Terrorism Watch

LONDON/DUBAI, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Palestinian militant group  Hamas  uses a global financing network to funnel support from charities and friendly nations, passing cash through Gaza tunnels or using cryptocurrencies to bypass international sanctions , according to experts and officials. However, Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip , will face even more obstacles accessing funds after the rampage by the group's gunmen that killed hundreds of Israelis, mainly civilians. Israel has responded with the  heaviest bombardment of Gaza  in 75 years of conflict. The Reuters Gulf Currents newsletter brings you the latest on geopolitics, energy and finance in the region. Sign up  here. Earlier this week,  Israeli police said they froze  a Barclays bank account the authorities said was linked to Hamas fundraising and  blocked cryptocurrency  accounts used to gather donations, without specifying how many accounts or the value of the assets. The move prov...

ISIS Terror Module In India:  The probe agencies, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Delhi Police Special Cell busted two pan-India ISIS modules, allegedly planning targeted killings and to attack religious sites in a week. NDTV reported that the investigation agencies have recovered weapons, chemical bomb-making materials and other incriminating materials. The digital evidence found after raids suggests these modules have links to Pakistani terrorists. The probe found that the two modules had links to the Khilafat model and the Ghazwa-e-Hind agenda. ALSO READ:  Did Pakistan Harbour Terrorists? JeM Commander Affirms India’s Claims, Says ‘We Fought Delhi, Kabul To Protect…’ ISIS Modules Busted By Delhi Police The first module was unearthed by the Delhi Police Special Cell. They achieved success after conducting raids in Jharkhand, Telangana, Bengaluru, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh. The officials arrested five members of the module - Sufian Abubakar K...

South Africa would like to get out of a very particular doghouse — the one where countries that fail to counter money laundering live. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the world’s leading intergovernmental agency tasked with fighting such scourges,  conducted  a country visit on July 29 and July 30. Pretoria hopes the summer tour will lead to the removal of its negative rating at FATF’s October meeting. South African Terror Finance Issues FATF, which also assesses efforts to counter terrorism finance ,  places  countries of concern on a grey list. Jurisdictions with serious deficiencies and no plans for reform find themselves on a black list . The reputational damage discourages investment, leading to serious financial consequences. Pretoria,  grey listed  since February 2023, says it has  addressed  22 action items FATF requested to reduce its money laundering and terrorism finance risk. While South Africa has worked to address FATF’s con...

  The mask is off Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan . Against the backdrop of Israel’s war against Hamas terror , Erdoğan has sided unapologetically with Hamas and even suggested Turkey could go to war against the Jewish state. He has called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet a “genocidal cadre”, and called Israel itself a “terror state”. Even as he supported the Donald Trump-initiated Gaza peace talks, he reportedly opposed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s presence at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit in Egypt. Erdoğan’s threats are not bluster. He hosts Hamas’ top military planners; Hamas planned multiple terror attacks on Israel from its Istanbul office under Erdoğan’s protection. With Israel assassinating Hamas leaders in Tehran and striking in Doha, Turkey uses its role as a NATO member to give the terror group safe haven. That Turkey is a drone power, may soon acquire the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter if President Trump has his way, and may even...

Yonah Diamond calls Sudan conflict a ‘war on children’ and urges action on what he says is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, largely ignored in North America.   Source:  'The world has largely stood by as the conflict in Sudan has gotten worse': Human rights lawyer – CTVNews

Amid the brewing tensions in West Asia, Yemen’s  Houthis  announced that their military chief of staff, Mohammed al-Ghamari, was killed in an Israeli attack . While the statement released by the group gave no details about the incident, it noted that Ghamari and his teenage son died during what it described as the “honourable battle against the Israeli enemy”. The statement came after the   Israeli military carried out rounds of strikes   over Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen. The Israel Defence Forces ( IDF ) argued that the strikes were conducted in response to repeated Houthi drone and missile attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping linked to the Gaza war . In a separate statement, Israeli Defence Minister  Israel Katz  said Ghamari “died of wounds” he sustained in an Israeli air strike in Yemen’s capital Sanaa in late August, which also killed the Houthi government’s prime minister and other ministers. “Another chief of staff in the line of terror chi...

International criminal gangs have exploited instability in Sahel countries to build flourishing drug and human trafficking networks , while Russian promises of bringing order have so far failed. The bus station in Agadez is very busy. The Nigerien desert city is one of the most important regional hubs. Here, on the northern edge of the  Sahel , trade routes between West Africa and the Maghreb have converged for centuries. And the boundaries between legally traded goods and smuggled goods have always been blurred. In particular the  smuggling of people  from sub-Saharan Africa who set off for Europe without papers is – at least unofficially – considered the city's main source of income. Bamadou also wanted to make his way to Europe with the help of smugglers. However, the young man from Guinea gave up after a short time. He is now stranded in Agadez and warns other migrants about the increasingly brutal criminal gangs in the desert.  "Sometimes they...

The menace of narco-terrorism has emerged as a significant global concern, transcending geographical boundaries and posing a substantial threat to international peace and security. Narco-terrorism refers to the nexus between terrorist organizations and narcotics trafficking , where terrorist groups derive financial support from drug trade to fund their activities. This symbiotic relationship not only fuels terrorism but also undermines regional stability, erodes law enforcement capabilities, and has far-reaching economic implications. In this article, we will explore the global implications of narco-terrorism, examining its regional hotspots, global reach, and strategies to counter this menace. Regional Hotspots of Narco-Terrorism Narco-terrorism is a pervasive issue affecting various regions around the world. The impact of this phenomenon varies by region, with some areas being more severely affected than others. The Impact of Narco-Terrorism in Latin America Latin America has bee...