Daily Intel Brief
A suicide bombing kills 2 diplomats outside the Russian Embassy in Kabul, the U.S. flies B-52 bombers over Middle East in show of force, and China claims NSA hacked university...
Counterterrorism
A suicide bombing outside the Russian Embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday killed two members of the embassy staff and at least one Afghan civilian in a rare attack on a foreign diplomatic mission in Afghanistan. The blast went off at the entrance to the…
A special French terrorism court on Monday opened the trial of eight people accused of helping a man who, on Bastille Day six years ago, plowed a heavy truck through crowds in a southern French resort town leaving 86 dead. During the planned three and a half months of…
Military & Defense
Two U.S. B-52 bombers flew a mission over the Middle East on Saturday in an apparent show of force in the region, the fourth of its kind this year, the U.S. Air Force announced Sunday. Why it matters: The latest flyover comes as the U.S. and Iran struggle to reach an agreement…
An Israeli soldier likely shot Palestinian-American Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh by mistake in May, Israel’s military said Monday, after facing pressure from the U.S. to release the results of its investigation into her killing. The death of Ms. Abu Akleh, a household…
Cybersecurity
China on Monday accused Washington of breaking into computers at a university that U.S. officials say does military research, adding to complaints by both governments of rampant online spying against each other. Northwestern Polytechnical University reported…
TikTok is denying reports that it was breached after a hacking group posted images of what they claim is a TikTok database that contains the platform’s source code and user information (via Bleeping Computer). In response to these allegations, TikTok said its team “found no…
Counterintelligence & Espionage
Federal authorities reviewing a Chinese company’s purchase of land in North Dakota for a wet corn milling plant say more information is needed before they can decide whether the project might be detrimental to national security. Fufeng Group’s planned $700 million…
A former journalist was convicted of treason and handed a 22-year prison sentence on Monday after a trial that has been widely seen as politically motivated and marked a new step in a sweeping crackdown on the media and Kremlin critics. The sentence handed to Ivan…
Transnational Organized Crime
There is no single factor to blame for Rio de Janeiro's seemingly endless security crisis. But among constant battles between gangs and security forces, certain issues such as how gender and religion play into the violence have fallen by the wayside. How does the militarization of…
Europol executive director Catherine De Bolle and Justice Minister Stefi Drakou discussed issues of common interest, and ways to deal with organised crime and terrorism at their meeting on Monday. According to the ministry’s announcement, the two women discussed…