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Showing posts from June 24, 2018

Iraq’s Abadi orders immediate executions of ISIS militants on death row

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Thursday ordered the immediate execution of all convicted ISIS militants on death row, in a swift retaliation for the terrorist group execution of eight captives. Abadi ordered “the immediate punishment of terrorists condemned to death whose sentences have passed the decisive stage”, his office said, referring to convicts whose appeals have been exhausted. More than 300 people, including around 100 foreign women, have been condemned to death in Iraq and hundreds of others to life imprisonment for membership of ISIS, a judicial source said in April. Most of the convicted women are Turkish or from former Soviet republics, while a Russian man and a Belgian national are also on death row. Abadi vowed on Thursday to avenge the deaths of the eight ISIS captives, a day after their bodies were found along a highway north of Baghdad. “Our security and military forces will take forceful revenge against these terrorist cells,” he told senior mil

Haftar's forces say they have captured Libyan city of Derna

Forces loyal to commander Khalifa Haftar said on Thursday they had taken full control of the eastern Libyan city of Derna from an armed coalition of local fighters and Islamists. “Thanks be to God, the armed forces control the entire city of Derna,” said a statement on Facebook.  Brigades from Haftar’s Libyan National Army launched a ground offensive last month after encircling the city - the last in eastern Libya to elude their control - for around two years. Source:  http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2018/06/29/Haftar-s-forces-say-they-have-captured-Libyan-city-of-Derna.html

Indonesia sentences radical cleric Aman Abdurrahman to death for role in 2016 Jakarta terror attack

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Jakarta:  Indonesian cleric Aman Abdurrahman was sentenced to death today over his role in a 2016 Islamic State terror attack that saw a suicide bomber blow himself up at a Jakarta Starbucks cafe. Heavily armed police guarded the hearing at a Jakarta court — which had earlier found Abdurrahman guilty of masterminding the attack that killed which left four attackers and four civilians dead —  as it ordered his execution . "(The defendant) has been proven to have committed a criminal act of terrorism," said judge Akhmad Jaini, who also cited Abdurrahman's involvement in other attacks for handing down the death penalty. "He will be sentenced to death." Islamic cleric Aman Abdurrahman escorted by the police to Jakarta court. AP The convicted terror mastermind, who sat on a defendant's chair in the middle of the courtroom, appeared bored with the proceedings and showed little reaction to the sentence. Executions are carried out by firing squad in the w

Syrian offensive displaces more than 120,000 civilians

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A Syrian government offensive in the southwest has uprooted more than 120,000 civilians, driving most of them towards the border with Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, a war monitoring group said on Friday. A senior Israeli minister said refugees gathering at the Golan frontier must be prevented from crossing into Israel. Jordan, already hosting some 650,000 Syrian refugees, also says its border will remain closed to more refugees. Syrian government forces backed by Russian air power have turned their focus to the rebel-held southwest since defeating the last remaining insurgent pockets near the cities of Damascus and Homs. Syrian offensive in southwest displaced more than 120,000 civilians. (Reuters) Their advances in areas east and northeast of Daraa city, and bombardment of the heavily populated rebel-held town of Nawa to its northwest, have triggered a mass flight of civilians. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said tens of thousands had gat

Western Australian police granted "lethal force powers" under new anti-terrorism legislation

SYDNEY, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Police in Western Australia have been given authority to use preemptive lethal force in response to terrorism incidents, in accordance with new laws passed on Thursday. The new legislation is a response to coronial findings following a 2014 terrorist attack in the New South Wales state when three people were killed, including the gunman, who held hostages in a 16 hour stand-off with police at a Sydney cafe. "These new laws ensure our police have sufficient legal protection if preemptive force is required to save hostages in a potential terrorism incident," Western Australian State Police Minister Michelle Robert said. While the Terrorism (Extraordinary Powers) Amendment Bill 2018 gives police legal protection in the event they use lethal force preemptively, there is a condition that the Western Australian Commissioner of Police would first have to declare the incident they are responding to is suspected to be terrorism related. "My

Tehran’s ties with al-Qaeda, extremist Salafist groups uncovered

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New documents from Abbottabad, the Pakistani city where al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was hiding out, uncovered details of deep ties between Iran’s Khomeini regime and several armed “Salafists” groups.  The US Central Intelligence Agency had seized documents in 2011 from Abbottabad that revealed ties between al-Qaeda and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.  The “Salafist” groups identified in the newly-exposed document include the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria, which began its operations in 1992, and the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which started its operations in 1982 and reformed again in 1989 before joining al-Qaeda in 2007.  Among the groups are the Egyptian radical Islamist group, the al-Takfir wa al-Hijra, Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.   Bilateral alliances    The Khomeini regime has been working with members of “Salafist” groups since the Islamic Jihad group assassinated Anwar Sadat in October 6 of 1981.  Sadat’s assassination and the success of the Ira

8 Philippine soldiers wounded in clash with militants

MANILA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Eight army soldiers have been wounded in clashes with Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Philippine island province of Sulu, the military said on Monday. Military local commander Brig. Gen. Divino Pabayo said troops were dispatched on Saturday afternoon to a remote village on the outskirts of Patikul town in Sulu, a known lair of the Abu Sayyaf militants, after villagers reported the presence of some 40 militants in the area. A gun battle that raged for 30 minutes ensued resulting in the wounding of eight soldiers and a still undetermined number of militants, Pabayo said. He said the troops recovered improvised explosive device in the village, apparently left behind by the fleeing Islamist fighters. Abu Sayyaf, an Islamist militant group sympathetic to the Islamist fighters in the Middle East, has carried out kidnappings in the Philippines' southern region. The group, which is active in the impoverished western Mindanao region, is consider

Crowdsourcing Terror in Indonesia

n the wake of high-profile terrorist activities in Indonesia, social media’s role in violent extremism is once again under scrutiny. A stand-off between inmates linked to the so-called Islamic State (IS) and prison officers at Mako Brimob in early May of this year, provides some clues on how extremists use social media, especially to ‘crowdsource’. The term ‘crowdsourced terrorism’ first emerged in 2014 and is defined as the outsourcing activity of IS for the conduct of attacks to its followers. Relevant cases include the knife attack in Leytonstone subway station in East London and the shooting in San Bernardino in the United States in December 2015. These events signaled what former US secretary of homeland security Jeh Johnson called an ‘ entirely new phase in the global terrorist threat’. Social media takes crowdsourcing – the open call for ideas, innovations and solutions as an act of contribution for a particular cause– to greater heights by allowing it to reach more people

How terrorist propaganda radicalises Indonesian women

Last month, Indonesia was shaken by a series of deadly terrorist attacks. Indonesian National police announced that the local extremist network of  Jama’ah Ansharud Daulah (JAD) ,  affiliated with ISIS , was responsible. The world’s largest Muslim majority country has worked hard to block homegrown terrorist cells. Government and non-government organisations, including international institutions, have allocated budgets and collaborated to implement diverse  de-radicalisation programmes . However, the involvement of  children  as suicide bombers in this series of attacks has led  some  to believe these programmes have failed in cutting the chain of terrorism. In our research, we investigate the conditions that lead to the radicalisation of women and children. The image of Indonesia as home of moderate Muslims has come into question, especially due to the recent awakening of homegrown sleeper ISIS cells. Last year, the country’s military chief, General Gatot Nurmantyo, declared t

Hizbul Mujahideen, JeM Used Children In Kashmir Clashes: UN Report

The United Nations has said that Pakistan-based banned terror outfits Hizbul Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammed recruited and used children in Jammu and Kashmir in clashed with security forces. UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, in his annual report on Children and Armed Conflict, stated that three incidents of recruitment and use of children by the two terror outfits were reported in the state. He informed that one case was attributed to Jaish-e-Mohammed and two to Hizbul Mujahideen. The report also stated that globally, over 10,000 children were killed or maimed in conflict last year while more than 8,000 were recruited or used as combatants. The report covers 20 countries, including Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan, India, the Philippines and Nigeria. The report also mentioned the use of children by armed groups for suicide attacks. source  https://www.pratidintime.com/hizbul-mujahideen-jem-used-children-in-kashmir-clashes-un-report/

Several dead in newsroom shooting in Maryland capital Annapolis: Reports

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The local ABC7 news reported "multiple fatalities" quoting police in the historic city located an hour east of Washington. In this frame from video, people leave the Capital Gazette newspaper after multiple people have been shot on Thursday, June 28, 2018, in Annapolis, Md. (AP) WASHINGTON: Several people were reported killed Thursday at a shooting at the offices of the Capital Gazette, a daily newspaper published in Annapolis, the capital of Maryland. The local ABC7 news reported "multiple fatalities" quoting police in the historic city located an hour east of Washington. "ATF Baltimore is responding to a shooting incident at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis," the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco said on Twitter. County Sheriff Ron Bateman told Fox News a suspect had been taken into custody. source  http://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2018/jun/29/several-dead-in-newsroom-shooting-in-maryland-capital-annapolis-reports-1835241.html

US watchdog to pay anti-extremist UK group $3.4 million in settlement

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An American liberal watchdog group apologized and will pay more than $3 million after labeling a British organization and its founder as anti-Muslim extremists. The nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center of Montgomery issued written and video statements saying it was wrong to include the London-based Quilliam and Maajid Nawaz in a "Field Guide to Anti-Muslim Extremists." An American liberal watchdog group apologized and will pay more than $3 million under an agreement announced Monday after labeling a British organization and its founder as anti-Muslim extremists. The nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center of Montgomery issued written and video statements saying it was wrong to include the London-based Quilliam and Maajid Nawaz in a "Field Guide to Anti-Muslim Extremists." Law center president Richard Cohen said his organization has done additional research and talked with human rights advocates since releasing the publication in 2016. Willi

How tech companies are successfully disrupting terrorist social media activity

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In June 2017, Google, Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft announced the formation of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism  (GIFCT) . The aim of this industry-led initiative is to disrupt the terrorist exploitation of its services. Recently,  GIFCT members hailed  the achievements of its first year of operations. But, while this progress must be acknowledged, significant challenges remain. Every single minute there are on average  510,000 comments and 136,000 photos  shared on Facebook,  350,000 tweets  posted on Twitter and  300 hours of video  uploaded to YouTube. Given this, the biggest companies  extensively rely on artificial intelligence (AI) . Facebook’s uses of AI  include  image matching. This prevents users from uploading a photo or video that matches another photo or video that has previously been identified as terrorist. Similarly,  YouTube reported  that 98% of the videos that it removes for violent extremism are also flagged by machine learning algorithms. Pr

UN chief urges Security Council to act with one voice on Middle East, North Africa

UNITED NATIONS, June 25 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged the Security Council to find "much-needed consensus" to resolve the myriad challenges in the Middle East and North Africa. The UN chief issued the call during a debate in the Security Council chamber, focusing on the various fault-lines in the region. "Decades-old conflicts, together with new ones, as well as deep-rooted social grievances, a shrinking of democratic space and the emergence of terrorism and new forms of violent extremism, are undermining peace, sustainable development and human rights," he said. "The territorial integrity of countries like Syria, Yemen and Libya is under threat. Millions of people have been forcibly displaced from their homes. And the impacts of this instability have spread to neighbors and beyond," he said. The UN chief reminded the Council of the numerous crises across the region, starting with the Israeli-Pales