Eye on Extremism - March 14, 2016

Eye on Extremism March 14, 2016 Counter Extremism Project Sahel Standard: Sony Playstation Used By Terrorists- Group “The Counter Extremism Project (CEP), which has led the global effort to stop extremist misuse of social media platforms to radicalize and incite violence, has called on Sony Corporation to take steps to prevent terrorists from misusing its popular PlayStation 4 Network (PSN4) to communicate, recruit, and possibly plan future attacks. The Sony PlayStation Network is the online platform that more than 150 million people use to play games and stream music, television programs, and movies on their Sony products, including smartphones, tablets, and PlayStation game consoles.” Fox News: 34 Dead, 125 Wounded In Turkey Explosion “A car bomb blew up near an Ankara bus stop on Sunday, killing at least 34 people and wounding 125 others, according to the Turkish health minister. At least one or two of the dead were perpetrators of the attack, Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu said, according to Reuters, and at least 19 of the wounded were in serious condition. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would use its right to self-defense to prevent future attacks and called for national unity.” Reuters: Al Qaeda In Syria Seizes Bases, Weapons Of Western-Backed Group: Monitor “The al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front seized bases and weapons from a Western-backed rebel group in overnight fighting in northwestern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday. Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Observatory, said the Nusra Front had also detained dozens of members of the 13th Division rebel group, one of the factions that has received foreign military aid, capturing U.S.-made anti-tank missiles. The 13th Division, which is led by the prominent rebel commander Ahmed al-Seoud and fights under the banner of the Free Syrian Army, said on Twitter that Nusra Front fighters attacked its bases and seized weapons, but gave no further details.” The Guardian: Isis Launches Two Chemical Attacks In Northern Iraq “Islamic State fighters have launched two chemical attacks near the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq, killing a three-year-old girl and wounding up to 600 people, Iraqi officials have said. Security and hospital officials said the latest incident took place early on Saturday in the small town of Taza, which was also struck by a barrage of rockets carrying chemicals three days earlier. ‘There is fear and panic among the women and children,’ said Adel Hussein, a local official in Taza. ‘They’re calling for the central government to save them.’” Fox News: US Military Won't Hold ISIS Detainees More Than 30 Days, Policy Not 'Nailed Down' “The U.S. military has no plans to hold captured Islamic State operatives for more than a month before turning them over to the Iraqi government, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition based in Baghdad told reporters Friday. ‘Fourteen to 30 days is a ballpark figure, but even that is not really completely nailed down,’ said Col. Steve Warren, a U.S. military spokesman based in Baghdad. ‘There isn’t a hard definition of short-term.’ On Thursday, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook also made clear that the policy for holding operatives is, at best, evolving. He said they would be handled on a ‘case-by-case’ basis over a ‘short-term’ period.” Reuters: Syria’s Government Is Provoking The West, Making Peace Talks Impossible “The United States and France accused the Syrian government of trying to disrupt a new round of peace talks set to begin on Monday and said Russia and Iran would need to show the Syrian government was "living up to" what had been agreed. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Saturday that his government would not discuss presidential elections at peace talks in Geneva this week or hold talks with any party wishing to discuss the question of the presidency.” Associated Press: Nigerian President Accused Of Overstating Boko Haram Losses “Nigeria's president has exaggerated the military's success against Boko Haram, say officials in northern Nigeria in response to an American commander's testimony that the Islamic extremist group still holds territory. President Muhammadu Buhari said in January that Boko Haram is ‘currently not holding any territory today as we speak.’ His claim — made at a summit in Abu Dhabi — was met with skepticism in Nigeria. Buhari's claim was contradicted last week by Gen. David Rodriguez, commander of U.S. Africa Command, who told the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington that Boko Haram ‘does own some significant territory in northern Nigeria.’” New York Times: To Maintain Supply Of Sex Slaves, ISIS Pushes Birth Control “Locked inside a room where the only furniture was a bed, the 16-year-old learned to fear the sunset, because nightfall started the countdown to her next rape. During the year she was held by the Islamic State, she spent her days dreading the smell of the ISIS fighter’s breath, the disgusting sounds he made and the pain he inflicted on her body. More than anything, she was tormented by the thought she might become pregnant with her rapist’s child. It was the one thing she needn’t have worried about.” PBS: Conviction In First ISIS Trial In The U.S. Underscores Foreign Fighter Threat “On Jan. 10 of last year, Tairod Pugh, a U.S. Air Force veteran who spent two decades as an airplane mechanic, boarded EgyptAir Flight 737 with a one-way ticket from Cairo to Istanbul, Turkey. Among the possessions he carried with him were two compasses, a solar-powered flashlight and a black face mask. But Pugh never made it out of Ataturk Airport. Turkish security officials stopped Pugh and sent him back to Egypt, where he was deported to the United States. FBI agents apprehended him in New Jersey, making Pugh one of 61 people arrested in the U.S. last year for allegedly supporting the militant group that calls itself the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.” United States New York Times: U.S. Stays Off Battlefield, Yet Is Drawn Into Saudi War In Yemen “Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia’s urbane, well-connected ambassador to Washington, arrived at the White House last March with the urgent hope of getting President Obama’s support for a new war in the Middle East. Iran had moved into Saudi Arabia’s backyard, Mr. Jubeir told Mr. Obama’s senior advisers, and was aiding rebels in Yemen who had overrun the country’s capital and were trying to set up ballistic missile sites in range of Saudi cities. Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf neighbors were poised to begin a campaign in support of Yemen’s impotent government — an offensive Mr. Jubeir said could be relatively swift.” Syria Washington Post: How The Syrian Revolt Went So Horribly, Tragically Wrong “To get rid of one bad man, you open the door to many. That is a rough translation of the slogan Wael Ibrahim had written on the banner he was preparing for the next anti-government demonstration he and his fellow democracy activists were planning in the Syrian city of Aleppo. It was February 2013, and Ibrahim, a truck driver who had become a leader in the protests against President Bashar al-Assad, was trying, as diplomatically as possible, to sustain the spirit of the original revolt without offending the newly ascendant and increasingly extremist Islamists.” Wall Street Journal: Syrian Government To Give Opposition One Day To Show Up To Geneva Talks “The Syrian government said Saturday that it would join U.N.-brokered peace talks in Geneva but would only wait one day for opposition representatives to show. Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, speaking at a news conference in the Syrian capital Damascus, said the government side would go to Geneva on Sunday for the talks, which begin on Monday. He spoke a day after the main opposition delegation said it would go to Geneva on Monday to attend the talks. ‘Our delegation will leave for Geneva tomorrow,’ said Mr. Moallem. ‘We will wait 24 hours and if no one is there, then we will return.’” Iraq CBS News: Iraqi Officials: ISIS Chemical Weapons Attacks Kill Child, Wound 600 “The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has launched two chemical attacks near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, killing a 3-year-old girl, wounding some 600 people and causing hundreds more to flee, Iraqi officials said Saturday. ‘What the Daesh terrorist gangs did in the city of Taza will not go unpunished,’ Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said, using an alternative name for ISIS during a meeting with village elders in the small town of Taza on Saturday. ‘The perpetrators will pay dearly.’” AFP: IS Jihadists Pull Out Of Several Iraq Towns: Officers “Islamic State fighters retreated from several western Iraqi towns and towards the Syrian border on Sunday as security forces worked their way up the Euphrates Valley, officers said. The jihadist organisation's leadership ordered its fighters out of Hit, Kubaysa and Rutba, prompting thousands of civilians to take to the road to meet advancing federal forces while others enjoyed their first hours of freedom in months. ‘The majority of Daesh (IS) fighters in Hit, Rutba and Kubaysa have fled through the desert to other regions,’ Yahya Rasool, Iraq's top security spokesman, told AFP.” International Business Times: Iraqi Government Is Running Out Of Money To Combat Isis Terror Group “Internal turmoil caused by the collapse in the price of oil on the world markets has led to extreme budget cuts within the government of Iraq. The cuts are so deep the country is struggling to properly arm its police forces and fund the combat troops needed to stem the spread of the Islamic State (Isis). According to The Telegraph, the move by Saudi Arabia to launch a price war over oil with its rivals in Iran and Russia has resulted in the further stabilisation of the Iraqi government – indeed, the revenues made from the sale of oil have reportedly dwindled by more than 50% in a single year.” Turkey Deutsche Welle: Russia Accuses Turkey Of 'Creeping Expansion' In Syria “In an interview with Russia's REN TV on Sunday, Lavrov accused Turkey of "creeping expansion" in northern Syria to prevent Kurdish fighters from strengthening their positions. ‘According to our information, they are digging in a few hundred meters from the border inside Syria,’ said Lavrov, adding that his government had reports of Turkish tanks on Syrian soil. ‘While demanding that Kurdish positions are not reinforced in Syria, Turkey has started to declare it has a sovereign right to create some safety zones on Syrian territory,’ he added.” Reuters: Turkish Air Strikes Kill 67 Kurdish Militants In North Iraq: Army “Turkey's army said on Saturday it killed 67 Kurdish militants in air strikes on camps and ammunition storage sites in neighboring northern Iraq on Wednesday. Jets targeted sites at Qandil, Metina, Avasin, Haftanin and Basyan used by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants, the armed forces said. Separately, a bomb blast blamed on PKK militants hit an armored police vehicle near Turkey's border with Iraq on Friday, Turkish officials said. Two special force police officers were injured in the explosion on a road in Hakkari province's Yuksekova district, they added.” Yemen Associated Press: Yemen Forces Clash With Islamists In Southern City Of Aden “Yemeni security officials say military forces are trying to retake areas held by Islamist militants in the southern port city of Aden, as clashes between the two sides intensify. The officials say the Saturday clashes in Aden's Mansoura district have expanded southward as civilians in the area fled their homes. Local affiliates of both al-Qaida and the Islamist State are fighting against security forces, with the fighters using heavy weapons in guerrilla warfare. A Saudi-led coalition started bombing Islamist locations in the city for the first time, the officials said.” Saudi Arabia The National: Saudi Arabia’s Steady Progress In Yemen Forces Iran To Take Stock “On Wednesday, Iranian Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri dropped a figurative bombshell regarding the conflict in Yemen. The deputy chief of staff of the armed forces said Tehran was willing to help Houthi rebels “in any way it can, and to any level necessary" against the Saudi-led coalition. Gen Jazayeri drew parallels to his country's intervention in Syria, where Iran has sent troops and advisers. The timing of the announcement is as important as its content, coinciding with a visit to Saudi Arabia by a Houthi delegation – the first of its kind since Riyadh and its allies launched Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen a year ago.” Middle East New York Times: After Rockets Fired From Gaza, Israelis Strike Hamas Bases “Israel struck at Hamas military bases in the Gaza Strip overnight, killing a 10-year-old boy and his 6-year-old sister, a Palestinian official said on Saturday. The airstrikes came after Palestinian militants fired rockets toward Israeli border communities late Friday. One of the airstrikes targeted a Hamas base in northwestern Gaza, and shrapnel hit a nearby home, killing the boy, Yassin Abu Khoussa, as he slept and wounding two siblings, one seriously, said Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesman for the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. One of the siblings, Yasmin, died in a hospital.” The Guardian: Israeli Airstrikes Kill Two Palestinian Children “A Palestinian boy and his sister were killed in Hamas-controlled Gaza when they were hit by fragments from a missile fired by an Israeli aircraft, medical officials said. The incident took place on Saturday hours after militants launched rockets into Israel. An Israeli military statement said aircraft had targeted four militant training camps belonging to Hamas after four missiles landed in open areas in southern Israel on Friday night. No casualties were reported from the rocket strikes.” Reuters: Gaza Siblings Killed In Israeli Air Strike After Militant Rockets Hit Israel “A Palestinian boy and his sister were killed in Hamas-controlled Gaza on Saturday when they were hit by fragments from a missile fired by an Israeli aircraft, medical officials said. The incident took place hours after militants launched rockets into Israel. An Israeli military statement said aircraft had targeted four militant training camps belonging to Hamas after four missiles landed in open areas in southern Israel on Friday night. No casualties were reported from the rocket strikes.” TIME: Why This Recent Piece Of ISIS Intelligence Stands Out “Two bonanzas surfaced in the war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) last week, although placing them in proper perspective proved daunting. You wouldn’t have gleaned any insight at Friday’s Pentagon press briefing, where Baghdad-based Army Colonel Steve Warren handled multiple questions via video conference about ISIS’s chemical weapons. But he didn’t get a single one on the list of 22,000 ISIS members that fell into the hands of the anti-ISIS coalition led by the U.S. The revelation that U.S. commandos snared ISIS’s chemical-weapons chief was important, but it pales alongside the flash drive containing a roster of ISIS agents a disgruntled militant handed over to Britain’s Sky News.” Libya The Guardian: Libyan Unity Government Moves To Take Power, Asserting Sole Authority To Rule “A Libyan unity government pulled together with UN backing moved to take power on Saturday night as the Tunis-based Presidential Council called on the country’s institutions and the international community to stop dealing with any rival groups. The council said in a statement on Saturday that it had a majority of signatures approving the new government from the House of Representatives (HOR) – one of Libya’s two rival post-Gaddafi assemblies – as well as endorsement by other political figures. This amounted to a ‘green light to start work’, the council said.” Reuters: Border Attack Feeds Tunisia Fears Of Libya Jihadist Spillover “The signal to attack came from the mosque, sending dozens of Islamist fighters storming through the Tunisian town of Ben Guerdan to hit army and police posts in street battles that lit the dawn sky with tracer bullets. Militants used a megaphone to chant ‘God is Great,’ and reassure residents they were Islamic State, there to save the town near the Libyan border from the "tyrant" army. Most were Tunisians themselves, with local accents, and even some familiar faces, officials and witnesses to Monday's attack said.” Arabic Language Clips Combating Terrorism Financing Alfajer TV: Indictment Against A Palestinian From Nazareth On Charges Of Terrorist Financing The Israeli Public Prosecution submitted an indictment in the Nazareth District Court against an Arab citizen and resident of the city, on charges of financing terrorism. The indictment was filed against Fayez Mahmoud al-Saadi, 20 years old, of Nazareth, on charges related to the crime of terror financing and providing means for committing security offenses. According to press reports, al-Saadi is accused of providing financial support to his younger brother, Mustafa, who joined ISIS in Syria in 2015. Al Saadi is being charged with sending his brother money, which he needed to carry out terrorist acts in the ranks of the jihadist organization, according to the Israeli Public Prosecutor. Counter Terrorism Afrigatenews: Tunisians Agree To Finance The Anti-Terrorism Fund In the aftermath of the botched terrorist attack on the city of Ben Guerdane, recent successful operations by security forces, and a thwarted plot to declare an "ISIS Emirate", a public anti-terror donations campaign in Tunisia is gaining momentum. The campaign is aimed at showing support for the security and military forces in their war on terrorism and at aiding the security and military personnel and families of the fallen martyrs. In this regard, Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi took the initiative to go to the post office to donate his monthly salary (of roughly 30,000 dinars, or $14,800) for the benefit of the anti-terrorism fund, which is based on donations from government officials and members of the business sector. For its part, the Tunisian Labor Union called on all of its members (over 1.7 million workers) to donate one day's work. It directed the same call to the 1 million Tunisians working abroad, the majority of whom (around 700,000) are in France. ISIS Alsabaah: ISIS Cuts Financial Rewards For (Families Of) Its Dead The artillery and air strikes on ISIS's banks and hiding places have caused a severe financial crisis inside the terror group. This has led ISIS not only to impose new taxes and other hardships on the residents of Mosul including compelling city employees 'to volunteer' to fight in ISIS ranks in exchange for their salary checks, but the terror group has also stopped transferring financial rewards to the families of ISIS gunmen killed in combat. A security source in the Nineveh Province Police Department disclosed that ISIS had promised employees of Mosul departments a full salary, provided they pledge allegiance to the organization and volunteer for combat duty in the event of the imminent commencement of a military operation for the liberation of Mosul. Brigadier-General Mohammed al-Jubouri of the Nineveh Police stated, "Employees of the health, electricity, sewage and agriculture departments of Nineveh refused to pledge allegiance to ISIS after it tried to force them to fight in its ranks in exchange for their salaries." Dam Press: ISIS Uses Syrian Currency In Zakat Private sources in Raqqa revealed that the ISIS terrorist organization continues to use Syrian currency in its dealings with citizens residing in Raqqa, located in eastern Syria. This comes after the organization previously announced it would issue its own currency and start using it within the areas under its jurisdiction. Remarkably, in its dealings with the Syrian currency, ISIS uses old banknotes of 500 pounds, which Syria replaced about two years. The Syrian Central Bank introduced new 500-pound banknotes which are quite different from the old version, even though the old banknotes are still in circulation. Muslim Brotherhood Mubasher Misr: "Ezzat Front" Faces The Turkish Judiciary On Charges Of Squandering 8 Million (Egyptian) Pounds Of The Brotherhood's Funds An Egyptian newspaper has revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood's Crisis Desk in Turkey filed a lawsuit against the leaders of the faction affiliated with the Acting Supreme Guide. This faction is led by Mahmoud Hussein and Islam Akel, the latter serving as Director General of Watan TV Channel. They are both accused of squandering 8 million pounds ($1,025,000). Sources within the group disclosed that the reason for the lawsuit is that the "Acting Supreme Guide Front," falsified ownership documents of the Brotherhood's Watan TV Channel (formerly "Misr Alaan"), to serve its own interests after including Akel in its ranks. It should be mentioned that Akel was previously commissioned by the Brotherhood's Higher Administrative Committee to establish the channel.         Albawabh News:  Terrorist (Brotherhood) Incites Supporters To Hold 'Pound Plunge' Rallies The Muslim Brotherhood is calling on its supporters in Egypt to protest this week under the slogan "Pound Drowning But Prices Skyrocketing Week." In addition, the group has asked the European Union to halt its financial assistance to Cairo intended to strengthen the economy, after the dollar exchange rate jumped to about 10 pounds against the Egyptian pound. The so-called Brotherhood's "National Alliance to Support Legitimacy" urged citizens and employees to protest, in a statement issued yesterday declaring, "The dollar's rise above the benchmark of 10 pounds represents a major disaster for the citizen, and his children, who will always pay the price. This is happening while the salaries of state employees and the private sector are fixed. In practical terms, this means that the country's currency has lost 30% of its value, which is the rate of its decline against the dollar in recent months."      Aleqtisady: Lawsuit To Overturn Ruling On The Seizure Of Brotherhood's Funds On Sunday, the Supreme Administrative Court in the Egyptian State Council, chaired by Ahmed El Shazly, is set to review a lawsuit submitted by Muslim Brotherhood's legal counsel, Osman Anani. In his lawsuit he demands the cancellation of the decision issued on October 2nd, 2013 by the Egyptian Prime Minister, to establish the Brotherhood Asset Freeze Committee.  This committee was formed in implementation of the ruling issued by the Cairo Court for Urgent Matters on September 23rd, 2013 to ban the group. The present  lawsuit was filed against both the Prime Minister and the First Assistant of the Justice Minister, who chairs the Brotherhood Asset Freeze Committee. In his lawsuit, Anani claims that the Cairo Court for Urgent Matters, which banned the Muslim Brotherhood, is not authorized to handle such a case. Its ruling was, nonetheless, published in the official Government Gazette on October 3rd, 2013. Almesryoon: Brotherhood Vindicated From Causing The Dollar Crisis Experts dismissed claims that the rise in the dollar exchange rate to an unprecedented level is related to the Muslim Brotherhood's efforts to harm the Egyptian economy. Previously, the regime blamed the group of smuggling foreign currency out of the country in an attempt to create uncertainty in the dollar exchange rate and thus prevent Egypt from attaining economic stability. Egyptian police have already arrested prominent businessman Hassan Malek, a Muslim Brotherhood leader, on charges of exploiting some Brotherhood-affiliated currency exchange companies to smuggle money out of the country. The regime claimed that the police had seized billions of dollars in his possession, which had a huge impact on the currency crisis. Experts, however, stressed that the hard facts and figures indicate that the Egyptian economy is undergoing a genuine crisis as a result of numerous factors, especially the lack of political stability, a security environment that does not allow the flow of investments, and an administrative apparatus which does not attract foreign investments. All of these have led to a decline in tourism revenues and, consequently, to the shortage of dollars. Cairo Portal: Owner Of Seized Company: "I'm Penniless; I Can't Afford To Feed My Kids; I Swear I'm Not Muslim Brotherhood!" An owner of a computer software company beseeched Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, the attorney-general, and all the relevant authorities, following the seizure of his company by the Muslim Brotherhood Asset Freeze Committee, swearing he has nothing to do with the Muslim Brotherhood. He further asserted that his company is his only means of livelihood and he questioned whether this was the way to encourage youth to work. Mohammed Al-Saddawi, owner of SMS Technology Company, posted the following message on Facebook: ”I set up this company seven years ago, worked very hard to make it grow and become one of the few (local) telecommunication companies. Thank God I took it to a high level, raised its capital and made contracts to expand its activities. Suddenly, the Brotherhood Asset Freeze Committee issued a decision against me on December 31st, 2015. The company, its accounts and my accounts were confiscated. I said, 'There's no problem; come and check, what’s the problem? …I have no ties to the Muslim Brotherhood!' They told me, 'You have to prove you're not Muslim Brotherhood'.” The Seventh Day: Brotherhood Asset Freeze (Committee) Appropriates The Islamic Relief Organization Office, But Not The Saudi Office In Egypt," The Muslim Brotherhood Asset Freeze Committee, headed by Judge Ezzat Khamis, announced it had seized all branches of the Islamic Relief Organization (IRO). The announcement was made by Dr. Mohammed Yasser Abu El-Fotouh, the Secretary General of the Committee. He stressed that the Egyptian office of Saudi Arabia's International Islamic Relief Organization has not been seized and is still operating in Egypt without any restrictions. The Committee called upon all official and unofficial state entities to allow IRO to continue its charity work in Egypt. Elwatan News: Ruling To Overturn Decision Of (Egypt's) Prime Minister On Seizure Of Brotherhood Funds Postponed To June 26th           On Sunday, the Supreme Administrative Court in the Egyptian State Council, headed by Judge Ahmed El Shazly, postponed the lawsuit filed by Muslim Brotherhood legal representative, Osman Anani. The lawsuit demanded the annulment of the Prime Minister's decision to form a committee to seize assets owned by the Brotherhood. The next session will be held on June 26th.