Eye on Extremism - June 21, 2016

Eye on Extremism June 21, 2016 Counter Extremism Project The Washington Post: New Tool To Take Down Terrorism Images Online Spurs Debate On What Constitutes Extremist Content “President Obama suggested that extremist information spread online inspired a Florida man to commit the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history at a gay nightclub in Orlando last week — the latest in a long line of terrorist attacks in which Islamist propaganda played some role in radicalizing the assailant. Now a Dartmouth College researcher and a nonprofit group say they have created a technology that can help Internet companies instantly detect images and videos generated by terrorists and their supporters and remove them from their platforms. It is, they say, a way to cleanse popular online sites of gory videos and propaganda from the Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS and Daesh, that can serve to incite and inspire people to commit acts of violence… The White House has signaled its support. ‘We welcome the launch of initiatives such as the Counter Extremism Project’s National Office for Reporting Extremism (NORex) that enables companies to address terrorist activity on their platforms and better respond to the threat posed by terrorists’ activities online,” said Lisa Monaco, President Obama’s assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism.’” International Business Times: Fighting ISIS With Computer Code: Professor Builds Software To Combat Daesh Propaganda “A computer scientist has reportedly developed a new technology that can be used by social media platforms to help combat the spread of terrorist content and propaganda online. Dartmouth University professor Hany Farid, working alongside the non-profit Counter Extremism Project (CEP), claims to have built new cutting-edge software capable of automatically flagging photos, videos and even audio files uploaded by groups like Al-Qaeda or the so-called Islamic State (Isis). The project, part-funded by Microsoft, uses a technique called 'robust hashing' to identity jihadist content – even if it has been altered before being uploaded to the web. The CEP has built a massive database full of terrorist-related content – imagery, videos, and audio recordings – to help kick off the tracking process.” Digital Journal: Op-Ed: Anti-Online Terrorism Software Ready, But Will It Prevent Terror? “Since extremists started recruiting online, people have been looking for ways of stopping them. The new solution for online recruiting, appropriately enough, is closely related to the software used to combat child pornography. The endless videos of atrocities online did more than just recruit. They also sparked a major effort to shut them down. The Washington based Counter Extremism Project says its software will do the job. The idea is to use the software to find digital signatures and identifiers of the terrorism materials quickly to enable companies like Facebook and Twitter to shut them down and prevent re-posting. The obvious questions are whether it will work, what the reaction will be.” The Star Online: Software Unveiled To Tackle Online Extremism, Violence “A software tool unveiled recently aims to help online firms quickly find and eliminate extremist content used to spread and incite violence and attacks.  The Counter Extremism Project, a nongovernment group based in Washington, proposed its software be used in a system similar to one used to prevent the spread on online child pornography.  The software was developed by Dartmouth University computer scientist Hany Farid, who also worked on the PhotoDNA system now widely used by Internet companies to stop the spread of content showing sexual exploitation or pornography involving children. But social media firms have yet to commit to using the tool for extremist content, and some are sceptical about it, according to an industry source.” Washington Examiner: Orlando Highlights America's Problem With ISIS On Twitter “On June 10, the Obama administration announced that the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State has made significant progress in countering the terrorist group online. Less than 48 hours later, a mass murderer who radicalized himself online and swore allegiance to the Islamic State opened fire on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla… Tara Maller, spokeswoman for the Counter Extremism Project, said governments have taken strides toward thwarting the Islamic State's social media campaign, but the online war is far from won.” Next Gov: A New Software Tool Could Help Stop The Next Isis Recruiting Video “The Islamic State recruits supporters and fellow travelers from around the world largely by spreading photos and videos of its violent exploits online. What if social-media companies could automatically detect and delete such imagery? The Counter Extremism Project, working with Dartmouth University computer scientist Hany Farid and funding from Microsoft, have developed a new method for doing just that. They hope to provide the software to help companies like Twitter, Facebook and Google stop extremist groups from distributing such material on social media.” Politico: Morning Tech “Some in the tech industry are quietly expressing skepticism about a new proposal to employ the same software-driven reporting model used to rid the internet of child pornography to combat Islamic State propaganda online. But the plan has an important new backer: the White House. The effort is spearheaded by the Microsoft-funded Dartmouth computer scientist Hany Farid, who co-developed the anti-child-exploitation tool and the Counter Extremism Project, a New York City-based outfit led by former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Mark Wallace.” Reuters: During Siege, Orlando Gunman Told Police He Was 'Islamic Soldier' “The Florida nightclub killer called himself an ‘Islamic soldier’ and threatened to strap hostages into explosive vests in calls with police during the three-hour siege, according to transcripts released by the FBI on Monday. From inside the gay Orlando nightclub, the gunman, Omar Mateen told police negotiators to tell America to stop bombing Syria and Iraq and that was why he was ‘out here right now.’ The conversations shed more light on the possible motivations of Mateen, who killed 49 people and injured 53 in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.” CNN: Revelation Of March ISIS Battle Highlights Risks For U.S. Troops “A previously unpublicized battle with ISIS so intense that it saw a U.S. service member awarded a Silver Star is highlighting the increasing danger U.S. troops are facing as they advise and assist forces in Syria and Iraq. CNN has learned that Navy SEAL Charles Keating IV participated in a major clash in Syria in March for which he posthumously received the nation's third-highest award for combat valor. In the March battle, more than 100 ISIS operatives assaulted Peshmerga lines and Keating, serving as an advisor then as in May, moved in to help repel the attack. As ISIS fighters sent a car bomb towards him, Keating led a team to counterattack with sniper and rocket fire.” The Wall Street Journal: Bombs Follow Aid Into Besieged Syrian Towns “Hours after an aid convoy delivered the first food assistance to the besieged Damascus suburb of Daraya in three years, Syrian regime forces unleashed a hail of bombs and mortars. Since that delivery on June 10, more than 300 barrel bombs—oil drums packed with explosives—have rained down on the rebel-held town, local officials and residents said. It is a practice that, with a recent increase in aid, has become more visible: When the regime grants access to humanitarian-relief groups in areas it is besieging, the gesture is often closely followed by punishment. The bombardment of Daraya has undermined what had been a tiny victory for the U.N. and other humanitarian groups pushing for access to some of the 19 areas of Syria where an estimated half-million people live under siege. Most are in rebel-held areas besieged by the regime.” The Wall Street Journal: Afghan War Rules Leave U.S. Troops Wondering When It’s OK To Shoot “In the amorphous twilight of the Afghan war, it isn’t enough to draw a bead on the enemy. Before they shoot, U.S. troops have to navigate a tricky legal and political question: When is it OK for them to kill Taliban? The operation late last month in Elbak, a flyspeck village in Kandahar province, exposed the complexity of implementing President Barack Obama ’s Afghan strategy in the mud-brick villages, steep mountains and vast poppy fields where the combat takes place. With their Afghan allies walking into a possible ambush that night, U.S. commanders, monitoring video feeds and radio traffic miles from the front, had to judge whether enemy fighters who weren’t actually fighting constituted an imminent threat.” The New York Times: Smugglers In West Bank Open Door To Jobs In Israel, And Violence “Since the Tel Aviv attack, Israel’s Defense Ministry has promised to extend a more effective form of the barrier to the south, an area heavily trafficked by smugglers. But the government’s other response to the shooting, the cancellation of 83,000 special permits for Palestinians to cross during the holy month of Ramadan, may reveal how difficult it will be to stanch the flow. The challenge, said Mr. Nuriel, now a counterterrorism expert at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, is filtering potential terrorists from ordinary workers. ‘You have to decide,’ he said, ‘which fish to catch and which fish you can allow to swim.’” Bloomberg: Turkey Press Crackdown Seen Widening To Human Rights Groups “Turkey jailed three leading press freedom and human rights advocates, charging them with disseminating terrorist propaganda after they joined a solidarity campaign for a newspaper focusing on Kurdish issues. Turkey has slid toward the bottom of world press freedom rankings during the 14-year rule of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, now president, and his Islamist-leaning Justice and Development Party, or AKP. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said last year that Turkey has one of the world’s worst records for jailing journalists, along with China and Egypt.” United States CNN: On CNN: Four U.S. Military Advisers Wounded In Syria “Four U.S. military advisers were lightly wounded earlier this month in northern Syria by attackers who were believed to be part of ISIS, CNN has learned. The Pentagon has not yet spoken publicly about the June 9 incident, but several defense officials told CNN it happened when an anti-tank round was fired close to the advisers' position and exploded a vehicle near them. The troops suffered light shrapnel wounds and are believed to have returned to duty. The officials also did not immediately know if the troops involved returned fire at the attackers. While the attackers are believed to be ISIS, the U.S. military is not certain of their identity.” The Washington Post: Diplomats’ Frustration Unlikely To Change Obama’s Policy On Syria “Few things frustrate President Obama more than what he calls the ‘Washington playbook’ — a view that U.S. military firepower is the solution to most of the toughest foreign policy problems. Last week, 51 State Department officials wrote a letter of dissent to the administration’s Syria policy that seemed to come directly out of that playbook. At issue is how to stop the killing in Syria that has taken more than 400,000 lives and displaced millions. The dissent cable was notable for its large, if not unprecedented, number of signatories, reflecting the broad dismay and frustration inside the State Department with the policy toward Syria. It also highlights a roiling debate inside the administration over whether Obama has been too reluctant to use military power to alleviate suffering in Syria.” Syria Reuters: Islamic State Launches Counter-Attacks On U.S.-Backed Forces, Syrian Army “The Islamic State group launched a counter-attack against fighters trying to capture the Syrian city of Manbij on Monday, inflicting heavy casualties on the U.S.-backed forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the militants said. The monitor said the militants won back three villages south of the besieged city in a surprise assault against fighters from the U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces. At least 28 SDF fighters were killed. Two years after IS proclaimed its caliphate to rule over all Muslims from swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, its many foes are advancing on a number of fronts in both countries. Their aim is to close in on its two capitals, Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq.” BBC: Jordanian Soldiers Killed In Bomb Attack At Syria Border “At least six Jordanian soldiers have been killed and 14 hurt in a car bomb attack near a makeshift refugee camp on the Syria-Jordan border, officials say. The attack took place at about 05:30 (02:30 GMT) in the remote Rukban area, a few hundred metres from the camp. Jordan's military said several other ‘hostile’ vehicles were destroyed. More than 50,000 refugees are stranded at Rukban, awaiting entry. Jordan currently only allows in about 50 to 100 each day, citing security concerns. Many of them are believed to have fled areas controlled by the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) in Homs province and neighbouring Raqqa, where forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have made gains in recent months with the support of Russian air strikes.” Iraq BBC: Fight To Drive 'IS' From Iraq Far From Over “Falluja may mark another turning point in the fight against so-called Islamic State (IS). And yet, as a potential humanitarian crises unfolds, defeat could still be snatched from the jaws of victory. Iraq's security forces are, at last, reversing IS gains. Falluja was the first Iraqi city IS captured and the start of a rout. But the Iraqi forces that fled, offering barely any resistance, are finally turning the tables on their enemy. Over the past 90 days, they have been retaking territory almost as fast as they lost it.” CNN: Millions Driven From Iraq's Tormented Lands Have Nothing To Return To “According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), by the end of 2015 Iraq's unending conflicts had driven 4.4 million people from their homes, and a further half a million into exile. That number has only grown since then, with humanitarian agencies estimating that nearly 14,000 families (up to 84,000 individuals) may have left Falluja and surrounding areas since a government offensive to retake the city began on May 23, according to the UNHCR. Thousands of homes have been damaged or destroyed in the fighting. Vast stretches of what was Falluja have been pummeled by bombardment and battle into a moonscape of concrete dust and rubble. It's the same fate shared by hundreds of thousands in this tormented land, where so many have lost everything and have no home to return to.” Reuters: Battle For Falluja Will End In Western District, Says Iraqi Commander “U.S.-backed Iraqi forces fighting Islamic State militants in Falluja are advancing toward jihadist strongholds in western districts where they expect the final push to recapture the city will take place, the Iraqi commander said on Monday. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory on Friday after troops reached the center of the city, an hour's drive west of Baghdad, but an official in the U.S.-led coalition said on Sunday Iraqi forces had so far taken only half of Falluja. The operation to recapture the Iraqi city longest held by Islamic State entered its fifth week on Monday, and fighting has forced more than 85,000 residents to flee to overwhelmed government-run camps.” Turkey Reuters: Turkish Army, Coalition Air Strikes Kill 23 Islamic State Fighters In Syria: TV “Artillery fire from Turkey and coalition air strikes killed 23 Islamic State militants in northern Syria, broadcaster Haberturk reported on Monday. Haberturk said a total of 33 strikes targeted militants thought to be preparing an attack on Turkey. It did not say when the operation was carried out. The U.S.-led coalition has stepped up air strikes against Islamic State positions in the area in recent weeks, in response to rocket attacks by the militants on the border town of Kilis. Kilis, just across the frontier from an Islamic State-controlled region of Syria, has been hit by rockets more than 70 times this year. More than 20 people have been killed and parts of the town reduced to rubble.” Deutsche Welle: Turkey Detains Journalists On Terror Charges “Reporters Without Borders' Erol Onderoglu was charged Monday, along with journalist Ahmet Nesin and prominent academic Sebnem Korur Fincanci, for supporting an embattled pro-Kurdish newspaper, reports said. The press freedom group, known by its French acronym RSF, condemned the arrests as ‘an unbelievable low for press freedom in Turkey.’ The European Union has called on Turkey to relax its terror laws and stop prosecuting journalists for publishing ‘propaganda’ if it is to join the bloc. The EU is seeking Ankara's help to curb migrant arrivals in Europe, and in return has offered visa-free access to member states for Turks, increased aid, and the acceleration of accession talks. But Turkey's President Erdogan has refused to amend the laws, saying Turkish authorities see ‘no difference’ between individuals carrying weapons or indulging in ‘terrorist’ propaganda.” Afghanistan Fox News: More Than 20 Killed In Separate Afghanistan Bombings “A Taliban suicide bomber killed 14 Nepalese security guards in an attack Monday on their minibus in the Afghan capital, Kabul, the Interior Ministry and an Afghan security official said, in one of a string of bombings that killed more than 20 people. Elsewhere in Afghanistan, a bomb rigged to a motorbike killed 10 Afghan civilians during morning rush hour in a busy market in a province in the northeast. And later Monday in Kabul, a second Taliban bombing killed an Afghan civilian and wounded five people, including a provincial council member who was the intended target of that attack, authorities said.” The New York Times: Bomb Kills Foreign Security Contractors In Kabul “A Taliban suicide bomber attacked a minibus carrying Nepalese and Indian security contractors to work at the Canadian Embassy early Monday, killing 14 people in one of the deadliest attacks on foreign workers in the Afghan capital, the police and government officials said. The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility for the bombing, along with another explosion in the city on Monday morning that wounded a Kabul provincial council member. The twin explosions shattered a relative calm in Kabul during the holy month of Ramadan, which began in early June, and underscored the Taliban’s rejection of a request by the United Nations for a cease-fire that would last the month.” Yemen Associated Press: Yemeni Officials Say Coalition Airstrike Kills 8 Civilians “An airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition on Tuesday mistakenly killed eight civilians building a home in an area on the border between Yemen's southern provinces of Lahj and Taiz, security officials said. They said the airstrike, which also wounded nine civilians, was called in by pro-government fighters who were locked in a fierce battle with Shiite rebels for control over a mountain overlooking a key military base that is home to forces from Yemen alongside allied troops from Sudan and the United Arab Emirates.” Egypt The Washington Post: Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood Faces A Dilemma: Religion Or Politics? “The audacious decision of Tunisia’s Ennahda movement to separate politics and religion has raised the question of whether Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood would follow Ennahda’s course. Pundits think the current crisis of the Brotherhood might prompt its leaders to consider taking a similar move and separating the two realms. Furthermore, while some of the Brotherhood’s exiled figures highlighted that they are weighing the idea of separating political and religious activities, others reject it as not viable or realistic. No matter the outcome of the Brotherhood’s ongoing discussion over this issue, assuming it exists, the movement faces many hurdles that preclude reaching a decision similar to that of Ennahda’s.” Reuters: Egypt Investigators To Finish Repairing Crashed Jet's Black Box Memory Units In Hours “Egyptian aviation investigators will finish on Monday repairing memory units from the black box recorders of an EgyptAir flight that crashed into the Mediterranean last month, a senior investigation official said. Extracting data from the memory units of the Cockpit Voice Recorder and Flight Data Recorder from EgyptAir Flight MS804 should help the country's Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee explain why the plane went down on May 19. The repairs will be complete ‘within hours’ after which the committee will be able to determine how easy it will be to extract the data, said the official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak. Both black box recorders from the Airbus A320, whose crash en route from Paris to Cairo killed all 66 people on board, were recovered from the Mediterranean last week.” Middle East The New York Times: Iran Says It Foiled One Of The ‘Biggest Terrorism Plots Ever’ “Iran’s Intelligence Ministry issued a statement on Monday saying it had foiled one of the country’s ‘biggest terrorism plots ever.’ Several people were arrested, and bombs and other explosives were seized from ‘Wahhabi takfiri groups,’ the statement said, employing a term commonly used in Iran for supporters of the Islamic State militant group. They had been planning bomb attacks on June 16, the anniversary of the death of the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad, Khadija, the statement said. The Iranian authorities frequently say they have discovered plots and arrested terrorists, but they rarely provide evidence. The Islamic State has organized bombings and assassinations almost everywhere in the region, as well as in Europe, though the group has not successfully staged attacks in Iran.” Haaretz: Israel Razes Home Of Palestinian Who Killed U.S. Citizen Taylor Force In Jaffa Rampage Israeli security forces demolished overnight Monday the home of the Palestinian who killed U.S. citizen Taylor Force in a stabbing spree in Jaffa in March.  The demolition of Bashar Masalha's home in the West Bank village of Hajjah was carried out by IDF forces, Border Police and the Civil Administration officials, the military said in a statement. Masalha stabbed Force to death and wounded eleven others before he was subdued near the Jaffa promenade. Footage of the attack purportedly shows that Masalha was still alive after he was shot, and that, lying on the ground, a police volunteer shot and killed him. Nigeria Deutsche Welle: UNHCR Report: Worsening Refugee Situation In Africa “The latest report from the United Nation's refugee agency (UNHCR), titled ‘Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2015,’ paints a grim picture of the global refugee crisis. More than 65 million people around the world have had to flee their homes due to war, persecution, violence and human rights violations. These figures have never been so high since the UNHCR was established in 1950. Most affected, however, was the African continent. In late 2015, about 16 million people in Africa were either displaced or forced to flee to other countries. This figure increased by 1.5 million from 2014. Most of these people, about 10.7 million of them, were internally displaced persons (IDPs). The remaining 5.2 million were people that fled their home countries. The vast majority of these refugees, roughly 4.4 million, sought refuge in neighboring countries.” Daily Mail: Boko Haram Kills Two In Nigeria Village Raid: Residents At least two people were killed in a Boko Haram raid on a village in northeast Nigeria on the border with Cameroon, residents told AFP on Monday. The attack happened early on Saturday in Wumbi in the Kalabalge district of northern Borno state and forced hundreds of residents to cross into Cameroon, they said. ‘Boko Haram gunmen attacked our village around 4:00 am (0300 GMT) and killed two people while everybody crossed the river into Cameroon,’ resident Konto Yamani told AFP by telephone. United Kingdom The Guardian: Jo Cox Killing: Thomas Mair To Face Judge Under Terrorism Protocols “A man accused of murdering the Labour MP Jo Cox has appeared again in court, ahead of a further appearance next week when he will face a judge under terrorism protocols. Mair is charged with murder, grievous bodily harm, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence, and possession of an offensive weapon. Cox, the MP for Batley and Spen, was killed on Thursday outside Birstall public library, where she had been planning to run a constituency surgery, the court was told. The 41-year-old mother of two was declared dead at 1.48pm after being shot three times and stabbed repeatedly.” Germany The Local Germany: Germany Wants To Strengthen Gun Registry To Fight Terror “The plan would make is easier to exchange information about weapons across the EU as well as trace the entire ownership history of a weapon. State interior ministers have submitted a proposal to federal Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière regarding the trade and background of weapons, according to publishing group Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). ‘Terrorism and criminality are not stopped by national borders,’ said Mecklenburg-Vorpommern interior minister, Lorenz Caffier. ‘Considering the attacks on Paris and Brussels, this data exchange is overdue and important for saving lives.’ In Germany there are around 5.8 million privately owned guns registered with the national gun registry. Currently the type of gun, make, serial number, date of purchase and name of the owner are entered into the registry.” Europe Reuters: Brussels Central Station Evacuated Amid Heightened Security Fears “Brussels central train station was evacuated for about an hour on Sunday because of a suspicious suitcase amid heightened security fears in the Belgian capital after a huge anti-terror operation led to three men being charged with terrorism offences. The suitcase later turned out to be a false alarm but shows Belgium's high state of alert as the Euro 2016 soccer tournament is under way in neighboring France, three months after Islamist bombers killed 32 people in Brussels. Investigators say the attackers had links to militants who carried out attacks in Paris in November.” The Wall Street Journal: EU Extends Libya Naval Mission “The European Union extended its naval operation to combat people-smuggling gangs in the Mediterranean Sea by a year and added two new tasks for the bloc’s military: training the country’s naval forces and stopping weapons reaching Islamic State. The bloc’s naval mission—dubbed Operation Sophia—was set up to fight human smuggling by gathering intelligence, arresting smugglers and destroying their boats after rescuing migrants. The EU said the naval operation has already saved the lives of 16,000 people attempting to cross to Europe, according to senior EU officials.” The Washington Post: How do domestic terrorists become radicalized? “The mass shooting in Orlando last week reignited an international discussion on domestic terrorism — and more specifically, of how Westerners become radicalized enough to translate extremist ideology into violent action. Pundits are quick to speculate, and it’s easy to see why: If we’re able to pinpoint why domestic terrorists become a threat, then perhaps in the future we’ll be able to prevent similar attacks. Motivations to take violent action will vary from case to case, and it’s not unreasonable to think all theories might build upon one another to provide a full picture of how radicalization happens. Given those parameters, how best should we characterize the factors that lead people to become violent? What can we learn from these theories to stem radicalization or, at least, to better monitor those who might become threats?” The Huffington Post: Will Fear of Terror, Disease Deter Summer Travelers? “The recent terrorist attacks Orlando, Paris and Brussels, bombings in Turkey and reports of the Zika virus making its way around the world may have you wondering whether it’s wise to jet off for a vacation this summer. After all, Orlando is home to Walt Disney World, the ‘most magical place on Earth’ and one of America’s top tourist destinations. But even that title couldn’t keep prevent the massacre of dozens at Pulse nightclub, while Paris, famed romantic getaway and ‘City of Lights,’ was attacked last November just the same. These events certainly evoke fear, anger, and sadness in people around the world. What’s less than clear is if and how travelers are deterred by such events.” Arabic Language Clips Counter Extremism Project Aitnews: New Program To Deal With Extremism And Violence Unveiled Researcher Hany Farid of Dartmouth University has invented a new software tool designed to help companies to quickly locate and remove extremist content used to incite readers to acts of violence and attacks. The Washington DC-based nongovernmental group "Counter Extremism Project" proposes using this new tool in a manner similar to the one used to block the spread of pornography on the Internet. The researcher developed PhotoDNA – a technology used widely by Internet companies to stop the spread of content that features sexual or pornographic material involving child abuse. Financing of Terrorism Alalam: Six Banks Finance Terrorism In Syria … We Provide The Details Turkish journalist Tolga Tanis claimed that information gathered by the US judiciary confirms the involvement of six banks in Turkey in the backing of ISIS and other terrorist organizations in Syria. He noted that some of the banks are owned by the Turkish government, while others are Kuwaiti- and Saudi-owned; all are based in Istanbul. Tanis, who resides in the United States, said that the US judiciary is investigating information about businessmen and associations in Kuwait and other Gulf countries that are allegedly involved in fundraising for terror groups. They send the money mainly to accounts in the abovementioned banks. Later, the money is withdrawn and conveyed to ISIS, "Nusra Front" and other terrorist groups in Syria. ISIS Gulf Eyes: 10 Years Of Imprisonment For (Kuwaiti) Citizen And Eight Expatriates On Charges Of Financing ISIS A criminal court sentenced a Kuwaiti citizen and eight expatriates to 10 years in jail on charges of terror financing abroad. The first suspect, a Lebanese national born in Kuwait, was convicted of purchasing weapons and missiles from the Ukraine and delivering them to ISIS, according to the prosecution. The other defendants were implicated with him in funding these transactions. Hamas BBC Arabic: Hamas Is Coping With Its Financial Crunch By Imposing Additional Taxes On The People Of Gaza Hamas has recently raised taxes in the Gaza Strip. This comes following the decline of financial support from allies such as Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood and the termination of smuggling activities through the tunnels on the border with Egypt. According to Yusuf al-Kayali, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, which is controlled by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the ministry is currently generating roughly $15 million a month from taxes. Hamas' increase in taxes over the past three months has led to over a 20% hike in prices of some 400 imported goods. Among the most severely affected commodities from the higher taxes are cigarettes, whose price has risen by 35 percent since March 2016, as well as cars with an estimated 25 percent jump. Hamas has also started imposing an annual license fee amounting to $1000 on cafés, restaurants and hotels. Houthi Mnbrar: Houthis Pilfer Subsistence Allowances Of Sanaa Police Employees Houthi militia continues to pocket the subsistence allowances of the Sanaa province police force and use them to support what it calls "the war effort." A complaint filed by employees of Sana'a province police indicated that the Houthis, in complicity with the Sanaa province police commissioner, who was appointed by the militia, together with several senior police officers, pocketed the policemen's allowances intended to cover their meal costs. The complaint, in addition, stated that more than 2,500 members of the police force in the province were deprived of their subsistence allowances, which are being deducted from their legally protected salaries; therefore, no one has the right to take this money for any reason.