WAR 12-19-2015-to-12-25-2015_____****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****

[Housecarl]

Hummm..........

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Analysis-Turkeys-dangerous-ambitions-438320

Analysis: Turkey's dangerous ambitions

By BURAK BEKDIL
12/25/2015

Turkey now finds itself confronting a formidable bloc of pro-Shi'ite countries: Russia, Iran, Syria, Iraq, and (not to mention the much smaller Lebanon).

It is the same old Middle East story: The Shi'ites accuse Sunnis of passionately following sectarian policies; Sunnis accuse the Shi'ites of passionately following sectarian polices; and they are both right. Except that Turkey's pro-Sunni sectarian policies are taking an increasingly perilous turn as they push Turkey into new confrontations, adding newcomers to an already big list of hostile countries.

Take President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent remarks on the centuries-old Shi'ite-Sunni conflict: they amusingly looked more like a confession than an accusation: "Today we are faced with an absolute sectarianism. Who is doing it? Who are they? Iran and Iraq," Erdogan said.

This is the same Erdogan who once said, "The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers...." Is that not sectarian?

So, with a straight face, the President of one sectarian country (Sunni Turkey) is accusing another country (Shi'ite Iran and Shi'ite-dominated Iraq) of being sectarian.

Erdogan went on: "What about the Sunnis? There are Sunni Arabs, Sunni Turkmen and Sunni Kurds [in Iraq and Syria]. What will happen to their security? They want to feel safe."

Never realizing that its ambitions to spread Sunni Islam over large swaths of the Middle East, especially Syria and Iraq, were bigger than its ability to do so, Turkey now finds itself confronting a formidable bloc of pro-Shi'ite countries: Russia, Iran, Syria, Iraq, and (not to mention the much smaller Lebanon).

Even before the crisis with Russia that began on November 24 -- over Turkey's shooting down a Russian SU-24 along the Turkish-Syrian border -- has shown any sign of de-escalation, another Turkish move had sparked a major dispute with neighboring Iraq.

Just when Turkey moved to reinforce its hundreds of troops at a military camp in Iraq, the Baghdad government gave an ultimatum to Ankara for the removal of all Turkish soldiers stationed in Iraq since last year. Turkey responded by halting its reinforcements. Not enough, the Iraqis apparently think. Iraq's prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, said on December 7 that his country might turn to the UN security council if Turkish troops in northern Iraq were not withdrawn within 48 hours. Hadi al-Ameri, the head of the militant Shi'ite Badr Organization, threatened that his group would fight Turkish forces if Ankara continued its troop deployment.

Badr Brigade spokesman Karim al-Nuri put the Turkish ambitions in quite a realistic way: "We have the right to respond and we do not exclude any type of response until the Turks have learned their lesson ... Do they have a dream of restoring Ottoman greatness? This is a great delusion and they will pay dearly for Turkish arrogance."

Inevitably, Russia came into the picture. Russia's UN ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, said he told the Security Council that Turkey was acting "recklessly and inexplicably" by sending troops across the border into Iraq without the consent of the Iraqi government. According to Russia, the Turkish move "lacks legality."

All that fell on deaf ears in Ankara, as Erdogan repeated on Dec. 11 that Turkey would not pull out its troops from Iraq. In response, Iraq appealed to the UN Security Council to demand an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all Turkish troops from northern Iraq, calling Turkey's military incursion a "flagrant violation" of international law.

The next day, Shi'ite militia members gathered in Baghdad's Tahrir Square to protest against Turkey. Crowds of young men in military fatigues, as well as some Shi'ite politicians, chanted against Turkish "occupation," vowing they would fight the Turkish troops themselves if they do not withdraw. Angry protesters also burned Turkish flags.

Through its efforts to oust Syria's non-Sunni president, Bashar Assad, and build a Muslim Brotherhood-type of Sunni Islamist regime in Damascus, Turkey has become everyone's foe over its eastern and southern borders -- in addition to having to wait anxiously for the next Russian move to hit it -- not knowing where the blow will come from.

The confrontation with Russia has given Moscow an excuse to augment its military deployment in Syria and the eastern Mediterranean, and weaken allied air strikes against Islamic State (ISIS).

Russia has increased its military assets in the region, including deploying S-400 air and anti-missile defense systems, probably ready to shoot down the first Turkish fighter jet flying over Syrian skies.

Waiting for Turkish-Russian tensions to ease, and trying to avoid a clash between NATO member Turkey and Russia, US officials have quietly put on hold a request for Turkey to more actively join the allied air missions in Syria against ISIS. After having lost its access to Syrian soil, Turkey also has been declared militarily non grata in Iraq.

As Professor Norman Stone, a prominent expert on Turkish politics, explained in a recent article: "Erdogan's adventurism has been quite successful so far, but it amounts to an extraordinary departure for Turkish foreign policy, and maybe even risks the destruction of the country. How on earth could this happen? The background is an inferiority complex, and megalomania. For centuries, and even since the Mongols, sensible Islam has asked: 'What went wrong? Why has God forsaken us, and allowed others to reach the moon?'"

With the inferiority complex and megalomania still gripping the country's Islamist polity, Erdogan's Islam is not sensible; it is perilous.

Burak Bekdil, based in Ankara, is a Turkish columnist for the Hürriyet Daily and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

This article was originally written for the Gatestone Institute.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

News_Executive ‏@News_Executive 13m13 minutes ago

News: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have arrived in #Pakistan on a surprise visit to meet Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-taliban-helmand-idUSKBN0U80C320151225

World | Fri Dec 25, 2015 7:52am EST
Related: World, Afghanistan

Confusion, corruption among Afghan forces hit Helmand defense

KABUL | By Hamid Shalizi


More foreign troops died fighting in Helmand than in any other province in Afghanistan but little more than a year after NATO left, the region risks being overrun by the Taliban because of confusion, corruption and mismanagement in Afghan forces.

Sangin is the latest Helmand district to slip into Taliban control, badly denting hopes that Afghan security forces would be able to fight on alone after international forces pulled out last year.

Sarwar Jan is the commander of a police battalion that has been heavily engaged in Sangin and Marjah, another district mostly in Taliban hands, and he is scathing about Afghan army units he says left his isolated, under-equipped men to fight alone.

"We call them up for reinforcement when there is an attack, but they won't respond. So our forces are like: 'If they don't cooperate, why should we help them?'" he said.

It is a picture familiar from the disaster in the northern city of Kunduz where last September Taliban fighters drove off demoralized and disorganized security forces and seized the town before pulling out two weeks later.

Units in Helmand have been left to fight for months on end with inadequate supplies and reinforcements. Corruption has siphoned off supplies and some units are under-strength because of ghost troops - deserters who are not reported so that officials can pocket their pay.

"In one battalion, the official strength is 400 but the actual number is around 150," said Ataullah Afghan, a member of provincial council in Helmand. "There is intelligence failure, lack of coordination, huge corruption in terms of selling fuel, ghost troops and much else," he said.

Helmand, a longstanding Taliban stronghold and the source of most of the opium that helps fund the movement, has always been difficult to control.

But a web of competing interests and political interference has made it impossible to get a grip of the situation, says Shekiba Hashemi, a member of parliament from Kandahar who sits on the parliamentary security committee.

"The police chief for example has been appointed by one powerful figure, the governor by another figure and the army chief by someone else," she said. "There is no proper coordination and management or hierarchy in the ranks. You don't know who is in charge and when things go wrong, they start blaming each other."

President Ashraf Ghani's awkward National Unity Government, formed after last year's inconclusive election, has left key positions unfilled or allowed local politicians to dictate security appointments.

"If their demands are not met in appointing a police or army officials in this or that province, they create problems for the respective ministers," said a government minister, speaking on condition of anonymity.


RESPONSIBILITY

When NATO troops pulled out of Helmand in October last year, hopes were expressed that Afghan forces that moved into the two huge bases left behind by American and British soldiers would be able to take on the Taliban alone.

Instead, insurgent advances have shown how much remains to be done.

While NATO officials readily praise the courage and endurance of Afghan soldiers, a Pentagon report to Congress last week highlighted the overall shortcomings of the forces, which it said had serious problems with leadership.

In addition, army units were spread too thinly and were too inclined to wait at their checkpoints instead of taking the fight to the Taliban, leaving the initiative entirely up to the insurgents, it said.

Acting Defense Minister Masoom Stanekzai admits the fighting in Helmand has been "difficult" but says the problems that have emerged are the natural result of handing over security to local forces that still needed development.

"In 2014, in such a hurry, everyone was saying we have to take over responsibility. In only one year, we took over responsibility," he told a news conference in Kabul this week.

Alarmed by the Taliban advances, Britain has sent extra personnel to NATO's Resolute Support advisory mission in Helmand in a bid to help struggling local forces. Officials have not confirmed reports that special forces are present and they insist that the mission is there to advise and will not take part in combat operations. But at least two air strikes have been carried out this week.

Afghan commanders have repeatedly pleaded for more helicopters, and close air support and intelligence from surveillance aircraft - battlefield assets referred to in military jargon as "enablers".'

"Coordination among forces here have improved but intel gathering still remains a challenge," said Mohammad Rasoul Zazai, a spokesman for the 215 Corps based in Helmand.

He said that NATO forces had operated with around 60 eye-in-the-sky surveillance balloons in Sangin, allowing them to track the movements of groups of insurgents. By contrast, Afghan forces now had just one balloon in the whole province, despite pleas for help. "Our request is still pending," he said.


(Additional reporting by Mohammad Stanekzai in Lashkar Gah; writing by James Mackenzie)

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-ramadi-idUSKBN0U80R320151225

World | Fri Dec 25, 2015 5:15pm EST
Related: World, Iraq

Iraqi forces consolidate position in Ramadi ahead of final push against Islamic State

BAGHDAD

Iraqi troops who have fought their way deep into the Islamic State stronghold of Ramadi were consolidating their positions on Friday ahead of a planned final assault to capture the city.Soldiers were clearing bombs from roads and homes in districts of Ramadi they had already taken since launching their assault on the city on Tuesday, state TV said.

Successfully recapturing Ramadi, a provincial capital in the fertile Euphrates River valley just two hours drive from Baghdad, would be one of the most important victories achieved by Iraq's armed forces since Islamic State militants swept across a third of the country in 2014.

The Iraqi government forces are backed by air support from an international coalition led by the United States. Shi'ite militia units backed by Iran, which have played a major part in other government offensives, have been kept away from the battlefield in Ramadi to avoid angering Sunni Muslim residents.

Ramadi, capital of mainly Sunni Muslim Anbar province, was Islamic State's biggest prize of 2015, abandoned by government forces in May in a major setback for Baghdad that forced Washington to look hard at its strategy against the militants.

The Baghdad government has long said it intended to recapture Ramadi before launching an offensive against Mosul, the largest city in Iraq's north and Islamic State's main stronghold in the country.

Three days into the government assault, the militants are still entrenched in the center of Ramadi, around the provincial government complex. Army commanders said on Wednesday the battle for Ramadi would take several days.Concern that civilians are still living in the areas held by the militants is slowing the troops' advance, the authorities say.Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said the militants are using civilians as human shields.

"It makes things more complicated but it won't change the result; the advance will continue, it will just take more time," he told Reuters in Cairo.State TV on Friday showed piles of ammunition crates, mortar rounds and plastic gasoline containers filled with explosives it said were found in Ramadi homes. Citing a military statement, it said the armed forces had finished securing the Hay al-Dhubbat neighborhood that it seized on Tuesday.The ultimate target of the government is to retake Mosul, a city with a pre-war population of close to 2 million.

After capturing Mosul in 2014, the group also known by the acronyms ISIL, ISIS or Daesh declared a caliphate to rule over all Muslims from Sunni-populated territory it controls in Iraq and Syria.

"The liberation of dear Mosul will be achieved with the cooperation and unity of all Iraqis after the victory in Ramadi," Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a statement on the state media website on Friday.In a Friday sermon to rally the nation, read by an aide, Iraq's top Shi'ite Muslim cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called on the government to make the fight against Islamic State its top priority.

"To recover all the land from Daesh, to rebuild the residential areas, to return the displaced person are top priorities for everybody, foremost for the government's decision makers," said Sistani's representative Ahmed al-Safi, in a sermon in the holy Shi'ite city of Kerbala, south of Baghdad, broadcast on state TV.


(Reporting by Saif Hameed and Maher Chmaytelli in Baghdad, and Sameh Elbardissi in Cairo; Writing by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Peter Graff)

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-kurds-idUSKBN0U80FQ20151225

World | Fri Dec 25, 2015 9:28am EST
Related: World

Turkish 'cleansing' operation rocks southeastern cities

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey | By Seyhmus Cakan

Explosions and gunfire resounded around the southeastern Turkish town of Cizre on Friday after a clash overnight that the army said killed six Kurdish militants and one soldier, as a security operation there entered its 11th day.

Since a two-year ceasefire between Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants and Ankara fell apart in July, the mainly Kurdish southeast has been plunged back into a three-decades-old conflict which has killed more than 40,000 people.

A helicopter clattered overhead and armored vehicles sped along a hilltop road above Cizre, near the Syrian border, as security forces pressed on with a campaign across the region involving thousands of troops, backed by tanks.

Reuters TV footage showed smoke billowing from buildings hit by blasts, while streets were empty and shops shuttered.

The town, in Sirnak province, is the focus of what the government has described as an operation to "cleanse" the area of militants. But locals dispute that description and complain that the attacks are indiscriminate.

"The recent war being conducted in the Sirnak area, especially in Cizre, is not a cleansing. They are shelling randomly," said shopkeeper Abdullah Varkin, 38, speaking as a small group of children and men looked on.

"The people are miserable. The sick cannot even go to hospital. The wounded are trying to treat themselves at home and some died due to a lack of doctors and blood loss," he said.

Locals also complained about a lack of food and water.


FULL CURFEWS

Both Cizre and Silopi, 30 km (19 miles) away near the Iraqi border, have witnessed intense fighting since a round-the-clock curfew was declared in both towns 12 days ago.

Three soldiers were wounded in Thursday evening's firefight and one of them died in hospital, the army said in a statement.

In the town of Sirnak, security sources said four students and two staff suffered burns and smoke inhalation when PKK militants, their faces hidden by scarves, threw petrol bombs in a state-run cultural center on Friday, triggering a fire.

They said a gunfight erupted between security forces and militants as the building was evacuated.

State media say 168 PKK militants have been killed in the latest security operations. The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) says at least 38 civilians have been killed.

The body of Taybet Inan, a 57-year-old mother of 11 shot dead by security forces last week, was left lying on a street in Silopi for a week before being retrieved on Friday, said HDP lawmaker Ferhat Encu. Snipers killed her brother-in-law and wounded her husband when they sought to retrieve the body.

Many parts of Silopi were without electricity, and dozens of people were sheltering in the basements of houses, the HDP said.

Since the PKK launched its insurgency in 1984, fighting has been largely focused in the countryside, but the latest conflict has been focused in urban areas, where the PKK youth wing has set up barricades and dug trenches to keep security forces out.

The PKK is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Ankara launched a peace process with the group's jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan in late 2012 but the talks ground to a halt early this year.


(Additional reporting by Gulsen Solaker in Ankara; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by David Dolan and Mark Trevelyan)

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-christmas-idUSKBN0U71HO20151225

World | Fri Dec 25, 2015 11:41am EST
Related: World, Pope

Pope calls in Christmas message for unity against militant atrocities

VATICAN CITY | By Philip Pullella


Pope Francis urged the world in his Christmas message on Friday to unite to end atrocities by Islamist militants that he said were causing immense suffering in many countries.

Security was tight at the Vatican as Francis, marking the third Christmas since his election in 2013, read his traditional Christmas Day "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) address from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.

Tens of thousands of people had to have their bags checked as they entered the Vatican area and then go through airport-style screening if they wanted to enter St. Peter's Square.

Counter-terrorist police with machine guns discreetly patrolled the area in unmarked vans with dark windows.

After calling for an end to the civil wars in Syria and Libya, the pope said:

"May the attention of the international community be unanimously directed to ending the atrocities which in those countries, as well as in Iraq, Libya, Yemen and sub-Saharan Africa, even now reap numerous victims, cause immense suffering and do not even spare the historical and cultural patrimony of entire peoples."

He was clearly referring to Islamic State militants who have carried out numerous attacks in those countries and destroyed many cultural heritage sites. In October, Islamic State militants blew up the Arch of Triumph, a jewel in the exquisite collection of ruins in the Syrian oasis city of Palmyra.


BRUTAL TERRORISM

The pontiff condemned recent "brutal acts of terrorism," including the Nov. 13 attacks by Islamist militants that killed 130 people in Paris, and the downing of a Russian plane over Egypt's Sinai peninsula that killed 224 people on Oct. 31. Both were claimed by Islamic State.

"Only God’s mercy can free humanity from the many forms of evil, at times monstrous evil, which selfishness spawns in our midst," he said. "The grace of God can convert hearts and offer mankind a way out of humanly insoluble situations.".

He called for peace between Israelis and Palestinians in the area where Jesus was born.

"Where peace is born, there is no longer room for hatred and for war. Yet precisely where the incarnate Son of God came into the world, tensions and violence persist, and peace remains a gift to be implored and built," he said.

He asked God to bring consolation and strength to Christians who are being persecuted around the world and called for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, South Sudan and Ukraine.

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/kenya-security-idUSL1N14E0B320151225

Industries | Fri Dec 25, 2015 3:59pm EST
Related: Industrials

One Kenyan police officer dead after Somali Islamist twin attacks

MOGADISHU | By Feisal Omar

Dec 25 Somali Islamist militants attacked two Kenyan police convoys in northern Kenya on Friday, killing at least one police officer, police and a spokesman for the group said.

The al Shabaab group, which seeks to overthrow Somalia's Western-backed government and impose a strict version of Sharia law, has carried out regular assaults in neighbouring Kenya in retaliation for Kenya's contributing troops to an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.

"This afternoon, we launched twin attacks," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab's military spokesman, told Reuters.

Militants killed one police officer and injured more in the first attack. They later attacked a second vehicle using a road-side bomb, he said, adding the militants had "spared the public vehicles" that were being escorted.

Kenyan authorities confirmed that one police officer had been killed. (Additional reporting by Joseph Akwiri; editing by Edith Honan and Jason Neely)

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/...ezbollahs-russian-military-education-in-syria

PolicyWatch 2541

Hezbollah's Russian Military Education in Syria

Brig. Gen. Muni Katz, IDF and Nadav Pollak
December 24, 2015


Working alongside Russian forces will likely enhance the group's ongoing shift toward a more offensive-minded strategy, with significant implications for the planning and conduct of any future conflicts against Israel.

For the first time in its history, Hezbollah is conducting offensive maneuver warfare as part of its operations in Syria. The Russian intervention is only enhancing that experience, likely giving the group important lessons for future conflicts.

Thus far, Hezbollah has long followed a strategy of defense and attrition in hostilities against its main enemy, Israel -- an approach that many high-ranking officers in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) liked to call "not losing." Taking into account Israel's manpower and technological advantages, this strategy focused on prolonging the fighting as much as possible, maintaining home-front attrition by firing rockets on Israeli population centers, and increasing the costs of IDF ground maneuvers in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah displayed this defensive mindset during the 2006 war when it hid rockets and fighters in elaborate networks of underground fortifications and areas of dense vegetation that Israeli officers dubbed "nature reserves." The group believed that as long as it did not crumble, it could claim that it survived a war with the mighty IDF, which according to its narrative was actually a win. The Syria war has changed this defensive paradigm, however.

NEW EXPERIENCE, NEW STRATEGY

In Syria, Hezbollah has had to shift its main objectives to taking over territory and maintaining control over it, all while fighting quasi-conventional forces that use guerrilla tactics. Against the IDF, the group was accustomed to fighting in small units on familiar terrain, but now it is deploying hundreds of fighters in complex offensive operations on unfamiliar territory. For Hezbollah's commanders and fighters, such experience can change their views on the most effective way to win a battle, and Russia's involvement means that they are learning such lessons from one of the best militaries in the world.

From the start, Russia has depended on Syrian, Iranian, Hezbollah, and other Shiite forces to get the job done on the ground. Given the complexity of the campaign and Moscow's desire to avoid perceptions of failure, Russian forces are probably maintaining very close cooperation with their partners to make sure they are executing their missions. Reports indicate that joint Hezbollah-Russian operations rooms have been established in Latakia and Damascus, while Hezbollah and Iranian personnel apparently helped recover a downed Russian pilot in November. Moscow still seems reluctant to add significant ground forces to the fight, so it will need to strengthen such coordination even further.

PLANNING AND EXECUTING A MILITARY CAMPAIGN

On the macro level, Hezbollah will be exposed to Russian military thought, which entails sophisticated operational concepts and advanced military planning skills. The Russian military has ample experience in conducting different types of operations, including counterinsurgency and conventional campaigns. Consider this scenario: a Russian commander sits with Hezbollah, Iranian, and Syrian commanders and lays out the military strategy for the Syria campaign. He talks about the objectives, the timeframe to achieve these objectives, and the priorities in the fight. He then emphasizes which assets can be instrumental in battle, and perhaps offers important lessons from past operations such as the counterinsurgency campaign in Chechnya. For Hezbollah, this will be the first time it will be able to watch how a first-tier military plans a fighting campaign.

Learning processes such as these happen all the time. For example, Syria's experience as part of the American coalition during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 transformed its war strategy altogether. After witnessing firsthand the effects of a U.S. AirLand battle and the efficiency of precision-guided munitions, the Syrian military correctly inferred that Israel could employ some of the same munitions and tactics. Accordingly, the regime shifted its focus from thinking about how to conquer the Golan Heights to a more defensive strategy that entailed restructuring certain units and procuring/developing multiple antitank, fire, and improvised explosive device capabilities.

In addition, when actors are planning a joint military campaign involving simultaneous air and ground offensives, they usually share intelligence with each other, and the current war is no exception -- the Russians have probably shared battlefield intelligence with Hezbollah in Syria and exposed the group to its intelligence assets. This would not be the first time they have done so. During the 2006 Lebanon war, a joint Syrian-Russian intelligence post located in Syrian territory passed intelligence reports to Hezbollah.

More generally, the group may be getting a good look at how Russian analysts combine signal, visual, and open-source intelligence to present a better picture of the enemy and the battlefield. This likely includes the use of satellite imagery, aerial footage from Orlan-10 drones, advanced signals intelligence capabilities, and electronic warfare elements. Such observations would be particularly valuable because Hezbollah has not had much experience in maximizing visual intelligence from drones and incorporating it with other intelligence.

Working with the Russians will also help the group learn how to execute complex offensive operations in urban environments. In previous conflicts, Hezbollah tactics focused on guerrilla warfare, with small units responsible for defending their villages or blocking IDF movements. This approach does not apply to many battles in Syria, where Hezbollah has often had to deploy much larger units in offensive operations in tandem with artillery and aerial assets. Russian forces have extensive urban warfare experience, so they likely have many pointers for the group, including how to organize an effective command-and-control structure, how to choose different weapons for different scenarios, how to create additional targets after entering a battlefield, and how to maintain logistical routes.

In Chechnya, for example, the Russians formed "Storm" detachments composed of snipers, soldiers with automatic weapons, forward observers, and reconnaissance personnel -- an approach meant to maximize mobility and flexibility. They also used numerous rocket launchers (e.g., the TOS-1 mobile thermobaric multiple rocket launcher and the man-portable RPO-A Shmel) while maneuvering inside the Chechen capital of Grozny, indicating good coordination between different elements. Discussing these tactics with experienced Russian commanders could give Hezbollah deep insight into properly task-organizing its forces, effectively coordinating disparate elements on the battlefield, and other matters -- an invaluable benefit despite the group's lesser training and equipment compared to Russian troops.

PREPARING FOR FUTURE CONFLICTS

When military commanders experience a long, difficult campaign, their thoughts inevitably stray to potential future conflicts. This often means translating the lessons they have learned into new strategies and new tactics -- and new approaches to military procurement and training. Hezbollah commanders in Syria are no doubt already thinking about such issues, and fighting alongside the Russians could greatly affect their conclusions.

On the strategic level, the group no longer seems married to its "not losing" mindset, instead focusing on ways to achieve perceived victories early in a given conflict. In 2011, for example, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah mentioned that his forces plan to infiltrate Israel's northern border during the next war in order to conquer settlements in the Galilee, and he has repeated this sentiment since then. This is a major departure from the group's traditional defensive paradigm, and conversations with Russian commanders could cement that shift and help the group further develop its offensive strategies.

On the tactical level, Hezbollah now has a front-row seat to watch the variety of weapons systems and equipment the Russians are bringing to bear in Syria, some of which it has never seen before. Thus, the group can learn how to use its existing weapons (some of which are Russian made) more effectively and examine systems it might want to procure in the future. Recently, for example, reports indicated that Hezbollah has acquired SA-22 surface-to-air missiles. Russia has brought the same system into Syria -- if these weapons are put into use under the supervision of joint operations rooms, Hezbollah personnel could get a better sense of how to operate the system's radar and deal with multiple targets at the same time. Similarly, they will witness how Russian ground forces use rocket systems such as the TOS-1 and RPO-A Shmel, which have already been spotted in Syria and might seem useful to the group in a future war with Israel. Even experience with superior Russian versions of basic equipment could prove crucial, including night-vision goggles, tactical vests, and medical supplies.

REGIONAL IMPLICATIONS

Almost three months have passed since Moscow began its campaign in Syria, signaling its strong commitment to preserving the Assad regime. Given that Russia and Hezbollah are not retreating anytime soon, the group's learning process will continue. Furthermore, Russia is reportedly in the process of increasing its military presence (e.g., see PolicyWatch 2531, "The Costs of Russia's Air Expeditionary Campaign"), so Hezbollah may get the chance to learn additional lessons.

Recent history has also shown that whatever Hezbollah learns, its partners in crime will soon follow suit. Numerous terrorist organizations have studied and implemented the group's military tactics -- in some cases, Hezbollah even sent trainers to help certain proxies upgrade their capabilities. For example, Hezbollah-trained Shiite militias demonstrated such tactics against American soldiers in Iraq prior to the U.S. withdrawal (see PolicyWatch 2277, "Hezbollah in Iraq: A Little Help Can Go a Long Way"). High-ranking Hezbollah veterans also reportedly trained Houthi forces in Yemen, who are now showing significant capabilities in their fight against the Arab coalition. And in Gaza, terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have long implemented Hezbollah strategies in the political and the military realms.

Moreover, as Hezbollah learns from the Russians, it will become even more capable relative to the Lebanese Armed Forces, which are already weaker than the group in terms of fighting experience and weapons. Tilting the balance of power further in Hezbollah's favor is a dangerous prospect given Lebanon's atmosphere of heightened instability and factional tension.

Regarding Israel, it is important to note that while Hezbollah is gaining valuable experience in Syria, the enemies they face there are far weaker than the IDF. Jabhat al-Nusra, the Islamic State, and various rebel factions all have their strengths, but they do not present the same challenges as a war against a well-trained military with a highly capable air force, navy, and army, all of whom know Hezbollah very well. The group will learn important lessons, but implementing them will be very challenging, especially when the rival is the IDF.

As Russia entered the Syrian theatre in September, Nasrallah told al-Manar Television that Moscow was "playing a positive role that will have a positive outcome, God willing." The Russian military education that Hezbollah will receive in the coming months will only reinforce the group's optimism -- and capabilities.

Muni Katz, a brigadier general in the IDF, is a 2015-2016 visiting military fellow at The Washington Institute. Nadav Pollak is the Institute's Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Fellow.

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...dd57c6-aa56-11e5-8058-480b572b4aae_story.html

New gang slaying: Attackers allegedly stabbed, then threw rocks, at victim

By Dan Morse December 24 
Comments 155

An 18-year-old was fatally stabbed in a gang-ordered slaying near the Montgomery-Prince George’s county border by assailants who threw heavy rocks down on him as he crawled away from the attack to a stream, according to court records filed in Montgomery District Court on Thursday.

The death of Denis Montufar-Bautista follows two other recent slayings in wooded areas of Montgomery that police have linked to a resurgence of the MS-13 gang. In one of those cases — the killing of a 34-year-old man found in a shallow grave — detectives filed charges this week against four people. The suspects range from 15 to 19 years old.

Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy raised the issue of gang violence last month. Since then, he said Thursday, he’s come to believe “the depth of the problem is even broader and wider than I ever imagined.”

He said five slayings in the county in 2015 are probably linked to MS-13.

“I don’t think we’ve ever reached this kind of gang violence in Montgomery County,” he said.


[Four teens charged in slaying linked to MS-13 gang]

In the latest case, one of* the alleged assailants, Julio* Rivas-*Rosales, 15, made his first court appearance Thursday — charged as an adult with first-degree murder. Police say that he and others had been motivated by retaliation, because their target had reported being assaulted by four MS-13 gang members who attend High Point High School, in Beltsville, in Prince George’s County.

“This was a revenge murder. It was pre-planned,” Montgomery prosecutor Ryan Wechsler told District Judge Jeannie Cho on Thursday.

The prosecutor said Rivas-Rosales is an MS-13 member and should remain at the county’s adult jail on a no-bond status. He poses a threat to other teenagers if transferred to a juvenile facility, Wechsler added.

John Lavigne, a public defender, responded that, at this point, the charges against *Rivas-Rosales are only allegations — and he is young and small in stature. “I think he’s 5-2, maybe 125 pounds soaking wet,” Lavigne said, requesting Rivas-Rosales be moved to a secure juvenile facility in Rockville.

Lavigne spoke briefly about his client, saying he arrived in the United States about a year ago from his native El Salvador, lives with his mother and goes to school in Langley Park. Immigration agents have filed a detainer on Rivas-Rosales, an indication they think they have grounds to deport him after any possible sentence has been served.

Cho ordered that *Rivas-Rosales be moved to the juvenile facility and set his bond at $500,000. Rivas-Rosales’s next court date is set for Jan. 8.

The earlier assault — allegedly at the hands of the High Point students — occurred on Oct. 28. It also was an act of retaliation, police said, because gang members said the victim, also an MS-13 member, had disrespected a higher-ranking member by having sex with that gang member’s girlfriend.

After the assault victim was reported missing on Dec. 16, Prince George’s detectives learned he was last seen with Rivas-Rosales, according to police charging documents. They questioned him about the missing teenager, Montufar-Bautista, this week.

“Rivas-Rosales stated he was dead, at which point he was advised of his Miranda Rights,” detectives wrote. “Rivas-*Rosales admitted to participating in the killing of Montufar-Bautista.”

Rivas-Rosales said he and others used a ruse to isolate Montufar-Bautista — inviting him to come to a trail near Piney Branch Road and New Hampshire Avenue to smoke marijuana, according to the charging papers. The group then walked up the path.

Rivas-Rosales agreed to take detectives to where he had last seen the body.

At 11:10 p.m. Tuesday, detectives carrying flashlights spotted the body — floating in a stream under the Capital Beltway.

Rivas-Rosales told detectives that Montufar-Bautista was stabbed multiple times. He said that he and others also “threw rocks at the victim after he crawled to the stream in an attempt to escape the attack,” detectives wrote in court papers.

As for the earlier assault, police in Prince George’s arrested four High Point High School students, all said to be members of MS-13, according to charging documents. Police said a *19-year-old, Noe Coreas-Mejia, ordered the assault. He was being held Thursday in Prince George’s County, according to court records.

Prince George’s police on Thursday said the assault is still under investigation but noted that it occurred outside school hours and off school property.

A lawyer listed in court records for Coreas-Mejia could not immediately be reached for comment.



Dan Morse covers courts and crime in Montgomery County. He arrived at the paper in 2005, after reporting stops at the Wall Street Journal, Baltimore Sun and Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser, where he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. He is the author of The Yoga Store Murder.

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.voanews.com/content/critics-say-us-needs-failed-state-policy-for-syria-iraq/3119463.html

Critics Say US Needs ‘Failed State' Policy for Syria, Iraq

Jeff Seldin
December 25, 2015 6:22 PM
Comments 9


In about one month, the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Syrian opposition groups are set to meet for peace talks in Geneva. But already, there is a sense that the talks, advocated by the United States, are doomed to fail.

One major problem, according to current and former intelligence and military officials, is that U.S. policy has simply not adjusted to the complex realities on the ground.

“I haven’t seen any indication that the U.S. has a coherent plan for dealing with failed states,” former CIA Director James Woolsey told VOA. “I don’t think the Obama administration has developed one.”

Woolsey and others point to a growing list of so-called failed states in the Middle East and elsewhere, where critical institutions have collapsed and the power vacuum is being filled by various groups with different agendas.

“There is no Syria or Iraq,” said Kurdistan Regional Government Intelligence Director Lahur Talabani, who argued in an interview with VOA that the emergence of the Islamic State terror group, or IS, delivered the decisive blow to both nations. “With the arrival of ISIS in the region, they removed the borders that were put in place,” he said, using another acronym for IS.

Pending collapses

Like Talabani, others see the collapse of Syria and Iraq as a done deal.

“The Middle East we have known is over. I doubt that it will come back,” French intelligence director Bernard Bajolet told a CIA-sponsored panel discussion in October.

Still, critics say U.S. policy has focused largely on treating — or at least trying to preserve — Syria and Iraq as whole and viable states.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest has talked about U.S. efforts to help “solve the political chaos inside of Syria.”

In describing the next steps in that process, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke this month about the eventual creation of a “unity entity, this transitional body, that is going to have full executive authority.”

Multiple partitions

Some current and former officials question how successful that can be when fighting on the ground has already effectively partitioned Syria, with the Assad regime, the Kurds and various Sunni groups all controlling or trying to control their own core areas.

These officials argue that even the considerable help being offered to the central governments of Syria and Iraq is unlikely to help.

“The national armies have failed,” said Brian Michael Jenkins, a senior adviser to the president of the RAND Corporation, a global policy research institution.

“To the extent that the external forces assist the government in Iraq, which is overwhelmingly Shia, or the government in Damascus, whose forces on the ground are primarily Alawite, or Saudi Arabia and others assisting rebels who are primarily Sunni, or the United States increasing the effectiveness of Kurdish fighters, this has the cumulative effect of digging those divisions deeper,” he said.

Other former officials and analysts agree there are few good options and say many of them will be costly, in terms of time, money and possibly U.S. lives.

“We either need to stay committed to that original premise that we’re going to fix the nation-state system and rebuild those nation-states into friendly democracies or we have to come up with a new strategy that reflects the reality that the nation-state system in Syria is broken," said Christopher Harmer, a former U.S. Navy commander who is now a senior naval analyst at the Institute for the Study of War.

"In Iraq it’s more or less broken, and we don’t see any way that that’s going to be rebuilt anytime soon,” he said.

For now, the administration of President Barack Obama seems to be caught in the middle.

US role

The United States has about 3,500 troops in Iraq, with most supporting the Iraqi military's effort to roll back Islamic State in what has been described as an “advise and assist” mission.

Earlier this month, the Pentagon announced it would be sending a “specialized expeditionary targeting force" — approximately 100 special forces personnel — to strike at key IS leadership and command-and-control elements in both Iraq and Syria.

The U.S. has also been leading the air campaign against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, carrying out nearly 80 percent of the more than 8,900 airstrikes.

The administration, however, has pushed back against calls for a more active role for U.S. ground forces, insisting the only way to deal Islamic State militants a lasting defeat is with local ground forces and political solutions that grant all of the region’s ethnic and sectarian groups a voice.

“We really haven’t war-gamed out how are we going to protect our interests, how are we going to project a positive image or positive results on the ground in the absence of a nation state system,” said Harmer.

Seeking a strategy

The administration's limited approach has not sat well with some U.S. lawmakers, like Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, who has said the administration’s approach looks less like a strategy and “more like a hope.”

Yet even some of those who criticize the Obama administration’s strategy caution that finding the right approach is not going to be easy.

“The situation is very complex, and does not render itself to a simplistic solution,” said retired Lieutenant General David Deptula, who helped lead previous air campaigns over Iraq and Afghanistan. “It must be addressed in a comprehensive manner involving all the elements of power — not only military.”

It also is easy for things to go wrong.

“We need to be cautious at creating failed states, such as what we did in Libya, and then seeing it turn into something even worse than a failed state from our point of view, such as ISIS,” said former CIA Director Woolsey.

“Once a state collapses, such as Libya has, for example, it's hard to put things back together in any coherent sort of way,” he said.


Jeff Seldin

Jeff works out of VOA’s Washington headquarters and is national security correspondent. You can follow Jeff on Twitter at @jseldin or on Google Plus.


Related Articles

Should US Accept Greater Risk of Civilian Casualties in IS Fight?
Syria 'Ready to Participate’ in Peace Talks
Top Syrian Opposition Leader Killed in Airstrike
Iraqi Forces Battle Last IS Fighters in Ramadi
Video Iraqi Troops Advance Into Ramadi in Anti-IS Offensive


Comments

by: drac
December 26, 2015 8:34 PM

Reply

invading Iraq destabilize the entire region but high minded govt officials refuse to accept and admit their blunder..close to a million have died...a million! in a war of choice.

this is not the America I was told as a child, it seems blood thirsty to go overseas and slay monsters just because they can...even if the end result is chaos for millions

by: Marcus Aurelius II from: NJ USA
December 26, 2015 11:43 AM

Reply

As the US is now self sufficient in oil and gas, I don't see why this region is of primary importance to the strategic interests of the United States. There are many others who have far more at stake. Iran, Russia, Europe, Saudi Arabia, just to name a few. Let them do all of the fighting. I don't see why the outcome is of any real concern to the American government. It evidently is of no concern to others at least insofar as IS is concerned. Russia is mostly bombing anti-Assad non IS rebels, Turkey is fighting the Kurds, and the others are offering token efforts if they are offering anything at all. If there are any objectives of value to the US in the region it would be the destruction of Iran. I think a complete pullout would be in America's best interest and would shock the world. Contrary to the lies told about the US, America had nothing to do with creating the forces that are at war in the region.

The best way for the US to protect itself against IS is to follow Donald Trump's advice. Don't allow any more refugees in until our Homeland Security finds a foolproof way to weed out the terrorists and would be terrorists. There are people from all over the world who present no evident threat to us who would love to come here in their place.

by: Nancy Hammond from: Michigan
December 26, 2015 10:49 AM

Reply

Love how the US is never held accountable for the policies that destroyed Iraq and Libya. Btw, the Syrian army SAA is 70 percent Sunni, like the country, not 'Alawi'.

In Response

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

by: Chris Chuba
December 26, 2015 8:19 PM

Thank you Nancy, you took the words out of my mouth. I hate it when us westerners dictate what form and shape countries like Syria should take when so called experts don't even represent demographic facts correctly. You are correct, the majority of Assad's army is Sunni and not Alawite.

To throw in my own 2 cents, I favor the Russian plan precisely because it respects local sovereignty. They have maintained that multi-party elections should be held that include Assad to let the Syrians decide their own fate. It is ironic that the United States, a Constitutional Republic that considers itself a democracy would oppose such a thing and simultaneously believe that we hold the high ground in terms of principle.

by: Nakhoda from: FactsDon't DriveUS Policy
December 26, 2015 9:26 AM

Reply

The way the US "propaganda works, facts don’t drive policy and they don’t drive the story; the story is written and then facts are assembled to support it. And if they don't, then you just lie your head off and hope that no one catches you," writer and political analyst, Daniel Patrick Welch says.

"I think what is interesting is that the game really is up. This is like a dying empire that is flailing, and is saying and doing literally anything, anything they can to keep the game going. The trouble is it's still the biggest military in the world. It's very dangerous; it's like a cornered, rabid dog,” he added.

"The story has yet to be written: we don't know yet who they're going to target and which countries are going to be destroyed, but it is at the end of its invidious life, thankfully -- but, you know, there is still some blood left to be spilled," the American writer concluded.

by: Anonymous from: USA
December 26, 2015 12:08 AM

Reply

Iraq and Syria are whole sovereign nations, the only problem with them is the imported Chechens, Uzbeks, Tajiks and Turks fighting against the Syrian and Iraqi people.

The first step to fight ISIS is to admit that our ally in name, Turkey, is supporting ISIS, in fact Turkey = ISIS and AQ

by: Ahmed
December 25, 2015 10:47 PM

Reply

Only Iraqis are permitted to decide the shape of their country.

by: meanbill from: USA
December 25, 2015 10:39 PM

Reply

The US Obama administration military strategy in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen has been chaotic at best, intended to replace the leaders in those countries with handpicked US friendly leaders, and since 2009 the US has been using terrorist guerrilla war (bombing and hit and run tactics) against the terrorists who are also using guerrilla war (bombing and hit and run tactics) against the US and NATO allies?

But the US strategy now, leaves millions of innocent men, women and children under the direct control of the ISIL terrorist army in the Caliphate of the "Emir of the Believers" al-Baghdadi, to be raped, enslaved, tortured and killed, while the US uses terrorist guerrilla war tactics against them, while they wait and wait and wait, for some country to save them? .. The US cause is worth bombing the terrorists now, [but], the US cause isn't worth fighting and dying for, to free millions of innocents from the ISIL terrorist army from being raped, enslaved, tortured and killed? .. Like always, since WW2, the US hasn't any plans whatsoever on how to win a war?

by: Damien McLeod
December 25, 2015 8:02 PM

Reply

Blessings on you and yours, at Voice of America and world wide. To quote Mr Spock "Live long a Prosper--and I will add to that wish, in good health and with much happiness!
I Love you all here and everywhere.
Have the Happy-ist of Holidays and the best New Year ever!

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.weeklystandard.com/iran-meddles-in-nigerias-sectarian-strife/article/2000331

Iran Meddles in Nigeria's Sectarian Strife

9:27 AM, Dec 23, 2015 | By Stephen Schwartz


Nigeria, once known only as Africa's most populous country, now mainly makes headlines for the eruption in its northeast of the brutal jihadist force, Boko Haram ("Western education is prohibited"). Boko Haram has occupied parts of Nigeria and invaded neighbors, including Niger, Cameroon, and Chad. It declares itself a West African province of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS).


The four countries attacked by Boko Haram and another Muslim-majority state, Benin, have formed a coalition against it, with support from the United Nations, the United States, Britain, and France. But resistance to the jihadis has been weak. Nigeria is well-endowed with human and financial resources—before the shale revolution it stood alongside Saudi Arabia and Venezuela as a leading vendor of oil to the U.S.—but its political and social structure have left it vulnerable to a serious terrorist threat.


The most infamous atrocities of Boko Haram have been its kidnapping of girls and women. A series of suicide bombings in mosques, markets, and other public places have been carried out by young females, leading to speculation that they have been indoctrinated or coerced by Boko Haram. Nigeria is 50 percent Muslim and 40 percent Christian, while 10 percent follow indigenous beliefs, according to the CIA World Factbook. The northern strip of the country is Muslim, and the south mainly Christian.


Boko Haram is not the only radical Islamist group active in Nigeria. The overwhelming majority of Nigerian Muslims are Sunnis, and Boko Haram claims to act in their interest, but the country has a small Shia community as well. Nigerian Shias were proselytized and radicalized by the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), led by sheikh Ibrahim Al-Zakzaky, who turned to extremist Shiism in the aftermath of the Iranian revolution of 1979. Al-Zakzaky's rise, from a headquarters in Zaria, in the northern state of Kaduna, preceded the emergence of Boko Haram in 2002 and the launching of its insurrection in 2009. In 1996, the Nigerian government ordered Al-Zakzaky's arrest for declaring that only an Islamic government could be obeyed.


Through the decades, beginning in the 1980s, Al-Zakzaky and his followers have clashed with Nigerian authorities. Last year Al-Zakzaky's group, as noted by Newsweek, confronted the Nigerian army in Zaria, leaving 34 people dead, including three of Al-Zakaky's sons. On November 27, 2015, a procession celebrating Al-Zakzaky in the northern Nigerian state of Kano was bombed, killing some 21 people, but responsibility for that action is a matter of contention. Al-Zakzaky said then, according to the Nigerian news portal pulse.ng, that the atrocity had been committed by the Nigerian government and declared that Boko Haram is "imaginary."


In the latest episode, on December 12, IMN militants blocked a road near Zaria, preventing the passage of the Nigerian army's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai. Once again, violence broke out. According to the National Mirror, the conflict began as a standoff, after which 15 people were killed (the total number of casualties is disputed). Al-Zakzaky's house was raided and he was arrested by the army but has been turned over by them to judicial authorities for prosecution, Buratai said on December 17.


Nigerian media speculate that the agitation of Al-Zakzaky and his supporters could create a second—and worse—Boko Haram. The Saturday Sun, another Nigerian paper, described Muhammad Yusuf, founder of Boko Haram, as a former associate of Al-Zakzaky. The paper warned that Al-Zakzaky's group could do damage to Nigeria that would make Boko Haram's assault look like "child's play."


But more remarkable about this obscure incident in a faraway place has been the response of Iran and of Shia groups around the world to it. However small a minority Shias may be in Nigeria, it is clear that Al-Zakzaky looms large in Iranian geopolitics. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, head of the Iranian Expediency Council, a leading organ of the Islamic Republic, denounced the raid on Al-Zakzaky's house to the official Iranian news agency PressTV. The smiling face of Iranian power, President Hassan Rouhani, telephoned Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari to offer him, medical aid for the victims and other assistance.


PressTV ran an interview with IMN representative Ibrahim Musa under the headline "Nigeria army raids on Shias a Wahhabi-Israeli-American plot." Another Iranian agency, Tasnim News, reported that thousands of Iranians rallied in support for Al-Zakzaky. Moqtada Al-Sadr, the radical Iraqi Shia cleric now living in Iran, summoned his ranks to denounce the Nigerian government. Similar protests were called by Hezbollah in Beirut. In Pakistan, Shia Muslims marched in support of Al-Zakzaky in 50 cities. A demonstration in support of Al-Zakzaky was held by some American Shias at the Nigerian Mission to the United Nations in New York on December 18.

An Iranian gambit for influence in West Africa would seem to follow Iran's support for the Houthi uprising in Yemen, as well as its continued involvement in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. Nigeria may now be caught between two fires: that of Boko Haram and that of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria.

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/26/europe/europe-terror-threats/

European cities warned of possible terror attack, say Vienna police

By Slma Shelbayah, CNN
Updated 8:20 PM ET, Sat December 26, 2015


(CNN)¡XAn unnamed "friendly" intelligence service has warned several European cities of possible terror attacks, according to a statement released Saturday by police in Vienna, Austria.

The attacks would involve explosives or guns and occur sometime between Christmas and New Year's Eve, according to the statement, which did not name the cities that have been warned.

The warning did include the names of several possible attackers the Vienna police have investigated without finding "concrete further results."

"Overall, this is a lead, which stipulates a higher than general abstract state of danger," the Vienna police said.

In response to the terror threat warning, Vienna and other police in Europe have heightened the security alert by increasing police observation and surveillance at public venues, especially at key events and high-traffic areas.

9th suspect in Paris terrorist attacks arrested in Belgium

Among the precautions, police will initiate more thorough security checks, ensure quick readiness in case of an emergency, and increase vigilance in terms of empty suitcases and bags, Vienna police said in the statement.

French National Police refused to comment on the warnings when contacted by CNN, but did say that more than 48,000 police officers are dedicated to security at sensitive sites during the school holidays from December 19 through January 4, and France plans to recruit 2,000 new police officers next month.

Complete coverage: Paris attacks

A Belgian prosecutor who serves as a government spokesman on terrorism issues also refused to comment when contacted by CNN.

CNN received no immediate responses to requests for comment from officials of European cities.

CNN's Margot Haddad and Laura Goehler contributed to this report.

„Ý