NEW: @CJTFOIR seeing "dramatic decrease" in #ISIS activity, per Commander MajGen Matthew McFarlane
- 68% reduction in attacks in #Iraq (year on year)
- 55% reduction in attacks in #Syria (year on year)
But he warns, "The #Daesh ideology remains unconstrained & active"
"We continue to see unsafe & unprofessional air activity from the #Russia|ns" in #Syria, per @CJTFOIR's MajGen McFarlane
"We've only seen it from the air" he adds "We continuously communicate"
"All aspects of #ISIS that we are tracking continue to decline or degrade" per @CJTFOIR's MajGen McFarlane, asked about US op a week ago to eliminate sr ISIS leader linked to overseas kidnap plot
#ISIS-#Khorasan cell leader behind the deadly bombing of #Kabul Airport's Abbey Gate on August 26, 2021 that killed 13 US troops, +170 Afghan civilians killed by the #Taliban, State Department official confirms to @VOANews
#ISIS-#Khorasan cell leader behind the #Abbey Gate bombing "killed in a Taliban operation" per White House spox John Kirby
Kirby descibes the cell leader as "a key ISIS-K official directly involved in plotting operations like Abbey Gate"
Per White House's Kirby, the death of the #ISIS-#Khorasan cell leader "is another in a series of high-profile leadership losses ISIS-K has suffered this year"
JUST IN: US sanctions senior #Iran law enforcement & #IRGC officials for suppressing protects/censorship
Includes officials with:
- the Law Enforcement Forces of Iran (LEF)
- Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
- Supreme Council on Cyberspace Leader
US sanctions vs #Iran being coordinated w/#Britain, which is slapping #Tehran w/similar sanctions
“The Iranian people deserve freedom of expression without the threat of violent retaliation & censorship from those in power" per @USTreasury Under Sec Brian Nelson
NEW US sanctions targeting:
-IRGC Salman Corps Deputy Commander Parviz Absalan
-IRGC’s Ground Forces Deputy Inspector Amanollah Goshtasbi
-IRGC Brig Gen Ahmed Khadem Seyedoshohada
Multiple accounts "began to gain followers after months of decline or stagnation" after apparent decision by Twitter to stop filtering them, per @DFRLab analysis
"Twitter’s policy change is significant, as Twitter can now algorithmically promote state-affiliated media outlets" per @DFRLab
"Twitter users no longer must actively seek out state-sponsored content in order to see it on the platform; it can just be served to them"
"While open-source researchers cannot access Twitter’s algorithms directly, analyzing Twitter data helps paint a picture of when this platform change likely occurred...around March 29, 2023" per @DFRLab
BREAKING: #Russia|n Su-27 collides with US MQ-9 drone over the #BlackSea
Per @US_EUCOM, the Russian aircraft was 1 of 2 conducting " an unsafe & unprofessional intercept" when it struck the propeller of the MQ-9, causing US forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in
int'l waters"
MORE: Before #Russia|n Su-27 hit the US MQ-9 drone, "the [two] Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound
and unprofessional manner" per @US_EUCOM
"Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in int'l airspace when it was intercepted & hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash & complete loss of the MQ-9" per US Air Forces Europe & Air Forces Africa Cmdr Gen. James Hecker