News Story: Iran tests new medium-range missile, defying US warnings

By Eric RANDOLPH

Iran said on Saturday that it had successfully tested a new medium-range missile in defiance of warnings from Washington that such activities were grounds for abandoning their landmark nuclear deal.

State television carried footage of the launch of the Khoramshahr missile, which was first displayed at a high-profile military parade in Tehran on Friday.

It also carried in-flight video from the nose cone of the missile, which has a range of 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) and can carry multiple warheads.

"As long as some speak in the language of threats, the strengthening of the country's defence capabilities will continue and Iran will not seek permission from any country for producing various kinds of missile," Defence Minister Amir Hatami said in a staement.

The test comes at the end of a heated week of diplomacy at the UN General Assembly in New York, where US President Donald Trump again accused Iran of destabilising the Middle East, calling it a "rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed and chaos".

Previous Iranian missile launches have triggered US sanctions and accusations that they violate the spirit of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

Related Story:

• Iran's Rouhani vows to strengthen missiles despite US warnings

News Story: Houthi Rebels Carry Out Series of Bomb-Boat Attacks

Saudi coalition forces have been on guard in the port of Mokha after a recent series of attacks by remote-controlled, bomb-laden boats operated by Houthi rebels. The Houthi forces have had success with this tactic before: in January, they damaged the Saudi frigate Al-Madinah with a remote-controlled boat, and they nearly struck a petroleum product terminal at Jazan, Saudi Arabia in April. 

On July 29, the rebels allegedly drove another remote-controlled boat into a pier at Mokha, Yemen, according to a statement from the coalition. It detonated near berthed vessels, but did not cause any significant damage. The Saudi military claimed that the Houthi rebels had attacked the port, thereby "disrupting the flow of humanitarian aid to Yemen, in particular medicines used to fight the rampant cholera epidemic." (The United Nations asserts that an ongoing Saudi blockade of Yemeni ports is contributing to widespread famine and disease.)

The Houthi forces claimed responsibility for an attack on the same date, but gave a different account. Official Houthi outlet Saba said that a bomb boat struck a UAE naval vessel at a position off the coast of Mokha, killing 12 and wounding 23 more. According to this account, the UAE warship was disabled by the blast and by a series of secondary explosions, and will require repair before it returns to service. Saba also claimed that a UAE minesweeper was damaged in the attack. 

Read the full story at MarEx

News Story: US Army Pacific official - ISIS a growing threat in the Philippines

By: David B. Larter

BETHESDA, Md. — The Islamic State group’s affiliates in the southern portion of the U.S.-allied nation of the Philippines is a growing threat to U.S. security, a U.S. Army Pacific official said Tuesday at the Global Explosive Ordnance Disposal Symposium & Exhibition.

The group seized the city of Marawi on the Philippine island of Mindanao in late May and have turned the city of 200,000 inhabitants into a battlefield comparable to the brutal slog faced by allied forces trying to take back the Iraqi city of Mosul.

“ISIS affiliated elements took over that city on the 23rd of May, and the Philippine Army is still trying to get it back,” said Col. Gerardo Meneses, director of the Asia-Pacific Counter-IED Fusion Center, which monitors improvised explosive device activity in the region. “It’s a very Mosul-like situation. It’s not making headlines but they’ve had over 600 casualties there. … This is a growing threat.”

Meneses’ organization published a report in June highlighting the dangers posed by the sudden boost the battle of Marawi has been to ISIS-Philippines’ profile in the global jihadi movement and to its leader Isnilon Hapilon.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: Pakistan to sell 10 Super Mushshak aircraft to Azerbaijan - officials

Super Mushshak (Image: Wiki Commons)

ISLAMABAD July 27 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Thursday signed an agreement with Azerbaijan for sale of 10 Super Mushshak training aircraft to Azerbaijan Air Force, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) said.

The contract was signed at Azerbaijan, where Air Marshal Arshad Malik, Chairman Pakistan Aeronautical Complex at the town of Kamra represented Pakistan, whereas Azerbaijan was represented by Air Force Commander Azerbaijan Lieutenant General Ramiz Tahirov at the occasion.

This contract would also include operational training and technical support and assistance to Azerbaijan Air Force, said a PAF statement issued in Islamabad.

"This landmark agreement will further strengthen the bilateral ties between the two brotherly countries," it said.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: Reaper vs. Rainbow? China’s New Drone Deemed Ready for Mass Production

CH-5 Rainbow; China's Predator knock-off (File Photo)

The CH-5 ‘Rainbow’ drone made by China’s Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation is finally ready to enter mass production, the Diplomat reported on Tuesday.

"The CH-5’s design has been finalized and we are ready to mass-produce it," the unmanned aerial vehicle’s project manager told China Daily.

The Rainbow is reportedly intended to compete with the MQ-9 Reaper drone, which became the only drone used by US forces as of July 1 of this year when the Predator was retired. 

The company declined to specify who would be in the market to buy China’s new drones. The United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia have previously bought Chinese drones after being spurned by American drone makers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. 

News Story: Philippines warned - Mindanao seen as new battlefield of regional extremists

By Patricia Lourdes Viray

MANILA, Philippines — Mindanao might be a new battlefield accessible to regional extremists if the Abu Sayyaf Group-Maute coalition holds on to Marawi City, an American analyst said.

Thomas Sanderson, the transnational threats project director at influential think tank CSIS, warned that without a short-term solution to the fighting in Marawi and a long-term solution to problems in Mindanao, ISIS could come to see Mindanao as its primary destination.

The ongoing fighting in Marawi would eventually attract more foreign and local fighters, financial support and media attention, according to Sanderson.

"None of that is good for the security of the Philippine nation, especially local civilians (Muslim, Christian, Buddhist and others) in desperate need of economic development and responsive government," Sanderson said in his testimony before the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.

Sanderson noted that the battle in Marawi has become the focal point of activity of the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Southeast Asia as more than 500 militant fighters have joined the fight.

The diversity of nationalities among militant casualties raises alarm in counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency communities.

"Among the roughly 80 foreign fighters thought to have been in the battle, the dead included fighters from Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Chechnya, Yemen, Indonesia, Malaysia," Sanderson said.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: US analysts - Time not on AFP’s side in Marawi

By Jose Katigbak

WASHINGTON – The longer militants linked to the Islamic State (IS) prevent Philippine security forces from liberating besieged Marawi City in Mindanao, the better their chances of attracting more foreign and local fighters and financial support, an expert on terrorism has told US legislators.

Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Transnational Threats Project director Thomas Sanderson said that as the Abu Sayyaf group and the Maute coalition hold on in Marawi, the IS could come to see this as a primary, extra-regional destination as its fortunes tumble in the Middle East and North Africa.

Sanderson told a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on Wednesday that the battle for Marawi, now in its eighth week, has become the focal point of IS activity in Southeast Asia.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: US Army missile defense system destroys target in test

By: Jen Judson

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army’s missile defense system capable of taking out targets in the last phase of flight intercepted a threat target on Tuesday in a Missile Defense Agency test out of Kodiak, Alaska, according to Lockheed Martin, the system’s manufacturer.

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system at Pacific Spaceport Complex — Alaska “detected, tracked and intercepted” a threat target designed to represent an intermediate-range ballistic missile, a first for THAAD, according to a company statement.

The interceptor “destroyed the target’s reentry vehicle with sheer force of a direct collision,” the statement reads.

The test marks the 14th successful intercept in 14 attempts for THAAD since 2005. 

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: Malaysia warns of IS militants fleeing to Southeast Asia

Hanoi (VNA) – Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has said intelligence reports indicated that foreign Islamic State (IS) fighters fleeing the Middle East are planning to shift their bases to Southeast Asia. 

Speaking at a meeting of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party on July 10, the Defence Minister declared IS is the enemy of the government.

He stressed that what happed in Middle East has a direct impact on Malaysia, adding that the region will be the IS’ focus and every member state of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) will have to look at this seriously. 

Given the urgency of the matter, the minister said he will be visiting Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain this week to get latest intelligence reports on the militants and their whereabouts.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Report: Beijing Downplays Possibility of Pakistani Naval Base

Chinese officials have dismissed predictions that the People’s Liberation Army Navy will build a new base in Pakistan as Saudi Arabian and American influence in the region deteriorates.

Discussions about a Chinese base in Pakistan are "pure guesswork," Defense Ministry Spokesman Wu Qian said on Thursday.

Sputnik has reported that Pakistan is actively seeking an increased Chinese presence in Pakistan to balance the strength of India. "We need an equalizer against India. Previously it was the US and Saudi Arabia. Now it’s China," a Pakistani diplomat told NBC, according to a June 19 report.

In May, the US Defense Department issued a report stating, "China most likely will seek to establish additional military bases in countries with which it has a longstanding friendly relationship and similar strategic interests, such as Pakistan."

News Report: Will Downing of Tehran Drone Hurt Pakistan-Iran Relations Further?

Madeeha Anwar
Mehdi Jedinia

Pakistan's claim this week that it shot down an Iranian drone that had crossed into its airspace is heating up tensions already on the rise over cross-border skirmishes and diplomatic rifts over alleged militancy, analysts say.

"This is an unfortunate situation as it will only increase the mistrust which already exists between Pakistan and Iran," Zubair Iqbal, an analyst at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, told VOA.

Both sides of the porous 900-kilometer (560-mile) Pakistan-Iran border have long been rife with drug smugglers, separatists and militant movements. The drone apparently went down Tuesday in violence-racked Balochistan, Pakistan's southwestern province, where insurgents and nationalists are active in launching attacks against government interests and neighboring countries.

"The drone was hit by the Pakistan Air Force as it was unidentified and flying around 3-4 kilometers inside Pakistani territory," Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

News Story: Rody expected to discuss security issue with Widodo

By Alexis Romero

MANILA, Philippines -  President Duterte was expected to discuss security issues with Indonesia President Joko Widodo yesterday as fighting between government troops and militants in Marawi City dragged on to its fifth week.

Duterte told reporters in Cagayan de Oro he would ask Widodo about the Indonesian fighters who fought alongside the Maute group, a band of terrorists aligned with the extremist Middle East-based Islamic State (IS).

“I think most of the foreign fighters were Indonesians,” he added. Duterte’s spokesman Ernesto Abella could not elaborate on the discussion between the two leaders.

“I’m sure they’ll be talking security matters, but we don’t have the details of the plans for that conversation,” Abella said in a press briefing yesterday.

Duterte earlier said he was disappointed that Maranaos allowed IS fighters to enter Marawi City to introduce their extremist ideology.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Report: Islamabad Eyes New Chinese Naval Base in Pakistan as US, Saudi Influence Wanes

Chinese Navy Warships on Patrol (File Photo)

Pakistan is renewing a 2011 call to the People’s Liberation Army Navy to construct and operate a naval base on its coast, according to a Pakistani diplomat.

Islamabad needs an “equalizer” against India, the emissary noted in comments published at the Asia Times. “Previously, it was the US and Saudi Arabia… Now, it’s China,” he said.

A recent report prepared by the Pentagon signals Washington is growing concerned with the activities of the world’s largest army and burgeoning naval fleet. The US Defense Department anticipates that diplomatic chatter may materialize in the form of an actual base, perhaps in Gwadar Port in Balochistan, a trading hub Beijing seeks to develop with investment as part of the One Belt initiative.

Jiwani and Ormara are also said to be potential sites for a new navy base. 

News Story: ISIS threat in Southeast Asia alarms Washington

By Matthew Pennington

WASHINGTON – Southeast Asia’s jihadis who fought by the hundreds for the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria now have a different battle closer to home in the southern Philippines. It’s a scenario raising significant alarm in Washington.

The recent assault by IS-aligned fighters on Marawi has left more than 300 people dead, exposing the shortcomings of local security forces and the extremist group’s spreading reach in a region where counterterrorism gains are coming undone.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told Congress last week a long-running US military operation to help Philippine forces contain extremist fighters was canceled prematurely three years ago. Small numbers of US special forces remain in an “advise and assist” role, and the US is providing aerial surveillance to help the Philippines retake Marawi, an inland city of more than 200,000 people.

But lawmakers, including from President Donald Trump’s Republican Party, want a bigger US role, short of boots on the ground. They fear the area is becoming a new hub for Islamist fighters from Southeast Asia and beyond.

“I don’t know that ISIS are directing operations there but they are certainly trying to get fighters into that region,” said Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, using another acronym for the group. “We need to address the situation. It should not get out of control.”

US intelligence and counterterrorism officials note that IS has publicly accepted pledges from various groups in the Philippines. In a June 2016 video, it called on followers in Southeast Asia to go to the Philippines if they cannot reach Syria.

About 40 foreigners, mostly from neighboring Indonesia and Malaysia, have been among 500 involved in fighting in Marawi, the Philippine military says. Reports indicate at least one Saudi, a Chechen and a Yemeni killed. In all, more than 200 militants have died in the standoff, now in its fourth week.

Read the full story at PhilStar

Think Tank: Sea, air, land and space updates (14-Jun-2017)

Zoe Glasson, Sophie Qin, Madeleine Nyst and Patrick Kennedy

Sea State

The full ship’s company is now aboard the Royal Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the HMS Queen Elizabeth. But ongoing delays to the ship’s sea trials have kept it docked in Scotland, exacerbating the dull and boring conditions that have been blamed for a ‘morale crisis’ and the recent resignation of more than 20 sailors. As a result, reports say that sailors aren’t being released to resettlement courses, are having job transfers denied and are working longer hours. The official line, however, denies that morale is low and insists resignation rates are ‘absolutely in line with the fleet average’.

Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba is currently in Tel Aviv meeting with Chief of the General Staff of Israeli Defence Force, Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot. The talks come ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s forthcoming visit to Israel—the first by an Indian prime minister—and are intended to deepen security and defence ties. The leaders are expected to announce a ‘raft of mega deals’, including a contract to supply four Navy ships with long range surface-to-air missiles. For the first time, the contract will be executed with Indian government-owned BEL as part of Modi’s ‘Make in India’ policy.

News Story: AFP verifying 1,200 IS agents in Philippines

By Alexis Romero

MANILA, Philippines - The disclosure of Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu that there are about 1,200 foreign Islamic State (IS) members operating in the Philippines caught the military by surprise.

Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said they are still verifying the information as Malacañang affirmed the need to work with Asian neighbors to combat security threats.

“The revelations of the Indonesian defense minister are something that came as a surprise to us because, as was mentioned by senior defense officials, in truth, we don’t have those numbers,” Padilla told a press conference yesterday at Malacañang.

He said the Philippine military would ask Indonesia about the source of the information.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella refused to comment on the specific number, but stressed the need to work with neighboring countries in flushing terrorists out of the country.

“But it is clear that the violence in Marawi is being waged by both Philippine and international criminals, and the southern part of Mindanao has long been used as a refuge by fugitives from Indonesia, Malaysia and other locations,” Abella said.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Indonesia - 1,200 IS operatives in Philippines & 1,200 ISIS operatives in Philippines? Gov't mum

Indonesia: 1,200 IS operatives in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines -  There are about 1,200 Islamic State (IS) group operatives in the Philippines, including foreigners of whom 40 are from Indonesia, the Indonesian defense minister told an international security forum yesterday.

Speaking in Singapore amid a bloody standoff between soldiers and the Maute militants fighting under the IS flag in Marawi City, Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu called the militants “killing machines” and urged full-scale regional cooperation against them.

“I was advised last night, 1,200 IS in the Philippines, around 40 from Indonesia,” Ryacudu told the Shangri-La Dialogue.

The threat of heightened terrorism, including the impending return of hundreds of Southeast Asian fighters who fought with IS in Syria and Iraq, has been a hot-button issue at the three-day Singapore summit also attended by US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

Hundreds of Maute fighters rampaged through Marawi City on May 23 after government forces attempted to arrest their leader, Isnilon Hapilon.

Read the full story at PhilStar

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1,200 ISIS operatives in Philippines? Gov't mum

By Patricia Lourdes Viray

MANILA, Philippines — The revelation of Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu that there are about 1,200 Islamic State operatives in the Philippines came as a surprise to the military.

At the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, the Indonesian defense minister said that around 40 fighters from Indonesia are in the Philippines as part of the international terrorist group.

Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said that the military does not have information on the numbers of foreign fighters in Marawi City.

"The revelations of the Indonesian defense minister is something that came as a surprise to us because as was mentioned by senior defense officials, in truth we don't have those numbers. I'll leave it at that for the moment," Padilla said at a televised press briefing.

Malacañang also refused to comment on the specific numbers of alleged ISIS fighters in the country.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Military still fighting strong Maute force – DND chief

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)

By Jaime Laude

MANILA, Philippines - Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana disclosed yesterday that about 200 to 250 Maute and Islamic State (IS) rebels continue to fight government troops in Marawi City.

With this development, Lorenzana, despite declaring in the initial stages of the fighting that the conflict would be over in five days, is no longer giving a deadline for when the conflict would be resolved. 

However, he assured the people that everything is being done to end the fighting and to stabilize the situation in Marawi as soon as possible after the Maute group attacked the city last May 23.

“We talked about an estimated 100 to 200 in the initial stage of the conflict, then we revised that to a higher number because when we were able to kill more than 100 of them, the Maute is still strong,” the defense chief said in a telecast press briefing during his visit to the troops in Marawi City yesterday.

He said the focus of the current military offensive is Barangay Banggolo that has been surrounded by government forces.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Report: Pakistani Senate Chastises Government for Joining 'Anti-Iran' Coalition

Ayesha Tanzeem

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — Pakistan's senate demanded to know why the administration had sent its former army chief to head what some called an anti-Iran Arab military coalition, despite a 2015 parliamentary resolution that the country would maintain neutrality in regional conflicts.

Senator Farhatullah Babar, who had called this issue to attention, said in the session Thursday that the strong anti-Iran sentiments expressed at a recent summit in Riyadh made it clear the coalition was "not against terrorism, it's against Iran."

He was referring to a summit hosted by Saudi Arabia in Riyadh late last month and attended by dozens of Muslim heads of state, along with the president of the United States.

While the stated agenda was terrorism, strong anti-Iran rhetoric permeated key addresses, as well as the final declaration.

In his speech, President Donald Trump said Iran gave terrorists “safe harbor, financial backing, and the social standing needed for recruitment” and asked other nations to help isolate it.

King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia accused Iran of “expansionist aspirations, criminal practices, and interference in the internal affairs of other countries.”

News Story: Revising estimates, DND says 500 militants involved in Marawi

MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said there were 500 extremist fighters who were involved in the attempted siege of Marawi City, effectively revising the government's initial estimate of 100 extremists.

Lorenzana said at a news conference on Thursday that Islamic State sympathizers from militant groups Maute and Abu Sayyaf were augmented by other armed groups to carry out a "big plan" to take over the capital of Lanao del Sur province.

He said about 260 Maute fighters were joined by 100 of Abu Sayyaf subleader Isnilon Hapilon's own men from Basilan, while the rest came from various local militant organizations, Lorenzana said.

The military, meanwhile, reported 120 militants neutralized in the conflict.

The defense chief estimates that there are about 50 to 100 fighters still holed up in Marawi after state forces reported success in retaking about 90 percent of the areas.

"I'm just guessing, you know? Because a small force cannot hold that long, so there are still around 100 (militants in Marawi)," Lorenzana said.

Read the full story at PhilStar