Associated Press: Iran Fires At Suspected Israeli Attack Drones Near Isfahan Air Base And Nuclear Site

“Iran fired air defenses at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday morning near the central city of Isfahan after spotting drones, which were suspected to be part of an Israeli attack in retaliation for Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country. No Iranian official directly acknowledged the possibility that Israel attacked, and the Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment. However, tensions have been high since the Saturday assault on Israel amid its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and its own strikes targeting Iran in Syria. United States officials declined to comment as of early Friday, but American broadcast networks quoting unnamed U.S. officials said Israel carried out the attack. The New York Times quoted anonymous Israeli officials claiming the assault, which came on Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s 85th birthday. Israeli politicians also made comments hinting that the country had launched an attack.”

Associated Press: Attack Blamed On IS Militants Kills 22 Pro-Government Fighters In Central Syria

“An attack on pro-government fighters by suspected members of the Islamic State group in central Syria killed 22 pro-government fighters, an opposition war monitor and pro-government media reported Friday. Gunmen attacked a bus carrying members of the Quds Brigade, a government and Russian-backed faction of mostly Palestinian fighters in Syria, near the town of Sukhna late Thursday night. Sukhna was once an IS stronghold. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but both the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based opposition war monitor, and the pro-government radio station Sham FM said IS was behind the attack. Both the Observatory and Sham FM said 22 fighters were killed. Sham FM said they were all Quds Brigade gunmen, while the Observatory said the majority belonged to the group. The Quds Brigade fought on the side of Syrian government forces during the country’s 13-year conflict, which has killed half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million.”

United States

Politico: Iraq Thinks ISIS Is Gone. The U.S. Begs To Differ.

“Iraqi Prime Minister MOHAMMED SHIA AL-SUDANI has one overarching message for Washington this week: ISIS just isn’t the threat it was a decade ago — and the bilateral relationship needs to adapt as a result. Speaking with journalists at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel in Washington on Tuesday, Al-Sudani emphasized that point multiple times when asked about the future of the U.S.-Iraq relationship. “ISIS is not a threat now to Iraq and most of its members are now hiding in the mountains in caves in the Sahara Desert, and our security forces continue to track them down,” he said. As a result, Baghdad plans to “reevaluate the schedule of ending or tapering out the mission” of the U.S.-led military coalition. The Biden administration disagrees. The State Department said in a statement to NatSec Daily that while ISIS has been “territorially defeated in Iraq” as a result of the work of Iraq’s military and the global coalition, “ISIS continues to pose a real threat, although diminished, in Iraq and the wider region.””

Associated Press: US Vetoes Widely Supported Resolution Backing Full UN Membership For Palestine

“The United States vetoed a widely backed U.N. resolution Thursday that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for Palestine, a goal the Palestinians have long sought and Israel has worked to prevent. The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 12 in favor, the United States opposed and two abstentions, from the United Kingdom and Switzerland. U.S. allies France, Japan and South Korea supported the resolution. The strong support the Palestinians received reflects not only the growing number of countries recognizing their statehood but almost certainly the global support for Palestinians facing a humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Gaza, now in its seventh month. The resolution would have recommended that the 193-member U.N. General Assembly, where there are no vetoes, approve Palestine becoming the 194th member of the United Nations. Some 140 countries have already recognized Palestine, so its admission would have been approved, likely by a much higher number of countries.”

Iraq

Associated Press: Iraq’s Prime Minister Heads To Michigan To Meet Arab Americans At A Tense Time For The Middle East

“The leader of Iraq traveled to Michigan on Thursday following a sit-down with President Joe Biden to meet with the state’s large Iraqi community and update them on escalating tensions in the Middle East following Iran’s weekend aerial assault on Israel. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s trip to both Washington and Michigan to discuss U.S.-Iraq relations had been planned well before Saturday’s drone and missile launches from Iran-backed groups. The visit has been thrust into the spotlight as tensions in the region escalate following the strike, which included drone and missile launches that overflew Iraqi airspace and others that were launched from Iraq by Iran-backed groups. Michigan holds one of the largest populations of Iraqis in the nation and many local Democrats have pushed back against U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. The state holds the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the country.”

Afghanistan

Voice Of America: Afghans With Disability Urge Taliban To End Ban On Aid Agency

“For years, Qari Wazir Mohammad and his six siblings received assistance from the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, or SCA, enabling all seven of them to read Braille and perform daily tasks such as cooking and cleaning. All born blind in a remote village of war-torn Ghazni province, the four brothers and three sisters faced extreme poverty and a lack of support for their disabilities. Last year, the Taliban directed the SCA to halt humanitarian activities, including support programs for the disabled. Taliban officials issued the order in protest of an Iraqi Christian refugee who burned a copy of the Quran in Sweden. That refugee, Salwan Momika, has since reportedly left Sweden, but the ban remains in place, depriving tens of thousands of disabled Afghans of the SCA’s critical assistance services. “We have clarified our status as an independent NGO and our condemnation of the events in Sweden that led to our suspension,” Andreas Stefansson, secretary general of the SCA, told VOA in written comments.”

Pakistan

Associated Press: Five Japanese Escape Unhurt In Pakistan Suicide Blast Attack

“Five Japanese nationals in Pakistan escaped unhurt on Friday from a suicide bomb attack on their vehicle as police shot down a gunman accompanying the bomber, a police spokesperson said, but two bystanders were among the three injured. Islamist militants seeking to overthrow the government and set up their own strict brand of Islamic rule have launched some of Pakistan's bloodiest attacks during the last few years, with some separatist groups targeting foreigners, including Chinese. No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the rare attack on Japanese nationals, however, with Pakistani authorities identifying them as engineers working for the management of an export processing zone in the port city. The Japanese have been moved to a safe place in police custody, the spokesperson, Abrar Hussain Baloch, said, although the bystanders and a guard with the visitors suffered injuries.”

Lebanon

Voice Of America: Israeli Airstrikes Kill Hezbollah Fighters In Lebanon

“Israel's military said Thursday it conducted airstrikes throughout the Gaza Strip targeting Hamas fighters and infrastructure along with aerial strikes that killed two Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon. The Lebanon strikes were the latest in cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has raised concerns about the spread of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Agence France-Presse cited Hezbollah saying two of its fighters were killed in an Israeli strike in Kfar Kila. Israel said 14 of its soldiers were injured Wednesday in a Hezbollah attack on northern Israel. The White House said U.S. and Israeli officials on Thursday discussed American concerns over Israel's planned military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which Israel agreed to consider.”

Qatar

The New York Times: Qatar Says It Is Reviewing Its Mediator Role As Israel-Hamas Talks Stall

“Qatar’s prime minister has said that his government is reviewing its role as a key mediator between Israel and Hamas after criticism by U.S. and Israeli officials, who have urged it to exert more pressure on the Palestinian armed group to reach a deal. “We have seen insults against our mediation, and its exploitation for the sake of narrow political interests,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the Qatari premier, said at a news conference this week. “This has caused Qatar to comprehensively review that role.” In late March, a flurry of shuttle diplomacy involving Israel, Hamas and mediators including the United States had raised hopes for a new cease-fire deal in the war in Gaza. But those efforts appear to have reached a dead end for now, according to Israeli and Hamas officials.”

United Kingdom

Garowe Online: UK Releases £2.75 Million For Fight Against Al-Shabaab In Somalia

“The United Kingdom (UK) has released £2.75 million ostensibly for support towards the fight against Al-Shabaab militants, who still control large swathes of rural central and southern regions in the Horn of Africa nation. According to the UK, the money will be diverted towards assisting in transportation and provision of food and communication equipment to the Somali Security Forces who are in the frontlines as the war against al-Shabaab takes shape. In addition, the money that has been released through the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) will also help in medical evacuations, capacity building, and sustainability of operations in various regions across Somalia. Reports further indicate part of the money will be used to equip the Somali National Army with Very High Frequency (VHF) communication systems and train them in maintaining and installing these systems.”

Australia

Reuters: Teen Charged With Terrorism Over Sydney Bishop Stabbing

“Thousands of Muslims gathered in mosques across Sydney for regular prayers on Friday despite concerns about retaliatory attacks after police charged a 16-year-old boy with a terrorism offence over the stabbing of a Sydney bishop earlier this week. Police charged a 16-year-old boy with a terrorism offence on Thursday for the alleged stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel at a church on Monday. Footage from the scene showed the boy restrained by the congregation and shouting at Emmanuel for insulting Islam. Police said they will allege he stabbed the bishop, who is in stable condition in hospital, as many as six times. The offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The boy was refused bail. A mob of thousands descended on the church after the attack, where they clashed with police and demanded the boy be brought out to face justice. Hours afterwards the Lakemba mosque, one of Australia's largest, received fire bomb threats.”

Southeast Asia

Eurasianet: Tajikistan Striving To Convince The World That It Can Contain Terrorism

“Tajikistan, a Central Asian state with limited means, is trying to project a get-tough-on-terror image following the late March attack at a Moscow concert venue, in which Tajik militants are accused of killing over 140 people. But the government steps being taken appear to address the symptoms of the domestic challenge, not the disease. The March 22 terror tragedy prompted a wave of retribution against Tajik citizens in Russia and placed President Imomali Rahmon’s regime in an unwelcome spotlight, reminding the world of its numerous flaws in governance. Rahmon’s damage-control efforts have included a mixture of denial and a “round-up-the-usual suspects” approach that does not address the underlying causes of economic and social discontent fueling the spread radical Islamic ideas in the country.”

Reuters: Soldiers From Russia And Tajikistan Stage Counter-Terrorist Drills

“Troops from Russia and Tajikistan on Thursday completed several days of joint exercises in the Central Asian country to rehearse scenarios for cross-border incursions by militants or illegal armed groups. Tajikistan shares a long border with Afghanistan, which is home to a branch of Islamic State. The militant group claimed responsibility for an attack that killed at least 144 people at a concert hall just outside Moscow last month. The Russian Defence Ministry released video of the drills, in which attack helicopters, drones, multiple launch rocket systems, howitzers and tanks were deployed in desert and mountain terrain against the mock enemy. It said the objectives included "destroying terrorist gangs", and the exercises incorporated lessons learned by Russia's military from the war in Ukraine. Russia and Tajikistan are both members of a security alliance of former Soviet states, and Russia maintains a military base in the country.”