Eye on Extremism - July 26, 2016

Eye on Extremism July 26, 2016 Counter Extremism Project Times Of India: Robust Hashing Could Be New Tech Tool To Fight Terror Online “From rabid terror propaganda to dangerous rumour-mongering, the internet is an archive of inflammatory material that governments as well as social media networks across the world have struggled to contain and cope with. Since mid-2015 to the beginning of this year, Twitter suspended over 1,25,000 accounts linked to Islamic State terror group. Yet organizations promoting terror continue to survive, if not thrive, online.  Now, a cutting-edge technology could emerge as the biggest tool to combat the menace. Hany Farid, senior advisor to the US-based Counter Extremism Project, has helped develop a technology called robust hashing which uses a software to identify images, videos, and audio clips by comparing them against a bank of stored content.” Al Arabya: U.S. Rejects Claim that ISIS Downed Plane in Iraq “The ISIS-linked Amaq agency claimed Monday that ISIS had shot down an American aircraft in Iraq, but the US military said the claim was false. “The crew of an American plane, which was shot down by ISIS militants near the Ain al-Asad base, was killed,” Amaq said in an online statement, referring to a base where American personnel are stationed in Anbar province, west of Baghdad.” USA Today: Suicide Car Bombs Kill 13 Near UN Office In Somalia “Two suicide bombers detonated explosives-laden cars on Tuesday outside the U.N. Mine Action Service offices and a Somali army checkpoint in Mogadishu, killing 13 people, including seven U.N. guards, Somali police officials said. The two blasts took place near the African Union base, Somali police chief Gen. Mohamed Sheikh Hassan said at a press conference.” The New York Times: As ISIS Loosens Grip, U.S. and Iraq Prepare for Grinding Insurgency “The Islamic State’s latest suicide attack in Baghdad, which killed nearly 330 people, foreshadows a long and bloody insurgency, according to American diplomats and commanders, as the group reverts to its guerrilla roots because its territory is shrinking in Iraq and Syria. Already, officials say, many Islamic State fighters who lost battles in Falluja and Ramadi have blended back into the largely Sunni civilian populations there, and are biding their time to conduct future terrorist attacks. A return to guerrilla warfare in Iraq, while the United States and its allies still combat the Islamic State in Syria, would pose one of the first major challenges to the next American president, who will take office in January.” Fox News: Syrian Who Wounded 12, Killed Self In Germany Bombing Pledged Allegiance To ISIS Chief “A Syrian man who failed to get asylum in Germany pledged allegiance to the head of the Islamic State terror group in a video before he blew himself up near an open-air music festival in southern Germany, wounding 12 other people, Bavaria's top security official announced Monday, as ISIS claimed responsibility for the blast. According to an initial translation of the Arabic-language video found on the bomber's phone, the 27-year-old man announced a ‘revenge’ attack against Germany, according to the official, Joachim Herrmann. He told reporters the video strongly suggested the bombing was a ‘terrorist attack.’” The Wall Street Journal: Wave Of Violence Shakes Germany’s Calm “Four acts of violence in seven days have shattered Germany’s calm and revived an emotional debate over the security implications of taking in more than one million migrants and refugees in the past 20 months. Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière said that police presence would be increased across Germany in the wake of the attacks. But he also said investigations into the apparently unconnected attacks have to be concluded before determining whether new security measures are needed. Nevertheless, conservative and populist politicians have seized on the attacks to slam Ms. Merkel’s promise that Germany would manage the enormous task of integrating the influx of migrants and refugees who have arrived since the start of 2015.” The Wall Street Journal: Libyan Forces Advance In Islamic State-Held City “Forces fighting for the United Nations-backed Libyan government said Monday they had seized the security headquarters in Sirte, a crucial step toward retaking control of the coastal city that Islamic State captured more than a year ago. Sirte is the militant group’s most important base outside its strongholds in Syria and Iraq, and its fighters have put up stiff resistance since the initial drive by government-allied forces into the city in late May. But Libyan commanders said Monday they had shrunk Islamic State’s area of control around Sirte, the birthplace of late dictator Moammar Gadhafi, from 150 miles of coastline to just two square miles in the city center. U.S. and Libyan intelligence officials earlier this year estimated some 5,000 militants were inside Sirte, though they say the number has dwindled.” CNN: Boko Haram Blamed In Looming Humanitarian Crisis In Nigeria's Northeast “A frail woman hesitates for a moment before handing over her sick child to a nurse. ‘This child cannot stand,’ says another medic as the severely malnourished boy is carried to the intensive care unit at the Gwange therapeutic feeding center on the outskirts of Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria's Borno state. That scene, captured on video by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), plays out countless times in the northeastern state, where hunger is rampant, according to new numbers. The group says 500,000 people are in urgent need of food, shelter and medical care. Nearly 244,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition in Borno state and an estimated 49,000 of them, about 1 in 5, will die if they don't receive urgent treatment, UNICEF said in a new report.” New York Times: Attackers Storm French Church, Taking Hostages, Killing a Priest “Two men stormed a parish church in northern France on Tuesday morning and took several hostages, killing a priest and critically injuring another person, before the attackers were shot by the police, officials said. President François Hollande said that the Islamic State was behind the attack, the latest in a series of assaults that have left Europe stunned, fearful and angry.” Deutsche Welle: Civilian Deaths In Afghanistan Hit New Record “Civilians are being killed and wounded in record numbers in Afghanistan, a new UN report released Monday. The release of the report comes just two days after twin blasts killed at least 80 people and injured more than 230, most of them civilians, at a peaceful political rally in Kabul. Those casualties - claimed by the self-styled ‘Islamic State’ - were not part of the UN's latest tally. The report found that, between January and June, the UN documented 1,601 civilian deaths and 3,565 injured civilians. This represents an increase of 4 percent in the total number of casualties compared to the same period last year, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said.” ABC News: OC Man Gets 15 Years in Prison for Attempting to Help ISIS “An Orange County man who tried to travel to Syria in an attempt to help the Islamic State terror organization was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Monday. Adam Dandach, a 22-year-old who admitted he attempted to provide material support to ISIS, will also be on probation for the rest of his life. In sentencing Dandach, U.S. District Judge James V. Selna said the defendant's conduct was "serious," required "significant planning," and went on for more than a year.” United States Reuters: U.S. Lawmaker Wants New Budget Requests For Iraq, Afghanistan Troops “The chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee called on the Obama administration on Monday to ask Congress for more money to fund its plans for Iraq and Afghanistan, amid expectations of a defense budget battle when lawmakers return to Washington this fall. ‘The administration needs to come over with a supplemental (budget request),’ Republican Representative Mac Thornberry said at a roundtable discussion with reporters shortly after returning from a trip to Iraq and Afghanistan. He said U.S. and allied forces were making progress in Afghanistan and in the fight against Islamic State militants in Iraq, but that stiff challenges remained in both campaigns.” The Washington Post: Pentagon Says Proposed Russian Deal In Syria Is ‘Not Based On Trust’ “Pentagon leaders on Monday said a proposed agreement with Moscow to expand military cooperation in Syria would hinge on the Kremlin’s support for U.S. goals there, suggesting that senior military officials remain deeply skeptical of Russia’s trustworthiness. Speaking in a briefing with reporters, Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter and Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave a wary assessment of the proposal that State Department leaders have been pursuing with Russia. The deal would establish new means for the sharing of U.S. and Russian intelligence on the whereabouts of extremist militants in Syria, potentially leading to the grounding of Syrian government planes and, hopefully, a reduction in civilian casualties.” Syria Reuters: U.N. Aid Chief Urges Security Council To Push Aleppo Aid Access “The United Nations aid chief asked the Security Council on Monday to push for a weekly 48-hour humanitarian pause in fighting to allow food and other aid to be delivered to eastern areas of the Syrian city of Aleppo. Around 250,000 to 275,000 people in rebel-held eastern Aleppo have been cut off since fighting closed the last supply route, the Castello Road, on July 7. U.N. aid chief Stephen O'Brien said the United Nations and partners had pre-positioned stocks in ‘sad but all too real anticipation of such developments.’ He said any humanitarian pause needed to be 48 hours because the Castello Road was so damaged that only smaller trucks could be used, taking longer to deliver the assistance needed.” Reuters: Car Bomb Wounds Several In Syrian Capital: State Media “An explosives-laden car blew up on Monday in a heavily policed district in the center of the Syrian capital Damascus, causing injuries and extensive damage, state media said. The explosion in the Kafr Sousa neighborhood close to the main Umayyad Square that connects the city center with several highways hit an area where some of Syria's main security installations are based. The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights which tracks violence across the country said the blast was near an Iranian school and that there were dead among the casualties. Insurgents fighting to topple President Bashar al Assad say the district houses many recruits from Iranian-backed militias fighting alongside Assad's army. A rebel group claimed it had targeted Iranian-backed militias in the area.” BBC: Can Syria's Kurds Realise Territorial Ambitions? “When the Syrian protest movement started in 2011, it was young Kurds in Amouda, in the north of the country, who took to the streets, calling for freedom and democracy. President Bashar al-Assad soon announced he would recognise some of the rights demanded by the Kurds and allowed them to register as citizens and hold an identify card, a right they have been deprived of since 1962. But the Kurds rejected the concessions, saying they would wait to get their rights once all Syrians achieved freedom and democracy. Five years on the scene is different. As the war has dragged on in Syria, Kurdish groups have taken the opportunity to gain more power.” Iraq Reuters: Suicide Bombing North Of Baghdad Kills 16, Islamic State Claims Attack “A suicide car bombing claimed by Islamic State killed 16 people including a group of women and children packed into a minibus outside an Iraqi town on Monday morning, police and hospital sources said. A police officer at the scene said most of the victims died inside their vehicles while waiting at a checkpoint to enter Khalis, about 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad. ‘We still have charred bodies inside many vehicles including a minibus packed with women and children,’ the police captain said, requesting anonymity. Amaq, a news agency that supports Islamic State, said the attack had targeted Iraqi troops in Khalis, which is located in the eastern province of Diyala, a mixed Sunni-Shi'ite Muslim area bordering Iran.” Turkey Reuters: Turkey In No Position To Become EU Member Any Time Soon: Juncker “Turkey is in no position to become a European Union member any time soon and all negotiations for it to join will stop immediately if it reintroduces the death penalty, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Monday. Turkish authorities have suspended, detained or placed under investigation more than 60,000 soldiers, police, judges, teachers, civil servants and others since a failed military coup. ‘I believe that Turkey, in its current state, is not in a position to become a member any time soon and not even over a longer period,’ Juncker said on French television France 2.” Reuters: Three Turkish Police Killed In Attack Blamed On Kurdish Militants “Kurdish militants killed three police officers in an attack on their convoy in southeastern Turkey on Monday, security officials said. Explosives placed on a highway in Mardin province were detonated remotely as the convoy carrying police personnel passed at 1:20 pm (1020 GMT), they said. The officers were traveling in an armored vehicle. Fighters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) were behind the attack, the officials said. Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast has been wracked by violence over the past year after a two-year ceasefire between the PKK and the state collapsed last July.” Reuters: Turkey Detains 42 Journalists In Crackdown As Europe Sounds Alarm “Turkey ordered the detention of 42 journalists on Monday, broadcaster NTV reported, under a crackdown following a failed coup that has targeted more than 60,000 people and drawn fire from the European Union. The arrests or suspensions of soldiers, police, judges and civil servants in response to the July 15-16 putsch have raised concerns among rights groups and Western countries, who fear President Tayyip Erdogan is capitalizing on it to tighten his grip on power. EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker questioned Ankara's long-standing aspiration to join the EU. ‘I believe that Turkey, in its current state, is not in a position to become a member any time soon and not even over a longer period,’ Juncker said on French television France 2.” Afghanistan Sputnik: Kabul To Hold Talks With Taliban If ‘Says Yes To Peace’ “Afghanistan is willing to negotiate with Taliban if the Islamist movement assumes a peaceful track and adheres to the national constitution, otherwise military action will be taken, Afghan National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar told Sputnik on Monday. ‘If they do not accept our offer for negotiations, military action will be taken… If they say ‘yes’ to peace, we will negotiate. It is now up to them to act,’ Atmar said. He added that he expected Pakistan, China and the United States to retaliate militarily to the fundamentalist group, underscoring the Taliban leader's Pakistani roots. At the same time, Hanif Atmar confirmed that a senior Pakistani Taliban leader had been killed in a US drone strike in Afghanistan over the weekend.” ABC: Afghanistan: Children Bearing The Brunt As Civilians Casualties Hit New Record, UN Finds “Civilians are being killed and wounded in record numbers in Afghanistan, says a United Nations report. In the first half of this year the UN said at least 1,600 people had died, and more than 3,500 people were injured — a 4 per cent increase in overall civilian causalities compared to the same period last year. The report comes just days after one of the deadliest attacks in Kabul, which killed at least 80 people and injured more than 230 others, most of them civilians. Children in particular are paying a heavy price for growing insecurity as the conflict escalates, making up nearly one-third of all casualties.” Saudi Arabia Reuters: Five Saudi Border Guards Killed In Clashes In South: TV “Five Saudi border guards were killed on Monday in clashes with armed groups seeking to enter from Yemen, state television al-Ekhbariya reported, citing the Saudi interior ministry. A ministry statement added the border guards detected attempts by ‘hostile’ armed groups to cross the border on several fronts in the southern region of Najran on Monday morning. Eight hours of clashes ensued. The statement did not identify the armed groups, but Saudi forces and fighters from Yemen's Houthi movement have traded fire across the border frequently during Yemen's more than 15-month-old war. Peace talks in Kuwait between Yemen's government and the Houthis to end the conflict have dragged on for more two months with few concrete results. A truce that began on April 10 has dampened fighting, but skirmishes continue almost daily.” Egypt Associated Press: Egypt's Coptic Pope Warns Of Increased Attacks On Christians “The leader of Egypt's Coptic Christian church warned on Monday of increased attacks on Christians, saying national unity is being ‘defaced.’ In a meeting with lawmakers, Pope Tawadros II said that since 2013 there have been 37 sectarian attacks on Christians - nearly an incident a month. He describes the situation as ‘very painful.’ He told lawmakers that preserving national unity is ‘our responsibility in front of the world, future generations, history and in front of God.’ His remarks were published on his personal website. Christians make up 10 percent of Egypt's population and say they face discrimination by the country's Muslim majority.” Middle East The Jerusalem Post: Israel, US May Soon Seal New 10-Year Defense Aid Deal “Israel and the United States appear to be close to sealing a deal in which Israel would receive a new 10-year military assistance package that could be worth about $4 billion annually. After almost a year of wrangling between the two countries over the terms of that deal, the Prime Minister’s Office announced on Monday that the acting head of the National Security Council, Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Jacob Nagel, will head to Washington on July 31. While in the US, he will hold ‘meetings with his White House counterparts, for the purpose of signing a new MoU [Memorandum of Understanding] between the two countries as soon as possible,’ the office said.” Reuters: Israel Says Aircraft Strikes In Syria After Errant Syrian Fire “Israeli aircraft attacked a target in Syria on Monday after errant fire from fighting among factions in Syria struck inside Israel, Israel's military said. The Syrian fire had hit an open area near the border causing no injuries, and in retaliation the air force ‘successfully targeted the source of the fire in Syria’, said an army spokeswoman. The Syrian army said two missiles from Israeli reconnaissance planes hit a residential building in Baath City in the Syrian Golan Heights, near the border with Israel. The army statement, carried on state news agency SANA, said the strikes on the city caused ‘material damage’ and said they were aimed at ‘raising the morale of terrorist groups it (Israel) supported’ after losses inflicted by the Syrian army.” Libya Voice Of America: Protests Over Western Troops Threaten Libyan 'Unity' Government “Islamist-backed demonstrations, sparked by the revelation that a trio of French special forces troops were recently killed in Libya, could be a pretext for an attempt to replace Libya's U.N.-brokered ‘unity’ government, experts fear. Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) summoned the French ambassador Monday following a weekend of protests in Tripoli and elsewhere in the strife-torn North African country against the presence of French commandos. Three French officers were killed last week in a helicopter crash in eastern Libya, prompting France to become the first Western country to acknowledge publicly that it has inserted small teams of special forces to assist rival Libyan factions to combat Islamic State extremists.” Nigeria Reuters: Regional Armies Struggle In Last Push Against Boko Haram “‘You'll all be able to go home soon. Boko Haram is nearly finished,’ Niger's Interior Minister Mohamed Bazoum told a crowd of refugees seated quietly on dusty, sun-baked flats. His words of optimism were belied by the dozens-strong security detail required to protect him as he toured his country's southern border. Seven years into an insurgency that spread from Nigeria into Chad, Niger and Cameroon, regional armies are now in a final push to defeat Boko Haram, a once obscure Islamist sect turned deadly militant group. But lingering divisions in the countries' multi-national joint task force (MNJTF) are complicating that mission. ‘If there's no strategy to attack Boko Haram together, we won't ever finish with them,’ Mahamadou Liman Ali, an opposition lawmaker from southern Niger, told Reuters in Niamey.” United Kingdom BBC: 'Jihadi Jack' Denies Joining IS In Syria “A man dubbed ‘Jihadi Jack’ after travelling to Syria has denied joining the so-called Islamic State group. But speaking to Channel 4 News, 20-year-old Jack Letts, from Oxford, said he ‘opposes a non-Islamic system’ and has no plans to return home. Police have confirmed Mr Letts has been under investigation since March 2015. His parents John Letts, 55, and Sally Lane, 54, have been charged with funding terrorism after they allegedly sent him money. Mr Letts told Channel 4 News in a telephone interview: ‘I came here searching for the truth, and people of the truth, and I don't regret that I came.’ He said the UK government might consider him a terrorist because he ‘opposes a non-Islamic system and manmade laws’ but he is not ‘currently’ a fighter.” RT: Top Anti-Terrorism Cop Admits ‘Constant’ Effort To Protect London From Extremist Attack “London’s most senior counter-terrorism cop has said the security services are constantly testing and improving their responses to any potential attack. Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, who serves as head of police counter-terrorism, detailed the efforts ahead of a major meeting of UK security experts at London’s City Hall. Rowley explained the process consists of two parts: ‘Working with communities to prevent people being drawn into violent extremism, and carrying out protective security operations to make London and the UK a hostile environment for terrorists to operate in.’ The military also appears to be training intensely in the wake of violent attacks in Nice and Munich. It was reported on Monday that elite SAS soldiers had taken part in a training exercise in the Midlands in concert with police and other security agencies to prepare for a major terrorism incident.” Germany The Washington Post: Alarmed Germans Wonder About The Security Risks Posed By Asylum Seekers “When hundreds of thousands of migrants poured into Europe from the war-torn Middle East and beyond, Germany stepped in with shelter and aid. Yet a new wave of violence is exposing the extent to which Western Europe’s most populous nation has also opened the door to risk. The latest attack: A rejected Syrian asylum seeker who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, and was known by authorities to be suicidal, detonated a backpack bomb rigged with metal projectiles in the Bavarian city of Ansbach late Sunday. After being turned away from a pop music fest for not having a ticket, the 27-year-old exploded the bomb near a wine bar, killing himself and wounding 15 bystanders — including three left in serious condition. It marked the fourth bloody assault on German soil in a week, stoking the fears of Germans who have largely looked on as terrorism struck their neighbors.” Sputnik: Germany Considers Army Role in Terrorism Clampdown “Germany is considering loosening parts of its constitution and allowing for the deployment of the military across the country in an effort to protect its citizens from terrorism after the fourth attacks in the space of a week killing ten and injuring dozens more. Following the Second World War, Germany's new constitution laid down strict rules of the deployment of the military — the Bundeswehr — both abroad and within Germany. The issue is hugely sensitive and a change to the constitution may be required to deploy the forces. The interior ministry is also coming under pressure to improve its domestic intelligence agencies and police amid growing concern that the migrant crisis has left Germany open to attacks. More than a million migrants arrived in Germany in 2015, especially after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her country's doors were open to Syrian refugees.” The Guardian: Germany Boosts Police Presence And Warns Of Further Terrorism “Germany will boost police presence at airports and train stations and carry out stop-and-search operations close to border areas, as residents were told to brace themselves for more acts of terrorism. The warning was given after a Syrian asylum seeker blew himself up at the entrance to a music festival on Sunday night, the fourth bloody attack in a week. Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office warned that it had 410 leads on possible terrorists currently in Germany. The three incidents have plunged the south-east German state – and the country as a whole – into an acute state of nervousness and prompted difficult questions about the extent to which the open-door policy of the chancellor, Angela Merkel, towards refugees last summer might be to blame.” France The Jerusalem Post: France Is Not Responsible For This Terrorism “Analysts, academics and so-called experts continually point out two things when trying to explain the waves of terrorism France has faced in recent years. First, France’s 135-year reign over Algeria is often cited as being the main impetus for its struggles with, and the pervasiveness of, radical Islam within their country. The second main point, which is usually raised as a byproduct of the first, is that French Muslims have been unable, both socially and economically, to integrate into French society on any meaningful level. While these points and events are undoubtedly part of the bigger picture that’s led to the current crisis in France, they imply that France is in some way responsible for the mess they find themselves in. This way of thinking is not only myopic, it’s offensive. France, you are not to blame.” Europe The New York Times: String Of Attacks In Europe Fuels A Summer Of Anxiety “Nearly every day seems to bring a new horror to the streets of Western Europe, leaving innocent men, women and children dead or broken, fueling political and social tensions and creating what some are already calling the summer of anxiety. Death and injury have been dealt out by truck, ax, handgun, machete and bomb. The victims have included families out for a night of fireworks on the glittering French Riviera, teenagers hanging out at a McDonald’s, tourists on a train and pop music fans at a Sunday night concert. The lack of straightforward answers has made things trickier at a time of political flux in Europe. Even before the latest string of attacks, the Continent was seeing a rise in nationalist and anti-immigrant sentiment, and far-right parties were using the atmosphere to try to gain new legitimacy and power. Populist, anti-immigration sentiment was a powerful factor in Britain’s vote last month to leave the European Union.” Arabic Language Clips Financing of Terrorism Gulf Eyes: Counter Strategies: Towards Drying Up The Financial Sources Of Terrorist Organizations It seems that the Middle East region is in the midst of a new wave of clamping down on sources of financing for terrorist organizations and states that sponsor them, since several international and regional forces are involved in these organizations. This crackdown will be based on political decisions which will then be followed by economic, judicial and banking procedures as part of united efforts to reduce violence and armed conflict in the region. Regionally, some steps have been taken to dry up financing sources of terrorist organizations, including groups that are funded and supported by Iran to undermine security and stability in some countries. In this regard, the Gulf Cooperation Council and, later, the Arab League issued decisions to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, due to its ongoing acts of aggression and recruitment of youth from Arab countries to carry out terrorist acts. Elaph: Iranian Charged In Kosovo With Terrorist Financing The Prosecution in Kosovo on Monday said in a statement that it has charged an Iranian national with "terror financing and money laundering." Sources claimed that the Iranian is charged with obtaining, during 2014-2015, roughly 900,000 euros from abroad for his non-governmental organization called "Qur’an" without duly informing Kosovo authorities. In addition, two years ago he claimed to have received a gift from Kuwait, but "these funds were deposited in China." According to local media reports, through his organization the Iranian, identified as Hasan Azari Bejandi, supported the religious activities of four other non-governmental organizations which are "suspected of having links to the Islamic regime in Iran." ISIS Addiyar: French Report Reveals How ISIS Is Financing Itself! A French fact-finding mission consisting of more than 60 specialists, researchers and journalists, which was launched on December 16th, 2015, recently ended its task to collect information on the means and mechanisms used by the ISIS terror group in Iraq and the Levant. Its report revealed that the terrorist group enjoyed a yearly income of over $3 billion. Natural resources such as oil and natural gas constitute the foremost source of funding; ISIS reaps $900 million annually from these natural resources, divided into proceeds of $600 million from petroleum and $300 million from natural gas. However, the bombing of cities under its control and other strongholds has led to a decline in resources, which is forcing ISIS to seek other ways of funding. Muslim Brotherhood Veto: Islamic Expert: Erdogan Plans To Move The Brotherhood Youth To Eastern Europe For (University) Studies Ahmed Atta, a researcher on Islamic movements, claimed that Turkey's ruling "Justice and Development" (AKP) party will send Muslim Brotherhood youth to universities in Eastern Europe at its own expense, following the decision by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to close several private universities. Atta said that the Brotherhood youth are the segment that is politically prepared for the next stage. They are a faction of the "Caliphate Project" through which AKP is seeking to turn Turkey into an Islamic venture that will lead the region. The expert stressed that huge budgets have been allocated to keep the student sector inside AKP. Houthi Yemen Akhbar: Houthis' Arrests … An Ugly Stain On The Human Rights Record Of Yemen Since their sweep of the Yemeni capital of Sana'a on September 21st 2014, the country has never witnessed such a fierce wave of arbitrary arrests launched by the Houthis against their opponents, including activists, politicians and journalists. Recently, arbitrary arrests have become a profitable 'profession' for the Houthis, since they are extorting detainees and their families and demanding ransom payment of huge sums of money in exchange for their freedom. Several families of detainees who have already fallen into the hands of the Houthis claim that leaders of the group demanded large sums of money for their release. Anyone who does not have the money is liable to stay in detention for several months.