Eye on Extremism - August 26, 2016

Eye on Extremism August 26, 2016 The New York Times: With Invasion Of Syria, Erdogan Shows His New Power Over Turkey’s Military “In the aftermath of the coup, which failed but claimed more than 200 lives, Mr. Erdogan purged thousands of officers from the ranks, leaving the military seemingly depleted. It also provoked worry from Western allies, including the United States, that Turkey would either be unwilling or unable to be a reliable partner in the fight against the Islamic State. Instead, the opposite happened on Wednesday, as Mr. Erdogan ordered Turkish tanks and special forces soldiers into Syria, under cover of American and Turkish warplanes, to assist Syrian rebels in seizing the city of Jarabulus, one of the last border strongholds of the Islamic State. More Turkish tanks rumbled into northern Syria on Thursday to support rebels there, and the Turkish military seemed to be succeeding in clearing the border area of Islamic State militants, and preventing Kurdish militias from seizing more territory in the region — a primary goal of Turkey in the campaign.” Business Insider: This shadowy group is assassinating ISIS members within its borders “It almost seems inevitable. With such an oppressive regime and a weakening infrastructure, the organization that touts itself as the caliphate is facing growing dissent within its civilian populace. And it looks like this gap is widening, especially after the efforts of a secret group called the Mosul Battalions. In Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city and one of the few remaining ISIS bastions, this secret network has been causing disarray for ISIS members by carrying out assassinations and hit-and-run strikes against ISIS targets.” ABC News: Kayla Mueller In Captivity: Courage, Selflessness As She Defended Christian Faith To ISIS Executioner 'Jihadi John' “American hostage Kayla Mueller was tortured, verbally abused, forced into slave labor for ISIS commanders in Syria and raped by the group's top leader, but her fellow hostages say she never surrendered hope, she selflessly put the welfare of fellow captives above her own and she even stood up to executioner ‘Jihadi John’ to defend her Christian faith. Four former hostages who shared cells with Mueller, speaking publicly for the first time about their shared ordeal for ABC News' ‘20/20’ broadcast, ‘The Girl Left Behind,’ airing Friday, say the Prescott, Arizona, humanitarian aid worker was a courageous 25-year-old who inspired them.” BBC: Syria Daraya: Deal Reached To Evacuate Besieged Town “A deal has been reached to allow civilians and rebel fighters to leave the Syrian town of Daraya after a long government siege. Both sides said that the evacuation of the town, near the capital Damascus, will begin on Friday. Government forces have encircled Daraya since 2012 and since then residents have faced near-constant bombardment and shortages of food, water and power. Civilians only received their first supplies in four years in June. It comes as US Secretary of State John Kerry is due to hold talks on Syria with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Geneva. They are meeting in a bid to broker a temporary ceasefire in the city of Aleppo, where fighting between government and rebel forces has escalated in recent weeks, leaving hundreds dead.” The Times Of Israel: Palestinian Teen Indicted For East Jerusalem Stabbing “A 19-year-old Palestinian was indicted in Jerusalem District Court on Thursday for allegedly stabbing a young ultra-Orthodox man in East Jerusalem earlier this month. Ahmad Na’im A’shayer, a resident of A-Tur, was charged with attacking the victim, reportedly a Jewish seminary student, outside a grocery store near the Mount of Olives cemetery. According to the charge sheet, A’shayer was empty-handed when he approached the student, but picked up a ‘sharpened wooden plank’ that was on the ground nearby, and stabbed his victim with it. The student sustained light-to-moderate injuries. He fled, flagged down a vehicle and traveled to a nearby Border Police station. He was taken to Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus, but has since been released.” The Wall Street Journal: Terrorist Attack On Afghanistan’s Top School Targeted Best And Brightest “In a nation drained of talent after decades of war, the school offered hope for those who stayed behind and stood in defiance to extremists who oppose Western-style, mixed-gender education. More than 50 people were wounded in the nine-hour assault, most of them students who were drawn to the promise of a world-class education based on an American model that the university offered. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the heavily fortified university was long considered a possible target of the Taliban because of its ties to the West.” Associated Press: Minneapolis Bridge Collapse Survivor Faces Terror Charge “A survivor of the 2007 Minneapolis bridge collapse that killed 13 people now faces terror charges after authorities say he traveled to Syria to join the Islamic State group, departing the U.S. just a few weeks after collecting more than $91,000 in settlement money for his injuries. Mohamed Amiin Ali Roble, 20, was charged Wednesday with providing and conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. He was weeks shy of his 11th birthday when the school bus he was riding in plummeted about 30 feet as the bridge collapsed. Roble, one of 145 people who were hurt, received the settlement funds on his 18th birthday. Roble's name first surfaced in May during the federal trial of three Minnesota men who were convicted of conspiring to join the Islamic State group.” International Business Times: Nigeria: 49,000 Children May Die Of Malnutrition In Boko Haram-Hit Northeast, Warns Unicef “The United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef) has once again warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis in Nigeria. It said of the half a million children estimated to be at risk, 49,000 in the north-eastern Borno state alone may be left to die if they do not receive timely help. The seven-year-long insurgency by the Islamic militant group Boko Haram in Africa's Lake Chad basin has displaced 1.4 million children. Besides, one million children are feared to be still trapped in many parts of the country that are deemed risky for people to travel, the UN children's agency said in a report released on Thursday (25 August). It has estimated that 475,000 children across Lake Chad in Borno state suffer from ‘acute malnutrition’ due to drought and violence, up from 175,000 in January 2016.” The Wall Street Journal: Looted Art Helps Fund Jihadists In Europe “Brussels has long been a destination of choice for those illegally trafficking antiquities—a category that potentially includes the funders of terrorism that has taken lives throughout the West in recent months. Belgium brings together all the elements that allow this illicit trade to flourish: lax laws and enforcement for art crimes, a location with easy access to the rest of the world, and a ready market. The Belgian capital is also a known transit point for looted art. In 2009, an undercover report by LinkTV exposed that Taliban-looted masterpieces were widely available for sale in the Brussels’ galleries, fresh with dirt from Afghanistan and Pakistan. The European Union’s de facto capital is also home to terror cells dependent on criminal activity to fund violence. The municipality of Molenbeek, where terrorists planned the 2015 Paris attacks, is a hub for this illegal trafficking. Both Islamic State fighters and those fleeing them provide channels to bring stolen material directly to Brussels.” The Wall Street Journal: Canada Says 180 With Ties To Country Involved In Terrorism Overseas Last Year “An estimated 180 individuals with ties to Canada left the country and were believed to be involved in terrorist activity at the end of 2015, Canadian government says. Canada’s public safety department said another 60 people had returned to Canada after allegedly participating in extremist activity abroad. The figures were contained in the government’s 2016 Public Report on the Terrorist Threat to Canada, which was published online Thursday, and match those provided by the head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service during an appearance before a Senate committee earlier this year. Canada and other western countries have struggled in recent years with how to prevent their residents from traveling abroad to join terrorist groups like Islamic State, as well as what to do with those individuals if they return home.” New York Times: Indonesia's Most Wanted Awakens New Generation of Jihadis “During a May 2011 shootout, Indonesia's counter-terrorism forces killed the leader of a militant group thought to be behind a series of failed bomb attempts around the city of Solo in Central Java. The death of "Team Hisbah" founder Sigit Qurdowi caused the group to splinter. Some formed an anti-vice squad in the city; many others became associated with a former Solo resident called Bahrun Naim, who authorities believe is a leading Indonesian coordinator for Islamic State (IS).” CBS News: France's Burkini Bans Justifiable Security Measures Or Islamophobia? “After a terrorist with known psychiatric issues drove his truck into 400 Bastille Day revellers in Nice -- killing 86 of them – resort towns all along the French Riviera acted swiftly to ban the burkinis, calling them a threat to secularism and security. Cannes, home to the renowned film festival, was the first to enact such a ban, but a dozen French coastal cities quickly followed suit. Ben Mohamed said much of the current animosity is down to French politics; there is an election next year, and with a fast-rising far-right in the country (and elsewhere in Europe), some politicians may be feeling pressure to take a strong line on Muslim extremism. The French Constitution establishes religious freedom and bans racial and ethnic discrimination. Nonetheless, many French -- including some judges -- invoke the principal of laïcité, or secularism, to justify a 2004 national law banning religious attire in schools, including Muslim headscarves, Jewish yarmulkes and Christian crucifixes.” United States Daily Caller: Pentagon: US Forces Participate In Only 10 Percent Of Special Ops Against The Taliban “Military advisers actively participate in only around 10 percent of Afghan special forces operations against the Taliban, according to a U.S. spokesman for the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan. A vast majority of Afghan special operations against the Taliban are ‘completely independent of NATO,’ Army Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland told reporters during a press briefing Thursday. Cleveland is head of U.S. Army Special Operations Command, and is stationed at Ft. Bragg. While Cleveland’s assertions are largely reflected in the data, approximately 20 percent of those operations do have some kind of NATO assistance. Half of them are referred to as ‘enabled operations,’ where NATO forces aid in mission planning, logistics, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. The remaining 10 percent are referred to as ‘advise’ operations, and involve NATO, as well as U.S. forces, accompanying the Afghans.” The Hill: General: US Forces Going On Missions 'Every Night' In Afghanistan “‘U.S. forces are accompanying Afghan special operations forces on about 10 percent of their missions’, the spokesman for the U.S. military effort there said Thursday.  ‘On average, we probably have somebody out every night or every other night, some place in the country,’ said Army Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland. Cleveland said on those missions, NATO forces — including U.S. troops — leave their bases and accompany Afghan forces as they move toward their planned destination. ‘We don't put NATO forces on the objective. What they do is they stop at the last safe location,’ he said. Cleveland said Army Staff Sgt. Matthew V. Thompson, 28, was on that type of mission when he was killed earlier this week by a bomb. Another U.S. service member was wounded, and six Afghan troops were killed. “ Associated Press: US, Turkey At An Impasse Over Extraditing Muslim Cleric “Turkey says the United States is legally bound by a treaty to immediately hand over Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based Muslim cleric it accuses of plotting to overthrow Turkey's government. The U.S. government says it can't comply until Turkey can convince a judge its allegations against Gulen are legitimate. Any solution lies in the murky world of extradition, where the U.S. criminal justice system overlaps with diplomacy and international law. Unable to agree about the process, Turkey and the U.S. are feuding over Gulen, who denies involvement in the thwarted July 15 coup attempt. It's become the biggest irritant between the two strategic partners just as they struggle to reconcile their approaches to fighting the Islamic State group across Turkey's border in Syria.” Syria Reuters: Russia To Work With U.S. On Response To Syria Gas Attacks Report “Russia said on Thursday it is prepared to work with the United States at the United Nations on how to respond to a report that blamed Syrian government forces for two chlorine gas attacks and Islamic State militants for using sulfur mustard gas. The year-long U.N. and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) inquiry, authorized by the Security Council, said Syrian Arab Air Force helicopters dropped toxic substances in Talmenes on April 21, 2014, and Sarmin on March 16, 2015. Both cases involved the use of chlorine. It also determined there was sufficient information to conclude that Islamic State militants were the ‘only entity with the ability, capability, motive and the means to use sulfur mustard gas in Marea on 21 August, 2015.’” Reuters: Commentary: New Syrian Rebel Advance Against IS May Take Months, Commander Says “Syrian rebels, who this week seized a strategic town from Islamic State, aim to move westward in the next phase of their Turkey-backed operation, an advance that could take weeks or months to complete, a rebel commander said. Colonel Ahmad Osman, head of the Sultan Murad group, also told Reuters the rebels did not wish to fight Kurdish forces that have advanced in northern Syria as part of a separate campaign against IS, but would do so if necessary. Sultan Murad is one of the main Syrian rebel groups taking part in the operation that on Wednesday drove IS from the border town of Jarablus with help from Turkish special forces, warplanes and tanks. The operation aims to expel IS from its last foothold at the Syrian-Turkish border, but also to prevent any further gains by the Kurdish YPG militia whose growing influence in Syria has alarmed Turkey as it battles its own Kurdish insurgency.” Iraq Reuters: Iraq, Syria Discuss Securing Border As Islamic State Retreats “Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi held talks on Thursday with visiting Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem about securing their common border, an official Iraqi statement said, after a partial retreat by Islamic State militants. This year the jihadist group has lost about half the land it seized in 2014 and 2015 in Iraq but it remains in control of territory on both sides of the northwestern border with Syria. Abadi is hoping to take back Mosul, the largest Iraqi city under Islamic State's control, effectively defeating the group in Iraq. ‘Securing the common border was discussed as our heroic forces get close to the border with Syria,’ said a statement by the Iraqi government published after the talks in Baghdad.” Reuters: Iraq Army Captures Qayyara Oil Region From IS, Abadi Says “The Iraqi army has dislodged Islamic State from the Qayyara oil producing region located south of their de facto capital Mosul, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Thursday. ‘The liberation of Qayyara is an important step toward achieving the larger goal of restoring Mosul province,’ according to tweets from Abadi's media office. Iraqi forces last month captured the Qayyara airbase which it plans to use as a hub to support forces advancing on Mosul, 60 km (38 miles) further north. Abadi hopes to defeat the group this year by capturing Mosul, the largest city under its control in both Iraq and Syria. The Qayyara region produces heavy sour crude and has a small refinery to process some of the oil.” CNN: M For Muqawama: The Secret Resistance Fighting ISIS With Graffiti “The graffiti artist works under cover of darkness, spraying the letter M on walls across Mosul. M for Muqawama: resistance; M for Muaarada: opposition; M for Muwajaha: confrontation. This small act of rebellion is enough to leave the painter at risk of torture, even death. Because that M is more than clandestine street art, more than simple vandalism. It is the Mosul Battalions' message to ISIS: We are here, we are among you, and we are watching. Mosul has been under ISIS control since June 2014. Iraq's army is fighting back; its troops are closing in on the city -- and say they hope to retake it by the end of the year. The Mosul Battalions are their allies inside the city. The network -- so secretive that many of its own members do not know each other's identities -- carries out hit and run strikes, targeted assassinations, and bombings on ISIS targets in and around the city.” Voice Of America: With Major Anti-Is Battle Near, Iraq Parliament Ousts Defense Minister “Iraq’s parliament on Thursday voted to oust Defense Minister Khalid al-Obeidi, leaving the Iraqi Security Forces without a clear unifying leader in the crucial runup to the military operation to retake the Islamic State ‘capital’ of Mosul. Obeidi, one of the last Sunni Cabinet ministers in the majority Shi’ite government, was accused of corruption and ousted by a simple-majority (142-102) no-confidence vote after weeks of political wrangling. Abbas Kadhim, a senior policy fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, said on Twitter that Obeidi’s removal set a welcome precedent against corruption, but he acknowledged the decision was partly political ‘score settling.’” Voice Of America: At Least 13 Dead, 45 Wounded As Afghanistan University Attack Ends “Afghan police say at least 13 people are dead and more than 45 wounded after a nearly 10-hour long attack on the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul ended Thursday. Among the dead - seven students, three police officers, two university security guards, and a guard from a nearby school for the blind, Kabul Police Chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi told VOA's Afghan service. He said 36 students and university staff were among the injured. More than 700 staff and students were rescued after being trapped inside the university complex, he added. Earlier this month, an American professor and his Australian colleague were kidnapped at the school. No group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and the professors' whereabouts remains unknown.” Turkey CNN: Why Turkey Sending Tanks Into Syria Is Significant “Turkish authorities have been pressed into taking action against ISIS by the surge of suicide bombings in Turkey, as well as the terror group's use of safe houses and ‘informal’ financial services on Turkish soil. Ankara may also have calculated that ISIS is especially vulnerable, after many of its remaining fighters fled Manbij, another key stronghold in Syria. The town was liberated by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab forces backed by the United States. ISIS' lines of communication and resupply have now been disrupted and it's taken heavy losses across northern Syria in recent months. But Turkey is anxious that ISIS' vulnerability could provide an opportunity for their ‘other’ enemy in northern Syria -- the Kurdish YPG militia -- who have taken several villages near Jarablus recently. There may also be an internal reason for this offensive now. The morale of the military was shaken by July's coup attempt; a successful offensive against ISIS would play well both for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the high command.” The Wall Street Journal: Turkey Sends More Tanks Into Syria As Kurds Pull Out Of Manbij “A new wave of Turkish tanks rolled into northern Syria on Thursday as the military extended its fight to drive Islamic State away from the border and deter advances by American-backed Kurdish forces. With U.S. support, the Turkish military solidified its hold on the Syrian border town of Jarablus and looked to push further south in its biggest ground operation in Syria since the conflict erupted more than five years ago. Backed by American airstrikes, Turkish forces and Syrian militias on Wednesday had quickly seized Jarablus, long used by Islamic State as a gateway for militants and supplies. The military moves are also meant to halt the advances of Kurdish forces, known as the YPG, that have been among the most effective fighters against Islamic State. Turkish leaders see the group as an extension of an outlawed Kurdish militant group in Turkey, however, and are pushing to limit its territorial gains in Syria.” Bloomberg: Europe’s Refugee Pact With Turkey May Collapse Over Visa Dispute “The foundations of Turkey’s agreement with the European Union to curb the flow of migrants into Greece are looking increasingly shaky. With Turkey battling Islamic State and Kurdish militants both at home and in neighboring Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insists he won’t scale back the anti-terrorism legislation that European leaders say undermines democratic standards. Even if he did, the EU may no longer be willing to make good on a promise to award visa-free travel to Turkey in return, according to Ian Lesser, senior director for foreign policy at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Turkey has pledged to end the pact unless the EU delivers in October. Erdogan’s response to a failed coup in July, worries in Europe about Mideast terrorism and EU jitters over immigration after the Brexit vote in June have altered the political calculus since European leaders sealed their pact with Turkey in March.” Jordan The Wall Street Journal: Jordan’s Election Poses A Test For Muslim Brotherhood’s Change “One of the oldest and most potent political forces in the Middle East, the Muslim Brotherhood has been on the defensive following the 2013 coup against a Brotherhood administration in Egypt that unleashed a regional crackdown on political Islam. The Sept. 20 elections in Jordan—a monarchy where most major decisions are taken by the royal court—aren’t likely to alter the country’s domestic or foreign policies. But they offer a rare test of strength for political Islam in the region as well as a measure of what lessons, if any, the Brotherhood has learned from its disastrous experience in power in Egypt.” Middle East  CNN: Could Putin Make Peace Between Israel, Palestinians? “Earlier this week, Russia's Vladimir Putin reportedly told Egypt's President Abdul Fattah Sisi that he would be willing to host direct talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Moscow. Putin did speak to Netanyahu by phone Tuesday, and according to press reports, they did discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Having pushed Russia into the middle of Syria's civil war with great effect last September, is Vladimir Putin now making a serious bid to become a Middle East peacemaker too? If he's serious -- and this is far from certain -- Washington should let him try. Given the moribund state of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the long odds of success, Putin would almost certainly fail, tarnishing his vaunted image and likely angering Israelis and Palestinians in the process.” Libya The Times Of Israel: Armed Men Attack Refugee Rescue Boat Off Libyan Coast “Details emerged Thursday of a ‘shoot to kill’ attack against a refugee rescue boat operated by Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) off the coast of Libya earlier this month. The unidentified assailants shot at least 13 bullets at the boat’s bridge – the control area – and hit the bridge’s window ‘with an intention, we believe, to harm and potentially kill,’ said Stefano Argenziano, operations coordinator for the mission. ‘These were professionals, they were not just random fishermen,’ said Argenziano. ‘They were trained in military tactics and [in the] use of weapons.’ The crew managed to flee to to a safe room before the intruders climbed on board, The Guardian reported. Failing to reach them, the attackers left after around 50 minutes without taking anything. Damage to the boat was minimal.” United Kingdom Newsweek: Britain Must Keep EU Police Close After Brexit, U.K. MPs Warn “Britain should try to keep its position at the heart of European policing after Brexit, according to an influential committee of MPs. A report from the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, published Thursday, said that ‘EU organizations, such as [policing agency] Europol, are a vital resource for the U.K. in combating terrorism and extremism. Europol director Rob Wainwright, who is British, said before the vote to leave the EU that Brexit would make it harder for British police to fight crime and terrorism and would make the U.K. ‘a second-tier member of our club.’ Elsewhere in the report, the committee said that social media companies are ‘consciously failing’ to combat groups using their services to promote extremism.” The Guardian: London Man To Appear In Court Over Terror-Related Offences “A 32-year-old man will appear in court in London after being charged with Syria-related terrorist offences. Patrick Kabele, 32, of Willesden, north-west London, will appear at Westminster magistrates court on Friday accused of attempting to travel to Syria, contrary to the Terrorism Act, Scotland Yard said. Kabele was arrested on Wednesday in Brent, north London, by officers from the Metropolitan police’s counter-terrorism command.” BBC: NI Terrorism: Royal Marine Still Being Questioned In Somerset “A serving Royal Marine, arrested in Somerset as part of an investigation into Northern Ireland-related terrorism, is still being questioned. Ciarán Maxwell, 30, from Larne, was detained by officers from the Metropolitan Police Service's Counter Terrorism Command on Wednesday. It is understood the operation is connected to the discovery of two arms dumps near Larne earlier this year. They were suspected to be linked to dissident republican paramilitaries. Mr Maxwell was arrested after searches in Larne and Devon. The operation involved several UK police forces, including the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). It is understood MI5 is also involved in the operation in England which is likely to continue all weekend.” The Hill: UK Lawmakers Target Twitter Over Terrorism “U.K. legislators are accusing Google, Facebook and Twitter of not doing enough to combat content on their platforms that promotes terror and extremism. In a report released Thursday by the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, the legislators said the companies' platforms were the ‘vehicle of choice in spreading propaganda and they have become the recruiting platforms for terrorism.’ The committee attacked the companies’ efforts to stop extremism, calling it ‘alarming’ that they ‘have teams of only a few hundred employees to monitor networks of billions of accounts.’ The report singled out Twitter, saying the network does not ‘proactively report extremist content to law enforcement agencies.’” Germany The Wall Street Journal: German Lawmakers Warn Turkey Over Ban On Visits To Air Base “German lawmakers warned they would pull German reconnaissance planes, now being used against Islamic State in Syria, from Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base if Ankara doesn’t allow a visit to the facility. The warning Thursday is the latest development in a dispute sparked by the German parliament’s vote in June to label the Ottoman-era massacre of Armenians as genocide. The genocide recognition has soured the mood between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies and is threatening Germany’s participation in the anti-Islamic State coalition, as a move to a different base could interrupt Germany’s contribution. German lawmakers have visited the base several times since German personnel were deployed there, but they have been repeatedly refused entry since the genocide vote, a move many see as retribution by the Turkish government.” France Daily Caller: France Deploys 3000 Troops To Guard Schools From Terror “The French government announced new security measures for its public school system Wednesday, including the deployment of 3,000 troops to guard against terrorism. France is in a state of emergency after three major terror attacks over the past 19 months, resulting in 230 deaths. The new reality has forced the government to invest vast resources in its own backyard, with half of the French soldiers in military operation being deployed on the street during the spring. The government fears schools may be the next target for an attack. Islamic State has previously urged its French sympathizers to remove their children from the public school system, and to kill teachers who are ‘enemies of Islam’ for teaching secularism.”