Author: M Barbu

Jihadis from Syria blamed for multiple attacks on Iraqi Kurds

An onslaught of attacks on Kurdish peshmerga forces and villages in northern Iraq has sparked concerns over the presence of Islamic State cells and whether they have been bulked up by jihadis arriving from Syria.

A recent string of attacks targeting Kurdish forces in northern Iraq in areas disputed between the central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has raised questions about where the attackers came from and how long they have been in the area.

Intel: US, Israel float military option as Iran nuclear talks sputter

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met at the Pentagon to discuss Iran’s nuclear program, and the possibility of a military response if negotiations continue to stall.

Israel’s defense chief Benny Gantz sat down with US counterpart Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon to discuss a range of issues on Thursday, including shared concerns over Iran’s advancing nuclear program.

Iraq announces end to US-led combat role with no fanfare

The defeat-IS coalition will continue its advisory mission into next year, despite a declared end to a combat role.

Iraq’s national security adviser said today that the US-led military coalition had completed its combat mission in Iraq, but American troops aren’t leaving the country just yet.

Qasim al-Araji announced the completion of the long-planned transition on Twitter on Thursday.

He Said, He Said: Russian, US Statements On Biden-Putin Call Differ Starkly – Analysis

Amid a big Russian military buildup near Ukraine and on the Russian-controlled Crimean Peninsula, the Kremlin has kept a lot of people guessing about its plans and intentions.

It did the same after President Vladimir Putin’s video call with U.S. President Joe Biden on December 7, issuing a statement about the talks nearly two hours after the White House released its readout.

Much More Than Just Ukraine – Analysis

A failure to prevent further Russian advances into Ukraine will have ramifications across the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

A war scare in Ukraine is a pivotal moment for the West. It tests transatlantic resolve, unity, and the very foundations of NATO. Failure to prevent potential Russian military advances or an unwillingness to respond if such a move occurs will likely cause an accentuation of internal divisions within NATO and the European Union (EU.)

Biden And NATO Need To Drop Their Ukrainian Obsession – OpEd

“European Union and NATO allies have swung behind the Biden administration’s assessment that Russia may be poised to invade Ukraine following unprecedented sharing of US intelligence on Moscow’s military preparations”, reported Financial Times on December 6. President Joe Biden in a video link was expected to warn President Vladimir Putin of the consequences of such an invasion. Putin was expected to reply that there can be no consequences for an event that is not going to happen.

Trends In Terrorism: What’s On The Horizon In 2022? – Analysis

With the world still reeling from the global COVID-19 pandemic, nearly two years in the making, few know what to expect terrorism trends to look like heading into 2022. However, certain trends from previous years seem likely to continue and may grow more severe. The terrorist threat is arguably more diverse than at any point in recent memory, with the threat posed by far-right extremists and jihadists joined by a growing roster of political and socio-cultural motivations, including ‘technophobia’ or neo-Luddite terrorism, violent anarchists, and extreme misogynists, especially those following the so-called ‘Incel’ ideology. ‘Salad bar’ ideologies, those that combine a sampling of different ideologies, sometimes diametrically opposed to one another, are also on the rise and are best exemplified by neo-Nazis growing fetishization of jihadist ideology. And while the most lethal terrorist threats are likely to remain jihadism and far-right extremism, it is important to think about how recent developments could shape patterns of terrorism over the coming year.

Cocaine Comrades: The Balkan Ties of a Fallen Colombian Drug Trafficker

From Marcos and Soldado to Tito and Chiquito, the drug trafficking ties between Colombia and the Balkans run deep.

President Ivan Duque called it “the most severe blow” to Colombian drug trafficking in this century, comparable only to the arrest of drug lord Pablo Escobar three decades ago.

The excitement was understandable. Dairo Antonio Usuga, better known in Colombia as ‘Otoniel’, was the country’s most wanted drug trafficker, a former guerrilla turned leader of El Clan del Golfo, the biggest criminal gang in Colombia.

Serbia Strengthening ‘Parallel Structures’, Kosovo Deputy PM Says

Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi tells BIRN that Serbia is still boosting Belgrade-run structures in Kosovo – and the EU-led dialogue won’t make progress until they are dissolved.

As the European Union-facilitated dialogue on normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo languishes in a stalemate, Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Bislimi, says the conditions are not ripe for another high-level meeting between Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic.

With Ruling Party Ties, Serbian Right-Wing ‘Security’ Groups Flourish

BIRN has identified a handful of self-proclaimed ‘expert’ security organisations in Serbia that promote the police, military and right-wing tropes while enjoying ties to the country’s ruling party.

In October, a notice was published in the obituaries section of the Serbian newspaper Politika that read, ‘Last greetings to my friend and comrade-in-arms, Stevo Djokic.’ It was signed ‘Aleksandar Vucic.’