Perhaps the most peculiar thing about Islamic State is that despite continual reports of highly successful airstrikes and proclamations from various governments regarding the extent to which the group’s operational capacity has been severely diminished, they never seem to go away.
Islamic State jihadis in Libya are under siege by a lone special forces sniper who is single handedly assassinating their top brass from afar. Three ISIS commanders have been reportedly shot dead in their de facto base in the North African capital of Sirte in the last few weeks. The Daily Express reports: The sharp shooter is said to have perfected his skills during the 2011 uprising against dictator Colonel Gaddafi. Senior ISIS terror chief Abdullah Hamad Al-Ansari has been named as the latest casualty after he was attacked on January 23 as he left a city centre mosque.
A disturbing number of Indian citizens have signed up to become ISIS militants, with around 30,000 people ready to wage war on India, according to government data. Zee News reports: ISIS is using these people to hack secret data of Indian government; the terror outfit will use the data to forge strategy to harm India. ISIS contacted these people online. Now, cyber officials are keeping an eye to social media to curb these activities. According to a Maharashtra ATS officials, they have blocked 94 websites so far. These websites had content related to ISIS.
A captured Israeli General has admitted to his captors that Israel sponsor ISIS, helping the terrorist organisation both monetarily and strategically. General Yussi Elon Shahak was captured by Shiite militia in Iraq, who have informed the European security organization DESI that the Israeli prisoner admitted to a Mossad and ISIS collaboration at the highest levels.
On January 19, representatives from Libya’s rival factions negotiating in Tunis announced they had formed a unity government comprised of a new 32-member cabinet.
Yay.
Six days later, lawmakers for the country’s internationally-recognized Parliament in Tobruk rejected the proposal.
Damn.