Eye on Extremism August 12, 2016

Eye on Extremism August 12, 2016 The Wall Street Journal: Battle For Aleppo Carries High Stakes For Syria “The escalating fight for Aleppo has emerged as a test of whether Russia and Iran can in fact help President Bashar al-Assad win a decisive battle in the five-year Syrian war—and whether al Qaeda’s local spinoff will become the dominant force among Sunni rebels seeking to oust him. The uneasy status quo around Syria’s biggest city, divided for years into the rebel-held eastern half and the regime-controlled west, collapsed in late July. That is when government forces, aided by Iran, Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia, and Russian air power, capitalized on past advances and severed Castello Road, the sole lifeline that connected east Aleppo to wider rebel areas.” The New York Times: ISIS Fighters Are Still Lurking In Surt, Libyan Officials Warn “Libyan officials were cautious on Thursday about declaring complete victory over the Islamic State in the coastal city of Surt, saying unknown numbers of the militant organization’s extremists remained ensconced in three neighborhoods. While the Islamic State’s headquarters in the heavily fortified Ouagadougou Center, as well as an adjacent hospital and other important buildings, were taken on Wednesday by pro-government militiamen backed by American airstrikes, the fight was clearly far from over. The newly returned mayor of Surt, Mukhtar Khalifa, told The Associated Press that the militiamen, who were from the neighboring city of Misurata and aligned with the United Nations-backed government in Tripoli, controlled 70 percent of the city. The mayor, who had vacated Surt while the Islamic State controlled it, predicted the rest of the city would soon fall as well.” CBS News: Mississippi Woman Sentenced Over Plans To Join ISIS “A Mississippi woman who once sought to disguise a planned journey to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as her honeymoon was sentenced by a federal judge Thursday to 12 years in prison on a terrorism charge. Vicksburg native Jaelyn Young broke down in heavy sobs during her sentencing by U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock. Young pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organization.” CNN: Turkey's Erdogan To US: Hand Over Exiled Cleric Gulen “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared to give the United States an ultimatum, demanding the extradition of a cleric he believes is behind the failed July 15 coup attempt. Erdogan said the US would eventually have to choose between its relationship with Turkey and Fethullah Gulen, a former Erdogan ally who has been in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported Wednesday. Turkey has requested Gulen's extradition, with a delegation of parliamentarians handing over dozens of boxes of documents to US officials to support its case. President Obama has said that the cleric would only be extradited as a result of ‘a legal process,’ and if the extradition request is found to be justified according to the relevant laws and treaties. Gulen has repeatedly denied involvement in the coup attempt and rejected Turkish arrest warrants issued for him.” Haaretz: Stabbing in East Jerusalem Leaves Israeli Teen Wounded “An 18-year-old Israeli was wounded Thursday in a suspected stabbing attack in East Jerusalem, local police said in statement. The incident took place near the Jewish settlement of Beit Hoshen and the Palestinian village of a-Tur. An initial police investigation said that a ‘Jewish man was walking towards the cemetery on the Mount of Olives’ when he was stabbed by what police suspect was a screwdriver. The police identified his attacker as being a ‘minority’ – likely a reference to either a Palestinian or Israeli Arab. The Israeli man was in light to moderate condition after sustaining wounds in his upper torso, paramedics said.” BBC: Man Killed In Canada Raid Made 'Martyrdom Video,' Planned Attack - Police “Police have shot dead a suspect in an anti-terror operation in the Canadian province of Ontario. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) confirmed that a suspect was fatally shot in a police operation. Canadian media said police had raided a property in Strathroy, about 225km (140 miles) south-west of Toronto. They named the suspect as Aaron Driver, 24, who was arrested last year for openly supporting so-called Islamic State on social media. A senior police official told the Canadian Press news agency the suspect had allegedly planned to carry out a suicide bombing in a public area. An internal government memo seen by the CTV network said his alleged plan was to use a homemade bomb to create mass casualties.” The Wall Street Journal: U.K. Teen Who Joined Islamic State Was Killed by Airstrike, Family’s Lawyer Says “A British schoolgirl who ran away to Syria to join Islamic State is believed to have died in an airstrike, her family’s lawyer said Thursday. Seventeen-year-old Kadiza Sultana made headlines last spring when she and two of her friends from an east London high school left their homes to marry fighters for the extremist group in Raqqa, the Syrian city that it controls. Ms. Sultana’s family were told of her death ‘weeks ago,’ by their own sources, said Tasnime Akunjee, the family’s lawyer. ‘Her body was pulled from the rubble of a building hit by a bomb dropped from a Russian plane,’ said Mr. Akunjee in a telephone interview.” NBC News: Man Who Planned New Year's Eve ISIS Attack Pleads Guilty “A New York man accused of planning an ISIS inspired New Year's Eve machete attack in Rochester pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday and faces up to 20 years in prison, the Department of Justice said. Emanuel L. Lutchman, 26, planned to kill diners at a local restaurant last New Year's Eve before he was arrested Dec. 30, authorities have said. Some of the people he'd discussed the attack with were working with the FBI.” The Daily Beast: The Cold War Spy Plane Fighting ISIS “The U.S. Air Force has quietly offered a rare glimpse of one of the more secretive warplanes involved in the war on ISIS. On Aug. 6, Air Forces Central Command—the flying branch’s headquarters overseeing operations in the Middle East—released a video of a black-painted U-2 spy plane taking off and landing at what the command described as an “undisclosed location” on July 14. The iconic spy plane’s mission, according to command, was to “support of Operation Inherent Resolve,” America’s campaign against ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria.” Reuters: France Says Fight Against Messaging Encryption Needs Worldwide Initiative “Messaging encryption, widely used by Islamist extremists to plan attacks, needs to be fought at international level, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Thursday, and he wants Germany to help him promote a global initiative. He meets his German counterpart, Thomas de Maiziere, on Aug. 23 in Paris and they will discuss a European initiative with a view to launching an international action plan, Cazeneuve said. French intelligence services are struggling to intercept messages from Islamist extremists who increasingly switch from mainstream social media to encrypted messaging services, with Islamic State being a big user of such apps, including Telegram. ‘Many messages relating to the execution of terror attacks are sent using encryption; it is a central issue in the fight against terrorism,’ Cazeneuve told reporters after a government meeting on security.” United States The New York Times: Military Officials Distorted ISIS Intelligence, Congressional Panel Says “Officials from the United States Central Command altered intelligence reports to portray a more optimistic picture of the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria than events on the ground warranted, a congressional panel said in a report issued Thursday. The interim report, from a task force established by the Republican chairmen of the House Armed Services Committee, Intelligence Committee and Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, found ‘widespread dissatisfaction’ among Central Command intelligence analysts, who said superiors were doctoring their assessments of American efforts to defeat the Islamic State. Central Command, known as Centcom, is the military headquarters in Tampa, Fla., that oversees American military operations across the Middle East and Central Asia.” Reuters: Iraq Corruption Row Won't Derail Mosul Offensive, Says U.S. Envoy “Iraq's offensive to dislodge Islamic State from its de facto capital Mosul is on track despite a spat between two senior politicians over alleged corruption in the military, the U.S. envoy to the coalition fighting the militant group said. Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi and parliament speaker Salim al-Jabouri last week exchanged accusations of bribery over defense contracts, leading to judicial investigations and sparking concerns that the offensive could be delayed. The two men are high-profile Sunni Muslim allies of Shi'ite Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is spearheading the efforts to root out the Sunni jihadist group. Asked about how the spat had affected the Mosul campaign, Brett McGurk told a news conference in Baghdad: ‘We've seen no impact in terms of the overall timeline.’” Syria Reuters: Fighting In Aleppo Persists Despite Russia Ceasefire Announcement: Rebels “Fighting persisted in the Syrian city of Aleppo on Thursday more than an hour into a three-hour ceasefire announced by Russia, two rebel groups and a witness in the city said, as government forces tried to reverse last week's opposition gains. Russia, which backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his government, said on Wednesday daily ceasefires would last from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. daily to facilitate the delivery of aid supplies. Asked at 10.45 a.m. (0745 GMT) whether the ceasefire had taken effect, Mohammed Rasheed, spokesman for the rebel Jaish al-Nasr group, said: ‘No, on the contrary. Today since the morning there has been a (government) attempt to advance in the Ramousah area. There has been a big escalation by Russian warplanes,’ he added.” Reuters: Russia To Hold Naval Drills Near Syria From Mid-August: Agencies “Russia plans to start naval exercises in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea on Aug. 15, Russian news agencies reported on Thursday, citing the Russian defense ministry. Russian warships The Serpukhov and The Zelyony Dol, which are equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles, will take part in the exercises, the defense ministry said. The navy plans to test fire rockets during the drills, the agencies reported.” The New York Times: The Persistence Of Chlorine Gas Attacks In Syria “The use of chlorine gas against civilians in the Syrian city of Aleppo should be investigated as a ‘war crime,’ a top United Nations diplomat said Thursday. It was a deadly reminder of the persistence of makeshift chemical weapons in Syria despite an international effort to destroy the country’s chemical weapons caches. Four people were killed when at least four barrels containing the gas were dropped Wednesday over Zubdiya, a rebel-held neighborhood in eastern Aleppo, witnesses said. The bombing was the latest in a series of chlorine gas attacks that have killed or wounded scores during Syria’s five-year civil war.” Iraq CNN: Coalition Forces Kill Top ISIS Leader In Oil Fight “Coalition forces, including American military operatives, killed a senior ISIS leader when conducting an operation on the Iraqi-Syrian border Wednesday, officials said. Killed was Sami Jassim Mohammed Al-Jabouri, known by the nom de guerre Haji Hamad, said the Kurdistan Region Security Council. His reported death is the latest victory in the coalition's ongoing fight against the terrorist organization's financial staying power. Jabouri was responsible for ISIS operations regarding natural resources in Iraq and Syria. He and an aide were killed in the operation. The United States has not verified Jabouri was the man killed in the mission but verified he was a key figure in ISIS oil operations.” Turkey Reuters: Turkey May Seek Non-NATO Options For Defense Industry Cooperation: Foreign Minister “Turkey may seek other options outside NATO for defense industry cooperation, although its first option is always cooperation with its NATO allies, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday. In an interview with private broadcaster NTV, Cavusoglu also said that a political transition in Syria with President Bashar al-Assad was not possible.” Reuters: Military Attaches, Diplomats Flee Turkey's Post-Coup Inquiry “Two Turkish military attaches in Greece fled to Italy, others were caught overseas and some diplomats were on the run after being recalled as part of an inquiry into last month's failed military coup, Turkey's foreign minister said on Thursday. Turkey, which has NATO's second-biggest armed forces, has dismissed or detained thousands of soldiers, including nearly half its generals, since the July 15 coup attempt, in which rogue troops commandeered tanks and warplanes in an attempt to seize power. Western allies worry that President Tayyip Erdogan is using the putsch and the purge that has followed to tighten his grip on power. But many Turks are angered by what they see as a lack of Western sympathy over a violent coup in which 240 people died.” AP: Interview: Turkey Open To Conditional Terror Law Talks “Turkey would be willing to modify its anti-terror law if the changes don't impede the fight against terrorism and if Turkish citizens are guaranteed visa-free travel in Europe, Turkey's ambassador to the European Union said Thursday. Ambassador Selim Yenel told The Associated Press in an interview that ‘it's very difficult to change the legislation, but we're not closing the door.’ The EU wants Turkey to change its definition of terrorism and what constitutes a terror act to ensure that journalists and academics aren't arrested. That condition is one of 72 benchmarks that Turkey must respect before it can win the visa-waiver. But several suicide bombings in Turkey, on top of last month's failed coup attempt, make it almost politically impossible for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to soften his stance on terrorism.” The Wall Street Journal: Turkey’s Hunt For Alleged Coup Participants Extends Overseas “Turkey’s government is seeking several overseas military officers and diplomatic staff who fled their posts in the wake of the failed coup and could be seeking asylum, potentially raising new political headaches for Turkey and its Western allies. Two Turkish military attachés posted in Greece and their families boarded a ferry bound for Italy last week, but their current whereabouts aren’t known, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said. In addition, a Turkish military officer stationed at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s allied command in Norfolk, Va., Rear Adm. Mustafa Zeki Ugurlu, has rebuffed a request to return home and requested asylum in the U.S., according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter and Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency.” Afghanistan Reuters: In Ominous Sign, Afghan Government Partner Berates President Ghani “Afghan government chief executive Abdullah Abdullah has sharply criticized President Ashraf Ghani, a dramatic public break that exposed long-simmering tension within the former election rivals' fragile unity government. Abdullah's televised remarks brought fresh questions about the stability of the coalition formed in 2014 after both Ghani and Abdullah claimed victory in a presidential election and there were fears of armed clashes between their supporters. Abdullah said late on Thursday that Ghani did not deserve to govern as he had failed to work collaboratively or to enact electoral reforms. The post of chief executive was created for former foreign minister Abdullah as part of a U.S.-brokered deal to end deadlock over the election. But he complained he had been left out of key decisions, and painted Ghani as arrogant and out of touch with the deteriorating situation in the country.” ABC News: Afghanistan: Taliban Edge Closer To Helmand Capital As US Steps Up Air Strikes “Fighting is raging in Helmand as Afghan troops try to beat back Taliban insurgents advancing on the besieged capital of the southern poppy-growing province. Afghan forces fought back insurgents after they stormed Nawa district, just south of Lashkar Gah city, late on Wednesday, raising alarm that the provincial capital was at risk. But United States and Afghan officials insisted they would not allow another urban centre to be captured, after the Taliban briefly overran northern Kunduz city last September in their biggest victory in 15 years of war. Fierce battles in recent days across Helmand, seen as the focal point of the insurgency, have sent thousands of people fleeing to Lashkar Gah, sparking a humanitarian crisis as officials report food and water shortages.” BBC: Taliban Conflict: Thousands Flee As Fighting Threatens Helmand “Thousands of people have fled intense fighting in Afghanistan's Helmand province, officials have told the BBC. Most have sought refuge in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah which has been targeted by Taliban fighters for months. The Afghan government has flown in special forces, repelling an attack on a district adjacent to the capital amidst heavy casualties. The Taliban has staged many attacks across Afghanistan recently. It has gained in strength since the bulk of British, American and other Nato forces left in 2014. The head of the office for Internally Displaced Persons in Helmand, Naqibullah, told the BBC's Afghan service that 3,000 families from different districts had been forced from their homes by the recent fighting.” Yemen Reuters: Renewed Yemeni Fighting Points To Society Broken Beyond Repair “After a year and a half of fighting, rivalries based on tribe, region and sect have deepened and Yemen appears no longer able to resist the hatreds that have fuelled wars without end in other Middle Eastern countries. War has reduced much of Yemen to battle zones, laced with landmines and roamed by militias whose quarrels seem to defy any resolution. Around half the 27 million population have no access to healthcare and are unable to put enough food on the table, while around 80 percent need some form of humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations. As three months of U.N.-mediated peace talks collapsed over the weekend, nationwide fighting and coalition air strikes accelerated once more." Middle East USA Today: Palestinian Stabs Israeli After Five-Week Lull In Attacks “A Palestinian man used a screwdriver to stab an Israeli man in the neck and back in Jerusalem on Thursday, the first such attack after a five-week lull in assaults by Palestinians that began last fall. The assailant, who was not identified, fled the scene and was being sought by security forces. The previous attack occurred on July 1, when a Palestinian from the West Bank shot at a car near Hebron, killing a father and wounding a mother and two children, according to the Israeli military. Israel has tamped down attacks by retaliating against the assailants' families rather than cracking down on all Palestinians and provoking a widespread push for new violence against Israelis, according to security analysts.” Libya Reuters: Libyan Forces Capture Sirte Convention Center From Islamic State “Libyan forces battling to oust Islamic State from Sirte on Wednesday captured a large convention hall complex in the city center, seizing a symbolic base where militants once held meetings and flew their black jihadist flag. Securing the Ouagadougou Conference Centre as well as hospital and university buildings would mark the biggest advance made by Libyan forces in weeks. The United States 10 days ago began air strikes on Sirte, which fighters say hastened their progress. The large domed building is a landmark in Sirte, hometown of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi, and was used for meetings and religious instruction by Islamic State (IS) after they took control of the city last year. Losing Sirte would be a major setback for the militants, already under pressure in Syria and Iraq. It would also be a boost for Libya's United Nations-backed government, which has struggled to impose its authority and faces ongoing resistance from hardline armed factions.” Nigeria Voice Of America: Who’s Running Boko Haram? “This past week, a dispute over the leadership of the Nigerian-based extremist group Boko Haram unfolded in what some say is a sign the six-year insurgency may be coming to an end. In its weekly online publication, the Islamic State militant group named Abu Musab al-Barnawi as its ‘governor’ of ISWAP, the Islamic State’s West Africa Province, otherwise known as Boko Haram. The group took over IS in 2014 to become the world’s deadliest terrorist group, according to the 2015 Global Terrorism Index, published by the Institute for Economics & Peace. The article published in Islamic State’s online magazine didn’t explicitly say that al-Barnawi had replaced the bombastic preacher who has lead the group since 2009, Abubakar Shekau, but the implication is crystal clear: IS recognizes al-Barnawi as the leader of Boko Haram.” United Kingdom The Wall Street Journal: U.K. To Establish Fund For Development Of Next Generation Military Equipment “The U.K. government on Friday said it would set up an £800 million ($1 billion) fund aimed at fostering the swift development of next generation military equipment for its armed forces in a strategy that echoes a similar drive for innovation by the U.S. military. The U.K. Defense Ministry’s plan includes the establishment of a research unit to study technological trends and their possible military applications. The ministry would then invite private sector companies to pitch for investments from the fund of about £800 million over 10 years. The increase was seen as an attempt to reverse capability gaps left by sharp cuts in military spending and manpower in the previous major defense review in 2010.” Newsweek: Muslim Women Most Economically Disadvantaged Group In Britain: Report “Muslim women are the most economically disadvantaged group in Britain, according to a report published by the Women and Equalities Committee Thursday. Unemployment rates for Muslim women are more than twice that of the general population, according to the study, called ‘Employment opportunities for Muslims in the U.K.’ Forty-one percent are economically inactive—that is, unemployed and not seeking work—compared with 21.8 percent of the general population. The committee, chaired by Maria Miller, the conservative MP for Basingstoke, urged government ministers to tackle the problem by the end of the year. Some of the recommendations include the introduction of a mentoring programme, aimed at helping Muslim women reach their potential, and possible legislation to introduce name-blind recruitment by employers.” Germany The Times Of Israel: German Interior Minister: Jihadists Should Lose Citizenship “German citizens with dual nationality who fight for a terror group should be stripped of their German citizenship, the interior minister said Thursday, unveiling tough new measures after two attacks by Islamic State militants. ‘Germans who participate in fighting abroad for a terror militia and who have another citizenship, should lose their German nationality,’ Thomas de Maiziere said. Some 820 people have left Germany to fight alongside jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq, according to estimates by Germany’s secret service. With around one in three fighters having since returned to Germany, fears are running high of the threat they may pose on European soil.” The Wall Street Journal: Germany Outlines New Security Measures After Recent Attacks “The German government on Thursday set out a raft of proposals to tighten domestic security after Islamist attacks by refugees rocked the country earlier this summer. The proposed measures range from expedited procedures to deport convicted foreigners, rejected asylum applicants and those believed to pose a risk to public security to increased personnel and equipment upgrades for police and security agencies. German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière, who outlined the measures, said showing support for terrorism should be banned and dual-passport citizens who joined terror groups abroad should be stripped of their German citizenship. Other proposals included stepped-up efforts to detect Islamist radicals among asylum applicants and more video surveillance in public spaces—still a rare sight in privacy-obsessed Germany.” BBC: Germany In New Anti-Terror Plan To Thwart Islamist Militants “Germans with dual nationality will lose their German citizenship if they fight for militant Islamist groups abroad under new anti-terror proposals. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere also announced plans to speed up the deportation of foreign criminals. He announced extra personnel, equipment and surveillance powers for the police. But he rejected banning the public wearing of the burka (the Islamic full veil). And he resisted pressure to ease medical confidentiality. Some of his conservative Christian Democrat (CDU) colleagues have urged a burka ban but Mr de Maiziere said it would be ‘problematic’ and ‘you cannot ban everything that you reject’. Mr de Maiziere was responding to recent attacks linked to militant Islamists. Two terror attacks by Islamist migrants shocked Germany last month - in Wuerzburg and Ansbach.” Canada Reuters: Man Killed In Canada Raid Made 'Martyrdom Video,' Planned Attack - Police “The man killed during a Canadian police raid at his home in Ontario on Wednesday was a supporter of Islamic State who was in the final stages of preparing an attack on a Canadian city with a homemade bomb, police said on Thursday. Police went to the home of Aaron Driver in the small town of Strathroy after receiving credible information, including a ‘martyrdom video,’ from U.S. authorities that he planned what could have been a ‘dreadful’ attack, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said at a news conference. Driver died after he detonated an explosive device in the backseat of a taxi as police closed in and opened fire, the RCMP said in Ottawa. A representative from a local taxi company said a cab had been dispatched to Driver's address at the time of the police raid and the taxi driver sustained minor injuries.”