Eye on Extremism October 24, 2018

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Eye on Extremism - October 24, 2018
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The Hill: Treasury Sanctions Eight For Ties To Taliban, Iran Militia

“The Treasury Department on Tuesday targeted eight members of the Taliban and Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp. Qods Forces with financial sanctions through a year-old partnership with six Middle Eastern countries. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated eight individuals operating out of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran as terrorists for allegedly funding or organizing Taliban and Qods forces attacks. Those targeted under the sanctions are banned from the U.S. financial system. Treasury announced the action Tuesday morning in conjunction with Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC), the group of six Middle Eastern countries and the U.S. formed last year. The coalition including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates is meant to coalesce efforts to cut off funding to terrorist groups and Iran-backed militias.”

Sky News: Hate Preacher Abu Hamza Denied Exit From High-Security Prison

“Former north London hate preacher Abu Hamza has failed in a bid to be moved from a high-security jail in the US. The 60-year-old Egyptian terrorist - who provided a haven for Islamic extremists as imam of Finsbury Park Mosque in Islington - is serving a life sentence at the ADX Supermax Federal Prison in Colorado. Hook-handed Hamza has previously complained that the "inhuman and degrading" conditions are a breach of his human rights, and his lawyers had been hopeful that he could be moved back to the UK. They have always argued that he is too disabled to be kept in a high-security jail, as he suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and psoriasis - in addition to his amputated forearms and missing eye.”

The Wall Street Journal: Japanese Journalist Freed From Syria

“Japan confirmed Wednesday that a man freed from Syria is a Japanese freelance journalist who was kidnapped three years ago and said he appears to be in good health. The man was identified as Jumpei Yasuda, Foreign Minister Taro Kono said. “We are extremely pleased that we have confirmed the safety of Mr. Jumpei Yasuda,” Mr. Kono told reporters. He said Japanese Embassy officials met with Mr. Yasuda at an immigration center in southern Turkey near the border with Syria, where he has been protected since he was freed Tuesday. Mr. Kono said Mr. Yasuda appeared to be in good health. Mr. Yasuda was kidnapped in 2015 by al Qaeda’s branch in Syria, known at the time as the Nusra Front, after contact with him was lost in June that year. A war monitoring group said he was most recently held by a Syrian commander with the Turkistan Islamic Party, which mostly comprises Chinese jihadists in Syria.”

The Defense Post: Belgium Court Strips Citizenship Of Man Convicted Of Recruiting Jihadists For Syria

“A man found guilty in Belgium of recruiting jihadists for the war in Syria was stripped of his Belgian citizenship on Tuesday, October 23. Fouad Belkacem, a 36-year-old born in Belgium to Moroccan parents, was sentenced in 2015 to 12 years in prison for heading “a terrorist group,” Sharia4Belgium, which sent jihadists to Syria. An appeals court in Antwerp withdrew his citizenship on grounds “he seriously failed to meet his obligations as a Belgian citizen and posed a permanent threat to public security,” Belgian media reported. Belkacem’s group recruited would-be jihadists to fight for Islamic State and other groups in Syria, prosecutors said in 2015. Belkacem’s lawyer Liliane Verjauw denounced the decision by the court in the northern Dutch-speaking city, saying she would take further action to restore his nationality.”

The Mirror: White Widow Sally Jones Is 'Still Alive And Fighting With ISIS In Syria'

“A British terror suspect dubbed the White Widow is alive and fighting with Islamic State fanatics in Syria, it is claimed. Sally Jones, 50, was believed to have been killed alongside her 12-year-old son JoJo by a drone strike last October. But a Canadian IS fighter captured by Kurds in Syria insists she escaped the attack. Muhammed Ali, alias Turab, told research fellow Amarnath *Amarasingam Jones is hiding out in the country’s north east. Amarnath said: “Turab claimed she was still alive and probably in final ISIS holdouts of Hajin or As-Shafah. "If true, we may find her captured soon. The claim may confirm US fears Jones was still at large after they posted a list in April of top terror targets, with her name on it. JoJo was also said to have been seen alive in As-Shafah, near the border with Iraq. But his *whereabouts are unknown. Former punk rock musician Jones, of Chatham, Kent, went to Syria with her son in 2013. A year later she married fellow Brit Junaid Hussain.”

The Washington Post: Apple’s Tim Cook Delivers Searing Critique Of Silicon Valley

“Apple chief executive Tim Cook on Wednesday warned the world’s most powerful regulators that the poor privacy practices of some tech companies, the ills of social media and the erosion of trust in his own industry threaten to undermine “technology’s awesome potential” to address challenges like disease and climate change. In a searing critique of Silicon Valley — delivered from the well of European Parliament in Brussels — Cook began by stressing he remains optimistic that “new technologies are driving breakthroughs in humanity’s greatest common projects.” But the Apple leader expressed alarm about divisive political rhetoric that proliferates on social media platforms, and rogue actors and governments that seize on algorithms to “deepen divisions, incite violence, and even undermine our shared sense of what is true and what is false.” He also lamented an emerging “data industrial complex” — a play on a 1960s-era criticism of defense contractors — that allows companies to “know you better than you may know yourself.” Cook didn’t mention Facebook, Google or any other company by name.”

United States
Department Of Defense: DOD Spokesman: ISIS Deliberately Misuses Mosques

“A U.S.-led coalition airstrike leveled a Syrian mosque yesterday among other buildings used by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria to attack the Syrian Democratic Forces, Army Col. Rob Manning, the Pentagon’s director of press operations, told Pentagon reporters yesterday. While mosques are generally among those buildings that have protected status in wartime, Manning explained that this mosque lost that status when ISIS “deliberately” chose it as a command-and-control center. “This is the second attack in a week where ISIS’ misuse of a mosque violates the law of land warfare and made those mosques military targets,” he said. The law of land warfare is an internationally recognized set of laws established to regulate the conduct of war. The law of war requires combatants to protect religious buildings, shrines and other consecrated places. “Our in-depth monitoring of ISIS … made us aware when only ISIS fighters would be present. We conduct inquiries into all credible allegations of civilian casualties,” Manning said of the air strike. “[ISIS is] nasty [and] brutal, and they certainly have no problem at all putting civilians at risk and jeopardizing the status of protected targets under the law of land warfare,” he added.”

Vanguard: Global Terrorism: Women Group Petitions Trump, Demands Protection From Boko Haram

“A group of women, under the umbrella of Africa Arise for Change Network, has petitioned the United State President, Donald Trump over continued attack on women by terrorists. The group however demanded protection from terrorists in Africa. The group said threats to women in Africa has made it imperative that America reasserts its global leadership status by protecting the vulnerable. Recall that Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a faction of Boko Haram, had recently executed Hauwa Leman, an aide worker with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Borno State. The terrorists also vowed to keep Leah Sharibu, one of the Dapchi schoolgirls, who is currently in their custody, as “a slave for life.” Irked by the ugly incidents, the women, in a letter addressed to Trump through the US Ambassador to Nigeria, called on the United State Government to urgently intervene “before it is too late.”

Amnewyork: Port Authority Bombing Trial: Jurors Can See ISIS Videos From Suspect's Laptop

“Prosecutors will be permitted to show jurors parts of nine Islamic State “propaganda videos” found on a laptop at the apartment of accused Port Authority bomber Akayed Ullah when he goes on trial next week, a Manhattan federal judge ruled on Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan overruled defense arguments that the videos shouldn’t be allowed without proof Ullah used the laptop, and said the imagery would be unnecessarily inflammatory in light of post-arrest statements Ullah made admitting he was inspired by ISIS. “ISIS is a violent organization but allowing the jury to see too much of the TPM will inevitably taint Mr. Ullah with the ISIS’s deserved stain, even though he is not responsible for that organization’s conduct or any of the conduct depicted in the video excerpts,” defense lawyers said in a motion. But the judge said prosecutors edited the most violent images out of the videos, and they were relevant to the charge that Ullah was providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization when he tried to detonate a bomb in a Port Authority commuter tunnel under Times Square last December.”

The Washington Times: Alabama Woman Charged In Attempting To Provide Support To Al Qaeda

“An Alabama woman was charged Tuesday with attempting to provide support and resources to terrorist organization al Qaeda, the Justice Department announced. Alan Mohd Abusaad, 22, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was arrested Tuesday in Ohio, according to the Justice Department. If convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison. Ms. Abusaad instructed an undercover FBI informant how to send money to the Mujahedeen— fighters engaged in jihad — because “money is always needed,” prosecutors said. “You can’t have a war without weapons. You can’t prepare a soldier without equipment,” she told the FBI informant, according to court documents. Ms. Abusaad first came to the feds attention in February when she was introduced to the undercover informant by an unidentified person, prosecutors said. Communication was made through a mobile messaging app, authorities said.”

Syria
Associated Press: Japan Confirms ID Of Journalist Freed From Syria

“Japan confirmed Wednesday that a man freed from Syria is a Japanese freelance journalist who was kidnapped three years ago and said he appears to be in good health. The man was identified as Jumpei Yasuda, Foreign Minister Taro Kono said. “We are extremely pleased that we have confirmed the safety of Mr. Jumpei Yasuda,” Kono told reporters. He said Japanese Embassy officials met with Yasuda at an immigration center in southern Turkey near the border with Syria, where he has been protected since he was freed Tuesday. Kono said Yasuda appeared to be in good health. Yasuda was kidnapped in 2015 by al-Qaida’s branch in Syria, known at the time as the Nusra Front, after contact with him was lost in June that year. A war monitoring group said he was most recently held by a Syrian commander with the Turkistan Islamic Party, which mostly comprises Chinese jihadis in Syria. The news of Yasuda’s release came late Tuesday from Qatar, which helped in efforts for his release along with Turkey and other countries in the region, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, thanking them for their support.”

Al Monitor: Raqqa Still Haunted By IS One Year After Its Expulsion

“Hagid "the minesweeper" put on his black latex gloves and placed his work kit on a piece of collapsed ceiling. Flashlight stuck between his teeth, he illuminated the mine he just discovered behind flowerpots in a stairwell. The building, once part of the Euphrates University, is no more than a wreck — the result of a gruesome, four-month-long battle. The second floor crashed on the first. Hagid cut a wire and raised the neutralized mine with both hands to take a look at it. “A nongovernmental organization was supposed to have completely cleaned the building,” the Raqqa native told Al-Monitor. In what was for three years the largest stronghold of the Islamic State (IS) in Syria, mine-disposal experts feel overwhelmed. The jihadis, known for producing sophisticated explosive devices on an industrial scale, booby-trapped every corner of Raqqa. In the first months following the reconquest of the city on Oct. 17, 2017, by the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic forces (SDF), an average of 10 civilians a day were killed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs), representatives of the Raqqa Civil Council (RCC), doctors and soldiers told Al-Monitor. One year on, jihadis still spill blood in the streets of Raqqa. Perhaps even more dangerous than yesterday's mines are the bombs of today. For several months, sleeping cells presumably linked to IS have been conducting a spate of deadly operations against the SDF, the new occupants of Raqqa.”

Iran
Reuters: Saudi, Bahrain Add Iran's Revolutionary Guards To Terrorism Lists

“Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that it and Bahrain had added Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and senior officers from its Quds Force to their lists of people and organizations suspected of involvement in terrorism. Tehran quickly responded that the move was intended to “distract the world and the region from the killing of Jamal Khashoggi”, the journalist whose disappearance after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul has provoked international outrage. The Saudi state news agency SPA quoted a statement from the security services as saying Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force, and the force’s Hamed Abdollahi and Abdul Reza Shahlai had been included on the terrorism list. The U.S. Treasury Department alleged in 2011 that Soleimani, Abdollahi and Shahlai were linked to a plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s former ambassador to the United States, Adel Al-Jubeir, and imposed sanctions on them. Iran at the time dismissed the accusations as false and demanded an apology from Washington. The Quds Force is the branch of the Revolutionary Guards that operates abroad. “Saudi Arabia is in a quagmire it cannot easily come out of,” Iran’s Mehr news agency quoted Brigadier-General Esmail Kowsari, the Revolutionary Guards’ deputy security chief, as saying on Tuesday. “Saudi rulers are trying to distract the world and the region from the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist, in their consulate in Turkey,” he added.”

Amnesty International: Iran: Critically Ill Prisoner Of Conscience Coerced To End Hunger Strike

“The Iranian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Farhad Meysami, a human rights defender campaigning for women’s rights, who is being held in the medical clinic at Evin prison in Tehran against his will to pressure him into ending his hunger strike, said Amnesty International. Farhad Meysami, a medical doctor, was detained in July for supporting a campaign against Iran’s laws imposing forced hijab (veiling) on women and girls. He has been on hunger strike since 1 August and his health has deteriorated drastically. On 26 September, he was forcibly transferred from section 4 of Evin prison to the medical clinic, where he is being held in isolation, and has been administered intravenous fluids against his will. Sources told Amnesty International he is being held there until he agrees to end his hunger strike.”

The National: Iran’s Insidious Infiltration Of Syria Will Be Impossible For The US To Disentangle

“As the Syrian uprising evolved into full-blown warfare, and as it now winds its way towards an apparently inevitable denouement, so US policy has struggled to adapt. Donald Trump's initial instincts – and tweets – that the US would pull out of Syria have been reversed, but the precise direction is not yet clear. America's Syria policy appears to be formulated somewhere between the White House and the State Department. Since John Bolton came in as National Security Adviser earlier this year and Jim Jeffrey was appointed as the State Department's special representative for Syria last month, a new policy appears to be taking shape. Both have publicly declared that the estimated 2,000 US troops inside Syria will not leave “as long as Iranian troops are outside Iranian borders”, as Mr Bolton put it at the United Nations General Assembly. Mr Jeffrey later said that US troops would not leave before the end of this year and also promised “a more active approach” inside Syria. Taken together, these comments reverse Mr Trump's assertions, made as recently as April this year, that he would withdraw from Syria.”

The National: US And GCC States Sanction Iran Quds Force Members For Aiding Taliban

“The United States, the UAE and its five fellow Gulf Cooperation Council member states on Tuesday sanctioned more than half a dozen individuals who have aided Iranian support to the Taliban in Afghanistan or held senior roles in the militant group. The seven members of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Centre (TFTC), which includes Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, designated the nine individuals as terrorist actors or supporters of terrorism, a joint statement issued from Riyadh said. Those sanctioned include members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ elite foreign operations wing, the Quds Force, accused of supporting Taliban fighters in a bid to destabilise the Western-backed Afghan government. The designations also include top Taliban figures involved in suicide attacks and other lethal activities. “The TFTC has again demonstrated its tremendous value to international security by disrupting and exposing key Taliban members. We are also targeting key Iranian sponsors providing financial and material support to the Taliban,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who had travelled to Riyadh to meet with Saudi officials and regional partners.”

Iraq
Iraqi News: Iraqi Troops Arrest Islamic State’s Food Provider In Mosul

“Iraqi troops arrested on Tuesday an Islamic State militant who was tasked with providing the group with foodstuffs in Mosul city. “Troops of the 20th division of the Military Intelligence Directorate managed to arrest the Islamic State’s food provider during an operation in Hamam al-Alil district in Mosul,” Baghdad Today website quoted the directorate as saying in a statement. “An arrest warrant had been issued for the held terrorist pursuant to article 4 pf the counter-terrorism law,” the statement read. Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence last November with the recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which was the group’s last bastion in Iraq. IS declared a self-styled “caliphate” in a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014. A government campaign, backed by a U.S.-led international coalition and paramilitary forces, was launched in 2016 to retake IS-held regions, managing to retake all havens, most notably the city of Mosul, the group’s previously proclaimed capital. Despite the group’s crushing defeat at its main havens across Iraq, Islamic State continues to launch sporadic attacks against troops with security reports warning that the militant group still poses a threat against stability in the country.”

Iraqi News: Iraqi Security Arrest Two Members Of Islamic State’s Jund Diwan In Kirkuk

“Two Islamic State (IS) terrorists were apprehended Tuesday in the oil-rich Iraqi province of Kirkuk, a state-run security center said as the country still faces a growing threat posed by the terrorist group’s dormant cells. “Troops of the homeland security service have arrested two members of the Islamic State’s so-called Jund (soldiers) Diwan, who are wanted by Iraqi judiciary over terror-related charges,” Iraqi website Almaalomah quoted spokesman for the Security Media Center Maj. Gen. Saad Maan as saying. According to the spokesman, the arrested were made in Panja Ali and Jimen areas in Kirkuk. The security situation in Iraqi has deteriorated since the emergence of Islamic State group in the country in 2014. Even after their crushing defeat, IS militants continue to pose a security threat across the country. The Islamic State group appeared on the international scene in 2014 when it seized large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, declaring the establishment of an Islamic “caliphate” from Mosul city. Later on, the group has become notorious for its brutality, including mass killings, abductions and beheadings, prompting the U.S. to lead an international coalition to destroy it. The surge in violence between armed groups and government forces has resulted in over five million internally displaced persons across Iraq and left more than 11 million in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.”

Turkey
Ahval: ‘ISIS Chief Ordered The Killing Of Turkey’s Main Opposition Party Leader’ - Columnist

“Islamic State (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2017 ordered his operatives in Turkey to assassinate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), columnist Talat Atilla said in Milliyet newspaper on Sunday. Turkish police arrested six men in July 2017 that they believed planned an assassination attempt against Kılıçdaroğlu, while he was passing through the western province of Kocaeli during a 25-day march he made from Ankara to Istanbul to protest the deterioration of the rule. Turkish police said the attackers were linked to ISIS and one of the suspects, Oğuzhan Korkmaz, was the leader of extreme jihadist group’s cell in Kayseri, in central Turkey. Korkmaz is one of 11 people being tried for membership of ISIS. He denies any links to the group. According to columnist Atilla, the investigators after interrogating Korkmaz and accessing all information on his mobile phone concluded that the assassination attempt was not planned by an ISIS cell in Turkey acting alone. The assassination of Kılıçdaroğlu was personally instructed by ISIS leader Baghdadi, Atilla said.”

Afghanistan
Brookings Institution: Ballots And Bullets In Afghanistan

“Despite Taliban threats of violence to disrupt last Saturday’s parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, many Afghans showed up in large numbers to vote. Their commitment once again debunked the myths and caricatures so readily put forth by Western commentators that Afghans do not want democracy. Over and over the Afghan people have shown that they want accountability from their leaders, inclusion, and justice. And, once again, the long-delayed elections showed how the commitments and desires of the Afghan people are frustrated by dysfunctional political processes and systems that often render their voices meaningless, further exacerbating the steadily worsening security situation. The people who showed up to vote exhibited great bravery: The Taliban attacked polling stations, rained rocket fire on some towns, and kidnapped and killed four election officials. At least 78 people, including 28 members of the Afghan security forces, were killed by the end of Saturday and some 470 people were wounded. Afghan security forces did succeed in preventing large-scale attacks on election day. But at least one-third of polling stations did not open due to insecurity, and the Taliban and various political rivals killed numerous political candidates while campaigning.”

Pakistan
News18: Pakistan Must Make Sincere Efforts To Curb Terrorism On Afghan Border: Mike Pompeo

“Pakistan will be held responsible if they do not make sincere efforts to curb terrorism on their western border with Afghanistan, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. Talking to reporters Tuesday at the State Department's Foggy Bottom headquarters, Pompeo said this was the message he had delivered to the Pakistani leadership when he travelled to Islamabad in September, after Imran Khan became prime minister. We had made clear that the US policy with respect to south-central Asia has not changed, that our expectation is that Pakistan will not provide safe harbor to terrorists on their western border, he said in response to a question on AfPak. On September 5, Pompeo met Khan and pressed him "to do more" to rein in the terror groups operating from Pakistan's soil. We couldn't make that message any more clear and that Pakistan will be held account if they don't see about it... If they're not sincere in that effort. "We don't believe we can get to the place that everyone wants. Everyone wants reconciliation in Afghanistan, and to achieve that you can't have a safe harbor for Taliban - for Haqqani, and for others inside of Pakistan, Pompeo said. The Pakistani government knows that "that's our review and this administration has already made significant efforts to hold them accountable and we hope that they'll achieve the goal that we have out for them, said the Secretary of State.”

Yemen
Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthis Suffer Major Losses In Nihm District, Saada

“A number of Houthi were killed and others wounded by Arab Coalition air strikes backing government troops in Nihm District battlefields on Monday. Yemen’s National Army official website reported that at least nine Houthi militiamen were killed in coalition raids. Sources confirmed that raids targeted militia concentrations in Nihm district’s mountainous area. The National Army earlier announced the killing of a senior Houthi leader that operates under the alias Abu Jihad in an offensive conducted north-west Baqim district in Saada. “The targeting came after an intensive monitoring of militia movements in the district,” the statement army said. Such developments coincide with escalated fighting nationwide as army troops, backed by the Saudi-led Arab Coalition, push to liberate Houthi-captured territory. In the southern Lahij province, national army forces foiled a retaliation attack against Al Qabbaytah District. Pro-government and army forces had previously freed and assumed control over key locations in the area. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, pro-government forces spokesman Ali Montaser al-Qabati said that National Army and the Popular Resistance units staged a successful diversion and were able to capture a number of sites in Al Qabbaytah District. Qabati added that fighting is ongoing. “National Army and the Popular Resistance forces are approaching Shuwafta village amid a total collapse among militia ranks,” he said. According to Qabati, the many Iran-allied Houthi fighters deserted their positions in Nihm district after suffering significant human and material losses.”

Al Arabiya: Yemen Minister: Houthis Have Destroyed 70 Percent Of Yemen’s Sports Facilities

“The Houthi militia’s kidnapping of national football team player Walid al-Hubaishi has sparked wide anger among Yemenis. The terror group has committed several violations against sports and sport players. The incident of Hubaishi has shed light on the matter. In an interview with Al Arabiya, Nayef al-Bakry, Yemen’s minister of youth and sports, said: “the Houthi militias commit several violations aimed at destroying the sports infrastructure in Yemen.” “Al-Hubaishi’s incident is not their first attempt, there have been numerous abuses committed by militias against individual athletes or sports facilities since their coup against legitimacy,” he added. The minister noted that there are about 11 players who have been killed by the Houthis, in addition to arresting several players, some of whom had been released and others are still under their detention. The militias even prevent the families of the detained players from seeing them.”

Saudi Arabia
CNN: In Saudi Arabia, Mnuchin Announces Joint Sanctions Against Terror Sponsors With Taliban, Iran Ties

The United States, along with seven Middle Eastern partners, including Saudi Arabia, slapped sanctions Tuesday on nine individuals supporting the Taliban regime at a joint meeting in Riyadh. Several people sanctioned have ties to Iran, the Treasury Department said. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met with top Saudi leaders and other counterparts from the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait during a visit to the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center, where they unanimously agreed to increase pressure on any persons providing support to the Iranian regime. "The United States and our partners will not tolerate the Iranian regime exploiting Afghanistan to further their destabilizing behavior," Mnuchin said in a statement released after the gathering. "Iran's support to the Taliban stands in stark violation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions and epitomizes the regime's utter disregard for fundamental international norms." Tuesday's actions represent the third coordinated effort by the eight-member coalition since the center opened in May 2017. Treasury said the US government would continue to impose punitive measures until there is a negotiated peace settlement in Afghanistan. Mnuchin has come under pressure during his six-country trip amid furious international pressure over the presumed murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi agents.”

Lebanon
Al Monitor: US Warns Lebanon That Hezbollah Cabinet Pick Would Cross ‘Red Line’

“A breakthrough in the Cabinet formation process in Lebanon remains elusive despite recent indications that a power sharing formula might be imminent. While the major obstacle to forming the government is primarily linked to inter- and intra-sectarian rivalries, the impact of foreign powers remains a fixture of Lebanese politics. Al-Monitor has confirmed that the Donald Trump administration has privately informed Lebanese officials that giving Hezbollah the Health Ministry is a “red line,” but has also left the door open regarding what punitive measures the US government might take. Hezbollah is expected to have three seats in the next Lebanese government, one of which might be allocated to Jamal al-Taqsh, who is a general surgeon at Al-Rasoul al-Aazam Hospital in Hezbollah’s stronghold in the Dahiyeh area of Beirut.”

The Jerusalem Post: Hezbollah Violation

“News that Hezbollah has captured a bird of prey and is holding it as a suspected Israeli spy is periodically creating local headlines and raising smirks. But what happened this week might shed some light on the Hezbollah way of thinking – and it is no laughing matter. On Monday, the IDF announced that it had uncovered an observation post used by the terrorist group about a kilometer from Israel’s northern border. It was the sixth such post discovered in the past couple of years. The Lebanese Shi’ite terrorist organization had sinisterly tried to conceal the intelligence gathering post as a birdwatching station for a non-existent environmental NGO called “Green Without Borders.” Like the Hamas terror tunnels spreading from Gaza toward and into Israeli territory, there is nothing innocent about the activity. Hezbollah, like Hamas, is funded and supported by Iran; both terrorist organizations have a history of kidnapping and murdering Israeli soldiers and citizens. The hidden Hezbollah post was located in the village of al-Adisa, just across the border from Kibbutz Misgav Am. Nobody in the kibbutz needs a reminder of the cost of terrorism. In 1980, five Palestinian terrorists crossed the nearby border and penetrated the community and held hostage a group of toddlers sleeping in the then-typical kibbutz “children house.”

Middle East
Gulf News: UAE Cabinet Adds Nine More Names To Terror List

“The UAE Cabinet on Tuesday added the names of nine more individuals to the list of terrorism supporters. The move, which was taken according to Cabinet decision No 50 of 2018, comes in line with the UAE’s keenness to target and disrupt networks associated with terrorist financing and activities. The new names include Mohammad Ebrahim Ohadi, Esmail Radhwi, Abdullah Samad Farouqi, Mohammad Dawood, Abdul Rahim Mannan, Mohammad Naeem Barashi, Abdul Aziz Aziz Shah Zamani, Sadar Ebrahim and Hafeez Abdul Majeed. The Cabinet instructed the UAE Central Bank to take necessary legal procedures to freeze accounts of these individuals on the terrorism list. The nine names have also been included on Bahrain and Saudi Arabia’s terror lists. The move is part of joint efforts by GCC countries and the US to fight terrorism.”

Nigeria
Punch Nigeria: Boko Haram Kills Two In Attack Near Chibok

“Boko Haram jihadists have killed two people in an attack on a village in northeast Nigeria near the town of Chibok, residents and a militia official told AFP Tuesday. The jihadists, believed to be loyal to Boko Haram factional leader Abubakar Shekau, late Monday raided Mifah, seven kilometres from Chibok, where militants abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in 2014. Boko Haram’s nine-year conflict has killed an estimated 27,000 people and displaced two million, creating a humanitarian crisis and spilling into Nigeria’s northern neighbours. “They killed two people and looted the village before setting it on fire,” said David Bitrus, a civilian militia member fighting alongside the army, after the Mifah attack. “The village has been reduced to ashes. Six people were injured in the attack,” he said. The attack, which happened around 8 pm (1900 GMT), forced residents of the village to flee to Chibok. “The gunmen came in a truck and on several motorcycles and began shooting in the village,” said Mifah resident Manasseh Amos. “They took all our food and livestock and burnt the village. We have nothing left,” Amos said. Troops were stationed in Chibok since the schoolgirls were abducted four years ago, but violent Boko Haram raids have continued in communities across Nigeria’s remote northeast. Chibok lies close to Boko Haram’s Sambisa forest enclave from where the jihadists launch attacks on nearby villages. In recent days Boko Haram militants have increasingly attacked civilian targets in the region.”

Somalia
News24: Deputy Chief Of ISIS-Linked Group In Somalia Killed: Officials

“Somali intelligence officials say the deputy leader of an Islamic State-affiliated extremist group based in northern Somalia has been killed in the capital. The officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to reporters told The Associated Press that Mahad Moalim's body was found near a Mogadishu beach last week, a few days after he reportedly was abducted while secretly visiting the city. The officials said his relatives have accused other deputies in the extremist group. Reports have emerged that the group's leader was ill, creating rivalry among possible successors. The United States in February sanctioned Moalim as a "specially designated global terrorist," saying he was responsible for facilitating shipments of weapons and fighters across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen.”

Africa
The South African: Durban ‘Bomb Plot’ Links ISIS Terrorist Threat To South Africa

“Court documents have revealed what appears to be a sinister ISIS terrorist plot in South Africa, spearheaded by extremists accused of carrying out a series of Durban bomb scares. Evidence brought before the Verulam Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday has blown the case involving the infamous Durban bomb plot wide open. According to a report by Sowetan Live, which cites documents sequestered by the court, a group of Durban men accused of carrying out terror attacks have been directly linked to Islamic terrorist group, ISIS. A raid by the Hawks on 8 Nugget Road in Reservoir Hills‚ Durban, uncovered a manual on how to make bombs and ISIS propaganda – including several flags. The investigation also uncovered a document relating to assassinations. This was confirmed by investigating Officer Kwezi Chonco, who strongly opposed bail for the 11 accused.”

United Kingdom
Associated Press: US Court Upholds London Imam's Conviction, Life Sentence For Supporting Terrorism

“A US appeals court on Tuesday upheld the conviction and life prison sentence given to a London imam for supporting terrorism. The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals said there was overwhelming evidence against Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, 60. The court also ruled that Mustafa's 2012 extradition to the US from England didn't come with conditions preventing his incarceration at the Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado. Mustafa is missing both hands. His lawyers said he belongs at a prison better suited to people with disabilities. A lawyer for Mustafa did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Mustafa was convicted in 2014 of ensuring there were satellite communications for kidnappers during a 1998 attack that killed four tourists in Yemen, of supporting plans to open an al-Qaida training camp in Bly, Oregon, and sending someone to an Afghanistan training camp.”

France
Reuters: France Plans To Repatriate Children Of Jihadist Fighters In Syria

“France is working to bring back children held by Syrian Kurdish forces and belonging to suspected French Islamist militants, but will leave their mothers to be prosecuted by local authorities, French officials said. France, like other European nations, has been wrestling with how to handle suspected militants and their families seeking to return from combat zones in Iraq and Syria, as well as those in detention, after Islamic State surrendered huge swathes of territory under military pressure. France has suffered a series of deadly militant attacks over the past three years and is grappling with the threat of homegrown militancy as well as the risks posed by fighters slipping back across French borders. While government policy has been to refuse to take back fighters and their wives, France has said it needed to determine the situation of minors.”

Europe
BBC News: Fouad Belkacem: Belgian Islamist Leader Loses Citizenship

“Jailed Islamist Fouad Belkacem, whose group Sharia4Belgium sent dozens of jihadists to Syria, has been stripped of his Belgian citizenship and faces deportation to Morocco. The appeal court in Antwerp ruled that he had fallen seriously short of his duties as a citizen. Belkacem was jailed in 2015 for leading a terror group, many of whose recruits joined jihadist group Islamic State. More Belgians per capita went to fight in Syria than from any other EU state. Some of those who returned to Europe were involved in the Paris attacks in 2015 and the Brussels bombings of March 2016. Belkacem's Sharia4Belgium originated in Antwerp, recruiting the first Belgian fighters before it was disbanded. It took its inspiration from Islam4UK, a group once led by Anjem Choudary, a radical preacher who was released from a British jail on 19 October. During Belkacem's 2015 trial it emerged that he had co-founded Sharia4Belgium shortly after spending time at a London mosque.”

Philippines
The Strategist: The Battle Of Marawi, One Year On

“One year ago, a gruelling five-month house-to-house, room-to-room battle ended a campaign by Islamic State–inspired militants to turn Marawi into the capital of ‘wilayat sharq Asiyya’, a Southeast Asian province of their imagined empire. The brutal seizure of the city, brazenly announced on social media with raised index fingers, black flags and the smashing of Christian ‘idols’, was over. The self-proclaimed leaders of IS in Southeast Asia, Ipsilon Hapilon and the Maute brothers, were dead and most of their fighters reportedly killed or in custody. The city was liberated on 23 October 2017. Yet, victory is marked by destruction: pockmarked buildings and tangled piles of twisted concrete. Walking the deserted streets of Marawi’s main battle area last week, we heard Philippine soldiers’ first-hand accounts of the battle. Fighting an enemy fuelled by ideological hatred and longstanding grievances was gruelling, let alone the plight of civilians caught in the fight.”

Eastasiaforum: ASEAN Must Adapt Its Approach To Marawi

“Manila continues to grapple with the challenges of countering violent extremism. Nearly a year after the battle for Marawi, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of martial law over Mindanao is yet to address fully the threat posed by groups linked to the so-called Islamic State (IS). Winning the war against violent extremism in Southeast Asia will require greater cooperation among ASEAN states. ASEAN was quick to act when the fighting erupted in Marawi. Singapore was one of the first countries to send humanitarian supplies to the beleaguered city. Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines established joint trilateral border patrols to prevent the movement of terrorists. Southeast Asian countries also cooperated closely in knowledge-sharing to confront violent extremist groups following the siege. ASEAN defence ministers are now discussing the establishment of the ‘Our Eyes’ Initiative, which seeks to further institutionalise pre-existing intelligence-sharing mechanisms.”

Technology
The Wall Street Journal: Apple CEO Tim Cook Calls For Comprehensive U.S. Privacy Law

“Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook on Wednesday issued the tech giant’s strongest call yet for a U.S.-wide privacy law, citing the European Union’s new data-protection rules as a benchmark to counter corporate abuses of personal information. Mr. Cook’s push came at an international conference on data and privacy organized by the EU, which in May enacted the General Data Protection Regulation in a bid to both improve user rights and bolster the 28-member bloc’s power as a global rule-maker with tough standards. “It is time for the rest of the world, including my home country to follow your lead,” Mr. Cook said at a keynote address at the European Parliament in Brussels. “We at Apple are in full support of a comprehensive federal law in the United States.” Unlike Europe, the U.S. doesn’t have an overarching legislation. Instead, companies face a patchwork of privacy rules across states, including a package that California recently enacted over the objections of some tech companies, and federal laws covering specific topics like protection of health information.”

The Jerusalem Post: Paypal Halts Services For UK Charity With Alleged Ties To Terrorism

“PayPal stopped providing services to War on Want, a UN NGO, after UK Lawyers for Israel, a pro-Israel consortium of lawyers, provided evidence to PayPal claiming to show that the charity had ties with terrorist organizations. UK Lawyers for Israel and The Lawfare Project, an organization that provides legal services to fight antisemitism, had attacked War on Want before for the organization's supposed links to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). They filed a complaint to the Charity Commission alleging misuse of charitable funds "for the production and dissemination of political propaganda and its publication of false and misleading allegations likely to result in racial hatred of Jews and Israel," UK Lawyers for Israel wrote on their website. “I am pleased that PayPal has responded to the evidence it has now seen regarding War on Want’s association with groups linked to terrorism, and has ceased to assist War on Want in obtaining donations," Caroline Turner, director of UK Lawyers for Israel said. "I hope that the Charity Commission will now look carefully at War on Want’s activities and associations.” PayPal also recently stopped providing services to International Alliance, a German charity that also has alleged links to the PFLP.”

Muslim Brotherhood
Al-Khaleej: Expert: Qatar Bankrolled Armed Wings Of Muslim Brotherhood In Egypt

“Ahmad Kamel Al Buhairi, a researcher at the Cairo-based Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, described the banned Muslim Brotherhood as Qatar's proxy for spreading terror and chaos in the Arab World. Al-Buhairi, who is an expert on militant organizations, stressed that Doha has been providing financial support to the armed representatives of the outlawed Islamist groups in Egypt, called "Hasm" and "Lewaa Al-Thawra" (Revolutionary Brigades), to carry out terrorist attacks. According to Al Buhairi, Qatar has never stopped aiding the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya and Syria. The researcher at the Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies added that the so-called international arm of the Muslim Brotherhood is now "nothing but an illusion." Through its deceptive media outlets in Qatar and Turkey, the banned group uses this illusion to influence public opinion in Egypt, Al-Buhairi explained.”

Sabq: Saudi Arabia: Muslim Brotherhood's Extremist Ideology Erased From School Curriculum

“The Saudi Education Minister, Dr. Ahmed Al-Eissa, reassured the parents of the Saudi schoolchildren that the educational curriculum in the Kingdom no longer includes, as it did in previous years, anything related to the ideologies of extremist groups, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood. Dr. Al-Eissa underscored his ministry's keenness to purify the local educational system from extremist thought. For instance, to achieve that goal, the ministry has established the Intellectual Awareness Center which is aimed at purging the educational institutions of extremism and promoting openness and dialogue. Additionally, the minister stressed that all teachers and other educational personnel are eager to combat all types of political and religious impacts of such ideologies.”

Hezbollah
Dot Emirates: Hezbollah Runs International Drug Trafficking Network

“The Black [African] Continent and Latin America are the most active areas for the Lebanese Hezbollah. The group has managed to exploit the poor {socio-economic} conditions there, along with the presence of gangs, to form smuggling and terrorism networks capable of carrying out commercial and terrorist activities simultaneously. According to various reports, Hezbollah is focusing on Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay as key areas to engage in illegal financial activities related to drug trafficking. These countries are the most suitable for such activities, due to the strong presence of agents affiliated with Hezbollah and Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. Within this context, a number of Hezbollah leaders were arrested {in the past} for drug trafficking, including Ali Shamasi, a Lebanese-Uruguayan arrested in 2016 at an airport, on his way to Turkey with a shipment of 39 kilograms of drugs. During the investigations it turned out that he was working for Hezbollah.”

Alankabout: Lebanon: Reports Implicate Hezbollah In Money-Laundering

“Recently publicized reports disclosed that a businessman of the Tajeddine family, a well-known South Lebanon-based family affiliated with Hezbollah, purchased a very valuable private real estate property in the center of Dibbiyeh, a town situated in the Chouf Mountains of Lebanon. The Tajeddine family member bought the property from the city mayor, Nabil El-Boustani, and his brother. Oddly, the buyer later donated it as a gift to the local municipality. Many local residents raised eyebrows at this suspicious deal, especially since the purchaser had spent nearly double the value for a property that he ultimately donated. Some inhabitants even accused El-Boustani of money-laundering on behalf of Hezbollah.”

Houthi
Emarat Alyoum: Houthi Group Is Pocketing International Aid Funding

“Houthi militants loyal to Iran have set up a number of local organizations and associations to take over the {humanitarian} aid being provided by some {international} organizations to the Yemeni people. The militants are selling the food aid in the local markets, despite the abject poverty of the families living in the areas under Houthi control. The sources mentioned the names of some of those leaders, including the leader Abdul Karim al-Houthi, the uncle of the group's leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi, who allegedly stole international financial grants allocated for a mine-clearing project; mines which the militants themselves had planted extensively in areas under their control.”