@CJTFOIR says ISIS has been relaying mostly on small arms, IEDs & mortars for attacks in #Iraq#Syria but that attacks in Diyala, Salah ad Din were “more audacious" & showed "extensive pre-operational planning & preparation"
US-backed forces warned of a better prepared, more brazen #ISIS earlier this year, one source telling @VOANews that the terror groups fighters "are spread like cancer" voanews.com/middle-east/da…
Like, the US-backed forces, US counterterrorism officials assessed #ISIS had "made incremental, localized improvements to their operating capacity in primarily eastern #Syria..." voanews.com/middle-east/re…
But per the @DoD_IG, @DefenseIntel says #ISIS is only capable of operating in small cells and "does not have the capability it once had to “target Sunni tribes writ-large"
@US_EUCOM tells @DoD_IG Turkey continues to be a “major facilitation hub” for ISIS even as Turkish forces bolstered security along the country's border w/#Syria#Iraq
#Turkey's action "impacted #ISIS’s ability to smuggle fighters, funds and supplies" but the challenge of securing the borders "likely ensures" ISIS will continue to move fighters, followers, families back & forth, per @US_EUCOM
.@CJTFOIR blames increase of #ISIS attacks during Ramadan on an "“opportunistic exploitation of a confluence of factors," including #COVID19, arguing there was no notable increase in [ISIS] capability" per latest @DoD_IG report
.@DefenseIntel estimates #ISIS still has $50 million to $300 million in reserves... In contrast, latest @UN report-based on member state intelligence-estimates ISIS's cash reserves are dwindling, though still substantial
Note on #ISIS attacks in #Diyala - @DefenseIntel assesses "ISIS was able to maintain a high rate of attacks in Diyala province this quarter due to US force consolidation, security forces’ preoccupation w/managing w/COVID19, and other security-related crises" per @DoD_IG
Per @DoD_IG, #Iran-linked #PMF "have outsized influence relative to the ISF [#Iraq|i Security Forces]" in #Diyala, where #ISIS has carried out a high proportion of its attacks
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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