Iran fired missile near US carrier
An IRGC missile, likely fired from a small ship, came within a mile of the US aircraft carrier Truman as it navigated the Strait of Hormuz. The missile was not a ship-killer like the Klubs and Sizzlers; it was much smaller and with a lesser range. It is more an insult than a threat, and it marks Iran’s joining Russia, China, and N Korea in an effort to pinprick the US in various parts of the world.
Resurgence of al Qaeda in Afghanistan
US intelligence has detected new AQ camps inside Afghanistan. The seemingly old and secondary Islamist group is no longer contained in eastern A-stan and Waziristan in Pakistan. Furthermore, the camps are in southern Afghanistan which is Taliban turf. This may indicate the Taliban’s desire to use AQ to fight ISIL.
The Somali Islamist group al Shabab is mainly aligned with al Qaeda but a section of it has broken away and announced allegiance to ISIL. The main component of al Shabab has cracked down on the breakaway group but it remains a potent force, attracting defectors from the main group and new recruits as well. It’s unlikely the split will lead to sufficient infighting to reduce the terrorist threat in Somalia, Kenya, and adjacent countries.