Islamic State Hijacks Mosul University Chemistry Lab for Making Bombs
New Age Islam News Bureau
1 Apr 2016
Photo: Uttar Pradesh-based Darul Uloom seminary in Deoband has issued a fatwa against the chanting of the controversial nationalist slogan, Bharat Mata Ki Jai, saying there is only one God in Islam.
• UN Says Saudis Murdering Children in Yemen: What Next
• Love India, But Only One God in Islam: Deoband's Fatwa against Bharat Mata Ki Jai
• Islamic State Urges Attacks on German Chancellery, Bonn Airport: SITE Group
Arab World
• Islamic State Hijacks Mosul University Chemistry Lab for Making Bombs
• Kurds Set To ‘Liberate’ Raqqa, Keep Islamic State Fighters Who Fled Palmyra to Turkey From Arriving
• Syrian Army Discovers ISIL's Arms Depot in Palmyra
• Army, Popular Forces Close to Winning Key Regions in Homs, Hama
• Russian Jets Conduct Some 500 Sorties from March 7-27, Hit 2,000 ISIL Targets
• Arab world: A long, grinding advance against ISIS
• Second group of Russian sappers arrives in Syria to demine Palmyra — Defense Ministry
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Europe
• UN Says Saudis Murdering Children in Yemen: What Next
• Privately-Run Madrasa in Yorkshire Accused of 'Dividing' Communities by • Teaching Children Extreme Form of Islam
• ISIS Commands Muslims to Attack Angela Merkel, Bomb German Airport
• UK Far-Right Steps Up Propaganda Targeting Muslims
• Mosque leaders and police call for communities to unite after shopkeeper death
• Islamic State group leader Baghdadi’s former wife seeks stay in Europe
• German prosecutors indict suspected Islamic State member
• Belgian police are flummoxed by IS
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India
• Love India, but only one God in Islam: Deoband's fatwa against Bharat Mata Ki Jai
• China Again Objects To India's Bid at UN To Ban Pathankot Terror Attack Mastermind Masood Azhar
• Top Indian scholar launches books in English, Hindi and Urdu
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Mideast
• Islamic State Urges Attacks on German Chancellery, Bonn Airport: SITE Group
• Turkish Journalists in Clashes with Bodyguards during Erdoğan’s US Visit
• Seven Police Officers Killed In Diyarbakır Car Bomb Attack, 27 Injured
• Obama reaffirms commitment to Turkey’s security as Erdoğan visits
• First batch of refugees to be sent back to Turkey from Greece under EU deal
• CHP gives cold shoulder to AKP’s immunity proposal
• Anti-terror fight tops Erdoğan’s US agenda
• Thousands return to ruined İdil after 43-day curfew
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South Asia
• Taliban Killing Afghan Security Officials on ISI Orders: Former Afghan Defence Minister
• Over 200 Taliban insurgents killed or wounded in ongoing Shindand operations
• 7 Afghan soldiers martyred in fight against terror groups: MoD
• Afghan forces kill 5 militants during a raid in Kandahar province
• 2 militants blown up by own explosives in Herat province
• Pakistan to suffer from growing instability in Afghanistan: Rabbani
• Ghani Confers High State Medal on MMA Star Baz Mohammad Mubariz
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Southeast Asia
• Radicalisation Threat Has Grown Larger With Islamic State, PM Lee Says
• Egypt blocked Facebook Internet service over surveillance: sources
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Pakistan
• In 2015, Anti-State Violence in Pakistan Fell Below 2008 Levels: HRCP Report
• Musharraf Aide Hints General’s Exit Had PML-N’s ‘Blessing’
• Pakistan’s nukes no cause of concern: official
• Junaid Jamshed’s attackers identified
• Obama denies Pak PM’s absence from summit has upset him
• PM’s silence over Indian agent’s arrest is deliberate: Sana
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Africa
• How an African Student Went From Giving Free Medical Check-Ups In Senegal To Treating Islamic State Fighters
• Study Highlights Growing Links between "Islamic State" And North Africa/Sahel Extremist Groups
• Libyan unity government moves to assert power in Tripoli
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North America
• Obama Nuclear Summit Focuses on N. Korea, Islamic State
• Why there are Muslim ghettoes in Belgium, but not in the United States
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/islamic-state-hijacks-mosul-university/d/106837
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Islamic State Hijacks Mosul University Chemistry Lab for Making Bombs
April 1, 2016
Islamic State has been using a well-stocked university chemistry lab in Mosul, Iraq, for the past year to concoct a new generation of explosive devices and train militants to make them, according to U.S. and Iraqi military officials and two people familiar with the university.
Gen. Hatem Magsosi, Iraq’s top explosives officer, said the facilities at the University of Mosul have enhanced Islamic State’s ability to launch attacks in Iraq and to export bomb-making know-how when its fighters leave the so-called caliphate and return to their home countries.
The weaponry churned out includes peroxide-based chemical bombs and suicide-bomb vests like the ones used in the Brussels attacks and by at least some of the Paris attackers, according to the general and others in the Iraqi military, as well as an official from the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State.
Other bombs made include nitrate-based explosives and chemical weapons, Gen. Magsosi said.
“The University of Mosul is the best Daesh research center in the world,” the general said, using another name for Islamic State. “Trainees go to Raqqa, [Syria], then to Mosul university to use the existing facilities.”
Its current status isn’t clear, however. The U.S.-led coalition has targeted the campus with airstrikes more than once, most recently on March 19.
“We do know that Daesh has used some of those buildings for military purposes and we bombed them,” said Col. Steve Warren, spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq.
The Pentagon said March 19 it was targeting an Islamic State weapons-storage facility and headquarters, but gave no more detail.
Col. Warren said the Mosul bomb-making labs are among the biggest that the Islamic State has established. He said the university has a sprawling campus and the coalition would continue to target such facilities if they are identified.
Last week, the Pentagon said the U.S. military had killed a man they identified as one of Islamic State’s top military officials. It didn’t give any further information, but Gen. Magsosi said the man, known as Abu Eman, was the top expert at the Mosul bomb lab.
When Islamic State captured Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, in the summer of 2014, the university was one of the spoils. The university had a strong reputation around Iraq for its science departments, alumni say.
By March 2015, dozens of Islamic State engineers and scientists had set up a research hub in the chemistry lab, which was full of equipment and chemicals, according to the people with knowledge of the university.
Many of the regular staff, including professors specialized in organic, industrial and analytical chemistry, remained in the city at the time, but the new laboratories were staffed by Islamic State’s own men, according to one of those people.
At least since August, dozens of individuals—presumed to be foreigners because they didn’t speak Iraqi Arabic—were seen moving through the labs, the two people said. They said they were told specialized units had been set up there for chemical explosives and weapons research as well as suicide-bomb construction.
A separate group at the university’s technical college was dedicated to building suicide-bomb components, one of the two said.
During the same time frame, there has been a surge in Islamic State’s use of bombs that mix chemical precursors into an explosive powdery substance known as triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, both in Iraq and Europe.
It isn’t clear how many of these weapons, if any, can be traced to research or training conducted in Mosul.
Gen. Magsosi says that his bomb-detection units called peroxide-based explosives the “Satan Recipe” because they are very hard to detect and they are usually so lethal.
It isn’t yet known whether the militants who carried out the Paris and Brussels attacks spent time at the Mosul facility during their time in Islamic State territory. Investigators say they suspect that at least one member of the network, Najim Laachraoui, made TATP-based explosives that were stuffed into suicide belts and suitcases and used in those attacks.
An analysis of arrest records involving suspected jihadists indicate that the penchant for peroxide-based chemical explosives is prevalent among people suspected as being returned foreign fighters or Islamic State sympathizers.
Last week, French police arrested a man in the Paris suburb of Argenteuil who had a TATP bomb and who the Interior Ministry said was in the advanced stages of planning another attack.
In April 2015, German police arrested two suspected Islamic radicals after raiding their house near Frankfurt and finding a pipe bomb and other weaponry. They had been monitoring the man after he and his wife bought three liters of hydrogen peroxide—which can be used to make TATP—at a home improvement store, Frankfurt’s chief prosecutor said at the time. Authorities said they suspected the pair were planning to attack a bike race.
That same month, Indonesian police recovered and neutralized a TATP bomb planted at a Jakarta shopping mall, allegedly by a local man who had fought for Islamic State.
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former British army officer who commanded the U.K.’s chemical-warfare regiment, worked with Indonesian police to analyze what he called a sophisticated homemade explosive. The device, housed inside a cardboard box, comprised four bottles of chemicals wrapped with wires, batteries and timer, he said.
“It had quite a sophisticated set of detonators,” said Mr. de Bretton-Gordon, indicating some training.
Also in April 2015, Iraqi federal police units fighting to retake the city of Tikrit recovered a hydrogen peroxide drum filled with a homemade chemical explosive similar to a TATP bomb. It was one of the first instances of such chemicals being found on the battlefield in Iraq, but in the ensuing months, bomb-disposal teams have recovered several other peroxide-based bombs in battles in Tikrit and Anbar.
A chemistry lab like the one at the University of Mosul is an ideal setting to get practice mixing volatile explosives in a controlled setting, explosives experts said.
Beyond the right recipe for a stable bomb, a person also needs to know how to house the explosives and transport the assembled bomb to avoid an accidental explosion. TATP is known among experts in law enforcement and military as highly unstable.
“TATP is so sensitive that any level of heat, friction and shock can lead to initiation,” meaning an explosion, said Paul Jowett, a retired British Royal Engineer who now works for a consultancy, World Wide Counter Threat Solutions.
Iraqi soldiers responsible for bomb clearance said that they have been seeing more deadly and sophisticated devices over the past year, and can now recognize what they refer to as signature techniques of different Islamic State bomb makers. These include a wiring technique known as the “Destructive Circle,” a booby trap running around the device designed to set the bomb off when technicians are at work trying to defuse it.
Another evolutionary design style in Islamic State suicide belts is the “double bluff,” or two sets of detonating triggers that serve as a backstop against possible malfunction.
—Alexis Flynn in London and Ghassan Adnan in Baghdad contributed to this article.
wsj.com/articles/islamic-state-hijacks-mosul-university-chemistry-lab-for-making-bombs-1459503003
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UN Says Saudis Murdering Children in Yemen: What Next?
Fri Apr 01 2016
TEHRAN (FNA)- It is said children see magic because they look for it. Not in Yemen, where they only see destruction, suffering, and death.
The UNICEF has just released a heartbreaking report marking the one-year anniversary of the Saudi-led war against Yemen.
The report estimates some 320,000 children are facing severe, life-threatening malnutrition, and that some 82% of the Yemeni population is reliant on humanitarian aid at this point.
The UN children's agency says the Saudi-led naval blockade, which the US has participated in, is not just meant to prevent weapons shipments to the country. The Saudis have ensured that international aid shipments never reach the affected areas, hence taking a horrifying toll on the country's youth – its most valuable resource.
UNICEF estimates that close to 10,000 children under five have died over the past year alone as a result of the blockade and decline in access to key health services. The UN also says 63 healthcare facilities have been destroyed over the past year by the Saudi-led airstrikes.
Regardless, the UN report never goes on to condemn those behind the ongoing atrocities that it says is taking a massive toll on the country’s children. This is while the report should also go on to call on those UN member states, including those on the Security Council (the US, France and Britain), to stop providing arms to Saudi Arabia and its regional partners in crime who are violating the laws of war in Yemen on a daily basis.
Remarkably, the failed war on the poorest country in the Middle East has entered its second year all because influential governments, including some permanent members of the UN Security Council, have chosen to support the aggressors directly through the approval of arms sales and the provision of other military support, including aerial support and naval blockade, instead of using their influence to put an end to the proxy war of aggression.
The consequences have been devastating for Yemen’s children for whom the situation will only get worse unless meaningful action is taken now to end this devastating war that has been waged on a poor nation unjustifiably.
Some might say UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has already condemned Riyadh for defying international calls to halt its airstrikes on Yemen. However, Ban’s beautiful words have never turned into meaningful measures, including imposition of UN sanctions and war crimes charges against the House of Saud and its allies.
Lest there be any doubt, the Saudi-led and US-backed blockade is an intensification of criminal policies designed to destroy the sovereign nation of Yemen. There can be no dispute that collective punishment is illegal under International Humanitarian Law. In any case, the regime changers have to stop airstrikes and end the blockade, which are compounding the humanitarian consequences of the conflict. In roundly condemning the Saudis for defying international calls to halt airstrikes, the UN chief has clearly condemned Riyadh’s invasion and occupation, human rights violations and blockage, systematic bombing of civilians and genocide, as well as war crimes and crimes committed against humanity in Yemen.
Now the UN chief should go on and do the next best thing: Call on all UN member states, including the Security Council, to impose sanctions on Riyadh and its rogue allies. Under the circumstances, there is no other way to stop the unnecessary war and/or ensure accountability for war crimes, human rights violations and abuses that are being committed daily by the House of Saud and its partners in crime.
en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950112000616
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Love India, but only one God in Islam: Deoband's fatwa against Bharat Mata Ki Jai
Amir Haque
01 Apr 2016
Uttar Pradesh-based Darul Uloom seminary in Deoband has issued a fatwa against the chanting of the controversial nationalist slogan, Bharat Mata Ki Jai, saying there is only one God in Islam.
"We love our country, but it is not our god. In Islam, we believe in only one God and hence it is against the faith of a Muslim to chant the slogan," the fatwa issued by the Deoband seminary said.
The fatwa against the slogan, being promoted aggressively by the BJP and its ideological mentor the RSS, was passed following a two-day long deliberation in Darul Ifta, an eight-member panel of Islamic scholars from all over the country.
"In the past too, a similar controversy emerged about the chanting of Vande Mataram in schools. That song was made mandatory for students. Now, Bharat Mata Ki Jai is being made compulsory. Both the issues are the same," it said.
"India is without doubt our country. We and our ancestors were born here. We love our country, but we do not think it is our God," Darul Ifta said in its statement.
Islam, unlike Hinduism, is a monotheistic religion, i.e. it believes in the idea of one God whose idol or picture cannot be made. "Bharat Mata, according to a section of Hindus, is a goddess and they worship her. For Muslims, participating in the worshipping of that goddess would be apostasy and against Islam," it said in its resolution.
The resolution further says that the Indian constitution guarantees the right to freedom of religion to all its citizens. "No government or organisation can force such unlawful activities on other people if it contradicts their faith," it said.
Recently, a lawmaker belonging to Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen was suspended from the Maharashtra Assembly for refusing to chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai. Days before that, Owaisi himself had slammed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for his statement that youngsters in India should be taught to chant the slogan.
indiatoday.intoday.in/story/love-india-but-only-one-god-in-islam-deobands-fatwa-against-bharat-mata-ki-jai/1/632467.html
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Islamic State Urges Attacks On German Chancellery, Bonn Airport: SITE Group
REUTERS ON 03/31/16
isis-
An Islamic State fighter fires a weapon in this still image from a video said to be taken on the outskirts of Palmyra, Syria, and uploaded March 21, 2016, by an agency affiliated with the Islamic State group.
PHOTO: SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITE
Islamic State posted pictures on the internet calling on German Muslims to carry out Brussels-style attacks in Germany, singling out Chancellor Angela Merkel's offices and the Cologne-Bonn airport as targets, the SITE intelligence group reported.
Western Europe is on high security alert after last week's Islamic State suicide bombings in the Belgian capital that killed 32 people at its airport and in a metro station. On Wednesday, France said it was investigating a man on suspicion of planning an imminent act of "extreme violence".
The Islamic State images and graphics, widely published by German media on Thursday, included slogans in German inciting Muslims to commit violence against the "enemy of Allah."
Germany's BKA federal police, who monitor suspected militants with German passports returning from stints fighting in Syria and Iraq, said it knew of the images but that their publication did not necessitate extra security measures.
"We are aware of this material and our experts are checking it," a BKA spokeswoman said. "It is clear that Germany is the focus of international terrorism and that attacks could happen, but this material doesn't change our security assessment."
Federal police chief Holger Muench said after the March 22 attacks in Brussels that Islamic State appeared eager to carry out further "spectacular" attacks in Europe as it was suffering setbacks on battlefields in Iraq and Syria.
One of the disseminated Islamic State images features a militant in combat fatigues standing in a field and gazing at Cologne-Bonn airport with a caption reading: "What your brothers in Belgium were able to do, you can do too."
Another shows the German chancellery building in Berlin on fire with an Islamic State fighter and a tank standing outside the structure. The headline reads: "Germany is a battlefield."
Germany joined the U.S.-led air strike campaign against Islamic State in Syria last year, though limiting its role to reconnaissance and refueling missions, after the jihadist group killed 130 people in shooting and bombing attacks in Paris.
A third graphic featured a military jet, which German media identified as a Tornado used by the German air force, against the backdrop of a mountainous area juxtaposed with the bloodied faces of women and children - apparently meant to represent civilians who Islamic State says have been killed by air strikes on areas it controls.
The caption under this image says: "Will you continue to grieve or will you finally act?"
All five pictures circulated on social media on Wednesday bore the logo of Furat Media, an Islamic State affiliate, according to SITE.
German media also published an Islamic State video celebrating the attacks in Brussels that featured a three-second shot of Frankfurt Airport, apparently taken from German television news footage.
The BKA spokeswoman said police were aware of that video as well and current security measures were sufficient.
ibtimes.com/islamic-state-urges-attacks-german-chancellery-bonn-airport-site-group-2346013
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Arab World
Islamic State Hijacks Mosul University Chemistry Lab for Making Bombs
April 1, 2016
Islamic State has been using a well-stocked university chemistry lab in Mosul, Iraq, for the past year to concoct a new generation of explosive devices and train militants to make them, according to U.S. and Iraqi military officials and two people familiar with the university.
Gen. Hatem Magsosi, Iraq’s top explosives officer, said the facilities at the University of Mosul have enhanced Islamic State’s ability to launch attacks in Iraq and to export bomb-making know-how when its fighters leave the so-called caliphate and return to their home countries.
The weaponry churned out includes peroxide-based chemical bombs and suicide-bomb vests like the ones used in the Brussels attacks and by at least some of the Paris attackers, according to the general and others in the Iraqi military, as well as an official from the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State.
Other bombs made include nitrate-based explosives and chemical weapons, Gen. Magsosi said.
Full article here: wsj.com/articles/islamic-state-hijacks-mosul-university-chemistry-lab-for-making-bombs-1459503003
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Kurds set to ‘liberate’ Raqqa, keep Islamic State fighters who fled Palmyra to Turkey from arriving
AFP-JIJI
APR 1, 2016
PARIS – Kurdish forces in Syria are preparing with the international coalition to “liberate” the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, the leader of Syria’s Kurds said on Thursday.
“The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are preparing with the coalition to liberate Raqqa,” Saleh Muslim told reporters in Paris.
The SDF is dominated by Kurdish forces.
Muslim, the head of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), added, however, that the fighters would need the support of up to 50,000 “Arab residents of the Raqqa region” to take the northeastern town, which the jihadis have made their base.
Full article here: japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/04/01/world/kurds-set-liberate-raqqa-keep-islamic-state-fighters-fled-palmyra-turkey-arriving/#.Vv5pJJx97IU
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Syrian Army Discovers ISIL's Arms Depot in Palmyra
Fri Apr 01, 2016
TEHRAN (FNA)- The Syrian army discovered a weapons depot left behind by the ISIL terrorists in Palmyra (Tadmur) in Homs province before they fled the ancient city last week.
The discovered weapons deport contained a large number of rockets and mortar shells were uncovered by the Syrian Armed Forces inside this weapons depot.
The discovery comes as the Russian and Syrian demining experts have started clearing the bombs and mines laid by the ISIL terrorists before fleeing Palmyra.
Full article here: en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950113000208
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Army, Popular Forces Close to Winning Key Regions in Homs, Hama Provinces
Fri Apr 01, 2016
TEHRAN (FNA)- The Syrian army and popular forces continued their advances in Homs and Hama provinces over the past 24 hours, and they are now very close to winning back two strategic regions there.
In Homs province, the army units destroyed the ISIL's military positions in the city of Quaryatayn, inflicting heavy losses on the Takfiri terrorists.
In Hama province, the Syrian army inched closer to the strategic town of Salamiyah.
The Syrian army and government troops also inflicted heavy losses on the Takfiri terrorists in other key provinces across Syria.
Homs
The Syrian army continued pounding the ISIL terrorists' military positions and gathering centers in different parts of the city of Quaryatayn in Homs province on Thursday.
The army units hit hard the ISIL terrorists in Southern, Southwestern and Northern parts of Quaryatayn region in Homs province.
The army's artillery units backed up by Russian and Syrian fighter jets hit the ISIL's fortifications and gathering centers in al-Sukhneh region.
Full report at: en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950113000073
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Russian Jets Conduct Some 500 Sorties from March 7-27, Hit 2,000 ISIL Targets
Fri Apr 01 2016
TEHRAN (FNA)- Russian warplanes conducted some 500 sorites hitting 2,000 ISIL targets on March 7-27, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation said Thursday.
"From March 7-27, Russian Aerospace Forces conducted some 500 sorties around Palmyra, hitting over 2,000 terrorist targets. As a result, strongholds and artillery positions on the strategic heights were destroyed," Sergei Rudskoy, the Chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the Russian General Staff said, Sputnik reported.
He added that Russian jets destroyed most of the terrorists' command centers in the first couple of days. According to him, every day Russian aviation destroyed columns of cars carrying terrorists and ammunition, which were trying to break through to Palmyra from Raqqa and Deir Ezzur.
Full report at: en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950112000400
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Arab world: A long, grinding advance against ISIS
04/01/2016
Iraq’s ill-fated Mosul offensive is symbolic of the country’s problems.
A week after a long-anticipated offensive by the Iraqi Army to recapture the city of Mosul was launched on March 24, it is bogged down, having captured little ground from Islamic State. With recriminations among the different groups taking part in the offensive and rumors of weakening morale, it is a story all too familiar for those following the army’s progress in the last two years and is symbolic of Iraq’s fractured state.
Mosul is the third-largest city in Iraq and up until 2014 had a population of two million people. Before Islamic State conquered it in June 2014, up to 15 percent of its population was made up of non-Muslim minorities, such as Assyrian Christians, Yazidis, Shabaks and other indigenous faiths of northern Iraq. It was also known as a center of Sunni Islamist groups, which gained support from the Arab population that resented the Shi’a-led rule of Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad.
Full report at: jpost.com/Middle-East/Arab-world-A-long-grinding-advance-449896
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Second group of Russian sappers arrives in Syria to demine Palmyra — Defense Ministry
Military & Defense April 01, 2016
MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. The second group of Russian sappers with Uran-6 robotic systems and armoured vehicles has arrived at the Hmeimim air base in Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry’s press service said on Friday.
"The second group of specialists of the Russian Armed Forces’ international anti-mine center, Uran-6 robotic demining systems and armored vehicles equipped with suppressors of radio-controlled fuses and radio-controlled explosive devices have arrived at the Hmeimim aerodrome in the Syrian Arab Republic. The convoy of military engineers will soon march to the target area of demining infrastructure facilities and historical part of the city of Palmyra," the ministry said.
Full report at: tass.ru/en/defense/866531
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Europe
UN Says Saudis Murdering Children in Yemen: What Next?
Fri Apr 01 2016
TEHRAN (FNA)- It is said children see magic because they look for it. Not in Yemen, where they only see destruction, suffering, and death.
The UNICEF has just released a heartbreaking report marking the one-year anniversary of the Saudi-led war against Yemen.
The report estimates some 320,000 children are facing severe, life-threatening malnutrition, and that some 82% of the Yemeni population is reliant on humanitarian aid at this point.
The UN children's agency says the Saudi-led naval blockade, which the US has participated in, is not just meant to prevent weapons shipments to the country. The Saudis have ensured that international aid shipments never reach the affected areas, hence taking a horrifying toll on the country's youth – its most valuable resource.
Full report at: en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950112000616
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Privately-Run Madrasa in Yorkshire Accused of 'Dividing' Communities by Teaching Children Extreme Form of Islam
The Islamic Tarbiyah Academy in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, under investigation
1 April 2016
A Muslim religious school has been accused of teaching children that British customs are ‘poisonous’ and that Jews are trying to take over the world.
The Islamic Tarbiyah Academy in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, was accused of promoting an extreme form of Islam that ‘divides’ communities.
The privately-run madrasa, which teaches 140 primary age children in after-school classes and runs full-time programmes for over-16s, is now being investigated by the Government. Mufti Zubair Dudha, the centre’s founder and head, is a respected cleric from the orthodox Deobandi sect.
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ISIS Commands Muslims To Attack Angela Merkel, Bomb German Airport
03/31/2016
German Chancellor and Chairwoman of the German Christian Democrats (CDU) Angela Merkel speaks at an election campaign rally for CDU lead candidate for Rhineland-Palatinate Julia Kloeckner on February 22, 2016 in Landau in der Pfalz, Germany. State elections scheduled for March 13 in three German states: Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt and Baden-Wuerttemberg, will be a crucial test-case for German Chancellor and Chairwoman of the German Christian Democrats (CDU) Angela Merkel, who has come under increasing pressure over her liberal immigration policy towards migrants and refugees. The right-wing Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD), with campaign rhetoric aimed at Germans who are uneasy with so many newcomers, has solid polling numbers and will almost certainly win seats in all three state parliaments. Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images.
Full report at: dailycaller.com/2016/03/31/isis-commands-muslims-to-attack-angela-merkel-bomb-german-airport/
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UK far-right steps up propaganda targeting Muslims
03/31/2016
Campaigners say right-wing extremists are using social media to exploit refugee crisis and Brexit
World Bulletin / News Desk
As the migrant influx into Europe remains the biggest crisis facing the European Union, far-right parties and organizations across the continent are taking advantage to increase their profile.
Far-right and fascist organizations in Britain are no exception, stepping up Islamophobic and anti-EU activities in the wake of terror attacks in Paris and Brussels and attempting to take advantage of a possible British withdrawal from Europe in a June referendum.
Full report at: worldbulletin.net/todays-news/171115/uk-far-right-steps-up-propaganda-targeting-muslims
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Mosque leaders and police call for communities to unite after shopkeeper death
March 31, 2016
Religious leaders have joined police in calling for communities to unite in the wake of the death of Glasgow shopkeeper Asad Shah.
The 40-year-old was found injured outside his convenience store in the Shawlands area of the city last Thursday.
Tanveer Ahmed, 32, from Bradford in West Yorkshire, has been charged with murder.
Following the attack police described the incident as ''religiously prejudiced'' and said both men were Muslims.
In the wake of Mr Shah's death and recent terrorist attacks in Brussels and Lahore, Glasgow Central Mosque - Scotland's biggest - held an event to encourage unity.
Speakers representing differing strands of Muslim faith, including the Ahmadiyya sect which Mr Shah belonged to, stood together for a minute's silence for the shopkeeper and the terror victims before making a call for communities to unite.
Full report at: asianimage.co.uk/news/14394955.Mosque_leaders_and_police_call_for_communities_to_unite_after_shopkeeper_death/?ref=ebln
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Islamic State group leader Baghdadi’s former wife seeks stay in Europe
STOCKHOLM,
March 31 ,2016
An exwife of Islamic State group (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, with whom he had a daughter, wants to live in Europe “in freedom”, she told Swedish daily Expressen in an interview published Thursday. “I want to live in a European country, not an Arab country,” Saja al-Dulaimi said in the interview filmed in Lebanon.
Dulaimi was freed several months ago from a Lebanese prison, where she had been held since 2014 with her children on suspicion of links to extremist organisations. “I’m branded a terrorist but I’m far from all that,” lamented Dulaimi. “I want to live in freedom,” the 28-yearold said, while praising Islamic Sharia law which she said provided “freedom and rights for women”.
Full report at: arabtimesonline.com/news/islamic-state-group-leader-baghdadis-former-wife-seeks-stay-europe/
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German prosecutors indict suspected Islamic State member
March 31 ,2016
BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors say they have indicted a 25-year-old Islamic extremist on charges of being a member of two terrorist organizations fighting in Syria.
Federal prosecutors say German citizen Shahid Ilgar Oclu S., whose last name wasn't provided due to privacy rules, traveled to Syria in the fall of 2013 and joined the group Junud al-Sham.
In a statement Thursday, prosecutors said he "underwent weapons training and learned to use a firearm" but left the group after a few weeks "disappointed about the lack of combat missions." They say the suspect then joined the Islamic State group. He returned to Germany via Turkey on Dec. 23, 2013.
pantagraph.com/news/world/europe/german-prosecutors-indict-suspected-islamic-state-member/article_edd254b4-7219-52f4-b98e-d8d5698e70fc.html
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Belgian police are flummoxed by IS
Apr 1, 2016
THE response of the Belgian police to the terrorist attacks that claimed 32 lives in Brussels on March 22nd has displayed elements of farce. Two days after the bombings, officers arrested Fayçal Cheffou, a freelance journalist and Islamist agitator, as he loitered with several other men outside the federal prosecutor’s office. He was identified as the “man in the hat” seen on security footage at Brussels’ airport next to the two suicide-bombers. Four days later Mr Cheffou was released due to lack of evidence. Mobile-phone tracking placed him at home during the bombings, and his DNA was not found in the apartment where the bombs were made.
Full report at: economist.com/news/europe/21695744-efforts-belgian-town-stop-young-muslims-turning-violence-appear-be-working-how
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India
Love India, but only one God in Islam: Deoband's fatwa against Bharat Mata Ki Jai
Amir Haque
01 Apr 2016
Uttar Pradesh-based Darul Uloom seminary in Deoband has issued a fatwa against the chanting of the controversial nationalist slogan, Bharat Mata Ki Jai, saying there is only one God in Islam.
"We love our country, but it is not our god. In Islam, we believe in only one God and hence it is against the faith of a Muslim to chant the slogan," the fatwa issued by the Deoband seminary said.
Full report at: indiatoday.intoday.in/story/love-india-but-only-one-god-in-islam-deobands-fatwa-against-bharat-mata-ki-jai/1/632467.html
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China again objects to India's bid at UN to ban Pathankot terror attack mastermind Masood Azhar
In a dramatic move, China has once again objected to block India's bid at the UN to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) Chief Masood Azhar, the mastermind of the Pathankot terror attack while all other members including USA, UK, France have backed the action against Azhar.
April 1, 2016
JeM Chief Masood Azhar
Out of 15 council member countries, China has emerged as the only country to block India's bid at the UN to ban Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) Chief Masood Azhar, the mastermind of the Pathankot terror attack.
In a dramatic move, China has once again objected to the case while all other members including USA, UK, France have backed the action against Masood Azhar.
Just hours before the deadline on Thursday, China requested the UN Committee, which is considering a ban on the chief of the Pakistan-based terror outfit JeM, to keep on hold the designation.
Full report at: indiatoday.intoday.in/story/china-again-objects-to-indias-bid-at-un-for-ban-of-pathankot-terror-attack-mastermind-chief-masood-azhar/1/632413.html
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Top Indian scholar launches books in English, Hindi and Urdu
ARAB NEWS
Friday 1 April 2016
RIYADH: Thirty-eight books of a top Indian scholar, Mohammed Najeeb Qasmi, were launched in English, Hindi and Urdu at a ceremony here recently.
Qasmi told the audience, which included several fellow Muslim scholars and intellectuals, that the books are available in the form of two apps, Deen-e-Islam and Haj-e-Mabroor, at the PlayStore and AppStore.
Full report at: arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/903796
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Mideast
Islamic State Urges Attacks On German Chancellery, Bonn Airport: SITE Group
REUTERS ON 03/31/16
Islamic State posted pictures on the internet calling on German Muslims to carry out Brussels-style attacks in Germany, singling out Chancellor Angela Merkel's offices and the Cologne-Bonn airport as targets, the SITE intelligence group reported.
Western Europe is on high security alert after last week's Islamic State suicide bombings in the Belgian capital that killed 32 people at its airport and in a metro station. On Wednesday, France said it was investigating a man on suspicion of planning an imminent act of "extreme violence".
The Islamic State images and graphics, widely published by German media on Thursday, included slogans in German inciting Muslims to commit violence against the "enemy of Allah."
Germany's BKA federal police, who monitor suspected militants with German passports returning from stints fighting in Syria and Iraq, said it knew of the images but that their publication did not necessitate extra security measures.
Full report at: ibtimes.com/islamic-state-urges-attacks-german-chancellery-bonn-airport-site-group-2346013
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Turkish journalists in clashes with bodyguards during Erdoğan’s US visit
31 March.
Turkish journalists have accused Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s security detail of kicking, shoving and verbally abusing them on Thursday in an attempt to bar them from a Washington DC thinktank where the president was giving a speech.
A source close to the event at the Brookings Institution told the Guardian that it was close to canceling the president’s appearance until the Turkish embassy intervened and persuaded the bodyguards to back down.
The fracas in the heart of the US capital made for a rocky start for Erdoğan, who stands accused of cracking down on freedom of the press in Turkey, as he attends a nuclear security summit hosted by Barack Obama.
Full report at: theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/31/turkish-president-erdogan-washington-dc-brookings?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+main+NEW+H&utm_term=164694&subid=18185057&CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2_footer
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Seven police officers killed in Diyarbakır car bomb attack, 27 injured
DİYARBAKIR
April/01/2016
Seven police officers were killed and 27 people injured, including 13 police officers, in a car bomb attack near a police shuttle in the Bağlar district of southeastern province of Diyarbakır on March 31.
The attack took place near the city’s bus terminal.
The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was behind the attack, which targeted the police shuttle, according to initial reports.
A number of ambulances were deployed to the scene and the wounded officers were transferred to Diyarbakır Military Hospital. An investigation was also launched against the attack.
The attack came on the third day ministers were in Diyarbakır to make assessments and attend meetings to reveal the government’s plans to rebuild the clash-hit Sur district.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu is scheduled to visit the city later on April 1, where he will attend the funeral ceremonies of the victims.
Full report at: hurriyetdailynews.com/seven-police-officers-killed-in-diyarbakir-car-bomb-attack-27-injured.aspx?pageID=238&nID=97156&NewsCatID=341
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Obama reaffirms commitment to Turkey’s security as Erdoğan visits
WASHINGTON/ANKARA – Reuters
Fri Apr 01 2016
U.S. President Barack Obama on March 31 reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to Turkey’s security during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, while also discussing both countries’ efforts to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the White House said.
Full report at: hurriyetdailynews.com/obama-reaffirms-commitment-to-turkeys-security-as-erdogan-visits.aspx?pageID=238&nID=97175&NewsCatID=352
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First batch of refugees to be sent back to Turkey from Greece under EU deal
Banu Şen – İZMİR
April/01/2016
The first batch of migrants is set to be sent back to Turkey from Greece on April 4, under the terms of an EU-Turkey readmission deal reached this month.
However, the deal may experience delays due to unsolved organization issues regarding the readmission processes of the refugees.
“There is a major engagement on the part of Greece and Turkey towards sending 500 people back on April 4, barring a last-minute problem,” a European Commission sources source told AFP on March 31, though Athens and Brussels later declined to confirm how many would be sent back.
Those returning will be “Syrians who have not requested asylum, Afghans and Pakistanis,” the official added, confirming that this is the first return set to take place under the EU-Turkey deal.
Full report at: hurriyetdailynews.com/first-batch-of-refugees-to-be-sent-back-to-turkey-from-greece-under-eu-deal-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=97171&NewsCatID=351
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CHP gives cold shoulder to AKP’s immunity proposal
Bülent Sarıoğlu - ANKARA
April/01/2016
Turkey’s main opposition party has given a cold shoulder to a proposal by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on a provisional change in the constitution which would allow parliament to lift the immunities of Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) lawmakers and others for one time only.
“We believe that it should cover all crimes that have been committed until the date when the law goes into force. We have fundamental points of disagreement,” Özgür Özel, the deputy parliamentary group chair of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), told reporters on March 31 after a delegation from the AKP handed over a revision of their proposal which was supposed to be in line with the CHP’s priorities.
Full report at: hurriyetdailynews.com/chp-gives-cold-shoulder-to-akps-immunity-proposal-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=97167&NewsCatID=338
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Anti-terror fight tops Erdoğan’s US agenda
Tolga Tanış – WASHINGTON
April/01/2016
The fight against terror will top Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s agenda during a continuing visit to Washington, where he held talks with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry before an anticipated informal meeting with President Barack Obama on April 1.
Erdoğan, who is in Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit on March 31 and April 1, is holding talks on the fight against terrorism, whether it be the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria and Iraq, or against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Full report at: hurriyetdailynews.com/anti-terror-fight-tops-erdogans-us-agenda.aspx?pageID=238&nID=97134&NewsCatID=338
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Thousands return to ruined İdil after 43-day curfew
ŞIRNAK/DİYARBAKIR
April/01/2016
Residents of the southeastern district of İdil who were forced to flee their homes during a 43-day curfew imposed to conduct operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), have started returning to their homes as security forces eased safety measures and allowed entries to the district.
The curfew, which went into effect on Feb. 16, was partially lifted as of 4:30 a.m. on March 31, paving the way for the return of thousands of İdil residents. The curfew will however continue to remain in effect between 9:30 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. daily, while houses will not be provided with water due to damages to the district’s water supply network during anti-terror operations.
The arrival of locals from early March 31 created long lines along İdil’s entrance, where security authorities admitted citizens following identity and body checks.
Hundreds of houses and offices in the district’s Turgut Özal and Yeni neighborhoods were severely damaged while offices lined up along Alanya and Adile Naşit streets were completely burned down, according to initial reports from the town.
İdil’s municipal building was also found in ruins, in addition to the district office of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), while reports suggested electricity was currently unavailable across the district.
Full report at: hurriyetdailynews.com/thousands-return-to-ruined-idil-after-43-day-curfew.aspx?pageID=238&nID=97157&NewsCatID=341
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South Asia
Taliban Killing Afghan Security Officials on ISI Orders: Former Afghan Defence Minister
KHAAMA PRESS - Fri Apr 01 2016
The former Afghan defence minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi slammed the Taliban group for assassinating the Afghan security officials on the orders of Pakistan’s military intelligence, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).
He was speaking during a gathering to commemorate the first death anniversary of Hekmatullah Haqmal who was assassinated in Helmand province a year ago.
Mohammadi hailed the Afghan security forces for their devotion and sacrifices in fight against terrorism and said the Afghan people will always stand firm with them to combat the terror groups.
He called on the Taliban group to end violence against the Afghan people and join peace process.
Haqmal was among the prominent security officials in south and was serving as the district police chief of Greshk in Helmand when he was assassinated in a bomb explosion on 1st April.
This is not the first time Pakistan’s ISI has been accused of supporting the anti-government armed militant groups, specifically the Taliban and Haqqani network who are fighting the Afghan government.
Full report at: khaama.com/taliban-killing-afghan-security-officials-on-isi-orders-bismillah-mohammadi-0508
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Over 200 Taliban insurgents killed or wounded in ongoing Shindand operations
KHAAMA PRESS - Thu Mar 31 2016
Over 200 Taliban insurgents have been killed or wounded in the ongoing military operations in western Herat province of Afghanistan, local officials said Thursday.
The operations are being conducted in Shindand district with the officials saying over 70 per cent of the district has been cleared of militants so far.
Provincial governor Mohammad Asif Rahimi said the operations will cotinue until the district of Shindand has been fully cleared of militants.
Full report at: khaama.com/over-200-taliban-insurgents-killed-or-wounded-in-ongoing-shindand-operations-0501
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7 Afghan soldiers martyred in fight against terror groups: MoD
KHAAMA PRESS - Fri Apr 01 2016
Operation Slipper - ANA Artillery live fire exerciseThe Ministry of Defense (MoD) said Friday at least seven Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers lost their lives in the latest counter-terrorism operations across the country.
According to an operational update by MoD, the soldiers lost their lives as they were conducting clearance operations in in south of the country in the past 24 hours.
“The Afghan National Army (ANA) forces are prepared for all kinds of devotion and with all force to maintain security and comfort for the people of Afghanistan,” a statement by MoD said, adding that 7 Afghan soldiers were martyred during counter-terrorism operations against the internal and foreign terrorists.
Full report at: khaama.com/7-afghan-soldiers-martyred-in-fight-against-terror-groups-mod-0509
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Afghan forces kill 5 militants during a raid in Kandahar province
KHAAMA PRESS - Fri Apr 01 2016
At least five militants were killed during a raid by the Afghan security forces in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said at least 10 militants were also wounded during the raid conducted in Ghorak district.
The anti-government armed militant groups including the Taliban insurgents have not commented regarding the report so far.
Full report at: khaama.com/afghan-forces-kill-5-militants-during-a-raid-in-kandahar-province-0507
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2 militants blown up by own explosives in Herat province
KHAAMA PRESS - Fri Apr 01 2016
Two militants were blown up by own explosives in western Herat province of Afghanistan as they were busy making an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said four civilians including a child were injured in the incident.
No further details were given regarding the exact location where the incident took place although it seems the militants were busy making the IED inside a residential house.
Full report at: khaama.com/2-militants-blown-up-by-own-explosives-in-herat-province-0506
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Pakistan to suffer from growing instability in Afghanistan: Rabbani
KHAAMA PRESS - Thu Mar 31 2016
Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani has said Pakistan will suffer equally from deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.
He was speaking during a gathering organized in the Embassy of Pakistan to mark the Pakistan Day.
Rabbani further added that the instability of the two neighboring countries are inter-related, emphasizing that Pakistan will suffer if the security situation worsens in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani ambassador to Afghanistan, Syed Abrar Hussain, said peace and stability in Afghanistan is in the interest of Pakistan.
The Pakistani envoy further added that joint efforts should be put in place in a bid to combat the growing menace of terrorism in the region.
Full report at: khaama.com/pakistan-to-suffer-from-growing-instability-in-afghanistan-rabbani-0502
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Ghani Confers High State Medal on MMA Star Baz Mohammad Mubariz
KHAAMA PRESS - Thu Mar 31 2016
President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has conferred high state medal on Mixed Martial Art (MMA) fighter Baz Mohammad Mubariz for his efforts and recent victory.
The Office of the President in a statement said Mubariz has also received cash reward along with Mir Masjidi Khan high state medal for his last victory against his Russia rival.
President Ghani hailed Mubariz and his team for their tireless efforts for hoisting the Afghan flag in a major international sports event.
He said the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sport has gained fame among the people following the major sports such as cricket and football, insisting that more work should be done in MMA field in the country to develop the sport.
Full report at: khaama.com/ghani-confers-high-state-medal-on-mma-star-baz-mohammad-mubariz-0499
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Southeast Asia
Radicalisation threat has grown larger with Islamic State, PM Lee says
01 Apr 2016
WASHINGTON, DC: The security threat to the region has grown larger with the Islamic State than it was with Al-Qaeda, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Monday (Mar 28).
“With Al-Qaeda we did not have hundreds from Southeast Asia going to join them in Afghanistan after 9/11,” he said. “A few people went and we had at least one from Singapore.”
Full report at: channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/radicalisation-threat-has/2656342.html
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Egypt blocked Facebook Internet service over surveillance: sources
01 Apr 2016
SAN FRANCISCO: Egypt blocked Facebook Inc's Free Basics Internet service at the end of last year after the U.S. company refused to give the Egyptian government the ability to spy on users, two people familiar with the matter said.
Free Basics, launched in Egypt in October, is aimed at low-income customers, allowing anyone with a cheap computer or smartphone to create a Facebook account and access a limited set of Internet services at no charge.
The Egyptian government suspended the service on Dec. 30 and said at the time that the mobile carrier Etisalat had only been granted a temporary permit to offer the service for two months.
Full report at: channelnewsasia.com/news/world/exclusive-egypt-blocked/2656142.html
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Pakistan
In 2015, anti-state violence in Pakistan fell below 2008 levels: HRCP report
April 1st, 2016
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in its 'State of Human Rights in 2015 report' found that anti-state violence in Pakistan over the past year fell below 2008 levels, while there was a 40 per cent decrease in violence-related deaths in 2015.
The report examines Pakistan's performance in various areas, including violence, human rights, rights of women and children, education, health and housing, among others.
Law and order
There were 706 militant attacks in 2015, a number that is below 2008 levels of anti-state violence. At least 1,325 people were killed in these attacks, including 619 civilians, 348 security forces personnel, 33 pro-government razakars and 325 militants.
There were 18 suicide attacks during the year, a decrease of 31pc compared to 2014.
The report says 4,612 people in 2015 died as a result of violence, compared to 7,622 people in 2014.
Full report at: dawn.com/news/1249317/in-2015-anti-state-violence-in-pakistan-fell-below-2008-levels-hrcp-report
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Musharraf aide hints general’s exit had PML-N’s ‘blessing’
April 1st, 2016
ISLAMABAD: If Ahmed Raza Kasuri – close aide and legal counsel to former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf – is to be believed, the general left the country thanks to a “mutual understanding” with the PML-N government.
During the proceeding of the treason trial on Thursday, Mr Kasuri told the special court that the interior ministry was the complainant in the case against Gen Musharraf, but he had only left the country after the ministry removed his name from the Exit Control List (ECL).
Turning towards the three-judge bench, Mr Kasuri said, “I can only say ‘Jab mian biwi raazi tou kya karay qazi’”, meaning the court has no jurisdiction if both sides had reached an agreement.
Full report at: dawn.com/news/1249212/musharraf-aide-hints-generals-exit-had-pml-ns-blessing
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Pakistan’s nukes no cause of concern: official
ANWAR IQBAL
Fri Apr 01 2016
WASHINGTON: Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhary said on Thursday that Pakistan had never had a nuclear accident or breach of security and, therefore, there was no cause of concern about its nuclear programme.
At a news briefing at the Pakistan Embassy, the foreign secretary said the impression that Pakistan’s nuclear installations were insecure was baseless.
“Pakistan’s nuclear installations are not only secure but the world also acknowledges that they are,” he said. “Pakistan has worked very hard to ensure their security.”
Mr Chaudhary said that the International Atomic Energy Agency has recorded 2,734 nuclear incidents worldwide, including five in India, but “not a single accident or breach happened in Pakistan, although our programme is 40-year old”.
Full report at: dawn.com/news/1249231/pakistans-nukes-no-cause-of-concern-official
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Junaid Jamshed’s attackers identified
MOHAMMAD ASGHAR
Fri Apr 01 2016
RAWALPINDI: Those who had attacked singer-turned-evangelist Junaid Jamshed at Benazir Bhutto International Airport on Saturday have been identified. The police have sought the verification of their data from the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) in order to arrest them.
The three men pointed out by Mr Jamshed have been identified as Shah Faisal, Irfan and Akhtar and the police have determined their home addresses, Sub-Inspector Raja Arshad, who is leading the investigations, told Dawn.
“We have the home addresses of the suspects and a police team will be sent to bring them to Rawalpindi to face charges,” the investigating officer said.
Full report at: dawn.com/news/1249186/junaid-jamsheds-attackers-identified
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Obama denies Pak PM’s absence from summit has upset him
THE NEWSPAPER'S CORRESPONDENT
Fri Apr 01 2016
WASHINGTON: As the fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit began in the US capital on Thursday, President Barack Obama trashed rumours that the Pakistani prime minister’s decision to skip the conference had upset him.
“President Obama expressed his understanding of Prime Minister (Nawaz) Sharif’s decision to cancel his visit to the United States and remain in Pakistan following this terrorist attack,” said the White House while disclosing details of a telephone call the president made to the Pakistani leader on Wednesday.
The phone call, made two days after Mr Sharif announced his decision to cancel his visit, fuelled rumours that Mr Obama wanted the prime minister to reconsider his decision.
The White House’s statement, however, not only rejected the suggestion but also underlined the purpose of the call.
Full report at: dawn.com/news/1249222/obama-denies-pms-absence-from-summit-has-upset-him
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PM’s silence over Indian agent’s arrest is deliberate: Sana
THE NEWSPAPER'S STAFF REPORTER
Fri Apr 01 2016
LAHORE: Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan claims that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is silent on the arrest of an Indian agency’s agent from Balochistan under a strategy.
He also declined to confirm arrest of two Indian engineers on sabotage charges from a factory owned by the Sharifs in a Punjab town.
“The government is working on a strategy to raise the issue of involvement of RAW in Pakistan,” Sana said when asked why the prime minister was not saying anything on the issue.
He was speaking to reporters outside the Punjab Assembly building here on Wednesday.
Asked about picking up of two Indian engineers by an agency from Ramzan Sugar Mills owned by the Sharifs for their alleged links with subversive activities here, he said absurd and wrong information was being disseminated as no agent or terrorist could have any link with a respectable and law-abiding citizen. When insisted to confirm or deny the report, he said no agency had so far given any report to the effect.
He explained that “sometimes a person is picked up but the report is not made public as other people (co-accused) are to be captured on the basis of the information divulged by him.”
Full report at: dawn.com/news/1248988/pms-silence-over-indian-agents-arrest-is-deliberate-sana
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Africa
How An African Student Went From Giving Free Medical Check-Ups In Senegal To Treating Islamic State Fighters
March 31, 2016
A 25-year-old former medical student, Sadio Gassama, shocked friends and family with his decision to join Islamic State fighters using his student grant to pay his way to Libya. Before now, Gassama was a sweet young man with nothing but love for humanity and a passion to help others, or so it seemed. His father described him as a humanist and a former professor of his called him a “brilliant student, incapable of hurting anyone,” according to Reuters.
Gassama, who left Senegal for Libya during the fifth year of his medical studies in December last year, said he decided to join the militants in Libya after it became clear to him, through meetings with scholars, that the jihad was his Muslim duty. The 25-year-old revealed that he had been radicalised for over a year and was planning an attack in Dakar before he left for Libya. “Senegal is lucky. I was planning to commit an attack there in the name of the Islamic State before one of their contacts helped me go to Libya.”
Full report at: venturesafrica.com/how-an-african-student-went-from-giving-free-medical-check-ups-in-senegal-to-treating-islamic-state-fighters/
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Study Highlights Growing Links between "Islamic State" And North Africa/Sahel Extremist Groups
March 31, 2016
WASHINGTON, DC- "The increasing links and flow of recruits between… regional extremists and the so-called 'Islamic State' in Syria and Iraq, as well as al-Qa'ida affiliates and allies across the region," are "of growing concern for African security interests," according to a new report from The Inter-University Centre on Terrorism Studies (IUCTS) and the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. Released Wednesday at an event at The National Press Club, the seventh annual report, "Terrorism in North Africa and the Sahel in 2015," reveals that while the number of terrorist attacks in the region fell year-to-year, "the overall strategic impact regionally and globally was far more dangerous [in 2015] than previously," due to these growing extremist ties, as well as deteriorating conditions in Libya.
Full report at: einnews.com/pr_news/319258440/study-highlights-growing-links-between-islamic-state-and-north-africa-sahel-extremist-groups
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Libyan unity government moves to assert power in Tripoli
01 April 2016 Friday
Libya's unity government received a boost to its authority Thursday, as 10 cities formerly under control of a rival militia-backed Tripoli body pledged support to the newly arrived prime minister-designate.
The arrival of UN-backed Fayez al-Sarraj at a naval base on Wednesday drew fury from the non-recognised authority in charge of Tripoli, which demanded he leave or surrender.
But 10 coastal cities in the west of the country called on all Libyans to "support the national unity government" in a major blow to the unrecognised authority that is refusing to give up power.
Full report at: worldbulletin.net/libyan-unity-government-moves-to-assert-power-in-tripoli/171119/libyan-unity-government-moves-to-assert-power-in-tripoli
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North America
Obama Nuclear Summit Focuses on N. Korea, Islamic State
April 01, 2016
U.S. President Barack Obama will speak Friday at the end of the second and final day of the nuclear security summit here attended by world leaders.
The U.S. leader said Thursday, from the summit's sidelines, that in the wake of attacks in Brussels and elsewhere, there is "not only great urgency around the nuclear issue, but eliminating generally the scourge of terrorism."
Obama's fourth and final nuclear summit has come at a time of heightened concern about the possibility that Islamic State militants could set off radioactive bombs, and also about North Korea's nuclear weapons development.
Some of the world leaders who attended a White House summit dinner Thursday were from countries that have been directly impacted by terrorist attacks.
At a State Department ministerial level dinner, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said nuclear security progress at times has been slow, and there remains an "enormous amount more to do."
Full report at: voanews.com/content/washington-nuclear-security-summit-preview/3261956.html
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Why there are Muslim ghettoes in Belgium, but not in the United States
APRIL 01, 2016
Long before Tuesday’s terror attacks in Brussels, it was clear that Belgium had become a breeding ground for Islamist extremists. Hundreds of Belgian Muslims — as many as 500, according to one estimate — have gone to Syria and Iraq to fight for ISIS, making Belgium by far Europe’s leading supplier of foreign jihadists. Last November’s horrific slaughter in Paris was masterminded by a Belgian radical, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, and at least four of the men who carried out those attacks were from the Brussels district of Molenbeek. One of them was Salah Abdeslam, who was captured in Molenbeek, after an intense manhunt, on March 19.
For Islamist imams and terrorist ringleaders, such neighborhoods — heavily Muslim, densely populated, with high unemployment and crime rates — have proved fertile territory for recruiting violent jihadists. “There is almost always a link with Molenbeek. That’s a gigantic problem, of course,” Belgium’s prime minister said after the Paris atrocities.
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Full report at: bostonglobe.com/2016/04/01/why-there-are-muslim-ghettoes-belgium-but-not-united-states-why-there-are-molenbeeks/c5JEdK17Q9SImle9NRj4DN/story.html
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