Eye on Extremism January 4, 2017

Eye on Extremism January 4, 2017 Reuters: Identity Of Istanbul Nightclub Attacker Established: Foreign Minister “The identity of the gunman who killed 39 people in an attack on an Istanbul nightclub on New Year's Day has been established, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a televised interview with the state-run Anadolu news agency on Wednesday. The gunman, who fled after the attack, remains at large. Anadolu has said some 20 people have been detained as part of the investigation into the shooting. Cavusoglu did not identify the attacker.” NBC News: Turkey And ISIS: Istanbul Attack Signals Descent Into 'Open War' “The massacre targeting New Year's Eve revelers at an Istanbul nightclub illustrates that the relationship between ISIS and Turkey has shifted from an uneasy peace to an all-out war, according to experts. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the shooting, identifying the attacker who killed 39 people as ‘a heroic soldier of the caliphate.’ The group said the rampage had been carried out ‘in response to a call’ from its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, although it didn't say whether it directed or merely inspired the perpetrator. They did not identify the attacker by name or provide proof he was acting on their behalf.” BBC: Syria War: Air Strikes Kill 25 Jihadists In Idlib Province, Monitors Say “Air strikes in northern Syria have killed at least 25 members of a prominent jihadist group, including senior figures, monitors say. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it is not clear who carried out the attack against the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham group, formerly known as Nusra Front. Russia and Turkey say the group is not included in a ceasefire deal in Syria. Meanwhile, rebel groups say they are halting preparations for peace talks. A statement signed by a number of groups cited ‘many big breaches’ by the Syrian government and its allies as a reason. The ceasefire was brokered by Turkey and Russia last Thursday and has mostly held since then. Peace talks were planned for later this month in Astana, Kazakhstan.” Al Jazeera: ISIL Ramps Up Fight With Weaponised Drones “As fighting raged in eastern Mosul on a recent afternoon, a black Humvee arrived at an Iraqi army command post with a collection of plastics, electronics and rotor blades lashed to its back. Soldiers leaped to unload the cargo, which comprised the remnants of the latest tool in ISIL's armoury: drones. The haul included a number of small devices of the kind favoured by filmmakers and hobbyists, costing a few hundred dollars apiece. But there were also larger, fixed-wing craft fashioned out of corrugated plastic and duct tape, apparently made by the fighters themselves. Since mid-2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group has held Mosul, after sweeping through northern Iraq in a shock offensive.” Military Weighs Expanded Use Of Cyber, Space Weapons Against ISIL “Military chiefs are prepared to give President-elect Donald Trump the options he wants to intensify the fight against the Islamic State, including the possibility of granting commanders greater leeway to use secret cyber-warfare and space weapons, the top Air Force leader said. "We’ve heard him loud and clear that he’s going to be looking for options,” Gen. David Goldfein, the Air Force chief of staff, told USA TODAY. Goldfein said the recommendations may center on permitting field commanders more flexibility to deploy an array of weapons against the militants, who are waging a terrorism campaign beyond their bases in Iraq and Syria.” Reuters: Smuggled By Boat Or Scaling Wrecked Bridges, Residents Escape Mosul's Besieged West “They wait for nightfall before attempting the perilous escape across bombed-out bridges and front lines between Islamic State militants and Iraqi forces. Some cross the Tigris River by boat, after the U.S.-led coalition bombed the five bridges connecting the city's two halves to restrict Islamic State movements. Others scale what remains of the bridges using a rope. Most of the 116,000 civilians who have fled Mosul since Iraqi forces launched their campaign to recapture Islamic State's biggest stronghold came from the eastern half of the city, where government troops have gradually gained ground. But as the biggest battle in Iraq since 2003 enters its 12th week, a growing number of people are escaping from the besieged west bank of the Tigris, a half of the city that is still fully under the militants' control.” The Washington Post: How Iraq And Turkey Could Beat The Islamic State But Still Lose “A String of bombings in Baghdad and a gunman’s bloody rampage in an Istanbul nightclub over New Year’s weekend underlined the continuing capacity of the Islamic State to strike beyond the borders of its shrinking territory. In the past two years, the terrorist movement has lost some 50,000 fighters, according to U.S. estimates, as well as more than half of the ground it once controlled in Syria and Iraq. But with offensives to capture its two biggest remaining cities, Mosul and Raqqa, stalled or moving slowly, the Islamic State retains the potential to inflict grievous harm on the countries around it, as well as to target Western cities.” The Washington Post: Syrian Cease-Fire Crumbles As Government Forces Advance Around Damascus “A Syrian cease-fire backed by Russia and Turkey is crumbling five days after it began, with government forces pushing offensives around Damascus and rebels threatening to suspend participation in new peace talks. The truce was to have been followed by a meeting between government representatives and mainstream rebel factions in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. But while fighting has largely ebbed in Syria’s north, where Turkey wields influence over most rebel groups, troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have continued strategic offensives in the Damascus suburbs.” Reuters: Turkish Foreign Minister Calls On Iran To Stop Truce Violations In Syria “Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called on Iran to exert pressure on Shi'ite-backed militias and the Syrian government to stop violating a ceasefire in Syria, warning it was putting planned peace talks in peril. Turkey is working with Russia on the question of sanctions for those who violate the ceasefire deal, which was brokered by Ankara and Moscow, Cavusoglu said in a televised interview with the state-run Anadolu news agency. He warned that peace negotiations being prepared by Moscow in the Kazakh capital, Astana, could fail if increased ceasefire violations are not halted.” Reuters: U.S.-Led Coalition Carried Out Flights To Support Turkish Forces In Syria “The U.S.-led coalition carried out flights in support of Turkish forces near the Islamic State-controlled Syrian town of al-Bab last week but did not carry out air strikes, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said on Tuesday. The flights were meant as a ‘visible show of force,’ Cook said, ‘My understanding is that last week there was a request when some Turkish forces came under fire for air support and there... were flights conducted by the coalition at that time,’ Cook said. U.S.-led coalition has been reluctant to provide support to NATO member Turkey for its advance towards al-Bab. Turkey recently called on the coalition to provide air support for Turkish-backed troops besieging the town.” CNN: Water Is The Latest Battleground In Syria “Some four million people in Damascus have suffered from acute water shortages for more than a week after springs outside the Syrian capital were targeted, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement on December 29. Water from the Wadi Barada and Ain al-Fija springs, which serve 70 percent of the population in and around Damascus, was cut after infrastructure was damaged in fierce clashes. OCHA described the damages as ‘deliberate,’ without saying who was responsible. The Syrian government and rebel forces are trading blame for the water shortages. Rebels claim the government destroyed the water pumping station in the Wadi Barada valley, one of the last remaining rebel-held pockets of Damascus.” Newsweek: Berlin Attacker's Route Through Schengen Area Leaves EU Security Services With Questions To Answer “By the time police officer Luca Scata fired a bullet into the chest of Anis Amri, the Tunisian national who plowed a 25-ton Scania truck into a Christmas market in central Berlin three days earlier, the 24-year-old attacker had traveled across four European Union countries—Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. Before meeting his end in the Milanese suburb of Sesto San Giovanni, Amri had reached into his camouflage backpack, grabbing a .22-caliber pistol, yelling the words ‘police bastards’ to spark the shootout. Scata and his colleague Christian Movio had only stopped Amri for a routine police check in the early hours of Thursday morning. His intended final destination remains unclear but, if not for the trainee officer, Amri could have continued his journey, potentially leaving the European mainland entirely.” New York Times: German ISIS Member Who Denied Killing Is Charged In Murders “German prosecutors have added six counts of murder and war crimes to the charges against an imprisoned Islamic State member from Germany who attracted global attention after claiming disillusionment and disgust with the terrorist group. The new accusations, announced by the prosecutors on Tuesday, were brought three months after a video surfaced suggesting that the recruit, Harry Sarfo, 28, had taken part in a Syrian mass killing. But in previous interviews, he told the authorities and reporters that he had never killed anyone. Mr. Sarfo, a German of Ghanaian descent, was convicted last year in a Hamburg court of membership in a terrorist organization after his arrest upon returning to Germany in July 2015 from Syria, where he traveled three months earlier to join the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.” United States The Washington Post: Trump Has Properties All Over The World. They’re Now Major Terrorism Targets. “Even before Donald Trump became president-elect, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for his name to be scrubbed from Istanbul’s Trump Towers. Erdogan pinned his plea to Trump’s Islamophobia, saying that the candidate ‘has no tolerance for Muslims in America.’ Now that Trump is weeks from assuming the presidency, cities that host his many branded properties have an additional concern to consider: the potential terrorism threat brought by his name. ‘Donald Trump is a controversial, colorful and very high-profile personality,’ said Charles Regini, a former FBI agent who heads global response for the Unity Resources Group. ‘This type of high-profile behavior has the tendency of drawing the attention of potential attackers and further increases the risk of attacks to properties with his name distinctly displayed.’” Newsweek: Why U.S. Airstrikes In Afghanistan May Now Be Riskier For Civilians “Earlier this year, as the war between government forces and the Taliban continued, Muhammad Ikhlas, a farmer in the southern province of Helmand, crossed the front lines to visit his brother, a policeman whom the insurgent group had recently captured. After a short, nerve-wracking drive, Ikhlas arrived at the Taliban’s makeshift prison, a plain concrete building with a walled courtyard. The militants brought his brother, Muhammad Rasul, down to the courtyard, and Ikhlas spoke to him and pleaded for his release. The militants refused, and as Ikhlas made his way home, he worried that he’d soon receive the dreaded phone call informing him of his brother’s death.” The Guardian: Republican Senators Introduce Bill To Move US Embassy In Israel To Jerusalem “Three Republican senators have introduced legislation to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s official capital and move the US embassy there from Tel Aviv, a plan backed by Donald Trump but likely to ignite fierce protests. After being sworn into the 115th Congress in Washington, Ted Cruz of Texas, Dean Heller of Nevada and Marco Rubio of Florida unveiled the Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act. Similar moves by Republican majorities over the past two decades have come to nought, but this time they have a sympathetic president-elect in Trump. He has repeatedly pledged to relocate the embassy to Jerusalem and nominated a US ambassador who shares that view.” Syria BBC: Syria Monuments Damage 'Akin To Looting Welsh Castles' “Destruction of Syria's historical monuments is akin to Wales' castles and Stonehenge being ‘looted and obliterated’, an archaeologist has said. Swansea University's Dr Nigel Pollard heads a team digitising pre-war images of the ancient world treasures. The Syrian civil war has seen precious sites damaged. Dr Pollard said people come first but Syria's heritage also needs protection. ‘Imagine Wales' castles, Stonehenge and Hadrian's Wall being looted and seriously damaged. What's happening in Syria is comparable,’ he said. The nation has historically been a melting pot of cultures, including Greeks, Persians, Romans, Christians, Muslims and Jews.” Iraq Associated Press: Iraqi Journalist Kidnapped In Baghdad Has Been Released “An Iraqi journalist who was abducted from her Baghdad home last week has been released. "Thank God, I'm fine," Afrah Shawqi al-Qaisi told the local NRT satellite TV station late Tuesday, shortly after her release. "The treated me well. They just interrogated me and thank God they found me not guilty," she added, without providing further details. Gunmen who said they were members of the security forces asked to search her home last Monday before abducting her. They also took gold, money, phones, laptops and her car.” Turkey The Wall Street Journal: Turkey Extends State Of Emergency In Wake Of Attack Claimed By Islamic State “Turkey’s parliament voted to extend the government’s state-of-emergency powers following the deadly New Year’s attack claimed by Islamic State, as the country struggles to contain rising terrorist threats and law enforcement contends with depleted ranks in the wake of last year’s failed coup. The gunman remained at large after the assault that killed at least 39 people, and there is little information about his identity beyond photographs of a suspect released by authorities. Police widened nationwide raids Tuesday, doubling the number of detainees to at least 16 people, including two foreign nationals who were entering the international terminal at Istanbul’s Atatürk airport, authorities said.” Reuters: Turkey Detains Five In Connection With Istanbul Nightclub Attack - AA “Turkish police have detained five Islamic State suspects in the western city of Izmir in connection with the gun attack in an Istanbul nightclub which killed 39 people on New Year's Day, the state-run Anadolu agency said on Wednesday. Anadolu reported on Tuesday that 14 people had been detained over the attack, which Islamic State has claimed, while NTV reported that two foreign nationals had been detained at Istanbul's main Ataturk airport. The gunman, who fled after the attack, remains at large.” Reuters: Gunman In Istanbul Nightclub Attack May Have Trained In Syria “The gunman who killed 39 people in an Istanbul nightclub on New Year's Day in an attack claimed by Islamic State appears to have been well versed in guerrilla warfare and may have trained in Syria, a newspaper report and a security source said on Tuesday. The attacker, who remains at large, shot dead a police officer and a civilian at the entrance to the exclusive Reina nightclub on Sunday. He then opened fire with an automatic rifle inside, reloading his weapon half a dozen times and shooting the wounded as they lay on the ground. In a statement claiming the attack on Monday, Islamic State described the club as a gathering point for Christians celebrating their ‘apostate holiday’ and said the shooting was revenge for Turkish military involvement in Syria.” Afghanistan Associated Press: Taliban Ambush Kills 4 Police In Northern Afghanistan “Afghan officials say a Taliban ambush in the northeastern Badakhshan province has killed at least four police. Deputy Provincial Police Chief Mohammed Nabi Bayhan says the attack took place late Monday and that security forces have launched a clearing operation in the area. Ahmad Bashir Musamum, a provincial council member, confirmed the attack and said seven police were killed. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement Tuesday. Elsewhere in Afghanistan, Sanatullah Timor, a spokesman for the governor of Takhar province, said a Taliban fighter was killed Monday while planting a mine. The Taliban has been at war with Afghanistan's U.S.-backed government since 2001.” Deutsche Welle: Why Is Russia So Interested In Afghanistan All Of A Sudden? “An increased Russian involvement in Afghanistan has surprised many observers. What does Moscow want to achieve in the war-torn country? After Syria, is another US-Russia conflict being played out in a different arena? For many experts, this is surprising, because Moscow had maintained an apparent distance from the Afghan conflict for many years. In fact, Russia even supported the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and the subsequent toppling of the Taliban regime. At the time, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai rightly said that Afghanistan was probably the only place where the interests of Moscow and Washington didn't clash.” Radio Free Europe: Hundreds Of Afghan Shi'a Protest Killings “Hundreds of Shi'ite Muslims have demonstrated in western Afghanistan against increasing attacks by radical Islamic groups. Chanting ‘Death to the enemies of Afghanistan!’ and yelling slogans against Islamic State (IS) group militants, protesters marched to the governor's office in the city of Herat on January 3 carrying photos of Shi'ite friends and relatives killed in recent attacks. Herat, which borders predominantly Shi'ite Iran, recently witnessed a surge in attacks on Shi'ite mosques. A Muslim prayer leader was killed and five others were wounded in an attack on January 1.” Middle East Fox News: UN Follows Up Settlement Vote With 'Blacklist' Plan For Israeli Companies “Critics who thought the U.S. opened the UN’s anti-Israel floodgates by abstaining on a vote condemning settlements last week say an obscure subsequent move by the world body to establish a ‘blacklist’ of Israeli companies proved them right. Lost amid the angry words that followed the Dec. 23 UN Security Council vote that critics called an American betrayal of Israel was a Christmas Eve appropriation of $138,700 to fund a database of companies doing business in the West Bank. The measure puts UN prestige behind the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, say critics. ‘The types of data they are talking about acquiring would be to form the basis for future sanctions against companies that did business on the West Bank,’ Fox News contributor and former U.S. Ambassador to the UN John Bolton told FoxNews.com. ‘That’s the only purpose of it that I can see.’” Libya Reuters: East Libya Strongman Says No Talks Planned With Rival In West -Paper “Eastern Libya's dominant military figure has no plans to resume talks with his U.N.-backed rival in the west, according to comments in an interview that may further dent foreign hopes of an end to years of conflict in the divided country. Strongman Khalifa Haftar and Fayez Seraj, who heads the internationally recognised administration in Tripoli, were expected to meet in Algiers in coming days, a source close to the Algerian government said. They were to discuss the possibility of forming a government of national union, the source told Reuters. But Haftar said talks with Seraj begun 2-1/2 years ago had yielded no result and the existing state of war now required combat rather than politics.” Nigeria The Guardian: ‘Boko Haram War Over In North East’ “The spokesman for Defence Headquarters, Brig-Gen. Abubakar Rabe, says the military has continued to intensify its ‘rescue final and mop-up operations’ in the North East after the capture of Sambisa Forest last month. The Boko Haram war, according to him, had been won by the joint military forces and other security agencies.The military spokesman made the disclosure in a statement yesterday in Maiduguri. In the meantime, the Nigerian Army said it would this year consolidate on the gains recorded by troops in the fight against insurgency.The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman, gave the assurance yesterday in Abuja while reviewing exercises and operations conducted by the force last year.” United Kingdom Daily Mail: Britain's Small Ports And Marinas Are Wide Open To Returning ISIS Fighters Because They Are Not Policed, Warns Terror Tsar  “Small ports, marinas and beaches across the UK could give terrorists an easy route into Britain because they are not policed, a major report has warned. David Anderson, the terror laws watchdog chief, said jihadists could attempt to sneak across our porous border at hundreds of remote locations because of the absence of stringent checks. He expressed concerns that ‘foreign fighters’ returning from Syria and Iraq could breach the country’s security checks using small boats and planes.” BBC: Terrorism 'First-Aid Training Needed' “People need to learn lifesaving skills in case they are caught up in a terror attack in the UK, a team of senior military and civilian medics has said. They say people need to know how to help each other because it could take some time before it is deemed safe for paramedics to arrive on the scene. Their app, called CitizenAID, offers step-by-step advice. The idea is supported by counter-terrorism police. Security services say a UK terror attack is highly likely. Although an individual's chance of being caught up in an incident is small, Brig Tim Hodgetts and Prof Sir Keith Porter, co-developers of CitizenAID, say it is a good idea for people to have a plan and the knowledge and skills to help each other. Their app, pocket book and website suggest how best to deal with injuries in the immediate aftermath of a mass shooting or bombing incident.” Daily Mail: Young British Soldier Who Became A Father Just Three Months Ago Died On Iraqi Base 'After Being Shot By A Colleague'  “A British soldier who died at an Iraqi base was shot by a colleague, it has been reported. Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington, 22, died in mysterious circumstances at a base in Taji, north of Baghdad. The Ministry of Defence is still investigating the death but said the 'incident' was not the result of enemy activity.  Sky News understands Lance Corporal Hetherington was shot by a fellow British soldier. The soldier, from Middleton in Manchester, was serving with the 2nd Battalion the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment. He is believed to have become a father to a baby girl less than three months ago. The MoD has opened an investigation into the death. The battalion's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Rob Singleton, said: 'Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington was a superb soldier and a first class leader.” Germany Reuters: Debate Over Race And Policing Roils Start Of German Election Year “A new acronym coined by German police to describe troublemaking migrants from North Africa has sharpened a national debate over immigration and crime as the country recovers from a deadly attack and gears up for a vital election this year. Police in Cologne said this week they had prevented trouble on New Year's Eve by screening some 650 'Nafris' - an abbreviation of 'Nordafrikanische Intensivtaeter' or 'North African Repeat Offenders' - and removing 190 from the city centre. Ninety-two were detained. The operation followed intense criticism of the police for failing to protect hundreds of women from being sexually molested, mostly by North African men, at the start of 2016.” Deutsche Welle: German State Of Brandenburg May Not Deport Far-Right Victims “The German state of Brandenburg will not deport asylum seekers if they have been victimized by right-wing violence. Local media reported on Tuesday that Brandenburg's Interior Ministry had asked local authorities to use the leeway available to them to make sure foreigners whose asylum applications had been rejected, but who had been victims of right-wing attacks, could stay in the country. With the decree issued on December 21, the Interior Ministry implemented a resolution Brandenburg's parliament had passed in April. The directive posits that victims of crimes and witnesses to crimes of a certain severity should be allowed to stay in Germany. This includes crimes such as attempted murder, assault, arson and bomb attacks, but also kidnapping, theft, blackmail, public riots and sexual offenses. Asylum seekers who have committed a crime or share responsibility for a violent incident are exempt from the new rule.” The Guardian: Germany Outlines Plans To Overhaul Security Following Berlin Attack “Germany’s interior ministry is seeking to overhaul the country’s security apparatus and make it easier to deport rejected asylum seekers in the wake of last month’s terrorist attack on a Berlin Christmas market. Outlining a raft of measures in an article for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , the interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, said recent terror attacks, as well as reports of cyber attacks on the Bundestag, meant ‘we have to face the fact that our state has to be better prepared for difficult times than it is now’. One step towards such an overhaul would be to centralise the country’s counter-terrorism apparatus, said De Maizière, who is a member of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party. ‘We don’t have federal jurisdiction to deal with national catastrophes. The jurisdiction for the fight against international terrorism is fragmented,’ he said.” Deutsche Welle: Police Raid Berlin Homes Linked To Market Attacker Anis Amri “German police raided a refugee home and a flat in Berlin on Tuesday in connection with its investigation into Anis Amri, the man suspected of killing 12 people in a deadly attack on a Berlin Christmas market last month. Investigators searched a refugee home, where a 26-year-old Tunisian man they believe knew Amri is living. Police suspect the man had known Amri since at least 2015 and was in contact with him shortly before the day of the attack on December 19. The federal prosecutor's office said there is a ‘suspicion that the suspect knew of the attack plans and possibly helped Anis Amri.’ Investigators also raided the apartment of Amri's former flatmate, who they also suspect was in contact with Amri and may have even been a possible accomplice in the attack.” The New York Times: Call To Centralize Security In Germany Broaches A Postwar Taboo “As Germany struggles to respond to worsening attacks inspired by Islamic terrorists, the country’s top security official on Tuesday strongly advocated consolidating greater intelligence and security powers with the federal government, a taboo since World War II. Thomas de Maizière, Germany’s interior minister and a close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, argued that such a step was needed to steel the country against modern threats posed by terrorism, cyberattacks and an increased number of migrants seeking to enter the country. The federal governments of Germany’s European partners and other established democracies already hold such powers, he noted, stressing that “it is time” to re-examine Germany’s security setup.” Counter-Terrorism Alhayat: Tunisia: Presence Of Three Thousand Militants In Hotspots Tunisian Justice Minister Ghazi Jribi announced that there are 1647 individuals currently being held in Tunisian prisons for their "affiliation with terrorism." Among them are 160 returnees from hotbeds of tension and conflict, while an internal controversy is still stirring in Tunisia between supporters and opponents to allow them to re-enter the country. Jribi said during a hearing of the Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee on Monday that "available statistics compiled by the Ministry of the Interior confirm the presence of 3000 {Tunisian} militants in hotspots." He added that "any suspect for whom there is evidence of his participation in a terrorist act will stand trial.” ISIS New Sabah: ISIS Attempts To Smuggle Leaders From Mosul To Syria The Joint Iraqi Security Forces have foiled a major ISIS's plot. According to reports, the terror group attempted to penetrate the Iraqi defensive lines and reach the Syrian border. Their aim was to covertly relocate ISIS leaders and their families. An Iraqi security source in Nineveh province disclosed that the Joint Security Forces backed by the Air Force thwarted a "major scheme by ISIS which tried to open a breach in the defensive lines on the western side of the Tal Afar district (56 km west of Mosul) in order to reach the Syrian border to smuggle in its leaders and their families." The source added, "It was a big force of the terrorist organization, made up of over 25 armed vehicles including booby-trapped vehicles driven by suicide bombers." Muslim Brotherhood Source-7: Egypt: Extended Detention Of Muslim Brotherhood Members Suspected Of Creating Fake Human Rights Organizations “The South Cairo Prosecution decided to renew the detention of six individuals, some belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, for 15 days pending investigation. The six are suspected of forming bogus human rights organizations. The South Cairo Prosecution, presided over by first Attorney General Wael Shebl, also suspect these individuals of launching electronic news websites along with Facebook and Twitter accounts aiming to disseminate false rumors to harm Egypt's economy and state institutions. Investigations found that those websites attributed false statements to state officials and spread news of the alleged "forced disappearance" of citizens. Investigations identified one of these human rights centers, called "Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms," and its website, which the Brotherhood used for its activities.” The Seventh Day: Former Brotherhood Leader: Group Received $2.5 Billion In Support From USA And Europe “Tarek Abo Al Saad, a former Muslim Brotherhood leader, claimed that during the presidency of Barack Obama the group obtained $1.5 billion from {various sources in} the United States. Meanwhile, he asserted that in the period between June 30th, 2013 and early 2015, the Brotherhood received from the European Union, nearly $1 billion. According to Tarek Abo Al Saad, these sums were spent on the group's foreign activities.” Houthi Alhadath: Houthis' Finance Minister Orders Withdrawal Of 0.5 Billion Riyals From The Yemeni Youth Care Fund Account   “Saleh Shaban, Minister of Finance under the Houthis, ordered the withdrawal of 500 million Yemeni riyals ($2 million) from an account belonging to the Yemeni Youth Care Fund. This order was carried out by the Central Bank in an alleged violation of the law. The finance minister, or any other minister, is not entitled to dispose of the Fund's money, based on the law that established the Fund. It should be noted that all the money in the Fund's account was obtained from donations. It is now expected that donors will stop their aid when they hear about the large withdrawal from the Fund's account. The details on the withdrawal of the funds are not false, as laid out in the official resignation letter submitted by Nathmiya Othman, the Executive Director of the Youth Care Fund.”