[Thread] Sweden elected a new right-wing government (M-KD-L) lead by Ulf Kristersson (M) & backed by (SD). Curious to see how they handle key foreign policy issues such as Ukraine (M promised Archer) and Sweden's NATO accession troubles re: Turkey politico.eu/article/sweden… In late August, M & KD proposed sending 12 Archer self-propelled artillery pieces & RBS-70 MANPADS to Ukraine. Ulf Kristersson said: "There are no reasons to doubt. I don't understand why the government is delaying the decision" omni.se/m-och-kd-ge-ar…

[Thread] At 6AM on October 8, a massive explosion collapsed sections of the Kerch road bridge & also damaged the adjacent railway bridge, severely incapacitating Russian logistics to and from Crimea. Here's my take on the attack, and why It was likely a suicide car bomb (SVBIED) Satellite images released in the days since the attack show the extent of damage, with the railway tracks still inoperable and a single flimsy lane on the road bridge. At the outset, there were two competing theories;
- SVBIED on the bridge
- A boat-based VBIED under the bridge

🧵The Swedish government may have just torpedoed its NATO application even further in order to remain in power. Kakabaveh just sided with the Social Democrat (S) government, sparing their Minister of Justice in today's no confidence vote sverigesradio.se/artikel/nu-avg… Kakabaveh only supported the government after (S) publicly affirmed their past agreement with her, which calls for deeper cooperation with PYD, says PYD/YPG terror classification is "unacceptable", and calls for the release of Demirtas aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/lVoy…

🧵Swedish government crisis as PM threatens to resign amidst controversial NATO negotiations with Turkey The Sweden Democrats (SD) just submitted a motion of no confidence against the Social Democrat (S) Minister of Justice, Morgan Johansson. This came after the minister deflected criticism over his inability to curb rising gang violence across the country reuters.com/world/europe/s…

[THREAD] The IS jailbreak at al-Sinaa prison in Ghweiran, Hasakah that began 3 days ago was initiated by the use of TWO covert SVBIEDs that detonated at the gates and wall of the facility prior to a ground assault from multiple directions. However, this could've been prevented... While this is a clear case of a "Breaking the walls"-style attack – the type which was regularly carried out in 2013-14 – it didn't come from a vacuum. Since the loss of IS' territorial caliphate, the group has successively built up toward this moment ctc.usma.edu/breaking-walls…

The new ISWAP video featured a previously unseen up-armoured SVBIED used by the group. The modified vehicle - a pick-up truck with an Otokar Cobra window as frontal windshield - was likely used in the March, 2021 attack on the NA super camp at Damasak - h/t @TomaszRolbiecki This vehicle is a standardized design, and follows that of other documented ISWAP SVBIEDs throughout the past couple of years. Here's 7 other up-armoured SVBIEDs used by the group since early 2019, using parts of captured Otokar Cobras, Mowag Piranha, & Isotrex Phantom 2s...

June 2: The Taliban conducted another nighttime SVBIED attack, this time against an ANA outpost at Khaybaray Ghar in Kandahar province

@RisboLensky June 2: A Taliban SVBIED struck an ANA outpost ('Hassan Karez') in Zabul's Shahjoy district. Based on drone imagery published by the group, the SVBIED appears to have detonated just next to the outpost, blasting a hole in the wall & destroying buildings & vehicles

@RisboLensky

[THREAD] Taliban SVBIED attacks in 2021. This is a continuation of my previous thread, which can be found here

https://twitter.com/HKaaman/status/1297907664509444096?s=20

Between August 20 - December 31, 2020 I documented at least 53 Taliban SVBIED attacks against ANA positions across the country, an unprecedented wave. This article by @FrudBezhan w/ my comments explains how this is related to the intra-Afghan peace process gandhara.rferl.org/a/taliban-suic…

ISWAP up-armored SVBIED captured by Nigerian Army following a failed assault on Monguno in the country’s NE Borno province. Appears to be based on a NA pick-up truck - h/t @CalibreObscura This SVBIED appears to be yet another example of ISWAP’s standardized SVBIED design, although a tad more rudimentary at a first glance. Here are four examples used in 2019/2020

[THREAD] Soon it'll be the 4th anniversary of Jabhat al-Nusra and allies seizing Idlib city & pushing loyalists out of the province in what was their last successful offensive before the Russian intervention. I'll be highlighting all the SVBIEDs that were used in this thread On March 24, 2015, Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN) & Jund al-Aqsa (JaA) each used 2 SVBIEDs based on BMP-1 armoured personnel carriers, striking Syrian loyalist checkpoints surrounding Idlib city (Ar-Raam, Ayn Shib, Qalah, etc.) before seizing the city 4 days later

Changes noted in SVBIED design by IS in the Hajin pocket:
• Exterior frontal aimed IEDs on all 3 recent documented examples, a previously extremely rare detail
• Raised & dispersed rear & mid payload w/ mid part aimed 45 degrees to the front on 2 most recent examples In yesterday's IS release from the Hajin pocket, another up-armored SVBIED with exterior frontal IEDs could be spotted, the 4th such example seen in the Hajin pocket - h/t @CalibreObscura

Trailer - [Mad Max: Levant] - In theatres this Winter! If you were to boil down the essence of all Syrian rebel training videos into just one video, this is how it would look like.

New thread about gang-related shootings & IED use in Sweden Oct 1: Explosions outside two different restaurants in central Malmö damage building exteriors sydsvenskan.se/2017-10-01/lar…