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Showing posts from October 25, 2015

She’s beautiful and she’s an alleged ISIS terrorist

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 The undated photo provided by Turkish police. They call her the “beautiful terrorist with a Mona Lisa smile” and she’s as wanted as any work by Leonardo da Vinci. Turkish police are looking for the pretty, alleged ISIS fighter, who is running around with a fake ID. An undated wanted picture provided by the Turkish Police Department on Sunday shows 20-year-old Walentina Slobodjanuk, who is masquerading as Yildiz Bozkurt, in a black headscarf with a smirk on her face reminiscent of the Renaissance-era artwork. Slobodjanuk was born in Kazakhstan in 1995, according to the European Pressphoto Agency. Police believe she may be part of a planned terror attack in the country, EPA reports. Turkish police posted an alert to capture four suspects who are believed to be members of the Islamic State group and who had arrived in Turkey from Syria for a planned attack. Source: http://nypost.com/2015/10/26/turkish-police-hunt-for-smirking-female-isis-suspect/

18-Year-Old Female Terrorist Charged With Attempted Murder; Indictment Includes Details of Near-Deadly Attack

A Palestinian girl was indicted on Thursday morning for the attempted murder of a Jewish man in Jerusalem earlier this month, the Israeli news website nrg reported . Eighteen-year-old Shorouq Dwayyat, a resident of east Jerusalem’s Tsur Baher neighborhood and a student at the University of Bethlehem, was charged with inflicting multiple stab wounds on 36-year-old Daniel Rosenfeld near the Lions’ Gate of the Old City. During the attack, Rosenfeld managed to reach for his gun and shoot Dwayyat, and both were treated on the scene by paramedics, before being evacuated to the Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem. A detailed account of the attack in the indictment, summarized by nrg , reveals that Dwayyat left her house in the morning of October 7 with a 12-inch kitchen knife and screwdriver in her purse – and murder on her mind. When she arrived in the Old City, she saw two Jewish men walking ahead of her down the street. Deciding to kill one of them, she pulled the kn

Slain Bangladesh blogger’s publisher hacked to death

Source http://m.thehindu.com/news/international/2-writers-publisher-stabbed-in-dhaka-attack/article7827219.ece A Bangladeshi publisher, who worked with  slain atheist writer and blogger Avijit Roy , was on Saturday hacked to death by unidentified assailants here.  Faisal Arefin Dipan (43) was killed in his third-floor office in central Dhaka locality of Shabagh, very near the venue of months of demonstrations demanding capital punishment for Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and other fundamentalists who had collaborated with Pakistani troops during Bangladesh’s liberation war in 1971. Wounds on the shoulder “Dipan died of stab wounds on the shoulder,” Muntasirul Islam, spokesperson of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), said. Bangladesh police headquarters spokesman Nazrul Islam told PTI that Dipan was slaughtered and he died instantly. Dipan’s father Abul Kashem Fazlul Haq, himself a noted intellectual and writer, said “I saw him [Dipan] lying upside down in a pool of blood. He is dead.” He said

Islamic State claims it downed Russian plane, but officials find no evidence of attack

Source http://m.timesofindia.com/world/middle-east/Islamic-State-claims-it-downed-Russian-plane-but-officials-find-no-evidence-of-attack/articleshow/49611287.cms ISIS has claimed responsibility for shooting down the Russian plane that crashed in Egypt today, despite authorities maintaining that a technical problem caused the disaster . A faction of the terrorist group called Wilayat Sinai has mounted an Islamist insurgency in the region where Metrojet flight 9268 went down, launching a series of suicide bombings and attacks on the authorities. A statement published by ISIS' propaganda agency said: "The fighters of the Islamic State were able to down a Russian plane over Sinai province that was carrying over 220 Russian crusaders. They were all killed, thanks be to God." It did not say how the aircraft was supposedly taken down but supporters were also sharing a video claiming to show it exploding and going down trailing smoke, which many viewers dismissed as fake. Wilayat

German Feuds 'Pushing Voters to Far-Right'

BERLIN: Disputes between Germany's two ruling conservative parties over the migrant crisis are jeopardising the government's ability to take control and pushing people towards far-Right parties, the vice-chancellor has warned. Sigmar Gabriel, leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the junior partner in the coalition government, has criticised infighting over the migrant influx as "irresponsible" following frequent clashes between Angela Merkel and Horst Seehofer. The German chancellor, leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has angered Mr Seehofer, who heads the Christian Social Union (CSU), with her open-door policy and repeated claims that Germany can cope with the estimated 800,000 to one million asylum applications it expects by the end of this year. Mr Gabriel said that strife between the conservative parties was creating even more uncertainty in Germany as fears grow that the country cannot cope with the new arrivals. "This

Syrian Civil War: How the rebels are surviving the Russian air strikes

After the initial shock of intensive Russian air strikes, Syrian rebels on the receiving end of a major offensive say better organisation and new tactics have helped them to stem losses and fight back. A month of Russian air strikes in support of government offensives have cost the rebels in lives and supplies: commanders have been killed, bases bombed, and weapons depleted. Supported by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and Lebanon's Hezbollah, this is the first multi-pronged attack of its kind in nearly five years of war that have diminished President Bashar al-Assad's control to a quarter or less of Syria. But while it may be too early to say how this new phase of the war will play out, analysts say modest government gains so far do not appear to match the scale of its assault. Rebels have even regained some positions, and fighters on the government's side are meanwhile being killed in large numbers, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Righ

Scary: Islamic State Fighters Using Bitcoin To Fund Terror

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Virtual currencies such as the Bitcoin are either being used by the foreign fighters of the Islamic State (IS) or are in the process of being used, says a report by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Founded in the year1989, the Paris-based FATF is an inter-governmental body which works on measures that may help in combating the flow of funds to the terrorists. In its latest report, titled “Emerging Terrorist Financing Risks,” it has pointed out that the Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies pose a serious threat. Further, the report gave an example of a US national, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison on charges of terrorism, and for also providing the terrorist group with the instructions on how to use Bitcoin. The report added later that the law enforcement agencies are equally worried over the usage of Bitcoin for funding such terrorist organizations, and that they too have noticed that some websites affiliated with these organizations are

e-tools, e-routes: terror finds new ways of financing; Hizbul Mujahideen raised over Rs 800 million through e-channels

Hawala trading, private donations, use of charity organisations and fund transfer through banks are no more in vogue when it comes to terror financing. An inter-governmental body assigned to combat money laundering and terrorist financing has warned countries of new fundraising modus operandi by terrorist groups through social media, new payment products and services and also through exploitation of natural resources. In its latest report, 'Emerging Terrorist Financing Risks', the 36-member Financial Action Task Force (FATF) says crowd-funding through e-wallets, virtual currency bitcoin, prepaid cards for playing on internet etc., online payment systems such as PayPal, CashU and social media networks are fast becoming potential fundraising tool of terror financing. These largescale and well-organised hi-tech fundraising methods help terrorist organisations widen their outreach to several thousands of sponsors and raise significant amounts in short notice. The

Terror funding: Legitimate transfers for an illegitimate act

Mumbai, Oct 26: An amount of 25,000 US dollars or Rs 16,23,625 was received by a person to set up a travel office in Mumbai and investigations show that this was just a front to facilitate the travel for terror funders. Terror funding into India has become a matter of primary concern and the Financial Action Task Force has indicated that it is groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami which are the primary players. There are newer methods that are being adopted by terror financers and the indication is that they are gradually doing away with illegal forms of money transfer. In short the transfer of money for terror purposes is made to look as legitimate as possible, an officer of the Intelligence Bureau (Financial Wing) informed OneIndia. Legitimate fund transfers There are new methods that have been found for transferring money meant for subversive purposes.    OneIndia had reported (Crowd-funding advertisements could be the next terror fund

Internet freedom falls for fifth year in row: survey

WASHINGTON:  Global online freedom declined for a fifth consecutive year as more governments stepped up electronic surveillance and clamped down on dissidents using blogs or social media, a survey showed Wednesday. The annual report by non-government watchdog Freedom House said the setbacks were especially noticeable in the Middle East, reversing gains seen in the Arab Spring. Freedom House found declines in online freedom of expression in 32 of the 65 countries assessed since June 2014, with “notable declines” in Libya, France and Ukraine. The researchers found 61 per cent of the world’s population lives in countries where criticism of the government, military or ruling family has been subject to censorship. And 58 per cent live in countries where bloggers or others were jailed for sharing content online on political, social and religious issues, according to the “Freedom on the Net 2015″ report. In a new trend, many governments seeking to censor content from oppon

Amazon sells Osama bin Laden's masks as "terrorist costumes" for Halloween

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Online retail giant Amazon has been urged by the civil rights organisation American-Arab Anti-Discrimination (ADC) to stop marketing Arab costumes as “terrorist costumes” on its website. The move came soon after the organisation expressed concern over another Halloween costume carried by US retailer Walmart. The retailer described the costume, which was of a ‘Sheikh’ with a large prosthetic nose as “perfect for an Arab Sheikh”. Walmart withdraws racist ‘Sheikh’ nose from Halloween store PHOTO: AMAZON One of the terrorist costumes sold on the website included a white turban and a full grey beard with elastic. While the other was called a “Terrorist Osama bin Laden mask for party video chat Halloween by Maskshow.” The online retailer seemed to showcase a variety of masks of Osama bin Laden, including a “latex mask for a dance party.” View image on Twitter Follow

Foreign Terror-Fighters Fundraise on Social Media, Crowdfunding Sites

Foreign terrorist fighters need small amounts of money to support their activities, and they raise it in a variety of ways, from self-funding to social media, crowdfunding campaigns and tech-based payment services, according to a research report. The report, issued Wednesday by the Financial Action Task Force, builds on the international body’s earlier research into the fundraising mechanisms of Islamic State. This report, however, is broader, exploring various financing mechanisms and the financial management practices used by both individual terrorists and terror organizations. All terrorists and terror groups, especially the large organizations, require a financial management strategy to allow them to obtain, move, store and use their assets, the FATF said. Threaded throughout the report were more than two dozen case studies, including a Canadian example of crowdfunding for terrorism-related travel and a Saudi-sourced example of Islamic State-linked individuals se

The Unremembered: Investigation reveals 54 Canadian soldiers died by suicide after war in Afghanistan

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158 Canadian soldiers died in the Afghanistan mission. But the losses did not end there. A Globe and Mail investigation reveals a disturbing number the military has kept secret: that at least 54 soldiers and vets killed themselves after they returned from war  The Canadian army desperately needed men like Scott Smith. A hard-nosed counsellor who worked with troubled teens in the Vancouver Island wilderness, he looked the part of a soldier. He was tall and muscular, with a gruff appearance that concealed his fun-loving side. Cpl. Scott Smith was a counsellor at a wilderness camp for troubled teens on Vancouver Island before joining the military in 2009. Courtesy Smith family When he enlisted in 2009, Canada was ensnared in an arduous combat mission in the southern Afghanistan province of Kandahar. Confronted with a defiant Taliban armed with assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and homemade bombs, Canadian soldiers were dying at a rate not seen