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Africa Horn
Al-Shabaab mourns loss of prominent member in army raid
2024-05-10
[Garowe] Somalia-based al-Shabaab
...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
turbans have mourned one of the senior officers with was killed by the Somali National Army (SNA) during a recent operation in southern parts of the country, in what they termed as a "huge" setback to "our" mission.

The group confirmed the demise of the traditional elder who was killed by government forces in Garasweyne, Bakool region of Southwest state on May 7. The government of Somalia confirmed the death in a separate presser as reported by state media.

Abdullahi Mohammed Yare alias "Malaaq Qori" acted as the traditional elder of one of the local clans and has supported the group with recruitment, collection of zakat, and opening of madrasas, according to reports from the region.

On Thursday, state media published an interview with a government commander who said he led the operation that killed Malaaq Qori. His death was described as a 'major' win in the fight against al-Shabaab murderous Moslems.

Al-Shabaab shadow Governors for Bakool, Sheikh Osman Abu Abdirahman and Galgudud Abdullahi Abu Khalid, were among al-Shabaab Officials who eulogized Malaaq Qori, terming him a 'strong pillar to our mission'.

The al-Shabaab turbans have suffered immense losses in recent weeks, following the activation of military campaigns across the country. For the last two years, at least 3,000 turbans have been killed in the operations across the country.

According to the UN Security Council, al-Shabaab collects close to $120 million annually from extortion, with unnamed foreign sources also contributing to the kitty. Of this amount, at least $24 million goes to the purchase of weapons.

Besides military operations against al-Shabaab, the government is targeting those financing the group. Last year, close to 250 bank accounts associated with the group and 70 mobile money transfer firms were blocked, minimizing the group's sources of revenue.

To further scuttle al-Shabaab, the government has also closed down social media sites and websites propagating the group's agenda. The group's influence has significantly nosedived in different parts of the country.
Related:
Garasweyne: 2015-11-01 50 bad boys waxed near Hudur
Garasweyne: 2014-06-11 13 militants killed after fierce clashes in Bakool
Garasweyne: 2013-08-15 6 killed in fresh fighting in Bakool region
Related:
Bakool: 2024-03-31 Over 80 Al-Shabab militants killed in Somalia
Bakool: 2024-01-06 2 Al-Shabaab fighters surrender to Somali government
Bakool: 2023-12-14 Somali army liberates more bases from Al-Shabaab
Link


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Israeli citizenship of the granddaughter of poet Rasul Gamzatov outrages social network users
2023-11-07
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] Shahri Amirkhanova, the granddaughter of the Dagestani poet Rasul Gamzatov, said she was proud to receive Israeli citizenship. This statement, made against the background of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, caused sharp criticism among VKontakte users.

As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, Muslims of the North Caucasus reacted sharply to the aggravation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In Chechnya, the clergy organizes daily mass prayers in support of Palestine; the Muftiate of Dagestan reported on October 28 that thousands of participants participated in prayers for the Palestinians. You can read about who and how in the North Caucasus expressed support for Palestine in the “Caucasian Knot” document “ Actions in support of Palestine in the North Caucasus.”

At the same time, on October 29, mass riots occurred at Makhachkala airport due to reports of the arrival of a plane with passengers from Israel. More than 20 people were injured in the riots, including nine police officers. The criminal case of mass riots has been transferred to Moscow investigators. 201 people were detained for participation in the riots , administrative protocols were drawn up for 155 detainees, police reported on November 5.

The granddaughter of the Dagestani poet Rasul Gamzatov, Shahri Amirkhanova, reported on social networks that she had received an Israeli passport and noted that she was surprised and proud of it, Vesti.Ru reports today. “Thank you for welcoming me with love in my new home,” the publication quotes Amirkhanova as saying.

Gamzatov's granddaughter left Russia in February 2023; she was the editor-in-chief of the Russian versions of Tatler and Harper's Bazaar magazines, the publication writes.

In July 2021, Vladimir Putin signed a decree to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Rasul Gamzatov in 2023. The "Caucasian Knot" published a biographical information about Rasul Gamzatov.

The message that Gamzatov’s granddaughter has received Israeli citizenship was posted today in the “Atypical Makhachkala” community, which is subscribed to by 994 thousand VKontakte users.

The authors of most comments condemned the act of the poet’s granddaughter. “Oh, [derogatory word], you still have to come back, and how will you look Dagestan in the eyes,” wrote, in particular, the user Murdered Soul .

“One [offensive word] less,” said Arkady Davydov . “Another [offensive word] has left Dagestan,” wrote Muhammad Abu Khalid Muslim. “Stay there,” Zuri Azaeva wished Amirkhanova in absentia.

“I could not speak, in fact, I changed and changed my citizenship, but here I declare on social networks, it looks like a provocation,” noted Rusik Gadjiev . “Well, war will always put everything in its place, who is a patriot and who is a traitor,” expressed the opinion of Arthur Gadzhimagomedov.

“Well, how can we understand such Muslim women? Doesn’t she know how people die at the hands of the Israelis? She writes this brazenly, mockingly,” Patimat Magomedova was indignant.

Let us recall that from October 26 to 29, mass anti-Semitic actions took place in the cities of three republics of the North Caucasus Federal District. In Cherkessk, protesters demanded that visitors from Israel not be allowed in, and in Nalchik a cultural center was set on fire. In Khasavyurt, Dagestan, hundreds of people gathered at a hotel after messages on social networks that there were refugees from Israel in this hotel, according to the Caucasian Knot report “ Anti-Semitic actions in the North Caucasus: how it happened .” The Caucasian Knot has also prepared a report entitled “ A Wave of Anti-Semitic Actions in the North Caucasus.”

The fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement began on October 7 with the firing of hundreds of rockets into Israeli territory, including civilian targets and civilians. The Israel Defense Forces responded by launching a military operation against Hamas, after which Israel announced a blockade of the Gaza Strip: supplies of water, food, electricity, medicine, and fuel were suspended. Thousands of people died on both sides  .

The Islamic movement Hamas  is recognized as terrorist, in particular, in the United States and the European Union. In Russia, the movement has not been declared terrorist, since none of its representatives have been convicted in Russia, the Prosecutor General’s Office said in response to a request from a deputy from St. Petersburg.

Link


India-Pakistan
LeT militant active for five years killed in Harwan gunfight: IGP Kashmir
2021-12-20
[GreaterKashmir] Police on Sunday identified the holy warrior killed in the shootout with security forces in Harwan area of Srinagar as Saifulla alias Abu Khalid alias Shawaz, a resident of Pakistain's Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
affiliated with the Lashkar outfit.

Khalid, as per IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar, had infiltrated in 2016 and was active in general area of Harwan ever since.

"SrinagarEncounterUpdate: Killed #terrorist identified as Saifulla @ Abu Khalid @ Shawaz, resident of Karachi (#Pakistain), affiliated with proscribed #terror outfit LeT. He infiltrated in 2016 & was active in general area of Harwan & involved in several terror crimes," IGP Kashmir said in a statement.

The IGP further informed that three Pak snuffies have been killed in Srinagar city in the last 33 days.

"03 #Pak #murderous Moslems killed in #SrinagarCity within 33days. They were involved in several terror crimes including attacks on Police/SFs & civilian killings. It shows that Pakistain is hell-bent to disturb peace in valley especially in Srinagar City".
Related:
Harwan: 2016-05-31 HM module busted; 3 held
Harwan: 2016-05-27 Army foils major infiltration bid, 3 militants killed
Harwan: 2008-04-15 Top guerrilla commander killed in Kashmir
Related:
Srinagar: 2021-12-14 Terrorists fire upon Police vehicle in Srinagar's Zewan; 2 dead, 12 injured
Srinagar: 2021-12-08 Transportation of arms into J&K: NIA charges key accused
Srinagar: 2021-12-03 CASO launched at main town Bandipora
Related:
LeT: 2021-12-16 Billionaire launches new start-up he hopes will REVERSE the ageing process: Plans to develop new therapies to halt the decline of human cells
LeT: 2021-12-15 Top Pakistani Lashkar terrorist killed in encounter in J&K
LeT: 2021-12-14 Terrorists fire upon Police vehicle in Srinagar's Zewan; 2 dead, 12 injured
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Muataz al-Nasir, 7 others die in Russian air attacks in Syria
2021-06-11
Direct translation of the article. Edited.

From Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin's Live Journal account:

[ColonelCassad] As a result of air strikes by the Russian Aerospace Forces on the morning of June 10, the official military speaker of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Abu Khalid Shami, and the coordinator for work with Western media, Abu Musab al-Khomis, were liquidated. It is also reported about the destruction of the head of the security service of the KhTSh Muataz al-Nasir and 5 more militants. It is noted that shock UAVs were involved in the strikes.

Apparently, Russian warbirds struck a number of targets in Syria Thursday.

Graphic fotos, a map and a video can be seen here
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Fierce infighting among Turkish-backed Syrian rebels in Sari Kani
2020-05-29
[Rudaw] Two Ottoman Turkish-backed Syrian opposition groups have reportedly engaged in "fierce" festivities in the northeast Syrian border town of Ras al-Ain, also known by the Kurdish name Sari Kani.

The infighting occurred between Suqour al-Shamal and the 20th Division, a group associated with al-Hamza Division, according to the UK-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Both are components of the Ottoman Turkish-based Syrian National Army, the largest coalition of Syrian rebel groups opposed to the regime of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now...
"All [of the festivities] are part of ongoing campaigns against undisciplined groups in the area," General Yousif Mohammed Abu Khalid of the Syrian National Army told Rudaw English.
Link


Afghanistan
India’s NIA to launch its first investigation in a foreign soil after Kabul attack
2020-04-03
[KhaamaPress] The National Investigation Agency of India (NIA) has filed a case to investigate the deadly attack on Sikh in Kabul city, it has been reported.

In a bid to launch its first investigation regarding a terror attack on foreign soil, the NIA registered its case under criminal conspiracy and terror charges, according to Hindustan Times.

An NIA official, who didn’t wish to be named, told The Hindustan Times "We will first seek all the documents from Afghanistan authorities through official channels to see what kind of evidence they have collected so far. A team will later visit Kabul".

According to Hindustan Times, the Narendra Modi government last year amended the NIA Act, empowering the agency to investigate terror activities against Indians and Indian interests abroad apart from cyber crimes and human trafficking.

The amended law came into force on August 2, 2019, the paper added.

This comes as a group of faceless myrmidons attacked the Sikh temple in Kabul city last week, killing at least 27 people including an Indian national and wounding many others.

The offshoot of the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
in Afghanistan, ISIS Khurasan, grabbed credit for the attack.
Related:
Kabul city: 2020-04-01 Female Head of NDS Gender Dept Dies in Kabul
Kabul city: 2020-03-28 New details emerge regarding the Indian man who attacked the Afghan Sikhs in Kabul
Kabul city: 2020-03-27 Abu Khalid al-Hindi carried out the attack on Sikh temple in Kabul: ISIS-K
Related:
National Investigation Agency: 2020-01-26 Two arrested Bangladeshis entered India in 2018 to commit terror acts, NIA says in charge sheet
National Investigation Agency: 2020-01-26 NIA charge sheets 5 members of Bangladesh terror group JMB-ISIS in Assam
National Investigation Agency: 2020-01-05 ‘Ask Donald Trump’: TMC mocks BJP’s factory-blast probe demand, Governor takes it seriously
Link


Iraq
US-led coalition pulls out of 3rd Iraqi base this month
2020-03-30
[BREITBART] The U.S.-led coalition withdrew on Sunday from a military base in northern Iraq that nearly launched Washington into an open war with neighboring Iran.

The K1 Air Base is the third site coalition forces have left this month in line with U.S. plans to consolidate its troops in two locations in Iraq.

A rocket attack on the base in late December killed one American contractor and lead to a series of tit-for-tat attacks between the U.S. and Iran-backed Iraqi militia groups. The attacks culminated in the U.S.-directed killing of top Iranian general Qassim Soleimani and senior Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Coalition forces handed over the K1 air base in the northern Iraqi province of Kirkuk to Iraq’s military, according to a coalition statement. At least $1.1 million of equipment was transferred to the Iraqis as 300 coalition personnel departed.

K1 has hosted coalition forces since 2017 to launch operations against the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group in the nearby mountainous areas. Areas south of Kirkuk,
... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time...
and north of neighboring provinces of Diyala, Salahaddin and Nineveh remain hot beds of IS activity.

The stretch of territory is also disputed between the federal Iraqi government and the autonomous Kurdish region, which has created security gaps benefiting IS bully boys. The coalition’s presence had at times been a mediating presence between the two competing authorities.

A senior coalition official earlier this month claimed IS forces weren’t as able to exploit the "security gap" between Iraqi and Kurdish forces as the turbans did in the past.

Related:
U.S.-led coalition: 2020-03-14 Lawmakers Grill Army Officer Over Lack Of Missile Defenses In Iraq After Fatal Rocket Attack
U.S.-led coalition: 2020-02-13 Jets Fly Show Of Force During Gunfight Between US And Syrian Troops At Checkpoint (Updated)
U.S.-led coalition: 2020-01-24 Hezbollah base in Iraq attacked by airstrike - report
Related:
Qassim Soleimani: 2020-02-17 Pro-Mullah Dem Senators Secretly Meet w Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif, Seek to Thwart US Foreign Policy
Qassim Soleimani: 2020-01-06 Soleimani’s death leaves Iran’s strategy in tatters
Qassim Soleimani: 2020-01-04 Run away and hide in Iran
Related:
Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis: 2020-02-16 Blasts hit US-led coalition base in Baghdad
Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis: 2020-02-14 Rocket attack hits northern Iraq base hosting US troops
Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis: 2020-02-06 Baghdad tells military officials to minimize reliance on US
Related:
Islamic State: 2020-03-28 New details emerge regarding the Indian man who attacked the Afghan Sikhs in Kabul
Islamic State: 2020-03-28 US blacklists Iran-, Iraq-based companies over backing terror groups
Islamic State: 2020-03-27 Abu Khalid al-Hindi carried out the attack on Sikh temple in Kabul: ISIS-K
Link


Afghanistan
New details emerge regarding the Indian man who attacked the Afghan Sikhs in Kabul
2020-03-28
[KhaamaPress] New details emerged regarding the Indian man who attacked a Sikh temple in Kabul city on Wednesday, killing at least 25 people and wounding 8 others.

Officials from Intelligence Bureau confirmed that the real name of the Indian National who attacked the Sikh temple in Kabul city was Mohammad Muhsin.

Originally hailing from Kerala of India, Muhsin left for Afghanistan in 2018 to join the offshoot of the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
terror group or the ISIS Khurasan.

Muhsin’s mother confirmed that she received a message that her son was killed during the attack on Sikh temple in Kabul city, according to One India.

The ISIS Khurasan had earlier issued a statement, claiming that the attack on Sikh temple in Kabul was carried out by Abu Khalild al-Hindi.

The Amaq News Agency, affiliated with the terror group also released the photo of the jacket wallah who stormed the Sikh temple in Kabul city on Wednesday.

The terror group also issued a brief statement claiming that the Sikh minority group was the target of the attack.

The Ministry of Interior of Afghanistan confirmed that the attack on Sikh temple in Kabul city left at least 25 people dead and 8 others maimed.
John Frum commented on yesterday’s report on the attack, “Real name was Mohammad Sajid, a shopkeeper from Kerala who had fled India along with 14 other youth to join ISIS 4 years ago.”
Related:
Sikh temple: 2020-03-27 Abu Khalid al-Hindi carried out the attack on Sikh temple in Kabul: ISIS-K
Sikh temple: 2019-12-13 Indian couple sentenced for spying on Germany's Sikhs, Kashmiris
Sikh temple: 2018-10-29 Four Things You Can Do Right Now to Harden Your Place of Worship Against a Shooter
Link


India-Pakistan
Jaish-e-Mohammed Operations Head Abu Khalid killed by Kashmiri Police SOG
2017-10-09
Srinagar: In a major victory for the Indian security forces, terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) operational head Abu Khalid was, on Monday, killed in an encounter which broke out early in the morning, between militants and security forces in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Security formed a cordon and launched a search operation in Ladoora area following the inputs that militants were present in the area, a police official said.
He said the search operation turned into a gunbattle when the militants opened fire on the search party. Police said the Jaish commander was killed in the encounter.

Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police SP Vaid said it was a major breakthrough for the security forces as Khalid was involved in many attacks on security camps in North Kashmir. He also spearheaded Jaish operation targeting policemen in particular.

"He was killed in a joint operation by the Jammu and Kashmir Police's Special Operation Group, local police, the CRPF and the Army," he said.

Khalid, who is a Pakistani national, had been operational in the area for last two to three years and was also instrumental in arranging recruits for the terror outfit, police said.

He had recently carried out an attack on a Special Police Officer and his seven-year-old son at Handwara, they said and added that Khalid was an A++ category top-ranking terrorist and carried a bounty of nearly Rs 7 lakh on his head.

Police are also probing his role in the recent attack carried out by the Jaish-e-Mohammed on BSF battalion headquarters near high-security Srinagar airport and also the attack on the District Police Lines at Pulwama.

It is expected that he was a part of the conspiracy behind these dastardly attacks, police said.
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Aleppo Adversarials
2016-07-10
ISIS Top Dawg dies near Manbij
(I do love badanov's headlines!)
[ARA News] ALEPPO – A prominent jihadi and Emir of the Islamic State in Manbij was reported dead in an attack by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Saturday.

Abu Khalid al-Tunisi, ISIS Emir (prince) of Manbij, was killed along with a number of his escorts when the US-backed SDF fighters hit his car in Manbij city, military sources reported.

The Tunisian jihadi has been leading ISIS operations in Manbij city on the Syrian-Turkish border after the group’s military commander was killed in earlier clashes with the SDF.

“The death of Abu Khalid al-Tunisi was confirmed after our forces bombed his car in Manbij city,” a spokesman for the SDF told ARA News. “At least four ISIS militants were accompanying al-Tunisi when we targeted their car with an artillery shell. They were all killed.”

The Syrian Democratic Forces have recently recaptured the entire countryside of Manbij, including over 110 villages and farms, after heavy fighting with ISIS militants.

Supported by the US-led coalition’s airstrikes, the SDF has advanced towards the ISIS-held city of Manbij after launching a new operation five weeks ago.

Since the start of the battle for Manbij border pocket in northern Syria on 31 May, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have reportedly killed a number of prominent jihadis from the Islamic State group (ISIS), including Manbij governor Osama al-Tounsi, jihadi commander Dahham al-Hussein, and ISIS senior leader Abu Hamza al-Ansari.

ISIS is leaving Manbij, says SDF spokesperson

[Rudaw] The liberation of Manbij is near as Islamic State (ISIS) knows they are defeated and are trying to blend in with the civilian population to escape the city, said Shervan Derwish, spokesperson of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

“ISIS militants are wearing civilian clothes and leaving their weapons in peoples’ homes in order to escape,” Derwish said in an SDF video posted to YouTube. “They are carrying razors in their pockets in order to be able to quickly shave off their beards in order not to be identified.”

“They know that there is no hope and we are taking over,” he added. “They are leaving.”

The SDF continues to advance into the city, evacuating civilians as they go. On Friday, the SDF announced that a sniper battalion had arrived in Manbij to participate in the final push for the city.

Syrian Democratic Forces launched an operation to liberate Manbij from Islamic State under the umbrella of the locally formed Manbij Military Council in early June. The SDF are a multi-ethnic force dominated by the Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG).

Routing the Islamic State from Manbij will cut the extremist group off from the border with Turkey, thereby limiting its ability to bring in supplies and fighters. It will also bring the Kurds closer to connecting their cantons of Kobane and Efrin.
Dateline July 8:
Over 14,000 civilians flee ISIS-held town in northern Syria

[ARA News] MANBIJ – More than 14,000 Syrian citizens have been able to escape the city of Manbij
...a city in the Aleppo Governorate, 30km west of the Euphrates. In 2004, its population of nearly 100,000 was mainly Arab, Kurdish and Circassian Sunnis...
which is still held by the Islamic State (ISIS) radical group. The civilians headed to nearby areas recently liberated by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

This comes after the SDF opened humanitarian corridors between the war-torn city and its liberated countryside.

Most of the families that escaped Manbij city have been received by their sons who are fighting in the ranks of the SDF-led Manbij Military Council, who had earlier fled Manbij and formed the council to fight against ISIS.

According to the leadership of the SDF-led Manbij Military Council, the delay of liberating the city came due to the fear for the stranded civilians inside the city.
Dateline July 7:
YPG repels al-Qaeda attack on Kurdish district in Aleppo

[ARA News] ALEPPO – Militant fighters of the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front on Wednesday launched an offensive on a Kurdish district in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo, using mortar shells, amid attempts to infiltrate into the district, activists and military sources reported.

Nusra fighters, supported by Islamist rebels of the Ahrar al-Sham Movement, targeted populated areas in the Sheikh Maqsoud district with mortar fire, killing at least four people and wounding a dozen more.

“The injured were transferred to a field hospital for treatment. Some of them are in critical condition,” a medical source in the Sheikh Maqsoud hospital told ARA News. “Rescue teams are still searching for survivors under the rubble.”

The Islamists also targeted a security checkpoint for the Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) at the entrance of Sheikh Maqsoud district.

“Clashes broke out when a number of terrorists tried to infiltrate into the district. Nusra and its allies launched the mortar attack in order to cover the infiltration attempt, but we were eventually able to repel the offensive,” YPG officer Ali Hamo told ARA News.

The official added that Nusra and its allies were forced to withdraw after six of their fighters were killed and four others were wounded.

The Kurdish district of Sheikh Maqsoud has been under siege by Syrian Islamist rebels for years, and violence has recently intensified in the district as the Kurdish YPG forces have been trying to push back Islamist fighters of the Nusra Front (al-Qaeda branch in Syria) and the Islamic Movement of Ahrar al-Sham.
Link


Home Front: WoT
Anatomy of the terror threat: Files show hundreds of US plots, refugee connection
2016-07-09
[FoxNews] Newly obtained congressional data shows hundreds of terror plots have been stopped in the U.S. since 9/11 – mostly involving foreign-born suspects, including dozens of refugees.

The files are sure to inflame the debate over the Obama administration’s push to admit thousands more refugees from Syria and elsewhere, a proposal Donald Trump has vehemently opposed on the 2016 campaign trail.

“[T]hese data make clear that the United States not only lacks the ability to properly screen individuals prior to their arrival, but also that our nation has an unprecedented assimilation problem,” Sens. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told President Obama in a June 14 letter, obtained by FoxNews.com.

The files also give fresh insight into the true scope of the terror threat and cover a wide range of cases, including:
  • A Seattle man plotting to attack a U.S. military facility

  • An Atlantic City man using his “Revolution Muslim” site to encourage confrontations with U.S. Jewish leaders “at their homes”

  • An Iraq refugee arrested in January, accused of traveling to Syria to “take up arms” with terror groups
While the June 12 massacre at an Orlando gay nightclub marked the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil since 2001, the data shows America has been facing a steady stream of plots. For the period September 2001 through 2014, data shows the U.S. successfully prosecuted 580 individuals for terrorism and terror-related cases. Further, since early 2014, at least 131 individuals were identified as being implicated in terror.

Across both those groups, the senators reported that at least 40 people initially admitted to the U.S. as refugees later were convicted or implicated in terror cases.

Among the 580 convicted, they said, at least 380 were foreign-born. The top countries of origin were Pakistan, Lebanon and Somalia, as well as the Palestinian territories.

Both Sessions and Cruz sit on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest, which compiled the terror-case information based on data from the Justice Department, news reports and other open-source information. The files were shared with FoxNews.com.

The files include dates, states of residence, countries of origin for foreign-born suspects, and reams of other details.

Specifically, they show a sharp spike in cases in 2015, largely stemming from the arrest of suspects claiming allegiance to the Islamic State. They also show a heavy concentration of cases involving suspects from California, Texas, New York and Minnesota, among other states.

The senators say the terror-case repository still is missing critical details on suspects’ immigration history, which they say the Department of Homeland Security has “failed to provide.” Immigration data the senators compiled came from other sources.

Sessions and Cruz asked the president in their letter to order the departments of Justice, Homeland Security and State to "update" and provide more detailed information. The senators have sent several letters to those departments since last year requesting immigration histories of those tied to terror.

“The administration refuses to give out the information necessary to establish a sound policy that protects Americans from terrorists,” Sessions said in a statement to Fox News.

Asked about the complaints, DHS spokeswoman Gillian M. Christensen told FoxNews.com the department “will respond to the senators’ request directly and not through the press.”

“More than 100 Congressional committees, subcommittees, caucuses, commissions and groups exercise oversight and ensure accountability of DHS and we work closely with them on a daily basis. We’ve received unprecedented requests from a number of senators and representatives for physical paper files for more than 700 aliens,” she said, adding that officials have to review each page manually for privacy and other issues.

Cruz ran unsuccessfully this year for the Republican presidential nomination. Sessions, an ardent critic of the administration’s immigration policies, is supporting presumptive GOP nominee Trump.

The allegations detailed in the subcommittee’s research pertain to a range of cases, involving suspects caught traveling or trying to travel overseas to fight, as well as suspects ensnared in controversial sting operations which civil-liberties groups including the ACLU have criticized.

In a 2014 report, Human Rights Watch said nearly half of the federal counterterror convictions at the time came from “informant-based cases,” many of them sting operations where the informants played a role in the plot.

The report said: “In some cases the Federal Bureau of Investigation may have created terrorists out of law-abiding individuals by conducting sting operations that facilitated or invented the target’s willingness to act.”

But even in some of those cases, federal agents got involved after learning of a serious suspected plot. In the case of the Seattle suspect, Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, authorities said he approached someone in 2011 about attacking a military installation. That citizen alerted law enforcement and worked with them to capture Latif and an accomplice.
Link


Iraq
Somali-British national does splodydope attack in Iraq
2015-10-26
A British ISIS fighter has carried out a devastating suicide bomb attack near the jihadi held city of Ramadi in Iraq. Abu Khalid al-Britani killed at least 50 Iraqi soldiers in a double suicide bomb attack with a Tunisian fighter whilst defending Ramadi.

A photograph was posted online in tribute to the British fighter, who was half Yemeni and half Somali in origin but never lived in Somalia. Another fighter known as Abu Maidah as-Somali, who used to live in London and Sweden, described the dead jihadi as his ‘best friend’.

Abu Maidah revealed that the British suicide bomber was in his 40s and was not fluent in Somali. Abu Khalid al-Britani was from the UK and was of Somali and Yemeni origin but only spoke limited Somali. He is the second British jihadi to blow himself up at Ramadi in less than a week.

The two fighters met in a terrorist training camp before Abu Khalid volunteered to fight in Iraq.

Abu Khalid al-Britani is the third British fighter to blow himself up at Ramadi whilst fighting for ISIS.

Earlier this week, ISIS released a statement claiming that a British fighter called Abu Omar al-Britani had taken part in a twin suicide bomb attack, killing and wounding 80 people. The attack was carried out as Iraqi Special Forces launched a large offensive to try to re-take the ISIS held city.

A photograph showed the British fighter sitting behind an office desk in Anbar province. The fighter is dressed in a white thobe and has chunky gold watch on his wrist. His large framed glasses poke out above the black mask which covers half of his face.

In what appears to be an office, the fighter has a large knife, a single green hand grenade and a pistol placed in front of him on the work top. A single copy of the Qu’ran rests next to a laptop as the jihadi poses with his gloved index finger pointed up to the sky to show his oneness with God.

The rise in British suicide bombers at Ramadi comes as ISIS continue to hold out at the strategic spot after successfully capturing the city in May. British Kosovan Fatlum Shalaku was the first British national to carry out a suicide bomb attack during the taking of the city.

A propaganda video of his final moments were released online two weeks ago, with the jihadi describing his decision through the use of a Qur’anic quote. Just before he climbed into his armoured vehicle, laden with explosives, Fatlum said his last words: ‘I just want to go out there with a bang.’
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