Eye on Extremism - March 18, 2016

Eye on Extremism March 18, 2016 New York Daily News: 'Kill List' With Personal Information Of 36 Minnesota Cops Posted By Pro-ISIS Hackers “An ISIS ‘kill list’ with the personal information of 36 Minnesota cops surfaced this week. The list's existence was first reported by Vocativ, which found that the list was posted by hackers who support ISIS.Vocativ discovered that the names, phone numbers and addresses of 36 officers had been shared on an encrypted application. The list was published by the pro-ISIS Caliphate Cyber Army on Telegram, according to Vocativ. FBI spokesman Kyle Loven would not confirm who created or posted the list, or whether it was in fact a ‘kill list.’” CBS News: ​FBI: ISIS Inspired California Student In Campus Stabbings “A California college student who went on a stabbing rampage that wounded four people before he was shot down by a campus police officer was inspired by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) but acted alone, the FBI said Thursday. Faisal Mohammad, 18, appears to have become self-radicalized, drawing motivation from terrorist propaganda that he found online before launching the Nov. 4 attack at the University of California, Merced, authorities said. ‘Every indication is that Mohammad acted on his own,’ Gina Swankie, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Sacramento field office, said in a statement.” ARA News: ISIS Governor Of Mosul Killed In Coalition Airstrike “U.S.-led coalition forces conducted Thursday several airstrikes on headquarters of the radical group of Islamic State (ISIS) in the city of Mosul in Iraq’s northwestern province of Nineveh, killing a top ISIS official along with several leaders from the jihadi group, local sources reported. ‘Alian Natiq Mabroush, who was appointed by ISIS as governor of Mosul, has been killed in an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition forces on the Faruq compound in the city,’ a local source close to the group told ARA News, speaking on condition of anonymity.” NBC News: Captured American Mohamad Khweis Talks About His Time With ISIS “An American described as an ISIS defector says he made a ‘bad decision’ to follow a young woman to Iraq — and claims he left because he doesn't share the terror organization's views. ‘I don't see them as good Muslims,’ the man identified by Kurdistan 24 television as Mohamad Jamal Khweis, 26, said in a heavily edited interview. ‘I wanted to go back to America.’ Khweis, the American-born son of Palestinian immigrants in Virginia, spoke calmly and even smiled as he described his odyssey.” New York Times: Citing Atrocities, John Kerry Calls ISIS Actions Genocide “Secretary of State John Kerry declared on Thursday that the Islamic State is committing genocide against Christians, Yazidis and Shiite Muslims who have fallen under its control in Syria and Iraq. The militants, who have also targeted Kurds and other Sunni Muslims, have tried to slaughter whole communities, enslaved captive women and girls for sex, and sought to erase thousands of years of cultural heritage by destroying churches, monasteries and ancient monuments, Mr. Kerry said. The Islamic State’s ‘entire worldview is based on eliminating those who do not subscribe to its perverse ideology,’ he said.” Haaretz: Israeli Army Puts Palestinian Village on Lockdown After Woman Soldier Stabbed “The Israel Defense Forces has imposed a full lockdown on the West Bank village of Beit Fajjar, the hometown of two Palestinians shot and killed earlier on Thursday after they stabbed and wounded a woman soldier after she got off a bus near the settlement of Ariel. Magen David Adom paramedics treated the soldier for a stab wound to the upper body and evacuated her to Beilinson Hospital, Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva in moderate-to-serious condition. The slain assailants, were identified as Ali Thawabta, 19, and Ali Takatka, 20 from the village of Beit Fajjar. The IDF responded by surrounding the village and putting it on lockdown denying entry or exit accept for emergency cases.” Associated Press: Syria Shaky Truce Allows For Rallies Against Al-Qaida Branch “With Syria's shaky cease-fire holding, peaceful protesters have yet again taken to the streets in opposition-held areas of the country. But this time, in addition to President Bashar Assad's government, they have another despised authority they seek to topple — al-Qaida's affiliate in the country, the oppressive Nusra Front. The developments have raised questions as to whether the al-Qaida branch can be sidelined — or in fact even completely eradicated — from any future scenarios for Syria.” Reuters: Major Fighting In Yemen Coming To An End: Saudi Coalition Spokesman “The spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition battling the Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen has been quoted as saying major fighting in the country is drawing towards a close, one year after the military campaign began. Fighting on two of the main battlefronts in Yemen, along the border with Saudi Arabia and in the city of Taiz, has calmed this month following mediation by local tribes and there have been secret talks in Saudi Arabia towards finding a resolution.” BBC News: Cameroon Sentences 89 Boko Haram Fighters To Death “Cameroon has sentenced 89 members of Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram to death, local media report. They were convicted on terror charges by a military court for their roles in several attacks in Cameroon's northern region which borders Nigeria. Cameroon passed an anti-terror law in 2014 which introduced the death sentence. This is the first time the death sentenced has been used since that law was passed. The 89 are among 850 people arrested in Cameroon on charges of links to Boko Haram.” United States CBS News: Official: ISIS' Money Running Short Because Of U.S. Bombing Campaign “In Iraq today, CBS News was told ISIS is running short of money because of the U.S. bombing campaign. CBS News got a rare interview with President Obama's special envoy in the region, who also said Russia may be tired of propping up the Syrian dictator. For the past six years, Russia's government -- and its military -- have shown unwavering support for Syrian President Bashar al Assad. But that may at last be changing, says the President's Special Envoy on Iraq and Syria Brett McGurk.” AFP: US Welcomes Winding Down Of Strikes In Yemen “The White House Thursday welcomed a pledge from a Saudi-led coalition to wind down the air war in Yemen, an announcement that could dial back tensions between Riyadh and Washington before President Barack Obama visits. White House spokesman Josh Earnest welcomed a coalition statement that the year-old campaign against Iran-backed Houthi militias was nearing the ‘end of the major combat phase.’ ‘The violence there that is plaguing that country has caught too many innocent civilians in the crossfire,’ Earnest said.” New York Times: U.S. Service Members Punished For Strike On Hospital In Afghanistan “The Defense Department has disciplined at least a dozen military personnel for their roles in an airstrike in October on a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Afghanistan that killed 42 people, senior military officials said, but they are not expected to face criminal charges. The personnel, including officers and enlisted members, were given administrative punishments, the officials said. The Associated Press first reported the disciplinary actions Wednesday. Among those disciplined are soldiers who were on the ground, personnel at the operations center that oversaw the strike, and airmen. Others involved may also be disciplined, the officials said.” International Business Times: US Army Refutes Reports Of Taliban Shooting Down Helicopter In Southern Afghanistan “A U.S. Army spokesman refuted reports that the Taliban shot down a U.S. helicopter in southern Afghanistan. According to NBC News, the spokesman said that there were initial reports that a Resolute Support helicopter made hard landing in Helmand province, but no casualties were reported. The U.S. Army spokesman also reportedly said that an investigation is underway into the incident, but ‘there was not enemy activity in the area.’  Earlier, RT News reported that the plane was shot down in the Shawal Manda area of Nad Ali district in Helmand province, the largest province in Afghanistan. The Russian state news website also cited social media reports claiming that four American soldiers on board the helicopter were ‘killed on the spot.’” Syria Al Arabiya: 80% Of Syria's Children Harmed By Civil War “As the world marks five years since the start of the uprising in Syria and the subsequent war, Syrian children are suffering in silence. The conflict has created 2.4 million child refugees, killed many and led to the recruitment of children as fighters. In its report ‘No Place for Children,’ UN children’s fund UNICEF said this week more than 8 million children in Syria and neighboring countries needed humanitarian assistance. The report said around 3 million Syrian children in Syria or neighboring countries are not attending school.” Iraq AFP: UN 'Very Worried' About Thousands Fleeing Iraq Offensive “The United Nations said Thursday it was concerned that many of the 35,000 people recently displaced by fighting in Iraq’s Anbar province were still very close to the front lines. Thousands of civilians have been fleeing Hit, 145 kilometers (90 miles) west of Baghdad, as security forces close in on fighters from ISIS hunkered down in the city. ‘The UN doesn’t have full access and we are very worried that some of the families who are escaping are in areas very close to the front lines,’ the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, Lise Grande, said in a statement.” ARA News: Are The Kurds Prepared To Liberate Raqqa From ISIS? “Salih Muslim, leader of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) that controls Syria’s Kurdish region, or Rojava, said on Thursday that it is a priority for the People’s Protection Units (YPG) to liberate Raqqa, despite that some suggest YPG is not ready to take the Arab city–that is deemed a de facto capital for the Islamic State (ISIS) radical group. ‘Raqqa is now the capital of ISIS, and also for Rojava it is a priority to retake Raqqah because most attacks in Kobane were launched from Raqqa,’ he said at the yearly Sulaimani forum, organized by the American University of Iraq Sulaimani (AUIS).” Yemen BBC News: Yemen Conflict: Saudi Arabia To 'Scale Back' Military Operations “Saudi Arabia has said its military coalition will scale back operations against rebels in Yemen. The US-backed coalition of mostly Arab states began air strikes a year ago in support of Yemen's internationally recognised government. A Saudi military spokesman said that the coalition would continue to provide air support to Yemeni forces. The announcement came as the death toll from a strike on a market this week doubled to more than 100. Witnesses said at least two missiles hit the busy market in the Mustaba district of Hajja province, north of the capital Sanaa, an area controlled by the Shia Houthi rebels.” Middle East Wall Street Journal: Israel’s Main Concern In Syria: Iran, Not ISIS “Unlike Syria’s other neighbors, Israel has by and large stayed away from the war that is ripping the country apart. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t deeply interested in how the five-year conflict ends—or that its interests are necessarily aligned with Washington’s. The Israeli government’s priority is clear: to stop the rise of Iran as a regional power following last year’s nuclear deal and the lifting of international sanctions on Tehran. It is an approach that has increasingly aligned Israel with the anti-Iranian, Sunni Muslim camp led by Saudi Arabia.” Al Monitor: Meet The Carlo “It is no longer just a knife intifada. It’s not even an intifada of individuals anymore. Israel’s security forces have begun to note a new type of attack, in which two or three assailants work together, using homemade guns. For example, two of the most recent attacks near the Old City of Jerusalem — one near Herod’s Gate March 8, and the other near Damascus Gate March 9 — were shootings that used makeshift rifles known affectionately throughout the territories as the ‘Carlo.’ Another attack near the Damascus Gate, which resulted in the death of border police officer Hadar Cohen Feb. 3 involved three perpetrators who also used a homemade rifle.” AFP: Two Palestinians Stab Soldier In West Bank, Shot Dead: Army “Two Palestinians stabbed an Israeli soldier near a group of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank today before being shot dead, the army said, the latest in a months-long wave of violence. The incident occurred at the Ariel junction in the West Bank. The female soldier was being taken to hospital, while the two assailants were shot by forces at the scene, the Israeli army said.  Medics described the victim's condition as ‘moderate to severe’ and said she was around 20 years old.” Libya Associated Press: Unity Government Aims To Save Libya, But Has To Get In First “The United States, Europe and United Nations have all pinned their hopes for resolving Libya's chaos and blocking the Islamic State group's growth there on a newly announced unity government. The problem is: It's not clear how the government can actually get into the country. The unity government, brokered by the U.N. and headed by a little-known Libyan technocrat, Fayez Serraj, is supposed to replace the two rival administrations — one based in the capital Tripoli, the other based in the eastern city of Tobruk — that have been battling each other for more than a year, each one backed by an assortment of militias.” Nigeria Reuters: Cameroon Soldiers Kill 20 Boko Haram Fighters In Nigeria “Cameroonian soldiers killed 20 Boko Haram fighters on Wednesday during a raid in northern Nigeria carried out by a multinational force tasked with stamping out the militants, military sources told Reuters on Thursday. Cameroon commander General Jacob Kodji said the fighters were killed in the Nigerian town of Djibrila, which is about 10 km (six miles) from the Cameroon border. A spokesman for Cameroon's Defence Ministry, Colonel Didier Badjeck, said 12 hostages were freed and munitions and armoured vehicles were seized during the operation.” Europe New York Times: European Union Grapples With Plan To Return Migrants From Greece To Turkey “European leaders edged closer early on Friday to a deal to return asylum seekers from Greece to Turkey despite a host of legal, political and moral issues raised by their latest effort to quell the migrant crisis. The common stance agreed by the European Union’s 28 national leaders still needs the approval of Turkey’s prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu. He flew here late Thursday for face-to-face talks on Friday. Those negotiations will revolve around what incentives to grant Turkey, which is not a European Union member, in return for Turkey’s taking on the job of housing more of the migrants while they wait for word on whether they qualify for resettlement in Western Europe.”