Eye on Extremism - February 2, 2016

Eye on Extremism February 2, 2016 Fiscal Times: White House Wants Billions More To Fight ISIS “President Barack Obama's administration will seek a significant increase in funding for the fight against Islamic State as part of its 2017 defense budget request, U.S. officials say, in another possible sign of U.S. efforts to intensify the campaign. The fiscal year 2017 Pentagon budget will call for more than $7 billion for the fight against Islamic State, a roughly 35 percent increase compared with the previous year's request to Congress, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter is due to disclose his spending priorities for the $583 billion 2017 defense budget on Tuesday in an address to the Economic Club of Washington. The White House plans to release Obama's full budget proposal for fiscal 2017, which begins Oct. 1, on Feb. 9.” Associated Press: North Carolina Man Charged With Attempting To Support Isis “A North Carolina man has been charged with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq or ISIS. A seven-count indictment was unsealed in federal court Monday against Justin Nojan Sullivan, 19, of Morganton. The Department of Justice said Sullivan is charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIL (ISIS); receipt of a gun silencer in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony; receipt and possession of an unregistered firearm; concealment and storage of a stolen firearm; use of interstate facilities in the attempted commission of a murder-for-hire; and two counts of making false statements to FBI agents.” The Telegraph: Isil Recruiting Migrant 'Army Of The Poor' With $1,000 Sign-Up Bonuses “The Islamic State is building an ‘army of the poor’ in its new haven in Libya by recruiting footsoldiers from Africa's poorest nations, Libyan intelligence chiefs say. The terror group’s Libyan chapter is swelling its ranks by offering cash bounties of up to $1,000 to people from impoverished neighbouring countries such as Chad, Mali and Sudan. In countries where many earn barely $1 a day, even a few hundred dollars is the equivalent of a year's salary. ‘Here in Libya we are right in the middle of the migration rat run.’ Libyan officials admit that they are almost powerless to stop the incomers, many of whom reach Libya using existing people-smuggling routes used by African migrants heading to Europe. Isil (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) is copying a strategy first used by Libya's late dictator, Colonel Gaddafi, who recruited thousands of mercenaries from black Africa to serve in his armies and to suppress the revolution that overthrew him five years ago.” Reuters: Al Qaeda Militants Seize Southern Yemeni Town: Residents “Dozens of al Qaeda militants reclaimed the town of Azzan in Yemen's Shabwa province on Monday, residents said, exploiting a security vacuum in the country's south as a civil war rages. Azzan is a major commercial hub of about 70,000 people in an arid and mountainous region and was controlled by al Qaeda for around a year until the group was ejected in 2012 by an alliance of tribesmen and armed residents loyal to Yemen's since ousted central government. ‘Dozens of al Qaeda gunmen arrived in the early hours of the morning and set up checkpoints at the entrances to the town and in its streets. They planted their black flag on government buildings,’ one resident who declined to be named told Reuters by telephone. ‘They faced no resistance or clashes,’ the resident said, adding that tribal militia forces quit the area as it was being taken over.” Associated Press: Airstrikes In Eastern Afghanistan Destroy IS Radio Station “U.S. airstrikes on a remote region of Afghanistan have destroyed a radio station operated by the Islamic State group, American and Afghan officials said on Tuesday. ‘Voice of the Caliphate’ radio operated by Islamic State near the border with Pakistan was destroyed in U.S. two airstrikes, according to a U.S. military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media on the subject. In an official statement, U.S. Army Col. Mike Lawhorn, spokesman for the U.S.-NATO mission in Afghanistan, said: ‘U.S. forces conducted two counter-terrorism airstrikes in Achin district’ in Nangarhar province late Monday. He had no further details.” NPR: As ISIS Evolves, U.S. Counter-Efforts Must Advance, Lumpkin Says “The White House is overhauling efforts to combat ISIS propaganda with a counterterrorism task force. Michael Lumpkin, the head of the newly created Global Engagement Center, talks to Renee Montagne. On one front, we are likely to see troops in Iraq and special forces in Syria. But the U.S. is also revamping and ramping up an online propaganda offensive against the Islamic State. Up until now, that social media offensive has included efforts like this video you are going to hear, aimed at keeping young people from joining the terrorists. It's an attempt to parody the Islamic State's recruiting videos.” Associated Press: Syria Troops Advance Near Aleppo, Amid Frail UN Peace Bid “Syria's official news agency SANA says forces loyal to the government have retaken a village north of Aleppo, opening the way to further advances around Syria's largest city. The capture of Hardatneen early Tuesday came a day after U.N.-led Syria peace talks got off to a wobbly start in Geneva. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based opposition group that monitors the conflict, says pro-government troops have captured three villages near Aleppo since Monday, opening access to an important supply route to the city. The Observatory says heavy aerial bombardment, presumed to be from the Russian Air Force, supported the ground troops.” New York Times: Taliban Bombing Kills At Least 20 At Kabul Police Station “A Taliban suicide bomber struck near a Kabul police complex on Monday, killing at least 20 police officers and wounding 29 people, Afghan officials said, in the latest of a rapid-fire series of militant attacks on the capital this year. The attack came as the American military issued a grim confirmation of the war’s toll on the Afghan security forces, saying that casualties among Afghan soldiers and police officers had risen by almost a third in 2015, compared with a record casualty rate in 2014 that some officials then considered unsustainable. Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, said the attack on Monday happened near the gate of the National Civil Order Police. Witnesses said the bomber had walked up to a line of visitors waiting for a security check and detonated his explosives.” Rudaw: HRW: Shiite Militias Committed ‘Possible War Crimes’ Against Iraqi Sunnis “Shiite militias supported by the Iraqi government have committed ‘possible war crimes’ in Diyala province in recent weeks, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its latest report. ‘Again civilians are paying the price for Iraq's failure to rein in the out-of-control militias,’ claimed HRW's deputy Middle East director Joe Stork, in a statement Sunday. ‘Countries that support Iraqi security forces and the Popular Mobilization Forces should insist that Baghdad bring an end to this deadly abuse,’ he added, referring to the Shiite militias that have been fighting alongside the Iraqi army.” Reuters: Israelis Near Gaza Fear Hamas Is Tunneling Right Underneath Them “Nissim Hakmon and his neighbors say they hear banging and clattering at night. They are convinced it can only mean one thing: Hamas is tunneling under their homes from Gaza and will one day emerge, guns blazing, to attack or kidnap them. The Israeli government says its investigations have not come up with any evidence the night-time noises reported by villagers living near Gaza emanate from tunnels, but assertions by Hamas of extensive cross-border digging has only fueled concern. The movement announced last week it had rehabilitated cross-border tunnels destroyed during the war - a muscle-flexing message to Israel, its security partner Egypt and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the Islamists' U.S.-backed rival.” Daily Mail: The Lost Generation: Desperate Parents Reveal Hundreds Of Young Men And Women Have Left Kosovo To Fight For ISIS In Syria “Hundreds of young Kosovar men and women are leaving their home country to join ISIS in Syria, leaving behind baffled parents.  Kosovo parents have told how 'a generation' of their teenage daughters have been seduced by radical Islam, following their husbands to Syria and the terrorist organisation. Police say some 300 men and 36 women are known to have left the mainly Muslim country of just 1.8 million people to join ISIS - the highest per capita ratio in Europe, along with nearby Bosnia” Foreign Policy: Growth Of Islamic State Forces State Department Overhaul “The State Department is revamping its floundering efforts to curb recruiting by the Islamic State and other terrorist groups, senior U.S. officials tell Foreign Policy, in response to growing dissatisfaction in the White House and Congress at existing attempts to stop the spread of the extremists’ ideology. The changes ordered by Secretary of State John Kerry, which have not previously been reported, shift significant power to a single bureau at the State Department tasked with coordinating all counter-extremism efforts.” United States Reuters: U.S. Will Act On Any Threat From Libya: U.S. Official “The United States would not hesitate to act upon any perceived threat toward it from Libya, but would bring other parties in to discussion on any broader action, a senior State Department official said on Monday. ‘First and foremost, when we see a threat to the United States or external plotting, we will not hesitate to act upon that threat,’ the official told reporters in Rome. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said: ‘Anything broader, I think, would require discussion with the Libyans and with, obviously, coalition partners … The Italians, the French, obviously many of our coalition partners are looking quite closely at Libya.’” Yemen The National: In Victory For Yemen Government, Forces Storm Enemy Camp In Sanaa Province “Pro-government forces stormed a military camp close to Sanaa on Monday in a victory that takes them a step closer to recapturing the capital. Clashes continued into the evening inside the sprawling complex located on a large site in Fardhat Nihm district, 40km from the city. The camp is used by Yemen’s Republican Guards, an elite force of soldiers who stayed loyal to the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, after he was forced from power by a popular uprising in 2011.” Saba News: Saudi-Led Coalition Renews Air Raids On Sana'a “The Saudi-led coalition war jets have renewed their air raids on the capital Sana'a, targeting several areas in al-Sabeen district. The hostile warplanes targeted al-Sabeen and al-Nahdain areas with four missiles and high-explosive bombs, which led to severe damage to the nearby houses and public and private property, a security official said.” Turkey International Business Times: Russian Plane Crash: Isis-Linked Turkish Group Grey Wolves 'May Have Downed' Airbus A321 “Turkish radical militants loyal to Isis (Daesh) may have been behind the crash of the Russian airliner brought down by a bomb over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, it has been reported. An anonymous Russian secret service source said that the FSB believes the radical Turkish Grey Wolves may have been behind what was the largest civil aviation disaster in Russian history. On 31 October 2015, the Russia-operated Airbus A321 crashed en route from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg, killing all 224 people on board. ‘The FSB believes that the Turkish radical nationalist organization Grey Wolves, linked to the Daesh terrorist group and working in many Arab countries, including Egypt, could have been linked to the explosion of the Russian airliner,’ the source told the respected Kommersant newspaper.” RT: Syria Accuses Turkey Of Shelling Northern Latakia Province “Syria has accused the Turkish military of shelling a location in the country’s northern Latakia province, SANA state news agency reported citing an official source in the Syrian Foreign Ministry. The source added that civilians had been injured. The source said that Monday’s shelling hit an area near Oteira Mountain and said that civilians were wounded. Syria demanded that the Turkish government stop violating its sovereignty and respect international laws, according to the agency.” BBC: UN Calls On Turkey To Investigate Shooting Of Civilians “The top UN human rights official has urged Turkey to investigate an apparent shooting by security forces of unarmed civilians in the city of Cizre. Zeid Raad Al Hussein described the incident, in which 10 people were wounded, as ‘extremely shocking’. Cizre has been the focus of an offensive by Turkey's army against the Kurdish rebel group, the PKK. Mr Al Hussein also expressed concern over reports that the man who filmed the incident was arrested.” Syria Andalou Agency: Russian Airstrikes In Syria’s Aleppo Kill 4, Injure 60 “At least four people were killed and another 60 injured on Monday by a series of Russian airstrikes in Syria’s northern Aleppo province.  Civil Defense units in the city of Anadan (roughly 12 kilometers from the city of Aleppo), where the attacks took place, told Anadolu Agency that Russian warplanes had carried out a total of 20 airstrikes in the area.  Several residential areas were badly damaged by the strikes, local sources told Anadolu Agency.” Afghanistan Al Bawaba: Afghanistan: Suicide Bombing Wounds Eight In Gilan “A district police chief survived a suicide bomb attack, but eight people were injured in the in southern Ghazni province on Monday, officials said, according to Pajhwok news reports. The suicide attacker on a motorbike detonated his explosives at around 12.00 noon in the Gilan district centre, police chief for the town, Col. Lutfullah Kamran, told Pajhwok Afghan News. He and his guards escaped unscathed, but eight civilians including a woman were wounded in the attack, he said police official said. Some of the injured are said to be in critical condition.” Business Standard: 15 Taliban Insurgents,3 Cops Killed In Clashes In Afghanistan “At least 15 Taliban insurgents and three policemen have been killed in clashes with security forces in northern Faryab province of Afghanistan. TOLONews reported 15 other insurgents were also injured in the clash. The insurgents were killed in the insecure parts of the province after they clashed with the security forces, Provincial Security Official Abdul Qadir Sayad said.” Iraq Ara News: ISIS Attacks Kurdish Headquarters North Iraq, Killing Scores Of Peshmergas “At least eight fighters from the Kurdish Peshmerga were killed and six more wounded when militants of the Islamic State (ISIS) bombed Peshmerga’s headquarters in northern Iraq, military sources reported on Sunday.  The Peshmerga ministry of Iraqi Kurdistan said in a statement that ISIS launched an attack with mortar fire on their headquarters in Khazir district, about 40km east of Mosul. ‘Daesh terrorists launched several mortar shells on a security center for our forces in Khazir on Sunday evening’.” Rudaw: Five ISIS Leaders Among Dozens Killed In Iraqi And Coalition Air Raids “Warplanes from the US-led coalition and Iraqi jets reportedly carried out airstrikes on Monday against ISIS militants in Makhmour and Anbar, killing dozens of militants and destroying several of their positions. A Peshmerga source confirmed to Rudaw that ‘today coalition jets have repeatedly bombed ISIS positions on the Gwer-Makhmour front.’ The source revealed, as a result of the bombings, 24 ISIS militants have been killed. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Interior ministry announced Monday that 13 ISIS militants, including five leaders, were reportedly killed after Iraqi fighter jets shelled a military base belonging to the group in the area of Sharkat in western Anbar province.” Ara News: Kurdish Peshmerga, Iraqi Allies Recapture Five Villages In Nineveh Amid ISIS Retreat “Kurdish forces of the Peshmerga, supported by allied Iraqi troops, reported new gains against the extremist group of Islamic State (ISIS) in Nineveh province on Monday.  Backed by the U.S.-led coalition’s air cover, the Peshmerga army regained control of five villages in Nineveh countryside.  At least 30 ISIS militants were killed in the operations, military sources confirmed.” Middle East BBC: Israel Restricts Entry To Ramallah After Shooting Attack “The Israeli military is preventing non-residents from entering the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Only residents, senior Palestinian officials and humanitarian cases will be allowed through the checkpoints that have been set up until further notice. The restrictions were imposed after a Palestinian policeman shot and injured three Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint outside the city before being killed.” The Times Of Israel: 2 Arrested On Suspicion Of Planning Car-Ramming Attack “Two residents of the Arab Israeli city of Kafr Qasim, near the West Bank, were arrested Monday after a police chase on suspicion that they had planned to carry out a car-ramming terror attack in Tel Aviv. However, an initial investigation indicated that the two did not actually plan an attack. Police were alerted to the suspects’ alleged plans by a young woman who had been spent time with them on Sunday in a club in the central Israeli city of Herzliya. According to the woman and a friend of hers, one of the two suspects yelled that he intended ‘to kill Jews, ride on the sidewalk, and run them over,’ the Walla news site reported.” Libya Al-Arabiya: Attack Damages Oil Pipeline South Of Libya’s Zueitina Port “Maintenance teams are working to repair damage caused by an attack on an oil pipeline south of the Libyan port of Zueitina, a spokesman for the pipeline’s guards said on Monday. It was not clear who carried out the attack late on Sunday evening, but Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants have been active in the area in recent weeks. An explosion and fire hit the pipeline in the desert 75 km (47 miles) south of the terminal, said Ali al-Hassi, a spokesman for the Petroleum Facilities Guard that controls nearby oil installations.” International Business Times: Political Unity Is Key In Possible US, Europe Anti-ISIS Libya Intervention “Britain is considering expanding its involvement in the fight against the Islamic State group beyond Iraq and Syria to Libya. France, the U.S., and Italy have already said they are exploring different options —  and the legality of a possible military operation — for an intervention in Libya, which has already been in the throes of a civil war for more than two years. The Ministry of Defense has yet to confirm reports that the U.K. had agreed to send as many as 1,000 troops to Libya, according to the Guardian. As of Monday, the scale and method of military intervention in Libya still hinged on whether Libya’s rival governments and an increasing number of local militias can agree on a national unity government.” Europe Associated Press: Source: Cyprus Blocks 18 Syria-Bound Foreigners, 15 Succeed “Authorities in Cyprus have in the last two years prevented 18 foreign nationals from heading to Syria and possibly joining the Islamic State Group through the ethnically divided island's breakaway Turkish Cypriot north, an official said Tuesday. The Cypriot official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he's not authorized to publicly discuss security matters, said another 15 individuals were able to slip through. He said that all 33 cases have arisen since early 2014 and that the "vast majority" of those people were ‘European citizens of Islamic origin.’ Of the 18 who were stopped, the official said eight were British, seven French, two Swedes and a woman from the Netherlands. The individuals who slipped through included eight Britons, five Australians and two Finns.” Arabic Language Clips Al-Qaeda BBC Arabic: Saudi Financial System Was Abused To Raise Billions Of Dollars For Al-Qaeda In Afghanistan A spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry admitted that the country's finance system had been used to collect billions of dollars for al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Mansour Al-Turki denied that his country has been funding the terrorist organization, but admitted that certain individuals had managed to persuade Saudis to donate funds under the guise of charity work. The spokesman added that the government took action as soon as it had obtained evidence of the misuse of these funds. He was quoted as saying, "These individuals told people that their money was being given to the poor and the needy, but, unfortunately, it went to finance al-Qaeda in Afghanistan." The Financial Investigation Unit at the Saudi Interior Ministry announced that during 2014 it had received a total of 126 complaints of suspected money laundering and terrorist financing crimes. It confirmed that 88 percent of the complaints were related to the financing of terrorism. ISIS Addustour: Baghdad Announces The Cutting Off Of ISIS Supply Routes In Fallujah Iraqi authorities announced that ISIS's supply lines in the city of Fallujah, controlled by the jihadist organization since the beginning of 2014, have been cut off. They declared the opening of safe passageways for the city's residents yearning to get out of the besieged city. Brigadier General Saad Maan, Spokesman of the Baghdad Operations Command, stated that "progress towards Fallujah began gradually, and we have succeeded in cutting off ISIS's supply routes. Territories under its control have shrunk, especially after operations in the areas of Nuaimiya (south of Fallujah) and Albu Shajal (north of it)." The town of Fallujah is located 60 km from Baghdad. The terror organization has also imposed its control on several neighboring regions such as Saqlawiyah and Karma. Muslim Brotherhood Al Quds Al-Arabi: Ban On Brotherhood Books In Cairo International Fair While Muslim Brotherhood books are nowhere to be found at the 47th Cairo International Book Fair, critics of the group are exhibiting theirs for the fifth consecutive day, according to visitors. The global cultural event was launched last Wednesday in Nasr City, east of the Egyptian capital, with booths from 34 countries. Almogaz: Education (Directorate) In Giza: Training Teachers Of Brotherhood Schools [To Teach] Tolerance And Non-Violence Dr. Buthaina Abdullah Kishk, head of the Directorate of Education in Giza, announced that it has begun implementing a training program for teachers and principals of Brotherhood-affiliated "June 30" schools in Giza. The aim of this program is to strengthen the cultural values in those schools. Kishk stressed that the program trains teachers to foster five important values in the hearts of students attending schools seized by the Muslim Brotherhood Asset Freeze Committee. These values are, according to Kishk, "Love, peace, renouncing violence, accepting others, and telling the truth." Shorouk News: Egypt Renews Its Request To Interpol To Arrest Media Figures And Politicians Loyal To The Brotherhood An Egyptian Interior Ministry source disclosed that the Egyptian Interpol liaison-office renewed its call to Interpol to arrest several fugitive leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and their supporters who fled the country, pursuant to the provisions issued against them in multiple criminal cases. The source revealed that the list includes journalists who fled Egypt and are currently residing in Turkey. They are accused of publishing false news that could have a detrimental effect on the political and economic situation in the country, as well as tarnishing Egypt's image in the world. Among the persons implicated are Muhammad al Quddosy, a presenter on the Brotherhood el Sharq TV channel, Dr. Bassem Khafagy, former owner of el Sharq TV channel broadcasting out of Turkey, and political activist Ghada Naguib, who is accused of joining the Brotherhood and inciting violence. Also among the wanted figures are journalist Moataz Matar, for allegedly circulating false news and rumors through el Sharq TV, and Al Jazeera journalist Ahmed Mansour. The latter was sentenced in absentia to 15 years imprisonment in Egypt on charges of torturing a lawyer in Tahrir Square during the events of the January 25th Revolution.