Eye on Extremism - June 2, 2016

Eye on Extremism June 2, 2016 Reuters: Iraq Stalls Falluja Assault 'To Protect Civilians' “Iraq has delayed its assault on the city of Falluja because of fears for the safety of civilians, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Wednesday, as his forces halted at the city's edge in the face of ferocious resistance from Islamic State fighters. Abadi's decision to halt, two days after elite Iraqi troops poured into the city's rural southern outskirts, postpones what was expected to be one of the biggest battles ever fought against Islamic State. The government, backed by world powers including the United States and Iran, has vowed to win back the first major Iraqi city that fell to the group in 2014. Falluja has been a bastion of the Sunni insurgency that fought both the U.S. occupation of Iraq and the Shi'ite-led Baghdad government. Islamic State fighters raised their flag there in 2014 before sweeping through much of Iraq's north and west.” Newsweek: U.S.-Backed Syria Forces Launch Offensive For Isis-Held Manbij Pocket “U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters have launched an offensive on the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) in a bid to capture a key area of territory in northern Syria used by the group as an entry point for its foreign fighters. The tract of land, known as the Manbij pocket, is a strategic area used by the radical Islamists for logistics on both sides of the Euphrates River. The U.S-led coalition is supporting the operation, which began on Tuesday, led by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with air strikes. Coalition aircraft conducted strikes on the ISIS-held town of Manbij and some U.S. special forces will operate as advisors in the offensive, according to U.S. officials.” The Washington Post: Islamic State Bans Satellite TV In Iraq’s Second-Largest City, Citing Infidel Brainwashing “First they imposed tough restrictions on Internet usage and cellphone networks in Iraq's second-largest city. Now Islamic State militants appear to be targeting another staple for residents there: television. In a video released Wednesday, the extremist group announced a ban on satellite television in Mosul, which it has controlled since June 2014. The video shows the militants rounding up scores of satellite dishes and receivers and crushing them with steamrollers and sledgehammers. According to the bearded militants shown speaking in the video, the campaign is to prevent good Muslims from being ‘brainwashed’ by the sinful images propagated by ‘the infidels.’ The Islamic State is an extremely conservative organization that forcibly veils women, and its members in the video express particular concern about the threat to modesty posed by images of women who are uncovered and wearing makeup.” Reuters: Islamic State Faces Major Assaults On Two Fronts In Iraq, Syria “Islamic State insurgents faced major assaults on two fronts in both Iraq and Syria on Wednesday in what could prove to be some of the biggest operations to roll back their caliphate since they proclaimed it in 2014. In Syria, U.S.-backed militia with thousands of Arab and Kurdish fighters were reported to have captured villages near the strategically-important Turkish border after launching a major operation to cut off Islamic State's last access route to the outside world. In Iraq, Prime Minister Haider Abadi ordered his troops to slow an advance at the gates of Falluja, Islamic State's closest redoubt to the capital Baghdad, to limit harm to civilians, two days after the army poured into rural areas on the city's outskirts.” The New York Times: Militias In Libya Advance On ISIS Stronghold Of Surt With Separate Agendas “Fighters aligned with Libya’s United Nations-backed unity government are advancing along the Mediterranean coast toward the Islamic State stronghold of Surt, signaling the first major assault on territory that, since last year, has become the terrorist group’s largest base outside of Iraq and Syria. Two separate militia forces have fought their way toward the city in recent days, attacking from both the east and the west, in apparently uncoordinated attacks that have reduced the length of Libyan coastline controlled by the Islamic State to 100 miles from about 150 miles. On Wednesday, one of the militias claimed to have seized control of Surt’s power plant, 20 miles west of the city.” Associated Press: US Drone Strike Targets al-Shabab Commander In Somalia “A U.S. drone strike on Friday targeted a senior military commander of al-Shabab in Somalia, the Pentagon said Wednesday, adding that they can't confirm yet if he was killed. U.S. officials also said that American forces provided some support to an African-led military operation in Somalia that targeted Mohamed Dulyadayn, who is believed to be the mastermind of the Garissa University attack in Kenya in April 2015 which killed 148 people. Dulyadayn is also known as Kuno Gamadere.” US News & World Report: Afghan Taliban Fighters In Burqas, Uniforms Kill 6 In Attack “Taliban gunmen disguised in women's burqas and wearing military uniforms underneath stormed a court building in an eastern Afghan province on Wednesday, killing five civilians and a policeman, Afghan officials said. A statement from the Interior Ministry said ‘four terrorists’ were involved in the attack in the city of Ghazni, the capital of the eastern Ghazni province. Jawed Salangi, spokesman for the provincial governor, said a suicide bomber launched the coordinated attack by blowing himself up at the court's entrance, after which three other attackers stormed the building. The ministry said a firefight ensued and the three other attackers were shot and killed by the security forces. Salangi said police were also attempting to defuse an explosives-packed vehicle parked near the courthouse. Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the country's interior minister, said the attackers concealed themselves under women's traditional head-to-toe coverings, called burqas, which they removed during the attack.” Financial Times: Technology Is Crucial In The Fight Against Terrorism “Habits here are changing after 2015’s terrorist incidents: in January three Islamist extremists murdered 17 people in targeted shootings launched against the Charlie Hebdo magazine, police and a Jewish supermarket. In November gunmen and suicide bombers left at least 130 dead and hundreds injured. So what is the city doing to minimise the risk of further attacks and how might this change Paris? In an interview with the FT, Jean-Louis Missika, deputy mayor of Paris, says that technology will play an increasingly important role both in preventing future incidents and in dealing with them if they should occur. The city’s leftwing government has started a 3D-scanning programme for thousands of public and private buildings to help security forces react better to siege situations, a need that was underlined by the hostage takings that took place during last year’s attacks.” Bloomberg: Nigerian Army Says It Freed 236 Possible Boko Haram Captives “The Nigerian army said it rescued 236 people who may have been hostages of the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, in the northeastern state of Borno. Those picked up by the army include 131 children and are being screened to ensure they aren’t members of Boko Haram before they’re moved to camps for internally displaced people, army spokesman Sani Usman said in a statement. The security forces killed five suspected insurgents in the rescue operation, he said. Boko Haram has been fighting since 2009 to impose its own version of Islamic law in Nigeria.” New York Times: Minnesota Trial Of Men Accused Of Trying To Join ISIS Goes To Jury “The case of three Somali-American men charged with attempting to join Islamic State militants in Syria and conspiring to help the group is now in the hands of a jury in Minnesota federal court, court officials said on Wednesday. Mohamed Farah, 22, Abdirahman Daud, 22, and Guled Omar, 21, are charged with conspiring to provide material support to Islamic State and commit murder outside the United States. If convicted, each could receive a life sentence.” New York Post: ISIS Killer Known As "The Bulldozer" Captured By Syrians “The rotund ISIS executioner known only as “The Bulldozer” has been nabbed by Syrian soldiers, according to a report. The 280-pound member of the terror group’s so-called “Chopping Committee” is seen in a new video lying half-naked on a truck, as he is driven off by Syrian troops, the Mirror reported. The black-clad jihadist– who always wears a mask to hide his face– has been seen on video decapitating dozens of prisoners and amputating kids’ limbs.” United States Reuters: U.S. Military Sees Afghan Talks With New Taliban Leader Unlikely “A U.S. military spokesman said on Wednesday that talks with the Afghan Taliban on ending the war in Afghanistan are unlikely any time soon after the militant group chose a conservative religious scholar as its new leader. It was the first time that an American military official has publicly voiced doubts that U.S. President Barack Obama will realize a key foreign policy goal of bringing the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table after years of war before he leaves office in January. Last week, the Afghan Taliban selected Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada as their new leader after the United States killed their former chief, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, in a drone strike in Pakistan.” The Hill: US Commander In Afghanistan Finishing Troop Plan This Week “The new top U.S. commander in Afghanistan will finish his 90-day review of the situation in the war-torn nation this week. Army Lt. Gen. John Nicholson's report will play a central role in determining U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan. ‘He is literally finishing it this week as we speak, and he is presenting it to his military chain of command,’ Army Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland, deputy chief of staff for communication for the Resolute Support Mission, said Wednesday. Cleveland said Nicholson's superiors will be briefed on his review but did not say when or whether it will be publicized. It is widely expected that Nicholson will recommend keeping more troops than planned in Afghanistan in the face of a precarious security situation. There are currently 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. That number is expected to drop to 5,500 troops by the end of the year.”  Fortune: The U.S. Is Warning American Tourists In Europe About Possible Terrorist Attacks “The notice singled out big events this summer like the European Soccer Championship. As the busy summer tourism season gets under way, the U.S. State Department on Tuesday issued a grim warning to Americans planning to visit Europe. The department said that it’s ‘alerting U.S. citizens to the risk of potential terrorist attacks throughout Europe, targeting major events, tourist sites, restaurants, commercial centers and transportation.’ The warning comes in the wake of several terrorist attacks on the continent, namely the March 22 bombings in Brussels and the coordinated attacks in Paris last November.” The Washington Post: Ignoring Turkey, U.S. Backs Kurds In Drive Against ISIS In Syria “ U.S.-backed force of Kurds and Arabs advanced toward an important Islamic State transit town in Syria on Wednesday, brushing aside Turkish opposition to the involvement of Kurds in operations to recapture the strategically vital area. U.S. commandos are accompanying the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as they push north toward Manbij, backed by intense U.S. airstrikes, as part of an offensive aimed at recapturing the town in Aleppo province, said Col. Chris Garver, a U.S. military spokesman. Manbij lies on the main route used by foreign fighters traveling across the Turkish border to join the Islamic State in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the extremist group’s self-proclaimed caliphate. Capturing Manbij would sever the vital supply route, cut off militant fighters and further squeeze the Islamic State in Raqqa, Garver said.” Syria Voice Of America: Civilians Press for More Control In Syria’s Rebel Areas “While most media coverage of the Syria conflict has focused on the clash of arms, in northern Syria, the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule has followed two tracks — the military struggle to oust the government and the effort to establish civilian governance in rebel-held areas. Those efforts have frequently come into conflict, with civilians, seeking to provide basic services, struggling to persuade armed groups that there should be a separation of powers. But in rebel-controlled areas of the city of Aleppo, two sides of Syria’s revolution have cohered more effectively in recent weeks, with less friction between the civilians and the armed groups.” CNN: Airstrikes Kill More Than 58 People In Northern Syria “Two days of airstrikes in northern Syria have killed at least 58 people and wounded nearly 300, according to a hospital director. One strike hit near a hospital in Idlib and forced the facility to close. Workers turned the underground ambulance area into a trauma center, the source said. This is the only part of the hospital in use. An adjacent hospital -- the newly built Ibn Sina Center -- was also damaged in the Monday strike but was unoccupied at the time, he said. The death toll is expected to rise as rescuers continue to pull victims from the rubble. Video posted by the Syrian Civil Defense, a volunteer search-and-rescue operation, showed responders digging through the rubble, searching for survivors. One rescuer could be seen lifting the body of a young boy in his arms, his face covered in dust.” The Wall Street Journal: Rebel Forces Hit Islamic State In Northern Syria “U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab forces advanced toward an Islamic State-controlled city in northern Syria, part of a broader attempt to dislodge the extremist group from a crucial stretch along the Turkish border. The assault near the city of Manbij on Wednesday is the latest on an Islamic State stronghold, coming a little more than a week after Iraqi government forces launched an offensive to retake the city of Fallujah and Kurdish-led forces began a move on Raqqa, Islamic State’s de facto capital in Syria. Islamic State fighters control a 60-mile stretch of the border that has served as a corridor for foreign fighters entering and leaving Syria.” BBC: Syria Conflict: Calls For Air Drops Of Humanitarian Aid To Besieged Towns “France and the UK have called on the UN to begin air drops of humanitarian aid to besieged areas in Syria. Last month, the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) set a deadline of 1 June for the distribution of urgent humanitarian supplies. But only a small amount of aid was delivered on Wednesday and a convoy to the town of Darayya near Damascus did not carry food. The UN Security Council will meet on Friday to discuss the air drops. British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said the Syrian government had failed to deliver the widespread humanitarian access called for by the international community.” Turkey BBC: Can Russia And Turkey Heal Rift? “Since the downing of the Russian jet by Turkish forces in November, relations between Turkey and Russia have been in a pattern of controlled tension. The war of words has been interesting to watch. On Tuesday, came another round. Turkey accused Russia of an attack on a hospital in Idlib - something Moscow denied. In retaliation, Moscow called on Ankara to withdraw troops from northern Iraq immediately. Later in the day though, a departure from the months-long, tough rhetoric came surprisingly from Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Mr Erdogan said he was concerned at how relations had been sacrificed over what he called ‘a pilot error’, referring to the downing of the jet which Turkey claims had violated its air space.” Reuters: Turkey Shells Islamic State In Syria West Of U.S.-Backed Assault “The Turkish army killed five Islamic State militants in Syria in cross-border shelling, Turkish military sources said on Thursday, hitting positions west of where an offensive on militants was launched by Syrian fighters with U.S. backing. Thousands of Syrian rebels supported by a small U.S. special operations team launched a major offensive on Tuesday to drive Islamic State from the ‘Manbij pocket’ near the Turkish border, which Islamic State has used as a logistics hub. Washington informed Ankara of the Manbij operation, but it was beyond the range of Turkish artillery and Turkey would not back a campaign in which Syrian Kurdish fighters played a role, another Turkish military source said on Wednesday.” Associated Press: US Rocket Given To Kurdish Group Ended Up With PKK “Turkey says that U.S.-backed Kurdish militia in Syria are providing arms to Kurdish rebels fighting Ankara, citing as evidence a joint U.S.- and Swedish-made anti-tank rocket reportedly seized from the rebels. Turkey considers the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and views it as a terrorist organization. The Syrian Kurdish force, however, is a U.S. ally in the fight against the Islamic State group. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Wednesday that the rocket seized during anti-PKK operations near the Syrian border showed that the YPG was transferring U.S.-provided arms to the PKK.” Reuters: Turkey Not Contributing To U.S.-Backed Syria Operation Near Manbij: Source “Turkey is not contributing to a U.S.-backed operation by Syrian fighters, some of them Kurdish, against Islamic State in the last tract of territory the group holds near the Turkish border, a Turkish military source said on Wednesday. Ankara had been informed by Washington about the operation near Manbij, in a region some 40 km (25 miles) from its border, but could not support it because of the involvement of Kurdish YPG militia fighters and because it was beyond the range of artillery stationed in Turkey, the source said. ‘Turkey has no contribution to the support that the U.S. gives to the YPG in Syria's Manbij region. Turkey was informed by the United States about the operation, but any contribution is out of the question,’ the source said.” Afghanistan Deutsche Welle: Taliban Storm Afghan Court After Suicide Blast “The raid started when a suicide bomber detonated his charge at the gate to the court and four more attackers forced their way inside, Ghazni officials said on Wednesday. All of the assailants died in the subsequent shootout. ‘Four civilian visitors and a policeman were killed in the attack but our forces were on high alert and shot dead the other bombers in no time,’ said city police chief Aminullah Amarkhil. He added that the police were defusing ‘a van full of explosives’ that the terrorists planned to use in the attack. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. The militant group has been increasingly targeting court officials in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Several days ahead of the Wednesday incident, the insurgents vowed to avenge six of their prisoners who were hanged for terrorism in May.” Reuters: Local Aid Workers Gunned Down In Eastern Afghanistan “Three local employees of an international aid organization affiliated with the Aga Khan Development Network were shot and killed by gunmen in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, officials said. Two men and a woman working for Focus Humanitarian Assistance were killed in their vehicle while traveling on a road in rural Parwan province, north of Kabul, according to Noor Aqa Sameh, a district governor in the province. He blamed Taliban militants for the attack, but the group did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It does not control major territory in Parwan but sometimes threatens roadways and launch attacks, Sameh said. Locked in a war between Islamist insurgents and the NATO-backed government, Afghanistan is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world for aid workers. Threats of kidnapping and bombings have forced many organizations to scale back programs.” Yemen Sputnik: Yemen's Conflicting Sides Exchange Prisoners For First Time - Reports “Yemen's Houthi militants released 16 members of the pro-government militia, whom they held as prisoners, in return for 19 released Houthis in the first exchange of detainees between the warring sides since the start of the conflict, local media reported Wednesday. According to the Mosnad news outlet, the exchange was carried out in the Gharab region in the eastern part of the Taiz province. According to earlier media reports, Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels during the UN-mediated talks in Kuwait agreed to exchange the prisoners of war before Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, which will begin on June 6. Yemen has been engulfed in a military conflict between the government headed by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and Houthi rebels, which have been supported by army units loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, since 2014.” Saudi Arabia Reuters: Saudi Arabia Sentences 14 To Death For Terrorism: Lawyer “Saudi Arabia sentenced 14 people to death for terrorism on Wednesday after they were convicted of attacks on police in the Shi'ite Muslim minority area of Qatif in the Eastern Province, scene of past anti-government protests, their lawyer said. Another nine people were given jail sentences of three to 15 years and one was acquitted, their defense lawyer, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters. The sentences could further deepen resentment among the kingdom's Shi'ites, some of whom already complaining of discrimination in the predominantly Western-allied Sunni Muslim country.” Egypt USA Today: Egypt: Signal Heard From Downed Jet's Black Boxes “A French navy ship searching for the EgyptAir plane that crashed last month picked up signals deep in the Mediterranean Sea thought to be from the black boxes of the doomed Airbus A320, Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said Wednesday. EgyptAir Fight 804 went down May 19 en route from Paris to Cairo, killing all 66 passengers and crew on board. Radar tracking showed the plane turned abruptly and sharply at 38,000 feet before plummeting into the sea. The cause for the crash is not determined and no militant group has claimed responsibility for bringing down the aircraft. However, Egypt’s civil aviation minister Sherif Fathi has said he believes terrorism is a more likely explanation than equipment failure.” Reuters: Egypt Opens Gaza Crossing For Second Time In A Month “Egypt opened its border with Gaza for the second time in a month on Wednesday, giving Palestinians a four-day respite from a closure stemming from friction between Cairo and the enclave's Islamist rulers. Egypt's shuttering of Rafah and destruction of cross-border smuggling tunnels, along with tight restrictions imposed by Israel along its own frontier with Gaza, have deepened economic misery for many of the 1.9 million Palestinians in the enclave. The crossing will be open for four days starting Wednesday and busses will transport Palestinians on either side of the border, an Egyptian border official said. It will close again on Friday and reopen on Saturday and Sunday, the official added. The crossing will open for humanitarian cases, medical patients, and students.” Middle East Haaretz: Israeli Arab Sentenced To 25 Years For Car-Ramming, Stabbing Attack “An Israeli Arab who carried out a car-ramming attack in Gan Shmuel, just north of Hadera, last October was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Wednesday and ordered to pay a total of 340,000 shekels (about $88,230) in reparations to his victims. Ala Raed Zyud, 21, from the Israeli-Arab city of Umm al-Fahm, was sentenced in a Haifa District Court after being charged in November with four counts of attempted murder and unlawful possession of a knife with a racist motive. The reparation money is to be divided between Zyud's four victims in the amounts of 150,000 shekels, 80,000 shekels, 70,000 shekels and 40,000 shekels. Zyud first rammed his car into a crowd at a bus stop at about 7:30 P.M. on October 12, 2015 at the Alon junction on Route 65. He then exited the vehicle and began stabbing people. Zyud confessed to the crime after his arrest.” United Kingdom BBC: IS Suspect 'Jihadi Jack's Parents Charged With Terrorism Offences “The parents of a man alleged to have travelled to Iraq to join the so-called Islamic State group have been charged with terrorism offences. Jack Letts, 20, from Oxford, labelled ‘Jihadi Jack’ by some newspapers, is said to have left the UK at 18. Mr Letts' parents, John and Sally, have been charged with making money available for suspected terrorist activities. Previously the pair said they sent their son money for food and glasses. John Letts, 55, of Chilswell Road, Oxford, has been charged with three counts of entering or becoming concerned in an arrangement to make money available, knowing or having reasonable cause to suspect that it may be used for terrorism.” Germany The New York Times: German Vote On Armenian Genocide Riles Tempers, And Turkey “If modern Germany has a mantra, it is that people should learn from their history. Yet Berlin’s latest attempt at reconciliation with the past focuses on the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks a century ago. And that gesture toward atonement has riled tempers on all sides of the already strained European relations with Turkey. The argument is set to peak on Thursday in a debate in the German Parliament, which is expected to overwhelmingly approve a resolution that officially declares the century-old Armenian massacres to be genocide — and condemns the then-German Empire, allied with Ankara, for failing to act on information it had at the time about the killings. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said late Tuesday that he had warned Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany in a telephone call that there could be consequences if the resolution passes.” CNS News: With Eye On Terrorism And Russia, Germany Plans First Increase In Troop Numbers Since Cold War “Germany’s next budget will see the nation’s first increase in troop numbers since the Cold War, with the cabinet set to debate whether or not the country will take on a bigger military role in international affairs to ‘maintain global security.’ The new budget as well as a draft defense plan – outlined in a government policy white paper reported by Deutsche Welle and other outlets last week – are seen as a response to current security concerns, including the Islamist terrorist attacks in Europe, the refugee crisis, and Russia’s actions in Ukraine.” Europe Daily Caller: Islamic State Might Be About To Lose Its ‘Last Remaining Funnel To Europe’ “Thousands of US backed Kurdish and Arab forces in Syria launched an offensive Tuesday against ISIS’s last stronghold near the Turkish Border known as the Manbij pocket. A US military official described the Manbij pocket to Reuters as ISIS’s ‘last remaining funnel’ to Europe. Preparations for the operation have been underway for some time and will likely take weeks to complete. The Manbij pocket is a critical logistics point along the Euphrates river. ISIS routinely uses the Manbij pocket to ferry foreign fighters between Syria and Turkey. Turkey is the main entry point for European foreign fighters going to Syria to join ISIS.” Brazil Reuters: Brazil, After Europe Attacks, Raises Guard Against Olympic Terror “Brazil is raising its guard and tightening security ahead of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro after the recent attacks in Paris and Brussels and a threat by an alleged Islamic State militant. ‘A bell went off in terms of terrorism,’ Admiral Ademir Sobrinho, the chairman of Brazil's joint chiefs of staff told Reuters, adding that Brazil has ramped up cooperation with foreign governments to prevent possible attacks from radical groups such as Islamic State or from a lone wolf. With the Olympics set to start Aug. 5 and Rio expecting as many as 600,000 foreign visitors, Brazil is sharing intelligence, conducting security drills and setting up joint facilities. In addition to a police hub where officers from over 50 countries will help monitor security at the Games, Brazil will also operate an anti-terrorism center with experts from nations including the United States, Britain, France and Spain.” Technology The New York Times: American Tech Giants vs. The Nation-State “Virtual reality is all fun and games, until your avatar gets strip-searched at the border. Things haven’t gone that far yet, but it might be time to get ready. As Farhad Manjoo reports, the biggest American technology companies appear to be headed for a global clash with governments that want to curb their practices. The most familiar controls have to do with the storage and movement of personal data, which compelled Amazon to build data centers in Germany to abide with laws on keeping personal information inside that country. At the time, an Amazon executive called German law ‘a form of customer demand.’” Fox News: Facebook, Twitter, Google, Microsoft Vow To Fight Online Hate In Europe. Why Stop There? “First the good news. The European Commission and EU member states together with Facebook, Twitter, Google/YouTube and Microsoft unveiled a code of conduct this week that includes a series of commitments to combat the spread of illegal hate speech online in Europe. This is a welcome, if not long overdue development. The Charlie Hebdo assassinations and continuing spate of terrorist mass murders in France and Belgium may have outraged the civilized world, but terror groups use Twitter and other Social Media to portray the Islamist killers as heroes to young Muslims in Europe and beyond. It is estimated that last fall ISIS was sending out 200,000 tweets a day! Yet, beyond terrorism is the distressing mainstreaming of hate and anti-Semitism in Europe. It was through social media postings in the UK, that the shocking widespread anti-Jewish animus of officials of Britain’s Labour Party was first exposed. It was social media platforms that helped the Pegida movement and other anti-immigrant parties to make serious inroads among German voters.” Arabic Language Clips Financing of Terrorism Almmlke: (Sudan): Businessman Indicted For Terror Financing And Money Laundering Khartoum Criminal Court yesterday charged a businessman in his 20s with money laundering and financing terrorism. He was apprehended by security authorities at Khartoum Airport in possession of 884,000 Saudi riyals ($236,000) concealed inside his carry-on bag. He was detained in the departure hall of Khartoum Airport after failing to present documents pertaining to the amounts in his possession. The court, headed by Judge Dr. Osama Ahmed Abdullah, ruled that the defendant had violated Articles 31 and 32 of the money laundering and terrorism financing law. ISIS BBC Arabic: Fallujah: Sack Of Flour Costs $850 Under ISIS Details are unfolding about the horrific conditions endured by civilians trapped inside the Iraqi city of Fallujah and the huge risks they face when attempting to escape. A resident was quoted as saying that the price of a single sack of flour in the city, conquered by ISIS in January 2014, has skyrocketed to $850. Meanwhile, a family had to feed itself with grass during its escape from the city, which took four days, according to some media reports. Muslim Brotherhood Egypt Today: The Issue Of The Muslim Brotherhood Schools 'Under The Dome' The Education Committee in the Egyptian Parliament is to open discussions on the issue of Muslim Brotherhood schools, also known as "June 30 Schools." The Committee is expected to draft recommendations regarding the schools at the level of governorates. This comes after the Brotherhood Asset Freeze Committee, in coordination with the Board of the June 30 Schools in the Ministry of Education, announced the restructuring of all the 110 seized schools. Fayez Salem, a member of the Education Committee, stressed that changing the name of the Brotherhood schools to "June 30 Schools" and placing their members under financial and administrative surveillance change nothing, adding: "By these (measures) we may control the money, but not the minds of the students." Masralarabia: (Egyptian) Minister Of Awqaf Cautions Against The Brotherhood's Economic State Sheikh Mohammed Mokhtar Gomaa, Egyptian Minister of Islamic Endowments, warned against what he called "the economic country of the Brotherhood". He stressed that this economic entity poses a threat to Egypt's national security and is being used to finance terrorist operations and support extremists. The Egyptian Minister of Awqaf wrote on his official website: "Should the terrorist Brotherhood group collapse politically and socially and go bankrupt intellectually, there is still an important aspect the group's leaders and its members are desperate to maintain, and that is the economic and financial structure of the group. This structure can be called the Brotherhood's 'economic country', which is no less dangerous than the political aspect. This is because it serves as the link that binds the members and activists of the terrorist group in a tight knot through purchase of the poor souls and others on the fringes (of society)." Houthi Yemen Akhbar: Delegation Representing Houthis And (Former Yemeni President) Saleh Demands From Al-Zayani The Release Of Money Being Held Abroad The delegation representing the Houthis and the party of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the peace talks in Kuwait stressed the need for the release of "withheld money" in some countries. They added that the money belongs to Yemeni companies, merchants and investors, but refrained from revealing their identity. This came during a meeting of the delegation in Kuwait, on Wednesday evening, with Abdullatif Al Zayani, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council States.