Eye on Extremism - July 5, 2016

Eye on Extremism July 5, 2016 Counter Extremism Project Concord Monitor: Granite Geek: Dartmouth Professor's Work Spots Terrorism-Recruitment Videos Through Software “When Hany Farid started working a few decades ago on analyzing digital images, he was thinking about how to detect forgeries and copies of still photos and probably hadn’t even heard of the word “jihad.” Fast forward to 2016. The Dartmouth professor’s research has now morphed into something called robust hashing (“hash” being a computer term roughly similar to a digital file’s signature), and is being touted as an important new tool against online videos of violence, beheadings and anti-Western diatribes that are used to recruit terrorists and spread violent hate.” Associations Now: This Non-Profit Could Help Fight Terrorism, But Critics Are Torn “The Counter Extremism Project (CEP), a nonpartisan group that says it was “formed to combat the growing threat from extremist ideology,” recently announced the launch of new tools to fight such content. The technology, based on previous work with Microsoft to fight online child exploitation, essentially gives extremist propaganda—whether distributed as an image, video, or audio—a unique signature so that the content can be removed with an algorithm rather than by hand. CEP Senior Advisor Dr. Hany Farid, a Dartmouth College computer science professor and a prominent figure in digital forensics, argues that the approach could help stymie the rise of extremist ideology, such as that espoused by the Islamic State.” Newsweek: Malaysia Confirms Grenade Attack was First Planned by ISIS on its Soil “A blast at a bar outside Kuala Lumpur was the first attack directed by the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) in Malaysia, according to local police. The Movida bar and restaurant was hit by a grenade attack on June 28 as customers were watching a live screening of the Euro 2016 football tournament. Police had initially ruled out terrorism as a motive for the attack, in which eight people were injured, and suggested that business rivalry or a targeted attack on someone in the bar was a more likely explanation.” CNN: Suicide Attackers Launch 3 Strikes In Saudi Arabia “A wave of suicide bombings hit three Saudi Arabian cities over a 24-hour period. The attacks came on the heels of massive jihadi assaults in the Muslim world last week that have been been tied to ISIS; analysts believe that this string of assaults in Saudi Arabia could be the work of the terror group. There has been no claim of responsibility. Two of the attacks failed but four people were killed in the third, all of which appear to be coordinated -- targeting both Saudi security forces and Western interests. The strikes come as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan ends and Americans celebrate the Fourth of July, the U.S. independence day. They follow dramatic attacks last week in Turkey, Bangladesh, Yemen and Iraq, that killed scores of people. They are claimed or thought to be carried out by ISIS.” Reuters: Iraqis Want Crackdown On 'Sleeper Cells' After Huge Baghdad Bomb “The death toll from a suicide bombing in a Baghdad shopping district rose above 175 on Monday, fueling calls for security forces to crack down on Islamic State sleeper cells blamed for one of the worst-ever single bombings in Iraq. Numbers rose as bodies were recovered from the rubble in the Karrada area of Baghdad, where a refrigerator truck packed with explosives blew up on Saturday night when people were out celebrating the holy month of Ramadan.” BBC: Bangladesh Siege: Twenty Killed At Holey Artisan Bakery In Dhaka Twenty people, most of them foreigners, have been killed in an attack on a cafe in Bangladesh claimed by so-called Islamic State. Gunmen stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe in Dhaka late on Friday before troops entered almost 12 hours later. Six attackers were also killed and one was arrested, officials said. Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina has declared two days of national mourning. Nine Italians, seven Japanese, one US citizen and an Indian also died. Bangladesh Army Brig Gen Naim Asraf Chowdhury said the victims had been ‘brutally’ attacked with sharp weapons. New York Times: Dhaka Victims Were A Diverse Group Of Global Citizens “The attack on Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killed 20 restaurant patrons who were thriving in an interconnected world. Nine of the victims were Italian, most of whom worked in the apparel trade. Seven were Japanese experts in Dhaka to help improve the city’s chronic traffic congestion. Three were students at American universities who had gone to high school together in Dhaka, and one was a Bangladeshi woman who worked for nonprofit groups and was passionate about the arts. Two police officers who responded to the attack were also killed.” The New York Times: As ISIS Loses Land, It Gains Ground In Overseas Terror “In just the past few days, the Islamic State’s evolving brand of terrorism has revealed its deadly, shifting faces. In Istanbul last week, Turkish officials say, militants guided by the Islamic State conducted a coordinated suicide attack on the city’s main airport. In Bangladesh on Friday, a local extremist group that has pledged loyalty to the Islamic State butchered diners in a restaurant. And in Baghdad on Sunday, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for a bombing that killed more than 140 people. The three deadly attacks are already being viewed by intelligence and law enforcement officials as proof that the Islamic State, the only terrorist group to create a state with borders, is becoming a larger, more sophisticated version of its stateless chief rival, Al Qaeda, as it loses territory under traditional military attack in Iraq and Syria.” International Business Times: Suicide Bomber And Mines Force US Coalition To Retreat From Isis Syria Stronghold Manbij “Islamic State militants have pushed back Kurdish-led forces attempting to take control of the city of Manbij. The terrorist group is staging a counteroffensive to stop US-backed troops from cutting off their key access route to Turkey. The Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), which is made up of Arab and Kurdish fighters, have been involved in a bloody month-long battle in Manbij to secure the Syrian-Turkish borders. Suicide bombers blew up a vehicle packed with explosives, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The British-based organisation confirmed that Islamic State (Isis) had evicted SDF fighters from one of the main districts in the south of the city, which was the scene of fierce conflict. Isis (IS) militants are also reported to have retaken a village to the north-west of the city, according to EKurd Daily.” The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Suspects Chechen Was Behind Istanbul Airport Attack “Turkey has asked the U.S. to help track down a prominent Chechen combatant for Islamic State in the belief that he organized the deadly attack on Istanbul’s airport, a senior U.S. official said. The operative, Akhmed Chatayev, is well-known to U.S. and Russian intelligence officials as the one-time leader of a Syrian-based unit of Russian-speaking fighters for the extremist group. Moscow has been seeking him for more than a decade for his role in a separatist insurrection in the Russian republic of Chechnya. Last year the U.S. Treasury put him on a terrorist watch list. The U.S. official said early U.S. intelligence tracks with Turkish intelligence that Mr. Chatayev was behind the triple suicide bombing Tuesday that killed 44 people at Istanbul Atatürk Airport. Turkey has said all three bombers were from the former Soviet Union.” Reuters: Turkey Proposes Cooperation With Russia In Fighting Islamic State “Turkey said on Monday it wanted to cooperate with Moscow in combating Islamic State in Syria but denied having suggested it might allow Russia to use its Incirlik Air Base, near the Syrian frontier. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan last week expressed regret over last year's shooting down of a Russian warplane, with the loss of the pilot. Moscow, which had broken off virtually all economic ties and banned tourists from visiting Turkish resorts, pledged in return to help rebuild relations. In an interview with Turkish state television on Sunday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had appeared to suggest Ankara could open up Incirlik to Russia, a move that could raise concern among Turkey's NATO partners already using the base, including the United States.” The Washington Post: Israel Says Tel Aviv Attackers Were ‘Inspired’ By ISIS — And Planned To Dip Knives In Rat Poison “Last month, a pair of cousins from a village in the West Bank were smuggled into Israel, took a taxi to Tel Aviv and, using a pair of homemade rifles, went on a shooting spree at a trendy food mall. They killed four Israeli civilians and wounded 15. On Monday, Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, said the cousins were inspired by the Islamic State. The pair, both 21, were captured at the scene. The intelligence agency cautioned that although Muhammad Muhamra and Khaled Muhamra were Islamic State supporters, they were not Islamic State militiamen, nor did they formally pledge their allegiance. They carried out the attack ‘without having been officially recruited to the organization and without having received any guidance or assistance,’ it said.” Deutsche Welle: Taliban Chief: US Forces Must Leave Afghanistan “The new Taliban chief said Saturday that foreign forces must end their ‘occupation’ of Afghanistan as a preliminary step to a settlement based on Islamic law that he vowed would bring unity to a country riven by decades of conflict. The top UN official in Afghanistan warned last month of the danger of a new spiral of violence following accelerated attacks in the 15-year-old conflict. The Taliban now control more territory than any time since the 2001 invasion. But the human cost has been extraordinary, with at least 11,000 civilian deaths last year alone.” New York Times: ISIS Seems To Tailor Attacks For Different Audiences “For the Islamic State terrorist group, which broadly advised operatives it sent to Europe to kill “anyone and everyone,” the group’s tactics in Bangladesh have seemed more controlled. In the past nine months, it has claimed 19 attacks in the South Asian country, nearly all of them targeted assassinations singling out religious minorities and foreigners. They included hacking to death a Hindu man, stabbing to death a Shiite preacher, murdering a Muslim villager who had been accused of converting to Christianity and sending suicide bombers into Shiite mosques.” Daily Mail: One In Six British Jihadis Who Have Gone To Syria And Iraq To Fight With ISIS Have Been Killed - But 400 Are Back In The UK “One in six British jihadis who have gone to Syria and Iraq to fight with ISIS have been killed - but 400 are back in the UK, it has been claimed. Security chiefs believe at least 15 per cent of all British extremists who have fled to join the terror group have been wiped out amid intensified airstrikes and military operations on the ground. But with 850 fanatics believed to have travelled to ISIS strongholds from Britain, there are fresh fears that half of them have already returned. Colonel Richard Kemp, the former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, told Dan Warburton of the Sunday Mirror: 'My concern is more with the 400 or so who have returned to the UK and pose a threat. We have seen what the Islamic State can do in Brussels, in Paris, in the US and most recently in Turkey.’” BBC: Chibok Girl's Life With Boko Haram In Nigeria “A month ago, the first of a group of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped from Chibok was freed in north-eastern Nigeria after two years in the hands of Islamist militant group Boko Haram. The girl gained widespread coverage when she was taken to meet President Muhammadu Buhari. The girl is believed to now be undergoing rehabilitation and debriefing sessions with intelligence agencies to help provide them with information. She has asked them not to harm her husband, as she considers him a good man. Military spokesman General Rabe Abubakar said she was being well looked after.” United States Reuters: U.S. Ditched Plan To Give Afghan Forces More Armored Vehicles “As Afghan troops were preparing to take on Taliban militants without NATO combat support in 2014, U.S. officials shelved plans to provide them with hundreds of potentially life-saving armored vehicles, documents reviewed by Reuters show. The decision not to supply around 300 extra vehicles, taken largely for budgetary reasons, remains a sore point, as local forces struggle to implement a U.S.-led push to get them off bases and into active battle against a resilient insurgency. Since 2002, the United States has allocated more than $68 billion to train and equip Afghan security forces, with a view to eventually withdrawing from the country. Yet serious shortfalls in personnel and hardware remain.” Daily Mail: Man, 18, Arrested By FBI For Threatening To Commit Acts Of Terrorism On Arizona Government Buildings “A Tucson man has been arrested by the FBI and the Arizona Attorney General's Office for threatening to commit acts of terrorism on Arizona government buildings. Mahin Khan, who just turned 18, appeared before a Phoenix judge Saturday morning, according to the Attorney General's Office. He was arrested in Tucson on Friday. Khan faces two counts of conspiracy to commit terrorism and a terrorism charge. Arizona Attorney General spokeswoman Mia Garcia said Khan is accused of conspiring to carry out terrorism acts on government buildings in Phoenix and Tucson.” The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Says Airstrikes Aimed At Terrorists Outside Combat Zones Killed As Many As 116 Civilians In 7 Years “The Obama administration on Friday released for the first time internal estimates of the number of civilians killed in strikes against suspected terrorists, but it didn’t disclose many details because officials said those were still secret. Under pressure to increase transparency about U.S. drone operations around the world, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said U.S. strikes on suspected terrorists outside combat zones by both manned and unmanned aircraft killed between 64 and 116 civilians between 2009 and 2015. The strikes were conducted primarily in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Libya, people familiar with the review said. The figures don’t include Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, which are regions with ongoing hostilities.” Newsweek: Why Is Obama Getting Into Bed With Putin In Syria? “As recently as a few weeks ago, the United States had repeatedly rejected strategic cooperation with Russia in Syria. Now it is reportedly proposing a limited partnership there, in which the United States would share intelligence and coordinate attacks with Russia against the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front. Regardless of whether it goes through, the plan’s mere existence confirms the now-complete separation between the United States’ stated Syria policy and its actual one. The plan with Russia should not be judged by whether it helps end the war and achieve a political transition, but whether it advances actual US policy in Syria: selective violence mitigation.” Associated Press: Pentagon: 2 IS Leaders Killed In Airstrike On Iraq's Mosul “The Pentagon says two senior Islamic State group commanders were killed in a U.S. airstrike in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on June 25. In a statement late Thursday, the Pentagon says the strike killed IS's deputy war minister, Basim Muhammad Ahmad Sultan al-Bajari, and a military commander named Hatim Talib al-Hamduni. The announcement comes less than a week after Iraqi ground forces backed by coalition airstrikes retook the city of Fallujah from IS. The fall of Fallujah means that Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, is IS's only remaining urban stronghold in Iraq.” Syria Reuters: Islamic State Repels U.S.-Backed Forces In North Syria City: Monitor “Islamic State militants on Saturday pushed back U.S.-backed forces trying to advance into their stronghold of Manbij for the first time since a major offensive to capture the city and cut off the militants' main strategic access route to Turkey, a monitoring group and Kurdish sources said. The Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), comprised of Kurdish and Arab fighters and backed by the air power of a U.S.-led coalition to fight Islamic State and aided by U.S. special forces, have been involved in the month-long Manbij operation aimed to seal off their last stretch of Syrian-Turkish frontier.” Deutsche Welle: Syrian Airstrikes Kill 20 Civilians Near Damascus After Pilot Execution “Regime airstrikes on the rebel-held town of Jeiroud left at least 20 civilians dead on Saturday, a day after militants captured and killed a government fighter pilot, according to a monitor and rebel sources. A rebel spokesperson said al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, was responsible for executing the pilot. The pilot parachuted into the opposition-held area 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Damascus after his aircraft malfunctioned during a training mission, the government said in an official statement.” Iraq Bombing That Killed More Than 200 Deadliest Attack In Baghdad In Years “More than a day after a suicide truck bomb ripped through Baghdad, families are still hoping that rescuers searching through the rubble can locate the bodies of their loved ones. The bombing early Sunday in a busy shopping district was the deadliest single attack in Iraq's war-weary capital in years, killing at least 215 people, Mohamed al-Rubaye‎, deputy head of the security committee of the Baghdad Provincial Council, said Monday on Afaq TV. Crews remain at the scene in the Karrada neighborhood where the blast occurred, trying to pull bodies from the devastation. Around 175 people were wounded, Rubaye said. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a string of assaults during the holy month for Muslims, a period of fasting and prayer, and also a time when jihadists launch operations against those they regard as their enemies.” Associated Press: After IS Defeat, Fallujah Victory Takes On Sectarian Tones “A highway overpass in Fallujah is plastered with Shiite banners, graffiti and posters of militia leaders, a virtual shrine to victory over the Islamic State group in this majority Sunni Muslim city. The fight to wrest Fallujah from IS control appears to have inflicted considerably less damage to the city's infrastructure than past battles. But scenes like this have the potential to undermine the military's success and hamper the broader fight against IS by reigniting the sectarian tensions that helped fuel the militant group's rise in Iraq. On Sunday, a week after Fallujah was declared "fully liberated" from the Islamic State, a massive suicide truck bombing claimed by IS struck a bustling commercial street in downtown Baghdad, killing at least 142 people, the single deadliest bombing in Baghdad in years.” Reuters: Iraq's Shi'ite Militiamen Stir Unease In Sunni Falluja “A highway overpass in central Falluja, from which Islamic State militants hanged a captured Iraqi soldier last year, bears the marks of the city's latest victors, including a slogan scrawled in green spray paint: ‘The state of (Imam) Hussein remains.’ The overtly Shi'ite Muslim phrase, which appears to mimic Islamic State's own ‘Remain and Extend’ motto, was left a week ago by one of the Shi'ite militiamen who helped drive Islamic State from the Sunni city it captured in January 2014. With combat over, the militias are staying on, brushing up against army, police and counter-terrorism forces which have each staked out positions across Falluja, heavily damaged by the fighting and now almost completely empty.” Reuters: Iraqis Want Crackdown On 'Sleeper Cells' After Huge Baghdad Bomb “The death toll from a suicide bombing in a Baghdad shopping district rose above 175 on Monday, fueling calls for security forces to crack down on Islamic State sleeper cells blamed for one of the worst-ever single bombings in Iraq. Numbers rose as bodies were recovered from the rubble in the Karrada area of Baghdad, where a refrigerator truck packed with explosives blew up on Saturday night when people were out celebrating the holy month of Ramadan. By Monday evening, the toll in Karrada stood at 175 killed and 200 wounded, according to police and medical sources. Rescuers and families were still looking for 37 missing people. Islamic State claimed the bombing, its deadliest in Iraq, saying it was a suicide attack. Another explosion struck the same night, when a roadside bomb blew up in popular market of al-Shaab, a Shi'ite district in north Baghdad, killing two people.” Turkey The Wall Street Journal: The Tragedy of Modern Turkey “Between Islamic State and Kurdish separatists, across Turkey over the past year there have been 15 bombings and suicide attacks, resulting in nearly 300 deaths. In the country’s southeast, where the collapse of peace talks last summer gave way to a Kurdish insurgency, the government claims it has killed 6,900 Kurdish militants. Military and security personnel have suffered about 600 casualties, and civilians killed in the crossfire between government forces and the Kurdish separatists have numbered a few hundred more. And there you have it: 8,000 Turkish citizens dead in one year, and a return to the 1990s-style half-free, half-oppressive national-security state. An annus horriblis in every way.” Reuters: Seventeen Suspects To Appear In Court Over Istanbul Airport Bombing-Media “Seventeen suspects were due to appear in a Turkish court on Monday, state media said, in connection with last week's suicide bombing attack on Istanbul's main airport that killed 45 people and wounded hundreds. The suspects, 11 of them foreigners, were expected in court after being questioned by police, state-run Anadolu Agency reported. The court will decide whether to jail them pending trial or release them, it said. Thirteen other suspects, three of them foreigners, were remanded by a court on Sunday pending trial. The triple suicide bombing at Istanbul Ataturk Airport on Tuesday, which officials believe to have been carried out by Islamic State, was the deadliest in a series of suicide bombings this year in Turkey.” CNN: Syrian Refugees Could Become Turkish Citizens, Erdogan Says “Syrian refugees living in Turkey will have the chance to become citizens, Turkey's President says. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed refugees during a speech in the southern town of Kilis, which borders Syria and is home to tens of thousands of migrants. More than 2.7 million Syrian refugees live in Turkey, according to the United Nations refugee agency. By offering refugees citizenship, Turkey would make it easier for them to get jobs or attend school. Erdogan's announcement comes days after the United Nations announced more than 65 million people were displaced by conflict or persecution last year. However, some worry that the mass migration poses an opportunity for terror groups to sneak into other countries.” Afghanistan Reuters: Bystanders Killed, Injured In Attack On Commander In Eastern Afghanistan “At least two people were killed and 17 injured on Saturday when a suicide bomber attacked a local commander in eastern Afghanistan, officials said. The attacker targeted the vehicle of Haji Hayat Khan, a leader in a local movement opposing Islamic State militants in Nangarhar province, as he traveled in Jalalabad city, said Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor. Khan's body guards saw a suspicious man on a motorbike approaching, but when the man failed to heed their warnings to stop, the guards opened fire, hitting the rider, Khogyani said. The attacker was nevertheless able to detonate explosives, which killed at least two civilians, including a small boy, and wounded 17 others, he said. Khan and his escorts were unharmed by the blast.” Saudi Arabia Deutsche Welle: Saudis 'Foil Cross-Border Missile Attack' “The Saudi Arabian air defenses brought down a missile fired from across the Yemen frontier early Monday, military officials said. ‘It was intercepted with no injuries,’ the Riyadh-led coalition fighting in Yemen said in a statement. Saudi Arabia has US-made Patriot anti-ballistic missile batteries deployed at its borders. The Yemeni missile was at least the fourth ballistic missile launched across the border since UN-brokered peace talks began in Kuwait in April between Yemen's Houthi rebels and the Saudi-backed government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. The UN's special envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, said last week that the warring parties were taking a two-week break from the peace talks, which have made little progress.” Associated Press: Explosion Near One Of Islam's Holiest Sites In Saudi Arabia “An explosion went off outside one of Islam's holiest sites Monday just as the call to sunset prayers was ending and hours after suicide bombers struck in two other Saudi cities. There were no immediate confirmations of anyone killed in the three incidents. Sabq news site and other local media, quoting unnamed sources, said the explosion outside the Prophet Muhammad's mosque in Medina was caused by a suicide bomber near a security building. The bomber reportedly sat briefly with security guards as they were breaking their dawn-to-dusk fast before detonating his vest. Several cars caught fire and thick plumes of black smoke were seen rising from the site of the explosion as thousands of worshippers crowded the streets around the mosque.” Egypt Newsweek: ISIS Claims Murder Of Priest In Sinai, Where Egypt’s Christians Are Under Threat “An Egyptian affiliate of the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) claimed responsibility Thursday for the murder of a priest in the Sinai Peninsula, a region with great spiritual significance for Christians but where they are facing threats from extremists. Rafael Moussa, 46, a Coptic Orthodox minister at the Mar Girgis (St. George) Church in Arish, was having his car fixed at a repair shop when he was gunned down Thursday, The New York Times reported. A masked gunman shot the priest before threatening witnesses and then fleeing, a minister from a nearby church told the newspaper.” Reuters: Egypt Investigators Say Can Extract Info From Crashed Jet Voice Recorder “Egyptian investigators said on Saturday the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) of crashed EgyptAir flight MS804 was now in a condition to extract recordings. The investigative committee said in a statement that, after repairs, the CVR was in a condition to retrieve information that could help explain why the Airbus A320 jet plunged into the sea on May 19, killing all 66 people on board. The committee said its members were planning to return to Cairo to continue reading and analyzing the flight data recorder and CVR at the central department for aircraft accidents at Egypt's Ministry of Civil Aviation.” Middle East CNN: Israel To Expand West Bank Settlement After Girl's Death “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to allow the expansion of a West Bank settlement in the wake of the stabbing death of a 13-year-old Israeli-American girl, an Israeli official told CNN Sunday. Hallel Yaffa Ariel was sleeping when a Palestinian teenager entered her house in Kiryat Arba, a settlement near Hebron, and killed her Thursday. He was shot to death in the home by settlement security guards, authorities said. Netanyahu and the Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman made the decision Saturday after visiting mourners in Kiryat Arba, the official said.” Haaretz: New Regulations Allow Israel Police To Respond To Stone-Throwing, Firecrackers With Live Fire “Israel Police are now permitted to fire live bullets as a first resort against people throwing stones or incendiary devices, including fire crackers, according to open-fire regulations that were loosened last December in light of an upsurge of violence in East Jerusalem. The regulations, which were approved by the attorney general, had been classified. They were revealed on Monday in Lod District Court in response to a petition by Adalah-Legal Center for Minority Rights in Israel.” Haaretz: Israel Strikes Two Military Targets In Syria In Response To Cross-Border Fire “Israel attacked two military targets in Syria in response to what the army described as ‘unusual’ cross-border spillover from the conflict ravaging the country in recent years. The army said the original fire hit near the Golan Heights security fence, but did not threaten Israelis living near the Syrian-Israeli border. It said that the Israel Defense Forces do not intervene in the war in Syria but would respond to any incursion. In April, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted for the first time that Israel had conducted strikes against its northern neighbor.” Libya Reuters: Three Killed As Libya Forces Close On Central Sirte Against Islamic State “Libyan forces fighting to free the city of Sirte from Islamic State forces have surrounded a conference hall in the area still held by militants after air strikes and clashes that killed at least three pro-government fighters, senior officials said. Forces allied with Libya's unity government began a campaign two months ago to free Sirte from Islamic State, after militants took advantage of fighting between rival factions to gain territory and control the coastal city last year. Three fighters were killed and more than 30 injured during fighting on Friday after Islamic State militants were driven out of the residential 700 district in fierce clashes involving rockets, mortars and gun battles, a senior commander and hospital officials said.” Nigeria International Business Times: 'Boko Haram Did Not Kidnap Indian Engineers In Nigeria,' Says Sushma Swaraj “Rejecting speculations that terror group Boko Haram was responsible for the kidnapping of Visakhapatnam engineer Mangipudi Sai Srinivas and his colleague Anish Sharma in Nigeria, Union Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj said that the Nigerian government suspects that the abduction might have been carried out by local goons for ransom. The two engineers were abducted by a group of armed men when they were on their way to office in Gboko, a town in Nigeria's Benue state. The union minister reassured the kin of the abducted men by informing them that the Nigerian police have deployed a huge force to secure the release of the abducted engineers.” United Kingdom The Guardian: Terror Threat 'Made Against Heathrow Airport' Before US Independence Day “A transport minister has said government is taking ‘all steps necessary to keep the public safe’ after a threat was reportedly made against Heathrow airport. An alert from non-governmental counter-terrorism organisation Site Intelligence Group on Friday warned of a threat being made by a ‘pro-Islamic State Twitter account’. It is reported to have threatened attacks on planes ‘flying from Heathrow to the US’ across the 4 July US Independence Day holiday weekend. The alert also warned ‘there will be a device placed in either Heathrow, LAX [Los Angeles] or JFK [New York] airports’.” Germany Express.Co.Uk: Spy Chief Warns ISIS Jihadis Could Target German Airports After Istanbul Terror Attack “The head of the country's domestic intelligence agency said attacks like the massacre at Istanbul airport could happen in Berlin or Munich in the near future.  Hans-Georg Maassen admitted he could not ‘rule out’ such atrocities in Germany in yet another dire warning about the precarious state of security on the continent. what was the deadliest of a string of attacks in Turkey this year. And there are fears that Germany could be especially vulnerable to future attacks after security chiefs warned more than 5,000 Islamist fanatics have taken advantage of the refugee crisis to sneak into Europe.”  The Wall Street Journal: German Agency Says Islamic State Operatives Came To Country Disguised As Refugees “Seventeen operatives of Islamic State have entered Germany disguised as refugees, according to evidence collected by the country’s domestic intelligence agency. Most of the group are in prison or dead, Hans-Georg Maassen, the head of Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, said Saturday in an interview with daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The agency, he said, has tracked more than 320 attempted contacts between Islamists and refugees in the country. ‘The biggest threat in Germany is Islamist terrorism,’ Mr. Maassen said. An attack similar to the one Tuesday that left 44 dead at Istanbul Atatürk Airport couldn’t be ruled out in Germany, he added.” France Daily Mail: Controlled Explosion At Stade De France Hours Before Euro 2016 Quarter Final Due As Police Blow Open The Door Of An Illegally Parked Car Outside The Stadium “French security forces conducted a controlled explosion outside the Stade de France in Paris just hours before tonight's European Championships quarter final. France are due to take on minnows Iceland who unceremoniously dumped England out of the competition earlier this week.  Fans approaching the stadium reported hearing a loud bang and were told by police they could not continue because of the security scare. Police confirmed they blew open the door of an illegally parked car outside the stadium. They said the car was parked in an area where it shouldn't have been. Police examined the car after forcing their way an and said they did not find anything suspicious in the vehicle.” Technology Haaretz: Israeli Minister Slams Facebook: 'Terror Victims' Blood Is On Zuckerberg's Hands' “Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan has accused Facebook and its chairman and cofounder Mark Zuckerberg of partial responsibility for terrorist attacks, including the murder of a 13-year old girl  while she slept last Thursday.  Erdan said on Saturday that the social network fails to block posts inciting violence and also sabotages the work of Israeli police.  ‘Some of the victims' blood is on Zuckerberg's hands,’ he told Channel 2. Facebook has turned into a monster. The younger generation in the Palestinian Authority runs its entire discourse of incitement and lies and finally goes out to commit murderous acts on Facebook's platform.’ Erdan's comments touched on Facebook posts by the terrorist who murdered an Israeli girl, Hallel Yaffa Ariel, in Kiryat Arba last week. Mohammed Nasser Tra'ayra, 19, from the Palestinian village of Bani Na'im, had been praising terrorists and voiced his wish to die a ‘martyr's death’ on Facebook in the days before the attack.” Bangladesh CNN: Dhaka: 'Normal, Regular Guys' Who Carried Out Bangladesh Terror Attack “They went to top schools and universities. They seemed like normal, middle-class men. And on Friday, they killed 22 people in a terror attack that has left the country reeling in shock. Bangladesh is a country depressingly used to terror -- with dozens of secular bloggers, Hindu priests and others murdered in the last 18 months -- but the July 1 attack was different, both in terms of scale, and the perpetrators. ‘What's really puzzling is the background of these attackers,’ said Faiz Sobhan of the Dhaka-based think tank Bangladesh Enterprise Institute. ‘They were normal, regular guys who hung out at cafes, played sports, had Facebook pages.’” Arabic Language Clips Counter-Terrorism Alkhaleej: UAE Renews Its Commitment To The Fight Against Extremism And Terrorism In All Their Forms UAE has renewed its commitment to combat extremism and terrorism in all their forms and manifestations, calling on the international community to double its efforts to ensure the existence of safe societies free of extremism and terrorism. This came during a statement made by Mohammed Al Shamsi, Deputy Director of International and Security Cooperation, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, in a session hosted by the UN General Assembly on counter-terrorism strategy. The UAE official reiterated his country's position that terrorism is a global phenomenon that transcends borders, cultures and religions. He stressed that terrorism is a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon that requires the international community to implement various methods to confront it, beyond the scope of military operations. Alarabya News: Egypt Renews Its Call Regarding The Need To Block Terror Financing Sources In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, Egypt condemned Monday's terrorist attacks that took place near the Prophet’s Mosque and inside a mosque in the eastern Saudi city of Qatif, which resulted in the death of four security men. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry's statement reiterated its call for concerted international efforts to combat terrorism, uproot it, block the sources of its funding and address the causes leading to this phenomenon. Gulf Eyes: (Egyptian Ministry Of) Awqaf Blocks The Way For Exploiting Zakat Funds Politically The Egyptian Ministry of Awqaf has determined specific ways of payment of Zakat by Egyptians. These new rules are being enforced nationwide in mosques under the ministry's control. These rules forbid imams and preachers who have been authorized to deliver sermons by the Ministry of Awqaf, from receiving Zakat funds from citizens or distributing them to the needy. This ban also applies to inspectors, directors of departments and employees appointed by the ministry to run the mosques. The ministry introduced one mechanism for the direct disbursement of Zakat from citizens to the needy. In this context, an official at the Ministry of Awqaf disclosed that the reason for this decision is to combat the phenomenon of political spending of Zakat, which has been witnessed over the past two years. The source revealed that cases have been observed of the transfer of Zakat funds by officials in charge of mosques to families and relatives of Muslim Brotherhood detainees and prisoners. ISIS Alalam: ISIS Launches Its New Gold Currency In Mosul A tribal source in the Iraqi city of Mosul disclosed that ISIS has begun pumping its gold currency into the city's markets. The 21-carat "gold dinar" weighs 25.4 grams and its exchange rate is $140, equivalent to 187,000 Iraqi dinars. The source reported that the terrorist group, which initially announced the introduction of its gold currency about a year ago, seeks to monopolize transactions using this currency, gradually replacing the Iraqi dinar and the American dollar. The source added that "the Islamic State has introduced the new currency in major markets in Mosul, especially Bab Sinjar Al Borsa market and Bab Al Sarai." 24: ISIS Requests Donations In Dollars And Bitcoin A group loyal to ISIS in Gaza urged its supporters to donate money in a fundraising campaign launched a few days ago titled “Jahizuna” (“Equip Us”)." According to messages on social media pages affiliated with the organization, supporters are being asked to make donations in either US dollars or Bitcoin. These funds will be channeled towards the purchase of weapons, military equipment and explosive materials. Posts shared in the past few days have focused on the cost of equipping terrorists. Supporters are urged to donate "even $10", which is a further indication of the group's dependence on the US currency. However, in the past 24 hours, a shift in the fundraising method was observed when supporters were encouraged to make their donations in Bitcoin. Alkulasa: Documents: ISIS Financial Strategy And Non-Oil Resources The non-oil resources obtained by the ISIS terror organization are based mainly on strict taxation of all business sectors. This entails imposing taxes on citizens under various pretexts, as well as exploiting all available Syrian resources, especially antiquities. ISIS has granted permits to excavate antique treasures and has also provided excavation equipment. The testimony by Syrian activist Alaa al-Dairi (age 27), who recently fled from ISIS's controlled areas in Deir al-Zour, sums up the financial attitude of ISIS towards inhabitants in its areas of influence; they are regarded as vital sources of revenue for the terror group "through taxes, royalties and fines which are imposed under many banners on different types of businesses." The activist added, "As long as people are able to produce money, the organization will find different ways to collect it." Alalam: This Is What ISIS Does To The Property Of Those Fleeing Raqqa! ISIS terrorist group has taken possession of the properties and homes of civilians who left, without its permission, areas under its control in the region of Raqqa in northeast Syria. ISIS has also imposed hefty taxes on residents wishing to leave the areas it controls for territories dominated by other armed groups, or for Turkey. The terror group also demands a sponsor to guarantee the return of anyone wishing to travel to other regions. In addition, ISIS has issued several decisions, including "imposing Jizya (tax) on relatives of local residents living outside the areas under its control including Europe." It should be noted that last month ISIS banned the use of televisions inside homes in Deir al-Zour. Violators will be fined 25,000 Syrian pounds (about $60) in addition to the confiscation of the TV and imprisonment of the owner of the house. Muslim Brotherhood The Seventh Day: Bedouin Tribes In Suez: Brotherhood Offered Us Land And Money To Stand Against The June 30th (Revolution) Members of Bedouin tribes in Ain Sokhna and Mount Ataka in Suez revealed for the first time that leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood had offered their tribal leaders money and large strips of land in Ain Sokhna in return for standing with the Brotherhood against the Egyptian state and the June 30th Revolution. Sheikh Mohammed Khudair, a tribal leader in Ain Sokhna said, "We will always stand behind the Egyptian Armed Forces and the police. Therefore, I can reveal that we refused all offers the Muslim Brotherhood made to us during the June 30th Revolution to support the group and abandon our Egyptian brethren. We categorically rejected all their offers." The Seventh Day: Buying Supporters Is The Brotherhood Weapon To Commemorate The Ouster Of Morsi The Muslim Brotherhood started preparations for a series of demonstrations in several capitals around the world coinciding with the third anniversary of the ousting of President Mohammed Morsi. Meanwhile, experts accuse the group of exploiting refugees and the poor in these demonstrations in exchange for financial remuneration. According to sources close to the international arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Britain, its members intended to organize a demonstration on Sunday in front of the Egyptian Embassy in central London, to denounce the June 30th Revolution, or what they called a "coup against legitimacy." Tarek Elbashbeshy, a dissident Muslim Brotherhood leader, commented: "Even if the Brotherhood buys millions of people with their money to use them as mercenaries, they will never be able to return to power, because Egyptians have discovered the somber truth about the Brotherhood and fear for the future of their homeland. They [the Brotherhood] pay because their cause is forgotten and no one pays any attention to their failed demonstrations. They use the money because they want to show their followers that their cause is still alive." The Seventh Day: Lawsuit Demanding Cancellation Of Decision To Dissolve The Brotherhood Group Postponed To November 6th The Second Circuit of the Supreme Administrative Court in the Egyptian State Council, headed by Judge Ahmed El Shazly, Vice President of the Council, decided to postpone the lawsuit filed by Muslim Brotherhood legal representative, Osman Anani. In it, he demanded a halt to the implementation of the 2013 Ministerial Decree No. 227 to dissolve the Group. Note that this decree was based on the ruling of the Cairo Court for Urgent Matters in case No. 2315, issued on September 23rd, 2013. The next hearing will be held on November 6th, 2016 following receipt of a report by the State Commissioners' Authority. Masralarabia: Social Media Is Brotherhood Domain To Hijack The Minds Of The Youth Osama Al-Azhari, a professor at Al-Azhar University and adviser to President of Egypt Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, stressed that the real field in which the Muslim Brotherhood and ISIS are 'hijacking' young minds and turning them into a ticking time bomb is the social media. He specifically mentioned Facebook and Twitter. Al-Azhari praised the move by the Egyptian "Dar al-Ifta" which launched a "raid" on the cyberspace in response to extremists. The presidential adviser also noted that in April Twitter closed roughly 10,000 ISIS accounts. Al-Azhari added that based on the latest statistics and studies, more than 60,000 social media pages in Arabic are being used by ISIS, Boko Haram, Ansar Bait al-Maqdis as well as the Muslim Brotherhood. These pages are the biggest source for this scourge, Al-Azhari emphasized. Veto: Brotherhood Leader: "Ezzat Financially And Administratively Hampers Provinces Supporting Kamal A source close to the Muslim Brotherhood revealed that Mahmoud Ezzat, the Brotherhood Deputy Supreme Guide, is deliberately obstructing the work in most of the provinces which favor his rival, Muslim Brotherhood's leader Mohammed Kamal. He does so by blocking the channeling of all funds even to the families of prisoners, as happened in Al-Fayoum and Beni Suef. But he is also creating rifts inside the Group's organizational structure, as happened in Alexandria, Giza, October 6th City etc. In addition, Ezzat directed an overt threat to the young "rebels" that they will be dismissed from their positions within the group. Houthi Almashhad Alyemeni: The Houthis Loot 20 Billion Riyals From The (Yemeni) Interior Ministry's Budget  Former Yemeni President Ali Saleh and Houthi militias looted more than 20 billion riyals ($80 million) from the budget of the Ministry of the Interior, which has been under the control of these militias for the past two years. Security sources revealed that "the Houthis seized these vast sums of money, deposited in the Central Bank of Yemen, from the account of the ministry's pension fund." In the same context, more than 200 retired Yemeni officers and soldiers protested in a rally on Saturday in front of the Interior Ministry headquarters in the capital Sanaa after not receiving their June paychecks. Hezbollah Gulf Eyes: Iranian Wrath Towards Hassan Nasrallah And His Party: Our Funds Have Been Depleted For Years And Our People Are Sick And Hungry Mohammad Mahdavifar, a former officer in Iran's Revolutionary Guard, lashed out at Lebanese Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in a rare expression of public criticism by the country's military, security and political institutions towards the Shiite group. Mahdavifar told Nasrallah, "I have no doubt that you wanted to anger the Americans in your recent statement that Iran is providing all of Hezbollah's budget. This is due to banking sanctions imposed on Hezbollah and its classification as a terrorist group. But you should know that by making this statement, you are rubbing salt in the wounds of the Iranian people." He asked Nasrallah, "Did you hear the speech delivered several days ago by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who conveyed deep regret to the Iranian youth for their poverty and unemployment? Didn’t you see and hear this?!"