US and Turkiye target Daesh-linked smuggling network

US and Turkiye target Daesh-linked smuggling network
The United States slapped sanctions Friday on four individuals with ties to the Daesh group following an investigation with Turkiye, the Treasury Department said. (AFP/File)
Short Url
Updated 14 June 2024
Follow

US and Turkiye target Daesh-linked smuggling network

US and Turkiye target Daesh-linked smuggling network
  • The sanctions target three supporters of a human smuggling gang linked to the group
  • The men were based in countries including Uzbekistan and Georgia

WASHINGTON: The United States slapped sanctions Friday on four individuals with ties to the Daesh group following an investigation with Turkiye, the Treasury Department said.
The sanctions target three supporters of a human smuggling gang linked to the group, and one individual involved in establishing an Daesh militant training camp, the US Treasury said a statement.
The men were based in countries including Uzbekistan and Georgia, and least one individual supported Daesh members in Turkiye, according to the Treasury.
The coordinated action with Turkiye “demonstrates our continued commitment to the defense of the homeland against all terrorist threats, including Daesh,” US Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Brin Nelson said in a statement.
Turkiye, which is a close US military partner and a NATO ally, is taking its own action against the Daesh-linked network, the Treasury Department said.


Libya government forces brace for ‘possible attack’ by rivals: local media

Updated 3 sec ago
Follow

Libya government forces brace for ‘possible attack’ by rivals: local media

Libya government forces brace for ‘possible attack’ by rivals: local media
Salahuddin Al-Namroush, the deputy chief of staff, has instructed army units to be on high alert and ready to repel any possible attack
Energy-rich Libya has been wracked by unrest since the 2011

TRIPOLI: The armed forces of Libya’s internationally-recognized government are on alert for a “possible attack” near the border with Tunisia and Algeria by forces loyal to the divided country’s rival eastern administration, local media reported Thursday.
“Salahuddin Al-Namroush, the deputy chief of staff, has instructed army units to be on high alert and ready to repel any possible attack,” a military source told the Libya Al-Ahrar television channel.
Energy-rich Libya has been wracked by unrest since the 2011 overthrow of dictator Muammar Qaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising.
It is split between the UN-recognized government in the capital Tripoli in the west and a rival administration backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar that rules from Benghazi and Tobruk in the east.
In 2019-2020, Haftar’s forces tried to seize Tripoli but failed, despite backing from Egypt, Russia and others including some Western powers.
Libya Al-Ahrar, a privately-owned channel, reported Wednesday that forces affiliated with Haftar were “heading toward southwest Libya,” in an area controlled by Tripoli authorities, without providing further details.
Forces led by the strongman’s youngest son, General Saddam Haftar, on Tuesday said they were deploying “patrols ... to monitor the border strip with neighboring countries” to enhance “national security and stability in these strategic areas.”
According to a statement posted on Facebook, the units, under the “direct supervision” of Saddam Haftar, are heading “toward the towns and areas of southwest Libya.”

Yemen’s Houthis say retaliation for Israel port strike ‘inevitable’

Yemen’s Houthis say retaliation for Israel port strike ‘inevitable’
Updated 17 min 43 sec ago
Follow

Yemen’s Houthis say retaliation for Israel port strike ‘inevitable’

Yemen’s Houthis say retaliation for Israel port strike ‘inevitable’
  • Abdul Malik Al-Houthi said the battle with Israel was “at its zenith“

DUBAI: The leader of Yemen’s Houthis said Thursday that retaliation for an Israeli strike on a port under the control of the Iran-backed militants was inevitable.
The response to the July 20 attack that targeted fuel storage tanks in Hodeida harbor is “inevitable and will come,” Abdul Malik Al-Houthi said in a televised speech, adding that the battle with Israel was “at its zenith.”


The Israeli military orders another mass evacuation in southern Gaza

The Israeli military orders another mass evacuation in southern Gaza
Updated 28 min 39 sec ago
Follow

The Israeli military orders another mass evacuation in southern Gaza

The Israeli military orders another mass evacuation in southern Gaza
  • Israeli forces have repeatedly returned to heavily destroyed areas of Gaza where they had fought earlier battles against Hamas
  • Gaza faces a severe humanitarian crisis with Israeli restrictions on aid and ongoing fighting limiting access to crucial medical, food and other supplies

KHAN YOUNIS: The Israeli military has ordered another mass evacuation in large areas around Khan Younis in southern Gaza, saying its forces will soon operate there in response to Palestinian rocket fire.
Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest city, suffered widespread destruction during air and ground operations earlier this year.
Israeli forces have repeatedly returned to heavily destroyed areas of Gaza where they had fought earlier battles against Hamas and other militants since the start of the 10-month-old war.
Gaza faces a severe humanitarian crisis with Israeli restrictions on aid and ongoing fighting limiting access to crucial medical, food and other supplies. The Health Ministry says the death toll in the territory is nearing 40,000.
Regional tensions have soared since Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed July 31 in Iran by a presumed Israeli strike. Retaliation has been expected. French President Emmanuel Macron beseeched Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in a phone call to do everything in his power to avoid a new military escalation that he said would do lasting damage to regional stability.
World leaders have been pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza, and United States President Joe Biden spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Tuesday about their hopes for a deal calming tensions in the Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet over the weekend that Israel is already in a “multi-front war” with Iran and its proxies.


Netanyahu ‘sorry’ October 7 attack occurred

Netanyahu ‘sorry’ October 7 attack occurred
Updated 58 min 53 sec ago
Follow

Netanyahu ‘sorry’ October 7 attack occurred

Netanyahu ‘sorry’ October 7 attack occurred
  • “Of course, of course. I am sorry, deeply, that something like this happened” he said
  • The right-wing leader is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister and has long billed himself as a staunch protector of Israel’s security

WASHINGTON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview published Thursday that he was “sorry” that Hamas was able to carry out its October 7 attack, without explicitly taking responsibility.
Netanyahu, who has resisted making an apology for security failures over Israel’s worst-ever attack and focused on destroying Hamas, was asked if he would apologize during an interview with Time magazine.
“Apologize?” he was quoted as replying.
“Of course, of course. I am sorry, deeply, that something like this happened. And you always look back and you say, ‘Could we have done things that would have prevented it?’” he said.
The right-wing leader is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister and has long billed himself as a staunch protector of Israel’s security.
Shortly after the October 7 attack, Netanyahu posted on social media that intelligence services had failed to anticipate the Hamas operation and warn him.
He deleted and apologized for that post after numerous Israelis accused him of deflecting blame and jeopardizing national unity.
In the interview, Time asked Netanyahu what his message would be to a political rival who presided over the country’s worst security failure.
Netanyahu replied that it depended on whether the leader could lead Israel “to victory.”
“Can they assure that the postwar situation will be one of peace and security? If the answer is yes, they should stay in power.”
Hamas on October 7 carried out the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. A total of 1,198 people died, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Palestinian militants seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 39 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 39,677 people, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.


Iran says Hamas leader’s killing a costly ‘strategic mistake’ by Israel

Iran says Hamas leader’s killing a costly ‘strategic mistake’ by Israel
Updated 08 August 2024
Follow

Iran says Hamas leader’s killing a costly ‘strategic mistake’ by Israel

Iran says Hamas leader’s killing a costly ‘strategic mistake’ by Israel
  • Although Israel has not commented on Haniyeh’s death, Iran has vowed to retaliate, setting the region on edge

Jeddah: Israel committed a costly “strategic mistake” with its killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week, Iran’s acting foreign minister told AFP in an interview on Thursday.
“The act that the Zionists carried out in Tehran was a strategic mistake because it will cost them gravely,” Ali Bagheri said one day after attending an extraordinary session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah.
Although Israel has not commented on Haniyeh’s death, Iran has vowed to retaliate, setting the region on edge.
Bagheri accused Israel of wanting “to expand tension, war and conflict to other countries,” while asserting it was not in a position to fight Iran.
“The Zionists are in no position to start a war against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said.
“They neither have the capacity nor the strength.”
The meeting on Wednesday of foreign ministers from the 57-member OIC produced a declaration holding Israel “fully responsible” for the “heinous” killing of Haniyeh, who lived in Qatar and was a major player in talks to end the war in the Gaza Strip.
The war began with Hamas’s October 7 attacks on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Palestinian militants seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 39 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 39,699 people, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.
Hamas’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah has also pledged to retaliate for Haniyeh’s killing and that of its military commander Fuad Shukr in an Israeli strike in Beirut hours earlier.