Today's Headlines and Commentary

Three terrorists attacked a Pakistani police academy in Quetta on Monday night, killing at least 61 people, reports the Wall Street Journal. The militants broke into the training center’s dorms and killed the unarmed cadets with explosives and gunfire. Pakistani security forces then arrived and cleared the center after four hours of fighting, which ended when two of the attackers detonated explosive vests and the third was shot. Officials believe the terrorists may have planned to strike different targets in Quetta but shifted to the training academy on the city’s outskirts after security forces went on high alert, writes the Washington Post.

The Islamic State and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Alami claimed responsibility for the attack, with the latter stating it collaborated with the Islamic State. The New York Times notes that the Islamic State’s Amaq news agency included a photo of the alleged attackers with its claim, while Reuters adds that the attack illustrates growing concerns about the Islamic State’s influence over groups in Pakistan.

The U.S.-backed coalition has made further gains in rolling back the Islamic State’s presence in Iraq, CNN reports. Coalition forces have recaptured 78 towns and exceeded expectations in speed and cooperation. A local leader claims hundreds of Islamic State militants have fled to Syria, but there are also reports that those who remain are killing civilians in mass: ISIS fighters killed 40 civilians celebrating the approach of Iraqi government forces on Sunday and 284 men and boys in the preceding days. Reuters has more on the Islamic State’s humanitarian abuses as the coalition nears Mosul.

The Islamic State has responded to the Mosul offensive with a series of counter-attacks across Iraq, primarily in the cities of Kirkuk and Rutba, writes Reuters. These operations aim to divert attention and resources away from the main offensive, and Iraqi officials believe that similar diversionary attacks may continue throughout the Mosul offensive. Iraqi security forces cleared Kirkuk yesterday after three days of fighting and the death of 74 Islamic State militants, notes Newsweek, while the Iraqi government announced today that it had retaken Rutba after a day of fighting.

Turkey is threatening a ground offensive into Iraq, reports the AP. Turkish officials cited the threat from both the Islamic State and Kurdish rebels linked to Turkish-based insurgents. This announcement comes amid continued Turkish airstrikes against these Kurdish groups, including the U.S.-backed YPG.

Russia will no longer implement “humanitarian pauses” in the siege of Aleppo, writes the AP. Neither Syrian rebels nor civilians complied with the Russian and Syrian demands to flee the city during the last pause. Government forces renewed their assault over the weekend, capturing strategically important high ground in the city. The Kremlin denies observers’ claims that it resumed airstrikes on Saturday, claiming it upheld its unilateral ceasefire, notes Reuters. Amid the fighting, the United Nations announced that it would not be able to evacuate the wounded from rebel-held territory in Aleppo.

Western leaders have consistently denounced Russian airstrikes as violating basic humanitarian protections. NATO rebuked Russia for deploying a new battle group, which includes Russia’s only carrier, to the Syrian coast to supplement its ability to strike insurgents, adds Reuters.

German police conducted raids on fourteen people suspected of financing terrorism, Reuters reports. No arrests were made. The operation is part of a surge of German police activity following a series of terror attacks across Europe and the arrival of over a million migrants and refugees over the past year. While only a small fraction of migrants pose security risks, it has been difficult for German authorities to sort the signal from the noise. The Times chronicles Germany’s significant reliance on American intelligence sources to counter these threats.

France relocated 1,600 migrants yesterday while preparing to demolish the refugee camp in Calais. Authorities cleared the camp, known as the “Jungle,” without major incident. The migrants—many of whom had hoped to make it from Calais to Britain—now face uncertain futures as they are distributed across France. The Post documents the camp’s demise.

Al-Shabaab launched a series of attacks Monday and Tuesday, Reuters tells us. The group shot a Somali intelligence officer on Monday, killed seventeen Djiboutian soldiers by bombing an African Union base on Tuesday, and killed twelve civilians in a Kenyan hotel the same day. Al-Shabaab likely designed the attacks to influence the upcoming Somali parliamentary elections and to pressure foreign nations to withdraw their military forces from Somalia.

Indian police killed 24 Maoist insurgents in a raid on a training camp yesterday, the Times reports. The announcement follows closely behind a rare report from India’s Central Bureau of Investigation that charged Indian paramilitary forces for abusing civilian populations in the counterinsurgency campaign in a 2011 incident. The Post has more.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced that the United States could “forget” about its deal with the Philippines to host a rotational U.S. presence in the country, writes Reuters. Duterte’s resentment to the U.S. military is long-standing, adds the Post. During his time as the mayor of the city of Davao, he limited joint U.S.-Philippines exercises and curtailed U.S. access to an airbase when he was mayor of Davao. His announcement is a blow to the strength of the Obama administration's “pivot to Asia” and a boon for the Chinese military. Duterte is meeting with Japan’s hawkish and pro-American Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tomorrow, and the two will certainly discuss the Philippines’ foreign policy shift toward China and away from the United States. The Journal has more.

An unknown country has agreed to repatriate former Guantanamo prisoner Abu Wa’el Dhiab, the Miami Herald tells us. Dhiab is currently living in Uruguay, but has staged hunger strikes to protest his confinement to the Latin American country.

Guantanamo’s parole board decided that a detainee known as Hambali will continue to be held in indefinite detention, the Miami Herald reports. Hambali was arrested—but never charged—for serving as a link between al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah. The parole board determined he was too dangerous to release.

ICYMI: This Weekend, on Lawfare

Julian Ku assessed the legal implications of the U.S. Navy’s most recent freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea.

Quinta Jurecic analyzed sextortion in a recent episode of Black Mirror.

Benjamin Wittes flagged the comments of former NSA and CIA director General Michael Hayden on Sean Hannity’s newfound affection for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

Jonathan Zittrain outlined some tactics to better protect electronic materials from hacking.

Dan Byman analyzed the evolution of Jabhat al-Nusra.

Benjamin Wittes completed his series arguing for a coalition of democratic forces after the election.

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