Eye on Extremism - May 18, 2016

Eye on Extremism May 18, 2016 The New York Times: Baghdad Attacks By ISIS Point To Trouble For Group, But Not Imminent Defeat “Another day brought another horrible set of headlines out of Baghdad: On Tuesday, four bombings, one after another, killed dozens of people and left streaks of blood and strewn body parts across public markets. As familiar as the last week of violence in Baghdad — more than 200 killed since last Wednesday — might seem to those who have watched Iraq over the years, this is not business as usual here. The American history in Iraq tells us that successful bombings in Baghdad are not to be taken lightly. The official talking points say the new wave of bombings is a sign that the Islamic State is losing. The terrorists are lashing out in Baghdad because they are abandoning territory to pro-Iraqi ground forces and American-led airstrikes. They’re ‘on the defensive,’ as Brett McGurk, President Obama’s special envoy here, said recently.” Daily Beast: This City Could Be The Next Big Battle Of The ISIS War “The Iraqi government is putting the ISIS-controlled city of Fallujah as next on its target list. That’s not because of increasingly dire reports that the citizens of Fallujah are suffering from starvation and torture under ISIS’s cruel grip. Nor do Iraqi officials see the city as key to dislodging ISIS from its Iraqi stronghold, Mosul.” Reuters: Iraq's Shi'ite Rivalries Risk Turning Violent, Weakening War On Islamic State “A power struggle within Iraq's Shi'ite Muslim majority has intensified as attempts to form a new government flounder, threatening to turn violent and ruin U.S.-led efforts to defeat Islamic State. For the first time since the U.S. withdrawal at the end of 2011, Shi'ite factions came close to taking arms against each another last month, when followers of powerful cleric Moqtada al-Sadr stormed the parliament in Baghdad's Green Zone. Rival Shi'ite militiamen took up positions nearby, raising the specter of intra-Shi'ite fighting similar to events in the southern city of Basra in 2008, in which hundreds of people were killed. Trucks carrying those militiamen, armed with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, patrolled the capital in clear view of the security forces, video published on the website of Iranian-backed group Saraya al-Khorasani showed.” Newsweek: ISIS Executes Dozens In Libya For Sorcery And Blasphemy “The Islamic State militant group (ISIS) has executed dozens of opponents in its North African stronghold in the last year as it continues to impose its brutal regime on the local population, an international human rights group said in a new report on Wednesday. Human Rights Watch, in a new report entitled “Life Under ISIS in Sirte” based on interviews with 45 residents of the city, details the “scenes of horror” retold by witnesses who lived under the radical Islamist group in the central coastal Libyan city.” The New York Times: In Syria Talks, U.S. And Russia Propose Airdrops If Assad Forces Block Aid “Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergey V. Lavrov, said on Tuesday that if President Bashar al-Assad of Syria continues to block access of humanitarian aid to besieged cities and towns, they were prepared to help the World Food Program airdrop food and emergency supplies. The very fact that they had to threaten the airdrops — which are expensive and often inaccurate — amounted to an admission of how little progress has been made in achieving either the lasting cease-fire or the regular humanitarian relief that European and Arab nations, along with Iran, laid out as the first steps toward a broader peace agreement. The threat to conduct airdrops came after a meeting in Vienna of the International Syria Support Group, made up of the nations that drafted a largely unimplemented plan to end the country’s civil war.” The Washington Post: Who In Libya Will The U.S. Send Weapons To? It’s Complicated, Says A Top General. “The top U.S. general overseeing American military operations in Africa said Tuesday that while Washington is considering sending weapons to Libya to fight the Islamic State, doing so will require taking cues from a fledgling unity government that is still struggling to establish support at home. Army Gen. David M. Rodriguez, the chief of U.S. Africa Command, told a handful of reporters here that Libya’s internal politics still make it difficult to determine which armed groups are aligning themselves with the Government of National Accord, an interim group that has backing from the United Nations. The militias would be called on to play a key role in stopping the spread of the Islamic State, which took hold in Libya in November 2014.” BBC: Yemen Conflict: Houthis 'Carry Out Wave Of Detentions' “Houthi rebels in Yemen have carried out a wave of arrests of their opponents, seizing them at gunpoint and torturing some, Amnesty International says. An examination of 60 cases revealed a pattern of arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances, according to a new report by the human rights group. Politicians, journalists, academics and activists have been among those held. The Houthis, who control the capital Sanaa, are waging a war against Yemen's government and a Saudi-led coalition. At least 6,200 people, half of them civilians, have been killed and almost three million others have been displaced since March 2015. The conflict has also pushed the Arab world's poorest country to the brink of famine and left 82% of the population in need of humanitarian assistance.” Voice Of America: Hamas Digs Deeper To Build Intricate Cross-Border Tunnels “A Palestinian boy the Israelis caught near the Gaza border last month turned out to be a treasure trove of deep intelligence about Hamas tunnels into Israel. The boy, whom the Israel Security Agency identified only as a minor from Jabaliya, in the northern Gaza Strip, joined Hamas’ armed forces several years ago.  His instructors prepared him for offensive operations ‘as part of a concept that the next combat would be on Israeli territory,’ Israel’s security agency reported. Some tunnels Hamas has been digging are supposed to penetrate Israel deep under the fences that surround the Gaza Strip.  The boy knew the routes of tunnels that Hamas’ elite units were to use and the location of numerous tunnel shafts.  The digging was so secret that workers were instructed to wash up and change their dusty clothes before leaving the tunnels. But earlier this month the boy's revelations may have led to one of the most serious confrontations between Hamas and Israel since 2014.” NBC News: Kids Will 'Torture And Kill For ISIS,' German Intel Chief Warns “Teenagers are being turned into ‘weapons’ by ISIS, triggering fears that they could slip back to the West to launch attacks. The head of the Germany's domestic intelligence service said authorities there had identified children aged as young as 13 who have left for ISIS territory or who are ‘prepared to stage attacks’ in the country. Some have been brought to Iraq and Syria by their parents where they have been brainwashed while others are being radicalized online, Hans-Georg Maassen told NBC News. In February, a 15-year-old Muslim girl was arrested for attacking a German police officer with a knife at Hanover train station. She had been indoctrinated by ISIS' online propaganda. However, security officials in Germany are limited in their actions against minors. The legal system prohibits surveillance of people aged under 16 and children are held ‘non-accountable’ until the age of 14.” CNBC: Jihadist Website With Beheadings Profited From Google Ad Platform “An Islamist extremist accused of funding the 2009 Jakarta suicide bombings has been selling advertising space on his website to international brands including Citigroup, IBM and Microsoft using a service provided by Google. Muhammad Jibril Abdul Rahman, known as Prince of Jihad, is designated as a terrorist on the sanctions lists of the US, the EU and the UN — and subject to an asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo. He is a prominent member of Jemaah Islamiyah, a militant Islamist group based in Southeast Asia with ties to al-Qaeda. But his Jihadi propaganda website, Arrahmah.com, has been making thousands of dollars by showing its visitors adverts from global companies.” United States Fox News: US, Germany To Sign Agreement Aimed At Aiding Info Sharing For Counter-Terror Efforts “Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced Tuesday the United States and Germany will sign an agreement aimed at enhancing information sharing between the two countries. The agreement, a Homeland Security Presidential Directive 6 – or HSPD-6 – is a joint effort by the Obama Administration and Berlin to step up international counterterrorism efforts. Johnson made the announcement alongside German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière at a press conference in Washington, DC. De Maizière will sign the HSPD-6 Wednesday morning with Attorney General Loretta Lynch at the Justice Department. The agreement is a direct result of the continued heightened terrorism threat environment posed by groups like ISIS and follows highly sophisticated terrorist attacks in Brussels and Paris.” The New York Times: Senate Passes Bill Exposing Saudi Arabia To 9/11 Legal Claims “A bill that would let the families of those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks sue Saudi Arabia for any role in the terrorist plot passed the Senate unanimously on Tuesday, bringing Congress closer to a showdown with the White House, which has threatened to veto the legislation. The Senate’s passage of the bill, which will now be taken up in the House, is another sign of escalating tensions in a relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia that once received little scrutiny from lawmakers. Obama administration officials have lobbied against the bill, a view that the White House spokesman Josh Earnest reiterated after the vote. And the Saudi government has warned that if the legislation passes, it might begin selling off up to $750 billion in Treasury securities and other assets in the United States before they face a danger of being frozen by American courts.” Syria Associated Press: Russia Builds Military Camp Near Ancient Site In Palmyra “Russia has built a military encampment inside a zone that holds the UNESCO world heritage site in the ancient Syrian town of Palmyra, where Islamic State militants were driven out recently by pro-government forces. The Russian military described the camp Tuesday as ‘temporary,’ saying its few housing units were being used by explosives experts who are removing mines left behind by the militants, and that the Syrian government had given approval to build the camp. The head of Syria's Antiquities and Museums department, who noted the town's priceless antiquities are safer thanks to the Russian presence, nonetheless said he would not have granted Russia permission to build the camp if he had been asked. A UNESCO official said it was unclear whether the encampment was in a buffer zone to the archaeological site, but said it does not pose a threat to the historic area.” USA Today: ISIL Loses 45% Of Territory In Iraq, 20% In Syria “The Islamic State has lost 45% of the territory it once held in Iraq and 20% of areas it controlled in Syria, according to new estimates by a U.S.-led coalition combating the extremist group. Those slow but steady battlefield losses in Iraq are prompting the Islamic State to strike back against civilians with terrorist bombings, the latest killing dozens in Baghdad on Tuesday. The territory seized by Iraqi forces, aided by coalition airstrikes and advisers, is up from 40% announced earlier this year, according to the latest estimates. The percentages are based on areas the militants controlled at their peak strength after they swept into Iraq in 2014.” The Wall Street Journal: World Powers Urge Warring Syria Parties To Revive Cease-Fire “The U.S. and Russia on Tuesday remained at odds over the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, as world and regional powers conducted talks aimed at reviving a tattered cease-fire in the war-torn country. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov chaired a one-day meeting of foreign ministers and other senior officials from more than 20 countries and organizations that make up the International Syria Support Group. In a joint statement at the end of the meeting, ministers appealed to all warring parties to refrain from cease-fire violations, or else face expulsion from the truce and the protections it offers. Ministers also said the United Nations should organize airdrops if humanitarian-aid convoys aren’t allowed in besieged areas by June 1.” Iraq CNN: At Least 46 Dead In Latest Iraq Violence “Explosions ripped through three Baghdad neighborhoods on Tuesday, killing at least 46 people. ISIS claimed responsibility for one of the attacks. The deadliest incident occurred in Baghdad's Sadr City, where a car bomb exploded, killing at least 24 people and wounding 71 others, according to security officials. A bomb squad deactivated another bomb in a booby-trapped car in the same area, Iraqi television reported. Two more explosions occurred in the al-Shaab neighborhood in northern Baghdad, killing at least 19 and wounding 44. A female suicide bomber may have been responsible for one of the blasts, the Interior Ministry said.” Turkey Reuters: Turkey Identifies 13 More Dead From Bomb Blast In Kurdish Village, Clashes Flare “Turkish authorities have identified the remains of 13 people from two families killed after a truck carrying more than 15 tonnes of explosives blew up last week in a village in the country's mainly Kurdish southeast. That raised the death toll to 16 from the May 12 blast in Sarikamis outside the city of Diyarbakir. Violence has gripped the region since a conflict between Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants and state security forces reignited last year. Clashes between the PKK and military flared elsewhere with 26 militants killed around the southeast, the military said, and seven members of the security forces wounded in the town of Nusaybin at the Syrian border, security sources said. Turkish jets on Monday also bombed PKK targets in the mountains of northern Iraq, where the group is based, the military said in a statement.” Reuters: Turkish Police Warn Of Possible Islamic State Attacks – Media “Turkish police have issued a nationwide warning about possible Islamic State attacks on Thursday's national holiday, state media said, with military facilities seen as targets after the army stepped up attacks on the militants in Syria. Both Islamic State (IS) and Kurdish militants have staged bomb attacks in Turkey in recent months, fuelling concern about the spillover of conflict from its southern neighbour. Turkish and U.S.-led coalition forces have killed dozens of IS fighters in shelling and air strikes in northern Syria after months of rocket fire from IS-controlled territory targeted a Turkish border town, killing 21 people. The police warning, issued to all 81 provincial police forces, said Islamic State ‘viewed Turkish soldiers and police as infidels and fighting and killing them as permissibl’", state-run Anadolu Agency reported.” Reuters: Turkey To Take Action On Syria Border If It Receives No Help: Erdogan “Turkey will act alone to deal with attacks on the town of Kilis near the Syrian border if it receives no outside help, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday, in a sign of Ankara's growing frustration with rocket fire from Islamic State-held territory. ‘We will overcome the Islamic State. We will solve that issue ourselves if we don't receive help to prevent those rockets from hitting Kilis,’ Erdogan told a meeting in Istanbul in comments broadcast live on television. Kilis has come under frequent rocket fire from an Islamic State-controlled area of Syria for months, leaving 21 people dead and some buildings destroyed. Turkish and U.S.-led coalition forces have responded with shelling and air strikes, killing dozens of militants in northern Syria.” Yemen Associated Press: The 'Untouchables' Of Yemen Caught In Crossfire Of War “They are Yemen's untouchables. They call themselves the ‘Muhammasheen,’ or ‘the Marginalized,’  a dark-skinned ethnic group that for centuries has been consigned to the bottom of Yemen's social scale, faced with discrimination and racism, shunned by others. They live in shantytowns on the outskirts of cities, are often refused schooling and work menial jobs like shoe-shining or street cleaning or turn to begging. Other Yemenis have traditionally called them the ‘Akhdam,’ or ‘servants.’ In a country where belonging to a tribe is vital to guaranteeing protection, status and livelihood, their community - which some estimates say numbers nearly 3 million people - is without a tribe and ignored by the government. As a result, they have been hit particularly hard in Yemen's civil war that is pitting the government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, against Shiite rebels known as Houthis and forces loyal to Yemen's ousted president.” Reuters: Yemeni Government Suspends Participation In Peace Talks, Demands Guarantees “The Yemeni government on Tuesday suspended its participation in U.N.-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait and said it would only return if its opponents, the Houthis, committed to withdraw from cities they have seized since 2014 and hand over weapons. A wide gap still separates the Iran-allied Houthis and the Western-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after nearly a month of peace talks in Kuwait intended to end a year of war that has killed more than 6,200 people, half of them civilians. The talks center on government demands for the Houthis to hand over their weapons and quit cities captured since 2014 and the formation of a new government that would include the Houthis. The Saudi-backed Hadi government is currently based in the southern Yemeni port of Aden while the Houthis retain control of the capital Sanaa.” Middle East The Wall Street Journal: The Anti-Israel Poisoning Starts Young “My father, Richard Lakin, a 76-year-old retired elementary-school principal from Connecticut, was on a bus in Jerusalem last October when two young Palestinian men boarded and began shooting and stabbing passengers indiscriminately. Over the past seven months I’ve spent a lot of time trying to understand what would cause two educated Palestinian men in their early 20s to board a public bus and butcher a group of innocent civilians, many of them senior citizens. I’m sorry to report that the Palestinian reaction to the attack has led me to believe that the ‘peace process’ is more one-sided than ever.As long as Palestinian leaders nurture a culture of hate, encouraging school children to go out and kill, more violence is inevitable. By encouraging hatred, they distance all of us from the love and belief in peaceful coexistence for which my father stood.” Haaretz: Suspected Mastermind Of Jewish Terrorism To Be Released From Israeli Jail “The Shin Bet security service's number one Jewish suspect of terrorism will be released from administrative detention later this month, state prosecutors said Tuesday. According to the prosecutors, the Shin Bet security service will not ask to extend the administrative detention order against Meir Ettinger when it expires at the end of May. Ettinger,the grandson of the slain far-right activist Meir Kahane, was detained following the murder of the Dawabsheh family in the West Bank village of Duma last July, and was placed in administrative detention for six months. His detention was later extended by a further four months.” Libya Associated Press: Militias Fight Is In Libya “A Libyan militia spokesman says militias from the western city of Misrata are battling Islamic State militants and have seized vital checkpoints after a brief takeover by the IS. Mohammed Shamia told The Associated Press Tuesday that the Misrata forces captured three areas south of Misrata including Abu Grain. He said warplanes have bombed IS forces withdrawing from their positions. Shamia said six Misrata militia fighters were killed and 17 injured. Clashes are ongoing, nearly 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Sirte, the IS stronghold in Libya. The fighting comes two weeks after IS took over the three areas in surprise attacks. It also comes a day after the United States and other world powers said they would supply Libya's internationally recognized government with weapons to counter the Islamic State group.” Nigeria Africa News: Boko Haram Damage In Nigeria Estimated At $9bn “Boko Haram’s seven year insurgency has caused $9 billion of damage in six northern Nigerian states since 2011, according to the office of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. Earlier in March, a report by the world bank estimated the jihadists had caused $5.9 billion worth of damages in Borno state in northeast Nigeria. The report reveals the extent of damage caused by the Islamist rebellion that began in 2009 controlling a large territory in the northeast for sometime. The human damage is also considerable with the militants estimated to have killed at least 20,000 people and displaced up to 2.3 million others in northeastern Nigeria as part of their campaign to establish Sharia law in Africa’s largest economy. Authorities in Yobe – one of the states that has borne the brunt of the militants – put the number of internally displaced persons at more than 300,000 and said most of them are living in atrocious conditions in Internally Displaced persons (IDP) camps.” United Kingdom Daily Mail: 'I Miss My Friends, Family And Greggs': British Jihadi Who Fled To Syria “A British jihadi who fled the country to become a fighter in Syria has revealed how he was compelled to go there to avenge the killing of children but misses home comforts such as the bakery Greggs. The fighter, who is only known as Abu Abdullah Britani, gave an interview for an online news organisation who grilled him on why he would swap a relatively comfortable life in the UK for the battlefield in northern Syria. He also adds that he was compelled to travel to Syria to avenge the 'rape of sisters, and the killing of children' even though he admitted it was bloodthirsty.  Britain also revealed that he had been wounded in battle but often found that the Syrian army fled the field before the jihadis had reached their positions.” Business Standard: UK Police Make Arrests In Anti-Terror Raids “Four men were arrested today in raids across the UK for their alleged involvement in terror-related activities, including conspiracy to fund terrorism. Two men, both aged 24, suspected of funding terrorism were arrested by detectives from the Metropolitan Police Service's Counter Terrorism Command (SO15). A third man, aged 25, was arrested a short time later, at another south London address, on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class B drugs (believed cannabis).  All three men are currently in custody at south London police stations.  Officers are continuing their search of the addresses, as well as searching a further two residential addresses in the same south London area. Meanwhile, in a separate operation, officers in Birmingham held a 21-year-old man at a property in the Handsworth area on suspicion of preparing to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group.” The Guardian: Rural Police Would Be 'Sitting Ducks' In Terrorist Attacks “Police in rural areas fear they could be ‘sitting ducks’ during a terrorist attack, a Police Federation chairman has said. Officers in isolated areas, where potential terrorist targets such as power plants are located, could be left ‘unarmed and vulnerable’ as they wait for armed officers to arrive, John Apter, the head of the Hampshire branch, said. His comments come after the country’s top firearms officer and a deputy chief constable, Simon Chesterman, said forces were struggling to recruit enough officers willing to carry a gun because they feared being treated as criminal suspects if they used their weapon in the line of duty.” Europe Newsweek: Belgium Shelved Investigation Into Abdeslam Brothers Before Paris Attacks “Belgian authorities initiated an investigation into the brothers at the center of November’s Paris attacks that left 130 people dead months beforehand, but did not conclude it as they did not have the required manpower, Belgian media reported on Monday. According to Belgian broadcaster RTBF, Belgian police received information about contact made between Salah Abdeslam, the lone surviving suspect from the Paris attacks, his brother Brahim Abdeslam, a suicide bomber in the attacks, and the jihadi who authorities believe directed the Paris attackers, Abdelhamid Abaaoud. French security forces later killed Abaaoud in a raid on an apartment in the northern Parisian district of Saint-Denis.” Telegraph: Terrorists Profiting From People Smuggling To Fund Attacks, Police Fear “Terrorists are exploiting Europe’s  £4 billion a year people smuggling underworld to fund atrocities, international police agencies fear. Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (Isil) and other fanatics are not only using the networks to slip jihadists in to Europe to launch attacks but are also making money from them to fund attacks. The warning came in a joint  report from Interpol and Europol on the state of people smuggling on the continent. It said more than one million illegal migrants arrived in EU countries last year and a further 800,000 have massed in Libya waiting for a chance to cross. Nine in ten used people smuggling gangs and some of those based in Calais turn to the networks for help in trying to get to the UK, it warned.” International Business Times: Europe’s Counterterrorism Approach Struggles As Islamic State Militants Continue To Cross Borders “Officials in countries throughout Europe are worried about an impending attack as fighters with the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS, continue to enter the European Union through porous borders with Turkey. The Turkish government has cracked down on militants traveling through major border crossings, but many have utilized the network of illegal smuggling routes to cross into Europe. Three bombs have detonated in Turkey this year alone, and in 2015, more than 150 people were killed in terrorist attacks in Western Europe. Although the threat by ISIS is regional, the EU has yet to implement an integrated, coordinated regional-response plan. Less-affluent countries don’t have the resources to identify, track and follow militants over a long period of time, analysts say. Countries such as France and the U.K. are devoting millions of dollars to build up their counterterrorism infrastructure, but smaller, poorer countries are still struggling to identify suspected militants.” Australia Deutsche Welle: Teen Detained In Alleged Sydney Terrorist Plot “Australian officials announced on Tuesday that they had apprehended an 18-year-old in Melbourne over an allegedly ‘imminent’ terror plot. According to police, the arrest occurred as officers were raiding properties in a separate anti-terrorism operation. Federal police said that the suspect had been investigating possible attack targets in Sydney. He had also been trying to acquire a firearm, they added. The young man had been on the police watch list since February, Attorney General George Brandis told the press. At that time, he was stopped in Sydney airport with a cancelled passport as he attempted to travel to Syria to join a jihadist group.” Arabic Language Clips Financing of Terrorism Monte Carlo International: Europol Uncovers The Relationship Between Terrorists And The Networks Of Immigration To Infiltrate Europe The wave of immigrants still haunts international entities amid mounting fears of possible exploitation by extremists or terrorist groups exploiting the illegal immigration networks to enter Europe or fund their activities there. A security report indicated the existence of "links revealed by European police (Europol) and the international police (Interpol) between terrorism and clandestine immigration networks, which refer mainly to the exploitation of logistical means to support terrorism-related activities." The report, which dealt with networks of clandestine immigration into Europe, asserts that they have become a source of enormous profits for organized crime rings, which last year succeeded in collecting nearly $6 billion. Last year, more than one million people entered Europe. Estimates suggest that two immigrants who participated in the Paris attacks paid between $3,200 and $6,500 to facilitate their journey, the report claimed. ISIS New Sabah: Dispute Within ISIS In Nineveh And Mutual Accusations Of Cowardice, Treason And Money Theft Rifts resurfaced among prominent leaders of the ISIS terrorist organization in areas under its control in the Nineveh province. At the center of the current disputes are accusations of treason, cowardice and theft. This is while leaders of the organization have extended their control of local markets and significantly raised product prices. A reliable Iraqi security source in Nineveh province noted that "the disputes between the leaders of the organization reached their peak in the western region of the Nineveh province, where leaders from al-Iyadiya district (70 km west of Mosul, dominated by the Turkmen minority) and leaders from the town of Tal Afar (56 km to the west of Mosul) exchanged various accusations. It started after the disappearance a few days ago of relatives of al-Iyadiya leaders, who were in possession of vast sums of money." Muslim Brotherhood The Seventh Day: (Egyptian) Government To Re-Appeal Ruling To Invalidate Seizure Of Funds Owned By (Brotherhood-Affiliated) Seoudi Supermarkets Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court at the State Council, headed by Judge Abdel Fattah Abu El-Leil, decided to allow the renewed appeal submitted by the government to cancel a previous ruling invalidating the seizure of funds owned by United Grocers Company, which operates the Seoudi Supermarket Chain. The appeal will be heard on August 1st. Earlier, the State Commissioners Authority at the Supreme Administrative Court recommended the invalidation of the decision by the Brotherhood Asset Freeze Committee to appropriate the funds of Seoudi. It also rejected the government's appeal to abolish the ruling to invalidate the seizure of its assets. The original decision to seize Seoudi's funds was based on investigations carried out by security agencies, which indicated that the owner, Abderlrahman Al-Seoudi, has ties to the Brotherhood. Veto: (Egyptian) Administrative Court Decides To Cancel Seizure Of Funds Owned By (Brotherhood-Affiliated) Pakinam El-Sharqawi The First Circuit of the Egyptian Court of Administrative Justice, headed by Councilor Yehia Dakruri, Deputy Chairman of the State Council Club, ruled favorably, on Tuesday, in the lawsuit submitted by Dr. Pakinam el-Sharqawi, the former assistant of President Morsi for political affairs. She demanded the annulment of the earlier decision to seize her funds. The lawsuit claimed that she was surprised by the decision to confiscate her funds for allegedly belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood. She stressed that the decision ran contrary to the Egyptian Constitution and the law because it constitutes an assault on private property. Elnada News: Bill (In Egypt) For Reversion Of Seized Brotherhood Funds To The State Abd Almnem Alolimy, an Egyptian Parliament member from Tanta city, announced that he had put an urgent draft bill on the agenda calling to delegate Brotherhood funds to the State. This bill, dealing with the bank deposits owned by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, is based on permanent and final rulings issued by the State. It also calls for the dogged pursuit of their monetary holdings in Egyptian banks and abroad. The value of these deposits is estimated at 2 billion Egyptian pounds ($227 million). Alolimy noted that the money should be used, first and foremost, as compensation for the families of victims of acts of violence and terrorism in Cairo and other provinces, particularly the Sinai Peninsula.