Today's Headlines and Commentary

ISIS has claimed responsibility for a suicide assault outside of a Starbucks cafe in Jakarta, Indonesia, in what would be its first attack in the most populous Muslim country. The gunfire exchange and subsequent suicide bombing killed seven people, including five of the militants themselves. According to on-the-ground reports, another twenty were injured. The Associated Press reports that Indonesia’s national police spokesman Maj. Gen. Anton Charilyan believes the attackers “imitated” the November terrorist strike in Paris, which left 130 dead. The AP provides live updates here.

Yesterday, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter laid out a plan to retake ISIS’s largest strongholds, Raqqa and Mosul, from the self-described caliphate. Carter also announced that the United States military may expand its efforts to target ISIS militants outside the group’s territory in Iraq and Syria. The Military Times writes that Secretary Carter stated ISIS’s threat continues to evolve, change focus, and shift locations. The Washington Post signals that a team of U.S. Special Operations forces arrived in Iraq to carry out the proposed broader effort to combat ISIS in 2016. 1,300 members of the 101 Airborne Division are expected to deploy to Iraq and train and assist Iraqi security forces in the coming months as part of the efforts to retake Mosul. If that triggers deja vous, it’s because the 101st played a major role in taking Mosul in the Iraq War.

The Wall Street Journal informs us that the ISIS suicide bomber who killed tourists in Istanbul entered Turkey registered as a Syrian refugee, fueling concerns that ISIS militants may use the migrant crisis as cover to cross borders and conduct attacks. Even though suicide bomber Nabil Fadli’s brother had previously conducted a suicide attack in Syria, Fadli did not trigger any security alerts in Turkey.

ISIS fighters will have to face the A-10 Warthog for a little longer. Defense One tells us that the Air Force is temporarily ceasing efforts to retire the A-10 attack plane, which has proven critical to the U.S. campaign against the Islamic State. The Air Force’s move signifies a key policy shift which will be laid out when the Pentagon submits its 2017 budget request to Congress next month.

According to the Long War Journal, al Qaeda has released three new statements from its leader, Ayman al Zawahiri. Zawahiri criticized Saudi Arabia’s execution of 40 prisoners, most of whom were al Qaeda operatives, and called for the Saudi people to rise up against the monarchy. Additionally, Zawahiri deemed Southeast Asia as a perfect place for a “jihadist revival” and blasted the House of Saud’s role in the Syrian civil war.

Reuters indicates that the head of Jaish-e-Muhammad, the group that attacked the Pathankot air force base in India last week, was arrested in Pakistan along with other JeM members. The arrest signifies a gesture calculated to ease tensions between Pakistan and India just weeks after the two countries’ prime ministers met. The move to arrest Maulana Masood Azhar, who is also suspected of having planned the 2001 attack on India’s parliament, may signal a renewed interest on the part of Pakistan to move forward in sustained talks. The New York Times writes that Pakistani officials stated that JeM has conducted attacks in India’s portion of Kashmir and elsewhere over the years and also possess ties with al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban.

The Times reports that the Obama administration has hailed Iran’s quick release of U.S. sailors on Wednesday as an “unintended benefit of the new diplomatic relationship” with Tehran as a result of the nuclear deal. Secretary of State John Kerry thanked the Iranians for their cooperation and stated “we can all imagine how a similar situation might have played out three or four years ago.” While a major crisis may have been averted, Iran recently released videos of the captured U.S. sailors freed on Wednesday, sparking concerns about whether Iran mistreated the Americans and violated international law by using them for propaganda purposes. Watch the two videos here and decide for yourself. In Lawfare, Adam Klein explores exactly what the Geneva Conventions require, and whether they even apply in this circumstance.

The Times explains that yesterday the lead attorney for Bank Markazi tried to convince the U.S. Supreme Court that his client should not have to pay nearly $2 billion to terrorist attack victims. Bringing the case to SCOTUS, the families of Americans killed in terrorist attacks sponsored by Iran seek to collect money from Iran’s central bank, relying on the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act. The Times states that “several of the justices said the court should be wary of intruding on judgments made by Congress and the President in the conduct of foreign affairs,” seeing as the two countries struck a nuclear agreement only couple of months ago.

The FBI says that last week’s shooting of a Philadelphia police officer is now being investigated as a suspected act of terrorism, the Wall Street Journal reports. Investigators have been trying understand the attacker’s motive, deciphering whether the attack was terrorist inspired or triggered by mental illness. Philadelphia police arrested Eric Archer for shooting Officer Jesse Hartnett three times during an ambush. Mr. Hartnett is being treated at a hospital for bullet wounds in his arm.

A refugee from Iraq was charged in court for supplying material support to ISIS and lying to U.S. officials. Reuters explains that Omar Faraj Saeed Al-Hardan allegedly planned to set off bombs at two Houston malls and had bought bomb material on eBay. Al-Hardan pleaded not guilty to the charges; if convicted, he faces up to 25 years behind bars.

Agence France-Presse reports that ten Yemeni detainees previously held in Guantanamo Bay arrived in Oman today, officially bringing the detention center’s population down to 93. The transfer represents the largest to a single country under the Obama administration to date.

Al Jazeera reports that two female suicide bombers attacked a mosque in Kolofata, Cameroon killing at least ten people and injuring a dozen others. Boko Haram, the prime suspect for the attack, has repeatedly attacked Kolofata, a town sitting north near the country’s border with Nigeria.

Parting Shot: Has Twitter, by failing to remove the group’s content and allowing it to achieve “explosive growth,” provided material support to the Islamic State? That’s the argument in a new civil liability suit filed in a California federal court on Monday. The complaint will likely trigger more than 140 characters.

The Hill tells us that Tamara Fields, who lost her husband to an ISIS attack on a police training facility in Jordan last November, filed a complaint in a federal court in Oakland, CA. Fields alleges that “without Twitter, the explosive growth of ISIS over the last few years into the most-feared terrorist group in the world would not have been possible.” She adds that Twitter’s material support allows ISIS to carry out terrorist attacks, including the one that killed her husband. Although Twitter banned any content that promotes terrorism, the site still receives criticism that it does not do enough to limit extremist content.

ICYMI: Yesterday, on Lawfare

Cody outlined President Obama’s last State of the Union address, with an eye towards the national security sections, so you don’t have to watch it.

Timothy Edgar noted that President Obama was strikingly silent on cybersecurity, surveillance, and encryption in his last State of the Union address.

Stewart Baker issued the latest version of the Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast featuring Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR). Stewart and Senator Cotton dive into the 215 metadata program and its USA FREEDOM Act replacement.

Paul Rosenzweig shared his own sad experience with OPM, following in Jack’s footsteps. He says that “feckless” is a good way to describe it.

Aaron Zelin released the latest Jihadology Podcast featuring Andrew Lebovich discussing the different jihadi groups that have been active in Mali in recent years.

Naz Modirzadeh commented on whether medical humanitarians should stay put in light of all the attacks on medical facilities in recent months.

Susan explained why the government gives up a lot in CISA, the deal with the “other” portal, and why the FBI seems so worried.

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