Terrorism Watch

  Israeli military forces arrested a man suspected of being an   Islamic State   operative during a week-long operation in southern Syria, the IDF said on Saturday. IDF soldiers detained the man for suspected involvement in terror activities, as well as confiscated weaponry found along the border near the Golan Heights. Israeli forces continued scanning the adjacent areas for the safety of nearby Israeli residents, the IDF noted. A cache of weapons found by Israeli forces in southern Syria, picture released December 20, 2025 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT) Tensions along Syrian border as Israel continues to act against ISIS Clashes between Israeli and Syrian forces have increased in the past month, including on December 9, when IDF soldiers operating in the area of Khan Arnaba in southwestern Syria  fired at armed individuals  riding pickup trucks passing near troops. Israel has taken over the Syrian side of Mount Hermon and the surrounding area in the Golan H...

Five Tibetan NGOs condemned China's gold mining project in Kashi Village, Kham, launched on November 5 without local consent. Chinese authorities arrests over 80 Tibetans out of which seven are still missing. Solidarity events occurred in Dharamshala, demanding the release of detainees and respect for human rights. At least 60 protesters were arrested in Gayixiang township. Dharamshala:  Five major Tibetan NGOs condemned China's Gold Mining Project in Kashi Village, Kham region of Eastern Tibet and stood in solidarity with the Tibetan Protesters. On November 5, the Chinese Communist Government launched a gold mining project in Kashi Village, Zachukha, Kham without the consent of the local Tibetan population. When Tibetans attempted to peacefully halt the project and submitted appeals to the authorities, they arrested more than 80 Tibetans out of which seven are still missing. Many Tibetans in-exile and supporters gathered in North Indian hill town Dharamshala to participate in ...

  IDF soldiers detained the man for suspected involvement in terror activities, as well as confiscated weaponry found along the border near the Golan Heights. DECEMBER 20, 2025 19:43 Nawaf Salam's comments came as tensions continued to boil along Lebanon's eastern border, where Israel accuses Hezbollah of ignoring calls for disarmament and carrying out ceasefire violations. The first phase of the plan to confiscate weapons from the Hezbollah terrorist group south of the Litani River will end in a "few days," Lebanese Prime Minister  Nawaf Salam  said in a statement on Saturday. Salam's comments came as tensions continued to boil along Lebanon's eastern border, where Israel accuses Hezbollah of ignoring calls for disarmament and carrying out violations of a ceasefire agreed in November 2024. Israel  continued striking Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon since, while publicly urging Lebanese authorities to fulfill a commitment under the truce to disarm Hez...

A report published on December 19, 2025, by three prominent European scholars reveals China's systematic efforts to suppress academic research on East Turkistan and Uyghurs across European universities. Classroom Espionage : Chinese state security officers recruited Chinese students studying in Europe to secretly record and report on lectures about Uyghurs and East Turkistan. While one student refused and informed professors, researchers suspect widespread infiltration of academic settings. Cyber Warfare : Starting in April 2025, researchers in Germany, Belgium, and the Czech Republic faced months of persistent phishing attacks aimed at hijacking their digital devices. Fake journalists from supposed " Singapore consulting firms " attempted to extract information about their Central Asian visits and forced labor evidence—activities security experts linked to Chinese intelligence . Border Restrictions: Despite China's claims that " Xinjiang is open to visitors,...

  Lebanon is close to completing the disarmament of Hezbollah in the south of the Litani River before a year-end deadline as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel, according to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. Saturday’s statement comes as the country races to fulfil the key demand in the US-backed deal agreed in November last year and ended more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The agreement requires the disarmament of the Iran-aligned Lebanese armed group, starting in areas south of the river adjacent to Israel. Lebanese authorities, led by President Joseph Aoun and Salam, tasked the US-backed Lebanese army on August 5 with devising a plan to establish a state monopoly on arms by the end of the year. “Prime Minister Salam affirmed that the first phase of the weapons consolidation plan related to the area south of the Litani River is only days away from completion,” a statement from his office said. “The state is ready to move on to the second phase – namely [confis...

Close to Tottenham Hotspur’s shiny football stadium in London is a squat, nondescript block of flats. It holds a grim secret beyond the unremarkable beige brickwork – a cramped, second-floor apartment in the British capital, linked to murderous atrocities unfolding 3,000 miles south. The one-bedroom flat off north London’s Creighton Road is, according to UK government records, tied to a transnational network of companies involved in the mass recruitment of mercenaries to fight in Sudan alongside paramilitaries accused of myriad  war crimes  and genocide. A Colombian mercenary in El Fasher, Sudan. Hundreds of former Colombian soldiers have been fighting with the Rapid Support Forces.  Photograph: The Guardian Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have been  enlisted to fight with Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group responsible for mass rapes, ethnic slaughter and the systematic killing of women and children. Colombian mercenaries were di...

The arbitrary detention of hundreds of gen Z protesters in Morocco and alleged “horrific” beatings have been condemned by human rights groups, as the country prepares to host the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday.   A wave of youth-led demonstrations swept across Morocco in late September and early October – the biggest since the 2011 Arab spring – in protest at underfunded healthcare and education.  Source:  https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/dec/18/morocco-genz212-protests-police-mass-arrests-beatings-detentions-rights

  HAMILTON (Canada), Dec 20 ( Bernama-Anadolu ) -- The United Nations (UN) Security Council on Friday renewed the mandate of the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( MONUSCO ) for another year, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported. The resolution, penned by France, extends MONUSCO's mandate until Dec 20, 2026. It garnered unanimous support with all 15 Council members voting in favour. "France has striven to take into account the positions of all Council members to achieve a consensus-based outcome," French envoy to the UN Jerome Bonnafont said before the vote. “The text reflects, but recalls the fact that restrictions on the freedom of movement of MONUSCO and the exercise of its mandate are unacceptable," he said, urging the Council to "stand ready to act if these restrictions are to continue.” He also said that "today's vote is an important milestone for MONUSCO, which can only bear fruit based on tangible progress ...

Colombia's ELN guerrilla group attacked a military base near Venezuela with drones and explosives, killing seven soldiers and wounding 30, the army said Friday.   Founded in 1964 and inspired by the Cuban revolution, the ELN is the oldest surviving guerrilla group in the Americas, and controls key drug-producing regions of Colombia. Efforts to negotiate a peace settlement have repeatedly stalled.     Source:  https://www.news-shield.com/news/national/article_a3fcc5eb-36c9-503a-9ad4-a4b9d7567b80.html

American forces struck dozens of suspected ISIS sites, making good on President Trump’s vow to avenge two American soldiers and a civilian U.S. interpreter killed by the group last week. The United States began major airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria on Friday, fulfilling President Trump’s vow to avenge the deaths of two U.S. Army soldiers and a civilian U.S. interpreter killed in a terrorist attack in the central part of the country last Saturday. American fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery salvos struck dozens of suspected Islamic State sites at several locations across central Syria, including weapons storage areas and other buildings to support operations, according to a U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters. The American air and artillery attacks were expected to last several hours, deep into early Saturday morning in Syria, in what the U.S. official said would be “a massive attack.”   Source:  https:...

Forces from the Southern Transitional Council (STC) have taken control of Yemen’s two eastern governorates, Hadhramaut and al Mahrah , to the dismay of both Saudi Arabia and Oman. The Saudi kingdom backs the Internationally Recognized Government (IRG), which had already lost control of Yemen’s capital Sana’a and much of its territory to the rival administration formed by Ansar Allah . Now the IRG is in further disarray. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), which joined the Saudi-led military coalition fighting against Ansar Allah, has given its support to the STC. Saudi Arabia has withdrawn all its military forces to the border area, and diplomatic efforts to solve this major challenge to the IRG’s authority show little sign of success to date. For the past three years, Hadhramaut has been the focus of a struggle between the separatist STC and the IRG’s pro-unity elements, with the former being stronger on the coast while the latter had their main base in the interior. STC control of almos...

Taipei , Dec. 20 ( CNA ) A man who died after a random stabbing spree near two of Taipei's busiest metro stations on Friday tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect before his death, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of MRT Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang told reporters, calling the incident "heartbreaking." The fatal wound was a penetrating injury about 5 centimeters in length caused by a sharp object that reached from the right lung to the left atrium, National Taiwan University Hospital said. Following the attack, Chiang said he convened an emergency security task force and ordered the police department and other agencies to step up citywide security alerts and inspections, and to increase police visibility and patrols at railway stations, MRT stations, commercial districts and other crowded areas. The attack unfolded in the early evening...

Israel's war on Hamas and the operations that took place in the West Bank have compromised Hamas financial stability, said a report by Arabic-speaking newspaper Aawsat. Israel's actions in  Gaza  and the  West Bank harmed Hamas's ability to pay the full salaries of its civilian and terrorist operations, a report by Arabic-speaking newspapers  Aawsat  explained. According to the report, Israel's war on Hamas and the operations that took place in the  West Bank  have compromised Hamas financial stability. The report points out that raids on West Bank "exchange companies," used by Hamas and other terror groups to get funds, were among the most effective ways the  IDF  has managed to "dry up Hamas's finances." The report also stated that, even if salaries are not paid in full, the terror organization still has the capacity to pay most of its operatives "partially." Hamas terrorists in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip December 3, 2025....