Counter Extremism Project

AFP: Live-Streaming Of Attacks A Challenge For Social Media

"Social networks have long stressed they will help legitimate investigations of crimes and attacks, but have resisted efforts to police or censor the vast amounts content flowing through them. But social media groups are capable of doing more to prevent and remove horrific content from being streamed worldwide, said Mark Wallace, chief executive of the Counter Extremism Project, a group founded by former diplomats from the United States and other countries to work against extremist ideology. Wallace said social networks have already implemented systems that filter child pornography, and could do the same for other violent acts."

Reuters: Islamic State Committing Genocide Against Yazidis: U.N.

“Islamic State is committing the crime of genocide against the Yazidis in Syria and Iraq, seeking to destroy the ethno-religious group of 400,000 people through killings, sexual slavery and other crimes, United Nations investigators said on Thursday. Their report, based on interviews with dozens of survivors, said that the Islamist militants had been systematically capturing Yazidis in Iraq and Syria since August 2014, seeking to "erase their identity" in a campaign that met the definition of the crime as defined under the 1948 Genocide Convention.”

Reuters: Kerry Accuses Russia, Assad Over Syrian Government Assault On Aleppo

“U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russia of selectively enforcing a nationwide "cessation of hostilities" agreement in Syria while a government campaign to retake Aleppo continued unabated. Speaking in Oslo, where he also met Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for talks on Syria and the Iran nuclear deal, Kerry said Assad's forces had not abided by the truce for a single day in Aleppo.”

Fox News: CIA Chief Says ISIS Working To Send Operatives To The West

“CIA Director John Brennan will tell Congress on Thursday that Islamic State (ISIS) militants are training and attempting to deploy operatives for further attacks on the West and will rely more on guerrilla-style tactics to compensate for their territorial losses. In remarks prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee, Brennan says ISIS has been working to build an apparatus to direct and inspire attacks against its foreign enemies, as in the recent attacks in Paris and Brussels — ones the CIA believes were directed by ISIS leaders.”

Vice: What ISIS Is Saying About The Orlando Shooter

“Within hours of the horrific massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando on Sunday, media outlets associated with the Islamic State moved to claim "lone wolf" Omar Mateen as one of their own. Initial reports detailing the terrorist's searches for jihadist content leading up to the attack, along with confirmation that he pledged his allegiance to ISIS while inside the club, served to bolster the legitimacy of the self-described caliphate's declaration of solidarity. But rumors have since trickled out suggesting Mateen may have acted in no small part based on his own confused sexual orientation and attendant self-loathing. The narrative of a troubled gay man has led some observers to suggest that ISIS, a viciously anti-gay group, claimed Mateen too soon—and that the terrorist outfit might suffer from the irony of hastily inducting him into its bigoted ranks.”

CBS News: Anonymous Hacks Pro-ISIS Twitter Accounts, Fills Them With Gay Pride

“In response to the Orlando mass shooting, the hacker-activist group known as Anonymous has hacked into dozens of pro-Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) Twitter accounts and infused them with gay pride, CBS San Francisco reported. While San Francisco-based Twitter did not admit that the accounts were hacked, images of the hacked accounts and the Twitter account responsible for the hacking suggest otherwise.”

Middle East Eye: Fallujah Civilians 'Near Starvation And Trapped' Says Prominent Aid Group

“Thousands of Iraqi civilians trapped in the Islamic State bastion of Fallujah face a "humanitarian disaster" under fire and nearing starvation, a prominent aid group said on Thursday. Tens of thousands who managed to flee the city during an assault by Iraqi forces had also found little relief on their way out, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).”

Washington Post: Egypt Says It Has Found Plane Wreckage

“Egypt on Wednesday said that it spotted and obtained images from the wreckage of the EgyptAir plane that crashed into the Mediterranean last month, killing all 66 people on board, according to a statement by the country’s investigation committee. The committee said that the vessel John Lethbridge, which was contracted by the Egyptian government to join the search for the plane debris and flight data recorders, “had identified several main locations of the wreckage.” It added that it obtained images of the wreckage located between the Greek island of Crete and the Egyptian coast.”

New York Times: Father of Paris Attacks Victim Sues Social Media Companies

“The father of a young woman killed in the Paris massacre last November is suing Google, Facebook and Twitter, claiming that the companies provided "material support" to extremists in violation of the law. Reynaldo Gonzalez, whose daughter Nohemi was among 130 people killed in the Paris attacks, filed the suit on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California. The suit claims the companies "knowingly permitted" the Islamic State group, referred to in the complaint as "ISIS," to recruit members, raise money and spread "extremist propaganda" via their social-media services.”

The Guardian: French Prime Minister Defends Security Forces After Isis-Linked Murders

“France’s prime minister, Manuel Valls, has defended the country’s intelligence services after criticism that they should have prevented the gruesome double murder of a police commander and his partner by a man with a previous conviction for jihadism who had recently been under surveillance. Larossi Abballa, 25, who claimed allegiance to Islamic State (Isis), stabbed police commander Jean-Baptiste Salvaing to death outside his home in Magnanville near Paris. He then entered the house and took Salvaing’s partner, Jessica Schneider, and their three-year-old son hostage. Abballa slit Schneider’s throat and streamed a live video of the fatal attack on Facebook. He was killed when police stormed the house and the boy was rescued alive. French authorities have admitted that Abballa, who was convicted of taking part in a jihadi recruitment network to Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2013 and sentenced to three years in prison, had been under phone surveillance this year in connection to an inquiry about another man leaving for Syria. The state prosecutor said nothing had been found during that phone tapping to indicate he was preparing to carry out a violent act.”

United States

Washington Times: U.S. Libyan Envoy Urging Unity On Islamic State

“The State Department’s point man on Libya told lawmakers Wednesday the U.S. is playing a critical role in gathering support for the U.N.-backed unity government in Tripoli as it takes the fight to Islamic State forces operating in the country. Jonathan Winer, the State Department’s Special Envoy to Libya, testified before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations just as the Libyan government claimed it was close to ousting Islamic State from its stronghold in the oil-producing region centered on the port city of Sirte. But he said the factions jockeying for power in the Libyan government have to come together if the gains are to last.”

United Arab Emirates

Huffington Post: United Arab Emirates Says Its War In Yemen Is ‘Practically Over’

“The United Arab Emirates’ involvement in more than a year of war in Yemen is “practically over”, a top diplomat was quoted as saying on Wednesday. The UAE is key member of a Saudi-led military coalition which intervened in Yemen in March 2015. It backs the exiled government against the armed Houthi movement, which Saudi Arabia and the UAE fear is a proxy for their regional arch-rival, Iran.”

Saudi Arabia

Al Arabiya: Saudi And 58 Other States Urge UN For Action On Syria

“Saudi Arabia on Tuesday sent a joint letter to the top three United Nations officials urging the New York-based body to take more action to resolve the Syrian conflict. The letter, co-signed by 9 heads of the UN diplomatic missions of the US, UK, Qatar and Turkey and endorsed by 59, highlighted their “deepest concern” at Syria’s “grave” humanitarian crisis, and violations of the fragile ceasefire agreement. “We stress the urgent need for the immediate, full, unimpeded and sustained access for the delivery of humanitarian aid,” the letter read. It added that the signatories “fully” support the peace-making efforts of Staffan De Mistura, the UN’s special envoy for Syria.”

Turkey

Foreign Policy: How Do You Solve A Problem Like Erdogan?

“Houston, we have a problem. A serious problem. Slowly, but inexorably, Turkey is headed off a cliff. The signposts ahead are bleak indeed. Despotism. Terrorism. Civil war. Just over the horizon, scenarios like “failed state” and “forced partition” are coming into view. The day may be approaching when U.S. policymakers, much as they’d prefer not to, will finally be forced to grapple with the question: What do you do with a NATO ally gone seriously bad? Turkey’s depressing, seemingly irreversible descent into one-man rule continues apace and may even be accelerating. Five weeks ago, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered the resignation of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who just six months prior had led their Justice and Development Party (AKP) to a major electoral victory, securing nearly 50 percent of the vote and a large parliamentary majority.”

Syria

Al Jazeera: The Death Of The Syria Peace Process

“Almost six months on from when direct talks were scheduled to begin, is it time to admit the failure of the latest Syrian peace process and look into alternative ways forward? United Nations Envoy Staffan de Mistura announced last week that he would not attempt to reconvene the Syria peace talks until August, saying that the time was "not yet mature for the official third round of intra-Syrian talks". Violence in the country is spiking and making a mockery of the international community's "cessation of hostilities" agreed in February. Things are looking particularly bad in Aleppo as the regime and allied forces apply the squeeze on opposition-held areas.”

BBC: Syria Conflict: Russia 'Wants Long-Term Aleppo Ceasefire'

“The Russian defence ministry said the "regime of calm", which went into effect at midnight, was an effort to stabilise the situation in Aleppo. Hundreds of people have been killed in the divided city in recent months. Russian air strikes have supported an attempt by Syrian government forces to encircle rebel-held western areas. On Wednesday, the US said the government's offensive was violating a nationwide cessation of hostilities brokered by the US and Russia in February.”

Al Arabiya: A Decisive Phase In The Battle For Aleppo

“Aleppo, the second-largest city in Syria and scene of several clashes since unrest erupted in March 2011, sums up the dynamic of the conflict. Once the country’s commercial hub, Aleppo has become a frontline, its eastern districts captured by rebels in 2012. With more than 40 militant factions fighting in the strategic city, it is under constant shelling. Aleppo is a focal point in the Syrian war, not only due to its geographic closeness to the capital, but because of its military importance, from which the opposition can counter government forces and the Kurdish district of Sheikh Maqsood in the north of the city.”

Islamic State

Wall Street Journal: Radicalization Of Islam Or Islamization Of Radicalism?

“Making sense of the carnage unleashed in the name of Islamic State in the West, from Paris and Brussels to Orlando, boils down to a chicken-and-egg problem that bedevils governments and terrorism scholars. The killers in all these atrocities were, by definition, radicals, and all of them had pledged allegiance to Islamic State. But is the main threat facing the West the radicalization of Islam—or the Islamization of radicalism?”

Fox News: Rapper, ISIS Poster Boy Likely Cheated Death Despite Pentagon Report, Say German Officials

“A German rapper who dropped his mic to become a prominent member of ISIS is likely still alive, despite a Pentagon report last fall that he was killed in an airstrike, German officials said Wednesday. Denis Cuspert, aka Deso Dogg, was believed to have been killed near Raqqa, Syria, last Oct. 16 while traveling in a car with two other people. Now, German authorities believe the performer, who released records and once toured with American rapper DMX, may have cheated death.”

Iraq

Washington Post: These Iraqis Dodged Bombs And Bullets To Escape The Islamic State, But Their Misery Hasn’t Ended

“The family thought they had safely escaped Islamic State-held Fallujah, letting out cries of joy when they reached the outskirts of the city. But moments later, horror struck when someone accidentally triggered a roadside bomb placed by militants now barricaded in the city. “It was a terrifying scene,” said Ayman Farouk, 17, who was injured on the back of his head by flying shrapnel. “People were lying on the floor in their blood. They were crying for help.””

Nigeria

CBC: Boko Haram Kidnaps 3 Women Near Town In North Nigeria

“Boko Haram jihadists killed at least four villagers on Tuesday and kidnapped three women near the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok where the group snatched more than 200 girls two years ago, residents and survivors said. Boko Haram fighters attacked the Kautuva village at dawn, set houses ablaze and fired on residents, according to villagers and a member of a vigilante group working with the army.”

Arabic Language Clips

Financing of Terrorism

Arabic China: Bahraini Prosecutors Are Investigating Three Charities For (Illegal) Fundraising And Money Laundering

The Bahraini Public Prosecutor is investigating officials from three charities on charges of illegal fundraising and money laundering. The three associations are Al-Risala Islamic Society, the Islamic Enlightenment Society (Al-Taweya) and Dar Al Yaqeen Library. Bahrain's Chief Prosecutor Mohammed Al-Maliki said in a statement published on Wednesday that "investigations proved that a fugitive convicted in terrorist cases, currently residing in Iran, is in charge of the affairs of Al-Risala and is running the society from abroad." He added, "The Prosecution has summoned the rest of the suspected administrators of these associations, and yesterday it conducted interrogations of some of them. They are suspected of fundraising without a license in violation of the law as well as laundering the money raised by conducting certain banking operations in an effort to hide its sources and legitimize it."

ISIS

Voice Of Iraq: Anbar Council: We Need $20 Billion For Reconstruction Of Damages Caused By ISIS

Anbar Provincial Council announced on Wednesday the need to obtain $20 billion for reconstruction. It noted that the scope of the destruction to infrastructure in the province comes to 80% due to ISIS's terrorist attacks. Meanwhile, the Council confirmed receipt by the local government of 10 billion Iraqi dinars (roughly $9 million) earmarked for the displaced population. Anbar Council's reconstruction committee chair, Arkan Khalaf, was quoted as saying that "more than 80% of the infrastructure in the province has been completely destroyed due to the terrorist attacks of ISIS." He asserted that Anbar is in need of "more than $20 billion, according to the preliminary estimates we submitted to the Reconstruction of Liberated Zones Fund."

Hezbollah

Asharq Al-Awsat: Saudi Arabia Scrutinizes Remittances By Lebanese Workers To Their Homeland To Prevent Financing Of Hezbollah

Head of the Federation of Lebanese Chambers, Mohammed Shakir, revealed that Saudi Arabia "has begun to implement new measures related to money transfers by Lebanese workers from the kingdom to their homeland." He noted that the transfer process now "takes three to four days before the money reaches Beirut. This is the time spent by Saudi authorities to authenticate the identity of the sender and the beneficiary of the money in order to avoid the free flow of the money to terrorist organizations." At the same time, he ruled out the notion that the new Saudi measures are part of new political steps, stressing they are only "economic and security measures taken in line with international banking laws."

Muslim Brotherhood

Alwafd: Three Years In Prison And A Fine Of 100,000 Egyptian Pounds For 11 Brotherhood (Members) In Alexandria

Alexandria Criminal Court sentenced 11 members of the terrorist Brotherhood to three years in prison and a fine of 100,000 Egyptian pounds (roughly $11,000) each. They were convicted of involvement in acts of violence in the Sidi Bisher district on January 25th, 2014. All the eleven Brotherhood members were arrested during the riots there on the day marking the third anniversary of the Revolution.

Yemen Akhbar: Houthis Accused Of Imposing Royalties On Oil Importers For The Benefit Of Their War Effort

According to an official document, the Houthi militant group has started imposing royalties on private sector importers of petroleum products for the sake of what they call the "war effort." Previously, the Yemeni militia announced that the new royalties would go towards resuming the power supply of Yemen's Public Electricity Corporation to all the provinces of the country, which has been interrupted for more than a year. The document shows that the 5-riyal royalty ($0.02) imposed on every liter of fuel entering the country, through the private sector will be paid solely by the merchants.