Eye on Extremism August 15, 2016

Eye on Extremism August 15, 2016 The New York Times: U.S. Drones Record ISIS Fighters Fleeing Manbij In Northern Syria “American military drones monitored Islamic State militants loading up hundreds of cars, buses and trucks with fighters and civilians and fleeing the city of Manbij, Syria, on Friday, as Syrian rebels advanced and the extremists lost yet another stronghold. On Wednesday, the Libyan city of Surt, held by the Islamic State for more than a year, also fell to pro-government militiamen, and the militants lost the headquarters from which they had ruled more than 150 miles of Libyan coastline.” BBC: IS Conflict: Manbij Residents Celebrate Liberation “Residents in the northern Syrian city of Manbij have been celebrating new freedoms after being liberated from the rule of so-called Islamic State. They have poured into the streets enjoying basic rights they had been denied for two years, including shaving off their beards and smoking. US-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters fought 73 days to drive IS out of Manbij, close to the Turkish border. About 2,000 civilians being used as human shields were also freed." Associated Press: Victories against IS leave Iraq's Sunni heartland shattered “As Iraqi political and military attention shifts north in the fight against the Islamic State group, the military victories that have put Iraqi forces on Mosul's doorstep have left behind shattered cities, towns and communities in Iraq's Sunni heartland. Anbar has witnessed the most successful military phase of the ground fight against IS to date. But rather than restore government order, services and security, liberation at the hands of Iraqi forces closely backed by the U.S.-led coalition has merely moved many Anbaris from one waiting room into another.” Reuters: Yemen Army Pushes Al Qaeda Fighters From Two Cities, About 40 Dead “Yemeni army forces backed by Arab coalition aircraft killed about 40 suspected al Qaeda fighters on Sunday as they fought their way into two militant strongholds in eastern Yemen, a local official and residents said. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has exploited a 16-month-old civil war between the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the Iran-allied Houthis to capture a 600-km (370-mile) stretch of Arabian Sea coastline in eastern Yemen. Hadi's troops and forces from the Saudi-led Arab coalition drove out AQAP - widely considered the most dangerous branch of the global militant group - from the Hadramout provincial capital of Mukalla in April.” Voice Of America: Peshmerga Forces In Iraq Battle IS Outside Mosul “Kurdish peshmerga forces in Iraq, backed by U.S.-led airstrikes, have begun an operation to retake villages around Mosul from Islamic State militants. Peshmerga officials said Sunday several villages have been secured. Clouds of smoke could be seen rising in the area as fighting continued. The military operation is a major step in the attempt to retake Mosul — Iraq's second largest city — from Islamic State, which captured the city two years ago. Iraq's leaders have promised to retake the northern city this year. Mosul is where Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Badhdadi declared a ‘caliphate’ in 2014, covering Iraq and Syria, along with other parts of the region in the Middle East.” NPR: In The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Even Calm Is Deadly “The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is relatively quiet right now. After several months of attacks and killings that started last October, Israeli officials say that wave of violence has slowly tapered off. If this trend stays on track, it could mark yet another time that intense, headline-grabbing violence has surged, then waned, in this decades-long conflict. In other words, it looks like things are returning to a period of relative calm with no war or uprising. But a close look at those so-called calm periods over time shows the killing rarely ever stops. Here's a fact that reveals the persistence of this fight: In the 128 months from February 2005 through September 2015 — almost 11 years — only four months saw no one killed in conflict-related violence.” Israel Today: A Growing Trend: Brave Muslim Zionists “Muslims and Arabs who openly identify as Zionists are growing in number – powered by the freer flow of information and ideas made possible by social media and the search for answers in the wake of the Arab Spring and Islamist terror. A new Facebook page for Arab supporters of Israel has attracted about 20,000 followers. The page, which shares content in English, Arabic, and Hebrew, was founded by a religious Jewish woman and an Arab man. It posts examples of Israel treating Arabs and Muslims with kindness and shares surprising Arab support for Israel from across the Middle East, including Tunisians who created an Israeli flag after being unable to buy one, and who have faced threats for their views.” Daily Beast: ISIS Orders Its Franchises To Kill Christians “The so-called Islamic State has different strategies in different parts of the world, but in Africa and in Europe, certainly, its core objective is becoming clear: to kill Christians. Its long-term goal: to provoke a new Crusade, reviving the holy wars of many hundreds of years ago in the belief that this time around Islam will win. In practical terms, this focus on a single pervasive, easily targeted enemy is useful to a “caliphate” under pressure that is trying to keep its troops in line. The way ISIS has handled its Nigerian disciples in the terror organization called Boko Haram, best known for kidnapping girls and using women and children as suicide bombers, is a perfect case in point.” NPR: Apparent Boko Haram Video Claims Some Schoolgirls Killed In Nigerian Airstrikes “Boko Haram, the Nigeria-based militant group, has purportedly released a new video claiming that some of the Chibok schoolgirls were killed during Nigerian military airstrikes. The extremist group abducted the girls in April 2014, and most are still missing. The case spurred an international outcry and prompted the ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ campaign. The video ‘shows about 50 girls, wearing headscarves and one carrying a baby, behind a militant who's demanding the release of detained extremist fighters in return for giving the girls their freedom,’ as Ofeibea Quist-Arcton told our Newscast unit. And as The Associated Press reported, it's ‘not clear how many schoolgirls have died among the 218 who remain missing.’” The Washington Post: Taliban Pushes Toward Strategic Provincial Capital In Afghanistan “Fierce battles near Lashkar Gah, the sand-swept capital of Afghanistan’s remote but strategic Helmand province, are continuing to rage between a handful of Taliban fighters and hundreds of Afghan forces backed by ground reinforcements and American airstrikes. Thousands of civilians have fled the surrounding districts, insurgents have blown up bridges, and the only highway out of the region has been cut off for nearly two weeks. Officials said Lashkar Gah does not appear to be in danger of falling, but large patches of Helmand — a vast, dry territory in southern Afghanistan — have been under insurgent control for months, and their forces have moved steadily closer to the city. Recapturing the former bastion of Taliban power, which was liberated and controlled by NATO forces for years, would give the Islamist militia a launchpad near its current sanctuaries in Pakistan, control of the region’s vast opium trade and a huge propaganda boost.” RT: Libya Warns Italy Of Milan-Based ISIS Terrorist Cell “Libya has warned Italy about an Islamic State cell operating in Milan and linked to a terrorist warlord, who was previously deported by the Italian authorities. The jihadist group was uncovered after Libyan security forces studied the papers they obtained from the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) headquarters in the city of Sirte, which was seized by the government, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported. Italian security forces are on high alert, as the defeat of IS in Sirte earlier this week raised fears that militants may now use migrant boats to cross the Mediterranean and launch ‘lone wolf’ attacks in Italy. The terrorist cell, reportedly based in Milan’s San Siro neighborhood, has been connected with Abu Nassim, a Tunisian IS commander, who lived in Italy for most of the 1990s.” The Guardian: Hundreds Of Young People In UK Still Want To Join ISIS In Syria “Hundreds of British teenage girls are still keen on joining Islamic State (Isis) despite the death of a London schoolgirl in Syria, according to counter-radicalisation experts, raising fresh doubts about the effectiveness of the government’s strategy to combat radicalism. A significant number of young British women will not, they say, have been dissuaded from travelling to Syria following the killing of Kadiza Sultana during an airstrike on the city of Raqqa, the de facto Isis capital. Around 850 Britons have travelled to Syria to fight, according to the UK security services. Despite the difficulties in travelling and in entering the country, around 50 British nationals are believed to have successfully made it across the border into the war-torn country since January. The warnings that other British teenagers remain keen to visit Syria, despite the death of Kadiza, have raised new disquiet over the government’s primary counter-terrorism strategy, Prevent, which urges parents, teachers and community leaders to share suspicions over ‘radicalised’ behaviour.” The Washington Post: To Curb Radicalism, France Targets Foreign Funding For Mosques “After three major terrorist attacks in the last year and a half, public outrage has forced the French government to respond. But one particular proposal has generated significant controversy: the shutdown of certain mosques and the foreign funding behind them. Late last month — weeks after the Nice attack — Prime Minister Manuel Valls called for an outright ban on the foreign funding of mosques in France ‘for a period to be determined.’ Days later, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced that, in fact, more concrete measures had already been taken: Since December 2015, he said, 20 Salafist mosques were shut down altogether.” Syria Associated Press: US-Backed Syrian Force Captures Key IS Stronghold “U.S.-backed fighters have seized a key Islamic State stronghold in northern Syria after two months of heavy fighting and freed hundreds of civilians the extremists had used as human shields, Syrian Kurdish officials and an opposition activist group said Saturday. Nasser Haj Mansour, of the predominantly Kurdish Syria Democratic Forces told The Associated Press that the town of Manbij ‘is under full control,’ adding that operations are ongoing to search for any IS militants who might have stayed behind. The SDF launched its offensive in late May to capture Manbij under the cover of U.S.-led airstrikes. The town lies on a key supply route between the Turkish border and the city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the IS group's self-styled caliphate." The New York Times: Fighting Rages In Aleppo, Syria, Killing Dozens Of Civilians “Fighting in Aleppo, Syria, killed dozens of civilians over the weekend, a high toll even for a city that has been the scene of intense fighting recently, a monitoring group said on Sunday. Government and Russian airstrikes and artillery bombardment of opposition neighborhoods and the outskirts of the city on Saturday killed 46 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group based in Britain, and nine were killed by opposition shelling in government-held areas of western Aleppo. Another 20 people were killed in rural villages in nearby Idlib Province after 26 airstrikes on Saturday, the group said. Activists and journalists in Idlib also confirmed the airstrikes.” Iraq Daily Mail: Evidence That ISIS Jihadis Are Now Deploying Mustard Gas In Iraq  “They are the terrible scenes that the world had hoped it would never see again after the horrors of the First World War.  But now The Mail on Sunday has uncovered the first shocking evidence that Islamic State is using mustard gas on the front line in Iraq. Troops fighting against the terror group have been left with appalling injuries – including agonising blisters on their skin and badly damaged lungs – in a frightening echo of warfare in the trenches on the Western Front. Without any regard for the international ban on the chemical weapon, IS has used the lethal gas repeatedly against Kurdish forces who are battling to drive out the jihadis.” BBC: Islamic State: Kurdish Forces Capture Iraq Villages “Kurdish forces in Iraq say they have captured several villages near Mosul from the self-styled Islamic State (IS) group, the last major city the militants hold in the country. The offensive began at dawn on Sunday, backed by air strikes from the US-led coalition battling IS. Kurdish and Iraqi government forces have been encircling Mosul ahead of an offensive to take the city itself. Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, has been under IS control since June 2014. The militants reportedly responded to the air strikes by trying to ram explosive-packed vehicles into Kurdish lines.” Turkey Reuters: Bus Blast Kills Fighters At Syrian Border Crossing With Turkey “A suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest on a bus in Syria near the Atmeh border crossing into Turkey late on Sunday, killing at least 15 people and injuring 25 others, some critically, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The bus was carrying fighters for Syria's civil war, the observatory reported. Pictures circulating on social media, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed the burnt out remains of a bus and medics treating injured people. Turkey's CNN Turk television reported that the explosion took place at the entrance of Atmeh refugee camp in Syria, near the border crossing, citing local sources. Syria's Idlib province, where Atmeh is located, is a major bastion of the Turkey-backed opposition to President Bashar al-Assad's rule.” Reuters: Kurdish Militants Kill AK Party Official In Turkey's Southeast, Sources Say “Kurdish militants killed an official of Turkey's ruling AK Party in the country's southeastern province of Sirnak after abducting him and his brother during a security check on a highway late on Friday, security sources said. The body of Naci Adiyaman, head of the youth wing for the AK Party's Beytussebap district, was found about a kilometer away from where he and his brother Fikret were kidnapped. Militants burnt their car before taking them to the mountainous area, sources said. Operations to find and rescue the other kidnapped brother were still underway. Conflict between the autonomy-seeking PKK and the Turkish military flared up in July last year after the collapse of a ceasefire. Thousands of militants, security force members and civilians have since been killed in fighting across the region.” Reuters: Turkey Says No Compromise With Washington On Cleric's Extradition “Turkey will not compromise with Washington over the extradition of the Islamic cleric it accuses of orchestrating a failed coup, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday, warning of rising anti-Americanism if the United States fails to extradite. Yildirim's comments, at a briefing for local reporters, were the latest to take aim at Turkey's top NATO ally and coincided with a report that an Istanbul prosecutor wrote to U.S. authorities asking f/4or the detention of cleric Fethullah Gulen. Turkey says Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in rural Pennsylvania since 1999, masterminded the failed July 15 putsch when a group of rogue soldiers commandeered tanks, warplanes and helicopters in an attempt to overthrow the government. Gulen has denied the charge and condemned the coup.” BBC: Turkey Coup Attempt: Nearly 82,000 Sacked Or Suspended “Some 5,000 state employees have been sacked and 77,000 suspended in the purge since last month's failed coup in Turkey, the prime minister says. Binali Yildirim told reporters in Ankara that more than 3,000 of those sacked were members of the military. They are suspected of links to exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, he said. Announcing a visit to Turkey by US Vice-President Joe Biden, he again urged the US to extradite Mr Gulen. The cleric, a former ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, from where he runs a worldwide network of charities and schools. He denies any knowledge of or involvement in Turkey's first coup attempt since 1997, which left 270 people dead.” Afghanistan Deutsche Welle: Afghan Taliban Release Pakistani Helicopter Crew “The Afghan Taliban have released five Pakistanis and a Russian that were taken hostage by the militants after their helicopter crash-landed in eastern Afghanistan last week. The terms of their release are unclear. The Afghan officials and the militants have neither confirmed the release nor have they commented on the negotiations that set them free. The Afghan government accuses Pakistan of maintaining close ties with the Taliban, and some analysts say the release of the hostages could be a result of the Pakistani security agencies' influence on the Islamist insurgents.” Reuters: Islamic State Faces Uphill 'Branding War' In Afghanistan, Pakistan “The U.S. drone strike that killed Islamic State's commander for Afghanistan and Pakistan was the latest blow to the Middle East-led movement's ambitions to expand into a region where the long-established Taliban remain the dominant Islamist force. Islamic State has enticed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of jihadist fighters in Afghanistan and Pakistan to switch loyalty and has held a small swathe of territory in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, where leader Hafiz Saeed Khan was killed on July 26 by a U.S. drone, Washington confirmed late Friday. But outside that pocket of territory, security officials and analysts say that Islamic State remains - for now - more of a ‘brand name’ than a cohesive militant force in much of the region.” The New York Times: Afghanistan Forces Struggle To Hold Firm Against Taliban In South “As Taliban fighters push toward the southern city of Lashkar Gah, members of Afghanistan’s elite forces are trying to hold their ground here, about 10 miles from the city, the capital of Helmand Province and a critical link in the defense of the entire region. The Afghan government’s need to rely on the special forces, highly trained for commando raids, to guard the perimeter of the city exposes a stark reality. As Helmand, the largest province in Afghanistan and the center of its opium production, endures intense enemy fire this summer, the regular police and army forces have failed to stand firm, raising the possibility that the Taliban could overrun Lashkar Gah.” Yemen Associated Press: Yemeni Troops Seize Towns From Al-Qaida “Yemeni pro-government troops, backed by a Saudi-led military coalition, seized two large towns east of the port city of Aden from al-Qaida on Sunday, officials said. Maj. Gen. Ahmed Seif told The Associated Press that troops entered Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, and Jaar as al-Qaida militants fled into the mountains under heavy fire and airstrikes that killed more than 40 militants and destroyed several of their vehicles. He said three soldiers were killed and two wounded. He spoke from the town of al-Husson, north of Jaar. Military officials had earlier said that government forces entered the small town of al-Kawd after brief clashes. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.” Saudi Arabia Reuters: Saudi King Returns Home, Gives Bonus To Personnel Fighting In Yemen “Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz returned home on Sunday after a month-long holiday in Morocco, and ordered a month's extra pay for Saudi military and security personnel actively involved in military operations in Yemen, state news agency SPA said. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef had been left to manage the kingdom's affairs in the king's absence. Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition of Arab states backing Yemeni forces loyal to the exiled government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi who are trying to oust Iran-allied Houthi forces who control Yemen's capital Sanaa. Hadi is currently in exile in Saudi Arabia, while his forces, backed by the coalition, are waging an offensive to try to recapture Sanaa from the Houthis and troops loyal to their ally, former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.” Egypt Associated Press: Egyptian Lawyer, Journalist Released After Prison Sentence “Egyptian authorities have released two prominent human rights activists who had been jailed for over a year for demonstrating against police brutality. Lawyer Mahienour el-Masry and journalist Youssef Shabaan were freed Saturday after serving 15 months in jail having been convicted of ‘storming a police station’ at a demonstration in the coastal city of Alexandria in 2013. El-Masry had been incarcerated before for her activism, and in 2014 received the Ludovic Trarieux Human Rights Award while on hunger strike in prison. Hunger striking is often used in Egypt to protest ill treatment and lack of due process. Egypt has undergone an unprecedented crackdown on free speech, political opposition and any dissent under general-turned-President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who has promised stability and the revival of a still-faltering economy in need of reform.” Associated Press: Egypt Christians Stage Rare Cairo Protest, Demanding Rights “Egyptian Christians staged a rare protest in downtown Cairo on Saturday to demand the government uphold their rights, saying they are being treated as second-class citizens in the Muslim-majority country. Standing on the steps of a courthouse in the capital, some three dozen demonstrators braved Egypt's draconian protest ban to hold signs aloft, calling for their legal rights to be upheld in disputes between Muslims and Christians. Christians make up some ten percent of Egypt's 91 million people. They sided overwhelmingly with Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi when he overthrew an Islamist president in 2013, paving his way to the presidency. But some have recently voiced concerns that their lot has not improved under the former general, despite his promises.” Middle East Haaretz: Troops Detain Palestinian Woman In West Bank Stabbing Attempt, Israeli Army Says “A Palestinian woman attempted to stab troops on Sunday at a crossing in the northern West Bank, the Israeli army said. The woman got out of her car at the Shaked checkpoint, located near Jenin, and attempted to stab soldiers who restrained and arrested her, an initial report said. A woman soldier was lightly wounded in the incident, the military said, adding that the forces did not open fire at the suspected assailant.” Libya The Wall Street Journal: Islamic State Fighters In Libya Flee South As Stronghold Crumbles “Islamic State fighters fleeing their Libyan stronghold of Sirte are seeking to cross the border into neighboring countries or possibly regroup in southern towns to fight again, Western and local officials say. The extremists have headed to the long, porous border that Libya shares with Algeria and Niger. The countries bordering Libya have been on high alert, officials say, as part of efforts to block foreign fighters who may be looking to return home to other parts of Africa. But the vast desert expanse of the Sahel region offers a refuge to militant fighters that has long vexed U.S. counterterrorism forces. Although the offensive to clear Islamic State from the coastal region around Sirte began in May, recent U.S. airstrikes have played a pivotal role in the battle for the city, which is the hometown of late Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi.” Nigeria Newsweek: Nigeria Needs Economic Reforms To Finish The Job On Boko Haram “In May 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari entered office on a mandate to take the fight to Boko Haram and tackle the root causes behind Nigeria’s brutal insurgency. So far, through a more focused military strategy and a reinvigorated army, the militants have been dislodged from the expansive swathes of land they controlled, ultimately removing their threat as a conventional ground force. But the challenge is far from over. Mass kidnappings and suicide bombings in former Boko Haram strongholds such as Borno state in the country’s northeast are exacerbating an already severe humanitarian crisis caused by the collapse of the local economy. UNICEF estimates that 244,000 children will suffer from acute malnutrition in Borno, which was once a strong agricultural region.” BBC: Nigeria Chibok Girls: Boko Haram Video Shows Captives “The Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram has released a video showing some of the schoolgirls they abducted from the northern town of Chibok. Some 50 girls are shown with a gunman who demands the release of fighters in return for the girls, and says some girls died in air strikes. The government says it is in touch with the militants behind the video. A journalist who had contact with Boko Haram has been declared a wanted man by the Nigerian army. The group is said to be holding more than 200 of the 276 final-year girls it seized from a school in April 2014. Non-Muslims were forcibly converted to Islam, and it is feared that many of the schoolgirls have been sexually abused and forced into ‘marriage’ by their captors. Parents of the missing girls have described their anguish at seeing their daughters in captivity.” United Kingdom Daily Mail: More Than 30,000 Muslims Converge For Britain's Biggest Annual Islamic Gathering To Reject Violence And Extremism “More than 30,000 Muslims have joined together in the Hampshire countryside, raising the Union Flag and forming a human chain as they re-affirmed their rejection of violence and extremism. The Worldwide Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community led the thousands in a vow of peace and obedience at Hadeeqatul Mahdi (Oakland Farm), Alton, today, the final day of the three-day convention. In the 50th year of the event, His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad spoke to delegates during the Pledge of Allegiance ceremony, reaffirming their loyalty to their country of residence.” Daily Mail: ‘Police Outside London Are ‘Woefully’ Unprepared For A Paris-Style Terrorist Attack, Whistle Blower Warns  “Senior police officers fear that a terror attack outside London could lead to 'carnage', with many forces unequipped to respond to a Paris-style atrocity. A source said that while the Metropolitan Police had done a 'fantastic job' in unveiling their new armed officers, elsewhere the capability to respond would be 'woefully inadequate'. He added that one force in the country has fewer than 10 firearms officers on stand-by at times. 'Many of us feel our national armed response and capability would be woefully inadequate and take too long to respond. We'd have carnage,' a source told The Mirror. Earlier this month, Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe unveiled the plan to put more highly visible patrols, armed with pistols and semi-automatic SIG Carbine rifles, at major landmarks in London as a deterrent to potential attackers.” France BBC: Cannes Bans Burkinis Over Suspected Link To Radical Islamism “The mayor of Cannes in southern France has banned full-body swimsuits known as ‘burkinis’ from the beach, citing public order concerns. David Lisnard said they are a ‘symbol of Islamic extremism’ and might spark scuffles, as France is the target of Islamist attacks. France is on high alert following a series of incidents including July's truck attack in nearby Nice. Anyone caught flouting the new rule could face a fine of €38 (£33). They will first be asked to change into another swimming costume or leave the beach. Nobody has been apprehended for wearing a burkini in Cannes since the edict came into force at the end of July.” The Wall Street Journal: France Charges Third Man Linked To Priest Murder “French prosecutors filed preliminary charges of terrorism against a third man detained on suspicion of collaborating in last month’s murder of a French priest, suggesting the slaying was the work of a broader group of Islamic State followers. The 21-year-old was detained Monday in the area of Toulouse, a city 500 miles south of the church of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray where the attack took place in late July, a spokeswoman for France’s antiterror prosecutor said on Saturday. The prosecutor filed preliminary charges on Friday and ordered the man to remain in detention during the investigation, she said. Investigators are seeking evidence that Adel Kermiche and Abdel-Malik Nabil Petitjean —the two 19-year-old killers—were supported by a network of Islamic State followers in France.” Europe The Wall Street Journal: Woman Dies After Attack On Swiss Train “Swiss police said Sunday that a 34-year-old woman has died as a result of injuries from an attack a day earlier on a train in eastern Switzerland that also wounded five others. The alleged assailant, an unnamed 27-year-old man, also died from injuries sustained in the attack, police said Sunday. Armed with a knife, the man poured flammable liquids that caught fire on the train, police in the canton of St. Gallen said in a statement. The wounded were taken to local hospitals, among them a child whose injuries were considered serious, police said Sunday. Police said the assailant’s motive was unclear and there was no evidence that the attack was politically motivated or related to terrorism.” RT: ISIS-Sympathizer That Threatened Leaning Tower Of Pisa To Be Expelled From Italy – Media “An Italian court has ordered the expulsion of a Tunisian national suspected of planning an attack on the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italian media reported. He was also accused of praising militants that had carried out terrorist attacks in Western Europe. Bilel Chiahoui was arrested on Thursday in a wooded area between the cities of Pisa and Livorno after an 8-hour-long search in which 100 police officers took part, La Stampa reported. The police operation was prompted by a Facebook post in Arabic, which listed the names of ‘martyr’ jihadists and ended with Chiahoui’s name, date of birth (February 12, 1990), and supposed date of death (August 11, 2016), while noting that he had died in Pisa, La Stampa reported. The post was said to be from Chiahoui’s Facebook account, which was registered under the false name ‘Rafael van der Vaart’ – the same as the famous Dutch soccer player’s.” The Jeresalem Post: Reducing ISIS Terrorist Attacks In Europe: Is It Possible, And If So, At What Cost? “The wave of terrorist attacks in Western Europe (Germany and France) this July have raised and intensified what is known as ‘the democratic dilemma.’ This series of attacks concluded with the Rouen attack, in which two men who had sworn allegiance to Islamic State (ISIS) killed a priest after holding him hostage along with several nuns. This attack can be described as an ‘escalation,’ as it targeted not only Western-democratic values in general, but Christianity in particular. Democratic societies value both security and liberty, but extremist terrorist groups, such as ISIS, have no qualms about using any means to accomplish their goals. The state must address the following question: should civil rights be sacrificed to fight terrorism more effectively, or must a democratic society make its peace with a certain level of terrorism in order to protect the civil liberties which it prizes so highly?” ISIS All4syria: ISIS Cuts Salaries Of Its Civil Servants And Militants “ISIS has decided to reduce by 50% the salaries of its civil servants in regions it controls, alongside a 20% cut in its fighters' salaries. This move comes following successive defeats suffered by the terror group, the most recent one being the fall of the city of Manbij, situated in the outlying area of Aleppo. With these defeats and the loss of massive territories, several leaders of the terror organization in Deir al-Zour met with officials and Emirs in charge of the civil service. Following the meeting, a decree was issued to reduce salaries paid by ISIS to civil servants. The decision represents a 50% cut in the salaries of all employees in the following sectors and departments: health, the Office of Services [provision], water and electricity, Zakat Office, Islamic Police, al-Hisbah, tax collectors, Tax Bureau, Shariah Court, Office of the Media and others.” Alwasat News: Probe Into Possible Money Transfer To ISIS “Kuwait's State Security apparatus launched an extensive investigation to determine if a sum of 51,000 dinars ($170,000) was transferred to an account serving the ISIS terror organization. Security officers uncovered an envelope attesting to the transfer. A security source said that a complaint was received by the operation (room) of the Ministry of Interior by a citizen who claimed he had found an envelope near a currency exchange office in Al-Daiya district, with the following words written on it: "Transfer of 51,954 dinars to ISIS." The source added that the citizen waited until the arrival of security agents and handed them the envelope.” Middle East Online: ISIS Is Not Suffering A Financial Crisis “A senior officer in the Iraqi Intelligence Service confirmed that despite the loss of several cities in Iraq by ISIS, "investigations indicate that the Islamic State is currently not suffering a financial crisis. This is because it is still benefiting from covert funding sources that cannot be detected easily (by security forces); namely investments in commercial projects." The source added that "a probe has revealed that since 2014 the Islamic State leader and his cronies have invested a great deal of money in economic and commercial projects, which include dozens of car showrooms, commercial malls and construction projects. They have even taken part in the (Central Bank's) auction of the dollar. A large percentage of these investments is in Baghdad." Muslim Brotherhood Al-Ahram: Seizure Of Funds Owned By Morsi And 200 Brotherhood Leaders “A reliable judicial source disclosed that Egypt's Brotherhood Asset Freeze Committee has decided to seize funds belonging to ousted President Mohammed Morsi and more than 200 leaders of the group. The source, who requested anonymity, added: "The seizure decisions issued against Morsi and the group's leaders were determined in accordance with a court ruling that defined them as terrorist entities." The source emphasized that the decision was being issued solely against Morsi and not his family members. This is because the ousted president was named in the lists of terrorist entities in case No. 371 of the year 2013, in what is publicly known as "collaborating with Hamas." The Seventh Day: Proposed Bill To Close Muslim Brotherhood Websites “Egyptian journalist and MP Mustafa Bakri said he soon intends to submit a new bill to the parliament demanding the closure of all Muslim Brotherhood websites and social media pages, especially on Facebook. He stressed that the state should address the "lies and rumors" being disseminated by the Brotherhood. Bakri noted the Brotherhood are trying to exploit the difficult conditions in Egypt for their benefit. He claimed that the Brotherhood is one of the reasons for the problems of the Egyptian economy, explaining that during the rule of ousted President Mohammed Morsi, the state budget deficit reached its highest level in history.” 3roba News: Muslim Brotherhood Money And Property In The Grip Of Mahmoud Ezzat “Dr. Mohammed Habib, the Muslim Brotherhood's former Deputy General Guide, disclosed that each member of the group contributes 8% of his/her monthly income to finance its activities. Habib claimed during a TV interview that Muslim Brotherhood Deputy Supreme Guide Khayrat al-Shater controls the group from inside his prison cell. He added that many Brotherhood members fled Egypt and joined the group's international organization in the aftermath of the June 30th Revolution. Subsequently, Qatar started granting them tremendous sums of money. Habib emphasized that all the group's assets are in the grip of Mahmoud Ezzat (the interim leader of the Brotherhood).” The Seventh Day: 800 Million Pounds Is The Restoration Cost Of 28 Courts Set Afire By Muslim Brotherhood “Over the past six years, many Egyptian courts have suffered acts of arson and destruction, whether in the wake of the January 25th Revolution or following the June 30th Revolution. These terror operations were carried out by the Muslim Brotherhood, particularly after the dispersal of the Rabaa al-Adawiya and al-Nahda Squares sit-ins. Nationwide, 28 courts were set on fire, and more than 500,000 documents were obliterated as a result. On this backdrop, a judicial source revealed that the Egyptian Ministry of Justice attaches great importance to the court sector. Therefore, it has allocated a budget of roughly 800 million pounds ($91 million) to renovate the courts that were attacked and burned. In addition, the budget will serve to build new courts in a number of districts.” Innfrad: Group Plans To Spend Millions On Demonstrations Across The Globe “Khaled Al-Zaafarani, a former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, predicts that the International Organization of the group will spend millions of dollars abroad to exploit the anniversary of the dispersal of the Rabaa al-Adawiya and al-Nahda Squares sit-ins. The money will be funneled to finance demonstrations in popular locations in Western capitals and perhaps in front of some Egyptian embassies abroad.” Hamas Aljazeera: Israeli Expert Accuses Hamas Of Recruiting International Employees To Obtain Money “An Israeli military expert accused the Palestinian Hamas movement of recruiting employees of international organizations and using them as a means of acquiring funds and logistical services. This comes at a time when Hamas is veritably cash-strapped. In an article published in the "Walla" Hebrew-language website, military expert Amir Bouchbot wrote that recent revelations by Israeli security forces regarding the involvement of Hamas activists employed in international organizations in the Gaza Strip in raising and delivering funds to Hamas illustrate the ways in which the movement is attempting to obtain money and logistics. This is in addition to procuring construction materials and engineering tools for digging tunnels.” Houthi Elwehda: Houthi Group Sends 60,000 Employees To Retirement “Sources in the Yemeni Civil Service and Pensions Ministry have revealed that, since the beginning of the month, the Houthi group has replaced thousands of employees in Yemen's civil service and military sectors with members of the group. The Houthis have been controlling the Yemeni capital of Sanaa since September 2014, as well as dominating state institutions, such as the Ministry of Yemeni Civil Service and Pensions Ministry. The sources confirm that the Houthis targeted 60,000 employees for retirement. They also pointed out that the group was planning to complete the referral of personnel within two weeks by using a 24-hour shift system, but financial constraints forced them to operate only during the normal business hours.”