Eye on Extremism February 7, 2017

Eye on Extremism February 7, 2017 Counter Extremism Project Vice: Man Versus Machine “By Dr. Hany Farid, professor and chair of the Computer Science Department at Dartmouth College and a senior adviser at the Counter Extremism Project. Online platforms today are being used in deplorably diverse ways: recruiting and radicalizing terrorists, buying and selling illegal weapons and underage sex workers, cyberbullying and cyberstalking, revenge porn, theft of personal and financial data, propagating fake and hateful news, and much more. Technology companies have been and continue to be frustratingly slow in responding to these very real threats with very real consequences. Most notably, in the fight against online extremism, technology companies have been largely indifferent to the fact that their platforms are being used to recruit, radicalize, and glorify extremist violence. The public is, and will continue to grow, impatient with their intransigence and indifference to the harm that their technology is yielding. And the time is now for technology companies to get into it, and win it, by taking their social responsibility more seriously.” The Washington Post: How A U.S. Team Uses Facebook, Guerrilla Marketing To Peel Off Potential ISIS Recruits “Some critics have also questioned whether the program’s leaders would ever be able to produce quantifiable results, something that’s ‘difficult, given what they are trying to do,’ said Tara Maller, a former CIA military analyst and senior policy adviser for the Counter Extremism Project, a nonprofit organization that seeks to prevent terrorists’ use of social media. ‘While they can target the vulnerable audience they want to capture and provide counter-messaging, that is only one part of addressing the fight against extremism online,’ said Maller, who says she is broadly supportive of the new approach. But she said that other government agencies and social-media companies must work in tandem to ‘remove the horrific content . . . that is radicalizing individuals online every single day.’” CNN: 13,000 People Hanged In Secret At Syrian Prison, Amnesty Says “In the middle of the night, the Syrian prisoners are told they're being transferred. Blindfolded, they're moved from their cells to the grounds of Saydnaya prison, north of the capital Damascus. They're not told what's next -- likely, most don't know what's going to happen to them until they feel the noose around their necks. A new report from Amnesty International, Human slaughterhouse, contends that this was the fate of groups of up to 50 people, twice a week, at the prison. The rights group calculates that as many as 13,000 people were hanged in secret at the Saydnaya prison. The figure is based on result of a year-long investigation, including interviews with 84 witnesses including security guards, detainees, judges and lawyers, Amnesty says. Most of those hanged were civilians ‘believed to be opposed to the government,’ the report found.” The New York Times: ISIS Redoubt In Northern Syria Is Said To Be Nearly Encircled “An important northern Syrian city held by the Islamic State, the group’s last major outpost in the region, was practically surrounded Monday by pro-government and insurgent forces squeezing it from different directions, according to rebels and the state-run Syrian news media. The city — Al Bab, in Aleppo Province, 15 miles south of the Turkish border — has been hemmed in for months by insurgent fighters and Turkish troops, who have together blocked approaches from the east, north and west, according to rebels working with Turkey, as well as local activists and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group. But now the Syrian Army, aided by Hezbollah militia fighters and artillery units supplied by Russia, has cut off the approach to Al Bab from the south, the Syrian Observatory said Monday.” Reuters: Iraqi Forces Wage Psychological War With Jihadist Corpses “The flyblown corpses of Islamic State militants have been rotting along a main street in north Mosul for two weeks, a health risk for passersby. Suicide bombers' belts beside the fighters can still explode, killing anyone nearby. But the Iraqi army has no intention of burying the jihadists and hopes as many people as possible will get a good look at their blackened bodies, torn apart by bombs and bullets. As Iraqi forces prepare to expand their offensive against Islamic State from east to west Mosul, they want to stamp out any sympathy that residents may have for the group, which won instant support when it seized the vast city in 2014. ‘We will leave the terrorists there,’ said Ibrahim Mohamed, a soldier who was standing near three dead jihadists, ignoring the stench. His cousin suffered death by electrocution at the hands of jihadists during Islamic State's harsh rule of Mosul because he was a policeman.” The Telegragh: Islamic State Recruiting Child Refugees As They Head To Europe  “Hundreds of asylum-seeking young people are going missing from care once they arrive in Britain, amid concerns they have been targeted for radicalisation by extremist groups during their journey to the UK, a think tank report has warned. Militant groups such as Islamic State are deliberately preying on vulnerable young people for recruitment, as they make the perilous journey across the Middle East and north Africa, to Europe. Extremists try to ‘buy’ the allegiance of migrants and make them feel indebted, by working with people traffickers and funding their travel, the research by the Quilliam Foundation found.” Reuters: Air Strikes Hit Syria's Rebel-Held Idlib City, 15 Dead: Residents “At least 30 people died in air strikes on the rebel-held Syrian city of Idlib on Tuesday, in some of the heaviest raids there in months, witnesses and rescue workers said. Around eight attacks by what witnesses believed to be Russian jets wounded scores of people and leveled several multi-storey buildings in residential areas of the northwestern city, they added. Russia's Defense Ministry later said media reports that its planes had bombed Idlib were not true, Interfax news agency reported. Two rescue workers said the death toll was at least 30. The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 26 people were killed and casualties were expected to rise as rescue workers searched for bodies under the rubble.” The Times Of Israel: Israel Pounds Gaza, Vows Rocket Fire Won’t Be Tolerated “Israeli aircraft and tanks pounded Hamas targets in Gaza in a series of sorties Monday, after a rocket was shot into Israeli territory earlier in the day, as tensions with the volatile coastal enclave spiraled upwards. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would not tolerate a ‘drizzle’ of rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip ‘without a response,’ as planes continued to strike targets in the Strip. The airstrikes and tank fire came after a rocket landed in an open field in southern Israel Monday morning. The day also saw an IDF patrol near the border fired upon.” Fox News: ISIS Reportedly Keeps Files On How Many Sex Slaves Its Fighters Have “The Islamic State reportedly keeps meticulous records of its jihadi warriors on file with some of the information ranging from country of origin to blood type to the amount of slave girls each fighter has. Documents obtained by the Washington Post show the different informational categories the terror group keeps on its fighters. An illustration from the newspaper showed that one Frenchman who joined ISIS in 2015 had a B+ blood type and didn’t have any slave girls or children from slave goals. The file also shows that the man didn’t have any children or wives in so-called ‘infidel countries.’” Associated Press: UN: More Than 900 Children Killed In Afghanistan In 2016 “More than 900 children were killed in Afghanistan's conflict last year, the United Nations said Monday, calling it the most violent year for children since it started keeping records. The U.N. mission said the nearly 25 percent increase in child deaths from the previous year was largely caused by mines and munitions left over from decades of conflict. It documented a 66 percent increase in such deaths in 2016. ‘Conflict-related violence exacted a heavy toll on Afghanistan in 2016, with an overall deterioration in civilian protection and the highest-total civilian casualties recorded since 2009, when UNAMA began systematic documentation of civilian casualties,’ the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in its annual report.” Voice Of America: Boko Haram Terror Unmasked                                                                                                                             “In the northern Nigerian village of Kumshe, the terror group Boko Haram administered a violent and distorted version of Islamic law. Transgressions like wearing western-style clothing or getting a secular education carried extreme punishments. Purported drug dealers – such as the offenders shown in these videos – were sentenced to beatings and death. Raw, unedited video of Boko Haram operating inside its territory in Nigeria is rare. The group is known for secrecy and carefully hides the identities of members and their whereabouts. But VOA News obtained 18 hours of uncut videos in which the group recorded scenes of its own brutality.” Daily Mail: Government Planning £60 Million Crackdown On Right-Wing Extremism And Hate Speech To Be Led By Advertising Giant M&C Saatchi “Theresa May's government is planning a sweeping new multi-million pound campaign against far-right fanatics. The online battle, to be led by advertising giants M&C Saatchi, comes amid fears of the growing threat from 'alt-right' extremists. The campaign in Britain will be launched by the Home Office and focus on the threat of 'extreme right-wing narratives', the Times reported. A source said: 'They are going against people who read Breitbart and stuff like that, the conspiratorial media. They want people to be critical about what they read.” United States NPR: White House List Contradicts Trump Claim That Terror Attacks Go Unreported “President Trump, in another broadside against the news media, on Monday accused ‘the dishonest press’ of failing to report terrorist attacks. But in a list put out by the White House later Monday evening, many of the attacks cited, such as the attack the Orlando night club shooting last June and 2015 attacks in San Bernardino, Calif., and Paris were extensively covered by the media around the clock. Trump initially cited no examples of the media's failure to report terrorist attacks. Onboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington with the president, press secretary Sean Spicer said terrorist attacks ‘aren't exactly covered to a degree on which they should be’ and said they would release a full list of examples soon. Late Monday evening, the White House did just that. According to a White House official, the point they were trying to make ‘is that these terrorists attacks are so pervasive at this point that they do not spark the wall-to-wall coverage they once did.’” The Wall Street Journal: Trump Set To Attend NATO Summit In May “President Donald Trump committed to attending a summit of North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders in May, NATO said Monday, a meeting that member countries sought after Mr. Trump’s critical comments about the alliance. The precise date of the NATO summit in Brussels is yet to be set, but officials said it would be in late May, likely immediately before or after the Group of Seven leaders’ meeting in Sicily. The commitment to attend the summit was made in a phone conversation between Mr. Trump and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday evening that officials said also covered the alliance’s counterterrorism efforts, military spending in Europe and the war in Ukraine.” Syria Reuters: Syria's Assad Sees Trump's Islamic State View As Promising “Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said U.S. President Donald Trump prioritizing the fight against jihadists by Islamic State was promising although it was too early to expect any practical steps, state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday. Trump has indicated he might cut U.S. support for Syrian rebels and might help Syria in the fight against Islamic State. He has made defeating Islamic State a core goal of his presidency and signed an executive order asking the Pentagon, the joint chiefs of staff and other agencies to submit a preliminary plan on how to proceed within 30 days. Assad was quoted by SANA as telling a group of Belgian reporters: ‘I believe this is promising but we have to wait and it's too early to expect anything practical.’” BBC: Syria Conflict: Army Cuts IS Supply Route Into Al-Bab “Syrian government forces have advanced towards so-called Islamic State's last major stronghold in Aleppo province, cutting off the main supply route into al-Bab, a monitoring group reports. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said troops had captured Tal Uwayshiya, a hill 9km (6 miles) to the south-east. It overlooks a key road linking al-Bab to the IS-controlled city of Raqqa, in a neighbouring province. Al-Bab is now almost surrounded by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels. The rebels are laying siege from the north, east and west. It is not yet clear whether the Syrian government is also aiming to capture the town, which is considered a prize by all sides in the five-year civil war.” Iraq The Washington Post: A File On Islamic State’s ‘Problem’ Foreign Fighters Shows Some Are Refusing To Fight  “The documents in the Islamic State file hinted at signs of rebellion within the ranks of its foreign fighters. A Belgian militant had a medical note saying he had back pain and would not join the battle. A fighter from France claimed he wanted to leave Iraq to carry out a suicide attack at home. Several requested transfers to Syria. Others just simply refused to fight.  The documents on 14 ‘problem’ fighters from the Tariq Bin Ziyad battalion — made up largely of foreigners — were found by Iraqi forces after they took over an Islamic State base in a neighborhood of Mosul last month.” Voice Of America: Awash With Weddings Under Islamic State Rule “‘She was only 15-years-old, but we were afraid,’ says Adiba, a mother of six at a refugee camp outside Mosul. ‘If she wasn’t married, we couldn’t say anything if militants wanted to take her.’ Adiba, like many parents from Mosul, feared that IS fighters could select her daughter as a wife, and married her to a relative in his late 20s six months after the militants took over. And while IS-forced marriages never became widespread in now Iraqi-controlled eastern Mosul, the kidnapping and raping of thousands of Yazidi women under the guise of ‘marriage’ was well known. This, along with harsh rules against male/female interaction, lack of jobs and closed schools drove an upswing in weddings in eastern Mosul during the two-and-a-half years of IS rule, according to residents.” RT: Canada To Arm Kurdish Forces Fighting ISIS In Iraq – Reports “The Canadian Defense Ministry says it has received official approval from Iraqi authorities to supply Kurdish Peshmerga forces with light weapons, communication tools, defense equipment and medicine to help them fight Islamic State terrorists in Iraq. The deliveries, which aim to assist the Iraqi government and allied militias, including those led by the Kurds, to drive Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) out from Iraqi territory, are said to include anti-tank missiles, rifles, handguns, medical supplies, means of communications as well as optical and protective equipment.” Reuters: U.S. Embassy In Iraq Reports Threat Against Baghdad Hotels “The U.S. embassy in Baghdad said on Monday it has limited the movement of its personnel after receiving ‘credible threats of possible attacks on hotels frequented by Westerners’. ‘As a reminder, U.S. citizens should maintain a heightened sense of security awareness and take appropriate measures to enhance their personal security at all times when living and working in Iraq,’ an emergency security message for U.S. citizens on the embassy's website said. It did not give details on the nature of threat. U.S. authorities advise citizens to avoid traveling to Iraq citing the risk of being kidnapped by armed political groups or criminal gangs and bombings by the group Islamic State.” Turkey Radio Free Europe: Russia, Turkey, Iran Discuss Syria Cease-Fire In Kazakhstan Talks “Russia, Turkey, and Iran on February 6 discussed the implementation of the cease-fire they brokered in Syria and reportedly agreed to meet again later this month. No documents were signed at the second round of Syria talks in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, where representatives of the United Nations were in attendance. But the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said the February 6 session included discussions of the implementation of the cease-fire as well as a proposal from the Syrian opposition concerning the cessation of hostilities. In other instances, IS offers recruits up to $1,000, with the sum being a remarkable financial incentive for some refugees struggling to fund their journeys across the Mediterranean.” Reuters: Turkey Says Detains 748 Islamic State Suspects In Weekend Operations “Turkey detained 748 Islamic State suspects in weekend operations in 29 provinces, the interior ministry said, in its biggest round-up targeting the jihadist group in Turkey. Turkish police seized numerous documents, digital materials, two guns, four rifles and ammunition in the operations, the statement said. Thirty-nine people, mainly foreigners, were killed at New Year when an Islamic State militant opened fire inside the Reina night club in Istanbul. In addition to the latest detentions, Turkey says at least 780 people, including 350 foreigners, remain in detention - some of whom have been convicted - over suspected links to Islamic State.” The Daily Beast: Turkey: The Crucial Anti-Isis Ally That Trump … Forgot? “Donald Trump has picked fights with most of America’s closest allies and upset the world with his visa suspension for seven Muslim-majority stories. He’s also rattled sabers at North Korea and Iran.  But for Turkey, a NATO ally on the front lines of the fight against ISIS, his biggest offense may be that he hasn’t bothered to call. If and when he does, he’ll have a lot to discuss with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s strongman president, for Trump has made destruction of the so-called Islamic State terror group his top national security goal, and Turkey has troops on the ground in Syria fighting ISIS. But the areas of disagreement are growing. Erdogan vehemently opposes the term ‘radical Islamic terrorism’ that Trump uses regularly.” Afghanistan Voice Of America: Militant Groups In Afghanistan Make Money Smuggling Minerals “The smuggling of minerals continues to supply millions of dollars to armed groups in Afghanistan, said an anti-corruption group this week. The Afghanistan Anti-Corruption Network said in a report that militant groups received at least $46 million by illegally exporting minerals and precious stones to Pakistan. The report said up to 750,000 tons of marble and talc were smuggled from various parts of Nangarhar province. Some areas of this province have active Taliban and Islamic State fighters. Marble is a kind of stone that is often polished and used in buildings and statues. Talc is used in the manufacturing of products, including plastics, paints and cosmetics.” NPR: More Than 100 People Killed In Afghanistan Avalanches “Afghan officials say more than 100 people died in avalanches over the weekend, after nearly 10 feet of snow buried some parts of the country around Kabul and east to the Pakistan border. Dozens of houses were destroyed and ‘people were reported to have frozen to death, trapped in cars,’ according to the BBC. Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul was closed on Sunday, after nearly 2 feet of snow covered the runways, according to Afghanistan's TOLO News, and north of the capital, the Salang pass into the Hindu Kush mountains was reportedly buried under 7 feet of snow.” Yemen Time: The Secret Target Of Yemen Raid Escaped And Is Now 'Taunting Trump,' A Report Says “Military and intelligence officials have reportedly said that a deadly Special Forces raid in Yemen last week was secretly targeting a senior al-Qaeda operative, who survived and is now taunting U.S. President Donald Trump in an audio message being shared online. NBC News reports that several anonymous officials said the objective of the Jan. 29 mission was to capture or kill Qassim al-Rimi, the head of al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula and one of the world’s most wanted suspected terrorists. An audio recording released on Sunday purportedly features al-Rimi’s voice referring to Trump, who authorized the raid, as the ‘fool of the White House’ who ‘got slapped’ early on in his role as Commander in Chief.” CNN: Source: A Target Of Yemen Raid Was Al Qaeda Chief “A senior US military official told CNN Monday that intelligence collection wasn't the only objective of the recent military raid in Yemen but the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula had also been targeted. If the leader, Qassim al-Rimi, wasn't there, the US military believed it would find intelligence that would help lead to him, the official said. But US Central Command, which oversees US forces in the region, strongly disputed that al-Rimi was the objective of the raid just over a week ago. Thomas added that there was no hard intelligence indicating a ‘high possibility’ al-Rimi was at the compound on the night of the raid, saying that the Navy SEALs would have captured AQAP leaders, including al-Rimi, as part of the intelligence-gathering operation.” Middle East The Jerusalem Post: Netanyahu: Israel Ordered To Respond With Force To Every Missile Attack “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters in London on Monday that he has directed Israel to respond with force to every missile attack. ‘The two-and-a-half years since Operation Protective Edge were the two quietest years since the Six Day War,’ he said, hours after a Gaza rocket attack on southern Israel earlier in the day. He add that Israel will be steadfast in responding to every attack, and not permit a ‘drizzle’ of missile attacks that go without a response.” Reuters: Kremlin Says It Disagrees With Trump's Assessment Of Iran “The Kremlin said on Monday it did not agree with U.S. President Donald Trump's assessment of Iran as ‘the number one terrorist state’ and a Russian diplomat said any U.S. attempt to reopen an Iran nuclear deal would inflame tensions in the Middle East. Trump and Vladimir Putin, his Russian counterpart, have made clear they want to try to mend U.S.-Russia ties, which have slid to a post-Cold War low in recent years. But starkly different approaches to Iran, as set out by a raft of top Russian officials on Monday, could complicate any rapprochement. Their comments also suggest that a policy idea Trump and his aides are reported to be considering -- to try to drive a wedge between Moscow and Tehran -- may be a non-starter.” Libya Associated Press: The Latest: 500 Migrants On Way To Europe Rescued Off Libya “Spain's defense ministry says one of its frigates has rescued almost 500 people from a wooden boat off the Libyan coast as it headed slowly north toward Europe. Authorities say that among the 494 rescued Sunday were 18 women and eight children. A defense ministry statement on Monday says that the frigate provided those rescued with food and medical treatment before Spanish sailors destroyed the boat to stop it being used by human traffickers. The frigate is patrolling the Mediterranean as part of a European operation to capture and destroy vessels used by migrant smugglers or traffickers.” Nigeria Newsweek: Hundreds Of Nigerians Protest Against Buhari Government “Hundreds of Nigerians took to the streets on Monday to protest against the struggling economic conditions and a brutal insurgency in the country. Protesters turned out in the commercial hub Lagos and the capital Abuja in rare public demonstrations against President Muhammadu Buhari and his government. More than 500 demonstrated in Lagos, along with a heavy security presence, Reuters reported. The protest was organized by Enough is Enough Nigeria (EiE Nigeria), a coalition of activists. It was originally headed up by Nigerian musician Innocent Idibia —also known as 2Baba or 2Face—but Idibia pulled out of the march on Sunday, citing security concerns.” United Kingdom BBC: Police Seize 800 Guns In Firearms Crackdown “Police have seized 833 guns in Britain as part of an operation aimed at preventing criminals and terrorists gaining access to illegal firearms. The National Crime Agency and counter-terrorism officers made 282 arrests during a month-long joint initiative that started in October. Guns seized ranged from pistols to assault rifles and machine guns. The NCA had worried about criminals' guns falling into terrorist hands but said the links were ‘tenuous’. The operation had yielded a ‘handful’ of counter-terrorism leads, investigators said. Of the guns seized, some 379 could be considered viable and 14 non-viable, while a further 440 are awaiting assessment.” Newsweek: 22 British Medical Students Travel From Sudan University To Join ISIS “Up to 22 British medical students from the same university in Sudan have traveled to Syria to join the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), the Sunday Times reported. The group of medics includes at least three sets of siblings and consists of students from the University of Medical Sciences and Technology (UMST) in the Sudanese capital Khartoum. Dr Ahmed Babiker Mohamed Zein—the dean of student affairs at the university—said that a total of 27 students from the university had attempted to join ISIS. Of these, 22 were British citizens or residents, or had families in the U.K. Babiker added that several of the medics had since been killed in Syria or Iraq.” Germany The Atlantic: The Politics Of Security In Germany “Of the countless memorials testifying to Germany’s legacy of concentrated security and unchecked surveillance, the Stasi Museum in Berlin is one of the more explicit. Emerging in 1950 as the security arm of the German Democratic Republic, the Stasi earned particular infamy over its nearly four-decade existence for the spying operations it conducted on its own citizens, and how it wielded that intelligence to control people’s lives. Located in the Stasi’s former headquarters in Berlin, the museum reinforces the deep wariness many Germans still feel toward their security services. The building’s three floors are now stuffed with objects and reminders of the activities once planned within its walls: shopping bags that disguised hidden cameras, and exhibits on more mundane tasks agents carried out, including redacting suspicious lines from outgoing letters.” Europe Newsweek: ISIS Attempts To 'Buy Allegiance’ Of Refugees “The Islamic State militant group (ISIS) is capitalizing on the desperation of refugees, attempting to buy their allegiance to bolster its own ranks, according to a new report released Monday. According to London-based anti-extremism think tank Quilliam, ISIS is engaging in efforts to recruit refugees in humanitarian camps, on migration routes to Europe, and in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, where millions of Syrians have fled the near six-year conflict. The extremist group is openly offering financial incentives—up to $2,000, to new recruits in refugee camps in both Lebanon and Jordan, the report says.” Counter-Terrorism Akhbar Elyom: Egypt: Investigations Into Financial Sources Of Figures Included On The Terrorist List “Prosecutors in all governorates of Egypt have launched extensive investigations into some of the names on the terrorist list. Prosecutors summoned for questioning some of those affected by the ruling of the 6th Circuit of the Northern Cairo Criminal Court, headed by Justice Khalil Omar. The ruling, No. 5 of 2016, included 1534 figures on the list of terrorists. Those summoned will be questioned about their sources of income. Among other things, they will be asked whether they are engaged in activities of a financial nature and what these sources funding activities are. The East Cairo General Prosecution, headed by Judge Ibrahim Saleh, summoned the daughters of {businessman and top Muslim Brotherhood leader, Khairat} al-Shater to probe into their sources of income.” ISIS New Sabah: ISIS Seizes Food Supplies In Mosul “ISIS managed to get its hands on food supplies on the right {East} side of Mosul. An Iraqi security source in Nineveh Province said: "ISIS understood it was impossible for its militants to move supplies by truck to Mosul. This is after the Iraqi forces have attained full control of the road to Tal Afar – Sinjar – Western Mosul. Thus, ISIS has gotten its hands on major food and fuel supplies coming into the right side of the city of Mosul." The source added, "The extremist organization allows its affiliated food supply agencies to distribute flour to its militants, supporters and those who pledged allegiance to it, in exchange for small amounts of money. Meanwhile, ISIS imposes hefty prices on residents who did not pledge allegiance or families who have no fighters within its ranks.” Muslim Brotherhood The Seventh Day: Egypt: Al-Shater's Daughters And Akef Sons Investigated In Brotherhood Financing Case “The East Cairo General Prosecution, headed by Councilor Islam Al-Jawhari and supervised by its First Attorney General, Councilor Ibrahim Saleh, opened investigations with regard to 20 suspects in a case related to the financing of the Muslim Brotherhood. The suspects include Bahaa Eddin Al Shater, the owner of a prominent retail chain "Zad Supermarkets" and eight daughters of the Muslim Brotherhood's chief, Khairat al-Shater. The probe also includes two sons of Mohammed Mahdi Akef, ex-Brotherhood Supreme Guide. The East Cairo General Prosecution is expected to summon another 100 suspects for interrogation in the next few days in connection to this case.” The Seventh Day: Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Asset Freeze Committee Filed 530 Complaints Against The Group's Leaders “High-level sources revealed that the Brotherhood Asset Freeze Committee, headed by Judge Dr. Mohammed Yasser Abu El-Fotouh, has submitted nearly 530 complaints since its inception. The complaints called on the Public Prosecutor to investigate financial and administrative irregularities related to the group's leaders and its seized entities. These leaders are suspected of funding the Brotherhood with the aim of executing terrorist acts and ruining Egypt's economy. The sources disclosed that all those whose assets were seized have turned to new methods of financing the group through bank accounts registered under the names of individuals not known for their affiliation to the group. They are also suspected of making donations to associations affiliated with the Brotherhood.” Shorouk: Egypt: Investigation Of CEO Of Al-Khaleej Exchange Company On Charges Of Muslim Brotherhood-Financing “The East Cairo General Prosecution has decided to investigate Eng. Fayez Al-Dafrawy, CEO of Al-Khaleej Exchange Company, and his wife. The couple were summoned Monday morning to give statements concerning suspicions of their involvement in financing the Muslim Brotherhood. Al-Dafrawy's lawyer, Alaa Mustafa, affirmed that the prosecutor had heard statements by his client given in response to questions posed by the National Security {Agency}, which indicate that his client had exploited his company to finance several members of the Brotherhood. The CEO is also suspected of sponsoring riots and demonstrations against the state, specified in case No. 653 of 2014.”