Today's Headlines and Commentary

The New York Times brought us news this morning about a string of terrorist attacks on three continents, heightening concerns over spreading jihadist influence around the globe. On Tuesday, an ISIS spokesperson called for increased attacks by its followers during the month of Ramadan, which is often more bloody than other months for victims of jihadist attacks. There is no evidence that the string of global attacks were coordinated, though U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism officials were rushing to determine whether the attacks were related and if so, whether they were directly involved, coordinated or inspired by the Islamic State.

In France, one person was decapitated in a terrorist attack on an American-owned chemical plant in Lyon. The assailant failed in his attempt to blow up the factory and was subsequently arrested at the scene. He is believed to be a worker at the factory whose owner he murder. 39 people were left dead and another 38 wounded after a gunman opened fire on a beach in Tunisia. The lone wolf attacker made clear that tourists were his target, telling Tunisians to flee, before being killed by security forces. And in the first ISIS-related attack in the Gulf, 27 were killed and 202 wounded in an attack on a Shia mosque in Kuwait. The Gulf countries are on high alert as ISIS influence continues to creep further into their region. ISIS claimed resposibility for the assault in Kuwait, but there were no immediate claims of responbility in the others.

In Syria, the Islamic State carried out its second-largest massacre in the country since the declaration of its “caliphate,” killing over 120 in the Turkish border town of Kobani, the Guardian reports. Kobani has become a symbol of nationhood and resistance for the Syrian Kurds who have battled for months to keep the terorrist group out of their town.

Reuters tells us that NATO will assess Afghanistan military’s performance during “Ramadan fighting season” before deciding how quickly to reduce its military support and training in Afghanistan. The Afghan government’s military forces have suffered an upsurge of casualties while fighting the Taliban, who have escalated attacks this year. NATO pulled most of its combat troops out of Afghanistan last year, though 12,000 personnel remain and are expected to pull out by 2016.

Bloomberg updates us on the status on the Iran nuclear deal with 4 days to go until the looming deadline. The foreign ministers of Iran, France, Russia, China, Britain and Germany along with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are expected to arrive in Vienna this weekend. They will attempt to clear up the remaining points of contention under the Lausanne framework, such as the timeline for sanctions relief and Iranian military site inspections. The final text of the deal is expected to be made public, but it will not be signed. These sorts of agreements are not usually signed, according to officials who briefed CNN.

The recent breach of documents from the Foreign Ministry of Saudi Arabia (that were subsequently posted on WikiLeaks) has characteristics similar to former Iranian hacks against the United States and more than a dozen other countries, explains the Washington Post. Allegedly a half million documents were stolen, though only 70,000 have been published so far. The documents contain no bombshell revelations, but they do “paint an unflattering portrait of Saudi diplomacy as reliant on oil-wealth patronage and obsessed with Iran.”

Militants attacked an African Union military base, killing at least 30 and injuring many more in Southern Somalia. The International Business Times reports that Al Shabab, the Al Qaeda affiliated terrorist group, claimed responsibility for the attack. The group’s fighters have taken control of the military base and raised their flag over it. Before the attack, the base was being manned by 100 Burundi soldiers from the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom). The siege comes as the Somali government, backed by 22,000 Amisom troops, continues its battle against the insurgency group for control of the country.

Meanwhile in Burundi police threatened to break up a student protest against President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid to run for a third term, a move they deem as unconstitutional. 200 students sought refuge by climbing over the gates and under the wall of the U.S. Embassy. Students told Al Jazeera that U.S. Ambassador Dawn Liberi assured them she had done everything she could to help them but that they could not spend the night in the embassy. The country erupted into turmoil in April when President Nkurunziza announced his plan to run for a third term which triggered protests and a failed coup attempt.

Yesterday, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry sought to accelerate the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into Israel’s alleged war crimes in last summer’s Gaza war, into its continued building of settlements in the occupied West Bank and into its treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israel. The Washington Post says that the Palestinians are not referring cases to the ICC, rather they are supplying additional evidence to the prosecutor before she decides how to proceed. The United States has threatened to withhold $400 million if the Palestinians refer Israel to the ICC.

Earlier today a Palestinian man was shot in the West Bank after he opened fire on IDF forces at a checkpoint in the Jordan Valley. Palestinian lone-wolf attacks against Israelis in the West Bank and Jerusalem are quite common. The New York Times has the story.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper officially named China as the “leading suspect” in the recent OPM breach, according to the BBC. He even went as far as to say: “You have to kind of salute the Chinese for what they did.” In a highly sophisticated operation, the hackers took the most sensitive information from millions of Americans, including 18 million Social Security numbers. The U.S. government is considering imposing sanctions against China for its allegedly government-sponsored cyberattack.

The Guardian informs us about recent calls in the UK for the government to publish its rules on intelligence sharing. The current situation leaves GCHQ personnel on “hazy ground” and by doing so, it could lead to drone strikes beyond the traditional war zones. Newly published documents from Edward Snowden’s trove revealed potential GCHQ involvement in drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan, neither of which are “recognized” battlefields.

The Wall Street Journal brought us news about evidence of continued Russian aggression in Ukraine. NATO’s supreme allied commander Gen. Philip Breedlove said, “I don’t think that Mr. Putin is done in eastern Ukraine” and that Russia is “ready to do whatever mission is required of it.” NATO defense ministers ended a conference today in which they discussed the enduring threat Moscow poses to the region. Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter pledged additional equipment and manpower to NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) that will be capable of responding to a conflict in as little as 48 hours.

The Washington Post has a story on the difficulty of tracking lone wolf extremists such as Dylann Roof, the confessed perpetrator of the recent Charleston, SC church massacre. Investigators say there has been an increase in the number of white nationalist websites. They also contend that “White racist groups are less capable of producing organized violence, but the attacks that do develop come mainly from solo actors whose paths to violence are far more difficult to track.”

Parting shot: Drone footage captures the eruption of one of the most active volcanoes in the world. The Wall Street Journal has the video.

ICYMI: Yesterday, on Lawfare

Wells broke down by chapter the recently released DoD Law of War Manual.

Ben discussed who’s at fault for the devastating OPM hack.

Email the Roundup Team noteworthy law and security-related articles to include, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for additional commentary on these issues. Sign up to receive Lawfare in your inbox. Visit our Events Calendar to learn about upcoming national security events, and check out relevant job openings on our Job Board.