At least three killed in blast targeting police station in eastern Syria
The explosion also injured several people, the report said, without providing further details.
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Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
UN warns Daesh remains a major threat in Middle East despite leadership losses
NEW YORK CITY: Daesh remains an active and dangerous presence in the Middle East, the UN warned on Wednesday, as the group works to rebuild its operations in Syria and Iraq, even after the loss of senior leaders. Vladimir Voronkov, the UN's counterterrorism chief, told the Security Council that Daesh has maintained its operational capacity in the region and continues to exploit instability, especially in the Badia region of Syria and parts of the country under the control of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham. 'Daesh continues to exploit security gaps, engage in covert operations and incite sectarian tensions in Syria,' Voronkov said as he presented Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's 21st report on the threat posed by the terrorist organization. The group also remains active in Iraq, he added, where it seeks to destabilize local authorities and reclaim influence. The humanitarian and security situations in northeastern Syria remain 'deeply concerning,' Voronkov warned, particularly in the camps and detention facilities that hold suspected terrorists and their families. 'The secretary-general's concern about stockpiles of weapons falling into the hands of terrorists has, unfortunately, materialized,' he said. In Afghanistan, Daesh-Khorasan continues to pose one of the most serious terrorist threats to Central Asia and beyond, through ongoing attacks against civilians, minority groups and foreign nationals, while leveraging dissatisfaction with the de facto authorities. Despite the ongoing threats in the Middle East, Africa remains the region experiencing the highest intensity of Daesh-related activity, Voronkov said, with violence escalating in West Africa and the Sahel. There has been a resurgence of Daesh in the Greater Sahara, while Daesh-West Africa Province has emerged as a key source of propaganda that is attracting foreign fighters, primarily from within the region. In Libya, arrests have revealed the logistical and financial networks linked to the group and connected to the Sahel. In Somalia, a large-scale Daesh attack in Puntland early this year involving foreign fighters prompted a military counteroffensive that killed 200 militants and resulted in more than 150 arrests. 'Though weakened, Daesh still benefits from regional support networks,' Voronkov said. Assistant Secretary-General Natalia Gherman, executive director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee's Executive Directorate, or CTED, echoed the concerns. She noted that Daesh-Somalia's role as a global logistical hub has been growing recently, though counteroffensives had degraded some of its operational capabilities. Daesh continues to exploit instability in Africa, she added, where more than half of the world's terrorism-related fatalities now occur. In the Lake Chad Basin region, for example, the group has received foreign money, drones, and expertise on improvised explosive devices. Gherman also highlighted the growing use by Daesh of emerging technologies and financial innovations, as terrorist groups increasingly leverage encrypted platforms, artificial intelligence, and cross-border financial systems to raise funds, spread propaganda and recruit new members. In response to these evolving threats, CTED has visited countries across Europe and Africa, including Somalia, Chad, Cameroon, Hungary and Malta, to assess local capacities and provide tailored support. The EU-UN Global Terrorism Threats Facility has helped implement legislative reforms and capacity building in countries such as Iraq, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria and Tajikistan. Voronkov urged member states to invest more in long-term strategies for prevention, rather than focusing only on killing or capturing the leaders of terrorist groups. He said effective counterterrorism efforts must address the root causes of radicalization, while complying with the requirements of international law. He raised concerns in particular about detention camps in northeastern Syria, where tens of thousands of people, mostly women and children, continue to be held in unsafe and undignified conditions, risking further radicalization. Gherman said that CTED is helping states address such challenges through the adoption of principles for tackling the use of drones, financial tech and artificial intelligence for terrorism purposes. Despite the geopolitical and resource-related constraints, both of the officials emphasized the need for sustained international collaboration on the issue. 'The persistence of the threat posed by Daesh, despite national and international efforts, underscores the urgency of sustained global counterterrorism cooperation,' said Voronkov.
Arab News
15 hours ago
- Arab News
9/11 victims' fund architect slams changes to New Hampshire abuse settlement program
CONCORD: An attorney who helped design and implement the 9/11 victims' compensation fund says New Hampshire lawmakers have eroded the fairness of a settlement program for those who were abused at the state's youth detention center. Deborah Greenspan, who served as deputy special master of the fund created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, recently submitted an affidavit in a class-action lawsuit seeking to block changes to New Hampshire's out-of-court settlement fund for abuse victims. She's among those expected to testify Wednesday at a hearing on the state's request to dismiss the case and other matters. More than 1,300 people have sued the state since 2020 alleging that they were physically or sexually abused as children while in state custody, mostly at the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester. Most of them put their lawsuits on hold after lawmakers created a settlement fund in 2022 that was pitched as a 'victim-centered' and 'trauma-informed' alternative to litigation run by a neutral administrator appointed by the state Supreme Court. But the Republican-led Legislature changed that process through last-minute additions to the state budget Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed in June. The amended law gives the governor authority to hire and fire the fund's administrator and gives the attorney general — also a political appointee — veto power over settlement awards. That stands in stark contrast to other victim compensation funds, said Greenspan, who currently serves as a court-appointed special master for lawsuits related to lead-tainted water in Flint, Michigan. She said it 'strains credulity' to believe that anyone would file a claim knowing that 'the persons ultimately deciding the claim were those responsible for the claimant's injuries.' 'Such a construct would go beyond the appearance of impropriety and create a clear conflict of interest, undermining the fairness and legitimacy of the settlement process,' she wrote. Ayotte and Attorney General John Formella responded by asking a judge to bar Greenspan's testimony, saying she offered 'policy preferences masquerading as expert opinions' without explaining the principles beyond her conclusions. 'Her affidavit is instead a series of non sequiturs that move from her experience to her conclusions without any of the necessary connective tissue,' they wrote. The defendants argue that the law still requires the administrator to be 'an independent, neutral attorney' and point out that the same appointment process is used for the state's judges. They said giving the attorney general the authority to accept or reject settlements is necessary to give the public a voice and ensure that the responsibility for spending millions of dollars in public funds rests with the executive branch. As of June 30, nearly 2,000 people had filed claims with the settlement fund, which caps payouts at $2.5 million. A total of 386 had been settled, with an average award of $545,000. One of the claimants says he was awarded $1.5 million award in late July, but the state hasn't finalized it yet, leaving him worried that Formella will veto it. 'I feel like the state has tricked us,' he said in an interview this week. 'We've had the rug pulled right out from underneath us.' The Associated Press does not name those who say they were sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly. The claimant, now 39, said the two years he spent at the facility as a teenager were the hardest times of his life. 'I lost my childhood. I lost things that I can't get back,' he said. 'I was broken.' Though the settlement process was overwhelming and scary at times, the assistant administrator who heard his case was kind and understanding, he said. That meeting alone was enough to lift a huge burden, he said. 'I was treated with a lot of love,' he said. 'I felt really appreciated as a victim and like I was speaking to somebody who would listen and believe my story.' Separate from the fund, the state has settled two lawsuits by agreeing to pay victims $10 million and $4.5 million. Only one lawsuit has gone to trial, resulting in a $38 million verdict, though the state is trying to slash it to $475,000. The state has also brought criminal charges against former workers, with two convictions and two mistrials so far. The 39-year-old claimant who fears his award offer will be retracted said he doesn't know if he could face testifying at a public trial. 'It's basically allowing the same people who hurt us to hurt us all over again,' he said.
Arab News
a day ago
- Arab News
Car set ablaze outside Turkish parliament before meeting on PKK disarmament
ANKARA: A car was set ablaze near Turkiye's parliament on Tuesday in a grim reminder of decades of conflict with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), just hours before families of some victims were to address a commission overseeing the group's disarmament. The PKK, which took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984, said in May it would disarm and dissolve. The parliamentary commission was launched this month to set a path toward lasting peace, which would also resonate in neighboring Iraq and Syria. The white Renault Toros burned for a short time outside parliament's main gate on Tuesday morning. Police in Ankara said in a statement that a man detained for setting it alight suffered from psychological problems and also had a prior criminal record. In the 1990s, during one of the bloodiest phases of the PKK conflict, such vehicles became notorious in the mainly Kurdish southeast where they were linked to abductions and extrajudicial killings blamed on state-linked groups. More than 40,000 people were killed in the fighting over more than four decades. Families of security personnel and civilians killed in the conflict are due to speak at the parliamentary commission on Tuesday, with some expected to question the peace effort. The PKK is designated a terrorist group by Turkiye and its Western allies. Its jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, had urged it to end the insurgency and some militants burned their weapons last month in a ceremony in northern Iraq — where they are now based — marking a symbolic first step.
