US Kills ISIS Leader – In major breaking news, Wednesday night US special forces killed ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayishi in northwest Syria. During the commando raid, al-Qurayishi detonated a suicide vest that he was wearing killing multiple people, including himself, his wife, and his two children. No US forces were harmed, although one helicopter had to be destroyed due to a malfunction. Al-Qurayishi, a 45-year-old Iraqi, become Caliph of the Islamic State in 2019, less than a week after the previous ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, also killed himself and his family by detonating a suicide vest during a US counterterrorism operation.
UAE in the Crosshairs – As illustrated in my thriller novel, Operation Joktan, the United Arab Emirates continues to be in the crosshairs of numerous UAV and missile attacks. On Sunday, a Shahed-136 loitering UAV was launched by Houthi rebels at a target in the Emirates, but was intercepted over Omani airspace before it could reach its target. Then, just yesterday, three more UAVs were destroyed after penetrating the UAE’s airspace. These and other attacks have prompted the UAE to approach Israel about purchasing Israeli missile defense systems to use until they receive a M-SAM guided weapon system from South Korea in 2024. Also, the US will send a destroyer to make a port call in Abu Dhabi, as well as deploying its fifth-generation fighter jets in the nation in order to help ward off the attacks from the Houthi rebels.
Israel’s Growing Friendships – As tensions grow between opposing Arab groups, Israel keeps strengthening their relationships in the region. On Sunday, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog and his wife flew to Abu Dhabi where they were greeted in the royal palace by Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, while the Israeli national anthem, “HaTikvah”, played in the background. Then, yesterday, Defense Minister Benny Gantz arrived in Bahrain in order to sign a Memorandum of Understanding that will formalize defense relations between the two countries – the first memorandum of its kind to be signed with a Gulf nation.
Airstrikes Continue Throughout Middle East – This past week saw the Royal Saudi Air Force striking hard at Houthi targets in Sanaa and at a meeting of rebel officials near Taiz. Rockets were fired last Friday by Iranian-backed militias at Baghdad International Airport, damaging runways and several aircraft but causing no casualties. On Monday, Israel struck new weapons depots near Damascus filled with military materiel which originated in Iran and was destined for Hezbollah. Heavy damage was reported but no casualties.
Iran’s Nuclear Shell Game – The Israeli sabotage of Iran’s Karaj nuclear centrifuge facility inadvertently knocked out one of the IAEA’s four monitoring cameras. Iran promptly removed the other three leaving the nuclear oversight agency no view into the facility. This began months of battling to have the cameras reinstalled. Finally, Iran gave in last month. Once the cameras were back up and online, though, Iran announced that it had moved its centrifuge production from Karaj to Isfahan.
Israel’s Defense – For the first time, Israel was invited to join 60 other naval fleets in the US Navy-led International Maritime Exercise (IMX) which began on Monday and will last 18 days. The event will take place in the Arabian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, the Indian Ocean, and the Red Sea. In other defense news, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says that within a year the IDF will have the technology to deploy a laser missile interception system. Said Bennett, “This will allow us, in the medium- to long-term, to surround Israel with a laser wall that will defend us from missiles, rockets, UAVs, and other threats that will essentially take away the strongest card our enemies have against us.”
Russia vs. Ukraine – Tensions continue to build between Russia and Ukraine. According to a senior Ukrainian official, the US president threw gasoline on the fire by telling Ukraine’s president that a Russian invasion is “virtually certain” and that Kyiv needs to “prepare for impact”. NATO countries, including the US and Germany, have stepped up their warnings to Putin, even threatening to halt the opening of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Meanwhile, Russia is stationing troops within the borders of its ally, Belarus, and just yesterday sent bombers near enough to British airspace that the RAF felt compelled to scramble its own Typhoon fighters to intercept them and escort them away.
Russia Jamming Israel’s GPS – A Russian GPS signal jammer recently installed at Hmeimim Air Base in Latakia is causing problems with flights to and from Israel. The system “spoofs” a plane’s GPS telling it that it is someplace other than where it actually is.
Russia has declined Israel’s pleas to remove the system claiming that it is needed to protect its troops stationed in Syria.
