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Old 07-05-2019, 06:59 AM
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Arrow Eye on Extremism - July 5, 2019

Eye on Extremism
July 5, 2019
RE: info@counterextremism.com

As of July 5, 2019:


The Independent: ‘Hardcore’ ISIS Ideologues Held In Syrian Camps Represent Long-Term Risk, Warns US-Led Coalition

“The US-led coalition formed to defeat Isis has warned that a new generation of jihadis is being created in camps holding the families of Isis fighters. In an exclusive interview with The Independent, Major General Alexus Grynkewich, deputy commander of the international coalition, described the potential for radicalisation in the camps as “the biggest long-term strategic risk” in the fight against the jihadi group outside of ongoing military operations. “The anecdotal stories we have about some of the women with their children who were surrendering, if you will, is that there are hardcore Isis ideologues among them. We certainly have seen reporting from some of the partners who work in those camps that there is a fair amount of that ideology,” he said. “The children are being brought up in that. So you can almost see the next generation of Isis in those camps today. It’s a tremendous problem.” Tens of thousands of women and children fled the last slither of the self-proclaimed caliphate, in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz, before its complete recapture earlier this year. Many of them were local residents who became trapped within Isis areas by the battle, but the majority were the wives and family members of fighters, who showed little sign of abandoning the group.”

The New York Times: US, Taliban Scramble To Finalize Draft On Troop Withdrawal

“Taliban and U.S. negotiators are scrambling to finalize a draft agreement that will outline the withdrawal of American and NATO troops from Afghanistan and a verifiable Taliban guarantee to fight terrorism ahead of an all-Afghan peace conference Sunday. Officials familiar with the talks, but not authorized to speak about them, say negotiations went late into the night on Wednesday and throughout Thursday — the sixth day of direct talks between the insurgents and U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad. They were to resume again on Friday. Suhail Shaheen, spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Qatar, on Friday told The Associated Press on Friday he wanted to clarify that the draft agreement was being worked upon in an effort to finalize and was not being rewritten. "By rewriting the draft agreement I meant (only) that we are working on the draft agreement," Suhail said Friday morning. Earlier he said "we have made some progress.”

France 24: 200 Corpses Found In Mass Grave In Syria's Raqqa

“Two hundred corpses, including those of people believed to have been executed by the Islamic State(IS) group, were found near the Syrian city of Raqqa, a local official and a war monitor said Wednesday. The mass grave contained the bodies of five middle-aged men in orange jumpsuits of the kind typically worn by IS group hostages, Yasser al-Khamees and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. "They were shackled and shot in the head," said Khamees, who heads a team of first responders. They were believed to have been killed more than two years ago, he said, adding that his team was not immediately able to identify them. The grave also included the bodies of three women who were believed to have been stoned to death, Khamees and the Observatory said.”

Asharq Al-Awsat: ISIS Says Slain Tunis Suspect Was One Of Its Militants

“ISIS has claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb blast in the Tunisian capital earlier this week. A wanted militant wearing an explosives belt blew himself up in Tunis on Tuesday after being surrounded by police, the government said, but there were no other casualties. It was the third such incident within a week and came a few months ahead of an election and at the peak of a tourist season in which Tunisia is hoping for a record number of visitors. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in separate attacks on police in Tunis on June 27. ISIS militants claimed responsibility for both attacks. A passerby wounded in one of the bombings has died of injuries, bringing the death toll to two. Interior Ministry spokesman Sofiane Zaag announced the death on Radio Mosaique on Thursday. A police officer was also killed in the June 27 attack. Several were wounded, and one remains hospitalized.”

The New York Times: Pakistan Brings Terrorism Financing Charges Against Hafiz Saeed

“Under pressure from the United States and a global watchdog group, Pakistan is prosecuting the founder of the Islamist terrorist group that carried out the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks on charges of terrorism financing, along with several of his close aides. Officials said 23 cases had been registered against the man, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, and more than a dozen of his associates in Punjab Province, after investigations looked into two charities that act as a front for the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba group he founded: Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation. Counterterrorism officials said these charities were involved in raising money for terrorism. A security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Mr. Saeed and more than a dozen of his associates would be prosecuted in anti-terrorism courts on charges of terrorism financing and money laundering. Pakistan formally banned the two charities this year. The prosecution of Mr. Saeed this week was described by officials as a renewed effort by the country to comply with the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force, an international terrorism-financing watchdog. Subscribe for original insights, commentary and discussions on the major news stories of the week, from columnists Max Fisher and Amanda Taub.”

Financial Times: French MPs Back Bill To Tackle Online Hate Speech

“French MPs on Thursday backed a bill that gives online platforms 24 hours to remove hate speech reported by users, putting Paris at the forefront of global efforts to police the internet. The law, proposed by president Emmanuel Macron’s ruling La République en Marche party, means that internet platforms and search engines like Facebook and Google’s YouTube that fail to remove hate speech within 24 hours could be fined up to €1.25m. It targets content that encourages terrorism or incites hatred, violence, discrimination, racism or religious insults, as well as child pornography.”

United States

The Wall Street Journal: For U.S. Military Drones, Airspace Is Growing More Congested, Dangerous

“Unmanned U.S. surveillance aircraft, with their suites of advanced technology, are the high-price product of years of domestic drone development during an era of nearly uncontested airspace. So when Iran on June 20 shot down one of the Pentagon fleet’s top spy drones, it signaled that the U.S. may need a new strategy for facing rivals who are better-prepared than the extremist groups it has become accustomed to operating against. Until recently, American technology dominated the skies. But major military powers like China and Russia now field fleets of their own drones, say experts and officials, and even nonstate actors like Islamic State and Yemen’s Houthi rebels have unleashed small yet formidable fleets. All the while, antiaircraft defense systems have proliferated among major players, including Iran, and grown in sophistication.”

The Washington Post: Trump Administration Lays Broad Legal Grounds For Military Strike On Iran

“As it has contemplated military action against Iran, the Trump administration has opened the door to virtually every legal authority it might use to justify an attack, from tying Iran to al-Qaeda, to President Trump’s assertion that it would not involve American ground troops and “wouldn’t last very long.” Democrats and some Republicans have tried repeatedly to pin the administration down, including last week’s unsuccessful attempt to muster 60 Senate votes for an amendment requiring Trump to ask Congress before launching any military engagement. When asked directly about legal justification, senior administration officials have offered undetailed assurances that any action would “consistent with our Constitution,” as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last month, or they deferred to lawyers. “I’m not a scholar in this area,” Brian Hook, Pompeo’s special representative for Iran, recently told the House Armed Services Committee under persistent questioning. Concern about the possibility of U.S. military action against Iran has grown since the administration cited new intelligence that Iran or its proxies were planning to attack U.S. troops or American interests in the Middle East. The United States has also blamed Iran for attacks on oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz. Most recently, Iran shot down a U.S. drone it said — and the U.S. denied — had crossed into its airspace.”

Syria

The Washington Post: Doctor: Motorcycle Bomb In Southern Syria City Kills 3

“A local doctor says an explosion in southern Syria has killed at least three people and wounded at least one. Syrian state TV said the Wednesday night explosion was due to a booby-trapped motorcycleand occurred in the province of Sweida. Hassan Omar, a doctor at a local hospital in Sweida, reported at least three dead and one wounded in the explosion. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack in the government-controlled area. The province is populated mainly by Syria’s minority Druze community. Last year, the Islamic State group launched a coordinated attack across the province, shattering the calm of a region that had been largely spared from the worst of the violence of Syria’s seven-year civil war and killed more than 200 people.”

France 24: Syrian Regime Strikes Kill Four Civilians, Hit Hospitals

“Regime air strikes Thursday on an anti-government bastion in northwest Syria killed four civilians, two of them children, and hit three hospitals already damaged in previous raids, a monitor said. A fifth person, another child, was killed in a separate air raid by regime ally Russia also in the Idlib region, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said. The Idlib region is supposed to be protected from a massive regime assault by a September buffer zone deal, but the area housing three million people has come under increased regime and Russian fire since April. The region is administered by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, but other jihadist and opposition factions are also present. “Regime warplanes again targeted three hospitals in the south of Idlib,” which had been hit and damaged in raids in previous weeks, the Observatory said. There were no casualties in these raids on the village of Hass and the town of Kafr Nabl, it added. Obeida Dandouch, who heads a rescue group in the area, said the strike in Kafr Nabl damaged a large part of what was still standing at the local hospital.”

The Independent: The Kosovan Former Fighter Bringing ISIS Wives And Children Back From Syria

“Bedri Elezi fought alongside foreign jihadists during the struggle for Kosovar independence. They were fewer in numbers than the large contingent in the Bosnia conflict, but they were experienced, well-armed, and were vowing solidarity with fellow Muslims in the last chapter in the violent break-up of Yugoslavia. Most of the foreign fighters left after intervention by Nato and the withdrawal of Serbian forces. A new nation was born and Elezi, along with most other members of the resistance, drifted back into civilian life, as the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), in which they had served, was disbanded. Elezi, however, kept in touch in the intervening two decades with some of the Islamists he had got to know and watched as they sought jihad in other lands – Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, Iraq and Syria. Some are still there, but others, including a prominent Saudi, have been killed.”

Al Jazeera: Syria's War: People Live In Fear As Assault Intensifies In Idlib

“The United Nations has condemned the death of hundreds of Syrian civilians living in areas controlled by rebels. The Syrian government and its Russian allies have been bombing areas in the provinces of Idlib and Hama for more than two months. Activists say around two children are being killed every day. Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr has been monitoring developments from neighbouring Lebanon.”

France 24: 200 Corpses Found In Mass Grave In Syria's Raqqa

“Two hundred corpses, including those of people believed to have been executed by the Islamic State(IS) group, were found near the Syrian city of Raqqa, a local official and a war monitor said Wednesday. The mass grave contained the bodies of five middle-aged men in orange jumpsuits of the kind typically worn by IS group hostages, Yasser al-Khamees and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. "They were shackled and shot in the head," said Khamees, who heads a team of first responders. They were believed to have been killed more than two years ago, he said, adding that his team was not immediately able to identify them. The grave also included the bodies of three women who were believed to have been stoned to death, Khamees and the Observatory said. "Their skulls were severely fractured and displayed signs of stoning," the local official added.”

Iran

The Wall Street Journal: Squeezed By U.S. Sanctions, Iran Shifts From Patience To Confrontation

“Tighter new U.S. sanctions have proved more punishing than Iran’s leaders expected, driving Tehran to hit back militarily and breach limits it had agreed to put on its nuclear program. This increasingly confrontational approach aims to raise the costs to the U.S. of its maximum-pressure campaign and to push Western European nations to offer economic relief, according to former Iranian officials and analysts. Iran’s brinkmanship could present President Trump, who campaigned against U.S. involvement in Middle East conflicts, with difficult questions of war and peace as he heads into the 2020 election. On Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran would enrich uraniumbeyond 3.67%—a step that would surpass limits imposed by a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major world powers meant to keep Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Washington pulled out of the deal last year. Iran breached the agreement’s caps on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium on Monday. Last month, Tehran shot down an American reconnaissance drone. Washington has also said Iran is behind a series of attacks on oil tankers as well as a drone strike on a Saudi oil pipeline.”

Associated Press: Former Guard Commander Says Iran Should Seize UK Oil Tanker

“A former leader of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard said on Friday that the Islamic Republic should consider seizing a British oil tanker in response to authorities detaining an Iranian oil tanker off the coast Gibraltar. The comments by Mohsen Rezaei came amid heightened tensions over Iran’s unraveling 2015 nuclear deal, which the U.S. withdrew from last year. In recent days, Iran has broken through the limit the deal put on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium and plans on Sunday to boost its enrichment. In the past months, the U.S. has rushed thousands of additional troops, an aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers and advanced fighter jets to the region. Rezaei made his comments in a tweet Friday. “If England does not release the Iranian oil tanker, the duty ... (of Iran) is to respond and seize one English oil tanker,” he said. Rezaei led the Guard during Iran’s 1980s “Tanker War” in the Persian Gulf targeting the oil trade of the U.S. and its Arab allies. It was a striking comment from Rezaei, one that current officials have yet to make.”

The Jerusalem Post: Iran Media Celebrates Houthi Drone Attacks On Saudi Arabia

“In a growing and increasingly consistent sign that Iran is linked to the Houthi drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, Iranian media plastered their headlines with a story of drone attacks on Jizan airport in southern Saudi Arabia. The report from Fars News says that the Yemeni armed forces, their term for the Houthi rebels, launched a drone attack Thursday night on Jizan airport and “significant military targets” at the airport. The drones were described as Qasef K2 which were using precision guidance. The Houthis claimed the attack is the latest in a series retaliating for Saudi airstrikes over the last four years since Riyadh intervened in Yemen to stop the Houthis seizing the port of Aden. The Houthis also said the drone raid was an attempt to show the US what they are capable of."

Iraq

Iraqi News: U.S. Airstrike Kills Three Islamic State Terrorists In Iraq

“Three Islamic State terrorists were killed Wednesday in an airstrike by the U.S.-led international coalition warplanes, Iraqi authorities said. “Acting on precise information from the Baghdad Information Command, the US.-led international coalition launched an airstrike targeting several terrorists, west of al Munāyif mountain in Nineveh,” Alghad Press quoted the Security Media Cell as saying in a press statement. Three Islamic State terrorists were killed in the air raid, the statement read. Iraq declared the collapse of Islamic State’s territorial influence in November 2017 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.”

Al Jazeera: Mass Grave Containing 200 Bodies Uncovered In Raqqa

“As many as 200 corpses, including of some people believed to have been killed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) group, have been found in a mass grave near the Syrian city of Raqqa, a local official and a war monitor said. Yasser al-Khamees, who leads a team of first responders, said on Wednesday the mass grave was discovered early last month on the southern edges of Raqqa, ISIL's former de facto capital. Among the bodies found, five appeared to belong to middle-aged men dressed in the orange jumpsuits typically worn by the armed group's hostages, al-Khamees and the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. “They were shackled and shot in the head,” he said. The bodies of three women, believed to have been stoned to death, were found, the official said, adding that “their skulls were severely fractured”. As many as 800 people could be buried there in total, he said. The discovery of the grave could help identify even more of the several thousand people whose fates remain unknown, including foreigners imprisoned by ISIL. The armed group took full control of Raqqa in early 2014 and made it the de facto Syrian capital of its infamous cross-border “caliphate”. US-backed forces removed ISIL from the devastated city in October 2017, leaving the Raqqa Civil Council (RCC) to run it.”

Asharq Al-Awsat: Iraq: ISIS Sleeper Cells Revived On Demand

“The ISIS terrorist organization doesn’t pose a serious threat to Iraq, however, its sleeper cells are dangerous, according to Iraqi officials and security experts. Iraqi leaders and officials still believe the military institution is capable of inflicting defeats on ISIS cells, despite warnings against the emergence of new ranks of the terrorist organization, according to a US report released this week. The only thing ISIS is capable of doing now is to occupy the security forces and services, claims security expert Fadel Abu Raghef. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, the expert indicated that ISIS’ activity will not affect official bodies’ pursuit of the terrorist organization, questioning the organization’s ability to affect the security given that Iraqi intelligence and military performance have developed a lot during the past years, and local community’s rejection of these terrorists. Firefighters have successfully put out a fire at a strategic oil pipeline in northern Iraq that links oil-rich Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, a security source told Reuters on Wednesday, adding that the pipeline is currently not operational. The source explained that the fire started after six improvised explosive devices went off in succession in the Ain al-Jahsh village of Nineveh province’s Shura sub-district, 70 km south of Mosul.”

Al Monitor: Will Iraq Cut A Deal To Prosecute Foreign IS Fighters?

“Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi stated June 25 that his government is considering taking over the prosecution of Islamic State (IS) members currently detained in Syria, even if they did not fight in battles on Iraqi soil. This comes weeks after the trials of the IS members handed over to Iraq by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Kurdish-Syrian SDF handed over the first group of IS members — including dozens of Europeans — to Iraq in February. Iraq’s judiciary sentenced five French nationals to death in late May, as the Iraqi government negotiated with the UN to claim custody of foreign IS fighters detained in Syria, including members who did not conduct terrorist attacks on Iraqi soil. The government, however, did not state why it joined the negotiations. Iraq's willingness to be in charge of prosecuting foreign IS fighters raises many questions, especially regarding those fighters' countries of origins. Specifically, why have those countries not claimed the fighters and initiated legal proceedings? Could Baghdad legally prosecute the IS members? Can it afford the cost of their detention? What will Iraq, which, it could be said, is acting on behalf of the world, get in return?”

Xinhua: 18 IS Militants Killed In Iraq In Anti-IS Operations, Airstrikes

“A total of 18 Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Wednesday in operations by Iraqi security forces and airstrikes by international U.S.-led coalition aircraft, the Iraqi military said. In Iraq's western province of Anbar, four IS militants were killed and their vehicle destroyed when paramilitary tribal fighters raided their hideout in Akashat area in the desert near the border with Syria, the media office of the Joint Operations Command (JOC) said in a statement. Also in the province, the international aircraft carried out an airstrike on IS hideout in south of Sneislah Lake in east of the borderline with Syria, killing four of the extremist militants, the statement added. IS militants are still active in the vast Anbar desert which stretches to the border with neighboring countries of Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, as many civilians have been kidnapped or killed by the extremist group recently. In Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, the Iraqi army carried out an anti-IS operation in Sekheirat area in west of the provincial capital Mosul, killing two IS militants and destroying their vehicle, in addition to destroying a tunnel and killing five more IS militants inside, the JOC said in a separate statement.”

Turkey

Al Arabiya: Three French Women Arrested In Turkey For ISIS Links

“Three French citizens suspected of belonging to ISIS extremist group were detained along with nine children as they tried to enter Turkey from Syria, Turkish media reported on Thursday. Turkish authorities stopped the three women, sought by Interpol and identified by their initials JC, CA and MD, in the border province of Kilis, according to state news agency Anadolu. A security source told AFP that JC referred to Jennifer Clain, niece of the brothers Fabien and Jean-Michel Clain, who claimed responsibility on behalf of ISIS for the attacks that hit the Bataclan nightclub and other Paris locations in November 2015. She is also married to Kevin Gonot, a French citizen sentenced to death in Iraq last May for his role in ISIS. Anadolu said 12 people had been arrested and were being transferred to immigration authorities awaiting their expulsion from Turkey. In the first years after the Syrian conflict began in 2011, Turkey was the main point of entry for foreign fighters seeking to join extremist groups. Accused of turning a blind eye to the problem, Ankara later tightened border controls and began widespread arrests and extraditions, especially after a spate of devastating extremist attacks in Turkey.”

Afghanistan

Al Jazeera: 'Spectacular Progress', Says Taliban As US Talks Enter Fifth Day

“The ongoing seventh round of negotiations between Taliban representatives and US officials in Qatar has made “spectacular progress” on a draft agreement aimed at ending the 18-year-long conflict in Afghanistan, a spokesperson for the armed group has said. Speaking to Al Jazeera on Wednesday, Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban's political spokesman in Doha, said that “80-90 percent work on the peace agreement is finished”. “Spectacular progress made in this round. The meeting will continue today as well,” he added, without giving further details. The talks in Doha, which began on June 29, are aimed at finalising a draft agreement on the potential withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan. The United States has said it will not agree to the withdrawal of troops until the Taliban put in place security guarantees, implement a ceasefire across the country and commit to an “intra-Afghan” dialogue with the Kabul government. But the Taliban insists that the precondition of any agreement is the timeline for the withdrawal of the troops. The group also refuses to talk to the Afghan government, calling them a “puppet” of the West. There are about 17,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, including a contingent of some 14,000 US soldiers, as part of a Washington-led NATO mission to train, assist and advise Afghan forces.”

Xinhua: Taliban Frees 42 Security Personnel In N. Afghanistan

“Militants loyal to the Taliban group have released 42 army personnel who were arrested during the fall of Qush Tepa district in Afghanistan's northern Jawzjan province days ago, an army spokesman in the northern region said on Thursday. The released army personnel, according to Abdul Hadi Jamal, arrived in Jawzjan provincial capital Shiberghan city on Wednesday evening. Following heavy fighting, the Taliban fighters overran Qush Tepa district on Tuesday morning, during which a number of security personnel have gone missing, obviously killed, arrested or escaped. The Taliban militants who are in control of Qush Tepa district are yet to make comment on the reported release of the army personnel. Officials in Jawzjan province said preparations were underway to recapture Qush Tepa district.”

Pakistan

Reuters: Pakistan Announces Terrorism Finance Crackdown On Banned Militant Group

“Pakistani authorities announced a crackdown on Wednesday against Hafiz Saeed, leader of the group blamed for deadly attacks on Mumbai in 2008, amid growing international pressure to act against militant groups. Pakistan’s counter-terrorism department said it had launched 23 cases against Saeed and 12 aides for using five trusts to collect funds and donations for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), blamed by India and the United States for the attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people. Two banned LeT-linked charities, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), were also targeted, the department said in a statement. “All the assets of these organizations and individuals will be frozen and taken over by the state,” said a counter-terrorism senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. The counter-terrorism department said the action was in accordance with U.N. sanctions against the individuals and entities. The move follows pressure from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which last year placed Pakistan on its “grey list” of countries with inadequate controls over money laundering and terrorism financing.”

Al Jazeera: Pakistan Army Accuses India Of 'State-Sponsored Terrorism'

“At least five Pakistani soldiers have been killed after an explosion near the de facto border with India in the disputed region of Kashmir, Pakistan’s military said, terming it “state-sponsored terrorism” by its eastern neighbour. The blast took place in the Barnala area close to the Line of Control (LoC), which divides Pakistan- and Indian-administered portions of Kashmir, on Wednesday, a Pakistani military statement said. “The incident is evidence of state sponsored terrorism by India violating bilateral ceasefire agreement and the international rules,” the statement said. India’s government and military did not immediately offer a response to the charge. Calls made to India's foreign ministry by Al Jazeera were not answered. Since gaining independence from British rule in 1947, Pakistan and India have fought two of their three wars over the disputed mountain region of Kashmir, which both claim in full but administer separate portions of, divided by the Line of Control (LoC). Earlier this year, a suicide attack in the Indian-administered Kashmir town of Pulwama that killed more than 40 Indian security forces personnel sparked a military standoff between the two countries.”

Yemen

Asharq Al-Awsat: Houthis Admit To Pursuing Greater Weapons Capabilities

“Houthi coup militias in Yemen claimed responsibility for terror attacks that killed dozens in the last two months. Boasting about the militia’s missile, rocket and drone capabilities, a senior Houthi spokesman said Iran-armed group can strike targets inside neighboring Saudi territory. In parallel to Houthi militiamen scaling up attacks that violate a UN-brokered ceasefire deal for the strategic Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, coup leaders are openly debating on how to distribute illegitimately collected levies at docks and whether or not the money should be used to pay salaries to Houthi gunmen. Houthi spokesman and it’s the group’s acting foreign minister, Mohamed Abdel Salam Fleeta, touted Houthi weapons capabilities as efficient enough to stage further terrorist attacks against civilian targets inside Saudi Arabia. In a tweet, Fleeta said that information revealed at another Houthi officer’s presser shows the “qualitative development” the pro-Iranian group war tactics have seen. Houthi officer Yahya Saree had listed the outcome of two months of continuous terrorist attacks waged by Houthi gunmen against civilians in Yemeni governorates such as Taiz, Ad Dali' and Hajjah, or in cross-border offensives striking inside Saudi territory.”

The National: US Calls On Houthis To Release Yemeni Bahai Leader From Detention

“A United States religious freedom body urged Yemen's Houthi rebels this week to pardon and release a prominent Bahai leader facing a death sentence, following the postponement of his appeal hearing. Hamed bin Haydara, 55, was sentenced to death for espionage and apostasy by a Houthi court in the rebel-held capital Sanaa in January last year, charges that were filed against him in 2015. But Yemen’s internationally recognised government and his family say the charges are baseless and are part of broader persecution of the country’s tiny Bahai minority by the Houthis. Mr Haydara was expected to appear in a Houthi court on Sunday but the hearing was postponed until July 9, the US Bahai Office of Public Affairs told The National.”

Saudi Arabia

Gulf News: Saudi Arabia Intercepts Al Houthi Drones Fired At Jizan Airport

“Saudi-led military coalition said on Thursday it had intercepted drones launched by Yemen’s Al Houthi group that were targeting Jizan airport, a statement on Saudi state media said. Earlier, the Houthis said they carried out drone attacks on Jizan and Abha Saudi airports. Iran-aligned Al Houthis, who are fighting in neighbouring Yemen, have repeatedly launched attacks against targets in Saudi Arabia, which is leading a coalition battling them.”

Lebanon

Reuters: Islamic State Claims June Attack That Killed Four On Patrol In Lebanon's Tripoli

“Islamic State claimed responsibility on Thursday for an attack that killed two police officers and two soldiers on patrol in patrol in Lebanon’s Tripoli last month, the group’s Al-Nabaa newspaper said. Islamic State said in its weekly newspaper that the “attacker is of the caliphate soldiers”. It provided no evidence to support its claim. The attack occurred on June 3.”

Nigeria

Pulse Nigeria: Troops Repel Fresh Boko Haram Insurgents Attack In Borno

“The Nigerian Army on Thursday said its troops successfully repelled fresh attack coordinated by Boko Haram insurgents, on the 212 Tank Battalion at Gajigana in Nganzai Local Government Area of Borno. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the development came barely two days after the troops repelled similar attack by the insurgents on troops’ location at Goniri in Yobe. Brig.-Gen. Bulama Biu, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division and Commander Sector 1, Operation Lafiya Dole, made the disclosure while addressing newsmen at the scene of the attack. Biu disclosed that the insurgents on gun trucks attempted to infiltrate the troops’ location on Wednesday night, adding that they met stiff resistance by the troops. High calibre ammunition recovered from Boko Haram insurgents by troops on Wednesday at Gajiganna in Ngazai Local Government Area of Borno [NAN] He explained that the troops with support of the Nigeria Air Force engaged the insurgents in fierce battle and repelled the attack. Biu revealed that the troops killed a number of the insurgents, recovered two gun trucks and high caliber ammunitions from the attack."

Xinhua: 150 Former Boko Haram Fighters Drop Arms In Cameroon's Far North Region

“Cameroon's National Committee on Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (NCDDR) said Thursday its center in Far North region is hosting 150 ex-fighters of terror group Boko Haram who have voluntarily laid down their weapons. Francis Fai Yengo, national coordinator of NCDDR, told reporters the ex-fighters will benefit from professional training in agriculture, livestock, business and handicraft during their stay in the center. Yengo visited the center with officials from International Organization for Migration and United Nations Development Programme. Cameroon is facing serious security challenges in the two Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest where separatists want to create an independent nation and in the Far North, where terror group Boko Haram is intensifying attacks on civilians and government forces. NCDDR was created by President Paul Biya last year “to avoid the use of extreme measures” and supervise and manage the disarmament and reintegration of ex-combatants of Boko Haram and armed separatists in the Anglophone regions. A total of 56 separatist combatants have already dropped their weapons according officials of NCDDR.”

Africa

Reuters: Islamic State Claims Responsibility For Attacks On Military Camp In Western Niger

“The Islamic State claimed responsibility on Wednesday for attacks on a military camp in western Niger on Monday, the group’s Amaq news agency said. At least 18 soldiers were killed and four others were missing after suspected Islamist militants blew up two cars and fired on a military camp in Niger, the army said on Tuesday. The Islamist militants took control of the base near the town of Inates, Amaq news agency reported, close to the border with Mali. The attack included two car bombs, and gunmen opened fire from motorcycles.”

Reuters: Mozambique Says Militants Kill 11 In Attack Near Tanzania Border

“Eleven people were killed in an attack last week by an Islamist militant armed group in northern Mozambique near its border with Tanzania, Mozambican police said on Wednesday. Several of the attackers from the Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jama (ASWJ) group were later arrested, police added, referring to a militia operating in the gas-rich northern province of Cabo Delgado province since at least 2014. Six people were wounded in the raid, said Orlando Mudumane, spokesman for Mozambique Police’s General Command, adding that the arrested gunmen included both Mozambicans and foreigners. “On 26 of June, 2019, a group of bandits perpetrated an attack in the village of Itole, in Palma District, killing 11 civilians; 9 Tanzanians and 2 Mozambicans,” he said. He dismissed reports the that deaths were by beheading, a method of killing used by the group in some previous attacks. “All of them died of gunshot wounds, no beheadings. The defence forces combed the area and have already detained some elements of the group, foreigners and nationals.” Information about the attack has been scarce, with conflicting accounts from local and international media on the number of deaths and nature of the attack in the Muslim-majority region of the southern African nation.”

Xinhua: Kenya, UN To Host Regional Conference On Counter-Terrorism

“Kenya and the United Nations (UN) will host a two-day regional conference on counter-terrorism at the United Nations Office in Nairobi during July 10-11 to seek ways of eliminating the threats from the region. The African Regional High-Level Conference on Counter-Terrorism and the Prevention of Violent Extremism Conducive to Terrorism will bring together heads of government and ministers of interior, security and foreign affairs, the UN said on Wednesday. The conference will also be attended by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as well as heads of counter-terrorism agencies, in addition to international organizations, civil society and leading think tanks to address the terrorism threats faced by African countries. According to the event organizers, the counter-terrorism conference will enable African leaders to share good practices in countering terrorism. Kenya has been blaming al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militants and their sympathizers residing in the country for attacks in the country in recent years especially in Nairobi, Mombasa and northern regions.”

United Kingdom

The Guardian: Counter-Terror Police Arrest Two Over Alleged Donation Fraud

“Two people have been arrested by counter-terrorism police after a Charity Commission investigation into a Sikh youth group. A 38-year-old man and a 49-year-old woman were detained on Wednesday at an address in Birmingham, West Midlands police said. The arrests resulted from an examination of evidence found during searches in September last year and are linked to a commission investigation into the Sikh Youth UK organisation. The force said the arrests were “in connection with alleged fraud offences of donated charitable funds”. The commission said the inquiry was examining whether donations had been properly administered by Sikh Youth UK, its trustees’ conduct, its partnerships with other charities and its financial management. The profile of Sikh Youth UK has risen in recent years for campaigns that have included, as stated on its website, “raising awareness on social evils and supporting the victims of sexual grooming, substance abuse and domestic violence within the community”. Other activities have included commemorating those who died during Operation Blue Star, India’s bloody crackdown on Sikh separatists seeking independence, in 1984.”

The Washington Post: British Marines Seize Tanker Suspected Of Carrying Iranian Oil Bound For Syria

“British Royal Marines in fast boats and helicopters on Thursday seized a supertanker suspected of carrying Iranian oil to Syria near the Mediterranean peninsula of Gibraltar, the first such detention of a ship under the terms of European sanctions targeting supplies to Syria. The delivery appeared to violate European Union and U.S. sanctions on oil deliveries to the Iran-allied Syrian government. But suspicions that the oil originated in Iran could also aggravate the tensions between Western countries and Tehran that erupted after recent attacks on shipping in the Persian Gulf. The Grace 1 tanker was seized after Gibraltar received information that offered “reasonable grounds” to conclude that the vessel was likely to be delivering oil to Syria in breach of E.U. sanctions on that country, according to a statement from the government in Gibraltar, which is indirectly ruled by Britain. The Royal Marines assisted Gibraltar authorities to board the ship in the early hours of Thursday and detained the vessel and its cargo, the statement said. A British Defense Ministry spokeswoman said 30 British marines boarded the ship from boats and a helicopter after a request by Gibraltar, which lies along the coast of Spain at the mouth of the Mediterranean. Gibraltar did not disclose the origin of the oil. The vessel is registered in Panama and owned by a Singapore-based company.”

France

ABC News: France Moves To Make Companies Block Hate Speech Online

“French lawmakers have approved a measure that is intended to force search engines and social networks to take hate speech off the internet. The measure adopted Thursday by the lower house of the French parliament would require social networks to remove hate speech within 24 hours of a confirmed violation. Search engines would have to stop referencing the content as well. The provision, part of a bill on internet regulation, targets videos or messages inciting or glorifying terrorism, hate, violence, or racist or religious abuse. Violators could face hefty fines. It prompted heated discussion in the National Assembly over how to define hate speech. French President Emmanuel Macron proposed such a law earlier this year amid an uptick in anti-Semitic incidents in France and concerns about increasing extremist language online.”

Germany

The Washington Post: German Woman Sentenced To 5 Years For Joining Islamic State

“A German woman has been sentenced to five years in prison for membership in the Islamic State group. The regional court in the southwestern German city of Stuttgart had earlier Friday convicted the 32-year-old defendant of joining a foreign terrorist organization. The woman, who was identified only as Sabine Ulrike Sch. Because of German privacy rules, lived in Syria from late 2013 to August 2017. Prosecutors said she married an IS fighter, living with him in houses seized by the group. She allegedly received weapons training between 2014 and mid 2017 and wrote blogs praising life in IS-controlled territory. Her husband died in fighting in 2016. The woman was captured by Kurdish forces in September 2017 along with the wives of other IS fighters and returned to Germany in April 2018.”

The Jerusalem Post: Increase Of Hezbollah Members In German State, Says Intel Report

“The intelligence agency for Germany’s most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia revealed on Thursday that the number of Hezbollah members rose in 2018. According to the intelligence document reviewed by The Jerusalem Post, the number of Hezbollah members climbed from 105 in 2017 to 110 in 2018 in North Rhine-Westphalia. The report wrote that “for more than 20 years, the Islamic Center (Imam-Mahdi-Zentrum) in Münster has been a platform and meeting place for Hezbollah supporters in North Rhine-Westphalia and western Germany. Other focal points: Essen/Bottrop, Dortmund and Bad Oeynhausen.” The 363-page intelligence report, which covers threats to the security of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, referenced the Lebanese terrorist entity Hezbollah 21 times. Hezbollah has centers in Hamburg, Berlin and Münster, according to the report.”

Australia

South China Morning Post: Australia Moves To Delay Return Of Extremists Including Islamic State Supporters For 2 Years

“Australia’s government on Thursday proposed new laws that would prevent extremists from returning home for up to two years, as the country prepares for the repatriation of Islamic State supporters from the Middle East. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton introduced the legislation based on British law as part of a raft of counterterrorism and asylum seeker bills in the first parliamentary session since elections in May. The law would give Dutton the power to prevent suspected Australian extremists from returning home for up to two years while law enforcement authorities made plans to manage the risk posed. The orders could also apply to Australians who intelligence agencies assess to be a “risk to security for reasons related to politically motivated violence.” Dutton said 230 Australians had flown to Syria and Iraq to fight with extremist groups since 2012. “Around 80 are still active in conflict zones. The advice of Australia’s national security agencies is that many Australians of counterterrorism concern who have travelled to Iraq and Syria to engage in that conflict are likely to seek to return to Australia in the very near future,” Dutton told parliament. Bottom of Form”

The Guardian: Sydney Terror Raids: Police Allege Man Said He Was The Commander Of ISIS In Australia

“The self-declared commander of Islamic State in Australia was a teenager when he began telling his followers “we are terrorists”, sought out guns and explosives and tried to set up a stronghold in the Blue Mountains, police allege. Isaac El Matari, now 20, was one of three men arrested in Sydney this week during counter-terrorism raids. He was charged on Wednesday with being an Isis member, planning a terrorist attack and preparing for a hostile incursion into a foreign country. Matari had declared himself “the general commander of IS in Australia” and told other persons of interest “we are terrorists”, court documents state. Counter-terrorism investigators allege he had “answered the call of war” and spoke of “sacrificing himself” for Isis. The Greenacre man was allegedly planning on travelling to Khorasan province – an Isis stronghold in Afghanistan. His preparations allegedly included obtaining an Australian passport and visiting the Pakistani consulate to obtain a visa, police allege. At Penrith’s Flight Centre he allegedly purchased a ticket for a flight to Islamabad via China. He would then be smuggled across the border into Khorasan province and, once there, get his hands on a rifle, authorities believe. But Matari’s plots were also focused on Australia, according to court documents.”

Europe

Reuters: Two Bosnians Jailed For Plotting Islamist Attack On State Police

“Bosnia’s state court on Thursday sentenced two radical Islamists to four and 2-1/2 years respectively in prison after convicting them of plotting a terrorist attack on security police. Maksim Bozic, an Orthodox Serb convert to Islam, and Edin Hastor, a Bosniak Muslim, both members of the ultra-conservative Salafi movement, were found guilty of cooperating with unnamed persons in obtaining weapons and explosive device. Prosecutors said the pair planned an attack on the headquarters of the State Protection and Investigation Agency in Sarajevo and the interior ministry of the northern canton of Tuzla. They were arrested in 2018 and police seized grenades, automatic weapons, combat vests and other military equipment. The great majority of Bosnia’s Muslims are moderate but some have adopted radical Salafi Islam under the influence of foreign fighters who came to the country during its 1992-95 war to fight alongside Muslims against Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats. Some of them have formed groups which Bosnia’s moderate national Islamic organization is seeking to dismantle.”

Reaction: New European Parliament Should Proscribe All Of Hezbollah

“In recent years Europe has been subject to an unprecedented terror threat which has destabilised our societies and left blood in the streets of towns and cities across the continent. Yet a policy of appeasement towards the world’s most capable and potentially dangerous terrorist organization is endangering Europeans across the continent and beyond, orchestrated by a country Europe still seeks to appease, in the form of Iran. The Sunni Jihadists of al-Qaeda and Islamic State have certainly been responsible for more casualties and have been able to amplify their message in the media most effectively. However, it is the more calculated and insidious long-term threat from the Lebanese Shiite extremists of Hezbollah which Europe must now (re)awaken to. The European Union currently designates the ‘military wing’ of Hezbollah as a terrorist group but not the ‘political wing’. It is true that Hezbollah is simultaneously one of the largest parties in the Lebanese parliament and an active terrorist and criminal enterprise – but the distinction is a false one which exists only in the imagination of European policymakers.”

The Atlantic: Europe Has Turned Its Back On Its ISIS Suspects

“Samir Bougana, a 24-year-old Italian, was one of thousands of western European recruits who traveled to fight alongside the Islamic State after 2014. But he differs from all of them in one key respect: His own government is taking him home to stand trial. Bougana was captured and held for almost a year by Kurdish forces in Syria before Italy took custody of him, in a decision the State Department praised and urged other western European countries to emulate. But so far, none of them has taken one of its citizens back to face a terrorism trial for joining ISIS. Some 2,000 suspected fighters from dozens of countries, including hundreds from Europe, languish in Kurdish detention in northeastern Syria, and the Trump administration has been pushing its democratic allies to bring them home to face justice. Although Donald Trump himself vowed during his campaign to use the prison at Guantánamo Bay—which remains open but hasn’t taken in any new prisoners since 2008—and “load it up with some bad dudes,” his administration’s actual policy has been far more humane and measured.”

Australia

Voice Of America: Australia Plans To Stop Militant Fighters Returning Home

“Australia is expected to introduce anti-terror laws to parliament Thursday that would ban foreign fighters from returning home for up to two years. The government has said the measures are necessary to protect Australia from extremism, but critics have insisted they would violate the rights of citizens. The bill is based on legislation in the United Kingdom, and aims to prevent the return of Australian citizens suspected of fighting with militant groups overseas. Ministers have said Australia needs new powers to stop them bringing their dangerous ideology home until authorities are ready to deal with them. Under the proposed new law, they could be excluded for up to two years. “These people want to do us harm," says Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton. "For us, we are dealing with people who have now acquired the skill of putting together an IED [improvised explosive device], have worked with ISIL [Islamic State] and have a right to come back to our country, and we need to protect our citizens.”

Southeast Asia

The Straits Times: Two Japanese May Be Prosecuted For Attempting To Join ISIS

“Two Japanese may be prosecuted for allegedly attempting to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group, police said on Wednesday (July 3), the first case of its kind in the country. “Tokyo Police referred two people to prosecutors for planning to travel to Syria as an anti-government group fighter,” a police spokesman told AFP. The spokesman added three other people were also referred to prosecutors, but gave no further details. One of the five, according to local media, is a 31-year-old former student who planned to travel to Syria in 2014. He told police he wanted to join ISIS to work as a fighter. The other four include veteran freelance journalist Kosuke Tsuneoka and Islamic law scholar Ko Nakata, who the student apparently consulted about travelling to Syria. Early this year, the Japanese government ordered Tsuneoka to surrender his passport as he prepared to leave for Yemen. The move came amid debate in Japan about whether journalists should be prevented from going to war zones after the capture and release of a Japanese reporter in Syria last year.”

Venezuela

The New York Times: Venezuela Forces Killed Thousands, Then Covered It Up, U.N. Says

“Venezuelan special forces have carried out thousands of extrajudicial killings in the past 18 months and then manipulated crime scenes to make it look as if the victims had been resisting arrest, the United Nations said on Thursday in a report detailing wide-ranging government abuses targeting political opponents. Special Action Forces described by witnesses as “death squads” killed 5,287 people in 2018 and another 1,569 by mid-May of this year, in what are officially termed by the Venezuelan government “Operations for the Liberation of the People,” United Nations investigators reported. Laying out a detailed description of a lawless system of oppression, the report says the actual number of deaths could be much higher. It cites accounts by independent groups who report more than 9,000 killings for “resistance to authority” over the same period. “There are reasonable grounds to believe that many of these killings constitute extrajudicial executions committed by the security forces,” the investigators said.”

Technology

Jakarta Globe: Terrorist Groups Use Telegram To Groom Female Militants

“Terrorist groups have found a cheaper way to recruit militants: through encrypted chat rooms on text-messaging apps like Telegram and WhatsApp, a terrorism expert said in Jakarta on Wednesday. The Islamic State and its affiliates have been using Telegram to spread their doctrines and ideology, as well manuals on bomb-making and how to launch a terrorist attack, according to Salahudin, a researcher from University of Indonesia's Study Center on Terrorism and Social Conflict. Text-messaging apps and social media platforms are an effective place to spread the terrorist group's propaganda since they cost almost nothing, allow them to overcome geographical boundaries and are super secure since messages can be encrypted, he said. “After less than one year [of communicating in chat rooms], new recruits are able to launch an attack,” Salahudin said during a short course on terrorism reporting held by the Alliance for a Peaceful Indonesia in Jakarta. In the past, using traditional recruitment method, radical organizations like the Al Qaeda-affiliated Jamaah Islamiyah would spend at least five to ten years to radicalize their recruits before they could be considered ready to launch an attack, Salahudin said.”

The Verge: France Wants To Fine Facebook Over Hate Speech

“On Thursday, French lawmakers approved a measure designed to force tech companies like Facebook and Google to remove content the French government deems “hate speech,” the Associate Press reported earlier today. The provision, which is part of a larger internet regulation bill, was adopted by the lower house of the French Parliament on Thursday. If it were to be fully approved, it would create a 24 hour deadline for social networks to remove hate speech from their platforms once it’s flagged. According to the New York Times, the bill will move to the body’s upper chamber, their Senate, for discussion next. The language included in the measure requires companies to remove any content that incites or encourages hateful violence or discrimination based on one’s race or religion, along with child pornography. If the platforms do not remove the content within that timeframe, they could face up to a €1.25 million fine.”
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O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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