OUR PICKSUnprepared for the Unthinkable | Keeping ISIS Down | Anti-Terror Crackdown on Crypto, and more
··The U.S. Military Plan to Keep ISIS Down: Infrastructure
U.S. quietly building infrastructure in Syria for long-haul fight with Islamic State
··ISIS Supporter Gets 17 Years in Federal Prison for Planning Pittsburgh Church Bombing
Plot called for bombing a Pittsburgh church in the name of the terrorist group ISIS
··Russia, China and Islamic State Jump on Musk’s Twitter Bandwagon
Elon Musk has some new super fans: Russia, China and the Islamic State
··Countries to Face ‘Grey List’ in Anti-Terror Crackdown on Crypto
Countries that fail to implement anti-money laundering guidelines for cryptocurrencies to be punished
··Neo-Nazi ‘Building White Ethnostate’ in Maine Now Working with Local Extremist Group
Setting up a neo-Nazi community in New England
··Three Convicted of Terrorism for Aiding Plot to Kidnap U.S. Governor
Far-right militia members who plotted to kidnap and kill Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer were convicted
··The World is Unprepared for the Unthinkable
Worries about the risk of Russian deployment of a biological attack in Ukraine
The U.S. Military Plan to Keep ISIS Down: Infrastructure (Lara Seligman et al., Politico)
The focus may be on the midterms and the Russia-Ukraine war, but the Pentagon is quietly starting to build infrastructure in Syria for a long-haul fight with the Islamic State. Roughly 900 special forces are still working overtime to help local forces hunt ISIS remnants to keep the terrorist group at bay. The Department of Defense’s latest weapon of choice, though, is improved facilities and services so ISIS can’t break out the 10,000 or so former fighters languishing in crumbling detention centers across Syria. ISIS fighters have targeted these areas multiple times in recent months, most brazenly attacking the Hasakah prison in northeastern Syria in January. Scores of prisoners escaped during the 10-day battle that ensued. “We know that ISIS sees the detention centers, the detainee population, as the path to reconstitute its ranks,” said one defense official, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the situation. “So even though ISIS doesn’t hold territory… the inspiration and the will to reconstitute is not going away.” The Pentagon sought authority and funding from Congress to make some improvements, although it’s the local partner — the Syrian Democratic Forces — that is actually carrying out the upgrades on the ground. Some of this work has already begun, including building guard towers and installing lights to prevent nighttime smuggling.
ISIS Supporter Gets 17 Years in Federal Prison for Planning Pittsburgh Church Bombing (Washington Times)
A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison for planning to bomb a Pittsburgh church in the name of the terrorist group ISIS, according to prosecutors. The Department of Justice said Wednesday that Mustafa Mousab Alowemer, 24, will serve 208 months after he originally pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support to ISIS in September 2021. Prosecutors said that Alowemer intended to bomb the church and potentially kill numerous people to support the cause of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, as well as to inspire other ISIS members in the U.S. to carry out their own attacks. He targeted what he called a “Nigerian Christian” church in order to “take revenge for our [ISIS] brothers in Nigeria,” according to the DOJ. (Cont.)
