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Showing posts from July 23, 2017

Could ISIS’s next caliphate be in cyberspace?

Following a wave of devastating attacks aimed at terrorizing and paralyzing the Western world during the  Muslim holy month of Ramadan , July has ushered in a series of landmark counterterrorism victories in the fight against ISIS. Iraqi Security Forces  liberated Mosul,  the largest city under ISIS control, and a Syrian militia infiltrated the Old City of Raqqa, the capital of ISIS’s so-called Islamic State. Not only has the caliphate been decimated, but the caliph himself may also have been eliminated; the Syrian Observatory claims it has  “confirmed information”  that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead. The Pentagon has yet to corroborate this statement, and Western and Iraqi officials remain skeptical, but the mere allegation of al-Baghdadi’s downfall lends strength to the counter-ISIS campaign. This string of counterterrorism triumphs has inspired many to caution against excess optimism that prematurely celebrates victory and risks blinding the West to the  “ever-evol

Only 60 militants sill fighting in Marawi siege Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/918477/marawi-maute-group-islamic-state#ixzz4oC2t5HOU Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

MANILA, Philippines  — The Philippine military says only about 60 pro-Islamic State group militants are still fighting in a bloody siege of southern Marawi city that has left 630 people dead, including more than 470 gunmen, and dragged on for more than two months. Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said Friday that most of the militants’ leaders are believed to still be with the main group of gunmen fighting in an area less than one square kilometer (0.4 square mile). Troops and police have arrested 59 men suspected of being on their way to reinforce the Marawi militants. The suspects were flown under heavy guard Friday to the Department of Justice in Manila, where they denied before prosecutors that they were aiming to back up the extremists. Source:  http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/918477/marawi-maute-group-islamic-state

Don’t bomb kids to win war on terror

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s frustration with Maoist terrorists in his country is understandable. When he extends an olive branch, they take bloody advantage of it. Just last week, as peace talks were going on between his government and the rebels, they attacked his presidential guard, wounding five of its members. And, as so often is the case with both Islamic and communist terrorists, the Filipino rebels are fond of using civilians as human shields.  None of that excuses intentional targeting of civilians by Duterte’s troops.  Duterte’s tactics against the Maoist rebels have been criticized frequently. He has taken a hard-line, brutal approach to stamping out terrorism. But a threat he made this week cannot be allowed to stand without some response — quietly, through diplomatic channels, if that seems best — from the United States. Noting some schools, referred to as Lumads, are being used to intdoctrinate children in Maoist ideology, Duterte threatened to have

Ukraine braces for further cyber-attacks

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When the attack came, it took hold quickly and brought a screeching halt to many businesses across Ukraine. "None of the computers or machines worked except for the General Electric-powered machines like the MRIs [magnetic resonance imaging]," recalled Mykhailo Radutskyi, president of the Boris Clinic - Kiev's largest medical clinic. His radiologists decided to turn off the body scanners anyway as a precautionary measure after the building's IT system went down at two o'clock in the morning in late June. Doctors across the centre had to resort to taking records solely by paper and pen for the first time since the mid-1990s. "The main problem for us was that Ukrainian law requires us to keep all our patient info for 25 years, and we lost that medical documentation for the 24 hours when our systems were down," Mr Radutskyi divulged. "But thankfully we keep back-ups, so we didn't lose any information." All in all, Mr Radutskyi re

Children who watched terror attacks on social media could suffer PTSD

C hildren who viewed the recent terror attacks on social media could be at risk of post-traumatic stress, health officials are warning. GPs are being urged to watch out for symptoms which could indicate that patients are struggling to recover from a wave of atrocities. NHS psychiatric advice recommends a period of “watchful waiting” after major incidents, on the basis that offering immediate counselling can traumatise those who would otherwise have recovered. But today health officials have written to GPs, warning them that now is a crucial time to look out for patients who are struggling to recover from a wave of attacks, starting with the Manchester bombing six weeks ago. In particular, GPs have been warned to look out for signs in children - such as shame, or a loss of self-esteem - which might not be obvious, but could indicate post-traumatic stress disorder. NHS England said patients could suffer symptoms regardless of whether they themselves were caught up in event

India hits out at double standards on terrorism, nations playing terror card

UNITED NATIONS: India has condemned countries playing the terrorism "card" in  international relations  and criticised the double standards in dealing with terrorists while warning about the emerging "apocalyptic" threats.   "Terrorism is an international threat that should not be allowed to serve national strategy," India's Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin said on Friday during a  General Assembly  debate on the report of Secretary-General  Antonio Guterres  on Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.   "We must resist the temptation of buying individual peace for ourselves by striking deals that divert terrorists elsewhere," he said without naming any country. "We need to intensify our efforts in persuading States to refrain from using terrorism as a card in the games that nations play."   Calling for a introspection by the members of the  UN , he said: "There are important issues today before the international community t

A different jihad: How a convicted man is working to redeem terrorists' children

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Medan :  In the dusty yard of an Islamic boarding school in North Sumatra, a group of excitable boys are telling us why they want to join the police force and the army when they grow up. "I want to be an army commander because I want to prevent narcotics, stop crime and catch terrorists," says Andika, a 13-year-old in a long mustard tunic and Muslim skullcap. Khairul Ghazali, the founder of Al-Hidayah Islamic School near Medan, Indonesia.   Photo: Amilia Rosa Under normal circumstances there would be nothing unusual about Andika's youthful boast, echoed by millions of children worldwide. But here, it is remarkable because Andika's father is a convicted terrorist. He is in jail over his role in the bloody 2010 Medan bank heist – conducted to fund terrorism activities – which left one police officer dead and two bank security officers wounded. Indonesia's counter-terrorism police unit Detachment 88 later killed three people implicated in the robbery and arrest

Russian security chief proposes unified anti-terrorist database for BRICS nations

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Terrorism-related crimes down 90% in past 5 years – Russian security committee  “ We invite all BRICS nations to join the international data bank for countering terrorism created by the FSB in Russia. Thanks to the participation of 33 foreign special services and a number of relevant international organizations, we have created a consolidated array of information on persons complicit in terrorist activities and also on extremist and terrorist groups ,” Nikolai Patrushev said during a meeting of security officials from BRICS countries in Beijing. BRICS is an international group uniting Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – the five major emerging economies with about half of the world’s population and 30 percent of global economic output. In his statement, Patrushev also called upon foreign security officials to be more active in implementing the provisions of international agreements on fighting terrorism, including UN Security Council resolutions concerning terro

Arrests of journalists in Turkey must stop

The Cumhuriyet case once again showed that the trial of journalists and writers in Turkey must come to an end in order to avoid more injustice at home and disgrace in the world. It is an escape point or an excuse for governments - currently the Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) government - to say the political authority has nothing to do with it and that it is totally up to “independent courts.” That is correct only on paper and it has only been correct on paper not only under the state of emergency declared by the government after the July 15, 2016 military coup attempt, or under the AK Parti rule since 2002; the courts have been under the influence of the dominant political atmosphere for decades. There is actually no article in the penal code that rules journalists should be arrested and brought to the court as such; it leaves the initiative to judges. But here is the mechanism on how things work in practice: When the police submits a file to a prosecutor, saying that a cer

Afghanistan Criticizes Pakistan's Anti-IS Operations

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Pakistan and Afghanistan continue to carry out operations targeting Islamic State militants along their shared border, but there are signs that the two countries are not communicating, making the effort less effective. This week, Pakistan said that it just completed the first phase of its Khyber 4 operation against IS militants in the country's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. "Terrorist hideouts were dismantled, and caches of IEDs [improvised explosive devices], arms and ammunition were seized," Pakistan Army's media wing (ISPR) said a statement. But Afghan defense officials told VOA that Afghanistan and Pakistan had agreed that they would inform one another of planned operations against IS on both sides of the Durand Line, and that Pakistan did not do so with its recent operation against IS.  FILE - Pakistan said that it just completed the first phase of its Khyber 4 operation against IS militants. "Based on the agreement, both sides would exchange

Islamic State Threatens Iran in New Video

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The Islamic State group has issued a short new video in which it threatens the Islamic Republic of Iran and vows to destabilize the country with terrorist attacks. The video, released Tuesday, depicts a teenage boy in military uniform who directly looks at the camera and speaks Persian with a bold voice, threatening the regime. The teenager is introduced as the "Persian Qattadah" in the video, which is the name of a close disciple of Prophet Muhammad.  "We will destroy your land and your home, we will disrupt your security and we will shed your blood into rivers," the teenager is heard saying in the video. Iran has not yet reacted to the video. It was produced in similar fashion to other videos released by the terror group in the past.  In late March, IS released a 36-minute, Persian-language video aimed at Iran's Sunni Muslim minority in which several adults spoke in Persian, but with heavy Baloch and Arabic accents. The new video portrays a child

Suspected Boko Haram Militants Issue Purported Photo of 3 Kidnapped Oil Survey Team Members

Suspected members of Boko Haram have released a photograph that appears to show three kidnapped members of an oil exploration team in northeastern Nigeria, according to the university whose staff members were part of the team and which distributed the image Friday. The abduction of the oil survey team and a rescue attempt that caused multiple fatalities have led to a U-turn by the government and military, who earlier this month had said Boko Haram were defeated and all but eliminated. The defense minister told reporters on Thursday that the authorities were not in full control of the environment in the northeast at the moment, and that the military was trying to regain territory there. The team, which included university staff and employees from Nigeria's state oil firm, was kidnapped by suspected militants from Islamist insurgency Boko Haram while searching for oil in the conflict-ridden northeast on Tuesday. A rescue attempt on Wednesday ended in the deaths of at least