“The U.S. Treasury said on Tuesday it was placing sanctions on Lebanese money
exchanger Hassan Moukalled and his business for alleged financial ties to
blacklisted group Hezbollah. Its announcement said Moukalled was a financial
adviser to Iranian-backed Hezbollah, which is also designated by the United
States, and carried out financial transactions on its behalf that earned him
hundreds of thousands of dollars. "Today, the Treasury Department is taking
action against a corrupt money exchanger, whose financial engineering actively
supports and enables Hezbollah and its interests at the expense of the Lebanese
people and economy," Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism Brian E. Nelson
said. A Treasury statement said Moukalled's business CTEX was licensed by
Lebanon's central bank. Neither Moukalled, Hezbollah's media office nor the
central bank immediately responded to Reuters' requests for comment. It also
sanctioned Moukalled's two sons, saying they were involved in the same
financial dealings.”











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Eye on Extremism


January 25, 2023



Reuters: U.S. Sanctions Lebanon Money Exchanger For Alleged Ties To Hezbollah
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“The U.S. Treasury said on Tuesday it was placing sanctions on Lebanese money
exchanger Hassan Moukalled and his business for alleged financial ties to
blacklisted group Hezbollah. Its announcement said Moukalled was a financial
adviser to Iranian-backed Hezbollah, which is also designated by the United
States, and carried out financial transactions on its behalf that earned him
hundreds of thousands of dollars. "Today, the Treasury Department is taking
action against a corrupt money exchanger, whose financial engineering actively
supports and enables Hezbollah and its interests at the expense of the Lebanese
people and economy," Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism Brian E. Nelson
said. A Treasury statement said Moukalled's business CTEX was licensed by
Lebanon's central bank. Neither Moukalled, Hezbollah's media office nor the
central bank immediately responded to Reuters' requests for comment. It also
sanctioned Moukalled's two sons, saying they were involved in the same
financial dealings.”



CNN: Closing Arguments Conclude In Trial Of Accused NYC Bike Path Terror
Suspect
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“Closing arguments concluded Tuesday in the trial of Sayfullo Saipov, the man
prosecutors say was radicalized by ISIS propaganda before he allegedly drove a
rented truck down a bike path in New York, killing eight pedestrians in 2017.
The judge is expected to charge the jury with the case Wednesday morning. He
indicated the reading of the jury instructions will take several hours before
deliberations begin. Defense attorney David Patton acknowledged in his closing
argument that the defense does not dispute facts of the attack Saipov is
accused of committing on Halloween in 2017. “It is no defense ‘I was convinced
by others to do it,’ nobody forced him to do this and he’s guilty of murder and
assault among many other crimes,” Patton told the jury. Six foreign tourists
and two Americans were killed in the attack, the deadliest terrorist attack New
York had seen since 9/11.”



United States



New Jersey Herald: Hopatcong Woman Who Helped Fund Terror Group's Fight
Against Assad Sentenced To Prison
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“A 55-year-old Hopatcong woman was sentenced to two years and 10 months in
federal prison after admitting she concealed financial funding and guidance she
provided to terrorist organizations in Syria that were fighting to topple
President Bashar Assad, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Maria Bell − a
U.S. Army veteran − pleaded guilty to the charge during a hearing in June,
having admitted she used encrypted apps throughout 2018 to communicate with
members of Jabhat Fath al-sham, also known as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, and Hay’at
Tahrir al-Sham, both of which have been designated terrorist organizations by
the U.S. State Department, and provided $3,150 to the groups' allies in Turkey
and Syria, according to court records. Furthermore, documents claim Bell used
her military knowledge to advise the groups' members on matters of operational
security, communications and firearms purchases.”



Iraq



Iraqi News: Yazidis Welcome German Decision Recognizing ISIS Crimes
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“In a move that was popularly welcomed by the Iraqis, especially the Yazidis,
the German Parliament recognized the crimes committed by ISIS terrorist group
against the Yazidis in Iraq in 2014 as genocide, recommending a series of
support measures for the Yazidis. The decision stressed that the primary goal
of ISIS was to completely eliminate the Yazidi community, and that more than
five thousand Yazidis were tortured and brutally killed by ISIS, especially in
2014 The decision noted that male Yazidis were forced to convert, and were
immediately executed, deported or turned into forced labor slaves if they
refused. The decision indicated that Yazidi girls and women were subjected to
enslavement, rape and sale, and added that sexual violence aims to strip
communities of their humanity, humiliate and fragment them, and accordingly,
the German parliament considers crimes committed by against the Yazidi
community as genocide. “Although a number of European parliaments preceded the
German Parliament in describing the horrors of genocide committed by ISIS in
Sinjar against the Yazidis, but through some provisions approved by the German
Parliament, it is an advanced and more comprehensive decision, as it addresses
the effects of that genocide, compensates those affected, and prosecutes those
involved,” former Iraqi MP, Hussein Nermo, told Sky News Arabia.”



Afghanistan



Firstpost: Taliban To Buy Blowfish Drones From China For War Against Islamic
State
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“Even as Afghanistan reels under extreme poverty with people dying due to the
severe Afghan winter, the Taliban regime is hell-bent on using the limited
finances at its command to buy weapons. According to an ANI report, the Taliban
regime of Afghanistan wants to buy attack drones with the funds that the United
States (US) sent as humanitarian aid for the Afghan people. Instead of using
the money for subsidizing education or developing Afghanistan, it seems that
the Taliban “will use its limited cash” to buy or acquire Blowfish drones from
China, 19FortyFive reported. The US Defence Department has already expressed
fears that Blowfish exported to the Middle East might reach the wrong hands,
according to 19FortyFive report. The United States should not be fooled by
China’s statement that drones are required to help the Taliban’s
counter-terrorism, considering the Taliban’s ties with Al Qaeda, as per the
news report.”



Middle East



Middle East Monitor: Hamas Slams Israel's 'Ethnic Cleansing' Of Khan Al-Ahmar
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“The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement criticised on Monday Israel's
plan to forcibly displace the residents of the Bedouin village of Khan
Al-Ahmar, east of occupied Jerusalem, describing it as "ethnic cleansing" by
the occupation state. "The [Israeli] occupation's announcement of its intention
to deport the residents of Khan Al-Ahmar in Jerusalem is not new," said the
movement's spokesman, Hazem Qassem. "Displacing the owners who have the right
to the land is a racist policy practised by the Israeli occupation government
in favour of expanding the illegal settlements." Qassem stressed that the
Palestinian masses who came out on Monday to support Khan Al-Ahmar villagers
demonstrated that the land is Palestinian and Israel cannot expel the
Palestinians from it. Israel's extreme far-right National Security Minister,
Itamar Ben Gvir, demanded during the weekly cabinet session on Sunday that Khan
Al-Ahmar should be demolished and the community expelled. Israel has been given
the legal green light by the High Court to demolish the homes of residents in
Khan Al-Ahmar to make way for Jew-only settlements. A new date for the eviction
of the residents of the village has been set for 1 February.”



i24: Terrorist Killed After Attempted Stabbing Attack Near Kedumim
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“An attempted stabbing attack was thwarted near the Israeli settlement of
Kedumim in the northern West Bank on Wednesday, according to the Israeli army.
The terrorist arrived at a military station at Ma'ale Nehemiah carrying a knife
and tried to stab a soldier before being shot by Israeli forces, the military
said. Hananel Dorni, head of the Kedumim Local Council, confirmed that the
terrorist was dead. The attack occurred on Route 55 near Kedumim. No casualties
to Israeli forces were reported.”



Somalia



Voice Of America: US Military Strike In Somalia Kills 2 Militants
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“The United States has reported conducting a new airstrike against al-Shabab
in Somalia on January 23, killing two militants. In a statement, the U.S.
military's Africa Command, known as AFRICOM, said it conducted a "collective
self-defense" strike against al-Shabab following a request from the Somalian
government. The strike was in support of Somali National Army engagements
against al-Shabab, AFRICOM said. The strike occurred in a remote area near
Harardhere, approximately 396 kilometers northeast of Mogadishu where Somali
forces were conducting operations. "Given the remote location of the operation,
the initial assessment is that no civilians were injured or killed," the
statement said.”



Mali



AFP: Armed Groups Creating 'Misery' In Mali: UN Representative
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“Armed groups in northern Mali are creating misery in the vacuum left by
French troops' withdrawal, with the protracted crisis causing international
"fatigue", the UN refugee agency's representative in the country said Tuesday.
On the heels of a military coup in 2020 that saw the troubled west African
state bring in Russian paramilitaries, France withdrew the last of its soldiers
in November, ending its long-running Barkhane anti-jihadist operation. "Since
the departure of Barkhane and European troops, there is a vacuum," Mohamed
Toure told reporters in Geneva, via video link from Mali, following a mission
to the north to meet freshly displaced people. "We don't have any state
authorities in that region, so it's really left in the hands of terrorist armed
groups which are spreading terror, killings, rapes, creating misery. "Mass
displacement has been noticed," including refugees from other countries forced
to move again, he added.”



Reuters: WHO Doctor Kidnapped In Eastern Mali
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“Unidentified assailants in eastern Mali have abducted a doctor working for
the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.N. agency said in a statement on
Tuesday. Dr Mahamadou Diawara was taken from his car on Monday in the town of
Menaka, located in an eastern region where jihadist groups linked to al Qaeda
and Islamic State are active. Assailants also attacked his driver but left him
behind. WHO "is working with local authorities to investigate the abduction and
ensure our colleague's quick return to his family," the statement said. Diawara
was sent to Menaka at the start of 2020. He has been leading efforts to provide
medical care to remote communities at risk of violence.”



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