Eye on Extremism
July 17, 2019
Reuters:
Syrian Air Strike On Village Market Kill At Least 12:
Rescuers
“At least 12 people were killed and scores wounded on Tuesday in
aerial strikes believed to have been carried out by the Syrian air
force on a popular market in a village in opposition-held northwestern
Syria, rescuers and residents said. Residents and rescuers said bombs
dropped on Maar Shoreen village in southern Idlib province by planes
which monitors said were Syrian army jets left a trail of death and
destruction and wounded scores in a main street of the village’s
market. Videos released on social media by activists purportedly
showed footage of charred bodies lying on the streets alongside badly
burnt people being carried by rescuers. Reuters was unable immediately
to independently verify the footage. Hundreds of civilians have been
killed since a Russian-led assault on the last rebel bastion in
northwestern Syria began nearly two months ago, rights groups and
rescuers said. The Russian defense ministry denies it targets
civilians and Syrian state media said the army on Tuesday launched
strikes on al Qaeda militants in the vicinity of Maar Shoreen,
destroying their bases and killing scores of “terrorists.”
The
Independent: Isis Flag Raised At Syrian Camp Holding Jihadi
Families
“The black flag of Isis has been hoisted in a Syrian camp holding
tens of thousands of the terror group’s family members, nearly four
months after the caliphate was officially declared defeated. In a
video posted online, women and children can be seen cheering while the
homemade flag flutters from a pole. The crowd are heard shouting
“baqiya” – the Arabic word for “remaining” – a reference to the Isis
slogan ”remaining and expanding”. The video first appeared on Monday,
according to Jihadoscope, a monitoring group focused on the spread of
terror propaganda across the web and social media, but it is not the
first such incident at the sprawling al-Hol camp in northeast Syria.
It comes amid warnings of growing radicalisation at the facility.
Earlier this month, a video purportedly filmed at the camp
showed women re-pledging their allegiance to Isis leader Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi, and calling on him to “liberate” them. Several guards
have been attacked by residents. Despite rising tensions at camps
like al-Hol, the international community is still at odds over what to
do with the inhabitants, including more than a dozen British women and
their children, including Shamima Begum.”
The
Wall Street Journal: The Taliban Smell Blood
“Even when the Taliban talk peace, they make war. Discussions in
Doha, Qatar, have not stopped their attacks in Afghanistan. One killed
a U.S. serviceman Saturday. A July 7 car bomb killed at least 14
people and wounded more than 180, including scores of children. This
talk-and-shoot approach reflects the Taliban’s belief that the talks
concern only the orderly withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
That won’t do. The U.S. should now suspend talks with the Taliban to
drive home the point that peace, not simply withdrawal, is America’s
goal. The two sides seem to have been working at cross-purposes since
the negotiations began last October. Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S.
special envoy for Afghan reconciliation, described the goal of his
first meeting with Taliban representatives as exploring the prospect
of “a peaceful Afghanistan where all Afghans see themselves included.”
The Taliban insisted in their statement that the talks were about “the
end of occupation and a peaceful resolution for the Afghan issue.”
After eight rounds of direct talks, and several side meetings aimed at
facilitating dialogue among Afghan political factions, the Taliban’s
stance on the scope of discussions remains the same. The head of the
Taliban delegation to Doha, Abbas Stanikzai, explained last week that
“there is no word of reducing violence.”
The
Jerusalem Post: Israel's Military To Increase Protection Of Strategic
Sites From Hezbollah Missiles
“Israel’s military will provide anti-missile protection to 20
strategic sites across the country as well as build additional
hardened aircraft hangers to protect against the threat posed by
Hezbollah’s missile arsenal. According to a report in Jane’s Defence
Weekly, the Israeli Air Force is looking to build an unspecified
number of strengthened aircraft hangars at a cost of $10 million in an
area of about 4,000 sq.m. The work will see the construction of about
1.5 km. of taxiways, 3.3 km. of service roads, 2,150 sq.m. of
auxiliary facilities, 450 sq.m. of administrative buildings, 1,900
sq.m. of utilities tunnels and 5,600 sq.m. of general storage
buildings, the report said, quoting a notice published on the USU
Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website. In addition, according
to a report in Haaretz, the IDF’s Home Front Command will strengthen
the protection of several key sites across the country with walls of
reinforced concrete, stronger ceilings, blast-proof doors and
anti-shrapnel protection.”
The
National: Qatari Missile Found With Italian Neo-Nazi Slipped Through
The Net
“An air-to-air missile bearing the stamp of the State of Qatar has
ended up with Italian neo-Nazis, leaving a trail of speculation among
experts over how such a powerful weapon could fall into the hands of a
fringe group. The intended use of the missile, and the machine guns
and rocket launchers also found in the haul, remains unclear amid
questions about potential links to far-right groups fighting in the
Ukraine conflict. “It does look confusing. I think it probably ended
on the black market where the group managed to get hold of it. It
might have been that Qatar got rid of them when doing an upgrade and
that's how they ended on the market,” says Dr Hassan Elbahtimy of
Kings College London. The arms control expert said it was extremely
unlikely Qatar would have directly sold the missile to the Italian
whose was home the weapons were found at, but it still appeared there
was inadequate proliferation control.”
The
Washington Post: Pakistan Arrests Top Militant Figure Ahead Of Prime
Minister Visit To United States
“Pakistani Counter Terrorism authorities on Wednesday arrested
Hafiz Saeed, head of the group that carried out the 2008 Mumbai
terrorist attack, and sent him to jail, a spokesman said. He was on
way to an eastern city Gujranwala from Lahore when stopped by counter
terrorism officials and taken into custody, according to officials
cited by the private ARY news channel. Saeed was arrested on charges
of financing terrorist organizations and using charitable donations as
his own personal assets. He had been headed to an anti-terrorism court
to seek pre-arrest bail on another set of charges when he was
detained. Saeed was leader of the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group that
carried out the four day attack on Mumbai in India in 2008 that killed
at least 160 people. Saeed later said he left the group and founded
the Jammat-ud-Dawa charity, which has been described as a front for
militant activities. In 2014, the United States named it a terrorist
group and offered $10 million for evidence leading to Saeed’s arrest.
Analysts see Saeed’s detention as a major move ahead of Pakistani
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s scheduled visit to the United States and
also as part of his promised campaign to move against banned militant
organizations.”
Syria
The
Wall Street Journal: U.S. Sanctions Top Myanmar Military Officials
Over Ethnic Violence
“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that the U.S. has
sanctioned four top military officials in Myanmar for gross human
rights violations, including extrajudicial killings of members of the
Rohingya minority as part of ethnic cleansing actions. It marked the
first time any government has taken such an action involving the most
senior leadership of the Myanmar military, a State Department official
said, and means the officials and their immediate families are
ineligible to enter the U.S. “We designated these individuals based on
credible information of these commanders’ involvement in gross
violations of human rights,” Mr. Pompeo said in a statement, referring
to the country as Burma, its previous name. State Department officials
who briefed reporters said that the action was also intended to
strengthen the hand of the civilian government and “delegitimize”
Burma’s current military leadership.”
The
Wall Street Journal: U.S. To Withhold F-35 Fighters From Turkey, Trump
Says
“President Trump said the U.S. would withhold sales of advanced
F-35 stealth jet fighters to Turkey after Ankara received a new
air-defense system from Russia, putting new strains on the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization. The decision to cancel the F-35 shipment
was expected, but until Mr. Trump’s remarks on Tuesday, the
administration had held off on responding to Turkey’s decision to
accept delivery of the Russian S-400 system. Turkey’s action and the
U.S. response inject tension and uncertainty into the 67-year security
pact between Turkey and other NATO members. The latest moves come amid
differences between Ankara and Washington over Syria and a sharp
disagreement over the role of Kurdish fighters, who U.S. officials say
have played a major role in battling Islamic State militants but who
Turkey sees as a terrorist force. Some U.S. officials and analysts
have said the Russian-Turkish deal could jeopardize the future of
U.S.-Turkish relations, and raises questions about Turkey’s long-term
role in NATO as Russia attempts to expand its own influence in the
country in a broader bid to weaken the alliance.”
Arab
News: Could Foreign Daesh Suspects Be Tried In Northeast
Syria?
“Months after the territorial defeat of Daesh, Syria’s Kurds are
pushing for an international tribunal to try alleged militants
detained in their region. The Kurds run an autonomous administration
in the northeast of Syria, but it is not recognized by Damascus or the
international community. This brings complications for the legal
footing of any justice mechanism on the Kurds’ territory, and the
international cooperation required to establish one. With Western
nations largely reluctant to repatriate their nationals or judge them
at home, could foreign Daesh suspects be put on trial in northeast
Syria? After years of fighting Daesh, Syria’s Kurds hold around 1,000
foreign men in jail, as well as some 12,000 non-Syrian women and
children in overcrowded camps. Almost four months after Kurdish-led
forces backed by the US-led coalition seized Daesh’s last scrap of
land in eastern Syria, few have been repatriated. The Kurdish
authorities say they are seriously exploring how to set up an
international tribunal, and invited foreign experts to discuss the
idea at a conference it hosted early this month. “We will work to set
up this tribunal here,” the region’s top foreign affairs official
Abdelkarim Omar told AFP afterwards.”
Iran
The
New York Times: Iran Rejects Pompeo’s Suggestion It Is Willing To
Negotiate Over Missile Program
“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday that Iran appeared
willing to negotiate over its missile program “for the first time,” in
what he and President Trump presented as evidence that sanctions and
military pressure were working, less than a month after the
president halted a planned military strike against Iran. But within
hours of the statement to reporters, delivered before a cabinet
meeting at the White House, the idea was shot down by Iran’s foreign
minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was in New York for a meeting at
the United Nations. His spokesman said that the two men had
misinterpreted Mr. Zarif’s public statements, in which he repeated
past demands that if the United States “wants to talk about missiles,
it should stop selling weapons, including missiles, to regional
states.” It was a clear reference to American weapons sales to Saudi
Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran’s other Arab adversaries.
The odd exchange, and the apparent misconstruing of Mr. Zarif’s
comments, seemed to underscore the eagerness of the White House to
turn weeks of confrontation with Iran into some kind of negotiating
opportunity — and a reminder of how hard that will be to accomplish.
Iranian officials have repeatedly said they would engage with Mr.
Trump only after he rejoined the 2015 nuclear accord, which he
withdrew from last year.”
The
New York Times: Iran’s Top Leader Strikes Defiant Tone As Trump Says
‘We’re Not Looking For Regime Change’
“Iran’s top leader struck a belligerent tone Tuesday in an
escalating confrontation with the West, promising further Iranian
violations of the fraying nuclear agreement and retaliation for what
he called the piracy of an Iranian tanker by “the vicious British.”
The defiance expressed by the top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
contrasted with what seemed like a less confrontational stance taken
at the White House. President Trump told reporters that “we’re not
looking for regime change” in Iran and that Iranian leaders had
communicated a desire for negotiations with the United States despite
their hostile remarks in public. “They’d like to talk, and we’ll see
what happens,” Mr. Trump said. Mike Pompeo, Mr. Trump’s secretary of
state, asserted that Iran was willing to negotiate over its missile
program, an area of Western concern that was not covered in the 2015
nuclear agreement.”
The
New York Times: Iran Says It Aided Foreign Tanker, Amid Reports Of
Missing U.A.E. Ship
“The Iranian Foreign Ministry has said that security forces
recently came to the aid of a foreign oil tanker in the Strait of
Hormuz, hours after reports that Iran might have seized a tanker from
the United Arab Emirates in the area. Abbas Mousavi, the Foreign
Ministry spokesman, said that Iranian forces had rushed to the aid of
an unidentified tanker that had sent a distress call after a
“technical glitch,” according to reports Tuesday night from the
semiofficial Iranian news agency Press TV. He said that tugboats had
towed it toward Iranian waters for repairs. Mr. Mousavi did not say
what nation the ship was from, who owned it or what its current status
was. He said more information would come later. The comments came
after reports that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of Iran may
have seized a United Arab Emirates tanker in the Persian Gulf over the
weekend. Such a move would be the latest in a series of confrontations
in the region that have raised fears of an armed conflict.”
Iraq
Iraqi
News: U.S. Airstrike Kills Two Terrorists Inside Nineveh
Tunnel
“Two terrorists were killed Tuesday in an airstrike on a tunnel in
the northern Iraqi province of Nineveh, a security media cell said.
“Acting on information from the Nineveh Operations Command, the
U.S.-led international coalition waged an air raid targeting a tunnel
in Sukhairiat area in Nineveh,” Alghad Press website quoted the cell
as saying in a press statement. The airstrike left two terrorists dead
inside the tunnel, the statement read. Iraq declared the collapse of
Islamic State’s territorial influence in November 2017 with the
recapture of Rawa, a city on Anbar’s western borders with Syria, which
was the group’s last bastion in Iraq. IS declared a self-styled
“caliphate” in a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014. A
government campaign, backed by a U.S.-led international coalition and
paramilitary forces, was launched in 2016 to retake IS-held regions,
managing to retake all havens, most notably the city of Mosul, the
group’s previously proclaimed capital. Despite the group’s crushing
defeat at its main havens across Iraq, Islamic State continues to
launch sporadic attacks against troops with security reports warning
that the militant group still poses a threat against stability in the
country.”
The
Washington Examiner: Iraq Deports 33 ISIS Children To Russia, Bringing
Its Total To 473 Worldwide
“Iraq deported 33 children of former ISIS members to Russia in a
single day, bringing the total number of children it has deported to
473 globally. The children were born to Russian mothers who are
being held by Iraqi police on suspected ties to the terrorist group.
Their fathers are believed to have been killed in action. The
hundreds of children already deported and hundreds still in Iraq come
from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, including Russian, Tajik,
Azerbaijani, German, French, Georgian, Belarusian, Finnish, Ukrainian,
and Turkish, according to Iraqi officials. Iraq's foreign ministry
has told its overseas missions to encourage all countries with
nationals who joined ISIS and were caught in Iraq or Syria, including
“women, children, and juvenile offenders,” to “coordinate with Iraq
through diplomatic channels in order to receive them,” foreign
ministry spokesman Ahmad al-Sahaf said Monday. The children were sent
to Russia as part of a multi-ministry commission under Russia's
children's rights commissioner, Anna Kuznetsova. A majority of the
Russian children are from Chechnya and Dagestan, both Russian
republics in the predominantly Muslim North Caucasus. The commission
believes as many as 700 other children of Russian citizens may have
been taken to ISIS territories.”
Afghanistan
Reuters:
Taliban Force Swedish Charity To Close Dozens Of Afghan Health
Centers
“Taliban militants have forced a Swedish charity to close dozens of
health centers in a central Afghan province, accusing it of failing to
provide safety to civilians, the organization said on Wednesday. Four
people were killed at a Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA) center
in Wardak province, west of Kabul, during a night raid by Afghan
forces last week, SCA and Afghan government officials said. The attack
was condemned by the SCA, but the Taliban accused it failing to
provide adequate security. ”We expect the SCA to shut down their
services in Wardak province as they are unable to guarantee the safety
of their Afghan employees,” Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman,
said. The SCA confirmed that the Taliban had forced it to close 42 of
77 health centers in Wardak. More than 5,700 patients were affected,
it said. The SCA has more than 6,000 Afghan employees operating in 14
Afghan provinces. It was founded in 1980 in response to the Soviet
invasion, with the Swedish agency for development cooperation its
largest international donor. ”Forcing SCA to close health facilities,
hence denying people to receive medical treatment and health services,
is an obvious violation of human rights and international humanitarian
law,” said Sonny Mansson, SCA country director.”
The
Washington Free Beacon: ISIS Claims Responsibility For Attack On U.S.
Base In Afghanistan
“The ISIS terror group is claiming responsibility for a missile
attack at a U.S. base in Afghanistan, according to a statement
released on its social media networks. The attack is reported to have
occurred on July 14 in the Achin district in Afghanistan's southern
Nangarhar Province. “The Caliphate's soldiers managed the day before
yesterday to target a base belonging to the Crusader American army in
Achin area in Nangarhar with a Katyusha rocket, causing serious
casualties,” ISIS claimed in an Arabic statement posted on the
Telegram networking site. The statement was translated by the Middle
East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI, which tracks terror
organizations. “Providing evidence for its claim, ISIS published two
photos: The first shows a militant with a blurred face holding the
group's black flag and standing next to a Katyusha rocket launcher;
the second shows a rocket in flight,” according to MEMRI. “In a
separate post, the group's A'maq News Agency claimed that the July 14
Katyusha rocket attack targeted a military base of the ‘international
alliance' in the Mamand area in Nangarhar's Achin district,” MEMRI
reports.”
The
Washington Examiner: Islamic State Making Territorial Gains In
Afghanistan, Pentagon Reports
“The Islamic State-Khorasan Province has gained control of
territory in Afghanistan over the last six months, according to the
latest Pentagon report to Congress. While the group's power in
Afghanistan remains limited compared with organizations such as the
Taliban and al Qaeda, it has continued to challenge Afghan, United
States, and coalition forces. “During this reporting period, ISIS-K
made territorial gains in eastern Afghanistan,” according to the
Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan report for June 2019.
“Regionally, the group continues to evade, counter, and resist
sustained CT [counter-terrorism] pressure.” ISIS-K wants to pose a
threat to not only Afghanistan but the U.S., “which it continuously
seeks to target for terrorist activity.” Similar to other terror
groups like the Haqqani network, al Qaeda, and Tehrik-e-Taliban
Pakistan, ISIS-K has sanctuaries on both sides of the
Afghanistan-Pakistan border, making it particularly difficult to
counter. Like the Taliban, ISIS-K seeks to stage high-profile
terrorist attacks, according to the report. One such attack occurred
on April 20, when ISIS-K operatives attacked Afghanistan's ministry of
communications in the capital of Kabul, killing 16 civilians and six
Afghan security forces members.”
Military
Times: Pentagon: ‘Robust’ Counter-Terrorism Efforts In Afghanistan
Must Continue — Even If Peace Deal Is Reached
“The Pentagon is warning that a “robust” counter-terrorism
capability must remain in Afghanistan against groups including
al-Qaida, even if a peace deal with the Taliban is secured. According
to a Pentagon report released Friday, the Afghan government, the U.S.
and coalition partners will continue to face risks from al-Qaida, the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Khorasan Province, as well as from
some in the Taliban. “Even if a successful political settlement with
the Taliban emerges from ongoing talks, AQ, ISIS-K, and some unknown
number of Taliban hardliners will constitute a substantial threat to
the Afghan government and its citizens, as well as to the United
States and its coalition partners,” the report says. “This enduring
terrorist threat will require the United States, the international
community, and the [Afghan National Defense and Security Forces] ANDSF
to maintain a robust [counter-terrorism] CT capability for the
foreseeable future,” the report says. The Pentagon’s assessment
coincides with recent comments made by U.S. Special Representative for
Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad, who touted recent
progress made during peace negotiations this month in Doha,
Qatar.”
Xinhua:
Civilian, 22 Militants Killed In E. Afghan Counter-Terrorism
Operation
“One child and 22 militants were killed following a
counter-terrorism operation in Afghanistan's eastern Logar province
overnight, Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs confirmed on Tuesday.
“Special Operation Forces of Afghan National Police launched a
counter-terrorism operation in Kamalkhil village, Mohammad Agha
district, Logar province last night, killing 22 Taliban insurgents,”
the ministry said in a statement. Airstrikes were also conducted
against the Taliban positions during the raid, the statement said. The
ministry also confirmed that a child was killed and a woman was
injured after a Taliban heavy weapon shelling struck a house in the
village. Meantime, local villagers claimed that five civilians were
killed and 11 other non-combatants were wounded following an airstrike
in Kamalkhil village Monday night. Afghan observers had in the past
stressed civilian casualties during military operations undermine the
war against Taliban and other terrorist groups.”
Saudi Arabia
Reuters:
Saudi-Led Coalition Intercepts Houthi Drones Targeting Abha And Jizan
Airports
“The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen intercepted and downed
three drones launched by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement towards the
southwestern Saudi cities of Jizan and Abha, state TV reported on
Tuesday. Earlier the Houthis’ Al Masirah TV quoted a Houthi military
spokesman as saying the group had carried out drone attacks targeting
the King Khalid air base near the southwestern Saudi city of Khamis
Mushait and drone hangars at Jizan airport. “The Houthi militias
continue targeting civilians and civilian airports in Abha, Jizan and
Najran and continue to threaten regional and international security,”
the coalition spokesman, Colonel Turki al-Malki, said in a statement.
The coalition had said earlier it also downed two drones in Yemeni
airspace that had been launched towards Jizan.”
Egypt
Asharq
Al-Awsat: Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Is Source Of World’s Extremist
Organizations
“Egypt said all takfiri groups stem from the same extremist
ideological source established by the Muslim Brotherhood organization,
stressing the need to continue efforts to address terrorism in all its
forms. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez made this stance at a
meeting of the liaison strategy group of the Global Coalition against
ISIS in Washington. He said victories over ISIS should not be
considered a final goal, adding that the only way to eliminate
terrorism lies in adopting a unified international approach on an
all-out confrontation of terrorist groups, their ideology and
activities. Hafez cited the initiative launched by President Abdel
Fattah al-Sisi to renew religious discourse, praising the role played
by the al-Azhar and Dar al-Iftaa to counter terrorism. He stressed
that Egypt will continue to support the liaison strategy group based
on its experience in combating terrorism, highlighting the role played
by its religious institutions in correcting misconceptions about
religion and promoting moderate Islam. An international study by
Center on Religion and Geopolitics in Britain noted that 50 percent of
extremists have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood or related
organizations.”
Libya
Al
Jazeera: 'No Military Solution': World Powers Urge Libya
De-Escalation
“France, Britain, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United
States and Italy have called for an immediate end of hostilities
around the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and warned that “terrorist groups”
are attempting to exploit the country's security vacuum. In a rare
joint statement issued on Tuesday, the six countries urged Libya's
warring parties to return to a United Nations-mediated political
process aimed at restoring peace in the sprawling North African state.
“There can be no military solution in Libya,” the statement said.
“Persistent violence has claimed nearly 1,100 lives, displaced more
than 100,000, and fueled a growing humanitarian emergency,” it added.
Renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar's Libya National Army (LNA)
has been battling rival militias since April in a bid to wrestle
control of Tripoli from Libya's internationally recognised Government
of National Accord (GNA). The LNA's push on the capital has not
advanced beyond Tripoli's southern suburbs but has nonetheless further
destabilised oil-rich Libya, which has been mired in chaos since
the NATO-backed toppling of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011,
and split into rival eastern and western administrations since
2014.”
Somalia
All
Africa: Somalia: Anger Over Al-Shabaab Attack
“There is shock and outrage at the recent terrorist attack that
claimed the lives of at least 26 people, including a United Nations
(UN) aid worker, in Somalia. In addition to those killed, an estimated
40 people were injured in the siege on a hotel in the port city of
Kismayo, where a high-level political meeting was held to discuss
pending regional elections. Al-Shabab, the Islamist group has claimed
the attack, described as its worst in Kismayo since the group was
forced out in 2012. The assault on the hotel lasted for about 14
hours. It started when a suicide bomber rammed a car containing
explosives into the hotel compound. Gunmen then stormed the building.
Abdifatah Mohamed, an aid worker with UN's International Organisation
for Migration (IOM), was among those killed. Prominent local
journalist, Hodan Nalayeh, and her husband Farid, together with local
politicians, Kenyans, Tanzanians, Americans a Briton and a Canadian
were also killed in the attack. “Our deepest sympathies go to them,”
IOM director-general António Vitorino, said. Al-Shabaab has carried
out multiple attacks in Somalia since its formation in 2006.”
Allafrica:
Somalia: Roadside Bomb Hits Ethiopian Military Convoy In
Somalia
“A bomb has ripped through a military convoy carrying Ethiopian
troops serving under African Union Mission in Somalia [AMISOM] in
Hiran province, killing and wounding at least 20 people. In a
statement, the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab has claimed responsibility
for the attack, saying it targeted Ethiopian army convoy at Halgan
village, located on the outskirts of Beledweyne city. The explosion
which resulted from a landmine comes amid increased military
operations against Al-Shabab in parts of Somalia as the Federal
Government is trying to regain full control of the country. Despite
losing large swathes of territory, Al-Shabab continues to attack
government-controlled areas, mainly Mogadishu, the Somali capital,
where car bombings and assassinations have been on the rise for the
past few months.”
Africa
Reuters:
Two Leaders Of Malian Al Qaeda Affiliate Put On U.S. Terrorism
List
“The United States added two leaders of al Qaeda’s affiliate in
Mali to its global terrorism list on Tuesday, accusing them of
engaging in destabilizing attacks across the West African country, the
U.S. Treasury said. Ali Maychou and Bah Ag Moussa, both leaders of
Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, were designated by the U.S.
Treasury as global terrorists and placed on a list of people whose
assets in the United States can be blocked, the Treasury’s Office of
Foreign Asset Control said. ”Treasury is targeting the leadership of
JNIM, al Qaeda’s branch in Mali, for its destabilizing role conducting
terrorist attacks across the country,” Treasury Undersecretary Sigal
Mandelker said in a statement. “As a leader within JNIM, Bah Ag Moussa
directly contributes to the violence and instability fueled by al
Qaeda’s terrorism.” The Treasury said it added Moussa to its sanctions
list because he had acted on behalf of JNIM and its leader, Iyad ag
Ghali. Both JNIM and Ghali were added to the sanctions list
previously. Moussa, a former Malian army colonel, led an operation in
March against the Malian Armed Forces base in Dioura that killed at
least 21 Malian soldiers.”
All
Africa: Somalia: Kenya Says 3 Militants Killed, 2 Officers Wounded In
Attack
“Kenya police say three suspected extremists were killed by border
police whose vehicle was blown up by an improvised bomb. A senior
police official detailed the attack to The Associated Press but
insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with
media. He said the Monday evening explosion injured two officers in
the southern Kiunga area near the Somali border, and the explosives
are believed to have been planted by al-Shabab extremists from Somalia
who were targeting security units. He also said the militants hid in
the bushes around the area where the bomb went off and then ambushed
the Toyota Land Cruiser. Al-Shabab has vowed retribution on Kenya for
fighting the militants who are attempting to topple Somalia's weak
U.N.-backed government.”
The
Defense Post: Seven Niger Tuareg Leaders Killed By Islamic State Since
April
“Islamic State insurgents have killed seven leaders of the Tuareg
ethnic group in southwestern Niger in less than three months, as part
of a strategy to create a political void in the region, officials said
on Tuesday, July 16. Three traditional Tuareg chiefs and four senior
Tuareg officials have been killed since late April by Islamic State in
the Greater Sahara in the volatile region of Niger on the Mali border,
they said. Arrisal Amdagh, a Tuareg chief in the rural district of
Inates, was shot dead at his home in late April, and his son
Almoubacher Ag Alamjadi, who succeeded him, was killed on Monday, a
Niger security source said. Their deaths were confirmed to AFP by
Defence Minister Kalla Moutari on Tuesday. Four senior members of the
tribe were killed by a roadside bomb as they were heading to the
father’s funeral, their relatives said last month. In a separate
incident in June, a traditional Tuareg leader in Bankilare district
was kidnapped and killed, a local source said. “The ISGS strategy is
to kill traditional chiefs in the border areas,” a security source
told AFP. “It’s a way of voiding the area of aneffective state
presence, enabling you to move in and impose your law.” One of the
world’s poorest countries, Niger lies in the heart of the fragile
Sahel region.”
North Korea
The
New York Times: North Korea Hints At More Nuclear Tests Unless U.S.
Ends Troop Drills With South
“Only 16 days after President Trump set foot in North Korea to try
to restart nuclear talks with its leader, North Korea on Tuesday
escalated its pressure on the United States to cancel a planned joint
military drill with South Korea, warning that it could scuttle efforts
to resume dialogue with Washington and even prompt the North to resume
nuclear and long-range missile tests. The vaguely worded threats were
contained in two separate statements from the North Korean Foreign
Ministry on Tuesday that complained about the military drill, called
19-2 Dong Maeng. The North said the planned exercise undermined a mood
for dialogue created when its leader, Kim Jong-un, met with Mr. Trump
at Panmunjom, a village on the inter-Korean border, on June 30. In the
hurriedly arranged meeting, the two leaders agreed to restart
working-level talks on the terms of denuclearizing North Korea.”
United Kingdom
The
Guardian: London Bridge Attack: Police Lawfully Killed Terrorists,
Inquest Finds
“The three terrorists whose rampage left eight people dead at
London Bridge were lawfully shot dead by armed police officers after
they ignored clear warning shouts, an inquest jury has found. During
the June 2017 attack the men first ran over pedestrians on London
Bridge, then stabbed Saturday night revellers in 10 minutes of
carnage. It ended only after armed officers who rushed to the scene
confronted them in Borough Market, only for the three attackers to
charge at them clutching 12-inch knives. Dramatic video shows armed
officers firing, in one case from only 60 centimetres away. They shot
the ringleader, Khuram Butt, and his accomplices, Rachid Redouane and
Youssef Zaghba, all of whom lived in east London. Firing continued
after the attackers had been shot because they were wearing what
appeared to be explosive belts, and officers feared their movement
showed they were still trying to detonate them. In all, police fired
46 shots at the terrorists to end the UK’s first “marauding” attack,
where perpetrators run through a crowded area. The explosive belts
turned out to be fakes, made up of plastic canisters. At least six
bullets struck both Butt, 27, and Redouane, 30. Zaghba, 22, was hit by
at least two bullets.”
The
Daily Mail: Ex-Uber Driver, 28, Is Accused Of Planning ISIS-Inspired
Firearms Attack On UK
“A former Uber driver and his sister have appeared in court accused
of plotting a terror attack and failing to disclose information.
Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, 28, is accused of accused of preparing acts
of terrorism and his sister Sneha Chowdhury, 25, is accused of failing
to disclose information. The pair were arrested following a vehicle
stop in Luton on July 3 as part of an investigation by the Scotland
Yard's Counter-Terrorism Command. It is alleged that between January
12 and July 3 this year, Mohiussunnath booked a firearms training
course, requested and selected a firearm and researched potential
attack targets and asked another person to do the same. It is also
alleged that he undertook weight and fitness training, martial arts
training and purchased and trained with wooden training swords called
bokkens. Mohiussunnath, a university drop out and former Amazon
delivery driver and Uber driver, is charged under the Terrorism Act
2006. He also allegedly disseminated a terrorist video called 'The
Establishment of the Islamic State Pt 6' on March 19 this year, also
contrary to the Terrorism Act 2006. A third charge accuses him of
possession of an ISIS instructional manual called 'Guidelines for
doing just terror operations' on July 3 this year.”
Europe
France
24: Norway Arrests Iraqi Preacher Convicted In Italy For
'Terrorism'
“Norway has arrested controversial Iraqi Kurdish fundamentalist
preacher Mullah Krekar after he was convicted in Italy of “terrorist”
conspiracy, the PST intelligence service said Tuesday. A refugee in
Norway since 1991, 63-year-old Krekar -- whose real name is Najumuddin
Ahmad Faraj -- is accused by Italy of leading the Rawti Shax, a
network with alleged links to the Islamic State group and which is
suspected of planning attacks in the West. In his absence, a court in
Bolzano in northern Italy sentenced him Monday to 12 years'
imprisonment on a charge of “terrorist conspiracy”. It also sentenced
five co-accused. “The PST, with the assistance of Oslo police,
arrested Mullah Krekar on Monday evening under an international search
warrant and an Italian arrest warrant,” the agency said on Twitter.
Krekar must appear in court on Wednesday to be placed in provisional
detention. “He has no connection with IS,” his Norwegian lawyer
Brynjar Meling told AFP after the court ruling. “His only goal is to
come back to Kurdistan in Iraq and be able to (be a) politician there,
set up a political party he wants to establish in Iraq as a free man”.
Considered a threat to national security and featuring on UN and US
terror lists, Krekar has been at risk of deportation since
2003.”
Technology
CNBC:
Facebook Tells Congress It Shouldn’t Be Broken Up Because Instagram
And Whatsapp Have Thrived
“Instagram and WhatsApp have had a greater chance to thrive as part
of Facebook than they would have on their own, a company
representative plans to tell lawmakers at a House Judiciary Committee
hearing on online platforms’ market power Tuesday. Representatives
from Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple will testify before lawmakers
at 3 p.m. ET about the impact of large online platforms on American
innovation. The hearing comes as U.S. antitrust regulators have
reportedly been eyeing the four tech giants, dividing oversight power
between the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission. In his
prepared remarks released prior to Tuesday’s hearing, Facebook
director of public policy Matt Perault plans to testify that its
acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp have benefited both companies
and their users. “Instagram and WhatsApp have had more opportunity to
innovate as part of Facebook than they would have on their own —
enhancing users’ experience and resulting in more choice for more
people overall, not less,” Perault said in his prepared
statement.”
The
Hill: Senators Unload On Facebook Cryptocurrency At
Hearing
“Facebook on Tuesday sought to defend its plans for a new global
cryptocurrency at a contentious hearing as lawmakers aggressively
blasted the project and questioned whether the embattled company
should be in charge of launching such an ambitious venture. David
Marcus, head of Calibra — the new Facebook subsidiary that will be
partially responsible for launching the cryptocurrency — assured
lawmakers that the Libra coin will not launch until financial
regulators are satisfied. But Marcus’s testimony did little to quell
concerns from bipartisan lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee,
many of whom delivered blistering condemnations of the company’s
plans.”
The
New York Times: ‘I Don’t Trust You Guys’: Lawmakers Unite To Take Aim
At Big Tech
“Lawmakers leveled stinging criticism and sharp questions at Big
Tech executives on Tuesday, attacking Amazon, Apple, Facebook and
Google for their market power, their perceived bias as gatekeepers of
communication and Facebook’s ambitions to reshape the financial
industry. The criticisms came at three hearings on Capitol Hill that
showcased Washington’s widening range of concerns with Silicon Valley.
Lawmakers from both parties, including Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of
Texas who oversees a subcommittee on the Constitution, and
Representative David N. Cicilline, Democrat of Rhode Island who leads
a subcommittee on antitrust law, took aim at the businesses. The
executives acknowledged that technology had changed, and sometimes
hurt, companies in industries like retailing, advertising, music and
movies. But their companies, they said, have opened new opportunities
to millions of entrepreneurs and small businesses. They insisted they
faced competitors at every turn — entrenched big companies, ascendant
start-ups and each other.”
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