DHS and FBI raise concerns of terror attacks in light of Israel/HAMAS war

DHS and FBI Public Service Announcement Threat Environment The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are issuing this Public Service Announcement to highlight potential threats in the United States from a variety of actors in response to the HAMAS attacks on Israel on 7 October and subsequent activities in the region, including additional calls by foreign terrorist organizations to their supporters seeking to foment violence in the West. This is an update to the 10 October FBI and DHS Public Service Announcement and the 18 October FBI, National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), and DHS Joint Intelligence Bulletin to law enforcement partners. 

This announcement reflects a fluid and evolving situation; the terrorism threat in the Homeland has remained heightened throughout 2023, but recent events have increased the possibility of potential attacks against individuals and institutions in response to developments in the Middle East. Since DHS and FBI issued the 10 October Public Service Announcement, the volume and frequency of threats to Americans, especially those in the Jewish, Arab American, and Muslim communities in the United States, have increased, raising our concern that violent extremists and lone offenders motivated by or reacting to ongoing events could target these communities. 

These threats have included hoax bomb threats targeting houses of worship and violent rhetoric online encouraging attacks against the Jewish, Arab American, and Muslim communities across the United States. Of note, on 14 October an individual in Illinois stabbed and killed a six-year-old Palestinian-American child and severely wounded his mother, an incident that is being investigated as an anti-Muslim hate crime. 

While we have no specific information that foreign adversaries are plotting attacks against the homeland, some are seeking to take advantage of the conflict, calling for violence in furtherance of their respective goals. On 13 October, al-Qaida media called for support to HAMAS through attacks against American bases, airports, battleships, and embassies in predominantly Muslim countries. On 19 October, an ISIS media posting urged followers to “target the Jewish presence all over the world…especially Jewish neighborhoods in America and Europe,” and specifically encouraged attacks on Jewish temples, nightclubs, and economic interests and against “Jewish and Crusader” embassies. Iranian media outlets have issued and/or amplified various types of mis- and dis-information online about the conflict in ways that risk deepening resentment and evoking strong emotional responses among English-speaking audiences. These outlets are utilizing verifiably doctored or mislabeled images and video footage, inaccurate translations, and misleading content about the conflict with the apparent intent to stoke passions, accelerate the process of radicalization, and lead individuals to engage in targeted violence. 

Tensions between Israel and the Palestinian territories have long been a source of calls for violence against Jewish, Arab American, and Muslim communities. This history, coupled with the current widespread sharing of graphic and disturbing content related to this conflict, increases the risk of incitement to violence in the United States. We therefore urge everyone to remain vigilant and to report any threats of violence or suspicious activity to law enforcement. 25 October, 2023 2 Resources DHS and FBI are particularly attuned in this environment to the concerns of the Jewish, Arab American, and Muslim communities and will continue to engage directly with leaders in these communities to ensure that available resources are brought to bear. • To help mitigate potential risks in today’s dynamic and rapidly evolving threat environment, DHS has compiled several resources for communities and faith leaders, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) compendium of resources for securing mass gatherings and public spaces. 

Additionally, resources for law enforcement also are available to increase our nation’s ability to prevent acts of violence and increase our resilience to evolving threats. • To report any leads, threats, or suspected criminal activity, FBI and DHS urge the public to visit www.tips.fbi.gov or contact their local FBI Office: www.fbi.gov/contact-us/fieldoffices. For emergencies or an immediate threat to life, please call 911. • For tips on identifying concerning behavior which may be connected to violent extremism, the FBI, DHS, and the National Counterterrorism Center published an updated U.S. Violent Extremist Mobilization Indicators booklet in 2021. • If You See Something, Say Something® - Report suspicious activity and threats of violence, including online threats, to local law enforcement, FBI Field Offices, or your local Fusion Center. Call 911 in case of emergency.

First photo of the B-21's backside- taxi tests begin

 This photo of the B-21 Raider undergoing slow-speed taxi tests broke the internet today, showing for the first time the highly-classified twin engine exhausts. The photo first appeared on Facebook in the "Plant 42 Palmdale Aircraft spotters group but was soon removed. it popped up again on Reddit and since then has propagated through Twitter and various social apps.

The photographer's name is unknown but it is stamped. "Mug of Fire." 

click to enlarge 

CNN: Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin passenger on a plane that just "crashed"

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of Russian mercenary group Wagner, was on the passenger list of a plane that crashed north of Moscow, according to Russian state media.

The official Russian news agency TASS said the Federal Air Transport Agency has launched an investigation into the crash of an Embraer aircraft, which occurred in the Tver region north-east of Moscow on Wednesday.

“An investigation has been launched into the crash of the Embraer aircraft, which occurred tonight in the Tver region. According to the list of passengers, among them is the name and surname of Yevgeny Prigozhin,” the department noted.

The private Embraer Legacy aircraft crashed while flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg, coming down near the village of Kuzhenkino in the Tver region, according to Russian emergency services.

There were 10 people on board, including three crew members. According to preliminary information, all on board were killed, the agency said, adding that they “are conducting search operations.”

The bodies of four people have been found at the crash site, TASS reported, citing emergency services. It added that the plane “burned up” on impact after being in the air for about half-an-hour.

Flight data shows the Prigozhin-linked plane reached an altitude of some 26,000 feet, before data transmission stopped at around 6:13 p.m. local time.

The crash comes months after Prigozhin launched an abortive mutiny against Russia’s military leadership, posing an unprecedented challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority before it was suddenly called off in a deal that required Prigozhin and his fighters to relocate to Belarus.

Wagner forces were heavily involved in capturing the eastern Ukrainian cities of Soledar and Bakhmut following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Prigozhin then spent months criticizing Russian military leadership and the support it was giving his troops before he called for the armed rebellion.

Formations of UAPs over West Texas captured on video.

 AMARILLO TEXAS.  - Steve Douglass 

Storm chaser, aviation and astro-photographer Wesley Luginbyhl set up his camera in hopes of catching the Persieds meteor shower which happens every year in Mid August. Instead, what he captured has yet to be identified. He witnessed and photographed what looks like an hour long show of formation after formation of UAPs appearing suddenly and traveling across the northern sky.

It was perfect viewing weather with unlimited visibility on the High Plains of Northwest Texas. Luginbyhl who lives in Amarillo often goes out and photographs the night sky. The wide open Texas expanse provides excellent views because of the high-altitude (from east to west, the High Plains rise in elevation from around 1,800 to 7,000 ft. (550 to 2,130 m with Amarillo at over 3,000 feet in altitude) and with few obstructions, limited light pollution and crystal clear skies. It is not uncommon to be able to see high-altitude aircraft flying over southern Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma or Nebraska.   

On any given night, satellite passes such as STARLINK trains and  the ISS (among others) are easy to spot because they stand out in stark contrast with the stars because of their motion.  Military and civil aircraft are easy to see too and identify from their green and red blinking navigation lights or bright anti-collision strobes. 

But what Luginbyhl captured does not look like anything he had ever seen before. The formations of lights were loose, appeared suddenly and kept coming.  The video embedded below was taken between 2:30 and 3:30 AM CDT with the camera facing NE.

According to Luginbyhl, "Honestly I  think it was much further to the north, over KS or NE probably. It started around 2:30am and lasted until around 3:30am in the NNE sky. I have been doing photography at night for 2 decades and have never seen anything like it."

In an attempt to identify the lights this blogger pulled his digital recordings of the aviation radio traffic that took place during the period. 

With my scanning array it is not uncommon to hear aircraft, both civil and military communications from 400 miles away, dependent on altitude.  I record hundreds of aviation frequencies, including regional air traffic control centers. 

After going through the recordings I heard no mentions of the lights by air traffic controllers or from anyone else flying in the area at the time. Many civil aircraft checked in with both Albuquerque and Kansas Center such as coast-to-coast FEDEX flights and red eye passenger carriers but no mention of the lights were recorded nor were there any communications from military aircraft. 

Possible explanations could be a very high altitude military aircraft drooping parachute flares but they seemed to travel east and a fairly decent rate of speed. 

It's possible they were  but not probable they were satellites but they don't travel in staggered formations. Meteors can be ruled out because of their lasting duration. 

One other possibility is that it was a Space X flight or other satellite payload launch but because the lights were observed emanating from the same part of the sky for more than an hour, that can be ruled out too. The only satellites that can appear to be stationary are those in geosynchronous orbits but they are over the equator. 

Another local photographer, Blake Brown (also out shooting meteor photographs) captured them as well from the town of Panhandle, Texas NE of Amarillo. I will post a link to that video soon. 

You can view more of Wesley Luginbyhl's sky photography HERE!

Space Force activates anti-satellite squadron

SPACE.COM: The United States Space Force has activated its first and only unit dedicated to targeting other nations' satellites and the ground stations that support them.

The 75th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron (ISRS) was activated on Aug. 11 at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado. This unit is part of Space Delta 7, an element of the U.S. Space Force tasked with providing intelligence on adversary space capabilities. It'll do things like analyze the capabilities of potential targets, locate and track these targets as well as participate in "target engagement," which presumably refers to destroying or disrupting adversary satellites, the ground stations that support them and transmissions sent between the two.

Lt. Col. Travis Anderson, who leads the squadron, said in a Space Force statement that the idea of a dedicated space targeting unit has been years in the making. "Today is a monumental time in the history of our service," Anderson said. "The idea of this unit began four years ago on paper and has probably been in the minds of several U.S. Air Force intelligence officers even longer."

The unit's patch was also unveiled at its activation ceremony, revealing it to be adorned with a grim reaper that has a delta shape for a nose. According to a Space Force statement, the delta represents "historic ties to the earliest days of the U.S. Air Force space community" as well as "all variations of space vehicles" that support the U.S. military.

Master Sgt. Desiree Cabrera, 75th ISRS operations superintendent, said the new unit will revolutionize the targeting capabilities of not just the Space Force, but also the entire U.S. military: "Not only are we standing up the sole targeting squadron in the U.S. Space Force, we are changing the way targeting is done across the joint community when it comes to space and electromagnetic warfare."

he 75th ISRS will also analyze adversary space capabilities including "counterspace force threats," according to the Space Force's statement. Counterspace forces refer to adversary systems aimed at preventing the U.S. from using its own satellites during a conflict.

These systems range from ground-based lasers that can blind optical sensors on satellites to devices that can jam signals or conduct cyberattacks to hack into adversary satellite systems. 

These aren't limited to America's adversaries; the U.S. Space Force has conducted multiple training exercises to practice its own "live fire" satellite jamming and "simulated on-orbit combat training."

As militaries worldwide become increasingly reliant on space-based assets like navigation and communication satellites, early warning missile tracking systems and targeting sensors, the Space Force's and other nations' militaries will no doubt be increasing their abilities to monitor both defensive and offensive adversary capabilities in Earth's orbit.