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Eye on Extremism
June 30, 2016
Counter
Extremism Project
The
Jerusalem Post: Deleting Terror: US Group Works To Search, Destroy Online
ISIS Propaganda
“An American non-profit policy organization recently announced the
arrival of a new technological solution that allows social media
companies and Internet sites to ‘quickly remove’ jihadist, ISIS-related
online propaganda from their platforms. The Counter Extremist Project
(CEP) said its application, if introduced, ‘will greatly reduce the
ability of extremists and terrorists to weaponize online platforms to
radicalize, recruit, and incite to violence.’ ‘If we seize this
opportunity and have partners across the social media spectrum willing to
fight the extremist threat by deploying this technology, extremists will
find Internet and social media platforms far less available for their
recruiting, fundraising, propagandizing, and calls to violence,’ said CEP
Senior Advisor, Dr. Hany Farid.”
Fox
News: CEP Spokesperson Tara Maller Discusses The Ramifications Of The
Terror Attack At Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport With Shepard
Smith
Fox
News: US Airstrikes Kill At Least 250 ISIS Fighters In Convoy Outside
Fallujah, Official Says
“A series of American airstrikes killed at least 250 ISIS fighters
driving in a convoy outside Fallujah on Wednesday, a senior U.S. defense
official confirmed to Fox News. The strikes occurred on the outskirts of
the Iraqi city in ‘southern Fallujah,’ a second U.S. defense official
told Fox News. ‘There was a strike on a convoy of ISIS fighters trying to
leave a neighborhood on the outskirts of southern Fallujah that we
struck,’ the official said. At least 40 vehicles were destroyed in the
airstrikes, a U.S. official told Reuters, which was first to report the
air assault. The U.S. airstrikes come roughly 24 hours after the triple
suicide bombing at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport that killed at least 42
people where ISIS is considered the prime suspect, according to top U.S.
officials.”
The
New York Times: Turkey, A Conduit For Fighters Joining ISIS, Begins To
Feel Its Wrath
“From the start of the Islamic State’s rise through the chaos of the
Syrian war, Turkey has played a central, if complicated, role in the
group’s story. For years, it served as a rear base, transit hub and
shopping bazaar for the Islamic State, and at first, that may have
protected Turkey from the violence the group has inflicted elsewhere.
Now, the Turkish government and Western officials say the suicide
bombings at Istanbul’s main airport on Tuesday bore the hallmarks of an
Islamic State attack, and they have added them to a growing roll call of
assaults attributed to the group in Turkey in recent months. Analysts
said Turkey was paying the price for intensifying its action against the
Islamic State, also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh.”
The
New York Times: Father Killed in Turkey Attacks Was Trying to Save Son
From ISIS
“Fathi Bayoudh was a respected officer and doctor in the Tunisian
military, but on Tuesday night at Istanbul’s main airport he was a father
worried about his wayward son. Dr. Bayoudh, 58, had arrived in Istanbul
weeks earlier to find his son, Anouar, 26, who had run off to join the
Islamic State group in Syria. When he got word through the Tunisian
Embassy in Turkey that the Turkish authorities had detained Anouar in a
town near the border with Syria, he called his wife in Tunisia. They
arranged to meet at Ataturk airport before heading to the town where Anouar
was being held.”
Washington
Post: Islamic State Routs Pentagon-Backed Syrian Rebels In Fresh Setback
For U.S. Strategy
“The U.S. military’s efforts to confront the Islamic State in Syria
suffered another setback Wednesday after the militants routed the only
group to have survived intact an ill-fated Pentagon program to train and
equip moderate rebels last year. The U.S.-backed New Syrian Army said it
was forced to withdraw its forces to its base at Tanf near the Jordanian
border after launching what appears to have been a poorly conceived
offensive aimed at capturing the strategically important eastern Syrian
town of Abu Kamal on the Syrian-Iraqi border.”
The
Wall Street Journal: Fallujah’s Importance To Islamic State Helped Iraqi
Forces Retake It
“For Islamic State, this city was unlike any other: the birthplace of
its movement and the first urban center it seized in a blitz that began
the occupation of a third of Iraq. But it took Iraqi forces less than
five weeks to defeat the extremist group here, much faster than Iraqi and
American officials had expected. One reason, these officials and Iraqi
commanders say, was how invested Islamic State militants were in
Fallujah, which made them loath to blow it up. Commanders said the
militants had bet on repelling Iraqi forces on the outskirts of Fallujah,
but struggled to adapt to the overwhelming force. The center of the city
was still inhabited—one reason it wasn’t booby-trapped, as Islamic State
had done in other, largely deserted urban areas they lost.”
The
Guardian: Armed Police To Patrol French Beaches Amid Terrorism Fears
“Tourists visiting French resorts this summer will see armed police
patrols on the beaches, as the country beefs up security measures for the
holiday season. Officers belonging to the CRS riot police force,
who have previously been equipped with batons and handcuffs, will be
allowed to wear special holsters carrying weapons for the first time.
Bulletproof vests will also be at their disposal. The move comes
two weeks after an unarmed French police chief and his partner were
killed in a stabbing in front of their house outside Paris. Isis claimed
responsibility for the attack, which has sparked a debate in France about
whether the forces should carry weapons outside working hours. France
remains in a state of emergency following November’s deadly attacks,
which left 130 dead.”
Times
Of Israel: IDF Dismantles Three Hebron-Area Terror Cells
“Israeli security forces in recent months broke up three Palestinian
terror cells operating near the West Bank city of Hebron, police said
Wednesday. The suspects used makeshift weapons to launch projectiles at
the settlement from a distance, then quickly returned to the village
before Israeli security forces could respond, Samri said. According to
the police, a months-long investigation into the attacks led to the
indictment on terrorism charges of the 19 Beit Fajjar residents. The
suspects, who include several minors, confessed to carrying out the
attacks during interrogations with security forces. The identities of the
suspects were not released. Hebron has been a flashpoint in the recent
wave of Palestinian stabbing, shooting and vehicular attacks that has
swept the country since October.”
CNN:
Air Force Intel Chief Gives Failing Grade To Airstrikes Targeting ISIS
“The Air Force's intelligence chief gave the US-led airstrikes
targeting ISIS a failing grade in an exclusive interview with CNN. ‘I
would give us a 5, which means we have a lot of work to do,’ Lt. Gen.
Robert ‘Bob’ Otto told CNN on Friday, when asked to evaluate the air
targeting on a 10-point scale. ‘We are the best in the world at what we
do. But there is always room to improve,’ he said. Other Air Force
officials tell CNN they believe a number of targeting improvements have
been made. CIA Director John Brennan acknowledged Wednesday that the
United States had room for improvement when it came to taking on ISIS,
also known as ISIL or Daesh.”
The
Wall Street Journal: The Terrorism Fight Needs Silicon Valley
“Google, Facebook, Snapchat and WhatsApp are all working to increase
encryption in ways that will make it impossible for the courts and
law-enforcement officials to obtain their users’ data. They argue that if
they are forced to comply with government requests for data, terrorists
will simply choose open-source encryption apps instead. But lone wolves
are not always that sophisticated. Those that are may have no regard for
investigations following their death. And for those that do want to cover
their tracks: Why should we help them? It’s true that encryption may make
it harder for repressive regimes to crack down on dissent, but it also
makes it harder for democratic societies to protect themselves against
terrorists and criminals.”
Voice
Of America: Nigerians Sort Through Ruins Left By Boko Haram
“The last service at the EYN church in Michika started with prayers
and ended with gunfire as Boko Haram fighters stormed the town on a Sunday
in September 2014. Those that could ran to the nearby mountains,
joining the millions of people that have fled the Islamist insurgency in
Nigeria and neighboring countries. More than a year-and-a-half after Boko
Haram was routed from Michika and other towns in Nigeria’s northeastern
Adamawa state, people are coming back home to rebuild their lives. But
the towns, and the livelihoods, they returned to are much changed,
residents say.”
United
States
Fox
News: Americans Not Always Told When Named On ISIS ‘Kill Lists,’ Lawmaker
Demands Answers From FBI
“Americans who land on ISIS ‘hit lists’ may never find out they have
been marked for death by the terror group, said a key lawmaker Tuesday,
as he called on the FBI to explain its obligations and procedures in
contacting potential targets. Several of the murky lists have appeared
online, posted on various sites and social media platforms linked to
ISIS. One list obtained by FoxNews.com Wednesday detailed 12,000 Canadian
residents, along with their addresses and phone numbers. Even though the
lists seem to be random and people named on them have not yet been
targeted, law enforcement officials have notified many -- but not all --
of the individuals named.”
Syria
Reuters:
Islamic State Forces Syria Rebels To Retreat From Border Area
“U.S.-backed Syrian rebels were pushed back from the outskirts of an
Islamic State-held town on the border with Iraq and a nearby air base on
Wednesday after the jihadists mounted a counter- attack, two rebel
sources said. The New Syria Army rebel group had launched an operation on
Tuesday aimed at capturing the town of Al-Bukamal from Islamic State and
cutting supply and communications lines for the group between Syria and
Iraq, the U.S. coalition fighting IS said. One rebel source said Islamic
State fighters had encircled the rebels in a surprise ambush. They had
suffered heavy casualties and weapons had been seized by the jihadists,
the source said.”
The
Moscow Times: Russian Cluster Munitions Have Literally Made Syria A
Minefield
“Incendiary weapons have been raining down on a strategic area
just north of the city of Aleppo, Syria almost daily
for the last few weeks. The attacks came as Syrian ground
forces and their allies, supported by Russian air power, have
attempted to encircle the city to drive out opposition
forces there. A total of 113 countries including Russia (but
not Syria) have ratified a treaty prohibiting the use
of air-delivered incendiary weapons in areas with
a ‘concentration of civilians.’ And in a recent
letter to Human Rights Watch in response to calls
to strengthen international law on incendiary weapons, Russia's
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov acknowledged the ‘significant
humanitarian damage’ caused by incendiary weapons in Syria,
which he blamed on their ‘improper use.’”
Reuters:
U.N. Envoy Says Unclear When Syria Peace Talks To Reconvene
“The United Nations envoy to Syria told the U.N. Security Council on
Wednesday that it remains unclear when the next round of U.N.-brokered
peace talks will take place, adding that there was no point in talking
without some assurance of progress. The last round of talks between the
Syrian government and opposition broke up at the end of April as
government forces, backed by Russia, escalated their assault on
rebel-held areas in the northern city of Aleppo. A ‘cessation of
hostilities’ that had brought peace to much of Syria for two months has
largely broken down, and the war has resumed in many areas. The
negotiations on a political transition center on the future of President
Bashar al-Assad, who is supported by Russia and Iran but who Western and
Gulf Arab governments would like to see replaced.
Reuters:
At Least 5 Killed In Bombing In Kurdish-Controlled Syrian Town-Witnesses
“At least five people were killed and scores wounded on Wednesday in a
bomb attack on a local administrative office in the Kurdish-held Syrian
town of Tel Abyad, near the Turkish border, witnesses said. They said a
suicide car bomber attacked the building run by Kurdish local authorities
in the town, which was captured by the Kurdish YPG militia last year from
Islamic State militants in an offensive backed by U.S.-led air strikes.
Tel Abyad lies north of Raqqa and had been a key supply line for the
Islamic State stronghold. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights later said at least 10 people were killed in the blast with nine
wounded, some seriously.”
Iraq
BBC:
IS Conflict: Iraq Air Strikes 'Target Militant Convoy'
“A convoy carrying suspected Islamic State militants has been
destroyed in air strikes near the Iraqi city of Falluja, the defence
ministry says. An Iraqi security source told the BBC the jihadists had
been attempting to flee an offensive by government forces, who recently
recaptured Falluja. They were bombed by Iraqi air force planes as they
headed for IS territory near the border with Syria, he added. Photos
purportedly of the scene showed about a dozen burned-out vehicles. The
security source, who asked not to be named, told the BBC that a large
number of militants fleeing the assault had gathered in the al-Ruwaila
area.”
Turkey
BBC:
Istanbul Ataturk Airport Attack: Deaths Rise To 42 As Turkey Mourns
“Turkey has observed a national day of mourning after a gun and
suicide bomb attack on Istanbul's Ataturk airport killed 42 people,
including 13 foreign nationals. Three attackers arrived in a taxi and
began firing at the terminal entrance late on Tuesday. They blew
themselves up after police fired back. Officials earlier said 239 people
were injured, with 41 in intensive care. PM Binali Yildirim said early
signs pointed to so-called Islamic State. CIA Director John Brennan also
said it ‘bears the hallmarks’ of the jihadist group. However, no-one has
so far admitted carrying out the attack.”
Time:
Turkey Has Become The New Front Of ISIS’s War On The World
“Losing ground on battlefields throughout the region, ISIS is seeking
desperately to reclaim headlines through a campaign of attacks on
civilians in the Middle East, Europe, and beyond. Turkey has become the
central target in that campaign. The June 28 bombings, which killed at
least 41 people and injured over 200, were the fifth major attack on
civilians in Turkey thought to have been carried out by ISIS in the last
year. The slaughter at the airport raises the stakes of the conflict,
dealing another blow to Turkey’s economy, raising alarms in Europe, and
heaping more pressure on Turkey’s leaders to stabilize the country’s
southern border with Syria. It is one more sign that otherwise stable
Turkey is being drawn deeper into the regional crisis emanating from Iraq
and Syria.”
NPR:
Turkey's Debilitating Conflicts On Three Separate Fronts
“In a few short years, Turkey has gone from a regional pillar of
stability to a rattled nation fighting battles on three separate fronts.
Turkey has pushed hard for the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Its security forces are again clashing with Kurdish separatists in the
southeast of the country. And Turkish leaders suspect the Islamic State
is behind Tuesday's terrorist attack at the Istanbul airport. All this
turmoil has unsettled Turkey, where the powerful security forces have
historically been given wide latitude to impose order. Yet the country
that sees itself as a regional leader has lurched from one fight to
another inconclusively. All three are draining its influence, sapping the
economy and driving away tourists.”
Voice
Of America: Turkey Roadside Bomb Kills 2 Soldiers, Wounds 3
“A roadside bomb killed two soldiers and wounded three others in
Turkey’s Mardin province Wednesday. The explosive device was detonated by
remote control when an armored military vehicle was passing some 35
kilometers from the Derik district at about 3:00 PM local time. Another
attack was carried out against a military team patrolling a rural area in
Lice in Diyarbakir province. The military has recently been involved in
an operation to destroy illegal cannabis fields in the region. There has
been no immediate claim of responsibility for Wednesday’s blasts.”
CNN:
ISIS' Ramadan Terror Campaign
“In the past two days, ISIS has conducted lethal suicide attacks in
Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen and also, very likely, in Turkey. In the past
month, we've seen a surge of terrorism in the Middle East and the West.
None of this should be too surprising. After all, ISIS explicitly called
for terrorist attacks during the holy month of Ramadan, which commenced
three weeks ago. Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, the spokesman for ISIS, released
an audiotape in late May in which he called for attacks, saying,
‘Ramadan, the month of conquest and jihad... make it a month of calamity
everywhere for the non-believers.’”
The
Jerusalem Post: Turkish Intelligence Warned Of ISIS Attack In Istanbul
Weeks Ago
“Turkish intelligence units allegedly warned relevant government
bodies about a possible attack by Islamic State terrorist in Istanbul
week before Tuesday night's deadly attack by three suspected ISIS suicide
bombers. According to Turkish media Wednesday, the country's intelligence
apparatus sent a warning letter to state institutions some 20 days ago
about a potential attack. Turkish Hurriyet Daily News cited Doğan
TV as reporting that the warning message mentioned the names of potential
targets, including Istanbul Atatürk Airport.”
Afghanistan
Reuters:
Pakistan Extends Afghan Refugee Registration Deadline By Six Months
“Pakistan has extended by six months a deadline for Afghan refugees to
register with the government, a refugee official said on Wednesday, a day
before the deadline was set to expire. Pakistan has the world's second
largest refugee population, with more than 1.5 million registered, and
about a million unregistered, refugees from Afghanistan, most of whom
fled the Soviet occupation of their country in the 1980s. The number of
Afghans voluntarily returning home has plunged this year as violence
worsens in Afghanistan, where the government and its U.S. allies are
fighting a stubborn Taliban insurgency.”
Voice
Of America: Afghanistan Implies Pakistan Supporting IS Militants
“Afghanistan’s national security adviser has accused Pakistan, without
directly naming the country, of providing financial and logistical
support to Islamic State (IS) fighters in Afghanistan. Hanif Atmar told
journalists Wednesday in Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar
province, that his country’s security forces this week arrested three IS
fighters led by a militant from the central Asian country of Tajikistan,
and interrogations of the men revealed they were receiving support from
abroad. Atmar blamed Pakistan for providing safe havens to elements who
carried out ‘terrorist operations’ inside Afghanistan. Afghan authorities
have long accused Pakistan of supporting the Afghan Taliban and giving
top leaders safe refuge. However, authorities have not previously accused
Pakistan of supporting IS, which opposes the Afghan Taliban.”
Yemen
Reuters:
U.N.-Backed Yemen Peace Talks Adjourn Until July 15: Envoy
“United Nations-mediated talks to end more than a year of war in Yemen
have adjourned and will reconvene in Kuwait on July 15 after the Muslim
Eid holiday, the U.N. envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, said on Wednesday.
A shaky ceasefire coinciding with negotiations has paused fighting which
raged across the country, though Saudi-led air strikes have increased as
Iran-allied Houthis have made ground advances while Islamic State has
taken advantage of a security vacuum to launch a string of bombings. The
talks bring together the Houthi movement and Yemen's
internationally-recognized government, but have achieved little concrete
progress in over two months.”
Egypt
BBC:
Ibrahim Halawa: Case Of Dublin Teen Held In Egypt Adjourned Again
“The Irish government has expressed concern after the trial of a
Dublin teenager held in prison without trial Egypt was adjourned for the
14th time. Ibrahim Halawa could face a death penalty with nearly 500
others over anti-government protests in 2013. In April, the BBC revealed
the Egyptian government had rejected allegations by the United Nations
about his treatment. His family said they had been told a number of time
that a court would pass judgement on his case on Wednesday. Mr Halawa,
the son of Ireland's most senior Muslim cleric, has been held for more
than two-and-a-half years since his arrest in Cairo.”
Middle
East
The
Jerusalem Post: Rocket Sirens Sound In Southern Israeli Communities Near
Gaza Border
“Rocket alert sirens sounded in two southern Israeli communities in
the Eshkol Regional Council near the Gaza border on Wednesday afternoon.
Shortly afterward, the IDF said that the Red Alert' alarms had been
activated in a false alarm. The incident came the day after Israel and
Turkey signed a reconciliation deal that obliges Ankara, which has
diplomatic relations with Hamas, to prevent the preparation of terrorist
attacks against Israel from its territory, including the raising of funds
for the terror group that controls Gaza.”
Libya
The
New York Times: A Slow, Steady Siege On An ISIS Stronghold In Libya
“The assault on Surt, now in its third week, has put the Islamic State
in Libya under crushing pressure, threatening to rob the group of its
largest base outside Iraq and Syria. The attack force, led by militias
from the nearby city of Misurata and organized under the auspices of the
United Nations-backed unity government, has corralled the Islamists into
the city center, where they are pummeled with bombs and gunfire and cut
off from their main escape route by sea. The siege coincides with the
Islamic State’s recent eviction from the Iraqi city of Falluja, and
combined they are a heavy blow to the group’s territorial ambitions —
even as it retaliates with devastating attacks against civilians.”
Nigeria
The
New York Times: From Boko Haram’s Birthplace, Instagram Posts Beyond
‘Death And Despair’
“Her hometown, the birthplace of Boko Haram, is filled with sad
stories. Fati Abubakar roams the streets to find the happy ones. It is
not always easy. With a camera slung over her shoulder, Ms. Abubakar, 30,
documents the people of Maiduguri, a busy capital in northeastern
Nigeria, determined to show the world that life continues despite years
of violence that has killed thousands of people, many in the city limits.
Inspired by Instagram accounts like @humansofny, which captures the lives
of New Yorkers ‘one story at a time,’ Ms. Abubakar snaps portraits of
vendors, refugees and students, posting them to Instagram at @bitsofborno
with quotations or captions that describe them. Boko Haram has affected
nearly all of her subjects in some way.”
United
Kingdom
The
Wall Street Journal: U.K. Announces New Plan To Tackle Hate Crimes
“Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday that the U.K. was
stepping up its response to hate crimes and called on both sides of the
referendum debate to ‘utterly condemn them’—amid a recent rise in
reported hate-crime incidents after the U.K. voted to leave the European
Union. Addressing Parliament in his weekly debate with opposition
lawmakers, Mr. Cameron said there was evidence that racist incidents were
increasing, including in the last few days. Since the referendum, British
police have received 57% more complaints to their online hate-crime
reporting portal compared to a similar period last month, said Karen
Bradley, a lawmaker in Mr. Cameron’s government and a minister in the
Home Office.”
Daily
Mail: Muslim Mothers Who Knew The Families Of Six British ISIS Jihadis
Are Now Being Trained On How To Spot If Their Children Are Being
Radicalised Online
“Muslim mothers in families close to British jihadis who went to Syria
are being trained to spot the signs their children are being groomed by
extremists. Six young men from Portsmouth went to fight for ISIS after
being radicalised online, with five having since been killed and another
jailed for terror offences. Now 30 women in the Hampshire city, some of
whom knew the jihadis' families, have been taught to check their sons or
daughters don't follow a similar path. A course of other mothers in
Portsmouth, which organisers say is being undertaken predominantly by
mothers of Muslim faith, was organised under the Prevent scheme, the
government's counter-extremism programme.”
Germany
International
Business Times: Germany Sees Spike In Far-Right Violence As
Anti-Immigration Sentiment Creeps Into Society
“Germany experienced a spike in political extremism and violence from
both far-right and far-left radicals as well as Islamist extremist groups
in 2015, according to a report prepared by the country's domestic
intelligence agency. Last year some 1,408 acts of violence perpetrated by
the the far-right were recorded, compared to 990 the previous year – a
42% increase. The report from the Federal Office for the Protection of
the Constitution also noted 75 arson attacks on refugee shelters in 2015
– a fivefold increase on 2014.”
Express.Co.Uk:
Islamist Extremists Hide Huge Stockpile Of Weapons Near German Mosque
“The weapons arsenal was discovered during a top secret raid by a SWAT
team in Nordrhein-Westfalen. Local politician Ismail Tipi revealed
details of the raid and warned of ‘the danger of
fundamentalists’. The weapons were found in a cold room of a
greengrocer near a mosque. The state is the most populous state in
Germany with nearly 18million people in the area, which includes
Dusseldorf. The discovery comes as the German government voiced
concern that Islamic State (ISIS) could step up attacks in Europe as it
loses territory in Iraq and Syria, and said its domestic intelligence
agency is training to respond to a large-scale assault.”
Europe
The
Guardian: How Safe Is Your Next Trip? Map Reveals Turkey, France And
Germany Among Countries At 'High Risk' Of Terror Attacks
“Experts have called for a worldwide rethink on airport security
following the suicide bombings at Istanbul's Ataturk International
Airport. The demands reflect the increased likelihood of terror
attacks throughout Europe, with seven countries across the continent
considered 'high risk' by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, as
a new map highlighting the differing levels of threat reveals. Indeed,
the terror attack in Turkey hit one day after the US State Department
issued a travel warning to American citizens about the increased terror
threat in the Turkey - and to avoid the south of the country altogether.
The current threat level in Turkey is currently classified as an
emergency alert. And at the beginning of June, the State Department
issued a Europe-wide travel alert, specifically concerning the European
Soccer Championship currently underway in France and for the Catholic
Church's World Youth day in Poland this July.”
Technology
BBC:
World-Check Terrorism Database Exposed Online
“World-Check Risk Screening contains details about people and organisations
suspected of being involved in terrorism, organised crime and money
laundering, among other offences. Access is supposed to be restricted
under European privacy laws. The database's creator, Thomson Reuters, has
confirmed an unnamed third-party exposed an ‘out of date’ version online.
But it says the material has since been removed. Security researcher
Chris Vickery said he discovered the leak. He notified the Register,
which reported that it contained more than two million records and was two
years old.”
Arabic
Language Clips
Financing
of Terror
Veto:
Coordination Between The Central Bank (Of Egypt) And Its Syrian
Counterpart To Fight The Financing Of Terrorism
The Central Bank of Egypt released updates to all the banks operating
in the country with a list of financial entities in Syria they are
allowed to deal with, according to regulations and laws to combat money
laundering and terror financing. This came following a letter sent by the
Central Bank of Syria to its Egyptian counterpart, as part of its efforts
to scrutinize the data relating to currency exchange firms and banks as a
step designed to reduce terror financing operations. According to the
Syrian letter, this measure is intended to promote the exchange of
information involving dealings between Syrian currency exchange companies
and licensed firms abroad which are executed outside the framework of the
law.
ISIS
Almaghrib
Today: Moroccans Accused Of Recruiting Jihadists (To ISIS) And
Dispatching Them To The Battlefronts In Syria And Iraq
Security sources disclosed that during the hearing at the National
Court in Madrid on Monday, new information emerged which indicates the
involvement of Moroccan jihadists in recruiting and sending militants to
the battlefront in Syria to fight in the ranks of ISIS. According to the
same sources, a group of Moroccan jihadists has been accused of belonging
to a terror cell operating between Morocco and Spain. The cell was
dismantled in 2014, while working to dispatch Moroccan jihadists to Syria
and Iraq, and to raise funds at a mosque in Madrid to finance the
recruitment efforts on behalf of ISIS. One testimony claimed that the
Moroccan jihadists dispatched at least 12 foreign fighters, adding that
six of them died there, while six others are still active in the ranks of
ISIS.
Hezbollah
Elbashayer:
Is Hezbollah Leading The Lebanese Banking Sector Towards International
Isolation?
The Lebanese banking sector is facing a crisis of confidence on the
backdrop of Law No. 2297 passed by the US Congress at the end of December
2015. The law known as the "Hezbollah International Financing
Prevention Act," the executive regulations of which were issued in
April 2016, raised direct accusations towards many of the Lebanese
institutions and individuals backing Hezbollah. Following passage of the
law, Secretary General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, proclaimed that
his group has no deposits in Lebanese banks. However, this denial is
fallacious for many reasons. Hezbollah itself and some of the individuals
associated with it operate service-providing agencies and companies which
have numerous accounts in Lebanese banks. This means Hezbollah itself, or
individuals close to it, regularly carry out financial transactions
through the Lebanese banking system. These transactions give rise to
doubts and misgivings among financial and banking circles in Lebanon,
which have already expressed fears of being exposed to international
sanctions.
Houthi
Filkhbr:
Houthi Gunmen Ordered The Arrest Of Citizens Who Refused To Pay Money For
Their War Effort
The Houthi group in Dhamar province, south of the Yemeni capital
Sanaa, ordered its gunmen to round up citizens who refuse to pay money to
the group under the banner of "the war effort." Private sources
said that activists belonging to the Houthi group released documents
containing the names of abstainers from payment, in a preliminary step to
locate and subsequently arrest them. The sources noted that "the
(Houthi) rebels forced tribal sheikhs and leaders in rural areas of
Dhamar governorate to call on the citizens in those areas to give money
for the benefit of the war effort."
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