Eye on Extremism - July 28, 2016

Eye on Extremism July 28, 2016 New York Times: Officials in France Identify 2nd Man Who Attacked Church, Killing Priest “The French authorities identified on Thursday a second man who stormed a church in Normandy and killed an 85-year-old priest as he celebrated Mass. The Paris prosecutor’s office identified the man as Abdel-Malik Nabil Petitjean, 19. Mr. Petitjean had been on the radar of the police since June 29 for having tried to enter Syria from Turkey, and a foreign intelligence agency sent his picture to French intelligence on July 22 — four days before the attack — but without a name or description, the prosecutor’s office said.” BBC: Iraq Violence: Did IS Use New Type Of Bomb For Deadliest Attack? “Hardly a day goes by without an attack somewhere in a city laced with security checkpoints and armed guards. But the explosion in Baghdad's Karrada neighbourhood was no ordinary bomb. From its design to its destination, this attack underlines that IS has found a new way to inflict harm and cause terror. ‘Daesh used, for the first time, a new tactic which helped it to move undetected through checkpoints,’ a Western security source in Baghdad tells me, using the name for IS more commonly used in the region. ‘We've never seen it before, and it's very worrying.’” The New York Times: U.S. Secures Vast New Trove Of Intelligence On ISIS “The United States is poring over a vast trove of new intelligence about Islamic State fighters who have flowed into Syria and Iraq and some who then returned to their home countries, information that American officials say could help fight militants on the battlefield and prevent potential plotters from slipping into Europe. American-backed Syrian Kurdish and Arab militias have seized more than 10,000 documents and 4.5 terabytes of digital data in recent weeks while fighting insurgents in Manbij in northern Syria, near the Turkish border, a major hub for Islamic State fighters entering and leaving Syria, American officials said. An initial American review of the material offers new clues about ‘foreign fighters, the networks, where they’re from,’ according to Brett McGurk, President Obama’s special envoy for combating the Islamic State.” Voice Of America: Afghanistan Alleges Former Leader Of Let Behind IS Attacks “Afghanistan has alleged for the first time that the former leader of an outlawed Pakistani militant group, who is wanted in the United States and India, is overseeing attacks by Islamic State fighters in the war-torn country. During a meeting between Afghan and Pakistani military officials in Kabul Tuesday, Afghan officials said ‘currently former leader of Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), Hafiz Saeed, is managing activities’ of IS in Afghanistan, according to an Afghan defense ministry statement. Saeed is the founder of LeT and is wanted in India for allegedly plotting terrorist attacks on its soil, including the 2008 Mumbai raids that killed 166 people. The United States has a $10 million bounty for information leading to Saeed's arrest and says he has ties to al-Qaida.” The New York Times: Defeat Of ISIS Could Send ‘Terrorist Diaspora’ To West, F.B.I. Chief Says “Eventual victory against the Islamic State could well lead to an uptick of terrorist attacks in the West, not a reduction in them, James B. Comey, the director of the F.B.I., said on Wednesday. ‘At some point there is going to be a terrorist diaspora out of Syria like we’ve never seen before,’ Mr. Comey said at a cybersecurity conference at Fordham University. ‘Not all of the Islamic State killers are going to die on the battlefield.’ Mr. Comey predicted that the military coalition would eventually succeed in crushing the Islamic State, but that ‘through the fingers of that crush are going to come hundreds of really dangerous people and they are going to flow primarily to Western Europe.’ But some, he said, could well end up in the United States.” Associated Press: AP Explains: Why Syria's Al-Qaida May Be Considering A Split “Al-Qaida's branch in Syria is considering splitting ties with the global terror group, members say. A Nusra Front official told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the group's leader plans to announce a disassociation with al-Qaida soon. Speaking via text message from northern Syria, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the issue, said Nusra will merge with other insurgent groups. If it does, that could throw a wrench in talks between the U.S. and Russia on a military partnership in Syria, complicating efforts to separate the militant fighters from other moderate rebel factions.” Associated Press: Israeli Military Says It Killed Suspect Behind Deadly Ambush “Israeli forces tracked down a group of suspects behind the deadly ambush of a family car in the West Bank earlier this month and killed the man who pulled the trigger in that attack in a shootout early on Wednesday, the military said. The July 1 attack killed Miki Mark, a 48-year-old father of 10 children, and wounded his wife and two teenage children. The military subsequently sent hundreds of troops to the area of the attack to search for the perpetrators in what was the largest operation in the territory in two years. Israel also vowed to take unprecedented steps to capture the killers. On Wednesday, the military said that after almost a month of pursuing the perpetrators, troops closed in on the Hamas cell behind the ambush. It said troops surrounded a house near the West Bank city of Hebron where the group was hiding and called on them to surrender.” Reuters: Morocco Arrests 52 Suspected Militants, Foils Several Attacks “Morocco said on Wednesday that it had arrested 52 suspected militants inspired by Islamic State and that it had foiled several attacks in the North African kingdom by seizing weapons and bomb-making materials. It is the largest group arrested in years and the latest of a series of cells that the authorities say they have found plotting attacks inside and outside Morocco. The North African kingdom, an ally of the West against Islamist militancy, has been on high alert since 2014, when IS took control of large swathes of northern Iraq and Syria. The 52 arrested were among 143 people investigated in many Moroccan cities and towns, the interior ministry said in a statement.” Voice Of America: In Borno State, Boko Haram Victims Face Humanitarian Catastrophe “The charity, Doctors Without Borders warns more than one-half million people in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria are facing a large-scale humanitarian disaster and are in need of urgent emergency assistance. The 15,000 people in the Nigerian town of Banki are isolated, cut off from the rest of the world and totally dependent on international aid, according to the Head of emergencies for Doctors Without Borders, Hughes Robert. He says most of these people have been in hiding for more than one year because of the dangers posed by Boko Haram near the border with Cameroon.” The Guardian: French Media To Stop Publishing Photos And Names Of Terrorists “Several French news organisations have said they will no longer publish photographs of people responsible for terrorist killings, to avoid bestowing ‘posthumous glorification’. Le Monde published an editorial after the latest attack, the murder of an elderly priest in a church near Rouen by two men claiming allegiance to Islamic State. Under the headline ‘Resisting the strategy of hate’, Le Monde argued on Wednesday that all elements of society had to be involved in the struggle against terrorism, and that media organisations had a special role to play. It first chose not to republish images from Isis propaganda documents. Then, after the attack in Nice on 14 July, when a truck drove through crowds enjoying the Bastille Day public holiday, Le Monde said it had decided to ‘no longer publish photographs of the perpetrators of killings, to avoid the potential effect of posthumous glorification’.” Sputnik: Syrian Army Kills Senior Nusra Front Commander During Clashes “A senior commander of the Nusra Front militant group was killed in clashes with Syrian government forces in the northern province of Homs, media reported Wednesday. "Syrian soldiers stormed al-Nusra Front's strongholds in al-Rastan in Northern Homs, killing Amin Sameer al-Ruz aka Abu Malik, a field commander of the group and eight more militants," the Fars News agency reported, citing its own sources.” The Wall Street Journal: FBI Director Says Agency Is Talking With Tech Firms About Privacy, Encryption “The Federal Bureau of Investigation is holding ongoing talks with technology companies about a range of privacy and encryption issues, said James Comey, the agency’s director. The talks reflect heightened awareness about the intersection of cybersecurity and physical terrorism. Tension surrounding last year’s terrorist attack in San Bernardino, Calif., and the agency’s dispute with Apple Inc. over access to one of the shooter’s phones, polarized the debate, he said. ‘It became a rallying point for so much emotion that a complicated conversation between people with the same values became…impossible.’ Meaningful discussion will likely have to wait until after the presidential election, he added. However, technology companies and the FBI are discussing the issue privately, he said, though he did not specify which companies are participating. They ‘are having pretty good private conversations right now,’ he said.” United States The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Adds Forces In Afghanistan To Fight Islamic State “The U.S. military is adding troops in eastern Afghanistan for an offensive against Islamic State, U.S. and Afghan officials said, a move intended to roll back the group’s gains in areas near the Pakistan border. Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said he was making use of a special authority to bring in additional assets, including ground forces, for short-term counterterrorism operations. He wouldn’t indicate how many extra troops had entered Afghanistan, or the timing of their arrival, but said operations were ongoing. The arrival of additional forces marks another escalation in a nearly 15-year conflict that also involves efforts to put down the long-running Taliban insurgency.” Associated Press: Interview: Us General Says Afghan Is Linked To Main Group “The Islamic State group presence in Afghanistan is directly linked to the parent organization in Iraq and Syria, the U.S. Army general in charge of American and NATO troops in Afghanistan said on Wednesday. Gen. John Nicholson, speaking to The Associated Press in an interview, says IS loyalists in Afghanistan have financial, communications and strategic connections with the main IS leadership based in a self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria. ‘This franchise of Daesh is connected to the parent organization,’ he said, using a common alternative acronym for the Islamic State group. ‘They have applied for membership, they have been accepted, they had to meet certain tests, they have been publicized in Dabiq,’ the IS magazine, he said. IS bases in the eastern province of Nagharhar, which borders Pakistan, are currently being targeted by an Afghan military offensive, backed by U.S. troops.” Reuters: U.S. Forces Help Iraqis Build Bridge On Way To Mosul “A small group of U.S. troops helped Iraqi forces build a bridge across the Tigris River last week that will support Iraq's campaign to retake Mosul from the militant group Islamic State, a U.S. military spokesman said on Wednesday. This was the first time American forces accompanied the Iraqi army closer to the front lines of battle since U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in April that they would be allowed to do so. Previously, advisers were limited to larger divisions further back from battlefields. Colonel Chris Garver, the U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said the operation involved fewer than 10 U.S. troops. The American engineering team was sent on July 20 to assist a battalion of Iraqi soldiers install a floating bridge over the Tigris near Qayyara air base, recently retaken from Islamic State by Iraqi forces, Garver said.” Syria CNN: People In Aleppo 'Scared And Hungry' As Syrian Troops Encircle City “People in Aleppo are hungry and terrified as the Syrian army tightens its grip on the rebel-held eastern section of the city, resident and photojournalist Karam Al Masri told CNN. Food and water have become scarce, he said. ‘The situation now is really bad. There is not enough food in the city, not enough bread. The residents are very scared and hungry.’ Many markets are closed and people stand in long lines for food, with each family receiving six loaves of bread every two days, Masri said. ‘There is a shortage of all the basic needs,’ he added. The Syrian army said Wednesday its troops and supporters have surrounded Aleppo and cut off ‘all supply lines and corridors’ to the rebel-held neighborhoods, state-run media reported.” CNN: Suicide Bombing Kills Dozens In Syria                                            “A suicide bombing killed 48 people, among them women and children, Wednesday in northern Syria, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. A truck bomb exploded near buildings belonging to a Kurdish security agency and other governmental departments in the city of Qamishli near the border with Turkey, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reported. The observatory said 140 people were hurt. ISIS claimed responsibility and said one of its members drove a truck rigged with explosives to reach the Kurdish administrative complex where defense, interior and military recruiting departments operated. Kurdish officials are trying to learn how ISIS was able to get so much explosives into their stronghold.” Iraq Reuters: Mortar, Bombing In Baghdad Kill Six, Including Four Children “A mortar attack south of Baghdad at a camp for people displaced from the war with Islamic State killed four children and a woman on Wednesday, while a separate suicide bombing in a northern district killed a policeman, security sources said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either attack. The ultra-hardline Sunni Muslim militants of Islamic State regularly bomb security forces and civilian areas in the capital. Mortar attacks are less frequent in the city of four million where many armed groups operate. Three mortar shells landed inside Al Salam camp, one falling in the center and two others in a market area, a statement from the U.N. refugee agency, which operates there, said. It was the third such attack on the camp in as many months, including one in early July which killed four people, the statement added.” Turkey NPR: Despite Turkey's Crackdown, Some Critics Are Still Speaking Out “Most critics of the Turkish government have been frightened into silence these days. The country is consumed with rooting out backers of this month's failed coup attempt — an ongoing purge has affected tens of thousands of people. But it's still possible to find Turks willing to talk about why they oppose both the July 15 coup attempt and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's aggressive reaction, saying legitimate criticism must not be silenced. Many outside Turkey were perplexed to see Erdogan respond to the coup attempt not only by purging the military of coup sympathizers, but by instantly dismissing some 20,000 teachers and firing masses of employees in the education ministry.” Voice Of America: Escalation Of Media Crackdown In Turkey Heightens Concerns “Two U.S. advocacy organizations blasted Turkey on Wednesday for stepping up a campaign to crack down on journalists and media outlets suspected of having ties to the plotters of a failed July 15 military coup. The Committee to Protect Journalists, a media advocacy group in New York, and Freedom House, a research-and-advocacy outfit in Washington, voiced concern about the arrests of more than a dozen Turkish journalists this week and reports late Wednesday that the Turkish government had ordered the closure of dozens of media outlets in the country. The journalists and media outlets are purported to be associates of Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric living in self-imposed exile in the U.S. who Turkey says masterminded the coup attempt.” Reuters: Turkey Dismisses Military, Shuts Media Outlets As Crackdown Deepens “Turkey on Wednesday deepened a crackdown on suspected followers of a U.S.-based cleric it blames for a failed coup, dismissing nearly 1,700 military personnel and shutting 131 media outlets, moves that may spark more concern among its Western allies. So far, tens of thousands of people - including police, judges and teachers - have been suspended or placed under investigation since the July 15-16 coup, which Turkey says was staged by a faction within the military loyal to the Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania but whose movement has a wide following in Turkey where it runs a large network of schools, has denied any involvement in the failed putsch.” Reuters: Two Turkish Soldiers Killed In Bomb Attack In Kurdish Southeast: Sources “Two soldiers were killed and one wounded when a roadside bomb detonated by Kurdish militants hit a passing military vehicle in Turkey's largely Kurdish southeast on Wednesday, security sources said. The bomb was detonated by remote control as the vehicle passed through a highway near Siirt, in southeast Turkey, the sources said. Members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state, frequently target military and security force cars and trucks with roadside bombs. Air-backed operations had been called in to target militants in the region, the sources said. Troop reinforcements and helicopters had been dispatched, they said.” Afghanistan The Wall Street Journal: Afghan Special Forces Feeling Not So Special Anymore “Morale among some Afghan special forces is wearing thin as they are increasingly called upon to lead the fight against the Taliban, with teams feeling exploited by their leadership and missing U.S. support. Sgt. Peer Khapalwak’s battalion has been operating alone in this western district, one of the most dangerous in the country, since the Americans left more than a year ago. During that time, the Taliban have spread from rural areas to the main town and highways, and regularly attack the governor’s office. Instead of chasing top-level Taliban commanders in their area, other teams are routinely dispatched to deliver food to stranded police and Afghan army bases. Instead of flying around in U.S. helicopters, most of their missions are conducted by road, where they are more vulnerable to Taliban ambush and usually far from any advanced medical assistance.” Yemen Reuters: U.N. Calls For Humanitarian Truce In Yemen's Taiz Province “The United Nations called for a humanitarian truce in the Yemeni province of Taiz after government forces captured a town from Iran-allied Houthi militia in heavy fighting that has spurred allegations of war crimes. The fighting has complicated U.N.-sponsored peace talks, as envoys for the Houthis have delayed responding to U.N. proposals calling for Houthi pullouts from cities they control, including the capital Sanaa, and the creation of an inclusive government. James McGoldrick, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, voiced alarm at increasing bloodshed in the southwestern Taiz Governorate, particularly the al-Sarari area, and the closure of Taiz city, the regional capital.” Middle East Times Of Israel: Israel: Hamas Digs 6 Miles Of Tunnels Each Month “A Hamas is digging more than six miles of tunnels each month toward Israel, which has no guaranteed techniques for detecting them, Israeli officials said Wednesday. Amid an ongoing argument among politicians and bereaved Israeli families over whether the Netanyahu government dealt with the Hamas tunnel threat appropriately and effectively before and during the 2014 war in Gaza, the unnamed Israeli defense and diplomatic officials were quoted by Channel 2 news as saying that Israel knows that Hamas is constantly extending its underground network. Israel located and destroyed two Hamas attack tunnels in April and May. Both were discovered in the southern Gaza Strip and ran into Israeli territory.” Nigeria BBC: UN Condemns 'Barbaric' Boko Haram Violence In Nigeria “The United Nations has accused the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram of ‘almost unimaginable’ violence and brutality in Nigeria. Stephen O'Brien, the UN humanitarian coordinator, said the militant group's actions had forced thousands to flee and left unprecedented numbers in need. The UN estimates that more than nine million people in the region need humanitarian assistance. Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to the so-called Islamic State. UN political chief Jeffrey Feltman said Boko Haram remained a threat to stability in the region, despite the group being pushed back from some areas. Both men warned the council that the fight against the group was suffering from a lack of funding. The militant group continues to target countries in the region, including Nigeria and Cameroon, with bomb and suicide attacks.” United Kingdom Telegraph: British Security Services Warn Attack On UK Is ‘Very Likely’ As Churches On Terror Alert After Normandy Priest Murder “A terrorist attack in the UK is ‘highly likely’ following attacks in other parts of Europe, a five-judge tribunal has heard, as churches in Britain are told to tighten security after the murder of an 85-year-old priest in Normandy. The heightened state of security comes as images threatening attacks in London and other major world capitals were reportedly posted on Telegram, a messaging app used by jihadis. Despite there being no specific intelligence relating to attacks against the Christian community in the UK, the National Police Chiefs' Council is urging the community to be alert but not alarmed, report concerns and review their security as a precaution.” BBC: ‘No Way To Monitor’ All UK Terror Suspects “There is no way to monitor all of the 2000 or more people on the UK security forces terrorism ‘radar’, says the former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office. Chris Phillips tells the Today programme that the only way to ensure that all of those under suspicion are prevented from committing terrorist acts would be to lock them all up - which would have adverse consequences in itself.” Germany The New York Times: German Mood Is Shaken As Attacks Show Vulnerability To ISIS “After a week bookended by terrorist attacks, Germans are now clear that they, too, are targets of the Islamic State, leaving them longing for the sense of order that is their pride and bedrock of success. The attacks started with an ax-wielding teenager on a train on July 18 and ended with a backpack bomber on the terrace of a wine bar on Sunday. In between — unrelated to Islamist terrorism, but no less unsettling — an Iranian-German carried out a mass shooting in a Munich shopping mall, and a recently arrived 21-year-old Syrian refugee killed his girlfriend outside a kebab shop, according to the authorities. The arrival of such violence in normally placid Germany has added to an anxiety-provoking summer for Europe. Germans were already feeling a loss of control and grappling with the cultural clashes, like sexual assaults that opened the year in Cologne, ushered in by a chaotic storm of migration last year.” The Washington Post: In Germany, Anti-Muslim Extremists May Pose As Big A Threat As Islamist Militants “Critics of the government say it is striking that the only terror group that was able to kill without being held accountable for years was not an Islamist organization but a homegrown extremist group that primarily targeted Muslims. In recent months, new details have emerged that have prompted questions about whether Germany's negligence of the far-right threat might be even more acute than first assumed. After revelations of the alleged NSU crimes, a review of thousands of cases suggested that 849 more people than originally thought could have been killed by right-wing German extremists since 1990. Critics say authorities had ruled out right-wing extremism as a motive for those killings, despite evidence suggesting otherwise. Whether those incidents can now be categorized as right-wing terrorism is uncertain, though.” The Wall Street Journal: Attacks In Germany Amplify Fears Of Refugees, Helpers “When the news came in that a Syrian asylum applicant had carried out a suicide bombing in Ansbach on Sunday night, the director of a refugee shelter 300 miles to the north wondered if any of his residents would be capable of doing the same. The recent string of attacks by migrants in this country has rattled many refugees and the Germans who work with them. Some fear a backlash or longer screening times as they wait in packed shelters for asylum requests to be processed. Others say that given the hundreds of thousands who entered this country in the past year with few or no controls, more attacks may be inevitable.” Fox News: Germany Shopping Mall Evacuated As Police Hunt Possible Terror Suspect “A shopping center in the north German city of Bremen was evacuated Wednesday evening as police searched for an Algerian man who fled a psychiatric facility while making terrorist threats. A police spokeswoman told Reuters that patrons of the Weserpark shopping mall had contacted authorities to report a suspicious man. That person was later identified as a 19-year-old man who had escaped that morning from a psychiatric facility. Police spokesman Arno Zumbach told the Bild tabloid that the unidentified suspect had made threatening statements about ISIS and last week's mass shooting in Munich, in which nine people were killed and 16 others were wounded.” Reuters: German Rail System Plans To Add 500 Workers For Security “Germany's railways, reeling from an attack by an axe-wielding youth who injured four passengers on a train last week, on Wednesday said it would add 500 workers to bolster security in coming years. Deutsche Bahn Chief Executive Ruediger Grube told reporters the rail operator would also increase its cooperation with the German federal police force. ‘We will increase our security cooperation,’ Grube said. ‘We will hire 500 additional security workers in coming years.’ The new workers will join 3,700 security personnel and 5,000 federal police already in place in trains and at rail stations, Grube said. Deutsche Bahn had already announced after the July 18 train attack near Wuerzburg in southern Germany that it would install more cameras at railway stations and on trains.” France BBC: France Church Attack: Killers 'Pledged Allegiance To IS' In Video “The so-called Islamic State (IS) has released a video it says shows two men who murdered a priest in France, pledging allegiance to the group. The two men are filmed speaking in Arabic and referring to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. One holds a piece of paper on which the IS flag is printed. Fr Jacques Hamel, 86, had his throat cut in the attack on Tuesday at a church in a Normandy suburb. Both attackers were shot dead by police after taking hostages. The video was posted by Amaq news agency, the media arm of IS, which has posted the group's videos and statements in the past. It has not been verified by French police. Reports on Tuesday said the men had filmed the attack, but it is not clear where the video posted by Amaq was recorded.” The Wall Street Journal: France Scrambles to Step Up Security Measures After Church Attack “French authorities pledged to boost security at high-profile events this summer after the slaying of a priest by Islamist radicals, as officials deepened their investigation into the latest terror attack to stun Europe. The priest’s slaying left France—a predominantly Catholic country with a large Muslim population—reeling once again after the Bastille Day attack that killed 84 in Nice. It has also prompted new questions about the government’s antiterror policies. Yet French police and security services are fast approaching the limit of their capacity to stop attacks, worn down by dealing with the threat posed by thousands of extremists believed to be on French soil. Police and local officials say the country is struggling to hire and train forces fast enough.” The Wall Street Journal: French Ask Whether Priest’s Killer, Listed As A Threat, Could Have Been Stopped “The question troubling France on Wednesday in the wake of the attack by a teenager who aspired to go to Syria, but settled instead for cutting the throat of a priest, is whether the crime was a result of failures by the French government, and what more could have been done to prevent it. Shock from the attack did not stifle new political accusations, with questions immediately raised about how a perpetrator well known to the authorities was nonetheless left free to kill. For politicians and much of the public, it was hard to ignore that the crime was committed during a state of emergency that already gives the government added powers to constrain potential terrorists, and that one of the perpetrators was essentially on probation and wearing an electronic bracelet at the time of the attack.” Politico: With Each Attack, France Nudges Rightward On Security “The French once again spent the day watching their clench-jawed, sullen-looking leaders call for national unity in the face of ‘the war’ waged on their country by ISIL. Once again an attack seemed to break another taboo — this time the brutal killing of an elderly priest, in his church in bucolic Normandy — signaling that even in the deepest French provinces terror can strike anybody, anytime. And once again, French voters will likely turn on François Hollande, the president who is in charge, hence responsible, when those attacks reoccur with growing regularity and whose exit from the political stage has never seemed so near. What’s unclear after Tuesday’s atrocity in Normandy is how far the current government will go to push new measures to reassure the population, as it did after the January and November attacks last year, and again after Nice less than two weeks ago.” Europe The Wall Street Journal: The Terrorist Past Has A Message For The Terrorist Present “Western Europe appears to be under an unrelenting terrorism assault. In the past 19 months, France has seen the attack on the newspaper Charlie Hebdo (17 deaths); the coordinated attacks in Paris (130); a cargo-truck attack in Nice (84); and this week a hostage-taking and murder of an elderly parish priest in the small town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. It is certainly understandable if fear and panic now grip the Continent. But it’s important to remember that this is hardly the first wave of terrorism that Europe has seen—and so far not the worst. History does not suggest when this current wave of terrorism will end. It does suggest that it will end some day, and that it can be ameliorated, if not entirely stopped.” Fox News: Europe Terror Attacks Spotlight Security Failings Amid Refugee Crisis “The European policy Germans call ‘Willkommenskultur’ -- the enthusiastic embrace of refugees from Syria and other Muslim-majority countries -- has morphed into a summer of terror. Loose screening of refugees, lax counter-terrorism policies and lenient treatment of those with terrorist links or sympathies has led to a spate of attacks by terrorists already flagged by authorities. Tuesday’s attack in France, where a jihadist already under house arrest slit a priest’s throat, came just two days after a suicide bombing in Germany by a terrorist who a medical expert had predicted would ‘commit suicide in a spectacular fashion.’ Critics say such cases are piling up.” Counter-Terrorism Alkhaleej: Arab Interior Ministers Underscore The Importance Of Fighting Terrorism “The Secretary-General of Arab Interior Ministers Council (AIMC), Mohammed bin Ali Kuman, called on Wednesday to accelerate the adoption of a comprehensive Arab strategy to combat maritime piracy. He also highlighted the importance of the role of security agencies at borders, airports and seaports in combating the infiltration of fighters to terrorist organizations. It should be noted that during the "13th Arab conference of the heads of border guards, airports and seaports", which started its work on Wednesday in Tunis, the UAE is expected to present its experience using a "preliminary notice on [suspected] travelers" Terrorist Financing Alahed News: Spain: Two Moroccan Brothers Arrested On Suspicion Of Involvement In Terrorist Financing “The Spanish Civil Guard announced Wednesday, (July 27th) the arrest of two Moroccan brothers (22 and 33 years) in Catalonia in the northeastern part of the country. The pair was taken into custody on suspicion of involvement in terrorist financing. A statement from the Spanish Guard indicated that the two young men "had financed terrorism and collaborated with a terrorist group." It mentioned that a third brother had been killed in Syria, where he had relocated with his wife and children. The statement noted that the suspects, who were arrested in the Girona region early yesterday morning, "had provided money to people affiliated with ISIS", without specifying the amounts or dates they were delivered.” ISIS RCSS: Sources Of ISIS Financing In Europe “Launching terrorist attacks in Europe costs relatively little money, generally not exceeding a few thousand dollars. This allows perpetrators access to the logistical support necessary to carry out limited and large-scale terrorist operations alike. According to some European and international institutions, Europe's terrorists usually rely on self-financing to carry out their operations, while criminal activities and foreign donations constitute additional sources of funding. The smooth flow of financial sources bound for terrorists in Europe recently has also become an incentive for increasing the frequency of their attacks. This phenomenon is hampering the efforts of the European Union and its institutions to thwart terrorist activities.” Muslim Brotherhood Almal News: Reports: Seized Muslim Brotherhood Assets In Egypt Amount To 35 Billion Pounds “The Egyptian Central Bank has banned the publication of decisions on the seizure of funds issued by the Attorney General or Egypt's Illicit Gains Authority or the Muslim Brotherhood Asset Freeze Committee. This ban extends to all clients of the banking system, individuals and institutions alike. The control and supervision department at the Central Bank has warned, in a circular classified as "top secret", against publishing the decisions on appropriation and has issued an order not to provide customers with any documents pertaining to this matter. Reports indicate that the Muslim Brotherhood's impounded assets, which are currently being managed by the Brotherhood Asset Freeze Committee, total 35 billion pounds ($4 billion). These include properties and real estate, such as offices of the group and of the Freedom and Justice Party, as well as roughly 110 schools.” Parlmany: Egyptian Parliament Member: Muslim Brotherhood Behind The Halt Of Money Transfers By Egyptians Abroad “Egyptian parliament member Mohammed Abda claimed that remittances of Egyptians abroad have been halted, but that the state has no hand in the matter. He stressed that this is the result of concerted efforts by Muslim Brotherhood activists to take over the collection of money by Egyptians abroad and sending it directly to their relatives in Egypt. Abda stressed that this is having an impact on the country's national income.” The Seventh Day: Muslim Brotherhood Youth In Sudan Rebel Against Leaders “Muslim Brotherhood leaders revealed a major revolt being led by Sudan's Muslim Brotherhood youth to overthrow the group's leadership. Claiming ill-treatment towards them by the organization's fugitive leaders in Sudan they have launched a campaign to oust the group's Supreme Guide. Brotherhood youth underscored the humiliating treatment they suffered at the hands of the group's leaders, who expelled them from their homes for refusing to carry out commands by senior leaders of the group. For his part, Tarek Elbashbeshy, a former Brotherhood leader, stated that the leaders who are responsible for funding have completely cut off resources to the group's youth after they declared having joined a new front in the group which refuses to obey the orders of acting Brotherhood Guide Mahmoud Ezzat.”