Eye on Extremism - May 2, 2016

Eye on Extremism May 2, 2016 Associated Press: Iraq Protests Disband After ISIS Bombings Kill At Least 52 People “Anti-government protesters disbanded at least temporarily Sunday from the heavily fortified Green Zone they had stormed a day earlier after the Islamic State group (ISIS) carried out its second major attack in Iraq in as many days — a pair of car bombs that killed more than 30 people. The country's political crisis intensified Saturday when hundreds of supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr tore down walls and poured into the zone that is home to the seat of the Iraqi government and most foreign embassies. Loudspeaker announcements on Sunday evening urged protesters to leave peacefully.” International Business Times: War On Isis: British Special Forces Ambushed By Islamic State Suicide Bombers In Libya “British Special Forces in Libya have been ambushed by Islamic State (Isis) suicide bombers in an attack that may also have killed Italian troops. An Israeli news agency report suggests that Daesh (Isis) extremists attacked a convoy travelling from the northwestern city of Misrata towards the IS stronghold of Sirte – the birthplace of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The attack on 27 April, targeted the convoy carrying Special Boat Service (SBS) operatives and Italian troops. The suicide mission was said to resemble similar terrorist attacks by Islamic State in the Sinai Peninsula operations against Egyptian forces.” The Daily Beast: Is This Frenchman Running ISIS Terror Networks In The West? “A French national who allegedly conceived and planned last November’s horrific terror attacks in Paris has been promoted to a top position in the so-called Islamic State’s foreign intelligence branch, according to a former ISIS intelligence operative who has since defected. Abu Suleyman al-Firansi, the nom de guerre of this rising star in terrorist ranks, is believed to be the first West European ever to attain such an elite rank in ISIS—an indication of the emphasis the group is putting on attacks in the West and its reliance on people with European backgrounds to spearhead them. His precise role and identity are a matter of debate in Western intelligence and counter-terror circles. But French and other U.S. officials who asked not to be named have confirmed his importance to the organization.” ARA News: Top ISIS Officials Killed In Fresh Strikes In Mosul “At least 19 militants from the radical group of Islamic State (ISIS) were killed on Sunday in the city of Mosul in Iraq’s province of Nineveh, as a result of an attack by the US-led coalition’s warplanes, local sources reported.  Local activists confirmed that at least two prominent leaders were killed in Sunday’s attack. Speaking to ARA News in Mosul, media activist J.Z. said that Jassim Salim al-Matyouti, ISIS governor of al-Jazeera area, and Ahmed Ghanem al-Hadidi, Emir of the so-called ‘Cubs of the Caliphate’, were killed in an airstrike by the US-led coalition forces on the group’s strongholds in the city of Mosul.” Reuters: Yemen Officials Say Peace Talks Suspended After Houthis Seize Base “The Yemeni government suspended direct peace talks to end the country's civil war on Sunday after the Houthi movement and its armed allies seized a military base north of the capital Sanaa, two members of the official delegation to the talks said. The Houthi assault killed several of the soldiers defending the Umaliqa base. Unlike most of Yemen's soldiers, those at Umaliqa had refused to take sides in the war between the Iran-allied Houthis and the Saudi-backed government. The Houthis had tolerated this neutrality until they launched a surprise push into the facility in Amran province and seized its large cache of weapons at dawn, local officials said.” The Wall Street Journal: In Europe’s Terror Fight, Police Push to Access American Tech Firms’ Data “European counterterrorism officials say American laws and corporate policies are hampering their efforts to prevent the next attack, because legal procedures for getting international evidence from U.S.-based social-media firms are dangerously outdated. European police officials who face a lengthy process to get communications data from companies such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and WhatsApp want to make American technology firms more responsive to overseas requests. Even emergency requests for basic customer data—which often don’t require a legal and diplomatic review—can cause friction between social media firms and European investigators, officials on both sides of the Atlantic say.” Daily Mail: ISIS Hacking Division Release Names And Personal Details Of Dozens Of American Soldiers Urging Lone Wolf Attacks “ISIS hackers have released the names and personal details of dozens of American military personnel urging supporters to assassinate them. The 'hit list' which was published on social media, claimed to include the details of American servicemen who had operated drones responsible for the coalition airstrikes. The so-called Islamic State Hacking Division, a loose group of hackers affiliated with ISIS, released the details, claiming: 'You crusaders that can only attack the soldiers of the Islamic State with joysticks and consoles, die in your rage.'” Newsweek: Supreme Court Allows FBI To Hack Any Computer Anywhere With A Warrant “Thanks to a Supreme Court decision on Thursday, law enforcement agencies including the FBI may end up with broad powers to hack any computer, regardless of its physical location—but the expansion of power hinges upon congressional approval. With a new rule change in the Federal Rule of Criminal Procedures, which covers search and seizure protocols, federal judges would be able to issue warrants to search computers located anywhere in the world. Before the Supreme Court’s alteration, federal magistrate judges were allowed only to issue warrants within their own jurisdictions. The Supreme Court submitted the changes to Congress as a part of the court’s annual review of the procedures, which were passed by Congress in 1938 for a more uniform way of dealing with criminal cases across the country.” Premium Times: Nigerian Troops Discover Boko Haram Bomb Factory – Official “Nigerian troops on Friday discovered a Boko Haram factory bomb making factory, an official has said. The spokesperson of the Defence Headquarters, Sani Usman, said soldiers from the 3 Battalion, 22 Brigade, discovered the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) factory in Ngala town, North East Nigeria. Mr. Usman, a Colonel, said the insurgents continued to use IEDs to attack civilians and soldiers despite being losing the battle. ‘Despite ongoing clearance of the remnants of the Boko Haram terrorists, they persistently hid the IED-manufacturing factories location,’ he said.” Telegraph: British Jihadi Reported To Have Been Killed In Syria “A British jihadist fighter, Raphael Hostey, is reported to have been killed in Syria this week. Fighting under the name of Abu Qaqa al-Britani, Hostey  was one of several jihadists from the Manchester area to have travelled to to join the ranks of the Islamic Sate of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The Foreign Office was unable to confirm his death, which had been reported on social media by Amarnath Amarasingam, a post-doctoral researcher at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Mr Amarasingam, said he was told of Hostey’s death by several fighters in the region. He also believed three other British jihadis may have been killed as well.” TIME: A Hindu Man Is The Latest Victim Of Bangladesh’s Wave Of ISIS-Inspired Killings “Three men in Bangladesh have been arrested for allegedly hacking a Hindu man to death over the weekend, the latest in a series of murders by fundamentalists claiming to represent militant groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS). The three suspects in the murder of Nikhil Joarder include a leader from local Islamist group Jamaat-e-Islami and a member of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the Dhaka Tribune reports. ISIS had earlier claimed responsibility for the attack. The Bangladeshi government, however, continues to insist that the international terror group has no presence in the country.” United States Associated Press: US Once Again Forced To Turn To Russia For Help On Syria “Scrambling to resuscitate a nearly dead truce in Syria, the Obama administration has again been forced to turn to Russia for help, with little hope for the desired U.S. outcome. At stake are thousands of lives and the fate of a feeble peace process essential to the fight against the Islamic State group, and Secretary of State John Kerry has appealed once more to his Russian counterpart for assistance in containing and reducing the violence, particularly around city of Aleppo. Kerry spoke at length on Friday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to that end, and had been hoping to meet with Lavrov soon, according to U.S. officials. Kerry was scheduled to arrive in Switzerland late Sunday for talks with U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, and planned to return to Washington on Monday.” BBC: Syria Aleppo: Kerry Begins New Bid To Stop Fighting “US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Geneva in an attempt to bolster a fragile, partial ceasefire in Syria. Mr Kerry is due to hold urgent talks on the situation with the UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, and the Saudi and Jordanian foreign ministers. A top priority, he said, was ending the violence in the northern city of Aleppo. More than 250 civilians have been killed in Aleppo in the last 10 days. A Russian defence official said earlier that negotiations were taking place to establish a ceasefire there. The US wants Russia to put pressure on its ally the Syrian government to stop what it says is indiscriminate bombardment. The Russian and Syrian governments say the Aleppo strikes are targeting the Nusra Front - a jihadist force not party to a ceasefire agreed in February.” The Hill: Former NSA Head: US Safer From Terrorism Than Europe “Former National Security Agency (NSA) Director Gen. Michael Hayden said on Sunday he believes the U.S. is safer from terrorism than European countries. During a radio interview with John Catsimatidis, Hayden was asked if European nations are becoming larger targets than the U.S. ‘No question about it,’ Hayden responded. ‘Now, John, that doesn’t mean there’s no threat here. There are a variety of things that actually make us more safe.’ The first, Hayden said, is simply that Europe is closer to where groups like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria operate. ‘Second is we’re actually pretty good at this, John,’ he continued. ‘Our security services have a pretty good record compared to the European services, or at least to many of the European services.’ Hayden also said the U.S. is much more welcoming to immigrants who may be susceptible to radicalization.” Mic: ISIS Hackers Just Posted A “Hit List” Of 3,000 New Yorkers — And You Could Be On The List “A little-known hacker group with ties to the Islamic State recently posted a list of over 3,000 names and addresses of New Yorkers allegedly being sought by the terrorist sect. The United Cyber Caliphate, as the group is known, published the list to the encrypted messaging app Telegram last week. The names on the list appeared to be outdated, according to one source who spoke to the Reuters on the condition of anonymity, and included the names of State Department and Homeland Security government employees alongside a host of ‘average New Yorkers.’” Los Angeles Times: Obama Is Pursuing Two Strategies In Syria. One Is Working, The Other Is Not “President Obama is pursuing two different strategies in two halves of Syria. One is working; the other is not. He's making progress in eastern Syria, where the United States is leading an expanding military campaign against Islamic State. American airstrikes and efforts on the ground have taken a visible toll on the terrorist group. Its territory has shrunk, its finances are a mess, its recruitment numbers are down. U.S. Special Forces are training Syrian rebels with the aim of capturing Islamic State's capital of Raqqah — maybe even before Obama leaves office.” Syria The Jerusalem Post: Analysis: Syria - A War Waiting To Spill Over  “Last Wednesday, during the middle of the tranquil Passover vacation, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot headed north. The military had imposed a temporary closure on the West Bank, and all was quiet on the Gazan and Lebanese fronts. Eisenkot took the opportunity to visit the 91st Division, which secures the Galilee, and toured Mount Dov (Shaba Farms), which looks out over Lebanon and Syria. The sectarian warfare that has torn Syria to pieces is unlikely to recede any time soon, and international efforts toward a cease-fire – however well intentioned – appear tragically ill-fated. Syria, along with Libya, Yemen and Iraq, represents the breakdown of the 20th-century Middle East order. This chain reaction of implosions looks permanent, bringing along with it a high possibility of affecting additional countries over time.” Iraq The Wall Street Journal: Iraq’s Doctors Face Threats Of Violence “A breakdown in public order in the wake of Iraq’s fight against Islamic State is exposing the country’s doctors to revenge attacks from grieving families, powerful tribes and militia leaders. Doctors in some of the busiest emergency wards say shouting matches and even fistfights between doctors and patients’ families and comrades happen several times a day, while security services do little to intervene. The unchecked attacks, which are happening during one of the most violent periods in Iraq’s recent history, are prompting some doctors to depart the country even as it suffers from a shortage of medical professionals. The void they leave is likely to last long after Islamic State militants are driven from Iraqi territory and the militias that combat them are sidelined.” The New York Times: Iraq Protesters Leave Baghdad Green Zone On Cleric’s Order “After a day of sleeping, praying and even swimming in the Green Zone, the government citadel historically off limits to ordinary Iraqis, protesters began leaving Sunday evening on orders from the man who had sent them: Moktada al-Sadr, the influential Shiite cleric. In a statement issued from the holy city of Najaf in southern Iraq, Mr. Sadr directed his followers to leave the Green Zone in an orderly fashion, to chant for Iraq and not a sect, and to help clean the space they had occupied. A day earlier, hundreds of protesters demanding an end to corruption stormed the fortified Green Zone in dramatic scenes that hinted at revolution. But by Sunday evening the episode had become something less: an affirmation of Mr. Sadr’s sway over the street, but one aimed at pressuring the government to enact promised reforms rather than bringing it down.” Turkey The New York Times: Car Bomb In Southern Turkey Kills 2 Police Officers “A car bomb struck the entrance of a Turkish police station Sunday in the southern city of Gaziantep, killing two police officers and wounding 22 other people in a day marred by violence and May Day protests. Four civilians were among those wounded in the explosion, according to Gov. Ali Yerlikaya of Gaziantep province. The blast shattered the windows of nearby buildings. The police station is close to offices for the governor and mayor. Gaziantep is also home to the offices of international aid organizations focused on the conflict in neighboring Syria. Turkey has suffered multiple bombings in recent months linked either to Kurdish militants or the Islamic State group.” Afghanistan Reuters: Afghan Forces Battle To Push Taliban From Southern Highway “Afghan security forces have been battling to push back Taliban fighters seeking to cut off the capital of the southern province of Uruzgan, officials said on Sunday as army units worked to clear roadside bombs from the main highway into the town. The insurgents have in the past month stepped up their offensive aimed at taking control of Uruzgan, which straddles one of Afghanistan's main opium and gun-smuggling routes. NATO commanders view the rural province as a key battleground as, if it fell, the Taliban could use it as a springboard to launch attacks on Helmand and Kandahar further to the south. The Taliban is seeking to isolate the provincial capital Tarin Kowt from outlying districts and over the past week has been fighting Afghan forces for control of the road between the town and Shawali Kot in Kandahar province.” Yemen The New York Times: Yemen Security Chief In Aden Survives Suicide Attack, 5 Dead “Yemen's security directorate in Aden says a suicide bomber attacked the security chief's motorcade in the southern port city, killing five of his bodyguards. In a statement, it says Shallal Shayei was unharmed in Sunday's attack, as was Aden governor Aidroos al-Zubaidi, who was travelling with him. A similar attack on the two was foiled on Monday, and on Thursday a suicide car bomber in women's clothes detonated explosives near Shayei's home, the third attack on his house since December. Soldiers deployed to the area after the car bombing, which sent a cloud of black smoke rising into the air. Yemen has been mired in a conflict pitting Shiite Houthi rebels against the internationally-backed government, which is allied with a Saudi-led coalition. Extremists have gained ground amid the chaos.” Middle East Haaretz: Israel Charges Hamas Militant From Gaza With Numerous Security Offenses “A suspected Hamas militant from the Gaza Strip was charged on Sunday in Israel with numerous security offenses allegedly committed over a period of many years, beginning when the defendant was 15. The indictment includes several counts of attempted murder in connection to operations along the Gazan border with Israel using explosives, guns and artillery to attack Israeli forces. Additional charges include contact with a foreign agent and active membership in an outlawed organization.” United Kingdom BBC: Man From Luton Accused Of Syria Travel Attempt “A 21-year-old man has been charged with a terrorism offence alleging he tried to travel to Syria. Mubashir Jamil, from Luton, was arrested in the town on Wednesday after a Metropolitan Police investigation. He is accused under section 5 (1) of the Terrorism Act 2006 with the preparation of terrorist acts – ‘namely attempting to travel to Syria’. Scotland Yard said he would appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday.” Telegraph: Northern Ireland Could Become A 'Back Door Route' For Isil Terror Plots, Security Services Fear “Northern Ireland could become a back-door route for Isil terrorists to launch an attack on the UK, security sources fear. The alarm has been raised with ministers that the region is an easy target for Islamic groups seeking to launch plots in the UK because the Prevent anti-terror strategy does not apply and Police are focused on sectarian violence instead of external threats.  Fears that terror cells could base themselves in the Republic of Ireland to plan an attack and then slip across the border - which is not closely monitored - have added to serious concerns in Whitehall.  Two senior Government ministers admitted there is a problem with border security and warned there is a ‘blind spot’ to Islamic terrorism in Northern Ireland, making the UK mainland vulnerable.”  Germany The Wall Street Journal: Germany’s AFD Adopts Anti-Islam Stance At Party Conference “Germany’s upstart Alternative for Germany party on Sunday adopted a clear anti-Islam stance in a platform that lays the foundation for the populist party’s bid to win parliamentary seats in federal elections next year. The manifesto adopted by members gathered in Stuttgart for a party conference states that ‘Islam is not a part of Germany’ and rejects minarets and the Muslim call to prayer—the clearest move yet by the party to harness widespread concern in Europe’s largest country about steeply rising refugee numbers in recent years. Founded in 2013, the AfD has surged in popularity amid the migrant crisis, benefiting from growing concerns among Germans over how the country will manage to integrate the more than one million migrants that arrived last year alone.” Europe The Guardian: 'There Was Nobody To Help Me Stop My Son Joining Isis' “Scrolling through photos on her mobile phone, Saliha Ben Ali stops at a picture of her son, Sabri, as a three-year-old sitting on Father Christmas’s lap. Santa’s white-gloved hands envelope Sabri’s small torso and that of the little boy sitting to his right. Both lads stare straight ahead, looking slightly bewildered. ‘To think, they were the only guys who were scared of Santa Claus that day,’ Ben Ali recalls. ‘Now both of them are dead.’ Sabri died in Syria aged 19, fighting for Isis, sometime between August 2013 and 8 December that year, when an unknown man telephoned Ben Ali’s husband to tell them he had been killed.” Jerusalem Post: ISIS May Target West As Pressure Mounts, Expert Tells ‘Post’ “Islamic State is likely going to intensify attacks worldwide in the short term, but could slow down as the group suffers more losses, the head of IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday. ‘We can anticipate this kind of intensification to continue into the short term, but there are doubts as to whether such an operational tempo is sustainable beyond that as the group suffers increased manpower and territorial losses,’ said Matthew Henman, head of the center. ‘A key element will be attempting to displace the conflict, perhaps relying increasingly on its multiple affiliates to launch retributive operations – particularly in the West,’ he said.” Arabic Language Clips ISIS Voice Of Iraq: ISIS Imposes New Taxes On Peasant Areas South And West Of Kirkuk According to a local source in Kirkuk, ISIS has begun imposing new fees in areas it controls in the southern and western parts of the province. The source said, "The ISIS organization has begun taxing agricultural lands at 8000 dinars (roughly $7) for each non-irrigated acre of land, 6,000 dinars (about $5.50) for each irrigated acre, and 4000 dinars ($3.60) for each acre depending on amounts of precipitation. The new taxes are aimed at ensuring the payment of salaries to ISIS's armed men. The terror group threatened anyone who does not comply with seizure of their land." Elaph: 2500 Iraqi Fish Farms Finance ISIS Operations! Documents and statements released by judges of the Central Criminal Court of Iraq indicate that ISIS controls the revenues of 2500 fish-growers located in areas north of Baghdad. It exploits these revenues to finance its operations in areas outside its present control. The funds pass through money-transfer offices, wired primarily to Arbil, the capital of the northern province of Kurdistan, and from there to the rest of Iraq's provinces. Central Investigating Court Judge, Jabbar Abdul al-Hujaimi, claimed that the terror group's main source of international funding comes from the Syrian oil refineries, through which it sells the oil to smugglers often at very low prices. He explained that the organization in Iraq depends on agricultural lands outside the control of the Iraqi security forces, imposing taxes on peasants in addition to taking the so-called spoils of military raids. Emarat Alyoum: Sawab: ISIS Pays The Salaries Of Its Fighters From Zakat Funds Sawab Center, the joint initiative by the governments of the United Arab Emirates and the United States to combat the extremist ideology of the terrorist ISIS group, claimed that the latter pays its fighters' salaries from Zakat funds. Sawab added that these funds are collected based on a lie, since ISIS provides nothing for the poor, the needy and the sick in areas under its control. Additionally, Sawab Center warned that "extremist ideology seeks to penetrate the communities through religious, social, and political means." It stressed that in order to "immunize the society (fighting back) must include all these means." Muslim Brotherhood Sada El-Balad: Dwedar: Brotherhood Money Spent In Vain On Unprofessional And Worthless Channels, Media Personalities Film director and Muslim Brotherhood leader, Ezz Eldeen Dwedar, lashed out at the management of Al Watan TV channel, which is affiliated with Mahmoud Ezzat, the Deputy Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood. Dwedar's criticism was against allowing shows to be aired by opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood and those who criticized the group during its reign in Egypt. At the same time, the channel is not giving similar opportunities to young activists and leaders of the Brotherhood to express their views. Dwedar said, "Shouldn't Egyptian Brotherhood members around the world who pay out of their pockets, ask, first of all, how their money is being spent on this front or another?" Dwedar stressed that Al Watan TV channel airs a daily prime-time show featuring actor Hisham Abdullah, a prominent critic of Brotherhood, who voices his opinions and ideas while ignoring the Muslim Brotherhood's media spokesman Mohammed Montaser. He asked, "Where is the neutrality? Is the Brotherhood making worthless expenditures?" Sada El-Balad: Brotherhood Sources: Mahmoud Ezzat Pays Young Members To Control (Brotherhood) Administrative Offices Sources within the Muslim Brotherhood confirm that Mahmoud Ezzat, Deputy Supreme Guide, has begun to use the group's funds to establish new administrative offices in lieu of the ones not under his control. In addition, he has been paying employees of the administrative offices overseen by Muslim Brotherhood's leader Mohammed Kamal, to lure them to join him. The sources added that three prominent offices loyal to Kamal have already crossed over to Ezzat and declared their allegiance to him. There are reports that the remainder of the administrative offices also wish to join Ezzat. The sources confirmed that money is being paid out by Brotherhood's former Secretary-General Dr. Mahmoud Hussein and Ezzat for young members to declare their support for them and to desert Kamal. Alnabaa: Allegations About Financing The Brotherhood Leads To 15,000 Egyptian Pound-Fine On Judge Tahani Al-Gebali Qasr el-Nile Misdemeanor Court ruled to fine former Deputy Head of the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court, Judge Tahani al-Gebali, in the amount of 5000 pounds ($640). She was charged with the libel of Mahmoud Sabri, a Kuwait-based Egyptian businessman, after accusing him of financing the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters in that country. The Court also ruled that she is obliged to pay 10,000 pounds ($1280) as temporary civil compensation. Sabri stated, "Judge Tahani accused me of funding the Brotherhood in Kuwait, openly on the air during a TV program, which affected my work and caused me to incur material losses. This accusation is completely false and baseless." Alnabaa: Five Businessmen Transferred $15 Billion Of Investments To Istanbul With the growing restrictions on the Muslim Brotherhood and the intensified tightening of measures against businessmen affiliated with the group, many have been forced to leave Egypt. Some of these Brotherhood businessmen managed to take their money with them before the Egyptian authorities issued decisions to confiscate it. The businessmen decided to relocate their investments to venues outside of Egypt and bring them back after things calm down. Most of the Brotherhood businessmen decided to shift their investments to Turkey, which has offered them a safe haven, welcomed them, and opened its doors to their money and investments. Turkey was able to persuade them to invest and took advantage of their money, by facilitating the attainment of licenses and expediting the paperwork, and providing them with ripe conditions conducive to moving their money and investments. According to one source, the funds moved by Brotherhood businessmen from Egypt to Turkey come to approximately $15 billion. Parlmany: Brotherhood 'Looted' (Egyptian) Parliament Egypt's Parliament Secretary-General Counselor, Ahmed Saad El-Din, dropped a bombshell by claiming that 23 former MPs representing the Muslim Brotherhood in the 2012 parliament, took out loans from the parliament's bank but thus far, despite the passage of four years, have not returned them. This revelation aroused the indignation of Egyptian lawmakers, some of whom asked the Speaker to bring the matter of the Brotherhood loans to the attention of the Attorney General. Sada El-Balad: Ali El-Sayed: Brotherhood And 'International Powers' Are Behind The Dollar Crisis In Egypt Egyptian columnist, Ali el-Sayed, claimed that the dollar crisis in Egypt is, in fact, an economic war affecting the government and its import activities. He stressed that the dollar crisis is the biggest war the Egyptian economy is facing. This war was instigated by the Muslim Brotherhood and "international and external forces" aiding the group. El-Sayed also emphasized that there are foreign countries which have exacerbated the issue of the death of Italian student Giulio Regeni in Egypt. They exploited this issue to put pressure on the Italians to stop coming to Egypt so as to harm tourism and cut the country's hard currency revenues. The Egyptian columnist asserted that there is a plot to tarnish the image of Egypt and depict it as being unstable and unsafe. Hezbollah Alkhaleej: Report Reveals Money Laundering Operations Worth 75 Million Euros For Hezbollah Police investigations in Essen, Germany unearthed a network which may have managed money-laundering operations for the Lebanese Hezbollah group. The value of these operations is estimated at several million euros. Press reports indicate that the case involves a group of Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese nationals, who are believed to have laundered in Europe, during the past two years, at least 75 million euros obtained from drug trafficking. The group gathered roughly 1 million euros a week and utilized this money to buy luxury goods, such as cars, watches or jewelry. The revenues from the network's activities were channeled to a drug gang based in South America. The European Police (Europol) and the US Department of Treasury suspect that the profits from these activities were being used to finance Hezbollah.