Daily Intel Brief
Seven are killed in a mass shooting in Virginia, African leaders agree to a ceasefire in the DRC, and violent crime in South Africa increases as over 7,000 are murdered in three months...
Counterterrorism
At least 10 Chadian soldiers were killed and others wounded when Boko Haram attacked a military unit in western Chad on Tuesday, the government has said, but media reports suggest the fatalities may be much higher. The attack took place near Ngouboua in the Lake Chad…
Seven people were killed and several wounded in a shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, on Tuesday night, authorities said, just days after a gunman killed five and injured 17 at a Colorado LGBTQ nightclub. The city of Chesapeake confirmed the deaths in a…
Military & Defense
Biden administration officials have assessed that Russian President Vladimir Putin may use chemical weapons in Ukraine first before resorting to a nuclear confrontation with NATO if his troops continue to lose ground. The concerns, according to six people with knowledge of…
African leaders have declared a cessation of hostilities in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo starting Friday, according to a joint statement released after talks in the Angolan capital Luanda, with the aim of ending fighting between Congolese troops and M23 rebels…
Cybersecurity
Internet connectivity was disrupted in Ukraine and neighboring Moldova after dozens of Russian missiles hit Ukrainian cities on Wednesday, causing massive power outages across the country. Data from internet monitoring firm NetBlocks shows that internet availability in…
The European Parliament website was hit by a cyberattack claimed by pro-Russian hackers Wednesday shortly after lawmakers approved a resolution calling Moscow a "state sponsor of terrorism". "The European Parliament is under a sophisticated cyberattack. A pro-Kremlin…
Counterintelligence & Espionage
Hundreds of Chinese-manufactured drones have been detected in restricted airspace over Washington, D.C., in recent months, a trend that national security agencies fear could become a new means for foreign espionage. The recreational drones made by Chinese company DJI…
A Norwegian court on Wednesday sentenced a 34-year-old Russian to 90 days in prison for flying a drone in breach of a ban triggered by Russia's war against Ukraine, local media said. The man, who was not identified, was not suspected of espionage, the Norwegian newspaper…
Transnational Organized Crime
Ecuador has become an unlikely hub for the global drug trade, flooding the world with Colombian cocaine while bloodshed rages between a complex tapestry of local gangs backed by Mexican and European mafia. "The cocaine that leaves Ecuador's ports goes to the whole…
More than 7,000 people were murdered over three months in South Africa, according to new police statistics, which showed a rise in violent crime from the same period last year. On Wednesday, South Africa’s parliamentary portfolio committee on police heard details of the…