<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5afcc0f01ae6621d008b465a-2000/rts1rq9t.jpg" border="0" alt="Najib Razak police raid" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Lai Seng Sin" data-mce-caption="Police arrive outside former prime minister Najib Razak's residence in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia May 16, 2018." /><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Lai Seng Sin</span></p><p class="caption">Police arrive outside former prime minister Najib Razak's residence in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia May 16, 2018.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Police officers raided five properties linked to Malaysia's former prime minister, Najib Razak, who was voted out of office last week.</strong></li><li><strong>Handbags and small possessions were seized, but it's not clear if any documents were taken.</strong></li><li><strong>Najib has been accused of siphoning hundreds of millions from state investment fund 1MDB.</strong></li><li><strong>Six countries, including the US, are investigating $4.5 billion that went missing from the fund.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p><br />Police officers raided five properties linked to Malaysia's former prime minister Najib Razak, including his home, in the early hours of Thursday morning.</p><p>The searches also occurred at the prime minister's former office and two condominium properties linked to Najib's family, police director Amar Singh told <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-politics-search/malaysian-police-say-searching-five-properties-linked-to-ousted-pm-najib-idUSKCN1II072">Reuters</a>. At least a dozen police were at Najib's home for 12 hours, but seized only handbags and some other small possessions, according to Najib's lawyer,</p><p>"The search is supposed to be under the [Anti-]Money Laundering Act... they found nothing incriminating," lawyer Harpal Singh Grewal told reporters.</p><p>"It's a big house so they had to search each room. That's why it took so long. There are no arrests now and no indication that there will be an arrest."</p><p>Police also reviewed CCTV footage at a condominium on Saturday, which may be linked to Najib. Senior officers told <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-politics-raid-exclusive/exclusive-malaysian-police-raid-apartments-linked-to-ousted-pm-najibs-family-idUSKCN1ID0LF">Reuters</a> they were investigating a complaint that 50 boxes of Birkin bags, which could cost up to $200,000, were delivered to Najib's wife in vans marked with the prime minister's seal.</p><p>Since last week's election, which saw the opposition alliance take power for the first time in history, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has made it clear he will investigate missing funds from the state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), which Najib set up in 2009.</p><p>Nearly $700 million was reportedly found in Najib's personal bank accounts, which a royal Saudi family member said was a personal donation. A number of countries, including the US and Switzerland, are investigating $4.5 billion that was allegedly siphoned off from 1MDB. </p><p>"We think that within a short while we will have a case against him," Mahathir <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/malaysias-prime-minister-mahathir-mohamad-will-rule-before-anwar-ibrahim-2018-5">said on Tuesday</a>. "We will be able to charge him."</p><p>Najib has been blacklisted from leaving the country.</p><p>92-year-old Mahathir, who previously served as prime minister for 22 years, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/malaysia-election-results-details-who-won-2018-5">defeated his former protégé after teaming up with his former enemy and popular opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim</a> in order to defeat the allegedly corrupt Najib.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/melania-trump-underrated-tina-brown-donald-2018-4">Tina Brown: Why Melania Trump is the best aspect of the Trump presidency</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/SLAM0B8R-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Police raided 5 properties linked to Malaysia's allegedly corrupt ex-prime minister a week after he was defeated by his former mentor

<p><br>oBelgian authorities have launched a public appeal for help in the&#xa0;search for the "man in the hat" suspect captured in&#xa0;an&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/brussels-attack-suspects-2016-3">image on Brussels airport CCTV cameras</a> moments before his alleged accomplices detonated themselves and killed 14 people.</br></p><p>Police released new images of the man - who has not yet been identified but is believed to be alive - on its official Twitter&#xa0;account Thursday morning. Police&#xa0;believe the<span>&#xa0;other two men in the CCTV photograph </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/brussels-attack-suspects-2016-3">are&#xa0;dead</a><span>.</span></p><p class="embed-spacer">The photos zoom in on the man's clothes - particularly the white trench coat, hat, and shoes he&#xa0;was wearing at the time of the attack.&#xa0;</p><p class="embed-spacer"><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Terrorism - VIDEO - Route of the 3d offender of the attack in Brussels Airport<a href="https://t.co/mFr837XtSZ">https://t.co/mFr837XtSZ</a> <a href="https://t.co/RQxcHHZqo3">pic.twitter.com/RQxcHHZqo3</a></p>- Opsporingsberichten  (@politie_zoekt) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/718057123482103810">April 7, 2016</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">Police also released a video of the suspect:</p><p class="embed-spacer"><div><blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Full set of CCTV images released by police today of 'man-in-the-hat' <a href="https://twitter.com/SkyNews">@SkyNews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/brusselsattack?src=hash">#brusselsattack</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ih9pWiBXVW">pic.twitter.com/Ih9pWiBXVW</a></p>- Mark Stone (@Stone_SkyNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/Stone_SkyNews/status/718063637496205314">April 7, 2016</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div></p><p><span>Freelance journalist&#xa0;Faycal Cheffou was incorrectly identified as the "man in the hat"&#xa0;in the days following the attack. He&#xa0;</span>was released days after being arrested&#xa0;because of a lack of evidence linking him to the bombings.&#xa0;</p><p><span>Thirty-five&#xa0;people </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/2-explosions-reported-at-brussels-airport-2016-3" target="_blank">were killed</a><span> and hundreds more&#xa0;wounded after explosions ripped through </span><span>Zaventem Airport</span><span> and the <span>Maelbeek metro station in Brussels on&#xa0;March 22.&#xa0;</span></span></p><p><span>Ibrahim El Bakraoui and his brother, </span><span>Khalid, were named as suicide bombers in the attacks by the Belgian police the day after the attack.&#xa0;Ibrahim is thought to have detonated his explosives at the airport, while his brother is thought to be responsible for the suicide attack at the metro station that killed 20 others, according to police.</span><br><span></span></br></p><p><span><span>Police believe 24-year-old Najim Laachraoui, who appears in the photo's far left,&#xa0;was the second airport bomber.&#xa0;<span> Laachraoui, an alleged ISIS bombmaker who police say&#xa0;made the suicide vests used in both the Paris and Brussels attacks, died in the attack.&#xa0;</span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>Only one day before the attacks,&#xa0;<span>Laachraoui</span>had been named by Belgian officials as a </span><span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/22/world/europe/paris-attacks-accomplice-najim-laachraoui.html">suspected accomplice</a>&#xa0;</span><span>of Saleh<span>&#xa0;Abdeslam, an ISIS militant who allegedly helped carry out the&#xa0;November Paris attacks that&#xa0;killed 130 people.&#xa0;<span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Abdeslam was detained in a raid by Belgian police a week before the Brussels bombings&#xa0;and has been charged in relation to the Paris attacks. I<span>nvestigators&#xa0;</span><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/23/europe/salah-abdeslam-isis-cell-brussels/index.html"><span>believe Abdeslam would have been involved</span></a><span> in the Brussels plot had he not been captured days prior, but his</span>&#xa0;</span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/abdeslams-lawyer-says-he-was-not-aware-of-brussels-terror-plot-2016-3">lawyer insisted</a><span> that his client "was not aware" that the&#xa0;Brussels attacks&#xa0;were being planned.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obamas-remarks-on-brussels-attack-politics-terrorism-isis-2016-3">Watch Obama's remarks on the Brussels attacks </a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="V0aW44MjE6IK2v_3HIuEPVeNPU9vePcn" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'V0aW44MjE6IK2v_3HIuEPVeNPU9vePcn',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Belgian police just released several new images and video of one of the Brussels attacks suspects

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c77dcf42628983c27035473-2400/fortnitebattle-passseason-8br08webbplandinghero-3840x2160-654d400e12d58c3a97d6e75dc560df6ac46d3ea3.jpg" border="0" alt="Fortnite Season 8" data-mce-source="Epic Games"><p class="source"><span>Epic Games</span></p><p class="caption">Epic Games is offering a generous prize pool for competitive "Fortnite," but money wont solve every problem.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/fortnite" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"Fortnite"</a> creator Epic Games has promised $100 million in prize money for the game's current competitive season.</strong></li><li><strong>The Fortnite World Cup is currently giving away $1 million a week with its online qualifiers, but&#xa0; p</strong><strong>rofessional 'Fortnite' players are expressing frustration with the game.</strong></li><li><strong>"Fortnite" is the most popular game in the world with more than 250 million registered players and weekly updates.</strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/epic-games" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Epic Games</a> said it plans to stabilize the game's competitive format ahead of the Fortnite World Cup Finals in July.</strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></strong></li></ul><p>Epic Games has promised to award $100 million in prizes for competitive "Fortnite" events this year, including a $40 million prize pool for the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fortnite-world-cup-prize-money-schedule-2019-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first annual "Fortnite World Cup"</a> this summer. But despite generous financial support, many of the best "Fortnite" players are unhappy with the game.</p><p>Influential streamers like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/ninja">Tyler "Ninja" Blevins</a> and Turner "Tfue" Tenney have expressed frustration with "Fortnite's" recent updates. Ninja called on Epic Games to fix the game's competitive balance, while Tfue said he plans to quit the game <a href="https://clips.twitch.tv/AlivePricklyPigTriHard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">after the Fortnite World Cup is over.</a></p><p>With up to 100 players competing against each other in any given match, "Fortnite: Battle Royale" is often defined by chaos. Even so, the game's best players can still earn consistent results with a mix of experience, building strategy, and quick reactions. But Epic Games also updates "Fortnite" every week with balance changes, new weapons, and other changes, making it more and more difficult for the players to adapt.</p><p>The pressure to stay on top has some players threatening to quit the game entirely. After launching in September 2017, "Fortnite" has grown into the most popular game in the world with more than 250 million registered players. While the game has been hosted at a variety of esports events, the rules of competitive "Fortnite" have been in a state of constant flux.</p><p style="padding-left: 40px;"><em><strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fortnite-world-cup-cheaters-banned-2019-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The creator of 'Fortnite' has banned more than 1,000 accounts for cheating during the first round of its $30 million tournament</a></em></p><p>On April 28, a pair of "Fortnite" players <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/xwnddn/fortnite-champions-say-they-dont-really-like-the-game-in-victory-speech?" target="_blank" rel="noopener">won a $6,000 prize at the Collegiate Starleague Finals,</a> but after the tournament, they said that they plan to quit playing the game. During their post-win interview, University of Georgia students Jack Stuttard and Ibrahim Diaz said Epic's balance changes had influenced their decision to move on.</p><p><iframe width="620" height="378" frameborder="0" src="https://clips.twitch.tv/embed?clip=InterestingPeppySmoothieTebowing&amp;autoplay=false"></iframe></p><p>"We don't really like the game that much anymore, not gonna lie, we'll see what happens," Stuttard said on stage in Atlantic City. "Epic is really messing around with the way they're balancing everything."</p><p>Diaz added, "We decided we don't want to play competitive Fortnite anymore, so we're going to move on to different games or just different stuff."</p><h2>Competitive players aren't happy about the timing of updates to "Fortnite"</h2><p>Competitive "Fortnite" players have been particularly vocal about the game's balance as the Fortnite World Cup gets underway. The event has a $40 million prize pool, and is awarding $1 million per week to players during the online qualifying rounds. Players have criticized Epic's willingness to make big updates to "Fortnite" right before high stakes competitions, while known issues and bugs go unchanged.</p><p>&#xa0;</p><p>Atop the list of controversial "Fortnite" changes is a featured called siphon. Siphon lets players recover health, shields, and building materials when they successfully eliminate another player. An update released on February 19th made siphon a standard part of battle royale, rewarding skilled players for recording multiple kills and playing aggressively.&#xa0;</p><p>However, a patch released on March 26th removed siphon from the standard battle royale mode and added it to a new game type called arena. Some top players felt forced to play the new mode if they wanted to play aggressively, since it's harder to survive without the health recovery from siphon. While popular streamers spent weeks asking Epic to bring back siphon, the company is standing by the change.</p><p>Epic Games spent five weeks collecting data on how the siphon changes influenced the standard battle royale and found that siphon was discouraging the vast majority of people who already struggle to keep up with the best players.</p><p><span>"Players at large grew more frustrated with 'Fortnite' play, feeling they had less of a chance due to encounters with high-skill players with full health and shields," <a href="https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/competitive/en-US/news/fortnite-competitive-development-update" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Epic said in a statement on competitive balance.</a> "Ultimately, Siphon increased engagement for the highest-skilled 10%, while the remaining 90% were more frustrated and played less."</span></p><p><span>Epic said it will continue to try and fix known issues with "Fortnite," and hopes to stabilize the game's balance prior to the Fortnite World Cup Finals in July.</span></p><p>While Epic has shown that it's willing to provide plenty of financial support to competitive "Fortnite," the company still has to find a way to satisfy the competitive community. Epic has shown that they are willing to move and adapt quickly, but finding the right blend of casual fun and competitive balance might take a more guided, delicate hand.</p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>only reason i didnt qual. $50k bug right here. i am sad beyond belief and really feel i deserve a spot because i played very well. whatever man. <a href="https://t.co/nQEQe8nKaz">pic.twitter.com/nQEQe8nKaz</a></p>- Animal  (@SEN_Animal) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1122637431700897793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/watch-mark-zuckerberg-outline-facebooks-new-privacy-approach-2019-4">Watch Mark Zuckerberg outline Facebook's new 6-principle approach to privacy</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/cBk0yREN-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

"Fortnite" will award $100 million in prizes this year, but some pro players say that's not enough to keep them motivated

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5666e14f84307640008b8289-2500-1726/rtr3wkmt.jpg" alt="ISIS" data-mce-source="Reuters/Stringer" data-mce-caption="A militant Islamist fighter waving a flag, cheers as he takes part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province." data-link="http://pictures.reuters.com/Package/2C0408WQL9IZS#/SearchResult&amp;ALID=2C0408WQL9IZS&amp;VBID=2C0BX41TE7WC&amp;POPUPPN=27&amp;POPUPIID=2C0408TU0KRFS" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://pictures.reuters.com/Package/2C0408WQL9IZS#/SearchResult&amp;ALID=2C0408WQL9IZS&amp;VBID=2C0BX41TE7WC&amp;POPUPPN=27&amp;POPUPIID=2C0408TU0KRFS">Reuters/Stringer</a></span></p><p class="caption">A militant Islamist fighter waving a flag, cheers as he takes part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>A Muslim doctor and her sister have been praised for helping convict two pro-ISIS hate preachers after challenging them and taking pictures of their propaganda to the police.</p><p>Sisters Asmaa and Reem Al-Jufaisha, 36 and 24 respectively, confronted the two men after seeing their stall in Oxford Street to rally support for the terrorist group.</p><p>Despite the men hurling abuse at them and calling them "khuffar", a derogatory term for non-believers, the women persisted in their confrontation.</p><p>They took pictures of the stall and the leaflets being handed out, which bore the Isis logo, and brought them to police.</p><p>Ibrahim Anderson, 38, and Shah Jahan Khan, 62, are now facing prison after being unanimously convicted of inviting support for a banned organisation at the Old Bailey, which they denied.</p><p>Anderson was also found guilty of possessing information useful for terrorism.</p><p>Thanks to the images provided by the sisters, police were able to easily identify the ginger-bearded Anderson, and raided his home, where they found instructions on travel to Syria.</p><p>Prosecutor Mark Seymour told the Old Bailey the stall had been set up outside Topshop on Oxford Street on 9 August 2014.</p><p>He said when the sisters saw the stall, Asmaa said to the men that ISIS were "killing innocent people, Christians and Muslims, both Sunni and Shia".</p><p>Mr Seymour said "the ginger man", referring to Anderson, said Shia Muslims were not "real Muslims" and told the sisters to "go die" after they said they were Iraqi Shia Muslims.</p><p>Met Commander Richard Walton praised the Muslim community for fighting terrorism and added police were receiving more similar calls from young people within the community.</p>

A Muslim doctor and sister helped convict pro-ISIS hate preachers on a major London shopping street

SRK, Rajnikanth, Ranveer Singh set to fire up the silver screens in 2023: Here are the most-anticipated upcoming Indian movie releases

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/51600859.cms" /><br /> Since the past few days, rumours are rife that <keyword id="3778" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Karan-Johar">Karan Johar</keyword> will launch two more star kids in the upcoming sequel to his 2012 hit <em>Student of the Year</em>, which marked the debut of two star kids, Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan, along with a relatively unknown <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/We-tell-you-what-Katrina-Kaif-is-doing-with-Sidharth-Malhotra/articleshow/51210361.cms">Sidharth Malhotra</a>.<br />
<br /> The star kids to be launched now are <keyword id="1859751" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ishaan-Khattar">Ishaan Khattar</keyword> and <keyword id="823990" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sara-Ali-Khan">Sara Ali Khan</keyword>, and while the latter’s name does ring (she is actor Saif Ali Khan’s daughter), Ishaan Khattar doesn’t have a popular surname, and has been mostly unheard of. Then, who is this lucky guy who is getting the best launch pad the entire industry can offer?<br />
<br /> Ishaan Khattar, born to actress <keyword id="87662" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Neelima-Azim">Neelima Azim</keyword> and voice-over artist <keyword id="113410" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rajesh-Khattar">Rajesh Khattar</keyword> in 1995, is the younger half-brother of Bollywood heartthrob <keyword id="6355887" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shahid-Kapoor">Shahid Kapoor</keyword>, who was born to Neelima Azim and actor Pankaj Kapoor. For a brief period of time before he made his Bollywood debut with Ken Ghosh’s <em>Ishq</em> <em>Vishk</em>, Shahid was living with his mother and Rajesh Khattar, which is why he is said to be very close to Ishaan, who is 15 years younger to him.<br />
<br />
While Sara Ali Khan (born 1993) is known to have made only brief media appearances during her father’s <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/If-you-thought-only-TwinkleKhanna-and-Akshay-are-confessing-their-love-on-social-media-you-need-to-checkthese-pics/Saif-Ali-Khan-and-Kareena-Kapoor/slideshow/47691259.cms">marriage to actress Kareena Kapoor</a> and her aunt Soha Ali Khan’s marriage to actor Kunal Khemu, she did manage to look ravishing in a photo shoot she did for a popular magazine with her mother Amrita Singh, back in 2012. To date, she remains absent from the social media, and can only be seen in images shared by her father or brother Ibrahim Ali Khan.<br />
<br />
Ishaan, on the other hand, is active on social media, particularly on Instagram, where he keeps on sharing his images and dubsmash videos. Ishaan is known to be a trained dancer from Shiamak Davar's dance academy, the same place where his brother learned his killer moves, and has already started his training in movies by being an Assistant Director in films, as suggested by his Instagram posts.<br />
<br />
Talking of Instagram, here is a look at some of his best images and videos that the Khattar lad shared with the world, to convince you that Karan Johar has again managed to find someone who seems to have a bright future in the Bollywood industry, and it’s not just about the way he looks or dances, though we do have to applause him for his dancing skills that he even showed off during <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Stop-everything-and-watch-Ishaan-and-Shahid-doing-the-Dhating-Naach/articleshow/48019852.cms">Shahid’s marriage to Mira Rajput</a> last year. Khattar, who comes across as committed to his fitness, can be seen doing various lifts and adventure sports, showing off his toned body and sculpted abs. Not to forget, his videos give you a glimpse into the many expressions that he can manage to bring out within seconds.<br />
<br />
Have a look!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/ishaan95/?hl=en"><em>Image courtesy: Ishaan Khattar Instagram</em></a>

Who is Ishaan Khattar and why is Karan Johar launching him

'A CITY LOST IN THE DESERT': A visit to the Sahara's uranium capital

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/542b20546bb3f7c37a02ebd9-1200-924/sudan-president-omar-hassan-al-bashir-3.jpg?maxX=480&amp;maxY=360" border="0" alt="Sudan President Omar Hassan al-Bashir" width="480" height="360"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Stringer</span></p><p class="caption">Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir addresses a crowd in North Khartoum</p></img></div><p></p></div>Autocratic regimes in the Middle East are black boxes, and experts constantly disagree over who really moves the levers of power in opaque or compartmentalized authoritarian systems.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Observers can give very different answers to this question - and the answer is sometimes known by only a small handful of regime insiders. When few people really know who's making the decisions within a place like Iran or Syria, it becomes harder for outside actors to formulate a response to those decisions. </span></p>
<p>A 30-page internal document obtained and published by researcher, activist, Smith College English professor and Enough Project senior fellow Eric Reeves gives a partial answer to these questions, in one country at least. The <a href="http://sudanreeves.org/2014/09/29/arabic-original-and-hand-written-english-translation-of-31-august-2014-meeting-pages-3-6/">minutes of a high-level meeting among security officials in Sudan</a> offers a glimpse into how the sausage is made within one <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-worlds-worst-dictator-came-to-power-25-years-ago-today-2014-6">notoriously opaque and deeply problematic Middle Eastern regime</a>. </p>
<p><span>(On his website, Reeves claims the source of the document is unimpeachable and is firmly standing behind its authenticity. One Sudanese expert contacted by Business Insider said he believes the document is real, although another expressed skepticism about its veracity.)</span></p>
<p>The document captures the positions of major regime players on various important strategic issues, giving an idea of whose opinion counts - and whose doesn't. And it places some obscure and shadowy regime figures at the center of the decision-making process, including operatives whose names likely wouldn't be known to a majority of people inside Sudan itself.</p>
<p>Most importantly, it's a fly-on-the-wall glimpse into one country's view of the situation in a chaotic Middle East - an assessment made more honest and realistic by the fact that it was never intended to be made public. Assuming the document is real, then Sudan is reassessing its relationship with Iran, while more firmly taking sides in other regional hotspots.</p>
<p>Here are its biggest revelations.</p>
<p><strong>The government is conflicted over its relationship with Iran. </strong>Sudan is Iran's only Sunni Arab ally. Iran <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/sudan-factory-strike-may-represent-escalation-in-iran-israel-proxy-war/">operates military facilities in Khartoum</a> and uses the country as a staging area for <a href="http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/19/smuggling-weapons-to-gaza-the-long-way/">weapons smuggling</a> to militant groups in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. This makes a certain amount of sense: both countries are <keyword id="6356001" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="international">international</keyword> pariahs. And both fancy themselves revolutionary Islamist regimes, even if they come from opposite ends of the Middle East's violent sectarian divide.</p>
<p>But Sudan's closeness with Iran was a matter of debate at the meeting. Mustapha Osman Ismail, the political secretary of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), said the relationship with Iran was purely "military and strategic," and warned that close relations could sour Sudan's relationship with oil-rich Sunni states in the Persian Gulf - on top of Iran's operation of Shi'ite "cultural centers" to try to convert followers in Sudan. "<span>We need to strike a balance in the relation between Gulf States and Iran," said Osman. "Our diplomacy must work here."</span></p>
<p><span>The country's Minister of <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">Defense</keyword> disagreed. A<span>bdal-Rahim Mohammed Hisen said that <span>"our relation with Iran ... is strategic and everlasting. We cannot compromise or lose it. All the advancement in our military industry is from Iran."</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>Ibrahim Ghandur, the deputy chairman of the NCP, added that "the relation with Iran is one of the best relations in the history of Sudan."</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>Hisen said that there was "one full battalion of Republican Guards" in the country.</span></span></span></p>
<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/542b207decad04cc5302ebe1-524-393/libya-bombing-raids-2.jpeg" border="0" alt="Libya bombing raids"><p class="source"><span>Abdullah Doma/AFP</span></p><p class="caption">Smoke over Tripoli after Egyptian and UAE airstrikes in August</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Sudan is supporting Islamists in Libya. </strong>The vast north African country has disintegrated in recent months, with Islamists pitted against secular nationalists and a cratering of official government authority. In late August, Egypt and the UAE <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/26/united-arab-emirates-bombing-raids-libyan-militias">bombed Islamist positions</a> inside of Libya, but Sudan is on the other side of that particular divide - along with a couple, more high-profile regional players.</p>
<p>According to Imadiin Adawi, the security services' "chief of joint operations:"</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">The Libyan boarder is totally secured, especially after the victory of our allies (Libya Dawn Forces) [Ed note: see <a href="http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2014/08/libya-tripoli-control-hifter-tribal-forces.html">here</a>] in Tripoli. We managed to reach to them the weapons and military equipment <strong>donated by Qatar and Turkey</strong> and we formed a joint operations room under a colonel for coordination purposes with them on how to administer the military operations. Turkey and Qatar provided us with information in favor of the revolutionaries on top of the information collected by our own agents that benefit them to win the war and control the whole country. [Emphasis ours]</p>
<p><strong>Some in Khartoum think the government can win its civil wars this year.</strong> Darfur has been the site of a horrifying civil war for nearly a decade, and certain southern states have been warring against the government since 2011. Yahya Mohammed Kher, the state minister of defense, thinks that can end this year with a scorched-earth campaign:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">This year will mark the end of the rebellion, because we shall send a big force that will attack from all directions. We shall take them by surprise, by sending big forces from Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile and Darfur, in an offensive supported by Air Force, heavy bombardment. We defeat and turn them into a political opposition that is easy to dismantle.</p>
<p>This shouldn't be taken literally - but at the very least, it shows that some segment of the regime thinks the government has the ability to solve the country's problems using overwhelming. And this might presage future internal turmoil if the government proves unwilling or incapable of winning its wars outright.</p>
<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/542b20db6da8111276158e64-1200-924/darfur-conflict.jpg" border="0" alt="Darfur conflict" width="480" height="360"><p class="source"><span>Albert Gonzalez Farran/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">UN peacekeepers in Darfur</p></img></div><p></p></div>Sudan still views South Sudan as an enemy - and is still meddling there. </strong>The oil-rich south of Sudan seceded to form its own country in July of 2011, after nearly three decades of civil war. Bakril Hasan Salih, Sudan's 1st Vice President, says that "<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The greatest security and social threat is coming from South Sudan (foreign [partners] Uganda, America, France and Israel), the Armed Movements, South Sudanese and two areas displaced and refugees due to war."</span></p>
<p><span>"Dr. Riak paid me a visit on Aug. 11</span><span>th</span><span> 2014," he adds, likely in reference to Riak Machar, one of the major anti-government militant leaders in South Sudan.</span></p>
<p><strong>A blunt, honest look at how security services work in an authoritarian state.  "</strong>In our preparations for the elections we are six months ahead of time," says Al-Rashid Fagiri, the "head of popular security." Great, right? Except by this he means: "We have already increased the number of our agents within the other political parties who are working inside the country, with the aim to influence the decision making process in each party to our favor." </p>
<p><span>"Regarding the rebels," he continues - a broad category in as oppressive and war-torn a country as Sudan - "I can say that we have managed to infiltrate their rank and file. We are following all their movements, chats, private affairs with women, the type of alcohol preferred or taken by each one, the imaginary talks when they get drunk. We have ladies who are always in contact with them. The ladies managed to send to us their e-mails, telephone numbers, skypes, whats-ups and all their means of communications."</span></p>
<h3><a href="http://sudanreeves.org/2014/09/29/arabic-original-and-hand-written-english-translation-of-31-august-2014-meeting-pages-3-6/">Read the whole thing here.</a></h3>

An Intimate Look Inside One Of The Middle East's Most Brutal And Opaque Regimes

<p class="p1"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/539b6717eab8eae109b8bbc6-728-546/qassem-suleimani-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Qassem Suleimani" style="color: #000000;"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.farsnews.com/newsh.php?hoz=50">Fars News</a></span></p><p class="caption">A former CIA operative described Qassem Suleimani, the head of Iran's Quds Force, as the "most powerful operative in the Middle East today."</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Qassem Suleimani has been called the single most powerful operative in the Middle East today. Take a look at his resume and it's no surprise why.<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p><p class="p1">As the commander of Iran's Quds Force - the foreign branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards best described as a cross between the CIA and Special Forces - Suleimani has emerged as Iran's leading foreign strategist. Suleimani has fomented unrest in Iraq, lead, supplied, and trained Bashar al-Assad's army in Syria, and maintained a vast network of contacts and operatives throughout the world.  </p><p class="p1">Due to the nature of his position, Suleimani's operations have usually been clandestine. It's often impossible to know for sure whether Suleimani and his Quds Force have been involved. But after one look at the circumstantial evidence, patterns begin to emerge. <span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p><p class="p1">Here's a few of the operations that Suleimani has been tied to over the last twenty years. </p><h3>1. Guiding the Iraqi insurgency throughout the Iraq War (2003-2011)<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5203e673ecad045110000017-1200-924/rtr2ue5f.jpg" border="0" alt="RTR2UE5F"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&amp;VF=SearchDetailPopupPage&amp;VBID=2C0BXZ6QECXDG&amp;PN=301&amp;IID=2C04080ZRKJ3K">Umit Bektas/Reuters</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h3><p class="p1">Since the beginning of the Iraq War, Suleimani has sent Qods Force agents and officers into Iraq to train, fund, and lead Shiite militias against Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist party. Once that was eliminated, Suleimani trained his attention on Coalition forces. Senior Qods Force officers, including the third highest-ranking officer in the Force, have turned up in Iraq. At one point, it <a href="http://www.cfr.org/iran/irans-involvement-iraq/p12521#p1">was estimated that as many as 30,000 Iranian operatives were in Iraq</a>.<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p><p class="p1">Initially, Iranian involvement amounted to training and arming the country's militias. After the U.S. caught wind of Iran's strategy and began capturing Iranian officers, Suleimani and Iranian forces began directly attacking Coalition forces through their proxies. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">In addition, Iran </span><a href="https://www.understandingwar.org/report/irans-proxy-war-against-united-states-and-iraq">helped create "secret cells," groups of 20-60 Iraqis that have been trained and armed in Iran</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to attack Coalition forces and undermine the Iraqi government.</span></p><p class="p1">The Qods Force is responsible for importing the roadside bombs, IEDs, and explosively-formed projectiles, that inflicted a massive amount of casualties on Coalition troops.</p><p class="p1">It's estimated that around 20% of American combat deaths in Iraq came directly or indirectly from Iran and the Quds Force. </p><p class="p1"> </p><h3>2. The 2005 Assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53bc053769beddf7765147b5-1200-800/rafichariri.jpg" border="0" alt="rafichariri" style="font-size: 1.17em;"><p class="source"><span>Photo by Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Lebanese men mourn at the grave side of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese Prime Minister on February 21, 2005 in Beirut, Lebanon. </p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h3><p class="p1">On February 14th, 2005, Rafic Hariri, a former prime minister of Lebanon and of the leaders of the country's Sunni community, was assasinated when more than 2,000 pounds of TNT detonated by his motorcade in Beirut, killing him and 21 others.</p><p class="p1">Shortly after the assassination, the United Nations began investigating the bombing and convened its Special Tribunal for Lebanon in 2006. The Tribunal, which is still investigating the attack, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/16/rafik-hariri-assassination-trial-hezbollah-suspects">charged four Hezbollah members in 2011</a>, all of whom have since disappeared - although one has resurfaced in Syria, fighting for Assad).</p><p class="p1">Many in the Tribunal believe that Hezbollah carried out the attack with the approval and support of both Syria and Iran. Syrian officials and Hezbollah have conversely accused Israel and the Mossad of carrying out the assassination, although there is no evidence to support these claims.<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1">Investigators reportedly found that one of the disposable cell phones used by the killers made at least a dozen calls to Iran before and after the assassination. In addition, Iranian operatives were overheard minutes before the assassination, directing the attack. </p><p class="p4">"If indeed Iran was involved, <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/09/30/130930fa_fact_filkins?currentPage=all">Suleimani was undoubtedly at the center of this</a>," Robert Baer, a former senior C.I.A. official,  told Dexter Filkins of the New Yorker in 2013. <span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p><p class="p4">The assassination triggered the Cedar Revolution, a series of demonstrations that led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. If Iran did carry out the assassination, the expulsion of Syrian troops doesn't seem like the intended result. But that almost didn't matter: Hezbollah ended up wrecking the country's post-Revolution coalition government, and nearly triggered a civil war in 2008.</p><p class="p4"> </p><h3>3. 2006 Hezbollah Cross border raid on Israel<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53bc063e69beddaa795147ba-1200-858/lebanon-6.jpg" border="0" alt="lebanon israel war"><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/Hussein Malla</span></p><p class="caption">An Israeli air strike hits the center of the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon Saturday, July 15, 2006, as Israeli war planes repeatedly blasted the residential area which is a Hezbollah stronghold throughout the day. </p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h3><p class="p1">After years of increased tensions between Hezbollah and Israel, Hezbollah fighters <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/12/AR2006071200262.html">crossed the border into Israel and attacked two Humvees</a> on July 12th, 2006, killing three soldiers and abducting two. The sophisticated attack included other Hezbollah contingents that opened fire on seven Israeli army posts at the same time, knocking out surveillance and communications.</p><p class="p1">The incident set off <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Lebanon_War">the 2006 Lebanon War</a>. The 34-day conflict included Israel airstrikes on both Hezbollah military targets and Lebanese civilian infrastructure, a naval blockade, and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon. </p><p class="p1">The conflict has been considered by many to be the opening round of an Israeli-Iranian proxy war. Iranian Revolutionary Guards <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3280446,00.html">reportedly assisted Hezbollah fighters in firing rockets on Israel, and helped operate Hezbollah outposts during the war</a>. Iran has long been involved with Hezbollah, helping to form, train, and finance the group since its inception.</p><p class="p1">According to some Middle Eastern security officials, the original cross-border raid <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/09/30/130930fa_fact_filkins?currentPage=all">was enacted with Suleimani's guidance</a>, though he did not expect such an intense reaction from Lebanon's southern neighbor.</p><p class="p1"> </p><h3>4. Arranging the 2006 deal that made Nouri al-Maliki Prime Minister of Iraq<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/517d81b869bedd997b00000a-1024-680/1024px-al-maliki,_nouri_(2008).jpeg" border="0" alt="Nouri Al Maliki Iraq President Prime Minster" style="font-size: 1.17em;"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Al-Maliki,_Nouri_(2008).jpg">via Wikimedia Commons</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h3><p class="p1">When Nouri al-Maliki was selected to be the Prime Minister of Iraq in 2006, the U.S. actually saw it as a great victory for their troubled policy in the country. After the first post-war prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, fell from favor, the U.S. went to great lengths to vet potential replacements, partly out of concern over their relationship to Iran. Maliki was seen as someone who was "<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/25/AR2006042501650.html">independent of Iran" Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq said, at the time</a>.</p><p class="p1">More recently, it has been reported that Maliki is far more of a puppet for Iran than U.S. policymakers had thought or expected during the American presence in the country. In Filkins' New Yorker exposè, he reports <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/09/30/130930fa_fact_filkins?currentPage=all">that Suleimani arranged the deal that put Maliki in power, extracting promises of support from the Shiite and Kurdish leaders that eventually put Maliki in power</a>. Suleimani supposedly offered benefits to those that agreed to back Maliki, including an agreement to build a lucrative oil pipeline to Syria. </p><p class="p1">It now appears that Maliki has been helping Iran evade Western economic sanctions via the Iraqi banking industry. He's provided Suleimani with proceeds from 200,000 barrels of Iraqi oil a day. If all that is true, then it isn't such a stretch to assert that Suleimani is the most powerful man in the Arab League's fourth most-populous country.</p><p class="p1"> </p><h3>5. 2007  Raid on the Karabala provincial headquarters in Iraq<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53bc0af569bedd42165147bb-1200-478/karbalatroops.jpg" border="0" alt="karbalatroops" style="font-size: 1.17em;"><p class="source"><span>AP Photos/U.S. Army</span></p><p class="caption">Spc. Johnathan B. Chism of Louisiana, Pvt. Johnathon M. Millican, of Alabama, and Pvt. Shawn Falter of New York are three of the five Americans captured and killed in the raid on the Karbala base in 2007.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h3><p>On January 20th, 2007, a team of twelve men disguised as U.S. soldiers arrived at the Karbala Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Iraq, where U.S. soldiers were conducting meetings with local officials. Once in the compound, the team headed straight for the one building with American soldiers, capturing and eventually killing five U.S. troops. </p><p>After an investigation, American military officials <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/02/world/middleeast/02cnd-iran.html">concluded that the Quds Force knew of, supported, and helped plan the Karabala attack</a>. Many believe that the attack was in retaliation to U.S. forces detaining five Iranian officials accused of helping Iraqis kill American soldiers.</p><p>The U.S. successfully killed the attack's leader, a member of the Iranian-backed group Asaib al Haq, and ended up capturing several of it's planners and participants - one of whom confirmed that the attack was ordered by Iranian officals. </p><p>Suleimani supposedly messaged the American ambassador in Iraq, denying responsibility for the attack. Few Americans believe him. </p><p> </p><h3>6. 2011 plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador in Washington, D.C.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53bc0c4aeab8eacf79e57a51-1200-858/jubeir.jpg" border="0" alt="jubeir"><p class="source"><span>Charles Dharapak/AP</span></p><p class="caption">Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the U.S. Adel al-Jubeir</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h3><p class="p1"><span class="s1">In October 2011, the United States <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/12/us/us-accuses-iranians-of-plotting-to-kill-saudi-envoy.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0">arrested Iranian-American used car-salesman </a></span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/12/us/us-accuses-iranians-of-plotting-to-kill-saudi-envoy.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0">Mansour J. Arbabsiar and Gholam Shakuri, a known member of the Quds Force,</a> for plotting to murder the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the U.S. in Washington, D.C.</p><p class="p1">The plan involved Arbabsiar hiring assassins from the Los Zetas drug cartel for $1.5 million to bomb a restaurant that the ambassador often visited, and included bombings at the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Washington. The plot never got off the ground because the Los Zetas representative that Arbabsiar was negotiating with was actually a DEA informant.  </p><p class="p1">Numerous U.S. officials believe that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, and Suleimani at least knew of the plot. An FBI investigation found that money from a Quds Force bank account had been wired to Arbabsiar and that he was able to identify Quds Force officers from a photo array while in custody. In addition, law enforcement had Arbabsiar make calls to Shakuri in Iran, during which Shakuri urged Arbabsiar to carry out the plot. </p><p class="p1">Nonetheless, many Middle East and Iran analysts found it hard to believe that Iran would carry out an attack on U.S. soil, using a non-Muslim proxy in such a haphazard manner. If Iran did order the attack, it could mark a worrying shift in strategy. </p><p class="p1"> </p><h3>7. Providing Bashar al Assad with billions of dollars in arms, support, strategic training, and troops in Syria<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53bc1081ecad047324e57a51-960-894/assad-43.jpg" border="0" alt="assad"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=583842824992887&amp;set=a.583842601659576.1073741850.533376740039496&amp;type=1&amp;theater">Syrian Presidency/Facebook</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h3><p>While Iran and Syria have always been close allies, Suleimani has gone a step further by taking care of the job that dictator Bashar al-Assad and his generals couldn't: turning the tide of the country's brutal civil war, which has killed over 150,000 people over the past three years.</p><p>According to American officials, Suleimani <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/09/30/130930fa_fact_filkins?currentPage=all">travels to Damascus frequently, where he operates out of a heavily fortified command post</a>, directing the Syrian military, Hezbollah commanders, and Iraqi Shiite militias. </p><p>Suleimani has used his connections with the Iraqi government to arrange access to Iraqi airspace, allowing him him to fly operatives and arms to Damascus. This supply route has been integral to the maintenance and perhaps even the survival of the Assad regime. </p><p>In addition, Suleimani reportedly planned and orchestrated <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_al-Qusayr_(2013)">the Battle of al-Qusayr</a>, a key confrontation that made the Assad regime's victory over the rebels not only possible, but likely. The momentum of the two-week battle was shifted with the help of Iranian and Hezbollah officers, who encircled the town. </p><p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">According to John Maguire, a former C.I.A. officer in Iraq, Suleimani orchestrated the Battle of al-Qusayr, which was a "<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/09/30/130930fa_fact_filkins?currentPage=all">great victory for him</a>" - another strategic masterstroke from one of the most important and shadowy figures in the Middle East.</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trailer-point-and-shoot-documentary-libyan-revolution-2015-2">This 26-year-old from Baltimore took a 35,000-mile road trip and ended up fighting in the Libyan revolution</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="szNGZoczpV6FOp_YiVp_j5fNW4DvFIZ8" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'szNGZoczpV6FOp_YiVp_j5fNW4DvFIZ8',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

7 times when Iran's strategic mastermind reshaped the Middle East

<h3><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/539b6717eab8eae109b8bbc6-728-546/qassem-suleimani-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Qassem Suleimani" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.farsnews.com/newsh.php?hoz=50">Fars News</a></span></p><p class="caption">A former CIA operative described Qassem Suleimani, the head of Iran's Quds Force, as the "most powerful operative in the Middle East today."</p></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<p class="p1">Qassem Suleimani has been called the single most powerful operative in the Middle East today. Take a look at his resume and it's no surprise why.<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p>
<p class="p1">As the commander of Iran's Quds Force - the foreign branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards best described as a cross between the CIA and Special Forces - Suleimani has emerged as Iran's leading foreign strategist. Suleimani has fomented unrest in Iraq, lead, supplied, and trained Bashar al-Assad's army in Syria, and maintained a vast network of contacts and operatives throughout the world.  </p>
<p class="p1">Due to the nature of his position, Suleimani's operations have usually been clandestine. It's often impossible to know for sure whether Suleimani and his Quds Force have been involved. But after one look at the circumstantial evidence, patterns begin to emerge. <span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p>
<p class="p1">Here's a few of the operations that Suleimani has been tied to over the last twenty years. </p>
<h3>1. Guiding the Iraqi insurgency throughout the Iraq War (2003-2011)<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5203e673ecad045110000017-1200-924/rtr2ue5f.jpg" border="0" alt="RTR2UE5F" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&amp;VF=SearchDetailPopupPage&amp;VBID=2C0BXZ6QECXDG&amp;PN=301&amp;IID=2C04080ZRKJ3K">Umit Bektas/Reuters</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<p class="p1">Since the beginning of the Iraq War, Suleimani has sent Qods Force agents and officers into Iraq to train, fund, and lead Shiite militias against Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist party. Once that was eliminated, Suleimani trained his attention on Coalition forces. Senior Qods Force officers, including the third highest-ranking officer in the Force, have turned up in Iraq. At one point, it <a href="http://www.cfr.org/iran/irans-involvement-iraq/p12521#p1">was estimated that as many as 30,000 Iranian operatives were in Iraq</a>.<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p>
<p class="p1">Initially, Iranian involvement amounted to training and arming the country's militias. After the U.S. caught wind of Iran's strategy and began capturing Iranian officers, Suleimani and Iranian forces began directly attacking Coalition forces through their proxies. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">In addition, Iran </span><a href="https://www.understandingwar.org/report/irans-proxy-war-against-united-states-and-iraq">helped create "secret cells," groups of 20-60 Iraqis that have been trained and armed in Iran</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to attack Coalition forces and undermine the Iraqi government.</span></p>
<p class="p1">The Qods Force is responsible for importing the roadside bombs, IEDs, and explosively-formed projectiles, that inflicted a massive amount of casualties on Coalition troops.</p>
<p class="p1">It's estimated that around 20% of American combat deaths in Iraq came directly or indirectly from Iran and the Quds Force. </p>
<h3>2. The 2005 Assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53bc053769beddf7765147b5-1200-800/rafichariri.jpg" border="0" alt="rafichariri" style="font-size: 1.17em;" /><p class="source"><span>Photo by Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Lebanese men mourn at the grave side of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese Prime Minister on February 21, 2005 in Beirut, Lebanon. </p></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<p class="p1">On February 14th, 2005, Rafic Hariri, a former prime minister of Lebanon and of the leaders of the country's Sunni community, was assasinated when more than 2,000 pounds of TNT detonated by his motorcade in Beirut, killing him and 21 others.</p>
<p class="p1">Shortly after the assassination, the United Nations began investigating the bombing and convened its Special Tribunal for Lebanon in 2006. The Tribunal, which is still investigating the attack, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/16/rafik-hariri-assassination-trial-hezbollah-suspects">charged four Hezbollah members in 2011</a>, all of whom have since disappeared - although one has resurfaced in Syria, fighting for Assad).</p>
<p class="p1">Many in the Tribunal believe that Hezbollah carried out the attack with the approval and support of both Syria and Iran. Syrian officials and Hezbollah have conversely accused Israel and the Mossad of carrying out the assassination, although there is no evidence to support these claims.<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="p1">Investigators reportedly found that one of the disposable cell phones used by the killers made at least a dozen calls to Iran before and after the assassination. In addition, Iranian operatives were overheard minutes before the assassination, directing the attack. </p>
<p class="p4">"If indeed Iran was involved, <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/09/30/130930fa_fact_filkins?currentPage=all">Suleimani was undoubtedly at the center of this</a>," Robert Baer, a former senior C.I.A. official,  told Dexter Filkins of the New Yorker in 2013. <span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> </span></p>
<p class="p4">The assassination triggered the Cedar Revolution, a series of demonstrations that led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. If Iran did carry out the assassination, the expulsion of Syrian troops doesn't seem like the intended result. But that almost didn't matter: Hezbollah ended up wrecking the country's post-Revolution coalition government, and nearly triggered a civil war in 2008.</p>
<h3>3. 2006 Hezbollah Cross border raid on Israel<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53bc063e69beddaa795147ba-1200-858/lebanon-6.jpg" border="0" alt="lebanon israel war" /><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/Hussein Malla</span></p><p class="caption">An Israeli air strike hits the center of the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon Saturday, July 15, 2006, as Israeli war planes repeatedly blasted the residential area which is a Hezbollah stronghold throughout the day. </p></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<p class="p1">After years of increased tensions between Hezbollah and Israel, Hezbollah fighters <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/12/AR2006071200262.html">crossed the border into Israel and attacked two Humvees</a> on July 12th, 2006, killing three soldiers and abducting two. The sophisticated attack included other Hezbollah contingents that opened fire on seven Israeli army posts at the same time, knocking out surveillance and communications.</p>
<p class="p1">The incident set off <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Lebanon_War">the 2006 Lebanon War</a>. The 34-day conflict included Israel airstrikes on both Hezbollah military targets and Lebanese civilian infrastructure, a naval blockade, and a ground invasion of southern Lebanon. </p>
<p class="p1">The conflict has been considered by many to be the opening round of an Israeli-Iranian proxy war. Iranian Revolutionary Guards <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3280446,00.html">reportedly assisted Hezbollah fighters in firing rockets on Israel, and helped operate Hezbollah outposts during the war</a>. Iran has long been involved with Hezbollah, helping to form, train, and finance the group since its inception.</p>
<p class="p1">According to some Middle Eastern security officials, the original cross-border raid <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/09/30/130930fa_fact_filkins?currentPage=all">was enacted with Suleimani's guidance</a>, though he did not expect such an intense reaction from Lebanon's southern neighbor.</p>
<h3>4. Arranging the 2006 deal that made Nouri al-Maliki Prime Minister of Iraq<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/517d81b869bedd997b00000a-1024-680/1024px-al-maliki,_nouri_(2008).jpeg" border="0" alt="Nouri Al Maliki Iraq President Prime Minster" style="font-size: 1.17em;" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Al-Maliki,_Nouri_(2008).jpg">via Wikimedia Commons</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<p class="p1">When Nouri al-Maliki was selected to be the Prime Minister of Iraq in 2006, the U.S. actually saw it as a great victory for their troubled policy in the country. After the first post-war prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, fell from favor, the U.S. went to great lengths to vet potential replacements, partly out of concern over their relationship to Iran. Maliki was seen as someone who was "<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/25/AR2006042501650.html">independent of Iran" Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq said, at the time</a>.</p>
<p class="p1">More recently, it has been reported that Maliki is far more of a puppet for Iran than U.S. policymakers had thought or expected during the American presence in the country. In Filkins' New Yorker exposè, he reports <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/09/30/130930fa_fact_filkins?currentPage=all">that Suleimani arranged the deal that put Maliki in power, extracting promises of support from the Shiite and Kurdish leaders that eventually put Maliki in power</a>. Suleimani supposedly offered benefits to those that agreed to back Maliki, including an agreement to build a lucrative oil pipeline to Syria. </p>
<p class="p1">It now appears that Maliki has been helping Iran evade Western economic sanctions via the Iraqi banking industry. He's provided Suleimani with proceeds from 200,000 barrels of Iraqi oil a day. If all that is true, then it isn't such a stretch to assert that Suleimani is the most powerful man in the Arab League's fourth most-populous country.</p>
<h3>5. 2007  Raid on the Karabala provincial headquarters in Iraq<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53bc0af569bedd42165147bb-1200-478/karbalatroops.jpg" border="0" alt="karbalatroops" style="font-size: 1.17em;" /><p class="source"><span>AP Photos/U.S. Army</span></p><p class="caption">Spc. Johnathan B. Chism of Louisiana, Pvt. Johnathon M. Millican, of Alabama, and Pvt. Shawn Falter of New York are three of the five Americans captured and killed in the raid on the Karbala base in 2007.</p></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<p>On January 20th, 2007, a team of twelve men disguised as U.S. soldiers arrived at the Karbala Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Iraq, where U.S. soldiers were conducting meetings with local officials. Once in the compound, the team headed straight for the one building with American soldiers, capturing and eventually killing five U.S. troops. </p>
<p>After an investigation, American military officials <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/02/world/middleeast/02cnd-iran.html">concluded that the Quds Force knew of, supported, and helped plan the Karabala attack</a>. Many believe that the attack was in retaliation to U.S. forces detaining five Iranian officials accused of helping Iraqis kill American soldiers.</p>
<p>The U.S. successfully killed the attack's leader, a member of the Iranian-backed group Asaib al Haq, and ended up capturing several of it's planners and participants - one of whom confirmed that the attack was ordered by Iranian officals. </p>
<p>Suleimani supposedly messaged the American ambassador in Iraq, denying responsibility for the attack. Few Americans believe him. </p>
<h3>6. 2011 plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador in Washington, D.C.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53bc0c4aeab8eacf79e57a51-1200-858/jubeir.jpg" border="0" alt="jubeir" /><p class="source"><span>Charles Dharapak/AP</span></p><p class="caption">Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the U.S. Adel al-Jubeir</p></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">In October 2011, the United States <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/12/us/us-accuses-iranians-of-plotting-to-kill-saudi-envoy.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0">arrested Iranian-American used car-salesman </a></span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/12/us/us-accuses-iranians-of-plotting-to-kill-saudi-envoy.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0">Mansour J. Arbabsiar and Gholam Shakuri, a known member of the Quds Force,</a> for plotting to murder the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the U.S. in Washington, D.C.</p>
<p class="p1">The plan involved Arbabsiar hiring assassins from the Los Zetas drug cartel for $1.5 million to bomb a restaurant that the ambassador often visited, and included bombings at the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Washington. The plot never got off the ground because the Los Zetas representative that Arbabsiar was negotiating with was actually a DEA informant.  </p>
<p class="p1">Numerous U.S. officials believe that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, and Suleimani at least knew of the plot. An FBI investigation found that money from a Quds Force bank account had been wired to Arbabsiar and that he was able to identify Quds Force officers from a photo array while in custody. In addition, law enforcement had Arbabsiar make calls to Shakuri in Iran, during which Shakuri urged Arbabsiar to carry out the plot. </p>
<p class="p1">Nonetheless, many Middle East and Iran analysts found it hard to believe that Iran would carry out an attack on U.S. soil, using a non-Muslim proxy in such a haphazard manner. If Iran did order the attack, it could mark a worrying shift in strategy. </p>
<h3>7. Providing Bashar al Assad with billions of dollars in arms, support, strategic training, and troops in Syria<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53bc1081ecad047324e57a51-960-894/assad-43.jpg" border="0" alt="assad" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=583842824992887&amp;set=a.583842601659576.1073741850.533376740039496&amp;type=1&amp;theater">Syrian Presidency/Facebook</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<p>While Iran and Syria have always been close allies, Suleimani has gone a step further by taking care of the job that dictator Bashar al-Assad and his generals couldn't: turning the tide of the country's brutal civil war, which has killed over 150,000 people over the past three years.</p>
<p>According to American officials, Suleimani <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/09/30/130930fa_fact_filkins?currentPage=all">travels to Damascus frequently, where he operates out of a heavily fortified command post</a>, directing the Syrian military, Hezbollah commanders, and Iraqi Shiite militias. </p>
<p>Suleimani has used his connections with the Iraqi government to arrange access to Iraqi airspace, allowing him him to fly operatives and arms to Damascus. This supply route has been integral to the maintenance and perhaps even the survival of the Assad regime. </p>
<p>In addition, Suleimani reportedly planned and orchestrated <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_al-Qusayr_(2013)">the Battle of al-Qusayr</a>, a key confrontation that made the Assad regime's victory over the rebels not only possible, but likely. The momentum of the two-week battle was shifted with the help of Iranian and Hezbollah officers, who encircled the town. </p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">According to John Maguire, a former C.I.A. officer in Iraq, Suleimani orchestrated the Battle of al-Qusayr, which was a "<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/09/30/130930fa_fact_filkins?currentPage=all">great victory for him</a>" - another strategic masterstroke from one of the most important and shadowy figures in the Middle East.</span></p>

You Searched For "mark ibrahim" and got 11 results

Police raided 5 properties linked to Malaysia's allegedly corrupt ex-prime minister a week after he was defeated by his former mentor

Tara Francis Chan

Belgian police just released several new images and video of one of the Brussels attacks suspects

Natasha Bertrand

"Fortnite" will award $100 million in prizes this year, but some pro players say that's not enough to keep them motivated

Kevin Webb

A Muslim doctor and sister helped convict pro-ISIS hate preachers on a major London shopping street

Kate Ng

SRK, Rajnikanth, Ranveer Singh set to fire up the silver screens in 2023: Here are the most-anticipated upcoming Indian movie releases

Srishti Magan

Who is Ishaan Khattar and why is Karan Johar launching him

Nandini Sharma

'A CITY LOST IN THE DESERT': A visit to the Sahara's uranium capital

Armin Rosen

An Intimate Look Inside One Of The Middle East's Most Brutal And Opaque Regimes

Armin Rosen

7 times when Iran's strategic mastermind reshaped the Middle East

Harrison Jacobs

7 Times When Iran's Strategic Mastermind Reshaped The Middle East

Harrison Jacobs

First They Attacked A Mall, Then They Repelled SEAL Team Six: The Rise of Al Qaeda 2.0

David Francis