VEVAK claims arrest of two terror cells at Iranian border provinces

IEDs said by VEVAK discovered in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan

According to PressTV, dated 21NOV15:

Iranian security forces have disbanded two terror cells, which were planning to carry out bomb attacks, in two provinces, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry [VEVAK] says.

Officials at the ministry said on Saturday that one of the terrorist groups was busted in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan.

The terrorists were planning to blow up over 150 kilograms of explosives in the form of ten bombs on the eastern Iranian border region.

Authorities added that another cell connected to groups hostile to the Islamic Republic, which had entered the country to commit acts of terror, was also smashed in West Azerbaijan Province.

Security forces also discovered and confiscated a large number of weapons and ammunition from the terror cell.

COMMENTARY: On 22NOV15 IRGC Commander Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari claimed the Salafi Jihadist terror cell arrested in West Azerbaijan Province have been linked to ISIL.

Quoted by the ISNA, the IRGC commander stated Iranian security forces were monitoring attempts by militants to "create insecurity" in Iran.

"IS has multi-layered support networks. One such network was [also] identified in Kermanshah province (in western Iran) and its members were arrested," Jafari told Iranian media reporters.

Imagery detailing IEDs planted alongside the Rāsk-Iranshahr section of Iran's Road 99

Detail of IED's, among ten discovered in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan

IRGC members at site of diffused IEDs discovered in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan

Photos: YJC.ir

Russia Confirms Bomb Brought Down Metrojet in Saini - UPDATE

‘This Was a Terrorist Act’

Alexander Bortnikov, the head of FSB, Russia’s state security organization, said today that a homemade explosive device brought down the Metrojet 9268 over Saini Peninsula.

“According to our experts, a homemade explosive device equivalent to 1 kilogram of TNT went off onboard, which caused the plane to break up in the air, explaining why the fuselage was scattered over such a large territory. I can certainly say that this was a terrorist act,” Bortnikov said. (AP, 17 November)

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for downing the Russian plane in written statements, as well as video and audio messages posted on the Internet following the 31 October crash that killed all 224 people onboard. ISIL said the attack was retaliation against Russia’s air campaign the organization in Syria.

Meanwhile, Russian President Putin vowed to hunt down those responsible for the terrorist attack and punish them. Putin added that the air campaign in Syria “should not only be continued but should be intensified.” He instructed the Defense Ministry and General Staff to present their plans on how Russia’s operation in Syria could be modified.

“We will act in accordance to the UN Charter Article 51, which gives each country the right to self-defense,” Putin said. (AP, 17 November)

UPDATE: Russia conducted several strikes in Raqqa on Tuesday. Fox News quoting a defense official in the region said the strikes included cruise missiles and possibly long-range bombers. The assault on ISIL’s capital in Syria came hours after Russia confirmed that a bomb brought down a Russian passenger jet in Sinai. ISIL has taken responsibility for bringing down Metrojet 9268 on 31 October. 

Photo credit: A Russian investigator walks near wreckage a day after Metrojet Airbus 321-200 bound for St. Petersburg, Russia, crashed in Saini Peninsula, Egypt. (Amr Nabil/AP)

Paris Attacks Update

French authorities today identified two men they believe were responsible for planning and launching the terrorist attacks in Paris that left 129 people dead. Officials believe Salim Benghalem, a French national who joined ISIL several years ago, directed Abdelhamid Abaaoud, an ISIL activist and a Belgian national, to orchestrate Friday’s rampage. (NPR, 16 November)

Three teams of assailants, using automatic weapons and explosive suicide vests, targeted six sites across Paris, including the national stadium, a crowded concert hall and several restaurants. The Islamic State has taken responsibility for the terrorist attacks. And French President Francois Hollande said in a speech before both houses of Parliament that France was at war with ISIL.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Paris this afternoon in a show of solidarity with the French. Kerry is scheduled to meet with French officials.

Top photo: The Eiffel Tower illuminated in blue, white and red (Twitter)
Bottom photo: People gather in front of Paris City Hall, and throughout France, to hold a minute of silence; Monday 16 November 2015 (Christophe Petit Tesson/EPA/LANDOV/NPR) 

France Launches Fierce Assault on ISIL Positions in Syria

The French Ministry of Defense announced massive airstrikes against Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, ISIL’s center in Syria. The strikes began a day after ISIL claimed responsibility for the coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris that killed at least 129 people and wounding many more.

A French Defense Ministry statement said the operations were launched from bases in the UAE and Jordan and was conducted in coordination with U.S. forces, which have been conducting repeated airstrikes against ISIL in and around Raqqa.

Meanwhile in Baghdad, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari said Iraqi intelligence had obtained information before the Paris attacks that the Islamic State was planning an imminent strikes overseas that may have been aimed at France, the United States, and Iran.

In Tehran, Iranian Minister of Intelligence Mahmoud Alavi warned the recent ISIL attacks in Paris and Beirut are “a serious alarm to us too.” Alavi added Iran is exercising more “vigilance.”

Syria Talks Begin in Vienna - UPDATE

International Syria Support Group Statement

UPDATE: Members of International Syria Support Group (ISSG) expressed a unanimous sense of urgency to end the Syrian conflict. They reiterated their support for a Syrian political transition based on 2012 Geneva Communiqué in its entirety.

ISSG members further agreed to implement a nationwide ceasefire in Syria as soon as representatives of Syrian government and the opposition have begun initial steps toward transition under UN auspices. The permanent members (P5) of the UN Security Council also agreed to support a UNSC resolution to empower a UN-endorsed ceasefire monitoring mission and to support a political transition process in accordance with the Geneva Communiqué.

ISSG agreed on the need to convene Syrian government and opposition representatives in formal negotiations under UN auspices, as soon as possible, with a target date of January 1.

It was also agreed that all parties to the political process should adhere to fundamental principles of Syria’s unity, independence, territorial integrity, and non-sectarian character; to ensure that State institutions remain intact; and to protecting the rights of all Syrians, regardless of ethnicity or religious denomination.

ISSG will reconvene in a month.

*****

The meeting of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) resumed in Vienna today, as the foreign ministers participating in negotiations set aside their differences at least temporarily and condemned Paris attacks. Secretary of State John Kerry, standing next to the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, said the Islamic State’s terrorist attacks “encouraged us today to do even harder work to make progress and to help resolve the crises that we face.” Lavrov added, “No justification for terrorist acts, and no justification for us not doing much more to defeat ISIL and al-Nusra and the like. I hope this meeting as well would allow us to move forward.” (Reurers, 14 November)

Back on the negotiation table, the foreign minsters will tackle their key differences, including the formation of a transition government in Syria, Assad’s role in the transition, if any, and which groups fighting the regime should be included in the transition, and which groups should be excluded as terrorists.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, who did not plan to attend today’s talks, and instead were to accompany President Rouhani on a visit to Rome and Paris, changed his schedule after Rouhani’s visits were postponed after Paris attacks, and has now left Tehran for Vienna to attend the afternoon session of the talks.

Photo: Syria Talks; Vienna, 14 November 2015 (Reuters)

Islamic State Claims Responsibility for Paris Attacks

Hollande: ‘An Act of War’

The Islamic State today said it was behind a series of bomb blasts and shootings that have left at least 129 people dead and more than 350 wounded in central Paris on Friday night.

French President Francois Hollande described the attacks as “an act of war” by the terrorist group. Speaking after an emergency security meeting, Hollande said Friday’s attacks were “committed by a terrorist army, the Islamic State group, a jihadist army, against France, against the values that we defend everywhere in the world, against what we are: A free country that means something to the whole planet.”

Hollande vowed to hit back against the militants. “France will be pitiless concerning the barbarity of Daesh,” the French president said.

Photo: French President Francois Hollande addressing the nation after Paris Attacks (France24)

Paris Under Terrorist Attack

Paris was hit on Friday night by a string of deadly terrorist attacks, leaving 129 people dead and many more wounded. The attacks began just after 10 p.m. local time in at least seven locations in and around Paris.

President Francois Hollande has declared a state of emergency throughout the French territory and has ordered borders closed to prevent escape of the terrorists.

“We will stand together. We will never bow. We will never break. That’s the character of our two nations,” said Vice President Joe Biden in a statement on the Paris attacks.

UPDATE: Eight terrorists are killed, seven of them suicide bombers. More gunmen might still be at large. Paris is on lockdown. 7,000 troops have been deployed on streets of France. A massive manhunt is underway.

UPDATE: Thousands sing La Marseillaise, the French national anthem, during the evacuation of Stade de France, the national stadium north of Paris, after the terrorists attempted to attack the venue during the French-German friendly attended by President Hollande.

Photo: A scene in Paris under terrorist attack; Friday 13 November 2015 (France24)

‘Jihadi John’ Killed in U.S. Airstrike

Mohammed Emwazi, known as “Jihadi John,” the ISIL terrorist seen in numerous beheading videos, was targeted and reportedly killed on Thursday in a U.S. drone strike near Raqqa, Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said four ISIL fighters, including a leader with British nationality, were killed by coalition airstrike.

Emwazi took part in the murders of U.S. journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley, U.S. aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig, British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, and other hostages, the Pentagon said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain had been working “hand in glove” with the U.S. over “Jihadi John” drone strike.

Russian Metrojet Crash: Update

A U.S. intelligence analysis now suggests that the Islamic State or its affiliates planted a bomb on the Russian Metrojet passenger aircraft, CNN reported.

British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond also said that his government believes there is a “significant possibility” that an explosive device caused the crash.

Metrojet Flight 9268 crashed Saturday in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula after breaking apart in midair, killing all 224 people on board.

In an audio message posted on social media tonight, an ISIL affiliate, the Islamic State Sinai Province, insisted that it brought down the plane. But the message did not provide any details on how they brought down the plane, if in fact they did.

Meanwhile, Britain and Ireland suspended flights to the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh airport, where the Metrojet took off before crashing over the desert. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said he was “somewhat surprised” by the British decision.

“I think it is premature to make declarations related to what might or might not have happened,” said Shoukry. (CNN, 4 November)

UPDATE: Michael Morell, CBS News’ senior security analyst and a former number two official at the CIA, told “CBS Evening News” tonight that the U.S. intelligence picked up conversations between Islamic State members saying they brought down the plane. Morell added, however, that the conversations 

were not specific enough. (CNN News, 4 November)

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Russian Metrojet Crash: Mid-Air Explosion Suspected

Russian investigators have concluded that the Metrojet airliner that crashed on Saturday in Sinai had broken up in mid-air before crashing. The investigation also shows that the bodies of the passengers seated in the rear of the aircraft showed 90 percent burn, France24 reported. Both findings are consistent with a powerful mid-air explosion in the rear of the plane when it reached cruising altitude, causing fire that led to the severe burns and breaking up of the plane under the force of explosion.

Russia’s Interfax also reported that a cockpit recorder had picked up sounds of chaos in Metrojet 9268's final moments.

“Judging by the recording, a situation onboard developed suddenly and unexpectedly for the crew, and as a result the pilots did not manage to send a distress signal,” Interfax quoted an official familiar with the investigation. (Interfax/The Telegraph, 3 November)

Soon after the crash, the Islamic State in Sinai, the Egyptian affiliate of ISIL, took responsibility in the social media for bringing down the plane, which killed all 224 people aboard. In the past, ISIL has never taken responsibility for a terrorist act it did not commit, and its current claim should be taken seriously. If true, this could be Russia’s version of 9/11, with terrorists using aircraft to cause mass casualties.

Photo: Moscow memorial site for the victims of Metrojet crash (Telegtaph)

Mastermind Of Khobar Towers Bombing Reportedly Arrested

19 U.S. Servicemen Lost Their Lives in 1996 Attack

The Christian Science Monitor says Ahmad Mughassil, the mastermind of the 1996 Khobar Towers attacks, was reportedly detained in Beirut and handed over to authorities in Saudi Arabia. (Christian Science Monitor, 27 August)

Mughassil has been indicted by a U.S. court as being the architect of the truck bomb attack that devastated the towers at a U.S. military base in Dhahran, killing 19 U.S. servicemen and injuring 372 people in June 1996. It was the deadliest blast against U.S. troops since the 1983 U.S. Marine barracks bombing in Beirut.

Mughassil was the military commander of Saudi Hezbollah, an Iranian Quds Force-backed extremist organization believed to be behind the attack. If confirmed, his arrest and extradition to Saudi Arabia would be a coup for the Saudi government and could be a disaster for Iran and the Quds Force if Mughassil cooperates with the authorities. The FBI had offered $5 million for his capture. Ash Sahrq al-Awsat said Mughassil has been sent to a U.S. military base in Saudi Arabia.

The Associated Press quoted an unidentified Saudi official as saying Mughassil, a Shia from Qatif in eastern Saudi Arabia, was arrested two weeks ago in Beirut after having arrived from Iran. He was attempting to reach the Hezbollah-dominated southern suburbs of Beirut when he was detained, the official told AP.

Matt Levitt, a counter-terrorism and intelligence expert at the Washington Institute, told CSM that Mughassil was living in Beirut prior to the 1996 attack and ran the Khobar operation from there. (Christian Science Monitor, 27 August)

Iran is reportedly the principal backer of Saudi Hezbollah, also known as Hezbollah al-Hijaz, as well as its powerful Lebanese counterpart. A 2001 federal indictment accused Mughassil and 12 other Saudi Hezbollah members of carring out the Khobar bombing. The indictment also provided details of the alleged links between Iran and the Saudi and Lebanese Hezbollah.

Iran has always denied any involvement in the Khobar Towers bombing.

File photo: A Saudi and a U.S. serviceman (r.) walk through the rubble in front of the Khobar Towers housing complex at a U.S. military base in Dhahran. 19 U.S. servicemen were killed when a truck bomb devastated the towers in June 1996. (Greg Marinovich/AP)