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Old 12-14-2018, 06:17 AM
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Arrow Eye on Extremism December 14, 2018

Eye on Extremism - December 14, 2018
RE: info@counterextremism.com


The New York Times: Chérif Chekatt, Strasbourg Attacker, Is Killed By French Police, Officials Say

“The French police on Thursday night confronted and fatally shot the man believed to be responsible for killing three people and wounding many more in Strasbourg this week, bringing a tense, two-day manhunt to an end and providing a moment of relief to a nation shaken first by violent protests and then the rampage at a Christmas market. The attack traumatized Strasbourg and reminded the country of its continued vulnerability to terrorist attacks. French officials said Thursday that they were worried that the police were overstretched after four weekends of handling nationwide protests by the Yellow Vest movement. “The security forces have been under tremendous strain these last few weeks,” said Benjamin Griveaux, the government’s spokesman.”

The Guardian: Kurdish-Led Fighters Take Last ISIS Town In Syria, Activists Say

“Kurdish-led fighters have captured the last Syrian town held by Islamic State, activists said. The fall of Hajin follows days of intense battles in Isis’s last remaining stronghold near the Iraqi border in eastern Syria. The group still holds some villages nearby. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have been fighting to take Hajin and the surrounding villages in Deir ez-Zor province for more than three months. The offensive intensified in recent weeks with the arrival of reinforcements from northern Syria. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the SDF took Hajin early on Friday morning, after fierce fighting under the cover of US-led airstrikes. It said some Isis fighters had withdrawn to the villages and that fighting was still going in the fields surrounding Hajin. Omar Abu Layla, of the Deir Ezzor 24 monitoring group, which is also based in Europe, said Hajin had been taken, and that some Isis fighters were still holed up in small pockets on the edge of the town.”

The Wall Street Journal: Yemen Foes Agree On Cease-Fire Amid U.S. Pressure

“Yemen’s government and Houthi rebels agreed Thursday to a cease-fire in an embattled port city, a breakthrough in the nearly four-year conflict that came as lawmakers in Washington ramped up pressure on a Saudi-led coalition fighting the rebels. The Senate, upset by the October killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents, ignored appeals by the Trump administration and passed a resolution Thursday to withdraw U.S. support for the coalition. The resolution, which passed by a 56-41 vote, is unlikely to directly alter U.S. military policy, as House Republican leaders stopped an effort to force a similar vote, but it marked a bipartisan setback for the president’s Middle East policy. The cease-fire between the warring sides in Yemen was announced before the vote, a result of the first direct talks between the sides in two years.”

Reuters: Up To 15,000 Syrian Rebels Ready To Back Turkish Operation In Northeast

“Up to 15,000 Syrian rebels are ready to join a Turkish military offensive against U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in northeast Syria, but no date has been set for the operation, a spokesman for the main Turkish-backed Syrian rebel group said on Thursday. President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey would launch the offensive in a few days, targeting a border region east of the Euphrates river which is held by the YPG Kurdish militia. The announcement prompted a sharp rebuke from the Pentagon, which said any unilateral military action into northeast Syria would be unacceptable. The United States has been supporting the YPG in the fight against Islamic State insurgents since 2015. Following cross-border shelling from Turkey into Kurdish-controlled territory two months ago, U.S. forces have set up three military observation posts near the border.”

Associated Press: Suspected Jihadists Kill 42 In Mali’s Nomadic Tuareg Camps

“Suspected jihadists on motorcycles have killed at least 42 people during a series of attacks on Tuareg nomadic camps in Mali, local leaders said Thursday. Moussa Ag Acharatoumane, a Tuareg self-defense official, said the attacks took place Tuesday and Wednesday in the sprawling West African nation’s eastern Menaka region. The victims, who included children as young as eight, were members of his group known as MSA, which has been fighting militants with ties to the Islamic State group who are active in the region. This week’s violence risks setting off a new cycle of intercommunal clashes in the Menaka region, where 100 civilians have already been killed this year. In September, similar motorcycle gangs attacked a nomadic community near Mali’s border with Niger, killing at least 12 civilians. Meanwhile, Malian authorities said Thursday they had arrested four men accused of planning attacks before the end of the year in several major West African capitals.”

The Washington Post: Hateful And Violent Videos Are A Sliver Of The Content Youtube Removes

“YouTube removed 7.8 million videos and 1.6 million channels in the third quarter of this year, mostly for spreading spam or posting inappropriate adult content, the company said in a report Thursday. The Community Guidelines Enforcement Report comes amid growing questions — including in a congressional hearing Tuesday — about how YouTube monitors and deletes problematic content from the platform, including videos depicting violent extremism and hateful, graphic content. Such videos remain a small percentage of the overall number that YouTube deletes, but the prevalence of such content has been the subject of news reports and congressional scrutiny. The enforcement report, the fourth of its kind for the Google subsidiary, covers July through September and is the first to break out the reasons for removing videos. It is also the first to report the number of channels removed in their entirety for violating YouTube’s “community guidelines.” Channels are removed when they get three strikes within 90 days, or for a single particularly egregious offense, such as predatory behavior.”

United States

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Aides Warn Him Against Intervening In Huawei Case

“Despite President Trump’s statement that he might intervene in a criminal case against the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co., such a move would break from longstanding tradition and advisers have warned him that his options are limited, according to people familiar with the matter. When news broke last week of the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, threatening the president’s trade talks with China, he asked for options, according to one person, and advisers told him the arrest and potential prosecution of Ms. Meng was essentially out of his hands. The arrest was a Justice Department matter, they said, and the White House should stay out of it for now, this person said. There are no immediate plans to intervene in the matter, officials added. The matter arose when Mr. Trump returned to Washington last week optimistic that his trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping had made headway. But stocks didn’t respond as well as he had expected, and on Tuesday Mr. Trump told Reuters he’d be willing to intervene in the case against Ms. Meng if it meant securing a strong agreement.”

The New York Times: The Rise Of Right-Wing Extremism, And How U.S. Law Enforcement Ignored It

“Despite repeated warnings over the past two decades, federal law enforcement officials in the United States have ignored the threat of violence from far-right extremists. Now, they have no idea how to stop it.”

NBC News: Wave Of Bomb Threats Causes Evacuations, Anxiety Across U.S. And Canada

“A wave of bomb threats was reported Thursday against businesses, schools, hospitals and other places across the United States and Canada, causing panic and evacuations, although all appeared to be hoaxes. Police in both countries reported threats, some emailed, some phoned in. The FBI said in a statement that it was aware of the threats and encouraged the public to promptly report any suspicious activities. Authorities in New York City were monitoring "multiple bomb threats that have been sent electronically to various locations throughout the city," the New York Police Department's counterterrorism bureau said on Twitter. "These threats are also being reported to other locations nationwide & are NOT considered credible at this time," the police department said.”

Syria

Reuters: U.S.-Backed Syrian Forces Take Islamic State-Held Town: Source, Report

“Syrian fighters backed by the United States have seized the town of Hajin in eastern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitoring group and a source in the militia leading the battle said on Friday. Hajin is the last big town held by Islamic State in its remaining pocket of territory east of the Euphrates River near the border with Iraq. The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG militia, have been battling to eradicate Islamic State for several months in the area. A YPG source said the SDF was now in control of Hajin, where some small remaining pockets of Islamic State resistance would be finished off in the next day or two. The capture of Hajin leaves Islamic State in control of a diminishing strip of territory along the eastern bank of the Euphrates River in the area where the U.S.-backed operations are focused. The jihadists also control some desert terrain west of the river in territory otherwise controlled by the Damascus government and its allies. SDF commander-in-chief Mazloum Kobani told Reuters on Thursday that at least 5,000 Islamic State fighters remain holed up in the pocket of territory including Hajin and that they had decided to fight to the death. This includes some 2,000 foreign fighters, mostly Arabs and Europeans along with their families.”

The Wall Street Journal: Syria Unearths ISIS Mass Graves Near Iraqi Border

“Syrian forces have unearthed mass graves near the border with Iraq containing the remains of several hundred people executed by Islamic State, providing more evidence of the militants’ reign of terror as they are driven out of territory they once controlled. Two Iraqis who have been in contact with Syrian forces said the discovery was made in the Abu Kamal area of eastern Syria on Wednesday. Photographs they provided showed men wearing white protective suits sifting through earth in several ditches. One image showed the wrists of a corpse—reduced almost to bone—bound together with a strip of fabric. The war against Islamic State is winding down but evidence of the group’s atrocities continue to surface, shaking survivors of the violence and hindering efforts to turn the page four years after Islamic State overran a third of Iraq and a large part of Syria. Iraqi authorities involved in exhuming mass graves and handling the remains said they hadn’t been officially notified of the grave because it lies in Syrian territory. However, an intelligence officer in a government-backed Iraqi militia said Syrian security forces had invited them to watch as the graves were excavated, suspecting some of the victims might be Iraqi.”

Asharq Al-Awsat: Kurdish-Led Fighters Expel ISIS From East Syria Hub

“Syrian Kurdish-led forces seized ISIS’ main hub of Hajin Friday, a milestone in a massive US-backed operation to eradicate the militants from their single remaining enclave in eastern Syria. The Syrian Democratic Forces secured Hajin, the largest stronghold in what is the last pocket of territory controlled by the terrorist group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. After a week of heavy fighting and air strikes by the US-led Coalition, “the SDF were able to kick ISIS out of Hajin," Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based monitor, said. The operation was completed at dawn, he said, a day after SDF forces fanned out across the large village in the Euphrates valley. On Thursday, the last ISIS militants were confined to a network of tunnels and the edges of Hajin, which lies in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, about 30 kilometers from the border with Iraq. The area held by the extremist ogranization is sometimes referred to as the "Hajin pocket", the last rump of a once-sprawling "caliphate" ISIS proclaimed in 2014 over swathes of Syria and Iraq. Extremists pulled back to positions east of Hajin Friday and to Sousa and Al-Shaafa, the two other main villages in their shrinking Euphrates valley enclave. According to Abdel Rahman, a total of 17,000 fighters from the Kurdish-Arab SDF alliance are involved in the operation to flush ISIS out of its last bastion.”

The Straits Times: 'We're Entering A Very Risky Period': Experts Say ISIS Not Defeated, Just Transforming

“Even as the last pockets of resistance in eastern Syria hold their ground, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group is shape-shifting into a new, but no less dangerous, underground form, experts warn. The group had long been ready to cede the territory it once held in its self-styled "caliphate", and has already begun the switch to a more clandestine role, closer to its roots. "ISIS anticipated its battlefield defeat and the loss of the caliphate and prepared accordingly," said Professor Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at Georgetown University in Washington. "Hundreds of ISIS fighters were able to flee Syria, bribe their way through Syria to Turkey and thereby disappear," he said. "Beneath the surface, ISIS has always played the long game." In a recent study entitled "ISIS's Second Resurgence", Mr Brandon Wallace and Ms Jennifer Cafarella of the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said the extremist group "has already restructured its operations to return to a regional insurgency". "ISIS is finding new sources of revenue and rebuilding command-and-control over its scattered remnant forces in order to prepare for a future large-scale insurgency in both Iraq and Syria," the report said. The group has managed to smuggle funds to several countries around the Middle East, using front companies such as car dealerships, electronics stores, pharmacies and currency exchanges that it established in Iraq, experts said.”

Iran

Politico: Trump’s Anti-Iran Push Boosts A Royal Outcast

“Soon after President Donald Trump took office, his National Security Council aides considered trying an unusual new approach to Iran. Officials wondered whether Trump should record a dramatic video message congratulating the Iranian people on their new year. The twist? Trump would appear alongside an Iranian royal who lives quietly in the Washington area: Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the country’s late shah, the U.S.-allied leader toppled during Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution. The NSC officials decided against the idea, which was described by two people familiar with the episode, and Trump instead issued a traditional statement of goodwill for the Iranian holiday, known as Now-Ruz. At the time, pairing Trump with Pahlavi might have struck many Iran-watchers in the U.S. as an absurd idea. Pahlavi’s father was a deeply unpopular figure in Iran when he was overthrown, and his close ties to Washington was a particular source of anger at the time.”

Voice Of America: Report: Iran Hackers Targeted US Officials, Nuclear Experts

“Iranian government-supported hackers have reportedly tried to break into the personal emails of American officials and international nuclear experts. The Associated Press, or AP, reported on the attempted attacks Thursday. The AP’s report was based on information collected during an investigation by the internet security company Certfa, which is based in London. AP said the group, known as Charming Kitten, is believed to have tried to break into the private emails of more than 12 U.S. Treasury officials. The attempts took place over the past month. Other targets included well-known defenders, opponents and enforcers of an international nuclear deal signed in 2015 with Iran. In addition, the hackers sought to break into the emails of some Arab nuclear scientists and Iranian civil society members. Employees of major American research groups, known as think tanks, were also targeted.”

Arutz Sheva: Analysis: Did Iran Order Recent Terror Attacks Against Israelis?

“Judea and Samaria, a.k.a. the 'West Bank,' is once again experiencing an uptick in terror attacks by Palestinian Arabs. This week Arab terrorists not only carried out two deadly drive-by shooting attacks on groups of Israelis near the village of Ofra Sunday evening and Thursday afternoon but also staged a number of stabbing and car ramming attacks on Israeli security personnel in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. “A volcano of violence is waiting to erupt in the 'West Bank',” Israeli journalist Anna Ahronheim wrote while repeating the trope blaming high unemployment and a lack of “hope” for the escalating violence. Citing data released by the Israel Security Agency, or Shin Bet, Ahronheim reported 109 terror attacks in Jerusalem, Samaria, and Judea in October alone compared to 80 in September. These attacks included the use of improvised explosive devices, arson attacks, fire bombings, car ramming attacks, shootings, and stabbings.”

Radio Free Europe: European Deputies Urge Iran To Release Jailed Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh

“The European Parliament has overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling for the Iranian government to “immediately and unconditionally” release jailed human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh. The lawmakers made the call on December 13, six months after Sotoudeh was arrested after she represented several of the women detained for removing their head scarves in public to protest against the country’s Islamic dress code. She is facing several charges, including for her efforts to represent women who protested compulsory hijab laws and her public support of Step By Step To Stop The Death Penalty, a nongovernmental organization dedicated to reducing executions in Iran. Sotoudeh -- the co-winner of the European Parliament's 2012 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought -- has denied all charges against her.”

Iraq

Al Jazeera: Amnesty Says ISIL 'Annihilation' Of Rural Iraq Is A War Crime

“The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's (ISIL, also known as ISIS) "deliberate, wanton annihilation" of agricultural land in northern Iraq amounts to a war crime, Amnesty International has said. The rights group, in a report released on Thursday, said the ISIL's "scorched-earth tactics" devastated Iraq's rural communities as it looted livestock, burned orchards, planted land mines, sabotaged water pumps and destroyed farmland. The report was released a day after Nobel Peace Prize winner and Yazidi activist Nadia Murad visited Iraq's capital, Baghdad, to call for more government support to her native Sinjar region. ISIL overran Sinjar in 2014, killing Yazidi men, forcefully enlisting boys as soldiers and kidnapping more than 6,000 women and girls as "sex slaves". The US-backed Iraqi forces gradually drove the fighters from the territory under their control, declaring victory last year after a costly campaign that destroyed entire neighbourhoods and towns. 'Compensate the displaced' "The conflict against ISIL eviscerated Iraq's agricultural production, now an estimated 40 percent lower than 2014 levels," the Amnesty report said. "Before ISIL, around two-thirds of Iraq's farmers had access to irrigation - only three years later, this had fallen to 20 percent. Around 75 percent of livestock was lost, spiking to 95 percent in some areas.”

Afghanistan

Xinhua: Afghan Troops Mop Up Militants Before Winter, Killing 44 In Latest Raids

“The Afghan army continued mopping-up operations against militants as the Taliban has been attempting to take territory and consolidate its positions ahead of winter in the mountainous country, the Afghan Ministry of Defense said Friday. Forty-four militants have been killed and 11 others injured when Afghan army in coordination with police and national intelligence agency personnel conducted 18 cordon and search operations and 101 small-range special operations across Afghanistan since early Thursday, according to a statement. In restive southern Helmand province, 17 Taliban militants were killed and four others wounded after the Afghan Air Force launched airstrikes against their hideouts in Sangin, Nahri Sarraj and Washer districts. Four Taliban militants, including a local Taliban leader named Haroon, were killed in a similar incident in neighboring Zabul province, the statement said. Three Taliban militants and one member of the Haqqani militant group were killed and three militants wounded during cleanup operations in three eastern provinces of Paktia, Paktika and Laghman. In eastern Nangarhar province, 12 Taliban militants were killed and a Taliban defensive position was destroyed following a ground operation in Khogyani district. The statement said the Afghan Air Force has conducted 116 supportive flights within the period.”

Pakistan

Arab News: Pakistan Willing To Use ‘Little Influence’ It Has With Afghan Taliban To Help Peace Talks

“Pakistan is willing to use its “little influence” with the Afghan Taliban to resurrect faltering peace talks between the Kabul government and the insurgency, foreign office officials said, just days before Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is scheduled to visit Kabul to meet with top civilian and military leaders. US officials have long pushed Pakistan to use its influence with Taliban leaders, who Washington says are based inside Pakistan, to bring them to the negotiating table and end a 17-year war. Islamabad vehemently denies it is covertly sheltering Taliban leaders. “We can facilitate the peace process by using our little influence over the Afghan Taliban,” a foreign office official with knowledge of the talks told Arab News on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media about the issue. “Pakistan is willing to bring the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table but obviously is not in a position to forge a peace agreement with them. The modalities and all other relevant things are to be decided by the US as it is the major stakeholder,” he said. However, he said that the Taliban seemed “least interested” in engaging with the Afghan government at a time when the next presidential elections were scheduled to be held in April next year.”

Asia Times: Why Pakistan Will Not Give Up Terrorism

“Nikki Haley, US ambassador to the United Nations, recently said that Pakistan continued to harbor terrorists that kill American soldiers, and Washington should not give Islamabad even one dollar until it addresses the issue. She also said that foreign aid as leverage should not be given blindly and then expect goodwill, adding, “You have to ask for goodwill and then give it when you see good things happen.” Last January, US President Donald Trump said, “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than $33 billion in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies and deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!” And indeed, in September the US canceled $300 million in military aid to Pakistan for not doing enough against terror groups active on its soil. Meanwhile, in a recent interview to foreign media, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan stated that Pakistan had suffered from fighting America’s war. He denied there were terror sanctuaries in Pakistan but 2.7 million Afghan refugees. “If there are a few hundred, maybe 2,000 to 3,000 Taliban who move into Pakistan, they could easily move into these Afghan refugee camps.”

Yemen

The National: Yemen's Houthi Rebels Continue Attacks After Hodeidah Peace Deal Announced

“Houthi rebels attacked a village in southern Hodeidah on Thursday night, hours after their representatives announced a ceasefire deal with the Yemeni government following UN-brokered negotiations in Sweden. Dozens of families were forced to leave Al Humainya in Haiys district after the rebels stormed the village, residents said. "Last night while we were sleeping, Houthi fighters suddenly entered our village from areas still under their control in the neighbouring mountains in western Haiys," Faiysal Durami told The National. "They took positions on the roofs of some buildings and started shooting anything that moved in the village. "We tried to negotiate with them to take positions far from the village but they told us to leave our homes as soon as possible." Video footage sent to The National by the pro-government Al Amalikah Brigades showed men, women and children leaving their homes with their belongings loaded on donkey carts or carried on their shoulders.”

Lebanon

ABC News: Lebanese Wary As Israel Destroys Hezbollah Border Tunnels

“As Israeli excavators dug into the rocky hills along the frontier with a Lebanese village, a crowd of young Lebanese men gathered to watch. The mood was light as the crowd observed in real time what Israel says is a military operation — dubbed "Northern Shield" — aimed at destroying attack tunnels built by the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. The young men posed for selfies, with the Israeli crew in the background, as they burned fires and brewed tea to keep warm. But Lebanese soldiers were visibly on high alert, deploying to new camouflaged posts behind sandbags and inside abandoned homes. About two dozen U.N. peacekeepers stood in a long line, just ahead of the blue line demarcating the frontier between the two countries technically still at war. The scene highlights the palpable anxiety that any misstep could lead to a conflagration between Israel and Lebanon that no one seems to want. Underscoring such jitters, shadowy figures appearing across the misty hills of the border village of Mays al-Jabal last weekend sparked panic, and Israeli soldiers fired in the air to warn a Lebanese military intelligence patrol, according to Lebanese reports. Israel said it fired at Hezbollah members who came to the site to dismantle sensors installed to detect tunnels.”

Voice Of America: Western Officials Discuss Hezbollah's Latin Efforts

“A U.S.-led Western Hemisphere ministerial on counterterrorism this week discussed Hezbollah's activities in Latin America, with some analysts suggesting member countries are stepping up efforts to prevent the Lebanese militant group from funneling funds from the region to make up for the money lost from close ally Iran because of U.S. sanctions. The ministerial conference, which took place Tuesday in Washington, was hosted by U.S. officials and attended by senior officials of 13 U.S. partners across the Americas. The countries discussed the threats transnational terrorist organizations, including Hezbollah, the Islamic State and al-Qaida, pose to the security of the Western Hemisphere. Nathan Sales, the U.S. State Department's coordinator for counterterrorism, in a press briefing Wednesday said recent U.S. sanctions had cut into Iran's disposable income, which previously gave Hezbollah an estimated $700 million a year. He said the group would most likely try to compensate for the lost revenue by stepping up its fundraising networks across the Middle East, Africa and South America.” "We've seen evidence that as we have tightened the screws on Iran by imposing sanctions, we know that the money that otherwise would have been made available to Hezbollah has to go to other purposes, which makes it even more important for us and for our partners to use our own efforts to cut off the sources of money that Hezbollah will be looking to use to make up for the revenues that they're losing as a result of sanctions on Iran," Sales told reporters during an online briefing.”

Israel

CNN: Two Israeli Soldiers Killed In West Bank Shooting Attack

“Two Israeli soldiers were shot dead Thursday at a bus stop on a main road in the Israeli-controlled part of the West Bank, the Israeli military said. A third soldier and a fourth person were wounded in the incident, according to officials. Israel's army said in a statement that the gunman stepped out of a vehicle and opened fire before fleeing the scene. The army was focusing its search for the gunman in the nearby Palestinian city of Ramallah, and said it had closed entry points to the city. The fatal attack came on a day of heightened tension in the West Bank and Jerusalem. A Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli forces at Al-Bireh, close to Ramallah, after the army said he had attempted a car-ramming assault on Israeli soldiers, one of whom was lightly injured. And early in the morning, Israeli police troopers shot a man dead near the Damascus Gate entrance to Jerusalem's Old City after he stabbed two border police officers. Israeli soldiers stand near the scene of the attack. Calls for further escalation The Palestinian Authority's ruling party has called on Palestinians to step up their confrontation with Israeli forces. "We call on our Palestinian people to be alert, to escalate the confrontation, and to activate the security committees to defend our villages in every part of our land," read a Thursday statement by Fatah, the party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.”

Jerusalem Post: Israel Fears New Wave Of West Bank Terror Attacks

“The IDF searched Thursday night for the Palestinian who killed two soldiers at a bus stop near Route 60 as a surge of unrest gripped the West Bank amid rising fears of a new wave of terror attacks against Israelis. A diplomatic source said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a clear message to Hamas that Israel will take action against it if it deploys terror in the West Bank. Referring to assessments that Hamas has decided to move the focus of its efforts to attack in and from the West Bank since a degree of quiet has now come to the Gaza border, “There will be no ceasefire in Gaza and the use of terror in Judea and Samaria,” the source said. Staff Sgt. Yuval Mor Yosef, 20, of Ashkelon and Sgt. Yosef Cohen, 19, of Beit Shemesh were killed Thursday morning when a Palestinian gunman got out of his car and mowed them down as they stood at a bus stop at the T-Junction outside the outpost of Givat Assaf in the Binyamin region. Another soldier and a civilian were seriously injured in the attack. The soldier was critically injured and doctors are still fighting for his life. Just hours earlier, two police officers were stabbed in an early morning terror attack in Jerusalem’s Old City, according to the Police Spokesperson’s Unit. The police killed the assailant. But it was the Givat Assaf attack that struck a more emotional note.”

Middle East

Rudaw: Khanaqin Villagers Flee Their Homes, Fearing Resurgent ISIS

“Residents of 31 villages in the Khanaqin district have fled their homes, afraid of a resurgent ISIS. In one month, ISIS militants have attacked villages in the area 143 times. “The security in the Kurdish villages is not good. They are controlled by the Federal Police, and they never visit at night,” said Ghaidan Abdulrahman, a local official (mukhtar) in Bawapllawi. A year ago, 75 families lived in his village. Today, most of them are gone. The area is part of the disputed territories that came under Iraqi federal control in October 2017. The federal forces have struggled, however, to secure these villages, especially at night, and ISIS has taken advantage of security gaps between the Iraqis and the Peshmerga. Militants raid villages, and kidnap and kill residents. “You never feel safe to go out; our children will not be safe,” said a mother in the village. An estimated 300 militants are operating in the area, essentially having the run of the land at night.”

The National: UK Priest Blasts Qatar's 'Shameful' Response To Lauren Patterson Murder

“A British priest has accused Qatar of prolonging the suffering of a mother whose daughter was murdered after a night out in Doha five years ago. Rev David Green compared New Zealand’s response to the killing of Grace Millane, a British backpacker, with the handling of the case of Lauren Patterson, 24, a teacher killed by a Qatari in 2013. New Zealand expressed a “profound sense of regret and shame” over the apparent murder of Millane, who went missing from Auckland earlier this month, on its soil, Mr Green said. Meanwhile, he said, Alison Patterson, Lauren’s mother and a former parishioner, had been forced into a “never-*ending fight for justice” in the Gulf. Lauren’s killer, Badr Hashim Khamis Abdallah Al Jabr, has twice been sentenced to death, in a legal saga that has forced Mrs Patterson to travel to Qatar more than 30 times to attend hearings.”

Nigeria

Pulse Nigeria: UK Rallies International Support For Nigeria Over Boko Haram

“The United Kingdom has called for international support for Nigeria in the fight against the resurgence of the destructive activities of the Boko Haram terrorist group. The UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Amb. Jonathan Allen, stated this at the Security Council Briefing on the UN Office for Central Africa. Allen raised concern about the humanitarian and security situation in the wider Lake Chad Basin, which continued to deteriorate, in addition to the crisis in Cameroon. He said: “The United Kingdom has played its part in providing humanitarian support, as well as significant support particularly to assist the Nigerian security forces in the fight against Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa (ISWA), but this matter needs the ongoing focus and support of the international community. “The deteriorating security situation in northeast Nigeria is of particular concern, and one I note shared by the Secretary-General. “ISWA has increased the frequency, range and sophistication of their attacks and has attacked forward operating military bases in North East Nigeria. “The execution by ISWA of humanitarian workers such as Saifura Khorsa and Hauwa Liman, who were both abducted while providing antenatal care to communities in desperate need is a telling reminder of the brutality of ISWA’s activities.”

The Cable Nigeria: UN Envoy Urges International Community To Watch Boko Haram ‘Carefully’

“A UN envoy has alerted the international community of the need to watch the Boko Haram terrorist group “carefully”. The call was made at the UN headquarters by Francois Fall, special representative of the secretary-general for Central Africa and the head of the UN Regional Office for the region (UNOCA). While briefing the security council on the developments in the Central African sub-region, he said: “The Nigeria-based Boko Haram extremist group was also a malicious threat to the region that the international community needed to watch carefully, as it continues to launch ‘indiscriminate attacks’ against security forces as well as civilians. “Efforts to stamp out Boko Haram should also focus on addressing the root causes of the insurgency, said the UN envoy.” He warned that rising violence in the Central African Republic threatened to spill across the border into neighbouring countries, creating further instability, and urged continued and coordinated regional efforts to bolster peace and security. He said a comprehensive and cautious approach is needed against the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) as the African Union works to replace its ongoing initiative against the rebel group, he said. Replacing the AU’s initiative to neutralise the LRA should not leave a security vacuum that the group could exploit to relaunch and intensify its campaign of violence, he said.”

Somalia

News 24: Former Somalia Extremist Now Running For Office Is Arrested

“A Somali official says Ethiopian troops arrested a former extremist leader who is now a candidate in a regional election in the southwest. Nur Ahmed, an electoral official in Somalia's Southwest state, told The Associated Press that Sheikh Mukhtar Robow, previously the number two leader of the rebel group al-Shabaab, was arrested on Thursday by Ethiopian troops that are part of the African Union forces supporting the Somali government. The reason for the arrest is unclear. Robow defected from al-Shabaab last year and is now running to be regional president of Southwest state. According to witnesses, the Ethiopian soldiers arrested Robow at the regional president's residence in Baidoa. Officials said Somali police accompanied Ethiopian soldiers in the arrest. Gunfire was heard in Baidoa as some of Robow's supporters protested his arrest.”

Africa

Council On Foreign Relations: Islamist Terrorism Spreads To Eastern Burkina Faso

“On December 3, police officers killed six terrorists after a security patrol was ambushed in eastern Burkina Faso. Reports from the country in the past year point to a worrying sign that the spread of Islamist terrorism continues unabated in the West African country. Jihadis, many of whom are affiliated with al-Qaeda and other Islamist militant groups active in Mali, now operate in and sometimes control parts of the north and east of the country, many of which are labelled no-go zones due to government’s inability to secure them. The east has historically played host to local militias and crime syndicates, which operate with impunity in a region largely outside of the government’s influence. Islamist terrorism has wracked the Sahel for several years now, but it is a relatively recent phenomenon in Burkina Faso. Its arrival is partly related to the fall from power of former President Blaise Compaore. Popular unrest in response to a failed bid to extend his nearly three decade-long tenure in 2014 pushed Campaore from power. The country’s Western-trained presidential guard, still loyal to the former president, staged a coup to topple the transitional government in 2015. The coup ultimately failed and the presidential guard was subsequently dissolved. The dissolution of the presidential guard left a hole in the Burkinabe security apparatus, providing an opening for jihadist groups to expand in the country.”

Human Rights Watch: UN Review Should Help Children Caught In ISIS Conflict

“Baraa Zayani, a 4-year-old Tunisian boy, has been held for the past two years in a militia-run prison in Libya. In 2016, a bullet tore through his stomach during clashes between armed groups that killed his father, a member of the Islamic State. He has had five operations and needs one more. “We have asked every Tunisian authority we can think of to bring him home,” Baraa’s uncle, Moncef Abidi, told me last week in Tunis. “I keep begging them, ‘Save Baraa. He needs more surgery to survive.’ But nothing.” The Libyan authorities say that Baraa and his mother can go home, but Libya and Tunisia are deadlocked on terms, Abidi said. Children like Baraa should be a top priority when the United Nations Security Council meetsThursday to review guidelines for countries whose citizens have joined transnational extremist armed groups such as the Islamic State (also known as ISIS). More than 2,000 children and 1,000 women from more than 20 countries are estimated to be detained in Syria, Iraq and Libya because their fathers are known or alleged ISIS members. The family members come from countries as disparate as France, Russia and Tunisia. While many foreign spouses and offspring are being prosecuted for ISIS-related offenses – often in procedures that miserably fail fair trial standards – the majority have not been accused of any crime.”

United Kingdom

CNN: Britain Sees Surge In Far-Right Activity Flagged To Its Anti-Terrorism Program

“The number of people flagged to Britain's counter-extremism program on suspicion of far-right activity has increased by more than one third, figures released Thursday showed. Data from the Home Office's Prevent program, a central plank of Britain's strategy to combat terrorism, showed a 36% uptick in the number of referrals of people at risk of involvement in far-right activity (1,312 people) between April 2017 and March 2018, compared with the same period the year before. The largest proportion of those referrals were young people between the ages of 15 and 20. Referrals related to suspected Islamic extremism made up the bulk of cases (3,197 people, or 44% of referrals), but this figure represents a 14% fall from the year before. "The figures released today show Prevent is tackling the threat from radicalisation wherever it is found, including from the rise in the right-wing extremism," Security Minister Ben Wallace said in a statement. "Through the Prevent and Channel programme, people who are vulnerable to radicalisation have received the support they need to turn their lives around which has also helped keep our communities safe," Wallace said. British advocacy group Hope Not Hate told CNN that the figures underline its warning about far-right activism coming via social media -- and beyond the usual confines of traditional organizational structures -- which is "more committed to violence, radicalizing the young with much the same methods as once used by Islamist militants.”

Daily Mail: Anti-Terror Police Fear ISIS-Inspired 'Lone Wolf' Strike On Britain's Christmas Markets In Wake Of Newcastle 'Bomb Factory' Raid And Strasbourg Attack

“Britain's Christmas markets may be targeted by ISIS-inspired lone wolf extremists this year, counter-terror chiefs have warned. Police and MI5 fear terrorists could launch attacks on thousands of families celebrating the festive period with knives and ramming vehicles. Colonel Richard Kemp told the Daily Mirror, Christmas is a 'high risk' time of year because of 'large crowns of people enjoying themselves - and the fact that there is a Christian aspect to it.' Police patrol Edinburgh Christmas market after a gunman launched an attack in Strasbourg British counter-terror chiefs fear thousands of families could be targeted by extremists over the holidays. Extremists in Syria and Iraq are stirring militants based in southern Turkey to carry out attacks wherever 'Christmas gatherings' are taking place across Europe. Britain is one of the countries under a 'severe' threat, meaning an attack is highly likely from 'international terrorists'. There are more than 600 live MI5 investigations into possible plots and over 3,000 extremists who are considered at risk of carry out an attack. Intelligence chiefs say Christmas markets are 'high risk' because of 'large crowns of people enjoying themselves - and the fact that there is a Christian aspect to it.' But intelligence agencies fear that lone wolf 'copycats' may carry out violence in the wake of the Strasbourg attack, in which a lone perpetrator killed three and injured 12 at a festive market.”

BBC News: Three-Fold Increase In Children Referred To Anti-Terrorism Scheme

“The number of Scottish children feared at risk of being drawn into terrorism has more than trebled in a year, new figures have revealed. A total of 28 children under the age of 15 were referred to the Prevent de-radicalisation scheme last year, up from eight youngsters in 2016-17. Police Scotland data reveals 104 people were identified as at risk of being exploited by extremists last year. International and right wing extremism were the main concerns. In about a third (35) of the 104 cases, it was found no further action was necessary, while two thirds (66) of referrals were passed on to other agencies such as social work. Three cases were identified as requiring ongoing Prevent programme intervention. Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson, Police Scotland's lead for specialist crime and intelligence, said the increase in referrals could reflect a growing understanding and increased confidence in the Prevent scheme. He said: "Police Scotland has a robust process in place to assess referrals and ensures that all individuals referred, irrespective of age, are provided with the support and safeguarding appropriate to their circumstances. "Police Scotland works closely with partners to increase the awareness of Prevent and to enhance the ability of professionals and the public to recognise vulnerabilities that can lead to radicalisation.”

France

USA Today: Strasbourg Christmas Market Attack Suspect Dead; Video Captures Aftermath Of Shootout

“The immediate aftermath of the shootout between French security forces and the suspect in the Strasbourg attack has been caught on camera from across the street, with video footage showing armed officers at the scene and the body of the man slumped in a doorway. More officers arrive at the scene soon after, followed by crime scene investigators who take photos of the body and the surroundings. The Paris prosecutor’s office, which handles terror cases in France, formally identified the man on Thursday as 29-year-old Cherif Chekatt, a Strasbourg-born man with a long history of convictions for various crimes, including robberies. Chekatt also had been on a watch list of potential extremists. Chekatt was suspected of killing three people and wounding 13 near Strasbourg’s Christmas market on Tuesday night.”

Reuters: Islamic State Says Strasbourg Shooter Was One Of Its Soldiers, Gives No Evidence

“Islamic State said the man who killed three people in Strasbourg was one of its soldiers, the group’s Amaq news website said on Thursday, although it provided no evidence for the claim. An online statement from the group’s Amaq news agency said the attacker “was an Islamic State soldier and carried out the operation in response to calls for targeting citizens of coalition countries” fighting the militant group in Syria and Iraq. The suspected gunman, Cherif Chekatt, was shot dead on Thursday in a brief gun battle with police after being on the run for 48 hours.”

The Independent: The Strasbourg Attack Is A Brutal Reminder Of How Terrorism Has Changed

“The attack at the Strasbourg Christmas market has highlighted the changing face of radicalised violence in Europe. Early on Tuesday morning, a man wanted on a charge of attempted murder following a botched armed robbery, succeeded in evading French police after they raided his flat. Later that evening he launched a rampage attack on the Christmas market, armed with an automatic pistol and knife. Three people were killed, one left brain dead and 12 others wounded, some with life-threatening injuries. Last night the suspect, Cherif Chekatt, was killed in the Neudorf district of Strasbourg following what police described as a counter terror operation. Chekatt was on France’s S-list of potential security threats. He has 27 previous convictions, served two prison sentences in France, and most recently was released from prison in Germany after serving time for burglary. It has become a familiar picture. In the years following the attacks of 11 September, 2001, it was widely believed that the origins of extremist violence lay in religion and in misunderstandings of religious texts. Concerns were expressed about so-called “fundamentalists”. This view is still widely held in France, where many “deradicalisation” programmes are made up of seminars and lectures on the Quran. However, the background of the Strasbourg attacker mirrors those involved in the Paris attacks of November 2015.”

Germany

Deutsche Welle: Germany's Terrorism Watch List: What You Need To Know

“A potential terrorist (referred to in German as "Gefährder," lit. "endangerer") is someone who could pose a threat to public safety as certain "facts justify the assumption that he or she may commit a severe crime." Such assumptions are primarily based on insights generated by Germany's intelligence services or police state security departments. Individuals who pose a potential threat may not be jailed unless they are convicted of an actual crime. German security and criminal law stipulates that a person may only be jailed for his or her criminal deeds, not for harboring certain beliefs or posing a potential threat. Being a member of a terrorist organization, meanwhile, counts as a crime. As does "preparing or helping commit a serious crime that threatens the state." How many people are considered potential terrorists? The French high-security "Fiche-S" watch list names about 26,000 individuals (not all of them Islamist extremists) who pose a potential threat to the state. It is much easier to end up on the French watch list than on the German equivalent, which applies stricter criteria. According to a report by Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office, police and intelligence services regard 774 radical Islamists as potential terrorists. Of these, 450 individuals currently reside in Germany.”

Europe

Fox News: Italian Anti-Terror Prosecutor: "Lone Wolves" Latest Threat

“Italy's top anti-terrorism prosecutor says recent terror arrests in Italy have been aimed at containing individuals who might be preparing to carry out an attack alone. Federico Cafiero De Raho was quoted by the news agency ANSA on Thursday as saying that the new phase of terrorism deriving from Islamic State militants is worrying "because we no longer have a structure that is directly governed and directed by a center of international terrorism, but we have lone wolves." Cafiero De Raho said the new threat are individuals who are often self-trained and become affiliated on the internet. He said only extensive monitoring can combat such individuals, adding that recent arrests in Italy aimed at preventing attacks like the one at the Strasbourg Christmas market this week that killed three people. Earlier Thursday, anti-terrorism agents arrested a Somalian citizen on terrorism-related charges in the southern city of Bari, saying they believed the suspect was planning to leave Italy "imminently." He was held on suspicion of terrorism association and instigation to commit acts of terror, ANSA reported. Authorities did not name the suspect publicly or reveal details about his alleged actions that led to the arrest. Bari has been identified as a transit point for extremists.”

The Local Sweden: Lund Professor Freed Student From Islamic State War Zone

“A chemistry professor at Lund University dispatched a team of mercenaries into an Islamic State (also known as IS, Isis or Daesh) war zone to free one of her doctoral students and his family. Charlotta Turner, professor in Analytical Chemistry, received a text message from her student Firas Jumaah in 2014 telling her to to assume he would not finish his thesis if he had not returned within a week. He and his family were, he told her, hiding out in a disused bleach factory, with the sounds of gunshots from Isis warriors roaming the town reverberating around them. Jumaah, who is from Iraq, is a member of the ethno-religious group Yazidi hated by Isis. "I had no hope then at all," Jumaah told Lund's University Magazine LUM. "I was desperate. I just wanted to tell my supervisor what was happening. I had no idea that a professor would be able to do anything for us." Jumaah had voluntarily entered the war zone after his wife had rung him to say that Isis fighters had taken over the next-door village, killing all the men and taking the women into slavery. "My wife was totally panicking. Everyone was shocked at how IS were behaving," he said. "I took the first plane there to be with them. What sort of life would I have if anything had happened to them there?" But Turner was not willing to leave her student to die without trying to do something.”

Technology

Vox: PewDiePie’s Ties To White Supremacy Spell Serious Trouble For The Future Of YouTube

“YouTube’s most popular user is once again facing backlash — this time for promoting a highly anti-Semitic channel by recommending a video featuring a racial slur and a white supremacist conspiracy. With 76 million subscribers, controversial gaming vlogger PewDiePie, a.k.a. Felix Kjellberg, is the most popular individual on YouTube. In a since-edited video posted on December 9, he recommended a litany of YouTube channels he said he’d been enjoying recently, briefly mentioning a YouTube channel called “E;R,” noting that it produces “great video essays,” including “one on [the Netflix movie] Death Note which I really enjoyed.” He also linked to the channel in his video description. (The recommendation has since been edited out of the video.) To casual observers, PewDiePie’s support of E;R may have appeared harmless — one YouTube user supporting another. But a more-than-cursory dive into the channel would have revealed a litany of disturbing imagery, slurs, and white supremacist messaging.”

ABC News: Facebook Uses Your Activity To Target You With Ads

“When you set your Facebook page to private, you may assume only your friends or family members can see your activity, but Consumer Reporter Jackie Callaway found Facebook uses your activity on the social media giant to target you with ads. Patricia Piety said she realized just how much Facebook has tracked her after one of her cats suffered an abscessed tooth and she reached out to a friend on Facebook with her pet’s problems. “We were chatting about George and his abscessed tooth,” said Piety. The next day, Piety said she was surprised when an ad for a local dentist popped up into her Facebook messenger feed. “You’re private from other humans,” said Ryan Malize of Pinellas Computers. Malize told ABC Action News that while no one at Facebook is reading your private conversations, computers are analyzing what you type for certain buzz words and that information is used to target your feed with ads for goods and services you’ve expressed an interest in.”

Sydney Morning Herald: The Case For Breaking Up Facebook

“You don't often see the words superstar and academic sitting beside each other. But the phrase is used to describe Tim Wu so regularly that he could be forgiven for listing "academic superstar" as the title on his business card. The professor at Columbia Law School in New York has emerged in recent years as one of America’s foremost public intellectuals. And an unconventional one. Wu arrives for our interview dressed in sunglasses, a flannelette shirt and beanie. He looks more like a bass guitarist in an indie rock band than an Ivy League professor. The 46-year old used to be a regular participant at Burning Man, an alternative festival in the Nevada desert where clothing is optional and money is banned. A 2006 comedy law revue skit centred on his popularity among female students (“I only took this class so I could stare at him," one performer said). Wu is best known for inventing the phrase "net neutrality", the concept that internet service providers should treat all web content equally.”
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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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