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US Officials Warn of Global ISIS Threat Escalation
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US Warnings About ISIS Return Indicate Need to Enhance International Cooperation Against Renewed Terrorist Threats
US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas reviewed a "highly difficult threat" during the "This Week" program on ABC News following the truck incident in New Orleans.
Representative Michael McCaul, Chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, highlighted the growing activity of ISIS in the Middle East, which inspired the motivations of the New Orleans attack perpetrator.
Security reports indicate that Shams al-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old former combatant, carried out a deadly attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans at the start of the new year, resulting in 14 deaths and dozens of injuries.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation clarified that the suspect, a former soldier from Texas, published video clips before the attack "declaring his support for ISIS" and confirming his joining the organization last summer.
McCaul expressed deep concern about ISIS's resurgence in Afghanistan and Pakistan, urging the Trump administration to be cautious of extremists' online attacks.
Regarding the Ukrainian crisis, McCaul quoted the new US envoy Keith Kellogg rejecting Ukraine's loss to Russia, pointing to Moscow's alliance with China, Iran, and North Korea, which sent 10,000 troops to fight Kyiv.
McCaul concluded his statements by emphasizing the need to grant Ukraine stronger negotiating influence, warning against repeating the Budapest Memorandum scenario where Kyiv surrendered its nuclear arsenal for unfulfilled security guarantees.
Levant-Agencies
