The Wire - February 6, 2026

//The Wire//2300Z February 6, 2026//
//ROUTINE//
//BLUF: IRANIAN FORCES HIJACK TWO VESSELS IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ. GRENADE ATTACK REPORTED IN FRANCE. RUSSIAN GENERAL TARGET OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT IN MOSCOW. DETAILS EMERGE REGARDING TERROR ATTACK IN GURNEE, ILLINOIS.//

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-International Events-

Middle East: Yesterday Iranian forces seized two tanker vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. These vessels have not officially been named yet, however the footage provided by the IRGC-N indicates these were smaller, more-regional tankers carrying fuel to other locations around the region. Otherwise, on the diplomatic front, the talks between Iranian and American officials concluded today without much note, other than mainstream media sources claiming that the Iranians have refused to halt the enrichment of Uranium.

Analyst Comment: The Iranians say this quite literally every time, and today was only the first day of negotiations. The positive news is that neither side flipped the table and walked away; all parties have further talks planned after today's meetings in Oman.

Russia: Overnight, a high-ranking General was the victim of an attempted assassination in Moscow. The Kremlin states that Vladimir Alekseyev was shot several times by an unidentified assailant, at his apartment near a pizza restaurant in northwest Moscow. LTG Alekseyev is serving as the deputy chief of Military Intelligence for the Kremlin.

France: This morning an attack involving explosives was carried out in Grenoble, after two assailants threw a hand grenade into a beauty salon near the downtown area. The suspects recorded a video of the attack, and provided a video confession as well, which linked the attack to Fenec38, an Algerian gang/criminal group.

Analyst Comment: Details on this exact criminal group are hard to come by, at least in English-speaking publications, so it's possible that this is a smaller group trying to improve their standing in the web of criminal groups that now completely dominate the city of Grenoble.

This attack also bears striking resemblance to another attack, carried out in the same manner, on a similar target, in the same city, using the same weapon. Back in February of last year, a hand grenade was tossed into a bar/lounge in Grenoble, near the old Olympic village.

Concerning today's target (the beauty salon), it's not entirely clear as to why this target was chosen. However, as per the Google Maps listing for the site, some sort of home health company is also registered at this address.

While no direct causal link can be established between the two incidents beyond the similarities already observed, it must be noted that these individuals are ruthless killers. In both cases, soft targets were chosen to inflict as much violence on innocent people as possible, with the attacker today throwing the hand grenade quite literally at the feet of a child in the salon. It is only by sheer miracle that the six people inside the salon only suffered minor wounds, and were not immediately killed outright. Instead, the shrapnel from the grenade missed every person in the salon, and none of the victims even required hospitalization, at least according to local media reports. Nevertheless, the attackers attempted to carry out the mass murder of innocent people, continuing what has become a trend throughout France, as ordinary street gangs and organized crime groups alike continue to wage war on the nation.

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Analyst Comments: In Illinois, more details have come to light regarding a vehicle ramming attack and stabbing incident that took place in Gurnee on Monday. At the time, local media initially reported that the incident was an accident involving two people struck by a car in the parking lot of Gurnee Mills Mall.

However, after the details of the arrest that was made became public, the suspect's name was posted and the full story became clear. This incident was not an accident, but rather a deliberate terror attack, as confirmed by social media posts made by the attacker after the ramming attack. The suspect, who has been identified as Katelyn Harmon, initially rammed two people with her vehicle in the parking lot of Hobby Lobby at Mills Mall. After conducting this attack, she fled the scene in her vehicle, parking behind a strip mall a few hundred yards to the southwest of the initial attack site. At this location, the suspect recorded a video for social media, claiming credit for the attack. Shortly after the video was taken, a man parked his vehicle next to the suspect, in the adjacent parking space. The suspect then exited her vehicle, and the second phase of the attack began, with the suspect using the butcher knife that she showcased in the social media video to slash one of the man's tires, and stab one of his windows. A physical altercation developed between Harmon and the man, which resulted in the man being stabbed by the suspect as he attempted to gain control of the knife. The unidentified man was able to restrain and disarm the suspect, before gaining the attention of a police officer who patrolling the scene of the earlier ramming incident. As the officer attempted to intervene, Harmon grabbed the knife and approached the officer, who used a taser to bring the third phase of the attack to a halt.

Concerning motive, the attacker appears to be either transgender or of questionable status in the video confession posted on social media, and several references were also made to contradictory religious ideology, in addition to homelessness. In any case, this attack meets the criteria for a Complex Coordinated Attack (CCA), as multiple weapons were used during the phases of the attack (the vehicle and the knife). Harmon is currently in jail awaiting trial.

Analyst: S2A1
Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground
Disclaimer: No LLMs were used in the writing of this report.
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