Eye on Extremism November 15, 2016

Eye on Extremism November 15, 2016 Reuters: Iraq Says Islamic State Dislodged From A Third Of Eastern Mosul “Iraqi forces have dislodged Islamic State from one third of the eastern side of Mosul, an interior ministry spokesman said on Tuesday, four weeks into the U.S-backed campaign to take back the city. The Tigris river divides Mosul into eastern and western sides. The built-up area in the eastern side is slightly bigger than the western side where the old city is located. "More than a third of this (eastern) side has been liberated," the spokesman, Brigadier-General Saad Maan, told a news conference at the Qayyara military base, the main hub for the forces trying to end Islamic State's two-year rule of Mosul.” Reuters: Islamic State Ousted From Yazidi Villages West Of Mosul -Kurdish-Yazidi Force “A mixed Kurdish and Yazidi armed force said on Monday it had dislodged Islamic State (IS) militants from five Yazidi villages west of Mosul in an offensive that began on Saturday. It coincided with a larger, ongoing Iraqi government and Kurdish offensive to recapture Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, from IS with aerial support from the U.S.-led military coalition. Iranian-backed Shi'ite Muslim militias are also in the Mosul campaign, battling IS to the west of the city. Islamic State overran the five villages in 2014 when it swept over Sinjar mountain and the surrounding region inhabited by Yazidis, killing, capturing and enslaving thousands from the Iraqi religious minority.” CNN: Booby Trapped Toys: How ISIS Targets Mosul's Children “On a concrete pad in the middle of a dusty village in northern Iraq, children sit attentively as an animated pair of teachers delivers the lesson. Keeping the attention of these youngsters could mean the difference between them living or dying. "Is this something you can touch in the street?" one teacher asks the children, pointing at poster of photographs, including toys. "No!" comes the answer, loudly and in unison. The lesson has been learned: an enemy without a conscience will -- and has -- booby-trapped toys.” The Independent: ISIS 'Destroys Thousands Of Years Of Culture Almost Overnight' As It Flees Iraqi Army Near Mosul “Fleeing Isis fighters have destroyed precious ancient ruins in northern Iraq as they retreat towards the city of Mosul in the face of the US-backed coalition effort to drive them from the country.  Most of the militants were pushed out of the area around the 3,000 year old Mesopotamian city of Nimrud over the weekend, Iraqi army officials said, but troops remain wary of pockets of resistance, fighters hiding in tunnels and boobytraps - a favourite Isis tactic intended to cause further damage even after the battle has been lost.” Al Jazeera: Turkish Jets Hit Al-Bab In Push To Take ISIL's Raqqa “Turkish jets hit 15 "targets" in the al-Bab area of northern Syria on Sunday in an operation with Syrian rebels that could foreshadow a push on ISIL's de facto capital Raqqa, the Turkish military said. Ten defensive positions, command centres and an ammunition store used by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group were destroyed in the raids, the army said in a statement. Nine Syrian rebels were killed and 52 wounded during clashes in the area, it added. According to Al Jazeera's Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Gaziantep on the Turkish-Syrian border, the attack on al-Bab "started a few days ago when the Turkish military resumed air strikes on the area.” The Independent: Aleppo Offensive Is Just The Next Step In Russia's Syrian Mission “Russian warships and aircraft are in place, as are a contingent of Iranian and Hezbollah militias; the Syrian regime has been reinforced; key strategic points have been seized: all signs that the long-awaited battle for Aleppo is due to start very soon. But recapturing the opposition-held half of what was once Syria’s largest city and commercial capital is just the next step in Moscow’s mission. It will not end either when Isis loses Mosul and Raqaa, the capital of its “caliphate”. The aim, say senior Kremlin officials, is ensuring that al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra and its allied rebel battalions are finished as a threat.” USA Today: Two Of 9 Minneapolis Men Sentenced In ISIL Plot “A 20-year-old man of Somali descent who helped build a case against eight other Minnesota men who plotted to join the terror group Islamic State will get out of prison with time served, but spend 20 years under supervised release for his part in the broad conspiracy, a federal judge in Minneapolis ruled Monday. Abdullahi Yusuf, who was arrested in 2014 and pleaded guilty to his part in the conspiracy, played a key role in helping federal prosecutors unravel an ISIL plot to recruit at least a dozen young people from Minnesota’s large Somali community to join the extremist group's fight in Syria and Iraq.” Wall Street Journal: ISIS Orphans Stranded In Foreign Prisons “Tamim Jandoubi, a 2-year-old Tunisian boy whose father joined Islamic State, lives in a militia-run jail in the Libyan capital, where female inmates care for him. His grandfather Fozi Trabulsi has been trying to bring him home, but has been stymied by bureaucratic hurdles and the stigma of his family’s association with the extremist group. “He’s just a baby,” Mr. Trabulsi said at his home in neighboring Tunisia, clutching a mugshot-like photo of the boy taken at the Tripoli prison.” Reuters: Egyptian Court Overturns Ex-President Mursi's Death Sentence ‘Egypt's Court of Cassation on Tuesday overturned a death sentence against deposed president Mohammed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood and ordered a retrial. Mursi was sentenced to death in June 2015 in connection with a mass jail break during Egypt's 2011 uprising. Mursi, democratically elected after the revolution, was overthrown in mid-2013 by then-general Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, now the president, following mass protests against his rule, and immediately arrested.” Libyan Express: US Warplanes Bomb IS Militants Is South Libya “US fighter aircraft carried out Monday night three airstrikes targeting houses in Al-Firda, Brak Al-Shatti, southern Libya, said the spokesman of the Third Force appointed to secure the southern region, Mohammed Gliwan. “There were prominent IS leaders in the house.” Gliwan added. Three houses were demolished by the US airstrike. “Two houses were hosting IS leader known as Abu Mosab, and his driver who works in the Hisbah Bureau (Court) in Sirte. These two were also hosting a group of unknown persons inside the houses.” Gliwan said.” New Straits Times: Saudis Intercept Missile Fired From Yemen “Saudi air defence forces on Tuesday intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired from Yemen towards the kingdom, the Riyadh-led anti-rebel coalition said. The missile was fired towards the Najran region but was shot down, said a coalition statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency. Coalition forces responded by targeting the source of the fire inside Yemen, it added. The coalition has been engaged in a bombing campaign against the Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels and their allies since March last year, and the insurgents have targeted their air bases.” Associated Press: Germany Bans Islamic Organization, Police Search 190 Sites “Hundreds of police officers searched about 190 offices, mosques and apartments of members and supporters of the Islamic group "The true religion" as the German government announced a ban of the organization Tuesday. Police raided places in 60 cities in western Germany and also in Berlin seizing documents and files, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said. Nobody was detained.” United States The Independent: Isis Commander Says Donald Trump Presidency Will Make It 'Much Easier To Recruit Thousands Of Jihadists' “A top Isis commander in Afghanistan has called the President-elect Donald Trump a “complete manic” and said his “utter hate towards Muslims” will make it “much easier" to recruit thousands more supporters. Jihadists from across the world have reportedly claimed Mr Trump’s shock entrance into the White House can be used as a propaganda tool to attract new fighters. Mr Trump was widely condemned for his call, shortly after the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015, to temporarily ban all Muslims from entering the country until he figured out "what the hell was going on.” Huffington Post: FBI: Hate Crime Went Up 6.8 Percent In 2015; Anti-Muslim Incidents Surge To Second Highest Ever “Criminal hate crime incidents reported to police increased 6.8 percent in the United States in 2015; according to official FBI data released Sunday. There were 5,850 incidents in 2015, compared to 5,479 reported in 2014, the widely anticipated report showed. In a period of heightened anti-Islamic prejudice, increased Salafist Jihadist terror attacks, and political vitriol, hate crimes against Muslims surged 67 percent from 154 in 2014 to 257 in 2015, the second highest number on record since national reporting commenced in 1992. In 2001, the year of the 9/11 attacks anti-Muslim hate crime peaked at 481, and had been in a range of 105 to 160, until 2015’s breakout.” Daily Mail: Revealed, The NATO Freeloaders: Why Trump Is So Infuriated By Countries Spending Less Than Half Their Fair Share On European Defence (And We Should Be Too) “Data has revealed the NATO countries who are not spending enough on defence to warrant Donald Trump using US forces to protect them from an attack. The President elect caused alarm during his election campaign by suggesting Washington would think twice about coming to the aid of an endangered NATO ally if it had not paid its dues. The alliance has set a target for its members of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence - but the likes of France, Germany and Canada are among more than 20 members not meeting the objective, figures show.” Syria Reuters: Turkey-Backed Rebels Close In On IS-Held Syrian City Al-Bab: Turkish PM “Turkey-backed rebels are nearing the Syrian city of al-Bab and the area will be cleared of Islamic State militants soon, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Tuesday. Yildirim made the comment to members of his ruling AK Party in parliament in a speech shown live on state broadcaster TRT Haber. The rebels were poised to begin an assault to drive Islamic State from al-Bab, two of their commanders said on Monday, a battle that could also prompt new fighting with Kurdish groups competing for the area.” The Telegraph: Russian Jet 'Crashes Into Sea' After Trying To Land On Aircraft Carrier Off Syria “Russian fighter has crashed in the sea off Syria after taking off from the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier. The pilot of the MiG-29K ejected safely after running into difficulties as he came into land, the Russian defence ministry said on Monday.   "The Russian aircraft carrier group is continuing its operations in the Mediterranean in accordance with plan," the ministry. "Flights of carrier-borne aircraft are continuing.” Reuters: Lavrov And Kerry Agree To Continue Consultations On Syria “Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry discussed Syria by phone on Monday and agreed to continue experts' consultations to try to resolve the crisis, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. It said Lavrov told Kerry Washington had failed to stick to its pledge to encourage "moderate" Syrian rebels to separate themselves from "terrorist" groups in Aleppo. Lavrov also expressed "indignation" at the U.S. decision not to issue an entry visa to Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the president of the World Chess Federation (FIDE), who will miss the World Chess Championship in New York as a result.” The Telegraph: Men 'Used Aid Convoys To Transport Items For Terrorism To Syria' “Four men used aid convoys bound for Syria to transport items that would be used to commit terrorism offences, a court heard. Syed Hoque, 37, of Stoke-on-Trent, allegedly handed over £3,000 and a further sum of £1,500 on December 21 2013, to help his nephew who was fighting against the regime in the war-torn country. He is also accused with three other men of making "other property" available between December 1 2012 and May 31 2014.” Voice Of America: Syrian Arab Forces Trained To Join Kurdish-Led Offensive On Raqqa “A local force of Arab tribesmen in northern Syria has been trained to fight alongside Kurdish fighters who are slowly advancing to recapture Raqqa, the de facto capital of Islamic State, according to Kurdish commanders and tribal leaders. The Arab force, composed of more than 2,000 men, will fight IS under the command of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who are in their second week of a long offensive toward Raqqa. "These are young men from Raqqa who will be battling [IS] inside the city when our forces get near there," said Nasir Hajji Mansur, a commander with SDF on the front lines, told VOA Monday.” Iraq New York Daily News: ISIS Suicide Bomber Kills Six In Iraq “A suicide bombing in Iraq targeted the Shiite sacred city of Karbala on Monday, killing at least six civilians, the latest attempt by the Islamic State to distract from the government forces’ offensive on the ISIS-held northern city of Mosul. According to Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Saad Maan, six suicide bombers tried to sneak into Karbala from its western outskirts earlier in the day, but security forces detected and killed five of them. The sixth attacker broke into a house in the city’s Ayn al-Tamer neighborhood, where he detonated his suicide vest, killing six and wounding another six.” CNN: Human Rights Watch: Kurds Illegally Destroying Arab Homes In Iraq “Human Rights Watch is accusing Iraqi Kurdish forces of unlawfully targeting and destroying Arab homes in regions they have retaken from ISIS fighters. Kurdish Regional Government forces, also known as the Peshmerga, is a 100,000-strong military force, backed by the United States in its mission to drive out ISIS from Iraq. The US-based human rights group released a report Sunday detailing at least 21 attacks carried out by Kurdish fighters on villages with mixed Kurdish and Arab residents between September 2014 and May 2016 in disputed parts of Kirkuk and Nineveh, governorates in northern Iraq. Researchers spoke to witnesses on the ground and say they found destroyed Arab buildings next to intact Kurdish-owned ones.” Turkey Reuters: Turkey-Backed Syria Rebels Poised To Attack IS-Held City “Syrian rebels backed by Turkey were poised to begin an assault to try to drive Islamic State from the Syrian city of al-Bab, two of their commanders said on Monday, a battle that could also prompt new fighting with Kurdish groups that are competing for the area. Further escalation in the complex, multi-sided conflict in northern Syria has the potential to undermine a campaign supported by an international coalition led by the United States to oust Islamic State from its Syrian capital of Raqqa. Al-Bab is fast becoming a major faultline in the war in northern Syria, bringing Free Syrian Army rebels backed by Turkish armor closer than ever to frontlines held by the Syrian government and its Iranian and Russian allies in nearby Aleppo.” Yemen Al Arabiya: Houthi Leader Killed During Clashes In Yemen “Houthi leader of Haradh battlefront, Mohammed Ali al-Arjali was killed, during clashes on Tuesday, Al Arabiya sources revealed. Yemen’s national army had initiated a wide military operation against Houthis and ousted President Saleh with the support of the coalition aircrafts. The coalition had paved the way for these operations through a series of shells targeting militias’ sites in Haradh, Midi and the Tawal border crossing.” Saudi Arabia The Guardian: Saudis Have Not Breached Humanitarian Law In Yemen, Concludes Foreign Office “The Foreign Office has concluded there is no clear risk of serious Saudi breaches of international humanitarian law in Yemen, even though it admits UK defence personnel cannot “form a complete understanding” of the Saudi-led coalition’s attitudes to such laws because they “do not have access to all the information required”. Ministers have previously said that UK forces advising the Saudis on airstrike techniques in Riyadh are able to form an impression of attitudes to international humanitarian law.” The Statesman: Malaysia, Saudi Arabia To Set Up Centre On Countering Terrorism “Talks are under way to establish a centre on countering terrorism narratives based on cooperation between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, said Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein. The Defence Minister, who is on a working visit to Saudi Arabia, said he along with his Saudi counterpart Deputy Crown Prince Mohamad Salman Al Saud spoke on establishing such a centre.  “The centre will further foster cooperation between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia on countering the narratives and ideologies that underpins terrorism and radicalism in Islam." “We also highlighted the need to promote Islam as a religion of peace and moderation,” Hishammuddin said in a statement on Monday.” Middle East Reuters: In Iraq, Syrian Kurds Long To Return Home To Fight Islamic State “Days after helping to capture the Iraqi town of Bashiqa northeast of Mosul, Syrian Kurdish fighters walk proudly past the corpses of Islamic State combatants still lying in the ruins. As they inspect the devastated streets where militants hid in ditches under metal sheets, members of the 3,300-strong Rojava Brigade exude confidence. Fighting alongside Iraqi troops, Shi'ite militias and Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters, they believe they can win the battle for Mosul, the jihadists' last big city stronghold in Iraq.” Libya News 24: Tunisia Finds 4 Arms Caches Near Libya Border “Tunisian authorities have discovered four arms caches in the south of the country near the border with war-ravaged Libya and seized large quantities of weapons, security sources said on Monday. Two were found Saturday near the city of Ben Guerdane, a third on Sunday and another on Monday also in the same region, they said. The interior ministry said the biggest find was made Sunday, in a garage on the outskirts of Ben Guerdane where 50 guns, including 27 Kalashnikov assault rifles, and dozens of missiles were confiscated.” Nigeria Al Jazeera: Nigeria: Deaths As Kano Police Clash With Shia Muslims “At least nine people have been killed and several wounded during clashes between Nigerian police and Shia Muslims at a religious procession in the northern state of Kano, according to witnesses and authorities. The violence broke out on Monday during a march of thousands of members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) from Kano city to Zaria in neighbouring Kaduna state - where they had been banned - for the Ashura religious day of mourning. It was the latest in a series of incidents involving the group. A judicial inquiry in August reported that 347 IMN members were killed and buried in mass graves after clashes with the army in December 2015.” United Kingdom Sunday World News: Major Garda Operation Launched At Ports To Tackle ISIS Threat “Security at Dublin and Rosslare was deemed to be "weak" and armed officers are now patrolling the ports in a bid to stop Islamic State (IS) suspects from using Ireland as easy access to the UK. The Herald can today reveal the investigation - codenamed Operation Mutiny - has resulted in garda activity at Dublin and Rosslare being massively stepped up in recent weeks. Sources revealed that the operation was put in place after high-level meetings between senior garda detectives and their UK counterparts after the summer Brexit referendum in which the UK voted to withdraw from the European Union.” Germany Daily Mail: Germany Unveils Its New Anti-Terror Cops In The Wake Of Spreading Islamism And Merkel's Open-Door Migrant Policy “Hamburg has spent £3.9 million equipping its anti terror officers with new equipment over fears of jihadi-style attacks.  Officers from the BFE arrest unit displayed their new Haenel assault rifles and heavy-duty ballistic protection helmets and body armour at a special press conference in the city. The city has also purchased the Survivor 1 armoured personnel carrier for anti-terror police operations.” Technology Times Of Israel: Grenade-Carrying Drone Adds To Islamic State Arsenal Around Mosul “The Islamic State group’s drone hovered in the sky over the advancing Iraqi forces before dropping a grenade, the jihadists’ latest move to weaponize small off-the-shelf aircraft. Down below, the grenade exploded on the roof of a building where Iraqi police forces were sheltering as they advanced some 10 kilometers (six miles) south of Mosul, the last IS-held Iraqi city. No one was injured, according to an Iraqi officer, but the incident nonetheless represents another escalation in the war of commercially available drones that is playing out as Iraqi forces battle the jihadists.” ISIS Mosaique FM: Tunisia: Security Forces Uncover Funds And Missiles Belonging To ISIS “Security and military forces are continuing their fight against terrorism in many parts of Tunisia, recently conducting one of the largest operations since the 2012 Tunisian declaration on war against terror. That operation resulted in the elimination of terrorist Talal al-Saidi, the Emir of ISIS-affiliated "Jund al-Khilafah" Battalion, which is active {in the region} between the mountains of Salloum and Meghila. During a precise military operation, Tunisian armed forces managed to kill the above-mentioned terrorist in Aine Nouba, when he came to pick up 14,000 dinars (around $6,100) to finance the activities of his group in Mount Meghila. The operation not only killed the Emir of the Battalion, but also wounded four of his companions. Furthermore, following the Salloum operation, army units uncovered caches of weapons used by terrorists in Tunisia. They also found maps indicating the locations of ammunition and weapons depots containing bombs and rockets in Ben Guerdane region in the governorate of Medenine. Security forces discovered empty stores {of unfound weapons}, which sources claim were used by terrorists in the western mountains and in the Ben Guerdane attack during March 7th-9th, 2016.” Muslim Brotherhood Almesryoon: Source Accuses Muslim Brotherhood Leaders In Turkey Of Stealing Donations “Colonel Omar Afifi, a former Egyptian police officer who currently resides in the USA, commented on recent reports about stolen donations in Turkey. He claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood is behind the theft of funds obtained through donations. He also stressed the Brotherhood {leaders'} determination to dedicate themselves to projects and trade before returning to Egypt. Afifi, in a post on his Facebook page, on Sunday, added that the fugitive group's leaders in Turkey seized "thousands of millions of dollars" from the Brotherhood's accounts. They split the money among themselves and started a new life with full-time dedication to their own businesses.” Veto: Source: Muslim Brotherhood's Comeback In Kuwaiti Elections To Regain Financial Strength “Kuwait's Al-Shahed Newspaper wrote on Monday that, according to what it described as "private" sources, "the return of those boycotted in previous parliamentary elections in Kuwait is not for the sake of the country's interests, nor for protection of the gains of the people, as they claim." The sources explained that classified security reports indicate there are strict recommendations by the global Organization of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt to abandon the election-boycott {policy}. Brotherhood members in Kuwait are being urged to run in an effort to regain the organization's financial strength. This comes as it {the organization} is nearing collapse, following successive blows inflicted by the Egyptian security forces. The sources noted that reports coming out of Egypt underscore the organization's need for funding from Kuwait through Parliament members that win in the elections. According to the reports, the Brotherhood called on candidates to make up any excuse to voters about the reason for their return {to run in the elections}. This is after the Brotherhood {in Kuwait} declared, more than once, that it would not participate in "One-Vote" elections.” Gulf Eyes: Yemen: Arrest Of Muslim Brotherhood Cell In Sanaa “Yemen's Interior Ministry announced that security forces, in cooperation with Houthis' Committees, detained on Monday an al-Islah Party (political arm of Brotherhood in Yemen)-affiliated cell, which was plotting assassinations in the capital Sanaa. A security source asserted that the cell-members had been monitoring the movements of several scholars, security and army officers ahead of the assassination. They were also providing coordinates of several civil, economic, security and military installations in preparation for bombardment by Coalition aircraft. The source alleged that cell members also prepared IEDs and provided the necessary materials for their production. They are further accused of financially supporting and sheltering suspects wanted by security authorities and supplying them with money and weapons. The Interior Ministry claimed that the cell members provided the suspects with means of transportation and other logistical support.” Houthi Bl3raby: Houthi group to deduct 3000 riyals from salaries of education sector employees “Local sources in Yemen's central Dhamar province claimed that the Houthi group is demanding the deduction of up to 3000 riyals ($12) from the half-month's salary of October they have agreed to pay the estimated 22,000 employees of the education sector. According to these sources, Houthi militia stipulated the disbursement of a half-salary for October 2016 minus 3000 riyals {justified by them} as "support for the {Central} Bank." The sources noted the militia is refusing to hand over the signed checks {already received} from the Ministry of Finance until an agreement with the three teaching unions is reached.”