Eye on Extremism, June 7, 2016
Reuters: Iraqi Army, Shi'ite Coalition Bicker On Falluja War Operations
“An Iraqi Shi'ite militia leader accused government forces of ‘betrayal’ as a split emerged between the Iranian-backed paramilitaries and the army over tactics for fighting Islamic State. The head of the largest militia, Hadi al-Amiri, criticized the army for moving an armored brigade to the Makhmour area near Mosul - Islamic State's capital in northern Iraq - while the battle to dislodge the militants from Falluja, their stronghold near Baghdad, is still underway. ‘Unfortunately there is an absence of precise planning for the military operations,’ said Amiri, who leads the Badr Organisation. ‘I believe that sending a large number of armored vehicles and assets to Makhmour, under the pretext of the Mosul battle, is a betrayal of the battle for Falluja,’ he told Al-Sumaria TV on Sunday.”
The Wall Street Journal: Islamic State Members From The West Seek Help Getting Home
“Disenchanted Islamic State members recruited from the West have increasingly been contacting their governments and asking for help in getting home, according to diplomats and a Syrian network that aids defectors. Some have turned up at diplomatic missions in Turkey, and others have sent furtive messages to their governments seeking assistance in escaping from territory the extremist group controls in neighboring Syria, according to the diplomats, who represent six Western missions in Turkey. Some Westerners seeking to escape from Islamic State are fighters, and others are people who were enticed to move to the group’s so-called caliphate and declared their loyalty, and now find themselves in dire straits, the diplomats said.”
Reuters: Car Bomb Targeting Police In Istanbul Kills 11, Wounds 36
“A car bomb ripped through a police bus in central Istanbul during the morning rush hour on Tuesday, killing 11 people and wounding 36 near the main tourist district, a major university and the mayor's office. The car was detonated as police buses passed, Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin told reporters, in the fourth major bombing in Turkey's biggest city this year. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Kurdish militants have staged similar attacks, including one last month in Istanbul. ‘A car-bomb attack was made against vehicles carrying our rapid-response police and passing by on the road, resulting in seven police and four civilians losing their lives, Sahin said.”
Associated Press: Advances On IS Strongholds Underlines US, Russia Convergence
“A two-pronged advance to capture key urban strongholds of the Islamic State group and its self-styled capital of Raqqa has underlined a quiet convergence of strategy between the U.S. and Russia to defeat the extremists, with Syria's Kurds emerging as the common link. The dual advance toward Raqqa by the Syrian army from the southwest and the predominantly Kurdish Syria Democratic Forces from the north and west puts further pressure on the militants as they fend off simultaneous attacks on bastions such as Fallujah, and potentially Mosul, in neighboring Iraq. The Kurdish involvement is proving vital to the interests of Washington and Moscow.”
Daily Caller: ISIS Is Converting 2/3 Of US Humvees Given To Iraq Into Car Bombs
“Islamic State militants have not only stolen a majority of the military Humvees provided to the Iraq Security Forces (ISF) by the U.S., they are now re-purposing them into car bombs. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi confirmed that 2,300 are in ISIS hands, more than 2/3 of all Humvees provided to Iraq by the U.S. Most were stolen after the terrorist group captured the Iraqi city of Mosul in June 2014. While the vehicles were designed as a fast means to carry U.S. personnel and their supplies into battle, it turns out they are even better suited to be used as car bombs, or vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs).”
The New York Times: Iraqis Who Flee Fighting In Falluja Find Hardship And Hunger
“One of the Iraqi civilians who risked an escape from the sprawling battle for Falluja made it as far as the Euphrates River. He was there for all to see on Sunday morning: His body, tied to the side of a boat, bobbed in the muddy waters next to a rickety bridge that separates Baghdad from the violence of Anbar Province.”
NPR: Jordan Says Terrorist Attack Kills 5 At Refugee Camp Near Its Capital
“An attack on an intelligence office at the Baqaa refugee camp in Jordan today was an act of terrorism, says government spokesman Mohammed Momani. Jordan says five service members were killed: a staff sergeant, two corporals, a lance corporal and a private. The timing of the attack coincides with the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, which Momani called ‘a clear evidence of those terrorists' criminal behavior and extremism.’ He did not disclose details about the strike on the intelligence office in the camp near Jordan's capital, Amman. Citing a source in Jordan's security apparatus, Agence France-Presse reports that a lone gunman who used an automatic weapon to fire on the office was able to escape the scene.”
BBC: Frenchman 'Planned Attacks During Euro 2016' - Ukraine's SBU
“A Frenchman detained last month with a large cache of arms was planning mass attacks during the Euro 2016 football tournament, which starts on Friday, Ukrainian officials say. The man, identified by French media as Gregoire Moutaux, 25, was arrested on the Ukrainian border with Poland. Intelligence chief Vasyl Hrytsak said the man had planned 15 attacks and was driven by ultra-nationalist views. He had amassed guns, detonators and 125kg of TNT, Mr Hrytsak said. Mr Hrytsak listed bridges, motorways, a mosque and a synagogue among the suspect's potential targets. He was being prosecuted for arms smuggling and terrorism, he said.”
The New York Times: European Union Seeks U.N. Approval To Intercept Libya-Bound Arms
“A year after it received the United Nations Security Council’s approval to try to stop human smuggling out of Libya, Europe is seeking the Council’s authorization to intercept illegal arms going into Libya. Speaking to the Council on Monday, the European Union’s top foreign policy official, Federica Mogherini, urged members to authorize European naval operations in the Mediterranean Sea ‘to enforce the U.N. arms embargo on the high seas, off the coast of Libya.’ That arms embargo, often violated, has been in place since 2011, during the revolt against Libya’s longtime ruler, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.”
Reuters: Trial Exposes Tension Over U.S. Counter-Extremism Approach
“In the spring of 2014, as Islamic State seized ground in Syria, a group of 10 young Somali-American men in Minneapolis began scheming to join the battle between games of basketball at a neighborhood mosque, a jury found on Friday. But the court case leaves larger doubts unresolved over the success of one of the U.S. government's flagship programs to counter home-grown extremism in a city whose large Muslim population has been a focus of concern over radicalization. It raises questions over whether the U.S. government has figured out a way to steer most young Muslims away from Islamist extremism and what the involvement of law enforcement officials should be.”
Reuters: Boko Haram Retakes Niger Town Of Bosso, Says Mayor
“Boko Haram retook the town of Bosso in southeastern Niger on Sunday night after clashes with soldiers from Niger and Nigeria, the mayor of Bosso and a military source said on Monday, although the Nigerien government said it had control of the area. The Islamist group first took the town near the Nigerian border on Friday in an attack in which 30 soldiers from Niger and two from Nigeria were killed. It was the deadliest assault in Niger by the Islamist group since April 2015, when at least 74 people, including 28 civilians, were killed at the Lake Chad island of Karamga.”
United States
NPR: Why David Gilkey Was In The Roughest Part Of Afghanistan
“When NPR photographer David Gilkey was killed by Taliban fire in a roadside ambush Sunday, he was doing what he always did — chasing an important story in a dangerous place. He did this from Afghanistan to Iraq to Liberia and many other places along the way. Yet this trip with NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman held special significance. As the American military steadily withdrew its combat forces from Afghanistan, David and Tom spent the past several years embedding with Afghan forces to see if they were up to the job of defeating the Taliban. It's a critical story that has largely been ignored. After 15 years of U.S. involvement in the Afghan war, the conflict has disappeared from the front pages in the U.S., and American interest has waned.”
Newsweek: ISIS Hit List Of Arkansas Civilians Leaves Targets, Authorities Unmoved
“Just weeks after releasing the details of 3,000 Brooklynites, a hacker collective aligned to the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) has disseminated another hit list among its supporters on the privacy app Telegram. The 800 names did not originate from a prime U.S. metropolitan hub though, but the rural southeastern state of Arkansas. The target? The Arkansas Library Association. ISIS released the identities of 800 library workers from backwater towns in Arkansas last month, as well as their addresses, email addresses and telephone numbers. A small prize for a radical Islamist group that has plotted large-scale attacks in capital cities to further its aim of striking fear into the heart of Western ‘crusaders,’ the association is as obscure as it is an obvious choice for ISIS to target. The group’s cyber-wing has initiated a trend of hacking low-level sites and databases, releasing civilian details in longer lists with increasing frequency.”
Syria
Voice Of America: Russia Triples Its Airstrikes In Syria In Past Few Days
“Russia has increased dramatically both the rate and breadth of its airstrikes in Syria, tripling the number of air raids in the past few days and demonstrating its ‘freedom of action’ in the war-torn country, according to an analysis by a U.S.-based think tank. ‘The escalation marks a dangerous shift in the Russian airstrike pattern to levels only seen prior to the brokering of the cessation of hostilities agreement in late February,’ said Genevieve Casagrande, an analyst with the Institute for the Study of War. The expansion, she notes, coincides with a further breakdown of the internationally-brokered Geneva peace negotiations, which opposition politicians dismiss as a ‘waste of breath’ because of the continued airstrikes on opposition-held territory both by Russian warplanes and the air force of President Bashar al-Assad.”
Deutsche Welle: UN Agency Warns Syria Fighting Could Displace Over 200,000
“The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), a UN humanitarian agency, said on Monday that increased fighting in the area could force nearly 216,000 people to leave their homes. This is in addition to as many as 20,000 individuals in the area who have already been displaced. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is backed by the US-led coalition fighting the so-called ‘Islamic State’ (IS), launched an offensive against IS on May 30 in an effort to drive the terrorist group from the eastern Aleppo governate. The offensive has met with considerable success since the beginning of June, with SDF forces, backed by airstrikes, retaking strategic villages on the outskirts of Manbij, including Halulah, Gvenah and Al Arandas. Amid these rapid gains, the UN estimates that up to 20,000 people have left their homes and headed toward mostly northern areas deemed as safe.”
BBC: Syria Conflict: 'Deadly Air Strike' Hits Market In IS-Held Town
“At least 17 civilians are reported to have been killed in an air strike on a market in an eastern Syrian town held by so-called Islamic State (IS). The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said eight children were among the victims of the attack in Ashara. Syrian government and Russian warplanes were thought to have carried out the strike, the UK-based group said. It came as the UN said a Kurdish-led assault on an IS stronghold in northern Syria had displaced 20,000 civilians. A further 216,000 people could be uprooted if the operation to take Manbij by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continued, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) added.”
Turkey
BBC: Death Threats Amid Germany-Turkey 'Genocide' Row
“A German MP of Turkish origin, Cem Ozdemir, says he has received death threats over Germany's recognition of the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan castigated German MPs for the vote. He scorned the 11 MPs of Turkish origin, saying, ‘What sort of Turks are they?’ Their blood must be tested in a lab,’ he said. Ankara's mayor showed the 11 in a tweet saying they ‘stabbed us in the back’. Turkey recalled its ambassador from Berlin in fury after the German parliament on Thursday voted overwhelmingly for the Armenian ‘genocide’ resolution. Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their people died in the atrocities of 1915, during the Ottoman Empire's collapse in World War One. Turkey says the toll was much lower and rejects the term ‘genocide’.”
Afghanistan
Associated Press: Afghanistan's Lapis Lazuli Seen As 'Conflict Mineral'
“Afghanistan's president has thrown his support behind a push to classify lapis lazuli as a ‘conflict mineral’ after a global advocacy group said Monday that militants — including the Taliban — earn up to $20 million a year from illegal mining of the rare blue stone. Such a move would force Afghanistan to regulate its troubled mining sector, which now provides the Taliban with its second biggest source of income after drugs. The London-based corruption watchdog Global Witness said in its report that Afghanistan's northern Badakhshan province, where the mines are concentrated, has been ‘deeply destabilized’ by violent competition among Taliban insurgents and local strongmen. The stone is prized for its rich blue color and used in jewelry and other ornaments. It's been mined in Afghanistan and traded along the Silk Road since ancient times.”
Associated Press: Afghan Official: Taliban Ambush Kills 7 In Country's North
“A Taliban ambush on Monday killed at least seven people, including a district intelligence chief and his deputy in northern Afghanistan, officials said. The attack took place in Sangcharak district in northern Sari Pul province early on Monday morning, targeting the intelligence chief and his deputy, said Zabi Amani, spokesman for the provincial governor. Amani said three army intelligence officers and two civilians, including a small child, were also killed in the attack. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but Amani said the Taliban are known to operate in the area. The insurgents have become increasingly active in Afghanistan's northern provinces since the U.S.-led international combat mission pulled out at the end of 2014, leaving a training and assistance mission behind.”
Yemen
Reuters: Hospitals Supported By Charity Received 134 Casualties In One Day: MSF
“A rocket attack on a busy market last week in Taiz, Yemen's third largest city, killed at least 12 civilians and wounded over 122 others, a much higher figure than previously reported, a medical charity said on Monday. Taiz, located some 300 km (186 miles) south of the capital Sanaa, has been devastated by more than 14-month-old war between the Iran-allied Houthis and supporters of the internationally-backed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Medics in Taiz said on Friday that the rocket fired that day by Yemeni Houthi forces or allied troops killed at least six civilians and wounded 18 others. The human rights minister for Hadi's government said nine dead and 26 wounded.”
Reuters: Yemen's Warring Sides Agree To Release Child Prisoners: U.N. Envoy
“The parties to over a year of civil war in Yemen have agreed to release all child prisoners they are holding, U.N. envoy to peace talks in Kuwait Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said on his official Twitter account on Monday. ‘The unconditional release of children was agreed, and the mechanics of the release of detainees in the coming days was addressed,’ Ould Cheikh Ahmed wrote.’ The Iran-allied Houthi group and Yemen's Saudi-backed government in exile are trying to reach a peace agreement in negotiations aimed at ending the war that has killed at least 6,200 people and caused a humanitarian crisis in the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country. There was no immediate comment from either side's peace delegation in Kuwait on the U.N. envoy's announcement.”
Egypt
The New York Times: Graft Fighter In Egypt Finds Himself A Defendant In Court
“Egypt’s anti-corruption czar thought he was just doing his job when he estimated how much endemic graft had cost his country: About $76 billion, he said, mostly in corrupt land deals. But the estimate, it turned out, was itself a criminal offense. The now-former official, Hisham Geneina, is to stand trial in Cairo on Tuesday, just over two months after he was unceremoniously fired by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as the head of the Central Auditing Authority. He faces a charge of spreading false news and disturbing the peace that carries a potential one-year jail sentence.”
Middle East
The Jerusalem Post: Arrest Of Young Hamas Operative Leads To New Details On Gazan Tunnel Network
“Security forces arrested a 17-year-old Hamas operative from Gaza, and said they learned many valuable details on Hamas's elaborate network of tunnels across the Gaza Strip. The Hamas operative crossed into Israel last month, and took part in Hamas's tunnel-digging program, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) announced on Sunday. In a joint Shin Bet, IDF, and Israel Police operation, the 17-year-old suspect was taken into custody on May 16 after crossing the electronic border fence into Israel. Details on Hamas's attack tunnels in northern Gaza surfaced during the investigation, the agency added. Hamas is digging attack tunnels and linking them to its defensive tunnels located in the heart of Gaza. The defensive tunnels are intended for the movement Hamas armed members, out of sight of the Israel Air Force, the Shin Bet said.”
Libya
Reuters: Number Of Migrant Bodies Found On Libyan Coast Rises To 133: Red Crescent
“The bodies of 133 migrants have washed up on the shore at the western Libyan city of Zuwara in recent days, the Red Crescent said on Sunday. Spokesman Al-Khamis al-Bosaifi said about three-quarters of the migrants were women and there were at least five children. No documents were found with the bodies, which were partly decomposed, but they were mainly sub-Saharan Africans, he said. A local security official said the migrants were thought to have set off from the nearby city of Sabratha, where a surge in boat departures led to hundreds of migrant deaths last week.”
“The top United Nations official for Libya today told the Security Council about the ‘tragic’ humanitarian situation there, underlining that ‘personal tragedies and collective suffering’ are the consequence of the continued lack of State authority in most parts of the North African country. ‘In the few weeks since the preparation of the report, over 6,000 families from Sirte alone have had to flee their homes to escape on-going clashes and military operations against Da’esh [also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL],’ said Martin Kobler, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya.”
France
“England flew into France yesterday, and into an unprecedented security operation to tackle the twin threats of terrorism and hooliganism at Euro 2016. Armed police were patrolling the England camp at Chantilly, and France was stunned by the arrest of a French citizen in Ukraine with a ‘vast arsenal’ of explosive and assault rifles. He was described as a right-wing fanatic, who intended to mount up to 15 attacks to coincide with the tournament. French police say England’s first game, against Russia on Saturday in Marseille, where rioting English fans caused widespread damage during the 1998 World Cup, is a particular risk, along with the Poland-Ukraine match on June 21.”
France Braces For Intense Security Around Euro 2016 Championship
“Gun attacks, remotely-detonated bombs, and even drones carrying explosives and chemical weapons: these are just a few of the terrorist threats French authorities are preparing for at the Euro 2016 football championships, which get underway on Friday. Just days before the championships kick off, Ukraine security services say they have arrested a Frenchman and an accomplice who were planning attacks on French targets before and during the tournament. Today's arrest of a French citizen in Ukraine highlights the risk from terrorism isn't just from ISIS.”
Europe
Reuters: Greece Discovers Huge Quantity Of Opiates, Investigates Islamic State Link
“Greek authorities are investigating a possible Islamic State link behind the discovery of a huge quantity of synthetic opiates destined for Libya. The Narcotics and Arms Division of Greece's Financial Crimes Unit (SDOE), in cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), seized 26 million tablets containing Tramadol, a painkiller available only on prescription. They had arrived at Piraeus, Greece's largest commercial port, in a container from New Delhi on May 10. Greek agents acted on a tip-off from the DEA, said Loukas Danabasis, director of the division. The pills were found stacked behind boxes of household linen, which was the listed consignment on shipping documents.”
South Africa
CNN: South Africa Urges Citizens Not To Panic Following U.S. Terror Warning
“South Africa's government reassured citizens Monday they are in ‘no immediate danger’ following a U.S. warning of possible terror attacks in the country during Ramadan. ‘We remain a strong and stable democratic country and there is no immediate danger posed by the alert,’ State Security Minister David Mahlobo said in a statement emailed to CNN. The statement said that South African security forces were working with U.S. officials over their concerns and would continue to focus on terrorist threats to ensure the public's safety.”
Arabic Language Clips
ISIS
With the advent of the holy month of Ramadan, many experts and analysts expect that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) will use this month as an excuse to carry out a series of terrorist attacks and proclaim new Wilayat (provinces). The organization may use Ramadan to formulate a new global strategy amid the recent defeats it has suffered in both Syria and Iraq. This is part of ISIS's aspiration to direct a painful blow to the non-Islamic world. A study published recently in the United States under the title "ISIS Predictions: Ramadan 2016", indicates that during the month of Ramadan, ISIS's terror attacks will not be limited to countries experiencing political and security instability, such as Iraq and Syria, simply to preserve its recent achievements. The study expects that ISIS attacks will spread into neighboring countries, such as Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan.
Alqurtasnews News: ISIS Is Suffering A Financial Crisis In Mosul
Iraqi officials and activists warn of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Mosul, after the entry of goods was halted due to the financial crunch experienced by ISIS, which controls the city. Prices skyrocketed in Mosul mainly because of the lack of financial liquidity. Head of the Nineveh Media Center, Raafat al-Zarari, was quoted as saying: "Mosul's residents are suffering terrible, inhumane conditions. This is a result of a lack of liquidity and decline of per capita income to one dollar a day. Meanwhile, prices have gone up on the occasion of Ramadan by 10-20 percent, as entry of trucks from the Turkish-Syrian border has come to a complete stand-still."
Muslim Brotherhood
Lomazoma: Hassan Al-Banna's Brotherhood Storming Africa To Form A New Lobby
Informed sources revealed new information regarding the Muslim Brotherhood's scheme for expansion on the African continent, far away from the crises that have hit the group in Egypt. According to the sources, the international arm of the Brotherhood decided to launch powerful economic lobbies in five African countries, namely Kenya, Senegal, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Gabon. This will be achieved through the establishment of a number of specialized investment companies. This move represents a prelude to the formation of other lobbies in the political, social and religious-preaching spheres in these countries. The lobbies will serve as the Muslim Brotherhood's branch in each of these African countries. The Brotherhood selected these five countries in particular due to the absence of strong ties with Egypt; therefore, they are not expected to restrict the activities of the group inside their territories. In addition, the five African nations are part of a strong 22-state commercial bloc, which will potentially make it easier for the Brotherhood to invest its funds there. Thus, the international arm of the Muslim Brotherhood is poised to start pumping investments into these African countries, thereby establishing a new foothold to compensate for its heavy losses in the Arab world. The Brotherhood has already instructed its affiliated businessmen to operate in these countries, explaining to them the prerequisites for establishing companies and the cost of living in each nation.
Egyptian judicial sources revealed that the investigation unit of Egypt's Illicit Gains Authority has completed its examination of the financial disclosures relating to the end of the terms of ministers, governors and public servants who filled leadership positions in the government of ousted President Mohammed Morsi. The probes revealed that some of these public officials exploited their influence to acquire illicit gains. Authorities now intend to summon them to challenge the findings of the investigations and interrogations. The sources noted that the investigations by regulatory agencies regarding the Muslim Brotherhood officials revealed that at the time some of them received plots of land in October 6th City, Hurghada and Alexandria at prices substantially lower than their real value, in addition to the use of government budgets for their own personal interests.