Terrorism

IDF West Bank Units Using New Intelligence Methods To Combat Terror Attacks

After several attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians in the West Bank where the attackers were able to get away in the crowds, the IDF is revamping the way they do business to alert their troops to any suspicious activity by Palestinians in the West Bank.

There have been 16 Israeli soldiers or citizens killed in shooting or stabbing attacks in the West Bank during the past year but the IDF has also been able to stop other attacks before they occur.

This new system relies on both increased visual surveillance as well as analytics which will be connected in an operations control room. The information will then warn soldiers on the ground before a terror attack begins. The system is already being tested in the West Bank by the Samaria Regional Brigade.

The IDF is placing more surveillance cameras and other sensors around the West Bank, around areas of increased traffic like road junctions. The operations room personnel will use advanced computer algorithms to review the camera’s footage to identify any imminent threats. Soldiers will be alerted to risks through smartwatches and other wearable devices according to the IDF.

The Israelis are calling this development the “Digital Regional Brigade” and was a combined effort of the military’s intelligence, technology and ground forces units. In a released statement, the IDF said, “the system knows to identify… and prevent violent terrorist activities. In this way, it provides soldiers with a quick warning of an impending threat.”

In another development, the Israelis are putting together “mixed combat teams” during terrorist attacks in scenarios where the attackers flee and attempt to blend into the crowds, “which will help oversee large swaths of land during a manhunt.” These composite teams will consist of infantry, field intelligence, special forces, and other security services during terrorist incidents.

The Israelis are also beefing up their individual training before troops move into the West Bank. The training is designed to ensure that every combat soldier is able to make correct decisions under pressure and in a short period of time, such as overpowering an attacker at maximum speed. The infantry troops are getting advanced training in five areas that the IDF has identified as needing work:

improving shooting skills and hand-to-hand combat skills
“mentally” preparing troops for the types of threats they face in the West Bank,
Create a unified set of techniques that is most suited for operating in the region
improving training facilities
establishing division-wide standards and measurements to accurately assess effectiveness and success.

During the training, the soldiers will utilize virtual reality headsets to better simulate actual combat and terrorist situations that they’ll encounter including stabbing and shooting attacks, as well as Krav Maga and shooting courses. This is designed to speed up the response time for Israeli Defense Forces when they face an incident which will also not allow terrorists to get away.

The Israelis, in an attempt to diffuse other situations before they occur, have arrested 1000 Palestinians and confiscated 270 weapons this year. Security forces, including the IDF, police and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), carry out nightly raids in the West Bank to arrest Palestinians suspected of violence against Israelis.

The Palestine Liberation Organization’s Department of Public Diplomacy and Policy stated that the numbers are even higher with 1,600 Palestinians, including 230 children and 40 women, have been arrested since the start of 2019.

By using intelligence gathering, the IDF has been monitoring social media activity, and have arrested individuals who openly state their desire to carry out attacks and monitor social media networks especially like Facebook.

They’ve targeted underground weapons and bombmaking workshops, greatly reducing the number of weapons and illegal explosive devices that could end up in terrorist hands.

In related news, Israel keeps getting sporadic rocket fire aimed at it from Syria. Thus far, no one knows for sure if it is Syrian troops or Iranian proxies. But with each attack, the Israeli Defense Forces have been hitting back and hard with airstrikes. In a statement released by defense officials, the IDF stated the following:

“Last night, two rockets were launched from Syria to Israel, one landing within Israeli territory,” the IDF said. “In response, we struck a number of Syrian Armed Forces military targets. We hold the Syrian regime accountable and will firmly operate against any attempt to harm Israeli civilians.”

The Israeli counterstrike hit the area of the launches outside of Damascus and targeted a training facility for Iranian and Hezbollah forces, and an arms depot in the area of al-Kiswah.

French Commandos Free Four Hostages From Terrorist, Two Soldiers Killed

An American citizen was among the four hostages that were freed from terrorists during a daring French Special Operations Forces (SOF) operation in Western Africa. French commandos took down the location in Burkina Faso which was considered a terrorist camp. Two decorated French commandos were killed in the operation which took place in the early morning hours of Friday morning.

At the time of the operation, it was believed that there were only two hostages, French nationals, Patrick Picque and Laurent Lassimouillas who had been kidnapped while on a safari in the Pendjari National Park in neighboring Benin. However, once the French SOF stormed the terrorist camp they found four hostages which included the American, one South Korean, and the aforementioned two French citizens.

“All our thoughts go to the families of the soldiers and to the soldiers who lost their lives to free us from this hell,” Laurent Lassimouillas said while meeting with President Roch Kabore.

The circumstances surrounding the other two hostages is unclear. The American citizen requested not to be identified for personal reasons. Both the American and South Korean hostages were women and had been held for 28 days. Neither the U.S. or South Korean government were apparently aware of their countrymen being held.

Four of the terrorists were killed, but two managed to escape in the fighting.

President Emmanuel Macron made a statement where he said the country, “bows with emotion and gravity at the sacrifice of our two soldiers, who gave their lives to save those of our fellow citizens”.

The French Ministry of the Armed Forces identified the two commandos killed in the operation were assigned to Commando Hubert, a naval SOF unit that is the French equivalent to U.S. Navy SEALs. The operators were identified as Petty Officers First Class (OR-6) Cedric de Pierrepont,32, and Alain Bertoncello, 27. The French Navy posted on their Facebook page that both men received numerous awards and recognition through their respective military careers, such as the Gold Level of the National Defense Medal.

Bertoncello’s parents, Jean-Luc and Daniéle Bertoncello, were interviewed by the media and said their son had wanted to join the navy since high school and that they were very proud of him.

“What he loved was the esprit de corps … he was doing what he wanted and he always told us not to worry,” they said during the interview. “They did what they had to do. For him it ended badly, for the others, it was a successful mission.”

Admiral Christophe Prazuck, the French navy’s Chief of Staff, issued a statement saying, “I admire their courage, I share the sorrow of their families and their loved ones.”

In a statement, the president of Burkina Faso, Roch Kabore, said that “the joint military intervention that allowed us to achieve these results shows our common engagement in fighting against the forces of evil.”

Intelligence reports state that the terrorists were enroute to Mali where they planned on turning over the hostages to the terror group Katiba Macina, an al-Qaeda affiliate.

“Once the hostages were in [Katiba Macina’s] hands it would have been impossible to rescue them,” Francois Lecointre, France’s army chief, said in a press briefing.

Islamic terrorism is on the rise in Burkina Faso, which has violence increase steadily since 2013. With militants spreading over neighboring Benin and Togo as well. Al-Qaeda offshoots are gaining ground in the area considering the porous border region of Mali and the abundance of weapons in Libya to the north.

The Sahel, the sub-Sahara region of Northern Africa has seen over 5000 people killed as it has grown increasingly unstable in recent years.

Florence Parly, the French defense minister, said, “Those who attack France and the French know that we will spare no effort to track them and take them out. We will never abandon our citizens.”

While no American troops were active on the ground during the operation, the United States did provide support in the form of overhead intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Parly thanked American allies for their “precious support” in the rescue. In a statement released on Friday, she thanked “the Beninese and Burkinabe for their cooperation,” adding, “I salute the precious support of our American allies in conducting this operation.”

The French military had been tracking the terrorists for several days since their two citizens were abducted in the national park in Benin on May 1.

French commandos launched a mission on May 7, inside Burkina Faso where they gathered vital intelligence on the hostage-takers who were thought to be heading for the Mali border and turn over the hostages to an al-Qaeda affiliate.

French and American intelligence officials tracked them via drones until the terrorists stopped in the desert. This gave the French commandos the opportunity they were waiting for.

“It was an extremely complex operation, with extremely demanding timings,” General Lecointre said.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who was in Romania for a meeting with fellow European leaders, approved the mission Thursday night. This prompted the 20 French commandos to deploy nearby by helicopter far enough away so that the sleeping terrorists wouldn’t hear them.

The commandos approached in silence under the cover of darkness, where they got past a guard and to within just a few meters of the four tents where the hostages were being held before finally being detected.

Out of concern for the hostages, the commandos ‘went inside without opening fire’, the French Chief of Staff said. “The commandos went inside the shelters without opening fire,” he said.

In the short ensuing firefight, two of the French commandos were killed at close range, four terrorists were also killed and two escaped.

“We are grateful for the safe recovery of hostages, including an American, during a recovery operation in Burkina Faso,” said Tibor Nagy, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa. “I offer my deepest condolences to the families of the French soldiers killed during the operation,” he posted on Twitter.

A memorial service for the French soldiers killed in the raid will be held on Tuesday.

Photos: French Navy

Army Green Beret Awarded Second Distinguished Service Cross

Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CW3) Jason Myers was already walking in rarified air being one of the few recipients of a Distinguished Service Cross. Now, the Green Beret is the only active duty soldier to have been awarded the DSC twice.

The Distinguished Service Cross is the nation’s second highest award for Valor ranking just under the Medal of Honor.

Originally awarded a Silver Star for his actions, the Army went thru the records of several awards and recently upgraded them. Myers’ award has been one of those upgraded to his second DSC.

On March 27, 2010, then CW2 Jason Myers of ODA-3321 of the 3rd SFG(A) was awarded the first of his DSCs when rushed into enemy fire to rescue two Afghanistan police officers. Attacked by 75-100 insurgents, he took command of a bad situation and exposed himself to RPG and PKM machine gun fire to move forward to rescue the men.

Later in November of 2011, Myers once again exposed himself repeatedly to enemy fire by entering into a building to help rescue 15 hostages, also in Afghanistan.

About 3:15 p.m. on Nov. 10, 2011, Myers saw the insurgents attacking the district center. He notified the Afghan uniformed police, a special tactics team, and the Afghan National Army Commandos.

Moving toward the west gate of the compound, Myers’ team was attacked by insurgents with small arms fire and grenades. Myers, by this time already wounded by grenade fragments, was consulting with the wounded Afghan district police chief and learned about the hostages. He was also told the insurgents were wearing suicide vests.

Only after rescuing the first nine hostages did Myers allow himself to receive medical aid for his wounds. He then returned to the district center compound with a ladder to help rescue the remaining hostages. During this time the insurgents triggered a booby trap which injured six of the Afghan forces.

Myers helped evacuate the six wounded Afghan allies and helped with the clearing the remaining part of the building. During the pitched battle, five Americans were wounded, while three Afghan soldiers were killed while 11 more were wounded.

“He entered the main building three total times in order to clear it of all enemy fires,” said LTG Francis Beaudette, commander of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, “All of this was done while sustaining shrapnel injuries and constantly under active enemy fire.”

“Jason has demonstrated on not just these two (Distinguished Service Cross Award) occasions but each and each every day he rolls out of the team room that he has the same fearless courage and unbending character of these men,” Beaudette added. “He’s going to continue to inspire others to protect the nation without fail, without fear and without equal, and we are incredibly proud of him today.”

Myers was surrounded by his family, friends, and fellow Special Forces soldiers for the second time being awarded the nation’s second highest award for valor.

Myers conducted an interview with the Fayetteville Observer after the ceremony and commented on the attack during November 2011.

“I’ve always been fortunate,” Myers said when asked about receiving the Distinguished Service Cross Award twice. “I’ve always been surrounded by the best officers and the best (noncommissioned officers) in the Army. And with multiple deployments to the same area, we knew the locals. We had a lot of rapport and these longstanding relationships with some of these people, so there was a lot of trust and history between us, the locals and the partner forces.”

Beaudette in his comments said that nearly 50 years ago, Green Berets sat in the same auditorium at the JFKSWC and were briefed on a dangerous plan to rescue American POWs in Vietnam. The mission he was referring to was “Operation Ivory Coast” where Green Berets under the command of Colonel Arthur “Bull” Simons flew deep into North Vietnam, just 23 miles west of Hanoi to get American POWs out of Son Tay Prison.

LTG Beaudette compared Myers’ actions to those who stood up and volunteered.

At Myers’ first award of the DSC, Admiral William McRaven, the then commander of USSOCOM summed it up arguably the best when taking into account the actions of Myers on these actions.

“The Green Beret isn’t just a piece of headgear; it is a symbol of all that is good and right about America. It represents the finest Soldiers ever to take the battlefield, he said.

“I want to thank you again for your incredible service to the Regiment, the Army and this great Nation. To the men of 3rd SFG, your reputation continues to grow. Your legacy will be found not in the wars that you fought, but in the men that fought them,” said McRaven. “You and the families that give you strength have earned the respect and admiration of an entire nation.”

Screenshot Photo and Video: DVIDSHub.net

Will the Surfaced Video Evidence Clear Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher?

Opinion: In a stunning turn of events, the defense in the upcoming court-martial case of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher is preparing to release helmet cam footage they say will exonerate their client.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) who has been a very vocal supporter of Gallagher is planning to show members of Congress a video later this week from a Navy SEAL’s helmet camera. Hunter believes the footage will clear Gallagher on war crime charges he faces when his trial begins later this month.

Once again, Kristina Wong, from Breitbart News was the first on the story. On Sunday she spoke with Michael Harrison a spokesman for Hunter and he said, “When other members of Congress see the video as he has seen it, that it’s going to shed light on the situation as a whole and the case that the Navy is presenting against Chief Gallagher.”

The video has been placed under a protective order by the judge as to guarantee Gallagher the right to a fair trial. No one is allowed to see the footage until it is released during the court-martial.

However, Gallagher’s attorney Tim Parlatore was granted an exception to this rule for the purpose of showing the contents to Hunter and any other member of Congress who are taking an interest in this case. Parlatore successfully argued that both the prosecution and NCIS have been suspected of leaking damaging material to Gallagher’s case to the media.

“So many other members of Congress have expressed an interest in this case that they needed to see the full evidence at hand, and Congressman Hunter strongly believes that the video evidence is to Gallagher’s benefit, and not to his detriment,” Harrison added.

Parlatore in describing the video contents to the court says the two-minute clip from the helmet cam shows the wounded ISIS fighter being dragged off the hood of a military vehicle by Iraqi soldiers. Gallagher asks the Iraqis if the fighter is ISIS. When told that the wounded man in indeed ISIS, Gallagher then says, “OK, I got him.” He then cleared away the crowd, gots out his medical kit, and began to treat the wounded man’s leg.

After watching the video, Rep. Hunter was convinced of Gallagher’s innocence.

“Gallagher provided medical attention to an ISIS terrorist,” Hunter said in his Instagram post. “He tried to save his life — that’s what it shows. Eddie Gallagher’s going to be exonerated.”

This is where the story gets interesting. Does the two-minute video go all the way thru the act of Gallagher treating the wounded ISIS fighter until he dies from his wounds?

Because the fact that Gallagher initially began treating the wounded fighter has never been in doubt. Navy Times detailed the events according to eyewitnesses:

Later, another SO1 who was trained in battlefield medicine told NCIS that he remembered watching the other SEAL corpsman treating the detainee, who appeared to have suffered a leg injury and struggled to breathe, possibly from “blast lung,” a condition that often affects those who survive explosions.
He watched as the SO1 inserted a chest tube while Gallagher, using a special kit, performed a cricothyroidotomy — or “cric” — a simple and rapid surgical method for opening up a blocked airway by inserting a tube through an incision in the cricothyroid ligament, according to records provided to Navy Times.
Gallagher also was present when the prisoner received a trachea tube, two chest tubes and a Sternal Intraosseous Infusion, which bores through bone to reach veins when other IVs won’t work, records indicate.
That SO1 told NCIS he left as the other two SEALs continued working on the prisoner, although other interviews and the prosecution’s own legal filings in the case portray a chaotic scene, with memories about the incident often jumbled by all the witnesses.
In his statements to NCIS, the LPO said he later returned to the area, rounded a parked Humvee and spotted Gallagher kneeling on the right side of the wounded teen.
He insisted that he then saw the chief “stab the ISIS fighter multiple times in the right side of the neck” in a manner that “was in no way a medical procedure,” according to an NCIS report.
He described Gallagher’s knife as the same weapon the chief always carried in a leather sheath. He told NCIS it had a blade a few inches long, although photographs of the weapon make it look stubbier.
The LPO told the agent that an SO1 who remained to assist Gallagher with the medical care was “freaking out a little bit over what Eddie just did” but there was nothing anyone could do “because the subject was dead.”

Was the act of what one witness saw the act of inserting a trach or chest tube? Or did Gallagher suddenly go from potential lifesaver to murderer in a split second? His supporters point out that it is inconceivable that Gallagher would go from trying to save the man’s life to kill him with his knife just seconds later. And that much is true. But sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction.

The message that Gallagher sent to another SEAL where he allegedly said that he killed the ISIS fighter with his knife was either just braggadocio on his behalf or an admission of guilt. But another SEAL testified that Gallagher did stab the ISIS fighter, but after he was already dead.

A Marine who was there but declined to assist in the NCIS investigation stated that he saw no stabbings in the neck and chest area and that the ISIS fighter died from his wounds and not anything that Gallagher did.

However, another SEAL said that he was only about a foot away from the prisoner when Gallagher pulled out his knife and stabbed the boy two or three times in the neck.

The truth lies in between there somewhere. Gallagher, his defense team as well as his family believe that these allegations are nothing more than the results of “bad blood” between the senior chief and the younger SEALs who chafed under his leadership style.

Which is why this two-minute video is extremely important to both sides in this case. If it shows everything up to and including the ISIS fighter’s death, then the manner in which he dies will determine Gallagher’s guilt or innocence. And without this conviction, the charges that he shot unarmed civilians will quickly seem like a witchhunt. If it only shows the initial treatment of the wounded fighter, then both sides are back to square one.

“The truth will set you free” or maybe not.

Photo: US Navy

Ceasefire Reached After Rockets, Airstrikes Produce Bloody Weekend in Gaza

Op-Ed: Hamas wanted to send a message to Israel and in two days, they launched nearly 700 rockets into Israeli territory. Israel responded with heavy airstrikes and moved armor up to the border area in the latest outbreak of violence. When the smoke cleared, 24 Palestinians were dead with hundreds wounded and 4 Israelis were killed, with another 234 wounded.

The Egyptians brokered another ceasefire which began at 0130 hours local on Monday. They are trying to hammer out a long-term deal but the chances of that happening or ever coming to fruition are slim.

Hamas is trying to force the Israelis to ease blockade restrictions into Gaza and that it wanted to disrupt the upcoming music competition “Eurovision” which was slated to begin on Monday. Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad vowed to “prevent the festival” in statements released by each.

“We will prevent the enemy from succeeding in establishing any festival aimed at harming the Palestinian narrative,” Palestinian Islamic Jihad released in a statement. Then Hamas began the weekend by launching 150 rockets into Israel.

The Israelis then began a series of airstrikes in Gaza City at the site of the rocket launches as well as targeting Hamas military targets. And as is the norm for Hamas, they launched their rockets from the middle of crowded neighborhoods, knowing full well that the Israelis would immediately launch counter-strikes before the first rockets hit the ground. Many of the Hamas commanders and their fighters’ homes were targeted as well.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ‘s office told David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, and ambassadors from Europe that Hamas was “committing a double war crime by indiscriminately shooting at civilians from civilian centers.”

The resultant civilian casualties are always what Hamas counts on, including two pregnant women, two infants and a child — were killed, along with two unborn children. However, the Israelis were quick to point out one Palestinian woman and child were not hit by Israeli strikes but from a malfunctioning Hamas rocket. Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a spokesman for the IDF, said in a statement that, “It was from internal fire,” he said.

The IDF said it struck rocket launchers, tunnel shafts, “terror squads and operatives,” and weapons-making factories belonging to Hamas, who controls Gaza, and the Iranian-funded group Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Of the 690 rockets fired from Gaza at Israel, the IDF announced that their “Iron Dome” missile defense system, successfully shot down 240 of the rockets. In response, Israel targeted over 350 Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza. The Israelis killed a senior Hamas commander allegedly involved in transferring Iranian funds to the group was killed during an airstrike.

On Monday, Netanyahu said that “the campaign is not over and requires patience and judgment. We are preparing to continue. The goal was and remains to ensure the peace and security of the residents of the south.”

This latest spate of violence began on Friday when Islamic Jihad fired across the border and hit two Israeli soldiers. The airstrikes in retaliation killed two Hamas militants. Then on Saturday, Hamas began launching missiles at Israel which further escalated events. The two sides had attacked each other in March before the Egyptians stepped in again to broker yet another ceasefire.

Among the dead on the Israeli side was a 68-year old man whose minivan was hit with a Russian made Kornet wire-guided, anti-tank missile. Hamas took credit for that and proclaimed “victory” in that Israel has promised to expand the fishing limits for Gaza fishermen, Israel will stop shooting at Palestinians during the weekly protests near the border, also known as the Great March of Return; easing the blockade on the Gaza Strip; allowing international relief organizations to assist families whose houses were destroyed in the last round of fighting; an end to Israeli targeted assassinations.

With the influx of tourists this week for Eurovision. Netanyahu was forced between a rock and a hard place. But for Israeli citizens who live close to the Gaza border and who provided the Prime Minister the edge in the latest election, they’re wanting a much harder line between the government and Hamas.

But this isn’t the end of this latest back and forth affair. Israel this week celebrates their Memorial Day followed by Independence Day. For the Palestinians in Gaza, this week begins the Holy month of Ramadan. Tensions always get high during this time frame.

Of course, as soon as the violence erupted, American Congresswoman and noted anti-semite Ilhan Omar jumped into the fray with this latest bit on social media.

@IlhanMN – How many more protesters must be shot, rockets must be fired, and little kids must be killed until the endless cycle of violence ends?

The status quo of occupation and humanitarian crisis in Gaza is unsustainable. Only real justice can bring about security and lasting peace.

She must have forgotten or doesn’t know (nor care) that Israel doesn’t occupy Gaza. The Israelis withdrew years ago leaving behind warehouses full of food and synagogues. Which the Palestinians burned… but the truth never got in the way of a good social media rant to incite the sheeple….right?

Photos of Offices of Hamas chairman Ismail Haniyeh – Rimal: IDF

The US to Label Iran Revolutionary Guard a Terrorist Organization

Iran Threatens Tit-for-Tat

In a slightly surprising move, the United States is for the first time labeling the military of a foreign power as a terrorist organization. Possibly as early as today, the U.S. State Department may label Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.

While the U.S. has frequently stated that Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism, it was only a matter of time before it went after the IRGC since the Guards, as well as the Quds forces, are the major players in Iran’s support for terrorist organizations around the globe. They provide training, logistical support, and direction for Iran’s proxies. They have aided in assassinations, bombings, cyber warfare and have funded missile development in the Third World.

Last week, the State Department’s Brian Hook made an announcement that the Iranians were responsible for the deaths of 603 U.S. troops from improvised explosive devices (IEDs), rockets, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, and small-arms and sniper attacks by Iranian-backed proxies.

However, critics of the administration believe that this opens the door for unfriendly governments to do the same to U.S. intelligence and military assets abroad.

Since he became the U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo has strongly advocated a change in labeling the IRGC as a terrorist organization. He stated, “the Islamic Republic of Iran is not a normal state” because “normal states do not support terrorism within their armed forces” like Iran does with the Revolutionary Guard.”

This expected move isn’t without precedent. Back in 2007, the U.S. Treasury Department designated the IRGC’s Quds Force, at that time the unit in charge of operations abroad, “for its support of terrorism,” and has described it as Iran’s “primary arm for executing its policy of supporting terrorist and insurgent groups.”

The Treasury Department began to move against the IRGC in 2017 when it labeled the Guards as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, which made it a target for the U.S. to combat Iran’s terrorism funding by targeting its financing and imposing more sanctions. In their statement at the time, Treasury said this:

“The IRGC has played a central role to Iran becoming the world’s foremost state sponsor of terror. Iran’s pursuit of power comes at the cost of regional stability, and Treasury will continue using its authorities to disrupt the IRGC’s destructive activities,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “We are designating the IRGC for providing support to the IRGC-QF, the key Iranian entity enabling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s relentless campaign of brutal violence against his own people, as well as the lethal activities of Hizballah, Hamas, and other terrorist groups. We urge the private sector to recognize that the IRGC permeates much of the Iranian economy, and those who transact with IRGC-controlled companies do so at great risk.”

Republican Senator Ted Cruz from Texas has been pushing for the IRGC to be designated a terrorist organization since 2015. When the Obama Administration entered into the nuclear deal, Cruz among other Republicans were against the deal, which the U.S. withdrew from last year. Cruz was outspoken about the revelation about the U.S. troops’ deaths as well.

“The Obama administration downplayed the scope and nature of these murders in the interest of promoting its diplomacy with Iran, including the Obama nuclear deal.”

Republican Senator Ben Sasse approved of this latest move to go against Tehran. “A formal designation and its consequences may be new, but these IRGC butchers have been terrorists for a long time,” Sasser released in a statement.

Back in 2017 as well, IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari warned that if Trump and the United States went ahead with the move “then the Revolutionary Guards will consider the American army to be like Islamic State all around the world.”

Just on Saturday, the Iranians took to Twitter to utter a tit-for-tat designation. “If the Revolutionary Guards are placed on America’s list of terrorist groups, we will put that country’s military on the terror blacklist next to Daesh (Islamic State),” Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, head of parliament’s national security committee, said in a Twitter post.

Former Under-Secretary of State and lead Iran negotiator under the Obama administration, Wendy Sherman, said she worried about what this means for U.S. forces in the region and hinted that this may have been the rationale behind the move..

“One might even suggest, since it’s hard to see why this is in our interest, if the president isn’t looking for a basis for a conflict,” said Sherman, who is now the director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. “The IRGC is already fully sanctioned and this escalation absolutely endangers our troops in the region.”

What does that mean for U.S. troops abroad? Things could get more dangerous for U.S. troops in Iraq. Several of Iran’s proxies, Shi’ite militias are located in close proximity to U.S. forces. If they are taking Jafari’s comments to heart, then they may decide to test the water and try to attack U.S. troops there.

During the latest fighting in Iraq to rid the country of Islamic State fighters, a coalition of U.S. Special Operations troops and air assets, Shi’ite militias, and the IRGC have formed an unlikely, uneasy coalition in ridding Iraq of ISIS. The Iraqi military has done a good job of holding it together and keeping the IRGC and the U.S. apart and on target during this time.

This move may not result in open fighting, however, any kind of confrontation, open or non-confrontational will ultimately benefit ISIS and will undermine the efforts of the U.S. troops in the area. That in itself can be a more dangerous environment for them.

IRGC Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said on Sunday that if the U.S. takes such does make the announcement, its forces in western Asia “will lose peace and quiet”.

“If the U.S. takes this step and endangers our national security we will take reciprocal measures, based on the policies of the Islamic Republic,” Jafari said.

On Sunday, Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted the accusation that he believes the #NetanyahuFirsters of pulling Washington’s strings in the decision to designate IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization.

“#NetanyahuFirsters who have long agitated for FTO designation of the IRGC fully understand its consequences for US forces in the region. In fact, they seek to drag the US into a quagmire on his behalf,” Zarif tweeted. He added, “DonaldTrump should know better than to be conned into another US disaster.”

On Sunday, 255 out of 290 Iranian lawmakers have decided to take reciprocal action. “So the leaders of America, who themselves are the creators and supporters of terrorists in the (Middle East) region, will regret this inappropriate and idiotic action,” they said in a released statement.

Photo: Wikipedia

Operation Chavin de Huantar, Peruvian Commandos Rescue 72 Hostages

Operation Chavin de Huantar is considered one of the most important operations of the Peruvian military. On April 22, 1997, commandos from the Peruvian Special Forces were able to conduct a rescue operation of 72 hostages held by the terrorist group Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) at the Japanese Ambassador’s residence.

The operation was named Chavin de Huantar from the pre-Incan civilization Chavin. The area of Peru where they lived was called Huantar. The Chavin were known to hide from their enemies in deep tunnels built under their temples. The reason would come to light later.

What made this operation even more fulfilling for the Peruvian commandos was the fact that this mission was considered too difficult for them to conduct. They proved the naysayers wrong and were able to take down the target. Two commandos and one hostage were killed in the assault. All 14 terrorists were killed and the remainder of the hostages were freed.

Background:

The Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement was a Marxist terror group that was founded in the 1980s. The terror group was initially led by Víctor Polay Campos until he was captured and sentenced to 32 years’ in prison in 1992, and then by Néstor Cerpa Cartolini (“Comrade Evaristo”) until his death in this operation in 1997.

The MRTA took its name from Túpac Amaru II, an 18th-century rebel leader who was himself named after his claimed ancestor Túpac Amaru, the last indigenous leader of the Inca people

Like many Marxist organizations, there was tremendous in-fighting amongst the membership. The Peruvian military took a toll on their numbers as well as several clashes with their Maoist rivals the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path). As a result, their numbers never went higher than several hundred.

On the night of December 17, 1996, 14 members of the group gained entrance to the Japanese ambassador’s residence by blasting a huge hole in the garden wall to gain entrance to the residence. The Japanese government had fortified the building to defend it from within. Many of the windows were made of bulletproof glass, heavy steel grates were placed on windows and the wall was 12-feet high to discourage any scaling attempts. The doors were constructed to withstand a grenade blast.

Peruvian President Fujimori called the MRTA assault and hostage-taking as “repugnant” in his first aired statement on the takeover, but not until December 22. He stated that Peru needed no outside assistance. He hoped to settle the matter peacefully.

MRTA leader Néstor Cerpa Cartolini announced that he would gradually release any hostages who were not connected to the Peruvian government. During the long drawn out siege that followed, the terrorists released all of the female hostages (including Fujimori’s mother) and all but 72 of the men.

MRTA made a series of demands:

The release of their members from prisons around Peru (including recently convicted US activist Lori Berenson as well as Cerpa’s wife).
A revision of the government’s neoliberal free market reforms.
They called for the end of Japan’s foreign assistance program in Peru, arguing that this program benefited only a narrow segment of society.
They protested against the cruel and inhumane conditions in Peru’s jails.

Reportedly, from one of the socialist hostages…that had been released, the terrorists were heavily armed and had anti-tank weapons at their disposal. They also were reportedly wearing explosive backpacks and had the rooms wired for detonation.

Preparations By the Peruvians:

Despite President Fujimori’s negotiations which dragged on for months, the President couldn’t find a European nation which would give the terrorists asylum. However, the military began planning for an eventual hostage rescue just four days after the takeover in December.

The Peruvians put together a 140-man joint task force—comprising 70 National Police members and 70 personnel from army, navy, and air force special operations units. The Peruvians were breaking the fourth of the SOF Truths, Competent Special Operations Forces cannot be created after emergencies occur. However, this unit would eventually have the time to train and prepare to conduct a very successful operation.

This joint special operations task force was charged with the planning and eventual conduct of the operation. While the task force prepared for the rescue, the National Intelligence Service, SIN (Servicio Nacional de Inteligencia) set up a headquarters next door to the ambassador’s residence, in the same house the terrorists had used to launch their attack.

Scale model of the Japanese ambassador’s residence used by Peruvian SOF to plan their assault.

The Peruvians began to tunnel deep under the ambassador’s residence. To cover up the sound and the vibration, they began blasting loud music into the residence as well as having tanks rumble around in the streets to throw off the terrorists. But MRTA did hear the tunneling efforts and ceased negotiations. A small two-way radio was furnished secretly to Navy Admiral Luis Giampietri. Also, the hostages were gradually furnished lightly colored clothes which contrasted very well with the dark clothing the MRTA terrorists were wearing.

In addition, the planning for the joint task force was made easier when the terrorists decided to move all of the hostages to the second floor. The Peruvians also over the period of time were able to smuggle in several hidden microphones and cameras which the hostages were able to hide around the residence.

The task force learned that security of MRTA was at its highest every night, but that each afternoon, eight of them, including four of their leaders would take an hour to relax and play football inside.

The task force built a scale model of the ambassador’s residence which the leaders of the rescue operation based their training. This included the tunnels from the adjacent buildings that the commandos would use to gain entry into the residence.

The Assault and Rescue Operation:

The night before the operation, half of the task force began to assemble in their assault positions. The police began to assemble around the residence while snipers took positions on top of the surrounding buildings. Everything was ready, they were just waiting for the green light.

At 15:17 local time, President Fujimori gave the commandos the go-ahead. The assault element was divided into three different groups. Six minutes later at 15:23, the Peruvians knew that the terrorists would be playing their indoor football game. It was precisely then when they blew explosive charges beneath the dining room and kitchen.

The first, exploded directly under the middle of the room where the football game was being played, killing three of the terrorists immediately – two men involved in the game, and one of the women, who was watching from the sideline.

The first assault group emerged from the tunnels on the side of the residence and assaulted the service area and moved to the second floor. The second assault team with 20 commandos breached the front door of the residence. They neutralized the other two female terrorists who were guarding the door. Behind this initial group was another wave of commandos carrying ladders.

The third prong of the assault consisted of commandos who entered via another tunnel. They scaled the ladders that were in place and with charges, they blew out the grenade proof doors on the second floor to evacuate the hostages. The also cut holes in the roof so that the MRTA could be neutralized before they had an opportunity to kill the hostages.

The entire operation took 28 minutes. All but one of the 72 hostages were saved. Two commandos were killed in the assault. All of the terrorists were dead. One of the terrorists, Roli Rojas attempted to mix with the hostages to sneak out. He was recognized by a commando who took him to the rear of the residence and blew his head off with a burst from his weapon. The MRTA flag that flew during the standoff was burned.

Aftermath:

President Fujimori arrived soon after the raid was completed. He was photographed on the staircase with the body of Cerpa and the headless body of Rojas close nearby. Television cameras captured him riding with the freed hostages thru the streets of Lima.

Fujimori enjoyed a huge jump in popularity over what was seen as Peru standing up to terrorists and standing on their own. His popularity rating nearly doubled to 70 percent. To Peruvians, it gave them a huge boost of morale as they saw their military plan and conduct a vital operation as a First World Nation would.

But there would be controversy over the deaths of the terrorists. Specifically, the execution of prisoners, after forensic investigators said that several of the terrorists were shot in the back of the neck in a defenseless position. Eleven army officers were arrested but eventually, three senior officers were charged with ordering the extra-judicial killings of the MRTA terrorists. They were exonerated at a trial in 2012.

Photos: Wikipedia, Peru armed forces

Green Beret and EOD Tech Killed in Afghanistan Identified

The two Amerian soldiers killed in northern Afghanistan this past Friday have been identified by the Pentagon and both are from Ft. Carson, Colorado.

Green Beret SFC Will D. Lindsay, 33, and SP4 Joseph P. Collette, 29, died from wounds by small arms fire sustained during combat operations in Kunduz province, Afghanistan according to U.S. officials in Afghanistan.

Kunduz was the scene of heavy fighting back in 2015. The Taliban attacked the city and took it from Afghan forces in late September. Afghan government troops aided by U.S. Special Forces retook the city but at great cost to themselves and the civilians there. One hospital staffed by “Doctors without Borders” was hit by fire from an AC-130 gunship and destroyed which supposedly killed 42 people.

Lindsay was assigned to the 2nd Bn. 10th Special Forces Group and is from Cortez, Colorado, while Collette, originally from Lancaster, Ohio was assigned to the 242nd Ordnance Battalion, 71st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group.

According to SOCOM spokesman LTC Loren Bymer, Lindsay enlisted in the Army in July 2004. He graduated Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC) in July 2006 and was assigned to 10th SFG.

Lindsay’s deployments include five tours to Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn; to Tajikistan in 2016 supporting the Counter-Narcotics Terrorism mission; and Afghanistan supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.

He attended both static-line and military free-fall parachute training. He also graduated from several other special operations training programs, including the Special Operations Target Interdiction Course, (SOTIC or Sniper Course) and the Special Forces Intelligence Sergeant Course.

Lindsay’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, a Purple Heart, the NATO Medal, the Special Forces Tab, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Military Free Fall Jumpmaster Badge, the Master Parachutist Badge and the Chilean Airborne Wings.

Colonel Lawrence Ferguson, the commander of the 10th SFG said the entire command was saddened upon hearing the grim news.

“Will was one of the best in our formation, with more than a decade of service in the Regiment at all levels of noncommissioned officer leadership,” Ferguson said. “We will focus now on supporting his family and honoring his legacy and sacrifice.”

Collette, was on his first deployment to Afghanistan but had been in the military for nine years. He and his wife had just been married in December. Colonel David Green, the commander of the 71st EOD Group passed along his condolences to Collette’s extended family.

“The 71st Ordnance Group is deeply saddened by the loss of Spc. Joseph P. Collette,” the unit’s commander Col. David Green said in a released statement. “We extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to his family and friends.”

His widow Caela posted to her Facebook account of his death. “For those of you who don’t know, Joey was killed in action last night while serving our country,” she wrote. “I have no words but so many words at the same time. He was my best friend and I’m so lost without him right now.”

Lindsay was also married and is survived by his wife and four daughters.

EOD technicians often work with Special Operations units, clearing IEDs and roadside bombs that insurgents place in areas where Americans or coalition troops patrol in. Reportedly, the unit was in a firefight with Taliban forces when the two Americans as well as on Afghan soldier were killed in the fighting.

Then, American and coalition Afghan forces began firing accidentally on one another and an airstrike was called in where Afghan civilians were killed. The incident is under investigation. There have been four combat deaths in Afghanistan in 2019 after 13 in 2018 as well as two non-combat related fatalities.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is trying to come to a peace agreement with the Taliban where the United States can end the longest war in its history. But while negotiations are on-going, both sides push against one another to gain an advantage.

Photos: US Army

British Special Forces To Have Bigger Counter-Terror Role in Afghanistan

With the United States set to pull out most of their 14,000 troops in Afghanistan in the next three years, a bigger part of the ongoing counter-terrorism mission will fall to the British Special Forces. The SAS and the SBS are expected to be tasked to take on a bigger part of these operations during the time of the U.S. withdrawal.

With on-going peace talks with the Taliban still going nowhere, the Trump administration wants the majority of U.S. troops pulled out within three years and are planning accordingly. However, during negotiations with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, the United States was pushing for an orderly, 5-year withdrawal plan. The Taliban rejected it, insisting that the United States totally withdraw all troops within a year.

The Taliban refuses to engage the Afghan government of President Ashraf Ghani, insisting that he is just a puppet of the American government. In an ominous-sounding message, Sayed Akbar Agha, a former Taliban leader, who lives in Kabul said in an interview that the Taliban will talk with Ghani, only after an agreement is reached with the U.S.

American officials know well what happens when a foreign power just abruptly leaves. After the Soviet withdrawal, the president was dragged thru the streets and hanged publicly in a gruesome display.

Meanwhile, another 9000 troops from other members of the coalition will be asked to downsize as well in the three-year time window. The U.S. will continue to provide air cover and conduct air strikes as needed against Taliban or Islamic State fighters wherever the need arises.

With the US-led coalition in Syria also planning to downsize in the near future, this will allow, according to the plans, for the British to deploy more SAS and SBS commandos to Afghanistan to oversee counter-terror missions. The British, at their peak, had about 10,000 troops in Afghanistan, until the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) was ended by President Obama. British troop strength now numbers about 1000.

Afghans are ready for peace, but a power-sharing regime with the Taliban isn’t something that even the most confident of officials believe will work. The Taliban favor a very strict mode of Islam that is more akin to the 12th century than to modern times. And the women of the country will be the ones who suffer the most. Under the Taliban, women were forbidden to work, other than in the home or attending school. Many people were severely punished just for watching television.

Two groups “Time4RealPeace” and the “Afghan Women For Peace” don’t want to see a quick U.S. withdrawal or a return to the old ways of the Taliban rule. They are staffed by women who are afraid that under a return to Taliban rule, women will be denied basic human rights.

CIA Director Gina Haspel suggested to the Senate Intelligence Committee that a “robust, monitoring regime” would be necessary under any peace accord for it to work. “It’s very important that we maintain pressure on the terrorist groups” in Afghanistan and retain the ability to act against them, Haspel said. And the Taliban are upping the ante, by negotiating from a position of strength.

Last weekend, they used numerous suicide bombers and fighters with heavy weapons to attack a joint Afghan-American base where 22 Afghan government troops were killed. Since the ISAF pullout, the Taliban either controls or contests half of the country. No American casualties were reported.

Afghan government Special Forces units that have been trained, and advised by coalition nations SOF conducted an attack of their own that killed 27 Taliban and wounded nearly 20 more. The aim was to take back the government border outposts.

An Afghan army spokesman said, “Afghan Special Forces conducted an operation in Imam Sahib district of Kunduz to recapture Afghan Border Force checkpoints that had fallen to the Taliban days earlier. The Afghan Special Forces killed 27 Taliban fighters, wounded 16 and destroyed 2 IEDs.”

In addition to the British, the French also have had Special Operations units in Afghanistan, but due to their still having sizable SOF units on the ground in Syria as well as in the Sahel region of Sub-Sahara Africa, fighting Islamic extremists there, that they won’t have enough personnel to spare in the future.

As always with the British Ministry of Defence (MOD), they will not comment on any news concerning British Special Forces operations.

Photo: MOD

AFRICOM Commander, “We Are Not Winning” Counter-terror War

Opinion: The recent comments by the commander of United States troops in the Africa Command (AFRICOM), MG Marcus Hicks are very sobering yet not really surprising. “I would tell you at this time, we are not winning,” Hicks said last week during interviews with Voice of America.

The general’s comments came during the large military exercise known as “Flintlock” last week was ongoing. Flintlock is an annual regional exercise among African, allied and U.S. counterterrorism forces, and has taken place since 2005. The U.S. has the lead in this annual training which this year has about 2000 commandos from about 30 countries taking part.

Held this year in Burkina Faso, Flintlock, although an exercise, belies the issue which lies barely beneath the surface. Burkina Faso is combatting an active Islamic insurgency from several terror groups aligned with al-Qaeda. The U.N. released figures that stated that over 100,000 citizens have been uprooted and over 150,000 children can’t attend school in the country due to the Islamic threat. And that is just a small part of the problem in the region.

The threat is growing from terror organizations like al-Qaeda, the Islamic State (ISIS) and their offshoots, as they try to spread their tentacles across the Sahel, sub-Sahara Africa. And the local nations are growing increasingly uneasy over how they see the United States reacting to this increasing threat.

The Trump administration is advocating pulling out troops, first from Syria and Afghanistan. And then from Africa. With a renewed focus on threats from China and Russia, the U.S. is switching its focus from counterterrorism to the big conventional battlefield. And it has the locals afraid.

Back in February, Burkina Faso Foreign Minister Alpha Barry told a security conference in Germany, “the threat is gaining ground. It’s no longer just the Sahel, it’s coastal West Africa and the risk of spreading regionally.”

Locally, the commanders know that their troops don’t have the training, numbers, and equipment to stand on their own. Worse, they see a U.S. pullout (the administration wants to reduce troop strength by 25% by 2022) before the threats from terror groups have been eradicated as a potential disaster.

With the U.S. scaling back operations and troop numbers in West Africa, terror groups are striking previously untouched targets. Moving from Burkina Faso thru Niger, insurgents are now actively targeting in the Ivory Coast, Benin, Togo, and Ghana.

The United States has a relatively small footprint in Africa, with about 6000 troops and 1000 contractors at any given time on the ground. Of those about 1300 are Special Operations troops who provide training and advisory roles for the host nation forces.

The French have been doing the majority of the heavy lifting for the counterterror operations in the region. They keep about 4500 troops in the area and have been active in the areas of Niger, Chad, and Mali. In 2013, the French helped forces from Mali rout the al-Qaeda fighters from the north portion of the country.

Unlike the U.S., the French are staying. They received assurances from the Americans, however, that the U.S. will continue to provide intelligence, logistical and aerial refueling support in the region.

The United States has also pledged money to increase security forces in the region. AFRICOM increased spending to $242 million for the G5 Sahel Joint Force which consists of Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, Niger, and Mauritania. The G5 Sahel Joint Force was first authorized in 2017 and combined the forces of these countries to improve security along their shared borders, improve cooperation and deployment of joint patrols to interdict the flow of terror groups and traffickers that currently cross their shared national borders with ease.

Meanwhile Gen. Hicks “would not recommend more drones or more advisers” presently, but said he wouldn’t advise reducing U.S. troop numbers in the region, either. However, he said that idea that the U.S. is leaving the area completely isn’t true. He characterized it as “a natural transition.”

“We’re trying to avoid as much as possible the kinetic activity that could eventually disenfranchise the people from the legitimate government,” he added.

The problem is that poverty and economic development go hand-in-hand with military problems and the host nations are not equipped to deal with. For now, in the interior of Burkina Faso, Muslims and Christians live alongside one another in harmony. That will never happen with an Islamist terror group gaining a foothold.

And while current training such as “Flintlock” provides valuable training for the troops in the region, commanders had to frequently check on active counterterror operations nearby. One area that the U.S. has increased its presence is in the realm of airstrikes against terrorist targets.

In Somalia alone, thus far in 2019, there have been 23 airstrikes against al-Shabab targets in Somalia, compared with just 47 in all of 2018.

With the threat increasing in Africa, the U.S. won’t at least for the near future, cut any additional troop strength there. But Special Operations personnel advising local forces and at the staff level will be needed along with economic and civic action reforms.

“We aren’t winning” the battle currently as Gen. Hicks has stated, but it doesn’t mean that the war is lost.

Photo: US Army