@Arms_Research Just published: Digitial Bazaar, an in depth look into the online weapons market in northwestern #Syria. It was written by @SALWShanley, @TypeFiftySix, @RogueAdventurer and Me. To read the report follow the link! https://t.co/SsVVZo5Vog

Short thread 🧵 Beyond its adoption by the general public, "AI"/LLMs have also been increasingly used by perpetrators of violent attacks, or by individuals planning such attacks, to assist in their planning.

I suspect that the use of AI/LLMs will continue, particularly by individuals carrying out attacks alone. Despite the many technical problems/security features, "AI"/LLMs can still potentially provide information that can be used to commit violent attacks. /END

attacks or to find information relevant to them. It's noteworthy that the teenagers plans appear to have gone undetected. Given that they had been planning for months without triggering a security mechanism, this is a major issue.

Furthermore, they reported that the men had used ChatGPT prior to the attack to find out whether French law enforcement could monitor SMS messages, Telegram and WhatsApp messages, and phone calls. These three instances from 2025 all involved the use of OpenAI's ChatGPT to plan

Then, in October 2025, France arrested four men who were allegedly planning an attack on the Russian activist Vladimir Osechkin. @derspiegel reported that these men were planning the attack at Russia's behest.

A few months earlier, in March 2025, a teenager in Israel attempted to attack a police station but failed. The indictment noted that he had been planning the attack for two and a half months, again using ChatGPT to search for TTPs for carrying out an attack (what/how). (via YNET)

This has been corroborated by the police, who released information regarding his searches, which focused on TTPs for carrying out such attacks (e.g. how/what to target, law enforcement response, and similar historical attacks). (via YLE).

In May 2025, for example, a teenager in Finland carried out a stabbing attack, injuring three people. In his manifesto, he stated that he had been planning the attack for around six months "with the help of ChatGPT" (via @CSNS_UK READ).

Short thread 🧵 Beyond its adoption by the general public, "AI"/LLMs have also been increasingly used by perpetrators of violent attacks, or by individuals planning such attacks, to assist in their planning.

Supporters of the Islamic State (#IS) continue to exploit social media platforms such as Facebook to spread their propaganda. Historically, Facebook had been more proactive in deleting these posts and accounts, but that appears to may have changed.

Something a little different today: a few pictures of cats from the early days of the Syrian conflict in 2012 in #Homs and #Aleppo.

Old imagery from early 2024 of a #German foreign fighter in an underground positions on the front (likely in northern #Latakia). Since the late 2024 HTS-led takeover, the Germans in Syria that I had been tracking have gone silent / deleted their accounts and channels.

This isn't good enough from ISW. Resharing the work of an independent analyst (with 50x fewer followers) is fine, but just ripping their data & attributing it to "an Israeli analyst" without crediting @BenTzionMacales is atrocious. See his great thread. https://t.co/KUifiUp20Q

Looks like a 23mm AA (ZU-23-2) used at close range (0:44~) in an anti IS CT op in #Aleppo by government security forces. Vehicle markings suggest MoI forces instead of GSS.

We at @Arms_Research together with @airwars launched the new version of the OSMP, with many improvements. If you are looking for munitions used in conflicts, do have a look around!

ARES is monitoring the Iranian attack on Israel this evening. Initial reports suggest most of the munitions employed against Israel were downed by IDF and allied air defences. ARES is reviewing as-yet-unverified footage of missile fragments documented in Israel, Jordan, and Iraq.

After several years of requests, we are making some ARES merch available via micro-crowdfunding site Mithra Market. Want to support the work we do? Consider picking up a sticker, pin, bookmark, or challenge coin. Only limited quantities will be produced. https://t.co/6Fpei0S4ZX

Was #TaurusLeak betrifft, sehe ich kein Problem im Inhalt. Deutsche Offiziere diskutieren, was die #Ukraine tun kann und was #Deutschland im Rahmen der Möglichkeiten beitragen kann. Ist doch gut, dass man Möglichkeiten erörtert hat. Was viel problematischer ist: /1

🔴 OPCW identifies ISIL as perpetrators of 2015 chemical attack in Marea, #Syria. KEY FINDINGS 1. Sulfur mustard attack by ISIL: 🔹 The IIT concludes that there are reasonable grounds to believe that on 1 September 2015, between 09:00 and 12:00 (UTC+3), during sustained attacks

300 days ago, my friend Elizabeth Tsurkov (@Elizrael) was kidnapped by Kataib #Hezbollah in #Baghdad, #Iraq. Amid the #MiddleEast's many spiraling crises, Liz's case must not be forgotten. She must be released.