Eye on Extremism February 9, 2017

Eye on Extremism February 9, 2017 The New York Times: ISIS Detainees May Be Held At Guantánamo, Document Shows “The Trump White House is nearing completion of an order that would direct the Pentagon to bring future Islamic State detainees to the Guantánamo Bay prison, despite warnings from national security officials and legal scholars that doing so risks undermining the effort to combat the group, according to administration officials and a draft executive order obtained by The New York Times. White House officials have detailed their thinking about a new detainee policy in an evolving series of drafts of an executive order being circulated among national security officials for comment. While previous versions have shown that the draft has undergone many changes — including dropping language about reviving C.I.A. prisons — the plan to add Islamic State detainees to the Guantánamo population has remained constant.” Reuters: U.S. Commander Expects Recapture Soon Of Islamic State Strongholds “The top American commander in Iraq believes U.S.-backed forces will recapture Islamic State's two major strongholds - the cities of Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq - within the next six months, his spokesman said on Wednesday. The spokesman, Air Force Colonel John Dorrian, confirmed reported remarks by U.S. Army Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend. Townsend was quoted as telling the Associated Press that ‘within the next six months I think we'll see both (the Mosul and Raqqa campaigns) conclude.’ The latest word on the fight against Islamic State came as the U.S. military was developing a plan at President Donald Trump's request to accelerate the campaign to defeat the militant group. The plan is due late this month.” Fox News: U.S. Airstrike In Syria Kills Al Qaeda Leader With Ties To Bin Laden, Pentago Says “The Pentagon said Wednesday that two U.S. airstrikes conducted in Syria last week killed 11 Al Qaeda operatives, including one with ties to former leader Usama bin Laden. The airstrike near Idlib killed 10 operatives in a building used as an Al Qaeda meeting site, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said. A strike the next day killed Abu Hani al-Masri, who U.S. officials said oversaw the creation and operation of Al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan in the 1980s and 1990s. Al-Masri had ties to bin Laden and to Ayman al-Zawahiri, who became the top leader of the terror group when U.S. forces killed bin Laden in 2011, Davis said "These strikes disrupt Al Qaeda’s ability to plot and direct external attacks targeting the US and our interests worldwide," Davis said in a statement.” The New York Times: Battle To Retake Syrian City Turns Into A Geopolitical Test Of The War “A northern Syrian city that is one of the Islamic State’s last enclaves in the country is under assault by military forces bearing down from all sides. The complication is that the advancing forces — the Syrian Army and pro-government militias backed by Russia, and Syrian rebels backed by Turkey — are sworn enemies. Their simultaneous race to seize the city, Al Bab, has turned into a test of how a global realignment of powers supporting Syria’s antagonists could help reshape or end the nearly six-year-old conflict.” Vice News: Red Cross Staff Killed By Suspected ISIS Militants In Afghan Convoy Attack “Six Red Cross staff were killed and two are believed to have been taken hostage by suspected Islamic State group militants in northern Afghanistan on Wednesday, the latest in a series of attacks on the international aid group by Afghan Islamist groups. The murdered staff were all Afghans, according to reports. “This is a despicable act. Nothing can justify the murder of our colleagues and dear friends,” said Monica Zanarelli, head of the Red Cross in Afghanistan. She said her colleagues were focusing their efforts on finding the two missing staff and that it was too early to say how the attack would affect the aid group’s ongoing operations in the volatile country. It’s not the first time the Red Cross has been targeted by militants in Afghanistan: The group’s Jalalabad office was attacked by the Taliban in 2013, while a Spanish staff member was recently released weeks after being abducted by unidentified militants.” The Times Of Israel: Defiant Iran Test-Fires Another Missile Days After US Warning “Iran reportedly test-fired another missile on Wednesday, just days after a series of warnings from the Trump administration that it was ‘on notice’ for previous ballistic missile tests and that a military response to such actions was under consideration. According to a Fox News report, a US official said the test on Wednesday was of a short-range surface-to-air missile, called Mersad, which impacted 56 kilometers (35 miles) away. The test came on the same day US officials told Reuters that the White House was considering a proposal that could lead to naming Iran’s most powerful military and political institution, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, as a terrorist organization.” The Jerusalem Post: ISIS Reportedly Responsible For Rockets Fired From Egypt Into Eilat  “A branch of Islamic State in Egypt's Sinai reportedly claimed responsibility for firing rockets from Egypt into Israel on Wednesday night. According to reports in Gazan media early Thursday, the Sinai branch of Islamic State was responsible for a barrage of missiles at Eilat, on Israel's southernmost city. During the incident, four projectiles were fired into southern Israel and three were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, according to the IDF Southern Command. Gazan media said the terror group fired seven rockets altogether. No injuries or damage were reported. A total of 11 people were treated for shock in Eilat's Joseftal Hospital. One was an Australian tourist, four were vacationers and the rest were local residents.” The Wall Street Journal: Arizona Man Sentenced For Planning Islamic State-Inspired Attack In Texas “A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a Phoenix man to 30 years in prison for helping to plan an Islamic-State inspired attack in Texas, a case that resulted in the first conviction of its kind won by the Justice Department. Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem, 45 years old, was found guilty last March of five charges related to his role in plotting an attack by two gunmen on a 2015 event in Garland, Texas, that featured a cartoon-drawing contest of the Prophet Muhammad. Both gunmen were killed in the attack, which wounded a security guard, and the Islamic State terror group claimed responsibility for the attack. Mr. Kareem’s trial had been a test case for the government as it was only the second time that a U.S. jury had decided the outcome of an Islamic State-related case.” Voice Of America: Cameroon Ups Support For Vigilantes Against Boko Haram “Officials in northern Cameroon say Boko Haram is hitting back against regional military pressure with suicide attacks. Rarely a week goes by without reports of a bombing. To protect border communities, Cameroon is reinforcing the capabilities of local self-defense groups who help the military. Music is played to welcome 200 recruits of the self-defense group in Mora on Cameroon's northern border with Nigeria. Among the thousands witnessing the exercise is Far North region Governor Midjiyawa Bakari. The governor told the recruits President Paul Biya has instructed him to visit all border localities to congratulate and encourage self-defense groups and traditional rulers that have been courageously defending people from Boko Haram.” The London Times: Big Brands Fund Terror Through Online Adverts “Some of the world’s biggest brands are unwittingly funding Islamic extremists, white supremacists and pornographers by advertising on their websites, The Times can reveal. Advertisements for hundreds of large companies, universities and charities, including Mercedes-Benz, Waitrose and Marie Curie, appear on hate sites and YouTube videos created by supporters of terrorist groups such as Islamic State and Combat 18, a violent pro-Nazi faction. The practice is likely to generate tens of thousands of pounds a month for extremists. An advert appearing alongside a YouTube video, for example, typically earns whoever posts the video $7.60 for every 1,000 views. Some of the most popular extremist videos have more than one million hits.” Heavy: ISIS Distributes Suicide Bomb-Making Instructional Videos On Social Media Channels “Islamic State terrorist channels have released “how to” videos for would-be suicide bombers on their encrypted chat networks and public social media sites. It is not the first time a terrorist group has disseminated such information online. In December 2010, al-Qaeda released a 102-page manual that “explains how to find ingredients from everyday sources and how to mix explosives, including those used in the July 7 bombings and the recent ink cartridge bomb found at East Midlands airport,” reports The Telegraph. The July 7, 2005 London bombings were a series of coordinated terrorist suicide bombings in central London that targeted civilians using the public transport system during rush hour. 56 people, including the the 4 perpetrators, were killed. Another 784 were injured. The attack is believed to have been inspired by American-Yemeni jihadist preacher and al-Qaeda “commander” Anwar al-Awlaki.” United States Fox News: 2017 Terror Forecast For US, Europe 'Alarming,' Says House Report “The U.S. and European terror forecast for 2017 'looks alarming,' in part because of increased pressure on ISIS and other terror groups on their home turf, according to a monthly assessment by House lawmakers. The House Homeland Security Committee’s February ‘Terror Threat Snapshot’ report cited two homegrown terror attacks in January and officials predicted efforts to crush foreign terror groups, while laudable, could spur more attacks to American soil. ‘At this rate, the forecast for 2017 looks alarming,’ warns the report, citing an ‘unprecedented spike in the homegrown terror threat, primarily driven by the rise of ISIS.’” Reuters: Trump Presidency Heralds New Era Of Closer Ties With Egypt “Friendly phone calls, an invite to the White House, a focus on Islamic militancy and what Donald Trump called ‘chemistry’ have set the tone for a new era of warmer U.S.-Egyptian ties that could herald more military and political support for Cairo. The mutual admiration dates back to a U.N. meeting in September, when then-presidential candidate Trump found common ground with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's hard line on extremism. Trump described the ex-general, who rights groups criticize as authoritarian and repressive, as a ‘fantastic guy’. Sisi, the first foreign leader to congratulate Trump on his election victory, returned the favor last month after the newly inaugurated president barred citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.” The Hill: Parents Of Stabbing Victims Rip Trump For Calling Attack Terrorism “The parents of two people killed last year in Australia are speaking out against President Trump after their children's deaths were included on a list of terrorist attacks the White House believes haven't received the media coverage they deserve. Mia Ayliffe-Chung and Tom Jackson were murdered last year during a knife attack in a hostel in Australia. Rosie Ayliffe wrote in an open letter to President Trump that the ‘possibility of Mia and Tom's deaths being consequent to an Islamic terror attack was discounted in the early stages of the police investigation,’ The Washington Post reported. ‘My daughter's death will not be used to further this insane persecution of innocent people,’ Ayliffe wrote in the letter.” Syria Reuters: Syrian Jets Carry Out Deadly Strikes On Rebel-Held Homs District “Syrian government jets bombed a rebel-held district of Homs city in the west of the country on Wednesday, killing several people, rescue workers and a monitoring group reported. A pro-Damascus media outlet said Syrian planes targeted militants in al-Waer neighbourhood after the insurgents fired at civilian areas in government-held Homs. It was a rare deadly flare-up in the area. Al-Waer has for months been spared the intense bombardment by Syrian and Russian air forces suffered by other areas including Idlib province, controlled by President Bashar al-Assad's opponents. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least eight people were killed in the government bombardment.” Iraq Reuters: Iraq Puts Out Fires At Qayyara Oil Field In Northern Iraq: Ministry “Five oil wells are still burning out of 25 that Islamic State set on fire in Qayyara, south of Mosul, an oil ministry statement said on Thursday. State-run North Oil Company crews are working to control the fires torched by the hardline militants to slow down the advance of U.S.-backed Iraqi forces toward Mosul, their last major city stronghold in Iraq. The oil field was one of the main sources of revenue for the group that declared in 2014 a self-styled ‘caliphate’ in parts of Syria and Iraq.” Fox News: Islamic State Fighters Reportedly Calling Trump Travel Ban The 'Blessed Ban' “ISIS fighters are reportedly hailing President Trump’s executive order on immigration as ‘the Blessed Ban’ — saying it proves to their followers that America really does ‘hate’ Islam. A resident in the Iraqi city of Mosul, which is still considered an Islamic State stronghold, told New York Times terror correspondent Rukmini Callimachi that the jihadists have been openly celebrating the ban ever since Trump singed it into effect on Jan. 27. ‘They’ve even coined a phrase for it,’ she tweeted Wednesday. ‘The Blessed Ban.' Iraq is one of the seven predominantly Muslim countries — along with Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — from which refugees and citizens are temporarily barred from entering.” Turkey Reuters: Turkey-Backed Forces Make Important Progress In Syria, Foreign Minister Says “Syrian rebels and Turkish special forces have together made important progress in northern Syria in the fight against Islamic State, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday. In a joint news conference with his Saudi counterpart in the Turkish capital of Ankara, Cavusoglu also said that the next target would be Syria's Raqqa. Syrian rebels supported by Turkish armed forces seized control of strategically important hills around the Islamic State-controlled town of al-Bab after operations launched overnight, Turkey's military said on Wednesday.” Reuters: Erdogan, Trump Agree Joint Action Against Islamic State In Syria -Turkish Sources “Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed in an overnight phone call on joint action against Islamic State in the Syrian towns of Raqqa and al-Bab, both held by the militants, Turkish presidency sources said on Wednesday. U.S.-Turkish differences during former President Barack Obama's administration impeded the U.S.-led campaign against Islamic State, and closer coordination could mean faster progress towards freeing swathes of northern Syria from IS. Erdogan now hopes that relations with Washington, strained by the presence in the United States of a cleric he blames for an attempted military coup last year and by U.S. support for Kurdish militia in Syria, can be reset under Trump.” Reuters: Turkish-Led Forces Advance Into Outskirts Of Syrian City “Syrian rebels backed by the Turkish military have captured the outskirts of the Islamic State-held city of al-Bab in northern Syria, the Turkish government and rebel sources said on Wednesday. The advance threatens an important Islamic State stronghold, whose fall would deepen Turkish influence in an area of northern Syria where it has created a de facto buffer zone. Syrian government forces have also advanced on al-Bab from the south, bringing them close to their Turkish and rebel enemies in one of the most complex battlefields of the six-year-old conflict. But Turkey said international coordination was under way to prevent clashes with the Syrian forces.” Afghanistan CNN: 6 Red Cross Workers Killed In Afghanistan “Gunmen killed six Red Cross workers on Wednesday in northern Afghanistan. A team of three drivers and five field officers was on its way to deliver livestock materials to an area in Jawzjan province when ‘unknown armed men’ attacked it, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said. The Taliban denied responsibility for the attack in a tweet from spokesman Zabihullah Mujahidm. ‘It is not yet clear who carried out the attack or why,’ the Red Cross said in a statement. Two of its employees still are unaccounted for, the aid organization said.” Yemen The Wall Street Journal: Yemen Seeks Tighter Coordination After U.S. Raid “Yemeni officials pushed for stronger counterterror cooperation with the U.S. after an American commando raid last month on an al Qaeda stronghold in Yemen resulted in casualties, but denied a report that they had revoked permission to conduct such raids. Ahmed Bin Mubarak, Yemen’s ambassador to Washington, said Wednesday his government hadn’t withdrawn permission for the U.S. to carry out ground missions but had ‘made clear our reservations about the last operation.’ ‘We said that in the future there needs to be more coordination with Yemeni authorities before any operation and that there needs to be consideration for our sovereignty,’ he added. ‘We are a partner with the United States in fighting terrorism." Middle East The Times Of Israel: Lebanon Arrests 2 Accused Of Planning Beirut Attack “Lebanese security forces arrested two alleged members of a ‘terrorist group’ suspected of planning a suicide attack in central Beirut, security services said Wednesday. The arrests come two weeks after an attempted suicide attack at a cafe in a popular shopping district of the capital was foiled and the alleged attacker detained. The suspects, a Lebanese and a Palestinian, were detained for ‘belonging to a terrorist group,’ the General Security force said in a statement. It did not say when they were taken into custody. Al-Akhbar newspaper reported Tuesday that General Security had thwarted an attack by the Islamic State group in central Beirut, which it said had recruited a Lebanese official in charge of security cameras in the district.” The Jerusalem Post: Hamas Says Two Killed In 'Israeli Attack' On Underground Tunnel “Two people were reportedly killed and five were hurt in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday in an ‘Israeli attack’ on an underground tunnel along the border between Gaza and Egypt, according to Hamas's Health Ministry. Hamas claimed the alleged strike was in response to rockets fired toward Eilat on Wednesday night. On Monday, the IDF struck several Hamas targets over the course of the day following an early morning rocket attack and late afternoon gunfire from Gaza directed at troops. Palestinian sources in Gaza reported a large strike in central Gaza Strip, saying the Israel Air Force had hit a Hamas target in Shuja’iyya and that renewed artillery fire targeted Hamas outposts in the central Strip.” The Times Of Israel: Iron Dome Intercepts Three Rockets Fired From Sinai For Eilat “The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted three rockets headed for the southern city of Eilat late Wednesday night, while a fourth fell in an open area, the army said. This fourth rocket was not shot down by the missile defense battery as it was headed towards an open field, a military spokesperson said. There were no injuries or damage reported from the rocket salvo. However, city officials said that five people were treated for anxiety attacks related to the incident. One of them was taken to the hospital, the Magen David Adom ambulance service told Israel Radio.” Libya Reuters: Support Growing For Amending Libya Government Leadership: U.N. Official “There is emerging consensus in Libya and the international community to support a change to the composition of the U.N.-backed government's leadership, the top United Nations official in Libya said on Wednesday. Western states say the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) provides the best chance of reversing Libya's slide into anarchy and warfare. However, the GNA has largely failed to exert its authority over a country that slid into lawlessness after the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi. ‘There is I must say a growing consensus to adapt the composition of the Presidency Council,’ Martin Kobler, the special representative of the U.N. Secretary-General in Libya, told Reuters in an interview.” Nigeria Newsweek: Boko Haram Factions ‘Cannot Pay Fighters’ Salaries:’ U.N. Report “Both factions of the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram are running out of money and are unable to pay their fighters a monthly salary, according to a United Nations (U.N.) report. A report to the U.N. Security Council issued Thursday stated that many of the attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram factions are in order to steal provisions, including food, and that the lack of funds has seen defections from within its ranks. Boko Haram, whose name means ‘Western education is forbidden,’ took up arms against the Nigerian government in 2009. The group has killed thousands and displaced more than 2 million in the course of its armed insurgency, which is aimed at establishing an extremist Islamic caliphate in northern Nigeria.” Germany Deutsche Welle: German Authorities Deported 620 Unaccompanied Minors “Local media reported Wednesday that among the minors deported from Germany last year were 275 Afghans, 58 Syrians, 39 minors from Eritrea and 36 from Iraq. The ‘Rheinische Post’ newspaper quoted the German government of saying that the minors were denied asylum because ‘they failed to meet asylum requirements.’ The figures also revealed that 45,224 unaccompanied migrants reside in Germany. Around 89 percent of all asylum claims by young people were successful last year, with 98 percent of Syrian minors and 71 percent of Iraqi minors reportedly granted asylum.” Deutsche Welle: German Neo-Nazis Construct Large Wooden Swastika “Neo-Nazis from across southern Germany allegedly participated in the creation of an enormous wooden swastika, according to local media reports on Tuesday. The Nazi symbol was allegedly put up at a meeting of far-right extremists in the Bavarian town of Bessenbach. Police arrived on the scene, a private home hosting about 30 neo-Nazis, on Saturday evening. According to German news agency DPA, the ultra-nationalists destroyed the several-meter-high swastika before the police arrived. Authorities have opened an investigation into whether they had broken any laws regarding the display of symbols deemed hostile to the state.” International Business Times: Germany Arrests Russian And Syrian Suspected Of Being ISIS Members “Germany and Belgium announced a series of arrests of individuals suspected of being members of the Islamic State (Isis) terror group. Authorities from the German city of Cologne released a statement on 8 February announcing they had made two arrests — of a Russian and a Syrian who may have trained with the IS (Daesh) in Syria. Identified as Suleym K, the 19-year-old Russian national is suspected of joining the IS in 2014 after travelling to Syria via Turkey. He was arrested and placed in preliminary detention and will be tried for being a member of a terrorist organisation.” Reuters: German Agency Working To Clear Backlog Of 435,000 Asylum Cases “Germany's migration agency hopes to clear a backlog of 435,000 asylum cases within months, the organization's new director said in an interview with Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper on Wednesday. Jutta Cordt, who took over as head of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) this month, told the newspaper her top priorities were to accelerate the processing of asylum applications, deepen integration, and step up deportations of those whose applications were denied. ‘We carried over 435,000 cases into the new year and we want to have dealt with those this spring,’ the paper quoted Cordt as saying.” Europe Sputnik News: Daesh Beguiles Danish Women With Targeted Propaganda “Extremism is mounting in Europe, and women are getting increasingly involved in carrying out terrorist attacks, Danish security services have warned, citing a high level of terrorism threat remaining in Denmark. According to a recent threat assessment by the Center for Terror Analysis under the Security and Denmark's Intelligence Service (PET), the number of attacks or attempted attacks has risen from an average of one per month in the period from 2011 to 2014 to four in 2015 and nearly five in 2016. Needless to say, the terrorism threat is aggravated by the proliferation of Islamist extremism through relentless propaganda.” Daily Signal: Evidence Shows ISIS May Be Forging Passports An Iraqi general found nearly 20 blank Iraqi passports in an abandoned Islamic State safe house in Mosul, which he believes fighters are forging in order to flee the ongoing assault by the Iraqi Security Forces. The safe house also included 16 Russian passports, along with four French ones. Both Russia and France have thousands of citizens fighting for ISIS that raise security concerns for all of Europe and the U.S. Seized documents by the Iraqi Security Forces reviewed by The Washington Post also indicate foreign fighters faking illness, and expressing a desire to return home.” Newsweek: World’s Young People Are Most Afraid Of Terrorism And Extremism: Report “Terrorism and violent extremism are the top concerns among the world’s young people, according to a new, far-reaching report. In a survey of 20,000 young people conducted by the Varkey Foundation, a global education organization, 83 percent of people aged 15 to 21—including 82 percent of young Americans—said their No. 1 fear for the future is the rise of terrorism and extremism. Slightly fewer, 81 percent, said the possibility of conflict and war kept them afraid. More than 20,000 members of Generation Z—those born between 1995 and 2001—across 20 countries were surveyed between September 19 and October 26 for the poll.” Deutsche Welle: Belgium, Germany See String Of 'IS'-Linked Arrests “On Wednesday, authorities in the German city of Cologne announced that they had arrested a 19-year-old Russian national on allegations of training with ‘Islamic State’ (IS) militants in Syria. Federal prosecutors said the young man, whom they identified only as Suleym K, traveled to Syria via Turkey in late summer 2014 and returned to Turkey a few months later. He was detained on Tuesday and placed in preliminary detention while the government prepares to try him for membership in terrorist organization. On the same day, a 31-year-old Syrian man was arrested in the rural northern region of Western Pomerania-Greifswald. He is accused of working at an IS checkpoint in Syria and having raped a woman who was trying to flee the conflict. The latter charge would constitute a war crime.” Technology Reuters: Cyber Expert's Arrest Silences Russian Contacts Of Some Western Crime Fighters “Russian cyber-security experts have scaled back cooperation with Western contacts after one of their number was arrested in Moscow on treason charges, making it harder to fight global online crime, U.S. law-enforcement and industry sources say. Despite acrimonious relations between Russia and the United States in recent years, experts on cyber security in both countries say their law enforcement agencies and private firms had been working together more closely behind the scenes to fight financial fraud and other crimes committed online. But at least some of that cooperation appears to have come to a sudden halt since Ruslan Stoyanov, head of the computer incidents investigation team at Russian cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab, was arrested in December on suspicion of treason.” Terror Financing Rassd: Egypt: Legal Experts Project Overturn Of Ruling For Terror Listing “Law experts anticipate the overturn by Egypt's Court of Cassation of the ruling concerning the listing of terrorist entities. They explain there is a legal flaw because those listed were not investigated prior to the decision to include them on the list. The experts assert that 80% of the defendants should be removed from the list, especially ex-soccer player Mohammed Abu Treika, who had not been interrogated ahead of the listing procedure, as stipulated by law. The experts explained that the goal of the listing is two-faceted: First, to allow the permanent seizure of funds, never having to return them to their owners on the list. This is confirmed by the non-inclusion of well-known terrorist entities such as Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, or ISIS and prominent figures affiliated with them. The decision focused on those whose funds were seized between 2013 and the present. This list features 1,583 {Brotherhood-affiliated} Egyptian citizens, including media personalities, journalists, businessmen and researchers. The second facet is to block the Administrative Court and its rulings, which favor those listed.” ISIS Shafaaq News: Mosul: ISIS Storing Potatoes And Generating A Sharp Price Rise “According to local sources from within the city of Mosul, ISIS has begun storing potatoes in the right {Eastern} side of the city. This is in preparation for a military operation by Iraqi security forces to eliminate the terror organization in all neighborhoods on that side of the city. The sources added that "the price per kilo of potatoes in markets located in the right side of Mosul has reached 15k Iraqi dinars ($12.65). This is due to ISIS purchasing and hoarding this vegetable in preparation for a possible confrontation with {Iraqi} security forces.” Muslim Brotherhood Albawabh News: Egypt: Daughter Of Sports Commentator Alaa Sadek Probed In Relation To Muslim Brotherhood Financing “The East Cairo General Prosecution, presided over by Judge Islam Al-Jawhari, and under the supervision of Attorney General Ibrahim Saleh, decided to postpone until Thursday the investigation of Engy Alaa Sadek, daughter of sports broadcaster Alaa Sadek. This is after she did not attend a session in a case related to Brotherhood financing. Egypt's Public Prosecutor Ahmed Sadeq issued a decision to summon 1,500 individuals on the list of terrorist entities, based on a ruling of the North Cairo Court headed by Justice Khalil Omar. The Attorney General issued a summons to investigate all of the names on that list.” Almesryoon: Experts Disclose Funding Sources For Muslim Brotherhood Media Channels   “At a time when members of the Brotherhood abroad announced the launch of media channels broadcasting from Istanbul, Turkey, other leaders made statements indicating the group is facing a financial crunch. This once again raises the question which troubles many – 'How are Brotherhood channels being financed despite the financial crisis?' In this regard, Tharwat el-Kherbawy, a former Muslim Brotherhood leader, revealed that the group has a vast international organization active in 88 countries, which maintains contacts with wealthy individuals, especially in Kuwait, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The international organization vowed to finance the group's members in Turkey. Sameh Eid, a dissident Brotherhood leader and expert on Islamist movements, noted that the Brotherhood imposes a rule on every one of its members to pay at least 8% of their income as a 'donation' to the group. According to Eid, there are "very wealthy" businessmen affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood in most countries of the world who are backing the group's members in Turkey. In the same context, Hisham al-Najjar, a researcher on Islamic movements, asserted that the economic networks of the Muslim Brotherhood, which fund the group's TV and media channels, come through investments and the economic presence of the Brotherhood abroad.” Houthi From-Yemen: Internal Conflict Among Houthis Over 500 Million Yemeni Riyals “Informed sources have revealed an escalation in the discord between Mohammed Ali al-Houthi and Saleh Ali al-Sammad, two prominent leaders in the Houthi group. The current dispute is against the backdrop of money not being transferred to the account of Mohammed Ali al-Houthi from governmental institutions and companies, notably in the petroleum, tobacco and sulfur industries. The sources claimed that Mohammed al-Houthi receives a monthly income of 500 million riyals (about $2 million) from one of the companies. He claims that these funds are paid to him in order to support the "war effort.”