Eye on Extremism - May 23, 2016

Eye on Extremism May 23, 2016 BBC: Falluja Assault: Iraq PM Announces Start Of Operation Against IS “Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has announced the start of a military operation to retake Falluja from so-called Islamic State (IS). ‘Zero hour for the liberation of Falluja has arrived. The moment of great victory has drawn near,’ he said, adding IS had ‘no choice but to flee.’ Iraq's military has already warned civilians to leave the town. Falluja was the first city to fall to IS in 2014 and is one of its two remaining strongholds in Iraq. The Iraqi military told state TV that those who could not flee should raise a white flag above their homes. Iraqi officials say corridors will be provided for civilians to make their way to camps outside the city. Reuters news agency quoted residents as saying 20 families left a front-line neighbourhood on Saturday, but only half made it out, succumbing either to IS fighters or explosives planted along their route.” The New York Times: Taliban Chief Targeted By Drone Strike In Pakistan, Signaling A U.S. Shift “After months of failed Pakistani efforts to broker peace talks with the Taliban, an American drone strike against the leader of the Afghan militants signaled a major break with precedent as the United States circumvented Pakistan in an effort to disrupt the strengthening insurgency, officials said on Sunday. The Afghan intelligence agency said Sunday that the Taliban leader, Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, had been killed in the strike in the restive Pakistani province of Baluchistan. The United States announced the strike Saturday but could not confirm that Mullah Mansour had been killed. Although there was still no official reaction from the main Taliban spokesman, some Taliban commanders on Sunday denied the reports, saying their leader was not in the area of the strike. Even if Mullah Mansour was not killed, the attack was significant, as it is believed to be the first American drone strike in Baluchistan, the de facto headquarters of the Afghan Taliban, after years of such attacks in other Pakistani and Afghan areas.” Reuters: Blasts Kill More Than 120 In Syrian Government-Held Cities: Monitor “Bomb blasts killed scores of people in the Syrian coastal cities of Jableh and Tartous on Monday, and wounded many others in the government-controlled territory that hosts Russian military bases, monitors and state media said. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks in the Mediterranean cites that have up to now escaped the worst of the conflict, saying it was targeting members of President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite minority.” The Wall Street Journal: Egyptair Flight 804 Probe Turns To Plane’s Moves “The final hours of the workhorse airliner last known as EgyptAir Flight 804 were mostly unremarkable. The plane crisscrossed the Middle East, Africa and Europe. From its hub in Cairo, it flew to Brussels and back on Tuesday, followed by a round-trip to Asmara, Eritrea, in East Africa. On Wednesday, it flew in and out of Tunis before traveling to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, and left again for home that evening with 66 passengers and crew. Then, in the last hour of a four-hour overnight flight, and just after entering Egyptian airspace, the Airbus Group SE A320 swerved erratically and fell into the Mediterranean Sea. The cause remains unclear, though the Egyptian officials leading the probe have said terrorism is more likely than mechanical failure.” Al Arabiya: ISIS Claims Deadly Attacks On Yemeni Recruits In Aden “Yemeni security officials say that a pair of suicide bombers killed at least 45 people in the southern city of Aden, Al Arabiya News Channel reported. The blast occurred as the recruits lined up to enlist for military service in the Khormaksar district of the port city, which serves as the temporary capital of Yemen's Saudi-backed administration while it seeks to seize back the capital Sanaa from the armed Houthi militias.” International Business Times: Boko Haram Willing To Discuss Surrender And Release Of Chibok Girls “Islamic extremist militants Boko Haram, who have killed at least 2,600 people in Nigeria, reportedly want to broker a deal with the government to release the remaining kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls in return for escaping execution. Two hundred schoolgirls were seized from a school in Chibok two years ago and have never been traced or found. It is believed only a third of them remain alive. According to a report in The Times, senior members of the terrorist group told Nigerian newspaper Leadership Friday that it was prepared to negotiate a surrender and release the hostages on the condition they would not be not betrayed by the government or killed for giving up arms.” The Daily Beast: Can France Protect Tourists And Sports Fans This Summer? “Officials released transcripts of Patrick Calvar, head of France’s DGSI internals intelligence agency, testifying before members of the defense committee in the French parliament this month. Calvar called France the prime target of the so-called Islamic State. ‘It is the most threatened,’ he said. But how can France truly protect the estimated 2.5 million people who will attend the games in French stadiums and the 1 million or more in the notorious ‘fan zones’ where many watch the matches on big-screen television with little or no screening or control? Experts were brutally frank. ‘Nobody can really protect us, that’s the bottom line,’ Jean-Charles Brisard, chairman of the Paris-based Center for the Analysis of Terrorism, told The Daily Beast. An estimated 10,000 security officers will be deployed during the games—which means 900 guards at every match—and state-of-the-art technology like anti-drone measures will be put in place at stadiums to keep out possible airborne attacks.” Vocativ: ISIS Hashtag Goes Viral Thanks To Trolls Insulting The Terror Group “Islamic State sympathizers are wildly celebrating the rise of an ISIS hashtag as a massive social media success and a clear win for the terror group’s propaganda. But the hashtag, #alfurqan, actually took off thanks in part to a handful of anti-ISIS trolls using it to insult the terror group, Vocativ discovered.” Independent: Only 1 In 8 British Jihadists Returning To UK From Iraq And Syria Prosecuted “Only one in eight jihadists who have travelled to Syria and Iraq have been prosecuted on their return to the UK, it has been revealed. It is estimated that 400 British Muslims have travelled abroad and joined terrorist groups such as Islamic State and then returned to the UK since 2012. Answering a parliamentary question about the number of prosecutions of returning Jihadists, Home Office spokesman in the House of Lords, Lord Keen of Elie, revealed that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has only successfully prosecuted 35 cases involving 54 such defendants. The low prosecution rate is concerning, considering that the number of suspected British jihadists returning to the UK is likely to be much higher than estimated - with experts saying many find ways to make their re-entry into the country without detection.” United States ABC News: Rep. Ed Royce: 'Highly Likely' Terror Behind EgyptAir Flight 804 Crash “It is ‘highly likely’ terror is the leading theory to what brought down EgyptAir Flight 804, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Ed Royce said on Sunday. ‘In my view, it's highly likely because of the amount of effort that ISIS and Al Qaeda have put over the last few years into trying to develop an undetectable bomb,’ Royce said on ‘This Week,’ ‘and this is one of the concerns we've had about allowing ISIS to operate in Raqqah, with their facilities to try to develop that-- those-- that type of bomb technology.' The missing EgyptAir plane was en route to Cairo from Paris when it disappeared early Thursday with 66 people aboard. According to the company, the Airbus A320 lost contact with the radar tracking system at 2:45 a.m. at an altitude of 37,000 feet.” CNN: Top U.S. Commander Completes Day-Long Secret Visit To Syria “Gen. Joseph Votel, commanding general of U.S. Central Command, completed a secret several-hour-long trip to northern Syria to visit several locations where there are U.S. special operations forces and meet with local forces the U.S. is helping train to fight ISIS. CNN was the only television news team to accompany him. The visit to northern Syria occurred during a trip to other countries in the region. It comes amid an effort by the U.S. military to accelerate efforts to bring more local Arab and Kurdish forces into the fight in both Syria and Iraq to fight ISIS. Votel is the highest-ranking U.S. military official to travel into Syria during its war. This was the first daylight U.S. transport mission into Syria. The visit comes as the first of 250 additional U.S. special operations forces are beginning to arrive in Syria to work with local forces.The U.S. troops are focused on training small numbers of forces and then sending them out into the field with larger groups.” Syria Deutsche Welle: Syria Rebels Threaten To Disrupt Truce If Assad's Forces Continue Fighting “Members of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) released a statement signed by around 29 rebel groups on Sunday, saying they would consider the ceasefire ‘totally collapsed’ unless the Syrian government stopped bombarding their strongholds around Damascus within 48 hours. ‘We are giving the sponsors of the ceasefire 48 hours to rescue what remains of the accord and to force the criminal regime of Assad and his allies to completely and immediately halt their brutal offensive against Daraya and Eastern Ghouta,’ the statement said, referring to the areas outside Damascus. The town of Daraya, near the capital Damascus, has been under a strict siege by the regime since 2012. They were therefore considering withdrawing from a ‘futile political process,’ which gave ‘legitimate cover to continue the crimes and massacres by the criminal Assad regime and its allies.’” Reuters: Heavy Air Strikes Hit Rebel Road To Syria's Aleppo: Monitor, Rebels “Air strikes hit the only road into rebel-held areas of Aleppo city on Sunday in the heaviest bombing since February, a rebel official and monitors said, jeopardizing access where around 300,000 Syrians live. Russian warplanes carried out the attacks on the Castello road, which was still open but dangerous, the official and monitors said. Defense officials from Syria's government and its ally Russia could not immediately be reached for comment. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights group said the road was hit in a week of escalating air strikes, with Sunday's attack the most intense yet. The city of Aleppo, about 30 miles (50 km) south of the Turkish border, is divided between the government and rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. A truce was brokered by the United States and Russia in February. But the agreement has since unraveled, with fighting and bombardment in Aleppo playing a big part in its collapse.” Iraq CNN: Iraqi PM: Operation To Free Falluja From ISIS Starts “Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi took to live television early Monday to announce the start of an operation to recapture the city of Falluja from ISIS. Speaking on Iraqi state TV from the military's Joint Operations Command in Baghdad, Abadi said Iraqi security forces would provide safe passage for civilians to leave the city during the operation. Abadi's overnight announcement came hours after Iraq's military implored residents of ISIS-held Falluja to flee their homes ahead of the operation to wrest the metropolis from the terror group. Falluja, in Sunni-dominated Anbar province, was the scene of two major battles during the Iraq War. It has been under ISIS control since January 2014.” Turkey The Jerusalem Post: Turkey's Incoming Prime Minister Yildirim Vows Fight Against Terror Will Continue “Turkey's incoming prime minister on Sunday vowed to continue the fight against Islamic State and Kurdish militants at home and in Syria, saying the change in government leadership would not alter the struggle against terror groups. Transport Minister Binali Yildirim, a close ally of President Tayyip Erdogan, is set to be elected as the next leader of the ruling AK Party at a special congress on Sunday. Yildirim, the sole candidate at the congress, will therefore become premier, replacing Ahmet Davutoglu who stepped down this month after weeks of public tension with Erdogan. Yildirim also said in a speech at the congress in Ankara that the AKP will continue to work together following the change in leadership.” Reuters: Turks Won't Get EU Visa Waiver Before 2017: Bild Newspaper “The German government does not expect Turks to get visa-free entry into the European Union before 2017 because Ankara will not fulfil the conditions for that by the end of this year, newspaper Bild cited sources in Berlin as saying on Monday. Turkey and the EU have been discussing visa liberalisation since 2013 and agreed in March to press ahead with it as part of a deal to stop the flow of illegal migrants from Turkey to the EU. EU officials and diplomats say the EU is set to miss an end-June deadline due to a dispute over Turkish anti-terrorism law. Turkey's government says it has already met the EU's criteria for visa-free travel.” Afghanistan Bloomberg: Afghan Peace Still Distant After U.S. Attack On Taliban Head “The U.S. drone strike that purportedly killed the Taliban’s leader on Saturday removed a major obstacle to peace in Afghanistan. Now comes the hard part: Reaching a lasting truce with his successor. An unmanned aerial vehicle killed Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour in a remote border region of Pakistan, Afghanistan’s top intelligence agency confirmed on Sunday. It was the most significant targeted assassination in the 15-year war since U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011. The U.S. had failed to make headway on peace talks with the Taliban since Mansour took control of the group last year, forcing President Barack Obama to alter plans for removing most American troops from Afghanistan by the end of his term. Mansour’s reported death gives hope that more moderate Taliban commanders will be able to reach a deal to end a conflict that has cost the U.S. almost $700 billion and killed more than 2,200 American troops.” The Wall Street Journal: In Afghanistan, A Secret Plan Pays Off The Taliban “The Afghan government is giving financial and military support to a breakaway Taliban faction, according to some Afghan and U.S. coalition officials, in an effort to sow rifts within the insurgency and nudge some of its leaders toward peace talks. The effort comes as the U.S. military conducted an airstrike inside Pakistan that American officials said likely killed Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour, potentially setting the stage for another leadership struggle that could fragment the group further in the coming days. The Taliban, which usually respond promptly to requests for comment, hadn’t issued a statement by late Sunday.” NBC News: Afghanistan: Taliban Leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor Is Dead “The leader of the Taliban has been killed in a U.S. airstrike, officials in Afghanistan said Sunday, setting up a potential succession showdown in the deeply-divided insurgent group. A statement from the Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security was the first official confirmation of Mullah Akhtar Mansoor's death. It was soon followed by an announcement from Afghanistan's chief executive — but no acknowledgement from the Taliban. President Barack Obama confirmed the death early Monday, calling it ‘an important milestone’ in the effort to bring peace to the country.” Fox News: Al Qaeda Reportedly Back In Afghan Heartland, Plotting New Attacks Against West “Al Qaeda has returned to its longtime base of operations in southern Afghanistan and is plotting new attacks against the West, fifteen years after being overrun by U.S.-led NATO forces following the 9/11 attacks, according to a published report.  Britain's Daily Telegraph, citing Afghan security officials, reported Monday that Al Qaeda cells have moved back into southern Afghanistan following the withdrawal of most U.S. and allied troops in 2014. The report claimed that most of the cells are operating around the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, the spiritual home of the Taliban. The Telegraph reports that security officials believe that Al Qaeda's return to Afghanistan is the latest move to re-establish its strength after the killing of Usama bin Laden by Navy SEALs in 2011 and the rise of ISIS, a former Al Qaeda splinter group.” Yemen Associated Press: UN Envoy Cites Progress In Yemen Talks, Airstrikes Continue “Fragile peace talks aimed at ending fighting in Yemen are making progress as a truce largely holds, the U.N. envoy for the country asserted Sunday after the impoverished Arab nation's government agreed to return to the negotiating table. The Yemeni government last week announced it was suspending talks being held in Kuwait with Shiite rebels, accusing them of refusing to accept the legitimacy of the country's internationally recognized president. During a Saturday meeting in the Qatari capital, Doha, with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the emir of Qatar, Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi agreed to send the government delegation back to the talks, according to a U.N. statement.” Reuters: Sixteen Militants Killed In Raid In Former Al Qaeda Yemen Hub: Security Forces “Yemeni troops killed 13 militants in a raid outside the southern city of Mukalla on Sunday in which two soldiers also died, the army said, extending a struggle to restore security in an area ruled until last month by al Qaeda. ‘Special forces and the army gained complete control over the site backed up by helicopters from the Arab coalition, which dealt with groups of terrorists spread around the area who were fleeing,’ an army statement said. A security official said the fighters were from al Qaeda. Hours later three more militants were killed as a car bomb they were preparing detonated in the courtyard of a house in the Rawkab area where the raid had taken place, residents and a security official said. They said that security forces were combing the area for more gunmen and explosives.” Egypt The New York Times: Egypt Sends Submersible In Search For Egyptair Jet’s Black Boxes “Egypt has deployed a submersible to help find the wreckage of EgyptAir Flight 804 in the deep Mediterranean waters where it crashed, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said Sunday, as he warned that it might take a ‘long time’ before the cause of the crash was determined. An international flotilla of search ships, aided by surveillance planes, was scouring a section of sea 180 miles north of the port city of Alexandria, and retrieved some wreckage, belongings and human remains over the weekend. But the search crews have yet to find the main body of the plane and its cockpit data and voice recorders, commonly known as the black boxes. They hope the recorders will explain what caused the Airbus A320, carrying 66 people, to plunge from the sky early Thursday as it headed to Cairo from Paris.” Middle East The Times of Israel: Concern In Israel As Lebanese Army Builds Watchtowers On Border “A series of lookout posts have suddenly popped up along the Lebanon side of the border with Israel, apparently constructed by the Lebanese Army. The watchtowers, which have appeared in the past month over the border between Kibbutz Rosh Hanikrah and Moshav Zarit, are a cause for concern for local residents, Ynet reported Sunday. According to Ynet, the towers allow whoever is manning them to keep a close eye on IDF bases, the security fence that runs along the border, civilian roads and the numerous communities along the frontier. There is concern over the fact that the towers were built so quickly, all within weeks, Ynet reported.” The Times of Israel: Iranian Commander: We Can Destroy Israel ‘In Under 8 Minutes’ “A senior Iranian military commander boasted that the Islamic Republic could ‘raze the Zionist regime in less than eight minutes.’ Ahmad Karimpour, a senior adviser to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ elite unit al-Quds Force, said if Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei gave the order to destroy Israel, the Iranian military had the capacity to do so quickly. A senior Iranian general on May 9 announced that the country’s armed forces successfully tested a precision-guided, medium-range ballistic missile two weeks earlier that could reach Israel, the state run Tasnim agency reported. Iran in March tested ballistic missiles, including two with the words ‘Israel must be wiped off the earth’ emblazoned on them, according to the US and other Western powers.” Libya The Wall Street Journal: Libya Requests EU Help Training Security Services “Libyan Prime Minister Faiez Serraj requested the help of the European Union in training the country’s security services, naval forces and coast guard, the bloc’s foreign policy chief said Sunday. ‘This is an important development that I will discuss with ministers at tomorrow’s meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council with a view to making this operational as soon as possible,’ the bloc’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said after receiving the written request. EU foreign ministers meeting on Monday are likely to give a green light to the request, after diplomats were recently preparing the extension of the bloc’s naval mission to also train the new national government’s security forces. The bloc’s naval mission—dubbed Sophia—was set up to fight human smuggling by gathering intelligence, arresting smugglers and destroying the boats after rescuing the migrants.” Nigeria Newsweek: Nigeria's Freed Schoolgirl Likely Boko Haram Escapee “As has been the case since Boko Haram kidnapped hundreds of school girls that had been concentrated in Chibok to take their final examinations two years ago, there must be questions about Amina Ali Darsha Nkeki. According to Western and Nigerian media, she was found in the bush by members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), a vigilante group that assists the official security services in the fight against Boko Haram. She had with her a baby and a man. It has been assumed that most of the Chibok victims are Christians, and Boko Haram ‘face’ Abubakar Shekau said that they had been forced to convert to Islam and had been given ‘husbands.’ Thus far, the media has not reported on Nkeki’s religion. The media has reported her as saying that most of the Chibok girls are in the Sambisa Forest, and that six have died. This is contrary to the assumption that the Chibok girls had been widely scattered.” United Kingdom Daily Mail: Prison Staff Reluctant To Tackle Islamic Extremists For Fear Of Being Labelled Racist, Reveals Damning Report 'Buried' By Officials “Prison staff are reluctant to tackle Islamic extremists in fear of being labelled racist. An damning report claims that officers were being exploited by Islamic inmates in British jails who are aware staff are worried about losing their job due to racism complaints. The independent review, commissioned by Justice Secretary Michael Gove, also recommended that Islamic prisoners convicted of terror offences be kept away from other Muslims in a specially designed blocks at high-security jails, reports the Sunday Times. Over 12,000 Muslims are behind bars in England and Wales with 130 of those serving terror related sentences, while Government officials believe that 1,000 could be vulnerable to radicalisation.” International Business Times: West Country Anti-Terror Hub Aims To Defend UK Holidaymakers From ISIS Shooting Sprees “A new counter-terrorism police hub hoping to thwart a Paris-style Islamic State (Isis) attack on isolated villages and holiday parks is to be set up in the West Country. The new multimillion-pound police unit will include intelligence teams and specially-trained firearms officers covering Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Gloucestershire. It follows reports in April from the German media that Isis (Daesh) are sending terrorists to European beach resorts, where they plan to detonate suicide vests and use high-powered assault rifles to kill indiscriminately. The report, which is allegedly from the BND, Germany's equivalent of MI6, said holiday resorts in southern France, the Costa del Sol in Spain and both Italian coasts were all under threat.” France USA Today: Paris Still Struggling 6 Months After 'Black Friday' Terror Attacks “The winding cobblestone streets of Paris' swanky Le Marais district usually bustle with tourists this time of year, but its trendy bars, bistros and boutiques are uncommonly quiet. It's a common story across Paris as the city struggles to recover  six months after ‘Black Friday’ — as the Nov. 13 terror attacks that killed 130 people are called here. Paris was also dealt a blow after the March 22 suicide bombings in neighboring Brussels. And Thursday's crash of an EgyptAir flight that took off from Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport for Cairo raised concerns about possible terrorism. The most visible change here is the strong presence of police and the military around tourist centers and strategic areas, as well as the lack of crowds in certain districts, venues and streets. The patrols help give tourists who do visit a sense of security.” Europe Voice Of America: Fears Mount Over European Air Security “Security at European airports is coming under urgent scrutiny as mystery continues to surround the cause of the EgyptAir crash. While it isn’t clear what caused Flight 804 to drop out of the sky and smash into the Mediterranean, the history of security lapses at all the airports the plane visited that day is heightening suspicions terrorism was behind the crash. Terrorism is not the only possible cause for the crash. Aviation experts caution that a catastrophic mechanical failure or pilot error could have brought down the airliner. While there can be no definitive explanation of what happened until the cockpit voice-recorder is recovered from the Mediterranean Sea — and that could take weeks, or even months — European security officials are not wasting time.” Reuters: Islamic State Calls For Attacks On The West During Ramadan In Audio Message “A new message purporting to come from the spokesman of Islamic State calls on followers to launch attacks on the United States and Europe during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins in early June. ‘Ramadan, the month of conquest and jihad. Get prepared, be ready ... to make it a month of calamity everywhere for the non-believers ... especially for the fighters and supporters of the caliphate in Europe and America,’ said the message, suggesting attacks on military and civilian targets. The authenticity of the audio clip, purporting to be from Abu Muhammad al-Adnani and distributed on Saturday by Twitter accounts that usually publish Islamic State statements, could not be verified. The militant group, which seeks to establish a caliphate across the Middle East and beyond, has claimed deadly attacks over the past year on civilians in France, Belgium and the United States.” Arabic Language Clips Financing of Terrorism Alkhaleej Online: The Gulf Zakat...Unified Laws Aimed At Binding Companies And Individuals Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have recently moved towards establishing a unified Gulf Fund to collect Zakat, and towards developing new mechanisms for the action plan to be agreed upon by the member states. The priority of this topic recently rose high on the agenda during the meetings of the GCC. It is noteworthy that Gulf countries rely on different laws when dealing with Zakat collection, although all of them operate in accordance with Islamic law (Sharia). The charitable associations have been subject to heavy surveillance over the past decade, while several GCC countries have recently passed laws aimed at promoting charitable work and reducing money laundering and terrorist financing. In the ongoing fight against terrorism and drying up its resources, as of 2015 Saudi security authorities have monitored more than 2250 banking accounts and the financial resources of over 2000 non-profit charities. Albayan: Bahrain Affirms Its Fight Against Terrorism And Drying Up Its Financing Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa underscored, on Sunday, the continuing efforts of the Kingdom of Bahrain to combat terrorism and dry up its funding sources. He noted that Bahrain, which is considered an advanced financial center, is one of the countries striving to prevent the transfer of funds to terrorist groups. Al Khalifa was quoted as saying, "We are working to strengthen security and stability in the region by fighting against extremist groups and securing the seas. We are currently working to fight the terrorists in Syria, especially as we are facing geopolitical challenges due to terrorism, interventions by some states, as well as economic and financial challenges." Alwatan: Three Saudis Convicted Of Supporting And Financing Terrorism Jailed The Specialized Criminal Court issued three primary rulings, sentencing three Saudi defendants to a total of 10.5 years in prison. The first defendant was sentenced to 4.5 years' imprisonment after it was proved he had supported the ISIS terrorist organization. He was also fined 45,000 Saudi riyals ($12,000). The second defendant was sentenced to four years in jail after being found guilty of financing terrorism and deceiving the investigation agencies. The third defendant, who was convicted of insulting rulers and being addicted to schnapps, was sentenced to two years in jail. In addition, the first and second defendants were barred from traveling abroad for four years, while the third was similarly barred for three years. ISIS 218tv: Arrest Of Members Of Justice And Equality And Boko Haram Ahead Of Their Hooking Up With ISIS A Libyan security patrol arrested a group of terrorists belonging to the Sudanese Justice and Equality Movement and Boko Haram. They were arrested on the Tripoli – Sabha highway on their way to join ISIS. Sources said that a joint force of the Counter Terrorism Agency, the Special Operations Unit and the Military Police captured the group. The sources added that Libyan drivers had transported the terror recruits. Security forces found in their possession 22,000 Libyan dinars (roughly $17,000) and Sudanese passports. Muslim Brotherhood Veto: Brotherhood In Egypt Launches New Channel On Telegram Web Amid the current split within the Muslim Brotherhood, and in a pre-emptive step, the Brotherhood's Higher Administrative Committee in Egypt launched a new channel under the Brotherhood name on its Telegram Web application. Supporters of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Kamal, member of the Guidance Office, welcomed this move, stressing that the new channel will serve to disseminate their decisions. This is especially important since they lack the financial resources to launch a satellite TV channel to broadcast their ideas and views. Sada El-Balad: Secretary Of The Brotherhood Accuses The Group's Office In Turkey Of Supporting Terrorism Sources within the Muslim Brotherhood revealed that Ibrahim Munir, a Muslim Brotherhood leader in London, has communicated with several foreign states urging them to stop dealing with the branch in Turkey and not to acknowledge it as being part of the Brotherhood. Munir accused this office of inciting and supporting terrorism in Egypt. He claimed that the group does not recognize the office in Turkey and has dismissed all of its leaders. Alwafd: Ghada Wali: (Egyptian Social) Solidarity (Ministry) Did Not Seize Any Funds Belonging To Brotherhood Associations Egyptian Minister of Social Solidarity, Dr. Ghada Wali, denied that the ministry has seized any funds belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood. She emphasized that the ministry has only applied judicial rulings. She noted during an interview on ONTV channel that the extent of a country's development is determined by the universal application of the rule of law. Elwatan News: Judicial Sources: Seized Funds Of (Brotherhood-Affiliated) Pakinam El-Sharqawi Still Being Held Despite A Ruling In Her Favor Egyptian judicial sources stated that the Muslim Brotherhood Asset Freeze Committee has already drafted its objection to the execution of the ruling issued by the Administrative Court to cancel the Committee's decision to appropriate the funds owned by to Dr. Pakinam el-Sharqawi, former aide of ousted President Mohammed Morsi. The Committee plans to submit its appeal to the Urgent Matters Court to block execution of the ruling. The sources added that the Committee is appealing because its members are convinced that el-Sharqawi's financing of the Brotherhood was substantiated. They stressed that the decision to appropriate her funds was taken not only because she had served as the former president's aide, but also due to her involvement in the financing of the group. The sources confirmed that the original ruling on the appropriation is still valid. El-Sharqawi's name has not been lifted from the blacklist of individuals whose assets were seized, despite a ruling in her favor by the Administrative Court. Masralarabia: Youth's Correction Revolution Within The Brotherhood Calls To Investigate Deputy Leader And Other (Senior Members) An internal Brotherhood document unveils a summons to arrest eight of the group's leaders associated with Mahmoud Ezzat, Deputy Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, and to interrogate them. The eight leaders are Mahmoud Ezzat, Muslim Brotherhood's former Secretary-General Mahmoud Hussein Amin, Medhat al-Haddad, who heads the Muslim Brotherhood's administrative office in Turkey, Mohammed Abd al-Wahhab, who heads the Egyptian Brotherhood office in Qatar, Mahmoud El-Abiary, Mohammed El-Halougy, Mustafa Tolba, in addition to Dr. Mohammed Shalaby. Those behind this document, who are affiliated with the Supreme Management Committee, claimed that the "Ezzat Front" exploited the money that comes out of the Muslim Brotherhood's pocket as a tool of coercion and blackmail to promote ideas which lead to discord. Houthi Alyaum: Collapse Of The Yemeni Riyal Crisis Deepens Conflicts (Between Houthi And Saleh Militias) Over Theft Of Funds Leaders of the Houthi militias met with security officials and representatives of banking, political, legal and economic authorities, against the backdrop of the crisis stemming from the sharp devaluation of the Yemeni riyal against the dollar. The collapse of the local currency has led to an unprecedented rise in the rate of the US dollar in Yemen. Sources disclosed that the meeting focused on the charges against deposed Yemeni president Ali Saleh and his aides for their role in raising the rate of foreign currencies in the local market, as well as in the shortage of petroleum products. During the meeting, Houthi militia listed the names of several of Saleh's aides suspected of being behind the collapse of the Yemeni riyal in order to generate a crisis and direct the anger of the citizens towards the country's current leaders. Almasdar Online: Government: Houthis Decided To Definitively Prevent Spending For Operating Electricity In The Coastal Cities Yemen's Prime Minister, Ahmed bin Dagher, accused the party of ousted President Ali Saleh, the Houthis and financial authorities at the Central Bank of Yemen of blocking the transfer of funds from operational budgets earmarked for provision of electric power to the coastal provinces. He asserted that the Houthis had taken a final decision to freeze all the operational budgets.