India weighs tough response after Pahalgam attack

New Delhi is considering ending the ceasefire with Pakistan after the Pahalgam terrorist attack. On April 22, three armed men in camouflage opened fire on tourists in Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam, killing 26 people – including one Nepalese citizen. The Resistance Front, linked to Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility.

#India accused Pakistan of failing to uphold commitments along the Line of Control and International Border, and of not curbing cross-border terrorism, News18 reports. Pakistan denied the allegations. In response, India reduced embassy staff in Islamabad, expelled Pakistani military advisers, closed the ‘Attari’ border checkpoint and suspended the key River Indus water supply agreement. India also halted issuing visas to Pakistani citizens.

#Pakistan retaliated by suspending all bilateral agreements, warning India against the water cut-off and closing airspace to India. It also expelled Indian defense advisors, accusing India of supporting terrorist groups in Pakistan.

Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger take armies to maximum alert

Leaders of #Burkina Faso, #Mali and #Niger, which all are members of the Sahel Alliance, decided to take their defense and security forces to the highest alert, says the joint statement of the three countries’ leaders, signed by Interim President of Mali, Chairman of the #Sahel Alliance conference Assimi Goita. "The College of national leaders closely follows the deceiving maneuvers, initiated by the French junta, who declares the shutdown of its military bases only to replace them with another, less visible mechanism, which pursues the same neo-colonial goal," says the statement, published by the AES info website.

"These actions are accompanied by operations on reorganization and regrouping of terrorist groups in the Lake Chad basin, in Sahel and in some border areas, including borders between Niger and Nigeria, Niger and Benin, Niger and Burkina Faso. These groups receive various support from foreign states, including funds and equipment, intended for destabilization of the Sahel Alliance," the statement read.

Faced by these circumstances, the College of national leaders ruled to "take the defense and security forces to maximum alert, and make the confederacy’s territory a single theater of military operation, which coexists with the current national war theaters.".

[BREAKING] Houthi terrorists "detain" at least nine UN workers
Others working for aid groups also likely have been taken.
The detentions come as the Houthis, who seized Yemen’s capital nearly a decade ago and have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition since shortly after, have been targeting shipping throughout the Red Sea corridor.

'As usual, if you are Islamic terrorists, you can do whatever you want, and no one cares.'

Iran - The architect of global terrorism
#Iran heavily funds, supports and trains #terrorist groups around the world—expanding its influence all across the globe.
Iran has revealed it’s true face as the biggest sponsor of global terrorism.

Kyrgyzstan says outside forces trying to recruit citizens for terrorist attacks in Russia

Recruiters through social networks are trying to recruit #Kyrgyz citizens, including minors, to carry out #terrorist attacks in Russia, #Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Labor, Social Security and Migration said.

"The representative office of the Ministry of Labor, Social Security and #Migration in #Russia warns that [external forces are trying] to recruit citizens, including minors, through social networks and popular messengers, such as Telegram, to participate in terrorist attacks in Russia," the statement posted on the ministry’s website said. According to the representative office, recruiters operate mainly through dating sites, looking for potential victims, "analyzing correspondence in various religious, cultural, national and other social groups," betting on "vulnerable people, depressed or experiencing any difficulties."

The representative office urged Kyrgyz citizens residing or temporarily staying in Russia not to give in to various provocations, not to seek employment through social networks, not to participate in various actions, as well as to control children. "At the same time, the office reminds that participation in a terrorist act is punishable by up to life imprisonment under Russian criminal law," the statement said.

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.".

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. Navy warship shoots down Iranian drones, Houthi missiles, over Gulf of Ade

The USS Carney shot down three Iranian drones and one anti-ship ballistic missile Wednesday launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

The Houthi missile was headed toward the Gulf of Aden at about 8:30 p.m. local time. Forty minutes later, the USS Carney shot down three Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) nearby.

The U.S. Central Command said there were no injuries or damage reported. The attack comes amid an uptick in tensions in the region. Houthis have been targeting commercial ships and vessels in the Red Sea, prompting U.S. forces to respond with a series of precision strikes.

The Houthis say the attacks, which began in November, are intended to protest the Israel-Hamas war in the region, but many of the recent attacks have no clear ties to Israel. As a result, shipping companies have been forced to find alternative shipping routes, driving up oil prices and delaying the delivery of goods, raising concerns about the effect on the global economy.

U.S. officials said earlier this week that U.S. troops have come under fire from Iranian-backed groups more than 160 times since late October. The attack also comes just a few days after three U.S. service members were killed and about 40 others injured in a deadly drone strike in Jordan Sunday.

Biden has pledged to respond to the attack in a “time and manner of our choosing,” but he has also made clear he does not seek a larger war.

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."