Eye on Extremism December 22, 2016

Eye on Extremism December 22, 2016 Counter Extremism Project CNN: The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer: CEP Spokesperson and Senior Advisor Tara Maller discusses the Berlin Christmas market attack claimed by ISIS and Germany's search for a Tunisian man suspected of being the perpetrator. Fox News: Former CIA Analyst Sees 'Blunders In Berlin Attack Probe: CEP spokesperson Tara Maller joins Shepard Smith to discuss Germany's hunt for the perpetrator of the attack on a Berlin Christmas market. The Washington Post: Tunisian Suspect In Berlin Christmas Market Attack Faced Past German Terror Probe, Official Says “The prime suspect sought in the deadly attack on a Berlin Christmas market — a 24-year-old Tunisian migrant — was the subject of a terrorism probe in Germany earlier this year and was not deported even though his asylum bid was rejected, a senior German official said Wednesday. The suspect — who went by numerous aliases but was identified by German authorities as Anis Amri — became the subject of a national manhunt after investigators discovered a wallet with his identity documents in the truck used in Monday’s attack that left 12 dead, two law enforcement officials told The Washington Post.  Meanwhile, a clearer portrait took shape of the suspect, including accusations that he had contact with a prominent Islamic State recruiter in Germany.” The Daily Beast: Berlin Truck Attacker Was No Lone Wolf, German Authorities Say “Germany’s most wanted jihadist will spend his 24th birthday on the run. Anis Amri, who turns 24 on Thursday, was named on Wednesday as the lead suspect in Monday’s deadly attack on a Berlin Christmas Market. He was reportedly identified from official documents left behind in the truck’s cab. But German authorities also say the Tunisian man had ties to a notorious group of local ISIS sympathizers led by a man named Abu Walaa, who was arrested in November alongside four others accused of operating an ISIS recruitment network. Der Spiegel, citing local officials, said that Amri and Abu Walaa were in ‘regular contact.” Wall Street Journal: Germany Ill-Prepared For Terror Fight, Critics Say “German authorities are facing mounting criticism for failing to neutralize the man suspected in Monday’s truck attack, a petty criminal who had long been on the radar of security services. A cascade of mishaps before and since the attack—and parallels with another case two months ago—raise concerns that Germany’s intelligence and law-enforcement systems, as well as its methods for vetting migrants, may not be up to the challenge posed by the terrorists now threatening Europe. “They had intelligence, prisoners who told them Islamic State wanted to mount attacks in London, Paris and Berlin. But still they thought they are protected, despite all attempts,” said Claude Moniquet, a Brussels-based counterterrorism expert and former French intelligence agent. “An attack can happen in any country, but they weren’t prepared.” RT: ISIS Targets Civilians In Mosul; Iraqi, Coalition Forces Also Cause Civilian Deaths – HRW “Islamic State has ‘indiscriminately’ attacked people who refused to retreat from the Iraqi city of Mosul alongside jihadists, Human Rights Watch said, adding that Iraqi and US-led coalition forces were responsible for civilian deaths. Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants used mortar rounds and explosives against the population in eastern Mosul and deliberately shot at fleeing residents, HRW said on Wednesday. The terrorists were ‘indiscriminately or deliberately killing and wounding people for refusing to be human shields,’ Lama Fakih, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch said cited in a statement published on its website.” SZ International: Inside Facebook: Who Deletes Hate Comments, Child Pornography, And Fake News? “In an unremarkable office complex in Berlin, 600 people are working behind closed doors – well hidden from public view – on a job that concerns 28 million people in Germany and 1.8 billion worldwide. The team decides on what can be posted on Facebook and what can’t. For the first time, employees have spoken out about their emotionally taxing work and the rules of deletion that Facebook has kept under wraps until now. Facebook began deleting posts from Berlin in the fall of 2015 with the help of Arvato, a Bertelsmann subsidiary. But even in the face of pressure from the German Ministry of Justice, the company refused to disclose the details of specific rules of deletion, or comment on the qualifications of the employees who check every single reported post. Over the course of their month-long research, SZ-Magazin journalists managed to speak to a number of current and former members of the Berlin deletion team.” Reuters: EU To Boost Border Checks On Cash, Gold To Tackle 'Terrorism Financing' “The European Commission proposed tightening controls on cash and precious metals transfers from outside the EU on Wednesday, in a bid to shut down one route for funding of militant attacks on the continent. The move follows Monday's attack on a Christmas market in Berlin, where 12 people were killed as a truck plowed into a crowd. It is part of an EU ‘action plan against terrorist financing’ unveiled after the bombings and shootings in Paris in November 2015. Under the new proposals, customs officials in European Union states can step up checks on cash and prepaid payment cards sent by post or in freight shipments.” Bloomberg: Putin Promotes Libyan Strongman As New Ally After Syria Victory “Flush with success in supporting his ally in Syria, Vladimir Putin has a new ambition: supporting another one, this time in Libya. The effort is beginning to undermine the UN-backed government there. Russian President Putin’s government is befriending a powerful military leader, Khalifa Haftar, who now controls more territory than any other faction in the tumultuous, oil-rich North African state. In two visits to Moscow in the past half-year, Haftar met the defense and foreign ministers, plus the national-security chief, to seek support. A top ally also visited last week and Russia is supplying funds and military expertise to Haftar’s base in the east.” Reuters: Battle For Syria's Al-Bab Intensifies, 14 Turkish Soldiers Killed: Army “Clashes between Turkish-backed Syrian rebels and Islamic State militants intensified around the northern Syrian town of al-Bab on Wednesday, killing 14 Turkish soldiers and 138 jihadists, the army said. The fighting, in which 33 Turkish soldiers were also wounded, is some of the deadliest yet in Turkey's nearly four-month-old ‘Euphrates Shield’ operation in northern Syria. ‘The operation to control al Bab, which is being besieged under the Euphrates Shield Operation, is ongoing,’ the army said in a statement. The military had said earlier that the rebel forces, which have been launching attacks on Islamic State fighters in al-Bab for weeks, had largely established control over the strategic area around the town's hospital.” BBC: Afghanistan Taliban: Five Dead In Attack On MP's House “Taliban militants in Afghanistan say they are responsible for attacking the house of a member of parliament in Kabul, killing at least five people. The attack took place in the compound of the Helmand MP, Mir Wali. He is believed to have survived but two of his grandchildren are reported to have been killed. Security forces at the scene say the gunmen are now holding hostages. Security in Kabul has deteriorated significantly throughout 2016. The three gunmen began their assault early on Wednesday evening, with at least one of the attackers reported by Tolo News to have detonated explosives inside. It reported that also among the dead were the 25-year-old son of Kandahar MP Obaidullah Barikzai and two security force members.” The New York Times: Hezbollah Is Using U.S.-Made Military Vehicles In Syria, Israel Says “A senior Israeli military official said on Wednesday that Hezbollah militants fighting in Syria were using American-made armored personnel carriers that were originally supplied to the Lebanese Army. Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militia and political party, is fighting in Syria on the side of the Russian- and Iranian-backed government of President Bashar al-Assad against rebels seeking his ouster. Both the United States and Israel consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization. If the A.P.C.s passed to Hezbollah from the United States-assisted Lebanese Army, that might point to a broader leakage of weapons to hostile groups, and to cooperation between the Lebanese armed forces and Hezbollah.” Christian Science Monitor: Against ISIS, Jordan Has A Big Gun: Social Cohesion “When Islamic State militants launched a fatal attack in the center of Karak, Jordan, on Sunday, storming a centuries-old Crusader castle and overwhelming police, residents responded in a way rarely seen in this region. They took up arms and confronted them. While waiting for nearly an hour for special forces to arrive in the southern Jordan city, and facing an indiscriminate hail of bullets from the castle’s walls, dozens of ordinary citizens took up their own licensed guns, clubs, and stones in an effort to draw the IS fighters out.” United States Reuters: Iraqi Forces In Mosul Mostly In Refit Mode: U.S. General “Iraqi forces battling to retake Islamic State's last major stronghold - Mosul - have entered a planned operational refit, a top U.S. general in the international coalition backing Baghdad said, the first significant pause of the campaign. Elite soldiers have retaken a quarter of the northern city, but their advance has been slow and punishing. Several thousand Iraqi federal police were redeployed from the southern outskirts last week to reinforce the eastern front. They are part of a 100,000-strong alliance which launched a campaign on Oct. 17 that has become the biggest in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.” Daily Caller: Former Army Chief Of Staff: We Need To Tackle ‘Radical Islamic Extremism Head-On’ “Former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno blasted the Obama administration Tuesday for its passive stance on radical Islamic extremism. Odierno, who served in the Obama administration from 2011 to 2015, appeared on Bill Hemmer’s ‘America’s Newsroom’ to discuss the aftermath of the Islamic State-claimed truck attack on a Christmas market in Berlin that left 12 dead and 49 injured. He said the incoming administration run by GOP President-elect Donald Trump needs to take a far more proactive approach to radical Islam than the Obama administration did, which was overly hesitant and passive. ‘I think we’ve chosen for a lot of reasons in this current administration to lead from behind. It’s now time for us to lead from the front. Be aggressive at bringing nations together. Be aggressive in our own policies and bringing the capabilities of our government together to take action,’ Odierno said.” Syria CNN: Syria: Aleppo Evacuations Resume After Brief Delay “The latest evacuations from eastern Aleppo resumed Wednesday after a brief delay, according to Syrian state television. No reason was given for the delay. The International Red Cross said snow has been falling and many are struggling to keep warm. According to Syrian state TV, a number of buses with armed people and their families were leaving the Al-Sokkari area in eastern Aleppo and heading to Al-Rashdin in western Aleppo. It said 20 buses departed from eastern Aleppo on Wednesday, while 1,500 civilians are expected to be evacuated from Kafraya and Foua villages in mainly rebel-held Idlib province simultaneously.” Reuters: U.N. Inquiry Says Air Strike Hit Syria Aid Convoy In September “A United Nations internal inquiry released on Wednesday found that a deadly attack on an aid convoy in Syria in September came from an air strike, but it could not conclude that the attack was ‘deliberate’ or who was to blame. At least 10 people died and some 22 were injured in the Sept. 19 attack on a U.N. and Syrian Arab Red Crescent aid convoy at Urem Al-Kubra near the city of Aleppo, which also destroyed 17 trucks, the inquiry found. ‘The board found that, while the incident was caused by an air attack, it was not possible to identify the perpetrator or perpetrators,’ according to a summary of the report by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, which was submitted to the 15-member U.N. Security Council on Wednesday.” Iraq BBC: Iraq Bomb Attack Targets Iranian Kurdish Opposition Party “Seven people have been killed and 15 wounded in a bomb attack on the offices of an Iranian Kurdish opposition party in northern Iraq, security sources say. A parked motorcycle and an explosive device were detonated late on Tuesday next to the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) in Koy Sanjaq, east of Irbil. The attack took place as party members celebrated the winter solstice. It was not immediately clear who was behind the blasts. Jihadist militants from so-called Islamic State (IS), whom Kurdish forces are battling in northern Iraq, have carried out similar attacks in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region.” Turkey Reuters: Turkey Suspends Another 2,000 Education Staff For Alleged Links To Failed Coup “Turkey suspended nearly 2,000 teachers and school employees on Wednesday, an official from the Ministry of Education said, as part of the widening purge that has followed a failed coup in July. More than 125,000 people have been dismissed from the police, the military, the judiciary, the civil service or the education system, and almost 40,000 arrested, for alleged connections with the coup attempt, during which at least 240 people were killed. The official told Reuters that 1,980 teachers and school employees had been suspended pending investigation. No other information was immediately available.” Reuters: Turkish Prosecutors Probing Why Russian Envoy's Killer Not Taken Alive: State Media “Turkish prosecutors are investigating why the off-duty policeman who shot dead Russia's ambassador to Turkey was not captured alive, state media said on Wednesday, as the number of people arrested over the killing rose to 11. Ambassador Andrei Karlov was gunned down from behind while delivering a speech in an Ankara art gallery on Monday. His killer was identified by Turkish authorities as Mevlut Mert Altintas, 22, who shouted ‘Don't forget Aleppo’ and ‘Allahu Akbar’ - Arabic for ‘God is greatest’ - as he fired the shots. Russian and Turkey both cast the attack as an attempt to ruin a recent thawing of relations chilled by the civil war in Syria, where they back opposing sides. The war reached a potential turning point last week when Russian-backed Syrian forces ended rebel resistance in the northern city of Aleppo.” Associated Press: Turkey Links Russian Envoy's Killer To Us-Based Cleric Gulen “Turkey has accused Fethullah Gulen - a former ally who has turned into Erdogan's top foe - of trying to destabilize Turkey and says his movement is behind a failed military coup in July aimed at toppling the Turkish leader. Gulen has denied any involvement in the coup. His movement also condemned ‘in the strongest terms’ the ambassador's assassination.Turkey's president on Wednesday implicated a U.S.-based Muslim cleric in the killing of Russia's envoy to Turkey, saying the policeman who carried out the attack was a member of his ‘terror organization.’ Ambassador Andrei Karlov was killed Monday evening by a gunman in front of stunned onlookers at a photo exhibition in Ankara. The assassin, Mevlut Mert Altintas of Ankara's riot police squad, was killed in a police operation.” Afghanistan Associated Press: Afghan Taliban Reiterate Demands For Peace Talks With US “A spokesman for the Afghan Taliban says the group is ready for peace talks with the United States, if their demands are met. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said earlier this week that their two conditions for peace talks are the removal of the group leader's name from the U.N. blacklist and the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan. However, the Afghan government rejected the group's demands - an indication of the depth of the rift between the two sides in Afghanistan's protracted conflict. Haroon Chakhansuri, spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, said only the Afghan government has the authority to request listing or de-listing Afghan citizens from the U.N. sanctions lists, including members of the Taliban.” Reuters: Afghan Police Search House Of Parliament Member After Attack “Afghan police and security officials combed through the wreckage of a member of parliament's house in Kabul on Thursday after an attack by Taliban gunmen in which at least seven people were killed. Broken glass and spent bullet cartridges lay on the bloodstained ground of the heavily fortified house in the district of Khushal Khan belonging to Mir Wali, a member of parliament from the volatile southern province of Helmand. Police special forces units sealed off the house following the attack on Wednesday night but gunfire and explosions could be heard for several hours.” Egypt Voice Of America: Egypt Proposes UN Resolution Calling For End To Israeli Settlements “Egypt circulated a draft U.N. resolution Wednesday night that demands a halt to Israeli settlement activities in Palestinian territory and declares that all existing settlements ‘have no legal validity’ and are ‘a flagrant violation’ of international law. The proposed resolution also stresses that ‘the cessation of all Israeli settlement activities is essential for salvaging the two-state solution,’ which would see Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace. The Security Council scheduled a meeting at 3 p.m. EST Thursday to vote on the draft resolution.” Middle East The Jerusalem Post: Israel Explores Way To Bring In Wounded Aleppo Victims “Israel is examining the possibility of bringing some of the wounded from Aleppo for medical treatment to Israel through a third country. Ambassador to Turkey Eitan Na’eh was asked in an Israel Radio interview on Wednesday whether he has received instructions to examine the possibility of bringing the wounded to hospitals in Israel via Turkey. Since the civil war began, Israel has treated some 3,000 injured in a military field hospital on the Golan Heights, as well as in other hospitals inside the country. These people entered Israel via the Golan Heights.” Fox News: Israel's Netanyahu Calls On US To Veto UN's Anti-Settlement Resolution “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the U.S. to use its veto power to block a United Nations resolution demanding a halt to Israeli settlement activities in Palestinian territory and declares that all existing settlements ‘have no legal validity’ and are ‘a flagrant violation’ of international law. The draft resolution, circulated by Egypt, also stresses that ‘the cessation of all Israeli settlement activities is essential for salvaging the two-state solution’ which would see Israelis and Palestinians living side-by-side in peace. The U.S. vetoed a similar resolution in 2011, but it was not immediately clear how U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power would vote Thursday.” Germany CNN: Berlin Attack: Police Hunt Tunisian Suspect After Finding ID Papers “A manhunt is underway for a 24-year-old Tunisia native in connection with this week's Christmas market attack in Berlin -- a man German authorities say may be ‘violent and armed’ and had been in contact with radical Islamist groups. Anis Amri is being sought in Monday's truck attack, which left 12 people dead and 48 injured at Breitsheidplatz, a wanted notice issued Wednesday by the German federal prosecutor's office said. Police have offered a reward of up to 100,000 euros (about $104,000) for information about his whereabouts, and said Amri is ‘under urgent suspicion.’ ‘If you see this person that we are seeking, inform the police. Please do not put yourself in danger because this person could be violent and armed!’ the notice said.” NBC News: Berlin Market Attack: Suspect With Six Aliases Had Been Under Surveillance “The Tunisian now wanted throughout Europe has six aliases, three nationalities — and links to the same brand of Islamic extremism that has drawn at least 6,000 of his countrymen to jihadi networks. Anis Amri, who turns 24 on Thursday, is in grim company with other Tunisians claimed by the Islamic State group. One of them includes the man who mowed down 86 Bastille Day revelers in the southern French city of Nice last July and another who gunned down dozens of tourists on a beach in Tunisia. At least 6,000 Tunisians have left home to join Islamic State extremists, forming the single largest nationality of foreign fighters for the group. Many trained at IS camps in neighboring Libya. Others made their way to Syria and Iraq.” The New York Times: Germany Seeks Tunisian Tied To Berlin Christmas Market Attack “Investigators undertook a Europe-wide manhunt on Wednesday for a young Tunisian ex-convict with multiple aliases who had been denied asylum in Germany and was considered a security risk, linking him to a deadly truck rampage through a Berlin Christmas market. The attack on Monday killed 12 people and wounded 48 — 12 of them seriously. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the assault, one of Germany’s deadliest acts of terrorism in decades. The aftermath has been complicated by a botched search for the driver, who has remained at large. The revelations added to the growing pressure confronting Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, who decided last year to open the country’s border to roughly a million migrants and refugees.” The New York  Times: Berlin Attack Poses Toughest Test In Merkel’s 11 Years In Power “She faced down a euro crisis that turned into an existential crossroads for the European Union. She confronted a Russian land grab in Ukraine. Virtually alone among her peers, she welcomed into her country roughly a million migrants who flooded across Europe’s borders. Having made that fateful decision, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany now faces what nearly all here are calling the toughest passage of her 11 years in power, after a terrorist attack on Monday in Berlin left 12 people dead. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility, and the authorities are searching for a Tunisian man with Salafist ties. The attack has rendered the chancellor, whose party has already suffered defeats in bellwether votes this year, still more vulnerable as national elections approach in 2017. A defeat for Ms. Merkel could have global consequences.” Europe The Washington Post: A Scholar Of Islamist Extremism Makes A Prediction: Europe’s Problem Will Get Worse “In recent years, Europe has been rocked by a series of catastrophic terrorist attacks either organized or inspired by Islamist groups. The attacks have left the continent fearful and divided, fundamentally changing the political discourse about Islam and immigration. This week's incidents — the assassination of the Russian ambassador to Turkey and a deadly truck rampage at a Christmas market in Berlin — seem likely to compound the problem. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Berlin attack on Tuesday, and the gunman who killed diplomat Andrei Karlov shouted a slogan used by Islamists after he fired his shots. Shortly after the attacks, President-elect Donald Trump tweeted that the problem ‘is only getting worse’ and that the ‘civilized world must change [its] thinking.’” Deutsche Welle: European Commission Tackles Terrorism Financing “How does that square with the European Union's loudly-proclaimed aim of combatting the financing of terrorism? Not well at all, says EU Parliamentarian Fabio De Masi, a representative of Germany's Left Party. ‘It is scandalous that banks under the control of 'IS' still have access to the international SWIFT system,’ said De Masi in Brussels. If the EU wanted to, it could shut down the bank's access to SWIFT's vital database. However, that would only be possible if the state banking system in Syria were shut down, because the ‘IS’ bank is still a part of the national banking system controlled by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Business at the Raqqa bank is routed through Damascus.” The Times Of Israel: Jewish Pilgrims Attacked At Ukraine Tomb Of Revered Hasidic Rabbi “Jewish worshipers in Ukraine were teargassed and the grave of Hasidic Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav was defiled with fake blood and a pig’s head in a Wednesday night attack at the popular pilgrimage site visited by tens of thousands of Jews every year. The incident, at about 2 a.m. in the central city of Uman, was quickly condemned by officials in Israel, with lawmakers calling on Ukrainian authorities to boost security and swiftly seek justice for the perpetrators. Two Israeli nationals were taken to a local hospital for treatment after the attack, according to Rabbi Yisrael Elhadad, the sexton of the synagogue on the site of the tomb, told Israeli media.” Counter-Extremism Al-Madina: Saudi Arabia: Preachers Exploit Mosques To Spread Extremism “Members of the Saudi Shura Council voiced widespread criticism of the performance of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance. This came during the second meeting of the Council's new session to discuss the role of the Ministry in educating mosque preachers. The members claimed: One of the most important means of promoting moderation and repudiating extremism is the Friday sermon. Unfortunately, however, there are some preachers who use these platforms for prayers to curse others. As this reinforces extremism, there must be {clear} guidelines for these sermons, including the choice of topics for them.” Libya Akhbar Libya: Armed Group Demands $5 Million Dinars “An official source from the Libyan Center for Studies and Historical Archives disclosed earlier this week that an armed group, following the orders of the General Authority of Awqaf, broke into the headquarters of the Center in Abu Meshmesha district in Tripoli. They demanded cash and the replacement of the Center's management. The source added that the group demanded 5 million Libyan dinars ($3.5 million) which it claimed was in exchange for outstanding rent payments. The militants maintained that the Center, located on the lands of an old cemetery, is allegedly owned by the Awqaf. The source, however, refuted this claim, stressing that the Libyan state had already settled this matter back in the 1970s, when the project was first established.” Muslim Brotherhood Azzaman: Sources: 'Old Guard' Of The Muslim Brotherhood Settles The Score With The Youth By Exploiting Its Financial Advantage “Brotherhood sources confirm that Mahmoud Ezzat's faction, which represents the 'old guard' of the Muslim Brotherhood, settled matters in its favor against the youth faction led by Mohammed Kamal and Mohammed Montaser. The sources added that a decision would be issued soon regarding the expulsion of a large number of Brotherhood members belonging to the youth faction. In the same context, Mohammed Habib, the former Deputy General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, noted that the old guard was able to tighten its grip because it controls the organization's financial affairs. In addition, imprisoned {Brotherhood} leaders are backing the old guard, which gives it greater power.” Alahaly: Egypt: Security Services Suspend Civil Aviation Workers Affiliated With Muslim Brotherhood “Several Egyptian security agencies continued their work within the civil aviation sector to review employees' personal files. This comes after the revelation that Mohsen Mustafa Al-Sayed, who works as an air traffic control officer, was a member of the terrorist cell that blew up Saint Peter's Cathedral last week. Consequently, security services removed several senior officials within the National Air Navigation Services Company. These officials were suspended until conclusion of investigations, including a review of all personal files of traffic control employees inside Cairo Airport and other Egyptian airports. In the past, security services received complaints about civil aviation employees for their alleged ties to extremist groups and participation in events organized by the Muslim Brotherhood.” Houthi Gulfeyes: Houthi Leader Abducted Amid Dispute Over Distribution Of Funds “Local sources in 'Amran disclosed that the Houthis detained a leader of the group after he pocketed funds stolen from shop owners in Sanaa. The sources indicated that on Tuesday Houthi militiamen kidnapped Abdullah al-Jerafi, one of its officials in Al Madan District, which is part of the Governorate of 'Amran. The sources noted that militants had abducted him from his Sanaa home after the eruption of a deep-seeded disagreement between them because he had seized the money looted from businesses in the capital, Sanaa, but did not hand over to the group its share of the funds.”