BREAKING: US official confirms death of high-ranking #alQaida official Abu Muhsin al-Masri in #Afghanistan-led op in Ghazni province
Official tells @VOANews that US forces provided support
BREAKING: Multiple officials say the senior #alQaida leader killed by @NDSAfghanistan is NOT the terror group's number #2 official and likely heir to AQ leader Ayman al-Zawahiri
Officials say confusion likely caused by the similar aliases used by both high-ranking operatives
Officials say the #alQaida official killed in #Afghanistan's Ghazni province is Abu Muhsin al-Masri, aka Husam Abd al-Ra’uf
According to recent @UN reports, al-Masri/al-Ra'uf was a key liaison between AQ & the Taliban fbi.gov/wanted/wanted_…
Intelligence from @UN member states indicates al-Masri/al-Ra'uf was part of a series of meetings between #alQaida & the #Taliban late last year & early this year
The al-Masri suspected of being the number 2 #alQaida official is Abu Muhammad al-Masri, aka Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah
Happening now: "The president deals w/the world as it is-we deal w/dictators & authoritarian regimes as they are, not as we hope them to be" US Nat'l Security Adviser @robertcobrien tells @HudsonInstitute
"We don't turn a blind eye to their conduct expecting somehow that they'll change" per @robertcobrien
"He's done the hard work of strengthening our alliances & in doing so has put substance over style, & he's been criticized for that" he adds
"We think that his actions have demonstrated that the US will no longer be a party to arrangements, organizations, int'l conventions, treaties where our sovereignty is not respected" per @robertcobrien
".. led to demonstrable results that have made the American ppl safer"
NEW: Local officials say #Taliban were killed in the #Afghanistan-led operation in #Ghazni province that killed senior #alQaida official Abu Muhsin al-Masri
“A #Taliban commander, Emran Hanzalah, & few other fighters were killed,” Vahidullah Jumah Zada, a spokesperson for the governor of Ghazni province,
told @VOADariAfghan
“Such kind of people are seen a lot in Qarah Bagh, Andar, and Giru districts,” Esmatullah Jamoradwal, a member of #Ghazni’s Provincial Council, told @VOADariAfghan “They speak Urdu, Arabic and other languages”
More from @CISAKrebs#Election2020 & voting early: "Early voting options help from a security/resilience perspective, as we have more opportunities to identify, isolate, investigate, & fix any issues early on. So give your election officials a break and vote early, if you can"
BREAKING: @CISAgov confirms #Russia-linked actor - known as #BerserkBear - has compromised US state and local government targets
The actor "successfully compromised network infrastructure, & as of October 1, 2020, exfiltrated data from at least two victim servers"
"The #Russia|n-sponsored APT actor is obtaining user & administrator credentials to establish initial access, enable lateral movement once inside the network, & locate high value assets in order to exfiltrate data" per @CISAgov
"To date, the @FBI & CISA have no information to indicate this [#Russia|n] APT actor has intentionally disrupted any aviation, education, elections, or government operations" per @CISAgov "However, the actor may be seeking access to obtain future disruption options"
US has prosecuted 13-14 cases vs #NorthKorea over the past 2 years - both criminal prosecutions, seizures/going after property & #cyber, per Demers
#DPRK activity being drive by need for hard currency - "A lot of it is getting money, getting cash" especially on the #cyber side, per @TheJusticeDept's Demers