Eye on Extremism - February 24, 2016

Eye on Extremism February 24, 2016 Counter Extremism Project The Jewish Voice: Europe’s New Counterterror Center Unlikely To Make Quick Impact “Officials and analysts hope the new European Counter Terror Center will prove valuable both in the short and long term, though they admit it alone will likely not be enough to deter Europe’s next major terror attack. ‘It’s part of a menu of things that need to be done both at the government level and cross governments to deal with the extremism threat,’ said Mark Wallace, CEO of the U.S.-based Counter Extremism Project. ‘I wouldn’t call it a panacea but, certainly, a positive step,’ he said.” NBC News: ISIS Attacks Are On Rise In Syria Despite Russian Airstrikes “The Russians are playing Whack-A-Mole with ISIS — they hit the murderous militants in Iraq and the fanatics pop up in Syria. So says the IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Center, which has done a tally of ISIS attacks in 2015 since Moscow began bombing the militants. ‘Following the start of airstrikes and Russian intervention in September 2015, the number of Islamic State attacks in Iraq declined in the last quarter of the year, however, the number of attacks in Syria increased,’ said Matthew Henman, who heads the Jane's center.” CBS News: U.S. Official Claims ISIS Is Losing Foreign Fighters “A top Obama administration official says the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) ranks of foreign fighters have dropped to about 25,000 from a peak of 35,000. Brett McGurk is the U.S. special envoy for the global coalition to counter ISIS. He says fighters from 120 countries have joined ISIS. McGurk is touting progress in the U.S.-led effort to defeat ISIS. He says the extremist group is under pressure and has cut fighters' salaries by about half.” Newsweek: ISIS Takes Control Of Libya's Sabratha And Beheads 12 Before Retreating “The Islamic State militant group (ISIS) briefly took control of the western Libyan city of Sabratha, beheading 12 members of security forces, before being pushed back by local troops, officials said on Wednesday. Taher al-Gharabili, a top Libyan army commander, said that his forces pushed the militant group back from the city early Wednesday after they had ‘exploited a security vacuum’ while military forces focused their attention elsewhere, the Associated Press reported.” CNN: Will Saudi Arabia Be Sucked Into Syria? “To understand Northern Thunder, the biggest war games exercise in the Middle East, which is taking place this month, you have to start much further north -- above the Arctic Circle. So dangerous has the Syrian civil war become, and so desperate the millions of people displaced by it, that thousands are trekking, often on foot, through some of the most desolate regions of Russia and Sweden, simply to reach safety.” BBC News: Ankara Blast: DNA Tests Suggest Bomber Born In Turkey “The bomber behind a deadly blast in the Turkish capital Ankara was Turkish-born, security officials say, not from Syria as the government initially said. However, the government has insisted there is a link between the attack and Syrian Kurdish fighters. Prosecutors and security officials said DNA tests had identified the bomber as Abdulbaki Somer, born in the eastern Turkish city of Van.” Newsweek: Boko Haram Leaves 6,500 Children Malnourished In Northeastern Nigeria “Boko Haram’s insurgency in northern Nigeria has left almost 6,500 children severely malnourished in camps for those displaced by the militants. The Nigerian group has displaced more than 2.6 million people and killed around 20,000 since launching military operations in 2009 from their home state of Borno, in the country’s northeast. The insurgency has devastated infrastructure in northeast Nigeria and surrounding countries, forcing 1.4 million children to flee their homes and disrupting their education.” Daily Beast: Will ISIS Launch A Mass Drone Attack On A Stadium? “A team of British intelligence analysts has drawn up a chilling scenario in which terrorists launch a swarm of small drones in an attack on a major sporting event like the Super Bowl, unleashing multiple explosive devices on the crowd in the stadium. ‘If we do not act to prevent it, it is only a matter of time,’ Chris Abbott, the executive director of a think tank called Open Briefings, told The Daily Beast in an exclusive interview. Abbott’s group, which calls itself ‘the first civil society intelligence agency,’ includes former military specialists and intelligence agency operatives. They have been tracking the development of drones for several years.” Reuters: Powers Meeting On Afghanistan See Taliban Talks By March “Afghan government and Taliban representatives are expected to meet in Islamabad by the first week of March for their first direct talks since a previous round of the peace process broke down last year, officials said on Tuesday. Following a meeting in Kabul, the so-called Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG), made up of officials from Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States and China, ‘expressed strong support for the upcoming direct talks between the Government of Afghanistan and authorized representatives of the Taliban and other groups.’” United States New York Times: U.S. Strikes Help Break Impasse And Restore Power To Kabul “United States airstrikes have helped to break a bloody impasse between Afghan troops and Taliban militants north of Kabul, allowing repair crews to reach downed power lines and restore electricity to the capital after more than three weeks of disruption, an Afghan official said on Tuesday. The transmission lines connecting Kabul to hydroelectric generators in Uzbekistan were first cut on Jan. 27, depriving the capital of its most important supply of electricity. The government accused the Taliban of destroying pylons that support the cables, though the militants denied doing so.” Washington Times: Pentagon Watchdog Will Investigate Afghanistan Child Sex-Abuse Reports “The Pentagon’s Inspector General is launching a full-scale investigation into allegations that U.S. officials turned a blind eye to reports that Afghan security officials sexually abused children. The Pentagon made the announcement after months of “preliminary research” into the reports. The IG’s research that began in October has reportedly revealed sufficient information to warrant conducting a ‘full assessment,’ according to a Feb. 19 letter to top Defense Department officials from Kenneth Moorefield, the deputy inspector general for special plans and operations, the Military Times reported.” Saudi Arabia International Business Times: Saudi Arabia And Qatar Nearly Triple Arms Imports Amid ISIS Threats And Syria, Yemen Wars “Saudi Arabia and Qatar have boosted arms imports by more than 275 percent in the last four years, according to a report published recently by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which monitors the global weapons trade. The increased spending on weapons comes as both Middle Eastern countries have grown deeply entangled in regional military conflicts, including in Yemen and Syria.” Yemen Al Arabiya: Yemeni Army And Resistance Forces Make Progress In Taiz “The Yemeni army and popular resistance forces have made considerable progress on several fronts in Taiz, while Houthi militias have continued a bombing campaign of civilians in the city, Al Arabiya News reported. Al-Jawf province in northern Yemen saw fierce fighting between pro-government forces and Houthi militias who are supported by forces of the ousted former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.” Al Monitor: Death, Starvation Haunt Southern Yemen “The stories and scenes of civilian deaths and starvation in the Yemeni city of Taiz are nightmarish, coming on the heels of the siege imposed since April 2015 by Houthi rebels and forces loyal to deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Anywhere one looks, only pain, sorrow and sadness stare back, in a scene reminiscent of the catastrophic situation that prevailed in Syria’s Madaya.” Syria CNN: Russia Is Using Syria To Run Circles Around U.S. “It is quite clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin views the United States not as a partner or even as an adversary but as an enemy. The fact is brought to grotesque levels by a new public campaign that literally draws horns on President Barack Obama, describing him as an international mass murderer. (The Russian government denies responsibility for the campaign.) The campaign is shocking and eye-catching, like a highway wreck. But far more distressing is what Putin is doing in Syria, where he is outplaying America and its allies, with disastrous consequences.” BBC News: Syria Conflict: Warring Parties Accept US-Russia Truce Plan “The Syrian government and the main opposition umbrella group say they accept the terms of a deal to cease hostilities from Saturday. The government said it would halt ‘combat operations’ in line with the plan announced by the US and Russia. But the opposition said its acceptance depended on government forces ending sieges and air strikes of civilians.” AFP: ISIS, Armed Men Clash Near Libyan Capital, Four Dead: Local Official “Four people were killed in clashes near the Libyan capital on Tuesday between ISIS and fighters loyal to the Tripoli-based government, a local official said. The four dead men were members of the Sabratha military council which backs the Fajr Libya militia alliance in control of the capital, said Hussein al-Dawadi, mayor of Sabratha, west of Tripoli.” Afghanistan International Business Times: ISIS In Afghanistan: US Airstrikes, Afghan Forces Target Islamic State Group In Eastern Nangarhar Province “Afghan forces and U.S.-led coalition airstrikes have killed some 43 fighters with the Islamic State group in eastern Afghanistan, Afghan officials said Tuesday, Stars and Stripes reported. The extremist group, also known as ISIS, has sought to carve out a stronghold in the conflict-ravaged country but has been pushed back by both the Afghan government and Taliban fighters.” Iraq NPR: Kurdish Force Reports Rescuing Swedish Girl, 16, From ISIS In Mosul “Saying it had been asked to look for a teenager from Sweden who had been misled by a member of the Islamic militant group ISIS, a Kurdish security force says it recently rescued the girl, 16, from Mosul, Iraq. Announcing the rescue Tuesday, the Kurdistan Region Security Council said that an ISIS operative in Sweden had persuaded the girl to travel to Syria and then to Mosul. ‘She will be transferred to Swedish authorities to return home once necessary arrangements are put in place,’ the council says, according to Rudaw, an online news site based in Irbil.” Middle East USA Today: Palestinian Children As Young As 11 Join Attacks On Israel “Amer Salah was sleeping last May when Israeli forces entered the 14-year-old's bedroom in the middle of the night. He said he was arrested for throwing stones at vehicles of neighboring Jewish settlers, which he denied, and was jailed with nine other kids in a cell barely 6-feet by 6-feet without fresh air or ample light. ‘We were not even allowed to see the sun,’ he said. Salah, who was released after 10 days in detention in that crowded cell, is one of hundreds of Palestinian youths under the age of 18 who have been jailed for participating in attacks on Israeli Jews.” Vox: Beyond Syria And Iraq: ISIS Is Losing Ground Around The World “Libyan fighters are celebrating a major victory on Tuesday: They've driven ISIS out of parts of Benghazi, eastern Libya's largest city, building on advances in and around the city on Sunday. ISIS isn't just losing in Benghazi. In its home base in Syria and Iraq, it's lost up to 30 percent of its territory from its peak in August 2014. And it's tried expanding abroad, officially declaring a wilayat — which literally means "province" and refers to ISIS's foreign franchises — in roughly a dozen countries.” Libya Reuters: Libya Military Makes Further Gains In Benghazi “Military forces loyal to Libya's eastern government said on Tuesday they had taken control of two key neighbourhoods in Benghazi, building on gains made against Islamist fighters over the previous three days. The military said it had full control of the districts of Boatni and Laithi and claimed advances in several other areas. A hospital source said 20 people had been killed and 45 wounded in the latest clashes. The eastern city of Benghazi has seen some of the worst violence in the conflict that has plagued Libya since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in an uprising five years ago.” BBC News: Libyan Islamist Militias 'Lose Key Territory In Benghazi' “Islamist militias in Libya have lost two major areas in the eastern city of Benghazi, military sources and residents have told the BBC. ‘People are celebrating on the streets,’ a resident said. Fighters loyal to anti-Islamist Gen Khalifa Haftar are reported to have taken over the port, a hospital and have cut off a key weapons supply line. Thousands have fled more than a year of fighting in Benghazi, the birthplace of the 2011 uprising.” Europe Associated Press: Renzi: Italy To Do Its Part If Signs Of IS Attacks In Libya “Premier Matteo Renzi says Italy will do its part in a U.S.-led-coalition to thwart any terrorist attacks by Islamic State group extremists in Libya. Renzi said in an interview Tuesday on Italian radio station Rtl 102.5 Italy would act ‘fully in synch’ with U.S. and other allies. Rome has long insisted any coalition air strikes against extremists in the north African nation across the sea from Italy be requested by a unity government there. But diplomacy so far has failed to unite Libya’s squabbling factions.” Arabic Language Clips Terrorism Financing Alnilin: Hassabo Criticizes The Ongoing Banking Ban Despite Sudan's Signing Of Anti-Terrorism Conventions Sudanese Vice President Hassabo Mohammed Abdel Rahman criticized the ban on transferring money through banks, which is being imposed on his country despite Sudan’s signing of international agreements to prevent the financing of terrorism, money laundering and cross-border crimes. He described this ban as "wrong." Hassabo warned that this could eventually lead to money smuggling and the search for other covert methods to transfer money, which are difficult to control. Thus, he urged Arab banks to review these agreements. The Sudanese Vice President made these remarks during his address to a forum entitled "Financial Inclusion: The Strategic Path for Financial and Social Stability." This event was held yesterday under the auspices of the Union of Arab Banks and in conjunction with the Bank of Sudan and the Union of Sudanese Banks. He stated that the economic blockade imposed on Sudan since the nineties is a political issue and not an economic one. He added, "Nevertheless, the economy has managed to achieve positive growth rates." ISIS Erem News: ISIS Manipulates Exchange Rates In Mosul To Increase Its Income ISIS operating in the Iraqi city of Mosul has been striving to exploit the US dollar exchange rate against the Iraqi dinar to attain the greatest possible revenues from the local population. This is amid the unceasing attacks by the international coalition forces against the terror organization’s financial resources. Currency traders in Mosul report that ISIS obtains hard currency from the sale of commodities produced in factories controlled by it to local distributors. ISIS sells in dollars but pays wages in dinars to its thousands of fighters and employees. Traders claim that ISIS earns up to 20 percent under the preferential currency rates it declared last month. This move has raised the value of the dollar against the dinar. Muslim Brotherhood Veto: The Truth About Asem Abdulmajed's Defection From Muslim Brotherhood-Affiliated "National Alliance To Support Legitimacy Sheikh Mahmoud Sobh – dissident leader of the Egyptian al-Gama'a al-Islamiya (Islamic Group) – stated that remarks by a leading member of the Group, Asem Abdulmajed, about walking out on the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated "National Alliance to Support Legitimacy" and forming a new Islamist alliance in its stead, constitute a new ploy to obtain more money from terror financing countries. Sobh was quoted as saying: “Abdulmajed's claims are just a test balloon to restore his popularity among the youth of the Islamic Group, which has waned due to his commitment to "National Alliance to Support Legitimacy" and charges directed at him regarding seizing funds delivered by the Muslim Brotherhood." Almrsd: Head Of The Union Of Egyptians In Europe: Muslim Brotherhood Buys Hard Currency Of Expatriates Before The Transfer Of Money To Egyptian Banks Dr. Essam. Abdel Samad, President of the Union of Egyptians in Europe, warned of the worsening crisis relating to hard currency transfers by Egyptians abroad. He noted that there are anti-Egyptian groups, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, which seek to harm Egypt's economy. The scheme of these groups is directed towards executing money transfer deals by Egyptian expatriates abroad in pounds rather than in dollars or euros. He asserted that Egyptians working abroad wire to Egypt $1.5 billion a month. Abdel Samad urged all Egyptians abroad to join forces by transferring their money to the homeland in hard currency and not in Egyptian pounds. Houthi Mareb Press: The Houthis Are Threatening To Close Sabafon And M T N Companies Yemen's Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications, currently being run by the Houthis, announced that it had sent a letter to the country’s two cell phone companies, SabaFon and MTN, concerning the renewal of their licenses, which expired in late July 2015. The two companies, however, have refused to pay what they are obliged to, and therefore the Ministry intends to take legal action against them. The Ministry added that the two companies had failed to comply with its demands, aimed at preserving the state's rights. Thus, in order to ensure the full exercise of the state's powers, the Ministry will not extend licenses to any party that has not fulfilled all its obligations in accordance with the terms specified by the Ministry through the General Registration Office in the capital Sanaa. Meanwhile, according to sources within MTN Company, this affair is part of the extortion by the Houthis and their attempt to obtain as much money as possible for the coffers of the so-called Supreme Revolutionary Committee.