targets, with numerous aircraft to include long-range bombers flown from United States. The airstrikes employed more than 125 precision munitions.

The facilities that were struck included command and control operations, centers, intelligence centers, rockets, and missiles, and unmanned aired vehicle storage, and logistics and munition supply chain facilities of militia groups and their IRGC sponsors who facilitated attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces.

U.S. to respond to attack on its forces in Middle East, says White House

The U.S. government is now focused on responding to a recent strike targeting a US military base on the Jordanian-Syrian border, U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told reporters.

When asked whether the US was planning to act independently or in coordination with its partners to retaliate for the attack, Kirby replied: "We're focusing on US response, they killed American troops."

He also said the Islamic Resistance in Iraq group was responsible for the attack, which left three US service members dead and over 40 wounded. "We believe the attack in Jordan was planned, resourced and facilitated by an umbrella group called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which contains multiple groups, including Kata'ib Hezbollah," he said.

When asked whether Kata'ib Hezbollah played a key role in the attack, the US official replied: "This certainly has the earmarks of the kinds of things Kata’ib Hezbollah does." However, he emphasized that "attribution that our intelligence community is comfortable with is that this was done by the umbrella group called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq."

IRGC commander-in-chief vows to counter U.S. threats

Iran’s adversaries have unleashed a war against the country but Tehran stands firm and will not allow US threats to go unanswered, General Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said.

"Our enemies have unleashed an economic and psychological war against the people of Iran, threatening the country's security. Today, we hear threats in statements by US officials. You know that we will not leave a single threat unanswered," the Tasnim news agency quoted the general as saying.

Tehran is not looking for war but reserves the right to respond to damage done to its interests, Iranian Vice President Mohammad Dehghan said, commenting on threats from U.S. officials.

"Our message to the US, Israel and all their allies is that we aren’t looking for war. However, if our enemies are stupid and seek to damage Iran’s interests, our hands won’t be tied to protect ourselves," Dehghan stated in an interview with Iran’s Jamaran news agency. According to him, "the US position is not clear to the US itself, which means that the threats aren’t clear as well." He added that "Iran is a strong power" that "does not seek escalation."

Did Biden warn Houthis of attack before air strikes?

Informed sources told Sky News Arabia that the United States informed the Houthis before carrying out air strikes on their sites in Yemen.

We know from the Wall Street Journal that the Houthis were prepped for the attack.

Maritime executives have been told by Western diplomats that targets would likely include missile and drone launch sites, radars and weapons depots around the Yemeni cities of Hodeida and Hajjah. Infrastructure in the capital San’a is also on the list of possible targets, the executives said

Not sure why maritime execs needed to be told this ahead of time. Why not just put out press releases of target locations?

Houthi forces have transported some weapons and equipment and fortified others in anticipation of a strike by the U.S. and its allies, a U.S. defense official and a person close to the Houthis said. The Houthis have stockpiled their missiles in bunkers built by former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in San’a, a densely populated area, said the person close to the Houthis. This is the same playbook as Hamas, but there’s nothing unique there. It’s how Islamic terrorists operate.

But did the Biden administration tell the Houthis what our targets would be? It’s not such a crazy idea, because Obama used to tell ISIS where we would bomb. The war effort involved dropping leaflets warning that we would be bombing.

The Houthis claim that only 5 of their Jihadists were killed in the U.S.-U.K. airstrikes. Who knows if that’s true, but it would be a plausible number if they were told ahead of time to expect air strikes on particular targets.

That way Biden gets to put on a show of force without “escalating” the conflict. From the D.C. position, that’s a win-win. From the American position, it’s treason.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Navy Unveils New Warship

According to local reports, the Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis boasts advanced radar-evading technologies, a 14-day naval endurance, and a 2,000 nautical-mile radius.

In a ceremony held on Saturday in Iran’s southern port of Bandar Abbas, The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy unveiled a new batch of military equipment and systems, including a new domestically manufactured warship.

The Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis is a corvette-type vessel with a catamaran design which, according to Iran, has advanced radar-evading technologies, a 14-day naval endurance, and a 2,000 nautical-mile radius. The vessel is named after the deputy head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units who was assassinated alongside Quds Force commander Quasem Suleimani in a 2020 US drone strike.

Hezbollah’s media outlet Al Mayadeen reports that the IRGC Navy chief, Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, said during the ceremony that the corvette is akin to a “mobile maritime city.” According to Colton Jones on Defense Blog, analysts have identified several weapon systems, including 30mm and 20mm cannons, lightweight torpedoes, and six box launchers which can presumably house C802 anti-ship missiles.