WASHINGTON: An Al-Qaeda cell in Syria known as the Khorasan Group, which was targeted by US airstrikes this week, represents “a clear and present danger” to commercial flights to Europe and the United States, the Obama administration’s top aviation security official said Friday.
The purpose of the airstrikes was to disrupt an “imminent attack or attack entering the last phases of execution,” said John Pistole, head of the Transportation Security Administration. The Khorasan Group has been researching and testing improvised explosive devices designed to elude airport security, he said.
Pistole’s remarks, which came at a luncheon of the Washington Aero Club, were among the most detailed to date about potential terror threats posed by the group. The Obama administration on Sept. 18 publicly acknowledged for the first time the existence of the shadowy group of veteran Al-Qaeda members.
“The stakes are real and the threats are high,” Pistole said to members of the Aero Club, an organization that promotes aviation. “I see the Khorasan Group as being a very capable, determined enemy who was very much focused on getting somebody or something on a plane bound for Europe or the United States.”
Though the Khorasan Group was has been known to US intelligence officials, the name only recently became public after a series of articles about the threats it poses to the US. Officials said military strikes Monday night were intended to disrupt an imminent plot, but “imminent,” when used by the government in terms of intelligence, does not necessarily mean it was about to happen. There was no information about a specific target, for instance.
Intelligence officials have known for months that Khorasan Group extremists were scheming with bomb-makers from Al-Qaeda’s Yemen affiliate to find new ways to get explosives onto planes. Their plans were far enough along that the TSA in July asked for additional passenger screening at certain overseas airports with direct flights to the US, including that passengers be required to turn on laptops, tablets and other electronic devices, Pistole said.
The group has been recruiting Westerners to carry explosives onto a plane or put one on a cargo plane. There are some 8,850 people associated with “foreign terrorist fighter activity” on the terror watch list of people banned from flying to, from or within the US, according to the FBI. But Pistole said many of these western Khorasan recruits may not be on that list.
The TSA is looking at more steps that can be taken in the US and overseas to “increase aviation security without shutting down commerce, trade and the tourism business,” Pistole said. Some additional security measures have already been taken in the US, he said, but declined to describe them.
There are about 275 airports around the world with direct flights to the US Enhanced security measures are being used at “a couple dozen” airports in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa based on intelligence that those airports might be used by a terrorist to fly to the US, Pistole said. But he indicated those measures aren’t foolproof.
“We have medium-to-high confidence depending upon which airport and what day it is,” Pistole said.
Pistole pointed to the underwear bomb that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to detonate on a passenger jet over Detroit on Christmas Day in 2009, noting that Abdulmutallab traveled through three airports before getting on the flight to the US. Those airports used metal detectors, but Abdulmutallab’s underwear bomb didn’t contain metal.
“We audit and inspect all airports that have nonstop passenger or cargo service to the US and give them a passing grade for the day we were there so you can see what was is going on,” he said. “The concern is that, for any number of issues, they may not be on their A-game” on the day that a terrorist goes through the airport in route to the US
The TSA is looking at their list of overseas airports that might be used by a terrorist to see if there are other steps that can be taken “to buy down risk,” Pistole said. He declined to identify those airports or the steps under consideration.
Khorasan refers to a province under the Islamic caliphate, or religious empire, of old that included parts of Afghanistan. The group is a cadre of veteran Al-Qaeda fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan who traveled to Syria to link up with the Al-Qaeda affiliate there, the Nusra Front.
The Khorasan Group’s plotting with Al-Qaeda’s Yemen affiliate, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, shows that, despite the damage that years of drone missile strikes has done to the leadership of core Al-Qaeda in Pakistan, the movement still can threaten the West. The Yemen affiliate has been able to place three bombs on US-bound airliners, though none has succeeded in downing the aircraft.
Khorasan group tagged as 'threat to aviation'
Khorasan group tagged as 'threat to aviation'
US-UK forces launch strikes on Yemen’s Hodeidah and Kamaran Island: Houthi-run Al Masirah TV
- Despite reprisals from US-British coalition, Houthis have in recent months escalated campaign of attacks in Red Sea
CAIRO: US and British forces have carried out at least six airstrikes on Yemen’s Hodeidah International Airport and four strikes on Kamaran Island near the port of Salif off the Red Sea, Al-Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by Yemen’s Houthi movement, said on Monday.
The strikes on Kamaran mark the first time US-led coalition forces have targeted the island since airstrikes on Houthi targets began in early February.
Yemen’s internationally-recognized government believes Houthi fighters in the past have used Kamaran Island and Port Salif as a site to launch their Red Sea attacks as well as hide stockpiles of missiles and drones in its salt mines, two military sources within the government told Reuters.
The 10-kilometers of water that stretch from the port of Salif to Kamaran Island are also part of the route that ships must transit through to reach their next port of call.
The Houthis, who control Yemen’s capital and most populous areas, have attacked international shipping in the Red Sea since November in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Despite reprisals from the US-British coalition and other navies, the Houthis have in recent months escalated their campaign of attacks on commercial vessels in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
Displaced Lebanese return to southern border to mourn, pray over Eid
- Israel and Hezbollah have traded near-daily cross-border fire since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack
NAQURA, Lebanon: Some displaced residents of southern Lebanon returned Monday to their towns for a key Muslim holiday to pray and mourn loved ones killed in months of cross-border violence between Israel and Hezbollah.
“Today is Eid Al-Adha, but it’s completely different this year,” said teacher Rabab Yazbek, 44, at a cemetery in the coastal town of Naqura, from which many residents have fled.
Every family has lost someone, “whether a relative, friend or neighbor,” Yazbek said, adding that two people she had taught had been killed.
Israel and Hezbollah, a powerful Lebanese movement allied with Hamas, have traded near-daily cross-border fire since the Palestinian militant group’s October 7 attack on Israel which triggered war in the Gaza Strip.
The violence has killed at least 473 people in Lebanon, most of them fighters but also including 92 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
Israeli authorities say at least 15 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed in the country’s north.
At the cemetery, women in black chadors consoled each other at the shiny new graves adorned with flowers and large pictures of the dead, including Hezbollah fighters.
The Naqura municipality said it had coordinated with the Lebanese army so that residents could safely visit the cemetery and mosque for two hours for Eid Al-Adha, which for many Shiite Muslims in Lebanon began on Monday.
Residents reportedly returned to a number of south Lebanon border villages on Monday morning as part of similar initiatives.
Yellow Hezbollah flags and green ones belonging to the group’s ally the Amal movement flew at the recently established cemetery near the sea, located just a stone’s throw from the United Nations peacekeepers’ headquarters.
Lebanese soldiers accompanied the residents as they entered the town.
The army coordinates with the UN peacekeepers, who in turn communicate with the Israeli side as part of efforts to maintain calm.
In Naqura, a damaged sign reading “thank you for your visit” lay along the highway.
Amid the concrete rubble and twisted metal of one building, the shattered glass of a family photo lay scattered on the ground.
Nearby, potted plants hung from the veranda rails of another devastated structure, with a pink child’s toy car among the debris.
Rawand Yazbek, 50, was inspecting her clothing shop, whose glass store front had been destroyed, though the rest remained largely intact.
“A thousand thanks to God,” she said, grateful that not all was lost.
“As you can see... our stores are full of goods,” she said, pointing to shelves and racks of colorful clothes.
Hezbollah stepped up attacks against northern Israel last week after an Israeli strike killed a senior commander from the movement.
The Iran-backed group has not claimed any attacks since Saturday afternoon.
Lebanese official media reported Israeli bombardment in the country’s south over the weekend, as well as a deadly strike on Monday. Hezbollah said later that one of its fighters had been killed.
Like other residents who support the Hezbollah and Amal movements, Naqura municipality head Abbas Awada called attacks on the town “cowardly.”
Last week, a strike there blamed on Israel killed an employee of the area’s public water company.
More than 95,000 people in Lebanon have been displaced by the hostilities, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration.
Tens of thousands have also been displaced on the Israeli side of the frontier.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Ezzedine, among a large crowd that attended prayers at the Naqura mosque, said the turnout was a message that “this land is ours, we will not leave it.”
“We support this resistance (Hezbollah) because it’s what protects us, it’s what defends us,” he said.
Palestinian Authority at risk of collapse, Norway says
- Norway chairs the international donor group to the Palestinians and is a backer of the Palestinian Authority
OSLO: The Palestinian Authority could collapse in the coming months, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said on Monday, citing a lack of funding, continuing violence and the fact that half a million Palestinians are not allowed to work in Israel.
“The Palestinian Authority, with whom we work closely, are warning us that they might be collapsing this summer,” Barth Eide said.
Norway chairs the international donor group to the Palestinians and is a backer of the PA.
Jordan braces for scorching heatwave as temperatures soar
- The Gulf of Aqaba reached highs of 45 celsius
- Temperatures in Jordan are set to rise slightly, with the heatwave persisting
AMMAN: The Jordan Meteorological Department forecast extreme heat for Monday, with most regions of the country — particularly the desert areas, Jordan Valley, Dead Sea and Aqaba — experiencing intense temperatures.
The Gulf of Aqaba reached highs of 45 celsius, the Southern Jordan Valley 44 celsius, Dead Sea 43 celsius, while the Desert Regions and the Northern Jordan Valley reached highs of 41 celsius.
Cloud cover at medium and high altitudes is expected in the south and east of the Kingdom, state news agency Petra reported, with moderate northwesterly winds occasionally becoming brisk.
The JMD cautioned people against prolonged sun exposure, which could lead to dehydration, especially for vulnerable groups such as the elderly and those with health conditions. It also highlighted the risk of forest fires and the dangers of leaving children or flammable items, like perfumes and sanitizers, inside vehicles.
Looking ahead to Tuesday, temperatures in Jordan are set to rise slightly, with the heatwave persisting. Most areas will remain hot, the JMD said, and desert regions will face sweltering conditions. Northeasterly winds will prevail, shifting to moderate northwesterly by evening.
The heatwave will continue into Wednesday, with another slight increase in temperatures. Conditions will be blistering and dry across the highlands, the JMD warned, with extreme heat persisting elsewhere. Northeasterly winds will turn to moderate northwesterly later in the day.
Thursday will bring a modest reprieve as temperatures dip slightly. However, the weather will remain hot across most areas, with the desert, Jordan Valley, Dead Sea, and Aqaba continuing to sizzle. Moderate northwesterly winds will occasionally become brisk.
Iran calls for joint action by Islamic nations to stop Gaza war
- Israel’s military offensive on Gaza has killed at least 37,337 people so far
TEHRAN: Iran’s Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani has called for joint action on the part of Islamic countries to pressure Israel into ending its brutal military activities in Gaza, which have devastated most of the enclave and killed thousands of Palestinians there.
Israel’s military offensive on Gaza has killed at least 37,337 people, mostly civilian women and children, since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
Humanitarian supplies for millions of Palestinians displaced by the conflict have been squeezed despite the Israeli military declaring it would “pause” fighting daily around a southern route to facilitate aid flows.
The Iranian official also spoke with his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi via telephone on Sunday, with the two discussing bilateral relations as well as the situation in war-ravaged Gaza.
Kani reiterated Iran’s readiness to help Kabul resolve its challenges and achieve growth, Iran’s news agency IRNA reported.
