Eye on Extremism June 8, 2016

Eye on Extremism June 8, 2016 Associated Press: Iraqi Forces Push Into Fallujah As IS Bombings Kill 24 “Iraqi forces started pushing into the city of Fallujah on Monday as a wave of bombings claimed by the Islamic State group in Baghdad and near the Iraqi capital killed at least 24 people. The advance is part of an offensive to rout militants from Fallujah and recapture the city west of Baghdad, which has been held by the Islamic State for over two years. The offensive on Fallujah, backed by paramilitary troops and aerial support from the U.S.-led coalition, was first launched about a week ago. The battle for the strategic city is likely to be a protracted one, with Iraqi forces advancing slowly to minimize civilian casualties.” Reuters: U.N. Says Syria Blocking Food Aid; Seeks Airlift Approval “The United Nations is still waiting for Syrian government agreement for an aid convoy to enter the besieged town of Daraya and has requested approval to airlift food into four locations if land routes are unavailable, U.N. officials said on Tuesday. Rebel-held Daraya got its first U.N. aid convoy since 2012 on June 1, but the shipment did not include food. The United Nations has said malnourished children in the Damascus suburb will die without outside help, a claim President Bashar al-Assad's government has denied.” The New York Times: Defiant Bashar Al-Assad Vows To Retake ‘Every Inch’ Of Syria “Syria’s president promised to retake ‘every inch’ of the country from his foes on Tuesday in a defiant speech that appeared to reject the humanitarian relief effort and peaceful transition of power that the United States, Russia and more than a dozen other nations have pressed for since last fall. The speech by President Bashar al-Assad was his first major address since the effort to mediate an end to the civil war broke down in Geneva in April. It reflected his sense that Russian intervention in the war has bolstered his position — and his ability to remain in power for the foreseeable future — as the war enters its sixth year.” Daily Mail: ISIS Threatens To Destroy Egypt's Pyramids In Latest Video Showing Fanatics 'Blowing Up 2,500-Year-Old Temple In Iraq' “ISIS extremists have threatened to destroy the Egyptian pyramids - after releasing a video purporting to show fighters blowing up a 2,500-year-old temple in Iraq. Footage shows a militant vowing to demolish the temple of Nabu in the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud - before a massive explosion reduces a building to rubble. The final scene in the ten-minute video shows the Great Pyramid of Giza near Egypt's capital, Cairo and a fanatic pledging to blow up 'ancient sites built by the infidels'. It is not known when ISIS targeted the Nabu temple - which was dedicated to the Babylonian god of wisdom, reports Vocativ, which sourced the video from online forums.  Video shows information signs on the temple wall before the explosion is shown from a number of different angles.” Los Angeles Times: California Man Sentenced To 12 Years For Trying To Join ISIS “A California man was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in federal prison for trying to enter Canada so that he could eventually travel to the Mideast to help wage “holy war,” prosecutors said. After completing his federal prison term, Nicholas Teausant, 22, of Acampo, Calif., will be placed on 25 years of supervised release, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Sacramento. Teausant, a former student at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, pleaded guilty in December to attempting to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization.” Reuters: Drones Emerge From Shadows To Become Key Cog In U.S. War Machine “When U.S. drones obliterated a car carrying Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour last month, it was the kind of targeted killing that unmanned aircraft are best known for. But 15 years after a drone first fired missiles in combat, the U.S. military's drone program has expanded far beyond specific strikes to become an everyday part of the war machine. Now, from control booths in the United States and bases around the Middle East, Afghanistan and parts of Africa, drone crews are flying surveillance missions and providing close air support for troops on the ground. The increased use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in a wide range of battle applications comes as the United States looks to reduce the number of soldiers fighting abroad.” Al Jazeera: Car Bomb Targets Police Station In Turkey's Mardin “Three people have been killed and several others wounded in a car bomb attack on a police station in the country's southeastern province of Mardin. Hospital sources said more than 20 people, including police officers and civilians, were wounded in Wednesday's attack in the town of Midyat, a region where government forces are battling Kurkish separatists. In televised comments, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said: "One police officer and two citizens have been confirmed dead so far."” Voice Of America: IS Attracting Rising Numbers Of Balkan Youth “Europe has been hard hit by Islamist attacks in France and Belgium, but there is also concern about radicalization on the continent itself. Among hotspots where young people have been found to gravitate towards extremism are majority Muslim nations in the Western Balkans. Many paths lead people to Islamic radicalization. And while factors vary from country to country and from person to person, some commonalities can be found in the Western Balkan countries, such as Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia. Factors ranging from vulnerable institutions and lack of opportunities to outside money and influence have been found among the underlying causes of radicalization in the region.” Associated Press: Boko Haram Attacks Force 50,000 To Flee Homes In Niger “More than 50,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in southeastern Niger after a series of attacks by Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, the United Nations refugee agency said Tuesday. Attacks by the Nigeria-based fighters on Friday, Sunday and Monday on the town of Bosso and its military post forced people to flee to Toumour, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) to the west, the agency said. The U.N. also said the security and humanitarian situation in the Diffa region has worsened. A May 31 attack in the town of Yebi killed nine people and forced 15,000 to flee.” NBC News: Analysis: Why Afghanistan Peace Prospects Look Worse After Mansour's Death “American and Afghan officials heralded new prospects for peace after the Taliban's leader died in an airstrike — but signs suggest strife in the region is bound to get worse. In wake of Mullah Akhtar Mansour's death on May 21, Secretary of State John Kerry said: ‘Peace is what we want. Mansour was a threat to that effort.’ Abdullah Abdullah, Afghanistan's chief executive, said Mansour's death presented an opportunity ‘to those Taliban who are willing to end the war and bloodshed … and join the Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process.’ Intermittent efforts to negotiated peace foundered under Mansour's leadership. The Taliban's swift naming of a new leader — powerful and deeply conservative cleric Haibatullah Akhundzada — plus the intensifying drumbeat of attacks since Mansour's death suggest the militancy's leadership doesn't plan on going to the negotiating table any time soon.” United States The New York Times: F.B.I. Steps Up Use Of Stings In ISIS Cases “The F.B.I. has significantly increased its use of stings in terrorism cases, employing agents and informants to pose as jihadists, bomb makers, gun dealers or online ‘friends’ in hundreds of investigations into Americans suspected of supporting the Islamic State, records and interviews show. Undercover operations, once seen as a last resort, are now used in about two of every three prosecutions involving people suspected of supporting the Islamic State, a sharp rise in the span of just two years, according to a New York Times analysis. Charges have been brought against nearly 90 Americans believed to be linked to the group. The increase in the number of these secret operations, which put operatives in the middle of purported plots, has come with little public or congressional scrutiny, and the stings rely on F.B.I. guidelines that predate the rise of the Islamic State.” Syria Reuters: Syrian Army, U.S.-Backed Forces Advance Separately Against Islamic State “Syrian government troops backed by Russian air power moved to within 25 km (15 miles) of an Islamic State-held town in Raqqa province on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, as state media reported air strikes against the jihadists in the area. In a separate simultaneous campaign against Islamic State in Syria, U.S.-backed militias captured more territory from the group near the city of Manbij in Aleppo province, a spokesman for the forces told Reuters. The Observatory said they were now 2 km from the Islamic State-held city. The offensives both got underway last week and are targeting Islamic State in areas of major strategic importance to its foothold in Syria, where it controls swathes of land up to the Iraqi border.” Iraq Fox News: Kurds Hit ISIS With Makeshift Mortar Stolen From The Terror Army “The makeshift mortar looked like something from an old pirate ship, and it took the Kurdish fighters several days to figure out how to use the improvised weapon seized in a skirmish with ISIS. When they finally did, they crouched behind sandbags and launched a series of homemade shells found with the device at a village held by the terrorist group a mile away. As each projectile blasted off from the 8-foot tube mounted on a pair of tires, culminating in a puff of smoke on the horizon, members of Kurdistan’s army, known as the Peshmerga, laughed and slapped each other on the back. ‘I hope they felt it like I felt the pain I felt in my arm,’ said a soldier named Ali, still nursing a wound from the recent fight near Sinjar where the curious armament had been found.” Associated Press: Car Bomb In Shiite Holy City In Iraq Kills 10 “A car bomb in Iraq's Shiite holy city of Karbala killed 10 civilians and wounded 26 others on Tuesday, officials said. The bomb went off in a commercial area in the city, which is some 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Baghdad, a police official said. Karbala is home to the Imam Hussein Shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State, a Sunni extremist group, often targets Iraq's Shiite majority. Iraq's capital, Baghdad, has seen a string of near-daily attacks in recent weeks, but mainly Shiite southern Iraq has largely been spared from the violence.” Associated Press: Spats Among Iraq's Security Forces Delay Advance On Fallujah “After securing the southern edge of militant-held Fallujah, seven battalions of Iraqi special forces units have been unable to advance for two days — a delay that commanders say isn't due to counterattacks or difficult terrain, but rather to disagreements about battlefield strategy among the disparate Iraqi forces fighting the Islamic State group. Unlike previous anti-IS operations, the fight for Fallujah involves an array of Iraqi security forces. A battle plan that was initially cast as an example of how those fighters can work together has instead revealed just how fractured Iraq's security forces are. ‘I wouldn't say the different forces in the Fallujah operation are cooperating: They've just divided up the battlefield,’ said Patrick Martin, an Iraq analyst with the Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington.” Turkey Reuters: Turkish Security Forces Kill 7,600 Militants Since July: Erdogan “Turkish security forces have killed 7,600 Kurdish militants since July 20, 2015, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday, citing the date when the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) abandoned a two-year ceasefire. ‘The terror organization had its biggest defeat in its history. The bomb mechanisms to divide the nation blew up in their own hands,’ Erdogan said in a televised speech where he addressed families of security forces who have been killed in the violence, most of it in Turkey's largely Kurdish southeast. The PKK has waged a decades-long armed campaign for greater autonomy in the impoverished southeast region. The conflict reignited last July after a ceasefire and peace process spearheaded by Erdogan collapsed.” CNN: Turkey's Downward Spiral Into Instability: How Did It Get Here? “Turkey, once a paragon of relative tranquility in a volatile Middle East, is engulfed by insecurity -- as today's car bomb attack against a police bus in Istanbul cruelly illustrates. Suspicions will likely fall on the separatist militant Kurdish group the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which carried out similar incidents in Ankara last January and March. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will probably approve the lifting of immunity against the 50 pro-Kurdish members of parliament to facilitate criminal prosecutions against them and potentially dislodge them from their seats. He will also use this tragedy to impress on Turkish voters that Kurdish and Islamist militancy can only be thwarted by transforming Turkey from a parliamentary system into a powerful executive presidency.” The Jerusalem Post: Istanbul Bombing Another Sign Syria, Iraq War Spreading To Turkey “The war raging in neighboring Syria and Iraq continues to destabilize Turkey as spillover violence and increased fighting with the Kurds risks plunging the country into deeper instability. ‘Turkey is the new target of the proxy wars, especially when the latest developments in north Syria and southeastern Anatolia are taken into consideration,’ Prof. Mehmet Seyfettin Erol, head of the Center for International Strategy and Security Studies at Ankara’s Gazi University told The Jerusalem Post, on Tuesday. ‘The PKK terrorist organization appears to be responsible for this terrorist attack in Istanbul,’ he asserted, referring to the Kurdish group active in Turkey and bordering Iraq. He added that some actors are using terrorism to try to influence Turkey’s domestic and foreign policies.” CNN: 4 Detained After Car Bomb Kills 11 In Istanbul “Four people have been detained in connection with a car bomb attack targeting a police bus that killed 11 people Tuesday in Istanbul, Turkey's state-run Anadolu agency reported, citing police officials. The blast, in the Beyazit neighborhood of Istanbul's historic Fatih district, occurred about 8.40 a.m. local time during morning rush hour. It killed seven police officers and four civilians, and left 36 people injured, three of them critically, Istanbul Gov. Vasip Sahin told reporters. Local media reported that the blast was remotely detonated as the bus, carrying a group of riot police, passed. No group has taken responsibility for the bombing.” Afghanistan BBC: Corruption Soils Afghanistan's Bright Blue Treasure “When David Cameron described Afghanistan to the Queen as ‘fantastically corrupt’ over drinks at Buckingham Palace in April it was widely regarded as a gaffe. But the British prime minister was not wrong. Afghanistan ranks a woeful 166th out of 168 countries in Transparency International's latest assessment of graft and crooked dealing around the world. And there is no better evidence of just how deep corruption goes than the fate of one of Afghanistan's greatest treasures, the gemstone lapis lazuli. A two-year-long investigation by the campaigning NGO Global Witness shows that instead of going to the people, the profits from the trade in this extraordinarily beautiful semi-precious stone are being funnelled into the pockets of senior politicians and top officials, and have also become a major source of income for the Taliban and other insurgent militias.” Saudi Arabia The New York Times: Saudis Hand Over Child Soldiers Captured In Yemen, Official Says “Saudi Arabia has handed over to Yemen’s government 54 child prisoners who were captured during fighting with the rebel Houthi militia, Yemen’s foreign minister said Tuesday. Foreign Minister Abdel-Malek al-Mekhlafi said that the children were between 8 and 17 years old and that their release showed that Yemen’s government and the Saudi-led military coalition supporting it ‘reject the Houthi crime of using children in war.’ The children ‘will be freed in addition to those who had been freed in Marib,’ Mr. Mekhlafi posted on his Twitter account, referring to a previous prisoner release in a province east of the capital, Sana. Human Rights Watch said this month that both sides in Yemen’s conflict had deployed child soldiers, and Unicef reported in March that 900 children were killed and 1,300 wounded during the conflict in 2015.” Egypt Associated Press: Rights Group Calls On Egypt To Drop Charges Against Lawyer “Human Rights Watch on Tuesday called on Egypt to drop charges against a rights lawyer and halt the investigation of two senior judges who jointly drafted an anti-torture law. Lawyer Negad Borai has been questioned several times by an investigating judge since he and the judges sent a copy of the draft law to the president's office in April 2015. Borai faces charges that include the creation of an illegal organization, preventing state institutions from carrying out their duties and illegally receiving funds. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.” Associated Press: Egypt Puts Former Auditor On Trial For Exposing Corruption “Egypt's former top auditor who exposed massive corruption in the country went on trial before a court in Cairo on Tuesday, charged with spreading ‘false news’ and ‘disturbing’ the country's security. Hisham Genena, a former judge who until recently headed the Central Auditing Organization, is one of the highest officials of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's administration to face charges. Last December, Genena went public, saying that corruption is costing the country billions of dollars. A pro-government daily quoted him as saying that Egypt has wasted 600 billion pounds or ($67.6 billion) in corruption in 2015 alone. He later said he was misquoted and that his remarks referred to the last four-year period.” Middle East CNN: New Israeli Defense Minister: A Hardliner The U.S. Can 'Do Business With' “An already frosty relationship between the Obama administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government could become even more frigid with the latest shuffling of ministers in Jerusalem. But it could also yield cooperation between the two countries as the new defense minister, a hardliner looking to revamp his image, provides an opening for pragmatic cooperation. The controversial Avigdor Liberman has replaced the respected Moshe Ya'alon as defense minister, leading some to call the coalition the most right-wing in Israeli history. The White House has said the new arrangement raises ‘legitimate questions’ about the commitment of Netanyahu's government to a two-state solution with the Palestinians.” Foreign Policy: Hamas Is Ready For War With Israel “Gaza still bears the scars of the 2014 war between Hamas and Israel. The 51-day conflict resulted in the deaths of 2,300 Gazans, with 10,000 others wounded; 66 Israeli soldiers and six Israeli civilians also lost their lives. Gaza’s infrastructure was decimated: A recent U.N. report stated that only 17 percent of the 18,000 homes destroyed during the conflict have been repaired, and an estimated 75,000 Gazans remain displaced. Gazans are fearful that another war looms on the horizon. Tensions are once again high in the strip. On April 18, a bomb exploded on a Jerusalem bus, injuring 21 people — the first attack of this type since the Second Intifada ended 10 years ago. The Palestinian group in control of Gaza, Hamas, admitted that the culprit, Abd al-Hamid Abu Srour, was a member of its organization.” Nigeria NPR: The Long Road Back From Boko Haram “One of the 219 Chibok schoolgirls abducted two years ago by Boko Haram militants returned home last month. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari welcomed her in a televised meeting, promising to support her as she remakes her life and help her return to school and receive needed social support services. Reintegration is the goal for 19-year-old Amina Ali Nkeki and the 4-month-old baby she had while in captivity. But how will that be achieved? The experiences of those who were formerly held captive by Boko Haram suggest the range of challenges ahead, as well as what might help — and what will not.” United Kingdom The Guardian: UK Tables Draft UN Resolution To Enforce Libya Arms Embargo “Britain has circulated a draft UN resolution that would authorise the EU naval force in the Mediterranean to intercept ships suspected of smuggling arms in waters off Libya, in what would be a new attempt to tighten the noose around Islamic State in its stronghold of Sirte. Forces loyal to the UN-backed government in Tripoli claim to be at the gates of Sirte, and as many as 6,000 people have fled the city in anticipation of a battle to oust Isis from the town. The resolution to enforce the existing arms embargo on Libya is likely to be voted upon next week if Russian concerns can be overcome. The enforcement is partly necessary because the UN wants to send selected arms to the government of national accord (GNA). However, a partial lifting of the arms embargo increases the threat of arms reaching either Isis or militias that do not recognise the authority of the GNA.” Germany Reuters: Migrants Linked To 69,000 Would-Be Or Actual Crimes In Germany In First Three Months Of 2016: Police “Migrants in Germany committed or tried to commit some 69,000 crimes in the first quarter of 2016, according to a police report that could raise unease, especially among anti-immigrant groups, about Chancellor Angela Merkel's liberal migrant policy. There was a record influx of more than a million migrants into Germany last year and concerns are now widespread about how Europe's largest economy will manage to integrate them and ensure security. The report from the BKA federal police showed that migrants from northern Africa, Georgia and Serbia were disproportionately represented among the suspects.” International Business Times: Amid First Military Expansion Since Cold War, Germany Plans To Cofinance Fleet Of C-130 Hercules Aircraft “Germany is planning to cofinance several C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft with partner nations, Defense News reported Tuesday. The negotiations with allies come just weeks after Germany announced its first military expansion since the Cold War. The aircraft would be used primarily for transporting troops to poorly equipped airfields in remote regions, where the larger Airbus transport aircraft are less well-suited. Talks are underway to operate the aircraft jointly with the Netherlands, the U.S., Britain and France, according to sources who spoke to Defense News on the condition of anonymity. Several of Germany's current aircraft will be retired in 2021 after becoming obsolete, creating something of a capability gap when it comes to military transport, according to the same report.” France BBC: Euro 2016: Fans Warned To Be 'Vigilant' Amid France Terror Threat “Football fans travelling to France for Euro 2016 should be ‘vigilant at all times’ in the face of terrorism threats, the Foreign Office has said. It said there was a ‘high threat from terrorism’, with stadiums, fan zones and transport hubs possible targets. UK counter-terrorism officers have been "a key part" of security planning and a team is in France, police said. Officers will also be stationed at Eurostar terminals and on some cross-Channel trains. It comes after officials in Ukraine arrested a Frenchman apparently inspired by extremist right-wing beliefs to plot a series of attacks. In his car he was carrying two rocket launchers, explosives, detonators, five Kalashnikovs and 5,000 rounds of ammunition, intelligence officials said.” Europe Deutsche Welle: Germany, France And UK Warn Of Possible Terror Attacks During Euro 2016 “The governments of Germany, France and the UK have sought to reassure the public ahead of Euro 2016, which begins on Friday, even as concern rises following the recent arrest of a man attempting to stage an attack during the event. Nonetheless, officials from all three countries acknowledged that an attack could still occur, even with extensive security in place. Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office said there was ‘no concrete indication’ of a threat, neither for Germany nor for France, but emphasized that the ‘danger of a terrorist act was real.’ France, where the tournament will take place, has been especially sensitive to the danger, having been the target of a major terrorist attack in November of last year. The government has beefed up personnel across the country, where more than 90,000 police, soldiers and private security agents will be stationed to ensure the public's safety.” Daily Caller: Western Jihadis Pleading To Come Home As ISIS Loses Territory “Western fighters for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria are reportedly pleading with their home country’s diplomats to come home as ISIS is pressed on several fronts. Among those pleading to come home are Western citizens, including women, who moved to Iraq and Syria after being enthralled with online ISIS propaganda. ‘They’ve got a feeling it’s not going so well,’ France’s National Intelligence Director Dider le Bret told a recent security conference. Western jihadis were once at the top of ISIS’s social strata, reportedly receiving free food and housing in the early days of the terrorist group. As the U.S.-led coalition, Russia, the Syrian Regime, and other rebel groups advance on ISIS, quality of life in ISIS held territory has rapidly diminished.” USA Today: Hungary Curbs Political Freedoms To Fight Terrorism “Hungary’s parliament passed a constitutional amendment Tuesday that allows the government to limit social media and the public's right to assemble in a terrorist emergency. The measure, passed 153-3 with one abstention, lets parliament declare a state of emergency for up to 15 days and use military forces inside the country in the event of a terrorist threat or attack. Hungary has not had a terrorist attack, but the government raised its terror alert level after the Brussels suicide bombing attacks in March.” Arabic Language Clips Financing of Terrorism Alsumaria News: Criminal (Court Of) Wasit Sentences To Life Imprisonment A Terror Financier Who Provided Raw Materials For Explosives The Criminal Court of Wasit Governorate on Tuesday sentenced to life imprisonment a defendant convicted of financing terrorist groups by supplying them with materials for preparing explosive devices. He obtained these materials by collecting debris from old Iraqi military camps. The head of the Wasit Criminal Court, Judge Mohammed Handhal Aziz, confirmed that "the Criminal Court of Wasit imprisoned a defendant convicted of collecting military remnants from inside the Hammurabi camp in the district of Al-Suwaira. He later supplied them to terrorist groups." Aziz added, "The materials included mortar shells and other types of munitions." He went on to say that "the convict confessed to collecting a large numbers of shells and supplying them to terrorist groups to be used in making car bombs and perpetrating terrorist acts designed to intimidate civilians." ISIS Addiyar: Turkey Funds ISIS With Weapons! On Tuesday, the Russian Center for Reconciliation at Khmeimim in Syria disclosed its surveillance of a convoy of trucks northeast of Aleppo. It said they were carrying weapons and ammunition and receiving armed escort from the border with Turkey. The center, affiliated with the Russian Defense Ministry, stated that the convoy was moving freely across the territory, which is under the control of various armed groups, ultimately reaching an area controlled by ISIS militants. The statement added that the ISIS and "Nusra Front" terrorists continue their attacks on posts manned by government forces and the Kurdish People's Protection Units, stressing that terrorists continue to mobilize their forces in the vicinity of the city of Aleppo. Muslim Brotherhood Parlmany: ACA Attacks The Drugs Mafia In Its Strongholds… Investigations Reveal How Brotherhood Exploits Rising Prices The Egyptian Administrative Control Authority (ACA), headed by Irfan Mohammed, launched unannounced inspection campaigns on the major pharmacy chains in the country's governorates. The aim of these synchronized inspections was to check the extent of the pharmacies' commitment to the prices and the validity of the medicine they sell. This is in line with the recent instructions issued by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to rein in rising prices of medicines in pharmacies and to counter the so-called "drug mafia." Initial investigations indicate that some pharmacists decided at their own initiative to raise the prices of some drugs. It was also claimed that pharmacists affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood wish to monopolize certain drugs in order to create a crisis in Egypt. Therefore, immediately upon learning the findings, a joint task force of officers in the regulatory agencies was formed. It is augmented by inspectors from the Egyptian Health Ministry with the goal of reaching and arresting the perpetrators of violations in the realm of medicine sales. Veto: Azmi Megahed Demands Attack On Brotherhood Sleeper Cells In (Egyptian) Ministries Egyptian media personality Azmi Megahed claimed that the Ministries of Education, Health, Agriculture and some professional unions are full of Brotherhood sleeper cells. He demanded identifying them and attacking them. Megahed also called to delegate to the armed forces the task of securing high school exams, and to grant them greater (security) authority in ministries such as health and agriculture. Megahed added that there are Muslim Brotherhood sleeper cells in Egypt Air and the Ministry of Agriculture and Health. These cells are public knowledge, he asserted. Houthi Gulfeyes: Houthi Militia Steal 84 Million Yemeni Riyals From The Salaries Of Teachers In Amran Houthi militia in Amran province deducted roughly 84 million riyals ($390,600) from the May salaries of teachers in the province. Sources in the Teachers' Union of Amran governorate asserted that the Houthis and loyalists of deposed Yemeni president Ali Saleh robbed some 84 million riyals from the teachers' salaries. The sources added that the deduction affected the salaries of more than 14,000 teachers employed in the province's various districts. It should be noted that the deduction was warranted under the banner of donating to the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Amran, which opened this year.