Saudi security services announced the capture of Iranian-trained terrorists armed with guns, bombs and improvised explosive devices. Ten extremists — three of whom received military training from the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — were arrested in September 2020. A spokesman for Saudi Arabia’s Presidency of State Security said the leaders of the terrorist cell “received military and field training, including on how to make explosives, inside Revolutionary Guards sites in Iran” in late 2017. The terrorists had stashed their arsenal in two locations: a house and a ranch. Among the weapons discovered were explosives shaped like sunglasses and other…
Unipath
Egypt hosted a multinational coalition to conduct an air and naval exercise on the Mediterranean Sea in late 2020. The weeklong joint exercise, named Medusa 10, occupied waters off the coast of Alexandria and drew participants from Cyprus, France, Greece and the United Arab Emirates. Aimed at enhancing regional and international cooperation to confront security challenges in the Mediterranean region, the maritime drills were observed by representatives from each country’s ministry of defense. Prominent among them was Egyptian Lt. Gen. Mohamed Zaki, the country’s minister of defense and military production. The exercise began with a military briefing aboard the Egyptian…
To enhance the professionalism of the Lebanese law enforcement in serving its communities, Soldiers attended a conference on how to manage unruly crowds and political demonstrations within the parameters of international human rights laws. The workshop organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in October 2020 stressed the importance of complying with humanitarian principles governing the use of force during public unrest. ICRC receives money from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. Held at the Lebanese Armed Forces 11th Infantry Brigade headquarters, the sessions emphasized guidelines, roles and responsibilities of law enforcement…
UNIPATH STAFF As monsoon season ended in the Gulf of Aden, the Pakistan Navy joined a multinational flotilla in November 2020 to deter piracy in critical shipping lanes. Operation Shamal engaged several naval partners from Combined Maritime Forces based in Bahrain. Pakistan Navy ship Zulfiquar joined ships from South Korea and Japan to patrol waters between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa. The Zulfiquar worked closely with a South Korean ship on a passing exercise designed to test interoperability between the two navies in times of crisis. Pakistan is a member of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150, which…
UNIPATH STAFF Hailed as a “very important milestone” toward building peace in Yemen, the warring parties in the country’s civil war exchanged hundreds of prisoners in October 2020. The breakthrough came during negotiations sponsored by the United Nations in Switzerland in September 2020. It was the largest release of prisoners of war by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia and the legitimate government of Yemen since the conflict began in 2015. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres thanked the International Committee of the Red Cross for helping oversee the prisoner exchange. About 680 rebels were released and flown to the city of Sanaa, under…
UNIPATH STAFF In a mission that united the efforts of Afghanistan’s national intelligence service and military forces, Afghan troops tracked down and killed one of al-Qaida’s top commanders. The death of Husam Abd al-Rauf, also known as Abu Muhsin al-Masri, illustrates the growing ability of Afghanistan’s legitimately elected government to defend its territory from the depredations of terrorists. The Egyptian-born al-Rauf met his end in Ghazni province at the hands of Afghan special operations forces on October 24, 2020, and Afghan leaders suggested it wouldn’t be the last such operation. “Terrorist groups, especially al-Qaida and Daesh, should realize after the…
UNIPATH STAFF Recently appointed Kyrgyz Foreign Minster Ruslan Kazakbayev made Kazakhstan one of his first diplomatic stops, visiting the capital of Nur-Sultan in October 2020 to discuss economic, security and cultural issues. Kazakbayev reassured Kazakhstani President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Prime Minister Askar Mamim and Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdi that Kyrgyzstan, despite a change of government in mid-2020, would adhere to the spirit of the regional cooperation and strategic partnership. Among the topics of discussion were trade and investment, transit and transport, water and energy, and containing the COVID-19 epidemic. Tleuberdi sought reassurances that Kyrgyzstan would prioritize law and order to protect…
During a visit to the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense in November 2020, His Majesty Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah vowed to upgrade his country’s Armed Forces by modernizing weapons and equipment. “We will not be skimpy nor lax in providing our military with modern weapons and vehicles and equipping it with whatever it needs to fulfill its duty to the fullest extent,” the emir said. “And we will continue to work on developing and updating training and preparedness for its personnel in all branches.” In the decades before ascending to the throne, Sheikh Nawaf held…
UNIPATH STAFF Sixty young Bahraini men and women participated in an innovative two-week training program designed to promote national security. Organized by the Southern governorate of Bahrain in September and October 2020, lecturers came from several security departments, including the Royal Academy of Police, General Administration for Combating Corruption, Economic and Cyber Security Administration, and Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science Administration. The program — held virtually to avoid any spread of COVID-19 — raised awareness among young people on issues of security and safety. Participants ranged in age from 15 to 25, and 60% were female. At the end…
UNIPATH STAFF In a massive operation in the fall of 2020, Iraqi security forces captured 115 Daesh fighters, including terrorist leaders, and dismantled a terrorist network in Ninawa governorate. These efforts came after Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazemi and Director of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service Lt. Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi pledged to enhance security throughout the country. Daesh affiliates have stepped up attacks on civilian and military targets in governorates the terrorist group lost to the Iraqi forces and the international coalition forces in August 2017. According to a former security official in Mosul, in August and September 2020, Daesh remnants…