//The Wire//1700Z March 23, 2024//

//ROUTINE//

//BLUF: U.S. DOJ LAUNCHES NEW RED FLAG PORTAL, CROCUS SHOOTING SUSPECTS ARRESTED IN RUSSIA.//

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-International Events-

Russia: Though details are challenging to verify with any veracity, the death toll following the Crocus terror attack has reportedly risen to over 120. FSB agents have arrested over a dozen suspects in connection with the attack. Almost all of the shooters have been captured alive, and most appear to ethnically be of Tajik descent, or at minimum not ethnically Russian.

Far East: Tensions between Taiwan and China have increased slightly above baseline this week following the deployment of American troops to Kinmen Island. The occupation of this observation post, though largely having been an open-secret over the past few years has reignited local tensions and provided another opportunity for escalation.

-HomeFront-

Washington D.C. – This morning the Department of Justice launched the National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center. AC: This is essentially a learning portal intended to share information with local police, medical providers, and informants on how to more effectively confiscate guns and remove rights via red flag laws and other extrajudicial processes.

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Analyst Comments: Though again details are impossible to verify independently, the Russian FSB has released initial field interrogation videos of several of the Crocus shooting suspects taken immediately after arrest. Accounting for the fact that these videos are always taken under a state of duress and probably scripted (or at minimum, rehearsed), all of the shooting suspects indicated they were recruited on Telegram and paid to conduct the attack. Again, it must be stressed that most of these “field interrogations” involve clearly documented cases of torture, so any confessions made aren’t very reliable from an intelligence collection standpoint.

However, in the interest of expediency being the most effective method of countering runaway theories, this is an important distinction to make as the mainstream media is running with the story that the attackers were ISIS and the attack was carried out for ideological reasons. Considering these very rough initial details, at the very least it would be operationally prudent to remember that none of the other confirmed details of this attack match the typical ISIS attack profile. The assailants surviving the attack alone is a strong indicator of ideology not being the driving factor behind this incident.

Analyst: S2A1

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