Share

More Mideast Alerts

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation has extended the suspension of operations at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh through October 17 following missile and unmanned aerial vehicle attacks earlier in the month that killed at least 17 people there, including one U.S. citizen, and injured hundreds, the Saudi-led coalition said.

The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh issued a security alert on October 15 stating that U.S. government employees require special authorization from the Chief of Mission to use any airport in Saudi Arabia.

King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam remain operational with delays and cancellations.

Threat Assessment

Read more

Share

More Space/Nuclear Alerts

Capt. Amy R. Padilla, branch chief for Intelligence Plans and Programs in the command’s Intelligence Directorate, said China is the pacing threat while Russia is the acute threat, adding that if either achieved space superiority or supremacy it would severely limit U.S. capabilities in space.

The command described space as a war-fighting domain and listed specific historical tests by both countries along with launch and satellite figures.

Locations Affected

Read more

Share

More Mideast Alerts

United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) issued Warning 172-26 for a 50,000 tonne container ship struck at 4:40 PM UTC while conducting an inbound transit, and Warning 173-26 for a 19,000 tonne container ship struck at 5:00 PM UTC while conducting an outbound transit.

Both warnings stated the source as verified, noted that authorities are investigating, and advised vessels to transit with caution and report suspicious activity.

Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority said GFS Pride, a Singapore-registered container vessel, was struck by an unknown projectile on October 13, sustained damage and a fire, and later sank, with all 21 crew members safely evacuated and no injuries.

GFS Giselle, also Singapore-registered, was struck on October 14, sustained hull damage, and reached a safe anchorage under its own propulsion, with all 22 crew members safe and no injuries. No Singaporeans were among the crews of either vessel.

Iranian state-run media carried an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy statement that a vessel transporting 2,500 containers, found in violation of regulations, began taking on water after hitting a mine in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz along a route the statement called unsafe.

Commercial ship-tracking data showed the OFAC-sanctioned container ship ZYRA (IMO 9237084) sailing east from Iranian waters in the Gulf of Oman before turning around on October 13 and returning to the vicinity of Jask on October 14.

Threat Assessment

Read more

Share

More Mideast Alerts

The crew has been confirmed safe and the environmental impact remains unknown while authorities investigate.

UKMTO issued Warning 166-26 classifying the event as an attack. The warning advised vessels to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity.

Why Two Separate October 11 Warnings Regarding A Tanker Being Hit With A Projectile Within The Strait

United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations issued two distinct attack warnings for outbound tankers struck by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz on 11 October.

• Warning 164-26, released on 11 October, reports an incident at 12:00 UTC. A company security officer stated that an outbound tanker was struck on the port side by an unidentified projectile. The vessel sustained damage. All crew were reported safe and no environmental impact was reported at the time of the attack.

• Warning 166-26, released the following day as a time-late report, covers an outbound tanker struck by an unknown projectile on 11 October. Incident time remains TBC. The crew has been confirmed safe and the environmental impact is unknown. Authorities are investigating.

UKMTO has not linked the two warnings or issued an update treating them as the same event. The products carry sequential numbers, different sources of information, and different levels of detail.

Warning 164-26 supplies a specific time, the reporting party, the side of the vessel hit, and a damage assessment. Warning 166-26 is more general and still lists environmental impact as unknown.

A third October 11 event remains separate. Warning 165-26, later updated, concerns a tanker near Sohar anchorage, Oman, reclassified as a UAV strike with local authorities assisting in crew evacuation.

The pattern of multiple verified reports of projectile strikes on outbound tankers on the same day is consistent with UKMTO’s recent sequence of numbered warnings in the Strait of Hormuz.

No official body has confirmed that Warning 164-26 and Warning 166-26 describe the same vessel.

Threat Assessment, Analysis:

Read more

Share

More Europe Alerts

He described a theory of victory that would block an initial attack, blunt any continued advance, and break the attacking force and the systems that support it if required, so that any assault on an ally proves utterly futile.

Grynkewich stated that conflict is not imminent or inevitable. He said the alliance is unlikely to be surprised and would detect an attack in time to assess it and position forces.

The remarks form part of the public presentation of a defensive concept aligned with the Deterrence and Defense of the Euro-Atlantic Area approach agreed by all 32 NATO allies.

Location

The remarks were issued in Warsaw, Poland, at approximately 52.23, 21.01. Warsaw lies roughly 110 miles (177 km) from the Belarus border. The choice of venue places the deterrence message in a front-line NATO capital whose territory would be directly affected by any eastern-flank contingency.

Latest Developments

Read more

Share

More Mideast Alerts

The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned in the strongest terms the continued attacks by the Houthi group on the airport, which it said resulted in injuries to a number of civilians, and affirmed full solidarity with Saudi Arabia along with support for measures safeguarding its security and stability.

The extension follows successive strikes on the airport earlier in the week. Saudi authorities had previously reported an October 10 attack that killed 12 people, including one U.S. citizen, and injured 309, and an October 11 projectile strike on Terminal 4 that killed one Pakistani resident and injured 11.

Airport operations remained suspended into October 12 while damage assessments continued.

October Attacks on King Khalid International Airport

Read more

Share

More Mideast Alerts

The coalition called the strike a war crime. On October 11, an unidentified projectile struck Terminal 4 at the same airport and caused a fire, the coalition’s spokesman said, while Saudi authorities reported injuries.

In a follow-up statement on October 12 the General Authority of Civil Aviation said the October 11 attack killed one Pakistani resident and injured 11 others, who were taken to hospital, and caused material damage still under assessment.

Houthi Military Claims Responsibility For The Attacks

Read more

Share

More Alerts On Asia

The launches occurred around 9:19 AM and 9:36 AM Japan Standard Time (12:19 AM and 12:36 AM UTC). The first reached a maximum altitude of about 12 miles (20 km) and flew about 137 miles (220 km).

The second reached about 43 miles (70 km) and flew more than 565 miles (910 km), with Japanese authorities noting the possibility of an irregular trajectory and stating that details remain under joint analysis with the United States and South Korea.

No entry into Japanese territory or the exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles from Japan’s shores, has been confirmed. Japan’s government informed aircraft and vessels in the area and stated that no damage reports had been received as of the notice.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff detected multiple ballistic missiles launched from the Pyongyang area around 9:20 AM local time toward the East Sea, also called the Sea of Japan, with at least one type assessed to have flown more than 559 miles (900 km).

The Joint Chiefs stated that South Korean and U.S. authorities are analyzing exact specifications and that surveillance has been strengthened.

Japan’s Prime Minister directed full efforts on information gathering and analysis with prompt accurate public information, thorough safety confirmation for aircraft and vessels, and preparation for unforeseen situations.

The Defense Minister issued parallel instructions for close coordination with the United States and South Korea and continued vigilance.

Japan stated that the launches, including prior repeated ballistic missile activity, threaten the peace and security of Japan, the region, and the international community, violate relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, and constitute a serious issue for the safety of the people. Japan lodged a strong protest and strongly condemned North Korea.

Threat Assessment, Analysis:

Read more

Share

More Mideast Alerts

A U.S. military fighter jet struck the stern of the vessel with a precision munition, fully disabling the ship’s propulsion without harming the crew. The large cargo vessel was attempting to transit regional waters after having previously departed an Iranian port, CENTCOM said.

Read more

Share

Crew were reported safe. Damage assessment and environmental impact remained unknown at the time of the report. Vessels were advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO while authorities investigate.

In a separate report the same day, UKMTO received accounts from several masters (ship captains) in the vicinity of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, that they had been directed via VHF broadcast at 6:50 PM UTC to move from their anchorages.

Authorities continued to investigate, and vessels were requested to report any further suspicious activity.

Location

• The attack occurred within the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Oman and Iran that carries a substantial share of global seaborne oil trade, at an approximate position of UKMTO Reports Outbound Tanker Struck by Unknown Projectile in Strait of Hormuz derived from the general area of UKMTO reporting for such incidents in the strait.

• The suspicious activity occurred in the vicinity of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, an emirate on the Arabian Gulf coast north of the strait approaches, at an approximate position of 25.80, 55.95 based on the named location in the advisory.

Attack and Suspicious Activity Reported:

Read more

Share

More Mideast Alerts

GACA said the attacks killed three Saudi citizens and injured Saudi citizens and residents of several nationalities, with injuries ranging from minor to critical, and that airport operations had resumed and air traffic had returned to normal.

Saudia, the national airline, said on October 9 that Captain Hamoud Ali Alkalthami lost his life on October 8 in the incident at the airport.

In a separate incident on October 9, a vessel was struck at 10:00 AM UTC (2:00 PM local UAE time) 13 nautical miles, about 15 miles (24 km), west of Al Jazeera, a port in Ras Al Khaimah. The notice of that strike names no attacker and no ship.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on October 8 that the United States will not attack Iran before the November 3 midterm elections, that talks with Iran were under way, and that a blockade of Iranian ports would remain.

The U.S. Mission in Saudi Arabia said on October 8 that it was aware of attacks on the Riyadh airport, that the Houthis, the Iran-aligned armed group fighting Yemen’s internationally recognized government from the north, had engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia including civilian airports, and that U.S. government employees now need special authorization to use the airport.

In a separate, earlier incident, a warning issued on October 8 describes a crude oil tanker struck by an unknown projectile at 5:09 PM UTC on October 6 while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. It reported no casualties and names no ship.

Saudi Civil Defense said on October 8 that debris from a ballistic missile, which it said had been intercepted and destroyed after a Houthi launch, damaged a kindergarten and a medical clinic complex in Riyadh. That notice gives no casualty count.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the European air-safety regulator, revised its Saudi airspace bulletin on October 9 and told operators not to fly in defined portions of the Jeddah flight information region, the airspace Saudi controllers manage.

Locations Affected

• King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. GACA said two attacks on October 8 hit airport facilities and a Saudia aircraft. Published airport references place the field near 24.96, 46.70, about 22 miles (35 km) north of central Riyadh. The October 8 U.S. mission alert printed no impact coordinate.

• A kindergarten and a medical clinic complex in Riyadh. Saudi Civil Defense said ballistic-missile debris fell there on October 8. The notice printed no street or coordinate.

• Waters west of Al Jazeera Port, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), the British office that takes security reports from merchant ships, placed the October 9 strike 13 nautical miles west of Al Jazeera. Port references place the harbor near 25.72, 55.80. The strike position is approximate, near 25.72, 55.56, worked from that distance and a due-west bearing, with a possible error of about 2 miles (3 km) because the warning printed no coordinates and port references differ in the second decimal.

• Strait of Hormuz. UKMTO Warning 159-26 placed an October 6 projectile strike on a crude oil tanker in the strait and printed no position. The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), the combined maritime desk that publishes threat levels for the Gulf, kept the strait at severe in its October 8 note.

• Jeddah flight information region, Saudi Arabia. EASA’s October 9 revision tells operators not to fly in portions of that region bounded by listed navigation points, and to use caution in the rest of it.

Latest Developments

Read more

Share

More North America Alerts

Isaias had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 km/h) and a central pressure of 975 mb (975 hPa), and it was moving east-northeast at 10 mph (17 km/h).

Additional strengthening is expected through early Friday. Isaias is forecast to remain a strong hurricane as it approaches the northern Gulf Coast inside the warning area late Friday or early Saturday.

The U.S. Coast Guard Heartland Office stated on October 8 that it is preparing and will respond to impacts from Hurricane Isaias, which is expected to make landfall along the Northern Gulf Coast on Friday.

The office noted that its ability to conduct rescues can be diminished or unavailable at the height of a storm, and that once conditions allow, the Coast Guard will work with local first responders and federal partners to provide life-saving support in affected areas.

At 1:00 PM CDT (6:00 PM UTC) on October 8, the National Hurricane Center also reported a Category 1 storm about 185 miles (300 km) north of Progreso, Mexico, and 355 miles (570 km) south of the Mouth of the Mississippi River, near 24.0N 89.8W.

Storm Surge Over Portions Of Florida, Southern Alabama and Mississippi

Read more

Share

More Africa Alerts

NISA said Nunow was the former head of the arm al-Shabaab calls Amniyaadka, the group’s internal security and intelligence wing, a post it said he held from 2016 to 2024. In that release NISA calls al-Shabaab the Khawaarij.

The agency said he also used the aliases Geescadde, Fanax, Gardhuub and Ali Dheere, and that he had a major role in planning attacks on Somali civilians, naming the October 14, 2017 bombing at the Soobe junction in Mogadishu, the Ex-Control Afgooye attack, the Soobe 2 attack, and other attacks at hotels and places on Lido beach in Mogadishu.

Location

• Jilib district, Middle Juba, southern Somalia: town center at approximately 0.49, 42.77, a published geographic position for the town, not a point NISA released for the operation. U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), in its August 7 strike entry for the vicinity of Jilib, placed that place 200 miles (322 km) southwest of Mogadishu. The district is a recurring area in AFRICOM’s public strike list. NISA gave no street, compound or coordinate for the October 1 operation.

Read more

Share

More Europe Alerts

The Air Force statement said operational security had precluded confirmation of the movement in real time. It also said U.S. Air Force bombers routinely operate around the world for readiness and operational requirements.

Refer a friend

The acknowledgment came seven days after the September 27 arrests. The command did not say the investigation was the reason for the departure. No U.S. or British official statement had reported casualties, an explosion, or damage to aircraft from that investigation by October 5.

Read more

Share

More LATAM Alerts

The command said confirmed intelligence showed the boat was taking part in drug trafficking on routes it called established trafficking routes, and that the strike killed four people it called “narco-terrorists.”

Read more

Share

More Mideast Alerts

The report time on the warning is 4:50 PM UTC (7:50 PM local Aden time). The warning does not give the time of the explosions.

The officer reported the crew safe and no environmental impact. The warning says authorities are investigating, and it advises ships to pass with caution and to report suspicious activity.

Location

Refer a friend

United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), the British center that takes hazard reports from ships and company security officers, placed the report 60 nautical miles south of Al Mukha, Yemen, the Red Sea port also called Mocha.

• Country: Yemen. The warning names Al Mukha and does not name a sea area.

• Distance and bearing: 60 nautical miles south of Al Mukha, about 69 miles (111 km) on a south bearing. The warning gives no finer bearing.

• Coordinates: the warning publishes none. No point is printed here, because a south line from the port is not a fix.

• What the place is: a coastal port on Yemen’s Red Sea shore, used here only as the warning’s reference point. The reported position is at sea, not in the port.

Read more

Share

More Africa Alerts

U.S. Department of State Spokesman Thomas “Tommy” Pigott said increasing cross-border tensions between the two countries have the potential to affect the entire region, and that the Horn of Africa cannot sustain another military conflict and humanitarian crisis.

The statement said a conflict would jeopardize ongoing U.S. collaboration on shared interests with both countries, and that peace through dialogue is the only path toward security, economic growth, and prosperity.

Read more

Share

More Mideast Alerts

The report said the crew was safe, and it left the damage assessment and any environmental effect unknown. It did not name the tanker, the projectile, or who fired.

Locations Affected

• Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman’s Musandam Peninsula: the October 1 warning and the four earlier reports place the strikes in the strait, including one outbound case in the southern quarter. No strike coordinate was published.

• Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates: the September 29 outbound tanker was reported in the vicinity of this Gulf of Oman port after the strike, with its damage assessment not finished. GeoNames, the gazetteer cited for the city, places Khor Fakkan at 25.33, 56.34.

Threat Assessment

Read more

Share

More Mideast Alerts

The U.S. Department of War stated the same day that the United States and Coalition partners formally concluded Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq, consistent with the September 2024 U.S.-Iraq joint statement.

Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), the Coalition headquarters established in 2014, remains operational and is now headquartered in Jordan, CENTCOM said, while U.S. forces continue the counter-ISIS mission in Syria alongside Coalition partners and the Syrian government.

Iraqi Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi announced the official conclusion of the Global Coalition mission against ISIS in Iraq at a Sovereignty Day ceremony in Baghdad on September 30, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported from the Prime Minister’s media office.

Refer a friend

President Donald J. Trump stated the same day that the last American forces were leaving Iraq and that the United States was “going home.”

The Kurdistan Regional Government Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs, writing on September 28 before the departure, said U.S. forces would leave Iraq including the Kurdistan Region on September 30 and that the withdrawal would not be accompanied by an alternative air-defense system.

Locations Affected, Latest Developments

Read more

Share

More Alerts On Europe

Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of National Counter Terrorism Policing, announced that release on the afternoon of September 28 and said they were subject to stringent conditions on movement and contact with others.

The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in London stated on September 28 that it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns” speculation linking Iran to the arrests.

Investigators Considering Possibility Activity Committed By Proxies Or Working On Behalf Of A Foreign State

Read more