Canada
Associated Press: Following US Lead, Canada Designates 7 Latin American Criminal Groups As Terrorist Entities
“Canada is designating seven Latin American criminal organizations as terrorist entities under the country’s Criminal Code, giving Canadian law enforcement another tool in the fight against fentanyl trafficking, Public Safety Minister David McGuinty said Thursday. The list includes Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, Jalisco New Generation Cartel and La Nueva Familia Michoacana, and was announced a day after the U.S. government formally designated eight Latin American organized crime groups as “foreign terrorist organizations.” “The measures will help keep fentanyl off Canadian streets and from entering the United States,” McGuinty told a news conference.”
Mexico
The Washington Post: Mexico Eyes Constitutional Reform After U.S. Terrorism Designations
“Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her party has proposed reforms to the country’s constitution to better protect its sovereignty in response to the United States designating six Mexican organized-crime groups as foreign terrorist organizations. The U.S. State Department on Thursday upgraded the designation of cartels including Mexico’s Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación, which together dominate fentanyl manufacturing and importation into the United States, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. “This cannot be an opportunity for the United States to invade our sovereignty,” Sheinbaum said at a news conference Thursday, adding that Mexico would collaborate on combating organized crime but would not accept “subordination.””
Syria
Associated Press: Syria’s Christians Mark A Decade Since A Horrific IS Attack And Worry About Their Future
“It was a mournful moment for Christians in Syria. A bell that once summoned residents to worship rang out, but the church was no longer there. The Saint Odisho church was blown up by the Islamic State group a decade ago, leaving Tel Tal village almost empty of residents. A local Christian who fled the attack, Ishaq Nissan, walked the streets and pointed to uninhabited homes, explaining where families had gone: U.S., Australia, Canada or Europe. This month, northeast Syria’s remaining Christians will mark the 10th anniversary of the IS attack on over 30 villages along the Khabur river. On Feb. 23, 2015, dozens of Christians were killed or wounded and over 200 were taken hostage. Churches were blown up, and thousands of people fled.”
Associated Press: 2 Women An A Child Among 4 People Killed In Explosion At A House In Northwestern Syria
“A first responders group said some unexploded ordnance blew up inside a home in northwestern Syria on Thursday, killing four people, including two women and a child. The paramedic group, known Syrian Civil Defense or White Helmets, said the device appears to have been brought into the house in the town of Nairbab, where it exploded and destroyed the house. The group said a search was still ongoing to find out if there are more casualties under the rubble. Thousands of mines, improvised explosive devices and other unexploded ordnance have killed and wounded scores in Syria since the country’s conflict began in March 2011. Syria’s civil war has killed half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million.”
Afghanistan
Amu TV: Rubio Warns Taliban’s Limited Control In Afghanistan Creates Opportunities For Terror Groups
“U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that the Taliban’s lack of full control over Afghanistan’s territory creates opportunities for terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS-K to operate in the country. In an interview with Catherine Herridge on X, Rubio noted that unlike a decade ago, the U.S. no longer has forces on the ground to monitor and counter these threats directly. Asked whether al-Qaeda and ISIS-K have established safe havens in Afghanistan similar to the pre-9/11 era, Rubio responded: “Well, I wouldn’t say it’s the pre-9/11 landscape. But anytime you have contested territory where the government does not fully control every part of the country, it creates opportunities for these groups.””
Middle East
Reuters: Hamas Names Six Hostages It Will Release On Saturday
“The armed wing of militant group Hamas said on Friday it will release Israeli hostages Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, Tal Shoham, Omer Wenkert, Hisham al-Sayed and Avera Mengisto on Saturday. Hisham al-Sayed and Avera Mengisto are civilians, who entered Gaza a decade ago and have been held there since.”
ABC: Netanyahu Vows ‘Revenge’ After Israel Says Hamas Sent Back Wrong Body For Shiri Bibas
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed "revenge" on Friday after the Israeli military said one of the four bodies recently released by Hamas did not include a hostage. Hamas, the militant group that governs the war-torn Gaza Strip, said it had handed over the remains of four deceased Israeli hostages on Thursday: 32-year-old Shiri Bibas; her two children -- Ariel Bibas, 4, and Kfir Bibas, 8 1/2 months; and 84-year-old Oded Lifschitz. After conducting a forensic analysis, Israeli officials positively identified three of the returned bodies as Lifschitz and the Bibas children but said the fourth was not that of their mother nor any other hostage, according to the Israel Defense Forces, which accused Hamas of committing a "very serious violation" of the current ceasefire agreement.”
Somalia
Reuters: Somalia Says Its Army, Allied Militias Repel Al Shabaab Attacks, Kill More Than 130
“Somalia said on Thursday its army and allied clan militias have fought off coordinated raids on villages by the Islamist al Shabaab armed group in the country's south, killing more than 130 attackers. The al Qaeda-linked militant group has conducted a bloody insurgency in southern and central Somalia since 2007, killing thousands of people in a campaign that has been marked by deadly bombings in the capital Mogadishu. Al Shabaab attacked four villages in the Middle Shabelle region with vehicles laden with explosives on Thursday morning, and briefly captured two of them before being repulsed in heavy fighting, two local residents and a defence ministry spokesperson said. "The heroes of the national army and the local people killed more than 130 (al Shabaab fighters) in the operation to defeat the enemy," the information ministry said in a statement.”
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