Israel’s historic missile test: A message to Iran, Hezbollah, allies

Today’s warfare is not about hunting down terrorists in buildings or using tanks, it is also about confronting hi-tech missiles and drones

Israel’s Missile Defense Organization and the US Missile Defense Agency have successfully completed an unprecedented, historic test designed to confront multiple threats using a multitiered system. Nothing like this has ever been reported to have been done before, and it represents a response to the latest threats emerging in the region.

Iron Dome intercepts cruise missiles for first time

MoD: System can intercept a variety of threats, including UAVs and cruise missiles

The Israel Missile Defense Organization has successfully completed a series of live-fire intercept tests of the Iron Dome and David’s Sling weapon systems against threat-representative cruise and ballistic missiles, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday. It is the first time the the Iron Dome system intercepted a cruse missile.

Sudan’s removal from US terrorism list: What does it mean?

Former President Omar al-Bashir was toppled in April 2019 and Sudan is in transition under a military-civilian ruling council and a government of technocrats.

The US decision to end Sudan’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism comes into effect on Monday. The listing, in place for almost three decades, restricted Khartoum’s economic links and cut it off from much-needed financial assistance.

US removes Sudan from terrorism list

Sudan has had the designation since 1993, on the grounds that ousted President Omar al-Bashir was harboring militant groups. It has cut Sudan off from financial assistance and investment.

Kurdish Families Pay Islamic State Ransom to Free Loved Ones

For more than six months, a frightening thought often kept Kurdish farmer Mofaq Haji Rashid up at night: he might never see his 23-year-old son again.

The nightmare begun during the Muslim holiday of Eid in late May when Islamic State (IS) militants kidnapped Dilan Mofaq Rashid, and his 22-year-old colleague, Issa Taha, while they were on duty as federal security guards for electricity pylons in the northern oil-rich province of Kirkuk.

Counterterrorism — at home and abroad — will be renewed under Biden

Now that we are fewer than 50 days away from the start of the Biden administration, it is worth considering how U.S. counterterrorism policy priorities will shift. We should anticipate the Biden foreign policy team — led by Secretary of State-designee Antony Blinken, U.S. Ambassador-designee to the United Nations Linda Thomas Greenfield and incoming national security adviser Jake Sullivan — will reinvigorate U.S. multilateral counterterrorism efforts at the United Nations and elsewhere.