Eye on Extremism September 26, 2016

Eye on Extremism September 26, 2016 Counter Extremism Project CBS News: NYC Bombing Suspect's Family May Have Also Had Pro-Jihadist Views “CBS News has learned Ahmad Rahami may have checked out his targets before allegedly planting bombs in Manhattan. Investigators now believe Rahami ramped up his planning of the plot during the summer, buying bomb-making components, a gun and scoping out the Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan. Investigators are vetting the accounts of witnesses who say they saw the 28-year-old in the area two days before the attack. There are also new concerns that other members of the bombing suspect’s family may have had pro-jihadist views, reports CBS News correspondent Jeff Pegues. Site Intelligence Group published Facebook posts allegedly shared by Rahami’s sister Aziza. Some quote radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.” The New York Times: In Push On Aleppo, Syria And Russia Seem Ready To Further Scorch Its Earth “Make life intolerable and death likely. Open an escape route, or offer a deal to those who leave or surrender. Let people trickle out. Kill whoever stays. Repeat until a deserted cityscape is yours. It is a strategy that both the Syrian government and its Russian allies have long embraced to subdue Syrian rebels, largely by crushing the civilian populations that support them. But in the past few days, as hopes for a revived cease-fire have disintegrated at the United Nations, the Syrians and Russians seem to be mobilizing to apply this kill-all-who-resist strategy to the most ambitious target yet: the rebel-held sections of the divided metropolis of Aleppo.” Associated Press: US Terror Attacks' Common Denominator: Anwar Al-Awlaki “Five years after Anwar al-Awlaki was killed by an American drone strike, he keeps inspiring acts of terror. Investigators say a bomb that rocked New York a week ago, injuring more than two dozen people, was the latest in a long line of incidents in which the attackers were inspired by al-Awlaki, an American imam who became an al-Qaida propagandist. Federal terrorism charges against the bombing suspect, Ahmad Khan Rahami, say a bloodstained notebook — found on him after he engaged in a shootout with police in New Jersey and was arrested — included passages praising al-Awlaki. And Rahami's father has said he went to the FBI two years ago in part because he was concerned about his son's admiration for al-Awlaki and the time he spent watching his videos advocating jihad, or holy war. Terror experts say al-Awlaki remains a dangerous inciter of homegrown terror. He spoke American English, and his sermons are widely available online.” The New York Times: Writer Charged With Insulting Islam Is Killed As Extremism Boils Over In Jordan “Some of the most extreme elements in Jordan made clear in recent weeks that Nahed Hattar should pay for a provocative cartoon he posted online depicting a bearded man in bed with two women ordering God to bring him cashews and wine. So when Mr. Hattar, 56, a prominent writer from a Christian family, showed up at a court on Sunday to face criminal charges of insulting Islam, at least one man with a gun decided a trial was not enough. As three bullets ripped through the writer in front of the courthouse, Jordan’s simmering tensions boiled over. The brazen daylight killing of Mr. Hattar in front of his horrified family was not only the latest example of violence tied to cartoon renderings of Muslim figures, it was also the sort of manifestation of extremism that Jordan’s government has struggled to contain in a nation that finds itself under pressure from multiple directions.” Associated Press: In Battle For Iraq's Mosul, Many Forces With Many Motives “An unlikely array of forces is converging on the city of Mosul, lining up for a battle on the historic plains of northern Iraq that is likely to be decisive in the war against the Islamic State group. The tacit alliance — Iraqi troops alongside Shiite militiamen, Sunni Arab tribesmen, Kurdish fighters and U.S special forces — underscores the importance of this battle. Retaking Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, would effectively break the back of the militant group, ending their self-declared ‘caliphate,’ at least in Iraq. But victory doesn't mean an end to the conflict. In a post-Islamic State Iraq, the enmities and rivalries among the players in the anti-IS coalition could easily erupt.” CNN: ISIS Has A Navy? The US Is Sinking It “US and allied warplanes have sunk over 100 ISIS boats, destroying 65 of them in September alone, according to the international military coalition. While Iraq is nearly entirely land-locked, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that cross that country are navigable, and ISIS has been using watercraft for a variety of purposes, including transporting fighters and conducting improvised explosive attacks. The US-led anti-ISIS coalition provided CNN with video of a September 10 airstrike against an ISIS tactical unit aboard a boat near Bayji, Iraq. Barges, skiffs and motorized watercraft have been observed operating along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for the purpose of ferrying ISIS fighters and equipment across the rivers, Operation Inherent Resolve spokesperson Col. Joseph Scrocca told CNN, adding that it happens often when anti-ISIS Iraqi troops control the area's bridges. Coalition bombs have also targeted bridges used by ISIS, thereby further necessitating the terror group's reliance on boats.” Newsweek: Is This The Face Of The Next ISIS Leader? “The death August 30 of Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, the official spokesperson of the Islamic State (ISIS), dealt a harsh blow to the militant organization. Al-Adnani was killed in international coalition airstrikes while in the Syrian city of al-Bab, in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, because of the significant role he had played in ISIS since the organization was first launched in June 2014. Al-Adnani was appointed as its official spokesperson, and it was predicted he might be named emir of Syria.” CNN: Boko Haram Leader Mocks Nigerian Army, Parents Of Missing Girls “Boko Haram's embattled leader, Abubakar Shekau, appears in a new video to deny reports of his death and to taunt the parents of the nearly 300 school girls the group kidnapped from their boarding school in 2014. ‘To the despot Nigerian government: Die with envy. I'm not dead,’ Shekau says in the video. An ISIS flag is visible in the background. That terrorist organization has said it is supporting Shekau's rival, Abu Musab al-Barnawi, as the legitimate leader of the Nigerian ISIS-affiliated terrorist movement. The video was a response to the Nigerian army's claim that it ‘fatally wounded’ Shekau in a raid August 19. The army dismissed the video Sunday as evidence of Shekau's desperation.” CBS News: ISIS Blamed For Deadly Triple Suicide Attack In Iraq “A triple suicide bombing against a security checkpoint north of Baghdad on Saturday killed at least 11 members of the security forces, a police officer said. The spokesman for the Salahuddin province police force, Col. Mohammed al-Jabouri, said three militants rammed their explosives-laden vehicles early Saturday morning into the main checkpoint near the town of al-Salam at the province’s northern entrance. Al-Jabouri added that 34 other security officers were wounded. He said the attack occurred as the local police chief and head of the provincial security committee were visiting the site. Both escaped unharmed.” BBC: Inside France's 'Boot Camp' For Wavering Radicals “Under pressure to tackle home-grown jihadism, the French government is opening a string of rehabilitation centres to combat extremism - and the first one is already proving controversial. These villagers are outraged that a small chateau on their doorstep is about to become France's first Centre for Prevention, Integration and Citizenship — or what some call a de-radicalisation boot camp. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said nearly 15,000 people in France were on the radar of police and intelligence services because they are suspected of being radicalised, while 1,350 are under investigation - 293 because of alleged links with a terrorism network. From now until the end of 2017 the state plans to open 13 residential rehabilitation centres - one in each region of France - at a reported cost of £40m. They will accommodate different kinds of people - some may be for hardened radicals who have recently come back from Syria or been released from prison.” Washington Post: Hacker Who Sent 'Kill List' Of U.S. Military Personnel To ISIS: 'I Feel So Bad’ “Ardit Ferizi was angry that he had been falsely accused of joining the Islamic State. The hacker’s response: He stole the personal information of U.S. service members and handed it over to the terrorist group. “Stupidly I was annoyed that the U.S. Embassy would not defend me,” Ferizi, a 20-year-old citizen of Kosovo, wrote in a letter to a federal judge in Virginia. “I don’t know why I thought the U.S. Embassy would get involved. I was doing a lot of drugs now and spending all the day online.” U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema on Friday showed little sympathy for an explanation that even Ferizi’s defense attorney called “nonsensical.” While acknowledging that Ferizi is young and has mental-health problems, Brinkema sentenced him to 20 years in prison.” United States Fox News: US Continues 'Hunt' For Senior Al Qaeda Leaders In Afghanistan 15 Years After 9/11 “Fifteen years after the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. military continues to pursue the terrorist organization's top leaders in eastern Afghanistan, a senior U.S. military commander told reporters in the Pentagon Friday. ‘We continue to hunt them every day. And so, there are senior leaders, as far as the numbers, I really don't want to get into matters that would affect future operations,’ Gen. John Nicholson, in charge of U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan, said. "We see [Al Qaeda] in the east, stretching... to Zabul, Paktika, Ghazni area in the Southeast and then up in the areas to the Northeast which you are familiar with, Kunar, Nuristan, Nangarhar, there's some very mountainous area which lends itself to a sanctuary.’ Al Qaeda isn't the only militant group holding ground in Afghanistan. The Taliban control roughly 10 percent of the country while another 25 percent is contested between Afghan forces and insurgent groups.” Voice Of America: Obama Veto Bars 9/11 Lawsuits Against Saudi Arabia “U.S. President Barack Obama has vetoed legislation that would have allowed the families of 9/11 terror attack victims to sue Saudi Arabia over its alleged ties to the hijackers involved in those crimes 15 years ago. However, Obama's veto Friday may delay the bill only temporarily. Congress could override the president's action, and many Washington observers feel that such a rebuff to Obama is likely. An override in this case would mark the first time in Obama's two terms that one of his vetoes was rejected. In a letter to the Senate, the president said that the bill, the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, would ‘neither protect Americans from terrorist attacks nor improve the effectiveness of our response to such attacks.’” Radio Free Europe: U.S. General Says Taliban Controls 10 Percent Of Afghanistan “The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan says the Taliban controls about 10 percent of the the country and the Islamist extremist group is battling with government troops for control of at least another 20 percent. Army General John Nicholson also said at the Pentagon in Washington on September 23 that, separately, there are up to 1,300 Islamic State (IS) militants in Afghanistan who receive money, guidance, and communications support from IS leaders in Syria. He said Afghanistan is paying a high cost in casualties in its difficult fight against Islamist groups. Nicholson said many of the Afghan deaths are occurring at checkpoints, adding that many Afghan troops are not properly commanded, are ill-equipped, and poorly trained. He said the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan will help Afghans expand their control within the country and improve the quality of their forces.” Voice Of America: US, European Allies Say It Is Up To Russia To Bring Truce In Syria “The United States and its European allies are urging Russia to take ‘extraordinary’ steps to support a cessation of hostilities in Syria. In a joint statement released late Saturday, foreign ministers from the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Britain and high representatives of the European Union pushed Moscow to support humanitarian assistance, stop bombings on Syrians, and renew truce efforts. ‘The burden is on Russia to prove it is willing and able to take extraordinary steps to salvage diplomatic efforts to restore a cessation of hostilities, allow unfettered humanitarian assistance and create the conditions necessary for the resumption of U.N.-led talks about a political transition,’ the statement said. The allies maintained their commitment to dismantle the Islamic State group and asked Russia to focus on al-Qaida affiliated groups in Syria.” The Wall Street Journal: Washington State Mall Shooting Suspect’s Troubled Past Comes Into Focus “Before police say he shot five people dead in a Macy’s on Friday night, Arcan Cetin was already known in the small island city where he lived as a troubled young man with an affinity for guns. Investigators are still searching for a motive in the massacre at the Cascade Mall, about 60 miles north of Seattle in the small city of Burlington. Mr. Cetin, 20, was arrested Saturday night and is in custody in Skagit County jail. Jail records describe his offenses as five counts of murder. He hasn’t been formally charged. A Federal Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman said the bureau does ‘not have any information to suggest terrorist ties’ but the investigation is continuing.” Syria CNN: Syria Airstrikes Kill 85 People In Aleppo Amid Diplomatic Row “Syrian forces pounded rebel-held eastern Aleppo on Sunday, killing at least 85 people and wounding more than 300 others, an activist group reported. The bombardment destroyed residential centers, overwhelmed hospitals and angered diplomats meeting at the United Nations. Hundreds of airstrikes have pummeled the city, home to more than 250,000 people, since the Syrian government, backed by Russia, announced a renewed, ‘comprehensive’ offensive Thursday following the collapse of a short-lived ceasefire. Sunday's death toll marked an increase in casualties, according to the Aleppo Media Center (AMC), an opposition-affiliated group of activists that works to document the conflict.” Reuters: Syria Rebels Say Peace Talks Futile While Russia Backs Aleppo Bombing “Syria's mainstream rebel groups said on Sunday the escalating Russian-backed bombing of besieged Aleppo had rendered any peace process futile unless there was an immediate halt to fighting and aid deliveries under United Nations auspices. In a statement signed by more than 30 rebel groups including the biggest faction backed by Turkey, Gulf states and the West, they said the bombing campaign that has killed dozens in the past few days was ‘unprecedented’ and rendered futile the U.N.-backed political process Washington and Moscow seek to revive. The statement also said rebels could not accept ‘Russia as a sponsor because it was a partner with the regime in its crimes against our people,’ saying Russian-backed Syrian forces were using napalm and chemical weapons without censure by the international community.” BBC: Syria Conflict: UN Chief 'Appalled' By Aleppo Escalation “UN chief Ban Ki-moon is ‘appalled by the chilling military escalation’ in the embattled Syrian city of Aleppo, his spokesman says. Stephane Dujarric said the secretary-general was alarmed by reports of air strikes involving incendiary weapons and bunker-busting bombs. The Syrian government has stepped up strikes on rebel-held areas of the city since a ceasefire collapsed last week. The UN Security Council is due to meet on Sunday morning in New York. The meeting was requested by the US, the UK and France. Meanwhile, UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has suggested that a deadly attack on an aid convoy in Syria last week could have been deliberately carried out by Russian aircraft. If so, he said it could amount to a war crime.” BBC: Syria Conflict: Air Strikes Leave Aleppo 'Without Water' “Intensified attacks on the Syrian city of Aleppo have left nearly two million people without water, the UN says. The UN children's agency says fierce strikes on Friday prevented repairs to a damaged pumping station supplying rebel-held districts of the city. In retaliation, Unicef says, a nearby station pumping water to the rest of Aleppo has been switched off. Fresh strikes were reported in the city on Saturday, as the Syrian army presses on with its push to retake rebel areas. The latest offensive was launched after a ceasefire collapsed on Monday.” Iraq Associated Press: Iraq: Triple Suicide Attack North Of Baghdad Kills 11 Troops “A triple suicide bombing against a security check point north of Baghdad on Saturday killed at least 11 members of the security forces, a police officer said. The spokesman for the Salahuddin province police force, Col. Mohammed al-Jabouri, said three militants rammed their explosives-laden vehicles early Saturday morning into the main check point near the town of al-Salam at the province's northern entrance. Al-Jabouri added that 34 other security officers were wounded. He said the attack occurred as the local police chief and head of the provincial security committee were visiting the site. Both escaped unharmed. Almost at the same time, another group of militants on foot attacked a check point at the eastern edge of the province, killing four policemen and wounding two others, he added. One militant was killed in that attack, while the others fled the scene, he said.” CNN: Baghdad Bombings Kill 8; ISIS Claims Suicide Attack “An explosion Sunday evening in central Baghdad marked the third attack of the day in the Iraqi capital, where a total of eight people were killed and at least 25 wounded in the three blasts. The latest attack left one person dead and five others hurt, according to security officials at the Baghdad Operations Center. Authorities did not provide additional details. Earlier, ISIS claimed responsibility for the day's deadliest attack, a suicide bombing that killed at least six people, according to the ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency. CNN could not independently confirm the claim. Eighteen people were wounded. The suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt in the Iskan city area of western Baghdad, Iraqi authorities said.” Turkey Reuters: Turkey Wants To Join U.S.-Led Operation Against Islamic State In Raqqa: Erdogan “Turkey wants to join the United States in a military operation to push Islamic State from its Syrian stronghold of Raqqa, as long as it excludes Kurdish rebel forces, President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying on Sunday. NATO member Turkey, part of the U.S.-led coalition battling Islamic State, is backing Arab and Turkmen Syrian rebels who seized the Syrian town of Jarablus from the jihadists a month ago in an operation it has dubbed ‘Euphrates Shield.’ But Ankara is wary of the U.S.-allied People's Protection Units (YPG) and its political arm, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), Syrian Kurdish groups it sees as extensions of Kurdish militants who have waged a three-decade insurgency on its own soil.” Voice Of America: Christians, Jews In Turkey Growing More Fearful Of Islamic Extremism “Threatened by Islamic extremism, Christian and Jewish groups in Turkey are growing more fearful amid increasing terror attacks and the government’s state of emergency following a failed coup attempt, representatives of the minority communities told VOA. Christian and Jews represent about two-tenths of one percent of Turkey’s mostly Muslim population of 79 million. But pro-government media outlets as well as some government officials have accused them of playing a role in the July coup attempt and have stepped up the rhetoric against Christians and Jews.” Reuters: Clash Kills Soldier, Kurdish Militant In Southeast Turkey “A Turkish soldier and a Kurdish militant were killed on Saturday in a firefight in the southeast, and jets struck rebel targets elsewhere in the region, security sources said. The clash with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) broke out during military operations in Diyarbakir province after the authorities imposed round-the-clock curfews on 18 villages, the sources said. A soldier was also wounded in the fighting. Warplanes also bombed PKK shelters and weapons stores in the mountainous Buzul region of Hakkari province, which borders Iraq and Iran, the sources said. A two-year ceasefire between the autonomy-seeking PKK and the Turkish state collapsed last year, and thousands of militants, members of the security forces and civilians have been killed in the ensuing violence.” Reuters: Train Driver Wounded By Railway Bomb In Southeast Turkey “The driver of a freight train was wounded on Sunday when a bomb left on a railway track in southeastern Turkey was detonated as the train came past, security sources said, blaming Kurdish militants for the explosion. The train's locomotive was damaged in the incident near the town of Saray in Van province, near the Iranian border, the sources said. There were no immediate claims of responsibility. The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency against Turkish forces, has previously attacked railroads, pipelines and other targets it considers as Turkey's strategic assets. Four PKK militants were killed in clashes elsewhere in the mainly Kurdish region, the security sources said on condition of anonymity.” Afghanistan Voice Of America: Afghan Forces, Taliban Fight Fierce Battles For Strategic Corridor “Afghan security forces are engaged in fierce battles with Taliban insurgents over a besieged southern provincial capital that stands in the way of the Taliban's attempt to carve a direct military route into central Afghanistan. Taliban militants have blocked the critical Kandahar-Uruzgan highway, leaving the city of Tarin Kot in central Uruzgan province with few Afghan enforcements and dwindling supplies. Several police checkpoints on the highway have fallen to the Taliban, but U.S. bombers have been aiding Afghan forces. If the Taliban efforts succeed, even temporarily, analysts say that would be a significant defeat for the Afghan government, giving the insurgents easy access to several nearby provinces. The Kabul government's forces have been making steady gains against militants in southern Afghanistan, and are trying to contain any Taliban move toward the capital.” Newsweek: Afghan Security Forces, Taliban Reach Impasse “Afghan security forces have reached something of an impasse with the Taliban, which has been unable to expand its grip on Afghanistan but still holds large parts of the country, a U.S. general said on Friday. Army General John Nicholson, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said local forces during the summer fighting season had thwarted a Taliban attempt to take over Kunduz province, and had improved security in Helmand, western Kandahar and Uruzgan. Afghan forces currently control or ‘heavily influence’ 65 to 70 percent of the population, the Taliban controls about 10 percent in mainly rural areas, and the rest is contested, Nicholson told reporters. The top U.S. military officer, General Joe Dunford, told lawmakers on Thursday that the situation in Afghanistan was ‘roughly a stalemate.’” Voice Of America: Airstrike Kills Senior Pakistani Militant Leader In Afghanistan “Suspected U.S. airstrikes in southeastern Afghanistan are believed to have killed a top commander of the extremist Pakistan Taliban and several of his partners. The overnight attack took place in Bermal district of the Paktika province adjacent to the Pakistani border. Rais Khan, also known as Azam Tariq, of the so-called Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, the TTP, and his son were among those reported killed in an overnight attack, according to militant sources. The Afghan Defense Ministry said national forces conducted operations in Bermal late on Saturday, killing nine militants. It said the dead included two al-Qaida commanders, adding security forces also have seized weapons, suicide vests and communication equipment.” Yemen Saudi Arabia: Top Houthi In Yemen Floats Truce Package With Saudi Arabia “A top member of Yemen's armed Houthi rebel movement has offered to stop attacking targets on the Saudi Arabian side of the border, if a Saudi-led air coalition stops bombing Houthi targets inside Yemen and lifts a blockade of the country. The proposal came Sunday from Saleh al-Samad, the head of an Iran-backed Houthi political council seeking to wrest control of Yemen from the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Samad, whose fighters are backed by Shi'ite Iran, called on Saudi Arabia to stop what it called ‘naval, air and land aggression.’ He also urged the Saudis to ‘cease air aids and lift the naval blockade of our country.’” Egypt Associated Press: Egypt Moves To Tighten Borders After Migrant Ship Tragedy “Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi ordered the tightening of border security after more than 160 mainly Egyptian migrants died when their Europe-bound boat sank in the Mediterranean, a tragedy that highlighted the extent of Egypt's economic woes. Presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef, in a statement issued late Saturday, said el-Sissi had also ordered during a meeting with top aides that those behind the tragedy be brought to justice. Authorities last week arrested four members of the doomed boat's crew and said they had issued arrest warrants for five more people. However, there have been no known arrests of members of the organized crime rings behind the human trafficking rife on Egypt's Mediterranean coast.” CNN: Egypt Migrant Boat Death Toll Climbs Above 160 “At least 162 people drowned when a migrant boat capsized this week off the coast of Egypt, state media Ahram Online reported Friday. The overloaded boat bound for Italy was believed to have been carrying 450 migrants when it overturned Wednesday. Only 164 have been rescued and many more are feared missing. A local fisherman told CNN his boat retrieved dozens of bodies Friday morning. ‘There aren't enough ambulances or body bags,’ Mohamed Abassi said. Naval forces on Friday afternoon pulled 107 bodies from the Mediterranean and they expect more, authorities said.” Reuters: Egypt's Sisi Promises Justice After Migrant Ship Capsize “Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ordered authorities on Saturday to punish those responsible for the capsizing of a ship which resulted in the deaths of more than 160 migrants, as families demanded the bodies of their loved ones. Rescue workers and fishermen rescued 169 people after the boat sank off Egypt's Mediterranean coast early on Wednesday with up to 600 on board, suggesting many more may have perished than the death toll of 162 given by security officials. Survivors, their relatives and families of the dead have been complaining of what they say is inaction by Egyptian authorities such as the coastguard.” Middle East The Times Of Israel: Hamas Leader Confirms Plans To Step Down In 2017 “Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal has publicly confirmed long-circulating reports that he will not run for reelection in the terror organization’s upcoming internal elections, slated to take place in 2017. ‘Next year Khaled Mashaal will be the former head of Hamas’s political bureau,’ he said during a speech in Qatar. Mashaal also claimed Hamas now held ‘several times the weaponry’ it did during the 2014 war with Israel in the Gaza Strip, known in the Jewish state as Operation Protective Edge. Arab media has reported that former Gaza prime minister Ismail Haniyeh is likely to replace Mashaal.” The Jerusalem Post: Palestinian Activists Boycott Facebook For Two Hours “Palestinian activists called on Facebook users to boycott Facebook and instead post tweets on Twitter under the hashtag #FBCensorsPalestine between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Sunday to protest the closure of a number of Palestinian Facebook accounts. Facebook, in cooperation with the Israeli government, has disabled over the past several months a number of Palestinian accounts that it has said ‘promote violence,’ including those of top Hamas officials, such as Ezzat al-Rishq and Salah Bardawail. Palestinian activists say Facebook intensified its campaign to close Palestinian accounts on Friday, disabling accounts of multiple editors of the al-Quds al-Ikbariyyah News Network and Shehab News Network pages in addition to those of many activists and journalists.” Libya Reuters: Libya PM Calls For National Reconciliation In Splintered Country “Libya's prime minister called for a national reconciliation initiative to repair the divisions in a fragmented country reeling from the turbulence that has followed the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Fayez Seraj also told Reuters in an interview that the battle against Islamic State militants in their former stronghold of Sirte was in its last stages, although bombings and booby traps still posed a challenge. Gaddafi's fall in 2011 brought chaos that splintered the North African country into rival armed fiefdoms. The U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) has been seeking endorsement for months as it tries to extend its authority beyond its base in Tripoli, in western Libya.” The Guardian: Canadian And Two Italians Taken Hostage In Libya “Canada confirmed on Sunday it had become aware of a citizen taken hostage in Libya and was ‘diligently pursuing all appropriate channels to obtain more information’. Libyan authorities said last week a Canadian and two Italians had been kidnapped in the country’s south-western desert, possibly by a criminal gang. The Canadian government then called the matter ‘unconfirmed’. On Sunday, Global Affairs Canada, the country’s foreign department, called the kidnapping ‘troubling’ but declined to provide more details. The three victims, who were working on airport projects, were abducted between the towns of Ghat and Tahala, near the border with Algeria, early last Monday, according to Ghat mayor Gomani Mohamad Saleh. It was not immediately clear who was responsible or what the hostages’ current circumstances were.” Germany The Daily Caller: Germany Accuses Doctors Of Diagnosing Migrants As Sick To Help Them Avoid Deportation “The German government is accusing doctors of issuing too many sick notes to migrants to help them avoid deportation. Thomas de Maiziere, Germany’s interior minister, indirectly accused doctors of issuing fake sick notes to refugees in June. De Maiziere didn’t assert his claims with any official statistics, and doctors and politicians quickly dismissed it as exaggerated. ‘It can’t be true that 70 percent of men under the age of 40 are declared sick and not fit to travel before deportation,’ de Maiziere said in June. ‘Experience suggests this is not the case.’ A new report from the government backs up de Maiziere’s accusations. Many medical files stand out in the way they come from the same doctor with identical notes, and lack a solid explanation for why the person can’t travel, newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports.” Deutsche Welle: Suspected Member Of 'Islamic State' Arrested At Dusseldorf Airport “Authorities in the city of Karlsruhe said on Saturday that the German Federal Prosecutor's Office had authorized the arrest of the individual at Dusseldorf airport on Friday. The 22-year-old man was taken into custody as he arrived in Dusseldorf from Turkey on Friday. He is believed to have traveled to Syria in August last year and joined IS there. He has been accused of attending a training camp in Syria and obtaining an automatic rifle and hand grenades to use in battle. ‘Therefore, he has proven himself willing to engage in armed fighting,’ the Prosecutor's Office said. The alleged jihadist is believed to have returned from Syria to Turkey in December of last year. The unnamed individual is also believed to have tried to persuade other people living in Germany to join him in IS-controlled territory.” France The Wall Street Journal: France Vows To Close Squalid Calais Migrant Camp Known As ‘The Jungle’ “French President François Hollande on Saturday confirmed plans to close the squalid Calais migrant camp known as ‘the Jungle,’ saying he hopes authorities can relocate as many as 9,000 migrants to reception centers across France in the coming weeks. Mr. Hollande, visiting one of France’s 164 migrant reception centers in the central city of Tours, said conditions in the Calais camp are ‘not acceptable’ and ‘extremely difficult,’ especially for those who fled war to get there. The camp has become a symbol of his government’s failure to tackle Europe’s migrant crisis and a target of criticism from conservative and far-right rivals seeking to unseat him in France’s presidential election next year.” Deutsche Welle: Pope Francis Urges Understanding In Meeting With Families Of Attack In Nice “Pope Francis called on the relatives and close friends of victims of the Nice truck attack to come together and resist hatred and violence during a ceremony at the Vatican on Saturday. ‘If the temptation is great to withdraw into oneself, to respond to hatred with hatred and to violence with violence, then an authentic conversation with the heart is needed,’ Pope Francis told the 300 relatives of the victims. The ceremony was attended by about 1,000 people, including members of Nice's Jewish community as well as a local Muslim imam. ‘It cheers me to see that, among you, inter-religious relations are very strong, and this cannot but help contribute to alleviating the wounds of these dramatic events,’ said Pope Francis.” Deutsche Welle: Police In France Arrest Teenagers In Nice On Suspicion Of Terrorism “Police said they had arrested two teenage women in mid-September in the French city of Nice on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack in the country, said the Paris prosecutors' office on Sunday. ‘They were incited to commit an attack on specific targets in retaliation for the recent death of the Daesh's spokesman,’ a source close to the investigation told the French newspaper ‘Le Parisien,’ referring to the ‘Islamic State’ militant group by its Arabic acronym. The women, aged 17 and 19, confessed to considering an attack on French soil, but reportedly abandoned the idea, ‘Le Parisien’ added.” Europe The Washington Post: Hungary Conducts Manhunt After Homemade Bomb Apparently Targets Police “Hungarian authorities staged a manhunt Sunday for the principal suspect in a bomb attack that seriously wounded two patrol officers late Saturday, with authorities saying the homemade device had been planted in an apparent attempt to target police. The incident comes as countries across Europe are on edge following a series of attacks by suspects linked to or inspired by ­Islamist extremists, as well as an increasing number of acts of violence carried out by the far-right. National police chief Karoly Papp, however, said investigators had not been able to determine whether Saturday’s attack — near an empty storefront on a main artery in Budapest, the capital — was intended as an act of terrorism.” Financing of Terrorism Makkah Newspaper: 10 Sources Of Financing For Terrorist Groups In Saudi Arabia “The 600,000 riyals ($160,000), found in the possession of 17 members of an ISIS network dismantled recently by the Saudi Interior Ministry, have raised questions about the financing of terrorist groups, which enables them to move freely and execute terrorist operations against civilians and vital security sites. Spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki, said the investigation is still underway regarding the funding sources of the dismantled network. For his part, Shura Council's security committee member Major General Ali Al-Tamimi counted 10 funding sources of terrorist groups at home and abroad. These sources are instrumental in providing mobility, housing, weapons and recruitment for terrorists. Foreign sources include: 1. Terrorist organizations like ISIS; 2. Countries with enmity towards the kingdom, such as Iran; and 3. Hezbollah. Domestic sources include: 1. Sympathizers of terrorist organizations; 2. Remnants of al-Qaeda sleeper cells; 3. Donations collected in an irregular manner; 4. A portion of the funds obtained from drug trafficking; 5. Money laundering; 6. Beggars' money; and 7. Money obtained by smuggling and sales of arms.” ISIS Akhbar Alaan: Mosul: ISIS Fighters Purchase Fake Ids “Activists in Mosul revealed that local ISIS fighters have been making efforts to obtain forged civilian IDs, in preparation to flee the city with the launch of the battle to liberate Mosul. Some of them plan to feign being displaced persons. According to these activists, the price of a forged ID comes to 50,000 Iraqi dinars ($43). The IDs are issued by ISIS-affiliated "mafias", which seized printing houses, seals, documents and relevant forms after the fall of the city of Mosul. The activists are urging security services to check the IDs carefully in the aftermath of the city's liberation.” Muslim Brotherhood Albawabh News: Muslim Brotherhood Accused Of Squandering Lawyers' Funds In Egypt “Several lawyers, who participated in a press conference as part of the "Where are the budgets of the Lawyers' Union?" campaign, accused the Muslim Brotherhood and the Union head, Samih Ashour, of squandering the Union's funds and declining to present its budgets to the General Assembly. Participants in Sunday's press conference claimed that Brotherhood members, exploiting their majority inside the Union Board {of Directors}, were unwilling to disclose details of the Union's budgets. They also conspired with the current Union chief to increase {membership} fees. Participants in the campaign claimed they have videotapes that can prove their claims.” Masrawy: Muslim Brotherhood Opens New University In Turkey “A newspaper reported that the Muslim Brotherhood has established a university in Turkey, which hosts many of the group's leaders who fled from Egypt. The report added that the new Istanbul-based university bears the name "International University for Renewal." The newspaper reported that the move to establish the university is regarded by observers as a potential "barrier to the realization of normalization between Egypt and Turkey." The newspaper said that the group's leaders were urging Brotherhood students, who had been dismissed from universities in Egypt, to complete their studies in the new university. The article stressed that the new Brotherhood University is chaired by fugitive Brotherhood leader Dr. Gamal Abdel-Sattar. Instructors include several Egyptian university professors who fled to Istanbul. The newspaper quoted an informed source at the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education, saying that "a number of Brotherhood students dismissed from Egyptian universities have inquired about the possibility of completing their studies at the new university in Turkey." Houthi Gulfeyes: Lebanese Dealers Smuggle Iranian Weapons To Houthis With The Help Of Cattle Merchants “An informed source revealed that several Yemeni and Lebanese dealers are smuggling Iranian weapons to Houthis by exploiting official permits that were granted to several cattle and agricultural equipment dealers. The source disclosed that the smuggling of weapons, including parts for rockets, as well as money-smuggling, is being carried out on fishing boats belonging to the Houthis themselves. The source claimed that prominent merchants, who possess official licenses to conduct various types of trade, are involved in the arms smuggling, which is done via a seaport located in a country in the Horn of Africa. The source claimed that a huge smuggling operation was carried out just before the recent Eid al-Adha holiday.”