"The Department of Defense on Monday identified three Army Reserve soldiers who
were killed at a U.S. base in Jordan on Sunday in what the Biden administration
said was a drone attack from an Iran-backed militia. The department said at
least 34 other service members were wounded in the attack. Those killed were
Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Ga.; Specialist Kennedy Ladon
Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Ga.; and Specialist Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23,
of Savannah, Ga. The soldiers, two of them women, were assigned to the 718th
Engineer Company, based at Fort Moore, Ga. — a team of soldiers trained to
deploy at short notice to build roads, landing fields and protective earthen
berms for U.S. forces."











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Eye on Extremism



January 30, 2024



New York Times: Defense Department Identifies 3 Soldiers Killed At Base In
Jordan <[link removed]>



"The Department of Defense on Monday identified three Army Reserve soldiers
who were killed at a U.S. base in Jordan on Sunday in what the Biden
administration said was a drone attack from an Iran-backed militia. The
department said at least 34 other service members were wounded in the attack.
Those killed were Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Ga.;
Specialist Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Ga.; and Specialist Breonna
Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Ga. The soldiers, two of them women, were
assigned to the 718th Engineer Company, based at Fort Moore, Ga. — a team of
soldiers trained to deploy at short notice to build roads, landing fields and
protective earthen berms for U.S. forces."



CBS: Israeli Intelligence Docs Detail Alleged UNRWA Staff Links To Hamas,
Including 12 Accused In Oct. 7 Attack
<[link removed]>



“An Israeli intelligence document shared on Monday with CBS News and a number
of other Western news outlets spells out allegations against a dozen U.N.
employees whom Israel says participated in Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attack. The
document claims seven staff members of UNRWA, the U.N. humanitarian agency that
helps Palestinian refugees, stormed into Israeli territory during that attack,
including two who participated in kidnappings. The allegations against UNRWA
staffers prompted the U.S. and some other Western countries to freeze funds
vital to the work of the agency, which is a lifeline for desperate Palestinians
in war-torn Gaza. The U.N. fired nine of the 12 accused workers and condemned
"the abhorrent alleged acts" of staff members. The accusations come after years
of tensions between Israel and UNRWA over its work in Gaza, where it employs
roughly 13,000 people.”



United States



Reuters: Pentagon Says It Is Not Seeking War With Iran After Jordan Attack
<[link removed]>



“U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday vowed the U.S. would take "all
necessary actions" to defend its troops after a deadly drone attack in Jordan
by Iran-backed militants, even as President Joe Biden's administration stressed
it was not seeking a war with Iran. The attack on Sunday killed three U.S.
soldiers and wounded more than 40 troops. It was the first deadly strike
against U.S. troops since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October and marks a
major escalation in tensions that have engulfed the Middle East. "Let me start
with my outrage and sorrow (for) the deaths of three brave U.S. troops in
Jordan and for the other troops who were wounded," Austin said at the Pentagon.
"The president and I will not tolerate attacks on U.S. forces and we will take
all necessary actions to defend the U.S. and our troops," Austin added at the
start of meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Pentagon.”



New York Times: Defense Department Identifies 3 Soldiers Killed At Base In
Jordan <[link removed]>



"The Department of Defense on Monday identified three Army Reserve soldiers
who were killed at a U.S. base in Jordan on Sunday in what the Biden
administration said was a drone attack from an Iran-backed militia. The
department said at least 34 other service members were wounded in the attack.
Those killed were Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Ga.;
Specialist Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Ga.; and Specialist Breonna
Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Ga. The soldiers, two of them women, were
assigned to the 718th Engineer Company, based at Fort Moore, Ga. — a team of
soldiers trained to deploy at short notice to build roads, landing fields and
protective earthen berms for U.S. forces."



Syria



Associated Press: An Israeli Strike On A Damascus Area Where Iran-Backed
Groups Operate Caused Casualties, Syria Says
<[link removed]>



“An Israeli airstrike on a Damascus suburb on Monday killed and wounded
several people, the Syrian military said in a statement carried by state media.
Opposition activists said the area hit was a stronghold of Iran-backed groups.
There was no immediate comment from Israel. The Britain-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the strike hit a
farm housing members of Lebanon’s Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group and
other Iran-backed factions. It said the strike killed seven people, including
four Syrians, one of whom was the bodyguard of a member of Iran’s paramilitary
Revolutionary Guard. It did not give the nationalities of the others. The
strike comes amid rising tension in the Middle East with the ongoing
Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza and a drone attack on Sunday that killed three U.S.
troops and injured dozens more in northeastern Jordan, near the Syrian border.”



Iran



Associated Press: Officials Say 1 Policeman, 6 Insurgents Killed As Rebels
Launch Rocket Attacks In Southwest Pakistan
<[link removed]>



“Rockets fired by separatist insurgents killed a police officer and wounded a
dozen other people overnight in southwestern Pakistan, officials said Tuesday,
in apparent retaliation for Pakistani strikes on what it said were insurgent
hideouts in Iran earlier in January. Six insurgents were also killed in the
ensuing shootout, according to the government. The outlawed Baluchistan
Liberation Army quickly claimed the attacks, writing that two of its fighters
were killed. Authorities initially said that the attacks, in the district of
Mach in Baluchistan, were foiled without causalities, but two local security
officials said at least one policeman was killed and 15 members of the
Pakistani security forces were wounded in multiple rocket attacks. The two
officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to
speak to media.”



Iraq



Reuters: Who Is Kataib Hezbollah, The Group Blamed For Killing US Troops?
<[link removed]>



"The U.S. believes the attack that killed three U.S. troops on the
Jordanian-Syrian border has the "footprints" of Iran-backed Iraqi militia
Kataib Hezbollah, the Pentagon said. Who is the Kataib Hezbollah? Founded in
the aftermath of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Kataib Hezbollah is one of
the elite Iraqi armed factions closest to Iran. It is the most powerful armed
faction in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of hardline
Shi'ite armed groups that have claimed more than 150 attacks on U.S. forces
since the Gaza war began."



Turkey



Associated Press: The Islamic State Group Claims Responsibility For The
Istanbul Church Attack That Killed One Person
<[link removed]>



“The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a Roman
Catholic church in Istanbul during a Sunday Mass that killed one person. The
extremist group said in a statement late Sunday on Aamaq, the group’s media
arm, that it “attacked a gathering of Christian unbelievers during their
polytheistic ceremony” inside the Santa Maria Church in the Buyukdere
neighborhood in Istanbul. The 52-year-old man who was shot and killed, Tuncer
Cihan, “was ... a person who had done nothing wrong. In fact, he wasn’t even
Christian, he was Alevi,” the church’s lawyer Avsin Hatipoglu told The
Associated Press, adding they would ask authorities to increase security in the
area. Turkey’s Alevi community is one of the country’s largest religious
minorities. Alevis identify as Muslims, though their practice is fundamentally
different from Islam’s two major branches, Sunni and Shiite.”



Afghanistan



Voice Of America: Afghanistan’s Taliban Host Multilateral Huddle To Promote
Regional Cooperation
<[link removed]>



“Afghanistan’s fundamentalist Taliban hosted their first international meeting
Monday since returning to power in Kabul, saying it is aimed at promoting
economic connectivity and cooperation with regional countries on “common
challenges.” Special representatives and ambassadors from neighboring and
regional countries, including China, Russia and Iran, attended the gathering in
the Afghan capital titled Afghanistan Regional Cooperation Initiative. Taliban
Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told the inaugural session that “regional
security remains of grave importance” for his government, known as the Islamic
Emirate of Afghanistan or IEA. His office released the English translation of
his local language speech. Muttaqi explained that the meeting had been convened
to develop a “region-centric narrative” to enhance cooperation “for a positive
and constructive engagement between Afghanistan and regional countries to
tackle existing and potential threats.”



Pakistan



Voice Of America: Pakistan, Iran Agree To Broaden Anti-Terror Cooperation
After Missile Strikes
<[link removed]>



“Pakistan and Iran agreed Monday to broaden political and security cooperation
to confront terrorism after exchanging unprecedented missile strikes earlier
this month against alleged militant bases in each other’s territories. The
understanding stemmed from a meeting Pakistani Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas
Jilani hosted with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, in
Islamabad. "There was an agreement to cooperate to fight terrorism in our
respective areas. We need to address and allay each other’s concerns with
regard to terrorism,” Jilani told a news conference alongside the Iranian
foreign minister. He said that Pakistan and Iran had decided to immediately
deploy “liaison officers” in their respective Turbat and Zahedan border towns
to “further strengthen ongoing security and intelligence cooperation.”



Yemen



Associated Press: Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Say They Attacked A US Warship Without
Evidence. An American Official Rejects The Claim
<[link removed]>



“Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they attacked a U.S. Navy mobile base at sea
Monday without offering evidence, something immediately rejected by an American
defense official. Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed
the group fired a missile at the USS Lewis B. Puller in the Gulf of Aden. The
Puller, which serves as a floating landing base, had been earlier stationed in
the Arabian Sea as part of American efforts to curtail Houthi attacks on
commercial shipping through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Houthi attacks will
continue “until the aggression is stopped, and the siege is lifted on the
people of Palestine in the Gaza Strip,” Saree said in the statement. A U.S.
defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence
matters, said there had been no reported attack on the Puller. However, the
Houthis have previously launched missiles that did not reach their intended
target, instead crashing onto the land or sea.”



Middle East



BBC: Israeli Forces Kill Three Palestinian Militants In West Bank Hospital Raid
<[link removed]>



“CCTV footage showed members of an undercover unit disguised as medics and
other civilians making their way through a corridor with rifles raised. The
Israeli military said the militants were hiding in the hospital, and that one
was about to carry out an attack. The Palestinian Authority's ministry of
health accused Israel of carrying out a "new massacre inside hospitals". Hamas,
an armed Palestinian Islamist group which is fighting a war with Israel in Gaza
triggered by its unprecedented attacks on Israel on 7 October, said the Israeli
forces had "executed three fighters", including one of its members Another
armed group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said two of those killed were its
members and were brothers. It added that one of them had been receiving
treatment at the hospital.”



Bloomberg: Israel Military Sees It Taking All of 2024 to Eliminate Hamas
Threat, Or Longer
<[link removed]>



“The Israeli military says it is engaged in its fiercest fighting in Gaza yet
in the southern city of Khan Younis, where it hopes to kill or capture Hamas
leaders presumed to be hiding in tunnels with hostages. In a briefing, an
Israeli military intelligence officer said that of Hamas’ five fighting
brigades, Israeli troops have killed or captured most of the commanders of two
of them, both based in the north of Gaza. The focus is now on the Khan Younis
brigade, where Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, chief military spokesman, said in a
press conference last night that troops have “killed hundreds of terrorists and
arrested more than 300 people suspected of terror activities.” Hagari also said
that for the first time, troops are now fighting in the tunnel network that
runs beneath Gaza. Khan Younis is Gaza’s second-largest city and is packed with
tens of thousands of people. It is strategically important as it’s where Hamas
leader Yahya Sinwar and military chief Mohammed Deif are from, and where
they’re believed by Israel to be hiding.”



Associated Press: Enemy Drone That Killed US Troops In Jordan Was Mistaken For
A US Drone, Preliminary Report Suggests
<[link removed]>



“U.S. forces may have mistaken an enemy drone for an American one and let it
pass unchallenged into a desert base in Jordan where it killed three U.S.
troops and wounded dozens more, officials said Monday. Details of the Sunday
attack emerged as President Joe Biden faced a difficult balancing act, blaming
Iran and looking to strike back in a forceful way without causing any further
escalation of the Gaza conflict. As the enemy drone was flying in at a low
altitude, a U.S. drone was returning to the small installation known as Tower
22, according to a preliminary report cited by two officials, who were not
authorized to comment and insisted on anonymity. As a result, there was no
effort to shoot down the enemy drone that hit the outpost. One of the trailers
where troops sleep sustained the brunt of the strike, while surrounding
trailers got limited damage from the blast and flying debris. While there are
no large air defense systems at Tower 22, the base does have counter-drone
systems, such as Coyote drone interceptors.”



Africa



Voice Of America: Analysts Examine Implications Of African States’ Exit From
ECOWAS
<[link removed]>



“Analysts in West Africa are reacting to the sudden exit of Burkina Faso, Mali
and Niger from the regional economic bloc ECOWAS, the Economic Community of
West African States, and are raising security concerns. The three nations led
by military juntas announced the withdrawal in a televised broadcast Sunday,
accusing the regional body of becoming a threat to member states. According to
a joint communique issued by the military juntas of Burkina Faso, Mali and
Niger, the withdrawal from ECOWAS after nearly half a century takes effect
immediately. They said the regional bloc — under the influence of foreign
powers — betrayed its founding principles and failed to aid its member states
in their fight against terrorism and insecurity. They also criticized sanctions
imposed on military regimes in the region by ECOWAS.”



Germany



Associated Press: German President Calls For Alliance Against Extremism As
Protests Against Far Right Draw Thousands
<[link removed]>



“Germany’s president called Monday for a broad “alliance against extremism” in
the wake of a report about far-right discussions of deporting millions of
immigrants that prompted protests by hundreds of thousands of people. Germany
has seen more than two weeks of protests against the Alternative for Germany
party and others on the far right. The Interior Ministry said police figures
suggest that some 576,000 people took part in demonstrations between Friday and
Sunday. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with employers and business
associations, labor union leaders and others on to discuss social cohesion and
the state of democracy in Germany. He called the protests “a strong signal for
our democracy” and said that “we now need a broad alliance across the
population, across companies, culture and society — an alliance against
extremism and for our democracy.”



Southeast Asia



Associated Press: Indian And Seychelles Forces Separately Rescue Two Fishing
Boats Hijacked By Somali Pirates
<[link removed]>



“Indian and Seychelles forces separately rescued Monday two fishing vessels
hijacked by Somali pirates and freed 23 crew members from Iran and Sri Lanka,
both countries said in statements. The Seychelles’ defense forces and coast
guard rescued six Sri Lankan fishermen whose vessel was hijacked by Somali
pirates two days earlier while the Indian navy said it freed 17 crew members in
an Iranian fishing vessel that was hijacked by pirates off the east coast of
Somalia. The Seychelles Défense Forces Special Forces and coast guard “led a
successful operation to regain control of a Sri Lankan vessel hijacked by armed
Somali pirates,” the president’s office said in a statement. The three
hijackers were arrested, and the fishermen and their boat were safe and being
taken to the Seychelles, according to Susantha Kahawatta, a top official in the
Fisheries Department of Sri Lanka. He said the Sri Lankan envoy to the
Seychelles told him of the successful rescue operation.”



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