Counterterrorism: ISIL Attacks in Ninewa Province

ISIL Attacks in Ninewa Province

 

 

Press Statement

Jen Psaki
Department Spokesperson

Washington, DC

August 3, 2014

 

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The United States is actively monitoring the situation in the Sinjar and Tal Afar districts of Ninewa Province where the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has launched a series of offensives against civilian populations, including in the town of Sinjar. We are gravely concerned for the safety of civilians in these areas, including the vulnerable minority communities who for years have been targeted by ISIL and its progenitor, al-Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI). We deeply regret the displacement of innocent civilians and mourn the loss of life from recent fighting, including from the ranks of courageous Kurdish Peshmerga units who have been fighting to defend these areas.

The United States is supporting the Iraqi Security Forces and Peshmerga Forces working to defend these areas against ISIL. Our Joint Operations Centers in Erbil and in Baghdad are sharing information with ISF and Peshmerga commanders. Ambassador Beecroft has met this morning with the President of Iraq, Fuad Massum, and the Deputy UN Special Representative for Iraq, Gyorgy Busztin, to discuss a coordinated approach to the humanitarian situation. We urge all Iraqi authorities, civil society, and international partners to work with the United Nations to deliver lifesaving humanitarian assistance.

The ISIL assault over the past 48 hours on territories along the border of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and focusing on towns and villages populated by vulnerable minorities, demonstrates once again that this terrorist organization is a dire threat to all Iraqis, the entire region, and the international community. We will continue to facilitate coordination between authorities in Baghdad and Erbil and provide direct assistance wherever possible. We further call on all Iraqi leaders to move swiftly pursuant to their constitutional timeline to form a new government that can help pull the country together and harness national resources against this common enemy.

 

U.S.-India Counterterrorism and Homeland Security Cooperation

U.S. and Indian Head of Government Shaking Hands, courtesy of Defense.pk

Fact Sheet

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

July 31, 2014

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Accelerating our partnership following the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, the United States and India continue to expand their counterterrorism and homeland security cooperation, enhancing global as well as bilateral security through ongoing dialogues, capacity building initiatives, and multilateral efforts such as the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum. Together, our two countries are meeting the evolving security challenges of the 21st century.

• U.S.-India Homeland Security Dialogue: The Department of Homeland Security and Ministry of Home Affairs plan to hold a third U.S.-India Homeland Security Dialogue to enhance homeland security cooperation and discuss building capacity in cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection, countering illicit finance, global supply chain security, megacity policing, and science and technology. These senior-level exchanges have reinforced our strategic homeland security partnership and enhanced operational cooperation in investigations, capacity building, and countering threats. Upcoming law enforcement engagement proposals include sharing lessons learned and best practices in SWAT team training and responding to mass casualty exercises, improving both nations’ capabilities to respond to terrorist incidents and natural disasters. In January 2014, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement repatriated to India three recovered stolen sand stone sculptures dating from the 11^th century, valued at more than $1.5 million.
• Homeland Security Technology: The U.S. Department of Commerce plans to create a Homeland Security subgroup under the bilateral High Technology Cooperation Group (HTCG), helping to facilitate increased access to homeland security-related technology. The HTCG, which includes an industry component, intends to meet in Washington, D.C. in fall 2014. Less than 0.02 percent of U.S. exports to India require an export license today, compared with 24 percent in 2004.
• U.S.-India Counterterrorism Joint Working Group: State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism Ambassador Tina Kaidanow and DHS Under Secretary Francis Taylor met with their counterparts in the Indian government to continue the Counterterrorism Working Group process, including continued exchange of senior experts through the coming year. The two sides held an in-depth exchange of views on common areas of interest and collaboration to further mutual U.S.-India counterterrorism goals. U.S. and Indian cooperative efforts include coordination in international fora including the UN and GCTF, and mutually agreed bilateral capacity building measures.
• Law Enforcement Collaboration: Through ongoing cooperation and consultations between the State Department’s Office of the Legal Adviser, the U.S. Department of Justice and India’s Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs, the United States and India are further strengthening Mutual Legal Assistance and improving cooperation on extradition in the interest of advancing justice. This includes ongoing efforts by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Investigative Agency to improve sharing of electronic evidence to combat cybercrime and mitigate counterterrorism threats.
• Urban Policing: The Indian Government organized the first India-U.S. policing conference in New Delhi, December 2013. Bringing together U.S. and Indian police chiefs, federal, state, and local officials, from major metropolitan areas, the exchange included a focus on addressing gender-based violence and strategies for building effective partnerships between police and diaspora communities. From July 28-August 9, 2014, the International Association of Chiefs of Police is hosting a delegation of 90 senior police officials from India to participate in a study tour led by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, exchanging information on critical incident command, transnational crime, and emerging trends in policing.
• Regional Safe Cities Program: USAID, state governments of India, and the government of Japan are partnering with UN Women to implement the Safe Cities program in New Delhi, creating safe urban spaces for women and girls by working with municipal leaders, law enforcement officials, and non-governmental organizations to monitor incidences of gender-based violence, strengthen systems to prevent and respond to this violence, and build women’s confidence in the justice system.
• Facilitating Legitimate Travel: There are more than one million visits between the United States and India each year. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security continues to work with Indian partners to allow for Indian participation in DHS’s Global Entry program. The trusted traveler program enables expedited entry to frequent travelers, significantly reducing wait times. The United States has Global Entry partnerships in place with a very limited number of countries.

Ambassador Power at U.N. on Violence in South Sudan

U.S. Mission to the United Nations
New York, New York
April 24, 2014

Statement by Ambassador Samantha Power, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, on the Recent Targeting of Civilians in South Sudan, April 24, 2014

The United States condemns the outrageous and deliberate targeting of civilians in South Sudan. The “Cessation of Hostilities” agreement signed three months ago appears to have been treated more like a commitment to sustain hostilities. Civilians are being repeatedly and deliberately targeted based on their ethnicity. Over the last week alone, there has been an attack on a UN compound in Bor and the massacre of hundreds of civilians in Bentiu, including children, women and men who had sought refuge from the violence in a mosque and a local hospital. The world’s newest state is clearly on a precipice.

South Sudan’s leaders must take immediate steps to end the violence and participate in political talks to resolve the conflict. Failure to take bold action now very well could push South Sudan into a cycle of retaliatory ethnic killing, a deepening civil war, and an even more devastating humanitarian catastrophe.

The United States strongly supports the critical work of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and calls on the Government of South Sudan to stop interfering with UNMISS’s ability to carry out its mandate to protect civilians and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance. The Government of South Sudan should condemn publicly all attacks on the UN and work far harder to stop them.

The targeting of civilians seeking refuge – whether on a UN compound or in a mosque – is a criminal act. We call on the Government of South Sudan and opposition leaders to hold those responsible to account. Further, reports of the use of radio broadcasts to incite sexual violence and other ethnically-motivated attacks are particularly chilling and a cause of deep concern. The Security Council must take action against those who continue to undermine peace efforts and swiftly create a sanctions regime targeting spoilers of the peace process and those responsible for atrocities.

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