Eye on Extremism - July 14, 2016

Eye on Extremism July 14, 2016 The Washington Post: Obama’s Syria Plan Teams Up American And Russian Forces “The Obama administration’s new proposal to Russia on Syria is more extensive than previously known. It would open the way for deep cooperation between U.S. and Russian military and intelligence agencies and coordinated air attacks by American and Russian planes on Syrian rebels deemed to be terrorists, according to the text of the proposal I obtained. Secretary of State John F. Kerry plans to discuss the plan with top Russian officials in a visit to Moscow on Thursday. Overall, the proposal would dramatically shift the United States’ Syria policy by directing more American military power against Jabhat al-Nusra, which unlike the Islamic State is focused on fighting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. While this would expand the U.S. counterterrorism mission in Syria, it would also be a boon for the Assad regime, which could see the forces it is fighting dramatically weakened.” Associated Press: IS Says Senior Commander Al-Shishani Killed In Iraq “An Islamic State-run media outlet says Omar al-Shishani, one of the group's top military commanders, has been killed in fighting near the Iraqi city of Mosul. U.S. and Iraqi officials, as well as Syrian activists, said in March that al-Shishani, who was in his 30s, had died of wounds sustained in a U.S. airstrike in Syria. But the IS-run Aamaq news agency reported Wednesday that al-Shishani was ‘martyred’ in the town of al-Shirqat, near Mosul, while helping to ‘halt the military campaign’ against the IS-held city. IS supporters published eulogies to al-Shishani on social media and messaging networks. Aamaq had denied that al-Shishani was killed in March, without providing evidence that he was alive.” Voice Of America: US Designates 2 Russians As 'Global Terrorists' “The United States has named two Russian militants ‘specially designated global terrorists,’ linking them to deadly attacks by the Islamic State group. One of the two men reportedly is in custody in Turkey. The State Department named the two global terrorists Wednesday as Aslan Avgazarovich Byutukaev, who is also known as Amir Khamzat, and Airat Vakhitov, who has a number of aliases, including Salman Bulgarsky. The global-terrorist designation by the U.S. State Department is intended to sound a worldwide alarm about Vakhitov's and Byutukayev's activities. It also prohibits any contact between the two men and American citizens, and freezes any assets they may have that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction.” Time: The Siege Of Aleppo Could Spell Disaster For Rebels Fighting Syria’s Bashar Assad “The opposition-held section of the Syrian city of Aleppo is now effectively under siege, with potentially disastrous consequences for the five-year-old rebellion against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Forces loyal to Assad captured a key area overlooking the last remaining road into the eastern section of Aleppo on June 7, meaning they can cut the only supply route into the city with sniper or artillery fire. Rebel authorities have stockpiled food and other supplies for months, but if the siege continues, opposition figures say 300,000 people could be at risk of starvation. ‘This could last for a very long time, thereby basically replicating some of the scenarios that we’ve seen in other areas in Syria like Hama in the past, in which the regime uses sieges and starvation as ways to break the populations in areas it is trying to control,’ says Lina Khatib, the head of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House in London.” The Wall Street Journal: Pakistani Taliban Leader Omar Mansoor Killed In Airstrike “The U.S. government and Pakistani military said Wednesday that an airstrike in Afghanistan killed the mastermind of a Pakistani Taliban attack on a school in 2014 that left more than 130 children dead. Pakistani military spokesman Lt. Gen. Asim Bajwa said in a statement that Khalifa Omar Mansoor was killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan, without providing details about the time and location of the strike. Gen. Bajwa said the commander of the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan called Pakistan’s army chief to confirm Mansoor’s death. The Pentagon confirmed it conducted an airstrike July 9 that killed the militant leader, identified by U.S. officials as ‘Umar Khalifa.’ The airstrike was conducted by U.S. military forces in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province, which borders Pakistan.” Newsweek: Israeli Forces Shoot Dead Palestinian After Alleged Car Attack “An Israeli border policeman shot dead a Palestinian man and wounded one more in the West Bank on Wednesday as they drove towards forces, the military confirmed. The soldiers were deployed to the West Bank town of Al-Ram, located northeast of Jerusalem, for a search operation in which they found a weapons workshop. A car then proceeded to drive towards them while in the town, raising fears that it could be a car-ramming attack, a military spokeswoman said. One of the guards ‘felt in danger’ by the car’s movement and opened fire, she continued. Israeli forces arrested a third Palestinian passenger in the car. The shooting dead of the Palestinian, identified by local media as 22-year-old Anwar al-Salaymeh, comes as a wave of attacks by Palestinians against Israelis continues after more than 9 months.” Fox News: Confessions Of A Captured ISIS Fighter “EXCLUSIVE: He had a ringside seat for the entire, bloody rise of ISIS, and by his own count killed dozens of innocent men, women and children. Now facing likely execution, Thahir Sahab Jamel disavows the black-clad Islamist army, but his Kurdish jailers say they’ve heard it all before. In a jailhouse interview with FoxNews.com in the Kurdish-held city of Kirkuk, Jamel, 27, detailed how he joined Islamic State in 2013, served as a foot soldier in the takeover of Mosul a year later and, he claims, eventually became disillusioned with the dark vision of his fellow fighters.” The Wall Street Journal: German Police Carry Out Nationwide Crackdown On Internet Hate Speech “German police carried out a nationwide crackdown Wednesday on racist and xenophobic postings on the internet and social media that they say have surged since last year’s large influx of refugees into the country. In raids coordinated by the federal criminal police agency BKA, police across 14 states raided the homes of 60 people suspected of being behind the postings, which are illegal under German law. No arrests were made, the agency said. In Berlin, police seized laptops, smartphones and hard drives in 11 homes of men aged 36-62 years. The men are suspected of spreading hate messages against refugees but weren't connected to each other. The interior ministry said the number of online hate messages it classified as right-wing had surged from 945 in 2014 to 2,853 in 2015, making up most of the politically-motivated hate messages online.” Radio Free Europe: Senate Bill Beefs Up U.S. Sanctions On Iran Over Missiles, Terrorism “A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced legislation to sanction persons involved in Iran's ballistic missile program and require the president to enforce an arms embargo against Tehran. The measure introduced on July 13 by Republicans Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Marco Rubio, along with Democrats Robert Menendez and Joe Manchin, would expand sanctions for Iran's ballistic missile development and sanction transfers of conventional weapons to or from Iran. The legislation's goal is to punish Iran for its continued support for terrorist groups, as well as for pressing ahead with its ballistic missile program, which the United States and Western allies say violates UN restrictions.” United States Reuters: Kerry Seeks Russian Cooperation Despite Deep Misgivings Within U.S. Administration “U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry heads to Moscow on Thursday to again seek deeper Russian cooperation in the war against Islamic State in Syria, but he faces strong opposition from defence and intelligence officials who argue that Washington and Moscow have diametrically opposite objectives in the country. Kerry's trip, which State Department officials say is his second to the Russian capital this year and his third in 12 months, takes place as U.S.-Russian relations have worsened with tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions, aggressive Russian manoeuvres toward U.S. aircraft and vessels, and a disregard for a cessation of hostilities in Syria, where Russia has bombed U.S.-backed rebels.” Syria The Wall Street Journal: Syria’s Aleppo Running Out Of Food, Medicine After Regime Forces Advance “Food and medicine have begun to dwindle in the city of Aleppo after an advance by Syrian regime forces effectively cut off the only road into the rebel-held side of the divided city, residents and opposition leaders said Wednesday. Battles near the Castello road have intensified since last week even as the regime announced a cease-fire on July 6 that was extended twice. The United Nations said Wednesday it was deeply alarmed by the escalation of violence along the Castello road, particularly because residents in Aleppo’s rebel-controlled neighborhoods are heavily dependent on humanitarian aid.” BBC: Syria Conflict: Russian Jets 'Bomb Refugee Camp On Jordan Border' “At least eight people were killed when jets believed to be Russian bombed a Syrian refugee camp on the border with Jordan on Tuesday, activists say. Dozens more were injured when tents at Hammad, a remote desert area, were struck around noon (09:00 GMT). Most of the casualties were reportedly families of members of a rebel group known as the Eastern Lions, which is fighting so-called Islamic State (IS). There was no immediate comment from Russia, which backs Syria's government. However, a senior Western diplomat told the Reuters news agency that initial information suggested Russian aircraft carried out the raid. Last month, Russian jets twice attacked another Syrian rebel group's base in the border town of Tanf, to the north-east.” Iraq Reuters: Islamic State Car Bomb Attack Kills Seven North Of Baghdad “A suicide bomber killed at least seven people north of Baghdad on Wednesday, security and medical sources said, in the second bombing claimed by Islamic State in the district in as many days. Eleven others were injured when the attacker detonated his car, laden with explosives, at a checkpoint. Islamic State, which regularly carries out such bombings in the capital and other parts of Iraq, where it seized large swathes of territory in 2014, said in an online statement it had targeted the army. A similar attack in Rashidiya on Tuesday, also claimed by the Sunni Islamist group, killed nine people.” Fox News: Islamic State Reportedly Preparing For End Of Its So-Called Caliphate “Islamic State terror leaders are reportedly preparing for the fall of its so-called caliphate after the U.S.-led coalition and Russian-backed forces made significant gains in recent months in Iraq and Syria. The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the terror group’s leaders in Syria are bracing for its strongholds to fall, but vow to continue its wave of terror attacks abroad. U.S. counterterrorism experts believe the recent large-scale attacks in Istanbul and Baghdad are a sign that its reign in the Middle East is dwindling. Experts still believe that even if the terrorists affiliated with ISIS start to move underground, the group will still remain dangerous abroad.” Turkey Newsweek: EU Parliament Used As ‘Tool Of Propaganda For Terrorism’ Says Turkey “Turkey has accusing members of the European Parliament of turning the the institution into a ‘a tool of...propaganda of a bloody terrorist organization’ in protest at a Brussels photo exhibition. The exhibition of photos by Austrian anthropologist Thomas Schmidinger took place on the premises of the European Parliament building in the Belgian capital, hosted by Josef Weidenholzer, vice-president of the parliament’s Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. The exhibition focuses on life in Rojava, the Kurdish region of northern Syria that has aspirations for autonomy. According to a statement by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, the exhibition also features photos of Kurdish militant groups linked to the Kurdish Socialist Worker’s (PKK) party, designated a terrorist organisation by Ankara.” BBC: Turkey PM Yildirim Hints At Mending Ties With Syria “Turkey has said it wants to re-establish good relations with Syria - in an apparent reversal of its policy towards its war-stricken neighbour. Up to now Turkey's government has been pressing hard for the overthrow of the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad. But Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim insisted good ties with Syria were needed ‘for the fight against terrorism’ and stability in the region. There has so far been no public response from the Syrian government. Turkey has recently moved to end rifts with both Russia and Israel.” Afghanistan Voice Of America: Taliban: New US Military Plans Will Not Deter Its Campaign “The Taliban dismissed Wednesday as ‘empty talk’ a U.S. military announcement it would base hundreds of extra troops close to Afghanistan and they will be ready to deploy to the war zone if needed.  The Islamist insurgency's statement came a day after the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, revealed that about 400 American troops, in addition to the 8,400 in the country, will be placed ‘over the horizon’, but did not disclose where. The general also said he is using ‘almost daily’ new military authorities President Barack Obama granted, including airstrikes against the Taliban and other support to Afghan troop to enable them to take the offense.” Yemen Reuters: Exclusive: Yemen Slides Closer To Famine As Frozen Bank Funds Curb Food Imports “Many areas of Yemen are close to famine partly because importers are unable to buy new food stocks from abroad as over $200 million is stuck in banks due to the civil war disruption, trade and aid sources involved say. Western banks had already cut credit lines for traders shipping food to Yemen, fearing they would not be repaid due to the security chaos and fragile financial system. Now, they are increasingly unwilling to offer letters of credit, which guarantee sellers will be paid on time. They are reluctant to offer guarantees because the banking system has seized up. An international commodities trade source involved in the food trade with Yemen, who has knowledge of the country's financing troubles, said as much as $260 million - held in different foreign currencies in Yemeni banks - cannot be transferred abroad partly because relations with many Western banks had broken down.” Saudi Arabia Reuters: Attacks In Saudi Arabia Bear Hallmarks Of Islamic State: CIA Head “CIA director John Brennan said on Wednesday recent attacks in Saudi Arabia bore the hallmarks of Islamic State, and that the militant group was a very serious threat to the kingdom. Suicide bombers struck three cities across Saudi Arabia earlier this month, killing at least four security officers in an apparently coordinated campaign of attacks on the penultimate day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. ‘Those attacks bear the hallmarks of ISIL,’ Brennan said at an event hosted by the Brookings Institution think tank, using an acronym for Islamic State. The explosions struck in Jeddah, Qatif and a security headquarters in the holy city of Medina, an attack Brennan described as ‘unprecedented’.” Egypt The New York Times: Egypt’s Latest Tactic Against Critics: Block Their Movements, Or Deport Them “Hours after being fired from her job as a presenter on one of the few remaining television news programs in Egypt critical of the government, Liliane Daoud found herself on a plane to Lebanon. Plainclothes police officers barged into the Cairo home of Ms. Daoud, a Lebanese-British journalist, on June 27 and whisked her to the airport, forcing her to leave her tearful 11-year-old daughter. Ms. Daoud was told President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi had personally ordered her deportation. ‘They said it didn’t matter who I called, because it was a presidential order,’ Ms. Daoud said recently, speaking by telephone from Beirut, the Lebanese capital.” Middle East Haaretz: Israel Secretly Seeking Restitution For Jewish Property From Arab States, Iran “Israel is working secretly to obtain the return of Jewish property in Arab countries, Social Equality Ministry Director-General Avi Cohen said Wednesday, adding that millions of shekels have been allocated to the process. The news that Israel is secretly working to secure the return of property stolen from the Jews of the Islamic world some 70 years ago is surprising. Though the restitution issue resurfaces in the public debate every few years, until now, virtually nothing has been done about it. Despite repeated promises by successive governments, the state has made almost no effort to gather data on this lost property, and as of when that report was published in 2014, it hadn’t even formulated any real plan for doing so.” The Jerusalem Post: Facebook Closes Hamas Leader's Account “Facebook again closed Hamas politburo member and Khaled Mashaal confidante Ezzat al-Rishq’s Facebook account on Tuesday. Facebook has recently come under pressure from Israeli leaders to take action against inciters. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan told Channel 2 on July 3 that Facebook and its chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg are partially responsible for the murder of Hallel Yaffa Ariel, whom a young Palestinian stabbed to death as she slept on June 30. Facebook has said recently that there is no place on its website for encouraging violence and that it is committed to taking action against inciters to violence.” Haaretz: Israel's Next War In Lebanon Is A Matter Of Time “The Second Lebanon War had many failures. Since the security cabinet conducted itself sloppily and the army acted clumsily, an ingenious sub-state organization managed to extort a draw from a regional power armed with superior technology. But the war also had one major achievement. It has delayed the outbreak of a third Lebanon war by more than a decade. The 2006 conflict is not the only reason for this delay, though. For five years Hezbollah held its fire because its Iranian masters ordered it to preserve its capabilities for time of need. For five more years Hezbollah held its fire because it had become mired in a blood-soaked Syrian war. So two strategic events that are not associated with Israel at all have stabilized the Lebanon border and kept the Galilee calm.” ABC News: Hamas-Built Underground Tunnels From Gaza To Israel Spark Fear Of New War “It has been two years since the July 2014 Gaza War, which killed over 2,000 Palestinians and 70 Israelis. Since then an uneasy truce between the Israel Defence Force (IDF) and the militant Hamas group, which runs the strip, has largely held. But in the past few months tensions have been rising. Numerous tunnels built by Hamas that run from the besieged territory to inside Israel have been discovered, creating fears that preparations for another war have began. Tunnels built by Hamas into Israel are not new. They were used during to 2014 war to attack Israeli military positions, and many were destroyed.” Libya Associated Press: AP Interview: Un Envoy Says Libya Army Could Be Regionalized “The United Nations envoy to Libya said Wednesday that its reconstituted army could be decentralized, an idea aimed at easing the political gridlock surrounding an internationally-backed unity government. In an interview in Cairo, Martin Kobler confirmed reports that the formation of military councils representing Libya's western, eastern and southern regions is being discussed. He spoke to The Associated Press after holding talks with various Libyan figures in Cairo aimed at resolving the rivalry between the U.N.-backed government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities based in the east.” Nigeria Voice Of America: UN: Malnutrition, Famine-Like Conditions Exist In Nigeria's Borno State “U.N. humanitarian workers report finding severe acute malnutrition and famine-like conditions in Nigeria's Borno state, where Boko Haram terrorists are making it even harder to grow crops. A report this week from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the Borno refugee camps are in hard-to-reach areas where fighting makes it difficult to provide aid. OCHA said 275,000 people are living in 15 camps. Nigeria declared a food-and-nutrition emergency in Borno last month, prompting the U.N. to send $13 million in emergency aid. Unpredictable rainfall and poor environmental conditions along with the Boko Haram insurgency have created a state of what the U.N. calls food insecurity in the Lake Chad Basin, which includes parts of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger.” United Kingdom BBC: Film On Family 'Devastation' Released To Deter Syria Fighters “A film highlighting the ‘shattering’ impact experienced by the families of those who go to Syria is being released in a bid to dissuade others from going. ‘Left Behind’ - a police and Prevent initiative - features accounts from police contact officers who support the partners, parents and siblings of people who travel to conflicts abroad. The six-minute film will be released online later. UK authorities say at least 800 Britons have travelled to Syria or Iraq. In the film, one contact officer says: ‘One particular case, the son had gone to Syria and the younger child... keeps on going to the bedroom trying to find his older brother.’” Germany The Jerusalem Post: Terrorism Fears Soar In Germany Amid Recent Islamist Attacks, Migrant Crisis “Germans have become far more fearful in the last year, with a possible terrorist attack, political extremism and the social effects of Europe's migrant crisis topping their list of worries, a survey showed on Tuesday. Just over a year before a federal election in Europe's biggest economy, the annual study by insurer R+V showed a 10 percentage point increase in its annual ‘fear index’ of Germans to 49 percent. ‘Never before in the course of our surveys have peoples' fears risen so drastically within a year as in 2016,’ said Brigitte Roemstedt, head of the R+V Info Center which conducted the survey of 2,400 Germans.” France The Wall Street Journal: France Closes Turkey Embassy On Security Fears “France canceled Bastille Day celebrations at locations in Turkey Wednesday because of security concerns and said the French embassy in Ankara and general consulate in Istanbul will remain closed until further notice. France had planned to hold receptions in Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir for the July 14th public holiday. The cancellation comes after a triple suicide bombing at the end of June that killed 44 people at Istanbul Atatürk Airport. The closures of France’s diplomatic sites follow similar moves from U.S. and German authorities earlier this year. In March, the U.S. government ordered families of American military and diplomatic personnel to leave Turkey because of security concerns. The U.S. also canceled its July 4 celebrations in Turkey.” Europe Reuters: EU Proposes New Asylum Rules To Stop Migrants Crossing Europe “The European Commission proposed more unified EU asylum rules on Wednesday, in a bid to stop people waiting for refugee status moving around the bloc and disrupting its passport-free zone. In an unprecedented wave of migration last year, 1.3 million people reached the EU and most ignored legal restrictions, trekking from the Mediterranean coast to apply for asylum in wealthy Germany, prompting some EU countries to suspend the Schengen Area system that allows free passage between most EU states. ‘The changes will create a genuine common asylum procedure,’ said EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos. ‘At the same time, we set clear obligations and duties for asylum seekers to prevent secondary movements and abuse of procedures.’ The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said it had concerns about the new rules and said the new system must not lower standards of protection and asylum.” Arabic Language Clips ISIS Momyz News: Fatwas Observatory Confirms ISIS Attempts To Shift Into State Have Failed The Observatory on Takfiri and Anomalous Fatwas (religious edicts) in Egypt's Dar Al-Ifta issued a new report entitled "ISIS .. and its Battle for Transition into State." The report highlights the attempts on the part of the terrorist organization to become a so-called state in Syria and Iraq.  Upon its inception, the organization included the title of "state" in its name, up to the recent publication of a detailed explanation of its structure, missions and the role of its "wilayat" (provinces) and other governmental offices. The report stresses that the battle of ISIS to shift into a state will not succeed. This despite the organization holding two state-like components—lands and people living on them. However, the report emphasizes, the organization will never gain international recognition, because ISIS is founded on ideas and principles that contradict international rules and norms. Muslim Brotherhood Gulf Eyes: Kuwait: Brotherhood Slapped During 'Funeral' Of Twitter Parties affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait are fuming over demands to shut down Twitter and lashed out at those calling for its closure.  Brotherhood activists have adopted Twitter as a platform for spreading their ideology aimed at fulfilling their goals and schemes. Calls to close Twitter yesterday led to an angry response by the Brotherhood. They did not just reject the idea but also sought to mobilize supporters and owners of influential accounts to raise the issue. The Muslim Brotherhood has benefited from social media websites mainly for obtaining funds and disseminating their ideas that seek to demolish state entities. Elbashayer: Brotherhood In Jordan Lose Important Platform For The Election Campaign The Jordanian Ministry of Social Development has banned charities, its volunteers and beneficiaries from being involved in electoral propaganda campaigns in favor of any candidate in parliamentary elections scheduled for September 20th. The Ministry stated in a circular that "due to the proximity of the parliamentary elections and in order to avoid the use by charities of buildings, employees and volunteers for the benefit of, or against, any of the candidates, it is prohibited for charities to carry out electoral propaganda in favor a candidate through charities or through their volunteers or beneficiaries." It stressed that this ban is based on Article III of the Societies Act No. 51 of 2008 and its amendments. Observers claim that the decision is aimed primarily at preventing the Muslim Brotherhood from exploiting charities for promoting its propaganda campaign. There are dozens of associations affiliated with the Brotherhood which, over the past decades, have supplied social leverage by which the group succeeded in penetrating the Jordanian social fabric. These associations have played an important role in past years promoting Brotherhood candidates for entering parliament. Houthi Alkhabar Now: Houthi Leaders Impose Payment Of 15 Million Riyals ($60,000) On Shamlan Factory In Sana'a To Renovate A Road, But Looted The (Funds) A series of looting incidents by Houthi militia leaders in various positions continues. Such acts affect private establishments, state-owned companies, merchants and citizens. Now, informed sources have disclosed that leaders of the Houthi group have received the "Shamlan" factory in Sana'a from Arwa Mineral Water Co.  This came after the Political Council of the Houthis compelled the company to hand over the factory, claiming the Council needs to restore a tourist route extending from Shamlan area to Wadi Dhahr and Dar al-Hajar, north to Sanaa. According to local sources, Houthi leader Abdul Ilah al-Mahdi, seized 10 million riyals ($40,000) of the company's funds under the pretext of supporting the war effort.