Thursday, February 11, 2016

Eye on Extremism - February 11, 2016

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Eye on Extremism

February 11, 2016

AFP: '500 Dead' In Syria Regime's Aleppo Assault
“A Russian-backed regime onslaught in northern Syria was reported Wednesday to have killed more than 500 people this month, as Turkey faced new pressure to open its border to people fleeing the violence. World powers urged Russia to end its air strikes which a senior US official said were ‘directly enabling’ the Islamic State group, and the UN Security Council met to discuss the conflict. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 506 people had died since the regime launched a major offensive against rebels in Aleppo province on February 1. They include 23 children who were killed in Russian air strikes, according to the Britain-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources on the ground.”
The Hill: Senate Panel Approves Three Bills To Fight ISIS Online Recruitment
“A Senate committee on Wednesday approved three bills intended to help combat the massive online propaganda wing of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Supporters say the trio of bills, passed by the Senate Homeland Security Committee, will focus and bolster the government’s efforts at countering ISIS’s Internet recruitment campaigns, which lawmakers and experts agrees has been ineffective. ‘At the beginning of this Congress, I outlined countering violent extremism … as one of this committee’s top five priorities,’ said Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). “’So I am pleased that three bills that we are marking up today address a heightened homeland threat from violent extremism.’”
Arutz Sheva: 43 Terror Orgs In 18 Countries Support ISIS
“ISIS may have lost territory to coalition forces over the past few months, but no fewer than 43 terrorist groups around the world have pledged allegiance – or are offering support – to the extremist Muslim murderous organization. In a speech last week, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that as many as 34 militant groups from around the world now support the Daesh extremist organization. However, findings released by the IntelCenter puts the number of ISIS affiliates and supporters at 43. Ban Ki-Moon added that the number of ISIS-supporters is expected to increase in 2016. He said that ISIS poses ‘an unprecedented threat,’ because of its ability to attract support from terrorist groups in countries such as the Philippines, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Libya and Nigeria.”
The Guardian: Report On Syria Conflict Finds 11.5% Of Population Killed Or Injured
“Syria’s national wealth, infrastructure and institutions have been ‘almost obliterated’ by the ‘catastrophic impact’ of nearly five years of conflict, a new report has found. Fatalities caused by war, directly and indirectly, amount to 470,000, according to the Syrian Centre for Policy Research (SCPR) – a far higher total than the figure of 250,000 used by the United Nations until it stopped collecting statistics 18 months ago. In all, 11.5% of the country’s population have been killed or injured since the crisis erupted in March 2011, the report estimates. The number of wounded is put at 1.9 million. Life expectancy has dropped from 70 in 2010 to 55.4 in 2015. Overall economic losses are estimated at $255bn (£175bn).”
Ara News: ISIS Militants Evacuate Main District In Damascus
“Subsequent to fierce clashes with the Syrian armed opposition, militant fighters of the Islamic State (ISIS) evacuated on wednesday a main district in the capital Damascus. ISIS has reportedly withdrew form Al-Tall district after suffering heavy losses in recent clashes with Syrian rebel groups. ‘Daesh gave up after losing a large number of fighters and weapons in clashes with rebel factions in Al-Tall over the last two weeks,’ local media activist Ahmed Bayanouni told ARA News in Damascus, using another acronym for ISIS.”
CNN: U.S. Peacekeepers In Sinai Could Add ISIS Intel Duty
“With ISIS on the rise in the Sinai Peninsula, the Pentagon is having internal discussions to consider whether U.S. troops stationed there could be used to gather intelligence about the local ISIS affiliate, CNN has learned. The discussions are in the very preliminary stage and no formal options have been sent to the White House, a Defense official told CNN. But it's raising the prospect that the approximately 700 U.S. troops in the Sinai Peninsula could get an additional mission to their current peacekeeping duties.”
The Hill: New ISIS 'Help Desk' To Aid Hiding From Authorities
“The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has opened up a new technical ‘help desk’ that aims to help terrorists hide from Western authorities, according to researchers.   The Electronic Horizon Foundation (EHF) was launched on Jan. 30 as a joint effort of several of the top ISIS cybersecurity experts, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) said in a new report. While researchers have previously uncovered an ISIS ‘help desk’ and 34-page manual that help extremists encrypt their communications, MEMRI said the EHF takes these services to an ‘alarming’ new level.”
Rudaw: Baghdad Arms Christian Volunteers In Volatile Nineveh Plains
“The Iraqi government has offered arms and combat training to Christian recruits who have volunteered to join a new force based in the disputed Nineveh province, military officials told Rudaw. Nearly 800 Christian recruits are now part of a troop formation that is directly funded by the central government in one of the most volatile territories in Iraq with mixed ethnic and religious populations. The Nineveh plains, with Mosul as its provincial capital, is located south and west of Erbil and is part of the disputed territories according to the Iraqi constitution which underlines its fate, along with a number of other places, should be decided in a referendum.”
Associated Press: 2 Female Bombers Kill 58 In Northeast Nigerian Refugee Camp
“Two female suicide bombers blew themselves up in a northeastern Nigerian refugee camp, killing at least 58 people, health and rescue officials said Wednesday. A third woman bomber was arrested and gave officials information about other planned bombings that helped them increase security at the camp, said an official of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency.”
Daily Caller: Iran Publicly Admits Supporting Terrorism Against Israel Is State Policy
An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman was not too bashful to admit that Iran is a proud sponsor of terrorism against Israel, dismissing claims that Iran ceased support of Hamas in 2009. Hossein Jaberi Ansari’s assertion came in response to a report in late January that a high-ranking Hamas official was heard recently criticizing Iran during a phone call, claiming Hamas had not received support from Iran in the better part of a decade.”
Fox New: West Point Cadets Go Online, Undercover To Fight ISIS
“A team of West Point cadets has found a better use for social media than posting selfies and 140-character witticisms: going undercover and online to steer young Muslims away from terrorist recruiters. The cadets crafted an online strategy to stem the flow of disaffected young people to Islamic State as an entry in an international contest sponsored by a group of federal agencies and tech companies. Unlike the competing teams from universities all over the world, the West Point contingent, which took second place, worked undercover. ‘Since our website was targeting what we called ‘fence-sitters,’ I think if individuals who visited our social media platforms knew that they were being produced by anyone in the U.S. government, then the site would lose credibility,’ Lt. Col. Bryan Price, director of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, told FoxNews.com in an email.”

United States

Business Insider: CIA Director: The Middle East Is The Worst It's Been In 50 Years With 'Unprecedented' Bloodshed
“John Brennan, the CIA director, told a Senate committee Tuesday that the violence and instability in the Middle East was the worst it had been in 50 years, painting a dire picture of a region he said was facing ‘unprecedented’ bloodshed. Brennan spoke at the Senate Intelligence Committee's annual worldwide-threats hearing, emphasizing the threats the US faces as the Middle East devolves further into chaos.  ‘The Middle East right now I think is racked by more instability and violence and inter-state conflict than we've seen certainly in the past 50 years,’ Brennan said. ‘And the amount of bloodshed and humanitarian suffering is I think unprecedented.’”

Yemen

Al Bawaba: Yemeni Rocket Attack Kills Six Saudi Soldiers

“Six Saudi soldiers were killed in a retaliatory rocket attack Tuesday by fighters from the Houthi Ansarullah movement of Yemen and allied military units. Yemen’s al-Masirah TV said the six soldiers were killed earlier in the day after the allied Yemeni forces launched the rocket attack on a military base in al-Sharqah region in the southern Saudi province of Najran. Yemen’s official Saba agency said Yemeni forces launched a missile attack on a military airport in the neighboring Saudi province of Jizan, with no immediate information available on casualties.”

Turkey

Hurriyet Daily News: 7 Security Officers, Two Civil Servants Killed In One Day During PKK Attacks
“Seven members of security officials, including a captain, as well as two civil servants were killed in attacks by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkey’s southeastern districts on Feb. 9.  Two soldiers and one police officer were killed and one soldier and one policeman were injured in attacks in southeastern provinces of Diyarbakır and Şırnak.  The latest attack occurred after security forces spotted around 10 PKK militants attempting to infiltrate Turkish territory at 6:30 p.m. “

Syria

Andalou Agency: Russian Airstrikes Kill 15 In Syria’s Aleppo
“Fifteen civilians were killed and another 22 injured on Tuesday evening when Russian warplanes struck two villages in an opposition-held district of Syria’s northwestern Aleppo province, local Civil Defense sources told Anadolu Agency. According to the sources, Russian warplanes targeted the villages of Kafr Kalbin and Kafr Khashir, both located in Aleppo’s opposition-held Tel Rifaat district. Earlier Tuesday, Russian warplanes had also targeted residential parts of Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, likewise killing some 15 civilians and injuring more than a dozen others.”
Al-Arabiya: Gunmen Open Fire On Syria Aid Convoy, No Casualties Reported
“Syria’s state news agency SANA says opposition gunmen have opened fire on aid vehicles in the besieged rebel-held town of Madaya, near the capital Damascus, but no casualties were reported. A SARQ official said on Wednesday that the convoy, which included vehicles from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, was evacuating sick people from Madaya when it came under fire by unknown gunmen.”
AFP: Syria Opposition Calls For End To Sieges To Resume Talks
“Sieges on cities across Syria must be lifted and air strikes on civilian areas must stop if the opposition is to resume talks in Geneva as planned on February 25, a top opposition leader said on Wednesday. ‘Before we go on February 25 those measures should be implemented in reality on the land,’ Riad Hijab, chief coordinator of the opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC), told reporters in London. As well as the lifting of sieges on cities and towns, he listed letting aid through and stopping air strikes on civilian areas as conditions for attending the talks.”

Afghanistan

New York Times: Afghan Policeman, Shot After Firing On NATO Soldiers, Dies Of Wounds
“An Afghan policeman shot by a NATO coalition soldier has died of his wounds after apparently conducting an insider attack, the government said on Wednesday. The policeman had been guarding the Commerce Ministry early Tuesday afternoon when he fired on coalition soldiers ‘for unknown reasons,’ the Interior Ministry said in a statement. The coalition troops returned fire, wounding the policeman, who was taken to a hospital but died of his injuries on Wednesday, the statement said.”
Khaama Press: 130 Taliban Insurgents Killed In Ongoing Military Operations In Baghlan
“Over 200 Taliban insurgents have been killed or wounded during the ongoing military operations in northern Baghlan province of Afghanistan, the local officials said Wednesday. Provincial governor Abdul Satar Barez said at least 130 Taliban militants have been killed and 95 others have sustained injuries during the operations so far. Barez further added that the operations have suspended due to heavy snow fall in the area but the Afghan security forces are committed to clear the areas under the Taliban control.”

Iraq

Ara News: ISIS Publicly Executes Iraqi Journalist In Mosul
“Extremists of the Islamic State (ISIS) executed on Tuesday an Iraqi journalist in Mosul city of the northwestern Nineveh province.  Wathiq Abdulwahab, reporter of the local Hadbaa newspaper, was publicly executed by firing squad at the hands of ISIS militants. ‘The journalist was arrested earlier on Monday by the ISIS-led Islamic Police in Sukkar neighborhood of Mosul after taking pictures for an ISIS detention center,’ a local media activist told ARA News, speaking on condition of anonymity.”

Egypt

Middle East Eye: Egypt Enlists British Consultancy Firm To Improve Airport Security
“A British security consultancy has signed an agreement with Egyptian authorities to address security deficiencies at Egypt's international airports, as the country tries to restore its status as a popular tourism destination following a bombing aboard a Russian jet last October.  The deal between Control Risks Group and the Egyptian airports holding company was announced as Egypt's tourism sector reels from a series of disasters, including the 24 October explosion aboard a Russian airbus, and the subsequent cancellation of flights to Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh resort by Russia and the UK. The initiative will attempt to restore Egypt's tattered reputation among international visitors, after US, Russian and British authorities all concluded that a bomb on the plane had caused the explosion that killed all 224 people on board and that passengers at the airport were able to pay bribes to bypass luggage security checks.”

Middle East

Bloomberg: Forces Boosted On Israel-Egypt Border Over Islamic State Threat
“Israel and Egypt have bolstered military forces on either side of their desert frontier in response to increased attacks by an Islamic State-allied extremist group in Egypt’s Sinai and threats that violence may spill over the border, according to the Israeli army. The two countries strengthened military coordination, stationed tanks closer to the border and fortified positions with better fencing, cameras and sensors, an Israeli officer said, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly. The military build-up has been in progress since a 2011 cross-border attack from Sinai near the southern resort town of Eilat that killed eight Israelis. A year later, Sinai militants killed 16 Egyptian soldiers and stole two armored cars that they used to crash through the border gate with Israel at the southern end of the Gaza Strip.”
Arutz Sheva: Jewish Man Seriously Wounded In New York Stabbing
“A Jewish man was stabbed in the back in an apparently unprovoked attack in New York's Crown Heights neighborhood on Wednesday morning. The victim is in his 30s, and suffered from stab wounds to his upper back. The New York Police Department say they are searching for a black male who fled the scene immediately after the attack. Investigators now believe the incident was a hate crime.”
RT: Israeli PM Netanyahu Wants Whole Country Surrounded With Fence To Protect It From ‘Predators’
“Israeli Prime Minister has announced that he wants to surround the whole of Israel with a fence to protect the Jewish state from Palestinians and citizens from neighboring Arab states, whom he called ‘predators.’ Netanyahu announced his plan during a tour of a newly-completed security fence along the border with Jordan near the Red Sea port of Eilat in southern Israel. The project was described by the Israeli PM as a ‘multi-year plan to surround Israel with security fences to protect ourselves in the current and projected Middle East,’ which will cost billions of shekels, The Times of Israel reports. The Prime Minister also said that fences are especially effective along Israel’s desert borders, such as the one with Egyptian.”

Libya

Star Africa: At Least 50 Killed In Armed Clashes In Libya’s Southern City Of Al Kufra
“Armed clashes in Libya’s southeastern city of Al Kufra on Tuesday resulted in the deaths of at least 50 people and injury to more than 15 others, a member of the parallel General National Congress representing the city of Al Kufra, Sanussi Al Gummi said here. Al Gummi added that the clashes broke out during the last three days between army units and gangs of rebels coming from Chad and Sudan who stationed themselves in some locations in Al Kufra, cut off the roads to pedestrians, terrorized and killed some people in the process.”

Nigeria

AFP: At Least Six Dead In Cameroon Double Suicide Attack: Security Sources
“At least six civilians were killed and over 30 injured Wednesday in a double suicide attack in Cameroon’s northern border region with Nigeria, which is regularly attacked by Boko Haram fighters, security sources said. The attackers, who were also killed, were both female, said a source. ‘Six civilians were killed as well as two suicide bombers who blew themselves up’ during a funeral wake in the village of Nguetchewe, a source told AFP, adding that between 30-50 people were injured.”

United Kingdom

BBC: Terror Trial: Men Who Helped Teen Go To Syria Jailed
“Three men who helped a Cardiff teenager travel to Syria to fight with Islamic extremists have been jailed. Kristen Brekke, 20, from Cardiff, Forhad Rahman, from Gloucestershire, and Adeel Ulhaq, from Nottinghamshire, were found guilty of helping in the preparation of an act of terrorism. Rahman and Ulhaq, both 21, were each sentenced to five years, while Brekke was given four years and six months. Ulhaq was also sentenced to an additional year for funding terrorism. The Old Bailey heard they helped Aseel Muthana, 19, join so-called Islamic State in February 2014 and that they all shared the same ‘highly-radical ideology’.”

Technology

The Guardian: ‘I Am A Radicalised Goat Hell-Bent On Jihad’ – The FBI’s New Anti-Isis Video Game
“I’m a susceptible goat speeding down the path to Islamic extremism, but first I must negotiate the green-and-grey blocks of infidel propaganda. No, wait; I’m a radicalised goat, hell-bent on jihad, but my extremist beliefs are threatened by green-and-grey blocks of debate. Or could it be that I’m trying to master the FBI’s virtually unplayable – it’s almost as infuriating as Flappy Bird – new online anti-extremism game, which involves manoeuvring a wayward goat through a sub-Minecraft-style obstacle course whose metaphorical intent is all but unfathomable? The game, entitled Slippery Slope, is supposed to educate impressionable kids on ‘the distorted logic of blame that can lead a person into violent extremism’, but it’s also indicative of how clueless governments can be when it comes to reaching out to the kids. Slippery Slope is part of an online initiative launched by the FBI called Don’t Be a Puppet: Pull Back the Curtain on Violent Extremism, which uses games and quizzes to inform young people about radicalisation.”

Arabic Language Clips

Combating Terrorism Financing

Al-Rai: (Governor Ziad) Fariz: (Jordan) Central (Bank) Maintains Its Readiness To Prevent The Financing Of Terrorism
Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) Governor Ziad Fariz stated that the Bank maintains a permanent state of readiness, together with the Jordanian banking system, to prevent money laundering or terrorist financing operations. Fariz made these remarks during his opening speech in a forum on how to dry up the sources of terrorist financing, which kicked off yesterday in the Jordanian capital of Amman. He stressed that over the past year the CBJ has adopted various measures in the fight against terrorist financing and money laundering. Fariz noted that countries in the region are continuing their concerted efforts to combat terror financing, emphasizing the importance of partnerships between the public and private sectors in combating the phenomenon.

ISIS

Egypt 24: Egypt Stresses The Need To Confront ISIS In Libya And Stop The Financing Of Terrorism
Egypt's Permanent Delegate to the United Nations, Amr Abul Atta, participated on Wednesday in the UN Security Council meeting in New York. During the session, Jeffrey Feltman, US Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, presented the Secretary-General's report on the threat posed by ISIS. Ambassador Abul Atta underscored the importance that the report, which is presented every four months, should include more details and specific information, mainly recommendations on how to deal with the growing threat of ISIS in Libya. Abul Atta underlined the need for coordination between the various committees and relevant bodies of the United Nations with the Security Council on how to deal with ISIS, wherever it exists, particularly in Libya. He asserted that it is imperative to work relentlessly to prevent the passage of foreign terrorists to Syria via Turkey.

Muslim Brotherhood

Erem News: Egypt ... Drying Up The Dollar Sources Under The Auspices Of Brotherhood Is Straining The Egyptian Economy
Informed sources have disclosed that members of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt are currently carrying out instructions of the international arm of the Muslim Brotherhood. These instructions aim to dry up the sources of dollars coming into Egypt from a large number of countries. The dollars are ordinarily pumped into the country by Egyptians working abroad. Sources operating in foreign countries claim that unknown groups that exchange currency for Egyptians abroad have begun converting US dollar-salaries of Egyptian expatriates into Egyptian pounds. Hence, their relatives in Egypt receive the remittances in Egyptian pounds instead of US currency.
The Seventh Day: Brotherhood Exploits The Doctors' Union Crisis For Inciting Against The (Egyptian) State And Parliament
The Muslim Brotherhood is using the Egyptian doctors' crisis with the police to incite their Union towards escalating its measures, including wildcat strikes and refusal to open the hospitals. Islamist experts claim that this is yet another example of how the Brotherhood group is seeking to instigate crises and exploit any internal problem that occurs to incite trade unions against the state. Ahmed Rami, Spokesman of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, urged doctors to declare a strike. He claimed that striking is the right of doctors, guaranteed by international norms. To justify his claim, he mentioned the doctors' strike in France a few years ago. Rami added that the aim of the strike is to create proper conditions to practice the profession and provide high-quality service to the citizens.
Alsahm News: Training Camp For Brotherhood (Militants) Uncovered In Aswan
Security forces affiliated with the Egyptian Interior Ministry, in conjunction with security personnel of Aswan and the Gaza National Security Directorate, unearthed a training camp of Muslim Brotherhood extremists in the desert areas of Aswan, after receiving an anonymous tip. The training there focused on using different types of arms for carrying out terrorist attacks in the desert area between Aswan and Sudan and assassinations of public figures in Cairo and Giza. Security forces detained several Brotherhood militants incriminated in being involved in the camp.

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