UNIPATH STAFF Kuwaiti security forces disrupted a major terrorist attack planned for New Year’s Eve that targeted places of worship and commercial complexes. The authorities identified an Iraqi Daesh recruiter and intercepted his communication with the main Kuwaiti suspect in the case: the 16-year old son of a former Kuwaiti parliamentarian who had recruited five other minors. Daesh gradually radicalized the teen over social media for two months, investigators said. The recruiter promised the boy money and munitions to carry out the attack in Kuwait. If the attack succeeded, Daesh would smuggle the would-be perpetrator into Iraq. When the recruiter…
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UNIPATH STAFF Ahmed bin Mohammed Military College in Doha, Qatar, graduated 158 officer cadets in January 2021 in a ceremony attended by high-ranking officers from Jordan, Kuwait, Oman and Pakistan, as well as Qatar. “Today a new generation of officers follows in the footsteps of their predecessors to form an impregnable wall for this country, a generation that can meet the political developments and regional challenges, a generation that realizes the ambitions of this country and its leaders,” said Brig. Gen. Abdulhadi Muhammad Treheeb Al-Hajiri, commander of the military college. The graduation ceremony was held under the patronage of Deputy…
Capt. Sheikh Mubarak Ali Al Sabah, Flotilla Commander, Kuwait Coast Guard When I assumed command of Combined Task Force 152 (CTF 152) in February 2019, little did I know that my tenure would be among the most momentous in the history of the multinational naval coalition. As a Kuwait Coast Guard officer, I was proud to represent my country in defending the Arabian Gulf from terrorists, criminals and other malign actors. CTF 152 — part of Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) based in Bahrain — consists of some of the world’s best naval staff, ships and maritime reconnaissance aircraft. Thorough preparation…
By Moammar Al-Eryani, Yemeni Minister Of Information, Culture And Tourism At the end of each academic year, the Iranian-backed Houthi militia establishes thousands of what it calls “summer centers” in the occupied capital of Sanaa and other Yemeni governorates under its control. They use these centers to lure children under the age of 18 from their homes and classrooms, forcibly recruit them and mercilessly commit them to certain death on various battlefronts. In 2021, a Houthi leader announced the enrollment of 620,000 children in those centers under the supervision of Iranian Quds Force officer Hassan Irlu (who appears on lists…
I appreciate the opportunity from U.S. Central Command to provide an introduction for this special edition of Unipath magazine, devoted to the role of militaries in helping civilian leaders manage crises. Events during the year 2020 validated this important concept throughout Oman, the region and the world. Throughout much of 2020, militaries supplied front line troops in the battle against the global COVID-19 pandemic. Airmen, Soldiers and Sailors enforced quarantines, established mobile hospitals in virus hot spots, disinfected public spaces and delivered lifesaving medicine and equipment to remote areas. Here in Oman, the Sultan’s Armed Forces played a pivotal role in…
At approximately 6:10 p.m. August 4, 2020, a massive explosion in the Port of Beirut rocked the capital and surrounding areas, leaving behind a great number of dead, wounded and missing persons in a matter of seconds and destroying an essential part of the port, including the wheat silos. It also caused enormous damage to properties and residential buildings in the port’s vicinity (within a diameter of 7.5 kilometers), some of which collapsed, including historic structures. Shortly after the explosion, the Lebanese government declared a state of emergency in Beirut, tasked the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) with carrying out the…
When troops engage in combat, the need for rapid access to advanced trauma care is critical. The chances of surviving potentially fatal injuries rise dramatically when a highly capable hospital is located within an hour of the battlefield. Physicians call it the “golden hour.” Thanks to a medical partnership between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States, Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City (SSMC) in Abu Dhabi is developing advanced trauma, burn, and rehabilitative medicine capabilities that serve not just civilians across the region, but also battlefield casualties. The Trauma, Burn and Rehabilitative Medicine (TBRM) mission in Abu Dhabi involves…
Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Muhammad Samrez Salik, Pakistan Army sing military force against people within your own borders can be the most dreaded and detested scenario for any army of the world. In Pakistan, misguided and opportunist segments of society took up arms and challenged the writ of the state. Reestablishing order wasn’t possible without kinetic operations that involved collateral damage and property loss. These losses were extremely undesirable but essential for achieving peace. But after the military cleared and held areas formerly occupied by militants, it was time to win the hearts and minds of the population. Sustaining the authority…
Criminals have always found ways to exploit new technologies, and the internet is no exception. By now, most computer users are familiar with such novel terms as phishing, spoofing and spamming. And while the terminology may be new, the ultimate goals of cyber crime are ancient — they include theft, coercion and extortion. Governments and private cyber security firms have made steady but uneven progress since the advent of cyberspace, combating this latest trend in criminal activity. Like modern-day Sherlock Holmes, cyber security professionals use an array of tools and tradecraft to track cyber criminals. Unipath interviewed Maj. Gen. Saad…
MOAMMAR AL-ERYANI, YEMINI MINISTER OF INFORMATION, CULTURE AND TOURISM It is no exaggeration to say that the planting of land mines by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen since the coup in 2014 is the largest since World War II and is considered one of the most serious crimes against humanity committed by the militia against Yemenis’ present and future. The Houthi militia has placed mines in all the areas it reached, withdrew from and still controls. It does so without differentiating between military and civilian sites. Houthi mines lurk among homes, schools, mosques, markets, and grazing and agricultural areas.…