Eye on Extremism - July 16, 2020

[Boats]

Eye on Extremism - July 16, 2020
By: Counter Extremism Project - 7-16-20
Re: info@counterextremism.com

As of July 16, 2020:

Associated Press: UN Frees Up 'Expense' Money For Several Declared Terrorists

“The United Nations has freed up “expense” money for several men designated as terrorists at the request of the Pakistani government, including one with a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday the money will cover basic expenses and doesn't involve any restoration or unfreezing of bank accounts. “These exemptions are being enforced and monitored as per law,” the statement said. Pakistan put in the request last year in keeping with U.N. regulations, which allows for money to be released — but carefully monitored — from frozen bank accounts belonging to individuals declared terrorists by the world body. Pakistani officials didn't reveal how many designated terrorists were on the list sent to the U.N. or how much money was released or the nature of the expenses for which the outlawed individuals required the money. However, a diplomatic source confirmed Hafiz Saeed, the founder of militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba and alleged mastermind behind the 2008 attack in Mumbai India that killed more than 160 people, was on the list. Saeed is also on India’s most wanted list. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media about the details of the request or the U.N. decision.”

The Wall Street Journal: U.S., Gulf Allies Blacklist Islamic State Financial Network

“The U.S. has joined six other nations in sanctioning a financial network linked to the Islamic State terrorist group and its affiliates, blocking any of their assets in the U.S., the Treasury Department said. The joint sanctions imposed Wednesday target financial-services companies al Haram Exchange, Tawasul Company and a third that, according to the Treasury Department, “have played a vital role in transferring funds to support Syria-based ISIS fighters and have provided hundreds of thousands of dollars of liquidity to ISIS leadership.” Efforts to reach al Haram Exchange were unsuccessful. A representative for Tawasul didn’t answer questions sent via text message. Also sanctioned was an individual who the U.S. said had been selected by Islamic State to facilitate its transactions. The penalties, issued by the seven member states of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center, targeted individuals and entities in Turkey, Syria and Afghanistan. The TFTC, launched in 2017, includes the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. An Afghanistan-based charity, Nejaat Social Welfare Organization, and its director were sanctioned for their alleged role in shielding transactions on behalf of ISIS Khorasan, the group’s branch in that country.”

i24 News: Jordan: Top Court Orders Local Muslim Brotherhood Group Dissolved

“The ruling was issued over a lawsuit filed by the local Muslim Brotherhood branch against its own splinter branch -- the Muslim Brotherhood Association, also referred to as the Muslim Brotherhood Society in some of the available sources -- and Jordan's own Department of Lands and Survey. At the heart of the debate was the ownership over land and real estate, which was handed to the splinter offshoot back in 2015 as it was legalized in the country, while the original group, dating back to the 1940-s, was banned. According to the Counter Extremism Project, by 2015, the reformist wing of the group grew increasingly disenfranchised with the faction's focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as opposed to domestic issues, as well as its loyalty to the Egyptian branch, designated by Cairo as a terrorist organization after its downfall in the 2013 military coup. The pan-Islamic organization has also been designated a terrorist entity by Saudi Arabi and the UAE, as well as Russia and Syria. The US reportedly also mulled branding it as such. Wednesday's ruling by Jordan's supreme court appears to cement the victory of the reformist wing within the local Muslim Brotherhood community.”

United States

The Washington Post: For The First Time, Trump Administration Uses Terrorism Charges Against An Alleged MS-13 Leader

“The Justice Department has charged an alleged leader in MS-13 as a terrorist, part of a string of new charges against members of the Salvadoran gang implicated in over a dozen murders. Armando Eliu Melgar Diaz, 30, oversaw 20 gang cliques in 13 states, including New York, California, Maryland and Virginia, according to prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia. He lived on and off in Virginia starting in 2003 but has stayed in El Salvador since 2016, according to prosecutors. “We’re using ‘terrorism,’ which gives us extra strength,” President Trump said in remarks at the White House on Wednesday. “We’ve done a great job with MS-13, but now we’re stepping it up even to a higher level.” Melgar Diaz is in custody facing criminal charges in El Salvador, with no indication he will soon be extradited. But the Justice Department simultaneously announced 21 arrests in New York and Nevada involving MS-13 and the decision to seek the death penalty against an alleged leader in the gang who was arrested in 2017. The charges against Melgar Diaz focus on the years 2016 to 2018, when prosecutors say he took profits from cocaine dealing in the D.C. suburbs and oversaw murders and kidnappings across the country as well as gun and drug smuggling from Mexico to El Salvador.”

Fox News: Arizona Professor Sued For Including Questions About ‘Islamic Terrorism’ On A Test

“A political science professor at a public community college in Arizona is being sued by a Muslim student who alleges he was forced to “either disavow his religion or be punished by getting the answers wrong on the quiz” during the spring semester. Represented by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) of Arizona, Mohamed Sabra, filed a lawsuit on June 2 against the school district and against Nicholas Damask, the political science department chair at Scottsdale Community College (SCC), who taught the world politics class, Campus Reform reports. Sabra said he was “shocked and offended” when he saw test questions connecting Islam and terrorism on April 29, claiming they demonstrated “a clear hostility and disapproval of Islam” and were factually inaccurate, according to the lawsuit. “Where is terrorism encouraged in Islamic doctrine and law?” one of the questions poses with the “correct” answer being “the Medina verses,” while another question asks who do “Islamic terrorists strive to emulate?” with the “correct” answer being the “Prophet Muhammad.”

Turkey

The EurAsian Times: Turkey Says 17,000 Terrorists Eliminated So Far; 1900 Only In 2020

“Turkish security forces have neutralized more than 17,000 terrorists since July 2015, the country’s defence minister said on Wednesday. “Turkey is determined to end the terrorism and our campaigns against terrorists will continue with the same precision,” Hulusi Akar reiterated during a memorial ceremony to honour martyrs of defeated 2016 coup. Since the beginning of 2020, 1,900 terrorists have been neutralized, Akar added. The ceremony was also attended by the chiefs of land, air and naval forces as well as chief of general staff. The Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured. Turkish authorities use the term “neutralized” to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured. Also touching upon the fight against FETO, Akar said some 20,000 people employed in the military have been dismissed over their links to FETO since the coup bid. Earlier, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday shared a video to mark the fourth anniversary of the 2016 defeated coup. “Four years ago an attempted military coup perpetrated by FETO terrorist organization was stopped by the Turkish nation. Turkish people united against the traitors and protected their democracy. Turkish people’s #VictoryofDemocracy,” read a tweet by the ministry along with the video.”

Afghanistan

Associated Press: Afghan Official: Pakistani Mortars Kill 4 Afghan Civilians

“Several mortar shells fired by Pakistani troops landed in a border village in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing four civilians and wounding nine others, an Afghan provincial spokesman said. In Pakistan, police accused Afghan forces of initiating an exchange of fire a day earlier. Abdul Ghani Musamem, spokesman for the governor of Afghanistan's Kunar province, said Afghan forces returned fire Wednesday. A lawmaker from Kunar, Wazhma Safi, said if Pakistan continued to fire over the border, the issue would be discussed at the diplomatic level. She said she believes Taliban insurgents, backed by Pakistan, were behind the attack on Afghan soil. Safi's comments come as a fresh round of peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban are expected this month in Doha, Qatar which were delayed due to postponement of a prisoner exchange between the sides. Under the Feb. 29 signing of a U.S.-Taliban peace deal, the Afghan government is to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners and the Taliban are to release 1,000 Afghan national defense and security personnel. So far, the government has freed 4,015 and the Taliban has freed 669, according to the Afghan government.”

Washington Examiner: As Violence Surges In Afghanistan, NATO Warns Taliban Attacks Undermine Faltering Peace Process

“As Afghanistan reels from another deadly attack that killed 11 Afghan intelligence workers and wounded 60 civilians, NATO has issued a stark warning that the Taliban are failing to keep their promise in a February agreement to reduce the overall level of violence in return for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. “The current level of violence — driven especially by Taliban attacks against Afghan National Defense and Security Forces — remains unacceptably high, causing instability and undermining confidence in the peace process,” said the statement issued by NATO’s North Atlantic Council, which urged the Taliban and the Afghan government to “fulfill their commitments.” “Recent heinous attacks targeting civilians, including women, children, civil society members, religious figures, and health care workers throughout Afghanistan underscore the urgency of fulfilling these critical commitments,” NATO said. “We echo the call of the United Nations for the Taliban to agree to a humanitarian ceasefire that applies to all sides. … It is time for all parties to seize this moment for peace.” ‘THE US HONORS ITS OBLIGATIONS’: The Pentagon avoided calling out the Taliban directly in a statement marking 135 days since the signing of a joint declaration that was supposed to be followed by inter-Afghan peace talks.”

Yemen

Voice Of America: New Airstrikes In Yemen Kill At Least 7 Civilians

“Airstrikes in Yemen's northern al-Jawf province killed least seven civilians on Wednesday, according to residents and an official with the Houthi rebel group who put the death toll at nine. A Houthi health ministry spokesman said the Saudi-led coalition struck a residential area in the al-Hazm district of al-Jawf province just days after a Sunday airstrike in the northwestern governorate of Hajjah. Sunday's Hajjah strike killed seven children and two women, and injured an additional two children and women, said the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), The Houthi movement blamed the Saudi-led coalition for both incidents. Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki told Reuters that reports of Wednesday’s airstrikes will be investigated, echoing a similar statement he made about Sunday's attack. “We take this report very seriously and it will be fully investigated as all reports of this nature are, using an internationally approved, independent process,” al-Malki said. Violence between the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who control the capital, Sana’a, and a U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition fighting on behalf of the internationally recognized government, has resulted in nearly 1,000 civilian causalities during the first six months of 2020, according to OCHA.”

Saudi Arabia

Arab News: Saudi Arabia Adds Six People And Entities To Terrorism Blacklist Over Daesh Support

“Saudi Arabia added six names and entities to its terrorism blacklist for providing Daesh with financial support, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Wednesday. The list was established in consultation with the US and Gulf neighbors who are part of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC). Several money transfer businesses were added to the list including Al-Haram Exchange, Tawasul Company, and Al-Khalidi Exchange. These businesses have played a vital role in transferring funds to support Syria-based Daesh fighters and have provided hundreds of thousands of dollars of liquidity to its terrorist leadership, according to the TFTC. The Kingdom also designated Abd Al-Rahman Ali Husayn Al-Ahmad Al-Rawi, who was selected by Daesh in 2017 to serve as a senior financial facilitator. He was one of a few individuals who provided the terrorist organization significant financial facilitation into and out of Syria. These entities and Al-Rawi have provided a critical financial and logistical lifeline to Daesh, its branches, and its global facilitation networks. An Afghanistan-based organization and its director who facilitated the transfer of funds for and to support the activities of Daesh’s branch in Afghanistan under the auspices of charitable were also added to the list.”

Lebanon

The National: Hezbollah Financier 'Freed By US After Secret Iran Talks'

“A Lebanese man convicted of financing Hezbollah was freed from jail in the US last month as a result of indirect contacts between Tehran and Washington that are expected to yield more releases, three senior Middle East officials told Reuters news agency. Kassim Tajideen was released on June 11 and arrived in Lebanon last week. Two of the sources told said his release was part of the same track of talks that last year yielded the release by Iran of Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese businessman with US permanent residency, and Syria's release of Sam Goodwin, a US citizen.A State Department representative dismissed the claim and insisted Tajideen was released because of health concerns. Tajideen's lawyer, Chibli Mallat, also denied that the release had anything to do with the release of other prisoners. “It was a purely judicial operation”, he said. Tajideen, 65, pleaded guilty in 2018 to charges linked to breaching US sanctions imposed on him. He was sentenced to five years in prison and fined $50 million (Dh183.6m). In 2009, the US designated Tajideen an important financial supporter of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite group that is classified as a terrorist group by Washington. He was extradited to the US after being arrested as he entered Morocco in 2017.”

Middle East

The Jerusalem Post: IDF Prevents Attempted Terror Attack Near Nablus

“The IDF Spokesperson's Unit announced on Wedensday that IDF soldiers had thwarted an attempted attack, arresting a squad of four alleged terrorists near the city of Nablus in the area of the Samaria Regional Council. According to the statement, two Molotov cocktails and one IED were seized from the four men. The suspects and weapons have been transferred for further investigation by Israel's security agencies.”

Germany

Deutsche Welle: Police In Germany Conduct Raids On Suspected Islamists In Berlin

“Investigators from Berlin's Office of Criminal Investigation (LKA) are executing 20 search warrants against 12 suspects from the Islamist scene, Berlin's public prosecutor's office said on Wednesday. A total of 450 officers and police officials were deployed in the operation, a police spokesperson said, adding that more details about the raids would be made public later on Wednesday. There was a “series of accusations” against the alleged extremists who are suspected of financing terror, including threatening behavior and fraud, said spokesperson Martin Steltner. In all, 19 properties were searched in the districts of Reinickendorf, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and Tempelhof-Schöneberg. The raids were carried out mostly on apartments and storage rooms, the spokesperson added. A car with Hamburg license plates was also examined. No one was arrested in the operation. Germany's Police Trade Union welcomed the raids as an example of the result of meticulous investigative work. It is no secret that cash flows from criminal gangs in “our money-laundering paradise” to fund terrorist organizations, the union's regional deputy head Thomas Spaniel said, according to the German news agency dpa.”

Technology

Reuters: Sophisticated Software Used To Attack Activist Couple Shows New Disinformation Frontier

“In an article in U.S. Jewish newspaper The Algemeiner, Taylor had accused Masri and his wife, Palestinian rights campaigner Ryvka Barnard, of being “known terrorist sympathizers.” Masri and Barnard were taken aback by the allegation, which they deny. But they were also baffled as to why a university student would single them out. Masri said he pulled up Taylor’s profile photo. He couldn’t put his finger on it, he said, but something about the young man’s face “seemed off.” Six experts interviewed by Reuters say the image has the characteristics of a deepfake. “The distortion and inconsistencies in the background are a tell-tale sign of a synthesized image, as are a few glitches around his neck and collar,” said digital image forensics pioneer Hany Farid, who teaches at the University of California, Berkeley. Artist Mario Klingemann, who regularly uses deepfakes in his work, said the photo “has all the hallmarks.”