Today's Headlines and Commentary

Al Shabaab militants murdered approximately 20 people at a popular beach restaurant in Mogadishu last night, Reuters and Agence France-Presse report. The five militants set off bombs and stormed the restaurant while shooting at customers. According to Somalia’s security minister, four of the the al Qaeda-affiliate’s attackers were killed and one was captured alive.

Last week, al Shabaab also carried out an attack on a Kenyan military base in southwest Somalia. The BBC reports that Kenyan forces in Somalia were warned of “an impending al-Shabaab attack” just 45 days prior to the militant’s assault on the base. More than 100 Kenyan troops were killed in the attack, making it the deadliest attack ever on Kenya’s army.

CNN shares that the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a bombing in Egypt, killing six people and injuring a dozen others. The attack occurred moments after a joint police raid at an apartment where alleged members of a “terrorist Muslim Brotherhood” group created and stored explosives. When police entered the apartment they triggered a booby trap which resulted in the explosion.

Islamic State militants attacked and set fire to oil storage tanks on Ras Lanuf terminal in northern Libya. Reuters explains that the attackers drove into the oil storage site before clashing with security guards. They then retreated and fired at the tanks from a distance, setting four of them on fire. According to National Oil Corporation’s spokesman, Mustafa Sanalla, Ras Lanuf will remain closed for a “long time” because of the damage inflicted during the attack.

According to Reuters, U.S. intelligence agencies investigating the three Americans kidnapped in Baghdad are focused on three different militant Islamic groups closely affiliated with Iran. U.S. government officials identified the three groups as Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Katab’ib Hezbollah, and the Badr Organization. Although the groups are closely associated with Iran, the United States does not believe the Iranian government was involved in the kidnapping. Iraq’s prime minister described the kidnappings as being organized by “criminal gangs” and that the motivation behind the incident was not political, the Associated Press reports. The three Americans kidnapped have yet to be identified.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has cleared the way for debate on a new AUMF that would give President Obama broad authority to fight the Islamic State, the New York Times and The Hill reports. The bill, proposed by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and four other Republican co-sponsors, would provide the president with the authority to combat the Islamic State “anywhere they go,” according to the South Carolina senator.

The United States has accelerated its efforts to aid Turkey in securing its border with Syria by sharing new technologies. Reuters shares that for months, Washington and Ankara have been discussing how to protect Turkey’s last section of border that has served as an expressway for Islamic State fighters, black market goods, and other war material.

The New York Times shares that the Russian military continues to expand its footprint in Syria as it sets up an airfield in the country's northeastern province. The new airfield is across the country from Russia’s main coastal base in Latakia.

Reminiscent of the Soviet era, Russia showed off its naval power in the Mediterranean off the coast of Syria this week to Moscow-based journalists. Russia’s display of its military operations in the Mediterranean come before planned peace talks between the Syrian regime and opposition forces are set to occur next week in Geneva, the Guardian reports.

Speaking of reminiscing the Soviet era, Reuters reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin “probably” approved a 2006 intelligence operation to murder former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko. Litvinenko, an outspoken critic of Putin who fled to Britain, died in London after he drank green tea which was laced with a rare and very potent radioactive isotope, Polonium-210.

The Telegraph reports that France will remain in its state of emergency, initiated after the Paris attacks last November, until its “total and global war” with the Islamic State has been won, according to French Prime Minister Manuel Valls.

India is preparing for French President Francois Hollande’s three day visit as threats from the Islamic State mount. Bloomberg Business reports that Indian police arrested four students with ties to the Islamic State, alleging that the four planned to carry out an attack on a Hindu pilgrimage site and an assault on Delhi shopping malls. The four students, all in their 20s, allegedly had handlers from Syria and Iraq, according to the Times of India.

The Wall Street Journal details that Indonesia’s deradicalization program is facing new criticism following the aftermath of the Islamic State's Jakarta attack earlier this month. Critics state that the prison-based method, which came into force after the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings, is “inconsistent, incomplete, and not obligatory” and also does not separate inmates based on their threat level, according to the Journal.

Defense News and NBC News report that Secretary of State John Kerry conceded that terrorists could possibly end up with some of the billions of dollars Iran will receive as a result of lifting sanctions following the implementation of the nuclear deal. Even so, Secretary Kerry stressed that this scenario is not occurring now, though it could, at some point, happen in the future. Kerry’s statement raised concerns among Republicans in Congress who have expressed concern regarding new diplomatic relations with Iran.

Kerry’s comments came as news broke that the United States paid $1.7 billion to the Islamic Republic around the same time as three American prisoners were allowed to fly back to the United States. The Journal calls the exchange of funds yet another “flashpoint” in the two rival countries’ relationship, amid a claim by Tehran that the money transfer was a ransom payment.

Pakistani authorities said Thursday that the assault on a university in Peshawar that killed at least 21 people was planned by militants operating in Afghanistan. The Wall Street Journal reports that some Pakistani security officials accused Indian and Afghan intelligence of supporting the attack. India’s foreign ministry called the claims “baseless allegations.”

In a video released today, Umar Mansoor, a senior commander of the Pakistani Taliban, said that the group would be launching more attacks against universities and schools in the country, saying “Now we will not kill the soldier in his cantonment, the lawyer in the court of the politician in parliament but in the places where they are prepared, the schools, the universities, the colleges that lay their foundation.”

An American student from Cincinnati was arrested in North Korea for an unspecified “hostile act” according to the hermit kingdom's state-run media, the Washington Post reports. 21-year-old Otto Frederick Warmbier was detained on January 2nd at Pyongyang’s airport before he was about to leave for a trip over the New Year holiday, just four days after North Korea conducted its most recent nuclear test. No further information was provided by the state-run news agency about the accusations or Warmbier’s current status.

The Intercept tells us that NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers stated that encryption is the “foundation of the future” and added that arguing about it is a waste of time. Admiral Rogers stressed that the cybersecurity battles the United States is likely to fight in the future call for a more widespread use of encryption.

The Wall Street Journal explains that the U.S. military has spent the last five years creating advanced cyberweapons and digital capabilities and is likely to deploy them soon. Admiral Rogers, who is also Commander of U.S. Cyber Command, said that U.S. policymakers have largely agreed on rules of engagement for when cyberweapons can be used for defense, but highlighted that the discussion about when they can be used for offensive maneuvers remains unsettled.

Some Senate Democrats want a formal apology from CIA Director John Brennan for his agency’s decision to spy on Senate staffers. They also requested an assurance that it will not happen again. This request is the latest salvo in the long-running feud between the Agency and lawmakers, stemming from Senator Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) release of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s report on the CIA’s interrogation techniques in late 2014.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Obama administration has tightened restrictions in the Visa Waiver Program, a program that allows foreign nationals from certain countries to travel to the United States without a visa. The United States will restrict those who hold dual citizenship in Iran, Iraq, Sudan, and Syria from automatically entering the United States, according to a joint statement by the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security.

The Times tells us that an associate professor at Kent State University in Ohio is currently being investigated for possible involvement with the Islamic State. Federal agents arrived on campus this week and began interviewing students and professors about Dr. Julio Pino, an instructor in Kent State’s history department who is known for making “incendiary remarks on Israel.”

Three Guantanamo Bay detainees were cleared for release this week following 14 years of imprisonment in the detention facility. However, in an unexpected turn of events, one of them refused to leave. The Times reports that Mohammed Ali Abdullah Bwazir “was frightened” to leave the prison to “go to a country where he has no family,” according to his lawyer. One of the other detainees was transferred to Bosnia while the other was released to Montenegro, according to the Washington Post.

Parting Shot: Are you current or former military and live in the DC area? War on the Rocks is hosting a free screening of the new Academy Award nominated Danish film, A War, just for you. Join them next Wednesday if you win the battle against the impending snowpocalypse this weekend.

ICYMI: Yesterday, on Lawfare

William Lietzau shared his thoughts on the stories suggesting the Pentagon is slow-playing the closure of the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay.

Cody linked to Admiral Michael Rogers remarks at the Atlantic Council on his priorities for 2016.

Cody also posted video from Justice Stephen Breyer’s remarks at Brookings on The Court and the World.

Ben laughed so hard he cried on this week’s Rational Security. If you’re snowed in, check out the “Red Rover” edition.

Stewart Baker provided the latest edition of the Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast, which includes an interview with John Lynch and Jim Lewis.

Helen Klein provided an overview of al Nashiri’s latest brief in his ongoing challenge to the Military Commissions Act.

Cody shared Sen. Mitch McConnell’s new ISIS AUMF.

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