Eye on Extremism - March 30, 2016

Eye on Extremism March 30, 2016 The Wall Street Journal: Families Of U.S. Diplomats, Military Personnel Ordered To Leave Turkey “The U.S. government ordered hundreds of Americans to leave Turkey because of increased security concerns, the latest sign of international anxiety over series of terrorist attacks that has left scores of people dead from Pakistan to Belgium. The Pentagon and State Department said on Tuesday they had directed family members of most military and diplomatic personnel in Turkey to leave the country, which has been hit by four major attacks this year, including a suicide bomber who killed four people earlier this month in Istanbul. As a result, more than 650 Americans are expected to depart Turkey in coming days. Those affected by the order include relatives of U.S. military personnel working in southeastern Turkey, close to the Syrian border, the western coast around Izmir and southwestern Turkey, near a naval base. The decision doesn’t affect those living in Istanbul, the country’s largest city, or Ankara, its capital.” NBC News: Lahore Bombing Fuels Fears Of ISIS Foothold In Pakistan “The bombing that killed 72 people in Pakistan on Sunday is the latest troubling sign that ISIS has established a dangerous presence in a country long considered an al Qaeda stronghold. The violent Pakistani Taliban offshoot known as Jamaat-ul-Ahrar — which boasted that it targeted Christians in a crowded park in Lahore — once publicly declared support for ISIS. Now it's the subject of an intensive crackdown in the world's second-most populous and only nuclear-armed Muslim nation. U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News they believe Jamaat-ul-Ahrar was responsible for the brazen attack. No immediate links between the bombing and the Islamic State have emerged, but two U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News that Washington and Islamabad are concerned about indirect connections between ISIS and Sunday's atrocity and other terrorist acts in the past year.” New York Times: Nuclear Materials Remain Vulnerable To Theft, Despite U.S.-Led Effort “As President Obama gathers world leaders in Washington this week for his last Nuclear Security Summit, tons of materials that terrorists could use to make small nuclear devices or dirty bombs remain deeply vulnerable to theft. Still, Mr. Obama’s six-year effort to rid the world of loose nuclear material has succeeded in pulling bomb-grade fuel out of countries from Ukraine to Chile, and has firmly put nuclear security on the global agenda. But despite the progress, several countries are balking at safeguards promoted by the United States or are building new stockpiles.” CBS News: Mississippi Woman Who Tried To Join ISIS Pleads Guilty In her farewell letter as she was leaving to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Jaelyn Young told her family she was guilty. ‘I found the contacts, made arrangements, planned the departure,’ prosecutors say she wrote last August. ‘I am guilty of what you soon will find out.’ Tuesday, she admitted the same to a federal judge in Aberdeen, Mississippi, pleading guilty to one count of conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organization. U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock will sentence the 20-year-old Young at a later date. The former Mississippi State University student faces up to 20 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and lifetime probation. Her fiance, Muhammad Dakhlalla, pleaded guilty March 11 to a similar charge and also awaits sentencing.” The New York Times: How ISIS Built The Machinery Of Terror Under Europe’s Gaze “For much of 2012 and 2013, the jihadist group that eventually became the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, was putting down roots in Syria. Even as the group began aggressively recruiting foreigners, especially Europeans, policy makers in the United States and Europe continued to see it as a lower-profile branch of Al Qaeda that was mostly interested in gaining and governing territory. One of the first clues that the Islamic State was getting into the business of international terrorism came at 12:10 p.m. on Jan. 3, 2014, when the Greek police pulled over a taxi in the town of Orestiada, less than four miles from the Turkish border. Inside was a 23-year-old French citizen named Ibrahim Boudina, who was returning from Syria. In his luggage, the officers found 1,500 euros, or almost $1,700, and a French document titled ‘How to Make Artisanal Bombs in the Name of Allah.’ But there was no warrant for his arrest in Europe, so the Greeks let him go, according to court records detailing the French investigation.” The Washington Post: How Russian Special Forces Are Shaping The Fight In Syria “The troops that recently recaptured Palmyra, Syria, from the Islamic State included Syrian, Iranian and Hezbollah forces. And on Monday, Russian officials said there was another group that contributed to the victory: Russia’s elite special forces, also known as Spetsnaz. Russian troops are nothing new to the Syrian ground war. Since their arrival in September, the Russians have used naval infantry to secure a key port in Tartus and the perimeter of an airfield in Latakia. But Russian special forces operating on the front — aside from a small number of artillery and tank units — have remained mostly out of the public eye. Russian special forces have come to the forefront of Russia’s Syria narrative because the battle for Palmyra plays directly into the anti-Islamic State rhetoric that Russia used as a pretense to initially intervene, said Chris Kozak, a research analyst at the Institute of the Study of War.” Financial Times: Germany Fears Influence Of Homegrown Militants On Syrian Migrants “The appearance of Syrians such as Naji at Al Nur is ringing alarm bells among German officials. The fear is that homegrown militants are recruiting and radicalising Sunni Muslims from Syria — a development that could complicate efforts to integrate the newcomers and pose a long-term threat to Germany’s security.  The issue has gained greater urgency in the aftermath of the terrorist bombings of the Brussels airport and metro last week that have left 35 people dead. The attacks have fuelled concerns that Germany, whose already large Muslim population has been swollen by the refugee influx, might be next.  Burkhard Freier, head of domestic intelligence in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, says he has recorded more than 100 cases of extremist groups linked to Salafism — an ultra-conservative version of Sunni Islam that rejects western values — attempting to enter refugee shelters and proselytise among residents.” The Washington Post: A Wave Of Political Defections Spells New Trouble For Afghanistan “Afghanistan’s embattled government is facing a new challenge to its rule: former supporters, disillusioned by what they think is its incompetence, who now want fresh elections to remove the president from power. The discontent comes as the country is confronting a robust Taliban insurgency and an economy crippled by the withdrawal of foreign troops. Over the past few months, politicians, warlords, former ministers and other powerbrokers have come out against the government, which they say is paralyzed by infighting and unable to govern. Critics have lambasted the administration of President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, who together formed a national unity government after flawed elections in 2014, and they are calling for a snap presidential election to break the deadlock.” Bloomberg: Nigerian Troops Capture Boko Haram Key Base At Alargano: Army “Nigerian troops captured the northeastern town of Alargano, considered the ‘spiritual’ base of the Boko Haram Islamist group, after a 10-day siege that ended on Monday, a military official said. ‘This operation demystified the Boko Haram spiritual power base in Alagarno,’ Lucky Irabor, commander of counter-insurgency operations in the country’s northeast, told reporters on Tuesday in the city of Maiduguri. ‘Several Boko Haram terrorists were killed along the route.’ Boko Haram is in the seventh year of a violent campaign to impose its version of Shariah, or Islamic law, on Africa’s most populous country of about 180 million people. Nigeria is almost evenly split between a mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south.” Forbes: FBI Wants Access To Another ISIS-Linked iPhone -- Will It Demand Apple Aid? “Just as the feds back down from one fight to unlock an Apple iPhone linked to terrorist activity, another is ongoing. It revolves around another man suspected of links to terrorist group ISIS, though this time the alleged perp, Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab, is alive. A warrant filed on March 1 and found by FORBES shows the FBI was granted access to data on an iPhone 6S and a Samsung Galaxy S5 belonging to 23-year-old Al-Jayab, who was indicted in Chicago on 17 March for allegedly attempting to provide material support to violent terrorists overseas. Previous charges filed in Sacramento this January had claimed Al-Jayab in Sacremento made false statements in 2014 to immigration services about his support of extremist groups in Syria. The warrant, filed in Sacramento, shows the police bypassed protections on the Samsung device, having already acquired access to a number of Facebook ngIf: ticker FB +2.13% ticker accounts linked to Al-Jayab. But there’s no indication the FBI has managed to break the passcode of the iPhone.” United States Fox News: US Commuter Trains A Soft Target For Terrorists, Say Experts “From the jam-packed rail lines that bring suburban commuters to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington every day, to the trolleys and subways that crisscross America’s cities, the nation’s passenger trains are a soft target for terrorists that keeps security experts up at night. Even before last week’s attack in a Brussels Metro station, train cars and rail systems have been a prime target for terrorists, with prominent and deadly attacks occurring on European trains dating back to 2004. While no major incidents have occurred on U.S. rail lines, they remain vulnerable to attack --- and could be impossible to fully secure. ‘Anybody that thinks we are going to be exempt from this kind of terrorism in America is more optimistic than I think is justified,’ said Wendell Cox, a former member of the LA county Transportation Commission and now a policy consultant with Demographia. ‘I realize it is going to cost some money, but we have to think about doing that kind of thing because an attack can happen tomorrow; it can happen anywhere.’” CNN: Obama To Host World Leaders For Nuclear Summit “Dozens of the world's highest-profile leaders will begin arriving Wednesday in Washington for a major gathering devoted to securing nuclear material. The session comes at a moment of global unease after terror attacks in Belgium and a steady drumbeat of nuclear provocations from North Korea. U.S. officials say preventing ISIS from obtaining nuclear material remains a top priority heading into the gathering. President Barack Obama will host dignitaries from 56 nations and organizations for the Nuclear Security Summit, including British Prime Minister David Cameron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Francois Hollande, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. He'll convene a trilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Thursday morning, seeking to improve ties between the Asian leaders who have been at odds over historic grievances related to World War II.” Syria Reuters: Syria's Assad Says Military Gains Will Speed Up Political Deal “Syrian army successes will help accelerate a political settlement to the country's civil war, President Bashar al-Assad said, because they weaken the position of international opponents who he accused of hindering any agreement. In an interview published as government forces, backed by heavy Russian air power, maintained an offensive against Islamic State militants, Assad said his government ‘continue to be flexible’ in its approach to talks aimed at ending the war. ‘However at the same time, these victories will have an impact on the forces and nations which hinder a settlement because those states, first of all, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, France and Great Britain, are betting on our defeat on the battlefield in order to enforce their terms during the talks,’ he said. He was speaking in an interview with Russia's RIA news agency published on Tuesday, two days after government forces backed by intense Russian air power drove Islamic State militants out of Palmyra, delivering one of the biggest setbacks to the jihadist group since it declared a caliphate in Syria and Iraq in 2014.” Iraq USA Today: Iraq Army's Mosul Offensive Stalls In Face Of Fierce Fighting, Desertions “The Iraqi army soldiers smoked nervously as they described their ordeal. Sent to clear a village of Islamic State fighters, they found themselves pinned down by sniper fire. A few hours later, after 10 comrades were wounded, they withdrew. Last Thursday's mission was supposed to be a simple operation to harden untested Iraqi army soldiers: clear villages held by Islamic State fighters before crossing the Tigris River to retake the larger town of Qayyara, home to an airfield and oil fields. Their longer-term goal is to clear the way for a future push to reclaim the extremist group's stronghold of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city. Instead, it proved to be a slog because of heavy rains, tougher-than-expected resistance from the militants and reports of the low morale that has dogged the Iraqi military ever since the Islamic State swept into Iraq in 2014.  The stalled operation underscored just how difficult it will be to dislodge the militants from Mosul.” Associated Press: Suicide Bomber Kills At Least 7 Civilians In Iraqi Capital “Iraqi officials say a suicide bombing in the capital has killed at least seven civilians and wounded 23. A police officer says the suicide bomber set off his payload among a group of day laborers in Baghdad's Tayaran Square on Tuesday. A medical official confirms the toll. Both spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to brief reporters. The Islamic State group claimed the attack in an online statement circulated by supporters, saying it targeted Shiite militiamen. In recent months the Sunni extremists have carried out a series of large attacks mainly targeting Iraq's Shiite majority and Shiite-dominated security services. The attacks come as IS has lost ground on a number of fronts in Syria and Iraq, where it governs a self-styled Islamic caliphate.” Turkey The New York Times: Turkey Has Been Reckless, Repressive And Unreliable “When then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan last visited Washington in 2013, he received the full “valued ally” treatment, including an appearance with President Obama in the White House Rose Garden. Not this time. Now president, Erdogan will instead meet with Vice President Biden this week, which is the diplomatic equivalent of a handshake after a romantic date. The cool reception is not just a Washington thing. Europeans, scornful of his relentless crackdown on the opposition at home, don’t care much for the Turkish president. Arab states like Jordan don’t particularly appreciate him these days, either. And even some within NATO grumble that Turkey’s unofficial role as a buffer to both Russia and the Middle East has spoiled like month-old peynir.” USA Today: Turkey's President Erdogan Visits Washington Amid Policy Rifts “When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan comes to Washington this week, he'll open an Islamic cultural center in Lanham, Md., attend the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit and meet with Vice President Biden. One thing he likely won't do is have a formal meeting with President Obama. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Tuesday that Erdogan and Obama are expected to meet informally and "at least have a conversation." They won't meet because more than 50 world leaders are in town and Obama's time is limited, Earnest said. But analysts detect a snub reflecting U.S. discomfort with Erdogan's crackdown on free expression in Turkish news media and political opponents. On security matters, however, Erdogan and Obama are closer. Turkey supports a U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State and backs Obama's call for new leadership in Syria to end the five-year civil war.” Reuters: Obama To Hold Informal Talks With Turkey's Erdogan As Ties Show Strain “President Barack Obama will hold informal talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Washington this week, the White House said on Tuesday, dismissing suggestions that the lack of a formal meeting represented a snub to Ankara. Erdogan will be among more than 50 world leaders attending a Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on Thursday and Friday, during which time he is due to have a formal meeting with Vice President Joe Biden. There had been intense speculation in the Turkish media over whether Obama would meet Erdogan, with some suggesting a failure to do so would mark a deliberate U.S. snub amid differences over Syria and Washington's concerns over the direction of Turkey's domestic policies. At a news conference in Istanbul before leaving for the United States earlier on Tuesday, Erdogan said a meeting with Obama at the nuclear summit was planned, although he said he did not know how long it would last.” Yemen The New York Times: Children Pay ‘Highest Price’ As Yemen Falls Apart, U.N. Says “A yearlong conflict is threatening to cause a humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries, the United Nations reported on Tuesday, saying that ‘children are paying the highest price.’ The effects of the conflict and the deteriorating humanitarian conditions have brought Yemen ‘to the point of collapse,’ Unicef, the United Nations Children’s Fund, said in a report, adding that the country was at risk of becoming a failed state. At least six children have been killed or maimed in the fighting every day for the past year, Unicef said, calling that ‘the tip of the iceberg’ because that number represented only the cases that had been verified. The toll is almost certainly much higher, the organization said.” The New York Times: Yemen’s President: A Path To Peace “One year into the intervention here by the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia, and backed by the Yemeni National Army, I can tell my people with confidence that we are working hard to restore peace. The Houthi rebels’ military position has been weakened, and peace talks will resume next month. A cease-fire is to begin on April 10,leading up to the talks. The Houthis must respect it. We must now direct our efforts to rebuilding our broken country. Yemen’s war began in the summer of 2014 when the Houthi rebels, joined by soldiers loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, attacked the government’s armed forces in Amran. The rebels went on to occupy Sanaa, the capital, and overthrew Yemen’s legitimately elected government by force that September.” Saudi Arabia Voice of America: Saudi Arabia Looks To African Allies During Gulf Crises “Saudi Arabia appears intent on reaching across the Red Sea to build alliances in the Horn of Africa, where piracy, drug and weapons smuggling, and terrorism threaten commerce in the world's busiest shipping lanes. This was evident during the Saudis' intervention in Yemen. Over the past year, they built a coalition of African partners to help dislodge Houthi rebels who were in control of most of the country, including the capital, Sana'a. Eritrea played a key role, although it was not technically part of the Saudis' 12-nation coalition. Eritrea allowed the United Arab Emirates to use an airbase and logistics hub in the port town of Assab. The two countries also shared intelligence.” Egypt CNN: EgyptAir Hijacking Raises Security Questions “While it's difficult to imagine a passenger managing to smuggle explosives aboard, in these times, no chances can be taken when lives are at stake. Security expert Anthony May said it might be possible to smuggle bomb components aboard a plane separately and then assemble them. At any rate, the pilots of Flight MS181 headed for Larnaca, on Cyprus, and landed safely. The passengers were eventually released. And the alleged hijacker, who officials described as disturbed, was taken into custody. At first, authorities had to take the claim seriously out of an abundance of caution. And because it didn't happen this time does not mean it could never happen.” Reuters: Family Of Slain Italian Student Demands Strong Response To Egypt “The parents of Italian graduate student Giulio Regeni, who was tortured and killed in Cairo, demanded on Tuesday a tough response from Rome if Egypt fails to uncover the truth behind their son's murder. Giulio's mother, Paola Regeni, said she might release a photograph of her son's body to show the world what had happened to him in Egypt if his murderers were not revealed. ‘I only recognized him because of the tip of his nose. As for everything else, it was no longer him,’ she said in the first news conference the family has given since Giulio's battered body was found in a roadside ditch on Feb. 3. The 28-year-old student went missing on Jan. 25 and human rights groups have said the signs of torture indicated he had been killed by Egyptian security forces, an allegation Cairo has vigorously denied.” Libya AFP: UN Chief Urges Swift Handover Of Power In Libya “UN chief Ban Ki-moon pleaded Tuesday for Libya's unity government to be allowed to start work quickly and called for anyone obstructing the peace process to be held accountable. Ban, speaking in Tunisia, called for a UN-backed presidential council to be permitted to work towards ‘the immediate peaceful and orderly handover of power to the government of national accord.’ He also urged Libya's internationally recognised parliament, based in the country's east, ‘to uphold its responsibilities’ in implementing a UN-brokered power-sharing deal announced in December. ‘Those obstructing the political process should be held accountable. The Libyan people deserve peace, security and prosperity under a strong, united government,’ he said. The power-sharing deal aims to end years of political turmoil in the North African state that has been exploited by jihadists and people-smugglers. But both of Libya's rival authorities -- the government backed by the recognised parliament and another supported by armed groups in the capital -- have refused to cede power to the unity government.” Nigeria The Atlantic: Nigeria’s Mission To Free Boko Haram’s Hostages “Nigerian troops have freed hundreds of hostages held by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram in recent counter-terrorism efforts in Nigeria’s northeast. The military missions, aimed at driving out terrorists and rescuing their captives, freed 829 people last week. The army rescued 520 people in the village of Kusumma, and 309 others from 11 other villages. Troops have also rescued 72 people held captive in northeast villages in two ‘clearance operations,’ army Public Relations Director Sani Usman said in statements Sunday. The group still holds an unknown number of hostages.” Europe CBS News: Mistakes Aside, Belgium Says Terror Network Damaged “Belgian authorities have admitted to serious mistakes, but they claim they are making progress and have inflicted damage against the terrorist network suspected of carrying out both the Brussels and Paris attacks. CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey reports, however, that exactly how much damage European law enforcement agencies have inflicted on that European network of apparent ISIS operatives remains an open -- and vexing -- question. Security was still tight Tuesday morning in the Belgian capital and the airport was still closed. As one official conceded, Brussels will never return to the so-called ‘normal’ again.” Arabic Language Clips Combating Terrorism Financing Zoom Tunisia: (Tunisian Minister) Saad Seddik Gives The Starting Signal To Participate In The Funding Of The National Fund For The Fight Against Terrorism Saad Seddik, the Tunisian Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, gave the signal on Tuesday (March 29th, 2016) to launch nationwide participation in the National Fund for the Fight Against Terrorism. The minister called on all agencies and entities affiliated with the ministry, at both the national and regional levels, to participate in the financing of the Fund. Muslim Brotherhood Al Wafd: Exposure Of Brotherhood Scheme To Harm Egyptian Economy A Kuwaiti newspaper revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken covert measures to conceal its ties with its funding sources. The paper claimed there are 25 Brotherhood-affiliated charities and companies in Arab and Gulf countries, including Kuwait, which make profits through the stock markets and government projects. The report added that the Brotherhood won, through its business establishments, tenders to execute 47 large-scale strategic projects in various countries. The group channels a percentage of its profits to support ISIS in Syria, the report indicated. The leaders of the international arm of the Muslim Brotherhood use money earned in Gulf countries for investments in China, so as to launder the dollar profits in the trade of goods and building materials. They also pump money into various sectors such as retail, finance and the clothing industry. Albawabh News: Elbeshbeshy: (Brotherhood) Group Aims To Attain Cheap Political And Material Interests Tarek Elbeshbeshy, a former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, said that what happened in Turkey in terms of bickering and wrangling between the two Muslim Brotherhood camps reveals the true goal of this group. He stressed that each side wants to resolve the conflict in its favor, realizing that control of the leadership means control of the money. The group's objectives, he noted, are cheap material and political interests. Al Jazeera: Jordan Refuses To Grant License For Internal Muslim Brotherhood Elections Jordanian authorities have verbally informed the secretary general of the Muslim Brotherhood of their decision to ban the group's internal elections scheduled for early next month. The Brotherhood in Jordan plans to hold internal elections for a new Shura Council and a new Guide-General as a successor to Hamam Said. It is reported that the governor of the capital of Amman notified the Brotherhood that the Jordanian government does not want these elections to be held. Furthermore, the authorities explained that the group has no license to do so. Sources from within the Brotherhood assert that the elections are an internal affair and insist on proceeding with them. They claim that the group possesses a license to do so dating back to the 1940s. Hezbollah Albayan: Seizure Of Assets Belonging To Hezbollah Associates In Kuwait As part of their efforts to implement the Gulf Cooperation Council's decision to declare Hezbollah a terrorist organization, the Kuwaiti authorities are about to seize the assets of any person residing in its territory found to be involved in the transfer of funds bound for Lebanon's Hezbollah. Kuwaiti security authorities have assembled a preliminary list of known Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese, Syrian and Iranian nationals residing in the country, including media personalities, businesspersons and shop owners. Some of them have already been deported out of Kuwait. Security authorities are currently working on forwarding the cases of Kuwaiti Hezbollah members to the country's Public Prosecution.