The United Nations has freed up “expense” money for several men designated as
terrorists at the request of the Pakistani government, including one wit

 

 


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Eye on Extremism


July 16, 2020

 

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



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