Hanwei Global Security Intelligence

This issue compiles global security intelligence updates from 3 August to 9 August 2026. Per security risk assessment, regional security levels are shown on the Global Risk Map. Regions including Afghanistan, Syria, Myanmar, Pakistan, Nigeria, Sudan, Ukraine, Palestine and Venezuela are classified as Extreme Risk Zones. During this period, armed conflicts, terrorist attacks and other security incidents occurred frequently in these areas. Chinese-funded enterprises overseas shall strengthen security precautions.

(This brief is for internal risk assessment use only by our company)

Middle East

(I) Syria

Rural Damascus bombing attack kills 2, injures 13. On 6 August, a minibus exploded in Rural Damascus Governorate, Syria, killing at least 2 people and wounding 13, with severe damage to surrounding shops. The Syrian Transitional Government has not released investigation findings and has designated the incident a terrorist attack.

Government forces in Deir ez-Zor come under attack; 1 killed, 2 injured. On 8 August, unidentified armed assailants attacked troops of the Syrian Transitional Government in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, leaving one soldier dead and two wounded.

(II) Iraq

Drone attack near Baghdad International Airport. On 5 August, five suicide drones struck the northern perimeter of Baghdad International Airport. No fatalities were reported, though some nearby facilities sustained damage. The pro-Iran militia Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack.

(III) Iran

Ongoing maritime standoff with the United States. Between 3 and 9 August, Iran and the U.S. remained in a state of neither war nor negotiation, with continued confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz. On 6 August, U.S. President Donald Trump stated the U.S. Navy was enforcing a blockade against Iran and controlling relevant waters. On 8 August, U.S. Central Command confirmed the U.S. Navy continued strict maritime enforcement against Iran. As of that date, U.S. forces had diverted 53 merchant vessels, disabled 2 ships for navigation, and boarded and inspected 2 vessels. Iran maintained restrictions on transit through the Strait of Hormuz, and multiple vessels were attacked. On 3 August, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced it had shot down one MQ‑9 drone over the Strait of Hormuz.

Fuel storage tank explosion in Tehran Province injures 18. On 4 August, an explosion at a fuel tank facility at Shamsabad Industrial Park in Rey City, Tehran Province, Iran, injured 18 people. The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

(IV) Palestine & Israel

Israel-Palestine conflict death toll in Gaza reaches 73,300. From 3 to 9 August, Israel launched strikes across multiple locations in Gaza, causing multiple casualties. Between 2 and 3 August, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out successive airstrikes across Gaza, killing at least 18 Palestinians and wounding many others. According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health data released on 5 August, since the first-phase Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect in October 2025, IDF operations in Gaza have killed 1,254 people and injured 4,121. Since the outbreak of the renewed Israel-Palestine conflict in October 2023, Israeli military operations in Gaza have killed more than 73,381 people and wounded 174,231.

Large funeral in Gaza, 4 August

(V) Lebanon

IDF airstrike kills 1, injures 11. Between 5 and 6 August, Israel launched consecutive airstrikes across southern Lebanon, killing one person and wounding 11. The IDF stated it had struck Hezbollah infrastructure, weapons depots and military command nodes in multiple southern Lebanese locations over the two days.

IDF personnel attacked; 2 killed, 4 seriously injured. On 6 August, the IDF issued a statement saying its troops in southern Lebanon were targeted by Hezbollah, resulting in two service members killed and four critically wounded. No further details were provided.

(VI) Saudi Arabia

Houthi attack in Najran Province injures 11 civilians. On 7 August, the Saudi-led coalition stated that Yemen’s Houthi movement launched an attack in Najran Province, southern Saudi Arabia, on 6 August, injuring 11 people including two children.

(VII) Yemen

Government troops attacked; 35 soldiers killed. On 6 August, Houthi forces assaulted military camps of Yemen’s government in Marib and Hadhramaut Governorates, killing at least 35 government soldiers and wounding dozens. Houthi spokesman Yahya Sareea stated the group used ballistic missiles and drones to target government troop concentrations in Marib and Hadhramaut, causing hundreds of casualties and destroying numerous warehouses, armories and military vehicles.

(VIII) Turkey

Two shooting incidents leave 1 dead, 2 injured. On 3 August, a shooting in Bayrampaşa district, Istanbul Province, killed one person. On the same day, another shooting in Kocasinan district, Kayseri Province, wounded two people.

Asia-Pacific

(I) Afghanistan

Seven militants killed. Media reports on 3 August stated Afghan police clashed with armed fighters in Police District 8 of Kabul on 2 August, killing all seven militants. Police also seized a vehicle plus a cache of weapons and ammunition.

(II) Pakistan

Counter-terrorism operations kill 22 militants. Between 5 and 6 August, Pakistani security forces conducted counter-terrorism operations in Washuk and Mastung, Balochistan Province, killing 12 terrorists. On 7 August, security forces killed another 10 terrorists in a counter-terrorism raid in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

(III) Philippines

Dengue outbreak in Zamboanga City kills 12. On 4 August, the Zamboanga City government announced 1,241 confirmed dengue cases and 12 deaths recorded to date. Dengue is an acute viral disease transmitted mainly by mosquitoes. Typical symptoms include persistent fever, headache, myalgia and arthralgia; severe cases may be fatal.

(IV) Japan

Protest rally held in Hiroshima. On 5 August, large crowds gathered in Hiroshima to demonstrate against the Sanae Takaichi administration’s nuclear weapons-related moves. Protesters assembled before the Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Atomic Bomb Dome), chanting slogans including “Oppose war”, “Never allow revision of the Three Non-Nuclear Principles” and “Do not repeat the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki”.

Scene of the protest

(V) Thailand

School shooting in Nonthaburi kills 9, injures 30. On 7 August, a secondary school shooting in Nonthaburi Province killed nine people including the gunman and wounded more than 30. Initial police findings indicate the suspect, a junior high school student, died by self-inflicted gunshot.

Road crash in Chon Buri kills one Chinese national, injures another. On 6 August, a traffic accident on Koh Larn near Pattaya, Chon Buri Province, killed one Chinese citizen and injured a second. A Chinese father and daughter were riding a motorcycle downhill on Koh Larn when the vehicle lost control and plunged off a cliff; the father died and the daughter sustained injuries.

Africa

(I) Nigeria

Multiple attacks kill 39, abduct 41. Per monitoring reports from Hanwei International West Africa Security Officers:On 3 August, bandits attacked Sabon Birni Tsamaye community in Sokoto State, killing 21 people, abducting 37 and burning multiple homes. The same day, an armed assault in Kebbe Local Government Area of Sokoto State killed one police officer and two civilians and wounded several others. Also on 3 August, suspected armed herders struck Guma Local Government Area, Benue State, killing four people.On 4 August, a joint security patrol was ambushed by gunmen in Riyom Local Government Area, Plateau State, killing two security personnel.On 5 August, suspected bandits attacked Wasagu town in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area, Kebbi State, killing one and abducting four.On 6 August, gunmen assaulted three communities in Lokoja Local Government Area, Kogi State, killing eight people.

(II) South Africa

Multiple shootings kill 15, injure 3. On 3 August, a shooting in Tsakani, Brakpan, Gauteng Province, wounded one person. Over 100 local residents gathered to demand a foreign-owned shop close and vacate the area. Private security guarding the store clashed with the crowd, and a 15‑year‑old boy was shot and wounded. Police have opened a case.On 7 August, a shooting in Regent Park, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng Province, killed four people, including two officers from the SAPS Anti-Gang Unit and two civilians.Between the evening of 8 August and early morning of 9 August, three consecutive shootings took place in Khayelitsha, Langa and Gugulethu in the Cape Flats area of Cape Town (South Africa’s legislative capital), killing a total of 11 and injuring 2.

Xenophobic unrest in KwaZulu-Natal injures 3. On 6 August, protests targeting undocumented migrants erupted in Kranskop, approximately 150 km from Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province, escalating into violent clashes. Ransacking of foreign-owned shops occurred; three foreign nationals were injured and one remains missing.

(III) Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Ebola outbreak kills 1,850. On 6 August, the DRC Ministry of Health released updated figures showing 4,053 confirmed Ebola cases nationwide, including 1,751 fatalities. The WHO stated this outbreak is the largest recorded Ebola epidemic in the DRC. Transmission remains ongoing.

(IV) Sudan

Armed conflict continues. From 3 to 9 August, the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces sustained hostilities across multiple locations in Sudan. This week’s main fighting concentrated in Darfur and Kordofan, causing numerous civilian casualties. Among incidents, four missiles struck the Gulazawia Court building in Kabkabiya, North Darfur State, on 2 August, killing at least 37 people and wounding roughly 40.

(V) Libya

Factional fighting in western Libya kills 5. On 4 August, armed clashes between rival factions erupted in Zawiya and Surman, western Libya, killing at least five people. Combat flared between the 103rd Infantry Battalion under the Libyan Ministry of Defence and the Anti-Terror Threat Agency loyal to the Prime Minister’s Office, causing multiple casualties. The Surman municipal government declared a one‑day public holiday to safeguard residents.

Europe & Americas

(I) United States

Multiple shootings kill 6, injure 11. On 5 August, a shooting at a residence in Caswell County, North Carolina, killed three including the suspect and wounded one; the case is under investigation. On 9 August, eight separate shootings in Chicago killed at least three people and injured ten.

(II) Ukraine

Armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues. From 3 to 9 August, sustained fighting continued. Russia’s Ministry of Defence reported that over the past week, Russian forces used long-range precision land-, sea- and air-launched munitions plus attack drones to conduct large-scale strikes targeting Ukrainian military airfields, defence enterprises, energy infrastructure, and logistics/distribution hubs in Kyiv City and Kyiv Oblast used for drone component production, storage and transport. Russian forces also struck fuel tanks used by Ukrainian troops at Black Sea ports and two Ukrainian dry cargo vessels carrying military supplies. Russian forces secured six population centres in Kharkiv, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts.On the Ukrainian side, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported more than 1,000 combat engagements along frontlines this week. Ukrainian troops repelled Russian assaults on multiple axes and struck Russian troop concentrations and drone control sites, destroying two fuel and ammunition depots, two radar systems, one Buk air defence system, and shooting down 2,792 drones. Ukraine also targeted six Russian vessels in the Black and Azov Seas and carried out long-range strikes against multiple energy and military sites inside Russia.

Scene of Russian strike in Kyiv City

(III) Russia

Drone attacks across multiple regions kill 13, injure 23. On 3 August, Ukrainian drone strikes hit Vladimir Oblast, Krasnodar Krai, Belgorod Oblast and other areas, killing at least eight people and wounding 13. The same day, Ukrainian forces deployed drones to emplace mines along the road to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and in the industrial zone of Enerhodar, injuring four people including two critically wounded.On 4 August, Ukrainian drone attacks struck Chekhov in Moscow Oblast, Krasny Bor in Leningrad Oblast, and the Syzran refinery in Samara Oblast, killing five and wounding six. A substation and an administrative building were damaged, with multiple fires in industrial zones. Separately, Russia’s Defence Ministry reported that between 20:00 Moscow Time on 3 August and 08:00 on 4 August, Russian air defences intercepted and destroyed 320 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory.

Bombing attack in Yekaterinburg kills 1, injures 1. On 4 August, a vehicle exploded on the outskirts of Yekaterinburg, administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast in central Russia, killing one person and wounding another. The injured party was Vladimir Tkachuk, General Manager of the Ural Drone Plant; the fatality was his bodyguard. Russian authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the bombing.

(IV) Mexico

Livestreamer shot dead in Sinaloa State. On 5 August, an online streamer was fatally shot while broadcasting live on a street in northwestern Sinaloa State. He was live outside a fast-food outlet in Culiacán, the state capital, when two gunmen on motorcycles shot him at close range. Authorities are hunting the suspects and investigating the motive.

(V) France

Shooting in Drôme injures 6. On 5 August, a shooting in Valence, Drôme Department, southeastern France, wounded six people including two critically. A masked assailant fired an assault rifle from a vehicle into a crowd before fleeing by car. The suspect remains at large; identity and motive are unknown, and police have launched an investigation.

(VI) Ecuador

Two shootings in Manabí Province kill 2. On 5 August, one person was killed in a shooting in Manta, Manabí Province. Later the same day, a second shooting at the junction of Calle 300A and Avenida 224 in Manta killed one and injured another. No suspects have been arrested; investigations are ongoing.

(VII) United Kingdom

Stabbing attack in London injures 4. On 5 August, a knife assault near Covent Garden, a popular tourist district in central London, wounded four people. The female attacker was arrested by police. Police have not released the motive or further details.

(VIII) Denmark

Shooting in Holbæk injures 3. On 9 August, a shooting in Holbæk wounded three people. Police indicated the incident may stem from a “criminal gang transaction”; no arrests have been made to date.

Maritime Security

(I) Strait of Hormuz & Gulf of Oman

Multiple vessels attacked. On 3 August, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) issued an advisory stating a cargo ship was attacked approximately 20 nautical miles northeast of Seeb in the Gulf of Oman; casualties were unreported.On 4 August, the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Minos Pioneer caught fire following an attack near the Strait of Hormuz; one crew member went missing and the rest abandoned ship.On 7 August, a merchant vessel was attacked near the Omani coast at the eastern mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, igniting its engine room. Nearby ships responded to distress calls and conducted rescue operations.On 8 August, a vessel belonging to Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) was struck by a missile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz; no injuries occurred.

(II) Red Sea

Cargo ship attacked and sunk. On 4 August, the Indian-flagged cargo vessel Faiz-e-Nur-e-Auliya sank after an attack roughly 13 nautical miles south of Hodeidah Port, western Yemen. Fourteen crew members, 13 Indian nationals among them, were rescued by the Yemeni Coast Guard. India’s Ministry of External Affairs strongly condemned the strike and urged parties to cease targeting commercial shipping.

Saudi oil tanker attacked by Houthi forces. On 5 August, a Houthi spokesman stated the movement used multiple ballistic missiles to attack a Saudi oil tanker in the northern Red Sea near Yanbu. The statement said since imposing a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia in late July, the Houthis had attacked a total of eight Saudi oil tankers and intercepted and forced 29 Saudi tankers to turn back in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea. No specifics on damage were provided, and Saudi Arabia has not responded.

(III) Black Sea

Cargo ship attacked; 4 crew injured. On 3 August, a Turkish cargo vessel sailing under a Cameroonian flag was hit by a drone in the Black Sea, injuring four crew including three critically wounded. The vessel was en route from Samsun, Turkey, to Novorossiysk, Russia, when it was attacked and set alight around 20 nautical miles from Novorossiysk. The 23 crew were transferred by the Russian Navy to Novorossiysk.

(IV) United States

Recreational vessel capsizes near New York; 2 dead. On 8 August, a leisure craft capsized near Liberty Island in New York Harbour, killing two people on board. Rescuers successfully pulled 12 survivors from the water. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Hanwei International Security Weekly (August 03-09，2026)