|
Eye on Extremism
August 16, 2016
Counter
Extremism Project
Fortune:
Nusra: Only The Name Has Changed
“Ms. Shain is director of research for the Counter Extremism Project,
an international non-profit that combats extremist ideology. Abu Muhammad
al-Golani, leader of the Nusra Front, appeared on video July 28 to
announce his group’s formal separation from al-Qaeda and its rebranding
as the ‘Levantine Conquest Front.’ Don’t believe it. The separation was
as loving a political divorce as any, with al-Qaeda leader Ayman
al-Zawahiri giving the Nusra Front formal permission to leave al-Qaeda as
needed in order to preserve rebel ‘unity.’ Now, the Nusra Front remains
the second-strongest insurgent group in Syria, as ideologically aligned
with al-Qaeda as ever, and separated by ISIS chiefly by its willingness
to play the long game. For that reason, we need to sustain U.S. sanctions
on the Nusra Front and recognize its name change for what it is: smoke
and mirrors.”
New
York Times: Russia Uses Iran As Base To Bomb Syrian Militants For First
Time
“Russia used Iran as a base from which to launch air strikes against
Syrian militants for the first time on Tuesday, widening its air campaign
in Syria and deepening its involvement in the Middle East. In a move
underscoring Moscow's increasingly close ties with Tehran, long-range
Russian Tupolev-22M3 bombers and Sukhoi-34 fighter bombers used Iran's
Hamadan air base to strike a range of targets in Syria.”
Daily
Beast: ISIS Leaves Behind Booby Trapped Hospitals In Liberated Town
“Even after its liberation from the so-called Islamic State, this city
in northern Syria remains draped in jihadist black banners. Anything and
everything might be rigged with explosives, and often it is, so people
don’t rip down flags without thinking first. As I visited the scene of
battle repeatedly over the weekend, the sound of explosions rocked the
city again and again. Sometimes, I was told, they were blasts carried out
to get rid of booby traps and IEDs. Sometimes they were bombs people
missed until it was too late.”
BBC:
Syria Conflict: Bus Blast Kills Rebels Near Turkey Border
“More than 30 Syrian rebel fighters are reported to have been killed
in a suicide bombing on a bus near the Atmeh border crossing with Turkey.
Sources told Turkish media that the attacker detonated an explosive vest
on the bus at the entrance to a camp for displaced people late on Sunday.
The death toll was likely to rise, activists monitoring the conflict
said. A news agency linked to the jihadist group Islamic State reported
that one of its militants was behind the attack. Syrian opposition Orient
TV reported that those killed were from ‘numerous’ rebel factions, all of
which are opposed to IS.”
Bloomberg:
Taliban Takes Key North Afghan District As Fighting Surges
“Taliban militants captured a key district about 100 miles north of
Afghanistan’s capital, which itself was hit by a bombing on Monday, a blow
to the government in Kabul that’s coming under further pressure from a
renewed surge in fighting. Following days of heavy clashes with Afghan
security forces, the Dahan-I-Ghori district in northern Baghlan province
came under Taliban control, said Mahmood Haqmal, a spokesman for the
province. Soon after its capture, the militants set some shops and fields
ablaze, Haqmal said by phone on Monday. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah
Mujahed also confirmed the takeover in an e-mailed statement. The
increasingly bloody conflict against the Taliban, now in its 15th year,
forced U.S. President Barack Obama last month to slow troop withdrawal
plans.”
Business
Insider: Leaked ISIS Documents: The Majority Of Recruits Knew Nothing
About Islam
“A recent series of leaked Islamic State documents have revealed that
most of ISIS’ recruits had a rudimentary knowledge of Shariah law — the
legal system that governs people of the Islamic faith. The thousands of
IS documents shed light on over 4,000 recruits that made their way into
Syria during ISIS’ heyday. These documents, after being analyzed by the
Associated Press, showed that 70% of recruits had just a “basic,” the
lowest possible category, knowledge of Shariah, while 24% had an
“intermediate” knowledge, and 5% “advanced.”
Newsweek:
U.S. Turkey Airbase Nukes At Risk Of Seizure From 'Terrorists': Report
“Some 50 nuclear weapons owned by the United States and stored at a
Turkish air base near the Syrian border are in danger of falling into the
hands of ‘terrorists or other hostile forces,’ a think tank said in a new
report released on Monday. The Incirlik air base in southern Turkey is
situated just 110 kilometers, or 70 miles, from the northern border of
Syria, which is now in its sixth year of a deadly civil war. Washington
has stored approximately 50 nuclear bombs at the base that the U.S. uses
to conduct airstrikes and drone strikes against the Islamic State
militant group (ISIS).”
Mirror:
Iraq To Hang 36 ISIS Fighters For Massacre Of 1,700 Captives Who Were
Told They Were Going Home
“Thirty-six Islamic State fighters are set to be executed in Iraq this
week for the notorious massacre of 1,700 soldiers. The Iraqi president
has approved the mass hanging despite protests from human rights groups.
Some of the soldiers in Camp Speicher survived the onslaught on 12 June
2014 and told horror stories of how their colleagues were rounded up for
slaughter. During the horrifying killing, ISIS militants packed hundreds
of men into trucks and told them they would be returned to their families
– but instead they were taken to a nearby riverbank, lined up and
mercilessly shot at close range.”
The
Times Of Israel: 3 Years Later, Palestinian Arrested For Attacking Cop
“Nearly three years after a police officer was wounded in a stabbing
attack in the central West Bank, security forces arrested a Palestinian
man believed to have committed the crime, Israeli officials announced
Monday. On December 23, 2013, the 30-year-old officer was directing
traffic outside the Adam settlement, north of Jerusalem, when he was
attacked and moderately wounded. The assailant fled the scene, leaving
the knife buried in the officer’s back. The police and IDF searched the
area for the attacker, but were unable to locate him — until now,
according to the Shin Bet security service. On July 19, Israeli forces
arrested Mehmed Younis Ali Abu-Hanak, 21, in his hometown of al-Abidiya,
outside of Bethlehem. During his interrogation, Abu-Hanak admitted to
carrying out the attack, saying he’d done so ‘out of a desire to end his
difficult life,’ the Shin Bet said in a statement.”
CNN:
Chibok Girl's Parents React To First Glimpse Of Daughter In Two Years
"Esther Yakubu gazes longingly at the familiar grainy photograph
of her daughter and sings a favorite tune as she thinks of her. But two
long years after Maida and more than 200 of her classmates were kidnapped
by Boko Haram, another image is now foremost in her mind: that of the
teenager at gunpoint, pleading for her freedom. ‘Seeing my baby standing
with a terror[ist] with ... ammunition around his neck is not easy for a
mother,’ says Esther. ‘But I also give thanks to God almighty. They say
most of the girls are dead but mine is alive.’"
Vocativ:
ISIS Fans Single Out Women In Freed Town For Burning Their Niqabs
“For supporters of the Islamic State watching the offensive in Manbij
that freed the Syrian city from its grip, nothing irked them more than
the sight of the once captive female population tearing off and burning
their niqabs, the black, head-to-toe covering worn by the most
conservative Muslim women. Not the images of men cutting off their
mandatory beards, or the victorious fighters (men and women) being
welcomed with open arms into the city after two years of life under ISIS.
Users on ISIS forums circulated the images of the disrobing women with
declarations that ISIS “should exterminate these whores,” Vocativ has
found. Others on the sites wrote “these are some of the whores you find
in every city in the world, even in Saudi Arabia.”
The
Jerusalem Post: Facebook Closes Another Hamas Leader's Account In Campaign
Against Incitement
“Facebook closed the account of Hamas leader Ismail Radwan on Monday,
continuing its campaign against Hamas leaders who use the social-media
channel to promote violence. Just last week Facebook closed the accounts
of Hamas leader Salah Bardawail and Islamic Jihad leader Khaled al-Batsh.
Facebook also closed in July the accounts of the deputy chairman of the
Hamas politburo Musa Abu Marzouk, Hamas leader Ezzat al-Rishq (who is
Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal’s confidante), as well as a number of Hamas
student leaders. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassim responded to the account
closures, telling Ma’an, a Palestinian news agency, that they amount to
an Israeli terror operation against social media platforms. Qassim added
that Hamas believes Israel wants to blind the public from its ‘crimes.’”
United
States
PBS:
15 Years After 9/11, National Security Is Stronger — But So Are The
Threats
“In a nutshell, the way we have responded to the terrorist attacks, to
9/11, which, you know, changed everything, is sort of a microcosm of what
we are as a country today. A lot of it was heroic, ingenious, people
going beyond the cause of duty, doing really great things. And then a lot
of it was actually quite the opposite, a lot of Beltway boondoggles,
billions of dollars wasted because government contractors promised
technology and solutions that they couldn’t produce. A lot of unsung
people, tens of thousands of people going to work every day at the
Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, places like TSA, the Border
Patrol, really obsessed with the job of keeping us safe. And the only
time we notice them is when something goes wrong. And that makes it a
tough job.”
CNN:
Defense Officials See Gains Against ISIS
“The Pentagon believes that the US-led anti-ISIS coalition has seized
the offensive and made significant progress in taking back key territory
from ISIS, US defense officials told CNN Monday. Officials are pointing
to the recent declaration that a coalition of US-backed Syrian fighters
has been able to free the ISIS stronghold of Manbij, Syria. That comes as
the US military now estimates some 45,000 ISIS personnel have been killed
by the coalition since operations began in mid-2014, 25,000 since last
September. Yet last week a Republican congressional investigation
concluded that CENTCOM intelligence painted an overly optimistic picture
of the anti-ISIS campaign at least from mid 2014 to 2015.”
Syria
The
Wall Street Journal: U.S.-Backed Forces Aim At Another Syrian Town
“After expelling Islamic State militants from the Syrian city of
Manbij, U.S.-backed forces are turning to another town in an area along
the Turkish border that the extremist group has used to funnel fighters
in and out of the country. As the Syrian Democratic Forces prepared to
defend their hold on Manbij, they announced the formation of a military
council for Al-Bab, signaling that this was the next target in their
campaign. Al-Bab is about 30 miles to the west of Manbij. Taking the town
of Al-Bab from Islamic State would be an important step toward cutting
off the group’s access to a 60-mile corridor along the border. The focus
on Al-Bab also signals that it could be some time before an assault
begins on Raqqa, Islamic State’s de facto capital in Syria.”
The
New York Times: Under Pressure Over Aleppo Siege, Russia Hints At Seeking
Deal With U.S.
“Acknowledging an unfolding disaster in Syria’s besieged city of
Aleppo, where roughly two million people are trapped, Russia conceded on
Monday that daily three-hour halts in fighting that it had proposed last
week were insufficient, possibly opening the door to longer pauses.
Russia also suggested that it was close to an agreement on a military
collaboration with the United States to attack Islamic State fighters in
the Aleppo area as part of a solution. Such a joint effort would be a new
level of cooperation between the two powers in seeking a way out of the
five-year-old Syria war, in which the Russians and Americans basically
back opposite sides.”
Iraq
Reuters:
New Iraq Oil Minister Says Solution To Conflict With Kurds Possible
“Aug 15 Iraq's new oil minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi on Monday said a
solution to the Iraqi government's conflict over oil with the Kurdish
self-ruled region was possible. ‘There are solutions to the existing
problems between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional
Government about the oil file,’ he told Baghdad-based Sumaria TV. The
conflict centres on the Kurdish region's crude oil exports which Baghdad
wants to bring under its control. Luaibi, a former head of South Oil
Company, spoke after he was sworn in as minister in Prime Minister Haider
al-Abadi's overhauled cabinet. OPEC's second-largest producer after Saudi
Arabia, Iraq produces about 4.6 million barrels of crude oil per day,
most of it from the southern region overseen by South Oil Company. About
500,000 barrels per day are exported from the Kurdish region
independently from Baghdad.”
Reuters:
Kurdish Forces Open New Front On Islamic State Capital Mosul
“Kurdish Peshmerga forces on Monday said they had secured a river
crossing point enabling them to open a new front against Islamic State and
further tighten their grip on the militants' capital Mosul. Backed by air
strikes from the U.S.-led coalition, Kurdish fighters reached Kanhash,
the western side of the Gwer bridge, the target of an offensive that
started on Sunday. The militants damaged the bridge, across the Grand Zab
river and to the southeast of Mosul, two years ago as they swept through
northern and western Iraq. Repairing the bridge would allow Peshmerga and
other anti-IS forces to move toward Mosul from a new front. ‘Control over
Kanhash Heights give the Peshmerga strategic advantage over nearby enemy
positions and the main road linking Mosul,’ tweeted Masrour Barzani, the
head of the Kurdistan Region Security Council.”
Turkey
Reuters:
Six People Killed In PKK Car Bombing In Turkey's Southeast: Deputy PM
“A car bomb killed six people including four police officers and a
child outside a police station in southeastern Turkey on Monday,
according to senior government officials who blamed the attack on Kurdish
militants. Twenty-one people, some of the police officers, were wounded
in the bombing on a busy road between the city of Diyarbakir, the
region's largest, and the district of Bismil, Deputy Prime Ministers
Numan Kurtulmus said. The blast blew out the police station's windows and
left the building's twisted metal frame exposed through the concrete and
its roof partially collapsed, footage on CNN Turk television showed.
There was also a crater in the ground outside. The dead included a
civilian adult and a child of one of the police officers killed. Turkey's
southeast has suffered some of the most intense fighting in decades since
a ceasefire between the Turkish state and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers
Party (PKK) collapsed in July 2015.”
Voice
Of America: Police Raid Courthouse As Turkey Crackdown Continues
“Police raided Istanbul’s main courthouses as a crackdown continues in
the aftermath of last month’s failed coup attempt. The purge is straining
relations with Western allies, who Turkish officials say appear more
concerned by the crackdown than the failed coup that killed 240 people.
Police sealed off all entrances to three of Istanbul’s main courthouses
as security forces sought to arrest more than 170 members of the
judiciary. Offices of the courthouses were searched, and dozens of people
were detained. Those held are accused of being followers of the
U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who prosecutors claim were
behind the last month’s coup attempt. Gulen denies any involvement in
July’s attempted military take over.”
CNN:
What Turkey's Crackdown Looks Like One Month On
“A month on from the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey, which claimed the
lives of 240 people and 40 coup plotters, authorities have cracked down on
a large number of people who, they say, are linked to the attempted
uprising. Each of the figures below represents one person who has been
affected in the post-coup crackdown. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has
defended the actions, saying they are necessary to root out enemies of
the state. But many in the international community have condemned the
purge as a ‘witch hunt’ and expressed concern that his government have
used the coup attempt to target opposition and jail dissidents.”
Time:
The Coup May Have Failed But Fear Still Rules Turkey
“After it became clear that the bloody coup had failed there was huge
relief, at least initially. But, like the acrid smell, fear still hung in
the air. While large orchestrated rallies celebrating the defeat of the
attempted coup brought an almost festive atmosphere at night, the mood on
the streets during the day remained tense. Taut lips and furrowed brows
had replaced the local shopkeepers’ usual smiles. Many others remained at
home, watching and waiting nervously, unsure what would come next. Had
the risk of a coup been averted? Could there be another violent attempt
to seize power? In the days after the failed coup, as the government
crackdown began and the state of emergency was announced, the gnawing fear
did not subside – it merely transformed. Over the month since the
attempted uprising, more than 23,000 people have been detained and nearly
82,000 have been suspended or removed from their jobs.”
Afghanistan
Newsweek:
Islamic State Threat Persists In Afghanistan
“The killing of the Islamic State group’s leader in Afghanistan and
Pakistan has dealt a major blow to the jihadists, but despite a
U.S.-backed scorched earth offensive the regional franchise is far from
over, observers said on Saturday. Hafiz Saeed Khan was killed in a U.S.
airstrike in eastern Nangarhar province last month, the Pentagon
announced on Friday, as Afghan forces mount an operation against the
militants after they claimed the deadliest attack in Kabul for 15 years.
The death of Khan, the second prominent militant to be killed in a U.S.
regional strike in recent months, is a setback to the group’s efforts to
expand beyond its heartland of Syria and Iraq into Afghanistan and
Pakistan.”
Fox
News: At Least 2 Wounded In Bombing Near US Embassy In Afghanistan
“At least two people were wounded Monday in a bombing that unfolded
outside the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan's capital city, Kabul, an Afghan
official told The Associated Press. ‘I'm certain no U.S. or NATO forces
were wounded,’ Col. Michael T. Lawhorn, a Kabul-based U.S. military
spokesman, told Fox News. Faredoon Obiadi, chief of the police's
criminal investigations department, said an army officer was one of the
two wounded. Monday's attack took place at a main square that was also
close to the country's Supreme Court. Obiadi said a so-called sticky bomb
attached to a military vehicle triggered the blast. No group claimed
responsibility for the bombing, but the Taliban have stepped up attacks
across Afghanistan. Separately, authorities on Monday confirmed the
Taliban have overrun a police headquarters in the Dahna-e-Ghori district
in northern Baghlan province.”
Libya
Newsweek:
Libya Warns Italy Of ISIS Cell In Milan As Europe Remains On High Alert
“Libyan authorities have alerted Italy to the existence of an Islamic
State militant group (ISIS) cell in Milan with links to a prominent
extremist commander in the North African country. After forces allied to
the U.N.-backed unity government in Libya, the country’s agents seized
documents that revealed the existence of the cell near the northern
Italian city, Italian media reported on Sunday. The extremists are
reportedly linked to a 47-year-old Tunisian ISIS commander known as Abu
Nassim, who had previously lived in Italy but left to wage jihad in
Afghanistan and Syria, according to The Local news site. Nassim, real
name Moez Ben Abdelkader Fezzani, moved to Italy in 1989 but left in
1997, before joining al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.”
Germany
Reuters:
One Wounded In Cologne Attack; No Sign Of Terrorism: Police
“A man was seriously wounded in an attack in Cologne city center in
the early hours of Monday, police and the public prosecutor's office
said, adding that there were no signs of a terrorist motive. The
34-year-old was taken to hospital with stab wounds and head injuries,
police and prosecutors said in a statement. Eyewitnesses said several
people were involved in an argument. Police, who received emergency calls
around 3.45 a.m. (0145 GMT), found traces of blood and shattered glass at
the scene and said they were investigating whether several spent gun
cartridges they found were also linked to the incident.”
The
Wall Street Journal: Germany Calls On Russia, Syria To Allow Aid Into
Aleppo Under U.N. Auspices
“Germany on Monday called on Russia and the Syrian
government to allow food, water and medical supplies into the
embattled Syrian city of Aleppo under the monitoring of the United
Nations. The announcement by Russia that it would suspend
military operations for three hours a day to allow aid into the city was
‘cynical,’ the spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel said, adding the measure
wouldn’t prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in the war-torn country’s
biggest city. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with
his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Yekaterinburg, Russia,
earlier Monday, to discuss the situation in Aleppo. Mr. Steinmeier
has called for U.N.-controlled humanitarian corridors into the city and
aid to be airdropped, according to the German Foreign Ministry.”
ISIS
Buratha
News Agency: Call To Oversee Private Banks To Stop ISIS Financing
“The Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee, on Monday, called on
the Iraqi government to monitor the performance of some private banks and
audit money transfers into and out of the country. It stressed that some
of these banks are working to receive or remit funds, some of which may
go to finance ISIS. Committee member Mithal al-Alusi stated that
"the Ministry of Finance and the regulatory security services are
accountable for controlling the flow of money to private banks, some of
which goes to finance the criminal ISIS (group) and other terrorist
factions in Iraq.”
Muslim
Brotherhood
Almogaz:
While Muslim Brotherhood leaders are amassing gold and riches others are
paying the price
“Former Muslim Brotherhood leader, Tharwat el-Kherbawy, claimed that
many Muslim Brotherhood members have started to realize their reckless
behavior. They now understand that the group's leaders have been
exploiting the "piously religious" for their own gain. They see
that while the leaders are reaping the profits, it is the (ordinary)
members who are always footing the bill. El-Kherbawy added, "Some
leaders in Turkey and Europe have accumulated gold and great wealth,
while ordinary members are fed with ideas that they are waging jihad for
the sake of God and religion.”
Mehwar:
Chairman Of Resala Charity Association Denies Rumors Of Membership In The
Muslim Brotherhood
“The total revenues of Resala Charity Association have dropped to an
average of 200 million pounds ($22.7 million) a year since 2013, compared
to 300 million pounds ($ 34 million) previously. This is a decline of
nearly 33%. Dr. Sherif Abdel Azeem, Chairman of the Resala Board,
explained that the decline in revenues was caused by the rumors being
spread about Resala's affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood and
augmented by the deteriorating economic situation of citizens whom the
Association relies on for donations. Abdel Azeem expected the downward
trend to continue this year as well. He stressed that the Association has
no political affiliation, be it the Muslim Brotherhood or other political
groups. He noted that since its inception in 1999, Resala exists only to
serve society. Regarding its funding sources, Abdel Azeem said that it
relies entirely on individuals who donate between 10 to 50 pounds ($1.10
to $ 5.70) per month. These donors represent the middle class and not the
affluent. He also maintained that all donors come from Egypt and that
there is no foreign funding.”
Hezbollah
Lebanondebate:
Financial Officer Embezzles A Million Dollars From Hezbollah Funds
“An informed source confirmed that a Hezbollah financial official under
the alias of "Mohammed Fadlallah" was arrested for embezzling
$1 million from the group's coffers. The case was handled discreetly
without going to trial, due to his having family ties with one of
Hezbollah's senior leaders. The source added, "Cases involving
embezzlement, theft of money and property, attempts by some influential
(Hezbollah) figures to flee to Europe, bearing large sums of money
belonging to the group or the Lebanese state, have started to unfold.
Hezbollah, however, does not hesitate to use force to protect its
influential members, even if they have stolen public money."
According to the same source, Mohammed Fadlallah falsified invoices, in
exchange for which he received vast sums of money exceeding $1 million.”
Houthi
Albawabh
News: Houthis' Wealth Exceeds Yemen's Budget
“Faisal Almagedi, (Egyptian) specialist in Yemeni affairs, claimed
there is not a single Arab country that supports the Houthi group, due to
its direct and indirect ties with Iran. He maintained that the Houthis
control $11 billion, which is more than the total budget of Yemen.
Almagedi pointed out that the Yemeni people feel that Egypt has a
positive influence on their country, and the Egyptian army is accepted by
all Yemeni parties. He said, "The battle in Yemen must be decided
with ground forces of the Arab countries." Almagedi added that the
Yemeni national army has a strong desire to decide matters militarily on
the ground, but claimed that Iran is backing the Houthi group, which has
taken control of all state institutions.”
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment