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Terrorism Tag

Posted by David Gerstman on March 12, 2015 3 Comments
In a lengthy report, investigative journalists Richard Behar and Gary Weiss exposed the various ways that the Associated Press (AP) discounted Israeli claims and promoted Hamas propaganda in its investigation last month into civilian casualties that occurred during last summer's Operation Protective Edge. Among the sins and omissions documented by Behar and Weiss are (1) misidentifying terrorists, (2) using children as props, (3) failing to acknowledge that pictures are posed, (4) cherry-picking quotes from Israeli officials, and (5) failing to disclose the anti-Israel bias of their sources. One incident recounted by Behar and Weiss involves the interactions between Reuven Ehrlich and an AP reporter; Ehrlich is the head of the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC). Following Operation Protective Edge, ITIC carefully reviewed martyr claims made by Gaza-based terrorist organizations in order to identify which of the dead were terrorists and which were civilians. ITIC also kept a count of those whose status was unknown.
A few days before the AP article was published, one of its reporters, Karin Laub, telephoned Mr. Erlich of the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, which has documented in several of its own probes that the Hamas-generated numbers for Gaza civilian casualties are grossly inflated. The organization found that Hamas is obfuscating the actual lists and affiliations, partly because of objective technical difficulties (poor paperwork and a lack of access to some bodies), and as part of its propaganda campaign against Israel. Thus, Meir Amit’s experts are closely examining the deaths, one by one, and its final tally won’t be available for many months—if not years. For now, the ratio of civilian-to-terrorist deaths has been averaging roughly 1:1 in its reports.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on March 07, 2015 4 Comments
The destruction of treasured world-heritage archeological sites by ISIS continues unchecked. This time, the terror group obliterated Hatra, a city in Northern Iraq that was made famous in the opening sequence of the blockbuster horror film, The Exorcist.
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants bulldozed early Saturday the ancient city of Hatra founded 3rd or 2nd BC by the Seleucide Empire, activists and Kurdish media reported. Spokesman for the 14th branch of the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) in Ninveh province Saeed Mumuzini told Rudaw news website that “ISIS militants used buldozzers to destroy Hatra city.” “ISIS stole the ancient gold and silver coins, which were used by the Assyrian kings and were stored in the city,” Mumuzini added.
A small sequence from that movie will remind everyone of the stunning ancient masterpiece of architecture Hatra was.

Posted by New Neo on March 05, 2015 10 Comments
In a previous post at Legal Insurrection, I suggested that the terrorist attacks in Paris and Copenhagen and the Salman Rushdie fatwa issued in 1989 by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran are analogous. In the case of the fatwa, a Muslim leader and cleric called on Muslims to kill a Western author deemed to be guilty of blasphemy towards Islam, more or less the same action the modern-day terrorists have taken on themselves against Western cartoonists who lampoon Mohammed. In light of Obama's repeated insistence that terrorists do not act as agents of Islam, doesn't he need to answer some questions about the Rushdie fatwa? The questions appear in an essay of mine in the Weekly Standard, and whether or not Obama ever addresses them (please do not sit on a hot stove until he does), they point out the absurdity of his denial of the connection between such killings and Islam. Here's an excerpt:
The fatwa Khomeini issued makes chilling reading even today. Here’s a translation: "I would like to inform all the intrepid Muslims in the world that the author of the book entitled ‘Satanic Verses’. . . as well as those publishers who were aware of its contents, are hereby sentenced to death. I call on all zealous Moslems to execute them quickly, wherever they find them, so that no one will dare to insult Islamic sanctity. Whoever is killed doing this will be regarded as a martyr and will go directly to heaven."

Posted by Leslie Eastman on February 27, 2015 32 Comments
Islamic terrorists have destroyed more priceless objects of beauty and incomparable historical value, this time in Mosul.
Islamic State thugs have destroyed a collection of priceless statues and sculptures in Iraq dating back thousands of years. Extremists used sledgehammers and power drills to smash ancient artwork as they rampaged through a museum in the northern city of Mosul. Video footage shows a group of bearded men in the Nineveh Museum using tools to wreck 3,000-year-old statues after pushing them over.
The pieces in the video date to the Assyrian and Akkadian empires. The destruction is being decried by the international community.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on February 24, 2015 10 Comments
After ISIS butchered Egyptian Coptics, members of the terror group threatened Rome and Pope Francis. Subsequently, ISIS unleashed a Twitter campaign: #We_Are_Coming_O_Rome. The Italians counter-attacked with a great deal of humor.
For the government in Italy, the prospect of IS-inspired attacks was cause for real concern. Indeed, the Italian foreign minister said last week that Rome would weigh participating in any military intervention to keep Islamic State forces from advancing in Libya. But while some in Italy fear the risk that terrorists, mingled among boatloads of migrants, could reach Italy from Libya, others have greeted the prospect with humor. They exploited the #We_Are_Coming_O_Rome Twitter hashtag to offer mock travel advice to IS operatives, including warnings about Rome’s terrible traffic congestion and restaurant recommendations.
They promised ISIS entertainment:

Posted by Amy Miller on February 24, 2015 9 Comments
Yesterday, I touched a little bit on how ISIS' acts of terror have had their intended effect on people in the Middle East. Those targeted---or even existing in the blast zone---are falling apart, and it's not all due to videos released of burnings and beheadings. ISIS has a long history of rampaging through villages, destroying homes and kidnapping civilians (including women and children.) This is a tactic we've seen Boko Haram use as well; it creates an atmosphere of instability and fear, puts all the control in the hands of the terror group, and makes it much easier to gain both new territory and new members. Today, ISIS fighters continued their rampage, kidnapping "crusaders" in northern Syria and Afghanistan*. From Fox News:
ISIS' online radio station, al-Bayan, said in a report Tuesday that ISIS fighters had detained myriad "crusaders" and seized 10 villages around Tal Tamr after clashes with Kurdish militiamen. ISIS frequently refers to Christians as "crusaders." Syria's official SANA news agency reported that ISIS overran seven villages during an attack on Monday. It was not immediately clear what ISIS planned to do with the Assyrians. The militants have a long history of killing captives, including foreign journalists, Syrian soldiers and Kurdish militiamen. Most recently, militants in Libya affiliated with ISIS released a video showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians. But ISIS also could use its Assyrian captives to try to arrange a prisoner swap with the Kurdish and Christian militias that it faced off against in northeastern Syria. There is a precedent: The extremists have released Kurdish schoolchildren as well as Turkish truck drivers and diplomats after holding them for months. Last year, ISIS abducted several Assyrians in retaliation for some of them fighting alongside the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG. But most were released after long negotiations, Reuters reports.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on February 24, 2015 19 Comments
Sickening videos recently surfaced from ISIS showing the next generation of Islamic radicals being trained. Elsewhere in regions impacted by the group's atrocities, videos nearly as chilling are being uploaded. From Egypt comes a clip of children at play. The game? "ISIS Executions"
Children from Egypt's El Mahalla El Kubra have been video-taped “slaughtering” other children ISIS-style while playing with wooden sticks. The video raises more questions than answers on the “merits” of sharing horrific videos detailing the terror group's crimes, particularly with children. The Al Qaeda off-shoot ISIS, which has come to control larges swathes of land in Iraq and Syria, has taken great pride in releasing highly-produced videos, showcasing how they behead their captives. Despite a cat and mouse chase to remove their graphic propaganda online, many continue to share the videos, unconcerned by the damage they could cause to viewers. This El Mahalla El Kubra video may have been made after the militant group “ISIS in Libya” beheaded 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian workers who had been abducted in Libya more than a month ago. On February 15, the terrorists posted a gruesome and bloody video on YouTube that showed the beheading of the hostages, creating an uproar in Egypt, including the bombing of ISIS sites in Libya. El Mahalla Al Kubra is an industrial and agricultural city in Egypt, located in the middle of the Nile Delta on the western bank of the Damietta branch, and is home to about half a million people.
(Click HERE for Tamer Abdo Amin's Facebook page with the full video).

Posted by Amy Miller on February 23, 2015 12 Comments
They're the "next generation" of Islamic radicals, and they're being trained en masse at the Al Farouk Institute for Cubs in Raqqa, Syria---if a new video released by ISIS is indeed what the group claims it to be. From Fox News:
The 9-minute video released Monday shows about 70 camouflage-clad kids, who are reportedly the children of foreign fighters who have flocked to Iraq and Syria to join the Islamist army. An instructor states in Arabic that most of the children are in the second phase of training and that they represent the "next generation" of ISIS. The video illustrates the charge in a UN Human Rights Council report last year that determined that Islamic State “has established training camps to recruit children into armed roles under the guise of education.” “At the camps, the children recruited received weapons training and religious education,” the report stated. “The existence of such camps seems to indicate that ISIS systematically provides weapons training for children. "Subsequently, they were deployed in active combat during military operations, including suicide-bombing missions," it stated.
According to the Clarion Project's Ryan Mauro, this video serves a bigger purpose than shock value. They're showing us these training camps because they want to convince the world that they're not just committed to wreaking present havoc; it's their version of proof that they're here to stay. "ISIS is emphasizing its child recruits because it obviously makes for good footage but also to emphasize this is a generational struggle," Mauro said. "You can kill off the current leaders and fighters, but their kids will fight on. It makes it harder to celebrate ISIS' losses if you know their manpower will be replenished with brainwashed children." The authenticity of the video has not been independently verified.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on February 23, 2015 17 Comments
Today, a decade long court battled ended when two Palestinian organizations were found liable for knowingly supporting terrorist attacks which resulted in the death of American citizens. Benjamin Weiser reports for the New York Times:
The Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization were found liable on Monday by a jury in Manhattan for their role in knowingly supporting six terrorist attacks in Israel between 2002 and 2004 in which Americans were killed and injured. The jury in Federal District Court in Manhattan awarded $218.5 million in damages, a number that is automatically tripled to $655.5 million under the special terrorism law under which the case was brought. The verdict ended a decade-long legal battle to hold the Palestinian organizations responsible for the terrorist acts. And while the decision was a huge victory for the dozens of plaintiffs, it also could serve to strengthen the Israeli claim that the supposedly more moderate Palestinian forces are directly tied to terrorism. The financial implications of the verdict for the defendants were not immediately clear. The Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas, had serious financial troubles even before Israel, as punishment for the Palestinians’ move in December to join the International Criminal Court, began withholding more than $100 million a month in tax revenue it collects on the Palestinians’ behalf. The verdict came in the seventh week of a civil trial in which the jury had heard emotional testimony from survivors of suicide bombings and other attacks in Jerusalem, in which a total of 33 people were killed and more than 450 were injured.

Posted by Mike LaChance on February 23, 2015 39 Comments
Now that the White House has concluded its summit on violent extremism, the State Department is soliciting the public for ideas on how to combat extremism. Via The Right Scoop: This is what national security looks like when a community organizer is in charge.

Posted by Amy Miller on February 22, 2015 14 Comments
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson is calling for "awareness" in the wake of threats made against the Minneapolis-based Mall of America. Late yesterday, Somalia-based terror group al-Shabaab released a video calling for terror attacks on malls in the US, Canada, and the UK. Although there is no specific threat, officials are still urging caution, and high-profile shopping centers are upping their security presence.
Another U.S. law enforcement official familiar with the situation also told CNN that there is no actual working threat against any mall in the country and added that no one should avoid going to the mall because of the online threat. ... In its new video, Al-Shabaab calls for similar attacks on malls in the three Western countries. Al-Shabaab identified specific malls, but CNN will not list them unless they respond publicly. [FBI spokesman Rich] Quinn told CNN that "there is no doubt Al-Shabaab would like to carry out an attack on a U.S. mall, but they are in a pretty weakened state." The "bigger danger is their ability to inspire homegrown violent extremists inside the U.S. who might see this propaganda and decide to act," Quinn said. "Do we believe Al-Shabaab is sending operatives to the U.S.? No," he said.

Posted by Amy Miller on February 20, 2015 11 Comments
Shamima Begum, 15, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and their 15 year-old friend (unnamed at the request of her family) didn't just run away from their London homes this past Tuesday. British authorities believe they boarded a Turkish Airlines flight into Istanbul with the intent of using Turkey as a jumping-off point into Syria. It defies logic. The Telegraph reports:
[Scotland Yard Commander] Mr Walton said: “We are extremely concerned for the safety of these young girls and would urge anyone with information to come forward and speak to police. "Our priority is the safe return of these girls to their families. "We are reaching out to the girls using the Turkish media and social media in the hope that Shamima, Kadiza and their friend hear our messages, hear our concerns for their safety and have the courage to return now, back to their families who are so worried about them." He added: "We are concerned about the numbers of girls and young women who have or are intending to travel to the part of Syria that is controlled by the terrorist group calling themselves Islamic State. "It is an extremely dangerous place and we have seen reports of what life is like for them and how restricted their lives become. It is not uncommon for girls or women to be prevented from being allowed out of their houses or if allowed out, only when accompanied by a guardian. "The choice of returning home from Syria is often taken away from those under the control of Islamic State, leaving their families in the UK devastated and with very few options to secure their safe return. "If we are able to locate these girls whilst they are still in Turkey, we have a good possibility of being able to bring them home to their families."

Posted by Leslie Eastman on February 20, 2015 27 Comments
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has escalated his battle with ISIS in Libya by sending in Egypt's special forces, which are considered some of the best in the world.
Egyptian special forces have allegedly launched a ground attack in Libya's Islamic State-held Derna capturing dozens of Islamist militants, according to Egyptian and Libyan reports. Ansa news agency cited unnamed local sources as saying that an Egyptian commando stormed the eastern Libyan town, a stronghold of the Islamic State (Isis) there, "capturing 55 Daesh [IS] militants". The Libyan National Army wrote on its Facebook page that Egyptian forces in coordination with the local army stormed IS camp in Derna, "killing a large number of IS militants and capturing several terrorists including Egyptians, foreigners and Arabs". An Egyptian newspaper, ElWatan News, reported that several jihadists were killed in the operation.
I suspect that the only jobs program Sisi is interested in providing ISIS involves the funeral industry. You might think that such a robust response to the terror group that has threatened President Obama would be winning all sorts of support from the White House. Sadly...not so much.

Posted by Amy Miller on February 19, 2015 17 Comments
Over the past few weeks, we've covered the devolution of the strategically important state of Yemen. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels evolved from regional threat to occupying force, taking control of the capital city of Sana'a as well as oil-rich lands well outside their original territory in the northern part of Yemen. Soon after the Houthi made moves to control key areas of Sana'a and usurp the U.S.-backed government, State Department officials began to make plans to evacuate embassy and other official staff. The eventual evacuation drew the attention of the world as eventually-debunked reports of Marines being disarmed surfaced, and now, new information has come available that suggests that the State Department's best laid plans for a safe evacuation weren't just foiled---they were non-existent. Unclassified e-mails reviewed by Fox News suggest that officials bypassed security measures intended to protect sensitive data in their scramble to formulate an evacuation plan. These measures were skipped with the permission of higher ups in Washington, and as a result, e-mails and day-to-day operations were left exposed for three days. From Fox News:
But one email reviewed by Fox News showed genuine concern -- even panic -- in Washington, that an unclassified system exposing emails and day-to-day operations was left up and running at the embassy in Sanaa. "We need to quickly think about the plan for destroying/sanitizing the OpenNet data that is still in Sanaa," the email from a supervisor said. "I am a little worried it is still out there."

Posted by Amy Miller on February 18, 2015 39 Comments
We've had several posts up dealing with the Obama Administration's stunning inability to talk about ISIS without digging itself into a rhetorical trench---and a new op-ed by Obama just made things a whole lot worse. Right now, the Administration has a budding---nay, flowering---PR problem with their Middle East policy, so it makes sense that the man himself would take to the media to attempt to explain what they're thinking with this strategy. What doesn't make sense is that the finished product would clash so fundamentally with what the American people actually need to hear. From his op-ed:
More broadly, groups like al Qaeda and ISIL exploit the anger that festers when people feel that injustice and corruption leave them with no chance of improving their lives. The world has to offer today's youth something better. Governments that deny human rights play into the hands of extremists who claim that violence is the only way to achieve change. Efforts to counter violent extremism will only succeed if citizens can address legitimate grievances through the democratic process and express themselves through strong civil societies. Those efforts must be matched by economic, educational and entrepreneurial development so people have hope for a life of dignity. Finally — with al Qaeda and ISIL peddling the lie that the United States is at war with Islam — all of us have a role to play by upholding the pluralistic values that define us as Americans. This week, we'll be joined by people of many faiths, including Muslim Americans who make extraordinary contributions to our country every day. It's a reminder that America is successful because we welcome people of all faiths and backgrounds.
There's a reason why we shouldn't elect a foreign policy novice to the position of Commander in Chief, and this is it.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on February 18, 2015 17 Comments
In the wake of Egypt striking ISIS targets in Libya, Pope Francis issued a somber statement regarding the death of 21 fellow Christians. The Anchoress, Elizabeth Scalia, summarizes the Pope's remarks:
“They were murdered just for the fact they were Christians,” Pope Francis said. “The blood of our Christian brothers is a witness that cries out,” said the Pope. “If they are Catholic, Orthodox, Copts, Lutherans, it is not important: They are Christians. The blood is the same: It is the blood which confesses Christ.” Pope Francis said that in remembering “these brothers who have been killed simply for confessing Christ,” Christians should encourage one another in the ecumenical goal, noting the “ecumenism of blood.”
Scalia then lists the name of the 21 slaughtered Copts, and asks these new martyrs for their prayers. If ISIS has its way, Pope Francis will be joining those sacrificed: “And we will conquer Rome, by Allah’s permission, the promise of our Prophet, peace be upon him,” stated one of the butchers. This regional map shows the location in of Sirte (the ISIS stronghold where those Egyptians were held captive) and Rome (and Vatican City that is enclaved within its boundaries). The terror group is now knocking on the doors of Europe...and its stated target is due north and not terribly distant.

Posted by Amy Miller on February 17, 2015 22 Comments
There are no words. From the BBC:
Jihadist militants from Islamic State (IS) have burned to death 45 people in the western Iraqi town of al-Baghdadi, the local police chief says. Exactly who these people were and why they were killed is not clear, but Col Qasim al-Obeidi said he believed some were members of the security forces. IS fighters captured much of the town, near Ain al-Asad air base, last week. Col Obeidi said a compound that houses the families of security personnel and local officials was now under attack. He pleaded for help from the government and the international community. The fighting and poor communications in the area make it difficult to confirm such reports.
This comes just two weeks after the world stood aghast at footage released by ISIS showing Jordanian pilot Moath al-Ksasbah locked in a cage and burned alive; and just days after another video showed the brutal beheading of 21 Coptic Christians in Iraq.

Posted by New Neo on February 16, 2015 11 Comments
So now we know the identity of Copenhagen shooter Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein, whose crime has mirrored the recent terrorist attacks in Paris but with a smaller death total and a single perpetrator. More details will no doubt emerge, but already it seems fairly clear what's going on here: a continuation of the assault on the West's freedom of speech, perpetrated by a fundamentalist Muslim terrorist (or one in sympathy with fundamentalist Muslim terrorists). The idea is to silence what they see as blasphemy against Islam, as well as to exert a chilling effect on anyone who would sympathize with or support such freedom of speech. In addition, it is an attack on Jews and those who would protect them. The goal? Non-Muslims should not be free to criticize Islam in ways that the group deems blasphemous; Jews would not be free to practice Judaism; and the penalty for both crimes would be death. The moment when the West should have become aware of the growing seriousness of the threat to Western free speech was the 1989 fatwa against author Salman Rushdie. Perhaps some people were able to minimize it at the time by reminding themselves that Rushdie had been born a Muslim in India, which made him an apostate when he renounced the religion. But he was definitely a Westerner, having lived in Britain since the age of fourteen, and his books were written in English and aimed at a Western audience. To refresh your memory:
Many Muslims accused Rushdie of blasphemy or unbelief [for his novel The Satanic Verses] and in 1989 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie. Numerous killings, attempted killings, and bombings resulted from Muslim anger over the novel. The Iranian government backed the fatwa against Rushdie until 1998, when the succeeding government of Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said it no longer supported the killing of Rushdie. However, the fatwa remains in place.
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