Breaking: Khalid Batarfi, the leader of al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen, is under arrest, UN report reveals. The report states he was detained in “an operation” in Yemen in October. Here is my story for CNN cnn.com/2021/02/04/pol…
Also significant: The UN report states that no member state has been able to confirm reports of the death from natural causes of al Qaeda's leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in October.
In its wide-ranging assessment of the global jihadist threat, the UN report warns that as coronavirus restrictions are eased, "a rash of pre-planned attacks may occur" because ISIS is determined to make global news headlines once again.
The UN report warns that the "economic and political toll of the pandemic, its aggravation of underlying drivers of violent extremism and its expected impact on counter-terrorism efforts are likely to increase the long-term [jihadist terror] threat everywhere."
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With @BillGates warning that a bioterror attack involving a pathogen with a high death rate “is kind of the nightmare scenario” & potentially the next big global threat, we asked five top thinkers to what extent the CT community needs to revisit the threat ctc.usma.edu/a-view-from-th…
One of our panelists, @JCZarate1, assessed that "the severity and extreme disruption of a novel coronavirus will likely spur the imagination of the most creative and dangerous groups and individuals to reconsider bioterrorist attacks."
Juan Zarate (@JCZarate1) added: "The threat of a pathogen unleashed wantonly on the world—or worse yet, a genetically engineered bioweapon designed to maximize transmission and lethality—has always loomed large in the nightmares of every counterterrorism official."
Thread in light of the November 2019 London Bridge attack: There have been previous terrorist attacks in Europe involving attackers wearing fake suicide vests.
Thread: Some tentative observations on the Sri Lanka Easter Day terror attacks.
This was one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in history. Given the number of attackers and locations (including on opposite sides of the country) targeted in a short space of time it would likely have required significant coordination and planning.
So far there has been no credible claim of responsibility for the attacks.
Historical context 1/5: An al Qaeda linked plot to target Christmas market in Strasbourg was thwarted in 2000.
Historical context 2/5: One of November 2015 Paris attackers was from Strasbourg.
Historical context 3/5: a major ISIS terrorist attack conspiracy involving a cell in Strasbourg was thwarted in November 2016: ctc.usma.edu/portugal-conne…