#ISIS in #Iraq#Syria "remains resilient" per latest @UN report, calling it "a cause of concern for Member States"
"#ISIL operations have increased in the core conflict zone of Iraq & the Syrian Arab Republic" per the report
#ISIS "#ISIL maintains the ambition to control territory & populations but, for the moment, represents an entrenched rural insurgency without the reach to threaten urban areas on a sustained basis" per @UN report
.@UN report says there may be an #ISIS power vacuum
"The new leader of #ISIL, Amir Muhammad Sa’id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla, has not visibly asserted himself in communications, which may prove to be a limiting factor in his influence and appeal, & perhaps that of the group"
"The delegation of authority from the [#ISIS] core to the remote provinces & the loosening of command & control within #ISIL are expected to continue & perhaps accelerate in present circumstances" per @UN report
.@UN report estimates #ISIS has more than 10,000 fighters in #Iraq & #Syria "with regular movement between the two, especially where #Anbar & #Ninawa Provinces border the Syrian Arab Republic"
ISIS "has established safe havens in the Hamrin mountain range of north-eastern Iraq"
#ISIS waging "war of attrition" in #Iraq, per @UN report "... targeting security forces & other communities, as well as members of its own community who are deemed to be collaborators"
#ISIS "has exploited security gaps caused by the pandemic and by political turbulence in #Iraq to relaunch a sustained rural insurgency, as well as sporadic operations in #Baghdad & other large cities" per @UN report
#ISIS utilizing political assassinations as parts of its #Iraq strategy, per @UN
"It also attacks businesses in territories it previously occupied...Attacks on farms and the burning of crops in fields have become increasingly common tactics"
In #Syria "the overall situation remains precarious" re #ISIS, with concern about prisons, displaced person camps
"A steady stream of #ISIL-affiliated women are reported to have escaped the camp into #Turkey with the aid of corrupt guards & smugglers" per @UN report
East of the #Euphrates River, #ISIS fighters "attacking energy, transport & communications facilities" per @UN report
West of the river, sleeper cells attack "power installations & oil facilities...military convoys & civilian traffic along the Dayr-al-Zawr Tadmur (Palmyra) Road"
#ISIS financial reserves at $100 million, per @UN-down from previous estimates of up to $300 million
"The group continues to raise funds deemed sufficient for its ongoing operations...kidnap for ransom,donations, some commercial activity&the extortion of individuals &businesses"
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HAPPENING NOW - US intelligence chiefs testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee:
@ODNIgov Dir Avril Haines
@CIA Dir William Burns
@FBI Dir Christoper Wray
@NSAGov Dir Gen Timothy Haugh
@DefenseIntel Dir LtGen Jeffrey Krause
@StateDept Asst Sec for Intel Brett Holmgren
Noting that the current era is as challenging as ever, with a wide variety of threats, Senate Intelligence Committee Chair @MarkWarner calls for "redefining what we think of" when it comes to national security
@MarkWarner "We are no even seeing the possibility of foreign adversaries weaponizing space" in ways that could be detrimental to US way of life, per @MarkWarner
NEW: @FBI joins White House, Senate intelligence committee chair in sounding alarm about foreign interference in #Election2024
"This election cycle, the US will face more adversaries, moving at a faster pace & enabled by new technology
per Dir Christopher Wray at @INSAlliance
#ArtificialIntelligence advances "lowering the barrier to entry-making it easier for both more & less-sophisticated foreign adversaries to engage in malign influence" per @FBI's Wray
"Making foreign influence efforts by players old and&new more realistic & difficult to detect"
@FBI Where are US adversaries focused?
“The attack surface for the bad guys is the private sector” per @FBI's Wray "The intelligence that we need is in the hands of the private sector, often”
NEW: US worried about #Russia seeking to interfere in #Election2024
"Of course there are concerns" White House Nat'l Security Adviser @JakeSullivan46 tells @MeetThePress
"There's plenty of reason to be concerned" per @JakeSullivan46
"There is a history here in presidential elections by the #Russia|n Federation, by its intelligence services" he says
"We are going to be vigilant"
Concerns about #Russia|n interference in #Election2024 "not about politics" per @JakeSullivan46
"This is about national security. It is about a foreign country, a foreign adversary seeking to manipulate the politics & democracy of the United States of America."
NEW: US confirms #Houthis using "various #Iran|ian-origin missiles & unmanned aerial vehicles" in their attacks on shipping in the #RedSea #GulfofAden
Conclusion based on new analysis by @DefenseIntel
The assessment is based on information current as January 2024 - including a "comparative analysis of publicly available images of #Iran|ian missiles & UAVs to those displayed & employed by #Houthi forces in #Yemen to attack commercial shipping" per @DefenseIntel
US @DefenseIntel on #Iran|ian drones in #Houthi arsenal:
-Sayad (Sammad) - range of 1800km
-Shahed-136 - range of 2500km
-Waid-1 (version of the Shahed-131) - range of 900km
AQ "established up to 8 new training camps in Afghanistan, including four in #Ghazni, #Laghman, #Parwan & #Uruzgan Provinces w/a new base to stockpile weaponry in the #Panjshir Valley" per new @UN report
The new #alQaida camps appear to be "conducting suicide bomber training for TTP [Tehrik-i-Taliban #Pakistan]" per the @UN report
Intelligence provided by @UN member states also notes #alQaida is operating madrasas in #Laghman, #Kunar, #Nangarhar, #Nuristan & #Parwan provinces
AQ also "maintains safe houses to facilitate the movement between #Afghanistan & the Islamic Republic of #Iran"
NEW: @usairforce disciplines 15 Air National Guard members as a result of the so-called Discord intel leak this past April
Inspector General report cited lax inspections, lack of guidance & lack of supervision as contributing factors in the leaks by 21-year-old Jack Teixeira
"The IG investigation found individuals in Teixeira’s unit failed to take proper action after becoming aware of his intelligence-seeking activities..." per @usairforce statement
"...However, the investigation did not find evidence that members of Teixeira’s supervisory chain were aware of his alleged unauthorized disclosures" per @usairforce