Italian PM Renzi: ‘Italian judges do not answer to Erdogan’.

Italian PM Renzi: ‘Italian judges do not answer to Erdogan’. (Euractiv).

The reply of the Prime Minister Renzi: "The judges respond to the Italian Constitution and not to the president turkish. We call this" rule of law "system, and we are proud of."(Tweet below).

In questo Paese i giudici rispondono alle leggi e alla Costituzione italiana, non al presidente turco. Si chiama "stato di diritto" #Italia

— Matteo Renzi (@matteorenzi) August 2, 2016

Rome and Ankara bickered yesterday (2 August) over an Italian investigation into accusations that Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan’s son Bilal laundered money.

In an interview with Rainews24 TV, Erdoğan stressed that his son Bilal could not return to Italy for studies due to a money-laundering probe by prosecutors in the northern city of Bologna, where Bilal had been studying. Erdoğan warned that this could affect bilateral relations.

“If my son came back to Italy at this moment, he could be arrested”, Turkish President stressed, adding that “this could even cause problems for our relationship with Italy”.

Bilal, 35, went to Italy in 2015 to finish a doctorate. According to Reuters, it was not clear when he left, but a legal source said he had been back in Turkey for some time. He denies wrongdoing.

Erdogan also urged Italian judges to focus on the mafia and not his son, triggering the strong reaction of the Italian premier.

The money laundering investigation followed accusations by Murat Hakan Uzan, an exiled member of one of Turkey’s richest families and an opponent of the president, a legal source said.

Italian press reported prosecutors were looking into sums of money allegedly brought to Italy from Turkey. In July, a Bologna court allowed them to extend their investigation by six months.

Bilal’s lawyer Giovanni Trombini said his client declared that “all his economic and financial activity is totally transparent and legal, and the accusations are completely unfounded”.


Bilal, one of the Turkish president’s four children, has shipping and maritime assets and controls several oil tankers through his company and partnerships in other firms.

The vice-president of the Supreme Judicial Council John Legnini :" the attack on Italian judiciary by the Turkish President  is serious and unacceptable. Judges and Italians fight daily against the Mafia with investigations and trials, risking their lives and achieving extraordinary results. Rather it is Turkey which must give the international community a guarantee of compliance with the principles of autonomy and independence of the judiciary, indispensable for our country and for any democratic country, giving answers on the extremely serious dismissals and arrests of thousands of judges that the plenum of the CSM has firmly and promptly condemned, along with the network of European higher (ENCJ) and the recommendations of the Supreme Courts of the EU presidents. " Hmmm.......Great way to counter his refugee 'blackmail'.

Within hours, #Turkey pres. #Erdogan gets a gag order on reports of money laundering probe against his son in #Italy pic.twitter.com/2m9TiWR7jb

— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) August 2, 2016

Morocco - Important Islamic state cell dismantled, 52 terrorists were arrested.

Morocco - Important Islamic state cell dismantled, 52 terrorists were arrested. (Aawsat).

Morocco said on Wednesday that it had arrested 52 suspected militants inspired by ISIS and that it had foiled several attacks in the North African country by seizing arms and bomb-making materials.

It is the largest group arrested in years and the latest of a series of cells that the authorities say they have found plotting attacks inside and outside Morocco.

The North African kingdom, an ally of the West against militancy, has been on high alert since 2014, when ISIS took control of large swathes of northern Iraq and Syria.

The 52 arrested were among 143 people investigated in many Moroccan cities and towns, the interior ministry said in a statement.

Many members of the group were planning to create an ISIS province (Wilayat) in Morocco, the statement said.

They intended to assassinate Moroccan security and military officers and tourists, as well as targeting prisons and festivals and other institutions in the country.

Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation, the judicial part of the Moroccan domestic intelligence service, has tracked suspected militants since ISIS established itself as a global threat.

Morocco has dismantled 38 suspected militant cells with ISIS ties since 2013, the statement said, adding 159 cells had been found since 2002.

Hundreds of militants from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria have joined jihadists in Syria. Some are threatening to return and create new militant wings in their home countries, security experts have said.

Nearby Libya has become a major draw for jihadists from North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. ISIS has taken advantage of the security chaos there to build a base, operate training camps and take over the city of Sirte.

There are between 2,000 and 5,000 ISIS fighters from Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Mali,Morocco and Mauritania deployed in Sirte, Tripoli and Derna, according to a report drafted by U.N. chief Bank Ki-moon.

Jean-Paul Laborde, U.N. assistant secretary general and head of its Counter-Terrorism Committee, has also said that nearly 30,000 “foreign terrorist fighters” are currently in Syria and Iraq.

“There are nearly 30,000, and now that the territory held by ISIS is shrinking in Iraq, we are seeing them return, not only to Europe but to all of their countries of origin, like Tunisia, Morocco,” Laborde said recently.

Also Wednesday, Italian police said they have arrested two Moroccan residents on suspicion of distributing pro-ISIS propaganda.Police said the two men living in the Liguria region bordering France have previous arrests for dealing drugs and other offenses. A third Moroccan is under investigation.

The investigation was launched when a young woman reported receiving a photo on WhatsApp showing a woman posing with a machine gun in position to fire. The photo originated from a number in Morocco that was not in the phone’s address book.

The woman told police she had lent the phone to a Moroccan resident of a refugee home several months earlier. From there, investigators traced a network of “possible activism of the three suspects involving proselytizing for the self-proclaimed Islamic State.” More here.

Italian Officials Arrest Islamic State Suspects Plotting To Hit Vatican, Israeli Embassy In Rome

Italian Officials Arrest Islamic State Suspects Plotting To Hit Vatican, Israeli Embassy In Rome.(WSJ).

Italian police issued six arrest warrants Thursday for people suspected of plotting to join the Islamic State group. Three of the suspects were plotting attacks on the Vatican and the Israeli embassy in Rome, Reuters reported.

According to authorities, investigators intercepted communication from Islamic State members in the Middle East in April ordering Abderrahim Moutaharrik, a Moroccan-born Italian, to carry out attacks in Italy, a sign that the group wants aspiring foreign fighters to stay in the West rather than travel to Syria and Iraq.

“These were messages with alarming, even devastating content,” prosecutor Franco Roberti said. There were no signs that a specific attack had been planned, he said.

The man was told to pay particular attention to Rome because Christians would be flocking to the city for the Holy Year, another prosecutor Maurizio Romanelli said. Pope Francis initiated the Jubilee “year of mercy” in December.

Mr. Moutaharrik, a Moroccan boxer who has Italian citizenship, was detained together with his partner, identified as Salma Bencharki.

Jihadist network ready to strike #Rome, #Vatican nabbedhttps://t.co/wR0leS3krx pic.twitter.com/5UDdPqnQBI

— TRACterrorism.org (@TRACterrorism) April 29, 2016

“I swear I will be the first to attack them in this Italy of crusaders, I swear I’ll attack it, in the Vatican, God willing,” one man said, according to a transcript of a wire-tapped conversation released by Italian officials. Another recording revealed the same man said he had contacted an Albanian man in order to get a gun so he could target the Israeli embassy in Rome.

Officials across Europe have stepped up security in the wake of major terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels. The Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, took responsibility for both attacks. The November attacks in Paris left 130 people dead and hundreds injured while attacks in Brussels in March left 32 people dead and hundreds injured.

American officials said Monday that ISIS was operating cells throughout Europe in countries including Germany, Britain and Italy.

“That is a concern, obviously, of ours and our European allies,” said James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence, when asked about the terror group’s activity across Europe, the New York Times reported.

Italian officials said four of the six suspects were arrested Thursday while the location of a Moroccan man and his Italian wife was still unknown. Officials said the couple had left Italy last year to travel to either Iraq or Syria where ISIS controls territory.

“The new aspect here is that we are not talking about a generic indication [of an attack] but a specific person being appointed to act on Italian soil,” said Milan prosecutor Maurizio Romanelli. Read the full story here.

Plots constantly being interdicted - many of which don't see light due2secrecy, never mind the1's that get coverage. https://t.co/MzSa6hCDsk

— Mubin Shaikh (@MrMubinShaikh) April 30, 2016

As from today Austria Introduces Daily Refugee Entry Quota.

As from today Austria Introduces Daily Refugee Entry Quota. (SP).

Starting from February 19, the republic will accept no more than 80 applications for refugee status per day and a maximum of 3,200 migrants seeking asylum in one of its neighboring states will be allowed to transit through Austrian territory.


Austria's move to toughen its border controls is supported by Slovenia, who also intends to implement a similar approach in solidarity.

Vienna has been criticized by the European Commission and a number of other EU bodies for imposing a cap on the number of asylum requests, viewed as a breach of the bloc’s human rights laws.

On Tuesday, the Austrian Interior Ministry also announced it would introduce stricter controls at 12 checkpoints along the country’s southern border in a bid to deter the unprecedented migrant inflow they had been experiencing. Read the full story here. 

'A ceiling of about 500,000 people with a right to asylum per year has been discussed in Berlin'

Flashback Nov. 2015.

 'A ceiling of about 500,000 people with a right to asylum per year has been discussed in Berlin' (Spiegel).

Gentiloni: As long as a certain problem primarily affects a different country, in this case Italy, one might not put it at the very top of one's list of priorities. The route for the refugees currently goes through Greece and the Balkans or through Italy; if there were a crisis in north-eastern Europe, Poland might just as well be affected. In this case we are dealing with mechanisms that we do not control. We need to change that. As Ms. Merkel has said, "We can handle it." But this "we" should be a European "we." We can't have a situation where everyone keeps criticizing the bouncer, meaning Greece.

SPIEGEL: What effect did the chancellor's refugee policies have on Italy?

Gentiloni: It had the effect of me agreeing with her. Europe can handle several hundreds of thousands of people every year who have a right to asylum.

SPIEGEL: A ceiling of about 500,000 people with a right to asylum per year has been discussed in Berlin for some time now.

Gentiloni: And a united Europe will also manage to send hundreds of thousands of migrants, who don't have the right to asylum, back to their homelands. Though that, given the number of flights necessary, would be of a scale reminiscent of the Berlin Airlift.

SPIEGEL: Does Europe need to be more clear that we can't take in everybody who is looking for a better life?

Gentiloni: The message that "we can't take in everybody" is imperative. At the same time, the decision as to who has a right to asylum needs to be made in Brussels. It is clear that several countries, in the Balkans for example, need to be considered countries of safe origin. But others like, in my opinion, Eritrea, undoubtedly need to be considered a country of origin with a valid claim to asylum. And with a third group of states, like Nigeria for example, each individual case needs to be evaluated. Then there are also very controversial cases like Afghanistan. In any case, united European action is needed. This argument for Europeanization may sound utopian, but there is no alternative.


SPIEGEL: So far, Italy has built three of the six promised "hotspots" for the registration of refugees. Thus far, they have had the reputation for being departure points for illegal immigrants. Your authorities have been hopelessly overwhelmed with the surge in refugees and their redistribution.

SPIEGEL: Do you think the future of the EU is at risk because of the refugee crisis?


Gentiloni: You could put it that way. Because this crisis has an effect on other things: on the referendum of the British about their exit from the EU or on the gains by populists in several countries. This mixture endangers the future of Europe. We are currently experiencing probably the toughest crisis in the history of the EU. The touchstone for whether we can overcome it will be the subject of immigration. Read the full story here.

'When in Rome do as the Romans' - Nude statues covered to save Islamist Iranian blushes.

'When in Rome do as the Romans' - Nude statues covered to save Islamist Iranian blushes. (JPost).

Politicians slam Italian PM for making almost no reference to Iran's human rights record during presser with Rouhani, and for "surrendering" Italy's cultural identity by hiding nude statues of women.    

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi came under fire on Tuesday after ancient nude statues in Rome's Capitoline museum were covered up to avoid any possible offense to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani who is visiting the country.

Politicians on the Left and Right said not only had Renzi made almost no reference to Iran's human rights record during a joint news conference, but had also "surrendered" Italy's cultural identity by hiding the nude statues of women.

"Respect for other cultures cannot and must not mean negating our own," said Luca Squeri, a lawmaker in former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's center-right Forza Italia party. "This isn't respect, it's cancelling out differences and it's a kind of surrender."

At Iran's request Italy also kept wine off the menu at a ceremonial dinner on Monday evening. Hmmm........Mogherini guidelines? .Read the full story here.

Video - Italian Muslims Explain To Italians How Their Women choice of dressing is the reason for Being assaulted.

HT: InfidelBloggers.

Germany Says Overestimated refugees with Fake Syrian Passports, 'only' eight percent fake passports.

Germany Says Overestimated refugees with Fake Syrian Passports, 'only' eight percent fake passports. (naharnet).

The proportion of people entering Germany with fake Syrian passports is far less than the 30 percent announced by the interior minister in September, the government has said.

Germany has to date maintained an open-door policy for Syrians escaping their country's bloodshed, giving them "primary protection" -- the highest status for refugees.

Among other benefits, this status includes a three-year residence permit and family reunification. 

The policy has sparked controversy, heightened after Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said in September that up to 30 percent of people were found coming into Germany with false Syrian passports and actually came from other nations.

He said the figures were based on estimates from people working on the ground.

But in response to a question from the left-wing Die Linke party, the government said in a written note obtained by Agence France Presse late Monday that only eight percent of the 6,822 Syrian passports examined by authorities between January and October were actually found to be fake.

Die Linke lawmaker Ulla Jelpke slammed the minister saying: "Instead of looking into a crystal ball... the minister should lean towards facts and reality."

Germany is Europe's top destination for refugees, most of whom travel through Turkey and the Balkans, and expects more than one million arrivals this year. Hmmm.....So if you take 25,000 refugees 2,000 have false passports.....i feel much safer now.

Syrian 'refugee': 'Allah is great, ISIS is even better'.

Syrian 'refugee': 'Allah is great, ISIS is greater'. (INN).

Italian police have arrested a Syrian "refugee" for being a member of the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization, clapping him in cuffs shortly after he arrived by boat along with hundreds of migrants, media reports said Monday.

The man, reportedly in his 20s, was arrested by officers in Sicily after Italy's special operations division discovered incriminating material on his cell phone.

The suspect had videos and photographs which appeared to be of ISIS attacks along with a text message which read "Allah is great, but ISIS is even better," according to the reports.

The local Corriere di Ragusa daily said the images contained "corpses, wounds and lots of blood."

The Syrian arrived on December 4 on a wooden fishing boat carrying 500 people, and had been staying at the reception center in the southeastern Sicilian port before his arrest.

There have long been concerns in Italy and Europe of would-be jihadists entering the country and the rest of the continent on the rickety boats of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from northern Africa. Hmmm......How many passed without being caught? Read the full story here.

United States warns Italy of Terrorist attack threat, authorities searching for five suspects.

United States warns Italy of Terrorist attack threat, authorities searching for five suspects. (TP).

US authorities have warned of possible militant attacks in Italy, whose security services are looking for five possible suspects, Italy’s foreign minister said on Thursday.

Paolo Gentiloni referred to “possible terrorist attacks that could be aimed at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome or the Duomo (cathedral) or Scala theater in Milan”.

“As of yesterday our security forces are working to identify five people,” he said in an interview with state broadcaster RAI.

Italy raised its security alert level to 2, the highest possible in the absence of a direct attack on the country, following Friday’s attacks in Paris in which Islamic State gunmen and bombers killed 129 people.

Gentiloni said the US embassy in Rome had recommended tourists take particular care in certain parts of Italy but had not advised them against going there. Hmmm.....Make sense IS always puts Rome & Vatican as a high value target.

Italian Defense Company Unveils Anti-Drone System.

Italian Defense Company Unveils Anti-Drone System. (Popsci).

The rise of drones will, inevitably, lead to their Icarus-like fall. Earlier this week, Selex ES, part of Italy’s large Finmeccanica defense giant, unveiled an anti-drone weapon at the Defence and Security Equipment International in London. Dubbed “Falcon Shield,” the system neither mimics nor uses actual birds to attack unmanned flying machines. Instead, “Falcon Shield” is a collection of sensors and software that are supposed to work together to find, track, and then either disable or take over hostile drones. Read the full story here.

Video - Statements by PM Netanyahu and Italian FM Gentilloni

Far-right, anti-EU & anti-immigrant parties form group in EU parliament, will they loose their funding?

Far-right, anti-EU and anti-immigrant parties form group in EU parliament, will they loose their funding? (Politico.eu).

Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Front party said Monday it had enough support to form a group in the European Parliament, a long-awaited move that will boost the group’s influence in the assembly.

The anti-European Union, anti-immigration party said in a statement it was to formally announce the creation of its group, named “Europe of Nations and Freedoms,” in a press conference Tuesday hosted by party chief Le Pen in Brussels.

By forming a group, the National Front (FN) will get more speaking time during the plenary sessions and more staff. The party will also be better positioned to get its members on parliamentary committees, where groups exert control over access.

The FN has 23 deputies in Parliament, just short of the 25 needed to form a group, but the real challenge has been the recruitment of deputies from a minimum of seven nations needed to form a group. The statement did not specify the names or nationalities of the deputies the party had recruited to meet that requirement. Le Pen’s parliamentary adviser declined to name the additional MEPs.

But parliamentary sources said the group will include 36 MEPs from several parties, including one from the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and one from Hungarian far-right party Jobbik, as well as deputies from the Netherlands’ PVV, Austria’s FPÖ, Italy’s Lega Nord and Belgium’s Vlaams Belang.

The co-chairs, according to sources, will be Le Pen and Marcel De Graaff of the Netherlands. The vice chairs will be Harald Vilimsky of Austria, Matteo Salvini of Italy, Michal Marusik of Poland and Janice Atkinson of Britain, who was previously sidelined by UKIP following an alleged expenses scandal. The treasurer will be Gerolf Annemans of Belgium. The secretary general will be Ludovic de Danne, a Le Pen parliamentary adviser.

About to loose their subsidy?

Two years ago the European Commission proposed a law that would authorize an “independent authority” within the European Parliament [EP] to decide whether EP parties would receive an official legal status as EP parties.

This legal status is needed for a party to obtain EP party subsidy, which is designed to cover 85% of party expenditures.

Despite a British and Dutch lobby against the law, it was passed by the EP on September 29, 2014.

Among the demands parties have to meet are that of “internal party democracy” and that they must “respect the values on which the European Union is based.” Among these values are: “pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men.” Also, the parties must be active in at least seven out of 28 EU member state countries.

The law states that: “decisions regarding a party’s respect for values on which the EU is based, may only be taken following a special procedure and in cooperation with a committee of independent prominent individuals.” Hmmmm.......Seems they are about to loose their EU funding, so WHO Will fund them now? Follow the money.Read the full story here.

Video - Italy's Mount Etna volcano erupts in a spectacular display

Spain: 250 call shops, 'Halal' butchers and grocery shops identified, which would finance ISIL and Al Qaeda.

Spain: 250 call shops, 'Halal' butchers and grocery shops identified, which would finance ISIL and Al Qaeda. HT: DreuzeInfo.

Madrid: A Report of the Spanish special services, indicts a network of businesses and businesses owned by members of the Muslim community are financing Daesh and Jabat Al Nusra in Syria.

Indeed, the Spanish special services reported that more than 250 phone shops of Halal Meat and Halal grocery Muslims living properties in Spain, would be involved in financing and Daesh Jabhat Al Nusra in Syria, and through a uncontrollable network of international transfer of funds, named 'Hawala'.

According to a report on the subject, published by the Spanish newspaper El Pais and the Italian news agency Ansamed, the Spanish security services have identified about 300 terminals and 'office' secret network 'Hawala' in the cities of Barcelona, Tarragona, Lleida, Bilbao, Santander, Valencia and Madrid.

This network is used to fund jihadist activities as it would be used by Syrian immigrants, Tunisia, Algeria and Pakistan to send outside of Spain, funds which the vesting conditions are not always blameless.

The sources added that the Spanish intelligence services believe that the network 'Hawala' is also the means by which the 100 Spanish fighters in Syria are young Moroccan origin for most of them, are transferred parts of their payroll to their families.

NETWORK 'HAWALA'

The Hawala system in Spain would be controlled by Pakistani groups established in Catalonia. They would provide as Spanish services, transaction estimated at € 300 million per year, serving 150,000 customers.

In the world, 'Hawala', which was inspired by a native Chinese model, would be responsible for transport to more than $ 200 billion fund, per year, escaping all controls. Hmmmm.....Halal 'Butchers' sticking together. My guess Illegal 'immigrant Jihadist' probably use the same network to integrate in Europe as a fifth column.

Source: http://www.lemag.ma/Espagne-250-teleboutiques-boucheries-et-epiceries-Halal-qui-financeraient-Daech-et-Al-Qaida_a88241.html

U.S. Congressmen urge 'Islamist' Turkey to stop passage of ISIL terrorists to Europe.

U.S. Congressmen urge 'Islamist' Turkey to stop passage of ISIL terrorists to Europe.(Taz).

Senior members of the US Congress have slammed Turkey for allowing ISIL terrorists to enter the country from Iraq and Syria and travel to Europe to conduct terror attacks, Press TV reported.

In interviews with BuzzFeed News, leading members of the Senate and House of Representatives warned Turkey that the country’s government must take aggressive steps to stop the passage of ISIL militants to Europe.

“I think the Turks have a lot of work to do, in terms of the level of their cooperation. This is a war. And they certainly aren’t treating it that way,” Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Richard Burr said.

Reports say the ISIL terrorist group has been sending its members to Turkish port cities where, posing as refugees, they use boats or hide in cargo ships to travel to Europe.

The ISIL has threatened to conduct attacks on targets in Europe and the US. Turkey has long been criticized for its stance towards the terror group.

“We are certainly very concerned with the exodus of foreign fighters from Syria and Iraq,” House Intelligence ranking member Adam Schiff said.

“We continue to have a problem along the Turkish border, specifically with ISIS’s ability to move money and fighters across the border largely unmolested,” Schiff added, using another acronym for ISIL.

Schiff said the Turkish border remains “far too porous,” and that US officials are in talks with the Turkish government to try to prevent ISIL movements through the country.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a leading hawk on Capitol Hill, also called on Turkey “to step up its game” and stop the flow of terrorists through its borders. 

“The key to this is Turkey,” he said.

The ISIL terrorists, who were initially trained by the CIA in Jordan in 2012 to destabilize the Syrian government, are engaged in crimes against humanity in the areas under their control.

Late last year, the Turkish government agreed to let US-led coalition forces use its military bases for operations against ISIL terrorists, as well as train some 4,000 “moderate” militants fighting the Syrian government, US officials said in October.

ISIS Operative in 'Islamist' Turkey: 'This Is How We Send Jihadis To Europe'.

How many are Pro ISIS?

ISIS Operative in 'Islamist' Turkey: 'This Is How We Send Jihadis To Europe'. (BF).

ANTAKYA, Turkey — An ISIS operative traveled across the Syrian border late last year, settled in a Turkish port city, and began work on a mission to sneak jihadis into Europe. 

It has been successful, he said, in an interview near the Turkey-Syria border: “Just wait.” The operative, a Syrian in his thirties with a close-cropped black beard, said ISIS is sending covert fighters to Europe — as did two smugglers who said they have helped.

He smuggles them from Turkey in small groups, he said, hidden in cargo ships filled with hundreds of refugees.

He said the fighters intend to fulfill ISIS’s threat to stage attacks in the West. He views this as retaliation for U.S.-led airstrikes against the group that began in Iraq last summer and Syria last fall. “If someone attacks me,” he said, speaking with BuzzFeed News on condition of anonymity, “then for sure I will attack them back.”

From Turkish port cities like Izmir and Mersin, many thousands of these refugees have ventured across the sea, aiming mainly for Italy. Then they often make for more welcoming countries like Sweden and Germany, turning themselves over to authorities and appealing for asylum. The operative said he worked with smugglers to slip fighters into this chaotic human tide. “They are going like refugees,” he said.

Two refugee-smugglers in Turkey said they helped ISIS send fighters to Europe in this way. One put more than 10 of them on his ships, then got cold feet when asked to send more, he told BuzzFeed News last fall. Another said he’d been sending ISIS fighters for months and continues to do so. “I’m sending some fighters who want to go and visit their families,” he said in an interview in southern Turkey, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Others just go to Europe to be ready.”

Among his colleagues in the port city where he works, the smuggler has a reputation for transporting fighters. BuzzFeed News contacted him after meeting the ISIS operative, seeking to investigate the operative’s claims. At first he denied that he smuggled fighters at all; then he said he needed “permission” to discuss the issue with a journalist. Soon after he revealed that he worked for the ISIS operative, who confirmed this and allowed the interview.

The smuggler said some fighters were Syrian. He could tell from their accents that others hailed from elsewhere in the Middle East, while still others spoke Arabic poorly, or not at all. Some told him they were from European countries, he said, and a few claimed to be from the U.S.

Two senior members of the U.S. Senate told BuzzFeed News they had knowledge that ISIS is smuggling fighters to Europe on refugee ships — the first confirmation from U.S. Congressmen that this scenario is underway. “I think it’s safe to say that that goes on. To what degree, I’m not sure we know,” Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr said in an interview on Tuesday.

“We’ve heard that,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, adding that as the war in Syria grinds on, refugees and ISIS fighters alike will continue to use Turkey to transit in and out of the region.Read the full story here.

Related: Italian FM Awakens: “significant risk of infiltration by terrorists from immigration”

Video - Palestinian Islamic Jihad Representative: In a Future War, Half the Galilee Will Fall within 72 Hours

Italian FM Awakens: “significant risk of infiltration by terrorists from immigration”

Italian FM Awakens: “significant risk of infiltration by terrorists from immigration”. HT :TundraTabloids.

“There are risks of infiltration even substantial immigration of terrorists. Luckily our security apparatus are alerted and they work, but this does not allow us to lower the slightest degree of concern. 

But no democratic country can endorse any confusion between migration and terrorism and spread the idea that behind the boats of desperate people who arrive on our shores there lurks the terrorist with Kalashnikovs. It would be a mistake cultural as well as unlikely, from a technical standpoint. “

As for the jihadists in Italy, “certainly today the risks of infiltration are significant” and ‘the warning of the Foreign Minister, Paolo Gentiloni, to London to attend the council restricted the international front against the threat of the Isis. The risk of infiltration linked to immigration, added the minister, and ‘even’ for the recall of the symbols of Christianity “in Italian”.

In terms of contrast “fortunately the security apparatuses work,” said Gentiloni meeting with journalists, “but this does not allow us to be complacent.”

The minister also asked that, after the massacres in France there is “the revival of a commitment” in the fight against jihadists “even by the Muslim majority countries, as well their target of terrorism.” 

“In the West,” said the minister, “there is’ a multiplication and a stronger commitment against these new forms of terrorism, a terrorism that is State, even with Al Qaeda and that comeback with Boko Haram that Nigeria does terrible things.Cosi ‘is expected also from Islamic countries. “ Gentiloni, assured that “at the time the Italian commitment” against Isis in Iraq and Syria “and ‘considered adequate.”

“We are the second country more ‘important in training the forces fighting on the ground and to work as much on aerial reconnaissance.” As for the Iraqi Kurdistan, “we have already ‘important cooperation projects for 24 million euro,” he added Gentiloni, “and we will make even more money.'” From the Minister and ‘came the confirmation that “today the Council of Ministers will approve ‘loans’ aid for 2015. 

Source: ImolaOggi.fi  

Video - Two female Italian aid workers who ignored their parents’ pleas, have now been kidnapped by Islamist militants

Video - Two female Italian aid workers who ignored their parents’ pleas, have now been kidnapped by Islamist militants. Read the full story at Dailymail.

Al-Nusra Source on the Latest Italian Hostages Video: Our negotiations with Italian gov. have stalled. pic.twitter.com/pmHUVAAi4P

— Zaid Benjamin (@zaidbenjamin) December 31, 2014