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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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