ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

The only thing that kept tens of thousands of people from dying Monday morning in what has become merely the latest terrorist attack in New York City is that the ISIS-inspired terrorist was as incompetent as his bomb-maker. According to authorities, the suspect — 27-year-old Bangladeshi national Akayed Ullah — prematurely set off what has been described as an “effectively low-tech” pipe bomb inside the Port Authority’s bus terminal located underneath Midtown Manhattan. As a result, only three people were injured, though none seriously. As for Ullah, he suffered burns and abdominal wounds when the bomb went off. “Thank God the perpetrator did not achieve his ultimate goals,” New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio said after the attack. As reported by  Fox News , the inability of Ullah and anyone who may have helped him to construct a better device was evident: Ullah strapped the crude pipe bomb to his body with Velcro and zip ties. The suspect allegedly packed the 5-inch metal pipe

On December 14, the pro-opposition Syrian Islamic Council (SIC) accused the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the Russian Army of supporting an ISIS attack in the northeastern Hama countryside. In its official statement, the SIC said that the Syrian Army moved ISIS units and their weapons to northeastern Hama and that the Russian Aerospace Forces are supporting the ISIS attack. Click to see the full-size image However, in reality ISIS entered the northeastern Hama countryside after a deal with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Later hundreds of HTS and Free Syrian Army (FSA) defected and joined ISIS in Hama, according to local opposition sources. The SIC also warned from the SAA advance in Hama, Idlib and Aleppo governorates, and held HTS the responsibility for driving out several FSA groups from theses governorates. The council said that the defeats will continue unless HTS abandoned its hostile behaviour against other opposition armed groups. HTS and even pre-2014 ISIS are known for

Israeli officers dressed as Palestinians infiltrated a rally in the West Bank and then opened fire with pistols and through smoke grenades at the protesters. On Wednesday, a Palestinian rally against the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital took place near the city of Ramallah in the West Bank. According to conflicting reports, between 150 and 400 people took place in the event. Palestinians were protesting near the Beit El military checkpoint when several men among them revealed them as members of Israeli forces. They pulled out pistols, thrown smoke grenades and captured at least 3 Palestinian protesters that had been throwing stones at Israeli security forces.

Opened silo of a Topol-M missile, 2001. AP Photo The Russian Strategic Missile Force (SMF) is going to double the number of missile launches from 6 to 12 in 2018, SMF Commander Col. Gen. Sergei Karakayev said in an interview with a newspaper of the defense ministry, Krasnaya Zvezda. “In 2017, five launches were held, and one more is scheduled. In 2018, we intend to hold 12 launches,” he told. Karakayev also revealed that the SMF will get over 20 new Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) systems in 2018. There will be silo-based and mobile versions of the systems. The RS-24 Yars (NATO reporting name SS-27 Mod 2) is an upgraded version of the Topol-M (SS-25 Sickle) missile system.

SOURCE: maannews.com Two men on a motorcycle were killed in an alleged drone strike in the Gaza Strip on December 12,  Palestinian Ma’an News agency reported . According to the report, the killed persons were identified as Hussein Ghazi Hussein Nasrallah and Mustafa Sultan. They both were members of an engineering unit of Saraya al-Quds – an armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The incident allegedly took place in the area of Beit Lachiya in northern Gaza. However, an office of the Israeli Defense Forces’ Spokesperson’s rejected the report and said no attack was carried out in Gaza,  according to the Israeli media. A new round of the Palestinian-Israeli violence sparked in the region on December 6 when US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.  Since then, the tensions have been growing pushing the region to a new war. Meanwhile, a stabbing attack was reported near the village of Salfit in the West Bank

Illustrative image On December 12, ISIS terrorists conducted a surprise attack against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) on the western bank of the Euphrates in the province of Deir Ezzor. According to the ISIS-linked news agency Amaq, members of ISIS entered the vilalges of al-Jalaa, Saiyal, Salihiyah, Mujawdah and Abbas. The village of al-Harsa is also allegedly under attack. While anti-government sources argue that ISIS established a full control over the aforementioned villages, pro-government sources claim that the SAA are now clashing with ISIS units inside them. The SAA is not deploying reifnrocements to the area in order to repel the ISIS attack. This was the second large ISIS attack against the SAA in the area over the past few days. On December 11, ISIS attacked positions of the SAA near al-Bukamal.  Then, the attack was repelled but the SAA suffered some losses in the equipment and manpower.

Though China and the United States are also rushing to develop hypersonic vehicles and missiles that are capable of evading conventional missile defenses, it appears as though Russia might be the first nation to actually deploy them. As  reported  by the  Washington Free Beacon , Moscow is planning to field revolutionary hypersonic missiles by 2020, a Russian defense industry leader said. Boris Obnosov, director of the Tactical Missiles Corp., which is run by the government, told a Russian news agency the new missile would be able to penetrate advanced missile defense technologies and thus represents a major step forward in military technology. “It’s obvious that with such speeds—when missiles will be capable of flying through the atmosphere at speeds of seven to 12 times the speed of sound, all [air] defense systems will be weakened considerably,” Obnosov told the  Rambler News Service  last week. The revelation comes as Navy Adm. Cecil Haney, commander of U.S. Strategic Comm

After decades of waste, overpayments,  trillions of missing or improperly accounted for dollars , and most recently losing track of  44,000 US soldiers ,  the Pentagon is about to undergo its first audit in history  conducted by 2,400 auditors from independent public accounting firms to conduct reviews across the Army, Navy, Air Force and more – followed by  annual audits going forward.  Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis speaks with DoD Comptroller David L. Norquist, June 15, 2017 The announcement follows a  May commitment  by Pentagon comptroller David Norquist, who previously served as the CFO at the Department of Homeland Security when the agency performed its audit. “ Starting an audit is a matter of driving change inside a bureaucracy that may resist it ,” Norquist told members of the Armed Services Committee at the time when pressed over whether or not he could get the job done at the DHS. According to the  DoD release : The audit is massive. It will examine every aspec