releases: https://poe.house.gov/2018/12/december-17th-december
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://poe.house.gov/2018/12/december-17th-december | December 17th - December 21st | 2018-12-17 | 2018 | 2018-12 | Republican | House | TX | Ted Poe | P000592 | poe.house.gov | legacy | Monday 12.17.18 Pakistan's army chief has approved death sentences for 15 people convicted by military courts of involvement in attacks that killed 32 security forces and two civilians. A military statement issued Sunday says Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa also approved prison terms for 20 alleged militants. It says they were involved in attacks on security forces and Christians, and the destruction of educational institutions. It did not say when the men would be executed. Military trials are not open to the public in Pakistan, but defendants can hire their own lawyers. The Taliban released ashort statementtoday confirming that representatives of its political office are set to meet with an American delegation tomorrow (Dec. 17). The face-to-face is to take place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). And according to the Taliban, [r]epresentatives of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and [the] United Arab Emirates will also attend the meeting.Notably absent from the Taliban's statement is any mention of the Afghan government. The jihadists have publicly rejected any talks with President Ghani's government, repeatedly describing it as an illegitimate puppet of the US. Fighting against the Islamic State group inits last enclave in eastern Syriais going very well, a U.S. official said Saturday as U.S.-backed Syrian fighters battled the extremists on the edge of the largest urban area they still hold. Spokesman for the U.S.-led Coalition Col. Sean Ryan's comments came a day after the U.S.-backedSyrian Democratic Forcescaptured the town of Hajin, the largest urban area controlled by ISIS in the enclave. Ryan said ISIS still poses a threat and its fighters are regrouping, planting improvised explosives devices to slow the progress of SDF offensives. He added that the end days of ISIS in the enclave they hold near Iraq's border are getting closer, however, they still have the capability for coordinated attacks, and the fight is not over. A bomb blast in a northwestern Syrian town held by Turkish-backed opposition forces killed at least eight people Sunday, activists said, the latest in a series of attacks along the border where Turkey has troops. The spike in attacks follows Turkish threats to expand its offensive against U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish forces, moving from the areas it currently controls in northwestern Syria to the east, where U.S. troops are also based. Turkey's leader says he received positive answers from President Donald Trump on the situation in northern Syria, where Turkey has threatened to launch a new operation against American-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not elaborate Monday. The two leaders spoke by phone Friday. Turkey has vowed to launch a new offensive against the People's Protection Units, or YPG, which is the main component of a U.S.-allied force that drove Islamic State militants out of much of northeastern Syria. U.S. troops are based in the area, in part to reduce tensions. The Israeli military says it has exposed a fourth Hezbollah attack tunnel dug from Lebanon. The military said Sunday that it has placed explosives in the tunnel as part of an open-ended operation to identify and destroy the cross-border passageways. Israel says the tunnels were built by Hezbollah militants to carry out attacks against Israelis. Hezbollah, which used such tunnels inside Lebanon in the 2006 war, has yet to comment on the operation, which began two weeks ago. Shin Bet DirectorNadav Argamanmade it clear to theForeign Affairs and Defense Committee last month that the apparent state of calm in the West Bank is nothing more than an illusion. The situation is very complex, he explained. On the surface it appears as if there's relative calm, but thisquiet is deceptive, because beneath the surface tensions are increasingly simmering. According to Argaman, Hamas is doing everything it can to launch attacks from the West Bank, directing themfrom Gaza, Turkeyand Lebanon. Going in to greater detail, Argaman added, "Over the past year, we were able to thwart 480 terror attacks, including 219 Hamas cells and 590 lone attackers. This is a very large number that is indicative of the terrorism bubbling under the surface." Egyptian security officials say two roadside bombs have hit a police convoy in northern Sinai, killing two conscripts. The officials say Monday's attack just west of the border town of Rafah also wounded six conscripts. The bombs struck two armored vehicles that were part of a convoy on a search-and-destroy mission in the area. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Sixty-two militants were killed by US airstrikes in Somalia this month, US Africa Command said in a statement released Monday. The strikes, which targeted al-Shabaab militants, were conducted near Gandarshe, Somalia, according to the statement. A strike on Saturday killed 34 militants, and a strike on Sunday killed 28 militants, US Africa Command said. The airstrikes were conducted in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia to "prevent terrorists from using remote areas as a safe haven to plot, direct, inspire and recruit for future attacks," according to the statement. After issuing a direct threat to al Qaeda's branch in Somalia last month, the Islamic State followed through on its warning. Earlier today, the Islamic State claimed its men clashed with Shabaab, killing 14 of its members, in northern Somalia. Yesterday, soldiers of the caliphate leaped on a grouping of members of the al Qaeda organization in Somalia near B'ir Mirali southwest of Qandala, where they had been preparing to attack the Islamic State's position, the statement from Amaq News Agency reads. Amaq adds that 14 among them were killed and others were wounded and their weapons and equipment were captured. A Cameroon official says two female suicide bombers have died after detonating in a northern town near the Nigerian border. The governor of the Far North region, Midjiyawa Bakari, says the attack in Kolofata town occurred Friday night and wounded a woman and a 12-year-old girl. The governor says the attackers came from Nigeria, adding that "you know that the borders are very porous." He says the bombers targeted a home where women had gathered to prepare for a weekly market. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |