Eye on Extremism - July 19, 2016

Eye on Extremism July 19, 2016 Counter Extremism Project The New York Times: German Police Kill Assailant After Ax Attack Aboard A Train “A 17-year-old Afghan youth who came to Germany as a migrant last year attacked several passengers with an ax and a knife on a train in the south of the country late on Monday, injuring at least four people, while 14 others were treated for shock, the police said. After the train made an emergency stop, the attacker fled and was pursued by police officers, who fatally shot him, according to the interior minister of the state of Bavaria, Joachim Herrmann. The motive for the attack remained unclear. The young man had entered Germany without his parents and applied for asylum, Mr. Herrmann said. According to government figures, more than 14,400 unaccompanied minors arrived last year among the more than one million migrants who entered the country.” Reuters: Islamic State Flag Found In Room Of German Train Attacker “A hand-drawn Islamic State flag was found in the room of the axe-wielding Afghan refugee who attacked passengers on a train in southern Germany, a senior state official said on Tuesday. The 17-year-old severely wounded four passengers before police shot him dead late on Monday, days after a Tunisian delivery man plowed a 19-tonne truck into crowds of revelers in the southern French city of Nice, killing 84. The case is likely to deepen worries about so-called ‘lone wolf’ attacks in Europe and could put political pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who welcomed hundreds of thousands of migrants to Germany over the past year. Bavarian state Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said it was still too early to say whether the Afghan youth was a member of Islamic State, which has claimed responsibility for the French attack, or any other militant group.” Daily Mail: UN Fears IS In Libya Could Relocate From Sirte “UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that Islamic State fighters could set up new cells across Libya and north Africa as they are driven from their stronghold of Sirte. Ban on Monday outlined the threat from foreign terrorist fighters (FTF) in Libya in a confidential report to the Security Council, obtained by AFP. Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government in Tripoli have been battling to take Sirte from IS fighters for the past two months. The coastal city is considered one of IS's most important rear bases outside of Syria and Iraq. There are between 2,000 and 5,000 IS fighters from Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Mali, Morocco and Mauritania deployed in Sirte, Tripoli and Derna, according to the report.” The Guardian: How Isis Has Devised New Ways Of Sowing Savagery In Europe “As its “caliphate” has crumbled, Islamic State has intensified efforts to export the chaos it used to confine to within its borders. The response stems partly from the terror group’s anger that it can no longer hold the territory it seized two years ago. However, even before it lost ground, Isis had begun trying to ignite terror in Europe – a continent that its strategists long ago flagged as the next battlefield in its nihilistic war. Within the group’s upper echelons is a clique that has studied the ways of its enemies, particularly those in western Europe, the US and Australia. The group comprises senior leaders, advised and influenced by foreign ideologues who have joined them from places such as France, Britain and Belgium.” Voice Of America: US Urges Turkey To Respect Rule Of Law As It Probes Coup Attempt “The United States is urging Turkey to exercise restraint and act within the rule of law as it investigates last week’s failed coup, amid conflicting reports about whether a former Air Force commander confessed to being a ringleader of the attempted takeover. The state-run Anadolu news agency reported that 8,777 officers have been suspended and 6,000 members of the judiciary and military have been detained following the attempted coup Friday, sparking concern from world leaders who warn against actions that would damage constitutional order.” Reuters: UN Says Iraq's Battle Of Mosul May Cost $2 Bln In Aid “An expected Iraqi assault on the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul is likely to cause mass civilian casualties and force hundreds of thousands to flee their homes, the United Nations said on Monday. It appealed for funds to deal with the humanitarian crisis, saying it would cost $284 million to prepare the necessary aid and up to $1.8 billion to deal with the aftermath. ‘The impact of the Mosul military campaign on civilians will be devastating,’ the U.N. said in the summary of its Iraq humanitarian response plan. ‘Mass casualties among civilians are likely and families trying to flee areas controlled by ISIL (Islamic State) are expected to be at extreme risk,’ it said. Large-scale displacement of people was expected when Mosul city itself came under attack, it said. Between 1.2 million and 1.5 million people are estimated to live in the city.” Reuters: Afghan Forces See Hopeful Signs As Air Strikes Hit Taliban “A combination of airstrikes and a Taliban apparently still adapting to its new leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada has given a lift to Afghan forces that had braced for heavy fighting at the start of summer. After 15 years of war, nobody believes a lull in fighting seen over the past few weeks is a decisive shift in the conflict. Officials even admit to some surprise at the problems facing the Taliban, which launched its annual spring offensive in April promising major attacks across the country. The insurgents started their spring offensive in April with a major push to take Kunduz, the strategic northern city its fighters briefly seized last year. A bumper opium crop promised to swell the coffers of the insurgents who control much of the trade, allowing them to pay for more fighters and equipment.” Associated Press: French Authorities Paint Complex Picture Of Attacker Authorities investigating the truck driver who killed 84 people in a Bastille Day attack painted a complex picture Monday of a man who did not seem devout but had recently become interested in jihadi violence and researched past attacks in France and the United States, including one on a gay nightclub in Orlando. Paris prosecutor Francois Molins, who oversees terrorism investigations, said by all accounts Mohamed Lahouaiyej Bouhlel drank, ate pork and had an ‘unbridled sex life.’ But his computer and phone showed online searches relating to IS and other jihadi groups. ‘A search of his computer illustrates a clear ... and recent interest in radical jihadism,’ Molins said, adding that Bouhlel had recently grown a beard and told people it was for religious reasons. While officials have said the attack was obviously premeditated, they have not found any evidence that Bouhlel had coordinated with an extremist network.” Associated Press: Palestinian Stabs 2 Israeli Soldiers In West Bank “A Palestinian stabbed two Israeli soldiers in the West Bank on Monday before being shot, the military said. The attacker's condition was not immediately known. Israel's rescue service said the soldiers were lightly wounded. The violence is the latest in a 10-month wave of attacks that has seen Palestinians use knives, cars and guns against Israeli civilians and soldiers. Some 34 Israelis and two visiting Americans have been killed since mid-September. More than 200 Palestinians have been killed, the majority said by Israel to have been attackers. The rest were killed in clashes with Israeli troops. Israel says the violence is fueled by a Palestinian campaign of lies and incitement. The Palestinians say it is the result of frustrations stemming from nearly 50 years of Israeli occupation and a lack of hope for an independent state.” Daily Caller: Hezbollah Drone Breaches Airspace And Israel Couldn’t Shoot It Down “A Hezbollah drone from Syria breached Israeli airspace Sunday, and despite efforts from Israel’s missile defense forces and air force, the drone escaped back across the border. All three of Israel’s attempts to shoot down the unmanned vehicle failed, according to reports from the Jerusalem Post. Israeli Defense Forces launched two ground-based Patriot missiles, but both missed the target. Then, an Israeli fighter jet launched a missile from the air, but that attack also failed and the drone escaped back across the Syrian border. Hezbollah, a Lebanese terrorist organization that has fought for the Syrian government for the past several years, claims the drone made it back across the Syrian border safely.” BBC: Nigeria Boko Haram: Children Starving, Warns Unicef “Almost a quarter of a million children in parts of Nigeria's Borno state formerly controlled by Boko Haram are suffering from severe malnutrition, the UN children's agency says. Tens of thousands will die if treatment does not reach them soon, Unicef warns. In areas where Boko Haram militants had been in control, it found people without water, food or sanitation. Last month, a charity said people fleeing Boko Haram had starved to death. The Islamist group's seven-year rebellion has left 20,000 people dead and more than two million displaced.” United States Associated Press: US Officers Hopeful As Taliban Violence Unexpectedly Slips “After inflicting heavy losses on weakened Afghan security forces a year ago, the Taliban under new leadership have been surprisingly slow to ramp up attacks at the midpoint of the traditional fighting season, senior American military officers said Sunday. In an Associated Press interview, Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he is cautiously encouraged by a relative slackening of the Taliban's aggressive tactics. Citing ‘a lower level of violence from the Taliban than we have seen in the past,’ Dunford was quick to say that while he believes Afghan forces have seized battlefield momentum, there are no assurances that the balance won't shift again.” Bloomberg: U.S. Counting On $2 Billion In Pledges For Iraq At Donor Meeting “The U.S. expects to raise at least $2 billion from governments around the world to help Iraq as it retakes territory from Islamic State militants. Twenty-four countries will take part in a July 20 pledging conference in Washington where financial commitments will be made, with the focus on humanitarian assistance, mine removal and stabilization programs such as jobs, electricity and sanitation, a State Department official who requested anonymity said Monday on a conference call with reporters. The event, which will be attended by Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, is partly a bid to refocus attention on Iraq’s needs after priorities shifted elsewhere in the years since the U.S.-led Iraq war ended. It’s also an effort to rebuild after the Iraqi army pushed Islamic State out of Fallujah and other cities, and prepares for an offensive on the key northern city of Mosul.” Syria Reuters: Civilians Killed By U.S.-Led Coalition Strikes On IS-Held Syrian City - Monitor “At least 20 civilians were killed on Monday in air strikes by U.S.-led coalition planes on the Islamic State-held city of Manbij in northern Syria, near the border with Turkey, a monitoring group said. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the raids hit the northern Hazawneh quarter of the besieged city where U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, are engaged in street fighting with the militants. The monitor said more than 100 civilians had now been killed in U.S.-led raids on the city and its outskirts since the SDF launched a major offensive at the end of May to seize the last territory held by Islamic State on the frontier with Turkey.” Turkey Reuters: At Height Of Turkish Coup Bid, Rebel Jets Had Erdogan's Plane In Their Sights “At the height of the attempt to overthrow Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, the rebel pilots of two F-16 fighter jets had Erdogan's plane in their sights. And yet he was able to fly on. The Turkish leader was returning to Istanbul from a holiday near the coastal resort of Marmaris after a faction in the military launched the coup attempt on Friday night, sealing off a bridge across the Bosphorus, trying to capture Istanbul's main airport and sending tanks to parliament in Ankara. ‘At least two F-16s harassed Erdogan's plane while it was in the air and en route to Istanbul. They locked their radars on his plane and on two other F-16s protecting him,’ a former military officer with knowledge of the events told Reuters.” BBC: Turkey Coup Attempt: Police And Officials Purged “Turkish officials say that nearly 8,000 police officers have been suspended on suspicion of having links to the coup attempt at the weekend. Some 6,000 members of the judiciary and military, including generals, have been detained. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to purge state bodies of the ‘virus’ that had caused the revolt. Mr Erdogan said on Sunday that Turkey would consider reinstating the death penalty - a suggestion that was met with strong opposition from EU leaders. A spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel was similarly clear that such a move would spell an end to Turkey's longstanding, albeit stalled, application for EU membership.” Huffington Post: Turkey’s Coup Is A Nail In The Coffin Of Democracy, Says Top Turkish Novelist “The AKP government sees the coup attempt as a major operation against them. They think there is a sinister organization with connections inside different state apparatuses. That is why thousands and thousands of people in the judiciary and police forces have been sacked, removed, detained. The problem is, while some of these people might sympathize with the putschists, many others are probably completely innocent and had no clue what was happening. And that is very scary. Everyone and everything is lumped together. At times of enormous political turbulence such as this, nuances are easily lost. ‘Are you one of us or are you one of them?’ This is the only question hovering in the air. Who is ‘us’ and who is ‘them’ you cannot even begin to question. We are heading into a Kafkaesque world.” Afghanistan Voice Of America: Taliban Stages Fresh Attacks In Northern Afghanistan “Afghanistan's Taliban launched new assaults in at least two northern provinces near the border with central Asian countries, but government officials have denied insurgent claims of battlefield advances. The deputy governor of northeastern Badakhsan province, Gul Mohammad Baidar, said Monday insurgents mounted a three-pronged attack overnight on the remote Khash district but security forces repulsed it. He told VOA timely deployment of reinforcements from the provincial capital of Faizabad and Kabul enabled security forces to defend the area, killing dozens of assailants in fighting that last several hours. He declined to comment on losses to government forces, saying there were no confirmed figures available immediately.” Reuters: Suspected Islamist Militant Kills Five In Kazakhstan “ A lone gunman with Islamist links killed at least three policemen and two civilians in Kazakhstan's financial capital Almaty on Monday, senior security officials said, the second such attack in less than two months. Police detained the attacker, identified as 26-year-old Ruslan Kulikbayev, in a shootout on a busy central street after he had gone on the rampage, attacking a police station and an office belonging to the KNB security service. Kulikbayev had been imprisoned before for robbery and illegally possessing weapons and had ‘became close to Salafists’ in prison, KNB security service head Vladimir Zhumakanov told a Security Council meeting. Salafists adhere to an ultra-conservative form of Islam. The shootings will stoke fears of a growing Islamist threat to the oil-producing nation of 18 million people. Last month, men the authorities said were Islamic State sympathizers attacked gun stores and a military facility, killing seven.” Yemen Reuters: Suicide Bombers Attack Yemeni Army Checkpoints, Killing 10 “Two suicide bombers tried to ram vehicles laden with explosives through two Yemeni military checkpoints near the government-held port city of Mukalla on Monday, killing at least 10 people, the army and medics said. Al Qaeda's Yemeni branch claimed responsibility for the attacks near the capital of Hadramout province on the Gulf of Aden, the latest in a series of bombings since forces loyal to Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, backed by troops from the United Arab Emirates, drove out the Islamist militants from the city in April. The Yemeni army's Second Military Command, which is based in Mukalla, said militants had used a booby-trapped bus at a checkpoint in al-Burum, southwest of Mukalla, and a booby-trapped car in al-Ghaber, to the west.” Egypt Fox News: One Dead After Muslim Mob Attacks Christian Priests In Egypt, Officials Say “Christians in central Egypt gathered for protests and prayers Monday after officials said a Muslim mob attacked priests with knives and batons over a personal feud, leaving one person dead in the chaos. The fighting may have stemmed from an argument over whether Christian or Muslim children had priority to pass through a street, the English-language site Ahram Online reported. The attack came months after an armed Muslim mob stripped an elderly Christian woman and paraded her naked on the streets while looting and torching seven Christian homes in the same area, security officials said.” United Kingdom Daily Mail: UK Police And Spy Agency Security Measures Reviewed After Nice Attack, Says Rudd “Police and spy agencies in the UK launched a review of security measures in the wake of the Nice attack, the Home Secretary has revealed. Amber Rudd said the threat from international terrorism in Britain remains at ‘severe’ - meaning an attack is seen as ‘highly likely’. She said:  ‘On Friday, following the attack in Nice, the police and the security and intelligence agencies took steps to review our own security measures and ensure that we have robust procedures in place, and I am receiving regular updates.’ All police forces have reviewed upcoming events taking place in their regions to ensure security measures are ‘appropriate and proportionate’, Ms Rudd told the Commons. Eighty-four people were killed when Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel drove a hired lorry through crowds gathered to celebrate Bastille Day on Thursday. Ms Rudd said the UK has ‘considerable experience’ in managing and policing major events.” Germany BBC: Germany Axe Attack: Assault On Train In Wuerzburg “A teenage Afghan refugee armed with an axe and knife injured four people on a train in southern Germany before being shot dead by police, officials say. Three people were seriously hurt and one suffered minor injuries in the attack in Wurzburg, police said. Initial reports said up to 20 people had been injured but it was later revealed that at least 14 had been treated for shock. The motive for the attack is not yet clear. Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said the attacker was a 17-year-old Afghan refugee who had been living in the nearby town of Ochsenfurt. He told public broadcaster ARD that the teenager appeared to have travelled to Germany as an unaccompanied minor.” France The Wall Street Journal: French Airstrikes Hit Islamic State Targets In Iraq, Syria “France carried out airstrikes on Islamic State strongholds over the weekend, a senior French official said Monday, as the country prepares to activate thousands of reservists to guard the homeland in the wake of the deadly truck attack in Nice. The airstrikes hit targets in Iraq and Syria on Saturday and Sunday, as part of the U.S.-led coalition to roll back Islamic State, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Monday, after a defense council meeting with top French officials. French President François Hollande is under increasing pressure at home, being accused by some of not having done enough to prevent the latest in a series of terrorist massacres to strike the country in the past 18 months. On Thursday, 84 people were killed when Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel rammed crowds gathered to watch Bastille Day fireworks along the French Riviera.” Sputnik News: How France May Respond To Nice Terror Attack “In the wake of Thursday night’s deadly truck attack in Nice, Djordje Kuzmanovic, a military expert and the head of defense affairs at the French Left Party, has outlined a list of urgent measures that need to be taken against the scourge of terrorism. In the wake of Thursday night’s deadly truck attack in Nice, Djordje Kuzmanovic, a military expert and the head of defense affairs at the French Left Party, has outlined a list of urgent measures that need to be taken against the scourge of terrorism. He then outlined a list of emergency measures that need to be taken to prevent the loss of national unity and democratic traditions especially in the run-up to next year’s presidential elections.” The New York Times: Attack In Nice Turns Spotlight On City’s Religious Divisions “There is the Nice of popular imagination, the old-world resort dotted with palm trees and cafes that look out on the Mediterranean Sea, suffused with an incandescent light prized for centuries by artists. Then there is the other Nice, one that begins to show its face a few blocks inland from the seaside Promenade des Anglais, the majestic arc of a boulevard where 84 people were killed by a 31-year-old Tunisian immigrant at the wheel of a 19-ton truck. This Nice is home to many Muslim immigrants from North Africa, including a secular middle-class that has lived alongside non-Muslim French, and is also a place that local officials estimate has sent as many as 100 young people to fight in Syria with extremists.” Reuters: Commentary: What France Can Learn From U.S. About Fighting Terrorism “The horrifying truck attack in Nice, France, that killed at least 84 people is the 10th strike in the country since the beginning of 2015. The French government is now considering a complete overhaul of its intelligence agencies to address this persistent threat. A French parliamentary commission released a report last week that recommended the government fuse all its security services into one large ‘national anti-terrorism agency.’ Such an approach would mirror Washington’s National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), a bureaucracy created in the years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The objective was to break down barriers within the U.S. government and pull together all agencies and departments related to terrorism issues. But Paris should try to improve on Washington’s experiences. It certainly needs to avoid making the same mistakes.” RT: 67% Of French Don’t Trust Govt To Tackle Terrorism – Poll “A vast majority of the French do not believe their authorities can deal with the threat of terrorism, a recent poll by Ifop found. Figures show nearly 70 percent of those surveyed after the tragedy in Nice see the government failing to provide security. According to an Ifop (French Institute for Public Opinion) survey conducted for Le Figaro newspaper, while 99 percent of respondents consider the terrorist threat in the country ‘high’ or ‘very high,’ only some 33 percent have confidence that President Francois Hollande and his government are equipped to face and fight terrorism effectively, while 67 percent do not trust the authorities in this matter at all.” CNN: Nice Attack: Ties To ISIS Not Yet Established, Official Says “French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has said that any link between the man who killed 84 people in a brazen attack on Bastille Day in the French Riviera city of Nice and ISIS has ‘yet to be established.’ Cazeneuve told RTL France that while ISIS has claimed responsibility for last week's truck rampage, which he called an attack ‘of a terrorist nature,’ it remained to be seen exactly how the attacker, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, was connected to the Iraq and Syria-based jihadist group. ‘What we want to know now is what were the links between the man who was behind this dreadful attack and the terrorist networks,’ Cazeneuve said.” Europe RT: Illegal Arms Plaguing Europe, Easy For Wannabe Terrorists To Buy Gun – Italian Carabinieri Veteran “Europe, along with the rest of the world, is suffering from a growing threat from terrorism. Citizens are forced to sacrifice their own liberties as governments invest millions in reinforcing security. But the peril of Jihadism is being exploited by organized crime groups, that can’t miss the chance to increase their own power and profits through collaboration with terrorists. Can mafia groups and extremists form a dangerous alliance? How do you fight against this vicious partnership? We ask a member of the Italian Carabinieri who is an expert on mafia-type organizations, organized crime and terrorism, as well as the president of the Geocrime Education Association.” ISIS All4syria: Syria: Militias In As-Suwayda Smuggle Weapons To ISIS “Within less than 24 hours from the time leaders of the Syrian militias in As-Suwayda cut a deal to unite under "The Mountain Factions" banner, armed clashes erupted between them. The reason for the hostilities is linked to the smuggling of arms to ISIS-controlled areas in Syria's northern regions. Activist Khaled al-Qadhmani said that an armed group in the town of Shahba surrounded and sealed off the El Haram Exchange Office. This group, led by Feras el Aridi, a leader of the National Defense militia, is affiliated with the Air Force Intelligence branch. They laid siege on the office, claiming that Hassan Mahasin, a leader of a Baath Brigade group affiliated with the Political Security branch in As-Suwayda province, was inside. Al-Qadhmani added that el Aridi's group seized a vehicle belonging to Mahasin's militia, closed roads in the area and "fired like crazy." The Syrian activist noted that these actions came following confiscation of a shipment of arms belonging to el Aridi, which was heading to areas dominated by ISIS in Syria's northern regions.” Iran Hadramaut: Campaign In Iran To Raise Money To Finance The War In Yemen “In many Shiite shrines in Iran and throughout the Arab world, multiple campaigns (Iranian and Yemeni) are underway to gather donations and assistance for the Houthi group. Many Yemeni delegations secretly visit Iran and Shiite shrines. None of the Houthi group's media outlets or Arabic-speaking outlets operated by Iran, or by Hezbollah in Lebanon which is close to the Houthi group, cover these visits. The delegations move inside and outside of Iran under the coordination of Iran's "Yemen Support Committee", headed by Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam, the former Tehran police chief.” Muslim Brotherhood Innfrad: Egyptian Source: Muslim Brotherhood Stole 65 Million Pounds From Universities To Pay Its Members' Salaries “Dr. Mohammed Samir, a founding member of Egypt Scholars, said at a conference of Al-Azhar University Teaching Club convened to discuss the selection of university leaders, that the Muslim Brotherhood has stolen 65 million pounds ($7.5 million) from universities and research centers to cover its members' salaries.” The Seventh Day: Muslim Brotherhood Obtains Financing From The US, Israel And Turkey Via Qatar “Dissident Brotherhood leader Mukhtar Noah asserted that the actions being carried out by the Muslim Brotherhood at this time are aimed at harming the Egyptian state while, at the same time, supporting the Turkish regime. Noah stressed that because the Brotherhood is hopeful it can reconcile with the Egyptian state, it has taken some steps which the group believes put pressure on Egypt (to "convince" its leaders of the need for reconciliation.) He added, "Brotherhood relies on financial support for its actions from the United States, Turkey and Israel through Qatar.” Alkhaleej: Egyptian Lawyers Union Rebuffs Muslim Brotherhood “The General Assembly of Egyptian Lawyers Union rejected a no-confidence vote against its chairman Samih Ashour and its board of directors. In total, 9974 members voted in favor of renewal of confidence versus 3064 who backed a no-confidence vote. Hence, the camp which called to rescind confidence from Ashour suffered a bitter defeat twice in the course of two years. This camp is composed primarily of Muslim Brotherhood supporters and vestiges of the dissolved National Democratic Party. It should be noted that the Lawyers Union's General Assembly was convened yesterday after obtaining a quorum, amidst intense security measures. It witnessed rallies attended by thousands of lawyers, both supporters and opponents of Ashour.”