Eye on Extremism - June 22, 2016

Eye on Extremism June 22, 2016 Counter Extremism Project Tech World News: 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.” The Huffington Post: Urgent Call To Action: You Tube Must Cease Abetting Terrorism In The U.S. What if I told you that YouTube is abetting radical jihadi terrorism in the United States? What if I also told you that YouTube management has turned a blind eye to appeals to cease doing so? Wouldn’t you want to have YouTube management hear your outcry? Virtually each time the FBI has investigated lone wolf attacks and conspiracies (almost 25% of ALL terror suspects prosecuted by the U.S. in recent years (65 out of 287) were, according to the FBI, primarily incited by the fiery terrorist). It pains my soul to hear time and again that al-Awlaki’s murderous incitement is complicit in so many radical Islamic attacks against Americans.Last year, the Counter Extremism Project, a bi-partisan advocacy group, called on YouTube and other platforms to permanently ban al-Awalki’s hate speech. ‘Like child porn, it should be...removed,’ it urged, all to no avail! The Fiscal Times: ISIS Uses Violent Videos For Recruitment. Here’s How To Stop Them “A new software tool could help social-media companies shut down the distribution of violent ISIS recruiting videos. 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. Based on a concept called robust hashing, the idea was invented in 2008 by Farid, who was trying to help stop the flow of child pornography.” Reuters: Two California Men Convicted Of Plotting To Support Islamic State “Two men from Anaheim, California, were found guilty on Tuesday of conspiring to provide material support to Islamic State militants, one of them going so far as to attempt to travel to the Middle East to join the extremist group, federal prosecutors said. A U.S. District Court jury in Orange County, south of Los Angeles, returned the guilty verdicts against Nader Elhuzayel and Muhanad Badawi, both 25, after deliberating for just over an hour, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The decision caps a two-week trial. In addition to convictions on charges of plotting to provide material support to a terrorist organization, Elhuzayel was found guilty of actually attempting to provide such support and Badawi was found guilty of aiding and abetting those attempts.” CNN: Escaped ISIS Sex Slave Tells Congress Of Horrors “A former ISIS sex slave urged Congress Tuesday to more aggressively fight the terror group and offered her condolences for the massacre in Orlando, saying she's not surprised by it. Nadia Murad, a Yazidi who escaped captivity in 2014, told the Senate Homeland Security committee that ‘the USA must act. We must terminate Daesh (ISIS) and all such terror.’” CNN: Top General's Candor: No Strategy Against ISIS In Libya In remarkably blunt testimony, President Barack Obama's nominee to command U.S. forces in Africa said Tuesday that more ground troops were needed in Libya to fight ISIS and agreed the current strategy of not bombing the terror group's affiliate there ‘makes no sense.’ When asked by the committee's chairman, Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, whether the U.S. had a strategy for Libya, Marine Lt. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser said he didn't know about one. ‘I am not aware of any overall grand strategy at this point,’ Waldhauser said at his confirmation hearing to become commander of the Africa Command.” Daily Beast: They’ve Got U.S. Guns. Can They Stop ISIS? “Based in the city of Marea in Aleppo province, the Mu’tasim were recently able to break ISIS’s weeks-long siege, which had in effect cut the rebels off from their comrades in Azaz, at the Syrian-Turkish border. Before they broke the siege, Abbas’s men—around 400 in total—were unable to receive ground resupply from the United States even as they faced an onslaught of 1,000 well-armed and well-trained jihadists, about the same number that reportedly held Fallujah in Iraq until it was retaken by Iraqi forces at the weekend.” Voice Of America: 'Warrior Hero,' IS Foe, Achieves Cult Status In Iraq “Abu Azrael—the ‘Father of the Angel of Death’—an Iraqi Shia commander, brags that he once beat a man to death with a plastic flip flop.  His biceps are as big as cannonballs, and he rides into battle on a bicycle (he really does). Commander Abu Azrael wears a Kevlar vest, with hatchet in hand, a sword, grenades and an automatic assault rifle. He claims to have killed 1,500 Islamic State (IS) fighters in a single year, and it's rumored that IS is so terrified of him that it will kill anyone who utters his name. Abu Azrael's shaved head, black beard and gleaming teeth have made him the most recognized face in the region, and he has inspired cartoons, music videos and even Android game apps. His battle cry, ‘Illa tahin!’ (‘Into flour!’ -- as in, ‘I’ll pound IS fighters into flour’) has caught on everywhere.” NBC News: Friend Who Told FBI About Orlando Shooter Omar Mateen Saw A 'Red Flag' “Omar Mateen didn't always fit the profile of a would-be radicalized killer, a friend told NBC News. In 2014, American-born Mateen was remarried to a second wife and had a new son — and his friend, Mohammad Malik, had never heard him express extremist views or say anything homophobic.” Daily News: Trio Of 'Vigilantes' Arrested Outside Holland Tunnel With Loaded Guns, 'America' Gun Clip And 2,000 Rounds Of Ammo “They loaded up their weapons, packed their bulletproof vests and headed toward New York to rescue a frightened teen trapped in a Brooklyn drug den. At least that’s what they claimed. Three anti-drug vigilantes in a pickup so bright it could be seen from space were busted as they were about to drive into the Holland Tunnel with drugs, loaded handguns, rifles and 2,000 rounds of ammunition in the vehicle, police said.” Reuters: Islamic State Suspects Held In Turkey Over Transgender Attack Plot: Dogan “Three suspected Islamic State militants were arrested in Istanbul late on Tuesday after a tip-off they had planned an attack on a transgender march, Dogan News Agency said. The suspects - one Turkish national and two from Russia's volatile Dagestan - were ordered held in custody pending formal charges by an Istanbul court, the agency added. There was no immediate comment from authorities. The reported arrests came after police late last week confiscated suicide vests during raids in two Istanbul suburbs. Officers said they had acted on intelligence reports the Sunni hardline group was plotting to attack the ‘Trans Pride’ rally on June 19. Authorities banned that march, citing security concerns and riot police fired tear gas and rubber pellets to disperse around 50 people who turned up.” Reuters: Boko Haram Fracturing Over Islamic State Ties, U.S. General Warns “Nigerian militants Boko Haram have fractured internally, with a big group splitting away from shadowy leader Abubakar Shekau over his failure to adhere to guidance from the Iraq- and Syria-based Islamic State, a senior U.S. general said on Tuesday. Marine Lieutenant General Thomas Waldhauser, the nominee to lead the U.S. military's Africa Command, suggested the internal division was illustrative of limits of Islamic State's influence over Boko Haram so far, despite the West African group's pledge of allegiance to it last year. ‘Several months ago, about half of Boko Haram broke off to a separate group because they were not happy with the amount of buy-in, if you will, from Boko Haram into the ISIL brand,’ Waldhauser said at his nomination hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Shekau, he said, had not fallen into line with Islamic State's instructions, including by ignoring calls for Boko Haram to stop using children as suicide bombers.” United States Reuters: U.S. To Give Afghan Forces $3 Billion A Year From 2018-2020: Official “The United States plans to provide more than $3 billion a year in support for the Afghan national security forces from 2018 through 2020, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson said on Tuesday. Speaking at a think tank, Olson also said the United States planned to ask Congress for about $1 billion a year in development and economic assistance for Afghanistan from 2018 through 2020.” Reuters: 'Glimmer Of Hope' Seen For Compromise U.S. Gun Control Bill “U.S. senators pushed for a compromise gun control bill on Tuesday, a day after the Senate failed to advance four gun measures following last week's mass shooting in Orlando, the deadliest in modern U.S. history. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would schedule a vote on a bill by fellow Republican Senator Susan Collins that would prevent about 109,000 people on ‘no-fly’ and other surveillance lists from purchasing guns. Collins said she expected a vote on the bill this week or next. On Monday, the Senate defeated a Democratic prohibition on gun sales to people on a broader range of government watch lists, while also blocking a narrower Republican measure.” The Hill: ISIS Survivors Urge US: Don't Close Door To Refugees “Refugees who fled from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria urged senators on Tuesday not to close the door on others trying to escape the group's violence. At a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing on the ‘Ideology of ISIS,’ lawmakers heard from survivors and experts who pleaded for more help for refugees. ‘Every country has the right to protect itself and its borders. But the people who are escaping religious discrimination and genocide, they should not face closed doors before them,’ said Nadia Murad, a human rights activist, who spoke through a translator. Murad recently fled Iraq, escaping ISIS slavery. She and her family are members of the ethnic Yazidi sect that has been targeted by ISIS. The hearing comes amid a contentious political fight over refugees.” Syria Associated Press: Syria Activists Say Airstrikes On IS-Held Raqqa Kill 18 “Air strikes in Syria targeted the Islamic State's de facto capita of Raqqa on Wednesday, killing at least 18 civilians, including two children, according to activists. The barrage, blamed on the Russian and Syrian air force, came as government forces sought to recover from losses suffered in a stalled offensive on the extremist-held city. Activists from the group known as Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently, which relies on residents to smuggle news out of IS-held territory, said the air raids also wounded 28 people. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the toll at 25 civilians, including six children, but different casualty tolls are common in reporting from Syria's civil war, now in its sixth year. Both activist groups blamed the Russian and Syrian air forces for Wednesday's airstrikes, saying Damascus and its ally Moscow were pummeling the Islamic State extremists amid frustrations over government losses earlier this week.” Reuters: Suicide Attacker Kills Six Jordanian Troops At Syria Border “Six Jordanian border guards were killed by a suicide bomber who drove a car at speed across the border from Syria and rammed it into a military post on Tuesday, security officials said. The explosives-laden vehicle blew up a few hundred meters from a camp for Syrian refugees in a remote, desolate area where the borders of Iraq, Syria and Jordan meet, a Jordanian army statement said. The southeastern desert area is close to where Islamic State militants are known to operate, according to a security source who requested anonymity. The source said the attack appeared to be a well-planned military operation. No group has claimed responsibility.” Reuters: Russia Calls For Swift Resumption Of Syria Peace Talks “Russia called on Tuesday for a swift resumption of stalled Syrian peace talks, saying it was the only way to halt ‘massive violations’ of human rights perpetrated in the five-year-old conflict. Russia, a strong ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, launched air strikes in September to support the Syrian army and its militia allies battling rebels and Islamic State fighters, and is backing an offensive on rebel-held areas of the northern city of Aleppo. It supports proposals for a political settlement under which some Syrian opposition figures would be brought into a Syrian unity government - steps which rebels and their foreign backers say do not go far enough.” Associated Press: Lebanese Army Slowly Crushing Extremists Near Syria Border “In a remote corner of Lebanon near the border with Syria, Lebanese troops have been quietly making steady progress, fighting against Islamic extremists holed up in the rugged mountains. It is a fight less visible than the U.S.-led war against the Islamic State group in Syria, Iraq and Libya. But hardly a day passes without army artillery stationed on the edge of this restive eastern Lebanese town pounding nearby militant positions. In recent months, Lebanese armed forces have clawed back significant territory once held by IS and al-Qaida's branch in Syria, known as the Nusra Front, and have killed and detained hundreds of extremists, forcing many others to flee. According to the army, the militants still hold about 50 square kilometers (19 square miles) of land in the border area, compared with 20 times this size in the months after Syria's conflict began.” Iraq BBC: Iraqi Army Only Retook Third Of Falluja - US Commander “A US military commander in Baghdad has openly contradicted the Iraqi army's claim last week that it had liberated the key city of Falluja and driven out IS militants from most of the city. Colonel Christopher Garver said Iraqi forces had cleared only a third of the city and the rest remains contested. Iraqi commanders insist that 80% of Falluja is under their control. Iraq's prime minister announced Falluja's ‘liberation’ on Friday, after the city council building was retaken. Haider al-Abadi claimed that remaining pockets of IS fighters would be ‘cleaned out within hours’. But clashes between government forces and IS militants continue and the militants have dug in in residential neighbourhoods in the north of the city.” Deutsche Welle: Opinion: 'IS' Is Far From Vanquished “For over two years, the people of Fallujah have had to live under the rule of religiously clad bands of murderers that terrorized them with beheadings and mass executions. In the end, the terrorists even used them as human shields. Still, when Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi somewhat prematurely announced that the city had been liberated militarily from the grip of the so-called ‘Islamic State’ (IS), residents were in no way jubilant. One reason might well be that in some neighborhoods firefights between Iraqi armed forces and ‘IS’ militants are still ongoing. It would be suicidal to take to the streets in celebration.” Turkey Voice Of America: Turkey's Priorities In Fighting Terrorism Questioned “The Turkish government's priorities in fighting terrorism are coming under question, as it increasingly cracks down on proponents of Kurdish rights while, critics say, it fails to show the same zeal against the Islamic State. On Tuesday, supporters of three jailed press freedom advocates gathered in Istanbul to protest the detentions. The three activists were detained Monday on terrorism charges for participating in a solidarity campaign in support of Ozgur Gundem, a pro-Kurdish newspaper. The government defends the arrests, claiming those detained were producing propaganda on behalf of the PKK — the Kurdish rebel group which Turkish security forces are fighting. The jailing of the activists not only puts a spotlight on Turkey's sweeping anti-terror laws, but also raises questions on how those laws are being applied, says Atilla Yesilada, an Istanbul-based consultant with Global Source Partners.” Reuters: Turkish Jets Strike PKK Targets In Northern Iraq, Southeast Turkey “Turkish warplanes struck Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey overnight on Wednesday, and authorities imposed new curfews in rural areas as the army and police continue to battle insurgents, security sources said. The fighting came a day after Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said operations in the mainly Kurdish southeast had ended, apparently referring to the months-long clashes in some urban centers, and added the government would focus on reconstruction. The air strikes in Kurdish-run northern Iraq destroyed targets belonging to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), including shelters and weapon stores. The PKK leadership is mainly based in northern Iraq.” Afghanistan Associated Press: Taliban Attack Buses In South Afghanistan, Abduct 60 People “The Taliban on Tuesday ambushed a series of buses and cars in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province, forcing people out of the vehicles and abducting around 60 passengers, an Afghan official said. The insurgents later said they released all but 27 of those abducted. According to Mohammad Ismail, a district police chief in Helmand, the attack happened in Gareshk district. The Taliban forced the buses and cars to stop at gunpoint, he said, adding that it's not known where the Taliban took the abducted passengers. The abductions come amid stepped-up Taliban attacks as part of their summer offensive. The insurgents frequently target buses carrying civil servants, or those perceived to be working for the Kabul government.” Yemen UN News Centre: More Than Half Of Yemen’s Population Now Food Insecure – UN “Vast swathes of war-torn Yemen – 19 out of 22 governorates – are facing severe food insecurity, and the situation within affected areas is likely to deteriorate if conflict persists, according to a new assessment by the United Nations and partners. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis confirms that over half the country’s population is living in ‘emergency’ or ‘crisis’ levels of food insecurity, with some governorates seeing as much as 70 per cent of their population struggling to feed themselves. At least seven million people, a quarter of the population, are living under ‘emergency’ levels of food insecurity, or 'phase 4' on the five-tier IPC scale. This reflects a 15-per cent increase since June 2015. Another 7.1 million people are in a state of ‘crisis,’ or 'phase 3.'” Voice Of America: UN Envoy For Yemen Decries Delay In Peace Deal “The U.N. special envoy for Yemen said Tuesday that every day a peace agreement is put off ‘needlessly extends the country's agony.’ Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed spoke to the Security Council from Kuwait, where he has been mediating peace talks between Yemeni officials and the Houthi rebels who control large parts of the country. Ahmed said he had given both sides a road map for a peace deal that included a Houthi withdrawal and disarmament and the formation of a unity government. He said that while both sides had reacted positively to the road map, they had not been able to agree on a timetable, especially the key issue of when a new government would be formed.” Reuters: Yemen Missile Launch, Saudi-Led Air Strike Shake Truce “A Saudi-led military coalition said it intercepted a missile fired in Yemen on Tuesday and residents said an air strike by the alliance caused eight civilian casualties, straining a civil war ceasefire. The ballistic missile was fired toward the central city of Marib, which is controlled by Saudi-backed government forces, but was intercepted and destroyed along with the source of the launch, the coalition said in a statement without elaborating. Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies intervened in a civil war in March 2015 on behalf of the internationally backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi against the Iran-allied Houthi group, which controls the capital Sanaa.” Egypt BBC: Egypt Court Quashes Red Sea Islands' Transfer To Saudis “An Egyptian judge has quashed a government decision to hand control of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. Egypt's President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi announced that Tiran and Sanafir would be transferred in April, during a visit by Saudi Arabia's King Salman. More than 150 people were jailed in connection with protests over the deal, though many were later acquitted or had their sentences reduced on appeal. The Egyptian government has said it will challenge Tuesday's ruling. Tiran and Sanafir are uninhabited and located at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba, a strategic part of the Red Sea bordered by Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Egyptian troops have been stationed there since 1950 at Riyadh's request.” CNN: Egyptair Flight 804: Crucial Memory Chips Damaged “Investigators could be weeks away from uncovering what caused EgyptAir Flight 804 to crash into the Mediterranean Sea last month, officials tell CNN. A technical team investigating the crash is repairing the crucial memory chips of the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, an official close to the investigation tells CNN. The so-called black boxes were discovered last week. Both units were damaged by the crash impact and sea water, officials said. The cockpit voice recorder captures sounds from the flight deck, including flight crew conversation and alarms and background noise that can help investigators understand what the flight crew was doing at the time of a crash.” Middle East Times Of Israel: Liberman Says Israel, US Close To Finalizing Deal On Defense Aid “Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) said on Tuesday that Israel and the US government were close to finalizing a multibillion-dollar defense aid package. Speaking ahead of an unveiling ceremony Wednesday in Forth Worth, Texas of the first F-35 Lightening II stealth fighter jet coming off the production line for Israeli delivery, Liberman expressed optimism that the agreement could be completed by November this year. Israel will be the first foreign partner to receive the F-35, which US officials stressed will play a key role in maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge in the Middle East. The aircraft has a range of 2,200 km (1300 miles approximately) and can carry up to 8,200 kg of weapons.” Libya BBC: Libya Conflict: Mystery Blast Kills Dozens In Western Town “A mystery explosion in a town close to the Libyan capital Tripoli has killed at least 25 people, apparently after a dispute at a shop escalated. The blast took place in Garabulli after clashes between locals and militia fighters from the city of Misrata. Officials initially said a munitions store had exploded but one resident told the BBC a lorry loaded with fireworks had exploded. In fighting further east, in Sirte, at least 30 pro-government fighters died. They were killed in fighting with militants from the so-called Islamic State group. Garabulli is about 50km (30 miles) east of Tripoli and 140km west of Misrata.” Nigeria Voice Of America: Hunger, Thirst Plague Refugees Escaping Boko Haram In Southeast Niger “The Boko Haram militant group's insurgency has forced nearly 300,000 people to seek refuge in the Diffa region of southeast Niger, an area already dealing with chronic food insecurity. Aid agencies are struggling to provide adequate water and food to tens of thousands of people who fled a fresh attack in the border town of Bosso this month. Every day it's the same snaking line of people holding yellow water containers at one of the few taps available in Kidjendi, a camp located about 40 kilometers from Diffa, in southeast Niger. Diffa was already hosting about 240,000 refugees and displaced people when Bosso was attacked. The influx of more internally displaced persons has strained resources further. The U.N. children's fund's (UNICEF’s) water manager, Mohamed Ali, said providing such a large amount of water is very expensive and that resources likely will run out in a few weeks. He says more will be needed.” Reuters: Multinational Force Conducting Operations Against Boko Haram - Niger General “A multinational force has begun operations against Boko Haram along the border between Niger and Nigeria, a general from Niger said on Tuesday. Brigadier-General Abdou Sidikou Issa, tactical chief of staff for troops based in Niger's southern zone of Diffa, a region plagued by the Islamist militant group, said troops from Chad and Nigeria were involved in the operation. It began in secret almost a week ago. This is not the first time the nations in the Lake Chad basin -- Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon -- have joined forces against Boko Haram, a violent Islamist group which started in Nigeria seven years ago and has since launched deadly attacks in all four countries.” United Kingdom The Wall Street Journal: U.K. Police Arrest Terror Suspect At Heathrow Airport “British police said Tuesday they have arrested a man they suspect of possessing terrorist information at Heathrow Airport. The 29-year-old man was taken into custody on Monday afternoon, as he was about to board a flight bound for Saudi Arabia, said the Metropolitan Police. Neither the suspect’s name nor his nationality were disclosed. U.K. police protocols prohibited the disclosure of an arrested person’s information before they are formally charged. In a statement, Scotland Yard said the man had in his possession ‘information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.’ Under the wider definition of terrorism recently introduced into law here, that could include anything from travel plans to Syria to join an armed group fighting in the civil war to more conventional terrorist material such as bomb-making instructions.” USA Today: Swastikas In London Stoke Fears Of Rise In Anti-Semitism “Swastikas found in a children’s playground in London are the latest sign of anti-Semitism on the rise in Europe. The hand-drawn swastikas appeared on four consecutive days, June 14-17,  in a park in the Stamford Hill neighborhood, The Guardian newspaper reported Monday. A home for British Jewish veterans is nearby. ‘I think sadly this is the rise of rightwing extremism,’ Rabbi Herschel Gluck, a British rabbi involved in interfaith work, told the London-based daily. ‘There are elderly people who served in the British army and fought in the second world war living nearby and I think that is particularly poignant. I think it’s an attempt to intimidate and instill fear.’ Anti-Semitism has experienced a resurgence across Britain and throughout Europe. According to the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University, anti-Semitic violence grew by 40% globally in 2014, the last year for which figures are available.” The Wall Street Journal: Killing Of U.K. Lawmaker Turns Spotlight On Far-Right Groups “The brutal killing of British lawmaker Jo Cox in northern England last week, allegedly at the hands of a suspect who witnesses said yelled ‘Britain first’ during the attack, has drawn attention to far-right extremist groups centered in the region. Prosecutors have said in court that ‘material of an extremist, far-right nature’ was found at the home of Thomas Mair, the 52-year-old man accused of shooting and stabbing Ms. Cox on Thursday. On Monday, they said his case would be treated as terrorism-related. U.K. security services say Islamic fundamentalists and Irish republicans present the country’s greatest terrorist threat. The U.K. Home Office says ‘terrorism with an international dimension’ represents 79% of the 3,157 terror-related arrests since 2001. Domestic terrorism, primarily far-right extremists, accounts for 10%.” CNN: Safer In Or Out Of EU? Why Security Is Key To Brexit Vote “UK citizens are poised to vote on a crucial decision about whether to stay or leave the European Union (EU) -- but the debate has been stalked by the fear that one big terror attack in the UK before Thursday's poll could influence the outcome. Security is just one of four main topics of the fractious debate; immigration, sovereignty, and the economy have also been (far richer) battlegrounds for each side. On security, the logic of each side is often reduced to the simplest argument. For the Leave campaign, controlling immigration reduces the radical Islamist threat, and for Remain supporters the EU is an early warning system -- alerting us that terrorists are coming. But it is more complicated than that.” Germany Sputnik News: Germany Suggests Sharing Information On Gun Ownership History Within EU “According to RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) publishing group, Germany's federal states have submitted a proposal to the country's Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere to make the information on guns ownership available within the European Union. ‘Terrorism and crime cannot be stopped by country borders. Considering the terror attacks on Brussels and Paris, the exchange of the data is a vital issue that emerged long ago,’ Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Interior Minister Lorenz Caffier said, as quoted by the RND group. At the moment, the national gun registry in Germany contains information on type, serial number, date of purchase and name of the owner of a gun. According to the federal states' proposal, the history of ownership of a weapon, the name of producer and importer, should be available and traceable within the European Union.” France Reuters: Police Raids Target Suspected Associates Of French Cop Killer “French police raided several houses on Tuesday in an operation targeting suspected associates of the man who killed a police commander and his partner last week in an attack claimed by Islamic State, judicial officials said. One source inside the judiciary said investigators were digging into the network of individuals with past ties to Larossi Abballa, who pledged allegiance to the militant group and told negotiators during the attack that he had answered a call to ‘kill infidels at home with their families.’ ‘There was a chance that these people might carry out other attacks against police officers. We were removing any doubt,’ the Versailles prosecutor leading the investigation said.” Europe BBC: Brussels Terror Alert: Fake Suicide Belt Found “A man arrested amid an anti-terror operation at a shopping centre in Brussels was wearing a fake suicide belt containing salt and biscuits, the city's prosecutor's office says. The man called police earlier in the morning claiming to have been abducted and made to wear an explosive belt. Streets around the City 2 shopping centre were closed off and a bomb disposal unit deployed. The man later said he had invented the whole story, according to prosecutors. Authorities say the suspect, who was born in 1990 and has been identified only as JB, has a history of psychiatric problems.” The Washington Post: War Drives Terrorism “Study after study has found no common profile of a terrorist. It is hard to explain why, say, almost four times as many recruits leave Sweden to fight with the Islamic State as from neighboring Norway, though Sweden’s population is only twice Norway’s. Pundits and politicians alike speculate on why individuals might embrace terrorism, but such a question risks missing one obvious point: Having a terrorist group around in the first place is one of the most important factors in influencing an individual’s choice to join. Terrorist groups don’t emerge out of nowhere, and wars are perhaps the richest soil for seeding and growing violent groups of all stripes. Without the wars in the Middle East there would be no Islamic State, and it is not the only one: Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah and other extremist groups all emerged out of regional civil wars. The formation of such groups is a political phenomenon, and so, too, is the radicalization of foreign fighters from the West.” The New York Times: Attacks In ISIS’ Name Expose A Struggle To Spot Future Terrorists “Across Europe and the United States, law enforcement officials are struggling to reckon with attackers like Mr. Abballa and Omar Mateen, whose shooting rampage this month at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., left 49 dead. They are men who clearly seemed to be building toward violent acts, and whose names had surfaced in terrorism investigations, but who avoided crossing legal lines that could tip off the authorities until it was too late. With thousands of terrorism surveillance cases running at any given time, the European authorities say they are swamped and are in the difficult position of trying to head off attacks of which the only forewarning is often in the form of what someone thinks or what they are overheard saying.” Associated Press: European Countries Attempt To Seek Justice For Syria Victims “Several countries, including Sweden, Germany, France and Finland, are investigating or prosecuting alleged perpetrators of grave crimes in Syria in the first attempts to seek justice for victims of the conflict which is now in its sixth year. The efforts under way in Europe follow a double-veto by Russia and China of a U.N. Security Council resolution backed by more than 60 countries in May 2014 that would have referred the Syrian conflict to the International Criminal Court. At a U.N. panel discussion Tuesday entitled ‘First Cracks in the Syrian Impunity Wall,’ supporters and several opponents of the legal actions in Europe sparred over the search for justice in Syria.” Arabic Language Clips ISIS New Sabah: ISIS Waging An Unprecedented Campaign Of Raids On Homes Of Fleeing Militants In Nineveh The phenomenon of ISIS militants defecting, disappearing and deserting the terror organization has been growing in Iraq's Nineveh province. As a result, ISIS security forces have launched an unprecedented raid campaign on homes of its militants using the deployment of special units to capture those who try to escape. The punishment for defection is the death penalty. A reliable Iraqi security source in the province said, "According to our sources, some 40 local ISIS militants in the southern districts of Mosul have vanished during the past few days, while before this another 25 or so in Mosul or its suburbs also disappeared." The source noted that "many of the local fighters who decide to defect transfer their personal property and home appliances to their relatives, knowing that ISIS will demolish their homes and steal or seize their property." Kitabat: ISIS Imposes 25,000 Dinars Zakat Al-Fitrah On Everyone In Mosul A source from inside the city of Mosul disclosed on Tuesday that ISIS is charging 25,000 Iraqi dinars ($ 22.50) as Zakat al-Fitrah (a tax gathered when Muslims break the fasting period at the end of Ramadan) on every resident of Mosul. The source was quoted as saying that "ISIS imposes what it calls Zakat al-Fitrah for the month of Ramadan in the amount of 25,000 dinars on everyone in Mosul, claiming it is intended to cover the high food prices in the city." The sources added "ISIS organization put to death one of the city's Muftis because of his objection to this amount. It also punished 15 locals with 10 lashes each for their refusal of payment." Muslim Brotherhood The Seventh Day: Brotherhood Asset Freeze (Committee) To Appeal Ruling To Cancel The Appropriation Of Funds Owned By (Ex-Soccer Star) Mohammed Aboutrika Judicial sources in the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Asset Freeze Committee disclosed it would submit an appeal through the State Litigation Authority on the ruling of the First Circuit of the Administrative Court in the State Council issued on Tuesday. This ruling overturned the seizure of funds owned by Mohammed Aboutrika's company and suspended execution of the previous judgment against the former Al Ahli Club and the Egyptian national soccer team. The sources added that the Committee would also appeal the ruling at the Supreme Administrative Court to declare that Tuesday's judgment is final. It is worth mentioning that the First Circuit of the Court of Administrative in the State Council on Tuesday accepted the appeal filed by Aboutrika and decided to cancel the seizure of funds owned by his company "Ashab Tours." This came following a recommendation by the State Commissioners' Authority to cancel the seizure decision taken by the Muslim Brotherhood Asset Committee. Hezbollah Arabi 21: Hezbollah Is Launching A Campaign To Contain The Financial Crisis Latest information suggests that Hezbollah is facing a severe financial crunch. This is reflected in many of its institutions that are strongly tied to the interests of large segments of the Shiite community in Lebanon. It is reported that Hezbollah leaders launched a deliberate campaign weeks ago to contain the effects of this financial crisis. The objective was to minimize negative reactions and contain the state of unrest among thousands of families that are supported by Hezbollah's institutions. The decline in services provided by Hezbollah to its popular base comes amid the successive blows that it has incurred on the battlefields in Syria. Hezbollah cut the compensation awarded to the families of its combat soldiers to about $25,000 after it had previously paid nearly $50,000, or even bought houses for families of dead fighters in case they were married before being dispatched to Syria. Houthi Buyemen: In The Name Of Zakat…Houthis Steal More Than 200 Million Riyals In Dhamar Local sources in Dhamar province revealed that more than $800,000 (200 million Yemeni riyals) have been stolen from the Zakat revenues of the province. Houthi militia transferred the money for what it calls "the war effort." Meanwhile, these Zakat funds have caused rifts between the Houthis and loyalists of former Yemeni president Ali Saleh. Heated debates about the disbursement of the funds have erupted between the various militias, following the refusal by merchants and citizens to pay higher taxes purportedly in the interest of Zakat. More than 60 merchants from different Yemeni provinces have been arrested since the advent of the month of Ramadan, due to their objection to the heavy taxes imposed on them by Houthi militia under the banner of Zakat.