Syria

Spotlight on Global Jihad (March 16-22, 2023)

This week there was a decrease in the scope of ISIS activity around the world. In Afghanistan An IED was activated against a vehicle carrying the governor of the Sherzad region.Two Syrian soldiers were killed by gunfire, apparently by ISIS operatives, in the Palmyra Desert. In The Democratic Republic of the Congo An ISIS attack was carried out for the first time in the area of the town of Lubero. According to ISIS, it is an expansion of the organization’s activity outside the areas of Beni and Ituri, in the northeast of Congo. According to the findings of the Global Terrorism Index summing up 2022, which was published in Australia, ISIS is the deadliest terrorist organization.
Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah, Lebanon and Syria (March 3-17, 2023)

On March 13, 2023, a powerful IED exploded near the Megiddo Junction in northern Israel. It damaged a vehicle and seriously wounded the driver. Investigation revealed it was similar to IEDs which had been used to attack IDF forces in south Lebanon. The terrorist who placed it was pursued, caught and shot to death near the border on his way back to Lebanon. He apparently infiltrated into Israel several days previously. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah claimed Israel no longer engaged in aggressive action in Lebanon because of the "balance of deterrence." He said Hezbollah would support Suleiman Frangieh in the Lebanese presidential elections. Friction continues between Lebanese army forces and civilians on the one hand, and the IDF on the other because of IDF infrastructure activities along the border. Hezbollah claimed to have exposed an "IDF recording device" hidden in a fake rock in the Tel al-'Abed region. Despite expected support from Hezbollah and Amal, Suleiman Frangieh has not yet announced his candidacy in the Lebanese presidential race. According to reports from Syria, there are almost 3,000 Hezbollah operatives in the country, most of them low-level, now that the high-ranking operatives, fearing for their lives, have left. The airport in Aleppo reopened two days after an attack attributed to Israel. There was an explosion near a weapons factory in eastern Syria, which killed at least four people. The source of the explosion is uncertain.
Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (March 9-15, 2023)

This week, the center of ISIS activity was in Afghanistan, Syria, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the other areas, there was relatively little activity. In Afghanistan An ISIS operative wearing an explosive belt blew himself up at the headquarters of the Balkh province, killing the province governor and two other civilians. In The Democratic Republic of the Congo ISIS operatives killed dozens of Christian citizens in several villages near the border with Uganda. In Nigeria: Dozens of terrorist operatives, apparently from ISIS, attacked and killed 36 fishermen.
Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (March 2-8, 2023)

ISIS activity around the world moderately increased this week. The main event was a suicide attack in southwest Pakistan in which 10 policemen were killed and 12 others were wounded. In Syria: Eight civilians were killed and over 35 were wounded when a mine, apparently of ISIS, exploded near a truck that was carrying them. Somali security forces killed 200 operatives of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab and took over several areas that were under the organization’s control. Several media foundations affiliated with ISIS, which deal with the translation of the organization’s media materials into different languages, announced that they started operating under one media foundation called “Fursan al-Tarjuma.”
Read more...

Spotlight on Iran (February 23, 2023 – March 9, 2023)

The Iranian minister of defense met with the Syrian Air Force command in Tehran and discussed ways to bolster military and security cooperation between the two countries. An Iranian parliamentary delegation arrived for a visit in Damascus to express solidarity with Syria following the earthquake. Meanwhile, the 15th Iranian cargo plane carrying humanitarian assistance landed at the Aleppo International Airport. The spokesman of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the pogrom in the town of Hawara south of Nablus.
Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah, Lebanon and Syria (February 17 – March 2, 2023)

Hezbollah leader gave a speech devoted mainly to internal Lebanese affairs and America's intervention, and adding that in his estimation, in the wake of the current intifada, Israel would not reach its 80th anniversary. Hezbollah began a propaganda campaign called "The spider's house," predicting a civil war in Israel.The American administration announced that one of Hezbollah's most important financial figures had been detained in Romania. Two Hezbollah-affiliated operatives were apprehended in an IDF operational activity in the southern Golan Heights.
Read more...