Update, Jo Cox died of her injuries from the terror attack. See below.
NYPost: CIA Director John Brennan told Congress on Thursday that the Islamic State remains “formidable” and “resilient,” is training and attempting to deploy operatives for further attacks on the West and will rely more on guerrilla-style tactics to compensate for its territorial losses in the Middle East.
Giving the Senate intelligence committee an update on the threat from extremists, Brennan said IS has been working to build an apparatus to direct and inspire attacks against its foreign enemies, as in the recent attacks in Paris and Brussels — ones the CIA believes were directed by IS leaders.
“ISIL has a large cadre of Western fighters who could potentially serve as operatives for attacks in the West,” Brennan said, using another acronym for the group. He said IS probably is working to smuggle them into countries, perhaps among refugee flows or through legitimate means of travel.
Brennan also noted the group’s call for followers to conduct so-called lone-wolf attacks in their home countries. He called the attack in Orlando a “heinous act of wanton violence” and an “assault on the values of openness and tolerance” that define the United States as a nation.
Brennan said the CIA is sharing intelligence with the FBI to help identify potential lone-wolf attackers, but the CIA’s responsibility is to gather information about operations overseas.
More Islamic State fighters worldwide than al Qaeda at its height: CIA director
Reuters: The director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, John Brennan, said on Thursday there were tens of thousands of Islamic State fighters around the world, more than al Qaeda at its height.
He also told a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing that the agency was concerned about the growth of Libya as a base of operations for Islamic State militants, who had 5,000-8,000 fighters there, although the group’s fighters in Iraq and Syria had dropped to 18,000 to 22,000 from 19,000 to 25,000.
“I am concerned about the growth of Libya as another area that could serve as the basis for ISIL to carry out attacks inside of Europe… that is very concerning,” Brennan said, using an alternative acronym for the Islamic State militant group.
Questioned about the broader crisis, Brennan told lawmakers he believed the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had been strengthened with Russia’s support.
“A year ago, (Assad) was on his back foot as the opposition forces were carrying out operations that were really degrading the Syrian military. He is in a stronger position than he was in June of last year” as a result of Russian support, Brennan said.
Just two days ago, Obama held a national security team meeting and then a presser stating the major gains being made against Islamic State. When the same day, MSNBC questions that statement from an on the ground in Turkey, we know we are being oversold on this national security threat.
***** Meanwhile, during this ridiculous gun control debate as a solution to terrorists, it seems that a knife and a gun was used in an attack on a member of the UK Parliament. Europe has exceptionally tight gun control laws.
Labour MP Jo Cox in critical condition after being shot and stabbed
Guardian: Jo Cox, the MP for Batley and Spen, is in a critical condition after being shot and stabbed multiple times in her West Yorkshire constituency.
Armed officers responded to the attack near a library in Birstall on Thursday afternoon, and a 52-year-old man was arrested in the area, police confirmed.
They added that the Labour politician had suffered “serious injuries and is in a critical condition”. She has been taken by helicopter to Leeds general infirmary.
Police also confirmed a man in his late 40s to early 50s nearby suffered slight injuries in the incident.
Witnesses said the attack was launched after the MP became involved in an altercation involving two men near her weekly advice surgery. A Labour source confirmed Cox was shot and stabbed after she had concluded the drop-in session for constituents at around 1pm.
The shopkeeper in a greengrocer opposite Birstall Library, Golden D’Licious, told the Guardian that he believed the attacker had been waiting for the MP outside the library.
“I was inside the shop and all I heard was a scream and then the gunshot,” he said, without giving his name. “I went out and everyone was dispersing. I couldn’t see because it happened behind a car.”
But witness Hithem Ben Abdallah, 56, who was in the cafe next door to the library shortly after 1pm, said he the MP involved in an altercation between two arguing men.
He told PA a man in a baseball cap “suddenly pulled a gun from his bag” and after a brief scuffle with another man the MP became involved.
He added: “He was fighting with her and wrestling with her and then the gun went off twice and then she fell between two cars and I came and saw her bleeding on the floor.”
Clarke Rothwell, another witness, told BBC News there was a direct altercation between Cox and a man carrying a gun, who “purposefully” targeted her.
“He shot this lady and then shot her again,” he said. “He lent down. Someone was wrestling with him and he was wielding a knife and lunging at her. Three times she was shot. People were trying to help her.
“Then he ran off down a one-way street. Me and my mate drove round to try and find him.” Read more here from the Guardian.
