NEW: #ISIS in the #Philippines - 300-500 members in the south, per @DoD_IG report on Operation Pacific Eagle–Philippines
"There was no significant change in the reported strength, capabilities, territory or leadership of the Philippine ISIS affiliates" - acting IG Sean O'Donnell
.@USEmbassyPH warned in April #COVID19#coronavirus was placing "significant operational constraints" the #Philippine military "which would limit its ability to deter terrorist operations as the AFP shifts its limited resources to supporting public health efforts" per @DoD_IG
#ISIS-Philippines led for now by Hatib Sawadjaan, who took the role following the group's defeat in #Marawi in September 2017
But US assesses Sawadjaan's hold on power is tenuous & ISIS is "divided among several factions & lacking an overall leader" @DeptofDefense told @DoD_IG
Per @INDOPACOM, #ISIS-#Philippines includes: Abu Sayyaf Group, Esmael faction of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, the Maute Group & Ansar Khalifah
All remain "geographically separated & likely had minimal direct contact with one another" @DefenseIntel told @DoD_IG
.@DefenseIntel tells @DoD_IG there's no significant flow of #foreignfighters to #Philippines but report warns "Indonesian & Malaysian terrorists likely continue to view the southern Philippines as an attractive destination to escape counterterrorism pressure"
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NEW: US charges American TV presenter for Channel One #Russia & his wife in scheme to evade US sanctions
@TheJusticeDept unsealed the indictment vs 76yo Dimitri Simes & 55yo Anastasia Simes Thursday
They have a home in #Virginia but "remain at large...believed to be in Russia"
Dimitri & Anastasia Simes each charged w/1 count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 1 count of violating the IEEPA & 1 count of conspiracy to commit int'l money laundering
Per @TheJusticeDept, it's a maximum of 20 years per count
Dimitri Simes alleged to have violated sanctions by "serving as a presenter & producer of programming, & by receiving over $1 million, a personal car & driver, a stipend for an apartment in #Moscow... a team of 10 employees from Channel One Russia" per DOJ
Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash & Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi were charged in June 2008 & then again in May 2012 for their alleged roles in planning the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on #NewYork's World Trade Center & the Pentagon
JUST IN: US issues new National Counterintelligence Strategy
Updated strategy, signed by @POTUS Thursday, based on 3 pillars, per @NCSCgov:
-outmaneuver/constrain foreign intelligence entities
-protect US strategic advantages
-invest in the future
"Foreign intelligence and security services & their proxies persist in seeking to acquire our most
sensitive information, technology, and intellectual property" per @POTUS in the just-released strategy
"Non-state actors are following suit"
Foreign intelligence entities "also seeking to take advantage of the proliferation of commercially available tools to conduct surveillance; collect vast amounts of previously unavailable personal data;
& position themselves to disrupt our infrastructure..." per @POTUS
Some nuggets from @FBI Dir. Christopher Wray's appearance Tuesday before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies...
#ArtificialIntelligence & #Election2024-"We are, of course, seeing & I've been warning about this for some time, the role of AI to enhance efforts that our foreign adversaries have already been engaged in" per @FBI's Wray
"It's not that it [#ArtificialIntelligence] changes fundamentally what it is our adversaries want to do...it allows them to amplify to do it, to make it more sophisticated, more deceptive, cheaper, faster" per @FBI's Wray