ISIS suicide bomber attacks tribal checkpoint in Sinai Peninsula, killing four members of a powerful local tribe

An Islamic State (ISIS) suicide bomber attacked a tribal checkpoint in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on Tuesday, killing four members of a powerful local tribe and wounding others, Egyptian security officials said, according to The Associated Press.

The attacker, driving a car filled with explosives, struck a checkpoint near the town of Rafah that was manned by members of the Tarabeen tribe, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Egyptian forces have been battling a growing insurgency in the northern Sinai for years. Most of the attacks in the region have been claimed by the Sinai Province, which pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2014.

Earlier this month, an Egyptian army air strike killed one of the founders of Sinai Province.

Local tribes have mostly remained on the sidelines of the fighting between the Egyptian army and the Sinai terrorists, noted AP.

The tribes have long resented the heavy-handed security crackdown in the region and relations with the Cairo government have been poor.

However, clashes erupted last week between jihadists and local tribes after ISIS fighters shot at a truck smuggling cigarettes into an area where the extremists have banned tobacco, according to AP.

Earlier this month, militants kidnapped the head of another powerful tribe, El-Fawakhriya, and a prominent businessman from the tribe.

Libya’s U.N.-backed govern­ment has appealed for “urgent intervention” from the international community to prevent civil war as armed forces from Lib­ya’s main rivals battle for control of a key airbase, like reported by upi.com.

Libya’s security situation has not been helped by lack of progress in mediation efforts by the country’s neighbors while tensions over North Korea and the war in Syria have drawn U.S. attention away from Libya, political analysts said. That could lead to Russia attempt­ing to replicate its Syrian interven­tion in Libya, they said.

Clashes erupted April 12 after Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who heads eastern Libyan factions but has national ambitions, attacked militias loyal to the U.N.-brokered Government of National Accord to capture the Tamenhant airbase.

The airbase is near Sabha, which is a front line between Haftar’s Na­tional Libyan Army and his allies and the GNA’s loose alliance of forces that include the powerful Misrata militias.

“This sudden and unjustified escalation… puts the country on the brink of civil war,” GNA Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj said in an open letter to international organizsations, including the United Na­tions, the European Union and the Arab League.

Sarraj pleaded for “urgent in­tervention from the international community to end the deteriora­tion of the situation in southern Libya.”

The call has proven controversial in Libya, helping Haftar consoli­date his political base, especially in the east.

Libyans have been wary of for­eign intervention since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that oust­ed long-time dictator Moammar Gadhafi, leaving the country with­out a central government and in the hands of militias and authori­ties vying for control of the oil-rich North African country.

Algerian security analyst Zine Cherfaoui said: “At a time when the world has eyes on the risks of glob­al wars in Syria and North Korea, Libya is slipping gradually into civil war after the failure of the inter­national community to reconcile rival camps in Tripoli and eastern Tobruk.”

“Both camps see the front-line base as crucial for their strategies to take the battles further to con­trol Tripoli and seize main oil fields and export terminals in the east,” said Cherfaoui.

“Military experts interpret the efforts by Haftar to take control of Tamenhant as part of military ma­neuvering to later besiege Tripoli and defeat the GNA there,” said Khider Cherif, an Algerian security expert in Libya.

Libyan military analyst Milad el-Mzoughi said Haftar’s forces moved to take over the Tamenhant airbase to “neutralize militias loyal to the GNA and clear their threats to seize again the oil terminals in the east.”

Mzoughi argued that, if Haftar controlled the base, it would help his allies in the neighboring re­gion of Fezzan.

“Fezzan region is politically linked to Tripoli, which is why the GNA had pushed all its forces to de­fend the Tamenhant and Jufra bas­es. If the GNA loses the two bases it loses control of the south,” he said.

The GNA, which was established following a U.N.-brokered agree­ment in late 2015, has been unable to assert its authority across Libya.

GNA Defense Ministry spokes­man Mohamed al-Ghasri said the GNA requested the international community to establish a no-fly zone in the south.

Ghasri was the commander of the Misrata militias aligned with the GNA during their battle to uproot Islamic State fighters from Sirte last year. During the four-month battle, the United States conducted airstrikes, British intelligence pro­vided logistics support and Italy stepped in with medical assistance.

The city was left in rubble, with most IS fighters scattering into other regions, including Tripoli, Ghasri said.

The turmoil in Sirte is frequently cited as a reason to reject foreign intervention but analysts said there were no signs of foreign military in­tervention and that hopes for suc­cessful mediation in the conflict by Libya’s neighbors were growing dimmer, amplifying the risk of civil war spreading from the front line near Tamenhant.

“European powers could be the ones leaning toward an interven­tion in Libya, not the United States, because of the pressures to defend European interests in Libya,” said Libyan political analyst Khaled al- Gerboui.

The Tobruk-based parliament rejected the call for international military intervention, describing it as a violation of Libyan sovereignty.

Sarraj’s call was also the source of concern among Libya’s neighbors.

“Is Sarraj blind to the dangers his call represents for Libya and its neighbors?” asked Algerian daily L’Expression, which is close to the Algerian presidency. “No one, whether Libya or its neighbors, would be served by military adven­ture replacing the option of politi­cal dialogue.”

The IDF Military Advocate General Brig.-Gen. Sharon Afek hinted strongly on Tuesday that he will approve a wider range of Lebanese targets than were approved in the 2006 Lebanon War in the event of a new war with Hezbollah, like reported by jpost.com.

Speaking at a Ramat Gan conference of military Judge Advocate General (JAG) officers from as many as 20 countries around the world, Afek said that “Hezbollah’s integration into state institutions raises questions of state responsibility.”

He continued saying, “Hezbollah’s location of its military assets in dense urban areas raise questions about how to implement the principle of proportionality.”

All of this is in the context in which Israel’s newer foes like Hezbollah “create operational and strategic challenges by the fact that they directly target civilian populations, act in urban environments and make ground operations necessary in order to locate their military assets,” said Afek.

While legal advisers like the MAG never completely share their hand in advance of a war of what targets they will approve, it is even rare for such advisers to publicly and specifically cite a potential targeting issue.

The statement was that much more unusual with an ongoing line of reports from the security establishment that in a future conflict with Hezbollah, the IDF would “take off the gloves” and attack wider Lebanese targets. In contrast, in the 2006 Lebanon War, the IDF overwhelmingly focused its attacks on Hezbollah controlled areas in order to avoid striking Lebanese-Sunni and Christian areas viewed as unaffiliated with Hezbollah’s military actions.

However, since 2006, Israeli officials have said that Hezbollah has taken deeper control of the state and that the Lebanese state is now more directly supporting even Hezbollah’s military efforts.

Israel launched Operation Defensive Shield 15 years ago – its largest military operation since the 1967 Six Day War – calling up reservists and sending troops and heavy weaponry deep into the hearts of six major Palestinian cities, surrounding towns and West Bank refugee camps, like reported by jpost.com .

The Second Intifada, from September 2000 to mid-2005, saw close to 1,000 Israelis killed and thousands more injured, as hundreds of Palestinian terrorists staged deadly attacks across the country.

On March 27, 2002, Hamas operative Abdel-Basset Odeh blew himself up during a Passover Seder in Netanya’s Park Hotel, in an attack that killed 29 people and wounded 64 more. That was the catalyst for then-prime minister Ariel Sharon to launch Operation Defensive Shield on March 29, with the goal of stopping terrorist attacks by regaining control of the West Bank, in particular the cities in Area A that are under the sole control of the Palestinian Authority.

Lt.-Col. Yair Pinto – a company commander in the Kfir Brigade at the time – was taking part in a drill when his unit received orders to enter Ramallah. They all knew the ground on which they would be fighting.

“While we understood that this would be a significant operation, we didn’t know exactly what it was going to be like. But we were prepared for war,” Pinto told The Jerusalem Post during a tour of the northern West Bank. “It was the first time that we entered Palestinian cities with such heavy weaponry” such as tanks and armored personnel carriers, he added.

While the most intense fighting took place in Jenin and Nablus, Pinto said he and his soldiers met almost no resistance in reaching the center of Ramallah, their desired position.
“Almost everyone who stood against us with their weapons just ran” during the initial push into the city, Pinto recalled. It was only in the days following their entry into Ramallah that they faced armed opposition.

The IDF seized massive quantities of weapons and uncovered 23 explosive laboratories. In the process, 29 soldiers died and another 127 were wounded. Palestinians reported at least 250 fatalities among their own, with an additional 400 injured and more that 5,000 arrested, including former Fatah secretary-general in the West Bank Marwan Barghouti, who was captured by Pinto and his soldiers.

While the operation’s full impact was not apparent until the Second Intifada ended in 2005, its stated goal was immediately apparent and remains so even today.
“The situation we had back then – with suicide bombers coming into the center of the country blowing themselves up – we don’t have that now. Hamas suffered a death blow from the operation,” Pinto said.

He credits the relative quiet in that resulted from that military action to several changes on the ground: The security barrier Israel began to construct shortly after the operation; Palestinian security officials who understand the need to crack down on potential terrorists; and opposition to a new popular uprising among the general Palestinian population.
“It’s an altogether different environment on the ground now as compared to 15 years ago,” Pinto said.

While peace between Israel and the Palestinians any time soon seems unlikely, nearly 18 years after serving in the West Bank, Pinto the current situation is “the best situation I’ve ever seen.”
But he was quick to warn, “It’s when it’s quiet that soldiers ask why we are still here and let their guard down. Terrorists will always look for where we are not prepared, so we must remain alert at all times. We know that under the radar there are those who still want to carry out an attack.”

Tunisia announced that authorities had prevented over 20,000 youths from joining terrorist organizations, like reported by aawsat.com.

Interior Minister Hadi al-Majdoub said that since 2012 security forces succeeded in preventing over 27,000 youths from joining the ranks of these groups.

These suspects have been barred from traveling to countries witnessing armed conflicts, he explained.

He stressed that a travel ban is one of the most important methods that the Interior Ministry has adopted in thwarting youth from heading to conflict zones and getting recruited by terrorists.

Tunisian security agencies succeeded in 2016 in dismantling 245 terror cells and arresting 517 members of these networks, revealed al-Majdoub.

Moreover, he told a parliamentary committee that Libya has been a major destination for would-be terrorists, who have used the unrest in the neighboring country to later travel to Turkey where they would then be able to enter war-torn Syria.

Some 800 terrorists have returned to Tunisia and the Interior Ministry has arrested 190 of them, 137 have been barred from traveling, and 55 have been killed in armed clashes with the country’s security forces.

The rest of them are being monitored for any suspicious activity.

In addition, al-Majdoub said that there are around 3,000 Tunisian terrorists who are active abroad.

Sixty percent of them are operating in Syria, 30 percent in Libya and the rest are distributed in various areas of tension in the world. Around 760 of Tunisian terrorists have been killed abroad.

Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) has dismantled a terrorist cell linked to the so-called Islamic State, better known as ISIS, in Tetouan, the Ministry of Interior said in a communique according to moroccoworldnews.com

The dismantling of this cell, comprised of three members, came “in light of intelligence information,” according to the ministry.

The three suspects had been planning to carry out terrorist attacks in vital areas of Morocco by using remote controlled explosives. They were also planning to assassinate security officials based on the terrorist agenda of ISIS, the ministry said.

The ministry’s investigation has shown that the leader of this cell is highly qualified in the field of remote controlled explosives. His plan, along with his colleagues, was to purchase the raw materials needed in the manufacture of improvised explosive devices.

The ministry also said that the dismantling of this cell is part of a larger effort being undertaken by Moroccan security services to counter growing terrorist threats. It has resulted in the confiscation of electronic equipment and devices likely to be used in remote detonation systems. This includes welding, alarms, electric wires, batteries and mobile phones, in addition to a bottle containing suspicious liquid, white weapons and sticks.

These confiscated supplies and materials will be subjected to scientific examination, overseen by authorities qualified in the area, said the ministry.

The suspects will appear in court as soon as the ongoing investigation of the public prosecutor ends, the ministry added.

African Lion 17 kicked off this week across Morocco as the international exercise in military cooperation seeks to strengthen interoperability among the US, Morocco and many other nations, like reported by moroccoworldnews.com

1,300 American, Moroccan, Canadian, French, German, British, Malian, Mauritanian, Senegalese, Spanish and Tunisian military personnel have come together to share insights and tactics with their peers to help build a strong regional and global defence partnership against instability in an attempt to help better contain it in the future.

African Lion is an annual exercise hosted by Morocco and the US in Morocco to provide each nation with a better understanding of the tactics, techniques and procedures of each nation involved.

The exercise provides US and European military personnel with the ability to train in unfamiliar but safe territory while also endowing African nations and Morocco specifically the opportunity to learn from the seasoned experiences of the American and European militaries.

The exchange of procedures and techniques allows each nation to better its own understanding of how to deal with certain situations which may arise or to better help African nations contain regional instability.

In the past, African Lion has been a platform for the involved nations to provide training for keeping a capable military under certain conditions, aerial manoeuvring and flight training, medical assistance, peace keeping operations, intelligence operations, countering violent extremism and terrorism and keeping borders safe among other things. It is a mutual cooperation exercise which will greatly aid all nations involved in one way or another.

The exercise will conclude the 28 April.

Delegation of journalists receive a military briefing from a Hezbollah officer on the Lebanese-Israeli border; reporters told of ‘Israeli settlements built on Palestinian ruins and pure land,’ while also learning about apparent Israeli military reinforcements and the deployment of ‘espionage systems’ on the border; ‘Israel went from an offensive to a defensive doctrine’, like reported by ynetnews.com.

Hezbollah recently held a tour for members of the press on the Israeli-Lebanese border, during which the terror group told a delegation of international journalists of how Israel deployed troops and attacked Lebanon and its apparent espionage against Beirut.

Led by a senior officials in the militia, the guide provided a detailed descriptions of IDF positions, and pointed to alleged locations of espionage systems, claiming that Israel had beefed up its defensive capacity on the border.

“They went from an offensive doctrine to one of defense,” the tour guide is heard saying in the video in which Israeli military and civilian vehicles can be seen from the Lebanese side of the fence.

The initiative came at the behest of one of the officers of the group who arranged a briefing for the international media in the Ayta ash Shab village in southern Lebanon.

“We are now situated in the south of the village opposite Palestinian territory which the Zionist enemy occupied,” the guide told the journalists.

In his opening remarks, he outlined the subjects which would be covered.

“We will briefly explain here the geographical reality on the holy ground, the Israeli enemy’s deployment and the defensive steps that the enemy recently took—the reinforcement of engineer work, fortifications, barriers and the deployment of espionage systems.”

The tour guide then goes on to explain how Israel defiled the land with the construction of settlements.

“The Israeli enemy built a large number of settlements on the ruins of the Palestinians and on the pure land,” he said. “As you can see, there are military outposts here that are affiliated with the Western Brigade—Brigade 300—which is subordinate to the Northern Command, which recently appointed as its commander, Major General Yoel Strick.”

Apparently seeking to demonstrate his familiarity with the fabric of the IDF, the officer then elaborated for the reporters on the composition of the Northern Command’s two divisions.

“The division of the Galilee has a western brigade and an eastern brigade, and what lies ahead is the western brigade,” he explained, before detailing the alleged order of IDF forces, and the alleged location of the “largest espionage system.”

The officer then goes on to document the group’s narrative of history and the establishment of the State of Israel.

“We see the Palestinian cities that the enemy has defiled since 1948,” he told the reporters. Pointing to an IDF military base, he said: “Behind it is the Hanita settlement (Kibbutz), which was built by the Haganah brigades even before 1948. They started building it in 1932.”

Shortly after, the official pointed out defensive positions which he said the IDF recently erected in the area.

“The enemy assumes, and I do not agree, that the resistance will penetrate these points into its communities. As you can see, this is the settlement of Shlomi and other settlements like Hanita,” he continued.

“The enemy has taken a number of measures. For the past year, he has begun to build fortifications, obstacles, and extensive means of defense that seem to stop people from moving toward it.”

Behind one fortification in sight, he tells them, “there is a hole in the mountain. This slope was a green one year ago, but for the past year the enemy has been working to rake it 1,600 across  meters and its height ranges from 7 to 15 meters. The goal is to prevent any infantry from advancing toward its positions and settlements.

Algerian security forces have announced they foiled an Islamic State group suicide bomb plot on Wednesday, just weeks before the country goes to the polls for a parliamentary election, like reported by alaraby.co.uk.

Police launched a manhunt for two individuals suspected of planning an attack on downtown Constantine, in eastern Algeria.

It ended when one of cornered plotters died as he detonated his explosives’ belt, while the second suspect was captured in Ibn Badis, 20 kilometres from Constantine.

The two individuals are believed to be members of Saraya al-Ghuraba, a local jihadi group affiliated to the Islamic State group.

Security forces say it is a small but dangerous outfit and active in the country’s eastern mountainous region.

Local media named the militant killed in the raid as “Abu al-Haythem”. The second man, who is in police custody, was named as “Abu Suhaib”. Both names are likely aliases.

Security forces said Abu Suhaib is one of the most dangerous militants in Saraya al-Ghuraba.

IS has a small but growing presence in Algeria, but extremist groups linked to al-Qaeda pose a much bigger threat to the security of the country.

Last week, Algeria’s gendarmerie said it dismantled a significant IS recruitment network operating in the capital, arresting seven people including a Tunisian woman.

The Tunisian national is accused of serving as a liaison between new recruits in Algeria and other IS-allied members in Tunisia, a country which has been a hot bed for jihadi sympathisers since the Arab Spring.

Last February, IS-linked Saraya al-Ghuraba launched another failed bomb plot on Constantine.

Police foiled the plot by opening fire on the bomber who triggered his explosives belt injuring two officers.

Algeria was gripped by an Islamist-tinged insurgency for much of the 1990s, which saw the country torn apart by a brutal civil war that cost as many as many as 150,000 lives.

Algeria managed to regain some stability since then, but the threat of extremism remains high. 

Algerians are particularly concerned about a potential spike in violence when the country goes to the polls early next month.

Air strikes have killed 19 members, including several leaders, of Egypt’s ISIS affiliate in the Sinai Peninsula where the extremists are waging an insurgency, the Egyptian military said on Thursday according to aawsat.com.

In a statement on its official Facebook page, the military said the air strikes were directed at militants in Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which pledged allegiance to ISIS in November 2014 and adopted the name Sinai Province.

The military did not name the leaders it had killed in the strikes, but described one as among the group’s most prominent members, and another as the head of its religious affairs committee. The third was an official in charge of interrogations.

The announcement came after the jihadists claimed a series of attacks, including a shooting near St. Catherine’s monastery in south Sinai this week and twin church bombings on April 9 that killed dozens.

On Wednesday, the interior ministry said security forces killed a gunman suspected of killing a policeman and wounding three others near the monastery the day before.

The jihadists have killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen since 2013.

The military has killed several of their top leaders, but the extremists have increasingly expanded their attacks from the Sinai to other parts of Egypt, especially against Christians.

Egypt is tightening security ahead of a visit by Pope Francis next week.