Eye on Extremism - April 5, 2016

Eye on Extremism April 5, 2016 International Business Times: ISIS Chemical Attacks: Islamic State Used Mustard Gas During Attack On Syrian Military Airbase In Deir Ezzor “The Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, used mustard gas to attack Syrian troops during an offensive against a military airport in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, state media reported late Monday. The number of casualties from the attack remains unclear, Syrian state media reported, adding that militants aimed to capture the airport. The news reportedly adds to previous claims that ISIS is using various forms of the poisonous gas to attack targets. The attack comes as the extremist group, which controls large swaths of Iraq and Syria, has been targeted by the U.S.-led coalition as well as by Syrian and Russian forces. ISIS has lost about 20 percent of its territory in Syria and 40 percent in Iraq.” Reuters: U.S. Behind Strike That Killed Nusra Front's Abu Firas – Officials “The United States has carried out an air strike in Syria that killed a prominent leader of al Qaeda offshoot Nusra Front, Abu Firas al-Suri, U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday. Islamist rebel sources said Abu Firas, who was a former Syrian army officer discharged in the late 1970s because of his Islamist leanings, was a founding member of the militant group and had fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s. He was a senior member of Nusra Front's policy-making Shura Council. A Pentagon spokesman said a U.S. air strike on Sunday hit a meeting of high-level al Qaeda officials in northwest Syria at which Abu Firas was present. The spokesman, Peter Cook, said the United States was still confirming whether Abu Firas had been killed.” The Wall Street Journal: Islamist Rebel Groups Press Offensive In Northern Syria “A tenuous cease-fire in Syria unraveled further over the past few days, with rebel groups that signed on joining the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front in a new offensive against regime forces near the northern city of Aleppo. Amid the offensive in its fourth day on Monday, Nusra supporters were mourning a top figure in the group and nearly two dozen of his associates killed in airstrikes in northwestern Idlib province on Sunday. Nusra supporters blamed the airstrike on the U.S., which has previously targeted the group’s fighters in Idlib, its stronghold. A spokesman for the American-led coalition that is mainly battling Islamic State wouldn’t immediately confirm nor deny the allegation. Russia and the Syrian regime also conduct airstrikes on opponents in the area. The truce has been imperiled by an escalation of regime airstrikes on rebel-held suburbs of the capital Damascus over the past week. Despite a rapidly rising toll of alleged violations, both sides appear reluctant to call off the agreement which has reduced violence and deaths after all.” CBS News: As Iraqi Forces Close In On Mosul, ISIS Lashes Out “Militants unleashed a wave of suicide attacks across Iraq on Monday, killing at least 29 people and wounding dozens, as military officials in Iraq and Syria celebrate battlefield gains against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS.) As Iraqi forces backed by a U.S.-led coalition have advanced against ISIS on a number of fronts in recent months, extremists have retaliated with a number of large scale bombings targeting civilians. Iraqi officials said troops have recaptured a key village outside the ISIS-held city of Mosul after days of heavy fighting. Lt. Col. Mohammed al-Wagaa of the Iraqi army said troops retook the village of al-Nasr, near the Tigris river, on Monday, after destroying six suicide car bombers that had tried to attack them.” CNN: White House Weighs More Special Ops In Syria “The number of U.S. Special Operations forces fighting ISIS could increase in the coming weeks, two defense officials told CNN. As the Pentagon looks at trying to accelerate its campaign against ISIS in Syrian and Iraq, one idea under consideration is sending several dozen additional U.S. Special Operations forces into Syria, the officials said. But they both strongly caution at this point the idea is just being discussed and is not yet a formal, detailed option for the White House. The discussions are expected to take place at the White House this week, and could come as soon as tomorrow, a third U.S. official said. The goal is to lay the groundwork for local forces to retake both Raqqa and Mosul and eliminate ISIS' ability to use them as areas from which to plan external attacks. Under the current military effort, up to 50 Special Operations forces are authorized to be in Syria to advise and assist moderate Syrian forces fighting ISIS.” Reuters: Warplanes Set Al Qaeda Compound In Southern Yemen On Fire – Witnesses “Warplanes believed to belong to the Saudi-led coalition bombed and set ablaze an al Qaeda compound in southern Yemen on Monday, residents said, the latest attack to target the militant group that controls at least two cities in the country. Islamist militants have exploited the Yemen war between Iran-allied Houthis and forces loyal to Saudi-backed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to seize at least two provincial capitals in south and eastern Yemen, using them as bases to recruit more followers. Residents said two planes launched rockets into an old office of the local government in Zinjibar, the Abyan provincial capital, which is held by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), setting the building on fire.They said an unknown number of al Qaeda militants were in the compound at the time and were believed to have been killed or wounded. Apache helicopters, also believed by residents to belong to the Saudi-led coalition, were later seen flying over the city.” The New York Times: U.S. Officials Met With Belgians On Security Concerns Before Attacks “A ‘foreign fighter surge team’ of experts from the F.B.I., the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security met with their Belgian counterparts a month before the Brussels terrorist attacks to try to correct gaps in Belgium’s widely criticized ability to track terrorist plots, American officials said. The half-dozen experts focused on long-term structural fixes to the Belgians’ failure to share intelligence effectively and to tighten porous borders, but not on providing information about suspected Islamic State operatives. The recommendations, even if accepted, would not have prevented the attacks at the Brussels Airport and in the city’s subway last month, the officials said. But the gaps addressed in two days of meetings, held at Belgium’s request at the United States Embassy in Brussels, underscore the urgency and the frustration senior American officials say they feel as they prod many European allies to embrace the kind of counterterrorism lessons the United States learned after the Sept. 11 attacks. The American experts have also visited Greece and are expected to travel to France and Germany in the coming weeks, Obama administration officials said.” Business Insider: ISIS's Finances Are Taking A Serious Hit, And It's Hurting Morale Inside The Terrorist Group “As a US-led coalition hammers ISIS's oil infrastructure and other financial institutions in the Middle East, the terrorist group has cut salaries and infighting has broken out within the rank and file and senior leadership. Reports of infighting within ISIS — aka the Islamic State, ISIL, or Daesh — aren't new, but increased financial and territorial losses might be worsening the stress fractures that are splintering the group. The Washington Post reported on Monday that ISIS is now facing an ‘unprecedented cash crunch’ as the coalition ramps up strikes on its sources of wealth. Strikes have been hitting oil refineries and tankers as well as banks and buildings that hold hard cash.” Fox News: Leader Of Breakaway Boko Haram Faction Arrested In Nigeria “Nigerian security agents have arrested the leader of breakaway Boko Haram faction Ansaru, the Ministry of Defense said. If confirmed, he would be the highest-level extremist ever captured in the country's 6-year-old war against Islamic jihadis. Ansaru leader Khalid al-Barnawi has a $5 million reward on his head. The U.S. Department of State named him a ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’ in 2012. It is ‘a breakthrough in the fight against terrorism,’ Defense Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar said in a statement Sunday. He said security agents arrested al-Barnawi, originally named Usman Umar Abubakar, in the southern city of Lokoja on Friday. His presence in a city 1,000 kilometers (more than 600 miles) from the northeastern war front strengthens suspicions that Islamic militants may have infiltrated Fulani Muslim herders who have been creating havoc in Nigeria's Middle Belt in clashes over land and water with Christian farmers. Dozens of people have been killed in recent months.” CBS: FBI Helping Other Agencies Crack Apple’s IPhone “The FBI is now offering help to other law enforcement agencies crack the Apple iPhone just one week after unlocking an that phone used by the San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook. Alex DeMetrick reports, it’s a push back against ‘going dark.’ Trying to crack into the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino murderers, forced the FBI to find a way after Apple refused to help. The FBI won’t say who cracked it, but companies routinely work to restore files on iPhones that have been damaged. ‘This is the chip that holds all the data for the iPhone in the encryption form,’ said Michael Cobb, with, DriveSavers Data Recovery. Enter the wrong password ten times and the memory is wiped clean, what the FBI calls going dark. A solution the FBI says it will now share with other law enforcement agencies.” United States Politico: Suffocating Terrorism: How The U.S. And Saudi Arabia Can Work Together “Millions of dollars a year flow from private individuals and organizations to Daesh (the Islamic State), Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. Terrorists depend on it. Without the shadowy bankrolling by international financing networks, terrorist groups would not be capable of inflicting the murder, brutality and fear that has sadly become all too common around the globe. Countries must work closely together and share intelligence information to disrupt these financing networks. Yet, some foreign policy analysts contend that there is a supposed ‘strain in relations’ between the United States and Saudi Arabia. That could not be further from the truth. The latest accomplishment of the partnership between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia in the war against terrorism was achieved last week. On March 31, Saudi Arabia, acting jointly with the United States, took action to disrupt major networks of terrorist financing with ties across Afghanistan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Four individuals, operating in Pakistan, and two organizations that supplied funding to recruit fighters and launch operations of Al Qaeda, the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba (one of the most militant terrorist groups in Pakistan) are now legally designated as terrorists under Saudi Arabia’s Law of Terrorism Crimes and Financing, and their funds and property frozen by the U.S.” The Jerusalem Post: US-Israel Alliance Needed Now In Light Of ISIS, Iran Threats, Visiting US Speaker Says “US Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) visited the Knesset Monday, meeting with Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein on his first trip abroad in his new position. ‘It’s not by coincidence; it was by design,’ Ryan said of his choice of official visit. ‘We made a very strong decision. I wanted to come to Israel first as Speaker of the House, because, and I can speak her on behalf of our delegation, our alliance is so important, our friendship is so important.’ Ryan said the alliance between Israel and the US is ‘more important now than ever before’ in light of ‘very difficult times, the rise of ISIS, terrorism, Syrian civil war, Iran.We see you as our friends, our allies, our partners. You’re an island of freedom in a very difficult, chaotic region, and that is why our partnership is all the more important,’ he added. Ryan said it is important for Israel and the US to renew and extend its bilateral security agreement, mentioning missile defense programs like David’s Sling and the Arrow. The Speaker of the House also said Congress would combat any boycott efforts against Israel.” Voice Of America: Obama Hails Summit Accord, But Says Nuclear Terrorism Still A Risk “The leaders of more than 50 nations who met in Washington about nuclear security and terrorism agreed on the actions they will take together to reduce the risks facing the world, but President Barack Obama says the hard work starts now, building on the summit's accomplishments. The global effort to keep nuclear materials secure has made important progress, Obama told Americans Saturday. ‘As terrorists and criminal gangs look around for the deadly ingredients for a nuclear device, vast regions of the world are now off limits.’ Summarizing the summit, Obama said ‘no terrorist group has yet succeeded in obtaining a nuclear device or producing a dirty bomb using radioactive materials.’ However, he added that al-Qaida, Islamic State and other terror groups certainly have tried to do so.” Syria Voice Of America: Islamic State Suffers More Reversals In Syria “Islamic State militants have suffered a series of reversals in northern Syria, both at the hands of rebel fighters and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, that saw the terror group lose control of strategic territory bordering Turkey and withdraw from a town southeast of Homs, according to rebel fighters and political activists. The clashes coincided with renewed targeting by U.S.-led coalition warplanes of IS positions in the northern Aleppo countryside and airstrikes from Russian warplanes in eastern Syria that reportedly left at least 40 militants dead. Coming just days after Russian-backed regime forces recaptured the town of Palmyra from the militants, the accumulating battlefield losses for the terror army represent a serious setback for an organization that once boasted it would ‘remain and expand.’” Fox News: US Says Iran Forces Pulling Back In Syria; Others Say No “The Obama administration is making the case that Iran is drawing down its elite fighting force from Syria in an effort to allay fears that Tehran is using its powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria to strengthen its influence across the Middle East. Yet the Iranian government said Monday it has dispatched commandos to the war and it is still taking high-ranking casualties. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is deeply involved in trying to broker a political solution to end the five-year-old civil war between President Bashar Assad and rebels, told Congress in late February that Iran was recalling its IRGC forces from Syria. U.S. officials, who were not authorized to publicly discuss Iran's role in Syria and spoke only on condition of anonymity, said Tehran's drawdown of IRGC forces will compel Assad to rely more on his own forces, which lack the training and intelligence capabilities of the IRGC.” Iraq Fox News: Wave Of Suicide Attacks Kill At Least 29 People Across Iraq “Militants unleashed a wave of suicide attacks across Iraq on Monday, killing at least 29 people and wounding dozens, officials said. The deadliest attack took place in the southern province of Dhi Qar (also known as Nasiriyah) when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a restaurant that is frequented by Shiite paramilitary militia fighters, killing at least 14 people. Another 27 people were wounded in the attack on the well-known restaurant, which is located on the main highway that links the capital, Baghdad, with the southern provinces, a police officer said. Dhi Qar is located about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad. At around the same time, a suicide car bomber set off his explosives-laden vehicle in a commercial area in the oil-rich city of Basra, killing at least five people and wounding 10 others, another police officer said.” Turkey Reuters: Turkey's Erdogan Says No Room For Dialogue In Kurdish Conflict “Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday ruled out reviving peace talks with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and vowed to stamp out the conflict, at its deadliest in two decades, once and for all. Two members of the security forces were killed in fighting in the mainly Kurdish southeast on Monday, officials said. The autonomy-seeking PKK abandoned its two-year ceasefire in July, reigniting a conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives, mainly Kurdish, since 1984. The violence wrecked a peace process, spearheaded by Erdogan, that was seen as the best chance at ending one of Europe's longest-running insurgencies.” Deutsche Welle: Turkey's Erdogan Rejects Western "Lessons In Democracy" “Erdogan's addressed the Turkish Red Crescent in Ankara on Monday in which he angrily rejected western allies' criticism of his authoritarian tendencies. US President Barack Obama warned last week after Erdogan's Washington visit that Turkey's apparent intolerance of critical media was taking it ‘down a path that would be very troubling.’ But the Turkish leader was having none of it. ‘Those who attempt to give us lessons in democracy and human rights must first contemplate their own shame,’ Erdogan said Monday. His remarks follow Ankara's anger at a satirical German music video mocking the Turkish president and a poem aired twice on Germany's state ZDF written by German comedian Jan Böhmermann. Turkey's government has been accused of muzzling critical voices and targeting opposition lawmakers, critical academics, independent lawyers and NGOs.” Afghanistan Reuters: Exclusive: Fierce Afghan Fighting Slows NATO Training Mission - New U.S. Commander “Intense fighting and unprecedented casualties suffered by Afghan forces in 2015 have put U.S. and NATO efforts to train a self-sufficient force behind schedule, the new commanding general in Afghanistan told Reuters on Monday. The impact of the violence in 2015, and the changing nature of the enemy Afghan troops face, will form an important part of an initial assessment of conditions in Afghanistan being conducted by new commander General John Nicholson. Nicholson is about a third of the way through the 90-day assessment he will present in Washington some time in June. It could be the most significant since General Stanley McChrystal recommended a ‘surge’ in 2009 that took U.S. troop numbers to 100,000 and the overall NATO force to about 140,000. Under the current timeline, the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan will fall from 9,800 at present to 5,500 by the start of 2017, barring a dramatic change of thinking in Washington.” Reuters: Afghan Forces' Retreat In Helmand Should Help Battle Taliban: Minister “The surprise withdrawal of Afghan forces from parts of Helmand province may leave large areas under Taliban control, but it should bolster the defenses of the volatile southern region, the country's top defense official said. Acting Defence Minister Masoom Stanekzai said it made little sense to spread forces across sparsely populated districts like Musa Qala and Naw Zad, where government troops pulled out in February. The decision to relocate forces corresponded with the views of NATO commanders, who say Afghan troops have been spread too thinly in static checkpoints, handing the initiative to the Taliban. Hundreds of U.S. troops have been deployed to Helmand since February to support local soldiers in advising roles, while U.S. warplanes have stepped up air strikes there this year. Helmand, a mainly desert region bordering Pakistan, is of strategic and symbolic importance as a heartland of the Taliban. More American and British troops died there than in any other province of Afghanistan since arriving after the fall of the Islamist government in late 2001.” Associated Press: Taliban Attack Afghan Police Convoy, Killing 6 Officers “At least six police officers have been killed in a Taliban ambush on their convoy in Afghanistan's northern Balkh province, an official said on Monday. Abdul Manon Raoufi, operational commander for police in the region, said insurgents attacked the convoy Sunday night in the Dawlat Abad district. The police were on their way to neighboring Jawzjan province after conducting an anti-insurgent operation in Balkh when the ambush happened, he said. No group has claimed responsibility. Raoufi said an insurgent leader of the Taliban was also killed in the gunfight. Separately, in eastern Nangarhar province, two people died and six others were wounded in a bomb explosion Monday, said Hazrat Hussain Mashreqewal, spokesman for the provincial police chief. The blast targeted police in the Khewa district, but only civilians were killed and wounded, he said.Taliban fighters have stepped up their attacks against Afghan security forces since 2014, when the international combat mission ended and most foreign troops left the country.” Middle East Haaretz: Accusing Hamas Of Pilfering, Israel Halts Cement Deliveries To Gaza “Israel has frozen all shipments of cement to the Gaza Strip intended for private uses, claiming that Hamas has diverted the building materials for its own purposes in a breach of the group's agreements with Israel, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, announced on Monday. The shipments of cement for large international projects will continue, COGAT said in a post on the unit's Facebook page in Arabic. The IDF said it has received information that some of the building materials intended for the reconstruction of Gaza and sent to the international authorities overseeing the project have instead been taken by Imad al-Baz, the Hamas deputy director general of the Economy Ministry.” The Jerusalem Post: IDF Records Drastic Drop In Palestinian Terrorism In March “The month of March has experienced a drastic drop in Palestinian terrorism attacks in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and in Israeli cities within the Green Line, according to IDF data. March saw an overall number of 6 terrorism incidents (including shootings, stabbings, and vehicle rammings), compared to 56 in February, 45 in January, and 40 in December. In the West Bank, where most of the violence has occurred in recent months, the IDF saw a major drop in shootings, stabbings and ramming attacks. March saw one shooting attack in the West Bank, compared to 13 in February, 11 in January, and 13 in December. There were three stabbing incidents in the West Bank in March, compared to 27 in February, 15 in January, and 12 in December.” Daily Beast: ISIS Is Losing Ground, But Not The War “The self-proclaimed Islamic State has lost at least three Syrian cities and towns in the past six weeks, including one over the weekend, each time by walking away from the fight. And yet the Pentagon is not sure whether to celebrate ISIS’s losses or brace for even bigger fights against the group than it already anticipated for key ISIS cities like Mosul and Raqqa. The territorial losses are among the biggest the terror group has suffered in the past two years. And Pentagon officials are watching to see if Assad forces continue advancing toward Deir el Zour, two defense officials explained to The Daily Beast, the biggest potential regime push east into ISIS territory in years.” Libya BBC: Libya: Can Unity Government Restore Stability? “Last week, Libya's UN-backed Presidency Council sailed to the capital Tripoli and set up shop in the navy base. They travelled by boat from Tunisia because their rivals in the capital closed the airspace when they tried to fly in. The doomsday scenario of rival militia clashes in Tripoli did not happen. So is this just a honeymoon period, or is Libya turning a new page? The numerous militias in western Libya who led the battle for the capital in 2014, forcing the elected parliament to move to the east, remain in place. They are now supporting the Presidency Council.” Nigeria Newsweek: Boko Haram: Nigerian Army Frees 275 Captives Of Militant Group “The Nigerian Army has freed 275 captives of the militant group Boko Haram as part of its offensive to drive the militants out of the country, a spokesman said on Monday. Colonel Sani Usman said the people were rescued after clearing operations on Sunday in multiple towns in northeast Nigeria, where the militant group has its stronghold. In a statement posted on Facebook on Monday, Usman said that 15 Boko Haram fighters were killed in the operation and that a factory used to make Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) was destroyed.’The troops have continued with their clearance operations to other suspected hideouts of the Boko Haram terrorists in their areas of operation,’ said Usman, who added that the operation was the combined work of the Nigerian military and members of the Multi-National Joint Task Force, a regional force that has its headquarters in the Chadian capital of N’Djamena and was established in March 2015.” United Kingdom Mirror: ISIS Terror Cells 'Plotting Chemical Weapon Attacks On UK' Made From Everyday Products “ISIS terror thugs are plotting to unleash chemical and biological weapons on Britain and Europe, a senior spy has claimed. Abdelhak Khiame, Morocco’s head of counter-terrorism, said his agents had foiled an ISIS cell planning to attack four Moroccan cities with the deadly compounds. Mr Khiame’s Bureau Central d’Investigations Judiciares intelligence team swooped on the terrorists just a day before their planned atrocity - and warned they may have been a lethal test before attacks on Europe. Last week French security forces held a chemical attack drill in Marseilles because of fears ISIS will target the Euro 2016 tournament. Security concerns have mounted in the wake of a series of militant attacks on European cities, starting with Paris on November 13 and the bombings in Brussels.” Europe Fox News: At Least 22 Members Of ISIS Cell Linked To Brussels, Paris Attacks Believed Still At Large “Security services in Europe reportedly are searching for at least 22 homegrown jihadists with ties to the ISIS cell that carried out last month's terror attacks in Brussels, as well as last November's coordinated assaults in Paris. The Wall Street Journal, citing court documents, as well as interviews with security officials and acquaintances of the wanted men, say that the ISIS operatives became radicalized in Molenbeek, the now-notorious Muslim-majority section of Brussels known as a breeding ground for extremism. According to the Journal, the key figure in recruiting the fugitives to ISIS was Khalid Zerkani, a preacher who was sentenced to 12 years in jail for recruiting young men to fight in Syria.” Arabic Language Clips Terrorist Financing Albalad Oman: (Oman's) Money Laundering And The Fight Against Terrorism Draft Law Includes 10 Years Imprisonment On Monday, the Shura Council in the Sultanate of Oman approved amendments to the draft law on countering money laundering and terror financing. The approval was obtained during a plenary session presided over by Khalid bin Hilal Al Ma'awali, Chairman of the Majlis Al Shura. The bill contains 11 articles encompassing all aspects related to the crimes of money laundering and the financing of terrorism. This is in line with the latest recommendations by the relevant international organizations, according to a statement made by Mohammed al Zadjali, head of the Legislative and Legal Committee at the Shura Council. The law includes penalties ranging from 5 to 10 years in prison for anyone convicted of the crime of money laundering, while the maximum fine would amount to 50,000 riyals ($130,000). ISIS Libya Akhbar: ISIS Seizes Homes Of Citizens In Sirte Members of the terrorist ISIS group took over several houses in the city of Sirte, including those belonging to officials of the former regime. ISIS evicted their families under threat of death. A source in the city said, "The organization seized ownership of the properties of officials in the former regime, including the home of Ahmed Ibrahim in the Az Zahir district west of Sirte, the home of Misbah Ahanich in the Abu Hadi district, and three other homes in the area." ISIS, which has controlled Sirte for nearly a year, gave city residents three days to pay a rental fee of 100 dinars (about $75) per month for living in their own house and 120 dinars (about $90) for an apartment, arguing that all the city's properties belong to the "Islamic State." Muslim Brotherhood Akhbar Elyom: Accountants: Companies And Ngos Serve As Brotherhood Tools For Laundering And Smuggling Of Funds Money laundering and smuggling abroad are not new to the Muslim Brotherhood, whose leaders have been accused before of involvement in money laundering cases. Shehata Mohammed Shehata, Manager of the Arab Center for Integrity and Transparency, stated that the Brotherhood is now being accused of money laundering by methods intended to ruin the Egyptian economy. He claimed that several companies in London, South Africa and Malaysia, using aliases, were detected by the "Theqa" (Trust) organization. He noted that the Brotherhood's smuggled funds can be recovered. Shehata asserted that these funds, which are being laundered abroad, can be tracked, verified as belonging to the Brotherhood, and recovered by means of the Brotherhood Asset Freeze Committee, which has the authority to impose judicial guardianship on the funds and seize them. He stressed that this can be done only if there is political will for it, because the group managed to smuggle its funds illegally before the June 30th Revolution and earn huge profits from them. Almesryoon: Central (Bank Of Egypt): Brotherhood Behind The Speculation Of The Dollar Informed sources revealed "behind the scenes" information on the meeting held last night between Egypt Central Bank Governor and the country's Attorney General.  At the meeting, Egypt's Central Bank Governor Tarek Amer alluded to the involvement of Muslim Brotherhood members in the dollar crisis. Judicial sources confirmed that the governor had submitted a formal request to investigate 15 foreign currency exchange companies, due to their suspected involvement in the rise of the dollar exchange rate against the pound. He also submitted documents indicating these companies are refusing to sell the dollar, a move which has contributed to its inflated rate. Innfrad: Son Of State Writes: When Brotherhood Disagrees On Funding In Turkey A Turkey-based Muslim Brotherhood member published details on the reasons behind the assault on a [female] member of the Brotherhood's Shura Council. She was criticized by Muslim Brotherhood members, Egyptian actor-director Wagdi el Arabi and Saber Abouel Fotouh, as well as leaders of the group. The professed reason for their criticism was her vote on the new group's regulations. However, the real rationale behind the violent incident is that leaders of the Brotherhood are waging a war against each other for money, since they are competing for jobs as agents for the Turkish security. These jobs, as informants for the Turkish security, provide them with a good income. This is why sometimes leaders threaten to "tell all".