Eye on Extremism - July 12, 2016

Eye on Extremism July 12, 2016 The Wall Street Journal: U.S. To Send 560 More Troops To Iraq “The U.S. will send an additional 560 troops to Iraq as Iraqi forces eye a shift toward Mosul, the Islamic State extremist group’s last significant holding in the country, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in Baghdad on Monday. The U.S. decision to add troops follows Iraqi forces’ retaking of the Qayara air base, about 50 miles south of Mosul. U.S. and Iraqi forces see the site as an important staging ground for an offensive on Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, which remains under Islamic State control. The deployment announced Monday will bring the number of U.S. military personnel on official assignment to Iraq to 4,647. Including support troops, military personnel assigned to the embassy, as well as those on temporary missions, the new assignments mean there will be more than 5,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.” Washington Post: Russia May Have Lied About Losing A Gunship To ISIS “It was a heroic and straightforward story, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. It also wasn’t true, say military analysts and news reports. Two Russian pilots were killed Friday in Syria when a Syrian Mi-25 helicopter was shot down by the Islamic State near the city of Palmyra, the ministry said. The pilots were on a training mission when they received an urgent request to fight off an Islamic State offensive that threatened to capture an important, elevated position nearby.” Wall Street Journal: Suicide Bomb Kills 11 In Baghdad Shiite District “A suicide car bomb ripped through an outdoor market in a Shiite-dominated northeastern district of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least 11 people, officials said, as government forces deployed across much of the Iraqi capital in preparation for a major military parade later this week. The developments came on the heels of two large-scale attacks claimed by the Islamic State group that killed more than 300 people last week. On Monday, visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Washington will send 560 more troops to Iraq to help battle ISIS.” U.S. News & World Report: Will The U.S., Russia Start Coordinating Against Jabhat Al-Nusra In Syria? “The United States, increasingly concerned about the threat posed by al-Qaida's Syria affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra to US national interests and allies, has discussed with Russia a proposal to target Jabhat al-Nusra as well as the so-called Islamic State (IS), under very strict conditions that Russia should meaningfully restrain Bashar al-Assad's regime for it to observe a partial Syria truce and allow in unfettered humanitarian aid. While largely motivated by counterterrorism concerns, the United States believes the proposed measures could help shore up the cease-fire, reduce violence against civilians and allow more aid in, thus improving the environment for resumed Syria political transition talks, while the Syrian opposition fears weakening Jabhat al-Nusra would enable the Assad regime to make rapid gains on the ground, particularly in the Aleppo area.” CNN: Terror Export Fears As ISIS 'Caliphate' Shrinks “The last few days have seen both the vulnerability and the resilience of ISIS as it struggles to hold on to territory in Syria and Iraq. But a new analysis of the battlefield shows that territory held by ISIS has shrunk 12% this year, with losses in both western Iraq and northern Syria. Over the weekend, Iraqi forces regained control of Al-Qayyarah air-base, 75 kilometers (about 50 miles) south of the city of Mosul. ISIS seized the base two years ago when its fighters swept south to the edge of Baghdad. If Iraq's military can consolidate control of the base, it would provide a valuable launching pad for the offensive to expel ISIS from Mosul. Al-Qayyarah is one of the largest airbases in Iraq.” Daily Caller: Israel Engaging In Drone Strikes Against ISIS In Egyptian Territory — Egypt Could Not Be Happier “Israel and Egypt, once grave enemies, are now actively cooperating against the threat from the Islamic State in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula. Israel is actively engaging in drone strikes in the Sinai, with the permission of Egypt, according to a Sunday report by Bloomberg. The new relationship also includes intelligence sharing between the two countries and the potential for energy agreements in the near future. ‘In this time of turmoil and instability all around the Middle East, it’s very important for reasonable countries to keep some kind of cooperation,’ Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s energy minister, told Bloomberg in an interview.” Daily Mail: Mass Grave And Secret ISIS Jail Found In Libya “A mass grave and secret prison used to abuse hostages captured by Islamic State has been unearthed in Lybia.  The discoveries were made during an ongoing battle between troops and ISIS militants in the city of Sirte as the fight for liberation continues. Seven bodies were found buried in the grave that was discovered in a farm west of the city, while three prisoners - in dire condition after months of captivity - were saved when security forces came across a secret prison in another town after it was re-captured from the militants. The prisoners had been in the secret prison for several months and were found in dire humanitarian conditions, an anonymous source told The New Arab. Having claimed Sirte as one of its strongholds last spring, the battle to cleanse the city of IS militants has continued to progress through government forces.” BBC: South Africa Twins Charged With Terrorism “A South African court has charged identical twin brothers with terrorism for allegedly plotting to attack Jewish targets and a US diplomatic mission. Brandon-Lee and Tony-Lee Thulsie and two others were arrested in Johannesburg following police raids over the weekend. They are said to have been planning to join so-called Islamic State in Syria. In June, the US embassy in South Africa warned that US citizens in the country could be attacked by terrorist groups. The brothers were arrested after the Hawks, an elite police unit, raided two houses where they confiscated a number of items including computers and mobile phones. According to the provisional charge sheet, the two conspired to commit terrorist acts in Johannesburg. The Hawks believe they may be part of a terror cell in the country.” Sydney Morning Herald: Sydney Man Hamdi Alqudsi Guilty Of Helping Men Fight For Islamic Extremists “The alleged mastermind of an Australian jihadist recruitment cell faces a lengthy jail term after being found guilty of helping young men fight for Islamic extremists in the Middle East.  Disability pensioner Hamdi Alqudsi, 41, aided young Australian men, at least two of whom died, to fight on the frontlines of Syria's brutal civil war.” Bloomberg: China Has No Historic Rights To South China Sea Resources, Court Says “China’s prestige as a rising global power suffered a blow as an international court said its efforts to assert control over the South China Sea exceeded the law. ‘There was no evidence that China has historically exercised exclusive control over the waters or their resources,’ the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague said Tuesday in a statement. As such there was no legal basis for the country’s claim, it said.” The New York Times: Taliban’s New Leader, More Scholar Than Fighter, Is Slow To Impose Himself “The early tenure of the Taliban’s new leader, a low-key religious scholar seen as a potential unifier, has been notable for lacking the drama his predecessor seemed unable to shake. But even after two months in the role, Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada remains something of a mystery to the Taliban rank and file, according to analysts and insurgent commanders. And he has yet to make any high-profile mark on an insurgency that is stretched by internal divisions. Many view him as lacking the grip and influence that his predecessor, Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, had amassed before being killed in an American drone strike in May. Mullah Mansour’s tenure was marked by purges and open rebellion that have receded into the background.” Reuters: Mass Killings, Forced Evictions Threaten Indigenous, Minority Groups To Point Of ‘Eradication’: Rights Group “Mass killings, forced evictions and conflicts over land put indigenous and minority groups at risk of being eradicated from their ancestral lands, a human rights group said on Tuesday. From Ethiopia, China and Iraq, the combination of armed conflicts and land dispossession has led to the persecution of minority groups and the erosion of cultural heritage, according to a report by the Minority Rights Group (MRG). Carl Soderbergh, MRG director of policy and communications, said while discrimination against ethnic or religious minorities is not new, the level of targeted abuse is getting worse.” Bloomberg: Facebook Sued For $1 Billion For Alleged Use Of Medium For Terror “Lawyers filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Facebook Inc., alleging it allowed the Palestinian militant Hamas group to use the platform to plot attacks that killed four Americans and wounded one in Israel, the West Bank and Jerusalem. ‘Facebook has knowingly provided material support and resources to Hamas in the form of Facebook’s online social network platform and communication services,’ making it liable for the violence against the five Americans, according to the lawsuit sent to Bloomberg by the office of the Israeli lawyer on the case, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner. ‘Simply put, Hamas uses Facebook as a tool for engaging in terrorism,’ it said.” United States Bloomberg: Obama Gives Afghanistan A Fighting Chance “Two years after President Barack Obama declared he would bring the war in Afghanistan to a ‘responsible end,’ he has canceled the planned withdrawal of 4,300 troops and said the U.S. will keep a force of 8,500 in the country indefinitely. Given the enemies that the Afghan government faces -- the Taliban, the Haqqani network, al-Qaeda and now an Islamic State faction -- one may wonder how a few thousand U.S. troops can make any difference. But they can: A relative handful of highly qualified Americans can go a long way toward organizing counterinsurgency campaigns and training Afghan security forces. And the elite special forces units deployed in Afghanistan are suited to taking out terrorist leaders.” Syria Deutsche Welle: Syria Extends Ceasefire Despite Heavy Fighting In Aleppo “Syria's armed forces on Monday announced the extension of a nationwide ceasefire for an additional 72 hours, despite ongoing fighting in Aleppo, the country's economic powerhouse before the conflict. The extension marks the second of its kind since Damascus announced the initial ‘cessation of hostilities’ on Wednesday in respect of the Eid al-Fitr celebration, which marks the end of Ramadan. However, heavy fighting continued in Aleppo and other parts of Syria. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that rebel groups on Monday fired at least 300 shells into government positions in the city, days after the Syrian army cut off a main supply route.” Voice Of America: Fight For Control Of Largest Syrian City Intensifies “Clashes between Syrian government forces and rebel groups have escalated in the northern city of Aleppo, with pro-Assad troops determined to impose a siege on rebel-held areas of the largest city in the country. Last week, forces loyal to Assad cut off a major supply line, the Castello Road, which was strategically the most significant feeding route for the opposition fighters inside Aleppo. Assad's government seeks to reclaim all areas in Aleppo in a bid to end the presence of rebel forces permanently, analysts and local activists said. Control of Aleppo is equally important for the opposition groups, said an activist from inside the city.” Iraq CNN: Will ISIS Be Pushed Easily From Mosul After 'Mother Of All Battles'? “Now the days of ISIS rule appear numbered. In just over a year, Iraq has driven ISIS out of Tikrit, Ramadi and Fallujah. Now Iraq's military and the U.S.-led coalition is preparing for what's expected to be the ‘mother of all battles’ in the war against ISIS in Iraq: The liberation of Mosul. Mosul is Iraq's second largest city and the largest controlled by the extremist group. Iraqi and Kurdish forces have been training and preparing for the final battle. A new ‘Nineveh Liberation Operations Center’ has been set up to coordinate the offensive, complete with dozens of U.S. and British advisers. Nineveh is the province where Mosul is located. A U.S. artillery unit is also providing cover for operations south of Mosul.” The Hill: Analysis: ISIS Loses Another 12 Percent Of Territory The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) lost 12 percent of its territory in the last six months, according to a new analysis from research firm IHS. Coupled with last year's 14 percent loss, the terror group's territory in Iraq and Syria is now roughly the size of Ireland or West Virginia. ‘Over the past 18 months, the Islamic State has continued to lose territory at an increasing rate,’ Columb Strack, senior analyst at IHS and lead analyst for the IHS Conflict Monitor, said in a statement. ‘As the Islamic State’s caliphate shrinks and it becomes increasingly clear that its governance project is failing, the group is re-prioritizing insurgency. As a result, we unfortunately expect an increase in mass casualty attacks and sabotage of economic infrastructure, across Iraq and Syria, and further afield, including Europe.’” Turkey Reuters: Turkey Jails Seven More Suspects In Istanbul Airport Attack “A Turkish court has jailed seven suspects pending trial on terrorism charges over last month's triple suicide bombing at Istanbul's main airport, bringing the number in custody to 37, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. The attack at Ataturk Airport killed 45 people and wounded hundreds, the deadliest in a series of bombings this year in Turkey. ‘The seven suspects were detained on charges of membership of an armed terrorist group’ and being accomplices to murder, Anadolu said. The private Dogan news agency said all seven were foreign nationals. Media reports have said at least 11 of those detained were Russian.” Reuters: Reports Leading PKK Militant Killed In Syria Not Confirmed: Turkey “Turkey has not been able to confirm reports that a senior Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) commander had been killed in Syria, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Monday, in what would be a major blow to Kurdish militants. Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Saturday that a Syrian rebel group had killed Fehman Huseyin and his bodyguards in a bomb attack on Friday as he traveled to the northern Syrian city of Qamishli. The killing of Huseyin, a Syrian Kurd known in Turkey by the name Bahoz Erdal, would be a blow to the PKK, which has fought intensively with the Turkish state since a two-year ceasefire collapsed a year ago.” Deutsche Welle: Germany-Turkey Dispute Over Incirlik Visits Unresolved “German Chancellor Angela Merkel has attempted to cool a political dispute following calls by MPs to withdraw German troops from Turkey. German lawmakers have been blocked from visiting Bundeswehr troops by Turkey. A minor dust-up between Ankara and Berlin continued Sunday as Turkish officials showed no sign of allowing German political delegations to visit a NATO air base in Incirlik near Adana, Turkey. The Turkish government last month banned German lawmakers from visiting the base. It said the country permits only military or technical teams to visit military installations. Following a diplomatic push by Berlin, Ankara relented and allowed Germany's defense minister to access the base last week.” Reuters: Turkey Blocks Investigations Into Southeast Killings: Rights Group “Turkey's government is blocking access to independent investigations into alleged mass abuses against civilians in southeast Turkey, where security forces are fighting Kurdish militants, Human Rights Watch said on Monday. Thousands of civilians have been caught up in fighting between the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants and security forces that flared in July after a two-year-old ceasefire collapsed. U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said in a report that alleged abuses in the conflict included unlawful killings of civilians, mass forced civilian displacement, and widespread unlawful destruction of private property. It said at least 338 civilians had died after being caught up in clashes.” Afghanistan Voice Of America: Afghanistan's Ghani Urges Pakistan To Expel Insurgents From Its Soil “Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani is again urging neighboring Pakistan to expel militant groups that are fighting his country. ‘We don’t expect Pakistan to bring us peace. We want Pakistan to banish those groups from its territory that fight against Afghanistan and oppose peace talks,’ Ghani said. Ghani addressed reporters in Kabul after attending the recently-concluded NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland, where member nations vowed to sustain their military mission in Afghanistan and reiterated funding pledges for Afghan security forces. Kabul has long maintained Taliban leaders are based on the Pakistani side of the border from where they direct the Afghan insurgency.” Egypt The Washington Post: What Is Egypt’s Sissi Up To? Maybe An Israel-Palestinian Peace Deal “Palestinian and Israeli diplomats say Sissi is interested in getting the two sides to produce ‘confidence-building’ measures that could de-escalate the conflict, which has been rubbed raw by 10 months of ‘lone wolf’ knife, gun and vehicular attacks by Palestinian youths against Israeli soldiers and civilians and by tough Israeli responses, including ‘mistakes’ in which Israeli forces shot up cars filled with innocents. Confidence-building measures may include Israel freezing construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank or Palestinians muzzling incitement to martyrdom. The Egyptian foreign minister echoed world sentiment.” Middle East Associated Press: Israel Puts Palestinians On Defensive Over 'Martyrs' Fund' “The family of a Palestinian high school dropout who killed a 13-year-old Jewish settler girl in her sleep last month before being shot dead is now eligible for $350 a month from a Palestinian fund for ‘martyrs.’ Israel argues that such stipends for families of Palestinians killed or wounded in the conflict promote violence by rewarding attacks, and has stepped up a campaign against the fund after a series of killings of West Bank settlers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the payments ‘an incentive for murder,’ and a government spokesman said that starting next month, Israel would deduct those sums from monthly transfers of taxes and customs it collects on behalf of the Palestinians.” BBC: Israel 'Readier' For New Hezbollah War “Some Israelis refer to the war with Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah 10 years ago as a national trauma. Its civilians in the north of the country came under attack and Israel hit back hard, bombing Lebanese towns and infrastructure. It was a conflict many feel Israel was not prepared for. Thirty-three days after it was triggered by a deadly cross-border attack by Hezbollah, it ended with a ceasefire. Hezbollah was damaged, but rebuilt over the past decade with the help of Iran and Syria. Israel says the group's firepower is now much greater than before the war.” Libya Reuters: Sirte Battle Risks Widening Libya Political Splits “When Western officials cajoled Libya's warring factions to support a unity government this year, they said it was a chance for the rival armed brigades to unite against the common enemy, Islamic State. Libyan forces may be close to winning the battle for the militant group's stronghold in Sirte, but divisions may deepen if one of the most powerful brigades, led by commanders from Misrata, takes control of the prize city. For Western powers, keen to stabilise the North African country in chaos since its 2011 revolution, the fragile Tripoli government of Prime Minister Fayaz Seraj is the only way to bring together factions that were at war just two years ago. How the battle for Sirte ends -- Misrata commanders cannot say how long city will hold out -- may determine the fate of Seraj, Libya's alliances and its future oil exports.” United Kingdom Bloomberg: Next U.K. Leader Best Known To U.S. In Fight Against Terrorism “From counterterrorism to digital privacy to fighting radical Islam, the U.S. will have an ally in Theresa May, the incoming prime minister of the U.K. While Britain’s departure from the European Union will top May’s priority list, she has a history of working closely with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department on crime and terrorism in her tenure as Home Secretary. May, who will replace David Cameron on Wednesday, gained prominence for deporting the Muslim cleric Abu Qatada to face charges in Jordan, succeeding where five predecessors failed. She led the U.K. delegation to a summit hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama in February 2015 on defeating violent extremism.” Germany Fox News: Merkel Admits Her Refugee Policy Helped Bring Terrorists To Germany “Angela Merkel has admitted that she effectively invited terrorists into Germany, in a pretty stunning indictment of her own policy. The German Chancellor told a group of supporters from her Christian Democrats party that extremists had taken their chance to slip into her country. Tensions in Germany have soared since Merkel opened the door to Middle Eastern and African migrants seeking a better life in Europe. Little scrutiny was applied to more than a million new entrants. Repercussions have included infamous events like the mass sex assaults in Cologne on New Year’s Eve, while a string of migrant-linked crimes including rapes in public swimming pools have further inflamed the situation.” France NBC News: Paris Terror Files Reveal Missed Opportunities To Stop Attacks “A French parliamentary report examining intelligence failures, expected to be released Tuesday, will explore some of the missed opportunities in the Cairo case, among a litany of other shortcomings, French government sources tell NBC News. NBC News has obtained exclusive access to a trove of thousands of internal French and Belgian documents that constitute the Paris case file, including many pages describing connections to the 2009 Egypt bomb plot. They show that, despite significant evidence, a joint French and Belgian task force appears to have spun its wheels from 2009 to 2012 in a plodding and ultimately feckless attempt to penetrate what they believed to be a terror cell in France and Belgium.” Europe Newsweek: Europeans Fear Refugees Will Bring Terrorism, Take Jobs: Study “Europe’s ongoing refugee crisis and the threat of terrorism are ‘very much related’ in the minds of many on the continent, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center. The organization, which is based in Washington, D.C., interviewed more than 11,000 people in May and June across 10 European countries—Hungary, Poland, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Greece, the U.K., France and Spain—many of which were at the epicenter of the refugee crisis when it was at its height last year. In eight of the nations that Pew surveyed, more than 50 percent of respondents said they believed the resettlement of refugees in their countries would increase the likelihood of terrorism. That sentiment was strongest in Hungary, where 76 percent of people said they believed terrorism would increase with an influx of refugees.” Arabic Language Clips ISIS The New Arab: ISIS Commences Dealings In Islamic Dinar In A Syrian City ISIS yesterday commenced dealings with its Islamic Dinar, which is made of gold, in the Syrian city of Al-Mayadin, in Deir-al-Zour rural areas. The terror group sells the currency to the public at an exchange rate of $190 per dinar. A media activist in Deir al-Zour Amer Huwaidi, said: "The organization today forced several merchants in Al-Mayadin to purchase its currency, issued in dinars and dirhams, through exchange offices. It has started dealing with the Islamic Dinar, which is now (officially) the new currency to replace the Syrian regime's currency." He noted that "the organization threatened those who would carry out financial dealings without using the Islamic dinar with Sharia (Islamic law) punishment." Huwaidi added that "…the organization has printed a variety of categories of the golden dinar up to 5 dinars. There are also Dirhams and Fils and coins made of silver and copper." Iran Alquds: Israel Bans 'Al-Hirak Al-Shababi' In The West Bank On Charges Of Receiving Money From Iran The Israeli government announced on Monday evening the ban of the Palestinian organization Al-Hirak Al-Shababi, claiming it is an Iranian proxy for hostile activities against both the Jewish state and the Palestinian Authority. In its statement, the government said that the ban decision was signed by Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman upon the recommendation of the Internal Security Agency. The statement added that the decision was taken based on "information indicating that the group operates under the direction of Iran and Hezbollah (the Lebanese Shiite militia) in order to carry out attacks against Israelis and cause a wave of violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem directed at both Israel and the Palestinian Authority." The Israeli Ministry of Defense has identified the organization's leaders as Munir Asli, who lives in Lebanon, and Hilmi Belbeisi, a resident of Jordan. Muslim Brotherhood Almesryoon: Experts: Brotherhood The Main Engine Behind Italy's Decision To Cut Aid To Egypt In Italy's first tangible step against Egypt, the Italian Chamber of Deputies definitively decided to cease supplying Egypt with spare parts for its F-16 aircraft.  The move comes as part of Italy's escalation against Egypt following the killing of Italian student Giulio Regeni in Cairo. The Italian side justified its decision as a response to the procrastination of Egypt and its security agencies in disclosing the real circumstances of Regeni's death. In this regard a number of experts claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood is the prime force behind the decision, which came after repeated sit-ins organized by the group recently in Italy denouncing the violence in Egypt. Sameh Eid, an expert in political Islam, noted that the Muslim Brotherhood is behind the decision of the Italian Parliament to stop supplying Egypt with spare F-16 parts, especially after organizing demonstrations during Ramadan condemning the killing of student Giulio Regeni. Yemen Akhbar: Brotherhood In Yemen Recruited More Than 100 Young People To Join Terrorist Organizations Activist Salah Al Hadhrami said that the Yemeni Islah Party, the Muslim Brotherhood's branch in Yemen, still supports Al Qaeda in Yemen. He stressed that "there are statistics we have obtained, confirming that the Yemeni Islah Party in Hadhramout has recruited more than 100 students less than 20 years old to Al Qaeda. This means we can expect terrorist attacks to occur during the coming days and months."  For his part, Mohamed Blefkih, editor of the Hadhramout Gateway News website said: "The Yemeni Islah Party (the Muslim Brotherhood) is the partner and political arm of terrorism."  According to Blefkih, there is plenty of evidence on the ground to confirm this; for example, leaders of the party in Al Mukalla District managed the local council while it was under the control of Al-Qaeda. In addition, Brotherhood-affiliated charities were involved in suspicious money transfers while its activists lashed out at the United Arab Emirates, which is a key partner in the founding of the army in Hadhramout.